Dr. House
Dr. House
Thursday, February 28, 2019
Company leaders are faulted in outbreak that killed 11 kids in NJ
A federal report says a viral outbreak that killed 11 children at a New Jersey nursing home was made worse because those in charge didn’t plan for such an outbreak and didn’t react fast enough. https://pix11.com/2019/02/27/company-leaders-are-faulted-in-outbreak-that-killed-11-kids-in-nj/
Sustained Benefits for Belimumab Plus Standard of Care in SLE -Longest SLE therapy study to date included patients on the intervention for up to 13 years
Target Audience and Goal Statement: Family practitioners, internists, pediatricians, rheumatologists, dermatologists, pulmonologists, nephrologists, gastroenterologists, neurologists
The goal was to investigate the long-term safety and efficacy of intravenous belimumab plus standard systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) therapy (SoC) in active, autoantibody-positive SLE.
Question Addressed:
Could interim analysis showing disease control of active, autoantibody-positive SLE, and an acceptable safety profile for belimumab plus SoC versus SoC at 7 years be confirmed following examination of up to 13 years of relevant belimumab data?
Synopsis and Perspective:
Autoreactive B cells are thought to play important roles in the pathogenesis of SLE – a heterogeneous autoimmune condition more common in women than men that is characterized by symptomatic flares which dissipate upon treatment or entry into remission. Both the natural history of this lifelong disease and drug toxicities can damage organs. Existing standard of care such as immunosuppressants and corticosteroids have documented clinical benefits, but concerns remain about drug safety. https://www.medpagetoday.org/rheumatology/lupus/78260?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2019-02-28&eun=g721819d0r&utm_term=Serif%20Daily%20Headlines%20Email%20TestB
HIIT Back: Colon Cancer Growth Reduced by Exercise
For a long time, the focus on exercise has been on the positive changes in the body that occur following a longer period of training. However, these findings suggest that the effects following a single session of HIIT, an exercise regime involving short, high energy bursts are also important.
The changes following HIIT suggest that repeated exposure to the acute effects of exercise may contribute to the fight against the cancer. These results reinforce the importance of doing regular exercise and maintaining a physically active lifestyle.
The study conducted by The University of Queensland in conjunction with the University of Waterloo, Ontario, involved colorectal cancer survivors completing either a single session of HIIT or 12 sessions over 4 weeks. Their blood samples were collected either immediately after the single session of exercise or at rest after 4 weeks of training, and were then analysed to study the growth of colon cancer cells.
Importantly the method used to model the colon cancer cells in the laboratory is very different to how they grow in the human body, requiring future research to translate these findings into human tumours.
James Devin, lead author on the research said:
“We have shown that exercise may play a role in inhibiting the growth of colon cancer cells. After an acute bout of HIIT there were specific increases in inflammation immediately after exercise, which are hypothesised to be involved in reducing the number of cancer cells.”
“This suggests that a physically active lifestyle may be important in tackling human colorectal tumours. We would now like to look at how these changes in growth occur and understand the mechanisms by which biomarkers in the blood can impact cell growth.” https://www.technologynetworks.com/cancer-research/news/hiit-back-colon-cancer-growth-reduced-by-exercise-316105?utm_campaign=NEWSLETTER_TN_Breaking%20Science%20News&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=70339709&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--mc43GkuqcMiTqQSdPdwCFEL4WdyBDBEPoGTuKCIxPqNI4wDLGhQeAdwb_yMn7L4KdBntDe_RUiympX26ixysYkmutsA&_hsmi=70339709
Researcher Says Exercising In The Morning On An Empty Stomach Ideal For Weight Loss.
reports “working out in the morning — especially on an empty stomach — is the best way to burn stored fat, making it ideal for weight loss... because the body’s hormonal composition in the morning is set up to support that goal, says Anthony Hackney, a professor in the department of exercise and sport science at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill.” A study published in the Journal of Physiology found “that exercising at 7 a.m. may shift your body clock earlier, meaning you’ll feel more alert in the morning and get tired earlier in the evening, potentially priming you to get enough rest to wake up and do the same thing the next day.” http://time.com/5533388/best-time-to-exercise/
Negative Personality Traits Associated With Elevated Diabetes Risk In Postmenopausal Women,
reports a study examining negative personality traits and diabetes risk among postmenopausal women found “compared with women in the lowest quartile of optimism, women in the highest quartile had 12% lower risk for diabetes (hazard ratio [HR], 0.88),” and “compared with women in the lowest quartile of [negative emotional expression (NEE)] or hostility (lowest level of NEE or least hostile), women in the highest quartiles had 9% and 17% higher risk for diabetes, respectively.” The study was published in Menopause. https://www.clinicaladvisor.com/home/topics/diabetes-resource-center/type-2-diabetes-information-center/negative-personality-traits-in-postmenopausal-women-associated-with-increased-risk-for-type-2-diabetes/
Diabetes Associated With Higher Risk For Advanced Breast Cancer.
reports a Dutch study found “women with diabetes were 28 percent more likely to be diagnosed with more advanced and aggressive types of tumors than women without diabetes.” The study did not find that insulin played a roll in elevating risk. The study was published in Diabetes Care. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-breastcancer-diabetes/diabetes-tied-to-risk-for-more-advanced-aggressive-breast-cancer-idUSKCN1QG2N9
Wednesday, February 27, 2019
Genetic Test Improves Safety of Inflammatory Bowel Disease Treatments
Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis (collectively known as inflammatory bowel disease –IBD) are incurable lifelong conditions that affect approximately 1 in 150 people in the UK. The main symptoms are urgent diarrhoea, often with rectal bleeding, abdominal pain, profound fatigue and weight loss. The condition disrupts people’s education, working, social and family life. Drugs to suppress the immune system are the mainstay of treatment, however more than half of patients with Crohn’s Disease and about 20 per cent of patients with ulcerative colitis will require surgery at some point. The lifetime medical costs associated with the care of a person with IBD are similar to the costs of treating diabetes or cancer.
About a third of patients with IBD are treated with a thiopurine drug, however, approximately 7 per cent of patients develop an adverse reaction called “bone marrow suppression”. This means that the body’s immune system is less able to fight infection and patients are at risk of sepsis.
Previous studies have identified mutations in a gene known as TPMT, which predisposes patients to thiopurine-induced bone marrow suppression. Clinicians either adjust the dose or avoid thiopurines altogether if routine tests show that patients are likely to carry faulty versions of the TPMT gene. However, only a quarter of patients who suffer from bone-marrow suppression have abnormalities in TPMT, suggesting that other genes may be involved. https://www.technologynetworks.com/drug-discovery/news/genetic-test-improves-safety-of-inflammatory-bowel-disease-treatments-316005?utm_campaign=NEWSLETTER_TN_Breaking%20Science%20News&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=70295547&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--1SO06SmFasRsbN4B9Zals9c7bSuZWBJoq1XQL5B_vEMMQPQx0g0Hs1DDA8yx9z2awXo_0Z0PUvNkYn6VOfQHD_jhKMw&_hsmi=70295547
Lack of Sleep and Exercise Could Be Bad News for Allergy Sufferers
On why exercise and sleep deprivation were chosen for this study, first author Shelley Dua, PhD, explained, “In a previous immunotherapy study led by Andrew Clark, PhD, it was observed that there was a loss of tolerance during the maintenance phase if the patients consumed their peanut doses in combination with undertaking a cofactor such as exercise, or if they were sleep deprived. These conditions are easy to recreate, and sleep deprivation can be used as a proxy for stress, which we regard as a common everyday factor in the population.”
Participants in the study underwent three open peanut challenges in random order. In one challenge, exercise followed each dose of peanut while another challenge required sleep deprivation prior to the dose. One challenge included no intervention.
These baseline challenges were performed on 126 peanut-allergic participants. The mean doses triggering symptoms were reduced by 45% for both sleep deprivation and exercise challenges, compared to the challenge with no intervention. This suggests that lack of sleep and exercise significantly increases the risk of an individual allergic to peanuts having an allergic reaction if exposed to the allergen.
This research is in its final stages, with a full manuscript expected to be published this year. Understanding why reactivity thresholds are lowered by these everyday factors is critical so physicians can help patients better manage their food allergies. https://www.technologynetworks.com/tn/news/lack-of-sleep-and-exercise-could-be-bad-news-for-allergy-sufferers-316001?utm_campaign=NEWSLETTER_TN_Breaking%20Science%20News&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=70295547&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--1SO06SmFasRsbN4B9Zals9c7bSuZWBJoq1XQL5B_vEMMQPQx0g0Hs1DDA8yx9z2awXo_0Z0PUvNkYn6VOfQHD_jhKMw&_hsmi=70295547
Army National Guard Sees Challenges In New Fitness Test.
Army National Guard commanders “worry whether America’s 330,000 citizen soldiers will have the time and the drive to master the new, more grueling Army fitness test,” despite efforts to hire nearly 5,000 trainers and buy “roughly $40 million in workout equipment in the next seven months to help its soldiers meet new physical fitness standards.” Army National Guard Lt. Col. Brian Dean, who is responsible for implementing the new test across the Guard, said that for “people who are in those parts of their life where they’re still kinda struggling to make the right time for fitness and do fitness in the right ways – this will feel significant.” Many Guard members “are often focused on their full-time jobs and other commitments.” https://apnews.com/77aac5b315be4e74822279b65c6ecf05
Tuesday, February 26, 2019
The Brain Cells Behind Insomnia
Specific cell types involved in insomnia
“Our study shows that insomnia, like so many other neuropsychiatric disorders, is influenced by 100’s of genes, each of small effect. These genes by themselves are not that interesting to look at. What counts is their combined effect on the risk of insomnia. We investigated that with a new method, which enabled us to identify specific types of brain cells, like the so-called medium spiny neurons.” says Danielle Posthuma. “These findings are a breakthrough, since we can now for the first time start searching for underlying mechanisms in individual brain cells in the laboratory” says Guus Smit, a VU-University neurobiologist involved in the study. Postgraduate student Philip Jansen, first author of the paper, continues: “It is fascinating that we can nowadays start to understand what happens at the micro-level of molecules and cells in the brain, just because we can assemble so many data at the macro-level, worldwide”.
Insomnia is genetically more related to psychiatric disorders than to other sleep traits
The researchers compared risk genes of insomnia with those of other traits and disorders. Surprisingly, they found little overlap with genes involved in individual differences in other sleep traits, like being a morning- or evening-type. Instead there was a strong genetic similarity with depression and anxiety. “A very important finding, because we have always searched for causes of insomnia in the brain circuits that regulate sleep. We have to shift our attention to the circuits that regulate emotion, stress and tension. Our first results in that direction are already spectacular”, says Van Someren. “This study is an immense step forward in understanding the genetic background of insomnia. The findings underline that insomnia is a serious condition, because of the shared genetic risk of psychiatric disorders metabolic disturbances involved in obesity and diabetes”, states Vladimir Vacic, Senior Scientist in Computational Biology at 23andMe. https://www.technologynetworks.com/neuroscience/news/the-brain-cells-behind-insomnia-315914?utm_campaign=NEWSLETTER_TN_Breaking%20Science%20News&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=70251087&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_QTWfrWAULAmu14WUaY_H_uYcl-zpY_7KDNieUr06U_SPfK5fApwbijxHQvMdh2F4ceN0_qSYFvCAyTHVHbH1XGmoGCA&_hsmi=70251087
Asthma Is Linked To Osteopenia, Osteoporosis,
reports that research suggests “asthma is linked to osteopenia, osteoporosis, osteomalacia, and pathological fractures in the” U.S. The findings were presented at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Annual Meeting. https://www.pulmonologyadvisor.com/aaaai-2019/asthma-linked-to-osteoporosis-other-bone-diseases-and-fractures/article/835244/
Monday, February 25, 2019
Selecting Dessert Before Meal Tied To Eating Less Overall, Study Indicates.
reported researchers found “that picking dessert first – instead of after a meal, like most of us do – is linked to eating less overall.” The findings were published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology. http://time.com/5528667/dessert-healthy-diet/
Friday, February 22, 2019
Chemical in Consumer Products Can Hinder Antibiotics
In 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration cited both safety concerns and lack of efficacy when it recommended against adding triclosan to consumer soaps, but these guidelines have not discouraged companies from adding it to other products. What’s more, Levin said, “Triclosan is very stable. It lingers in the body and in the environment for a long time.”
The new study in mice uncovers the extent to which triclosan exposure limits the body’s ability to respond to antibiotic treatment for urinary tract infection. It also sheds new light on the cellular mechanism that allows triclosan to interfere with antibiotic treatment.
Escaping death
Some antibiotics kill bacterial cells, while others keep them from growing.
Levin and her colleagues were particularly interested in bactericidal antibiotics — those that can kill bacterial cells and are typically prescribed by doctors to treat bacterial infections. They wanted to know whether triclosan could protect bacteria from death in the presence of killing antibiotics.
Corey Westfall, postdoctoral scholar in the Levin lab, treated bacterial cells with bactericidal antibiotics and tracked their ability to survive over time. In one group, the bacteria were exposed to triclosan prior to being given the bactericidal antibiotic. In the other group, they were not.
“Triclosan increased the number of surviving bacterial cells substantially,” Levin said. “Normally, one in a million cells survive antibiotics, and a functioning immune system can control them. But triclosan was shifting the number of cells. Instead of only one in a million bacteria surviving, one in 10 organisms survived after 20 hours. Now, the immune system is overwhelmed.”
https://www.technologynetworks.com/applied-sciences/news/chemical-in-consumer-product-can-hinder-antibiotics-315756?utm_campaign=NEWSLETTER_TN_Breaking%20Science%20News&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=70157326&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9WV7d07gfYAEd4JTyjvRqySx6_jd9fvm0RQJ8e-UxRJy_8Zjj9QbVyigBcwSxctIDC3VkdI0KF1aqnoVEwUkE7NXinwA&_hsmi=70157326
Semi-Volatile Organic Compounds In Home Furnishings Found In Children’s Blood Or Urine,
“Children who live in homes with vinyl flooring and flame-retardant furniture have higher levels of” semi-volatile organic compounds “in their blood or urine,” research indicated. For example, the study revealed that “children living in homes where the sofa in the main living area contained flame-retardant polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in its foam had a sixfold higher concentration of PBDEs in their blood.” According to HealthDay, “exposure to PBDEs has been linked in laboratory tests to neurodevelopmental delays, obesity, endocrine and thyroid disruption, cancer and other diseases, the study authors said.” The findings of the 203-child study were presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. https://consumer.healthday.com/environmental-health-information-12/chemical-health-news-730/toxins-in-home-furnishings-can-be-passed-on-to-kids-742904.html
Acupuncture May Be Helpful Alternative To Hormones For Alleviating Menopausal Symptoms,
“Acupuncture might be a helpful alternative to hormones for alleviating symptoms of menopause,” research indicated. The findings of the 70-woman study were published in BMJ Open. https://www.medpagetoday.com/obgyn/menopause/78156
Thursday, February 21, 2019
Mason fourth-grader dies after flu, strep diagnosis
School officials said the 10-year-old was diagnosed with strep and the flu early Tuesday morning and went into cardiac arrest later in the afternoon. No other information on how this happened. https://www.wlwt.com/article/mason-fourth-grader-dies-day-after-flu-diagnosis-school-district-says/26437756
Salty Skin Could Shape Allergy Progression
Salt apparently affects allergic immune reactions. A team working with Prof. Christina Zielinski at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has demonstrated in cell cultures that salt leads to the formation of Th2 cells. These immune cells are active in allergic conditions such as atopic dermatitis. The team also detected elevated salt concentrations in the skin of patients.
In industrial countries, nearly one in three people are affected by allergies at some point in their lives. One in ten children suffer from atopic dermatitis. T-cells play an important role in immune conditions of this kind. They are a vital aspect of the body's resistance to infections, but, if uncontrolled, can also develop pathological responses and start attacking parts of our bodies or innocuous substances such as allergens.
When such functions occur, Th2 cells, a subgroup of T cells, can cause inflammatory skin conditions such as atopic dermatitis. This involves increased production of the proteins interleukin 4 (IL-4) and interleukin 13 (IL-13). It is still unknown what triggers the signalling malfunction.
More TH2 cells under the influence of sodium ions
Table salt, known scientifically as sodium chloride, is essential to the health of humans and animals. In the body it occurs in the form of sodium and chlorine ions. In a recent study, Christina Zielinski, a DZIF-professor at TUM's Institute of Virology, and her team were able to demonstrate that sodium chloride can induce a state in human T cells that causes them to produce increased amounts of the proteins IL-4 and IL-13.
Types of T-cells, which should not cause allergies, can, in the presence of salt, turn into Th2 cells. The changes are reversed when the T cell is again exposed to lower salt levels. "Consequently, ionic signals do play a role in the generation and control of Th2 cells," says Christina Zielinski.
Highly elevated salt levels in the skin of patients suffering from atopic dermatitis. https://www.technologynetworks.com/cell-science/news/salty-skin-could-shape-allergy-progression-315720?utm_campaign=NEWSLETTER_TN_Breaking%20Science%20News&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=70118692&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9iYcsRFNT6yv2K0BUQyvZ2X8iPLjLZKrxWVpT1TP-8AAZj6zYrtCSpA5CZDElzHUAOREsxPWFtohf8JRxUFUuzSb9ixA&_hsmi=70118692
Wednesday, February 20, 2019
Improving Diagnosis of Bacterial Infections in Infants
https://www.technologynetworks.com/tn/news/improving-diagnosis-of-bacterial-infections-in-infants-315611?utm_campaign=NEWSLETTER_TN_Breaking%20Science%20News&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=70075923&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--7rdBNGfNEtI4X890ykHYmammUuK5in-sOJkzk68AGVEEOGh7WGjgC-pm9BpxqW6hlp79Rjtw3_oPM6kmn7QTi58pkoA&_hsmi=70075923
The new protocol measures the levels of bacteria in urine, of procalcitonin (a substance produced in response to bacterial infection) in serum, and of neutrophils (an infection-fighting white blood cell). The researchers ruled out an SBI if tests showed low levels of bacteria and procalcitonin and a normal neutrophil count. They were able to accurately rule out all but three of the 170 cases of SBI ultimately detected, including all cases of meningitis. The authors note that their findings need to be verified in a larger sample before they can be applied to medical practice.
New California Medical School Will Waive Tuition For Students In Its First Five Graduating Classes.
reports that “Kaiser Permanente, the California-based health system that is preparing to open one of the few American medical schools not connected to a university, was set to announce Tuesday that it would waive tuition for every student in its first five graduating classes.” Kaiser’s “goal is to keep students from forgoing lower-paying specialties like family medicine because of crushing debt, or foreclosing the option of medical school altogether because of the cost.” The medical school will “start accepting applications in June and open in Pasadena in the summer of 2020.” https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/19/health/kaiser-medical-school-free-.html
People With T2D Who Eat Five Or More Servings Of Certain Nuts Weekly May Lower Odds For Heart Disease,
reports that people with diabetes “who ate at least five 28-gram (one-ounce) servings of nuts a week were 17 percent less likely to develop heart disease than people with diabetes who had no more than one serving of nuts weekly,” research indicated. The study indicated “tree nuts such as walnuts, almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, pistachios, pecans, macadamias, hazelnuts and pine nuts were more strongly linked to a lower risk of heart disease than peanuts, which are actually legumes.” The findings were published online in the journal Circulation Research. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-diabetes-nuts/eating-nuts-tied-to-lower-heart-disease-risk-for-diabetics-idUSKCN1Q82RQ
Tuesday, February 19, 2019
Trigger that Turns Strep Into a Flesh-eater
One of the very unexpected and exciting things we discovered was a strategy group A strep uses to cause serious disease in humans,” Musser said. “This new mechanism we found controls virulence and determines whether the organism is just a pathogen or a really angry flesh-eating pathogen. That discovery would not have been possible without having this unusually large data set available for analysis with artificial intelligence.”
To do this, they looked at the M28 strain of group A streptococcus, which causes a large number of invasive cases and a high incidence of childbed fever, in particular. In many countries, it’s among the top five most common group A strep strains causing serious invasive disease in humans.
“Numerically, the M28s are very important causes of human infections, so we wanted to get new insight on it, because if you begin to understand the molecular pathogenesis processes, then you have ability to begin potentially developing new therapeutics and diagnostics,” he said. “We’re now able, using these very large data sets, to analyze them far more extensively and with different sets of eyes than we were able to in the past.” https://www.technologynetworks.com/tn/news/trigger-that-turns-strep-into-a-flesh-eater-315570?utm_campaign=NEWSLETTER_TN_Breaking%20Science%20News&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=70032263&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9VnAogoUP2nc14UfjvMZS6Ug5eFXX0jAJt8d_-8JU0hewvNHQpvfD79FH3WLiu5GOZK9FkthjCG7ntlA8rQ1jeJR8jCQ&_hsmi=70032263
Monday, February 18, 2019
Friday, February 15, 2019
Artificially Sweetened Drinks Linked To Higher Risk Of Stroke In Women Over 50
that research indicates “drinking two or more of any kind of artificially sweetened drinks a day is linked to an increased risk of clot-based strokes, heart attacks and early death in women over 50.” Investigators found that “the risks were highest for women with no history of heart disease or diabetes and women who were obese or African-American.”
TIME (2/14, Park) reports that investigators “studied data from more than 81,000 post-menopausal women enrolled in the large population-based Women’s Health Initiative.” According to Time, “three years into the study, the women answered questions about” beverage consumption during the previous three months. The researchers found, “after an average followup of nearly 12 years...that women who drank two or more artificially sweetened drinks a day had a 23% higher risk of having any type of stroke, and a 31% increased risk of having a stroke due to clotting in brain blood vessels, compared to women who reporting drinking fewer than one beverage a week (or none at all).” The findings were published in the journal Stroke. HealthDay (2/14, Mozes) also covers the stor
While the results do not suggest that diet drinks directly cause strokes, the association raises alarms about how artificial sweeteners might be affecting the body. These sweeteners haven’t been studied enough yet to provide definitive answers, but work in animals suggests that compounds like saccharin and aspartame may compromise the body’s ability to break down glucose properly, and impaired glucose control can lead to diabetes, a risk factor for heart disease and circulatory problems like stroke. The artificial sweeteners may be altering the bacteria living in the gut, which may disrupt the body’s ability to control glucose. http://time.com/5529119/diet-soda-stroke/
Sleep Duration Appears To Have Little Influence On Children’s Metabolic Risks
A cohort of children considered short sleepers were more likely to consume carbohydrates during a lunch buffet test meal vs. children who slept at least seven hours per night, although researchers did not observe an association between sleep duration and most metabolic syndrome components,” research indicated. The findings of the 125-child study were published online in the journal Pediatric Obesity. https://www.healio.com/endocrinology/cardiometabolic-disorders/news/in-the-journals/%7Bc82fc705-5b70-483e-b10d-f86ebe9ccec5%7D/sleep-duration-exerts-little-influence-on-childrens-metabolic-risks
Thursday, February 14, 2019
Sleeping Off Infection
Sleep improves the potential ability of some of the body’s immune cells to attach to their targets, according to a new study that will be published February 12 in the Journal of Experimental Medicine. The study, led by Stoyan Dimitrov and Luciana Besedovsky at the University of Tübingen, helps explain how sleep can fight off an infection, whereas other conditions, such as chronic stress, can make the body more susceptible to illness.
T cells are a type of white blood cell that are critical to the body’s immune response. When T cells recognize a specific target, such as a cell infected with a virus, they activate sticky proteins known as integrins that allow them to attach to their target and, in the case of a virally infected cell, kill it. While much is known about the signals that activate integrins, signals that might dampen the ability of T cells to attach to their targets are less well understood. Our findings show that sleep has the potential to enhance the efficiency of T cell responses, which is especially relevant in light of the high prevalence of sleep disorders and conditions characterized by impaired sleep, such as depression, chronic stress, aging, and shift work,” says last author Luciana Besedovsky.
In addition to helping explain the beneficial effects of sleep and the negative effects of conditions such as stress, Dimitrov and colleagues’ study could spur the development of new therapeutic strategies that improve the ability of T cells to attach to their targets. This could be useful, for example, for cancer immunotherapy, where T cells are prompted to attack and kill tumor cells. https://www.technologynetworks.com/tn/news/sleeping-off-infection-315369?utm_campaign=NEWSLETTER_TN_Breaking%20Science%20News&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=69905411&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8ShA4KUEejrFSEoteUE5Ha1ufwLwIiiEnR5oBt4_A2TmOwzK6gJf17DIL4Pk7PuBK3-wPIaYbd94xeo08lNkWWyo-qKw&_hsmi=69905411
Wednesday, February 13, 2019
Calorie Restriction to Prevent Disease?
https://www.technologynetworks.com/proteomics/news/calorie-restriction-to-prevent-disease-315337?utm_campaign=NEWSLETTER_TN_Breaking%20Science%20News&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=69862073&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9GRS3JfAnIYmBrV8gio95_Qi9JO2_Uuhb92pJ27WMdFVgQCtGFctiWYFYGHBouLkav70qiM5dRErIf-FqONW3qS0XAEA&_hsmi=69862073
One of the group's experiments on mice shows how a low-calorie diet can protect the brain from neuronal cell death associated with diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, epilepsy and cerebral vascular accident (CVA).
The mice were divided into two groups. The researchers calculated the average number of calories the group with no caloric restrictions would eat and then fed the other group 40% fewer calories. After 14 weeks, mice belonging to the two groups were given an injection containing a substance known to cause seizures, damage and neuronal cell death.
While the animals in the group that had no dietary restrictions had seizures, the animals whose calories had been restricted did not. The researchers then studied what occurred in vitro. To do that, they isolated the organelles of the brains of the mice, which were also divided into two groups: those that had unrestricted diets and those that had restricted diets. When calcium was introduced to the medium, they noted that uptake was greater in the mitochondria belonging to the group that had ingested fewer calories.
Mitochondria are the organelles responsible for energy generation in cells. In the case of the mice subjected to a calorie restricted diet, mitochondria increased the calcium uptake capacity in situations where the level of that mineral was pathologically high (read more here).
Insulin
In the pancreas, caloric restriction has shown to be capable of improving cell response to increased levels of blood glucose. The researchers reached this conclusion after conducting experiments using beta cell cultures that remain in the pancreatic islets and are responsible for producing insulin.
Blood serum from mice subjected to a variety of diets, similar to the study on the effects of caloric restriction on neurons, was used to nourish the cells cultivated in vitro.
In the cells treated with the serum of animals that ate fewer calories, insulin secretion through the beta cells occurred normally: low when glucose was low and high when glucose was elevated. This did not occur in the animals that ate more calories (and became obese). The experiment showed that there may be a circulating blood factor that acutely modifies beta cell function.
Employer-Sponsored Health Plans May Provide Less Coverage Than Is Believed, Studies Indicate.
reports on its website that employer-sponsored health plans which cover about 50 percent of Americans are “held up to be the gold standard of coverage,” yet “even those with job-based plans can face big bills for doctors’ visits and drugs, two new studies have found.” An analysis published by the Health Care Cost Institute revealed that employees “and their families who sought care shelled out an average of nearly $1,200 in out-of-pocket costs in 2017.” Such costs, which include “deductibles, copays and co-insurance,” are “up nearly 15% from five years earlier.” Meanwhile, a study released last week by the Commonwealth Fund found that some “28% of adults with health insurance through their employer were underinsured in 2018, up from 20% just four years earlier and from 10% in 2003.” https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/12/health/employer-health-insurance-study/index.html
Tuesday, February 12, 2019
FDA To Increase Oversight Of Dietary Supplements.
reports FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb “suggested that Congress strengthen the F.D.A.’s authority over” the supplements “industry, which sells as many as 80,000 kinds of powders and pills with little federal scrutiny.” During an interview, Gottlieb said, “People haven’t wanted to touch this framework or address this space in, really, decades and I think it’s time we do it.” Gottlieb said he was especially concerned about supplements that claim to cure diseases, which may prevent or delay people from seeking medical treatment, saying, “We know there are effective therapies that can help patients with Alzheimer’s. But unproven supplements that claim to treat the disease but offer no benefits can prevent patients from seeking otherwise effective care.” https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/11/health/Alzheimers-drug-fda.html
Monday, February 11, 2019
Genetics May Influence the Quality of Your Marriage
Prior research has hinted that marital quality is, at least partially, impacted by genetic factors, and that oxytocin may be relevant to social support -- a critical aspect of intimate partnerships. We found that variation at two particular locations on OXTR impacted the observed behaviors of both husbands and wives, and that differences in behavior across couples had small but cumulative effects on overall evaluations of support, and thus marital quality in general," said Mattson. "However, what emerged as most relevant to overall marital quality for both partners was genotypic variation among husbands at a specific location on OXTR. Husbands with a particular genotype, which other researchers associated with signs of social deficits, were less satisfied with the support they were provided. Being less satisfied with the support they got from their wives was also associated with being less satisfied with their marriage.
The researchers hope their findings provide the foundation for replication and additional study of OXTR as an enduring determinant of marital functioning, as well as encourage research more broadly evaluating the role of genetic factors in interpersonal processes important to overall marital quality.
"Genes matter when it comes to the quality of marriage, because genes are relevant to who we are as individuals, and characteristics of the individual can impact the marriage," said Mattson. "Our findings were the first to describe a set of genetic and behavioral mechanisms for one possible route of the genetic influence on marriage. In addition, we added to the increasing awareness that the expression of genotypic variation differs greatly depending on context." https://www.technologynetworks.com/genomics/news/genetics-may-influence-the-quality-of-your-marriage-315238?utm_campaign=NEWSLETTER_TN_Breaking%20Science%20News&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=69771091&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_BojBhpleGiTzNPADubayzjhCqerq0c0a8_fEcxl-pYyDBl20QfCqddtXcTnzhvjX1gLV8KU4gtq4fopSyiyJkUVD8UQ&_hsmi=69771091
Exercise-linked Hormone Protects Memory in Mouse Models of Alzheimer's
https://www.technologynetworks.com/neuroscience/news/exercise-linked-hormone-protects-memory-315240?utm_campaign=NEWSLETTER_TN_Breaking%20Science%20News&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=69771091&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_BojBhpleGiTzNPADubayzjhCqerq0c0a8_fEcxl-pYyDBl20QfCqddtXcTnzhvjX1gLV8KU4gtq4fopSyiyJkUVD8UQ&_hsmi=69771091
Athletes know a vigorous workout can release a flood of endorphins: “feel-good” hormones that boost mood. Now evidence shows that exercise produces another hormone that may improve memory and protect against Alzheimer’s disease, A few years ago, exercise researchers discovered a hormone called irisin that is released into the circulation during physical activity. Initial studies suggested that irisin mainly played a role in energy metabolism. But newer research found that the hormone may also promote neuronal growth in the brain’s hippocampus, a region critical for learning and memory. Swimming boosts irisin, protects memory in mice
The researchers then looked at the effect of exercise on irisin and the brain. In the study’s most compelling experiments, the researchers found that mice who swam nearly every day for five weeks did not develop memory impairment despite getting infusions of beta amyloid, the neuron-clogging, memory-robbing protein implicated in Alzheimer’s.
Patients With Type 1 Diabetes Have Higher Likelihood Of Breaking A Bone When Their Average Blood Sugar Levels Are Dangerously High,
reported that research indicates individuals “with type 1 diabetes are more likely to break a bone when their average blood sugar levels are dangerously high.” But, researchers found that “moderately high average blood sugar didn’t appear to impact the risk of fracture for these patients.” The findings were published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-diabetes-fracture/blood-sugar-tied-to-fracture-risk-in-type-1-diabetes-idUSKCN1PX28N
Friday, February 8, 2019
Seafood Mislabeling a Persistent Problem
The findings revealed 32 per cent of the samples overall were mislabelled. The mislabelling rate was 17.6 per cent at the import stage, 27.3 per cent at processing plants and 38.1 per cent at retailers.
“The higher mislabelling rate in samples collected from retailers, compared to that for samples collected from importers, indicates the role of distribution and repackaging in seafood mislabelling,” said Hanner.
He points to a few reasons for the problem.
“It’s either economically motivated, meaning cheaper fish are being purposely mislabelled as more expensive fish. Or it’s inconsistent labelling regulations between countries and the use of broader common names being used to label fish instead of scientific species names that are leading to mislabelling.”
In both Canada and the U.S., fish are labelled using a common name rather than a specific scientific name. For example, a variety of species may be sold as tuna, although different species can significantly vary in price.
“It creates ambiguity and opens the door for fraud or honest mistakes,” he said. “It also makes it more difficult to track species at risk or indicate if a fish is a species that has higher mercury content. At the end of the day, Canadian consumers don’t really know what type of fish they are eating.”https://www.technologynetworks.com/applied-sciences/news/seafood-mislabeling-a-persistent-problem-315129?utm_campaign=NEWSLETTER_TN_Breaking%20Science%20News&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=69724460&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8E2GER4NOmm1vRRsWLGSkG1SVpKpPfxMcPpbPesAkkA_U0_8ex9av7l8bG0sZ2-muvkrw7Jma9L_TRD6jJoCybXe5jVQ&_hsmi=69724460
Apnea-Hypopnea Index During REM May Be Independently Associated With Diabetic Retinopathy In Patients With T2D
Apnea-hypopnea index during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is independently associated with diabetic retinopathy in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D),” research indicated. The findings of the 131-patient study were published online in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. https://www.endocrinologyadvisor.com/home/topics/diabetes/type-2-diabetes/risk-for-diabetic-retinopathy-associated-with-apnea-hypopnea-index-during-rem-sleep/
Many Recently Approved Generic Drugs Are Not For Sale In The US.
reports that while the Trump Administration “has been trumpeting a huge increase in FDA generic drug approvals the past two years...nearly half of those newly approved drugs aren’t being sold in the United States.” According to Kaiser Health News’ analysis, the FDA “has approved more than 1,600 generic drug applications since January 2017...but more than 700, or about 43 percent, of those generics still weren’t on the market as of early January.” FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said during an interview, “It’s a real problem because we’re not getting all the expected competition.” https://khn.org/news/trump-administration-salutes-parade-of-generic-drug-approvals-but-hundreds-arent-for-sale/
Vegetarian Dietary Patterns May Improve Insulin Sensitivity, Beta-Cell Function In Adults Compared With Those Who Eat Meat,
“Vegetarian dietary patterns, especially vegan diets, may improve insulin sensitivity and beta-cell function in adults compared with those who eat meat,” research indicated. The findings of the 558-participant study were published online in the journal Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases. https://www.healio.com/endocrinology/diabetes/news/in-the-journals/%7B2d72608c-53a3-425a-80c9-bb441a85882b%7D/vegetarian-diets-show-potential-for-boosting-insulin-sensitivity
Thursday, February 7, 2019
New Exercise Regimen May Prompt Healthier Food Choices, Study Suggests.
“starting an exercise regimen may also inspire you to eat more healthfully.” Included in the study were “more than 2,500 college students.” The study revealed that “Longer exercise duration was associated with a decrease in preference for foods characteristic of the standard western diet, such as red meat, fried foods and snack foods,” while “high-intensity exercise was associated with an increase in preference for healthy foods.” The findings were published online in the International Journal of Obesity. http://time.com/5517552/exercise-eat-healthier/
Wednesday, February 6, 2019
People Who Lose Weight Quickly Or Slowly May Experience Similar Health Benefits,
reports that after analyzing “data from more than 11,000 people in a publicly funded clinical weight-management program,” researchers from Canada “found that those who lost weight quickly or slowly had similar health benefits in terms of reducing risk factors for heart disease and diabetes.” The findings were published online in the Journal of Obesity. https://consumer.healthday.com/vitamins-and-nutrition-information-27/weight-loss-news-703/fast-or-slow-weight-loss-has-similar-effect-on-health-742136.html
Tuesday, February 5, 2019
Alzheimer's May Have Different Trajectory for Women Biological difference may explain why women have higher AD risk
Among amyloid-positive individuals, women had more tau signal in their entorhinal cortices than men (meta-analytic estimate of beta for males -0.11, 95% CI -0.21 to -0.02, P=0.02).
That gap grew wider with increased amyloid: with higher amyloid-beta burden, women showed higher entorhinal cortex tau than men in both the HABS (beta -0.17, 95% CI -0.32 to -0.01, P=0.04) and the ADNI (beta -0.23, 95% CI -0.42 to -0.04, P=0.02) cohorts.
In the HABS group, sex and APOE did not appear to interact to influence tau deposits. In the ADNI group, a sex-by-APOE ε4 interaction was found in a meta-region that included the entorhinal cortex, inferior temporal cortex, amygdala, fusiform gyrus, and the parahippocampal cortex, with the association between APOE ε4 and tau retention stronger among women than men.
This study builds on previous research "suggesting sex differences, albeit very subtle, in Alzheimer's pathology," noted Michelle Mielke, PhD, of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, who was not involved with the study. https://www.medpagetoday.com/neurology/alzheimersdisease/77816?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2019-02-05&eun=g721819d0r?xid%3Dnl_mpt_DHE_2019-02-05&eun=g721819d0r&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=NEW%20Daily%20Headlines%20Email_TestB%202019-02-05&utm_term=DHE_NewTemplate_TestB_012019
Women’s Brains Appear Three Years Younger Than Men’s
https://www.technologynetworks.com/neuroscience/news/womens-brains-appear-three-years-younger-than-mens-314940?utm_campaign=NEWSLETTER_TN_Breaking%20Science%20News&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=69600659&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8TZHmOot8AcYxabJQM-TO5Wok6RpJfVhHPZpGkBiEuOABwTiQKH1TH5xtV7wzJMjCOMwDolQnAmW6OCcBGYSxFRFNSjg&_hsmi=69600659
It’s not that men’s brains age faster – they start adulthood about three years older than women, and that persists throughout life,” said Goyal, who is also an assistant professor of neurology and of neuroscience. “What we don’t know is what it means. I think this could mean that the reason women don’t experience as much cognitive decline in later years is because their brains are effectively younger, and we’re currently working on a study to confirm that.”
Older women tend to score better than men of the same age on tests of reason, memory and problem solving.
Monday, February 4, 2019
Most consumers feel unsure about taking new medications despite receiving directions from a physician,
The findings indicate that 66% of consumers with issues regarding their new prescriptions cite anxiety about a lack of time with their physician at the point of care. Respondents also stated that they preferred to receive instructions on usage and potential side effects via a short online video from their physician rather than through written materials.
Beyond the clinical concerns regarding prescription drugs, 64% of respondents said they would pre-pay out-of-pocket for a discounted rate and more than 75% stated that they have tried to receive discounts or coupons for new prescriptions.
The survey's findings were in line with a DrFirst survey from October that analyzed prescription drug price pressures on consumer decisions and determined that consumers would benefit both clinically and financially from low-price or discounted options at the pharmacy. https://www.medpagetoday.com/publichealthpolicy/generalprofessionalissues/77774?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2019-02-04&eun=g721819d0r?xid%3Dnl_mpt_DHE_2019-02-04&eun=g721819d0r&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=NEW%20Daily%20Headlines%20Email_TestB%202019-02-04&utm_term=DHE_NewTemplate_TestB_012019
Researchers Find Increasing Risk Of Obesity-Related Cancers.
reports on a study published in Lancet Public Health finding that “the risk of developing obesity-related cancer is increasing in successive generations, along with increasing rates of obesity.” Investigators “studied the incidence of 30 of the most common cancers, including 12 that are obesity related, from 1995 to 2014 in people ages 25 to 84 — more than 14.6 million cases.” The investigators “found that for six of the 12 obesity-related cancers (multiple myeloma, colorectal, uterine, gallbladder, kidney and pancreatic) the risk for disease increased in adults 25 to 49, with the magnitude of the increases steeper with younger age.” https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/04/well/obesity-tied-to-higher-cancer-rates-in-younger-people.html
Friday, February 1, 2019
Lower Vitamin D Levels Associated With Higher Glucose Levels In Study Of Brazilian Women.
Lower levels of vitamin D were tied to higher glucose levels in a study of Brazilian women,” researchers found. The study revealed that “more than 65% of women had hypovitaminosis D – considered to be a serum 25(OH)D level under 30 ng/mL – which was associated with higher odds of having a blood glucose level of 100 mg/dL or higher (OR 1.29, 95% CI 1.05-1.57, P=0.015).” The findings of the 680-woman study were published online in the journal Menopause.
Can the Sun Protect Against Diabetes? https://www.medpagetoday.com/primarycare/diabetes/77757
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