Reduce Anxiety with Matcha Tea

Adding Matcha Green Tea to your daily diet may improve your health and also help reduce anxiety. Experiments have shown that Matcha Tea’s anxiolytic effects happen because of the activation of dopamine D1 receptors and other serotonin receptors.

Japanese Matcha Tea has been growing in popularity around the world. This particular tea has a long history for its various medicinal purposes. The new study offers scientific evidence to support the benefits.

Recently a group of Japanese researchers from Kumamoto University have shown that anxiety in mice can be reduced after they have consumed Matcha extract or powder. The calming effects of the tea seem to be due to mechanisms which activate dopamine D1 receptors and serotonin 5-HT1A. These are both closely related to anxious behavior.

Matcha is a finely ground powder which is produced from the new leaves of shade grown Camellia sinensis green tea bushes. Not only the tea but also its food flavoring are enjoyed throughout the world. In Japan some of the historical medicinal uses for the tea include helping people relax, treatment of skin conditions and preventing obesity.

The research team set out to determine the tea’s various beneficial effects. They used the “elevated plus maze” test which is an elevated, plus shaped, narrow platform that has two walled arms which provide safety for the test subjects which are typically mice. This test is used as an anxiety test for the mice with the idea that animals which experience higher anxiety will spend more of their time in the safer walled off areas.

Researchers found that when using this test the anxiety of the mice was reduced after they consumed Matcha extract or powder. Additionally when the anxiolytic activity of a variety of Matcha extracts were elevated, an even stronger effect was discovered with an extract derived using 80% ethanol in comparison to an extract which was derived from just hot water. This means that a poorly water soluble Matcha component will have stronger anxiolytic effects than a component that is more water soluble.

A behavioral pharmacological analysis revealed that Matcha and Matcha extracts are able to reduce anxiety through activation of dopamine D1 and serotonin 5-HT1A receptors. Further epidemiological research is necessary, however the results of the current study show that Matcha may be very beneficial to the human body.

To view the original scientific study click below

Anxiolytic activities of Matcha tea powder, extracts, and fractions in mice: Contribution of dopamine D1 receptor- and serotonin 5-HT1A receptor-mediated mechanisms.

New Anti-Aging Discovery and Senescent Cells

New findings about how the aging process works may pave the way to better treatments and revolutionary new medications that could immensely improve human health.

Recent research from USC Viterbi School of Engineering has focused on senescence, the natural process by which cells permanently cease creating new cells. Senescence is one of the major causes of age related declines in health.

Senescent cells are the complete opposite of stem cells. Stem cells have unlimited potential for division or self renewal. Senescent cells can never divide again. They are in a state of cell cycle arrest.

The team discovered that these aging senescent cells ceased producing a class of chemicals known as nucleotides which are DNA building blocks. When the team took these young cells and forced them to cease producing nucleotides, they then became aged or senescent.

This observation means the production of nucleotides is mandatory in keeping cells young. And it additionally means that if cells could be prevented from losing nucleotide synthesis, the cells could age more slowly.

The study team examined cells that were young which were proliferating robustly. They fed them molecules that were labeled with stable isotopes of carbon so that they could trace how the nutrients consumed by the cells were processed into a variety of biochemical pathways.

The team worked with a team to develop 3D imagery of the results. Unexpectedly, the images revealed the senescent cells often contain two nuclei and they do not synthesize DNA.

Previously, senescence had primarily been studied in cells which are known as fibroblasts which are the most common cells which comprise the connective tissue in animals. The team instead focused on how senescence occurs in epithelial cells which are cells that line the surfaces of organs and structures in the body.

The team’s goal was not to completely prevent senescence, however they wanted to find a way to remove senescent cells to promote better function and healthy aging.

The research has applications in the emerging field of senolytics which is the development of medications that might be able to eliminate aging cells. Human clinical trials are in early stages, however studies on mice have indicated that through eliminating senescent cells, mice do age better and have a more productive life span.

They can take mice that are aging and diminishing in function, treat them with senolytic drugs to eliminate the senescent cells and the mice are rejuvenated. The team refers to these drugs as the fountains of youth.

In order for successful senolytic drugs to be developed, it is important to identify exactly what is unique about senescent cells so that developed drugs don’t affect the normal non senescent cells. This is where the research team is at…studying the metabolism of senescent cells and then trying to figure out how senescent cells are unique so that targeted therapeutics around these metabolic pathways can be designed.

To view the original scientific study click below

Inhibition of nucleotide synthesis promotes replicative senescence of human mammary epithelial cells

Reversing Aging in Brain Cells

As we age brain stiffness increases which leads to stem cell dysfunction. New research has demonstrated new ways to reverse this aging process in older stem cells into a younger and healthier state. The results may provide immense implications for understanding the aging process and how new much needed treatments can be developed for brain diseases that are related to aging.

Muscles and joints become stiff as our bodies age which makes movements much more difficult. The study indicates the same is true of the brain. Brain stiffening leads to significant impact on how brain stem cells function.

The multi disciplinary study team which was based at the Wellcome MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute, observed both old and young rats to help understand how brain stiffening due to age impacts the function of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs). These type of cells are one of the types of brain stem cells which are important to maintaining normal function of the brain. They are also involved in the regeneration of myelin, the fatty sheath which surrounds our nerves and is damaged in multiple sclerosis.

MS affects over 100,000 in the UK, but the affects of age on these cells also declines as healthy people age.

To see whether the function loss in aged OPCs was reversible, the team transplanted older OPCs from the aged rates into the spongy, soft brains of the younger rats. Surprisingly, the older brain cells were rejuvenated and they started to behave similar to the younger, more rigorous cells.

The team them sought to understand how brain stiffness and softness influences the behavior of cells. They investigated Pierzo1 which is a protein found on the surface of the cell and informs the cells whether the environment surrounding it is stiff or soft.

The team was fascinated to see that when they grew young, functioning rat brain stem cells on the stiff material, the cells then became dysfunctional and then lost the ability to regenerate. They actually began to look like older cells. When the older brain cells were grown on the material that was soft they started to function similar to young cells.

When the team removed Piezo1 from the surface of the older brain stem cells, they were able to trick those cells into perceiving a soft surrounding environment even when they were grown on the stiffer material. They were able to delete Piezo1 in the OPCs in the older rat brains which then led the cells to become more rejuvenated and again they were able to assume their normal function of regeneration.

MS is a painful, disabling and relentless disease. Treatments that can prevent or slow the accumulation of disability over time are needed. The study teams research on how brain stem cells age and how the process could be reserved has important implications for treatments in the future.

To view the original scientific study click below

Niche stiffness underlies the ageing of central nervous system progenitor cells.

New Technique to Help Bones Heal Faster

A research team at the University of Illinois, Chicago and the University of Pennsylvania have developed a new and unique technique which uses flexible implantable bone stabilizing plates and stem cells to speed healing of bone defects or large breaks.

This new technique uses stem cells applied at break sites to experience mechanical stress which they do in developing embryos. The forces this creates might help stimulate stem cells to develop into cartilage and bone in addition to encouraging other cell types contained in the bone to regenerate.

Stem cells require environmental cues in order to be able to differentiate into cells which make up unique tissues. Stem cells which give rise to cartilage and bone are subject to mechanical type forces during healing and development.

As bones heal, stem cells contained within the bone marrow near the break site initially become cartilage cells then bone cells which eventually knits together the break. When large gaps between deformed or broken bones occur, adding more stem cells to the break sites can encourage bones to heal faster by either stimulating formation of bone by neighboring cells or by actively participating in the process of regeneration.

However, to use stem cells to regenerate bone, these cells must be delivered to the defect site and then differentiate appropriately for stimulation for repair. The team has developed a unique preparation of these cells which can be manipulated and handled easily for implantation. This supports the cellular differentiation process which occur in embryonic development of bone.

For the preparation, stem cells were cultured to link to each other to form either plugs or sheets. This preparation additionally contained gelatin micro particles which were loaded with growth factors which will help stem cells differentiate. The plugs or sheets can be manipulated and then implanted and thus reduce the tendency for cells to drift away. These materials are called condensates.

In earlier studies, the team used condensates in rodent models to help heal bone defects in their skull. They observed that the condensates remained in place and were able to improve the extent and rate of regeneration of bone.

Recently, they took their idea step further. They developed a unique and flexible fixator. Typically fixators are stiff metal bars or plates which are used to stabilize bones at the break site. These types of fixators reduce the amount of mechanical stress breaks will experience during the healing process.

The flexible fixator would allow the cells in the condensates to experience compressive forces which are critical to stimulating cartilage enhancement and formation of bone.

The team used a rat model for determining how mechanical forces present in bone defects affect the ability of condensates to contribute to formation of bone. When the team used the condensate sheets along with a flexible fixator in the rate models with a femur defect, they observed there was not only enhanced healing but also the bones showed better mechanical function when compared to control rats which had received the condensates and the stiff, more traditional fixators.

The team says the techniques and devices they develop from their research could additionally influence the way physical therapy is implemented after an injury. The findings support regenerative rehabilitation which is an emerging paradigm concept which marries physical therapy principles with regenerative medicine. The goal is to understand how mechanical stimuli will influence the behavior of cells to better impact the outcomes of patients without additional devices or drugs.

To view the original scientific study click below

Recapitulating bone development through engineered mesenchymal condensations and mechanical cues for tissue regeneration.

New Cell May Replace Liver Transplants

A study conducted at the King’s College London, Centre for Stem Cells & Regenerative Medicine, have used sequencing of single cell RNA to help identify a cell type that might have the ability to regenerate tissue in the liver. This discovery could possibly lead to treating liver failure without transplants.

The research team identified a new cell type called hepatobiliary hybrid progenitor (HhyP) which is formed during early development in the womb. HhyP also persist in adults in small quantities and these cell types have the ability to grow into two main types of cells of the adult liver (Hepatocytes and Cholangiocytes) which gives HhyPs properties similar to stem cells.

The researchers examined HhyPs finding that they resemble stem cells in mice which were found to quickly repair livers in mice after major injury such as what might occur in cirrhosis.

This is the first time cells have been found with true stem cell like properties which may exist in the liver in humans. This could in turn provide a large range of applications for regenerative medicine for treating diseases of the liver. This could possibly include bypassing liver transplants.

Diseases of the liver are the fifth largest killers in the UK and the third most common cause of death due to premature causes. And the number of human cases continues to rise. Liver diseases can be due to lifestyle issues such as viruses, alcohol misuse, and obesity, or non lifestyle issues which include genetic mediated disease and autoimmune diseases.

Liver disease symptoms include itching, jaundice, and feelings of tiredness and weakness. Severe cases include cirrhosis. The only treatment at this time for severe diseases of the liver is a liver transplant. This can lead to a lifetime of complications. Also, the need for donor livers greatly outweighs increasing demands for this type of transplant.

The need now is for researchers to work quickly to discover the method for converting pluripotent stem cells into the HhyP cells so that transplants of these cells into patients can occur. The team also will be working to see if there is an ability to reprogram HhyPs inside the body through traditional pharmacological medications to repair diseased livers without either the cell or organ transplants.

To view the original scientific study click below

Single cell analysis of human foetal liver captures the transcriptional profile of hepatobiliary hybrid progenitors

Offset Risk of Dementia with Healthy Lifestyle

A new study at the University of Exeter has discovered another good reason to live a healthy lifestyle! The research found that in people with a high genetic risk for developing dementia the risk was 32 percent lower if they followed a healthy lifestyle.

Study participants who had a high genetic risk and led an unhealthy lifestyle were almost three times more likely to develop the disease compared to participants who led a favorable lifestyle and had a low genetic risk of developing dementia.

This study was the first to analyze to what extent a person might offset their genetic risk of developing dementia when living a healthy lifestyle. The findings show that when a person takes action to do their best to offset the risk by living healthy, they can make a difference regardless of the genetic risk.

The study included analyzed data from 196,383 adults aged 60 and older and of European ancestry. The research team identified 1,769 cases of dementia during the follow up period of eight years. The study team grouped all participants into three groups…those with low genetic risk, intermediate genetic risk and high risk.

To assess the genetic risk, the team studied previously published data and then identified known genetic risk factors for Alzheimer’s. Every genetic risk factor was weighted through the strength of its association with this disease.

To assess lifestyles, the team groups all participants into unfavorable, intermediate and favorable categories which were based on self reported physical activity, diet, alcohol consumption and smoking. The team considered regular physical activity, no current smoking, moderate alcohol consumption and healthy diet as healthy behaviors.

The study team discovered that living a healthy lifestyle was linked to a reduced dementia risk across all the genetic risk groups. The team reports that their research delivers a very important message that undermines the fatalistic views of dementia. Many people believe that developing dementia is inevitable due to their genetics. However, because of this new study, it appears people may be able to substantially reduce their risk of development the disease through healthy lifestyle habits.

To view the original scientific study click below

Association of Lifestyle and Genetic Risk With Incidence of Dementia

Exposure to Nature Reduces Unhealthy Cravings

New research led by the University of Plymouth has found that exposure to green spaces and nature is associated with lower cravings for cigarettes, alcohol, and unhealthy food choices. This is the first study to reveal that passive exposure to close green spaces is linked to not only lower frequency of cravings, but also the strength of those cravings.

This study builds on earlier research which suggested that exercising in nature can also reduce cravings. This new study demonstrates the same may also be true even irrespective of any physical activity.

The findings add to increasing evidence that points to the need to invest and protect green spaces within cities and towns. These investments help maximize public health benefits that people can afford. The current study also suggests the causality link of this needs to be better investigated.

The research is the first to study the relationship between people’s exposure to natural environments, experiencing negative feelings or emotions, and cravings for a range of appetite substances. The study involved academics from the School of Psychology with included support from the European Centre for Environment and Human Health at the University of Exeter.

It has been known that being outdoors in nature is associated to a person’s well being. However, the possibility of a similar link with cravings from just being able to see green spaces, adds a new dimension to the previous research. The study could have a range of possibilities for environmental protection programs and public health in the future.

For the study, the participants completed an online survey which explored relationships between a variety of nature exposure and cravings. It measured the proportion of green space which was located in a person’s residential neighborhood, the amount of green views that was seen from their home, their access to an allotment or garden, and also the frequency to which they visited public green spaces.

The results indicated that people who have access to an allotment or garden were associated with both reduced cravings strength and frequency. Residential views which incorporated more than 25% of green space showed similar responses.

The study additionally measured physical activity that was undertaken within the identical time frame as the cravings were assessed. This part of the study also indicated reduced cravings occurred irrespective of physical activity levels.

Cravings contribute to a host of health damaging behaviors such as excessive drinking, smoking, and the consumption of unhealthy foods. As a result, these cravings contribute to some of the most challenging global health issues of our time. This includes obesity, diabetes and cancer. Showing that more exposure to green spaces is associated with lower cravings can prove to be promising for future public and private programs and individual health.

To view the original scientific study click here: Natural environments and craving: The mediating role of negative affect.

Organs are a Mix of New and Old Cells

cellsIt was once thought that neurons and possibly heart cells, were the oldest cells in the human body. However, researchers have discovered that the mouse liver, brain and pancreas contain populations of proteins and cells with very long lifespans with some as old as neurons.

The findings at the Salk Institute demonstrating age mosaicism could be applied to nearly any body tissue for providing valuable information about the lifelong function of non dividing cells and how cells lose control over the integrity and control of proteins and important cell structures during the aging process.

The team was very surprised to discover cellular structures that are as old as the organism where they reside. This discovery suggests even greater cellular complexity than was previously imagined. It provides intriguing implications about how we think about the aging process of organs such as the heart, pancreas and brain.

Most brain neurons do not divide in adulthood and therefore experience a long lifespan and then age related decline. However, due to technical limitations, the life of cells outside the brain has been difficult to determine. Researchers have wondered how old the cells are in an organism.

There has been the general idea that neurons are old yet other cells in the human body are relatively young and will regenerate throughout the lifetime of the organism. The research team proceeded to see if there was the possibility that certain organs also have cells that are as long lived as brain neurons.

The researchers knew that most neurons will not be replaced during lifespan. They utilized them as an age baseline for comparison to other non dividing cells. They combined electron isotope labeling with a hybrid imaging method so they could visualize and then quantify protein and cell age and turnover in the liver, pancreas and brain in both old and young rodents.

To validate the method, the team initially determined the age of the neurons and found that they were as old as the organism. However, the cells that line blood vessels, known as endothelial cells, were also as old as the neurons. This means that some of the non neuronal cells do not replace or replicate themselves during lifespan.

The pancreas which is an organ whose function it is to maintain blood sugar levels and also secrete digestive enzymes, also showed cells at different ages. A small portion of the pancreas appeared as a puzzle of interconnected old and young cells. Some of the beta cells which release insulin replicated through lifetime and were relatively young. However, some did not divide and were long lived which is similar to neurons. Another type of cell called delta cells, did not divide at all. The pancreas is a great example of age mosaicism or a population of identical cells which are distinguished by their lifespans.

Previous research has suggested the liver has the ability to regenerate during adulthood so the team chose this organ with the expectation of seeing relatively young liver cells. However, the vast majority of liver cells in healthy adult mice were as old as the mice while cells which line blood vessels and stellate like cells, were much shorter lived. The liver also demonstrated ago moscaicism which indicates potential new paths of regenerative research of this organ.

Due to new visualizing technologies, the team was able to pinpoint the age of cells and their supra molecular complexes more precisely that before. This opens new paths for studying tissues, cells and organs in both normal and in diseased states.

By determining the age of sub cellular structures and cells in adult organisms, new insights into cell repair mechanisms and maintenance and the impact of cumulative changes during adulthood on development of diseases and health can occur.

The ultimate goal is to be able to utilize these mechanisms in an effort to delay and prevent age related decline of organs with limited cell renewal. The team plans to decipher the differences in lifespans for lipids and nucleic acids and also to understand how age mosaicism relates to diseases and overall health.

To view the original scientific study click here: Age Mosaicism across Multiple Scales in Adult Tissues.

How the Brain Affects Aging

A new discovery by researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine has shown that stem cells found in the brain’s hypothalamus affect how fast our body’s age. The discovery which was made in mice, could possibly lead to new strategies for defending against age related diseases and even extending lifespan.

The hypothalamus regulates critical processes including development, growth, metabolism and reproduction. Einstein researchers made the surprising discovery that it also regulates aging throughout the entire body. Now, they have pinpointed the exact cells in the hypothalamus that control the process of aging. These cells are a tiny population of adult neural stem cells which are known to be responsible for the formation of new brain neurons.

The research has shown that the number of hypothalamic neural stem cells will naturally decline throughout the life of an animal. This decline will accelerate with aging. The team also discovered that the effects of this stem cell loss are not irreversible. Through replenishing these stem cell or the molecules they produce, it is possible to slow down and even reverse a variety of the aspects associated with aging within the body.

To study whether stem cells found in the hypothalamus hold the key to aging, the team first looked at the fate of the stem cells as healthy mice aged. The number of these stem cells did begin to decline when the mice reached almost 10 months of age which is quit a few months before the normal signs of aging start to appear. By old age which is about two years in mice, most of these stem cells were gone.

The team then wanted to learn whether the progressive loss of these stem cells was actually causing the aging and was not only associated with it. They observed what happened after they selectively disrupted these stem cells in the hypothalamus in middle aged mice. The disruption greatly accelerated the aging compared with control mice. The mice with the disrupted stem cells also died earlier than what would be normal.

The question became, could adding stem cells to the hypothalamus actually counteract aging? The team sought to answer that question by injecting hypothalamic stem cells in the brains of the middle aged mice whose stem cells were destroyed along with injecting the brains of the normal older mice. In both groups of mice the treatment either slowed or reserved a variety of measures of aging.

The team found that the hypothalamic stem cells appeared to exert their anti aging effects by the release of molecules called microRNAs. Rather than being involved in the synthesis of protein, they instead played key roles in regulating gene expression. MicroRNAs are contained inside tiny particles known as exosomes which stem cells in the hypothalamus release into the cerebrospinal fluid of mice.

The team then extracted microRNA containing exosomes from the hypothalamic stem cells and injected them into the cerebrospinal fluid of two different groups of mice…middle aged mice whose hypothalamic stem cells were destroyed and the normal middle aged mice. The treatment showed significant slowing of aging in both groups of mice through a measure of tissue analysis and also behavioral testing which involved assessing any changes in the mice’s coordination, muscle endurance, cognitive ability and social behavior.

They are now working at identifying the particular populations of the microRNAs and even other factors secreted by these stem cells which are responsible for the anti aging effects. This is potentially a first step to possibly slowing down the aging process and also treating a variety of age related diseases.

To view the original scientific study click below

Hypothalamic stem cells control ageing speed partly through exosomal miRNAs

Diabetes Prevention with Intermittent Fasting

Scientists at the German Institute of Human Nutrition have found through research on mice that have been put on intermittent fasting, have exhibited lower pancreatic fat. Pancreatic fat has been shown to contribute to the development of type 2 Diabetes. This type of fasting is known to improve the sensitivity to the glucose lowering hormone insulin and can also protect against fatty liver.

Fatty liver has been previously investigated and is known as a frequently occurring disease. However, very little has been known in regards to excess weight induced accumulation of fat in the pancreas and its effects on the onset of type 2 diabetes.

The team has now discovered that mice who are overweight and prone to diabetes have a high accumulation of fat cells in their pancreas. Mice that are resistant to diabetes because of their genetic make up and despite their excessive weight, had hardly any fat cells in their pancreas. Instead they had fat deposits in their liver. Accumulations of fat outside the fat tissue in the muscles, liver and even bones, have a negative effect on those organs and the whole body. What impact fat cells might have within the pancreas has not been previously clear.

The research team divided the animals that were overweight and prone to diabetes into two groups. The first group of mice were allowed to eat as much they wanted and whenever they wanted. The second group of mice underwent a regime of intermittent fasting. One day they were given unlimited chow and the following day they were not fed at all.

After five weeks, the team noted differences in the pancreas of the mice. An accumulation of fat cells were found in the first group. In the second group however, there were hardly any deposits of fat in the pancreas.

To find out how fat cells could impair pancreas function, the team isolated adipocyte (a cell specialized for the storage of fat and found in connective tissue) precursor cells taken from the mice’ pancreas for the first time and then allowed them to differentiate into mature fat cells. If these mature fat cells were then cultivated together with the Langerhans islets of the pancreas, the islets beta cells increasingly secreted insulin. The team suspects that an increase secretion of insulin causes the Langerhans islets of animals prone to diabetes to deplete more quickly and cease functioning completely after time.

The islets of Langerhans are islet like accumulations of hormone producing cells within the pancreas. A healthy adult has approximately one million Langerhans islets. Beta cells produce the blood glucose lowering hormone known as insulin and they make up about 75 to 80% of the islet cells. When blood glucose levels are elevated, these beta cells secrete insulin into the blood steam to normalize levels.

The most current data suggests that not only should liver fat be reduced to help prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes, but under certain genetic conditions, an accumulation of fat in the pancreas might also play a decisive role in the development of this disease.

Intermittent fasting just might be a very promising therapeutic approach. Intermittent fasting is easy to integrate into daily life, does not require drugs and is non invasive. Intermittent fasting simply involves not eating during certain times of the day. However, black coffee, water and unsweetened tea can be consumed around the clock. Fasting can last between 16 and 24 hours or alternatively a maximum of 500 to 600 calories can be consumed on two days within a week.

One of best forms of intermittent fasting is the 16 and 8 method. This method involves eating only within an eight hour window during a day then fasting for the other 16 hours. One meal which is typically breakfast is omitted.

To view the original scientific study click below

Pancreatic adipocytes mediate hypersecretion of insulin in diabetes-susceptible mice
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