The data show a positive correlation of 25(OH)D concentration with insulin sensitivity and a negative effect of hypovitaminosis D on beta cell function. Subjects with hypovitaminosis D are at higher risk of insulin resistance and the metabolic syndrome. Further studies are required to explore the underlying mechanisms.

Objective Autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) is a treatable form of chronic pancreatitis that has been increasingly recognised over the last decade. We set out to better understand the current burden of AIP at several academic institutions diagnosed using the International Consensus Diagnostic Criteria, and to describe long-term outcomes, including organs involved, treatments, relapse frequency and long-term sequelae. Design 23 institutions from 10 different countries participated in this multinational analysis. A total of 1064 patients meeting the International Consensus Diagnostic Criteria for type 1 (n=978) or type 2 (n=86) AIP were included. Data regarding treatments, relapses and sequelae were obtained. Results The majority of patients with type 1 (99%) and type 2 (92%) AIP who were treated with steroids went into clinical remission. Most patients with jaundice required biliary stent placement (71% of type 1 and 77% of type 2 AIP). Relapses were more common in patients with type 1 (31%) versus type 2 AIP (9%, p<0.001), especially those with IgG4-related sclerosing cholangitis (56% vs 26%, p<0.001). Relapses typically occurred in the pancreas or biliary tree. Retreatment with steroids remained effective at inducing remission with or without alternative treatment, such as azathioprine. Pancreatic duct stones and cancer were uncommon sequelae in type 1 AIP and did not occur in type 2 AIP during the study period. Conclusions AIP is a global disease which uniformly displays a high response to steroid treatment and tendency to relapse in the pancreas and biliary tree. Potential long-term sequelae include pancreatic duct stones and malignancy, however they were uncommon during the study period and require additional follow-up. Additional studies investigating prevention and treatment of disease relapses are needed.

Red yeast rice significantly reduces total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and total triacylglycerol concentrations compared with placebo and provides a new, novel, food-based approach to lowering cholesterol in the general population.

No abstract

In our study, we present experimental evidence suggesting that curcumin exerts multiple different suppressive effects on human breast carcinoma cells in vitro. Our experiments demonstrate that curcumin's antiproliferative effects are estrogen dependent in ER (estrogen receptor)-positive MCF-7 cells, being more pronounced in estrogen-containing media and in the presence of exogenous 17-␤ estradiol. Curcumin inhibits the expression of ER downstream genes including pS2 and TGF-␤ (transforming growth factor) in ER-positive MCF-7 cells, and this inhibition is also dependent on the presence of estrogen. Curcumin also decreases ERE (estrogen responsive element)-CAT activities induced by 17-␤ estradiol. In addition, we demonstrate that curcumin exerts strong antiinvasive effects in vitro that are not estrogen dependent in the ER-negative MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. These antiinvasive effects appear to be mediated through the downregulation of MMP-2 (matrix metalloproteinase) and the upregulation of TIMP-1 (tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase), 2 common effector molecules that have been implicated in regulating tumor cell invasion. Our study also demonstrates that curcumin inhibits the transcript levels of 2 major angiogenesis factors VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) and b-FGF (basic fibroblast growth factor) mainly in ER-negative MDA-MB-231 cells. © 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc. Key words: curcumin; chemoprevention; breast cancer; angiogenesis; estrogenBreast cancer chemoprevention is the subject of substantial research efforts to improve the health of women in the United States. Epidemiologic surveys suggest that diet has an impact on cancer incidence. Frequent consumption of vegetables and fruits decreases the risk for human cancer. 1,2 Although risk reduction by nutritional intervention alone may not be sufficient to protect high-risk individuals against cancer development, it would be very useful to identify agents with chemopreventive potency and to evaluate them in combination with nutritional intervention. 3,4 Recently, attention has been focused on identifying dietary phytochemicals that have the ability to inhibit the processes of carcinogenesis. Extracts of plants or their fractionated ingredients are found to possess inhibitory effects against chemically induced carcinogenesis. 5 Curcumin is a major component of turmeric, the dried rhizome of Curcuma longa L., which is commonly used as a yellow coloring and flavoring agent in food items in Asian countries. Commercial-grade curcumin has shown anticarcinogenic activity in animals as indicated by the ability to block colon tumor initiation induced by azoxymethans 6 and skin tumor promotion induced by phorbol ester. 7 Curcumin also has been reported to possess antiinflammatory activity and is a potent inhibitor of reactive oxygen-generating enzymes such as lipooxygenase/cyclooxygenase, 8,9 xanthine dehydroxygenase/oxidase 10 and nitric oxide synthase (NOS). 11,12 Recently, it has been shown that the administration of synthetic curcumin in the diet during t...