European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 14, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                To your health concern skin and fat at puberty Estro Gen causes a layer of fat to develop under skin. Loss of oestrogen at menopause contributes to wrinkles and dry Ness and the loss of muscle tone. The heart oestrogen protects against heart attacks and strokes. But birth control pills increase risks for some women such As smokers. Reproductive system oestrogen stimulates development of the reproductive system and is one of the hormones governing Fertility. Its loss at menopause leads to shrinking of ovaries and uterus and thinning of vaginal Walla. Oestrogen replacement therapy raises risks of cancer of uterus lining unless it is Given with progestin. Changes in oestrogen Levels a hormone s powerful effects the female sex hormone oestrogen is under new scrutiny because of questions of cancer risk from the oestrogen in birth control pills. Scientists Are weighing the benefits and risks of birth control pills and other oestrogen therapy. Sweat glands at puberty oestrogen stimulates the develop ment of certain sweat glands. Breasts oestrogen stimulates the development of the breasts and other secondary sex characteristics. It is known to pro Mote some kinds of breast cancer. The Bones at puberty oestrogen stimulates Bone growth. It protects against osteoporosis in which loss of Calcium makes the Bones More susceptible to Frac Tures. In menstruating women oestrogen cycles from 40 trillionth of a Gram per Millilitre of blood to 250 to 300 tril Lionts. After menopause the level is stable averaging 20 Pic Grams. Not the search for Safe fats by Daniel q. Haney associated Presse Gas beef and other tasty dishes considered bad for the heart can be made healthy by replacing the dangerous fats in those foods with Safe ones an american researcher predicts. Almost every sensible eating plan advocated by health groups in the United states Calls for cutting out fat in order to avoid the saturated fat that contributes to heart disease and to prevent overweight. But while such diets May be healthy they usually mean skimping on the meat ice Cream pastries and other tasty things most americans think Are Good food. For americans Low fat diets Are not close to reality. They find Low fat diets unpalatable said or. Scott m. Grundy who described his work at a meeting of the american heart association. Grundy co author of past dietary statements by the association and director of the Center for human nutrition at the University of Texas southwestern a study by Gina Kolata new York times he More researchers study oestrogen the female sex hormone the More they find themselves dancing around Points and counterpoints. Oestrogen can promote the growth of breast cancer. But it protects against heart disease. It contributes to cancer of the lining of the uterus. But it prevents osteoporosis the crippling Bone disease. Specialists inevitably find their views of oestrogen coloured by their medical interests. The truth is there s More than one Way of looking at the thing said or. Florence Haseltine director of the Center for population research at the National Institute of child health and human development in Bethesda my. We each have our own perspective concern Over the effects of oestrogen has heightened in the United states in recent weeks As three new studies suggested that birth control pills which contain oestrogen might increase women s risk of developing breast cancer. Millions of women take oestrogen in one form or another. Eighty percent of american women Are taking or have taken birth control pills and 10 percent of women Are put on lifelong oestrogen therapy after menopause to alleviate hot flashes and forestall Bone loss. Birth control pills have different formulations of synthetic oestrogen than oestrogen prescribed after menopause. Both Are chemically different from natural oestrogen which could not be taken As a Pill because it is broken Down by the digestive tract. What effects if any these different oestrogen formulations have on the risks of cancer and other diseases is unclear. But said or. Louise Brinton of the National cancer Institute there s probably need for More caution among doctors who prescribe birth control pills and who prescribe oestrogen to women after menopause. When girls reach puberty around age 11, their ovaries begin churning out oestrogen which makes their breasts uterus and Vagina grow makes their sweat glands develop and causes the growth of a layer of fat under their skin. At the same time their Bones grow and the girls grow taller and then their Bones Stop growing. At menopause which usually occurs around age 50 the ovaries Stop making oestrogen and women s Only source of the hormone is from another hormone medical Center in Dallas has been searching for Safe fats that can take place of the dangerous ones americans like so much. Typically sensible eating plans urge people to restrict fat intake to 30 percent of their total daily intake of calories and suggest that fat consumption be divided roughly equally Between the three major kinds saturated polyunsaturated and monounsaturated. Saturated fat is found in relatively High quantities in meat and foods that contain butter fat or Palm Oil. The body converts this fat to cholesterol and it clogs the arteries that Supply the heart leading to heart attacks. Grundy said two important substitutes for saturated fat should be monounsaturated fat and stearic acid. Monounsaturated fat is found in Olive Oil canola Oil and some forms of safflower Oil and Sunflower seed Oil. Grundy s studies have shown that eating monounsaturated will lower the body s Levels of Low density Lipoprotein or Bdl the so called bad cholesterol that contributes to heart disease. But unlike polyunsaturated fat it does not lower Hal the Good cholesterol that protects people from heart trouble. Stearic acid is found in meat and other foods. While it is a saturated fat Grundy s work has shown that it Page 16 the stars and stripes tuesday february 14, 1989 Over oestrogen in contradictions and Rostene Dione which is made by the adrenal glands. Enzymes in other tissues particularly fat tissue convert this hormone into oestrogen. For this reason overweight women produce More oestrogen after menopause. But this secondary source of oestrogen leaves every woman with lower oestrogen Levels than she Ever had since puberty. When women menstruate their oestrogen Levels vary cyclically from a Low of 40 Pic Grams per Millilitre of blood in the four or five Days before menstruation to a High of 250 to 300 Pic Grams per Millilitre at ovulation said or. Wayne Bardin of the population Council in new York. After menopause a woman s oestrogen level is stable at just 10 to 40 Pic Grams per Millilitre of blood and the average level is 20 Pic Grams Bardin said. In the last 20 years most gynaecologists and endocrinologists have prescribed oestrogen to some women at menopause to prevent health problems and discomfort that can occur from a Lack of Estorge. Experts said most menopausal women have hot flashes which can Range from barely noticeable to intolerable. The decline of oestrogen at menopause can also cause the Walls of the Vagina to become thinner and More difficult to lubricate or. Haseltine said and it can take women longer to reach an orgasm. But she added although some women Are very bothered by menopause other women have absolutely no problems going through  the . Food and drug administration recently reviewed data from the new studies on breast cancer but decided that the data were not conclusive and recommended that no changes be made in Pill labels or use until More information is available. Some breast cancer experts said they Are concerned about Pill use particularly by Young women women who have not had children and women with family histories of breast cancer. They said that the More women Are exposed to oestrogen in their lives and the earlier they Are exposed to it the greater their risk of breast cancer. Birth control pills Are made of oestrogen and progestin another female sex hormone. At the same time some endocrinologists raised questions about oestrogen use after menopause saying there is also at least a theoretical Chance that women who take oestrogen after menopause May put themselves at increased risk of breast cancer. The National cancer Institute is now conducting a Large study of More than 6,000 women to try to establish whether there is a risk of breast cancer with these Oestrogens and if so How great the risk is. Brinton said that some studies of oestrogen after menopause have shown that it can increase a woman s breast cancer risk As much As twofold but that other studies have shown no effect on breast cancer. It s the same Story As with Oral contraceptives she said. The studies Are  Brinton added that for the past five years most american doctors who prescribe oestrogen have been giving progestin along with it to women after menopause because studies have shown that progestin can counteract oestrogen s tendency to cause cancers in the uterus lining. But researchers have no idea whether progestin has an effect on the risk of breast cancer. It s not Clear whether progestins will make the breast cancer Story better or worse said or. Marc Lippman director of the Vincent Lombardi cancer Center in Washington. Researchers have known for a Century that oestrogen can fuel breast cancer said or. I. Craig Henderson a breast cancer specialist at the Dana Farber cancer Center in Boston. In the 1960s researchers established that they could prevent breast cancer in female animals by depriving them of oestrogen and that they could promote the cancer by giving the animals oestrogen Henderson said. This research set the stage for studying oestrogen intensely he said. But studies of birth control pills and postmenopausal oestrogen did not show conclusively that the medications caused breast cancer. Women s annual risk of breast cancer increases from 32 per 100,000 before menopause to 327 per 100,000 after menopause but the incidence of breast cancer has been increasing most rapidly in younger women rising 1.4 percent per year. The earlier a girl starts menstruating the greater her risk of suffering breast cancer. Moreover the later a woman reaches menopause the greater her breast cancer risk. But experts say oestrogen exposure earlier in life May be More potent in stimulating breast cancer than exposure that occurs later. Many breast cancers grow Only when they Are stimulated by oestrogen and an established treatment for these cancers is tamoxifen a drug that blocks oestrogen s effects. Any woman who has or who had breast cancer should not take Oestrogens. Some experts like or. William Rosner an endocrinologist at St. Luke s Roosevelt Hospital in new York Are concerned that some women May be taking oestrogen after menopause to prevent osteoporosis and May be fueling a cancer that has not yet been detected. Does not raise cholesterol. He said that it should take the place of Palm Oil in Margarine and shortening. Other research shows that a Sterol or an unsaturated alcohol produced by plants can be added to eggs preventing the body from absorbing the cholesterol in egg Yolks Grundy said. Fat substitutes Are also being developed that Are entirely calorie free and meat producers Are starting to raise Low fat beef. This does not mean however that people will be Able to eat fat with abandon Grundy said. Fat contains More calories than carbohydrates he said. This could backfire if people see it As a License to eat fat and get  on the other hand he said some people May find it easier to keep their weight Down on a higher fat diet because this food satisfies their hunger better and thus they eat less. Grundy said the recommendation that fat consumption be held to 30 percent of total calories is still a Good general guideline but that it does t have to be the Rule for everyone. Some individuals May prefer higher fat intakes without concern for detrimental effect he said. Per capita consumption of in number per year mine . The growing concern about cholesterol has contributed to the drop in consumption of eggs in the United states. Loss of genes linked to breast cancer by Harold m. Schmeck or. New York times new evidence linking some breast cancers to loss of a protective anti Oncogene has strengthened the theory that loss of such genes is a major Factor in the Complex process by which Many human cancers arise. The new evidence also illustrates How complicated the role of such genes May be because it shows a link to a Gene or genes on chromosome 17, which had not previously been linked to development of breast cancer. Each Normal person has two copies of chromosome 17, one of the 23 pairs of human chromosomes. In the past scientists have found links Between some breast cancers and loss of genetic material from chromosomes 11 or 13, the report said. Scientists generally believe cancer is a Multi step process a cumulative biological disaster in which several things must go wrong in some cells and tissues. This leads to uncontrolled and often chaotic growth. At the heart of the problem Are the genes that control the growth and regulation of cells. Genes the determinants of All hereditary traits Are essentially segments of Dan detox ribonucleic acid. Most chromosomes probably contain More than 2,000 individual genes each. Radiation chemicals some viruses and other factors still undiscovered can damage Dan. The damage can Lead to inactivation of a Gene or to its abnormal activity. During the past decade genes called oncogenes have been found that apparently contribute to the development of cancers when they become abnormal or Are abnormally activated in cells. Loss or abnormal rearrangement of material in the chromosomes is also believed to be a Factor in Many cancers. More recently scientists have discovered a class of anti oncogenes or suppressor genes that appear to protect against cancer. They Are thought to function As regulators of cell multiplication. Cancers arise when both copies of such a protective Gene Are lost from some of a patient s cells. In some cancers that have a Strong hereditary basis the loss or impairment of one copy of the protective Gene is inherited while the loss of the other results from damage at some time after Conception. In the new studies scientists discovered human breast cancers in which a suppressor Gene was apparently lost from chromosome 17. The findings were reported by scientists in Edinburgh in the lancet a British medical journal. The scientists did not actually discover a specific Gene involved in the abnormal growth but discovered a loss of material from a particular portion of chromosome 17 in the patients cancer cells. The scientists from Western general Hospital and the Royal infirmary both in Edinburgh said in their report that the missing genes May be the same ones that previously have been linked to cancers of the lung and the Colon As Well As to Oste Sarcomas or cancers of Bone tissue. The inactivation of a series of tumor suppressor genes and the activation of one or More oncogenes appear to be cumulative Steps on the route to overt malignancy in the Case of Colon cancer and this Model is probably valid for other human tutors the new report said. To Date about 50 oncogenes and anti oncogenes have been discovered linked to various kinds of human and animal cancers. Some of the cancers Are considered largely hereditary in nature while others Are classed As sporadic because they do not occur selectively in particular families. It has been known for More than a Century that some families have an unusually Large number of cases of breast cancer but the explanation of Why this occurs has been emerging Only in recent years. Tuesday february 14, 1989 the stars and stripes Page 17