Tag: health and medicine

A study has revealed how poor management of blood glucose levels in people with type 1 diabetes can increase their risk of complications decades later.

In 2016, around 1.3 million adults in the United States, about 0.55% of the adult population, had type 1 diabetes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Early in the course of the disease, the immune system destroys cells in the pancreas that produce insulin.

As a result, people with the condition are unable to generate enough insulin to regulate the amount of glucose, or sugar, circulating in their blood.

Over time, high levels of blood glucose, an issue called hyperglycemia, can damage tissues all over the body, including in the eyes, kidneys, nervous system, and cardiovascular system.

Even if a person regulates their blood glucose later in life, early episodes of poor glycemic control can have permanent effects, increasing the risk of developing complications.

Doctors have long recognized this phenomenon, known as metabolic memory, but its causes have been poorly understood.

Research involving animal models of diabetes had implicated epigenetic changes, which affect the activity of particular genes without altering their DNA sequences. The changes can result from disease or factors relating to a person’s environment or lifestyle.

However, direct evidence that epigenetic changes influence the risk of diabetes complications in humans has been lacking.

Now, however, scientists led by a team from the Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope, in Duarte, CA, have discovered a strong association between early episodes of poor glycemic control, epigenetic changes, and diabetic complications years later.

The research appears in the journal Nature Metabolism.

The scientists profiled a type of epigenetic modification called methylation in DNA from cells in archived blood samples. Methylation switches off genes, preventing them from producing the proteins that they encode.

The blood samples were collected some 2 decades earlier, from patients with diabetes who were closely monitored as part of the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT). This study showed that people who kept their blood glucose levels close to the normal range had significantly fewer diabetic complications during the 10 years of the study.

The researchers behind the current investigation analyzed the DNA in samples from 499 randomly selected DCCT participants who had been subsequently included in a follow-up study, called Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and Complications.

They looked for associations between how well the patients controlled their blood glucose during the earlier trial, DNA methylation at the end of that trial, and the development of diabetic complications over the next 18 years.

Specifically, they focused on damage to the retina of the eye, called retinopathy, which can lead to blindness, and damage to the kidneys, called nephropathy, which can lead to kidney failure.

The team found associations between early blood glucose control and methylation at 186 sites in the participants’ DNA. Many of these sites were in genes known to be involved in diabetic complications.

The epigenetic changes collectively accounted for at least 68% of the association with subsequent diabetic retinopathy and up to 97% of the association with diabetic kidney disease.

In other words, the findings suggest that epigenetic changes in DNA are what constitute metabolic memory in people with type 1 diabetes.

Source: https://bit.ly/3g0dOGF

Medications alone will never suffice because a lifestyle disease like high blood pressure can only be managed through lifestyle changes.

Blood pressure – simply put, this is the force your blood applies to the walls of your blood vessels. If this force is high, then the increased pressure can damage the blood vessels, which in turn can increasingly damage the heart and different organs of the body. Call it high blood pressure or hypertension, but living with this chronic disease is not easy.

According to research published in the Indian Heart Journal in 2019, almost one in every three adults in India suffers from high blood pressure. This disease, therefore, has a high prevalence in India and can lead to cardiovascular diseases, strokes, aneurysms, metabolic syndromes and even dementia. Early diagnosis of high blood pressure can help you cope with much more ease, because like all chronic diseases, this one can be managed but not cured.

Medications to help you control high blood pressure levels are easily available in the market, and it’s likely that your doctor will recommend these medications to you if your blood pressure is particularly high. But medications alone will never suffice because a lifestyle disease like this can only be managed through lifestyle changes. The good thing is that most lifestyle changes are natural and all you need to implement them is determination. The following are some of the easiest ways to manage high blood pressure naturally:

1. Reduce salt intake: This is the first recommendation any expert would make, because a low-sodium diet is known to improve symptoms of hypertension. But this is easier said than done, because sodium is hidden in many foods, from ketchup to bread. You might have to learn to read labels to monitor your salt intake better.

2. Get more potassium: According to the US’ Cleveland Clinic, a daily intake of 3,000 to 3,500 mg of potassium can reduce your blood pressure levels effectively. So, increase your intake of potassium by eating more bananas, tomatoes, spinach, broccoli, mushrooms, etc. However, if you also have kidney problems then consult your doctor about potassium intake.

3. Lose weight: Being overweight or obese can increase your blood pressure. So, inversely, shedding some kilos can reduce your blood pressure levels. Even reducing four kilos can improve your condition.

4. Limit alcohol: Drinking too much or too often can spike your blood pressure levels, so keep your alcohol intake to a minimum.

5. Kick the butt: Cigarette butt, that is. Nicotine addiction can keep your blood pressure elevated for long periods of time, so quit smoking immediately.

6. Off with the stress: Stress not only increases your blood pressure levels but chronic stress can keep those levels elevated for a prolonged period. Adopt effective means of de-stressing, like yoga, meditation, etc.

7. Exercise: Walking, jogging, swimming, cycling, playing a sport – these are all forms of exercise that can help improve your blood pressure levels. Try being active for at least 30 minutes to an hour every day.

8. Follow the DASH diet: The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet is one of the most effective ways to manage your blood pressure in the long run. It involves eliminating high-fat foods and eating fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy products, lean meats and fish, nuts and seeds.

Source: https://bit.ly/3j7Lq7g