Category Archives: Research

Health, Medical, Research, Science

Resveratrol in health supplements ‘undo effects of exercise’…

RED WINE HEALTH PILLS

Experts have warned that health supplements containing the ‘miracle ingredient’ from red wine could undo the positive effects of exercise.

A daily dose of the antioxidant resveratrol cancelled out many of the benefits of a two-month-long exercise programme, a study has found.

When examining the effects of exercise alone, the results were as expected – blood pressure, the levels of ‘bad’ cholesterol and other harmful blood fats were lowered.

But if combined with a course of supplements, most of the positive effects vanished.

Resveratrol has become increasingly popular as study after study has credited the compound with health-boosting properties, from extending life and battling obesity to warding off heart disease.

Most research to date, however, is carried out on mice or rats, rather than in the human body. This latest study is proving that tests in rodents are not being replicated in humans.

Resveratrol, which is found in the grape skins that give red wine its colour, is supposed to boost health by mopping up dangerous oxygen molecules known as free radicals that attack cells and tissues and are blamed for health issues ranging from ageing to cancer.

The Danish scientists behind the latest study say these free radicals may be needed for the body to recover after exercise. Without them, many of the benefits of exercise – such as lowering blood pressure and increasing oxygen uptake – may disappear.

In the study, 27 men in their mid-sixties were asked to perform eight weeks of high-intensity exercise training – with half the group given 250mg of resveratrol a day and the other group receiving a placebo.

While scientists expect to get the same result from women and younger men, researchers have said that wine lovers need not worry about the effect of the odd glass of red wine on their exercise routine. The amount of resveratrol in the supplements studied was far higher than can be obtained from drinking wine alone. It could, though, easily be obtained from supplements.

It is thought that high doses of vitamin C might have a similar effect.

Standard
Biotechnology, Health, Medical, Research, Science

Cell transplant gives hope for treating blindness…

A MAJOR ADVANCE

Scientists in Britain have made a major leap forward in efforts to treat blindness.

They have grown part of an eye in the laboratory and have extracted the light-sensitive cells which are the key to vision.

These cells were injected into mice, where they seemed to grow normally and formed the crucial connections between the eye and brain.

Such developments could pave the way for a treatment which could eventually give millions back their sight. It is hoped the first human patients could be treated in as little as five years. Transplanting just a small number of cells could have a big impact on quality of life.

Those who could benefit include men and women with age-related macular degeneration – the most common cause of blindness in the elderly. This condition affects more than 600,000 Britons and the number is expected to triple in the next 25 years as the elderly population swells.

There are few treatments for the condition – and no cure.

The research and experimentation is being carried out at University College London in which scientists are trying to replace damaged cells in the retina, the light sensitive ‘film’ at the back of the eye.

Last year, researchers used healthy cells from young mice to restore vision in adult animals. The results were said to be ‘dramatic’, with the treated animals able to quickly find their way out of a miniature swimming pool in dim light, while untreated ones swam around in circles.

Stem Cell Therapy for Blindness

The project’s lead-scientist, Professor Robin Ali, said the results amount to a ‘major advance’. His team took embryonic stem cells – ‘master cells’ capable of turning into other cell types and widely touted as a repair kit for the body – and used a cocktail of nutrients to coax them into turning into a retina.

They then raided the laboratory-grown retina for rods (key cells which pick up light and send it to the brain for conversion into images). The rods were then transplanted into the eyes of mice.

A retina has been grown in a dish before but Professor Ali’s team are the first to transplant cells from one successfully.

The journal Nature Biotechnology was the first to report the findings and has said that the lab-grown cells integrated into the existing eye was successful in forming the nerve connections needed to send information to the brain.

Professor Ali said:

… We are getting closer and closer to carrying out a trial.

However, the need to be highly confident that the treatment is safe and effective means that widespread use is at least 10-15 years away.

The Medical Research Council, which funded the team’s work, said in a statement:

… This study is an important milestone on the road to developing a widely available cell therapy for blindness.

Standard
Health, Medical, Research, Science

A glass of water can help the brain to work up to 14 per cent faster…

RESEARCH

Researchers suggest that drinking a glass of water can make your brain work faster and could be freeing up parts of the brain.

Scientists say that drinking water can sharpen your mind. If you’re struggling to come up with answers to everyday problems, then a glass of water could be the best solution. The effect is particularly marked if a person is thirsty.

According to new research delivered by scientists at the University of East London, the original energy drink – quenching your thirst with a glass of water – could help your brain work by as much as 14 per cent faster. Scientists believe that once thirst is relieved, the brain is left to focus on the task in hand.

Researchers first carried out an experiment on 34 men and women who completed a number of mental tests twice – once after a breakfast of just a cereal bar and again after a cereal bar was washed down with a bottle of water.

None of those who had taken the tests had eaten or drunk anything overnight and all were asked how thirsty they were at the start of the experiment.

The participants who said they weren’t thirsty were equally quick at the test of reaction time with or without water.

But those who said they were thirsty sped up after having consumed water, making them up to 14 per cent quicker than before.

The findings have been reported in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.

The researchers suggest the water helped by freeing up the parts of the brain that were busy ‘telling’ the body it was thirsty. They said:

… These results are consistent with water consumption freeing up ‘attentional resources’ that were otherwise occupied with processing the sensations of thirst.

Dr Caroline Edmonds, one of the researchers at the University of East London, said it is not going to hurt you to have a drink of water when you are working hard. She points out that tea and coffee will also help to hydrate you.

Dr Edmonds has previously shown that children who have a drink of water ahead of sitting tests fare up to a third better.

But the effects of drinking water are not always positive. In Dr Edmonds’ latest study, the volunteers to the experiments did worse at a particularly complex mental manipulation test after drinking the water. The reasons for this remain unclear.

Separate studies have found that failing to drink enough water can make the brain’s grey matter shrink, making it harder to concentrate and think.

Scientists in Britain scanned the brains of teenagers after an hour-and-a-half of cycling.

Some exercised in three layers of sweat-induced clothing including a bin liner worn next to the skin, a hooded chemical warfare suit and a track suit. Others observed were much more lightly clad in shorts and T-shirts.

Those who were heavily wrapped up lost around 2lb in sweat – and their brain tissue had shrunk away from their skulls. Just 90-minutes of steady sweating can shrink the brain as much as a year of ageing.

But after a glass of water or two the brain quickly returns to normal.

Standard