WASHINGTON
Eating less may keep the mind young, according to Italian scientists who say they have discovered the molecular process by which a strict diet may save the brain from the ravages of age.
The research, published in the U.S. journal the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is based on a study of mice that were fed a diet of about 70% of the food they normally consumed.
Scientists found the calorie-restricted diet triggered a protein molecule, CREB1, that activates a host of genes linked to longevity and good brain function.
“Our hope is to find a way to activate CREB1, for example through new drugs, so to keep the brain young without the need of a strict diet,” said lead author Giovambattista Pani, researcher at the Institute of General Pathology, Faculty of Medicine at the Catholic University of Sacred Heart in Rome.
Researchers have previously discovered that mice on diets showed better cognitive abilities and memory, less aggression, and tended to avoid or delay Alzheimer’s disease. But they have not known exactly why.
“CREB1 is known to regulate important brain functions as memory, learning and anxiety control, and its activity is reduced or physiologically compromised by aging,” said the study.
Mice that were genetically altered to lack CREB1 showed none of the same memory benefits if they were on a low-calorie diet as mice that had the molecule, and showed the same brain disabilities as mice that were overfed.
“Thus, our findings identify for the first time an important mediator of the effects of diet on the brain,” Pani said.
“This discovery has important implications to develop future therapies to keep our brain young and prevent brain degeneration and the aging process.”
According to Marc Gordon, chief of neurology at Zucker Hillside Hospital in Glen Oaks, New York, the findings could shed new light on why some people who are obese in middle age encounter cognitive problems later in life.
“Mid-life obesity has been associated with late-life dementia. However, the physiological basis for this association remains unclear,” said Gordon, who was not part of the study.
“These investigators have studied the effects of limiting caloric intake in mice, and have identified a biochemical pathway that may mediate at least some of the brain’s responses to dietary restriction.”
Refrence:Japan Today
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Single gene links rare cancers
WASHINGTON —
Canadian researchers have discovered that a common gene links a number of rare reproductive cancers, a finding that could lead to new approaches for treatment, said a study.
Ovarian, uterine and testicular cancer were all found to have the same mutation in a gene called DICER, said the research in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Scientists have known about DICER for many years, but its exact role in sparking tumor cells to grow has been unclear.
When the gene mutates, DICER’s function is changed “so that it participates directly in the initiation of cancer, but not in a typical ‘on-off’ fashion,” said co-author Gregg Morin, a lead scientist from the Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre at the British Columbia Cancer Agency.
“DICER can be viewed as the conductor for an orchestra of functions critical for the development and behavior of normal cells,” explained co-author Gregg Morin, a lead scientist from the Michael Smith Genome Sciences Center at the British Columbia Cancer Agency.
“The mutations we discovered do not totally destroy the function of DICER, rather they warp it—the orchestra is still there but the conductor is drunk.”
Researchers are examining whether DICER plays a role in other cancers, and will investigate if mutant DICER can be manipulated to treat the cancers it causes.
Ovarian cancer kills about 15,000 women in the United States each year, and about 22,000 new cases are diagnosed annually.
More than 46,000 cases of uterine cancer and 8,100 deaths arise each year in the United States. Testicular cancer is more rare, with 8,300 new cases per year and 350 U.S. deaths, according to the American Cancer Society.
“This breakthrough will be of interest to both the clinical and the fundamental science communities,” said Phillip Sharp, Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and co-winner of the 1993 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine for the discovery of the structure of genes.
“Huntsman, Morin and colleague’s very exciting discovery of specific mutations in DICER, a factor essential for syntheses of small regulatory RNAs in ovarian and other human tumors, could lead to new approaches to treatment.”
Refrence:Japan Today
Canadian researchers have discovered that a common gene links a number of rare reproductive cancers, a finding that could lead to new approaches for treatment, said a study.
Ovarian, uterine and testicular cancer were all found to have the same mutation in a gene called DICER, said the research in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Scientists have known about DICER for many years, but its exact role in sparking tumor cells to grow has been unclear.
When the gene mutates, DICER’s function is changed “so that it participates directly in the initiation of cancer, but not in a typical ‘on-off’ fashion,” said co-author Gregg Morin, a lead scientist from the Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre at the British Columbia Cancer Agency.
“DICER can be viewed as the conductor for an orchestra of functions critical for the development and behavior of normal cells,” explained co-author Gregg Morin, a lead scientist from the Michael Smith Genome Sciences Center at the British Columbia Cancer Agency.
“The mutations we discovered do not totally destroy the function of DICER, rather they warp it—the orchestra is still there but the conductor is drunk.”
Researchers are examining whether DICER plays a role in other cancers, and will investigate if mutant DICER can be manipulated to treat the cancers it causes.
Ovarian cancer kills about 15,000 women in the United States each year, and about 22,000 new cases are diagnosed annually.
More than 46,000 cases of uterine cancer and 8,100 deaths arise each year in the United States. Testicular cancer is more rare, with 8,300 new cases per year and 350 U.S. deaths, according to the American Cancer Society.
“This breakthrough will be of interest to both the clinical and the fundamental science communities,” said Phillip Sharp, Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and co-winner of the 1993 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine for the discovery of the structure of genes.
“Huntsman, Morin and colleague’s very exciting discovery of specific mutations in DICER, a factor essential for syntheses of small regulatory RNAs in ovarian and other human tumors, could lead to new approaches to treatment.”
Refrence:Japan Today
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