Anecdotal reports from people with Parkinson’s suggest that time spent at high altitudes, where oxygen is naturally lower, may bring unexpected relief from symptoms. Researchers set out to investigate why. They injected mice with preformed clumps of α-synuclein, a protein that misfolds, accumulates, and damages brain cells in Parkinson’s disease, then housed them in either normal air (21% oxygen) or reduced oxygen (11%, roughly equivalent to oxygen availability near Everest Base Camp). Continuous low-oxygen exposure produced notable benefits: Low-oxygen exposure preserved neurons and prevented... brain hypoxia mitochondria neurodegeneration parkinson's
Read moreScientists have identified several hallmarks of aging – observable biological patterns of dysfunction that occur as an organism ages. These hallmarks both drive and are the result of inflammaging, the chronic, low-grade inflammation that occurs with aging. Findings from a recent study suggest that fecal microbial transplants reverse the hallmarks of aging. As a person ages, the overall makeup of the population of microbes that inhabit their gut undergoes extensive changes (https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1007727). These changes are associated with increased inflammation, altered metaboli... aging microbiome
Read moreEffect of aerobic exercise on cancer in mice: > Training mice regularly on a wheel (the mouse version of a treadmill) decreased the growth of multiple types of tumors, including skin, liver, and lung cancers. Furthermore, mice that exercised regularly had a smaller chance of developing cancer in the first place. The beneficial effects of running went beyond tumor formation and growth, extending to cancer-associated weight loss, a process termed cachexia that is seen in cancer patients. Mice that exercised regularly showed no signs of cancer-associated weight loss in the researchers' lung ca... exercise cancer immune system aerobic il-6
Read moreAging is the progressive accumulation of damage that occurs to an organism over time, eventually leading to disease and death. Findings from a new study suggest that diluting the blood of old mice can reverse some of the deleterious effects of aging. Previous studies have shown that therapeutic plasma exchange via heterochronic parabiosis, a procedure in which two organisms of different ages are joined so that they share a common blood supply, elicits improvements in the older organism and declines in the younger, suggesting that young blood rejuvenates whereas old blood deteriorates. Similar... aging tissue repair neurogenesis
Read moreVisceral fat – body fat that is stored in the abdominal cavity in close proximity to important internal organs such as the liver, pancreas, and intestines – plays a central role in the interrelationship between obesity and systemic inflammation. Excess visceral fat, often referred to as central or abdominal obesity, is a strong predictor of age-related cognitive decline. A new study in mice demonstrates that having excess visceral fat may impair cognition by activating the NLRP3 inflammasome and promoting the release of interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β). Inflammasomes are large, intracellular comple... brain obesity depression neurons protein metabolic syndrome nlrp3 visceral fat
Read moreThe combination of ursolic acid and resveratrol (from grape skin) also shrank the prostate tumors in mice. Many different tumor types rely on glutamine as a carbon source for energy and as a nitrogen source for building more DNA and proteins (macromolecular synthesis). Additionally, these compounds also activated pathways involved in cell death. ... cancer apoptosis curcumin prostate protein
Read moreFrom the article: > The new research focuses on the impact that traumatic brain injury has on the glymphatic system. It has been long observed that the protein tau plays an important role in the long-term damage sustained by the brain after a trauma. Tau helps stabilize the fibers, or axons, that nerve cells send out to communicate with their neighbors. > However, during trauma, large numbers of these proteins are shaken free from the axons to drift in the space between the brain's cells. Once unmoored from nerve cells, these sticky proteins are attracted to each other and, over time, fo... brain alzheimer's parkinson's performance concussion protein neurodegeneration blood-brain barrier
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