The Gary Null Show - 03.11.21

The benefits of the Mediterranean diet pass on to the families of patients who follow it

Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (Italy), March 9, 2021

People living with a patient undergoing an intensive weight loss treatment also benefit from this therapy. This has been demonstrated by a team of researchers from the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM-Hospital del Mar) along with doctors from Hospital del Mar and the CIBER on the Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition (CIBERObn), in collaboration with IDIAPJGol, the Pere Virgili Health Research Institute (IISPV), IDIBELL, IDIBAPS and the Sant Joan de Reus University Hospital. The study has been published in the journal International Journal of Obesity.

The study analysed data from 148 family members of patients included in the weight loss and lifestyle programme PREDIMED-Plus (PREVencióDIetaMEDiterranea Plus) over a two-year period. The researchers analysed whether these people also indirectly benefited from the programme, as they were not enrolled in the study and did not receive any direct treatment. PREDIMED-Plus is a multicentre study in which a group of patients follow an intensive weight reduction programme based on the Mediterranean diet and a plan promoting physical activity.

Weight loss despite not being included in the programme

The relatives (three out of four were the patient's partner and the rest were children, parents, siblings or had some other degree of kinship), lost an average of 1.25 kg of weight during the first year of the programme, compared to the relatives of the patients in the control group (those who did not follow the intensive treatment proposed by PREDIMED-Plus). This rose to almost 4 kg in the second year. These figures were better in cases where the family member ate with the patient and, above all, when it was the patient themselves who cooked.

The treatment, aimed at achieving weight loss in people with obesity and high cardiovascular risk by following the Mediterranean diet, "Achieved effects beyond just weight loss in the patient, and this extended to their family environment", explains Dr. Albert Goday, the principal investigator on the project, head of section in the Department of Endocrinology and Nutrition at Hospital del Mar, researcher in the Cardiovascular Risk and Nutrition Research Group at the IMIM-Hospital del Mar and a CIBERobn researcher. "The effect was contagious, in this context it was, fortunately, a beneficial 'contagion', resulting in weight loss and improved dietary habits." Dr. Goday points out that "among the many possible dietary approaches to weight loss, the one based on the Mediterranean diet is the most easilt shared within a family environment."

According to Dr. Olga Castañer, the final author of the study and a researcher in the Cardiovascular Risk and Nutrition Research Group at the IMIM-Hospital del Mar and CIBERobn, the good results can be explained "By an improved diet, since the same contagious effect was not observed in terms of physical activity among the patients and their relatives."

Family members also showed increased commitment to the Mediterranean diet, according to a questionnaire assessing adherence to the dietary patterns of this regimen. But the same was not true in terms of physical activity. As Dr Castañer points out, "In addition to weight loss, there was greater adherence to the Mediterranean diet, which has intrinsic health benefits, such as protection against cardiovascular and neurodegenerative risks."

The results of the study "Demonstrate the contagion effect, the halo effect, of a treatment programme in the relatives of participants involved in an intensive weight loss procedure, as well as increased adherence to the Mediterranean diet", stresses Dr. Albert Goday. "The beneficial effect of the programme on one member of the family unit can be extended to its other members, which is extremely significant in terms of reducing the burden of obesity on the public health system", he explains. The family members not only lost weight but also improved the quality of their diet.

Effect of the programme on patients

The study also analysed the results of the PREDIMED-Plus programme in 117 patients. Compared to participants in the control group, they lost 5.10 kg in the first year of intervention rising to 6.79 kg in the second year. They also significantly increased their physical activity levels, as well as their adherence to the Mediterranean diet.

 

 

CBD reduces plaque, improves cognition in model of familial Alzheimer's

Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, March 9, 2021

A two-week course of high doses of CBD helps restore the function of two proteins key to reducing the accumulation of beta-amyloid plaque, a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease, and improves cognition in an experimental model of early onset familial Alzheimer's, investigators report. 

The proteins TREM2 and IL-33 are important to the ability of the brain's immune cells to literally consume dead cells and other debris like the beta-amyloid plaque that piles up in patients' brains, and levels of both are decreased in Alzheimer's. 

The investigators report for the first time that CBD normalizes levels and function, improving cognition as it also reduces levels of the immune protein IL-6, which is associated with the high inflammation levels found in Alzheimer's, says Dr. Babak Baban, immunologist and associate dean for research in the Dental College of Georgia and the study's corresponding author. 

There is a dire need for novel therapies to improve outcomes for patients with this condition, which is considered one of the fastest-growing health threats in the United States, DCG and Medical College of Georgia investigators write in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. 

"Right now we have two classes of drugs to treat Alzheimer's," says Dr. John Morgan, neurologist and director of the Movement and Memory Disorder Programs in the MCG Department of Neurology. One class increases levels of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which also are decreased in Alzheimer's, and another works through the NMDA receptors involved in communication between neurons and important to memory. "But we have nothing that gets to the pathophysiology of the disease," says Morgan, a study coauthor. 

The DCG and MCG investigators decided to look at CBD's ability to address some of the key brain systems that go awry in Alzheimer's. 

They found CBD appears to normalize levels of IL-33, a protein whose highest expression in humans is normally in the brain, where it helps sound the alarm that there is an invader like the beta-amyloid accumulation. There is emerging evidence of its role as a regulatory protein as well, whose function of either turning up or down the immune response depends on the environment, Baban says. In Alzheimer's, that includes turning down inflammation and trying to restore balance to the immune system, he says.

That up and down expression in health and disease could make IL-33 both a good biomarker and treatment target for disease, the investigators say. 

CBD also improved expression of triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2, or TREM2, which is found on the cell surface where it combines with another protein to transmit signals that activate cells, including immune cells. In the brain, its expression is on the microglial cells, a special population of immune cells found only in the brain where they are key to eliminating invaders like a virus and irrevocably damaged neurons.

Low levels of TREM2 and rare variations in TREM2 are associated with Alzheimer's, and in their mouse model TREM2 and IL-33 were both low. 

Both are essential to a natural, ongoing housekeeping process in the brain called phagocytosis, in which microglial cells regularly consume beta amyloid, which is regularly produced in the brain, the result of the breakdown of amyloid-beta precursor protein, which is important to the synapses, or connection points, between neurons, and which the plaque interrupts. 

They found CBD treatment increased levels of IL-33 and TREM2 -- sevenfold and tenfold respectively. 

CBD's impact on brain function in the mouse model of early onset Alzheimer's was assessed by methods like the ability to differentiate between a familiar item and a new one, as well as observing the rodents' movement. 

People with Alzheimer's may experience movement problems like stiffness and an impaired gait, says Dr. Hesam Khodadadi, a graduate student working in Baban's lab. Mice with the disease run in an endless tight circle, behavior which stopped with CBD treatment, says Khodadadi, the study's first author. 

Next steps include determining optimal doses and giving CBD earlier in the disease process. The compound was given in the late stages for the published study, and now the investigators are using it at the first signs of cognitive decline, Khodadadi says. They also are exploring delivery systems including the use of an inhaler that should help deliver the CBD more directly to the brain. For the published studies, CBD was put into the belly of the mice every other day for two weeks.

A company has developed both animal and human inhalers for the investigators who also have been exploring CBD's effect on adult respiratory distress syndrome, or ARDS, a buildup of fluid in the lungs that is a major and deadly complication of COVID-19, as well as other serious illnesses like sepsis and major trauma. The CBD doses used for the Alzheimer's study were the same the investigators successfully used to reduce the "cytokine storm" of ARDS, which can irrevocably damage the lungs. 

Familial disease is an inherited version of Alzheimer's in which symptoms typically surface in the 30s and 40s and occurs in about 10-15% of patients. 

CBD should be at least equally effective in the more common, nonfamilial type Alzheimer's, which likely have more targets for CBD, Baban notes. They already are looking at its potential in a model of this more common type and moving forward to establish a clinical trial. 

Plaques as well as neurofibrillary tangles, a collection of the protein tau inside neurons, are the main components of Alzheimer's, Morgan says. Beta-amyloid generally appears in the brain 15-20 years or more before dementia, he says, and the appearance of tau tangles, which can occur up to 10 years afterward, correlates with the onset of dementia. There is some interplay between beta amyloid and tau that decrease the dysfunction of each, Morgan notes. 

The Food and Drug Administration is scheduled to make a ruling by early June on a new drug aducanumab, which would be the first to attack and help clear beta amyloid, Morgan says.

 

 

1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D supports bone marrow stem cell proliferation

Cang-zhou Central Hospital (China), March 1, 2021

According to news originating from Hebei, People’s Republic of China, research stated, “Osteoporosis (OP) is a common clinical geriatric disease. Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) are widely applied in bone engineering. 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25-(OH) 2D) deficiency involves in geriatric disease.”

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from Cangzhou Central Hospital, “However, its effects on BMSCs differentiation and osteoporosis have not yet been elucidated. An OVX-induced OP rat model was constructed and treated with 10 mu M 1,25-(OH) 2D followed by analysis of bone mineral density and ALP activity. Rat BMSCs were isolated and divided into control group, OP group, OP rat BMSCs, and VD group (OP rats were injected with 1 mu M 1,25-(OH) 2D) followed by analysis of cell survival by MTT assay, Caspase 3 activity, type I collagen and Osterix expression by Real time PCR, Wnt5 expression by Western blot and TGF-beta secretion by ELISA. The bone density and ALP activity was significantly decreased in OP rats (P < 0.05). 1,25 (OH) 20 injected into OP rats significantly increased bone density and ALP activity (P < 0.05). The survival rate of BMSCs in OP group was significantly decreased and Caspase 3 activity was increased along with downregulated type I collagen and Osterix, TGF-beta secretion and Wnt5 expression (P < 0.05).”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “Adding 1,25-(OH) 2D to BMSCs cells in OP group could significantly reverse the above changes (P < 0.05). 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D promotes BMSCs proliferation by regulating Wnt5/TGF-beta signaling, promotes differentiation into osteogenesis, increases bone density, and then improves osteoporosis.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

 

 

High-fat diets can cause normal liver tissue to behave like tumor tissue

Flanders Institute of Biotechnology (Belgium), March 10, 2021

Normal, non-cancerous liver tissue can act like tumor tissue when exposed to a diet high in fat, linking diet and obesity to the development of liver cancer. The Laboratory of Cellular Metabolism and Metabolic Regulation headed by Prof. Sarah-Maria Fendt (VIB-KU Leuven Center for Cancer Biology), shows how the livers of mice on a high-fat diet used glucose in a way similar to aggressive cancer cells. This suggests that when the liver is exposed to excess fat, normal tissue could be primed to become cancerous. The study appeared in the journal Cancer Research.

Cancer and obesity

With global rates of obesity and liver cancerincreasing each year, understanding how excess fat availability can drive liver cancerdevelopment is important to understand how the disease starts and how it can be treated. To explore this, Prof. Fendt and her team tested the metabolic changes in liver tissue from mice fed a high-fat diet at an early time point when no tumors were present, and late time point when tumors had formed. They found that before there were any clues that cancer was developing, the liver tissue used glucose the same way that tumors would. This high use of glucose is one of the well-known hallmarks of cancer and is known as the Warburg effect.

After finding these early changes to liver tissue, they investigated what happens when tumors have fully formed. One way they measured this was to test sensitivity to glucose, which is usually cleared away quickly by the body but is impaired in obesity-induced diabetic animals.

Prof. Fendt describes what they found: "Strikingly, mice fed a high-fat diet who had a large tumor burden could remove glucose from their blood as easily as healthy mice despite being diabetic. Using state-of-the-art 13C6-glucose tracing technology, we could observe how glucose molecules are used in cells and tissues, and we found that that tumor tissue breaks down glucose in a consistent way, regardless of whether the mice were fed high-fat or normal diets."

Alternative pathways

These findings suggest that when cancer cells develop from normal liver cells, their metabolism consistently increases glucose use. Since a high-fat diet causes these changes before cancer is present, this may mean that—in a high-fat diet—non-cancer liver tissue could be more likely to become cancerous.

The team also looked into deeper mechanisms for this effect.

Dr. Lindsay Broadfield, one of the lead authors of the study, says: "We discovered that, before any cancer development, liver tissue exposed to high fat seemed to use an alternative pathway for fat breakdown in a cellular compartment called the peroxisome. Using cancer liver cells, we then confirmed that peroxisome metabolism increased cellular stress and glucose uptake."

Fat can be used by cells in several ways—for energy, to stimulate growth pathways, or to be stored for later use. The scientists used the Lipometrix lipidomics platform at KU Leuven to see if there was anything unique about the fate of fat in tumor cells and found that the fat species and content in tumor cells were indeed different from non-cancerous liver tissue close to the tumors.

 

 

For teens, outdoor recreation during the pandemic linked to improved well-being

North Carolina State University, March 9, 2021

A study from North Carolina State University found outdoor play and nature-based activities helped buffer some of the negative mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic for adolescents. 

Researchers said the findings, published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, point to outdoor play and nature-based activities as a tool to help teenagers cope with major stressors like the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as future natural disasters and other global stressors. Researchers also underscore the mental health implications of restricting outdoor recreation opportunities for adolescents, and the need to increase access to the outdoors.

"Families should be encouraged that building patterns in outdoor recreation can give kids tools to weather the storms to come," said Kathryn Stevenson, a study co-author and assistant professor of parks, recreation and tourism management at NC State. "Things happen in life, and getting kids outside regularly is an easy way to build some mental resilience."

In the survey, conducted from April 30 to June 15, 2020, researchers asked 624 adolescents between the ages of 10 to 18 years to report their participation in outdoor recreation both before the pandemic and after social distancing measures were in effect across the United States. They also asked adolescents about their subjective well-being, a measure of happiness, and mental health.

The findings revealed the pandemic had an impact on the well-being of many teens in the survey, with nearly 52 percent of adolescents reporting declines in subjective well-being. They also saw declines in teens' ability to get outside, with 64 percent of adolescents reporting their outdoor activity participation fell during the early months of the pandemic. Despite these declines in outdoor activity participation, nearly 77 percent of teens surveyed believed that spending time outside helped them deal with stress associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We know that a lot of outdoor activities that kids engage in happen during school, in youth sports leagues or clubs, and those things got put on hold during the pandemic," said the study's lead author Brent Jackson, a graduate student in the Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology Program at NC State. "Based on our study, they were getting outside less - we think not being in school and having those activities really contributed to that."

When they broke down recreation by type, they saw participation in outdoor play activities such as sports, biking, going for walks, runs or skating declined by 41.6 percent, nature-based activities such as camping, hiking, fishing, hunting, and paddling dropped by 39.7 percent, and outdoor family activities declined by 28.6 percent. In those early months of the pandemic, about 60 percent of teens said they were able to get outside once a week or less.

"We saw declines in all three types of outdoor recreation participation," Jackson said. "Nature-based activities had the lowest participation before and during the pandemic, which may point to the need for more access to natural spaces in general."

Results showed that well-being and outdoor recreation trends were linked, and the negative trends they saw during the pandemic for well-being and participation in outdoor recreation were seen regardless of teens' race, gender, age, income community type or geographic region. Kids who did not get outside as much saw declines in well-being, but those who got outside both before and during the pandemic were able to maintain higher levels of well-being. 

"This tells us that outdoor recreation can promote well-being for kids when it happens, and can potentially take away from well-being when it doesn't," Stevenson said.

Teens who had high rates of outdoor play before the pandemic were more resistant to negative changes in social well-being. Those who got outside frequently before the pandemic were more likely to experience a lesser decline in well-being, regardless of participation during the pandemic. And, for teens who were able to play outside or get involved in nature-based activities during the pandemic, their well-being was on par with pre-pandemic levels.

"Kids who were able to continue participating in outdoor play and nature-based activities had subjective well-being levels that were similar to what they were before the pandemic, but kids who weren't able to participate saw much greater declines," Jackson said.

The study's findings also point to strategies to help kids navigate future global stressor events, as well as the importance of ensuring access to outdoor recreation. They help define the risks associated with policies that reduce kids' ability get outside.

"Going outside and participating in activities that provide exposure to nature, physical activity and safe social interaction during the pandemic were really powerful in terms of improving kids' resilience," Jackson said.

 

 

Study finds two servings of fish per week can help prevent recurrent heart disease

McMaster University (Ontario), March 8, 2021

An analysis of several large studies involving participants from more than 60 countries, spearheaded by researchers from McMaster University, has found that eating oily fish regularly can help prevent cardiovascular disease (CVD) in high-risk individuals, such as those who already have heart disease or stroke.

The critical ingredient is omega-3 fatty acids, which researchers found was associated with a lower risk of major CVD events such as heart attacks and strokes by about a sixth in high-risk people who ate two servings of fish rich in omega-3 each week.

"There is a significant protective benefit of fish consumption in people with cardiovascular disease," said lead co-author Andrew Mente, associate professor of research methods, evidence, and impact at McMaster and a principal investigator at the Population Health Research Institute. 

No benefit was observed with consumption of fish in those without heart disease or stroke.

"This study has important implications for guidelines on fish intake globally. It indicates that increasing fish consumption and particularly oily fish in vascular patients may produce a modest cardiovascular benefit." 

Mente said people at low risk for cardiovascular disease can still enjoy modest protection from CVD by eating fish rich in omega-3, but the health benefits were less pronounced than those high-risk individuals. 

The study was published in JAMA Internal Medicine on March 8. 

The findings were based on data from nearly 192,000 people in four studies, including about 52,000 with CVD, and is the only study conducted on all five continents. Previous studies focused mainly on North America, Europe, China and Japan, with little information from other regions.

"This is by far the most diverse study of fish intake and health outcomes in the world and the only one with sufficient numbers with representation from high, middle and low income countries from all inhabited continents of the world," said study co-lead Dr. Salim Yusuf, professor of medicine at the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine and executive director of the PHRI. 

This analysis is based in data from several studies conducted by the PHRI over the last 25 years. These studies were funded by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, several different pharmaceutical companies, charities, the Population Health Research Institute and the Hamilton Health Sciences Research Institute.

 

 

COVID-19 or something else?

Learn how COVID-19 symptoms compare to other illnesses, and when you should call the doctor.

Harvard University, March 10, 2021

 

Before 2020, you might not have worried much about a tickle in your throat or a little tightness in your chest. But that's changed.

Now even slight signs of a respiratory bug might make you wonder if it's the start of COVID-19, the illness that has become a pandemic.

How do you distinguish one illness from another? It's complicated.

"Many of the symptoms overlap. For example, it's very hard for me clinically, as a physician, to be able to look at someone and say it's COVID-19 or it's influenza," says Dr. Ashish Jha, former director of the Harvard Global Health Institute and now dean of the Brown University School of Public Health.

Don't jump to conclusions if you start to feel sick. Learn the hallmarks of common illnesses and how they differ from COVID-19, so you can take the appropriate action.

COVID-19

COVID-19 is an extremely contagious respiratory illness caused by a type of virus (a coronavirus) called SARS-CoV-2. It's a cousin of the common cold, but its potential consequences are far more serious: hospitalization, lasting complications, and death.

Hallmarks: Loss of taste and smell (in the absence of nasal congestion), fever, cough, shortness of breath, and muscle aches.

Other potential symptoms: Sore throat, diarrhea, congestion, runny nose, chills, shivering, headache, fatigue, and loss of appetite.

Note: Some infected people don't have any symptoms of COVID-19, but they're still contagious.

Influenza

Influenza (flu) is a highly contagious respiratory infection caused by the influenza A, B, or C virus. The U.S. flu season typically lasts from October to March, but flu is present year-round.

Hallmarks: Fever, muscle aches, and cough.

Other potential symptoms: Sore throat, diarrhea, congestion, runny nose, chills, shivering, headache, fatigue, loss of appetite.

Different from COVID-19: Flu usually does not cause shortness of breath.

Common cold

The common cold (viral rhinitis) is an upper respiratory infection that can be caused by any of hundreds of different viruses (including coronaviruses or rhinoviruses). It's usually mild and resolves within a week.

Hallmarks: Congestion, runny nose, cough, and sore throat.

Other potential symptoms: Fever, muscle aches, and fatigue.

Different from COVID-19: A cold does not cause shortness of breath, body aches, chills, or loss of appetite, and it usually doesn't cause fever.

Seasonal allergies

A seasonal allergy isn't a virus; it's caused when the immune system responds to a harmless non-human substance, like tree pollen, as if it were a dangerous threat. Allergies are typically seasonal, lasting for weeks or months, depending on the allergen in the air (mold is the common allergen in the fall and winter).

Hallmarks: Runny nose, itchy eyes, sneezing, congestion.

Other potential symptoms: Loss of smell from congestion.

Different from COVID-19: Allergies do not cause fevers, coughing, shortness of breath, muscle aches, sore throat, diarrhea, chills, headaches, fatigue, or loss of appetite.

Asthma

Asthma is a chronic lung condition caused by inflammation in the air passages. Airways narrow and make it harder to breathe, which can cause concern that it might be COVID-19. "Asthma can be triggered by a cold or influenza, but it's a separate condition," Dr. Jha says.

Hallmarks: Wheezing (a whistling sound as air is forcibly expelled), difficulty breathing, chest tightness, and a persistent cough.

Other potential symptoms: A severe asthma attack can cause sudden, extreme shortness of breath; chest tightness; a rapid pulse; sweating; and bluish discoloration of the lips and fingernails.

Different from COVID-19: Asthma does not cause a fever, muscle aches, sore throat, diarrhea, congestion, loss of taste or smell, runny nose, chills, shivering, headache, fatigue, or loss of appetite.