Posted on 10/19/2025 8:57:53 AM PDT by ConservativeMind
"Why do some people who have damage to the lymphatic system get lymphedema while others are perfectly fine?" That's the question Gibson set out to answer in his latest study.
Operating on the theory that something in a patient's microenvironment likely makes them more susceptible to lymphatic blockage, the team hoped to gain an understanding of what that might be with the ultimate goal being treatment and, hopefully, prevention.
To find answers to his question, Gibson spent more than three years gathering a biobank of 70 patient blood samples to test and, because obesity and being overweight are known risk factors for lymphedema, began by looking at lipids.
The team soon learned there was a lower level of good fats than bad in the samples from individuals with lymphedema. When tested in an animal model, a high-fat diet either brought on or worsened lymphedema, while switching back to healthy food reversed the effects.
"This clearly shows us diet is contributing to the progression of lymphedema," says Gibson. But how to explain the fact that the vast majority of us are eating the same western diet high in saturated fats, but not all of us are getting lymphedema?
Previous cancer research had established that a "chaperon" that carries fatty acids into the cells—called fatty acid binding protein 4 (FABP4)—is found in amounts 2.8 times higher in lymphedema patients than in those without. The team found that inhibiting FABP4 in an animal model—using a chemical inhibitor that was already being used in clinical trials for other reasons—resulted in a 50% reduction in lymphedema.
Gibson now hopes to connect his two discoveries and translate them into meaningful treatments that will improve the lives of those with lymphedema, tackling the problem from multiple angles.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
If you have lymphedema, it may be worth it to try a completely different diet, if eating a high fat, high carb diet.
I’m in the hospital today. The lower right side of my left eye looks like an eclipse with blood red on the edges. I’m hearing this can be fixed if caught in the first 24 to 48 hours. That window has passed.
Hope all goes well!
I am saddened to read this. Can you tell me the condition?
Is it a hyphema?
Lymphedema is a specific syndrome.
Swelling, inflammation, and water retention is not the same thing.
Don’t falsely indicate them as the same thing.
Lots of folks can reduce inflammation, swelling and puffiness by reducing carbs and sugar.
I don’t believe the author commingled those in.
Look at the research paper linked at the bottom of the article.
I don’t know what it is. The doctors have spent the weekend battering me with test to rule in or out a stroke. I’ve go two more to go. If they come back negative— which I think they will- then the question for the opthamologist tomorrow will be whether a capillary burst inside the eye or in a blood vessel feeding the eye. But judging from the way they talk this will not be actionable information. I’ve been under terrible stress lately. My business failed, I’m going bankrupt and drowning under debt. This month I’ve stopped paying bills. Next month I stop paying all bills but the rent utilities and Medicare part d. The following month I’ll have to choose which bill to pay. In January I will be out on the street. This eye problem makes it hard for me to help myself. The doctors have informed me that it’s now illegal for me to drive. I wake up in the night alone and shaking. The stay in the hospital has been a relief. But I will go back to the stree tomorrow night. So the name for the eye condition you named may be correct. I’ll have to check.
Can you find even a simple job? Anything to help?
If you have one good eye, why can’t you drive?
My heart goes out to you.
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