Life Extension responds to misleading Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) article

A problem facing researchers today is that by the time human clinical trials are  designed, funded, and conducted over multi-year periods, the primary reason for doing the study often turns out to be obsolete. Based on a number of favorable reports, the U.S. Government decided to spend over $114 million dollars to see if alpha-tocopherol and/or selenium supplements prevent prostate cancer. Data collected after five years found no reduction in prostate cancer incidence in men taking these supplements. We have known for over ten years that when alpha-tocopherol is taken by itself, it displaces critically important gamma-tocopherol in our cells. An abundance of evidence points to the gamma-tocopherol form of vitamin E as the most protective against prostate cancer. By supplementing aging men with only alpha-tocopherol, scientists may have unwittingly increased these men’s prostate cancer risk by depriving prostate cells of critical gamma-tocopherol. This is only a tiny part of the real story behind this terribly flawed study. The American Medical Association is now using this study to discredit vitamin E and selenium supplements. An AMA editorial concludes by advising: “…. physicians should not recommend selenium or vitamin E — or any other antioxidant supplements — to their patients for preventing prostate cancer.” What follows are some succinct facts to rebut the AMA’s misleading assertions, along with links to more detailed discussions about what aging men need to do to reduce prostate cancer risk.

Alpha-Tocopherol, Selenium and Prostate Cancer … An Overview

A JAMA study released December 9, 2008, suggests that nutritional intervention (selenium and synthetic vitamin E) does not reduce prostate cancer risk (the SELECT study): http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/2008.864 In January, 2008, as part of our article “ Merv Griffin’s Tragic Death from Prostate Cancer,” Life Extension predicted that the SELECT trial would fail. We also knew that this flawed trial would be misused by the mainstream medical establishment to “prove” to the lay public that low-cost nutrients like vitamin E and selenium do not reduce prostate cancer risk, and by extrapolation, to impugn other low-cost, efficacious nutrients like vitamin D, fish oil, and soy as having no benefit. In fact, Life Extension’s members were made aware of a fundamental fact 8 years ago that all but guaranteed trial failure of this most recent attack against dietary supplements. In the current JAMA trial, men supplemented with synthetic alpha-tocopherol experienced significant gamma-tocopherol depletion. Men supplemented with alpha-tocopherol and alpha-tocopherol plus selenium experienced a 45%–48% depletion in gamma-tocopherol levels by 6 months that was sustained during the course of this 5-year trial. In March 2001, in an article titled “ Avoiding Prostate Cancer,” Life Extension identified the phenomenon of gamma-tocopherol depletion associated with excess alpha-tocopherol. Furthermore, Life Extension identified the critical importance of gamma- tocopherol supplementation in dramatically lowering the risk of developing prostate cancer — in fact, a study of 10,456 men showed that men who had the highest blood levels of gamma-tocopherol were five times less likely to get prostate cancer. In addition, Life Extension reported in the landmark article “ Eating Your Way to Prostate Cancer,” published February 2007, about the importance of controlling dietary intake of arachidonic acid and the grave consequences of failing to mitigate up-regulation of the 5-LOX enzyme by poor dietary choices. To review a draft review of what aging men really need to do to protect against prostate cancer, click here. To review an in-depth draft of a highly technical rebuttal to this most recent attack against dietary supplements by the American Medical Association, click here. For longer life, William Faloon

Technorati Tags: AMA, prostate cancer, Vitamin E