"These creams we assayed have tumorigenic [tumor-causing capability] activities," uttered lead researcher Allan H. Conney, from the university's Susan Lehman Cullman Laboratory for Cancer Research.

But, he added, "I need to emphasize that what we have done is only in mice. We don't know what the implications are for humans. But it does raise a red flag that this is something that should be considered."

the report is published in the Aug. 14 issue of the Journal of Investigative Dermatology.

For the revolve in the mind, Conney's team exposed hairless mice to an extended period of UV radiation, which induced non-melanoma skin cancer. After stopping UV treatment, they applied four different common brands of skin moisturizers to the animals' derm five days a week for 17 weeks.

The researchers found that mice treated with skin moisturizers showed an increased rate of tumor formation. In addition, there were more tumors on the animals treated with moisturizers than on the mice that were only given UV radiation.

The moisturizers used were Dermabase, made by Patrick Laboratories in Minneapolis; Dermovan, made by Galderma Laboratory Inc. of Fort Worth, Texas; Eucerin Original Moisturizing Cream, made by Beiersdorf of Hamburg Germany; and Vanicream, made by Pharmaceutical Specialties Inc., in Rochester, Minn.

Conney's group identified several ingredients in the moisturizers that appear to enhance tumor growth.

"We took out a couple of ingredients and made a women's intimacy enhancer cream that turned out to be non-tumorigenic," Conney said. The resulting lotion did not increase cancer growth in mice exposed to UV radiation, the researchers found.

"We really don't know what ingredients in these creams are doing that," Conney said. "There is a need to have the various companies test their creams to see whether or not there is a problem."

Conney thinks that companies can modify their products to remove this effect. "I am sure there are creams on the market that do not have tumorigenic activities and some of them may have anti-tumorigenic activity," he said.

Dr. Robin Ashinoff, a clinical associate professor of dermatology at New York University School of Medicine in New York City, thinks the findings are interesting but she said they may not apply to humans.

Drugs that have been implicated in growth in animals in the ended do not always have similar effects in humans, Ashinoff said.

"Certainly, the issue here is to protect yourself from that degree of continuous UVB-induced priming for skin cancer by practicing good sun protection and sunscreen use in the first place," she added.

"These moisturizing creams might act as an irritant or a promoter of skin cancer in mice skin, but extensive study is needed before we advise people that their commonly used moisturizers can cause skin cancer," Ashinoff said.

More information

For more information on skin cancer, pay a visit to the American Cancer Society .

U.S. Adults With Epilepsy More Likely to Report Other Health Problems

By Caroline Wilbert
WebMD Health News

Reviewed By Louise Chang, MD

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Aug. 7, 2008 — More than 1.5% of adults in the U.S. have been diagnosed with falling sickness —a number that is likely to enlarge as the population ages, according to a new study published in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

The study, the first of its kind, reports that 1.65% of non-institutionalized adults surveyed from across the country have been told by a doctor they have epilepsy or a history of epilepsy. The study looked at responses from 19 states and found 2,027 adults aged 18 years or older reported ever being told they had epilepsy.

Some respondents (0.84%) reported having active epilepsy, meaning they are currently taking medication for epilepsy or have had at least one seizure in the past three months. And 0.75% of people are classified as having torpid epilepsy; these people have a history of epilepsy or seizure disorder but were not taking medication or experiencing seizures in the three months control the survey. the prevalence of the disease is not substantially different based attached race, gender, or home position.

The researchers found that adults through a history of epilepsy and active epilepsy are more likely to have other health problems, such as obesity, arthritis, and strokes; they are also are more likely to be unemployed and live in homes with low household incomes. These people are more likely to be current smokers.

While the study, based on 2005 data, provides a baseline, the authors call for additional research. "Population-based epidemiological studies of falling sickness are important for policymakers and health-care providers to plan b and provide prevention programs and appropriate care and services for those affected," the study says.

The paper is based on data from The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), an ongoing, state-based, telephone survey of the non-institutionalized U.S. adult population. In 2005, 19 states included questions on epilepsy or seizure disorder.

Some studies indicate circumcision could be 70 percent effective in protecting men against infection by the disease for the time of heterosexual intercourse, when used in conjunction with condoms and other safe-sex practices.

Government officials in Kampala have decided to take advantage of a month-long traditional "circumcision season" practiced by some tribes to drive the message home.

"Socially, it is uniting, and now it has also been proven medically, that is gratifying and it is part and parcel of now the military science on this account that fighting AIDS," Kibale Wambi, chairman of Sironko district in eastern Uganda, told Reuters.

The government plans to circumcise more than 3,000 local youths between the ages of 12 and 18. HIV activists say there needs to be more money and efforts like this on a global scale.

But some critics of circumcision in Uganda say it is brutal and dangerous. In traditive settings like Sironko, circumcisers have used the same knife for each young man.

This time, the government has introduced a strict one knife per operation ruling to ensure no infections are passed on.

"If a knife is to be re-used on another person, it first has to be sterilized," Wambi said, wearing a traditional hat covered with cowrie shells.

"We have also discouraged the traditional practice of forcing the circumcised males into male sexual tonic intercourse to prove their manhood enhancer after the wound heals, to avoid the spread of sexually transmitted diseases."

more experts fear that some of the newly circumcised men may believe they are immune following the procedure -- translating into even more risky sexual behavior.

"All I know is that when I am circumcised, it will not be as easy for me to fall infected with HIV/AIDS," reported one young man, Kizeja Michael, as he lined up for the operation.

"People who are circumcised are not able to get AIDS," declared his friend, Peter Kibatsi.

Uganda has been widely praised for an teaching campaign about condoms that is credited with cutting HIV prevalence rates from 30 percent two decades ago to about 6 percent today.

(Editing by Daniel Wallis and Mary Gabriel)

(For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say in continuance the top issues, visit: http://africa.reuters.com/)