Some people with Parkinson’s disease may be born with disordered brain cells

According to a recent study, some people who develop symptoms of Parkinson’s disease before they reach the age of fifty may have brain development disorder even before their birth. The disease can go undetected for 30-40 years before showing the symptoms, it added.

Parkinson’s occurs when brain neurons that make dopamine, a substance that helps coordinate muscle movement, become impaired or die.

According to a new Cedars-Sinai research, there is a particular drug that might potentially help correct these disease processes.

Symptoms, which get worse over time, include slowness of movement, rigid muscles, tremors and loss of balance. In most cases, the exact cause of neuron failure is unclear, and there is no known cure

Michele Tagliati, who was a co-author of the study said: “Young-onset Parkinson’s is especially heartbreaking because it strikes people at the prime of life. This exciting new research provides hope that one day we may be able to detect and take early action to prevent this disease in at-risk individuals.”

To perform the study, the research team generated special stem cells, known as induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), from cells of patients with young-onset Parkinson’s disease. This process involves taking adult blood cells “back in time” to a primitive embryonic state.

“Our technique gave us a window back in time to see how well the dopamine neurons might have functioned from the very start of a patient’s life,” said the study’s senior author, Clive Svendsen.

The researchers detected two key abnormalities in the dopamine neurons in the dish. One was the accumulation of a protein called alpha-synuclein, which occurs in most forms of Parkinson’s disease

The other abnormality was the malfunctioning lysosomes, cell structures that act as ‘trash cans’ for the cell to break down and dispose of proteins. This malfunction could cause alpha-synuclein to build-up.

Shlomo Melmed, a dean of the Medical Faculty at Cedars-Sinai said: “This research is an outstanding example of how physicians and investigators from different disciplines join forces to produce translational science with the potential to help patients. This important work is made possible by the dual leadership of Cedars-Sinai as both a distinguished academic institution and an outstanding hospital.
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6 Good Sources of Vitamin D

Vitamin D, also known as the sunshine vitamin, is a fat-soluble vitamin essential for optimal health.
It helps your body absorb calcium and maintain adequate serum magnesium and phosphate concentrations — three nutrients important for your teeth, muscles, and bones. It also plays crucial roles in brain development, heart function, your immune system, and mental health.

Low vitamin D levels are widespread worldwide. Symptoms of deficiency include fatigue, muscle pain, weak bones, and — in children — stunted growth . 

To maintain adequate levels, children under 12 months should get 400 IU (10 mcg) of vitamin D daily, while children 1–13 years old should get 600 IU (15 mcg) daily. Adults and pregnant or nursing women should aim for 600 and 800 IU (15 and 20 mcg) per day, respectively .

Yet, very few foods contain this vitamin, and those that do are mostly animal products. Thus, it can be difficult to get enough of this nutrient from your diet, particularly if you’re vegetarian or vegan.
At the same time, a handful of foods and techniques can give you a boost.

Here are 6 good sources of vitamin D for vegetarians — some of which are suitable for vegans, too.

1. Sunshine

Your skin can produce vitamin D when exposed to the sun’s ultraviolet B (UVB) rays. Most people get at least some of their vitamin D this way. 

According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), exposing your face, arms, legs, or back to sunlight for 5–30 minutes twice a week — without sunscreen — is usually sufficient to generate optimal vitamin D levels . 

However, depending on your geographical location or climate, it may not be practical to achieve this degree of direct sun exposure. 

Additional factors, such as the season, time of day, and degree of pollution or smog, as well as your age, skin color, and sunscreen use, also affect your skin’s ability to produce enough vitamin D. 

For instance, smog or an overcast day may reduce the strength of UV rays by up to 60%. Moreover, older adults and those with darker skin tones may require significantly longer than 30 minutes of sun exposure to produce sufficient vitamin D . 

That said, excess sun exposure can increase your risk of skin cancer. Hence, the American Academy of Dermatology urges people not to rely on the sun as their main source of vitamin D.

2. Certain mushrooms

Mushrooms have the unique ability to make vitamin D when exposed to UV light. This makes them the only edible plant source of vitamin D .

For instance, wild mushrooms and those artificially exposed to UV light may boast anywhere between 154 and 1,136 IU (3.8 and 28 mcg) of vitamin D per 3.5-ounce (100-gram) serving . 

What’s more, their vitamin D content remains high for the duration of their shelf life and appears to be as effective at raising levels of this vitamin in your body as vitamin D supplements . 

That said, most commercial mushrooms are grown in the dark and aren’t exposed to UV light, which means that they likely contain very little vitamin D . 

When shopping, look for a note on the label mentioning vitamin D content. If you’re having trouble finding mushrooms exposed to UV light, you may have better luck at your local health food store or farmers market — which often carry wild mushrooms.

Keep in mind that not all wild mushrooms are edible. Eating poisonous ones can cause symptoms ranging from mild indigestion to organ failure and even death. As such, you shouldn’t forage for your own wild mushrooms unless you’re expertly trained.

3. Egg yolks

Egg yolks provide vitamin D, though their specific amounts rely greatly on the chicken’s diet and access to the outdoors.

For instance, eggs sourced from chickens fed vitamin-D-enriched feed can pack up to 6,000 IU (150 mcg) per yolk, whereas eggs from chickens given conventional feed contain only 18–39 IU (0.4–1 mcg).

Similarly, chickens allowed to roam outdoors are exposed to sunlight and typically lay eggs that boast 3–4 times more vitamin D than those of chickens raised indoors . 

Free-range or organic eggs tend to have more vitamin D. The label may also indicate that the eggs are enriched with this nutrient.

4. Cheese

Cheese is a natural source of vitamin D, albeit in very small amounts.

Most varieties contain 8–24 IU (0.2–0.6 mcg) of vitamin D per 2-ounce (50-gram) serving. Levels vary based on the way the cheese is manufactured. 

Fontina, Monterey, and Cheddar cheeses boast more, while mozzarella has less. Soft types like cottage, ricotta, or cream cheeses offer almost no vitamin D . 

Some kinds can also be fortified with vitamin D, and this will be indicated on the label or ingredient list.

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Hope for brain related genetic disorders

Researchers have reversed a mutation in mice that leads to the genetic disorder WAGR syndrome — which causes intellectual disability and obesity in people — an advance that may lead to drugs for shaping the brain’s nerve connections.

The study noted that the gene editing technology they used was unique as it changed the epigenome — how the genes are regulated — without changing the actual genetic code of the mice.

The researchers found that a gene, C11orf46, was an important regulator during brain development.

They said, the gene turned on and off the direction-sensing proteins which helped guide the long fibres growing out of newly formed nerve cells, or neurons. 

According to the researchers, these neurons are responsible for sending electrical messages, helping them form into a bundle which connects the two hemispheres of the brain, known as the corpus
callosum. 

The scientists said, failure to properly form this bundled structure can lead to conditions such as intellectual disability, autism, or other brain developmental disorders.

“Although this work is early, these findings suggest that we may be able to develop future epigenome editing therapies that could help reshape the neural connections in the brain, and perhaps prevent developmental disorders of the brain from occurring,” said the study's co-author.

According to the study, WAGR syndrome — also known as chromosome 11p13 deletion syndrome — can result when some genes present along with C11orf46 are deleted by chance. 

As part of the study, the researchers used a genetic tool, called a short hairpin RNA, to cause less of the C11orf46 protein to be made in the brains of mice. 

They found that the neuron fibres in the mouse brains with less of the C11orf46 protein failed to properly form the corpus callosum — similar to what is seen in WAGR syndrome.

The researchers also found that a gene that makes another direction-sensing protein — Semaphorin 6a — was more actively produced in mice with lower C11orf46. 

Following this, the researchers used a modified form of the gene editing technology, CRISPR, and tweaked a portion of the gene which regulated Semaphorin production in cells. 

According to the study, this allowed C11orf46 to function normally in the brains of these mice, and restored the neuron fibre bundling, similar to how it is in normal brains. The researchers wrote in the study that there is therapeutic potential for shaping the brain’s nerve connections by targeting genes and proteins that activated and repressed the process. 

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Lack Of Nutrition During The First 1000 Days Of Life Can Impact Brain Development’, Says Expert

Lack of nutrition among children have far reaching impact on not just the physical health but also the mental development of the child. It is also a cause of mortality among children. Child wasting (low weight for height) which is usually the result of acute significant food shortage or disease or both is a strong analyst of mortality among children under five. According to the Global Nutrition Report 2018, India is home to half the population of wasted children, 25.5 million of the total 50.5 million children wasted globally. The same report states that India is home to 46.6 million stunted children (low height for age) out of a total of 150.8 million stunted children in the world. UNICEF says that stunting is associated with an underdeveloped brain, with long-lasting harmful consequences, including diminished mental ability and learning capacity, poor school performance, among others. The root cause behind child stunting and wasting is long-term insufficient nutrient intake and frequent infections.

In a bid to make India malnutrition free by 2022 and reduce stunting in identified districts of the country, the government launched POSHAN Abhiyaan on March 8, 2018, and observes September as ' Poshan Maah’ or nutrition month.  Dr Suparna speaks to understand the importance of nutrition  during the first 1000 days of human life (from conception of the baby till two year after birth) and how these 1000 days shape the health of the child for the rest of his or her life.

Question: What are the first 1000 days of life and how are they divided?

Dr Suparna: The first thousand days of an individual’s life starts right from the time of conception to when the child is two years old. The first 1000 days are divided into three phases; the first phase is called the gestation period that is when a child is inside the womb and it usually lasts for 270 days. While the second phase is the infancy period (0-1 year), the third stage is the toddlerhood or early childhood (12-23 months).

Question: Why are the first 1000 days crucial? What role does nutrition play during these 1000 days?

Dr Suparna: The first 1000 days are crucial and often called the critical window of opportunity because during this time whatever nutritional care you give has long term repercussions on optimal health, growth and development of the child, and most importantly the brain development. It is often called the time of high neural plasticity which is basically how readily the brain responds to either positive or negative stimulus and as a consequence of which there is long term effect which remains even after the stimulus is removed.

Also, different parts of the brain mature at different time periods during this critical window of 1000 days; this development of the brain is quiet metabolically taxing and takes up a lot of energy and crucial nutrients like Protein, Poly unsaturated fatty acids, Iron, Zinc, Choline, micro nutrients, among others. Therefore it is crucial to provide optimal amount of nutrition and create a conducive environment for optimal brain development.

During the gestation period, a child gets nutrition through placenta so the mother’s nutritional status is equally pivotal. If a mother is not optimally nourished, it will lead to intrauterine growth retardation (a condition in which a baby doesn’t grow to normal weight while in the mother’s womb). We often say that during the first trimester, a mother need not take any extra protein, calorie and should continue with her regular diet, but in developing countries, especially among the socio-economically poor sections of the population, nutritional intake among women is often compromised. Women may not even get minimum nutrition so we need to ensure that the mothers’ pre-conception nutrition status is optimal, else it will hamper a child’s health. For instance, if a woman does not have enough of folic acid in her diet around the time of conception, child may develop neural tube defect – birth defects of brain, and spine.

Question: What nutritional practices should a mother and children follow during this period?

Dr Suparna: From the time of conception till the time baby is six months old, his/her nutrition is completely dependent on the mother therefore it is essential for a mother to take a balanced and diverse diet. Balanced in the sense it should have a right mix of energy giving food (cereal, pulses, nuts, oil, sugar), body building food (pulses, meat, milk, fish, egg) and protective food (fruits and vegetables).
Post birth, for the first six months, a child should be exclusively breastfed. Breastmilk has high and right kind of fat which is crucial for brain development. After six months, complementary feeding should be initiated without weaning the baby off breastmilk. Breastfeeding has to be continued for two years and beyond; after six months it needs to be complemented with adequate, safe and proper food and liquid to meet the additional nutrition needs of the young infant who grows at a faster rate.
For growth and development of the brain, essential nutrients are Protein, Zinc, Iron, Choline, Folate, Iodine, Vitamins A, D, B6, and B12 and long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, among others.

Question: What are the repercussions of lack of nutrition or a balanced diet during the first 1000 days of a child?

Dr Suparna: Lack of nutrition has both immediate and long term outcomes. Immediate consequences involve child being chronically malnourished, morbid, catching more infections, and may lead to high mortality rates. As far as the long term impacts are concerned, even if the child survives infectious episodes with poor nutritional status, he/she will get into the vicious cycle of poor nutrition and infection and this may lead to school absenteeism, and also a compromised cognitive development.
To elaborate upon this, chronic energy deficiency in these children leads to stunting, with stunting the IQ (intelligence quotient) points go down. So, even when child somehow survives the chronic nutritional insult and adapts to it i.e. becomes stunted, this stunted child with cognitive deficits, is not able to constructively contribute to the economic development and productivity of the country as an adult because he/she is not able to contribute to his/her full potential. Apart from the brain development, through nutritious diet we are also laying the foundation of optimal health during the later phase of life. Poor nutrition during the first 1000 days also set the stage for later obesity, diabetes, and other chronic diseases which can lead to a lifetime of health problems.

Question: What are some of dos and don’ts that need to be kept in mind for the first 1000 days?

Dr Suparna: The top five dos which a person needs to keep in mind are:

• Intervene early: Anaemia and underweight among women in the reproductive age are major problems in the country. So, we need to focus on that and early intervention is required. Start with adolescent girls and take care of their nutrition status before they are ready for motherhood.
• Create optimal nutritional environment in the womb: When the woman is pregnant, throughout her pregnancy take extra care of her diet, provide all antenatal check-ups and immunisations, take care of her diet, ensure hygiene and sanitation, and allow her to take some rest.
• Exclusive breastfeeding: After birth, the nutritional need of a child is met from exclusive breastfeeding so early initiation of breast milk and exclusive breastfeeding is the best food for the infant for six months of life.
• A balanced diet for a mother: Simultaneously, take care of mother’s nutrition during the lactation period. If mother’s diet is deficient in some of the vital nutrients like Vitamin A, breast milk will also be deficient in that. So, mothers diet should have an optimal amount of these nutrients. However, it is interesting to note that some nutrients are not affected by the nutritional status of the mother and remain constant in breast milk. This means the infant will somehow get those nutrients in breast milk but at the cost of mother own nutritional status. So maintaining mothers nutritional status is beneficial for both the growing infant and the mother.
• Adequate, safe and proper complementary feeding: Complementary feeding is over and above the breast milk, it adds to the nutrition provided by breast milk and that is why it has to be high in calorie and other nutrients.

Dos are always followed by some don’ts, here they are:

• Bid adieu to stress: Lactating woman should not be stressed or worried about whether she is feeding properly, her breastmilk is enough or not, or whether baby is getting enough milk because stress hinders good hormones which are essential for breastmilk production and secretion. Stress, worry and doubt may lead to a reduction in the breastmilk. It is essential to empower the woman and enhance her skills in breastfeeding. It is easier said than done but a woman needs to be happy and relaxed while she feeds her growing infant.  A lot of emotional support and care is what a family and the society in general needs to extend to a lactating mother.
• Say no to breastfeeding substitutes/formulas: Varied breastfeeding formulas available in the market often claim to be a substitute to breastmilk, but these formulas should be completely avoided.
• Timely initiation of complementary feeding: Complementary feeding should be initiated after the completion of six months that is 180 days. Neither before that nor later.
• Mother’s don’t need extra calories or food during the first trimester: During the first trimester we don’t recommend intake of extra foods, but this advice needs careful interpretation. A well nourished mother can definitely continue with her usual diet. But if a woman’s usual diet during pregnancy is lower than the normal average intake of a woman of her age then that is not enough. She needs to improve her diet and match it to the normal average intake. On the other hand, women from higher socio-economic groups with adequate intake may start supplementing their diets during the first trimester, which is not needed.
• Nutritional supplements: Mothers don’t need to take the expensive nutritional food supplements/ health drinks. They can manage to buy a healthy food basket comprising of diverse natural foods and get all her nutritional requirements from natural food sources in a cost-effective manner.          
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Pomegranate juice boosts brain development in unborn babies

Drinking pomegranate juice during pregnancy may improve brain development and connectivity in unborn babies.

Pomegranate juice is a particularly rich source of polyphenols which are known to cross the blood-brain barrier.

Polyphenols, which include tannic acid and ellagitannins, are part of a class of antioxidants found in many foods and beverages, including nuts, berries, red wine and teas.

“Our study provides preliminary evidence suggesting potential protective effects for newborns exposed to pomegranate juice while in the womb,” said study senior author.

“These findings warrant continued investigation into the potential neuroprotective effects of polyphenols in at-risk newborns, such as those with hypoxic-ischemic injury,” she said.

In the study, the team presents its preliminary findings from a clinical trial of expectant mothers whose babies were diagnosed with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR).

In cases of IUGR, a baby in the womb measures small for its gestational age, often because of issues with the placenta, which brings oxygen and nutrients to the growing foetus. One out of every 10 babies is considered to have IUGR.

The current randomised, controlled study enrolled 78 mothers with IUGR diagnosed at 24-43 weeks’ gestation.

Women were randomised to receive eight ounces of pomegranate juice daily or a taste/calorie matched placebo that was polyphenol free. Women drank the juice daily from enrolment until delivery.

The team measured several aspects of brain development and injury, including infant brain macrostructure, microstructural organization and functional connectivity.

While the team did not observe differences in brain macrostructure, they did find regional differences in white matter microstructure and functional connectivity.

“These measures tell us about how the brain is developing functionally. We saw no difference in brain growth and baby growth, but we did see improvement in cabling network and brain development measured by synchronous blood flow and visual development of the brain,” she said.

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Varying brain energy expenditure in childhood associated with weight gain

It is well known that we tend to put on weight when we consume more calories than we spend. It is, however, less known that our brain uses half of the body's energy during early childhood.

Research says that variation in the energy needs of brain development across kids- in terms of the timing, intensity, and duration of energy use- can influence patterns of energy expenditure and weight gain.

We all know that how much energy out bodies burn is an important influence on weight gain. When kids are 5, their brains use almost half of their bodies' energy. And yet, we have no idea how much the brain's energy expenditure varies between kids. This is a huge hole in our understanding of energy expenditure, said the co-author of the study.

A major aim of our paper is to bring attention to this gap in understanding and to encourage researchers to measure the brain's energy use in future studies of child development especially those focused on understanding weight gain and obesity risk.

We believe it is plausible that increased energy expenditure by the brain could be an unanticipated benefit to early child development programme, which of course, have many other demonstrated benefits. That would be a great win-win, he said.

This new hypothesis was inspired by the team showing that the brain consumes a lifetime peak of two-thirds of the body's resting energy expenditure, and almost half of total expenditure when kids are 5 years old.

The study also shows that ages, when the brain's energy needs increase during early childhood, are also ages of declining weight gain. As the energy needed for brain development declines in older children and adolescents, the rate of weight gain increases in parallel.

This finding helped confirm a long-standing hypothesis in anthropology that human children evolved a much slower rate of childhood growth compared to other mammals and primates, he said.

 

THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOU PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES.                                    PS- THOSE INTERESTED IN RECIPES ARE FREE TO  VIEW MY BLOG-                                                                                           https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com/                                                                                                                                                FOR INFO ABOUT KNEE REPLACEMENT, YOU CAN VIEW MY BLOG-                                                  https:// kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com/                                                                      FOR CROCHET DESIGNS                                                                                                                                                                                     https://gscrochetdesigns.blogspot.com