Category Health/Medical

This visual abstract depicts the findings of Cheng et al., who show a short-term diet that mimics periodic fasting modulates b-cell number and promotes insulin secretion and glucose homeostasis with implications for both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Credit: Cheng et al./Cell 2017

Periodic cycles of fasting reprogram pancreatic cells and restore insulin production. The fasting-like diet promotes the growth of new insulin-producing pancreatic cells that reduce symptoms of type 1 and type 2 diabetes in mice, according to the study on mice and human cells led by Valter Longo, director of the Longevity Institute at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology.

“Cycles of a fasting-mimicking diet and a normal diet essentially reprogrammed non-insulin-producing cells into insulin-producing cells,” ...

Regular aerobic exercise may protect the collateral circulation and lessen the severity of strokes later in life.

The network of blood vessels (collateral circulation) shrinks in number and diameter as the brain ages. Collateral circulation allows blood flow to be rerouted when arteries narrow. Using mice, researchers found that this loss of collateral vessels is prevented by exercise, according to a study presented at the American Heart Association’s International Stroke Conference 2017.

The amount of damage to the brain after a stroke and the effectiveness of recovery treatments depend significantly on the extent of collateral circulation.

Mice that started exercising regularly at 12 months-age (equivalent to 40 years-age in humans) had the same abundance of collateral vessels when they ...

Inhaled, prophylactic resveratrol treatments can slow the rate of lung function decline, alveolar enlargement and alveolar epithelial type 2 cell DNA damage

For the 1st time inhaled resveratrol was shown to slow aging-related degenerative changes in mouse lung. Lung aging, characterized by airspace enlargement and decreasing lung function, is a significant risk factor for chronic human lung diseases. The study is published online in the journal Thorax. Resveratrol (RSL), a chemical found in red wine, is an antimicrobial chemical substance produced by plants to protect against infection and stress-related changes. It has previously been shown to support muscle metabolism when given orally.

RSL prophylaxis by inhalation was a novel measure taken by the research team as a potential approach f...

Rosiglitazone

An anti-diabetic drug can inhibit the growth of melanoma in older patients by activating an anti-aging gene that in turn inhibits a protein involved in metastatic progression and resistance to targeted therapies for the disease. Even more than other types of cancer, melanoma is a disease of aging, with older patients more frequently diagnosed with the disease and having a worse prognosis. Targeted therapies have brought benefits in terms of overall survival compared to chemotherapy but they are limited by intrinsic or acquired resistance.

Wistar scientists have previously shown that age-related changes in the tumor microenvironment – or the surrounding area where tumor cells crosstalk with normal and immune cells – can drive melanoma progression and therapy resistance...