Heavy drinking can change your DNA

Are you a heavy drinker? Take note. Besides alcohol taking a toll on your health in many ways, it may also trigger a long-lasting genetic change resulting in an even greater craving for alcohol, researchers  have warned.

"We found that people who drink heavily may be changing their DNA in a way that makes them crave alcohol even more," said a Prof. "This may help explain why alcoholism is such a powerful addiction, and may one day contribute to new ways to treat alcoholism or help prevent at-risk people from becoming addicted," said the Prof.

For the study, researchers focused on two genes implicated in the control of drinking behaviour: PER2, which influences the body's biological clock, and POMC, which regulates our stress-response system.

By comparing groups of moderate, binge and heavy drinkers, the team found that the two genes had changed in binge and heavy drinkers through an alcohol-influenced gene modification process called methylation, according to the findings.

In addition, the binge and heavy drinkers also showed reductions in gene expression, or the rate at which these genes create proteins. These changes increased with greater alcohol intake.
Also, in another experiment, the drinkers viewed stress-related, neutral or alcohol-related images. They were also shown containers of beer and subsequently tasted beer, and their motivation to drink was evaluated. 

Results showed that alcohol-fuelled changes in the genes of binge and heavy drinkers were associated with a greater desire for alcohol. The findings may eventually help researchers identify biomarkers -- measurable indicators such as proteins or modified genes -- that could predict an individual's risk for binge or heavy drinking, the Prof. noted.

In 2016, more than 3 million people died from the harmful use of alcohol. More than three quarters of alcohol-caused deaths were among men. The harmful use of alcohol also caused 5.1 per cent of disease and injuries worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.

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How genes keep body clock in proper rhythm

Sixteen years after scientists found the genes that control the circadian clock in all cells, US researchers have now discovered how genes keep the circadian clocks in all human cells in time and in proper rhythm within the 24-hour period.

A circadian rhythm is any biological process that displays an oscillation of about 24 hours.
They found that two genes - Period and Cryptochrome - have complementary roles.

The finding has implications for the development of drugs for various diseases such as cancers and diabetes, as well as conditions such as metabolic syndrome, insomnia, seasonal affective disorder, obesity and even jet lag.

"We have known for a while that four proteins were involved in generating daily rhythmicity but not exactly what they did. Now we know how the clock is reset in all cells. So we have a better idea of what to expect if we target these proteins with therapeutics," explained Aziz Sancar, professor of biochemistry and biophysics at the University of North Carolina's school of medicine.

In all human cells, there are four genes - Cryptochrome, Period, CLOCK, and BMAL1 - that work in unison to control the cyclical changes in human physiology such as blood pressure, body temperature and rest-sleep cycles.

The way in which these genes control physiology helps prepare us for the day.

This is called the circadian clock. It keeps us in proper physiological rhythm.

CLOCK and BMAL1 bind to a pair of genes called Period and Cryptochrome and turn them on to express proteins, which - after several modifications - wind up suppressing CLOCK and BMAL1 activity.

Then, the Period and Cryptochrome proteins are degraded, allowing for the circadian clock to begin again.

"It is a feedback loop. The inhibition takes 24 hours. This is why we can see gene activity go up and then down throughout the day," said Sancar.

The paper was published in the journal Genes and Development.

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Why older people are prone to developing joint disorders

A new study has revealed that scheduled exercise, regular meals and the periodic warming and cooling of joints could relieve the symptoms of osteoarthritis in older people.

The research,  may also help explain why older people are more prone to developing this common joint disorder.

The team  has established for the first time that cartilage cells have a functioning body clock that switches on and off genes controlling tissue function.

The rhythm of the cartilage clock perhaps goes some way to explain why osteoarthritis sufferers find the symptoms of the disease worse at certain times of the day.

When the team studied cartilage tissue in older mice they found that the tissue`s body clock was 40 percent weaker than in younger mice.

This suggested that clock deterioration could contribute to an increased risk of developing osteoarthritis in later life.

The researchers then looked at cartilage cells affected by damage similar to osteoarthritis and found that components of the body clock are altered during the early stages of the disease.