Cocoa cures gastric gushers

Chocolate helps relieve diarrhea, according to a study published in the Journal of Nutrition. Dr. Maximillian Schuier, of the Children’s Hospital and Research Center in Oakland, extracted high-levels of chemicals called flavinoids from ground cocoa beans. He applied them to human intestinal tissue and found that the flavinoids inhibited the action of a protein called CFTR, which promotes fluid secretions in the intestine. According to Schuier, dark chocolate made from cocoa contains lower levels of flavinoids but can still decrease intestinal fluid-flow as well as ease cramps. The find promises to lead to palatable, inexpensive remedies for diarrhea and explains why historically many cultures have ingested cocoa to relieve intestinal troubles.

-Chris Damdar

Source: Journal of Nutrition

Kidney transplants raise cancer risk

Patients receiving kidney transplants are more likely to develop melanoma or skin cancer, report researchers at the Penn State College of Medicine. Dr. Christopher Hollenbeak compared the incidence of melanoma in the general population to 89 786 individuals that had received kidney transplants. He found that kidney transplant patients had a 3.6 times higher incidence of melanoma. In addition, the study found that men are much more likely to develop melanoma than women and that the risk increased 5 per cent every year after the transplant. Hollenbeak attributed the higher incidences of melanoma in organ transplant patients to the immunosuppressants taken to prevent organ rejection. “The take-home message is that kidney transplant patients-especially men-should have a regular, complete skin examination as part of their routine health care,” he said.

-C.D.

Source: CANCER

Malaria mechanism uncovered

Scientists at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, in America, have figured out the way in which malaria-causing parasites spread from one red blood cell to the next. The disease is spread by four parasites in the genus Plasmodium. They spend part of their lives in a mosquito’s salivary glands, and enter the bloodstream when they bite.

Upon infecting a red cell, Plasmodium merozoites-as they are called in this stage of their lives-multiply wildly. Next is the so-called flower stage, when rounded structures containing merozoites cover the surface of the cell. Finally, the cell bursts, releasing a flood of vacuoles that contain the merozoites. The vacuoles then also burst, propelling merozoites far from the now-defunct cell. By better understanding the mechanics of the Plasmodium life cycle, scientists can now set about ways to disrupt it, producing potential treatments for malaria, which kills more than a million people each year.

-Mike Ghenu

Source: Current Biology