YOU & YOUR HEALTH
Research round up
NEW FRONTIERS NEW FRONTIERS:
RESEARCH ROUND UP
INTERESTING NEW RESEARCH OF INTEREST TO HOLISTIC THERAPISTS AND THEIR CLIENTS… ALZHEIMER’S: PROTEINS IN BLOOD COULD INDICATE DISEASE FIVE YEARS EARLIER The development of dementia in later life has been associated with the presence of abnormal blood levels of dozens of proteins up to five years earlier, according to a new study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Most of these proteins were not known to be linked to dementia before, suggesting new targets for prevention therapies. The research team examined over 10,000 blood samples from middle-aged and elderly people which had been stored during large-scale studies decades ago as part of an ongoing study. The researchers linked abnormal blood levels of 38 proteins to higher risks of developing Alzheimer’s within five years. Of those 38 proteins, 16 appeared to predict Alzheimer’s risk two decades in advance. Although most of these risk markers may be only incidental by-products of the slow disease process that leads to Alzheimer’s, the analysis pointed to high levels of one protein, SVEP1, as a likely causal contributor to that disease process. SVEP1 is a protein whose normal functions remain somewhat mysterious, although in a study published earlier this year it was linked to the thickened artery condition, atherosclerosis, which underlies heart attacks and strokes. Other proteins associated with Alzheimer’s risk in the new study included several key immune proteins -- which is consistent with previous of findings linking Alzheimer’s to abnormally intense immune activity in the brain. Ref: 10.1038/s43587-
other muscle injuries with ice, as part of the RICE protocol which involves Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation. However, a new mouse model study suggests that icing injured muscles may delay muscle regeneration. The research results revealed that applying an ice pack to a severe muscle injury resulting from eccentric contraction may prolong the time it takes to heal. The cause of this phenomenon is that icing delays the arrival of pro-inflammatory macrophages, which are responsible for the phagocytosis, or removal, of damaged tissue. Furthermore, this makes difficult for the macrophages to sufficiently infiltrate the damaged muscle cells. Two weeks after the injury, the researchers noted a significantly higher percentage of smaller regenerated muscle fibres were found in cross-sections from the icing group, with a greater number of medium to large fibres in the non-icing group. In other words, this revealed that skeletal muscle regeneration may be delayed as a result of icing.
COGNITIVE FUNCTION: MEDITATIVE PRACTICE AND SPIRITUAL WELLBEING MAY PRESERVE COGNITIVE FUNCTION IN AGING By 2050, projections suggest that up to 152 million people worldwide will have Alzheimer’s disease. A paper published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, finds that spiritual fitness, a new concept in allopathic medicine - but one familiar to many holistic therapists - that centres on psychological and spiritual wellbeing, and Kirtan Kriya, a simple 12-minute meditative practice, may reduce multiple risk factors for AD. According to the study, religious and spiritual involvement can preserve cognitive function as we age. The authors observe that today, spirituality is often experienced outside the context of an organized religion and may be part of every religion or separate to it. Spiritual fitness is a new dimension in AD prevention, interweaving basic, psychological and spiritual wellbeing. Psychological wellbeing may reduce inflammation, cardiovascular disease, and
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INJURY RECOVERY: ICING MUSCLE INJURIES MAY DELAY RECOVERY It’s common to recommend treating sports and
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HOLISTIC THERAPIST 2021
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