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Study Shows Olive Leaf Extract Is Effective in Lowering Blood Pressure

Aug. 28, 2008 -- People have been using olive leaf medicinally for millennia.

The ancient Egyptians revered the leaves. Ancient Greeks used them to clean wounds, and the original Olympic athletes were crowned with a wreath of olive leaves. The olive leaf is even mentioned in the Bible for its purported healing properties.

So it's no wonder that scientists today are looking at ways to use olive leaf, specifically for one of modern society's biggest and sneakiest health problems -- high blood pressure.

High blood pressure (hypertension) often develops quietly and without symptoms. Ways to curb it include lifestyle and diet changes -- cutting salt and fat and getting the body moving.

An earlier study showed that when rats were given olive leaf extract, their blood pressure dropped.

Now researchers in Germany and Switzerland have looked at how sets of identical human twins with borderline hypertension responded to taking olive leaf extract. Identical twins were used to help keep the data consistent, because genetic differences can make people respond differently to the same treatments.

The extract was obtained from dry olive leaves and put into capsule form.   

Two experiments were carried out. One compared twins who took 500 milligrams of olive leaf extract a day at breakfast with a comparison group of their siblings who didn't. A second compared a group who took 500 milligrams a day to those who took 1,000 milligrams a day. A total of 40 people participated, aged 18 to 60; 28 women and 12 men.

Here are the results:

Those who took the highest daily dosage of olive leaf extract (1,000 milligrams) received the highest benefits -- "significantly" lowering their cholesterol and blood pressure when compared to the group that took 500 milligrams.

At the end of the eight-week study, the group that took 1,000 milligrams per day had dropped their systolic blood pressure (the "top" number) by an average of 11 points.

The participants who received 500 milligrams of olive leaf extract dropped their systolic blood pressure by five points, and those who took no supplements saw their blood pressure edge up by two points. Neither one of these changes was felt to be statistically significant. 

Researchers, led by lead author Tania Perrinjaquet-Moccetti of Frutarom (a Swiss manufacturer of the olive leaf extract), note that they were not looking for what dosage might be most effective, but rather whether there was a blood pressure lowering effect at all.

The authors also note a "significant" reduction in LDL ("bad") cholesterol in those twins who took the olive leaf extract, but the specific data regarding these results was not presented in the paper.

The authors call for more investigation into the possible benefits of olive leaf extract on both blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

Results are published in the September issue of Phytotherapy Research. The research was funded by Frutarom.

4 Commonly Used Moisturizing Creams Promote Tumors in UV-Exposed Mice

Aug. 14, 2008 -- Four commonly used moisturizers promoted skin cancers in mouse studies.

Mice are not men. But the unexpected finding suggests that these -- and perhaps other products -- may not be as safe as they're thought to be.

The moisturizers tested in the study were Dermabase, Dermovan (a wholesale-only product discontinued in 2006), Eucerin Original Moisturizing Cream, and Vanicream.

In a mouse model of sun-related skin cancer, frequent application of each product resulted in more skin tumors and faster tumor growth, says study leader Allan H. Conney, PhD, director of the Susan Lehman Cullman Laboratory for Cancer Research and professor in the school of pharmacy at Rutgers University in Piscataway, N.J.

"This was unexpected. We really did not expect to see the tumor-promoting activity of these creams," Conney tells WebMD.

In fact, Conney and colleagues were getting ready to use one of these moisturizers -- Dermabase -- in human clinical trials of topical caffeine, which prevents skin cancer in animal studies.

"We thought it would be prudent to test Dermabase by itself to see if it had tumor-promoting activity," Conney says. "We did not think it would. But lo and behold, to our surprise we got an increased rate of skin cancer."

This led to new tests of Dermabase and the three other moisturizers, which the Conney team hoped to use in their human study. For these new animal studies, the researchers used hairless mice irradiated with ultraviolet light twice a week for 20 weeks. With no further irradiation, such mice eventually develop skin cancer -- very much like humans overexposed to sunlight early in life.

Five days a week, for 17 weeks, the researchers rubbed moisturizer into the animals' skin. The result:

·                                 Dermabase increased the total number of tumors by 69%.

·                                 Dermovan increased the total number of tumors by 95%.

·                                 Eucerin increased the total number of tumors by 24%.

·                                 Vanicream increased the total number of tumors by 58%.

"The multimillion-dollar question is, what about humans?" Conney asks. "The answer is, we don't know. Our study raises a red flag and points out the need for epidemiologists to take a look at people who use moisturizing creams. And the companies that market these products should take a look at animal models and see if their products promote tumors."

Testing Moisturizers for Safety

Dermatologist Keyvan Nouri, MD, director of dermatologic surgery at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and author of the best-selling book Skin Cancer, agrees that companies that make moisturizers should test their products.

"This study could definitely be a warning to alert these companies to consider testing moisturizing creams with some sort of assay," Nouri tells WebMD. "These creams need to be tested first before they come to market."

Moisturizers are classified as cosmetics by the FDA, which does not require that they undergo the same safety and efficacy tests required for drugs.

The moisturizers did not cause cancer in the mice. That came from their early-life radiation exposure. But the creams did make skin cancers grow faster and more readily.

Nouri notes that the radiation damaged the skin of the mice before the moisturizing creams were applied. That, he says, might account for the moisturizers' unusual tumor-promoting effect.

However, he notes that the skin cancers are becoming much more common in humans.

"There are over a million cases a year," he says. "It is by far the most common cancer we deal with. Skin cancers account for more than half of all cancers combined. But most skin cancers are totally curable."

What is it about the moisturizers that might promote cancer?

The Conney team asked Johnson & Johnson to make them a "custom blend" moisturizer without two ingredients previously linked to skin irritation (sodium lauryl sulfate) and tumor promotion (mineral oil). The custom blend (on which Rutgers University and Johnson & Johnson hold a patent) did not promote skin cancer.

But not all of the products tested use these ingredients, so exactly what -- if anything -- might be linked to cancer isn't known. And it's certainly clear that mouse and human skin are very different.

Moisturizers Still Necessary

Nouri warns consumers not to stop using moisturizers.

"As we get older, our skin gets drier," he says. "We need to moisturize, otherwise our skin gets dry and we get eczema, dermatitis, rashes, and so on. It is too soon to say from this study people should stop moisturizing."

Eucerin is made by Beiersdorf Inc.

"We have just learned about this study and are currently reviewing it to understand the findings," Beiersdorf says in a statement to WebMD. "Eucerin Original Creme has been on the market for more than 100 years and is a highly respected, dermatologist-recommended brand. It has been widely used by both individuals with normal skin and those with diseased skin under the care of physicians, and no incidents of this nature have ever been reported."

Vanicream is made by Pharmaceutical Specialties Inc. In a statement to WebMD, PSI President Conrad O. Thompson, RPh, says there is nothing in the Conney study to indicate any need for change in current recommendations for use of Vanicream.

"Treatment with Vanicream Skin Cream clearly did not increase the proportion of animals that developed tumors," Thompson notes.

Dermovan, a wholesale-only product used as a base to which other ingredients are added by compounding pharmacists, was made by Healthpoint Ltd. until the product was discontinued in 2006.

"The product has been around for 50 years, and has no safety issues related to it," Healthpoint spokesman Mark Mitchell tells WebMD.

CHICAGO (Reuters) Apr 22 - The United States may be facing a shortage of general surgeons, even as a growing and aging population creates a rising need for their broad capabilities, researchers said on Monday.

There was a 26 percent decline in the number of practicing general surgeons per 100,000 Americans between 1981 and 2005, according to an analysis of data from the American Medical Association.

"There is some question as to whether there will be an adequate number of general surgeons to care for an increasingly elderly population, with its attendant increased demand for surgical care," Dr. Dana Lynge, of the University of Washington in Seattle, wrote in the Archives of Surgery.

The trend could cause a crisis in some rural areas where finding any type of surgeon can be difficult, Dr. Lynge wrote.

Fewer than one in five general surgeons practice in rural areas of the United States, and Dr. Lynge said they are aging faster than their urban counterparts, and hospitals are having trouble finding replacements for them.

She said there is an understandable reluctance to face the pressures of being one of few doctors serving a wide area.

"The issue remains, however, of who will take general surgical call, particularly at night, for abdominal emergencies and trauma because some surgical subspecialists (though qualified as general surgeons) seek to avoid this burden, which is bound to increase as the population ages," she wrote.

The number of general surgeons dropped 4 percent during the study period to a 25-year low of 16,662 in 2005. Meanwhile, the U.S. population grew by 29 percent to 292 million. The researchers cited several possible factors for the trend.

There has been no increase since 1980 in the roughly 1,000 general surgeons trained to enter the profession each year and that number should be increased, Dr. Lynge wrote.

Of those trained to be surgeons, more than 70 percent later opt for lucrative surgical specialties that can be less demanding of their time. Also, health maintenance organizations that insure millions of Americans tend to employ fewer surgeons to cover more patients.

The number of active general surgeons fluctuated from 17,394 in 1981 to a peak of 17,922 in 2001. The proportion of women in the profession grew to 13 percent in 2005 from 1 percent in 1981.

In a sign that the trend could worsen, only one in six general surgeons were younger than 40 in 2005, compared to one in four in 1981.

April 21, 2008 — Two very large studies of mammography screening for breast cancer have concluded that such screening is beneficial in women 70 to 75 years of age and that a 3-year interval between mammograms is sufficient. The new data were reported here at the 6th European Breast Cancer Conference (EBCC) in Berlin, Germany, and highlighted at an official press briefing during the meeting.

Many countries that run breast cancer screening programs offer regular mammography to women between the ages of 50 and 70 years, but the new study shows that there are benefits to extending the upper age limit to 75 years. The study comes from the Netherlands, which extended the upper age limit from 69 to 75 years in 1998.

It usually takes about 5 years for the effect of screening to have an impact, so the researchers analyzed data from 2003 on. They found a steady decline in breast cancer deaths among women aged 75 to 79 years. During the period from 1986 to 1997 (ie, before screening for the older age group had been introduced), the average rate for death from breast cancer in this age group was 166 per 100,000 women. In 2006, after such screening had been in place for 8 years, this rate had dropped 29.5%, to 117 per 100,000 women.

"This reduction in breast cancer mortality shows that the screening has started to have a statistically significant effect," said lead researcher Jacques Fracheboud, MD, an epidemiologist and senior researcher at the Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

Breast Cancer Easier to Detect in Elderly Women

Between 1998 and 2006, a total of 7.37 million mammograms were carried out, of which 862,655 were in women 70 to 75 years of age. The participation rate was 81.2% for women aged 50 to 69 years and 71.9% for women aged 70 to 75 years (but the proportion increased from 62.5% in 1998 to 77.6% in 2006). The screening led to a referral for diagnostic assessment in 12.8% of women 50 to 69 years of age and in 16.4% of women 70 to 75 years of age.

Breast cancer was detected in 4.5 per 1000 women screened in the 50- to 69-year age group, giving a positive predictive value (PPV) of 36% and in 7.8 per 1000 women screened in the 70- to 75-year age group, with a PPV of 47%.

"This difference shows that it is easier to find breast cancer in older women because their breast tissue is less dense," Dr. Fracheboud commented. "But it is not necessarily an argument for continuing screening beyond 75 years, because many tumors found at this stage are slow growing and may never reach the stage of causing a problem."

Screening at 3-year intervals was compared with screening at 1-year intervals in the United Kingdom Breast Screening Frequency Trial, which began in 1989 and involved nearly 100,000 women. After an average follow-up of 13 years, there were 373 breast cancer deaths in the 1-year-interval group and 374 in the 3-year-interval group (relative risk [RR], 1.02; P = .8).

No Evidence for Shortening Current 3-Year Intervals

The absolute risk of dying from breast cancer was statistically insignificant between the 2 groups, the researchers explained at the meeting.

March 27, 2008 -- The FDA today announced that it is working with the drug company Merck to investigate a possible link between Merck's asthma and allergy drug Singulair and behavior/mood changes, suicidality (suicidal thinking and behavior), and suicide.The FDA's investigation may take nine months. As of now, there's no proof that Singulair directly affects suicide risk. Meanwhile, the FDA calls Singulair "effective" and advises patients with questions not to stop taking Singulair before talking to their doctor.

The FDA also asks health care professionals and caregivers to monitor patients taking Singulair for suicidality and changes in behavior and mood. Singulair is used to treat asthma and the symptoms of allergic rhinitis (sneezing, stuffy nose, runny nose, itching of the nose) and to prevent exercise-induced asthma. It's in a class of drugs called leukotriene receptor antagonists. 

Singulair Time Line

The FDA notes that over the past year, Merck has updated Singulair's prescribing information and patient information to include the following postmarketing adverse events: tremor (March 2007), depression (April 2007), suicidality (October 2007), and anxiousness (February 2008).

In February 2008, the FDA and Merck discussed how best to communicate these labeling changes to prescribers and patients. According to the FDA, Merck plans to highlight the recent changes in the prescribing information in face-to-face interactions with prescribers and to provide prescribers patient information leaflets about Singulair. In response to inquiries received by the FDA, the FDA has asked Merck to evaluate Singulair study data for more information about suicidality and suicide. The FDA is also reviewing its postmarketing reports of behavior/mood changes, suicidality, and suicide in patients who took Singulair.Singulair's web site includes the most current prescribing information and patient information for Singulair, according to the FDA.

Asthma, Allergy Doctors Respond

The American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology and the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology issued a joint statement about the FDA's announcement.

"There are no data from well-designed studies to indicate a link between Singulair and suicide. The concern expressed by the FDA is based entirely on case reports and there is no indication that such effects apply to other leukotriene-modifying medications," the statement reads.

The statement also recommends that "based on the information currently available, patients taking Singulair should continue to take the medication as prescribed provided: 1) the patient and physician feel the medication is effective; and 2) the patient does not experience any suicidal behavior or thoughts. Patients who experience suicidal thoughts or demonstrate suicidal behavior should consult their physician immediately to discuss whether to continue with this medication. Patients should not hesitate to consult their physician if they feel uncomfortable continuing on the medication."