New research findings indicate that an early onset of dietary treatment may slow down the progression of Alzheimer's disease. The study was conducted on mice, and the results will be published in the February issue of Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry. Researchers from the University of Eastern Finland played a key role in the study, which was carried out as part of the LiPiDiDiet project funded by the European Union.
According to current understanding, Alzheimer's disease develops slowly and it may take up to 20 years before the first obvious symptoms occur. With the development of early diagnostics of the disease, the question of which treatments to offer to completely healthy people with an increased risk of developing Alzheimer's becomes of key importance in the field of medicine. Various dietary treatments seem a promising alternative.
The study used transgenic female mice carrying APP and PS1 mutations linked with familial Alzheimer's disease, and wild-type mice. All the mice began the dietary intervention at 5 months and continued on the diet until 13 months old. The fat content of the control chow was increased to better correspond to human diets. In addition to the control chow, some of the APP/PS1 mice were fed three experimental chows enriched with fish oil and having a similar fat content as the control chow: fish oil supplement only, plant sterol supplement or Fortasyn supplement, which contains uridine-monophosphate, phospholipids, B- vitamins, and antioxidants. Eurekalert!
More benefits emerging for one type of omega-3 fatty acid: DHA
A study of the metabolic effects of omega-3 fatty acids, especially DHA, concludes that these compounds may have an even wider range of biological impacts than previously considered, and suggests they could be of significant value in the prevention of fatty liver disease. Oregon State University
Team develops method of identifying impact of gut microbes
A team of researchers at Washington School of Medicine in St. Lois has developed a method for identifying the impact that individual strains of microbes in the human gut have on the person housing them. In their paper published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, the team describes how they isolated different microbes taken from human volunteers and placed them in the guts of sterilized mice, and then tested them to see what impact it had. MedicalXpress
Symbiotic microbe sets immune-cell levels related to colitis
A Harvard Medical School team led by Dingding An, HMS instructor in microbiology and immunobiology, and Dennis Kasper, the William Ellery Channing Professor of Medicine and professor of microbiology and immunobiology, working collaboratively with a group led by Richard Blumberg, HMS professor of medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital, has discovered an outsized role for one intestinal microbe. Working in mice, they have shown that a molecule produced by Bacteroides fragilis controls development of the animal's immune system from a very young age, dictating for life how it responds to an experimental model of the inflammatory bowel disease ulcerative colitis. Their results are reported in the January 16 issue of Cell. MedicalXpress
Dietary pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) alters indicators of inflammation and mitochondrial-related metabolism in human subjects
In their introduction to the article, Calliandra B. Harris and colleagues from the University of California, Davis observe that the reduced form of PQQ is a potent antioxidant. "It is also noteworthy that there may have been a constant exposure to PQQ-like compounds throughout biological evolution based on the observations that stellar dust contains PQQ-like compounds," they remark.
The standard clinical indices were normal and not altered by PQQ supplementation. However, dietary PQQ exposure (Study 1) resulted in apparent changes in antioxidant potential based on malonaldehyde-related TBAR assessments. In Study 2, PQQ supplementation resulted in significant decreases in the levels of plasma C-reactive protein, IL-6 and urinary methylated amines such as trimethylamine N-oxide, and changes in urinary metabolites consistent with enhanced mitochondria-related functions. The data are among the first to link systemic effects of PQQ in animals to corresponding effects in humans. Calliandra B. Harris, Winyoo Chowanadisai, Darya O. Mishchuk, Mike A. Satre, Carolyn M. Slupsky, Robert B. Rucker. The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry - December 2013 (Vol. 24, Issue 12, Pages 2076-2084, DOI: 10.1016/j.jnutbio.2013.07.008. See also: Ingredients for life hitching ride on space dust, study says
Effect of Crataegus Usage in Cardiovascular Disease Prevention: An Evidence-Based Approach
Currently, evidence is accumulating from various in vivo and in vitro studies that hawthorn extracts exert a wide range of cardiovascular pharmacological properties, including antioxidant activity, positive inotropic effect, anti-inflammatory effect, anticardiac remodeling effect, antiplatelet aggregation effect, vasodilating effect, endothelial protective effect, reduction of smooth muscle cell migration and proliferation, protective effect against ischemia/reperfusion injury, antiarrhythmic effect, lipid-lowering effect and decrease of arterial blood pressure effect. On the other hand, reviews of placebo-controlled trials have reported both subjective and objective improvement in patients with mild forms of heart failure (NYHA I-III), hypertension, and hyperlipidemia. Wang J, Xiong X, Feng B. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2013;2013:149363. Epub 2013 Dec 29. Review. PMID: 24459528
Analgesic, anti-inflammatory and anticancer activities of extra virgin olive oil
EVOO has a significant analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer properties. However, further detailed studies are required to determine the active component responsible for these effects and mechanism pathway. Fezai M, Senovilla L, Jemaà M, Ben-Attia M. J Lipids. 2013;2013:129736. Epub 2013 Dec 23. PMID: 24455277
High-dose vitamin B1 reduces proliferation in cancer cell lines analogous to dichloroacetate
Our findings suggest that high-dose thiamine reduces cancer cell proliferation by a mechanism similar to that described for dichloroacetate. Hanberry BS, Berger R, Zastre JA. Cancer Chemother Pharmacol. 2014 Jan 23. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 24452394
Recent advances and uses of grape flavonoids as nutraceuticals
As the largest group of grape polyphenols, flavonoids are the main candidates considered to have biological properties, including but not limited to antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, antimicrobial, antiviral, cardioprotective, neuroprotective, and hepatoprotective activities. Here, we discuss the recent scientific advances supporting the beneficial health qualities of grape and grape-derived products, mechanisms of their biological activity, bioavailability, and their uses as nutraceuticals. Georgiev V, Ananga A, Tsolova V.
Nutrients. 2014 Jan 21;6(1):391-415. doi: 10.3390/nu6010391. PMID: 24451310
Low prostate concentration of lycopene is associated with development of prostate cancer in patients with high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia
Only prostatic lycopene concentration showed significant differences between the three groups (p = 0.03). Prostatic lycopene concentration below a 1 ng/mg threshold was associated with PC at 6-month follow-up biopsy (p = 0.003). We observed no overall benefits from a 6-month lycopene supplementation, as the rate of HGPIN progression to PC in our population (9/32, 28%) was similar to rates reported in the literature. Baseline PSA levels also showed no significant changes after a lycopene-enriched diet. Our findings point to prostatic lycopene concentration as a promising biomarker of PC. Further prospective longitudinal studies are needed to assess the prognostic role of prostatic lycopene in PC. Mariani S, Lionetto L, Cavallari M, Tubaro A, Rasio D, De Nunzio C, Hong GM, Borro M, Simmaco M. Int J Mol Sci. 2014 Jan 21;15(1):1433-40. PMID: 24451130
Inhibition of human lung cancer cell proliferation and survival by wine
Red wine inhibits proliferation of lung cancer cells and blocks clonogenic survival at low concentrations. This is associated with inhibition of basal and EGF-stimulated Akt and Erk signals and enhancement of total and phosphorylated levels of p53. White wine mediates similar effects albeit at higher concentrations. Our data suggest that wine may have considerable anti-tumour and chemoprevention properties in lung cancer and deserves further systematic investigation in animal models of lung cancer. Barron CC, Moore J, Tsakiridis T, Pickering G, Tsiani E. Cancer Cell Int. 2014 Jan 23;14(1):6. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 24456610
No comments:
Post a Comment