An analysis of studies, narrative reviews, meta-analyses, letters, comments, clinical guidelines and consensus statements between 1974-2014 yielded no conclusive result on the effects of salt on health. 54% support the hypothesis that lower salt intake is associated with better health, 33% are against the hypothesis, and 13% are inconclusive.
A blog dedicated to organizing all the types of things that capture my interest into one convenient location. Although it's not used with the intention of obtaining a loyal readership, if you feel that you're interested in the same thing, feel free to peruse at your disposal, and/or to contact me so we can be friends and learn from each other.
Showing posts with label Research. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Research. Show all posts
Thursday, February 18, 2016
Saturday, February 13, 2016
Using Nitric Oxide to Combat Acne
Researcher Adam Friedman from George Washington School of Medicine found that, using nanotechnology, the release of nitric oxide was effective in killing P. acnes while at the same time inhibiting inflammation that comes with acne lesions. This study focused on a new pathway that involves an inflammasome, which activates the inflammatory process in acne.
Dopamine and Social Interaction
This study explored an area of the brain (that of which for the most part is unknown) called the Dorsal Raphe Nucleus. This study done on mice (using optogenetics) showed that social isolation led the dopamine neurons to become "primed" or "sensitized", so as to suggest that the mice ought to interact with others. Stimulation of dopamine neurons resulted in animals interacting more with others, while inhibition of the neurons resulted in less interaction. This makes sense in light of the fact that illnesses like depression are linked to dopamine dysfunction.
Another thing to note is that dominant mice were more sensitive to these neural changes, simply because dominance and social rank requires a high(er) amount of social interaction.
Another thing to note is that dominant mice were more sensitive to these neural changes, simply because dominance and social rank requires a high(er) amount of social interaction.
Friday, February 12, 2016
Neurological/Behavioral Differences Between Men and Women
An image-based study was performed by a team in the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine that aimed to develop a structural connectome of people's brains, highlighting the differences between male and female brains.
"The team's findings build on a 2013 Proceedings of the Academy of Sciences (PNAS) study in which they found, on average, differences in the neural wiring of men and women. This latest study delves deeper, reporting that differences in the behaviors of men and women are accompanied by related differences in the brain subnetworks. According to findings of the team, stronger structural connectivity in motor, sensory, and executive functions matched higher motor and spatial skills in males. In females, subnetworks associated with social cognition, attention and memory tasks had higher connectivity and matched improved memory and social cognition skills."
More broadly, this is part of an ever-growing field of medicine called "precision medicine" which aims to give personalized treatment to patients, given the fact that three different patients may react in three different ways to the same disease.
"The team's findings build on a 2013 Proceedings of the Academy of Sciences (PNAS) study in which they found, on average, differences in the neural wiring of men and women. This latest study delves deeper, reporting that differences in the behaviors of men and women are accompanied by related differences in the brain subnetworks. According to findings of the team, stronger structural connectivity in motor, sensory, and executive functions matched higher motor and spatial skills in males. In females, subnetworks associated with social cognition, attention and memory tasks had higher connectivity and matched improved memory and social cognition skills."
More broadly, this is part of an ever-growing field of medicine called "precision medicine" which aims to give personalized treatment to patients, given the fact that three different patients may react in three different ways to the same disease.
Connection Observed Between Hand Grip Resistance and Ability to Finish Schoolwork
Study posted in the Journal of Health Psychology linked a positive relationship between the power to resist a hand grip and the willpower of students in completing their homework. A rather bizarre association to be made, but the argument goes ""If you have a high capacity for self-control you can have a high capacity in multiple domains," Stork says. "If you have a high level of self-control, it's not only for exercise or doing well in school, but it can also apply to other helpful behaviours as well, like regulating your eating or smoking habits."
Sunday, December 6, 2015
Type II Diabetes Reversed via Pancreatic Fat Reduction
Study from Newcastle University, UK, illustrating the notion that losing pancreatic fat can reverse Type II Diabetes.
In a trial for Bariatric surgery, 18 people with T2DM and 9 without were measured in weight, fat levels in pancreas, and insulin response before and after surgery. Both groups losing the same amount of weight, yielded the result of having lost pancreatic fat until it was at a normal level in the T2DM patients, and not for the non-T2DM patients.
Other groups of patients with and without T2DM were asked to lose weight, where the weight loss showed fat being lost in the pancreas in the T2DM patients, and no fat being lost in the patients without T2DM.
Both results suggest that pancreatic fat accumulation is specific to people who develop T2DM.
The amount of fat needed to reverse the diabetes was about 1 gram of pancreatic fat.
Sciencedaily article here.
Original published study in the journal Diabetes Care here.
Reference: December 1, 2015, doi: 10.2337/dc15-0750
In a trial for Bariatric surgery, 18 people with T2DM and 9 without were measured in weight, fat levels in pancreas, and insulin response before and after surgery. Both groups losing the same amount of weight, yielded the result of having lost pancreatic fat until it was at a normal level in the T2DM patients, and not for the non-T2DM patients.
Other groups of patients with and without T2DM were asked to lose weight, where the weight loss showed fat being lost in the pancreas in the T2DM patients, and no fat being lost in the patients without T2DM.
Both results suggest that pancreatic fat accumulation is specific to people who develop T2DM.
The amount of fat needed to reverse the diabetes was about 1 gram of pancreatic fat.
Sciencedaily article here.
Original published study in the journal Diabetes Care here.
Reference: December 1, 2015, doi: 10.2337/dc15-0750
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
Sugar reduction improves physiological markers in obese children
A study done on 43 obese children with hypertension, hyperinsulinemia, a lipid profile of high LDL, and low HDL, high fasting glucose and other physiological markers typically associated with Metabolic Syndrome yielded surprising results after a 9-day fructose sugar reduction in diet. The sugar reduction was the only marker reduced, and carbohydrate ingestion was adjusted to maintain the same amount of calories.
This to me, raises again the counter-intuitive notion that overweight, and even obese people can be healthy physiologically. If all parameters checks out, you can be overweight and still physiologically normal.
Article by ScienceDaily here.
Original published study on the journal Obesity here.
Reference: DOI: 10.1002/oby.21371
This to me, raises again the counter-intuitive notion that overweight, and even obese people can be healthy physiologically. If all parameters checks out, you can be overweight and still physiologically normal.
Article by ScienceDaily here.
Original published study on the journal Obesity here.
Reference: DOI: 10.1002/oby.21371
Sunday, November 1, 2015
Blood donation lowering risk of cancer and stroke.
Blood donation helps lower risk of heart attack and stroke due to reduced blood viscosity via iron removal.
The iron removal reduces damage caused from oxidative stress which helps lower your risk of cancer.
Original published study on the American Journal of Epidemiology here.
Reference: 1998;148:445-51., Vol. 148, No. 5
Original published study on the Journal of the National Cancer Institute here.
Reference: JNCI J Natl Cancer Inst (2008) 100 (14): 996-1002. doi: 10.1093/jnci/djn209 First published online July 8, 2008
The iron removal reduces damage caused from oxidative stress which helps lower your risk of cancer.
Original published study on the American Journal of Epidemiology here.
Reference: 1998;148:445-51., Vol. 148, No. 5
Original published study on the Journal of the National Cancer Institute here.
Reference: JNCI J Natl Cancer Inst (2008) 100 (14): 996-1002. doi: 10.1093/jnci/djn209 First published online July 8, 2008
Standardized Tests & Cognitive Ability
"Cognitive ability predicts academic achievement, but academic achievement does not predict cognitive ability."
So what exactly are we testing for? Surely, the aim is to test for cognitive ability right? But if research shows this is inaccurate, then we are at an impasse. The key is to find out what other factors influence academic achievement.
Article by Scientific American here.
Original published study on journal Science Direct, Intelligence here.
Reference: Intelligence 35 (2007) 59–68
So what exactly are we testing for? Surely, the aim is to test for cognitive ability right? But if research shows this is inaccurate, then we are at an impasse. The key is to find out what other factors influence academic achievement.
Article by Scientific American here.
Original published study on journal Science Direct, Intelligence here.
Reference: Intelligence 35 (2007) 59–68
Vitamin B12 modulates the transcriptome of the skin microbiota in acne pathogenesis
Vitamin B12 found as an integral part of acne pathogenesis. Vitamin B12 is found highly in meats in dairies.
Original published study on the journal Science Translational Medicine here.
Reference: Science Translational Medicine 24 Jun 2015: Vol. 7, Issue 293, pp. 293ra103, DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aab2009
Original published study on the journal Science Translational Medicine here.
Reference: Science Translational Medicine 24 Jun 2015: Vol. 7, Issue 293, pp. 293ra103, DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aab2009
Non‐enzymatic glycolysis and pentose phosphate pathway‐like reactions in a plausible Archean ocean
Incredible. In essence, more evidence of life forming from non-life. 2,3, or 4 reactions weren't found in these experiments, but 29, forming two biochemical pathways that formed necessary products from metabolic intermediates. It was always discussed that metabolism isn't really possible without RNA, a molecule that can form specific enzymes to catalyze metabolism, but the kicker is that the results of this experiment were shaped without the presence of RNA, but instead were catalyzed by metal ions. Not only does this answer a lot of questions, but it also makes the discourse of abiogenesis a lot more plausible with an important RNA backbone being formed from the Archean conditions. RNA --> metabolism --> life held a lot of problems, but metabolism --> RNA --> life makes a hell of a lot more sense.
Original published study in the journal Molecular Systems Biology here.
Reference: DOI 10.1002/msb.20145228 | Published online 25.04.2014 Molecular Systems Biology (2014) 10: 725
Original published study in the journal Molecular Systems Biology here.
Reference: DOI 10.1002/msb.20145228 | Published online 25.04.2014 Molecular Systems Biology (2014) 10: 725
A new antibiotic kills pathogens without detectable resistance
For anyone interested in Microbiology. It's a pretty big deal, because not only is it a creative and smart way of tackling antibiotic resistance, but it brings a new hope for preventing the impending antibiotic crisis of 2050, which changes healthcare treatments.
Antibiotics are typically created through semisynthesis, which is a process where you take a natural substance and chemically tweak it using cultured bacteria. This is limiting because the bacteria cultured develop mutational resistances, and microbiology isn't expanding in the field of taxonomy these days to experiment with new cultured bacteria.
If you use culture-independent methods to analyze a gram of soil, you obtain an average of about 12,000 16s rRNA gene sequences, which means that a gram of soil typically ranges between 10,000-20,000 different microbes living in it. If you compare that to the over mere 8,500 microbes currently classified, we have a diverse microbial world that potentially inhabits millions of microbial species yet undiscovered. By using methods that extract antibacterial substances from uncultured bacteria, you increase the chances of finding new powerful antibiotics by a limitless amount, which lead to these incredible antibiotics like teixobactin that haven't yet created any antibacterial resistances.
Article by ScienceDaily here.
Original published study on the journal Nature here.
Reference: Nature 517, 455–459 (22 January 2015) doi:10.1038/nature14098
Antibiotics are typically created through semisynthesis, which is a process where you take a natural substance and chemically tweak it using cultured bacteria. This is limiting because the bacteria cultured develop mutational resistances, and microbiology isn't expanding in the field of taxonomy these days to experiment with new cultured bacteria.
If you use culture-independent methods to analyze a gram of soil, you obtain an average of about 12,000 16s rRNA gene sequences, which means that a gram of soil typically ranges between 10,000-20,000 different microbes living in it. If you compare that to the over mere 8,500 microbes currently classified, we have a diverse microbial world that potentially inhabits millions of microbial species yet undiscovered. By using methods that extract antibacterial substances from uncultured bacteria, you increase the chances of finding new powerful antibiotics by a limitless amount, which lead to these incredible antibiotics like teixobactin that haven't yet created any antibacterial resistances.
Article by ScienceDaily here.
Original published study on the journal Nature here.
Reference: Nature 517, 455–459 (22 January 2015) doi:10.1038/nature14098
Restricted epigenetic inheritance of H3K9 methylation
On the Programmed/Non-Programmed Aging Controversy
This explains the key differences between programmed vs nonprogrammed aging theories. Both being radically different in their attempts to explain the mechanisms behind aging, a resolution to the problem would greatly affect medical research in studying processes of age-related diseases. Evidence is growing for a programmed theory due to discoveries such as genes that cause aging and the effects that are caused by engaging in calorie restriction diets.
Article from Biochemistry Phenoptosis here.
Reference: Biochemistry (Moscow) Phenoptosis, Vol 77 No 7, pp. 729_732, 2012, DOI: 10.1134/S000629791207005X
Article from Biochemistry Phenoptosis here.
Reference: Biochemistry (Moscow) Phenoptosis, Vol 77 No 7, pp. 729_732, 2012, DOI: 10.1134/S000629791207005X
Paternally contributed centrioles exhibit exceptional persistence in C. elegans embryos
C. elegans does it again. But how potentially non-genetic carriers like centrioles can carry biological information is still kind of a mystery. Doesn't make much sense to me.
Original published article by the journal Nature, Cell Research here.
Reference: Cell Research 25:642–644. doi:10.1038/cr.2015.49; published online 24 April 2015
Original published article by the journal Nature, Cell Research here.
Reference: Cell Research 25:642–644. doi:10.1038/cr.2015.49; published online 24 April 2015
Molecular Signatures of Major Depression
Increased mitochondrial DNA & decreased telomere length found in over 11,000+ MD patients triggered via a glucocorticoid. This makes this the first time a biomarker was ever found for depression, which probably has huge clinical implications.
"Depression might in some sense be considered a metabolic reaction to perceived stress."
Original published study on the journal Current Biology here.
Reference: DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2015.03.008
"Depression might in some sense be considered a metabolic reaction to perceived stress."
Original published study on the journal Current Biology here.
Reference: DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2015.03.008
Future possibilities for research governing HIV remission.
The evidence is showing that early treatment may be the key to HIV remission. There will be studies conducted as early as 2018 with 150 HIV patients exploring the possibilities of remission.
Article by MedicalDaily here.
Article by MedicalDaily here.
Leptin Suppresses the Rewarding Effects of Running via STAT3 Signaling in Dopamine Neurons
Knockout or loss of function of STAT3 in mice increases the rewarding effects of running, in which case more voluntary running is observed in mice. Although the mechanism is not completely known yet, it is known that Leptin requires STAT3 for its function. This is what's behind pharmaceutical weight loss regimens, what's known as the "runner's high", and its hyperactivity in anorexia.
Original published study on the journal Cell Metabolism here.
Reference: DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2015.08.003
Original published study on the journal Cell Metabolism here.
Reference: DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2015.08.003
Tweaking Mitochondria via Nutrition
Neurological Effects of Taurine
Hippocampal neurogenesis and lowered arterial stress (and much more). Taurine's benefits to the human body are revolutionary.
Life Extension magazine article here.
Life Extension magazine article here.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)