FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE BLOG 

Includes over 800 monographs reporting on emerging studies in the medical and scientific literature of practical clinical importance, easily searched for content.

Nigella sativa, a true 'wonder medicine'?

Nigella sativa, also known as black cumin, produces seeds with a mind-boggling wealth of medicinal virtues. For colleagues and others who may not be familiar with the abundance of scientific evidence for the use of Nigella sativa seed extract in clinical practice, this selection of citations serves as an introduction to its wide range of indications.

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Breast cancer survival is enhanced by higher serum levels of vitamin D

Breast cancer survival is linked to higher serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] according to evidence presented in a meta-analysis just published in the journal Anti-Cancer Research...Higher serum 25(OH)D concentrations were associated with lower fatality rates in patients with breast cancer. Patients with the highest concentration of 25(OH)D had approximately half the fatality rate compared to those with the lowest concentration

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Oncology Oncology

Test helps select most effective chemotherapy for leukemia and other cancers

Acute myelocytic leukemia responds significantly better to chemotherapy selected by a test that shows the ability of each chemotherapeutic agent to induce apoptosis (cell death) according to research just published in the journal Leukemia & Lymphoma. This joins the list of other malignancies including breast cancer, ovarian cancer and endometrial cancer that are treated more effectively with chemotherapy screened by the microculture kinetic (MiCK) drug-induced apoptosis assay.

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Psychological harm of false-positive mammography persists for years

Apart from the controversy over the timing and frequency of screening mammography, practitioners must bear in mind that the psychological effects of false-positive findings can last for years and be as psychologically disturbing as a confirmed diagnosis of breast cancer. A study just published in Annals of Family Medicine confirms long lasting psychosocial harm from false-positive mammography results.

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Insulin resistance is a risk factor for breast cancer even with normal fasting glucose and insulin

Well before fasting glucose and insulin rise out of the normal range, background surges of insulin associated with decreased insulin receptor sensitivity do harm throughout the body and, as confirmed by a study just published in the Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research shows, promote breast cancer.

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