2 February, 2015

A hormone that improves insulin function found!

New York, Feb 1: A researcher has found that adropin, a hormone that regulates whether the body burns fat or sugar during feeding and fasting cycles, can improve insulin action in obese, diabetic mice. It suggests that the hormone may work as a therapy for type 2 diabetes. The study appeared in the journal Molecular Metabolism.

Adropin – a hormone regulating metabolic homeostasis

Andrew Butler, professor of pharmacological and physiological science at Saint Louis University in the US explains, ‘Adropin is a poorly understood hormone. We first reported its discovery a little over six years ago, but we really didn’t understand what it did. We knew it played a role in maintaining metabolic health, but we didn’t know much beyond that.’

He further added, ‘Our work suggests that adropin plays a role in regulating metabolic (energy) homeostasis.’

What the researchers find?

When the team measured adropin levels in mice, they were suppressed under fasting conditions and stimulated after feeding, suggesting functions related to the changes in metabolism that occur with feeding and fasting.

Basically, when you are well fed, your body prefers to use glucose and the release of adropin supports this change by enhancing the use of glucose as a metabolic fuel in muscle. ‘However, when you are fasting, your body prefers to use fatty acids. Our observations suggest that a decline in adropin with fasting may be a signal to ‘take the brakes off’ the use of fatty acids,’ he added.

Building on that work, the paper reports that low levels of the hormone observed in obesity may contribute to diabetes and the reduced ability of the body to use glucose. Butler describes the finding as an encouraging lead in the search for new treatments for impaired glucose tolerance.

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

02.02.2015

Human DNA holds clue to how long a person will live

Washington, Jan 31: How long does a person live? Researchers from the University of Edinburgh say that the answer to this question lies in their DNA. A group of scientists have identified that a biological clock in human DNA can tell a person’s longevity.

DNA methylation – How is it related to longevity?

The researchers at University of Edinburgh studied DNA methylation, a chemical modification of DNA (that takes place during the process of DND replication). This process occurs over a person’s lifetime and can help to predict an individual’s age when an individuals’ actual age is compared with their predicted biological clock age. The scientists   observed a pattern emerging on doing this process.

Although this modification does not change the DNA sequence, it plays a key role in the biological processes and also influences the genes activation and inhibition. The DNA methylation changes can affect many genes and it occurs throughout a person’s life. 

How were the results interpreted?

The results stated that people whose biological age was greater than their true age were more likely to die sooner than those whose biological and actual ages were the same. Even after accounting for other factors such as smoking, diabetes and cardiovascular disease, researchers found that the link between having a faster-running biological clock and early death held true.

Earlier studies vs the current study

Riccardo Marioni, a researcher said that the same results in four studies indicated a link between the biological clock and deaths from all the above listed causes. However, at present, it is not very clear about what factors (lifestyle or genetic) influence a person’s biological age. They have several follow-up study projects that are planned to investigate this matter in detail. 

Researcher Ian Deary said, ‘This research increases our understanding of longevity and healthy ageing, which is very exciting as it has identified a novel indicator of ageing. This study improves the prediction of lifespan over and above many contributory factors such as smoking, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.’

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

02.02.2015

It is possible to fail in many ways...while to succeed is possible only in one way

Aristole