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BBC NEWS Green tea extract 'is cancer aid' Green tea Green tea has been linked with a series of health benefits A green tea extract may help patients with a form of leukaemia, a study says.

The tea, discovered in China nearly 5,000 years ago, has long been thought to have health benefits.

But the team from the Mayo Clinic in the US found it appeared to improve the condition of four patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL).

Experts said the Leukaemia Research journal study was interesting but more research was needed.

CLL is a blood and bone marrow cancer which affects white blood cells and is the commonest type of leukaemia with over 3,000 new cases - mainly in the over 60s - diagnosed each year in the UK.

Green tea has long been thought to have cancer-prevention capabilities. It is exciting that research is now demonstrating this agent may provide new hope for CLL patients Tait Shanafelt, report author

It is called chronic leukaemia because it progresses more slowly than acute leukaemia with some patients living for decades with the disease.

As there is no known cure, doctors have traditionally not intervened in the early stages of the disease to see how it develops, before moving on to traditional forms of cancer treatment such as chemotherapy.

But the Mayo researchers decided to try green tea after a test tube study in 2004 showed it killed leukaemia cells.

Four CLL patients being treated at the clinic took green tea extract tablets containing epigallocatechin gallate, an antioxidant thought to fight cancer cells.

Doctors

Within a few months, doctors realised that three out of four patients were showing signs of the cancer regressing.

The fourth patient also showed a slight improvement, but it was not judged to be clinically relevant.

Report author Tait Shanafelt said: "Green tea has long been thought to have cancer-prevention capabilities. It is exciting that research is now demonstrating this agent may provide new hope for CLL patients.

"The experience of these individuals provides some suggestion that our previously published laboratory findings may actually translate into clinical effects for patients with this disease."

But he warned more research was needed to prove the findings on a larger scaled and whether there were any side effects.

Ken Campbell, clinical information officer at the Leukaemia Research Fund, said: "The findings are interesting, but we cannot say yet this is a new treatment for cancer.

"We need to carry out a large scale, controlled trial to see if the findings hold true."

A chemical extracted from green tea could help scientists to develop new drugs to fight cancer.

Tests by UK and Spanish researchers showed polyphenol EGCG taken from green tea leaves inhibits cancer cell growth.

The effect was seen even at low concentrations, equivalent to drinking two or three cups of green tea a day.

However, the study, published in Cancer Research, also found high concentrations of the chemical may increase the risk of birth defects.

We may be able to develop new anti-cancer drugs based on the structure of the EGCG molecule Professor Roger Thorneley

Previous research has suggested that drinking green tea helps to cut the risk of certain forms of cancer.

The latest study found that EGCG binds to a key enzyme - dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) - that is targeted by established anti-cancer drugs.

This stops the enzyme from triggering the manufacture of new DNA in tumour cells.

It appears to work in the same way as the cancer drug methotrexate - but in practice would probably have fewer side effects.

Drug development

Professor Roger Thorneley, from the John Innes Centre in Norwich, conducted the research with team from the University of Murcia in Spain.

He said: "This is a very exciting discovery. For the first time we have a clear scientific explanation of why EGCG inhibits the growth of cancer cells at concentrations which are found in the blood of people who drink two or three cups of green tea a day.

"We have identified the enzyme in tumour cells that EGCG targets and understand how it stops this enzyme from making DNA.

"This means we may be able to develop new anti-cancer drugs based on the structure of the EGCG molecule."

Fellow researcher Dr Jose Neptuno Rodriguez-Lopez said: "We decided to look at EGCG because we recognised that its structure is very similar to that of the successful anti-cancer drug methotrexate.

"We discovered that EGCG can kill cancer cells in the same way as methotrexate.

"However, because EGCG binds to the target enzyme less tightly than methotrexate, it should have decreased side effects on healthy cells."

Fewer side effects

Dr Rodriguez-Lopez said the researchers were now using EGCG as the starting point to design and develop effective new anti-cancer drugs that kill tumour cells but inflict less damage on healthy cells.

Previous studies have also linked high levels of green tea consumption around the time of conception and during pregnancy with an increased incidence of neural tube defects such as spina bifida.

These defects are associated with a lack of the key nutrient folic acid.

The scientists said EGCG in green tea would be expected to cause a significant drop in folic acid levels.

Tea & Your Health : Heart Health

WHITE TEA & GREEN TEA APPEAR TO BE EFFECTIVE ANTIOXIDANTS

Heart health is an ever rising concern in the United States. Each year over 1.1 million Americans suffer heart attacks, and half a million Americans are diagnosed with heart failure. This is a serious problem that more and more Americans are monitoring. Studies repeatedly show that diet is a large factor in one?s heart health. In the past years more and more research is being conducted on the health benefits of tea; most specifically green tea. The most significant of health benefits that are found in tea are directly related to heart health.

Blood Vessel/Endothelium Function Recent research has shown that tea may help with blood vessel and endothelial function. The endothelium is a layer of flat cells that line the closed internal spaces of the blood vessels and the heart. Blood vessel and endothelial function allow for proper blood flow throughout the body and indicate how healthy the heart is. Impaired blood vessel functioning can lead to serious diseases such as coronary heart disease. The flavonoids in tea help improve functioning of the blood vessel lining, or the endothelium by allowing the blood vessels to relax, thus having an anti-clotting effect.

Research shows that blood vessel function improved in individuals that drank four cups of black tea every day. Because all types of tea come from the same plant (camellia sinensis) it is likely that all types of tea could have a similar impact on blood vessel function because of the flavonoids found in tea.

Cholesterol Tea may also help your heart in lowering cholesterol. Some research shows that tea drinkers? overall cholesterol tends to be lower than a non-tea drinkers?. Tea drinkers LDL or "bad" cholesterol is on average 10% lower than non-tea drinkers, without lowering the HDL or ?good? cholesterol levels. According to USDA research, individuals who drank 5 cups of black tea per day for three weeks were able to reduce their cholesterol by 6.5%, and more specifically, lower their LDL cholesterol by 11.1%. This can health benefit can also be attributed to the flavonoids in tea. In this instance, the flavonoids may be able to prevent LDL cholesterol from being oxidized. Oxidized LDL can lead to the development of artherosclerosis. By decreasing this LDL cholesterol, the risk of suffering a heart attack decreases.

Heart Attack Drinking tea may help reduce the risk of suffering a heart attack. Because tea is associated with lowered LDL cholesterol and increased blood vessel functioning, the risk factors that could cause a heart attack are in turn decreased. One research study found that participants who consumed at least three cups of tea per day were 11% less likely to suffer a heart attack than non-tea drinkers. Another study showed that individuals that consumed between two and four cups of tea per day had a significantly lower fatality risk after suffering a heart attack. A Harvard University study demonstrated that moderate black tea drinkers (one or more cups a day the year prior to a heart attack) had a 44% lower risk of heart attack when compared to non-tea drinkers. Those who reported being heavy tea drinkers had a 44% lower death rate than non-tea drinkers in the three and a half years following their heart attacks. Moderate tea drinkers had a 28% lower rate of dying when compared with non-tea drinkers.

Cardiovascular Disease The antioxidants in tea (specifically the flavonoids) may be able to help decrease the lipid oxidation in the body. This is good because oxidation of LDL can lead to the development of artherosclorosis. Artherosclerosis is the buildup of plaque that causes many cardiovascular diseases. The antioxidants in tea decrease the oxidation, therefore contributing to a healthy heart. A recent study showed that individuals who consumed between one and two cups of black tea per day were able to cut their risk of developing cardiovascular disease in half.

Green leafy vegetable could reduce skin cancer risk

Green leafy vegetable may be as important as wearing a hat, sunscreen and protective clothing to reduce the risk of skin cancer, says a study that highlights the importance of eating a healthy, well-balanced diet.

Those who eat at least three serves of green leafy vegetables a week reduced their risk of skin cancer by up to 55 percent, the study by Jolieke van der Pols and other researchers involving 1,000 people in Nambour, on the Sunshine Coast found, according to ABC News online.

Green vegetables such as spinach contain a crucial cocktail of nutrients that can boost the skin's natural defence against sun damage, the 11-year study said.

"Other researches that have looked at individual nutrients haven't found very clear evidence, so it might be that actually the combination of nutrients as they occur normally in the foods that we eat, actually have the effect on the skin cancer,"

Green tea extract may fight HIV A chemical in green tea could be used in drugs Green tea could form the basis of a new generation of HIV drugs, say experts.

Scientists in Japan have found a component of green tea can stop HIV from binding to healthy immune cells, which is how the virus spreads.

Their laboratory tests suggest a chemical called Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG) protects cells.

Writing in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, the scientists said the discovery could lead to new treatments to fight the disease.

Key chemicals

Green tea is made up of a class of chemicals called catechins, the most abundant of which is EGCG.

It is believed that EGCG is responsible for green tea's health benefits. Previous studies have suggested it can protect against a range of diseases, including cancer and heart disease.

A drug form of EGCG for HIV infection might be a further development of these investigations Dr William Shearer, Baylor College of Medicine Dr Kuzushige Kawai and colleagues at the University of Tokyo carried out tests to see if the chemical could help beat HIV.

They found that EGCG stopped the virus from binding to CD4 molecules and human T cells.

These are vital parts of the body's immune system. Usually HIV is able to sneak inside these cells and wipe them out.

The scientists said further research is needed to see if EGCG could be used in new anti-HIV drugs.

They said simply drinking green tea would not offer people protection from the virus.

The concentration of EGCG used in the laboratory tests are many times over the blood concentration that could be achieved by just drinking green tea.

But in an accompanying editorial, Dr William Shearer from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, welcomed the findings.

"Molecular modelling of a drug form of EGCG for HIV infection might be a further development of these investigations," he said.

Previous studies have also indicated this chemical may have a role to play in fighting HIV.

However, much further research is needed before the laboratory findings will lead to drugs for patients with HIV.

HIV drugs boost 10-year survival Modern combinations of drugs have cut HIV deaths The vast majority of HIV patients taking the latest combination treatments survive at least a decade, say researchers.

Trials across several European countries found death rates from Aids have fallen by 80% since 1997, when the regime was introduced.

Older people infected with HIV no longer have a reduced life expectancy compared with the young.

The 10-year mark is an arbitrary one - but important to HIV researchers who use it to compare the success of drugs to suppress the virus.

In this case, the fact that most patients are surviving beyond a decade demonstrates beyond doubt the vast improvements that the latest therapies have delivered.

And although firm evidence is not yet to hand, it implies that many patients could live far beyond their first 10 years with HIV, particularly if the drugs continue to improve.

More than 50,000 people in the UK are living with HIV, and "highly active antiretroviral therapy" (HAART) is the most advanced method of attacking the virus, even though it cannot cure the infection.

When the combination of drugs was first introduced, death rates immediately fell by half.

Initially, only one in five people were given HAART, but that has risen swiftly as the impact of the drugs became apparent.

However, it is only now that the effects of HAART on lifespan of HIV patients can be measured and assessed.

Compare and contrast

Scientists at the Medical Research Council's Clinical Trials Unit in London assessed the results of 22 different studies across Europe, Australia and Canada, and confirmed the effects of the introduction of HAART were the same everywhere.

The results were published in the Lancet medical journal.

Now, people treated with these combinations of drugs can almost all expect to live at least 10 years after diagnosis, regardless of their age at infection Dr Khaloud Porter, MRC Dr Kholoud Porter, who led the analysis, said: "The introduction of HAART has been a tremendous success.

"Before this therapy was introduced, about half of those infected were expected to live for ten years after diagnosis, much less if they were, say, 40 years old when infected.

"Now, people treated with these combinations of drugs can almost all expect to live at least 10 years after diagnosis, regardless of their age at infection.

"However, our findings do point to the importance of an early diagnosis so that people can access the best treatments at the right time.

"We also need to continue to explore what happens when therapy starts to fail, for example due to resistance to antiretroviral drugs, if we are to maintain improved life expectancy for people living with HIV."

Missing out

Julian Meldrum, from Aidsmap, told the BBC that there were some grounds to hope that the drugs would keep on working well into the second decade after diagnosis - although little evidence to confirm this is yet available.

He said: "The good news is that it appears that so far the effects of HAART are not wearing off.

"In future, the drugs will improve yet further, and there should be fewer side-effects, making it easier to adhere to the therapy.

"There are certainly grounds for optimism."

However, he said: "There are still some HIV patients in the UK who have unequal access to these treatments - mainly in the refugee and migrant communities.

"And the study shows that injecting drug users who are infected with HIV this way are still more likely to die than people infected through sexual contact."

Martin Kirk of Terrence Higgins Trust said: "We must remember that of all the people who will die this year with AIDS-related illnesses, a third will do so just three months after diagnosis.

"This is because they tested too late for treatments to be effective.

"There is still work to be done to encourage people to test for HIV, and remind them that it neededn't be a death sentence."

The success of HAART in the developed world increasingly highlights the gulf between these countries and those in the developing world, where access to any form of antiretroviral drugs is often almost impossible.

Last year, the number of people worldwide infected with HIV reached more than 40 million.