September 2018

More documents

Recommendations

Info

14 September 2018 HEALTH www.theasianindependent.co.uk How diet can aid in healthy cellular ageing in women Having a diet that is rich in fruit, vegetable and whole grain and low in added sugar, sodium and processed meat could help promote healthy cellular ageing in women, a study has showed. Researchers from the University of Michigan (UM) used telomere length to measure cellular ageing -- the strongest predictor of telomere length, which shorten in length during each cell cycle, Xinhua news agency reported. The findings showed that women who followed a diet with plenty of fruit, vegetable, whole grain and plant-based protein and limited sugar, sodium and red and processed meat, had significantly with longer telomere length. In men, the findings were in the same direction, but not statistically significant. "We have seen some gender differences in previous nutrition and telomere studies. Men tended to have lower diet quality scores than women. Men also had higher intakes of sugary beverages and processed meats, both of which have been associated with shorter telomeres in prior studies," said lead author Cindy Leung, assistant professor at the UM School of Public Health. "Overall, the findings suggest that following these guidelines is associated with longer telomere length and reduces the risk of major chronic disease," Leung added. The benefit of these healthy diet patterns is due to the fact that they are antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. They create a biochemical environment favourable to telomeres, the researchers noted, in the paper published in the American Journal of Epidemiology. Nevertheless, recent studies have shown that telomeres can also be shortened due to behavioural, environmental and psychological factors. Shorter telomeres have been associated with an increased risk for heart disease, Type-2 diabetes and some cancers. "Emphasis should be placed on improving the overall quality of your diet rather than emphasising individual foods or nutrients," Leung said. The study, examined the diets of a nationally representative sample of nearly 5,000 healthy adults and how well they scored on four evidence-based diet quality indices, including the Mediterranean diet, the DASH diet. DIET IMPACTS emotional wellbeing in WOMEN Women may need a more nutrientrich diet than men to maintain positive emotional well-being, according to a study. Researchers from Binghamton University in the US conducted an anonymous survey of 563 participants (48 per cent men and 52 per cent women) through social media. They found that men are more likely to experience mental wellbeing until nutritional deficiencies arise. Women, however, are less likely to experience mental well-being unless a balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle are followed. The study, published in the journal Nutritional Neuroscience, may explain reports from previous studies that show women are at a greater risk for mental distress when compared to men. It emphasises the role of a nutrient-dense diet in mental wellbeing. "The biggest takeaway is that women may need a larger spectrum of nutrients to support mood, compared to men," said Lina Begdache, an assistant professor at Binghamton University. "These findings may explain the reason why women are twice more likely to be diagnosed with anxiety and depression and suffer from longer episodes, compared to men. "Today's diet is high in energy but poor in key nutrients that support brain anatomy and functionality," Begdache said. There is no safe level of drinking alcohol : Lancet Contrary to claims that one or two glasses of wine a day keep you healthy, a study published in the prestigious journal The Lancet has warned that there is no safe level of drinking alcohol as it is associated with nearly one in 10 deaths among middle-aged people. The findings showed that any health benefits of alcohol against heart disease lems each year. "Policies focussing on reducing alcohol consumption to the lowest levels will be important to improve health. "The widely held view of the health benefits of alcohol needs revising, particularly as improved methods and analyses continue to shed light on how much alcohol contributes to global death and disability," said lead University of Washington in the US. The Global Burden of Disease study estimated the level of alcohol use and health effects in 28 million people across 195 countries between 1990 and 2016. For people aged 50 and older, cancers were a leading cause of alcohol related death, constituting 27.1 per cent of deaths in women and 18.9 per cent deaths in men. and diabetes are outweighed by its author Max Griswold, from the "Worldwide we need to revisit alcohol adverse effects on other aspects of control policies and health, particularly cancers. "The conclusions of the study are clear and unambiguous: alcohol is a colossal global health issue and small reductions in health-related harms at low levels of alcohol intake are outweighed by the increased risk health programmes, and to consider recommendations for abstaining from alcohol. "These include excise taxes on alcohol, controlling the physical availability of of other health-related harms, alcohol and the hours of including cancer," said Robyn Burton, from the King's College London. Globally, one in three people sale, and controlling alcohol advertising. Any of these policy actions (32.5 per cent) drink alcohol -- would contribute to equivalent to 2.4 billion people -- including 25 per cent of women (0.9 billion women) and 39 per cent of men (1.5 billion men). reductions in population-level consumption, a vital step toward decreasing the health Consequently, 2.2 per cent of loss associated with women and 6.8 per cent of men died alcohol use," the from alcohol-related health prob- researchers said.
www.theasianindependent.co.uk HEALTH September 2018 15 New way to attack herpes virus discovered by scientists into a human cell. Instead, it carries its viral DNA into the cell virus. To confirm their find- and continue creating a new along with proteins called PP71. ings, the team created a synthetic version of the virus that After entering the cell, it releases these PP71 proteins, which allowed them to adjust the levels of the IE1 proteins using enables the viral DNA to replicate and the infection to spread. small molecules. With this Normally, when a virus enters your cell, that cell blocks the virus's DNA and prevents it from performing any actions. A team of scientists have uncovered the mechanism that allows the herpes virus to replicate. Their study could open new therapeutic avenues to treat not only cytomegalovirus but other viruses as well. Human cytomegalovirus is a leading cause of birth defects and transplant failures. As it's evolved over time, this virus from the herpes family has found a way to bypass the body's defense mechanisms that usually guard against viral infections. Until now, scientists couldn't understand how it manages to do so. Normally, when a virus enters your cell, that cell blocks the virus's DNA and prevents it from performing any actions. The virus must overcome this barrier to effectively multiply. To get around this obstacle, cytomegalovirus doesn't simply inject its own DNA The researchers found that, while PP71 is still present in the cell, it activates another protein known as IE1. This happens within the first few hours of the virus entering the cell, allowing the IE1 protein to take over after PP71 dies technique, they could let the virus infect the cell while controlling how quickly the IE1 protein would break down in the cell. The first author of the new study Noam Vardi said, "We noticed that when the IE1 protein degrades slowly, as it normally does, the virus can replicate very efficiently. But if the protein breaks down faster, the virus can't multiply as well. So, we confirmed that the virus needs the IE1 protein to successfully replicate." This study could have broad implications for the scientific community, which has been struggling to determine how cells maintain their identity over time. During development, for instance, stem cells choose a path based on the proteins that surround them. But even after these initial proteins disappear, the specialized cells don't change. So, stem cells that turn into neurons during development continue to be neurons long after those proteins are gone. The new study could lead to a new therapeutic target to attack cytomegalovirus and other herpesviruses, such as Epstein-Barr virus that causes mononucleosis and herpes simplex virus 1 and 2 that produce most cold sores and genital herpes. 'New drugs may help smokers kick the butt' Scientists say they have developed over a dozen drugs which may help smokers reduce their consumption of tobacco, if not quit altogether. The researchers from the Washington State University in the US created the substances with the potential to curb smokers' desire for nicotine by slowing how it is broken down in the body. The finding, published in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, targets a liver enzyme, called CYP2A6, which metabolises nicotine. Nicotine triggers the release of dopamine and serotonin, two pleasure causing chemicals produced by the body. However, as it gets metabolised, users can experience withdrawal symptoms like tingling in the hands and feet, sweating, anxiety and irritability. This is the feeling that the researchers are targeting, said Travis Denton, an assistant professor at the Washington State University. Denton and Philip Lazarus, a professor of pharmaceutical sciences, designed dozens of molecules that bind to CYP2A6 and inhibit its ability to metabolise nicotine. "If you inhibit CYP2A6, it should not bother your overall health," said Lazarus. "If we could specifically target this enzyme, people should be fine, and it will possibly help them stop smoking or at least decrease their amount of smoking," he said. The researchers have tested their candidate drugs to make sure they do not disrupt other major enzymes that help the body metabolise other substances. This helped narrow the number of potential drugs down to 18. Once the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) verifies a drug's safety, clinical trials would begin to see how it works in a human, researchers said. Brain tumours may occur in children with common genetic SYNDROME Parents, please take note. The frequency of brain tumours has been underestimated in children with the common genetic syndrome-neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), a new study has found. According to the researchers, this disorder is characterised by birthmarks on the skin and benign nerve tumours that develop in or on the skin. Brain tumours are also known to occur in children and adults with NF1. They estimated that only 15-20 per cent of kids with NF1 develop brain tumours. But the study, published in the journal Neurology: Clinical Practice, found that the frequency of brain tumours in this population was more than three times higher. "I'm not delivering the message anymore that brain tumours are rare in NF1. This study has changed how I decide which children need more surveillance and when to let the neurooncologists know that we may have a problem," said senior author David H. Gutmann from the Washington University School of Medicine. Brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans of children with NF1 characteristically show bright spots that are absent in the scans of unaffected children. Unlike tumours, they are generally thought to disappear in teenage years, the researchers said. Since brain tumours can be confused with harmless bright spots, it has never been clear whether finding these abnormalities via MRI should be a cause for concern, they added. For the study, the team developed a set of criteria to distinguish tumours from other bright spots. The researchers then analysed scans from 68 NF1 patients and 46 children without NF1 for comparison. All but four (94 per cent) of the children with NF1 had bright spots, and none of the children without NF1 did. Further, in 57 per cent of the children with bright spots, at least one of the spots was deemed likely to be a tumour, the research team found. Applying the new criteria to MRI scans will help physicians identify probable tumours, but that does not mean that all children with NF1 should be scanned regularly, the researchers cautioned.
Page 1 and 2: Email your CV to info@theasianindep
Page 3 and 4: www.theasianindependent.co.uk UNITE
Page 5 and 6: www.theasianindependent.co.uk UNITE
Page 7 and 8: www.theasianindependent.co.uk What
Page 9 and 10: www.theasianindependent.co.uk ASIA
Page 11 and 12: www.theasianindependent.co.uk Solic
Page 13: www.theasianindependent.co.uk HEALT
Page 17 and 18: www.theasianindependent.co.uk ENTER
Page 19 and 20: www.theasianindependent.co.uk TECH
Page 21 and 22: www.theasianindependent.co.uk WORLD
Page 23 and 24: www.theasianindependent.co.uk WORLD

September 2018

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?