Blood and urine tests to indicate autism in children

Autism spectrum disorders ASDs are defined as developmental disorders mainly affecting social interaction and they can include a wide spectrum of behavioural problems like-speech disturbances, repetitive or compulsive behaviour, hyperactivity, anxiety, and difficulty to adapt to new environments, some with or without cognitive impairment. Since there is a wide range of ASD symptoms diagnosis can be difficult and uncertain at the early stages of development.

The research team which is based at the University's Warwick Medical School involves academics at the University of Warwick's Warwick Systems Biology group, the University of Birmingham, the University of Bologna, the Institute of Neurological Sciences, Bologna, and the Don Carlo Gnocchi Foundation ONLUS. They found a link between ASD and damage to proteins in blood plasma by oxidation and glycation-processes where reactive oxygen species (ROS) and sugar molecules spontaneously modify proteins.

They found the most reliable of the tests they developed was examining protein in blood plasma where, when tested, children with ASD were found to have higher levels of the oxidation marker dityrosine (DT) and certain sugar-modified compounds called "advanced glycation endproducts" (AGEs). Genetic causes have been found in 30-35% of cases of ASD and the remaining 65-70% of cases are thought to be caused by a combination of environmental factors, multiple mutations, and rare genetic variants. However the research team also believe that the new tests could reveal yet to be identified causes of ASD.

The team's research also confirmed the previously held belief that mutations of amino acid transporters are a genetic variant associated with ASD. The Warwick team worked with collaborators at the University of Bologna, Italy, who recruited locally 38 children who were diagnosed as having with ASD (29 boys and nine girls) and a control group of 31 healthy children (23 boys and eight girls) between the ages of five and 12. Blood and urine samples were taken from the children for analysis.

They discovered that there were chemical differences between the two groups. Working with a further collaborator at the University of Birmingham, the changes in multiple compounds were combined together using artificial intelligence algorithms techniques to develop a mathematical equation or "algorithm" to distinguish between ASD and healthy controls. The outcome was a diagnostic test better than any method currently available.
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Immune signature predicts asthma susceptibility

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease driven by the interplay of genetics, environmental factors and a diverse cast of immune cells. Researchers at La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology (LJI) identified a subset of T cells, whose frequency serves as early childhood immune signature that predicts the risk of developing asthma later on.

Children who, at the age of one, had a higher frequency of MAIT cells appear to be less likely to develop asthma by the age of seven. Consistent with the "hygiene hypothesis," which holds that increased microbial exposure in the first years of life is protective for asthma, the team's findings also indicate that the presence of house dust components that stimulate the innate immune system decreases asthma risk.

Unlike conventional T cells, which belong to the adaptive arm of the immune response and take a few days before they are fully trained on a single, specific protein fragment or peptide antigen, MAIT and iNKT cells recognize molecular components common to many microbes. The team analyzed the frequency of different types of immune cells in blood collected from 110 one year-old study participants, the presence of immune-stimulatory components in the subjects' house dust and asked whether any of the factors correlated with an increased of asthma at age seven.

Certain immune signatures such as having more MAITs that are protective in humans MAIT cells are unique in that they are borne to make gamma interferon, which could help skew the immune system toward an asthma-protective. And while the absolute numbers of iNKT cells had no bearing on asthma risk, the iNKT cell antigenic content in house dust from subjects' houses did. iNKT activity reflects a home environment with increased microbe exposure and prevents asthma.
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Symdeko for treating cystic fibrosis

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Symdeko (ivacaftor/tezacaftor tablets and ivacaftor tablets) for treating the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis (CF) in people ages 12 and older who have two copies of the F508del mutation in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene or who have at least one mutation that is responsive to tezacaftor/ivacaftor.

Do not take Symdeko if you take certain medicines or herbal supplements such as: antibiotics such as rifampin (Rifamate, Rifater) or rifabutin (Mycobutin) seizure medicines such as phenobarbital, carbamazepine (Tegretol, Carbatrol, Equetro), or phenytoin (Dilantin, Phenytek)

Symdeko consists of 2 different tablets. The yellow tablet is marked with ‘V100’ and contains the medicines tezacaftor and ivacaftor. Take one yellow tablet in the morning. The light blue tablet is marked with ‘V150’ and contains the medicine ivacaftor. Take one light blue tablet in the evening. Take the yellow tablet and the light blue tablet about 12 hours apart.

Always take Symdeko with food that contains fat. Foods like egg, butter, peanut butter, cheese, pizza, and whole-milk dairy products such as whole milk, cheese, and yogurt. If you miss a dose and it is six hours or less from the time you usually take the yellow tablet in the morning or the light blue tablet in the evening, take the missed dose with food that contains fat as soon as you can. Then take your next dose at your usual time and it is more than six hours from the time you usually take the yellow tablet in the morning or the light blue tablet in the evening, do not take the missed dose. Take your next dose at the usual time with food that contains fat. Do not take more than usual dose to make up for a missed dose.

Symdeko can cause dizziness in some people who take it. Do not drive a car, use machinery, or do anything that needs you to be alert until you know how Symdeko affects you. Avoid food or drink that contains grapefruit or Seville oranges while you are taking Symdeko. It can cause serious side effects, including: high liver enzymes in the blood.

Call your doctor right away if you have any of the following symptoms of liver problems:pain or discomfort in the upper right stomach (abdominal) area, yellowing of your skin or the white part of your eyes, loss of appetite, nausea or vomiting, dark amber-colored urine. Abnormality of the eye lens (cataract) in some children and adolescents treated with Symdeko or treated with ivacaftor alone. If you are a child or adolescent, your doctor should perform eye examinations before and during treatment to look for cataracts. The most common side effects include: headache, nausea, sinus congestion and dizziness.
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HPV may hide in the throat

Human papilloma virus (HPV), that causes cervical cancer and some forms of head and neck cancer may hide in small pockets on the surface of tonsils in people not known to carry the virus. The finding, reported by University of Rochester Medical Center researchers in the Journal of the American Medical Association, could be pivotal for the prevention of oropharyngeal cancers that form on the tonsils and tongue.

By mid-adulthood, most people have been exposed to HPV. The same strains that cause cervical cancer (mainly HPV 16 and 18) cause head and neck cancers. While verified tests exist to detect HPV in people before they develop cervical cancer, the same is not true for HPV-related head and neck cancers, which are expected to outnumber cervical cancer.

Only about five percent of HPV-infected people will develop cancer of the mouth or throat, suggesting most people's immune systems can easily hold back HPV infections. Matthew Miller, M.D., associate professor of Otolaryngology and Neurosurgery at URMC believes the answer lies is biofilms - thin, slimy sheets of bacteria. He and his colleagues found HPV encased in biofilms inside pockets on the tonsil surface, called tonsil crypts, which is where HPV-related head and neck cancers often originate.

Researchers studied tissue samples from 102 patients who had elective tonsillectomies. Five of those samples contained HPV and four contained high risk strains, HPV 16 and 18. In every case, HPV was found in tonsil crypts biofilms. They believes HPV is shed from the tonsil during an active infection and gets trapped in the biofilm, where it may be protected from immune attack. In the crypts, the virus likely lays in wait for an opportunity to reinstate infection or invade the tonsil tissue to develop
cancer.

Lack of universal HPV immunization and the potential for the virus to evade the immune system even in individuals with detectable HPV in their blood, our findings could have far-reaching implications for identifying people at risk of developing HPV-related head and neck cancers and ultimately preventing them.
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Links between gum disease and cancer

Data collected during a long-term health study provides additional evidence for a link between increased risk of cancer in individuals with advanced gum disease, according to a new collaborative study led by epidemiologists Dominique Michaud at Tufts University School of Medicine and Elizabeth Platz of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Kimmel Cancer Center.

Researchers used data from comprehensive dental exams performed on many participants from Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, and North Carolina, as part of their participation in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study who were then followed from the late 1990s until 2012.

 During the follow-up period, 1,648 new cancer cases were diagnosed. The research team found a 24 percent increase in the risk of developing cancer among participants with severe periodontitis, compared to those with mild to no periodontitis at baseline.

Among patients who had no teeth-which can be a sign of severe periodontitis, the increase in risk was 28 percent. The highest risk was observed in cases of lung cancer, followed by colorectal cancer. When the researchers did sub-group analyses, they found that participants with severe periodontal disease had more than double the risk of developing lung cancer, compared with no periodontitis.

An 80 percent increase in risk of colon cancer observed for participants who were edentulous at baseline, which is consistent with prior findings, and among never smokers, a two-fold higher risk was noted for participants with severe periodontitis, compared to those who had no periodontitis.

The research team accounted for the impact of smoking among the participants, since people who smoke are more likely to get periodontal disease, and smoking raises the risk of lung and colon cancers. Looking at data for the people who had never smoked, they also found evidence that having severe periodontal disease was related to an increased risk of lung cancer and colorectal cancer.

The researchers found no links between increased risk of breast, prostate or blood/lymphatic cancer and periodontitis. The link between periodontitis and increased cancer risk was weaker or not apparent in African-American participants from the ARIC study, except in cases of lung and colorectal cancer. Advanced gum disease-periodontitis, is caused by bacterial infection that damages the soft tissue and bone that support the teeth.
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Exercise prevents heart aging

Exercise can reverse damage to sedentary, aging hearts and prevent risk of future heart failure. To reap the most benefit, the exercise regimen should begin by late middle age (before age 65), when the heart apparently retains some plasticity and ability to remodel itself, according to the findings by researchers at the Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine (IEEM), which is a collaboration between UT Southwestern Medical Center and Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas.

The exercise needs to be performed four to five times a week. Two to three times a week was not enough, the researchers found in an earlier study. Based on a series of studies performed the team over the past 5 years.Sedentary aging can lead to a stiffening of the muscle in the heart's left ventricle, the chamber that pumps oxygen-rich blood back out to the body. When the muscle stiffens, you get high pressure and the heart chamber doesn't fill as well with blood. In its most severe form, blood can back up into the lungs. That's when heart failure develops.

Earlier research by UT Southwestern cardiologists showed that left ventricular stiffening often shows up in middle age in people who don't exercise and aren't fit, leaving them with small, stiff chambers that can't pump blood as well. However, the researchers also found that the heart chamber in competitive masters-level athletes remains large and elastic, and that even four to five days of committed exercise over decades is enough for noncompetitive athletes to reap most of the benefit.
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DNA test for breast cancer

Scientists have developed a DNA test that may diagnose fatal breast cancer one year earlier than current methods. Changes in a part of DNA, which the researchers named EFC#93, suggests early warning signs of life-threatening breast cancer. These changes occur in patients' blood before their cancer becomes detectable in their breast tissue.

 A study revealed among women who have EFC#93 in their blood, 43 per cent were diagnosed with a life-threatening form of breast cancer three-to-six months later, while 25 per cent were diagnosed within six-to-12 months.

Markers such as EFC#93 provide a highly specific indicator that could diagnose fatal breast cancers up to one year in advance of current diagnosis.  This may enable individualised treatment, which could even begin in the absence of radiological evidence in the breast.

The researchers analysed EFC#93 in blood samples from breast cancer patients taken both after surgery but before chemotherapy and once chemotherapy was complete. They demonstrated DNA change in samples taken before chemotherapy as a marker for poor prognosis even if cancer cells are not yet circulating in the body.

 To assess whether EFC#93 can diagnose women with a poor prognosis earlier, the researchers then analysed samples of 925 healthy women, of which 229 went on to develop life-threatening breast cancer, while 231 got non-fatal forms of the disease within three years.
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Kidney disease increases the risk of diabetes

Diabetes is known to increase the risk of kidney disease, kidney dysfunction also increases the risk of diabetes. The two-way relationship between kidney disease and diabetes is urea. The nitrogen-containing waste product in blood comes from the breakdown of protein in foods.

Kidneys normally remove urea from the blood, but it can build up when kidney function slows down. The findings are significant because urea levels can be lowered through medication, diet-for example, by eating less protein-and other means, thereby allowing for improved treatment and possible prevention of diabetes.

When urea builds up in the blood because of kidney dysfunction, increased insulin resistance and impaired insulin secretion often result. Researchers evaluated the records of different adults without diabetes over a five-year period, blood test that measures the amount of urea nitrogen found in the blood showed that some of them had elevated urea levels, signaling poor kidney function.
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Women are more fit than men

Women can process oxygen more quickly than men during exercise. Quick oxygen uptake places less strain on the body's cells and is considered an important measure of aerobic fitness.

The study compared oxygen uptake and muscle oxygen extraction between young men and women of similar age and weight during treadmill exercise. Women consistently outperformed men with around 30 per cent faster oxygen handling throughout the body.

Researchers discovered that women's muscles extract oxygen from the blood faster, which, scientifically speaking, indicates a superior aerobic system.
By processing oxygen faster, women are less likely to accumulate molecules linked with muscle fatigue, effort perception and poor athletic performance.
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Sleeping position increases the risk of still birth

Pregnant women who sleep on their back during the later stages of pregnancy face an increased likelihood of suffering a stillbirth.

Fetus could experience reduced oxygen flow in the late stage of pregnancy, when a women is lying on her back the combined weight of the baby and the womb puts pressure on the mother's blood flow and this can restrict blood flow and oxygen to the baby.

A woman may experience disturbed breathing patterns when she is asleep on her back.
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Statins reduce the risk of breast cancer

Lowering cholesterol activity reduces the risk of breast cancer, oestrogen hormone helps cancer to spread, that is why women are given anti-hormone treatments after chemotherapy and surgery.

Women whose genes encourage the production of  cholesterol are prone to breast cancer, statins can reduce the levels of cholesterol, taking statins to lower cholesterol could prevent breast cancer.

Statins interrupt the enzymatic reduction of HMG-CoA to mevalonate. This prevents synthesis of cholesterol.
Taking statins can reduce the risk of breast cancer. Statin is a form of medicine that is used to decrease the amount of low-density lipoprotein LDL cholesterol in the blood.

Researchers followed up women both with and without a high cholesterol aged and compared it to mortality rates and breast cancer developments, they discovered that women taking statins have lower risk of developing cancer.
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Zika may not last in semen as thought

According to the latest research, Zika virus might not remain in the semen of some infected men as long as previously thought.

The researchers said Zika may only be present in semen for about a month. Previous research had suggested that Zika virus can be found in semen for as long as 188 days after the onset of symptoms.

The new study included 12 men in French Guiana who had Zika virus. Four of the men never had any detectable Zika in their semen. One excreted Zika virus in his semen for at least three days. And seven had Zika-laced semen for at least a month.

The maximum duration of detectable Zika in semen in the study was 45 days.
These data suggest that not all men who are symptomatically infected with Zika virus will have Zika virus RNA detectable in semen.

The results also showed that Zika does replicate in the testicles or semen-producing glands, since the amount of Zika in semen was significantly different than the Zika load found in the men's blood.

Zika causes neurological birth defects, most commonly microcephaly, a condition in which a baby's brain and skull are underdeveloped.
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Zika virus cannot be transmitted by casual contact

Zika virus is a mosquito-borne disease that is spread by the Aedes mosquito,
Casual contact like kissing or sharing of cutlery cannot transmit Zika virus from an infected person to others.

Mosquito bites are the major source of most Zika virus infections in people. After infection, the Zika virus is present in blood and saliva for two weeks, but it remains in bodily fluids like breast milk for weeks and semen for months.

The viral loads in the saliva are very low, anti-microbial components in the saliva also making that low level of virus less infectious than it might be in another bodily fluid like blood and semen.

Saliva is a viscous liquid, that prevents the ability of the virus to move and get to cells that they could infect.
Presently, there is no cure for Zika virus
infected person should rest, stay hydrated, use painkiller drugs and avoid mosquito bites.
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Low carbohydrates diets can imitate effect of ecstasy on your brain

 Low-carb diet changes your metabolic  from burning more carbohydrates to burning of more fat than carbohydrates, this is a process known as ketosis.

When human body uses up carbohydrates glucose reserves, the body stimulates the breakdown of stored fat into fatty acids and releases them into the blood.

When fatty acids reach the liver they are changed into acetoacetate, a metabolic fuel that belongs to a family of ketones.

Acetoacetate decomposes to carbon dioxide and acetone, low-carbohydrates dieters and people who are fasting usually have sweet smelling breath.

A healthy liver minimises the acetone lost through the lungs by converting most of the acetoacetate it produces to beta-hydroxybutyrate BHB. This can cause euphoric feelings.

During ketosis, BHB can reach high levels in the brain, where it can bind to the same anxiety-reducing receptors as recreational drugs with similar effects.
 Side effects of ketosis are loss of calcium from bones, kidney stones and growth retardation.

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Autoimmunity contributes to Parkinson's disease

 Autoimmunity  is when the immune system attacks the body's own tissues. Parkinson's disease is neurodegenerative movement disorder.
Malfunctioning immune system contributes to Parkinson's disease.

Two fragments of alpha-synuclein, a protein that accumulates in the brain cells of Parkinson's disease patients can activate the T cells involved in autoimmune attacks.

Dopamine neurons that are affected by Parkinson's disease are vulnerable because they have proteins on the cell surface that help the immune system recognize foreign substances.

 Researchers examined blood samples from 67 Parkinson's disease patients and 36 healthy controls to fragments of alpha-synuclein and other proteins found in neurons.

 The immune response was associated with a common form of a gene found in the immune system, which may explain why many people with Parkinson's disease carry this gene variant.

 Immunotherapy can be used to increase the immune system's tolerance for alpha-synuclein, which could help to prevent worst condition of Parkinson's disease.

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Overdose of vitamin D supplement increases the risk of cancer and kidney stones

Vitamin D is essential for bone metabolism, it maintains proper concentrations of calcium and phosphate in the blood.

Overdose of vitamin D can be harmful because  it can cause too much absorption of calcium. Excess calcium
in the blood can be deposited in the heart and kidneys which is dangerous to health.

Vitamin D helps the body to use calcium to support bone health, 600 IU is recommended for an adults per day. Apart from supplement it can be found in beef, liver, canned salmon, sardines, cheese, egg yolks, fortified milk orange juice and sunlight

Vitamin D is made in the skin when exposed to sunlight. The overdose can cause excess calcium in the blood, which can cause fractures, lethargy, high blood pressure, heart problems, hardening of the arteries, kidney stones and some cancers.

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Snake venom may replace aspiring for heart disease treatment

Snake venom may replace aspirin as a protein found in the poison of a species native to south-east Asia thins the blood without side effects.

The protein in snake venom slowed the rate of blood clot formation in mice. It
did not cause excessive bleeding, which is a common side effect of existing treatments.

Blood-thinning medications, also known as anti-platelet drugs, prevent specific blood cells from clumping together and forming clots.

Venom of the Tropidolaemus waglerix snake contains a protein, known as trowaglerix, that latches on to the receptor, called GPVI, to block its blood-clotting actions.

The protein was mixed with blood and given to mice. The result shows that the treated mice had slower blood clot formation than animals that did not receive the therapy.

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Hot bath versus cold bath

 Scientists are finding more and more health benefits to having a quick blast of cold water, including boosting your immune system and easing low mood.

Experts say the best results come not from a cold shower or bath but alternating between hot and cold water.

This technique, known as contrast water therapy, involves showering for about 20 minutes, using hotter water for three to four minutes before suddenly switching to cold for one minute and then back again.

Standing under, or sitting in, hot water for several minutes opens up blood vessels in the skin and muscles, improving the flow of oxygen-rich blood.

 Switching to cold water for one minute makes the same blood vessels instantly constrict, reducing the flow of blood.
Over a 20-minute period this creates a ‘pumping’ mechanism, where more oxygen-rich blood flows into the muscles and tissues near the skin, while more deoxygenated blood (blood which has deposited its oxygen cargo into those muscles and tissues) is then pulled back through the veins to the lungs, to collect more oxygen.

This has been found to have numerous benefits, including, for example, helping to reduce muscle ache after exercise. During strenuous exercise oxygen-rich blood cannot reach the muscles to match the rate at which oxygen is used. In response, muscles release a substance called lactic acid which causes a painful burning sensation and can delay recovery after exercise.

However, contrast water therapy is thought to help rid the muscles of lactic acid and speed recovery.

The researchers studied 3,000 men and women aged 18 to 65 who were told to turn the shower to cold for up to 90 seconds at a time in the morning.

 The British Association of Dermatologists insists there is no research to confirm that contrast water therapy prevents skin ageing.

Hot and cold showers improve circulation and skin ageing is mostly a problem of poor circulation.

Also, the high level of cold receptors in the skin means a blast of cold water can trigger electrical impulses to the brain, which may have an antidepressant effect.

A study of 14 men at the University of Loughborough found those who had an hour-long soak in a 40C bath burned 140 calories on average equivalent to a half-hour walk and had improved control of blood sugar levels.

Researchers said hot baths raise levels of proteins that help regulate blood sugar and said ‘passive heating’ was a potential therapy for metabolic disorders such as type 2 diabetes.

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Diesel pollution can damage your heart

Diesel fumes alter the structure of the heart and increases risk of cardiovascular diseases.

They found those who lived in areas of high diesel air pollution were more likely to have an enlarged chamber on the left side of their heart.

If this left ventricle becomes too big the heart loses pressure and power.
This means it cannot pump as much blood, raising the risk of heart attack, heart failure and death.

Experts are aware of the impact of diesel fumes on human health, including the risk of asthma, dementia and cancer.

Sepsis sieve can save your life

Sepsis occurs  when an infection like blood poisoning sparks a violent immune response in which the body attacks its own organs.

Antibiotics can control the infection if it is discovered early to avoid spreading to different parts of the body. A machine that 'sieves' the blood could save people sepsis infections.

The device has been created by a British scientist, it works like a dialysis, the
blood is removed – but in this case it is cleaned of dangerous microbes using magnets.

The machine is to undergo the first human clinical trials next year and is also being tested for use against blood-borne diseases such as malaria and leukaemia.

Designed to be used by intensive care units, blood is removed from veins in the patient's arm and enters the machine, where magnetic particles are added.

These are designed to seek out and bind to the dangerous bacteria that cause sepsis as well as little floating scraps of endotoxins that causes septic cascade.
Once bonded together, they are caught by a powerful magnet and the 'cleaned' blood is then returned to the body.

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