Study Finds The Effects Of Curcumin On Head And Neck Cancers

According to a study, curcumin, a compound that is found in the India curry spice turmeric, seems to be effective in stopping nicotine's adverse effects in smokers with head and neck cancer.

Presented at the 2009 American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF) Annual Meeting and OTO EXPO in San Diego, the study examined the effects of curcumin on head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) growths.

Researchers Uncover Protein That Responds To Nicotine
American researchers at Grinnell College in Iowa may be very close to developing effective treatments for nicotine addiction.

It used an in vitro model of a variety of head and neck cancer cell lines.

The researchers behind it pre-treated HNSCC cells with curcumin, and then introduced nicotine, with a view to mimicking the clinical situation.

They observed that curcumin was able to block the nicotine from activating cancer causing cells.

Scientist Explain Why Nicotine Patch Causes Skin Irritation
Scientists in Europe said they could explain why nicotine patches designed to help smokers kick their habit can cause skin irritation.

Though nicotine itself has not been shown to be carcinogenic, it has been shown to encourage the cancer-forming process.

The researchers said that they wanted to find out a safe, bioactive food compound that could be used not only as a chemopreventive agent, but that could also block the harmful effects of nicotine.

Nicotine Tricks Brain, Say Researchers
Nicotine, the addictive component in cigarettes, tricks the brain into creating memory associations between environmental cues and smoking behavior, say researchers at Baylor College of Medicine.

They believe that their findings may help to discover additional therapies for cancer prevention and treatment.

Source-ANI
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