Dr. House
Dr. House
Thursday, January 31, 2019
Skipping Breakfast Will Not Negatively Impact Weight Loss Efforts
reports a review suggests that skipping breakfast will not necessarily negatively impact weight loss efforts. However, the author of an “accompanying journal editorial agreed that whether or not to eat breakfast should be based on personal preferences.” The findings were published in the BMJ. https://consumer.healthday.com/vitamins-and-nutrition-information-27/food-and-nutrition-news-316/breakfast-not-so-important-to-weight-loss-after-all-study-finds-742142.html
Wednesday, January 30, 2019
Insulin May Be Toxic To The Placenta During Early Pregnancy, But Metformin May Prevent Toxic Effects,
reports, “Insulin may be toxic to the placenta during early pregnancy, causing DNA damage, decreased cell survival, and apoptosis, but the toxic effects appear to be prevented with metformin,” researchers concluded. The findings of the “experimental in vitro study” were published online in Fertility and Sterility. https://www.mdedge.com/endocrinology/article/193441/diabetes/insulin-may-be-toxic-placenta-early-pregnancy
Monday, January 28, 2019
Causes of Cortisone-induced Side Effects Identified
However, although glucocorticoids are prescribed for a wide range of conditions, their use is limited by the various side effects - including unwanted metabolic effects* - that can occur during treatment. Once the glucocorticoids bind to their receptor inside the cell, the receptor starts switching numerous genes on and off. "These include various metabolic genes, which can consequently cause so-called steroid diabetes," Henriette Uhlenhaut explains.
In the current study, her team - together with colleagues from the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in Berlin, the Salk Institute in San Diego and the University of Freiburg - set out to identify the exact sequence of events that occurs once the steroids bind their receptor.
"What struck us most was the E47 transcription factor, which - along with the glucocorticoid receptor - is responsible for the changes in gene expression, particularly in liver cells," explains Charlotte Hemmer, a doctoral candidate at the IDO and first author of the current study. "We were able to identify the underlying pathway by conducting genome-wide analyses and genetic studies." https://www.technologynetworks.com/drug-discovery/news/causes-of-cortisone-induced-side-effects-identified-314533?utm_campaign=NEWSLETTER_TN_Breaking%20Science%20News&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=69347177&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8gwJBgyYtUsSa31PLdws5yGlRnkRlJdWc3-Y_u2z4JxawXIlqMzRxwO6wVdI1i8btGrf6YuWunw-N6fxFEEDicnCNvIg&_hsmi=69347177
Friday, January 25, 2019
DNA Damage Caused by Sleep Deprivation
Sleep deprivation was associated with DNA damage in a new Anaesthesia study.
In the observational study on 49 healthy full-time doctors who had their blood analyzed at different time points, on-call doctors who were required to work overnight on-site had lower DNA repair gene expression and more DNA breaks than participants who did not work overnight. In these overnight on-site call doctors, DNA repair gene expression decreased and DNA breaks increased after sleep deprivation. Damaged DNA increased after only one night of sleep deprivation. https://www.technologynetworks.com/genomics/news/has-your-doctor-had-enough-sleep-dna-damage-caused-by-sleep-deprivation?utm_campaign=NEWSLETTER_TN_Breaking%20Science%20News&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=69301217&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-99TvmPPxkLhdHXONI57nMCZ0Eey9sLJx0EGpR7ULozw2etDItBLP25snWYkIC94VC1rMNecCo1tuerWMYPhGbEyQ3ogw&_hsmi=69301217
Can’t Fit in Your Jeans? It May Be Your Genes!
While it is well known that changes in our environment, such as easy access to high calorie foods and sedentary lifestyles, have driven the rise in obesity in recent years, there is considerable individual variation in weight within a population that shares the same environment. Some people seem able to eat what they like and remain thin. This has led some people to characterize overweight people as lazy or lacking willpower.
With support from Wellcome and the European Research Council, a team led by Professor Sadaf Farooqi at the Wellcome-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science, University of Cambridge, established the Study Into Lean and Thin Subjects – STILTS – to examine why and how some people find it easier to stay thin than others. Studies of twins have shown that variation in body weight is largely influenced by our genes.
We already know that people can be thin for different reasons” says Professor Farooqi. “Some people are just not that interested in food whereas others can eat what they like, but never put on weight. If we can find the genes that prevent them from putting on weight, we may be able to target those genes to find new weight loss strategies and help people who do not have this advantage.” https://www.technologynetworks.com/genomics/news/cant-fit-in-your-jeans-it-may-be-your-genes-314447?utm_campaign=NEWSLETTER_TN_Breaking%20Science%20News&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=69301217&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-99TvmPPxkLhdHXONI57nMCZ0Eey9sLJx0EGpR7ULozw2etDItBLP25snWYkIC94VC1rMNecCo1tuerWMYPhGbEyQ3ogw&_hsmi=69301217
My take on why obesity rates are rising faster than gene changes can explain is those folks with the "fat" genes were ok until epigenetic modifications due to poor habits turned them on or modified them to where they gained weight even more. While those with the thin genes get less epigenetic modifications in the face of the same bad habits so are not really getting much fatter today.
Thursday, January 24, 2019
Wednesday, January 23, 2019
an average sneeze or cough sending around 100,000 contagious germs into the air at speeds of up to 100 miles per hour.
For example, although the seasonal variation in influenza cases is known, the environmental factors determining the differences in airborne transmission of the virus is not well understood.
but environmental factors (such as relative humidity, temperature, atmospheric oxidants and the presence of light) on the viability and infectivity of pathogens in aerosol droplets have a role. https://www.technologynetworks.com/tn/news/coughs-and-sneezes-spread-diseases-314345?utm_campaign=NEWSLETTER_TN_Breaking%20Science%20News&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=69224782&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8AiBRdxtEyM9moOxIIH7QWyj9EVZhR83_Z4UXPX7uORFQsz8Z_3WUX187O-hxG29tCtuM3tKU-s8Tak4z3888qDUBb8Q&_hsmi=69224782
New Genes Associated with the Leading Cause of Blindness
New genes identified A new study, published in Clinical Epigenetics, identifies genes associated with Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) that could represent new targets for future drug development.
AMD is the leading cause of blindness in the UK and affects more than 200 million of people worldwide. The condition results in a gradual loss of central vision, due to the failure of cells in the macula – the light sensitive membrane at the centre of the retina.
Dr Louise Porter, said: “Our main aim for conducting this research was to help tackle an area of unmet clinical need. This work has identified new genes, providing us with novel targets for investigation in a disease in desperate need for therapies.”
This research was funded by Fight for Sight, National Eye Research Charity and the Academy of Medical Sciences Starter Grants for Clinical Lecturers. Dr Louise Porter is a clinical lecturer funded by NIHR.
The full paper, entitled ‘Whole-genome methylation profiling of the retinal pigment epithelium of individuals with age-related macular degeneration reveals differential methylation of the SKI, GTF2H4, and TNXB genes’, can be found attached. https://www.technologynetworks.com/genomics/news/new-genes-associated-with-the-leading-cause-of-blindness-314333?utm_campaign=NEWSLETTER_TN_Breaking%20Science%20News&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=69224782&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8AiBRdxtEyM9moOxIIH7QWyj9EVZhR83_Z4UXPX7uORFQsz8Z_3WUX187O-hxG29tCtuM3tKU-s8Tak4z3888qDUBb8Q&_hsmi=69224782
Children Who Receive Rotavirus Vaccine May Be Less Likely To Develop T1D Than Youngsters Who Do Not Get The Vaccine,
young children “who receive the rotavirus vaccine may be less likely to develop type 1 diabetes [T1D] than children who don’t get this routine childhood vaccination,” researchers concluded after comparing rates of T1D “in the eight years before and the eight years after May, 2007, when a routine oral rotavirus vaccine was introduced for infants six weeks and older.” The findings were published online in a research letter published in JAMA Pediatrics. MD Magazine (1/22, Rossi) also covers the story. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-diabetes-rotavirus/rotavirus-vaccination-tied-to-lower-rates-of-type-1-diabetes-idUSKCN1PG2L8
Cost Of Insulin For Treating T1D In The US Has Nearly Doubled Over A Five-Year Period
“The cost of insulin for treating type 1 diabetes [T1D] in the United States nearly doubled over a five-year period,” researchers found in a report from the nonprofit Health Care Cost Institute. The report revealed that an individual with T1D “incurred annual insulin costs of $5,705, on average, in 2016,” compared to an “average cost” of “$2,864 per patient in 2012.” According to Reuters, these numbers “represent the combined amount paid by a patient and their health plan for the medicine and do not reflect rebates paid at a later date.” https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-healthcare-diabetes-cost/u-s-insulin-costs-per-patient-nearly-doubled-from-2012-to-2016-study-idUSKCN1PG136
Tuesday, January 22, 2019
Secret to Sepsis May Lie in Rare Cell
In a paper published in Nature Immunology, scientists from Seattle Children’s Research Institute reveal how a rare group of white blood cells called basophils play an important role in the immune response to a bacterial infection, preventing the development of sepsis. Basophils play key role in preventing sepsis
Dr. Adrian Piliponsky believes the findings provide novel insights into how basophils might have a key role in preventing a bacterial infection’s progression into sepsis.
To examine the basophils’ contribution to the immune response, the researchers used a model of bacterial infection and sepsis that closely resembles the progression and characteristics of human sepsis in genetically-modified mice.
Their studies showed that basophils were one of the first types of immune cell to appear at the infection site. The presence of basophils not only enhanced inflammation at the early stages of an immune response to infection and improved survival in mice, but did this in part by releasing a protein known as tumor necrosis factor (TNF).
As a major player in the immune response to an infection, TNF sends the signal to other cells causing them to switch into high gear and generate the inflammatory response that is vital to protecting and healing damaged tissue. Its presence in this research adds to mounting evidence that basophil-derived TNF plays a major role in the first stages of the immune system’s defense against an infection, and indicates that a reduced basophil presence or a deficiency in factors regulated by basophils can lead to sepsis.
“These findings show that basophils, despite their low numbers, can trigger a cascade of events that both helps them to initiate an immune response against infection and enhances the effectiveness of this response,” wrote Piliponsky and his co-authors in the paper. “Together, these findings provide novel insights into how basophils, and basophil-derived TNF, might have key roles in the early stages following bacterial infections and in resisting the progression of such infections to sepsis.”
https://www.technologynetworks.com/cell-science/news/secret-to-sepsis-may-lie-in-rare-cell-314305?utm_campaign=NEWSLETTER_TN_Breaking%20Science%20News&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=69184289&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_IOeuWoXpbMs4YwJP3uHYV2Y_TxvQD8tbEPrNEjCnIE4t1tYYce9uBsaCxv-8wzjN8QK4aQzymKjvOHWalcPTVCDsI8Q&_hsmi=69184289
Researchers Develop New Battery-Free Device That Analyzes Sweat.
reports on “a new device — wearable, wireless and battery free,” which “improves the ability to monitor and diagnose health problems by analyzing the sweat on your skin.” The device featured in the journal Science Advances “provides real-time information on the wearer’s pH, sweat rate, and levels of chloride, glucose and lactate — high levels of which could signal cystic fibrosis, diabetes or a lack of oxygen.” The team who developed the device plans to “apply for approval from the Food and Drug Administration.” https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/18/health/wearable-tech-sweat.html
Women’s Longevity Associated With Body Size, Men’s With Physical Activity,
reports a new study suggest that longevity may be associated with body size, including height and weight, in addition to levels of physical activity. Moreover, results suggest that these factors may “influence a woman’s lifespan more than it does a man’s.” Specifically, “the study found women who lived to 90 were, on average, taller and had put on less weight since the age of 20 as compared to women who were shorter and heavier.” While “no such association was seen for men,” they did get “more benefit from physical activity than women.” The findings were published in Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health. https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/21/health/long-life-gender-body-size-inactivity/index.html
Psoriatic Disease Tied To Increased Risk For Thyroid Disease
reports researchers found that “patients with psoriatic disease have an increased risk for thyroid disease, including hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism, thyroiditis, and certain autoimmune thyroid conditions such as Grave’s disease and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis.” The findings were published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. https://www.dermatologyadvisor.com/psoriasis/risk-for-thyroid-diseases-seen-in-patients-with-psoriasis/article/828138/
Friday, January 18, 2019
Memories of Meals Influence Future Eating Behavior
Memories of recently eaten foods can serve as a powerful mechanism for controlling eating behavior because they provide you with a record of your recent intake that likely outlasts most of the hormonal and brain signals generated by your meal, Hippocampal cells receive signals about hunger status and are connected to other brain areas that are important for starting and stopping eating. The researchers set out to determine if disrupting hippocampal function after a meal is eaten, when the memory of the meal is being stabilized, could promote eating later when these cells are functioning normally. The researchers found it interesting that rats would eat more saccharin after they interfered with their hippocampal function because this noncaloric sweetener produces very few gastrointestinal chemical signals generated by food. They concluded the effect they saw was most likely explained by an effect on memory consolidation, rather than by an impaired ability to process gastrointestinal messages. https://www.technologynetworks.com/neuroscience/news/memories-of-meals-influence-future-eating-behavior-314195?utm_campaign=NEWSLETTER_TN_Breaking%20Science%20News&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=69109618&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9cPppvVnRbvtiLWdn0doGJ6Z8_uv402a9LXAajLAHfd9grg3K1PDqX4WtesZg1oBGaC4xw17HMQDvqx5mCS9vWGz_Hwg&_hsmi=69109618
Timing Of Meals May Affect LDL Cholesterol Levels,
“LDL cholesterol levels can be lowered by eating less at night and shifting late-evening fat intake to earlier in the day,” researchers concluded after analyzing data on some 1,283 adult participants. The findings were published online in the journal Nutrition, Metabolism & Cardiovascular Diseases. https://www.nmcd-journal.com/article/S0939-4753(19)30005-5/fulltext Conclusions
Total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol had the same pattern of association with the timing of energy intake. The study showed that elevated total and LDL cholesterol were positively associated with nighttime energy and fat intake.
Thursday, January 17, 2019
Wednesday, January 16, 2019
Fasting to Protect Against Aging-Associated Diseases
The circadian clock operates within the body and its organs as intrinsic time-keeping machinery to preserve homeostasis in response to the changing environment. And, while food is known to influence clocks in peripheral tissues, it was unclear, until now, how the lack of food influences clock function and ultimately affects the body.
"We discovered fasting influences the circadian clock and fasting-driven cellular responses, which together work to achieve fasting-specific temporal gene regulation," said lead author Paolo Sassone-Corsi, Donald Bren Professor of Biological Chemistry at UCI's School of Medicine. "Skeletal muscle, for example, appears to be twice as responsive to fasting as the liver."
The research was conducted using mice, which were subjected to 24-hour periods of fasting. While fasting, researchers noted the mice exhibited a reduction in oxygen consumption (VO2), respiratory exchange ratio (RER), and energy expenditure, all of which were completely abolished by refeeding, which parallels results observed in humans.
"The reorganization of gene regulation by fasting could prime the genome to a more permissive state to anticipate upcoming food intake and thereby drive a new rhythmic cycle of gene expression. In other words, fasting is able to essentially reprogram a variety of cellular responses. Therefore, optimal fasting in a timed manner would be strategic to positively affect cellular functions and ultimately benefiting health and protecting against aging-associated diseases." https://www.technologynetworks.com/proteomics/news/optimal-fasting-can-protect-against-aging-associated-diseases-313988?utm_campaign=NEWSLETTER_TN_Breaking%20Science%20News&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=69037725&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9PTo9952Hzs8rYOQbegPDJZClStJP1Hh0zTN-DCooDbyyHUjSaw0CsRYkCuQld11W83q7AZ-oOyHBSfzpzJNnhzieY3A&_hsmi=69037725
Replacing Just 30 Minutes Of Sitting With Any Kind Of Movement On A Daily Basis May Help People Live A Longer Life, Study Indicates.
reports new research “published in the American Journal of Epidemiology finds that replacing just 30 minutes of sitting with any kind of movement, every day, could help” people have a longer life. The study found that “getting up for half an hour of light activity – like walking, when a person would usually be sitting – corresponded to an estimated 17% lower risk of early death.” The study also found that “the same amount of moderate or vigorous exercise corresponded to about a 35% lower mortality risk.” http://time.com/5502042/sitting-exercise-move/
Tuesday, January 15, 2019
Poor sleep linked to buildup of dangerous plaques throughout body, study says
https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/14/health/poor-sleep-plaque-buildup/index.html
Sleeping less than six hours a night may take a toll on heart health
Nature vs Nurture: What Causes Common Health Conditions?
https://www.technologynetworks.com/genomics/news/nature-vs-nurture-whats-the-cause-of-common-health-conditions-313919?utm_campaign=NEWSLETTER_TN_Breaking%20Science%20News&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=68999448&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--fVormMbVX8pvpufqB1Tvdx1RHr1Nf045ECJeDz9-diNeSklbSusIKxTOxTubj0cI9B11hk9lxws06fJj6pJ5cs8IMZg&_hsmi=68999448
Nearly 40 percent of the diseases in the study (225 of 560) had a genetic component, while 25 percent (138 of 560) were driven at least in part by factors stemming from a shared living environment--conditions emanating from sharing the same household, social influences and the like. Cognitive disorders demonstrated the greatest degree of heritability--four out of five diseases showing a genetic component--while connective tissue diseases had the lowest degree of genetic influence. Of all disease categories, eye disorders carried the highest degree of environmental influence with 27 out of 42 diseases showing such effect. They were followed by respiratory diseases, with 34 out of 48 conditions showing an effect stemming from sharing the same household. The disease category with lowest environmental influence was reproductive illnesses, with three of 18 conditions showing such effect, and cognitive conditions, with two out of five showing such influence.
Overall, socioeconomic status, climate conditions and air quality of each twin pair's zip code had a far weaker effect on disease than genes and shared environment--a composite measure of external, nongenetic influences including family and lifestyle, household and neighborhood.
In total, 145 of 560 diseases were modestly influenced by socio-economic status derived by zip code. Thirty-six diseases were influenced, at least in part, by air quality, and 117 were affected by changes in temperature. The condition most potently linked to socioeconomic status was morbid obesity. While obesity undoubtedly has a genetic component, the researchers said, the findings raise an important question about the influence of environment on genetic predispositions.
US Adults Have Gained Significant Amounts Of Weight From 1960 To 2016, NCHS Data Show.
“New data show that both” US “men and women gained a whopping 24 pounds on average from 1960 to 2002; through 2016, men gained an additional eight pounds, and women another seven pounds,” researchers found. The findings (pdf) are published in a report by the National Center for Health Statistics. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/14/health/height-weight-americans-cdc.html
Monday, January 14, 2019
Glucocorticoid-Induced Osteoporosis Common, May Have Catastrophic Consequences In Aging Population And In Patients With Rheumatic Disease,
Patients who receive glucocorticoids should be counseled about adequate intake of calcium and vitamin D, weight-bearing exercise, and avoidance of smoking and excessive alcohol intake.
Pharmacologic treatment is strongly recommended for anyone who has had a fracture, and for patients who are at least age 40 if, according to FRAX, the risk of major osteoporotic fracture is ≥20%, or the risk of hip fracture is at least 3%.
Pharmacologic treatment is also recommended for men who are ages ≥50, and for postmenopausal women, who are on glucocorticoids and have a BMD T score of −2.5 or less (indicating osteoporosis) at either the spine or the femoral neck. https://www.medpagetoday.com/endocrinology/osteoporosis/77385
Cortisol also causes this, even in the young active folks. One of the tragic medical conditions we've seen this past 6 years while being involved in orthopedic stem cell work is young healthy patients that develop osteonecrosis (ON also known as avascular necrosis) of the hip after taking oral steroids. As an example, we just reviewed stem cell procedure candidacy for a young man who was given high dose oral steroids for an upper respiratory infection and as a result developed osteonecrosis. Luckily this was one of the few patients who contacted us for an AVN stem cell treatment early, while he was firmly in stage 1-where the success rate of a stem cell reimplant to treat osteonecrosis is still very high. As a result of yesterday's reminder of this very dire societal problem, I decided to focus the blog this morning on high dose oral steroids and ON. Osteonecrosis is a disease where the bone (usually in one area, sometimes in many) begins to die off and will often rapidly collapse. This problem occurs most often in the hip. In many patients frequent causes are alcoholism and malnutrition, but the most common easily preventable cause of osteonecrosis is high dose oral steroids. Oral steroids like Prednisone are powerful anti-inflammatories that can reduce swelling in serious medical conditions like asthma, however they are also given to patients for much less serious conditions such as a simple upper respiratory infection or a flare up of sciatica. Your body uses steroid anti-inflammatory hormones everyday, so your body is used to seeing a certain amount of these compounds. The problem is that while oral steroids can reduce swelling, they are given in such high doses that they can cause some of the cells that help to maintain bone to die off or become stunned. Not everyone or even most people that take these powerful drugs will get osteonecrosis. How much does taking oral steroids raise your osteonecrosis risk? One recent study in Japan calculated that your risk of getting osteonecrosis was 20 times higher by taking oral steroids (OR=20.3). Since the overall risk of spontaneously being diagnosed with ON is small, 20 times a small number is still a relatively small number. However, to put this risk in perspective, the anti-inflammatory Vioxx was taken off the market by the FDA because it roughly doubled the risk of sudden death due to a heart attack. Your odds of getting a heart attack with Vioxx are 10 times less than your risk of having your hip turn to mush with oral steroids. What's interesting is that we have known for awhile (1987) that oral steroid dose is directly related to the amount of ostenecrosis that is caused by the drug-the higher the dose, the more ON you see as a side effect. This same effect has been seen by others. As a result, some authors have argued for lower pulsed doses of steroids (meaning giving the patient a lower dose with "drug holidays" in-between doses). https://www.regenexx.com/blog/areas-treated/hip/oral-steroids-and-the-tragedy-of-osteonecrosisavascular-necrosis/
Vitamin D Supplements May Reduce Moderate To Severe COPD Exacerbations In Patients With Low 24-OH-D At Baseline,
reported, “Vitamin D supplements reduced moderate to severe COPD exacerbations in patients with low circulating levels of its 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OH-D) metabolite at baseline,” research indicated. But, “no such effect was seen for patients with at least normal 25-OH-D levels (at least 25 nmol/L) prior to supplementation,” researchers found. The findings were published online in the journal Thorax. https://www.medpagetoday.com/pulmonology/smokingcopd/77384
Friday, January 11, 2019
IgE: A Novel Target in Lupus? Asthma drug showed preliminary promise as add-on therapy
Omalizumab is a humanized IgG1 monoclonal antibody against human IgE that blocks the ability of IgE to bind FcεRI," the investigators explained. The resulting depletion of IgE is thought to reduce the level of autoantibodies and to block the production of type I interferon. It has been approved by the FDA for the treatment of chronic idiopathic urticaria and asthma.
It was previously thought that most of the pathogenic autoantibodies that typify SLE belonged to the IgG subclass, but the NIH researchers recently demonstrated the presence of IgE antibodies against double-stranded (ds) DNA in a murine model. https://www.medpagetoday.com/rheumatology/lupus/77355?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2019-01-11&eun=g721819d0r&pos=1&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily%20Headlines%202019-01-11&utm_term=NL_Daily_DHE_Active
Thursday, January 10, 2019
Alzheimer's Study: Poor Sleep Associated With Higher Levels of Tau Protein
They found that older people who have less slow-wave sleep – the deep sleep you need to consolidate memories and wake up feeling refreshed – have higher levels of the brain protein tau. Elevated tau is a sign of Alzheimer’s disease and has been linked to brain damage and cognitive decline. https://www.technologynetworks.com/neuroscience/news/poor-sleep-associated-with-higher-levels-of-alzheimers-protein-313738?utm_campaign=NEWSLETTER_TN_Breaking%20Science%20News&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=68887072&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9ANObtpzrcR_TmRaoLLmzehgpObN0UR6R_jZ5mBhmGORCRK8wB1QyX7LNc4mVTNlizAA0HfKVzJWXzTN7voH840aRUHg&_hsmi=68887072
Workers Who Are Exposed To Pesticides Or Metals May Have Higher Likelihood Of Developing Cardiovascular Diseases,
reports that research suggests “workers who are exposed to pesticides or metals on the job may be significantly more likely to develop cardiovascular diseases.” Investigators looked at “data on occupational exposure to solvents, metals and pesticides for” more than 7,400 workers. The data indicated that “individuals who were exposed to pesticides were more than twice as likely overall to have conditions like heart disease, heart failure or...atrial fibrillation.” Meanwhile, “metal exposure was associated with a four-fold increase in risk for atrial fibrillation.” The findings were published in online in the journal Heart. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-heart-pesticides/pesticide-metal-exposure-tied-to-increased-risk-of-heart-disease-idUSKCN1P32PV
Body Fat Tied To Lower Grey Matter Volume In Brain,
reports researchers found that “people with both higher BMI (defined as equal to or greater than 30 kg/m2) and higher waist-to-hip ratio measurements had lower grey matter volume in the brain compared to those who were leaner.” The findings were published online Jan. 9 in Neurology.
Newsweek (1/9, Gander) reports researchers found that “excess body fat around the abdomen has been linked to having a smaller brain in a study which asks whether cutting rates of obesity could also help prevent neurodegenerative diseases like dementia.” http://time.com/5498109/body-fat-brain-size/
Belief In Genetic Predispositions May Have Bigger Impact On Some Behaviors Than Actual Genes
reports a new study by researchers at Stanford University suggests that believing one has “a genetic predisposition to certain health characteristics, such as a low capacity for exercise or a tendency to overeat,” may be associated with an increased likelihood of such behaviors, “even if their DNA does not actually contain the gene variants in question.” The findings were published in Nature Human Behavior. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/09/well/move/mind-may-trump-dna-in-exercise-and-eating-habits.html
Wednesday, January 9, 2019
US Cancer Deaths Declined By 27% From 1991 To 2016,
) reported that the Americans’ “cancer death rate has now been falling for at least 25 years, down 27 percent over that period,” driven by lower smoking rates and medical advances.
The Wall Street Journal (1/8, A1, Marcus, Subscription Publication) reports that the study, published Tuesday in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians by researchers for the American Cancer Society found cancer deaths fell 27 percent from 1991 to 2016. Despite the declines, the researchers estimate there will be https://www.wsj.com/articles/cancer-deaths-decline-27-over-25-years-11546959600
Tuesday, January 8, 2019
Monday, January 7, 2019
Flu Becoming More Widespread Across Country, CDC Says.
reported, “According to a new report from the CDC,” cases of the flu are rising. Currently, 24 states have widespread flu, which is “more than double from the week before.” One doctor at New York’s Maimonides Medical Center said, “We have definitely seen an uptick in the number of cases related to the flu over the past few weeks.” The CDC’s Influenza Division Director Dr. Dan Jernigan said, “We’ve already seen thousands of hospitalizations this year, and we will expect a whole lot more, because that’s what influenza does.” https://www.usnews.com/news/healthiest-communities/articles/2019-01-04/13-child-deaths-as-flu-activity-increases-in-us-cdc-says
50% of People Who Think They Have a Food Allergy Actually Don't
While we found that one in 10 adults have food allergy, nearly twice as many adults think that they are allergic to foods, while their symptoms may suggest food intolerance or other food related conditions,” says lead author Ruchi Gupta, MD, MPH, from Lurie Children’s, who also is a Professor of Pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “It is important to see a physician for appropriate testing and diagnosis before completely eliminating foods from the diet. If food allergy is confirmed, understanding the management is also critical, including recognizing symptoms of anaphylaxis and how and when to use epinephrine.”
Researchers discovered that only half of adults with convincing food allergy had a physician-confirmed diagnosis, and less than 25 percent reported a current epinephrine prescription.
Researchers also found that nearly half of food-allergic adults developed at least one of their food allergies as an adult.
“We were surprised to find that adult-onset food allergies were so common,” says Dr. Gupta. “More research is needed to understand why this is occurring and how we might prevent it.”
The study data indicate that the most prevalent food allergens among U.S. adults are shellfish (affecting 7.2 million adults), milk (4.7 million), peanut (4.5 million), tree nut (3 million), fin fish (2.2 million), egg (2 million), wheat (2 million), soy (1.5 million), and sesame (.5 million).
“Our data show that shellfish is the top food allergen in adults, that shellfish allergy commonly begins in adulthood, and that this allergy is remarkably common across the lifespan,” says Dr. Gupta. “We need more studies to clarify why shellfish allergy appears to be so common and persistent among U.S. adults.”
This article has been republished from materials provided by Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital. Note: material may have been edited for length and content. For further information, please contact the cited source. https://www.technologynetworks.com/applied-sciences/news/50-of-people-who-think-they-have-a-food-allergy-actually-dont-313579?utm_campaign=NEWSLETTER_TN_Breaking%20Science%20News&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=68781447&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--anjZ7VC9Y5SIEslE9xKOIUHcUVAHQTD-vP6iM9RCceNpSpKMdLXlTjDo-l9LvPZ3VElCHrG0rym7xnERCwP_flnJgqg&_hsmi=68781447
Fungal Infection Leads to Brain Inflammation and Memory Impairment in Mice
The researchers report in the journal Nature Communications the unexpected finding that the common yeast Candida albicans, a type of fungus, can cross the blood-brain barrier and trigger an inflammatory response that results in the formation of granuloma-type structures and temporary mild memory impairments in mice. Interestingly, the granulomas share features with plaques found in Alzheimer’s disease, supporting future studies on the long-term neurological consequences of sustained C. albicans infection.
“An increasing number of clinical observations by us and other groups indicates that fungi are becoming a more common cause of upper airway allergic diseases such as asthma, as well as other conditions such as sepsis, a potentially life-threatening disease caused by the body's response to an infection,” said corresponding author Dr. David B. Corry, professor of medicine-immunology, allergy and rheumatology and Fulbright Endowed Chair in Pathology at Baylor College of Medicine. https://www.technologynetworks.com/neuroscience/news/fungal-infection-leads-to-brain-infection-and-memory-impairment-313575?utm_campaign=NEWSLETTER_TN_Breaking%20Science%20News&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=68781447&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--anjZ7VC9Y5SIEslE9xKOIUHcUVAHQTD-vP6iM9RCceNpSpKMdLXlTjDo-l9LvPZ3VElCHrG0rym7xnERCwP_flnJgqg&_hsmi=68781447
Friday, January 4, 2019
Thursday, January 3, 2019
No Evidence No-Calorie Sweeteners Have Health Benefits, Improve Weight Loss,
reports that in a new study published in the BMJ, researchers assessing the potential benefits of no-calorie sweeteners concluded there is “very weak evidence” the sugar alternatives may improve health or assist in weight loss. Researchers said, “Most health outcomes did not seem to have differences between the non-sugar sweetener exposed and unexposed groups,” and the quantity of sugar alternatives used did not appear to impact study participants. https://consumer.healthday.com/vitamins-and-nutrition-information-27/dieting-to-lose-weight-health-news-195/no-evidence-no-cal-sweeteners-will-help-you-lose-weight-study-741082.html
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