In a worrying trend noted by oncologists, lung cancer is increasing rapidly among Indian women. The foremost reason, much against popular perception, is not smoking but environmental pollution.

India has just slipped 32 ranks in the global Environment Performance Index (EPI) to a low of 155, and capital Delhi has earned the dubious tag of being the world's most polluted city.

While the fact that pollution harms health is known, that environmental pollution is now the main reason behind increasing cases of lung cancer should make people, and especially the government, sit up and do something to put a cap on the smoke and other pollutants.

According to the National Cancer Registry of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), in 1998 in Delhi, the ratio of lung cancer cases in men was nine per 100,000 males and was negligible in women. In 2008 the figure for men was still nine per 100,000, while for women, it was three per 100,000.

"So, while in 1998, lung cancer was negligible in women and was not one of the top 10 cancers affecting females, in 2008 the ratio between men and women became 3:1. In our experience in the clinic too, we have seen a rise in the number of women affected by lung cancer. Most of these women are from metro cities and are non-smokers...they are not even passive smokers," A.K. Anand, chief, Radiation Oncology at Max Hospital, told IANS.

The incidence of lung cancer, Anand further said, is the highest among women in the 45-55 age group.

"If you see the numbers in rural areas, there has been no change in the incidence of such cases. Vehicular pollution and industrial pollution are, therefore, the foremost cause behind the rising number of lung cancer cases," he added.

While the Cancer Registry data may indicate that there has been no rise in similar cases among men, doctors say that there has been a proportionate rise in head and neck cancer among men during this time. "Maybe because there has also been a rise in throat cancer, tongue cancer during this time, incidence of lung cancer has not shown any change in men over that period," Anand said.

Preeti Jain, consultant Oncology surgeon at Columbia Asia Hospital, further said that harm by vehicular and environmental pollution starts early. "Pollution is definitely a big factor in the rising number of respiratory ailments and now in lung cancer cases. Fine particulate matter in the air that lodges itself in the lungs causes harm over time, and damage starts early," Jain told IANS. Smoking, even passive smoking, she added, are the next two factors.

The comparative study of 178 countries on nine environmental parameters by US-based Yale University shows that Delhi has the highest particulate matter (PM) reading at 2.5, beating Chinese capital Beijing. The high PM caused by high vehicle density and industrial emissions is the reason behind the dense fog engulfing the city in the winter over the past few years, wreaking havoc on one's health.

At a personal level, doctors say that using masks, especially while on the go, could offer some respite, especially to children and the elderly who are among the most vulnerable lot.

"But for actual change to take place, people must raise their voices against pollution and the government must take steps like asking industries to shift out of cities," Anand said. Encouragement of car pooling, especially while going to work, can also have an impact, reducing traffic congestion and vehicular pollution. So will the improvement of public transport do, not just in Delhi but across the country.

At the end, doctors yet again harp on the importance of awareness about cancer in order to manage it successfully. "One of the reasons why you hear so often about cancer cases is because people are becoming aware and are getting diagnosed early, and that is very important. We have better diagnostic techniques and chemotherapeutic drugs today; so screening and diagnosing early means we can conserve the organ and the person can lead a good quality of life. So awareness is very important," said oncologist Rajesh Majumdar.

Researchers have identified abnormal expression of genes, resulting from DNA relaxation, that can be detected in the brain and blood of Alzheimer's patients.

The protein tau is involved in a number of neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer's disease.

Previous studies have implicated DNA damage as a cause of neuron, or cell, death in Alzheimer's patients.

Given that DNA damage can change the structure of DNA within cells, the researchers led by Bess Frost examined changes in DNA structure in tau-induced neurodegeneration.

They used transgenic flies and mice expressing human tau to show that DNA is more relaxed in tauopathy.

They then identified that the relaxation of tightly wound DNA and resulting abnormal gene expression are central events that cause neurons to die in Alzheimer's disease.

"Our work suggests that drugs that modify DNA structure may be beneficial for treating Alzheimer's Disease," they wrote.

The study is published in the journal Nature Neuroscience.

Bringing testosterone levels up to normal for women who lose ovarian function owing to early natural menopause or hysterectomy is of no good, shows research.

Before age 40, ovaries stop functioning in about 1 percent of women without some obvious genetic abnormality to blame, bringing on an early menopause.

Called 'primary ovarian insufficiency' or POI, the condition can spell not only infertility and other physical problems but also depression and decreased quality of life.

Adding back lost estrogen and progesterone helps.

But ovaries normally produce testosterone too which has mental and physical effects.

According to a study by the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, adding testosterone for women who lose ovarian function have not yielded consistent results.

In the controlled study, 61 women used placebo patches and 67 women used patches that delivered 150 micrograms of testosterone a day.

After 12 months, testosterone levels were back up to normal for the women who got the treatment.

The researchers saw no detrimental effects of testosterone but they found no significant improvement either in measurements of quality of life, self esteem and mood compared with placebo, said the study published in Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause Society (NAMS).

"Bringing testosterone back to normal doesn't help these aspects of life, suggesting that it's something other than testosterone that plays a role in mood problems for women with POI," said researchers.

"This study makes an important contribution toward understanding what testosterone can and cannot do," added NAMS executive director Margery Gass.