Liver, Brain, Inflammation and Cognition

An October 2024 study of mice by University of Oklahoma College of Medicine said,

• “We hypothesize that when liver necroptosis is activated, the liver secretes toxic or inflammatory molecules that enter the bloodstream and cross the blood-brain barrier, where they cause inflammation in the brain,”

• “This type of organ crosstalk is becoming very important in research. Usually, when we study a disease condition, we focus on one organ, but when we do that, we miss the systemic effect.”

• “This study tells us that, with age-associated cognitive decline or Alzheimer’s disease, we shouldn’t think only about targeting the brain. We also need to think about how liver inflammation plays a role,”

• “What we have found in our mice studies so far matches what is reported for patients – that people with liver diseases have high inflammation in the liver and also have cognitive issues,”

• “Our key question is what is causing this increase in inflammation in aging? It is important that we advance our knowledge in this area because it is critical that we develop new ways to treat these diseases.”

Aerobic Exercise by the Elderly with Hypertension: morning or evening?

A May 2024 study by University of São Paulo said,

• “There are multiple mechanisms to regulate blood pressure, and although morning training was beneficial, only evening training improved short-term control of blood pressure by enhancing baroreflex sensitivity. This is important because baroreflex control has a positive effect on blood pressure regulation, and there aren’t any medications to modulate the mechanism,”

• “Evening training was more effective in terms of improving cardiovascular autonomic regulation and lowering blood pressure. This can be partly explained as due to an improvement in baroreflex sensitivity and a reduction of muscle sympathetic nerve activity, which increased in the evening. For now, all we know is that baroreflex control is the decisive factor, from the cardiovascular standpoint at least, to make evening training more beneficial than morning training, since it induces the other benefits analyzed. However, much remains to be done in this regard in order to obtain a better understanding of the mechanisms involved,”

• “It’s a mechanism that involves sensitive fibers and deformations in the walls of arteries in specific places, such as the aortic arch and carotid body. When blood pressure falls, this region warns the brain region that controls the autonomic nervous system, which in turn signals the heart to beat faster and tells the arteries to contract more strongly. If blood pressure rises, it warns the heart to beat more slowly and tells the arteries to contract less. In other words, it modulates arterial pressure beat by beat,”

• “Replication of the results obtained in previous studies and in different groups of hypertensive patients, associated with the use of more precise techniques to evaluate the main outcomes, has strengthened our conclusion that aerobic exercise performed in the evening is more beneficial to the autonomic nervous system in patients with hypertension. This can be especially important for those with resistance to treatment with medication,”

New Orgenelle in Liver

A March 2024 study by First Hospital of Jilin University reports on a new organelle called the mitochondria-lysosome-related organelle (MLRO). It is unique in that it formed by the fusion of a mitochondrion and a lysosome, a cellular "garbage disposal" unit. It provides an alternative way to break down damaged cell parts.

New "Steps" Target

A February 2024 study by New York University at Buffalo said,

• “In ambulatory older women, higher amounts of usual daily light and moderate intensity activities were associated with lower risk of developing heart failure with preserved ejection fraction independent of demographic and clinical factors associated with heart failure risk,”

• “Accumulating 3,000 steps per day might be a reasonable target that would be consistent with the amount of daily activity performed by women in this study.”

• “This is a major, unique finding of our study because there is very little published data on physical activity and HFpEF, so we are providing new information upon which other studies can build,”

• “More importantly, [in] the most common form of heart failure seen in older women and among racial and ethnic minority groups, and at present there are few established treatment options, which makes primary prevention all the more relevant…. The potential for light intensity activities of daily life to contribute to the prevention of [this type of heart failure] in older women is an exciting and promising result for future studies to evaluate in other groups, including older men,”

• “…conveying how much activity is always a challenge to incorporate as part of clinical and public health recommendations,”

• “Steps per day is easily understood and can be measured by a variety of consumer-level wearable devices to help people monitor their physical activity levels.”

• “It appeared that intensity of stepping did not influence the lower risk of heart failure as results were comparable for light intensity steps and for more vigorous steps,”

• “Our results showing heart failure prevention in older women might be enhanced through walking around 3,000 steps or so per day at usual pace is very relevant given the current emphasis at the federal level on identifying an amount of daily physical activity that can be referenced against steps per day for cardiovascular health and resilience to incorporate in future public health guidelines.”

Diabetes, Cardiovascular Disease, Chronic Kidney Disease

A January 2024 study by Professor Edward Gregg, Head of the School of Population Health, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dublin, Ireland, and colleagues said, “As the first intervention study to associate remission with reduction of diabetes-related complications, this is encouraging news for those who can achieve remission from type 2 diabetes. While our study is also a reminder that maintenance of weight loss and remission is difficult, our findings suggests any success with remission is associated with later health benefits.”

JOURNAL

Diabetologia

ARTICLE TITLE

Impact of remission from type 2 diabetes on long‑term health outcomes: findings from the Look AHEAD study

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

18-Jan-2024

COI STATEMENT

See full paper for disclosures

Beetroot Juice and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

A December 2023 study at Imperial College London said,

• “There is some evidence that beetroot juice as a source of nitrate supplementation could be used by athletes to improve their performance, as well as a few short-term studies looking at blood pressure. Higher levels of nitrate in the blood can increase the availability of nitric oxide, a chemical that helps blood vessels relax. It also increases the efficiency of muscles, meaning they need less oxygen to do the same work.”
  
  “At the end of the study, we found that the blood pressure of people taking the nitrate-rich beetroot juice drink was lower and their blood vessels became less stiff. The juice also increased how far people with COPD could walk in six minutes compared to placebo.”
  
  “This is one of the longest-duration studies in this area so far. The results are very promising, but will need to be confirmed in larger, longer-term studies.”

• “COPD cannot be cured so there is a pressing need to help patients live as well as they can with the condition and to reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease.”
  
  “Patients taking part in this trial generally found the beetroot juice supplement acceptable and they saw benefits in terms of their blood pressure and mobility. This suggests they may see improvements in everyday life and should have a lower risk of heart disease and stroke, but we will have to study patients for longer to confirm if this is the case.”
  
  “Beetroot juice has been consumed widely and tested in other research, so it has the potential to be a safe treatment for people with COPD.”

Calorie Restriction; Muscle Rejuvenation

A study in October 2023 by the National Institue of Aging suggests that a reduction in calories may help rejuvenate muscles and active biological systems that promote health.

• "A 12% reduction in calorie intake is very modest,"

• "This kind of small reduction in calorie intake is doable and may make a big difference in your health."
  "Since inflammation and aging are strongly coupled, calorie restriction represents a powerful approach to preventing the pro-inflammatory state that is developed by many older people,"

Age-appropriate aerobic exercise for cognitive function in older adults

An October 2023 study by the University of East Finland said that, “These findings underscore the value of age-appropriate aerobic exercise, such as golf, Nordic walking and regular walking, in maintaining and enhancing cognitive function among older adults. Previous research has shown that exercise also holds promise as a potential strategy for those experiencing cognitive decline,”

AI finds possible osteoporosis treatment with antimalarial drug

An October 2023 paper in the American Chemical Society reports that dihydroartemisinin (DHA), an antimalarial drug and derivative of a traditional Chinese medicine, could treat osteoporosis.

Getting older

“The older I get, the dumber I was.” was a Twitter bio that made me smile.

Protein restriction, obesity and diabetes

A September 2022 study by Harvard Medical School said, 

• “The study showed that cutting protein intake to 0.8 g per kg of body weight was sufficient to achieve almost the same clinical results as restricting calories, but without the need to reduce calorie intake. The results suggest that protein restriction may be one of the key factors leading to the known benefits of dietary restriction. Protein restriction dieting may therefore be a more attractive nutritional strategy and easier to follow for people with metabolic syndrome,” 

• “After 27 days of monitoring, both groups had similar results in terms of lower blood sugar, weight loss, controlled blood pressure, and lower levels of triglycerides and cholesterol. Both diets improved insulin sensitivity after treatment. Body fat decreased, as did waist and hip circumference, but without loss of muscle mass,” 

• “Here, however, we succeeded in conducting a fully controlled randomized clinical trial lasting 27 days, with a personalized menu designed to meet each patient’s needs,” 

• “We demonstrated that protein restriction reduces body fat while maintaining muscle mass. That’s important since the weight loss resulting from restrictive diets is often associated with loss of muscle mass,” 

• “We only have hypotheses so far. One is that molecular pathways are activated to interpret the reduction in essential amino acids as being a signal to reduce food intake while leading to the production of hormones that typically increase when we’re fasting,”

• “Studies in animal models have shown the involvement of such pathways in the effects of both protein and calorie restriction, both of which lead to fat loss.”

• “Nevertheless, it’s tempting to extrapolate the results. We know research has shown vegan diets to be positive for cases of metabolic syndrome. It’s also been found that the excessive protein intake common in the standard Western diet can be a problem. Every case should be analyzed on its own merits. We shouldn’t forget protein deficiency can lead to severe health problems, as has been well-described in pregnant women, for example,”

Loneliness and Unhappiness ages more than smoking

A September 2022 study by an international collaboration led by Deep Longevity with US and Chinese scientists said, “Mental and psychosocial states are some of the most robust predictors of health outcomes — and quality of life — yet they have largely been omitted from modern healthcare”. Insilico Medicine, said the study shows the way to “slow down or even reverse psychological aging on a national scale. 

Gossypetin in hibiscus, Alzheimer's

A November 2022 study by the Department of Life Sciences, POSTECH said

“We have confirmed that removing Aβ aggregates deposited in the brain is effective in preventing and treating dementia. Gossypetin from hibiscus will contribute to the development of a safe and affordable drug for patients suffering from AD.” 

pro-inflammatory diets and frailty

A December 2021 study by, amongst others, Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research, and Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, said that, 

• “The study indicated that regularly eating foods that contain nutrients such as dietary fiber and dietary antioxidants (such as vitamin C, vitamin E, and flavonoids) may prevent older adults from becoming frail,” 

• “While more studies are necessary, guidelines based on an anti-inflammatory diet may help reduce the percentage of older adults who may develop frailty and related conditions such as falls and fractures, which can improve their quality of life.”

Older men and sleep

A May 2021 study by the Florey Adelaide Male Ageing Study said,

"Less deep sleep and more light sleep is related to slower responses on cognitive function tests,".

"While obstructive sleep apnoea itself is not directly related to cognitive function in all men studied, we did note that in men aged 65 and older, more light sleep was related to worse attention and processing speed."

Ageing, diet and lifestyle

A May 2021 study by the Institute of Functional Medicine said,

"Advanced age is the largest risk factor for impaired mental and physical function and many non-communicable diseases including cancer, neurodegeneration, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease."

"It may be that emerging 'omics' approaches continue to evolve our understanding of biological age prediction and reversal beyond DNA methylation alone. Integration of our future understanding of multi-omics data should therefore be considered in the future trials of candidate age-delaying interventions."

Low protein/high carbohydrate diets

A June 2021 study by the University of Sydney's Charles Perkins Centre said,

• "While the study was conducted in mice, the results appear to explain the disparity between healthy, low-protein, high-carbohydrate diets and growing levels of obesity and co-morbidities associated with highly-processed modern-day diets which are also protein-diluted and high in refined carbohydrates," 

• "We found that the molecular make-up of a carbohydrate and how it is digested shapes the behavioural and physiological response to reduced levels of protein in the diet, impacts how the liver processes nutrients and alters the gut bacteria.

• "These findings could explain why consuming low protein-high carbohydrate diets that avoid high fructose corn syrup, limit readily digestible processed starch and are abundant in resistant starch (which in a human diet would be whole grains and legumes such as beans and lentils) are associated with good metabolic health."

• "We found that the 50:50 mixture of glucose to fructose created the highest levels of obesity in mice, even when calorie consumption was comparable to other carbohydrates. This suggests that a calorie is not a calorie when it comes to carbohydrates, or even to different sugars and that consumption of glucose and fructose in combination promotes obesity and poor metabolic health," 

• "The findings could have immense practical benefits,"

• "For many people wishing to improve their diets, carbohydrates have become the enemy. Some go to extreme lengths, virtually removing them from their diets. Our results suggest this could be a mistake. Reducing certain kinds of carbohydrates, like high fructose corn syrup, would have benefits. But avoiding the digestion resistant forms, which are found in many plant foods, risks losing benefits of a nutrient that is high in the diets of the healthiest and longest-lived populations on Earth," 

• "The results of this study help explain why it is best to stay away from foods such as cakes, pizzas and confectionary and supports filling your plate with wholegrains such as brown rice, oats and quinoa, legumes such as lentils, beans and chickpeas, and opt for plenty of vegetables including sweet potato, pumpkin, and beets"

Omega-3 and life expectancy

A July 2021 study by the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM), in collaboration with The Fatty Acid Research Institute in the United States and several universities in the United States and Canada, said that 

• "Having higher levels of these [Omega-3] acids in the blood, as a result of regularly including oily fish in the diet, increases life expectancy by almost five years", 

• "Being a regular smoker takes 4.7 years off your life expectancy, the same as you gain if you have high levels of omega-3 acids in your blood”.

• "This reaffirms what we have been seeing lately … not all saturated fatty acids are necessarily bad.”

• "What we have found is not insignificant. It reinforces the idea that small changes in diet in the right direction can have a much more powerful effect than we think, and it is never too late or too early to make these changes"

Internet Use, Older People, Lockdown

An April 2021 study by the University of Surrey found 

"As social restrictions continue during the Covid-19 pandemic, older people are at greater risk of loneliness and mental health issues. We found that older adults who used the internet more frequently under lockdown, particularly to communicate with others, had lower depression scores and an enhanced quality of life. As the Covid-19 situation evolves, more frequent internet use could benefit the mental health of older people by reducing loneliness and risk of depression, particularly if further lockdowns are imposed in the future."

Shift working and Heart Health

An April 2021 study by the University of Lisbon said,

"Our study found that for each hour the work schedule was out of sync with an employee's body clock, the risk of heart disease got worse," 

"We all have an internal biological clock which ranges from morning types (larks), who feel alert and productive in the early morning and sleepy in the evening, to late types (owls), for whom the opposite is true - with most of the population falling in between. Circadian misalignment occurs when there is a mismatch between what your body wants (e.g. to fall asleep at 10pm) and what your social obligations impose on you (e.g. work until midnight)."

"These results add to the growing evidence that circadian misalignment may explain, at least in part, the association found between shift work and detrimental health outcomes. The findings suggest that staff with atypical work schedules may need closer monitoring for heart health. Longitudinal studies are needed to investigate whether late chronotypes cope better with late/night shifts and earlier chronotypes to early morning schedules, both psychologically and physiologically."