Category: News

Metabolic psychiatry is an emerging field of research revealing robust connections between metabolic dysfunction and psychiatric conditions, with mitochondria suggested to be at the core of these connections.   Read More

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), the most common cause of vertigo in older adults, is characterized by temporary symptoms brought on by having the head in a specific position, primarily nystagmus and vertigo. The portion of falls in an older population that can be attributed to BPPV is not clearly established, but is thought to affect approximately 10% of older individuals (often unrecognized), and be responsible for about ½ of the vertigo cases in this population. It’s important to note that some studies have found a little more than 1/3 of 75-year-olds had some type of subjective dizziness or impaired balance, and those with BPPV report more severe symptoms. A systematic review published in Age and Aging concluded that dizziness increases the risk of future falls by 63%, and nearly doubles the risk of recurrent falls. Read More

First introduced in 1989, the “hygiene hypothesis” proposed that exposure to specific microbes, perhaps during crucial windows of development, educates the immune system in a way that modifies the risk for allergic, inflammatory, and autoimmune diseases. Initially, this was proposed in response to the observation that the position of a child in a family (their place in the birth order) was associated with the risk for hay fever in a large national sample from the UK. It was suggested that younger children were more likely to be exposed to microbes (“unhygienic contact”) from their older siblings, thereby conferring some type of protection to the younger children. This idea has gained support and modifications over the years, such as adding the “old friends hypothesis,” the idea that exposure to harmless microorganisms (bacteria, helminths, etc.) that have co-evolved with humans helps the maturation of T_reg cells, as deficiencies in these cells leads to either excessive T helper 1 (Th1) or Th2 responses. Read More

https://academic.oup.com/carcin/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/carcin/bgad025/7151093?redirectedFrom=fulltext&login=false

According to the World Health Organization’s first global report on sepsis (2020), “When sepsis is not recognized early and managed promptly, it can lead to septic shock, multiple organ failure and death. … Even sepsis survivors are not out of danger: only half will completely recover, the rest will either die within 1 year or be burdened by long-term disabilities.” Ironically, infections acquired in health care settings (hospitals, intensive-care units, etc.) are a common cause of this life-threatening complication. Read More

More evidence of the likely neuroprotective effect of magnesium was recently published in the European Journal of Nutrition. This study comes on the heels of an analysis of NHANES data published last year in Alzheimer’s & Dementia which found that a higher total intake (diet and supplemental) of magnesium was associated with better cognitive function among participants aged 60 and older. Read More

In an extraordinary analysis published recently in Nature Communications, researchers in Sweden report the results of a cross-sectional study which, to date, is the largest and most detailed association study between gut microbiota and plasma metabolites. This study had over 8500 participants between the ages of 50 and 64, identified over 1500 microbial species with deep metagenomic sequencing (whole-genome shotgun-sequencing), and profiled over 1300 plasma metabolites, characterizing the relationships between these metabolites and both specific microbial species as well as alpha diversity, a broader measure of the species diversity. Read More

According to a review in the journal Amino Acids, collagen peptide supplementation (COL) in conjunction with exercise, has been shown to help support healthy joint functionality for people with degenerative bone and joint problems. Read More

Results of a randomized controlled cross-over trial were recently published in the journal Cell Metabolism, detailing the effects of late versus early eating on a variety of outcomes, including hunger, hormone levels, energy expenditure, and more. The link between the circadian system and energy metabolism is both fascinating and incompletely understood, and there is considerable interest in this connection, particularly as it relates to glycemic control and weight management. Much of the data in this area of study is either based upon animal research or observational studies; this trial was an in-laboratory experiment (at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital Center for Clinical Investigation), meaning that substantial effort was made to control for all the relevant variables, including not just total calorie consumption, but physical activity and light exposure. In addition, the mechanisms underlying these links were evaluated in depth, using calorimetry-derived assessment of energy expenditure, polysomnographic analysis of sleep, subjective measures of hunger and appetite, profiles of leptin, ghrelin, and core body temperature, as well as fat biopsies to analyze gene expression in adipose cells. Read More

Objectives: This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture on chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy. Read More

Objective: Acupuncture can improve the symptoms of alcohol-induced bodily injury and has been accepted by the World Health Organization. In this study, in vivo fluorescence imaging (IVFI) was applied to display and evaluate the effect of electroacupuncture on liver function in mice with chronic alcoholic liver injury. Read More

Background: Disorder of consciousness (DOC) is frequent in patients with stroke, which is the second most common cause of death and a leading cause of disability. Acupuncture has been used as a curative method for DOC treatment in China. Nevertheless, no critical systematic review of acupuncture’s effect on DOC has been published. This review aims to evaluate the present evidence regarding the efficacy of acupuncture for DOC after stroke. Read More

Background: Acupuncture has been extensively applied to manage irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in clinical practice in China. Some randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have demonstrated their efficacy, but it has rarely been compared with first-line antispasmodics to verify their effectiveness. Therefore, we compare acupuncture with antispasmodics in the treatment of IBS by using an adjusted indirect treatment comparison meta-analysis.  Read More

Background: Ping Chan Wan is a traditional Chinese medicine for Parkinson’s disease. Read More

Research has shown that a healthy inflammatory response is an essential part of the body’s healing process. Yet ongoing inflammation can actually contribute to a wide range of common conditions. Genetic research has now identified low vitamin D levels with high levels of inflammation. This means that low vitamin D could become a key biomarker to help measure the risk of and the severity of chronic pathologies with an inflammatory component. Read More

Olfactory dysfunction in the post cold/flu condition reported worldwide are refractory for some patients. For this reason, appropriate treatment is desired. In this article, we describe two cases of olfactory dysfunction in the post cold/flu condition that was improved by traditional acupuncture treatment. Read More

Researchers from Tufts University recently published results from a large community-based cohort in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology. They provide details on the associations between both the intake of animal source foods (ASF) and cardiovascular disease risk among older adults, as well as the portion of that risk that appears to be mediated specifically by Trimethylamine N-Oxide (TMAO) and its derivatives. This study provides further evidence of a link between ASF, gut microbiome pathways, and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). Read More

A large body of evidence supports the use of very low-carbohydrate ketogenic diets for weight loss, reversing metabolic syndrome, putting type 2 diabetes into remission, and improving a long list of other issues. And while most individuals who adopt this way of eating experience a decrease in total cholesterol and LDL-C, in some people these increase, and in a small subset they increase dramatically. Concern about the implications of this change with regard to risk for cardiovascular problems is one of the main reasons physicians and nutritionists may be hesitant to recommend a dietary therapy that is otherwise noted for numerous health benefits. Read More

In a recent review published in Cell & Bioscience, many of the common pathologies characteristic of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) are discussed, as well as how they overlap and contribute to the onset and progression of dementia. To help understand the scope of this problem, it’s worth noting that although the precise prevalence of NAFLD is not clear, it is almost certainly widespread. A cross-sectional study using data from the 11-14 NHANES (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey) pins the prevalence at 21.9% among US adults over 20, including over 12 million with F2 fibrosis and 5 million with at least F3 fibrosis. It’s also important to note that this estimate used a very strict definition of NAFLD, requiring the presence of both metabolic syndrome and elevated ALT levels; definitions that did not include these requirements have estimated a prevalence of NAFLD nearly twice as high, affecting as many as 100 million adults, in the U.S. alone. Read More