Health knowledge made personal
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Suzanne L Dickson, Rozita H Shirazi, Caroline Hansson, Filip Bergquist, Hans Nissbrandt, Karolina P Skibicka. "The glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) analogue, exendin-4, decreases the rewarding value of food: a new role for mesolimbic GLP-1 receptors." J Neurosci. 2012;32:4812-4820.
Increasing dietary magnesium intake could reduce the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease by up to 50%.
Fetal exposure to the plastic additive BPA has been shown to alter mammary gland development and plays a role in the development of breast cancer in humans.
A drug made from the saliva of the Gila monster lizard has be shown to be effective at curbing cravings for food.
The ancient art of acupuncture could be of benefit to people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
A natural remedy derived from the hive of honeybees has been shown to slow the growth of prostate cancer cells and tumors in a study of mice.
One in ten people could see their blood pressure fall to within target values simply by increasing their intake of vitamin B2.
Drinking three cups of black tea each day may help to significantly improve a number of cardiovascular risk factors, say researchers.
A popular dietary supplement could help to boost the immune system of athletes and people who regularly participate in strenuous exercise.
People who tend to carry excess weight around their middle have an increased risk of sudden cardiac death, say researchers.
Subsidizing the cost of exercise and fitness activities for middle-aged people could help to slash health costs in their older years.
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293. Of Thoughtful Benefit
Meditation is a technique utilized to focus the mind, often accompanied by a calming or stress-reducing effect. Such mental training has garnered the interest of the scientific community, with data suggesting that meditation may:
• Slow Age-Related Brain Changes: Researchers at the University of California/Los Angeles (UCLA; California, USA) report that people who meditate display stronger connections between brain regions and show less age-related brain atrophy. Having stronger connections influences the ability to rapidly relay electrical signals in the brain. And significantly, these effects are evident throughout the entire brain, not just in specific areas. The greatest differences between meditators vs non-meditators were seen within the corticospinal tract... |
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The drug Exenatide, which is used by people with type 2 diabetes to help them control their blood glucose levels is a synthetic version of a natural substance called exendin-4, which is obtained from the saliva of the Gila monster lizard. Research on rats by Assistant Professor Karolina Skibicka at the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg (Sweden) and colleagues showed that exendin-4 significantly reduced their food intake, thus suggesting that it curbs cravings for food. As well as curbing appetite, the findings suggest that exendin-4 may be useful in the treatment of addictions as the researchers showed that the substance affects the reward and motivation regions of the brain.