HEALTHY LIFE STYLE MAY BUFFER AGAINST STRESS RELATED CELL AGING

A new study from UC San Francisco is the first to show that while the impact of life's stressors accumulate overtime and accelerate cellular aging, these negative effects may be reduced by maintaining a healthy diet, exercising and sleeping well.

The study participants who exercised, slept well and ate well had less telomere shortening than the ones who didn't maintain healthy lifestyles, even when they had similar levels of stress," said lead author Eli Puterman, PhD, assistant professor in the department of psychiatry at UCSF. "It's very important that we promote healthy living, especially under circumstances of typical experiences of life stressors like death, caregiving and job loss."

The paper will be published in Molecular Psychiatry, a peer-reviewed science journal by Nature Publishing Group.

Telomeres are the protective caps at the ends of chromosomes that affect how quickly cells age. They are combinations of DNA and proteins that protect the ends of chromosomes and help them remain stable. As they become shorter, and as their structural integrity weakens, the cells age and die quicker. Telomeres also get shorter with age.

In the study, researchers examined three healthy behaviors -physical activity, dietary intake and sleep quality -- over the course of one year in 239 post-menopausal, non-smoking women. The women provided blood samples at the beginning and end of the year for telomere measurement and reported on stressful events that occurred during those 12 months. In women who engaged in lower levels of healthy behaviors, there was a significantly greater decline in telomere length in their immune cells for every major life stressor that occurred during the year. Yet women who maintained active lifestyles, healthy diets, and good quality sleep appeared protected when exposed to stress -- accumulated life stressors did not appear to lead to greater shortening.

"This is the first study that supports the idea, at least observationally, that stressful events can accelerate immune cell aging in adults, even in the short period of one year. Exciting, though, is that these results further suggest that keeping active, and eating and sleeping well during periods of high stress are particularly important to attenuate the accelerated aging of our immune cells," said Puterman.

In recent years, shorter telomeres have become associated with a broad range of aging-related diseases, including stroke, vascular dementia, cardiovascular disease, obesity, osteoporosis diabetes, and many forms of cancer.

Research on telomeres, and the enzyme that makes them, telomerase, was pioneered by three Americans, including UCSF molecular biologist and co-author Elizabeth Blackburn, PhD. Blackburn co-discovered the telomerase enzyme in 1985. The scientists received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2009 for their work.

"These new results are exciting yet observational at this point. They do provide the impetus to move forward with interventions to modify lifestyle in those experiencing a lot of stress, to test whether telomere attrition can truly be slowed," said Blackburn.

Co-authors include senior author Elissa Epel, PhD, department of psychiatry, Jue Lin, PhD, department of biochemistry and biophysics, both of UCSF and Jeffrey Krauss, MD, division of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Stanford University. Lin, Epel and Blackburn are the co-founders of Telome Health Inc., a diagnostic company measuring telomere biology.

The study was supported by the Baumann Foundation and the Barney & Barbro Foundation. Puterman is supported by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health.

LASER DEVICE MAY END PINPRICKS FOR DIABETICS

Princeton University researchers have developed a way to use a laser to measure people's blood sugar, and, with more work to shrink the laser system to a portable size, the technique could allow diabetics to check their condition without pricking themselves to draw blood

We are working hard to turn engineering solutions into useful tools for people to use in their daily lives," said Claire Gmachl, the Eugene Higgins Professor of Electrical Engineering and the project's senior researcher. "With this work we hope to improve the lives of many diabetes sufferers who depend on frequent blood glucose monitoring."

In an article published June 23 in the journalBiomedical Optics Express, the researchers describe how they measured blood sugar by directing their specialized laser at a person's palm. The laser passes through the skin cells, without causing damage, and is partially absorbed by the sugar molecules in the patient's body. The researchers use the amount of absorption to measure the level of blood sugar.

Sabbir Liakat, the paper's lead author, said the team was pleasantly surprised at the accuracy of the method. Glucose monitors are required to produce a blood-sugar reading within 20 percent of the patient's actual level; even an early version of the system met that standard. The current version is 84 percent accurate, Liakat said.

"It works now but we are still trying to improve it," said Liakat, a graduate student in electrical engineering.

When the team first started, the laser was an experimental setup that filled up a moderate-sized workbench. It also needed an elaborate cooling system to work. Gmachl said the researchers have solved the cooling problem, so the laser works at room temperature. The next step is to shrink it.

"This summer, we are working to get the system on a mobile platform to take it places such as clinics to get more measurements," Liakat said. "We are looking for a larger dataset of measurements to work with."

The key to the system is the infrared laser's frequency. What our eyes perceive as color is created by light's frequency (the number of light waves that pass a point in a certain time). Red is the lowest frequency of light that humans normally can see, and infrared's frequency is below that level. Current medical devices often use the "near-infrared," which is just beyond what the eye can see. This frequency is not blocked by water, so it can be used in the body, which is largely made up of water. But it does interact with many acids and chemicals in the skin, so it makes it impractical to use for detecting blood sugar.

Mid-infrared light, however, is not as much affected by these other chemicals, so it works well for blood sugar. But mid-infrared light is difficult to harness with standard lasers. It also requires relatively high power and stability to penetrate the skin and scatter off bodily fluid. (The target is not the blood but fluid called dermal interstitial fluid, which has a strong correlation with blood sugar.)

The breakthrough came from the use of a new type of device that is particularly adept at producing mid-infrared frequencies -- a quantum cascade laser.

In many lasers, the frequency of the beam depends on the material that makes up the laser -- a helium-neon laser, for example, produces a certain frequency band of light. But in a quantum cascade laser, in which electrons pass through a "cascade" of semiconductor layers, the beam can be set to one of a number of different frequencies. The ability to specify the frequency allowed the researchers to produce a laser in the mid-infrared region. Recent improvements in quantum cascade lasers also provided for increased power and stability needed to penetrate the skin.

To conduct their experiment, the researchers used the laser to measure the blood sugar of three healthy people before and after they each ate 20 jellybeans, which raise blood sugar levels. The researchers also checked the measurements with a finger-prick test. They conducted the measurements repeatedly over several weeks.

The researchers said their results indicated that the laser measurements readings produced average errors somewhat larger than the standard blood sugar monitors, but remained within the clinical requirement for accuracy.

"Because the quantum cascade laser can be designed to emit light across a very wide wavelength range, its usability is not just for glucose detection, but could conceivably be used for other medical sensing and monitoring applications," Gmachl said.

Common Signs That You May Have Nerve Damage

Today's post from prevention.com (see link below) is a good one to start the new year for people experiencing strange, new symptoms that they can't explain. It's a good reference to use before going to your doctor because if you're suffering from these physical symptoms, then at least you'll have a pretty good idea that they're nerve related and possibly evidence of nerve damage...or neuropathy. What's most useful about this list of symptoms is that it doesn't just concentrate on the most commonly known pain, tingling or numbness in the feet but also looks at a wide range of symptoms which indicate 'autonomic' neuropathy. Autonomic neuropathy is where nerve damage has affected some or all of the involuntary functions of the body we take for granted (such as breathing, digestion, sexual performance, and many others and can be a source of great confusion for both patients and doctors alike, who assume those symptoms indicate other conditions. With over 100 sorts of neuropathy and over 100 causes, it remains one of the most frustrating and life-changing ailments, so this list is a place from which to begin your questions and research, even before going to see the doctor. No reason to panic but a little knowledge goes a long way when faced with a new medical problem!

8 Signs You Might Have Nerve Damage
By Crystal Harlan November 7, 2016
 


Sebastian Kaulitzki/Shutterstock

There are tens of thousands of nerves in your body. Most of them, your peripheral nerves, are like branches of a tree that spread out all over and transmit messages back to the "trunk"—your brain and spinal cord. When everything goes smoothly, your brain gets the info it needs so that you can move your muscles, recognize pain, and keep your internal organs working properly. But when peripheral nerves get damaged, it's another story: Walking could become challenging, you might experience unrelenting pain, or you could end up with a serious injury because you had no idea how hot that stove was.

An estimated 20 million Americans suffer from peripheral nerve damage, aka neuropathy, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. "Diabetes is the No. 1 cause. Bad luck [meaning you inherited an anatomical defect] is number two. Repetitive motion and Lyme disease follow," says Andrew Elkwood, MD, a surgeon who specializes in nerve reconstruction at The Institute for Advanced Reconstruction in New York and New Jersey.

Other causes include aging, vitamin deficiencies, exposure to toxins (including alcohol and cancer medications), and infections and autoimmune disorders like hepatitis C, diphtheria, HIV, Epstein-Barr, rheumatoid arthritis, and Guillain-Barré Syndrome. Meanwhile, about 30% of neuropathy cases are "idiopathic," meaning there's no known cause.

The good news is that nerve damage generally develops slowly, says Isha Gupta, MD, a neurologist at IGEA Brain and Spine in New York and New Jersey. That means you might be able to treat it before it worsens—but getting the right diagnosis isn't always easy. Your best shot? See a doctor right away if you have any of the following symptoms. (Make 2017 YOUR year by taking charge of your health and jump-starting your weight loss with the Prevention calendar and health planner!)


You have numbness, tingling, or burning.

1/8 memorisz/Shutterstock

You have numbness, tingling, or burning.


This sensation may radiate from your hands or feet into your arms or legs. "Compression of sensory nerves (often while sleeping) is relatively common, and symptoms such as numbness or tingling can be temporary," says Gupta. But if the pins-and-needles feeling doesn't go away, get it checked out.

It's difficult or impossible to move part of your body.

2/8 Mycteria/Shutterstock

It's difficult or impossible to move part of your body.


"If motor nerves are affected, then weakness or even paralysis may occur," says R. Glenn Smith, MD, PhD, a neurologist at Houston Methodist. These same symptoms could also indicate that there's an underlying issue that needs urgent attention, so it's best to head to the ER. If it turns out that you're actually having a stroke, you'll need medical attention ASAP.

You have pain running down just one leg.

3/8 Sebastian Kaulitzki/Shutterstock

You have pain running down just one leg.


A constant sharp pain, burning, or tingling that starts in the lower back and travels down the back of your leg could mean that you have sciatica—meaning that your sciatic nerve has become compressed, perhaps thanks to a slipped or worn down disc in your spine.

 You're way clumsier than usual.

4/8 jiw ingka/Shutterstock

You're way clumsier than usual.


Suddenly stumbling and falling a lot? "If large nerves affecting sensation are damaged, then lack of coordination and failure to sense position of the body can lead to falls," says Smith. It might also turn out that you have a condition like Parkinson's, in which the nerve cells in your brain have become damaged.

You're running to the bathroom all the time.

5/8 Momoforsale/Shutterstock

You're running to the bathroom all the time.


Damaged nerves can send your bladder faulty messages, so you feel like you have to pee a lot or have trouble making it to the restroom in time. You have a higher than average risk of this problem if you gave birth to a child vaginally or have diabetes.

You get brief, intense headaches that feel like electric shocks.

6/8 andrei simonenko/Shutterstock

You get brief, intense headaches that feel like electric shocks.


You may have something called occipital neuralgia, a condition that can occur when a nerve in your neck gets pinched. You may need a nerve block—an injection that temporarily blocks the troublesome nerve from transmitting pain signals.

You're sweating too much or too little.

7/8 werayuth tes/Shutterstock

You're sweating too much or too little.


It might be a sign that the nerves carrying info from your brain to your sweat glands have become compromised. Your doctor might order tests to measure your sweating and heart rate.


You got injured because you didn't feel something you should have.

8/8 Corbac40/Shutterstock

You got injured because you didn't feel something you should have.

Sensory nerves are supposed to tell your brain that a surface is dangerous in some way, and if they're not doing their job properly you could seem more accident-prone. If you have burns, cuts, or other trauma because you didn't realize that you were touching something hot, sharp, or otherwise uncomfortable, see your doc, says Smith.

http://www.prevention.com/health/8-signs-you-might-have-nerve-damage/slide/8

Colon Cancer Drug may cause Neuropathy

It's of course pretty well known that chemotherapy can leave patients with neuropathy as a side effect but how does this have anything to do with HIV- patients, besides the normal percentage who unfortunately contract a form of cancer?
One of the fastest growing cancers, especially for HIV positive men, is colon or rectal cancer and this associated with the alarming rise in HPV infections means that significant numbers of HIV patients are needing cancer treatment.
One of the best known drugs aimed specifically at colon cancer is Oxaliplatin and its success rates make it more and more popular but there's a sting in the tail and that is permanent and debilitating neuropathy. Once more HIV patients are being faced with unexpected extra problems, something we're long used to but the reality is that neuropathy is the price that sometimes has to be paid for extending your life. This article from sciencedaily.com (see link below) explains the pros and cons of using Oxaliplatin. Once again, a serious discussion with the oncologist, neurologist and hiv-specialist is necessary - don't be palmed off without the facts - in that way you avoid nasty surprises!

Popular Colorectal Cancer Drug May Cause Permanent Nerve Damage, Study Suggests
ScienceDaily (Sep. 28, 2011)

Oxaliplatin, a platinum-based anticancer drug that's made enormous headway in recent years against colorectal cancer, appears to cause nerve damage that may be permanent and worsens even months after treatment ends. The chemotherapy side effect, described by Johns Hopkins researchers in the September issue of Neurology, was discovered in what is believed to be the first effort to track oxaliplatin-based nerve damage through relatively cheap and easy punch skin biopsies.

The Johns Hopkins investigators emphasize that the drug therapy clearly improves length of survival in advanced cancer by months to years, and that the goal of their new study is to find ways of preventing or slowing the damage through nerve-protective therapies identfied through simple skin testing.

Many patients who take oxaliplatin report bothersome neurological side effects, including pain in the hands and feet and a numbness or tingling in the throat that affects swallowing, according to study leader Michael Polydefkis, M.D., M.H.S., associate professor of neurology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and director of the EMG Laboratory and Cutaneous Nerve Laboratory at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. Though these symptoms develop over time in the majority of patients, some report neuropathies as early as when the drug is first infused.

To get a better sense of how oxaliplatin affects nerve cells, Polydefkis and his colleagues recruited eight cancer patients about to begin oxaliplatin treatment at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. All had been diagnosed with advanced colon cancer.

Before their first oxaliplatin infusion, each patient underwent a comprehensive neurological examination, including nerve conduction testing, a clinical exam to look for signs of nerve damage, and a punch biopsy that removed tiny (3-mm diameter) portions of skin near their knees and ankles. Once oxaliplatin treatment began, consisting of infusions over two days once every two weeks for 12 cycles, the researchers performed the same tests after 30, 90 and 180 days. Another 180 days after they finished with treatment, the patients received one final exam.

Test results showed that each of the patients' nerve function and neuropathy symptoms worsened over time and that results from the punch skin biopsies neatly mirrored the side effect arc. Using a microscope, the researchers saw that nerve cells' long extensions, called axons, degenerated over the course of oxaliplatin therapy. This progression persisted after treatment stopped. Even 180 days after their last doses, seven out of the eight patients' axons continued to wither.

"This drug has rapidly become the standard of care for people with advanced colon cancer, but we really knew little about how oxaliplatin affects nerves over time," he says. "With people living longer lives on oxaliplatin, it's important to know more about these neurological side effects so patients and their physicians can make educated choices on how this drug is used, and perhaps suggest ways to limit the damage."

The new study strongly suggests that punch skin biopsies could be an easy and inexpensive way to follow nerve cell degeneration, a crucial prerequisite for testing the effectiveness of drugs currently in development to trace, prevent or slow nerve damage.

"Skin biopsies can be done pretty easily, uniformly and cheaply anywhere, including hospitals, doctors' offices and clinics, and those places can have the tissue sent to Hopkins for analysis," Polydefkis says. "High-quality neurological testing isn't nearly as easy or economical to do, so it's possible that the biopsies could play a pivotal role in bringing neuroprotective drugs to fruition."

Other Johns Hopkins researchers who participated in this study include Ahmet Z. Burakgazi, M.D., Wells Messersmith, M.D., Dhananjay Vaidya, M.D., Ph.D., Peter Hauer, B.S., and Ahmet Hoke, M.D., Ph.D.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110928105911.htm

If You Have Diabetes You May Have Neuropathy Too

Today's post from irishhealth.com (see link below) talks about the fact that many diabetics may be unaware that they also have neuropathic problems, partly because their symptoms are not yet painful enough for them to report to their doctors. As neuropathy is one of the commonest side effects of diabetes, one would assume that doctors are on the look out for symptoms in their diabetic patients but this is clearly not always the case. Both patients and doctors need to be better aware of the possibility of neuropathic problems and test for them (or at least ask the right questions) soon after a diagnosis of diabetes. In the same way, people with neuropathy should maybe ask their doctors if they are also susceptible to diabetes. The two conditions appear so frequently together, testing should really be a matter of course.

Diabetes-many have undiagnosed neuropathy
[Posted: Wed 11/06/2014 by Deborah Condon www.irishhealth.com]

Almost half of patients with diabetes who attended a diabetes care centre in Dublin recently were found to have neuropathy (nerve damage) in their feet.

Neuropathy is a potential complication of poorly controlled diabetes. If it occurs in the feet, it can impair sensation, movement and function.

If left untreated, it can lead to much more serious problems with the feet, including foot ulcers and amputation. However, early intervention and treatment can prevent more serious problems from occurring.

According to Diabetes Ireland, 47% of patients who attended its Diabetes Ireland Care Centre in Santry during the first three months of 2014 had neuropathy, however many of these were unaware they were affected.

"Every person with diabetes should have an annual foot assessment which should include, as a minimum, removal of the shoes and socks and a test for feeling (sensation) in each foot using a monofilament.

"Many of the patients I see say they had never seen a monofilament so I would ask GPs in the locality to encourage their diabetes patients to have an annual foot assessment and refer or ask them to make an appointment with a podiatrist," commented Theresa Kidd-Foley, a senior podiatrist at the centre.

She insisted that by doing this, people with diabetes could ‘significantly' improve their chances of avoiding foot-related complications, such as ulcers.

Figures from the HSE show that in 2013, more than 1,550 people with diabetes were hospitalised for foot ulcer treatment, spending an average of three weeks in hospital. Furthermore, 371 lower limb amputations were carried out on people with diabetes last year and according to Diabetes Ireland, this figure is particualrly shocking given that research has shown that 80% of diabetes-related amputations are preventable.

"I never really appreciated the need to look after my feet until I had a problem. I went to the Diabetes Ireland Care Centre and as well as having my problem sorted, I was educated on how to look after my feet properly each day and how to check my feet for signs of damage," said diabetes patient, George Casey, of Drumcondra in Dublin.

The Diabetes Ireland Care Centre is a not-for-profit initiative of Diabetes Ireland, which aims to reduce the number of people developing diabetes-related eye and feet complications as a result of poor management of the condition. It also provides information and support to people.

"People with diabetes must actively self-manage their condition and seek out the necessary supports they require to help them stay healthy," Ms Kidd-Foley said.

http://www.irishhealth.com/article.html?id=23731

YOGA IN MENOPAUSE MAY HELP INSOMNIA

Taking a 12-week yoga class and practicing at home was linked to less insomnia -- but not to fewer or less bothersome hot flashes or night sweats. The link between yoga and better sleep was the only statistically significant finding in this MsFLASH (Menopause Strategies: Finding Lasting Answers for Symptoms and Health) Network randomized controlled trial.

"Many women suffer from insomnia during menopause, and it's good to know that yoga may help them," said lead author Katherine Newton, PhD, a senior investigator at Group Health Research Institute. She e-published these findings in Menopause, ahead of print.

"Hormone therapy is the only Food and Drug Administration-approved treatment for hot flashes and night sweats," Dr. Newton said, "and fewer women are opting for hormone therapy these days." That's why MsFLASH tried to see whether three more "natural" approaches -- yoga, exercise, or fish oil -- might help ease these menopause symptoms. The study assigned 249 healthy, previously sedentary women at multiple sites, including Group Health, to do yoga, a moderate aerobic exercise program, or neither -- and to take an omega-3 fatty acid supplement or a placebo.

Exercise seemed linked to slightly improved sleep and less insomnia and depression, and yoga also was linked to better sleep quality and less depression -- but these effects were not statistically significant. The omega-3 supplement was not linked to any improvement in hot flashes, night sweats, sleep, or mood.

ELEVATED CHOLESTEROL TRIGLYCERIDES MAY INCREASE RISK FOR PROSTATE CANCER

Higher levels of total cholesterol and triglycerides, two types of fat, in the blood of men who underwent surgery for prostate cancer, were associated with increased risk for disease recurrence, according to a study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

"While laboratory studies support an important role for cholesterol in prostate cancer, population-based evidence linking cholesterol and prostate cancer is mixed," said Emma Allott, PhD, postdoctoral associate at Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, North Carolina. "Understanding associations between obesity, cholesterol, and prostate cancer is important given that cholesterol levels are readily modifiable with diet and/or statin use, and could therefore have important, practical implications for prostate cancer prevention and treatment.

"Our findings suggest that normalization, or even partial normalization, of serum lipid levels among men with dyslipidemia [abnormal lipid profile] may reduce the risk of prostate cancer recurrence," said Allott.

Allott, Stephen Freedland, MD, associate professor of surgery at Duke University School of Medicine, and colleagues, analyzed data from 843 men who underwent radical prostatectomy after a prostate cancer diagnosis and who never took statins before surgery. They found that those who had serum triglyceride levels of 150 mg/dL or higher had a 35 percent increased risk for prostate cancer recurrence, when compared with patients who had normal levels of triglycerides. Among those with abnormal blood lipid profile, for every 10 mg/dL increase in total serum cholesterol above 200 mg/dL, there was a 9 percent increased risk for prostate cancer recurrence.

For every 10 mg/dL increase in high density lipoprotein (HDL; known as "good" cholesterol) among men with abnormal HDL (below the desirable value of 40 mg/dL), the risk for prostate cancer recurrence was lowered by 39 percent.

"Given that 45 percent of deaths worldwide can be attributed to cardiovascular disease and cancer, with prostate cancer being the second most common cause of male cancer deaths in the United States, understanding the role of dyslipidemia as a shared, modifiable risk factor for both of these common causes of mortality is of great importance," she added.

Study subjects were identified from the Shared Equal Access Regional Cancer Hospital (SEARCH) database and treated at one of the six Veterans Affairs Medical Centers in California, North Carolina, and Georgia.

Of the 843 men studied, 343 were black, 325 had abnormal cholesterol levels, 263 had abnormal triglyceride levels, and 293 had a biochemical recurrence, defined as rising PSA levels after prostate cancer treatment, indicating the recurrence of the patient's prostate cancer.