Nucleus Medical Media •
EJIOGBE CHANTS FOR EASY LABOR AND DELIVERY BY BABALAWO OBANIFA-Obanifa extreme documentaries
In this work Babalawo
Obanifa will document one of the traditional Akose Ifa(Ifa medicine) available in
Yoruba herbal medicine that can be use to naturally facilitate easy labor and
child delivery .One of the Akose Ifa (Ifa medicine) that is available for this
purpose is derived from Odu Ifa Ejiogbe. To
prepare the Akose Ifa for this purpose that is been document in this
work,. The Awo will need the following items. They are:
Yepe idi igi araba to wu
fun ara re(sands of the roots of Araba tree-Big tree- that fell by itself
naturaly)
Ipe Ire(spikes of Porcupine)
Ipe Akika(scales of
Pangolin)
Efo ara boja(vegetable
bought from the market)
Preparation
You will burn the four
aforementioned items to charcoal and grind it to fine powder.Use it to imprint
Odu Ifa Ejiogbe thus:
I I
I I
I I
I I
You will then chant the
following Ifa incantations on it thus:
Siki-siki Molobee
Onyagba
Owo o koko lorun Sagede
Siki-siki pe nife Oodaye
Keke pa rere
Rere pa keke
Mo ti lo je ti je ti keke
fi pa rere
Ti rere fi pa keke
Won ni omo Olufe ni n nrobi
lowo
Won ni awon Oso ile so ko
Awon aje ile kan mole
Orunmila ni yoo bi Omo ni
sinsisn
Won ni Iwo Orunmila bawo
ni yoo se bi omo ni sin-sin
Ifa ni tipe -tipe ni Ire n bi omo tie
Tipe-tipe ni Akika n bi
omo tie
Tomi-tomi ni efo n ti oja
wale
Ti igi nla ba sidi
Ilepa re a si tele
Ejiogbe ki o lo se onigbowo
ibi lagabaja k
Ejiogbe ki o gbe omo na wa
ni sin-sin
Translation
Siki-siki lo beere(siki -siki are plenty)
Onyagba
Owo o koko lorun Sagede
Siki-siki pe nife Oodaye(they
assemble in Ife Oodaye)
There was utter silence
There was dead silence in
fear
I asked, why is there
utter silence?
They answered ,that the daughter
of Olufe was in labor
They said the wizard have
tie up her pregnancy
The witches have tie down
her pregnancy
Orunmila said she will deliver
the baby now-now
They demanded from
Orunmila how will she be able to deliver the baby
Ifa responded that the Pangolin
deliver it baby with it scales
The Porcupine deliver its
baby with its spikes
The vegetables come homes
from market with its droplets of water
When a mature big tree
fall
The soil around it will
shift along
Ejiogbe come and take
charge of delivery of this baby
Ejiogbe go and bring the
baby to life safely
Copyright :Babalawo
Pele Obasa Obanifa, phone and whatsapp contact :+2348166343145, location Ile
Ife osun state Nigeria.
IMPORTANT NOTICE :As regards the article above no part of this article may be reproduced or duplicated in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying and recording or by any information storage or retrieval system without prior written permission from the copyright holder and the author Babalawo Obanifa, doing so will be deem unlawful and will attract legal consequences
IMPORTANT NOTICE :As regards the article above no part of this article may be reproduced or duplicated in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying and recording or by any information storage or retrieval system without prior written permission from the copyright holder and the author Babalawo Obanifa, doing so will be deem unlawful and will attract legal consequences
Version en español
MEDICINA EJIOGBE PARA TRABAJO FÁCIL Y ENTREGA POR BABALAWO OBANIFA-Obanifa documentales extremos

En este trabajo, Babalawo Obanifa documentará uno de los Akose Ifa (medicamentos Ifa) tradicionales disponibles en la medicina herbaria Yoruba que se puede usar para facilitar naturalmente el trabajo de parto y el parto. Uno de los Akose Ifa (medicamentos Ifa) que está disponible para este propósito. se deriva de Odu Ifa Ejiogbe. Para preparar el Akose Ifa para este propósito que se ha documentado en este trabajo ,. El Awo necesitará los siguientes elementos. Son:
Yepe idi igi araba para wu fun ara re (arenas de las raíces del árbol Araba-árbol grande- que cayeron por sí solas naturalmente)
Ipe Ire (espigas de puercoespín)
Ipe Akika (escamas de Pangolin)
Efo ara boja (verdura comprada en el mercado)
Preparación
Quemarás los cuatro elementos antes mencionados en carbón y lo molerás en polvo fino. Úselo para imprimir Odu Ifa Ejiogbe así:
Yo yo
Yo yo
Yo yo
Yo yo
Entonces cantarás los siguientes encantamientos de Ifa en él así:
Siki-siki Molobee
Onyagba
Owo o koko lorun Sagede
Siki-siki pe nife Oodaye
Keke pa rere
Rere pa keke
Mo ti lo je ti je ti keke fi pa rere
Ti rere fi pa keke
Ganó ni omo Olufe ni nrobi lowo
Won ni awon Oso ile so ko
Awon aje ile kan mole
Orunmila ni yoo bi Omo ni sinsisn
Won ni Iwo Orunmila bawo ni yoo se bi omo ni sin-sin
Ifa ni tipe -tipe ni Ire n bi omo tie
Corbata tipe-tipe ni Akika n bi omo
Tomi-tomi ni efo n ti oja wale
Ti igi nla ba sidi
Ilepa re a si tele
Ejiogbe ki o lo se onigbowo ibi lagabaja k
Ejiogbe ki o gbe omo na wa ni sin-sin
Traducción
Siki-siki lo beere (siki -siki son muchos)
Onyagba
Owo o koko lorun Sagede
Siki-siki pe nife Oodaye (se reúnen en Ife Oodaye)
Se hizo un silencio absoluto
Hubo un silencio mortal en el miedo
Le pregunté, ¿por qué hay un silencio absoluto?
Respondieron que la hija de Olufe estaba de parto.
Dijeron que el mago había amarrado su embarazo
Las brujas han amarrado su embarazo
Orunmila dijo que dará a luz al bebé ahora, ahora.
Exigieron a Orunmila cómo podrá dar a luz al bebé.
Ifa respondió que el Pangolin lo entrega bebé con escamas
El puercoespín entrega a su bebé con sus púas
Las verduras llegan a las casas del mercado con sus gotas de agua.
Cuando un gran árbol maduro cae
El suelo a su alrededor se desplazará
Ven a ejiogbe y hazte cargo del parto de este bebe
Ejiogbe ve y dale vida al bebé con seguridad
Copyright: Babalawo Pele Obasa Obanifa, teléfono y contacto de WhatsApp: +2348166343145, ubicación Ile Ife osun state Nigeria.
AVISO IMPORTANTE: en lo que respecta al artículo anterior, ninguna parte de este artículo puede reproducirse o duplicarse de ninguna forma ni por ningún medio, electrónico o mecánico, incluida la fotocopia y la grabación, o por cualquier sistema de almacenamiento o recuperación de información sin el permiso previo por escrito del titular de los derechos de autor y el autor Babalawo Obanifa, hacerlo será considerado ilegal y traerá consecuencias legales

En este trabajo, Babalawo Obanifa documentará uno de los Akose Ifa (medicamentos Ifa) tradicionales disponibles en la medicina herbaria Yoruba que se puede usar para facilitar naturalmente el trabajo de parto y el parto. Uno de los Akose Ifa (medicamentos Ifa) que está disponible para este propósito. se deriva de Odu Ifa Ejiogbe. Para preparar el Akose Ifa para este propósito que se ha documentado en este trabajo ,. El Awo necesitará los siguientes elementos. Son:
Yepe idi igi araba para wu fun ara re (arenas de las raíces del árbol Araba-árbol grande- que cayeron por sí solas naturalmente)
Ipe Ire (espigas de puercoespín)
Ipe Akika (escamas de Pangolin)
Efo ara boja (verdura comprada en el mercado)
Preparación
Quemarás los cuatro elementos antes mencionados en carbón y lo molerás en polvo fino. Úselo para imprimir Odu Ifa Ejiogbe así:
Yo yo
Yo yo
Yo yo
Yo yo
Entonces cantarás los siguientes encantamientos de Ifa en él así:
Siki-siki Molobee
Onyagba
Owo o koko lorun Sagede
Siki-siki pe nife Oodaye
Keke pa rere
Rere pa keke
Mo ti lo je ti je ti keke fi pa rere
Ti rere fi pa keke
Ganó ni omo Olufe ni nrobi lowo
Won ni awon Oso ile so ko
Awon aje ile kan mole
Orunmila ni yoo bi Omo ni sinsisn
Won ni Iwo Orunmila bawo ni yoo se bi omo ni sin-sin
Ifa ni tipe -tipe ni Ire n bi omo tie
Corbata tipe-tipe ni Akika n bi omo
Tomi-tomi ni efo n ti oja wale
Ti igi nla ba sidi
Ilepa re a si tele
Ejiogbe ki o lo se onigbowo ibi lagabaja k
Ejiogbe ki o gbe omo na wa ni sin-sin
Traducción
Siki-siki lo beere (siki -siki son muchos)
Onyagba
Owo o koko lorun Sagede
Siki-siki pe nife Oodaye (se reúnen en Ife Oodaye)
Se hizo un silencio absoluto
Hubo un silencio mortal en el miedo
Le pregunté, ¿por qué hay un silencio absoluto?
Respondieron que la hija de Olufe estaba de parto.
Dijeron que el mago había amarrado su embarazo
Las brujas han amarrado su embarazo
Orunmila dijo que dará a luz al bebé ahora, ahora.
Exigieron a Orunmila cómo podrá dar a luz al bebé.
Ifa respondió que el Pangolin lo entrega bebé con escamas
El puercoespín entrega a su bebé con sus púas
Las verduras llegan a las casas del mercado con sus gotas de agua.
Cuando un gran árbol maduro cae
El suelo a su alrededor se desplazará
Ven a ejiogbe y hazte cargo del parto de este bebe
Ejiogbe ve y dale vida al bebé con seguridad
Copyright: Babalawo Pele Obasa Obanifa, teléfono y contacto de WhatsApp: +2348166343145, ubicación Ile Ife osun state Nigeria.
AVISO IMPORTANTE: en lo que respecta al artículo anterior, ninguna parte de este artículo puede reproducirse o duplicarse de ninguna forma ni por ningún medio, electrónico o mecánico, incluida la fotocopia y la grabación, o por cualquier sistema de almacenamiento o recuperación de información sin el permiso previo por escrito del titular de los derechos de autor y el autor Babalawo Obanifa, hacerlo será considerado ilegal y traerá consecuencias legales
Versão em Português
MEDICINA EJIOGBE PARA TRABALHO FÁCIL E ENTREGA DE BABALAWO OBANIFA-Obanifa documentários extremos

Neste trabalho, Babalawo Obanifa documentará um dos tradicionais Akose Ifa (medicamento Ifa) disponível na medicina herbal iorubá que pode ser usado para facilitar naturalmente o trabalho fácil e a entrega de crianças. é derivado de Odu Ifa Ejiogbe. Para preparar o Akose Ifa para este fim, que está documentado neste trabalho. O Awo precisará dos seguintes itens. Eles são:
Yepe idi igi araba to wu fun ara re (areias das raízes da árvore Araba - árvore grande - que caiu por si só naturalmente)
Ipe Ire (picos de porco-espinho)
Ipê Akika (escamas de Pangolin)
Efo ara boja (vegetais comprados no mercado)
Preparação
Você queimará os quatro itens acima mencionados em carvão e triturará em pó fino. Use-o para imprimir Odu Ifa Ejiogbe assim:
Eu eu
Eu eu
Eu eu
Eu eu
Você então cantará os seguintes encantamentos Ifa:
Siki-siki Molobee
Onyagba
Owo o koko lorun Sagede
Siki-siki no Nife Oodaye
Keke pa rere
Rere pa keke
Mo ti lo je ti je ti keke fi pa rere
Ti rere fi pa keke
Ganhou n omo Olufe n n nrobi lowo
Ganhou ni awon Oso ile so ko
Awon aje ile kan mole
Orunmila ni yoo bi Omo ni sinsisn
Ganhou n Iwo Orunmila bawo ni yoo se bi omo n sin-sin
Ifa ni tipe - tipi Ire n bi omo gravata
Laço de Akika n bi omo do Tipe-tipe
Tomi-tomi ni efo n ti oja wale
Ti igi nla ba sidi
Ilepa re a si tele
Ejiogbe ki o lo se onigbowo ibi lagabaja k
Ejiogbe ki ou gbe omo na wa ni sin-sin
Tradução
Siki-siki lo beere (siki-siki são suficientes)
Onyagba
Owo o koko lorun Sagede
Siki-siki pe nife Oodaye (eles se reúnem em Ife Oodaye)
Houve um silêncio absoluto
Houve um silêncio morto de medo
Eu perguntei, por que há um silêncio absoluto?
Responderam que a filha de Olufe estava em trabalho de parto.
Eles disseram que o mago amarrou sua gravidez
As bruxas amarraram sua gravidez
Orunmila disse que vai entregar o bebê agora-agora
Eles exigiram de Orunmila como ela poderia entregar o bebê
Ifa respondeu que o Pangolin entrega seu bebê com escamas
O porco-espinho entrega seu bebê com seus espinhos
Os vegetais chegam do mercado com suas gotas de água
Quando uma grande árvore madura cai
O solo ao seu redor mudará
Ejiogbe venha e se encarregue da entrega deste bebê
Ejiogbe vá e traga vida ao bebê com segurança
Direitos autorais: Babalawo Pele Obasa Obanifa, telefone e whatsapp: +2348166343145, local Ile Ife osun state Nigeria.
AVISO IMPORTANTE: No que diz respeito ao artigo acima, nenhuma parte deste artigo pode ser reproduzida ou duplicada de qualquer forma ou por qualquer meio, eletrônico ou mecânico, incluindo fotocópia e gravação ou por qualquer sistema de armazenamento ou recuperação de informações sem a permissão prévia por escrito do detentor dos direitos autorais e o autor Babalawo Obanifa, fazê-lo será considerado ilegal e atrairá consequências legais

Neste trabalho, Babalawo Obanifa documentará um dos tradicionais Akose Ifa (medicamento Ifa) disponível na medicina herbal iorubá que pode ser usado para facilitar naturalmente o trabalho fácil e a entrega de crianças. é derivado de Odu Ifa Ejiogbe. Para preparar o Akose Ifa para este fim, que está documentado neste trabalho. O Awo precisará dos seguintes itens. Eles são:
Yepe idi igi araba to wu fun ara re (areias das raízes da árvore Araba - árvore grande - que caiu por si só naturalmente)
Ipe Ire (picos de porco-espinho)
Ipê Akika (escamas de Pangolin)
Efo ara boja (vegetais comprados no mercado)
Preparação
Você queimará os quatro itens acima mencionados em carvão e triturará em pó fino. Use-o para imprimir Odu Ifa Ejiogbe assim:
Eu eu
Eu eu
Eu eu
Eu eu
Você então cantará os seguintes encantamentos Ifa:
Siki-siki Molobee
Onyagba
Owo o koko lorun Sagede
Siki-siki no Nife Oodaye
Keke pa rere
Rere pa keke
Mo ti lo je ti je ti keke fi pa rere
Ti rere fi pa keke
Ganhou n omo Olufe n n nrobi lowo
Ganhou ni awon Oso ile so ko
Awon aje ile kan mole
Orunmila ni yoo bi Omo ni sinsisn
Ganhou n Iwo Orunmila bawo ni yoo se bi omo n sin-sin
Ifa ni tipe - tipi Ire n bi omo gravata
Laço de Akika n bi omo do Tipe-tipe
Tomi-tomi ni efo n ti oja wale
Ti igi nla ba sidi
Ilepa re a si tele
Ejiogbe ki o lo se onigbowo ibi lagabaja k
Ejiogbe ki ou gbe omo na wa ni sin-sin
Tradução
Siki-siki lo beere (siki-siki são suficientes)
Onyagba
Owo o koko lorun Sagede
Siki-siki pe nife Oodaye (eles se reúnem em Ife Oodaye)
Houve um silêncio absoluto
Houve um silêncio morto de medo
Eu perguntei, por que há um silêncio absoluto?
Responderam que a filha de Olufe estava em trabalho de parto.
Eles disseram que o mago amarrou sua gravidez
As bruxas amarraram sua gravidez
Orunmila disse que vai entregar o bebê agora-agora
Eles exigiram de Orunmila como ela poderia entregar o bebê
Ifa respondeu que o Pangolin entrega seu bebê com escamas
O porco-espinho entrega seu bebê com seus espinhos
Os vegetais chegam do mercado com suas gotas de água
Quando uma grande árvore madura cai
O solo ao seu redor mudará
Ejiogbe venha e se encarregue da entrega deste bebê
Ejiogbe vá e traga vida ao bebê com segurança
Direitos autorais: Babalawo Pele Obasa Obanifa, telefone e whatsapp: +2348166343145, local Ile Ife osun state Nigeria.
AVISO IMPORTANTE: No que diz respeito ao artigo acima, nenhuma parte deste artigo pode ser reproduzida ou duplicada de qualquer forma ou por qualquer meio, eletrônico ou mecânico, incluindo fotocópia e gravação ou por qualquer sistema de armazenamento ou recuperação de informações sem a permissão prévia por escrito do detentor dos direitos autorais e o autor Babalawo Obanifa, fazê-lo será considerado ilegal e atrairá consequências legais
Version française
EJIOGBE MEDICINE POUR UN TRAVAIL ET UNE LIVRAISON FACILES DE BABALAWO OBANIFA-Obanifa extreme documentaries

Dans ce travail, Babalawo Obanifa documentera l'un des Akose Ifa (médicament Ifa) traditionnels disponibles dans la phytothérapie Yoruba, qui peut être utilisé pour faciliter naturellement le travail et l'accouchement faciles. Un des Akose Ifa (médicament Ifa) disponible à cet effet est dérivé de Odu Ifa Ejiogbe. Pour préparer l’Akose Ifa à cet effet, documenté dans ce travail, Les Awo auront besoin des éléments suivants. Elles sont:
Yepe idi igi araba à wu fun ara re (sables des racines de l'araba - grand arbre - qui est tombé naturellement)
Ipe Ire (épis de porc-épic)
Ipe Akika (écailles de Pangolin)
Efo ara boja (légume acheté au marché)
Préparation
Vous allez brûler les quatre articles susmentionnés sur du charbon de bois et les réduire en poudre fine. Utilisez-les pour imprimer Odu Ifa Ejiogbe ainsi:
Je je
Je je
Je je
Je je
Vous réciterez ensuite les incantations Ifa suivantes:
Siki-siki Molobee
Onyagba
Owo o koko lorun Sagede
Siki-siki pe nife Oodaye
Keke pa rere
Rere pa keke
Loin de moi
Ti rere fi pa keke
Won ni omo Olufe ni nrobi lowo
Won ni awon Oso ile so ko
Awon aje ile kan mole
Orunmila ni yoo bi Omo ni sinsisn
Won ni Iwo Orunmila bawo ni yoo se bi omo ni sin-sin
Ifa ni tipe -tipe ni Ire n bi omo tie
Tipe-tipe ni cravate Akika n bi omo
Tomi-tomi ni efo ti oja wale
Ti igi nla ba sidi
Ilepa re a si tele
Ejiogbe ki o lo se sur lui-même ibi lagabaja k
Ejiogbe ki o gbe omo na wa ni péché-péché
Traduction
Siki-siki lo beere (siki -siki sont nombreux)
Onyagba
Owo o koko lorun Sagede
Siki-siki pe nife Oodaye (ils se réunissent à Ife Oodaye)
Il y avait un silence total
Il y avait un silence de mort dans la peur
J'ai demandé, pourquoi y a-t-il un silence total?
Ils répondirent que la fille d'Olufe était en travail
Ils ont dit que le sorcier avait ligoté sa grossesse
Les sorcières ont attaché sa grossesse
Orunmila a dit qu'elle allait accoucher maintenant maintenant
Ils ont demandé à Orunmila comment allait-elle pouvoir accoucher
Ifa a répondu que le Pangolin lui livrait un bébé avec ses écailles
Le porc-épic livre son bébé avec ses pointes
Les légumes viennent du marché avec ses gouttelettes d'eau
Quand un grand arbre mature tombe
Le sol autour va se déplacer le long
Ejiogbe viens prendre en charge l'accouchement de ce bébé
Ejiogbe va donner vie au bébé en toute sécurité
Copyright: Babalawo Pele Obasa Obanifa, contact téléphonique et whatsapp: +2348166343145, lieu-dit Ile Ife osun, Nigeria.
AVIS IMPORTANT: En ce qui concerne l’article ci-dessus, aucune partie de cet article ne peut être reproduite ni dupliquée sous quelque forme ou par quelque moyen que ce soit, électronique ou mécanique, y compris la photocopie et l’enregistrement, ou par tout système de stockage ou de récupération des informations, sans l’autorisation écrite préalable du détenteur des droits d’auteur. l'auteur Babalawo Obanifa, cela sera jugé illégal et entraînera des conséquences juridiques
Deutsche Version
EJIOGBE MEDICINE FÜR EINFACHE ARBEIT UND LIEFERUNG DURCH BABALAWO OBANIFA-Obanifa Extreme-Dokumentarfilme

In dieser Arbeit wird Babalawo Obanifa eines der traditionellen Akose Ifa (Ifa-Arzneimittel) dokumentieren, das in der Yoruba-Kräutermedizin erhältlich ist und auf natürliche Weise zur Erleichterung der Geburt und Entbindung von Kindern verwendet werden kann. Eines der Akose Ifa (Ifa-Arzneimittel), das für diesen Zweck erhältlich ist wird von Odu Ifa Ejiogbe abgeleitet. Um das in dieser Arbeit dokumentierte Akose Ifa für diesen Zweck vorzubereiten. Der Awo benötigt die folgenden Gegenstände. Sie sind:
Yepe idi igi araba, um ara re Spaß zu haben (Sand der Wurzeln des Araba-Baums - großer Baum - der von selbst natürlich gefallen ist)
Ipe Ire (Stachel vom Stachelschwein)
Ipe Akika (Schuppen von Pangolin)
Efo ara boja (Gemüse vom Markt gekauft)
Vorbereitung
Sie werden die vier oben genannten Gegenstände zu Holzkohle verbrennen und zu feinem Pulver zermahlen. Verwenden Sie dies, um Odu Ifa Ejiogbe wie folgt zu bedrucken:
Ich ich
Ich ich
Ich ich
Ich ich
Sie werden dann folgende Ifa-Beschwörungsformeln darauf so chanten:
Siki-siki Molobee
Onyagba
Owo o koko lorun Sagede
Siki-siki pe nife Oodaye
Keke pa rere
Rere pa keke
Mo ti lo je ti je ti keke fi pa rere
Ti rere fi pa keke
Won ni omo Olufe ni nrobi lowo
Won ni awon Oso ile so ko
Awon aje ile kan mole
Orunmila ni yoo bi Omo ni sinsisn
Won ni Iwo Orunmila bawo ni yoo se bi omo ni sin-sin
Ifa ni tipe -tipe ni Ire n bi omo tie
Tipe-tipe ni Akika n bi omo tie
Tomi-tomi ni efo n ti oja wale
Ti igi nla ba sidi
Ilepa ist ein Einzelfall
Ejiogbe ki o lo se onigbowo ibi lagabaja k
Ejiogbe ki o gbe omo na wa ni sin-sin
Übersetzung
Siki-siki lo beere (siki-siki sind reichlich)
Onyagba
Owo o koko lorun Sagede
Siki-siki pe nife Oodaye (sie versammeln sich in Ife Oodaye)
Es herrschte völlige Stille
In der Angst herrschte völlige Stille
Ich fragte, warum ist es so still?
Sie antworteten, dass die Tochter von Olufe in der Arbeit war
Sie sagten, die Zauberin habe ihre Schwangerschaft gefesselt
Die Hexen haben ihre Schwangerschaft abgebunden
Orunmila sagte, sie werde das Baby sofort zur Welt bringen
Sie fragten Orunmila, wie sie das Baby zur Welt bringen könne
Ifa antwortete, dass die Pangolin ihr Baby mit einer Waage ausliefern
Das Stachelschwein bringt sein Baby mit seinen Stacheln zur Welt
Das Gemüse kommt mit seinen Wassertropfen vom Markt
Wenn ein reifer großer Baum fällt
Der Boden um ihn herum wird sich verschieben
Ejiogbe kommt und kümmert sich um die Geburt dieses Babys
Ejiogbe gehen und das Baby sicher zum Leben erwecken
Copyright: Babalawo Pele Obasa Obanifa, Telefon- und WhatsApp-Kontakt: +2348166343145, Standort Ile Ife Osun, Bundesstaat Nigeria.
WICHTIGER HINWEIS: In Bezug auf den obigen Artikel darf kein Teil dieses Artikels in irgendeiner Form oder auf irgendeine Weise reproduziert oder vervielfältigt werden, elektronisch oder mechanisch, einschließlich Fotokopieren und Aufzeichnen oder durch ein Informationsspeicher- oder -abrufsystem ohne vorherige schriftliche Genehmigung des Inhabers des Urheberrechts und Der Autor Babalawo Obanifa wird als rechtswidrig eingestuft und zieht rechtliche Konsequenzen nach sich
EJIOGBE MEDICINE POUR UN TRAVAIL ET UNE LIVRAISON FACILES DE BABALAWO OBANIFA-Obanifa extreme documentaries

Dans ce travail, Babalawo Obanifa documentera l'un des Akose Ifa (médicament Ifa) traditionnels disponibles dans la phytothérapie Yoruba, qui peut être utilisé pour faciliter naturellement le travail et l'accouchement faciles. Un des Akose Ifa (médicament Ifa) disponible à cet effet est dérivé de Odu Ifa Ejiogbe. Pour préparer l’Akose Ifa à cet effet, documenté dans ce travail, Les Awo auront besoin des éléments suivants. Elles sont:
Yepe idi igi araba à wu fun ara re (sables des racines de l'araba - grand arbre - qui est tombé naturellement)
Ipe Ire (épis de porc-épic)
Ipe Akika (écailles de Pangolin)
Efo ara boja (légume acheté au marché)
Préparation
Vous allez brûler les quatre articles susmentionnés sur du charbon de bois et les réduire en poudre fine. Utilisez-les pour imprimer Odu Ifa Ejiogbe ainsi:
Je je
Je je
Je je
Je je
Vous réciterez ensuite les incantations Ifa suivantes:
Siki-siki Molobee
Onyagba
Owo o koko lorun Sagede
Siki-siki pe nife Oodaye
Keke pa rere
Rere pa keke
Loin de moi
Ti rere fi pa keke
Won ni omo Olufe ni nrobi lowo
Won ni awon Oso ile so ko
Awon aje ile kan mole
Orunmila ni yoo bi Omo ni sinsisn
Won ni Iwo Orunmila bawo ni yoo se bi omo ni sin-sin
Ifa ni tipe -tipe ni Ire n bi omo tie
Tipe-tipe ni cravate Akika n bi omo
Tomi-tomi ni efo ti oja wale
Ti igi nla ba sidi
Ilepa re a si tele
Ejiogbe ki o lo se sur lui-même ibi lagabaja k
Ejiogbe ki o gbe omo na wa ni péché-péché
Traduction
Siki-siki lo beere (siki -siki sont nombreux)
Onyagba
Owo o koko lorun Sagede
Siki-siki pe nife Oodaye (ils se réunissent à Ife Oodaye)
Il y avait un silence total
Il y avait un silence de mort dans la peur
J'ai demandé, pourquoi y a-t-il un silence total?
Ils répondirent que la fille d'Olufe était en travail
Ils ont dit que le sorcier avait ligoté sa grossesse
Les sorcières ont attaché sa grossesse
Orunmila a dit qu'elle allait accoucher maintenant maintenant
Ils ont demandé à Orunmila comment allait-elle pouvoir accoucher
Ifa a répondu que le Pangolin lui livrait un bébé avec ses écailles
Le porc-épic livre son bébé avec ses pointes
Les légumes viennent du marché avec ses gouttelettes d'eau
Quand un grand arbre mature tombe
Le sol autour va se déplacer le long
Ejiogbe viens prendre en charge l'accouchement de ce bébé
Ejiogbe va donner vie au bébé en toute sécurité
Copyright: Babalawo Pele Obasa Obanifa, contact téléphonique et whatsapp: +2348166343145, lieu-dit Ile Ife osun, Nigeria.
AVIS IMPORTANT: En ce qui concerne l’article ci-dessus, aucune partie de cet article ne peut être reproduite ni dupliquée sous quelque forme ou par quelque moyen que ce soit, électronique ou mécanique, y compris la photocopie et l’enregistrement, ou par tout système de stockage ou de récupération des informations, sans l’autorisation écrite préalable du détenteur des droits d’auteur. l'auteur Babalawo Obanifa, cela sera jugé illégal et entraînera des conséquences juridiques
Deutsche Version
EJIOGBE MEDICINE FÜR EINFACHE ARBEIT UND LIEFERUNG DURCH BABALAWO OBANIFA-Obanifa Extreme-Dokumentarfilme

In dieser Arbeit wird Babalawo Obanifa eines der traditionellen Akose Ifa (Ifa-Arzneimittel) dokumentieren, das in der Yoruba-Kräutermedizin erhältlich ist und auf natürliche Weise zur Erleichterung der Geburt und Entbindung von Kindern verwendet werden kann. Eines der Akose Ifa (Ifa-Arzneimittel), das für diesen Zweck erhältlich ist wird von Odu Ifa Ejiogbe abgeleitet. Um das in dieser Arbeit dokumentierte Akose Ifa für diesen Zweck vorzubereiten. Der Awo benötigt die folgenden Gegenstände. Sie sind:
Yepe idi igi araba, um ara re Spaß zu haben (Sand der Wurzeln des Araba-Baums - großer Baum - der von selbst natürlich gefallen ist)
Ipe Ire (Stachel vom Stachelschwein)
Ipe Akika (Schuppen von Pangolin)
Efo ara boja (Gemüse vom Markt gekauft)
Vorbereitung
Sie werden die vier oben genannten Gegenstände zu Holzkohle verbrennen und zu feinem Pulver zermahlen. Verwenden Sie dies, um Odu Ifa Ejiogbe wie folgt zu bedrucken:
Ich ich
Ich ich
Ich ich
Ich ich
Sie werden dann folgende Ifa-Beschwörungsformeln darauf so chanten:
Siki-siki Molobee
Onyagba
Owo o koko lorun Sagede
Siki-siki pe nife Oodaye
Keke pa rere
Rere pa keke
Mo ti lo je ti je ti keke fi pa rere
Ti rere fi pa keke
Won ni omo Olufe ni nrobi lowo
Won ni awon Oso ile so ko
Awon aje ile kan mole
Orunmila ni yoo bi Omo ni sinsisn
Won ni Iwo Orunmila bawo ni yoo se bi omo ni sin-sin
Ifa ni tipe -tipe ni Ire n bi omo tie
Tipe-tipe ni Akika n bi omo tie
Tomi-tomi ni efo n ti oja wale
Ti igi nla ba sidi
Ilepa ist ein Einzelfall
Ejiogbe ki o lo se onigbowo ibi lagabaja k
Ejiogbe ki o gbe omo na wa ni sin-sin
Übersetzung
Siki-siki lo beere (siki-siki sind reichlich)
Onyagba
Owo o koko lorun Sagede
Siki-siki pe nife Oodaye (sie versammeln sich in Ife Oodaye)
Es herrschte völlige Stille
In der Angst herrschte völlige Stille
Ich fragte, warum ist es so still?
Sie antworteten, dass die Tochter von Olufe in der Arbeit war
Sie sagten, die Zauberin habe ihre Schwangerschaft gefesselt
Die Hexen haben ihre Schwangerschaft abgebunden
Orunmila sagte, sie werde das Baby sofort zur Welt bringen
Sie fragten Orunmila, wie sie das Baby zur Welt bringen könne
Ifa antwortete, dass die Pangolin ihr Baby mit einer Waage ausliefern
Das Stachelschwein bringt sein Baby mit seinen Stacheln zur Welt
Das Gemüse kommt mit seinen Wassertropfen vom Markt
Wenn ein reifer großer Baum fällt
Der Boden um ihn herum wird sich verschieben
Ejiogbe kommt und kümmert sich um die Geburt dieses Babys
Ejiogbe gehen und das Baby sicher zum Leben erwecken
Copyright: Babalawo Pele Obasa Obanifa, Telefon- und WhatsApp-Kontakt: +2348166343145, Standort Ile Ife Osun, Bundesstaat Nigeria.
WICHTIGER HINWEIS: In Bezug auf den obigen Artikel darf kein Teil dieses Artikels in irgendeiner Form oder auf irgendeine Weise reproduziert oder vervielfältigt werden, elektronisch oder mechanisch, einschließlich Fotokopieren und Aufzeichnen oder durch ein Informationsspeicher- oder -abrufsystem ohne vorherige schriftliche Genehmigung des Inhabers des Urheberrechts und Der Autor Babalawo Obanifa wird als rechtswidrig eingestuft und zieht rechtliche Konsequenzen nach sich
Русская версия
EJIOGBE МЕДИЦИНА ДЛЯ ЛЕГКОГО ТРУДА И ДОСТАВКИ BABALAWO OBANIFA-Obanifa Extreme документальные фильмы

В этой работе Бабалаво Обанифа документирует одну из традиционных акосе ифа (лекарство ифа), доступное в фитотерапии йоруба, которую можно использовать для облегчения естественного облегчения труда и родов. Один из акосе ифа (лекарство ифа), доступный для этой цели происходит от Odu Ifa Ejiogbe. Подготовить Акосе Ифа для этой цели, которая является документом в этой работе. Awo потребуются следующие предметы. Они есть:
Yepe idi igi araba to wu fun ara re (пески корней дерева араба - большое дерево - которое само по себе упало)
Ipe Ire (шипы дикобраза)
Ипе Акика (весы панголина)
Efo ara Boja (овощ, купленный на рынке)
подготовка
Вы сожжете четыре вышеупомянутых предмета на древесном угле и перемолоть его до мелкого порошка. Используйте его, чтобы запечатать Odu Ifa Ejiogbe таким образом:
I I
I I
I I
I I
Затем вы будете повторять на нем следующие заклинания Ифа:
Сики-сики Молоби
Onyagba
Ово о коко лорун сагеде
Siki-siki pe nife Oodaye
Кеке па рере
Rere pa keke
Мо т е л ё т е д ё ти кеке фи па рере
Ti rere fi pa keke
Won ni omo Olufe ni nrobi lowo
Выиграл Ни Осон Ило так ко
Авон адже иль кан моль
Орунмила ни ю би би Омо ни синсисн
Выиграл Иво Орунмила Баво Ни Ю Се Би Би Оомо Син Син
Ifa ni tipe -tipe ni Ire n bi omo tie
Tipe-tipe ni Akika n bi omo tie
Томи-Томи Ни Эфо
Ти иги нла ба сиди
Ilepa re si tele
Ejiogbe ki o lo se onigbowo ibi lagabaja k
Эджиогбе ки о гбе омо ва ва ни син-син
Перевод
Siki-Siki Lo Beere (Сики-Сики много)
Onyagba
Ово о коко лорун сагеде
Siki-siki pe nife Oodaye (они собираются в Ife Oodaye)
Была полная тишина
В страхе была мертвая тишина
Я спросил, почему там полная тишина?
Они ответили, что дочь Олуфе рожала
Они сказали, что волшебница связала свою беременность
Ведьмы связывают свою беременность
Орунмила сказала, что родит ребенка сейчас-сейчас
Они потребовали от Орунмилы, как она сможет родить ребенка
Ифа ответила, что Панголин родит его с весами
Дикобраз родит ребенка с шипами
Овощи приходят домой с рынка с каплями воды
Когда зрелое большое дерево падает
Почва вокруг него сместится вдоль
Ejiogbe прийти и взять на себя ответственность за доставку этого ребенка
Ejiogbe иди и благополучно оживи ребенка
Авторское право: Babalawo Pele Obasa Obanifa, телефон и контакт WhatsApp: +2348166343145, местоположение Ile Ife osun штат Нигерия.
ВАЖНОЕ УВЕДОМЛЕНИЕ. Что касается статьи выше, ни одна часть этой статьи не может быть воспроизведена или воспроизведена в любой форме или любым способом, электронным или механическим, включая фотокопирование и запись, или любой системой хранения или поиска информации без предварительного письменного разрешения от владельца авторских прав и автор Бабалаво Обанифа, поступивший таким образом, будет признан незаконным и повлечет за собой юридические последствия
中文版
BABALAWO OBANIFA-Obanifa极端纪录片的轻松人工和运送的EJIOGBE药物

在这项工作中，Babalawo Obanifa将记录约鲁巴草药中可用的一种传统的Akose Ifa（Ifa药物），可自然地方便分娩和分娩。其中一种Akose Ifa（Ifa药物）可用于此目的 源自Odu Ifa Ejiogbe。 为此目的准备Akose Ifa，这是本工作中记录的内容。 Awo将需要以下物品。 他们是：
Yepe idi Igi Araba到Wu Fun ara re（阿拉伯树-大树的根的沙子-自然倒下）
Ipe Ire（豪猪的尖刺）
Ipe Akika（穿山甲鳞片）
Efo ara boja（从市场上购买的蔬菜）
制备
您将把上述四个物品烧成木炭并将其磨成细粉，用它在Odu Ifa Ejiogbe上留下印记：
我
我
我
我
然后，您将在其上吟诵以下Ifa咒语：
Siki-siki Molobee
奥尼亚巴
哦，可可·罗兰·萨基德
Siki-siki pe nife Oodaye
可可
Rere pakeke
莫蒂洛耶·蒂耶·蒂凯克·菲尔
提神
赢得了元宵节
韩元元朗
Awon aje ile kan mole
香bi
元尼沃沃·奥米尔米拉·沃尼·比奥·莫辛辛
ifa nitipe -tipe ni Ire n bi omotie
Tipe-tipe ni Akika n bi omo tie
Tomi-tomi ni efo n ti oja wale
提格吉拉巴西迪
Ilepa re si tele
Ejiogbe ki o lo se onigbowo ibi lagabaja k
Ejiogbe ki o gbe omo na wa ni sin-sin
翻译
Siki-siki lo Beere（Siki -siki很多）
奥尼亚巴
哦，可可·罗兰·萨基德
Siki-siki pe nife Oodaye（他们在Ife Oodaye组装）
一片寂静
恐惧中寂静无声
我问，为什么会有完全的沉默？
他们回答说，奥卢夫的女儿正在工作。
他们说巫师束缚了她的怀孕
女巫束缚了她的怀孕
奥伦米拉说她现在就分娩
他们从奥伦米拉（Orunmila）要求她将如何分娩婴儿
Ifa回应说，穿山甲将它的鳞片递给婴儿
豪猪为婴儿提供刺突
蔬菜因水滴而从市场运回家
当一棵成熟的大树倒下时
周围的土壤会沿着
Ejiogbe来负责这个婴儿的分娩
Ejiogbe去把婴儿安全地带入生活
版权：Babalawo Pele Obasa Obanifa，电话和whatsapp联系人：+2348166343145，位于尼日利亚Ile Ife osun省。
重要声明：关于以上文章，未经版权所有者和作者的事先书面许可，不得以任何形式或通过任何方式（包括影印和记录的电子或机械方式）或通过任何信息存储或检索系统来复制或复制本文的任何部分。 作者Babalawo Obanifa，这样做将被视为非法，并将引起法律后果
BABALAWO OBANIFA-Obanifa चरम वृत्तचित्रों द्वारा आसानी से श्रम और वितरण के लिए वैकल्पिक दवा

इस कार्य में बाबालाव ओबनिफा योरूबा हर्बल दवा में उपलब्ध पारंपरिक अको इफ़ा (इफ़ा दवा) में से एक का दस्तावेजीकरण करेंगे, जिसका उपयोग स्वाभाविक रूप से आसान श्रम और प्रसव के लिए किया जा सकता है। एको इफ़ा (इफ़ा औषधि) जो इस उद्देश्य के लिए उपलब्ध है। Odu Ifa Ejiogbe से लिया गया है। इस कार्य के लिए एको इफ्ता तैयार करना जो इस कार्य में दस्तावेज हो,। आवो को निम्नलिखित वस्तुओं की आवश्यकता होगी। वो हैं:
येपे इडी इगी अरबा टू वुज़ फ्रा एरा री (अरब के वृक्षों की जड़ों की रेत-बड़ा पेड़-जो कि प्राकृतिक रूप से गिर गया)
आइप इटैलिक (स्पिरिसेस के स्पाइक्स)
इपे अक्का (पैंगोलिन के तराजू)
Efo आरा बोजा (बाजार से खरीदी गई सब्जी)
तैयारी
आप चार उक्त वस्तुओं को चारकोल में जलाएंगे और इसे महीन पाउडर में पीसेंगे। इस प्रकार ओडू इवा इजीगोब की छाप लगाने के लिए इसका उपयोग करें:
मुझे लगता है मैं
मुझे लगता है मैं
मुझे लगता है मैं
मुझे लगता है मैं
फिर आप इस पर निम्न इया अवतारों का जाप करेंगे:
सिक्की-सिक्की मोलोबी
Onyagba
ओउ ओ कोको लोरुन सेजेडे
सिक्की-सिक्की पे नाइफ ओदेय
केके पा रे
रेरे पा केके
मो ति लो जे तैं जे केके फे पा रे
तैं ररे फि पाके
वोन नी ओमो ओलुफे नी एन नरोबी लोवो
जीत नी ओसों इले तो कोऊ
अवन अजे इले कान मोल
ओरुन्मिला नी यूओ बी ओमो नी सिन्सिसन
वोन नी इवो ओरमुमिला बावो नी यू से बीओ ओमो नी पाप-पाप
इफ्ता नी टाइप -टाइप नी इटैलिक एन बाय ओमो टाई
पका-पका नी अखिका n द्वि ओमो टाई
तोमी-तोमी नी ईफो एन ती ओझा वाला
तैं इगी नाला बा सिडी
इलेपा री सी टेली
Ejiogbe ki o lo se onigbowo ibi lagabaja k
इजीबबे की ओ गबे ओमो न वा नी पाप-पाप
अनुवाद
Siki-siki lo beere (siki -siki बहुत हैं)
Onyagba
ओउ ओ कोको लोरुन सेजेडे
Siki-siki pe nife Oodaye (वे इफ़े ओदेय में इकट्ठा होते हैं)
एकदम सन्नाटा था
भय में मृत सन्नाटा था
मैंने पूछा, वहाँ क्यों ख़ामोशी है?
उन्होंने उत्तर दिया, कि ओलूफे की बेटी श्रम में थी
उन्होंने कहा कि जादूगर ने उसकी गर्भावस्था को रोक दिया है
चुड़ैलों ने उसकी गर्भावस्था को तोड़ दिया है
ओरुनमिला ने कहा कि वह अब और अब बच्चे को जन्म देगी
उन्होंने ओरुमिला से मांग की कि वह कैसे बच्चे को जन्म दे पाएगी
इफ़ा ने जवाब दिया कि पैंगोलिन ने इसे तराजू के साथ बच्चे को दिया
पोरपाइन अपने बच्चे को अपने स्पाइक्स के साथ वितरित करती है
सब्जियां पानी की बूंदों के साथ बाजार से घरों में आती हैं
जब एक परिपक्व बड़ा पेड़ गिरता है
इसके आस-पास की मिट्टी साथ में शिफ्ट हो जाएगी
Ejiogbe आते हैं और इस बच्चे की डिलीवरी का जिम्मा लेते हैं
Ejiogbe जाओ और सुरक्षित रूप से बच्चे को लाने के लिए
कॉपीराइट: बबालावो पेले ओबासा ओबनिफा, फोन और व्हाट्सएप संपर्क: 13:48166343145, स्थान इले इफ ओसुन राज्य नाइजीरिया।
महत्वपूर्ण सूचना: जैसा कि इस लेख के किसी भी भाग के ऊपर दिए गए लेख को किसी भी रूप में या किसी भी माध्यम से इलेक्ट्रॉनिक या यांत्रिक रूप से पुन: प्रस्तुत या दोहराया नहीं जा सकता है, फोटोकॉपी और रिकॉर्डिंग सहित या किसी भी जानकारी के भंडारण या पुनर्प्राप्ति प्रणाली द्वारा कॉपीराइट धारक से पूर्व लिखित अनुमति के बिना। लेखक बाबालाव ओबनिफा, ऐसा करना गैरकानूनी होगा और कानूनी परिणामों को आकर्षित करेगा
دواء EJIOGBE لسهولة العمل والتوصيل بقلم BABALAWO OBANIFA-Obanifa

في هذا العمل ، سوف يقوم Babalawo Obanifa بتوثيق أحد الأدوية التقليدية لأكوس إيفا (دواء إيفا) المتوفرة في الأدوية العشبية اليوروبا التي يمكن استخدامها بشكل طبيعي لتسهيل المخاض والولادة بسهولة. أحد أكوسي إيفا (دواء إيفا) المتاح لهذا الغرض مشتق من Odu Ifa Ejiogbe. لإعداد Akose Ifa لهذا الغرض الذي تم المستند في هذا العمل ،. سوف تحتاج Awo العناصر التالية. هم انهم:
نعم idi igi araba ل wu fun ara re (رمال جذور شجرة Araba- الشجرة الكبيرة التي سقطت في حد ذاتها طبيعية)
Ipe Ire (المسامير النيص)
ايب اكيكا (جداول بانجولين)
Efo ara boja (الخضروات المشتراة من السوق)
تجهيز
سوف تحرق العناصر الأربعة المذكورة أعلاه على الفحم وطحنها لمسحوق ناعم. استخدمها لتطبع Odu Ifa Ejiogbe وبالتالي:
I I
I I
I I
I I
ستقوم بعد ذلك بترديد تعاليم Ifa التالية عليه:
سيكي سيكي مولوبي
Onyagba
Owo o koko lorun Sagede
Siki-siki pe nife Oodaye
كيكي با ريري
Rere كيك
Mo ti lo je ti je ti keke fi pa rere
Ti rere fi pa keke
فاز ني أومو Olufe ني n nrobi lowo
فاز ني عون اوسو حتى كو
عون ايلي خان الخلد
Orunmila ni yoo bi Omo n sinsisn
فاز ني ايو أورونميلا باو ني يو حد ذاته أومو ني الخطيئة
Ifa n tipe-tip-ni Ire n bi omo tie
Tipe-tipe ni Akika n bi omo tie
Tomi-tomi ni efo n ti oja wale
Ti igi nla ba sidi
Ilepa إعادة تيلي الاشتراكية
Ejiogbe ki o lo se onigbowo ibi lagabaja k
Ejiogbe ki o gbe omo na wa ni sin-sin
ترجمة
Siki-siki lo beere (siki-siki هي الكثير)
Onyagba
Owo o koko lorun Sagede
Siki-siki pe nife Oodaye (يتجمعون في Ife Oodaye)
كان هناك صمت مطلق
كان هناك صمت ميت في خوف
سألت ، لماذا يوجد صمت مطلق؟
أجابوا ، أن ابنة أولوفي كانت في حالة مخاض
قالوا إن المعالج ربط الحمل
السحرة لها التعادل لأسفل الحمل
قالت أورونميلا إنها ستلد الطفل الآن
طلبوا من Orunmila كيف ستكون قادرة على ولادة الطفل
أجاب أجاب أن Pangolin تسليمها طفل مع جداول
يقوم النيص بتسليم طفله من خلال طفراته
الخضروات تأتي المنازل من السوق مع قطرات الماء
عندما تسقط شجرة كبيرة ناضجة
التربة من حوله سوف تتحول على طول
Ejiogbe تأتي وتحمل مسؤولية تسليم هذا الطفل
Ejiogbe اذهب وجلب الطفل إلى الحياة بأمان
حقوق الطبع والنشر: Babalawo Pele Obasa Obanifa ، الهاتف واتس اب الاتصال: +2348166343145 ، موقع Ile Ife osun ولاية نيجيريا.
إشعار هام: فيما يتعلق بالمادة أعلاه ، لا يجوز إعادة إنتاج أو تكرار أي جزء من هذه المادة بأي شكل أو بأي وسيلة ، سواء كانت إلكترونية أو ميكانيكية ، بما في ذلك التصوير والتسجيل أو بأي نظام لتخزين المعلومات أو استرجاعها دون إذن كتابي مسبق من صاحب حقوق الطبع والنشر و المؤلف Babalawo Obanifa ، القيام بذلك سوف يعتبر غير قانوني وسوف يجلب عواقب قانونية
Potato puree is a promising race fuel for athletes
Published 1 hour ago By Catharine Paddock, Ph.D. Fact checked by Carolyn Robertson
Athletes commonly consume carbohydrate energy gels to improve race performance and endurance. Now, research involving trained cyclists suggests that potato puree can be just as effective.
New research delves into the benefits of potato puree for athletes.
Compared with ingesting water alone, cyclists who ingested potato puree performed as well during an endurance trial as cyclists who consumed a commercial carbohydrate energy gel with the same amount of carbohydrate.
"In conclusion," note the researchers in a recent Journal of Applied Physiology paper on the study, "potato and gel ingestion equally sustained blood glucose concentrations and [time trial] performance."
"Research has shown," says senior study author Nicholas A. Burd, a professor of kinesiology and community health at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, "that ingesting concentrated carbohydrate gels during prolonged exercise promotes carbohydrate availability during exercise and improves exercise performance."
"Our study aim was to expand and diversify race fueling options for athletes and offset flavor fatigue," he adds.
Although protein and fat can supply energy, the body breaks down carbohydrate much more efficiently to meet the energy demands of high intensity exercise.
Carbohydrate energy gels are ideal race fuels because, not only do they sustain performance, but the body readily digests and absorbs them.
"Potatoes are a whole food based option that fulfills these criteria, yet their impact on performance remains unexamined," write the authors.
Potato puree vs. carbohydrate gel
The study involved 12 healthy cyclists with several years of training and whose weekly cycling distance averaged 165 miles (267 kilometers). Their average age was 31 years old.
The team randomly assigned each participant to one of three race fuel groups: potato puree, carbohydrate gel, and water only. All groups completed a 2-hour cycling challenge and a time trial while consuming their particular race fuel.
The trial had a crossover design, meaning that the groups swapped around so that each participant experienced all three race fuels.
The researchers standardized the cyclists' food intake for 24 hours before the trial.
The cyclists gave blood samples throughout the trials. The researchers also monitored their heart rates, core body temperatures, exercise intensity, and gastric emptying. They also noted gastrointestinal symptoms.
The measures revealed that heart rate, blood glucose, and blood lactate were higher by similar amounts in the gel and potato puree groups when the research team compared them with the water only group. Lactate is a byproduct of muscle metabolism and a marker of exercise intensity.
In addition, time trial performance was the same in the gel and potato puree groups and better than the water only group.
"We found no differences between the performance of cyclists who got their carbohydrates by ingesting potatoes or gels at recommended amounts of about 60 grams per hour during the experiments," notes Prof. Burd.
He remarks that both potato puree and carbohydrate gel gave the cyclists a "significant boost in performance" in comparison to water only consumption.
Savory change to sweet carbohydrate gels
There was a marked difference in gastrointestinal effects, however. The potato puree group experienced more bloating, pain, and flatulence than the gel and water only groups.
Prof. Burd suggests that these symptoms could be because it takes a larger volume of potato puree to yield the same amount of glucose as that in gels.
"Nevertheless," comment the authors, "average [gastrointestinal] symptoms were lower than previous studies, indicating that both (carbohydrate) conditions were well tolerated by the majority of the study's cyclists."
They note that, as a cheap wholefood that is dense in nutrients, potatoes offer athletes a promising race fuel option. In addition, they provide a savory alternative to sweet carbohydrate gels.
The Alliance for Potato Research and Education sponsored the study.
"All in all, our study is a proof-of-concept showing that athletes may use whole food sources of carbohydrates as an alternative to commercial products to diversify race fueling menus."
Prof. Nicholas A. Burd
Heart and brain health are connected, but what influences both?
Written by Maria Cohut, Ph.D. on October 22, 2019 - Fact checked by Isabel Godfrey New
Studies have shown that there is a link between cardiovascular health and brain health, but it is unclear whether genetic or environmental factors are most important in determining them both. A new study in twins suggests that nurture, rather than nature, may be decisive.
environmental factors are most important in determining them both. A new study in twins suggests that nurture, rather than nature, may be decisive.
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Nurture may be more important than genetic factors in determining heart and brain health outcomes.
Evidence from different studies has suggested that there is a strong linkTrusted Source between cardiovascular health and brain health.
Researchers have explained that poor cardiovascular health can, with age, contribute to dementia mechanisms, affecting cognitive function.
But what predisposes a person to poorer — or better — cardiovascular and brain health? So far, scientists have been unable to answer this question with any degree of certainty.
Generally speaking, there are two types of factors that could influence aspects of heart and brain health in the long term. These are genetic (nonmodifiable) factors and environmental (modifiable) factors, a conjuncture that people sometimes refer to as the "nature vs. nurture" conundrum.
To try to determine whether genes or environmental factors play a more important role in long term health outcomes for the heart and brain, researchers from Emory University in Atlanta, GA, decided to study a cohort able to provide more solid answers: pairs of twins.
Identical (monozygotic) twins have the same genetic profile, while fraternal (dizygotic) twins share about 50% of their genes. As a result, pairs of twins can allow researchers to compare the effects of nature with those of nurture more effectively than other populations.
Nurture may count more than nature
In the current study — the findings of which appear in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease — the researchers analyzed the data of 272 male pairs of monozygotic and dizygotic twins, which they were able to access via the Vietnam Era Twin RegistryTrusted Source. All of the participants were free of both cardiovascular disease and dementia at baseline.
More specifically, the investigators looked at the relationship between cardiovascular health — which they determined by scoring blood sugar and cholesterol, blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), physical activity, diet, and cigarette smoking — and cognitive performance.
"Our study across the entire sample of twins confirmed that better [cardiovascular health] is associated with better cognitive health in several domains," notes senior author Dr. Viola Vaccarino, Ph.D.
"The analyses further suggested that familial factors shared by the twins explain a large part of the association and thus could be important for both cardiovascular and brain health," she adds.
According to the findings of the study, the association between heart and brain health was similar among all pairs of twins, regardless of whether they were identical or fraternal.
The researchers believe that some of the modifiable factors that contribute to a predisposition toward certain heart and brain health outcomes include factors relating to early family life, as well as socioeconomic status and education.
Improving population-level [cardiovascular health] scores, which are extremely low in the United States, has the potential to reduce the burden of dementia along with heart disease," notes co-author Dr. Ambar Kulshreshtha, Ph.D.
"Because [cardiovascular health] factors are modifiable, prevention of cardiovascular risk factors and promotion of a healthy lifestyle beginning early in life should achieve the best results for promoting not only cardiovascular health but also cognitive health."
Dr. Ambar Kulshreshtha, Ph.D.
The findings, the investigators add, are relevant in the context of the American Heart Association's 2020 Strategic Impact Goal. This goal is a 20% improvement in cardiovascular health and a 20% reduction in deaths from cardiovascular diseases and stroke in the U.S., both by next year.
Cardiovascular / CardiologyAlzheimer's / DementiaHeart DiseaseNeurology / Neuroscience
Doctors' beliefs about treatment affect patients' experience of pain
Written by Ana Sandoiu on October 22, 2019 - Fact checked by Jasmin Collier New
New research finds that the placebo effect may be socially contagious. In other words, a doctor's beliefs about whether or not a pain treatment will work can exert a subtle influence on how much pain the patient will actually experience.
The power of placebo may extend beyond what researchers previously believed.
At first, they only used placebos as controls in drug experiments.
With time, however, placebos proved to have value as potential treatments in their own right.
Pain, depression, anxiety, irritable bowel syndrome, Parkinson's disease, and epilepsy are only some of the conditions that placebos have shown promise in treating.
A new study has looked into another fascinating aspect of the placebo: Does it transmit socially, from one person to another? If so, how? More specifically, how does a doctor's belief about the effects of a medication affect their patient's experience of pain?
Luke Chang — the director of the Computational Social Affective Neuroscience Laboratory at Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH — is the corresponding author of the new study.
Chang and colleagues have published their findings in the journal Nature Human BehaviourTrusted Source.
Testing placebo power in 3 experiments
To study the phenomenon of socially transmitted placebo, the researchers devised three experiments. All three involved two different creams that were meant to relieve heat-induced pain by targeting pain receptors on the participants' skin.
One of the creams was called thermedol, and the other was a control cream. Although different in appearance, both creams were actually placebos — namely, petroleum jelly with no pain relieving properties at all.
The researchers asked undergraduate students to play the roles of "doctors" and "patients." They informed the "doctors" of the creams' benefits and conditioned them to believe that thermedol was better at relieving pain than the control cream.
The first experiment consisted of 24 "doctor-patient" pairs. In each pair, the "patient" did not know which cream was thermedol and which was the control. Only the "doctor" knew which was the "effective" cream.
The researchers then applied the creams to the participants' arms, followed by pain-inducing heat, in order to evaluate the effects of the cream. All participants received the same amount of heat.
the experiment, all participants wore cameras that recorded their facial expressions in the doctor-patient interactions.
Using a machine-learning algorithm trained on facial signals of pain, the researchers were able to examine the effect of cues such as raised eyebrows, raised upper lips, or nose wrinkling on the perceived effectiveness of the treatments.
In this experiment, the participants reported experiencing less pain with thermedol, and skin conductance tests suggested that they actually did experience less discomfort. Their facial expressions also reflected less pain with thermedol.
In the other two experiments, the researchers applied the creams in different orders, and they led the doctors to believe that they were using thermedol when they were using the control creams, and vice versa.
The experimenters themselves were also blind to the study, not knowing which cream was which. In these experiments, the results were the same.
How doctors' beliefs affect clinical results
Overall, across all three experiments, the results revealed that when the "doctors" believed that a treatment was effective, the "patients" reported feeling less pain. Their facial expressions and skin conductance tests also revealed fewer signs of pain.
The reasons for this remain unclear. However, the researchers believe that social contagion via facial cues is the most likely explanation.
"When the doctor thought that the treatment was going to work, the patient reported feeling that the doctor was more empathetic," says Chang.
"The doctor may have come across as warmer or more attentive. Yet, we don't know exactly what the doctor was doing differently to convey these beliefs that a treatment works. That's the next thing that we're going to explore," he adds.
"What we do know though is that these expectations are not being conveyed verbally but through subtle social cues," explains Chang.
"These findings demonstrate how subtle social interactions can impact clinical outcomes. [...] [Y]ou can imagine that in a real clinical context, if the healthcare providers seemed competent, empathetic, and confident that a treatment may work, the impact on patient outcomes could be even stronger."
Luke Chang
"Additional research, however, is needed to see how this plays out in the real world," he concludes.
Psychology / PsychiatryPain / AnestheticsPrimary Care / General Practice
Monkeys: Past social stress impacts genes, health
Published Today By Ana Sandoiu Fact checked by Paula Field
New research in rhesus monkeys shows that when they experience social adversity for a significant period, the long lasting effects remain in their genes. The findings shed light on how humans also respond to socially stressful experiences.
New research examines the effects of chronic social stress in rhesus macaques.
Jenny Tung, a professor of biology and evolutionary anthropology at Duke University in Durham, NC, and Luis Barreiro of the University of Chicago, IL, are the two corresponding co-authors of the study.
The findings appear in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
As the authors explain in their paper, experts have long known that environmental conditions, such as chronic stress, can influence a person's physical health and longevity.
Some scientists believe that chronic social stress, in particular, can trigger a proinflammatory state.
In general, the authors explain, social experience is a significant predictor of how prone people and other social mammals are to disease because stress leaves an impact on a cellular level. But how long does this impact last?
This is the question that the researchers set out to answer. To do so, they examined 45 female rhesus macaques kept at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center in Atlanta, GA.
The researchers looked at the effects of having a lower position on the social ladder on the macaque's biology. For monkeys, being in a socially inferior position makes them vulnerable to harassment and experiencing social adversity. So, the scientists wanted to see how having had these experiences in the past affect immunity and its underlying genetic expression in the present.
Past social stress affects 3,735 genes
The female rhesus monkeys compete with each other for the dominant social role. Once they have established these roles, the dominant females get all the food and space that they want, "bully" the socially subordinate females, and generally "boss" the other monkeys around.
In their experiment, Prof. Tung and team divided the females into groups of five that did not know each other. Because rhesus macaques consider early members of a group as socially senior, the researchers introduced the females one by one to the group.
Could an existing heart drug help treat cancer?
Written by Maria Cohut, Ph.D. on October 22, 2019 - Fact checked by Carolyn Robertson New
When cells in the human body age incorrectly, this can sometimes make it easier for cancer to develop or spread. For this reason, scientists are looking for new drugs able to act on processes that relate to cell aging. But could an existing drug come in handy?
ellular aging — that scientists call senescence — is a natural process that allows the body to filter out old and damaged cells that no longer fulfill their purpose.
However, senescence sometimes malfunctions, and some researchers believe that this can contribute to the growth and spread of cancer tumors.
Thus, specialists have been hard at work to find new drugs, which they term senolytics, that can kill senescent cells that may pose a threat to health.
Previous studiesTrusted Source in animal models have shown that senolytics could have a number of benefits, including keeping individuals healthier for longer and prolonging life span.
And some senolytics, such as navitoclaxTrusted Source, have demonstrated some effectiveness in treating blood cancers, including leukemia and lymphoma. Yet navitoclax can also have serious side effects, including thrombocytopenia, or abnormally low platelet levels in the blood.
Recently, however, researchers from the MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences in the United Kingdom may have identified an alternative senolytic — in the form of an existing heart drug known as ouabain.
'These drugs could be repurposed'
In the study paper that appears in the journal Nature Metabolism, the investigators explain that they experimented with various existing drugs, testing them on both healthy and senescent cells to see how they would act.
new drugs, which they term senolytics, that can kill senescent cells that may pose a threat to health.
Previous studiesTrusted Source in animal models have shown that senolytics could have a number of benefits, including keeping individuals healthier for longer and prolonging life span.
And some senolytics, such as navitoclaxTrusted Source, have demonstrated some effectiveness in treating blood cancers, including leukemia and lymphoma. Yet navitoclax can also have serious side effects, including thrombocytopenia, or abnormally low platelet levels in the blood.
Recently, however, researchers from the MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences in the United Kingdom may have identified an alternative senolytic — in the form of an existing heart drug known as ouabain.
'These drugs could be repurposed'
In the study paper that appears in the journal Nature Metabolism, the investigators explain that they experimented with various existing drugs, testing them on both healthy and senescent cells to see how they would act.
doing so, they closed in on ouabain, a compound that forms part of the same class of drugs as digoxin and digitoxin, namely cardiac glycosides. Such compounds can treat heart conditions, including cardiac arrhythmias and atrial fibrillation, both of which have characteristics of irregular or abnormal heartbeats.
The research team found that ouabain can selectively kill different types of aging cells, including those that have become senescent because of cancer, or due to exposure to radiotherapy or chemotherapy, including treatments with drugs such as etoposide and doxorubicin.
This makes ouabain a potential candidate for use as a broad spectrum senolytic: a drug that targets a very varied array of aging cells.
The researchers reached this conclusion by testing the drug in vivo, in aging mice, and "in precancerous lesions in the liver and upon radiotherapy," as senior author Prof. Jesús Gil explains.
Prof. Gil and colleagues also point out that the fact that it is already readily available makes further research using this drug easier.
"These drugs are already used in the clinic, so they could be repurposed to treat a long list of diseases, including cancer. This is something we are keen to explore with our clinical collaborators."
Prof. Jesús Gil
"Moreover," the senior author adds, "many patients are being treated with digoxin, and an epidemiologist could look retrospectively and ask the question of whether those patients who were treated with digoxin are doing better than those who weren't."
Thus, future studies could compare the health outcomes for people who have received treatment with cardiac glycosides versus those who have not, making it easier to confirm whether this class of drugs has true potential as a senolytic.
Cancer / OncologyBiology / BiochemistryHeart DiseaseSeniors / Aging
Brain activity has role in human aging and longevity
Published Mon 21 Oct 2019 By Catharine Paddock, Ph.D. Fact checked by Carolyn Robertson
For the first time, scientists have shown that brain activity has a significant influence on human life span. In a new study, they demonstrate how neural activity is higher in individuals with shorter life spans and lower in those who live longer lives.
euronal activity is lower in people who live longer, according to new research.
In a recent Nature paper, researchers from Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA, report how they found a distinct signature of human longevity in the genes of the brain's cerebral cortex.
The signature that they found is a pattern of gene expression that "is characterized by downregulation of genes related to neural excitation and synaptic function," write the authors.
Neural activity is to do with the amount of signaling — in the form of electrical currents and other transmitters — that is going on the brain. Too much neural activity, or excessive excitation, can present in various ways, such as a muscle twitch or a mood change.
For the study, the researchers performed cellular, genetic, and molecular experiments in worms. They also analyzed mice with altered genes and examined brain tissue from people who were more than 100 years old when they died.
These tests revealed not only that altering neural activity can influence life span, but they also gave clues on the molecular processes that might be involved.
"An intriguing aspect of our findings," says senior study author Bruce A. Yankner, a professor of genetics and neurology at Harvard Medical School, "is that something as transient as the activity state of neural circuits could have such far ranging consequences for physiology and life span
Molecular influencers of longevity
Scientists have known for some time that neural activity affects a range of conditions, including epilepsy and dementia. However, while some animal studies have pointed to an effect on aging, it was not clear until now whether this influence might also extend to humans.
Signaling by the hormones insulin and insulin-like growth factor (IGF) are already well-known as molecular influencers of longevity. Scientists also believe that this is the same signaling pathway that caloric restriction works through.
Which foods are beneficial for a healthy gut microbiome?
Published Mon 21 Oct 2019 By Ana Sandoiu Fact checked by Isabel Godfrey
New research finds an association between healthy bacterial compositions and certain dietary patterns and food groups. What is more, the findings suggest that "diet is likely to become a significant and serious line of treatment" for conditions such as Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, and irritable bowel syndrome.
The term "gut microbiota" describes the trillions of microorganisms that live inside our guts, affecting how well we absorb nutrients from our food, how efficiently our immune defenses work, and even the extent to which we feel anxious or relaxed.
As an increasing body of evidence shows, the balance between healthful and unhealthful bacteria in our gut influences a much wider range of health factors than scientists previously believed. These include aspects as diverse as blood pressure, the aging process, and the likelihood of developing anxiety or depression.
So, keeping our gut healthy is important not just for digestive health but also for overall physical health and even mental well-being.
In this context, researchers from the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG) in the Netherlands set out to examine which diets and food groups have the most beneficial effects on gut health.
UMCG's Laura Bolte is the lead researcher of the study, which the team presented at the United European Gastroenterology (UEG) Week in Barcelona, Spain.
Studying 160 dietary factors and gut bacteria
Specifically, Bolte and colleagues grouped 160 dietary factors under seven food patterns and looked at their anti-inflammatory effects across four cohorts of participants: people with Crohn's disease, people with ulcerative colitis, the general population, and people living with irritable bowel syndrome.
"We looked in depth at the association between dietary patterns or individual foods and gut microbiota," comments Bolte. "Connecting the diet to the gut microbiome gives us more insight into the relation between diet and intestinal disease," she adds.
As the authors explain in the study abstract, "there is increasing interest in anti-inflammatory capacities of isolated nutrients," but the medical community has not yet studied or found out as much about "the association between dietary patterns or individual foods and gut microbial features
To rectify this, Bolte and team collected stool samples from each participant and asked them to fill in a Food Frequency Questionnaire.
The team identified 61 individual food items that they associated with 123 bacterial taxa and 249 molecular pathways, and they found "49 correlations between food patterns and microbial groups."
They did so by isolating microbial DNA and performing shotgun metagenomic sequence analysis to reconstruct the microbiota composition of the stool samples.
As the summary of the findings that UEG and the researchers shared shows, Bolte and team divided the food patterns into the following groups:
Plant based diet
Plant protein
Animal protein
Low fat fermented dairy
Mediterranean dietary pattern, which consisted of "plant protein, bread, legumes, vegetables, fish, nuts, [and] wine"
Bread and legumes plus fish and nuts
Meat, potatoes, and gravy plus sweets, sugar, fast food, and soft drinks
The Mediterranean diet benefits gut health
Overall, Bolte reports, the study found that "a diet characterized by nuts, fruits, greater vegetable and legume intake than animal protein, combined with moderate consumption of animal derived foods like fish, lean meat, poultry, fermented low fat dairy, and red wine, and a lower intake of red meat, processed meat and sweets, is beneficially associated with the gut ecosystem."
Specifically, the team linked diets rich in bread, legumes, fish, and nuts with lower levels of harmful bacteria and inflammatory markers in the stool.
They also linked the intake of red wine, legumes, vegetables, fruits, cereals, fish, and nuts with higher levels of anti-inflammatory bacteria.
Plant based diets were associated with high levels of short chain fatty acids (SCFA) — "the major nutrients produced by bacterial fermentation," which have several beneficial effects on the metabolism. Researchers have found low levels of SCFAs in people with ulcerative colitis and other inflammatory conditions of the intestines.
The researchers also found that plant protein aided the biosynthesis of vitamins and amino acids.
In contrast, a high intake of red meat, fast foods, and refined sugars was linked with lower levels of beneficial bacteria and higher levels of inflammatory markers.
"We show that specific foods are associated with the abundance of gut bacteria capable of the biosynthesis of essential nutrients and carbohydrate fermentation to SCFAs," conclude the authors, "inferring that certain foods could exert mucosal protection by inducing bacteria with anti-inflammatory properties."
"Our work provides support for the idea that the diet represents a therapeutic strategy [for] intestinal diseases, through the modulation of the gut microbiome," they add.
"The results indicate that diet is likely to become a significant and serious line of treatment or disease management for diseases of the gut — by modulating the gut microbiome."
Laura Bolte
According to the most recent estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 3 million adults in the United States are living with either Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis.
Douching linked to dangerous chemicals in blood
Published Mon 21 Oct 2019 By Maria Cohut, Ph.D. Fact checked by Paula Field
Doctors generally advise women against vaginal douching, warning that this practice can upset the delicate balance of vaginal flora and increase the risk of infection. Now, a new study also shows that douching has associations with a higher blood concentration of harmful chemicals.
Some women believe that douching is necessary to keep the vagina clean. This practice requires squirting a combination of water and a cleansing substance into the vagina using a douche — a bottle-like tool with an ergonomic nozzle.
According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, in the States, around one in five females aged 15–44 resort to this cleansing practice, even though most doctors advise against vaginal douching.
Some research shows that vaginal douching could have adverse effects on genital health, particularly on the vaginal microbiome, which might make infections more likely to occur.
Some studies have even associated this practice with a higher risk of ovarian cancer and genital tract inflammation.
Now, a new study from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor points to a new danger associated with douching. The research indicates that women who cleanse their vaginal canals have heightened concentrations of potentially harmful chemicals in their blood.
The research — whose findings appear in the Journal of Women's Health — analyzed the data of 2,432 women aged 20–49 who took part in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2001–2004.
Could douches contain toxic elements?
The participants answered questions about which sanitary products — such as tampons, pads, vaginal douches, sprays, wet wipes, and powders — they used and how often they used them.
The researchers used regression analysis, which is a statistic model, to estimate the concentration of potentially harmful chemicals, including 1,4-dichlorobenzene and ethylbenzene, in the blood.
The team then looked for links between vaginal douching and a heightened presence of any of these chemicals in the blood.
The researchers found a "significant association" between this practice and a higher concentration of 1,4-dichlorobenzene — a volatile organic compound that could pose a threat to health — in the blood.
More specifically, participants who practiced vaginal douching at least twice a month had 81% higher blood concentrations of 1,4-dichlorobenzene than women who reported never douching.
Those who used vaginal douches about once per month had 18% higher blood concentrations of this organic compound compared with participants who never douched.
Healthful snacks can reduce feelings of fatigue
Published Mon 21 Oct 2019 By Lauren Sharkey Fact checked by Jasmin Collier
According to a new study, replacing sugar and saturated fat with vegetables can help reduce the impact of sleep deprivation.
When we are exhausted but need to stay awake, many of us reach for a sugary snack.
However, it is likely the more healthful options that can help fight the fatigue, suggests a recent study. Its findings now appear in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine.
It is important to point out that it is not a lack of self-control that results in people choosing unhealthful foods over healthful ones.
Rather, when a person has not had enough sleep, it affects their decision-making skills, leading to reduced willpower and a tendency to opt for a quick high in the form of sugar.
Findings from a 2019 study appearing in the Journal of Neuroscience suggest that not only are tired people more likely to want unhealthful food, but they are also more likely to spend more money on buying snacks.
Impaired brain functioning does not just result in a sugar craving, however; it also leads to cravings for anything high in fat, saturated fat, or sodium.
For many people, this may only happen occasionally. However, for people whose jobs involve long stretches of tiredness, reaching for unhealthful snacks can quickly become a regular occurrence.
A craving for unhealthful food
This can particularly affect physicians. Working long shifts with few breaks means needing to eat quick and convenient food. Much of the time, this food turns out to be unhealthful.
Maryam Hamidi, Ph.D. — a nutrition scientist and researcher at Stanford's WellMD Center in California — has personal experience of such snack cravings.
A previous research task required her to stay awake from 8 a.m. till 5 a.m. over and over again. She kept both healthful and unhealthful snacks in her office but felt a craving for chips around 6 p.m. or 7 p.m.
I started noticing these bags of potato chips in my office," she says. "I had not craved chips since my undergraduate college years. One day I had one bag."
"Then a diet Coke. And then I went for a second bag, and then a third. I was having fun. I remember thinking, 'This is great. I should do this more often.'"
She adds: "I'd never eaten three bags of chips at once. But I'd also never been that sleep deprived."
When it is not possible to alter work schedules, physicians and others working in similar environments may feel the same.
More vegetables, less sugar
What many people may not realize is that sticking to a healthful diet can help diminish feelings of fatigue. Likewise, physicians may not consider the link between what they eat and the potential benefit for patient care.
After experiencing the unhealthful effects of long working hours firsthand, Hamidi — along with a team of other Stanford researchers — wanted to see just what impact diet could have on sleep deprivation levels.
They analyzed results from a wellness survey that 245 Stanford physicians took in March 2016. Three specific diets emerged: a plant based choice, a diet high in protein, and one high in sugar and saturated fat.
One of their findings was predictable: People following a diet high in saturated fat and sugar had increased sleep-related impairment (SRI) scores.
However, plant based diets lowered these scores. The researchers found no relationship between high protein diets and SRI scores though.
Therefore, eating more vegetables and cutting down on sugar and saturated fat may help an exhausted brain and body work better.
According to Hamidi, employers and organizations should try to ensure that foods such as fruits, vegetables, smoothies, and healthful protein bars take priority over sugary snacks and drinks.
"Increasing physicians' access to [healthful] snack options close to their work areas and creating a work environment with many [healthful] options can help reduce their daytime fatigue," she explains.
Ultimately, this could boost concentration levels and "improve the quality of patient care."
New pain-blocking brain mechanism may relieve arthritis
Written by Robby Berman on October 21, 2019 - Fact checked by Paula Field New
Researchers have found that an experimental compound works in the amygdala to quell the pain of arthritis in rats.
Pain is an alert that something is wrong — unfortunately, the pain does not go away while the problem remains, and finding a resolution is not always possible.
Volker E. Neugebauer, Ph.D., who headed the research at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) School of Medicine, says that "[Pain] is not just a sensation that lets you know where it hurts and how intense the pain feels. It also causes anxiety, impairs quality of life, and causes depression."
While most pain studies look at other parts of the body, including the spinal cord, Neugebauer explains that "We're studying the brain because all of those things reside there."
The study reveals a new understanding of the amygdala's role in pain relief using an arthritis pain model.
"Our unique area of expertise is really understanding that changes in the brain contribute to the persistence, intensity, and other side effects of pain," says Neugebauer.
The key compound LY379268
Neugebauer's study appears in the journal Neuropharmacology.
In it, the researchers describe their investigation into the properties of an existing experimental anxiety reducing compound called LY379268.
Many experts believe that compounds, such as LY379268, interact with the spinal cord and other nervous system components outside the brain. This is why doctors typically target the spinal cord when introducing drugs to relieve pain.
However, much uncertainty remains as to how these compounds work, as well as where they work in the body.
To try to answer these questions, the researchers introduced LY379268 systemically into rats, allowing it to circulate throughout the body in the hopes of determining where it went and what it did.
When it proved to have an analgesic effect in the rats, the team turned their attention to group II metabotropic glutamate receptors (II mGluRs) in the amygdala.
The researchers knew that LY379268 is an agonist for these receptors — an agonist is a substance that causes a physiological response when combined with a compatible receptor — and wondered if they were the source of LY379268's inhibitory effect on pain.
The role of the amygdala
The amygdala comprises almond-shaped clusters of neurons located deep in the center of the brain's temporal lobe. It is part of the brain's limbic system, which is involved with motivation, emotions, and fear, as well as anxiety, addiction, and pain.
Scientists know that II mGluRs in the amygdala serve two opposing functions. On the one hand, they can increase pain by triggering an excitatory response. On the other, they can trigger an inhibitory response that reduces pain.
To test whether they were involved in the pain relief offered by LY379268, the researchers blocked the receptors to see if this would switch off the pain relieving effect of the compound.
"And it did, actually," says Neugebauer. "So imagine you inject this drug systemically, you block the receptors only in the amygdala, and the analgesic, or pain relieving, effect of the drug is gone."
The team's results may have significant implications for future research.
"[It] means the effect of the compound has not really been through an action in the spinal cord, but through an action in the area of interest in the brain, which is the amygdala," summarizes Neugebauer.
"[B]asically, the entire pain relieving effect of the drug can be explained by an action in the brain, not in the spinal cord."
Volker E. Neugebauer
"And it did, actually," says Neugebauer. "So imagine you inject this drug systemically, you block the receptors only in the amygdala, and the analgesic, or pain relieving, effect of the drug is gone."
The team's results may have significant implications for future research.
"[It] means the effect of the compound has not really been through an action in the spinal cord, but through an action in the area of interest in the brain, which is the amygdala," summarizes Neugebauer.
"[B]asically, the entire pain relieving effect of the drug can be explained by an action in the brain, not in the spinal cord."
Volker E. Neugebauer
LY379268 does affect the spinal cord, the effect is not a direct one, and it is not involved in the reduction of pain.
LY379268 and aging
The TTUHSC study suggests that LY379268 deserves further exploration as a painkiller for humans. "When it's given systemically, it works, and now we know it works in the brain," says Neugebauer.
"It produces pain relieving effects and also eases anxiety, so it could prove to be a very good pain medication."
Firstly, however, Neugebauer wants to find out whether LY379268 would prove as successful in older mice as it has been for the younger animals studied.
If it does, "it may open up new avenues for investigating chronic pain, long term pain from arthritis, and other similar conditions."
It is an area Neugebauer plans to explore, saying, "In the context of aging, there is really a big knowledge gap, so that's a direction I think we're going to go."
First-time evidence suggests that fat can accumulate in the lungs
Published Sun 20 Oct 2019 By Maria Cohut, Ph.D. Fact checked by Paula Field
A new study has found that fatty tissue can accumulate in the airways of people with obesity, possibly contributing to asthma and other respiratory problems.
New research suggests that fatty tissue accumulated in the airways may contribute to asthma in some cases.
In the United States, as well as across the world, obesity has become a top health issue. According to data cited by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, in the U.S. alone, more than one in three adults have obesity.
While this condition is associated with a heightened risk for many other health problems, it is unclear through which mechanisms it contributes to some of these issues.
One such mysterious link is that between obesity and asthma. Although researchers have provided different explanations for it, how obesity contributes to respiratory problems remains unclear.
Now a study whose results appear in the European Respiratory Journal shows that fatty tissue can accumulate in the airway walls. It explains how this may be problematic for people who are overweight or who have obesity, as it may contribute to the development of respiratory conditions, such as asthma.
"Our research team studies the structure of the airways within our lungs and how these are altered in people with respiratory disease," explains first author John Elliot, from Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital in Perth, Australia.
"Looking at samples of lung, we spotted fatty tissue that had built up in the airway walls. We wanted to see if this accumulation was correlated with body weight," he continues.
'Excess fat accumulates in the airway walls'
To do this, the researchers analyzed lung samples collected post-mortem from 52 lungs that people had donated for research. Of this total, 15 had not had asthma, 21 had had asthma but died due to unrelated causes, and 16 had died due to asthma-related causes.
The investigators used special dyes to study the structure of 1,373 airways to identify how much, if any, fatty tissue was present in them. The researchers also looked at data regarding each donor's body mass index (BMI).
The team discovered that fatty tissue does build up in airway walls. They also found that the higher a person's BMI, the more fat accumulates in the airways.
Additionally, the fat buildup may affect the normal structure of the airways, blocking them and causing inflammation in the lungs, which, in turn, may contribute to asthma and other respiratory problems.
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"Being overweight or obese has already been linked to having asthma or having worse asthma symptoms," notes co-author Peter Noble, Ph.D.
"Researchers have suggested that the link might be explained by the direct pressure of excess weight on the lungs or by a general increase in inflammation created by excess weight. This study suggests that another mechanism is also at play," he says.
"We've found that excess fat accumulates in the airway walls where it takes up space and seems to increase inflammation within the lungs. We think this is causing a thickening of the airways that limits the flow of air in and out of the lungs, and that could at least partly explain an increase in asthma symptoms."
Peter Noble, Ph.D.
Going forward, the researchers hope to confirm the relationship between obesity, fatty tissue in the respiratory system, and pulmonary health problems. They are also interested in finding out whether weight loss could reverse the potential impact of obesity on respiratory health.
Prof. Thierry Troosters — President of the European Respiratory Society, who did not participate in the present study — comments on the researchers' discovery. He says that "[t]his is an important finding on the relationship between body weight
"This goes beyond the simple observation that patients with obesity need to breathe more with activity and exercise hence adding to their ventilatory burden. The observation points at true airway changes that are associated with obesity," he emphasizes.
Prof. Troosters acknowledges that further research is needed to understand the association between obesity and poor respiratory health better. However, he also encourages individuals with asthma or similar conditions to keep a close eye on their weight.
"We need to investigate this finding in more detail and particularly whether this phenomenon can be reversed with weight loss. In the meantime, we should support asthma patients to help them achieve or maintain a healthy weight," he says.
Gut microbiota may 'prevent and cure' rotavirus
Written by Robby Berman on October 20, 2019 - Fact checked by Isabel Godfrey New
An accidental discovery in mice may lead to a cure for one of the world's most deadly infections.
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Researchers have identified a bacterial species in the gut microbiota that protects against highly contagious rotavirus (pictured).
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimate that each year, 215,000Trusted Source children worldwide under the age of 5 years die from dehydration due to severe diarrhea.
An untreatable rotavirus infection is responsible for these cases.
Now, researchers at the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State University (GSU) in Atlanta have identified specific intestinal microbiota, or microorganisms, that can prevent and cure rotavirus infections.
Their study findings appear in the journal Cell.
"This study," says senior author Andrew Gewirtz, "shows that one big determinant of proneness to rotavirus infection is microbiota composition."
What is rotavirus?
Rotavirus gets its name from "rota" — the Latin word for "wheel" — as the virus has a round shape. It most commonly affects infants and young children, and it spreads easily. People with the virus can transfer it by sneezing and coughing or by using unwashed or improperly washed hands to touch, and thus contaminate, surfaces and objects.
The virus can transfer between people via surfaces such as counters and sinks, as well as on shared toys, tools, and utensils.
Vaccines prevent infection in most cases and reduce the chance of a severe infection. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that the rotavirus vaccine prevents 40,000 to 50,000Trusted Source hospitalizations in the United States annually.
According to the CDC, the symptomsTrusted Source of infection include "severe watery diarrhea, vomiting, fever, or abdominal pain," with diarrhea and vomiting typically lasting for 3 to 8 days.
In areas with an adequate supply of clean water, the administration of fluids prevents life threatening dehydration.
Unfortunately, this is not the case everywhere, and rotavirus infection is particularly deadly in some low income parts of the world.
Rotavirus infections can be mild or severe, and the reasons for this remained unknown until the discovery by the GSU researchers.
An accidental breakthrough
As the authors explain in their paper, "[rotavirus] clearance typically requires adaptive immunity," but in this case, the scientists "unintentionally" created a model of immunodeficient mice that were also resistant to the virus.
So, the scientists hypothesized that this might be due to "select microbes" that offered protection against the virus. To verify their hypothesis, they tested whether the virus "resistance was transferred by co-housing and fecal transplant."
"This discovery was serendipitous. We were breeding mice and realized that some of them were completely resistant to rotavirus, whereas others were highly susceptible. We investigated why and found that the resistant mice carried distinct microbiota. Fecal microbiota transplant transferred rotavirus resistance to new hosts."
Andrew Gewirtz
The researchers eventually found that a single bacterial species called Segmented Filamentous Bacteria (SFB) was the primary factor in determining an individual's resistance to rotavirus infection.
SFB also reduces the damage that the rotavirus causes by initiating both the shedding of infected epithelial cells and their replacement with new, healthy ones.
"It's a new basic discovery that should help understand proneness to rotavirus infection," notes Gewirtz.
The discovery by the GSU team is just a first step toward combating rotavirus in humans.
First author Zhenda Shi, who works at the CDC's rotavirus branch, is currently looking into how relevant this discovery in mice is for humans.
As Gewirtz points out, the team's research "does not yield an immediate treatment s Gewirtz points out, the team's research "does not yield an immediate treatment for humans but provides a potential mechanism to explain the differential susceptibility of different populations and different people to enteric viral infection."
"Furthermore, it may lead to new strategies to prevent and treat viral infections," he concludes.
Infectious Diseases / Bacteria / VirusesBiology / BiochemistryGastroIntestinal / GastroenterologyPediatrics / Children's Health
Work and family demands may impact women's heart health
Written by Lauren Sharkey on October 19, 2019 - Fact checked by Jasmin Collier New
Researchers believe that stress and cardiovascular health are linked in some way, but the association is not yet fully clear. A large-scale new study has recently delved into the effects of a unique kind of stress.
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Balancing work and family life puts a strain on women's heart health.
According to the American Heart Association (AHA), stress may affect factors that increase the risk of heart disease, including blood pressure and cholesterol level.
One major source of stress is the workplace.
In fact, a 2015 review of 27 studies that appeared in the journal Current Cardiology ReportsTrusted Source found an association between work stress and a "moderately elevated risk of incident coronary heart disease and stroke."
However, one type of stress that researchers often leave out of studies is that felt by a person who needs to simultaneously balance the demands of work and family life.
Examining this in more depth may eventually help health professionals better identify and treat cardiovascular issues. This is according to the authors of the new study, which now appears in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
What is work-family conflict?
Cardiovascular diseases are currently the leading cause of death worldwide, say the World Health Organization (WHO).
Health professionals can determine people's cardiovascular health score. Based on seven metrics including diet, blood pressure, and physical activity levels, the researchers who conducted the new study used this score to investigate how work and family stress can impact heart health.
According to the study paper, work-family conflict refers to "a form of inter-role conflict in which the role pressures from the work and family domains are mutually incompatible in some respect."
More than 11,000 workers ages 35–74, from six state capitals in Brazil, made up the study's sample. The participants came from a variety of educational and work backgrounds, and the study included a slightly higher number of women.
Each participant filled out a questionnaire to determine how their job affected their family life, and how their family life impacted their work.
The researchers calculated the participants' cardiovascular health scores using a combination of clinical examinations, laboratory test results, and self-reported questionnaires.
An unequal impact
The analysis showed a distinct sex difference. Men reported less work interference with family and more time for personal care and leisure. Both sexes reported a similar amount of family interference with work.
However, women appeared to be worse off. Those who reported a number of frequent work-family conflicts had lower cardiovascular health scores.
"This was interesting because in our previous study, job stress alone affected men and women almost equally," says senior study author Dr. Itamar Santos, a professor at the University of São Paulo in Brazil.
There could be a simple explanation as to why this is the case, and it has to do with traditional gender roles. "You feel the stress to fulfill the gender roles, and I think women still feel more of a need to have that nurturing home life," says Dr. Gina Price Lundberg, clinical director of the Emory Women's Heart Center in Atlanta, GA.
"Men are helping more than ever, but I think working women still feel the stress of trying to do it all." She goes on to describe the study as "well-designed," due to its large sample size, the diverse background of the participants, and the balance of men and women.
However, certain elements of the study relied on the participants' own thoughts and feelings, which may have biased the results.
How to live with stress
What this study has dipped into is the need for a good work-life balance. However, this is easier said than done in many cases.
Dr. Santos hopes that the new fhopes that the new findings will encourage workplaces to introduce stress reducing initiatives and encourage doctors to look for signs of stress when examining people.
"We're not going to eliminate stress," Dr. Santos says. "But we should learn how to live with it to not have so many bad consequences."
Whether that would be through measures such as at-home meditation or employer-led strategies is yet to be determined.
Dr. Santos and team are now planning to follow the same participants for up to a decade to gain further insight.
Heart DiseaseCardiovascular / CardiologyPsychology / PsychiatryWomen's Health / Gynecology
Atrial fibrillation: Daily alcoholic drink riskier than binge drinking
Written by Catharine Paddock, Ph.D. on October 18, 2019 - Fact checked by Isabel Godfrey New
A new study suggests that drinking small amounts of alcohol frequently rather than having infrequent bouts of binge drinking is more likely to increase the risk of developing atrial fibrillation (A-fib), a condition in which the heart beats irregularly.
New research suggests that drinking daily may harm the heart's regular rhythm more than binge drinking.
"Recommendations about alcohol consumption have focused on reducing the absolute amount rather than the frequency," says study author Dr. Jong-Il Choi, a professor in the department of internal medicine at the Korea University College of Medicine in Seoul.
"Our study suggests that drinking less often may also be important to protect against atrial fibrillation," he adds.
f. Choi, who also works at the Korea University Anam Hospital in Seoul, and his colleagues report their findings in a recent EP Europace study paper.
A-fib is the most common form of heart arrhythmia, a condition in which the heart beats too quickly, too slowly, or in an irregular way.
Prof. Choi observes that "atrial fibrillation is a disease with multiple dreadful complications and significantly impaired quality of life."
The common symptoms of A-fib include an irregular or fast pulse, palpitations, shortness of breath, fatigue, dizziness, and chest pain.
Between 2.7 and 6.1 million peopleTrusted Source in the United States have A-fib, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
ib causes and consequences
It is sometimes difficult to say what causes A-fib. However, it appears that damage to the heart's electrical system is often to blame. This damage can happen as a result of heart disease or as a complication of heart surgery. Other conditions, such as chronic uncontrolled high blood pressure, can also affect the heart in this way.
One of the main effects of A-fib is that it causes blood to pool in the lower chambers of the heart, which, in turn, increases the likelihood of clotting.
The potential for clotting is the main reason why the risk of stroke is four to five times higher in people with A-fib than in people without the condition.
An earlier pooled analysisTrusted Source of data from several studies had found that the chances of developing A-fib went up in line with increasing alcohol consumption.
Those findings showed that for every 12 grams of alcohol — roughly the amount in a single drink — that a person consumed per week, there was an 8% higher risk of A-fib.
However, that analysis did not clarify whether the total alcohol consumption or the number of drinking episodes had the strongest effect.
Frequent drinking vs. binge drinking
In the new study, Dr. Choi and colleagues compared the effect of frequent drinking with that of binge drinking on the risk of new-onset A-fib.
They analyzed data on 9,776,956 individuals in the Korean National Health Insurance Service database, which holds records on nearly everybody in the Republic of Korea.
None of the individuals in the analysis had A-fib when, as part of a health checkup in 2009, they completed a survey about alcohol intake.
Using the database records, the researchers were able to track these individuals through to 2017 to spot any occurrences of A-fib.
They assessed the effect of weekly alcohol consumption — which they calculated by multiplying the number of drinking sessions per week by the amount of alcohol consumed in each session — on the risk of new-onset A-fib.
Daily consumption riskier than binge drinking
The analysis revealed weekly alcohol intake to be a significant risk factor for new-onset A-fib.
However, the team found that the strongest factor was drinking sessions per week. Having a daily drink of alcohol was associated with a higher risk of A-fib than drinking twice a week, while drinking once a week was less risky.
In contrast, there was no link between consuming a large amount of alcohol in one session, or binge drinking, and new-onset A-fib.
"Drinking [a] small amount of alcohol frequently," conclude the authors, "may not be a good strategy to prevent new-onset A-fib."
They note that the association between the number of drinking episodes and A-fib onset held regardless of sex and age.
Speculating on the reason for the link, Prof. Choi suggests that alcohol could trigger an individual episode of A-fib and that if this keeps repeating, it could "lead to overt disease."
"In addition," he notes, "drinking can provoke sleep disturbance, which is a known risk factor for [A-fib]."
'Reduce frequency and weekly consumption'
When they looked at weekly consumption of alcohol, the researchers saw that their results supported those of other studies.
They saw a 2% rise in the risk of new-onset A-fib for each additional weekly gram of alcohol consumption.
The results also showed what appeared to be a protective effect of mild alcohol intake compared both with no drinking and with moderate and high levels of consumption.
Those who consumed no alcohol or drank moderate or high amounts had elevated risks of new-onset A-fib of 8.6%, 7.7%, and 21.5%, respectively, compared with mild drinkers.
Prof. Choi proposes, however, that this might not be a "true benefit," but could be due to the "confounding effect of unmeasured variables." Only further studies can confirm this.
He suggests that alcohol is likely to be the A-fib risk factor that people can alter most easily.
"To prevent new-onset atrial fibrillation, both the frequency and weekly amount of alcohol consumption should be reduced."
Prof. Jong-Il Choi
Heart DiseaseAlcohol / Addiction / Illegal DrugsCardiovascular / Cardiology
Gut itch' may explain pain in IBS
Published Fri 18 Oct 2019 By Ana Sandoiu Fact checked by Paula Field
New research casts fresh light on the chronic pain mechanisms in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), promising new and more effective treatments for the condition.
New research brings hope for new chronic pain treatments in IBS.
Between 25 and 45 million people in the United States are living with IBS, and up to 15% of the world's population may have the condition.
The most common IBS symptoms include abdominal pain, bloating, and changes in bowel movements. Although other symptoms can accompany the illness, chronic pain is a key marker of the condition.
So what causes chronic pain in IBS? This is the question that researchers from Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia, set out to investigate in the hope that a better understanding of pain will lead to better treatments.
As it stands, there is no cure for IBS, and the most common pain relievers are opioids. This is despite the lack of evidence that opioids can help in the long run and their addiction risks.
Professor Stuart Brierley, who is also a Matthew Flinders Research Fellow in Gastrointestinal Neuroscience, is the senior author of the new study, which appears in the journal JCI Insight.
Itch receptors in skin also explain gut pain
Prof. Brierley and colleagues set out to investigate how the nerves in the gut trigger chronic pain in IBS, and whether it is the "irritated" nerves themselves that cause the irritability in IBS.
To do so, the team examined skin tissue because the skin is prone to both pain and itching. The authors explain in their paper that itching, like pain, has a protective role.
Itching causes scratching, which clears the skin of irritants, just like pain triggers withdrawal or avoidance of harmful stimuli.
"Patients with IBS [experience] chronic abdominal pain and experience rewiring of their nervous system so they feel pain when they shouldn't — we decided to ask important questions about how nerves in the gut are activated to cause pain in order to seek out potential solutions," says Prof. Brierley.
Preclinical experiments in mice showed that "receptors that mediate itch in the skin also mediate pain in the gut," the researcher explains in the video below:
Prof. Brierley and his colleagues used agonists — or activating compounds — for these itch receptors and found that they also activated colonic sensory neurons both in vitro and in vivo in mouse models.
Furthermore, administering several of these agonists individually in the mice's colons triggered a "pronounced visceral hypersensitivity to colorectal distension."
Administering several of these agonists at once "as an 'itch cocktail' augmented hypersensitivity to colorectal distension and changed mouse behavior," the researchers write.
"We found receptors that bring about an itchy feeling on [the] skin also do the same in the gut, so [IBS] patients are essentially [living with] a 'gut itch,'" says Prof. Brierley.
"We've translated these results to human tissue tests and now hope to help create a treatment where people can take an oral medication for IBS."
Prof. Stuart Brierley
The researcher explains that in IBS, chronic pain occurs when the itch signal pairs up with the so-called wasabi pain receptor, also known as the TRPA-1 ion channel. The Wasabi receptor is part of the family "Transient receptor potential (TRP) ion channels."
"If you think about what happens when you eat wasabi," says Prof. Brierley, "it activates a receptor on the nerves and sends a pain signal — that's exactly what's happening within [the] gut as [people with IBS] experience an itchy effect or wasabi effect in the gut."
Directly targeting these receptors, explain the authors, may effectively treat chronic pain and discomfort in IBS.
"Having shown these mechanisms contribute to chronic gut pain, we can now work out ways to block these receptors and thereby stop the 'gut itch' signal traveling from the gut to the brain. This will be a far better solution than the problems currently presented by opioid treatments."
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Monkeys demonstrate more cognitive flexibility than humans
Written by Tim Newman on October 18, 2019 - Fact checked by Jasmin Collier New
A recent study investigating cognitive flexibility concludes that in some situations, capuchin and rhesus monkeys are more adaptable than humans.
umans live in a complex world. As we learn to navigate it, we build up a series of rules in our brains.
Once we have discovered a way to do something, we are likely to continue doing it in the same way.
his is because finding new solutions can be cognitively demanding.
If something works well, it is usually easiest to stick with it — especially when there are plenty of other puzzles for us to solve in our daily lives.
However, for both monkeys and humans, the environment changes. As a result, sticking to learned rules is not always the most efficient tactic to adopt.
Stuck in a rut?
Many studies have shown that humans are particularly susceptible to becoming stuck in a learned rut.
For instance, in a classic study from the 1940s, researchers asked participants to solve a maze. The only way to complete it was by taking a circuitous zigzag route. However, halfway through multiple trials, the researchers altered the maze so that there was a much simpler shortcut.
rity of the participants continued using the more complex and time consuming method. In other words, they stuck to what they knew, even when it was not the most efficient solution.
Recently, researchers from Georgia State University in Atlanta set out to discover if capuchin and rhesus monkeys could outperform humans when it came to this type of cognitive flexibility. They have published their findings in the journal Scientific ReportsTrusted Source.
As the study authors explain, it is still not clear why humans often do not "look for better solutions once [they] have found an adequate one."
"We are a unique species and have various ways in which we are exceptionally different from every other creature on the planet. But we're also sometimes really dumb."
Lead study author Julia Watzek, a graduate student
In the latest study, the researchers worked with 56 human participants, 7 rhesus macaques, and 22 capuchin monkeys.
Both the humans and monkeys learned, through trial and error, to select three icons in a row to receive a reward. The humans won points or heard a jingle, whereas the monkeys received a banana pellet.
If the participants made the wrong choice, they heard a buzzer and received a 2-second time-out.
After 96 trials, the scientists changed the game. For the next 96 trials, to receive the reward, the participants only needed to hit the final icon without having to remember the position of the original two symbols.
In the trials this shortcut was available, all of the monkeys quickly adapted and began using the easier route. In fact, 70% began using it as soon as it became available. However, the humans fared less well, with 61% not using the shortcut at all.
Why did monkeys outperform humans?
The authors of the new study believe that monkeys appear to show more cognitive flexibility due to the amount of available working memory they have.
Working memory refers to our ability to hold multiple things in our minds at once for a short amount of time. Monkeys, in general, have less working memory than humans.
ome earlier work backs this theory up. In one studyTrusted Source, for instance, researchers asked participants to complete complicated math problems.
They found that those with access to more working memory tended to stick with a complicated learned rule. However, those with less working memory tended to search for and adopt simpler alternatives when they were available.
This, the authors believe, might be because those with less available working memory found the complex rule to be a cognitive strain and wanted to find simpler alternatives.
At the same time, those who had more working memory would not feel the cognitive strain so acutely, meaning that they were less incentivized to look for an alternative solution.
In the new study, the participants needed to hold the position of the initial symbols in their working memory. In the later trials, the shortcut allowed them to reduce the strain on their working memory.
ecause working memory is more constrained in monkeys, they were likely more eagerly hunting for a new and simpler solution. However, because the task did not pose too much difficulty for humans with their greater access to working memory, they were less motivated to look for other solutions.
A small piece of the puzzle
Although these results are intriguing, the study only used one method of measuring cognitive flexibility. Of course, cognitive flexibility depends on a wide range of factors, including the environment, the type of challenge, and how motivated one is to be flexible.
For instance, a monkey's primitive drive to obtain food might outweigh a human's desire to win points or hear a jingle. Perhaps this difference in the level of motivation made the monkeys more likely to experiment and investigate potential shortcuts.
With that said, the theory that humans simply do not look for new ways to solve a puzzle cannot entirely explain these results. To illustrate this, Watzek refers to some earlier studies that used similar tasks. In these, the researchers played participants a video explaining the potential shortcut.
"More of the humans do take the shortcut after seeing a video of somebody taking the shortcut," she says, "but about 30% still don't. In another version, we told them they shouldn't be afraid to try something new. More of them did use the shortcut then, but many of them still didn't."
The results are interesting, but as always, there is still much to learn. Study co-author Prof. Sarah Brosnan concludes that the study adds "to the larger body of literature on why humans can be so different from other primates."
Psychology / PsychiatryVeterinary
Some keto diets may exacerbate skin inflammation
Published Fri 18 Oct 2019 By Maria Cohut, Ph.D. Fact checked by Jasmin Collier
New research in mice suggests that ketogenic diets with a very high fat content could actually worsen skin inflammation. The team now urges people with psoriasis to avoid such diets.
Ketogenic, or keto, diets are high in fats and low in carbohydrates.
People often use such diets for weight loss, as they stimulate the body to enter ketosis.
This is a state in which the body starts burning fat for energy rather than carbohydrates, as it naturally would.
Some studies suggest that keto diets may help manage the symptoms of type 2 diabetes and protect against cognitive decline, and doctors sometimes advise people with epilepsy to follow a keto diet to reduce the frequency of seizures.
However, keto diets also come with some risks and side effects, such as flu-like symptoms and skin rashes.
Now, a study in mouse models with psoriasis-like skin inflammation suggests that some keto diets — those that are highest in fats — could actually exacerbate such skin problems.
The study authors — from Paracelsus Medical University in Salzburg, Austria — report their findings in a paper that appears in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology.
"This study leads to a broader understanding of possible effects of ketogenic diets with a very high fat content on skin inflammation and underlines the importance of the composition of fatty acids in the diet," says co-lead study author Barbara Kofler, Ph.D.
Keto diet potentially harmful in psoriasis
The researchers fed different groups of mouse models with psoriasis-like skin inflammation distinct types of ketogenic diets, including one that had a high content of medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs). These are a type of fat that derives from coconuts.
They found that high MCT diets — especially if they also contained omega-3 fatty acids derived from fish oil, nuts, or seeds — made skin inflammation worse in mice.
The team was also hoping to find out if long-chain triglyceride (LCT) based ketogenic diets could slow down the progression of psoriasis-like skin inflammation. Their experiments did not confirm this effect, but they did show that more balanced keto diets did not worsen skin inflammation.
"We found that a well-balanced ketogenic diet, limited primarily to [LCTs] like olive oil, soybean oil, fish, nuts, avocado, and meats, does not exacerbate skin inflammation," says Kofler.
"However, ketogenic diets containing high amounts of MCTs, especially in combination with omega-3 fatty acids, should be used with caution since they may aggravate preexisting skin inflammatory conditions," she warns.
Co-lead investigator Roland Lang, Ph.D., adds that "[k]etogenic diets supplemented with MCTs not only induce the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines [cell signaling proteins], but also lead to an accumulation of neutrophils [white blood cells that play a key role in immune responses] in the skin, resulting in a worse clinical appearance of the skin of the mice."
"Neutrophils are of particular interest since they are known to express a receptor for MCTs and therefore a ketogenic diet containing MCTs may have an impact on other neutrophil-mediated diseases not limited to the skin," he notes.
In the future, the researchers are interested in studying the effects of ketogenic diets on skin inflammation in the long term. This would be to find out which keto diets are potentially harmful in the context of skin health, and which — if any — might be helpful.
Despite the recent findings, the investigators say that people following a keto diet should not worry: In the study, the team fed the mice an extremely high fat (77% fat) diet, which most people are unlikely to follow.
Nevertheless, they say that people with psoriasis may wish to avoid ketogenic diets to prevent any further damage to the skin.
"I think most people following a ketogenic diet don't need to worry about unwanted skin inflammation side effects. However, [people] with psoriasis should not consider a ketogenic diet an adjuvant therapeutic option."
Barbara Kofler, Ph.D.
Parkinson's: New treatment approach shows promise in brain cells
Published Fri 18 Oct 2019 By Ana Sandoiu Fact checked by Carolyn Robertson
New research shows that an innovative strategy for treating Parkinson's disease has proven successful in neurons that derive from people living with the condition.
Dr. Dimitri Krainc, chair of neurology and director of the Center for Neurogenetics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, IL, is the last and corresponding author of the study, which appears in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative condition affecting more than 1 million people in the United States and 4 million adults or more across the world.
Although most Parkinson's cases occur in people without a family history of the disease, understanding the genetic risk factors is critical. This fact is true because, even in such "sporadic" cases, the inheritance pattern may still exist — although it may be unknown.
Furthermore, when genetic mutations do raise the risk of Parkinson's, "the inheritance pattern is usually unknown," according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Alterations in the GBA1 gene, in particular, are "important risk factors" for the development of Parkinson's disease. The GBA1 gene encodes the so-called lysosomal enzyme glucocerebrosidase (GCase), an enzyme that is key for normal neuronal function.
As the authors of the new study explain in their paper, previous research has suggested that targeting GCase could have therapeutic benefits.
However, while past research and experimental treatments have suggested fixing the mutated enzymes, the new study suggests an alternative approach: activating and enhancing healthy, nonmutated ones.
Activating wild type GCase may work
Krainc and colleagues write that GBA1 mutations "represent the most common risk factor for Parkinson's disease."
Mutations in this gene can produce defects in GCase enzymes, which then contribute to the toxic buildup of protein in the dopamine producing neurons that Parkinson's typically affects.
Dr. Krainc explains that most drug development for Parkinson's has so far relied on stabilizing the mutated gene, but such treatments would only work in a limited number of Parkinson's cases.
nstead, activating wild type [i.e., not mutated] GCase may be more relevant for multiple forms of PD that exhibit reduced activity of wild type GCase," Dr. Krainc explains.
In the paper, the researchers show that they developed and used a new range of chemical compounds that activated and amplified normal, wild type GCase.
Experiments revealed that doing so improved cellular function in neurons collected from people with Parkinson's.
The authors conclude, "Our findings point to activation of wild type GCase by small molecule modulators as a potential therapeutic approach for treating familial and sporadic forms of [Parkinson's disease] that exhibit decreased GCase activity."
The corresponding researcher also says that the chemical modulators, or activators, alleviated cellular dysfunction that various types of Parkinson's induced, suggesting that the approach could work in people with different versions of the condition.
"This study highlights wild type GCase activation as a potential therapeutic target for multiple forms of Parkinson's disease," says Dr. Krainc.
"Our work points to the potential for modulating wild type GCase activity and protein levels in both genetic and idiopathic forms of [Parkinsons's disease] and highlights the importance of personalized or precision neurology in development of novel therapies."
Dr. Dimitri Krainc
More research is necessary, and Dr. Krainc emphasizes the need to use human neurons when trying to develop new drugs for Parkinson's, as some features of the disorder only manifest in human neurons and not in rodent models.
Scientists liken mitochondria to Tesla battery packs
Published Thu 17 Oct 2019 By Catharine Paddock, Ph.D. Fact checked by Isabel Godfrey
New research reveals that mitochondria, the tiny powerhouses that live inside cells and give them energy, work more like a Tesla battery pack than the kind of battery that you put in a flashlight.
Apart from red blood cells, all cells in the human body contain one or more mitochondria, and some contain thousands. These internal cell structures, or organelles, use oxygen to make chemical units of energy for the cell.
Mitochondria are unusual in that they have two membranes: a smooth one on the outside and a wrinkled, folded one on the inside.
Scientists call the folds of a mitochondrion's internal membrane cristae. Until recently, they believed that the purpose of the folding was to increase the surface area for producing energy.
However, the authors of a recent EMBO Journal study paper dispel this idea.
Instead, they propose that the cristae are more like independent batteries working together in an array, similar to the Tesla battery packs that power electric cars.
An array of autonomous batteries
The researchers came to this conclusion after visualizing energy production inside mitochondria with the help of high resolution microscopy.
"What the images told us was that each of these cristae is electrically independent, functioning as an autonomous battery," says senior study author Dr. Orian S. Shirihai, a professor of medicine in endocrinology and pharmacology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles.
"One crista," he adds, "can get damaged and stop functioning while the others maintain their membrane potential."
or a long time, scientists believed that each mitochondrion comprised a single bioenergetic unit. The authors refer to typical previous experiments, the results of which led investigators to conclude that "the entire organelle functions as one electrochemical unit."
Indeed, what Dr. Shirihai could see with traditional microscopy appeared to confirm this. Observing cells functioning well with a few very long mitochondria did not suggest the idea of lots of small batteries.
"Nobody had looked at this before because we were so locked into this way of thinking; the assumption was that one mitochondrion meant one battery," he explains.
Unprecedented high resolution imaging
However, conversations with engineers who design electric vehicles made Dr. Shirihai aware of the advantages of arrays of lots of small batteries instead of one big one.
"[I]f something happens to one [battery] cell," he notes, "the system can keep working, and multiple small batteries can provide a very high current when you need it."
Depending on the model, Tesla electric vehicles can have up to 7,000 small battery cells. These take the form of a grid that allows the vehicle to charge quickly and cool efficiently. Such an arrangement also delivers a lot of power for acceleration.
To take a closer look inside mitochondria, the team "developed a novel approach for imaging the [inner mitochondrial membrane] at high spatiotemporal resolution in living cells." Scientists had never before seen such a high resolution.
With the newly optimized high resolution microscopy, the team could visualize voltage distribution and energy production inside the mitochondria.
Protein clusters act like electrical insulators
The researchers saw how protein clusters between the cristae acted as electrical insulators. They already knew that without the protein clusters, mitochondria break down more easily. In fact, the team also saw how mitochondria lacking the protein clusters behaved more like one big battery cell.
The authors suggest that these study findings increase the understanding of not only how mitochondria work but also how the organelles contribute to disease, aging, and even medical complications.
Experts have linked a number of medical complications — such as ischemia‐reperfusion injury — to the severe disruption of cristae in mitochondria.
Dr. Shirihai muses: "The battery experts I had originally talked to were very excited to hear that they were right."
Scientists believe that mitochondria evolved from an ancient collaboration that came about when cells with nuclei engulfed oxygen-dependent simple cells that lacked a nucleus. In return for protection, the internalized cell, or organelle, provides its host with energy.
"It turns out that mitochondria and Teslas, with their many small batteries, are a case of convergent evolution."
Dr. Orian S. Shirihai
Could a unique new fungus offer an opioid alternative?
Published Thu 17 Oct 2019 By Maria Cohut, Ph.D. Fact checked by Paula Field
A new fungus discovered in the estuarine waters of Tasmania could be the unexpected answer to the world's opioid crisis, a current study suggests.
Opioids — many of which are prescription painkillers, such as codeine — have created a worldwide health crisis. Many opioids are highly addictive substances that some people overuse or misuse.
According to data from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, over 130 people die each day in the United States because of an opioid overdose.
The Health Resources and Services Administration call this "an unprecedented opioid epidemic." The situation has led to the World Health Organization (WHO) encouraging countries to monitor the use of opioid drugs closely.
But while monitoring the use of opioids is helpful, scientists are on the lookout for opioid alternatives. They are searching for drugs that will treat chronic pain in the same way as opioids but are less likely to harm health or lead to misuse.
A novel discovery by researchers from the University of Sydney in Australia — in collaboration with colleagues from other academic institutions — may, in the future, lead to the development of one such potent alternative.
The team found an unknown species of the fungus Penicillium in an estuary in the Huon Valley in Tasmania. The researchers showed that this fungus contained a set of molecules called "tetrapeptides," which are amino acids.
These molecules had a unique structure that emulates the shape of endomorphins, which are natural opioid chemical messengers that help deliver pain relief.
The team notes that these new fungus-derived tetrapeptides have the potential to cause fewer side effects than regular opioids, while still delivering effective pain relief.
A 'never-before-seen' molecular structure
Senior author Prof. Macdonald Christie and colleagues explain that the newly discovered fungus yielded three different versions of tetrapeptides — with a very interesting and unexpected molecular structure.
More specifically, the team found that these fungus-derived molecules had a surprising chirality, or "handedness," which refers to the geometric orientation of the molecular structure.
Some molecules have a geometric property that means they can have a "left handed" or a "right handed" structure, the two of which are mirror images of each othe
Why raw dog food could be harmful for pets and owners alike
Published Thu 17 Oct 2019 By Maria Cohut, Ph.D. Fact checked by Jasmin Collier
Raw meat based foods are becoming more popular among dog owners, based on the belief that a raw food diet may be more natural and healthful for some dog breeds. However, could raw dog food actually be harmful for both dogs and their owners?
A number of dog owners believe that feeding their pets raw food is naturally more healthful.
Some people refer to this diet by the acronym "BARF," which stands for "biologically appropriate raw food" or "bones and raw food."
Veterinary surgeon Ian Billinghurst initially promoted this diet. He argued that dogs, and some other animals, are naturally meant to eat an exclusively raw selection of food.
A recent study in the BMJ journal Vet Record, however, warns that commercially available raw meat based food is potentially dangerous for both dogs and their owners.
The researchers who conducted this study — from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and the National Veterinary Institute, both in Uppsala, Sweden — explain that raw meat products do not receive any heat treatment prior to freezing.
This, they fear, could mean that these foods end up harboring different species of harmful bacteria. To find out if this is the case, the team collected and analyzed samples of 60 different raw meat products from 10 separate companies in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Germany, and England.
Harmful bacteria present in raw food
The raw meat based products that the researchers analyzed were all available as dog food, and each contained one or more of the following ingredients:
uncooked meat
edible bones
organs from cattle, chicken, lamb, turkey, pigs, ducks, reindeer, or salmon
Additionally, some of the raw foods also contained vegetables, vegetable fiber, and minerals.
First study author Josefin Hellgren and colleagues analyzed the samples, screening for bacteria that can be dangerous for both dogs and humans. They looked specifically for bacteria belonging to the Enterobacteriaceae species, as well as Clostridium perfringens, Salmonella, and Campylobacter species.
Estrogen exposure may stave off cognitive decline in women
Written by Ana Sandoiu on October 17, 2019 - Fact checked by Jasmin Collier New
New research suggests that taking estrogen as part of hormone replacement therapy may help women fight off cognitive decline.
The study paper — titled "Lifetime estrogen exposure and cognition in late life: The Cache County Study" and appearing in the North American Menopause Society (NAMS) journal Menopause — details the new findings.
Researchers and the medical community alike have long known that Alzheimer's disease tends to affect women far more often than it does men.
ccording to Alzheimer's Society, in the United States, almost two-thirds of all people with Alzheimer's disease are women.
Specifically, of the 5.6 million U.S. adults aged 65 and above living with Alzheimer's, 3.5 million are women.
As for why this is the case, an established body of research has suggested that estrogen exposure is the answer. After menopause, women experience a drop in estrogen levels, and this could make them more susceptible to Alzheimer's, these studies have suggested.
More recently, some researchers have argued that pregnancy and reproductive history may also impact a person's risk, while others have called for a reassessment of the role of hormone replacement therapy in cognitive health.
Namely, scientists have recently been suggesting that hormone therapy is not always linked with cognitive harm, as many previously believed.
In fact, the new research suggests that it may have the opposite effect, actually benefiting cognitive health.
Estrogen linked with greater cognitive health
The researchers behind the new study clinically followed more than 2,000 postmenopausal women over a period of 12 years and analyzed the link between estrogen levels and cognitive decline.
They looked at the length of time the women had exposure to estrogen and accounted for other factors, including:
their reproductive history
how many years had passed between their first period and menopause
their number of pregnancies
how long they had breastfed
if they had ever used hormone replacement therapy, and if so, for how long
The conclusion of the study was that estrogen exposure is linked with better cognitive health in older women. Additionally, these benefits were stronger for the oldest women in the sample, who started taking estrogen the earliest.
Therefore, these findings also support the "critical window hypothesisTrusted Source." This "states that the effects of hormone therapy depend on timing of initiation with respect to age, the menopausal transition, or both, and that optimal effects are evident with early initiation."
Dr. Stephanie Faubion, the medical director of the NAMS, comments on the findings, saying, "Although the assessment of the risk-to-benefit balance of hormone therapy use is complicated and must be individualized, this study provides additional evidence for beneficial cognitive effects of hormone therapy, particularly when initiated early after menopause."
"This study also underscores the potential adverse effects of early estrogen deprivation on cognitive health in the setting of premature or early menopause without adequate estrogen replacement."
Dr. Stephanie Faubion
Dr. Faubion was not involved in the research.
MCI: Should memory tests score males and females differently?
Published Wed 16 Oct 2019 By Catharine Paddock, Ph.D. Fact checked by Paula Field
A recent study found that scoring verbal memory tests according to sex can alter who receives a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) by as much as 20%.
New research assesses the differences in cognition between males and females after the age of 65.
Evidence shows that females tend to have better verbal memory than males, and yet, tests that assess cognitive ability do not reflect this.
In the new study, the researchers scored memory tests using different norms and thresholds, or cut-off scores, for males and females.
They found that using sex-specific scores led to 10% more females and 10% fewer males receiving a diagnosis of MCI compared with scores that used averages.
The team suggests that should further studies validate the findings, they could change the way that doctors diagnose males and females for dementia.
"If these results are confirmed, they have vital implications," says first study author Erin E. Sundermann, Ph.D., a scientist at the University of California, San Diego.
She explains that one of the consequences of identifying people as having no memory difficulties when they actually have MCI is that they do not start treatment when they should. This can also mean that they and their families do not begin planning future care and putting affairs in order.
Conversely, inaccurately diagnosing someone with MCI when they do not have it means that they take unnecessary drugs, and they and their families experience undue stress.
MCI does not always precede dementia
MCI affects around 15-20 percent of people aged 65 and older.
People with MCI have a small but measurable reduction in their memory and thinking ability. The loss is not enough to stop them from being able to take care of themselves and carry out everyday tasks.
Typical symptoms of MCI include losing the thread of a conversation and forgetting important appointments. Problems with reasoning and reaching decisions can also occur.
While MCI commonly precedes dementia, having the condition does not necessarily mean that dementia will follow.
Doctors and scientists speak of two types of MCI: amnestic and nonamnestic. Amnestic MCI (aMCI) mostly impairs memory and is the subject of the new study.
Nonamnestic MCI mostly affects the other mental skills, such as visual perception, making sound decisions, and judging the order of steps in a complicated task.
The recent findings follow those of a 2016 study, which revealed that females show better verbal memory in aMCI than males. This happens even though their brains' ability to metabolize glucose might have similar impairments. Problems with glucose metabolism in the brain is a feature of Alzheimer's disease, which is the most common cause of dementia.
"This [earlier finding] is especially important because verbal memory tests are used to diagnose people with Alzheimer's disease and [MCI], so women may not be diagnosed until they are further along in the disease," notes Sundermann, who was also first author of the earlier study.
Sex-specific norms and cut-off scores
For the new investigation, the team began by using the results of the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test in the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging.
From this data, the researchers calculated new norms and cut-off scores for males and females separately so that they could compare the application of these with results from the traditional scores.
The sex-specific norms and cut-off scores took into account the fact that females typically scored higher on the tests, which involved learning words for immediate and delayed recall.
The team then applied the traditional and sex-specific norms and cut-off scores to another set of results for the same verbal memory tests. These results came from 985 participants in the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative.
Application of the traditional norms and cut-off scores — namely those that did not differentiate between males and females — showed that the rate of aMCI was higher in males.
However, application of the new sex-specific norms and cut-off scores identified 10% false negatives, or previously missed cases of aMCI, among the females and 10% false positives among the males.
Findings likely to affect research
Results from biomarker tests supported these findings. Markers of brain changes that happen in Alzheimer's disease, such as plaques of amyloid protein, were more advanced than normal in the females that the sex-specific scores identified as false negatives.
Also, the brain changes of the males that the sex-specific scores identified as false positives were more like those of healthy adults.
"Biomarker analyses supported the hypothesis that sex-specific diagnostic criteria improve diagnostic accuracy," conclude the authors.
Sundermann suggests that the findings, subject to confirmation, will likely also affect research.
"When the typical average cut-off scores are used for diagnosis," she comments, "women might respond less to treatments in a clinical trial than men because they are at a more advanced stage of the disease, while men might not respond because some of them do not actually have MCI."
"These combined factors would result in research that reduces the estimate of how well treatments work for both men and women."
Erin E. Sundermann, Ph.D.
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Does the rotavirus vaccine prevent type 1 diabetes?
Written by Yella Hewings-Martin, Ph.D. on October 16, 2019 - Fact checked by Jasmin Collier New
Scientists have highlighted a possible link between infection with rotavirus and an increased risk of developing type 1 diabetes. Undergoing vaccination against the pathogen may be an effective way to prevent the condition.
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition.
The exact reason a person develops this condition is unknown, but experts believe that a complex relationship between many genetic and environmental factors is at play.
A longstanding theory has implicated certain infectionsTrusted Source in early childhood as a trigger for type 1 diabetes — particularly in children who are genetically susceptible.
One such infection is rotavirus.
Infection with rotavirus causes gastroenteritis, also known as stomach flu. In infants, rotavirus is the most common cause of gastroenteritis.
Writing in the journal PLOS Pathogens, Dr. Leonard C. Harrison — a professor at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute for Medical Research at the University of Melbourne in Australia — and colleagues present data that underpin their theory of a link between rotavirus and type 1 diabetes.
They point to two studies in particular that show a drop in new type 1 diabetes cases in children who received the rotavirus vaccine.
Rising rates and 'rooming-in'
Experts are warning that the number of people living with type 1 diabetes is on the rise.
In 2009, a group of European scientists published the results of a multicenter study that looked at almost 30,000 newly diagnosed cases of type 1 diabetes in children under the age of 15.
Based on these data, they predicted a "doubling of new cases of type 1 diabetes in European children younger than 5 years [...] between 2005 and 2020."
In Australia, Dr. Harrison writes, environmental factors very likely played a vital role in this increase.
"An interesting observation in the Australian context that may be relevant to [rotavirus] as a candidate environmental factor relates to the practice of mothers "rooming-in" with their newborns," he notes. "This was introduced in the 1970s and entailed mother and baby remaining together rather than separating the baby to a communal nursery at night."
nfections with rotavirus were common in newborn nurseries. Having babies stay with their mothers delayed their exposure to the virus.
Dr. Harrison cites research in mice suggesting that the timing of rotavirus exposure may be crucial.
When genetically susceptible newborn mice became infected with the virus, they did not go on to develop type 1 diabetes. However, animals exposed to rotavirus at a later time did.
Vaccine linked to a drop in numbers
If infection with rotavirus during early infancy does trigger type 1 diabetes in genetically susceptible people, what happened when health professionals introduced the rotavirus vaccineTrusted Source as part of the recommended immunization schedule?
"We hypothesized that if natural infection with [rotavirus] was a causative factor in [type 1 diabetes], then [rotavirus] vaccination would alter the incidence of [condition]," Dr. Harrison explains.
ising rates and 'rooming-in'
Experts are warning that the number of people living with type 1 diabetes is on the rise.
In 2009, a group of European scientists published the results of a multicenter study that looked at almost 30,000 newly diagnosed cases of type 1 diabetes in children under the age of 15.
Based on these data, they predicted a "doubling of new cases of type 1 diabetes in European children younger than 5 years [...] between 2005 and 2020."
In Australia, Dr. Harrison writes, environmental factors very likely played a vital role in this increase.
"An interesting observation in the Australian context that may be relevant to [rotavirus] as a candidate environmental factor relates to the practice of mothers "rooming-in" with their newborns," he notes. "This was introduced in the 1970s and entailed mother and baby remaining together rather than separating the baby to a communal nursery at night."
ections with rotavirus were common in newborn nurseries. Having babies stay with their mothers delayed their exposure to the virus.
Dr. Harrison cites research in mice suggesting that the timing of rotavirus exposure may be crucial.
When genetically susceptible newborn mice became infected with the virus, they did not go on to develop type 1 diabetes. However, animals exposed to rotavirus at a later time did.
Vaccine linked to a drop in numbers
If infection with rotavirus during early infancy does trigger type 1 diabetes in genetically susceptible people, what happened when health professionals introduced the rotavirus vaccineTrusted Source as part of the recommended immunization schedule?
"We hypothesized that if natural infection with [rotavirus] was a causative factor in [type 1 diabetes], then [rotavirus] vaccination would alter the incidence of [condition]," Dr. Harrison explains.
ooking at the 8 years before the introduction of the vaccine into the Australian National Immunization Program in 2007 and the subsequent 8 years, the team saw a drop in the number of new type 1 diabetes cases.
According to their earlier JAMA PediatricsTrusted Source paper, the data showed a 15% reduction in new type 1 diabetes diagnoses in children ages 0–4. However, there was no difference in rates among children ages 5–14.
Another study paper in the journal Scientific ReportsTrusted Source reported similar results. Having analyzed data from nearly 1.5 million children in the United States between 2001 and 2017, the study authors reported a 41% reduction in new cases of type 1 diabetes during this time in children who received all doses of the rotavirus vaccine.
This was not the case for those who only received some of the shots or who never underwent vaccination.
However, Dr. Harrison points out that not all studies have come to the same conclusion.
example, a population study of 495 Finnish children did not find a significant change in the risk of type 1 diabetes when the scientists compared vaccinated and unvaccinated children.
"Environmental factors promoting the increase in [type 1 diabetes] incidence on particular genetic backgrounds are likely to be ubiquitous and multiple," conclude Dr. Harrison and colleagues.
"That [rotavirus] may be one such factor is supported by several lines of evidence [...], to which we can now add an association between [rotavirus] vaccination and a decrease in [type 1 diabetes] incidence."
"This may be the first clear example of primary prevention of [type 1 diabetes]."
Dr. Leonard C. Harrison
Diabetes Type 1DiabetesInfectious Diseases / Bacteria / VirusesPediatrics / Children's Health
Dry eye disease: New treatment on the horizon
Published Wed 16 Oct 2019 By Tim Newman Fact checked by Isabel Godfrey
Dry eye disease is one of the most common eye disorders in the United States. Although treatment is available, it does not work for everyone. A new antibody based eye drop may be the answer.
lthough scientists do not know the exact prevalence of dry eye disease, global estimates vary from 5% to 34%.
The National Eye Institute estimate that it affects nearly 5 million people in the U.S.
In the most severe cases, dry eye disease causes significant eye pain and sensitivity to light, and it can compromise an individual's overall quality of life.
Dry eye disease creates dry areas on the cornea, which, in some cases, can produce scarring.
Several factors play a role in this condition. For instance, the body may not produce tear fluid in the right quantities or at the right time.
Similarly, tear production is a complex process, and if anything goes wrong, it can affect tear quality.
Experts have noted that there appears to be an autoimmune component — meaning that the immune system attacks healthy tissues — for some individuals.
Researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago have spent the past few years delving into the details of this disorder, trying to understand more about why it occurs and how to treat it.
The senior author of the latest study, Dr. Sandeep Jain, explains why finding a new solution is so important, "There are currently only two approved drugs to treat dry eye, and they don't work for everyone, especially those with severe disease."
The role of neutrophils
In earlier work, Dr. Jain and colleagues uncovered new factors that appear to help drive severe cases of dry eye disease. They found that neutrophils — a type of immune cell — produce neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), which stretch like webs across the surface of the cornea.
Neutrophils produce NETs to trap bacteria outside of cells and destroy them.
In the case of dry eye disease, NETs appear to trigger the production of autoantibodies — antibodies that target the body's own proteins.
The authors believe that these autoantibodies might play a role in the inflammation that exacerbates dry eye disease and makes it so difficult to treat in some cases. These particular autoantibodies are called anti-citrullinated protein autoantibodies (ACPAs
With this in mind, the authors produced eye drops containing antibodies that target ACPAs. If they could counteract the negative effects of ACPAs, they thought that they might be able to relieve dry eye disease.
The researchers published their latest findings in the journal The Ocular Surface.
Testing a new breed of eye drops
To investigate, the researchers used pooled antibodies, which they created from human immune globulins. After checking that the eye drops were effective and safe in mice, they moved on to a human trial.
The scientists designed a randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial. In all, they recruited 27 participants with different variations of dry eye disease, including Sjogren's syndrome and Meibomian gland dysfunction.
The researchers gave half of the participants eye drops containing pooled antibodies, and they gave the rest of the participants similar eye drops that did not contain the antibodies. They instructed all of the participants to administer one drop per eye twice daily for 8 weeks.
To assess how well the drug performed, the participants filled out questionnaires asking about their symptoms. Before, during, and after the trial, the scientists measured the level of corneal damage. They also assessed the level of inflammation biomarkers on the surface of the eye.
As hoped, the researchers measured a significant, clinically meaningful benefit when using the antibody based eye drops.
"Participants in the trial who used the drops with pooled antibodies reported less eye discomfort, and their corneas were healthier."
Dr. Sandeep Jain
Specifically, those who took these drops experienced a reduction in corneal damage, and the level of inflammatory biomarkers dropped compared with those in the control group. The questionnaire data also reflected these benefits, with participants in the experimental group reporting improvements.
The study is preliminary, and, as such, participant numbers are low. Nevertheless, Dr. Jain is encouraged by the results.
"The data from this early clinical trial suggest that eye drops containing pooled antibodies may be safe and effective for treating dry eye disease, and we look forward to conducting larger randomized trials to definitively prove its efficacy," he concludes.
Dementia: Brain mapping method may predict progression
Published Wed 16 Oct 2019 By Ana Sandoiu Fact checked by Paula Field
Does dementia spread gradually and evenly in all directions across the brain, or can it "jump" from one brain area to another? New research helps to settle the question by examining the progression of frontotemporal dementia.
Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is a condition in which the frontal and temporal anterior lobes of the brain shrink, or atrophy. This results in two broad categories of symptoms: behavioral changes and language problems. Unlike in other forms of dementia, FTD does not affect spatial awareness and memory.
There are currently no treatments for slowing the progression of FTD. The medical community has insufficient knowledge of how the disease spreads and how differently it progresses between individuals.
To help understand the condition, Dr. William Seeley — a professor of neurology and pathology at the Memory and Aging Center and Weill Institute at the University of California San Francisco — together with his team, set out to examine the patterns of brain atrophy progression in FTD.
Dr. Seely and his colleagues published their findings in the journal Neuron.
Finding the 'patient-tailored epicenter'
The new study builds on previous work by Dr. Seeley, which showed that in various forms of dementia, brain atrophy patterns largely overlap with well known "highways" in the brain.
These highways are brain networks, or groups of brain regions that communicate closely via their synaptic connections, functioning together. These brain regions cooperate, sometimes from afar, with the functional brain networks enabling this long distance communication by serving as "roads."
Dr. Seeley's previous work on how degeneration spreads showed that neurodegeneration, or atrophy, does not spread evenly like a tumor, but can "jump" from one brain area to another.
The new study adds to this evidence. Here, the scientists examined how well neural network maps based on brain scans from cognitively healthy participants can predict the advancement of brain atrophy in people with FTD over 1 year.
To find out, the team asked a group of 42 people living with one of two subtypes of FTD to have an MRI scan at the beginning of the study and another one about 12 months later. This way, the researchers could see how the disease progressed.
Then, using the functional MRI brain scans of 75 healthy participants, the researchers created standardized maps of 175 different brain areas and the corresponding regions that they communicated with.
After they identified the brain networks in this way, the team picked the one network that most closely matched the brain atrophy pattern observed in a person with FTD.
Dr. Seeley and his team identified and deemed the center of this specific brain network as the "patient-tailored epicenter" of brain degeneration.
Using the same standardized brain network maps, the researchers predicted where the atrophy would spread to over 1 year, and compared their predictions with the MRI scans.
They also compared the accuracy of their predictions with predictions that did not account for functional network connectivity.
Knowing the 'patient zero' of brain atrophy
The researchers identified two functional connectivity measures in particular that improved the accuracy of their predictions.
One of them, called "shortest path to the epicenter," measured the number of synaptic connections between the initial epicenter and the brain area to which the damage had spread.
The other measure, the "nodal hazard," measured the number of already atrophied brain areas connected to one main, given brain area.
"It's like with an infectious disease, where your chances of becoming infected can be predicted by how many degrees of separation you have from 'Patient Zero' but also by how many people in your immediate social network are already sick," says Jesse A. Brown, the study's first author.
He adds that their findings will hopefully help scientists determine and target the next disease site, "Just like epidemiologists rely on models of how infectious diseases spread to develop interventions targeted to key hubs or choke points."
"Neurologists need to understand the underlying biological mechanisms of neurodegeneration to develop ways of slowing or halting the spread of the disease," he adds.
"We are excited about this result because it represents an important first step toward a more precision medicine type of approach to predicting progression and measuring treatment effects in neurodegenerative disease."
Dr. William Seeley
However, the scientists also emphasize the fact that their method is not yet ready for clinical use. They do hope that in the future, their results will help evaluate potential therapies that have entered clinical trials.
Could coffee byproducts fight inflammation?
Published Tue 15 Oct 2019 By Tim Newman Fact checked by Jasmin Collier
A recent study concludes that the husks and silverskin that coffee manufacturers remove during production might harbor useful compounds. Although the study is preliminary, its findings could eventually benefit both human health and the environment.
Coffee is one of the world's most popular drinks. To produce coffee, only the bean itself needs roasting.
To reach the bean, growers remove the husk, which is a tough outer shell, and the silverskin, which is a thin skin that covers the seed.
They tend to leave the husks, in particular, in the field.
These abandoned coffee byproducts contain chemicals such as caffeine, tannins, and chlorogenic acid, which can be hazardous to the environment.
Manufacturers produce around 0.68 tons of green coffee waste to generate 1 ton of fresh coffee, so it makes sense to find ways to repurpose these byproducts.
Now, researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign are investigating whether or not some of this waste could be useful for its bioactive properties.
Converting waste into medicine
Using extracts of silverskin and husk, the scientists investigated whether these byproducts might reduce some of the biochemical hallmarks of obesity. They also tested individual phenolic compounds extracted from silverskins.
They have now published their results in the journal Food and Chemical Toxicology.
Looking for links between Parkinson's and bipolar disorder
Published Tue 15 Oct 2019 By Tim Newman Fact checked by Carolyn Robertson
A new systematic review and meta-analysis ask whether bipolar disorder is associated with developing Parkinson's disease. Although the authors conclude that there is a link, it is a tough question to unpick.
Bipolar disorder (BD), which people once called manic depression, tends to begin around 20 years of age.
Characterized by cyclic episodes of depression and mania, BD affects an estimated 2.8% of adults in the United States each year.
Scientists do not know why BD occurs in some people but not others, although evidence suggests that the dopamine system might play a role.
For instance, levodopa — a Parkinson's drug that activates dopamine receptors — can induce mania in some people.
Additionally, there is some evidence that when someone with BD switches from a depressive to a manic state, there is an upregulation of dopamine receptors.
Researchers refer to the theory that dopamine is involved in BD as the dopamine dysregulation hypothesis.
Parkinson's and bipolar disorder
Parkinson's, a condition that is characterized by tremor, rigidity, and unstable posture, most commonly occurs in older adults. It affects an estimated 500,000 adults in the U.S., and around 50,000 people receive a Parkinson's diagnosis each year.
The symptoms of Parkinson's disease occur due to the death of dopamine-producing cells in a part of the brain called the substantia nigra.
Current treatment for BD includes antipsychotic medication, anti-epileptic medication, and lithium.
ndividuals who take these drugs for extended periods can develop drug-induced parkinsonism, which, as the authors of the latest study explain, "is not clinically distinguishable from Parkinson's disease."
Recently, a group of researchers set out to understand whether BD increased the likelihood of developing Parkinson's disease later in life. They published their findings in JAMA Neurology.
To investigate, the scientists carried out a systematic review and meta-analysis of existing studies.
In all, seven studies met the scientists' criteria, providing data from more than 4 million participants. Following their analysis, the authors concluded:
"The findings of this systematic review and meta-analysis suggest that people with BD have a significantly increased likelihood of later developing Parkinson's disease."
In line with the dopamine dysregulation hypothesis, the authors hypothesize that the cycling of dopamine receptor sensitivity over time may, eventually, lead to an overall reduction in dopaminergic activity.
Limitations, implications, and the future
Although the authors' conclusions are clear cut, the study does have several limitations. Firstly, they outline concerns that the links between BD and Parkinson's were strongest in studies with shorter follow-up times. This, they explain, might be because of the misdiagnosis of drug-induced parkinsonism as Parkinson's disease.
They also note that two of the studies in their analysis did not differentiate between Parkinson's and parkinsonism.
This is because most of the data the research team used in the new analysis came from studies that had not set out to investigate the relationship between BD and Parkinson's disease, specifically.
Instead, the studies set out to answer different questions but also picked up information about BD and Parkinson's disease along the way.
Still, in studies with longer follow-up times, where misdiagnosis is expected to be less likely, the association between the two conditions was still "strong." As for real-world applications, the authors write:
"The main clinical implication of this review should be to underline that if patients with BD present with parkinsonism features, this may not be drug-induced and may recommend the investigation of [Parkinson's disease]."
The findings are interesting but demonstrate gaps in our understanding. Because few studies have addressed this question, it is still not entirely clear where drug-induced parkinsonism ends, and Parkinson's disease begins.
Because Parkinson's disease impacts a specific part of the brain, neuroimaging is the only way to distinguish between parkinsonism and Parkinson's disease. In the future, studies using this approach might yield a clearer answer.
Key brain protein may be what maintains chronic pain
Published Tue 15 Oct 2019 By Ana Sandoiu Fact checked by Paula Field
A new study in rodents reveals a key protein that may explain why chronic pain persists. The findings may lead to therapeutic agents that could "disrupt the maintenance of pain."'
Chronic pain affects over 20% of the adult population in the United States, according to recent estimates.
The term "chronic pain" describes any pain that lasts for longer than 3 months. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), an underlying condition, an injury, surgery, or inflammation typically trigger chronic pain.
However, in many cases, the cause remains unknown. While the initial trigger can explain why the pain started, the reason why it persists remains a mystery.
Now, researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York may have uncovered a protein that explains why chronic pain won't go away.
Venetia Zachariou, Ph.D., who is a professor in the Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, the Department of Pharmacological Sciences, and The Friedman Brain Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine, is the last author of the paper.
The findings appear in The Journal of Neuroscience.
'RGS4 as a potential therapeutic target'
Prof. Zachariou and her team centered their research on RGS4, which is a protein that is part of the "Regulator of G protein signaling" (RGS) family.
Various brain areas associated with "mood, movement, cognition, and addiction" express RGS4. Psychotropic drugs, stress, and corticosteroids can all regulate the RGS4 protein.
RGS proteins are generally involved in opioid signaling, as well as in developing opioid tolerance.
In the current study, the researchers used mouse models of chronic pain where the pain trigger was either nerve injury or inflammation.
The team ablated the gene that expresses the RGS4 protein and examined the role of doing so in triggering the pain, intensifying it, or maintaining it.
an neurofeedback training increase self-esteem in depression?
Published Mon 14 Oct 2019 By Catharine Paddock, Ph.D. Fact checked by Paula Field
There is evidence that people with a history of major depression have lower connectivity between two particular brain areas when recalling feelings of guilt. Now, new research suggests that it is possible to strengthen this brain connectivity and increase self-esteem with a new type of neurofeedback training.
A team of researchers from Brazil and the United Kingdom demonstrated that just one session of neurofeedback training using functional MRI (fMRI) can produce such a result.
They report the findings of the proof-of-concept study in a recent NeuroImage: Clinical paper.
Neurofeedback is a technique that allows people to learn how to influence their own brain activity by observing a representation of that activity in real time.
Electroencephalography (EEG) neurofeedback has been around since the 1970s. Neurofeedback using fMRI, which uses imaging to look at brain activity, is a more recent development.
Like EEG neurofeedback, fMRI neurofeedback is noninvasive, but it differs from the EEG approach in that it offers greater resolution of the brain region under observation.
Previous study examined connectivity
In an earlier study, the same team had already used fMRI to show that when people with a history of major depressive disorder (MDD) experience feelings of guilt, or "excessive self-blame," they have lower connectivity between the right anterior superior temporal (ATL) and the anterior subgenual cingulate (SCC) regions of the brain.
Connectivity between brain regions has to do with the amount of connectedness that they have in order to exchange information. In the case of the ATL and SCC, their connectivity relates to the interpretation of social behavior.
What to know about an inguinal hernia
Last reviewed Mon 21 Oct 2019 By Jenna Fletcher Reviewed by Elaine K. Luo, MD
Table of contents
An inguinal hernia occurs when part of the intestine or fatty tissue pokes through a weakened area of the abdominal wall to either side of the inguinal canal. The inguinal canal is a passage that occurs on each side of the lower abdomen and connects to the genitals.
When part of the intestine sticks through the abdominal wall, it creates a bulge. In males, this occurs most often near the groin area on one or both sides.
An inguinal hernia may be direct or indirect. A direct inguinal hernia forms slowly over time due to a weakened abdominal wall. Direct inguinal hernias usually only happen to male adults. This can happen due to aging or excess strain on the abdominal muscles.
An indirect inguinal hernia is present from birth due to a problem with the abdominal wall. Indirect inguinal hernias are more common in males but can occur in females as well.
Treatment for inguinal hernias often involves surgery. One estimate suggests doctors perform more than 800,000 surgeries to repair inguinal hernias, making this one of the most common surgical procedures in the United States.
In this article, we discuss inguinal hernias, their symptoms, causes, and treatment options.
Symptoms
Symptoms of an inguinal hernia may not appear at first. One of the first symptoms may be the feeling of heaviness or pressure on the groin. Other symptoms may occur as the hernia grows larger.
Some of the symptoms of an inguinal hernia may include:
small bulge to one or both sides of the groin that may disappear on lying down
the scrotum may appear enlarged in males
pressure or heaviness in the groin
weakness in the groin
pain, burning, or gurgling at the bulge site
sharp pain or discomfort that increases when lifting, coughing, bending, or exercising
There is a risk that part of the intestine may become trapped in the abdominal wall, which can cause a loss of blood flow to this section of the intestine.
This condition is an incarcerated hernia and typically causes severe pain, fever, and an increased heart rate.
If the blood supply to the intestine does not resume quickly, the part of the intestine that is protruding may die. Someone with an incarcerated hernia requires immediate medical attention.
Causes
Several potential risk factors can make a person more susceptible to having an inguinal hernia. One potential cause or risk factor is a weakness in the abdominal wall. Pressure on the weakened spot can cause the inguinal hernia to occur.
Some other risk factors include:
genetic predisposition
premature birth
cystic fibrosis
previous inguinal hernia
chronic constipation
being male
obesity or being overweight
chronic cough
pregnancy
Diagnosis
A person should see their doctor if they notice a bump appear in the groin area, particularly if it is painful. Typically, a doctor will ask questions related to the bump, including:
How long has it been there?
Is it painful?
Has it grown in size?
The doctor will likely do a physical examination of the area. They will feel the bump and get an idea of its size. A doctor may ask for the person to cough to better see and feel the bump.
A doctor may push the hernia back into place temporarily using gentle pressure.
In other cases, a doctor may need to confirm the bump is due to an inguinal hernia. A doctor may use an ultrasound, X-ray, or CT scan of the area to rule out other conditions and check for a hernia.
Surgery
Surgery is the primary option for fixing an inguinal hernia. In some cases, a doctor may not recommend surgery immediately if there are no symptoms, and they can push the hernia back into place.
Otherwise, there are two surgical options:
Open surgery: The surgeon creates a large incision in the abdomen, pushes the intestine into the proper place, and uses stitches to reinforce the abdominal wall.
Laparoscopic surgery: The surgeon uses multiple incisions to inject gas into the abdominal cavity. They then use an instrument called a laparoscope to examine the area and move the intestine back into place. A laparoscope is a small tube with a light and camera at one end. A surgeon will then use surgical staples or stitches to seal the incisions.
A surgeon will perform both surgeries in a hospital setting. Both procedures require local or general anesthesia and some recovery time.
Laparoscopic surgery usually has shorter recovery times than open surgery, although the chance of recurrence is higher. A person should discuss the surgical options with their doctor before deciding which procedure to pursue.
Alternatives to surgery
Although inguinal hernias do not heal by themselves, not all inguinal hernias need surgical treatment. In some cases, a doctor may be able to massage the inguinal hernia back into place.
If people have an incarcerated hernia, which means it is stuck outside of the abdominal wall, they will require surgery. People will also require surgery if a hernia grows in size or causes symptoms.
In some rare cases, people may need to wear a truss as a long term solution. A truss is a padded support belt that applies pressure to keep the hernia in place.
Otherwise, the treatment for inguinal hernias is one form of surgery or the othe
Prevention
There are some steps a person can take to reduce the risks of experiencing an inguinal hernia. Some preventative methods include:
avoiding the lifting of heavy objects
maintaining a healthy weight
avoiding smoking
eating plenty of fiber
People who have had surgery to repair a previous inguinal hernia should take extra care, as there is a higher chance that they will develop a hernia again in the future.
When to see a doctor
A person should see their doctor for an inguinal hernia if:
the bump grows in size
they have sharp pain
they have a persistent feeling of heaviness
the area is tender to touch
the condition occurs in a child or infant
Outlook
People with an inguinal hernia have a high chance of full recovery after a surgical procedure to correct the condition. However, they are at greater risk for developing a hernia again in the future.
Following surgery, people should avoid strenuous exercise and heavy lifting to reduce the chances of a hernia returning.
In most cases, doctors can easily correct inguinal hernias. If people experience severe pain, nausea, or fever with a hernia, they should seek immediate medical attention.
Everything you need to know about syringomyelia
Last reviewed Mon 21 Oct 2019 By Beth Sissons Reviewed by Alana Biggers, MD, MPH
Table of contents
Syringomyelia is a rare disorder in which a fluid filled cyst forms in the spinal cord. Cerebrospinal fluid surrounds and protects the brain and spinal cord. Syringomyelia happens when this fluid collects within the spinal cord and forms a cyst.
The cyst is called a syrinx. Over time, the syrinx gets bigger and can damage the spinal cord and surrounding nerve fibers.
In this article, learn about the causes and symptoms of syringomyelia, as well as the treatment options and the outlook for a person with this disorder.
Causes and risk factors
In most cases, people have a type of syringomyelia called congenital syringomyelia. An abnormality called a Chiari malformation, which can happen when the fetus is developing in the womb, is responsible for this form of the condition.
In people with a Chiari malformation, the brain tissue extends further than normal from the back of the head into the upper part of the spinal cord. This structural abnormality affects the flow of cerebrospinal fluid and may cause a syrinx to form.
Chiari malformations may happen due to an inherited gene, although researchers are still looking for further evidence of this.
Less commonly, people have a type of syringomyelia called acquired syringomyelia, the causes of which include spinal injuries and other conditions, such as:
meningitis
a tumor
arachnoiditis
a tethered spinal cord
a hemorrhage
Sometimes, there is no known cause of syringomyelia. Doctors call this idiopathic syringomyelia.
Syringomyelia most commonly appears in adults between the ages of 20 and 40 years. Young children and older adults can also develop the condition, however.
Syringomyelia may be slightly more likely to affect males than females.
Symptoms
The symptoms of syringomyelia include:
muscle weakness in the arms and legs that worsens with time
pain in the neck and shoulders
numbness, tingling, or burning sensations
a decrease in or loss of sensitivity to hot and cold, particularly in the hands
stiffness and lack of coordination in the legs
scoliosis, which is a curvature of the spine
headaches
loss of balance
loss of bladder and bowel control
difficulties with sexual function
Scoliosis may be the only symptom present in children.
The symptoms of syringomyelia can develop over time, and they usually first appear before the age of 40 years.
Symptoms can sometimes develop suddenly if a person sustains an injury that affects the spinal cord. Coughing or straining can also trigger symptoms in people with existing syringomyelia.
People may experience symptoms on either just one side of the body or both sides.
Related conditions
The main condition that has an association with syringomyelia is a Chiari malformation. There are many different types of Chiari malformation, which is an abnormality in the brain that affects the area where the brain and upper spinal cord join.
Chiari malformations usually happen from birth, although symptoms may not appear until adulthood. People can sometimes get a Chiari malformation later in life due to an injury.
The symptoms of a Chiari malformation vary depending on its severity. Some people have no symptoms, while others may have symptoms that affect their everyday life. In some cases, a Chiari malformation can be life threatening.
Symptoms of Chiari malformations include:
a headache that spreads upward from the back of the neck
vision problems
involuntary eye movements
dizziness
muscle weakness
lack of balance and coordination
Many other neurological conditions can also cause symptoms similar to those of syringomyelia. These conditions include:
multiple sclerosis
ankylosing spondylitis
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
central pontine myelinolysis
spinal muscular atrophy
diabetic neuropathy
chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy
arteriovenous malformations
Syringobulbia is a similar neurological condition that also causes a syrinx in the spinal cord. People with syringobulbia have a small slit in the brain stem that affects the cranial nerves and the pathways that control sensory and motor reactions.
Diagnosis
To diagnose syringomyelia, a doctor will first take a medical history and ask a person about their symptoms. They will then carry out a variety of tests.
Doctors may use an MRI scan to help them diagnose syringomyelia. This test can also show whether a person has scoliosis.
A moving MRI scan, called a cine or dynamic MRI, shows the movement of cerebrospinal fluid. A doctor can use this to determine whether a syrinx is affecting the flow of this fluid.
Doctors may also use a CT scan to provide a detailed image of the spinal cord and surrounding tissues.
A person may need to undergo motor and sensory tests to assess their movement, balance, and coordination.
Treatment
Treatment will vary depending on the severity of the symptoms. People may need to work with a team of healthcare professionals to treat syringomyelia.
It may help to limit any activities, such as heavy lifting, that trigger symptoms. Some people may benefit from physical therapy. Pain relief medication can help ease any pain that a person is experiencing.
People with severe or worsening symptoms of syringomyelia may need surgery to create a normal flow of cerebrospinal fluid and drain it from the syrinx. A surgeon can insert a small tube called a shunt into the syrinx to drain the fluid. This drainage should relieve pressure on the spinal cord and ease certain symptoms, including headaches.
If a tumor or tethered spinal cord is causing syringomyelia, people will need specific treatment for this issue.
If a person has syringomyelia but does not experience any symptoms, they will not usually need any treatment. A neurologist will monitor the person's condition in case symptoms start to appear, and they may advise the person to avoid lifting heavy objects or straining the body in other ways.
Complications
Surgery for syringomyelia carries a risk of potential complications. Inserting a shunt to relieve pressure on the spine can be effective, but it does have risks.
Shunts can cause injury to the spinal cord and lead to bleeding or infection. A shunt will also need replacing if it develops a blockage or stops working.
Syringomyelia can return after surgery, in which case, a person will need another operation.
Outlook
If a person with symptoms of syringomyelia does not receive treatment or there is a long delay in treatment, this may result in permanent damage to the spinal cord.
Without treatment, symptoms may worsen. A person may experience:
chronic pain
loss of sensation in the hands
worsening weakness in the arms and legs
In cases where surgery is necessary, it can help improve symptoms or stabilize the condition for most people.
If a person has syringomyelia without any symptoms, a neurologist will monitor them in case any symptoms start to develop, and treatment becomes necessar
person has syringomyelia without any symptoms, a neurologist will monitor them in case any symptoms start to develop, and treatment becomes necessary.
What to know about sex after a vasectomy
Medically reviewed by Alana Biggers, MD, MPH on October 21, 2019 New — Written by Jon Johnson
Healing time
Sterile
Effects on sex and sexual function
Recovery tips
Outlook
A vasectomy should not affect sexual functioning although, it is important to let the body heal for a couple of weeks before having sex. Also, it can take another 3 months before the sperm count drops to zero.
A vasectomy is an operation that stops sperm from reaching the penis. Without sperm, the semen that a man ejaculates cannot cause pregnancy. Hence, a vasectomy is an effective method of birth control.
This article will discuss whether a vasectomy can affect sexual functioning and how long to wait before having sex after the procedure.
he first stage of recovery is to allow the surgical site to heal. A vasectomy, using a scalpel, typically involves two cuts in the scrotum. Doctors may then use stitches to seal the area up.
For vasectomies without a scalpel, doctors will operate through a small hole in the scrotum. This procedure may reduce recovery times and the risk of complications.
With both procedures, it is essential to allow the wound to heal before having sex again. This should take less than 2 weeks, but it could last longer.
There can also be pain and swelling in the area that interferes with sex after the wounds heal. It is best to avoid sex until all these symptoms go away. Having sex before the healing process is complete can cause further injuries and delay recovery.
It is possible to masturbate without putting pressure on the wounds. But ejaculating causes muscles in the area to contract, which can be painful and cause swelling.
How long until the male is sterile?
It can take up to 3 monthsTrusted Source for a person to become completely sterile after a vasectomy. An individual is sterile when their sperm count falls to zero. It is still possible to ejaculate as before, but the semen will not contain sperm that can cause pregnancy.
During this initial 3-month period after the procedure, the sperm count may still be high enough to cause pregnancy. Even after the wound heals, it is necessary to use protection during sex. This will prevent any remaining sperm from causing pregnancy.
Doctors will perform a checkup 6–12 weeks after the vasectomy. They will assess whether the wound has recovered and organize a sperm count. It is best to wait until this checkup before having unprotected sex again.
Vasectomies are highly effective. One study estimates that between 98–99%Trusted Source of cases are successful, with a low risk of complications.
Effects on sex and sexual function
After a full recovery from a vasectomy, there should be no impact on sexual functioning. Having a sperm count of zero does not affect how the sexual organs work.
There should be no changes in the enjoyment of sex or reductions in sex drive. The first few ejaculations after recover may be uncomfortable, but this will ease over time. If the pain does persist, a person can consult their doctor for advice.
Vasectomies are unlikely to lead to any lasting complications. Despite early concerns, a comprehensive review in JAMA Internal MedicineTrusted Source found that vasectomies do not increase the risk of prostate cancer.
In rare cases, some men experience post-vasectomy pain syndromeTrusted Source. This condition causes chronic pain from nerve damage or a buildup of sperm that occurs after a vasectomy.
Recovery tips
Tips to aid recovery from a vasectomy include:
Using ice packs: Applying an ice pack to the wound for 20 minutes can reduce swelling and pain. Wrap the ice pack to keep it from making direct contact with the skin.
Lying down: During the first few days following a vasectomy, it is advisable to lie down as much as possible. This precaution reduces strain on the wound.
Avoiding heavy lifting: This can strain muscles around the scrotum and cause further harm.
Wearing supportive underwear: Wearing briefs that cup the testicles can reduce pressure on the wound. A jockstrap provides additional support and reduces friction in the area.
Cleaning regularly: It is essential to gently clean the wound every day. This routine will help to prevent infections.
Avoiding masturbation: During recovery, it is sensible to avoid masturbating to prevent damage to muscles or tissue in the area.
Outlook
Vasectomies are a highly effective procedure with a low risk of complications. It is best to avoid sex as the wound heals, usually within the first couple of weeks. After this recovery period, people should stick to protected sex until a doctor advises otherwise. This can take up to 3 months.
Vasectomies do not affect sexual functioning or reduce sex drive. After a vasectomy, it will still be possible to get an erection and ejaculate as before. Sperm only makes up a tiny proportion of semen, so a vasectomy should not cause a noticeable change in the amount of ejaculate.
Having a vasectomy can be a big decision that causes anxiety. It can help to discuss the consequences of a vasectomy with loved ones before going ahead.
Sexual Health / STDsBirth Control / ContraceptionMen's Health
What to know about hemorrhoid banding
Medically reviewed by Saurabh (Seth) Sethi, MD MPH on October 21, 2019 New — Written by Jenna Fletcher
Who needs hemorrhoid banding?
Preparation
What to expect
Recovery
Success rates
Risks
Alternatives
Summary
Hemorrhoid banding, also known as rubber band ligation, is a minimally invasive outpatient procedure that treats hemorrhoids and helps prevent them from coming back.
Hemorrhoids are swollen veins in the lower part of the anus and rectum. They can cause discomfort, anal pain, and itching and tend to be more common as people get older.
People with hemorrhoids often treat them at home, but hemorrhoids sometimes do not respond well to home treatments. In these cases, hemorrhoid banding is an effective medical treatment option. However, the procedure may not be suitable for everyone.
In this article, we examine hemorrhoid banding, who needs it, and what to expect. We also look at the effectiveness of hemorrhoid banding and whether there are any alternative treatments.
Many people relieve their hemorrhoids with at-home treatments, such as:
cold compresses
sitz baths
a high fiber diet
over-the-counter (OTC) topical treatments
oral pain relievers
A doctor may also recommend creams or ointments that contain witch hazel, hydrocortisone, or lidocaine to help ease pain and itching.
Hemorrhoids may not always respond to home treatments and remedies. In these cases, they may become increasingly itchy or painful.
Sometimes, they can start to bleed. If hemorrhoids are persistently bleeding or painful, the person may be a suitable candidate for hemorrhoid banding.
Hemorrhoid banding is only an option for internal hemorrhoids, not external hemorrhoids. Internal hemorrhoids form on the lining of the rectum and anus.
Preparation
Before the procedure, a person should talk to their doctor about any medications that they are taking, including OTC drugs and supplements. A doctor can advise them on which medications to stop taking in the lead up to the procedure and suggest alternative options.
A doctor will also provide guidance on what to do before going to the hospital. For example, they will advise the person to avoid food and drink for several hours before the procedure.
Finally, a person should talk to their doctor about whether they need general anesthesia.
The individual should plan to have someone accompany them to the procedure. It is also helpful to have support on the days immediately after the procedure.
What to expect
Hemorrhoid banding is a relatively simple outpatient procedure, meaning that the person will usually go home on the same day.
Hemorrhoid banding typically takes place in the hospital. However, the procedure may sometimes happen at the doctor's office or in another outpatient setting.
Usually, a healthcare professional administers local or topical anesthesia to the rectum. They might use general anesthesia if the hemorrhoids are causing significant pain or if there are several of them that require banding.
Once a person has received the appropriate anesthesia, the doctor will insert an anoscope into the rectum. The anoscope is a long tube with a light at the end that allows the doctor to locate and reach the hemorrhoid.
When the doctor has reached the hemorrhoid, they will insert a small instrument called a litigator through the anoscope. They will use the litigator to tie a rubber band around the base of the hemorrhoid. The doctor will repeat the process for each hemorrhoid that they find.
Typically, the entire procedure only takes a few minutes, but the exact time will depend on the number of hemorrhoids present.
Recovery
ollowing the procedure, the hemorrhoids will start to dry up and then fall off. It can take a couple of weeks for this to occur. A person may not even notice passing the dried up hemorrhoid in their stool.
There may be some side effects after hemorrhoid banding, including:
swelling or pain in the abdomen
extra gas
flatulence
constipation
Some people may experience bleeding following the procedure. Although some bleeding is normal, if it does not clear within a day or two, a person should contact their doctor.
The doctor may recommend or prescribe a laxative following the procedure to help prevent constipation and gas.
Success rates
A study in the journal Diseases of the Colon & Rectum found that hemorrhoid banding was successful in about 8 in 10 people.
However, up to 1 in 10 people may need surgery to remove their hemorrhoids following hemorrhoid banding.
Risks and complications
Side effects are not very common with hemorrhoid banding. However, some reported side effects include:
bleeding from the anus
severe pain that does not respond to medications
infection in the anus or surrounding area
recurring hemorrhoids
problems urinating
If a person experiences any side effects, they should talk to their doctor.
Hemorrhoid banding is one of the preferred nonsurgical solutions for internal hemorrhoids.
However, some people may not want to undergo this procedure because it can be painful or uncomfortable.
A doctor may recommend alternative minimally invasive options or surgical procedures.
Sclerotherapy
One alternative is sclerotherapy. Sclerotherapy is a form of therapy in which a doctor injects a chemical into the hemorrhoid that cuts off blood flow. This type of treatment often requires multiple trips to the doctor's office, and the hemorrhoids may grow back.
Electrocoagulation
Another alternative is electrocoagulation, in which the doctor uses the heat from an electric current to create scar tissue. A similar procedure called infrared coagulation uses infrared light for this instead. In both cases, hemorrhoids often reoccur following the procedure.
Surgical removal
A final alternative to hemorrhoid banding is the surgical removal of hemorrhoids. Although surgical removal may be effective, it carries a higher risk than other treatments of the person developing complications or other risk factors.
Summary
Hemorrhoid banding is usually an effective way to remove internal hemorrhoids.
Although the procedure is often quick, it can be uncomfortable for some people, which makes it less appealing than some of the alternatives.
However, a person may wish to consider hemorrhoid banding as a treatment option for internal hemorrhoids because it is often more effective than some of the alternative treatments and usually requires just one visit to the hospital.
GastroIntestinal / Gastroenterology
5 sources
What to know about a fish bone in the throat
Last reviewed Mon 21 Oct 2019 By Jenna Fletcher Reviewed by Elaine K. Luo, MD
Table of contents
Swallowing a fish bone is a common occurrence, especially for people who eat a lot of fish. Though fish bones are often small, oddly shaped, and sharp, the bone will usually pass through the digestive tract without any issues. However, some people may end up with a fish bone stuck in their throat.
If this occurs, the lodged bone can cause discomfort and panic, though it is not usually painful. Due to the common nature of this occurrence, there are many established methods that can help dislodge the fish bone from the throat.
Keep reading for more information on what it feels like, how to remove a bone, and when to see a doctor.
Signs and symptoms
A person is likely to feel the fish bone as soon as it gets stuck. The cause of any discomfort is also likely to be immediately apparent.
Aside from general discomfort, there are several other possible symptoms of having a bone stuck in the throat, including:
coughing
a prickly or tingly sensation in the throat
pain when swallowing
difficulty swallowing
a feeling of fullness at the base of the neck
a sharp pain where the bone has impacted the throat
spitting up blood
Possible complications
If a person believes that they have a fish bone stuck in their throat that they cannot remove, they should see a doctor or healthcare provider as soon as possible.
Most fish bones are very sharp. They can cut or cause an abrasion on the throat on their way down, even if they do not get stuck. In these cases, it may feel as though the bone is stuck in the throat, when in reality, it has already passed through the esophagus toward the stomach.
However, if the person is spitting blood, can confirm that the bone has impacted, or is having trouble breathing, they should immediately go to their doctor or the emergency room. They should not go to bed if they suspect that a bone is lodged in their throat.
Possible complications of having a fish bone stuck in the throat include:
an inability to swallow food
bleeding
puncturing the esophagus
infection
chest pain
abscess
Ways to remove a fish bone at home
There are several potential methods a person can try at home that may help remove the fish bone without medical intervention. However, each person is different and results can vary.
To try some fish bone removal methods at home:
Cough forcefully.
Drink a small amount of vinegar to help break the bone down with the acid.
Drink soda. The gases it produces in the stomach can help break down the bone.
Drink 1 tablespoon of olive oil to help lubricate and free the bone.
Swallow a large bite of banana. This may stick to the bone and dislodge it.
Take a large bite of bread and peanut butter. This could help loosen the bone.
Soak bread in water for a few seconds, then swallow a large chunk. The weight could dislodge the bone.
Partially chew a large marshmallow and swallow it whole. The stickiness may help loosen the bone from the throat.
Learn more about what to do if someone has food stuck in their throat.
If the fish bone remains lodged, a person should seek medical advice.
Can pregnancy occur after a vasectomy?
Last reviewed Mon 21 Oct 2019 By Zawn Villines Reviewed by Valinda Riggins Nwadike
Table of contents
A vasectomy is a surgical procedure that cuts or blocks the vas deferens, the two tubes that carry sperm from the testicles to the urethra. The procedure stops sperm from getting into the semen in order to prevent pregnancy.
After a vasectomy, an individual can still ejaculate and produce sperm, but the body reabsorbs the sperm, and it never reaches the semen.
A vasectomy is a very effective form of male birth control, but is it still possible for a partner to get pregnant?
In this article, we explore the reasons why pregnancy may still happen after a vasectomy.
We also look at the reversal options for achieving pregnancy and discuss sperm aspiration, a procedure that can lead to pregnancy if people use it with in vitro fertilization (IVF).
Likelihood of pregnancy after a vasectomy
There is a very low possibility of pregnancy 3 months after a vasectomy.
The likelihood of getting pregnant after a vasectomy is almost zero when couples wait at least 3 months following the procedure to have sex without birth control.
After a vasectomy, a doctor will test the semen to assess whether there are sperm present. To reduce the risk of pregnancy, the person who has the vasectomy and their partner should use a backup contraceptive method until a doctor gives them the go-ahead.
If people have sex without contraception too soon after a vasectomy, there is a risk that some sperm may remain in the semen. If so, this sperm could fertilize an egg, leading to pregnancy.
Reasons for pregnancy after a vasectomy
1. Having sex too soon
Vasectomy failures are most common in the months following surgery if a couple engages in sex too soon without using contraception.
The sperm life cycle is about 3 months. This means that sperm may be able to get into semen for several months following the procedure. The longer the time-lapse since the vasectomy, the less likely that this will happen.
Around 1–2 out of every 1,000 females whose partners have a vasectomy get pregnant in the year following the vasectomy.
Everything you need to know about vasectomy
What are the side effects, risks, and complications of a vasectomy? Learn about these here.
READ NOW
2. Vasectomy procedure did not work
Sometimes the vasectomy procedure does not fully block the vas deferens. When this happens, a doctor might recommend redoing the procedure, sometimes using a different vasectomy method.
In most cases, a semen analysis that a doctor does after the procedure will reveal that it did not work.
3. Recanalization
Recanalization reverses a vasectomy.
It is also possible for a vasectomy to fail weeks, months, or even years after the procedure through a process called recanalization.
Recanalization happens when the vas deferens grow back to create a new connection, causing the vasectomy to reverse itself.
Most cases of recanalization happen within 12 weeks of the procedure. When recanalization happens years later, it may go undetected until a person's partner gets pregnant.
The risk of recanalization may increase if:
a person chooses an open-ended vasectomy, which closes only one end of the vas deferens
sperm tissue is present at the vasectomy site
What are the failure rates?
Various studies estimate that the early failure rate for vasectomies ranges from between 0.3% and 9% of all procedures.
Late failure is less common, with an estimated failure rate ranging from between 0.04 to 0.08%.
Can a vasectomy be reversed?
Most vasectomies are reversible. Between 3–6% of males who have vasectomies eventually have a reversal.
The procedures for reversal are:
Vasovasostomy: This procedure is where a doctor rejoins the cut or clipped ends of the vas deferens. This procedure is used in most cases and is less technically challenging, and therefore has higher success rates.
Vasoepididymostomy: An alternative procedure, where a doctor j
Vasoepididymostomy: An alternative procedure, where a doctor joins one end of the vas deferens to the epididymis, the tube that stores sperm and transports it from the testes. This procedure is more technically challenging, and so has a lower success rate.
Reversal success in achieving pregnancy
A number of factors influence the success of a reversal in achieving pregnancy, including:
experience and skill of the surgeon
good sperm count of the individual
overall health of both partners
intercourse timing
the woman's fertility
If the first reversal fails, a person may choose to pursue a second reversal.
Sperm aspiration and in vitro fertilization
IVF is a procedure that fertilizes an egg outside of the woman's body. A doctor then implants the egg into the woman's uterus in the hope of pregnancy occurring.
People who have had vasectomies can still impregnate their partners through IVF, even without a vasectomy reversal.
To achieve this, a person undergoes a sperm aspiration under anesthetic. During this procedure, a doctor directly retrieves sperm from the testis or epididymis using a needle.
As long as a person's sperm are healthy at the time of sperm aspiration, their chances of impregnating their partner through IVF are the same as they would be if they had not had a vasectomy. So, for people whose partners have fertility issues or who are not good candidates for reversal, sperm aspiration may be the best option for having a child.
Outlook
People with concerns about overall success rates or who believe they may wish to reverse their vasectomies should discuss all options before pursuing a vasectomy.
There is no guarantee that a vasectomy will work in all people, nor that a vasectomy reversal will make a person fertile. People should, therefore, weigh the risks and benefits with their partners and doctors.
Cognitive dissonance: What to know
Last reviewed Mon 21 Oct 2019 By Jayne Leonard Reviewed by Timothy J. Legg, PhD, CRNP
Table of contents
Cognitive dissonance is a theory in social psychology. It refers to the mental conflict that occurs when a person's behaviors and beliefs do not align.
It may also happen when a person holds two beliefs that contradict one another.
Cognitive dissonance causes feelings of unease and tension, and people attempt to relieve this discomfort in different ways. Examples include "explaining things away" or rejecting new information that conflicts with their existing beliefs.
Read on to learn more about cognitive dissonance and its effects.
What is cognitive dissonance?
The psychologist Leon Festinger published his theory of cognitive dissonance in his 1957 book, A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance.
Festinger proposed that people experience discomfort when they hold conflicting beliefs or when their actions contradict their beliefs.
Since then, cognitive dissonance has become one of the most influential and researched theories in social psychology.
People will try to reduce this dissonance to relieve the discomfort. The drive to resolve dissonance is called the "principle of cognitive consistency."
It is important to note that cognitive dissonance is not automatic when a person holds opposing beliefs. They must have an awareness of the inconsistency to feel discomfort.
Not everyone experiences cognitive dissonance to the same degree. Some people have a higher tolerance for uncertainty and inconsistency and may experience less cognitive dissonance than those who require consistency.
Other factors that affect the degree of cognitive dissonance that a person experiences include:
The type of beliefs: Beliefs that are more personal lead to more significant dissonance.
The value of the beliefs: Beliefs that people hold in high regard tend to cause greater dissonance.
The size of the disparity: A substantial disparity between conflicting and harmonious beliefs will result in more dissonance.
Effects
Cognitive dissonance has the immediate effect of causing feelings of discomfort and unease.
As people generally have an innate desire to avoid this discomfort, cognitive dissonance has a significant effect on a person's:
behaviors
thoughts
decisions
beliefs and attitudes
mental health
People experiencing cognitive dissonance may notice that they feel:
anxious
guilty
ashamed
As a result, they may:
try to hide their actions or beliefs from others
rationalize their actions or choices continuously
shy away from conversations or debates about specific topics
avoid learning new information that goes against their existing beliefs
ignore research, newspaper articles, or doctor's advice that causes dissonance
Avoiding factual information can allow people to continue maintaining behaviors with which they do not fully agree.
Of course, cognitive dissonance may prompt some people to change their behavior so that their actions align with their beliefs. In this way, it provides people with an opportunity to examine their values and actions and achieve cognitive consistency.
As a result of cognitive dissonance, many people confront problematic attitudes and actions.
They may make positive changes in their lives, such as addressing unhealthful eating habits, addiction, or anger issues.
Everything you need to know about clear urine
Last reviewed Mon 21 Oct 2019 By Jenna Fletcher Reviewed by Deborah Weatherspoon, PhD, RN, CRNA
Table of contents
In many cases, the color of a person's urine can indicate whether or not they are drinking enough water. Clear urine often indicates proper hydration.
In some cases of clear urine, however, a person may be too hydrated or have an underlying condition that causes them to urinate more than usual.
This article contains more information on the causes of clear urine, when to see a doctor, and what other urine colors mean.
Clear urine and hydration
Clear urine tends to indicate that a person is well hydrated. It could also suggest that they are too hydrated.
If a person has consumed a lot of liquids during the day, they may have too much water in their system.
When this occurs, they can inadvertently dilute their blood and lower their essential salt and electrolyte levels.
In some rare cases, a person may develop hyponatremia. Hyponatremia is a potentially life threatening condition in which the brain swells due to a lack of salt in the body.
According to research from 2014, hyponatremia can occur due to excessive water intake or because the kidneys are not processing water fast enough.
Other causes of clear urine
If a person has clear urine occasionally, it is most likely that they are very well hydrated on those days.
However, a person may wish to speak to a doctor if they have consistently clear urine, as it may indicate an underlying condition, such as:
Diabetes
Diabetes occurs when the body cannot regulate blood sugar (glucose) levels and therefore cannot use the sugar properly for energy.
People with diabetes often have excessive thirst and feel the need to urinate frequently. The excess urination is from the kidneys trying to get rid of extra sugar and liquid.
Without treatment, diabetes can be life threatening. However, a doctor can easily diagnose it with a blood test, and there are many treatment options.
Learn more about the symptoms of diabetes here.
Diabetes insipidus
Diabetes insipidus is a rare condition that occurs when the kidneys produce an unusually high amount of urine.
According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, most people pass around 1–2 quarts of urine per day. A person with diabetes insipidus passes about 3–20 quarts of urine each day.
People living with diabetes insipidus do not have issues with their blood sugar levels like those with more common types of diabetes.
Instead, their kidneys cannot balance fluids properly, and their body may make them feel more thirsty than normal to help replace lost fluids.
Underlying kidney problems
If the kidneys are damaged or infected, a person can experience abnormal urination, including clear urination.
They may also have other symptoms, such as painful urination or a fever.
A set of rare conditions known as Bartter syndrome, or potassium wasting, can also cause a person to urinate frequently. If they drink more to compensate, their urine may be clear.
Taking diuretics
Taking diuretics is another possible cause of clear urine. These medications cause the body to produce more urine to flush out extra salts and water.
If a person is taking diuretics, it can cause excessive urination that may be very pale or clear.
Pregnancy
Pregnant women may also develop a form of diabetes called gestational diabetes. The symptoms may be mild but include increased thirst and needing to urinate more often.
Gestational diabetes can increase the risk of pregnancy complications, so a doctor may test for it during a regular checkup. It usually disappears after childbirth.
Learn more about the symptoms of gestational diabetes here.
Other colors
Urine can vary in color depending on the person and their diet. In many people, urine color may indicate the level of hydration, foods eaten or medications taken, or the presence of an underlying health condition.
The following are some typical colors of urine and what they could indicate:

В этой работе Бабалаво Обанифа документирует одну из традиционных акосе ифа (лекарство ифа), доступное в фитотерапии йоруба, которую можно использовать для облегчения естественного облегчения труда и родов. Один из акосе ифа (лекарство ифа), доступный для этой цели происходит от Odu Ifa Ejiogbe. Подготовить Акосе Ифа для этой цели, которая является документом в этой работе. Awo потребуются следующие предметы. Они есть:
Yepe idi igi araba to wu fun ara re (пески корней дерева араба - большое дерево - которое само по себе упало)
Ipe Ire (шипы дикобраза)
Ипе Акика (весы панголина)
Efo ara Boja (овощ, купленный на рынке)
подготовка
Вы сожжете четыре вышеупомянутых предмета на древесном угле и перемолоть его до мелкого порошка. Используйте его, чтобы запечатать Odu Ifa Ejiogbe таким образом:
I I
I I
I I
I I
Затем вы будете повторять на нем следующие заклинания Ифа:
Сики-сики Молоби
Onyagba
Ово о коко лорун сагеде
Siki-siki pe nife Oodaye
Кеке па рере
Rere pa keke
Мо т е л ё т е д ё ти кеке фи па рере
Ti rere fi pa keke
Won ni omo Olufe ni nrobi lowo
Выиграл Ни Осон Ило так ко
Авон адже иль кан моль
Орунмила ни ю би би Омо ни синсисн
Выиграл Иво Орунмила Баво Ни Ю Се Би Би Оомо Син Син
Ifa ni tipe -tipe ni Ire n bi omo tie
Tipe-tipe ni Akika n bi omo tie
Томи-Томи Ни Эфо
Ти иги нла ба сиди
Ilepa re si tele
Ejiogbe ki o lo se onigbowo ibi lagabaja k
Эджиогбе ки о гбе омо ва ва ни син-син
Перевод
Siki-Siki Lo Beere (Сики-Сики много)
Onyagba
Ово о коко лорун сагеде
Siki-siki pe nife Oodaye (они собираются в Ife Oodaye)
Была полная тишина
В страхе была мертвая тишина
Я спросил, почему там полная тишина?
Они ответили, что дочь Олуфе рожала
Они сказали, что волшебница связала свою беременность
Ведьмы связывают свою беременность
Орунмила сказала, что родит ребенка сейчас-сейчас
Они потребовали от Орунмилы, как она сможет родить ребенка
Ифа ответила, что Панголин родит его с весами
Дикобраз родит ребенка с шипами
Овощи приходят домой с рынка с каплями воды
Когда зрелое большое дерево падает
Почва вокруг него сместится вдоль
Ejiogbe прийти и взять на себя ответственность за доставку этого ребенка
Ejiogbe иди и благополучно оживи ребенка
Авторское право: Babalawo Pele Obasa Obanifa, телефон и контакт WhatsApp: +2348166343145, местоположение Ile Ife osun штат Нигерия.
ВАЖНОЕ УВЕДОМЛЕНИЕ. Что касается статьи выше, ни одна часть этой статьи не может быть воспроизведена или воспроизведена в любой форме или любым способом, электронным или механическим, включая фотокопирование и запись, или любой системой хранения или поиска информации без предварительного письменного разрешения от владельца авторских прав и автор Бабалаво Обанифа, поступивший таким образом, будет признан незаконным и повлечет за собой юридические последствия
中文版
BABALAWO OBANIFA-Obanifa极端纪录片的轻松人工和运送的EJIOGBE药物

在这项工作中，Babalawo Obanifa将记录约鲁巴草药中可用的一种传统的Akose Ifa（Ifa药物），可自然地方便分娩和分娩。其中一种Akose Ifa（Ifa药物）可用于此目的 源自Odu Ifa Ejiogbe。 为此目的准备Akose Ifa，这是本工作中记录的内容。 Awo将需要以下物品。 他们是：
Yepe idi Igi Araba到Wu Fun ara re（阿拉伯树-大树的根的沙子-自然倒下）
Ipe Ire（豪猪的尖刺）
Ipe Akika（穿山甲鳞片）
Efo ara boja（从市场上购买的蔬菜）
制备
您将把上述四个物品烧成木炭并将其磨成细粉，用它在Odu Ifa Ejiogbe上留下印记：
我
我
我
我
然后，您将在其上吟诵以下Ifa咒语：
Siki-siki Molobee
奥尼亚巴
哦，可可·罗兰·萨基德
Siki-siki pe nife Oodaye
可可
Rere pakeke
莫蒂洛耶·蒂耶·蒂凯克·菲尔
提神
赢得了元宵节
韩元元朗
Awon aje ile kan mole
香bi
元尼沃沃·奥米尔米拉·沃尼·比奥·莫辛辛
ifa nitipe -tipe ni Ire n bi omotie
Tipe-tipe ni Akika n bi omo tie
Tomi-tomi ni efo n ti oja wale
提格吉拉巴西迪
Ilepa re si tele
Ejiogbe ki o lo se onigbowo ibi lagabaja k
Ejiogbe ki o gbe omo na wa ni sin-sin
翻译
Siki-siki lo Beere（Siki -siki很多）
奥尼亚巴
哦，可可·罗兰·萨基德
Siki-siki pe nife Oodaye（他们在Ife Oodaye组装）
一片寂静
恐惧中寂静无声
我问，为什么会有完全的沉默？
他们回答说，奥卢夫的女儿正在工作。
他们说巫师束缚了她的怀孕
女巫束缚了她的怀孕
奥伦米拉说她现在就分娩
他们从奥伦米拉（Orunmila）要求她将如何分娩婴儿
Ifa回应说，穿山甲将它的鳞片递给婴儿
豪猪为婴儿提供刺突
蔬菜因水滴而从市场运回家
当一棵成熟的大树倒下时
周围的土壤会沿着
Ejiogbe来负责这个婴儿的分娩
Ejiogbe去把婴儿安全地带入生活
版权：Babalawo Pele Obasa Obanifa，电话和whatsapp联系人：+2348166343145，位于尼日利亚Ile Ife osun省。
重要声明：关于以上文章，未经版权所有者和作者的事先书面许可，不得以任何形式或通过任何方式（包括影印和记录的电子或机械方式）或通过任何信息存储或检索系统来复制或复制本文的任何部分。 作者Babalawo Obanifa，这样做将被视为非法，并将引起法律后果
BABALAWO OBANIFA-Obanifa चरम वृत्तचित्रों द्वारा आसानी से श्रम और वितरण के लिए वैकल्पिक दवा

इस कार्य में बाबालाव ओबनिफा योरूबा हर्बल दवा में उपलब्ध पारंपरिक अको इफ़ा (इफ़ा दवा) में से एक का दस्तावेजीकरण करेंगे, जिसका उपयोग स्वाभाविक रूप से आसान श्रम और प्रसव के लिए किया जा सकता है। एको इफ़ा (इफ़ा औषधि) जो इस उद्देश्य के लिए उपलब्ध है। Odu Ifa Ejiogbe से लिया गया है। इस कार्य के लिए एको इफ्ता तैयार करना जो इस कार्य में दस्तावेज हो,। आवो को निम्नलिखित वस्तुओं की आवश्यकता होगी। वो हैं:
येपे इडी इगी अरबा टू वुज़ फ्रा एरा री (अरब के वृक्षों की जड़ों की रेत-बड़ा पेड़-जो कि प्राकृतिक रूप से गिर गया)
आइप इटैलिक (स्पिरिसेस के स्पाइक्स)
इपे अक्का (पैंगोलिन के तराजू)
Efo आरा बोजा (बाजार से खरीदी गई सब्जी)
तैयारी
आप चार उक्त वस्तुओं को चारकोल में जलाएंगे और इसे महीन पाउडर में पीसेंगे। इस प्रकार ओडू इवा इजीगोब की छाप लगाने के लिए इसका उपयोग करें:
मुझे लगता है मैं
मुझे लगता है मैं
मुझे लगता है मैं
मुझे लगता है मैं
फिर आप इस पर निम्न इया अवतारों का जाप करेंगे:
सिक्की-सिक्की मोलोबी
Onyagba
ओउ ओ कोको लोरुन सेजेडे
सिक्की-सिक्की पे नाइफ ओदेय
केके पा रे
रेरे पा केके
मो ति लो जे तैं जे केके फे पा रे
तैं ररे फि पाके
वोन नी ओमो ओलुफे नी एन नरोबी लोवो
जीत नी ओसों इले तो कोऊ
अवन अजे इले कान मोल
ओरुन्मिला नी यूओ बी ओमो नी सिन्सिसन
वोन नी इवो ओरमुमिला बावो नी यू से बीओ ओमो नी पाप-पाप
इफ्ता नी टाइप -टाइप नी इटैलिक एन बाय ओमो टाई
पका-पका नी अखिका n द्वि ओमो टाई
तोमी-तोमी नी ईफो एन ती ओझा वाला
तैं इगी नाला बा सिडी
इलेपा री सी टेली
Ejiogbe ki o lo se onigbowo ibi lagabaja k
इजीबबे की ओ गबे ओमो न वा नी पाप-पाप
अनुवाद
Siki-siki lo beere (siki -siki बहुत हैं)
Onyagba
ओउ ओ कोको लोरुन सेजेडे
Siki-siki pe nife Oodaye (वे इफ़े ओदेय में इकट्ठा होते हैं)
एकदम सन्नाटा था
भय में मृत सन्नाटा था
मैंने पूछा, वहाँ क्यों ख़ामोशी है?
उन्होंने उत्तर दिया, कि ओलूफे की बेटी श्रम में थी
उन्होंने कहा कि जादूगर ने उसकी गर्भावस्था को रोक दिया है
चुड़ैलों ने उसकी गर्भावस्था को तोड़ दिया है
ओरुनमिला ने कहा कि वह अब और अब बच्चे को जन्म देगी
उन्होंने ओरुमिला से मांग की कि वह कैसे बच्चे को जन्म दे पाएगी
इफ़ा ने जवाब दिया कि पैंगोलिन ने इसे तराजू के साथ बच्चे को दिया
पोरपाइन अपने बच्चे को अपने स्पाइक्स के साथ वितरित करती है
सब्जियां पानी की बूंदों के साथ बाजार से घरों में आती हैं
जब एक परिपक्व बड़ा पेड़ गिरता है
इसके आस-पास की मिट्टी साथ में शिफ्ट हो जाएगी
Ejiogbe आते हैं और इस बच्चे की डिलीवरी का जिम्मा लेते हैं
Ejiogbe जाओ और सुरक्षित रूप से बच्चे को लाने के लिए
कॉपीराइट: बबालावो पेले ओबासा ओबनिफा, फोन और व्हाट्सएप संपर्क: 13:48166343145, स्थान इले इफ ओसुन राज्य नाइजीरिया।
महत्वपूर्ण सूचना: जैसा कि इस लेख के किसी भी भाग के ऊपर दिए गए लेख को किसी भी रूप में या किसी भी माध्यम से इलेक्ट्रॉनिक या यांत्रिक रूप से पुन: प्रस्तुत या दोहराया नहीं जा सकता है, फोटोकॉपी और रिकॉर्डिंग सहित या किसी भी जानकारी के भंडारण या पुनर्प्राप्ति प्रणाली द्वारा कॉपीराइट धारक से पूर्व लिखित अनुमति के बिना। लेखक बाबालाव ओबनिफा, ऐसा करना गैरकानूनी होगा और कानूनी परिणामों को आकर्षित करेगा
دواء EJIOGBE لسهولة العمل والتوصيل بقلم BABALAWO OBANIFA-Obanifa

في هذا العمل ، سوف يقوم Babalawo Obanifa بتوثيق أحد الأدوية التقليدية لأكوس إيفا (دواء إيفا) المتوفرة في الأدوية العشبية اليوروبا التي يمكن استخدامها بشكل طبيعي لتسهيل المخاض والولادة بسهولة. أحد أكوسي إيفا (دواء إيفا) المتاح لهذا الغرض مشتق من Odu Ifa Ejiogbe. لإعداد Akose Ifa لهذا الغرض الذي تم المستند في هذا العمل ،. سوف تحتاج Awo العناصر التالية. هم انهم:
نعم idi igi araba ل wu fun ara re (رمال جذور شجرة Araba- الشجرة الكبيرة التي سقطت في حد ذاتها طبيعية)
Ipe Ire (المسامير النيص)
ايب اكيكا (جداول بانجولين)
Efo ara boja (الخضروات المشتراة من السوق)
تجهيز
سوف تحرق العناصر الأربعة المذكورة أعلاه على الفحم وطحنها لمسحوق ناعم. استخدمها لتطبع Odu Ifa Ejiogbe وبالتالي:
I I
I I
I I
I I
ستقوم بعد ذلك بترديد تعاليم Ifa التالية عليه:
سيكي سيكي مولوبي
Onyagba
Owo o koko lorun Sagede
Siki-siki pe nife Oodaye
كيكي با ريري
Rere كيك
Mo ti lo je ti je ti keke fi pa rere
Ti rere fi pa keke
فاز ني أومو Olufe ني n nrobi lowo
فاز ني عون اوسو حتى كو
عون ايلي خان الخلد
Orunmila ni yoo bi Omo n sinsisn
فاز ني ايو أورونميلا باو ني يو حد ذاته أومو ني الخطيئة
Ifa n tipe-tip-ni Ire n bi omo tie
Tipe-tipe ni Akika n bi omo tie
Tomi-tomi ni efo n ti oja wale
Ti igi nla ba sidi
Ilepa إعادة تيلي الاشتراكية
Ejiogbe ki o lo se onigbowo ibi lagabaja k
Ejiogbe ki o gbe omo na wa ni sin-sin
ترجمة
Siki-siki lo beere (siki-siki هي الكثير)
Onyagba
Owo o koko lorun Sagede
Siki-siki pe nife Oodaye (يتجمعون في Ife Oodaye)
كان هناك صمت مطلق
كان هناك صمت ميت في خوف
سألت ، لماذا يوجد صمت مطلق؟
أجابوا ، أن ابنة أولوفي كانت في حالة مخاض
قالوا إن المعالج ربط الحمل
السحرة لها التعادل لأسفل الحمل
قالت أورونميلا إنها ستلد الطفل الآن
طلبوا من Orunmila كيف ستكون قادرة على ولادة الطفل
أجاب أجاب أن Pangolin تسليمها طفل مع جداول
يقوم النيص بتسليم طفله من خلال طفراته
الخضروات تأتي المنازل من السوق مع قطرات الماء
عندما تسقط شجرة كبيرة ناضجة
التربة من حوله سوف تتحول على طول
Ejiogbe تأتي وتحمل مسؤولية تسليم هذا الطفل
Ejiogbe اذهب وجلب الطفل إلى الحياة بأمان
حقوق الطبع والنشر: Babalawo Pele Obasa Obanifa ، الهاتف واتس اب الاتصال: +2348166343145 ، موقع Ile Ife osun ولاية نيجيريا.
إشعار هام: فيما يتعلق بالمادة أعلاه ، لا يجوز إعادة إنتاج أو تكرار أي جزء من هذه المادة بأي شكل أو بأي وسيلة ، سواء كانت إلكترونية أو ميكانيكية ، بما في ذلك التصوير والتسجيل أو بأي نظام لتخزين المعلومات أو استرجاعها دون إذن كتابي مسبق من صاحب حقوق الطبع والنشر و المؤلف Babalawo Obanifa ، القيام بذلك سوف يعتبر غير قانوني وسوف يجلب عواقب قانونية
Potato puree is a promising race fuel for athletes
Published 1 hour ago By Catharine Paddock, Ph.D. Fact checked by Carolyn Robertson
Athletes commonly consume carbohydrate energy gels to improve race performance and endurance. Now, research involving trained cyclists suggests that potato puree can be just as effective.
Compared with ingesting water alone, cyclists who ingested potato puree performed as well during an endurance trial as cyclists who consumed a commercial carbohydrate energy gel with the same amount of carbohydrate.
"In conclusion," note the researchers in a recent Journal of Applied Physiology paper on the study, "potato and gel ingestion equally sustained blood glucose concentrations and [time trial] performance."
"Research has shown," says senior study author Nicholas A. Burd, a professor of kinesiology and community health at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, "that ingesting concentrated carbohydrate gels during prolonged exercise promotes carbohydrate availability during exercise and improves exercise performance."
"Our study aim was to expand and diversify race fueling options for athletes and offset flavor fatigue," he adds.
Although protein and fat can supply energy, the body breaks down carbohydrate much more efficiently to meet the energy demands of high intensity exercise.
Carbohydrate energy gels are ideal race fuels because, not only do they sustain performance, but the body readily digests and absorbs them.
"Potatoes are a whole food based option that fulfills these criteria, yet their impact on performance remains unexamined," write the authors.
Potato puree vs. carbohydrate gel
The study involved 12 healthy cyclists with several years of training and whose weekly cycling distance averaged 165 miles (267 kilometers). Their average age was 31 years old.
The team randomly assigned each participant to one of three race fuel groups: potato puree, carbohydrate gel, and water only. All groups completed a 2-hour cycling challenge and a time trial while consuming their particular race fuel.
The trial had a crossover design, meaning that the groups swapped around so that each participant experienced all three race fuels.
The researchers standardized the cyclists' food intake for 24 hours before the trial.
The cyclists gave blood samples throughout the trials. The researchers also monitored their heart rates, core body temperatures, exercise intensity, and gastric emptying. They also noted gastrointestinal symptoms.
The measures revealed that heart rate, blood glucose, and blood lactate were higher by similar amounts in the gel and potato puree groups when the research team compared them with the water only group. Lactate is a byproduct of muscle metabolism and a marker of exercise intensity.
In addition, time trial performance was the same in the gel and potato puree groups and better than the water only group.
"We found no differences between the performance of cyclists who got their carbohydrates by ingesting potatoes or gels at recommended amounts of about 60 grams per hour during the experiments," notes Prof. Burd.
He remarks that both potato puree and carbohydrate gel gave the cyclists a "significant boost in performance" in comparison to water only consumption.
Savory change to sweet carbohydrate gels
There was a marked difference in gastrointestinal effects, however. The potato puree group experienced more bloating, pain, and flatulence than the gel and water only groups.
Prof. Burd suggests that these symptoms could be because it takes a larger volume of potato puree to yield the same amount of glucose as that in gels.
"Nevertheless," comment the authors, "average [gastrointestinal] symptoms were lower than previous studies, indicating that both (carbohydrate) conditions were well tolerated by the majority of the study's cyclists."
They note that, as a cheap wholefood that is dense in nutrients, potatoes offer athletes a promising race fuel option. In addition, they provide a savory alternative to sweet carbohydrate gels.
The Alliance for Potato Research and Education sponsored the study.
"All in all, our study is a proof-of-concept showing that athletes may use whole food sources of carbohydrates as an alternative to commercial products to diversify race fueling menus."
Prof. Nicholas A. Burd
Heart and brain health are connected, but what influences both?
Written by Maria Cohut, Ph.D. on October 22, 2019 - Fact checked by Isabel Godfrey New
Studies have shown that there is a link between cardiovascular health and brain health, but it is unclear whether genetic or environmental factors are most important in determining them both. A new study in twins suggests that nurture, rather than nature, may be decisive.
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Nurture may be more important than genetic factors in determining heart and brain health outcomes.
Evidence from different studies has suggested that there is a strong linkTrusted Source between cardiovascular health and brain health.
Researchers have explained that poor cardiovascular health can, with age, contribute to dementia mechanisms, affecting cognitive function.
But what predisposes a person to poorer — or better — cardiovascular and brain health? So far, scientists have been unable to answer this question with any degree of certainty.
Generally speaking, there are two types of factors that could influence aspects of heart and brain health in the long term. These are genetic (nonmodifiable) factors and environmental (modifiable) factors, a conjuncture that people sometimes refer to as the "nature vs. nurture" conundrum.
To try to determine whether genes or environmental factors play a more important role in long term health outcomes for the heart and brain, researchers from Emory University in Atlanta, GA, decided to study a cohort able to provide more solid answers: pairs of twins.
Identical (monozygotic) twins have the same genetic profile, while fraternal (dizygotic) twins share about 50% of their genes. As a result, pairs of twins can allow researchers to compare the effects of nature with those of nurture more effectively than other populations.
Nurture may count more than nature
In the current study — the findings of which appear in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease — the researchers analyzed the data of 272 male pairs of monozygotic and dizygotic twins, which they were able to access via the Vietnam Era Twin RegistryTrusted Source. All of the participants were free of both cardiovascular disease and dementia at baseline.
More specifically, the investigators looked at the relationship between cardiovascular health — which they determined by scoring blood sugar and cholesterol, blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), physical activity, diet, and cigarette smoking — and cognitive performance.
"Our study across the entire sample of twins confirmed that better [cardiovascular health] is associated with better cognitive health in several domains," notes senior author Dr. Viola Vaccarino, Ph.D.
"The analyses further suggested that familial factors shared by the twins explain a large part of the association and thus could be important for both cardiovascular and brain health," she adds.
According to the findings of the study, the association between heart and brain health was similar among all pairs of twins, regardless of whether they were identical or fraternal.
The researchers believe that some of the modifiable factors that contribute to a predisposition toward certain heart and brain health outcomes include factors relating to early family life, as well as socioeconomic status and education.
Improving population-level [cardiovascular health] scores, which are extremely low in the United States, has the potential to reduce the burden of dementia along with heart disease," notes co-author Dr. Ambar Kulshreshtha, Ph.D.
"Because [cardiovascular health] factors are modifiable, prevention of cardiovascular risk factors and promotion of a healthy lifestyle beginning early in life should achieve the best results for promoting not only cardiovascular health but also cognitive health."
Dr. Ambar Kulshreshtha, Ph.D.
The findings, the investigators add, are relevant in the context of the American Heart Association's 2020 Strategic Impact Goal. This goal is a 20% improvement in cardiovascular health and a 20% reduction in deaths from cardiovascular diseases and stroke in the U.S., both by next year.
Cardiovascular / CardiologyAlzheimer's / DementiaHeart DiseaseNeurology / Neuroscience
Doctors' beliefs about treatment affect patients' experience of pain
Written by Ana Sandoiu on October 22, 2019 - Fact checked by Jasmin Collier New
New research finds that the placebo effect may be socially contagious. In other words, a doctor's beliefs about whether or not a pain treatment will work can exert a subtle influence on how much pain the patient will actually experience.
At first, they only used placebos as controls in drug experiments.
With time, however, placebos proved to have value as potential treatments in their own right.
Pain, depression, anxiety, irritable bowel syndrome, Parkinson's disease, and epilepsy are only some of the conditions that placebos have shown promise in treating.
A new study has looked into another fascinating aspect of the placebo: Does it transmit socially, from one person to another? If so, how? More specifically, how does a doctor's belief about the effects of a medication affect their patient's experience of pain?
Luke Chang — the director of the Computational Social Affective Neuroscience Laboratory at Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH — is the corresponding author of the new study.
Chang and colleagues have published their findings in the journal Nature Human BehaviourTrusted Source.
Testing placebo power in 3 experiments
To study the phenomenon of socially transmitted placebo, the researchers devised three experiments. All three involved two different creams that were meant to relieve heat-induced pain by targeting pain receptors on the participants' skin.
One of the creams was called thermedol, and the other was a control cream. Although different in appearance, both creams were actually placebos — namely, petroleum jelly with no pain relieving properties at all.
The researchers asked undergraduate students to play the roles of "doctors" and "patients." They informed the "doctors" of the creams' benefits and conditioned them to believe that thermedol was better at relieving pain than the control cream.
The first experiment consisted of 24 "doctor-patient" pairs. In each pair, the "patient" did not know which cream was thermedol and which was the control. Only the "doctor" knew which was the "effective" cream.
The researchers then applied the creams to the participants' arms, followed by pain-inducing heat, in order to evaluate the effects of the cream. All participants received the same amount of heat.
the experiment, all participants wore cameras that recorded their facial expressions in the doctor-patient interactions.
Using a machine-learning algorithm trained on facial signals of pain, the researchers were able to examine the effect of cues such as raised eyebrows, raised upper lips, or nose wrinkling on the perceived effectiveness of the treatments.
In this experiment, the participants reported experiencing less pain with thermedol, and skin conductance tests suggested that they actually did experience less discomfort. Their facial expressions also reflected less pain with thermedol.
In the other two experiments, the researchers applied the creams in different orders, and they led the doctors to believe that they were using thermedol when they were using the control creams, and vice versa.
The experimenters themselves were also blind to the study, not knowing which cream was which. In these experiments, the results were the same.
How doctors' beliefs affect clinical results
Overall, across all three experiments, the results revealed that when the "doctors" believed that a treatment was effective, the "patients" reported feeling less pain. Their facial expressions and skin conductance tests also revealed fewer signs of pain.
The reasons for this remain unclear. However, the researchers believe that social contagion via facial cues is the most likely explanation.
"When the doctor thought that the treatment was going to work, the patient reported feeling that the doctor was more empathetic," says Chang.
"The doctor may have come across as warmer or more attentive. Yet, we don't know exactly what the doctor was doing differently to convey these beliefs that a treatment works. That's the next thing that we're going to explore," he adds.
"What we do know though is that these expectations are not being conveyed verbally but through subtle social cues," explains Chang.
"These findings demonstrate how subtle social interactions can impact clinical outcomes. [...] [Y]ou can imagine that in a real clinical context, if the healthcare providers seemed competent, empathetic, and confident that a treatment may work, the impact on patient outcomes could be even stronger."
Luke Chang
"Additional research, however, is needed to see how this plays out in the real world," he concludes.
Psychology / PsychiatryPain / AnestheticsPrimary Care / General Practice
Monkeys: Past social stress impacts genes, health
Published Today By Ana Sandoiu Fact checked by Paula Field
New research in rhesus monkeys shows that when they experience social adversity for a significant period, the long lasting effects remain in their genes. The findings shed light on how humans also respond to socially stressful experiences.
Jenny Tung, a professor of biology and evolutionary anthropology at Duke University in Durham, NC, and Luis Barreiro of the University of Chicago, IL, are the two corresponding co-authors of the study.
The findings appear in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
As the authors explain in their paper, experts have long known that environmental conditions, such as chronic stress, can influence a person's physical health and longevity.
Some scientists believe that chronic social stress, in particular, can trigger a proinflammatory state.
In general, the authors explain, social experience is a significant predictor of how prone people and other social mammals are to disease because stress leaves an impact on a cellular level. But how long does this impact last?
This is the question that the researchers set out to answer. To do so, they examined 45 female rhesus macaques kept at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center in Atlanta, GA.
The researchers looked at the effects of having a lower position on the social ladder on the macaque's biology. For monkeys, being in a socially inferior position makes them vulnerable to harassment and experiencing social adversity. So, the scientists wanted to see how having had these experiences in the past affect immunity and its underlying genetic expression in the present.
Past social stress affects 3,735 genes
The female rhesus monkeys compete with each other for the dominant social role. Once they have established these roles, the dominant females get all the food and space that they want, "bully" the socially subordinate females, and generally "boss" the other monkeys around.
In their experiment, Prof. Tung and team divided the females into groups of five that did not know each other. Because rhesus macaques consider early members of a group as socially senior, the researchers introduced the females one by one to the group.
Could an existing heart drug help treat cancer?
Written by Maria Cohut, Ph.D. on October 22, 2019 - Fact checked by Carolyn Robertson New
When cells in the human body age incorrectly, this can sometimes make it easier for cancer to develop or spread. For this reason, scientists are looking for new drugs able to act on processes that relate to cell aging. But could an existing drug come in handy?
However, senescence sometimes malfunctions, and some researchers believe that this can contribute to the growth and spread of cancer tumors.
Thus, specialists have been hard at work to find new drugs, which they term senolytics, that can kill senescent cells that may pose a threat to health.
Previous studiesTrusted Source in animal models have shown that senolytics could have a number of benefits, including keeping individuals healthier for longer and prolonging life span.
And some senolytics, such as navitoclaxTrusted Source, have demonstrated some effectiveness in treating blood cancers, including leukemia and lymphoma. Yet navitoclax can also have serious side effects, including thrombocytopenia, or abnormally low platelet levels in the blood.
Recently, however, researchers from the MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences in the United Kingdom may have identified an alternative senolytic — in the form of an existing heart drug known as ouabain.
'These drugs could be repurposed'
In the study paper that appears in the journal Nature Metabolism, the investigators explain that they experimented with various existing drugs, testing them on both healthy and senescent cells to see how they would act.
new drugs, which they term senolytics, that can kill senescent cells that may pose a threat to health.
Previous studiesTrusted Source in animal models have shown that senolytics could have a number of benefits, including keeping individuals healthier for longer and prolonging life span.
And some senolytics, such as navitoclaxTrusted Source, have demonstrated some effectiveness in treating blood cancers, including leukemia and lymphoma. Yet navitoclax can also have serious side effects, including thrombocytopenia, or abnormally low platelet levels in the blood.
Recently, however, researchers from the MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences in the United Kingdom may have identified an alternative senolytic — in the form of an existing heart drug known as ouabain.
'These drugs could be repurposed'
In the study paper that appears in the journal Nature Metabolism, the investigators explain that they experimented with various existing drugs, testing them on both healthy and senescent cells to see how they would act.
doing so, they closed in on ouabain, a compound that forms part of the same class of drugs as digoxin and digitoxin, namely cardiac glycosides. Such compounds can treat heart conditions, including cardiac arrhythmias and atrial fibrillation, both of which have characteristics of irregular or abnormal heartbeats.
The research team found that ouabain can selectively kill different types of aging cells, including those that have become senescent because of cancer, or due to exposure to radiotherapy or chemotherapy, including treatments with drugs such as etoposide and doxorubicin.
This makes ouabain a potential candidate for use as a broad spectrum senolytic: a drug that targets a very varied array of aging cells.
The researchers reached this conclusion by testing the drug in vivo, in aging mice, and "in precancerous lesions in the liver and upon radiotherapy," as senior author Prof. Jesús Gil explains.
Prof. Gil and colleagues also point out that the fact that it is already readily available makes further research using this drug easier.
"These drugs are already used in the clinic, so they could be repurposed to treat a long list of diseases, including cancer. This is something we are keen to explore with our clinical collaborators."
Prof. Jesús Gil
"Moreover," the senior author adds, "many patients are being treated with digoxin, and an epidemiologist could look retrospectively and ask the question of whether those patients who were treated with digoxin are doing better than those who weren't."
Thus, future studies could compare the health outcomes for people who have received treatment with cardiac glycosides versus those who have not, making it easier to confirm whether this class of drugs has true potential as a senolytic.
Cancer / OncologyBiology / BiochemistryHeart DiseaseSeniors / Aging
Brain activity has role in human aging and longevity
Published Mon 21 Oct 2019 By Catharine Paddock, Ph.D. Fact checked by Carolyn Robertson
For the first time, scientists have shown that brain activity has a significant influence on human life span. In a new study, they demonstrate how neural activity is higher in individuals with shorter life spans and lower in those who live longer lives.
In a recent Nature paper, researchers from Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA, report how they found a distinct signature of human longevity in the genes of the brain's cerebral cortex.
The signature that they found is a pattern of gene expression that "is characterized by downregulation of genes related to neural excitation and synaptic function," write the authors.
Neural activity is to do with the amount of signaling — in the form of electrical currents and other transmitters — that is going on the brain. Too much neural activity, or excessive excitation, can present in various ways, such as a muscle twitch or a mood change.
For the study, the researchers performed cellular, genetic, and molecular experiments in worms. They also analyzed mice with altered genes and examined brain tissue from people who were more than 100 years old when they died.
These tests revealed not only that altering neural activity can influence life span, but they also gave clues on the molecular processes that might be involved.
"An intriguing aspect of our findings," says senior study author Bruce A. Yankner, a professor of genetics and neurology at Harvard Medical School, "is that something as transient as the activity state of neural circuits could have such far ranging consequences for physiology and life span
Molecular influencers of longevity
Scientists have known for some time that neural activity affects a range of conditions, including epilepsy and dementia. However, while some animal studies have pointed to an effect on aging, it was not clear until now whether this influence might also extend to humans.
Signaling by the hormones insulin and insulin-like growth factor (IGF) are already well-known as molecular influencers of longevity. Scientists also believe that this is the same signaling pathway that caloric restriction works through.
Which foods are beneficial for a healthy gut microbiome?
Published Mon 21 Oct 2019 By Ana Sandoiu Fact checked by Isabel Godfrey
New research finds an association between healthy bacterial compositions and certain dietary patterns and food groups. What is more, the findings suggest that "diet is likely to become a significant and serious line of treatment" for conditions such as Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, and irritable bowel syndrome.
The term "gut microbiota" describes the trillions of microorganisms that live inside our guts, affecting how well we absorb nutrients from our food, how efficiently our immune defenses work, and even the extent to which we feel anxious or relaxed.
As an increasing body of evidence shows, the balance between healthful and unhealthful bacteria in our gut influences a much wider range of health factors than scientists previously believed. These include aspects as diverse as blood pressure, the aging process, and the likelihood of developing anxiety or depression.
So, keeping our gut healthy is important not just for digestive health but also for overall physical health and even mental well-being.
In this context, researchers from the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG) in the Netherlands set out to examine which diets and food groups have the most beneficial effects on gut health.
UMCG's Laura Bolte is the lead researcher of the study, which the team presented at the United European Gastroenterology (UEG) Week in Barcelona, Spain.
Studying 160 dietary factors and gut bacteria
Specifically, Bolte and colleagues grouped 160 dietary factors under seven food patterns and looked at their anti-inflammatory effects across four cohorts of participants: people with Crohn's disease, people with ulcerative colitis, the general population, and people living with irritable bowel syndrome.
"We looked in depth at the association between dietary patterns or individual foods and gut microbiota," comments Bolte. "Connecting the diet to the gut microbiome gives us more insight into the relation between diet and intestinal disease," she adds.
As the authors explain in the study abstract, "there is increasing interest in anti-inflammatory capacities of isolated nutrients," but the medical community has not yet studied or found out as much about "the association between dietary patterns or individual foods and gut microbial features
To rectify this, Bolte and team collected stool samples from each participant and asked them to fill in a Food Frequency Questionnaire.
The team identified 61 individual food items that they associated with 123 bacterial taxa and 249 molecular pathways, and they found "49 correlations between food patterns and microbial groups."
They did so by isolating microbial DNA and performing shotgun metagenomic sequence analysis to reconstruct the microbiota composition of the stool samples.
As the summary of the findings that UEG and the researchers shared shows, Bolte and team divided the food patterns into the following groups:
Plant based diet
Plant protein
Animal protein
Low fat fermented dairy
Mediterranean dietary pattern, which consisted of "plant protein, bread, legumes, vegetables, fish, nuts, [and] wine"
Bread and legumes plus fish and nuts
Meat, potatoes, and gravy plus sweets, sugar, fast food, and soft drinks
The Mediterranean diet benefits gut health
Overall, Bolte reports, the study found that "a diet characterized by nuts, fruits, greater vegetable and legume intake than animal protein, combined with moderate consumption of animal derived foods like fish, lean meat, poultry, fermented low fat dairy, and red wine, and a lower intake of red meat, processed meat and sweets, is beneficially associated with the gut ecosystem."
Specifically, the team linked diets rich in bread, legumes, fish, and nuts with lower levels of harmful bacteria and inflammatory markers in the stool.
They also linked the intake of red wine, legumes, vegetables, fruits, cereals, fish, and nuts with higher levels of anti-inflammatory bacteria.
Plant based diets were associated with high levels of short chain fatty acids (SCFA) — "the major nutrients produced by bacterial fermentation," which have several beneficial effects on the metabolism. Researchers have found low levels of SCFAs in people with ulcerative colitis and other inflammatory conditions of the intestines.
The researchers also found that plant protein aided the biosynthesis of vitamins and amino acids.
In contrast, a high intake of red meat, fast foods, and refined sugars was linked with lower levels of beneficial bacteria and higher levels of inflammatory markers.
"We show that specific foods are associated with the abundance of gut bacteria capable of the biosynthesis of essential nutrients and carbohydrate fermentation to SCFAs," conclude the authors, "inferring that certain foods could exert mucosal protection by inducing bacteria with anti-inflammatory properties."
"Our work provides support for the idea that the diet represents a therapeutic strategy [for] intestinal diseases, through the modulation of the gut microbiome," they add.
"The results indicate that diet is likely to become a significant and serious line of treatment or disease management for diseases of the gut — by modulating the gut microbiome."
Laura Bolte
According to the most recent estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 3 million adults in the United States are living with either Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis.
Douching linked to dangerous chemicals in blood
Published Mon 21 Oct 2019 By Maria Cohut, Ph.D. Fact checked by Paula Field
Doctors generally advise women against vaginal douching, warning that this practice can upset the delicate balance of vaginal flora and increase the risk of infection. Now, a new study also shows that douching has associations with a higher blood concentration of harmful chemicals.
According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, in the States, around one in five females aged 15–44 resort to this cleansing practice, even though most doctors advise against vaginal douching.
Some research shows that vaginal douching could have adverse effects on genital health, particularly on the vaginal microbiome, which might make infections more likely to occur.
Some studies have even associated this practice with a higher risk of ovarian cancer and genital tract inflammation.
Now, a new study from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor points to a new danger associated with douching. The research indicates that women who cleanse their vaginal canals have heightened concentrations of potentially harmful chemicals in their blood.
The research — whose findings appear in the Journal of Women's Health — analyzed the data of 2,432 women aged 20–49 who took part in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2001–2004.
Could douches contain toxic elements?
The participants answered questions about which sanitary products — such as tampons, pads, vaginal douches, sprays, wet wipes, and powders — they used and how often they used them.
The researchers used regression analysis, which is a statistic model, to estimate the concentration of potentially harmful chemicals, including 1,4-dichlorobenzene and ethylbenzene, in the blood.
The team then looked for links between vaginal douching and a heightened presence of any of these chemicals in the blood.
The researchers found a "significant association" between this practice and a higher concentration of 1,4-dichlorobenzene — a volatile organic compound that could pose a threat to health — in the blood.
More specifically, participants who practiced vaginal douching at least twice a month had 81% higher blood concentrations of 1,4-dichlorobenzene than women who reported never douching.
Those who used vaginal douches about once per month had 18% higher blood concentrations of this organic compound compared with participants who never douched.
Healthful snacks can reduce feelings of fatigue
Published Mon 21 Oct 2019 By Lauren Sharkey Fact checked by Jasmin Collier
According to a new study, replacing sugar and saturated fat with vegetables can help reduce the impact of sleep deprivation.
When we are exhausted but need to stay awake, many of us reach for a sugary snack.
However, it is likely the more healthful options that can help fight the fatigue, suggests a recent study. Its findings now appear in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine.
It is important to point out that it is not a lack of self-control that results in people choosing unhealthful foods over healthful ones.
Rather, when a person has not had enough sleep, it affects their decision-making skills, leading to reduced willpower and a tendency to opt for a quick high in the form of sugar.
Findings from a 2019 study appearing in the Journal of Neuroscience suggest that not only are tired people more likely to want unhealthful food, but they are also more likely to spend more money on buying snacks.
Impaired brain functioning does not just result in a sugar craving, however; it also leads to cravings for anything high in fat, saturated fat, or sodium.
For many people, this may only happen occasionally. However, for people whose jobs involve long stretches of tiredness, reaching for unhealthful snacks can quickly become a regular occurrence.
A craving for unhealthful food
This can particularly affect physicians. Working long shifts with few breaks means needing to eat quick and convenient food. Much of the time, this food turns out to be unhealthful.
Maryam Hamidi, Ph.D. — a nutrition scientist and researcher at Stanford's WellMD Center in California — has personal experience of such snack cravings.
A previous research task required her to stay awake from 8 a.m. till 5 a.m. over and over again. She kept both healthful and unhealthful snacks in her office but felt a craving for chips around 6 p.m. or 7 p.m.
I started noticing these bags of potato chips in my office," she says. "I had not craved chips since my undergraduate college years. One day I had one bag."
"Then a diet Coke. And then I went for a second bag, and then a third. I was having fun. I remember thinking, 'This is great. I should do this more often.'"
She adds: "I'd never eaten three bags of chips at once. But I'd also never been that sleep deprived."
When it is not possible to alter work schedules, physicians and others working in similar environments may feel the same.
More vegetables, less sugar
What many people may not realize is that sticking to a healthful diet can help diminish feelings of fatigue. Likewise, physicians may not consider the link between what they eat and the potential benefit for patient care.
After experiencing the unhealthful effects of long working hours firsthand, Hamidi — along with a team of other Stanford researchers — wanted to see just what impact diet could have on sleep deprivation levels.
They analyzed results from a wellness survey that 245 Stanford physicians took in March 2016. Three specific diets emerged: a plant based choice, a diet high in protein, and one high in sugar and saturated fat.
One of their findings was predictable: People following a diet high in saturated fat and sugar had increased sleep-related impairment (SRI) scores.
However, plant based diets lowered these scores. The researchers found no relationship between high protein diets and SRI scores though.
Therefore, eating more vegetables and cutting down on sugar and saturated fat may help an exhausted brain and body work better.
According to Hamidi, employers and organizations should try to ensure that foods such as fruits, vegetables, smoothies, and healthful protein bars take priority over sugary snacks and drinks.
"Increasing physicians' access to [healthful] snack options close to their work areas and creating a work environment with many [healthful] options can help reduce their daytime fatigue," she explains.
Ultimately, this could boost concentration levels and "improve the quality of patient care."
New pain-blocking brain mechanism may relieve arthritis
Written by Robby Berman on October 21, 2019 - Fact checked by Paula Field New
Researchers have found that an experimental compound works in the amygdala to quell the pain of arthritis in rats.
Pain is an alert that something is wrong — unfortunately, the pain does not go away while the problem remains, and finding a resolution is not always possible.
Volker E. Neugebauer, Ph.D., who headed the research at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) School of Medicine, says that "[Pain] is not just a sensation that lets you know where it hurts and how intense the pain feels. It also causes anxiety, impairs quality of life, and causes depression."
While most pain studies look at other parts of the body, including the spinal cord, Neugebauer explains that "We're studying the brain because all of those things reside there."
The study reveals a new understanding of the amygdala's role in pain relief using an arthritis pain model.
"Our unique area of expertise is really understanding that changes in the brain contribute to the persistence, intensity, and other side effects of pain," says Neugebauer.
The key compound LY379268
Neugebauer's study appears in the journal Neuropharmacology.
In it, the researchers describe their investigation into the properties of an existing experimental anxiety reducing compound called LY379268.
Many experts believe that compounds, such as LY379268, interact with the spinal cord and other nervous system components outside the brain. This is why doctors typically target the spinal cord when introducing drugs to relieve pain.
However, much uncertainty remains as to how these compounds work, as well as where they work in the body.
To try to answer these questions, the researchers introduced LY379268 systemically into rats, allowing it to circulate throughout the body in the hopes of determining where it went and what it did.
When it proved to have an analgesic effect in the rats, the team turned their attention to group II metabotropic glutamate receptors (II mGluRs) in the amygdala.
The researchers knew that LY379268 is an agonist for these receptors — an agonist is a substance that causes a physiological response when combined with a compatible receptor — and wondered if they were the source of LY379268's inhibitory effect on pain.
The role of the amygdala
The amygdala comprises almond-shaped clusters of neurons located deep in the center of the brain's temporal lobe. It is part of the brain's limbic system, which is involved with motivation, emotions, and fear, as well as anxiety, addiction, and pain.
Scientists know that II mGluRs in the amygdala serve two opposing functions. On the one hand, they can increase pain by triggering an excitatory response. On the other, they can trigger an inhibitory response that reduces pain.
To test whether they were involved in the pain relief offered by LY379268, the researchers blocked the receptors to see if this would switch off the pain relieving effect of the compound.
"And it did, actually," says Neugebauer. "So imagine you inject this drug systemically, you block the receptors only in the amygdala, and the analgesic, or pain relieving, effect of the drug is gone."
The team's results may have significant implications for future research.
"[It] means the effect of the compound has not really been through an action in the spinal cord, but through an action in the area of interest in the brain, which is the amygdala," summarizes Neugebauer.
"[B]asically, the entire pain relieving effect of the drug can be explained by an action in the brain, not in the spinal cord."
Volker E. Neugebauer
"And it did, actually," says Neugebauer. "So imagine you inject this drug systemically, you block the receptors only in the amygdala, and the analgesic, or pain relieving, effect of the drug is gone."
The team's results may have significant implications for future research.
"[It] means the effect of the compound has not really been through an action in the spinal cord, but through an action in the area of interest in the brain, which is the amygdala," summarizes Neugebauer.
"[B]asically, the entire pain relieving effect of the drug can be explained by an action in the brain, not in the spinal cord."
Volker E. Neugebauer
LY379268 does affect the spinal cord, the effect is not a direct one, and it is not involved in the reduction of pain.
LY379268 and aging
The TTUHSC study suggests that LY379268 deserves further exploration as a painkiller for humans. "When it's given systemically, it works, and now we know it works in the brain," says Neugebauer.
"It produces pain relieving effects and also eases anxiety, so it could prove to be a very good pain medication."
Firstly, however, Neugebauer wants to find out whether LY379268 would prove as successful in older mice as it has been for the younger animals studied.
If it does, "it may open up new avenues for investigating chronic pain, long term pain from arthritis, and other similar conditions."
It is an area Neugebauer plans to explore, saying, "In the context of aging, there is really a big knowledge gap, so that's a direction I think we're going to go."
First-time evidence suggests that fat can accumulate in the lungs
Published Sun 20 Oct 2019 By Maria Cohut, Ph.D. Fact checked by Paula Field
A new study has found that fatty tissue can accumulate in the airways of people with obesity, possibly contributing to asthma and other respiratory problems.
New research suggests that fatty tissue accumulated in the airways may contribute to asthma in some cases.
In the United States, as well as across the world, obesity has become a top health issue. According to data cited by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, in the U.S. alone, more than one in three adults have obesity.
While this condition is associated with a heightened risk for many other health problems, it is unclear through which mechanisms it contributes to some of these issues.
One such mysterious link is that between obesity and asthma. Although researchers have provided different explanations for it, how obesity contributes to respiratory problems remains unclear.
Now a study whose results appear in the European Respiratory Journal shows that fatty tissue can accumulate in the airway walls. It explains how this may be problematic for people who are overweight or who have obesity, as it may contribute to the development of respiratory conditions, such as asthma.
"Our research team studies the structure of the airways within our lungs and how these are altered in people with respiratory disease," explains first author John Elliot, from Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital in Perth, Australia.
"Looking at samples of lung, we spotted fatty tissue that had built up in the airway walls. We wanted to see if this accumulation was correlated with body weight," he continues.
'Excess fat accumulates in the airway walls'
To do this, the researchers analyzed lung samples collected post-mortem from 52 lungs that people had donated for research. Of this total, 15 had not had asthma, 21 had had asthma but died due to unrelated causes, and 16 had died due to asthma-related causes.
The investigators used special dyes to study the structure of 1,373 airways to identify how much, if any, fatty tissue was present in them. The researchers also looked at data regarding each donor's body mass index (BMI).
The team discovered that fatty tissue does build up in airway walls. They also found that the higher a person's BMI, the more fat accumulates in the airways.
Additionally, the fat buildup may affect the normal structure of the airways, blocking them and causing inflammation in the lungs, which, in turn, may contribute to asthma and other respiratory problems.
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"Being overweight or obese has already been linked to having asthma or having worse asthma symptoms," notes co-author Peter Noble, Ph.D.
"Researchers have suggested that the link might be explained by the direct pressure of excess weight on the lungs or by a general increase in inflammation created by excess weight. This study suggests that another mechanism is also at play," he says.
"We've found that excess fat accumulates in the airway walls where it takes up space and seems to increase inflammation within the lungs. We think this is causing a thickening of the airways that limits the flow of air in and out of the lungs, and that could at least partly explain an increase in asthma symptoms."
Peter Noble, Ph.D.
Going forward, the researchers hope to confirm the relationship between obesity, fatty tissue in the respiratory system, and pulmonary health problems. They are also interested in finding out whether weight loss could reverse the potential impact of obesity on respiratory health.
Prof. Thierry Troosters — President of the European Respiratory Society, who did not participate in the present study — comments on the researchers' discovery. He says that "[t]his is an important finding on the relationship between body weight
"This goes beyond the simple observation that patients with obesity need to breathe more with activity and exercise hence adding to their ventilatory burden. The observation points at true airway changes that are associated with obesity," he emphasizes.
Prof. Troosters acknowledges that further research is needed to understand the association between obesity and poor respiratory health better. However, he also encourages individuals with asthma or similar conditions to keep a close eye on their weight.
"We need to investigate this finding in more detail and particularly whether this phenomenon can be reversed with weight loss. In the meantime, we should support asthma patients to help them achieve or maintain a healthy weight," he says.
Gut microbiota may 'prevent and cure' rotavirus
Written by Robby Berman on October 20, 2019 - Fact checked by Isabel Godfrey New
An accidental discovery in mice may lead to a cure for one of the world's most deadly infections.
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Researchers have identified a bacterial species in the gut microbiota that protects against highly contagious rotavirus (pictured).
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimate that each year, 215,000Trusted Source children worldwide under the age of 5 years die from dehydration due to severe diarrhea.
An untreatable rotavirus infection is responsible for these cases.
Now, researchers at the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State University (GSU) in Atlanta have identified specific intestinal microbiota, or microorganisms, that can prevent and cure rotavirus infections.
Their study findings appear in the journal Cell.
"This study," says senior author Andrew Gewirtz, "shows that one big determinant of proneness to rotavirus infection is microbiota composition."
What is rotavirus?
Rotavirus gets its name from "rota" — the Latin word for "wheel" — as the virus has a round shape. It most commonly affects infants and young children, and it spreads easily. People with the virus can transfer it by sneezing and coughing or by using unwashed or improperly washed hands to touch, and thus contaminate, surfaces and objects.
The virus can transfer between people via surfaces such as counters and sinks, as well as on shared toys, tools, and utensils.
Vaccines prevent infection in most cases and reduce the chance of a severe infection. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that the rotavirus vaccine prevents 40,000 to 50,000Trusted Source hospitalizations in the United States annually.
According to the CDC, the symptomsTrusted Source of infection include "severe watery diarrhea, vomiting, fever, or abdominal pain," with diarrhea and vomiting typically lasting for 3 to 8 days.
In areas with an adequate supply of clean water, the administration of fluids prevents life threatening dehydration.
Unfortunately, this is not the case everywhere, and rotavirus infection is particularly deadly in some low income parts of the world.
Rotavirus infections can be mild or severe, and the reasons for this remained unknown until the discovery by the GSU researchers.
An accidental breakthrough
As the authors explain in their paper, "[rotavirus] clearance typically requires adaptive immunity," but in this case, the scientists "unintentionally" created a model of immunodeficient mice that were also resistant to the virus.
So, the scientists hypothesized that this might be due to "select microbes" that offered protection against the virus. To verify their hypothesis, they tested whether the virus "resistance was transferred by co-housing and fecal transplant."
"This discovery was serendipitous. We were breeding mice and realized that some of them were completely resistant to rotavirus, whereas others were highly susceptible. We investigated why and found that the resistant mice carried distinct microbiota. Fecal microbiota transplant transferred rotavirus resistance to new hosts."
Andrew Gewirtz
The researchers eventually found that a single bacterial species called Segmented Filamentous Bacteria (SFB) was the primary factor in determining an individual's resistance to rotavirus infection.
SFB also reduces the damage that the rotavirus causes by initiating both the shedding of infected epithelial cells and their replacement with new, healthy ones.
"It's a new basic discovery that should help understand proneness to rotavirus infection," notes Gewirtz.
The discovery by the GSU team is just a first step toward combating rotavirus in humans.
First author Zhenda Shi, who works at the CDC's rotavirus branch, is currently looking into how relevant this discovery in mice is for humans.
As Gewirtz points out, the team's research "does not yield an immediate treatment s Gewirtz points out, the team's research "does not yield an immediate treatment for humans but provides a potential mechanism to explain the differential susceptibility of different populations and different people to enteric viral infection."
"Furthermore, it may lead to new strategies to prevent and treat viral infections," he concludes.
Infectious Diseases / Bacteria / VirusesBiology / BiochemistryGastroIntestinal / GastroenterologyPediatrics / Children's Health
Work and family demands may impact women's heart health
Written by Lauren Sharkey on October 19, 2019 - Fact checked by Jasmin Collier New
Researchers believe that stress and cardiovascular health are linked in some way, but the association is not yet fully clear. A large-scale new study has recently delved into the effects of a unique kind of stress.
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Balancing work and family life puts a strain on women's heart health.
According to the American Heart Association (AHA), stress may affect factors that increase the risk of heart disease, including blood pressure and cholesterol level.
One major source of stress is the workplace.
In fact, a 2015 review of 27 studies that appeared in the journal Current Cardiology ReportsTrusted Source found an association between work stress and a "moderately elevated risk of incident coronary heart disease and stroke."
However, one type of stress that researchers often leave out of studies is that felt by a person who needs to simultaneously balance the demands of work and family life.
Examining this in more depth may eventually help health professionals better identify and treat cardiovascular issues. This is according to the authors of the new study, which now appears in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
What is work-family conflict?
Cardiovascular diseases are currently the leading cause of death worldwide, say the World Health Organization (WHO).
Health professionals can determine people's cardiovascular health score. Based on seven metrics including diet, blood pressure, and physical activity levels, the researchers who conducted the new study used this score to investigate how work and family stress can impact heart health.
According to the study paper, work-family conflict refers to "a form of inter-role conflict in which the role pressures from the work and family domains are mutually incompatible in some respect."
More than 11,000 workers ages 35–74, from six state capitals in Brazil, made up the study's sample. The participants came from a variety of educational and work backgrounds, and the study included a slightly higher number of women.
Each participant filled out a questionnaire to determine how their job affected their family life, and how their family life impacted their work.
The researchers calculated the participants' cardiovascular health scores using a combination of clinical examinations, laboratory test results, and self-reported questionnaires.
An unequal impact
The analysis showed a distinct sex difference. Men reported less work interference with family and more time for personal care and leisure. Both sexes reported a similar amount of family interference with work.
However, women appeared to be worse off. Those who reported a number of frequent work-family conflicts had lower cardiovascular health scores.
"This was interesting because in our previous study, job stress alone affected men and women almost equally," says senior study author Dr. Itamar Santos, a professor at the University of São Paulo in Brazil.
There could be a simple explanation as to why this is the case, and it has to do with traditional gender roles. "You feel the stress to fulfill the gender roles, and I think women still feel more of a need to have that nurturing home life," says Dr. Gina Price Lundberg, clinical director of the Emory Women's Heart Center in Atlanta, GA.
"Men are helping more than ever, but I think working women still feel the stress of trying to do it all." She goes on to describe the study as "well-designed," due to its large sample size, the diverse background of the participants, and the balance of men and women.
However, certain elements of the study relied on the participants' own thoughts and feelings, which may have biased the results.
How to live with stress
What this study has dipped into is the need for a good work-life balance. However, this is easier said than done in many cases.
Dr. Santos hopes that the new fhopes that the new findings will encourage workplaces to introduce stress reducing initiatives and encourage doctors to look for signs of stress when examining people.
"We're not going to eliminate stress," Dr. Santos says. "But we should learn how to live with it to not have so many bad consequences."
Whether that would be through measures such as at-home meditation or employer-led strategies is yet to be determined.
Dr. Santos and team are now planning to follow the same participants for up to a decade to gain further insight.
Heart DiseaseCardiovascular / CardiologyPsychology / PsychiatryWomen's Health / Gynecology
Atrial fibrillation: Daily alcoholic drink riskier than binge drinking
Written by Catharine Paddock, Ph.D. on October 18, 2019 - Fact checked by Isabel Godfrey New
A new study suggests that drinking small amounts of alcohol frequently rather than having infrequent bouts of binge drinking is more likely to increase the risk of developing atrial fibrillation (A-fib), a condition in which the heart beats irregularly.
"Recommendations about alcohol consumption have focused on reducing the absolute amount rather than the frequency," says study author Dr. Jong-Il Choi, a professor in the department of internal medicine at the Korea University College of Medicine in Seoul.
"Our study suggests that drinking less often may also be important to protect against atrial fibrillation," he adds.
f. Choi, who also works at the Korea University Anam Hospital in Seoul, and his colleagues report their findings in a recent EP Europace study paper.
A-fib is the most common form of heart arrhythmia, a condition in which the heart beats too quickly, too slowly, or in an irregular way.
Prof. Choi observes that "atrial fibrillation is a disease with multiple dreadful complications and significantly impaired quality of life."
The common symptoms of A-fib include an irregular or fast pulse, palpitations, shortness of breath, fatigue, dizziness, and chest pain.
Between 2.7 and 6.1 million peopleTrusted Source in the United States have A-fib, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
ib causes and consequences
It is sometimes difficult to say what causes A-fib. However, it appears that damage to the heart's electrical system is often to blame. This damage can happen as a result of heart disease or as a complication of heart surgery. Other conditions, such as chronic uncontrolled high blood pressure, can also affect the heart in this way.
One of the main effects of A-fib is that it causes blood to pool in the lower chambers of the heart, which, in turn, increases the likelihood of clotting.
The potential for clotting is the main reason why the risk of stroke is four to five times higher in people with A-fib than in people without the condition.
An earlier pooled analysisTrusted Source of data from several studies had found that the chances of developing A-fib went up in line with increasing alcohol consumption.
Those findings showed that for every 12 grams of alcohol — roughly the amount in a single drink — that a person consumed per week, there was an 8% higher risk of A-fib.
However, that analysis did not clarify whether the total alcohol consumption or the number of drinking episodes had the strongest effect.
Frequent drinking vs. binge drinking
In the new study, Dr. Choi and colleagues compared the effect of frequent drinking with that of binge drinking on the risk of new-onset A-fib.
They analyzed data on 9,776,956 individuals in the Korean National Health Insurance Service database, which holds records on nearly everybody in the Republic of Korea.
None of the individuals in the analysis had A-fib when, as part of a health checkup in 2009, they completed a survey about alcohol intake.
Using the database records, the researchers were able to track these individuals through to 2017 to spot any occurrences of A-fib.
They assessed the effect of weekly alcohol consumption — which they calculated by multiplying the number of drinking sessions per week by the amount of alcohol consumed in each session — on the risk of new-onset A-fib.
Daily consumption riskier than binge drinking
The analysis revealed weekly alcohol intake to be a significant risk factor for new-onset A-fib.
However, the team found that the strongest factor was drinking sessions per week. Having a daily drink of alcohol was associated with a higher risk of A-fib than drinking twice a week, while drinking once a week was less risky.
In contrast, there was no link between consuming a large amount of alcohol in one session, or binge drinking, and new-onset A-fib.
"Drinking [a] small amount of alcohol frequently," conclude the authors, "may not be a good strategy to prevent new-onset A-fib."
They note that the association between the number of drinking episodes and A-fib onset held regardless of sex and age.
Speculating on the reason for the link, Prof. Choi suggests that alcohol could trigger an individual episode of A-fib and that if this keeps repeating, it could "lead to overt disease."
"In addition," he notes, "drinking can provoke sleep disturbance, which is a known risk factor for [A-fib]."
'Reduce frequency and weekly consumption'
When they looked at weekly consumption of alcohol, the researchers saw that their results supported those of other studies.
They saw a 2% rise in the risk of new-onset A-fib for each additional weekly gram of alcohol consumption.
The results also showed what appeared to be a protective effect of mild alcohol intake compared both with no drinking and with moderate and high levels of consumption.
Those who consumed no alcohol or drank moderate or high amounts had elevated risks of new-onset A-fib of 8.6%, 7.7%, and 21.5%, respectively, compared with mild drinkers.
Prof. Choi proposes, however, that this might not be a "true benefit," but could be due to the "confounding effect of unmeasured variables." Only further studies can confirm this.
He suggests that alcohol is likely to be the A-fib risk factor that people can alter most easily.
"To prevent new-onset atrial fibrillation, both the frequency and weekly amount of alcohol consumption should be reduced."
Prof. Jong-Il Choi
Heart DiseaseAlcohol / Addiction / Illegal DrugsCardiovascular / Cardiology
Gut itch' may explain pain in IBS
Published Fri 18 Oct 2019 By Ana Sandoiu Fact checked by Paula Field
New research casts fresh light on the chronic pain mechanisms in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), promising new and more effective treatments for the condition.
New research brings hope for new chronic pain treatments in IBS.
Between 25 and 45 million people in the United States are living with IBS, and up to 15% of the world's population may have the condition.
The most common IBS symptoms include abdominal pain, bloating, and changes in bowel movements. Although other symptoms can accompany the illness, chronic pain is a key marker of the condition.
So what causes chronic pain in IBS? This is the question that researchers from Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia, set out to investigate in the hope that a better understanding of pain will lead to better treatments.
As it stands, there is no cure for IBS, and the most common pain relievers are opioids. This is despite the lack of evidence that opioids can help in the long run and their addiction risks.
Professor Stuart Brierley, who is also a Matthew Flinders Research Fellow in Gastrointestinal Neuroscience, is the senior author of the new study, which appears in the journal JCI Insight.
Itch receptors in skin also explain gut pain
Prof. Brierley and colleagues set out to investigate how the nerves in the gut trigger chronic pain in IBS, and whether it is the "irritated" nerves themselves that cause the irritability in IBS.
To do so, the team examined skin tissue because the skin is prone to both pain and itching. The authors explain in their paper that itching, like pain, has a protective role.
Itching causes scratching, which clears the skin of irritants, just like pain triggers withdrawal or avoidance of harmful stimuli.
"Patients with IBS [experience] chronic abdominal pain and experience rewiring of their nervous system so they feel pain when they shouldn't — we decided to ask important questions about how nerves in the gut are activated to cause pain in order to seek out potential solutions," says Prof. Brierley.
Preclinical experiments in mice showed that "receptors that mediate itch in the skin also mediate pain in the gut," the researcher explains in the video below:
Prof. Brierley and his colleagues used agonists — or activating compounds — for these itch receptors and found that they also activated colonic sensory neurons both in vitro and in vivo in mouse models.
Furthermore, administering several of these agonists individually in the mice's colons triggered a "pronounced visceral hypersensitivity to colorectal distension."
Administering several of these agonists at once "as an 'itch cocktail' augmented hypersensitivity to colorectal distension and changed mouse behavior," the researchers write.
"We found receptors that bring about an itchy feeling on [the] skin also do the same in the gut, so [IBS] patients are essentially [living with] a 'gut itch,'" says Prof. Brierley.
"We've translated these results to human tissue tests and now hope to help create a treatment where people can take an oral medication for IBS."
Prof. Stuart Brierley
The researcher explains that in IBS, chronic pain occurs when the itch signal pairs up with the so-called wasabi pain receptor, also known as the TRPA-1 ion channel. The Wasabi receptor is part of the family "Transient receptor potential (TRP) ion channels."
"If you think about what happens when you eat wasabi," says Prof. Brierley, "it activates a receptor on the nerves and sends a pain signal — that's exactly what's happening within [the] gut as [people with IBS] experience an itchy effect or wasabi effect in the gut."
Directly targeting these receptors, explain the authors, may effectively treat chronic pain and discomfort in IBS.
"Having shown these mechanisms contribute to chronic gut pain, we can now work out ways to block these receptors and thereby stop the 'gut itch' signal traveling from the gut to the brain. This will be a far better solution than the problems currently presented by opioid treatments."
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Monkeys demonstrate more cognitive flexibility than humans
Written by Tim Newman on October 18, 2019 - Fact checked by Jasmin Collier New
A recent study investigating cognitive flexibility concludes that in some situations, capuchin and rhesus monkeys are more adaptable than humans.
Once we have discovered a way to do something, we are likely to continue doing it in the same way.
his is because finding new solutions can be cognitively demanding.
If something works well, it is usually easiest to stick with it — especially when there are plenty of other puzzles for us to solve in our daily lives.
However, for both monkeys and humans, the environment changes. As a result, sticking to learned rules is not always the most efficient tactic to adopt.
Stuck in a rut?
Many studies have shown that humans are particularly susceptible to becoming stuck in a learned rut.
For instance, in a classic study from the 1940s, researchers asked participants to solve a maze. The only way to complete it was by taking a circuitous zigzag route. However, halfway through multiple trials, the researchers altered the maze so that there was a much simpler shortcut.
rity of the participants continued using the more complex and time consuming method. In other words, they stuck to what they knew, even when it was not the most efficient solution.
Recently, researchers from Georgia State University in Atlanta set out to discover if capuchin and rhesus monkeys could outperform humans when it came to this type of cognitive flexibility. They have published their findings in the journal Scientific ReportsTrusted Source.
As the study authors explain, it is still not clear why humans often do not "look for better solutions once [they] have found an adequate one."
"We are a unique species and have various ways in which we are exceptionally different from every other creature on the planet. But we're also sometimes really dumb."
Lead study author Julia Watzek, a graduate student
In the latest study, the researchers worked with 56 human participants, 7 rhesus macaques, and 22 capuchin monkeys.
Both the humans and monkeys learned, through trial and error, to select three icons in a row to receive a reward. The humans won points or heard a jingle, whereas the monkeys received a banana pellet.
If the participants made the wrong choice, they heard a buzzer and received a 2-second time-out.
After 96 trials, the scientists changed the game. For the next 96 trials, to receive the reward, the participants only needed to hit the final icon without having to remember the position of the original two symbols.
In the trials this shortcut was available, all of the monkeys quickly adapted and began using the easier route. In fact, 70% began using it as soon as it became available. However, the humans fared less well, with 61% not using the shortcut at all.
Why did monkeys outperform humans?
The authors of the new study believe that monkeys appear to show more cognitive flexibility due to the amount of available working memory they have.
Working memory refers to our ability to hold multiple things in our minds at once for a short amount of time. Monkeys, in general, have less working memory than humans.
ome earlier work backs this theory up. In one studyTrusted Source, for instance, researchers asked participants to complete complicated math problems.
They found that those with access to more working memory tended to stick with a complicated learned rule. However, those with less working memory tended to search for and adopt simpler alternatives when they were available.
This, the authors believe, might be because those with less available working memory found the complex rule to be a cognitive strain and wanted to find simpler alternatives.
At the same time, those who had more working memory would not feel the cognitive strain so acutely, meaning that they were less incentivized to look for an alternative solution.
In the new study, the participants needed to hold the position of the initial symbols in their working memory. In the later trials, the shortcut allowed them to reduce the strain on their working memory.
ecause working memory is more constrained in monkeys, they were likely more eagerly hunting for a new and simpler solution. However, because the task did not pose too much difficulty for humans with their greater access to working memory, they were less motivated to look for other solutions.
A small piece of the puzzle
Although these results are intriguing, the study only used one method of measuring cognitive flexibility. Of course, cognitive flexibility depends on a wide range of factors, including the environment, the type of challenge, and how motivated one is to be flexible.
For instance, a monkey's primitive drive to obtain food might outweigh a human's desire to win points or hear a jingle. Perhaps this difference in the level of motivation made the monkeys more likely to experiment and investigate potential shortcuts.
With that said, the theory that humans simply do not look for new ways to solve a puzzle cannot entirely explain these results. To illustrate this, Watzek refers to some earlier studies that used similar tasks. In these, the researchers played participants a video explaining the potential shortcut.
"More of the humans do take the shortcut after seeing a video of somebody taking the shortcut," she says, "but about 30% still don't. In another version, we told them they shouldn't be afraid to try something new. More of them did use the shortcut then, but many of them still didn't."
The results are interesting, but as always, there is still much to learn. Study co-author Prof. Sarah Brosnan concludes that the study adds "to the larger body of literature on why humans can be so different from other primates."
Psychology / PsychiatryVeterinary
Some keto diets may exacerbate skin inflammation
Published Fri 18 Oct 2019 By Maria Cohut, Ph.D. Fact checked by Jasmin Collier
New research in mice suggests that ketogenic diets with a very high fat content could actually worsen skin inflammation. The team now urges people with psoriasis to avoid such diets.
People often use such diets for weight loss, as they stimulate the body to enter ketosis.
This is a state in which the body starts burning fat for energy rather than carbohydrates, as it naturally would.
Some studies suggest that keto diets may help manage the symptoms of type 2 diabetes and protect against cognitive decline, and doctors sometimes advise people with epilepsy to follow a keto diet to reduce the frequency of seizures.
However, keto diets also come with some risks and side effects, such as flu-like symptoms and skin rashes.
Now, a study in mouse models with psoriasis-like skin inflammation suggests that some keto diets — those that are highest in fats — could actually exacerbate such skin problems.
The study authors — from Paracelsus Medical University in Salzburg, Austria — report their findings in a paper that appears in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology.
"This study leads to a broader understanding of possible effects of ketogenic diets with a very high fat content on skin inflammation and underlines the importance of the composition of fatty acids in the diet," says co-lead study author Barbara Kofler, Ph.D.
Keto diet potentially harmful in psoriasis
The researchers fed different groups of mouse models with psoriasis-like skin inflammation distinct types of ketogenic diets, including one that had a high content of medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs). These are a type of fat that derives from coconuts.
They found that high MCT diets — especially if they also contained omega-3 fatty acids derived from fish oil, nuts, or seeds — made skin inflammation worse in mice.
The team was also hoping to find out if long-chain triglyceride (LCT) based ketogenic diets could slow down the progression of psoriasis-like skin inflammation. Their experiments did not confirm this effect, but they did show that more balanced keto diets did not worsen skin inflammation.
"We found that a well-balanced ketogenic diet, limited primarily to [LCTs] like olive oil, soybean oil, fish, nuts, avocado, and meats, does not exacerbate skin inflammation," says Kofler.
"However, ketogenic diets containing high amounts of MCTs, especially in combination with omega-3 fatty acids, should be used with caution since they may aggravate preexisting skin inflammatory conditions," she warns.
Co-lead investigator Roland Lang, Ph.D., adds that "[k]etogenic diets supplemented with MCTs not only induce the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines [cell signaling proteins], but also lead to an accumulation of neutrophils [white blood cells that play a key role in immune responses] in the skin, resulting in a worse clinical appearance of the skin of the mice."
"Neutrophils are of particular interest since they are known to express a receptor for MCTs and therefore a ketogenic diet containing MCTs may have an impact on other neutrophil-mediated diseases not limited to the skin," he notes.
In the future, the researchers are interested in studying the effects of ketogenic diets on skin inflammation in the long term. This would be to find out which keto diets are potentially harmful in the context of skin health, and which — if any — might be helpful.
Despite the recent findings, the investigators say that people following a keto diet should not worry: In the study, the team fed the mice an extremely high fat (77% fat) diet, which most people are unlikely to follow.
Nevertheless, they say that people with psoriasis may wish to avoid ketogenic diets to prevent any further damage to the skin.
"I think most people following a ketogenic diet don't need to worry about unwanted skin inflammation side effects. However, [people] with psoriasis should not consider a ketogenic diet an adjuvant therapeutic option."
Barbara Kofler, Ph.D.
Parkinson's: New treatment approach shows promise in brain cells
Published Fri 18 Oct 2019 By Ana Sandoiu Fact checked by Carolyn Robertson
New research shows that an innovative strategy for treating Parkinson's disease has proven successful in neurons that derive from people living with the condition.
Dr. Dimitri Krainc, chair of neurology and director of the Center for Neurogenetics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, IL, is the last and corresponding author of the study, which appears in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative condition affecting more than 1 million people in the United States and 4 million adults or more across the world.
Although most Parkinson's cases occur in people without a family history of the disease, understanding the genetic risk factors is critical. This fact is true because, even in such "sporadic" cases, the inheritance pattern may still exist — although it may be unknown.
Furthermore, when genetic mutations do raise the risk of Parkinson's, "the inheritance pattern is usually unknown," according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Alterations in the GBA1 gene, in particular, are "important risk factors" for the development of Parkinson's disease. The GBA1 gene encodes the so-called lysosomal enzyme glucocerebrosidase (GCase), an enzyme that is key for normal neuronal function.
As the authors of the new study explain in their paper, previous research has suggested that targeting GCase could have therapeutic benefits.
However, while past research and experimental treatments have suggested fixing the mutated enzymes, the new study suggests an alternative approach: activating and enhancing healthy, nonmutated ones.
Activating wild type GCase may work
Krainc and colleagues write that GBA1 mutations "represent the most common risk factor for Parkinson's disease."
Mutations in this gene can produce defects in GCase enzymes, which then contribute to the toxic buildup of protein in the dopamine producing neurons that Parkinson's typically affects.
Dr. Krainc explains that most drug development for Parkinson's has so far relied on stabilizing the mutated gene, but such treatments would only work in a limited number of Parkinson's cases.
nstead, activating wild type [i.e., not mutated] GCase may be more relevant for multiple forms of PD that exhibit reduced activity of wild type GCase," Dr. Krainc explains.
In the paper, the researchers show that they developed and used a new range of chemical compounds that activated and amplified normal, wild type GCase.
Experiments revealed that doing so improved cellular function in neurons collected from people with Parkinson's.
The authors conclude, "Our findings point to activation of wild type GCase by small molecule modulators as a potential therapeutic approach for treating familial and sporadic forms of [Parkinson's disease] that exhibit decreased GCase activity."
The corresponding researcher also says that the chemical modulators, or activators, alleviated cellular dysfunction that various types of Parkinson's induced, suggesting that the approach could work in people with different versions of the condition.
"This study highlights wild type GCase activation as a potential therapeutic target for multiple forms of Parkinson's disease," says Dr. Krainc.
"Our work points to the potential for modulating wild type GCase activity and protein levels in both genetic and idiopathic forms of [Parkinsons's disease] and highlights the importance of personalized or precision neurology in development of novel therapies."
Dr. Dimitri Krainc
More research is necessary, and Dr. Krainc emphasizes the need to use human neurons when trying to develop new drugs for Parkinson's, as some features of the disorder only manifest in human neurons and not in rodent models.
Scientists liken mitochondria to Tesla battery packs
Published Thu 17 Oct 2019 By Catharine Paddock, Ph.D. Fact checked by Isabel Godfrey
New research reveals that mitochondria, the tiny powerhouses that live inside cells and give them energy, work more like a Tesla battery pack than the kind of battery that you put in a flashlight.
Mitochondria are unusual in that they have two membranes: a smooth one on the outside and a wrinkled, folded one on the inside.
Scientists call the folds of a mitochondrion's internal membrane cristae. Until recently, they believed that the purpose of the folding was to increase the surface area for producing energy.
However, the authors of a recent EMBO Journal study paper dispel this idea.
Instead, they propose that the cristae are more like independent batteries working together in an array, similar to the Tesla battery packs that power electric cars.
An array of autonomous batteries
The researchers came to this conclusion after visualizing energy production inside mitochondria with the help of high resolution microscopy.
"What the images told us was that each of these cristae is electrically independent, functioning as an autonomous battery," says senior study author Dr. Orian S. Shirihai, a professor of medicine in endocrinology and pharmacology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles.
"One crista," he adds, "can get damaged and stop functioning while the others maintain their membrane potential."
or a long time, scientists believed that each mitochondrion comprised a single bioenergetic unit. The authors refer to typical previous experiments, the results of which led investigators to conclude that "the entire organelle functions as one electrochemical unit."
Indeed, what Dr. Shirihai could see with traditional microscopy appeared to confirm this. Observing cells functioning well with a few very long mitochondria did not suggest the idea of lots of small batteries.
"Nobody had looked at this before because we were so locked into this way of thinking; the assumption was that one mitochondrion meant one battery," he explains.
Unprecedented high resolution imaging
However, conversations with engineers who design electric vehicles made Dr. Shirihai aware of the advantages of arrays of lots of small batteries instead of one big one.
"[I]f something happens to one [battery] cell," he notes, "the system can keep working, and multiple small batteries can provide a very high current when you need it."
Depending on the model, Tesla electric vehicles can have up to 7,000 small battery cells. These take the form of a grid that allows the vehicle to charge quickly and cool efficiently. Such an arrangement also delivers a lot of power for acceleration.
To take a closer look inside mitochondria, the team "developed a novel approach for imaging the [inner mitochondrial membrane] at high spatiotemporal resolution in living cells." Scientists had never before seen such a high resolution.
With the newly optimized high resolution microscopy, the team could visualize voltage distribution and energy production inside the mitochondria.
Protein clusters act like electrical insulators
The researchers saw how protein clusters between the cristae acted as electrical insulators. They already knew that without the protein clusters, mitochondria break down more easily. In fact, the team also saw how mitochondria lacking the protein clusters behaved more like one big battery cell.
The authors suggest that these study findings increase the understanding of not only how mitochondria work but also how the organelles contribute to disease, aging, and even medical complications.
Experts have linked a number of medical complications — such as ischemia‐reperfusion injury — to the severe disruption of cristae in mitochondria.
Dr. Shirihai muses: "The battery experts I had originally talked to were very excited to hear that they were right."
Scientists believe that mitochondria evolved from an ancient collaboration that came about when cells with nuclei engulfed oxygen-dependent simple cells that lacked a nucleus. In return for protection, the internalized cell, or organelle, provides its host with energy.
"It turns out that mitochondria and Teslas, with their many small batteries, are a case of convergent evolution."
Dr. Orian S. Shirihai
Could a unique new fungus offer an opioid alternative?
Published Thu 17 Oct 2019 By Maria Cohut, Ph.D. Fact checked by Paula Field
A new fungus discovered in the estuarine waters of Tasmania could be the unexpected answer to the world's opioid crisis, a current study suggests.
According to data from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, over 130 people die each day in the United States because of an opioid overdose.
The Health Resources and Services Administration call this "an unprecedented opioid epidemic." The situation has led to the World Health Organization (WHO) encouraging countries to monitor the use of opioid drugs closely.
But while monitoring the use of opioids is helpful, scientists are on the lookout for opioid alternatives. They are searching for drugs that will treat chronic pain in the same way as opioids but are less likely to harm health or lead to misuse.
A novel discovery by researchers from the University of Sydney in Australia — in collaboration with colleagues from other academic institutions — may, in the future, lead to the development of one such potent alternative.
The team found an unknown species of the fungus Penicillium in an estuary in the Huon Valley in Tasmania. The researchers showed that this fungus contained a set of molecules called "tetrapeptides," which are amino acids.
These molecules had a unique structure that emulates the shape of endomorphins, which are natural opioid chemical messengers that help deliver pain relief.
The team notes that these new fungus-derived tetrapeptides have the potential to cause fewer side effects than regular opioids, while still delivering effective pain relief.
A 'never-before-seen' molecular structure
Senior author Prof. Macdonald Christie and colleagues explain that the newly discovered fungus yielded three different versions of tetrapeptides — with a very interesting and unexpected molecular structure.
More specifically, the team found that these fungus-derived molecules had a surprising chirality, or "handedness," which refers to the geometric orientation of the molecular structure.
Some molecules have a geometric property that means they can have a "left handed" or a "right handed" structure, the two of which are mirror images of each othe
Why raw dog food could be harmful for pets and owners alike
Published Thu 17 Oct 2019 By Maria Cohut, Ph.D. Fact checked by Jasmin Collier
Raw meat based foods are becoming more popular among dog owners, based on the belief that a raw food diet may be more natural and healthful for some dog breeds. However, could raw dog food actually be harmful for both dogs and their owners?
Some people refer to this diet by the acronym "BARF," which stands for "biologically appropriate raw food" or "bones and raw food."
Veterinary surgeon Ian Billinghurst initially promoted this diet. He argued that dogs, and some other animals, are naturally meant to eat an exclusively raw selection of food.
A recent study in the BMJ journal Vet Record, however, warns that commercially available raw meat based food is potentially dangerous for both dogs and their owners.
The researchers who conducted this study — from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and the National Veterinary Institute, both in Uppsala, Sweden — explain that raw meat products do not receive any heat treatment prior to freezing.
This, they fear, could mean that these foods end up harboring different species of harmful bacteria. To find out if this is the case, the team collected and analyzed samples of 60 different raw meat products from 10 separate companies in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Germany, and England.
Harmful bacteria present in raw food
The raw meat based products that the researchers analyzed were all available as dog food, and each contained one or more of the following ingredients:
uncooked meat
edible bones
organs from cattle, chicken, lamb, turkey, pigs, ducks, reindeer, or salmon
Additionally, some of the raw foods also contained vegetables, vegetable fiber, and minerals.
First study author Josefin Hellgren and colleagues analyzed the samples, screening for bacteria that can be dangerous for both dogs and humans. They looked specifically for bacteria belonging to the Enterobacteriaceae species, as well as Clostridium perfringens, Salmonella, and Campylobacter species.
Estrogen exposure may stave off cognitive decline in women
Written by Ana Sandoiu on October 17, 2019 - Fact checked by Jasmin Collier New
New research suggests that taking estrogen as part of hormone replacement therapy may help women fight off cognitive decline.
The study paper — titled "Lifetime estrogen exposure and cognition in late life: The Cache County Study" and appearing in the North American Menopause Society (NAMS) journal Menopause — details the new findings.
Researchers and the medical community alike have long known that Alzheimer's disease tends to affect women far more often than it does men.
ccording to Alzheimer's Society, in the United States, almost two-thirds of all people with Alzheimer's disease are women.
Specifically, of the 5.6 million U.S. adults aged 65 and above living with Alzheimer's, 3.5 million are women.
As for why this is the case, an established body of research has suggested that estrogen exposure is the answer. After menopause, women experience a drop in estrogen levels, and this could make them more susceptible to Alzheimer's, these studies have suggested.
More recently, some researchers have argued that pregnancy and reproductive history may also impact a person's risk, while others have called for a reassessment of the role of hormone replacement therapy in cognitive health.
Namely, scientists have recently been suggesting that hormone therapy is not always linked with cognitive harm, as many previously believed.
In fact, the new research suggests that it may have the opposite effect, actually benefiting cognitive health.
Estrogen linked with greater cognitive health
The researchers behind the new study clinically followed more than 2,000 postmenopausal women over a period of 12 years and analyzed the link between estrogen levels and cognitive decline.
They looked at the length of time the women had exposure to estrogen and accounted for other factors, including:
their reproductive history
how many years had passed between their first period and menopause
their number of pregnancies
how long they had breastfed
if they had ever used hormone replacement therapy, and if so, for how long
The conclusion of the study was that estrogen exposure is linked with better cognitive health in older women. Additionally, these benefits were stronger for the oldest women in the sample, who started taking estrogen the earliest.
Therefore, these findings also support the "critical window hypothesisTrusted Source." This "states that the effects of hormone therapy depend on timing of initiation with respect to age, the menopausal transition, or both, and that optimal effects are evident with early initiation."
Dr. Stephanie Faubion, the medical director of the NAMS, comments on the findings, saying, "Although the assessment of the risk-to-benefit balance of hormone therapy use is complicated and must be individualized, this study provides additional evidence for beneficial cognitive effects of hormone therapy, particularly when initiated early after menopause."
"This study also underscores the potential adverse effects of early estrogen deprivation on cognitive health in the setting of premature or early menopause without adequate estrogen replacement."
Dr. Stephanie Faubion
Dr. Faubion was not involved in the research.
MCI: Should memory tests score males and females differently?
Published Wed 16 Oct 2019 By Catharine Paddock, Ph.D. Fact checked by Paula Field
A recent study found that scoring verbal memory tests according to sex can alter who receives a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) by as much as 20%.
New research assesses the differences in cognition between males and females after the age of 65.
Evidence shows that females tend to have better verbal memory than males, and yet, tests that assess cognitive ability do not reflect this.
In the new study, the researchers scored memory tests using different norms and thresholds, or cut-off scores, for males and females.
They found that using sex-specific scores led to 10% more females and 10% fewer males receiving a diagnosis of MCI compared with scores that used averages.
The team suggests that should further studies validate the findings, they could change the way that doctors diagnose males and females for dementia.
"If these results are confirmed, they have vital implications," says first study author Erin E. Sundermann, Ph.D., a scientist at the University of California, San Diego.
She explains that one of the consequences of identifying people as having no memory difficulties when they actually have MCI is that they do not start treatment when they should. This can also mean that they and their families do not begin planning future care and putting affairs in order.
Conversely, inaccurately diagnosing someone with MCI when they do not have it means that they take unnecessary drugs, and they and their families experience undue stress.
MCI does not always precede dementia
MCI affects around 15-20 percent of people aged 65 and older.
People with MCI have a small but measurable reduction in their memory and thinking ability. The loss is not enough to stop them from being able to take care of themselves and carry out everyday tasks.
Typical symptoms of MCI include losing the thread of a conversation and forgetting important appointments. Problems with reasoning and reaching decisions can also occur.
While MCI commonly precedes dementia, having the condition does not necessarily mean that dementia will follow.
Doctors and scientists speak of two types of MCI: amnestic and nonamnestic. Amnestic MCI (aMCI) mostly impairs memory and is the subject of the new study.
Nonamnestic MCI mostly affects the other mental skills, such as visual perception, making sound decisions, and judging the order of steps in a complicated task.
The recent findings follow those of a 2016 study, which revealed that females show better verbal memory in aMCI than males. This happens even though their brains' ability to metabolize glucose might have similar impairments. Problems with glucose metabolism in the brain is a feature of Alzheimer's disease, which is the most common cause of dementia.
"This [earlier finding] is especially important because verbal memory tests are used to diagnose people with Alzheimer's disease and [MCI], so women may not be diagnosed until they are further along in the disease," notes Sundermann, who was also first author of the earlier study.
Sex-specific norms and cut-off scores
For the new investigation, the team began by using the results of the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test in the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging.
From this data, the researchers calculated new norms and cut-off scores for males and females separately so that they could compare the application of these with results from the traditional scores.
The sex-specific norms and cut-off scores took into account the fact that females typically scored higher on the tests, which involved learning words for immediate and delayed recall.
The team then applied the traditional and sex-specific norms and cut-off scores to another set of results for the same verbal memory tests. These results came from 985 participants in the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative.
Application of the traditional norms and cut-off scores — namely those that did not differentiate between males and females — showed that the rate of aMCI was higher in males.
However, application of the new sex-specific norms and cut-off scores identified 10% false negatives, or previously missed cases of aMCI, among the females and 10% false positives among the males.
Findings likely to affect research
Results from biomarker tests supported these findings. Markers of brain changes that happen in Alzheimer's disease, such as plaques of amyloid protein, were more advanced than normal in the females that the sex-specific scores identified as false negatives.
Also, the brain changes of the males that the sex-specific scores identified as false positives were more like those of healthy adults.
"Biomarker analyses supported the hypothesis that sex-specific diagnostic criteria improve diagnostic accuracy," conclude the authors.
Sundermann suggests that the findings, subject to confirmation, will likely also affect research.
"When the typical average cut-off scores are used for diagnosis," she comments, "women might respond less to treatments in a clinical trial than men because they are at a more advanced stage of the disease, while men might not respond because some of them do not actually have MCI."
"These combined factors would result in research that reduces the estimate of how well treatments work for both men and women."
Erin E. Sundermann, Ph.D.
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Does the rotavirus vaccine prevent type 1 diabetes?
Written by Yella Hewings-Martin, Ph.D. on October 16, 2019 - Fact checked by Jasmin Collier New
Scientists have highlighted a possible link between infection with rotavirus and an increased risk of developing type 1 diabetes. Undergoing vaccination against the pathogen may be an effective way to prevent the condition.
The exact reason a person develops this condition is unknown, but experts believe that a complex relationship between many genetic and environmental factors is at play.
A longstanding theory has implicated certain infectionsTrusted Source in early childhood as a trigger for type 1 diabetes — particularly in children who are genetically susceptible.
One such infection is rotavirus.
Infection with rotavirus causes gastroenteritis, also known as stomach flu. In infants, rotavirus is the most common cause of gastroenteritis.
Writing in the journal PLOS Pathogens, Dr. Leonard C. Harrison — a professor at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute for Medical Research at the University of Melbourne in Australia — and colleagues present data that underpin their theory of a link between rotavirus and type 1 diabetes.
They point to two studies in particular that show a drop in new type 1 diabetes cases in children who received the rotavirus vaccine.
Rising rates and 'rooming-in'
Experts are warning that the number of people living with type 1 diabetes is on the rise.
In 2009, a group of European scientists published the results of a multicenter study that looked at almost 30,000 newly diagnosed cases of type 1 diabetes in children under the age of 15.
Based on these data, they predicted a "doubling of new cases of type 1 diabetes in European children younger than 5 years [...] between 2005 and 2020."
In Australia, Dr. Harrison writes, environmental factors very likely played a vital role in this increase.
"An interesting observation in the Australian context that may be relevant to [rotavirus] as a candidate environmental factor relates to the practice of mothers "rooming-in" with their newborns," he notes. "This was introduced in the 1970s and entailed mother and baby remaining together rather than separating the baby to a communal nursery at night."
nfections with rotavirus were common in newborn nurseries. Having babies stay with their mothers delayed their exposure to the virus.
Dr. Harrison cites research in mice suggesting that the timing of rotavirus exposure may be crucial.
When genetically susceptible newborn mice became infected with the virus, they did not go on to develop type 1 diabetes. However, animals exposed to rotavirus at a later time did.
Vaccine linked to a drop in numbers
If infection with rotavirus during early infancy does trigger type 1 diabetes in genetically susceptible people, what happened when health professionals introduced the rotavirus vaccineTrusted Source as part of the recommended immunization schedule?
"We hypothesized that if natural infection with [rotavirus] was a causative factor in [type 1 diabetes], then [rotavirus] vaccination would alter the incidence of [condition]," Dr. Harrison explains.
ising rates and 'rooming-in'
Experts are warning that the number of people living with type 1 diabetes is on the rise.
In 2009, a group of European scientists published the results of a multicenter study that looked at almost 30,000 newly diagnosed cases of type 1 diabetes in children under the age of 15.
Based on these data, they predicted a "doubling of new cases of type 1 diabetes in European children younger than 5 years [...] between 2005 and 2020."
In Australia, Dr. Harrison writes, environmental factors very likely played a vital role in this increase.
"An interesting observation in the Australian context that may be relevant to [rotavirus] as a candidate environmental factor relates to the practice of mothers "rooming-in" with their newborns," he notes. "This was introduced in the 1970s and entailed mother and baby remaining together rather than separating the baby to a communal nursery at night."
ections with rotavirus were common in newborn nurseries. Having babies stay with their mothers delayed their exposure to the virus.
Dr. Harrison cites research in mice suggesting that the timing of rotavirus exposure may be crucial.
When genetically susceptible newborn mice became infected with the virus, they did not go on to develop type 1 diabetes. However, animals exposed to rotavirus at a later time did.
Vaccine linked to a drop in numbers
If infection with rotavirus during early infancy does trigger type 1 diabetes in genetically susceptible people, what happened when health professionals introduced the rotavirus vaccineTrusted Source as part of the recommended immunization schedule?
"We hypothesized that if natural infection with [rotavirus] was a causative factor in [type 1 diabetes], then [rotavirus] vaccination would alter the incidence of [condition]," Dr. Harrison explains.
ooking at the 8 years before the introduction of the vaccine into the Australian National Immunization Program in 2007 and the subsequent 8 years, the team saw a drop in the number of new type 1 diabetes cases.
According to their earlier JAMA PediatricsTrusted Source paper, the data showed a 15% reduction in new type 1 diabetes diagnoses in children ages 0–4. However, there was no difference in rates among children ages 5–14.
Another study paper in the journal Scientific ReportsTrusted Source reported similar results. Having analyzed data from nearly 1.5 million children in the United States between 2001 and 2017, the study authors reported a 41% reduction in new cases of type 1 diabetes during this time in children who received all doses of the rotavirus vaccine.
This was not the case for those who only received some of the shots or who never underwent vaccination.
However, Dr. Harrison points out that not all studies have come to the same conclusion.
example, a population study of 495 Finnish children did not find a significant change in the risk of type 1 diabetes when the scientists compared vaccinated and unvaccinated children.
"Environmental factors promoting the increase in [type 1 diabetes] incidence on particular genetic backgrounds are likely to be ubiquitous and multiple," conclude Dr. Harrison and colleagues.
"That [rotavirus] may be one such factor is supported by several lines of evidence [...], to which we can now add an association between [rotavirus] vaccination and a decrease in [type 1 diabetes] incidence."
"This may be the first clear example of primary prevention of [type 1 diabetes]."
Dr. Leonard C. Harrison
Diabetes Type 1DiabetesInfectious Diseases / Bacteria / VirusesPediatrics / Children's Health
Dry eye disease: New treatment on the horizon
Published Wed 16 Oct 2019 By Tim Newman Fact checked by Isabel Godfrey
Dry eye disease is one of the most common eye disorders in the United States. Although treatment is available, it does not work for everyone. A new antibody based eye drop may be the answer.
The National Eye Institute estimate that it affects nearly 5 million people in the U.S.
In the most severe cases, dry eye disease causes significant eye pain and sensitivity to light, and it can compromise an individual's overall quality of life.
Dry eye disease creates dry areas on the cornea, which, in some cases, can produce scarring.
Several factors play a role in this condition. For instance, the body may not produce tear fluid in the right quantities or at the right time.
Similarly, tear production is a complex process, and if anything goes wrong, it can affect tear quality.
Experts have noted that there appears to be an autoimmune component — meaning that the immune system attacks healthy tissues — for some individuals.
Researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago have spent the past few years delving into the details of this disorder, trying to understand more about why it occurs and how to treat it.
The senior author of the latest study, Dr. Sandeep Jain, explains why finding a new solution is so important, "There are currently only two approved drugs to treat dry eye, and they don't work for everyone, especially those with severe disease."
The role of neutrophils
In earlier work, Dr. Jain and colleagues uncovered new factors that appear to help drive severe cases of dry eye disease. They found that neutrophils — a type of immune cell — produce neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), which stretch like webs across the surface of the cornea.
Neutrophils produce NETs to trap bacteria outside of cells and destroy them.
In the case of dry eye disease, NETs appear to trigger the production of autoantibodies — antibodies that target the body's own proteins.
The authors believe that these autoantibodies might play a role in the inflammation that exacerbates dry eye disease and makes it so difficult to treat in some cases. These particular autoantibodies are called anti-citrullinated protein autoantibodies (ACPAs
With this in mind, the authors produced eye drops containing antibodies that target ACPAs. If they could counteract the negative effects of ACPAs, they thought that they might be able to relieve dry eye disease.
The researchers published their latest findings in the journal The Ocular Surface.
Testing a new breed of eye drops
To investigate, the researchers used pooled antibodies, which they created from human immune globulins. After checking that the eye drops were effective and safe in mice, they moved on to a human trial.
The scientists designed a randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial. In all, they recruited 27 participants with different variations of dry eye disease, including Sjogren's syndrome and Meibomian gland dysfunction.
The researchers gave half of the participants eye drops containing pooled antibodies, and they gave the rest of the participants similar eye drops that did not contain the antibodies. They instructed all of the participants to administer one drop per eye twice daily for 8 weeks.
To assess how well the drug performed, the participants filled out questionnaires asking about their symptoms. Before, during, and after the trial, the scientists measured the level of corneal damage. They also assessed the level of inflammation biomarkers on the surface of the eye.
As hoped, the researchers measured a significant, clinically meaningful benefit when using the antibody based eye drops.
"Participants in the trial who used the drops with pooled antibodies reported less eye discomfort, and their corneas were healthier."
Dr. Sandeep Jain
Specifically, those who took these drops experienced a reduction in corneal damage, and the level of inflammatory biomarkers dropped compared with those in the control group. The questionnaire data also reflected these benefits, with participants in the experimental group reporting improvements.
The study is preliminary, and, as such, participant numbers are low. Nevertheless, Dr. Jain is encouraged by the results.
"The data from this early clinical trial suggest that eye drops containing pooled antibodies may be safe and effective for treating dry eye disease, and we look forward to conducting larger randomized trials to definitively prove its efficacy," he concludes.
Dementia: Brain mapping method may predict progression
Published Wed 16 Oct 2019 By Ana Sandoiu Fact checked by Paula Field
Does dementia spread gradually and evenly in all directions across the brain, or can it "jump" from one brain area to another? New research helps to settle the question by examining the progression of frontotemporal dementia.
Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is a condition in which the frontal and temporal anterior lobes of the brain shrink, or atrophy. This results in two broad categories of symptoms: behavioral changes and language problems. Unlike in other forms of dementia, FTD does not affect spatial awareness and memory.
There are currently no treatments for slowing the progression of FTD. The medical community has insufficient knowledge of how the disease spreads and how differently it progresses between individuals.
To help understand the condition, Dr. William Seeley — a professor of neurology and pathology at the Memory and Aging Center and Weill Institute at the University of California San Francisco — together with his team, set out to examine the patterns of brain atrophy progression in FTD.
Dr. Seely and his colleagues published their findings in the journal Neuron.
Finding the 'patient-tailored epicenter'
The new study builds on previous work by Dr. Seeley, which showed that in various forms of dementia, brain atrophy patterns largely overlap with well known "highways" in the brain.
These highways are brain networks, or groups of brain regions that communicate closely via their synaptic connections, functioning together. These brain regions cooperate, sometimes from afar, with the functional brain networks enabling this long distance communication by serving as "roads."
Dr. Seeley's previous work on how degeneration spreads showed that neurodegeneration, or atrophy, does not spread evenly like a tumor, but can "jump" from one brain area to another.
The new study adds to this evidence. Here, the scientists examined how well neural network maps based on brain scans from cognitively healthy participants can predict the advancement of brain atrophy in people with FTD over 1 year.
To find out, the team asked a group of 42 people living with one of two subtypes of FTD to have an MRI scan at the beginning of the study and another one about 12 months later. This way, the researchers could see how the disease progressed.
Then, using the functional MRI brain scans of 75 healthy participants, the researchers created standardized maps of 175 different brain areas and the corresponding regions that they communicated with.
After they identified the brain networks in this way, the team picked the one network that most closely matched the brain atrophy pattern observed in a person with FTD.
Dr. Seeley and his team identified and deemed the center of this specific brain network as the "patient-tailored epicenter" of brain degeneration.
Using the same standardized brain network maps, the researchers predicted where the atrophy would spread to over 1 year, and compared their predictions with the MRI scans.
They also compared the accuracy of their predictions with predictions that did not account for functional network connectivity.
Knowing the 'patient zero' of brain atrophy
The researchers identified two functional connectivity measures in particular that improved the accuracy of their predictions.
One of them, called "shortest path to the epicenter," measured the number of synaptic connections between the initial epicenter and the brain area to which the damage had spread.
The other measure, the "nodal hazard," measured the number of already atrophied brain areas connected to one main, given brain area.
"It's like with an infectious disease, where your chances of becoming infected can be predicted by how many degrees of separation you have from 'Patient Zero' but also by how many people in your immediate social network are already sick," says Jesse A. Brown, the study's first author.
He adds that their findings will hopefully help scientists determine and target the next disease site, "Just like epidemiologists rely on models of how infectious diseases spread to develop interventions targeted to key hubs or choke points."
"Neurologists need to understand the underlying biological mechanisms of neurodegeneration to develop ways of slowing or halting the spread of the disease," he adds.
"We are excited about this result because it represents an important first step toward a more precision medicine type of approach to predicting progression and measuring treatment effects in neurodegenerative disease."
Dr. William Seeley
However, the scientists also emphasize the fact that their method is not yet ready for clinical use. They do hope that in the future, their results will help evaluate potential therapies that have entered clinical trials.
Could coffee byproducts fight inflammation?
Published Tue 15 Oct 2019 By Tim Newman Fact checked by Jasmin Collier
A recent study concludes that the husks and silverskin that coffee manufacturers remove during production might harbor useful compounds. Although the study is preliminary, its findings could eventually benefit both human health and the environment.
To reach the bean, growers remove the husk, which is a tough outer shell, and the silverskin, which is a thin skin that covers the seed.
They tend to leave the husks, in particular, in the field.
These abandoned coffee byproducts contain chemicals such as caffeine, tannins, and chlorogenic acid, which can be hazardous to the environment.
Manufacturers produce around 0.68 tons of green coffee waste to generate 1 ton of fresh coffee, so it makes sense to find ways to repurpose these byproducts.
Now, researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign are investigating whether or not some of this waste could be useful for its bioactive properties.
Converting waste into medicine
Using extracts of silverskin and husk, the scientists investigated whether these byproducts might reduce some of the biochemical hallmarks of obesity. They also tested individual phenolic compounds extracted from silverskins.
They have now published their results in the journal Food and Chemical Toxicology.
Looking for links between Parkinson's and bipolar disorder
Published Tue 15 Oct 2019 By Tim Newman Fact checked by Carolyn Robertson
A new systematic review and meta-analysis ask whether bipolar disorder is associated with developing Parkinson's disease. Although the authors conclude that there is a link, it is a tough question to unpick.
Bipolar disorder (BD), which people once called manic depression, tends to begin around 20 years of age.
Characterized by cyclic episodes of depression and mania, BD affects an estimated 2.8% of adults in the United States each year.
Scientists do not know why BD occurs in some people but not others, although evidence suggests that the dopamine system might play a role.
For instance, levodopa — a Parkinson's drug that activates dopamine receptors — can induce mania in some people.
Additionally, there is some evidence that when someone with BD switches from a depressive to a manic state, there is an upregulation of dopamine receptors.
Researchers refer to the theory that dopamine is involved in BD as the dopamine dysregulation hypothesis.
Parkinson's and bipolar disorder
Parkinson's, a condition that is characterized by tremor, rigidity, and unstable posture, most commonly occurs in older adults. It affects an estimated 500,000 adults in the U.S., and around 50,000 people receive a Parkinson's diagnosis each year.
The symptoms of Parkinson's disease occur due to the death of dopamine-producing cells in a part of the brain called the substantia nigra.
Current treatment for BD includes antipsychotic medication, anti-epileptic medication, and lithium.
ndividuals who take these drugs for extended periods can develop drug-induced parkinsonism, which, as the authors of the latest study explain, "is not clinically distinguishable from Parkinson's disease."
Recently, a group of researchers set out to understand whether BD increased the likelihood of developing Parkinson's disease later in life. They published their findings in JAMA Neurology.
To investigate, the scientists carried out a systematic review and meta-analysis of existing studies.
In all, seven studies met the scientists' criteria, providing data from more than 4 million participants. Following their analysis, the authors concluded:
"The findings of this systematic review and meta-analysis suggest that people with BD have a significantly increased likelihood of later developing Parkinson's disease."
In line with the dopamine dysregulation hypothesis, the authors hypothesize that the cycling of dopamine receptor sensitivity over time may, eventually, lead to an overall reduction in dopaminergic activity.
Limitations, implications, and the future
Although the authors' conclusions are clear cut, the study does have several limitations. Firstly, they outline concerns that the links between BD and Parkinson's were strongest in studies with shorter follow-up times. This, they explain, might be because of the misdiagnosis of drug-induced parkinsonism as Parkinson's disease.
They also note that two of the studies in their analysis did not differentiate between Parkinson's and parkinsonism.
This is because most of the data the research team used in the new analysis came from studies that had not set out to investigate the relationship between BD and Parkinson's disease, specifically.
Instead, the studies set out to answer different questions but also picked up information about BD and Parkinson's disease along the way.
Still, in studies with longer follow-up times, where misdiagnosis is expected to be less likely, the association between the two conditions was still "strong." As for real-world applications, the authors write:
"The main clinical implication of this review should be to underline that if patients with BD present with parkinsonism features, this may not be drug-induced and may recommend the investigation of [Parkinson's disease]."
The findings are interesting but demonstrate gaps in our understanding. Because few studies have addressed this question, it is still not entirely clear where drug-induced parkinsonism ends, and Parkinson's disease begins.
Because Parkinson's disease impacts a specific part of the brain, neuroimaging is the only way to distinguish between parkinsonism and Parkinson's disease. In the future, studies using this approach might yield a clearer answer.
Key brain protein may be what maintains chronic pain
Published Tue 15 Oct 2019 By Ana Sandoiu Fact checked by Paula Field
A new study in rodents reveals a key protein that may explain why chronic pain persists. The findings may lead to therapeutic agents that could "disrupt the maintenance of pain."'
The term "chronic pain" describes any pain that lasts for longer than 3 months. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), an underlying condition, an injury, surgery, or inflammation typically trigger chronic pain.
However, in many cases, the cause remains unknown. While the initial trigger can explain why the pain started, the reason why it persists remains a mystery.
Now, researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York may have uncovered a protein that explains why chronic pain won't go away.
Venetia Zachariou, Ph.D., who is a professor in the Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, the Department of Pharmacological Sciences, and The Friedman Brain Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine, is the last author of the paper.
The findings appear in The Journal of Neuroscience.
'RGS4 as a potential therapeutic target'
Prof. Zachariou and her team centered their research on RGS4, which is a protein that is part of the "Regulator of G protein signaling" (RGS) family.
Various brain areas associated with "mood, movement, cognition, and addiction" express RGS4. Psychotropic drugs, stress, and corticosteroids can all regulate the RGS4 protein.
RGS proteins are generally involved in opioid signaling, as well as in developing opioid tolerance.
In the current study, the researchers used mouse models of chronic pain where the pain trigger was either nerve injury or inflammation.
The team ablated the gene that expresses the RGS4 protein and examined the role of doing so in triggering the pain, intensifying it, or maintaining it.
an neurofeedback training increase self-esteem in depression?
Published Mon 14 Oct 2019 By Catharine Paddock, Ph.D. Fact checked by Paula Field
There is evidence that people with a history of major depression have lower connectivity between two particular brain areas when recalling feelings of guilt. Now, new research suggests that it is possible to strengthen this brain connectivity and increase self-esteem with a new type of neurofeedback training.
They report the findings of the proof-of-concept study in a recent NeuroImage: Clinical paper.
Neurofeedback is a technique that allows people to learn how to influence their own brain activity by observing a representation of that activity in real time.
Electroencephalography (EEG) neurofeedback has been around since the 1970s. Neurofeedback using fMRI, which uses imaging to look at brain activity, is a more recent development.
Like EEG neurofeedback, fMRI neurofeedback is noninvasive, but it differs from the EEG approach in that it offers greater resolution of the brain region under observation.
Previous study examined connectivity
In an earlier study, the same team had already used fMRI to show that when people with a history of major depressive disorder (MDD) experience feelings of guilt, or "excessive self-blame," they have lower connectivity between the right anterior superior temporal (ATL) and the anterior subgenual cingulate (SCC) regions of the brain.
Connectivity between brain regions has to do with the amount of connectedness that they have in order to exchange information. In the case of the ATL and SCC, their connectivity relates to the interpretation of social behavior.
What to know about an inguinal hernia
Last reviewed Mon 21 Oct 2019 By Jenna Fletcher Reviewed by Elaine K. Luo, MD
Table of contents
An inguinal hernia occurs when part of the intestine or fatty tissue pokes through a weakened area of the abdominal wall to either side of the inguinal canal. The inguinal canal is a passage that occurs on each side of the lower abdomen and connects to the genitals.
When part of the intestine sticks through the abdominal wall, it creates a bulge. In males, this occurs most often near the groin area on one or both sides.
An inguinal hernia may be direct or indirect. A direct inguinal hernia forms slowly over time due to a weakened abdominal wall. Direct inguinal hernias usually only happen to male adults. This can happen due to aging or excess strain on the abdominal muscles.
An indirect inguinal hernia is present from birth due to a problem with the abdominal wall. Indirect inguinal hernias are more common in males but can occur in females as well.
Treatment for inguinal hernias often involves surgery. One estimate suggests doctors perform more than 800,000 surgeries to repair inguinal hernias, making this one of the most common surgical procedures in the United States.
In this article, we discuss inguinal hernias, their symptoms, causes, and treatment options.
Symptoms
Some of the symptoms of an inguinal hernia may include:
small bulge to one or both sides of the groin that may disappear on lying down
the scrotum may appear enlarged in males
pressure or heaviness in the groin
weakness in the groin
pain, burning, or gurgling at the bulge site
sharp pain or discomfort that increases when lifting, coughing, bending, or exercising
There is a risk that part of the intestine may become trapped in the abdominal wall, which can cause a loss of blood flow to this section of the intestine.
This condition is an incarcerated hernia and typically causes severe pain, fever, and an increased heart rate.
If the blood supply to the intestine does not resume quickly, the part of the intestine that is protruding may die. Someone with an incarcerated hernia requires immediate medical attention.
Causes
Several potential risk factors can make a person more susceptible to having an inguinal hernia. One potential cause or risk factor is a weakness in the abdominal wall. Pressure on the weakened spot can cause the inguinal hernia to occur.
Some other risk factors include:
genetic predisposition
premature birth
cystic fibrosis
previous inguinal hernia
chronic constipation
being male
obesity or being overweight
chronic cough
pregnancy
Diagnosis
A person should see their doctor if they notice a bump appear in the groin area, particularly if it is painful. Typically, a doctor will ask questions related to the bump, including:
How long has it been there?
Is it painful?
Has it grown in size?
The doctor will likely do a physical examination of the area. They will feel the bump and get an idea of its size. A doctor may ask for the person to cough to better see and feel the bump.
A doctor may push the hernia back into place temporarily using gentle pressure.
In other cases, a doctor may need to confirm the bump is due to an inguinal hernia. A doctor may use an ultrasound, X-ray, or CT scan of the area to rule out other conditions and check for a hernia.
Surgery
Otherwise, there are two surgical options:
Open surgery: The surgeon creates a large incision in the abdomen, pushes the intestine into the proper place, and uses stitches to reinforce the abdominal wall.
Laparoscopic surgery: The surgeon uses multiple incisions to inject gas into the abdominal cavity. They then use an instrument called a laparoscope to examine the area and move the intestine back into place. A laparoscope is a small tube with a light and camera at one end. A surgeon will then use surgical staples or stitches to seal the incisions.
A surgeon will perform both surgeries in a hospital setting. Both procedures require local or general anesthesia and some recovery time.
Laparoscopic surgery usually has shorter recovery times than open surgery, although the chance of recurrence is higher. A person should discuss the surgical options with their doctor before deciding which procedure to pursue.
Alternatives to surgery
Although inguinal hernias do not heal by themselves, not all inguinal hernias need surgical treatment. In some cases, a doctor may be able to massage the inguinal hernia back into place.
If people have an incarcerated hernia, which means it is stuck outside of the abdominal wall, they will require surgery. People will also require surgery if a hernia grows in size or causes symptoms.
In some rare cases, people may need to wear a truss as a long term solution. A truss is a padded support belt that applies pressure to keep the hernia in place.
Otherwise, the treatment for inguinal hernias is one form of surgery or the othe
Prevention
There are some steps a person can take to reduce the risks of experiencing an inguinal hernia. Some preventative methods include:
avoiding the lifting of heavy objects
maintaining a healthy weight
avoiding smoking
eating plenty of fiber
People who have had surgery to repair a previous inguinal hernia should take extra care, as there is a higher chance that they will develop a hernia again in the future.
When to see a doctor
the bump grows in size
they have sharp pain
they have a persistent feeling of heaviness
the area is tender to touch
the condition occurs in a child or infant
Outlook
People with an inguinal hernia have a high chance of full recovery after a surgical procedure to correct the condition. However, they are at greater risk for developing a hernia again in the future.
Following surgery, people should avoid strenuous exercise and heavy lifting to reduce the chances of a hernia returning.
In most cases, doctors can easily correct inguinal hernias. If people experience severe pain, nausea, or fever with a hernia, they should seek immediate medical attention.
Everything you need to know about syringomyelia
Last reviewed Mon 21 Oct 2019 By Beth Sissons Reviewed by Alana Biggers, MD, MPH
Table of contents
Syringomyelia is a rare disorder in which a fluid filled cyst forms in the spinal cord. Cerebrospinal fluid surrounds and protects the brain and spinal cord. Syringomyelia happens when this fluid collects within the spinal cord and forms a cyst.
The cyst is called a syrinx. Over time, the syrinx gets bigger and can damage the spinal cord and surrounding nerve fibers.
In this article, learn about the causes and symptoms of syringomyelia, as well as the treatment options and the outlook for a person with this disorder.
Causes and risk factors
In people with a Chiari malformation, the brain tissue extends further than normal from the back of the head into the upper part of the spinal cord. This structural abnormality affects the flow of cerebrospinal fluid and may cause a syrinx to form.
Chiari malformations may happen due to an inherited gene, although researchers are still looking for further evidence of this.
Less commonly, people have a type of syringomyelia called acquired syringomyelia, the causes of which include spinal injuries and other conditions, such as:
meningitis
a tumor
arachnoiditis
a tethered spinal cord
a hemorrhage
Sometimes, there is no known cause of syringomyelia. Doctors call this idiopathic syringomyelia.
Syringomyelia most commonly appears in adults between the ages of 20 and 40 years. Young children and older adults can also develop the condition, however.
Syringomyelia may be slightly more likely to affect males than females.
Symptoms
The symptoms of syringomyelia include:
muscle weakness in the arms and legs that worsens with time
pain in the neck and shoulders
numbness, tingling, or burning sensations
a decrease in or loss of sensitivity to hot and cold, particularly in the hands
stiffness and lack of coordination in the legs
scoliosis, which is a curvature of the spine
headaches
loss of balance
loss of bladder and bowel control
difficulties with sexual function
Scoliosis may be the only symptom present in children.
The symptoms of syringomyelia can develop over time, and they usually first appear before the age of 40 years.
Symptoms can sometimes develop suddenly if a person sustains an injury that affects the spinal cord. Coughing or straining can also trigger symptoms in people with existing syringomyelia.
People may experience symptoms on either just one side of the body or both sides.
Related conditions
Chiari malformations usually happen from birth, although symptoms may not appear until adulthood. People can sometimes get a Chiari malformation later in life due to an injury.
The symptoms of a Chiari malformation vary depending on its severity. Some people have no symptoms, while others may have symptoms that affect their everyday life. In some cases, a Chiari malformation can be life threatening.
Symptoms of Chiari malformations include:
a headache that spreads upward from the back of the neck
vision problems
involuntary eye movements
dizziness
muscle weakness
lack of balance and coordination
Many other neurological conditions can also cause symptoms similar to those of syringomyelia. These conditions include:
multiple sclerosis
ankylosing spondylitis
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
central pontine myelinolysis
spinal muscular atrophy
diabetic neuropathy
chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy
arteriovenous malformations
Syringobulbia is a similar neurological condition that also causes a syrinx in the spinal cord. People with syringobulbia have a small slit in the brain stem that affects the cranial nerves and the pathways that control sensory and motor reactions.
Diagnosis
To diagnose syringomyelia, a doctor will first take a medical history and ask a person about their symptoms. They will then carry out a variety of tests.
Doctors may use an MRI scan to help them diagnose syringomyelia. This test can also show whether a person has scoliosis.
A moving MRI scan, called a cine or dynamic MRI, shows the movement of cerebrospinal fluid. A doctor can use this to determine whether a syrinx is affecting the flow of this fluid.
Doctors may also use a CT scan to provide a detailed image of the spinal cord and surrounding tissues.
A person may need to undergo motor and sensory tests to assess their movement, balance, and coordination.
Treatment
It may help to limit any activities, such as heavy lifting, that trigger symptoms. Some people may benefit from physical therapy. Pain relief medication can help ease any pain that a person is experiencing.
People with severe or worsening symptoms of syringomyelia may need surgery to create a normal flow of cerebrospinal fluid and drain it from the syrinx. A surgeon can insert a small tube called a shunt into the syrinx to drain the fluid. This drainage should relieve pressure on the spinal cord and ease certain symptoms, including headaches.
If a tumor or tethered spinal cord is causing syringomyelia, people will need specific treatment for this issue.
If a person has syringomyelia but does not experience any symptoms, they will not usually need any treatment. A neurologist will monitor the person's condition in case symptoms start to appear, and they may advise the person to avoid lifting heavy objects or straining the body in other ways.
Complications
Surgery for syringomyelia carries a risk of potential complications. Inserting a shunt to relieve pressure on the spine can be effective, but it does have risks.
Shunts can cause injury to the spinal cord and lead to bleeding or infection. A shunt will also need replacing if it develops a blockage or stops working.
Syringomyelia can return after surgery, in which case, a person will need another operation.
Outlook
If a person with symptoms of syringomyelia does not receive treatment or there is a long delay in treatment, this may result in permanent damage to the spinal cord.
Without treatment, symptoms may worsen. A person may experience:
chronic pain
loss of sensation in the hands
worsening weakness in the arms and legs
In cases where surgery is necessary, it can help improve symptoms or stabilize the condition for most people.
If a person has syringomyelia without any symptoms, a neurologist will monitor them in case any symptoms start to develop, and treatment becomes necessar
person has syringomyelia without any symptoms, a neurologist will monitor them in case any symptoms start to develop, and treatment becomes necessary.
What to know about sex after a vasectomy
Medically reviewed by Alana Biggers, MD, MPH on October 21, 2019 New — Written by Jon Johnson
Healing time
Sterile
Effects on sex and sexual function
Recovery tips
Outlook
A vasectomy should not affect sexual functioning although, it is important to let the body heal for a couple of weeks before having sex. Also, it can take another 3 months before the sperm count drops to zero.
A vasectomy is an operation that stops sperm from reaching the penis. Without sperm, the semen that a man ejaculates cannot cause pregnancy. Hence, a vasectomy is an effective method of birth control.
This article will discuss whether a vasectomy can affect sexual functioning and how long to wait before having sex after the procedure.
he first stage of recovery is to allow the surgical site to heal. A vasectomy, using a scalpel, typically involves two cuts in the scrotum. Doctors may then use stitches to seal the area up.
For vasectomies without a scalpel, doctors will operate through a small hole in the scrotum. This procedure may reduce recovery times and the risk of complications.
With both procedures, it is essential to allow the wound to heal before having sex again. This should take less than 2 weeks, but it could last longer.
There can also be pain and swelling in the area that interferes with sex after the wounds heal. It is best to avoid sex until all these symptoms go away. Having sex before the healing process is complete can cause further injuries and delay recovery.
It is possible to masturbate without putting pressure on the wounds. But ejaculating causes muscles in the area to contract, which can be painful and cause swelling.
How long until the male is sterile?
It can take up to 3 monthsTrusted Source for a person to become completely sterile after a vasectomy. An individual is sterile when their sperm count falls to zero. It is still possible to ejaculate as before, but the semen will not contain sperm that can cause pregnancy.
During this initial 3-month period after the procedure, the sperm count may still be high enough to cause pregnancy. Even after the wound heals, it is necessary to use protection during sex. This will prevent any remaining sperm from causing pregnancy.
Doctors will perform a checkup 6–12 weeks after the vasectomy. They will assess whether the wound has recovered and organize a sperm count. It is best to wait until this checkup before having unprotected sex again.
Vasectomies are highly effective. One study estimates that between 98–99%Trusted Source of cases are successful, with a low risk of complications.
Effects on sex and sexual function
After a full recovery from a vasectomy, there should be no impact on sexual functioning. Having a sperm count of zero does not affect how the sexual organs work.
There should be no changes in the enjoyment of sex or reductions in sex drive. The first few ejaculations after recover may be uncomfortable, but this will ease over time. If the pain does persist, a person can consult their doctor for advice.
Vasectomies are unlikely to lead to any lasting complications. Despite early concerns, a comprehensive review in JAMA Internal MedicineTrusted Source found that vasectomies do not increase the risk of prostate cancer.
In rare cases, some men experience post-vasectomy pain syndromeTrusted Source. This condition causes chronic pain from nerve damage or a buildup of sperm that occurs after a vasectomy.
Recovery tips
Using ice packs: Applying an ice pack to the wound for 20 minutes can reduce swelling and pain. Wrap the ice pack to keep it from making direct contact with the skin.
Lying down: During the first few days following a vasectomy, it is advisable to lie down as much as possible. This precaution reduces strain on the wound.
Avoiding heavy lifting: This can strain muscles around the scrotum and cause further harm.
Wearing supportive underwear: Wearing briefs that cup the testicles can reduce pressure on the wound. A jockstrap provides additional support and reduces friction in the area.
Cleaning regularly: It is essential to gently clean the wound every day. This routine will help to prevent infections.
Avoiding masturbation: During recovery, it is sensible to avoid masturbating to prevent damage to muscles or tissue in the area.
Outlook
Vasectomies are a highly effective procedure with a low risk of complications. It is best to avoid sex as the wound heals, usually within the first couple of weeks. After this recovery period, people should stick to protected sex until a doctor advises otherwise. This can take up to 3 months.
Vasectomies do not affect sexual functioning or reduce sex drive. After a vasectomy, it will still be possible to get an erection and ejaculate as before. Sperm only makes up a tiny proportion of semen, so a vasectomy should not cause a noticeable change in the amount of ejaculate.
Having a vasectomy can be a big decision that causes anxiety. It can help to discuss the consequences of a vasectomy with loved ones before going ahead.
Sexual Health / STDsBirth Control / ContraceptionMen's Health
What to know about hemorrhoid banding
Medically reviewed by Saurabh (Seth) Sethi, MD MPH on October 21, 2019 New — Written by Jenna Fletcher
Who needs hemorrhoid banding?
Preparation
What to expect
Recovery
Success rates
Risks
Alternatives
Summary
Hemorrhoid banding, also known as rubber band ligation, is a minimally invasive outpatient procedure that treats hemorrhoids and helps prevent them from coming back.
Hemorrhoids are swollen veins in the lower part of the anus and rectum. They can cause discomfort, anal pain, and itching and tend to be more common as people get older.
People with hemorrhoids often treat them at home, but hemorrhoids sometimes do not respond well to home treatments. In these cases, hemorrhoid banding is an effective medical treatment option. However, the procedure may not be suitable for everyone.
In this article, we examine hemorrhoid banding, who needs it, and what to expect. We also look at the effectiveness of hemorrhoid banding and whether there are any alternative treatments.
cold compresses
sitz baths
a high fiber diet
over-the-counter (OTC) topical treatments
oral pain relievers
A doctor may also recommend creams or ointments that contain witch hazel, hydrocortisone, or lidocaine to help ease pain and itching.
Hemorrhoids may not always respond to home treatments and remedies. In these cases, they may become increasingly itchy or painful.
Sometimes, they can start to bleed. If hemorrhoids are persistently bleeding or painful, the person may be a suitable candidate for hemorrhoid banding.
Hemorrhoid banding is only an option for internal hemorrhoids, not external hemorrhoids. Internal hemorrhoids form on the lining of the rectum and anus.
Preparation
Before the procedure, a person should talk to their doctor about any medications that they are taking, including OTC drugs and supplements. A doctor can advise them on which medications to stop taking in the lead up to the procedure and suggest alternative options.
A doctor will also provide guidance on what to do before going to the hospital. For example, they will advise the person to avoid food and drink for several hours before the procedure.
Finally, a person should talk to their doctor about whether they need general anesthesia.
The individual should plan to have someone accompany them to the procedure. It is also helpful to have support on the days immediately after the procedure.
What to expect
Hemorrhoid banding is a relatively simple outpatient procedure, meaning that the person will usually go home on the same day.
Hemorrhoid banding typically takes place in the hospital. However, the procedure may sometimes happen at the doctor's office or in another outpatient setting.
Usually, a healthcare professional administers local or topical anesthesia to the rectum. They might use general anesthesia if the hemorrhoids are causing significant pain or if there are several of them that require banding.
Once a person has received the appropriate anesthesia, the doctor will insert an anoscope into the rectum. The anoscope is a long tube with a light at the end that allows the doctor to locate and reach the hemorrhoid.
When the doctor has reached the hemorrhoid, they will insert a small instrument called a litigator through the anoscope. They will use the litigator to tie a rubber band around the base of the hemorrhoid. The doctor will repeat the process for each hemorrhoid that they find.
Typically, the entire procedure only takes a few minutes, but the exact time will depend on the number of hemorrhoids present.
Recovery
There may be some side effects after hemorrhoid banding, including:
swelling or pain in the abdomen
extra gas
flatulence
constipation
Some people may experience bleeding following the procedure. Although some bleeding is normal, if it does not clear within a day or two, a person should contact their doctor.
The doctor may recommend or prescribe a laxative following the procedure to help prevent constipation and gas.
Success rates
A study in the journal Diseases of the Colon & Rectum found that hemorrhoid banding was successful in about 8 in 10 people.
However, up to 1 in 10 people may need surgery to remove their hemorrhoids following hemorrhoid banding.
Risks and complications
Side effects are not very common with hemorrhoid banding. However, some reported side effects include:
bleeding from the anus
severe pain that does not respond to medications
infection in the anus or surrounding area
recurring hemorrhoids
problems urinating
If a person experiences any side effects, they should talk to their doctor.
Hemorrhoid banding is one of the preferred nonsurgical solutions for internal hemorrhoids.
However, some people may not want to undergo this procedure because it can be painful or uncomfortable.
A doctor may recommend alternative minimally invasive options or surgical procedures.
Sclerotherapy
One alternative is sclerotherapy. Sclerotherapy is a form of therapy in which a doctor injects a chemical into the hemorrhoid that cuts off blood flow. This type of treatment often requires multiple trips to the doctor's office, and the hemorrhoids may grow back.
Electrocoagulation
Another alternative is electrocoagulation, in which the doctor uses the heat from an electric current to create scar tissue. A similar procedure called infrared coagulation uses infrared light for this instead. In both cases, hemorrhoids often reoccur following the procedure.
Surgical removal
A final alternative to hemorrhoid banding is the surgical removal of hemorrhoids. Although surgical removal may be effective, it carries a higher risk than other treatments of the person developing complications or other risk factors.
Summary
Hemorrhoid banding is usually an effective way to remove internal hemorrhoids.
Although the procedure is often quick, it can be uncomfortable for some people, which makes it less appealing than some of the alternatives.
However, a person may wish to consider hemorrhoid banding as a treatment option for internal hemorrhoids because it is often more effective than some of the alternative treatments and usually requires just one visit to the hospital.
GastroIntestinal / Gastroenterology
5 sources
What to know about a fish bone in the throat
Last reviewed Mon 21 Oct 2019 By Jenna Fletcher Reviewed by Elaine K. Luo, MD
Table of contents
Swallowing a fish bone is a common occurrence, especially for people who eat a lot of fish. Though fish bones are often small, oddly shaped, and sharp, the bone will usually pass through the digestive tract without any issues. However, some people may end up with a fish bone stuck in their throat.
If this occurs, the lodged bone can cause discomfort and panic, though it is not usually painful. Due to the common nature of this occurrence, there are many established methods that can help dislodge the fish bone from the throat.
Keep reading for more information on what it feels like, how to remove a bone, and when to see a doctor.
Signs and symptoms
Aside from general discomfort, there are several other possible symptoms of having a bone stuck in the throat, including:
coughing
a prickly or tingly sensation in the throat
pain when swallowing
difficulty swallowing
a feeling of fullness at the base of the neck
a sharp pain where the bone has impacted the throat
spitting up blood
Possible complications
If a person believes that they have a fish bone stuck in their throat that they cannot remove, they should see a doctor or healthcare provider as soon as possible.
Most fish bones are very sharp. They can cut or cause an abrasion on the throat on their way down, even if they do not get stuck. In these cases, it may feel as though the bone is stuck in the throat, when in reality, it has already passed through the esophagus toward the stomach.
However, if the person is spitting blood, can confirm that the bone has impacted, or is having trouble breathing, they should immediately go to their doctor or the emergency room. They should not go to bed if they suspect that a bone is lodged in their throat.
Possible complications of having a fish bone stuck in the throat include:
an inability to swallow food
bleeding
puncturing the esophagus
infection
chest pain
abscess
Ways to remove a fish bone at home
To try some fish bone removal methods at home:
Cough forcefully.
Drink a small amount of vinegar to help break the bone down with the acid.
Drink soda. The gases it produces in the stomach can help break down the bone.
Drink 1 tablespoon of olive oil to help lubricate and free the bone.
Swallow a large bite of banana. This may stick to the bone and dislodge it.
Take a large bite of bread and peanut butter. This could help loosen the bone.
Soak bread in water for a few seconds, then swallow a large chunk. The weight could dislodge the bone.
Partially chew a large marshmallow and swallow it whole. The stickiness may help loosen the bone from the throat.
Learn more about what to do if someone has food stuck in their throat.
If the fish bone remains lodged, a person should seek medical advice.
Can pregnancy occur after a vasectomy?
Last reviewed Mon 21 Oct 2019 By Zawn Villines Reviewed by Valinda Riggins Nwadike
Table of contents
A vasectomy is a surgical procedure that cuts or blocks the vas deferens, the two tubes that carry sperm from the testicles to the urethra. The procedure stops sperm from getting into the semen in order to prevent pregnancy.
After a vasectomy, an individual can still ejaculate and produce sperm, but the body reabsorbs the sperm, and it never reaches the semen.
A vasectomy is a very effective form of male birth control, but is it still possible for a partner to get pregnant?
In this article, we explore the reasons why pregnancy may still happen after a vasectomy.
We also look at the reversal options for achieving pregnancy and discuss sperm aspiration, a procedure that can lead to pregnancy if people use it with in vitro fertilization (IVF).
Likelihood of pregnancy after a vasectomy
There is a very low possibility of pregnancy 3 months after a vasectomy.
The likelihood of getting pregnant after a vasectomy is almost zero when couples wait at least 3 months following the procedure to have sex without birth control.
After a vasectomy, a doctor will test the semen to assess whether there are sperm present. To reduce the risk of pregnancy, the person who has the vasectomy and their partner should use a backup contraceptive method until a doctor gives them the go-ahead.
If people have sex without contraception too soon after a vasectomy, there is a risk that some sperm may remain in the semen. If so, this sperm could fertilize an egg, leading to pregnancy.
Reasons for pregnancy after a vasectomy
1. Having sex too soon
Vasectomy failures are most common in the months following surgery if a couple engages in sex too soon without using contraception.
The sperm life cycle is about 3 months. This means that sperm may be able to get into semen for several months following the procedure. The longer the time-lapse since the vasectomy, the less likely that this will happen.
Around 1–2 out of every 1,000 females whose partners have a vasectomy get pregnant in the year following the vasectomy.
Everything you need to know about vasectomy
What are the side effects, risks, and complications of a vasectomy? Learn about these here.
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2. Vasectomy procedure did not work
Sometimes the vasectomy procedure does not fully block the vas deferens. When this happens, a doctor might recommend redoing the procedure, sometimes using a different vasectomy method.
In most cases, a semen analysis that a doctor does after the procedure will reveal that it did not work.
3. Recanalization
Recanalization reverses a vasectomy.
It is also possible for a vasectomy to fail weeks, months, or even years after the procedure through a process called recanalization.
Recanalization happens when the vas deferens grow back to create a new connection, causing the vasectomy to reverse itself.
Most cases of recanalization happen within 12 weeks of the procedure. When recanalization happens years later, it may go undetected until a person's partner gets pregnant.
The risk of recanalization may increase if:
a person chooses an open-ended vasectomy, which closes only one end of the vas deferens
sperm tissue is present at the vasectomy site
What are the failure rates?
Various studies estimate that the early failure rate for vasectomies ranges from between 0.3% and 9% of all procedures.
Late failure is less common, with an estimated failure rate ranging from between 0.04 to 0.08%.
Can a vasectomy be reversed?
Most vasectomies are reversible. Between 3–6% of males who have vasectomies eventually have a reversal.
The procedures for reversal are:
Vasovasostomy: This procedure is where a doctor rejoins the cut or clipped ends of the vas deferens. This procedure is used in most cases and is less technically challenging, and therefore has higher success rates.
Vasoepididymostomy: An alternative procedure, where a doctor j
Vasoepididymostomy: An alternative procedure, where a doctor joins one end of the vas deferens to the epididymis, the tube that stores sperm and transports it from the testes. This procedure is more technically challenging, and so has a lower success rate.
Reversal success in achieving pregnancy
A number of factors influence the success of a reversal in achieving pregnancy, including:
experience and skill of the surgeon
good sperm count of the individual
overall health of both partners
intercourse timing
the woman's fertility
If the first reversal fails, a person may choose to pursue a second reversal.
Sperm aspiration and in vitro fertilization
IVF is a procedure that fertilizes an egg outside of the woman's body. A doctor then implants the egg into the woman's uterus in the hope of pregnancy occurring.
People who have had vasectomies can still impregnate their partners through IVF, even without a vasectomy reversal.
To achieve this, a person undergoes a sperm aspiration under anesthetic. During this procedure, a doctor directly retrieves sperm from the testis or epididymis using a needle.
As long as a person's sperm are healthy at the time of sperm aspiration, their chances of impregnating their partner through IVF are the same as they would be if they had not had a vasectomy. So, for people whose partners have fertility issues or who are not good candidates for reversal, sperm aspiration may be the best option for having a child.
Outlook
People with concerns about overall success rates or who believe they may wish to reverse their vasectomies should discuss all options before pursuing a vasectomy.
There is no guarantee that a vasectomy will work in all people, nor that a vasectomy reversal will make a person fertile. People should, therefore, weigh the risks and benefits with their partners and doctors.
Cognitive dissonance: What to know
Last reviewed Mon 21 Oct 2019 By Jayne Leonard Reviewed by Timothy J. Legg, PhD, CRNP
Table of contents
Cognitive dissonance is a theory in social psychology. It refers to the mental conflict that occurs when a person's behaviors and beliefs do not align.
It may also happen when a person holds two beliefs that contradict one another.
Cognitive dissonance causes feelings of unease and tension, and people attempt to relieve this discomfort in different ways. Examples include "explaining things away" or rejecting new information that conflicts with their existing beliefs.
Read on to learn more about cognitive dissonance and its effects.
What is cognitive dissonance?
Festinger proposed that people experience discomfort when they hold conflicting beliefs or when their actions contradict their beliefs.
Since then, cognitive dissonance has become one of the most influential and researched theories in social psychology.
People will try to reduce this dissonance to relieve the discomfort. The drive to resolve dissonance is called the "principle of cognitive consistency."
It is important to note that cognitive dissonance is not automatic when a person holds opposing beliefs. They must have an awareness of the inconsistency to feel discomfort.
Not everyone experiences cognitive dissonance to the same degree. Some people have a higher tolerance for uncertainty and inconsistency and may experience less cognitive dissonance than those who require consistency.
Other factors that affect the degree of cognitive dissonance that a person experiences include:
The type of beliefs: Beliefs that are more personal lead to more significant dissonance.
The value of the beliefs: Beliefs that people hold in high regard tend to cause greater dissonance.
The size of the disparity: A substantial disparity between conflicting and harmonious beliefs will result in more dissonance.
Effects
Cognitive dissonance has the immediate effect of causing feelings of discomfort and unease.
As people generally have an innate desire to avoid this discomfort, cognitive dissonance has a significant effect on a person's:
behaviors
thoughts
decisions
beliefs and attitudes
mental health
People experiencing cognitive dissonance may notice that they feel:
anxious
guilty
ashamed
As a result, they may:
try to hide their actions or beliefs from others
rationalize their actions or choices continuously
shy away from conversations or debates about specific topics
avoid learning new information that goes against their existing beliefs
ignore research, newspaper articles, or doctor's advice that causes dissonance
Avoiding factual information can allow people to continue maintaining behaviors with which they do not fully agree.
Of course, cognitive dissonance may prompt some people to change their behavior so that their actions align with their beliefs. In this way, it provides people with an opportunity to examine their values and actions and achieve cognitive consistency.
As a result of cognitive dissonance, many people confront problematic attitudes and actions.
They may make positive changes in their lives, such as addressing unhealthful eating habits, addiction, or anger issues.
Everything you need to know about clear urine
Last reviewed Mon 21 Oct 2019 By Jenna Fletcher Reviewed by Deborah Weatherspoon, PhD, RN, CRNA
Table of contents
In many cases, the color of a person's urine can indicate whether or not they are drinking enough water. Clear urine often indicates proper hydration.
In some cases of clear urine, however, a person may be too hydrated or have an underlying condition that causes them to urinate more than usual.
This article contains more information on the causes of clear urine, when to see a doctor, and what other urine colors mean.
Clear urine and hydration
If a person has consumed a lot of liquids during the day, they may have too much water in their system.
When this occurs, they can inadvertently dilute their blood and lower their essential salt and electrolyte levels.
In some rare cases, a person may develop hyponatremia. Hyponatremia is a potentially life threatening condition in which the brain swells due to a lack of salt in the body.
According to research from 2014, hyponatremia can occur due to excessive water intake or because the kidneys are not processing water fast enough.
Other causes of clear urine
If a person has clear urine occasionally, it is most likely that they are very well hydrated on those days.
However, a person may wish to speak to a doctor if they have consistently clear urine, as it may indicate an underlying condition, such as:
Diabetes
Diabetes occurs when the body cannot regulate blood sugar (glucose) levels and therefore cannot use the sugar properly for energy.
People with diabetes often have excessive thirst and feel the need to urinate frequently. The excess urination is from the kidneys trying to get rid of extra sugar and liquid.
Without treatment, diabetes can be life threatening. However, a doctor can easily diagnose it with a blood test, and there are many treatment options.
Learn more about the symptoms of diabetes here.
Diabetes insipidus
Diabetes insipidus is a rare condition that occurs when the kidneys produce an unusually high amount of urine.
According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, most people pass around 1–2 quarts of urine per day. A person with diabetes insipidus passes about 3–20 quarts of urine each day.
People living with diabetes insipidus do not have issues with their blood sugar levels like those with more common types of diabetes.
Instead, their kidneys cannot balance fluids properly, and their body may make them feel more thirsty than normal to help replace lost fluids.
Underlying kidney problems
If the kidneys are damaged or infected, a person can experience abnormal urination, including clear urination.
They may also have other symptoms, such as painful urination or a fever.
A set of rare conditions known as Bartter syndrome, or potassium wasting, can also cause a person to urinate frequently. If they drink more to compensate, their urine may be clear.
Taking diuretics
Taking diuretics is another possible cause of clear urine. These medications cause the body to produce more urine to flush out extra salts and water.
If a person is taking diuretics, it can cause excessive urination that may be very pale or clear.
Pregnancy
Pregnant women may also develop a form of diabetes called gestational diabetes. The symptoms may be mild but include increased thirst and needing to urinate more often.
Gestational diabetes can increase the risk of pregnancy complications, so a doctor may test for it during a regular checkup. It usually disappears after childbirth.
Learn more about the symptoms of gestational diabetes here.
Other colors
Urine can vary in color depending on the person and their diet. In many people, urine color may indicate the level of hydration, foods eaten or medications taken, or the presence of an underlying health condition.
The following are some typical colors of urine and what they could indicate:
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