Tag Archives: smith

HPV vaccine, riskier sexual activity not linked, Canadian researchers say

There are concerns the vaccine, which guards against four types of the HPV shown to cause cervical cancer and anogenital warts, may give girls a false sense of security about contracting sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and lead them to engage in riskier sexual activity. “These findings suggest fears of increased risky sexual behaviour following HPV vaccination are unwarranted and should not be a barrier to vaccinating at a young age,” says Dr. Smith, the lead author on the study that was published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. This study looked at a cohort of 260,493 girls, of whom about half (128,712) were eligible for Ontario’s publicly funded, school-based HPV vaccination program during the first two school years it was offered (2007-08 and 2008-09). …

An apple a day could keep obesity away

“We know that, in general, apples are a good source of these nondigestible compounds but there are differences in varieties,” said food scientist Giuliana Noratto, the study’s lead researcher. “Results from this study will help consumers to discriminate between apple varieties that can aid in the fight against obesity.” The tart green Granny Smith apples benefit the growth of friendly bacteria in the colon due to their high content of non-digestible compounds, including dietary fiber and polyphenols, and low content of available carbohydrates. …

Study shines new light on genetic alterations of aggressive breast cancer subtype

The study, led by Dr. Xiaosong Wang, assistant professor of medicine — hematology and oncology and of molecular and cellular biology at Baylor, published today in Nature Communications and focused on the more aggressive molecular subtype of the estrogen-receptor positive breast cancer known as luminal B breast cancer. “While expressing the estrogen receptor, the luminal B breast cancers usually have higher tumor grade, larger tumor size, and poor prognosis, with most cases difficult to treat by endocrine therapy,” said Wang, the lead and corresponding author on the report. “We wanted to gain a deeper understanding about the genetic alterations underlying this particular form of breast cancer, because we do not know about what malfunctions potentially cause this form to be more aggressive.” In the study, Wang and colleagues identified a particular gene fusion on the estrogen receptor itself (hybrid gene formed from two previously separate genes) that was preferentially present in a subset of samples of tumors that were luminal B and ER-positive. …

Less blood clot risk linked to estradiol than to Premarin pills

"Although oral estrogens are effective for managing menopause symptoms, not enough is known about the cardiovascular safety of different oral hormone therapy products relative to each other," said first author Nicholas L. Smith, PhD. He is a professor of epidemiology at the UW School of Public Health, the director of the Veterans Affairs (VA) Seattle Epidemiologic Research and Information Center (ERIC) at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System, and an affiliate investigator at Group Health Research Institute. To further understand the differences in risk, the researchers also measured clotting (coagulation) factors in the blood of women who did not develop a clot. …