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Sunshine to protect kids from eczema
Increased exposure to sunlight may help protect children from the risk of both food allergies and eczema, a study reveals. Researchers from the European Centre for Environment & Human Health, along with Australian institutions, have found that children living in areas with lower levels of sunlight are at greater risk of developing food allergies and eczema.
Researchers used data from a study of Australian children and analysed how rates of food allergy, eczema and asthma varied throughout the country, the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology reported.
The report builds upon existing evidence that suggests exposure to the sun may play a role in rising levels of food allergy and eczema, a university statement said.
Sunlight is important because it provides our body with the fuel to create vitamin D in the skin, and locations closer to the equator typically receive higher levels of sunshine.
Potential biomarker for osteoarthritis identified
Researchers have for the first time identified two molecules that hold promise as a biomarker for determining cartilage damage linked with osteoarthritis. Henry Ford Hospital researchers say the concentration of two molecules called non-coding RNAs in blood were associated with mild cartilage damage in 30 patients, who were one year removed from reconstruction surgery to repair an anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL, injury.
The findings are described as significant in the ongoing and tedious search of biomarkers for osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis that afflicts an estimated 27 million Americans aged 25 and older. It is caused by the normal aging process or wear and tear of a joint.
“Our results suggest we have identified a long-awaited biomarker for this leading cause of disability,” said Gary Gibson, Ph.D., director of Henry Ford's Bone and Joint Center and the study’s lead author.
“For various pathology reasons associated with the variability of the disease and challenging blood biochemistry, developing a biomarker for osteoarthritis has been very elusive.
“But we believe our work shows great promise. The next step is to expand the number of patients studied and determine whether the degree in blood concentration can determine if the cartilage damage will worsen over time,” he added.
He added that their ultimate goal is to develop a biomarker that can be used in the development of future treatments to avert the progression of the disease.
Benefits of red wine could come from Alzheimer’s drugs
Lovers of red wine were delighted when it was found to contain resveratrol — a compound supposed to improve health and maybe even lengthen life. But studies have insisted that to see benefits, you would need to consume large amounts of the compound — more than is found in a bottle of wine. Now a new study suggests we could get the equivalent of large resveratrol doses from pills we already have— a class of drugs that are being tested for use as treatments for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.
The findings suggest these drugs, known as known as phosphodiesterase type 4 (PDE4) inhibitors, may provide a practical way to reap red wine’s benefits than consuming buckets of the stuff (which would certainly carry health risks). “[The study] reveals a novel utility for this class of drugs that hasn’t been explored before,” said study researcher Dr. Jay H. Chung, chief of the Laboratory of Obesity and Aging Research at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
However, the study was conducted in mice, and the results will need to be replicated in people.
