Day 033 - 10 Oct 94 - Page 54


     
     1
     2   Q.   Is there nothing new in terms of that report?
     3        A.  The One thing that might be worth mentioning is that
     4        what I described earlier regarding fat elevating levels of
     5        oestrogen in women also occurs in men with testosterone.
     6        If one looks at men who consume high fat diets,
     7        particularly meat based diets, their testosterone levels
     8        are higher, their levels of a protein called sex hormone
     9        binding globulin which is a protein that keeps
    10        testosterone in check and stops it from having any
    11        biological activity, levels of sex hormone binding
    12        globulin are reduced in meat eaters.  The net result of
    13        that is that one has increased testosterone stimulation of
    14        the prostate cells which is believed to be the mechanism
    15        by which a high fat diet increases the risk of prostate
    16        cancer in men, and the intestinal recycling that
    17        I described earlier also occurs.
    18
    19   Q.   Let me ask one final question, then maybe we ought to have
    20        our break after that.  On this subject of plausible
    21        mechanisms, what you said there, it was touched on before,
    22        what is the role of plausible mechanisms in gathering
    23        evidence?
    24        A.  I am sorry.  Could you repeat that?  I was a bit
    25        distracted.
    26
    27   Q.   What is the role of developing plausible mechanisms in
    28        terms of judging the evidence of links between diet and
    29        disease?
    30
    31   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Is that not just a matter of general sense?
    32        If you can find a plausible mechanism that may, depending
    33        on all the circumstances, add cogency to a case which you
    34        started by some association, some evidence of association.
    35
    36   MR. MORRIS:  Yes.
    37
    38   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  When you say "it is believed", do you mean
    39        that that is common belief or that the author of a
    40        particular paper believed or put forward a case for it?
    41        A.  Well, was there a particular sentence which I stated
    42        that, forgive me?
    43
    44   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I think it is a phrase you have used more
    45        than once.  I cannot find it on the CaseView transcript at
    46        the moment.  I think it was part of the answer "evaluating
    47        levels of oestrogen in women also occurs in men".  You
    48        went on then with what one might call a mechanism.
    49        I thought you used the words "it is believed that".
    50        I cannot find the words "it is believed that". 
    51 
    52   MR. RAMPTON:  Mrs. Brinley-Codd suggests it may be line 14. 
    53
    54   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I will rise now.  Perhaps someone could show
    55        Dr. Barnard on their CaseView screen the whole of that
    56        answer which comes after Mr. Morris's question:  "Is there
    57        nothing new in terms of that report?"  When he comes down
    58        to line 14 "it is believed to be the mechanism", that is
    59        what I was asking - who believes that?
    60

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