The Gary Null Show - 01.24.22

Korean scientists emphasize the health benefits of ginseng

 

Pusan National University (South Korea), September 16, 2021

 

Ginseng, a widely popular superfood, has long been used in traditional medicine. The health benefits of ginseng are largely attributed to compounds called ginsenosides, which are present in the roots, stems, and leaves of the plant. Ginsenosides are known to prevent inflammation, diabetes, and cancer, and can also help control blood cholesterol levels and reduce aging. Although there are 13 known species of ginseng, Korean ginseng—which contains the highest number of ginsenosides—is not commonly found in nature. Moreover, of the two types of ginsenosides, the more effective variety—the minor ginsenosides—accounts for only 20% of the total ginsenoside content in ginseng. 

 

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Study reveals how saline solution can inhibit replication of SARS-CoV-2

 

The use of a hypertonic solution of sodium chloride at 1.1% reduced viral replication by 88% in tests involving infected lung cells

 

University of San Paulo (Brazil)

 

Researchers at the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil have shown that a hypertonic saline solution inhibits replication of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and have elucidated the biochemical mechanism involved. An article reporting the research is published in ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science. The study was performed in the laboratory using human epithelial lung cells infected with the virus. If the strategy proves effective in clinical trials, it could contribute to the development of novel prophylactic interventions to prevent COVID-19 or even treatments for the disease. “Given the gravity of the pandemic, we believe it would be important to extend this line of research by conducting clinical trials designed to verify the efficacy of using a spray with hypertonic sodium chloride [NaCl] saline as a form of prophylaxis, helping to stop the virus from spreading within the infected organism and reducing the likelihood of more severe inflammation,” said Cristiane Guzzo, last author of the article and a researcher at the university’s Biomedical Sciences Institute (ICB-USP). 

 

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How stress can cause a fever

 

Psychological stress can trigger physiological responses, including an increase in body temperature. A neural circuit that underlies this stress-induced heat response has been identified.

 

You are about to take the stage to speak in front of a large audience. As you wait, your heart starts to pound, your breathing quickens, your blood pressure rises and your palms sweat. These physiological responses are evolutionarily conserved mechanisms to prepare your body to fight against imminent dangers, or to run away quickly. Another key response is an increase in body temperature. Emotional stress can cause this psychogenic fever in many mammalian species, from rodents to humans1,2. What is the neural mechanism that underlies this phenomenon? Writing in Science, Kataoka et al.3 describe a key neural circuit in psychologically induced hyperthermia.

 

The current work builds on a long legacy of research by the same group, who began their quest for a neuronal circuit that triggers heat production in 2004, using brown fat tissue as an entry point4. Brown fat is a type of ‘good’ fat that can generate heat when needed. Blocking the activity of β3-adrenergic receptor proteins, which are abundant in brown fat and enable the tissue to respond to signals from neurons, attenuates stress-induced hyperthermia5.

 

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Study finds that Pilates significantly improves blood pressure in young, obese women

 

Marymount University (US)

 

A new paper in The American Journal of Hypertension, published by Oxford University Press, finds that mat Pilates may be an effective strategy to improve cardiovascular health for young obese women, a population that is at risk for hypertension and early vascular complications.

 

With an estimated 9 million participants in 2018 and a series of celebrity endorsements, including Beyoncé and Emma Stone, mat Pilates training has seen a recent resurgence in popularity. It has become one of the most widely known wellness routines in the United States. The program emphasizes core strength, flexibility, body posture, and controlled breathing.

 

At the same time, the prevalence of obesity in young adults has become a major public health issue. Though it is well-documented that exercise is a key factor in preventing and managing cardiovascular health problems, obese women tend not to maintain traditional workout routines. Despite sources in the media reporting on the cardiovascular benefits of Pilates, the existing scientific literature is scarce.

 

Researchers here studied young obese women (age 19-27) with elevated blood pressure and a body mass index between 30-40kg/m2 through 12 weeks of mat Pilates. The participants were free of chronic diseases, were non-smokers and performed less than 90 minutes of regular exercise per week. There were three one-hour training sessions per week, which were divided into the following stages: initial warm up and stretch (10min), general mat Pilates exercises (40 min), and a cool down (10 min). The training increased over the 12 weeks, with the repetition of each exercise steadily increasing. A certified mat Pilates instructor supervised all sessions.

 

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Link between inflammation and pancreatic cancer development uncovered

 

University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

 

A new discovery from researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center has clarified the long-established connection between inflammation and pancreatic cancer development. According to the study published today in Science, pancreatic cells display an adaptive response to repeated inflammatory episodes that initially protects against tissue damage but can promote tumor formation in the presence of mutant KRAS.

 

The authors demonstrated that mutant KRAS—which is found in roughly 95% of all pancreatic cancers—supports this adaptive response, leading to selective pressure to maintain the cancer-causing mutation.

 

"We discovered that a single transient inflammatory event induced long-term transcriptomic and epigenetic reprogramming of epithelial cells that cooperated with oncogenic KRAS to promote pancreatic tumors long after the inflammation was resolved," said corresponding author Andrea Viale, M.D., assistant professor of Genomic Medicine. "In the setting of repeated pancreatitis, KRAS mutations can be acquired early on to limit tissue damage, suggesting the existence of a strong evolutionary pressure to select mutated cells and providing a possible explanation for the nearly universal presence of mutant KRAS in pancreatic cancers."

 

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Vegetable Compound Shows Promise Against Diabetic Kidney Disease

 

AlMaarefa University (Saudi Arabia)

 

A compound that occurs in watercress and other cruciferous vegetables, phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC), has shown a potential benefit against diabetic nephropathy, according to research on rodents presented at the American Association for Anatomy annual meeting, held during Experimental Biology 2021.* “Diabetic nephropathy is a serious microvascular complication of diabetes mellitus and the major cause of end-stage renal disease,” Mohamed El-Sherbiny, PhD, and colleagues wrote. Previous research has indicated that a vegetable compound known as sulforaphane that is related to PEITC reduces diabetes-associated kidney damage. For the current study, the research team evaluated the effects of PEITC in a rat model of diabetic nephropathy. The animals were given 3, 10 or 30 milligrams per kilogram PEITC for eight weeks. Kidney function, inflammation, oxidative stress, total antioxidant capacity, antioxidant enzyme levels, protein glycation and kidney structure were assessed at the beginning and end of the treatment period. Phenethyl isothiocyanate administration was associated with improved kidney function, oxidant/antioxidant balance, inflammation and protein glycation, with higher doses associated with greater results.