The standard dose of some medications are too high and dangerous for the patients, where some patients respond the exact opposite and show that the standard dose is too low to produce beneficial effects. It would seem to be a simple case of age, gender, or genetic differences to explain the individual variability in response to the drugs.

A study at the University of Kansas is reporting that variations in the body's production of hydrogen peroxide, which is believed to serve as a signaling molecule at low levels, can affect the accumulation of drugs inside our cells.

Oxidative stress, an increase in hydrogen peroxide levels, may have an increased response to a given dosage of a drug. This seems to show that it is in our best interest for physicians to provide more individualized dosing of drugs.

Hydrogen peroxide effects could be especially important in therapeutic drugs such as aminophylline, carbamazepine, lithium, carbonate, phenytoin, theophylline and warfarin. The researchers think that small changes in the doses of these drugs could cause either subtherapeutic or toxic results.

When I make a salad or anything that needs oil, I always reach for the olive oil. It is regarded as a healthful dietary oil because of its high content of monounsaturated fat (mainly oleic acid) and polyphenols.

In a study to be published in the January 2007 issue of The FASEB Journal, scientists from five European countries describe how the anti-cancer effects of olive oil may account for the significant difference in cancer rates among Northern and Southern Europeans.

The researchers examined urine samples of subjects consuming a little less than a quarter cup of olive oil for three weeks. They were looking for specific compounds known to be waste by-products of oxidative damage to cells, a precursor to cancer. At the beginning of the trial the presence of these waste by-products was much higher in the Northern European subjects than their Southern European counterparts. By the end of three weeks of consuming the olive oil the presence of this compound in Northern European subjects was substantially reduced.

They also found that phenols in olive oil are not the only compounds that reduced oxidative damage. Phenols are a known antioxidant that is present in a wide range of foods, such as dark chocolate, red wine, tea, fruits and vegetables. Even if the level of phenols in the olive oil was reduced the study's subjects still received the same health benefits.

When you are cooking this holiday season, pick up some olive oil. I also use the spray olive oil which is great for getting those muffins out of the tray!

Sunscreen, designed to protect the user from sun skin damage might actually cause sun skin damage if applied incorrectly and infrequently. University of California Riverside chemists examined the effects of sunscreen lotion on the skin and found that after a period of time, the lotion or cream is absorbed into deeper layers of the skin. If more sunscreen is not applied to block ultraviolet radiation (UV), the sunscreen that has been absorbed into the deeper layers of skin creates additional oxidative damage as UV rays are able to penetrate through to the deeper layers where the sunscreen has been absorbed. When sunscreen is applied often, this does not happen.

There is only one practical solution at this time and that is to apply sunscreen lotion or cream often, about every two hours or after sweating or swimming. Researchers suggest another potential solution would be for sunscreen makers to mix sunscreen with antioxidants because antioxidants have been shown to reduce UV-induced damage to the skin. UC has published an in-depth explanation with photos of effects to the skin following the sunscreen experiments here.

If you count yourself among the working poor, or one of the vanishing middle-class in a constant struggle to make ends meet, do not read this -- it is not going to cheer you up.

The most significant and unavoidable risk factor that increases the chance of being diagnosed with cancer is the aging process. The older we get, the more susceptible we are to developing cancer. Because of this fact, research into the aging process, how we age, and why we age -- even if the research is not specifically looking at the link between aging and increased cancer risk -- still might one day provide some insight into the potential for reducing cancer risks associated with aging.