Tag Archives: sYDNEY

Clues to Brain Disorders in your Nose

Posted on by
1

SYDNEY – Olfactory stem cells, obtained from a patient’s nose, can provide vital clues about brain disorders like schizophrenia.

A Griffith University research team developed this technique to examine brain diseases based on the patient’s nose-derived stem cells.

Alan Mackay-Sim from the National Centre for Adult Stem Cell Research of Griffith University described it as a milestone because researchers could not obtain brain cells of patients suffering from brain diseases.

“Lack of patient-derived brain cells has blocked progress in understanding brain diseases compared to progress in understanding and treating cancers, based on cells from cancer patients,” Mackay-Sim said, according to a Griffith University statement.

Olfactory stem cells have many advantages over other stem cells sources as models for brain diseases, the journal Disease Models and Mechanisms reported.

“They can be obtained from a patient’s nose with a simple biopsy and the cells provide important information about both developmental and degenerative brain diseases,” it added.

“For brain diseases, research has relied on cells from other parts of the body which lack important features for understanding brain diseases, and post-mortem brain samples which are limited in supply and provide the endpoint of disease only,” it said.

Mackay-Sim’s team used olfactory stem cells from people with schizophrenia and Parkinson’s disease and compared them to stem cells from healthy people.

“This approach demonstrated disease-specific differences in the genes, proteins and cell-functions of those suffering from the brain disorders. It may also reveal important findings for other neurological conditions and help to develop new drugs,” he said.

Schizophrenia is a life-long mental illness affecting one percent of the world’s population. Parkinson’s disease is a degenerative neurological disorder affecting 0.1 percent of people.B

Consuming Junk Food Harms Brain Health

Posted on by
6

SYDNEY – Apart from being responsible for the flab on body, processed food also harms behavior and emotional health of children, suggests a new study.

The Telethon Institute for Child Health Research has linked diets high in these foods to a greater risk of behavior and emotional problems, as well as double the risk of having ADHD.

The two studies are based on data from around 1800 WA adolescents from all backgrounds, whose health has been tracked by the Institute since birth, showed that these problems were less among teens with a healthier style of eating.

“We’re showing a significant relationship between what children eat and their brain function, yet it’s not being taken seriously,” the Sydney Morning Herald quoted says Wendy Oddy, leader of nutrition studies at the Institute as saying.

“We don’t have enough promotion of fruit and vegetables, but you can walk through a supermarket and see whole aisles devoted to sweets, soft drinks and refined breakfast cereals,” said Oddy.

The research classified the children’s diets into two eating styles – a ‘healthy’ pattern high in fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains and fish, and a ‘Western’ diet higher in saturated fat, refined sugar and salt, with more takeaway foods, confectionery, processed, fried and refined foods.

“Omega 3 fats are an essential part of the nervous system and the theory is that when there’s not enough in the diet, brain function is affected.

“This is something the omega-3 industry has latched on to with fish oil, but I think this misses the point that some plant foods like nuts also contribute some of these omega -3 fats,” she said.

Other research has found that impulsive young adults are more likely to go for snack foods when they’re hungry, for instance, while feeling depressed or emotionally distressed can drive preferences for eating sweet carbohydrate or fatty foods.

There’s also a link between being overweight and being depressed, said Oddy.

“Because we’re seeing more overweight and obesity, I think we’ll see more depression, although I don’t know whether the depression comes first or the obesity.

“We also know that people who are overweight or obese have more inflammatory factors in their blood so it may be that this is having an effect on brain function,” she added.

Controlled Oxygen Therapy Slashes Death Rate among COPD Patients

Posted on by
11

SYDNEY – Controlled oxygen therapy can slash death rate among patients of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) by up to 78 percent.

COPD is a chronic lung disease that affects over 200 million people worldwide. It is characterized by breathing difficulties, a progressive, disabling and potentially fatal condition.

It is estimated up to be the fourth biggest killer of Australians, reports the British Medical Journal (BMJ).

Unlike asthma, COPD is not reversible with medications and it is most commonly found in people who have smoked cigarettes or been exposed to airborne irritants.

Menzies Research Institute Tasmania scientists have found the risk of death in patients with COPD significantly reduced by using controlled oxygen therapy instead of the standard approach of high concentration levels of oxygen, according to a Menzies release.

Senior study author and co-investigator, Associate Professor Wood-Baker says: Giving high concentration oxygen to patients with COPD, however, can lead to a buildup of carbon dioxide in the blood, which can lead to respiratory failure.

The study involved 405 patients aged 35 years and over, treated by 62 paramedics from the Tasmanian Ambulance Service and transported to a local hospital.

Overall, controlled oxygen therapy reduced the risk of death from respiratory failure by 58 percent for all patients and 78 percent for confirmed COPD patients, compared to high concentration oxygen therapy.