November 7, 2017

Popular Acid Blockers Promote Liver Disease

Chronic liver disease appears to be promoted by taking stomach acid blockers known as proton pump inhibitors, according to a study led by University of California San Diego researchers. The drugs, including such best-sellers as Prilosec, Nexium and Prevacid, change the population of gut microbes. This leads to overgrowth of a bacterium that causes liver inflammation and cell death, the study found. The study was published in Nature Communications. It was performed with mouse models, healthy human volunteers, and data from chronic alcoholics. Bernd Schnabl, M.D., was the study’s senior author. Cristina Llorente, also of UCSD, was first author. Proton pump inhibitors are the most effective […]
October 31, 2017

Rosemary Boosts Brain Power

It’s no coincidence that the smell of coffee wakes you up in the morning or that the scent of lavender relaxes you. And it’s no secret that scents can have a powerful effect on the body, and rosemary is no exception. According to the results of a study, the scent of rosemary may help to boost your cognitive function. Captured your attention? Then please keep on reading! Rosemary Enhances Cognitive Function Scientists recruited 20 healthy participants and placed them in an area where rosemary essential oil was being diffused. The volunteers were not aware of the true nature of the study. They […]
October 24, 2017

New Antioxidant Protects Neurons

Research involving a potent antioxidant, described on September 19, 2017 in Scientific Reports, suggests that the compound could help protect cells in several conditions, including Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis and cell transplants. In their report, a team from the University of Edinburgh observe that the flavonoids quercetin and myricetin are among the most potent dietary antioxidants. Structural modification of myricetin has resulted in the development a new compound known as Proxison. In the current research, Proxison demonstrated 10 times the ability to protect against oxidative stress induced by the compound tert-Butyl hydroperoxide (tBHP) in neuroblastoma cells compared to quercetin, while several other antioxidants […]
October 17, 2017

Switching To A Healthier Diet May Ward Off Dementia

Managing one’s lifestyle factors including smoking, hypertension and depression could prevent one-third of the world’s dementia cases, a study said. The findings showed that better management of nine risk factors in early, mid and late life could reduce the increased likelihood of developing dementia in about 35 percent cases, health news reported. ‘The potential magnitude of the effect on dementia of reducing these risk factors is larger than we could ever imagine the effect that current, experimental medications could have,’ said Lon Schneider, Professor at the University of Southern California. ‘Mitigating risk factors provides us a powerful way to reduce the global […]
October 17, 2017

How Calorie Restriction Works

In an article published on September 14, 2017 in Nature Communications, Temple University researchers reveal an explanation for the life extending effect of calorie restriction. Jean-Pierre J. Isaa, MD, and colleagues discovered that restricting the amount of calories consumed slows the aging-related rate of change of the epigenome, which consists of proteins and other compounds that can attach to DNA and control its action. The team is also the first to demonstrate that the rate of epigenomic change is associated with lifespan. “Our study shows that epigenetic drift, which is characterized by gains and losses in DNA methylation in the genome over […]