Thursday, December 29, 2005

Breast cancer linked to artificial light

Welcome to another Health Fitness tip

New York: Artificial light at night may stimulate breast cancer growth, says a study that might explain why female night-shift workers have a higher rate of breast cancer. Earlier research showed that artificial light suppresses the brain’s production of melatonin, a hormone that helps to regulate a person’s sleeping and waking cycles.

The new study by researchers at the Bassett Research Institute of Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital in Cooperstown, New York, and Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia shows that melatonin also plays a key role in the development of cancerous tumours, reported science portal EurekAlert.

Studying laboratory mice, they found that night-time exposure to artificial light stimulated the growth of human breast tumours by suppressing the levels of melatonin. — IANS

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