Loma Linda University

About: Loma Linda University is a education organization based out in Loma Linda, California, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Medicine. The organization has 9220 authors who have published 13485 publications receiving 447094 citations. The organization is also known as: University of Loma Linda.

Allergy and Cancer: Organ Site-Specific Results from the Adventist Health Study

Abstract: The relation between allergy and risk of cancer was evaluated in a cohort study of 34,198 Seventh-day Adventists in California. Information on prevalence of asthma, hay fever, and reactions to chemicals, medications, bee stings, and poison oak (or ivy) was obtained by questionnaire in 1976. The reported allergies must have been serious enough to require treatment by a physician. The cohort was then followed for 6 years (1977-1982). Both stratified analysis and Cox proportional hazards regression analyses were utilized to evaluate the relation of allergy to cancer after taking into account several potentially confounding variables. For all cancer sites combined in males, there was a 33% increased risk associated with reaction to medications. In contrast, among females, reaction to medications was associated with a 21% decrease in risk. Both results were statistically significant. Prostate and breast cancer risk were elevated in persons who reported any type of allergic history, as was risk of lymphatic or hematopoietic cancers and sarcoma. For each of these types of cancer, risk increased with increasing numbers of allergies. However, ovarian cancer risk was decreased in persons with any allergic history and increasing numbers of allergies was associated with decreasing risk of this form of cancer. These results suggest that the association between allergy and cancer is complex and depends on the specific allergy and the specific organ site under consideration.

Plasma and dietary carotenoid, retinol and tocopherol levels and the risk of gastric adenocarcinomas in the European prospective investigation into cancer and nutrition

Abstract: Despite declining incidence rates, gastric cancer (GC) is a major cause of death worldwide. Its aetiology may involve dietary antioxidant micronutrients such as carotenoids and tocopherols. The objective of this study was to determine the association of plasma levels of seven common carotenoids, their total plasma concentration, retinol and alpha- and gamma-tocopherol, with the risk of gastric adenocarcinoma in a case-control study nested within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), a large cohort involving 10 countries. A secondary objective was to determine the association of total sum of carotenoids, retinol and alpha-tocopherol on GCs by anatomical subsite (cardia/noncardia) and histological subtype (diffuse/intestinal). Analytes were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography in prediagnostic plasma from 244 GC cases and 645 controls matched by age, gender, study centre and date of blood donation. Conditional logistic regression models adjusted by body mass index, total energy intake, smoking and Helicobacter pylori infection status were used to estimate relative cancer risks. After an average 3.2 years of follow-up, a negative association with GC risk was observed in the highest vs the lowest quartiles of plasma beta-cryptoxanthin (odds ratio (OR) = 0.53, 95% confidence intervals (CI) = 0.30-0.94, P(trend) = 0.006), zeaxanthin (OR = 0.39, 95% CI = 0.22-0.69, P(trend) = 0.005), retinol (OR = 0.55, 95% CI = 0.33-0.93, P(trend) = 0.005) and lipid-unadjusted alpha-tocopherol (OR = 0.59, 95% CI = 0.37-0.94, P(trend) = 0.022). For all analytes, no heterogeneity of risk estimates or significant associations were observed by anatomical subsite. In the diffuse histological subtype, an inverse association was observed with the highest vs lowest quartile of lipid-unadjusted alpha-tocopherol (OR = 0.26, 95% CI = 0.11-0.65, P(trend) = 0.003). These results show that higher plasma concentrations of some carotenoids, retinol and alpha-tocopherol are associated with reduced risk of GC.

Understanding soft drink consumption among male adolescents using the theory of planned behavior.

Abstract: This study identified factors that influence regular soda consumption among 564 male students, aged 13-18 years, attending North Los Angeles County public high schools. Participants completed a group-administered Theory of Planned Behavior based questionnaire. Almost all of the participants, 96.5%, reported that they currently drink soda, 60.2% reported drinking two glasses of soda or more per day during the past year. Students reported drinking regular soda more than diet soda and reported drinking phosphoric acid containing soda (cola) more than nonphosphoric acid containing soda (noncola). Attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control were significant predictors of intention to drink regular soda and together explained 61% of its variance. Our results suggest that parents, teachers/coaches, and health professionals should encourage the perception that there are other healthier drinks that quench thirst better than soft drinks and taste good, and that soda should not be excessively available at home.

Development of a simple valid method for the complete removal of insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-binding proteins from IGFs in human serum and other biological fluids: comparison with acid-ethanol treatment and C18 Sep-Pak separation.

Abstract: Insulin-like growth factor (IGF)s circulate in plasma as large mol wt proteins bound to specific proteins, termed IGF-binding proteins (IGFBPs). As IGFBPs have been shown to produce artifacts in IGF radioligand assays, various extraction procedures have been proposed to eliminate IGFBPs from biological samples before radioligand assays. Comparison of acid-ethanol and C18 Sep-Pak extraction methods, the two most widely used procedures for separation of IGFs from IGFBPs in human serum samples, with the established gold standard (Sephadex G-75 acid gel filtration) revealed that a significant amount of IGFBP activity survived the acid-ethanol extraction and C18 Sep-Pak separation techniques. We, therefore, have developed a simple novel method comprising a combination of two techniques, involving separation based on size and separation based on centrifugation. In this method, serum samples were acidified and applied to Bio-Spin columns containing BSA-pretreated Bio-Gel Polyacrylamide-10 (P-10). Upon centrifuga...