Flax seed lignan in disease prevention and health promotion

Lignans have been part of both diet and herbal medicines for centuries. It is only in the last half century that phytochemists have described the structures of the lignans. Pharmacologists have only become interested in the biological activity of lignans in the last few decades. Much of the early interest focused on podophyllotoxin type lignans and their derivatives. Recent literature has recorded very many new lignans or lignan derivatives with a diverse range of biological activities. In 1955, the isolation from flax seed and the structure of the lignan derivative secoisolariciresinol diglucoside (SDG) was reported. Possible biological activity of SDG, and the mammalian lignan metabolites, enterolactone and enterodiol, was initially reported about 20 years later. During the next 30 years, there has been extensive research on the biological effects of both flax seed and rye lignans since both are metabolized into the mammalian lignans. Research on the activity of lignans on breast, colon, prostate and thyroid cancer has generally shown beneficial effects although there are some studies with either no conclusive or negative effect. Lignans have been shown to have positive effects in lowering relative risk factors for heart disease. Use of flax seed or SDG has been shown to have positive effects in both lupus and polycystic kidney disease models. Studies of both type I and II diabetes models have reported positive results when using SDG. Flax seed has also been reported to be hepatoprotective. Reproductive effects have been observed with flax seed or SDG and have been found to be dose and time related. There are many possible mechanistic explanations for the observed bioactivities including involvement in hormonal metabolism or availability, angiogenesis, anti-oxidation and gene suppression. Abbreviations: ALA – alpha linolenic acid; ApcMin – adenomatous polyposis coli multiple intestinal neoplasia; BBdp – BioBreeding diabetic prone; CCl₄– carbon tetrachloride; CDC – Crop Development Centre; CHD – cardiovascular heart disease; DMBA – dimethylbenzanthracene; DNA – deoxyribonucleic acid; ER – estrogen receptor; λGT –γ-glutamyltranspeptidase; HDL – high-density lipoprotein; HMGA – hydroxymethyl glutaric acid; IDDM – insulin dependent diabetes mellitus; LDL – low-density lipoprotein; MRL/lpr, Murine Lupus/lymphoproliferative; MDA – malondiadehyde; NIDDM – non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus; ORF – oxygen free radical; PAF – platelet activating factor; PKD – Polycystic kidney disease; PEPCK – phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase; PMNL – polymorphonuclear monocytes; STZ – streptozoticin; TC – total cholesterol; TG – triglycerides; SDG – secoisolariciresinol diglucoside; ZDF – Zucker diabetic fatty. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Cancer prevention: setting the scene.

Each year in the United Kingdom there are over 300,000 new cases of cancer and nearly 165,000 deaths from cancer. It is widely believed that as many as four fifths of all cancers are preventable by means that are already available. The Health of the Nation and the Europe Against Cancer programme have set targets and strategies for reducing the risk of cancer. An approach based on the whole population will achieve the greatest reductions in morbidity and mortality. Complementary to this is the individual approach, which can be based in primary care and targeted at high risk subjects. Health promotion and screening in primary care are not in themselves self evidently valuable. Their effectiveness must be tested rigorously and scientifically. Furthermore, because of limited time and resources, health education in primary care should be focused on interventions that are likely to achieve the greatest benefit, such as helping people to stop smoking.     

Periodic medical examinations; disease detection and health promotion

The medical examination of persons who have no medical complaints is a procedure that has different purposes than the traditional diagnostic examination. These include not only the detection of incipient disease but the evaluation of the adjustment of the individual to his environment and an assessment of his personal hygiene. It should be concluded by a discussion of what has been found, and by positive, persuasive advice and education which will lead to better health. Interest in such work and competence for it are not found in every physician. Physicians who do not want to acquire such competences should recognize the fact and refer such work to others who are prepared to cope with it. Inept, incomplete health examinations disappoint the patient and make the physician uncomfortable; thorough, constructive examination and counseling is satisfying and profitable to both.     

Tea polyphenols for health promotion

People have been consuming brewed tea from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant for almost 50 centuries. Although health benefits have been attributed to tea, especially green tea consumption since the beginning of its history, scientific investigations of this beverage and its constituents have been underway for less than three decades. Currently, tea, in the form of green or black tea, next to water, is the most widely consumed beverage in the world. In vitro and animal studies provide strong evidence that polyphenols derived from tea may possess the bioactivity to affect the pathogenesis of several chronic diseases. Among all tea polyphenols, epigallocatechin-3-gallate has been shown to be responsible for much of the health promoting ability of green tea. Tea and tea preparations have been shown to inhibit tumorigenesis in a variety of animal models of carcinogenesis. However, with increasing interest in the health promoting properties of tea and a significant rise in scientific investigation, this review covers recent findings on the medicinal properties and health benefits of tea with special reference to cancer and cardiovascular diseases.     

Latino children's health and the family-community health promotion model

A majority of Latino children in the US live in poverty. However, unlike other poor children, Latino children do not seem to have a consistent association between poverty and poor health. Instead, many poor Latino children have unexpectedly good health outcomes. This has been labeled an epidemiologic paradox. This paper proposes a new model of health, the family-community health promotion model, to account for this paradox. The family-community health promotion model emphasizes the family-community milieu of the child, in contrast to traditional models of health. In addition, the family-community model expands the outcome measures from physical health to functional health status, and underscores the contribution of cultural factors to functional health outcomes. In this paper, we applied the family-community health promotion model to four health outcomes: low birthweight, infant mortality, chronic and acute illness, and perceived health status. The implications of this model for research and policy are discussed.     

Monitoring of neuromuscular function in the clinical setting.

This paper will review the basics of neurostimulation in the perioperative period. Following a brief overview of neuromuscular physiology, the mechanism of action of depolarizing and non-depolarizing relaxants will be discussed. The principles of neurostimulation will then be applied clinically when different patterns of stimulation (single twitch, train-of-four, post-tetanic twitch count, double burst) are described. Clinical assessment of neuromuscular function will then be compared with both subjective and objective means of assessment of adequacy of intraoperative relaxation and postoperative reversal. The principles reviewed in this paper will then be applied in the clinical setting, and risks and benefits associated with perioperative use of muscle relaxants will be discussed.     

Self-efficacy and the promotion of health for depressed single mothers

Single mothers are a vulnerable population at risk for poor mental and physical health. This paper discusses the mental and physical health of single mothers, as well as the psychosocial and socio-economic risk factors placing single mothers at risk for poor health outcomes. Some of these include, gender, income level, educational status, social support, stress and certain personality characteristics. Theoretical models with the potential to explore ways to promote health in depressed single mothers will also be presented. The paper concludes with the application of these models to primary prevention and the promotion of health for single mothers along with recommendations for future research.