StemCell Therapy

NoCamels Hezekiah Bird, Shuli Finley, Katie Hemmons, and Shana Jacobson contributed to this report.

Women make up 60-70 percent of roles in the biotechnology sector in Israel, a number that has not changed in almost a decade, according to the Nisha group, an Israeli recruitment and placement firm that specializes in biotech, biomed, fintech, and cleantech. But while women are ahead in the field, leading research teams and heading clinical trials, men still dominate upper management and executive roles, Nisha noted in a comprehensive report focused on women in biotech that was first published in 2012.

On Sunday International Womens Day 2020 Lizi Shoov London, Nishas partner and managing director of the companys Biotech division, confirmed to NoCamels that the numbers have not changed.

SEE ALSO: Whats The Best Advice You Got? 5 Questions With 10 Israeli Women Innovators.

Professor Rivka Carmi, former president of the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev the first and only woman to hold this position at a university says that despite the expectations that the field would mature and more women would take on executive roles, this hasnt been the case yet.

There are a lot of female researchers involved in biotech companies, she tells NoCamels, but there are not enough women in leadership roles or who have their own startups. In a time where high-tech and biotech go hand in hand, Carmi says, women only make up a third of the pie, not 50/50. The latest High-Tech Human Capital Report 2019 published by Start-Up Nation Central and the Israel Innovation Authority last month showed that the rate of women employed in the sector is at a standstill at about 30 percent, with just 22 percent for technology positions and 18 percent for tech management roles.

Carmi, who made it her mission during her 12 years as BGU president to increase cooperation between academia and industry she called it applied research set out to work with government authorities to push major biotech initiatives that would potentially make the future of women as biotech leaders a reality. These initiatives included the National Institute For Biotechnology In The Negev (NIBN), established as a company in November 2009 through a trilateral agreement between the Israeli government, founder Dr. Edgar de Picciotto, and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, to become the first independent research entity established under the auspices of a university in Israel.

While she didnt specifically do so to put women in executive biotech positions, this was very unusual at the time, she says of NIBNs mission to bridge the gap between basic and applied research, while figuring out how to go about commercializing novel ideas and technologies developed by NIBN researchers.

I see how difficult it is for women to get leadership roles, so I am very vocal about it, she says. Women are in the minority in terms of having their own biotech startups. Many of them have to balance career and family. Not many of them want to make that concession. Its a lot of work building a startup and attracting investors.

Every woman will tell you that she encounters obstacles, Professor Carmi tells NoCamels.

Israels biotechnology and life sciences industry is a fast-growing sector, with at least 1,600 companies, including nearly 1,400 companies that were established since 2009 (thats 139 companies every year), according to the 2019 Israeli Life Sciences Report from the Israel Advanced Technology Industries (IATI.) The sector, which employs 83,000 people across the country, according to the report, has seen upwards of $1.5 billion from investors.

Even so, Dr. Irit Yaniv says that the Israeli biotech sector is enriched with but not yet dominated by women.

Dr. Yaniv is a less typical example, as she calls herself. The accomplished medtech and biopharma executive is a co-founder and investor now serving as a managing partner for health care venture capital fund Accelmed Ventures II. Dr. Yaniv has held top-level positions as CEO of heart medical device firm Impulse Dynamics and Type 2 diabetes treatment firm Metacure and a number of chairperson and board member positions at various medtech, biotech, and life science companies. She also co-founded Type 2 diabetes firm Digma Medical and obesity treatment firm NitiNotes Surgical.

But she also knows firsthand the obstacles women run into in the biotech industry. We do see many women holding mid-level positions, however when it comes to C-level (specifically, CEOs and chairperson positions), the picture is not much different from other sectors, she says.

And there is so much room for improvement. Women are still lacking the extensive networking ties and some assistance from our peers, she tells NoCamels. Women, especially younger women, are keen for proper mentoring to assist them to grow and stay at the top. I believe developing the right networks as well as other soft skills, will make a difference in the long run.

Realizing the need for mentorship and a support network for both newbies and veterans in the industry, Dr. Yaniv co-established a forum called Life Science Women. The open forum, which got too big for WhatsApp and is now on Telegram and LinkedIn, aims to establish a womens network for professional topics in the life sciences space, including HR, content, questions, lectures, and education.

The forum currently includes 300 women who use it on a daily basis, Dr. Yaniv says, with questions such as Who is willing to give a presentation at a conference? or Who knows a great service provider for regulatory matters?

Dr. Yaniv also believes another gap that prevents women from reaching high-level positions is the dissonance between how women perceive themselves and their real competencies and capabilities. For that reason, Dr. Yaniv, together with Ronit Harpaz, co-founder and CEO of medical device company Endoron Medical, and the support of the 8400 The Health Network, with a mission to advance the healthcare and life science industry in Israel, will be establishing an academic organization for junior women who have been recognized as having the potential to reach key managerial positions in their organizations. The academy will focus on teaching soft skills, networking, and specific theoretical content. It will also feature inspirational talks from prominent role models and theory segments from professional speakers.

Working together with the talented women that made it to the top, I believe we can make the change and, in the future, see more women in C-positions, including directors, she says. My wish is that there will be no need for specific women guidelines for places like board of directors, as there will be enough women holding senior positions everywhere.

SEE ALSO: Annual Biotech Confab Highlights Role of Advanced Tech Rehabilitation

Professor Carmi and Dr. Yaniv are just a few of the Israeli women who have made great strides for women in biotechnology. As the world marked International Womens Day 2020 on Sunday, NoCamels wanted to highlight the women who are making an impact in the field.

Professor Shulamit Levenberg, dean of the Faculty of Biomedical Engineering at the Technion Israel Institute of Technology, is one of the worlds leading scientists in the field of tissue engineering. As the head of the 3D Bio-Printing Center for Cell and Biomaterials Printing, launched last year, Levenberg is poised to lead the Technions tissue engineering into new territory. Professor Levenbergs stem cell and tissue engineering research has shown that it is possible to generate tissues and blood vessels in a lab that can in the future be implanted and integrated into human hosts.

Professor Levenberg is also the co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Aleph Farms, a clean meat Israeli company that unveiled the worlds first lab-grown steak prototype grown from animal cells in Dec 2018. Founded in 2017, Aleph Farms has raised more than $14 million and is working to transform its prototype into a commercial product.

Professor Levenberg has co-authored more than 100 publications, including six in 2019. In 2007, she appeared on Scientific Americans list of 50 leading scientists, Last year, she was named one of 50 influential women in 2019 by Israeli magazine Lady Globes.

Dr. Ora Dar has almost three decades of science, tech, and management experience, including 13 years as the head of the life sciences sector at the Israel Innovation Authority (then the Office of the Chief Scientist.) She also spent 16 years on academic research and has been a venture capital consultant for over two decades.

Today, Dr. Dar leads the National Infrastructure Forum for Research and Development (Telem) at the Israel Innovation Authority. She is also among the leaders of the Israeli National Genomic and Personalized Medicine Initiative, which includes a research-oriented genomic-clinical database of 100K volunteers.

Dr. Dar co-chairs the annual MIXiii-BIOMED Conference and Exhibition, a leading biotechnology and healthcare conference for both Israeli and international professionals.

Dr. Nuha Higazi, a neurology doctor, is the CTO and co-founder of PamBio, a biotechnology company developing drug therapy for hemorrhagic stroke (intracranial bleeding and ICH) and other acute bleeding conditions.

The company, co-founded with her husband Professor Abd Higazi with the support of Hadassah Medical Centers technology transfer company Hadasit, was conceived as part of the Nazareth-based incubator (NGT)3 and has received $7 million in a Series A round and $3 million from both (NGT)3 and the Israel Innovation Authority since it was founded in 2014.

Dr. Higazi is also the CTO and co-founder of medical device company Plas-free, which has developed ClearPlasma, a medical device that helps coagulation and complex treatments for massive bleeding. The company was founded in 2017.

Professor Mouna Maroun researches PTSD on animal models while focusing on developmental differences at the Univerity of Haifas Sagol Department of Neurobiology. She heads the Universitys Laboratory for Neurobiology of Emotions.

In 2018, Professor Maroun was named by the business publication TheMarker as one of the top 20 women changing the face of the Israeli medical scene today.

As an Arab woman, my belief is that the revolution towards gender and ethnic equality starts top-down at academic institutions, she told the University of Haifa magazine in 2018. Recruiting outstanding women as faculty members Jewish, Arab, Ethiopian and Haredi especially in sciences and STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics] subjects is one of the first steps to ensure the representation of women in higher education and to convey a clear message to the younger generation that there is no glass ceiling for girls.

Since joining genomics-based cancer immunotherapy and diagnostic discovery company Compugen in 2002, Dr. Anat Cohen-Dayag has held numerous positions including vice president of R&D as she climbed up the ladder. In 2010, Dr. Cohen-Dayag was named Compugens president and CEO and has been on the companys board of directors since 2014.

Last month, Compugen announced the expansion of its cooperation agreement with international firm Bristol-Myers Squibb to conduct cancer treatment trials. This week, the company reported promising data from on ongoing Phase 1 trial of its lead product candidate, COM701, a first-in-class anti-PVRIG antibody, for the treatment of solid tumors.

Dr. Cohen-Dayag is also the director of the Israel Advanced Technology Industry (IATI), Israels umbrella organization of high-tech and life science industries, heading up more than 700 members from every level and aspect of the ecosystem including venture capital funds, R&D centers, and startup incubators.

Another biotech force is Dr. Kinneret Livnat-Savitzky, the CEO of Israeli biotechnology accelerator FutuRx Ltd established in 2014. She joined Compugens board of directors in 2018.

She previously completed a seven-year stint as CEO of clinical-stage, publicly-traded biopharma company BioLineRX, which focuses on oncology, as well as seven years as VP of biology at Compugen.

Professor Ester Segal is currently leading a research group focusing on the broad interface between materials science and biotechnology in the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering at the Technion Israel Institute of Technology. She is also head of the Esther Segal lab at the Technion, which implements a multidisciplinary approach that couples materials science with engineering, and chemistry with biotechnology to address problems in biotechnology, food engineering, and medicine.

Professor Segal is a recipient of the 2019 Advances in Measurement Science Lectureship Award for her work on photonic crystal sensing.

Last year, she was named among the top 50 most influential women in Israel in 2019 by Lady Globes magazine.

Nora Nseir is the co-founder and CTO of Nurami Medical, a medical device company with a breakthrough nanofiber and sealant technology for the soft tissue repair market. Nseir, a biomedical engineer co-founded the startup in 2014 with Dr. Amir Bahar, a multidisciplinary entrepreneur and neuroscientist. Nseir previously held R&D positions in the medical devices industry focusing on the development of bone grafts and hemostatic devices.

In 2015, she co-founded the Arab Women in Science forum, which encourages Arab women and girls in sciences and entrepreneurship.

In 2017 and 2018, Nseir was also included in the Lady Globes Women of Influence list.

See more here:
Israeli Women Are Ahead In Biotech, But Don't Have The Leadership Roles Just Yet | Health News - NoCamels - Israeli Innovation News

CLEMSON, South Carolina Just as there is a mysterious dark matter that accounts for 85 percent of our universe, there is a dark portion of the human genome that has perplexed scientists for decades. A study published March 9, 2020, in Genome Research identifies new portions of the fruit fly genome that, until now, have been hidden in these dark, silent areas.

The collaborative paper titled Gene Expression Networks in the Drosophila Genetic Reference Panel is the culmination of years of research by Clemson University geneticists Trudy Mackay and Robert Anholt. Their groundbreaking findings could significantly advance sciences understanding of a number of genetic disorders.

Robert Anholt (left) and Trudy Mackay in their lab at the Clemson Center for Human Genetics.Image Credit: Robert Bradley, College of Science

The dark portion refers to the approximate 98 percent of the genome that doesnt appear to have any obvious function. Only 2 percent of the human genome codes for proteins, the building blocks of our bodies and the catalysts of the chemical reactions that allow us to thrive. Scientists have been puzzled by this notion since the 1970s when gene sequencing technologies were first developed, revealing the proportion of coding to noncoding regions of the genome.

Genes are traditionally thought to be transcribed into RNAs, which are subsequently translated into proteins, as dictated by the central dogma of molecular biology. However, the entire assemblage of RNA transcripts in the genome, called the transcriptome, contains RNA species that appear to have some other function, apart from coding for proteins. Some have proposed that noncoding regions might contain regulatory regions that control gene expression and the structure of chromosomes, yet these hypotheses were difficult to study in past years as diagnostic technology was developing.

Only in recent years, with the sequencing of the entire transcriptome complete, have we realized how many RNA species are actually present. So, that raises the whole new question: if they arent making the proteins the work horses of the cell then what are they doing? said Mackay, director of Clemson Universitys Center for Human Genetics (CHG), which is part of the College of Science.

For Mackay and Anholt, also of the CHG, these human genetics questions can be probed by studying the common fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. Because many genes are conserved between humans and fruit flies, findings revealed by analyzing the Drosophila genome can be extrapolated to human health and disease.

Mackay and Anholts former postdoctoral researchers, Logan Everett and Wen Huang, led the charge on this latest research, which identified more than 4,500 new transcripts in Drosophila that have never been uncovered before. Referred to by the researchers as novel transcribed regions, these 4,500 transcripts consist primarily of noncoding RNAs that appear to be involved in regulating networks of genes and that could contribute to genetic disorders.

Most disease-causing mutations are known to occur in the protein-coding portion of the genome, known as the exome, but when youre only sequencing the exome, you miss other disease-related factors in other parts of the genome, such as these long noncoding RNAs, said Anholt, Provosts Distinguished Professor of Genetics and Biochemistry at Clemson University. Now that the cost of whole genome sequencing has gone down considerably, and we have the capability of sequencing whole genomes rapidly, we can look at elements of the genome that have traditionally been considered unimportant, and we can identify among them potential disease-causing elements that have never been seen before.

By probing several hundred inbred Drosophila fly lines, each containing individuals that are virtually genetically identical, the researchers discovered that many of the novel long noncoding RNAs regulate genes in heterochromatin, a tightly packed form of DNA in the genome that is usually considered silent. Because heterochromatin is so condensed, it was thought to be inaccessible to the molecular machinery that transcribes DNA into RNA. Thus, any genes contained within heterochromatin are kept off, silent and unexpressed or are they?

What we think is that the repression of gene expression in heterochromatin is somewhat leaky, and that there is variation in how those genes are repressed, Mackay said. The network of RNAs weve discovered may have to do with actually regulating chromatin state.

These noncoding RNAs may play an important role in opening up such regions of the genome for expression of genes in a way that varies among different individuals depending on their genetic background, Anholt added.

Trudy Mackay and Robert Anholt address human genetics questions by studying the common fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, because many genes are conserved between humans and fruit flies, meaning research results can be extrapolated to human health and disease.Image Credit: College of Science

Another outcome of the study is the expression of jumping genes, known as transposons, that are pieces of DNA able to move around the genome. As transposons cut and paste into other genes, they may cause genome instability that leads to cancer, neurodegenerative disorders and other diseases. These transposons were also located in heterochromatin, but the identification of transcripts of these transposons shows that they are actually being expressed, despite residing in a usually silent portion of the genome. Identifying regulators of transposable elements, as the researchers found among these 4,500 novel transcribed regions, could prove useful in treating disorders that stem from transposon interference.

Overall, the study lends toward a greater understanding of gene regulatory networks that contribute to human health and disease.

These observations open up an entirely new area of biology that hasnt been explored and has unlimited potential for future follow-up, Anholt said.

The teams own follow-up studies are using CRISPR gene editing technology to uncover what happens when genes revealed by this study are altered or deleted from the Drosophila genome. If the expression of other genes is altered by knocking one out, important conclusions can be drawn about the role that deleted gene plays in development or progression of disease.

Everett, one of the lead authors on the Genome Research publication, is now a bioinformatics scientist at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Wen Huang is an assistant professor in the Department of Animal Science at Michigan State University.

###

The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health under grant numbers R01-AA016560, R01-AG043490 and U01- DA041613. Additional support was provided by The Danish Council for Strategic Research. The researchers are wholly responsible for the content of this study, of which the funders had no input.

Originally posted here:
Clemson geneticists' collaborative research sheds light on 'dark' portion of genome - Clemson Newsstand

NEW YORK After assessing the impact genetic information can have on patient care within clinics and pilot programs, NorthShore University HealthSystem is working on expanding test access to primary care patients and integrating the results into their day-to-day care.

In 2020, "we're trying to focus on how to hardwire this so it's not just a bunch of pilots but really starting to be ingrained in practice," said Peter Hulick, medical director of NorthShore's Center for Personalized Medicine.

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On the latest episode of Genetics Unzipped, biologist Kat Arney explores the origins of the genetic alphabet: A, C, T and Gthe four letters that spell out all the genetic recipes encoded in DNA.

These letters are the initials of the four nucleotide chemicals that make up DNA: adenine, cytosine, thymine and guanine. They are ingrained in the scientific lexicon and burned into the brain of anyone whos ever worked with or even just learned about genes, genomes and DNA. Its a code thats as inseparable from genetics as the double helix itself.

But while many people know that the structure of DNA was figured out in the 1950s, far fewer people realize that the identities of these molecular letters were uncovered far earlier. In search of the origins of nucleotide names, Arney takes us from the bird poop boom of the 1840s through the heyday of atomic weapons research in the 1940s and beyond.

First we explore the guano mountains of Peru giant hills of solidified seabird excrement which were mined for fertilizer to feed a fast-developing world. Intrigued by the nourishing properties of guano, 19th-century scientists started to investigate its chemical components. This led to German chemist Julius Ungers discovery of guanine in 1846 the first nucleotide molecule to be identified.

DNA itself wasnt discovered until nearly twenty years later, when Johannes Friedrich Miescher isolated a strange sludgy substance from pus-soaked bandages obtained from a nearby clinic. He called it nuclein a name that still lingers in the formal chemical name for DNA, deoxyribonucleic acid. However, his discovery almost went ignored as his supervisor, Felix Hoppe-Seyler, did not believe that such an inexperienced researcher could make such an important finding.

Following up on Mieschers work, his colleague Albrecht Kossel identified cytosine, thymine and adenine as the other components of this mysterious nuclein, after purifying the chemicals from huge amounts of cow organs obtained from a nearby slaughterhouse.

The story of nucleotides doesnt end with the discovery of A, C, T and G. Although these four letters make up the genetic code of DNA, theres another base Uracil, or U that replaces thymine in RNA, a kind of molecular photocopy thats made when genes are read. And we also now know that DNA and RNA bases can be chemically altered to extend the genetic code in some very interesting ways. Finally, we hear how the discovery of the first modified RNA base, pesudouridine, came from a surprising source: the US atomic weapons program at Oak Ridge laboratory in Tennessee.

Full transcript, links and references available online atGeneticsUnzipped.com

Genetics Unzippedis the podcast from the UKGenetics Society,presented by award-winning science communicator and biologistKat Arneyand produced byFirst Create the Media.Follow Kat on Twitter@Kat_Arney,Genetics Unzipped@geneticsunzip,and the Genetics Society at@GenSocUK

Listen to Genetics Unzipped onApple Podcasts(iTunes)Google Play,Spotify,orwherever you get your podcasts

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Podcast: Bird poop, pus, and the Manhattan projectthe surprising origins of the genetic alphabet - Genetic Literacy Project

Why do some people feel like they need three cups of coffee just to get through the day when others are happy with only one? Why do some people abstain entirely? New research suggests that our intake of coffee - the most popular beverage in America, above bottled water, sodas, tea, and beer - is affected by a positive feedback loop between genetics and the environment.

This phenomenon, known as "quantile-specific heritability," is also associated with cholesterol levels and body weight, and is thought to play a role in other human physiological and behavioral traits that defy simple explanation.

"It appears that environmental factors sort of set the groundwork in which your genes start to have an effect," said Paul Williams, a statistician at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). "So, if your surroundings predispose you to drinking more coffee - like your coworkers or spouse drink a lot, or you live in an area with a lot of cafes - then the genes you possess that predispose you to like coffee will have a bigger impact. These two effects are synergistic."

Williams' findings, published in the journalBehavioral Genetics, came from an analysis of 4,788 child-parent pairs and 2,380 siblings from the Framingham Study - a famous, ongoing study launched by the National Institutes of Health in 1948 to investigate how lifestyle and genetics affect rates of cardiovascular disease. Participants, who are all related to an original group from Framingham, Massachusetts, submit detailed information about diet, exercise, medication use, and medical history every three to five years. Data from the study have been used in thousands of investigations into many facets of human health.

Williams used a statistical approach called quantile regression to calculate what proportion of participants' coffee drinking could be explained by genetics - as the study follows families - and what must be influenced by external factors. Past research shows that the most significant environmental factors influencing coffee drinking are culture and geographic location, age, sex, and whether or not one smokes tobacco; with older male smokers of European ancestry drinking the most, overall.

The analysis indicated that between 36% and 58% of coffee intake is genetically determined (although the exact causative genes remain unknown). However, confirming Williams' hypothesis that coffee drinking is a quantile-specific trait, the correlation between a parent's coffee drinking and an offspring's coffee drinking got increasingly stronger for each offspring's coffee consumption quantile, or bracket (for example, zero cups per day, one to two cups, two to four cups, and five or more cups).

"When we started to decode the human genome, we thought we'd be able to read the DNA and understand how genes translate into behavior, medical conditions, and such. But that's not the way it's worked out," said Williams, who is a staff scientist in Berkeley Lab's Molecular Biophysics & Integrated Bioimaging (MBIB) Division. "For many traits, like coffee drinking, we know that they have a strong genetic component - we've known coffee drinking runs in families since the 1960s. But, when we actually start looking at the DNA itself, we usually find a very small percentage of the traits' variation can be attributed to genes alone."

The traditional assumption in genetic research has been that one's surroundings and lifestyle alter gene expression levels in consistent and measurable ways, ultimately creating the outward manifestation - called a phenotype - of a trait. Williams' statistics work shows that the situation is more complex, which helps explain the diversity of traits we see in the real world.

MBIB Division Director Paul Adams commented, "Paul's statistical studies complement the genomics research that Berkeley Lab bioscientists conduct to learn more about the relationship between genes and the environment."

Next, Williams plans to assess whether quantile-specific heritability plays a role in alcohol consumption and pulmonary function. "This is a whole new area of exploration that is just now opening up," he said. "I think it will change, in a very fundamental way, how we think genes influence a person's traits."

Reference:Paul T. Williams. (2020).Quantile-Specific Heritability may Account for GeneEnvironment Interactions Involving Coffee Consumption. Behavior Genetics.DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10519-019-09989-0.

This article has been republished from the following materials. Note: material may have been edited for length and content. For further information, please contact the cited source.

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The Biology Behind Your Love (or Hatred) of Coffee - Technology Networks

In Parks and Rec, Rob Lowes Chris Traeger is a perennially positive, supplement-popping 45-year-old who glides through the rooms of Pawnee City Hall with golden retriever energy. He brings vegetable loaves to birthday parties, regularly runs 10 miles during his lunch breaks and touts just 2.8% body fat. In Season 2 of the show, Traeger reveals his lifes goal: to live to 150.

Scientists believe that the first human being to live to a 150 years has already been born I believe I am that human being. At first, it sounds like just another quotable line from a show thats famous for them. Traeger isnt to be taken seriously, after all. One of his other signature adages is simply Stop pooping. (On the exceedingly rare occasions that Traegers body fails him, he lands in a dark place.)

Believe it or not, though, Traegers right. At least one scientist has been predicting humankinds potential to live to 150 for the better part of a decade, a man whos furthered the notion of aging as disease since he arrived at MIT in the late 1990s. That would be Australian Dr. David Sinclair, a biology rockstar and former Time 100 honoree with an Order of Australia (Down Unders version of knighthood), and his own genetics lab at Harvard Medical School.

In September of last year, Dr. Sinclair released Lifespan: Why We Age and Why We Dont Have To. Its an explosive call to arms detailing Dr. Sinclairs core belief, which hes spent decades researching: most humans leave decades of high-quality life on the table simply because society doesnt afford aging the same attention and dollars it reserves for other health crises like cancer and heart disease. The book is one part memoir (Dr. Sinclair recalls the drawn-out final decades of his mother and grandmothers lives), one part crash-course in epigenetics (we hold far more in common with yeast cells than the common person knows) and one part sneak peek into the advancements being made in the worlds preeminent genetics labs (Dr. Sinclairs team has successfully cured blindness in mice).

Most refreshingly, though, Lifespan delights in giving answers. On top of the many science-fiction-esque wonders on display at Harvard Medical School each week (Dr. Sinclair is a pioneer of a practice called cellular programming, which effectively means resetting cells back to a younger age), the book includes functional day-to-day advice on how the layman or woman can activate survival processes in their epigenome, engaging specific sirtuin proteins (a class of protein that helps regulate cellular aging) to help foster greater longevity.

Basically, Sinclairs hypothesis is that eating a certain way, working out a certain way and exposure to a certain kind of temperature can make living past 100 a relative breeze. We recently caught up with Dr. Sinclair to discuss his book, intermittent fasting, Benjamin Button and more.

InsideHook: This book definitely doesnt mince concepts or words. Why was it important to you to write so boldly on aging as a disease?

Dr. David A. Sinclair: The world is in a stupor when it comes to aging. Theres a blind spot. I wrote the book to shake things up, and hopefully wake up those who dont think aging is important or worth working on. We focus as a society far too much on the end consequence of aging, playing whack-a-mole with these diseases that kill us. We ignore whats actually driving these diseases. The more we study aging, though, the more we realize that the diseases we treat are all manifestations of an underlying process. And its treatable.

Some of your peers in the field have said it isnt a good look to be so declarative in your predictions on aging. Have they changed their tune since the book was released?

I havent had any criticism from colleagues since the book came out. Either they havent read it, or theyre okay with my arguments. But also, the world is changing. What used to be considered crazy 10 years ago is no longer crazy. For example, scientists didnt used to say the phrase reversal of aging. But now, its a fact thats doable. Our field has proven that many aspects of aging are reversible, including blindness. Its also partly that I was ahead of the curve, and that things which were once forbidden are now in the realm of discussion and debate.

Im fascinated by the cellular reprogramming work your lab has done. In the book, you invoke F. Scott Fitzgeralds Benjamin Button story to describe how a 50-year-old could soon begin a routine that will have him/her feeling and looking 30 again. Are we actually close to seeing that sort of treatment in the developed world?

The first thing to say is we now understand that changes in your lifestyle can dramatically improve your age and physiology. We used to think that aging was just something that was in our genes, something that we couldnt modify. But very rapidly, within months of changing diet and exercise, you can reverse many aspects of aging. Its never too late, unless youre on your last legs. The fact that its that easy to slow down and reverse aspects of aging just with lifestyle changes totally fits with our understanding of molecular mechanisms. We should be able to slow aging even better with the reprogramming of cells. I see the work weve done as a proof of concept. While its true that Im working hard towards restoring eyesight in people whove lost their vision, its really just the beginning. This work is proof that its possible to restore the age of a complex tissue. In the same way that the Wright brothers werent building rockets to the moon, they could at least imagine that one day it would be possible. Weve shown that there is a backup copy of a youthful epigenome that we can turn on to reset the cell and get it to work again. If thats doable in the eye, it would be rather pessimistic to say we were just lucky to choose the right body part for this to work.

High-intensity training is one of the practices you cite as vital to this process. What about it encourages longevity genes?

Weve found that high-intensity training will induce the sirtuin defenses in the body, similar to what intermittent fasting does. When those genes come on, they defend the cell against diseases, and aging itself. When we dont engage those sirtuin genes, we dont reap the benefits. High-intensity training is particularly good at turning on the sirtuins, because it encourages a hypoxic response, which weve shown leads to the activation of these defense mechanisms. While walking is good, its not as good as doing high-intensity training.

Im glad you mentioned intermittent fasting, another practice you endorse. Are there any mistruths or misunderstandings in the way that popular media portrays it?

Based on recent results in animal studies, its not so much what you eat but when you eat. Of course, you cant eat a hamburger morning, noon and night, then fast the next day and expect to get the maximum benefits. That said, it seems to be more about just having a period of fasting in general. Theres one misconception that people need an optimal mix of protein, carbohydrates and fat, and that thats the most important thing to get right. Id say worry about that less, as long as youre getting nutrients and xenohormetic molecules, which are molecules produced by plants when theyre under stress. As long as youre doing those things, its far more important to skip meals.

One other thing: people claim that there is an optimal intermittent fasting protocol. The truth is, we dont know what the optimal is. Were still learning, and its individual. There are individual differences in all of us. There is a subset of people, myself included, who start producing glucose out of their livers early in the morning, at around 6 a.m. Which means, for me, to start eating breakfast around 7 a.m. makes no sense. Some people, though, have such low blood sugar in the morning that they can barely function. We also dont know the best method. Is it the 16/8 [hours, first on and then off of the fast]? Two days fasting out of every five? We really dont know yet. But we do know that if youre never hungry, if youre eating three meals a day and snacking in between, thats the worst thing you can do. It switches off your bodys defenses. Some fasting is better than none.

Do you eat meat?

I do, but its a gradient. Its mostly plants, then fish, rarely chicken, and almost never red meat.

From an aging perspective, do you recommend that people give up meat?

For the average person, focus on plants. Meat isnt going to kill you if you eat it once in a while, but the reason for the plant-based diet is we know where the hot spots are for longevity. We know what theyre eating. Its not a mystery. Theyre not carnivores. Theyre eating mostly plants, and a little bit of meat maybe, a bit of fish. Theyre consuming olive oil, avocados, red wine and other plants that have xenohormetic molecules. I dont think that thats a coincidence.

Theres been some coverage recently about the rise of wild swimming. In the UK, especially, people have started jumping into freezing cold water and claiming all sorts of health benefits. It reminded me of your points in the book about challenging the thermoneutral zone. Does one need to frequently experience extremely cold temperatures to reap benefits?

Cold baths, cryotherapy I was skeptical. I started out skeptical until proven otherwise. But theres some evidence that making brown fat is good. Adult humans can make brown fat as long as theyre not super old, and cold is a good way to do that. One of my favorite genes, the third of the seven sirtuin genes, boosts brown fat. All of these things that were talking about exercise, fasting, cold therapy, even a sauna its best to mix it up. You dont want to be constantly exercising, constantly hungry, or constantly at one temperature or another. You want to shock the body. Putting a few days of recovery in between makes a lot of sense. As for exposing yourself to cold, a little is still better than nothing. I do it once a week. But Im still trying to figure out when to do these ice baths. There was a study that an ice bath after a workout potentially lowers the benefit of the workout.

Lifespan devotes a ton of pages to metformin, the anti-diabetic medication thats been discovered to activate longevity genes. Are there adverse side effects from taking metformin? It seems a little too good to be true.

As far as drugs go, metformin is very safe. The World Health Organization declared it one of the essential medicines for humanity. One in 10,000 people have an adverse side reaction and have to stop taking it. The majority of complaints are attributed to a queasy stomach feeling until you get used to it. I actually dont mind, because it stops me from getting hungry. [Editors note: Dr. Sinclair takes metformin daily.] It doesnt give you anything like a greater risk of cancer or heart disease. The data actually suggests the opposite. The risk of getting old is pretty high, but the risk of taking metformin is pretty low, based on millions of people taking it.

Youre on the record saying the first person to live to 150 has been born. Would that person need to combine every single practice and innovation that you outline in this book in order to do so?

An important point of clarification: I dont think we have any technology today that would get us to 150. But if youre born today, you can be around until the mid-22nd century. Theres a lot thats going to happen between now and then. Were on a path of technological development. Once you see the trajectory and barriers are broken down, it gives me the license to say someone born today will live far longer than we can imagine. People born today will benefit from technologies that come about after were dead. The big breakthrough is being able to reprogram the body. If we can get that to work, wed be literally able to turn the clock back on cells. Weve done it once we managed to restore vision in mice but you might be able to reset cells twice. Or 100 times. Well just have to see.

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A Conversation With a Harvard Geneticist on How to Live (Well) Past 100 - InsideHook

Why do some people feellike they need three cups of coffee just to get through the day when others are happy with only one? Why do some people abstain entirely? New research suggests that our intake of coffee the most popular beverage in America, above bottled water, sodas, tea, and beer is affected by a positive feedback loop between genetics and the environment.

This phenomenon, known as quantile-specific heritability, is also associated with cholesterol levels and body weight, and is thought to play a role in other human physiological and behavioral traits that defy simple explanation.

It appears that environmental factors sort of set the groundwork in which your genes start to have an effect, said Paul Williams, a statistician at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). So, if your surroundings predispose you to drinking more coffee like your coworkers or spouse drink a lot, or you live in an area with a lot of cafes then the genes you possess that predispose you to like coffee will have a bigger impact. These two effects are synergistic.

Williams findings, published in thejournal Behavioral Genetics, came from an analysis of 4,788 childparent pairs and 2,380 siblings from the Framingham Study a famous, ongoing study launched by the National Institutes of Health in 1948 to investigate how lifestyle and genetics affect rates of cardiovascular disease. Participants, who are all related to an original group from Framingham, Massachusetts, submit detailed information about diet, exercise, medication use, and medical history every three to five years. Data from the study have been used in thousands of investigations into many facets of human health.

Paul T. Williams. (Credit: Roy Kaldschmidt/Berkeley Lab)

Williams used a statistical approach called quantile regression to calculate what proportion of participants coffee drinking could be explained by genetics as the study follows families and what must be influenced by external factors. Past research shows that the most significant environmental factors influencing coffee drinking are culture and geographic location, age, sex, and whether or not one smokes tobacco; with older male smokers of European ancestry drinking the most, overall.

The analysis indicated that between 36% and 58% of coffee intake is genetically determined (although the exact causative genes remain unknown). However, confirming Williams hypothesis that coffee drinking is a quantile-specific trait, the correlation between a parents coffee drinking and an offsprings coffee drinking got increasingly stronger for each offsprings coffee consumptionquantile, or bracket (for example, zero cups per day, one to two cups, two to four cups, and five or more cups).

When we started to decode the human genome, we thought wed be able to read the DNA and understand how genes translate into behavior, medical conditions, and such. But thats not the way its worked out, said Williams, who is a staff scientist in Berkeley Labs Molecular Biophysics & Integrated Bioimaging (MBIB) Division. For many traits, like coffee drinking, we know that they have a strong genetic component weve known coffee drinking runs in families since the 1960s. But, when we actually start looking at the DNA itself, we usually find a very small percentage of the traits variation can be attributed to genes alone.

The traditional assumption in genetic research has been that ones surroundings and lifestyle alter gene expression levels in consistent and measurable ways, ultimately creating the outward manifestation called a phenotype of a trait. Williams statistics work shows that the situation is more complex, which helps explain the diversity of traits we see in the real world.

MBIB Division Director Paul Adams commented, Pauls statistical studies complement the genomics research that Berkeley Lab bioscientists conduct to learn more about the relationship between genes and the environment.

Next, Williams plans to assess whether quantile-specific heritability plays a role in alcohol consumption and pulmonary function. This is a whole new area of exploration that is just now opening up, he said. I think it will change, in a very fundamental way, how we think genes influence a persons traits.

This research was funded by a grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and a gift from HOKA ONE ONE. The Framingham Study Data were made available through the Biologic Specimen and Data Repository Information Coordinating Center of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

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The complex biology behind your love (or hatred) of... - ScienceBlog.com

OAKLAND, Californiaand SAN DIEGO, March 9, 2020 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ Blue Shield of California has become the first health plan in the United States to cover rapid and ultra-rapid Whole Genome Sequencing to help critically ill babies and children in intensive care with unexplained medical conditions receive precision care.

Rady Childrens Institute for Genomic Medicine researchers have pioneered the fastest use of this advanced diagnostic technology to rapidly identify and decode the root causes of rare genetic disorders for some of the sickest infants and children hospitalized in intensive care across the country.

The Rady Childrens Institute team offers the quickest turnaround of genomic test results available nationwide, delivering a preliminary diagnosis in less than three days for medically urgent cases. The blood samples can be taken at any hospital and sent to Rady Childrens Institute for sequencing and analysis.

Our system is optimized to identify or rule out most genetic diseases in a single test, and provide the medical team at the bedside with child-specific, disease-specific information so they can make better, faster medical decisions, said Stephen Kingsmore, M.D., DSc, president and CEO of the Institute.

Whole genome sequencing scans a childs entire genetic makeup for thousands of anomalies from a blood sample. Rady Childrens specialists also provide consultation to the medical team caring for the patient to offer targeted guidance that can enable timely and precise personalized care.

We know that uncertainty and long testing wait times can create tremendous risks for children in intensive care, and anxiety for their families, all the while creating more challenges for physicians and specialists, said Terry Gilliland, M.D., executive vice president of Healthcare Quality and Affordability at Blue Shield of California. By providing our members with access to Rady Childrens Institute for Genomic Medicines pioneering work in rapid whole genome sequencing, were supporting them in what is often the most difficult time in their lives.

Blue Shield members with Individual and Family Plans or employer-sponsored health plans who have a critically ill child, up to age 18, hospitalized in neonatal or pediatric intensive care at any location with an undiagnosed condition may be eligible.

This is the latest example of Blue Shields leadership in making the newest evidence-based medical technologies and services available to its members.

The nonprofit health plan also was the first insurer to cover confirmatory testing for members who received a positive Ashkenazi Jewish BRCA finding from consumer genetic-testing companies such as 23andMe, as well as prostate gene expression assays for patients with low risk prostate cancer, helping them to avoid unnecessary radiation treatment and surgical intervention.

Without medical insurance coverage, access to rapid Whole Genome Sequencing is often not readily available for many hospitalized children who could potentially benefit from this service. Families in need of this care have often had to rely upon funding provided by private philanthropy and research grants to gain access to rapid Whole Genome Sequencing and associated precision care.

Genetic disease is a leading cause of infant death in the U.S. and Blue Shield is paving the way in providing coverage for this rapid, molecular diagnosis that can result in life-saving treatments, Dr. Kingsmore said.

Located on the campus of Rady Childrens Hospital-San Diego, the Institute houses a state-of-the-art genome sequencing lab and employs a multi-disciplinary team of experts who specialize in providing timely and accurate guidance to physicians caring for children with rare genetic disease.

About Blue Shield of CaliforniaBlue Shield of California strives to create a healthcare system worthy of our family and friends that is sustainably affordable. Blue Shield of California is a tax paying, nonprofit, independent member of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association with over 4 million members, 6,800 employees and more than $20 billion in annual revenue. Founded in 1939 in San Francisco and now headquartered in Oakland, Blue Shield of California and its affiliates providehealth, dental, vision, Medicaid and Medicare healthcare service plans in California. The company has contributed more than $500 million to Blue Shield of California Foundation since 2002 to have an impact on California communities.

For more news about Blue Shield of California, please visitnews.blueshieldca.com. Or follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook.

About Rady Childrens Institute for Genomic MedicineThe Institute is leading the way in advancing precision healthcare for infants and children through genomic and systems medicine research. Discoveries at the Institute are enabling rapid diagnosis and targeted treatment of critically ill newborns and pediatric patients at Rady Childrens Hospital-San Diego and partner hospitals. The vision is to expand delivery of this life-saving technology to enable the practice of precision pediatric medicine at childrens hospitals across California, the nation and the world. RCIGM is a subsidiary of Rady Childrens Hospital and Health Center. Learn more at http://www.RadyGenomics.org. Follow us on Twitterand LinkedIn.

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Blue Shield of California Becomes First Health Plan in US to Cover Cost of Rapid Whole Genome Sequencing for Critically Ill Children - Hispanic PR...

By Jessica Hamzelou

Fei Maohua/Xinhua News Agency/PA Images

People who have the new coronavirus are most likely to die if they are older or show signs of sepsis or blood clotting problems. Thats according to a study that followed a small group of people infected with the covid-19 virus from diagnosis to hospital discharge or death.

Early on in the outbreak, two hospitals in Wuhan were designated to treat people who were infected with the new coronavirus. Until 1 February, people who were diagnosed with the virus in other hospitals were transferred to one of the two for care.

By January 31, 191 adults had been treated for the virus and either discharged or died at one of the two hospitals. Bin Cao at the China-Japan Friendship Hospital and Capital Medical University in Beijing, and his colleagues assessed these cases, looking for patterns in the characteristics of those who survived the virus and those who didnt.

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The average age of these individuals was 56, and 62 per cent of them were men. Around half of them had underlying medical conditions most commonly high blood pressure and diabetes.

Of the 191 individuals, 137 were eventually discharged and 54 died. The average time from the onset of the illness to discharge from hospital was 22 days, the team say. Those that didnt survive the virus died an average of 18.5 days after symptoms began.

Death was more likely in people who already had diabetes or coronary heart disease. Older people were more likely to die, as were those showing signs of sepsis or blood clotting problems. Overall, more than half of those hospitalised with the virus developed sepsis.

Poorer outcomes in older people may be due, in part, to the age-related weakening of the immune system and increased inflammation that could promote viral replication and more prolonged responses to inflammation, causing lasting damage to the heart, brain and other organs, said study co-author Zhibo Liu at Jinyintan Hospital in Wuhan.

The team also found that people with covid-19 continue to shed the virus, and could potentially be able to infect others, for around 20 days, or until they die. The extended viral shedding noted in our study has important implications for guiding decisions around isolation precautions and antiviral treatment in patients with confirmed covid-19, said Cao.

Journal reference: The Lancet, DOI: 10.1016/ S0140-6736(20)30566-3

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Coronavirus: Risk of death rises with age, diabetes and heart disease - New Scientist News

DUBLIN, March 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Disease Analysis: Type 1 Diabetes" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

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The research estimates that in 2018, there were approximately 46.6 million prevalent cases of type 1 diabetes in adults aged 20 years and over worldwide, and forecasts that number to increase to 51.8 million prevalent cases by 2027.

In children and adolescents aged below 20 years, there were approximately 1.08 million prevalent cases of type 1 diabetes worldwide in 2018, which are expected to increase to 1.12 million prevalent cases by 2027.

The overall likelihood of approval of a Phase I type 1 diabetes asset is 16.3%, and the average probability a drug advances from Phase III is 73.9%. Type 1 diabetes drugs, on average, take 8.5 years from Phase I to approval, which is the same as the average duration to approval in the overall endocrine space.

Despite the presence of multiple well-established products, the type 1 diabetes market is expected to see limited growth over the next decade. Future growth opportunities in the type 1 diabetes market are expected to be limited by its saturation with multiple maturing insulins, pricing pressures following the launches of biosimilars, and the expected failure of sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors to gain approval in the lucrative US market.

It is expected that patients will continue to switch from Novo Nordisk's Levemir to its successor product Tresiba due to the company's promotion of Tresiba's longer duration of blood sugar control compared to Levemir.

Likewise, Sanofi is pursuing a comparable commercial strategy to Novo Nordisk by promoting its next-generation insulin glargine product Toujeo over Lantus, as Lantus continues to lose patient share to the more affordable biosimilar Basaglar. However, key opinion leaders interviewed by the research analysts suggest that physicians are unconvinced that Toujeo possesses tangible benefits over biosimilar insulin glargine to justify its higher price.

Payers are severely restricting the use of specific insulin brands in the US. As the list price of insulins continues to increase, cost is becoming a strong determining factor for the choice of insulin treatment. Interviewed endocrinologists emphasized the impact of pricing on prescribing trends, as price fluctuations in the US lead to regular switching among patients.

Tresiba is forecasted to see the greatest uptake of all the long-acting insulin therapies in type 1 diabetes. Its long-acting duration of 42+ hours and its flexible dosing window (it can be administered at different times each day) offer improved convenience for patients, along with strong glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) reductions. In addition, favorable pricing compared to Lantus and Toujeo within the US market is expected to drive growth of Novo Nordisk's market share.

The maturation of multiple short-acting insulin products has resulted in companies promoting switching to successor products with extended patent protection to maintain their diabetes revenues. Novo Nordisk's NovoLog will be facing biosimilar competition from Sanofi's SAR341402, therefore Novo Nordisk is actively encouraging patients to switch to NovoLog's successor ultra-rapid product Fiasp, which is positioned as having a faster onset of activity than NovoLog. Similarly, Eli Lilly has developed a faster-acting version of Humalog, ultra-rapid lispro, which is currently in preregistration in the US.

Increasing out-of-pocket costs for patients and competition from Sanofi's Admelog (a biosimilar of Humalog) have resulted in developers of branded products launching authorized generics in order to increase competitiveness in US government-insured patients, who must make co-payments based on a percentage of a drug's list price. In May 2019, Eli Lilly launched an authorized generic of Humalog at 50% of the list price of branded Humalog in hopes of maintaining government-insured patient share. This was followed in January 2020 by Novo Nordisk's launch of an authorized generic version of NovoLog, also at a 50% discount to the branded product.

Pipeline product teplizumab has shown promising potential to prevent or delay the onset of type 1 diabetes, as Phase II data have demonstrated that a single course of the drug significantly delayed disease onset in at-risk patients by a median of two years. The data will support a planned rolling Biologics License Application (BLA) submission for the prevention or delay of type 1 diabetes in H1 2020, and the review process will be fast tracked due to breakthrough therapy designation granted by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). However, if approved, teplizumab is likely to face two challenges when attempting to enter the market, the first of which is appropriately pricing the product to reflect the market value of delaying or preventing diabetes while ensuring that a high upfront cost does not prevent reimbursement. Indeed, achieving widespread reimbursement will be particularly challenging given the lack of a currently approved comparator and the fact that the mean duration of any delay in the onset of diabetes may not be known at the time of approval. The second challenge is the lack of existing screening programs to detect patients that are at risk for type 1 diabetes, which could severely limit the drug's target population (at least initially). Teplizumab's commercial success will therefore require healthcare services, physicians, and industry to collaborate on creating and integrating accessible screening programs into different health services globally.

Lexicon continues to pursue first-to-market status for Zynquista for type 1 diabetes in the US, and launched an appeal against the FDA's initial complete response letter (CRL), but this was unsuccessful. Thus, the company has now appealed to the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, and is expecting a final judgment to be made in February 2020, but we expect this will also fail given that no new trial data have been added to the NDA to allay safety concerns and Lexicon has stated it does not wish to initiate further studies. An FDA decision on Jardiance's supplementary New Drug Application (sNDA) is expected in late Q1/early Q2, but a rejection is widely expected given the Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee panel voted 14-2 against approval in November 2019. While SGLT-2 inhibitors may offer benefits to type 1 diabetes patients beyond improved glycemic control (namely blood pressure reduction and weight loss), our base case is that the class will not gain FDA approval for type 1 diabetes without additional studies to further investigate the risk of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) and the effectiveness of proposed risk-management strategies, and thus far none of the companies have publicly announced any intention to conduct such studies.

Key Topics Covered:

1. OVERVIEW

Story continues

2. DISEASE BACKGROUND

3. TREATMENT

4. EPIDEMIOLOGY

5. MARKETED DRUGS

6. PIPELINE DRUGS

7. KEY REGULATORY EVENTS

8. PROBABILITY OF SUCCESS

9. LICENSING AND ASSET ACQUISITION DEALS

10. CLINICAL TRIAL LANDSCAPE

11. DRUG ASSESSMENT MODEL

12. MARKET DYNAMICS

13. FUTURE TRENDS

14. CONSENSUS FORECASTS

15. RECENT EVENTS AND ANALYST OPINION

16. KEY UPCOMING EVENTS

17. KEY OPINION LEADER INSIGHTS

18. UNMET NEEDS

19. BIBLIOGRAPHY

20. APPENDIX

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2020 Disease Analysis on Type 1 Diabetes - Licensing and Asset Acquisition Deals - Yahoo Finance

There is a significant correlation between type 2 diabetes mellitus and chronic kidney disease (CKD); up to 40% of patients with diabetes develop CKD as a direct result of diabetic complications. Patients with CKD have a need for a disease-specific diet, making management of diabetes challenging. Patients with CKD also face increased risk of complications associated with malnutrition, necessitating dietary needs and nutritional requirements tailored to individual patients.

Researchers led by Nourhan Khaled Hassan, MD, recently conducted a systematic review to examine nutritional requirements for patients with type 2 diabetes and chronic renal failure. The researchers screened 85 articles; of those, 22 were analyzed and included as per the study criteria. The data search included PubMed using medical subject headings terms, and a literature review through the Cochrane library and the British Medical Journal. Results were reported online in Current Diabetes Reviews [doi:10.2174/15733998166662000211120402].

The review highlighted nutrients and minerals needed to be maintained within a specified range defined by a patients needs and conditions. Dietary restrictions to prevent disease progression were also necessary. Patients receiving hemodialysis required vigorous monitoring of blood glucose levels as well as strict management of dietary intake. Risk-to-benefit ratios were utilized to determine optimal protein intake in patients on hemodialysis.

Dietary requirements should be individualized based on the patients disease severity and progression. Assessment of the patients previous and current diet, as well as matching it with their dietary requirements and preferences is crucial, the researchers said.

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Nutritional and Dietary Requirements in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes and CKD - DocWire News

More than 100 million people in the United States have diabetes or prediabetes.

Its also estimated that more than 100 million Americans have high blood pressure.

Those numbers have been rising, but researchers say there is a free and relatively easy way to reduce your risk of developing one of these diseases.

Its the simple act of walking.

The standard recommendation for physical fitness is 10,000 steps a day.

But even a fraction of that can work, according to the authors of a new study.

The researchers state that middle-aged study participants who walked the most steps per day over an average of 9 years had a 43 percent lower risk of diabetes and a 31 percent lower risk of high blood pressure.

The research was presented today at the American Heart Associations Epidemiology and Prevention/Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health Scientific Sessions 2020 in Phoenix, Arizona.

The benefits of exercise, specifically walking, have been studied extensively the past several years, David DaPrato, DPT, who works in sports rehabilitation and is a professional triathlon coach, told Healthline. There is good reason behind getting your 10,000-plus steps in each day.

The study was based on data from 1,923 participants in the national Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study.

In addition to their overall conclusions, the researchers also reported that every set of 1,000 steps taken daily over the course of 9 years lowers the risk of obesity by 13 percent in middle-aged women.

In the study, participants wore accelerometer devices to measure physical activity at least 10 hours a day for at least 4 days.

The average age of the participants was 45. Almost 60 percent were women and about 40 percent were black.

The average follow-up time was 9 years.

Those with the highest step count were 61 percent less likely to have obesity, compared to women who walked the least.

The study didnt show any association between a lower risk of obesity and the number of daily steps walked by men.

Many people think that walking is not considered exercise and that walking on a daily basis is not enough to have a positive effect on your physical and mental health, said Cyrus Khambatta, PhD, the co-founder of Mastering Diabetes, an online coaching program helping people with diabetes reverse insulin resistance. For people with diabetes, even a short 30-minute walk before or after a meal has profound impact at lowering your blood glucose levels.

The 10,000 step benchmark goes back to 1965 when a Japanese scientist reportedly responded to the fitness craze surrounding the 1964 Tokyo Olympics by inventing the pedometer.

It was called the Manpo-kei, which translates to 10,000-steps meter.

It sounded like a semi-lofty but achievable goal. And it stuck.

Of course, there can be variations to all those steps.

My recommendation is 4,000 to 8,000 steps, but quality matters. Four thousand steps out in the countryside going up and down hills may give better health benefits compared to 8,000 steps in a mall. But its still better than nothing, said Sarah Sato, a nurse practitioner specializing in diabetes who recommends daily steps to her clients.

We see lovely, whole-person changes when someone starts walking regularly, Sato told Healthline. People often find their sleep improves, their mood can be more stable, and their digestion can become more regular.

Khambatta said the extra benefits can go even further.

Most people think that walking is only for their heart and diabetes but being active can also improve blood flow to your brain, which improves cognition, he told Healthline. Studies show that taking more steps on a daily basis can also reduce depression and anxiety. Given an increasing number of people diagnosed with mental health disorders, walking is a simple way to dramatically improve your mental health for free and can also be a social activity at the same time.

DaPrato says to start slowly and your body will adapt. And you may be grateful later when the cold and flu season comes.

After some time of consistent walking usually 3 or 4 weeks (what was) stress is now not so concerning to the body and is considered normal, he said. The body has adapted. So, since either exercise or a foreign bacterium is considered a stressor, the body more efficiently responds to invading bacteria once the tissues have adapted to exercise. This is why individuals who exercise regularly dont get sick as often.

Beth Auguste, a fitness trainer and registered dietitian, said walking gets blood to where it needs to go.

Imagine a credit card. Now imagine trying to tear it in half. You cant, she said. Now, imagine that you bend that credit card backward and forward multiple times. High blood pressure is often the result of stiff blood vessels. When you take a walk, your body needs to get more blood to your muscles quickly. If you think about your veins as similar to a hose, this means that the pressure will be increased. And, in the short term, this is a great thing. Your blood is pumping faster and harder and that increased pressure will have a similar effect on your veins, as the credit card. The frequent recurring pressure and release against the walls of your blood vessels may help to create a loosening effect, leading to more relaxed blood vessels and a lower resting blood pressure.

Mimi Secor, DNP, FNP-BC, FAANP, FAAN, is a family nurse practitioner and author of Debut a New You: Transforming Your Life at Any Age.

She said the habit of walking is more important than the intensity. Among her recommendations on how to incorporate more walking into ones life:

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Daily Steps Can Reduce Risk of Diabetes and High Blood Pressure - Healthline

PURPOSE:

We investigated whether the relationship between diabetes and all-cause and CVD-related mortality differed between women with and withoutbreast canceramong a cohort drawn from the same source population.

We interviewed 1,363 women newly diagnosed withbreast cancerin 1996-1997, and 1,358 age-matched women withoutbreast cancer, to assess history of physician-diagnosed diabetes. All-cause (n=631) and CVD-specific mortality (n=234) was determined by the National Death Index through 2009. We estimated multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) for the rates of all-cause and CVD-specific mortality and, to account for competing causes of death, and subdistribution HRs (sHRs) for risk of CVD-related death.

Among women with and withoutbreast cancer, respectively, diabetes was associated with: all-cause mortality [HR (95% CI) 1.52 (1.13, 2.05) and 2.17 (1.46, 3.22)]; CVD-specific deaths [1.74 (1.06, 2.84) and 2.06 (1.11, 3.84)]; and risk of CVD-related death [sHR 1.36 (0.81, 2.27) and 1.79 (0.94, 3.40)]. Differences in effect estimates between women with and withoutbreast cancerdid not reach statistical significance (p-interaction>0.10).

We found that the positive association between a history of physician-diagnosed diabetes and risk of all-cause and CVD-related mortality is of similar magnitude among a population-based cohort of women with or withoutbreast cancer.

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Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease Mortality Among A Population-Based Cohort of Women with and Without Breast Cancer - DocWire News

Research over the last decade has considered the potential role of gut microbiota in the development of obesity and its related metabolic disorders. Although initial findings in mice showing the relevant contribution of gut microbiota to weight change have not been translated in a straightforward way in humans, scientists hypothesize that gut microbes may help us understand the effectiveness of weight-loss strategies such as diet and bariatric surgery.

Kaplans group experiments in mice were among the first to find that changes in gut microbiota composition could account for some of the weight loss that happens after a gastric bypass. Although it seems microbes work by allowing animals to burn more energy, how exactly an altered intestinal microbiota might cause weight loss and metabolic improvements remains to be seen.

New research in obese diabetic women shows that gut microbiota composition before Roux-en-Y gastric bypass is linked to postoperative type 2 diabetes remission.

The authors sought to explore to what extent metabolic benefits after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) are related to gut microbiota profile in obese diabetic women.

Anthropometric and body composition variables improved up until 12 months after surgery. More interestingly, preoperative gut bacteria composition at the genus level differed between patients with and without T2D remission after surgery (57% versus 43%). Total type 2 diabetes remission after RYGB (assessed according to American Diabetes Association criteria) was associated with specific gut microbiota signatures before surgery. Those microbiota changes consisted of lower levels of Asaccharobacter and Atopobium and higher levels of Gemella, Coprococcus, and Desulfovibrio.

Specifically, the preoperative abundance of 10 gut bacteria genera correlated with the type 2 diabetes remission status, showing good sensitivity and specificity.

According to Karina Al Assal, one of the studys lead authors, These findings show that we can predict who is going to remit T2D before the surgery using the gut microbiota profile as a biomarker. This signature, if confirmed, may enable the prediction of future remission state of T2DM.

By contrast, postoperative changes in the relative abundance of gut bacteria and their richness were observed regardless of whether participants showed T2D remission or not.

The authors also reported some correlations between gut microbiota richness (defined as the number of species in fecal samples, without taking into account the abundance of each one) and food intake based on a 7-day record. For instance, before surgery, gut microbiota richness showed a positive correlation with fiber intake and inverse association with lipid intake, with the latter persisting until 12 months after surgery.

Although limited in sample and despite the quasi-experimental design of the study, these findings show that improvements in body and metabolic parameters secondary to RYGB surgery may be partly explained by gut microbiota composition.

Regarding how these findings might impact on clinically managing obesity in the foreseeable future, Karina Al Assal highlighted to GMFH editors via email that the study of gut bacteria signatures at the preoperative period in obese patients might pave the way for using gut microbiota as a marker to help clinicians when deciding on whether to recommend bariatric surgery. Likewise, based on associations found between gut bacteria and food intake, adding fibers and reducing lipid intake might improve the outcome of bariatric surgery.

Reference:

Al Assal K, Prifti E, Belda E, et al. Gut microbiota profile of obese diabetic women submitted to Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and its association with food intake and postoperative diabetes remission. Nutrients. 2020; 12, 278. doi: 10.3390/nu1202278.

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Gut microbiota composition tied to type 2 diabetes remission following bariatric surgery in obese diabetic women - Gut Microbiota for Health

Diabetes mellitus (DM) plays an important role in restenosis and late in-stent thrombosis (ST).The current study using optical coherence tomography (OCT) aims to compare target lesion neointima in patients with or without diabetes after zotarolimus-eluting stent (ZES) treatment.OCT images of 90,212 struts and quantitative coronary angiography (QCA) in 62 patients (32 with DM and 30 without DM) with 69 de novo coronary lesions (34 DM and 35 non-DM) both after ZES implantation and 121month angiographic follow-up were recorded. Patient characteristics, lesion characteristics, clinical outcomes, and OCT findings including neointimal thickness, coverage, malapposition, and intimal morphology were analyzed.Baseline patient characteristics and lesion characteristics data were similar between the two groups. Higher neointimal thickness (0.140.09mm vs. 0.090.04mm, p=0.021), more neovascularization (3.036.24 vs. 0.521.87, p=0.017) and higher incidence of layered signal pattern (12.1919.91% vs. 4.289.02%, p=0.049) were observed in diabetic lesions comparing with non-diabetic lesions. No differences were found in malapposition, uncovered percentage, and thrombus between the two groups (all p>0.05). Occurrence of clinical adverse events was also similar during the follow-up period (p>0.05).Although more neointimal proliferation and more neovascularization were found in diabetic coronary lesions whencompared with non-diabetic lesions, treatment with ZES showed similar stent malapposition rate at 1-year follow-up. The data indicated that ZES treatment could possibly beeffective in treating diabetic coronary lesions.ClinicalTrials.gov identifier, NCT01747356.

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Efficacy of Zotarolimus-Eluting Stents in Treating Diabetic Coronary Lesions: An Optical Coherence Tomography Study. - Physician's Weekly

The report on Diabetic Care Market offers an in-depth analysis of market trends, drivers, restraints, opportunities, etc. Along with qualitative information, this report comprises the quantitative analysis of various segments in terms of market share, growth, opportunity analysis, market value, etc. for the forecast years. The global Diabetic Care Market is segmented on the basis of type, application, and geography.

The report researches into the Diabetic Care market to evaluate its current and future potential. It leverages historical statistics about the Diabetic Care market, data from various other websites and sources, and inputs by the experts of the industry. It focuses completely on analyzing the regional subdivisions of the Diabetic Care markets.

Global Diabetic Care market is estimated to reach $112.2 Million by 2025; growing at a CAGR of 6.23% till 2025.

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Competitive Landscape

Key Players in this showcase are:

AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LPBristol-Myers Squibb CoDexcom, Inc.Eli Lily and CompanyJohnson & Johnson Services, Inc.MedtronicNovo Nordisk A/SRoche Diagnostics LtdSanofi S.A.Terumo Europe NV

Diabetic Care showcasing different procedures and strategies, providers and merchants working in the Diabetic Care market, investigates components convincing Diabetic Care market development, generation patterns, and following systems. The overall Diabetic Care market report performs SWOT examination and PESTEL Diabetic Care investigation to uncover the steadiness, imperfections, openings, and dangers in the Diabetic Care industry. Moreover, it thinks about the earlier years information to see the deterrents looked by new players in the Diabetic Care market universally, the danger from other administrations or items, and the general showcase limit of the aggressive players.

Global Diabetic Care Market Segmentation:

The Diabetic Care Market report also covers segment analysis, including product type, application, and region, etc. cover different segment market sizes, both volume, and value.

Global Diabetic Care market segmentation:

By Type

Youth Onset DiabetesAdult Onset DiabetesGestational DiabetesBy End-User

Research InstituteHospitalHome Care

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Global Diabetic Care market segmentation by Geography:

The estimates for all segments including type and application have been provided on a regional basis for the forecast period mentioned above. We have implemented a mix of top-down and bottom-up approaches for market sizing, analyzing the key regional markets, dynamics, and trends for various applications. The Global Diabetic Care market has been estimated by integrating the regional markets.

Latitude of the Diabetic Care Market report is as follows:

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Diabetic Care Market by Type (Youth Onset Diabetes, Adult Onset Diabetes, and Gestational Diabetes), By End-User (Research Institute, Hospital, and...

Published: 3/8/2020 6:31:19 PM

Nearly $713,000 in federal funding is going to Dartmouth College to support research to test new ways to better treat and control type 1 diabetes.

The funding will go toward a five-year study that will use digital tools to support behavioral changes to help young people with diabetes follow a complicated medical regimen and achieve better health outcomes.

It will be distributed by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, which is part of the National Institutes of Health.

The funding was announced recently by New Hampshires congressional delegation.

Research like this can help to improve quality of life and, ultimately, medical outcomes for countless patients, U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan said in a statement.

The funding to Dartmouths Center for Technology and Behavioral Health will go toward a study led by Dr. Catherine Stanger.

I am grateful to the NIH for their support of this work since 2012, and look forward to leading this national project, where we will reach out directly to young adults with type 1 diabetes to support them in learning to better manage this complex and challenging condition, said Stanger said.

Associated Press

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More than $700K to go toward type 1 diabetes research - Concord Monitor

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Reverse symptoms of diabetic neuropathy with life-changing treatment - KHOU.com

As the number of UK cases of coronavirus continues to rise, what has become clear is how many of the patients to die from the virus have underlying health conditions that make them susceptible to catching it.

Thethird person in the UK to die, after testing positive for the coronavirus upon his return from Italy, was being treated at the North Manchester General Hospital for underlying health conditions when he died.

The UKs second death was a man in his early 80s, who also had underlying health issues, as did the woman in her 70s who became the UKs first death linked to the virus.

Its a new infection, but from our experience with dealing with flu epidemics, we know that people with various conditions will fare worse, says Fan Chung, a professor of respiratory medicine at Imperial College. A paper has just published in the New England Journal of Medicine, that looked at the first 1,001 cases in Wuhan. The figures showed those with diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, COPD, cancer and renal disease, fared worse. And I suspect the people who very unfortunately died in the UK had one or any of those conditions."

A Chinese study hasfound people with heart disease, diabetes and cancer had a 79 per cent chance of being admitted to intensive care or dying from the virus, due to their weakened immune systems.

Here are the underlying health conditions that put you at higher risk of getting the coronavirus a reminder of how it might initially spread.

People with diabetes face a higher risk of complications if they get the coronavirus, due to the fact their fluctuating or elevated glucose levels leave them with lowered immunity. This also means they have less protection against getting the virus. Coronavirus or COVID-19 can cause more severe symptoms and complications in people with diabetes, says Dan Howarth from Diabetes UK. If you have diabetes and you have symptoms such as a cough, high temperature and feeling short of breath you need to monitor your blood sugar closely and call the NHS 111 phone service.

People with diabetes who dont experience symptoms and have recently travelled to any of the affected areas need to follow information on the NHS and theGOV.UKwebsites, adds Howarth. "These are updated regularly and are the most up-to-date source of information available.

Its believed around 40 per cent of hospitalised coronavirus patients have heart disease. Somebody with a heart condition is more likely to have a compromised immune system, so their immune response wont be as strong if exposed to a virus. COVID-19 also targets the lungs, which could cause problems for a diseased heart that has to work harder to get oxygenated blood around the body.

Asthma is a respiratory condition that leads to inflammation of the breathing tubes that transport air to and from the lungs.Coronavirus can cause respiratory problems for anyone, but for the 5.4million people in the UK with asthma, the risk is greater, says Jessica Kirby, Head of Health Advice at Asthma UK. Respiratory viruses like thiscan triggerasthma symptoms and couldlead to anasthma attack.

Kirby says if youre a sufferer, itsessential to takeyour preventer, daily as prescribed. This helps cut the risk of an asthma attack being triggered by any virus, including coronavirus, she says. Keeping a reliever inhaler to handis vital, soyoucan use it ifyou get asthmasymptoms.

Ifyourasthma symptomsgetworse, and you havent travelled to an at-risk area or been in contact with someone who has, make an appointment to see your GP as soon as you can. If you think you might have coronavirus, use the NHS 111 online coronavirus service."

COPD is the name for certain lung conditions that cause breathing difficulties, including emphysema, which is characterised by damage to the air sacs in the lungs,and chronic bronchitis, which is a long-term condition involving inflammation of the lungs airways. People with COPD are more likely to get coronavirus if exposed to the virus because they have damage to their epithelial lining, which makes it easier for viruses to enter the body.

Cancer patients are more susceptible due to their compromised immune system. Various cancer drugs and treatments, like chemotherapy, mean your immune system may be suppressed, says Prof Chung, and this would increase your chances of catching it. And if you do get it while you havecancer, you would probably fare worse than somebody with the virus who didnt have cancer.

Not a health condition as such, but many of the thousands of deaths so far have involved elderly people with underlying health conditions. The elderly are at greater risk, and government advice for the elderly to avoid crowded areas is sound advice, says Prof Chung. The figures we have so far seem to imply the risk increases above the age of 70. However its even worse for those over 80. The chances of getting it and faring worse increase two or three times above the age the 70, but even more so above 80.

In terms of children, who appear to be less prone to getting the coronavirus and, if they do, getting a more benign version of the illness, Prof Chung says that a young person with an underlying health condition isn't at a greater risk: A young person with asthma, or heart disease, wouldnt be predisposed to get the coronavirusor suffer from it, in the same way an adult with the condition would, he says. Maybe its their immune system, and how its different from older people, but in terms of their susceptibility of getting the coronavirus, health conditions in young people dont seem to increase their chances of catching it.

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The underlying health conditions which affect how you cope with the coronavirus - Telegraph.co.uk

A series of paintings on inspiring figures ranging from Mother Teresa and Subramania Bharati to Mirra Alfassa, or The Mother, who founded Auroville and former President APJ Abdul Kalam has been hosted at the Gandhi Thidal as part of a campaign to raise glaucoma awareness.

The exhibition, jointly organised by Aravind Eye Hospital and Puducherry Municipality, throws light on the sneak thief of sight, which is an oft-cited epithet for one of the important causes for irreversible blindness caused by a condition where the visual nerve gets damaged because of the rise in pressure within the eye.

This disease has no warning symptoms till it reaches an advanced stage and because of its irreversible nature, it is important to get screened at the stage.

Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness and the top cause of irreversible blindness in the world. In India, more than 12 million people are affected by this disease, but only 5-10% are aware about it.

S. Sivakumar, Commissioner, Puducherry Municipality, opened the exhibition on Saturday in the presence of V. Govindaradjou, president, Rotary club of Pondicherry Elites.

The exhibition curated by R. Venkatesh, Chief Medical Officer of Aravind Eye Hospital, was hosted as part of the World Glaucoma Week, which is a joint initiative of the World Glaucoma Association and the World Glaucoma Patient Association.

According to slides exhibited at the event, glaucoma more commonly affects people beyond the age of 40. So it is recommended that everyone must have a regular eye checkup after this age.

A positive family history has been proven to be a strong risk factor for glaucoma. Strengthening family screening and bringing awareness in families and communities will help reduce blindness due to glaucoma.

As there are very few symptoms in the earlier stages of glaucoma, most people are unaware till the time they lose significant amount of vision. Early diagnosis can reduce progression of the disease and prevent blindness. Since staying informed is the first step to tackle glaucoma, there is a great need to create public awareness on the importance of periodic screening, Aravind Hospital said.

Jipmers Opthalmology department will be screening public and health care workers of the institution for glaucoma in the Eye OPD from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. from (Monday) to March 14 (Saturday). The glaucoma screening is done by checking the eye pressure by a non-contact method and examining the optic nerve using a fundus camera, Subashini Kaliaperumal, Professor and Head of Ophthalmology, Jipmer, said.

This year, the special focus is on family members (siblings and offsprings) of glaucoma patients.

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Awareness, early screening key to treating glaucoma - The Hindu