Lifeboat Foundation

A new obesity treatment triggered weight loss in mice, even as they continued to eat a diet high in fat, sugar, and cholesterol. While much more research is needed, it suggests that it may be possible for people to one day lose weight while still enjoying the foods they want.

The challenge: By 2020, nearly 1 billion people had body mass indexes (BMIs) in the obese range, and if current trends continue, more than 50% of the global population will be obese or overweight by 2035.

This means the majority of people on Earth will be at higher risk of serious health problems related to weight, including stroke, diabetes, hypertension, and some cancers.

Two new treatments for Alzheimer’s – lecanemab and donanemab – have been hailed as breakthroughs. In reality, they will have little effect.

Read this fascinating case study on the impact of physical rehabilitation using X-Sens Inertial Technology feedback for Posterior Cerebral Artery Infarcts! 🧠.

Acute ischemic stroke (AIS) affecting the posterior cerebral artery (PCA) represents a unique clinical challenge, necessitating a multifaceted approach to rehabilitation. This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of physiotherapeutic interventions tailored specifically for individuals with AIS involving the PCA territory. The PCA supplies critical areas of the brain responsible for visual processing, memory, and sensory integration. Consequently, patients with PCA infarcts often exhibit a distinct set of neurological deficits, including visual field disturbances, cognitive impairments, and sensory abnormalities. This case report highlights evidence-based physiotherapy strategies that encompass a spectrum of interventions, ranging from early mobilization and motor training to sensory reintegration and cognitive rehabilitation.

The stress-induced mechanisms that cause our brain to produce feelings of fear in the absence of threats have been mostly a mystery. Now, neurobiologists at the University of California San Diego have identified the changes in brain biochemistry and mapped the neural circuitry that cause such a generalized fear experience. Their research, published in the journal Science on March 15, 2024, provides new insights into how fear responses could be prevented.

In their report, former UC San Diego Assistant Project Scientist Hui-quan Li, (now a senior scientist at Neurocrine Biosciences), Atkinson Family Distinguished Professor Nick Spitzer of the School of Biological Sciences and their colleagues describe the research behind their discovery of the neurotransmitters — the chemical messengers that allow the brain’s neurons to communicate with one another — at the root of stress-induced generalized fear.

Studying the brains of mice in an area known as the dorsal raphe (located in the brainstem), the researchers found that acute stress induced a switch in the chemical signals in the neurons, flipping from excitatory “glutamate” to inhibitory “GABA” neurotransmitters, which led to generalized fear responses.

To help with weight loss, many individuals turn to various strategies, including fad diets, intense exercise routines, and even supplements. However, one crucial factor often overlooked is the role of hormones in regulating appetite and metabolism. Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) is a hormone that plays a significant role in satiety and glucose control. By increasing GLP-1 levels naturally, individuals can potentially enhance weight loss efforts (did you know Ozempic and Wegovy are not the only ways to do this!). Of course at STAT Wellness our goal is to uncover the root cause of your weight loss struggles; as a patient of STAT you will not get a blanket “you need to eat less and exercise more” mentality. So if the information in this article is not helpful, don’t settle until you have answers. We are complex beings and need to be treated that way. However the purpose of this article is to explore natural methods to boost GLP-1 levels and support weight loss efforts.

Consume Fiber-Rich Foods.

Dietary fiber has long been recognized as an essential component of a healthy diet, but its role in weight loss is often underestimated. Fiber-rich foods, such as whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and legumes, not only provide satiety but also help increase GLP-1 secretion. When consumed, fiber slows down digestion and promotes the release of GLP-1 from the intestinal cells. Additionally, certain soluble fibers act as prebiotics, nourishing beneficial gut bacteria, which further enhances GLP-1 production. Including a variety of fiber-rich foods in your diet can support weight loss efforts by promoting feelings of fullness and regulating appetite. Looking for ways to get more fiber consider: acacia fiber, ground flaxseed, chia seeds, avocado, raspberries, cruciferous vegetables, lentils, beans, and zen basil seeds (which are also lectin free).

Some cancers develop from defective B cells. Bruton’s tyrosine kinase inhibitors work by targeting a protein critical to the lifecycle of those B cells. Learn from Michael Wang, M.D., how these drugs work and why they’re considered a breakthrough for treating B-cell lymphomas.

“More testing, a purification system and approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration would be needed to put the strategy to work. But insulin produced by transgenic cows could ease shortages that often make the hormone hard to come by for the 8.4 million Americans with diabetes who rely on it to survive.”

MONDAY, March 18, 2024 (HealthDay News) — There may be an unexpected fix for ongoing shortages of insulin: A brown bovine in Brazil recently made history as the first transgenic cow able to produce human insulin in her milk.

The manufacturing process for personalized T-cell therapies hardly begins before it stalls. Why? Right at the start, there is a severe bottleneck: the need to identify patient-derived, tumor-reactive T-cell receptors (TCRs).

To overcome this bottleneck, scientists at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and the University Medical Center Mannheim have developed predicTCR, a machine learning classifier. According to the scientists, it can identify individual tumor-reactive tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TILs) in an antigen-agnostic manner based on single-TIL RNA sequencing.

The scientists also assert that prediTCR can halve the time it takes to get past the bottleneck, helping to reduce the overall time needed to make a personalized T-cell therapy for cancer patients. Since the overall time is at least six months, any reduction in the time needed to complete any manufacturing step is welcome.

Humanity’s Michael Geer explains what Large Biological Models are and why they are the next giant leap in health.