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Published on Leave a comment on Breast Milk Contains Important Micronutrient For Brain Development
Breastfeeding
Credit: Wikimedia Commons/ Anton Nosik

Another new micronutrient has been discovered in breast milk. This is a sugar molecule called myo-inositol that promotes brain development in infants.

Researchers found that this sugar molecule is most abundant in human breastmilk early after birth when neuronal connections are rapidly forming in the infant brain. Three weeks after birth the levels found in breast milk slowly start to decrease.

This micronutrient was found in breast milk from women at all three study sites (Mexico City, Shanghai, and Cincinnati) - and at similar levels. The researchers stated that this could be one of the reasons why breast milk is so beneficial for a baby's brain development.

Interestingly, adults get myo-inositol from foods, with an adult eating a Western diet getting about 1 gram per day. It is also produced in the brain and other organs. It is especially abundant in fruits (e.g., cantaloupe and oranges), beans, grains, and nuts.

From Medical Xpress: Sugar molecule found in breast milk boosts infant brain development

Breast milk is not simply sustenance. It also is rich in micronutrients that are critical for healthy brain development in infants. ...continue reading "Breast Milk Contains Important Micronutrient For Brain Development"

Published on Leave a comment on Most Bacteria In Kitchens Are Harmless

Ever wonder what bacteria are living on your kitchen surfaces, including sponges? It turns out that even with different hygiene, dietary habits, and cooking practices, there is a core group of bacteria that are common to all kitchen surfaces (core microbiota). At least this was true for residential kitchens in 5 European countries.

The Norwegian researchers took samples from 74 kitchens in 5 countries - France, Norway, Portugal, Romania, and Hungary. Bacteria were sampled from cutting boards, counter tops, sinks, handles, and cleaning utensils, including sponges.

The researchers found that the core microbiota in European kitchens were of eight genera or families.  They are: Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas, Enhydrobacter, Enterobacteriaceae, Psychrobacter, Chryseobacterium,  Bacillus, and Staphylococcus.

The researchers mention that other studies also found Acinetobacter (part of the core bacteria) in all kitchen samples in all countries (including USA, South Korea), and in high abundance. It probably enters kitchens daily because it is on vegetables, meat, fish, milk, and even in drinking water systems. By the way, these bacteria are not a threat to humans!

Bottom line: Bacteria are all around us, including in our kitchen - and that's OK. Most are harmless! However, harmful bacteria such as Salmonella can enter kitchens through contaminated food.

From Science Daily: Bacteria in kitchen may not be as harmful as you think

Bacteria found in 74 kitchens spread among 5 European countries were mostly harmless according to new research published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology. ...continue reading "Most Bacteria In Kitchens Are Harmless"

Published on Leave a comment on Lupus Involves Changes In Gut Microbes

Recent research found that flare-ups of the disease lupus involves microbial changes in the gut microbiome. The gut microbiome is the community of microbes (fungi, bacteria, viruses) living in the small intestine.

NYU School of Medicine researchers found in a study that about half of the individuals having flare-ups of lupus (Systemic lupus erythematosus) had an overgrowth (or "bloom") of the bacteria Ruminococcus blautia gnavus. They also found that during flare-ups the gut microbiome was out-of-whack, with an increase in some harmful (pathogenic) species.

Lupus is an autoimmune disease that occurs when the body's immune system attacks its own tissues and organs, especially kidneys, joints, skin, blood vessels, brain, heart, and lungs. A tell-tale sign of lupus that many people get is a butterfly shaped rash across the nose and cheeks.

These research results raise the possibility that future treatments for lupus may involve somehow altering gut microbes. Maybe dietary changes or certain probiotics?

From Science Daily: Lupus flare-ups strongly linked to specific bacterial growth in gut

Recurrent bouts of systemic lupus erythematosus, marked by the body's immune system attack of its own tissues, closely tracked with measureable upticks in growth in the gut of a certain species of bacteria. ...continue reading "Lupus Involves Changes In Gut Microbes"

Published on Leave a comment on We’re On Track For Each Summer to Be Hotter Than Ever

This past Monday (July 3) the average temperature on Earth was the hottest day ever recorded. But then...Tuesday broke Monday's records for hottest day for Earth. It hit 62.92 degrees Fahrenheit (17.18 degrees Celsius)

Welcome to the new normal. In fact, this summer could be the coolest summer of the rest of your life! Get ready for more and longer heat waves. For summer to start earlier, last longer, and be hotter.

Why is this occurring? Climate change. All the scientific predictions are coming true. And yet the US government, politicians, big business, and all of us are refusing to take real action. We need a huge reduction of fossil fuel emissions and new technologies to pull carbon dioxide out of the air to stop extreme climate changes from occurring.

Several good articles about what is going on: 1) From The Guardian: Tuesday was world’s hottest day on record – breaking Monday’s record

World temperature records have been broken for a second day in a row, data suggests, as experts issued a warning that this year’s warmest days are still to come – and with them the warmest days ever recorded.

2) From the Washington Post: This July 4 was hot. Earth’s hottest day on record, in fact.

... some scientists believe July 4 may have been one of the hottest days on Earth in about 125,000 years, due to a dangerous combination of climate change causing global temperatures to soar, the return of the El Niño pattern and the start of summer in the Northern Hemisphere.  ...continue reading "We’re On Track For Each Summer to Be Hotter Than Ever"

Published on Leave a comment on CTE Found In Female Professional Athlete

No one should be surprised that chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) has now been diagnosed (after death) in a female professional athlete - Heather Anderson. Years of repeated head trauma, whether from concussions or subconcussive hits, can eventually cause CTE. Head trauma, whether in males or females, occurs from body hits in football, rugby, heading the ball in soccer, and checking in ice hockey.

Heather Anderson was an Australian rules football player who started playing when she was 5, also played rugby, and eventually competed in the top women's Australian rules football league, retired at 23 after a shoulder injury, and committed suicide at 28. Both Australian rules football and rugby are contact sports. After death, her brain was examined and found to have the lesions characteristic of CTE.

CTE symptoms include memory loss, impaired judgement, confusion, aggression, depression, thinking about suicide, and eventually dementia. There is progressive degeneration of brain tissue in CTE, as well as build-up of the abnormal protein tau in the brain.

From NY Times: C.T.E. Found for First Time in Female Pro Athlete

For the first time, the degenerative brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or C.T.E., has been diagnosed in a female professional athlete, researchers reported. ...continue reading "CTE Found In Female Professional Athlete"

Published on Leave a comment on Genetic Risk Factors For Dupuytren’s Contracture Are Inherited From Neanderthals
Dupuytren's disease Credit: Wikipedia

It turns out that many people of northern European descent have inherited some Neanderthal genes. A study found that these are contributing to a higher risk for Dupuytren's contracture (also called Dupuytren's disease). One study estimated that about 30% of Norwegian males over the age of 60 have Dupuytren's disease, but studies find that it is rare in African populations.

The researchers of the study looking at Dupuytren's disease noted that the average Neanderthal ancestry among Europeans is about 2%. [Note: Neanderthals are also referred to as Neandertals.]

Dupuytren's disease is a gradual thickening and tightening of tissue under the skin in the hand, which eventually can cause one or more fingers to stay bent toward the palm. It usually occurs in men over the age of 60.

Neanderthals and Denisovans (referred to as “archaic humans”) are now extinct. They lived in Western (Neanderthals) and Eastern Eurasia (Denisovans) until approximately ∼42,000 years ago. There was interbreeding (sex) with modern humans (Homo sapiens), which is how some of their genes have been passed down through the years. 

From Science Daily: The Viking disease can be due to gene variants inherited from Neanderthals

Many men in northern Europe over the age of 60 suffer from the so-called Viking disease, which means that the fingers lock in a bent position. Now researchers at Karolinska Institutet, together with colleagues, have used data from over 7,000 affected individuals to look for genetic risk factors for the disease. The findings, which have been published in Molecular Biology and Evolution, show that three of the strongest risk factors are inherited from Neanderthals. ...continue reading "Genetic Risk Factors For Dupuytren’s Contracture Are Inherited From Neanderthals"

Published on Leave a comment on New Non-Surgical Approach to ACL Rupture Looks Promising

Could this be another paradigm shift in medical care? This time it's substituting a non-surgical approach vs the current surgical approach for ACL ruptures.

A recent study found that a non-surgical bracing procedure for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) ruptures of the knee resulted in 90% having evidence of ACL healing at 3 months. And those with more healing at 3 months had better long-term (12 month) outcomes.

Those with less severe ACL ruptures had quicker, better healing, and a greater percentage (92%) returned to their pre-injury sport. But 64% were able to return to their sport even if they had a more severe ACL rupture. Eleven patients (14%) reinjured their ACL within a year.

The Cross Bracing Protocol (CBP) used in this study of 80 patients (within 4 weeks of ACL rupture) was: 1) knee immobilization at 90° flexion in a brace for 4 weeks, 2) followed by progressive increases in range-of-motion until the brace was removed at 12 weeks, and 3) physiotherapist-supervised goal-oriented rehabilitation.

The researchers hypothesized that holding the knee at 90 degrees could help unite the torn ends of the ACL and encourage healing. Of course, more and larger studies are now needed to confirm the results.

From Medical Xpress: New treatment could help avoid surgery by healing ACL rupture, study shows

A new non-surgical bracing treatment may help to facilitate healing after an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture, a new study has found. ...continue reading "New Non-Surgical Approach to ACL Rupture Looks Promising"

Published on Leave a comment on Technique May Improve the Microbiome of C-section Babies

Recent studies suggest that "vaginal seeding " of a newborn is effective and also has beneficial health effects for the baby. Vaginal seeding is transferring some of a mother's vaginal fluids (which contain beneficial microbes) onto newborns delivered via C-section.

The reason for doing this procedure (using gauze pads) is because during a vaginal birth the baby picks up the mother's microbes as it moves through the birth canal (this is good!). Babies delivered by C-section don't pick up all these beneficial microbes - instead they get what is floating around the delivery room.

Rutgers Univ. researchers found that infants that received vaginal seeding hosted a different microbial population in their stool and skin (more like the mother's) than those who didn't in the first month after birth. The vaginal seeding had worked - the mother's microbes had become part of the baby's microbiome.

Maria Gloria Dominguez-Bello has been doing research in the area of vaginal seeding and infant microbiome for a while. (Description of vaginal seeding method she uses.)

By the way, breastfeeding the baby is also a great way to transfer maternal microbes to the baby. There are hundreds of species in the breast milk, and the species in the milk vary over time.

From Medical Xpress: Technique may restore healthy bacterial balance in C-section babies

Newborns delivered by cesarean section who are swabbed with the vaginal fluid of their mothers after birth have beneficial bacteria restored to their skin surface and stools, according to a new study.  ...continue reading "Technique May Improve the Microbiome of C-section Babies"

Published on Leave a comment on Enjoy the Day!

Today is the summer solstice. It's the first day of summer in the Northern Hemisphere. Enjoy!

The summer solstice occurs when one of the Earth's poles has its maximum tilt towards the sun. It's the day with the longest period of daylight and shortest night of the year.

After today, the length of daylight in the Northern Hemisphere will start shortening until the winter solstice in December.

Published on Leave a comment on Study Finds Mediterranean Diet Lowers the Risk of Developing Heart Disease In Women

A recent study was good news for those wishing to lower their chances of developing heart disease (cardiovascular disease) without the use of medications. Instead, focus on the foods you eat, specifically those in a Mediterranean-style diet.

The Univ. of Sydney researchers did an analysis of 16 existing studies (with 722,495 women) and found that women following a Mediterranean diet lowered their odds of developing heart disease by 24% and lowered their risk of early death by 23%.

In this study, a Mediterranean diet meant eating a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, extra virgin olive oil. Moderate amounts of seafood, low to moderate in wine consumption, and low in red/processed meats, dairy products, animal fat, and processed foods.

Why is the Mediterranean diet beneficial? The diet focuses on whole foods that are also rich in fiber, antioxidants, has an increased intake of all sorts of nutrients (vitamins, minerals, flavanols, etc.), less oxidative stress, it's anti-inflammatory, reduced glycemic load, boosts the immune system, and feeds the beneficial microbes in our gut microbiome.

Interestingly, studies find that frequent consumption of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) lowers the risk of death from several diseases (heart disease, cancer, neurogenerative disease, and respiratory disease), lowers the incidence of breast cancer, and promotes healthier brain aging. A Mediterranean diet is associated with numerous health benefits (e.g., lower dementia risk) besides a lower heart disease risk.

These findings are important because heart disease is the leading cause of death globally, according to the World Health Organization. According to the CDC, it is the number 1 killer of women in the United States.

From Medical Xpress: Mediterranean diet cuts women's cardiovascular disease and death risk by nearly 25%, finds study

Sticking closely to a Mediterranean diet cuts a woman's risks of cardiovascular disease and death by nearly 25%, finds a pooled data analysis of the available evidence—the first of its kind—published online in the journal Heart. ...continue reading "Study Finds Mediterranean Diet Lowers the Risk of Developing Heart Disease In Women"