Simple urine test can tell how much our body has aged

Scientists have identified a promising new marker of ageing in urine that may help predict the risk of developing age-related diseases and even death. Researchers found that a substance indicating oxidative damage increases in urine as people get older. The study, also describes a way to easily measure the levels of this marker in human urine samples. The new marker potentially provides a method to measure how much our body has aged - our biological rather than chronological age, researchers said. This could help predict our risk of developing age-related disease, and even the likely time-frame for our death, they said. While everyone born in the same year has the same chronological age, the bodies of different people age at different rates. This means that, although the risk of many diseases increases with age, the link between our age in years and our health and lifespan is relatively loose. Many people enjoy long lives, relatively free of disease, while others suffer chronic illness and premature death. Some researchers consider normal ageing to be a disease, where our cells accumulate damage over time.The rate of this cellular damage can vary from person to person, and may be dictated by genetics, lifestyle and the environment we live in. This cellular damage may be a more accurate indication of our biological age than the number of years since we were born. We need to be able to measure biological age to know whether treatments to slow ageing - which may be possible in the future - are effective, researchers said. One mechanism thought to underlie biological ageing involves a molecule vital to our survival - oxygen - in what is called the free radical theory of ageing. "Oxygen by-products produced during normal metabolism can cause oxidative damage to biomolecules in cells, such as DNA and RNA," said a Dr. "As we age, we suffer increasing oxidative damage, and so the levels of oxidative markers increase in our body," the Dr. said. One such marker called 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanosine or 8-oxoGsn results from oxidation of a crucial molecule in our cells called RNA. The researchers measured 8-oxoGsn in urine samples from 1,228 Chinese residents aged 2-90 years old, using a rapid analysis technique called ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography. "We found an age-dependent increase in urinary 8-oxoGsn in participants 21 years old and older," said the Dr. "Therefore, urinary 8-oxoGsn is promising as a new marker of ageing," he said. Interestingly, levels of 8-oxoGsn were roughly the same between men and women, except in post-menopausal women, who showed higher levels. This may have been caused by the decrease in oestrogen levels that happens during menopause, as oestrogen is known to have anti-oxidant effects. 

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A drink a day tied to higher breast cancer risk

Researchers have long known that having one too many cocktails might be associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. 

Now, a new report from the World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research reveals just how much of a risk daily drinking might pose for both pre-menopausal and postmenopausal women.

Sipping an average of 10 grams of alcohol a day -- equivalent to a small glass of wine, an 8-ounce beer or 1 ounce of hard liquor -- is associated with a 5% increased breast cancer risk in premenopausal women and 9% increase in postmenopausal women, said Dr. Anne McTiernan, a lead author of the new report and a cancer prevention researcher at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle.

  

"I was most surprised by the alcohol result, that risk increases at just one drink a day, on average," McTiernan said. "The increase with one drink a day was small ... but the risk goes up from there. So that's why AICR recommends no more than one alcohol drink a day for women to reduce risk for cancer."

Globally, breast cancer is the top cancer in women, in both the developed and developing worlds, according to the World Health Organisation.

In the United States and the United Kingdom, about 12% of women will develop breast cancer at some point in their lifetimes, according to the National Cancer Institute and the organization .

 

For the new report, researchers analyzed 119 observational studies on breast cancer risk from around the world. Those studies included 12 million women total and more than 260,000 cases of breast cancer.

Although breast cancer can occur in men, it is rare -- accounting for less than 1% of cancer incidence -- and such cases were not included in the report.

When analyzing associations specifically between breast cancer risk and alcohol use, "the premenopausal analysis included 10 large cohort studies in which over 4,000 women developed breast cancer," McTiernan said. "The postmenopausal analysis included 22 large cohort studies in which over 35,000 women developed breast cancer."

There are a number of possible explanations for the link between alcohol consumption and breast cancer risk, said Chin-Yo Lin, a researcher at the University of Houston's Center for Nuclear Receptors and Cell Signaling, who was not involved in the new report.

 

For instance, "in exposed tissues, alcohol is converted into acetaldehyde, a chemical that can cause mutations in DNA, which can potentially lead to cancer," Lin said. 

"Alcohol consumption is also associated with elevated levels of the female sex hormone estrogen. Excessive cumulative exposure to estrogen is a major risk factor in breast cancer," he said. "A number of studies have shown that alcohol can enhance the actions of estrogen in breast cancer cells."

Lin led one study, published in the journal PLOS ONE  in 2015, that showed that alcohol may increase the growth of breast cancer cells by influencing a specific gene called BRAF. . 

The study involved examining how alcohol affects estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer cells. In other words, these are the cancer cells that bind estrogen, which helps them grow.

Lin and his colleagues found that since alcohol promotes the expression of BRAF, this might allow the cells to grow even faster in the presence of estrogen.

Yet, as part of an ongoing debate, "it should be noted that light drinking appears to protect against light drinking appears to protect against heart disease," Lin said. "Those beneficial effects should be weighed against the slight increase in risk for breast cancer."

The new report also includes analyses of previous studies on associations between breast cancer risk and overall diet, nutrition, physical activity and weight.

The researchers found strong evidence suggesting that being physically active in general, from brisk walking to more vigorous activity, decreases the risk of postmenopausal breast cancer; undertaking vigorous physical activity, such as running or cycling, decreases the risk of premenopausal breast cancer.

"There is a lot of evidence that suggests that people who are more physically active have a lower risk of developing cancer -- many different cancers, but breast cancer in particular," said Dr. Jennifer Ligibel, a breast oncologist and associate professor at Harvard Medical School, who was not involved in the new report.

"It's about a  20-30% reduction in the risk of developing breast cancer in people that are more active versus those who are less," said Ligibel, who also serves as director of the Leonard P. Zakim Center for Integrative Therapies and Healthy Living at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

 

Additionally, the researchers found that breastfeeding decreases the risk of breast cancer, and greater weight gain in adulthood increases the risk of postmenopausal breast cancer. 

The researchers also found that being overweight or obese at a younger age, between 18 and 30, may decrease the risk of pre- and postmenopausal breast cancer.

 "It has been seen in a lot of studies, especially for hormonally driven breast cancers, but what's confusing is that when women are obese after menopause, they do have a higher risk," Ligibel said.

"This really just looks at breast cancer risk, but we know that being obese when you're diagnosed with breast cancer is linked to a higher risk of cancer recurrence and dying from breast cancer in both pre- and postmenopausal women," she said, "which is really kind of confusing when you look at how weight relates to risk versus how weight relates to mortality."

 

Ligibel added that the finding should not be a reason for people to become obese during young adulthood, as obesity is also associated with many health risks, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease and certain cancers.

And being overweight or obese throughout adulthood may increase the risk of postmenopausal breast cancer, the researchers found in the new report.

As for diet, the researchers found limited evidence suggesting that diets high in calcium and foods containing carotenoids, such as carrots, sweet potatoes or  dark green leafy vegetables, might be tied to a decreased risk of pre- and postmenopausal breast cancer. However, more research is needed.

"It's important to put this report into context," Ligibel said. "Eating a diet that's high in fruit and vegetables that keeps your weight in a good range, exercising regularly, limiting alcohol, those are all things that we know are good for general health. This report really strengthens that those may also be an important part of limiting your risk of breast cancer."

 On the other hand, Dr. Kathryn Ruddy, a breast medical oncologist at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Rochester, Minnesota, questioned whether eating or avoiding specific foods can help prevent breast cancer.

"As the report describes, it is very clear that vigorous exercise protects against the development of breast cancer, and alcohol increases the risk of breast cancer, but the data are much more limited regarding the impact of any particular food on risk," Ruddy said. 

Some studies focusing on the relationship between a certain food choice and breast cancer risk have produced contradictory results, she added.

All in all, "there are things that women can do to reduce their risk for breast cancer, and it's never too late to start," said McTiernan, one of the new report's lead authors. She recommended:

• Maintain weight at a normal level.
• Exercise at least 150 minutes (2½ hours) per week at a moderate intensity, such as brisk walking, or greater.
• Limit alcoholic beverages to one per day, on average.
• Eat a plant-based diet, high in vegetables and fruits and low in sugars and refined carbohydrates.

Ruddy also recommends exercising and minimizing alcohol intake.

"Hopefully, there will be additional studies forthcoming to further clarify optimal strategies for prevention," she said.

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How menopause 'crushes your motivation to exercise'

• Many postmenopausal women experience weight gain, no drive to work out
• Scientists have struggled to explain the exact reason for this side effect
• Now a study has found a link between ovaries and dopamine in the brain
• Exercise drives up dopamine levels in the brain's pleasure center

For many women, working out is completely different after menopause hits.

They feel lethargic, unmotivated, and don't get the same buzz from a run or a zumba class as they did before.

 

But scientists have struggled to offer a specific reason for this, aside from general hormonal changes.

Now, however, a team at the University of Missouri has identified a link between ovarian hormones and dopamine levels in the brain, which make exercise feel so good. 

 

It could signal the start of new research to help women treat overwhelming lethargy and improve their motivation to stay active.

'Postmenopausal women are more susceptible to weight gain and health issues,' said Dr Victoria Vieira-Potter, who specializes in nutrition and exercise physiology at MU.

'This is especially frustrating for women, who already are dealing with significant changes to their bodies.

'We found that the decrease in physical activity that leads to weight gain may be caused by changes in brain activity.'

The menopause, which tends to strike by the early 50s, can cause mood swings, depression and anxiety.

In many cases, it affects a woman's drive to move, and many women gain weight during this time.  

To examine this side effect, Dr Vieira-Potter's study tracked the physical activity of rats - some that were physically fit and some that were not.

First they monitored their fitness levels and the level of activity in the pleasure center of their brains

.

Then they removed their ovaries to mimic the effects of menopause, when women stop producing estrogen in such significant quantities.

Both groups - no matter how physically active they were before - showed dramatic reductions in their motivation to run on a running wheel.

All of the rats also experienced a drop in the amount of dopamine in the pleasure center of their brain.

It suggests the hormonal changes experienced during menopause could impact on the brain, and that could be the process that hampers physical activity.

'We found that in both groups of rats, the hormonal changes from menopause led to changes in the brain that translated to less physical activity,' Dr Vieira-Potter said.

'The findings confirm previous evidence in humans and rodents that weight gain that occurs after menopause is likely due to decreased overall physical activity rather than increased energy intake from diet.

'Understanding what is causing the decrease in activity and subsequent weight gain may allow us to intervene, possibly by activating dopamine receptors, to preserve the motivation to be physically active.'

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