Primitive Stem Cells Potential Use in Complicated Bone Fractures

Researchers at Texas A&M University have recently created superior bone grafts using primitive stem cells. These grafts could be used for complicated fractures that do not heal with a firm cast and may promote precise and swift bone healing so that patients with these type fractures maximally benefit from the surgical intervention.

The team found that these cells help create the fertile scaffolds that are needed for the bone to regenerate at the repair site. There are a variety of problems that can occur with orthopedic implants such as pain and inflammation. They can also loosen which requires surgical revisions that are many times more complicated than the original surgery. By speeding up the healing process of the bone, the bone graft materials can potentially reduce the number of these surgical revisions.

Every year about 600,000 people living in the United States experience incomplete or delayed bone healing. For some of these situations physicians will turn to surgical procedures that will involve transplanting bone tissue at the repair site. These bone grafts have typically come from two sources – either the patient’s own bone from another location on their body called autografts, or from highly processed human cadaver bones.

Unfortunately, both of these types of bone grafts have their share of drawbacks. Autografts for example require additional surgery for extraction of bone tissue which increases the recovery time for patients and sometimes chronic pain. However, grafts derived from cadaver bone preclude the need for two surgeries but these type implants tend to be devoid of many of the biomolecules which will promote bone repair.

Grafts obtained from cadaver bone have some of the physical properties of bone and even a bit of the biological essence, however they are very depleted in terms of their functionality. What the team wanted to accomplish was to engineer a bone graft where they could experimentally crank up the gears and make it more biologically active.

Earlier studies have shown that stem cells and particularly a type called mesenchymal stem cells, can be used to produce bone grafts that are biologically active. These stem cells convert to bone cells that will produce the materials needed to make a scaffolding or the extracellular matrix which bones need for growth and survival.

These cells are typically extracted from the marrow of an adult bone and are therefore older. The age of these cells affects their ability to divide and produce more of the precious extracellular matrix. In order to circumvent this problem, the team turned to the cellular ancestors of the mesenchymal stem cells which are known as pluripotent stem cells.

Unlike adult mesenchymal cells which have short lifetimes, these primitive cells can keep proliferating. This creates an unlimited supply of mesenchymal stem cells that are needed to make the extracellular matrix for the bone grafts. The pluripotent cells can be made by genetically reprogramming donated adult cells.

When the team induced the pluripotent stem cells to make brand new mesenchymal stem cells, they were able to generate an extracellular matrix that was far more biologically active compared to that generated by mesenchymal cells that had been obtained from adult bone.

To test the efficacy of the scaffolding materials as a bone graft, the team then carefully extracted and purified the enriched extracellular matrix. They then implanted it at a site of bone defects. When they examined the status of the bone repair in just a few weeks, they discovered that their pluripotent stem cell derived matrix was five to six times more effective than the best FDA approved graft stimulator.

Bone repairs that use the gold standard of grafts like those administered with the powerful bone growth stimulator known as bone morphogenic protein-2 can take approximately 8 weeks, but the team was getting complete healing in four weeks. Under these conditions their material surpassed the efficacy of bone morphogenic protein-2 by a long shot. This indicated that it is a huge improvement of current bone repair technologies.

The team also found that from a clinical standpoint, the grafts could be incorporated into numerous engineered implants such as metal screws or 3-D printed implants so that these parts integrate much better with the surrounding bone. The bone grafts would also be easier to produce which makes them more advantageous from a manufacturing standpoint.

The material is very promising in that these pluripotent stem cells can ideally generate many batches of the extracellular matrix from just a single donor. This will greatly simplify the large scale manufacturing of the bone grafts.

To view the original scientific study click below

Characterization of a pluripotent stem cell-derived matrix with powerful osteoregenerative capabilities.

Brain Health and Role of Body Composition & Cardiorespiratory Fitness

A recent study by a research team at the Beckman Institute for Advance Science and Technology examined how body composition and cardiorespiratory fitness are related to neuronal health. The team studied 290 healthy young adults.

This study adds to a growing body of research that suggests fitness has beneficial effects for the health of the brain. The study applied magnetic resonance spectroscopy to measure and detect brain metabolites. They focused specifically on N-acetyl aspartic acid (NAA).

NAA is produced in the neurons and is an important biochemical marker of neuronal health and energy production. Prior work has demonstrated that neuronal health as measured by NAA, has positive associations with cognitive performance. The team was interested in exploring whether modifiable life style factors such as aerobic fitness and physical activity are also linked to NAA.

The team showed that a lower percentage of body fat is linked with higher NAA in the white matter and that this relationship largely accounts for the association between cardiorespiratory fitness and NAA.

The findings suggest that adults who are more fit benefit from improved structural brain connectivity. This led to the question raised by the work as to whether a person can modify NAA through fitness interventions and physical activity which could provide an effective method for enhancing cognitive performance and brain health across a person’s lifespan.

To view the original scientific study click below

Body mass and cardiorespiratory fitness are associated with altered brain metabolism.

High Saturated Fat Meal and Loss of Focus

New research has suggested that eating just one meal that is high in saturated fat can limit our concentration abilities. At a time when people are working at home due to troubled times, that is not great news for those whose diets have taken a turn south during the COVID-19 pandemic!

The study which was led at The Ohio State University, compared how 50 females performed on an attention test following a meal that was high in saturated fat or the same meal made with unsaturated sunflower oil.

The women’s performance was worse following the high fat meal as opposed to the meal which contained a healthier fat. This signaled to the research team a link between the brain and fatty food.

The team additionally looked at whether a condition known as leaky gut which will allow bacteria in the intestines to enter the bloodstream, had effects on concentration. The participants who had leakier guts did worse on the attention test assessment with either of the meals they had consumed.

The loss of concentration and focus after just one meal was eye opening to the team. Earlier work looked at the causative effect of the diet over a period of time. The current research on consuming just one high saturated fat meal showed a remarkable difference on focus.

The team also noted that the meal that used sunflower oil which is low in saturated fat, still contained quite a bit of dietary fat. Because both of the meals were high fat and possibly problematic, the high saturated fat meal’s cognitive effect may be even greater if compared to a lower fat meal.

The women study participants compiled a baseline assessment of their attention while at a morning visit to the research lab. The tool used which is called a continuous performance test, measures sustained concentration, attention and reactive time based on 10 minutes of computer based activities.

The meal included biscuits, eggs, gravy and turkey sausage and contained 60 grams of fat – either a palmitic acid (a type of saturated fat) based oil high in saturated fat or the lower saturated fat sunflower oil. Both meals contained 930 calories and were designed to copy the contents of a variety of fast food meals.

Five hours after the participants consumed the meal, they retook the continuous performance test. Between one to four weeks later, they repeated the steps, however eating the opposite meal of what they consumed the first time.

The research team also analyzed the participant’s fasting baseline blood samples to see whether they contained an inflammatory molecule which will signal the presence of endotoxemia, which is the toxin that leaves the intestines and then enters the bloodstream when the barrier in the gut is compromised.

Following the meal high in saturated fat, all the women were on average 11% less able to detect target stimuli in the attention assessment test. Lapses in concentration and focus were also apparent in the participants who had signs of leaky gut. Their response times were more erratic and these participants were less able to sustain their attention during the 10 minute test.

If any of the participants had high levels of endotoxemia, that also wiped out the between meal differences. These women were performing poorly no matter which type of fat they consumed.

Although the study did not determine what was happening in the brain, earlier research has promoted that food high in saturated fat can increase inflammation throughout the body and possibly even the brain. Fatty acids can also cross the blood brain barrier. It may be that fatty acids are interacting directly with the brain. What it does indicate is the power of gut related deregulation.

The team’s statistical analysis did account for other possibly influences on cognition including symptoms of depression and the participant’s average dietary saturated fat consumption. The women in the recent study consumed three standardized meals and fasted for 12 hours prior to each lab visit in an effort to reduce diet variations that might have affected their physiological response to high fat meals.

The team’s findings do suggest concentration and focus might be more impaired in people who are feeling stressed due to the current pandemic and are turning to fatty type foods for comfort. What is known is that when peoples anxiety is high, a good subset will turn to high saturated fat foods more enticing than say broccoli. It is known from other research that anxiety and depression can interfere with attention and concentration. When that is added on top of a high fat meal, the real world effects can be even larger.

To view the original scientific study click below

Afternoon distraction: a high-saturated-fat meal and endotoxemia impact postmeal attention in a randomized crossover trial

8-Week Diet of Fruits & Vegetables Linked to Better Heart Health

A new observation study and analysis has looked at the links between markers of a healthy heart and three types of diets – the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) Diet, a different fruit and vegetable rich diet, and a typical Western Diet. The conclusion is that diets which include lots of vegetables and fruits are associated with a healthy heart.

The team’s analysis drew on data from the DASH trial which was a trial that assessed the effects of a specially designed diet on blood pressure, and other types of diets in comparison. The DASH Diet was developed by nutrition specialists who were affiliated with NIH (National Institute of Health).

The DASH Diet mainly focuses on the intake of vegetables, fruits, low fat diary products, whole grains, fish, nuts, poultry and beans over a diet consisting mostly of red meats, sugar, fatty and salty foods.

The current study focused on the comparison of the effects of the three different diets on markers of heart health. The typical Western or American Diet reflected levels of nutrient consumption as reported by an average U. S. adult, while the diet rich in vegetables and fruits was in many ways similar however, it contained more natural fiber and contained fewer sweets and snacks.

The team looked at data from three randomly assigned groups of study participants from the DASH trial. The total number of participants in the current analysis was 326 and each followed one of the three diets noted above for 8 weeks.

The team then assessed the levels of three biomarkers which are related to heart health in serum samples, a component of blood that was collected from the participants. The samples had been collected initially after a 12 hour fast before the participants had begun their respective diets, and then at the end of the 8 week study period.

The serum biomarkers the team assessed were high sensitivity cardiac troponin I, N-terminal pro-B type natriuretic peptide, and high sensitivity C-reactive protein. Troponin helps regulate contractions of the heart muscle and overly high levels of this particular protein can indicate damage to the heart. High levels of C-reactive protein in the bloodstream can indicate inflammation, and very high levels of pro-B natriuretic peptide are a marker of heart failure.

After assessing all serum samples which were take before and after the 8 week diet period, the researchers found that people who had followed either the fruit and vegetable rich diet or the DASH diet had consistently and significantly lower concentrations of two of the biomarkers – pro-B type natriuretic peptide and troponin, over their peers who had followed the typical American diet.

The team suggests that these results indicate better heart health in those two groups of participants. Levels of the two biomarkers did not differ with the people who had followed either of the plant rich diets. C-reactive protein levels which can indicate inflammation, were not affected by any of the diets.

Although it isn’t quite clear which aspects of the DASH and fruit and vegetable rich diets may have benefited the health of the heart, the team do hypothesize that dietary features which are common to both of these diets including but not limited to higher magnesium, potassium, and fiber content, may be possible causative factors.

The team does caution that more research is needed to confirm whether similar diets might improve cardiac function in adults who have established heart failure.

To view the original scientific study click below

Associations Between Dietary Patterns and Subclinical Cardiac Injury.

Sugar Cravings Explained by Gut to Brain Circuit

New research has shown that while the sensation of sweetness begins on the tongue, sugar molecules also trip sensors found in the gut which directly send signals to the brain. A little bit of sugar can make a person desire just about anything, but its sweetness doesn’t totally explain our desire. The new study shows that this molecule has a indirect channel to the brain.

The team at Howard Hughes Medical Institute shows while sugar triggers specialized taste buds found on the tongue, it also turns on a completely separate neurological pathway that beings in the gut. Signals in the intestines heralding the arrival of sugar travel to the brain. Here they nurture a desire for more, the researcher’s experiments with mice have shown. This particular gut to brain pathway appears to be selective responding primarily to sugar molecules and not artificial sweeteners.

Scientists have already known that sugar exerted unique control over the brain. In a 2008 study, mice that do not have the ability to taste sweetness could still desire sugar. The recent study’s discovery of the sugar sensing pathway can help explain why sugar is different and directs ways a person might quell their insatiable appetite for it. By separating the concepts of sweet and sugar, the team says sweet is linking and sugar is wanting.

The term sugar is a group which encompasses a variety of substances our bodies use as fuel. Consuming sugar activates the brain’s system of reward making mice and humans alike feel good. But, in our world where sugar that has been refined is plentiful, this deeply ingrained appetite could run out of control.

The normal American’s yearly sugar intake has skyrocketed from less than 10 lbs. in the late 1800s increasing to more than 100 lbs. currently with that increase coming at a cost. Studies have tied together excess consumption of sugar to a variety of health problems including type 2 diabetes and obesity.

Earlier research has shown that sugar and artificial sweeteners turn on the same taste sensing system. In the mouth, these molecules start up the sweet taste receptors found on taste buds which activates signals that travel to the part of the brain that processes the sweetness.

However, sugar affects behavior in a way that artificial sweeteners do not. The team ran a test pitting sugar against the artificial sweetener Acesulfame K which is typically found in diet sodas, sweetening packets and other food and beverage products. When offered water with the sugar or sweetener, mice initially drank both. However, within two days they switched almost exclusively to the water that contained sugar. The team reasoned that this unquenchable motivation the mice have for eating sugar instead of sweetness, might have a neural basis.

Through brain activity visualization when the mice consumed sugar vs. artificial sweetener or water, the team identified for the first time the region of the brain that responds only to sugar – the caudal nucleus of the solitary tract (cNST). The cNST which is found in the brain stem separate from where mice process taste, is a hub for information about the state of the body.

The team determined that the path to the cNST begins in the lining of the intestine. Here, sensor molecules initiates a signal that travels by the vagus nerve providing a direct relay of information from the intestines and on to the brain.

This gut to brain circuit has a preference for one form of sugar – glucose and similar molecules. It ignores artificial sweeteners which might explain why these additives can’t seem to fully replicate the appeal of sugar. It also overlooks other types of sugar, mostly fructose which is found in fruit. Glucose is an energy source for all living things. This could explain why the system’s specificity for the molecule has evolved.

Earlier scientists speculated that sugar’s amount of energy or calories might explain its appeal since many artificial sweeteners are lacking in calories. However, the recent study has shown this is not the case since calorie free, glucose like molecules can also activate the gut to brain sugar sensing pathway.

The group is now studying the links between this gut brain circuit and other systems of the brain such as feeding, reward, and emotions to better understand how the brain’s strong preference for sugar develops. And although the study has been on mice, the team believes that essentially the same glucose sensing pathway exists in people.

Through discovering this circuit that explains how sugar directly impacts our brain to drive consumption, it also exposes new potential opportunities and targets for strategies to help curtail the insatiable appetite for sugar many of us have.

To view the original scientific study click below

The gut–brain axis mediates sugar preference.

A New Biomarker May Help Stem Cells Heal Brain Injuries

Researchers at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute and Loma Linda University Health have shown the possibility of applying MRI to predict the efficacy of employing human neural stem cells to treat brain injuries. This is the first ever biomarker for regenerative medicine that may help personalize treatments with stem cells for neurological disorders and also improve efficacy.

The team hope to test their findings in a clinical trial evaluating stem cell therapy in newborns who are experiencing brain injury during birth which is known as perinatal hypoxic-ischemic brain injury (HII).

The team is hopeful that MRI which is currently being used during the course of and care for newborns with perinatal hypoxic ischemic brain injury, will help ensure that those infants with the injury get the best and most appropriate treatment possible.

Sometime in the future, MRI could possibly help guide the use of stem cells to treat additional brain disorders such as spinal cord injury and stroke.

Scientists now understand that in many cases, human neural stem cells are therapeutic because they are able to protect living cells. This is in contrast to replacing or re-animating nerve cells that are already dead. Thus, understanding the health of brain tissue before a stem cell implant is crucial to the treatment’s possible success.

Tools that can help predict the efficacy of neural stem therapy might increase the success of clinical trials such as those ongoing in people with Parkinson’s Disease, injury to the spinal cord, and other neurological conditions. This could also spare people who do not respond to treatment from an invasive procedure that offers false hope.

Stem cell therapies offer extraordinary promise. The current study suggests that a readily available technique, MRI which is already being used in many injuries of the brain to determine the extent of neurological damage, could be a useful tool in determining who will and will not benefit from the stem cell treatment.

Evan Snyder, M.D., Ph.D., has envisioned using human neural stem cells in an effort to protect newborns with acute perinatal HII from damage to the brain. He and his team made the discovery that MRI can be used as a quantifiable, objective and easily available basis for exclusion and inclusion criteria for the stem cell treatments while engaged in preclinical trials required prior to beginning human clinical trials for newborns with HII.

This particular brain injury affects two to four newborns out of every 1,000 babies that are born in the U.S. and is attributable to a variety of complications including disrupted maternal blood pressure, maternal infection, and umbilical cord compression.

The hope is that human neural stem calls could help rescue enough vulnerable and injured, though not dead, neural cells. This could potentially help prevent the most severely affected infants from developing epilepsy, cerebral palsy, intellectual disability, and other neurological disorders that will often appear after HII if left untreated.

In the current study, the team used MRI to measure two different areas surrounding the regions of HII brain injury in rats – the penumbra which is a region which consists of mildly injured and stunned neurons, and the core which is an area which consists of neurons that are dead. They discovered that rats with a larger penumbra and smaller core which had received human neural stem cells, had better neurological outcomes which included improved memory which was demonstrated by their ability to swim to a hidden platform and a greater willingness to venture to a brightly lit area.

In the rats, the penumbra to which the neural stem cells honed avidly, became normal tissue while the core did not improve and attracted fewer cells (based on MRI and histological standards). Penumbra which did not receive cells become part of the core which was populated by dead neurons, indicating the benefit of the treatment with the stem cells.

The approach to brain lesion classification is a very strong patient stratification tool that allowed the team to identify newborns who might benefit from the stem cell therapy and can also protect others from having unnecessary treatments done. Based on their findings, only those newborns with a large penumbra volume in relation to core volume, should consider having a transplant of human neural stem cells. And just as important, newborns so severely injured that only the core is present, or babies with a mild case of HII that not even a penumbra is present, should not receive the stem cells as the treatment would unlikely be impactful.

To view the original scientific study click below

A Biomarker for Predicting Responsiveness to Stem Cell Therapy Based on Mechanism-of-Action: Evidence from Cerebral Injury.

Covid-19 and Sleep Changes

During the last 3 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, changes in sleep are just one of the many daily activities that have been impacted by this virus. A report from late March 2020 by Fitbit has shown that their sleep tracker app was showing major changes in sleep patterns for millions of Americans.

Getting a good might’s sleep is a highly important daily routine that many people don’t do. And whether it is due to child care, work, a noisy environment or other reasons, few Americans actually make sleep a priority. About 68% or 164 million Americans struggle with sleep at least once during a week. Millions of people suffered from insomnia before the pandemic, and unfortunately the pandemic has created a host of new challenges even for those people who previously had no sleep problems.

With social distancing in place along with quarantines, school closures, and working from home, profound changes to normal daily routines for people of all ages and walks of life have occurred.

Fitbit report shows that people are going to bed later but are getting more sleep in addition to a better quality of sleep. For those people whose quality of sleep has shown improvement, they have been spending more time in REM or deep sleep. Our bodies recharge while we sleep both repairing and building muscle and tissue. Levels of cortisol, our stress hormone, fall during the evening. Getting the recommended seven to nine hours of sleep per night will help boost the immunity – something that is especially important now.

Sleep is critical to both physical health and effective functioning of the immune system. It is also a key promoter of mental health and emotional wellness. It helps to beat back depressions, stress and anxiety.

From a report by the Smithsonian in late April 2020, researchers started to study other more ominous changes in sleep patterns. Sleep study centers from around the world reported increasingly vivid and strange dreams from those who had entered their second month of stay at home orders.

It was reported that a growing group are experiencing insomnia which is an inability to fall asleep which seems to be symptoms of stress due in part to the shared anxiety surrounding the COVID-19 virus. In the same report, researchers in France at The Lyon Neuroscience Research Center discovered a 35% increase in dream recall and a 15% increase in negative dreams.

For people who are not on the front lines of emergency and healthcare response, fears of the virus are projected onto threats such as bug, zombies, and shadowy figures which represent the pandemic metaphorically.

Dreams typically occur during the REM phase of sleep. Low activity and anxiety during the day can make it more difficult to get a good night’s sleep. Additionally, waking up frequently throughout the night can increase the likelihood that dreams will be remembered the next day.

REM sleep which is associated with dreaming, is believed to help us handle intense emotions and particularly negative emotions. And obviously the COVID-19 pandemic is producing a lot of anxiety and stress.

It is imperative that we let our bodies and brains rest and relax. This not only allows us to enter REM sleep and cope with stress, but a good night’s sleep also increases the production of vital neurotransmitters and hormones that our brain needs replenished every day.

The Sleep Foundation has ways we can cope with the profound changes of activity and stress that may be affecting sleep during the pandemic. Set a schedule and routine and avoid variations in daily sleep time. This includes waking up the same time every day, winding down time to relax to get ready for sleep, showering and dressing even when not leaving the house, eating meals at the same time each day, blocking of specific times for exercise and work, and avoiding naps.

We should also avoid bringing a computer to bed to do work or watch a movie in bed. It is also beneficial to frequently change bed sheets, fluff pillows and making the bed each day so it feels fresh when going to bed.

Exposure to light also plays a critical role in helping our bodies regulate sleep. Light based cues have a positive effect on circadian rhythm. If possible, spend some time outside in natural light during the day. As much as possible, open blinds and windows to let light in during the day.

And very importantly, avoid too much blue light which is produced by electronic devices. Blue light interferes with the body’s natural sleep promoting process. Excess screen time especially later in the day can have detrimental impact on sleep. It not only stimulates the brain in ways that make it difficult to wind down, but blue light from screens can suppress the natural production of melatonin which is a hormone they body makes to help us sleep.

And lastly, stay active. Continuing or starting regular daily activities has a variety of important benefits including for sleep.

To view the original scientific study click below

Covid-19 and Changing Sleep Patterns.

Mouthwash May Help Reduce the Spread of Covid-19

Recent research has speculated that mouthwash may inhibit the spread of SARS-CoV-2 which is the virus responsible for COVID-19. The scientific review has suggested that publicly available mouthwashes may in theory, inhibit this virus.

If clinical trials do prove effective, the findings may provide another method for people to help reduce the spread of the virus while scientists continue to work on producing an effective and publicly available vaccine.

In the meantime, scientists are focused on ways to reduce the rate of infection to more controllable levels which will not overwhelm hospital intensive care units. One area of research has involved disrupting the way in which the virus can take over a cell of a host as it replicates itself.

SARS-CoV-2 like other types of coronaviruses, is an enveloped virus which means it creates an outer membrane through drawing on the cells of a host organism. This membrane will allow the virus to effectively replicate. If scientists can find a way to disrupt this envelope, then it may be possible to slow down the spread of the virus within an organism.

Using a disinfectant or soap and water can disrupt a viral envelope and therefore kill the virus. Research has shown that disinfectants can kill the SARS-CoV-2 virus. This is why the health community has encouraged people to wash their hands and surfaces with alcohol based products or soap on a regular basis.

The current review has proposed that some widely available mouthwashes may also be able to help fulfill the role of killing the virus.

It has been shown that the virus significantly replicates in the throat. This means that a patient with the virus is likely to have the highest concentration of the virus within this area. And with these high levels of the virus in the throat, it is easy for someone to transmit the virus through coughing, sneezing, and breathing.

Previous research into alcohol’s ability to disrupt the virus envelope has mainly focused on products with a high alcohol content of between 60% and 70%. This is due to manufacturers who typically design alcohol based products to be effective in a variety of circumstances including bacteria, viruses and fungi.

However, there is isn’t very much high quality research exploring how lower strength alcohol based products may also affect the viral envelope. The current studies team sought out to see if alcohol based mouthwashes which come into contact with a person’s throat, could in theory inhibit the transmission of the virus or at least reduce its severity.

If a significant spread of the virus originates in the throat, then it would make sense to trial the efficacy of products which may have the potential to kill the virus at this location. However, due to the speed of how the virus emerged, there is still much to learn about how it functions.

Scientists do not currently known how the virus moves from a person’s nose or throat to their lungs. It is possible this could occur through breathing in dead viral cell debris, viral shedding or neighboring cells becoming infected.

However, with the current urgency of the public health crisis, it is necessary to propose speculative theories which scientists can test in laboratories and then in clinical trials. And although there is little scientific literature which explores the effect of low alcohol concentrations on viral envelopes, the team drew on research that looked at the effects on mammalian cells.

The virus will develop its envelope from these cells. Therefore, it may be possible to compare the effects on these cells to the potential effects on the viral envelope.

The researchers discovered after studying the literature, there was good reason to suppose that some low alcohol based products may in theory be able to disrupt the viral envelope of SARS-CoV-2. They have made it clear though, their research is speculative. More research is needed, nonetheless this current work shows that in s principle this is a valuable area to study.

To view the original scientific study click below

Potential role of oral rinses targeting the viral lipid envelope in SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Can Eating Fish Reduce Risk of Cardiovascular Disease?

According to a recent most exhaustive study carried out to date, researchers have found that consuming a diet rich in fish or Omega 3 modulates the concentration of lipids which are passed on to cells through lipoproteins and can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. The research was carried out by Universitat Rovira I Virgili along with researchers from Harvard Medical School.

Through analysis of lipoprotein samples from 26,034 women, the association between the consumption of Omega 3 and the reduction in the risk of suffering cardiovascular disease has been demonstrated by the research teams. It is the largest and most detailed study ever carried out. This study is particularly noteworthy because cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death with 1 in 3 people dying from a cardiovascular event.

Until recently, it has been shown that a high consumption of Omega 3 fatty acids was associated with lower levels of triglycerides in the blood. However, it has also been linked to an increase in LDL cholesterol which is low density cholesterol transported by lipoproteins and also known as bad cholesterol. LDL cholesterol increases the risk of a person developing cardiovascular diseases as it can accelerate the formation of atherosclerosis which is the process where the arteries harden and lose their elasticity.

However, the recent study has discovered that increased consumption of LDL cholesterol from fish is associated mainly with the cholesterol transported by the largest LDL particles which are less atherogenic, and not an increase in the total number of LDL particles. The decrease in the number of triglycerides transported by any type of lipoprotein will help protect a person from heart disease.

The three different types of Omega 3 fatty acids studied in the research, namely a-linoleic acid (ALA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) are all present in fish and other foods and are known to be essential to human physiology. The study has discovered that they differ in their association with the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

It was found that there was no increase in the smallest LDL lipoproteins which transport cholesterol. Instead the increase was among the largest LDL lipoproteins which are not associated with the risk of heart disease. There was a decrease in all of the triglyceride transporting particles, and the average size of the HDL and LDL particles increased which is a phenomenon that is linked with increased protection from cardiovascular illness.

The conclusions were obtained through mathematical modeling of the consumption of fish and Omega 3 (both as a whole and of the different types of ALA, DHA and EPA) and the profile of lipoproteins. The study results were obtained by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance which can go much further than simply analyzing triglyceride and cholesterol content and can quantify the size and number of the different subtypes of plasmatic lipoprotein. Among the LDL particles that transport cholesterol, it is the smallest that are linked with a future cardiovascular event.

An additional and important element of the study is that the mathematical models that were used to evaluate the link between consumption of fish and the reduction in cardiovascular risk have isolated other nutritional factors that affect the result – such as the concentration of Omega 3 according to the origin of the fish (farmed or wild), the consumption of other foods, and traditional risk factors such as age, sedentary lifestyle, smoking and body mass index.

The study analyzed a cohort from the Women’s Health Study by the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and affiliate of Harvard Medical School. It involved the use of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance to characterize the plasma of 26,034 women who had an average age of 53 (most participants were between 48 and 59 years of age).

After confirming the risk factor linked with cholesterol concentration, lipids, triglycerides and the different subtypes of particles is modulated by the consumption of Omega 3 fatty acids, the team now wants to find out if the consumption of fish is linked with lower mortality from both cardiovascular diseases and other causes. And although the risk is lower in relation to lipids, they want to look at other pro-inflammatory factors and questions such as exposure to heavy metals.

To view the original scientific study click below

The Possible Role of Vitamin D in Suppressing Cytokine Storm and Associated Mortality in COVID-19 Patients.

Vitamin D and Covid-19 Mortality Rates

Patients who exhibit a severe deficiency of Vitamin D are twice as likely to experience significant complications from COVID-19. Led by Northwestern University, the team conducting the research studied global data from the current COVID-19 pandemic and have discovered a strong correlation between a severe Vitamin D deficiency and mortality rates in patients with the virus.

The researchers analyzed data from 10 countries and found a correlation between low levels of Vitamin D and hyperactive immune systems. Vitamin D strengthens innate immunity and also prevents overactive immune responses. These findings may explain several mysteries including why children are unlikely to die from the virus.

The statistical analyses was from data at clinics and hospitals in France, Germany, China, Iran, Italy, Spain, South Korea, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and the United States. The team observed that patients from the countries with high COVID-19 mortality rates, such as Spain, Italy and the UK, had lower levels of Vitamin D when compared to patients in the countries that were not as severely affected.

The data obtained from the study may also illuminate the mechanism of mortality and if proven, may lead to new therapeutic targets.

The team was inspired to study the vitamin after noticing unexplained differences in COVID-19 mortality rates from country to country. Some hypothesized that differences in age distributions in populations, differences in healthcare quality, testing rates, or different strains of the virus might be responsible. However, the team remained skeptical.

It appeared none of these factors seemed to play a significant role. In Italy, the healthcare system is one of the best in the world. And differences in mortality exist even when one looks across the identical age group. And while the restrictions on testing do vary, the disparities in mortality still exist when populations or countries for which similar testing rates apply. Instead, the team saw a significant correlation with a Vitamin D deficiency.

Through analyzing publicly available data from around the world, the team discovered a strong correlation between levels of Vitamin D and cytokine storm which is a hyperinflammatory condition caused by an overactive immune system, and also a correlation between the vitamin and mortality.

Cytokine storm can severely damage the lungs and can lead to acute respiratory distress syndrome and even death in patients. This is what appears to kill the majority of COVID-19 patients and not the destruction of the lungs by the virus itself, but the complications that arise from the misdirected fire from the immune system.

This is where the team believes Vitamin D plays a significant role. Not only does the vitamin enhance our innate immune system, it will also prevent our immune systems from becoming dangerously overactive. This indicates that having healthy levels of Vitamin D may protect patients against developing severe complications including death from the virus.

The analysis has shown that it might be as high as cutting the mortality rate by 50%. It will not protect people from getting the virus, but it might reduce the development of complications and prevent death in those who have been infected with COVID-19.

The team explains that the correlation may help explain the many mysteries that surround the virus such as why children are less likely to die from the virus. Children do not have a fully developed acquired immune system which is the immune system’s second line of defense and is more likely to overreact. Children mainly rely on their innate immune system which may explain why their mortality rate is lower.

It is not known what dose is most beneficial and it will vary from person to person, however it is clear that a deficiency in the vitamin is harmful and it can easily be addressed with appropriate supplementation. This could be another key to helping protect the vulnerable populations such as elderly patients and African-Americans who typically have a prevalence of Vitamin D deficiency.

To view the original scientific study click below

The Possible Role of Vitamin D in Suppressing Cytokine Storm and Associated Mortality in COVID-19 Patients.

1...464748...86Page 47 of 86