Not just muscle growth, here's how exercise also boosts brain function

In Short

• A new study aimed to understand the role of nerves stimulating muscles to boost brain function
• As we age, or due to disease or injury, we lose these neurons in muscles
• During exercise, the brain stimulates the muscles via nerves, and muscles release molecules that benefit the brain

For years, researchers have known that exercise prompts muscles to release molecules that enhance brain function, but the process has always remained unclear. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers have recently found that nerves stimulating muscles increase the release of brain-boosting factors.

"The molecules released from the muscle go into the bloodstream and then to the brain, producing so-called crosstalk between the muscle and the brain. We wondered, what is the effect of the neurons on this activity of the muscle, and further down to the communication between muscle and brain?" said study leader Hyunjoon Kong.

"As we age, or due to disease or injury, we lose these neurons in muscles. Understanding their role is crucial for older adults and patients with neuromuscular issues,” he added.

Research shows that exercising muscles secrete hormones and tiny extracellular vesicles carrying RNA fragments that improve brain cell connectivity and communication.

However, the role of nerves stimulating muscles is less understood, explained graduate student Kai-Yu Huang, the study's first author.

To investigate, researchers used a novel tissue model that compared muscle tissues with and without neurons. They found that muscles with neurons produced more molecules that help the brain and better regulated muscle growth.

When they stimulated the nerves with glutamate, a neurotransmitter, the muscles with neurons showed higher levels of a gene that controls secretion and released more of the irisin hormone and extracellular vesicles.

"As we age, losing nerve supply to muscles leads to their breakdown, affecting overall organ function. Understanding how to maintain muscle’s secretion is vital," said Huang.

Our organs communicate: the brain stimulates muscles via nerves, and muscles release molecules that benefit the brain.

"Exercise strengthens the neuron-muscle interface, enhancing brain function. This highlights the importance of fostering this connection through exercise, beyond just building muscle strength," Kong added.

 

 

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.   

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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.
 his is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.     

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Alzheimer's, Parkinson's decoded

Scientists at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have identified a potential explanation for the mysterious death of specific brain cells seen in Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and other neurodegenerative diseases.

According to the new research, the cells may die because of naturally occurring gene variation in brain cells that were, until recently, assumed to be genetically identical.

The variation, called ‘somatic mosaicism,’ could explain why neurons in the temporal lobe are the first to die in Alzheimer's, for example and why dopaminergic neurons are the first to die in Parkinson's.

Speaking about it, neuroscientist Michael McConnell said, “This has been a big open question in neuroscience, particularly in various neurodegenerative diseases,” adding, "What is this selective vulnerability? What underlies it? And so now, with our work, the hypotheses moving forward are that it could be that different regions of the brain actually have a different garden of these [variations] in young individuals and that sets up different regions for decline later in life."

The findings of the unexpected variation in the genetic makeup of individual brain cells emerged from McConnell's investigations into schizophrenia. That discovery may help explain not just schizophrenia but depression, bipolar disorder, autism and other conditions.

McConnell expected that this mosaicism would increase with age that mutations would accumulate over time. What he and his collaborators at Johns Hopkins found is exactly the opposite – younger people had the most mosaicism and older people had the least.

Based on the finding, McConnell believes that the neurons with significant genetic variation, known as CNV neurons, may be the most vulnerable to dying. And that could explain the idiosyncratic death of specific neurons in different neurodegenerative diseases. People with the most CNV neurons in the temporal lobe, for example, might be likely to develop Alzheimer's. "Because I'm collaborating with the Lieber Institute and they have this fantastic brain bank, now I can look at individuals' frontal cortex [for the schizophrenia research] and I can look at the temporal lobe in those same individuals," McConnell said.

"So now I can really start to map things out more carefully, building an atlas of different brain regions from many individuals." That research could greatly advance understanding of both neurodegenerative diseases and the cognitive decline that besets us with age, potentially leading to new treatments. 

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Virus-inspired method to deliver drugs to brain

In a first, researchers have engineered small particles, similar to the size of viruses, to cross the protective border separating the circulating blood from the brain, an advance that may pave the way for improved drug delivery to the organ.

The study, noted that the new method allowed for combination drug delivery, through intravenous injections to cross the blood-brain-barrier(BBB).

The researchers, synthesised and modified components from a virus that targets the brain- a bacteriophage fd-- to deliver drugs across the BBB.

When the " small, hairy particle" that they developed was injected into mice, the system crossed the BB and targeted the brain, reaching neurons and other special brain cells, the study noted.

According to the researchers, most drugs are excluded from the brain by the protective blood-brain-barrier and current treatment options aimed at crossing this barrier were risky.

Crossing the BB has hindered the industry from effectively addressing central nervous system diseases, including brain tumours and many neurological diseases like Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and Huntington's, said the lead author of the study.

However, he added that some viruses have found ways to bypass the BB and enter the brain.

" We are very excited by our research-- our delivery system is versatile and  amenable to modifications, so, in principle, we can hopefully address shortfalls in drug delivery to the brain through intravenous injection, said the author.

The new delivery system, based on more than a decade of research, has significant implications for developing drugs that can cross the BB, and other biological barriers, the researchers said.

The researchers said that the method may open up several opportunities to address neuro-degenerative diseases with modern therapeutics.

this is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.   
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Read more at: https://www.deccanherald.com/science-and-environment/virus-inspired-method-to-deliver-drugs-to-brain-study-767866.html

New open-source microscope may help paralysis patients

Scientists have developed a new generation of custom-built microscopes that significantly improve brain tissue imaging, an advance that could help find better treatment for patients with paralysis. The microscopes, known as mesoSPIMs - short for 'mesoscale selective plane-illumination microscopes' can image brain tissues down to the minute details of individual neurons which are five times thinner than a human hair, the study noted.

The researchers added that they can uncover the 3D anatomy of entire small organs, faster than ever before using the new microscope.

The mesoSPIM is a light-sheet microscope, which unlike traditional microscopes -- where specimens are cut in slices with a blade to view in a microscope slide -- uses a sheet of light to slice the samples into ultra-thin sections, the study noted.

According to the researchers, this helps scientists capture slivers of image in the samples without damaging it.

The images from the slices, the researchers say, are then combined to reconstruct the detailed three-dimensional image of the sample.

The problem with standard light-sheet microscopes, according to the researchers, is that the data sets they produce are huge and analysing them consumes a lot of time.

MesoSPIM, on the other hand, allows fast scanning as well as direct visualization of the captured data, the study noted.

According to the researchers, this makes the microscope suitable for screening large numbers of samples in a very short time, producing high-resolution images.

Researchers trying to restore movement in patients with paralysis, or investigating neuronal networks involved in cognition, pleasure, or drug addiction can use MesoSPIMs to get new insights into the brain and spinal cord organization the study noted.

The researchers said that top European neuroscientists were driving the open-source dissemination of mesoSPIMs globally by sharing their expertise and excitement as well as the images and videos they took using the new microscope.

"We created the open-source mesoSPIM Initiative to share the latest developments in microscope instrumentation and software with the imaging community," said a researcher. 

Voigt added that anyone seeking high-quality anatomical data from large samples can now possess the information needed to build and operate their own mesoSPIM.

Stephane Pages from Centre Medical Universitaire in Switzerland told in an email that the only requirement for the global dissemination of mesoSPIM was to have local human resources build, maintain, and adapt the systems to the local needs.

"The technology behind the microscope is completely open-source and the overall price of a mesoSPIM is affordable enough to allow any lab interested to built its own," said  a co-author of the study.

The researchers mentioned that there are currently seven mesoSPIMs in operation across Europe and several more instruments under construction.

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Researchers find new drug to prevent neural deaths

A team of scientists has found a new drug that may prevent neural death through glucose metabolism modification in stressed neurons.

The trials conducted on mice are rather promising for future use in humans. The new drug can be advantageous in neurological conditions ranging from Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Alzheimer's and Huntington's diseases to traumatic brain injury and ischemic stroke.

According to WHO, stroke is the 2nd most common cause of mortality and more than a third of people who have survived a stroke will have a severe disability.

As the population ages, many more millions are poised to develop Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease in the near future.

Glycolysis is generally considered as the metabolic pathway essential for cell survival since it meets cell energy needs in case of intensive energy consumption.

However, it is already known that in the brain tissue, the situation is quite different-different cell types show distinct glucose metabolism patterns.

In Neurons, only a small portion of glucose is consumed vie the glycolysis pathway. At the same time, astrocytes provide nutrients to neurons and utilise glycolysis to metabolise glucose.

These differences are mostly due to the special protein called PFKFB3, which is normally absent in neurons and is active is astrocytes.

In the case of certain neurological diseases, stroke being one of them, the amount of active PFKFB3 increases in neurons, which is highly stressful for these cells and leads to cell death.
Researchers in the in vivo experiments confirmed that a small molecule, the inhibitor or PFKFB3, may prevent cell death in the case of ischemia injury.

Inhibition of PFKFB3 improves co-ordination of mice after stroke and reduced brain infarct volume. Moreover, PFKFB3 inhibitor protects neurons from the amyloid-beta peptide, the main component of the amyloid plaques found in the brains of Alzheimer's disease patients. 

A Prof. said, " Excitotoxicity is a hallmark of various neurological diseases, stroke being one of them. Our group has previously established a link between this pathological condition and high activity of PFKFB3 enzyme in neurons, which leads to severe oxidative stress and neuronal death".

These promising results bring hope to dozens of millions of patients suffering from life-threatening neurological disease, mentioned a researcher.

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                                                                                                   

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Pregnant? A diet with ghee & butter can protect your baby from Alzheimer’s disease

To all the moms to be, here’s some advice: don’t avoid ghee!

The advice given by our elders, especially by our grandparents is not worthless. Rather, it is backed by logic. We all must have seen our grannies suggesting high-fat diets to the pregnant women in the house. Well, scientists have found out the reason behind this.

A study has revealed that a high-fat diet during gestation guards the fetus against changes in the brain that may lead to Alzheimer’s disease later. See how smart our grannies are? Kudos to them!

But before we proceed further, let’s find out what Alzheimer’s exactly is?
Simply put, it’s a form of dementia which ultimately leads to memory loss and other cognitive abilities. The most common symptoms are memory loss, inability to learn new things, problem in writing, reading, calculating, restlessness, anger, depression, hallucination, and inability to combine muscle movements. And there is no cure.

Although the risk of this disease comes in old age, there is no harm in preventive care.

Yes, at an old age this situation can be terrifying. But let’s see what experts have found out.
Recently a study was published and we quote, “In humans, it has been known that individuals whose mothers develop Alzheimer’s disease after the age of 65 are at increased risk of also developing the disease around the same age,” said senior investigator.

Genetic factors transmitted by mothers to their offspring seem like an obvious explanation behind this phenomenon, but so far no genes have been identified that could explain the maternal transmission of Alzheimer’s disease.

To better understand the unique relationship between maternal Alzheimer’s disease and risk in her offspring, researchers looked at maternal fat intake specifically during the gestation period in mice engineered to develop Alzheimer’s disease.

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                                                                                                   

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Pregnant mice were fed a high-fat diet from the beginning until the end of gestation. The moment offspring were born, mothers were switched to a regular diet, which was maintained during the lactation period. Offspring of these mothers were always kept at the same regular or standard diet throughout their life.

At 11 months of age, offspring underwent behavioural tests to assess learning ability and memory. “Surprisingly, we’ve found that animals from mothers fed a high-fat diet during gestation had better learning and memory skills than their counterparts born to mothers fed a regular diet during gestation,” the Dr. said.

The observed improvements in memory and learning were associated with the maintenance of good synaptic integrity. In fact, offspring from mothers exposed to a high-fat diet had significant improvement of synapse function when compared with offspring from mothers on a regular diet. 

Synapses, the places where neurons come together to relay information, play a vital role in learning and memory formation.

If expecting, then don’t hesitate the high-fat intake as it’s not just good for you but for your kid as well.