The Zutphen Elderly Study says so

Bringing relief to chocoholics, Dutch researchers studying elderly people for 15 years found that cocoa intake benefits the cardiovascular system. The study of 470 Dutch men aged 65 to 84 years, called the Zutphen Elderly Study, showed that increased cocoa intake is associated with lower blood pressure.

However, the exact mechanism is not know yet. "The lower cardiovascular mortality risk associated with cocoa intake could not be attributed to the lower blood pressure observed with cocoa use," the authors write. "Our findings, therefore, suggest that the lower cardiovascular mortality risk related with cocoa intake is mediated by mechanisms other than lowering blood pressure." Cocoa extracts contain several candidates that may be responsible for the benefits, but which one exactly remains to be studied.

Technorati Tags: chocolate, cardiovascular, heart, biology, science

Predicting memory

It turns out that the brain really can get into the ‘right frame of mind’ and be better at memorizing things. Scientists at UCL, London, UK, report that brain activity before an event predicts later recollection. To translate that for you an me: it means that some parts of the brain are activated before you can remember things. If those parts are not active, you will not remember as much.

The researchers did not identify the specific areas of the brain that prepare you for memorizing, but that’s next on the to-do list. Dr Leun Otten, the research leader, said, "It would be nice to know what brain regions are involved in this preparatory activity, and whether it can be used to help people who have difficulties remembering things. Unfortunately we aren’t at that stage yet!", and later added, "We are currently trying to find out more about this kind of brain activity and how it helps long-term memory."

Technorati Tags: brain, memory, biology, science

Ethics of clinical trials

If you participate in clinical trials, should you know the results? This question may not be that easy to answer. In a commentary about cancer clinical trials, Maurie Markman, M.D., from the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the potential pitfalls of full disclosure.

Dr. Markman advocates a revised informed consent strategy that balances the subject’s right to know the results of the study and an individual patient’s right to know how the data will specifically impact him or her. This strategy includes pre-study education about the meaning of trial data as statistical probabilities pertaining to general populations rather than a specific individual; the risk that trial data will have no benefit for the individual and may in fact demonstrate poor prognosis; the subjects’ choice to receive trial data at the end of the study; and possibility that investigators may decide that trial data is of no relevance to the individual participant and not share the data.

One point about full disclosure ignores the fact that the participant remains a patient, regardless of the outcome. Long term, patients may be impacted by knowing if the test treatment they received during the study was less effective.

Also, which information should be disclosed and in which format? Do we disclose the raw data, or do we disclose basic analysis, or what? Should we have independent panels that release the reports? How about (strict) guidelines about what the disclosure should entail?

So, a lot of questions to ponder about an important subject. What do you think we should do?

Technorati Tags: clinical trials, cancer, biology, science

Gene therapy one step closer to reality

A breakthrough gene therapy study by Italian scientists demonstrated for the first time the possibility for body-wide gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) in mice.

DMD is a genetic disease affecting mostly boys, with symptoms of muscular weakness, difficulty in walking, running, hopping, and muscle deformities. DMD is due to mutations in the dystrophin gene, with two-thirds of the cases being hereditary. A gene therapy approach is the only way to restore correct muscule function in DMD cases, but until now, this has proved troublesome.

The major problem is getting a correctly-functioning copy of the dystrophin gene to all muscles. To reach most muscles in mice bodies, the researchers of this latest study used a modified virus to inject a functional copy of the dystrophin gene. They tracked its body-wide targeting using genetic markers and showed that the muscles regained approximately normal strength, thus showing its effectiveness.

Interestingly, not all muscle cells picked up the functional dystrophin gene copy, but they still regained strength. Even better, the results raise the hope that the virus delivery mechanism might be so effective as to create a once-in-a-lifetime treatment for DMD patients.

Applying this work to humans will take a lot of work and further studies. However, this is a solid step opening a door of hope for DMD sufferers.

Technorati Tags: DMD, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, gene therapy, genetics, biology, science

Deliberation without attention

Researchers in the Netherlands have discovered a peculiar effect: sometimes, it’s better not to think about a tough decision to make the right choice. Calling it the The Deliberation-Without-Attention Effect, they found with simple decisions (like buying towels), deliberate conscious thought did indeed produce better results. However, with complex decisions, like buying a house, it was better to not think about the options and actually let your subconscious deal with it. To quote their results:

it was confirmed in four studies on consumer choice, both in the laboratory as well as among actual shoppers, that purchases of complex products were viewed more favorably when decisions had been made in the absence of attentive deliberation.

Technorati Tags: decision, decision making, consumer choice, consumer behavior

Lasers make images out of thin air

What happens when you focus a laser 100 times a second at different points in mid air? You get a 3D image. The concept is straightforward: get a laser to heat up a small area of air (call it a ‘point’). Once the point is hot enough, it turns into plasma and emits light. Now do that 100 times a second and you can form an image in mid air. That image will be a real three-dimensional image of whatever depiction you want.

A prototype has now been built by Japanese scientists and they get some really cool results. Check out their images.

Technorati Tags: laser, 3d, imaging, physics, science

How to fall in love

What happens to the body when you fall in love? We already know that there are significant hormonal changes when people fall in love (in particular, FSH, testosterone, and cortisol) , and that love is like obsessive compulsive disorder. Now, Italian scientists add a neurotrophin to the list of chemical changes in the body.

Neurotrophins are a family of molecules that encourage survival of nervous tissue. By studying the levels of neurotrophins in the blood of people in love, scientists found that only neurotrophin, called NGF, had higher concentrations in people who have recently fallen in love. Further, it was found that the levels of NGF in the blood returned to normal after a year or two after the start of the relationship.

This means that NGF changes are transient and associated with the early stages of relationships. Incidentally, these changes mirror the other hormonal changes already discovered: it seems that at the start of romantic relationships, we get significant chemical changes in our brains and bodies, but these fade away as the relationship progresses.

Technorati Tags: love, brain, body, hormones, science, relationships

Promising anticancer results

Working with mice, researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center found that Ginkgo biloba extracts helps slow down some types of cancers. Their research is published in the journal Anticancer Research.

Ginkgo biloba extracts work against only certain types of cancers, ones that express a specific gene. This gene, called PBR, has been shown to function in cell growth as a cholesterol receptor. Earlier research found that Ginkgo biloba extract binds this cholesterol receptor.

It is important to note that these effects were observed in mice, and any effects in humans remain to be tested. Still, it’s a promising lead.

Quantum counterfactual answers out of thin air

In what can only be described as a breakthrough in computing, scientists have reported on experimental evidence of counterfactual computing. The idea is bizarre: the theory of quantum mechanics predicts that under certain conditions, you can compute the answer to mathematical problem (called an algorithm) without actually running the computer. This, now, has been confirmed experimentally, breaking down the barriers to wider applications.

The physics is quite detailed, and this is how the research’s team leader, physicist Paul Kwiat, attempted to explain it:

"In a sense, it is the possibility that the algorithm could run which prevents the algorithm from running. That is at the heart of quantum interrogation schemes, and to my mind, quantum mechanics doesn’t get any more mysterious than this."

Hey, as long as it works!

Technorati Tags: physics, quantum computing, quantum mechanics, science

Weak links between candidate gene and osteoporosis

Vertebral compression fractures in a patient with osteoporosis. Image: Stuart Ralston.

Osteoporosis is a complex bone disease hitting one out of every two women and one in eight men over 50. It is characterized by low bone mass and structural deterioration of bone tissue. Osteoporosis is controlled genetic and environmental factors, and there are several candidate genes we think are linked to the development of osteoporosis. One of these genes is called COL1A1, and certain mutations in this gene are known to cause bone-related diseases. Tests were devised to look at the mutations in COL1A1 and correlated them to the incidence of osteoporosis. However, just how strong the link between a particular COL1A1 mutation, called ‘T’ for short, and osteoporosis was debatable.

Now a European study of 24000 people looked provides the answer. Unfortunately, it was found that the T mutation explains only 10% of osteoporosis cases, and therefore is not the great candidate that we thought it was. On top of that, having the T mutation does not translate to a higher number of fractures. However, this does not close the door on other genetic factors, including other mutations in COL1A1. As always, more large-scale studies such as this one are needed to quantify their effects.

The study was the EU-funded Genetic Markers for Osteoporosis (GENOMOS), and its results were published in the Public Library of Science (PLoS) Medicine journal, in paper entitled Large-Scale Evidence for the Effect of the COL1A1 Sp1 Polymorphism on Osteoporosis Outcomes: The GENOMOS Study.

Technorati Tags: osteoporosis, genetics, science, genes