Category Archives: Physiology

Physiology

Human Growth Hormone Treatment After ACL Injury May Prevent Loss of Muscle Strength – Michigan Medicine

After experiencing an ACL injury, many athletes find they cant return to play with the same vigor as before their injury. But, a new study, published in The American Journal of Sports Medicine, finds human growth hormone (HGH) treatment after ACL reconstructive surgery may prevent the loss of muscle strength in the knee.

While modern surgical techniques can reconstruct ACLs in a minimally invasive way, the associated muscle atrophy can be a greater challenge to overcome, says Asheesh Bedi, M.D., senior author of the study, chief of sports medicine and shoulder surgery at Michigan Medicine and director of the Michigan Center for Human Athletic Medicine and Performance (MCHAMP).

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Residual atrophy can slow or limit the safe return to the prior level of competition, and contribute to risk of re-injury and even arthritis.

HGH, a hormone within the body, helps cells and tissues grow and regenerate. HGH supplements are banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency, and in collegiate and professional sports.

When you hear of athletes taking HGH drugs when they are healthy, its considered doping because they are essentially trying to overproduce the hormone and bulk their muscles and tissues as a competitive advantage, says Christopher Mendias, Ph.D., ATC, the lead author of the study, an adjunct associate professor of orthopaedic surgery at Michigan Medicine and an associate scientist in the Arthritis and Tissue Degeneration Program at the Hospital for Special Surgery.

Bedi and Mendias hypothesized that administering HGH supplements to injured athletes may activate HGH within the body to target the ACL tear and prevent the knee muscles from losing strength.

Even after rehabilitation, many patients have muscles that are 30 to 40% weaker when they return to sports compared to their pre-surgery strength, Mendias says.

The researchers examined 19 male athletes, ages 18 to 35, with ACL tears who were scheduled for ACL reconstruction surgery at Michigan Medicine. The study participants were randomly assigned to self-inject HGH or a placebo solution into their lower abdominal muscles twice daily over a six-week period, beginning one week prior to surgery. The research team excluded collegiate, professional or elite athletes from the study because of the substance ban, as well as patients with diabetes, as developing type 2 diabetes is a side effect of HGH supplements.

Prescription HGH is only available for treating growth hormone deficiency syndromes and cant be used off-label without approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. By obtaining an investigational new drug exemption from the FDA, the research team was able to administer the drug to study enrollees.

Other Michigan Medicine faculty and graduate students contributing to the study include Tariq Awan, D.O., an assistant professor of orthopaedic surgery, Ariel Barkan, M.D., a professor of internal medicine, James Carpenter, M.D., a professor and former chair of orthopaedic surgery, Joel Gagnier, N.D., Ph.D., an associate professor of orthopaedic surgery, Jonathan Gumucio, Ph.D., a graduate student in molecular and integrative physiology, and Jon Jacobson, M.D., a professor of radiology. The multidisciplinary team assured a rigorous scientific approach and the highest level of safety to the study.

The research team found the HGH injections did appear to have an effect after measuring knee muscle strength and volume, patient-reported outcomes, such as pain and symptoms, and analyzing biomarkers in blood samples from the injured athletes versus individuals without an ACL tear.

While HGH did not appear to affect muscle volume or our patient-reported outcome scores, we found a 29% higher knee extension strength in our patients that had performed the HGH injections compared to those in the placebo group, Bedi says.

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Examining the blood analyses revealed other signs of muscle and cartilage change. Patients who performed the HGH treatments had a 2.1-fold increase in circulating insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1), a protein similar to insulin that plays an important role in muscle growth. In addition, their blood samples indicated a 36% lower level of matrix metalloproteinase3 (MMP3), an enzyme that breaks down proteins during growth processes in the body. MMP3 was an indirect biomarker of cartilage wear down in the study.

We observed a consistent reduction in MMP3 in the HGH group from the first through the 12th post-operative weeks, Mendias says. This finding suggests a potential protective effect of HGH after ACL reconstruction and that we should look more closely at its potential for cartilage healing in further studies.

Bedi and Mendias hope the results of this study allow for revisiting reevaluation of the World Anti-Doping Agency and sports agencies ban on HGH.

Perhaps athletes could petition for a Therapeutic Use Exception, which allows a banned substance for a medically-appropriate reason, to prevent loss of muscle strength after ACL reconstruction, Mendias says. Treatment occurs during a time when athletes are not playing due to their injuries. The goal is to prevent muscle weakness, not make athletes stronger than they were before their injuries. Any small performance-enhancing effects of human growth hormone seem to wear off quickly after stopping the medication, and does not offer a competitive advantage.

The research team notes that further studies into HGH are needed.

We hope to build upon this research with future studies that include larger cohorts of athletes with broader demographics, Bedi says.

Mendias adds, Further studies would also allow us to petition the FDA to approve the addition of orthopedic injuries as an on-label indication for the drug.

The study was supported by funding provided by the Mark Cuban Foundation and the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, a branch of the National Institutes of Health.

Paper cited: The Use of Recombinant Human Growth Hormone to Protect Against Muscle Weakness in Patients Undergoing Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction, The American Journal of Sports Medicine. DOI: 10.1177/0363546520920591.

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Human Growth Hormone Treatment After ACL Injury May Prevent Loss of Muscle Strength - Michigan Medicine

Physiology

Employees Share What They’re Cooking During the Pandemic – Duke Today

Like many of us, Lindsay Gordon-Faranda is spending more time in the kitchen during the coronavirus pandemic.

Gordon-Faranda and her husband Jon Faranda find themselves in the kitchen nearly every night trying out new recipes from Bon Apptit magazine. Theyve made focaccia bread, tofu and vegetable curry and roast chicken. A favorite: vegetable ramen, a dish of noodles, vegetables and eggs in a flavorful broth.

Jon and I went to Japan last year after years of planning, said Gordon-Faranda, senior public relations specialist for Duke Childrens Development. Cooking Japanese food and other cuisines has been a way to transport us while were stuck at home.

Many of us are cooking at home more than ever during these stressful times. Hunter Public Relations, a firm in New York City, Los Angeles and London that works with food, beverage and retail brands, published a study in April noting that 54 percent of Americans are cooking more than they did before the pandemic. Of course, cooking at home saves money and brings comfort. Home cooks have been busy documenting their creations using hashtags on social media such as COVIDCooking and QuarantineCooking.

Heres what some Duke employees are cooking at home during COVID-19.

Tiarra WadeAssistant Dean of Students, DukeReach

Tiarra Wade didnt let COVID-19 stop her tradition of making a bunny cake.

Ever since her 7-year-old daughter Amaya was born, Wade has made a cake and decorated it into the shape of a bunny for Easter.

Wade begins with two chocolate cakes. She slices one into the shape of ears and uses another for the bunnys face. Amaya then spreads her moms homemade buttercream on the cakes and sprinkles shredded coconut on the icing. Wade and Amaya top it off with jelly beans, sprinkles and Twizzlers for the face and bow-tie.

Its been really fun to watch my daughter get more involved with baking every year, Wade said. Ill always cherish our time together in the kitchen.

Rupal VoraSenior Associate for Contracts Management, Duke Clinical Research Institute

Rupal Vora has been creating her favorite restaurant meals at home.

Vora has made spinach lasagna, vegetarian tacos and grain bowls with corn, black beans and avocado. But her favorite meal has been a replication of her go-to dishes from the Indo-Chinese restaurant, Wok on Fire, in Cary.

Indo-Chinese dishes merge the spices and cooking techniques of Chinese and Indian cuisine.

Vora whipped up Hakka noodles, boiled noodles stir-fried with vegetables and sauces; vegetable Manchurian, minced vegetables that are formed into balls, fried and covered in a sweet or spicy sauce; and chili paneer, a stir-fried dish with Indian cheese.

These are all dishes I would normally pick-up as takeout, Vora said. Being at home has made me a more adventurous cook.

Matt ClouesDirector of Alumni and Leadership Giving, Duke Annual Fund

Matt Cloues favorite kitchen tool is his cast-iron skillet.

Cloues fries eggs, cooks strip steak and makes chicken pot pie topped with Pillsbury biscuits in the 10-inch skillet he bought five years ago.

If I was stranded on a desert island, I would take my skillet, Cloues said. I can cook almost anything on it.

In May, he made a skillet shepherds pie. The traditional British dish is a mix of ground beef, peas, carrots, green beans and mashed potatoes.

I think everyone is looking for little rays of sunshine right now, Cloues said. For better or worse, mine is cooking and eating.

Ginny LeeManager for Release of Information, Health Information Management Department of Duke Health System

Cooking has been a bonding experience for Ginny Lee and her 8-year-old daughter, Mary.

A few nights each week they turn off the TV, Lee leaves her phone behind and they gather in the kitchen to make pretzels, sourdough bread and, their favorite recipe so far, ravioli.

Lee made the ravioli dough using flour and eggs and filled the pasta with ricotta, parmesan and broccoli. Lee shaped the pasta using a stamping mold her grandmother, Virginia Beattie, gave her.

Its a great feeling to know the ravioli making was such a family process, Lee said. Its a way to remember my grandmother while creating new memories with my daughter.

Maggie NguyenBiostatistician, Duke Molecular Physiology Institute

Despite making cheesecakes and various cookies for friends and colleagues for years, Maggie Nguyen stayed away from bread.

I was intimated by the kneading, said Nguyen, referring to the process of working the dough with your hands to develop structure in the final product.

She found a way to bypass that step with a no-kneed Dutch oven bread recipe from The New York Times. Nguyen has made the bread three times during the pandemic. She eats it with homemade honey butter, makes a grilled cheese sandwich or tops it with tomatoes and olive oil for bruschetta.

My world will never be the same, Nguyen said. The bread is so delicious.

Ashley LunnProgram Coordinator for Disability Services and Program Management, Duke Divinity School

Ashley Lunns favorite meal during these challenging times came about by mistake.

Lunns husband went to the grocery store to pick up a chuck roast and came back with a 6-pound beef brisket. Lunn called her dad, who lives outside Dallas, for help.

Brisket is a big thing in Texas so I knew he would have some tips, Lunn said.

Lunns dad gave her a homemade recipe that required overnight seasoning and a 7-hour cooking process. The final product instantly became a family-favorite recipe.

Its a perfect dish to make when youre stuck in the house since it cooks for so long, Lunn said. It was so good that my husband went and bought another.

What are you cooking and baking while isolating? Let us know below:

Help share the proactive and extensive work being done by all Duke community members during the COVID-19 outbreak. Send ideas, shout-outs and photographs with ushereor write us atworking@duke.edu.

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Employees Share What They're Cooking During the Pandemic - Duke Today

Physiology

Blood test could predict diabetes years before it strikes – Newswise

Newswise Scientists have identified metabolites in the blood that accurately predict whether a woman will develop type 2 diabetes after experiencing a transient form of illness during pregnancy. This discovery could lead to a test that would help doctors identify patients at greatest risk and help them potentially avert the disease through interventions including diet and exercise.

The research was led by Michael Wheeler, a professor of physiology at U of T's Faculty of Medicine, in collaboration with Hannes Rst, an assistant professor of molecular genetics and computer science at the Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research, Feihan Dai, a research scientist of physiology and Erica Gunderson, a research scientist at the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Northern California. Mi Lai, a post-doctoral fellow in Wheeler's group performed much of the analyses.

"There is a metabolic dysregulation that occurs in the group of women that will go on to develop type 2 diabetes that is present in the early postpartum period, suggesting that there is an underlying problem that exists already and we can detect it," says Wheeler, who is also a senior scientist at Toronto General Hospital Institute at University Health Network.

The identified metabolic signature can predict with over 85 per cent accuracy if a woman will develop type 2 diabetes (T2D), as described in a study published in the journal Plos Medicine.

About one in 10 women will develop gestational diabetes (GD) during pregnancy which puts them at higher risk of T2D, with 30 to 50 per cent of these women developing the disease within 10 years after delivery. The disease hampers the body's ability to regulate blood sugar levels and can lead to serious complications including vision loss, neurological problems, as well as heart and kidney disease.

Women with GD are recommended to have an annual oral glucose tolerance test after delivery, which measures the body's ability to remove sugar from the bloodstream. But the procedure is time and labor consuming and fewer than half of the women follow through with it.

"If you've got a newborn at home one of the last things you are thinking about or have time for is your own health," says Wheeler. "This is one of the main reasons why we performed this study, to potentially develop a simple blood test reducing the number of hospital visits."

Wheeler and Gunderson first uncovered metabolic signatures predictive of T2D in their 2016 pilot study of 1033 women with GD Gunderson recruited for the Study of Women, Infant Feeding and Type 2 Diabetes After GDM Pregnancy (SWIFT), one of the largest and most diverse studies of its kind. All of the women delivered their babies at Kaiser Permanente Northern California hospitals between 2008 and 2011.

The new study builds on prior research, following the same cohort of women over a longer time period during which more women developed T2D.

Baseline blood samples were collected between six and nine weeks after birth and then twice over two years. The women's health was followed through their electronic medical records for up to 8 years. During this time, 173 women developed T2D and their blood samples were compared to 485 women enrolled in the study, matched for weight, age, race and ethnicity, who had not developed the disease.

"This study is unique as we are not simply comparing healthy people to people with advanced disease," says Rst, who holds Canada Research Chair in Mass Spectrometry-based Personalized Medicine and led the statistical data analysis. "Instead, we are comparing women who are clinically the same--they all had GD but are back to being non-diabetic post-partum.

"This is the holy grail of personalized medicine to find molecular differences in seemingly healthy people and predict which ones will develop a disease," says Rst.

Rst said that, unsurprisingly, sugar molecules feature prominently among the identified compounds. But amino-acids and lipid molecules are also present, indicating underlying issues in protein and fat metabolism, respectively. In fact, the predictive power of the test dropped if amino-acids and lipids were excluded, suggesting that processes beyond sugar metabolism may occur very early in the development of the disease. The finding may help explain why complications occur in T2D patients even when blood sugar is tightly controlled with medications.

The researchers hope to turn their discovery into a simple blood test that women could take soon after delivery, perhaps during an early visit to the doctor with their baby.

The women from the SWIFT study are being invited back for a 10-year follow-up visit, where they will be tested for T2D. "The information we glean from this study will bring us even closer to our goal of developing this blood test," says Gunderson.

"It will also help us to identify metabolic differences among race and ethnic groups that this test will need to take into account. The test is intended to help obstetricians and primary care providers identify the women with recent gestational diabetes who are most at risk for developing type 2 diabetes and to support them with breastfeeding and other healthful lifestyle habits during the first year postpartum that may reduce their risk."

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Blood test could predict diabetes years before it strikes - Newswise

Physiology

American Scientists Found COVID-19 Patients Who Have Recovered and Re-acquired Coronavirus Would Most Likely N – Science Times

As coronavirus continues to push scientists and medical experts, to find a cure, numerous new studies are being regularly birthed towards immunity. In America, two new studies emerged: an immune response experiment and a DNA vaccine protection study, both evaluating in rhesus macaques.

From Oregon Health and Science University, scientists tested 9 adult rhesus macaques with SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, and evaluated re-exposure the following month.

These primates have the closest physiology and immune systems to humans and therefore hold promising results in all kinds of vaccine testing against COVID-19.

However, Jacob Estes, one of the study's authors said that 'while these monkeys are a very good approximation of humans, they're not humans.' He goes on to explain that the genetic structure of humans contains more variables when it comes to severe diseases.

Studying the infection, the medical experts assessed immunity as well as pathology and virology.

All 9 subjects were evident with viral pneumonia, neutropenia, and lymphopenia with symptoms such as decreased appetite. However, they did not seem to experience respiratory distress, weight loss, nor mortality.

After 35 days of initial infection, the macaques were re-challenged with the same doses of SARS-CoV-2.

Evidence in their RNA showed lower rates of infection, as well as 'little or no clinical disease, was observed in the animals following rechallenge,' the study notes.

For humans, it could mean that patients who have recovered and re-acquire the virus would most likely not infect others and have low levels of COVID-19 antibodies.

The conclusion to the experiments records that individuals who have recovered from coronavirus typically develop antibody responses specific to the virus which provides 'robust protective immunity against re-exposure.'

Read Also:Canadian Nurse Tests Positive for COVID-19 8 Times Since March but Doctors Couldn't Explain Why

Despite hopeful progress, the researchers still noted that 'additional research will be required to define the durability of natural immunity.'

Sarah Henrickson from theChildren's Hospital of Pediatrics, Division of Allergy Immunologyin Pennsylvania conducted a study about human immunology history.

Henrickson states that 20 years ago when SARS-CoV caused its first worldwide epidemic, public health strategies contained the spread of the virus, 'without a successful vaccine or targeted therapy.'

She goes into depth of focusing on the behavioral patterns between the virus and its host during infection. However, the general focus of her study contains limitations on necessary data to understand how coronavirus affects human immunity,

There had also been other studies attempting to answer the question if re-infection is possible. Last week, a study challenged the timeline of immunity.

This is especially challenging since many people remain asymptomatic to the virus.

A study of reinfection on 10 male subjects from older forms of coronavirus was also conducted.

For 3 years, frequent reinfection would occur as early as 6 months after the previous infection, according to the study at the University of Amsterdam.

Reliable antibody testing is still necessary to help prevent the continuous spread of COVID-19.

Efforts include Oxford's new portable antibody testing device and their movements toward human trials for vaccines.

What remains uncertain is that without additional research, the rest of the world continues to wait for a definite answer to the question - when will humans have lasting immunity against coronavirus?

Read Also:Coronavirus Results in More Male Deaths, Yet Affect Women with Other Consequences

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American Scientists Found COVID-19 Patients Who Have Recovered and Re-acquired Coronavirus Would Most Likely N - Science Times

Physiology

Largest Scandals Ever Involving The Nobel Prize – World Atlas

The history of the Nobel Prize dates back to 1895, when Swedish industrialistand inventor Alfred Nobel created his will. Nobel set aside the largest part of his fortune to fund an annual award of five prizes for those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind.

Considered as the most prestigious intellectualachievement awards on the planet, Nobel Prizes were originally given for achievements in chemistry, literature, physiology or medicine, physics, and peace. In 1969, an additional Nobel Prize was added; the Sveriges Riksbank Prize inEconomicScience.

Though the Nobel Prize is an illustrious honor, not all of the circumstances surrounding its recipients have been completely honorable. There have been scandals associated with the award, and here are some of the most notable.

Fritz Haber was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1919 for creating the Haber-Bosch process. This invention allowed ammonia to be produced on a mass scale and helped create fertilizer, which supported agriculture and helped feed billions. However, this Polish inventor also helped developed chlorine gas into a chemical weapon, which was used in World War I.

German inventor Harald zur Hausen, received the 2008 Nobel physiology or medicine award for his discovery of human papilloma virus (HPV) as well as its link to cervical cancer. It was soon learned that the pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca sponsored the Nobel Prize website, and also produced HPV vaccines.

Adolf Hitler was involved in two Nobel scandals. He was nominated for a Nobel peace prize in 1939, and although it was done by a Swedish legislator as a joke, it backfired. The nomination was withdrawn after it had created quite an uproar.

The other scandal occurred in 1935 when German journalistCarl von Ossietzky was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Von Ossietzky had openly criticized Hitler, which angered the Nazi leader. Hitler then barred Germans from accepting any Nobel Prizes, and created the countrys own German National Prize for Art and Science.

Critics feel that former U.S. President Barack Obama was awarded his Nobel Peace Prize too early. He was just nine months into his first term when he received it in 2009. Some felt it was too premature; Brian Becker, national coordinator of Act Now To Stop War and End Racism, said that the award equaled giving Obama the you are not George W. Bush award. Geir Lundestad, former director of the Nobel Institute, wrote in his 2015 autobiography that the Nobel committee felt that the award would strengthen the president, yet this did not seem to happen.

This revered Indian political activist battled racial discrimination in South Africa, was instrumental in pushing through the 1914 Indian Relief Act, and was the main person responsible for India achieving their independence. Nonetheless, Gandhi was shortlisted five times for a Nobel Prize but was never awarded one. Some believe that this was because the committee had a Euro-centric viewpoint and did not appreciate Indias struggles for its freedom.

The Palestine Liberation Organizations (PLO) leaderYasser Arafat won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994, sharing it with Israeli leaders Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres. This was given for their achievements on the Oslo Accords, which was a main component of the Palestine and Israel peace process. It was controversial because Arafat was also head of Fatah, the PLO group that was involved in acts of terrorism.

From 1901 to2019, theNobel Prizesand thePrizesin Economic Sciences have been awardedto 597 times to 950 people and organizations. Out of these, only 54 women have won, with Marie Curie being honored twice. One example of this gender discrepancy is the omission of Jocelyn Bell Burnell. She discovered pulsars back in 1967, and published a paper with Antony Hewish, her advisor. In 1974, Hewish and one other colleague, Martin Ryle, received the 1974 Nobel Prize for Physics. Bell Burnell was left out.

Alfred Nobel may have founded the awards, but he also invented explosives, including dynamite. This sullied his reputation, and he was once referred to as The merchant of death by a French newspaper, which had mistakenly printed his obituary. The article also stated that he became wealthy by finding ways to kill more people faster than ever before. This story could have been the impetus that led him to create the awards, as a way to return honor to his name.

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Largest Scandals Ever Involving The Nobel Prize - World Atlas

Physiology

Social determinants of health and survival in humans and other animals – Science Magazine

Social animals need connection

Much research over the past decade or so has revealed that health and lifespan in humans, highly social animals, are reduced with social adversity. We humans are not the only animals that are social, however, and similar research has shown that other social mammals are similarly influenced by isolation and adversity. Snyder-Mackler et al. reviewed the relationships between social environment and many aspects of health and well-being across nonhuman mammals and investigated the similarities between these and patterns in humans. They found many of the same threats and responses across social mammals.

Science, this issue p. eaax9553

The social environment shapes human health, producing strong relationships between social factors, disease risk, and survival. The strength of these links has drawn attention from researchers in both the social and natural sciences, who share common interests in the biological processes that link the social environment to disease outcomes and mortality risk. Social scientists are motivated by an interest in contributing to policy that improves human health. Evolutionary biologists are interested in the origins of sociality and the determinants of Darwinian fitness. These research agendas have now converged to demonstrate strong parallels between the consequences of social adversity in human populations and in other social mammals, at least for the social processes that are most analogous between species. At the same time, recent studies in experimental animal models confirm that socially induced stress is, by itself, sufficient to negatively affect health and shorten life span. These findings suggest that some aspects of the social determinants of healthespecially those that can be modeled through studies of direct social interaction in nonhuman animalshave deep evolutionary roots. They also present new opportunities for studying the emergence of social disparities in health and mortality risk.

The relationship between the social environment and mortality risk has been known in humans for some time, but studies in other social mammals have only recently been able to test for the same general phenomenon. These studies reveal that measures of social integration, social support, and, to a lesser extent, social status independently predict life span in at least four different mammalian orders. Despite key differences in the factors that structure the social environment in humans and other animals, the effect sizes that relate social status and social integration to natural life span in other mammals align with those estimated for social environmental effects in humans. Also like humans, multiple distinct measures of social integration have predictive value, and in the taxa examined thus far, social adversity in early life is particularly tightly linked to later-life survival.

Animal models have also been key to advancing our understanding of the causal links between social processes and health. Studies in laboratory animals indicate that socially induced stress has direct effects on immune function, disease susceptibility, and life span. Animal models have revealed pervasive changes in the response to social adversity that are detectable at the molecular level. Recent work in mice has also shown that socially induced stress shortens natural life spans owing to multiple causes, including atherosclerosis. This result echoes those in humans, in which social adversity predicts increased mortality risk from almost all major causes of death.

Although not all facets of the social determinants of health in humans can be effectively modeled in other social mammals, the strong evidence that some of these determinants are shared argues that comparative studies should play a frontline role in the effort to understand them. Expanding the set of species studied in nature, as well as the range of human populations in which the social environment is well characterized, should be a priority. Such studies have high potential to shed light on the pathways that connect social experience to life course outcomes as well as the evolutionary logic that accounts for these effects. Studies that draw on the power and tools afforded by laboratory model organisms are also crucial because of their potential for identifying causal links. Important research directions include understanding the predictors of interindividual and intersocietal differences in response to social adversity, testing the efficacy of potential interventions, and extending research on the physiological signatures of social gradients to the brain and other tissues. Path-breaking studies in this area will not only integrate results from different disciplines but also involve cross-disciplinary efforts that begin at study conception and design.

Social adversity is closely linked to health and mortality outcomes in humans, across the life course. These observations have recently been extended to other social mammals, in which social integration, social status, and early-life adversity have been shown to predict natural life spans in wild populations and molecular, physiological, and disease outcomes in experimental animal models.

The social environment, both in early life and adulthood, is one of the strongest predictors of morbidity and mortality risk in humans. Evidence from long-term studies of other social mammals indicates that this relationship is similar across many species. In addition, experimental studies show that social interactions can causally alter animal physiology, disease risk, and life span itself. These findings highlight the importance of the social environment to health and mortality as well as Darwinian fitnessoutcomes of interest to social scientists and biologists alike. They thus emphasize the utility of cross-species analysis for understanding the predictors of, and mechanisms underlying, social gradients in health.

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Social determinants of health and survival in humans and other animals - Science Magazine

Physiology

Voice of the People: Kent State was and is a quality university – Akron Beacon Journal

SundayMay24,2020at12:01AM

I read with interest the May 4 Memories column of Terry Walrath on April 26th. I wondered how he came up with the conclusions that Kent State was academically poor, and that students only went there because it was cheap and they couldnt get into other schools. I attended Kent in the 60s, earning a bachelors and masters degree. I was an all-MAC quarterback. I graduated and played for the Cleveland Browns and Minnesota Vikings. My degrees allowed me to further my education at The Ohio State University, where I earned a Ph.D. in physiology. I then taught physiology at the University of Akron, where I had a wonderful 50-year career. This is what my education at Kent gave to me

I am not only thankful for my Kent education, Im proud of my degrees and Kent. It provided all the tools I needed to succeed. I made many lifelong friends there and they are all happy and successful. You can see why I was appalled by Walraths characterization.

Richard Mostardi, Ph.D., Ravenna

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Voice of the People: Kent State was and is a quality university - Akron Beacon Journal

Physiology

Researchers Identify a Potential ‘Thinness’ Gene That Stops Mice Putting on Weight – ScienceAlert

Although scientists don't fully understand it yet, and it varies from person to person, there is a link between genetics and obesity as you've probably figured out if you've got friends who can eat whatever they like while remaining thin.

Now new research has identified one gene that could play a role. It's called ALK (Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase), and mutations in this gene have previously been linked to certain cancers, and identified as drivers of tumour growth.

The latest study found two particular ALK variations showing up in thin, low BMI individuals - but not in individuals of normal weight. The analysis looked at the DNA of 47,102 people aged 20 to 44 years old, taken from Estonia's 'biobank', a biological database collected from a large percentage of the Estonian population.

"We wanted to understand why," says medical geneticist Josef Penninger, from the University of British Columbia in Canada. "Most researchers study obesity and the genetics of obesity. We just turned it around and studied thinness, thereby starting a new field of research."

In follow-uptests on mice and Drosophila fruitflies, animalsthat had the ALKgene turned off stayed thinner than normal even when the mice were fed what the researchers described to CNN as "a McDonald's diet".

Further tests showed that the mice without the ALK gene had lower than normal body weight and levels of body fat.

Of course correlation isn't causation. But the researchers suggest that the gene, which is highly expressed in the brain, plays a role in telling bodies how much fat to burn and how to use its energy stores.

Still, for now all we've shown is that this direct link exists in fruit flies and mice, not humans. Despite extensive research into the gene's involvement in cancer, our understanding of the ALK gene's role in human physiology remains largely unclear.

But one promising aspect of the discovery is that scientists already know how to inhibit ALK in humans because of its role in cancer development, so testing the link further is doable.

"If you think about it, it's realistic that we could shut down ALK and reduce ALK function to see if we did stay skinny," says Penninger.

"ALK inhibitors are used in cancer treatments already. It's targetable. We could possibly inhibit ALK, and we actually will try to do this in the future."

Further studies are also going to need to take a closer look at how the ALK gene operates in the brain: how it potentially balances metabolism and leads to a skinnier body shape at a molecular level.

Even if a clear link between ALK mutations and a resistance to weight gain is established, it's probably going to only be part of a much larger mix of genetic factors as previous research has hinted at.

While the biobank data and tests on mice and flies are a good starting point at solving the mystery link between genetics and thinness, scientists are going to need a lot more data in the future before we can figure out what's really happening here.

"You learn a lot from biobanks," says Penninger. "But, like everything, it's not the ultimate answer to life, but they're the starting points and very good points for confirmation, very important links and associations to human health."

The research has been published in Cell.

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Researchers Identify a Potential 'Thinness' Gene That Stops Mice Putting on Weight - ScienceAlert

Physiology

Blood test could predict diabetes years before it strikes – Science Codex

Scientists have identified metabolites in the blood that accurately predict whether a woman will develop type 2 diabetes after experiencing a transient form of illness during pregnancy. This discovery could lead to a test that would help doctors identify patients at greatest risk and help them potentially avert the disease through interventions including diet and exercise.

The research was led by Michael Wheeler, a professor of physiology at U of T's Faculty of Medicine, in collaboration with Hannes Rst, an assistant professor of molecular genetics and computer science at the Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research, Feihan Dai, a research scientist of physiology and Erica Gunderson, a research scientist at the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Northern California. Mi Lai, a post-doctoral fellow in Wheeler's group performed much of the analyses.

"There is a metabolic dysregulation that occurs in the group of women that will go on to develop type 2 diabetes that is present in the early postpartum period, suggesting that there is an underlying problem that exists already and we can detect it," says Wheeler, who is also a senior scientist at Toronto General Hospital Institute at University Health Network.

The identified metabolic signature can predict with over 85 per cent accuracy if a woman will develop type 2 diabetes (T2D), as described in a study published in the journal Plos Medicine.

About one in 10 women will develop gestational diabetes (GD) during pregnancy which puts them at higher risk of T2D, with 30 to 50 per cent of these women developing the disease within 10 years after delivery. The disease hampers the body's ability to regulate blood sugar levels and can lead to serious complications including vision loss, neurological problems, as well as heart and kidney disease.

Women with GD are recommended to have an annual oral glucose tolerance test after delivery, which measures the body's ability to remove sugar from the bloodstream. But the procedure is time and labor consuming and fewer than half of the women follow through with it.

"If you've got a newborn at home one of the last things you are thinking about or have time for is your own health," says Wheeler. "This is one of the main reasons why we performed this study, to potentially develop a simple blood test reducing the number of hospital visits."

Wheeler and Gunderson first uncovered metabolic signatures predictive of T2D in their 2016 pilot study of 1033 women with GD Gunderson recruited for the Study of Women, Infant Feeding and Type 2 Diabetes After GDM Pregnancy (SWIFT), one of the largest and most diverse studies of its kind. All of the women delivered their babies at Kaiser Permanente Northern California hospitals between 2008 and 2011.

The new study builds on prior research, following the same cohort of women over a longer time period during which more women developed T2D.

Baseline blood samples were collected between six and nine weeks after birth and then twice over two years. The women's health was followed through their electronic medical records for up to 8 years. During this time, 173 women developed T2D and their blood samples were compared to 485 women enrolled in the study, matched for weight, age, race and ethnicity, who had not developed the disease.

"This study is unique as we are not simply comparing healthy people to people with advanced disease," says Rst, who holds Canada Research Chair in Mass Spectrometry-based Personalized Medicine and led the statistical data analysis. "Instead, we are comparing women who are clinically the same--they all had GD but are back to being non-diabetic post-partum.

"This is the holy grail of personalized medicine to find molecular differences in seemingly healthy people and predict which ones will develop a disease," says Rst.

Rst said that, unsurprisingly, sugar molecules feature prominently among the identified compounds. But amino-acids and lipid molecules are also present, indicating underlying issues in protein and fat metabolism, respectively. In fact, the predictive power of the test dropped if amino-acids and lipids were excluded, suggesting that processes beyond sugar metabolism may occur very early in the development of the disease. The finding may help explain why complications occur in T2D patients even when blood sugar is tightly controlled with medications.

The researchers hope to turn their discovery into a simple blood test that women could take soon after delivery, perhaps during an early visit to the doctor with their baby.

The women from the SWIFT study are being invited back for a 10-year follow-up visit, where they will be tested for T2D. "The information we glean from this study will bring us even closer to our goal of developing this blood test," says Gunderson.

"It will also help us to identify metabolic differences among race and ethnic groups that this test will need to take into account. The test is intended to help obstetricians and primary care providers identify the women with recent gestational diabetes who are most at risk for developing type 2 diabetes and to support them with breastfeeding and other healthful lifestyle habits during the first year postpartum that may reduce their risk."

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Blood test could predict diabetes years before it strikes - Science Codex

Physiology

Phil Neville says menstrual cycle is not taboo for England and FA any longer – The Telegraph

Phil Neville has identified the progress that the England set-up has made around the menstrual cycle as the key development during his reign as head coach, with the subject no longer taboo among the national team.

Neville also said his time as in charge has taught him the importance of employing bespoke programmes for womens football, covering both the physical and psychological aspects of players preparations.

The former Manchester United and Everton defender, who last month revealed he would leave his role with the national team in July next year, said the Football Association is already developing just such a model.

Weve made subjects like that a not taboo subject any more, he said. Its part and parcel of a female and within our Lioness group now, its not a taboo subject fo rmale or female staff. It affects performance and can enhance performance and once we accept that, Thats where weve made great strides.

Neville hailed the big impact that Dawn Scott has had on the England set-up since joining as senior physical performance manager last November. He praised Scott for introducing a system, ahead of the SheBelieves Cup in March, in which Englands players menstrual cycles were monitored.

Speaking to the Oxford Union podcast, Neville revealed his increased knowledge of female physiology and the workings of the female body had helped shape his vision for the womens game going forward. There needs to be a bespoke model for the physical side, the mental side, in terms of the preparation, you cant just put them both together, males and females, and say one shop fits all, he said.

Ive learnt that over the last two years and I learnt very quickly that from a physiological side, we need bespoke models for female athletes and female footballers. I think what were doing at the FA now, were developing that bespoke model.

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Phil Neville says menstrual cycle is not taboo for England and FA any longer - The Telegraph