Posted on Diabetes, Exercise

“Study Reveals Best Exercise for Diabetes Patients”

Exercise more effective than medicines to manage mental health

A new study has revealed the most effective types of exercise for individuals with type-1 diabetes.

“This study is significant because diabetic patients often lack the motivation to exercise to manage their condition,” explained Dr Pooya Soltani from Staffordshire University.

One reason for this is that physical activity can lead to drops in blood sugar, which can cause discomfort and demotivation. We investigated whether the type of physical activity could mitigate these blood sugar drops.

19 individuals with type 1 diabetes participated in two randomized trials to assess glycemic and cardiovascular responses following interval and continuous exercise.

Participants completed 30 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise on a treadmill. The interval session involved alternating 1-minute intervals at 40% and 60% of estimated maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max). The continuous exercise was performed at 50% of VO2max.

Heart rate, blood pressure, and blood glucose levels were measured before, immediately after, and 20 minutes after the sessions. Rates of perceived exertion and enjoyment levels were also assessed.

Similar cardiovascular, rates of perceived exertion, and enjoyment levels were found across genders and sessions. However, the research identified differences in blood glucose levels between male and female participants, with greater reductions in men.

Men exhibited higher blood glucose reductions immediately after and 20 minutes after continuous aerobic exercise, as well as immediately after interval exercise; on the other hand, women showed reduced blood glucose values only after continuous exercise.

The study findings indicate that considering gender-specific differences is crucial when prescribing exercise for type-1 diabetes patients. This is to prevent excessive glucose decreases that can lead to episodes of hypoglycemia.

Dr. Jorge Luiz de Brito-Gomes from Universidade Federal do Vale do São Francisco stated, “Our study demonstrated that for male patients, interval exercise, such as short bursts of walking, is preferable when starting with low blood sugar levels. On the other hand, continuous exercise, such as running, is more suitable for those with higher initial blood sugar levels. These approaches can help prevent sudden blood sugar drops.”

“For female patients, both interval and continuous aerobic exercise seem to be effective starting points. These findings suggest that gender-specific recommendations should be considered for aerobic exercise prescription, particularly for men with irregular physical activity levels.”

Posted on Autism

A study has confirmed the importance of screening in identifying autistic toddlers who were born prematurely.

Happy Children
Happy Children


New research published in Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology suggests that children born preterm have a higher likelihood of screening positive for autism compared to full-term children.

For the study, 9,725 toddlers were screened during well-child visits at 15, 18, or 24 months using a test called the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers, Revised.

The screening results showed that the highest percentage of positive autism cases was found in children born extremely preterm (51.35%), while the lowest percentage was found in those born full-term (6.95%). Further evaluations after a positive screening revealed autism diagnosis rates of 16.05% for extremely preterm births, 2.00% for very preterm births, 2.89% for moderately preterm births, and 1.49% for full-term births.

Using the screening test at unadjusted ages for early birth was effective in identifying autism. Only a small number of preterm children (1.90%) who screened positive did not receive a diagnosis of autism or other developmental delay following evaluation.

“With this research, we hope to address any doubts that clinicians may have about the usefulness of screening for autism in toddlers born prematurely,” said corresponding author Georgina Perez Liz, MD, of the AJ Drexel Autism Institute. “Low-cost, universal public health strategies such as screening can reduce disparities in autism detection and enable children on the spectrum to receive targeted interventions and support at an earlier stage in life.”

Posted on Diet

“Pesco-vegetarian diets are best for reducing the risk of death in the elderly.”

Pure vegetarian diets not as protective against certain neurological diseases in elderly
“Pure vegetarian diets may not provide as much protection against certain neurological diseases in the elderly.”

A study found that various vegetarian diets, especially pesco-vegetarian diets, including fish, contribute to lower mortality risk in elderly individuals.

Researchers at Loma Linda University Health have found that vegetarian diets are linked to a lower risk of all-cause mortality and many specific causes of mortality, especially among males and middle-aged individuals. However, there were slightly higher risks observed among very elderly vegetarians for neurological conditions such as stroke, dementia, and Parkinson’s Disease. Despite this, the pesco-vegetarian diet continued to provide a small but noticeable advantage over other vegetarian and non-vegetarian diets, even in elderly individuals.

Gary Fraser, MBChB, PhD, a distinguished professor at Loma Linda University School of Public Health and the principal investigator of the study, mentioned that while a vegetarian diet seems to provide protection from the risk of death through middle age, the overall advantage appears to diminish for those strictly adhering to a vegetarian diet once they reach their 80s.

“These increased risks of neurological conditions among vegetarians in their 80s weren’t huge. However, there is something going on that we shouldn’t ignore if we want the vegetarian advantage to continue for all vegetarians in their later years,” Fraser said.

The study “Cause-specific and all-cause mortalities in vegetarian compared to non-vegetarian participants from the Adventist Health Study-2 cohort” was published on August 2 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

The study utilized data from the Adventist Health Study-2, which included nearly 96,000 participants who were Seventh-day Adventists residing in the United States and Canada during the study’s baseline recruitment between 2002 and 2007, with follow-up through 2015. Over the years, data from this group has been used for numerous health, disease, and mortality studies. This specific study analyzed data from more than 88,000 participants, with approximately 12,500 deaths in the study cohort. Dietary data were collected through a questionnaire and grouped into five categories: non-vegetarian, semi-vegetarian, pesco-vegetarian, lacto-ovo-vegetarian, and vegan.

Fraser and his team discovered that Adventist vegetarians, as a whole, had a 12% lower risk of death compared to Adventist non-vegetarians. Participants following a pesco-vegetarian diet had an 18% lower risk of death, while those adhering to a lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet (including dairy and eggs) had a 15% lower risk of death. Overall, vegans had a less than 3% decreased risk of death, with male vegans showing better outcomes than non-vegetarians, unlike their female counterparts.

“Overall, this is some of the clearest data that American vegetarians are greater protected from premature death than non-vegetarians,” Fraser said.

Posted on Autism

Autism linked to neurotransmitter switching in the brain

Neurotransmitter switching

Neurobiologists have provided a new understanding of the origin of environmentally triggered autistic behavior. Credit Spitzer Lab, UC San Diego

Autism involve mild to severe impairment of social, behavioral and communication abilities. These disorders can significantly impact performance at school, in employment and in other areas of life. However, researchers lack knowledge about how these disorders emerge at early stages of development.

University of California San Diego neurobiologists have found evidence of altered development of the nervous system in mouse models of autism spectrum disorders. They linked environmentally induced forms of autism to changes in neurotransmitters, the chemical messengers that allow neurons to communicate with each other. They also discovered that manipulating these neurotransmitters at early stages of development can prevent the appearance of autistic-like behaviors.

“In seeking the root causes of autism spectrum disorder behaviors in the brain, we found an early change in neurotransmitters that is a good candidate to be the primary cause,” said School of Biological Sciences Professor Nicholas Spitzer of the Department of Neurobiology and Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind. “Getting a handle on the early events that trigger autism may allow development of new forms of intervention to prevent the appearance of these behaviors.”

Autism diagnoses have been ramping up in recent years, but how these disorders manifest at the critical cellular and molecular levels has not been well understood.

The study’s lead author, Assistant Project Scientist Swetha Godavarthi, and colleagues investigated neurotransmitter expression in the medial prefrontal cortex, a brain area often affected in individuals diagnosed with autism. They tested the hypothesis that changes in the type of neurotransmitter expressed by neurons in the prefrontal cortex could be responsible for a chemical imbalance that causes autism-like behaviors.

Previous studies had shown an increase in the incidence of autism in offspring when pregnant women had a heightened immune response or were exposed to certain drugs during the first trimester (environmental forms of autism ). The researchers reproduced autism in mice by administering mice in utero with these environmental agents. These agents caused the brief loss of the “GABA” neurotransmitter, which is inhibitory, and the gain of the “glutamate” neurotransmitter, which is excitatory, in neonatal mice. Although this GABA-to-glutamate transmitter switch reversed spontaneously after a few weeks, adult mice exhibited altered behaviors of repetitive grooming and diminished social interaction. Overriding this brief early transmitter switch in neonatal mice prevented the development of these autistic-like behaviors in adults.

“Driving expression of GABA in the neurons that have replaced GABA with glutamate prevents the appearance of stereotyped repetitive behavior and reduced social interaction,” said Spitzer. “These findings demonstrate that changing electrical activity and inappropriately exciting neurons at early stages of development can alter the assembly of the nervous system.”

Alterations in neurotransmitter expression at an early stage of development carry implications for other behavioral issues at later stages in life, since the rest of the nervous system is then built upon a platform of defective wiring, similar to a house constructed on an unstable foundation.

“Neurotransmitter switching can change the assembly of the nervous system and have a profound impact downstream,” said Spitzer.

The researchers say the new results are consistent with other evidence that altering signaling in the nervous system during the early stages of development can later carry negative consequences as the brain matures.

Posted on Diabetes, Diet

A study of two million people finds an association between red and processed meat consumption and a higher risk of type 2 diabetes.

Study published in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology finds meat consumption, particularly consumption of processed meat and unprocessed red meat, is associated with a higher type 2 diabetes risk, an analysis of data from 1.97 million participants
Study published in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology indicates that meat consumption, especially processed and unprocessed red meat, is linked to a higher risk of type 2 diabetes, based on an analysis of data from 1.97 million participants.

Meat production has risen sharply worldwide in recent decades, leading to excessive meat consumption in many countries, surpassing dietary recommendations. Previous studies suggested that consuming higher amounts of processed and unprocessed red meat is linked to an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, but the findings have been inconsistent and inconclusive.

Poultry such as chicken, turkey, or duck is often considered as an alternative to processed or unprocessed red meat, but fewer studies have examined the association between poultry consumption and type 2 diabetes.

The team of researchers at the University of Cambridge used the global InterConnect project to analyze data from 31 study cohorts in 20 countries in order to determine the association between consumption of processed meat, unprocessed red meat, poultry, and type 2 diabetes. Their comprehensive analysis considered factors such as age, gender, health-related behaviours, energy intake, and body mass index.

The researchers discovered that eating 50 grams of processed meat daily (equivalent to 2 slices of ham) is linked to a 15% higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes over the next 10 years. Additionally, consuming 100 grams of unprocessed red meat daily (equivalent to a small steak) was associated with a 10% higher risk of type 2 diabetes.

Please remember the following text:”Habitual consumption of 100 grams of poultry per day was initially linked to an 8% higher risk of developing certain health issues. However, when additional analyses were performed to test these findings in different situations, the connection with poultry consumption became less strong. Meanwhile, the links between type 2 diabetes and both processed and unprocessed meat remained consistent.”

Professor Nita Forouhi, a senior author on the paper, and from the Medical Research Council (MRC) Epidemiology Unit at the University of Cambridge, said:

“Our research provides the most comprehensive evidence to date of an association between consuming processed meat and unprocessed red meat and a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes in the future. This supports recommendations to limit the intake of processed and unprocessed red meat in order to reduce the number of type 2 diabetes cases in the population.”

While our findings offer more comprehensive evidence regarding the connection between poultry consumption and type 2 diabetes than was previously available, the link remains uncertain and requires further investigation.

Researchers at InterConnect used an approach that allowed them to analyze individual participant data from various studies, rather than being limited to published results. This enabled the authors to include up to 31 studies in their analysis, 18 of which had not previously published findings on the link between meat consumption and type 2 diabetes. By including this previously unpublished study data, the authors considerably expanded the evidence base and reduced the potential for bias from the exclusion of existing research.