too lazy to go for morning walk here is healthcare supplements

If you are too lazy to wake up for your morning walk, results of a new study may cheer you up.

Researchers have found that taking Vitamin C supplements daily can have similar cardiovascular benefits as regular exercise in overweight and obese adults.

The blood vessels of overweight and obese adults have elevated activity of the small vessel-constricting protein called endothelin (ET)-1.



Because of the high ET-1 activity, these vessels are more prone to constricting, becoming less responsive to blood flow demand and increasing risk of developing vascular disease.

Exercise has been shown to reduce ET-1 activity but incorporating an exercise regimen into a daily routine can be challenging.

This study, conducted at University of Colorado, Boulder in the US, examined whether vitamin C supplements, which have been reported to improve vessel function, can also lower ET-1 activity.

The researchers found that daily supplementation of Vitamin C (500 mg/day) reduced ET-1-related vessel constriction as much as walking for exercise did.

Vitamin C supplementation represents an effective lifestyle strategy for reducing ET-1-mediated vessel constriction in overweight and obese adults, the researchers wrote.

The findings were presented at the 14th International Conference on Endothelin: Physiology, Pathophysiology and Therapeutics in Savannah, Georgia, US.

Snake venom could provide answers for the treatment of AIDS

Snake venom could provide answers for the treatment of AIDS, claimed Indian researchers at the World Homeopathy Summit in the city on Saturday.

Research by doctors at the Hyderabad-based JSPS Government Homeopathic Medical College, and Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), Hyderabad, on deriving a homeopathic medicine from snake venom, Crotalus Horridus, has shown that it can arrest the multiplication of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

Professor Dr Praveen Kumar, head of the department of practice of medicine at JSPS College, said, "Scientifically speaking, Crotalus Horridus has inhibited reverse transcriptase or RT, an enzyme which is utilized by viruses like HIV and Hepatitis-B to convert the viral RNA into viral DNA, so that they multiply into billions and wreck patients."

"Our experiment entails that the homeopathic drug has the capacity to act on HIV, Hepatitis-B and so on. Our work has certainly opened the floodgates of advanced research and clinical testing," he said.

"For years, homeopathy has been adapting the process of converting snake venom and poison from deadly scorpions, spiders and wild bees into medicinal substances by transforming them into nano-particles that have proved safe and effective for patients," Dr Rajesh Shah, organizing secretary, Global Homeopathy Foundation said.

"As a virologist, I was surprised to learn that homeopathy also sources medicines from virus, bacteria and parasites, long before microbiology was fully developed," said Dr Abhay Chaudhary, director of Haffkine Institute, which also manufactures polio vaccines in India.

The Central Council for Research in Homeopathy (CCRH), a premium government body under AYUSH and GHF, has organized the summit. "The summit should bring about a paradigm shift in the way the world looks at homeopathy and shock even some practicing homeopaths who believed that the medicines had some undetectable and unseen energy effect and acted as placebos," said Dr Rajesh Shah, organizing secretary, GHF.

-DNA

Three glasses of milk a day to beat dementia

Drinking milk can keep your brain healthy by warding off oxidative stress known to be associated with diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, according to a new study.

The study conducted at the University of Kansas Medical Center found a correlation between milk consumption and the levels of a naturally-occurring antioxidant called glutathione in the brain in older, healthy adults.

“We have long thought of milk as being very important for your bones and very important for your muscles. This study suggests that it could be important for your brain as well,” said Debra Sullivan, professor and chair of dietetics and nutrition.

Sullivan and In-Young Choi, an associate professor of neurology, asked the 60 participants in the study about their diets in the days leading up to brain scans, which they used to monitor levels of glutathione – a powerful antioxidant – in the brain.

The researchers found that participants who had indicated they had drunk milk recently had higher levels of glutathione in their brains.

This is important, the researchers said, because glutathione could help stave off oxidative stress and the resulting damage caused by reactive chemical compounds produced during the normal metabolic process in the brain.

Oxidative stress is known to be associated with a number of different diseases and conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and many other conditions, said Choi.

A randomised, controlled trial that seeks to determine the precise effect of milk consumption on the brain is still needed and is a logical next step to this study, the researchers said.

The research was published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

parents smoking increases children risk of heart disease

In the recent study published in the American Heart Association journal Circulation, researchers were able to provide growing evidence that exposure to smoke has a lasting effect on the children.

Children exposed to smoke caused by their parents might be inhaling more than just passive smoke. These kids are highly exposed to developing heart disease when they grow as an adult. While those with non-smoking parents, have lower risks.

The researchers used similar participants with the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study. Participants have experienced smoke exposure from their parents during 1980 and 1983. More than 20 years after (2001 and 2007), the participants were called for carotid ultrasound.

In 2014, blood samples of the participants were tested for cotinine levels. The blood was frozen samples obtained in 1980. Cotinine is the compound most present in people exposed to passive smoking.

Results showed that 84% of children with neither parents smoking showed highest non-detectable cotinine levels. As for those with one parent smoking, 62% of the children have none-detectable cotinine levels. And lowest percentage (43%) was found among households with both parents smoking.

They were able to detect other issues like risk of developing carotid plaque as an adult greater with one or two parents smoking. This problem is 1.7 times higher to the children as compared to those who weren’t.

Some parents limit their children’s exposure, but still resulted to 1.6 times higher risk. And four times higher to those whose parents do not limit the kids’ exposure to their habit.

Costan Magnussen, Ph.D., the lead researcher from Menzies Institute for Medical Research in University of Tasmania, Australia, said that there was really no direct proof that the exposure to passive smoke came from the children’s parents. But one thing is for sure, their primary exposure occurs in their very home.

The advice researchers gave to parents is to stop their smoking habit. This could benefit their kids’ long-term cardiovascular health. Parents who are trying to quit smoking are already reducing their children’s risk and potential long-term cardiovascular problem.

Magnussen said that, “Not smoking at all is by far the safest option.”

5 ways how we are letting stress affect our cells

Although you experience it in the head, your body is the first to react to stress.

With sudden onset of stress, the muscles get tense all at once, and then release their tension when the trigger passes.Chronic stress causes the muscles in your body to remain in a constant state of caution. When muscles stay tense for long, they can lead to other reactions in the body and even promote stress-related disorders. Both, tension headache and migraine headaches are associated with chronic muscle tension in the shoulders, neck and head. Then, the heart rate speeds up, muscles tighter, face turns red and there's a general sense of uneasiness and helplessness. But stress can also seep into your cells.Rising temperatures, toxins, infections, and resource shortages threaten how cells function and impact your health. Here are five ways you may be letting stress affect your cell.

PASS IT ON

Environmental stress can reach deep into the cells' interiors and alter the genetic material held within their nuclei. And the changes can be inherited. A study showed that limited food availability during a man's lifetime was linked to his grandchildren's risk of diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease.Another research at an American school showed that when male mice were fed a low-protein diet, the activity of hundreds of genes in the animals' offspring changed. In particular, genes that manufacture fats were more active. While making more fats might be a protective stress response, it also could lead to obesity and related diseases.Genomic (discipline in genetics that applies recombinant DNA) research suggests a potential link between changes transmissible from parent to offspring in patterns of gene activity and changes in chemical markers, affixed to certain genes.Scientists are trying to understand the nature of these changes and how they occur.

PRODDING THEM TO TANGLE

Increased temperature can stress out cells. Expose them to temperatures just three degrees than they are used to, and the proteins in the cell begin to unravel and stop functioning. If they unravel too much, they tangle up with each other and form a clump that can kill the cell. To prevent this, cells rely on a set of molecules called heat shock proteins that work in many different ways. Some tuck the sticky, carbonrich regions of unfolded proteins into a small pocket; others form barrels that sequester unravelled proteins away from any potential tangling partners. Once the body cools down, heat shock proteins help refold into proper shapes. THEY EVOLVE Cells can adapt to stressful conditions in a short period. They use intricate mechanisms to maintain the stability of their genetic DNA material. For example, yeast -an organism commonly used to study human genetics -quickly gained or lost entire chromosomes when researchers stressed it with exposure to different chemicals.After prolonged exposure, colonies of yeast with chromosome changes evolved resistance to certain chemicals, including an antibiotic. Under stressful conditions, however, they relax these controls.


AGEING THEM PREMATURELY

Doctors say, every cell in your body has its own doomsday clock, ticking down the number of times it can safely divide. This clock takes the form of a cap on the ends of each chromosome. Telomeres (a compound structure at the end of a chromosome) keep the chromosome from fraying. But they get shorter each time the cell divides. Shortened telomeres have been linked to agerelated diseases, such as arthritis, hypertension, and diabetes.Research suggests that chronic stress can dramatically shorten telomere length, causing cells to age and die prematurely. As a countermeasure, certain cells respond to temporary stressors like fear or infection by upping their production of the enzyme, telomerase, that helps telomeres maintain their length.

LEADING THEM TO SUICIDE

At the cellular level, death is essential for life. Apoptosis is a normal, programmed process of cellular self-destruction. It is called cellular suicide. And although it involves cell death, apoptosis serves a healthy and protective role in our bodies. It, in fact, helps shape our physical features and organs before birth and rids our bodies of unneeded or potentially harmful cells. This strategy sidesteps the destructive effects of a cell dying from the stressful conditions, which can kill nearby healthy cells by triggering inflammation. And since cell death plays a role in a number of neurological and cardiovascular diseases, medical experts believe understanding how cells make the life-or-death decision might lead to ways to reduce the damage caused by these types of conditions.

-TOI

Promising target for HIV treatment identified

Like a slumbering dragon, HIV can lay dormant in a person's cells for years, evading medical treatments only to wake up and strike at a later time, quickly replicating itself and destroying the immune system.

Now, scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have uncovered a new protein that participates in active HIV replication.

The protein, called Ssu72, is part of a switch used to awaken HIV-1 (the most common type of HIV) from its slumber.

The team began by identifying a list of 50 or so proteins that interact with a well-known protein HIV creates called Tat.

"The virus cannot live without Tat," said Katherine Jones, Salk professor in the Regulatory Biology Laboratory and senior author of the study.

Tat acts as a lookout in the cell for the virus, telling the virus when the cellular environment is favourable for its replication.

When the environment is right, Tat kicks off the virus' transcription, the process by which HIV reads and replicates its building blocks (RNA) to spread throughout the body.

One of the proteins on the list that caught Jones' eye was Ssu72 (a phosphatase).

This enzyme had been shown in yeast to affect the transcription machinery. Her team found that Ssu72 binds directly to Tat and not only begins the transcription process, but also creates a feedback loop to ramp up the process.

"Tat is like an engine for HIV replication and Ssu72 revs up the engine," said Lirong Zhang, one of the first authors.

"If we target this interaction between Ssu72 and Tat, we may be able to stop the replication of HIV," said Zhang.

The team found that Ssu72 is not required for making RNA for most host cell genes in the way it is used by HIV, making it a potentially promising target for drug therapy.

"Many proteins that Tat interacts with are essential for normal cellular transcription so those can't be targeted unless you want to kill normal cells," said co-first author Yupeng Chen, a Salk researcher.

"Ssu72 seems to be different - at least in the way it is used by HIV," said Chen.

The study was published in the journal Genes and Development.

Artificial sweeteners may alters body blood sugar controls

Scientists have found that artificial sweeteners alter the microbiome, the population of bacteria that is in the digestive system.

Artificial sweeteners may disrupt the body’s ability to regulate blood sugar, causing metabolic changes that can be a precursor to diabetes, researchers are reporting.

That is “the very same condition that we often aim to prevent” by consuming sweeteners instead of sugar, said Dr Eran Elinav, an immunologist at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, at a news conference to discuss the findings.

The scientists performed a multitude of experiments, mostly on mice, to back up their assertion that the sweeteners alter the microbiome, the population of bacteria that is in the digestive system.

The different mix of microbes, the researchers contend, changes the metabolism of glucose, causing levels to rise higher after eating and to decline more slowly than they would.

The findings by Dr Elinav and his collaborators in Israel, including Eran Segal, a professor of computer science and applied mathematics at Weizmann, were published in September by the journal Nature.

Cathryn R Nagler, a professor of pathology at the University of Chicago who was not involved with the research but did write an accompanying commentary in Nature, called the results “very compelling.”

She noted that many conditions, including obesity and diabetes, had been linked to changes in the microbiome. “What the study suggests,” she said, “is we should step back and reassess our extensive use of artificial sweeteners.”

Previous studies on the health effects of artificial sweeteners have come to conflicting and confusing findings. Some found that they were associated with weight loss; others found the exact opposite, that people who drank diet soda actually weighed more.

Some found a correlation between artificial sweeteners and diabetes, but those findings were not entirely convincing: Those who switch to the products may already be overweight and prone to the disease.

While acknowledging that it is too early for broad or definitive conclusions, Dr Elinav said he had already changed his own behavior.

“I’ve consumed huge amounts of coffee, and extensively used sweeteners, thinking like many other people that they are at least not harmful to me and perhaps even beneficial,” he said. “Given the surprising results that we got in our study, I made a personal preference to stop using them.

“We don’t think the body of evidence that we present in humans is sufficient to change the current recommendations,” he continued. “But I would hope it would provoke a healthy discussion.”

In the initial set of experiments, the scientists added saccharin (the sweetener in the pink packets of Sweet’N

-fe

Lung cancer can stay hidden for over 20 years

A new U.K. study reveals that lung cancer can remain inactive for almost 20 years before suddenly appearing as an aggressive form of the disease.
Lung cancers can lie dormant for over 20 years before suddenly turning into an aggressive form of the disease, according to a study published Thursday in the U.S. journal Science.

Lung cancer is known as the leading type of deadly cancer among U.S. men and women, and the second most common cancer diagnosed in the U.S. Cigarette smoking is listed as the leading cause of lung cancer, which can also be caused by using other types of tobacco. The American Cancer Society estimates that in the United States, for the year 2014, there will be about 224,210 new cases of lung cancer and nearly 159,260 deaths from it. This disease accounts for 27 percent of all cancer deaths.

The latest study, conducted by the Cancer Research UK's London Research Institute and the UCL Cancer Institute, found that lung cancer can remain hidden for over 20 years. This was based on the study conducted on lung cancers from seven patients that included smokers, ex-smokers and never smokers.

The researchers hoped this study will help improve early detection of the disease.

Professor Nic Jones, Cancer Research UK's chief scientist, said: "This fascinating research highlights the need to find better ways to detect lung cancer earlier when it's still following just one evolutionary path. If we can nip the disease in the bud and treat it before it has started travelling down different evolutionary routes we could make a real difference in helping more people survive the disease..."

It was noticed that after the first genetic mistake that triggered cancer, it can continue to exist undetected for several years until the novel additional defect triggers the rapid growth of the disease. It is during this expansion a sudden gush of different genetic faults that appear in separate region of the tumors. Each of the different sections comes from various paths indicating that every part of the tumor is genetically unique.

This study shows the need for advanced method to detect the disease earlier. Nearly two-thirds of the patients are being diagnosed with advanced form of cancers during which treatment is not successful. Based on this finding, the researchers hope for some improvement in the early detection of the disease.

Study author Professor Charles Swanton, at Cancer Research UK's London Research Institute and the UCL Cancer Institute, said: "Survival from lung cancer remains devastatingly low with many new targeted treatments making a limited impact on the disease. By understanding how it develops we've opened up the disease's evolutionary rule book in the hope that we can start to predict its next steps."

The finding was documented in Science today.

Insomnia related to sleep quality and not duration

Insomnia among older adults may be tied to sleep quality, and not sleep duration, according to a new study.

Researchers at the University of Chicago found that sleep problems may stem from the quality of rest and other health concerns more than the overall amount of sleep that patients get.

An estimated 30 per cent of adults report having some symptoms of insomnia, which includes difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep or waking up too early and then not feeling well rested during the daytime, researchers said.

The study used data from 727 participants in the National Social Life, Health and Aging Project in the US who were randomly invited to participate in an "Activity and Sleep Study."

The activity and sleep study had two components: a self-administered sleep booklet, which included questions about the person's sleep experience, (eg, "how often do you feel really rested when you wake up in the morning?") and 72-hours of wrist actigraphy, which is a wristwatch-like sensor that monitors sleep patterns and movements.

The actigraph measurements showed that most of the older adults got sufficient amounts of sleep.

Even though reported sleep problems are common among older individuals, according to the survey only about 13 per cent of older adults in the study said that they rarely or never feel rested when waking up in the morning.

About 12 per cent reported often having trouble falling asleep, 30 per cent indicated they regularly had problems with waking up during the night and 13 per cent reported problems with waking up too early and not being able to fall asleep again most of the time.

The actigraph provided data that showed the average duration of sleep period among the study participants was 7.9 hours and the average total sleep time was 7.25 hours.

Linda Waite, an author on the study, said this indicates that the majority of older adults are getting the recommended amount of sleep and usually not having common sleep problems.

Researchers also found that respondents who reported waking up more frequently during the night had more total sleep time.

"This suggests that a question about feeling rested may tap into other aspects of older adults' everyday health or psychological experience," said Waite.

"Our findings suggest that reports of what seem like specific sleep problems from survey questions may be more accurately viewed as indicators of general problems or dissatisfaction with sleep that may

olive oil Healthy fat may repair failing hearts

Oleate, a common dietary fat found in olive oil, may help restore proper metabolism of fuel that gets disturbed in case of heart failure, a study suggests.

“This gives more proof to the idea that consuming healthy fats like oleate can have a significantly positive effect on cardiac health even after the disease has begun,” said senior study author E. Douglas Lewandowski from the University of Illinois – Chicago, US.

Failing hearts are unable to properly process or store the fats they use for fuel, which are contained within tiny droplets called lipid bodies in heart muscle cells.

The inability to use fats, the heart’s primary fuel source, causes the muscle to become starved of energy.

Fats, not metabolised by the heart, break down into toxic intermediary by-products that further contribute to heart disease.

In addition to balancing fat metabolism and reducing toxic by-products in hyper-trophic hearts, oleate also restored the activation of several genes for enzymes that metabolise fat, the findings of the study showed.

“These genes are often suppressed in hyper-trophic hearts,” Lewandowski added.

“The fact that we can restore beneficial gene expression, as well as more balanced fat metabolism, plus reduce toxic fat metabolites, just by supplying hearts with oleate – a common dietary fat – is a very exciting finding,” Lewandowski pointed out.

For the study, the researchers looked at how healthy and failing rat hearts reacted to being supplied with either oleate or palmitate, a fat associated with the Western diet and found in dairy products, animal fats and palm oil.

When the researchers perfused failing rat hearts with oleate they saw an immediate improvement in how the hearts contracted and pumped blood.

The findings were reported in the journal Circulation.