Research indicates that Green Tea antioxidants help protect bone health in the aging population. In this study scientists at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock tested the effects of 500mg of Green Tea Polyphenols or 3 sessions of the exercise Tai Chi per-week on bone and muscle health in 171 postmenopausal women with osteopenia over a six-month period. Either Green Tea Polyphenols or Tai Chi, or both together improved muscle strength and indicated improved activity of bone formation in these women.

Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is the second most common form of skin cancer and accounts for 20% of cutaneous malignanciesand 90% of all head and neck cancers. Unlike most basal cell carcinomas SCCs of the skin are associated with a risk of metastasis. SCC frequently arises on the sun-exposed skin of middle-aged and elderly individuals (see the image below).

Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have found that Grape Seed Extract -- a natural and very powerful antioxidant -- may help prevent the development or delay the progression of Alzheimer's disease. The research team was led by Giulio Maria Pasinetti, MD, PhD, The Saunder Family Professor in Neurology, and Professor of Psychiatry and Geriatrics and Adult Development at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. This is the first study to evaluate the ability of grape-derived polyphenols to prevent the generation of a specific form of β-amyloid (Aβ) peptide, a substance in the brain long known to cause the neurotoxicity associated with Alzheimer disease.

Unusual hip fractures are reported in women taking bisphosphonates but this is a rare event and controversially they seem related to the use of the drugs. Brazilian physicians at the Pernambuco School of Medicine report on treatment of three of these women. All three suffered with subtrochanteric hip fractures running down the shaft of the bone.

Researchers from the American Cancer Society (ACS) conclude that diets rich in the supply folic acid reduce the risk of colorectal cancer.  The finding contradicts recent speculation that consuming additional folate via food fortification or supplements could increase the risk of the disease. For the current study, Victoria Stevens, PhD and her associates evaluated data from 43,512 men and 56,011 women enrolled in the Cancer Prevention Study II Nutrition Cohort. One thousand twenty-three participants were diagnosed with colorectal cancer from 1999 to 2007:  a period that followed the mandatory fortification of grain products with folic acid to prevent specific birth defects.  High intake of folate and folic acid was found to be associated with a 19 percent reduction in the risk of colorectal cancer compared to low intake.  The study is the first to examine the association of colorectal cancer risk with folate during a follow-up period that occurred entirely after the implementation of food fortification with folic acid in the United States.  "While folate fortification has been a public health success in reducing the risk of neural tube defects, the potential for an increase risk of cancer has been legitimate," stated Dr Stevens, the ACS strategic director of laboratory services. "Our study population included many participants who consumed these very high levels of folate and we found no increased risk of colorectal cancer in these individuals…”.