tag:theconversation.com,2011:/global/topics/inflammation-2949/articlesInflammation – The Conversation2024-03-15T17:34:41Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2131852024-03-15T17:34:41Z2024-03-15T17:34:41ZGut microbiome: meet Roseburia intestinalis — the energy-producing bug that helps us fight diseases<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582161/original/file-20240315-18-p5czjg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C7%2C4872%2C3223&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">_R intestinalis_ makes butyrate from polysaccharides, which are found in starchy foods such as potatoes.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-woman-eating-fish-potatoes-572976808">Photo Oz/ Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The hundreds of species of microorganisms that comprise the microbiome all have different, unique roles. </p>
<p>One of the important functions that takes place in the gut is the production of short-chain fatty acids. These molecules are derived from the fermentation of <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2902962/">polysaccharides</a> (a type of carbohydrate) which are primarily found in starchy foods. These short-chain fatty acids are then used in a range of processes – including providing cells with the energy they need to grow and multiply and enabling communication between the gut and the brain.</p>
<p>The gut’s microbes mainly make three short-chain fatty acids: acetate, propionate and butyrate. Together, these provide around <a href="https://microbialcellfactories.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12934-017-0691-z">60% of all energy used by the intestinal cells</a> – and about 10% of our body’s <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3735932/">overall calorie requirements</a>. </p>
<p>Arguably, the most important of these short-chain fatty acids is butyrate, which has been widely studied due to its apparent <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S216183132200833X">links to health and disease</a>. </p>
<p>Butyrate is the primary source of energy used to create and maintain the mucus membrane that lines our digestive tract. This lining is vital for healthy gut function, protecting the body from infection and absorbing nutrients from the foods we eat. </p>
<p>One of the primary producers of butyrate in the gut is the bacterium <em>Roseburia intestinalis</em>.</p>
<h2>Energy production</h2>
<p><em>R intestinalis</em> lives in close contact with the mucus membrane of our gut cells and makes up just over <a href="https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/aem.69.7.4320-4324.2003">2% of the entire population</a> of the human gut microbiome. It creates butyrate from the polysaccharides we eat using a <a href="https://academic.oup.com/gbe/article/6/3/703/580436">special type of enzyme</a>. While it isn’t the only bacterium in the gut that produces butyrate, <em>R intestinalis</em> is one of its <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2021.757718/full">most abundant producers</a>.</p>
<p><em>R intestinalis</em> has been linked to <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2021.757718/full">many health benefits</a>, such as preventing inflammation and restoring good bacterial balance in the microbiome. </p>
<p>This bacterium also seems to regulate some of the communication that happens between the <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/17562848211004469">gut and brain</a> – and may even play a role in <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2021.757718/full">protecting against some diseases</a>, such as Crohn’s, ulcerative colitis and both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. </p>
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<img alt="A digital rendering of the human brain." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582167/original/file-20240315-24-crh3oc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582167/original/file-20240315-24-crh3oc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582167/original/file-20240315-24-crh3oc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582167/original/file-20240315-24-crh3oc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582167/original/file-20240315-24-crh3oc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582167/original/file-20240315-24-crh3oc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582167/original/file-20240315-24-crh3oc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">This bacterium helps facilitate communication between the gut and the brain.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/human-brain-floating-on-blue-background-260226050">Fer Gregory/ Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>These health benefits are probably thanks to the fact that the butyrate <em>R intestinalis</em> produces provides nutrients and energy to other bacterial species who have more specialised jobs in the gut. Butyrate also helps regulate many aspects of our <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.2147/JIR.S300989">immune system</a>. It does this through promoting or suppressing the production of key immune cells.</p>
<p>Much of these discoveries of <em>R intestinalis’s</em> benefits are very recent and more research will be needed to better confirm what specific roles this bacterium plays in the gut, and how exactly it enhances our own fight against disease. </p>
<p>Butyrate production may also be more complex than it appears, with studies finding a link between low levels of butyrate production <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/obr.12068">and obesity</a>.</p>
<p>But given its key role in promoting a healthy gut – alongside its wider effects on the immune system and body – it’s no wonder <em>R intestinalis</em> is starting to be considered as a potential probiotic. This would mean we could see it <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9493362/">added to supplements</a> in order to promote a healthier microbiome in the future.</p>
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<p><em>This article is part of <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/meet-your-gut-microbes-150943?utm_source=InArticleTop&utm_medium=TCUK&utm_campaign=Health2024">Meet Your Gut Microbes</a>, a series about the rich constellation of bacteria, viruses, archaea and fungi that live in people’s digestive tracts. Scientists are increasingly realising their importance in shaping our health – both physical and mental. Each week we will look at a different microbe and bring you the most up-to-date research on them.</em></p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Conor Meehan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>R intestinalis is one of the gut’s primary producers of butyrate – a source of energy for many of the gut’s cells.Conor Meehan, Associate Professor of Microbial Bioinformatics, Nottingham Trent UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2230572024-02-08T13:39:27Z2024-02-08T13:39:27ZHeart attacks, cancer, dementia, premature deaths: 4 essential reads on the health effects driving EPA’s new fine particle air pollution standard<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574202/original/file-20240207-27-6crply.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=37%2C7%2C5002%2C3347&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Large industrial facilities like this oil refinery outside Houston are major sources of fine particulate air pollution.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/CongressClimateEnvironmentalJustice/c07295f82f9646db873f5d96baf4f089/photo">AP Photo/David J. Phillip</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has <a href="https://www.epa.gov/pm-pollution/final-reconsideration-national-ambient-air-quality-standards-particulate-matter-pm">announced a new standard</a> for protecting the public from fine particulate air pollution, known as PM2.5 because the particles are smaller than 2.5 millionths of a meter. These minute particles can penetrate deeply into the body and have been linked to many serious illnesses. </p>
<p>The new rule sets an annual limit of 9 micrograms per cubic meter of air, down from the previous level of 12 micrograms. States will be required to meet this standard and to take it into consideration when they evaluate applications for permits for new stationary air pollution sources, such as electric power plants, factories and oil refineries.</p>
<p>Under the Clean Air Act, the EPA is required to set air pollution standards at levels that <a href="https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-clean-air-act">protect public health</a>. In the four articles that follow, scholars wrote about the many ways in which exposure to PM2.5 contributes to cardiovascular disease, lung cancer, other illnesses such as dementia, and premature deaths.</p>
<h2>1. An alarming array of health effects</h2>
<p>Scientists have known since the 1993 <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1056/NEJM199312093292401">Six Cities Study</a>, which showed that people were dying faster in dirty cities than in clean cities, that exposure to PM2.5 increased the risk of lung cancer and heart disease. Subsequent research has linked fine particulates to a much broader range of health effects. </p>
<p>Once a person inhales PM2.5, “it causes an inflammatory response that sends signals <a href="https://theconversation.com/fine-particle-air-pollution-is-a-public-health-emergency-hiding-in-plain-sight-106030">throughout the body</a>, much as a bacterial infection would,” wrote public and environmental health scholars <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=1h3u230AAAAJ&hl=en">Doug Brugge</a> of the University of Connecticut and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=SDWANZEAAAAJ&hl=en">Kevin James Lane</a> of Boston University. “Additionally, the smallest particles and fragments of larger particles can leave the lungs and travel through the blood.” </p>
<p>In Brugge and Lane’s view, evidence that PM2.5 could affect brain development, cognitive skills and children’s central nervous systems is particularly notable. They termed fine particle pollution an urgent global health threat. </p>
<p>“Developed countries have made progress in reducing particulate air pollution in recent decades, but much remains to be done to further reduce this hazard,” they observed. “And the situation has gotten dramatically worse in many developing countries – most notably China and India, which have industrialized faster and on vaster scales than ever seen before.”</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/fine-particle-air-pollution-is-a-public-health-emergency-hiding-in-plain-sight-106030">Fine particle air pollution is a public health emergency hiding in plain sight</a>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">PM2.5 particles are small enough to evade many of the body’s defenses.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>2. Aging the brain</h2>
<p>Medical researchers are looking closely at air pollution as a possible accelerator of brain aging. University of Southern California preventive medicine specialist <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=jxckDOcAAAAJ&hl=en">Jiu-Chiuan Chen</a> and his colleagues have found that older women who lived in locations with high levels of PM2.5 suffered <a href="https://theconversation.com/air-pollution-may-contribute-to-alzheimers-and-dementia-risk-heres-what-were-learning-from-brain-scans-148776">memory loss and Alzheimer’s-like brain shrinkage</a> not seen in women living with cleaner air.</p>
<p>Chen and his colleagues compared brains scans taken at five-year intervals of older women who lived in areas with varying levels of air pollution.</p>
<p>“When we compared the brain scans of older women from locations with high levels of PM2.5 to those with low levels, we found dementia risk increased by 24% over the five years,” Chen wrote. </p>
<p>More alarmingly, “(T)hese Alzheimer’s-like brain changes were present in older women with no memory problems,” Chen noted. “The shrinkage in their brains was greater if they lived in locations with higher levels of outdoor PM2.5, even when those levels were within the current (2021) EPA standard.”</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/air-pollution-may-contribute-to-alzheimers-and-dementia-risk-heres-what-were-learning-from-brain-scans-148776">Air pollution may contribute to Alzheimer’s and dementia risk – here's what we're learning from brain scans</a>
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<h2>3. Disadvantaged communities have dirtier air</h2>
<p>As researchers in environmental justice have shown, facilities such as factories and refineries often are concentrated in low-income neighborhoods and communities of color. This means that these areas are exposed to higher pollution levels and face heavier related health burdens.</p>
<p>Regulations put in place under the Clean Air Act have greatly reduced levels of harmful air pollutants across the U.S. over the past 50 years. But when University of Virginia economist <a href="https://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?user=xw8Ml0QAAAAJ&hl=en">Jonathan Colmer</a> and public policy scholar <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Z1sqTysAAAAJ&hl=en">Jay Shimshack</a> analyzed data tracing PM2.5 concentrations at more than 8.6 million distinct U.S. locations from 1981 through 2016, they found that the areas that were most polluted in 1981 <a href="https://theconversation.com/fine-particle-air-pollution-has-decreased-across-the-us-but-poor-and-minority-communities-are-still-the-most-polluted-143650">remained the dirtiest nearly 40 years later</a>.</p>
<p>“In 1981 PM2.5 concentrations in the most polluted 10% of census tracts averaged 34 micrograms per cubic meter,” the authors reported. “In 2016 PM2.5 concentrations in the most polluted 10% of census tracts averaged 10 micrograms per cubic meter. PM2.5 concentrations in the least polluted 10% of census tracts averaged 4 micrograms per cubic meter.” In other words, while all areas had cleaner air, people in the most polluted areas still were exposed to PM2.5 levels more than twice as high as people in the cleanest zones.</p>
<p>“For decades, federal and state environmental guidelines have aimed to provide all Americans with the same degree of protection from environmental hazards,” Colmer and Shimshack note. “The EPA’s definition of environmental justice states that ‘no group of people should bear a disproportionate share of the negative environmental consequences.’ On this front, our research suggests that the United States is falling short.”</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/fine-particle-air-pollution-has-decreased-across-the-us-but-poor-and-minority-communities-are-still-the-most-polluted-143650">Fine-particle air pollution has decreased across the US, but poor and minority communities are still the most polluted</a>
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<h2>4. Fine particle pollution hurts wildlife too</h2>
<p>Like the proverbial canaries in coal mines, wild animals can show effects of exposure to pollution that offer broader warnings. One example is wildfires, which produce high levels of gases and particulate matter.</p>
<p>Cornell University conservation biologist <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=ykHYzwEAAAAJ&hl=en">Wendy M. Erb</a> was studying wild orangutans in Indonesian Borneo when that island suffered large-scale wildfires. Orangutans are semi-solitary animals that communicate with each other through long, booming calls in the tropical forests where they live. </p>
<p>During the fires and for several weeks after the smoke cleared, Erb and her colleagues found that four male orangutans they were following <a href="https://theconversation.com/to-see-how-smoke-affects-endangered-orangutans-we-studied-their-voices-during-and-after-massive-indonesian-wildfires-208153">called less frequently than usual</a> – about three times daily instead of their usual six times. “Their voices dropped in pitch, showing more vocal harshness and irregularities,” Erb reported. “Collectively, these features of vocal quality have been linked to inflammation, stress and disease – including COVID-19 – in human and nonhuman animals.”</p>
<p>Erb hoped to see further study of how toxic smoke affects wildlife. “Using passive acoustic monitoring to study vocally active indicator species, like orangutans, could unlock critical insights into wildfire smoke’s effects on wildlife populations worldwide,” she observed.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/to-see-how-smoke-affects-endangered-orangutans-we-studied-their-voices-during-and-after-massive-indonesian-wildfires-208153">To see how smoke affects endangered orangutans, we studied their voices during and after massive Indonesian wildfires</a>
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<p><em>Editor’s note: This story is a roundup of articles from The Conversation’s archive.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223057/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
On Feb. 7, 2024, the EPA strengthened the federal limit for annual levels of fine particulate air pollution, or PM2.5. Many serious health effects have been linked to PM2.5 exposure.Jennifer Weeks, Senior Environment + Cities Editor, The ConversationLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2160782023-12-27T20:26:50Z2023-12-27T20:26:50ZThinking of a(nother) tattoo this summer? What you need to know about sunburn, sweating and fading<p>More of us have tattoos than ever before. About <a href="https://mccrindle.com.au/article/tattoos-on-the-rise-among-aussies/">25% of Australians</a> are inked. </p>
<p>A tattoo can be a large investment in time, money and pain.</p>
<p>So how do you take care of your tattooed skin? Here’s what you need to know about sunburn, sweating and fading.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/tattoos-have-a-long-history-going-back-to-the-ancient-world-and-also-to-colonialism-165584">Tattoos have a long history going back to the ancient world – and also to colonialism</a>
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<h2>What’s a tattoo, dermatologically speaking?</h2>
<p>Tattoo inks are deposited in the <a href="https://dermnetnz.org/topics/the-structure-of-normal-skin">layer of skin</a> called the dermis. This layer contains sweat and oil glands, a blood supply, immune cells, collagen to support the skin’s structures, and fibroblasts, which produce collagen.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563548/original/file-20231205-29-8elmtu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Cross-section of human skin showing epidermis and dermis" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563548/original/file-20231205-29-8elmtu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563548/original/file-20231205-29-8elmtu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563548/original/file-20231205-29-8elmtu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563548/original/file-20231205-29-8elmtu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563548/original/file-20231205-29-8elmtu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563548/original/file-20231205-29-8elmtu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563548/original/file-20231205-29-8elmtu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Tattoo inks are inserted into the dermis.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/normal-skin-layers-crosssection-human-structure-2339540305">zonn hong/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Fibroblasts <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470204511703400?via%3Dihub#bib74">take up</a> the ink particles, as do immune cells in the dermal tissue known as <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cup.12023">macrophages</a>. The ink particles also stick inside bundles of collagen.</p>
<p>Between these three mechanisms, the dermis holds tattoo inks so well they can be seen even on the 5,300-year-old <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1296207415000023#bib0200">ice mummy Ötzi</a>. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-otzi-the-prehistoric-iceman-can-teach-us-about-the-use-of-tattoos-in-ceremonial-healing-or-religious-rites-168058">What Ötzi the prehistoric iceman can teach us about the use of tattoos in ceremonial healing or religious rites</a>
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<h2>Can I get a tattoo if I’m sunburnt?</h2>
<p>No, and many tattoo artists will not do it. During sunburn, your skin calls in extra immune cells and fluid to kill off and break down cells that have too much UV damage. </p>
<p>This <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40257-017-0326-5">inflammation</a> can affect the tattoo ink deposits. You might not get the look you were after, with too much ink removed by your immune cells or swelling distorting the lines.</p>
<p>It’s much better to be proactive about sun protection before a tattoo, or at least be patient and reschedule when your skin has healed.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/i-cant-get-sunburnt-through-glass-shade-or-in-water-right-5-common-sunburn-myths-busted-150640">I can't get sunburnt through glass, shade or in water, right? 5 common sunburn myths busted</a>
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<h2>How soon after my new tattoo can I go into the sun?</h2>
<p>There’s not much research on how soon you can expose your new tattoo to the sun. However, <a href="https://karger.com/drm/article/doi/10.1159/000533489/861717/An-Analysis-of-the-Content-and-Recommendations-of">most tattooists</a> advise you to avoid sun exposure while the tattoo heals, generally about three weeks.</p>
<p>This seems sensible, as your fresh tattoo is a type of wound.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563560/original/file-20231205-25-bjthp5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C11%2C1920%2C1267&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Woman with sleeve tattoo heading to ocean, yoga mat under arm" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563560/original/file-20231205-25-bjthp5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C11%2C1920%2C1267&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563560/original/file-20231205-25-bjthp5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563560/original/file-20231205-25-bjthp5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563560/original/file-20231205-25-bjthp5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563560/original/file-20231205-25-bjthp5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563560/original/file-20231205-25-bjthp5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563560/original/file-20231205-25-bjthp5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Wait about three weeks before heading out into the sun with your new tattoo.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/crop-tattooed-woman-with-yoga-mat-against-river-4793296/">Anete Lusina/Pexels</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Because the skin is damaged by inserting a needle, it’s not too surprising that the most common short-term complication is local inflammation with swelling, redness and discomfort at the tattoo site. There is an influx of immune cells to deal with the damage, much like a sunburn.</p>
<p>So, in one way, you should treat your new tattoo like sunburn and <a href="https://www.aad.org/public/everyday-care/injured-skin/burns/treat-sunburn">avoid sun exposure</a> while it heals. </p>
<p>But you shouldn’t use <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7442309/">sunscreen</a> on the tattoo in that time. That’s because sunscreen can <a href="https://www.futuremedicine.com/doi/10.2217/nnm.12.196?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%20%200pubmed">enter the dermis</a> through the puncture wounds and cause more irritation. Cover your new tattoo with loose clothing instead.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/do-beach-cabanas-actually-protect-you-from-the-sun-199102">Do beach cabanas actually protect you from the sun?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What happens if my tattoo gets sunburnt?</h2>
<p><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jdv.12093">Sunlight-induced reactions</a> to both new and existing tattoos are common. There’s usually swelling, itching or stinging on the tattoo site that can start immediately or develop over the course of a day. We’re not really sure why this happens.</p>
<p>Most of the time, these reactions are unpleasant but don’t require medical treatment, much like sunburn. </p>
<p>There is also a small amount of evidence that sunburn on a tattoo temporarily suppresses the skin’s immune system, allowing an <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1468-3083.2004.01121.x">infection</a> to become established.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/common-skin-rashes-and-what-to-do-about-them-91518">Common skin rashes and what to do about them</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Do tattoos increase my risk of skin cancer?</h2>
<p>Some <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470204511703400?via%3Dihub#bib4">ink components</a>, such as mercury or carbon black, are suspected cancer-causing agents when used in other applications. However, there’s <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470204511703400?via%3Dihub">no evidence</a> skin cancers are more likely in tattooed skin.</p>
<p>Tattoos make newly-developed skin cancers <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ajd.12219">more difficult to detect</a>. Besides making the lesion more difficult to spot in the first place, the colours of the tattoo interfere with your doctor’s assessment of the colours in the lesion, which can be an important sign of cancer.</p>
<p>So it’s a good idea to get familiar with the moles and freckles on a patch of skin before you’re inked, and check them yourself once a month for changes. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563561/original/file-20231205-15-fbd5ki.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=2%2C2%2C995%2C663&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Man with tattoos spraying sunscreen on arms" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563561/original/file-20231205-15-fbd5ki.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=2%2C2%2C995%2C663&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563561/original/file-20231205-15-fbd5ki.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563561/original/file-20231205-15-fbd5ki.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563561/original/file-20231205-15-fbd5ki.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563561/original/file-20231205-15-fbd5ki.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563561/original/file-20231205-15-fbd5ki.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563561/original/file-20231205-15-fbd5ki.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Don’t use sunscreen on new tattoos but after about three weeks, go for it.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/tattooed-man-applying-sunscreen-cream-on-2338700035">Pixel-Shot/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Red tattoos seem to be more prone to large but benign (non-cancerous) skin tumours called <a href="https://dermnetnz.org/topics/keratoacanthoma">keratoacanthomas</a>. These appear within a few months of tattooing, and often grow rapidly but then heal by themselves.</p>
<p>However, they can be difficult to distinguish from <a href="https://karger.com/drm/article/237/2/309/115107/Keratoacanthomas-and-Squamous-Cell-Carcinomas-on">squamous cell carcinomas</a> (a type of skin cancer). They can also damage underlying structures, such as nerves and muscles. So they often need to be removed anyway.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/health-check-do-i-need-a-skin-cancer-check-48096">Health Check: do I need a skin cancer check?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Can sunlight fade my tattoo?</h2>
<p>As tattoos age, they can fade a bit as some of the loose ink particles filter deeper into the dermis. Sun exposure can also degrade ink particles.</p>
<p>There’s limited research on this in human skin. After all, most people don’t want to fade their tattoos for science. So most of what we know is from research <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1600-0625.2009.00925.x">in mice</a>.</p>
<p>However, modern tattoo inks give you a strong colour. So in practice, you might not notice any fading for years.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-power-perils-and-rites-of-passage-the-history-of-the-female-tattoo-72725">Friday essay: power, perils and rites of passage – the history of the female tattoo</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Does tattooed skin sweat differently to un-inked skin?</h2>
<p>This is an important question, because sweating is a major way our body avoids overheating in the summer. If you’ve got a full sleeve or your whole back is your canvas, that’s a significant amount of skin.</p>
<p>Since tattooing punctures the skin repeatedly, <a href="https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/japplphysiol.00427.2019?rfr_dat=cr_pub++0pubmed&url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori%3Arid%3Acrossref.org">sweat glands</a> in the dermis may be damaged.</p>
<p>But the research on tattoos’ impact on sweating is mixed and depends on what you are doing at the time.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/japplphysiol.00427.2019?rfr_dat=cr_pub++0pubmed&url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori%3Arid%3Acrossref.org">one study</a>, researchers used a heatable suit to increase study participants’ internal body temperature by 1°C. Tattooed areas produced about 15% less sweat. It’s not clear if this is enough to increase the risk of heat stress.</p>
<p>However, when other researchers looked at sweating <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9463223/">induced by exercise</a> there was no effect in the volume of sweat between tattooed and un-tattooed skin.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-tattoos-became-fashionable-in-victorian-england-122487">How tattoos became fashionable in Victorian England</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Longer-term risks</h2>
<p>When performed under the clean conditions of a licenced tattoo parlour, tattooing is relatively safe. </p>
<p>But long term, some people develop <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40257-017-0326-5">allergic reactions</a> to certain colours due to the different compounds in each, most commonly red dyes. This can cause lumps, scales, scarring or other visible changes.</p>
<p>So, what’s the most common long-term side effect of tattoos? Tattoo regret and wanting to have them <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12016-016-8532-0">removed</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216078/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Katie Lee receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Erin McMeniman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A tattoo can be a large investment in time, money and pain. Here’s how to look after yours this summer.Katie Lee, PhD Candidate, The University of QueenslandErin McMeniman, Senior Lecturer Princess Alexandra Hospital Southside Clinical Unit and Casual Research Assistant, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2183442023-12-21T23:19:57Z2023-12-21T23:19:57ZGot period pain or cramps? What to eat and avoid, according to science<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566750/original/file-20231219-27-7x7oaq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1%2C1%2C1276%2C848&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-suffering-from-a-stomach-pain-5938362/">Sora Shimazaki/Pexels</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Painful periods are common. More than half of people who menstruate have some pain for up to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8943241/">three days a month</a>, typically throbbing or cramping in the lower abdomen. </p>
<p>Digestive changes – such as vomiting, gas, bloating, diarrhoea and a “bubbling gut” – are also <a href="https://bmcwomenshealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12905-018-0538-8">common</a> around the time of menstruation. </p>
<p>There are many <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8943241/">treatments</a> for period pain (known medically as dysmenorrhoea). Not all these treatments are well-tolerated or work for everyone.</p>
<p>We’re learning more about food’s role in influencing <a href="https://theconversation.com/9-signs-you-have-inflammation-in-your-body-could-an-anti-inflammatory-diet-help-210468">inflammation</a> in our body. So, could eating or avoiding certain foods <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5963185/">help</a> with painful periods? Here’s what we know based on high-quality research.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/from-sharp-butt-pains-to-period-poos-5-lesser-known-menstrual-cycle-symptoms-191352">From sharp butt pains to period poos: 5 lesser-known menstrual cycle symptoms</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Foods that may relieve period pain or cramps</h2>
<p><strong>Foods containing omega-3 fatty acids</strong></p>
<p>Foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids include chia seeds, walnuts, flaxseeds, salmon, herring, sardines, mackerel, oysters and edamame beans. Omega-3 fatty acids are naturally present in oils including fish, cod liver, algal, krill, flaxseed (linseed), soybean and canola oils.</p>
<p>Omega-3 fatty acids <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3257651/">affect</a> how our cells function and the signalling pathways associated with inflammation and pain. </p>
<p>Earlier this year, researchers published a <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37545015/#:%7E:text=Meta%2Danalysis%20(n%20%3D%208,0.51)%20at%20reducing%20dysmenorrhoea%20pain.">meta-analysis</a> where they combined and analysed all data available on the impact of omega-3 fatty acids on period pain. They found diets high in omega-3 fatty acids (including supplements of 300-1,800 milligrams a day) over two to three months may reduce pain, and pain medication use, in people with painful periods.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566754/original/file-20231219-15-vu9xne.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Open sardine can, parsley, cut lemon on wooden table." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566754/original/file-20231219-15-vu9xne.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566754/original/file-20231219-15-vu9xne.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566754/original/file-20231219-15-vu9xne.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566754/original/file-20231219-15-vu9xne.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566754/original/file-20231219-15-vu9xne.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566754/original/file-20231219-15-vu9xne.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566754/original/file-20231219-15-vu9xne.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sardines and other oily fish are rich in omega-3 fatty acids.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/open-can-sardines-preserves-oil-on-1636046179">BearFotos/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/are-fish-oil-supplements-as-healthy-as-we-think-and-is-eating-fish-better-212250">Are fish oil supplements as healthy as we think? And is eating fish better?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><strong>Foods high in vitamin D</strong></p>
<p>Foods high in vitamin D include trout, salmon, tuna and mackerel, as well as fish liver oils. Small amounts are also found in beef liver, egg yolk and cheese. Mushrooms contain varying levels of vitamin D, and you can <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6213178/">boost</a> this by exposing them to direct midday sunlight for 15-120 minutes. </p>
<p>The body can make vitamin D when it gets sunlight exposure and you can also get vitamin D from supplements.</p>
<p>Vitamin D <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24262718/">may help</a> reduce the factors that cause inflammation in the uterus. This includes levels of hormone-like molecules called prostaglandins. </p>
<p>A 2023 <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/15/13/2830#B11-nutrients-15-02830">meta-analysis</a> showed women who received weekly doses of vitamin D greater than 50,000 IU (or international units) had relief from period pain, regardless of how long and how often women took the vitamin.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/should-i-be-getting-my-vitamin-d-levels-checked-211268">Should I be getting my vitamin D levels checked?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><strong>Foods high in vitamin E</strong></p>
<p>Foods rich in vitamin E include seeds (particularly sunflower seeds), nuts (particularly almonds, hazelnuts and peanuts) and spinach, broccoli, kiwifruit, mango and tomato. </p>
<p>There is some evidence vitamin E supplements reduce period pain. In a well-conducted <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15777446/">trial</a> run over the course of four periods, women took vitamin E supplements (90 milligrams, twice a day) for five days, beginning two days before the expected start of the period. This significantly reduced the severity and duration of period pain. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566756/original/file-20231220-17-d2da5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Woman tipping out nut mix into palm of hand" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566756/original/file-20231220-17-d2da5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566756/original/file-20231220-17-d2da5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566756/original/file-20231220-17-d2da5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566756/original/file-20231220-17-d2da5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566756/original/file-20231220-17-d2da5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566756/original/file-20231220-17-d2da5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566756/original/file-20231220-17-d2da5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Seeds and nuts are rich in vitamin E.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/hands-holding-jar-nuts-dried-fruits-1112521214">NazarBazar/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/i-have-painful-periods-could-it-be-endometriosis-101026">I have painful periods, could it be endometriosis?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Foods that may worsen period pain or cramps</h2>
<p><strong>Highly processed foods</strong></p>
<p>Highly processed foods include energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods such as takeaways, chips, biscuits, doughnuts, processed meats and soft drinks. </p>
<p>Research findings on the impact of a diet high in processed foods on period pain vary. A 2019 <a href="https://karger.com/goi/article/84/3/209/153726/Nutrition-as-a-Potential-Factor-of-Primary">review</a> found sugar consumption had little association with painful periods. </p>
<p>However, some observational studies (which do not involve an intervention) suggest women who eat more processed foods may have more intense period pain. For example, a <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19468949/">2009 study</a> found adolescent females who ate fast or processed foods for two days or more a week reported more period pain compared with those who did not. Therefore, eating less processed food may be something to consider. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/8-everyday-foods-you-might-not-realise-are-ultra-processed-and-how-to-spot-them-197993">8 everyday foods you might not realise are ultra processed – and how to spot them</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><strong>Caffeine</strong></p>
<p>Foods high in caffeine include coffee, energy drinks and some processed energy bars. Caffeine intake is <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwij7LmPxfSCAxV5d_UHHRnyDyUQFnoECBIQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fpmc%2Farticles%2FPMC4222008%2F&usg=AOvVaw2mEjyMadOB1D6geQgAwckc&opi=89978449">associated with</a> menstrual pain. </p>
<p>Although we don’t know the precise underlying mechanism, researchers think caffeine may narrow blood vessels, which limits blood flow, leading to stronger cramps.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566757/original/file-20231220-23-u1d2j2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Tired woman staring at bowl of breakfast, cereal and cup on kitchen table" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566757/original/file-20231220-23-u1d2j2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566757/original/file-20231220-23-u1d2j2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566757/original/file-20231220-23-u1d2j2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566757/original/file-20231220-23-u1d2j2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566757/original/file-20231220-23-u1d2j2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566757/original/file-20231220-23-u1d2j2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566757/original/file-20231220-23-u1d2j2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Avoiding coffee may help your period pain.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/woman-does-not-want-eat-her-151886987">Lolostock/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<em>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/nope-coffee-wont-give-you-extra-energy-itll-just-borrow-a-bit-that-youll-pay-for-later-197897">Nope, coffee won't give you extra energy. It'll just borrow a bit that you'll pay for later</a>
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</p>
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<p><strong>Alcohol</strong></p>
<p>Drinking alcohol is <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4859868/">not</a> a recognised risk factor for painful periods. However, chronic heavy alcohol use reduces levels of <a href="https://academic.oup.com/alcalc/article/55/2/164/5734241">magnesium</a> in the blood. Magnesium is an important factor in relaxing muscles and supporting blood flow.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/adele-called-herself-a-borderline-alcoholic-but-is-that-a-real-thing-215987">Adele called herself a 'borderline alcoholic'. But is that a real thing?</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>A healthy, balanced diet is your best best</h2>
<p>Having a healthy, balanced diet is <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7071223/">one of the best ways</a> we can support our own health and prevent future chronic conditions. This can help reduce inflammation in our bodies, thought to be the main way diet can help people with painful periods.</p>
<p>If you are looking for tailored dietary advice or a menstrual health meal plan, speak with an <a href="https://member.dietitiansaustralia.org.au/Portal/Portal/Search-Directories/Find-a-Dietitian.aspx">accredited practising dietitian</a>.</p>
<p>It’s important to stress, however, that diet alone cannot treat all forms of menstrual pain. So if you are concerned about your painful periods, check in with your GP who can discuss your options.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/9-signs-you-have-inflammation-in-your-body-could-an-anti-inflammatory-diet-help-210468">9 signs you have inflammation in your body. Could an anti-inflammatory diet help?</a>
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<p><em>This article has been updated to reflect the correct date of a review that found sugar consumption had little association with painful periods.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218344/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lauren Ball works for The University of Queensland and receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council, Queensland Health and Mater Misericordia. She is a Director of Dietitians Australia, a Director of the Darling Downs and West Moreton Primary Health Network and an Associate Member of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emily Burch is an Accredited Practising Dietitian and member of Dietitians Australia. She works for Southern Cross University. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Pui Ting Wong is a PhD Candidate at The University Queensland (UQ) Centre for Community Health and Wellbeing, and receives the UQ Tuition Fee Offset and Stipend Scholarship. She is also an Accredited Practising Dietitian and a member of Dietitians Australia.</span></em></p>A cup of coffee might help you kick-start your day, but it may actually make painful periods worse. Here’s what else to avoid (and eat) if you have period pain.Lauren Ball, Professor of Community Health and Wellbeing, The University of QueenslandEmily Burch, Lecturer, Southern Cross UniversityPui Ting Wong, PhD Candidate, culinary education and adolescent mental health, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2183072023-12-21T11:58:11Z2023-12-21T11:58:11ZWhy IBD is so hard to treat – and how scientists are making progress<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564472/original/file-20231208-21-jio13j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C8%2C5455%2C3628&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">IBD can be debilitating </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/illustration-intestine-internal-organs-womens-body-1828134221">Emily frost/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5478758/">life altering</a> chronic illness that is <a href="https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/13/3/e065186">rising dramatically globally</a>. It is stubbornly difficult to treat, and many people find the treatments we have just don’t work for them. </p>
<p>Over the last 30 years, there has been almost a 50% increase in cases – now affecting around 5 million people. Not to be confused with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) which is a condition that affects the digestive system, IBD is more serious. It is the term for two severe illnesses called <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/crohns-disease/">Crohn’s disease</a> and <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/ulcerative-colitis/">ulcerative colitis</a>. More women are <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9958616/#:%7E:text=Male%20predominance%20in%20IBD.,%2C%202.32%3A1%20in%20CD.">diagnosed with Crohn’s disease</a> while more men are affected by ulcerative colitis. </p>
<p>People with IBD can experience a variety of <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4106026/">symptoms</a>, ranging from diarrhoea and blood in the stool, to weight loss and belly aches. On paper, this may sound no worse than mild food poisoning, however, this is no normal stomach upset. </p>
<p>Experiences are often extreme; people with IBD can suffer excruciating pain and in some cases, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9963331/">require surgery</a> to remove parts of the bowel. This is done by redirecting the bowel to a hole in the abdomen, where faeces are collected in a <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/colostomy/">colostomy bag</a>. </p>
<p>However, we still don’t fully understand the cause of IBD. </p>
<h2>The impact of inflammation</h2>
<p>The main symptom of IBD is excessive and uncontrolled <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5805548/">inflammation</a> – normally a sign of the body fighting off an infection. Although inflammation is an important aspect of our immune system, in IBD it is happening when the body is not under attack. Since we don’t know what causes this over-the-top reaction, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8720971/">treatments</a> are limited to managing the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3964397/">derailed immune system</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Man holds his abdomen." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566014/original/file-20231215-17-6sqtab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566014/original/file-20231215-17-6sqtab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566014/original/file-20231215-17-6sqtab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566014/original/file-20231215-17-6sqtab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566014/original/file-20231215-17-6sqtab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566014/original/file-20231215-17-6sqtab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566014/original/file-20231215-17-6sqtab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Many people with IBD are still in pain after treatment.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/men-stomach-pain-causes-abdominal-include-2134025051">onstockphoto/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8373857/">Inflammation is controlled</a> by cell signalling. Our cells detect bacteria using receptors that attach to parts of bacteria. This activates the receptor, causing it to send a signal to proteins, and each protein sends on more signals, creating a signal cascade. This is what tells the body it’s under attack. </p>
<p>Many treatments follow the strategy of intercepting signals and preventing the signal cascade from starting. However, they are <a href="https://journals.lww.com/co-gastroenterology/abstract/2022/07000/management_of_refractory_inflammatory_bowel.6.aspx">not effective</a> for many people. </p>
<p>Scientists are trying to target a different protein network, called <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2924159/">NOD2</a>, that often goes haywire in people with IBD but is not targeted by current treatments. A protein, called <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphar.2021.650403/full">RIPK2</a>, seems like a promising target since it is <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6939834/">only found</a> in this network. Researchers from the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10485824/">European Molecular Biology Laboratory</a> are investigating its structure to help scientists design a new medication that will block the signals from this protein. </p>
<h2>Importance of the microbiome</h2>
<p>Another inspiration for new treatments comes from the bacteria residing in our guts. This community of bacteria, called the gut microbiome, has been associated with <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6314516/">all sorts of health conditions</a> ranging from asthma to obesity. </p>
<p>Gut bacteria work closely with our bodies and play a vital role in digesting food and managing our <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41422-020-0332-7">immune system</a>. In a healthy person, there is a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4143175/">fine balance</a> between gut bacteria and the immune system. Disruption of this balance can lead to disease, starting from minor discomfort to more severe, long-term conditions. </p>
<p>Scientists are trying to understand how our bodies interact with gut bacteria, and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8102608/">what changes</a> when people develop IBD. </p>
<p>The gut microbiome is an ecosystem. Just like a forest has animals eating different things, microbes can form a <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2019.00153/full">food web</a>. Some bacteria will use up one type of food, while others feed off other foods. Some rely on the waste of other bacteria after they’ve eaten. It is now believed that disruption to the gut microbiome is a characteristic of IBD and contributes to its development and progression.</p>
<p>It’s a chicken and egg situation. Is there a change in the bacteria and food web that alters our bodies? Or does something else in the body, like our immune system, change the food web, subsequently limiting which bacteria can grow? Scientists aren’t sure of the answer. </p>
<p>Instead of trying to figure out what happens first, a team at the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-42112-w">Hudson Institute of Medical Research</a> in Australia have focused on investigating which interactions in the food web are the most affected in IBD. This could help scientists to prioritise certain gut bacteria, or their food source, to restore the balance in the microbiome and improve patients’ symptoms. </p>
<p>Hopefully, this specialised targeting of the microbiome will lead to more effective and longer lasting treatments. </p>
<p>Although we have a long way to go before these ideas for treatments can become a reality, it is a step in the right direction. Targeting a new signalling pathway will hopefully control the inflammation in more patients. And studying the microbiome may reveal how we can reverse changes associated with IBD.</p>
<p>Since they are key features of IBD, these developments could allow doctors to stop the disease in the early stages and reduce complications.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218307/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Falk Hildebrand receives funding from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), European Research Council, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Katarzyna Sidorczuk receives funding from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and European Research Council H2020 StG.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Wing Koon receives funding from the UKRI Medical Research Council for the Microbes, Microbiomes, and Bioinformatics Doctoral Training Partnership as a CASE Award in collaboration with Oxford Nanopore Technologies.</span></em></p>The current treatments for inflammatory bowel disease do not work for everyone. Tapping into new areas of biology may be the key to developing new therapies.Falk Hildebrand, Researcher in Bioinformatician, Quadram InstituteKatarzyna Sidorczuk, Research Scientist in Metagenomics, Quadram InstituteWing Koon, PhD student in Bioinformatics, Quadram InstituteLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2198782023-12-19T23:42:53Z2023-12-19T23:42:53ZOral health is health: Better access to dental care may have potential benefits beyond Canadians’ mouths<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566686/original/file-20231219-15-3hv10x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=688%2C22%2C4303%2C2964&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Because oral health is linked to overall health, dental care needs to be viewed as an integral part of health care. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/oral-health-is-health-better-access-to-dental-care-may-have-potential-benefits-beyond-canadians-mouths" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Oral diseases, particularly dental decay and periodontal (gum) diseases, are largely preventable, yet are some of the <a href="https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/themes/oral-health-data-portal">most common non-communicable diseases around the world</a>. Pain due to untreated dental decay impacts eating and sleep quality, among other essential functions. Indeed, the agonizing nature of dental pain earned it the title of “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bdj.4809302">the hell of all diseases</a>” more than 200 years ago.</p>
<p>But pain is only the most obvious of the many ways oral health is linked to overall health.</p>
<h2>Access to dental care</h2>
<p>The federal government recently launched the long-anticipated <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/dental/dental-care-plan.html">Canada Dental Care Plan</a> (CDCP) to improve access to dental care for the almost <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/news/2023/12/the-canadian-dental-care-plan.html">nine million Canadians</a> who lack dental insurance.</p>
<p>The program comes in light of the increasing barriers to dental care with the most recent data from Statistics Canada showing that <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/231106/dq231106a-eng.htm">one in four Canadians avoid seeing a dental professional due to costs</a>. While this burden affects mostly low-income families, seniors and people living with disabilities, it also places a huge toll on the population as a whole.</p>
<p>On top of the time lost from school or work due to dental problems, many without the means to access dental care end up seeking care in hospital emergency departments, unnecessarily costing the health-care system billions of dollars.</p>
<p>The CDCP is an important milestone that could eventually get many Canadians the dental care they need and deserve. Meanwhile, this investment in oral health is a reminder of the importance of a healthy mouth, what makes it fundamental to overall health, and notably, how the potential impact of improving access to dental care for those who need it most may extend beyond the mouth.</p>
<h2>Oral health is integral for overall health</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.who.int/health-topics/oral-health#tab=tab_1">World Health Organization</a> (WHO) defines oral health as “the state of the mouth, teeth and orofacial structures that enables individuals to perform essential functions such as eating, breathing and speaking, and encompassing psychosocial dimensions such as self-confidence, well-being, and the ability to socialize and work without pain, discomfort and embarrassment.”</p>
<p>A healthy, disease-free mouth is key to quality of life and well-being. Being fundamental to various essential functions, the lack of oral health connects it to a number of chronic diseases in several ways.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/filling-the-gaps-why-canada-still-needs-a-public-dental-health-plan-despite-decades-of-medicare-181306">Filling the gaps: Why Canada still needs a public dental health plan despite decades of medicare</a>
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<p>The most <a href="https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/373542/9789240070820-eng.pdf?sequence=1">recent WHO report</a> shows that dental decay and gum diseases affect almost 25 per cent of Canadian adults — a higher figure than that observed in the United States. Importantly, both conditions are among the most common causes of tooth loss in adults globally, thereby impacting the ability to eat, the quality of nutrition and, in seniors, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/jgs.16377">contributing to frailty</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/jgs.13190">declining cognitive health</a>.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uMVgyZcH1ig?wmode=transparent&start=49" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Prime Minister Justin Trudeau making an announcement about applying for the federal dental benefit, at one of Western University’s dental clinics in December 2022.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Severe gum disease in particular is an inflammatory condition that is linked to several other chronic conditions through <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41577-020-00488-6">exacerbating inflammatory reactions</a> in other organs and body systems and that may arguably contribute to some <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjcard.2016.05.036">heart</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/nep.13225">kidney diseases</a>, among others.</p>
<p>Importantly, there is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bdj.2017.544">a bidirectional relationship between gum diseases and diabetes</a>, where severe inflammation of the gums and supporting bone can aggravate the risk and complications of diabetes, and vice versa.</p>
<p>The consequences of an unhealthy mouth also extend to an individual’s social interactions. For example, those experiencing poor esthetics due to crooked, broken or stained teeth are more likely to be <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmph.2015.11.001">stigmatized and blamed for their dental appearance</a>. In severe cases, they may potentially have <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/why-is-he-out-of-work/article_711c362f-333c-5580-97ae-7f4646eb092d.html">fewer opportunities for employment</a>.</p>
<p>Observations such as these bring to mind the 19th century’s French naturalist and father of paleontology, Georges Cuvier who famously said, “<a href="https://wellcomecollection.org/articles/W3LpDykAACgAEVFi">Show me your teeth and I will tell you who you are</a>.” </p>
<p>Cuvier’s statement at the time intended to describe how teeth where distinctive of populations according to diets and environmental impacts. Nevertheless, it is not hard to see its relevance to the appearance and health of the mouth and teeth and their impact on how one is perceived in today’s society.</p>
<h2>Children’s health and dental care</h2>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A boy being examined. by a dental care worker out of shot" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566687/original/file-20231219-23-k1u7se.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566687/original/file-20231219-23-k1u7se.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566687/original/file-20231219-23-k1u7se.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566687/original/file-20231219-23-k1u7se.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566687/original/file-20231219-23-k1u7se.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566687/original/file-20231219-23-k1u7se.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566687/original/file-20231219-23-k1u7se.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Canadian kindergarteners in need of dental treatment are found to score lower on physical, cognitive, social and emotional development scales than those without dental problems.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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<p>Certainly, oral diseases affect all age groups and children are no exception. Recent reports show that almost <a href="https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/373542/9789240070820-eng.pdf?sequence=1">39 per cent of Canadian children</a> under nine years old have dental decay. Just like in adults, the impact of dental decay on children extends to poor nutrition, and affects sleep and development.</p>
<p>For example, Canadian kindergarteners in need of dental treatment were found to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-019-1868-x">score lower on physical, cognitive, social and emotional development scales</a> than those without dental problems. On top of this, researchers found the treatment of severely decayed teeth to be by far <a href="https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2014/icis-cihi/H118-94-2013-eng.pdf">the most common reason for children aged one to five years old to receive general anesthesia to undergo surgery</a>.</p>
<h2>Dental care and chronic conditions</h2>
<p>The connection between oral health and overall health is evident in myriad ways, and so is the need to improve oral health and access to dental care in Canada. It also raises the question of whether dental care can help alleviate chronic conditions beyond the mouth. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-35337-8">scientific evidence on that varies</a>, and largely depends on the chronic condition in question. For example, patients with diabetes are among those who can benefit the most from having better access to dental care. Treating gum diseases can help subside body inflammation and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002%2F14651858.CD004714.pub4">reduce the risk and complications of diabetes by helping the body regulate blood glucose levels</a>. </p>
<p>Notably, Canada ranks <a href="https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/373542/9789240070820-eng.pdf">fourth out of 29 countries</a> in the Region of the Americas in its rate of lip and oral cavity cancer. Many dentists are trained to spot the signs of oral cancer and can help in its early detection, which can be lifesaving.</p>
<p>As we learn more on the impact of dental treatment on chronic disease management, we know that facilitating access to dental care can have promising results on several fronts. In addition to saving costs for individuals and our health-care system, it would enhance the population’s oral health and potentially help in the management of some chronic diseases, such as diabetes. </p>
<p>Importantly, it can reduce the pervasive and inequitable burden of oral diseases. </p>
<p>Indeed, investing in better access to dental care may bring us closer to a healthy smile and beyond, for every Canadian.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/219878/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Noha Aziz-Ezzat Gomaa receives or has received funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at Western University, and the Children's Health Foundation. She is affiliated with various national and provincial dental professional associations.</span></em></p>In addition to saving costs for individuals and our health-care system, facilitating access to dental care would enhance the population’s oral health and potentially help in managing chronic diseases.Noha A. Gomaa, Assistant Professor, Dental Public Health and Oral Medicine, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2185682023-12-13T12:41:22Z2023-12-13T12:41:22ZSocial isolation and loneliness linked to poor health – our study could help explain why<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563987/original/file-20231206-30728-3itee.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=57%2C74%2C5452%2C3593&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/sad-smiley-drawn-by-hand-on-2107775873">ERIK Miheyeu/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Numerous studies have shown that social isolation and loneliness are associated with an <a href="https://protect-eu.mimecast.com/s/lJnICBN5VhvJA8ztzCXXn">increased risk of early death</a>, on a scale comparable to other known risk factors such as smoking and obesity. This year, the US surgeon general declared social isolation and loneliness to be a <a href="https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-social-connection-advisory.pdf">significant public health concern</a>.</p>
<p>But scientists are still trying to untangle the physical processes behind the relationship. Our team’s <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0889159123003562">recent study</a> showed that social isolation and loneliness seem to be associated with higher levels of inflammation, which goes hand in hand with many health problems.</p>
<p>Researchers have argued that a desire for social connection –- and, conversely, an aversion to social disconnection –- is <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0092656606000055">part of our evolutionary heritage</a>. As a species, humans are not particularly big, strong or fast, but we are highly social, and our ancestors’ chances of survival and reproductive success would have relied on the principle of safety in numbers. Being cut off from the social group represents a threat to your safety. </p>
<p>The immune system is one of several processes in the body that come into play under this scenario. A lone individual without the protection of a social group would be at greater risk of injury, and it therefore makes sense that the immune system would respond by preparing itself to battle off infection. This inflammatory response protects you in the short term. However, it is not ideal for your body to be in this stressed state for a prolonged period, and it could <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-019-0675-0">exert a toll on your physical health over time</a>. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0889159123003562">our study published in November 2023</a> in the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, we investigated the associations of social isolation and loneliness with markers of inflammation. Social isolation and loneliness are not the same thing. The former is an objective measure of your social connections, and the latter an emotion that can be experienced even when surrounded by other people. Both can have implications for mental and physical health.</p>
<p>In this study, we used data from three studies. Each of them had data on social isolation, loneliness and inflammation. Two of these studies followed participants from early childhood through to adulthood. This enabled us not only to test whether shortcomings in early social relationships foreshadowed increased inflammation later in life, but also to check whether any effects we found in one sample could be replicated in another sample.</p>
<p>We looked at three different markers of inflammation. Two of these, a protein made in the liver called <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/c-reactive-protein-test/about/pac-20385228">C-Reactive Protein</a> (CRP) and a type of protein involved in immune regulation called <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/interleukin-6">Interleukin-6</a> (IL-6) have been used extensively in medical research. The third, a protein called <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34925360/">Soluble Urokinase Plasminogen Activator Receptor (suPAR)</a>, is a recently identified biomarker that research suggests is useful as an indicator of chronic (as opposed to acute) inflammation.</p>
<p>Our findings indicated that social isolation in childhood was correlated with all three markers of inflammation in adulthood, both at the ages of 18 and 45. When we controlled for factors such as smoking and body mass index – which could be alternative explanations for these associations – we found that social isolation remained specifically associated with elevated suPAR. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Man sitting alone in park under a tree" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564212/original/file-20231207-23-am6op0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564212/original/file-20231207-23-am6op0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564212/original/file-20231207-23-am6op0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564212/original/file-20231207-23-am6op0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564212/original/file-20231207-23-am6op0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564212/original/file-20231207-23-am6op0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564212/original/file-20231207-23-am6op0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Loneliness also seems to be associated with ill health.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/man-sitting-alone-on-park-bench-1669176061">Vladiri/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This finding was replicated in both of the longitudinal studies. We also found that living alone was associated with elevated inflammation (particularly suPAR) among patients in a clinical sample.</p>
<p>Loneliness was also associated with inflammation, although the pattern was less consistent. There was a correlation between loneliness and elevated suPAR in mid-life. But, in early adulthood (age 18), loneliness was associated with lower CRP. The latter, somewhat counter-intuitive finding, is harder to interpret, but it may reflect the fact that lonelier 18 year-olds are less likely to be socialising and <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34821551/#:%7E:text=Infectious%20diseases%2C%20particularly%20those%20caused,carry%20out%20large%20contact%20surveys.">coming into contact with pathogens</a>.</p>
<h2>Towards a more connected future</h2>
<p>Our findings highlight*<em>suggest</em>* that social isolation experienced in childhood can foreshadow health issues decades later. Social connection is not just rewarding in its own right – there is now an abundance of research showing that social health goes hand-in-hand with <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29684289/">mental</a> and <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23530191/">physical</a> health. We often talk about social isolation as something mostly experienced by older adults. But, as our study shows, it is a problem for people of all ages. </p>
<p>Studying the way our social world intertwines with our biological world can help us unravel the complex web of factors that shapes long-term health.</p>
<p>This body of research shows us how important it is to think about how we can intervene to spare lonely and isolated young people from negative long-term health outcomes. To address this issue, we need to think about what it means to be “socially connected” in a world in which everyone is, seemingly, always connected to each other through digital media. Modern technology has the potential to be <a href="https://theconversation.com/does-social-media-make-us-more-or-less-lonely-depends-on-how-you-use-it-128468">a force for both good and bad</a> when it comes to social health, and we must think carefully about what role it has to play in tackling isolation and loneliness in society.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218568/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Inflammation could be the missing puzzle piece.Timothy Matthews, Lecturer in Psychology, University of GreenwichLine Jee Hartmann Rasmussen, Senior researcher of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2156982023-11-01T12:35:53Z2023-11-01T12:35:53ZCancer has many faces − 5 counterintuitive ways scientists are approaching cancer research to improve treatment and prevention<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553918/original/file-20231016-15-3osk1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2700%2C1758&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Cancer cells don't follow the typical rules that allow a multicellular collective to function.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cancer_cells_(1).jpg">Dr. Cecil Fox/National Cancer Institute</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>How researchers conceptualize a disease informs how they treat it. Cancer is often described as uncontrollable cell growth triggered by genetic damage. But cancer can also be seen from angles that emphasize mathematics, evolutionary game theory and physics, among others.</p>
<p>Molecular biology has brought significant advances in making it possible to live with cancer as a chronic illness rather than a fatal disease. Alternative frameworks, however, can offer scientists additional insights on how to prevent tumors from spreading throughout the body and becoming resistant to treatment.</p>
<p>Here are a few unconventional lenses through which researchers are viewing cancer with fresh eyes, drawn from The Conversation’s archives.</p>
<h2>1. Evolution and natural selection of cancer</h2>
<p>The body is far from a wonderland for cells. Each individual cell competes against trillions of others for finite space and nutrients. If they’re able to cooperate in an orderly enough fashion, sharing resources and dividing labor, the collective functions effectively. Cancer cells, however, <a href="https://theconversation.com/microbes-in-your-food-can-help-or-hinder-your-bodys-defenses-against-cancer-how-diet-influences-the-conflict-between-cell-cooperators-and-cheaters-195810">cheat the system</a>: They hog resources, take up as much space as possible and <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-are-hela-cells-a-cancer-biologist-explains-169913">refuse to die</a>.</p>
<p>In this way, cancer can be thought of as <a href="https://theconversation.com/every-cancer-is-unique-why-different-cancers-require-different-treatments-and-how-evolution-drives-drug-resistance-199249">an evolutionary disease</a> – these are cells that have developed the genetic mutations to outcompete their neighbors, and subsequent cell generations inherit this survival advantage. Cancer cells benefit at the expense of the collective until the entire organism collapses.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554078/original/file-20231016-27-4u7mpn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Microscopy image of pancreas tumor with multicolored cell subgroups" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554078/original/file-20231016-27-4u7mpn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554078/original/file-20231016-27-4u7mpn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=458&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554078/original/file-20231016-27-4u7mpn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=458&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554078/original/file-20231016-27-4u7mpn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=458&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554078/original/file-20231016-27-4u7mpn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=575&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554078/original/file-20231016-27-4u7mpn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=575&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554078/original/file-20231016-27-4u7mpn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=575&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Most tumors are made of many different kinds of cancer cells, as shown in this pancreatic cancer sample from a mouse.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://visualsonline.cancer.gov/details.cfm?imageid=10654">Ravikanth Maddipati/Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania via National Cancer Institute</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Oncologist <a href="https://cancer.psu.edu/researchers/individual/-/researcher/5B6500F63D6A38DBE0540010E056499A/monika-joshi-md-mrcp">Monika Joshi</a> and pathologists <a href="https://cancer.psu.edu/researchers/individual/-/researcher/5F6E820FF5C14A2DE0540010E056499A/joshua-warrick-md">Joshua Warrick</a> and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=YEqQHkIAAAAJ&hl=en">David DeGraff</a> believe that understanding evolution is key to understanding cancer. Screening programs are effective, for example, because removing a nascent tumor is easier than treating one that has evolved the ability to spread. Cancer cells likewise become resistant to treatments because they’re pushed to further evolve to survive.</p>
<p>Some researchers are applying the principles of evolutionary game theory to <a href="https://theconversation.com/cancers-are-in-an-evolutionary-battle-with-treatments-evolutionary-game-theory-could-tip-the-advantage-to-medicine-17017">reduce treatment resistance</a> and optimize <a href="https://theconversation.com/cancer-in-kids-is-different-from-cancer-in-grown-ups-figuring-out-how-could-lead-to-better-pediatric-treatments-212738">therapies for children</a>.</p>
<p>“The fight against cancer is a fight against evolution, the fundamental process that has driven life on Earth since time immemorial,” they wrote. “This is not an easy fight, but medicine has made tremendous progress.”</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/every-cancer-is-unique-why-different-cancers-require-different-treatments-and-how-evolution-drives-drug-resistance-199249">Every cancer is unique – why different cancers require different treatments, and how evolution drives drug resistance</a>
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<h2>2. Fluid mechanics of cancer</h2>
<p>As much as cancer is a disease that respects no boundaries, tumor cells are still shaped by their environment. Unlike healthy cells that take the hint when their presence isn’t wanted, however, tumor cells not only <a href="https://theconversation.com/stopping-the-cancer-cells-that-thrive-on-chemotherapy-research-into-how-pancreatic-tumors-adapt-to-stress-could-lead-to-a-new-treatment-approach-197768">survive but thrive in stressful conditions</a>. Isolated cancer cells able to adapt to harsh settings are the ones that establish metastatic colonies and become resistant to treatment.</p>
<p>While researchers have focused on how biochemical signals direct cells to move from one location to another, a cell’s physical environment also affects where it migrates. Mechanical engineer <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=nKmJNpQAAAAJ&hl=en">Yizeng Li</a> found that a cell’s “solid” and “fluid” surroundings influence its movement.</p>
<p>Cancer cells encounter varying degrees of fluid viscosity, or thickness, as they travel through the body. Li and her team found that breast cancer cells counterintuitively move faster in high viscosity environments by changing their structure. This meant that fluid viscosity serves as a <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-cancer-cells-move-and-metastasize-is-influenced-by-the-fluids-surrounding-them-understanding-how-tumors-migrate-can-help-stop-their-spread-195792">mechanobiological cue for cancer cells to metastasize</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502975/original/file-20230103-105030-c8xq8d.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Animation comparing two fluids with lower and higher viscosity." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502975/original/file-20230103-105030-c8xq8d.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502975/original/file-20230103-105030-c8xq8d.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502975/original/file-20230103-105030-c8xq8d.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502975/original/file-20230103-105030-c8xq8d.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502975/original/file-20230103-105030-c8xq8d.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502975/original/file-20230103-105030-c8xq8d.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502975/original/file-20230103-105030-c8xq8d.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The blue fluid on the left has a lower viscosity relative to the orange fluid on the right.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Viscosities.gif">Synapticrelay/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<p>“Cancer patients usually don’t die from the original source of the tumor but from its spread to other parts of the body,” Li wrote. “Understanding how fluid viscosity affects the movement of tumor cells could help researchers figure out ways to better treat and detect cancer before it metastasizes.”</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-cancer-cells-move-and-metastasize-is-influenced-by-the-fluids-surrounding-them-understanding-how-tumors-migrate-can-help-stop-their-spread-195792">How cancer cells move and metastasize is influenced by the fluids surrounding them – understanding how tumors migrate can help stop their spread</a>
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<h2>3. Inflammation link to cardiovascular disease</h2>
<p>Apart from being leading causes of death around the world, cardiovascular disease and cancer may not initially seem to have much in common. The many risk factors they share, however – like poor diet, smoking and chronic stress – coalesce with chronic inflammation: persistent, low-grade activation of the immune system can damage cells in ways that encourage either disease to develop. </p>
<p>For biomedical engineer <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=wD6KbXkAAAAJ&hl=en">Bryan Smith</a>, the developmental parallels between these diseases signal they could be <a href="https://theconversation.com/could-a-single-drug-treat-the-two-leading-causes-of-death-in-the-us-cancer-and-cardiovascular-disease-205461">treated at the same time</a>.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TNfYzima37c?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Nanoparticles can ‘eat’ the plaques that cause heart disease.</span></figcaption>
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<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/drugs-4-essential-reads-on-how-theyre-made-how-they-work-and-how-context-can-make-poison-a-medicine-192590">Drugs can be repurposed</a> to target diseases for which they weren’t originally designed. Certain drugs, for example, can direct immune cells called macrophages to consume both cancer cells and the cellular debris that contribute to cardiovascular plaques.</p>
<p>“As basic science discovers other molecular parallels between these diseases, patients will be the beneficiaries of better therapies that can treat both,” wrote Smith.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/could-a-single-drug-treat-the-two-leading-causes-of-death-in-the-us-cancer-and-cardiovascular-disease-205461">Could a single drug treat the two leading causes of death in the US: cancer and cardiovascular disease?</a>
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<h2>4. Mathematics of cancer</h2>
<p>In certain contexts, math has unique strengths in <a href="https://theconversation.com/big-bang-of-numbers-the-conversations-book-club-explores-how-math-alone-could-create-the-universe-with-author-manil-suri-213690">describing the natural world</a>. For instance, epigenetics – where and when genes are turned on or off – plays as much a role in cancer progression as direct changes to the genetic code. Epigenetic changes can alter healthy cells to the point of losing their normal form and function. But the randomness of these changes makes it difficult to tease out pathological from normal genetic activity.</p>
<p>A mathematical concept called stochasticity – or how the randomness of the steps of a process influences how predictable its outcome will be – lends a logical framework to the <a href="https://theconversation.com/cancer-evolution-is-mathematical-how-random-processes-and-epigenetics-can-explain-why-tumor-cells-shape-shift-metastasize-and-resist-treatments-199398">epigenetic changes contributing to cancer</a>, clarifying when healthy cells rapidly develop into tumor cells. </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_aAhcNjmvhc?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Twins sharing the exact same genome can develop in completely different ways because of epigenetics.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Stochasticity is commonly used to study stock market behavior and epidemic disease spread, and researchers quantify it by examining the degree of uncertainty, or entropy, of a particular outcome. Identifying high entropy areas in the genome could offer another approach to cancer detection and drug design.</p>
<p>Cancer geneticist <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=tbj-LpcAAAAJ&hl=en">Andrew Feinberg</a> has been using entropy to quantitatively describe the epigenetics of cancer. He and his colleagues found that high entropy regions of the genome in the skin become even more entropic with sun damage, increasing the chance of developing cancer. This offers a potential explanation for why cancer risk significantly increases with age.</p>
<p>“Epigenetic entropy shows that you can’t fully understand cancer without mathematics,” Feinberg wrote. “Biology is catching up with other hard sciences in incorporating mathematical methods with biological experimentation.”</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/cancer-evolution-is-mathematical-how-random-processes-and-epigenetics-can-explain-why-tumor-cells-shape-shift-metastasize-and-resist-treatments-199398">Cancer evolution is mathematical – how random processes and epigenetics can explain why tumor cells shape-shift, metastasize and resist treatments</a>
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<h2>5. A public health issue</h2>
<p>Cancer is a disease that develops in an individual, but its socially derived causes and societal-wide effects are hardly limited to a single person.</p>
<p>Take the case of lung cancer. It is stigmatized as a disease brought on by poor lifestyle choices – a consequence of a personal decision to use tobacco products. But as thoracic oncologist <a href="https://doctors.umiamihealth.org/provider/Estelamari+Rodriguez/1257821">Estelamari Rodriguez</a> noted, the face of lung cancer has changed.</p>
<p>“Over the past 15 years, more women, never-smokers and younger people are being diagnosed with lung cancer,” she wrote. While lung cancer rates have significantly decreased for men, they have <a href="https://theconversation.com/lung-cancer-rates-have-decreased-for-the-marlboro-man-but-have-risen-steeply-for-nonsmokers-and-young-women-an-oncologist-explains-why-197581">substantially risen for women</a> around the world. Despite being the leading cause of cancer death among women, screening rates remain low compared with other cancers.</p>
<p>More broadly, cancer symptoms are often unrecognized or misdiagnosed, not only <a href="https://theconversation.com/ovarian-cancer-is-not-a-silent-killer-recognizing-its-symptoms-could-help-reduce-misdiagnosis-and-late-detection-181415">for women</a> but also for many marginalized populations, including <a href="https://theconversation.com/biopsies-confirm-a-breast-cancer-diagnosis-after-an-abnormal-mammogram-but-structural-racism-may-lead-to-lengthy-delays-185824">people of color</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/doctors-often-arent-trained-on-the-preventive-health-care-needs-of-gender-diverse-people-as-a-result-many-patients-dont-get-the-care-they-need-191933">transgender patients</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-obamacare-has-helped-poor-cancer-patients-85306">the uninsured</a>.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yRDDMX8vFrg?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">An increasing number of lung cancer diagnoses are among people who never smoked.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These disparities are due in part to biases in medical education and <a href="https://theconversation.com/yes-black-patients-do-want-to-help-with-medical-research-here-are-ways-to-overcome-the-barriers-that-keep-clinical-trials-from-recruiting-diverse-populations-185337">clinical research</a> that fail to prepare clinicians to care for the diversity of patients they’ll encounter. <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-next-attack-on-the-affordable-care-act-may-cost-you-free-preventive-health-care-166087">Tenuous access to preventive care</a> and disproportionate <a href="https://theconversation.com/arsenic-contamination-of-food-and-water-is-a-global-public-health-concern-researchers-are-studying-how-it-causes-cancer-200689">exposure to carcinogens</a> among certain populations compound these inequities.</p>
<p>The purview of cancer goes far beyond a single discipline. It takes a village of researchers, policymakers and patient advocates to achieve effective and accessible cancer care for all.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/lung-cancer-rates-have-decreased-for-the-marlboro-man-but-have-risen-steeply-for-nonsmokers-and-young-women-an-oncologist-explains-why-197581">Lung cancer rates have decreased for the Marlboro Man, but have risen steeply for nonsmokers and young women – an oncologist explains why</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215698/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
From math to evolutionary game theory, looking at cancer through different lenses can offer further insights on how to approach treatment resistance, metastasis and health disparities.Vivian Lam, Associate Health and Biomedicine EditorLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2163762023-10-27T15:36:56Z2023-10-27T15:36:56ZParkinson’s disease: tai chi may help manage symptoms – new research<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556317/original/file-20231027-24-jjk33a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=53%2C8%2C6000%2C3979&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Tai chi has been practised for centuries.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/senior-couple-enjoying-tai-chi-exercise-1450198265">Mladen Mitrinovic/ Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The centuries-old martial art of tai chi is shown to have many health benefits – including <a href="https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD004963.pub3/full?highlightAbstract=withdrawn%257Cexercise%257Cexercis%257Cbalance%257Cbalanc">improving balance</a>, reducing <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.746975/full">anxiety</a> and preventing <a href="https://www.cochrane.org/CD010366/VASC_tai-chi-to-prevent-cardiovascular-disease">cardiovascular disease</a>.</p>
<p>But these aren’t the only benefits this exercise may have. A <a href="https://jnnp.bmj.com/content/early/2023/09/27/jnnp-2022-330967">recently published study</a> has demonstrated for the first time that tai chi can reduce the severity of Parkinson’s symptoms in the long-term.</p>
<p>To conduct their study, the researchers recruited patients who had sporadic Parkinson’s disease. This is a type of Parkinson’s disease that’s not inherited from a family member. They focused on sporadic Parkinson’s disease so that they could examine the benefits of tai chi exclusively on Parkinson’s symptoms. The researchers excluded people with other health conditions (such as other neurodegenerative diseases) which may have prevented them from taking part in tai chi classes. </p>
<p>Participants were then divided into two groups – a control group of 187 people who did not exercise, and a group of 143 people who completed tai chi classes. Participants had an average age of 66 years. There were an equal number of male and female participants. All participants were at an early stage of Parkinson’s disease and had only been diagnosed for four years on average. This meant that any changes in symptoms observed between the two groups could be attributed to tai chi. </p>
<p>Participants in the tai chi group were given five classes over the duration of the study which started in 2016 and ended in 2018. They were also instructed to train twice a week for one hour. All participants were then followed up over a three-year period between 2019 and 2021 to track their symptoms.</p>
<p>The participants in the tai chi group had better motor function at the end of the study. The control group, on the other hand, experienced a faster decline of their motor functions – including their walking ability and balance. The control group also on average took more Parkinson’s drugs to manage symptoms over the course of the study compared to the tai chi group. This either means that the disease was more severe and progressed faster in the control group, or that tai chi had a protective effect on disease progression. </p>
<p>The positive effects of tai chi were also apparent in non-motor symptoms, with the tai chi group reporting better quality of life and wellbeing, sleep, as well as memory and thinking benefits.</p>
<p>Given that current medications used to treat and manage Parkinson’s don’t delay disease progression or prevent symptoms worsening, having an accessible yet effective supplement therapy such as tai chi could be beneficial for patients.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An elderly couple perform tai chi in their home." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556318/original/file-20231027-23-8qrorf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556318/original/file-20231027-23-8qrorf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556318/original/file-20231027-23-8qrorf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556318/original/file-20231027-23-8qrorf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556318/original/file-20231027-23-8qrorf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556318/original/file-20231027-23-8qrorf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556318/original/file-20231027-23-8qrorf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Tai chi had benefits for both motor and non-motor symptoms.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/asian-old-senior-workout-exercise-doing-1752624563">Nattakorn_Maneerat/ Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>But as promising as these results are, the study had a few limitations of note. The first is that the groups were not randomised. The gold standard in clinical trials is to randomise participants into groups to prevent bias being introduced into the study.</p>
<p>So because the groups weren’t randomised, participants may have been recruited to a group because of motivation to exercise or other lifestyle factors. Another reason some participants were recruited to the control group was for practical reasons – such as the participant’s location, or work conflicts. </p>
<p>The researchers recommend that larger follow-up studies in the future use randomisation to prevent bias. </p>
<h2>Exercise and Parkinson’s</h2>
<p>This isn’t the first trial to show tai chi may have benefits for people with Parkinson’s disease. But previous trials only found benefits in the short-term, over a <a href="https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD013856.pub2/epdf/full">periods of six months</a>. This study is the first of its kind to show long-term benefits.</p>
<p>Other types of exercise have also been investigated to see whether they benefit patients with Parkinson’s disease – including <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29228079">high-intensity interval training</a> and <a href="https://content.iospress.com/download/journal-of-parkinsons-disease/jpd229006?id=journal-of-parkinsons-disease%2Fjpd229006">aerobic exercise</a> such as walking or swimming. These have been shown to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8632855/">benefit motor symptoms</a> and slow the disease’s progression over a short period of time. </p>
<p>It’s not entirely certain why exercise – and specifically tai chi – is so beneficial to people with Parkinson’s. But we do know from other research that a lack of exercise can <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20561356/">promote inflammation</a>, which is detected in the blood of people with Parkinson’s disease. Chronic inflammation can lead to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2951017/">loss of neurons</a> (nerve cells that send messages all over the body) in the brain. </p>
<p>People who do tai chi are shown to have <a href="https://translationalneurodegeneration.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40035-022-00280-7">anti-inflammatory markers</a> in their blood. This may perhaps explain why it’s beneficial for people with Parkinson’s as it decreases inflammation.</p>
<p>Although more research will be needed – especially to understand if tai chi also benefits people with later stages of Parkinson’s disease – the findings of this latest study show tai chi could be used as a complement to treatment plans. It addresses both the physical and mental aspects of the condition, providing benefits such as improved balance, flexibility and wellbeing. Just be sure to consult with your GP or neurologist before trying it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216376/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>This centuries old martial art was shown to reduce the severity of symptoms in the long-term.Lucy Collins-Stack, Senior Post-Doctoral Researcher, University College CorkAideen Sullivan, Professor and Head of Department of Anatomy & Neuroscience, University College CorkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2153262023-10-13T18:04:37Z2023-10-13T18:04:37ZAn itching paradox – a molecule that triggers the urge to scratch also turns down inflammation in the skin<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553357/original/file-20231011-23-fpzuw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2168%2C1381&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Itching, and the subsequent urge to scratch, can make eczema worse.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/scratching-chest-royalty-free-image/1463546524">Kinga Krzeminska/Moment via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Itching can be uncomfortable, but it’s a normal part of your skin’s immune response to external threats. When you’re itching from an encounter with poison ivy or mosquitoes, consider that your urge to scratch may have evolved to get you to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.201603042">swat away disease-carrying pests</a>. </p>
<p>However, for many people who suffer from chronic skin diseases like eczema, the sensation of itch can <a href="https://eczema.org/information-and-advice/living-with-eczema/itching-and-scratching/">fuel a vicious cycle</a> of scratching that interrupts sleep, reduces productivity and <a href="https://nationaleczema.org/eczema-emotional-wellness/">prevents them from enjoying daily life</a>. This cycle is caused by <a href="https://nationaleczema.org/blog/why-does-eczema-itch/#">sensory neurons and skin immune cells</a> working together to promote itching and skin inflammation.</p>
<p>But, paradoxically, some of the mechanisms behind this feedback loop also stop inflammation from getting worse. In our newly published research, my team of immunologists and neuroscientists <a href="https://profiles.ucsf.edu/marlys.fassett">and I</a> discovered that a specific type of itch-sensing neuron can <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciimmunol.abi6887">push back on the itch-scratch-inflammation cycle</a> in the presence of a small protein. This protein, called <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaci.2013.10.048">interleukin-31, or IL-31</a>, is typically involved in triggering itching. </p>
<p>This negative feedback loop – like the vicious cycle – is only possible because the itch-sensing nerve endings in your skin are closely intertwined with the millions of cells that <a href="https://doi.org/10.4049/jimmunol.1801473">make up your skin’s immune system</a>.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Your skin has its own immune system.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>IL-31: An itchy molecule</h2>
<p>The protein IL-31 is key to the connection between the nervous and immune systems. This molecule is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/ni1084">produced by some immune cells</a>, and like other <a href="https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/24585-cytokines">members of this molecule family</a>, it specializes in helping immune cells communicate with each other. </p>
<p>IL-31 is rarely present in the skin or blood of people who don’t have a history of eczema, allergies, asthma or related conditions. But those with conditions like eczema that cause chronic itch have significantly <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2021.638325">increased skin production of IL-31</a>. There is strong evidence that IL-31 is one of a small set of proteins that immune cells produce that can bind directly to sensory neurons and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2013.08.057">trigger itching</a>. Small amounts of purified IL-31 injected directly into skin or spinal fluid leads to impressively <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaci.2013.10.048">rapid-onset itching and scratching</a>.</p>
<p>However, when my colleagues and I induced rashes in mice by exposing them to dust mites, we found that itch-sensing neurons turned down the dial on inflammation at the site of itching instead of promoting it. They did so by secreting <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-61779-310-3_1">small molecules called neuropeptides</a> that, in this context, directed immune cells to respond less enthusiastically. In sum, we had discovered an inverse relationship between itching and skin inflammation, tethered by a single molecule.</p>
<p>But if IL-31 triggers itching, which can worsen inflammation by making patients scratch their skin, how does it reduce inflammation? </p>
<p>We found the answer to this paradox in a little-known function of sensory neurons called <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/neurogenic-inflammation">neurogenic inflammation</a>. This nerve reflex triggers sensory neurons to release various signaling molecules directly into tissues, including <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1523-1747.ep12455620">specific neuropeptides that promote signs of inflammation</a> like increased blood flow to the skin. Neurogenic inflammation acts within the same nerves that transmit sensory information like itch, pain, touch and temperature, but differs by the path it takes: away from the brain rather than toward it.</p>
<p>We discovered that IL-31 can induce neurogenic inflammation, <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciimmunol.abi6887">mapping a direct pathway</a> going from IL-31 through sensory neurons to repress immune cells in the skin. When we engineered mice to be unresponsive to IL-31, we similarly found that they had more activated skin immune cells that produced more inflammation. This means the net effect of IL-31 is to blunt overall inflammation.</p>
<h2>IL-31 as potential treatment</h2>
<p>Our study shows that IL-31 causes sensory neurons in the skin to perform <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciimmunol.abi6887">two very different functions</a>: They signal inward to the spinal cord and brain to stimulate an itching sensation that typically leads to more inflammation, but they also signal back out to the skin and quell inflammation by inhibiting certain immune cells.</p>
<p>Although paradoxical, this makes evolutionary sense. Scratching an itch can feel very satisfying but doesn’t have much utility in the modern world where we’re more likely to suffer from compulsive scratching than encounter stinging nettles. In contrast, unchecked inflammation underlies many chronic autoimmune diseases. Therefore, turning off an immune response in inflamed tissue can be as important as turning it on.</p>
<p>Our discoveries raise important questions about the implications of modifying IL-31 to treat different diseases. For one, it isn’t clear how IL-31-sensing neurons interface with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41590-019-0493-z">other neuronal circuits</a> that also regulate skin inflammation. Furthermore, some patients have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa1606490">higher levels of allergic proteins</a> in their blood or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/jdv.17218">develop asthma flares</a> when taking existing drugs that target IL-31. IL-31 is also found in some lung and gut cells – how and why would an itch-inducing molecule be present in internal organs? </p>
<p>Anatomical niches where sensory neurons and immune cells converge are present throughout the human body. If an itchy molecule like IL-31 can use neuronal circuitry to dampen an immune response in the skin, similar molecules like those used in <a href="https://migrainetrust.org/live-with-migraine/healthcare/treatments/gepants/">migraine drugs</a> could be repurposed to treat skin conditions, too.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215326/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marlys Fassett receives funding from the National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. She also serves as a grant reviewer for the National Eczema Association.</span></em></p>Itch-sensing neurons in your skin are intertwined with your immune cells. Counterintuitively, the molecule that connects them triggers responses that both worsen and improve skin conditions.Marlys Fassett, Associate Professor of Dermatology, University of California, San FranciscoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2143492023-10-10T12:33:15Z2023-10-10T12:33:15ZSpicy food might burn in the moment, but it likely won’t harm your health in the long term<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550760/original/file-20230927-27-e1u3ie.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=27%2C0%2C3090%2C2053&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Many cultures integrate hot peppers into traditional dishes. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/ChilePepperWar/079ec2e65f37461893f0eefa4f7e9d07/photo?Query=hot%20pepper&mediaType=photo&sortBy=&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=52&currentItemNo=0">AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan, File</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Everyone has a different tolerance for spicy food — some love the burn, while others can’t take the heat. But the scientific consensus on whether spicy food can have an effect — positive or negative — on your health is pretty mixed. </p>
<p>In September 2023, a 14-year-old boy died after consuming a spicy pepper as part of the viral “<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2023/09/09/14-year-old-dies-after-trying-the-paqui-one-chip-challenge/?sh=2091ee4e4a87">one chip challenge</a>.” The Paqui One Chip Challenge uses Carolina Reaper and Naga Viper peppers, which are among the <a href="https://paqui.com/onechipchallenge/">hottest peppers in the world</a>.</p>
<p>While the boy’s death is still under examination by health officials, it has gotten some of the spicy chips being used in these challenges <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/company-pulls-spicy-chip-challenge-store-shelves-massachusetts-103011095">removed from stores</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550761/original/file-20230927-15-tashar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A cardboard display at a gas station reading 'One Chip Challenge Real Peppers Real Heat' with several bags and boxes of 'Paqui' brand chips." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550761/original/file-20230927-15-tashar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550761/original/file-20230927-15-tashar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=541&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550761/original/file-20230927-15-tashar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=541&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550761/original/file-20230927-15-tashar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=541&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550761/original/file-20230927-15-tashar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=679&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550761/original/file-20230927-15-tashar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=679&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550761/original/file-20230927-15-tashar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=679&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Many stores have removed the Paqui One Chip Challenge chips from their shelves.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/TeenDeathSpicyChips/4513cd4c253849e1849e283ad9e9f56d/photo?Query=one%20chip%20challenge&mediaType=photo&sortBy=&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=3&currentItemNo=2">AP Photo/Steve LeBlanc</a></span>
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<p><a href="http://gsm.utmck.edu/internalmed/faculty/terry.cfm">As an epidemiologist</a>, I’m interested in how spicy food can affect people’s health and potentially worsen symptoms associated with chronic diseases like inflammatory bowel disease. I am also interested in how diet, including spicy foods, can increase or decrease a person’s lifespan.</p>
<h2>The allure of spicy food</h2>
<p>Spicy food can refer to food with plenty of flavor from spices, such as Asian curries, Tex-Mex dishes or Hungarian paprikash. It can also refer to foods with noticeable <a href="https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/1548943">heat from capsaicin</a>, a chemical compound found to varying degrees <a href="https://www.snexplores.org/article/cool-science-hot-peppers">in hot peppers</a>. </p>
<p>As the capsaicin content of a pepper increases, so does its ranking on <a href="https://scovillescale.org/">the Scoville scale</a>, which quantifies the sensation of being hot. </p>
<p>Capsaicin tastes hot because it <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-2021-nobel-prize-for-medicine-helps-unravel-mysteries-about-how-the-body-senses-temperature-and-pressure-169229">activates certain biological pathways</a> in mammals – the same pathways <a href="https://thelasallian.com/2022/12/03/pain-and-pleasure-why-do-some-people-love-spicy-food-and-others-dont/">activated by hot temperatures</a>. The pain produced by spicy food can <a href="https://www.salisbury.edu/administration/student-affairs/dining-services/newsletter/march-1-2022/wordl-of-spices.aspx">provoke the body</a> to release endorphins and dopamine. This release can prompt a sense of relief or even a degree of euphoria. </p>
<p>In the U.S., the U.K. and elsewhere, more people than ever are <a href="https://www.foodbeverageinsider.com/market-trends-analysis/spicy-snacks-remain-popular-as-summer-heats-up#">consuming spicy foods</a>, including extreme pepper varieties.</p>
<p>Hot-pepper-eating contests and similar “spicy food challenges” aren’t new, although spicy food challenges have gotten hotter – in terms of spice level and <a href="https://apnews.com/article/paqui-spicy-chip-challenge-social-media-risks-369f295714ac7f856c815ffe5ad4e961">popularity on social media</a>.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Hot peppers like the Carolina Reaper can induce sweating and make the consumer feel like their mouth is burning.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Short-term health effects</h2>
<p>The short-term effects of consuming extremely spicy foods range from a pleasurable sensation of heat to an <a href="https://www.pfizer.com/news/articles/bodily_functions_explained_spicy_food_reaction">unpleasant burning sensation</a> across the lips, tongue and mouth. These foods can also cause various forms of <a href="https://www.uhhospitals.org/blog/articles/2022/06/spicy-food-challenges-harmful-or-healthy">digestive tract discomfort</a>, <a href="https://health.clevelandclinic.org/health-risks-of-spicy-food/">headaches and vomiting</a>.</p>
<p>If spicy foods are uncomfortable to eat, or cause unpleasant symptoms like migraines, abdominal pain and diarrhea, then it’s probably best to avoid those foods. Spicy food may cause these symptoms in <a href="https://www.mycrohnsandcolitisteam.com/resources/ulcerative-colitis-crohns-and-spicy-food-whats-safe">people with inflammatory bowel diseases</a>, for example.</p>
<p>Spicy food challenges notwithstanding, for many people across the world, consumption of spicy food is part of a long-term lifestyle influenced by <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/food-news/7-countries-that-have-the-spiciest-food-in-the-world/photostory/69219574.cms">geography and culture</a>. </p>
<p>For example, hot peppers grow in hot climates, which may explain why many cultures in these climates <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080%2F23328940.2015.1111289">use spicy foods</a> in their cooking. Some research suggests that spicy foods help <a href="https://lithub.com/how-and-why-did-cultural-tastes-for-spicy-food-develop/">control foodborne illnesses</a>, which may also explain <a href="https://news.cornell.edu/stories/1998/03/food-bacteria-spice-survey-shows-why-some-cultures-it-hot">cultural preferences for spicy foods</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550762/original/file-20230927-21-h5tl2m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A plant growing several green chile peppers in a field." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550762/original/file-20230927-21-h5tl2m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550762/original/file-20230927-21-h5tl2m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550762/original/file-20230927-21-h5tl2m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550762/original/file-20230927-21-h5tl2m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550762/original/file-20230927-21-h5tl2m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550762/original/file-20230927-21-h5tl2m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550762/original/file-20230927-21-h5tl2m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Chile peppers growing in Mexico.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/COP27ClimateChangeAncestralHome/cdea4ef476844f5ab0bbc7ba681dcacb/photo?Query=peppers%20growing&mediaType=photo&sortBy=&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=104&currentItemNo=14">AP Photo/Andres Leighton</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Lack of consensus</h2>
<p>Nutritional epidemiologists have been studying the potential risks and benefits of long-term spicy food consumption for many years. Some of the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/mnfr.202200167">outcomes examined</a> in relation to spicy food consumption <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-14293-4">include obesity</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nut.2023.112062">cardiovascular disease</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyaa275">cancer</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1097/CM9.0000000000001318">Alzheimer’s disease</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1159/000502542">heartburn and ulcers</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14214508">psychological health</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpain.2019.11.011">pain sensitivity</a> and <a href="https://www.consultant360.com/exclusives/could-chili-peppers-reduce-risk-all-cause-mortality">death from any cause</a> – also called all-cause mortality. </p>
<p>These studies report mixed results, with some outcomes like heartburn more strongly linked to spicy food consumption. As can be expected with an evolving science, some experts are more certain about some of these health effects than others. </p>
<p>For example, some experts state with confidence that spicy food <a href="https://www.uchicagomedicine.org/forefront/health-and-wellness-articles/spicy-foods-healthy-or-dangerous">does not cause stomach ulcers</a>, whereas the <a href="https://oncocare.sg/en/blogs/is-your-love-for-spicy-food-putting-you-at-risk-for-stomach-cancer/">association with stomach cancer</a> isn’t as clear. </p>
<p>When taking heart disease, cancer and all other causes of death in a study population into consideration, does eating spicy food increase or decrease the risk of early death? </p>
<p>Right now, the evidence from large population-based studies suggests that spicy food does not increase the risk of all-cause mortality among a population and <a href="https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/features/frequent-spicy-food-consumption-linked-with-lower-death-risk/">may actually decrease the risk</a>. </p>
<p>However, when considering the results of these studies, keep in mind that what people eat is one part of a larger set of lifestyle factors – such as physical activity, relative body weight and consumption of tobacco and alcohol – that also have health consequences. </p>
<p>It’s not easy for researchers to measure diet and lifestyle factors accurately in a population-based study, at least in part because people don’t always remember or <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/public-health-nutrition/article/bias-in-dietaryreport-instruments-and-its-implications-for-nutritional-epidemiology/F74F7C0AF47FDD40061A3684DA658731">report their exposure</a> accurately. It often takes numerous studies conducted over many years to reach a firm conclusion about how a dietary factor affects a certain aspect of health. </p>
<p>Scientists still don’t entirely know <a href="https://thelasallian.com/2022/12/03/pain-and-pleasure-why-do-some-people-love-spicy-food-and-others-dont/">why so many people enjoy spicy foods</a> while others do not, although there is <a href="https://bigthink.com/life/why-people-like-spicy-foods/">plenty of speculation</a> regarding evolutionary, cultural and geographic factors, as well as <a href="https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/craving-spicy-food#4.-Youre-congested">medical, biological and psychological ones</a>. </p>
<p>One thing experts do know, however, is that humans are one of the only animals that will intentionally eat something spicy enough to cause them pain, <a href="https://bigthink.com/life/why-people-like-spicy-foods/">all for the sake of pleasure</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214349/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul D. Terry does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>After a 14-year-old died doing a viral spicy chip challenge, many parents have called for more awareness about the risks of these challenges.Paul D. Terry, Professor of Epidemiology, University of Tennessee Health Science CenterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2125952023-10-04T12:33:20Z2023-10-04T12:33:20ZCell death is essential to your health − an immunologist explains when cells decide to die with a bang or take their quiet leave<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550723/original/file-20230927-27-m1brzw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1732%2C1732&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Programmed cell death such as apoptosis is a common stage of cellular life.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/illustration/cell-udergoing-lysis-process-illustration-royalty-free-illustration/1414392472">Nanoclustering/Science Photo Library via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Living cells work better than dying cells, right? However, this is not always the case: your cells often <a href="https://nigms.nih.gov/education/Inside-Life-Science/Pages/Cellular-Suicide-An-Essential-Part-of-Life.aspx">sacrifice themselves to keep you healthy</a>. The unsung hero of life is death.</p>
<p>While death may seem passive, an unfortunate ending that just “happens,” the death of your cells is often extremely purposeful and strategic. The intricate details of how and why cells die can have significant effects on your overall health. </p>
<p>There are over 10 different ways cells can “decide” to die, each serving a particular purpose for the organism. <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=XokicmoAAAAJ">My own research</a> explores how immune cells switch between different types of programmed death in scenarios like cancer or injury.</p>
<p>Programmed cell death can be broadly <a href="https://www.the-scientist.com/sponsored-article/programmed-cell-death-mechanisms-for-cellular-self-destruction-70955">divided into two types</a> that are crucial to health: silent and inflammatory. </p>
<h2>Quietly exiting: silent cell death</h2>
<p>Cells can often become damaged because of age, stress or injury, and these abnormal cells <a href="https://theconversation.com/cells-become-zombies-when-the-ends-of-their-chromosomes-are-damaged-a-tactic-both-helpful-and-harmful-for-health-186445">can make you sick</a>. Your body runs a tight ship, and when cells step out of line, they must be quietly eliminated before they overgrow into tumors or cause <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-inflammation-two-immunologists-explain-how-the-body-responds-to-everything-from-stings-to-vaccination-and-why-it-sometimes-goes-wrong-193503">unnecessary inflammation</a> where your immune system is activated and causes fever, swelling, redness and pain. </p>
<p>Your body <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.it.2017.06.009">swaps out cells every day</a> to ensure that your tissues are made up of healthy, functioning ones. The parts of your body that are more likely to see damage, like your skin and gut, turn over cells weekly, while other cell types can take months to years to recycle. Regardless of the timeline, the death of old and damaged cells and their replacement with new cells is a normal and important bodily process.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.genome.gov/genetics-glossary/apoptosis">Silent cell death, or apoptosis</a>, is described as silent because these cells die without causing an inflammatory reaction. Apoptosis is an active process involving many proteins and switches within the cell. It’s designed to strategically eliminate cells without alarming the rest of the body.</p>
<p>Sometimes cells can detect that their own functions are failing and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1101%2Fcshperspect.a008656">turn on executioner proteins</a> that chop up their own DNA, and they quietly die by apoptosis. Alternatively, healthy cells can order overactive or damaged neighbor cells to activate their executioner proteins. </p>
<p>Apoptosis is important to maintaining a healthy body. In fact, you can thank apoptosis for your <a href="https://embryo.asu.edu/pages/apoptosis-embryonic-development">fingers and toes</a>. Fetuses initially have webbed fingers until the cells that form the tissue between them undergo apoptosis and die off. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550728/original/file-20230927-15-kh9avn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Microscopy image of mouse foot at embryonic stage" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550728/original/file-20230927-15-kh9avn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550728/original/file-20230927-15-kh9avn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=904&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550728/original/file-20230927-15-kh9avn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=904&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550728/original/file-20230927-15-kh9avn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=904&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550728/original/file-20230927-15-kh9avn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1135&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550728/original/file-20230927-15-kh9avn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1135&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550728/original/file-20230927-15-kh9avn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1135&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The toes of this embryonic mouse foot are forming through apoptosis.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Embryonic_foot_of_mouse.jpg">Michal Maňas/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Without apoptosis, cells can grow out of control. A well-studied example of this is cancer. Cancer cells are abnormally good at growing and dividing, and those that can <a href="https://www.mskcc.org/news/what-apoptosis">resist apoptosis</a> form very aggressive tumors. Understanding how apoptosis works and why cancer cells can disrupt it can potentially improve cancer treatments. </p>
<p>Other conditions can benefit from apoptosis research as well. Your body makes a lot of immune cells that all respond to different targets, and occasionally one of these cells can accidentally target your own tissues. Apoptosis is a crucial way your body can eliminate these immune cells before they cause unnecessary damage. When apoptosis fails to eliminate these cells, sometimes because of genetic abnormalities, this can lead to <a href="https://doi.org/10.5772/48164">autoimmune diseases</a> like lupus.</p>
<p>Another example of the role apoptosis plays in health is <a href="https://medlineplus.gov/endometriosis.html">endometriosis</a>, an understudied disease caused by the overgrowth of tissue in the uterus. It can be extremely painful and debilitating for patients. Researchers have recently linked this <a href="https://doi.org/10.1210/endocr/bqad057">out-of-control growth in the uterus</a> to dysfunctional apoptosis. </p>
<p>Whether it’s for development or maintenance, your cells are quietly exiting to keep your body happy and healthy.</p>
<h2>Going out with a bang: inflammatory cell death</h2>
<p>Sometimes, it is in your body’s best interest for cells to raise an alarm as they die. This can be beneficial when cells detect the presence of an infection and need to eliminate themselves as a target while also alerting the rest of the body. This <a href="https://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2021/when-cells-die-a-fiery-death-pyroptosis-as-a-cells-response-to-damage-and-infection/">inflammatory cell death</a> is typically triggered by bacteria, viruses or stress.</p>
<p>Rather than quietly shutting down, cells undergoing inflammatory cell death will make themselves burst, or lyse, killing themselves and exploding inflammatory messengers as they go. These messengers tell your immune cells that there is a threat and prompts them to treat and fight the pathogen.</p>
<p>An inflammatory death would not be healthy for maintenance. If the normal recycling of your skin or gut cells caused an inflammatory reaction, you would feel sick a lot. This is why inflammatory death is <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390%2Fijms21041456">tightly controlled</a> and requires multiple signals to initiate. </p>
<p>Despite the riskiness of this grenadelike death, many infections would be impossible to fight without it. Many bacteria and viruses need to live around or inside your cells to survive. When specialized sensors on your cells detect these threats, they can simultaneously activate your immune system and remove themselves as a home for pathogens. Researchers call this <a href="https://cshperspectives.cshlp.org/content/12/2/a036459.full">eliminating the niche</a> of the pathogen.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Cells die in many ways, including lysis.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Inflammatory cell death plays a major role in pandemics. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1101/cshperspect.a036459"><em>Yersinia pestis</em></a>, the bacteria behind the Black Death, has evolved various ways of stopping human immune cells from mounting a response. However, immune cells developed the ability to sense this trickery and die an inflammatory death. This ensures that additional immune cells will infiltrate and eliminate the bacteria despite the bacteria’s best attempts to prevent a fight. </p>
<p>Although the Black Death is not as common nowadays, close relatives <em>Yersinia pseudotuberculosis</em> and <em>Yersinia enterocolitica</em> are behind outbreaks of <a href="https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/FS193">food-borne illnesses</a>. These infections are rarely fatal because your immune cells can aggressively eliminate the pathogen’s niche by inducing inflammatory cell death. For this reason, however, <em>Yersinia</em> infection can be more dangerous in immunocompromised people.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.it.2020.10.005">virus behind the COVID-19 pandemic</a> also causes a lot of inflammatory cell death. Studies show that without cell death the virus would freely live inside your cells and multiply. However, this inflammatory cell death can sometimes get out of control and <a href="https://theconversation.com/long-covid-19-and-other-chronic-respiratory-conditions-after-viral-infections-may-stem-from-an-overactive-immune-response-in-the-lungs-186970">contribute to the lung damage</a> seen in COVID-19 patients, which can greatly affect survival. Researchers are still studying the role of inflammatory cell death in COVID-19 infection, and understanding this delicate balance can help improve treatments. </p>
<p>In good times and bad, your cells are always ready to sacrifice themselves to keep you healthy. You can thank cell death for keeping you alive.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212595/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Zoie Magri does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Your cells die to keep you alive. Cell death does everything from fighting cancer cells and pathogens to forming your fingers and toes.Zoie Magri, Ph.D. Candidate in Immunology, Tufts UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2141692023-10-02T14:37:35Z2023-10-02T14:37:35ZBrush your teeth! Bad oral hygiene linked to cancer, heart attacks and renal failure<p><em>It’s normal to have bacteria in your mouth. But harmful bacteria have been linked to a host of health problems. Medical scientist Glenda Davison and microbiologist Yvonne Prince, who have <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9059/11/1/3">researched</a> the oral cavity, explain why it’s so important to practise good oral hygiene.</em></p>
<h2>Can poor oral hygiene lead to serious diseases? Why and how?</h2>
<p>Abnormal bacterial communities in the oral cavity have been linked to <a href="https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/liver-disease#:%7E:text=There%20are%20many%20kinds%20of,one%20sign%20of%20liver%20disease.">liver disease</a>, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK519012/#:%7E:text=The%20term%20renal%20failure%20denotes,two%20kinds%20of%20kidney%20failure.">renal failure</a>, <a href="https://www.who.int/health-topics/cancer#tab=tab_1">cancers</a>, <a href="https://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/heart-disease-types-causes-symptoms">heart disease</a> and <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/bloodpressure/about.htm">hypertension</a>.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/oral-cavity">oral cavity</a> is the door to the <a href="https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/digestive-diseases/digestive-system-how-it-works">gastrointestinal tract</a> and the rest of the body. </p>
<p>Like the gut, the mouth is home to several diverse colonies of bacteria, fungi, viruses and <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/about.html">protozoa</a>. It’s the second largest microbial community in humans, after the gut.</p>
<p>More than 700 species of microorganisms reside in the mouth. New technologies, such as <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC523561/">16S rRNA analysis</a>, have allowed researchers to study their genetic makeup and family trees. </p>
<p>These <a href="https://askthedentist.com/oral-microbiome/">microbes</a> are found all over the mouth: in and around the teeth, the gums, tongue, palate and saliva. They usually remain stable during our lifetime but if the balance in the bacterial community is disrupted, harmful bacteria may become dominant. This can lead to bleeding gums and oral diseases such as <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279593/">gingivitis and periodontitis</a>.</p>
<h2>How do problems in the mouth lead to other illnesses?</h2>
<p>Changes in the <a href="https://www.news-medical.net/health/pH-in-the-Human-Body.aspx">pH</a> (acidity or alkalinity), temperature and oxygen in the oral cavity are known to lead to abnormal growth of groups of bacteria which are usually harmless. When they become dominant, they can cause disease. </p>
<p>This disruption in the oral <a href="https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/microbiome/#:%7E:text=The%20microbiome%20consists%20of%20microbes,symbiotic%20microbiota%20coexist%20without%20probleguitms.">biota</a> causes inflammation and the slow development of periodontitis, bleeding gums and tooth decay. As the gum disease destroys the gum and begins to erode the bone, inflammatory molecules called <a href="https://www.cancer.org/cancer/managing-cancer/treatment-types/immunotherapy/cytokines.html#:%7E:text=Cytokines%20are%20small%20proteins%20that,body's%20immune%20and%20inflammation%20responses.">cytokines</a> can enter the blood stream. </p>
<p>These chemicals activate immune cells and can result in low grade chronic inflammation with the development of diseases such as <a href="https://diabetes.org/diabetes/type-2">type II diabetes</a>, <a href="https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/atherosclerosis#:%7E:text=Atherosclerosis%20thickening%20or%20hardening%20of,walls%20become%20thickened%20and%20stiff.">atherosclerosis</a> or thickening of the arteries and many others, even obesity. The bacteria themselves can also move from the gums into the surrounding tissue and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213453018301642">release toxins</a> which can move throughout the body. </p>
<p>Similarly, the gut hosts more than 1,000 species of bacteria which reside in the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK507857/#:%7E:text=The%20large%20intestine%20is%20responsible,descending%20colon%2C%20and%20sigmoid%20colon.">large intestine</a> and play a vital role in digestion, absorption, immunity and protection against toxins and harmful bacteria. </p>
<p>Human beings cannot live without a healthy, diverse gut biota. If this well-balanced community of microbes is disturbed and not restored, gastrointestinal disorders can be experienced. </p>
<p>Recent research has linked an abnormal gut biome to diseases as diverse as <a href="https://www.immunology.org/public-information/bitesized-immunology/immune-dysfunction/autoimmunity-introduction">autoimmunity</a>, obesity, cardiovascular disease and even <a href="https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/gut-microbiome-and-health">Alzheimer’s</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/microbiome-certain-gut-microbes-may-warn-of-alzheimers-disease-long-before-the-first-symptoms-begin-207999">Microbiome: certain gut microbes may warn of Alzheimer's disease long before the first symptoms begin</a>
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<h2>Where do bacteria in the body come from?</h2>
<p>It all starts with our microbes, tiny organisms which share our bodies and are vital to the health of human beings. There are <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/research-estimates-we-are-only-about-43-percent-human/4932876.html">39 trillion microbes</a> in the human body, outnumbering the estimated 30 trillion human cells, and they inhabit almost every organ and crevice in the human body. They can be found in the gut, skin, lung, seminal and vaginal fluid, eyes, scalp and mouth. </p>
<p>Each of these habitats has its own environment, attracting different organisms which adapt to their surroundings and make it their home. They live in synergy with each other and the surrounding tissue. If this relationship is disrupted it can result in disease.</p>
<p>Most of these microbes come from our mothers and enter our bodies when we are born. The womb is sterile but as the baby moves down the birth canal and enters the outside world, bacteria and other microbes occupy the newborn infant and create a unique ecosystem called the <a href="https://www.sciencefocus.com/the-human-body/human-microbiome">human microbiome</a>.</p>
<p>As we grow and begin to explore the world, these microorganisms become more diverse and varied and are influenced by our diets, lifestyles, interactions with animals and the environment. It is important to maintain this balance to reduce the risk of developing disease. </p>
<h2>What should people do to avoid these risks?</h2>
<p>Good dental hygiene includes regular dental check-ups, preventing the build-up of <a href="https://www.webmd.com/oral-health/plaque-and-your-teeth">plaque</a> by brushing your teeth regularly, and avoiding foods high in carbohydrates and sugar, which can lead to increased tooth decay and cavities. </p>
<p>To further support the balance of the bacteria in the mouth it is recommended that foods rich in <a href="https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/301506">antioxidants</a>, such as fresh fruit and vegetables, are included in our diet. </p>
<p>Dentists also recommend avoiding the use of <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31709856/">antibacterial mouth washes</a>, which have been shown to disrupt the balance of microbes. Overuse can lead to disturbances and stimulate species of bacteria that could cause disease. </p>
<p>Elevated <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9678961/">levels of stress</a> and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7182722/">lack of exercise</a> have also been linked to disruptions in the balance of the oral biota. So a well balanced diet with enough rest, accompanied by<a href="https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324708#_noHeaderPrefixedContent"> good dental hygiene</a>, is recommended. </p>
<p>The mouth is the door to the gut and the rest of the body. Ensuring the harmony of the microbes that live there is important to reduce the risk of disease.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214169/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Glenda Mary Davison receives funding from the South African Medical Research Foundation and serves as the Interim DSI-NRF SARChI chair in cardiometabolic health which is funded by Nedbank.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Yvonne Prince does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Oral hygiene is often neglected but research has shown that abnormal bacterial communities in the mouth can cause serious disease.Glenda Mary Davison, Associate Professor, Cape Peninsula University of TechnologyYvonne Prince, PhD in Biomedical Science (Microbiology), Cape Peninsula University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2102402023-09-11T12:34:57Z2023-09-11T12:34:57ZHow does fever help fight infections? There’s more to it than even some scientists realize<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547038/original/file-20230907-17-4s7zuu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2121%2C1412&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Being feverish is unpleasant, but it can help your body overcome invading pathogens.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/mother-measuring-the-temperature-of-her-ill-royalty-free-image/1458502274">Narisara Nami/Moment via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When you’re <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038%2Fnri3843">sick with a fever</a>, your doctor will likely tell you it’s a sign that your immune system is defending you against an infection. Fever typically results from immune cells at infected sites sending chemical signals to the brain to raise the set point of your body’s thermostat. So, you <a href="https://youtu.be/jRvxnpfCDSo">feel chills</a> when the fever starts and feel hot when the fever breaks.</p>
<p>However, if you were to ask your doctor exactly how fever protects you, don’t expect a completely satisfactory answer.</p>
<p>Despite scientific consensus that fever is beneficial in fighting infections, exactly how is contentious. We are a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=2o9r-L8AAAAJ&hl=en">veterinary pathologist</a> and an <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=RI7ng_YAAAAJ&hl=en">emergency physician</a> interested in <a href="https://isemph.org/what-is-evolutionary-medicine">applying evolutionary principles</a> to medical problems. The evolution of fever is a classic conundrum because fever’s effects seem so harmful. Besides making you feel uncomfortable, you may also worry you’ll dangerously overheat. It is also metabolically costly to generate that much heat. </p>
<p>In our research and review, we propose that since fever occurs throughout much of the animal kingdom, this costly response <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/emph/eoaa044">must have benefits</a> or it never would have evolved or been retained across species over time. We highlight several important but rarely considered points that help explain how the heat of fever helps your body fight infections.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jRvxnpfCDSo?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Fever is a physiological response that has persisted for hundreds of millions of years across species.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How fever fights infection</h2>
<p>Infections are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186%2Fs12915-017-0433-z">caused by pathogens</a>. Pathogens can be microbes such as certain species of bacteria, fungi or protozoans. If microbes or viruses have infected your cells and are using them to replicate, your own cells can also be considered pathogens and are treated that way by your immune system.</p>
<p>The main explanation for how fever helps control infections is that <a href="https://theconversation.com/normal-human-body-temperature-is-a-range-around-98-6-f-a-physiologist-explains-why-139270">higher temperatures</a> put heat-induced stress on pathogens, killing them or at least inhibiting their growth. But why would the somewhat higher body temperatures of fever – an increase of about 1.8 to 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit (<a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nri3843">1 to 4 degrees Celsius</a>) – which can’t even kill your own healthy cells, harm such a wide variety of pathogens?</p>
<p>Immunologists have noted that slight heat <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nri3843">makes immune cells work better</a>. The implication is that fever is needed to enhance their defensive function. However, from an evolutionary perspective, it seems strange to require the massive energy cost of generating a fever just to get more activity from immune cells, especially since there are already plentiful and faster molecular signals available to activate them.</p>
<p>In addition to heat, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186%2Far2632">slightly low oxygen levels</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1155%2F2018%2F1218297">slight acidity</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1000282">also boost</a> immune cell function. Since these stressful conditions also occur at infected sites, it makes sense that immune cells evolved to have their maximum functionality match their stressful working conditions. In fact, since anything in a state of growth is inherently vulnerable to stress – and pathogens are typically growing – researchers, including one of us, have proposed that a function of immune cells is to actively <a href="https://doi.org/10.1098%2Frspb.2016.0266">make local conditions stressful</a> to preferentially harm the growing pathogens.</p>
<h2>Heating up pathogens locally</h2>
<p><a href="https://openstax.org/books/microbiology/pages/17-5-inflammation-and-fever">Inflammation</a> is a local defensive response to infection. It <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-inflammation-two-immunologists-explain-how-the-body-responds-to-everything-from-stings-to-vaccination-and-why-it-sometimes-goes-wrong-193503">typically involves</a> heat, pain, redness and swelling in the areas where the immune system is most active. While some scientists are aware that infected sites generate heat, many believe that the feeling of warmth from inflammation is only from dilated blood vessels bringing in warmer blood from core body tissues.</p>
<p>However, researchers have found that inflamed tissues, even in core body tissues, are up to 1.8 to 3.6 F (<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2005.11.050">1 to 2 C</a>) warmer than adjacent normal tissues, so warmth is not just a byproduct of more blood flow. Much of that extra heat is coming from the immune cells themselves. When they generate reactive oxygen species to kill pathogens in a process known as the respiratory burst, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/150.3.366">substantial heat</a> is also produced. To date, however, the temperatures involved have not been measured.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547047/original/file-20230907-19-nezfs6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Over-the-shoulder view of someone holding a thermometer reading 38.5 degrees Celsius." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547047/original/file-20230907-19-nezfs6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547047/original/file-20230907-19-nezfs6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547047/original/file-20230907-19-nezfs6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547047/original/file-20230907-19-nezfs6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547047/original/file-20230907-19-nezfs6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547047/original/file-20230907-19-nezfs6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547047/original/file-20230907-19-nezfs6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Even an increase of a few degrees can affect how well your body kills pathogens.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/from-above-sick-lady-looking-at-thermometer-while-royalty-free-image/1393759427">Israel Sebastian/Moment via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While cells can tolerate a wide range of temperatures, all cells experience a sharp decline in their ability to grow and survive at higher temperatures. For mammalian cells, and presumably the pathogens that infect them, even a single degree or two above temperatures around 113 F (45 C) is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S1040-8428(01)00179-2">almost always deadly</a>. So the heat of fever adds to already warmer local temperatures.</p>
<p>There is evidence that pathogens are exposed to temperatures that are much higher than the body temperature routinely measured with a thermometer in the emergency department. A 2018 study finding that local temperatures can be <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.2003992">as high as 122 F (50 C) in mitochondria</a> – the powerhouse of the cell – came as a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.2005113">surprise to researchers</a>. The heat mitochondria generate is put to good use in warming the body and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2020.11.031">for fever</a>. Likewise, we suggest that the local heat the respiratory burst produces at the surface of immune cells helps kill pathogens.</p>
<h2>Heat and other stressors</h2>
<p>Immune cells target pathogens with a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/9671604">variety of stressors</a> meant to kill or inhibit them. These include reactive oxygen species, toxic peptides, digestive enzymes, high acidity and nutrient deprivation. Most chemical reactions are sped up by increased temperatures, so it isn’t surprising that heat enhances these defenses.</p>
<p>Researchers have shown heat to be <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34477/">synergistic with low oxygen and acidity</a> in killing pathogens. Notably, neither febrile temperatures nor iron restriction on their own were able to inhibit the growth of the infectious bacteria <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.760197"><em>Pasteurella multocida</em></a>, but they could when combined. The stress of heat doesn’t act alone when controlling infections.</p>
<p>The standard view that the heat of fever kills pathogens and enhances immune responses is correct but incomplete. Fever’s ability to control infections comes from the few extra, but critical, degrees it adds to enhance existing locally generated heat to harm vulnerable growing pathogens. And fever also always acts with other defenses, never alone. </p>
<p>At <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038%2Fnri3843">over 600 million years old</a>, fever is an ancient feature of life on this planet that deserves respect. In fact, you owe it to infection-fighting heat that you are still here – alive – to read this. Something to think about the next time you’re sick.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210240/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The heat and chills that come with fever are not only uncomfortable but also metabolically costly. Increased body temperature, however, can make all the difference when you’re sick.Edmund K. LeGrand, Adjunct Professor of Biomedical and Diagnostic Sciences, University of TennesseeJoe Alcock, Professor of Emergency Medicine, University of New MexicoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2054612023-09-06T12:26:19Z2023-09-06T12:26:19ZCould a single drug treat the two leading causes of death in the US: cancer and cardiovascular disease?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545343/original/file-20230829-19-am4x6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2158%2C1387&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Identifying the commonalities between cardiovascular disease and cancer could lead to improved treatments for both.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/heart-treatment-concept-royalty-free-image/1291438248">Sveta Zi/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>What would you guess are the two biggest killers in the world? Based on media coverage, maybe you guessed gun violence, accidents or COVID-19. But the top two killers are actually cardiovascular disease and cancer. These two diseases combined account for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.120.051451">nearly 50% of deaths in the U.S</a>. </p>
<p>Cardiovascular disease and cancer seem to be quite different on the surface. But <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.0c00245">newly discovered parallels</a> between the origins and development of these two diseases mean that some treatments may be effective against both. </p>
<p>I am a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=wD6KbXkAAAAJ&hl=en">biomedical engineer</a> who has spent two decades studying and developing ways to improve how drugs travel through the body. It turns out that tiny, engineered nanoparticles that can target specific immune cells may be a way to treat both cancer and cardiovascular disease.</p>
<h2>Cardiovascular disease and cancer</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/atherosclerosis">Atherosclerosis</a> is the most deadly form of cardiovascular disease. It <a href="https://doi.org/10.1161/hc0902.104353">results from</a> inflammation and the buildup of fat, cholesterol and <a href="https://www.khanacademy.org/science/biology/macromolecules/lipids/a/lipids">other lipids</a> in the blood vessel wall, forming a plaque. Most heart attacks are caused by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.114.302721">plaque rupture</a>. The body’s attempt to heal the wound can form a blood clot that blocks blood vessels and result in a heart attack.</p>
<p>On the other hand, cancer usually arises from genetic mutations that make cells divide uncontrollably. Unrestrainable, rapid cell growth that is untreated can be destructive because it is difficult to stop without harming healthy organs. Cancer can start from and occur in <a href="https://theconversation.com/every-cancer-is-unique-why-different-cancers-require-different-treatments-and-how-evolution-drives-drug-resistance-199249">any organ of the body</a>. </p>
<p>Although cardiovascular disease and cancer appear to have different origins and causes, they <a href="https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.115.020406">share many risk factors</a>. For example, obesity, smoking, chronic stress and certain lifestyle choices like poor diet are linked to both diseases. Why might these two diseases share similar risk factors? </p>
<p>Many of the similarities between cardiovascular disease and cancer can be traced to inflammation. Chronic inflammation is a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1161/hc0902.104353">primary cause of atherosclerosis</a> by damaging the cells lining the blood vessels and progressively worsening plaques. Likewise, chronic inflammation can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.immuni.2019.06.025">initiate cancer</a> by increasing mutations and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nature01322">support cancer cell survival and spread</a> by increasing the growth of the blood vessels that feed them nutrients and suppressing the body’s immune response.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Cardiovascular disease and cancer share many risk factors.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Treating two conditions at once</h2>
<p>Research hints that therapies designed for cancer can also help treat atherosclerosis. </p>
<p>One example is drugs that target immune cells called macrophages in tumors and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2009.05.045">cause them to eat</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1172/jci81603">cancer cells</a>. It turns out a similar drug can cause macrophages to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nature18935">clear dead and dying cells</a> in atherosclerosis, which shrinks plaques. </p>
<p>Another example are antiglycolytic therapies that prevent the breakdown of glucose. <a href="https://www.khanacademy.org/science/ap-biology/chemistry-of-life/properties-structure-and-function-of-biological-macromolecules/a/carbohydrates">Glucose, or sugar</a>, is the body’s main source of energy. These drugs can make diseased <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ccell.2016.10.006">tumor blood vessels</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.8b08875">atherosclerotic blood vessels</a> look more “normal,” essentially reversing the disease process in those vessels. They can also reduce inflammation in atherosclerosis.</p>
<p>Although <a href="https://doi.org/10.1161/CIR.0000000000000678">currently marketed treatments</a> like statins and fibrates can lower lipid levels and blood clotting in atherosclerosis, these drugs have not sufficiently addressed the risk of death from cardiovascular disease. To improve outcomes, clinicians are increasingly using multiple drugs directed against different targets. One intriguing class of treatments is sodium glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors, which are traditionally used to treat diabetes. Researchers have shown that these drugs both provide significant protection from <a href="https://doi.org/10.1161/CIR.0000000000000678">cardiovascular disease</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1511698112">treat cancer</a>. </p>
<p>Clinical trials on statins and sodium glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors indicate a close overlap between inflammation, metabolism and cardiovascular disease that suggests new treatment opportunities. One example is immunotherapies that “inhibit the inhibition” of immunity – that is, they take off the brakes that tumors place on the immune system. This approach to <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2021.731798">treat cancer</a> also <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s44161-023-00232-y">reduced atherosclerotic</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-020-3111-3">plaques in</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-019-0619-3">animal studies</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMc2029834">reduced vascular inflammation</a> in a small study in people. </p>
<h2>A nanomedical Trojan horse</h2>
<p>A recent discovery showed that nanotubes – a very small particle made of carbon that is over 10,000 times thinner than a human hair – can go into specific immune cells, travel through the bloodstream and enter tumors <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038%2Fnnano.2014.62">as a Trojan horse</a>. These nanotubes can carry anything that researchers put on them, including drugs and imaging contrast agents.</p>
<p>The immune cells carrying the nanotubes naturally <a href="https://doi.org/10.4049/jimmunol.0902583">home in on tumors</a> through the inflammatory response. Since cancer and atherosclerosis are both inflammatory diseases, my research team and I have been studying whether nanotube-loaded immune cells may also serve as delivery vehicles to plaques. </p>
<figure>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Nanoparticles can be used to “eat” the plaques that cause heart disease.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Nanotubes can be loaded with a therapy that stimulates immune cells to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-019-0619-3">“eat” plaque debris</a> and thus reduce plaque size. Moreover, restricting drug delivery specifically to those immune cells reduces the risk of off-target side effects. These nanotubes can also be used to improve <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202101005">diagnosis of cardiovascular disease</a> by highlighting plaques.</p>
<p>Another way nanoparticles can enter tumors is by squeezing through openings in new blood vessels grown in inflammatory conditions. This is known as the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/s0168-3659(99)00248-5">enhanced permeation and retention effect</a>, where larger molecules and nanoparticles accumulate in tissues with leaky blood vessels and remain there for some time because of their size. First <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.bpj.2018.07.038">discovered in cancer</a>, researchers are applying this effect to improve drug delivery for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1322725111">cardiovascular disease</a>, which can also involve <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biomaterials.2016.05.018">leaky blood vessels</a>.</p>
<h2>Improving drug development</h2>
<p>The molecular pathways cancer and cardiovascular disease share have important regulatory implications. The <a href="https://theconversation.com/90-of-drugs-fail-clinical-trials-heres-one-way-researchers-can-select-better-drug-candidates-174152">costs involved</a> in getting drugs into the clinic are enormous. The possibility of <a href="https://theconversation.com/repurposing-generic-drugs-can-reduce-time-and-cost-to-develop-new-treatments-but-low-profitability-remains-a-barrier-174874">applying the same drug</a> to two different patient populations offers big financial and risk-reduction incentives. It also offers the potential for simultaneous treatment for patients with both diseases.</p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/nanoparticles-are-the-future-of-medicine-researchers-are-experimenting-with-new-ways-to-design-tiny-particle-treatments-for-cancer-180009">Nanoparticle-based cancer drugs</a> first <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jconrel.2012.03.020">entered the clinic in 1995</a>, and researchers have developed many others since. But there is currently only <a href="https://doi.org/10.1592/phco.28.5.570">one cardiovascular nanodrug</a> approved by the Food and Drug Administration. This suggests opportunity for new <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41569-021-00594-5">nanotherapy approaches</a> to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s44161-023-00232-y">improve cardiovascular drug</a> efficacy and reduce side effects.</p>
<p>Because of the parallels between cancer and cardiovascular disease, cancer nanodrugs may be strong drug candidates to treat cardiovascular disease and vice versa. As basic science discovers other molecular parallels between these diseases, patients will be the beneficiaries of better therapies that can treat both.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205461/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bryan Smith receives funding from the National Institutes of Health (the National Cancer Institute) and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. He has received funding from the American Heart Association, the American Association for Cancer Research, and the Ralph and Marian Falk Medical Research Trust. </span></em></p>Cardiovascular disease and cancer share many parallels in their origins and how they develop. Nanoparticles offer one potential way to effectively treat both with reduced side effects.Bryan Smith, Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Michigan State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2104682023-08-15T01:42:43Z2023-08-15T01:42:43Z9 signs you have inflammation in your body. Could an anti-inflammatory diet help?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540707/original/file-20230802-29-iod8xt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=54%2C100%2C5121%2C3274&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/woman-suffering-pms-menstruation-pain-bedroom-1357975919">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>There is a lot of health buzz around the term “inflammation” right now. From new scientific <a href="https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-07-inflammation-discovery-aging-age-related-diseases.html">discoveries</a> to <a href="https://people.com/health/gwyneth-paltrow-addresses-backlash-anti-inflammatory-diet/">celebrities</a> and social media influencers, it seems like everyone is talking about this important bodily process and its potential impact on our health.</p>
<p>“<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41574-018-0059-4">Inflammaging</a>” is a specific term you may also have seen. It’s an age-related increase in persistent, low-grade inflammation in blood and tissue, which is a strong risk factor for many conditions and diseases. </p>
<p>So, can an anti-inflammatory diet help reduce inflammation? Let’s take a look.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/dont-listen-to-gwyneth-paltrow-ivs-are-not-a-shortcut-to-good-health-202621">Don't listen to Gwyneth Paltrow – IVs are not a shortcut to good health</a>
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<h2>What is inflammation?</h2>
<p>When our body becomes injured or encounters an infection, it activates defence mechanisms to protect itself. It does this by instructing our cells to fight off the invader. This fighting process <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-019-0675-0#citeas">causes inflammation</a>, which often presents as swelling, redness and pain. </p>
<p>In the short-term, inflammation is a sign your body is healing, whether from a grazed knee or a cold. </p>
<p>If inflammation persists for a longer time it’s called “chronic”. That can indicate a <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-05800-6">health problem</a> such as <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3638313/">arthritis</a>, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6719998/#B2-ijms-20-03879">heart disease</a>, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6523054/">diabetes</a>, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3390758/">dementia</a> or other autoimmune disorders. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK493173/">signs and symptoms</a> of chronic inflammation may be present from several months to years and include:</p>
<ol>
<li>persistent pain<br></li>
<li>chronic fatigue or insomnia </li>
<li>joint stiffness </li>
<li>skin problems </li>
<li>elevated blood markers (such as <a href="https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/c-reactive-protein-CRP-blood-test">C-reactive protein</a>)</li>
<li>gastrointestinal issues (constipation, diarrhoea, acid reflux)</li>
<li>depression, anxiety and mood disorders </li>
<li>unintended weight gain or loss</li>
<li>frequent colds or flu.</li>
</ol>
<h2>What role does diet play?</h2>
<p>The relationship between food and inflammation is <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0735109706013350">well recognised</a>. Overall, some food components may activate the immune system by producing pro-inflammatory cytokines (small proteins important in cell signaling) or reducing the production of anti-inflammatory cytokines.</p>
<p>A “<a href="https://theconversation.com/clear-evidence-for-a-link-between-pro-inflammatory-diets-and-27-chronic-diseases-heres-how-you-can-eat-better-158451">pro-inflammatory diet</a>” may increase inflammation in the body over the long term. Such diets are usually low in fresh produce like fruits, vegetables and wholegrains, and high in commercially baked goods, fried foods, added sugars and red and processed meats.</p>
<p>In contrast, an “<a href="https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/80/4/1029/4690355">anti-inflammatory</a>” diet is associated with less inflammation in the body. There is no single anti-inflammatory diet. Two well-recognised, evidence-backed examples are the Mediterranean diet and the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet.</p>
<p>Anti-inflammatory diets typically include the following elements: </p>
<p><strong>1. high in antioxidants.</strong> These compounds help the body fight free radicals or unstable atoms, that in high quantities are linked to illnesses such as cancer and heart disease. The best way to consume antioxidants is by eating lots of fruits and vegetables. Research shows frozen, dried and canned fruits and vegetables can be <a href="https://theconversation.com/frozen-and-tinned-foods-can-be-just-as-nutritious-as-fresh-produce-heres-how-201740">just as good as fresh</a></p>
<p><strong>2. high in “healthy”, unsaturated fatty acids.</strong> Monounsaturated fats and omega-3-fatty acids are found in fish (sardines, mackerel, salmon and tuna), seeds, nuts, and plant-based oils (olive oil and flaxseed oil) </p>
<p><strong>3. high in fibre and prebiotics.</strong> Carrots, cauliflower, broccoli and leafy greens are good sources of fibre. Prebiotics promote the growth of beneficial microorganisms in our intestines and can come from onions, leeks, asparagus, garlic, bananas, lentils and legumes</p>
<p><strong>4. low in processed foods.</strong> These contain refined carbohydrates (pastries, pies, sugar-sweetened beverages, deep-fried foods and processed meats). </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540704/original/file-20230802-25-1w4mlv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Woman cuts tomato at bench" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540704/original/file-20230802-25-1w4mlv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540704/original/file-20230802-25-1w4mlv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540704/original/file-20230802-25-1w4mlv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540704/original/file-20230802-25-1w4mlv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540704/original/file-20230802-25-1w4mlv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540704/original/file-20230802-25-1w4mlv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540704/original/file-20230802-25-1w4mlv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">You can’t really go wrong by including more fruit and vegetables in your diet.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-cooking-cutting-vegetables-for-sandwiches-5424595/">Pexels</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/clear-evidence-for-a-link-between-pro-inflammatory-diets-and-27-chronic-diseases-heres-how-you-can-eat-better-158451">Clear evidence for a link between pro-inflammatory diets and 27 chronic diseases. Here’s how you can eat better</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Rheumatoid arthritis, dementia, depression</h2>
<p>There is mixed evidence for the role of anti-inflammatory diets in rheumatoid arthritis pain management. A recent <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8706441/">2021 systematic review</a> (where researchers carefully group and examine the available evidence on a topic) found eating an anti-inflammatory diet likely leads to significantly lower pain in people with rheumatoid arthritis when compared with other diets. </p>
<p>However, the 12 studies included in the review had a high risk of bias – likely because people knew they were eating healthy foods – so the confidence in the evidence was low. </p>
<p>Inflammation is strongly implicated in the development of neurodegenerative diseases like <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6486891/">Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia</a> and evidence suggests anti-inflammatory diets might help to protect the brain. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5015034/">2016 review</a> showed an anti-inflammatory diet may be protective against cognitive impairment and dementia, but that further large randomised controlled trials are needed. A <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8673721/">2021 study</a> followed 1,059 people for three years and observed their diet. They reported those with a greater pro-inflammatory diet had an increased risk of developing dementia.</p>
<p>Inflammation has also been linked with mental health, with people eating a pro-inflammatory diet reporting more symptoms of <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31152670/">depression</a>. Diet is the fundamental element of <a href="https://www1.racgp.org.au/ajgp/2019/october/lifestyle-interventions-for-mental-health">lifestyle approaches</a> to managing anxiety and mental health. </p>
<p>More broadly, a <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9059/9/8/922">2021 review paper</a> examined recent research related to anti-inflammatory diets and their effect on reducing inflammation associated with ageing. It found compounds commonly found in anti-inflammatory diets could help alleviate the inflammatory process derived from diseases and unhealthy diets. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/netflix-psychiatrist-phil-stutz-says-85-of-early-therapy-gains-are-down-to-lifestyle-changes-is-he-right-195567">Netflix psychiatrist Phil Stutz says 85% of early therapy gains are down to lifestyle changes. Is he right?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What about turmeric?</h2>
<p>A favourite on social media and vitamin shelves, turmeric is promoted as having anti-inflammatory benefits. These are linked to a specific compound called <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5388087/#:%7E:text=Curcuminoids%20are%20phenolic%20compounds%20commonly,several%20important%20functions%20of%20curcuminoids.">curcumin</a>, which gives turmeric its distinctive yellow colour. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540708/original/file-20230802-17-nrwsv2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Bowl of yellow turmeric spice and roots on bench" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540708/original/file-20230802-17-nrwsv2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540708/original/file-20230802-17-nrwsv2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540708/original/file-20230802-17-nrwsv2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540708/original/file-20230802-17-nrwsv2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540708/original/file-20230802-17-nrwsv2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540708/original/file-20230802-17-nrwsv2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540708/original/file-20230802-17-nrwsv2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Turmeric – and the curcumin it contains – is often touted as anti-inflammatory.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/turmeric-powder-fresh-roots-on-wooden-402590536">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Research suggests curcumin might act as an anti-inflammatory agent in the body but high-quality clinical trials in humans are <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/16/6/4567">lacking</a>. Most of the <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/16/6/4567">existing studies</a> have been conducted in <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jcp.27360">lab settings</a> using cells or in <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4608712/">animals</a>. So it’s unclear how much curcumin is needed to see anti-inflammatory benefits or how well <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5664031/">we absorb it</a>. </p>
<p>Overall, adding turmeric to your food may provide your body with some health benefits, but don’t rely on it to prevent or treat disease on its own.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-burgers-and-chips-for-lunch-can-worsen-your-asthma-that-afternoon-206402">How burgers and chips for lunch can worsen your asthma that afternoon</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Safe eating</h2>
<p>Inflammation is a major factor in the link between diet and many health conditions. </p>
<p>Eating an anti-inflammatory diet is considered safe, likely to support health and to prevent future chronic conditions. If you are looking for tailored dietary advice or an anti-inflammatory meal plan, it’s best to speak with an <a href="https://member.dietitiansaustralia.org.au/Portal/Portal/Search-Directories/Find-a-Dietitian.aspx">accredited practising dietitian</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210468/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lauren Ball works for The University of Queensland and receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council, Queensland Health and Mater Misericordia. She is a Director of Dietitians Australia, a Director of the Darling Downs and West Moreton Primary Health Network and an Associate Member of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emily Burch works for Southern Cross University.</span></em></p>In the short-term, inflammation is a sign your body is healing. But persistent levels of inflammation in blood and tissue, called ‘inflammaging’, is linked to disease. Diet might help.Lauren Ball, Professor of Community Health and Wellbeing, The University of QueenslandEmily Burch, Dietitian, Researcher & Lecturer, Southern Cross UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2109472023-08-03T15:01:05Z2023-08-03T15:01:05ZImmune cells that fight cancer become exhausted within hours of first encountering tumors – new research<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540881/original/file-20230802-24657-u8hz8s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C538%2C359&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">This microscopy image shows a cytotoxic T cell (blue) attacking a cancer cell (green) by releasing toxic chemicals (red).</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://flic.kr/p/wyPJtV">Alex Ritter and Jennifer Lippincott Schwartz and Gillian Griffiths/National Institutes of Health via Flickr</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A key function of our immune system is to detect and eliminate foreign pathogens such as bacteria and viruses. Immune cells like <a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-b-cells-and-t-cells-explained-141888">T cells</a> do this by distinguishing between different types of proteins within cells, which allows them to detect the presence of infection or disease. </p>
<p>A type of T cell called <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41416-020-01048-4">cytotoxic T cells</a> can recognize the mutated proteins on cancer cells and should therefore be able to kill them. However, in most patients, cancer cells grow unchecked despite the presence of T cells.</p>
<p>The current explanation scientists have as to why T cells fail to eliminate cancer cells is because <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41577-019-0221-9">they become “exhausted.”</a> The idea is that T cells initially function well when they first face off against cancer cells, but gradually lose their ability to kill the cancer cells after repeated encounters. </p>
<p>Cancer immunotherapies such as <a href="https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/types/immunotherapy/checkpoint-inhibitors">immune checkpoint inhibitors</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/anti-cancer-car-t-therapy-reengineers-t-cells-to-kill-tumors-and-researchers-are-expanding-the-limited-types-of-cancer-it-can-target-196471">CAR-T cell therapy</a> have shown remarkable promise by inducing long-lasting remission in some patients with otherwise incurable cancers. However, these therapies <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41571-022-00689-z">often fail to induce long-term responses</a> in most patients, and T cell exhaustion is a major culprit.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.philiplab.org/">We are researchers</a> who study ways to harness the immune system to treat cancer. Scientists like us have been working to determine the mechanisms controlling how well T cells function against tumors. In our newly published research, we found that <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41590-023-01578-y">T cells become exhausted within hours</a> after encountering cancer cells.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vponeaNiewE?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">T cells recognize tumor cells by the specific proteins called antigens they display on their surfaces.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Timing T cell exhaustion</h2>
<p>By the time most patients are diagnosed with cancer, their immune system has been interacting with developing cancer cells <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nrc3397">for months to years</a>. We wanted to go back earlier in time to figure out what happens when T cells first encounter tumor cells. </p>
<p>To do this, we used mice genetically engineered to develop liver cancers as they age, similarly to how liver cancers develop in people. We introduced trackable cytotoxic T cells that specifically recognize liver cancer cells to analyze the T cells’ function and monitor which of the genes are activated or turned off over time.</p>
<p>We also used these same trackable T cells to study their response in mice infected with the bacteria <em>Listeria</em>. In these mice, we found that the T cells were highly functional and eliminated infected cells. By comparing the differences between dysfunctional T cells from tumors and highly functional T cells from infected mice, we can home in on the genes that code for critical proteins that T cells use to regulate their function.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nature22367">In our previous work</a>, we found that T cells become dysfunctional with dramatically altered genetic structure within five days of encountering cancer cells in mice. We had originally decided to focus on the very earliest time points after T cells encounter cancer cells in mice with liver cancer or metastatic melanoma because we thought there would be fewer genetic changes. That would have allowed us to identify the earliest and most critical regulators of T cell dysfunction. </p>
<p>Instead, we found multiple surprising hallmarks of T cell dysfunction within <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41590-023-01578-y">six to 12 hours</a> after they encountered cancer cells, including thousands of changes in genetic structure and gene expression.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540884/original/file-20230802-19-7xirm8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Microscopy image of a human T cell colored blue" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540884/original/file-20230802-19-7xirm8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540884/original/file-20230802-19-7xirm8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540884/original/file-20230802-19-7xirm8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540884/original/file-20230802-19-7xirm8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540884/original/file-20230802-19-7xirm8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540884/original/file-20230802-19-7xirm8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540884/original/file-20230802-19-7xirm8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">T cells play an important role in fighting against disease.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.nist.gov/image/healthyhumantcelljpg">National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We analyzed the different regulatory genes and pathways in T cells encountering cancer cells compared to those of T cells encountering infected cells. We found that genes associated with inflammation were highly activated in T cells interacting with infected cells but not in T cells interacting with cancer cells.</p>
<p>Next, we looked at how the initial early changes to the genetic structure of T cells evolved over time. We found that very early DNA changes were stabilized and reinforced with continued exposure to cancer cells, effectively “imprinting” dysfunctional gene expression patterns in the T cells. This meant that when the T cells were removed from the tumors after five days and transferred to tumor-free mice, they still remained dysfunctional.</p>
<h2>Boosting T cell killing</h2>
<p>Altogether, our research suggests that T cells in tumors are not necessarily working hard and getting exhausted. Rather, they are blocked right from the start. This is because the negative signals cancer cells send out to their surrounding environment induce T cell dysfunction, and a lack of positive signals like inflammation results in a failure to kick T cells into high gear.</p>
<p>Our team is now exploring strategies to stimulate inflammatory pathways in T cells encountering cancer cells to make them function as though they are encountering an infection. Our hope is that this will help T cells kill their cancer targets more effectively.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210947/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>T cells recognize and kill cancer cells but quickly lose their effectiveness. This fast dysfunction may help explain why immunotherapy doesn’t lead to long-term remission for many patients.Mary Philip, Assistant Professor of Medicine and Pathology, Vanderbilt UniversityMichael Rudloff, MD-Ph.D. Candidate in Molecular Pathology and Immunology, Vanderbilt UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2064022023-07-25T01:26:05Z2023-07-25T01:26:05ZHow burgers and chips for lunch can worsen your asthma that afternoon<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534504/original/file-20230628-15-3dpvk3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C998%2C663&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/delicious-burger-chips-handmade-house-on-243618775">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Certain foods or dietary patterns are linked with better control of your asthma. Others may make it worse. Depending on what you’ve eaten, you can see the effects in hours.</p>
<p>Food can affect how well your lungs function, how often you have asthma attacks and how well your puffer works.</p>
<p>Here’s what we know about which foods to eat more of, and which are best to eat in smaller amounts, if you have asthma.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-causes-asthma-what-we-know-dont-know-and-suspect-96409">What causes asthma? What we know, don't know and suspect</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Asthma and inflammation</h2>
<p>About <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/health/health-conditions-and-risks/asthma/latest-release">one in ten</a> Australians (2.7 million people) have asthma. This makes it the <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/topics/chronic-conditions/chronic-conditions-in-australia">fourth</a> most common chronic (persisting) disease in Australia. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.nationalasthma.org.au/understanding-asthma/what-is-asthma">Asthma</a> is an inflammatory disease. When someone is exposed to certain triggers (such as respiratory viruses, dust or exercise), the airways leading to the lungs become inflamed and narrow. This makes it difficult for them to breathe during what’s commonly known as an asthma attack (or exacerbation).</p>
<p>Researchers are becoming increasingly aware of how someone’s diet can affect their asthma symptoms, including how often they have one of these attacks.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/passive-smoking-synthetic-bedding-and-gas-heating-in-homes-show-the-strongest-links-to-asthma-176677">Passive smoking, synthetic bedding and gas heating in homes show the strongest links to asthma</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Thumbs up for fruit and veg</h2>
<p>The Mediterranean diet – a diet high in fruit, vegetables and oily fish – is linked with <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30997754/">less wheezing</a> in children, whether or not they have been diagnosed with asthma. Some, but not all, of the studies found this was regardless of the children’s body-mass index (BMI) or socioeconomic status.</p>
<p>Eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables is also important for adults with asthma. Two studies found adults who were instructed to eat a diet with few fruits and vegetables (two or fewer servings of vegetables, and one serving of fruit daily) had <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18324527/">worse lung function</a> and were twice as likely to have an <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22854412/">asthma attack</a> compared to those eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534507/original/file-20230628-23-j6h1ll.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Mediterranean diet pyramid" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534507/original/file-20230628-23-j6h1ll.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534507/original/file-20230628-23-j6h1ll.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=514&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534507/original/file-20230628-23-j6h1ll.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=514&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534507/original/file-20230628-23-j6h1ll.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=514&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534507/original/file-20230628-23-j6h1ll.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=646&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534507/original/file-20230628-23-j6h1ll.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=646&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534507/original/file-20230628-23-j6h1ll.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=646&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Mediterranean diet is rich in antioxidants and soluble fibre.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/illustration-mediterranean-diet-meal-shape-food-1640001031">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Why might the Mediterranean diet, or one rich in fruit and vegetables, help? Researchers think it’s because people are eating more antioxidants and soluble fibre, both of which have anti-inflammatory action: </p>
<ul>
<li><p><strong>antioxidants</strong> <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5075620/">neutralise free radicals</a>. These are the damaging molecules produced as a result of inflammation, which can ultimately cause more inflammation</p></li>
<li><p><strong>soluble fibre</strong> is fermented by gut bacteria to produce short-chain fatty acids such as acetate, propionate and butyrate, which <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352385919300246">reduce inflammation</a>. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>The Mediterranean diet is also high in omega-3 fatty acids (from oily fish, such as salmon, mackerel and tuna). However a <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/12/12/3839">review</a> looked at five studies that investigated omega-3 intake (through the diet or with a supplement) in adults with asthma. None of the studies showed any benefit associated with omega-3 for asthma.</p>
<p>Of course there is no harm in eating foods high in omega-3 – such as oily fish, flaxseeds, chia seeds and walnuts. This has numerous other benefits, such as <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29350557/">lowering the risk</a> of heart disease. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/food-as-medicine-how-what-you-eat-shapes-the-health-of-your-lungs-73450">Food as medicine: how what you eat shapes the health of your lungs</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Thumbs down for saturated fat, sugar, red meat</h2>
<p>Saturated fats are found in highly processed foods such as biscuits, sausages, pastries and chocolate, and in fast foods. </p>
<p>Diets high in saturated fats, plus sugar and red meat, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4888803/">can worsen</a> someone’s asthma symptoms.</p>
<p>For instance, one study found a diet high in these foods increased the number of <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18829673/">asthma attacks</a> in adults.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534506/original/file-20230628-21-6oihd1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Woman clutching throat reaching for asthma inhaler on table" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534506/original/file-20230628-21-6oihd1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534506/original/file-20230628-21-6oihd1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534506/original/file-20230628-21-6oihd1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534506/original/file-20230628-21-6oihd1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534506/original/file-20230628-21-6oihd1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534506/original/file-20230628-21-6oihd1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534506/original/file-20230628-21-6oihd1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">What you eat can affect how well your asthma puffer works.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/asthma-attack-young-woman-reaching-inhaler-1554476906">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Foods high in saturated fat can have an impact in as little as <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21377715/">four hours</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21377715/">One study</a> looked at what happened when adults with asthma ate a meal high in saturated fat (consisting of two hash browns, a sausage and egg muffin, and a sausage muffin) compared with a meal with similar calories but low in saturated fat.</p>
<p>People who ate the meal high in saturated fat had reduced lung function within four hours. Within four hours, their puffer was also less effective.</p>
<p>These worsening symptoms were likely driven by an increase in inflammation. Around the four hour mark, researchers found an increase in the number of the immune cells known as neutrophils, which play a role in inflammation.</p>
<p>It’s still OK to eat a sneaky burger or some hot chips occasionally if you have asthma. But knowing that eating too many of these foods can affect your asthma can help you make choices that might improve your quality of life.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/clear-evidence-for-a-link-between-pro-inflammatory-diets-and-27-chronic-diseases-heres-how-you-can-eat-better-158451">Clear evidence for a link between pro-inflammatory diets and 27 chronic diseases. Here’s how you can eat better</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What about dairy?</h2>
<p>One food type you don’t have to avoid, though, is <a href="https://theconversation.com/mondays-medical-myth-dairy-products-exacerbate-asthma-10641">dairy products</a>. </p>
<p>Although many people with asthma report eating dairy worsens their asthma, evidence shows this to be untrue. In fact, one study in adults with asthma found drinking milk was linked to <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33918391/">better</a> lung function.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/mondays-medical-myth-dairy-products-exacerbate-asthma-10641">Monday's medical myth: dairy products exacerbate asthma</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206402/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Evan Williams receives funding from The John Hunter Charitable Trust Foundation. </span></em></p>Some foods can affect how well your lungs function, how often you have asthma attacks and how well your puffer works. Here’s what to eat if you have asthma.Evan Williams, Postdoctoral Researcher in Respiratory and Nutritional Biochemistry, University of NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2025912023-06-19T12:23:19Z2023-06-19T12:23:19ZHow do spices get their flavor?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525195/original/file-20230509-18-suu7hu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C7%2C5184%2C3437&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Without spices, our meals would have less color and flavor.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/spices-royalty-free-image/556881787">Helaine Weide/Moment via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/curious-kids-us-74795">Curious Kids</a> is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to <a href="mailto:curiouskidsus@theconversation.com">curiouskidsus@theconversation.com</a>.</em></p>
<hr>
<blockquote>
<p>How do spices get their flavor? – Liam, age 6, San Francisco</p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p>I love savory and spicy foods. Lasagna laden with basil and oregano. Beautifully golden curries <a href="https://www.britannica.com/search?query=turmeric">infused with turmeric</a>, or rice <a href="https://www.britannica.com/search?query=saffron">flavored with saffron</a>. I can’t pass up a cinnamon-dusted snickerdoodle cookie. And some of my favorite childhood memories center on my mom’s nutmeg-infused sweet potato pie.</p>
<p>These ingredients come from many different plants and distinct plant parts, including leaves, seeds, bark and plant oils. Their flavors are created by accumulated <a href="https://lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic/dietary-factors/phytochemicals">phytochemicals</a> – substances the plants make. “Phyto” comes from the Latin word for plant.</p>
<p>Plants produce chemicals for different purposes. In my recent book, “<a href="https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674241282">Lessons from Plants</a>,” I explore how plants use some of those compounds to communicate with one another.</p>
<p>Many of the chemicals that make up spice flavors can play important roles, such as protecting the plant against pests or pathogens. Known as secondary compounds, they can also help plants adapt to changes in the world around them. And, as spices, they communicate powerfully to our taste buds. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DzOcZlmeaH0?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Harvesting Ceylon cinnamon in Sri Lanka involves a lot of handwork.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Common kitchen herbs like basil and oregano come from leafy plants. Essential aromatic oils that accumulate in the plants’ leaves produce their flavors. For basil, those oils are called <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/basil">eugenol and linalool</a>; oregano gets its flavors from <a href="https://draxe.com/essential-oils/oregano-oil-benefits/#">carvacrol and thymol</a>. Oils from both of these herbs have medicinal uses against infections, pain and swelling.</p>
<p>Other common spices, such as pepper and red chili, come from the berries or fruits of plants. Black pepper is made by grinding the small berries, known as peppercorns, from the plant <em>Piper nigrum</em>. Red pepper comes from ground-up dried chiles – <a href="https://cpi.nmsu.edu/chile-info/for-kids-pages/the-story-of-chile-peppers.html">small, hot-tasting fruits</a> that grow on low bushes.</p>
<p>Turmeric spice comes from another plant part – the rhizomes, or underground stems, of the flowering plant <em>Curcuma longa</em>. Rhizomes often are confused with roots, but they are more like stems that grow sideways underground and help the plant spread. A relative of ginger, another rhizome-derived spice, turmeric is beautifully orange and is used in a range of cooking that includes my beloved curries. </p>
<p>Saffron is from the red-colored, threadlike <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stigma_(botany)">stigmas</a> of the plant <em>Crocus sativus</em>. The stigma is one component of the female part of a flower. Saffron is one of the most expensive spices, because harvesting stigmas is very labor-intensive – it’s typically <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwJkN3EaJW0">done by hand with tweezers</a>. Saffron is high in antioxidants and has been used as a medicine, dye and perfume. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525972/original/file-20230512-24221-upuv0q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A six-petaled purple flower with bright red threads extending from its center." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525972/original/file-20230512-24221-upuv0q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525972/original/file-20230512-24221-upuv0q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525972/original/file-20230512-24221-upuv0q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525972/original/file-20230512-24221-upuv0q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525972/original/file-20230512-24221-upuv0q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525972/original/file-20230512-24221-upuv0q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525972/original/file-20230512-24221-upuv0q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Saffron comes from the vivid red stigma of <em>Crocus sativus</em>, commonly known as the ‘saffron crocus’.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saffron#/media/File:Saffron8.jpg">Serpico/Wikipedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Cinnamon, which cooks use in all kinds of baked goods, is derived from yet another plant part: the inner bark of tree species from the genus <em>Cinnamomum</em>. The phytochemical that gives cinnamon its distinctive smell and its rich woody flavor is the aromatic compound <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinnamaldehyde">cinnamaldehyde</a>. </p>
<p>Rich in antioxidants, cinnamon may help <a href="https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/10-proven-benefits-of-cinnamon#">control blood pressure and reduce inflammation</a>. It also has natural antifungal and antimicrobial properties that may serve to protect the trees that produce it.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/nutmeg">dried nutmeg</a> that my mom used in her legendary pie comes from grinding the seed of the tropical evergreen tree family <em>Myristica fragrans</em>. The same plant produces another spice, called mace, which is often used to flavor baked custards and to spice sausages or other meat. </p>
<p>Plants can teach us all kinds of meaningful lessons. One of their powerful truths is that variety is literally the spice of life. I’m thankful for their tasty chemical defenses every time I cook. </p>
<hr>
<p><em>Hello, curious kids! Do you have a question you’d like an expert to answer? Ask an adult to send your question to <a href="mailto:curiouskidsus@theconversation.com">CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com</a>. Please tell us your name, age and the city where you live.</em></p>
<p><em>And since curiosity has no age limit – adults, let us know what you’re wondering, too. We won’t be able to answer every question, but we will do our best.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/202591/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Beronda L. Montgomery receives funding from the National Science Foundation. </span></em></p>Humans have figured out how to season their food with virtually every part of plants.Beronda L. Montgomery, Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean of the College, Grinnell CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2028542023-05-31T01:58:39Z2023-05-31T01:58:39ZTrying for a baby? What you need to know about a vital part of your womb (and how to look after it)<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525306/original/file-20230510-19-vyabvw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=50%2C101%2C4128%2C2720&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/closeup-photo-young-woman-picking-sanitary-528070513">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Human reproduction is completely dependent on the healthy function of an underestimated but vital organ: the endometrium. This is the spongy tissue that lines the inner surface of the womb.</p>
<p>In the first half of the menstrual cycle, a healthy endometrium expands in response to the estrogen produced by a growing egg. The endometrium is then shed each month during menstruation. </p>
<p>Or, in the case of pregnancy, the endometrium accepts and nurtures the embryo.</p>
<h2>So you’re trying to get pregnant. What happens?</h2>
<p>When ovulation is triggered, the ovary starts to produce the hormones estrogen and progesterone. Progesterone causes the endometrial cells to prepare to accept an embryo, in a unique transition called “decidualisation”.</p>
<p>During decidualisation, endometrial cells display proteins that indicate it’s receptive for embryo attachment. After attachment, the junctions between endometrial cells loosen so an embryo can move beneath the endometrial surface. </p>
<p>Endometrial cells secrete substances that nurture the embryo, while immune cells protect the embryo and the endometrium while they move together and the placenta develops. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/health-check-how-to-get-pregnant-30529">Health Check: how to get pregnant</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The surface of the endometrium is covered by a shield of glycoproteins (proteins attached to sugars) which protects it from bacteria and viruses. This shield can also <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-03425-2">prevent an embryo from attaching to the lining</a>.</p>
<p>Progesterone helps to remove this glycoprotein shield about five days after ovulation. This is carefully timed so a fertilised egg will have developed into a blastocyst-stage embryo and be starting to hatch from its shell ready to interact with the exposed endometrial cells.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525307/original/file-20230510-19-t3k1xt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525307/original/file-20230510-19-t3k1xt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525307/original/file-20230510-19-t3k1xt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525307/original/file-20230510-19-t3k1xt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525307/original/file-20230510-19-t3k1xt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=554&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525307/original/file-20230510-19-t3k1xt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=554&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525307/original/file-20230510-19-t3k1xt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=554&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The stages of embryo development.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>It prevents the body rejecting the father’s sperm</h2>
<p>The endometrium must also retrain its immune cells to accept an embryo that contains the father’s foreign biological material, or “antigens”. </p>
<p>Tissues bearing these foreign antigens would usually provoke an immune rejection response, but the endometrium has adapted its immune response so an embryo can be accepted, and implant and grow, without rejection. </p>
<p>Although not essential for pregnancy, prior contact with the father’s semen <a href="https://www.jci.org/articles/view/122182">primes the mother’s immune response</a> and promotes acceptance of an embryo. Sexual activity enables paternal antigens, which are present in the fluid around sperm, to interact with the mother’s immune cells in the cervix and endometrium. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/whats-the-point-of-sex-its-communication-at-a-biological-level-67847">What's the point of sex? It's communication at a biological level</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Paternal antigens are taken to lymph glands in the pelvic cavity where they are processed in a way that encourages the mother’s immune response to tolerate – not reject – these paternal antigens. </p>
<p>When paternal antigens on the embryo are next seen by the mother’s endometrial immune cells, they accept the embryo and nurture it. Implantation and placental development can then occur, maximising the chance of progression to a healthy pregnancy.</p>
<h2>Then what happens?</h2>
<p>For an embryo to grow beyond being a blastocyst, it must secure access to a robust blood supply. Oxygen and nutrients are sourced from the mother’s endometrium (called decidua in early pregnancy) during implantation via the placenta which is formed from outer cells of the embryo.</p>
<p>The process of implantation involves a complex sequence of cellular steps that must progress correctly for pregnancy to occur. </p>
<p>The endometrial tissues have to be reorganised so the blood vessels grow towards the embryo. These vessels then open up to allow blood to flow into blood-filled spaces (called lacunae) that bathe the surface of the placenta. This allows oxygen and nutrients to move from the mother’s to the fetus’s blood supply.<br>
As these connections form, there can be minor bleeding a few days before a menstrual period is due. This is called “implantation bleeding”.</p>
<p>If any of these steps go awry, the embryo may fail to implant, there may be a brief interaction between the embryo and the endometrium that becomes disrupted (a “biochemical pregnancy” or very early miscarriage), or there may be implantation faults that cause a miscarriage some weeks later. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1188930437558820865"}"></div></p>
<h2>What can go wrong?</h2>
<p>The events at implantation have consequences for the rest of the pregnancy. </p>
<p>Even minor defects in the embryo or endometrial interaction at implantation can <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2019.00478">increase the risk</a> of common pregnancy conditions such as:</p>
<ul>
<li>preterm labour</li>
<li>high blood pressure (preeclampsia)</li>
<li>sub-optimal fetal growth</li>
<li>premature delivery</li>
<li>pregnancy loss.</li>
</ul>
<h2>What conditions affect the endometrium?</h2>
<p>Inflammation is the hallmark of an unhealthy endometrium and contributes significantly to implantation disorders and miscarriage.</p>
<p>Endometritis (infection of the endometrium) and inflammatory fluid from blocked fallopian tubes (hydrosalpinx) can damage endometrial cells. </p>
<p>Dying and damaged cells attract immune cells that attack and engulf them. When damaged or dying cells are in the endometrium (decidua), the placenta doesn’t grow well and the pregnancy can be affected. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Woman holds. her pelvis" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525109/original/file-20230509-26-5qvg2s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525109/original/file-20230509-26-5qvg2s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525109/original/file-20230509-26-5qvg2s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525109/original/file-20230509-26-5qvg2s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525109/original/file-20230509-26-5qvg2s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525109/original/file-20230509-26-5qvg2s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525109/original/file-20230509-26-5qvg2s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Inflammation can contribute to implantation disorders and miscarriage.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-photo-of-woman-touching-her-abdomen-3958579/">Pexels/Polina Zimmerman</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/endometriosis-2405">Endometriosis</a> (endometrial tissue outside the uterus) and <a href="https://theconversation.com/adenomyosis-causes-pain-heavy-periods-and-infertility-but-youve-probably-never-heard-of-it-104412">adenomyosis</a> (endometrial tissue in the muscle of the uterus) also increase inflammation. In these conditions, endometrial cells in the wrong location grow and then die in response to cyclic menstrual cycle hormones. The immune system then has to be activated to clear the dead cells, creating an inflammatory environment. </p>
<p>Autoimmune conditions and metabolic disorders such as diabetes and insulin resistance also activate the immune system and create an inflammatory endometrial environment. These conditions <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36192117/">have been linked</a> to recurrent miscarriage. </p>
<h2>How can you improve your endometrial health?</h2>
<p>There are several things you can do to support a healthy endometrium. </p>
<p>First, manage the lifestyle factors that increase stress on cells and promote inflammation. This will decrease the chances of implantation problems and miscarriage. </p>
<p>Cutting down on <a href="https://academic.oup.com/humrep/article/22/2/543/2939206">smoking</a>, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0890623819300073?via%3Dihub">marijuana</a>, too much <a href="https://academic.oup.com/biolreprod/article/99/6/1266/5049471">coffee</a> or <a href="https://academic.oup.com/humrep/article/36/9/2538/6294415">alcohol</a>, and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002916522007663?via%3Dihub">avoiding</a> sugary and processed foods will make it easier for the endometrium to stay healthy. </p>
<p>For some women, the diagnosis and treatment of medical conditions that cause inflammation, such as diabetes and autoimmune problems, ensures treatments can start. Treating these conditions can reduce the risk of miscarriage and pregnancy complications.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/considering-using-ivf-to-have-a-baby-heres-what-you-need-to-know-108910">Considering using IVF to have a baby? Here's what you need to know</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/202854/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Louise Hull is Professor and leader of the endometriosis and endometrium group at and at the Robinson Research Institute at the University of Adelaide.
She works as a Fertility Specialist (FRANZCOG, CREI) and is also the Medical Director / Owner of Embrace Fertility, Adelaide.
Louise has previously received funding from the Federal Government Grant for the EndoZone project and MRFF Funding for Imagendo.
Louise Hull also works as a Staff Specialist Consultant at the Women's and Children's Hospital Adelaide </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah Robertson receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia, and the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p>Human reproduction is completely dependent on the health of an underestimated but vital organ: the endometrium. Here’s how it works.Louise Hull, Professor and Endometriosis Group Leader, The Robinson Research Institute, University of AdelaideSarah Robertson, Professor and Director, Robinson Research Institute, University of AdelaideLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2054962023-05-18T12:25:25Z2023-05-18T12:25:25ZWegovy and Ozempic: could the new weight-loss drug also treat dementia?<p>Over <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/dementia">55 million people worldwide have dementia</a>. This mind-robbing condition has a huge impact on society and the economy, so scientists are working hard to find ways to treat or prevent it. One of the avenues being explored is the new weight-loss jab, Wegovy. </p>
<p>Although age is by far the greatest risk factor for dementia, obesity and type 2 diabetes are also major <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30367-6/fulltext">risk factors</a> for developing the condition. This is where Wegovy and its sister drug, Ozempic, come into the picture. <a href="https://www.drugs.com/wegovy.html">Wegovy</a> and <a href="https://www.drugs.com/ozempic.html">Ozempic</a>, a drug to treat type 2 diabetes, both contain the same active substance called <a href="https://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes-medication/semaglutide.html">semaglutide</a>. </p>
<p>Semaglutide mimics the action of a hormone, GLP-1, that is normally released from the gut after a meal. The hormone latches on to receptors in the pancreas that stimulate the release of insulin, which helps lower blood sugar levels. </p>
<p>However, these receptors are also in “reward centres” of the <a href="https://academic.oup.com/endo/article/156/1/255/2801136">brain</a>, including in areas controlling eating. Despite a lack of evidence for semaglutide crossing the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006295220304238?via%3Dihub">blood-brain barrier</a> (the protective layer around the brain), the drug may be modifying brain activity to make people feel less hungry.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://alz-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/trc2.12268">Danish study</a> that followed people with type 2 diabetes for five years found those on semaglutide or liraglutide (another diabetes drug) had a lower incidence of dementia. Type 2 diabetes is more strongly associated with <a href="https://doi.org/10.2337/dc21-0601">vascular dementia</a> and not Alzheimer’s disease (the most common form of dementia), so only certain forms of dementia might be reduced by semaglutide.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, <a href="https://www.alzint.org/about-us/funders/corporate-partner-novo-nordisk/">two clinical trials</a> which began in 2021 are testing whether daily oral doses of semaglutide will slow disease progress in people in the early stages of Alzheimer’s. Since it takes a long time to develop the disease, trials are expected to be completed in 2026.</p>
<p>Alzheimer’s disease is thought to originate in <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00401-006-0127-z">specific regions of the cerebral cortex</a> – the region responsible for memories and spatial navigation. But receptors for GLP-1 were <a href="https://academic.oup.com/endo/article/156/1/255/2801136">not detected in the cortex</a>, making it unlikely that semaglutide directly activates memory networks. So how might the drug treat the disease?</p>
<p>The brains of Alzheimer’s disease patients accumulate sticky plaques of amyloid-beta as well as clumps of tau proteins inside brain cells. These are thought to disrupt cognition. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN71283871">A clinical trial</a> is underway here at the University of Oxford that will specifically examine tau levels in people who have high levels of amyloid-beta but have not (yet) developed dementia. It is hoped that semaglutide will reduce cortical tau levels, leading to reduced rates of cognitive decline.</p>
<p>Drugs recently approved in the US to treat <a href="https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/how-alzheimers-disease-treated">Alzheimer’s</a> target amyloid-beta plaques. But these drugs have proved controversial, with patients requiring hour-long infusions every two to four weeks. </p>
<p>These types of drug probably also target amyloid-beta around blood vessels, leading to potentially life-threatening <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaneurology/fullarticle/2786606">side-effects</a> such as bleeds in the brain. Alternative strategies are therefore desirable, and this is where semaglutide may shine.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DM5cGuddYww?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">How Wegovy, the new weight-loss drug, works.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Inflammation</h2>
<p>The key link between semaglutide and reducing Alzheimer’s disease might be <a href="https://alz-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1016/j.trci.2018.06.014">neuroinflammation</a> – a state in which the brain is chronically inflamed.</p>
<p>Neuroinflammation <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pharmthera.2022.108119">damages the blood-brain barrier</a>, which is disrupted in both Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia. The <a href="https://www.rdm.ox.ac.uk/about/our-clinical-facilities-and-mrc-units/DTU/current-trials-and-studies/isap">Oxford trial</a> examining tau is also looking at how semaglutide affects neuroinflammation (there are suggestions that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2022.101737">semaglutide is anti-inflammatory</a> in people with obesity). </p>
<p>It also reduces neuroinflammation in the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-17338-1">brains of mice</a>, and restores <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-17718-y">glucose transport</a> across the blood-brain barrier (something that is disrupted in people with Alzheimer’s).</p>
<p>Another drug, memantine – originally developed to treat diabetes – was repurposed to ease symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, and is still prescribed for that use <a href="https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/medicines/human/EPAR/ebixa">today</a>. Now we eagerly await the results of the next-generation of diabetes and weight-loss drugs to see if they can prevent or treat Alzheimer’s disease.</p>
<p>In the meantime, there are lifestyle changes you can make to reduce your risk of <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30367-6/fulltext">developing the condition</a>. These include keeping active, eating a healthy diet, maintaining a healthy weight, and quitting smoking. </p>
<p><em>Correction: An earlier version of this article stated that semaglutide is able to cross the blood-brain barrier. However, this has not been proven. The article has been updated to reflect this fact.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205496/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The much-discussed weight-loss jab may be good for treating Britain’s biggest killer: dementia. Trials are underway.Tim Viney, Career Development Fellow, University of OxfordBarbara Sarkany, DPhil Candidate, Alzheimer's, University of OxfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2033052023-04-14T16:00:19Z2023-04-14T16:00:19ZEndometriosis: how the condition may be linked to the immune system<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521036/original/file-20230414-20-758qyg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6944%2C3783&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Endometriosis can cause a range of painful symptoms.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/endometriosis-disease-anatomy-concept-female-infertility-2145269393">Lightspring/ Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Endometriosis is a debilitating condition which affects <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/endometriosis">10% of women worldwide</a>. The condition can have a serious affect on a person’s quality of life, often causing a range of symptoms including chronic pain, fatigue and pain during sex.</p>
<p>Despite how common endometriosis is, most women wait on average <a href="https://www.endometriosis-uk.org/sites/endometriosis-uk.org/files/files/Endometriosis%20APPG%20Report%20Oct%202020.pdf">7.5 years</a> for a diagnosis in the UK. Not only does this mean many years without treatment, it also puts them at risk of even greater health problems. Untreated endometriosis can lead to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3825702/">organ damage</a> (including the uterus and bowels) and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2941592/">infertility</a>.</p>
<p>There’s currently no cure for endometriosis. This may be due to how complex endometriosis is, affecting many different parts of the body – meaning researchers still don’t fully understand all the causes of the disease. </p>
<p>In the last few years, studies have found that the immune system is also affected by endometriosis. It’s still unclear whether the immune system causes endometriosis or is merely affected by it. But exploring this link could eventually lead to better targeted treatment for the condition.</p>
<h2>Inflammation and immunity</h2>
<p>To understand how our immune system and endometriosis are connected, it’s first important to understand an immune system process called inflammation.</p>
<p>Inflammation is a key feature of how our immune system works. When the body encounters a harmful pathogen (such as a virus or bacteria), our immune system is triggered. The body then secretes special proteins called cytokines, which tell our immune cells what to do.</p>
<p>The symptoms you experience as a result of inflammation will depend on the reason these cells have been mobilised. For example, if your inflammation is caused by a cut to your finger, you may find the area around the cut becomes hot, red and swollen as the immune system works to combat pathogens and repair the damage. If inflammation is caused by a virus, you might experience flu-like symptoms – such as a fever.</p>
<p>For the most part, inflammation is a short-term process. But sometimes the immune system gets things wrong, and your body continues to send inflammatory cells and cytokines even when there’s no threat. Autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis are an example of this, where the body’s immune system continues to attack, leading to long-term inflammation in the joints.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A digital image of a group of natural killer cells attacking a COVID cell." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521039/original/file-20230414-26-pffr0y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521039/original/file-20230414-26-pffr0y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521039/original/file-20230414-26-pffr0y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521039/original/file-20230414-26-pffr0y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521039/original/file-20230414-26-pffr0y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521039/original/file-20230414-26-pffr0y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521039/original/file-20230414-26-pffr0y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Natural killer cells are one type of immune cell which helps protect the body from harm.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/3d-render-illustration-natural-killer-body-1794879802">Numstocker/ Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Inflammation is also a normal feature of the menstrual cycle.</p>
<p>The normal menstrual cycle consists of two phases: the follicular phase (from the first day of the period until ovulation) and the luteal phase (from ovulation until your period starts). Most inflammation during the menstrual cycle happens in the uterus, but changes may also occur <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36883215/">throughout the body</a>.</p>
<p>During the follicular phase, there are increased levels of oestrogen circulating in the body. Oestrogen stimulates the lining of the uterus to thicken in preparation for a fertilised embryo.</p>
<p>But some immune cells have specific receptors which recognise oestrogen, causing them to initiate an <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22155200">immune response</a>. This readies the body to fight off any foreign invaders so it’s healthy for pregnancy, should fertilisation occur. As such, women will be less susceptible to infections during the follicular phase. However, women with autoimmune diseases may experience more symptoms at this stage.</p>
<p>But in order not to reject a fertilised egg, the immune system is then suppressed during the luteal phase – which may subsequently increase risk of infection, and cause relief from some autoimmune symptoms.</p>
<h2>Endometriosis and immunity</h2>
<p>Research has observed multiple immune system changes in people with endometriosis.</p>
<p>One study found patients with endometriosis had elevated inflammation levels (specifically higher levels of <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30367890/">cytokines</a>). Research has also shown that people with endometriosis have disturbed immune cell function – namely a specific type of immune cell called natural killer cells. </p>
<p>These have a vital role in fighting viruses and tumours, but research shows they <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2021.711231/full">function more poorly</a> in people with endometriosis. The uterine lining in patients with endometriosis is also shown to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1858106/">produce excess molecules</a> called chemokines that attract other immune cells, worsening inflammation. </p>
<p>Again, it’s still not certain whether altered immune function causes endometriosis or is merely a symptom of the disease. But immune system dysfunction may explain why there’s a suspected association between people with endometriosis and <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31260048/">autoimmune disorders</a> such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease. </p>
<p>Elevated inflammation levels also mean that women with endometriosis may be more likely to experience worse symptoms during infections. For example, research has found that when patients with endometriosis catch COVID-19, their <a href="https://bmcwomenshealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12905-021-01270-z">symptoms appear to be worse</a> than people who don’t have the condition. </p>
<p>COVID-19 may also <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9657778/pdf/ijms-23-12951.pdf">worsen endometriosis symptoms</a> – particularly pelvic pain, depression, fatigue and gastrointestinal issues. A <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36972892/">recent study</a> has also found that women with endometriosis were 22% more likely to suffer long COVID – and their long COVID symptoms may last longer.</p>
<p>While it’s currently not known how precisely the immune system is linked with endometriosis (and whether it causes the disease), working to further understand this relationship could be key in helping develop better treatments – or possibly even a cure – for endometriosis.</p>
<p>Research into this disease is still <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35620300/">severely under-funded</a>, and the time to diagnosis is far beyond what would be expected from other chronic conditions – such as asthma or diabetes. It’s clear that greater priority needs to be placed into researching endometriosis and its causes to help provide new insights and better treatment for the millions of women affected.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/203305/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>April Rees does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Further exploring this connection could potentially lead to better treatment of the condition.April Rees, Biochemistry Tutor, Swansea UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1982202023-02-22T12:54:26Z2023-02-22T12:54:26ZPeople produce endocannabinoids – similar to compounds found in marijuana – that are critical to many bodily functions<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510907/original/file-20230217-380-5ni8j3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=30%2C38%2C5077%2C3339&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A healthy endocannabinoid system is critical to the human body’s immune functions.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/older-hispanic-woman-lifting-weights-in-living-room-royalty-free-image/546825853?phrase=energy%20exercise&adppopup=true">Jose Luis Pelaez Inc/Digital Vision via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Over the past two decades, a great deal of attention has been given to marijuana – also known as pot or weed. As of early 2023, marijuana has been <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/articles/where-is-marijuana-legal-a-guide-to-marijuana-legalization">legalized for recreational use in 21 states</a> and Washington, D.C., and the use of <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/consumer-health/in-depth/medical-marijuana/art-20137855">marijuana for medical purposes</a> has grown significantly during the <a href="https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/24625/the-health-effects-of-cannabis-and-cannabinoids-the-current-state">last 20 or so years</a>. </p>
<p>But few people know that the human body naturally produces chemicals that are very similar to delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the psychoactive compound in marijuana, which comes from the <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2016.00019"><em>Cannabis sativa</em> plant</a>. These substances are called endocannabinoids, and they’re <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390%2Fani9090686">found across all vertebrate species</a>. </p>
<p>Evolutionarily, the appearance of endocannabinoids in vertebrate animals predates that of <em>Cannabis sativa</em> by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1300/J175v02n01_04">about 575 million years</a>. </p>
<p>It is as if the human body has its own version of a marijuana seedling inside, constantly producing small amounts of endocannabinoids.</p>
<p>The similarity of endocannabinoids to THC, and their importance in maintaining human health, have raised significant interest among scientists to further study their role in health and disease, and potentially use them as therapeutic targets to treat human diseases.</p>
<p>THC <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bjp.0706406">was first identified</a> in 1964, and is just one of more than 100 compounds found in marijuana that are <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/marijuana/health-effects/index.html">called cannabinoids</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tips.2015.02.008">Endocannabinoids were not discovered</a> until 1992. Since then, research has revealed that they are critical for many important physiological functions that <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3997295/">regulate human health</a>. An imbalance in the production of endocannabinoids, or in the body’s responsiveness to them, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111%2Ffebs.12260">can lead to major clinical disorders</a>, including obesity as well as neurodegenerative, cardiovascular and inflammatory diseases. </p>
<p>We <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=jJVj3sUAAAAJ&hl=en">are immunologists</a> who have been <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=af7TahQAAAAJ&hl=en">studying the effects of marijuana cannabinoids and vertebrate endocannabinoids</a> on inflammation and cancer for more than two decades. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.phrs.2009.03.019">Research in our laboratory</a> has shown that endocannabinoids <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-inflammation-two-immunologists-explain-how-the-body-responds-to-everything-from-stings-to-vaccination-and-why-it-sometimes-goes-wrong-193503">regulate inflammation</a> and other immune functions. </p>
<h2>What is the endocannabinoid system?</h2>
<p>A variety of tissues in the body, including brain, muscle, fatty tissue and immune cells, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19675519/">produce small quantities of endocannabinoids</a>. There are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.phrs.2009.03.019">two main types of endocannabinoids</a>: anandamide, or AEA, and 2-arachidonoyl glycerol, known as 2-AG. Both of them can activate the body’s cannabinoid receptors, which receive and process chemical signals in cells. </p>
<p>One of these receptors, called CB1, is <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390%2Fijms19030833">found predominantly in the brain</a>. The other, called CB2, is <a href="https://doi.org/10.4155/fmc.09.93">found mainly in immune cells</a>. It is primarily through the activation of these two receptors that endocannabinoids control many bodily functions.</p>
<p>The receptors can be compared to a “lock” and the endocannabinoids a “key” that can open the lock and gain entry into the cells. All these endocannabinoid receptors and molecules together are referred to as the endocannabinoid system. </p>
<p>The cannabis plant contains another compound called cannabidiol, or CBD, which has <a href="https://theconversation.com/cbd-is-not-a-cure-all-heres-what-science-says-about-its-real-health-benefits-186901">become popular</a> for its medicinal properties. Unlike THC, CBD doesn’t have psychoactive properties because it <a href="https://doi.org/10.1146%2Fannurev-neuro-070815-014038">does not activate CB1 receptors in the brain</a>. Nor does it <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bjp.0707442">activate the CB2 receptors</a>, meaning that its action on immune cells is independent of CB2 receptors. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511480/original/file-20230221-2556-95l7i5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Textbook illustration of the human endocannabinoid system, highlighting the role of CB1 and CB2 receptors." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511480/original/file-20230221-2556-95l7i5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511480/original/file-20230221-2556-95l7i5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=960&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511480/original/file-20230221-2556-95l7i5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=960&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511480/original/file-20230221-2556-95l7i5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=960&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511480/original/file-20230221-2556-95l7i5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1206&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511480/original/file-20230221-2556-95l7i5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1206&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511480/original/file-20230221-2556-95l7i5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1206&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Endocannabinoid receptors are found throughout most of the human body.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/illustration/human-endocannabinoid-system-vertical-royalty-free-illustration/1178997969">About time/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Role of endocannabinoids in the body</h2>
<p>The euphoric “high” feeling that people experience when using marijuana comes from THC activating the CB1 receptors in the brain. </p>
<p>But when endocannabinoids activate CB1 receptors, by comparison, they do not cause a marijuana high. One reason is that the body <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/npp.2017.130">produces them in smaller quantities</a> than the typical amount of THC in marijuana. The other is that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021%2Fcr0782067">certain enzymes break them down</a> rapidly after they carry out their cellular functions.</p>
<p>However, there is growing evidence that certain activities may release mood-elevating endocannabinoids. Some research suggests that the relaxed, euphoric feeling you get after exercise, called a “<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-runners-high-may-result-from-molecules-called-cannabinoids-the-bodys-own-version-of-thc-and-cbd-170796">runner’s high</a>,” results from the <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/new-brain-effects-behind-runner-s-high/">release of endocannabinoids</a> <a href="https://runningmagazine.ca/health-nutrition/new-study-confirms-endorphins-arent-the-cause-of-the-runners-high/">rather than from endorphins</a>, as previously thought.</p>
<p>The endocannabinoids <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22179472">regulate several bodily functions</a> such as sleep, mood, appetite, learning, memory, body temperature, pain, immune functions and fertility. They control some of these functions by regulating nerve cell signaling in the brain. Normally, nerve cells communicate with one another at junctions called synapses. The endocannabinoid system in the brain regulates this communication at synapses, which explains its ability to affect a wide array of bodily functions. </p>
<h2>The elixir of endocannabinoids</h2>
<p>Research in our laboratory has shown that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/eji.201546181">certain cells of the immune system produce endocannabinoids</a> that can regulate inflammation and other immune functions through the activation of CB2 receptors.</p>
<p>In addition, we have shown that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1124/mol.108.047035">endocannabinoids are highly effective in lessening the debilitating effects of autoimmune diseases</a>. These are diseases in which the immune system goes haywire and <a href="https://medlineplus.gov/autoimmunediseases.html">starts destroying the body’s organs and tissues</a>. Examples include <a href="https://medlineplus.gov/multiplesclerosis.html">multiple sclerosis</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1124/mol.108.047035">lupus</a>, <a href="https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/hepatitis">hepatitis</a> and <a href="https://www.niams.nih.gov/health-topics/arthritis">arthritis</a>. </p>
<p>Recent research suggests that migraine, fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome, post-traumatic stress disorder and bipolar disease are all <a href="https://doi.org/10.1089/can.2016.0009">linked to low levels of endocannabinoids</a>.</p>
<p>In a 2022 study, researchers found that a defect in a gene that helps produce endocannabinoids causes <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-31168-9">early onset of Parkinson’s disease</a>. Another 2022 study linked the same gene defect to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awac223">other neurological disorders</a>, including developmental delay, poor muscle control and vision problems. </p>
<p>Other research has shown that people with a defective form of CB1 receptors <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0187926">experience increased pain sensitivity</a> such as migraine headaches and suffer from sleep and memory disorders and anxiety. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510714/original/file-20230216-14-6r2f4a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510714/original/file-20230216-14-6r2f4a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510714/original/file-20230216-14-6r2f4a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=495&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510714/original/file-20230216-14-6r2f4a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=495&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510714/original/file-20230216-14-6r2f4a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=495&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510714/original/file-20230216-14-6r2f4a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=622&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510714/original/file-20230216-14-6r2f4a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=622&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510714/original/file-20230216-14-6r2f4a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=622&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The endocannabinoid system – consisting of the endocannabinoids and the cannabinoid receptors – regulates nerve cell communication at the synapse, thereby playing a role in a variety of bodily functions.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/illustration/endocannabinoid-system-royalty-free-illustration/1392987232?phrase=endocannabinoid%20system&adppopup=true">Carolina Hrejsa, CMI/iStock/Getty Images Plus via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The likeness between marijuana and endocannabinoids</h2>
<p>We believe that the medicinal properties of THC may be linked to the molecule’s ability to compensate for a deficiency or defect in the production or functions of the endocannabinoids. </p>
<p>For example, scientists have found that people who experience certain types of chronic pain may have <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27144662">decreased production of endocannabinoids</a>. People who consume marijuana for medicinal purposes <a href="https://www.nationalacademies.org/news/2017/01/health-effects-of-marijuana-and-cannabis-derived-products-presented-in-new-report">report significant relief from pain</a>. Because the THC in marijuana <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jama.2018.16202">is the cannabinoid that reduces pain</a>, it may be helping to compensate for the decreased production or functions of endocannabinoids in such patients. </p>
<p>Deciphering the role of endocannabinoids is still an emerging area of health research. Certainly much more research is needed to decipher their role in regulating different functions in the body. </p>
<p>In our view, it will also be important to continue to unravel the relationship between defects in the endocannabinoid system and the development of various diseases and clinical disorders. We think that the answers could hold great promise for the development of new therapies using the body’s own cannabinoids.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198220/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Prakash Nagarkatti receives funding from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mitzi Nagarkatti receives funding from National Institutes of Health. </span></em></p>A THC-like substance that occurs naturally in humans and other vertebrates helps maintain immunity, memory, nerve function and more – and research suggests a lack of it can harm health.Prakash Nagarkatti, Professor of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, University of South CarolinaMitzi Nagarkatti, Professor of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, University of South CarolinaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1999392023-02-16T15:34:55Z2023-02-16T15:34:55ZLoneliness is making us physically sick, but social prescribing can treat it – podcast<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510164/original/file-20230214-17-7ve30s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3691%2C2458&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Loneliness around the world is growing as a result of how our lives are structured.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Social isolation and loneliness are increasingly becoming societal problems, as they contribute to polarization and affect our physical health. Mental health professionals, community advocates and health-care providers have been raising the alarm about this impending crisis. </p>
<p>The pandemic may have exacerbated social isolation and the subsequent feelings of loneliness, but it did not invent it. In 2018, two years before the pandemic, the United Kingdom <a href="https://time.com/5248016/tracey-crouch-uk-loneliness-minister/">created a ministerial portfolio for loneliness</a>. Japan, where <a href="https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2022/03/19/national/social-issues/loneliness-survey-pandemic/">nearly 40 per cent of the population report experiencing loneliness</a>, <a href="https://omf.org/us/japan-appoints-minister-of-loneliness-can-he-solve-the-loneliness-problem/">began a similar position in 2021</a>.</p>
<p>In this episode of <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/the-conversation-weekly-98901">The Conversation Weekly</a> podcast, we speak to three researchers who invite us to more deeply consider loneliness and social isolation, and their impacts on our health and society. </p>
<iframe src="https://embed.acast.com/60087127b9687759d637bade/63edf3801bb1eb001167fccc" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="190px"></iframe>
<p><iframe id="tc-infographic-561" class="tc-infographic" height="100" src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/infographics/561/4fbbd099d631750693d02bac632430b71b37cd5f/site/index.html" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>Ananya Chakravarti is an associate professor of history at Georgetown University in Washington in the U.S. As a historian of emotions, Chakravarti has studied <a href="https://doi.org/10.1086/690703">expressions of loneliness in Indian devotional poetry</a>. </p>
<p>“If you read the poetry, it’s often expressing a deep and acute pain. Of course, it’s within that sense of being separated from the beloved that the world opens up spiritually for the devotee. So it’s an interesting kind of experience, in that sense of torment caused through separation.”</p>
<p>In studying the history of loneliness, Chakravarti has found as opposed to the loneliness of choosing solitude for religious or creative purposes, today’s loneliness is a product of our modern lives.</p>
<p>“We seem to live in this highly globalized world,” she points out, and “there’s so many more ways to be connected. Travel is so much easier. You have social media. And yet, actual experiences of loneliness are probably very much on the rise if you look at the cultural production around loneliness as a very modern phenomenon.”</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510389/original/file-20230215-28-l4zxez.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="a man sits on steps with his hand held to his mouth" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510389/original/file-20230215-28-l4zxez.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510389/original/file-20230215-28-l4zxez.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510389/original/file-20230215-28-l4zxez.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510389/original/file-20230215-28-l4zxez.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510389/original/file-20230215-28-l4zxez.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510389/original/file-20230215-28-l4zxez.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510389/original/file-20230215-28-l4zxez.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">While loneliness is experienced by individuals, its causes are structural.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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<p>It’s this modern loneliness that is having a significant impact on our health.</p>
<p>Julianne Holt-Lunstad, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Brigham Young University in the U.S., has studied the impacts of loneliness on people’s health.</p>
<p>“Being alone can activate these kinds of responses in our brain — and ultimately our bodies — that are associated with the threat response. And so we’re more hyper-vigilant to threats in our environment, as well as having to, in essence, handle every challenge in our life on our own. Our brains have to be more active, and this requires more metabolic resources.”</p>
<p>This stress response triggers an inflammatory response which, over time, can contribute to conditions including cardiovascular disease and cognitive health. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/social-isolation-linked-to-higher-levels-of-inflammation-new-study-132564">Social isolation linked to higher levels of inflammation – new study</a>
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<p>Social isolation is the absence of meaningful social connections, and so addressing its effects is not as simple as being around others. It requires building relationships of trust, belonging and support.</p>
<p>The World Health Organization has identified <a href="https://www.who.int/teams/social-determinants-of-health/demographic-change-and-healthy-ageing/social-isolation-and-loneliness">social isolation as a social determinant of health</a>, finding its impact to be “comparable to that of other well-established risk factors such as smoking, obesity, and physical inactivity,” especially for the elderly.</p>
<p>Kate Mulligan, an assistant professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health in Canada, advocates for a health-care approach called <a href="https://www.socialprescribing.ca/">social prescribing</a> to address the health effects of loneliness.</p>
<p>“Social prescribing is a way to use health care visits to reconnect people with nonclinical supports, community supports, that improve their health and well-being,” she explains. </p>
<p>While it is a new approach, it’s firmly rooted in evidence that connecting people to others can help address some of their health-care needs. </p>
<p>“Harm reduction communities have led by example and shown that peer workers create that welcoming environment in a way that is meaningful for people who use drugs.”</p>
<p>But the impacts of loneliness are not just physical. Loneliness can create a feedback loop that increases polarization within society.</p>
<p>Holt-Lunstad points out that “there’s vulnerability in terms of others that are not trusted. And so it may be considered very natural to want to have alliances and allegiances to your own group and to distrust other groups. And this unfortunately has led to a very common us-versus-them mentality, where people are isolating themselves within their groups of like-minded people.”</p>
<p>And while loneliness is experienced on an individual level, it is caused by much larger structural problems. As Chakravarti points out, “if we don’t address it or think about this as a social problem, as a social challenge as opposed to an individual affliction, we’re going to not be able to address it.”</p>
<p>Listen to the full episode of The Conversation Weekly to find out more. </p>
<p>This episode of The Conversation Weekly was produced and written by Nehal El-Hadi and Mend Mariwany, who is also the show’s executive producer. Sound design is by Eloise Stevens, and our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. Music used in this episodes includes <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fw_0lE0G3NA&t=30s&ab_channel=Buddha%27sLounge">Duduk Music by Buddha’s Lounge</a>.</p>
<p>You can find us on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/TC_Audio">@TC_Audio</a>, on Instagram at <a href="https://www.instagram.com/theconversationdotcom/">@theconversationdotcom</a> or <a href="mailto:podcast@theconversation.com">via email</a>. You can also sign up to The Conversation’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/newsletter">free emails here</a>. A transcript of this episode will be available soon. </p>
<p>Listen to The Conversation Weekly via any of the apps listed above, download it directly via our <a href="https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/60087127b9687759d637bade">RSS feed</a>, or find out <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-listen-to-the-conversations-podcasts-154131">how else to listen here</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/199939/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kate Mulligan and/or the Canadian Institute for Social Prescribing have received funding from the Public Health Agency of Canada, the Canadian Red Cross, the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, and the Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ananya Chakravarti and Julianne Holt-Lunstad do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Public health measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic meant that many people experienced social isolation. But the pandemic didn’t invent loneliness, and its impacts on our health are growing.Nehal El-Hadi, Science + Technology Editor & Co-Host of The Conversation Weekly Podcast, The ConversationDaniel Merino, Associate Science Editor & Co-Host of The Conversation Weekly Podcast, The ConversationLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1978212023-01-31T17:15:10Z2023-01-31T17:15:10ZLong COVID: a range of diets are said to help manage symptoms – here’s what the evidence tells us<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505844/original/file-20230123-13-gznfp8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=53%2C0%2C6000%2C3997&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/healthy-eating-plate-vegan-vegetarian-food-2214062919">Creative Cat Studio/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Most people who contract COVID recover within a few weeks. But for some people, symptoms can develop later, or persist for a long time after the initial infection. A recent <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41579-022-00846-2">review of the evidence</a> on long COVID suggests the condition affects at least 65 million people around the world, occurring after at least 10% of COVID infections, and affecting all age groups.</p>
<p>Common <a href="https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng188/resources/covid19-rapid-guideline-managing-the-longterm-effects-of-covid19-pdf-51035515742">long COVID symptoms</a> include fatigue, shortness of breath, and difficulties with memory and concentration (“brain fog”). Symptoms can worsen with physical or mental exertion. We’re still learning about long COVID, and treatment options are very limited.</p>
<p>Recently, some people, for example <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@anakaciamarie/video/7084306065348889902?is_from_webapp=v1">on social media</a>, have been talking about a variety of diets as ways to manage long COVID symptoms. But what are these diets, and what does the evidence say?</p>
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<img alt="Quarter life, a series by The Conversation" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em><strong><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/quarter-life-117947?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">This article is part of Quarter Life</a></strong>, a series about issues affecting those of us in our twenties and thirties. From the challenges of beginning a career and taking care of our mental health, to the excitement of starting a family, adopting a pet or just making friends as an adult. The articles in this series explore the questions and bring answers as we navigate this turbulent period of life.</em></p>
<p><em>You may be interested in:</em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/whats-it-like-being-a-young-person-with-long-covid-you-might-feel-like-a-failure-but-youre-not-192060?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">What’s it like being a young person with long COVID? You might feel like a failure (but you’re not)</a></em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/binge-eating-disorder-is-more-common-than-many-realise-yet-its-rarely-discussed-heres-what-you-need-to-know-190587?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">Binge-eating disorder is more common than many realise, yet it’s rarely discussed – here’s what you need to know</a></em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/smartwatches-could-help-detect-and-track-covid-heres-what-the-research-shows-181479?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">Smartwatches could help detect and track COVID – here’s what the research shows</a></em></p>
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<h2>The anti-inflammatory diet</h2>
<p>The process by which the immune system protects us from harmful pathogens is called inflammation. But too much inflammation can be a bad thing. Scientists believe that many of the symptoms associated with long COVID arise from <a href="https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/long-covid-symptoms-linked-inflammation">chronic inflammation</a>.</p>
<p>We know that some foods <a href="https://academic.oup.com/advances/article/12/5/1681/6238545?login=false">can promote inflammation</a>, while studies have shown that components of certain foods may have anti-inflammatory effects.</p>
<p>So <a href="https://aspenjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0884533617700353">an anti-inflammatory</a> diet involves avoiding foods that <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15447916/">elicit inflammation</a>, such as fried foods, refined carbohydrates, sugar, red and processed meats, and lard.</p>
<p>Instead it focuses on foods that reduce inflammation, such as tomatoes, olive oil, green leafy vegetables, nuts, fatty fish and fruits such as strawberries and blueberries. These foods are high in antioxidants and compounds which help <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15234425/">protect against inflammation</a>. </p>
<p>If you’re looking for a diet that closely follows the tenets of anti-inflammatory eating, consider <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-the-mediterranean-diet-and-why-is-it-good-for-you-12656">the Mediterranean diet</a>. Following a Mediterranean diet means eating lots of fruit, vegetables, nuts, whole grains, fish and healthy oils. This diet is rich in vitamins, minerals and dietary fibre, and has <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7359750/">an anti-inflammatory effect</a> in the gut.</p>
<p>Researchers have suggested <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7833284/">the Mediterranean diet</a> may have benefits in reducing the severity of a COVID infection in the short term, as well as in addressing longer-term symptoms.</p>
<h2>The low histamine diet</h2>
<p>Histamine is a compound released by cells, often in response to an injury or an allergic reaction. If we have hay fever or are stung by a bee, we might take an antihistamine.</p>
<p>Histamine can lead to inflammation and can be a problem when we can’t break it down properly, and levels get <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1081186">too high</a>. Symptoms when this happens can include headaches, diarrhoea, wheezing and fatigue.</p>
<p>Many of these symptoms are similar to those reported with long COVID. Some scientists have proposed that the increased inflammatory responses <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00011-022-01589-9">seen with long COVID</a> could be caused by increased histamine release by dysfunctional immune cells, which we’ve seen before with <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8308327/">other conditions</a>.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1081186">low histamine diet</a> involves restricting the intake of food and drinks considered high in histamine for several weeks, before gradually reintroducing them to test tolerance. These include alcohol, fermented foods, dairy products, shellfish, processed meats and aged cheese, as well as wheat germ and a range of <a href="https://www.webmd.com/diet/foods-high-in-histamine">fruit and vegetables</a>. </p>
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<img alt="A young man eats a bowl of cereal." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505853/original/file-20230123-19-fo8huf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505853/original/file-20230123-19-fo8huf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505853/original/file-20230123-19-fo8huf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505853/original/file-20230123-19-fo8huf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505853/original/file-20230123-19-fo8huf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505853/original/file-20230123-19-fo8huf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505853/original/file-20230123-19-fo8huf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Could a certain diet help to manage the symptoms of long COVID?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/handsome-man-having-breakfast-eating-cereals-1453256840">Shift Drive/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>However, there appears to be <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7463562/">lack of consensus</a> on which foods are truly high in histamine. And as the foods are wide ranging, this can be a tricky diet to implement without potentially causing nutritional deficiencies. </p>
<p>Although some people have reported <a href="https://twitter.com/drpeterbagshaw/status/1313546908321886208">an improvement</a> in their symptoms by following a low histamine diet, there have been no studies published in this area. Given the <a href="https://www.bda.uk.com/resource/caution-advised-with-low-histamine-diets-for-long-covid.html">lack of evidence</a> and the associated challenges, elimination of dietary histamine is not currently recommended for long COVID.</p>
<h2>The plant-based diet</h2>
<p>Plant-based eating refers to diets where the majority of energy is derived from plant foods, such as vegan and vegetarian diets. Plant-based diets are <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/13/7/2308">beneficial</a> to markers of inflammation and may favourably alter immune function.</p>
<p>More specifically, a well-balanced <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/5/2455">plant-based diet</a> is high in fibre, antioxidants, good fatty acids and a range of vitamins and minerals, which positively affect several types of cells implicated in <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8429479/">immune function</a> and may exhibit direct antiviral properties. </p>
<p>For example, compounds called polyphenols found in fruits and vegetables may improve the functionality and activity of <a href="https://www.immunology.org/public-information/bitesized-immunology/cells/natural-killer-cells">natural killer cells</a>, an immune cell that patrols the body recognising abnormal cells. </p>
<p>Though some long COVID sufferers have touted the benefits of a plant-based diet, its usefulness to alleviate long COVID symptoms has not yet been examined <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13668-021-00369-x">in clinical trials</a>. </p>
<p>Nevertheless, evidence from studies done before the pandemic suggests a plant-based diet may benefit <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8429479/">some conditions</a> that can also affect people with long COVID – including fatigue, headaches, anxiety, depression and muscle pain.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/covid-and-your-gut-how-a-healthy-microbiome-can-reduce-the-severity-of-infection-and-vice-versa-195132">COVID and your gut: how a healthy microbiome can reduce the severity of infection – and vice versa</a>
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<h2>Take-home message</h2>
<p>Some diets, such as a low histamine diet, are not currently backed up by enough data when it comes to the management of long COVID. </p>
<p>But a varied Mediterranean diet or well managed plant-based diet can provide <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jmv.25707">certain nutrients</a> which have positive effects on immune function and may protect against chronic inflammation. That said, more research is still needed as to how these diets may affect long COVID.</p>
<p>If you’re considering changing your diet to manage long COVID symptoms, it’s best to consult your GP first to ensure you can do so safely.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/197821/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>From low histamine to anti-inflammatory diets, people on social media have been touting a variety of eating patterns to help manage long COVID.Samuel J. White, Senior Lecturer in Genetic Immunology, Nottingham Trent UniversityPhilippe B. Wilson, Professor of One Health, Nottingham Trent UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.