Benefits of Calorie Restriction on Pancreatic Beta Cells
Researchers have studied calorie restriction as a means to slow aging quite extensively, but organisms are highly complex and there is always more that can be investigated. Here, researchers look in detail at the effects of calorie restriction in mice on the beta cells of the pancreas, necessary for the normal function of insulin metabolism. It is interesting to see mitophagy reduction as a means of increased mitochondrial function, though this could indicate that calorie restriction adjusts mitochondrial activity in ways that extend the functional life span of an individual mitochondrion, thereby less need for mitophagy. ...
Source: Fight Aging! - September 14, 2023 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs
Organoids Produce Tooth Enamel Proteins
Researchers at the University of Washington School of Medicine have developed a method to create stem cell-derived organoids that can produce tooth enamel proteins. The breakthrough could pave the way for lab grown enamel that can be used in dental repairs and may even allow for living fillings or completely new living teeth that can be implanted into a patient’s jaw. The researchers studied the genetic activity that occurs during tooth development, and then used this information to steer stem cells into becoming ameloblasts, which are the cell type responsible for enamel creation. Once present in organoids, the cells ca...
Source: Medgadget - September 12, 2023 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Dentistry Genetics Materials uwsomwwami Source Type: blogs
The complexities of healing and faith
As a physician, there are moments during the day when you must deliver a disheartening diagnosis to your patient: pancreatic cancer, ALS, leukemia, and unfortunately, the list goes on. The patient must face the harsh realities that are now placed before him/her. Those realities, at times, leave him with a very small window of hope
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The complexities of healing and faith originally appeared in KevinMD.com. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - September 10, 2023 Category: General Medicine Authors: Michele Luckenbaugh Tags: Conditions Hospital-Based Medicine Source Type: blogs
Can You Take Creatine If You Have High Blood Pressure?
Conclusion
We’ve journeyed through the multifaceted world of creatine, from its role in boosting athletic performance to its potential therapeutic uses. We’ve also delved into the crucial relationship between creatine and high blood pressure, highlighting the need for caution.
The key takeaway? If you have high blood pressure, consult a healthcare provider before taking creatine. It’s not just a supplement; it’s a substance that interacts with various bodily functions and can have significant implications for your health.
So, before you consider adding creatine to your routine, make t...
Source: The EMT Spot - August 29, 2023 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Michael Rotman, MD, FRCPC, PhD Tags: Blood Pressure Source Type: blogs
Fight Aging! Newsletter, July 24th 2023
In this study, we tested the hypothesis that periodontal disease (PD) as a source of infection alters inflammatory activation and Aβ phagocytosis by the microglial cells.
Experimental PD was induced using ligatures in C57BL/6 mice for 1, 10, 20, and 30 days to assess the progression of PD. Animals without ligatures were used as controls. Ligature placement caused progressive periodontal disease and bone resorption that was already significant on day 1 post-ligation and continued to increase until day 30. The severity of periodontal disease increased the frequency of activated microglia in the brains on day 30 by 36...
Source: Fight Aging! - July 23, 2023 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
Reviewing What is Known of the Biochemistry of Klotho Relevant to Effects on Life Span
Increased klotho expression increases longevity in mice, while reduced klotho expression accelerates aging. The most well studied effects of klotho on organ function involve the kidney and brain, where in both cases it appears protective via a number of different mechanisms. Unfortunately, klotho expression declines with age. Whether treating humans with therapies that increase levels of klotho will produce effects that are as large as those observed in mice remains to be seen. Programs that might lead to treatments remain at a preclinical stage of development, though recently advanced to the point of testing in non-human ...
Source: Fight Aging! - July 21, 2023 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs
Inhibition of Glycolysis as a Treatment for Neurodegeneration
Researchers here discuss a program of drug discovery that led to inhibitors of glycolysis as a potential approach to treatment for neurodegenerative conditions. The researchers note that elevated glycolysis is a characteristic of Alzheimer's disease, for example. There are always many, many mechanisms and altered aspects of cell metabolism one can investigate in aging and age-related disease. The question to ask when looking at any one specific mechanism in isolation is how much of the pathology of the condition lies downstream of this mechanism. It is all to easy to find oneself targeting a side-effect, or a minor mechani...
Source: Fight Aging! - July 18, 2023 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs
The Business Reality of Healthcare AI
BY KIM BELLARD
I was at the barbershop the other day and overheard one barber talking with his senior citizen customer about when – not if – robot AIs would become barbers. I kid you not.
Now, I don’t usually expect to heard conversations about technology at the barber, but it illustrates that I think we are at the point with AI that we were with the Internet in the late ‘90’s/early ‘00s: people’s lives were just starting to change because of it, new companies were jumping in with ideas about how to use it, and existing companies knew they were going to have to figure out ways to incorporate it if they ...
Source: The Health Care Blog - July 4, 2023 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Ryan Bose-Roy Tags: Health Tech Healthcare AI healthcare delivery Kim Bellard Source Type: blogs
Fight Aging! Newsletter, July 3rd 2023
In this study, cultured adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) were derived from subcutaneous white adipose tissue isolated from mice fed a normal diet. We performed senescence-associated-β-galactosidase (SA-β-gal) staining, real-time PCR, and Western blot to evaluate the levels related to cellular senescence markers.
The mRNA expression levels of senescence markers were significantly increased in the later passages of ASCs. We show that light activation reduced the expression of senescent genes, and SA-β-Gal in all cells at passages. Moreover, the light-activated ASCs-derived exosomes decrease the expression of senes...
Source: Fight Aging! - July 2, 2023 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
Rat Kidneys Vitrified, Warmed with Magnetic Nanoparticles, then Transplanted Successfully
Another step forward for the magnetic nanoparticle approach to thawing vitrified tissues was recently reported. Vitrification for low-temperature storage is a fairly well established technique, at least for organs. The challenge lies in thawing vitrified organ tissue without causing so much damage that it becomes non-viable for transplantation. Researchers have now managed to make this work for rat kidneys, albeit just barely. The kidneys were damaged, and it remains the case that scaling up to human organs will have its challenges. A greater volume of tissue makes cryopreservation and later thawing much harder, but succes...
Source: Fight Aging! - June 30, 2023 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs
Prompt Engineering For Healthcare: 11 Tips To Craft Great ChatGPT Prompts
In conclusion, as AI continues to grow and evolve, the importance of being adept at prompt engineering cannot be overstated. The ability to elicit useful and meaningful responses from AI can empower us to make the most of this cutting-edge technology. Remember, practice is key, and each question we ask is a step towards becoming more fluent in the language of AI.
In general, use it to expand your knowledge and ideas instead of solving things on behalf of you.
The post Prompt Engineering For Healthcare: 11 Tips To Craft Great ChatGPT Prompts appeared first on The Medical Futurist. (Source: The Medical Futurist)
Source: The Medical Futurist - June 22, 2023 Category: Information Technology Authors: Andrea Koncz Tags: Artificial Intelligence in Medicine AI in healthcare AI in medicine AI text generator ChatGPT ChatGPT in healthcare prompt engineering Healthcare AI Source Type: blogs
The inspirational journey of an 82-year-old WWII veteran battling cancer
He was 82 years old when he came into our ER, writhing in excruciating abdominal pain. After an ultrasound and a subsequent CT scan, the devastating diagnosis was revealed—end stage pancreatic and liver cancer. Despite enduring a pain level of 10, he managed to maintain his sense of humor, joking about “biting the bullet.” However,
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The inspirational journey of an 82-year-old WWII veteran battling cancer originally appeared in KevinMD.com. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - June 21, 2023 Category: General Medicine Authors: Debbie Moore-Black, RN Tags: Conditions Critical Care Nursing Oncology/Hematology Source Type: blogs
Taurine Supplementation Slows Aging, Extends Life in Mice
Taurine levels drop with age, and correlate with health in aged humans. Researchers here show evidence for taurine supplementation to improve health and extend life span in mice. While it isn't mentioned in this paper, if one takes a look around the literature on this topic, taurine may act on the pace of aging by increasing levels of the antioxidant enzyme glutathione, and has been shown to diminish oxidative stress. You may recall that supplementation with glutathione precursors has been shown to improve health in both old mice and old humans. Glutathione itself is harder to deliver directly, hence the more indirect stra...
Source: Fight Aging! - June 16, 2023 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs
iLet Bionic Pancreas Cleared by FDA
The iLet Bionic Pancreas for use by type 1 diabetes patients has been cleared by the FDA and is now available commercially. The device is offered by Beta Bionics, a medtech company based in Massachusetts and California, but the underlying technology originally developed by researchers at Boston University. The system can be paired with a Bluetooth glucose monitor to deliver personalized insulin dosing every five minutes, and calculates doses based on past and current glucose levels and its experience of how the user reacted to previous insulin doses. The technology has a personal origin story, as one of the researchers dro...
Source: Medgadget - June 8, 2023 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Medicine artificial pancreas BetaBionics diabetes Type1 Source Type: blogs
Immunotherapy Implant to Treat Pancreatic Cancer
Researchers at Houston Methodist have developed an implant that can provide localized and sustained release of immunotherapies to treat pancreatic cancer. Their device is tiny, at approximately the size of a grain of rice, and they have termed it a “nanofluidic drug-eluting seed”. Pancreatic cancer is particularly difficult to treat, and current therapies have problems penetrating the tumor while resulting in significant side-effects elsewhere in the body. This device is intended for implantation in the tumor, where it releases monoclonal antibodies that can prime the immune system to begin to destroy the tumor...
Source: Medgadget - May 8, 2023 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Medicine Oncology Urology HoustonMethodist prostate CA prostate cancer Source Type: blogs
