This Exercise Can Help Reduce Effects of Aging on Stem Cells

As we age, we lose muscle mass and the risk of dementia, heart disease, and immune function decreases. As the years go by, it becomes more difficult for humans to rebound from injury, a workout or illness. Aging takes a big toll on muscle tissue. Scientists have discovered that one type of activity in particular puts this process in reverse.

Exercise that is consistent can help slow down the process of degeneration. According to a new study on mice, aerobic exercise may have the ability to reverse aging’s effect on muscle stem cells that are essential in the involvement of tissue regeneration.

Translating the study that was done on mice to people, it means that cycling, swimming and other aerobic exercises can help the older population recover as efficiently and quickly as their once younger selves. In the future, this discovery could help contribute to the development of a drug that de-ages muscle stem cells.

Researchers have been aware for a long time that exercise does help promote lifespan which gives people extra years free from disease.

This new discovery is very different. It is somewhat like a person who has already acquired diseases through aging, reversing the process.

The research has suggested that aerobic exercise can cause cells that are old to start behaving and gaining attributes of young cells. In the study, the team used old and young mice and had them run on a wheel for 3 weeks. Using a variety of tests, they analyzed how the mouse’s stem cells and tissue that are muscle responded. They compared the mice that were running to a group that were non-exercising with a stationary wheel that was locked restricting their ability to run.

Within one week, both old and young mice with the wheels that were running were able to establish a routine. They ran about 4.9 and 10 kilometers per night, respectively.

The equivalent to humans from the mice on the running wheel would be similar to consistent aerobic exercise such as cycling, running, and swimming, but no weight lifting or strength training involved.

At the end of the three week period of voluntary running on the wheel, the mice were then relocated to cages that didn’t have wheels. Then, the team injured various muscles and than looked at whether the mice could rebuild the tissue that was injured.

They additionally transplanted muscle stem cells from older mice into the injured mice and observed if the cells functioned well. Compared to young donor muscle stem cells, old donor muscle stem cells formed fewer and smaller fibers in the mice that were injured. However, old muscle stem cells from mice that exercised performed much like young muscle stem cells and formed many fibers than old muscle stem cells and were non-exercising.

Overall, the older mice that were allowed to exercise experienced accelerated repair of muscle tissue and improvement of the function of the muscle stem cells.

The older mice that were active did not produce more stem cells that are muscle. Instead, exercising had a rejuvenating effect on the old cells. The team noted it helped the mice operate more like their once younger selves.

The benefits did disappear after one week after the mice were put in cages without wheels which suggests that the rejuvenating effect is consistent exercise. This indicates that voluntary aerobic exercise may have benefits that are above and beyond preventing age related diseases and may really improve function of tissue directly.

The idea is that the older humans would recover more efficiently and faster just like younger humans do as a response to injury.

The team notes that surprisingly the younger mice who ran on the wheel did not experience muscle repair that was improved. This puzzled the team. Its seems young mice have already plateaued. They will lose function with age and they can get back to that baseline, but it is hard to get them better with more exercise.

The effects of exercise on stem cells that are muscle and repair of tissue is dependent on a tiny protein known as cyclin D1. Voluntary aerobic exercise was able to restore cyclin D1 levels in stem cells that were dormant back to a more youthful state.

Discovering cyclin D1’s crucial role means scientists might be able to target the protein therapeutically or even develop a new drug with the ability to create these positive de-aging effects. However, before any prescribed exercise routine or anti-aging pill can be verified, research on humans needs to be done.

To view the original scientific study click below:
Exercise rejuvenates quiescent skeletal muscle stem cells in old mice through restoration of Cyclin D1

Immune System and Intestinal Flora Balance

There are trillions of benign bacteria that live in our intestines. The immune system keeps them in constant balance which in turn ensures they are harmless to humans. A team has been able to demonstrate how some natural antibodies keep them in check. Their discoveries could make a substantial contribution to developing superior vaccines.

The bacteria that live in the intestine comprise from 500 to 1000 different species. They are known as intestinal flora which play a key role in the digestive process and also preventing infections. They are not like pathogens which invade the body from the outside. The body’s immune system tolerates them and, therefore, they are harmless.

It is unknown how the immune system is able to maintain this very delicate balance. But it is known that IgA or type A immunoglobulins play a significant role. These substances naturally defend parts of the immune system and will recognize an exogenous pathogen.

The researchers recently have shown that IgA antibodies from a mouse model specifically will limit the fitness of any benign bacteria at a variety of levels. This will enable the immune system to tweak the microbial balance in the intestines and successfully demonstrates that the immune system will recognize and specifically restrict these bacteria.

The most common antibodies in the immune system are IgA antibodies and are secreted by special cells in the mucous membranes. They make up about 65% of human immunoglobulins. Interestingly, most IgA antibodies that are produced by the body are directed towards benign bacteria found in the intestinal flora. By not having this immune protection these microorganisms could have a negative effect on a person’s health and cause diseases of the intestines. It has remained unsolved however, the way IgA antibodies regulate the consensual coexistence in the intestines.

Until now, studying IgA antibodies found in their natural form in mouse models was not possible. In the team’s experiment, they were able to conquer this hurdle. They were able to succeed in producing sufficient amounts of IgA antibodies specifically administered against a type of Escherichia Colo Bacteria which is a typical bacterium in the intestine. The antibodies were able to recognize and bound a building block on the microorganism’s membrane.

They succeeded in tracking the in-viva and the in-vitro effect in germ free mouse intestines with exact accuracy. The antibodies affected the fitness of the bacteria in a variety of ways. For example, the mobility of the bacteria was restricted or they were able to hinder the uptake of sugar building blocks for the bacteria’s metabolism. This signifies that the immune system is able to influence the benign bacteria through a variety of approaches on a simultaneous basis or IgA parallelism.

Why the immune system is able to achieve an equilibrium with the benign bacteria while also being able to destroy pathogenic invaders seems to have been conclusively clarified. The experiment shows that IgA antibodies can fine-tune the balance between the intestinal flora and the human organism.

The discoveries do not only build on some of the basic understanding of the intestine’s immune system, they can help contribute to developing vaccines. Through understanding where and how antibodies recognize intestinal microorganisms will also help in developing vaccines against pathogenic organisms on a more accurate basis.

To view the original scientific study click below:
Parallelism of intestinal secretory IgA shapes functional microbial fitness

Immune Aging Accelerated By Stress

A new study demonstrates that stress from things like job strain, traumatic events, discrimination, and everyday occurrences can accelerate immune system aging. This can possibly increase people’s chances of cardiovascular disease, cancer and illness due to infections. The study could offer an explanation in disparities in health that are age related which include the diverse toll of the COVID-19 pandemic and determine possible avenues for intervention.

Because the worldwide population of aging people is increasing, the understanding of disparities in health that are age related is essential. The study helps to identify mechanisms connected to immune aging that is accelerated.

As we age, our immune system will naturally start a dramatic downturn which is a condition known as immunosenescence. As advanced age occurs, a person’s immune system will weaken and include many white blood cells that are not circulating and not enough that are naive and can take on new invaders.

The aging of the immune system is linked not only to cancer, but also with a heightened risk of cardiovascular disease, pneumonia, and reduced efficacy of aging organs.

The team wanted to see if they might be able to coax out a link between a life long exposure to stress, which is a known precursor to health that is poor, and declining intensity of the immune system.

They cross referenced and queried an enormous amount of data sets from the Univ. of Michigan and Retirement Study, which was a national study of the status of health, economic, marital and family position, and private and public support systems of Americans that were older.

To determine exposure to a variety of social stressors, the team studied answers from a national sampling of 5,744 individuals over age 50. A questionnaire was designed for the participants to answer that assessed respondents experiences with social stress that included chronic stress, life events that are stressful, ongoing discrimination and everyday discrimination.

Samples of blood from the participants were then analyzed through flow cytometry, a lab technique that classifies and counts blood cells as they flow one by one in a narrow stream by a laser.

As was expected, participants with a high stress score had older immune profiles with a lower percentage of disease fighters and a high percentage of white blood cells that were worn out. The association between stressful life events and fewer, ready to respond T cells, continued to be strong even following controlling of smoking, education, BMI, race, drinking and ethnicity.

T cells are critical components of immunity develop in the thymus gland, which is in front and above the heart. As we age, the tissue in the thymus gland diminshes and is replaced by fatty tissue which results in decreased production of immune cells. Earlier research has suggested that this process is sped up by lifestyle factors like low exercise, poor diet, which are both linked with social stress.

In the study, after the team statistically controlled for low exercise and poor diet, the association between stress and increased immune aging wasn’t as strong. This means people who go through more stress have poor exercise and diet habits, which partly explains why they have increased aging. Improving exercise and diet habits in older people might help counteract the immune aging linked with stress.

Also, CMV (cytomegaloovirus) may be a point for intervention. It is usually asymptomatic and a common virus in people and is known to have a powerful effect on increased immune aging. Similar to cold sores and shingles, CMV is mostly dormant but can occur when a person experiences high stress.

In the study, statistically controlling CMV positivity also decreased the link between accelerated immune aging and stress.

To view the original scientific study click below:
Social stressors associated with age-related T lymphocyte percentages in older US adults: Evidence from the US Health and Retirement Study

Researchers Can Identify What You Are Eating

Researchers have developed a new method called untargeted metabolomics that identifies the large number of molecules that come from our food. Most of these molecules appear in our blood and stool and had previously been unknown. This method can provide a direct way to detect hundreds of thousands of molecules that may now be used to make a diet profile of individuals and provide clues as to health outcomes.

The scientists consisted of an international team that were able to match all metabolism products in a specimen to a vast database of samples. Where available, they used chemical inventories to provide a remarkable catalog of the signatures of molecules created by eating food or by processing in the gut.

The ability to determine how what we consume translates into byproducts and products of metabolism has important implications for the health of humans. The approach can be be used to get diet information scientifically and to understand the relationships to outcomes in the clinic. It is possible to link molecules in the diet to outcomes of health not per occurrence, but all at once which has previously not been possible.

Metabolomics consists of the comprehensive measuring of all the metabolites in a specimen that are biological. Metabolites are substances that are typically small molecules used or made when an organism breaks down drugs, food, and chemicals in the tissues. They are metabolism byproducts. In addition, the research used a relevant technique called metagenomics, which measures genetic material in samples that are biological and characterize microbes that are present.

Currently metabolomics research identifies only 10% of molecular features in specimen samples leaving 90% of the material to be unknown. The novel approach uses RDD, which is reference data driven analysis to match data from metabolomics that has been obtained from tandem mass spectrometry or MS/MS. This is an analytical tool which measures molecular weight utilizing two analyzers opposed to one against metadata annotated data that is a pseudo MS/MS reference library.

Eventually, every molecule is left without its electrons to charge it. The ion that is charged is weighted utilizing a scale that is very sensitive, then shattered into pieces and these pieces are weighed which creates a fingerprint that is unique for every molecule. These pieces of fragmentation spectra can be matched between the analyzed sample and a reference database. However, it has been a very challenging process until now.

This new research investigated thousands of foods that were assembled by people around the globe from an initiative launched 7 years ago by US San Diego called Global FoodOmics. The team has increased their data output more than five fold over techniques that were conventional. More notable was the new method allowed the untargeted metabbolomics to be utilized to infer the diet based on blood or stool samples.

It truly shows how crucial getting both clinical samples from people around the globe and food specimens are to be able to determine how microbes and molecules work together in order to degrade or improve health based on the foods we eat.

The study additionally suggests the way towards using RDD to explain the dark matter found in our metabolome. Not only in terms of the foods we eat, but in exposures to chemicals found in the clothes we wear, the medications taken, the beauty products we use and the environments people are exposed to. It will substantially help the team explore chemical connections throughout our world and ourselves.

To view the original scientific study click below:
Enhancing untargeted metabolomics using metadata-based source annotation

Less Calories and Eating At The Right Time of Day Could Enhance Longevity

There are quite a few studies that indicate that cutting calories can improve the health of a person and enhance longevity. However, new research indicates an even greater effect when you play to your daily rhythm of eating only during times where there are highest levels of energy requirements in order to optimize longevity!

Calorie restriction is known to extend lifespan in a variety of animals. A recent study found that reducing calorie intake by 30% in male mice improved their lifespan by 10%. The reduction in calories was maintained for over 4 years, and the results suggest that this type of intervention could be beneficial for humans as well.

A recent study found that when combining calorie restriction with daily fasting intervals, the lifespan of the mice increased by a notable 35%. This means that on average, the mice lived 9 months longer. For humans, this would be equal to increasing lifespan by up to 20 years.

The mice that were fed a low calorie diet during their most active hours (nighttime) lived the longest. There were two feeding window groups studied – those who had a 2 hour feeding window and those who had a 12 hour feeding window. The mice in the 2 hour group fared better than those in the 12 hour group, suggesting that it’s better to consume calories more frequently throughout the day rather than in one big chunk.

The research found that longevity improved by a lot on the time-restricted diet, but it did not increase weight loss. This explains why many diet plans that emphasize eating only at certain times of the day don’t actually seem to speed up weight loss in people. However, the health benefits of a time-restricted diet could significantly increase people’s lifespan if they commit to it. It is recommended that no calorie intake occurs after the evening due to people being most active during the day.

Caloric restriction has been shown to be an effective means of weight loss and health improvement. However, research has shown that in order to obtain the full benefits of caloric restriction, it is important to eat at the correct times. Eating late at night, for example, can minimize the benefits of calorie restriction.

A 2021 study of 6,400 people from age eight to up to age 95, in 29 countries, found that 1 year olds expend more calories than adults, but this trend does not continue throughout life. Energy expenditure levels are relatively stable from early adulthood to age 60 in both females and males, contrary to popular belief. After age 60, however, metabolism appears to decline significantly, leading to an increase in age-related diseases.

It seems the study has uncovered some good news for those with a slower metabolism – restricted calorie intake and eating at specific times may help offset some ill effects. This is supported by other research, which includes a study on mice from 2021 that found eating just one meal per day led to better use of fat stores for energy, lower blood sugar, and less frailty as the mice aged.

The team is looking into potential drugs or supplements that could mimic these dietary effects and improve longevity. One of the researchers is even following the lessons learned from the lab mice and restricting his eating schedule to just 12 hours per day. If they can discover a drug that can boost a person’s clock, they can test it in the lab and see if it would extend lifespan.

To view the original scientific study click below:
Circadian alignment of early onset caloric restriction promotes longevity in male C57BL/6J mice

Association Between Low Muscle Mass and Cognitive Decline

Dementia is a life altering disease and affects millions of people and their families worldwide negatively. But in a new study, researchers have found a modifiable factor that could possibly lower the risk of the advancement of this condition before it becomes irreversible. Their work highlights the link between muscle mass and rapid cognitive decline.

Little has been known about the association between low muscle strength and the development of dementia. For the first time, this new study shows that having low muscle mass is significantly linked to a rapid cognitive decline.

For the study, data was used from an ongoing Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging or CLSA. It has collected a substantial dataset consisting of body composition and various cognitive tests from 30,000 persons over a 3-year period that was administered in person. Three domains were used in the study – executive function, memory and psychomotor speed. The participants were all over 65 years of age and were asked if having low muscle can predict eventual cognitive decline based upon the three domains.

The findings showed that having a low muscle mass did link with a more rapid decline in the domain of executive cognitive functions over a three year period compared with a normal muscle mass. The other domains of memory and psychomotor function loss were not affected. This is important because executive functions, on a daily basis, help a person stay attentive, make decisions and organize thoughts.

This is crucial information because muscle mass can be increased through exercise, especially resistance training. And combined with good nutrition and a sufficient amount of protein in the diet, muscle mass can be maintained over the years of a persons life. Muscles provide proteins that help handle various bodily processes as well as a major role in strength and physical functioning. They also deliver molecules to the brain. When a person exercises and builds muscle mass, more blood flow is delivered to the brain that helps the executive function process.

People can be measured for low muscle mass to help identify if they may have an increased risk of cognitive decline. But further research is needed to see if gaining or maintaining muscle can attenuate cognitive decline as a person ages, and, if so, what the mechanisms would be.

To view the original scientific study click below:
Association of Low Muscle Mass With Cognitive Function During a 3-Year Follow-up Among Adults Aged 65 to 86 Years in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging

Best Time To Exercise Different For Men and Women

Exercise is a great way to keep fit and stay healthy but now a new study has determined that the time of day to exercise and get the best results are different for men and women. The research team at Skidmore College performed a study consisting of a 12-week exercise program. The participants were 27 women and 20 men ranging in age from 25-55 years old. Because of this large number, they were split into workout groups in the morning and evening.

The exercises performed were varied, ranging from resistance and endurance training, stretching and high intensity intervals. One workout group performed the exercises for one hour before 8:30 am. The other group performed the same exercises but in the evening between 6-10 pm. All of the participants followed a meal plan that was specially designed for them.

The researchers monitored each participants body fat and blood pressure during the study. Their aerobic power, strength and flexibility were tested at the beginning and end of the study.

All of the participants showed an improvement in their overall health and performance no matter what time period they exercised in. They all got leaner and stronger. But the researchers noted the results showed a difference between the morning and evening exercises. And also a difference between the results of men compared to the women.

The women that exercised in the morning showed a reduction in fat around their belly and their blood pressure improved. The women that exercised in the evening improved upper body muscle strength as well as their mood and food intake.

The time of day for exercising was shown to be less important for men exhibiting an increase in body strength from both morning and evening performance. But there was a significant improvement in heart and metabolic health as well as emotional wellbeing from the evening exercise.

The reason for the differences in mens and womens responses to the time of day exercises are performed are not clear yet. It could be women have more belly fat or maybe the bodies internal rhythms are influencing the outcome. More research will need to be done.

Depending on what a person is trying to achieve with exercise they may want to consider how what the time of day they exercise could benefit the outcome they want to achieve.

To view the original scientific study click below:
Morning Exercise Reduces Abdominal Fat and Blood Pressure in Women; Evening Exercise Increases Muscular Performance in Women and Lowers Blood Pressure in Men

An Avocado A Day Can Help Improve Cholesterol

While it has been known that eating avocados is good for you, there has now been a new study detailing how they can improve unhealthy cholesterol levels. This has been the most extensive and largest study to date on the overall effects of health by consuming avocados including the length of the study period and the large number of participants.

The research team conducted an experiment lasting 6 months which involved more than 1,000 participants who were obese or overweight. Half were asked to consume one avocado each day and the rest continued their typical diet and were told to not eat over 2 avocados per month. At the beginning and the end of the study, fat around the organs and around the abdomen were precisely measured using an MRI.

Although the avocados did not affect weight gain or belly fat, the study does provide evidence that avocadoes can be beneficial to diet quality. This is important due to the fact that it is known that a higher quality of diet is linked with a lower risk of a variety of diseases including type 2 diabetes, heart disease and some cancers.

Eating one avocado per day did not point to scientifically substantial improvements in abdominal fat and other cardiometabolic risk factors or an increase in weight gain, belly fat or waist circumference. This is significant because the calories from eating avocados were shown to not affect abdominal fat or body weight. In addition, total cholesterol decreased 2.9 mg/dl and LDL cholesterol decreased by 2.5 mg/dl.

The study determined that consuming an avocado every day did improve the quality of the participants diets by 8 points on a scale of 100 points.

The team has stated that in the future they plan on continuing analyzing data from the research. As an example, participants were not asked how to eat their avocado every day. A later study might investigate how participants incorporated their avocados into their diet and whether or not it would have any influence on their overall health benefits

To view the original scientific study click below:
Effect of Incorporating 1 Avocado Per Day Versus Habitual Diet on Visceral Adiposity: A Randomized Trial

New Treatment Increased Lifespan by 500% in Nematode Worms

Longevity research has commonly used a nematode worm called caenorhabditis elegans in studies. This is due to its genetic makeup being similar to humans and it has a relative short lifespan, usually 4 weeks or less. Earlier research to improve these worms lifespan resulted in various interesting outcomes by modifying their rapamycin and insulin signaling pathways, which resulted in a 30% and 100% increase in their lifespan, respectively. The researchers then wondered what would happen from modifications made to both of these pathways at the same time.

To find out the answer, international teams of scientists were organized which included researchers from the Buck Institute for Research on Aging and Nanjing University. They modified both the rapamycin and insulin pathways to a grouping of C.elegans worms expecting to see a 130% lifespan increase. But, to their surprise the worms lifespan increased by 500%.

So the question now is, could this have an effect on human regenerative medicine? Of course, humans and worms are different, but they do have similar biology. They both possess “conserved” pathways of insulin and rapamycin, which means that in both organisms these have been maintained. In earlier times, both C.elegans and humans have had a common ancestor, such as chimpanzees and humans have. But although evolution has changed humans bodies so much that C.elegans and humans have deviated from eachother, quite a bit of the fundamental biological functions have remained unchanged.

Therefore, if human rapamycin/insulin pathways were modified would it increase human lifespan? Simply put, we just cannot know what would happen yet. But, in other species such as mice, by modifying these pathways it has shown to affect lifespan in a positive way. Therefore, this conveys that the modifications are not only beneficial to just one species. From the knowledge we have, not including our intellectual capacity, the way our bodies function is basically no different than our close relatives in the animal kingdom. Maybe this will be how a human could reach a 400-year long lifespan. We will have to wait and see.

To view the original scientific study click below:
Translational Regulation of Non-autonomous Mitochondrial Stress Response Promotes Longevity

Damaged Stem Cells Restored by Nanoparticle Backpacks

Bioengineers have discovered a new strategy that can restore stem cells that have been damaged and also enable them to grow new tissues again. The novel drug delivery system might help infants who were born from pregnancies that were complicated.

In the umbilical cord of newborns lies potential stem cells that are life saving and can be used to fight diseases like leukemia and lymphoma. This is why a lot of new parents elect to “bank” their babies umbilical cord blood which is rich in stem cells. However, in the 6% to 15% of pregnancies that have been affected by gestational diabetes, parents do lack this option due to the condition which damages the stem cells and renders them useless.

At the heart of the new approach are specifically engineered nanoparticles. At only 150 nanometers in diameter, each spherical nanoparticle has the ability to store medicine and deliver it just to the stem cells themselves by directly attaching onto the surface of the stem cell. Because of their special formulation the particles will slowly release the medicine making it very effective even at doses that are low.

The process has been described like this – each stem cell is like a soldier and is effective and smart. It knows what to do and where to go. However, the soldiers that they are working with are weak and injured. Through providing them with the nanoparticle “backpack” they are giving them what they require to be able to work effectively again.

The primary test for the new stem cell backpack was whether or not they could form new tissues. The researchers tested the stem cells that were damaged without “backpacks” and found that they moved slowly and formed tissues that were imperfect. However, when they applied “backpacks” stem cells that had been previously damaged started to form new blood vessels. This happened both when implanted under the skin of mice in the lab and in synthetic polymers, two environments that are meant to copy the human body conditions.

It may be years before this new technique could reach health care settings, but it has cleared the path of any method that has been developed so far. Methods now that involve injection of the medicine directly into the bloodstream come with a variety of unwanted side effects and risks. However, the new technique used only materials and methods that have already been approved for clinical settings by the FDA.

The team leader attributes the success to a high interdisciplinary group of researchers between mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, medicine and biology.

The team hopes that their approach will be utilized to restore cells that have been damaged by other types of complications of pregnancies such as preeclampsia. Rather than discarding the stem cells, in the future the team hopes clinicians will have the ability to rejuvenate them and utilize them to regenerate the body.

To view the original scientific study click below:
Engineering bioactive nanoparticles to rejuvenate vascular progenitor cells

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