Artículos

Immune system molecule affects our weight

Eureka Alert. September 2012

Researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, have identified a molecule in the immune system that could affect hunger and satiety. The researchers hope that new treatments for obesity will benefit from this finding.

Interleukin-6 is a chemical messenger in our immune system that plays an important role in fighting off infection. However, recent research has, surprisingly, shown that it can also trigger weight loss. Researchers at Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, have been investigating and managed to identify the specific types of brain cells that are targeted by the interleukin-6 molecule.

The results show that the cells that are affected by interleukin-6 produce substances that not only affect our sense of hunger and fullness but also control the body's ability to burn fat. "Interleukin-6 increases levels of substances in the brain that trigger weight loss, which could explain why high levels of this molecule lead to weight loss," says doctoral student Erik Schéle, who is presenting the results in his thesis.

Piperine, a dietary phytochemical, inhibits angiogenesis

The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry. September 2012

Carolyn D. Doucette, Ashley L. Hilchie, Robert Liwski, David W. Hoskin

Angiogenesis plays an important role in tumor progression. Piperine, a major alkaloid constituent of black pepper, has diverse physiological actions including killing of cancer cells; however, the effect of piperine on angiogenesis is not known. Here we show that piperine inhibited the proliferation and G1/S transition of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) without causing cell death.

30 minutes of daily exercise does the trick

News. University of Copenhagen. September 2012

SAME EFFECT IN HALF THE TIME Researchers at the University of Copenhagen have shown that 30 minutes of daily training provide an equally effective loss of weight and body mass as 60 minutes. Their results have just been published in the American Journal of Physiology.

Forty percent of Danish men are moderately overweight. For thirteen weeks, a research team at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences followed 60 heavy – but healthy – Danish men in their efforts to get into better shape. Half of the men were set to exercise for an hour a day, wearing a heart-rate monitor and calorie counter, while the second group only had to sweat for 30 minutes. Research results show that 30 minutes of exercise hard enough to produce a sweat is enough to turn the tide on an unhealthy body mass index:

"On average, the men who exercised 30 minutes a day lost 3.6 kilo in three months, while those who exercised for a whole hour only lost 2.7 kg. The reduction in body mass was about 4 kg for both groups," reports Mads Rosenkilde, PhD student, Department of Biomedical Sciences.

Changes in brain volume and cognition in a randomized trial of exercise and social interaction in a community-based sample of non-demented chinese elders.

Publimed. August 2012

Mortimer JA, Ding D, Borenstein AR, Decarli C, Guo Q, Wu Y, Zhao Q, Chu S.

Source

Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, College of Public Health, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA.

Abstract

Physical exercise has been shown to increase brain volume and improve cognition in randomized trials of non-demented elderly.

Big Midsection May Up Risk of Dying Suddenly

Medical News. August 2012

By Todd Neale, Senior Staff Writer, MedPage Today

Reviewed by Zalman S. Agus, MD; Emeritus Professor, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Dorothy Caputo, MA, BSN, RN, Nurse Planner

Action Points

This study was published as an abstract and presented at a conference. These data and conclusions should be considered to be preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Note that in this study, after multiple adjustments, the only measure of obesity that was associated with sudden cardiac death was waist-to-hip ratio.

BOSTON -- Carrying too much weight in the belly -- having an apple shape -- may increase the risk of sudden cardiac death, researchers found.

In a cohort study, the risk of sudden cardiac death increased along with waist-to-hip ratio (P=0.009 for trend), according to Selcuk Adabag, MD, of the University of Minnesota and the VA Medical Center in Minneapolis.

Increase in RDA for Vitamin C could hel p reduce heart disease, stroke, cancer

Oregon State. August 2012

CORVALLIS, Ore. – The recommended dietary allowance, or RDA, of vitamin C is less than half what it should be, scientists argue in a recent report, because medical experts insist on evaluating this natural, but critical nutrient in the same way they do pharmaceutical drugs and reach faulty conclusions as a result.

The researchers, in Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, say there’s compelling evidence that the RDA of vitamin C should be raised to 200 milligrams per day for adults, up from its current levels in the United States of 75 milligrams for women and 90 for men.

Rather than just prevent the vitamin C deficiency disease of scurvy, they say, it’s appropriate to seek optimum levels that will saturate cells and tissues, pose no risk, and may have significant effects on public health at almost no expense – about a penny a day if taken as a dietary supplement.

“It’s time to bring some common sense to this issue, look at the totality of the scientific evidence, and go beyond some clinical trials that are inherently flawed,” said Balz Frei, professor and director of the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University, and one of the world’s leading experts on the role of vitamin C in optimum health.

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