Passive Smoking Link to Dementia

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Passive Smoking (Second-hand Smoke) Increases Risk of Severe Dementia

An international study by scientists at King's College London and Anhui Medical University, China, along with colleagues in the UK and USA has found a link between passive smoking and syndromes of dementia.

The study of nearly 6,000 people in five provinces in China reveals that people exposed to passive smoking have a significantly increased risk of severe dementia syndromes.

Passive smoking, also known as 'second-hand' smoke or environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), is known to cause serious cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, including coronary heart disease and lung cancer. However, until now it has been uncertain whether ETS increases the risk of dementia, mainly due to lack of research. Previous studies have shown an association between ETS and cognitive impairment, but this is the first to find a significant link with dementia syndromes.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), nearly 80 percent of the more than one billion smokers worldwide live in low- and middle-income countries, where the burden of tobacco-related illness and death is heaviest; but only 11 percent of the world's population are protected by comprehensive smoke-free laws.

China is the largest consumer of tobacco in the world, with 350 million smokers. Since 2006, the Chinese government has actively promoted the introduction of smoke-free environments in hospitals, schools, on public transport and in other public places, but implementation has not been widespread.

Recent data show that the prevalence of passive smoking is still high, with over 50 percent of people exposed to environmental tobacco smoke on a daily basis. China also has the highest number of dementia sufferers in the world, with increasing rates of new cases as the population ages.

Dr Ruoling Chen, senior lecturer in public health from King's College London, and colleagues interviewed 5,921 people aged over 60 in the rural and urban communities of Anhui, Guangdong, Heilongjiang, Shanghai and Shanxi to characterise their levels of ETS exposure, smoking habits and assess levels of dementia syndromes.

They found that 10 percent of the group had severe dementia syndromes. This was significantly related to exposure level and duration of passive smoking. The associations with severe syndromes were found in people who had never smoked and in former and current smokers.

The data from the Anhui cohort, which were collected at baseline in 2001-03 for dementia syndromes and in the follow up in 2007-08 for ETS exposure and dementia, further excluded the possibility that dementia syndromes caused people to be more exposed to environmental tobacco smoke.

Dr Ruoling Chen, also a visiting professor at Anhui Medical University said: 'Passive smoking should be considered an important risk factor for severe dementia syndromes, as this study in China shows. Avoiding exposure to ETS may reduce the risk of severe dementia syndromes.

'China, along with many other countries, now has a significantly aging population, so dementia has a significant impact not only on the patients but on their families and carers. It's a huge burden on society.'

The findings from this study, together with a second recent study by Chen and colleagues published in Alzheimer's & Dementia on the links between passive smoking and Alzheimer's disease, strengthen the case for public health measures to protect people from exposure to environmental tobacco smoke.

'At present, we know that about 90 percent of the world's population live in countries without smoke-free public areas. More campaigns against tobacco exposure in the general population will help decrease the risk of severe dementia syndromes and reduce the dementia epidemic worldwide.'

He added: 'The increased risk of severe dementia syndromes in those exposed to passive smoking is similar to increased risk of coronary heart disease -- suggesting that urgent preventive measures should be taken, not just in China but many other countries.'

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Story Source:

The above story is based on the January 9, 2013 news release by King's College London.

The study has been published in Occupational and Environmental Medicine: Chen R, Wilson K, Chen Y, Zhang D, Qin X, He M, Hu Z, Ma Y, Copeland JR. Association between environmental tobacco smoke exposure and dementia syndromes. Occup Environ Med. 2013 Jan;70(1):63-9. 

Click HERE for the Full Text. 

What Are You Doing To Keep Your Relationship Alive?

Expert Suggests Tried-And-True Strategies to Strengthen Your Relationship

A University of Illinois study highlights the importance of five relationship maintenance strategies that couples can use to preserve or improve the quality of an intimate relationship.

"Relationships are like cars in that you have do certain things to keep them running, especially when your goal is to strengthen and preserve your bond with your partner," said Brian Ogolsky, a U of I professor of human and community development.

To determine which factors are the most important in promoting healthy relationships, Ogolsky and colleague Jill R. Bowers conducted a meta-analysis of 35 studies and 12,273 individual reports.

The research showed that openness, positivity, assurances, shared tasks, and a shared social network are strategies that couples can use to make their relationship better, he said.

To "open up" your relationship, the researchers encouraged not only talking about your feelings but getting your partner to talk about what she is feeling as well. Positivity entailed being a "fun" person and acting upbeat and cheerful as you interact with each other.

"It's also important to assure your partner that you're in the relationship for the long haul, to divide household chores and responsibilities equally, and to make an effort to include your partner's friends and family in some of your activities," Ogolsky said.

The study showed that a person who practices one of these five strategies is likely to practice the others as well. And a partner who notices that one of the strategies is being used is apt to be tuned in to their partner's efforts in the other four areas, he said.

"Persons who use any of these maintenance strategies will not only be more satisfied with and committed to their relationship, they are also likely to continue to love and, yes, even like each other throughout its duration," he said.

Although these strategies work, challenges may arise when couples don't see or value each other's efforts in the same way. These approaches had the most influence on the quality of the relationship when persons believed their partner was also performing relationship maintenance, he said.

The study suggests that what you do doesn't matter as much as whether the things you're doing are noticed by your partner. In other words, he said, relationship quality is not only at risk when couples don't employ these strategies, but also when one partner believes the other is not making an effort or doesn't recognize those efforts.

Sometimes a person's thoughts don't transfer into actions, he explained. "Say you've arrived home from work and your intention all day has been to buy some flowers for your partner and surprise her with dinner. Then you get wrapped up in a business phone call and your good intentions fall by the wayside. You may feel as if you've put considerable effort into your relationship, but your partner didn't see it so it does you no good."

The fact that couples get busy, become enmeshed in routines, and take each other for granted is all the more reason to consciously adopt these relationship strategies, he said.

"Even a small attempt at maintenance, such as asking how your partner's day was, sending a humorous text to make him laugh, or picking up the phone and calling your mother- or father-in-law, can have a positive impact on your relationship and make you happier," he added.

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The above story is based on the January 9, 2013 news release by University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences.

The research has been published online November 21, 2012 in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships:

Ogolsky BG, Bowers JR. A meta-analytic review of relationship maintenance and its correlates. J Soc Pers Relat. 2012; DOI: 10.1177/0265407512463338

Pear-Shaped Bodies More Healthy Than Apples?

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For the first time abnormal proteins from buttock fat linked to metabolic syndrome

People who are "apple-shaped" -- with fat more concentrated around the abdomen -- have long been considered more at risk for conditions such as heart disease and diabetes than those who are "pear-shaped" and carry weight more in the buttocks, hips and thighs.

But new research conducted at UC Davis Health System provides further evidence that the protective benefits of having a pear-body shape may be more myth than reality.

The study found that fat stored in the buttock area -- also known as gluteal adipose tissue -- secretes abnormal levels of chemerin and omentin-1, proteins that can lead to inflammation and a prediabetic condition know as insulin resistance in individuals with early metabolic syndrome.

"Fat in the abdomen has long been considered the most detrimental to health, and gluteal fat was thought to protect against diabetes, heart disease and metabolic syndrome," said Ishwarlal Jialal, lead author of the study and a professor of pathology and laboratory medicine and of internal medicine at UC Davis. "But our research helps to dispel the myth that gluteal fat is 'innocent.' It also suggests that abnormal protein levels may be an early indicator to identify those at risk for developing metabolic syndrome."

The UC Davis team found that in individuals with early metabolic syndrome, gluteal fat secreted elevated levels of chemerin and low levels of omentin-1 -- proteins that correlate with other factors known to increase the risk for heart disease and diabetes. High chemerin levels, for example, correlated with high blood pressure, elevated levels of C-reactive protein (a sign of inflammation) and triglycerides, insulin resistance, and low levels of HDL cholesterol. Low omentin-1 levels correlated with high levels of triglycerides and blood glucose levels and low levels of HDL cholesterol.

The abnormal levels of these two proteins were also independent of age, body mass index and waist circumference.

"High chemerin levels correlated with four of the five characteristics of metabolic syndrome and may be a promising biomarker for metabolic syndrome," said Jialal. "As it's also an indicator of inflammation and insulin resistance, it could also emerge as part of a biomarker panel to define high-risk obesity states. The good news is that with weight loss, you can reduce chemerin levels along with the risk for metabolic syndrome."

"Future large epidemiological studies should focus on evaluating the role of chemerin as a biomarker for the development of diabetes and cardiovascular disease in metabolic syndrome," Jialal said.

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The above story is January 10, 2013 reprinted from materials provided by University of California - Davis Health System.

 

The research has been published online before print January 9, 2013 in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism:  

Jialal I, Devaraj S, Kaur H, Adams-Huet B, Bremer AA. Increased Chemerin and Decreased Omentin-1 in Both Adipose Tissue and Plasma in Nascent Metabolic Syndrome. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., 2013; DOI: 10.1210/jc.2012-3673

Metabolic syndrome refers to a group of risk factors that occur together, doubling the risk for heart disease and increasing the risk for diabetes at least five-fold. Risk factors include having a large waistline, low levels of high-density lipoproteins (HDL), or "good" cholesterol, high blood pressure as well as high fasting blood sugar ( insulin resistance) and high triglyceride levels. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, metabolic syndrome affects 35 percent of American adults over age 20.

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Red Wine Boosts Testosterone Level

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UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT2B17) is the key enzyme involved in the glucuronidation of testosterone to testosterone glucuronide which is then easily eliminated from our body. Testosterone glucuronide also serves as a marker for the testosterone/epitestosterone (T/E) ratio used to detect testosterone abuse in sport.

Researchers at Kingston University in England have discovered that phenolic components, including quercetin, in red wine inhibit this enzyme that removes testosterone from the body.

Red wine could thus have a positive impact on circulating testosterone levels, thus aiding performance while potentially affecting the urinary T/E ratio and therefore masking testosterone abuse.

The team also found the results were the same for red wine extract in supplement form.

Although red wine is not a banned substance away from the sports field, Professor Naughton's team has referred its findings to the World Anti-Doping Agency because of the newly-discovered side effect of potential change to the amount of testosterone in the body.

The same researchers had earlier shown that green and white tea extracts also inhibit testosterone glucuronidation.

Previous research has also shown that non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drugs, diclofenac and ibuprofen, can also inhibit the UGT2B17 enzyme

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The above story is based on the January 7, 2013 news release by Kingston University.

The research has been Epublished ahead of print in theNutrition Journal:

Jenkinson C, Petroczi A, Naughton DP. Red wine and component flavonoids inhibit UGT2B17 in vitro. Nutr J. 2012 Sep 7; 67 DOI: 10.1186/1475-2891-11-67

Read the Full Text HERE. 

Other sources of quercetin:

Fruits and vegetables -- citrus fruits, apples, onions, parsley, sage, tea, grapes, dark cherries, dark berries -- such as blueberries, blackberries, and bilberries, and olive oil.

Eliminating Useless Information, Making New Memories

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Eliminating Useless Information Important to Learning, Making New Memories

As we age, it just may be the ability to filter and eliminate old information -- rather than take in the new stuff -- that makes it harder to learn, scientists report.

"When you are young, your brain is able to strengthen certain connections and weaken certain connections to make new memories," said Dr. Joe Z. Tsien, neuroscientist at the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University and Co-Director of the GRU Brain & Behavior Discovery Institute.

It's that critical weakening that appears hampered in the older brain

The NMDA receptor in the brain's hippocampus is like a switch for regulating learning and memory, working through subunits called NR2A and NR2B. NR2B is expressed in higher percentages in children, enabling neurons to talk a fraction of a second longer; make stronger bonds, called synapses; and optimize learning and memory. This formation of strong bonds is called long-term potentiation. The ratio shifts after puberty, so there is more NR2A and slightly reduced communication time between neurons.

When Tsien and his colleagues genetically modified mice that mimic the adult ratio -- more NR2A, less NR2B -- they were surprised to find the rodents were still good at making strong connections and short-term memories but had an impaired ability to weaken existing connections, called long-term depression, and to make new long-term memories as a result. It's called information sculpting and adult ratios of NMDA receptor subunits don't appear to be very good at it.

"If you only make synapses stronger and never get rid of the noise or less useful information then it's a problem," said Tsien, the study's corresponding author. While each neuron averages 3,000 synapses, the relentless onslaught of information and experiences necessitates some selective whittling. Insufficient sculpting, at least in their mouse, meant a reduced ability to remember things short-term -- like the ticket number at a fast-food restaurant -- and long-term -- like remembering a favorite menu item at that restaurant. Both are impacted in Alzheimer's and age-related dementia.

All long-term depression was not lost in the mice, rather just response to the specific electrical stimulation levels that should induce weakening of the synapse. Tsien expected to find the opposite: that long-term potentiation was weak and so was the ability to learn and make new memories. "What is abnormal is the ability to weaken existing connectivity."

Acknowledging the leap, this impaired ability could also help explain why adults can't learn a new language without their old accent and why older people tend to be more stuck in their ways, the memory researcher said.

"We know we lose the ability to perfectly speak a foreign language if we learn than language after the onset of sexual maturity. I can learn English but my Chinese accent is very difficult to get rid of. The question is why," Tsien said.

Tsien and his colleagues already have learned what happens when NR2B is overexpressed. He and East China Normal University researchers announced in 2009 the development of Hobbie-J, a smarter than average rat. A decade earlier, Tsien reported in the journal Nature the development of a smart mouse dubbed Doogie using the same techniques to over-express the NR2B gene in the hippocampus.

Doogie, Hobbie-J and their descendants have maintained superior memory as they age. Now Tsien is interested in following the NR2A over-expressing mouse to see what happens.

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The above story is based on the January 9, 2013 news release by Georgia Health Sciences University.

The research has been published in the journal Scientific Reports:

Zhenzhong Cui, Ruiben Feng, Stephanie Jacobs, Yanhong Duan, Huimin Wang, Xiaohua Cao, Joe Z. Tsien. Increased NR2A:NR2B ratio compresses long-term depression range and constrains long-term memory. Scientific Reports, 2013; 3 

Click HERE for the Full Text 

High Fiber Diet Prevents Prostate Cancer Progression

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A high-fiber diet may have the clinical potential to control the progression of prostate cancer in patients diagnosed in early stages of the disease.

The rate of prostate cancer occurrence in Asian cultures is similar to the rate in Western cultures, but in the West, prostate cancer tends to progress, whereas in Asian cultures it does not.

Why? A recent University of Colorado Cancer Center study shows that the answer may be a high-fiber diet.

The study compared mice fed with of inositol hexaphosphate (IP6), a major component of high-fiber diets, to control mice that were not. Then the study used MRI to monitor the progression of prostate cancer in these models.

"The study's results were really rather profound. We saw dramatically reduced tumor volumes, primarily due to the anti-angiogenic effects of IP6," says Komal Raina, PhD, research instructor at the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, working in the lab of CU Cancer Center investigator and School of Pharmacy faculty member, Rajesh Agarwal, PhD.

Basically, feeding with the active ingredient of a high-fiber diet kept prostate tumors from making the new blood vessels they needed to supply themselves with energy. Without this energy, prostate cancer couldn't grow. Likewise, treatment with IP6 slowed the rate at which prostate cancers metabolized glucose.

Possible mechanisms for the effect of IP6 against metabolism include a reduction in a protein called GLUT-4, which is instrumental in transporting glucose.

"Researchers have long been looking for genetic variations between Asian and Western peoples that could explain the difference in prostate cancer progression rates, but now it seems as if the difference may not be genetic but dietary. Asian cultures get IP6 whereas Western cultures generally do not," Raina says.

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The above story is based on the January 9, 2013 news release by University of Colorado Denver.

The research has been published online December 4, 2012 in the journal Cancer Prevention Research:

Raina K, Ravichandran K, Rajamanickam S, Huber KM, Serkova NJ, Agarwal R. Inositol Hexaphosphate Inhibits Tumor Growth, Vascularity, and Metabolism in TRAMP Mice: A Multiparametric Magnetic Resonance Study. Cancer Prev Res (Phila).  2012; 6 (1): 40 DOI: 10.1158/1940-6207.CAPR-12-0387