Insomnia symptoms linked to cardiovasccular diseases

Less or troubled sleep can lead to stroke, heart attack or other cerebrovascular or cardiovascular diseases claims a new study.

The results suggests that if we can target people who are having trouble sleeping with behavioural therapies, it is possible that we could reduce the number of cases of stroke, heart attack and other diseases later down the line, said the author.

The study involved 487,200 people in China, with an average age of 51 . Participants had no history of stroke or heart disease at the beginning of the study.

Participants were asked if they had any of the 3 symptoms of insomnia at least 3 days per week- trouble falling asleep, or staying asleep, or waking up too early in the morning, or trouble staying focused during the day due to poor sleep.

A total of 11 % of the people had difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep' 10 % reported waking up too early, and 2 % had trouble staying focused during the day due to poor sleep.

The researchers did not determine if the people met the full definition of insomnia.

The people were then followed for an average of about 10 years. During that time, there were 130,032 cases of stroke, heart attack and other similar diseases.

People who had all 3 symptoms of insomnia were 18 % more likely to develop these diseases than people who did not have any symptoms.

The researchers adjusted for other factors that could affect the risk of stroke or heart disease including alcohol use, smoking and level of physical activity.

People who had trouble falling asleep or staying asleep were 9 % more likely to develop stroke or heart disease than people who did not have this trouble.

Of the 55,127 people who had this symptom, 17,650 or 32 %, had a stroke or heart disease, compared to 112,382 or 26 %, of the 432,073 people who did npt have this symptom of insomnia.

People who woke up too early in the morning and could not get back to sleep were 7 % more likely to develop these diseases than people who did not have that problem.

And people who reported that they had trouble staying focused during the day due to poor sleep were 13 % more likely to develop these diseases than people who did not have that symptom.

The link between insomnia symptoms and these diseases was even stronger in younger adults and people who did not have high blood pressure at the start of the study, so future research should look especially at early detection and interventions aimed at these groups, he said.

The author noted that the study doesn't show cause and effect between the insomnia symptoms and stroke and heart disease. It only shows an association.

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Neurotrophin-3 identified as key factor in anxiety disorder.

A recent study has revealed that boosting a molecule named neurotrophin-3 in the brain can change ' dispositional anxiety". Researchers found that neurotrpphin - 3 can trigger neurons to grow and make new connections.

The study provides hope for new strategies focused on intervening early in life to treat people at risk for anxiety disorders, depression and related substance abuse.

There are millions of people worldwide who suffer from debilitating anxiety and depressive disorders, said an Asst. Prof. of psychology.

Anxiety disorders often emerge around adolescence and can continue to affect people for most of their lives. Currently, researchers can identify who display an extreme anxious or inhibited temperament these young people are at risk to develop stress-related psychopathologies as they transition to adulthood.

The roots of the study come from research done by the group about8 years ago in preadolescent rhesus macaques ( species of monkeys) when researchers got their first glimpse of molecular alterations in the dorsal amygdala, a brain region important in emotional responses.

The researchers used an altered virus to boost levels of neurotrophin-3 in the dorsal amygdala of juvenile rhesus macaques. They found that the increase of neurotrophin 1-3 in the dorsal amygala leads to a decrease in anxiety-related behaviours, particularly behaviours associated with inhibition, a core feature of the early-life risk for developing anxiety disorders in human. Subsequent brain imaging studies of these animals found that neurotrophin-3 changed activity throughout the disturbed brain regions that contribute to anxiety.

 

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BP pill has potential to slow down Alzheimer's

A high blood pressure drug has the potential to slow down Alzheimer's disease by improving the flow of blood to parts of the brain linked to memory, a study suggests.

Researchers found the drug nilvadipine increased blood flow to the brain's memory and learning centre among people with Alzheimer's without affecting other parts of the brain.

The findings indicate that the known decrease in cerebral blood flow in patients with Alzheimer's can be reversed in some regions.

However, an important question is whether this observed increase in cerebral blood flow translates to clinical benefits, the researchers said.

Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia.

The risk for the disease increases with age and the causes are largely unknown.

Previous research has shown that blood flow to the brain declines in early Alzheimer's disease.
Nilvadipine is a calcium channel blocker used to treat high blood pressure.

Researchers sought to discover whether nilvadipine could help treat Alzheimer's disease by comparing the use of nilvadipine and a placebo among people with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease.

They randomly assigned 44 participants to receive either nilvadipine or a placebo for 6 months.

Neither researchers nor the participants knew who received the drug or the placebo that was evenly divided among the 2 groups.

At the study's start after 6 months, researchers measured blood flow to specific regions of the brain using a unique magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique.

Results showed that blood flow to the hippocampus- the brain's memory and learning center-increased by 20 % among the nilvadipine group compared to the placebo group.

Blood flow to other regions of the brain was unchanged in both groups.

This high BP treatment holds promise as it doesn't appear to decrease blood flow to the brain, which could cause more harm than benefit, said an associate Prof.

Even though no medical treatment is without risk, getting treatment for high BP could be important to maintain brain health in patients with Alzheimer's disease, said the Prof.

Researchers note that sample sizes were too small and follow-up time too short to reliably study the effects of this cerebral blood flow increase on structural brain measures and cognitive measures.

Study participants were screened between 2013 and 2015 as part of a larger research project comparing nilvadipine to placebo among more than 500 people with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease.

In that larger project, effects on cerebral blood flow were not measured . Overall, no clinical benefit was noted with the use of nilvadipine.

However, a subgroup of patients with only mild symptoms of disease did show benefit, in the sense of a slower decline in memory.

Previous studies have hinted high blood pressure could reduce the risk of developing dementia.

The researchers think that beneficial effects on brain  blood flow could explain part of this effect.

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A high blood pressure drug has the potential to slow down Alzheimer's disease by improving the flow of blood to parts of the brain linked to memory, a study suggests.

Read more at: https://www.deccanherald.com/science-and-environment/bp-pill-has-potential-to-slow-down-alzheimers-study-741185.html

A high blood pressure drug has the potential to slow down Alzheimer's disease by improving the flow of blood to parts of the brain linked to memory, a study suggests.

Read more at: https://www.deccanherald.com/science-and-environment/bp-pill-has-potential-to-slow-down-alzheimers-study-741185.html

Eyes reveal early Alzheimer's disease

Reduced blood capillaries in the back of the eye may be a new, noninvasive way to diagnose early cognitive impairment, the precursor to Alzheimer's disease, showed a study .

Researchers recruited 32 participants who had cognitive testing consistent with the forgetful type of cognitive impairment, and age-, gender- and race-matched them to subjects who tested as cognitively normal for their age. All individuals underwent eye imaging with OCT angiography.

They then detected the vascular changes in the human eye non-invasively, with an infrared camera and without the need for dyes or expensive MRI scanners.

It's known that patients with Alzheimer's have decreased retinal blood flow and vessel density.

"Once our results are validated, this approach could potentially provide an additional type of biomarker to identify individuals at high risk of progressing to Alzheimer's," said  a professor of ophthalmology.

Therapies for Alzheimer's are more effective if they are started before extensive brain damage and cognitive decline have occurred, added the Prof.

The researchers now hope to correlate these findings with other more standard but also more invasive types of Alzheimer's biomarkers as well as explore the longitudinal changes in the eye parameters in these subjects. 

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Autism spectrum disorder and diet

Every year, April 2 is observed as World Autism Awareness Day (WAAD), an event to raise public awareness about autism as well as highlight the needs to help and improve the lives of those affected by the developmental disorder. This year’s WAAD is focusing on leveraging the use of assistive technologies for persons with autism.

First discovered in the 1940s, autism is a serious disorder wherein a child has difficulty in communicating and his social skills are impaired. It is called Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) as the signs can be varied based on the severity of the condition. Indicators may appear by age of 2-3 years.
Experts say that early intervention can help improve communication skills and help in brain development so that the child can have a near-normal life later as an adult. Perhaps, there is convincing empirical evidence that dietary intervention can help many with autism.

Symptoms and causes of autism spectrum disorder

Few signs that a child might be autistic are - lack of eye contact, poor facial expressions, resists cuddling or holding, shows repetitive behaviour, doesn’t respond when his name is called out, is not able to express his feelings or understand other persons feeling, etc.

The exact cause of autism is not very clear as it may be associated with environmental and genetic factors - ranging from exposure to few drugs during pregnancy to genetic mutation.

Diet and Autism: What parents need to know

Children with autism may have a sensitive gut, inflammation, poor digestion, malabsorption, etc. It has been observed that children with autism have high peptide levels in the blood as compared to children without the disorder.

Generally, a gluten- and casein-free diet (GFCF) is highly recommended for people with autism, said a Nutritionist- Lifestyle and Weight Management Expert. Gluten-free means avoiding grains like wheat, oats, barley and their products in the diet. Instead, parents can give quinoa, rye, potato flour, rice, tapioca, etc. One can also make paratha, chelas, pancakes, porridge, pulav, dosa, etc out of these flours. You may also use them as a binding agent to make a patty out of vegetables.

A casein-free diet is a diet free of dairy products like milk, curd, cheese, drinks which are milk-based or supplements which have milk powder in them. The advice here is to read the label before giving anything to the child or better still cook and prepare food from scratch at home.

Another option is to substitute milk with almond milk, coconut milk, rice milk, etc. Packed milk contains carrageenans which can lead to inflammation, hence, one should try to prepare at home. There is clear advice of not using soya milk or products as soya is genetically modified and commonly have cross contamination. Also, parents need to avoid saturated fats and sugars as well apart from gluten and casein. Here are a few important diet tips for parents to follow.

1. Be careful about cross contamination - e.g. using the same knife or spoon between GFCF and normal diet.
2. Do not stock your kitchen with gluten-free products as most of them will be high in sugar. Honey can be a good substitute but that too in limited quantities.
3. Let the child have as much as he wants to eat as long as it is within the allowed category.
4. If possible, the whole family should turn to the same diet as it is easier to follow and avoid contamination.
5. Avoid additives, colour, preservatives, hormones, etc in food.
6. Food should be nutrient-dense as the child’s nutritive needs are higher than the counterpart.

It has been seen that if we eliminate grains and milk, there will be obvious nutritional deficiencies in children who are already poor eaters. So here the task is to give enough options and variety to the child with the main focus on fresh fruits and vegetables.

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Breath test to detect multiple cancers early begins large trial

Several illnesses are known to create signature smells from the body, including typhoid fever reported to smell like baked bread and the aroma of acetone, said to be similar to rotten apples, on the breath of diabetics. Recent research has also shown that a person's breath could also indicate the presence of cancer. 

 

To test this theory, researchers have launched a two-year trial into a clinical device, called the Breath Biopsy, to find out if exhaled airborne molecules can be useful for cancer detection. 

 

In the body's normal metabolic processes, molecules called volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are produced. It's thought that cancer can create a different pattern of VOCs, which researchers hope to identify using the device. "Our goal is, can we spot these subtle differences?,"a researcher said.

 

The trial, which is being run by the Cancer specialists, is recruiting up to 1,500 participants, including healthy people to act as a control group. 

 

Patients with stomach and esophageal cancers will initially be asked to try the test, before expanding to patients with prostate, kidney, bladder, liver and pancreatic cancers.

 

Participants will be asked to breathe into the device for 10 minutes to provide a sample, which will be analyzed by researchers.

The idea is to identify if cancer signals are similar or different and how early any signals could be picked up. If some people go on to develop cancer, their samples will be compared to those who don't develop the disease.

Late diagnosis

"We urgently need to develop new tools, like this breath test, which could help to detect and diagnose cancer earlier, giving patients the best chance of surviving their disease,"  the trial investigator said in a statement. 

 

Almost half of cancers are diagnosed at a late stage in England, according to researchers. Some of the reasons are due to patients' fears of invasive tests, a lack of knowledge of cancer signs and symptoms, and the lack of early detection tests for certain cancers. 

 

Early detection can be a matter of life and death added the Prof., who added that around 85% of people with lung cancer are diagnosed at a late stage, "and they will die in one or two years [because] by the time doctors diagnose it, it is too late." 

 

There are more than 360,000 new cancer cases in the UK every year, according to Cancer experts. Globally, an estimated 18.1 million new cases of cancer were reported in 2018, according to the World Health Organization.

The need for trials

In 2017, researchers told that they had developed a device which -- using nanorays to analyze breath -- can identify Parkinson's disease, various cancers, kidney failure, multiple sclerosis and Crohn's disease with 86% accuracy.

 

But the experimental technology analyzing breath had a number of issues it had to address: including the problem of storing breath that is not immediately analyzed. 

 

The Prof. agreed that it is hard to "capture, store, and transport" breath, but added that the Breath Biopsy device has been developed to solve those issues. He said the device captures chemicals using a cartridge, which "acts like a sponge," and it is then transported to a lab where it is analyzed. 

 

If the trial turns into a success, the researchers hope the breath biopsies will be used in doctors' practices to figure out whether patients should be referred for further diagnostic tests. 

 

"Through this clinical trial we hope to find signatures in breath needed to detect cancers earlier -- it's the crucial next step in developing this technology," the researcher said.

 

Today's widespread interest in breath analysis stems from the relatively recent discovery -- within the past 20 years or so -- that nitric oxide, a common pollutant, works as a signaling molecule in the cardiovascular system, a professor told. The three scientists who made the discovery won a Nobel Prize for their efforts in 1998.

 

The theory behind the technology is that each of us has a unique chemical "fingerprint." Each disease also has a particular chemical signature, which can be detected on our breath.

 

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