Today's Health Articles 3-27-20

Oral glutathione administration inhibits oxidative stress and inflammatory responses in experimental research

Tohoku University (Japan), March 25, 2020

According to news originating from Sendai, Japan, research stated, “Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disease characterized by the presence of extracellular amyloid-b (Ab) plaques and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles. Reduced antioxidants and increased oxidative stress and inflammation are responsible for the pathological features characteristic of an AD brain.”

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from Tohoku University, “We observed decreased levels of the reduced form of glutathione (GSH), the most abundant brain antioxidant, and decreased GSH/glutathione disulfide (GSSG) ratios in App knock-in (NL-G-F) mouse brains. Repeated oral GSH administration for 3 weeks dose-dependently increased GSH levels and restored the GSH/GSSH ratio. Consistent with the restoration of GSH levels, the levels of 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (4-HNE), a marker of oxidative stress, were significantly decreased in the hippocampus of NL-G-F mice. Additionally, inflammatory responses, such as microgliosis and increased mRNA expression of inflammatory cytokines, were also inhibited. Moreover, behavioral deficits including cognitive decline, depressive-like behaviors, and anxiety-related behaviors observed in NL-G-F mice were significantly improved by oral and chronic GSH administration.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “Taken together, our data suggest that oral GSH administration is an attractive therapeutic strategy to reduce the excessive oxidative stress and inflammatory responses in the AD brain.”

Why life can get better as we age — study

Flinders University (Australia), March 26, 2020

People say life gets better with age. Now research suggests this may be because older people have the wisdom and time to use mindfulness as a means to improve wellbeing.

Healthy ageing researchers at Flinders University say certain characteristics of mindfulness seem more strongly evident in older people compared to younger people – and suggest ways for all ages to benefit.

“This suggests that mindfulness may naturally develop with time and life experience,” says behavioural scientist Associate Professor Tim Windsor, who co-authored a recent study based on an online community survey of 623 participants aged between 18 and 86?years.

“The significance of mindfulness for wellbeing may also increase as we get older, in particular the ability to focus on the present moment and to approach experiences in a non-judgmental way.

“These characteristics are helpful in adapting to age-related challenges and in generating positive emotions.”

Mindfulness refers to the natural human ability to be aware of one’s experiences and to pay attention to the present moment in a purposeful, receptive, and non-judgmental way. Using mindful techniques can be instrumental in reducing stress and promoting positive psychological outcomes.

From middle age to old age, the Flinders University survey highlights the tendency to focus on the present-moment and adopt a non-judgmental orientation may become especially important for well-being with advancing age.

In one of the first age-related studies of its kind, the researchers assessed participants’ mindful qualities such as present-moment attention, acceptance, non-attachment and examined the relationships of these qualities with wellbeing more generally.

“The ability to appreciate the temporary nature of personal experiences may be particularly important for the way people manage their day-to-day goals across the second half of life,” says study lead author Leeann Mahlo, who is investigating mindfulness in older adulthood as part of her PhD research.

“We found that positive relationships between aspects of mindfulness and wellbeing became stronger from middle age onwards,” she says.

“Our findings suggest that if mindfulness has particular benefits in later life, this could be translated into tailored training approaches to enhanced wellbeing in older populations.”

Mindfulness skills can help build wellbeing at any age, adds clinical psychology PhD candidate Ms Mahlo.

Tips to develop mindful techniques include:

Becoming aware of our thoughts and surroundings and paying attention to the present moment in an open and nonjudgmental way. This can prevent us from focusing on the past or worrying about the future in unhelpful ways.
Understanding that our thoughts, feelings and situations exist in the moment and will not last. This can help us to respond in flexible, more optimistic ways to challenging circumstances, including those that we are facing with concerns related to the COVID-19 disease.
Finding out more about mindfulness via app-based programs such as Calm, Headspace, Insight Timer, Smiling Mind, and Stop, Breathe & Think. These are available for use on computers or smartphones and offer flexible ways of learning and practising mindfulness – including for people now spending more time at home.

Women who supplement with Vitamin D during pregnancy can help prevent blood pressure problems in the next generation

Boston Medical Center, March 25, 2020

Pregnant women need to supplement with vitamin D for the sake of their babies, a new study says.

According to a study published in the American Heart Association‘s journal, Hypertension, children born with low levels of vitamin D in their system have an increased risk of developing high and unhealthy blood pressure levels as they age.

As detailed in the journal, the researchers studied 775 children who were born at the Boston Medical Center in Massachusetts and followed them from birth to the age of 18. According to the researchers, 68 percent of these children were African American.

Vitamin D deficiency is more common among African Americans due to a variety of biological and social reasons, such as how darker skin pigmentation is unable to produce as much vitamin D when exposed to sunlight, and how African Americans are less likely to consume vitamin D-rich foods like salmon and eggs.

The researchers measured the vitamin D levels in the blood from the umbilical cords of newborn children. They continued to take blood samples throughout their childhood until they turned 18. Meanwhile, they also measured the blood pressure of children.

According to the study, if the baby was born with low levels of vitamin D they had a 60 percent higher risk of having elevated systolic blood pressure, the first number measured during a blood pressure reading, between the ages of six and eighteen. This can have life-altering effects later in life as well, because higher systolic blood pressure readings increase a person’s risk of developing cardiovascular disease, even if the child’s diastolic blood pressure, the second number measured during a reading, is at a normal level.

Going easy on the salt could help support healthy immune function

Wurzburg University (Germany), March 25 2020.

A study reported on March 25, 2020 in Science Translational Medicine suggests that lowering salt (sodium chloride) intake may be one way to improve immune function. The finding counters the hypothesis of other researchers, based on the results of animal experiments, that salt is an immune enhancer. “Our results show that this generalization is not accurate,” stated the current report’s lead author Katarzyna Jobin, of the University of Würzburg.

“We have now been able to prove for the first time that excessive salt intake also significantly weakens an important arm of the immune system.” announced Dr Christian Kurts of the University of Bonn’s Institute of Experimental Immunology.

Dr Kurts and colleagues tested the effects of a high salt diet in mice and humans. Mice infected with listeria (a bacteria which can contaminate food) that received a high salt diet had 100 to 1,000 times more of the bacteria in their spleens and livers than animals that consumed normal diets. And in humans who consumed an extra six grams salt per day—the amount in two typical fast food meals—immune cells in the blood known as granulocytes were less effective against bacteria and levels of glucocorticoids increased.

When a high amount of salt it is consumed, it is filtered by the kidneys, whose sodium chloride sensor activates salt excretion in the urine. This sensor is also responsible for the accumulation of glucocorticoids that inhibit the function of granulocytes—scavenger cells that primarily attack bacteria. When granulocyte function is impaired, infections are more severe.

“Only through investigations in an entire organism were we able to uncover the complex control circuits that lead from salt intake to this immunodeficiency,” Dr Kurts noted. “Our work therefore also illustrates the limitations of experiments purely with cell cultures.”

Drinking Matcha Green Tea Can Reduce Anxiety

Kumamoto University (Japan), March 25, 2020

Researchers at Kumamoto University in the Kyushu region of Japan studied green tea’s beneficial properties, specifically its ability to calm the mind. Published in the Journal of Functional Foods in 2019, the study examined the stress-reducing function of matcha green tea in animal experiments and clinical trials.[ii]

Matcha tea is a potent form of powdered green tea, containing more medicinal phytochemicals than regular green tea and also more caffeine. The study honed in on the effects of L-theanine, a primary amino acid in green tea that has been shown to exhibit stress-reducing effects in mice[iii] and humans with high-trait anxiety.[iv]

The amino acid L-arginine, also present in traditional green tea, has previously been shown to enhance stress-reducing effects of certain amino acids.[v] Matcha tea, also called “fine powder tea,” has higher concentrations of theanine and arginine than traditional green tea preparations.

However, the higher caffeine level creates an effect that is antagonistic to theanine, meaning it reduces theanine’s calming effects. Previous studies have suggested that differences in the quantities and ratios of these three green tea components (theanine, arginine and caffeine) affect the efficiency of its stress-reducing action.

Therefore, the stress-reducing effect of a standard matcha preparation was first evaluated in an animal (mouse) experiment before moving on to human trials utilizing a specialized matcha preparation with reduced levels of caffeine (“test matcha”).

Animal Studies Show Stress-Reducing Effect of Matcha Tea

Researchers expected matcha tea to have a stress-reducing effect due to its high theanine content and sought to test their hypothesis with mice that were placed under controlled stress.

The stress-reducing effect of tea components was measured by comparing four groups of mice that were fed as follows: group 1 received a standard powder diet; group 2 was fed a diet containing only theanine; group 3 was fed a diet containing theanine, caffeine and EGCG, the most abundant polyphenol in tea; and group 4 mice were fed a diet containing theanine, caffeine, EGCG and arginine.

Using this test, researchers found that mouse anxiety (adrenal hypertrophy) was significantly reduced after consuming at least 33 milligrams per kilogram of body weight of matcha powder or matcha extract. Relationships between elements were also analyzed. Researchers confirmed that theanine and arginine have a significant stress-reducing effect when used in combination.

Theanine is needed at concentrations of at least 0.32 milligrams per kilogram of body weight to be effective; arginine supplementation alone was not effective. There was no relationship between caffeine and adrenal hypertrophy. Researchers then moved on to test a variety of specialized matcha preparations using human subjects.

Increase Matcha Potency to Offset Human Stress

In the human trial, researchers sought to enhance the stress-reducing effects of matcha tea by testing a specialized blend of matcha with reduced caffeine content, made from tea leaves that had been prepared by irrigating them with hot water at 95 degrees C for three minutes. This experimental preparation, called “test matcha,” thereby enhanced quantities of theanine and arginine while suppressing caffeine ratio.

Thirty-nine healthy subjects (23 men and 16 women) were selected for this human trial and randomly allocated into experimental and control groups. Participants were university pharmacy students who were engaged in regular university life and a more intense, therefore anxiety-producing, pharmacy practice environment. All were free of acute or chronic diseases, were not taking major medications and were non-smoking.

Participants were instructed to drink 3 grams of either test or placebo matcha preparation per day, suspended in 500 milliliters of room-temperature water. They were asked to avoid other caffeine and theanine-rich beverages such as other teas, coffee and soda, for the duration of the experiment. They were also instructed to avoid caffeine-rich foods such as chocolate and to avoid alcohol.

The intake of test- or placebo-matcha was conducted for a period of 15 days, which began with seven days of normal collegiate life, followed by an intensified instructional experience of pharmacy practice that took place over eight days.

Participants were given the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) test before pharmacy practice began and at the end of this practice period. A questionnaire was also given in which feedback was solicited on their emotions, subjective stress and physical condition. Sleeping hours were also recorded.

Before pharmacy practice, the STAI value of matcha test group participants was significantly lower than placebo group. On the eighth day of pharmacy practice, the mean values and differences between these groups was low, indicating that drinking matcha tea had a significant impact on anxiety levels before the stress period was induced.

After review of all data, including the matcha variations, researchers concluded that both anxiety and physiological stress were decreased when test-matcha was consumed.

Researchers noted that the quantities of theanine and arginine must be high, whereas the EGCG and caffeine levels must be low to receive optimum anti-anxiety benefits of matcha tea. Therefore, this research suggests that the quality of matcha tea preparation is highly important when an individual is consuming matcha for its calming properties.

Compound identification and antioxidant and calcium oxalate anticrystallization activities of pomegranate

Moroccan Laboratory of Biochemistry, March 25, 2020

According to news reporting from Fez, Morocco,research stated, “The plant Punica granatum L. has several biological activities and a great curative and preventive power against chronic diseases. For this purpose, the objective of this work is to valorize the fruit peel of this plant in the field of phytomedicine, by quantifying and identifying its bioactive compounds and by evaluating their antioxidant and anticrystallization activities against calcium oxalate.”

The news reporters obtained a quote from the research from Laboratory of Biochemistry: “This comparative study has been carried out by hydroalcoholic extract (E.PG) and infusion (I.PG) of the plant. The quantification of the phenolic compounds has been performed by spectrophotometric methods, and the chemical species identification has been performed by UPLC-PDA-ESI-MS. Moreover, the examination of the antioxidant activity has been executed by both methods of DPPH and FRAP. The crystallization inhibition has been studied in vitro by the turbidimetric model. The characterization of the synthesized crystals has been accomplished by microscopic observation and by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy. The results found show the comparable importance of the two plant extracts in the elimination of free radicals; the values of the half maximal inhibitory concentration ‘IC50’ obtained are in the order of 60.87 0.27 and 59.91 0.83 mg/mL by the DPPH method and in the order of 42.17 7.46 and 79.77 6.91 mg/mL by the FRAP method, for both E.PG and I.PG, respectively.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “Furthermore, the inhibition percentages of calcium oxalate crystallization are in the range of 98.11 0.17 and 98.22 0.71% against the nucleation and in the order of 88.98 0.98 and 88.78 2.48% against the aggregation, for E.PG and I.PG, respectively. These results prove the richness of the plant in bioactive compounds, offering an antioxidant and anticrystallization capacity; therefore, it can be used in the treatment and/or the prevention of stone formation.”

Study: An aspirin a day does not keep dementia at bay

Monash University (Australia), March 25, 2020

Taking a low-dose aspirin once a day does not reduce the risk of thinking and memory problems caused by mild cognitive impairment or probable Alzheimer’s disease, nor does it slow the rate of cognitive decline, according to a large study published in the March 25, 2020, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Aspirin has anti-inflammatory properties and also thins the blood. For years, doctors have been prescribing low-dose aspirin for some people to reduce their risk of heart disease and stroke. However, there are also possible risks to taking aspirin, including bleeding in the brain, so guidance from a doctor is important.

Because aspirin can be beneficial to the heart, researchers have hypothesized, and smaller previous studies have suggested, that it may also be beneficial to the brain, possibly reducing the risk of dementia by reducing inflammation, minimizing small clots or by preventing the narrowing of blood vessels within the brain.

“Worldwide, an estimated 50 million people have some form of dementia, a number that is expected to grow as the population increases, so the scientific community is eager to find a low-cost treatment that may reduce a person’s risk,” said study author Joanne Ryan, Ph.D., of Monash University’s School of Public Health in Melbourne, Australia. “Unfortunately, our large study found that a daily low-dose aspirin provided no benefit to study participants at either preventing dementia or slowing cognitive decline.”

The study involved 19,114 people who did not have dementia or heart disease. A majority of participants were age 70 or older. They took thinking and memory tests at the start of the study as well as during follow-up visits.

Half of the people were given daily 100 milligram low-dose aspirin while the other half were given a daily placebo. They were followed for an average of 4.7 years, with annual in-person examinations.

Over the course of the study, 575 people developed dementia.

Researchers found no difference between those who took aspirin and those who took placebo in the risk of developing mild cognitive impairment, dementia, or probable Alzheimer’s disease. There was also no difference in the rate of cognitive change over time.

“While these results are disappointing, it is possible that the length of just under five years for our study was not long enough to show possible benefits from aspirin, so we will continue to examine its potential longer-term effects by following up with study participants in the coming years,” said Ryan.

A limitation of the study was that only relatively healthy people were enrolled, and such a population may benefit less from aspirin than the general population.

Early life experiences influence DNA in the adult brain

Salk Institute, March 22, 2020

In the perennial question of nature versus nurture, a new study suggests an intriguing connection between the two. Salk Institute scientists report in the journal Science that the type of mothering a female mouse provides her pups actually changes their DNA. The work lends support to studies about how childhood environments affect brain development in humans and could provide insights into neuropsychiatric disorders such as depression and schizophrenia.

“We are taught that our DNA is something stable and unchanging which makes us who we are, but in reality it’s much more dynamic,” says Rusty Gage, a professor in Salk’s Laboratory of Genetics. “It turns out there are genes in your cells that are capable of copying themselves and moving around, which means that, in some ways, your DNA does change.”

For at least a decade, scientists have known that most cells in the mammalian brain undergo changes to their DNA that make each neuron, for example, slightly different from its neighbor. Some of these changes are caused by “jumping” genes—officially known as long interspersed nuclear elements (LINEs)—that move from one spot in the genome to another. In 2005, the Gage lab discovered that a jumping gene called L1, which was already known to copy and paste itself into new places in the genome, could jump in developing neuronal brain cells.

The team had hypothesized that such changes create potentially helpful diversity among brain cells, fine-tuning function, but might also contribute to neuropsychiatric conditions.

“While we’ve known for a while that cells can acquire changes to their DNA, it’s been speculated that maybe it’s not a random process,” says Tracy Bedrosian, a former Salk research associate and first author of the study. “Maybe there are factors in the brain or in the environment that cause changes to happen more or less frequently.”

To find out, Gage, Bedrosian and colleagues began by observing natural variations in maternal care between mice and their offspring. They then looked at DNA from the offspring’s hippocampus, which is involved in emotion, memory and some involuntary functions. The team discovered a correlation between maternal care and L1 copy number: mice with attentive mothers had fewer copies of the jumping gene L1, and those with neglectful mothers had more L1 copies, and thus more genetic diversity in their brains.

To make sure the difference wasn’t a coincidence, the team conducted a number of control experiments, including checking the DNA of both parents of each litter to make sure the offspring didn’t just inherit their numbers of L1s from a parent, as well as verifying that the extra DNA was actually genomic DNA and not stray genetic material from outside the cell nucleus. Lastly, they cross-fostered offspring, so that mice born to neglectful mothers were raised by attentive ones, and vice versa. Initial results of the correlation between L1 numbers and mothering style held: mice born to neglectful mothers but raised by attentive ones had fewer copies of L1 than mice born to attentive mothers but raised by neglectful ones.

The researchers hypothesized that offspring whose mothers were neglectful were more stressed and that somehow this was causing genes to copy and move around more frequently. Interestingly, there was no similar correlation between maternal care and the numbers of other known jumping genes, which suggested a unique role for L1. So, next, the team looked at methylation—the pattern of chemical marks on DNA that signals whether genes should or should not be copied and that can be influenced by environmental factors. In this case, methylation of the other known jumping genes was consistent for all offspring. But it was a different story with L1: mice with neglectful mothers had noticeably fewer methylated L1 genes than those with attentive mothers, suggesting that methylation is the mechanism responsible for the mobility of the L1 gene.

“This finding agrees with studies of childhood neglect that also show altered patterns of DNA methylation for other genes,” says Gage, who holds the Vi and John Adler Chair for Research on Age-Related Neurodegenerative Diseases. “That’s a hopeful thing, because once you understand a mechanism, you can begin to develop strategies for intervention”

The researchers emphasize that at this point it’s unclear whether there are functional consequences of increased L1 elements. Future work will examine whether the mice’s performance on cognitive tests, such as remembering which path in a maze leads to a treat, can be correlated with the number of L1 genes.

These Amino Acids And Antioxidants Could Treat Psychosis Soon

University of New South Wales (Australia), March 23, 2020

A new scientific systemic review offers rekindled hope in the ability of nutrients to ease the symptoms of schizophrenia.

The study aimed to determine which main amino acids and antioxidants could reduce typical symptoms of schizophrenia in addition to standard treatment. They were most interested in the effects of Taurine, NAC (n-acetyal-cysteine) and vitamins like C, B-complex and B9 on psychotic illness.

Also, this information applies to the early stages of onset, called First-episode psychosis (FEP). This is the first evaluation of its kind on nutritional supplements for this problem.

First, the authors first explain in Early Intervention in Psychiatry, that,

First‐episode psychosis (FEP) refers to the first 2 to 5 years of a psychotic disorder, such as schizophrenia. The mainstay of treatment is antipsychotic medications, which reduce “positive symptoms” (eg, hallucinations and delusions) within weeks per month [1]. However, 80% of patients relapse within 5 years [2], and only 1 in 6 achieve full recovery [3]. Furthermore, “negative symptoms” (eg, low motivation and social withdrawal) and cognitive deficits (poor memory and concentration) persist despite antipsychotic treatment, causing much of the long‐term disability associated with schizophrenia (Green, Kern, Braff, & Mintz, [4]. Therefore, to facilitate full recovery, new treatments are needed in the earliest stages of illness to reduce residual positive symptoms, and treat negative symptoms and cognitive deficits.

NICM, Western Sydney University reports:

The systematic review, led by Dr. Firth, Research Fellow at NICM Health Research Institute, Western Sydney University and honorary Research Fellow at The University of Manchester, examined if nutrient supplementation could provide effective ‘add on’ treatment for young people with psychosis.

The team brought together data from eight independent clinical trials of nutrient supplementation in 457 young people in the early stages of psychotic illness, such as schizophrenia.

They did indeed find that certain nutrient supplements, used alongside standard treatment, “may improve mental health in young people with psychosis more than standard treatment alone.”

And the winner is….

Taurine!

Taurine amino acid by far showed the most significant results in improving symptoms of psychosis. Taurine is found in shellfish, turkey, meat, dairy and veggies/fruits like grapes that contain the precursor aminos. They noted [emphasis added],

A clinical trial conducted in Melbourne in 121 young patients with psychosis found that 4 grams of Taurine per day reduced psychotic symptoms within just 12 weeks.

Certain antioxidant supplements, such as n-acetyl cysteine and vitamin C, may also be effective – particularly for patients with high levels of ‘oxidative stress’.

Studies on omega-3 supplements showed that although these appear to improve brain health in young people with psychosis, the evidence for actually reducing psychotic symptoms is conflicting.

Since this is a review, of course they wish to replicate the trials they found before preaching the virtues. And they do plan on conducting a trial with a specialized multi-supplement in August 2018 in Sydney. They did conclude the the nutrients worked better in a complex rather than stand alone.

Notably, Dr Firth said,

Nutrient supplementation in the treatment of mental illness is something which can be surrounded by both cynicism and ‘hype’.

We conducted this review just to see if there is any ‘real evidence’ if such nutrients can actually help young people with psychosis.

Certainly, there is early indication that certain nutrients may be beneficial, not to replace standard treatment, but as an ‘add-on’ treatment for some patients.

Individual nutrients appear to have moderate effects on mental health, at best.

A combined nutrient intervention, explicitly designed from the evidence-base in psychosis, may therefore confer larger and more beneficial effects for young people with this condition.

This writer recommends reading the review. The writers really emphasize the role nutrition has had on mental health based on trials. Specifically, B vitamins and taurine.

Although America is a so-called “first-world country,” its people suffer from malnutrition and also excruciating mental health symptoms. A correlation, if nothing else. Additionally, the mental health of teens has deteriorated in the last five years. The mental health job sector is one of the fastest – and perhaps few – growing job sectors in the U.S., which is saying something.

Other recent studies have shown that CBD has an ameliorative affect on the symptoms of schizophrenia. Another study found that GABA can stop unwanted thoughts. Wouldn’t you know it – taurine is a precursor to GABA!

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