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Study finds eating later in the day promotes obesity

26/03/2019

As obesity rates across the world continue to rise, understanding exactly why we put on weight has never been more important. That’s why the findings of a new study, which looked at whether there is an association between when we eat and how much weight we gain, could be very significant. Presenting their findings at the ENDO 2019 conference, which took place in New Orleans, the scientists from the University of Colorado in Denver said there is a link between eating later in the day and having a higher BMI, as well as more body fat. For the study, 31 adults who were either overweight or obese and had an average age of 36 years were closely monitored to assess their sleep, levels of activity, and diet. Interestingly, the study also showed that the participants who ate later in the day still had an average of 7 hours sleep each night, suggesting that lack of sleep may not promote obesity after all. Speaking about the findings of the study, Dr. Adnin Zaman, lead author, said “These findings support our overall study, which will look at whether restricting the eating window to earlier on in the day will lower obesity risk.”

Un nouvel antibiotique découvert chez des bactéries

20/07/2018

  Une approche innovante a permis d’identifier des molécules produites par des micro-organismes présents dans l’eau de mer. Voici une découverte rassurante: une équipe de chercheurs du collège de médecine de l’université du Wisconsin, à Madison, a découvert un nouvel antibiotique au mode d’action inédit. Une molécule baptisée «keyicine». C’est en cultivant des protéobactéries du genre Rhodococcus - qui vivent en symbiose avec des invertébrés marins - avec des bactéries Micromonospora qu’ils ont pu faire apparaître cette nouvelle molécule. Cultivées dans des conditions «traditionnelles», les Rhodococcus seules ne fabriquent pas cette keyicine: les gènes qui commandent sa fabrication sont silencieux. Les chercheurs ont réussi à réveiller ces gènes et estiment que d’autres molécules intéressantes sont sans doute encore à découvrir (travaux publiés dans la revue ACS Chemical Biology ). «Nous pensons que les produits naturels restent l’une des plus grandes sources de molécules diverses destinées à traiter les maladies humaines»  Navid Adnani, premier signataire des travaux Parmi les défis qui attendent la médecine et la pharmacie, l’apparition de germes devenus insensibles aux médicaments est un obstacle majeur. Les chercheurs de l’école de pharmacie de l’université du Wisconsin ont fait le constat que, entre les années 1970 et le début des années 2000, la recherche, tant publique que privée, a délaissé les produits «naturels» provenant des bactéries pour s’appuyer essentiellement sur la chimie de synthèse. En effet, on a cru que l’homme avait fait le tour des produits naturels, et que la chimie, via des batteries de tests de dépistage, serait beaucoup plus efficace. «Grâce aux progrès technologiques, à celui de la génétique, de la protéomique, de la métabolomique, etc., nous pensons que les produits naturels restent l’une des plus grandes sources de molécules diverses destinées à traiter les maladies humaines», écrivent Navid Adnani, premier signataire des travaux, et ses collègues. «Une urgence de santé publique» Pour réussir à relever ce défi, les scientifiques se sont dit que la méthode traditionnelle de culture des bactéries - dans une boîte avec un milieu nutritif donné et une analyse de tous les produits issus de cette culture - ne convenait pas. D’ailleurs, on sait que d’innombrables bactéries ne poussent pas dans ces conditions: on estime d’ailleurs qu’on a réussi à cultiver en laboratoire moins de 1 % des bactéries présentes sur Terre! D’où leur idée à double détente. Un, aller chercher dans des réservoirs peu connus, comme les bactéries sous-marines. Un litre d’eau de mer contiendrait 100 millions à 1 milliard de bactéries de 20.000 espèces différentes. Deux, faire des co-cultures d’espèces bactériennes différentes et regarder ce que cela donne. Et bingo, cela a fonctionné. «Cela a l’air d’un joli travail. Et on ne découvre pas tant que cela de nouveaux antibiotiques», reconnaît Élodie Psender, pharmacienne au CHU de Limoges, impliquée dans le grand programme européen Combacte, un partenariat public-privé qui a pour objectif de générer des essais innovants pour faciliter l’enregistrement des nouveaux agents antibactériens. En Europe, la résistance aux antibiotiques est responsable de plus de 25.000 décès chaque année «Les recherches sur de nouveaux antibiotiques continuent mais, au vu des antibiorésistances, la recherche s’oriente vers de nouvelles thérapies innovantes, avec par exemple des anticorps. On travaille aussi à développer des tests précoces d’identification d’infections, ce qui permettra de mieux traiter et de faire de la prévention.» Selon l’Organisation mondiale de la santé, «la résistance aux antibiotiques est en train de devenir une urgence de santé publique en des proportions encore inconnues». En Europe, la résistance aux antibiotiques est responsable de plus de 25.000 décès chaque année. Les chercheurs pharmaciens du Wisconsin ont établi la structure chimique de la keyicine. Elle appartient à une famille d’antibiotiques, également efficaces contre certains cancers, les anthracyclines. Mais son mode d’action est différent. Tandis que les autres anthracyclines tuent les cellules en s’attaquant à leur ADN, la keyicine ne le fait pas. Ce qui pourrait donc rendre l’acquisition d’une résistance bactérienne beaucoup moins facile.

Large study finds link between brain injuries at a young age and dementia later in life

12/04/2018

People who suffer brain injuries have an increased risk of developing dementia in later life, a new study has found. The large study of 2.8 million people found individuals who had at least one traumatic brain injury were 24% more likely to develop dementia than those who hadn’t. Interestingly, the risk was found to be greatest in people who had the brain injury while still in their 20s. These individuals were found to be 63% more likely to suffer from dementia in later life. However, despite the findings of the study, independent experts have said that other lifestyle factors, such as smoking and a lack of exercise, are actually more important. According to Dr Doug Brown, chief policy and research officer at Alzheimer's Society, these risk factors “are much easier for all of us to do something about". Nevertheless, the research does show a correlation between brain injuries and dementia. Jesse Fann, professor of psychiatry and behavioural sciences at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle, said: "Our analysis raises some very important issues, in particular that efforts to prevent traumatic brain injury, especially in younger people, may be inadequate considering the huge and growing burden of dementia and the prevalence of TBI worldwide." TBI is the term used to describe a concussion.

A third of UK women too embarrassed to have a smear test, survey finds

23/01/2018

Smear tests can prevent 75% of cervical cancers, yet young women in Britain are avoiding having them done because they are too embarrassed, a survey suggests. According to the Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust survey of 2,017 British women, one-third delay having a smear test because they are too embarrassed. Of those women, 38% are concerned about smell, 35% are embarrassed about their body shape and 34% about the appearance of their vulva. A third of women surveyed also admitted they wouldn’t go for a smear test if they hadn’t waxed or shaved their bikini area. Worryingly, one in six (16%) women would rather miss a smear test appointment than a gym class and one in seven (14%) a waxing appointment. Robert Music, of Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust, said: "Please don't let unhappiness or uncertainty about your body stop you from attending what could be a life-saving test. "Nurses are professionals who carry out millions of tests every year, they can play a big part in ensuring women are comfortable." Every year, five million women in the UK are invited for a cervical smear test. One in four do not attend, despite cervical cancer being the most common type of cancer in women under 35. In fact, approximately 5,000 women’s lives are saved by cervical screening in the UK each year – a reality that highlights just how important these tests are. In Britain alone each year, a total of 220,000 women are diagnosed with cervical abnormalities, which can be a sign of the existence of pre-cancerous cells.  

Bariatric Surgery Best for Long-Term Weight Loss

05/09/2016

The benefits of weight loss surgery for obese and overweight individuals have been known for a long time. However, a new study now shows that the results of bariatric surgery are not just short-term, and much of the weight appears to stay off for at least 10 years. In fact, the study goes on to state that bariatric surgery is more effective than other surgical procedures and non-surgical techniques when it comes to weight loss and long-term weight management. Published in the journal JAMA Surgery, the findings are notable because they include the results of a decade-long follow-up, in addition to two separate areas of study. Lead author of the study Matt Maciejewski, who is a professor of medicine at Duke University School of Medicine, in Durham, N.C., said: “This study suggests that patients interested in bariatric surgery, especially gastric bypass surgery, should be able to lose a significant amount of weight and keep that weight off for a very long time." For the study, the researchers first compared thousands of veterans who had received bariatric surgery to another group that hadn't. After a year, the bariatric surgery group had lost 31% of their starting weight, while the other group had lost just 1%. After 10 years, the bariatric surgery group had managed to maintain a nearly 21% greater weight loss than their non-surgical counterparts, highlighting the long-term benefits that weight loss surgery can have. The researchers then looked into how effective different types of weight loss surgery are. They found that after four years, patients who had undergone a gastric bypass had lost nearly 28% of their starting weight, while those who a had sleeve gastrectomy lost about 18% and those with gastric banding lost about 11%.

‘Brain Training’ Good for Older People, says Study

05/11/2015

Older people benefit from playing online games that test their memory and reasoning skills, also known as ‘brain training’, according to a large-scale study. The six month experiment, which was conducted by researchers at King’s College London, involved almost 7,000 individuals aged 50 and over and was launched by the BBC’s Bang Goes The Theory. None of the volunteers who participated in the study had reported any memory or cognition problems and they were recruited from the general population as part of a collaboration between the BBC, the Medical Research Council and the Alzheimer’s Society. The researchers found that mental exercises, such as those undertaken during brain training, helped with everyday skills like cooking and shopping. A baseline was taken by testing the study subjects on a series of medically recognised cognitive tests. The group was then split into two, with one subgroup asked to play online brain training games whenever they wanted for up to 10 minutes at a time. The medically recognised cognitive tests were then redone at three and six months to see if the group which had been playing the online games displayed any detectable differences over the other group. After six months, the group that had been playing the brain games showed broader cognitive skills than those who hadn’t. Dr Doug Brown from the Alzheimer's Society said: "Online brain training is rapidly growing into a multi-million pound industry and studies like this are vital to help us understand what these games can and cannot do. “While this study wasn't long enough to test whether the brain training package can prevent cognitive decline or dementia, we're excited to see that it can have a positive impact on how well older people perform essential everyday tasks." Bigger, longer studies will now commence to dig deeper into this study’s findings.  

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