New research may provide a new avenue for the treatment of Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) and a solution to the high rate of disease relapse experienced by patients. The research found that a protein on the surface of AML cells called CD47 binds to a protein called SIRPα, causing macrophages to develop immune tolerance to AML cells. When SIRPα signalling was absent, macrophages were able to clear human leukemia stem cells (LSC). This finding is significant, as it is believed that relapse of disease is driven by LSCs that survive conventional chemotherapy. The researchers confirmed these results by treating mice that had been engrafted with human AML with a novel protein called SIRPα-Fc that can block CD47 on the leukemia cells. They found that treatment with the protein enhanced phagocytosis of AML cells by macrophages and reduced AML growth in the mice. “This study is an important step forward in our understanding of leukemia stem cells and has opened the door to a new line of therapies that could have a significant clinical impact by preventing relapse of AML,” says Dr. Tom Hudson, President and Scientific Director of Ontario Institute for Cancer Research.

According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), Welch’s should not have a heart-health icon on its grape juice and other products. The group suggests that Welch’s juice does not improve heart health and may actually do harm by contributing to insulin resistance and obesity. Making matters worse, says CSPI, is that Welch’s encourages consumers to drink juice in lieu of eating fresh fruit, stating that “Getting enough fruits and vegetables each day is important for overall health—but everyday life often gets in the way … Welch’s 100% Grape Juice makes it easy to squeeze in more purple fruit each day as part of a healthy diet for the whole family.” CSPI has notified Welch Foods, Inc., that it will face a lawsuit unless it stops making heart-health claims on its juices, spreads, fruit juice cocktails, and fruit snacks.

The Global Organization for EPA and DHA (GOED) has warned that the omega-3 sector faces an impending supply crisis as global demand booms for food, pharmaceutical, and nutraceutical products. It is expected that the already maxed- out fish stocks are going to struggle to meet omega-3 oil demand forecast at 7-8% annual growth by market analysis completed by Frost & Sullivan. Since the main fisheries in Morocco and Peru are near capacity, the question has to be asked: where is the omega-3 going to come from if it keeps growing at its forecast? There may be a strong place in the industry for algal oils but it is unknown whether they can deliver the high dose EPA oils that are increasingly being demanded by the pharmaceutical sector.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued another warning letter for DMAA (1,3-Dimethylamylamine, also known as methyl hexaneamine (MHA), and several other names). DMAA has received much press in recent months with the FDA issuing warning letters to 10 manufacturers and distributors of supplements containing DMAA. Manufacturers of some sports supplements are claiming that DMAA is a natural substance derived from geraniums but researchers are showing that it is synthetic, consisting of four stereoisomers. There has been intense debate in the dietary supplement industry and the analytical testing industry about whether DMAA is in fact a constituent of geranium.

In April, Thorne Research initiated a program to distribute products to Eastern Canada by utilizing a warehouse facility in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Their hope was to improve delivery times to Eastern Canada so customers would receive orders within 2-3 business days. Unfortunately, this new distribution model did not meet the intended goal. Because of the challenges and difficulties involved with shipping products across the border directly to customers, Thorne has decided to return to a more dependable and stable distribution strategy; Thorne has returned to shipping products to Canadian customers exclusively from a Vancouver, BC warehouse facility. With this change in shipping method also comes an exciting change in their shipping policy, which will hopefully reduce transit times and costs for their customers.

Facebook has taken its campaign to boost organ donations to Canada and Mexico. The feature allows Facebook users to tell their friends and family that they are registered organ donors and it directs people who are not currently signed up as organ donors to the official registries where they live. Between May 1 and the middle of September, around 275,000 Facebook users posted their donor status on the site. “It shows the enormous potential of social media,” said Blair Sadler, an attorney and a senior fellow at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. He suggests that Facebook’s new feature has the potential to revolutionize the field of organ transplantation because large numbers of people will be expressing publicly what they want to happen to their organs after they die. People are more prone to be influenced by their friends or family than by activists or public health officials.

The American Academy of Pediatrics has concluded that the health benefits of circumcision clearly outweigh any risks. “There is clear evidence that supports the health benefits of circumcision,” said Susan Blank, who led the 14-member task force that formulated the new policy being published in the journal Pediatrics. “The health benefits of male circumcision include a drop in the risk of urinary tract infection in the first year of life by up to 90%,” she says. Blank states that there is a much bigger reason to do it considering that circumcision lowers the risk of a long list of sexually transmitted diseases. “It drops the risk of heterosexual HIV acquisition by about 60%.” In addition, “It drops the risk of human papillomavirus [HPV], herpes virus and other infectious genital ulcers,” she says. “It also reduces the chances that men will spread HPV to their wives and girlfriends, protecting them from getting cervical cancer.” Blank states, “We’ve reviewed the data and, you know, we have gone through them with a fine-tooth comb, and the data are pretty convincing.” This statement and accompanying technical report marks the first revision of the organization’s position since 1999, when the academy backed away from circumcision.

Seventy-six percent of consumers take a vitamin or supplement, according to a new survey from Wells Fargo Securities LLC Retail Equity Research Department (N = 1,364). Within this group, 71% take a multivitamin, followed by fish oil or omega-3s (45%), vitamin D (40%), and calcium (33%). Interestingly, usage of sports-related supplements (10%) and weight loss supplements (7%) was relatively low. Many consumers (45%) are also considering adding supplements to their diet with fish oil and omega-3s (31%) being the most popular, followed by multivitamins (29%), calcium (18%), weight loss supplements (16%), joint support (16%), vitamin D (16%), and antioxidants (15%). Physician recommendations were the most important factor in the decision to take a supplement, with 42% of respondents relying on their medical doctor’s advice. Research studies and articles (37%) followed as the second most important influence and recommendations from friends/family (16%) was another strong contributor. Information from television or newspapers (4%) and recommendations from a vitamin store associate (2%) did not play a strong role in influencing buyers. Price (43%) and convenience (25%) were the most important factors in determining where consumers buy supplements while most respondents purchased supplements from traditional grocery stores (39%) and drug stores (38%).

Anewpublicopinionsurveycarriedout for the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) indicates that the health of Canadians is increasingly being affected by how much money they earn. Lower income groups reported poorer health and greater use of health services than those with higher incomes. In describing their health, only 39% of those earning <$30,000 a year said it was excellent or very good, compared to 68% of those earning ≥$60,000. This gap represents 29 percentage points whereas the gap represented only 17 points in 2009. The poll also found a disparity in the impact of the economy on Canadians’ ability to take care of their health; of those with household incomes <$30,000 a year, 46% reported that they have spent less time, energy, and money on sustaining their health as a result of the economic downturn compared to only 19% earning ≥$60,000. “When it comes to the well- being of Canadians, the old saying that wealth equals health continues to ring true,” said Dr. John Haggie, president of the CMA. “What is particularly worrisome for Canada’s doctors is that in a nation as prosperous as Canada, the gap between the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ appears to be widening.”