CHECKUP STUDYING HERBS AS CANCER ANTAGONISTS.

Byline: - Staff and Wire Services

The cancer-fighting powers of herbs and natural compounds will be tested by UCLA Jonsson Cancer Center researchers to determine just how effective such popular alternative and complementary medicines are at fighting tumors.

The Sue Stiles Program in Integrative Oncology will conduct laboratory and preclinical research of natural products. Compounds showing promise eventually will lead to human clinical trials. Some of the natural compounds undergoing testing include components of shark liver oil and soy as well as yerba santa, a plant historically used by American Indians for healing.

According to a recent survey, more than 70 percent of breast cancer patients have used some form of complementary therapy, including dietary supplements, spiritual healing practices, herbal remedies, acupuncture or massage. However, physicians often are unaware that their patients are using alternative therapies.

If these plants and compounds are shown to effectively fight cancer, they may one day replace more toxic therapies such as chemotherapy, researchers said.

For more information, visit www.canceralternatives.mednet.ucla.edu.

NEWS FLASH: If you want more control over the hot flashes of menopause, try losing weight and avoiding smoking.

New research conducted at the University of Maryland School of Medicine found that women who have excess body fat, as well as those who smoke, have more frequent and more severe episodes of the troubling flashes.

The research, published in the February issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology, gives new credence to the rapidly growing belief that lifestyle factors play a major role in orchestrating some symptoms of menopause. What doctors don't know right now is whether altering your lifestyle habits - like quitting smoking or losing weight - will make a difference once the symptoms have begun.

``Either scenario is possible, but our study was cross-sectional in nature so we just observed the differences by weight and smoking status,'' says study author Jodi Flaws.

Future research, she says, should determine if stopping smoking or losing weight can help deter the onset of hot flashes or reduce their severity once they have started.

BABIES AND DIABETES: UCLA researchers are seeking pregnant women with an eye to enrolling newborns in a diabetes prevention study. The study will examine whether avoiding cow milk proteins in the first six to eight months of life decreases the incidence of type 1 diabetes by age 10. To qualify for the study, an immediate family member - either mother, father or sibling - should have type 1 diabetes. This multicenter, international study is sponsored by the National Institutes of Health. Call [phone] or e-mail lrogers(at)mednet.ucla.edu.