inform April 2010, Vol. 21 (4) 225
Briefs
Comprehensive metabolomic analy-
Health & Nutrition
ses led by Shawn Ritchie of Phenom-
enome Discoveries Inc. in Saskatoon,
Saskatchewan, Canada, revealed sig-
nificantly reduced levels of C28 –C36
carbon-containing hydroxylated poly-
unsaturated ultra-long-chain fatty acids
in all three independent cohorts of
colorectal cancer (CRC) patient
samples relative to controls. “These
metabolites are easily measurable in
serum and a decrease in their con-
centration appears to be highly sen-
sitive and specific for the presence
of CRC, regardless of ethnic or geo-
graphic background,” the authors write
in BMC Medicine (doi: 10.1186/1741-
7015-8-13). “The measurement of
these metabolites may represent an
additional tool for the early detec-
tion and screening of CRC,” they con-
clude. The complete article is available
at http://tinyurl.com/yex6lqp.
nnn
Another recent study suggests a daily
dose of 1.8 grams of docosahexaenoic
acid (DHA) “has potential to substan-
tially increase survival in metastatic
Little effect of soy of soy isoflavones on bone mineral density
(BMD). It compared the effects of ingest-
breast cancer patients treated with isoflavones on ing daily either 80-mg or 120-mg soy iso-
flavone tablets, compared to placebo tablets,
bone loss
chemotherapy,” according to research-
on BMD and other health outcomes.
ers led by Philippe Bougnoux of the
ISU NWRC researchers collaborated
French Institut National de la Santé et A previous six-month study by Iowa with research physiologist Marta D. Van
de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM) State University (ISU; Ames, Iowa, USA) Loan and her colleagues at the US Depart-
in Tours. The new study, if supported researchers had indicated that consuming ment of Agriculture Agricultural Research
by additional research, suggests that modest amounts of soy protein, rich in iso- Service’s Western Human Nutrition
DHA may help improve survival by flavones, lessened lumbar spine bone loss Research Cent