Can gout be prevented?
To many people, gout seems like a disease of the past. Cartoons from 200 years ago depicted it as a condition afflicting the wealthy (“the disease of kings”), whose gluttonous consumption of food and drink was thought to bring on the attacks of debilitating arthritis.
All these years later, much about gout is still misunderstood. Shame, derision, and the belief that the gout sufferer deserves the condition linger. And rather than being a disease of the past, gout is quite common — and rates are rising. Estimates suggest gout affects nearly 4% of the adult population in the US, an increase from prior decades. And it...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - January 8, 2021 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Robert H. Shmerling, MD Tags: Arthritis Bones and joints Health Men's Health Source Type: blogs
A Sensible Consideration of the State of the Art in the Treatment of Aging as a Medical Condition
It used to be the case that one could write up a summary of where the research community stood on the treatment of aging as a medical condition (which was varying shades of "not that far along towards practical applications, but definitely promising if they get their act together") and then not have to update it all that much for years. Research is slow and uncertain, for one, and secondly there was, for decades, a strong cultural prejudice in the scientific community against trying to apply what was learned about aging to the treatment of aging. Little progress was made as a result.
Matters are proceeding much more...
Source: Fight Aging! - January 6, 2021 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Medicine, Biotech, Research Source Type: blogs
Fight Aging! Newsletter, December 21st 2020
In this study, we have found that administration of a specific Sgk1 inhibitor significantly reduces the dysregulated form of tau protein that is a pathological hallmark of AD, restores prefrontal cortical synaptic function, and mitigates memory deficits in an AD model. These results have identified Sgk1 as a potential key target for therapeutic intervention of AD, which may have specific and precise effects."
Targeting histone K4 trimethylation for treatment of cognitive and synaptic deficits in mouse models of Alzheimer's disease
Epigenetic aberration is implicated in aging and neurodegeneration. Using p...
Source: Fight Aging! - December 20, 2020 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
Circular RNAs as a Potential Basis for Biomarkers of Aging
The presence and function of circular RNAs in cells is comparatively poorly understood. The expression levels of at least some circular RNAs appear to change with age. This suggests that, even without a full understanding of function, it might be possible to use this data as the basis for a biomarker of aging. It is already the case that other biomarkers of aging have been constructed from weighted combinations of age-related changes in the broader transcriptome of RNA expression. These join aging clocks built from epigenetic and proteomic data, all of which exhibit changes that are characteristic of age.
The common...
Source: Fight Aging! - December 16, 2020 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs
Fight Aging! Newsletter, December 14th 2020
In conclusion, aging alters the cerebral vasculature to impair mitochondrial function and mitophagy and increase IL-6 levels. These alterations may impair BBB integrity and potentially reduce cerebrovascular health with aging.
Senescent Cells Fail to Maintain Proteostasis
https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2020/12/senescent-cells-fail-to-maintain-proteostasis/
Given the newfound consensus in the research community regarding the importance of senescent cells to degenerative aging, it isn't surprising to see a great deal more fundamental research into the biochemistry of cellular senescence now taking pl...
Source: Fight Aging! - December 13, 2020 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
A Good Relationship with Parent Worth More Than Cleaning Differences
Dear Carol: My mother, 76, lives on her own in a condominium and is capable of continuing there for some time. I’m grateful, because the longer she can be independent the happier we’ll both be. My problem? It’s pretty minor considering what most people deal with, but I’m curious if there is something that I can do to help mom. She and I have different ideas of house cleanliness. I can’t concentrate unless I know that my surroundings are clean and orderly while mom is, in my view, lax. She’s healthy, but she has really bad arthritic pain and this has kept her from doing the basic cleaning that she used to...
Source: Minding Our Elders - December 13, 2020 Category: Geriatrics Authors: Carol Bradley Bursack Source Type: blogs
Glucosamine Use Correlates with a Sizable Reduction in Mortality, but Not Yet Convincingly
This study sought to investigate the association between regular consumption of glucosamine/chondroitin and overall and cardiovascular (CVD) mortality in a national sample of US adults. Combined data from 16,686 participants in National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999 to 2010, merged with the 2015 Public-use Linked Mortality File. Cox proportional hazards models were conducted for both CVD and all-cause mortality.
In the study sample, there were 658 (3.94%) participants who had been taking glucosamine/chondroitin for a year or longer. During followup (median, 107 months), there were 3366 total deaths ...
Source: Fight Aging! - December 9, 2020 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Medicine, Biotech, Research Source Type: blogs
Fight Aging! Newsletter, December 7th 2020
In this study, except for the reduction in body weight, the aging characteristics related to epidermal and muscle tissue in mice were significantly ameliorated in the CR group compared with the control group. Additional studies have indicated that not stem cells themselves but the stem cell microenvironment is the key factor mediating stem cell activation, proliferation and differentiation.
Mitochondrial dysfunction is an important factor leading to age-related muscular atrophy. Considering the dependence of skeletal muscle on ATP, loss of mitochondrial function, which can lead to a decrease in strength and enduranc...
Source: Fight Aging! - December 6, 2020 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
Towards Control Over the Dynamic Equilibrium of Bone Tissue Maintenance
Bone loses mass and strength with age, leading to the condition called osteoporosis. The extracellular matrix of bone is dynamically remodeled throughout life, built up osteoblast cells and broken down by osteoclast cells. Osteoporosis is the result of a growing imbalance in cell activity and cell creation that favors osteoclasts. There are many contributing causes, and some uncertainty of which of these causes are more or less important. The chronic inflammation that accompanies aging does appear to be important, particularly that connected to the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) of senescent cells.
...
Source: Fight Aging! - December 2, 2020 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Medicine, Biotech, Research Source Type: blogs
Fictional patients as literature search examples
Not simulated patients used in exams, but fictional patients as literature search topics.I have used fictional patients for some years. I looked back to see if I have ever given them names, and can ' t find any evidence of that. That is good, as perhaps there is a danger the names would not be diverse. For the medical students who started in 2017, I had this:" Your patient is a five year old with head lice. Their parent asks if they should use an insecticide lotion to eradicate the lice. Will this work, and better than the alternatives? Are there any adver...
Source: Browsing - November 30, 2020 Category: Databases & Libraries Tags: literature searching Source Type: blogs
Fight Aging! Newsletter, November 30th 2020
We examined specific aspects of metabolism in male PolG+/mut mice at 6 and 12 months of age under three dietary conditions: normal chow (NC) feeding, high-fat feeding (HFD), and 24-hr starvation. We performed mitochondrial proteomics and assessed dynamics and quality control signaling in muscle and liver to determine whether mitochondria respond to mtDNA point mutations by altering morphology and turnover. In the current study, we observed that the accumulation of mtDNA point mutations failed to disrupt metabolic homeostasis and insulin action in male mice, but with aging, metabolic health was likely preserved by counterme...
Source: Fight Aging! - November 29, 2020 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
A woman in her 40s with acute chest pain
Case written by Neha Ray MD, Brandon Fetterolf MD, and Pendell Meyers MDA woman in her 40s with a history of rheumatoid arthritis, anemia, and thrombocytopenia presented to the ED with acute onset chest pain starting around 5am on the morning of presentation. It woke her from sleep. The chest pain was midsternal, severe, sharp, and constant. On the previous night she had had a mild version of the same pain that she thought was heartburn (esophageal reflux). She reported some radiation to the left arm. She also reports 3 episodes of non-bloody vomiting over the course of the morning. She had a recent admission fo...
Source: Dr. Smith's ECG Blog - November 29, 2020 Category: Cardiology Authors: Pendell Source Type: blogs
A Look at the Damage Done by Senescent T Cells in the Aged Immune System
Cells become senescent and cease replication in response to damage, a toxic environment, or reaching the Hayflick limit. Such cells near all self-destruct or are destroyed by the immune system. In later life, however, they begin to linger and accumulate. This is an issue, as the secretions of senescent cells are quite harmful when sustained over the long term, producing chronic inflammation and disruption of tissue structure and function. The cells of the immune system are no less subject to the burden of cellular senescence than is the case for any other cell type, in fact arguably more so given that infection results in ...
Source: Fight Aging! - November 26, 2020 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs
Fight Aging! Newsletter, November 23rd 2020
In conclusion, the study indicates that HBOT may induce significant senolytic effects that include significantly increasing telomere length and clearance of senescent cells in the aging populations.
Data on the Prevalence of Liver Fibrosis in Middle Age
https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2020/11/data-on-the-prevalence-of-liver-fibrosis-in-middle-age/
Fibrosis is a consequence of age-related disarray in tissue maintenance processes, leading to the deposition of scar-like collagen that disrupts tissue structure and function. It is an ultimately fatal issue for which there are only poor treatment options ...
Source: Fight Aging! - November 22, 2020 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
poem
BroomsThe leaves have all fallenAnd the cachectic treesAre swaying in the wind,Swish swish swish,Scratching at the gray soiled skyLike witches' brooms,Impossible to get clean.It ’s hard to get out of bed when it’s cold.Splash some water on your face,Run barefoot across the frostTo fetch a package from the mailbox.A shot of bourbon just before you shave.November mornings don ’t f. around.They wait for no stragglers.Get your boots laced,Choose a bold tie,Pick a proper face.But the deer find a way to disappearEven in the stripped downSkeletonized winter wood.Use what you have;This broken stick is a wand.The sky will cle...
Source: Buckeye Surgeon - November 22, 2020 Category: Surgery Authors: Jeffrey Parks MD FACS Source Type: blogs
