COVID-19 anxiety linked to body image issues
Study finds association between stress and anxiety, and negative body image
October 23, 2020
Science Daily/Anglia Ruskin University
A new study has found that anxiety and stress directly linked to COVID-19 could be causing a number of body image issues amongst women and men.
The research, led by Professor Viren Swami of Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) and published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences, involved 506 UK adults with an average age of 34.
Amongst women, the study found that feelings of anxiety and stress caused by COVID-19 were associated with a greater desire for thinness. It also found that anxiety was significantly associated with body dissatisfaction.
Amongst the male participants, the study found that COVID-19-related anxiety and stress was associated with greater desire for muscularity, with anxiety also associated with body fat dissatisfaction.
Negative body image is one of the main causes of eating disorders, such as anorexia and bulimia, and this new study adds to recent research indicating that fears around COVID-19, and the consequences of the restrictions introduced to help tackle it, could be contributing to a number of serious mental health issues.
Lead author Viren Swami, Professor of Social Psychology at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), said: "In addition to the impact of the virus itself, our results suggest the pandemic could also be leading to a rise in body image issues. In some cases, these issues can have very serious repercussions, including triggering eating disorders.
"Certainly during the initial spring lockdown period, our screen time increased, meaning that we were more likely to be exposed to thin or athletic ideals through the media, while decreased physical activity may have heightened negative thoughts about weight or shape. At the same time, it is possible that the additional anxiety and stress caused by COVID-19 may have diminished the coping mechanisms we typically use to help manage negative thoughts.
"Our study also found that when stressed or anxious, our pre-occupations tend to follow gender-typical lines. During lockdown, women may have felt under greater pressure to conform to traditionally feminine roles and norms, and messaging about self-improvement may have led to women feeling dissatisfied with their bodies and having a greater desire for thinness.
"Similarly, our findings reflect the way in which stress and anxiety impact men's relationships with their bodies, particularly in terms of masculine body ideals. Given that masculinity typically emphasises the value of toughness, self-reliance, and the pursuit of status, COVID-19-related stress and anxiety may be leading men to place greater value on the importance of being muscular."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201022201407.htm
Stigma impacts psychological, physical health of multiracial people
The multiracial population is one of the fastest-growing minority groups but faces stigma challenges
October 22, 2020
Science Daily/Rutgers University
Policy changes can help to fight stigmas of multiracial Americans, one of the fasting growing minority groups in the United States according to a Rutgers University-led study.
Published in the journal Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences, the study finds that such stigmas may be combated by legitimizing multiracial identities. Despite the increasing prominence of multiracial celebrities and leaders such as Barack Obama, Meghan Markle, and Bruno Mars, many multiracial people are physically isolated from their peers, said lead author Diana Sanchez, a Rutgers professor of psychology.
"Multiracial people encounter unique challenges because they straddle multiple racial groups," said Sanchez. "Sen. Kamala Harris is Black and South Asian, yet social media outlets vary to the extent to which they recognize her multiracial background. This lack of recognition for multiracial populations is common as is the tendency for fellow monoracial group members like South Asian or Black Americans to have trouble including a multiracial person in their group."
Multiracial people who report frequent racial identity denial also indicate more depressive symptoms, more stress, impaired motivation, and lower self-esteem -- compared with those who experience denial less frequently, according to research.
Multiracial people experience discrimination and everyday, often subtle, instances of these racist microaggressions that stem specifically from their identity -- such as being told that they cannot identify with certain racial identities or that they are not full members of their own racial communities.
The study suggests adopting policy changes that could increase population estimates that would allow for more for distribution of educational and health care resources and improve health care delivery for multiracial populations. Recommendations include:
Legitimizing multiracial identity by capitalizing the "M" in multiracial and adjusting guidelines that are set forth by, for example, the American Psychological Association and in writing style guides about race-appropriate language.
Being explicit about the consequences of listing a multiracial background on business loans and applications. There is a lack of transparency regarding how claiming a multiracial identity will affect eligibility.
Fully integrating check-all-that-apply racial measures for data collection. These have psychological benefits for multiracial people by recognizing and validating their identities.
Minority programs tailored to building community and facilitating positive racial socialization should integrate education for multiracial people by discussing how to respond to questions such as: "What are you?," "Are you sure your dad is really your dad?"
The U.S. Census 2020 marks the third assessment that allows residents to indicate belonging to more than one racial group. The 2010 U.S. Census data revealed that multiracial individuals represent one of the fastest growing minority groups in the United States, representing, at the time, roughly nine million Americans.
"Many people have argued that Harris's vice presidential nomination may be an opportunity to unite Black and South Asian communities who can jointly celebrate this candidacy, but we will first have to confront the issue that many have trouble with -- seeing multiracial people as legitimate members of their monoracial communities," said Sanchez.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201022134725.htm
Vitamin A boosts fat burning in cold conditions
The conversion of white into brown adipose tissue is a promising target for obesity treatment
October 21, 2020
Science Daily/Medical University of Vienna
A recent study conducted by a research team led by Florian Kiefer from MedUni Vienna's Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism shows that cold ambient temperatures increase vitamin A levels in humans and mice. This helps convert "bad" white adipose tissue into "good" brown adipose tissue which stimulates fat burning and heat generation. This "fat transformation" is usually accompanied by enhanced energy consumption and is therefore considered a promising approach for the development of novel obesity therapeutics. The study has now been published in the journal Molecular Metabolism.
In humans and mammals, at least two types of fatty depots can be discerned, white and brown adipose tissue. During obesity development, excess calories are mainly stored in white fat. In contrast, brown fat burns energy and thereby generates heat. More than 90% of the body fat depots in humans are white which are typically located at the abdomen, bottom, and upper thighs. Converting white into brown fat could be a new therapeutic option to combat weight gain and obesity.
A research group led by Florian Kiefer from the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine III at MedUni Vienna demonstrated now that moderate application of cold increases the levels of vitamin A and its blood transporter, retinol-binding protein, in humans and mice. Most of the vitamin A reserves are stored in the liver and cold exposure seems to stimulate the redistribution of vitamin A towards the adipose tissue. The cold-induced increase in vitamin A led to a conversion of white fat into brown fat ("browning"), with a higher rate of fat burning.
When Kiefer and his team blocked the vitamin A transporter "retinol-binding protein" in mice by genetic manipulation, both the cold-mediated rise in vitamin A and the "browning" of the white fat were blunted: "As a consequence, fat oxidation and heat production were perturbed so that the mice were no longer able to protect themselves against the cold," explains Kiefer. In contrast, the addition of vitamin A to human white fat cells led to the expression of brown fat cell characteristics, with increased metabolic activity and energy consumption.
"Our results show that vitamin A plays an important role in the function of adipose tissue and affects global energy metabolism. However, this is not an argument for consuming large amounts of vitamin A supplements if not prescribed, because it is critical that vitamin A is transported to the right cells at the right time," explains the MedUni Vienna researcher. "We have discovered a new mechanism by which vitamin A regulates lipid combustion and heat generation in cold conditions. This could help us to develop new therapeutic interventions that exploit this specific mechanism."
Scientists from Harvard University, Boston and Rutgers University, New Jersey were also involved in the study. The study was funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF), the Vienna Science and Technology Fund (WWTF) and the research fund of the Austrian Diabetes Society.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201021112318.htm
Drinking green tea and coffee daily linked to lower death risk in people with diabetes
4 or more cups of green tea and 2 or more of coffee linked to 63% lower all cause mortality
October 20, 2020
Science Daily/BMJ
Drinking plenty of both green tea and coffee is linked to a lower risk of dying from any cause among people with type 2 diabetes, suggests research published in the online journal BMJ Open Diabetes Research & Care.
Drinking 4 or more daily cups of green tea plus 2 or more of coffee was associated with a 63% lower risk of death over a period of around 5 years, the findings show.
People with type 2 diabetes are more prone to circulatory diseases, dementia, cancer, and bone fractures. And despite an increasing number of effective drugs, lifestyle modifications, such as exercise and diet, remain a cornerstone of treatment.
Previously published research suggests that regularly drinking green tea and coffee may be beneficial for health because of the various bioactive compounds these beverages contain.
But few of these studies have been carried out in people with diabetes. The researchers therefore decided to explore the potential impact of green tea and coffee, separately and combined, on the risk of death among people with the condition.
They tracked the health of 4923 Japanese people (2790 men, 2133 women) with type 2 diabetes (average age 66) for an average of just over 5 years.
All of them had been enrolled in The Fukuoka Diabetes Registry, a multicentre prospective study looking at the effect of drug treatments and lifestyle on the lifespan of patients with type 2 diabetes.
They each filled in a 58-item food and drink questionnaire, which included questions on how much green tea and coffee they drank every day. And they provided background information on lifestyle factors, such as regular exercise, smoking, alcohol consumption and nightly hours of sleep.
Measurements of height, weight and blood pressure were also taken, as were blood and urine samples to check for potential underlying risk factors.
Some 607 of the participants didn't drink green tea; 1143 drank up to a cup a day; 1384 drank 2-3 cups; and 1784 drank 4 or more. Nearly 1000 (994) of the participants didn't drink coffee; 1306 drank up to 1 cup daily; 963 drank a cup every day; while 1660 drank 2 or more cups.
During the monitoring period, 309 people (218 men, 91 women) died. The main causes of death were cancer (114) and cardiovascular disease (76).
Compared with those who drank neither beverage, those who drank one or both had lower odds of dying from any cause, with the lowest odds associated with drinking higher quantities of both green tea and coffee.
Drinking up to 1 cup of green tea every day was associated with 15% lower odds of death; while drinking 2-3 cups was associated with 27% lower odds. Getting through 4 or more daily cups was associated with 40% lower odds.
Among coffee drinkers, up to 1 daily cup was associated with 12% lower odds; while 1 cup a day was associated with 19% lower odds. And 2 or more cups was associated with 41% lower odds.
The risk of death was even lower for those who drank both green tea and coffee every day: 51% lower for 2-3 cups of green tea plus 2 or more of coffee; 58% lower for 4 or more cups of green tea plus 1 cup of coffee every day; and 63% lower for a combination of 4 or more cups of green tea and 2 or more cups of coffee every day.
This is an observational study, and as such, can't establish cause. And the researchers point to several caveats, including the reliance on subjective assessments of the quantities of green tea and coffee drunk.
Nor was any information gathered on other potentially influential factors, such as household income and educational attainment. And the green tea available in Japan may not be the same as that found elsewhere, they add.
The biology behind these observations isn't fully understood, explain the researchers. Green tea contains several antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds, including phenols and theanine, as well as caffeine.
Coffee also contains numerous bioactive components, including phenols. As well as its potentially harmful effects on the circulatory system, caffeine is thought to alter insulin production and sensitivity.
"This prospective cohort study demonstrated that greater consumption of green tea and coffee was significantly associated with reduced all-cause mortality: the effects may be additive," the researchers conclude.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201020190129.htm
Researchers identify how night-shift work causes internal clock confusion
Cell secretions during shift changes disrupt body clock alignment and raise risk of health issues
October 22, 2020
Science Daily University of Missouri-Columbia
Night-shift workers face an increased risk of obesity and diabetes, but the underlying reason for that has been a mystery. Now, University of Missouri School of Medicine researchers have found a potential cause for metabolic changes during night-shift work that creates confusion between cells in the body and the central clock in the brain.
"We hypothesized that the messages cells produce and send each other during night work are different than those sent during the day shift," said David Gozal, MD, the Marie M. and Harry L. Smith Endowed Chair of Child Health at the MU School of Medicine. "These messages come via microscopic packages called exosomes. Our study found these packages disrupt the synchronicity of the body's systems during night shifts and cause increased insulin resistance and other health issues."
Gozal and MU collaborator Abdelnaby Khalyfa, PhD, associate professor, studied 14 participants who were assigned to either a simulated day shift or night shift. After the participants spent three days on the simulated shift, researchers drew their blood every 3 hours, extracted the exosomes from the plasma and delivered them into naïve fat cells. The goal was to examine any potential changes to the fat cells and the key genes that affect metabolism. They found that exosomes taken from the night-shift participants reduced insulin sensitivity of the fat cells. They also discovered that those exosomes contained specialized gene regulators called microRNAs that shifted the internal clock of the fat cells.
"The cells in your body do not adjust as quickly as the central clock in the brain to shifts in sleep patterns," Gozal said. "So when night-shift workers abruptly shift back and forth to daytime hours on the weekend, the cells in the body continue to send messages to each other through exosomes that lag behind the central clock. It creates a condition called 'circadian misalignment,' which is associated with an increased risk for cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and other illnesses."
Gozal believes using exosomes taken from the blood as a marker of circadian misalignment could play a key role in identifying treatments to prevent the long-term health complications of night-shift work.
"By sampling the blood of workers at different times of the day and examining their exosomes, we might be able to identify whether they are misaligned," Gozal said. "This could give us a lot of information about which workers are better suited to work night shift. And this discovery raises the possibility of developing personalized less risk-generating shift schedules and also gene-targeted therapeutic approaches to prevent the long-term health complications of night-shift work. "
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201022123116.htm
Fear and anxiety share same bases in brain
Transformational findings could ultimately lead to better models of emotion and more effective interventions for anxiety and depression
October 19, 2020
Science Daily/University of Maryland
Anxiety, the most common family of mental illnesses in the U.S., has been pushed to epic new heights by the COVID-19 pandemic, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimating that nearly 1 in 3 U.S. adults and a staggering 41% of people ages 18-29 experienced clinically significant anxiety symptoms in late August. Now, the findings of a recent UMD-led study indicate that some long-accepted thinking about the basic neuroscience of anxiety is wrong.
The report by an international team of researchers led by Alexander Shackman, an associate professor of psychology at UMD, and Juyoen Hur, an assistant professor of psychology at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea, provides new evidence that fear and anxiety reflect overlapping brain circuits. The findings run counter to popular scientific accounts, highlighting the need for a major theoretical reckoning. The study was published last week in the Journal of Neuroscience.
"The conceptual distinction between 'fear' and 'anxiety' dates back to the time of Freud, if not the Greek philosophers of antiquity," said Shackman, a core faculty member of UMD's Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Program, and 2018 recipient of a seed grant award from UMD's Brain and Behavior Initiative, "In recent years, brain imagers and clinicians have extended this distinction, arguing that fear and anxiety are orchestrated by distinct neural networks.
However, Shackman says their new study adds to a rapidly growing body of new evidence suggesting that this old mode is wrong. "If anything, fear and anxiety seem to be constructed in the brain using a massively overlapping set of neural building blocks," he said.
Prevailing scientific theory holds that fear and anxiety are distinct, with different triggers and strictly segregated brain circuits. Fear -- a fleeting reaction to certain danger -- is thought to be controlled by the amygdala, a small almond-shaped region buried beneath the wrinkled convolutions of the cerebral cortex. By contrast, anxiety -- a persistent state of heightened apprehension and arousal elicited when threat is uncertain -- is thought to be orchestrated by the neighboring bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST). But new evidence from Shackman and his colleagues suggests that both of these brain regions are equally sensitive to certain and uncertain kinds of threats.
Leveraging cutting-edge neuroimaging techniques available at the Maryland Neuroimaging Center, their research team used fMRI to quantify neural activity while participants anticipated receiving a painful shock paired with an unpleasant image and sound -- a new task that the researchers dubbed the "Maryland Threat Countdown."
The timing of this "threat" was signaled either by a conventional countdown timer -- i.e. "3, 2, 1..." -- or by a random string of numbers -- e.g. "16, 21, 8." In both conditions, threat anticipation recruited a remarkably similar network of brain regions, including the amygdala and the BNST. Across a range of head-to-head comparisons, the two showed statistically indistinguishable responses.
The team examined the neural circuits engaged while waiting for certain and uncertain threat (i.e. "fear" and "anxiety"). Results demonstrated that both kinds of threat anticipation recruited a common network of core brain regions, including the amygdala and BNST.
These observations raise important questions about the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) framework that currently guides the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health's quest to discover the brain circuitry underlying anxiety disorders, depression, and other common mental illnesses. "As it is currently written, RDoC embodies the idea that certain and uncertain threat are processed by circuits centered on the amygdala and BNST, respectively. It's very black-and-white thinking," Shackman noted, emphasizing that RDoC's "strict-segregation" model is based on data collected at the turn of the century.
"It's time to update the RDoC so that it reflects the actual state of the science. It's not just our study; in fact, a whole slew of mechanistic studies in rodents and monkeys, and new meta-analyses of the published human imaging literature are all coalescing around the same fundamental scientific lesson: certain and uncertain threat are processed by a shared network of brain regions, a common core," he said.
As the crown jewel of NIMH's strategic plan for psychiatric research in the U.S., the RDoC framework influences a wide range of biomedical stakeholders, from researchers and drug companies to private philanthropic foundations and foreign funding agencies. Shackman noted that the RDoC has an outsized impact on how fear and anxiety research is designed, interpreted, peer reviewed, and funded here in the U.S. and abroad.
"Anxiety disorders impose a substantial and growing burden on global public health and the economy," Shackman said, "While we have made tremendous scientific progress, existing treatments are far from curative for many patients. Our hope is that research like this study can help set the stage for better models of emotion and, ultimately, hasten the development of more effective intervention strategies for the many millions of children and adults around the world who struggle with debilitating anxiety and depression."
This work was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health and University of Maryland, College Park.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201019164939.htm
Is sitting always bad for your mind? Maybe not!
October 16, 2020
Science Daily/Colorado State University
It's generally accepted health advice that adults of all ages should sit less, move more, and engage in regular exercise to feel better and reduce the risk of chronic diseases. However, when it comes to the brain and cognition, a new study of older adults from Colorado State University suggests that some sedentariness isn't all bad, so long as basic physical activity benchmarks are being met.
The research, from Assistant Professor Aga Burzynska in the CSU Department of Human Development and Family Studies, examined the association between sensor-measured physical activity and cognitive performance in a sample of 228 healthy older adults, aged 60 to 80.
Published in Psychology and Aging, the results showed that, as expected, adults who engaged in more moderate-to-vigorous activity had better speed, memory, and reasoning abilities. However, the data also revealed that adults who spent more time sedentary performed better on vocabulary and reasoning tasks.
The study could be a bit of good news for a population of Americans who spend a significant amount of time sitting for work and for leisure.
SENSITIVE MEASUREMENTS
The association between increased physical activity and improved cardiovascular and metabolic health is one that's well documented, according to Burzynska. But the link between different intensities of daily physical activity and cognitive health is less understood, especially in older adults.
"We know that as we grow older, even if we do not have any cognitive impairments, people aged 60 and up already show some decreases in speed, executive functioning, and memory. Those decreases are totally within a normal range, but this study was looking to understand how our behaviors and habits may correlate with cognitive outcomes in older age," Burzynska said.
What differentiates this study from others is the way the researchers measured daily physical activity, using scientifically validated sensors that are more accurate than your average, consumer-based activity tracker. Other studies rely on self-reported data to measure physical activity, "and we already know that people like to overestimate their daily movement and underestimate the time they spend sitting," Burzynska said.
"If you ask, 'How long did you sit today?' people will perhaps say 2 to 3 hours when the reality is more like 6 to 8 hours," she added.
Further, where other studies might use only one or two measures of cognition and a general definition of physical activity, Burzynska's study employed a broad assessment that tested 16 cognitive tasks. In addition, they measured and controlled for socioeconomic and health factors, such as employment status, income level, aerobic fitness, blood pressure, and mobility issues.
"Our study has pretty high-quality measures that cannot be done 'quick and dirty'," Burzynska said.
Older adults who participated in the study wore the sensor on their hip for a span of seven days, during which the sensor captured the daily time they spent sitting or in light versus moderate-to-vigorous physical activity.
FLUID VS. CRYSTALLIZED COGNITION
The cognitive assessment prompted participants to select patterns, fill-in-the-blanks, and identify shapes, among other tasks -- the results of which helped researchers gauge if there was a correlation between physical activity and fluid vs. crystallized cognition.
So-called "fluid" abilities, such as speed and memory, problem solving, and reasoning skills, tend to decline throughout adulthood; yet, participants in the study who engaged in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity performed better on fluid tasks, suggesting that exercise might stave off some of the typical effects of brain aging.
However, most participants in the study did not spend a significant amount of time in physical activity; in fact, data showed that, on average, most participants spent less than 2.7% of their time engaged in moderate-to-vigorous activities. Those older adults who instead sat more hours each day performed better on knowledge-based activities, like vocabulary tests or reading comprehension. These "crystallized" abilities tend to strengthen with age as adults acquire more knowledge and experience.
Interestingly, the researchers observed no associations between light physical activities -- such as doing laundry, cooking, or other household chores -- and cognition. Although replacing sedentariness with light physical activity has been recommended for better metabolic health, there is no evidence of such a relationship at the cognitive level.
While the results are purely correlations and have no clear causes, the researchers speculate that when people are sedentary, they're likely to be engaging in educational, stimulating activities, like reading, playing games or puzzles, or attending plays, which might serve to boost crystallized cognition.
"There's this big push within health and wellness that sitting is always bad for your body, that being a couch potato is not good," Burzynska said, "and although our earlier studies indicated that the brains of those who spend more time sitting may age faster, it seems that on the cognitive level, sitting time may also be meaningful."
WAYS TO SPEND OUR SITTING TIME
However, future studies are needed to determine how exactly the participants spent their time sitting before any definitive conclusions can be made about sedentary activity and cognitive health.
Burzynska says the study reinforces the recommendation that regular exercise is good for general health, but for those older adults who might not be able to be physically active, engaging in more cognitively demanding activities may also be an option.
"I don't think I would in any way suggest that we should engage in more sitting, but I think trying to be as physically active as possible and making sure that you get stimulated in your sedentary time -- that it's not just spent staring at the TV -- that this combination might be the best way to take care of your brain," she said. "I hope it sends some positive message for those of us who have had limited opportunities to exercise during the pandemic."
In the quest for long-term brain health, it seems balance is the answer.
"When you exercise, enjoy your exercise. Maybe sometimes think, 'Yeah I'm going to go sit now and enjoy a really good book," Burzynska added.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201016114924.htm
Scientists show jet lag conditions impair immune response in mice
Chronic jet lag creates favorable cancer conditions in experimental models
October 14, 2020
Science Daily/Virginia Tech
Researchers reveal in a mouse study that chronic jet lag alters the microenvironment surrounding tumor cells, making it more favorable for tumor growth, and also hinders the body's natural immune defenses.
Imagine you've just arrived in Paris. Your body thinks it should be midnight -- a restorative time when your cells typically proofread DNA, organize and store energy, and perform other essential chores -- but, instead, the sun is up and you're awake. On a molecular level, your cells are stressed, trying to catch up to new environmental conditions.
Shiftwork and experimental models of frequent flying across time zones have been correlated with cancer risk, but not much is known about how these circadian disruptions impact the body's ability to curb cancer growth on a molecular scale.
Now, a new study published today (Wednesday, Oct. 14) in Science Advances reveals that chronic jet lag alters the microenvironment surrounding tumor cells, making it more favorable for tumor growth, and also hinders the body's natural immune defenses.
The research, led by corresponding authors Carla Finkielstein, an associate professor at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, and Diego Golombek, a professor at the National University of Quilmes in Argentina, adds to the rapidly growing scientific field of the effect of circadian disruption on health and wellbeing.
"A key takeaway from this study is that if someone has a proliferative disorder, in this case melanoma, doing shift work or regularly changing time zones could exacerbate the problem by dampening immune system response to tumor growth," said Finkielstein, who is also an associate professor of biology in Virginia Tech's College of Science, and director of the Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute. "This research also helps explain why some tumors win the race when a person is exposed to the chronically stressful conditions that occur when the environment and the body's clocks are misaligned."
Every cell in your body has its own set of molecular clocks -- a series of genes, proteins, and signaling chemicals that set the pace for cell growth, division, and decay. In cancer cells, these clocks are often altered, which allows the tumor to set its own pace for rapid, unchecked proliferation.
The body's master timekeeper is located in the brain, where it's entrained by light and sends signals to synchronize peripheral clocks located throughout the body. When our perception of day and night becomes muddled due to irregular intervals of light and dark, our internal clocks and the environment are misaligned, which, as this study shows, can have subtle yet significant consequences at a cellular level.
The researchers wanted to know how chronic jet lag impacts the microenvironment surrounding cancer cells and examined two groups of mice that were injected with melanoma cells. The first group was exposed to a normal circadian schedule: 12 hours of light and 12 hours of dark. The second group's light and dark exposure was shifted by six hours every two days -- the equivalent of roaming across 21 time zones per week.
A month later, the scientists observed that the tumors in the jet lagged group were roughly three times the size of the control group.
They also examined samples from the microenvironment surrounding the tumor, the spleen, which produces immune cells, and the liver. The researchers found peculiar contrasts in how the immune system responded to the tumor. For example, the levels of different types of immune cells called macrophages were inverted to be more prone to accept tumor growth in the jet lagged group.
Similarly, the rhythms of other immune cells and molecules, including cytokines, were disrupted. Even though the tumors didn't spread into their neighboring organ, the liver, or the spleen, the scientists observed that the circadian variations in the immune system in both of these organs were deregulated.
"We combined two different approaches of chronobiology research to study the effects of circadian desynchronization on both tumor growth and immune rhythms, and we found a link," Golombek said. "You need optimal rhythms in immune cells and immune humoral factors to quell rapid tumor growth. When circadian rhythms are chronically disrupted, these rhythms are impaired, inverted, or disappear entirely, which could help explain why the tumors were significantly larger in the desynchronized group."
Finkielstein and Golombek plan to continue studying how immune genes and cell cycle genes are related in the context of cancer.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201014141138.htm
Watching nature on TV can boost wellbeing
October 13, 2020
Science Daily/University of Exeter
Watching high quality nature programmes on TV can uplift people's moods, reduce negative emotions, and help alleviate the kind of boredom associated with being isolated indoors, according to a new study published today in the Journal of Environmental Psychology.
The research has also shown that experiencing nature in virtual reality could have even larger benefits, boosting positive feelings and increasing people's connection to the natural world.
Under laboratory conditions, researchers from the University of Exeter first induced feelings of boredom in 96 participants by asking them to watch a video in which a person describes their work at an office supply company. They then experienced scenes of an underwater coral reef in one of three different ways: on TV; in a VR headset using 360o video; and in a VR headset using computer generated interactive graphics.
The team found that all viewing methods minimised negative feelings such as sadness, as well as significantly reducing boredom. However, only the interactive virtual reality experience led to increases in positive feelings, such as happiness, and strengthened how connected people felt to nature.
Nicky Yeo, lead researcher on the study, believes the findings could have important implications for populations facing extended periods at home. She said:
"Our results show that simply watching nature on TV can help to lift people's mood and combat boredom. With people around the world facing limited access to outdoor environments because of COVID-19 quarantines, this study suggests that nature programmes might offer an accessible way for populations to benefit from a 'dose' of digital nature."
The team worked with the BBC Natural History Unit to create their experimental conditions, which featured several scenes from the Blue Planet II series, including unseen 360o footage. Their findings support initiatives seeking to bring the therapeutic potential of nature to people at home, such as BBC Four's recent Mindful Escapes series.
Dr Mathew White, co-author of the study, said:
"We're particularly excited by the additional benefits immersive experiences of nature might provide. Virtual reality could help us to boost the wellbeing of people who can't readily access the natural world, such as those in hospital or in long term care. But it might also help to encourage a deeper connection to nature in healthy populations, a mechanism which can foster more pro-environmental behaviours and prompt people to protect and preserve nature in the real world."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201014095130.htm
High blood pressure linked to baroreflex in rats
Animal model observation may reveal new cause of hypertension
October 5, 2020
Science Daily/Michigan Medicine - University of Michigan
High blood pressure: some people take medication to control it while others commit to low salt diets, exercise or yoga to reduce stress. Blood pressure is a primary vital sign, yet, remarkably, just how the body maintains it is still a mystery.
"We've been studying high blood pressure for 100 years and we still have the same ideas," says Daniel Beard, Ph.D., the Carl J. Wiggers Collegiate Professor of Cardiovascular Physiology. In a new paper in JCI Insight, Beard, Feng Gu, Ph.D., from the department of molecular and integrative physiology, and their team describe a newly observed phenomenon in the way blood pressure is maintained in certain rats.
Their discovery comes on the heels of an inquiry into the linkage between stiffened arteries and high blood pressure, known clinically as hypertension. "What happens when you are hypertensive is your arteries get stiffer. But this is thought to be an effect, not a cause," explains Beard. Stiff arteries have a reduced ability to stretch in response to increased pressure. This stretching is controlled by the baroreflex, an automatic neurological response to changes in tension.
"The goal of the reflex is to keep blood pressure steady," says Beard. "If pressure starts dropping, heart rate and cardiac activity go up and if it gets too high, they go down."
The team's hypothesis was that the stiffening in the arteries causes a neural defect, decreasing the ability of the baroreflex to detect arterial stretching and reduce pressure accordingly.
While measuring this effect in rats, they observed that the baroreflex appeared to switch on and off for extended periods of time, up to 5-10 minutes at a time. Spontaneously hypertensive rats -- ones who were genetically prone to high blood pressure -- appeared to have more time with the reflex turned off. In fact, Beard's team was able to predict which rats would be hypertensive by the pattern of this baroreflex behavior.
Measuring the dynamic response to blood pressure changes in a human involves tests like a tilt table test, during which a person is strapped to a table that changes positions to measure the cardiovascular response. However, for this study, the team was able to outfit rats with sensors to measure the baroreflex and blood pressure as they went about normal activities. Doing so allowed observation of the on/off phenomenon for the first time.
"First we had to convince ourselves this was real," says Beard. To do so, they compared their animals to rats of a different lineage, ones who developed high blood pressure in response to diet, and saw the same on/off phenomenon. Surprisingly, however, there was no link to blood pressure in these rats. Says Beard, "the baroreflex is contributing to making some animals hypertensive but not others. It may be playing other roles we don't understand."
The team's next goal is to figure out why the baroreflex turns on and off in rats and whether or not the phenomenon exists in people. If so, "it could give us clues about what therapies people may or may not respond to," Beard says.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201005101546.htm
Fighting intestinal infections with the body's own endocannabinoids
October 7, 2020
Science Daily/UT Southwestern Medical Center
Endocannabinoids, signaling molecules produced in the body that share features with chemicals found in marijuana, can shut down genes needed for some pathogenic intestinal bacteria to colonize, multiply, and cause disease, new research led by UT Southwestern scientists shows.
The findings, published online today in Cell, could help explain why the cannabis plant -- the most potent part of which is marijuana -- can lessen the symptoms of various bowel conditions and may eventually lead to new ways to fight gastrointestinal infections.
Discovered in 1992, endocannabinoids are lipid-based neurotransmitters that play a variety of roles in the body, including regulating immunity, appetite, and mood. Cannabis and its derivatives have long been used to relieve chronic gastrointestinal conditions, including irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease. Studies have shown that dysregulation of the body's endocannabinoid system can lead to intestinal inflammation and affect the makeup of gut microbiota, the population of different bacterial species that inhabit the digestive tract.
However, study leader Vanessa Sperandio, Ph.D., professor of microbiology and biochemistry at UTSW, says it's been unknown whether endocannabinoids affect susceptibility to pathogenic gastrointestinal infections.
To help answer this question, Sperandio and her colleagues worked with mice genetically altered to overproduce the potent mammalian endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoyl glycerol (2-AG) in various organs, including the intestines. When the researchers infected these animals and their unmodified littermates with Citrobacter rodentium, a bacterial pathogen that attacks the colon and causes marked inflammation and diarrhea, the mutant mice developed only mild symptoms compared with the more extreme gastrointestinal distress exhibited by their littermates. Examination of the mutant animals' colons showed far lower inflammation and signs of infection. These mice also had significantly lower fecal loads of C. rodentium bacteria and cleared their infection days faster than their unmodified littermates. Treating genetically unmodified animals with a drug that raised levels of 2-AG in the intestines produced similar positive effects.
Sperandio's team found that increased levels of 2-AG could also attenuate Salmonella typhimurium infections in mice and impede enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli -- a particularly dangerous gastrointestinal bacteria that infects humans -- in order to express the virulence traits needed for a successful infection.
Conversely, when the researchers treated mammalian cells in petri dishes with tetrahydrolipstatin, a Food and Drug Administration-approved compound sold commercially as Alli that inhibits 2-AG production, they became more susceptible to the bacterial pathogens.
Further experiments showed that 2-AG exerted these effects on C. rodentium, S. typhimurium, and E. coli by blocking a bacterial receptor known as QseC. When this receptor senses the host signaling molecules epinephrine and norepinephrine, it triggers a molecular cascade necessary to establish infection. Plugging this receptor with 2-AG prevents this virulence program from activating, Sperandio explains, helping to protect against infection.
Sperandio notes that these findings could help explain some of the effects of cannabis use on inflammatory bowel conditions. Although studies have shown that cannabis can lower inflammation, recent research has shown that these conditions also tend to have a bacterial component that might be positively affected by plant cannabinoids.
In addition, cannabis compounds or synthetic derivatives could eventually help patients kick intestinal bacterial infections without antibiotics. This could be particularly useful for infections caused by enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli, Sperandio says, which produces a deadly toxin when it's treated with antibiotics, rendering these drugs not only counterproductive but extremely dangerous. Because many virulent bacteria that colonize areas elsewhere in the body also have the QseC receptor, she adds, this strategy could be used more broadly to fight a variety of infections.
"By harnessing the power of natural compounds produced in the body and in plants," she says, "we may eventually treat infections in a whole new way."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201007123119.htm
Excess folic acid during pregnancy harms brain development of mice
Researchers found too much folic acid was just as detrimental as too little
October 5, 2020
Science Daily/University of California - Davis Health
A UC Davis MIND Institute study of pregnant mice found that high amounts of folic acid during pregnancy harmed the brain development of embryos. Researchers say the findings indicate that more investigation is needed about the best recommended dosage for pregnant women.
"We believe there's a Goldilocks effect with folic acid. Too little is not good, too much is not good; you have to get it just right," said Ralph Green, UC Davis distinguished professor of pathology and medicine and a corresponding author of the study.
The research, published Sept. 30 in Cerebral Cortex, involved pregnant mice who were given either a normal amount of folic acid, 10 times the recommended amount, or none. The offspring of the mice that received the largest amount showed significant brain changes.
"It's not subtle. It's substantial," said Konstantinos Zarbalis, associate professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and also a corresponding author of the research. "It makes a marked difference in brain structure if you take very high amounts of folic acid."
Paradoxically, changes in the brain due to too much folic acid mimicked those associated with a deficiency of folic acid. "This, to me, was an even more important insight," said Zarbalis, who is also on the UC Davis MIND Institute faculty. He noted that in humans, research shows that impaired folate uptake into the brain can cause cerebral folate deficiency, a syndrome that is often associated with the development of autism.
Folic acid and pregnancy
Folic acid (the synthetic form of vitamin B9, or folate) supplementation is widely recommended for women of child-bearing age. It has been shown to substantially reduce the risk of neural tube defects, such as spina bifida, in children. Research, including studies at the MIND Institute, has also shown that prenatal vitamins that include folic acid have a protective effect against the development of autism and other disorders.
Green was on the panel with the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine (now called the National Academy of Medicine) that determined the recommended daily intake of folic acid (400 mcg) and the maximum daily safe upper limit (1000 mcg). He was also on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) panel that recommended adding folic acid to foods, which led to the fortification of all cereals and grains with folic acid mandated by the Federal Government in 1998.
"Addition of folic acid to the diet was a good thing, and I've supported fortification, but there is a 'best amount' of folic acid, and some people may be getting more than is optimal," said Green.
Women who have given birth to a child with neural tube defects or who have certain conditions like epilepsy and take anticonvulsants, have generally been advised to take much higher doses of folic acid.
"In animal models, we have indications that very high amounts of folic acid can be harmful to brain development of the fetus, and the clinical community should take this indication seriously, to support research in this area to reevaluate the amount of folic acid that is optimal for pregnant women," said Zarbalis.
Zarbalis and Green suspect that the problem lies in the way folic acid is metabolized by the body and have plans to investigate the phenomenon further.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201005170836.htm
New clues about the link between stress and depression
October 2, 2020
Science Daily/Karolinska Institutet
Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have identified a protein in the brain that is important both for the function of the mood-regulating substance serotonin and for the release of stress hormones, at least in mice. The findings, which are published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, may have implications for the development of new drugs for depression and anxiety.
After experiencing trauma or severe stress, some people develop an abnormal stress response or chronic stress. This increases the risk of developing other diseases such as depression and anxiety, but it remains unknown what mechanisms are behind it or how the stress response is regulated.
The research group at Karolinska Institutet has previously shown that a protein called p11 plays an important role in the function of serotonin, a neurotransmitter in the brain that regulates mood. Depressed patients and suicide victims have lower levels of the p11 protein in their brain, and laboratory mice with reduced p11 levels show depression- and anxiety-like behaviour. The p11 levels in mice can also be raised by some antidepressants.
The new study shows that p11 affects the initial release of the stress hormone cortisol in mice by modulating the activity of specific neurons in the brain area hypothalamus. Through a completely different signalling pathway originating in the brainstem, p11 also affects the release of two other stress hormones, adrenaline and noradrenaline. In addition, the tests showed that mice with p11 deficiency react more strongly to stress, with a higher heart rate and more signs of anxiety, compared to mice with normal p11 levels.
"We know that an abnormal stress response can precipitate or worsen a depression and cause anxiety disorder and cardiovascular disease," says first author Vasco Sousa, researcher at the Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet. "Therefore, it is important to find out whether the link between p11 deficiency and stress response that we see in mice can also be seen in patients."
The researchers believe that the findings may have implications for the development of new, more effective drugs. There is a great need for new treatments because current antidepressants are not effective enough in many patients.
"One promising approach involves administration of agents that enhance localised p11 expression, and several experiments are already being conducted in animal models of depression," says Per Svenningsson, professor at the Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, who led the study. "Another interesting approach which needs further investigation involves developing drugs that block the initiation of the stress hormone response in the brain."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201002105749.htm
'I'll sleep when I'm dead': The sleep-deprived masculinity stereotype
September 29, 2020
Science Daily/University of Chicago Press Journals
In the United States, the average American sleeps less than the minimum seven hours of sleep per night recommended by the Center for Disease Control, and nearly half of Americans report negative consequences from insufficient sleep. This problem appears to be especially prevalent in men, who report getting significantly less sleep, on average, than women.
A cultural complication is the notion that getting less than the recommended amount of sleep signals something positive about an individual. For example, US President Donald Trump has boasted about getting less than four hours of sleep per night and regularly derogates his political opponent Joe Biden as "Sleepy Joe."
"The Sleep-Deprived Masculinity Stereotype," a new paper in the Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, examines a possible stereotype connecting sleep and masculinity along with its underlying mechanisms and its social implications.
Authors Nathan B. Warren and Troy H. Campbell conducted 12 experiments involving 2,564 American participants to demonstrate that a sleep-deprived masculinity stereotype exists. In one experiment, participants were asked to imagine seeing a man shopping for a bed. Then, a salesperson asked the man, "How much do you normally sleep?" The results found that the mean masculinity rating for participants in the lots of sleep condition was significantly lower than the mean masculinity rating for participants in the little sleep condition.
In another experiment, participants were asked to ascribe different attributes to a male character, assigned to either a "very masculine and manly" man or a "not very masculine and not very manly" man. Participants in the masculine condition described their character sleeping 33 minutes less sleep per night than the characters described in the not masculine condition. A final experiment showed that participants who imagined stating they sleep more than average felt significantly less masculine than participants who imagined stating they sleep less than average.
Collectively, the experiments found that men who sleep less are seen as more masculine and more positively judged by society. The same patterns were not consistently observed for perceptions of women.
"The social nature of the sleep-deprived masculinity stereotype positively reinforces males who sleep less, even though sleeping less contributes to significant mental and physical health problems," the authors write. This may be particularly detrimental because men frequently have significantly more negative attitudes towards seeking psychological help. "Unfortunately, the problems created by the sleep-deprived masculinity stereotype may reach beyond individuals and into society, as men who sleep less are found to be more aggressive and violent." This is an example of the restrictive and toxic characteristics of masculinity, "which can be harmful to men's health and society at large."
The bright side of this research, the authors say, is that "as society continues to challenge traditional definitions of masculinity, attitudes toward sleep may become more positive, and all people might enjoy more nights full of healthy sleep."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/09/200929173412.htm
Clinical Efficacy Of Essential Oils As Treatments
Guest posting by Liz Thomson, Health & Content Specialist
Since the advent of civilization, humankind has always turned towards the healing powers of the plants. Tribal and folk medicines mainly focused on deriving healing concoctions from the plants. One of the most popular among all is essential oils (EO).
EOs are immensely popular all over the world for their aroma-therapeutic properties. People have shown intense interest in EOs due to their benefits over mental, physical, and emotional well-being.
What are essential oils?
EOs are high concentrated extracts made from plants, seeds, flowers, roots, and barks. The liquid extracts are derived from various beneficial plants through different manufacturing processes. These oils have a much stronger aroma and bioactive chemical compounds than the plants they come from.
Bioactive components of essential oils
Generally, EOs parts into two groups of chemical components. They are hydrocarbons and oxygenated compounds. The hydrocarbons are mostly terpenes, and oxygenated compounds are mainly aldehyde, ketones, esters, alcohols, phenols, and oxides. Here are examples of the most sought-after EOs and their clinical efficacy.
1. Lavender Oil (LEO)
Lavender has played a significant role in ancient medicine. The medical properties of the plant are studied specifically on mental and emotional well-being.
Highly studied properties –
● Anti-anxiety and anti-depression effects – The clinical trials investigated the several effects of oral lavender oil preparation (Silexan). Investigations suggest that LEO significantly reduced symptoms of anxiety disorders. Other clinical trials on depression disorders found that LEO was useful to alleviate mood and reduce psychological distress.
● Sedative effects – Since ancient times, lavender has thought to be an excellent natural remedy for insomnia and improving the quality of sleep. Randomized trials found that smelling LEO improved the sleep quality of individuals.
● Analgesic effects – There are reports suggesting lavender is useful for people with chronic pain. One such study with ICU patients found that massaging LEO on patients’ feet helps lower blood pressure, heart rate, and pain.
2. CBD Oil
CBD oil might not sound like essential oil, but it is one. The oil derives from the hemp plant, a non-psychotic plant, unlike its sister marijuana species. CBD, short for Cannabidiol, is the most common bioactive compound found in a cannabis plant.
Highly studied properties –
● Anti-seizure effects – In the last two decades, dozens of studies have reported that CBD oil Canada has anti-seizure activity. Recently, the FDA approved the one and only CBD medication Epidiolex for epileptic seizures.
● Neuroprotective Effects – CBD oils are well-known to have neuroprotective properties in various neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis (MS), and stroke. Nabiximols is the medication approved for spasticity in MS patients derived from CBD.
● Analgesic effects – CBD oil helps as a pain-relieving agent. A range of studies, including animal models, cell cultures, and few clinical trials, suggest CBD oil effectively treats chronic pain, arthritis pain, cancer treatment pain, and migraine.
3. Tea Tree Oil (TTO)
TTO is acquired from the leaves of Melaleuca alternifolia or narrow-leaved paperbark. Tea tree essential oil was part of Aborigine folk medicine for centuries. They used oil for treating cough and skin problems.
Highly studied properties –
● Antibacterial effects – TTO’s antibacterial effects have gained much attention due to its susceptibility towards a range of bacteria. Few have proven that TTO has been found effective against antibiotic-resistant bacteria, MRSA.
● Antifungal effects – TTO was investigated in susceptibility against Candida albicans. Candida is the most common cause of fungal infections in people. Investigation proved that TTO was able to inhibit the growth and occurrence of candida infections.
● Anti-acne – There was a meticulous study on TTO treating acne. The study found that TTO could reduce acne without causing any side effects concerning acne medications.
3. Lavender Oil (LEO)
Lavender has played a significant role in ancient medicine. The medical properties of the plant are studied specifically on mental and emotional well-being.
4. Peppermint Oil (PEO)
PEO is obtained from the leaves of the peppermint, a mint plant variety. PEO is used in a variety of extracts, food flavoring agents, and dietary capsules globally.
Highly studied properties –
● Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) – The most extensive research of PEO centered on IBS. A meta-analysis of clinical trials examined the efficacy of PEO capsules and found that the oil relieved symptoms of IBS and abdominal pain.
● Antiemetic effects – A small study examined the effects of PEO aromatherapy on postoperative and pregnancy nausea. It reports implied that PEO helped to lower the levels of nausea.
● Digestive effects – Few studies and tons of anecdotal reports suggest that PEO helps in giving relief from indigestion symptoms.
5. Eucalyptus Oil (EEO)
EEO has been used to treat symptoms of cough, nasopharyngeal infections, and decongestants since old ages. There are several EEO remedies available over-the-counter.
Highly studied properties –
● Analgesic effects – Several clinical trials investigated EEO for its analgesic properties. One study found that inhaling EEO was highly effective in reducing pain and blood pressure among the subjects who had a total knee replacement.
● Anti-asthmatic effects – Clinical trials on bronchial asthma treatment investigated effects of EEO. Examinationsfound that EEO was successful in improving lung function significantly.
● Dental health – Cell studies show that EEO exhibits antibacterial activity against periodontal bacteria; the same effect was seen in a human clinical trial. The study found that chewing EEO containing gum promoted periodontal health.
Conclusion
There are around 90 types of EOs, and l has its unique smell and potential health benefits. They are often beneficial as an alternative therapy and are harmless when used in small quantities. However, on a note - there is no evidence suggesting that EOs heal any severe health condition.
References -
https://archives.drugabuse.gov/testimonies/2015/biology-potential-therapeutic-effects-cannabidiol
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1360273/
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237842903_A_REVIEW_ON_PEPPERMINT_OIL
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/266580
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2221169115001033#sec1
Berry good news: newly discovered compound from blueberries could treat inflammatory disorders
Scientists show how a polyphenolic compound derived from blueberry can treat inflammatory bowel disease
September 23, 2020
Science Daily/Tokyo University of Science
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), caused by chronic inflammation in the digestive tract linings, can be debilitating and life threatening. Therapeutic options include suppression of immune response, but treatments leading to complete cure of IBD are still not available. Recently, a team of researchers has discovered a polyphenolic compound derived from blueberry that shows remarkable immunosuppressive effects and can be useful in treating IBD.
Various plants and their products are known to contain "bioactive" ingredients that can alleviate human diseases. These "phytocompounds" often contain restorative biological properties such as anti-cancerous, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory effects. Thus, understanding how they interact with the body can lead to potential treatment strategies against major immune disorders.
A team of researchers at Tokyo University of Science, led by Prof Chiharu Nishiyama, has been working this direction for the past several years, to identify novel active components in functional foods and understand their effects on the body. Their efforts have now led to success: In their latest study, published in The FASEB Journal, the scientists identified a polyphenolic compound called "pterostilbene" (PSB) with strong immunosuppressive properties -- making it a potential therapeutic option for chronic inflammatory diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). This compound is very similar to another phytocompound known to have important medicinal effects, called "resveratrol" (RSV). Dr Takuya Yashiro, corresponding author of this report, explains the idea that prompted their research, "RSV, a polyphenol, was known to have pronounced immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory effects on animal models of colitis ulcer. Therefore, we investigated the possibility of other compounds structurally similar to RSV as a new type of treatment for IBD."
In patients with IBD, the gastrointestinal tract lining contains long-lasting ulcers caused by chronic inflammation due to an elevated immune response in the body. This involves the excessive production of immune system-related molecules called "cytokines." Moreover, two types of immune cells, "dendritic cells" (DCs) and "T cells," are also involved: at the onset of an immune response, DCs produce inflammatory cytokines and activate T cells to initiate a defense response. These processes together form a complex pathway that result in a "hyper" immune response. Thus, to find an effective compound that can suppress the immune system, it was crucial to test it on this population of immune cells.
Thus, to begin with, the scientists studied the effects of a range of plant-derived compounds on DC-mediated T cell proliferation. Their initial research led them to PSB, which showed stronger immunosuppressive activity than the other candidates. When they dug deeper, they found that PSB treatment prevents T cells from differentiating into Th1 and Th17 (subtypes of T cells that elevate the immune response) while increasing their differentiation into regulatory T cells (another subtype known to inhibit inflammation). They also revealed that PSB treatment inhibits inflammatory cytokine production from DCs by attenuating the DNA-binding activity of a crucial transcription factor PU.1. When they further tested PSB in mice with IBD, they found that oral intake of PSB improved symptoms of IBD. Thus, the study confirmed that PSB is an extremely promising anti-inflammatory agent to fight IBD. Not just this -- it is easily absorbed by the body, making it an ideal drug candidate!
Through these findings, the scientists have ushered in new possibilities for the treatment of not just IBD but also other inflammatory disorders. Dr Yashiro concludes, "For disease prevention, it is important to identify the beneficial components in foods and to understand the underlying mechanism by which immune responses and homeostasis are modulated in body. Our findings showed that PSB possesses a strong immunosuppressive property, paving the way for a new, natural treatment for IBD."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/09/200923164607.htm
Having high cholesterol levels early in life leads to heart problems by middle age
Finding could lead to more aggressive strategies to lower cholesterol in early adulthood
September 22, 2020
Science Daily/University of Maryland School of Medicine
Having elevated cholesterol during the teens or early twenties increases a person's risk of having a heart attack, stroke or other cardiovascular event during middle age. That is the finding a new landmark study led by researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM). This increased risk persists even in those who were able to get their cholesterol levels down to a healthy level before reaching their late thirties. The research makes a strong case for doctors to intervene early to treat high levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), the so-called "bad" type of cholesterol, the study authors contend. It also provides guidance for future intervention studies aimed at stemming the worldwide epidemic of heart disease and stroke.
The study, entitled "Time Course of LDL Cholesterol Exposure and Cardiovascular Disease Event Risk," was published today in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology and relied on data from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Study (CARDIA). This ongoing study, funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, began 35 years ago, recruiting 5,000 young adults aged 18 to 30. It has been tracking this cohort ever since to understand how individual characteristics, lifestyle and environmental factors contribute to the development of cardiovascular disease later in life.
"We found having an elevated LDL cholesterol level at a young age raises the risk of developing heart disease, and the elevated risk persists even in those who were able to later lower their LDL cholesterol levels" said study leader Michael Domanski, MD, a Professor of Medicine at UMSOM. For instance, two people with the same cholesterol level at age 40 may have very different risks of having a heart attack or stroke with risk being higher for the person who had higher cholesterol as a teenager.
"Damage to the arteries done early in life may be irreversible and appears to be cumulative," Dr. Domanski said. "For this reason, doctors may want to consider prescribing lifestyle changes and also medications to lower high LDL cholesterol levels in young adults in order to prevent problems further down the road."
To conduct the study, the researchers used complex mathematical modeling to understand how cardiovascular risk (heart attack, stroke, blood vessel blockages, and death from cardiovascular disease) rises with increasing cumulative "exposure" to LDL cholesterol over an average of 22 years. They found that the greater the area under the "LDL curve" -- which measured time of exposure and level of LDL cholesterol over time -- the more likely participants were to experience a major cardiovascular event.
"Interestingly and importantly, we also found it was not just the area under the curve that accounted for the difference in risk but also the time course of the exposure," study co-author Charles Hong, MD, PhD, the Melvin Sharoky, MD, Professor in Medicine at UMSOM. "This underscores the importance of regular cholesterol screenings beginning in early adulthood to help reduce this time of high exposure."
While the medical establishment understands the importance of managing high LDL cholesterol levels to lower heart risks, there is little consensus on how aggressively to intervene in young adults who may not experience a heart attack or stroke for decades. The American College of Cardiology's current cholesterol management guidelines recommend using lifestyle measures to lower high LDL levels during the teenage years. This includes exercise, maintaining a healthy body mass index, and following a healthy diet low in saturated animal fats. The guidelines recommend that doctors consider prescribing cholesterol-lowering medications like statins to prevent heart disease in those ages 20 to 39 who have elevated cholesterol levels, especially if they have a family history of early-onset heart disease.
Researchers from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, George Washington University, Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, University of Alabama School of Medicine, the University of Toronto and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai were co-authors on this study.
"Cardiovascular disease remains the biggest killer in the world, and this new finding provides a potential way to save many lives," said E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs, UM Baltimore, and the John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor and Dean, University of Maryland School of Medicine. "The medical community should sit up, take notice, and respond to this important new evidence."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/09/200922172604.htm
Fatter legs linked to reduced risk of high blood pressure
September 10, 2020
Science Daily/American Heart Association
Adults with fatter legs -- meaning they have a higher percentage of total body fat tissue in their legs -- were less likely than those with a lower percentage to have high blood pressure, according to new research to be presented Sept. 10-13, 2020, at the virtual American Heart Association's Hypertension 2020 Scientific Sessions. The meeting is a premier global exchange for clinical and basic researchers focusing on recent advances in hypertension research.
"Ultimately, what we noted in this study is a continued discussion of 'it's not just how much fat you have, but where the fat is located,'" said principal investigator Aayush Visaria, M.P.H., a fourth-year medical student at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School in Newark, New Jersey. "Although we know confidently that fat around your waist is detrimental to health, the same cannot be said for leg fat. If you have fat around your legs, it is more than likely not a bad thing and may even be protecting you from hypertension, according to our findings."
The investigators examined the rate of three types of high blood pressure in relation to the percentage of fat tissue in the legs of nearly 6,000 adults enrolled in the 2011-2016 National Health & Nutrition Examination Surveys. Average age of the participants was 37, nearly half were female and 24% had high blood pressure, defined as blood pressure >130/80 mm Hg.
Special X-ray scans measured fat tissue in the legs, and these measures were compared to overall body fat tissue. Investigators classified participants as having either a high or low percentage of leg fat, with high fat defined as 34% or more for males, and 39% or more for females.
Participants with higher percentages of leg fat were less likely than those with lower levels of fat to have all types of high blood pressure. The analysis found:
Compared to those with lower percentages of leg fat, participants with higher percentages of leg fat were 61% less likely to have the type of high blood pressure where both numbers are elevated.
In addition, risk for participants with higher leg fat was 53% lower for diastolic high blood pressure (the second number in a blood pressure reading, measuring pressure between heart beats) and 39% lower for systolic high blood pressure (the first number in a reading, measuring pressure when the heart beats).
After adjusting for various factors, such as age, sex, race and ethnicity, education, smoking, alcohol use, cholesterol levels and waist fat, the risk for high blood pressure was still lower among participants with higher percentages of leg fat, although not as low as before adjusting for these factors.
"If these results are confirmed by larger, more robust studies, and in studies using easily accessible measurement methods like thigh circumference, there is the potential to affect patient care," Visaria said. "Just as waist circumference is used to estimate abdominal fat, thigh circumference may be a useful tool, although it's a bit cumbersome and not as widely studied in the U.S. population."
Several limitations could have affected the study's results. First, the study could not determine cause and effect, since information on blood pressure and percentage of fat tissue in the legs were measured at the same time. Second, a larger group of participants is needed to yield more information about the effects on high blood pressure of varying degrees of fat tissue in the legs. Finally, all study participants were under the age of 60, so the results may not apply to older adults, who are generally at greater risk for high blood pressure.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/09/200910150338.htm
Gut microbiome data may be helpful in routine screening of cardiovascular disease
September 10, 2020
Science Daily/American Heart Association
Previous studies have found the human gut microbiome, bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract, is associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD). This study used machine learning to analyze data from nearly 1,000 stool samples from people with and without CVD. Results show potential for developing a convenient, new diagnostic approach for CVD.
Using artificial intelligence to analyze the bacteria in a person's gut microbiome shows promise as a new screening method for cardiovascular disease (CVD), according to preliminary research to be presented Sept. 10-13, 2020, at the virtual American Heart Association's Hypertension 2020 Scientific Sessions. The meeting is a premier global exchange for clinical and basic researchers focusing on recent advances in hypertension research. The full study published simultaneously today in Hypertension, an American Heart Association journal.
Recent studies have found a link between gut microbiota, the microorganisms in human digestive tracts, and CVD, which is the leading cause of mortality worldwide. Gut microbiota is highly variable between individuals, and differences in gut microbial compositions between people with and without CVD have been reported.
"Based on our previous research linking gut microbiota to CVD in animal models, we designed this study to test whether it is possible to screen for CVD in humans using artificial intelligence screening of stool samples," said Bina Joe, Ph.D., FAHA, the study director, Distinguished University Professor and Chairwoman of the department of physiology and pharmacology at the University of Toledo in Toledo, Ohio. "Gut microbiota has a profound effect on cardiovascular function, and this could be a potential new strategy for evaluation of cardiovascular health."
Researchers used data from the American Gut Project (an open platform for microbiome research based in the United States) to analyze microbial composition of stool samples with state-of-the-art machine learning modeling. Nearly 1,000 samples were analyzed, and approximately half of the samples were from people with CVD. The model was able to identify different clusters of gut bacteria that could potentially help identify individuals with existing CVD and without CVD.
Among the bacteria identified:
Bacteroides, Subdoligranulum, Clostridium, Megasphaera, Eubacterium, Veillonella, Acidaminococcus and Listeria were more abundant in the CVD group.
Faecalibacterium, Ruminococcus, Proteus, Lachnospira, Brevundimonas, Alistipes and Neisseria were more abundant in the non-CVD group.
"Despite the fact that gut microbiomes are highly variable among individuals, we were surprised by the promising level of accuracy obtained from these preliminary results, which indicate fecal microbiota composition could potentially serve as a convenient diagnostic screening method for CVD," Joe said. "It is conceivable that one day, maybe without even assessing detailed cardiovascular function, clinicians could analyze the gut microbiome of patients' stool samples with an artificial machine learning method to screen patients for heart and vascular diseases."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/09/200910150336.htm
Insomnia identified as a new risk factor for type 2 diabetes in new study which also confirms many other risk and protective factors
September 8, 2020
Science Daily/Diabetologia
A new 'global atlas' study published in Diabetologia(the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes [EASD]) is the first to identify insomnia as a risk factor associated with increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes (T2D). The study identifies 34 risk factors that are thought to increase (19) or decrease risk (15), as well as a further 21 'suggestive' risk factors where evidence was not quite as strong.
The study by Associate Professor Susanna Larsson and by Shuai Yuan of the Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden, used a technique called 'Mendelian Randomisation' (MR), which uses genetic variation as a natural experiment to investigate the causal relations between potentially modifiable risk factors and health outcomes in observational data. MR is less likely to be affected by confounding or reverse causation than observational studies.
To identify possible risk factors for T2D, the authors conducted a review of meta-analyses and review articles in the PubMed database and found 1,360 relevant articles. They found a total of 97 risk factors that could be investigated using the MR method. For the study population, they used summary-level data from the DIAbetes Genetics Replication And Meta-analysis consortium (74,124 type 2 diabetes cases and 824,006 controls of European ancestry). The team then checked that these potential causal associations could be replicated in a separate independent population, using the FinnGen consortium (11,006 type 2 diabetes cases and 82,655 controls of European ancestry).
They found evidence of causal associations between 34 exposures (19 risk factors and 15 protective factors) and T2D. Insomnia was identified as a novel risk factor, with people with insomnia being 17% more likely to develop T2D than those without.
The other 18 risk factors for T2D were depression, systolic blood pressure, starting smoking, lifetime smoking, coffee (caffeine) consumption, blood plasma levels of the amino acids isoleucine, valine and leucine, liver enzyme alanine aminotransferase (a sign of liver function), childhood and adulthood body mass index (BMI), body fat percentage, visceral (internal) fat mass, resting heart rate, and blood plasma levels of four fatty acids.
The 15 exposures associated with a decreased risk of type 2 diabetes were plasma alanine (an amino acid), high density lipoprotein (good cholesterol) and total cholesterol, age at beginning puberty in women (menarche), testosterone levels, sex hormone binding globulin levels (adjusted for BMI), birthweight, adulthood height, lean body mass (for women), four plasma fatty acids, circulating vitamin D and years of education.
After adjusting for adulthood BMI, 8 risk factors remained statistically significantly associated with T2D risk, suggesting they are independent of body weight (see figure 2 full paper). Insomnia remained as one of these factors, however the increased risk for those with insomnia compared to those without fell from 17% to 7% after adjustment for BMI, indicating that part of the effect of insomnia on T2D risk is mediated by BMI. Systolic blood pressure, lifetime smoking and levels of liver enzyme remained as risk factors (positively associated with T2D). Increasing total cholesterol, good cholesterol, testosterone levels and sex hormone levels remained as protective factors (inversely associated with T2D) after adjustment.
Among the further 21 'suggestive' causal factors for type 2 diabetes (where the evidence was weaker than for the other factors above) were alcohol consumption, breakfast skipping, daytime napping, short sleep, urinary sodium (salt) levels, and certain amino acids and inflammatory factors.
The authors conclude: "Our study confirmed several previously established risk factors and identified novel potential risk factors for type 2 diabetes using the latest summary-level data. Findings should inform public health policies for the primary prevention of type 2 diabetes. Prevention strategies should be constructed from multiple perspectives, such as lowering obesity and smoking rates and levels, and improving mental health, sleep quality, educational level and birthweight."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/09/200908200850.htm