Sunday, March 25, 2012

Antioxidants Damage DNA

This article from Science Daily discussed a study conducted by the NIH on compounds that would damage DNA in cells. These cells were grown in a lab and were not gathered from living specimens. Many different compounds were tested including antioxidants. According to this study several antioxidants were found to damage DNA without causing mutations to the genetic materials. The article stated that this was a first step to study the use of antioxidants in the treatment of cancer. 22 antioxidants were identified by the NIH as DNA damaging. Also dividing cells were killed by the antioxidants. The application if this research continues is significant. Cancer treatments could become less toxic to the rest of the body with the combination of doses of antioxidants and chemotherapy together. This could lead to a cancer treatment that is less harsh to the patient.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120322174621.htm
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1 comment:

  1. rachaelcMarch 28, 2012 at 8:22 AM

    This discovering could lead to a major break through in cancer studies and treatments. It's pretty ironic that a compound that many people view as a healthy addition to the body is actually DNA damaging. I would like to know more on what the effects on the DNA of those who take high amounts of antioxidants who do not have cancer are.

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