Help wanted

Volunteers: Drake Center needs volunteers to work with patients in the gift shop, information desk, spiritual services, therapy services and elsewhere. Call Donna Czarnecki, 948-2521 or e-mail her at dczarnecki@drakecenter.com.

Diabetes study: The UC Medical Center and Veterans Affairs Medical Center are recruiting adults with type 2 diabetes and either high blood pressure or high cholesterol for a research study on reducing cardiovascular disease in people with type 2 diabetes.

Subjects should be 55 or older, or at least 40 if they have also suffered a heart attack, stroke or blood vessel blockage along with diabetes.

Medication, supplies and follow-up care are provided. Information: Belinda Carter, 861-3100, ext. 4431, or

belinda.carter@med.va.gov

Calendar

Smoke-free: Nineteen Northern Kentucky restaurants will go smoke-free Thursday for the third annual Smoke-Free Day of Dining and the Great American Smokeout.

The restaurants join more than 100 Northern Kentucky restaurants that are smoke-free year-round.

The smoke-free dining event is sponsored by the Northern Kentucky Health Department and the Tobacco Prevention Coalition of Northern Kentucky.

Members of the tobacco prevention coalition will give out information on how to quit smoking from 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at Garzelli's Grinder and Pizza Co. in Edgewood and from 6-8 p.m. at Cosmo's Grille Pub, Covington.

To learn more, visit www.nkyhealth.org.

Gift-giving: Dayton's Community Blood Center will hold a blood drive from 3-7 p.m. Thursday at Fairfield Firehouse, 375 Nilles Road. Another blood drive is scheduled from 3-7 p.m. Tuesday at Lakota Freshman School cafeteria, 5550 Tylersville Road in West Chester. Township. Donors must be at least 17, weigh at least 110 pounds and be in good health. Visit Web site.

Juiced: Juice for Life will hold classes on the health benefits of juicing 7-9 p.m. Tuesday and Dec. 11 at Spice of Life Health Choices, 2075 Dixie Highway, Fort Mitchell. Cost: $25. Information: Sandy Klein, (859) 331-1963.

Research

Vine ripe: Tomatoes might help reduce the risk of prostate cancer, but lycopene supplements might not be enough, a new study from Ohio State University indicates.

The study found that rats with prostate cancer lived longer when fed tomatoes than when fed their usual diet plus lycopene supplements.

The effect was most apparent when the rats' food intake was slightly restricted.

The study suggests that lycopene supplements might not be as effective as healthy diet, exercise and weight management, lead researcher Steven Clinton said.

Earlier studies have suggested that tomatoes and tomato products are associated with lower prostate cancer risks. Scientists suggested that lycopene, an antioxidant and the chemical that makes tomatoes red, gives the fruit its anti-cancer properties.

Contact Peggy O'Farrell by phone, 768-8510; fax, 768-8330, or e-mail, pofarrell@enquirer.com