Natural Standard Blog

Treadmill Exercise may Retrain Body and Brain after Stroke

Researchers have found that regularly exercising on a treadmill may help stroke patients learn to walk correctly again by rewiring parts of the brain – even if the stroke happened years ago. Using a treadmill may also improve walking and overall fitness better than stretching, the standard exercise prescribed after a stroke.

After a stroke, many patients develop abnormal walking patterns that may or may not be corrected with physical rehabilitation programs. Most programs focus on short-term therapy, ending several months after a stroke.

This new study involved patients who had strokes several years earlier. Study participants had weakness on one side of the body at least six months after having a stroke. They had all completed standard rehabilitation programs before enrolling in the six-month-long study.

Subjects were divided into two groups, regardless of their disabilities. Thirty-seven patients were in the treadmill group and were assigned three, 40-minute exercise sessions per week at 60 percent of their heart rate reserve. Patients were supported with a harness, if needed. They increased duration and intensity every two weeks. The remaining 34 participants performed a variety of traditional stretching exercises for the same length of time.   

The results were measured using brain scans, called MRIs, and by evaluating the participants’ walking abilities and overall fitness. People in the treadmill group had better scores in all categories.

MRIs were performed while patients did knee exercises that mimicked walking. In certain parts of the brain, activity increased by 72 percent in patients who exercised on the treadmills. In these patients, blood oxygenation and blood flow increased in the brain stem and cerebellum. According to the authors, this may indicate that brain stem and cerebellum were now controlling some of the walking functions that the cortical brain had been responsible for before it was damaged by a stroke. Brain activity remained unchanged in the stretching group.

Both walking speed and fitness increased significantly more in the treadmill group compared to the stretching group. This is important because if stroke survivors are immobile, they have an increased risk of developing heart disease and diabetes.

For more information about integrative therapies for stroke, please visit Natural Standard’s Medical Conditions database.

FDA Allows Irradiation of Leafy Greens

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will allow food producers to zap raw iceberg lettuce and spinach with enough radiation to kill dangerous germs like salmonella and E. coli. The greens will most likely go under the beam after they are bagged – preventing the risk of recontamination. 

Although this is the first time the FDA has allowed any produce to be irradiated at levels needed to prevent food poisoning, irradiated meat has been sold in stores for years. Eggs, poultry, oysters and spices can also be irradiated. Yet few companies use this technology because the government requires these foods to be labeled as irradiated, a regulation that scares away many consumers.

The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) originally petitioned the FDA to have irradiation used in many other types of produce such as tomatoes and peppers. But since the 2006 E. coli outbreak from spinach, which killed three out of nearly 200 infected people, and the recent lettuce recalls, the GMA asked the FDA to rule on the leafy greens first.

The FDA has determined that irradiation kills harmful germs, while not affecting the quality of leafy greens. According to the agency, the greens harbor no radiation and are safe for consumption. In fact, the technique may even lengthen the greens’ shelf life. However, some food safety advocates are still worried that irradiation could ruin taste and texture, lower nutritional value and create unsafe chemicals.

Raw spinach and lettuce require somewhat lower doses of irradiation to reduce levels of E. coli, salmonella and listeria than meat does. But the Centers for Science in the Public Interest report that most illnesses linked to leafy greens are caused by viruses, which are not affected by the radiation doses approved by the FDA.

The FDA is also considering a controversial proposal to weaken or change labeling requirements for irradiated foods.

For more information about E. coli and salmonella, please visit Natural Standard’s Medical Conditions database.

TGFBR1 gene Increases Risk of Colon Cancer

Researchers have identified a genetic abnormality that makes a person about nine times more likely to develop colorectal cancer.

Researchers studied 242 people in central Ohio with colorectal cancer and 195 people who did not have the disease. The researchers found that people who had defective transforming growth factor beta receptor 1 (TGFBR1) genes were 8.7 times more likely to develop colorectal cancer than those who lacked the abnormality.

The TGFBR1 gene normally helps protect against cancer. People inherit two copies of this gene (one from their mother and one from their father), and they usually produce equal amounts of the RNA that is needed to make the TGFBR1 protein. But in some people, one of these two genes is less active than the other. According to the study, 10-21 percent of people with colorectal cancer and 1-3 percent of the general population have this genetic abnormality.

An estimated one million people develop colon cancer each year worldwide. It is the third-most-common cancer in the United States, with 149,000 new cases and 50,000 deaths from the disease expected this year.

Colon cancer is difficult to detect, particularly in the early stages of the disease, because it often does not cause symptoms. The authors of this study suggest that simple blood tests that look for the genetic mutation may help diagnose colon and rectal cancer early in the disease, when it is most treatable. 

However, the study results need to be confirmed in larger trials that include more diverse populations.

Maternal Zinc for Baby Health

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the month of August has the highest number of births making a recent study all the more relevant. Researchers from George Washington University's School of Public Health and Health Services in Washington, D.C., found that zinc supplementation in pregnant women may contribute to the health of their children.

Previous research has revealed little about how maternal zinc intake influences the growth of babies both in the womb and after birth. Zinc is necessary for the functioning of more than 300 different enzymes and plays a vital role in an enormous number of biological processes.

The study assessed the effect of maternal zinc supplementation during pregnancy on infant growth through one year of age.

The trial of prenatal zinc supplementation was conducted from 1995 to 1997 in Lima, Peru among 1,295 at 15.6 +/- 4.6 weeks gestation. The women were assigned to receive daily supplements with zinc (15 milligrams of zinc + 60 milligrams of iron + 250 micrograms of folic acid) or without zinc (60 milligrams of iron + 250 micrograms of folic acid) through pregnancy to one month after delivery.

At birth, 546 infants were followed for 12 months to assess growth. Measures of body size and composition were collected monthly, and morbidity and dietary intake surveillance was carried out weekly.

The study found that infants born to mothers prenatally supplemented with zinc had significantly larger average growth measures beginning in month four and continuing through month 12. Prenatal zinc was associated with greater weight, calf circumference, chest circumference and calf muscle area.

The authors concluded that maternal zinc supplementation in this population was associated with offspring growth, which is suggestive of lean tissue mass accretion.

Enzymes for Muscle Mass

Researchers have discovered that adding an enzyme supplement may help individuals who are trying to increase muscle mass.

Current study suggests that consuming 1.5-2.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight daily (3.5 times the current recommended daily allowance) is effective and safe for individuals trying to increase or maintain lean muscle mass. To achieve these levels of daily protein consumption, supplementing the diet with processed whey protein concentrate in liquid form has become a popular choice for many people; some products have a suggested serving size as high as 50 grams of protein.

However, the researchers cautioned that due to the possible inhibition of digestive enzymes from over-processing and rapid small intestine transit time, the average amount of liquid whey protein that is absorbed may be only 15 grams. The combined effect of these factors may contribute to incomplete digestion, thereby limiting the absorption rate of protein.

The study investigated whether Aminogen®, a patented blend of digestive proteases from Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus oryzae, would significantly increase the absorption rate of processed whey protein over control values. It also examined if any increase would be sufficient to significantly alter nitrogen balance and C-reactive protein levels over control values as further evidence of increased whey protein absorption rate.

The researchers assigned two groups of healthy male subjects a specified balanced diet before and after each of two legs of the study. Subjects served as their own controls. In the first leg each control group was dosed with 50 grams of whey protein following an overnight fast. Nine days later each test group was dosed following an overnight fast with 50 grams of whey protein containing either 2.5 grams or 5 grams of Aminogen®.

The following 18 amino acids were quantified: alanine, arginine, aspartic acid, cysteine, glutamic acid, glycine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, proline, serine, threonine, tryptophan, tyrosine and valine.

The study found that Aminogen® increased the absorption rate of processed whey protein over controls. Significant decreases in C-reactive protein levels and fluxes in amino acid levels were also reported.

Deep Brain Stimulation for Depression

Deep brain stimulation, an experimental and invasive treatment that involves stimulating the brain with electrical signals, may help treat otherwise difficult to cure depression, a new study reports.

Depression is an illness that involves the body, mood and thoughts. Imbalances in three brain chemicals, serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine, are linked to depression. Unlike normal emotional experiences of sadness, loss or passing mood states, depressive disorders are persistent and can significantly interfere with an individual's thoughts, behavior, mood, activity and physical health.

Depressive disorders affect approximately 18.8 million American adults or about 9.5 percent of the U.S. population age 18 and older in a given year. Among all medical illnesses, major depression is the leading cause of disability in the United States and many other developed countries. Without treatment, symptoms can last for weeks, months or years. Appropriate treatment, however, can help most people who suffer from depression.

Researchers from the University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada, explained that an early report in six patients suggested that deep brain stimulation of the subcallosal cingulate gyrus (part of the brain) may provide benefit in treatment-resistant depression.

In the study, 20 patients with treatment-resistant depression underwent serial assessments before and after the deep brain stimulation. The researchers analyzed the percentage of patients who achieved a response or remission after surgery. They also examined changes in brain metabolism associated with deep brain stimulation.

The researchers observed both early and progressive benefits with deep brain stimulation. For example, one month after surgery, 35 percent of the patients met criteria for response with 10 percent of patients in remission. Furthermore, six months after surgery, 60 percent of patients were responded to therapy and 35 percent met the criteria for remission. These benefits were largely maintained at 12 months.

Deep brain stimulation therapy was associated with specific changes in the metabolic activity localized to cortical and limbic circuits implicated in the pathogenesis of depression. The number of serious adverse effects was small with no patient experiencing permanent deficits.

The authors concluded that deep brain stimulation provides significant improvement in patients with treatment-resistant depression. The stimulation likely acts by modulating brain networks whose dysfunction leads to depression. They observed that the procedure was well-tolerated and benefits were sustained for at least one year.

Yerba Mate

Yerba mate, also known as erva-mate in Portuguese, originates from South America and is extracted from the dried leaves of Ilex paraguariensis. Two new studies examined its protective effects.

Traditionally, it has been used as a stimulant and for the treatment of arthritis, difficult digestion, liver diseases, headache, rheumatism and obesity. Yerba mate is rich in polyphenols such as caffeine, caffeic acid, catechin, epicatechin gallate and quercetin. These polyphenols have antioxidant activity, the ability to scavenge oxidative stress causing free radicals.

Researchers from Brazil evaluated the chemical properties of the residues from yerba mate processing and also determined the candy-making performance with addition of residues from yerba mate on consumers' acceptance and purchase intent of this new product.

The candies containing different amounts of mate powder were evaluated through overall acceptability test and purchase intent. Mate powder showed high contents of dietary fiber, total ash and total polyphenols.

Supplementation with mate powder caused significant increases in polyphenol and mineral contents of mate candies. The incorporation of mate powder increased the hardness of the candies and their nutritional value.

The authors concluded that the sensory tests indicated that mate candies were acceptable and approved in relation to purchase intent.

In a related study, another group of Brazilian researchers explained that yerba mate is rich in several bioactive compounds that can act as free radical scavengers. Free radicals are produced when the body fights against infections. Although free radicals are needed for the body to produce energy, maintain immunity, transmit nerve signals, produce hormones, and contract muscles, they may also contribute to various health conditions, such as cancer. The authors investigated the antioxidant activity of mate tea as well as the ability to influence DNA repair in male Swiss mice.

Forty animals were randomly assigned to four groups. The animals received three different doses of mate tea aqueous extract, 0.5, 1.0 or 2.0 grams/kilogram, for 60 days. After the intervention, the liver, kidney and bladder cells were isolated and the DNA damage was investigated. The DNA repair process was also investigated for its potential to protect the cells from damage by the same methodology.

The study found that mate tea does not damage the DNA in liver, kidney or bladder cells. The regular ingestion of mate tea increased the resistance of DNA to DNA strand breaks and improved the DNA repair in liver cells, regardless of the dose ingested.

The authors concluded that mate tea could protect against DNA damage and enhance the DNA repair activity. Protection may be afforded by the antioxidant activity of the mate tea's bioactive compounds.

Meditation for Delayed HIV Progression

Practicing mindfulness meditation may help delay the disease progression in HIV patients, a new study reports.

Various forms of meditation have been practiced for thousands of years throughout the world, with many techniques originating in Eastern religious practices. In modern times, numerous meditation types are in use, often outside of their original religious and cultural contexts.

During mindfulness meditation, attention is focused on a physical sensation such as the breath. When thoughts intrude, the individual returns to the focus. Attention is placed on the present moment, rather than on the future or past. This technique may involve a "body scan," in which one focuses on the body from head to feet, concentrating on areas of pain or illness. This is usually performed while lying down. Regular practice is suggested to enhance self-awareness.

Researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles, investigated whether an eight-week mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program is more effective than a one-day MBSR seminar in: (1) maintaining immune resistance in HIV infection (i.e. maintaining counts of white blood cells and reducing HIV viral load), and (2) improving HIV-related quality of life.

Additional analyses tested for a dose-response effect of MBSR by examining if MBSR class attendance and daily meditation practice are associated with the primary and secondary outcomes.

In the study, the 50 HIV-positive adults showed no loss of CD4 T cells, indicating that mindfulness meditation training may delay HIV progression. In contrast, the control group showed significant declines in CD4 T cells from pre-study to post-study.

The study also found that the more mindfulness meditation classes people attended, the higher the CD4 T cells at the study's conclusion.

The authors concluded that research examining the underlying pathways through which mindfulness meditation reduces stress, using brain imaging, genetics and immune system measurements is now required.

This study was supported by postdoctoral research fellowship from the National Institute of Mental Health, a seed grant from the Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology at UCLA, and the UCLA General Clinical Research Center.

FDA: Lobster Warning

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a consumer warning advising against eating tomalley in American Lobster (Maine Lobster), regardless of where the lobster was harvested, because of potential contamination with dangerous levels of the toxins that cause paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP).

American lobster, also known as Maine lobster, is harvested from the waters of the Atlantic Ocean from Northeastern Canada to South Carolina.

The FDA advisory applies only to tomalley, the soft, green substance found in the body cavity of the lobster that functions as the liver and pancreas. Cooking does not eliminate the PSP toxins. However, the FDA reported that studies have shown that even with high levels of PSP toxins in lobster tomalley, lobster meat itself is typically unaffected.

Symptoms of PSP include tingling and/or numbness of the mouth, face or neck; muscle weakness; headache; and nausea. In extreme cases, when large amounts of the toxin are consumed, these symptoms can lead to respiratory failure and death. Symptoms usually occur within two hours of exposure to the toxin. Anyone experiencing these symptoms should seek medical attention.

The FDA learned of this problem after routine sampling conducted by regulatory authorities in Maine and New Hampshire found dangerous levels of the toxins in lobster tomalley. Some shellfish beds have been closed in recent months due to elevated levels of PSP toxins.