Health Buzz: Vitiligo May Protect Against Skin Cancer

April 22, 2010 RSS Feed Print

Vitiligo May Protect Against Skin Cancer

A gene mutation linked to the skin condition vitiligo—which pop star Michael Jackson reportedly suffered from—may protect against melanoma, a new study suggests. Researchers analyzed genes of more than 5,000 people with and without vitiligo, which causes white patches to appear on the skin, HealthDay reports. The team identified genes associated with vitiligo that are also found in patients with other autoimmune diseases, like type 1 diabetes, and confirmed that vitiligo itself is an autoimmune disease. On the melanoma and vitiligo connection, study author Richard Spritz, of the University of Colorado School of Medicine, told HealthDay: "We had wondered about this for many years...could having an immune system that was revved up against pigment cells protect you against melanoma? And it turns out, genetically, to be the case." The findings are published in the New England Journal of Medicine. [Read more: Skin Condition Vitiligo Tied to Immune System Dysfunction.]

Should the Food Industry Ban Added Salt and Sugar?

The pressure is on the food industry to stop poisoning us with all that added salt and sugar that make Oreos, Coke, and Krispy Kreme doughnuts taste oh, so good. On Tuesday, the Institute of Medicine urged the Food and Drug Administration to start regulating the amount of sodium in foods, since simply telling us to eat less salt hasn't had much impact, U.S. News's Deborah Kotz reports. The FDA said yesterday that it will review the Institute's recommendations "over the coming weeks" and work with "the food industry to support the reduction of sodium levels in the food supply."

Sounds good, right? But what if the food industry just swaps sodium for sugar? A study published yesterday in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that all the added sugars in processed foods spell trouble for our cholesterol levels and our hearts. The more added sugars we eat, the more our LDL or "bad" cholesterol goes up and the more our HDL or "good" cholesterol goes down. We also get an unhealthful boost in triglycerides, blood lipids that are associated with diabetes, Kotz writes. [Read more: Should the Food Industry Ban Added Salt and Sugar?]

Candy-Like Tobacco Products: Poisoning Is Not the Only Risk

Tobacco products that look and taste like candy, and have poisoned thousands of children who mistake them for sweet treats, are just the latest in a long line of tobacco goods that appeal to kids. The threat they pose to children is not just poisoning, but an increased risk of addiction, U.S. News contributor Nancy Shute writes.

Smokeless tobacco products poisoned 1,768 children under age 6 between 2006 and 2008, researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health reported this week in Pediatrics. These tobacco products look like mints or candy strips, but deliver jolts of nicotine. "We're concerned that a number of flavored smokeless tobacco products are aimed at children," says Danny McGoldrick, vice president of research for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, an advocacy group in Washington, D.C. "They look like candy, they're flavored like candy, and they're easy to conceal."

Poisoning aside, public health officials are also concerned about these new smokeless tobaccos because 90 percent of lifelong smokers start as teenagers. [Read more: Candy-Like Tobacco Products: Poisoning Is Not the Only Risk.]

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