Anesthesia may triggers asymptomatic brain changes

Patients who were given general anesthesia before surgery performed slightly worse on memory tests, this was due to cognitive changes in the brain related to immediate memory, or the ability to remember information over a brief period. 'The cognitive changes after surgery are small-probably asymptomatic and beneath a person's awareness,' said senior author Dr Kirk Hogan, a professor of anesthesiology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

For the study, Dr Hogan and his colleagues measured memory and executive function in 964 participants, with the average age of 54, who had no signs of Alzheimer's disease, dementia, or cognitive impairment before surgery. Of the participants, 312 of them had at least one surgical procedure performed and 652 of them did not. Researchers found there was a decline in immediate memory over the course of four years in participants who had surgery.

Memory became abnormal in 18 percent of those who had at least one surgical procedure compared with 10 percent of those who had not. Regarding the working memory test, surgery and anesthesia were associated with a decline in immediate memory by one point out of a possible maximum test score of 30 points. They found no differences in other measures of memory and executive function between those who had surgery and their counterparts.

 Patients having surgery and anesthesia are likely to experience impaired performance on neuropsychological tests of memory and executive function, an association that might be causal. Researchers found the activity of memory loss receptors remains high long after the drugs have been eliminated from the patient's body. Other risk factors like the sort of disease or illness a person have could impact brain function. Diseases like hypertension and diabetes may also be responsible for cognitive decline in patients who have had surgery.
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Low testosterone levels reduces the risk of prostate cancer

Men with low testosterone may not develop prostate cancer. Reducing testosterone hormone could reduce the risk of the cancer. Scientists who examined different men discovered that those with the lowest testosterone levels were 20 per cent less likely to get the cancer.

One in eight men will develop prostate cancer, with approximately 46,700 cases a year. But little is known about what causes the disease, unlike most cancers, it does not seem to be linked to obesity, exercise, smoking or alcohol.

Prostate cancer tumours need testosterone to grow, men with lower levels are less likely to get the illness. Reducing the levels of testosterone could unravel ways to diagnose and treat fatal prostate cancers before they can do any harm.
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Benefits of chewing foods

Chewing foods properly before you swallow boosts the mouth's immune system and protects against illness.

Th17 immune cell is triggered by chewing, it protects against bacterial and fungal infections that are on the tongue and teeth.

Those who chewed each mouthful food for 40 times ate less than those who chewed for just 15 times.

Chewing for longer prevents over-eating by giving the brain signals from the stomach that it is full. It also lowers the levels of ghrelin, the hunger hormone.

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Vigorous exercise increases health risks

Vigorous exercise for a long period of time can change the composition of gut bacteria.

The research looked at soldiers taking part in an intensive training programme and found that pro-longed exercise caused the protective barrier in their guts to become permeable and triggered leaky gut syndrome.

Gut health and overall health are linked, intense physiological stress could raise the risks of many types of illnesses.

 Poor gut health is linked to conditions ranging from irritable bowel syndrome, diabetes, high blood pressure, depression, obesity, childhood asthma, colitis and colon cancer.

The study is the first to investigate the response of gut microbiome - the term for the population of microbes in the intestine - during military training.

It looked at a group of 73 Norwegian Army soldiers taking part in a military-style cross country skiing training programme.

The group skied 31 miles (51 km) while carrying 99-pound (45 kg) packs, across four days. Before and after the training
exercise, researchers collected blood and stool samples from the soldiers.

It was found that the microbiome and metabolites - the substance formed in or necessary for metabolism - in the soldiers' blood and stool altered 'significantly' by the end of the aggressive training period.

Furthermore, sucralose excretion in their urine samples rose considerably, indicating an increase in intestinal permeability (IP).

Scientists know that healthy intestines have a semi-permeable barrier, which acts as a defense to keep bacteria and other harmful substances out, while allowing healthy nutrients into the bloodstream.