TheHorse.com | Can Nutrition Boost the Equine Immune System? TheHorse.com The innate immune system is the general, first line of defense against pathogens (disease-causing organisms) or trauma. You're born with it, and it has no specificity or memory. The adaptive immune system learns to remember specific pathogens so it ... |
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Can Nutrition Boost the Equine Immune System? - TheHorse.com
LEE SUCKLING
Last updated05:00, July 6 2017
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When it's not warm outside we often drink less water, but dehydration can lower the body's defences.
The middle of winter is here. No matter how healthy you think you are, the flu virus and various colds are abound and they're ready to infect your system.
There are some ways to boost your immune system and stay healthy for the rest of the chilly, virus-laden season, but a lot of what we think true is mythical.
First and foremost, hydration is key. When it's not warm outside we often drink less water, but dehydration can lower the body's defences. The eight glasses of water per day rule still rings true, however, an easier way to ensure you're never dehydrated is to look at the colour of your urine. If it's a pale yellow or clear, you're getting enough water.
While you're thinking about fluids, make sure you're drinking cow's milk. Milk is a good source of protein and also contains vitamins A and B12, which benefit your immune system. There's also milk's calcium factor, which you know keeps bones strong too.
READ MORE: *Any truth to common myths about being sick? *Three things you can do to avoid catching the flu at work *Manifesto: Unravelling the myth of the man flu
Owing to a lack of sun, our bodies can become vitamin D deficient in winter. You can consider taking a vitamin D3 supplement until the sun's rays come out again, though food sources such as fish, eggsand mushrooms do contain good doses of it.
Not only does the body not produce vitamin C by itself either, if you're physically or mentally stressed you require 20-40 times more of it to maintain optimal levels. This can't be neglected in winter, so it remains important to eat citrus fruits.
Having a good level of zinc in your body too (it comes from beef and lamb, nuts and seeds, and shellfish) may help shorten the length of the common cold. When combined with vitamin C, zinc is can also help heal scrapes and wounds faster.
Aside from these primary dietary interventions, your best bet in having a strong immune system throughout winter is to keep up (or increase) your exercise, and consume protein to repair your muscles. The immune system runs on protein, which is why the old wives' tale of chicken soup for generally illness is potentially true: chicken is high in protein, and the broth is a good source of fluids.
Some winter wellness old wives' tales are no more than myths, however. Echinacea was proven in Annals of Internal Medicine journal to be ineffective in preventing or treating colds. In this randomised controlled trial, there was no difference in health outcomes for those who took a placebo, or those who took no supplement at all. So-called "small preventative effects" of echinacea haven't been ruled out in other studies, but there's no good evidence to support them either.
Any other supplements that market themselves as beneficial for "immune system defence" (or similar) are also unlikely to be based on any science. There's very little evidence that any supplement can boost the chemical components of your immune system that system's repertoire is made up of thousands of genetic elements.
The vitamins and various other treatments from health stores that claim they can prevent or cure general coughs and colds are not backed up by solid proof. They may be helping specific parts of your system (e.g. boosting vitamin D, C, and zinc quantities), but cannot be relied on to improve your overall immune system during winter.
It's also important to understand that from a scientific point of view, there's also a big downside to having a seasonally-souped-up immune system.
Researchers from University of Cambridge found that while a seasonally-increased immune defence system helps fight off infections such as colds and the flu, it also raises inflammation in the body. The study found that the immune system's activity boosts during winter to stave off infections and relaxes during summer when it is less needed.
Unfortunately, what this winter boost of inflammation does is raise your risk of heart attacks, stroke, severe cases of depression and other mental health disorders, and Alzheimer's disease. Generally, as these Cambridge scientists suggest, the enhanced risk factor for disease when one's immune system is seasonally-boosted may outweigh the benefits of being able to fight off less serious colds and influenza viruses.
* Lee Suckling has a masters degree specialising in personal health reporting. Do you have a health topic you'd like Lee to investigate? Send us an email to life.style@fairfaxmedia.co.nz with Dear Lee in the subject line.
-Stuff
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Can you really boost your mid-winter immune system? - Stuff.co.nz
Advertising forstem cell therapies not supported by clinical researchoftenmadedirectly to patients and sometimes promoted as a cure for diseases like multiple sclerosis or Parkinsons is a growing problem that needs to be addressed and regulated, a team of leading experts say, calling suchstem cell tourism potentially unsafe.
Stem cell tourism is the unflattering name given to the practice of encouragingpatients totravel outside their home country to undergo suchtreatment, typicaly at a private clinic.
The article, titledMarketing of unproven stem cellbased interventions: A call to actionandrecently published inthe journal Science Translational Medicine, was co-authored by scientistswith universities and hospitals in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Belgium, Italy, Japan, and Australia. It focuses on the global problem of thecommercial promotion of stem cell therapies and ongoing resistance to regulatory efforts.
Its authors suggest that a coordinated approach, at national and international levels, be focused on engagement, harmonization, and enforcement in order to reduce risks associated with direct-to-consumer marketing of unproven stem cell treatments.
Treatments involving stem cell transplants are now being offered by hundreds of medical institutions worldwide, claiming efficacy in repairing tissue damaged by degenerative disorders like MS, even thoughthose claim often lack or are supported bylittle evidence .
They alsonoted that the continued availability of these treatments undermines the development of rigorously tested therapies, and potentially canendanger a patients life.
The researchers emphasizethat tighter regulations on stem cell therapy advertising are needed, especiallyregarding potential clinical benefits. They support the establishment ofinternational regulatory standards for the manufacture and testing of human cell and tissue-based therapies.
Many patients feel that potential cures are being held back by red tape and lengthy approval processes. Although this can be frustrating, these procedures are there to protect patients from undergoing needless treatments that could put their lives at risk, Sarah Chan, a University of Edinburgh Chancellors Fellow and report co-author, saidin anews release.
Chan and her colleagues are also calling for the World Health Organization to offer guidance on responsible clinical use of cells and tissues, as it does for medicines and medical devices.
Stem cell therapies hold a lot of promise, Chan said, but we need rigorous clinical trials and regulatory processes to determine whether a proposed treatment is safe, effective and better than existing treatments.
According to the release, the report and its recommendationsfollowed the death of two children at a German clinic in 2010. The clinichas since been shut down.
Certainstem cell therapies mostly involving blood and skin stem cells have undergone rigorous testing in clinical trials, the researchers noted. A number of theseresulted in aprovedtreatments for certain blood cancers, and to grow skin grafts for patients with severe burns.
Information about the current status of stem cell research andpotential uses of stem cell therapiesis availableon the websiteEuroStemCell.
Australian researchers have successfully turned stem cells from Friedreichs ataxia (FA) patients into heart cells to study molecular anomalies that maycontribute to this disease.
Theseheart cells in a dish provide valuable information for the design of novel treatments.
Their study, Friedreichs ataxia induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes display electrophysiological abnormalities and calcium handling deficiency. appearedin the journal Aging.
FAis caused by low levels of the frataxin protein due to anomalies in the gene sequence encoding this protein repeats of DNA portions within the gene. The higher the number of repeats, the sooner the onset of FAand its associated complications.
Frataxin plays an important role in the mitochondria, the cells powerhouse, so the mutated protein accounts for several symptoms that reflect deficiencies in energy production. The heart is one of the organs affected by this lack of energy.
Cardiomyopathy is detected in two-thirds of individuals with FRDA[Friedreichs ataxia], researchers wrote. Individuals with FRDA generally present with progressive cardiomyopathy of the left ventricle, which is the leading cause of death in FRDA due to arrhythmias and/or heart failure.
Previous studies have shown that death of heart cells, or cardiomyocytes, and fibrosis may contribute to heart complications in FA, but little is known about the diseases impact on the heart.
Researchers generated stem cell cultures using cells from three FA patients with heart complications. They then stimulated the development of these stem cells into cardiomyocytes basically, heart cells in a dish.
The new cardiomyocytes had low levels of frataxin, as expected, but alsoabnormal ionic currents, which are crucial for the normal functioning of these cells. They also had morevariation in their beating rates, which was linked todeficient calcium control, ultimately affecting howthe cardiomyocytes work.
Together, these results pave the way for understanding how FA patients develop abnormal heart activity as well as theuse of induced stem cells to studycardiomyopathy within the context of this disease.
Importantly, our data clearly indicates that FRDA iPSC [stem cells]- derivedcardiomyocytes can be used for screening of compounds able to alter or reverse phenotypes, in human cells, hence providing a novel and unique tool for FRDAresearch, researchers concluded.
More here:
Researchers Create 'Heart Cells in a Dish' to Study FA Heart Disease - Friedreich's Ataxia News
Up to 40 patients are planned to be enrolled in this Phase 1b/2, multicenter, randomized, controlled, open-label study to evaluate the clinical response, safety and tolerability, as well as multiple pharmacodynamic parameters, of BL-8040 in combination with atezolizumab. Initially, patients will receive BL-8040 injections as priming monotherapy for five consecutive days, after which, from day 8, they will receive both BL-8040 and atezolizumab, and continue with multiple treatment cycles for up to two years or until disease progression, clinical deterioration or unacceptable toxicity.
The clinical study collaboration between BioLineRx and Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, is part of MORPHEUS, Roche's Novel Cancer Immunotherapy Development Platform. MORPHEUS is a phase 1b/2 adaptive platform to assess the efficacy and safety of combination cancer immunotherapies.
Philip Serlin, Chief Executive Officer of BioLineRx, stated, "We are very pleased with the launch of the first clinical study under our cancer immunotherapy collaboration with Genentech. Pancreatic cancer is a very difficult cancer to treat, and both conventional chemotherapy and immunotherapy have failed to demonstrate a significant benefit for these patients. BL-8040 has been shown to have robust mobilization of immune cells, improve the infiltration of T cells into solid tumors, and affect the immunosuppressive tumor micro-environment. We are therefore hopeful that combining atezolizumab with BL-8040 can lead to a significant advancement in the treatment of pancreatic cancer, and of other solid tumors that are difficult to treat. We look forward to the initiation of additional combination studies under this collaboration, all planned for the second half of this year."
BioLineRx is carrying out a larger cancer immunotherapy collaboration with Genentech to conduct several Phase 1b/2 studies investigating BL-8040 in combination with atezolizumab in multiple cancer indications, announced in September 2016.
BL-8040, BioLineRx's lead oncology platform, is a CXCR4 antagonist that has been shown in clinical trials to be a robust mobilizer of immune cells and to be effective in inducing direct tumor cell death. Additional findings suggest that BL-8040 may be effective in inducing the migration of anti-tumor T cells into the tumor micro-environment, as well as improving the infiltration of T cells into solid tumors. Atezolizumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody designed to bind to PD-L1 in tumor cells and tumor infiltrating immune cells and blocks interactions with the PD-1 and B7.1 receptors. Through this interaction, atezolizumab may enable the activation of T cells, whose migration into the tumor may be enhanced by BL-8040.
About BL-8040
BL-8040 is a short peptide for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia, solid tumors, and stem cell mobilization. It functions as a high-affinity antagonist for CXCR4, a chemokine receptor that is directly involved in tumor progression, angiogenesis, metastasis and cell survival. CXCR4 is over-expressed in more than 70% of human cancers and its expression often correlates with disease severity. In a number of clinical and pre-clinical studies, BL-8040 has shown robust mobilization of cancer cells from the bone marrow, thereby sensitizing these cells to chemo- and bio-based anti-cancer therapy, as well as a direct anti-cancer effect by inducing cell death (apoptosis). In addition, BL-8040 has also demonstrated robust stem-cell mobilization, including the mobilization of colony-forming cells, T, B and NK cells. BL-8040 was licensed by BioLineRx from Biokine Therapeutics and was previously developed under the name BKT-140.
About BioLineRx
BioLineRx is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on oncology and immunology. The Company in-licenses novel compounds, develops them through pre-clinical and/or clinical stages, and then partners with pharmaceutical companies for advanced clinical development and/or commercialization.
BioLineRx's leading therapeutic candidates are: BL-8040, a cancer therapy platform, which has successfully completed a Phase 2a study for relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML), is in the midst of a Phase 2b study as an AML consolidation treatment, and is expected to initiate a Phase 3 study in stem cell mobilization for autologous transplantation; and AGI-134, an immunotherapy treatment in development for multiple solid tumors, which is expected to initiate a first-in-man study in the first half of 2018. In addition, BioLineRx has a strategic collaboration with Novartis Pharma AG for the co-development of selected Israeli-sourced novel drug candidates; a collaboration agreement with MSD (known as Merck in the US and Canada), on the basis of which the Company has initiated a Phase 2a study in pancreatic cancer using the combination of BL-8040 and Merck's KEYTRUDA; and a collaboration agreement with Genentech Inc., a member of the Roche Group, to investigate the combination of BL-8040 and Genentech's TECENTRIQ in several Phase 1b/2 studies for multiple solid tumor indications and AML.
For additional information on BioLineRx, please visit the Company's website athttp://www.biolinerx.com, where you can review the Company's SEC filings, press releases, announcements and events. BioLineRx industry updates are also regularly updated onFacebook,Twitter, andLinkedIn.
TECENTRIQ (atezolizumab) is a registered trademark of Genentech, a member of the Roche Group.
Various statements in this release concerning BioLineRx's future expectations constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include words such as "may," "expects," "anticipates," "believes," and "intends," and describe opinions about future events. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of BioLineRx to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Some of these risks are: changes in relationships with collaborators; the impact of competitive products and technological changes; risks relating to the development of new products; and the ability to implement technological improvements. These and other factors are more fully discussed in the "Risk Factors" section of BioLineRx's most recent annual report on Form 20-F filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 23, 2017. In addition, any forward-looking statements represent BioLineRx's views only as of the date of this release and should not be relied upon as representing its views as of any subsequent date. BioLineRx does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements unless required by law.
Contacts: PCG Advisory Vivian Cervantes Investor Relations +1-212-554-5482 vivian@pcgadvisory.com
or
Tsipi Haitovsky Public Relations +972-52-989892 tsipihai5@gmail.com
SOURCE BioLineRx Ltd.
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BioLineRx Announces Initiation of Phase 1b/2 Trial of BL-8040 in Pancreatic Cancer Under Immunotherapy ... - PR Newswire (press release)
Local woman trying experimental treatment to stop debilitating disease
Monica Robins, WKYC 12:11 AM. EDT July 06, 2017
(Photo: Submitted by Chelsea Jennings)
Chelsea Jennings uses yoga to stay centered. Its teaching keep her positive, which is important for for someone about to risk her live to save it.
She's only 26 and facing a rapidly progressing debilitating disease that will likely put her in a wheelchair within a year.
As a new mom, she won't accept that.
That's why she's risking her life for an experimental treatment that could possibly cure her disease.
Her motivation to try an experimental stem cell transplant to control her multiple sclerosis? Her 18-month-old son Camden and husband Jeff. "I understand that there is an extreme risk, but if the medication is not working for me I cannot just slowly deteriorate in front of my family, my son," Chelsea says. "I cannot have that happen."
Diagnosed five years ago, Chelsea tried every MS medication available, but couldn't tolerate them. She researched alternatives and found Dr. Richard Burt at Northwestern University who performs hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for MS. Last month, she went in for testing and was approved.
Unfortunately it's not covered by her insurance.
Undaunted, Chelsea held fundraisers to come up with the $125,000 dollar cost for a treatment with no guarantees. "Sometimes I do get scared and I do think, 'Well. what if I go through this whole thing and it doesn't work?' but I feel like I have to, " she explains. "I feel like I'm called to do this. This is my path, my journey."
This Friday, she'll receive chemotherapy to mobilize stem cells into her blood, then daily injections to boost the number. 10 days later, the cells will be collected and frozen. Chelsea will be able to come home for a couple of weeks before her next phase: more chemo to suppress her immune system and then receiving back her stem cells.
The hope is the new cells will regenerate the damage from MS.
But the treatment is not without consequences. There is a low chance of death from the procedure, plus she'll be at higher risk from illness initially and likely go into early menopause.
While considered experimental, this treatment has been studied for more than a decade.
Research shows 83 percent of patients stay in remission for two years post-transplant.
2017 WKYC-TV
Originally posted here:
Risking her life to save it: Local woman tries stem cell transplant to control MS - WKYC-TV
Mindnosis, developed by graduate designer Sara Lopez Ibanez, consists of a set of exercises that help understand emotional distress and how to feel better about it.
The first tool, named Discover, is made of six colourful triangles, whereby each represents a different area affecting the user's wellbeing. The triangles can be pasted into the Record journal along with daily thoughts and reflections.
The third element of the toolkit, named TryOut, is a set of eight activity cards that combine mindfulness, cognitive behaviour therapy techniques (CBT) and tips from peers to help users when they feel unwell.
Learn, is the fourth tool which comprises six small coloured cards that correspond with the Discover triangles briefly explaining the different issues, while a Crisis Help sheet has information about services and help lines.
Researchers say that their 3-D-printed heart valve models (shown here) could improve the outcomes of heart valve replacements. Photo credit: Rob Felt
In TAVR surgeries, paravalvular leakages are common especially when the prosthetic valve fails to achieve a precise fit within the patient's damaged aortic valve.
Therefore the Cardiovascular Imaging Research at Piedmont Heart Institute in Atlanta US, has developed 3-D heart valve models that could better predict the fit of a prosthetic valve.
The models were created to simulate the physiological properties of heart valve tissue using a variety of different synthetic materials. Prosthetic valves were then implanted in the 3-D models and through medical imaging and computer software, the team monitored the valves in the 3-D models.
A "bulge index" was then created to predict the severity of paravalvular leakage after undergoing TAVR; the greater the bulge index score, the higher their severity of paravalvular leakage.
The researchers looked at allergies that produce respiratory and skin symptoms including dust mites, cats and grass. The team gathered data from nearly 9,000 mother-child pairs in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parent and Children, an ongoing research project that tracks the health of families with children born between 1 April 1991 and 31 December 1992.
The amount of free sugars consumed by women during pregnancy was based on self-reported estimates in questionnaires. The team also looked at how the mothers' sugar consumption compared with allergies and asthma diagnosed in the children beginning age of seven.
Approximately 22% of the children had a common allergy, 16% had eczema, 12% had asthma, 11% had wheezing with whistling and 9% developed hay fever.
Comparing with children whose mothers consumed the least sugar during pregnancy less than 34g per day the children of women with highest sugar intake during pregnancy had a 38% higher risk of allergy diagnosis. There was also a 73% increased risk of being diagnosed with an allergy to two or more allergens and the allergic asthma risk increased by 101%.
This is a human colon organoid, with colors showing signals also found in the natural human colon. Photo credit: Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Centre
The cells expressed several colon genes and to prove that their newly made human colon organoids were stable, they transplanted them into mice. The organoids continued to grow and mature in the mouse model.
What is also different in the team's work is that the stem cells can come from a simple blood draw and the method used, creates multiple cell types, so they could study how different cells interact within the complex layers of the colon. This could prove to be important when understanding diseases like colon cancer.
The team is now beginning to use the organoids to model inflammatory diseases such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. MIMS
Read more: News Bites: Microneedle patch could replace flu vaccines, Tick saliva could pave way for a range of new drugs News Bites: Preeclampsia may be linked to babies' DNA, Vaccine can lower "bad" cholesterol and heart attacks News Bites: Implanting pig cells into brains to slow down Parkinson's Disease, Aspirin may lower breast cancer risk
Sources: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2017/07/03/heartburn-drugs-taken-millions-may-increase-risk-early-death/ https://www.dezeen.com/2017/07/04/mindnosis-kit-helps-people-overcome-mental-health-issues-graduate-designers-2017/ http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/318193.php http://edition.cnn.com/2017/07/05/health/sugar-pregnancy-child-allergy-asthma-study/index.html https://www.statnews.com/2017/06/30/gut-organoids-medicine/
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News Bites: PPIs found to increase risk of early death, Mini colons in-a-dish could allow personalised drug testing - MIMS General News (Hong Kong)...
By Deepak Chopra, MD, William C Bushell, PhD, Ryan Castle, David Vago, PhD, Mark Lambert, Rudolph E. Tanzi, Ph.D.
Ten years ago researchers began to focus on inflammation as a link to disease. They stood out in that they did not emphasize the acute redness and swelling that accompanies the site of a wound or burn as it heals, which is known as acute inflammation. Rather, they discovered clues were leading to something more subtle a low-grade, chronic inflammation that has few if any overt symptoms. This kind of everyday inflammation has now been linked to an overwhelming majority of serious lifestyle disorders, including hypertension, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, Alzheimers disease and most cancers. What was an intriguing trend ten years ago is now being recognized as major global epidemic, all the more dangerous because it is invisible.
We encourage you to read the first post we wrote last week in order to gain more basic knowledge about chronic inflammation. Going past lifestyle disorders, chronic inflammation may be the key to aging. In addition, numerous inflammation-related genes have been linked to susceptibility to most age-related diseases, such as those mentioned above. The chemical markers in the bloodstream that serve to indicate inflammation are associated with the aging body and cellular death. Already some gerontologists are floating the idea that inflammation may be the largest contributor to aging. If this turns out to be right it will greatly simplify a complex subject, because two aspects of aging have traditionally made it very hard to grasp medically.
First, the deterioration of the body over time is not a straight line but an unpredictable set of changes that look different in everyone. Second, no single process can be pinned down as aging by itself. The common signs of aging, such as losing muscle strength, defects in memory, and moving more slowly - not to mention medical conditions like arthritis and dimmed eyesight are related to many different processes and don't appear in every elderly person. In fact, there are at least a few cases where these changes are at least temporarily reversed; there are even people who get stronger and have better memories as the years go by. Chronic inflammation has the possibility to simplify this scenario, in part by exploring the common factor that so many seemingly unrelated aging processes share.
Another connection with aging is centered on the immune system. When you were young, your immune system was very specific, precise, and targeted as it met invading pathogens (i.e., bacteria and viruses). This precision sets human beings apart from lower rungs on the evolutionary ladder where immunity is very general and diffuse. Instead of being precise, a diffuse immune system sends the same chemicals in various doses to spots of injury and disease. There is no precise targeting. As we age, our immune system loses the precision of youth, and because inflammation is the most general type of response to pathogens, the body begins to indiscriminately secrete inflammatory chemicals that injure its own cells rather than healing them. If this goes on long enough, damaging feedback loops are set up that turn diffuse immunity into a pattern. This exacerbates the damage to cells throughout your body, accelerating cellular death. This complex syndrome has been labeled "InflammAging." The glia cells in the brain that normally nurture and support nerve cells can instead attack nerve cells in bouts of neurology-inflammation.
Chronic inflammation takes years or even decades before visible damage or disease symptoms appear. This means that to reverse the process individuals must dedicate significant time. No one can do that without turning anti-inflammation into a lifestyle that feels as easy and natural as their present lifestyle. The most basic changes involve going down the list of things that create inflammation and doing the opposite instead. The result looks something like the following:
A balanced lifestyle without extreme changes.
A natural whole foods diet.
Paying attention to everyday activity, including walking and standing.
Absence of emotional upset, anxiety, and depression.
Solid family and community support.
Feeling loved and wanted.
A calm, unconflicted mind.
Nothing here is a surprise, but the distinction lies in understanding these changes are not just positive in some general way, they could literally save your life. It would appear that stress is extremely important because our response to everyday stress directly leads to stress on cells, and stressed cells produce the biochemicals that indicate inflammation. It is now well known that psychosocial stress may also significantly exacerbate many forms of disease pathology, including psychological disorders like anxiety and depression. Stress can actually produce chemicals that are toxic to nerve cells in the brain, such as cortisol. It has been theorized that the most serious form of depression, Major Depressive Disorder, could be considered an inflammatory disease.
This and other clues relate to aging, in that it takes smaller stresses to agitate older people, and they recover from them more slowly. What if this is the result of longstanding inflammatory feedback loops? There are numerous psychosocial causes for increase inflammation in the elderly, and there are age-specific types of depression. Being able to trace these conditions to a single cause would be very beneficial.
If stress and inflammation are the joint villains in aging and disease, the top priority in making lifestyle changes should be anti-stress. It is ironic that millions of people who willingly undertake improving their diet and exercise put a low priority on everyday stress, enduring routine pressures at home and work. In an exciting development, a growing body of literature has suggested systematic forms of mental training associated with meditation practice, good diet and sleep habits, and daily exercise, may improve clinical outcomes through an anti-inflammatory mechanism. It has been suggested previously that specific forms of meditation practice can indeed engage and modulate vagal tone through what has been coined, the relaxation response - a volitional state in which physiological recovery from psychosocial stress is facilitated. Much progress has been made in the last decade to identify potential neuroanatomical and network- based physiological changes due to mindfulness and other styles of meditation training.
We've outlined the main points of a new picture of aging and disease. Research is ongoing, and by no means do aging researchers all agree on inflammation as the root cause of aging. For one thing, inflammation, being necessary for the healing response, is a beneficial process as well as a harmful one, and discriminating between the two is complex. Second, the presence of inflammatory markers in the bloodstream, some would argue, is a symptom of stressed, dying cells, not the cause. However these issues resolve themselves in the future, the damaging effects of low-grade chronic stress are indisputable already. More in-depth research into the complex systems of the body and its inflammatory response are needed to determine these surprisingly fundamental questions.
A lifestyle aimed at countering inflammation has been described in detail in the book, Super Genes, and is a central part of the upcoming book by Deepak Chopra and Rudy E. Tanzi, The Healing Self. There you will find an in-depth discussion as well as a lifestyle program that addresses this vital topic.
Deepak Chopra MD, FACP, founder ofThe Chopra Foundationand co-founder of The Chopra Center for Wellbeing, is a world-renowned pioneer in integrative medicine and personal transformation, and is Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Endocrinology and Metabolism. He is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and a member of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists. Chopra is the author of more than 80 books translated into over 43 languages, including numerous New York Times bestsellers. His latest books areSuper Genesco-authored with Rudy Tanzi, Ph.D. and Quantum Healing (Revised and Updated): Exploring the Frontiers of Mind/Body Medicine. http://www.deepakchopra.com
William C Bushell, PhD, Biophysical Anthropology, MIT is the Director of Research at ISHAR and has been researching mind-body phenomena for over three decades, focusing on the field of consciousness studies around the world as a biological, medical, and psychological anthropologist affiliated with Columbia, Harvard, and MIT.
Ryan Castle, Executive Director of ISHAR, specializes in research analysis and whole systems integration. He is an advocate for open-access science and multidisciplinary approaches.
David Vago, PhD, is Research Director of the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center; Associate professor, department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation; Associate professor, department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences; Research associate, Brigham & Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School
Mark Lambert, Project Manager and Director of Innovation for the Center for Bioelectronic Medicine, Karolinska Institute, and supported Dr. Kevin Tracey as Chief of Staff for the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research.
Rudolph E. Tanzi, Ph.D. is the Joseph P. and Rose F. Kennedy Professor of Neurology at Harvard University and Vice Chair of Neurology at Mass. General Hospital. Dr. Tanzi is the co-author with Deepak Chopra of the New York Times bestseller, Super Brain, and an internationally acclaimed expert on Alzheimer disease. He was included in TIME Magazine's "TIME 100 Most Influential People in the World".
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Is Inflammation the Key to Aging? - HuffPost
July 07, 2017
Yoga classes designed to address lower back pain produced results similar to physical therapy for people with chronic lower back pain, a Boston Medical Center study has found.
The large impact of chronic low back pain on suffering, disability and cost means we need to explore other treatment models that can offer relief, and our study indicates that yoga classes tailored to back pain patients may be a safe and effective option, said Robert Saper, M.D., MPH, study author, family physician and director of integrative medicine at BMC.
The study included 320 adults with chronic lower back pain. Participants were divided into two groups and were observed over a 12-week study period and a 40-week maintenance period.
Participants in the yoga group took a weekly class for the first period, and then they attended drop-in classes or practiced at home in the second period. Those in the physical therapy group went to 15 sessions in the first period, and then they went to booster sessions or did exercises at home for the second session.
After the three months of more intensive treatment and the nine more months of maintenance treatment, study participants in each treatment group expressed similar satisfaction with the treatment and their pain levels.
This study was published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
The National Institute on Aging, part of the National Institutes of Health, has posted information about yoga and tips for older adults on its website.
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Yoga proves to be effective treatment for chronic lower back pain - McKnight's Senior Living
Pictured: Dr. Mike Lewis, owner of Orlando Spine and Joint Integrated Medical Centers (left) and Aurelia Cole, President-Designate of the Kiwanis Club of Clermont
Dr. Mike Lewis, owner of Orlando Spine and Joint Integrated Medical Centers, was the guest speaker at the Kiwanis Club of Clermont on June 27, 2017. Dr. Lewis explained that Integrative Medicine (IM) is a healing-oriented medicine that takes account of the whole person, including all aspects of lifestyle. It emphasizes the therapeutic relationship between the physician and the patient and makes use of all appropriate therapies. Lewis practice has two locations, one in Clermont and another in Winter Haven, Florida. He talked about the latest technology and procedures and non-surgical options for treatment of musculoskeletal issues such as herniated discs, osteoarthritis, rotator cuff problems and many more conditions. Dr. Lewis said that Orlando Spine and Joint offers treatments such as non-surgical Spinal Decompression, Guided Joint Injections, Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP), Bone Marrow Stem Cells and many more. As a clinic that focuses on surgery avoidance and pain relief, he is excited about a new, non-surgical, minimally invasive, alternative that has helped thousands of individuals worldwide find lasting relief from their Osteoarthritis knee pain and that this same knee procedure can be applied to the shoulder and hip to help those who are looking for options other than surgery. For more information on these treatments please contact Dr. Lewis at (407) 614 5900. At the conclusion of his presentation, President Designate, Aurelia Cole, thanked Dr. Lewis for his very informative discussion.
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Kiwanis Club of Clermont - The Clermont News Leader
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Synthetic biologists have been creating the genomes of organisms such as viruses and bacteria for the past 15 years. They aim to use these designer genetic codes to make cells capable of producing novel therapeutics and fuels. Now, some of these scientists have set their sights on synthesizing the human genomea vastly more complex genetic blueprint. Read on to learn about this initiative, called Genome Project-write, and the challenges researchers will faceboth technical and ethicalto achieve success.
Nineteenth-century novels are typically fodder for literature conferences, not scientific gatherings. Still, at a high-profile meeting of about 200 synthetic biologists in May, one presenter highlighted Mary Shelleys gothic masterpiece Frankenstein, which turns 200 next year.
Frankensteins monster, after all, is what many people think of when the possibility of human genetic engineering is raised, said University of Pennsylvania ethicist and historian Jonathan Moreno. The initiative being discussed at the New York City meetingGenome Project-write (GP-write)has been dogged by worries over creating unnatural beings. True, part of GP-write aims to synthesize from scratch all 23 chromosomes of the human genome and insert them into cells in the lab. But proponents of the project say theyre focused on decreasing the cost of synthesizing and assembling large amounts of DNA rather than on creating designer babies.
The overall project is still under development, and the projects members have not yet agreed on a specific road map for moving forward. Its also unclear where funding will come from.
What the members of GP-write do agree on is that creating a human genome from scratch is a tremendous scientific and engineering challenge that will hinge on developing new methods for synthesizing and delivering DNA. They will also need to get better at designing large groups of genes that work together in a predictable way, not to mention making sure that even larger assembliesgenomescan function.
GP-write consortium members argue that these challenges are the very thing that should move scientists to pick up the DNA pen and turn from sequence readers to writers. They believe writing the entire human genome is the only way to truly understand how it works. Many researchers quoted Richard Feynman during the meeting in May. The statement What I cannot create, I do not understand was found on the famed physicists California Institute of Technology blackboard after his death. I want to know the rules that make a genome tick, said Jef Boeke, one of GP-writes four coleaders, at the meeting.
To that end, Boeke and other GP-write supporters say the initiative will spur the development of new technologies for designing genomes with software and for synthesizing DNA. In turn, being better at designing and assembling genomes will yield synthetic cells capable of producing valuable fuels and drugs more efficiently. And turning to human genome synthesis will enable new cell therapies and other medical advances.
In 2010, researchers at the Venter Institute, including Gibson, demonstrated that a bacterial cell controlled by a synthetic genome was able to reproduce. Colonies formed by it and its sibling resembled a pair of blue eyes.
Credit: Science
Genome writers have already synthesized a few complete genomes, all of them much less complex than the human genome. For instance, in 2002, researchers chemically synthesized a DNA-based equivalent of the poliovirus RNA genome, which is only about 7,500 bases long. They then showed that this DNA copy could be transcribed by RNA polymerase to recapitulate the viral genome, which replicated itselfa demonstration of synthesizing what the authors called a chemical [C332,652H492,388N98,245O131,196P7,501S2,340] with a life cycle (Science 2002, DOI: 10.1126/science.1072266).
After tinkering with a handful of other viral genomes, in 2010, researchers advanced to bacteria, painstakingly assembling a Mycoplasma genome just over about a million bases in length and then transplanting it into a host cell.
Last year, researchers upped the ante further, publishing the design for an aggressively edited Escherichia coli genome measuring 3.97 million bases long (Science, DOI: 10.1126/science.aaf3639). GP-write coleader George Church and coworkers at Harvard used DNA-editing softwarea kind of Google Docs for writing genomesto make radical systematic changes. The so-called rE.coli-57 sequence, which the team is currently synthesizing, lacks seven codons (the three-base DNA words that code for particular amino acids) compared with the normal E. coli genome. The researchers replaced all 62,214 instances of those codons with DNA base synonyms to eliminate redundancy in the code.
Note: A 17th synthetic neochromosome is not shown in the plot above. The number of DNA bases plotted is for the synthetic yeast chromosome as opposed to the native yeast chromosome. Synthetic chromosomes have been modified slightly from native ones to remove, for instance, transfer RNA coding segments that might destabilize the chromosomes. BGI is a genome sequencing center in Guangdong, China. GenScript is a New Jersey-based biotech firm. AWRI = Australian Wine Research Institute. JGI = Joint Genomics Institute of the U.S. Department of Energy. U = University. Source: Science 2017, DOI: 10.1126/science.aaf4557
Bacterial genomes are no-frills compared with those of creatures in our domain, the eukaryotes. Bacterial genomes typically take the form of a single circular piece of DNA that floats freely around the cell. Eukaryotic cells, from yeast to plants to insects to people, confine their larger genomes within a cells nucleus and organize them in multiple bundles called chromosomes. An ongoing collaboration is now bringing genome synthesis to the eukaryote realm: Researchers are building a fully synthetic yeast genome, containing 17 chromosomes that range from about 1,800 to about 1.5 million bases long. Overall, the genome will contain more than 11 million bases.
The synthetic genomes and chromosomes already constructed by scientists are by no means simple, but to synthesize the human genome, scientists will have to address a whole other level of complexity. Our genome is made up of more than 3 billion bases across 23 paired chromosomes. The smallest human chromosome is number 21, at 46.7 million baseslarger than the smallest yeast chromosome. The largest, number 1, has nearly 249 million. Making a human genome will mean making much more DNA and solving a larger puzzle in terms of assembly and transfer into cells.
Today, genome-writing technology is in what Boeke, also the director for the Institute of Systems Genetics at New York University School of Medicine, calls the Gutenberg phase. (Johannes Gutenberg introduced the printing press in Europe in the 1400s.) Its still early days.
DNA synthesis companies routinely create fragments that are 100 bases long and then use enzymes to stitch them together to make sequences up to a few thousand bases long, about the size of a gene. Customers can put in orders for small bits of DNA, longer strands called oligos, and whole geneswhatever they needand companies will fabricate and mail the genetic material.
Although the technology that makes this mail-order system possible is impressive, its not prolific enough to make a human genome in a reasonable amount of time. Estimates vary on how long it would take to stitch together a more than 3 billion-base human genome and how much it would cost with todays methods. But the ballpark answer is about a decade and hundreds of millions of dollars.
Synthesis companies could help bring those figures down by moving past their current 100-base limit and creating longer DNA fragments. Some researchers and companies are moving in that direction. For example, synthesis firm Molecular Assemblies is developing an enzymatic process to write long stretches of DNA with fewer errors.
Synthesis speeds and prices have been improving rapidly, and researchers expect they will continue to do so. From my point of view, building DNA is no longer the bottleneck, says Daniel G. Gibson, vice president of DNA technology at Synthetic Genomics and an associate professor at the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI). Some way or another, if we need to build larger pieces of DNA, well do that.
Gibson isnt involved with GP-write. But his research showcases what is possible with todays toolseven if they are equivalent to Gutenbergs movable type. He has been responsible for a few of synthetic biologys milestones, including the development of one of the most commonly used genome-assembly techniques.
The Gibson method uses chemical means to join DNA fragments, yielding pieces thousands of bases long. For two fragments to connect, one must end with a 20- to 40-base sequence thats identical to the start of the next fragment. These overlapping DNA fragments can be mixed with a solution of three enzymesan exonuclease, a DNA polymerase, and a DNA ligasethat trim the 5 end of each fragment, overlap the pieces, and seal them together.
To make the first synthetic bacterial genome in 2008, that of Mycoplasma genitalium, Gibson and his colleagues at JCVI, where he was a postdoc at the time, started with his eponymous in vitro method. They synthesized more than 100 fragments of synthetic DNA, each about 5,000 bases long, and then harnessed the prodigious DNA-processing properties of yeast, introducing these large DNA pieces to yeast three or four at a time. The yeast used its own cellular machinery to bring the pieces together into larger sequences, eventually producing the entire Mycoplasma genome.
Next, the team had to figure out how to transplant this synthetic genome into a bacterial cell to create what the researchers called the first synthetic cell. The process is involved and requires getting the bacterial genome out of the yeast, then storing the huge, fragile piece of circular DNA in a protective agarose gel before melting it and mixing it with another species of Mycoplasma. As the bacterial cells fuse, some of them take in the synthetic genomes floating in solution. Then they divide to create three daughter cells, two containing the native genomes, and one containing the synthetic genome: the synthetic cell.
When Gibsons group at JCVI started building the synthetic cell in 2004, we didnt know what the limitations were, he says. So the scientists were cautious about overwhelming the yeast with too many DNA fragments, or pieces that were too long. Today, Gibson says he can bring together about 25 overlapping DNA fragments that are about 25,000 bases long, rather than three or four 5,000-base segments at a time.
Gibson expects that existing DNA synthesis and assembly methods havent yet been pushed to their limits. Yeast might be able to assemble millions of bases, not just hundreds of thousands, he says. Still, Gibson believes it would be a stretch to make a human genome with this technique.
One of the most ambitious projects in genome writing so far centers on that master DNA assembler, yeast. As part of the project, called Sc2.0 (a riff on the funguss scientific name, Saccharomyces cerevisiae), an international group of scientists is redesigning and building yeast one synthetic chromosome at a time. The yeast genome is far simpler than ours. But like us, yeasts are eukaryotes and have multiple chromosomes within their nuclei.
Synthetic biologists arent interested in rebuilding existing genomes by rote; they want to make changes so they can probe how genomes work and make them easier to build and reengineer for practical use. The main lesson learned from Sc2.0 so far, project scientists say, is how much the yeast chromosomes can be altered in the writing, with no apparent ill effects. Indeed, the Sc2.0 sequence is not a direct copy of the original. The synthetic genome has been reduced by about 8%. Overall, the research group will make 1.1 million bases worth of insertions, deletions, and changes to the yeast genome (Science 2017, DOI: 10.1126/science.aaf4557).
So far, says Boeke, whos also coleader of Sc2.0, teams have finished or almost finished the first draft of the organisms 16 chromosomes. Theyre also working on a neochromosome, one not found in normal yeast. In this chromosome, the designers have relocated all DNA coding for transfer RNA, which plays a critical role in protein assembly. The Sc2.0 group isolated these sequences because scientists predicted they would cause structural instability in the synthetic chromosomes, says Joel Bader, a computational biologist at Johns Hopkins University who leads the projects software and design efforts.
The team is making yeast cells with a new chromosome one at a time. The ultimate goal is to create a yeast cell that contains no native chromosomes and all 17 synthetic ones. To get there, the scientists are taking a relatively old-fashioned approach: breeding. So far, theyve made a yeast cell with three synthetic chromosomes and are continuing to breed it with strains containing the remaining ones. Once a new chromosome is in place, it requires some patching up because of recombination with the native chromosomes. Its a process, but it doesnt look like there are any significant barriers, Bader says. He estimates it will take another two to three years to produce cells with the entire Sc2.0 genome.
So far, even with these significant changes to the chromosomes, the yeast lives at no apparent disadvantage compared with yeast that has its original chromosomes. Its surprising how much you can torture the genome with no effect, Boeke says.
Boeke and Bader have founded a start-up company called Neochromosome that will eventually use Sc2.0 strains to produce large protein drugs, chemical precursors, and other biomolecules that are currently impossible to make in yeast or E. coli because the genetic pathways used to create them are too complex. With synthetic chromosomes well be able to make these large supportive pathways in yeast, Bader predicts.
Whether existing genome-engineering methods like those used in Sc2.0 will translate to humans is an open question.
Bader believes that yeast, so willing to take up and assemble large amounts of DNA, might serve as future human-chromosome producers, assembling genetic material that could then be transferred to other organisms, perhaps human cells. Transplanting large human chromosomes would be tricky, Synthetic Genomics Gibson says. First, the recipient cell must be prepped by somehow removing its native chromosome. Gibson expects physically moving the synthetic chromosome would also be difficult: Stretches of DNA larger than about 50,000 bases are fragile. You have to be very gentle so the chromosome doesnt breakonce its broken, its not going to be useful, he says. Some researchers are working on more direct methods for cell-to-cell DNA transfer, such as getting cells to fuse with one another.
Once the scientists solve the delivery challenge, the next question is whether the transplanted chromosome will function. Our genomes are patterned with methyl groups that silence regions of the genome and are wrapped around histone proteins that pack the long strands into a three-dimensional order in cells nuclei. If the synthetic chromosome doesnt have the appropriate methylation patterns, the right structure, it might not be recognized by the cell, Gibson says.
Biologists might sidestep these epigenetic and other issues by doing large-scale DNA assembly in human cells from the get-go. Ron Weiss, a synthetic biologist at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is pushing the upper limits on this sort of approach. He has designed methods for inserting large amounts of DNA directly into human cells. Weiss endows human cells with large circuits, which are packages of engineered DNA containing groups of genes and regulatory machinery that will change a cells behavior.
In 2014, Weiss developed a landing pad method to insert about 64,000-base stretches of DNA into human and other mammalian cells. First, researchers use gene editing to create the landing pad, which is a set of markers at a designated spot on a particular chromosome where an enzyme called a recombinase will insert the synthetic genetic material. Then they string together the genes for a given pathway, along with their regulatory elements, add a matching recombinase site, and fashion this strand into a circular piece of DNA called a plasmid. The target cells are then incubated with the plasmid, take it up, and incorporate it at the landing site (Nucleic Acids Res. 2014, DOI: 10.1093/nar/gku1082).
This works, but its tedious. It takes about two weeks to generate these cell lines if youre doing well, and the payload only goes into a few of the cells, Weiss explains. Since his initial publication, he says, his team has been able to generate cells with three landing pads; that means they could incorporate a genetic circuit thats about 200,000 bases long.
Weiss doesnt see simple scale-up of the landing pad method as the way forward, though, even setting aside the tedium. He doesnt think the supersized circuits would even function in a human cell because he doesnt yet know how to design them.
The limiting factor in the size of the circuit is not the construction of DNA, but the design, Weiss says. Instead of working completely by trial and error, bioengineers use computer models to predict how synthetic circuits or genetic edits will work in living cells of any species. But the larger the synthetic element, the harder it is to know whether it will work in a real cell. And the more radical the deletion, the harder it is to foresee whether it will have unintended consequences and kill the cell. Researchers also have a hard time predicting the degree to which cells will express the genes in a complex synthetic circuita lot, a little, or not at all. Gene regulation in humans is not fully understood, and rewriting on the scale done in the yeast chromosome would have far less predictable outcomes.
Besides being willing to take up and incorporate DNA, yeast is relatively simple. Upstream from a yeast gene, biologists can easily find the promoter sequence that turns it on. In contrast, human genes are often regulated by elements found in distant regions of the genome. That means working out how to control large pathways is more difficult, and theres a greater risk that changing the genetic sequencesuch as deleting what looks like repetitive nonsensewill have unintended, currently unpredictable, consequences.
Gibson notes that even in the minimal cell, the organism with the simplest known genome on the planet, biologists dont know what one-third of the genes do. Moving from the simplest organism to humans is a leap into the unknown. One design flaw can change how the cell behaves or even whether the cells are viable, Gibson says. We dont have the design knowledge.
Many scientists believe this uncertainty about design is all the more reason to try writing human and other large genomes. People are entranced with the perfect, Harvards Church says. But engineering and medicine are about the pretty good. I learn much more by trying to make something than by observing it.
Others arent sure that the move from writing the yeast genome to writing the human genome is necessary, or ethical. When the project to write the human genome was made public in May 2016, the founders called it Human Genome Project-write. They held the first organizational meeting behind closed doors, with no journalists present. A backlash ensued.
In the magazine Cosmos, Stanford University bioengineer Drew Endy and Northwestern University ethicist Laurie Zoloth in May 2016 warned of unintended consequences of large-scale changes to the genome and of alienating the public, potentially putting at risk funding for the synthetic biology field at large. They wrote that the synthesis of less controversial and more immediately useful genomes along with greatly improved sub-genomic synthesis capacities should be pursued instead.
GP-write members seem to have taken such criticisms to heart, or come to a similar conclusion on their own. By this Mays conference, human was dropped from the projects name. Leaders emphasized that the human genome would be a subproject proceeding on a conservative timescale and that ethicists would be involved at every step along the way. We want to separate the overarching goal of technology development from the hot-button issue of human genome writing, Boeke explains.
Bringing the public on board with this kind of project can be difficult, says Alta Charo, a professor of law and bioethics at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, who is not involved with GP-write. Charo cochaired a National Academy of Sciences study on the ethics and governance of human gene editing, which was published in February.
She says the likelihood of positive outcomes, such as new therapies or advances in basic science, must be weighed against potential unintended consequences or unforeseen uses of genome writing. People see their basic values at stake in human genetic engineering. If scientists achieve their goalsmaking larger scale genetic engineering routine and more useful, and bringing it to the human genomemajor changes are possible to what Charo calls the fabric of our culture and society. People will have to decide whether they feel optimistic about that or not. (Charo does.)
Given humans cautiousness, Charo imagines in early times we might have decided against creating fire, saying, Lets live without that; we dont need to create this thing that might destroy us. People often see genetic engineering in extreme terms, as a fire that might illuminate human biology and light the way to new technologies, or one that will destroy us.
Charo says the GP-write plan to keep ethicists involved going forward is the right approach and that its difficult to make an ethical or legal call on the project until its leaders put forward a road map.
The group will announce a specific road map sometime this year, but it doesnt want to be restrictive ahead of time. You know when youre done reading something, Boeke said at the meeting in May. But writing has an artistic side to it, he added. You never know when youre done.
Katherine Bourzac is a freelance science writer based in San Francisco.
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Writing the human genome - The Biological SCENE
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DELPHOS A Delphos couple were injured in a home invasion assault that occurred Saturday morning.
David and Dianna Allemeier of 209 S. Pierce St. in Delphos were both taken to St. Ritas Medical Center in Lima for treatment of injuries received when a man gained entry to their home and reportedly assaulted them.
Delphos Police were first called out at 6:05 a.m. Saturday on a report of a suspicious person in the 300 block of Jackson Street who was knocking on doors and then walking away. However, while en route to that call, officers were informed that a man had been injured and was bleeding in the 200 block of Pierce Street.
When officers arrived on the scene, they found Allemeier bleeding from an injury to his neck. The Delphos resident said he received the injury from a man who had gained entry into his home.
Officers approached the residence and found the back door unlocked and a lot of blood at the scene. The home was secured and a K-9 and Crime Scene Unit sought from the Allen County Sheriffs Office.
Allemeier then said his wife was still in the house and officers then entered and found Mrs. Allemeier, who was also injured, in the bedroom area of the residence.
After the Allemeiers were transported to the hospital, a K-9 search was made of the area, and the house was processed by an Allen County sheriffs deputy.
No information was released on whether items were taken from the Allemeier house.
Police are currently seeking a young, skinny white male with black hair, possibly wearing cutoff shorts. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Delphos Police Department or Allen County Sheriffs Office.
The investigation is continuing, with no further information forthcoming at this time.
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Ventolin hfa inhaler ingredients - Effects asthma has on the respiratory system - Van Wert independent
TOKYO & ALISO VIEJO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Konica Minolta, Inc. (Konica Minolta) (TOKYO: 4902) (ISIN: JP3300600008) and Ambry Genetics Corporation (Ambry) today announced the signing of a definitive agreement for a subsidiary of Konica Minolta to acquire Ambry. The transaction is partially funded by Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ). $800 million will be paid upon closure, and there will be an additional payment of up to $200 million based on certain financial metrics over the next two years, valuing the acquisition up to a total of $1.0 billion.
Founded in 1999, Ambry is a privately held healthcare company in the U.S., led by founder, President and Chairman Charles L.M. Dunlop and CEO Dr. Aaron Elliott. Ambry has the worlds most comprehensive suite of genetic testing solutions for inherited and non-inherited diseases as well as for numerous clinical specialties, including oncology, cardiology, pulmonology, neurology, and general genetics. They are recognized as a leader in diagnostic solutions for hereditary conditions in the United States, by having performed more than one million genetic tests and identified more than 45,000 mutations in at least 500 different genes. Ambry is known as a pioneer and thought leader in genetic testing being the first laboratory in the world to offer such tests as hereditary cancer panels and clinical exome sequencing.
Konica Minolta views the addition of Ambry as the first stepping-stone to create an exciting new medical platform aimed at fulfilling the potential of precision medicine an emerging approach to healthcare where genetic or molecular analysis is used to match patients with the most appropriate treatment for their specific disease. Precision medicine aims to improve a patients quality of life and save the healthcare system money by eliminating unnecessary and ineffective treatments. Konica Minolta plans to bring Ambrys capabilities first to Japan, and then to Europe.
This acquisition is the first in a series of strategic initiatives to secure a leading position for Konica Minolta in precision medicine, said Shoei Yamana, President and CEO of Konica Minolta. The future of medicine is patient-focused. Together with Ambry, we will have the most comprehensive set of diagnostic technologies for mapping an individuals genetic and biochemical makeup, as well as the capabilities to translate that knowledge into information the medical community can use to discover, prevent, and cost-effectively treat diseases. This will not only serve as the future foundation for our healthcare business, but will pave the way for a fundamental shift in the way medicine is practiced globally.
The acquisition of Ambry and the advancement of precision medicine marks a strategic and important shift for Konica Minoltas healthcare business. Leveraging its long history of innovation in materials science, nanofabrication, optics, and imaging, Konica Minolta has developed a comprehensive range of technologies and services in the healthcare field spanning digital X-ray diagnostic imaging systems, diagnostic ultrasound systems, and ICT service platforms for medical institutions.
Ambrys genetic testing capabilities complement Konica Minoltas advanced imaging technology to create the most comprehensive range of healthcare diagnostics for use by pharmaceutical companies, healthcare providers, payers, and consumers. In 2015, Konica Minolta pioneered advanced immunostaining technology High-Sensitivity Tissue Testing (HSTT)1 that uses fluorescent nanoparticles to detect and quantify the proteins that drive disease states and offers far greater precision and accuracy than conventional immunostaining techniques. With initial applications in oncology, the proprietary technology can determine the exact cellular location and amount of specific proteins that manifest in cells, offering an early-stage, highly precise diagnosis and insights into a patients disease that can inform research and a clinicians treatment plan.
Were excited by this opportunity to combine both our companies technologies to unlock new opportunities for precision medicine, said Charles Dunlop, President and Chairman of Ambry Genetics. As a part of Konica Minolta, we will have the resources, technology, and scale to advance biomedical research and enable the matching of more patients in more countries with specialized medicines that target the underlying cause of their illness.
Konica Minoltas HSTT technology will be further enhanced by Ambrys genetics-based screening techniques, which enable clinicians to analyze both tumor and normal tissue to diagnose hereditary cancer, while also providing guidance regarding drug eligibility and response. Ambry recently launched a combined genetic test for both inherited and acquired mutations in DNA mismatch repair genes to indicate appropriate treatment options for cancer patients who may benefit from PD-1/PD-L1 immunotherapy. PD-1 and PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitors help the patient's immune system recognize attack and destroy PD-L1-positive cancer cells that would otherwise evade detection by the immune system.
The combination of these bioinformatics capabilities, alongside Konica Minoltas HSTT technology, will create new opportunities for drug discovery and clinical trials not currently available, said Kiyotaka Fujii, Senior Executive Officer, President, Global Healthcare, Konica Minolta. Konica Minolta will look to accelerate innovations by drawing on the strengths of both companies. In addition to introducing Ambrys genetic-testing capabilities to the Japan market, we will look to develop new bio-imaging and proteomic services and solutions to benefit doctors, patients, and pharmaceutical companies.
Transaction Overview Under the terms of the agreement, Konica Minolta via Konica Minolta Healthcare Americas, Inc., (MHUS), a wholly owned subsidiary of Konica Minolta, and INCJ, will make an upfront, all-cash payment of $800 million to Ambry. MHUS will invest 60% and INCJ will account for the remaining 40%. In addition, Ambry shareholders will receive up to $200 million in incremental consideration based on certain financial metrics over the next two years, valuing the acquisition up to a total of $1.0 billion.
The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of fiscal year 2017, subject to customary regulatory approvals. Ambry would thereafter become a consolidated subsidiary of Konica Minolta, continuing to operate under the Ambry name and headquartered in Aliso Viejo, California.
GCA Corporation acted as financial advisor to Konica Minolta and Baker McKenzie acted as legal advisor for this transaction. Intrepid Investment Bankers acted as financial advisor to Ambry and Jones Day acted as legal advisor.
ABOUT KONICA MINOLTA Konica Minolta, Inc. (Konica Minolta) is a global digital technology company with core strengths in imaging and data analysis, optics, materials, and nano-fabrication. Through innovation, we create products and digital solutions for the betterment of business and societytoday and for generations to come. Across our Business Technologies, Healthcare, and Industrial-facing businesses, we aspire to be an Integral Value Provider that applies the full range of our companys expertise to offer comprehensive solutions to our customers most pressing problems, work with our partners to ensure our solutions are sustainable, anticipate and address tomorrows issues, and tailor each solution to meet the unique and specific needs of our valued customers. Leveraging these capabilities, Konica Minolta contributes to productivity improvement and workflow change for our customers, and provides leading-edge service solutions in the IoT era.
Headquartered in Tokyo and with operations in more than 50 countries, Konica Minolta has more than 43,000 employees serving approximately two million customers in over 150 countries. Konica Minolta is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, (TSE4902). For further information, visit: https://www.konicaminolta.com/
About Ambry Genetics Since 1999, Ambrys mission has remained focused on understanding disease so cures can come faster. Today, Ambry remains unwavering in its commitment to being tough, innovative, committed to quality and, most of all, focused to do what is right for patient care. For more information on Ambrys full suite of genetic testing, visit http://www.ambrygen.com
About INCJ Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ), a unique public-private partnership aimed at promoting innovation and enhancing the value of businesses in Japan, was launched in July 2009. For more information please see: http://www.incj.co.jp/english/
1 A portion of the research on HSTT was commissioned under a project by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), Japan.
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Konica Minolta to Acquire U.S.-based Ambry Genetics in a Deal ... - Business Wire (press release)
Outside of evolutionary biology, the human body is often spoken of as a miracle of engineering. But those more familiar with its workings point out evolution is no perfectionist, often favoring clunky ad hoc solutions over thosemore elegant in design. In fact, the comparison of evolution to a gambler might be the most apt, and nowhere is this more evident than in reference to genetic diseases like hemophilia. Now a recent study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine suggests far more people than previously thought are carrying variants of rare genetic diseases and could force us to redefine what is considered a healthy genome.
Genetic disorders are those resulting from mutations in ones DNA, often with horrendous results. Previously, scientists believedgenetic disorders were present in only a small fraction of the human population, 5 percent or less. After all, a population riven with genetic mistakes would quickly die out, or so went the logic. However, the present study puts the fraction of people with mutations linked to genetic diseases at something closer to 20 percent.
But is nature really so clumsy as to allow a veritable swarm of deleterious mutations to slip through her quality control mechanisms? It turns out many genetic disorders hide secret advantages. Take a person with the mutation that causes sickle cell anemia. A single copy of the mutation for sickle cellanemiaactually protects against the disease malaria. Its only if someone receivestwo copies of the defective gene that the problematic form of sickle cellanemia results. With many genetic disorders, nature seems to be hedging her bets, allowing some defects to slip through if they can provide a survival advantage to the population at large.
Counterintuitively, an individual suffering from a rare genetic disease may represent a successful population-level response to a given environment. This dance between genes and environments is at the heart of what we think of as health. But for most of history, medicine has considered the well being of an individual in isolation from population-level genetics. A more nuanced understanding of rare genetic diseases would take into account the various benefits genetic mistakes confer. This also suggests a cautious approach when editing our own genomes with tools like tools like CRISPR. Even seemingly terrible mutations we would be tempted to eliminate from the genetic pool may confer some secret advantage geneticists have yet to discover.
The study comes at a time when routine genetic testing is the subject of a far-ranging debate. Many doctors fear the release of genetic data to patients would cause undue anxiety. This study didnt support those claims, and goes a distance to undermine the paternalistic style of medicine currently practiced in many developed nations. In the United States, for instance, doctors remain a crucial chokepoint through which patients must pass through to access genetictesting. That said, anumber of direct-to-consumer genetic testing companies like 23andMe are breaking down these barriers, and a host of websites and even smartphone apps exist to help one make sense of their genetic data.
Now read: What is gene therapy?
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Far More People Than Thought Are Carrying Rare Genetic Diseases - ExtremeTech
Whenever biopharmaceutical experts and policymakers discuss medical innovation, they seem to focus only on drug discovery and development and access. While these aspects of innovation are critical to ensuring patients have safe and effective treatments, they dont provide a complete picture of the biopharmaceutical innovation model and the total investment needed to get the right medicine to the right patient at the right time. Whats missing? An understanding of the role of biopharmaceutical manufacturing and the need for a supportive policy environment in order to ensure the United States maintains its place as the leader in discovering, developing and delivering innovative medicines.
In the past decade, manufacturing has become an even more complex element of the biopharmaceutical innovation ecosystem as there have been several paradigm shifts in clinical treatments and pharmacology that make drug manufacturing significantly more challenging. First, therapeutic innovations previously developed to treat millions of patients the so-called blockbuster medicines have been replaced by the precision medicine model. This model integrates genetic information to help researchers understand which particular subgroup of patients will most likely benefit from a specific treatment. This scientific progress is leading to the development of medicines targeted for much smaller patient populations. Thus, biopharmaceutical companies now need to manufacture smaller batches and incorporate shorter production lines into their manufacturing process, which means they need to be more nimble and think beyond just efficiency to ensure production levels match the new innovative landscape in their manufacturing practices.
Second, diseases today are more often managed with medicines administered through intricate delivery systems. Complex therapies deliver important drugs directly to the site of the disease by bypassing traditional modes of delivery through oral intake. So now manufacturers have to think about how to make both the delivery device as well as the medicine.
Third, certain diseases are managed or prevented through biologics or vaccines. Unlike synthesized medicines which are made by combining specific chemical ingredients in a laboratory environment, these therapies are derived from living cell lines which cannot be fully characterized by traditional methods in a lab. For biologics and vaccines, the final product is influenced by the manufacturing process as the product is the process. An example of a therapy that requires this type of manufacturing complexity is a breakthrough vaccine for pneumococcal diseases. You may wonder what does it take to manufacture a single dose of that vaccine? It takes no less than 2.5 years, the collaboration of 1,700 researchers, engineers and other manufacturing experts, more than 400 raw materials and 678 quality tests in 581 steps to produce a single dose. Any minute deficiency in this long and laborious manufacturing process and/or ingredient integrity could possibly lead to failure.
Beyond better health, the benefit of manufacturing excellence is also captured in the economic value it generates for local communities in states all across the country. In the United States alone, there are close to 300,000 biopharmaceutical manufacturing jobs, with an average salary of close to $100,000 annually. This average salary is in the top 2 percent of all manufacturing jobs in the U.S. Pfizer currently has 17 manufacturing sites in 11 states and Puerto Rico that employ more than 12,000 people, and has invested $2 billion in these sites over the past five years. Estimates put Pfizers contribution to both direct and indirect jobs in the U.S. at 51,000.
The Pfizer facilities are not only responsible for manufacturing safe and innovative medicines, but some of the sites also produce active product ingredients. The API is the actual substance or raw material used to produce the medicine that patients consume. In fact, the Pfizer facility in Kalamazoo, Mich., is so cost-efficient that it manufactures APIs for methylprednisolone that Pfizer then sells to manufacturers in China and India, something not commonly observed in other traditional manufacturing sectors.
To make biopharmaceutical manufacturing a centerpiece of U.S. economic growth, policymakers need to address a few policy hurdles. First, they need to reform the U.S. tax code to encourage companies to further invest in U.S. pharmaceutical manufacturing. Next, the Food and Drug Administration ought to forge a proactive partnership with industry to develop practical regulatory solutions to advance and encourage domestic biopharmaceutical manufacturing expertise while protecting world-class quality control and good manufacturing processes. Lastly, the federal government needs to ensure appropriate and timely implementation of Section 3016 of the 21st Century Cures Act, which allows the FDA to issue grants to further the study of continuous manufacturing of drugs and biologics.
In an effort to get important medicines to patients in need, biopharmaceutical companies discover, develop, manage access and manufacture medicines. The innovation cycle is not complete if a company is not able to appropriately navigate the complicated yet crucial manufacturing process. A pro-active, supportive policy environment is the linchpin to ensuring the United States remains at the forefront of biopharmaceutical innovation and manufacturing.
Robert Popovian is the vice president of Pfizer U.S. Government Relations. He has two decades of experience in the biopharmaceutical health care industry and has published and presented extensively on the impact of pharmaceuticals and health care policies on health care costs and clinical outcomes.
Morning Consult welcomes op-ed submissions on policy, politics and business strategy in our coverage areas. Updated submission guidelines can be foundhere.
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The Future of Manufacturing a Medicine in America - Morning Consult
Driven by specialised analytics systems and software, big data analytics has decreased the time required to double medical knowledge by half, thus compressing healthcare innovation cycle period, shows the much discussed Mary Meeker study titled Internet Trends 2017.
The presentation of the study isseen as an evidence of the proverbial big data-enabled revolution, that was predicted by experts like McKinsey and Company. "A big data revolution is under way in health care. Over the last decade pharmaceutical companies have been aggregating years of research and development data into medical data bases, while payors and providers have digitised their patient records, the McKinsey report had said four years ago.
Representational image. Reuters
The Mary Meeker study shows that in the 1980s it took seven years to double medical knowledge which has been decreased to only 3.5 years after 2010, on account of massive use of big data analytics in healthcare. Though most of the samples used in the study were US based, the global trends revealed in it are well visible in India too.
"Medicine and underlying biology is now becoming a data-driven science where large amounts of structured and unstructured data relating to biological systems and human health is being generated," says Dr Rohit Gupta of MedGenome, a genomics driven research and diagnostics company based in Bengaluru.
Dr Gupta told Firstpost that big data analytics has made it possible for MedGenome, which focuses on improving global health by decoding genetic information contained in an individual genome, to dive deeper into genetics research.
While any individual's genome information is useful for detecting the known mutations for diseases, underlying new patterns of complicated diseases and their progression requires genomics data from many individuals across populations sometimes several thousands to even few millions amounting to exabytes of information, he said.
All of which would have been a cumbersome process without the latest data analytics tools that big data analytics has brought forth.
The company that started work on building India-specific baseline data to develop more accurate gene-based diagnostic testing kits in the year 2015 now conducts 400 genetic tests across all key disease areas.
What is Big Data
According to Mitali Mukerji, senior principal scientist, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research when a large number of people and institutions digitally record health data either in health apps or in digitised clinics, these information become big data about health. The data acquired from these sources can be analysed to search for patterns or trends enabling a deeper insight into the health conditions for early actionable interventions.
Big data is growing bigger But big data analytics require big data. And proliferation of Information technology in the health sector has enhanced flow of big data exponentially from various sources like dedicated wearable health gadgets like fitness trackers and hospital data base. Big data collection in the health sector has also been made possible because of the proliferation of smartphones and health apps.
The Meeker study shows that the download of health apps have increased worldwide in 2016 to nearly 1,200 million from nearly 1,150 million in the last year and 36 percent of these apps belong to the fitness and 24 percent to the diseases and treatment ones.
Health apps help the users monitor their health. From watching calorie intake to fitness training the apps have every assistance required to maintain one's health. 7 minute workout, a health app with three million users helps one get that flat tummy, lose weight and strengthen the core with 12 different exercises. Fooducate, another app, helps keep track of what one eats. This app not only counts the calories one is consuming, but also shows the user a detailed breakdown of the nutrition present in a packaged food.
For Indian users, there's Healthifyme, which comes with a comprehensive database of more than 20,000 Indian foods. It also offers an on-demand fitness trainer, yoga instructor and dietician. With this app, one can set goals to lose weight and track their food and activity. There are also companies like GOQii, which provide Indian customers with subscription-based health and fitness services on their smartphones using fitness trackers that come free.
Dr Gupta of MedGenome explains that data accumulated in wearable devices can either be sent directly to the healthcare provider for any possible intervention or even predict possible hospitalisation in the next few days.
The Meeker study shows that global shipment of wearable gadgets grew from 26 million in 2014 to 102 million in 2016.
Another area that's shown growth is electronic health records. In the US, electronic health records in office-based physicians in United States have soared from 21 percent in 2004 to 87 percent in 2015. In fact, every hospital with 500 beds (in the US) generate 50 petabytes of health data.
Back home, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India, runs Aadhar-based Online Registration System, a platform to help patients book appointments in major government hospitals. The portal has the potential to emerge into a source if big data offering insights on diseases, age groups, shortcomings in hospitals and areas to improve. The website claims to have already been used to make 8,77,054 appointments till date in 118 hospitals.
On account of permeation of digital technology in health care, data growth has recorded 48% growth year on year, the Meeker study says. The accumulated mass of data, according to it, has provided deeper insights in health conditions. The study shows drastic increase of citations from 5 million in 1977 to 27 million in 2017. Easy access to big data has ensured that scientists can now direct their investigations following patterns analysed from such information and less time is required to arrive at conclusion.
If a researcher has huge sets of data at his disposal, he/she can also find out patterns and simulate it through machine learning tools, which decreases the time required to arrive at a conclusion. Machine learning methods become more robust when they are fed with results analysed from big data, says Mukerji.
She further adds, These data simulation models, rely on primary information generated from a study to build predictive models that can help assess how human body would respond to a given perturbation, says Mukerji.
The Meeker also study shows that Archimedes data simulation models can conduct clinical trials from data related to 50,000 patients collected over a period of 30 years, in just a span of two months. In absence of this model it took seven years to conduct clinical trials on data related to 2,838 patients collected over a period of seven years.
As per this report in 2016 results of 25,400 number of clinical trial was publically available against 1,900 in 2009.
The study also shows that data simulation models used by laboratories have drastically decreased time required for clinical trials. Due to emergence of big data, rise in number of publically available clinical trials have also increased, it adds.
Big data in scientific research
The developments grown around big-data in healthcare has broken the silos in scientific research. For example, the field of genomics has taken a giant stride in evolving personalised and genetic medicine with the help of big data.
A good example of how big data analytics can help modern medicine is the Human Genome Project and the innumerous researches on genetics, which paved way for personalised medicine, would have been difficult without the democratisation of data, which is another boon of big data analytics. The study shows that in the year 2008 there were only 5 personalised medicines available and it has increased to 132 in the year 2016.
In India, a Bangalore-based integrated biotech company recently launched 'Avestagenome', a project to build a complete genetic, genealogical and medical database of the Parsi community. Avestha Gengraine Technologies (Avesthagen), which launched the project believes that the results from the Parsi genome project could result in disease prediction and accelerate the development of new therapies and diagnostics both within the community as well as outside.
MedGenome has also been working on the same direction. "We collaborate with leading hospitals and research institutions to collect samples with research consent, generate sequencing data in our labs and analyse it along with clinical data to discover new mutations and disease causing perturbations in genes or functional pathways. The resultant disease models and their predictions will become more accurate as and when more data becomes available.
Mukerji says that democratisation of data fuelled by proliferation of technology and big data has also democratised scientific research across geographical boundaries. Since data has been made easily accessible, any laboratory can now proceed with research, says Mukerji.
We only need to ensure that our efforts and resources are put in the right direction, she adds.
Challenges with big data
But Dr Gupta warns that big-data in itself does not guarantee reliability for collecting quality data is a difficult task.
Moreover, he said, In medicine and clinical genomics, domain knowledge often helps and is almost essential to not only understand but also finding ways to effectively use the knowledge derived from the data and bring meaningful insights from it.
Besides, big data gathering is heavily dependent on adaptation of digital health solutions, which further restricts the data to certain age groups. As per the Meeker report, 40 percent of millennial respondents covered in the study owned a wearable. On the other hand 26 percent and 10 percent of the Generation X and baby boomers, respectively, owned wearables.
Similarly, 48 percent millennials, 38 percent Generation X and 23 percent baby boomers go online to find a physician. The report also shows that 10 percent of the people using telemedicine and wearable proved themselves super adopters of the new healthcare technology in 2016 as compared to 2 percent in 2015. Collection of big data.
Every technology brings its own challenges, with big data analytics secure storage and collection of data without violating the privacy of research subjects, is an added challenge. Something, even the Meeker study does not answer.
Digital world is really scary, says Mukerji.
Though we try to secure our data with passwords in our devices, but someone somewhere has always access to it, she says.
The health apps which are downloaded in mobile phones often become the source of big-data not only for the company that has produced it but also to the other agencies which are hunting for data in the internet. "We often click various options while browsing internet and thus knowingly or unknowingly give a third party access to some data stored in the device or in the health app, she adds.
Dimiter V Dimitrov a health expert makes similar assertions in his report, 'Medical Internet of Things and Big Data in Healthcare'. He reports that even wearables often have a server which they interact to in a different language providing it with required information.
Although many devices now have sensors to collect data, they often talk with the server in their own language, he said in his report.
Even though the industry is still at a nascent stage, and privacy remains a concern, Mukerji says that agencies possessing health data can certainly share them with laboratories without disclosing patient identity.
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Big data analytics in healthcare: Fuelled by wearables and apps, medical research takes giant leap forward - Firstpost
By Dr. Mercola
Do you want to live to be 100? How about 110, or even 120? Statistically, the younger you are, the greater your chances of reaching those milestonesthat much is known.
There is even a fairly strong possibility that lifespans beyond 150 will be possible in the next few decades as improvements in 3D printing, stem cell, and nanotech continue to improve.
But when it comes to understanding the complexity of human longevity and all of the factors that determine your lifespan, there is much we still don't understand. Researchers have the advantage of an ever-growing pool of centenarians and supercentenarians. Supercentenarians are those rare individuals who live past 110.
Both demographics are growing. And the good news is, most centenarians and supercentenarians are quite healthy until very near the end of their lives. Research tell us that the older the age group, the later the onset of degenerative diseases and cognitive decline.1 Here are a few interesting facts about centenarianswho now represent the fastest growing segment of the American population:2
Scientific explanations for longevity remain elusive. Researchers studying centenarians agree: there is no specific pattern.
There appears to be a connection between your longevity and the age your mother gave birth. Researchers at the University of Chicago Center on Aging found that if your mother was under age 25 when you were born, your chances of reaching age 100 are twice as high as for someone whose mother was older than 25. Makes me grateful my mother was only 19 when she had me.
This presumably has something to do with the robustness of a woman's eggs over time, but this is just one potential factor among many. According to Israeli physician Nir Barzilai of the Institute for Aging Research at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York:8
"There is no pattern. The usual recommendations for a healthy lifenot smoking, not drinking, plenty of exercise, a well-balanced diet, keeping your weight downthey apply to us average people. But not to them. Centenarians are in a class of their own."
Based on years of data from studying centenarians, Barzilai reports that when analyzing the data from his particular pool of centenarians, at age 70:
Despite this, centenarians as a population have 60 percent lower rates of heart disease, stroke, and high blood pressure.9 Depression and other psychiatric illnesses are almost nonexistent. Barzalai is quick to emphasize you should not disregard the importance of making healthy lifestyle choices (such as keeping your insulin level low). He explains:
"Today's changes in lifestyle do in fact contribute to whether someone dies at the age of 85 or before age 75. But in order to reach the age of 100, you need a special genetic make-up. These people age differently. Slower. They end up dying of the same diseases that we dobut 30 years later and usually quicker, without languishing for long periods."
The majority of centenarians do not feel their chronological age; on average, they report feeling 20 years younger. They also tend to have positive attitudes, optimism, and a zest for life. Could it be that personality characteristics and worldviews play a more significant role than genetics, diet, or exercise?
One way to determine this is to ask centenarians questions about how they see the world, what they value, and to what they attribute their own longevity. What are their secrets to aging well? These individuals represent centuries of wisdom that should not be overlooked. So that's what researchers are now doingmining the minds of centenarians for nuggets of wisdom. Regardless of which interviews you read, this is where patterns really DO emerge. In interviews and surveys with centenarians, the following themes come up time and time again when asked to explain why they've lived so long:10
Some jokingly said they attribute their longevity to "avoiding dying." Others give hints to their life philosophy, such as "Find your passion and live it," "Make time to cry," and "Practice forgiveness." Centenarians overwhelmingly cite stress as the most important thing to avoid. Their lives are marked by as many stressful events as the rest of us, but they differ in how well they manage their stress. Rather than dwelling on it, they let it go. And they are very happy people!
Happy people live longerby 35 percent, according to one study.11 Another study found that happiness and contentment increases health and longevity.12 Other studies show optimists live longer than pessimists.13 So it's no surprise that centenarians are a happy and optimistic lot. Positive thoughts and attitudes seem to somehow do things in your body that strengthen your immune system, boost positive emotions, decrease pain, and provide stress relief. In fact, it's been scientifically shown that happiness can alter your genes!
A team of researchers at UCLA showed that people with a deep sense of happiness and well-being had lower levels of inflammatory gene expression and stronger antiviral and antibody responses.14 This falls into the realm of epigeneticschanging the way your genes function by turning them off and on.
Part of your longevity may depend on the DNA you were born with, but an even larger part depends on epigeneticsover which you have more control. Your thoughts, feeling, emotions, diet, and other lifestyle factors exert epigenetic influences every minute of the day, playing a central role in aging and disease.15 Perhaps it's not as important to avoid that bowl of ice cream as it is to feel sheer bliss when eating it... at least, on occasion!
The fact that you can manipulate your genes with happiness doesn't mean you can completely disregard lifestyle choices, as that would be foolhardy. The basics are still importantdiet, exercise, sleep, etc. Research suggests the modern American diet is increasingly low in four important nutrients that have a direct bearing on aging, and our brains are suffering for it. If you hope to one day become a healthy, happy centenarian, you must address the following:16
Vitamin D's list of health benefits is amazingly long, including helping your brain combat the damage from free radicals, which helps prevent cognitive decline. The important factor when it comes to vitamin D is your serum level, which should be between 50-70 ng/ml year-round, and the only way to determine this is with a blood test.
Your skin produces vitamin D in response to ultraviolet light, so sun exposure or a safe tanning bed are the preferred methods of boosting your vitamin D. However, a D3 supplement can be used when necessary. Most adults need about 8,000 IUs of vitamin D3 per day to achieve serum levels of 40 ng/ml. If you take supplemental vitamin D3, you also need to make sure you're getting enough vitamin K2, as these two nutrients work in tandem to ensure calcium is distributed into the proper areas in your body.
Sources
DHA is an omega-3 fat that plays a role in keeping your cell membranes healthy, flexible, and resistant to oxidative stress, which decreases inflammation. Chronic inflammation is a key factor in many degenerative diseases, including dementia. Low DHA is has been linked with depression, memory loss, and even elevated hostility, which reflect its importance to optimal brain function.
The American diet has far too many omega-6 fats and not enough omega-3 fats due to its heavy reliance on processed food. You can boost your DHA by eating more fish, such as salmon and sardines, but so much of the fish today is contaminated with mercury and other toxic compounds that I prefer to take a high quality omega-3 fat supplement such as krill oil.
Folate helps prevent depression, seizure disorders, brain atrophy, and other neurological problems. Folate deficiencies correlate with impaired memory, slowed mental processing and overall cognitive decline, particularly in the elderly. Your body also needs folate to make red blood cells. Folate deficiency has been thought to lead to elevated homocysteine levels, which can be a major contributor to heart disease and Alzheimer's. However, recent studies may have disproven that idea.17
People often confuse folate with folic acid, and it's important to know the difference. Folate is the naturally-occurring form of the vitamin and contains all of the related isomers your body needs for optimal use. Folic acid is the synthetic form of the vitamin that is used in most supplements and in fortified foods.
It is always preferable to raise your folate levels by modifying your diet, as opposed to eating "enriched" foods or taking a multivitamin. Foods rich in folate include egg yolks, sunflower seeds, asparagus, avocados, broccoli, cauliflower, basil, parsley, and greens such as romaine, turnip, collards, and spinach.18 If you do think you need a supplement, make sure it lists "folate" on the label, rather than folic acid, as this suggests food sources were used.
Magnesium plays a role in your body's detoxification processes and is therefore important for minimizing damage from environmental chemicals, heavy metals and other toxins. Even glutathione, considered by many to be your body's most powerful antioxidant, requires magnesium in order to be synthesized. But this important mineral also helps your brain.
Magnesium acts as a buffer between neuron synapses, particularly those involved with cognitive functions (learning and memory). Magnesium "sits" on the receptor without activating it, in effect protecting the receptor from over-activation by other neurochemicals, especially glutamate. Glutamate is an "excitotoxin," which can harm your brain if it accumulates, and magnesium helps prevent this. That's why you often see magnesium advertised as a "calming" nutrient.
Good sources of magnesium are whole organic foods, especially dark green leafy vegetables, seaweed, dried pumpkin seeds, unsweetened cocoa, flaxseed, almond butter, and whey. If you choose to add a magnesium supplement, there are many forms so it can be a bit confusing. A newer type called magnesium threonate is particularly good due to its ability to penetrate cell membranes and cross your blood-brain barrier, which is important for preserving good cognitive function as you age.
There is no magic bullet when it comes to aging well. Generally speaking, the better you treat your body throughout your life, the better your aging experience will be. Most people do not revel in the thought of getting older because, for many, aging is synonymous with aches and pains, forgetfulness and loneliness. It is inevitable that you're going to get older, but I can tell you from personal experience that this need not be a bad thing!
Now, as I approach my 60th birthday in a few months, I am the fittest I have ever beenand I live every day to its fullest potential. I may have been able to run faster when I was younger, but I would never trade that for the muscle strength, flexibility and knowledge I have today. You too can achieve wellness on both physical and mental fronts, at any age. In fact, for me in many ways life continues to get better as the years go by.
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Centenarians Explain Their Secret to Happiness and Longevity
Could a diet of cheese, bread and wine be the secret to longevity?
For the people of Sardinia, it just might be, says Dan Buettner, a National Geographic magazine writer and Emmy award-winning documentarian.
Buettner, the noted author of "The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest," says certain aspects of the Sardinian diet seem to make a difference, adding about six years to life expectancy.
For one thing, the people of Sardinia -- the Italian island located in the Mediterranean -- drink very dark red wine.
That's because combining the Mediterranean diet with the dark wine creates antioxidants that scrub the arteries, Buettner said.
Not surprisingly, Buettner encourages the consumption of nuts, fruits and vegetables, and discourages a lot of meat.
"Meat is a once-a-week celebration," he said. "Not something you heap on your plate several times a day."
Surprisingly, though, he doesn't place too much emphasis on the importance of fish. He says that in the so-called Blue Zones -- the areas of the world he's studied where people live the longest -- fish consumption doesn't seem to be overemphasized.
"The longest-lived diets don't include a lot of fish," Buettner said. "If you're gonna include protein in your diet, I suggest this cheese that the Sardinians eat."
The cheese, called pecorino sardo, is made from the milk of grass-fed sheep, resulting in a product that is high in Omega-3 fatty acids.
Sardinia is also known for having another kind of cheese -- one that actually is infested with live maggots.
That cheese may contain bacteria that are good for the gut.
"We don't know," Buettner acknowledged. "We just know the longest-lived men in the world eat this. And they eat it as a manifestation of toughness."
Here are some things Buettner says you might find on the table in Sardinia:
Carta de musica A thin, whole wheat bread high in vitamin D.
Leavened bread Bacteria used to rise bread also create a variety of substances with positive effects, including vitamins, and lactic acid and may compete against possibly harmful bacteria in the digestive tract.
Fava beans High in fiber and folate.
Cannonau A dark, red wine with the world's highest levels of antioxidants for wine.
Pecorino Sard Comes from grass-fed sheep and is high in Omega 3.
Almonds and hazelnuts
Click here to return to the "Good Morning America" Web site.
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Does the Sardinian Diet Hold the Secret to Longevity ...
New Delhi: Coffee, for most people around the globe, is an essential apparatus to help kickstart the day. It is a cup for all seasons and without their favourite brew, the day seems incomplete.
Known for its high caffeine content, coffee has often been on the list of 'things to avoid' given to us by dieticians and health and fitness experts.
However, many studies in the past have shown coffee to contain numerous health benefits like weight loss, improvement in physical performance, reduction in risk of diabetes, protection from Alzheimer's and dementia, among others.
Now, US researchers have come up with some more good news for coffee lovers by concluding that drinking coffee could lead to a longer life!
As per the study, which included the participation of more than 180,000 volunteers, researchers found that people who drank regular or decaffeinated coffee experienced health benefits, such as increased longevity.
The researchers report in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine that people who consumed a cup of coffee a day were 12 percent less likely to die earlier compared to those who didn't drink coffee. This association was even stronger for those who drank two to three cups a day 18 percent reduced chance of death.
Lower mortality was present regardless of whether people drank regular or decaffeinated coffee, suggesting the association is not tied to caffeine.
Claimed to be the largest of its kind, the study had ethnically diverse participants who included African-Americans, Japanese-Americans, Latinos and whites. "Such investigations are important because lifestyle patterns and disease risks can vary substantially across racial and ethnic backgrounds, and findings in one group may not necessarily apply to others."
Since the association (between coffee drinking and longer life) was seen in four different ethnicities, it is safe to say the results apply to other groups, the authors claim. "Seeing a similar pattern across four different populations gives stronger biological backing to the argument that coffee is good for you whether you are white, African-American, Latino or Asian."
According to the authors, although this study does not show what chemicals in coffee may have this beneficial effect, it is clear that coffee "can be incorporated into a healthy diet and lifestyle".
(With IANS inputs)
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Coffee lovers, rejoice! Your favourite hot cuppa can increase your longevity - Zee News
Bloodlust, bad haircuts and the use of urine as a tooth whitener aside, the Romans did a whole lot of things right.
For starters, Romans connoisseurs of conveyance that they were developed the world's first highways, erected massive bridges and aqueducts and introduced the world to the convenience of sewers. But perhaps most notably, the master builders of the Roman Empire constructed hulking concrete edifices that were really built to last.
Calling Roman concrete "an extraordinarily rich material in terms of scientific possibility," Philip Brune, a research scientist at DuPont Pioneer and expert in ancient Roman construction, goes on to tell the Washington Post that it "is the most durable building material in human history, and I say that as an engineer not prone to hyperbole."
Kudos aside, the exact reason why Roman concrete known as opus caementicium, with ingredients including volcanic ash, calcium oxide or quicklime and hunks of volcanic rock which served as an aggregate is so damned durable has remained a mystery. Why has it withstood the test of time while modern concrete, which uses carbon-intensive Portland cement as a bonding agent, tends to crack and crumble into the sea over a relatively short time when exposed to salt water?
In addition to seawalls and subaquatic structures, the Romans built numerous millennia-spanning monuments such as the Colosseum with concrete made from lime, rock and volcanic ash. (Photo: Maria_Globetrotter/flickr)
According to a new study published in American Mineralogist, the answer has been sitting in front of us all along: Salt water, the same substance that hastens corrosion in modern concrete, is what has enabled some Roman piers and seawalls to stand strong for millennia.
More specifically, researchers have found that Roman concrete's seawater-aided endurance results from a chemical reaction that occurs when salt water seeps into the concrete fabric and comes in contact with the volcanic ash. The reaction creates aluminous tobermorite, a mineral that's difficult to produce in laboratory settings. This rare concrete crystal serves as a naturally occurring reinforcement that's matchless in modern times.
The great Roman author Pliny the Elder was certainly on to something when he wrote circa 79 A.D. in his "Naturalis Historia" that frequent lashings by an angry sea only made Roman harbors and seawalls more resilient "a single stone mass, impregnable to the waves and every day stronger."
"Contrary to the principles of modern cement-based concrete, the Romans created a rock-like concrete that thrives in open chemical exchange with seawater, " Marie Jackson, the study's lead author and a geologist at the University of Utah, tells the BBC. "It's a very rare occurrence in the Earth."
A University of Utah press release goes on to explain the chemical process:
"We're looking at a system that's contrary to everything one would not want in cement-based concrete," Jackson explains. "We're looking at a system that thrives in open chemical exchange with seawater."
Excellent. So does this research mean that some day down the line we'll experience a rebirth of ancient Roman building techniques? Will this antediluvian building material be used to as first line of defense when protecting our cities from rising seas unleashed by a rapidly warming planet?
Perhaps but not so fast.
The author of a new study on the chemical process that makes ancient concrete so durable believes that the seawater-strengthened material is the right fit for a proposed Welsh power plant that harnesses the power of the tides. (Rendering: Tidal Lagoon Power)
With the exact ingredients of Roman concrete having been discovered some time ago, Jackson and her fellow mineral cement sleuths now have a greater understanding of the chemical process behind the remarkable longevity of aquatic structures found across the ancient Roman Empire. Yet the exact method employed by Roman builders when mixing this ultra-durable building material remains a mystery. After all, if we knew exactly how they did it, wouldn't we have started replicating Roman concrete long ago?
"The recipe was completely lost," Jackson says in a press release.
While long-lasting, Roman concrete also lacks the compressive strength of Portland cement-based concrete, limiting its applications. And in a society that demands immediate results, structures that take decades centuries, even to gain optimum strength don't seem likely to gain serious traction anytime soon.
And there's another formidable obstacle: The basic aggregate found in Roman concrete volcanic rock collected by Roman builders from the region around present day Naples isn't easy to come by.
"Romans were fortunate in the type of rock they had to work with," Jackson says. "They observed that volcanic ash grew cements to produce the tuff. We don't have those rocks in a lot of the world, so there would have to be substitutions made."
And substitutions Jackson is making. Determined to find a satisfactory modern-day facsimile to reactive Roman concrete, Jackson has teamed with geological engineer Tom Adams to develop a "replacement recipe" composed of aggregate materials (read: rocks) collected from across the American West mixed with seawater pulled straight from the San Francisco Bay.
As the duo work to develop a potential seawater-aggregate mix that could yield the same crack-healing chemical reaction as the Pliny the Elder-beloved building material of civilizations past, Jackson is already thinking of potential applications for modern-day Roman concrete.
Earlier this year, she identified a proposed seawall in Swansea, Wales, as a structure in which Roman concrete would be a highly preferable choice over modern concrete reinforced with cement and steel. She believes that such a structure could potentially hold strong for upwards of 2,000 years.
"Their technique was based on building very massive structures that are really quite environmentally sustainable and very long-lasting," Jackson told the BBC in January. "I think Roman concrete or a type of it would be a very good choice. That project is going to require 120 years of service life to amortise [pay back] the investment."
Despite promises of longevity and putting an end to the planet-harming cement manufacturing process, there are sizable caveats that come along with the idea of protecting Swansea's tidal lagoon the world's first tidal lagoon power plant with a Roman-style seawall. As the BBC elaborates, local steel manufacturers are banking on the ambitious project being built with cement-based, steel-reinforced concrete. The environmental cost of transporting huge amounts of volcanic ash sourced from who knows where to the Welsh coast is also an issue.
"There's many applications but further work is needed to create those mixes. We've started but there is a lot of fine-tuning that needs to happen," Jackson tells The Guardian. "The challenge is to develop methods that use common volcanic products and that is actually what we are doing right now."
Matt Hickman ( @mattyhick ) writes about design, architecture and the intersection between the natural world and the built environment.
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Scientists unlock the mystery behind Roman concrete's amazing ... - Mother Nature Network (blog)