Genetic Risk Score Predicts Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy
With new genetic variants identified for preeclampsia and gestational hypertension, researchers created polygenic risk scores (PRS) that may better identify candidates for prophylactic low-dose aspirin among pregnant mothers. There were 18 independent genetic loci significantly associated with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDPs) — 12 of them new (i.e., MTHFR-CLCN6, WNT3A, NPR3, PGR, and RGL3) — […]
Cutting breakfast carbs can benefit people with Type 2 diabetes: Researchers say a low-carb start to the day may help control blood sugars
An international team, led by UBC Okanagan researchers, suggests a simple tweak to the first meal of the day might help people living with Type 2 diabetes (T2D) better control their blood sugar levels. Dr. Barbara Oliveira conducts research with Dr. Jonathan Little’s Exercise, Metabolism and Inflammation Lab in UBCO’s Faculty of Health and Social […]
Junk food may impair our deep sleep
In a new study, researchers at Uppsala University have investigated how junk food affects sleep. Healthy participants consumed an unhealthier as well as a healthier diet in a randomised order. After the unhealthier diet, the quality of the participants’ deep sleep had deteriorated, compared with those who had followed the healthier diet. The results have […]
Low-flavanol diet drives age-related memory loss, large study finds
A large-scale study led by researchers at Columbia and Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard is the first to establish that a diet low in flavanols — nutrients found in certain fruits and vegetables — drives age-related memory loss. The study found that flavanol intake among older adults tracks with scores on tests designed to detect memory […]
Chronic Pain Detected in the Brain for the First Time
Chronic pain was detected in the human brain for the first time, researchers reported. Data were collected over months from four participants with refractory neuropathic pain who had intracranial electrodes implanted, according to Prasad Shirvalkar, MD, PhD, of the University of California San Francisco, and co-authors. Over 3 to 6 months, participants reported their pain […]
Water arsenic including in public water is linked to higher urinary arsenic totals among the U.S. population: Highest concentrations found in the West and South and among Mexican American and other Hispanic participants
A new study by researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health shows that water arsenic levels are linked to higher urinary arsenic among the U.S. population for users of both private wells and public water systems. The findings are published in the journal Environmental Research. Long-term exposure to arsenic even at low and […]
Unhealthy Lifestyle Factors Into Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis
Lifestyle habits may contribute to individual risk for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), researchers found in the U.K. Biobank. In comparison to more “favorable” lifestyles, an “unfavorable” lifestyle was associated with a greater IPF risk (HR 2.271, 95% CI 1.852-2.785), as was an “intermediate” lifestyle (HR 1.384, 95% CI 1.218-1.574), reported Yaohua Tian, PhD, of Tongji […]
Men and women have different obesity drivers, pointing to the need for tailored interventions: Sex-specific brain signatures driving obesity
A new study from UCLA researchers finds sex-specific brain signals that appear to confirm that different drivers lead men and women to develop obesity. The study, appearing in the peer-reviewed journal Brain Communications, combined data from several modes of MRI with patients’ clinical features and personal histories to identify sex-specific mechanisms in the brain underlying […]
New form of omega-3 could prevent visual decline with Alzheimer’s disease: By crossing into the retina, new DHA supplement achieves what previous ones could not
For the first time, researchers have developed a form of the omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) that is capable of crossing into the eye’s retina to ward off visual declines related to Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes and other disorders. The DHA found in fish oil capsules and other supplements is typically in a form called […]
Novel drug makes mice skinny even on sugary, fatty diet: Compound limits magnesium transport in cellular power plants called mitochondria.
Researchers from The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio) have developed a small-molecule drug that prevents weight gain and adverse liver changes in mice fed a high-sugar, high-fat Western diet throughout life. “When we give this drug to the mice for a short time, they start losing weight. […]