This is from Dr. Cinque's newsletter this morning.
Alcohol linked to aging and cancer
Researchers in Italy say alcohol has been linked at the cellular level to aging and cancer. Lead author Dr. Andrea Baccarelli of the University of Milan in Italy and colleagues suggest alcohol may accelerate the shortening of regions of DNA found at the end of chromosomes -- known as telomeres.
"All the cells in our body have a biological clock in telomeres," said Baccarelli. Baccarelli and colleagues measured serum DNA among 59 participants who abused alcohol -- 22 percent consumed four or more alcoholic drinks per day -- as well as 197 participants with varying alcohol consumption habits.
The two groups were similar in age, diet, exercise, stress and other factors affecting telomere length, but the heavy drinkers had telomere lengths nearly half as long as those who did not abuse alcohol.
"The decrease we found in telomere length is very sharp, and we were surprised to find such a strong effect at the cellular level," Baccarelli said.
Telomere shortening is thought to increase cancer risk and the researchers speculated those with shorter telomeres due to alcohol would have an increased risk of cancer, the study said.
The findings were presented at the American Association for Cancer Research 101st annual meeting Washington.
Dr. Cinque's comments: This study got very little press. I didn't see any mention of it on Reuters, and I check Reuters Health every day. I didn't see it reported on network or cable news; I didn't hear about it on the radio; and it never made the bullet list on Yahoo. Yet, whenever there is a positive study about alcohol- usually claiming that it protects against heart disease- it gets top billing everywhere. Why the double standard? It's because people like hearing good news about their bad habits. Plus, the hypocrisy of keeping marijuana and other drugs illegal while alcohol can be bought and sold freely has to be justified. Therefore, alcohol as health beverage became a necessity in the War on Drugs. But, shortened telomeres are the most substantial and concrete evidence of biological aging that we know of. So, this is big. And if alcohol is shortening telomeres, it means that is is having a destructive, age-accelerating effect on every cell in the body.
— Researchers have detected a link between alcohol consumption, cancer and aging that starts at the cellular level with telomere shortening.
Results of this cross-sectional study were presented at the American Association for Cancer Research 101st Annual Meeting 2010, held here, April 17-21, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.
Telomeres are found at the region of DNA sequences at the end of a chromosome, and are important for the genetic stability of cells. As people age, telomere length shortens progressively.
Excessive use of alcohol has been linked to oxidative stress and inflammation, two mechanisms that accelerate telomere shortening. Since telomere shortening is thought to increase cancer risk, the researchers speculated that those with shorter telomeres due to heavy alcohol consumption would have an increased risk of cancer.
"Heavy alcohol users tend to look haggard, and it is commonly thought heavy drinking leads to premature aging and earlier onset of diseases of aging. In particular, heavy alcohol drinking has been associated with cancer at multiple sites," said lead researcher Andrea Baccarelli, M.D., Ph.D.
"All the cells in our body have a biological clock in telomeres," noted Baccarelli, who is head of the Center of Molecular and Genetic Epidemiology, Ca' Granda Hospital Foundation, University of Milan, Italy.
Using real-time polymerase chain reaction, the researchers measured serum DNA among 59 participants who abused alcohol (22 percent consumed four or more alcoholic drinks per day) and 197 participants with variable alcohol consumption habits (4 percent consumed four or more alcoholic drinks per day).
The two groups were similar in age and other factors that might affect telomere length, such as diet, physical exercise, work-related stress and environmental exposures.
Results showed that telomere length was dramatically shortened in those who consumed heavy amounts of alcohol; telomere length was nearly half as long as telomere length in the non-abusers (0.41 vs. 0.79 relative units).
Carriers of the variant genotype ADH1B were more likely to be abusers and had shorter telomere length, according to Baccarelli.
"The decrease we found in telomere length is very sharp, and we were surprised to find such a strong effect at the cellular level," Baccarelli said.
Probably the reason for the lack of interest is that at the moment it is just a meeting presentation rather than a publish paper. I haven't been able to find anything from Baccarelli A in respect of ALCOHOL. There is plenty about telomere length and traffic pollution.
Hopefully the research will eventually be published.
It doesn't surprise me. There is plenty of evidence that cancer incidence is related to alcohol intake.
I'm sure you are all aware that telomere length is associated with Vitamin D status longer telomeres = longer life and is associated with higher Vitamin D status. It's probably one of the reasons people with higher vitamin D status live longest.
saved1986,
Anthony is yummy with or without the beer, but he's quickly losing his sex appeal after seeing some of the nasty things he's eaten in his travels on TV!!
Ted,
I understand that you are looking for medical reasons why they don't publish the anti-alcohol story, but if you follow the money trail, it's not hard to see that the federal and state governments makes huge amounts of revenue on alcohol and cigarettes. I used to own a bar and would get catalogs showing price changes. In the first few pages was always a picture of a bottle of liquor broken down as to the percentage that went to federal (most of it!) and state taxes (another fat chunk) then a tiny little sliver was left for the bar owner's profit. Cigarettes have to be taxed in a similar way. Makes me wonder who the banker is behind all that money.
I agree.
The journals that publish new research are funded from advertisers and ultimately it's stuff that keeps the advertisers happy that is most likely to be published.
Anything that knocks supplements will be printed anything the shows they are better than meds will almost certainly not, or will be smothered in disclaimers.
We would all like to think our consumption of alcohol is reasonable and it's everyone else that is drinking too much.
The link between alcohol intake and breast cancer is irrefutable yet you only have to go into town at night to see how little notice young women take of that.
But I'm sure Baccarelli is used to being ignored. it's difficult to find anything from her being discussed in the media. But here's an example. Articlein which her work is mentioned Who wants to hear the news our road and air travel is shortening our telomere length and consequently our lives.
Ozone (from air/car traffic pollution) absorbs UVB preventing Vit d production. Urban 25(OH)D is lower than Rural 25(OH)D.
How many of those commuting to town only ever get midday sun exposure in town where it does very little to alter vitamin D levels?
I have a lot of respect for some scientists. The Garland brothers for example have been hammering away at producing Vitamin D research for over 30 yrs but it's only over the last few years that anyone has listened to them.
My hero is Anthony Bourdain and I can think of nothing better than being in a bar in a foreign country getting blasted.
I can't say that Anthony Bourdain is my hero, but I really like him. Watching his shows always puts a smile on my face. And I agree, hard liquor is a lot worse than beer or wine.
__________________ "We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals." ~Immanual Kant~
I like Anthony Bourdain but he was definitely drinking too much. He was looking unhealthy. On one of the China episodes he went to a traditional medicine practitioner who told him to stop drinking so much. It was interesting the way the practitioner could tell this without knowing it. I noticed on the 2010 season he doesn't seem to be drinking that much.
With everyone vitamin D deficient, Iodine deficient, Vitamin C deficient, Vitamin B deficient and major and trace mineral deficient, I just don't know how they can come to the conclusion that alcohol is the cause of aging and cancer.
They would need to do studies that control for all these variables as well as negative mood, cumulative use of antibiotics and other drugs, level of toxins stored in the body like mercury, lead, cadium, uranium.
I think papers like this are presumptious and lack any semblence of reality. They don't even say what is too much. Of course we all have a sense of that... but none the less if it leads to people thinking that 3 or 4 beers a day is going to give them cancer then it does everyone a diservice.
__________________
"first they ignore you
then they laugh at you
then they fight you
then you win".... Mahatma Ghanda
Alcohol linked to aging and cancer
And I agree, hard liquor is a lot worse than beer or wine.
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