Enzyme

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Oncology Center have identified a genetic change occurring during a man's lifetime that appears to trigger prostate cancer by knocking out a cell's ability to resist cancer-causing chemicals in the environment.Although further research is needed to determine the discovery's full significance, scientists yesterday said the finding may provide an important step toward understanding what causes the most frequently diagnosed cancer among American men.The scientists noticed the genetic change while studying 91 human prostate cancers -- tissues obtained from autopsies and biopsies of men who suffered from the disease.

Regarding your recent article on the health benefits of Hollywood-hip practices, there actually is a rationale for mothers who pre-masticate food for their infants ("Extreme mothering, celeb-style," May 24). There is a marked absence of a certain salivary enzyme in infants during the period from birth to 3 to 5 months. This enzyme is needed to digest complex carbohydrates found in grains such as rice, wheat, oatmeal, etc. It's the digestive enzymes in the mother's saliva that matters.

Q: I made a gelatin salad using fresh pineapple and it didn't set. What happened?A: Pineapple contains an enzyme that prevents gelatin from setting. It can also turn many proteins mushy, such as chicken that's mixed in a salad with fresh pineapple. Canned pineapple is a good substitute because the enzyme is destroyed in the canning process.Q: What is a pot-au-feu?A: This is a French term for a dish which usually consists of a beef broth, boiled meat (typically beef) and vegetables, almost a meal in itself.

Discoveries by Nobel laureate Carol W. Greider and her colleagues have led to advances toward potential cures or treatments for certain types of cancer, and for a growing list of diseases rooted in malfunctions of the DNA-protecting enzyme, called telomerase, that she discovered. In cancer, the overproduction of telomerase enables tumor cells to maintain unchecked reproduction, and researchers are trying to inhibit the telomerase as a way to shut down the tumor and allow it to die. One experiment involves a potential vaccine to battle runaway cell division in metastatic breast cancer.

Inquiring minds want to know, "Does BEANO really work, or is it just another gimmick?" Brenda and Phyllis think it works. In fact, they put it right out on the buffet table, along with all the healthy foods they serve, where those who need it can freely help themselves.BEANO is a food enzyme, a dietary supplement available in most grocery store pharmacies where you find antacids and other stomach medicines.The question of BEANO's effectiveness is especially important since we've begun to appreciate the nutritional quality of food almost as much as its taste.

Dr. Howard M. Temin, a cancer researcher who won the Nobel Prize for his role in discovering an enzyme that overturned a central tenet of molecular biology, died of lung cancer Wednesday at his home in Madison, Wis. He was 59.The enzyme, reverse transcriptase, later played a crucial role in identifying the AIDS virus. It also became the underpinning of much of the biotechnology industry and was crucial to the genetic engineering that has produced drugs such as human insulin and tpa, a clot-busting agent that stops heart attacks in progress.

My doctor has urged me to stop smoking because low levels of some enzyme in my blood show that I am at high risk to develop lung disease. Could you help me to understand the problem?Undoubtedly your doctor has found that you have low levels of the enzyme alpha-antitrypsin (AAT) in your blood. A deficiency of AAT is a fairly common inherited disorder associated with an increased tendency to develop emphysema, a chronic lung disease that leads to increasing shortness of breath as it progresses.

Neuroscientists report they have developed the first effective emergency therapy for stroke, an advance that could prevent as many as 44,000 Americans from becoming disabled each year.The treatment involves intravenous injection of the clot-dissolving enzyme t-PA -- the same enzyme used to treat clots in the heart -- into patients within three hours after the onset of stroke symptoms.In a study of 624 patients, those who received the enzyme were at least 30 percent more likely to have minimal or no disabilities than those who received a placebo, the team reports today in the New England Journal of Medicine.

A popular but controversial prostate cancer test can help identify high-risk tumors, improving doctors' ability to predict which patients need aggressive treatment, a new study has found. In recent years, some experts have questioned the reliability of the test, which measures blood levels of an enzyme called prostate specific antigen, or PSA. But the latest work, which appears in today's issue of the New England Journal Of Medicine, looked at PSA from a different perspective than earlier efforts.

At some time in our lives, nearly all of us have suffered from low back pain. A good way to fight that pain is to make the back muscles stronger by pulling on a rowing machine.There are two types of rowing machines. One is made with a piston inside a casing to create resistance for the oars. It looks like a shock absorber for an automobile. Because the piston is released at a constant rate, no matter how hard you pull, you must row at a constant rate -- but that does not feel very natural.

I live in Sweden and work from home, so I rarely come down with colds. However, the other day I got a whopper - a sore throat, a horrible runny nose and a really bad cough - so I decided to try Kan Jang. Kan Jang is a popular cold remedy here produced by the Swedish Herbal Institute. I started on Kan Jang a day ago and was surprised by the results. My runny nose is completely gone, and my cough has subsided drastically. The postnasal drip that has been driving me nuts for a couple of years is gone.

With the rise in cases of diabetes, more and more people will suffer from foot ulcers that do not heal and may end up needing amputation because treatment of chronic wounds is so difficult. Today, an alternative treatment based on a remedy used since antiquity is getting increased attention -- smearing wounds with honey. Manuka Honey, a medicinal honey harvested by beekeepers in New Zealand, is now being marketed for application on wounds. In June, Health Canada approved it under the brand name Medihoney for use as a wound dressing and antimicrobial.

Micro Miracles: Discover the Healing Power of Enzymes By Ellen W. Cutler, D.C., and Jeremy E. Kaslow, M.D. Rodale Books/$15.95 A few weeks ago, food allergy experts were in an uproar because McDonald's disclosed that the oil it used to cook french fries had allergens - derivatives of dairy, wheat and gluten - even though the fast-food chain had billed them as allergy-free. One critic was Ellen Cutler, author of three books on the prevention of allergies. "Even the slightest hint of wheat can cause highly allergic symptoms," she said.

Tested last year for prostate cancer, John Lenahan was found to have high levels of a potential telltale substance called prostate specific antigen, or PSA. Although a subsequent biopsy didn't show any evidence of cancer, Lenahan, 64, was left wondering. "I worry," said the semiretired lawyer from Woodbridge, Va. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't." Every year, almost 2 million American men have prostate cancer biopsies, almost all because of a high PSA reading. But about 75 percent of these men don't have cancer.

As patients have turned to other painkillers to avoid the cardiovascular risks associated with Vioxx, Bextra and Celebrex, scientists are casting suspicion on several of the substitutes, especially Mobic. Prescriptions for Mobic have tripled since September, when the maker of Vioxx voluntarily withdrew the Cox-2 inhibiting painkiller because of findings of heart problems. Immediately, the maker of Mobic began courting former Vioxx users, through ads and company representatives' visits to doctors.

A popular but controversial prostate cancer test can help identify high-risk tumors, improving doctors' ability to predict which patients need aggressive treatment, a new study has found. In recent years, some experts have questioned the reliability of the test, which measures blood levels of an enzyme called prostate specific antigen, or PSA. But the latest work, which appears in today's issue of the New England Journal Of Medicine, looked at PSA from a different perspective than earlier efforts.

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins University and National Institutes of Health have discovered a key step in how the body controls melatonin, the chemical that regulates the sleep-wake cycle. The knowledge could eventually help scientists come up with drugs to better treat sleep disorders, including insomnia, narcolepsy and jet lag. Published yesterday in the online edition of Nature Structural Biology, the paper identified the switch that destroys the enzyme controlling melatonin production.

Researchers have discovered that an enzyme that plays a principal role in the development of the most severe form of diabetes is the same enzyme as one found in the brain.The finding could lead to a simple test to screen for people who are likely to develop the disease, years before their symptoms appear. A report on the finding is being published today in the British journal Nature.Diabetes researchers had had difficulty studying the enzyme because only small amounts of it could be found in the pancreas, which does not function properly in diabetics.

As a neuroscientist at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Dr. Gabriele Ronnett fattens up mice in a search for ways to keep fat off people. Ronnett's mice are programmed by nature to gain weight. "If you give them tasty food, they will eat until they get fat," she said as two furry black rodents scrambled around the palm of her hand. "Not all mice will do that." Researchers have spent decades using mice, rats and humans in their search for a pill that will curb appetites and burn fat -- long before federal officials released a study last month calling obesity a national epidemic.

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins University and National Institutes of Health have discovered a key step in how the body controls melatonin, the chemical that regulates the sleep-wake cycle. The knowledge could eventually help scientists come up with drugs to better treat sleep disorders, including insomnia, narcolepsy and jet lag. Published yesterday in the online edition of Nature Structural Biology, the paper identified the switch that destroys the enzyme controlling melatonin production.