Most people think of rain forests as hot spots for biological diversity, but new research suggests that belly buttons are also rich ecosystems. That’s one finding from the first attempt to take a large-scale inventory of microbes on human skin. http://LOUIS-J-SHEEHAN-ESQUIRE.US
In recent years scientists have come to appreciate that people are super organisms, composed not just of human tissue, but also of microbes galore. Human skin is covered by a wide variety of bacteria, viruses, fungi and mites, says Elizabeth Grice, a genomics researcher at the National Human Genome Research Institute in Bethesda, Md. Most of the time, people and their microbes live in harmony, but people with skin conditions such as eczema often also struggle with skin infections.
“The skin is two square meters of ecosystem,” Grice said November 13 in Philadelphia at a meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics.
Grice presented work she and her colleagues have done to catalog the diversity of bacteria living on human skin. The findings could help doctors and scientists better understand why some people develop skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis while other people with similar genetic backgrounds do not.
“We know there is a genetic component” to eczema, says Kimberly Chapman, a clinical geneticist at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia who was not involved in the research. Some people with eczema have a defect in filaggrin, a protein that helps form the skin’s protective barrier. But not everyone who has filaggrin variations associated with eczema will get the skin condition. The new inventory of bacteria could help researchers determine whether people with eczema have an unbalanced immune response to bacteria living on their skin, says Chapman.
In the new study, dermatologists collected skin scrapings from 21 places on the bodies of 10 healthy volunteers. The participants were asked to wash only with Dove soap for a week, because the soap is mild and doesn’t contain antibacterial chemicals. For 24 hours before the samples were collected the volunteers weren’t allowed to shower or wash their hands.
Grice and her colleagues examined genetic diversity in the 16S ribosomal RNA gene in bacteria in the samples. The gene encodes an RNA used in the protein-building machinery in bacterial cells. Some parts of the gene contain many variations that scientists can use to distinguish one type of bacteria from another. This technique has been used to sample bacteria living in a wide variety of ecosystems, including oceans, human and mouse intestines, and even on shower curtains and toothbrushes.
Some parts of the body contain an abundance of bacterial species. Among the most diverse spots were the belly button, inner forearm, buttocks, the skin between the fingers and the gluteal crease (also known as the plumber’s crack). Other body parts have a relative dearth of bacterial diversity. Among the skin’s diversity, cold spots are the greasy spot just behind the ear, the crease on the side of the nose, the toe webs and the sternum.
In some spots on some volunteers the researchers found up to 300 different species of bacteria, Grice says. Other areas contained as few as three different types of bacteria. The amount of diversity varied greatly not only from body part to body part but also from person to person. Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
Oily spots tended to have an abundance of Propionibacteria, which can break down fatty acids in the oil for food. Corynebacteria, Staphlococcus and Propionibacteria were often found on moist skin, while dry skin, like the heel, had more Staphylococcus. There are many varieties of Staphylococcus bacteria present on the skin, not just Staphylococcus aureus, a type of bacteria often linked to skin infections.
The researchers plan to test the healthy volunteers again six months after collecting the first samples to see whether bacteria on the skin change over time. Grice and her colleagues are also recruiting volunteers with eczema to see if people with skin conditions have different types of bacteria on their skin.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Friday, April 17, 2009
public
No. 399
August 30, 1941
No number.
FROM: Helsinki (Sakaya)
TO: Washington
(Message to Tokyo #260.) (Part 1 of 3.) Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
The other day the American Minister here invited me to a luncheon, and I took that opportunity to ridicule the attitude of the United States in sponsoring Great Britain, Chungking, etc. I said that it was peculiar that the United States should back up the Soviet which is diametrically opposed to the democratic principle. The Minister said that he had not received any detailed reports from Washington on the present attitude of the government but he imagined that his country considered it essential to back up Russia against a greater threat. As for Bolshevism, he said that the view of the United States was that because of what the Soviet has been through for the past ten years, Bolshevism cannot possibly constitute a very great threat to other nations.
Trans. 10-13-41
No. 400
August 30, 1941
No number.
FROM: Helsinki (Sakaya)
TO: Washington
(Part 2 of 3.) (Message to Tokyo #260.)
I said, "Well, don't you think it would be a good idea to have all nations get together and make peace?" and he replied, "Yes, I agree with you." I then pointed out how ridiculous it was for the United States to meddle in Europe and Asia and at the same time cling to the Monroe Doctrine. He replied, "In general, I might be inclined to agree with you; however, we have to face changing situations. In any case, I think this is only a temporary state of affairs. In general, there is a mistaken idea throughout the world concerning our Monroe Doctrine. By it we forbid any foreign country to seize control of any part of the American continent, and at the same time we imply that we do not wish to control any other country. I do not know what Germany intends to do with Europe. However, it would seem that she is contravening the principle of self-determination, thus shattering the foundations of peace between the old and new worlds. This would upset the economic equilibrium, and the United States intends to prevent any such thing."
Trans. 10-13-41
No. 401
August 30, 1941
No number.
FROM: Helsinki
TO: Washington
(Message to Tokyo #260.) (Part 3 of 3.)
I said, "Well, be that as it may, the American attitude toward Japan isn't doing the world situation any good. Just like the Asama Maru incident last year. American shipments of material for Russia via Vladivostok are inciting the Japanese people and officials exceedingly, so the United States had better watch out." The Ambassador answered, "Well don't you think that the present bad blood between our two countries is only a passing phenomenon? As long
[A-209]
as our leaders continue to talk things through, I think that naturally there is a good chance for a composure of relations between our two countries. My present feeling is that it is important that we get along well to avoid a world disaster."
Trans. 10-13-41
No. 402
August 26, 1941
#66.
FROM: Hollywood (Nakauchi)
TO: Washington
(Message to Tokyo #163.)
Re your #489[a] to the United States.
1. Newspapers and magazines sent from Japan to private individuals here have on many occasions either been delayed or not received. Newspapers to semi-officials were received during August. Furthermore, there are clear indications that printed matter is being censored.
2. There is no actual proof.
3. As I told you in my #157[b], on that occasion, photostatic copies were made of (his) private letters and diary.
4. No examples have occurred.
5. In connection with the Tachibana incident, Naval officials were trailed and kept under surveillance as a matter of course. Since then too, persons having to do with the Army and the Navy have continued to be under surveillance. Capatain ISHIKAWA and Commander SASAKI of the Navy, who returned home on the tanker Otowasan Maru, underwent an examination by Customs Officials before boarding the steamer. Nevertheless, the F.B.I. subjected them to a rigorous examination.
6. No actual proof.
[a] Tokyo asks Washington for information with regard to the method in which the United States handles cases involving Japanese there. This is to be used as reference material in drawing up a reply to the United States' protest of Japan's decision to control the business of foreigners in Japan.
[b] See III, 380, 381.
Trans. 10-4-41
No. 403
August 27, 1941
#508.
FROM: Tokyo
TO: Washington
(In 3 parts—complete.)
Re my #473[a] and your #693[b].
On the 27th I handed the following as our answer to the American Ambassador in Tokyo and when the occasion arises please get in touch with the State Department concerning it.
1. Under the principal of reciprocity it is necessary in investigating the transactions of foreigners to exclude the American Ambassador, Consul, and employees together with the employees of other government offices resident in Japan from the other foreigners. (This arrangement is at present in effect between Japan and England, Australia, Canada and Holland. This arrangement exempts only personal accounts and does not include public funds and inasmuch
[A-210]
THE "MAGIC" BACKGROUND OF PEARL HARBOR
as the official in charge of receipts and disbursements as well as the other employees are exempted it is not only convenient in practice but also moneys in the bank (?) are also exempted.)
2. Inasmuch as American practice does not follow the above we are adding the following revisions to the American proposals before accepting them.
(1) In regard to paragraph (a) of the above memorandum, concerning the nature, and object of the payments of official accounts permission shall be given for-----for actual running expenses as telegraphic expenses, salaries of employees, rents, entertainment expenses, etc., it being mutually understood that the investigation of details be omitted. However in the matter of the purchase of office equipment or major repairs request be made for each occasion as it arises.
(2) That a permit not be required for each case of the receipt of money transferred to official accounts.
(3) That permit be granted for the embassy and consulate and other government offices to pay in to their national treasury the balance on hand of current operating expenses and funds arising from the disposal of assets as well as income received by the consulate in the conduct of its business also that employees be allowed to remit money to their home countries.
(4) In regard to paragraph (c) personal living expenses and travel for which permits are not required shall be 1500 yen a month in Japan and $500 a month in America, that is the standard for Japanese employees $500 and for American employees 1500 yen for personal living expenses and travel only. Permits shall be issued for the above amounts reciprocally and employees permits shall be granted as follows: Both Japan and America shall grant to their Ambassadors the sum of $2000 a month or its equivalent. To the Financial Attache $1000 or its equivalent. To the Counselor and the Military and Naval Attaches $1500 each or its equivalent. To the First Secretary $1000 or its equivalent. To the Consul and the Second Secretary group $750 or its equivalent.
When circumstances render necessary an amount greater than those indicated in the above the Ambassador shall make application for permit for each occasion as it occurs.
(5) The grants for employees above the rank of clerks of the Japanese Embassy and Consulate shall be sent by the Japanese Foreign Office direct to the individual concerned through the Yokohama Specie Bank and the American Government shall give the above-mentioned bank a general permit covering the above payments. (A list of the employees above the rank of clerk shall be furnished to the State Department by the Japanese Embassy in Washington.) Furthermore when the travel expenses, etc., remitted by the Japanese Foreign Office through the Yokohama Specie Bank shall exceed the $500 a month limit established in paragraph (4) above, permit for payment shall be granted upon request of the Embassy.
3. Furthermore, when I presented the memorandum I gave my opinion as follows:
(a) As far as Japan is concerned the above arrangement includes only the Japanese Empire, however if America for her part will promise to facilitate the clearing of dollar remittances to Japanese offices and employees in South America and Europe through New York and do her utmost to remove any obstacles, if in the future conditions should arise to permit the use of such funds by the aforesaid offices and employees, then I will recommend that the Manchurian Government and the Nanking Government accord the same treatment to American offices in Manchuria and that part of China that is occupied by Japanese forces as is accorded them in the Japanese Empire itself.
[A-211]
(b) In regard to the operating expenses mentioned in paragraph (1) under paragraph (2) above the actual amount concerned is at present the subject of investigation and it is desired that a reciprocal report be made when the actual figures have been arrived at.
[a] See III, 376.
[b] Not available.
Trans. 9-5-41
No. 404
September 2, 1941
#521.
FROM: Tokyo (Japanese Foreign Minister)
TO: Washington
Re my #485[a].
As the result of subsequent negotiations by the Korean Governor General's office with the missionary authorities in Keijo[b], all thirteen of them have consented to evacuate. As a consequence, the Governor General's office has dismissed all pending litigation on record in the Public Procurator's office. This is being done with the view of settling all questions.
These missionaries are sailing for Shanghai on Japanese boats departing August 26 and September 16. They will board American vessels in Shanghai for the United States.
Furthermore, with regard to the settlement of this matter, as well as the Oasa incident mentioned in a previous wire, much has been accomplished through the personal endeavors of Governor General MINAMI. The above is for your information.
[a] See III, 382.
[b] Seoul—capital of Chosen.
Trans. 9-4-41
No. 405
September 4, 1941
#179.
FROM: Washington (UAWRK)
TO: Tokyo (SUMMER) (Vice Chief, Gen. Staff)
(Parts 1 and 2.)
Part 1
In spite of the efforts of the American authorities concerned and other leading parties, it is easy to see that America's ardor in aiding Russia is less than in the case of Britain, which goes without saying, and very much less than in the case of aiding China.
Therefore in as far as we can go without injuring America's prestige, I think it would be proper for us to show our opposition to the sending of aid to Russia via Vladivostok, and as emergency measures to prevent this, we will, for example, place emphasis on the fact that our Navy will hold maneuvers in that area, that is in a mined area and set forth the case of the sinking of the TERUKUNI MARU, etc.
[A-212]
THE "MAGIC" BACKGROUND OF PEARL HARBOR
Part 2
But it is a fact that if we use actual power[a] in preventing the (?passage of?) the above mentioned aid, America's pressure on us will be still further increased and eventually it can[b] result in the rupture of diplomatic relations and the opening of a warfare of commerce destruction.[c]
[a] JITSU RYOKU.
[b] KANOSEI NAKI TO SEZARU.
[c] TSUSHO HAKAISEN.
August 30, 1941
No number.
FROM: Helsinki (Sakaya)
TO: Washington
(Message to Tokyo #260.) (Part 1 of 3.) Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
The other day the American Minister here invited me to a luncheon, and I took that opportunity to ridicule the attitude of the United States in sponsoring Great Britain, Chungking, etc. I said that it was peculiar that the United States should back up the Soviet which is diametrically opposed to the democratic principle. The Minister said that he had not received any detailed reports from Washington on the present attitude of the government but he imagined that his country considered it essential to back up Russia against a greater threat. As for Bolshevism, he said that the view of the United States was that because of what the Soviet has been through for the past ten years, Bolshevism cannot possibly constitute a very great threat to other nations.
Trans. 10-13-41
No. 400
August 30, 1941
No number.
FROM: Helsinki (Sakaya)
TO: Washington
(Part 2 of 3.) (Message to Tokyo #260.)
I said, "Well, don't you think it would be a good idea to have all nations get together and make peace?" and he replied, "Yes, I agree with you." I then pointed out how ridiculous it was for the United States to meddle in Europe and Asia and at the same time cling to the Monroe Doctrine. He replied, "In general, I might be inclined to agree with you; however, we have to face changing situations. In any case, I think this is only a temporary state of affairs. In general, there is a mistaken idea throughout the world concerning our Monroe Doctrine. By it we forbid any foreign country to seize control of any part of the American continent, and at the same time we imply that we do not wish to control any other country. I do not know what Germany intends to do with Europe. However, it would seem that she is contravening the principle of self-determination, thus shattering the foundations of peace between the old and new worlds. This would upset the economic equilibrium, and the United States intends to prevent any such thing."
Trans. 10-13-41
No. 401
August 30, 1941
No number.
FROM: Helsinki
TO: Washington
(Message to Tokyo #260.) (Part 3 of 3.)
I said, "Well, be that as it may, the American attitude toward Japan isn't doing the world situation any good. Just like the Asama Maru incident last year. American shipments of material for Russia via Vladivostok are inciting the Japanese people and officials exceedingly, so the United States had better watch out." The Ambassador answered, "Well don't you think that the present bad blood between our two countries is only a passing phenomenon? As long
[A-209]
as our leaders continue to talk things through, I think that naturally there is a good chance for a composure of relations between our two countries. My present feeling is that it is important that we get along well to avoid a world disaster."
Trans. 10-13-41
No. 402
August 26, 1941
#66.
FROM: Hollywood (Nakauchi)
TO: Washington
(Message to Tokyo #163.)
Re your #489[a] to the United States.
1. Newspapers and magazines sent from Japan to private individuals here have on many occasions either been delayed or not received. Newspapers to semi-officials were received during August. Furthermore, there are clear indications that printed matter is being censored.
2. There is no actual proof.
3. As I told you in my #157[b], on that occasion, photostatic copies were made of (his) private letters and diary.
4. No examples have occurred.
5. In connection with the Tachibana incident, Naval officials were trailed and kept under surveillance as a matter of course. Since then too, persons having to do with the Army and the Navy have continued to be under surveillance. Capatain ISHIKAWA and Commander SASAKI of the Navy, who returned home on the tanker Otowasan Maru, underwent an examination by Customs Officials before boarding the steamer. Nevertheless, the F.B.I. subjected them to a rigorous examination.
6. No actual proof.
[a] Tokyo asks Washington for information with regard to the method in which the United States handles cases involving Japanese there. This is to be used as reference material in drawing up a reply to the United States' protest of Japan's decision to control the business of foreigners in Japan.
[b] See III, 380, 381.
Trans. 10-4-41
No. 403
August 27, 1941
#508.
FROM: Tokyo
TO: Washington
(In 3 parts—complete.)
Re my #473[a] and your #693[b].
On the 27th I handed the following as our answer to the American Ambassador in Tokyo and when the occasion arises please get in touch with the State Department concerning it.
1. Under the principal of reciprocity it is necessary in investigating the transactions of foreigners to exclude the American Ambassador, Consul, and employees together with the employees of other government offices resident in Japan from the other foreigners. (This arrangement is at present in effect between Japan and England, Australia, Canada and Holland. This arrangement exempts only personal accounts and does not include public funds and inasmuch
[A-210]
THE "MAGIC" BACKGROUND OF PEARL HARBOR
as the official in charge of receipts and disbursements as well as the other employees are exempted it is not only convenient in practice but also moneys in the bank (?) are also exempted.)
2. Inasmuch as American practice does not follow the above we are adding the following revisions to the American proposals before accepting them.
(1) In regard to paragraph (a) of the above memorandum, concerning the nature, and object of the payments of official accounts permission shall be given for-----for actual running expenses as telegraphic expenses, salaries of employees, rents, entertainment expenses, etc., it being mutually understood that the investigation of details be omitted. However in the matter of the purchase of office equipment or major repairs request be made for each occasion as it arises.
(2) That a permit not be required for each case of the receipt of money transferred to official accounts.
(3) That permit be granted for the embassy and consulate and other government offices to pay in to their national treasury the balance on hand of current operating expenses and funds arising from the disposal of assets as well as income received by the consulate in the conduct of its business also that employees be allowed to remit money to their home countries.
(4) In regard to paragraph (c) personal living expenses and travel for which permits are not required shall be 1500 yen a month in Japan and $500 a month in America, that is the standard for Japanese employees $500 and for American employees 1500 yen for personal living expenses and travel only. Permits shall be issued for the above amounts reciprocally and employees permits shall be granted as follows: Both Japan and America shall grant to their Ambassadors the sum of $2000 a month or its equivalent. To the Financial Attache $1000 or its equivalent. To the Counselor and the Military and Naval Attaches $1500 each or its equivalent. To the First Secretary $1000 or its equivalent. To the Consul and the Second Secretary group $750 or its equivalent.
When circumstances render necessary an amount greater than those indicated in the above the Ambassador shall make application for permit for each occasion as it occurs.
(5) The grants for employees above the rank of clerks of the Japanese Embassy and Consulate shall be sent by the Japanese Foreign Office direct to the individual concerned through the Yokohama Specie Bank and the American Government shall give the above-mentioned bank a general permit covering the above payments. (A list of the employees above the rank of clerk shall be furnished to the State Department by the Japanese Embassy in Washington.) Furthermore when the travel expenses, etc., remitted by the Japanese Foreign Office through the Yokohama Specie Bank shall exceed the $500 a month limit established in paragraph (4) above, permit for payment shall be granted upon request of the Embassy.
3. Furthermore, when I presented the memorandum I gave my opinion as follows:
(a) As far as Japan is concerned the above arrangement includes only the Japanese Empire, however if America for her part will promise to facilitate the clearing of dollar remittances to Japanese offices and employees in South America and Europe through New York and do her utmost to remove any obstacles, if in the future conditions should arise to permit the use of such funds by the aforesaid offices and employees, then I will recommend that the Manchurian Government and the Nanking Government accord the same treatment to American offices in Manchuria and that part of China that is occupied by Japanese forces as is accorded them in the Japanese Empire itself.
[A-211]
(b) In regard to the operating expenses mentioned in paragraph (1) under paragraph (2) above the actual amount concerned is at present the subject of investigation and it is desired that a reciprocal report be made when the actual figures have been arrived at.
[a] See III, 376.
[b] Not available.
Trans. 9-5-41
No. 404
September 2, 1941
#521.
FROM: Tokyo (Japanese Foreign Minister)
TO: Washington
Re my #485[a].
As the result of subsequent negotiations by the Korean Governor General's office with the missionary authorities in Keijo[b], all thirteen of them have consented to evacuate. As a consequence, the Governor General's office has dismissed all pending litigation on record in the Public Procurator's office. This is being done with the view of settling all questions.
These missionaries are sailing for Shanghai on Japanese boats departing August 26 and September 16. They will board American vessels in Shanghai for the United States.
Furthermore, with regard to the settlement of this matter, as well as the Oasa incident mentioned in a previous wire, much has been accomplished through the personal endeavors of Governor General MINAMI. The above is for your information.
[a] See III, 382.
[b] Seoul—capital of Chosen.
Trans. 9-4-41
No. 405
September 4, 1941
#179.
FROM: Washington (UAWRK)
TO: Tokyo (SUMMER) (Vice Chief, Gen. Staff)
(Parts 1 and 2.)
Part 1
In spite of the efforts of the American authorities concerned and other leading parties, it is easy to see that America's ardor in aiding Russia is less than in the case of Britain, which goes without saying, and very much less than in the case of aiding China.
Therefore in as far as we can go without injuring America's prestige, I think it would be proper for us to show our opposition to the sending of aid to Russia via Vladivostok, and as emergency measures to prevent this, we will, for example, place emphasis on the fact that our Navy will hold maneuvers in that area, that is in a mined area and set forth the case of the sinking of the TERUKUNI MARU, etc.
[A-212]
THE "MAGIC" BACKGROUND OF PEARL HARBOR
Part 2
But it is a fact that if we use actual power[a] in preventing the (?passage of?) the above mentioned aid, America's pressure on us will be still further increased and eventually it can[b] result in the rupture of diplomatic relations and the opening of a warfare of commerce destruction.[c]
[a] JITSU RYOKU.
[b] KANOSEI NAKI TO SEZARU.
[c] TSUSHO HAKAISEN.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
latitude 1.lat.0003004 Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
Over the past few years the sun has gotten a bad rap. Too much sunshine can put you at risk for skin cancer. And an overdose of sun can also lead to nasty sunburns, or even heatstroke.
But the sun isn’t always bad for the body. Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire Scientists have known for years that the sun is a great source of vitamin D. This vitamin naturally boosts the immune system, your body’s defense against disease. Now mushrooms bathed in ultraviolet (UV) light — like that from the sun — can help you get some of this valuable vitamin.
Each year there are more and more studies released that suggest if you want to be healthy, vitamin D is where it’s at. Vitamin D strengthens your heart and bones, and can prevent asthma and some forms of cancer and diabetes.
Some foods, like fish and eggs, are naturally brimming with the vitamin. And others, like milk and some cereals, are fortified with vitamin D. But you would need to consume a lot of milk and cereal to get your daily dose of vitamin D. Sunlight still reigns king as the best source for vitamin D.
Recently scientists have shown that specially treated mushrooms could give people a vitamin D boost. U.S. Department of Agriculture researchers in California treated portabella mushrooms to suntanning sessions of up to 18 minutes. The mushrooms didn’t develop a bronze glow or complain of heat stroke though. Instead each mushroom produced nearly 4 micrograms of vitamin D per gram of tissue. Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire When white mushrooms were given similar sun treatments, these fungi boasted extra vitamin D, too. Now both kinds of vitamin-infused ‘shrooms are on the market. So if you like mushrooms, you could munch your way to a higher daily dose of Vitamin D.
Depending on a person’s age, people should get between 5 and 15 micrograms (or 200 to 600 international units) of vitamin D each day. Without these amounts, people are prone to get diseases like rickets, which causes distorted, soft bones. These numbers, though, are really just a minimum. Now some scientists suggest it’s better to get as much as five times the recommended vitamin D dose each day.
Having more foods with Vitamin D is a good thing, since there are also several factors that make it hard to get enough of the vitamin from just the sun.
One factor influencing elderly people’s vitamin D intake is that they often spend less time outdoors. Therefore, they need more vitamin D in their diet. And if you spend a lot of your time indoors, playing video games or on the computer, you may need extra vitamin D from your food, too.
Skin color and weight also help determine a person’s vitamin D needs. Darker skin filters out more of the sun’s UV light, so people with darker skin need more sun exposure to make necessary amounts of vitamin D. For unknown reasons, heavier people also need a greater amount of UV light to enable vitamin D production. Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
And latitude — how far north or south you live — can play a major role in the sun’s ability to help you get adequate vitamin D amounts. As you get farther away from the equator, the amount of UV-filtering atmosphere increases. This means that at higher, more northern latitudes, people get less UV rays. So, if you live in a state like Alaska, most of the year you can’t get enough sun to trigger the vitamin’s production by your skin.
Eating foods enriched with vitamin D or taking a daily vitamin may not be as satisfying as breaking out your bathing suit and lying in the sun. But the right foods and supplements can help keep you healthy until summer’s rays are here again.
But the sun isn’t always bad for the body. Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire Scientists have known for years that the sun is a great source of vitamin D. This vitamin naturally boosts the immune system, your body’s defense against disease. Now mushrooms bathed in ultraviolet (UV) light — like that from the sun — can help you get some of this valuable vitamin.
Each year there are more and more studies released that suggest if you want to be healthy, vitamin D is where it’s at. Vitamin D strengthens your heart and bones, and can prevent asthma and some forms of cancer and diabetes.
Some foods, like fish and eggs, are naturally brimming with the vitamin. And others, like milk and some cereals, are fortified with vitamin D. But you would need to consume a lot of milk and cereal to get your daily dose of vitamin D. Sunlight still reigns king as the best source for vitamin D.
Recently scientists have shown that specially treated mushrooms could give people a vitamin D boost. U.S. Department of Agriculture researchers in California treated portabella mushrooms to suntanning sessions of up to 18 minutes. The mushrooms didn’t develop a bronze glow or complain of heat stroke though. Instead each mushroom produced nearly 4 micrograms of vitamin D per gram of tissue. Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire When white mushrooms were given similar sun treatments, these fungi boasted extra vitamin D, too. Now both kinds of vitamin-infused ‘shrooms are on the market. So if you like mushrooms, you could munch your way to a higher daily dose of Vitamin D.
Depending on a person’s age, people should get between 5 and 15 micrograms (or 200 to 600 international units) of vitamin D each day. Without these amounts, people are prone to get diseases like rickets, which causes distorted, soft bones. These numbers, though, are really just a minimum. Now some scientists suggest it’s better to get as much as five times the recommended vitamin D dose each day.
Having more foods with Vitamin D is a good thing, since there are also several factors that make it hard to get enough of the vitamin from just the sun.
One factor influencing elderly people’s vitamin D intake is that they often spend less time outdoors. Therefore, they need more vitamin D in their diet. And if you spend a lot of your time indoors, playing video games or on the computer, you may need extra vitamin D from your food, too.
Skin color and weight also help determine a person’s vitamin D needs. Darker skin filters out more of the sun’s UV light, so people with darker skin need more sun exposure to make necessary amounts of vitamin D. For unknown reasons, heavier people also need a greater amount of UV light to enable vitamin D production. Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
And latitude — how far north or south you live — can play a major role in the sun’s ability to help you get adequate vitamin D amounts. As you get farther away from the equator, the amount of UV-filtering atmosphere increases. This means that at higher, more northern latitudes, people get less UV rays. So, if you live in a state like Alaska, most of the year you can’t get enough sun to trigger the vitamin’s production by your skin.
Eating foods enriched with vitamin D or taking a daily vitamin may not be as satisfying as breaking out your bathing suit and lying in the sun. But the right foods and supplements can help keep you healthy until summer’s rays are here again.
Monday, April 13, 2009
gap 9.gap.2234 Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
Sex equality means nothing when it comes to pain relief.
Morphine is not very potent in female rats, and a new study helps explain why. In their midbrains, females have fewer of the receptors that sense the feel-good drug, rendering morphine “remarkably ineffective,” according to a report published December 24 in the Journal of Neuroscience.Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
Opioid-based narcotics, such as morphine and codeine, are some of the most widely prescribed drugs for human pain management. http://LOUIS-J-SHEEHAN-ESQUIRE.US The drugs are detected by proteins in the brain called opioid receptors, which bind to the drugs and trigger pain relief. But earlier studies in humans and rats have suggested that when it comes to pain-fighting medications, males and females are not created equal.
Female rats are known to require twice the amount of morphine as males to get comparable pain relief, says study author Anne Murphy of Georgia State University in Atlanta. But much of the research on pain relief has been conducted on male animals or in men. Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire “What about females? No one’s bothered to ask these questions,” she says.
A part of the rat brain called the periaqueductal gray is important for pain relief. Earlier studies in male rats have shown that many opioid receptors are located in this particular midbrain region. Murphy has dubbed the region the “Mecca for morphine.”
Murphy’s team found that male rats have significantly more opioid receptors than female rats, suggesting that males may respond better to morphine because they are better able to sense it.
Even though other studies have hinted at differences in opioid receptors between males and females, “this work is the first to definitively demonstrate such differences,” says Rebecca Craft, a researcher at Washington State University in Pullman who studies sex differences in pain sensation.
The new study also shows that the female hormonal cycle has a major role in pain relief. Female rats with high estrogen levels had the fewest number of opioid receptors and were the most impervious to morphine. As estrogen levels naturally fell, the numbers of opioid receptors in females approached male levels.
The potential link between female hormones and pain may have been what kept other researchers from using female subjects. Because hormone levels are known to affect many biological processes, including pain, female rats must be at the same hormonal profile to get meaningful results from experiments. Deciphering the precise hormonal stage of a rat relies on time-consuming experiments, and many researchers may wish to avoid the hormone complication altogether by using males, says Murphy.http://LOUIS-J-SHEEHAN-ESQUIRE.US
In the new study, rats received a dose of morphine, and researchers measured how long it took the rats to remove one of their paws from a hot glass plate. The team reasoned that the morphine was not working if the rat removed its paw quickly; if the rat wasn’t feeling pain, it would keep its paw on the hot plate longer. Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire Researchers found that female rats with high estrogen levels yanked their paws away from the heat, even after a morphine shot, suggesting that the morphine did very little to alleviate pain. Males, and also females with low estrogen levels, responded to the painful stimulus more slowly after being injected with morphine once.
Sex differences in human pain response are less clear, although recent brain-scan evidence suggests that men have a stronger response than women to the same amount of morphine. Craft says that while experiments on sex differences in rats are likely important for humans, more research is needed in humans to confirm if such a gender gap exists among them as well.
Age and ethnicity have also been suggested as factors that affect the potency of medicine. Murphy points to the need for pain medication studies that include a wide range of subjects, not just the young males who are typically chosen.
“These studies are going to help enlighten physicians and scientists that males and females are different. You have to have sex-specific medicine,” says Murphy.
Morphine is not very potent in female rats, and a new study helps explain why. In their midbrains, females have fewer of the receptors that sense the feel-good drug, rendering morphine “remarkably ineffective,” according to a report published December 24 in the Journal of Neuroscience.Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
Opioid-based narcotics, such as morphine and codeine, are some of the most widely prescribed drugs for human pain management. http://LOUIS-J-SHEEHAN-ESQUIRE.US The drugs are detected by proteins in the brain called opioid receptors, which bind to the drugs and trigger pain relief. But earlier studies in humans and rats have suggested that when it comes to pain-fighting medications, males and females are not created equal.
Female rats are known to require twice the amount of morphine as males to get comparable pain relief, says study author Anne Murphy of Georgia State University in Atlanta. But much of the research on pain relief has been conducted on male animals or in men. Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire “What about females? No one’s bothered to ask these questions,” she says.
A part of the rat brain called the periaqueductal gray is important for pain relief. Earlier studies in male rats have shown that many opioid receptors are located in this particular midbrain region. Murphy has dubbed the region the “Mecca for morphine.”
Murphy’s team found that male rats have significantly more opioid receptors than female rats, suggesting that males may respond better to morphine because they are better able to sense it.
Even though other studies have hinted at differences in opioid receptors between males and females, “this work is the first to definitively demonstrate such differences,” says Rebecca Craft, a researcher at Washington State University in Pullman who studies sex differences in pain sensation.
The new study also shows that the female hormonal cycle has a major role in pain relief. Female rats with high estrogen levels had the fewest number of opioid receptors and were the most impervious to morphine. As estrogen levels naturally fell, the numbers of opioid receptors in females approached male levels.
The potential link between female hormones and pain may have been what kept other researchers from using female subjects. Because hormone levels are known to affect many biological processes, including pain, female rats must be at the same hormonal profile to get meaningful results from experiments. Deciphering the precise hormonal stage of a rat relies on time-consuming experiments, and many researchers may wish to avoid the hormone complication altogether by using males, says Murphy.http://LOUIS-J-SHEEHAN-ESQUIRE.US
In the new study, rats received a dose of morphine, and researchers measured how long it took the rats to remove one of their paws from a hot glass plate. The team reasoned that the morphine was not working if the rat removed its paw quickly; if the rat wasn’t feeling pain, it would keep its paw on the hot plate longer. Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire Researchers found that female rats with high estrogen levels yanked their paws away from the heat, even after a morphine shot, suggesting that the morphine did very little to alleviate pain. Males, and also females with low estrogen levels, responded to the painful stimulus more slowly after being injected with morphine once.
Sex differences in human pain response are less clear, although recent brain-scan evidence suggests that men have a stronger response than women to the same amount of morphine. Craft says that while experiments on sex differences in rats are likely important for humans, more research is needed in humans to confirm if such a gender gap exists among them as well.
Age and ethnicity have also been suggested as factors that affect the potency of medicine. Murphy points to the need for pain medication studies that include a wide range of subjects, not just the young males who are typically chosen.
“These studies are going to help enlighten physicians and scientists that males and females are different. You have to have sex-specific medicine,” says Murphy.
spread 9.spr.1123 Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
Sometimes, survival of the fittest means dependence on weak links.
Widely distributed fruit fly species have a temperature-sensitive step in the manufacture of a key part in their biological clocks. Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire The heat-sensitive stumbling block may be the reason Drosophila melanogaster and Drosophila simulans have been able to spread to temperate zones while their cousins haven’t, a new study in the Dec. 26 Neuron suggests. Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
Previously, a research team led by molecular biologist Isaac Edery of Rutgers University in Piscataway, N.J., had discovered that, when the temperature rises, Drosophila melanogaster’s production of a major gear in the clock that governs its daily rhythms melts down. The gear, a protein known as PERIOD, helps set the circadian clock in fruit flies and many other animals.http://Louis2J2Sheehan2Esquire.US
Fruit flies are active in the morning, take a siesta during the hottest part of the day, then wake up and move around again in the early evening when it is cooler. The siesta helps keep the flies from over-heating and drying out. PERIOD protein builds up during the siesta period until it reaches high enough levels to set off the flies’ inner alarm clocks and rouse them for the evening.
“There is a nice association between the time of day that the activity of the fly peaks and the point at which PERIOD peaks,” says Herman Wijnen of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. Wijnen was not involved in the new study.
Production of PERIOD follows a multi-step process. First, the information contained in the period gene is converted into RNA, which will be read later by the cell’s protein-building machinery. Genes in fruit flies, humans and other eukaryotes contain interruptions, called introns. To deal with these, the cell has a molecular version of TiVo that cuts out introns as if they were commercials interrupting a television program. But cells can’t just skip over introns. The cells must physically cut the interrupting regions out and splice back together the bits of RNA that contain the actual protein-building instructions (called exons.)
In Drosophila melanogaster, and another widely dispersed species of fruit fly called Drosophila simulans, one of the exons contains a weak splice site that doesn’t hold together well when the mercury rises. The weak splice site prevents PERIOD protein from being made when it is too hot, delaying the flies’ evening wake-up call. The heat response allows the two species to vary the length of their midday naps.
That’s important in temperate latitudes in which day length varies considerably across seasons. Flies need longer naps in summer to avoid the heat of the day, and shorter snoozes as temperatures grow cooler and daylight hours dwindle.
But in the new study, Edery and his colleagues show that closely related fruit fly species, Drosophila yakuba and Drosophila santomea, don’t have heat-sensitive splice sites in period. Instead, the two species, found only in Africa, have strong splice sites that hold together even in hot weather, making the schedule of PERIOD production more regular than in the species that are widely dispersed. The equatorial flies also have regimented daily schedules, waking, napping and rousing again about the same time every day. That makes biological sense for species living along the equator where day length and temperatures don’t vary much with seasons, says Edery, who is also a member of the Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine in Piscataway, N.J.
Replacing the weak D. melanogaster splice site with one from the African species also puts D. melanogaster on a regimented schedule, the researchers find.
But a strong splice site that’s insensitive to temperature could spell disaster for a fruit fly that finds itself in northern climates in the middle of summer. The flies might wake from their siesta while it is still hot, and become desiccated as they move about in the heat. http://Louis2J2Sheehan2Esquire.US The weak, heat-sensitive splice site makes D. melanogaster and D. simulans more flexible and better able to adapt to diverse climates than their cousins, Edery says.
“The proposition that we’re making is that the weak splice sites in melanogaster and simulans species may have facilitated their ability to colonize other parts of the world,” Edery says.
Edery and his colleagues make the argument in “nice” molecular detail, Wijnen says. “It’s a very nice illustration that these mutations seem to be associated with populations [of fruit flies] in temperate zones.”
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Comments 1
* It's The Culture, Not The Biologic Clock
The Clock Is Innate Since Life's Day One
It's Culture That Drives Genetic Changes
And Culture Evolves Per Intelligence
A. From "Hot clock key to fruit fly’s global spread"
http://www.sciencenews.org/index/generic/activity/view/id/39546/title/Hot_clock_key_to_fruit_fly%E2%80%99s_global_spread
"Widely distributed fruit fly species have a temperature-sensitive step in the manufacture of a key part in their biological clocks."
"The gear, a protein known as PERIOD, helps set the circadian clock in fruit flies and many other animals".
B. The above abstract displays a deficit of some comprehensions
of the nature of the CLOCK and of the functional nature of the PROTEIN and of the PROTEIN'S ORIGIN.
The CLOCK is innate in genes-genomes, as genes are primal organisms and genomes are multiGenes organisms and as at genesis the ONLY source of activity energy for genes was the daylight's sun radiation. This is why sleep is a ubiquitous inherent organism's trait.
The functional nature of the protein is, as normal in biologic systems, a cue-tag to specific member(s) of the genome, the cooperative multiGenes communal organism, directing what-when to express, in this case "rest untill the temperature decreases to X degrees, then work".
This specific protein tag was produced by a specific gene at a biased alternative-splicing-step junction, effected by the cultural feedback of the fly, like in all normal evolutionary cases in which a third stratum multicells organism or monocells community furnish cultural feedback to their second and prime strata genome-genes organisms as genetic evolution biasing instructions. Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
And the extent of the capability of the genes-genome to respond to the feedback and to effect the thus requested "mutation"-modification, the extent of this capability is the genome's INTELLIGENCE, its capability to assess survival experience and to react-respond to it.
C. Life's Manifest
http://www.the-scientist.com/community/posts/list/112.p
Widely distributed fruit fly species have a temperature-sensitive step in the manufacture of a key part in their biological clocks. Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire The heat-sensitive stumbling block may be the reason Drosophila melanogaster and Drosophila simulans have been able to spread to temperate zones while their cousins haven’t, a new study in the Dec. 26 Neuron suggests. Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
Previously, a research team led by molecular biologist Isaac Edery of Rutgers University in Piscataway, N.J., had discovered that, when the temperature rises, Drosophila melanogaster’s production of a major gear in the clock that governs its daily rhythms melts down. The gear, a protein known as PERIOD, helps set the circadian clock in fruit flies and many other animals.http://Louis2J2Sheehan2Esquire.US
Fruit flies are active in the morning, take a siesta during the hottest part of the day, then wake up and move around again in the early evening when it is cooler. The siesta helps keep the flies from over-heating and drying out. PERIOD protein builds up during the siesta period until it reaches high enough levels to set off the flies’ inner alarm clocks and rouse them for the evening.
“There is a nice association between the time of day that the activity of the fly peaks and the point at which PERIOD peaks,” says Herman Wijnen of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. Wijnen was not involved in the new study.
Production of PERIOD follows a multi-step process. First, the information contained in the period gene is converted into RNA, which will be read later by the cell’s protein-building machinery. Genes in fruit flies, humans and other eukaryotes contain interruptions, called introns. To deal with these, the cell has a molecular version of TiVo that cuts out introns as if they were commercials interrupting a television program. But cells can’t just skip over introns. The cells must physically cut the interrupting regions out and splice back together the bits of RNA that contain the actual protein-building instructions (called exons.)
In Drosophila melanogaster, and another widely dispersed species of fruit fly called Drosophila simulans, one of the exons contains a weak splice site that doesn’t hold together well when the mercury rises. The weak splice site prevents PERIOD protein from being made when it is too hot, delaying the flies’ evening wake-up call. The heat response allows the two species to vary the length of their midday naps.
That’s important in temperate latitudes in which day length varies considerably across seasons. Flies need longer naps in summer to avoid the heat of the day, and shorter snoozes as temperatures grow cooler and daylight hours dwindle.
But in the new study, Edery and his colleagues show that closely related fruit fly species, Drosophila yakuba and Drosophila santomea, don’t have heat-sensitive splice sites in period. Instead, the two species, found only in Africa, have strong splice sites that hold together even in hot weather, making the schedule of PERIOD production more regular than in the species that are widely dispersed. The equatorial flies also have regimented daily schedules, waking, napping and rousing again about the same time every day. That makes biological sense for species living along the equator where day length and temperatures don’t vary much with seasons, says Edery, who is also a member of the Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine in Piscataway, N.J.
Replacing the weak D. melanogaster splice site with one from the African species also puts D. melanogaster on a regimented schedule, the researchers find.
But a strong splice site that’s insensitive to temperature could spell disaster for a fruit fly that finds itself in northern climates in the middle of summer. The flies might wake from their siesta while it is still hot, and become desiccated as they move about in the heat. http://Louis2J2Sheehan2Esquire.US The weak, heat-sensitive splice site makes D. melanogaster and D. simulans more flexible and better able to adapt to diverse climates than their cousins, Edery says.
“The proposition that we’re making is that the weak splice sites in melanogaster and simulans species may have facilitated their ability to colonize other parts of the world,” Edery says.
Edery and his colleagues make the argument in “nice” molecular detail, Wijnen says. “It’s a very nice illustration that these mutations seem to be associated with populations [of fruit flies] in temperate zones.”
* |
* Comment
Found in: Biology, Body & Brain and Life
Share & Save
* slashdot slashdot
* digg digg
* facebook facebook
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* del.icio.us del.icio.us
* reddit reddit
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Comments 1
* It's The Culture, Not The Biologic Clock
The Clock Is Innate Since Life's Day One
It's Culture That Drives Genetic Changes
And Culture Evolves Per Intelligence
A. From "Hot clock key to fruit fly’s global spread"
http://www.sciencenews.org/index/generic/activity/view/id/39546/title/Hot_clock_key_to_fruit_fly%E2%80%99s_global_spread
"Widely distributed fruit fly species have a temperature-sensitive step in the manufacture of a key part in their biological clocks."
"The gear, a protein known as PERIOD, helps set the circadian clock in fruit flies and many other animals".
B. The above abstract displays a deficit of some comprehensions
of the nature of the CLOCK and of the functional nature of the PROTEIN and of the PROTEIN'S ORIGIN.
The CLOCK is innate in genes-genomes, as genes are primal organisms and genomes are multiGenes organisms and as at genesis the ONLY source of activity energy for genes was the daylight's sun radiation. This is why sleep is a ubiquitous inherent organism's trait.
The functional nature of the protein is, as normal in biologic systems, a cue-tag to specific member(s) of the genome, the cooperative multiGenes communal organism, directing what-when to express, in this case "rest untill the temperature decreases to X degrees, then work".
This specific protein tag was produced by a specific gene at a biased alternative-splicing-step junction, effected by the cultural feedback of the fly, like in all normal evolutionary cases in which a third stratum multicells organism or monocells community furnish cultural feedback to their second and prime strata genome-genes organisms as genetic evolution biasing instructions. Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
And the extent of the capability of the genes-genome to respond to the feedback and to effect the thus requested "mutation"-modification, the extent of this capability is the genome's INTELLIGENCE, its capability to assess survival experience and to react-respond to it.
C. Life's Manifest
http://www.the-scientist.com/community/posts/list/112.p
Saturday, April 11, 2009
twist 0.twi.1 Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
Seeing a hand slammed in a car door makes most people cringe. But others seem to lack such empathy, which might help explain why some are capable of repeatedly inflicting pain on others. Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
Now a study suggests that adolescents with aggressive conduct disorder — characterized by physical aggression, bullying and disregard for rules — may have robust rather than blunted reactions to others’ pain. Such adolescents may even get pleasure out of viewing other people in discomfort, Jean Decety of the University of Chicago reported February 15 at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. http://Louis1J1Sheehan.us
Using fMRI, Decety and his colleagues scanned the brains of eight adolescents with aggressive conduct disorder and eight adolescents without the disorder while showing them video clips of accidental, but painful situations.
Both groups showed activity in regions of the brain associated with pain, including the anterior cingulate cortex, insula and somatosensory cortex. http://Louis1J1Sheehan.us But adolescents with conduct disorder showed a greater activation of these pain regions and also showed activity in the amygdala and ventral striatum, areas of the brain tied to reward responses.
“They do, so to speak, share the pain of others,” Decety said at the meeting. “But instead of finding it negative, they enjoy it.”
Those with stronger reactions in these reward areas also scored higher on standard scales for daring and sadism and reported more acts of aggression.
When viewing clips of people intentionally inflicting pain, adolescents with conduct disorder showed brain activity patterns suggesting, as expected, that they have trouble controlling their emotion, the researchers reported. Their study appears in the February issue of Biological Psychology.
Decety said the findings may have implications for intervention programs. Negative feedback, for example, may not work with adolescents who gain pleasure from such a response.
“If you enjoy it, you do it again,” Decety said. Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
Now a study suggests that adolescents with aggressive conduct disorder — characterized by physical aggression, bullying and disregard for rules — may have robust rather than blunted reactions to others’ pain. Such adolescents may even get pleasure out of viewing other people in discomfort, Jean Decety of the University of Chicago reported February 15 at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. http://Louis1J1Sheehan.us
Using fMRI, Decety and his colleagues scanned the brains of eight adolescents with aggressive conduct disorder and eight adolescents without the disorder while showing them video clips of accidental, but painful situations.
Both groups showed activity in regions of the brain associated with pain, including the anterior cingulate cortex, insula and somatosensory cortex. http://Louis1J1Sheehan.us But adolescents with conduct disorder showed a greater activation of these pain regions and also showed activity in the amygdala and ventral striatum, areas of the brain tied to reward responses.
“They do, so to speak, share the pain of others,” Decety said at the meeting. “But instead of finding it negative, they enjoy it.”
Those with stronger reactions in these reward areas also scored higher on standard scales for daring and sadism and reported more acts of aggression.
When viewing clips of people intentionally inflicting pain, adolescents with conduct disorder showed brain activity patterns suggesting, as expected, that they have trouble controlling their emotion, the researchers reported. Their study appears in the February issue of Biological Psychology.
Decety said the findings may have implications for intervention programs. Negative feedback, for example, may not work with adolescents who gain pleasure from such a response.
“If you enjoy it, you do it again,” Decety said. Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
homocysteine j.homo.992 Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
A combination of vitamin B-6, vitamin B-12 and folic acid might protect women against age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in the elderly, a new study finds.
Women taking this trio of vitamins in amounts well beyond the recommended daily doses were one-third less likely to develop macular degeneration than were people taking placebos, researchers report in the Feb. 23 Archives of Internal Medicine.
Cigarette smoking is known to increase a person’s likelihood of developing macular degeneration. Other than not smoking, there is little a person can do to limit risk, says study coauthor William Christen, an epidemiologist at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. “This is the first trial to suggest a benefit” from vitamin B and folic acid, he says. “I’d like to see it corroborated in other populations.”
Christen and his colleagues analyzed data collected as part of a large trial originally designed to test the effects of other vitamins on women with heart problems. In 1998, researchers selected 5,205 women in the trial who didn’t have macular degeneration and were willing to take part in a test of B-6, B-12 and folic acid — also called folate and vitamin B-9. Half of the women were randomly assigned to get these supplements; the others received placebo pills. Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
Most of the women were overweight. Their average age was 63. The women in both groups provided information about their vision by responding to annual questionnaires in the mail. All were permitted to take multivitamins with B-6, B-12 and folate up to, but not exceeding, recommended daily allowances. Those getting the B-6, B-12 and folate pills received many times that amount.
http://LOUIS-J-SHEEHAN.ORG
Whenever a participant reported that she’d been diagnosed with macular degeneration, scientists contacted the woman’s eye doctor and elicited a report.
After 7.3 years of follow-up, those reports had turned up 82 cases of age-related macular degeneration among women taking placebos and only 55 cases in the women getting the vitamin supplements.
While an explanation for the apparent protection from macular degeneration remains unknown, it is known that folate, B-6 and B-12 can drive down blood concentrations of homocysteine, a compound suspected of damaging blood vessels. Researchers have tried to finger homocysteine in heart disease, but studies have failed to show a heart benefit from reducing homocysteine levels.
Age-related macular degeneration is also a vascular ailment — resulting from a disruption of proper blood flow to the macula, a part of the retina. It may be that the tiny vessels in the eye are more vulnerable to high homocysteine than the larger coronary arteries are.Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire “But this is speculation, not a hard hypothesis,” Christen says.
http://LOUIS-J-SHEEHAN.ORG
While the homocysteine connection remains unproven, the new findings might draw more resources toward work examining the compound’s role in macular degeneration, says study coauthor Emily Chew, an ophthalmologist at the National Eye Institute in Bethesda, Md. Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
"Increased homocysteine levels have been shown in many studies involving age-related macular degeneration," says ophthalmologist Sibel Kadayifcilar of Hacettepe University Medical School in Ankara, Turkey. "However, we still don't know whether homocysteine is causative or only a marker." Meanwhile, other research shows that a vitamin B-12 deficiency is a risk factor for macular degeneration.
Combined, these lines of evidence suggest that elderly people with a shortage of these B vitamins or folate should take supplements, Kadayifcilar says.
Women taking this trio of vitamins in amounts well beyond the recommended daily doses were one-third less likely to develop macular degeneration than were people taking placebos, researchers report in the Feb. 23 Archives of Internal Medicine.
Cigarette smoking is known to increase a person’s likelihood of developing macular degeneration. Other than not smoking, there is little a person can do to limit risk, says study coauthor William Christen, an epidemiologist at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. “This is the first trial to suggest a benefit” from vitamin B and folic acid, he says. “I’d like to see it corroborated in other populations.”
Christen and his colleagues analyzed data collected as part of a large trial originally designed to test the effects of other vitamins on women with heart problems. In 1998, researchers selected 5,205 women in the trial who didn’t have macular degeneration and were willing to take part in a test of B-6, B-12 and folic acid — also called folate and vitamin B-9. Half of the women were randomly assigned to get these supplements; the others received placebo pills. Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
Most of the women were overweight. Their average age was 63. The women in both groups provided information about their vision by responding to annual questionnaires in the mail. All were permitted to take multivitamins with B-6, B-12 and folate up to, but not exceeding, recommended daily allowances. Those getting the B-6, B-12 and folate pills received many times that amount.
http://LOUIS-J-SHEEHAN.ORG
Whenever a participant reported that she’d been diagnosed with macular degeneration, scientists contacted the woman’s eye doctor and elicited a report.
After 7.3 years of follow-up, those reports had turned up 82 cases of age-related macular degeneration among women taking placebos and only 55 cases in the women getting the vitamin supplements.
While an explanation for the apparent protection from macular degeneration remains unknown, it is known that folate, B-6 and B-12 can drive down blood concentrations of homocysteine, a compound suspected of damaging blood vessels. Researchers have tried to finger homocysteine in heart disease, but studies have failed to show a heart benefit from reducing homocysteine levels.
Age-related macular degeneration is also a vascular ailment — resulting from a disruption of proper blood flow to the macula, a part of the retina. It may be that the tiny vessels in the eye are more vulnerable to high homocysteine than the larger coronary arteries are.Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire “But this is speculation, not a hard hypothesis,” Christen says.
http://LOUIS-J-SHEEHAN.ORG
While the homocysteine connection remains unproven, the new findings might draw more resources toward work examining the compound’s role in macular degeneration, says study coauthor Emily Chew, an ophthalmologist at the National Eye Institute in Bethesda, Md. Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
"Increased homocysteine levels have been shown in many studies involving age-related macular degeneration," says ophthalmologist Sibel Kadayifcilar of Hacettepe University Medical School in Ankara, Turkey. "However, we still don't know whether homocysteine is causative or only a marker." Meanwhile, other research shows that a vitamin B-12 deficiency is a risk factor for macular degeneration.
Combined, these lines of evidence suggest that elderly people with a shortage of these B vitamins or folate should take supplements, Kadayifcilar says.
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