Lung cancer genetic biomarkers

Single-nucleotide polymorphisms SNPs are variations in human DNA that determine human susceptibility to developing some diseases. Using the largest genome-wide SNP-smoking interaction analysis reported for lung cancer, researchers identified three novel SNPs. The results from their study reinforce that gene-smoking interactions play important roles in the etiology of lung cancer and responsible for part of the missing heritability of this disease.

Environmental and genetic risk factors contribute to development of lung cancer. Tobacco smoking is the most well-known environmental risk factor associated with lung cancer. They conducted a study to display that gene-smoking interactions play important roles in the etiology of lung cancer.

In their study, three novel SNPs (single-nucleotide polymorphisms), or variations in our DNA that underlie human susceptibility to developing disease, were identified in the interaction analysis, including two SNPs for non-small cell lung cancer risk and one SNP for squamous cell lung cancer risk. The three identified novel SNPs provide potential candidate biomarkers for lung cancer risk screening and intervention.

The genotype and phenotype data used in this analysis came from OncoArray Consortium. Genome-wide interaction scanning remains a challenge as most genome-wide association studies are designed for main effect association analysis and have limited power for interaction analysis.

The three SNPs, identified in the team's study, stratify lung cancer risk by smoking behavior. These three SNPs can be potential biomarkers used to improve the precision to which researchers can categorize an individual's risk of lung cancer disease by smoking behavior, which are helpful for individualized prognosis and prediction of treatment plan.
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Diseases caused by pollution were responsible for untimely death

Diseases caused by pollution were responsible for premature deaths across the globe, three times more deaths than AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria combined; and fifteen times more than all wars and other forms of violence. It kills more people than smoking, hunger and natural disasters.

In some countries, it accounts for one in four deaths. Pollution kills the poor and the vulnerable. Nearly 92% of pollution-related deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. Children face the highest risks because exposures to chemicals in utero and in early childhood can result in lifelong disease, disability, premature death, as well as reduced learning and earning potential.

Pollution is closely tied to climate change and biodiversity. Fossil fuel combustion in higher-income countries and the burning of biomass in lower-income countries accounts for 85% of airborne particulate pollution.

 Major emitters of carbon dioxide are coal-fired power plants, chemical producers, mining operations, and vehicles. Accelerating the switch to cleaner sources of energy will reduce air pollution and improve human and planetary health.
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Eating meat increases the risk of diabetes

Plant-based diet is healthier than a meat-based diet in reducing the risk of diabetes, higher intake of red meat and poultry is associated with increased risk of developing diabetes because of higher content of heme iron in meats.

Heme iron and some other chemicals present in meat could be responsible for the increase in the risk of diabetes.
The content of heme iron is higher in chicken tight compared to chicken breast, if you must eat chicken, go for healthier part.

Replacing red meat or poultry with fish could reduce the risk of diabetes, reducing meat daily intake and eating more of plants based protein like beans, nuts, peas and lentils can prevent the diseases.
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Fasting diet in a healthy way

Calories restrictions extends lifespan and prevents sicknesses and diseases. Fasting has been used for thousands of years for health benefits. It can improve glucose tolerance. Insulin resistance is generally caused as a result of the body's reduced ability to remove excess glucose from the blood either because insufficient insulin is released or the glucose receptors have become less sensitive.

Excess glucose will be converted to fat and stored in tissues not suitable for fat storage. As the body uses fat as a fuel during intermittent fasting, fat stores will reduce allowing the cells to regain insulin function and glucose sensitivity.
Intermittent fasting can improve pre-diabetic and insulin resistant.

 Short term intermittent fasting may be a safe and tolerable dietary intervention for those already diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes and may improve body weight and reducing glucose levels. Fasting diet in a healthy way improves skin health. Intermittent fasting's ability to reduce weight will result in lower body fat. This improves heart function, prevents cancer and improves immune system.

Eat healthy foods during intermittent fasting to ensure the body's processes are taking place efficiently and effectively. Add fruits, vegetables, healthy fats and protein to every meal.
Reduce intake of junk foods and carbohydrates such as bread, pasta, potatoes and rice. The simple concept is to aim to fast every day for 16-18 hours a day and only consume food in the remaining six to eight hours.

 Increase the gap between dinner and breakfast; if you eat dinner at 6pm, then you would not eat your next meal until 12pm the following day, allowing an 18-hour fast in between. People that are underweight, sick or using drugs must not fast. Children, pregnant women and nursing mother should avoid fasting.
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The 16 genetic markers associated with short lifespan

How long we will live is encoded in our genome. Researchers have identified 16 genetic markers associated with a short lifespan. This reveals computational framework to uncover the genetics of our time of death and disease. It explained why some people live longer than others. 

 About 30 percent of the variation in human lifespan comes down to our genome. Changes in particular locations in our DNA sequence, such as single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), could be responsible for some of the reasons for our longevity.

Changes in the DNA is linked to age-related diseases. About 1 in 10 people carry some configurations of these markers that shorten their life by over a year compared with the population average. Those who inherited a lifespan-shortening version of one of these SNPs may die earlier than their mate. 

The researchers explore how the DNA changes affected lifespan in a holistic way. They discovered that most SNPs had an effect on lifespan by impacting more than a single disease or risk factor, for example through being more addicted to smoking as well as through being predisposed to schizophrenia.

The discovered SNPs and gene expression data, allowed the researchers to identify that lower brain expression of three genes neighbouring the SNPs- RBM6, SULT1A1 and CHRNA5, involved in nicotine dependence was linked to increased lifespan. These three genes could therefore act as biomarkers for surviving beyond 100 years. 

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Brain cells control aging

Scientists have discovered that stem cells in the brain's hypothalamus control how fast aging occurs in the body. This discovery could lead to new method of preventing diseases and increasing lifespan.

The hypothalamus regulates growth, development, reproduction, metabolism and aging. The number of hypothalamic neural stem cells naturally declines and this accelerates aging.
Replenishing stem cells can slow down the process of aging but the loss are not irreversible.

Researchers disrupted the hypothalamic stem cells in middle-aged mice and discovered that disruption accelerated aging. They injected hypothalamic stem cells into the brains of middle-aged mice whose stem cells had been destroyed as well as into the brains of normal old mice.

The treatment showed different measures of aging in both groups. Hypothalamic stem cells exert their anti-aging effects by releasing microRNAs (miRNAs).

The researchers extracted miRNA-containing exosomes from hypothalamic stem cells and injected them into the cerebrospinal fluid of middle-aged mice whose hypothalamic stem cells had been destroyed and normal middle-aged mice.

This treatment slowed aging in both groups of animals as measured by tissue analysis and behavioral testing that involved assessing changes in the animals' muscle endurance, coordination, social behavior and cognitive ability.
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Neuroticism may postpone death

Having higher levels of trait of the neuroticism may reduce the risk of death for those that hav poor health. An aspect of neuroticism related to worry and feelings of vulnerability was associated with lower mortality, irrespective of state of health.

Being high in neuroticism may sometimes have a protective effect, perhaps by making people more vigilant about their health. People with high levels of neuroticism may experience negative emotions like irritability, frustration, nervousness, worry, and guilt compared with those who have lower levels of neuroticism.

 The link between neuroticism and risk of death may depend on how people rate their health. The protective effect was present in people who rated their health very low or does not really care about what will happen to their health.

Behaviors like smoking, exercise, diet and alcohol consumption did not have any link with vulnerability and mortality risk. Worry and vulnerability to sicknesses and diseases might encourage people to behave in a healthier way and hence lower their risk of sudden death.
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Exposing children to germs strengthen their immune systems

All germs are not bad, some germs stimulate immune system and strength them to fight diseases. Exposing children to clean environment only can leads to severely hyper sensitised immune system making the children vulnerable to allergies and neurodevelopmental problems.

Early exposure to germs strengthen immune system and teaches it how to control its reaction to daily germs present in the atmosphere. Scientists believe that without exposure to dirt and germs early in life, the immune system will not be able control its reaction to everyday invaders like dust.

According to researchers, pre- and postnatal pet exposure enriched the amount of two types of bacteria- Ruminococcus and Oscillospira that reduce allergies and obesity in children.

Giving children fermented foods like miso and natto also exposed them to bacteria, microflora in fermented foods produce a protective lining in their intestines and strengthen it against salmonella and E.coli.
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Drinking of coffee may increase lifespan

Coffee contains a lot of compounds like caffeine, diterpenes and antioxidants that interact with the body systems and prevent so many diseases.

 It has a lot of antioxidants and phenolic compounds that play an important role in cancer and disease prevention.

Coffee reduces inflammation, controls glucose and strengthens the immune system. Drinking of coffee is associated with a reduced risk of death from circulatory and digestive tract diseases.

 It prevents womb and liver cancer and reduce the risk of Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s. Moderate drinking of coffee every day is essential for sound health.

Dinking more than 0.4g of caffeine a day can cause anxiety, sleeplessness and disturbed heart rhythm.
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Amazing facts about tobacco

•According to the World Health Organisation, tobacco is the world's
largest cause of preventable death.

•The total tax revenue from tobacco in the UK in 2015-16 was £12billion.

•Estimates of the direct annual cost to the NHS of tobacco-related diseases range from £3-6bn.

•King James IV in 1604 described smoking as a “custom loathsome to the eye, hateful to the nose, harmful to the brain, dangerous to the lungs.

•The average adult in China smokes 4,124 cigarettes a year, the world’s highest figure.

•There are about a billion smokers in the world of whom 80 per cent are male.

•The word tabacco in Spanish was originally used for the pipe or tube through which native Americans inhaled tobacco smoke.

•Tobago took its name from tobacco, possible because of its cigar or pipe-like shape.

•The word tobacco was first seen in English in 1577. Tobacconist, in 1600, meant a heavy smoker.

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How genetics influence what we eat

Variation in genes are responsible for different food choices in different people. Gene variation that control how brain works may dictates foods we like to eat often.

Gene variation is the subtle DNA differences in different people that make them unique, it had impact on food preferences and diet plan.

Researchers examined genetics of 818 men and women and gather information about their diet and discovered that genes is responsible for diet choices.

Some genes in the body are responsible for salt and fat intake, this discovery leads to better understanding of why we eat what we eat and it can be used to minimize person's risk for common diseases.

Vaccine protects mice from Zika virus

New Zika vaccine was made from live virus that has been inactivate and it shows effectiveness in mice.

Producing a better vaccine will require a balance between efficacy and safety of the user, vaccine produced from attenuated live viruses normally offers fast immunity but not safe.

Inactivated and subunit viruses always provide safety but may required several initial doses, safe live-atteuation  vaccine will be used for production of Zika vaccine for human in developing countries.

Zika vaccine showed safety profile in mice, this vaccine will prevent transmission of the virus and microcephaly and prevent birth defects and diseases caused by Zika.

The vaccine will be recommended for women of child bearing age, their sexual partner and children less than 10 years.

Sleeping less than five hours increases risk of prostate cancer

According to scientists, sleeping less than five hours a night may increase the risk of developing prostate cancer.

Men above 65 years that are not sleeping up to seven hours recommended by National Sleep Foundation are at risk of developing terminal diseases.

American Cancer Society in Atlanta examined data from two long-term studies. The first study followed more than 407,000 men between 1950 and 1972, the second followed 416,000 men from 1982 to 2012.

All the men were cancer free at the beginning of the study, more than 1,500 men in first study and more than 8,700 men in second study died of prostate cancer when checked out later.

Not sleeping very well turned off genes that protect cancer growth and prevent production of melatonin. According to Dr Gapstur, reduced melatonin can accelerate genetic mutations, reduced DNA repair and weakened immune system.

Intensive medical attention can reverse type 2 diabetes

Diabetes mellitus DM is a group of diseases associated with high blood sugar, common symptoms are: increased thirst, increase hunger and frequent urination.

When pancreas failed to produce enough insulin - type 1 or when body failed to respond to insulin properly - type 2 are the common types of diabetes.

Correct combination of medications, insulin and lifestyle therapies for three to four months can reverse type 2 diabetes according to latest study on diabetes.

Bariatric surgery is not the only solution to type 2 diabetes, following standard lifestyle advice from your Doctor, will leads to achieving normal glucose level with the aid of medications.

The oral medication, insulin and lifestyle therapies will give your pancreas rest and decrease fat stores in your body; this will improve insulin production and make your pancreas active.

Mediterranean diet may reduce the risk of cancer

According to International Journal of Cancer, Mediterranean diet may reduce the risk of estrogen-receptor-negative breast cancer, a postmenopausal form of disease with a poor prognosis.

In Netherlands, 63,573 women ages 55 to 69 tracked their diets for more than 20 years to detect impact of diet on  related disease. In the course of the study, 3354 women developed breast cancer, after excluding previous history and cases of Cancer, 2321 breast cancer cases were analyzed.

Post-menopausal estrogen-receptor-negative breast cancer was 40% less found in women that eat Mediterranean diet regularly.

Mediterranean diet is plant based diet that leads to sound health, strong bones, and prevention of all forms of disease.