Wearable devices that collect electrodermal activity (like the research devices above) can be used to accurately (and almost instantaneously) infer important data about the wearer's mental state. Credit: NYU Tandon School of Engineering
Researchers at NYU Tandon have reached a key milestone in their quest to develop wearable technology that manages to measure key brain mechanisms through the skin.
03 sept 2022--Rose Faghih, Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering, has been working for the last seven years on a technology that can measuremental activityusing electrodermal activity (EDA)— an electrical phenomenon of the skin that is influenced by brain activity related to emotional status. Internal stresses, whether caused by pain, exhaustion, or a particularly packed schedule, can cause changes in the EDA—changes that are directly correlated tomental states.
The overarching goal—a Multimodal Intelligent Noninvasive brain state Decoder for Wearable AdapTive Closed-loop arcHitectures, or MINDWATCH, as Faghih calls it—would act as a way to monitor a wearer's mental state, and offer nudges that would help them revert back to a more neutral state of mind. For example, if a person was experiencing a particularly severe bout of work-related stress, the MINDWATCH could pick up on this and automatically play some relaxing music.
Now Faghih—along with Rafiul Amin, her former Ph.D. student— has accomplished a crucial task required for monitoring this information. For the first time, they have developed a novel inference engine that can monitor brain activity through the skin in real time with high scalability and accuracy. The results are featured in a new paper, "Physiological Characterization of Electrodermal Activity Enables Scalable Near Real-Time Autonomic Nervous System Activation Inference," published in PLOS Computational Biology.
"Inferring autonomic nervous system activation from wearable devices in real-time opens new opportunities for monitoring and improving mental health and cognitive engagement," according to Faghih
Previous methods measuring sympathetic nervous system activation through the skin took minutes, which is not practical for wearable devices. While her earlier work focused on inferring brain activity through sweat activation and other factors, the new study additionally models the sweat glands themselves. The model includes a 3D state-space representation of the direct
secretion of sweat via pore opening, as well as diffusion followed by corresponding evaporation and reabsorption. This detailed model of the glands provides exceptional insight into inferring the brain activity.
The new model was run on data from 26 healthy individuals. The researchers showed that they can decipher brain signals with high reliability. Additionally, the computational power requirement of their new algorithm is minimal and can obtain brain and physiological insights within a few seconds whereas another previous approach would take minutes. This means that small, wearable monitoring technology capable of incredible speed, high scalability, and extraordinary reliability is within reach.
The broader impact and applications of the methodology includes performance monitoring, mental health monitoring, measuring pain and cognitive stress. Mental health tracking can help better manage autism, post-traumatic stress disorders, excessive irritability, suicidal tendency, and more. Performance tracking and cognitive stress tracking can help improve individual productivity and quality of life.
"One's performance changes based on their cognitive engagement and arousal levels." says Faghih. For example, very low or very high levels of arousal can result in poor performance. Hence, it is expected that. Ultimately, researchers can utilize the inferred autonomic nervous system activation and decoded arousal to develop interventions for improving productivity."
One example application of this method is early diagnosis of disorders like diabetic neuropathy. Small nerves transmit brain stimulation to many parts of the body, including those linked to skin conductance response. To track the received brain activity, EDA may be measured and monitored on a regular basis in neuropathy-prone skin areas of the body. If a skin area has neuropathy (i.e., tiny nerves have been damaged), the brain will not activate that area. By monitoring changes, doctors can see how a condition like diabetic neuropathy progresses, and can lead to changes in treatment plans.
Another example is a newborn patient in extreme pain following a surgical procedure, who cannot convey their degree of suffering. Doctors may use EDA recordings and infer brain activity to assess how much pain the infant patient is in and intervene as needed.
For Faghih, this work could represent a breakthrough for mental health care. Monitoring the mental status of vulnerable people could help them get more effective care and prevent severe consequences from declining mental health or swings in mood.
Her team is now working on ways to incorporate the model into wearables, including the elimination of informational "noise" caused by factors like robust movement and exercise, as well as seeking potential partnerships to design and manufacture the devices that would carry the algorithm.
More information: Rafiul Amin et al, Physiological characterization of electrodermal activity enables scalable near real-time autonomic nervous system activation inference, PLOS Computational Biology (2022). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010275
Provided by NYU Tandon School of Engineering
Social isolation and loneliness increase the risk of death from heart attack, stroke
Social isolation and loneliness are associated with about a 30% increased risk of heart attack or stroke, or death from either, according to a new scientific statement from the American Heart Association, published today in the Journal of the American Heart Association. The statement also identifies the lack of data on interventions that may improve cardiovascular health for people who are socially isolated or lonely.
03 sept 2022--"Over four decades of research has clearly demonstrated thatsocial isolationandlonelinessare both associated withadverse health outcomes," said Crystal Wiley Cené, M.D., M.P.H., FAHA, chair of the writing group for the scientific statement, and professor of clinical medicine and chief administrative officer for health equity, diversity and inclusion at the University of California San Diego Health. "Given the prevalence of social disconnectedness across the U.S., the public health impact is quite significant."
Risk of social isolation increases with age due to life factors, such as widowhood and retirement. Nearly one quarter of U.S. adults ages 65 and older are socially isolated, and prevalence of loneliness is even higher, with estimates of 22% to 47%. However, younger adults also experience social isolation and loneliness. A survey from Harvard University's Making Caring Common project describes "Gen Z" (adults currently ages 18-22) as the loneliest generation. Increased isolation and loneliness among younger adults may be attributed to higher social media use and less engagement in meaningful in-person activities.
Data also suggests that social isolation and loneliness may have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly among young adults ages 18-25, older adults, women and low-income individuals.
Social isolation is defined as having infrequent in-person contact with people for social relationships, such as with family, friends or members of the same community or religious group. Loneliness is when you feel like you are alone or have less connection with others than you desire. "Although social isolation and feeling lonely are related, they are not the same thing," explains Cené. "Individuals can lead a relatively isolated life and not feel lonely, and conversely, people with many social contacts may still experience loneliness."
The writing group reviewed research on social isolation published through July 2021 to examine the relationship among social isolation and cardiovascular and brain health. They found:
Social isolation and loneliness are common, yet under-recognized determinants of cardiovascular and brain health.
Lack of social connection is associated with increased risk of premature death from all causes, especially among men.
Isolation and loneliness are associated with elevated inflammatory markers, and individuals who were less socially connected were more likely to experience physiological symptoms of chronic stress.
In assessing risk factors for social isolation, the relationship between social isolation and its risk factors goes both ways: depression may lead to social isolation, and social isolation may increase the likelihood of experiencing depression.
Social isolation during childhood is associated with increased cardiovascular risk factors in adulthood, such as obesity, high blood pressure and increased blood glucose levels.
Socio-environmental factors, including transportation, living arrangements, dissatisfaction with family relationships, the pandemic and natural disasters, are also factors that affect social connections.
"There is strong evidence linking social isolation and loneliness with increased risk of worse heart and brain health in general; however, the data on the association with certain outcomes, such as heart failure, dementia and cognitive impairment is sparse," Cené said.
Evidence is most consistent for a link among social isolation, loneliness and death from heart disease and stroke, with a 29% increase in the risk of heart attack and/or heart disease death, and a 32% increased risk of stroke and stroke death. "Social isolation and loneliness are also associated with worse prognosis in individuals who already have coronary heart disease or stroke," Cené added.
People with heart disease who were socially isolated had a two- to three-fold increase in death during a six-year follow-up study. Socially isolated adults with three or fewer social contacts per month may have a 40% increased risk of recurrent stroke or heart attack. In addition, 5-year heart failure survival rates were lower (60%) for people who were socially isolated, and for those who are both socially isolated and clinical depressed (62%), compared to those who have more social contacts and are not depressed (79%).
Social isolation and loneliness are also associated with behaviors that negatively impact cardiovascular and brain health, such as lower levels of self-reported physical activity, less fruit and vegetable intake, and more sedentary time. Multiple large studies found significant associations between loneliness and a higher likelihood of smoking.
"There is an urgent need to develop, implement and evaluate programs and strategies to reduce the negative effects of social isolation and loneliness on cardiovascular and brain health, particularly for at-risk populations," said Cené. "Clinicians should ask patients about the frequency of their social activity and whether they are satisfied with their level of interactions with friends and family. They should then be prepared to refer people who are socially isolated or lonely—especially those with a history of heart disease or stroke—to community resources to help them connect with others."
Some populations are more vulnerable to social isolation and loneliness, and more research is needed to understand how social isolation impact cardiovascular and brain health in these groups, including children and young adults, people from under-represented racial and ethnic groups, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) individuals, people with physical disabilities, people with hearing or vision impairments, people living in rural areas and under-resourced communities, individuals with limited access to technology and internet service, recent immigrants and incarcerated individuals.
The review highlights research among older adults aimed at reducing social isolation and loneliness. These studies found that fitness programs and recreational activities at senior centers, as well as interventions addressing negative thoughts of self-worth and other negative thinking have shown promise in reducing isolation and loneliness.
The review did not identify any research aimed at reducing social isolation with the specific goal of improving cardiovascular health.
"It is unclear whether actually being isolated (social isolation) or feeling isolated (loneliness) matters most for cardiovascular and brain health because only a few studies have examined both in the same sample," Cené said. "More research is needed to examine the associations among social isolation, loneliness, coronary heart disease, stroke, dementia and cognitive impairment, and to better understand the mechanisms by which social isolation and loneliness influence cardiovascular and brain health outcomes."
This scientific statement was prepared by the volunteer writing group on behalf of the American Heart Association's Social Determinants of Health Committee of the Council on Epidemiology and Prevention and the Council on Quality of Care and Outcomes Research; the Prevention Science Committee of the Council on Epidemiology and Prevention and the Council on Quality of Care and Outcomes Research; the Prevention Science Committee of the Council on Epidemiology and Prevention and the Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing; the Council on Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology; and the Stroke Council.
Cycle pedals mechanically being pushed was used to determine effects of passive exercise on cognition. Credit: University of Western Ontario
A new study by kinesiology graduate students from Western has found passive exercise leads to increased cerebral blood flow and improved executive function, providing the same cognitive benefits as active exercise.
03 sept 2022--Published inPsychophysiology, the study is the first to look at whether there would be benefits to brain health during passive exercise where a person's limbs are moved via an external force—in this case, cycle pedals pushed by a mechanically driven flywheel.
During a 20-minute session with healthy young adults, the team assessed executive function at baseline, before participants exercised, and compared the data post exercise. They found an improvement in executive function of the same magnitude for both the passive and the active exercise conditions, without an increase in heart rate or diastolic blood pressure.
Executive function is a higher-order cognitive ability that allows people to make plans and supports the activities of daily living. People who have mild cognitive impairments, such as people experiencing symptoms of early-stage Alzheimer's, can find their executive function negatively affected.
Previous research has documented that active exercise, where a person activates their muscles of their own volition, can increase blood flow to the brain and improve executive function. Passive exercise also increases blood flow to the brain, but this is significantly less documented.
"In terms of passive exercise, we could only hypothesize the outcome because this type of research had not been done before," said Matthew Heath, professor in kinesiology and supervisor of the study.
During passive exercise, a person's limbs move and their muscle receptors are being stretched. That information is sent to the brain, indicating that more blood is needed in the moving areas of the body and in connected regions of the brain. This increase in cerebral blood flow, while significantly less than with active exercise, produced executive function improvements of a similar magnitude—an exciting result for the researchers.
"The potential impact for people with limited or no mobility could be profound. If done regularly, the increase in blood flow to the brain and resultant improvement in executive function will, optimistically, become a compounding effect that has a significant impact on cognitive health and executive function," Heath explained.
Further study could be improved by looking at whether the benefit to executive function persists at longer intervals of time post-exercise, as well as by the inclusion of more diverse participants (those who are older or health-compromised, for example).
Heath and team see great potential in using passive exercise in long-term care homes or in rehabilitation programs for people recovering from musculoskeletal injuries, who cannot perform weight bearing exercise.
The study was led by master's student Mustafa Shirzad, and co-authored by graduate students Benjamin Tar, Connor Dalton, James Van Riesen, and Michael Marsala. Heath was the corresponding author.
More information: Mustafa Shirzad et al, Passive exercise increases cerebral blood flow velocity and supports a postexercise executive function benefit, Psychophysiology (2022). DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14132
Provided by University of Western Ontario
COVID-19 infection in crucial brain regions may lead to accelerated brain aging
The interaction of SARS-CoV-2 with olfactory cilia for entering the central nervous system (CNS). A) Different layers of cells in the nasal cavity that contain receptors for the very first viral entry into the human host. Some of the olfactory cells express ACE2 receptors that endocytose bound viral particles, before their way to the olfactory bulb in the brain. B) Schematic of the cellular barrier between cerebrospinal fluid and circulating blood in the choroid plexus region. Both endothelial and basement epithelial cells express the ACE2 receptors facilitating the internalization of virions in the brain fluid system. Credit: Ageing Research Reviews (2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.arr.2022.101687
A new study by Houston Methodist researchers reviews the emerging insights and evidence that suggest COVID-19 infections may have both short- and long-term neurological effects. Major findings include that COVID-19 infections may predispose individuals to developing irreversible neurological conditions, may increase the likelihood of strokes and may increase the chance of developing persistent brain lesions that can lead to brain bleeding.
03 sept 2022--Led by corresponding authors Joy Mitra, Ph.D., Instructor, and Muralidhar L. Hegde, Ph.D., Professor of Neurosurgery, with the Division of DNA Repair within the Center for Neuroregeneration at the Houston Methodist Research Institute, the research team described their findings in an article titled "SARS-CoV-2 and the Central Nervous System: Emerging Insights into Hemorrhage-Associated Neurological Consequences and Therapeutic Considerations" in the journalAgeing Research Reviews.
Still a major burden on our daily lives, a great deal of research has shown that the impacts of the disease go far beyond the actual time of infection. Since the onset of the pandemic, COVID-19 has surpassed a death toll of more than 5.49 million worldwide and more than 307 million confirmed positive cases, with the U.S. accounting for almost 90 million of those cases, according to the Our World in Data website.
COVID-19 is known to invade and infect the brain, among other major organs. While a lot of research has been done to help us understand the evolution, infection and pathology of the disease, there is still a great deal that remains unclear about the long-term effects, especially on the brain.
The coronavirus infection can cause long-term and irreversible neurodegenerative diseases, particularly in the elderly and other vulnerable populations. Several brain imaging studies on COVID-19 victims and survivors have confirmed the formation of microbleed lesions in deeper brain regions related to our cognitive and memory functions. In this review study, researchers have critically evaluated the possible chronic neuropathological outcomes in aging and comorbid populations if timely therapeutic intervention is not implemented.
Microbleeds are emerging neuropathological signatures frequently identified in people suffering from chronic stress, depressive disorders, diabetes and age-associated comorbidities. Based on their earlier findings, the investigators discuss how COVID-19-induced microhemorrhagic lesions may exacerbate DNA damage in affected brain cells, resulting in neuronal senescence and activation of cell death mechanisms, which ultimately impact brain microstructure-vasculature. These pathological phenomena resemble hallmarks of neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases and are likely to aggravate advanced-stage dementia, as well as cognitive and motor deficits.
The effects of COVID-19 infection on various aspects of the central nervous system are currently being studied. For instance, 20-30% of COVID-19 patients report a lingering psychological condition known as "brain fog" where individuals suffer from symptoms such as memory loss, difficulty in concentrating, forgetting daily activities, difficulty in selecting the right words, taking longer than usual time to complete a regular task, disoriented thought processes and emotional numbness.
More severe long-term effects analyzed in the Houston Methodist review article include predispositions for Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and related neurodegenerative diseases, as well as cardiovascular disorders due to internal bleeding and blood clotting-induced lesions in the part of the brain that regulates our respiratory system, following the COVID-19 symptoms. Additionally, cellular aging is thought to be accelerated in COVID-19 patients. A plethora of cellular stresses inhibit the virus-infected cells from undergoing their normal biological functions and let them enter into "hibernation mode" or even die completely.
The study also suggests various strategies to improve some of these long-term neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative outcomes, as well as outlines the importance of the therapeutic regimen of the "nanozyme" in combination with various FDA-approved drugs that may prove successful to fight against this catastrophic disease.
However, given the ever-evolving nature of this field, associations like the ones described in this review show the fight against COVID-19 is far from over, say the investigators, and reinforce the message that getting vaccinated and maintaining proper hygiene are key in trying to prevent such long-term and detrimental consequences.
More information: Joy Mitra et al, SARS-CoV-2 and the central nervous system: Emerging insights into hemorrhage-associated neurological consequences and therapeutic considerations, Ageing Research Reviews (2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.arr.2022.101687
Provided by Houston Methodist
Vegetarian women are at a higher risk of hip fracture
by University of Leeds
Credit: University of Leeds
A study of over 26,000 middle-aged UK women reveals those with a vegetarian diet had a 33% higher risk of hip fracture compared to regular meat-eaters.
03 sept 2022--University of Leeds research, published Thursday, August 11 in the journalBMC Medicine, investigated the risk ofhip fracturein occasional meat-eaters; pescatarians, people who eat fish but not meat; and vegetarians compared to regular meat-eaters.
Among 26,318 women, 822 hip fracture cases were observed over roughly 20 years—that represented just over 3% of the sample population. After adjustment for factors such as smoking and age, vegetarians were the only diet group with an elevated risk of hip fracture.
This study is one of very few studies to compare risk of hip fracture in vegetarians and meat-eaters where the occurrence of hip fracture was confirmed from hospital records.
The scientists stress the need for more research into the exact causes of why vegetarians were at a greater risk of hip fracture.
Vegetarian diets can be 'healthy or unhealthy'
Study lead author James Webster, a doctoral researcher from the School of Food Science and Nutrition at Leeds, said, "Our study highlights potential concerns regarding risk of hip fracture in women who have a vegetarian diet. However, it is not warning people to abandon vegetarian diets. As with any diet, it is important to understand personal circumstances and what nutrients are needed for a balanced healthy lifestyle.
"Vegetarian diets can vary widely from person to person and can be healthy or unhealthy, just like diets that include animal products.
"However, it is concerning that vegetarian diets often have lower intakes of nutrients that are linked with bone and muscle health. These types of nutrients generally are more abundant in meat and other animal products than in plants, such as protein, calcium, and other micronutrients.
"Low intake of these nutrients can lead to lower bone mineral density and muscle mass, which can make you more susceptible to hip fracture risk. This makes it especially important for further research to better understand factors driving the increased risk in vegetarians, whether it be particular nutrient deficiencies or weight management, so that we can help people to make healthy choices."
Plant-based diets growing in popularity
Vegetarian diets have gained popularity in recent years, with a 2021 YouGov survey putting the size of the UK vegetarian population at roughly 5-7%. It is often perceived as a healthier dietary option, with previous evidence that shows a vegetarian diet can reduce the risks of several chronic diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, and cancer compared to omnivorous diets.
There is also a worldwide call for reducing the consumption of animal products in an effort to tackle climate change.
Understanding hip fracture risk in vegetarians is therefore becoming increasingly important to public health.
Study co-author Professor Janet Cade, leader of the Nutritional Epidemiology Group in the School of Food Science and Nutrition at Leeds, said, "Hip fracture is a global health issue with high economic costs that causes loss of independence, reduces quality of life, and increases risk of other health issues.
"Plant-based diets have been linked with poor bone health, but there has been a lack of evidence on the links to hip fracture risk. This study is an important step in understanding the potential risk plant-based diets could present over the long-term and what can be done to mitigate those risks."
The team used data from the UK Women's Cohort Study to investigate possible links between diet and hip fracture risk. The national cohort of middle-aged women was established at the University of Leeds to explore links between diet and chronic disease, encompassing a wide range of different eating patterns. Dietary information was collected using a food frequency questionnaire and was validated using a 4-day food diary in a subsample of women.
At the time they were recruited into the cohort study, the women ranged in age from 35 to 69 years.
Effect of low BMI
The research team found that the average BMI among vegetarians was slightly lower than the average among the regular meat eaters. Previous research has shown a link between low BMI and a high risk of hip fracture.
Lower BMI can indicate people are underweight, which can mean poorer bone and muscle health, and higher risk of hip fracture. Further investigation is needed to determine if low BMI is the reason for the observed higher risk in vegetarians.
Study co-author Dr. Darren Greenwood, a biostatistician in the School of Medicine at Leeds, said, "This study is just part of the wider picture of diet and healthy bones and muscles in older age.
"Further research is needed to confirm whether there could be similar results in men, to explore the role of body weight, and to identify the reasons for different outcomes in vegetarians and meat-eaters."
More information: Risk of hip fracture in meat-eaters, pescatarians, and vegetarians: results from the UK Women's Cohort Study, BMC Medicine (2022). DOI: 10.1186/s12916-022-02468-0
Provided by University of Leeds
GlyNAC supplementation reverses aging hallmarks in aging humans
A randomized, double blind human clinical trial conducted by researchers at Baylor College of Medicine reveals that supplementation with GlyNAC—a combination of glycine and N-acetylcysteine—improves many age-associated defects in older humans and powerfully promotes healthy aging. This is relevant because until now, there have been no solutions toward improving many of these age-related declines in people.
03 sept 2022--Published inThe Journals of Gerontology: Series A, the study shows that older humans taking GlyNAC for 16-weeks improved many characteristic defects of aging. This includesoxidative stress,glutathionedeficiency and multiple aging hallmarks affecting mitochondrial dysfunction, mitophagy, inflammation, insulin resistance, endothelial dysfunction, genomic damage, stem cell fatigue and cellular senescence. These were associated with improvements inmuscle strength, gait speed, exercise capacity, waist circumference and blood pressure.
"This is the first randomized clinical trial of GlyNAC supplementation in older humans, and it found that a wide variety of age-associated abnormalities improved in older adults supplemented with GlyNAC, while no improvements were seen in those receiving placebo," said corresponding author Dr. Rajagopal Sekhar, professor of medicine—endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism at Baylor.
The improvements in oxidative stress, glutathione levels and mitochondrial function in the muscle tissue of older humans taking GlyNAC were similar to the improvements in organs such as the heart, liver and kidneys of aged mice supplemented with GlyNAC as reported in the researchers' recent publication. Taken together, the results of these studies show that GlyNAC supplementation can improve these defects in many different organs of the body. "GlyNAC supplementation in aging mice increased their length of life mice by 24%," said Sekhar. "Gait speed is reported to be associated with survival in older humans. Our randomized clinical trial found a significant improvement in gait speed in older humans supplemented with GlyNAC. This raises the interesting question of whether GlyNAC supplementation could have implications for survival in people."
For the last 20 years, Sekhar has been studying natural aging in humans and animal models to understand why age-related declines occur and how to correct them. His work brings mitochondria, known as the batteries of the cell, as well as free radicals and glutathione to discussions about how they are connected. Sekhar's work and discoveries could also help explain why we age and how to improve health while aging.
Mitochondria dysfunction, oxidative stress and aging
Mitochondria generate energy needed for supporting cellular functions. Therefore, normal mitochondrial function is critically important for a healthy life. Sekhar believes that improving the health of malfunctioning mitochondria in aging is the key to healthy aging. "Energy supports life and mitochondria provide energy. I believe that mitochondrial health is vitally important to our well-being, and maintaining mitochondrial health as we age should be a high priority in our efforts to improve overall health," said Sekhar.
However, the ability of mitochondria to work well declines as we age. How to improve the ability of these failing mitochondria to work is not well understood, and therefore no solutions have been available. Sekhar's group discovered earlier that supplementing GlyNAC in aged mice corrected malfunctioning mitochondria. However, to definitively determine whether GlyNAC supplementation benefited people, a placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial was required.
Sekhar and his team conducted and completed such a randomized clinical trial which found that older people have widespread mitochondrial damage and other age-associated defects compared to young people. After 16-weeks of GlyNAC supplementation, mitochondrial function of older people improve toward levels found in young people. This was accompanied by improvements in multiple additional outcomes as reported in the publication. Analysis of the molecular data from the trial suggests that the GlyNAC supplementation is able to fill cells with younger and more efficient mitochondria. "Collectively these exciting new discoveries hold great promise for improving our mitochondrial and general health as we age," Sekhar said.
A second vital benefit offered by supplementing GlyNAC is that it also helps protect the body from an important problem called oxidative stress. Oxidative stress is caused by high levels of toxic waste products known as reactive oxygen species or free-radicals. Oxidative stress can damage our cells, membranes, lipids, proteins and DNA, and is very common in aging. Glutathione is a natural antioxidant. Glutathione is made every day inside our cells and it works by protecting cells from harmful oxidative stress. However, in older people, glutathione levels are very low and the harmful oxidative stress is very high. GlyNAC supplementation corrects glutathione deficiency and lowers oxidative stress in older humans back to youthful levels, thereby solving both problems.
Sekhar believes that the restoration of mitochondrial health and correction of oxidative stress with GlyNAC supplementation are two powerful reasons which help explain why so many other age-related defects improve. It also accounts for the wide spectrum of health benefits.
Graphical abstract. Credit: The Journals of Gerontology: Series A (2022). DOI: 10.1093/gerona/glac135
Taking GlyNAC is not the same as taking glutathione: Introducing the 'Power of 3'
"It is really important to understand that this trial supplemented GlyNAC, and did not supplement glutathione," says Sekhar. "This is because our body does not get its glutathione from food, but the body has to make its own glutathione every day. All our organs maintain different levels of glutathione in a delicate balance that favors health. Too little glutathione cannot fight the harmful oxidative stress, and too much glutathione could lead to harmful reductive stress," said Sekhar. "This is why GlyNAC is a natural solution for correcting glutathione deficiency, because it provides the raw materials to help cells to make their own glutathione in just the right amount. We have seen that this repeatedly in all our prior studies supplementing GlyNAC, including this trial."
"One of the intriguing questions from this trial is why so many improvements occur toward promoting health. We believe that this is due to the combined effort of three separate components—glycine, cysteine (from NAC) and glutathione, and not just due to glutathione itself. Glycine and cysteine are both very important for cellular health on their own, and GlyNAC provides both. Glycine and cysteine are building blocks to form glutathione, which also has health benefits. We believe that the improvements in this trial and in our previous studies are the result of the combined effects of glycine and NAC and glutathione, and we refer to this combination as the 'Power of 3,'" said Sekhar.
GlyNAC improves several aging hallmarks in aging
The population of older adults is expected to exceed 2.1 billion by 2050, according to the World Health Organization. This predicted increase in the older human population will result in a rise of the need for healthcare and will intensify the stress on healthcare systems around the world. To understand what causes unhealthy aging, scientific research has identified nine aging hallmarks that represent specific defects that are believed to contribute to health decline while aging.
"It is believed that correcting aging hallmarks could help people age in a healthier way," Sekhar said. "However, we do not fully understand why these aging hallmarks occur in the first place, and therefore there have been no proven solutions via human randomized clinical trials to improve or correct aging hallmarks in aging humans."
The aging hallmarks that improved are mitochondrial dysfunction, altered intercellular communication, nutrient sensing, loss of proteostasis, genomic instability, cellular senescence and stem cell fatigue. The study participants were instructed not to change their usual diet or physical activity; therefore, nothing changed except for the GlyNAC supplementation. "This tells us that benefits were due to GlyNAC supplementation. But we were really surprised to see so many aging hallmarks improve. This level of improvement offers clues as to how and why these aging hallmarks may be connected to one another," says Sekhar.
GlyNAC improves muscle strength in aging
GlyNAC supplementation improved muscle strength in the upper and lower extremity and a trend toward increased exercise capacity. "These findings could have additional implications for improving the health of older humans, especially in terms of being able to be more physically active," said Sekhar.
"This study was effort intensive and took many years to complete. I take this opportunity to thank all my co-investigators, nursing staff, and everyone who helped with this trial. I especially thank all the trial participants who volunteered to participate in this research," Sekhar said.
As he moves forward, Sekhar plans to expand on his work to understand more about the health benefits of GlyNAC supplementation on cells, tissues and organs of the body. He plans on seeking funding to conduct larger clinical trials in more typical older humans to increase our understanding of how GlyNAC could improve health in aging. Additionally, as reported in their previously published exploratory study, Sekhar's group found that GlyNAC supplementation in older humans could improve memory and cognition. He has studied this further in aged mice and found that GlyNAC supplementation appears to correct multiple age-related declines directly in the brain, and was associated with improvements in memory and brain health—a report on these emerging new and exciting findings is in development.
More information: Premranjan Kumar et al, Supplementing Glycine and N-Acetylcysteine (GlyNAC) in Older Adults Improves Glutathione Deficiency, Oxidative Stress, Mitochondrial Dysfunction, Inflammation, Physical Function, and Aging Hallmarks: A Randomized Clinical Trial, The Journals of Gerontology: Series A (2022). DOI: 10.1093/gerona/glac135
Provided by Baylor College of Medicine
Octogenarians should walk 10 minutes a day to prolong life
One hour of walking per week is associated with greater longevity in people aged 85 years and above, according to research presented at ESC Congress 2022.
03 sept 2022--Regardless of age,adultsare advised to do at least 150 minutes a week of moderateintensityactivity or 75 minutes a week of vigorous intensity activity, or an equivalent combination. However, in adults,sedentary timetends to increase with age while the amount ofphysical activitydeclines.
"Adults are less likely to meet activity recommendations as they get older," said study author Dr. Moo-Nyun Jin of Inje University Sanggye Paik Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea. "Our study suggests that walking at least one hour every week is beneficial for people aged 85 years and older. Put simply, walk for 10 minutes every day."
This study examined the association between walking and the risks of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality among adults aged 85 years and older. The researchers used information from the Korean National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) Senior database. The study included 7,047 adults aged 85 or older who underwent the Korean National Health Screening Programme in 2009 to 2014. Participants completed a questionnaire on leisure-time physical activity which asked the length of time spent each week on walking at a slow pace, moderate intensity activity such as cycling and brisk walking, and vigorous intensity activity such as running.
The average age of participants was 87 years and 4,813 (68.3%) were women. Participants were classified into five groups according to the time spent walking at a slow pace per week. Some 4,051 (57.5%) participants did no slow walking, 597 (8.5%) walked less than one hour, 849 (12.0%) walked one to two hours, 610 (8.7%) walked two to three hours, and 940 (13.3%) walked more than three hours per week.
In the entire study population of 7,047 adults, 1,037 (14.7%) participants did moderate intensity physical activity and 773 (10.9%) did vigorous intensity physical activity. Only 538 participants (7.6%) met the guideline recommendations for moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity. Of the 2,996 participants who walked at a slow pace every week, 999 (33%) also did moderate or vigorous intensity physical activity.
The researchers analyzed the associations between walking, all-cause mortality, and cardiovascular mortality after adjusting for energy expended on moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity. Compared to inactive individuals, those who walked at least one hour per week (i.e. the three highest walking categories) had 40% and 39% lower relative risks of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, respectively.
Dr. Jin said: "Walking was linked with a lower likelihood of dying in older adults, regardless of whether or not they did any moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity. Identifying the minimum amount of exercise that can benefit the oldest old is an important goal since recommended activity levels can be difficult to achieve. Our study indicates that walking even just one hour every week is advantageous to those aged 85 years and older compared to being completely inactive. The take home message is to keep walking throughout life."
More information: The abstract "Association of usual walking with mortality in oldest old adults aged 85 years and older: a nationwide senior cohort study" will be presented during the session Multiple risk factors on Sunday 28 August at 12:15 to 13:00 CEST at Station 4.
Provided by European Society of Cardiology
Statins recommended for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease in adults
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) concludes that people aged 40 to 75 years at high risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) should receive statins. This finding forms the basis of a final recommendation statement published in the Aug. 23/30 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
03 sept 2022--Roger Chou, M.D., from the Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, and colleagues updated the 2016 review on statins for primary prevention of CVD. Data were included from 26 studies. The researchers found that statins were significantly associated with a reduced risk for all-cause mortality, stroke, myocardial infarction, and composite cardiovascular outcomes (risk ratios, 0.92, 0.78, 0.67, and 0.72, respectively); the association with cardiovascular mortality was not statistically significant. In groups defined by demographic and clinical characteristics, relative benefits were consistent, but data were limited for those older than 75 years.
Based on these findings, the USPSTF recommends that statins should be prescribed for primary prevention of CVD in adults aged 40 to 75 years with no CVD history and with one or more CVD risk factors and an estimated 10-year CVD event risk of 10 percent or greater (B recommendation). For adults aged 40 to 75 years with no history of CVD and who have one or more of these CVD risk factors and an estimated 10-year CVD event risk of 7.5 to <10 percent, statins may be selectively offered (C recommendation). For those aged 76 years or older with no history of CVD, the evidence is insufficient to determine the balance of benefits and harms of statin use ( I statement).
"Statins effectively and safely prevent first heart attacks and strokes for some people," USPSTF member John Wong, M.D., said in a statement. "Whether someone should start taking a statin depends on their age and their risk for having a first heart attack or stroke."
Credit: The New England Journal of Medicine DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2208275
A three-drug medication known as a "polypill," developed by the Spanish National Center for Cardiovascular Research (CNIC) and Ferrer, is effective in preventing secondary adverse cardiovascular events in people who have previously had a heart attack, reducing cardiovascular mortality by 33 percent in this patient population. These are findings from the SECURE trial led by Valentin Fuster, MD, Ph.D., Director of Mount Sinai Heart and Physician-in-Chief of The Mount Sinai Hospital, and General Director of CNIC.The study results were announced Friday, August 26, in a Hot Line session at the European Society of Cardiology Congress (ESC 2022) in Barcelona, Spain, and published inThe New England Journal of Medicine.
03 sept 2022--"The results of the SECURE study show that for the first time that the polypill, which contains aspirin, ramipril, and atorvastatin, achieves clinically relevant reductions in the recurrent cardiovascular events among people who have recovered from a previous heart attack because of better adherence to this simplified approach with a simple polypill, rather than taking them separately as conventional," says Dr. Fuster.
Patients recovering from a heart attack—also known as myocardial infarction—are prescribed specific treatments to prevent subsequent cardiovascular events. Standard therapy includes three different drugs: an antiplatelet agent (like aspirin); ramipril or a similar drug to control blood pressure; and a lipid-reducing drug, such as a statin. However, fewer than 50 percent of patients consistently adhere to their medication regimen.
"Although most patients initially adhere to treatment after an acute event such as an infarction, adherence drops off after the first few months. Our goal was to have an impact right from the start, and most of the patients in the study began taking a simple polypill in the first week after having a heart attack," Dr. Fuster explains.
"Adherence to treatment after an acute myocardial infarction is essential for effective secondary prevention," said José María Castellano, MD, study first author and Scientific Director of Fundación de Investigación HM Hospitales.
CNIC scientists first demonstrated that prescription of their polypill significantly improved treatment adherence among patients recovering after a myocardial infarction, in the FOCUS study, previously published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC).
The CNIC team launched the SECURE study, an international randomized clinical trial, to determine whether the improved treatment adherence with the polypill translated into a reduction in cardiovascular events. The polypill analyzed in the study, commercialized under the name Trinomia, contains aspirin (100 mg), the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor ramipril (2.5, 5, or 10 mg), and atorvastatin (20 or 40 mg).
"The polypill, being a very simple strategy that combines three essential treatments for this type of patient, has proved its worth because the improved adherence means that these patients are receiving better treatment and therefore have a lower risk of recurrent cardiovascular events," added Dr. Castellano.
SECURE included 2,499 patients from seven European countries (Spain, Italy, Germany, the Czech Republic, France, Poland, and Hungary) recovering after a heart attack. Study participants were randomly assigned to receive standard therapy or the CNIC polypill. The average age of the participants was 76 years, and 31 percent were women. The study population included 77.9 percent with hypertension, 57.4 percent with diabetes, and 51.3 percent with a history of smoking tobacco.
Researchers analyzed the incidence of four major cardiovascular events: death from cardiovascular causes, non-fatal myocardial infarction, non-fatal stroke, and need for emergency coronary revascularization (the restoration of blood flow through a blocked coronary artery). The study followed patients for an average of three years and produced conclusive results: patients taking the CNIC polypills had a 24 percent lower risk of these four events than patients taking the three separate drugs.
The standout finding of the study is the effect of the polypill on the key outcome of cardiovascular-related death, which showed a relative reduction of 33 percent, from 71 patients in the group receiving standard treatment to just 48 in the polypill group. Importantly, the study found that patients in the polypill group had a higher level of treatment adherence than those in the control group, thus confirming the findings of the earlier FOCUS study, and in part such good adherence appears to explain the benefits of the simple polypill.
"The 33 percent reduction in cardiovascular mortality demonstrates the efficacy of treatment with Trinomia compared to standard treatment. These results ratify our purpose of making a positive impact in society and represent an important step in our mission to provide significant and differential value to people who suffer from serious health conditions," explains Oscar Pérez, Chief Marketing, Market Access and Business Development Officer at Ferrer.
"The SECURE study findings suggest that the polypill could become an integral element of strategies to prevent recurrent cardiovascular events in patients who have had a heart attack. By simplifying treatment and improving adherence, this approach has the potential to reduce the risk of recurrent cardiovascular disease and death on a global scale," adds Dr. Fuster.
More information: Jose M. Castellano et al, Polypill Strategy in Secondary Cardiovascular Prevention, The New England Journal of Medicine (2022). DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2208275
Provided by The Mount Sinai Hospital
Excessive blue light from our gadgets may accelerate the aging process
Too much screen use has been linked to obesity and psychological problems. Now a new study has identified a new problem—a study in fruit flies suggests our basic cellular functions could be impacted by the blue light emitted by these devices. These results are published in Frontiers in Aging.
03 sept 2022--"Excessive exposure to blue light from everyday devices, such as TVs, laptops, and phones, may have detrimental effects on a wide range of cells in our body, from skin andfat cells, tosensory neurons," said Dr. Jadwiga Giebultowicz, a professor at the Department of Integrative Biology at Oregon State University and senior author of this study. "We are the first to show that the levels of specific metabolites—chemicals that are essential for cells to function correctly—are altered infruit fliesexposed to blue light."
"Our study suggests that avoidance of excessive blue light exposure may be a good anti-aging strategy," advised Giebultowicz.
Turn off the light
The researchers at Oregon State University have previously shown that fruit flies exposed to light "turn on" stress protective genes, and that those kept in constant darkness lived longer.
"To understand why high-energy blue light is responsible for accelerating aging in fruit flies, we compared the levels of metabolites in flies exposed to blue light for two weeks to those kept in complete darkness," explained Giebultowicz.
Blue light exposure caused significant differences in the levels of metabolites measured by the researchers in the cells of fly heads. In particular, they found that the levels of the metabolite succinate were increased, but glutamate levels were lowered.
"Succinate is essential for producing the fuel for the function and growth of each cell. High levels of succinate after exposure to blue light can be compared to gas being in the pump but not getting into the car," said Giebultowicz. "Another troubling discovery was that molecules responsible for communication between neurons, such as glutamate, are at the lower level after blue light exposure."
Accelerating aging
The changes recorded by the researchers suggest that the cells are operating at suboptimal level, and this may cause their premature death, and further, explain their previous findings that blue light accelerates aging.
"LEDs have become the main illumination in display screens such as phones, desktops and TVs, as well as ambient lighting, so humans in advanced societies are exposed to blue light through LED lighting during most of their waking hours. The signaling chemicals in the cells of flies and humans are the same, so the there is potential for negative effects of blue light on humans," explains Giebultowicz.
Future work hopes to study the effects directly on human cells.
"We used a fairly strong blue light on the flies—humans are exposed to less intense light, so cellular damage may be less dramatic. The results from this study suggests that future research involving human cells is needed to establish the extent to which human cells may show similar changes in metabolites involved in energy production in response to excessive exposure to blue light," concluded Giebultowicz.
More information: Jun Yang et al, Chronic blue light leads to accelerated aging in Drosophila by impairing energy metabolism and neurotransmitter levels, Frontiers in Aging (2022). DOI: 10.3389/fragi.2022.983373
