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A study has unveiled that brain aging follows a distinct yet nonlinear trajectory with critical transition points. The research offers insights into when interventions to prevent cognitive decline might be most effective. The team analyzed brain networks in more than 19,300 individuals. Their findings reveal functional communication between brain regions (brain networks) begins to destabilize around age 44, with the degeneration of brain networks accelerating most rapidly at age 67 and plateauing by age 90. The researchers identified its primary driver: neuronal insulin resistance. By comparing metabolic, vascular, and inflammatory biomarkers, they found that metabolic changes consistently preceded vascular and...

A dietary supplement has been found to stop the progression of heart failure in animal models. The paper has shown that feeding mice a diet that included this supplement, elevated energy-boosting, anti-oxidant fats that circulate in our blood, called plasmalogen lipids, which restores the integrity of damaged cells in a failing heart. Plasmalogens make up about 15% of cell membranes—the outer layer of cells—and are predominantly found in the brain and heart. Disruptions to the cell membrane can change the composition of the lipids within cells and that can contribute to and exacerbate the seriousness of diseases including obesity, neurological...

Warnings against saturated fat on heart health need to be revisited as flaws were revealed in the seminal 1950s studies on which these warnings were based, according to research. In 1953, spurred by an apparent surge in heart disease in the US, physiologist Ancel Keys published a study that introduced the "lipid-heart hypothesis." He claimed without evidence that high saturated fat and cholesterol in the diet raise cholesterol levels in the blood and contribute to heart disease. Newport and Dayrit pointed out that Keys erroneously conflated the saturated fats found in meat and dairy with the harmful industrial trans-fats commonly...

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a chronic lung disease with irreversible airflow limitation and a leading cause of death worldwide. Many studies have reported that the three major nutrients, namely protein, lipids, and glucose, along with nucleotide metabolites, are closely associated with COPD development and progression. They found levels of lipids are significantly changed in individuals with COPD. Various studies suggested that reversing abnormal lipid metabolism and administration of beneficial lipids might alleviate COPD effects and cardiopulmonary comorbidities. COPD patients have abnormal levels of amino acids and reduced synthesis capacity of antioxidant carnosine. Some studies suggested supplementation with amino...

Cody Hudson was interning in a medical office near his home in Florida, taking a gap year before beginning college in Arizona, when the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns went into effect and ended his internship. Like many American families, Cody and his family took the recommended precautions around COVID-19. But when the vaccines became available, his parents were skeptical, Cody told The Defender in an interview. As he began planning for college and started a short-term job at a coffee shop where everyone was vaccinated, Cody started researching the vaccine online and talking to people around him. He concluded the vaccine...

— Variability in total cholesterol, triglyceride levels at age 60 and older raised riskFluctuations in total cholesterol and triglyceride levels in people 60 and older were tied to a higher risk of incident dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, a longitudinal study showed. Over a median follow-up of 12.9 years, participants in the highest quintile of total cholesterol variability versus the lowest quintile had a 19% increased risk of incident Alzheimer's or related dementias (HR 1.19, 95% CI 1.04-1.36, P=0.011), reported Suzette Bielinski, PhD, of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and co-authors. Those in the highest quintile of triglycerides variability had...

...Prostate Cancer Illustration Researchers have found that a single enzyme called PI5P4Kα can be targeted to kill prostate cancer. The discovery is the first of its kind and could help tackle treatment resistance in prostate cancer. Additionally, it could lead to better treatment options for other types of cancer, including those affecting the breast, skin, and pancreas. By inhibiting one enzyme, scientists from Sanford Burnham Prebys can kill prostate cancer cells when other treatments can’t. For the first time, researchers have discovered that prostate cancer can be killed by targeting a single enzyme, called PI5P4Kα. The findings, published recently in...

Story at-a-glance: * A carnivore or meat-only diet can be uniquely beneficial for some people, especially those struggling with autoimmune diseases, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, chronic pain and mental health disorders * It can also be used as a detox strategy for three to 12 months * One of the primary benefits of a carnivore diet — as long as you focus on red meat and limit chicken and pork — is that it’s a really low in omega-6 fat, which is the most harmful type of fat and a primary driver of chronic disease * You’re also removing most...

A natural lipid in the fluid lining the lungs inhibits influenza infections in both cell cultures and mouse models, according to researchers at National Jewish Health. These findings, combined with previous studies demonstrating effectiveness against respiratory syncytial virus, suggest that the molecule, known as POPG, may have broad antiviral activity. “Supplemental POPG could be an important, inexpensive and novel approach for the prevention and treatment of influenza and other respiratory virus infections,” said Dennis Voelker, PhD, Professor of Medicine, and senior author in the report, published online in the American journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology.