The Gary Null Show

The Gary Null Show - 05.24.21

Diabetics who received 1 g of vitamin C daily showed improvements in blood pressure, oxidative stress
Khon Kaen University (Thailand), May 21, 2021
Findings from a randomized, double-blind, cross-over trial reported on February 25, 2021 in the Chinese Journal of Physiology revealed an association between intake of vitamin C and a reduction in blood pressure before and after exercise among men and women with type 2 diabetes. “During exercise, mechanical stress on the arterial wall is increased, leading to an increased release of vasodilators by the endothelium (e.g., nitric oxide, bradykinin, etc.),” explained authors C. Boonthongkaew and colleagues at Khon Kaen University in Thailand. “This response can attenuate blood pressure (BP) after acute exercise at low, moderate, and high intensity in normotensive individuals. However, the magnitude of this effect seems to decline in type 2 diabetes patients because of endothelial dysfunction.”
The trial included 24 type 2 diabetics with poorly controlled disease who received 1,000 milligrams vitamin C or a placebo daily for six weeks, followed by a six-week washout period, followed by six weeks of the alternate intervention. For inclusion in the study, participants were required to have a blood pressure of ≤140/90 mmHg or less, maintained if necessary with antihypertensive treatment. 
Twenty-minute low-intensity exercise sessions were conducted on the day before and the last day of each treatment period. Blood pressure was measured before, immediately after and 60 minutes after the exercise sessions. Blood samples collected before and after exercise were analyzed for plasma vitamin C levels, markers of lipid peroxidation and nitric oxide concentration. 
Compared to pre-intake, participants who received vitamin C experienced an average 12.8 mmHg reduction in systolic BP and an 8.9 mmHg reduction in diastolic BP when at rest before exercise. Immediately after exercise, systolic and diastolic BP were lower by 11.4 mmHg and 6.8 mmHg, and an hour after exercise, systolic and diastolic BP were lower by 12.5 mmHg and 8.9 mmHg in the vitamin C group compared to baseline values. No significant differences between pre- and post-treatment measurements occurred in the placebo group. When compared to the placebo, participants who received vitamin C also had lower systolic and diastolic BP before and after the post-supplementation exercise sessions. 
Post-intake, plasma vitamin C and nitric oxide levels were higher, and markers of lipid peroxidation were lower among vitamin C patients before and immediately after exercise compared to baseline, while the placebo group experienced no significant changes. And when compared to the placebo, vitamin C and nitric oxide were higher and lipid peroxidation markers were lower before and after the exercise session among participants who had received the vitamin.
In their discussion of the findings, the authors remarked that vitamin C’s ability to decrease oxidative stress helps prevent nitric oxide from being degraded by free radicals, which results in higher nitric oxide levels that benefit endothelial function and BP. They announced that the study is the first to report the effect of vitamin C compared to a placebo on BP before and within an hour after exercise. “This study suggests that 6‑week vitamin C [intake] decreased pre-exercise and postexercise blood pressures, possibly due to improved oxidative stress and nitric oxide release,” they concluded.
 
 
 
Making mindfulness meditation more helpful starts with understanding how it can be harmful
Brown University, May 18, 2021
Mindfulness-based meditation programs have emerged as a promising treatment for conditions ranging from stress to sleeplessness to depression. In some cases, they're even offered to people—schoolkids or employees, for example—who aren't actively seeking help or who haven't been screened for suitability. Yet most research and discourse about these programs focuses only on their benefits, with little investigation of the risks or the potential for adverse effects.
A recent review of nearly 7,000 studies of meditation practices found that less than 1% of them measured adverse effects. Willoughby Britton, an associate professor of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown University, said that this is largely because assessing adverse effects (a process known as "harms monitoring") in non-pharmacological treatments like mindfulness-based meditation programs is difficult to do well.
To address that gap, Britton conducted a new study on adverse effects in mindfulness-based programs that identified common obstacles to harms monitoring and, importantly, showed how to address them. The study also found that the rates of adverse effects from mindfulness were similar to those found in other psychological treatments.
The study was published on May 18 in Clinical Psychological Science.
"Our ultimate goal is to maximize the efficacy of mindfulness-based meditation while minimizing harms," said Britton, who directs the Clinical and Affective Neuroscience Laboratory at Brown. "In order to address risks and modify treatment accordingly, you need thorough and detailed knowledge about potential harms. Our study, the most comprehensive of its kind, provides a blueprint for how to accurately assess the risks of mindfulness-based meditation programs."
Why no one wants to talk about meditation's adverse effects
The adverse effects of mindfulness-based meditation programs are often an unpleasant topic for providers and participants alike, Britton said. For the study, she and her colleagues reviewed the most current harms monitoring best practices from regulatory agencies like the World Health Organization, the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. In the paper, they outlined the key considerations around assessing adverse effects, including hesitancy of participants to report negative reactions to treatment because of feelings of shame or a desire to please the researcher or instructor.
Researchers and mindfulness teachers (Britton is both) are understandably more focused on the help they can provide than any harm they could cause. As a result, a lack of negative feedback from participants is often interpreted as evidence of absence of harm. "It's very easy for our enthusiasm and desire to help to become a kind of blindness," Britton explained.
Another complicating factor, she said, is the lack of knowledge of proper harms assessment.
"Often the mindfulness teacher will ask the class, 'Did anyone have any challenges with your meditation practice this week?'" Britton said. "But participants, in general, tend to avoid answering open-ended questions asked by the teacher in a public setting. Research has shown that having someone other than the teacher ask specific questions in a private setting will increase the likelihood of honest reporting."
Finally, she highlighted the fact that term "adverse" is a highly subjective judgment that can vary across people and even across the same person in different contexts.
"The re-living of a previous trauma may be healing for some and destabilizing for others, in the same way that the drowsiness caused by cold medicine—or meditation—may be undesirable or 'adverse' in the morning but highly desirable before bed," she said. What's more, Britton added, the literature shows that mental health treatment providers (like therapists or doctors) may dismiss patient complaints or reframe them as a sign that the therapy is working.
Designing a model assessment
Britton's research team followed 24 current harms monitoring guidelines to assess the nature and frequency of meditation-related adverse effects in mindfulness-based programs. The study participants were representative of typical meditators in the U.S.: predominantly middle-age women seeking methods to self-manage mild to severe levels of anxiety, depression and stress. After completing one of three versions of an eight-week mindfulness meditation program, participants were interviewed by a researcher unaffiliated with the treatment about their experiences, with 44 questions based on previous research of meditation-related challenges.
To more accurately and thoroughly capture patient perspectives, this study allowed each participant to evaluate the emotional tone or "valence" of each of 44 meditation-related experiences as well as the impact it had on their life and functioning. By asking participants specific questions about duration and impact, researchers were able to differentiate temporary distress, negative-impact side effects and "lasting bad effects." In this way, the researchers sought to clarify which effects were experienced as "adverse" on a case-by-case basis.
To accommodate the varying definitions of harm, results were reported in tiers of severity ranging from "transient distress during meditation" (i.e., temporary) to "enduring impairment in functioning"—or "lasting bad effects."
The "what" is as important as the "how"
The significance of the study, Britton said, has as much to do with what it found as how it found it.
"The fact that meditation can cause altered states, for example, isn't news: It's something that people have been talking about for centuries," Britton said. "What we haven't been very good about is measuring the impact and significance of these states on individual participants."
Of the 96 participants, 58% reported at least one meditation-related adverse effect, which ranged from perpetual hypersensitivity to nightmares to traumatic re-experiencing. Meditation-related adverse effects with negative impacts on functioning occurred in 37% of the sample. Six percent of the sample had "lasting bad effects," or impairments in functioning lasting more than one month. Notably, the researchers say, this rate is similar to those of other psychological treatments.
In the study, meditation-related effects with negative impacts tended to be associated with signs of what's called dysregulated arousal—for example, the participants reported feeling anxious, hyper-stimulated or emotionally flat or disconnected after meditating.
This is important for instructors and participants to note, Britton said, because unlike the experiences of anxiety or insomnia, a feeling of being dissociated or emotionally checked-out is not always experienced as unpleasant and can provide some relief, especially for a person suffering from intense anxiety. Yet in the study, this feeling of dissociation tended to predict more significant and lasting impairment in functioning.
"This is where the differentiation between valence and impact becomes important, because the valence, or emotional tone, of an experience might be not particularly distressing at the time," Britton said. "Meditators are often taught to reappraise their experience as not being problematic, and to accept it for what it is. Our results are basically saying that when it comes to dissociation, this approach isn't going to work."
Britton and colleagues also found that the open-ended question "Have you had any unexpected, unpleasant, adverse or challenging experiences as a result of mindfulness meditation practice during or following the program?" underestimated the true rate by 70%, confirming the inadequacy of open-ended questions compared to specific ones.
The study concludes that the active ingredient of these therapeutic programs, which is mindfulness meditation practice, can be associated with both transient distress and enduring negative impacts on life and functioning. Britton said that it is important to note that adverse effects and benefits are not mutually exclusive: many of the same participants who reported adverse effects also reported improvements in depression.
Britton noted that the intent of the study, as well as of her broader research, is not to discourage mindfulness-based meditation programs—rather, it is to generate findings on both the positive and negative effects so that providers and meditators can make informed decisions.
She compared mindfulness to aspirin, as an example. This medicine-cabinet staple can cause nausea, heartburn and stomach cramps—and taking a daily aspirin can cause gastrointestinal bleeding in some people. But these potential adverse effects do not take away from aspirin's many benefits. Instead, detailed knowledge about the benefits and risks allows practitioners to make educated, effective and safe recommendations to specific patients.
"That's where we need to get with mindfulness, too," Britton said. "Our study is an attempt to bring harms monitoring up to the standards of other treatments so that providers can identify events that require monitoring and intervention in order to maximize the safety and efficacy of mindfulness-based meditation."
 
Vitamin B6, vitamin D and green tea compound could improve uterine fibroids
Sandro Pertini Hospital (Italy), May 19, 2021
In an article whose title asks the question, “Uterine fibroids treatment: do we have new valid alternative?” findings from researchers from Sandro Pertini Hospital in Rome suggest the answer may be “yes.”
The article, published in the April 2021 issue of the European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences reported a benefit for intake of vitamin B6, vitamin D and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG, a flavonoid that occurs in green tea) in women with uterine fibroids (myomas), benign tumors of the uterus that affect a significant percentage of reproductive-aged women. Uterine fibroids adversely impact fertility, and unfortunately, there are few treatment options for women who desire to become pregnant.
The study included 95 women who had between one and five fibroids. Forty-one participants received 5 milligrams (mg) vitamin B6, 25 micrograms (1,000 international units) vitamin D and 150 mg EGCG twice daily for four months, while a control group of 54 women were monitored without receiving the vitamin B6, vitamin D and EGCG. The number and volume of fibroids was measured using ultrasound before and after the treatment period. Fibroid vascularization was measured by color flow Doppler ultrasound, which color codes blood flow to indicate the direction of flow and/or the presence of high blood turbulence. Other factors assessed at these time points included the presence of heavy bleeding, pelvic pain and health/quality of life. Overall improvement was assessed by a questionnaire, the Patient Global Impression of Improvement (PGI-I), administered to participants who completed the four-month study.
After four months, total fibroid volume significantly decreased by 37.9% among participants who received vitamins B6 and D, plus ECGC, while increasing by 5.5% among women who did not receive the nutrients. Similar results were observed in a subgroup of participants who were smokers – fibroid volume was significantly reduced with the supplement combination. 
Doppler visualization of blood flow to the myomas suggested reduced vascularization in the intervention group and increased vascularization in the control group. Pelvic pain and health, including the participants’ all-over impressions of improvement, significantly improved in comparison with pretreatment levels in the group that received the nutrients while no change occurred in the control group. Specifically, 85.4% of women taking the supplement reported improvements in their PGI-I score, with 73.2% reporting their symptoms were “very much better”.  No side effects were reported. 
Authors Donatella Miriello and colleagues concluded that the study’s findings “showed the effectiveness and safety of a 4-month oral [intake of] a combination of vitamin D, EGCG and vitamin B6 in reducing uterine fibroids’ volume and improving the quality of life of childbearing women. Thus, this…may represent a valid alternative to the classic ‘wait and see’ approach and, at the same time, an adjuvant treatment that could be administered along with pharmacological therapies, even before surgery to reduce the occurrence of possible complications.”
 
 
 
Nitrate-Rich Vegetables Increase Plasma Nitrate and Nitrite Concentrations and Lower Blood Pressure in Healthy Adults
Maastricht University (Netherlands), May 21, 2021
 
Background: Dietary nitrate is receiving increased attention due to its reported ergogenic and cardioprotective properties. The extent to which ingestion of various nitrate-rich vegetables increases postprandial plasma nitrate and nitrite concentrations and lowers blood pressure is currently unknown.
 
Objective: We aimed to assess the impact of ingesting different nitrate-rich vegetables on subsequent plasma nitrate and nitrite concentrations and resting blood pressure in healthy normotensive individuals.
 
Methods: With the use of a semirandomized crossover design, 11 men and 7 women [mean ± SEM age: 28 ± 1 y; mean ± SEM body mass index (BMI, in kg/m2): 23 ± 1; exercise: 1–10 h/wk] ingested 4 different beverages, each containing 800 mg (∼12.9 mmol) nitrate: sodium nitrate (NaNO3), concentrated beetroot juice, a rocket salad beverage, and a spinach beverage. Plasma nitrate and nitrite concentrations and blood pressure were determined before and up to 300 min after beverage ingestion. Data were analyzed using repeated-measures ANOVA.
Results: Plasma nitrate and nitrite concentrations increased after ingestion of all 4 beverages (P < 0.001). Peak plasma nitrate concentrations were similar for all treatments (all values presented as means ± SEMs: NaNO3: 583 ± 29 μmol/L; beetroot juice: 597 ± 23 μmol/L; rocket salad beverage: 584 ± 24 μmol/L; spinach beverage: 584 ± 23 μmol/L). Peak plasma nitrite concentrations were different between treatments (NaNO3: 580 ± 58 nmol/L; beetroot juice: 557 ± 57 nmol/L; rocket salad beverage: 643 ± 63 nmol/L; spinach beverage: 980 ± 160 nmol/L; P = 0.016). When compared with baseline, systolic blood pressure declined 150 min after ingestion of beetroot juice (from 118 ± 2 to 113 ± 2 mm Hg; P < 0.001) and rocket salad beverage (from 122 ± 3 to 116 ± 2 mm Hg; P = 0.007) and 300 min after ingestion of spinach beverage (from 118 ± 2 to 111 ± 3 mm Hg; P < 0.001), but did not change with NaNO3. Diastolic blood pressure declined 150 min after ingestion of all beverages (P < 0.05) and remained lower at 300 min after ingestion of rocket salad (P = 0.045) and spinach (P = 0.001) beverages.
 
Conclusions: Ingestion of nitrate-rich beetroot juice, rocket salad beverage, and spinach beverage effectively increases plasma nitrate and nitrite concentrations and lowers blood pressure to a greater extent than sodium nitrate. These findings show that nitrate-rich vegetables can be used as dietary nitrate supplements.
 
 
 
High-intensity interval training improves spatial memory in rats
 
University of Tsukuba (Japan), May 17, 2021
Researchers at the University of Tsukuba have found that, despite only covering about one-third of the distance in HIIT compared with that covered in endurance training, similar improvements in exercise capacity and brain function were observed for both forms of exercise.
"We investigated how rats' muscles and brains—specifically, the region of the brain involved in spatial learning called the hippocampus—adapted to these types of exercise, and how the rats consequently learned and remembered navigating mazes," explains Professor Hideaki Soya, the principal investigator.
In the experiment, rats were assigned to one of three groups—resting, endurance running, or alternating intervals (short sprints and rest)—during training sessions on treadmills five days/week for four weeks.
Both endurance running and HIIT resulted in weight loss, greater muscle mass, and the ability to exercise longer compared with controls; however, increased cellular aerobic capacity was found in the soleus (a muscle with predominantly slow-twitch fibers that makes it functionally well suited to endurance) and in the plantaris (a muscle with predominantly fast-twitch fibers for meeting high-energy functional demands) in the endurance-running and HIIT groups, respectively.
Rats in both groups demonstrated better memory of spatial learning trials in searching for an escape platform in a water maze. In the hippocampus, increased cell development—neurogenesis—was also observed for both forms of exercise; however, levels of a signaling protein that promotes neurogenesis (BDNF) were increased by HIIT but not by endurance running, whereas the levels of its receptor (TrkB) were increased by both.
Given that BDNF expression is known to be affected by exercise, why didn't endurance running increase BDNF expression? The answer may lie in the mediating role of stress on BDNF expression; exercise is a type of stress. While stress indicators in both exercise groups were found to be similar, this line of enquiry may lead to future studies:
"In this study, we showed that an HIIT exercise regimen with a low exercise volume nevertheless improves spatial memory, and we demonstrated that these improvements are supported by changes in neuronal plasticity in the hippocampus. In a previous study, we found that continuous light-intensity training had a similar beneficial effect, whereas continuous high-intensity training did not," Professor Soya summarizes. "Thus, it seems that the benefits yielded by exercise may actually depend on optimization, that is, a trade-off between exercise time and intensity."
A future where exercise regimens can be tailored to improve both physical and cognitive features may be on the horizon.
 
Hygiene rules are also effective against new coronavirus variants
Ruhr-University Bochum (Germany), May 21, 2021
The researchers found that the variants have a similar surface stability as the wild type virus under laboratory conditions, but can be effectively eliminated by disinfection and thorough hand washing, heat or alcohol treatment. They report their results in the Journal of Infectious Diseases from 16 May 2021.
For this study, the team from the Department for Molecular and Medical Virology and the Chair of Materials Discovery and Interfaces at Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) cooperated with the European Virus Bioinformatics Center Jena, the University Hospital Duisburg-Essen and Paracelsus Medical University Nuremberg.
The fact that viruses change genetically over time is well known. Variants of concern are those that give the virus an advantage, for example by allowing it to replicate faster, become more infectious or enable it to evade the immune response. The British and South African variants have accumulated several mutations which result in an increased transmission and, in some cases, lead to more severe courses of disease. "Therefore, the question arose whether they also differ from the original variant in terms of their sensitivity to hygiene measures," explains Toni Meister from Ruhr-Universität Bochum.
Heat, soap, alcohol
For this reason, the team analysed how long the variants remain infectious on surfaces made of steel, silver, copper and on face masks and how they can be rendered harmless by means of soap, heat or alcohol.
It turned out that both variants, as well as the wild type virus, could be inactivated when treated with at least 30 percent alcohol for at least 30 seconds. "Common disinfectants are therefore effective against all these variants," says Stephanie Pfänder from RUB. Thorough hand washing with soap could also lower the risk of infection. Heat also works against the virus: after 30 minutes at 56 degrees Celsius, all variants were rendered harmless.
To find out whether the stability of the different mutant variants on surfaces differs from each other, they analyzed the amount of infectious virus particles on surfaces made of steel, copper, silver and on surgical and FFP2 masks over 48 hours. "The surface stability did not differ between the virus variants," points out Eike Steinmann from the Department for Molecular and Medical Virology at RUB. "As described several times before, copper in particular has a very strong antiviral effect". In conclusion, the team did not detect any differences between the different mutants in terms of their sensitivity to different hygiene measures.
 
 
Pink drinks can help you run faster and further, study finds
University of Westminster, May 12, 2021
 
 
 
 
A new study led by the Centre for Nutraceuticals in the University of Westminster shows that pink drinks can help to make you run faster and further compared to clear drinks.
The researchers found that a pink drink can increase exercise performance by 4.4 per cent and can also increase a 'feel good' effect which can make exercise seem easier. 
The study, published in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition, is the first investigation to assess the effect of drink colour on exercise performance and provides the potential to open a new avenue of future research in the field of sports drinks and exercise.
During the study participants were asked to run on a treadmill for 30 minutes at a self-selected speed ensuring their rate of exertion remained consistent. Throughout the exercise they rinsed their mouths with either a pink artificially sweetened drink that was low in calories or a clear drink which was also artificially sweetened and low in calories.
Both drinks were exactly the same and only differed in appearance - the researchers added food dye to the pink drink to change the colour. 
The researchers chose pink as it is associated with perceived sweetness and therefore increases expectations of sugar and carbohydrate intake.
Previous studies have also shown that rinsing the mouth with carbohydrates can improve exercise performance by reducing the perceived intensity of the exercise, so the researchers wanted to assess whether rinsing with a pink drink that had no carbohydrate stimulus could elicit similar benefits through a potential placebo effect. 
The results show that the participants ran an average 212 metres further with the pink drink while their mean speed during the exercise test also increased by 4.4 per cent. Feelings of pleasure were also enhanced meaning participants found running more enjoyable.
Future exploratory research is necessary to find out whether the proposed placebo effect causes a similar activation to the reward areas of the brain that are commonly reported when rinsing the mouth with carbohydrates. 
Talking about the study, Dr Sanjoy Deb, corresponding author on the paper from the University of Westminster, said: "The influence of colour on athletic performance has received interest previously, from its effect on a sportsperson's kit to its impact on testosterone and muscular power. Similarly, the role of colour in gastronomy has received widespread interest, with research published on how visual cues or colour can affect subsequent flavour perception when eating and drinking. 
"The findings from our study combine the art of gastronomy with performance nutrition, as adding a pink colourant to an artificially sweetened solution not only enhanced the perception of sweetness, but also enhanced feelings of pleasure, self-selected running speed and distance covered during a run."

The Gary Null Show - 05.21.21

Vegan and omnivorous diets promote equivalent muscle mass gain, study shows
University of São Paulo (Brazil), May 19, 2021
Protein intake is more important than protein source if the goal is to gain muscle strength and mass. This is the key finding of a study that compared the effects of strength training in volunteers with a vegan or omnivorous diet, both with protein content considered adequate. 
In the study, which was conducted by researchers at the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil, 38 healthy young adults, half of whom were vegans and half omnivores, were monitored for 12 weeks. In addition to performing exercises to increase muscle strength and mass, the volunteers followed either a mixed diet with both animal and plant protein, or an entirely plant-based diet, both with the recommended protein content (1.6 gram of protein per kilogram of body weight per day). At the end of three months, there was no difference between vegans and omnivores in terms of muscle strength and mass increase. 
“Like any other protein in our organism, such as the proteins in our skin and hair cells, which die and are renewed, our muscles undergo synthesis and breakdown every day. Diet [protein intake] and exercise are the main protein balance regulators, favoring synthesis over breakdown,” said Hamilton Roschel, last author of the published study. Roschel is a University of São Paulo professor affiliated with both USP’s Sports and Physical Education School (EEEE) and Medical School (FM). He also heads the Applied Physiology and Nutrition Research Group jointly run by EEEE-USP and FM-USP.
Protein sources are characterized primarily on the basis of essential amino acids, especially leukin, which plays a key role in anabolic stimulation of skeletal muscles. “Animal protein has more leukin than plant protein. Leukin is an essential amino acid in the anabolic stimulus signaling process. A plant-based diet is often thought to contain less leukin and hence trigger less anabolic stimulation, potentially affecting vegans’ capacity for muscle mass gain,” Roschel said.
The study is published in Sports Medicine and resulted from the master’s research of Victoria Hevia-Larraín, with support from FAPESP. 
The study innovated by including a clinical analysis of the effects of protein source quality on muscle adaptation in vegans as compared with omnivores, since most research on the topic to date has focused on the acute anabolic response of muscles to protein intake under laboratory conditions and not on muscle mass as such. “Our findings show that there is no impairment of muscle mass gain for young adult vegans if they ingest the right amount of protein. In fact, the outcome of both diets was the same in this respect,” Roschel said. 
However, the researchers stress that, for the purposes of experimental control, protein intake was made the same in both diets by means of protein supplements. Omnivores and vegans were given milk serum protein isolate or soy protein respectively in accordance with individual dietary needs in order to attain the targeted protein intake. 
“In clinical practice, we know foods of animal origin generally have a higher protein content,” Roschel said. “Meat, milk and eggs contain more protein per gram than rice and beans, for example. In a clinical application with plant-based foods as the sole protein source, vegans would need to ingest a large amount of food to obtain the same amount of protein. In some specific cases, this could be a major challenge.”
The protein source (mixed or plant-based diet) made no difference, provided each subject received an adequate amount of protein. “This result corroborates other data in the literature showing that a vegan diet can absolutely be complete if it is properly planned and executed,” Roschel said. “Previous studies suggest it can even be healthier than an omnivorous diet. For this to be the case, however, it requires appropriate nutritional counseling and education regarding people’s choices in restricting their intake to plant-based sources.” 
Another point noted by Roschel is that the subjects were healthy young adults, and the results might be different for older people or subjects with health problems. “Aging entails a phenomenon known as anabolic resistance, meaning a suboptimal anabolic response to the stimuli provided by diet and exercise compared with young people. Optimal response is possible in older people only if their protein intake is higher than that of the average healthy youngster. So we should be cautious about generalizing our findings for the entire population.”
 
Yoga and breathing exercises aid children with ADHD to focus
Ural Federal University, May 17, 2021
Yoga and breathing exercises have a positive effect on children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). After special classes, children improve their attention, decrease hyperactivity, they do not get tired longer, they can engage in complex activities longer. This is the conclusion reached by psychologists at Ural Federal University who studied the effect of exercise on functions associated with voluntary regulation and control in 16 children with ADHD aged six to seven years. The results of the study are published in the journal Biological Psychiatry.
"For children with ADHD, as a rule, the part of the brain that is responsible for the regulation of brain activity - the reticular formation - is deficient," said Sergey Kiselev, head of the Laboratory of Brain and Neurocognitive Development at UrFU, head of the study. "This leads to the fact that they often experience states of inadequate hyperactivity, increased distraction and exhaustion, and their functions of regulation and control suffer a second time. We used a special breathing exercise based on the development of diaphragmatic rhythmic deep breathing - belly breathing. Such breathing helps to better supply the brain with oxygen and helps the reticular formation to better cope with its role. When the reticular formation receives enough oxygen, it begins to better regulate the child's state of activity".
In addition to breathing exercises, psychologists used body-oriented techniques, in particular, exercises with polar states "tension-relaxation". The trainings took place three times a week for two to three months (depending on the program).
"Exercise has an immediate effect that appears immediately, but there is also a delayed effect. We found that exercise has a positive effect on regulation and control functions in children with ADHD and one year after the end of the exercise. This happens because the child's correct breathing is automated, it becomes a kind of assistant that allows better supply of oxygen to the brain, which, in turn, has a beneficial effect on the behavior and psyche of a child with ADHD," says Sergey Kiselev.
This technique was developed by the Russian neuropsychologist Anna Semenovich as part of a neuropsychological correction technique. UrFU psychologists tested how well this approach helps children with ADHD. But the study is pilot, says Kiselev. It showed that these exercises have a positive effect. However, more work needs to be done, involving more children with ADHD. This will also take into account factors such as gender, age, severity of the disease, concomitant problems in children (speech, regulatory, etc.).
 
 
Study findings suggest vitamin D deficiency may be associated with reduced arterial elasticity
Guizhou Medical University (China), May 17, 2021
 
According to news reporting out of Guizhou, People’s Republic of China, research stated, “There is evidence that serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25-(OH) D] levels may be associated with cardiovascular disease and its risk factors. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between 25-(OH) D levels and blood pressure (BP), blood lipids, and arterial elasticity in middle-aged and elderly cadres in China.In this retrospective study, we included 401 civil servants and cadres aged >42 years who underwent medical examinations at Guiyang Municipal First People’s Hospital, China in 2018.”
Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from Guizhou Medical University, “The participants were assigned to deficiency ( 20 ng/mL), insufficiency (20-30 ng/mL), and sufficiency ( 30 ng/mL) groups according to 25-(OH) D levels in their blood. Demographics, brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV), BP, ankle-brachial index (ABI), and blood lipids were compared among groups. The associations between 25-(OH) D and other parameters were evaluated using linear regression analysis.Median (range) 25-(OH) D levels in the deficiency (n = 162), insufficiency (n = 162), and sufficiency (n = 77) groups were 15.32 (2.93-19.88), 25.12 (20.07-29.91), and 33.91 (30.23-82.42) ng/mL, respectively. There were significant differences in systolic BP, pulse pressure, baPWV (left and right sides), ABI (left side), high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, and triglycerides (TGs; all P< .05) among groups.”
According to the news editors, the research concluded: “Multivariate linear regression revealed that TG, left baPWV, and right baPWV were significantly negatively correlated with 25-(OH) D levels (all P< .05).In this study, 25-(OH) D levels were found to be associated with TG, left baPWV, and right baPWV values. 25-(OH) D deficiency may be associated with reduced arterial elasticity.”
 
 
Icing muscle injuries may delay recovery
Kobe University and Chiba Institute of Technology (Japan), May 19, 2021
A study using a mouse model of eccentric contraction (*1) has revealed that icing injured muscles delays muscle regeneration. The discovery was made by a research group including Associate Professor ARAKAWA Takamitsu and then PhD. Student KAWASHIMA Masato from Kobe University's Graduate School of Health Sciences, and Chiba Institute of Technology's Associate Professor KAWANISHI Noriaki et al. In addition, the researchers illuminated that this phenomenon may be related to pro-inflammatory macrophages' (*2, 3, 4) ability to infiltrate damaged cells. This research raises questions as to whether or not severe muscle injuries (such as torn muscles) should be iced.
These research results were published online as one of the Journal of Applied Physiology's Articles in Press on March 25, 2021.
Main points
The research results revealed that applying an ice pack to a severe muscle injury resulting from eccentric contraction may prolong the time it takes to heal.
The cause of this phenomenon is that icing delays the arrival of pro-inflammatory macrophages, which are responsible for the phagocytosis (*5), or removal, of damaged tissue. Furthermore, this makes difficult for the macrophages to sufficiently infiltrate the damaged muscle cells.
Research Background
Skeletal muscle injuries encompass a range of damage to muscles; from a microcellular level to a severe level. These injuries include not only those that happen during sports or schools' physical education lessons but also external injuries that occur as a result of accidents and disasters.
'RICE treatment' is a common approach for skeletal muscle injuries, regardless of the extent of the injury. This acronym stands for Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation and is often used in physical education, sports and even medicine. Ice is commonly applied regardless of the type of muscle injury, yet little is known about the long-term effects of icing.
Ice is used to suppress inflammation, however, inflammation in response to tissue injury is one of the body's healing mechanisms. This has come to be understood as a vital response for tissue regeneration. In other words, suppressing inflammation with ice may also inhibit the body's attempt to repair itself.
Experiments investigating the effect of icing muscles after injury have produced conflicting results. Some have reported that it delays muscle regeneration while others have stated that it doesn't inhibit this process. However, none of the research up until now has investigated the effects of icing using an injury model that mimics common sports injuries caused by muscle contraction.
Using a mouse model of eccentric contraction injury, the current research team decided to observe the effects of post-injury icing. In this mouse model, injuries were induced to resemble severe torn muscles.
Research Methodology and Results
Eccentric contraction was induced by electrically stimulating the leg muscles of the mice and then exerting a stronger force during this stimulation to make the leg muscles move in the opposite direction. After this, the muscles were harvested. Icing was performed by placing polyurethane bags of ice on top of the skin over three 30 minute sessions per day, with each session being 2 hours apart. This was continued until two days after the injury. The icing was based on the usual clinically recommended method.
The researchers investigated the regenerated skeletal muscle two weeks after injury, comparing the icing group with the non-icing group. A significantly higher percentage of smaller regenerated muscle fibers were found in cross-sections from the icing group, with a greater number of medium to large fibers in the non-icing group (Figure 1). In other words, this revealed that skeletal muscle regeneration may be delayed as a result of icing.
Next, the researchers periodically took samples of muscle from the icing and non-icing groups of animals in order to investigate what was happening in the regeneration process up until this point.
In the regeneration process, inflammatory cells gather at the site of the injury, remove the debris from the damaged muscle and then begin to build new muscle. However, the results revealed that it is harder for inflammatory cells to enter the injured muscle cells if ice is applied (Figure 2).
Macrophages are typical of the inflammatory cells that enter the injured muscle. These consist of pro-inflammatory macrophages, which phagocyte damaged tissue thus causing inflammation, and anti-inflammatory macrophages (*6), which suppress the inflammatory reaction and promote repair. It is thought that pro-inflammatory macrophages change their characteristics, becoming anti-inflammatory. The results of this research team's experiments showed that icing delays the arrival of pro-inflammatory macrophages at the site of the injury (Figure 3).
These results indicate the possibility that macrophages are unable to sufficiently phagocyte the damaged muscle when ice is applied after severe muscle injuries caused by eccentric contraction, consequently delaying the formation of new muscle cells.
Comment from Associate Professor Arakawa
In sports, the mantra of immediately applying ice to an injury is commonplace, regardless of the injury's severity. However, the mechanism that we illuminated through this research suggests that not icing a severe muscle injury may lead to faster recovery. The idea of immediately cooling any type of injury is also entrenched in schools' physical education classes. I hope that in the future, the alternative option of speeding up recovery by not cooling severe muscle injuries will become known.
However, even though icing may disrupt the recovery process for severe muscle injuries, there is no denying the possibility that there are degrees of mild muscle injuries that can be iced. The next issue is to work out where to draw the line. We are now in the middle of investigating what effect icing has on slight muscle injuries.
Next, we will continue to investigate how icing should be carried out according to the extent of the muscle injury. We aim to contribute guidelines that will enable people in sports and clinical rehabilitation to make accurate judgements about whether or not to ice an injury.
 
 
Probiotics associated with fewer respiratory symptoms in overweight and older people
Findings provide further evidence of relationship between the gut and lungs
Imperial College London, May 14, 2021
Daily probiotic use was associated with fewer upper respiratory symptoms in overweight and older people, according to a study that suggests a potential role for probiotics in preventing respiratory infections. The study was selected for presentation at Digestive Disease Week® (DDW) 2021. 
"This is not necessarily the most intuitive idea, that putting bacteria into your gut might reduce your risk of respiratory infection," said Benjamin Mullish, MD, a lead researcher on the study and clinical lecturer in the Division of Digestive Diseases, Imperial College London, England, "but it's further evidence that the gut microbiome has a complex relationship with our various organ systems. It doesn't just affect how our gut works or how our liver works, it affects aspects of how our whole body works."
Researchers re-analyzed detailed daily diaries of 220 patients who participated in an earlier double-blind placebo-controlled study on probiotics and weight loss. Reviewing the entries for common symptoms of upper respiratory infection, including cough, sore throat and wheezing, researchers found that participants who took probiotics during the six-month study had a 27 percent lower overall incidence of upper respiratory tract symptoms compared to the placebo group. The effect was largest among participants who were aged 45 years or older, as well as those with obesity.
People with obesity are at higher risk for respiratory infections. Previous research has shown that probiotics reduce upper respiratory infections in healthy adults and children, but little data exists on this vulnerable population of older, overweight and people with obesity.
"These findings add to growing interest in the gut-lung axis -- how the gut and the lungs communicate with each other," Dr. Mullish said. "It's not just the gut sending out signals that affect how the lungs work. It works in both directions. It adds to the story that changes in the gut microbiome can affect large aspects of our health."
The researchers did not measure immune response, only respiratory symptoms. Future randomized clinical trials could help identify the mechanisms related to the reduction in respiratory symptoms and explore the possible impact of probiotics on the immune system, Dr. Mullish said.
 
 
Fruit discovery could provide new treatments for obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease
University of Warwick (UK), May 11, 2021 
 
A combination of two compounds found in red grapes and oranges could be used to improve the health of people with diabetes, and reduce cases of obesity and heart disease. The find has been made by University of Warwick researchers who now hope that their discovery will be developed to provide a treatment for patients.
 
Professor Thornalley who led research said: "This is an incredibly exciting development and could have a massive impact on our ability to treat these diseases. As well as helping to treat diabetes and heart disease it could defuse the obesity time bomb."
 
The research 'Improved glycemic control and vascular function in overweight and obese subjects by glyoxalase 1 inducer formulation' has been published in the journal Diabetes, and received funding from the UK's innovation agency, Innovate UK. The project was a collaboration between the University of Warwick and University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) NHS Trust.
 
A team led by Paul Thornalley, Professor in Systems Biology at Warwick Medical School, studied two compounds found in fruits but not usually found together. The compounds are trans-resveratrol (tRES) - found in red grapes, and hesperetin (HESP) - found in oranges. When given jointly at pharmaceutical doses the compounds acted in tandem to decrease blood glucose, improve the action of insulin and improve thehealth of arteries.
 
The compounds act by increasing a protein called glyoxalase 1 (Glo1) in the body which neutralises a damaging sugar-derived compound called methylglyoxal (MG). MG is a major contributor to the damaging effects of sugar. Increased MG accumulation with a high energy diet intake is a driver of insulin resistance leading to type 2 diabetes, and also damages blood vessels and impairs handling of cholesterol associated with increased risk of cardiovascular diseases. Blocking MG improved health in overweight and obese people and will likely help patients with diabetes and high risk of cardiovascular disease too. It has already been proven experimentally that blocking MG improves health impairment in obesity and type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
 
Although the same compounds are found naturally in some fruits, the amounts and type required for health improvement cannot be obtained from increased fruit consumption. The compounds that increase Glo1 and are called a 'Glo1 inducer'. Pharmaceutical doses for patients with obesity, diabetes and high risk of heart disease could be given to patients in capsule form.
 
Professor Thornalley increased Glo1 expression in cell culture. He then tested the formulation in a randomised, placebo-controlled crossover clinical trial.
Thirty-two overweight and obese people within the 18-80 age range who had a BMI between 25-40 took part in the trial. They were given the supplement in capsule form once a day for eight weeks. They were asked to maintain their usual diet and their food intake was monitored via a dietary questionnaire and they were also asked not to alter their daily physical activity. Changes to their sugar levels were assessed by blood samples, artery health measured by artery wall flexibility and other assessments by analysis of blood markers.
 
The team found that the highly overweight subjects who had BMIs of over 27.5 with treatment displayed increased Glo1 activity, decreased glucose levels, improved working of insulin, improved artery function and decreased blood vessel inflammation. There was no effect of placebo.
 
Professor Thornalley said: "Obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease are at epidemic levels in Westernised countries. Glo1 deficiency has been identified as a driver of health problems in obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease."
 
"Diabetic kidney disease will be the initial target to prove effective treatment for which we are currently seeking commercial investors and partners. Our new pharmaceutical is safe and expected to be an effective add-on treatment taken with current therapy.
 
"The key steps to discovery were to focus on increasing Glo1 and then to combine tRES and HESP together in the formulation for effective treatment.
"As exciting as our breakthrough is it is important to stress that physical activity, diet, other lifestyle factors and current treatments should be adhered to."
 
Professor Martin O Weickert, Consultant in Diabetes and Endocrinology at UHCW NHS Trust, and co-applicant for the grant, said: "We were really excited to participate in this study with Warwick Medical School, as taking part in world-leading research makes a real difference to our patients both now and in the future.
"As well as the positive effects for the UHCW patients who took part in the trial, we hope this study will lead to new treatments to help patients with diabetes and cardiovascular diseases all over the world."
 
Prof. Thornalley and his team are now hoping manufacturers will want to explore the use of the compound as pharmaceutical products.
 
 
 
Vitamin D supplementation associated with less time spent in ICU among critically ill patients
Lishui People’s Hospital (China), May 18, 2021
According to news originating from Lishui, People’s Republic of China, research stated, “Vitamin D deficiency is a common scenario in critically ill patients and has been proven to be associated with poor outcomes. However, the effect of vitamin D supplementation for critically ill patients remains controversial.”
Our news correspondents obtained a quote from the research from Lishui People’s Hospital: “Thus, we conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the effect of vitamin D supplementation among critically ill patients. Electronic databases PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and the Cochrane Library were searched for eligible randomized controlled trials between 2000 and January 2021. The primary outcome was overall mortality, and the secondary ones were the length of intensive care unit stay, the length of hospital stay, as well as the duration of mechanical ventilation. Subgroup analyses were performed to explore the treatment effect by type of admission, route of administration, dose of supplemented vitamin D, and the degree of vitamin D deficiency. A total of 14 studies involving 2,324 patients were finally included. No effect on overall mortality was found between vitamin D supplementation and control group [odds ratio (OR), 0.73; 95% CI, 0.52-1.03; I2 = 28%]. The vitamin D supplementation reduced the length of intensive care unit stay [mean difference (MD), -2.25; 95% CI, -4.07 to -0.44, I2 = 71%] and duration of mechanical ventilation (MD, -3.47; 95% CI, -6.37 to -0.57, I2 = 88%). In the subgroup analyses, the vitamin D supplementation for surgical patients (OR, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.47-0.94; I2 = 0%) or through parenteral way (OR, 0.42; 95% CI, 0.22-0.82, I2 = 0%) was associated with reduced mortality.”
According to the news reporters, the research concluded: “In critically ill patients, the supplementation of vitamin D has no effect on overall mortality compared to placebo but may decrease the length of intensive care unit stay and mechanical ventilation. Further trials are necessary to confirm our findings.”

The Gary Null Show - 05.20.21

Western diet found to impair function of immune cells in the gut
Cleveland Clinic, May 18, 2021
According to new study results, a team of researchers led by Cleveland Clinic's Thaddeus Stappenbeck, M.D., Ph.D., have found that a diet high in fat and sugar is associated with impaired intestinal immune cell function in mice. The findings, published in Cell Host & Microbe, provide novel insights into pathways linking obesity and disease-driving gut inflammation, and have implications for developing targets to treat inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) in patients.
Using data from more than 900 patients, the researchers found that elevated body mass index is associated with abnormal Paneth cells among patients with Crohn's disease and non-IBD patients.
Paneth cells are a type of anti-inflammatory immune cell found in the intestines that helps to protect against microbial imbalances and infectious pathogens. Dysfunction of these cells is driven by a combination of genetic mutations and environmental factors. Dr. Stappenbeck and others have previously linked Paneth cell dysfunction to gut changes indicative of IBD in preclinical models and a subset of Crohn's disease patients from multiple cohorts around the world.
"With this understanding, we set out to investigate whether diet-induced obesity--specifically caused by a diet high in fat and sugar, or a 'western diet'--is one of the environmental factors that can lead to impaired Paneth cell function," said Dr. Stappenbeck, chair of Lerner Research Institute's Department of Inflammation & Immunity.
The researchers compared the effects of a western diet versus a standard diet. The team's western diet contained about 40 percent fat and an elevated level of simple carbohydrates, which better resembles the diet of an average U.S. adult than regimens prescribed in other preclinical studies.
After eight weeks, the group that ate the western diet had more abnormal Paneth cells than the group that ate a standard diet. In the western diet group, other changes become apparent two months after the Paneth cell defects, including increased gut permeability, where bacteria and toxins can enter the gut and which is well-linked with chronic inflammation. Notably, however, switching to a standard diet from the western diet completely reversed the Paneth cell dysfunction.
"When we started to look into large-scale datasets for the specific mechanisms that might connect the high-fat, high-sugar diet with the Paneth cell dysfunction, a secondary bile acid called deoxycholic acid caught our attention," said Dr. Stappenbeck. 
Deoxycholic acid is a metabolic byproduct of intestinal bacteria. Researchers found that consuming a western diet increased the bile acid in a region of the intestines called the ileum and, as a result, increased the expression of two downstream molecules, farnesoid X receptor (FXR) and type I interferon (IFN).
"For the first time, we showed how coordinated elevation of FXR and type I IFN signals in multiple cell types contribute to Paneth cell defects in response to a diet high in fat and sugar. In previous research, stimulating FXR has shown to help treat other diseases, including fatty liver disease, so we are hopeful that with additional research we can interrogate how the combination of elevated FXR and IFN signals can be targeted to help treat diet-induced gut infections and chronic inflammation."
Dr. Stappenbeck also explained that while the team was interested to learn that changing the diet regimen reversed the pathological changes, more research would be needed to determine if these changes also occur in patients.
 
 
Count your blessings: Short gratitude intervention can increase academic motivation
Ritsumeikan University (Japan), May 17, 2021
 
Because of the ongoing pandemic, lifestyles have been subjected to drastic and dynamic changes, and many work- and study-related activities are now carried out online exclusively. This, among other complex factors, has made it difficult for some people to stay focused and motivated, and psychology researchers are trying to find effective and widely applicable solutions to address such problems.
In a recent study published in BMC Psychology, researchers from Ritsumeikan University and the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), Japan, have explored a simple strategy to increase motivation in college students by nurturing a positive emotion: gratitude. Many studies have shown that even short "gratitude interventions," which are activities that increase an individual's awareness of feelings of gratitude, can have a lasting positive effect on that person's mood, satisfaction and well-being. However, based on previous studies, the available evidence on the effect of such interventions on academic motivation is inconclusive. This prompted the researchers to test the effects of a different type of gratitude intervention: daily gratitude journaling.
"Our main hypothesis was that engaging in an online gratitude journal by writing down up to five things one felt grateful for each day could make students be more aware of their academic opportunities—their 'blessings'—and help them re-evaluate their motives and goals, ultimately improving their motivation," explains Dr. Norberto Eiji Nawa from NICT, first author of the study. They recruited 84 participants, all Japanese college students, and divided them into a control group and an intervention group. Over the course of two weeks, students in both groups had to evaluate aspects of their daily life through online questionnaires each day, but only the intervention group had to keep the online daily gratitude journal. At the start of the intervention and after one and two weeks, and one and three months, the participants had to complete the Academic Motivation Scale (AMS), a tried-and-tested tool for measuring different aspects of academic motivation.
The results were promising; through statistical analyses, the researchers found that the gratitude intervention through daily journaling significantly increased the students' academic motivation. Most notably, this robust positive effect was not restricted only to the two-week period of the intervention, as the increased level of academic motivation was maintained even after three months. In addition, through an exploratory analysis, the researchers established that the enhancement in academic motivation was mostly driven by a decrease in "amotivation scores." Amotivation, in this context, refers to the state in which a person perceives that their own actions are irrelevant to the resulting outcomes, leading to feelings of helplessness and incompetence.
Academic motivation can be one of the primary determinants of both academic achievements and satisfaction with school life, and developing widely applicable intervention strategies is critical to foster student growth. "Online interventions have the advantage of being more accessible, scalable and affordable to large portions of the population. Gathering solid evidence to support their deployment will be essential to unleash their true potential in the future," concludes Professor Noriko Yamagishi from Ritsumeikan University. It appears that the positive impact of gratitude interventions extends well beyond the already documented effects on individual well-being.
This study was partly supported by a research grant from the Ritsumeikan Inamori Philosophy Research Center. This Center aims to promote multidisciplinary research on the management philosophy advocated by Dr. Kazuo Inamori, a prominent Japanese entrepreneur and renowned philanthropist. With this major goal in mind, Professor Yamagishi, alongside Dr. Nawa, have been working on the scientific elucidation of the emotions of "altruism" and "gratitude" from the perspective of cognitive psychology and neuroscience. This particular study was conducted as part of this more overarching research. Until the day these human emotions become clearer, we can safely give this piece of advice: remember to count your blessings.
 
How Quickly Do We Become Unfit?
 
Anglia Ruskin University, May 14, 2021
Getting in shape isn’t easy. But after all that hard work, how long do we actually maintain it? Turns out that even the great effort we put into training, taking a bit of time off can mean that we become “unfit” much faster than it took us to actually get in shape.
To understand how the body becomes “unfit”, we first need to understand how we become fit. The key to becoming fitter – whether that’s improving cardiovascular fitness or muscular strength – is to exceed “habitual load”. This means doing more than our body is used to. The stress that this has on our body makes us adapt and become more tolerant, leading to higher fitness levels.
The time it takes to get fit depends on a number of factors, including fitness levels, age, how hard you work, and even environment. But some studies do indicate that even just six sessions of interval trainingcan lead to increases in maximal oxygen uptake (V02 max) – a measure of overall fitness — and improve how efficiently our body is able to fuel itself using the sugar stored in our cells during exercise.
For strength training, some gains in muscle force can be shown in as little as two weeks, but changes in muscle size won’t be seen until around 8-12 weeks.
Cardiovascular fitness
When we stop training, how quickly we lose fitness also depends on many factors – including the type of fitness we’re talking about (such as strength or cardiovascular fitness).
As an example, let’s look at a marathon runner, who is in peak athletic fitness and can run a marathon in two hours and 30 minutes. This person spends five to six days a week training, running a total of 90km. They’ve also spent the last 15 years developing this level of fitness.
Now let’s say they stopped training completely. Because the body no longer has the stresses of training forcing it to stay fit, the runner will start to lose fitness within a few weeks.
Cardiorespiratory fitness – indicated by a person’s V02 max (the amount of oxygen a person can use during exericse) – will decrease around 10% in the first four weeksafter a person stops training. This rate of decline continues, but at a slower rate over longer periods.
Intriguingly, though highly trained athletes (like our marathon runner) see a sharp decline in V02 max in the first four weeks, this decline eventually evens out, and they actually maintain a V02 higher than the average person’s. But for the average person, V02 max falls sharply, back to pre-training levels, in less than eight weeks.
 
The reason V02 max declines is due to reductions in blood and plasma volumes – which decrease by as much as 12% in the first four weeks after a person stops training. Plasma and blood volume decrease due to the lack of stress being put on our heart and muscles.
Plasma volume may even decrease by around 5% within the first 48 hours of stopping training. The effect of decreased blood and plasma volume leads to less blood being pumped around the body each heart beat. But these levels only drop to where we started – meaning we won’t get worse.
Of course, most of us aren’t marathon runners – but we’re also not immune to these effects. As soon as we stop exercising the body will start to lose these key cardiovascular adaptations at a very similar rate as highly trained athletes.
Strength training
When it comes to strength, evidence shows that in the average person, 12 weeks without training causes a significant decrease in the amount of weight we can lift. Thankfully, research shows that you maintain some of the strength you gained before you stopped training. What is intriguing is that despite the significant decrease in strength, there’s only a minimal decrease in the size of the muscle fibres.
The reason we lose muscle strength largely has to do with the fact that we’re no longer putting our muscles under stress. So when we’re no longer working our muscles hard, the muscles become “lazy”, leading the number of our muscle fibres to decrease, and fewer muscles being recruited during an activity – making us less able to lift the heavy loads we used to.
The number of muscle fibres used during exercise decreases by around 13% after just two weeks of no training – though this appears not to be accompanied by a decline in muscular force. This implies that the losses observed across the longer periods of detraining are a combination of both this initial decline in the number of muscle fibres we use, but also the slower decline in muscle mass.
For the average gym goer who lifts weights, they would experience a drop in the size of their muscles – over time finding it harder to lift heavy loads as they have less muscle fibres being recruited.
So even after all that effort to get fit, we start losing cardiovascular fitness and strength within 48 hours of stopping. But we don’t start to feel these effects for at least two to three weeks for cardiovascular fitness and around 6-10 weeks for strength. Rates of “de-training” are similar for men and women, and even for older athletes. But the fitter you are, the slower you’ll lose your gains.
 
Non-drug therapies as good as or better than drugs for treating depression in people with dementia
St Michael’s Hospital, University of Toronto, University of Calgary May 17, 2021
 
Doctors should consider more "social" prescribing of non-drug approaches for depression and loneliness, say researchers
Non-drug therapies, such as exercise, appear to be as, or more, effective than drugs for reducing symptoms of depression in people with dementia, suggests research published online in The BMJ.
The findings suggest that people with dementia will derive a clinically meaningful benefit from non-drug interventions, and the researchers say doctors should consider more "social" prescribing of non-drug approaches to treat symptoms of depression and loneliness.
Fifty million people worldwide have a diagnosis of dementia. About 16% of these people also have a diagnosed major depressive disorder, and 32% will experience symptoms of depression without a formal diagnosis.
Previous trials have shown that non-drug approaches, such as exercise, alleviate symptoms of depression in people with dementia, but it's not clear how effective they are compared with drugs to reduce symptoms of depression.
To address this uncertainty, researchers analysed the results of existing trials to compare the effectiveness of drug and non-drug interventions with usual care or any other intervention targeting symptoms of depression in people with dementia.
After screening 22,138 records, they focused on and reviewed 256 studies involving 28,483 people with dementia, with or without a diagnosed major depressive disorder.
Drug approaches alone were no more effective than usual care, but they found 10 interventions associated with a greater reduction in symptoms of depression compared with usual care.
These were cognitive stimulation, exercise, reminiscence therapy (a treatment to help people with dementia remember events, people and places from their lives), cognitive stimulation with a cholinesterase inhibitor (a drug used to treat dementia), massage and touch therapy, multidisciplinary care, psychotherapy combined with reminiscence therapy and environmental modification, occupational therapy, exercise combined with social interaction and cognitive stimulation, and animal therapy.
Three interventions -- massage and touch therapy, cognitive stimulation with a cholinesterase inhibitor, and cognitive stimulation combined with exercise and social interaction -- were found to be more effective than some drugs.
The authors acknowledge some study limitations, such as being unable to explore severity of depression symptoms or effects on different types of dementia. Nor did they look at the potential costs or harms of implementing drug and non-drug interventions.
However, notable strengths included the large number of articles reviewed and use of a recognised clinical scale for capturing symptoms of depression.
As such, they say in this systematic review, "non-drug approaches were associated with a meaningful reduction in symptoms of depression in people with dementia and without a diagnosis of a major depressive disorder.
And they add that everyone -- patients, caregivers, clinicians and policy makers -- have a role in translating these findings into practice
 
 
Omega-3 lowers childhood aggression in short term, Penn research shows
University of Pennsylvania, May 13, 2021
Incorporating omega-3, vitamins and mineral supplements into the diets of children with extreme aggression can reduce this problem behavior in the short term, especially its more impulsive, emotional form, according to University of Pennsylvania researchers who published their findings in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.
Adrian Raine, the Richard Perry University Professor of Criminology, Psychology and Psychiatry, has spent his career looking at how the brain's biological functioning affects antisocial behavior. He focuses specifically on understanding these actions and learning how to modify them, whether with something benign like a child acting out or with something extreme, in the case of a homicidal killer.
"How do you change the brain to make people better?" he asked. "How can we improve brain functioning to improve behavior?"
These questions formed the foundation for work Raine had previously done with adolescents on the African island of Mauritius. In a randomized control trial, one group received omega-3 supplements for six months, the other didn't. Those taking the fish oil saw a reduction in aggressive and antisocial behavior.
"That was my starting point," he said. "I was really excited about the results we published there."
Mauritius, however, is a tropical climate and a different culture from the United States, so Raine, a Penn Integrates Knowledge Professor, decided to test a new version of the study in Philadelphia, to aim for more broadly applicable outcomes. He partnered with Therese Richmond, the Andrea B. Laporte Professor of Nursing and associate dean for research and innovation, and several other Penn faculty, including Rose Cheney of the Perelman School of Medicine and Jill Portnoy of the Criminology Department in the School of Arts & Sciences.
The Philadelphia randomized control study placed 290 11- and 12-year-olds with a history of violence into four groups: The first received omega-3 in the form of juice, as well as multivitamins and calcium for three months. For that same duration, a second group participated in cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, which included meeting weekly for an hour, with time split between the child, the parent and with both together.
"Sessions focused on the links between thoughts, feelings and behaviors and also practicing alternative actions the children could take to deal with difficult situations rather than to emotionally react to something," said Richmond, who supervised the clinical trial. "It's helping the child build a toolbox of ways to interact with others. For example, if I'm angry, how might I cope with anger other than physically striking out?"All participants got homework, too.
A third group in the study took the supplements and participated in CBT, and a fourth received resources and information targeted at reducing aggressive behavior. Blood samples at the experiment's start and conclusion measured omega-3 levels in each child.
"Immediately after three months of the nutritional intervention rich in omega-3s, we found a decrease in the children's reporting of their aggressive behavior," Richmond said. The team also followed up three and six months later.
At the first check-in, participants getting the combination of CBT and omega-3s reported less aggression than the control group and the therapy-only group. By the final check-in, however, any positive effects had dissipated. What remains unknown is whether continued use of omega-3s would lead to a long-term reduction in antisocial behavior.
There were other minor limitations to the research. For one, self-reporting completed by parents and children didn't line up. The 11- and 12-year-olds in the omega-3 and CBT-supplement groups noted fewer aggressive behaviors; their parents said such tendencies hadn't changed. Also, some participants dropped out before the study had finished.
Despite these challenges, Raine, Richmond and their colleagues said the findings provide some important insight.
"No matter what program you use, could adding omega-3s to your treatment help?" Raine asked. "This suggests it could."
And though the work answers some questions, it also creates new ones, which returns to a larger point regarding the mind-action connection: It's complicated.
"We can't oversimplify the complexity of antisocial behavior. There are many causes," Raine said. "It's not just the brain. Is it a piece of the jigsaw puzzle? I think it is."
 
 
Lockdown led to positive lifestyle changes in older people
University of Stirling (Scotland), May 17, 2021
The COVID-19 lockdown was a catalyst for many older people to embrace technology, reconnect with friends and build new relationships with neighbours, according to University of Stirling research.
Understanding the coping mechanisms adopted by some over 60s during the pandemic will play a key role in developing interventions to help tackle loneliness, isolation and wellbeing in the future.
The study, led by the Faculty of Health Sciences and Sport, surveyed 1,429 participants - 84 percent (1,198) of whom were over 60 - and found many had adapted to video conferencing technology to increase online contact with existing social networks, while others reconnected with previous networks. Participants reported that lockdown had led them to engage with neighbours and other members of their communities for the first time, while several said social distancing had brought an additional meaning to life, by highlighting what was important to them.
Published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, the paper comes six months after the study - funded under the Scottish Government Chief Scientist Office's Rapid Research in COVID-19 programme - reported in its preliminary findings that social distancing had increased feelings of loneliness in older people.
Professor of Behavioural Medicine, Anna Whittaker, who led the study, said: "Our research found that the COVID-19 lockdown triggered feelings of loneliness in older people - with many experiencing less social contact and support. However, the study also highlighted positive outcomes, for example, lockdown encouraged some older people to embrace and engage with technology - such as Zoom, Whatsapp or FaceTime - to stay in touch with loved-ones or participate in exercise classes or religious groups. Those who engaged in such activity were able to prevent high levels of loneliness, therefore, helping older adults to increase their digital literacy and use of remote social interactions could be a really important tool for addressing loneliness.
"Participants also reported actively looking for new social contact while restrictions were in place - such as contacting friends who they had not spoken to in years and increasing interactions with neighbours and other members of their communities. Significantly, many of our participants reported that social distancing has actually led them to find new sources of satisfaction in life.
"Our study also highlighted that encouraging safe social contact through physical activity and engaging with people in the community may be an effective way to reduce loneliness, improve wellbeing, increase social activity, and improve social support."
The study - which involved a survey conducted between May and July 2020 - examined the impact of social distancing during the pandemic on loneliness, wellbeing and social activity, including social support, in Scottish older adults.
Participants were asked about the strategies they adopted to increase social interaction during this time and reported that the way they interacted with their friends and family, faith, chosen group activities and, to a lesser extent, their employer and colleagues, had changed. More than 300 participants mentioned 'Zoom' - the video conferencing tool - in their answers.
More than 150 participants reported that their religious gatherings had moved online - replacing face-to-face gatherings - while 91 said that social gatherings with family and friends had changed in favour of online 'games nights'. New activities included bingo and quiz nights, while other activities moved online - such as bridge nights, book clubs, choir rehearsals, and dance and exercise classes.
The role of community - particularly neighbours - was mentioned by more than 300 participants and some reported the common experience of getting to know previously unknown neighbours and increase interaction with others in the community at local shops or parks. A pleasant Scottish summer also supported such interactions, several said.
At least 100 people said social interactions were linked to their physical activities - such as time spent outdoors while walking for exercise, walking the dogs or active commuting.
Professor Whittaker added: "Our research underlines the importance of addressing loneliness and social support in older adults - but particularly during situations where risk of isolation is high. Although specific to the pandemic, this study has wider implications of helping us to understand the impact of social distancing and social isolation on older people.
"The findings may be applicable in the future - both in and outwith pandemic situations. In Scotland, the recommendations for improvement may be through encouraging older adults to get to know their neighbours better, getting involved with local buddying systems and community initiatives, including via digital means, and engaging in physical activity, such as daily walks in the community."
Brian Sloan, Chief Executive of Age Scotland, said: "While it may prove difficult to consider any aspect of the pandemic positive as such, it is important and worthwhile to reflect on what it has taught us, both about ourselves and society and about the necessary tools to tackle Scotland's increased levels of loneliness and isolation.
"For example, we've seen first-hand how important the community response has been in terms of supporting older people throughout lockdown and it has been inspiring to witness how people across the country stepped in and stepped forward to help those in need around them. Even as restrictions ease, we hope to see this sense of community spirit continue. 
"The ongoing impact of COVID-19 has also demonstrated just how important increased digital inclusion is and how easily those without access to technology can feel out of the loop. It's reassuring to see so many older people reporting that they have been able to embrace and engage with technology to stay connected and active. 
"However, it's equally important to ensure those who are unable or do not wish to use the internet have alternative ways to stay connected to their communities and support networks.
"As we take steps towards recovery together, it is vital that no one is left behind and those most impacted are supported to play a full part in society again. 
"We know we will be living with the ongoing effects of lockdown loneliness for a long time to come, and this research will be incredibly valuable when considering how best to tackle loneliness and isolation and to improve the wellbeing of older people going forward."
 
 
Signs of Vitamin B12 Deficiency
World Health Net,  May 1, 2021
Modern nutritional research offers much more information about which nutrients are required for optimal health than in years past. The general opinion of most health care providers has been that patients should eat a balanced diet in order to make sure their nutritional needs are being met. Until the past few decades this was good advice, but the nutrients contained in most foods sold in grocery stores has been depleted, due to the way they were grown and processed. This means the nutrients most important to the proper functioning of the human body are best ingested through supplementation. Those who have a deficiency of vitamin B12 may be experiencing some serious health problems that they are not even aware of.
Food Sources of Vitamin B12Food products that come from animals are the only sources of the vitamin, so someone who follows a vegetarian or vegan diet would most likely need to supplement B12. It is also good to supplement if one has a diet that restricts the consumption of meat, dairy, eggs because of the relatively high levels of cholesterol and fat. Health Problems Caused by a Vitamin B12 DeficiencySome of these health issues are easily mistaken as symptoms of other diseases, such as diabetes. Others may be confused with common aging problems.
Weakness
Fatigue
Tingling and/or numbness in the extremeties
Memory loss and cognitive difficulties
Difficulty in walking, because of staggering or balance problems
Health care providers may not be able to identify these problems as a deficiency of Vitamin B12, so a blood test may be needed, in order to reach a correct diagnosis. There are a few other less common symptoms that indicate a deficiency of the vitamin.
Paranoia and hallucinations
Anemia
Jaundiced skin
An inflamed and swollen tongue
Many people are not very well educated about their nutritional needs and the problems they may experience from various deficiencies. Most people have too much stress in their lives and struggle to find enough time in the day to get everything done. People often naturally think whatever fatigue or weakness they feel is the result of not enough time and rest, but symptoms could well be due to a Vitamin B12 deficiency. Although seniors are most at risk for nutritional deficiencies due to dietary restrictions, a depressed appetite and medications, younger women also experience anemia due to monthly menstruation. The average person is often surprised how much better they feel once they begin a regime of Vitamin B12 supplementation. It is important to note that not all B12 supplements are the same, so if adding the vitamin to a diet it would be wise to research all the options available. One common B12 supplement actually contains arsenic and should be avoided.Since the best source of B12 is found in foods, eating more meat, eggs, dairy and especially poultry is a good choice. Poultry is relatively low in fat and cholesterol, so it is safer for those who are at risk for heart disease.

The Gary Null Show - 05.19.21

Dr. Jessica Rose is an immunologist and molecular biologist who has specialized in computational biology and the bio-mechanisms behind pathogenic infections. Her research and publications include investigating hepatitis B, cytomegalovirus, HIV, and anthrax. Dr. Rose is a graduate of the University of Newfoundland and Labrador, and received her doctorate from Bar Illan University in Israel. Recently she had an important paper published in this month's issue of the journal Science, Public Health Policy and the Law, which  analyzed the data of Covid-19 vaccine injuries and deaths reported in the Centers for Disease Control's Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System  or VAERS.  Jessica is also a surfing instructor and Israel's national champion for women's long-board surfing. 

The Gary Null Show - 05.18.21

After receiving a bachelor’s degree from Baylor University, Dr. McCullough completed his medical degree as an Alpha Omega Alpha graduate from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas. He went on to complete his internal medicine residency at the University of Washington in Seattle, cardiology fellowship including service as Chief Fellow at William Beaumont Hospital, and master’s degree in public health at the University of Michigan. Dr. McCullough is a consultant cardiologist and Vice Chief of Medicine at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, TX. He is a Principal Faculty in internal medicine for the Texas A & M University Health Sciences Center. Dr. McCullough is an internationally recognized authority on the role of chronic kidney disease as a cardiovascular risk state with > 1000 publications and > 500 citations in the National Library of Medicine. His works include the “Interface between Renal Disease and Cardiovascular Illness” in Braunwald’s Heart Disease Textbook. Dr. McCullough is a recipient of the Simon Dack Award from the American College of Cardiology and the International Vicenza Award in Critical Care Nephrology for his scholarship and research. Dr. McCullough is a founder and current president of the Cardiorenal Society of America, an organization dedicated to bringing cardiologists and nephrologists together to work on the emerging problem of cardiorenal syndromes. His works have appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of the American Medical Association, Lancet and other top-tier journals worldwide. He is the co-editor of Reviews in Cardiovascular Medicine, and associate editor of the American Journal of Cardiology and Cardiorenal Medicine. He serves on the editorial boards of multiple specialty journals. Dr. McCullough has made presentations on the advancement of medicine across the world and has been an invited lecturer at the New York Academy of Sciences, the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), European Medicines Agency, and the U.S. Congressional Oversight Panel. 
 

The Gary Null Show - 05.17.21

The FDA, Shock Troops for the Pharmaceutical Industrial Complex
 
Richard Gale and Gary Null PhD
Progressive Radio Network, May 17, 2021
 
 
As of this week, over 194 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccines have been administered in the US. Consequently, a growing majority of Americans are delighted that life may return to normal because most believe they are now protected from infection. Clearly that is not the case. Bill Maher tested positive for Covid last week and had to cancel his television show for his first time since 1993. This was despite Maher having been fully vaccinated. Moreover the vaccines’ serious adverse effects are being downplayed by health officials and the media. Who will experience an adverse effect appears to be arbitrary; therefore, it is a game of Russian Roulette as to whether a person will be critically injured or be protected from the virus. One of the world’s most accomplished rock guitar musicians Eric Clapton received both doses of AstraZeneca’s Covid vaccine and had such severe reactions he feared he might never play the guitar again.  Clapton posted a message:
 
“About six weeks later [after receiving the first shot] I was offered and took the second AZ shot, but with a little more knowledge of the dangers. Needless to say the reactions were disastrous, my hands and feet were either frozen, numb or burning, and pretty much useless for two weeks, I feared I would never play again, (I suffer with peripheral neuropathy and should never have gone near the needle.) But the propaganda said the vaccine was safe for everyone.”
 
However it is not simply a miniscule few who are suffering undesirable Covid-vaccine events such as blood clots and other cardiovascular complications, anaphylaxis, severe allergic reactions, various neuropathies, abnormal menstrual bleeding and suspected miscarriages, extreme muscle weakness, fatigue, etc.  If this were the case, an argument could be made for siding with benefits over risks. Covid vaccines have only been administered for less than six months, and it is becoming increasingly clear that the risks may outweigh the benefits. Suspected numbers of miscarriages following Covid vaccines is especially worrisome. A government study published in the New England Journal of Medicine attempted to analyze and downplay the risk. Yet at the same time, the study observed a trend of 11.6% of spontaneous abortions occurring less than 13 weeks after the mRNA vaccination.  It is becoming increasingly obvious that these vaccines’ safety profiles is far less than Anthony Fauci, the FDA and the CDC are touting
 
More younger adults are experiencing adverse vaccine symptoms than from the risks due to acquiring a wild coronavirus. Worldwide reported adverse effects and deaths are escalating dramatically. In the CDC’s Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS), reported Covid-19 vaccine deaths have now reached 4.434 as of May 13th 2021 which is more vaccine-related deaths from conventional vaccines recorded in VAERS during the past 21 years.  Since VAERS is a passive reporting system, the actual serious adverse effect rate may be as high as 1in 10 shots. No other vaccine on the CDC’s vaccination schedule has such a poor record of safety.
 
As with Bill Maher, fully vaccinated people are still being infected and testing positive. Younger healthy adults, who earlier had an insignificant chance of becoming sick or dying from the SARS-CoV-2 virus, are now being injured and in some cases dying from the vaccines. 
 
A recent study published in JAMA observed delayed hypersensitivity vaccine reactions well after injections. The University of Pennsylvania estimates that between 5 to 10 percent of recipients of the mRNA vaccines have “severe adverse reactions” – an inordinately high percent compared to every other non-Covid vaccine. And a group of medical institutions including the University of Greifswald School of Medicine, and the Medical University of Vienna are proposing a new medical condition, “vaccine-induced prothrombotic immune thrombocytopenia,” now be associated with the AstraZeneca and Johnson and Johnson vaccines.
A recent paper warns about the dangers of vaccine-induced prion disease. The list of adverse effects continues to mount.  Pfizer document refers to the possibility of Covid vaccine shedding to the unvaccinated.  Doctors are coming forward and accusing the CDC of scrubbing the statistics of actual vaccine-related deaths. The risks were quite obvious in the vaccine makers’ own clinical trial documents before the FDA awarded Covid vaccines with emergency use approval to launch a nation-wide vaccination program. Whether or not health officials at the CDC or FDA thoroughly deliberated on the many warnings or simply ignored them is open to debate.  But the evidence strongly leans towards the latter.
 
Earlier, we presented the historical evidence of widespread corruption at the CDC; however, the FDA is far more influential because it is the final watchdog that determines a drug’s efficacy and safety profile. In the most perverse scenario, the FDA relies upon outside experts to sit on its advisory committees to review a drug’s or a vaccine’s safety. Many of these experts have a gross conflict of interests with the pharmaceutical industry.  This institutional dilemma is steeped into the FDA’s very DNA. As far back as 2006, Public Citizen discovered that 1 out of 3 of outside consultants and advisory members to the FDA had financial conflicts. The situation has only worsened over the years.
 
A Pogo investigation in October last year, uncovered several advisers on the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee who had direct ties with the Covid-vaccine companies, including direct payments for consulting fees. Dr. Archana Chatterjee, for example, has received over $200,000 from agreements with these companies. The same is true for the Committee’s chairman, University of Michigan Dr. Arnold Monto who received fees from the largest vaccine firms including  Pfizer, Sanofi, GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis. The previous chair, Dr. Hana El Sahly from Baylor University, had to recuse herself due to her role in supervising Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine clinical trials. Earlier, Monto was the principal investigator for Sanofi’s influenza vaccine. Another is the president of Meharry Medical College where coronavirus clinical trials were conducted. Three other Committee members likewise held close conflict-of-interest relationships with vaccine makers.  Shortly before issuing emergency use approval, a second Pogo analysis concluded that the FDA Committee whitewashed the warnings indicated by the Covid-19 vaccine trials. The meeting was adjourned by the FDA director for the Office of Vaccines Research and Review in favor of green-lighting the vaccines before Committee members suspicious of the clinical results could weigh-in. Prof. Carl Elliott, a medical ethicist at the University of Minnesota, summarized the problem of corporate bias now plaguing the FDA. “You do something positive for a company that you feel confident is going to pay you back for it later on,” Elliot stated. “And they do.”  The FDA‘s current rules regarding conflict of interest is strictly limited to the honor system.  In Europe, on the other hand, the European Medicines Agency strictly prohibits experts with ties to private industry from sitting on its advisory committees. 
 
Even with FDA efforts to crack down on conflicts of interests due to Congressional pressure, the industry has found other means to get their representatives onto advisory panels. And the heads of the agency willingly turn a blind eye.  A Science exposé reported on the growing strategy of “pay after” conflicts of interests. Outside advisors will declare no conflicts but then rule in favor of a drug or vaccine only to be reimbursed afterwards. The journal’s review of compensation records uncovered “pay after” schemes for the approval of 28 psychopharmacologic, arthritis, cardiac and renal drugs.” The investigation also uncovered:
 
“Of the more than $24 million in personal payments or research support from industry to the 16 top-earning advisers—who received more than $300,000 each—93% came from the makers of drugs those advisers previously reviewed or from competitors.”
 
Probing still deeper, the Pacific Legal Foundation released an analytical review of 2,952 rules issued by the Department of Health and Human Services over a 17-year period. The Foundation determined that 75 percent of these rules were unconstitutional and “issued by low-level officials and employees with no authority to issue rules.” With respect to the FDA dozens had no democratic controls and involved tens of millions of dollars ruled over by career bureaucrats.  
 
Every American who is prescribed a drug by a physician has the belief that the pill has undergone rigorous trials to scrutinize its safety and will be effective. And when there are known potential adverse effects, we blindly assume the attending physician knows these dangers. However, this is a myth perpetuated not only by drug makers but also by our own federal health agencies.
 
As we have reported on many occasions, iatrogenic deaths, deaths caused by medical error and prescribed medications is now the third leading cause of mortality in the US. The Institute of Medicine has warned about “the nation’s epidemic of medical errors.” A large percent of these errors are related to adverse drug events (ADEs). The FDA states, “ADRs are one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in healthcare.” Dr. Curt Furburg published an article in the Archives of Internal Medicine proposing sweeping changes throughout the FDA.  Furburg and his colleagues wrote, “We see eight major problems with the current system of assessment and assurance of drug safety at the FDA.” A fundamental problem is the FDA’s initial review for drug approval that often fails to detect serious ADRs: “A study by the US General Accountability Office (GAO) concluded that 51% of all approved drugs had at least one serious ADR that was not recognized during the approval process.”
 
A 2003 investigation published in The Independent in the UK reported “under pressure from the pharmaceutical industry, the FDA routinely conceals information it considers commercially sensitive, leaving medical specialists unable to assess the true risks [of approved drugs].” One case involved a very popular over-the-counter drug, the painkiller ibuprofen. The investigators’ search uncovered concealed data showing that ibuprofen increased heart attack risks by 25 percent. Even Freedom of Information (FOI) filings to the FDA do not produce all the information being requested. For example, a group of Swiss investigators filed an FOI to procure trial data about the musculoskeletal pain drug Celecoxib and received back only 16 of the 27 trials conducted on it. A separate FOI concerning a similar drug, Valdecoxib, had pages and paragraphs deleted because sections of the document were marked as “trade secrets.” An even worse case involving a leaked report concerning internal memos and secret FDA reports provided detailed evidence that the FDA approved 9 different antidepressants, representing a total of 22 studies enrolling 4,250 children, while knowing full well that the risk of “suicide-related events” was twice as high as children taking a placebo. These are just several examples among numerous others, which may best be summarized by a Forbes article entitled “The FDA is Basically Approving Everything.”
 
Isn't it time for real truth telling? The FDA, which was budgeted for $5.9 billion in FY 2019, is ruled and governed by a small group of political scientists who have abdicated their ethical responsibilities as physicians and medical professionals. With all the controversy and debate over the efficacy and safety of new mRNA vaccines and the aggressive emergency approval of the ineffective anti-Covid drug remdesivir, we may consider a Harvard University article published in the Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics entitled “Institutional Corruption of Pharmaceuticals and the Myth of Safe and Effective Drugs.”  For the past four decades, the paper states, 
 
“patients have suffered from a largely hidden epidemic of side effects from drugs that usually have few offsetting benefits. The pharmaceutical industry has corrupted the practice of medicine through its influence over what drugs are developed, how they are tested, and how medical knowledge is created. Since 1906, heavy commercial influence has compromised Congressional legislation to protect the public from unsafe drugs. The authorization of user fees in 1992 has turned drug companies into the FDA’s prime clients, deepening the regulatory and cultural capture of the agency.”  
 
We are witnessing the pharmaceutical industry increasing its demands for shorter than average times for the FDA to review new drug submissions; alternatively they have an option to pay the FDA costly fees to have these drugs fast-tracked under its Accelerated Approval Program, thereby jumping over many regulatory hurdles to bring their products to market more quickly. According to a 2019 review of the Program, conducted by the University of Nebraska’s Institute for Operations Research, “from 1992 to 2008, 36% of post-market studies had not been completed, and 50% of the uncompleted studies took on average of 5 years to even begin.”  Yet throughout the duration of years, these drugs continued to be prescribed and reap enormous profits for the companies benefiting from the FDA’s loopholes. 
 
As a consequence, the FDA’s entire regulatory protocol has consistently deteriorated with each passing year. From a system originally mandated to function as a guardian to protect patients from dubious industry commercial interests, it has been transformed into an anti-preventative pipeline favoring drug companies’ bottom line and their shareholders. 
 
In 2013, the Union of Concerned Scientists released its investigative report, four years after the Obama administration launched a process to increase transparency in the federal sciences agencies --- another well-meaning Obama initiative that failed to make any fundamental change. The Union concluded that the  FDA had created a culture lacking scientific integrity, including no formal procedures for investigating scientific misconduct. 
 
The FDA’s serious failures to carry out its duties to monitor and regulate drug companies are well exemplified in the case of the North Carolina outsourcing firm Cetero.  After several years of gross negligence to thoroughly review pharmaceutical drugs, mostly generic knock-offs submitted for licensure, the agency finally uncovered Cetero’s five-year history of faking documents and data or early clinical trials and bioanalytics.  While we expect contractors who carry out clinical trials for large drug companies to be busy at work conducting research on the recorded trial data, on over 1,900 occasions there were no personnel in the Cetero facilities. Approximately 1,400 trials for roughly 100 drugs were faked. Whereas the FDA did little to conduct a thorough investigation, the European Medicines Agency on the other hand discovered that Cetero and its Big Pharm partners, including Roche and Genentech, failed to submit 80,000 reports on American approved drugs that killed over 15,000 Europeans. We need to consider that the Mayo Clinic is on record stating that the last ten years of cancer research are utterly useless due to systemic fraud, 
 
To understand the systemic rot eating away the FDA, we may take note of the research of Dr. Charles Seife and his students at New York University. Seife and his team undertook the task to investigate and analyze the extent to which the FDA covers up evidence of fraud and corruption in medical drug trials. They reviewed FDA documents for about 600 clinical trials. One of Seife’s primary questions was the frequency that FDA officials discover flagrant and intentional misconduct and subsequently decide to bury the evidence and prevent it from becoming public to the medical community.  He discovered such actions to be an official pattern within the agency. Given the high rate of content deleted or blacked out from the documents the FDA provided, the investigators could only determine which pharmaceutical company or drug was involved in 1 of 6 of the reviewed trials. For one trial alone, where FDA inspectors found significant fraud and misconduct, 78 different medical publications printed articles based upon that single study.  In an article for Slate, Seife writes, 
 
"Nobody ever finds out which data is bogus, which experiments are tainted, and which drugs might be on the market under false pretenses. The FDA has repeatedly hidden evidence of scientific fraud not just from the public, but also from its most trusted scientific advisers, even as they were deciding whether or not a new drug should be allowed on the market. Even a congressional panel investigating a case of fraud regarding a dangerous drug couldn't get forthright answers."
 
In one case, a new anti-blood clotting drug, rivaroxaban, involved four large trials recruiting thousands of patients in clinical sites in over a dozen countries. According to Seife, one of the trials "was a fiasco."  In half of the sixteen clinical sites, the FDA discovered "misconduct, fraud, fishy behavior or other practices so objectionable that the data had to be thrown out." One Colorado site falsified data. At the Mexican site, there was "systematic discarding of medical records." Despite these overwhelming problems, the drug trial was published favorably in the prestigious British journal The Lancet. The FDA found similar problems in the three other trials; in one the data was ruled "worthless." The FDA advisory committee of "expert" reviewers were only informed that inspectors discovered only "significant issues" at two sites in one of the trials. Rivaroxaban was nevertheless approved in 2011. Since then lawsuits for wrongful death from the drug continue to increase. 
 
One of the deeper flaws within the FDA’s mode of operations is that it solely relies on the studies and clinical trials conducted by drug makers without conducting any studies of its own. Consequently these private firms have complete control over the clinical data and can provide such data or not at their own discretion. For example, if a company conducts 20 clinical trials on a potential new drug and15 trials conclude it is absolutely useless or results in serious reactions and deaths, the company is only required to submit documentation for the 5 trials that are favorable. 
 
Over the years, Congressional subcommittees have voiced warnings to FDA officials to clean up their act. A House Government Reform Committee reported that both the CDC’s and FDA’s advisory committees for vaccines were thoroughly compromised with pharmaceutical conflicts of interest.  
 
One of the most glaring examples of FDA misconduct, deceit and cover-up to protect pharmaceutical interests in the agency’s history was the federal case against Merck and its anti-inflammatory drug Vioxx. Dr. David Graham, a former Associate Director for Science and Medicine in the FDA’s Office of Drug Safety, testified before the US Senate. Dr. Graham has impeccable credentials qualifying him as an expert on the failures of pharmaceutical drugs. He graduated from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and trained in Internal Medicine at Yale and in adult Neurology at the University of Pennsylvania. 
 
Dr. Graham told the Senate:
 
“During my career, I believe I have made a real difference for the cause of patient safety. My research and efforts within the FDA led to the withdrawal from the US market of Omniflox, an antibiotic that caused hemolytic anemia; Rezulin, a diabetes drug that caused acute liver failure; Fen-Phen and Redux, weight loss drugs that caused heart valve injury; and PPA (phenylpropanolamine), an over- the-counter decongestant and weight loss product that caused hemorrhagic stroke in young women.
 
“My research also led to the withdrawal from outpatient use of Trovan, an antibiotic that caused acute liver failure and death. I also contributed to the team effort that led to the withdrawal of Lotronex, a drug for irritable bowel syndrome that causes ischemic colitis; Baycol, a cholesterol-lowering drug that caused severe muscle injury, kidney failure and death; Seldane, an antihistamine that caused heart arrhythmias and death; and Propulsid, a drug for night-time heartburn that caused heart arrhythmias and death. . . .
 
“I have done extensive work concerning the issue of pregnancy exposure to Accutane, a drug that is used to treat acne but can cause birth defects in some children who are exposed in utero if their mothers take the drug during the first trimester. During my career, I have recommended the market withdrawal of twelve drugs. Only two of these remain on the market today—Accutane and Arava, a drug for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis that I and a co-worker believe causes an unacceptably high risk of acute liver failure and death.”
 
The Los Angeles Times reported that witnesses told the Senate panel that Merck and the FDA knowingly had data well before the approval and licensure of Merck’s Vioxx painkiller that proved the drug’s serious cardiovascular health risks. Nevertheless, the FDA granted it approval without resolving the risks, and Vioxx was aggressively marketed.
 
Testifying about Merck’s Vioxx, Dr. Graham states:
 
"Today . . . you, we, are faced with what may be the single greatest drug safety catastrophe in the history of this country or the history of the world. We are talking about a catastrophe that I strongly believe could have, should have been largely or completely avoided. But it wasn’t, and over 100,000 Americans have paid dearly for this failure. In my opinion, the FDA has let the American people down, and sadly, betrayed a public trust."
 
According to Dr. Graham. “Not only did the FDA ignore known risks from Vioxx and related drugs but . . . it tried to prevent Graham and others from publicizing their own research that proved the extent of these risks.”
 
Members of Congress have echoed Graham’s concerns. Charles Grassley (R–Iowa) said he was concerned that the FDA “has a relationship with drug companies that is too cozy.”  Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D–New Mexico) said the problem was within the FDA’s own culture.“ This culture is one whereby the pharmaceutical industry, which the FDA is mandated to regulate, is the FDA’s most favored and lucrative client.
 
Sixteen years have passed since Dr. Graham’s public statements exposing the life-threatening policies and corruption that infest the FDA. It’s difficult to comprehend why the agency has been unable to clean up its act. Instead the FDA’s culture of deceit has only worsened. Nevertheless, the evidence clearly shows that our government health officials would rather support pharmaceutical profiteering than the health and safety and American citizens. In fact, 45 percent or $2.7 billion of its budget derives from private pharmaceutical “user fees.”
 
The disturbing data suggest that the FDA’s evaluation of pharmaceuticals for safety and efficacy may be so flawed that only 4% of all trial results are identified as such. As a result, FDA scientists and officials responsible for approving drugs to the market are kept largely uninformed about the egregious scientific misconduct involved in obtaining study data. Further, these erroneous and fraudulent studies are published in peer-reviewed scientific literature and accepted as valid science. The American public is ‘virtually defenseless’ if another medication proves to be unsafe after it is approved.
 
But it gets worse.  The agency has been warning against highly effective off-patent drugs to treat early SARS-CoV-2 infections such as hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and ivermectin.  Shortly after the pandemic was formally announced, and with no promising treatment in sight, the FDA recommended HCQ but then reversed its decision in June after Anthony Fauci publicly announced the coming arrival of Gilead’s novel drug remdesivir. The FDA’s approval of remdesivir baffled many scientists, according to the journal Science, who were keeping a close watch on the drug’s clinical reports, which showed a “disproportionally high number of reports of liver and kidney problems”Nor did remdesivir lessen hospital stays or lower mortality rates.
 
Two months ago the agency issued a warning statement against the use of ivermectin. “The very next day,” reported the Alliance for Natural Health, “Merck announced positive results from a clinical trial on a new drug called molnupiravir in eliminating the virus in infected patients.”  Again, the FDA had been working in concert with the pharmaceutical industry to advance expensive experimental drugs rather than cheaper and proven drugs with decades of research to back their safety records. 
 
In addition, the FDA has waged a war against alternative medical systems for many decades, including natural supplements. Last September, the agency attempted to ban N-acetylcysteine (NAC) after it showed promise to reduce cytokine storms associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection. The supplement had already been shown to improve lung problems due to respiratory infections such as pneumonia and acute respiratory distress symptom. Three years ago, an FDA advisory committee met to consider banning five supplements made by specialized compounding pharmacies: alpha lipoic acid, CoQ10, pyridoxal-5-phosphate, creatine monohydrate  and quercetin dehydrate. Earlier the FDA had banned curcumin, boswellia and aloe vera from pharmacologic compounding. One of the key executors of the agency’s revitalized assault against supplements and the natural health industry was Trump’s appointment of Scott Gottlieb as FDA Commissioner. Following his two years at the FDA’s helm, Gottlieb quit and joined Pfizer’s Board of Directors.
 
The FDA’s argument is rather straightforward, albeit dubious; since supplements, including Vitamin C and D, Omega-3 fatty acids, and even minerals such as magnesium and zinc have not been formally submitted to the FDA for evaluation to be registered as “approved drugs,” it is against the law to make any health claims about their health benefits.  This is despite the thousands of peer-reviewed studies in the National Library of Medicine to support their efficacy. The average median cost to conduct clinical trials to meet FDA standards for approval, according to a Johns Hopkins University evaluation, is $19 million and upwards to $2-3 billion. In other words to get Vitamin D officially recommended as a viable preventative defense against Covid-19 would require a minimum of $19 million in addition to numerous fees and other legal costs prior to and after submission. And that doesn’t even address the problem of ownership since Vitamin D is a natural substance and excluded from patenting. In the meantime, supplement manufacturers are prohibited from stating the vitamin’s benefit to the public thereby contributing to a gross disservice. 
 
“Clearly these are the actions of an agency looking to restrict the supplement market,” according to the Alliance for Natural Health, “and remove as many products as possible in as many ways as possible.”  One reason is that if a vitamin or supplement were to go through the FDA licensure treadmill, the agency could potentially require a supplement’s access by prescription only. It would no longer be available over the counter. And this in turn would be another boon for the drug industry, which is already developing synthetic supplemental knock-offs that are patentable. 
 
Much of the blame lies on the shoulders of politicians on both sides of the aisle and the mainstream media who have enabled the FDA and CDC to run amok and then propagate the pharmaceutical industry’s nonsense. A recent Harvard University and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation survey reported that public trust in America’s health care system has rapidly fallen during the pandemic to 34 percent. Only 37 percent stated they had much trust in the FDA. 
 
This trend may very likely continue as a growing number of physicians and medical experts are sounding alarms over the flagrant incompetence of our federal officials leading the national efforts against Covid-19 and the approval vaccines with highly questionable safety records and expensive novel drugs that fail to warrant use. Worldwide, tens of thousands of otherwise orthodox medical professionals are charging Anthony Fauci, the CDC, FDA and the World Health Organization with gross mishandling of the pandemic.  Lawsuits are underway against national health ministries around the world for deceiving their populations with fraudulent PCR testing, fake mortality rates and unwarranted public health policies that have produced extreme harm and suffering.  As the situation deteriorates more suits will be anticipated. 
 
Sadly there is no reason to expect the FDA to undergo a structural change. For decades Congressional committees have warned the agency about it’s ignoring the public health of Americans and its revolving door policies with drug makers. Yet matters continue to worsen. A complete overhaul by adopting policies similar to the European Medicines Agency such as independent leadership divorced from the pharmaceutical complex and full public funding, would be a decent start. Another  solution could be the creation of separate and independent National Drug Safety Board without ties to private industry or overlapping conflicts of interest with the existing health agencies in dire need of reform. However that tipping point has not been reached to expect any of our politicians to switch sides and for once serve the public’s health interests
 

The Gary Null Show - 05.14.21

Effects of saffron extract on sleep quality: a randomized, double-blind clinical trial
 
Catholic University Louvain (Belgium). May 10. 2021
According to news reporting from Louvain la Neuve, Belgium, research stated, “A saffron extract has been found to be effective in the context of depression and anxiety, but its effect on sleep quality has not been investigating yet using objective approaches.”
The news reporters obtained a quote from the research from Catholic University Louvain (UCLouvain): “For this purpose, a randomized double-blind controlled study was conducted in subjects presenting mild to moderate sleep disorder associated with anxiety. Sixty-six subjects were randomized and supplemented with a placebo (maltodextrin) or a saffron extract (15.5 mg per day) for 6 weeks. Actigraphy was used to collect objective data related to sleep quality at baseline, at the middle and at the end of the intervention. Sleep quality was also assessed by completion of the LSEQ and PSQI questionnaires and quality of life by completion of the SF-36 questionnaire. Six weeks of saffron supplementation led to an increased time in bed assessed by actigraphy, to an improved ease of getting to sleep evaluated by the LSEQ questionnaire and to an improved sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep duration, and global scores evaluated by the PSQI questionnaire, whereas those parameters were not modified by the placebo.”
According to the news editors, the research concluded: “In conclusion, those results suggest that a saffron extract could be a natural and safe nutritional strategy to improve sleep duration and quality.”
 
 
 
 
New evidence links gut bacteria and neurodegenerative conditions
University of Florida, May 6, 2021
Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and ALS affect millions of adults, but scientists still do not know what causes these diseases, which poses a significant roadblock to developing treatments or preventative measures.
Recent research suggests that people with these conditions exhibit changes in the bacterial composition of their digestive tract. However, given the vast diversity of microbes found in the human body, identifying which bacteria may be associated with neurodegeneration is like finding a needle in a haystack.
Seeking that proverbial needle, scientists at the University of Florida are looking in an unexpected place: the digestive tract of a tiny, translucent worm called Caenorhabditis elegans.
New research published in PLOS Pathogens establishes, for the first time, a link between specific bacteria species and physical manifestations of neurodegenerative diseases. The study's lead author is Alyssa Walker, a microbiology and cell science doctoral candidate in the UF/IFAS College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.
"Looking at the microbiome is a relatively new approach to investigating what causes neurodegenerative diseases. In this study, we were able to show that specific species of bacteria play a role in the development of these conditions," said Daniel Czyz, Walker's dissertation advisor.
Czyz is the senior author of the study and an assistant professor in the UF/IFAS department of microbiology and cell science.
"We also showed that some other bacteria produce compounds that counteract these 'bad' bacteria. Recent studies have shown that patients with Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease are deficient in these 'good' bacteria, so our findings may help explain that connection and open up an area of future study," he added.
All neurodegenerative diseases can be traced to problems with the way proteins are handled in the body. If proteins are misfolded, they build up and accumulate in tissues. These protein aggregates, as scientists call them, interfere with cell functioning and lead to neurodegenerative disorders.
Czyz and his co-authors wanted to know if introducing certain bacteria into the C. elegans worms would be followed by protein aggregation in the worms' tissues.
"That is, in fact, what we observed. We have a way of marking the aggregates so they glow green under the microscope. We saw that worms colonized by certain bacteria species were lit up with aggregates that were toxic to tissues, while those colonized by the control bacteria were not," Czyz said. "This occurred not just in the intestinal tissues, where the bacteria are, but all over the worms' bodies, in their muscles, nerves and even reproductive organs."
Surprisingly, the offspring of affected worms also showed increased protein aggregation—even though these offspring never encountered the bacteria originally associated with the condition.
"This is very interesting because it suggests that these bacteria generate some sort of a signal that can be passed along to the next generation," Czyz said.
Worms colonized by the "bad" bacteria also lost mobility, a common symptom of neurodegenerative diseases.
"A healthy worm moves around by rolling and thrashing. When you pick up a healthy worm, it will roll off the pick, a simple device that we use to handle these tiny animals. But worms with the bad bacteria couldn't do that because of the appearance of toxic protein aggregates," explained Walker, who developed this assessment method.
"You could compare the pick to an obstacle course: just as a person with a neurodegenerative disease will have trouble getting across, the same is true with these worms, just at a much smaller scale," Czyz added.
Fun fact: Human eyebrow hairs or eyelashes make for very good picks.
"The worms are very delicate, so you need a tool that won't damage them. They are also transparent and have a simple body plan. Studies like ours are possible because these worms normally feed on bacteria," Czyz said.
"The worms are only one millimeter long, and they each have exactly 959 cells," Czyz said. "But in many ways, they are a lot like us humans—they have intestines and muscles and nerves, but instead of being composed of billions of cells, each organ is just a handful of cells. They are like living test tubes. Their small size allows us to do experiments in a much more controlled way and answer important questions we can apply in future experiments with higher organisms and, eventually, people."
Currently the Czyz lab is testing hundreds of strains of bacteria found in the human gut to see how they affect protein aggregation in C. elegans. The group is also investigating how bacteria associated with neurodegeneration cause protein misfolding at the molecular level.
Czyz is also interested in possible connections between antibiotic-resistant bacteriaand protein misfolding.
"Almost all of the bacteria we found associated with protein misfolding are also associated with antibiotic-resistant infections in people. However, it will take many more years of research before we can understand what, if any, connection there is between antibiotic resistance and neurodegenerative diseases," Czyz said.
 
Meditative practice and spiritual wellbeing may preserve cognitive function in aging
Alzheimer's Research and Prevention Foundation &Thomas Jefferson University, May 11, 2021
It is projected that up to 152 million people worldwide will be living with Alzheimer's disease (AD) by 2050. To date there are no drugs that have a substantial positive impact on either the prevention or reversal of cognitive decline. A growing body of evidence finds that targeting lifestyle and vascular risk factors have a beneficial effect on overall cognitive performance. A new review in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, published by IOS Press, examines research that finds spiritual fitness, a new concept in medicine that centers on psychological and spiritual wellbeing, and Kirtan Kriya, a simple 12-minute meditative practice, may reduce multiple risk factors for AD.
"The key point of this review is that making a commitment to a brain longevity lifestyle, including spiritual fitness, is a critically important way for aging Alzheimer's disease free," explain authors Dharma Singh Khalsa, MD, Alzheimer's Research and Prevention Foundation, Tucson, AZ, USA, and Andrew B. Newberg, MD, Department of Integrative Medicine and Nutritional Sciences, Department of Radiology, Marcus Institute of Integrative Health, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, USA. "We hope this article will inspire scientists, clinicians, and patients to embrace this new concept of spiritual fitness and make it a part of every multidomain program for the prevention of cognitive disability."
Research reveals that religious and spiritual involvement can preserve cognitive function as we age. The authors observe that today, spirituality is often experienced outside the context of an organized religion and may be part of every religion or separate to it. Spiritual fitness is a new dimension in AD prevention, interweaving basic, psychological and spiritual wellbeing. The authors discuss the research on how these factors affect brain function and cognition. For example, psychological wellbeing may reduce inflammation, cardiovascular disease, and disability. Significantly, individuals who have a high score on a "purpose in life" (PIL) measure, a component of psychological wellbeing, were 2.4 times more likely to remain free of AD than individuals with low PIL. In another study, participants who reported higher levels of PIL exhibited better cognitive function, and further, PIL protected those with already existing pathological conditions, thus slowing their decline.
Stress and stress management are under-discussed topics in AD prevention, yet the authors point out that there is ample evidence that physical, psychological, and emotional effects of stress may elevate AD risk. Kirtan Kriya (KK) is a 12-minute singing meditation that involves four sounds, breathing, and repetitive finger movements. It has multiple documented effects on stress, such as improving sleep, decreasing depression, and increasing wellbeing. It has also been found to increase blood flow to areas of the brain involved in cognition and emotional regulation and increases gray matter volume and decreases ventricular size in long-term practitioners, which may slow brain aging. Research in healthy individuals, caregivers, and those with cognitive decline found that the practice improves cognition, slows memory loss, and improves mood.
The overall relationship between spiritual fitness and a person's complete physical and mental health is a topic of investigation in the emerging field of study called neurotheology. Early work has focused on the development of models regarding which brain areas are affected through spiritual practices such as meditation or prayer. Over the last 20 years, there has been an extensive growth in neuroimaging and other physiological studies evaluating the effect of meditation, spiritual practices, and mystical experiences. A neuroimaging study of KK found long term brain effects, during meditation and afterwards. Neurotheological studies can help understanding of how a practice such as KK can lead to more permanent effects in brain function that support spiritual fitness, according to Dr. Khalsa and Dr. Newberg.
"Mitigating the extensive negative biochemical effects of stress with meditation practices, in tandem with the creation of heightened levels of spiritual fitness, may help lower the risk of AD. Small shifts in one's daily routine can make all the difference in AD prevention," Dr. Khalsa and Dr. Newberg conclude. "We are optimistic this article will inspire future research on the topic of spiritual fitness and AD."
 
Type 2 Diabetes: Sitting can Cause Problems with Blood Sugar Levels, So Get Up and Move
Glasgow Caledonian University, May 11, 2021
 
Many people spend large portions of their day sitting, which can cause a range of health problems. But many may not realise that sitting too much can also worsen certain health conditions, such as type 2 diabetes. Research shows that spending too much time sitting can cause problems with blood sugar levels – making it even more important for those with type 2 diabetes to get plenty of physical activity into their day.
Type 2 diabetes causes the level of sugar (glucose) in the blood to become too high. For someone with diabetes, high sugar levels in the blood can cause serious damage to your body, including the heart, kidneys, eyes, feet and nerves. Controlling blood sugar levels is important for avoiding the risk of serious health problems.
Lifestyle changes, such as adjusting diet and physical activity, and diabetes medications, such as metformin or gliptin, are used to lower blood sugar levels. Yet following recommended diets and taking diabetes medications aren’t always effective at controlling blood sugar levels, as our research found. This shows us there’s a need to re-think diabetes care and management.
As type 2 diabetes can be different for everyone, how well a person controls their blood sugar levels can be influenced by different factors, such as age, gender, activity levels, diet and weight. This makes it important to target new, modifiable lifestyle factors – such as how much time is spent sitting.
Research we’ve done, which looked at 37 adults with type 2 diabetes, found that over two weeks, prolonged sitting was associated with high blood sugar levels. But we also found that when people stood up or walked around between periods of sitting, they had lower blood sugar levels. Other studies have also had similar results.
Our research has also shown that sitting less or breaking up periods of sitting with bouts of activity could be a simple way to manage blood sugar levels – including high sugar levels before and after breakfast, which is a common problem for people with type 2 diabetes. We found that simply walking more often could be beneficial to blood sugar control throughout the day.
In fact, walking every 15 minutes for as little as three minutes each time at a person’s usual pace could be enough to help them control their blood sugar – and could even be as effective as standard diabetes medications. Other research has shown that keeping bouts of sitting shorter than 15 minutes is better for blood sugar levels.
 
The reason walking – and other types of exercise – are so good for regulating blood sugar is because they make the body’s muscles work. Movement causes muscles to contract, which subsequently starts the mechanisms that allow the sugar in the blood to enter cells and fuel the body. This reduces blood sugar levels as a result.
With many people continuing to spend large portions of their days sitting while working from home, it’s important for people with type 2 diabetes to stand and walk often. Of course, that is sometimes easier said than done. But even small changes in sitting patterns throughout the day may be beneficial to a person’s blood sugar control. For example, going to the kitchen to get water or make tea can be a great opportunity to walk around for a few minutes. Even standing or walking while taking calls or during meetings can be a good idea.
It’s still important for people with type 2 diabetes to follow the advice of their doctor and stick to any special diets or take any medications they’ve been prescribed. But adding extra movement into their day will not only improve blood sugar control, it may also improve other aspects of health – including heart health and bone density.
 
 
Grapeseed compound has senolytic activity
 
Chinese Academy of Sciences, May 10, 2021
According to news reporting based on a preprint abstract, our journalists obtained the following quote sourced from biorxiv.org:
“Aging causes functional decline of multiple organs and increases the risk of age-related pathologies.
“In advanced lives, accumulation of senescent cells, which develop the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP), promotes chronic inflammation and causes diverse conditions.
“Here we report the frontline outcome of screening a natural product library with human primary stromal cells as an experimental model. Multiple candidate compounds were assayed, and grape seed extract (GSE) was selected for further investigation due to its leading capacity in targeting senescent cells.
“We found procyanidin C1 (PCC1), a polyphenolic component, plays a critical role in mediating the antiaging effects of GSE. PCC1 blocks the SASP expression when used at low concentrations. Importantly, it selectively kills senescent cells upon application at higher concentrations, mainly by enhancing production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and disturbing mitochondrial membrane potential, processes accompanied by upregulation of Bcl-2 family pro-apoptotic factors Puma and Noxa in senescent cells. PCC1 depletes senescent cells in treatment-damaged tumor microenvironment (TME) and enhances therapeutic efficacy when combined with chemotherapy in preclinical assays. Intermittent administration of PCC1 to both senescent cell-implanted mice and naturally aged animals alleviated physical dysfunction and prolonged post-treatment survival, thus providing substantial benefits in late life stage. Together, our study identifies PCC1 as a distinct natural senolytic agent, which may be exploited to delay aging and control age-related pathologies in future medicine.”
This preprint has not been peer-reviewed.
 
 
 
 
Team Links Leaky Epithelial Barriers to 2 Billion Chronic Diseases
University of Zurich, May 7, 2021
Epithelial cells form the covering of most internal and external surfaces of the human body. This protective layer acts as a defense against invaders—including bacteria, viruses, environmental toxins, pollutants and allergens.
If the skin and mucosal barriers are damaged or leaky, foreign agents such as bacteria can enter into the tissue and cause local, often chronic inflammation with both direct and indirect consequences.
“The epithelial barrier hypothesis proposes that damages to the epithelial barrier are responsible for up to two billion chronic, non-infectious diseases,” says Cezmi Akdis, director of the Swiss Institute of Allergy and Asthma Research (SIAF), which is associated with the University of Zurich.
In the past 20 years, researchers at the SIAF alone have published more than 60 articles on how various substances damage the epithelial cells of a number of organs.
The epithelial barrier hypothesis provides an explanation as to why allergies and autoimmune diseases have been increasing for decades—they are linked to industrialization, urbanization, and westernized lifestyle.
Today many people are exposed to a wide range of toxins, such as ozone, nanoparticles, microplastics, household cleaning agents, pesticides, enzymes, emulsifiers, fine dust, exhaust fumes, cigarette smoke, and countless chemicals in the air, food, and water.
“Next to global warming and viral pandemics such as COVID-19, these harmful substances represent one of the greatest threats to humankind,” Akdis says.
Local epithelial damage to the skin and mucosal barriers lead to allergic conditions, inflammatory bowel disorders, and celiac disease. But disruptions to the epithelial barrier can also be linked to many other diseases that are characterized by changes in the microbiome.
Either the immune system erroneously attacks “good” bacteria in healthy bodies or it targets pathogenic—i.e., “bad”—invaders.
In the gut, leaky epithelial barriers and microbial imbalance contribute to the onset or development of chronic autoimmune and metabolic diseases such as diabetes, obesity, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, or ankylosing spondylitis.
Moreover, defective epithelial barriers have also been linked to neurodegenerative and psychiatric diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, autism spectrum disorders, and chronic depression, which may be triggered or aggravated by distant inflammatory responses and changes in the gut’s microbiome.
“There is a great need to continue research into the epithelial barrier to advance our understanding of molecular mechanisms and develop new approaches for prevention, early intervention and therapy,” says Akdis.
Novel therapeutic approaches could focus on strengthening tissue-specific barriers, blocking bacteria or avoiding colonization by pathogens. Other strategies to reduce diseases may involve the microbiome, for example through targeted dietary measures. Last but not least, the focus must also be on avoiding and reducing exposure to harmful substances and developing fewer toxic products.
The paper appears in Nature Reviews Immunology
 
Study supports heart health benefits of mushroom powders
Tufts University, May 11, 2021
Adding Portobello or shiitake powder to a high-fat diet may protect arteries from the detrimental effects of a high fat diet, according to findings presented at the recent Experimental Biology event.
Scientists from Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research on Aging at Tufts University report that supplementing the diets of lab mice with the mushroom powders had lower body weight gains, compared to animals fed an unsupplemented high-fat diet.
“Despite the low body weight gains, EchoMRI analysis of body composition revealed that the overall lean mass was not affected as significantly as fat mass, indicating a plausible positive effect of mushrooms on fat metabolism and lipid profiles,” wrote the researchers in their abstract, published in the FASEB Journal .
Mushrooms
Consumer interest in mushrooms and their potential health benefits has been growing in recent years, with demand for Reishi, Chaga, Shiitake, Maitake, and the rest has never been higher and the global market was pegged at $18 billion in 2014 (up from $6 billion in 1999).
SPINS data shows surging sales of products with various types of mushrooms as primary ingredients across the natural, specialty and conventional multi-outlet retail channels. Reishi was up 91% for the 52 weeks ending September 4, 2016 versus the previous 52 weeks. Impressive growth is also being posted for Chaga (up 46%), Cordycep (up 19%) and Shiitake (up 26%),
“While several types of mushrooms have been studied for their effects on serum lipid profiles, few studies have demonstrated edible mushrooms’ effects on atherogenesis,” explained the Tufts researchers in their abstract.
Study details
L-ergothioneine facts
L-ergothioneine was first isolated as a natural compound from rye ergot (Claviceps purpurea) in 1909. It is naturally present in small amounts in food sources like mushrooms, some varieties of black and red beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) and cereals.
The human body has a dedicated transporter for the molecule, which is a potent antioxidant. 
Lab mice were divided into one of five groups: A low-fat control group (4% fat); a high fat control group (8% fat); a high-fat diet supplemented with Portobello mushroom powder; a high fat diet supplemented with shiitake mushroom powder; or a “control mixture”, which matched to the average nutrient levels of the mushroom powders.
After 16 weeks of feeding, the results showed that animals from both mushroom groups had reduced body weight gains, compared to the other dietary groups, with the weight gain lower in the shiitake group compared to the Portobello group.
Additional analyses showed that only mice fed the shiitake powder had significantly fewer aortic lesions compared to the high fat control mice and the control mixture.
“These results further support the potential role of high levels of bioactive compounds such as ergothioneine, a strong antioxidant in [shiitake mushroom], on suppression of dietary fat induced atherosclerosis, an inflammatory disease of arteries,” wrote the researchers.
The study was funded by the USDA and the Mushroom Council.
 
MIT Study Suggests Six Foot Social Distancing, Limited Occupancy Rules Are Completely Pointless
After over a year, scientists have determined that social distancing and limited occupancy rules may be totally useless
National File, April 26, 2021
 
A new study conducted by MIT scientists and released this week reveals that the six foot social distancing and limited occupancy guidelines made law in most of the civilized world have done little to slow the spread of COVID-19, and suggests the only way to reduce the spread of COVID-19 is to limit exposure to highly populated areas and areas where people are physically exerting themselves, such as gyms, or areas where people are singing or speaking, such as churches.
The study reveals that the social distancing guidelines employed throughout much of the world for over a year have done nothing to limit the spread of COVID-19, suggesting that the adaption of the guidelines did not stop the spread of the of the China-originated virus, and it can only be slowed with the employment of severe lockdowns. Paradoxically, states and cities that have engaged in severe lockdowns have seen the largest spikes of COVID-19.
“We argue there really isn’t much of a benefit to the 6-foot rule, especially when people are wearing masks,” MIT professor Martin Z. Bazant said, as reported by NBC. “It really has no physical basis because the air a person is breathing while wearing a mask tends to rise and comes down elsewhere in the room so you’re more exposed to the average background than you are to a person at a distance.” In other words, widespread mask wearing may simply change the physical vectors of transmission within a given room rather than stop it, effectively making six foot distancing rules pointless.
In their study, Bazant and the other researchers declare, “Adherence to the Six-Foot Rule would limit large-drop transmission, and adherence to our guideline, [of limiting time spent in densely populated areas], would limit long-range airborne transmission.” In the guideline, the researchers write, “To minimize risk of infection, one should avoid spending extended periods in highly populated areas. One is safer in rooms with large volume and high ventilation rates. One is at greater risk in rooms where people are exerting themselves in such a way as to increase their respiration rate and pathogen output, for example, by exercising, singing, or shouting.”
Bazant also told the media, “What our analysis continues to show is that many spaces that have been shut down in fact don’t need to be. Often times the space is large enough, the ventilation is good enough, the amount of time people spend together is such that those spaces can be safely operated even at full capacity and the scientific support for reduced capacity in those spaces is really not very good.” He added, “I think if you run the numbers, even right now for many types of spaces you’d find that there is not a need for occupancy restrictions.”
This comes on the heels of a study that suggests the Pfizer vaccine could cause severe neurodegenerative diseasescaused by brain prions created by the mRNA-style vaccine. National File reported, “‘The current RNA based SARSCoV-2 vaccines were approved in the US using an emergency order without extensive long term safety testing,’ the report declares. ‘In this paper the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine was evaluated for the potential to induce prion-based disease in vaccine recipients.’ Prion-based diseases are, according to the CDC, a form of neurodegenerative diseases, meaning that the Pfizer vaccine is potentially likely to cause long term damage and negative health effects with regards to the brain.”

The Gary Null Show - 05.13.21

Study presents evidence supporting the use of curcumin as alternative treatment for kidney fibrosis
Zhejiang University (China), May 7, 2021
In a recent study, Chinese researchers explored the anti-fibrotic effects of curcumin, the active component of turmeric. Specifically, they looked at how curcumin affects epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and the activation of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt pathway. EMT refers to epithelial cells undergoing molecular changes and gaining new characteristics, such as an enhanced ability to produce ECM components. Meanwhile, the PI3K/Akt pathway is one of the major cell signaling pathways that regulate fibrosis.
The researchers reported their findings in an article published in the journal Biological and Pharmaceutical Bulletin.
Curcumin is an effective alternative treatment for renal fibrosis
According to several animal studies, curcumin can protect the kidneys by preventing the development of renal fibrosis. However, the mechanisms underlying this activity are still unknown.
To explore these mechanisms and the anti-fibrotic activities of curcumin, the researchers treated human kidney tubular epithelial cells (HKCs) with transforming growth factor-B1 (TGF-B1), curcumin and a combination of both. TGF-B1 is a protein that’s involved in many cellular functions, including cell growth, proliferation, differentiation and death, as well as the induction of EMT.
The researchers used 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay to assess the effect of curcumin on cell proliferation. They also used immunocytochemistry, real-time PCR and Western blot to analyze the expression of epithelial cell markers (E-cadherin and cytokeratin), mesenchymal cell markers (vimentin, alpha smooth muscle actin (a-SMA) and fibroblast-specific protein 1 (FSP1)) and key proteins involved in the Akt/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway.
The researchers found that low-dose curcumin (3.125 and 25?micromol/L) effectively promoted HKC proliferation. After 72 hours of incubating HKCs with TGF-B1 and curcumin, curcumin caused the cells to maintain epithelial morphology in a dose-dependent manner. It also decreased the expression of EMT-related proteins, such as vimentin, a-SMA and FSP1, and increased the expression of E-cadherin and cytokeratin. In addition, the researchers noted that curcumin reduced Akt, mTOR and P70S6K phosphorylation, which effectively suppressed the activation of the Akt/mTOR pathway in HKCs.
Based on these findings, the researchers concluded that curcumin is an effective alternative treatment for renal fibrosis because it can promote HKC proliferation and stop EMT by inhibiting the activation of the Akt/mTOR pathway activity.
 
 
Research reveals new approach to understanding our wellbeing
Swansea University, May 12, 2021
The ability to connect and feel a sense of belonging are basic human needs but new Swansea University research has examined how these are determined by more than just our personal relationships.
Research led by psychologist Professor Andrew Kemp, of the College of Human and Health Sciences, highlights the importance of taking a wider approach to wellbeing and how it can be influenced by issues such as inequality and anthropogenic climate change.
Professor Kemp worked with Ph.D. student Jess Mead and consultant clinical psychologist Dr. Zoe Fisher, of the University's Health and Wellbeing Academy, on the study which presents a transdisciplinary framework to help understand and improve wellbeing.
Professor Kemp said: "We define wellbeing as positive psychological experience, promoted by connections to self, community and environment, supported by healthy vagal function, all of which are impacted by socio-contextual factors that lie beyond the control of the individual."
The researchers say their latest findings, which have just been published in Frontiers in Psychology, are particularly topical as society looks to recover and learn from COVID-19.
He said: "Our framework has already contributed to a better understanding of how to protect wellbeing during the pandemic and has led to the development of an innovative wellbeing science intervention, targeting university students and people living with acquired brain injury."
Professor Kemp added: "We feel our invited paper is timely as it not only aligns with a post-pandemic future that requires societal transformation, but it also picks up on global efforts to promote planetary wellbeing.
"Globalization, urbanization and technological advancements have meant that humans have become increasingly disconnected from nature. This continues despite research showing that contact with nature improves wellbeing."
The research reveals the advantages to health and wellbeing derived from connecting to oneself, others and nature and emphasizes a need for focused efforts to tackle major societal issues that affect our capacity for connection.
He added: "The poorest are disproportionally impacted by major societal challenges including increasing burden of chronic disease, societal loneliness and anthropogenic climate change.
"Economic inequality has adverse impacts on the entire population, not just the poor, so improving economic inequality is fundamental to improving population wellbeing."
Taking a transdisciplinary approach to the topic of wellbeing is something currently reflected across Swansea University, particularly since the opening of the Morgan Advanced Studies Institute (MASI) which is dedicated to supporting transformative interdisciplinary research.
 
Taurine’s neuroprotective effect on cells under oxidative stress
 
University of Vale do Paraiba (Brazil), May 10, 2021
According to news reporting based on a preprint abstract, our journalists obtained the following quote sourced from biorxiv.org:
“Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a type of dementia that affects millions of people. Although there is no cure, several study strategies seek to elucidate the mechanisms of the disease. Recent studies address the benefits of taurine. Thus, the present study aims to analyze the neuroprotective effect of taurine on human neuroblastoma, using an in vitro experimental model of oxidative stress induced by hydrocortisone in the SH-SY5Y cell line as a characteristic model of AD.
“The violet crystal assay was used for cell viability and the evaluation of cell morphology was performed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). After pretreatment with taurine, the SH-SY5Y cell showed an improvement in cell viability in the face of oxidative stress and improved cell morphology. Thus, the treatment presented a neuroprotective effect.”
This preprint has not been peer-reviewed.
 
 
Efficacy of magnesium oxide and sodium valproate in prevention of migraine headache: a randomized, controlled, double-blind, crossover study
Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences (Iran), May 4, 2021
According to news originating from Sari, Iran, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, “Migraine is a disabling disorder that affects the quality of life of patients. Different medications have been used in prevention of migraine headache.”
Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from the Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, “In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness of magnesium oxide in comparison with valproate sodium in preventing migraine headache attacks. This is a single-center, randomized, controlled, crossover trial which is double-blind, 24-week, 2-sequence, 2-period, 2-treatment. After patient randomization into two sequences, the intervention group received magnesium oxide 500 mg and the control group received valproate sodium 400 mg two tablets each day (every 12 h) for 8 weeks. The primary efficacy variable was reduction in the number of migraine attacks and number of days with moderate or severe headache and hours with headache (duration) per month in the final of 8 weeks in comparison with baseline. Seventy patients were randomized and seven dropped out, leaving 63 for analysis. In an intention-to-treat analysis, 31 patients were in group 1 (magnesium oxide-valproate) and 32 patients were in group 2 (valproate-magnesium oxide). The mean number of migraine attacks and days per month was 1.72 +/- 1.18 and 2.09 +/- 1.70, with a mean duration of 15.50 +/- 21.80 h in magnesium group and 1.27 +/- 1.27 and 2.22 +/- 1.96, with a mean duration 13.38 +/- 14.10 in valproate group.”
According to the news editors, the research concluded: “This study has shown that 500 mg magnesium oxide appears to be effective in migraine prophylaxis similar to valproate sodium without significant adverse effect.”
This research has been peer-reviewed
 
 
 
Vitamin D and calcium from food is associated with lower risk of early menopause
University of Massachusetts, May 10, 2021
A new study led by epidemiologists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst's School of Public Health and Health Sciences suggests that high intake of dietary vitamin D and calcium may be modestly associated with lower risk of early menopause, the cessation of ovarian function before age 45. Early menopause affects about 10 percent of women and is associated with higher risk of cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis and early cognitive decline.
Epidemiology doctoral candidate Alexandra Purdue-Smithe and her advisor Elizabeth Bertone-Johnson, with colleagues at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, and Harvard Medical School, evaluated how vitamin D and calcium intake is associated with incidence of early menopause in the prospective Nurses' Health Study II. The study population includes 116,430 female U.S. registered nurses who were 25-42 years old when they responded to a baseline questionnaire.
Diet was assessed five times over the 20-year study, allowing the researchers to capture changes in food and nutrient intake over time, Purdue-Smithe notes. Participants in the study contributed more than 1 million person-years of follow-up, during which 2,041 women experienced early menopause.
The authors report the hazard ratio for early menopause comparing the highest vs. lowest dietary vitamin D intake groups was 0.83 (95% confidence interval = 0.72-0.95) and for dietary calcium 0.87 (95% CI=0.76-1.00). Details of the study, supported by the National Institutes of Health, appear in the current early online edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Purdue-Smithe says, "Laboratory evidence relating vitamin D to some of the hormonal mechanisms involved in ovarian aging provided the foundation for our hypothesis. However, to our knowledge, no prior epidemiologic studies have explicitly evaluated how vitamin D and calcium intake may be related to risk of early menopause. We found that after adjusting for a variety of different factors, vitamin D from food sources, such as fortified dairy and fatty fish, was associated with a 17 percent lower risk of early menopause when comparing the highest intake group to the lowest intake group."
Because higher intake of vitamin D and calcium from foods may simply act as a marker for better nutrition and overall health, Purdue-Smithe says, the researchers took into account other factors such as intake of vegetable protein and alcohol, as well as body mass index and smoking. She adds, "The large size of this study allowed us to consider a variety of potential correlates of a healthy lifestyle that might explain our findings; however, adjusting for these factors made almost no difference in our estimates."
The nutritional and reproductive epidemiologist notes that "in addition to placing women at higher risk of adverse future health outcomes, early menopause is also problematic as women are increasingly delaying childbearing into their later reproductive years. Fertility declines drastically during the 10 years leading up to menopause, so early menopause can have profound psychological and financial implications for couples who are unable to conceive as they wish. As such, it is important to identify modifiable risk factors for early menopause, such as diet."
Because associations were stronger for vitamin D and calcium from dairy sources than from non-dairy food sources in the study, and Purdue-Smithe plans further analyses investigating individual dairy foods and other components of dairy and how they may be associated with early menopause.
 
 
High levels of exercise linked to 9 years of less aging at the cellular level
Brigham Young University, May 10, 2021
\Despite their best efforts, no scientist has ever come close to stopping humans from aging. Even anti-aging creams can't stop Old Father Time.
But new research from Brigham Young University reveals you may be able to slow one type of aging--the kind that happens inside your cells. As long as you're willing to sweat.
"Just because you're 40, doesn't mean you're 40 years old biologically," Tucker said. "We all know people that seem younger than their actual age. The more physically active we are, the less biological aging takes place in our bodies."
The study, published in the medical journal Preventive Medicine, finds that people who have consistently high levels of physical activity have significantly longer telomeres than those who have sedentary lifestyles, as well as those who are moderately active.
Telomeres are the protein endcaps of our chromosomes. They're like our biological clock and they're extremely correlated with age; each time a cell replicates, we lose a tiny bit of the endcaps. Therefore, the older we get, the shorter our telomeres.
Exercise science professor Larry Tucker found adults with high physical activity levels have telomeres with a biological aging advantage of nine years over those who are sedentary, and a seven-year advantage compared to those who are moderately active. To be highly active, women had to engage in 30 minutes of jogging per day (40 minutes for men), five days a week.
"If you want to see a real difference in slowing your biological aging, it appears that a little exercise won't cut it," Tucker said. "You have to work out regularly at high levels."
Tucker analyzed data from 5,823 adults who participated in the CDC's National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, one of the few indexes that includes telomere length values for study subjects. The index also includes data for 62 activities participants might have engaged in over a 30-day window, which Tucker analyzed to calculate levels of physical activity.
His study found the shortest telomeres came from sedentary people--they had 140 base pairs of DNA less at the end of their telomeres than highly active folks. Surprisingly, he also found there was no significant difference in telomere length between those with low or moderate physical activity and the sedentary people.
Although the exact mechanism for how exercise preserves telomeres is unknown, Tucker said it may be tied to inflammation and oxidative stress. Previous studies have shown telomere length is closely related to those two factors and it is known that exercise can suppress inflammation and oxidative stress over time.
"We know that regular physical activity helps to reduce mortality and prolong life, and now we know part of that advantage may be due to the preservation of telomeres," Tucker said.
 
 
 
How isolation affects memory and thinking skills
Harvard University, May 2021
We've all been isolated from many family members and friends during the pandemic. If you've been having a harder time remembering things or processing information since the pandemic began, it could be an isolation side effect.
"It's something I'm seeing clinically. Some people were okay before the pandemic and now they're having faster cognitive decline," says Dr. Joel Salinas, a behavioral neurologist and faculty member of the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies.
Dr. Salinas says we don't have a lot of evidence yet to back up a clear association between pandemic lockdowns and a change in memory or thinking skills. One small 2020 study found that 60% of people with mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer's disease experienced worsening cognition and delirium during the lockdown.
But the link between isolation and cognitive decline is more than speculation.
Isolation risks
Isolation (being cut off from social contact) was a problem for older adults long before the pandemic began. Life circumstances — such as living far from friends and family, losing a partner, or being unable to drive — often create unanticipated situations in which we find ourselves isolated. That sometimes puts health in jeopardy.
"In studies of people, isolation is associated with an increased risk for dementia, although it's unclear how high the risk is," Dr. Salinas says. "In lab animals, isolation has been shown to cause brain shrinkage and the kind of brain changes you'd see in Alzheimer's disease — reduced brain cell connections and reduced levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which is important for the formation, connection, and repair of brain cells."
Isolation is also associated with elevated risks for heart attack, stroke, chronic inflammation, depression, anxiety, perceived stress, and loneliness.
People who feel lonely (disconnected from others) have been shown to have faster rates of cognitive decline than people who don't feel lonely. Loneliness is also tied to risks of losing the ability to take care of yourself and early death.
What's the link?
We don't exactly know why being isolated sometimes leads to cognitive decline. Possibilities include
a lack of access to crucial resources or help with daily needs
a decrease in stimulating mental activity that can come from social interaction
a reduction in social support.
"Having access to others for emotional support or listening to you seems to have a protective brain health effect — increased levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, and reduced risks for dementia or stroke," Dr. Salinas says.
In the pandemic, you may also be experiencing high stress levels, which can affect your brain's processing skills. "We're not good at being focused when there's danger," Dr. Salinas says. "It's the 'fight or flight' mode all the time."
If family members are noticing that you seem to be experiencing cognitive changes, Dr. Salinas says it could be a new problem — or it could be that you're spending more time together and they're picking up on changes that were already occurring before the pandemic.

The Gary Null Show - 05.12.21

3. The Ivermectin Story 
 
4. Who Suppressed Ivermectin  
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Vj3xGT6izE
 
Exchange between Sen. Rand Paul and Dr. Anthony Fauci
 
 
Vegetarians have healthier levels of disease markers than meat-eaters
University of Glasgow (Scotland), May 10. 2021
Vegetarians appear to have a healthier biomarker profile than meat-eaters, and this applies to adults of any age and weight, and is also unaffected by smoking and alcohol consumption, according to a new study in over 166,000 UK adults, being presented at this week's European Congress on Obesity (ECO), held online this year. 
Biomarkers can have bad and good health effects, promoting or preventing cancer, cardiovascular and age-related diseases, and other chronic conditions, and have been widely used to assess the effect of diets on health. However, evidence of the metabolic benefits associated with being vegetarian is unclear. 
To understand whether dietary choice can make a difference to the levels of disease markers in blood and urine, researchers from the University of Glasgow did a cross-sectional study analysing data from 177,723 healthy participants (aged 37-73 years) in the UK Biobank study, who reported no major changes in diet over the last five years. 
Participants were categorised as either vegetarian (do not eat red meat, poultry or fish; 4,111 participants) or meat-eaters (166,516 participants) according to their self-reported diet. The researchers examined the association with 19 blood and urine biomarkers related to diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, liver, bone and joint health, and kidney function. 
Even after accounting for potentially influential factors including age, sex, education, ethnicity, obesity, smoking, and alcohol intake, the analysis found that compared to meat-eaters, vegetarians had significantly lower levels of 13 biomarkers, including: total cholesterol; low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol--the so-called 'bad cholesterol; apolipoprotein A (linked to cardiovascular disease), apolipoprotein B (linked to cardiovascular disease); gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) and alanine aminotransferase (AST)--liver function markers indicating inflammation or damage to cells; insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1; a hormone that encourages the growth and proliferation of cancer cells); urate; total protein; and creatinine (marker of worsening kidney function).
However, vegetarians also had lower levels of beneficial biomarkers including high-density lipoprotein 'good' (HDL) cholesterol, and vitamin D and calcium (linked to bone and joint health). In addition, they had significantly higher level of fats (triglycerides) in the blood and cystatin-C (suggesting a poorer kidney condition). 
No link was found for blood sugar levels (HbA1c), systolic blood pressure, aspartate aminotransferase (AST; a marker of damage to liver cells) or C-reactive protein (CRP; inflammatory marker). 
"Our findings offer real food for thought", says Dr Carlos Celis-Morales from the University of Glasgow, UK, who led the research. "As well as not eating red and processed meat which have been linked to heart diseases and some cancers, people who follow a vegetarian diet tend to consume more vegetables, fruits, and nuts which contain more nutrients, fibre, and other potentially beneficial compounds. These nutritional differences may help explain why vegetarians appear to have lower levels of disease biomarkers that can lead to cell damage and chronic disease."
The authors point out that although their study was large, it was observational, so no conclusions can be drawn about direct cause and effect. They also note several limitations including that they only tested biomarker samples once for each participant, and it is possible that biomarkers might fluctuate depending on factors unrelated to diet, such as existing diseases and unmeasured lifestyle factors. They also note that were reliant on participants to report their dietary intake using food frequency questionnaires, which is not always reliable.
 
 
Alzheimer's study: A Mediterranean diet might protect against memory loss and dementia
German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, May 6, 2021
In Alzheimer's disease, neurons in the brain die. Largely responsible for the death of neurons are certain protein deposits in the brains of affected individuals: So-called beta-amyloid proteins, which form clumps (plaques) between neurons, and tau proteins, which stick together the inside of neurons. The causes of these deposits are as yet unclear. In addition, a rapidly progressive atrophy, i.e. a shrinking of the brain volume, can be observed in affected persons. Alzheimer's symptoms such as memory loss, disorientation, agitation and challenging behavior are the consequences.
Scientists at the DZNE led by Prof. Michael Wagner, head of a research group at the DZNE and senior psychologist at the memory clinic of the University Hospital Bonn, have now found in a study that a regular Mediterranean-like dietary pattern with relatively more intake of vegetables, legumes, fruit, cereals, fish and monounsaturated fatty acids, such as from olive oil, may protect against protein deposits in the brain and brain atrophy. This diet has a low intake of dairy products, red meat and saturated fatty acids.
A nationwide study
A total of 512 subjects with an average age of around seventy years took part in the study. 169 of them were cognitively healthy, while 343 were identified as having a higher risk of developing Alzheimer's disease - due to subjective memory impairment, mild cognitive impairment that is the precursor to dementia, or first-degree relationship with patients diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. The nutrition study was funded by the Diet-Body-Brain competence cluster of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and took place as part of the so-called DELCODE study of the DZNE, which does nationwide research on the early phase of Alzheimer's disease - that period before pronounced symptoms appear.
"People in the second half of life have constant eating habits. We analyzed whether the study participants regularly eat a Mediterranean diet - and whether this might have an impact on brain health ", said Prof. Michael Wagner. The participants first filled out a questionnaire in which they indicated which portions of 148 different foods they had eaten in the past months. Those who frequently ate healthy foods typical of the Mediterranean diet, such as fish, vegetables and fruit, and only occasionally consumed foods such as red meat, scored highly on a scale.
An extensive test series
The scientists then investigated brain atrophy: they performed brain scans with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners to determine brain volume. In addition, all subjects underwent various neuropsychological tests in which cognitive abilities such as memory functions were examined. The research team also looked at biomarker levels (measured values) for amyloid beta proteins and tau proteins in the so-called cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of 226 subjects.
The researchers, led by Michael Wagner, found that those who ate an unhealthy diet had more pathological levels of these biomarkers in the cerebrospinal fluid than those who regularly ate a Mediterranean-like diet. In the memory tests, the participants who did not adhere to the Mediterranean diet also performed worse than those who regularly ate fish and vegetables. "There was also a significant positive correlation between a closer adherence to a Mediterranean-like diet and a higher volume of the hippocampus. The hippocampus is an area of the brain that is considered the control center of memory. It shrinks early and severely in Alzheimer's disease," explained Tommaso Ballarini, PhD, postdoctoral fellow in Michael Wagner's research group and lead author of the study.
Continuation of nutrition study is planned
"It is possible that the Mediterranean diet protects the brain from protein deposits and brain atrophy that can cause memory loss and dementia. Our study hints at this," Ballarini said. "But the biological mechanism underlying this will have to be clarified in future studies." As a next step, Ballarini and Wagner now plan to re-examine the same study participants in four to five years to explore how their nutrition - Mediterranean-like or unhealthy - affects brain aging over time.
 
 
 
Social isolation has a profound and increasingly negative impact on physical functioning in older adults
 
 
 
 
University of Southern Denmark, May 11, 2021
Social isolation among older adults is associated with poor health and premature mortality, but the connection between social isolation and physical functioning is poorly understood. New research generates more robust evidence about the associations between social isolation and physical functioning and how this accelerates over time, reports the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, published by Elsevier. It also highlights the importance of incorporating strategies to reduce social isolation and promote successful aging.
"Physical functioning is understood to influence the health of individuals. And social isolation is prevalent among older adults," explained lead investigator Borja del Pozo Cruz, PhD, Centre for Active and Healthy Ageing, Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark. "However, the true extent of the relationship between social isolation and physical functioning was not fully understood. We needed to shed some more light on this relationship, as it plays an important role in individual aging."
As individuals age, physical functioning declines, which can result in a loss of functional independence, onset of disability, and increased mortality, with significant personal, community, and economic costs. Older adults who are socially integrated may be more likely to engage in physical activity, which would in turn elicit improvements in their physical functioning.
Social isolation is a significant problem facing the health and well-being of individuals across the life course. Individuals who are socially isolated are more likely to experience mental health problems, develop dementia, and have increased risk of premature mortality. Social isolation is particularly worrisome among older adults, with data from the United States indicating that one in four older adults is isolated or severely isolated. Given the worldwide trends in population aging, social isolation among older adults is likely to become an increasing burden in years to come.
To examine the longitudinal associations between social isolation and physical functioning, investigators used nine waves of panel data from 2011 to 2019 from the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS), a large US-representative sample of adults 65 or older. This means that the results can be generalized to the US population of older adults. The study analyzed observations from 12,427 NHATS participants to measure how individual changes in social isolation were associated with individual changes in objectively assessed physical functioning. Social isolation was captured through the Social Isolation Index (SII). Physical functioning was assessed using the NHATS version of the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB). The analytic sample encompassed 54,860 observations, meaning that respondents were observed 4.41 times on average.
These findings add to a growing evidence base demonstrating the negative consequences of social isolation, specifically the acceleration of aging decline trajectories in physical functioning. Investigators were able to identify with a high degree of granularity how the association between social isolation and physical functioning shifts over old age and exacerbates the decline in physical functioning associated with aging. The results showed that the older individuals are, the greater the extent to which social isolation impacts their health.
A small but growing number of observational studies in the UK, Japan, and China have identified negative associations between social isolation and physical functioning in samples of older adults. The current study resonates with and complements those results. However, the robust data generated by this national rather than community-based study enable findings to be generalized to a national population.
"Physical functioning is a well-established marker of general health and it has been previously correlated with morbidity and mortality," noted Dr. del Pozo Cruz. "We demonstrate in this study that social isolation has a profound impact on the physical functioning in older adults. Mandated social contact restrictions and lockdowns due to COVID-19, coupled with more severe consequences of contagion among older adults, have likely exacerbated this trend.
Study findings suggest that public health interventions should turn their attention to the social environments in which older people are embedded, in particular for those at risk of isolation.
"Social isolation is one of the biggest challenges that societies face in the 21st century. We have to start thinking about this issue now to avoid more serious consequences down the track," added Dr. del Pozo Cruz.
 
 
 
How bullying and obesity can affect girls' and boys' mental health
Uppsala University (Sweden), May 7, 2021
Depressive symptoms are more common in teenage girls than in their male peers. However, boys' mental health appears to be affected more if they suffer from obesity. Irrespective of gender, bullying is a considerably greater risk factor than being overweight for developing depressive symptoms. These conclusions are drawn by researchers at Uppsala University who monitored adolescents for six years in a questionnaire study, now published in the Journal of Public Health.
"The purpose of our study was to investigate the connection between body mass index (BMI) and depressive symptoms, and to take a close look at whether being subjected to bullying affects this relationship over time. We also wanted to investigate whether any gender differences existed," says Sofia Kanders, a Ph.D. student at Uppsala University's Department of Neuroscience.
In the study, young people born in Västmanland County, replied to questions about their height, weight and depressive symptoms on three separate occasions (2012, 2015 and 2018). The respondents' mean age was 14.4 years on the first occasion and 19.9 years on the last.
Based on BMI, the adolescents were divided into three groups: Those with normal weight, those who were overweight and those with obesity respectively. They were also grouped according to the extent of their depressive symptoms.
Overall, regardless of their weight, the girls stated more frequently that they had depressive symptoms. In 2012, 17 percent of the girls and 6 percent of the boys did so. By 2015, the proportions of adolescents with these symptoms had risen to 32 percent for the girls and 13 percent for the boys. The corresponding figures for 2018 were 34 and 19 percent respectively.
A higher BMI did not, as far as the researchers could see, affect the girls' mental well-being to any great extent. Among the boys, however, the pattern observed was entirely different.
"When we analyzed girls and boys separately, we saw that for boys with obesity in 2012, the risk for having depressive symptoms in 2015 was, statistically, five times higher than for normal-weight boys. In the girls we found no such connection," Kanders says.
The study has been unable to answer the question of what causes this gender difference, and the researchers think more research is needed in this area.
The young respondents were also asked about bullying—for example, to state whether, in the past year, they had been physically exposed to blows and kicks, teased or excluded, subjected to cyberbullying (abusive texting or other electronic or web bullying), or bullied by an adult at school.
In every analysis, exposure to bullying was associated with a higher risk of depressive symptoms. This connection was also evident six years later, especially in overweight boys. The researchers believe that these results seem to indicate a gender difference in how BMI and bullying together drive development of future depressive symptoms.
"One key conclusion and take-home message from our study is that bullying can affect mental illness for a long time to come, which therefore makes preventive measures against bullying in schools extremely important," Kanders says.
 
 
Efficacy of magnesium oxide and sodium valproate in prevention of migraine headache: a randomized, controlled, double-blind, crossover study
Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences (Iran), May 4, 2021
According to news originating from Sari, Iran, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, “Migraine is a disabling disorder that affects the quality of life of patients. Different medications have been used in prevention of migraine headache.”
Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from the Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, “In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness of magnesium oxide in comparison with valproate sodium in preventing migraine headache attacks. This is a single-center, randomized, controlled, crossover trial which is double-blind, 24-week, 2-sequence, 2-period, 2-treatment. After patient randomization into two sequences, the intervention group received magnesium oxide 500 mg and the control group received valproate sodium 400 mg two tablets each day (every 12 h) for 8 weeks. The primary efficacy variable was reduction in the number of migraine attacks and number of days with moderate or severe headache and hours with headache (duration) per month in the final of 8 weeks in comparison with baseline. Seventy patients were randomized and seven dropped out, leaving 63 for analysis. In an intention-to-treat analysis, 31 patients were in group 1 (magnesium oxide-valproate) and 32 patients were in group 2 (valproate-magnesium oxide). The mean number of migraine attacks and days per month was 1.72 +/- 1.18 and 2.09 +/- 1.70, with a mean duration of 15.50 +/- 21.80 h in magnesium group and 1.27 +/- 1.27 and 2.22 +/- 1.96, with a mean duration 13.38 +/- 14.10 in valproate group.”
According to the news editors, the research concluded: “This study has shown that 500 mg magnesium oxide appears to be effective in migraine prophylaxis similar to valproate sodium without significant adverse effect.”
This research has been peer-reviewed
 
 
 
Vitamin D and calcium from food is associated with lower risk of early menopause
University of Massachusetts, May 10, 2021
A new study led by epidemiologists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst's School of Public Health and Health Sciences suggests that high intake of dietary vitamin D and calcium may be modestly associated with lower risk of early menopause, the cessation of ovarian function before age 45. Early menopause affects about 10 percent of women and is associated with higher risk of cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis and early cognitive decline.
Epidemiology doctoral candidate Alexandra Purdue-Smithe and her advisor Elizabeth Bertone-Johnson, with colleagues at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, and Harvard Medical School, evaluated how vitamin D and calcium intake is associated with incidence of early menopause in the prospective Nurses' Health Study II. The study population includes 116,430 female U.S. registered nurses who were 25-42 years old when they responded to a baseline questionnaire.
Diet was assessed five times over the 20-year study, allowing the researchers to capture changes in food and nutrient intake over time, Purdue-Smithe notes. Participants in the study contributed more than 1 million person-years of follow-up, during which 2,041 women experienced early menopause.
The authors report the hazard ratio for early menopause comparing the highest vs. lowest dietary vitamin D intake groups was 0.83 (95% confidence interval = 0.72-0.95) and for dietary calcium 0.87 (95% CI=0.76-1.00). Details of the study, supported by the National Institutes of Health, appear in the current early online edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Purdue-Smithe says, "Laboratory evidence relating vitamin D to some of the hormonal mechanisms involved in ovarian aging provided the foundation for our hypothesis. However, to our knowledge, no prior epidemiologic studies have explicitly evaluated how vitamin D and calcium intake may be related to risk of early menopause. We found that after adjusting for a variety of different factors, vitamin D from food sources, such as fortified dairy and fatty fish, was associated with a 17 percent lower risk of early menopause when comparing the highest intake group to the lowest intake group."
Because higher intake of vitamin D and calcium from foods may simply act as a marker for better nutrition and overall health, Purdue-Smithe says, the researchers took into account other factors such as intake of vegetable protein and alcohol, as well as body mass index and smoking. She adds, "The large size of this study allowed us to consider a variety of potential correlates of a healthy lifestyle that might explain our findings; however, adjusting for these factors made almost no difference in our estimates."
The nutritional and reproductive epidemiologist notes that "in addition to placing women at higher risk of adverse future health outcomes, early menopause is also problematic as women are increasingly delaying childbearing into their later reproductive years. Fertility declines drastically during the 10 years leading up to menopause, so early menopause can have profound psychological and financial implications for couples who are unable to conceive as they wish. As such, it is important to identify modifiable risk factors for early menopause, such as diet."
Because associations were stronger for vitamin D and calcium from dairy sources than from non-dairy food sources in the study, and Purdue-Smithe plans further analyses investigating individual dairy foods and other components of dairy and how they may be associated with early menopause.
 
 
High levels of exercise linked to 9 years of less aging at the cellular level
Brigham Young University, May 10, 2021
\Despite their best efforts, no scientist has ever come close to stopping humans from aging. Even anti-aging creams can't stop Old Father Time.
But new research from Brigham Young University reveals you may be able to slow one type of aging--the kind that happens inside your cells. As long as you're willing to sweat.
"Just because you're 40, doesn't mean you're 40 years old biologically," Tucker said. "We all know people that seem younger than their actual age. The more physically active we are, the less biological aging takes place in our bodies."
The study, published in the medical journal Preventive Medicine, finds that people who have consistently high levels of physical activity have significantly longer telomeres than those who have sedentary lifestyles, as well as those who are moderately active.
Telomeres are the protein endcaps of our chromosomes. They're like our biological clock and they're extremely correlated with age; each time a cell replicates, we lose a tiny bit of the endcaps. Therefore, the older we get, the shorter our telomeres.
Exercise science professor Larry Tucker found adults with high physical activity levels have telomeres with a biological aging advantage of nine years over those who are sedentary, and a seven-year advantage compared to those who are moderately active. To be highly active, women had to engage in 30 minutes of jogging per day (40 minutes for men), five days a week.
"If you want to see a real difference in slowing your biological aging, it appears that a little exercise won't cut it," Tucker said. "You have to work out regularly at high levels."
Tucker analyzed data from 5,823 adults who participated in the CDC's National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, one of the few indexes that includes telomere length values for study subjects. The index also includes data for 62 activities participants might have engaged in over a 30-day window, which Tucker analyzed to calculate levels of physical activity.
His study found the shortest telomeres came from sedentary people--they had 140 base pairs of DNA less at the end of their telomeres than highly active folks. Surprisingly, he also found there was no significant difference in telomere length between those with low or moderate physical activity and the sedentary people.
Although the exact mechanism for how exercise preserves telomeres is unknown, Tucker said it may be tied to inflammation and oxidative stress. Previous studies have shown telomere length is closely related to those two factors and it is known that exercise can suppress inflammation and oxidative stress over time.
"We know that regular physical activity helps to reduce mortality and prolong life, and now we know part of that advantage may be due to the preservation of telomeres," Tucker said.

The Gary Null Show - 05.11.21

Why are Hydroxychloroquine and Ivermectin Being Officially Suppressed
 Richard Gale and Gary Null PhD
Had the FDA and Anthony Fauci’s National Institute for Allergies and Infectious Disease (NIAID) started approving existing clinically-proven and inexpensive drugs for treating malaria, parasites and other pathogens at the start of the pandemic, millions of people would have been saved from experiencing serious infections or dying from the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Why federal health officials never followed this strategy is a question the mainstream media refuses to ask. 
 
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