Another incentive to secure a window seat is its potential to help manage blood sugar levels.
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Many of us prefer sitting by a window to enhance our mood, but exposure to natural light during the day may also be beneficial for blood sugar control in individuals with type 2 diabetes.
Our cells and tissues operate on circadian rhythms, or 24-hour metabolic cycles that influence factors like blood sugar levels. Studies indicate that exposure to artificial light at night can disrupt these rhythms. This raises blood sugar levels, while individuals who spend more time outdoors in sunlight experience enhanced insulin response, a hormone crucial for regulating those levels.
Despite these findings, none of these studies explored the advantages of receiving natural light through windows, especially since most people spend significant time indoors, according to Joris Fuchs from Maastricht University in the Netherlands.
To investigate further, Fuchs and his team enlisted 13 participants with type 2 diabetes, averaging 70 years old, to spend 4.5 days in a room with only natural light from large windows from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Participants continued their usual diabetes medications and largely sat at desks with access to their mobile phones and computers, with their screens dimmed. In the evenings, they were exposed to soft artificial light and could use their devices until 11 p.m., then slept in complete darkness until 7 a.m. They consumed similar meals three times daily to maintain stable weight and followed consistent exercise routines over the 4.5 days.
The researchers conducted a similar experiment with the same group, this time in a windowless room under artificial light. This phase occurred either one month before or after the natural light segment of the study.
Throughout both experiments, participants wore devices to monitor their blood sugar levels continuously; however, due to technical difficulties, data was only obtainable from 10 individuals.
The results indicated that during weeks with more natural light, participants maintained their blood sugar levels within a healthy range 50% of the time, compared to only 43% in the artificial light experiment.
Although the difference between the two studies may seem minor, extended periods outside of a healthy range can impact an individual’s health significantly, increasing the risk of diabetes-related complications, including heart problems, according to Fuchs.
The positive impact of sunlight may stem from the fact that light-sensitive cells in the eye, crucial for regulating metabolic activity cycles, are particularly responsive to shorter wavelengths present in natural light, Fuchs explained.
Further research is essential to validate these findings; however, Fuchs suggests that many individuals with type 2 diabetes can benefit from increased exposure to natural light, even if it’s simply by sitting near a window. “It’s easy, free, and accessible to all,” Hoeks said. It remains uncertain whether individuals with type 1 diabetes or prediabetes gain similar benefits.
Glenn Jeffrey from University College London emphasizes the necessity for larger studies to substantiate these results. Nonetheless, he noted, “the significance of sunlight is gradually gaining recognition.”
You may have heard from biohacking podcasters, flashy social media ads, nutrition experts, or radiant influencers that effectively managing your blood sugar is crucial for maintaining good health.
Blood sugar management is no longer solely a diabetic concern; it’s now heralded as essential for achieving an ideal diet, endless energy, and decreased inflammation.
It’s no wonder that online searches for “blood sugar” have surged by over 30% in the last five years, leading to a booming global market for continuous blood glucose monitors, which are expected to grow tenfold within the next decade.
Yet, amidst all this excitement, there’s a crucial message that many doctors want to convey: Most people don’t need to worry about their blood sugar levels at all. Health proponents often misinterpret this aspect.
As Dr. Nicola Guess, a clinical and academic nutritionist at the University of Oxford, puts it: “These individuals are misinformed.”
Don’t Fear the Roller Coasters
You’ve likely learned to be wary of the “peaks and troughs” in blood sugar levels—but what does that actually entail?
Picture consuming a slice of soft, airy white bread. When you digest carbohydrates, they break down into glucose, a simple sugar that enters your bloodstream.
In a healthy metabolism, your body responds by releasing insulin—a hormone that facilitates glucose transport from the blood into cells for energy. When insulin functions properly, blood sugar levels begin to decline.
As white bread is a refined carbohydrate, it converts to glucose rapidly, causing a swift spike in blood sugar levels followed by an equally quick insulin response to bring it back down.
The outcome? A notable blood sugar peak accompanied by a swift drop.
A slice of white bread can spike your blood sugar more quickly than sugar – Image credit: Getty Images
At first glance, this may sound concerning. Health influencers often warn that such blood sugar fluctuations can lead to inflammation, fatigue, cravings, and, in the long run, decreased metabolic health.
This leads to recommendations against foods that trigger rapid blood sugar changes, including white bread, pasta, white rice, potatoes, cookies, cakes, and pastries.
Instead, they advocate for low-glycemic foods like vegetables, legumes, meats, fish, and healthy fats, believed to maintain stable blood sugar levels.
While this advice holds some truth—eating protein, fiber, and fat alongside carbohydrates can moderate your blood sugar response—it’s important to reconsider the bread scenario.
Applying a generous layer of butter can slow glucose absorption, thereby controlling the blood sugar rise.
Switching to whole wheat bread increases dietary fiber, making it denser. Adding some oily peanut butter can further balance the fat and protein intake.
However, for good health, it’s not necessary to meticulously monitor the balance of fat, protein, carbohydrates, and fiber in every meal. Despite common fears, most fluctuations in blood sugar levels are normal and not something to stress over.
“Blood sugar levels should rise after consuming a carb-heavy meal. This is a standard physiological reaction,” explains Sarah Berry, Professor of Nutritional Science at King’s College London and Chief Scientist at the nutrition company ZOE.
“Blood sugar levels fluctuate, but our bodies are adept at managing this.”
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Peaks and Valleys Are Normal
One of the most enduring but misleading beliefs about blood sugar is that daily fluctuations lead to harmful inflammation.
You may have encountered a TikTok video showcasing a blood sugar monitor graph or read a caption under a photo of avocado toast promising an “anti-inflammatory” blood sugar hack.
However, inflammation isn’t inherently negative.
“Postprandial glucose fluctuations stimulate inflammation, as it’s a natural response to eating,” asserts Dr. Guess.
She clarifies that our immune systems get a small boost with every meal to defend against potential threats like bacteria and pathogens.
This mild, short-lived inflammation is not only typical but often beneficial.
“The issue arises when blood sugar levels soar and then plummet,” Berry states. “If this pattern occurs repeatedly over time, it can heighten the risk of chronic diseases.”
Individuals without diabetes are tracking their blood sugar levels – Image courtesy of Getty Images
In essence, a consistently high intake of refined carbohydrates and sugary foods can result in frequent blood sugar spikes, increasing your risk of developing type 2 diabetes and other metabolic disorders over time.
Nonetheless, for most individuals, occasional peaks and dips in blood sugar after meals are completely normal and harmless.
“Moderate spikes and dips in blood sugar are not detrimental,” Berry asserts.
The Afternoon Slump Mystery
You’ve likely heard that blood sugar fluctuations contribute to energy variations, and that peaks and troughs are responsible for your mid-afternoon slump. While there’s some truth to this, scientists still understand only part of the puzzle.
Though the science in this domain remains relatively nascent, recent research, including studies led by Berry, suggests that some individuals may feel fatigued and anxious when their blood sugar levels dip. However, blood sugar might be just one element contributing to this fatigue.
Factors like sleep quality, stress levels, and individual biological differences might equally or more significantly influence energy levels.
“There’s much we don’t know,” admits Guess. “Understanding how people feel is challenging to measure objectively.”
Afternoon slumps aren’t solely due to blood sugar levels; lack of sleep, stress, and your body’s circadian rhythms all contribute – Image credit: Getty Images
While the precise cause of fatigue and sudden energy changes remains unclear, a slight drop in blood sugar levels is typically not hazardous, particularly for those without diabetes.
An afternoon slump doesn’t pose a life-threatening risk nor will it likely affect your long-term health.
This is because the body doesn’t rely exclusively on glucose for energy; it operates on multiple fuel types. If humans were vehicles, we would be hybrids capable of utilizing different energy sources to function efficiently.
“Glucose serves as gasoline; it’s just one type of energy source for the body,” explains Guess. “Our bodies can alternate between using stored fat for energy and energy derived from food intake.”
A temporary drop in blood sugar might make you feel slightly unwell, but it doesn’t imply you’re running on empty; your body simply adapts and taps into other energy reserves.
It’s not on the brink of failure; it’s merely switching fuel sources.
No Blood Sugar Hacks Needed
You might have come across tips, tricks, and hacks designed to prevent those annoying peaks and troughs in blood sugar levels (which are usually benign).
For instance, there are suggestions to sprinkle cheese on grapes, dip apple slices in peanut butter, and start meals with vegetables to moderate your blood sugar response.
These hacks can be beneficial for individuals who are prediabetic, diabetic, or insulin resistant. As we’ve explored, including fat, protein, and fiber with your carbohydrates can help stabilize blood sugar responses.
However, for the majority of us, Guess asserts that these tips are largely unnecessary.
Blood sugar hacks may be trending, but for most people, they’re unnecessary – Image courtesy of Alamy
Even for individuals facing metabolic issues, adding extra fats can lead to unnecessary caloric intake, according to her.
“Weight gain is the primary contributor to insulin resistance, prediabetes, and type 2 diabetes; the solution for all these conditions is weight loss,” she clarifies. “Adding fat to carbohydrates only obstructs weight loss.”
Berry underscored that the route to better blood sugar levels isn’t through simple tricks but a balanced diet incorporating protein, fat, and fiber.
Blood Sugar Monitor Concerns
Some individuals amplify their blood sugar apprehensions. In recent times, it has become more common for non-diabetics to utilize continuous glucose monitors (CGMs). Originally deemed medical devices for type 1 diabetes patients, these sensors attach to the arm and track blood sugar levels in real time.
Dr. David Unwin, a general practitioner with a focus on nutrition, mentions that CGMs can be advantageous for patients with diabetes, prediabetes, or excessive junk food consumption, as they provide “like having a police officer on your arm,” offering instant feedback about hidden sugars in food.
Many CGM providers suggest wearing the device briefly, such as for two weeks, to observe how blood sugar levels react to various meals.
However, Berry argues that constant CGM use is “neither necessary nor beneficial for healthy individuals.” Guess cautions that it could lead to “profound anxiety and negative impacts on mental health” surrounding food choices.
In extreme cases, this anxiety can spiral into dangerously obsessive eating behaviors, like orthorexia. Orthorexia is an eating disorder characterized by an obsession with perfect health.
While evidence suggesting CGM use can escalate to orthorexia is scarce, Unwin notes that those who monitored their blood sugar levels did not exhibit signs of developing eating disorders.
Still, any eating behavior can evolve into an obsession, and relying on blood sugar levels as a measure of food quality is a “false flag,” according to Guess.
Over 2 million people in the United States use continuous blood glucose monitors – Image courtesy of Getty Images
Berry added: “Some may opt for cookies over bananas after learning that bananas spike blood sugar levels more than cookies. Clearly, that’s absurd.”
Similarly, orange juice can cause a notable increase in blood sugar levels, whereas sodas with artificial sweeteners may not. However, while orange juice is a source of vitamin C and other nutrients, soda often contains artificial additives that provide minimal to no nutritional value.
Likewise, lard impacts blood sugar levels minimally, yet as a saturated fat, it can adversely affect heart health.
Ultimately, Berry asserts that blood sugar levels represent only “one piece of the puzzle,” and dietary guidance should consider aspects like cholesterol, blood pressure, weight, and gut health—not solely blood sugar.
When addressing significant health threats, particularly heart disease, high blood pressure and cholesterol are “far more critical than glucose,” Guess emphasizes.
In contrast, “the influence of food on blood sugar levels is likely to have a minimal effect on overall health,” she adds.
In essence, refrain from fixating too much on blood sugar levels; even an awareness of them might not lead to substantial improvements. And if that focus dictates your meal choices, you may be overlooking the broader picture.
“As a nutritional scientist, I don’t want to overshadow the essence of food: It is meant to be enjoyed!” Berry concludes.
According to new research published in the journal Food, daily consumption of mango (Mangifera indica) over a period of 24 weeks has shown improvements in both short- and long-term glycemic control, reduced insulin resistance, increased insulin sensitivity, and favorable changes in body composition for pre-diabetic patients. These findings indicate that incorporating fresh mangoes into the diet may aid glycemic control for those at high risk for type 2 diabetes, offering a practical food-based strategy to enhance body composition.
Daily consumption of mangoes for 24 weeks significantly enhanced glycemic control, insulin sensitivity, and body composition in adults with diabetes, underscoring the potential of mangoes as an effective dietary strategy for metabolic health. Image credit: Mohan Nannapaneni.
Currently, over 130 million adults in the United States are living with diabetes or pre-diabetes, as reported by the CDC.
Predictions indicate that by 2030, nearly 40% of U.S. adults will be affected by prediabetes.
Early identification and prevention at the prediabetic stage is crucial, as many individuals remain unaware of their condition until complications arise.
Nutrition plays a vital role in glycemic control, and a balanced diet can promote both enhanced blood glucose regulation and overall long-term health.
In a diabetes prevention program, lifestyle interventions resulted in a 58% reduction in the incidence of type 2 diabetes, compared to a 31% reduction with metformin versus placebo. Thus, identifying accessible natural strategies to mitigate these risk factors is essential for delaying diabetes onset and minimizing associated complications.
Dietary practices enriched with fruits, vegetables, and bioactive compounds have shown beneficial effects on glycemic control and metabolic health.
Mangoes, being tropical fruits, are rich in several bioactive compounds such as carotenoids, ascorbic acid, dietary fiber, phenolic compounds, gallbladder acid, and quercetin.
“It’s not merely about the sugar content; the overall context of the food is crucial,” stated Dr. Raedeh Basiri, a Clinical Nutrition Researcher at George Mason University.
“This study stands as the first long-term clinical trial to showcase the metabolic and body composition benefits of mangoes for individuals with prediabetes.”
“Essentially, it’s about more than just the sugar present in food. The naturally occurring sugars in mangoes and other fruits are balanced by the fiber and other vitamins and nutrients that confer additional health advantages.”
“Foods with added sugars, like breakfast cereals and low-sugar snacks, often lack the same nutritional value and may even elevate the risk of diabetes.”
“The objective is to urge people to include whole fruits like mangoes in their dietary strategies for healthy eating and diabetes prevention.”
“Individuals at high risk for diabetes should emphasize not only the sugar content of their food but also how the sugar is delivered.”
Dr. Basiri and her team divided participants into two groups: one receiving fresh mangoes daily and the other receiving low-sugar granola bars.
Throughout the six-month study, researchers measured participants’ blood glucose levels, their insulin response, and body fat.
The results showed that the high-sugar content in mangoes (32 grams of sugar) was more beneficial than the low-sugar granola bars (11 grams of sugar).
The group consuming mangoes daily exhibited improved glycemic control, heightened insulin sensitivity, and reduced body fat.
“Our findings reinforce and broaden the emerging evidence on the metabolic advantages of consuming fresh mango daily among pre-diabetic individuals,” the researchers noted.
“Participants who ate an average of one mango each day for 24 weeks recorded lower fasting blood glucose levels compared to the control group.”
“Future studies should utilize objective dietary biomarkers (like plasma carotenoids and urinary polyphenols) to enhance accuracy and credibility.”
“Additionally, exploring the mechanisms underlying these observed effects, including the role of bioactive compounds in mango on insulin signaling and inflammation, is essential, especially across diverse populations.”
“Longer follow-up periods and comparisons with other fruits and dietary strategies could provide clarity on the specific benefits of mangoes for metabolic health.”
“Final investigations should delve into broader health advantages of mango consumption beyond glycemic control and body composition, including potential impacts on metabolic pathways and variations in gene expression, as individual responses to the same foods can differ.”
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Raedeh Basiri et al. 2025. Daily mango intake improves blood glucose and body composition outcomes in prediabetic adults: a randomized controlled study. Food 14 (17): 2971; doi: 10.3390/foods14172971
A single blood test can unveil the biological ages of 11 distinct organs and systems in the body, potentially indicating disease risks in those areas.
“Our objective is to enhance care using one test that reflects not just the overall biological age, but identifies which system is primarily influencing it,” explains Raghav Sehgal from Yale University. “This way, individuals can receive tailored lifestyle or treatment recommendations based on their profiles.”
To evaluate an individual’s lifespan and health risks, biological age serves as an indicator of the rate at which their body ages, contrasting this with chronological age, according to Morgan Levine at Altos Labs in California. Researchers have designed an epigenetic watch to assess DNA methylation, which involves the addition or removal of chemical tags that toggle genes on and off.
While it’s convenient, its accuracy is questioned by Levine. Different organs and systems age at varied rates, heavily influenced by genetics and medical history, she highlights.
“There is a common belief that within an individual, organs and systems can be distinct.” Vadim Gladyshev from Harvard University, who did not partake in the research, notes. “Some brains may exhibit older characteristics, while kidneys may age differently compared to other organs.”
Thus, Sehgal, Levine, and their colleagues embarked on creating methylation tests that target aging states in various body parts. Initially, they assessed physical measurements, including blood tests, medical histories, and grip strength from around 7,500 individuals involved in two major research programs, namely the Health and Retirement Study—a database of U.S. residents over 50 and some U.S. families contributing DNA for genomic research.
Researchers searched for clear connections between age-related conditions, encompassing immune, inflammatory, hematological, musculoskeletal, hormonal, and metabolic systems along with five key organs linked to the heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, and brain. They then correlated these findings with DNA methylation patterns, trained computer models to recognize those patterns, calculated the biological age of each system, and generated an overall biological age.
After training their models, the team tested it on blood samples from another 8,125 individuals whose data originated from four other studies. They discovered, for instance, that the model’s heart score could predict heart disease, brain scores were associated with cognitive decline, and musculoskeletal scores indicated whether individuals were likely to have arthritis-like conditions.
Comparing their findings with established epigenetic clocks, the researchers noted that organ-specific scores demonstrated strong accuracy, with many yielding excellent results. “It’s quite remarkable that a single factor measured through a blood test can effectively estimate aging across multiple systems,” remarks Levine.
Daniel Belsky from Columbia University in New York describes the epigenetic clock as representing “significant” advancements in aging research. “This marks the initial foray into developing interpretable measures of biological aging that allow for simultaneous analysis of multiple systems, guiding back to specific tissues or organs,” he explains. “It provides a pathway for reverse-engineering from aggregate measurements to pinpoint where health issues may emerge.”
Nonetheless, he cautions that this method might deviate from the overarching objectives of the field. “The essence of genetic science and the potential of aging biology resides in perceiving humans as coherent systems where we seek to identify the weakest links to bolster and avert failures,” Belsky asserts. “Maintaining this integrated perspective is crucial.”
Crucially, Levine clarifies that this test is not intended for diagnostic purposes but for risk assessment. “All assessments, including those in our studies, aim to provide estimates and insights into the inner workings of our bodies,” she emphasizes. “Future research should yield stronger and more precise estimates of aging by integrating various approaches, capturing the complexity and diversity of the aging process.”
Gladyshev envisions that this research could lead to personalized disease prevention strategies. “This represents the core implication of this series of studies,” Belsky adds, while emphasizing the need for further investigation. “We’re not quite there yet.”
Hypertension poses a significant health risk, elevating the chances of heart disease, stroke, and kidney issues. As a general practitioner, I frequently receive inquiries about its management, and I always stress the importance of exercise. But what is the ideal amount?
A 2021 study that tracked over 5,000 adults for three decades highlights the optimal “dose” of exercise for controlling blood pressure. Is this crucial? Yes, both the type and intensity of exercise, along with the total volume, are vital.
The findings suggest that engaging in moderately intense activities for 30 minutes on most days can significantly aid in blood pressure management. This encompasses exercises that allow for conversation while increasing your breath rate, like brisk walking, cycling, and vigorous household chores.
Recently, a 2023 analysis of 270 prior studies involving over 15,000 participants aimed to identify which forms of exercise were most effective in reducing blood pressure.
While various types of exercise produced positive outcomes, isometric exercises were particularly effective. These involve holding a static position (like wall squats) instead of dynamic movements.
Other beneficial exercises include running, walking, cycling, weight training, and high-intensity interval training.
Moreover, substantial reductions in blood pressure were observed among those exercising 3-5 times per week for a minimum of 4 weeks.
It’s not just about the kind of exercise, but the overall quantity that counts – Photo Credit: Getty
This underscores the necessity of consistency. While medication remains crucial for numerous individuals, these insights illuminate the impact of lifestyle adjustments.
Incorporating exercise, along with a nutritious diet and effective stress management, can help control blood pressure, potentially decreasing reliance on medications like beta blockers.
The evidence is compelling: if you aim to manage your blood pressure, incorporating regular moderate-intensity exercise is an excellent starting point. However, it’s just one piece of the larger puzzle.
Reducing salt intake, following a balanced diet, and effectively managing stress are also essential factors. For some, blood pressure medication is still a vital component of treatment.
The positive takeaway? Physical activity can enhance these approaches.
This article addresses the query from Connor Barrett in Salford, “How much does exercise control my blood pressure?”
Please send your questions toQuestion @sciencefocus.com or MessageFacebook,Twitter, orInstagramPage (please include your name and location).
Explore our ultimateFun Facts for more fascinating science content.
My perspective on the moon has changed in the past year, especially since I gave birth during the harvest month, coinciding with the full moon.
In those early months with my son, time felt peculiar. The boundary between day and night blurred. Yet, the lunar cycle marked the passage of time. Each full moon signified that another 29.5 days had gone by and reminded me that my son was growing month by month.
<p>The upcoming full moon will carry special significance, as it coincides with a total lunar eclipse on September 7th, 2025.</p>
<p>This spectacular event will be visible to many around the globe, including parts of Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and South America. In my location in the UK, the moon will emerge from below the horizon around 20 minutes later, at approximately 7:30 PM, and will remain visible until the eclipse concludes.</p>
<p>As I mentioned, the full moon occurs every 29.5 days. During this phase, our planet is positioned between the sun and the moon, allowing the moon to fully reflect sunlight towards us.</p>
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<p>However, because the moon's orbit is slightly tilted relative to Earth's orbit around the sun, these celestial bodies don’t always align perfectly (a phenomenon known as Syzygy).</p>
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<p>When syzygy happens during the new moon, a solar eclipse occurs. Conversely, if it happens during the full moon, we witness a total lunar eclipse.</p>
<p>During this event, the moon will enter Earth's shadow, which is why it appears dark and red. The only light that reaches the moon's surface and is reflected back to us has passed through Earth's atmosphere, scattering most wavelengths except for the reds.</p>
<p>To discover the best times to view the lunar eclipse and what you can see from your location, check out the <a href="https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/lunar/2025-september-7">Interactive Solar Eclipse Map</a>.</p>
<p>Unlike solar eclipses, no special equipment is necessary for viewing the lunar eclipse—just a clear sky. Once you know when to look, find the moon and watch it transition to a dark, red hue (as shown in the photo). If you're in the UK, you’ll find the moon positioned on the eastern horizon, so make sure to find a spot with a clear view to the east.</p>
<p>This full moon, occurring just before the autumn equinox, is often referred to as the harvest blood moon due to the reddish color it takes on during the eclipse.</p>
<p>I’m not certain how old he has to be to appreciate it, but I plan to take my son outside to witness this beautiful lunar sight that coincides with his birth in the harvest month.</p>
<p><em>Abigail Beall is the editor of New Scientist and the author of *Art of Urban Astronomy*. Follow her @abbybeall</em></p>
<p>For more projects, please visit newscientist.com/maker</p>
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The stiffening of arteries with age, exacerbated by Covid-19
Peterschreiber.Media/Alamy
Covid-19 seems to speed up the aging of blood vessels, particularly in women.
The virus has been linked to cardiovascular issues such as heart disease, although the exact mechanisms remain unclear. For further insights, see Rosa Maria Bruno from the University of Parisite and her research team, who studied 2,390 individuals with an average age of 50 across 16 nations, including the UK and US, from September 2020 to February 2022.
Participants included those testing positive for Covid-19 viruses or for antibodies without vaccination, alongside others who were negative for both without past infections.
The health of their arteries was evaluated by measuring the speed of pressure wave transmission between the carotid artery in the neck and the femoral artery in the foot. This assesses arterial stiffness, which naturally increases with age and elevates heart disease risk.
Findings indicated that confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections were related to increased arterial stiffness in women. This correlation appeared to grow with infection severity; for instance, women hospitalized for Covid-19 showed an average arterial age roughly five years greater than their uninfected peers, rising to 7.5 years among those who needed intensive care.
Researchers accounted for other factors influencing arteriosclerosis, such as smoking and obesity.
However, no similar findings were present in men. Earlier studies indicate that women tend to have stronger responses to infections than men, and an inability to modulate immune responses can result in inflammatory damage. Bruno expressed hope for observable gender differences but noted that this study didn’t yield significant ones.
The results also shed light on long Covid, which is more prevalent among women. After six months, arterial stiffness in women showed slight improvement, yet remained notably high in patients with ongoing Covid-19 complications. “Our study demonstrated measurable changes in blood vessels correlating with the symptoms of long Covid patients,” said Bruno.
Some individuals in the uninfected group may have experienced mild infections unbeknownst to them, potentially influencing the study’s validity.
Regardless, Vassilios Vassilio from the University of East Anglia highlighted the study’s robustness, asserting it could aid in identifying individuals affected by long Covid. “This research marks the first large, international multicenter investigation confirming an association between COVID-19 and accelerated vascular aging,” he noted. “The findings enhance comprehension of mechanisms post-Covid-19 syndrome and may pave the way for targeted pharmaceutical approaches.”
Actor Orlando Bloom recently made headlines when it was reported that he was compensated a staggering £10,000 ($13,600) for the removal, separation, and filtration of his blood.
This dramatic treatment underscores the escalating concern surrounding a disquieting reality. It’s not solely about evading these minuscule particles.
Research indicates that microplastics are prevalent from the heights of Mount Everest to the depths of our brains. Their omnipresence, including in the media, raises pressing public scientific concerns regarding the safety of having microscopic plastic flakes adrift on our bodies.
Once thought of as harmless, microplastics are now linked to various illnesses. Should we be testing at this nascent stage and worrying about their impact on our bodies, especially considering the lack of scientific consensus? And are we really justifying lining up to “clean” our blood?
Plastic Proof
The term “microplastic” refers to plastic particles or fibers smaller than 5mm (0.19 inches). These particles are often minuscule, necessitating a microscope for proper observation.
Scientists also use the term “nanoplastic” for particles smaller than 0.001mm (39.4 microinches), which are difficult to detect even with advanced microscopy. Evidence suggests they can be released from plastic materials and disseminate into their environments.
My research group focuses on quantifying plastic and other particles in the air we breathe, both indoors and outdoors. In London, we have observed that airborne microplastics can penetrate deep into our lungs.
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To determine the presence of microplastics in the body, whole tissues or blood fragments are processed and filtered to concentrate the microplastic content. Analysis is conducted using chemical techniques that quantify plastic in a sample, or through physical and chemical methods, which count the number of plastic particles (along with their size and shape).
Each method has its merits, but they all share similar drawbacks. Modern laboratories are rife with microplastic pollution, laden with plastic consumables and the personnel that handle them.
This means that the very process of extracting and testing microplastic samples can lead to contamination. Consequently, samples often reveal microplastic particles that were previously considered too large to be absorbed and distributed throughout the body.
Some reports indicate that humans might consume an equivalent of one teaspoon of plastic daily.
Generally, particles smaller than 0.001mm (39.4 microinches) can traverse the lungs and enter the bloodstream. This occurs through the thin alveolar tissue in the lungs that separates the air-filled alveolar sacs from the small surrounding capillary blood vessels.
In the intestines, these minute particles can enter the lymph system, the bodily waste removal network. From there, the tiniest particles may enter the bloodstream and become larger aggregates trapped in the intestinal lining.
Thus, lab contamination may account for the larger plastics detected within the body.
Another complication arises because some biological components within samples emit signals resembling those of plastic. Specifically, fat can distort the signals from polyelectrolytes and polychlorinated compounds. If samples are not meticulously processed, this could lead to exaggerated estimates of the plastics present.
Taking all of this into account, the assumed high levels of microplastics in our bodies may be overstated. Variations in estimates range from nanograms to milligrams, influenced by factors like study methodology, location, tissue type, and analysis techniques.
Recent stringent research suggests an estimated 0.15µg (0.00000015g) of plastic per milliliter in our blood, amounting to less than the weight of a single human hair.
Moreover, this study predominantly focuses on polystyrene, the easiest microplastic to analyze.
Plastic People
Considering these levels, it may be more critical to focus on where microplastics accumulate in our bodies rather than their sheer quantity.
Nonetheless, accurately measuring microplastic accumulation in various body parts presents challenges. A recent study posits that the brain is a notable accumulation point, averaging around 4.5 bottle caps.
Not only are these levels considerably high, but the detected plastics largely consist of polyethylene, which poses complications in measurement due to its interaction with fat.
Hundreds of millions of tons of plastic are produced annually – Pexels
Polyethylene is the most widely produced plastic globally, with approximately 120 million tons manufactured each year, representing 25% of all plastics. Thus, it’s logical to find a higher concentration of this type in our bodies. However, the brain is composed of adipose tissue, making false positives a potential concern.
Furthermore, the research suggests that plastic levels in the brain surpass those in the liver, an organ responsible for cleansing blood. Expecting a high concentration of plastic in the body’s filtration organ would be reasonable.
Most studies investigating microplastics in human tissues focus on broad tissue-wide samples. This results in a lack of critical context regarding whether microplastics are embedded within cells or merely passing through.
Plastic Pure
Regardless of the exact measurements, public anxiety about microplastics remains high. Around two-thirds of 30,000 survey respondents from 31 countries express concern about microplastics in their bodies.
If you aim to minimize exposure to microplastic contamination, consider adopting a few lifestyle changes. Opt for natural fiber-based textiles in your home and clothing, avoid plastic packaging whenever feasible (especially when heat is involved), and refrain from running along quiet streets to dodge tire wear particles from traffic.
However, projections indicate that microplastic releases may rise 1.5-2.5 times by 2040. It’s likely that technology will soon emerge, claiming to eradicate microplastic invaders from our bodies.
Therapeutic apheresis — a medical process that separates blood and selectively removes harmful substances before returning the cleaned blood to the patient — has recently been commercialized for the removal of microplastics from the bloodstream.
However, there is scant public documentation on this microplastic removal method. A German study indicated that “microplastic-like” particles were detected in a patient’s plasma following the procedure. Without adequate lab controls and details regarding detected particle sizes, interpreting the significance of these findings is challenging.
Additionally, our understanding of the specific behavior of microplastics within the body remains limited. We lack clarity on whether they circulate freely in our plasma, adhere to red blood cells, or are contained within immune cells in the bloodstream.
In the absence of concrete evidence on the types of microplastics in our bodies, their pathways, or their interactions within the body, evaluating the health implications of these “blood-cleaning” efforts becomes nearly impossible.
Moreover, additional concerns may arise during treatment. One study documented 558 microplastics released from the cannula over a 72-hour period.
With all this taken into account, I intend to steer clear of the SF blood washing service in Hollywood until further studies emerge to clarify the impact of microplastics on our bodies and provide insight into their locations and functions.
Should wall sits be part of your training routine?
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Recently, my doctor advised me to monitor my blood pressure more vigilantly due to some medications I’m currently taking. While it’s still in the normal range, it’s been gradually increasing, leading me to ponder ways to manage it. Given that hypertension affects an estimated 12.8 billion adults and raises the risk of serious conditions like heart attacks and strokes if left unchecked, it’s a valid concern.
Exercise is widely endorsed as a key method for lowering blood pressure. Public health organizations often recommend moderate-intensity aerobic activities each week, like jogging and cycling, to help keep levels stable. However, recent studies indicate that this may not be the most effective approach.
A compelling study, a 2023 analysis, assessed 270 randomized controlled trials involving about 16,000 adults, focusing on various exercise regimens lasting at least two weeks. The analysis found that all types of exercise—from aerobic workouts to resistance training—significantly reduced blood pressure compared to inactive controls.
Interestingly, isometric exercises, like wall sits and hand grips where muscles are contracted in fixed positions, demonstrated a notable effect. On average, these exercises produced reductions in blood pressure comparable to those achieved with medication, showing drops of 8.24 and 4 mmHg respectively. Such reductions equate to a 22% decrease in the risk of major cardiovascular events over a few years. In contrast, aerobic exercise had nearly half that potency.
This difference likely stems from how isometric exercises impact blood flow. For instance, during wall squats or planks, one holds muscles in a contracted state for about 1-2 minutes, which temporarily restricts blood flow. Once the muscles relax, blood rushes back in, leading to lower blood pressure for several hours, a beneficial effect that can be sustained with repeated sessions.
What makes isometric training particularly enticing is its ease of integration into daily routines. A 2023 study revealed that just 12 minutes of these exercises, performed three times a week, were sufficient to substantially lower blood pressure over a 12-week period.
That said, I don’t intend to suggest neglecting other training forms. Aerobic and resistance exercises are still vital for cardiovascular health and muscle development. However, if your blood pressure is a concern, incorporating isometric exercises into your workout could be beneficial. I’m choosing to add wall squats to my leg day routine.
Grace Wade is a health reporter for New Scientist based in the U.S.
For more insights, please visit newscientist.com/maker
A naturally occurring compound known as flavan-3-ol, present in cocoa, tea, apples, and grapes, has been shown to enhance blood pressure and vascular health, according to a recent meta-analysis conducted by researchers at the University of Surrey involving 145 prior studies.
Flavan-3-OL-rich foods and supplements, similar to medications, are regularly consumed, particularly by those with high blood pressure, to help lower blood pressure. Image credit: Lagou et al., doi: 10.1093/eurjpc/zwaf173.
“Flavan-3-ol found in cocoa, tea, and various fruits shows potential in enhancing blood pressure and vascular function, but is not yet utilized for cardiovascular prevention,” stated Professor Christian Heiss, the lead author of the study from the University of Surrey.
“Our meta-analysis evaluated how flavan-3-ol-rich interventions impact blood pressure and endothelial function.”
In the meta-analysis, the researchers examined data from 145 randomized controlled trials published between 1946 and 2024.
The findings indicated that regular intake of flavan-3-OLs could lead to reductions in blood pressure readings, particularly among individuals with elevated blood pressure or hypertension.
Some results showed that the average decrease in blood pressure was comparable to that produced by certain medications.
Additionally, flavan-3-ol was found to enhance endothelial function (the inner layer of blood vessels), which is crucial for overall cardiovascular health.
This improvement occurs independently of blood pressure changes, suggesting a broad positive impact on circulatory health.
“These results are promising for those seeking a simple way to manage blood pressure and support heart health through enjoyable dietary adjustments,” Professor Heiss added.
“Incorporating small amounts of commonly enjoyed foods such as tea, apples, dark chocolate, and cocoa powder into a balanced daily diet can provide beneficial flavan-3-ol levels.”
“While it should not replace prescribed medications or medical guidance, it can be a beneficial addition to a healthy lifestyle, particularly for individuals with high blood pressure, by incorporating flavan-3-ol-rich foods into their daily routine.”
“These encouraging findings warrant further research.”
A paper discussing the survey results has been published in the European Journal of Preventive Psychology.
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Vasiriki Ragou et al. Effect of flavan-3-OL on blood pressure and endothelial function in various populations: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. European Journal of Preventive Psychology Published online on March 24th, 2025. doi: 10.1093/eurjpc/zwaf173
Elizabeth Holmes’ partner and father of her child is said to have secured millions in funding to launch a new blood-testing company, which bears a striking resemblance to the firm that led Holmes, the founder of Theranos, to federal prison.
As reported by the New York Times, Billy Evans, the heir to a hotel fortune, is promoting his new venture, Haemanthus, to potential investors. Evans’ concept involves a health testing company capable of analyzing users’ blood, urine, and saliva.
The business model of Haemanthus and the pitch provided by Holmes-led Theranos show significant similarities.
Holmes founded Theranos in 2003 after her healthcare technology startup attracted substantial investments, boasting hundreds of millions from high-profile backers. She asserted that her company had developed a method for rapidly and accurately testing small blood samples to arrive at a diagnosis.
Haemanthus, according to its January patent, claims its technology can utilize sweat, urine, saliva, and small blood samples for diagnostics. The company, initiated by Evans, who has two children with Holmes, was established in February 2024 and plans to start animal testing before moving on to human trials.
The technology claims made by Theranos inflated its valuation to $9 billion in 2014. However, a critical investigation by the Wall Street Journal revealed significant inaccuracies in Theranos’ assertions, indicating the tests were not only illegal but also produced false results.
The scandal culminated in 2018 when the company was dissolved, leading to criminal charges against Holmes and the firm’s president. Holmes received an 11-year prison sentence in 2022 for defrauding investors.
Marketing materials for Haemanthus, as reviewed by The New York Times, indicate that the technology employs lasers to analyze blood, saliva, and urine from pets, promising rapid disease, cancer, or infection detection.
Reportedly, Haemanthus aims to develop compact, wearable versions of its devices for human use in the long run, according to The Times.
Several investors have already expressed interest in the pitch. While reportedly receiving guidance from Holmes, Evans has managed to raise nearly $20 million from friends and other backers.
Evans met Holmes in 2017 during the fraud investigation that resulted in her imprisonment. He is said to reside in Texas with their child, while Holmes serves her sentence approximately two hours away.
Tim Friede has endured hundreds of snake bites. Presently, researchers are analyzing his blood with the aim of developing more effective snake bite treatments.
Friede has a long-standing fascination with reptiles and other venomous creatures. He used to milk scorpions and had a collection of dozens of snakes at his home in Wisconsin.
To protect himself from snake bites and satisfy his “simple curiosity,” he started injecting himself with small doses of snake venom, gradually increasing the amount to build his tolerance before allowing a snake to bite him.
“It was very frightening at first,” Friede said. “But the more you do it, the better you become at handling it, and the more comfortable you get.”
While no healthcare professional would endorse this practice, experts indicate that his approach sheds light on how the body functions. When the immune system encounters snake venom, it produces antibodies that can counteract the venom. If exposed to a small quantity, the body might respond before being overwhelmed, and prior exposure can lead to quicker reactions to larger doses.
For nearly two decades, Friede has endured snake bites and self-injections, yet he still keeps a fridge stocked with venom. In a video on his YouTube channel, he showcases the prominent fang marks on his arms from black mamba, taipan, and water cobra bites.
“I essentially wanted to test the boundaries of life and death as much as possible,” he stated.
In addition, Friede sought to contribute to science. He reached out to numerous scientists, requesting studies on the tolerance he had developed.
According to the World Health Organization, approximately 110,000 people die from snake bites annually. Developing antivenoms is both costly and challenging, often requiring large mammals like horses to produce antibodies through venom injections. These antivenoms tend to be effective against only specific snake species and can cause adverse reactions due to their non-human origin.
Tim Friede stands in a lab in Southern San Francisco, California, utilizing his blood to prepare anti-venom for various snake bites. Centibacs via AP
Upon learning about Friede, Peter Kwon from Columbia University remarked, “Oh, wow, this is quite extraordinary. He is a uniquely special individual with remarkable antibodies developed over 18 years.”
In a publication in the Journal Cell on Friday, Kwon and collaborators shared insights on what Friede’s unique blood can accomplish. They have identified two antibodies capable of neutralizing venom from multiple snake species, aiming to create a treatment that could eventually provide broad protection.
This study is in its early stages—antivenoms are currently tested only on mice, with years needed before human testing can commence. While their experimental treatments show promise for certain snake categories, including mambas and cobras, they are less effective against vipers.
“Despite the potential, there is still much work to be done,” noted Nicholas Casewell, a snakebite researcher at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, in an email. Casewell was not part of the recent study.
Friede’s journey has not been without challenges. He mentioned that a bad snake bite resulted in part of his finger needing amputation, and some severe cobra bites sent him to the hospital.
Friede is currently working with Centivax, which is developing a treatment, and he is hopeful that his 18-year journey might someday lead to a lifesaving solution for snake bites. However, his advice for those inspired to follow his path is straightforward: “Don’t do this,” he cautioned.
now, jiang he At the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas and his colleagues are directly considering the effectiveness of drugs that lower blood pressure for dementia and cognitive impairment.
They studied 33,995 people in rural China. They were all over 40 years old and had high blood pressure. Participants were split into one of two random groups, each with an average age of approximately 63 years.
On average, the first group actively received three antitherapeutic drugs, such as ACE inhibitors, diuretics, or calcium channel blockers, actively ensuring lower blood pressure. They also coached home blood pressure monitoring and lifestyle changes that help to reduce blood pressure, such as weight loss and alcohol and salt intake.
Another set treated as a control group achieved local treatment levels with the same coaching and more general levels of treatment, including on average one drug.
At follow-up appointments 48 months later, participants were tested for blood pressure and measured for signs of cognitive impairment using a standard questionnaire.
Concerns about hypertension begin when a person’s systolic pressure exceeds 130 mm mercury (mmHg) or when diastolic pressure exceeds 80 mmHg. blood pressure It has exceeded 130/80.
On average, many people who received the medication lowered their blood pressure from 157.0/87.9 to 127.6/72.6 mmHg, while the control group was able to take it from 155.4/87.2 to just 147.7/81.0 mmHg.
The researchers also found that 15% fewer people who received multiple drug therapies during the study received dementia diagnosis compared to the control group, and 16% suffered from cognitive impairment.
“The results of this study demonstrated that lowering blood pressure is effective in reducing the risk of dementia in patients with uncontrolled hypertensive conditions,” he says. “This proven and effective intervention should be widely adopted and expanded to alleviate the global burden of dementia.”
“Over the years, many people know that blood pressure is likely a risk factor for dementia. Zachary Malcolm At Washington University in Seattle.
Raj Shah Rush University in Chicago says it’s helpful to add evidence that treating high blood pressure can help stop dementia, but that’s just one of the dementia puzzles, as we affect brain abilities as we age.
“You need to treat hypertension for multiple reasons,” says Shah. “Because of people’s longevity and happiness, they can age healthyly over time.”
Marcum also says people should think more broadly than just blood pressure to avoid dementia. He says there is Other known risk factors This is associated with an increased risk of dementia, including smoking, inactivity, obesity, social isolation, and hearing loss.
And many factors are more influential at different stages of life. To reduce the risk of dementia, “a holistic approach is needed throughout your life,” says Shah.
Excessive dietary sodium increases blood pressure, while a high potassium diet has the opposite effect. The underlying mechanism is alleviated by sex and includes multiple organs and tissues. How do high potassium-induced alternatives in renal function differ between men and women with lower blood pressure? To answer these questions, a duo of researchers at the University of Waterloo conducted computer simulations to simulate the homeostasis of whole body fluids and electrolytes, simulating the effects of sodium and potassium intake on blood pressure.
Melissa Stadt & Anita Layton suggests that increasing the ratio of dietary potassium to sodium intake may be more effective in lowering blood pressure than simply reducing sodium intake. Image credit: Melissa Stadt & Anita Layton, doi: 10.1152/ajprenal.00222.2024.
Hypertension affects more than 30% of adults around the world. It is the main cause of coronary heart disease and stroke, and can lead to other distress such as chronic kidney disease, heart failure, irregular heartbeat, and dementia.
“We usually recommend eating less salt when we have high blood pressure,” said Professor Anita Leighton, author of the study.
“Our research suggests that adding potassium-rich foods to a diet such as bananas and broccoli can have a greater impact on blood pressure than cutting off sodium.”
Potassium and sodium are both electrolytes, which help the body send electrical signals to contract muscles, affect the amount of water in the body, and perform other essential functions.
“Early humans ate a lot of fruits and vegetables. As a result, our body’s regulatory system may have evolved to work best on a high potassium, low sodium diet.”
“Today, Western diets tend to be much higher in sodium and lower in potassium.”
“It may explain why hypertension is seen primarily in industrialized societies, not isolated societies.”
Previous studies found that increased potassium intake helps control blood pressure, but researchers have developed a mathematical model that successfully identifies how potassium-sodium ratios affect the body.
The model also identifies how sex differences affect the relationship between potassium and blood pressure.
Scientists have found that men develop hypertension more easily than premenopausal women, but men are more likely to respond positively to an increased potassium-to-sodium ratio.
“Mathematical models like those used in this study allow these types of experiments to identify how different factors affect the body quickly, cheaply, and ethically,” they said.
Team’s paper Released in March 2025 American Journal of Physiology-Renal Physiology.
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Melissa Statt and Anita T. Leighton. Regulation of blood pressure by dietary potassium and sodium: Gender differences and modeling analysis. American Journal of Physiology-Renal PhysiologyPublished online on March 3, 2025. doi: 10.1152/ajprenal.00222.2024
Pre-Lamp Disease is a potentially serious complication of pregnancy
Half Point Image/Getty Image
Pre-lamp syndrome can lead to many pregnancy complications, including death, but can be difficult to detect in the early stages of pregnancy. New blood tests can help doctors identify people at risk of developing a condition before symptoms begin.
“We can narrow it down to four really high-risk pregnancies. That’s a big step.” Maneesh Jain at Mirvie, a California-based health startup.
Pre-salping syndrome is a type of hypertensive disorder (HDP) during pregnancy, which occurs when scientists are not sure exactly – occurs during placenta development. This can lead to high blood pressure and lead to cardiovascular disease, organ damage, seizures and even death. It can also cause harm to the developing fetus.
However, catching pre-lammosis and other HDP is difficult. This is because symptoms usually do not appear for at least 20 weeks after pregnancy. Sometimes, no signs are detected until work. It is difficult to monitor placenta development. This is because taking tissue samples from organs is very invasive.
New blood tests are relatively non-invasive and use RNA markers to predict whether someone may develop HDP. Specifically, this test focuses on specific genes PAPPA2 and CD163its overexpression was previously linked to HDP. The researchers wanted to see if they could detect this overexpression of blood samples.
Their validation studies of over 9,000 pregnant people suggest that they can: Jain says that tests can be determined with accuracy of over 99% and above with accuracy of over 99%, whether people without existing risk factors overexpress the gene and therefore are at higher risk of pre-ec syndrome or another HDP. Almost a quarter of participants without existing HDP risk factors overexpressed the gene.
People with a certain demographic (for example, those with a family history of preexisting hypertension or pre-sexual pre-lampsia) are known to be at a moderate risk of developing the condition, he says. Morten Rasmussen At Mirvie. But for many, it comes from the blue at first glance.
Once someone knows that they are at high risk of pre-lamps, they can take action to prevent this. Common interventions include taking medications like aspirin, switching to a Mediterranean diet, and monitoring your daily blood pressure.
However, the new test only looked at people between 17.5 and 22 weeks after pregnancy. “Ideally, you should start aspirin 16 weeks in advance.” Kathryn Gray At Washington University in Seattle. “So by the time most people get the results of this test, they’ve already missed that window.”
Mirvie plans to sell blood tests on the market soon. Once it’s on the market, the team hopes other scientists will use it to develop drugs that specifically target the expression of genes such as PAPPA2. Such molecular pinpoints “give a much better opportunity for treatment to be effective,” says Rasmussen.
Gray also hopes researchers will use Mirvie’s RNA bank data to further identify the genes behind the risk of prelammosis in certain people. She says narrowing down your search profile could reduce the cost of testing and make it affordable for more people.
The article was revised on April 8, 2025
This article has been revised to reflect the risks posed by pre-lammosis during pregnancy
The article was revised on April 10, 2025
We have revealed that the test has identified people at risk of developing pre-lammosis.
Pre-Lamp Disease is a potentially serious complication of pregnancy
Half Point Image/Getty Image
Pre-lamp syndrome can lead to many pregnancy complications, including death, but can be difficult to detect in the early stages of pregnancy. New blood tests can help doctors identify the risk of developing a pregnant individual’s condition before symptoms begin.
“We can narrow it down to four really high-risk pregnancies. That’s a big step.” Maneesh Jain at Mirvie, a California-based health startup.
Pre-salping syndrome is a type of hypertensive disorder (HDP) during pregnancy, which occurs when scientists are not sure exactly – occurs during placenta development. This can lead to high blood pressure and lead to cardiovascular disease, organ damage, seizures and even death. It can also cause harm to the developing fetus.
However, catching pre-lammosis and other HDP is difficult. This is because symptoms usually do not appear for at least 20 weeks after pregnancy. Sometimes, no signs are detected until work. It is difficult to monitor placenta development. This is because taking tissue samples from organs is very invasive.
New blood tests are relatively non-invasive and use RNA markers to predict whether someone may develop HDP. Specifically, this test focuses on specific genes PAPPA2 and CD163its overexpression was previously linked to HDP. The researchers wanted to see if they could detect this overexpression of blood samples.
Their validation studies of over 9,000 pregnant people suggest that they can: Jain says the test can be predicted with accuracy of over 99%, whether people without existing risk factors overexpress the gene and therefore are at a higher risk of EC presymptom or another HDP. Almost a quarter of participants without existing HDP risk factors overexpressed the gene.
People with a certain demographic (for example, those with a family history of preexisting hypertension or pre-sexual pre-lampsia) are known to be at a moderate risk of developing the condition, he says. Morten Rasmussen At Mirvie. But for many, it comes from the blue at first glance.
Once someone knows that they are at high risk of pre-lamps, they can take action to prevent this. Common interventions include taking medications like aspirin, switching to a Mediterranean diet, and monitoring your daily blood pressure.
However, the new test only looked at people between 17.5 and 22 weeks after pregnancy. “Ideally, you should start aspirin 16 weeks in advance.” Kathryn Gray At Washington University in Seattle. “So by the time most people get the results of this test, they’ve already missed that window.”
Mirvie plans to sell blood tests on the market soon. Once it’s on the market, the team hopes other scientists will use it to develop drugs that specifically target the expression of genes such as PAPPA2. Such molecular pinpoints “give a much better opportunity for treatment to be effective,” says Rasmussen.
Gray also hopes researchers will use Mirvie’s RNA bank data to further identify the genes behind the risk of prelammosis in certain people. She says narrowing down your search profile could reduce the cost of testing and make it affordable for more people.
The article was revised on April 8, 2025
This article has been revised to reflect the risks posed by pre-lammosis during pregnancy
Serhiihudak/ukrinform/future Publishing by Getty Images
Frequent blood donors may be gaining more than a warm, ambiguous feeling from altruism, as giving blood can increase their ability to produce healthy blood cells and potentially reduce the risk of developing blood cancer.
Hector Huerga Encabo The Francis Crick Institute in London and his colleagues analyzed genetic data extracted from blood cells donated from 217 German men aged 60 to 72 years old. They also looked at samples from 212 men of similar age who donated their blood less than 10 times and found that frequent donors were likely to have blood cells with specific mutations in the genes called. dnmt3a.
To understand this difference, the team added genetically engineered human blood stem cells that produce all blood cells in the body along with these mutations, along with unmodified cells, to the lab dish. To mimic the effects of blood donation, they also added a hormone called EPO. This was the body produced it later and added it to part of the dish.
After 1 month, cells with frequent donor mutations grew 50% faster than cells without mutations, but only in dishes containing EPO. Without this hormone, both cell types would have grown at similar rates.
“It suggests that all blood donation, you have a burst of EPO in your system, and this will support the growth of these cells dnmt3a Mutations,” Encabo says.
To investigate whether it would be beneficial to enable more effectiveness of these mutated blood cells, the team mixed with cells with mutations that cause the risk of leukemia, and again discovered that in the presence of EPO, frequent don cells can effectively lay other blood cells. this is, dnmt3a Mutations are beneficial and may inhibit cancer cell growth, Encabo said.
“It appears that blood donations provide selection pressure to improve stem cell fitness and capacity to fill up.” Ash Toy At the University of Bristol, UK. “It may not only save someone’s life, it may also increase fitness in the blood system.”
I say it needs more work to see if this is really true Markman Soor University College London provides a very simplified picture of what happens in the body of a lab experiment. “This should be examined across much larger cohorts, different ethnicities, women and other age groups,” Mansour says. He also points out that there is no donor. dnmt3a Mutations may not see this benefit.
Researchers trained artificial intelligence model to measure people's age from brain scans
Laboratory/Alamy
The abundance of 13 types of proteins in the blood appears to be a strong indicator of how quickly the brain is aging. This suggests that blood tests could one day help people track and even improve their brain health.
Most previous studies have looked at protein markers of brain aging in the blood. Less than 1000 peoplesay nicolas seyfried from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, was not involved in the new study.
To get a broader idea of the effects of these proteins, Liu Weishi Researchers from Fudan University in China analyzed MRI brain scan data from around 11,000 adults (approximately 50 to 80 years old at the time of the images) who took part in the UK Biobank project.
Liu's team trained an artificial intelligence model using data from 70% of the participants to determine features of brain images, such as the size of different brain regions and how different parts are connected to each other. The age of the participants was predicted based on When the model was applied to the remaining 30% of participants, its predictions were accurate to within 2.7 years of their actual age.
The researchers then used the model to predict the age of another group of about 4,700 people, with an average age of 63, who also underwent brain imaging for UK Biobank. The researchers calculated the difference between these participants' actual ages and their AI-predicted ages, called the brain age gap. “The higher the age predicted by the AI compared to the actual age, the faster the brain ages,” Liu says.
The group also provided blood samples around the same time as the brain imaging. From this, the research team identified eight proteins that appear to increase in abundance as brain age increases, and five proteins that appear to decrease in abundance.
In an analysis of data from previous studies, researchers confirmed that these proteins are produced by brain cells and that their levels can influence the risk of dementia and stroke.
This suggests that blood tests for these proteins may reveal how quickly the brain ages. “These markers may be canaries in the coal mine that say, 'Hey, look, let's start doing interventions that slow brain aging while there's still plenty of time,'” Seyfried said.
But for this to be helpful, we need to know that these proteins can change with lifestyle changes. “If I run this much, I'll lose this much weight, if I change my diet, [then] We can correct these levels and bring them back into normal range,” Seyfried says.
Because the study was conducted primarily among wealthy white people, Seyfried said more research is needed to see if the results hold true for other populations with more diverse ethnicities and income levels.
The research team now hopes to conduct studies in animals to determine exactly how the 13 proteins affect the brain. For example, researchers might test whether disrupting levels of these proteins affects cognition or even the development of neurodegenerative conditions, Liu says. “In the coming decades, this could open up ways to target proteins to slow aging and disease.”
In a study led by Sapienza University in Rome, caffeine intake was positively correlated with the proportion of circulating endothelial progenitor cells in lupus patients.
Orefice others. studied the role of caffeine intake on endothelial function in lupus patients by evaluating the effects of caffeine intake on circulating endothelial progenitor cells. Image credit: Sci.News.
Vascular disease, damage to blood vessels, and the resulting heart attacks and strokes are among the leading causes of death in the general population.
These risks are even higher in patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.
This is due both to the disease itself and to some of its treatments, especially cortisone derivatives.
Until now, doctors’ recommendations for reducing these vascular risks have primarily been about avoiding risk factors.
This includes traditional recommendations such as smoking cessation, reducing cholesterol, and managing high blood pressure, as well as stopping inflammation and reducing the dose of cortisone medications.
But researchers at Rome’s Sapienza University think that doing something that’s actually fun may help patients improve their vascular health.
Research suggests that the caffeine found in coffee, tea, and cocoa helps regenerate the lining of blood vessels and actively supports endothelial progenitor cells, a group of cells involved in blood vessel growth.
Diets rich in vitamin D (found in fatty fish and eggs) and vitamin A (found in many fruits), polyunsaturated fatty acids and low in sodium appear to play a role in reducing inflammatory burden well known.
“We were also wondering about caffeine,” said Dr. Fulvia Ceccarelli and colleagues.
“In addition to its well-known stimulant effects on the body, caffeine also exerts anti-inflammatory effects because it binds to receptors expressed on the surface of immune cells.”
“The effects of caffeine intake on cardiovascular health have been widely investigated, but results are contradictory.”
The study authors surveyed 31 lupus patients without traditional cardiovascular risk factors using a 7-day dietary questionnaire.
After a week, the researchers drew blood from patent patients to measure blood vessel health.
They found that patients who consumed caffeine had better blood vessel health, as measured through the endothelial cells that form the critical lining of blood vessels.
“This study is an attempt to provide patients with information about the possible role of diet in controlling the disease,” said Dr. Ceccarelli.
“The results will need to be confirmed through longitudinal studies aimed at assessing the actual impact of coffee consumption on the course of the disease.”
Biomarkers in blood may indicate certain medical conditions
Evgeny Sarov/Alamy
Researchers have linked eight genetic markers to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which may one day be able to diagnose the disease with a blood test.
Patients with ALS, the most common motor neuron disease, suffer from problems walking, speaking, swallowing and breathing that worsen over time and ultimately lead to death. There is no cure, but treatments such as physical therapy can help reduce the impact of these symptoms.
Doctors typically diagnose ALS using an assessment of symptoms, tests that measure electrical activity of the nerves and brain scans. A lack of awareness about ALS means doctors have to track how a patient’s symptoms progress over time before making a diagnosis, which delays treatment, doctors say. Sandra Banack At Brain Chemistry Labs, a research institute in Wyoming.
To diagnose the disease earlier, Banach and his colleagues have been analyzing blood samples from small groups of ALS patients and non-patients, and have found eight genetic markers that appear to be present at different levels in the two groups.
To test this, the team looked at blood samples from 119 people with ALS and 150 people without ALS from a biobank called the National ALS Biorepository and found that the same eight markers remained different between the two groups. These markers are related to neuronal survival, brain inflammation, memory and learning, Banak says.
The researchers then trained a machine learning model to distinguish between people with and without ALS based on the marker levels of 214 participants, and when they subsequently tested it on the remaining 55 participants, found that it correctly identified 96 percent of ALS cases and 97 percent of non-ALS cases.
“This is a wonderful thing.” Ahmad Al Khlifat “The test is excellent at distinguishing between people with ALS and those without,” said researchers from King’s College London.
The researchers estimate that the test will cost less than $150 and hope to have it available within two years, Banach said. But it needs to be tested in different groups of people first. If the team partners with the right diagnostic labs, Banach said, the test could be available within a year.
The American Red Cross is currently dealing with a critical shortage of blood as the nation’s blood supply has decreased by more than 25% since July 1.
Extreme heat and temperatures adversely affected almost 100 blood drives last month in almost every state where the Red Cross collects blood. This weather either decreased attendance at events or led to cancellations.
Blood donations usually decrease during the summer due to travel and seasonal activities, but the Red Cross stated that the extreme heat worsened the situation, resulting in a shortfall of over 19,000 donations in July.
As a consequence, blood is being sent to hospitals faster than donations can be collected.
Donated blood is crucial for various life-saving medical procedures such as surgery, childbirth, and treatment for patients with pregnancy complications, trauma, cancer, and blood disorders, according to the Red Cross.
Nurse Melissa Destros, who works at a Detroit hospital, emphasized the importance of blood for patients in need, particularly new moms and babies. The Red Cross said in a statement that she has witnessed moms requiring massive blood transfusions after childbirth.
The Red Cross urgently requires donors of all blood types, especially type O blood, as it is always in short supply. O-positive is the most common blood type, and O-negative is crucial for emergency transfusions.
Dr. Barry Siegfried, the medical director for the Michigan Red Cross, highlighted the importance of type O blood for emergency care. He stated that donors of all blood types are essential to ensure hospitals have sufficient blood for patient care.
Similarly, Connecticut declared a statewide blood emergency last week due to supplies dropping to less than half of what is typically needed for hospital demand. The Connecticut Blood Center specifically needs emergency donations of type O negative and type O positive blood. NBC Connecticut reported.
Both the Red Cross and the Connecticut Blood Center can help individuals locate local blood drives and donation centers. Red Cross Blood Or call 1-800-RED-CROSS.
If you donate by Aug. 31, the Red Cross will give you a $20 Amazon gift card.
“Get ready!” This immortal motto of the Scout movement will come to the mind of many readers who read the paper “Dynamics of bloodstain patterns in microgravity environment: Pilot study observations on the next frontier of forensic medicine.”
Reader Sarah Rosenbaum flagged feedback on the study’s first clearly stated purpose: “Investigating the ultimate violent criminal acts that occur outside of the global environment.”
This is the most futuristic forensic science. “It’s almost here.” The most effective approach is joint criminal investigation between the United Kingdom and the United States. The researchers are from Staffordshire University and Hull University in the UK, and the University of Louisville in Kentucky and Roswell Police in Georgia in the US.
“We hypothesize that the calculated impact angles would be more accurate if gravity were removed as a force acting on the blood droplet in flight,” they write.
They performed tests, or rather flew, aboard a parabolic flight research airplane that took off and landed at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. (Fort Lauderdale, like many cities in Florida, is no stranger to blood splatter. We see a steady increase in the number of violent crimes According to statistics reported by the local police department’s crime analysis department, it will occur between 2020 and 2023.)
In the experiment, “a 1 cc syringe containing a blood analogue was used to inject the liquid onto a flight path approximately 20 cm long, which was intercepted by a 16.5 cm x 16.5 cm target.” [made of] Fifty pound paper adhered to foam board backing.
The study found that droplets that hit paper at a 90-degree angle behaved as predicted by the traditional forensic blood droplet equation. But while this is a blood-stirring challenge for forensic scientists and true crime enthusiasts alike, someone needs to come up with a better equation for predicting what will happen from the other angle.
Thinking: Inside the box
Seeing sometimes leads to believing. Feeling, hearing, and reasoning are equally powerful when combined.
Shorey Croom, Hanbei Chow, and Chaz Firestone of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, explain this in the magazine. PNAS How did they try to answer the question “?” “Can you tell what another person is trying to learn just by observing their movements?”
They filmed a volunteer shaking an opaque box and attempting to measure i) the number of objects hidden inside, or ii) the shape of the objects inside. He then asked others to watch the video and tried to determine “who is shaking because of the numbers and who is shaking because of the shapes.” Most observers were pretty good at recognizing who was shaking and why.
Back in 2017, Milte Plesier of Delft University in the Netherlands and Jeroen Smeets of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam spoke to attendees of the IEEE World Haptics Conference in Fürstenfeldbruck, Germany, about a project they called “How many objects are in this box?”
Their method was simple. “We investigated how accurately participants could determine the number of wooden balls inside a box by shaking it.” They found that while they were able to perform the task accurately, they systematically underestimated the number of more spheres. The larger numbers they tested were 4 and 5. The situation with larger quantities remains theoretically unknown.
stick to fruit
Many scientists will not be able to determine whether the metal sticks to the fruit.
Generally speaking, if properly persuaded, they will. News about this can be found at “Reversibly attaching metals and graphite to hydrogels and tissues” by Wenhao Xu, Faraz Burni, and Srinivasa Raghavan of the University of Maryland.
writing in diary ACS Central Science “We have discovered that hard conductors (such as metals and graphite) can be bonded to soft aqueous materials (such as hydrogels, fruit, and animal tissue) without the use of adhesives.” The adhesion is caused by a low direct current electric field… [This] It can also be achieved underwater, where normal adhesives cannot be used.
“The experiment is very simple,” the study says, anticipating that many people would be surprised by such a simple, hitherto essentially unknown effect.
Accidental genital glow
Faraz Alam sent us the results of his research with colleagues at Imperial College London, published in the journal 2013. PLoS One “This is the paper on which I accidentally made my genitals glow in the dark.” The title is “Non-invasive monitoring of Streptococcus pyogenes vaccine efficacy using intravital optical imaging”. Those reproductive organs belonged to mice.
This spurred feedback that reminded me of a paper on humans published in 1950 by P. A. MacDonald and M. Sidney Margolese. Obstetrics and gynecology questionnaire. They called it “Luminous phenomenon of female external genitalia”.
These are both examples of how scientists perceive the wonders of biology.
Mark Abrahams hosted the Ig Nobel Prize ceremony and co-founded the magazine Annals of Improbable Research. Previously, he was working on unusual uses of computers.his website is impossible.com.
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Heparin prevents blood clotting and is used in many surgeries
Luca Medical / Alamy
Currently, an anticoagulant called heparin is widely used. Collected from the intestines of 1 trillion pigs a yearThis means there is a risk of infection as well as accidental or intentional contamination. Now, methods of creating it synthetically have the potential to eliminate most of these risks.
“We think it could be sold within the next four to five years, maybe even less,” he says. Jonathan Dordick At New York’s Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the team developed a process to make heparin from scratch.
The drug was discovered in 1916 and has been used to prevent blood clotting since the 1930s. It is used to treat a wide range of conditions, as well as during kidney dialysis and various surgeries.
A major advantage of heparin is that it can be safely administered in large doses. “It’s very difficult to take an excessive dose,” Dordik says. And if someone takes too much, another drug can reverse the effect.
In contrast, other anticoagulants, such as warfarin, can be fatal if given in excess, and there is no antidote, which is why warfarin is used as a rat poison, he says.
A major disadvantage of heparin is that, unlike most drugs, heparin is not a single small molecule but a diverse mixture of large chains of sugars. “Heparin doesn’t have a specific size or a specific structure,” Dordik says. Heparin is derived from pigs because complex sugars are difficult to produce.
Ideally, animal-based medicines would be sourced from small herds that are isolated to prevent viral transmission. But extracting the 100 tons of heparin used around the world each year requires processing so many pig intestines that the only way to obtain enough intestines is through regular pig farming. It is to collect them from the field. Most heparin comes from China because heparin is the largest pork. producer.
As a result, the early stages of heparin production are unregulated as pharmaceutical manufacturing standards are not applicable to regular farms. There is a risk of accidental contamination or the deliberate addition of counterfeit heparin analogs to increase profits. In the worst case in 2008, about 800 people in the United States suffered side effects and at least 81 died. This risk remains, Dordik says. “That’s always possible.”
Despite all precautions, products of animal origin also carry the risk of contracting diseases caused by viruses and pathogens called prions. However, Dordik said there is no known case of this happening with heparin.
Dependence on pigs also causes shortages when pig farms are hit by conditions such as swine fever. Some people object to the use of pig-derived products for ethical or religious reasons.
Therefore, although synthetic heparin should have many advantages, its production has proven to be extremely difficult. The first task is to create a branched sugar chain that will serve as the backbone. The four enzymes then make various additional modifications to the chain, which must be done in a precise order.
After years of research, Dordik’s team has now licensed the process they developed to a pharmaceutical company to scale up for commercial production. One of the things that took him the most time was isolating and manufacturing the enzymes involved, Dordik says.
Since first producing a few micrograms 20 years ago, the team says they have successfully scaled up production a million times. Kuberan Balagulnathan He was involved in this early study but is no longer part of the team. “The next major challenge will be to increase the scale another million times, from grams to metric tons,” he says.
Balagurunathan believes this is achievable with sufficient investment. “We hope that synthetic heparin will replace heparin in animals in the same way that recombinant insulin replaces bovine and porcine insulin.”
but Jiang Liu A professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill isn’t so sure. “It remains to be seen whether this process can be translated to synthesis on the scale of thousands of kilograms.”
Many other companies are working on making synthetic heparin, but commercial confidentiality makes it difficult to gauge their progress, Balagulnathan said.
A new study from Toronto Metropolitan University says 100% orange juice and sugar-sweetened beverages are not equivalent when it comes to their effects on food intake and blood sugar response, and should not be placed in the same category when making beverage decisions.
Consuming 100% orange juice before a meal reduces food intake at the next meal and lowers daily blood glucose concentrations in healthy, normal weight adults when compared to orange drink.
The World Health Organization suggests reducing free sugar intake to no more than 10% of daily energy intake to reduce the risk of unhealthy weight and tooth decay.
Consistent with these recommendations, some national dietary guidelines recommend reducing sugar intake from all sources.
However, these recommendations do not differentiate between sources of free sugars and are primarily based on data from observational studies, so the physiological mechanisms underlying the observed effects cannot be readily determined.
“Our findings highlight the importance of considering the source of sugar when considering overall health effects,” said Dr. Nick Bellissimo of Toronto Metropolitan University, senior author of the study. I am emphasizing that.”
The randomized, repeated measures study included 36 adult men and women with normal BMI levels who received 1 cup of 100% orange juice, orange flavored, 2 hours after a breakfast consisting of cereal, 2% milk, and 2% milk. Ingested sugar-sweetened beverages and water. Breakfast bar.
Blood sugar responses, average appetite, and subjective emotions were measured every 15 minutes for 60 minutes in 34 participants.
Glycemic responses and energy intake for the rest of the day were measured in 31 participants using continuous blood glucose monitors and food records.
Subjective sweetness and pleasantness were measured immediately after ingesting the test beverage.
Glycemic responses, average appetite, and subjective emotions were measured every 15 minutes for 60 minutes.
Food intake was measured 60 minutes after the pizza lunch.
Blood sugar levels were lower with 100% orange juice than with orange drink at 15, 30, and 45 minutes, but not after 60 minutes.
Blood sugar levels for the rest of the day were lower after drinking 100% orange juice compared to drinking orange or water.
The findings also showed that food intake at lunch and throughout the day was lower after consuming 100% orange juice compared to consuming orange drink.
Participants also had higher subjective comfort measures and enjoyed 100% orange juice more compared to orange beverages and water.
Using 100% orange juice instead of sugary drinks may reduce your total daily calorie intake and help regulate blood sugar levels.
100% orange juice contains flavonoids such as hesperidin, which can affect sugar absorption by slowing glucose transport, causing a delayed blood sugar response.
Consumption of 100% orange juice is associated with increased flavonoid intake, decreased added sugar, and higher quality diet.
The researchers said, “Consumption of 100% orange juice as a preload resulted in higher caloric compensation, lower total daily energy intake, and lower blood glucose concentrations compared to orange beverages.”
“Future longitudinal studies are needed to assess whether the habit of replacing sugar-sweetened beverages with 100% orange juice contributes to a healthier body weight and improved glycemic control.”
of paper It was published in the magazine nutrients.
_____
Stephanie Robayo other. 2024. Effects of her 100% orange juice and moderate sugar-sweetened beverages on subjective appetite, food intake, and glycemic responses in adults. nutrients 16 (2): 242; doi: 10.3390/nu16020242
Philip LeDuc and others/Carnegie Mellon University
Complex artificial organs can be created by 3D printing molds of veins, arteries, and capillaries in ice, casting them in organic materials, and melting the ice to form delicate, hollow networks. This leaves space for the complex vascular grafts required for the development of laboratory-cultured internal organs.
Researchers have been working for decades to develop artificial organs to meet the high global demand for transplants such as hearts, kidneys and livers. However, creating the vascular network necessary to keep them alive remains a challenge.
Existing technology can grow artificial skin and ears, but the meat and organ materials disappear when they are more than 200 micrometers away from blood vessels. Philippe Leduc at Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania.
“It's about twice the width of a hair. Once you get through that, and you can't access nutrients anymore, your cells start dying,” he says. Therefore, new processes will be needed to produce internal organs cheaply and quickly.
LeDuc and his colleagues experimented with printing blood vessels with meltable wax, which requires fairly high temperatures and can leave behind residue. “One day, out of the blue, a student of mine said, 'What if we tried using water, the most biologically compatible substance in the world?'” he says. “And I'm like, 'Oh, yeah.' It still makes me laugh. It's that simple.”
They developed a technique that uses a 3D printer to create a mold of the inside of an organ's blood vessels in ice. In the test, they embedded them in a gelatin material that hardens when exposed to ultraviolet light before the ice melts away.
The researchers used a platform cooled to -35°C and a printer nozzle that ejected hundreds of drops of water per second, allowing them to print structures as small as 50 micrometers in diameter.
LeDuc says the process is conceptually simple, but requires complete coordination. If the droplet is ejected too quickly, the droplet will not solidify quickly enough to create the desired shape, but if it prints too slowly, it will just form a clump.
The system is also affected by weather and humidity, so researchers are looking into using artificial intelligence to adjust the printer to different conditions.
They also used a version of water in which all the hydrogen was replaced with deuterium, a stable isotope of the element. This so-called heavy water has a high freezing point and helps create a smooth structure by avoiding unwanted crystallization. Deuterium is not radioactive, unlike some isotopes, and tests have shown it to be safe for creating artificial organs, LeDuc said.
New research shows that cutting back on salt can significantly lower your blood pressure, whether you have hypertension or are on medication. The study, which included 213 participants from diverse backgrounds, found that a low-salt diet lowered systolic blood pressure by an average of 7 mmHg. These results apply to a wide range of individuals and suggest that salt restriction is as effective as common hypertension medications in controlling blood pressure.
Research has shown that a low-salt diet significantly lowers blood pressure and is beneficial for people with and without high blood pressure, and even for people taking blood pressure medications.
Reducing sodium intake significantly lowered blood pressure in most people, even those who were already taking blood pressure medications.
The findings suggest that reducing sodium intake may have health benefits for a wide range of people.
Half of Americans have high blood pressure. If the systolic reading (the upper number, the pressure at which blood is pumped out of the heart) is consistently above 130 mm Hg, or the diastolic reading (the lower number, the pressure when the heart is filling with blood) Blood pressure is considered high if the pressure between heartbeats) exceeds 80 mm Hg. mmHg or higher.
Role of sodium in hypertension
Sodium is essential for the human body, but too much sodium can cause high blood pressure. However, blood pressure sensitivity to sodium varies from person to person. This makes it difficult to determine what counts as a healthy amount of sodium in someone’s diet. Also, most studies on low-salt diets exclude people who take blood pressure-lowering medications. Therefore, it is unclear how much salt reduction affects people taking these drugs.
Research on dietary sodium and blood pressure
An NIH-funded research team led by Dr. Deepak Gupta of Vanderbilt University Medical Center studied the effects of dietary sodium on blood pressure in 213 people (65% female, 64% black) between the ages of 50 and 75. Both normotensive and hypertensive participants were enrolled from April 2021 to February 2023 in Chicago, Illinois, and Birmingham, Alabama. Some were taking medication to control high blood pressure.
Participants were randomly assigned to either a high-sodium diet or a low-sodium diet for one week. Those on a high-sodium diet added 2,200 mg of sodium per day to their regular diet. Those on a low-salt diet were provided with a week’s worth of low-sodium meals, snacks, and drinks. This diet provided an average of 500 mg of sodium per day.
The researchers measured the participants’ blood pressure a week later. The participant was then switched to another diet for one week and her blood pressure was measured again. Blood pressure was the average value she measured over a 24-hour period during normal daily activities. The results were: Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association November 11, 2023.
Important discoveries and implications
Almost 75% of participants had lower systolic blood pressure on the low-sodium diet than on the high-sodium diet, with an average decrease of 7 mmHg. Compared to a regular diet, the low-sodium diet lowered systolic blood pressure in 72% of participants, with an average drop of 6 mmHg. The effect of dietary sodium did not depend on whether a person had high blood pressure in the first place. It was also unaffected by whether people were taking medication for high blood pressure.
This reduction in blood pressure can have significant health benefits. This finding supports reducing sodium in the diet to lower blood pressure. The effects of a low-salt diet were similar to those of common first-line drugs for hypertension. The results also suggest that reducing salt intake may help a wide range of people, including those already taking blood pressure-lowering drugs.
“Just as any physical activity is better than none for most people, reducing salt from your current normal diet is likely to be better than none,” says Gupta. To tell.
For more information about this study, see New study reveals universal blood pressure-lowering strategy.
Reference: “Effects of dietary sodium on blood pressure: a cross-over study”, Deepak K. Gupta, Cora E. Lewis, Krista A. Varady, Yan Ru Su, Meena S. Madhur, Daniel T. Lackland, Jared P. Reis , Thomas J. Wang, Donald M. Lloyd-Jones, Norina B. Allen, November 11, 2023, Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association. DOI: 10.1001/jama.2023.23651
Funding: NIH’s National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), National Cancer Institute (NCI), and National Center for the Advancement of Translational Sciences (NCATS). American Heart Association.
NINDS Research on High Blood Pressure and Cognitive Decline
NINDS Research on High Blood Pressure and Cognitive Decline
by National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) December 14, 2023
NIH-funded researchers have found that high blood pressure leads to an increase in interleukin-17 in the brain, which activates immune cells and causes cognitive decline. The discovery, made using a mouse model, points to the possibility of new treatments by targeting T cells in the brain’s protective membranes. Credit: SciTechDaily.com
An NIH-funded study in mice suggests a potential new target for treating hypertension. Research supported by National Institutes of Health The findings suggest that a response of immune system cells within the protective membrane that surrounds the brain may contribute to the cognitive decline that can occur in people with chronic hypertension. This discovery is natural neuroscience, may shed light on new ways to counter the effects of high blood pressure on cognition. This study was funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), part of the NIH. “Understanding the role of immune signaling in cognitive decline is critical,” said Dr. Roderick Corriveau, NINDS program director. “These findings provide insight into how signaling from the immune system contributes to the symptoms of cognitive decline that ultimately lead to the diagnosis of dementia.”
Global impact of hypertension and its impact on cognition
High blood pressure affects more than 1 billion people worldwide and can cause cognitive decline not only when a stroke occurs, but even when a person with high blood pressure does not have a stroke. However, efforts to control cognitive decline in people who have not had a stroke with blood pressure-lowering treatments have shown mixed results. The results of this mouse study suggest that under conditions that mimic common hypertension, immune cells around and within the brain become abnormally activated, and that this activation leads to impaired brain function. Fluorescent staining reveals an extensive vascular network of the dura mater. These blood vessels contain her T cells, which are activated in mouse models of chronic hypertension, causing a condition that can lead to dementia-like symptoms. Credit: Iadecola Lab
Research Insights: Mouse models of hypertension
Researchers led by Costantino Iadecola, MD, director and director of the Feil Family Brain and Mind Institute in New York City, used a mouse model of hypertension to investigate interleukin-17 (IL-17). It was discovered that the levels of A chemical normally released in the body, cerebrospinal fluid, and brain to activate the immune system. Previously, Dr. Iadekola’s team showed that a high-salt diet increases IL-17 in the intestine, followed by cognitive impairment. These new findings further deepen the story by showing that IL-17 is acting within the brain itself. It is also worth noting that these experiments used a different mouse model called the DOCA salt model, which more closely mimics common hypertension in humans. “This is the most realistic model of hypertension that we have at this time,” Dr. Iadecola said. “DOCA mice simulate low-renin hypertension, a type of hypertension that is common in people, especially black Americans.”
Role of IL-17 and brain macrophages
Further research has shown that when IL-17 enters the brain, it activates immune cells known as macrophages, which are responsible for activating inflammation and fighting infections. A series of experiments showed that both mice with brain macrophage deletion of IL-17 receptors and mice with brain macrophage depletion showed no effect of hypertension on cognitive function, and therefore these macrophages were not associated with the observed cognitive function. It was confirmed that this is important for the reduction of Functioning despite other hypertension symptoms. Researchers were still looking for a source of IL-17 that acts on brain macrophages. Based on previous studies, the researchers’ initial hypothesis was that the gut releases IL-17, which travels to the brain through the bloodstream. Once there, a reaction is triggered that damages the ability of the brain’s blood vessels to respond appropriately to increased brain activity. However, blocking the ability of cerebral blood vessels to respond to IL-17 only partially reversed the cognitive impairment, suggesting that another source of IL-17 is acting on the brain. Uncovering IL-17 pathways and protective barriers One clue suggests that one layer of the brain’s protective layer, known as the dura mater, contains immune T cells that secrete IL-17 and may influence mouse behavior. taken from other recent studies. Using special mice whose cells glow fluorescent green when they make IL-17, the researchers found that high blood pressure increases IL-17 in the dura mater, which is then released into the tissues. Normally, a barrier exists within the brain’s protective covering called the meninges to prevent unwanted spillage into the brain. However, in mice with experimentally induced hypertension, this barrier appears to be disrupted, allowing IL-17 to enter the cerebrospinal fluid. Two additional experiments helped confirm this hypothesis. First, drugs were used to block the migration of her T cells from the lymph nodes to the meninges. Second, antibodies were used to block the activity of her T cells within the meninges. In both cases, the hypertensive mice recovered cognitive function, suggesting that targeting hyperactive T cells may be a new therapeutic approach worth exploring. “Taken together, our data suggest that hypertension causes two distinct effects,” Dr. Iadecola said. “One is that IL-17 has an effect on blood vessels, but this seems to be relatively minor. The more prominent central effect is that IL-17 releases IL-17, which has a direct effect on immune cells in the brain. It is caused by cells in the meninges. These immune cells, activated by signaling from the meninges, affect the brain in a way that ultimately causes cognitive impairment.”
Future Research Directions
Dr. Iadekola and his team are now trying to connect the dots between activation of immune cells in the meninges and cognitive decline. Previous works by the group The researchers suggested a link between a high-salt diet, which suppresses the production of the chemical nitric oxide in brain blood vessels, and the resulting accumulation of tau, a toxic protein that forms clumps within affected neurons. Alzheimer’s disease disease. The findings also indicate suppression of nitric oxide production in cerebral blood vessels, and whether this also leads to increased tau production is currently being investigated.
Reference: “Meningeal interleukin-17-producing T cells mediate cognitive impairment in a mouse model of salt-sensitive hypertension” Monica M. Santisteban, Samantha Schaeffer, Antoine Anfray, Giuseppe Faraco, David Brea, Gang Wang, Melissa J. Sobanko , Rose Sciortino, Gianfranco Rachumi, Ali Wiseman, Rybaik Park, Joseph Anraser, Costantino Iadecola, December 4, 2023, natural neuroscience.DOI: 10.1038/s41593-023-01497-z of NINDS’ Mind Your Risks® Campaign This paper highlights the relationship between high blood pressure and brain health (including risk of stroke and dementia), particularly in Black men aged 28 to 45, and provides recommendations to prevent and reduce the impact of high blood pressure on brain health. We offer strategies. This research was funded by NINDS (NS089323, NS095441, NS123507), the Leon Levy Fellowship in Neuroscience, and the Feil Family Foundation.
A new study has found that women using NSAIDs with hormonal contraceptives, especially high-risk types and those using diclofenac, have an increased risk of blood clots. This study calls for increased awareness and careful consideration of safer pain relief and contraceptive options.
Researchers advise that while the absolute risk remains low, women should be informed accordingly.
People using nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory painkillers in combination with hormonal contraceptives may be at a slightly higher risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE), according to a recently published comprehensive Danish study. There is a gender. BMJ.
The risk was higher for women using combination oral contraceptives containing third- or fourth-generation progestins, but the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) ibuprofen, diclofenac, and progestin-only tablets; Women with implants and coils had a smaller risk. Naproxen.
Researchers stress that the absolute risk of developing serious blood clots is low, even for women using high-risk hormonal contraceptive methods. However, they say that given the widespread use of both hormonal contraceptives and NSAIDs, women should be informed of this potential drug interaction in a timely manner.
Classification of hormonal contraception and NSAID use
Although NSAIDs have been linked to blood clots, little is known about whether their use affects the risk of venous thromboembolism in healthy women using hormonal contraceptives. not.
To address this, the researchers used national medical records to find 49 children aged 15 to 49 with no history of blood clots, cancer, hysterectomy, or infertility treatment living in Denmark between 1996 and 2017. Two million women aged 20-30 years were tracked for their first diagnosis of venous thromboembolism.
Hormonal contraception was classified as high-risk, intermediate-risk, and low-risk according to its association with VTE based on previous studies.
High-risk hormonal contraception includes patches that combine estrogen and progestin, vaginal rings, and tablets containing 50 mcg of estrogen or third- or fourth-generation progestins. Moderate-risk contraception includes all other combination oral contraceptives and medroxyprogesterone injections, but progestin-only pills, implants, and hormonal intrauterine devices (coils) are classified as low-risk or no risk. I did.
Various potentially influencing factors were also taken into account, including age, education level, pregnancy history, previous surgical history, hypertension, and diabetes.
In this study, 529,704 women using hormonal contraceptives used NSAIDs. The most frequently used NSAID was ibuprofen (60%), followed by diclofenac (20%) and naproxen (6%).
Over an average 10-year monitoring period, 8,710 cases of venous thromboembolism (2,715 pulmonary embolisms and 5,995 deep vein thromboses) occurred, and 228 (2.6%) women died within 30 days of diagnosis.
Meaning and recommendations
In absolute terms, NSAID use is associated with 4 additional venous thromboembolic events per week per 100,000 women not using hormonal contraception and using intermediate-risk hormonal contraception. It was associated with 11 additional events in women and 23 additional events in women using high-risk hormonal contraception.
Among individual NSAIDs, diclofenac had the strongest association compared with ibuprofen and naproxen.
Because this is an observational study, it is not possible to determine cause, and the researchers highlight several limitations, such as missing information on smoking and obesity, which may influence the results. It is said that there is a possibility that
Nevertheless, this was a large study based on high-quality registry data, allowing the researchers to adjust for a wide range of potentially influencing factors. Furthermore, the associations persisted after further analysis, suggesting that they are robust.
Therefore, the researchers concluded that: “By using high-quality, linkable national registries, this national study shows that potentially fatal events occur when two drugs commonly prescribed to healthy women are taken together. It adds new knowledge about the risks involved.”
They added: “Women who require both hormonal contraception and regular use of NSAIDs should be advised accordingly.”
These data raise important concerns about the combined use of NSAIDs, particularly diclofenac, and high-risk hormonal contraceptives, writes Morten Schmidt. Aarhus University Hospital, linked editorial.
She said health authorities and regulators should include these findings in safety assessments of over-the-counter diclofenac, and that women using hormonal contraceptives and their clinicians should consider alternatives to NSAIDs for pain relief. I suggest that you should.
“If treatment with an NSAID is necessary, it may be preferable to use drugs other than diclofenac in conjunction with low-risk hormonal contraceptives, such as progestin-only tablets, implants, or intrauterine devices.” He concludes.
This study was funded by the Danish Heart Foundation.
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