March/April 2020
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Senior Fitness Tip
Health Matters
Bone Density Exercises
Medical Minutes ...by John Schieszer
Insulin Patches for Replacing Shots UCLA bioengineers and colleagues at UNC School of Medicine and MIT are continuing to report success in the development of a smart insulin-delivery patch that could one day monitor John Schieszer and manage glucose levels in people with diabetes and deliver the necessary insulin dosage. The adhesive patch, about the size of a quarter, is simple to manufacture and intended for once-a-day use. Study investigator Zhen Gu, PhD, professor of bioengineering at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering, said, “Our main goal is to enhance health and improve the quality of life for people who have diabetes. This smart patch takes away the need to constantly check one’s blood sugar and then inject insulin if and when it’s needed. It mimics the regulatory function of the pancreas but in a way that’s easy to use.” The adhesive patch monitors blood sugar, or glucose, and delivers doses of insulin preloaded in very tiny microneedles, less than one millimeter in length, that deliver medicine quickly when the blood sugar levels reach a certain threshold. When blood sugar returns to normal, the patch’s insulin delivery also slows down. Researchers said the advantage is that it can help prevent overdosing of insulin, which can lead to hypoglycemia and other serious complications. “It has always been a dream to achieve insulin delivery in a smart and convenient manner,” said study investigator Dr. John Buse, director of UNC Diabetes. “This smart insulin patch, if proven safe and effective in human trials, would revolutionize the patient experience of diabetes care.” A New Approach to Alzheimer’s Disease Researchers say they have identified a previously unknown gene and associated protein, which they have named aggregatin, that could potentially be suppressed to slow the advance of Alzheimer’s disease. “Based on the data we have, this protein can be an unrecognized new risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease,” said Xinglong Wang, associate professor of pathology at Case Western University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio. “We also see this as a
potential novel therapeutic target for this ...by Mark Bryant, Functional Aging Group Exercise Specialist devastating disease.” Wang said aggregatin accumulates, or There are two types of aggregates, within the center of plaque in exercises that can develop patients with Alzheimer’s disease, like the yolk bone density: weightof an egg. However, it may now be possible bearing and strength to develop new agents to prevent this process training. Weight-bearing from occurring. exercises force you to work The relationship between Alzheimer’s and against gravity, such as subsequent brain atrophy due to amyloid-beta walking, running, dancing, in the brain is well established. However, it is hiking or climbing stairs, less understood precisely how that amyloidMark Bryant to name a few. Strength beta actually leads to plaque formations in the training exercises include using weights to brain, causing memory loss. The findings of build muscle, such as with squats, bicep curls, this research indicate that reducing levels of tricep extensions, shoulder presses and back this protein and inhibition of its interaction exercises. with amyloid beta peptide could potentially Both types of exercises can develop bone be therapeutic and help attack Alzheimer’s density and most senior fitness classes will disease in a whole new way. teach all of the exercises mentioned above, Jury Still Out on Zinc Lozenges for so you can have the best of both worlds. Find Treating Colds a senior fitness class in your area and start It may be time to reconsider taking zinc improving your bone density. ❖ acetate lozenges to treat the common cold. Eight controlled trials previously reported Mark Bryant teaches senior fitness at the Southeast that zinc lozenges reduced the duration of the Seattle Senior Center and is offering a new “Silver common cold, but several other trials did not Sneakers” program. “It is a great place to start!” find any benefit. Variation in the types of zinc lozenges has been proposed as one explanation for the mixed study findings. Many studies with negative findings used lozenges that had common cold was observed between the zinc low doses of zinc or contained ingredients and the placebo groups during the five-day such as citric acid that bind zinc ions, treatment period. Unexpectedly, after the end perhaps preventing the release of free zinc of the five-day treatment period, participants in the oropharyngeal region. It appears that in the zinc group recovered less rapidly than further research is warranted to determine in the placebo group. This potential adverse the conditions when zinc lozenges may be effect after active treatment needs to be effective and the type and dosage of lozenges confirmed or refuted by future studies. that may be optimal. “Our study does not confirm the usefulness In a new randomized, double-blind of zinc lozenges for treating the common placebo-controlled trial, Dr. Harri Hemilä and cold, but neither does it refute the previous his colleagues from the University of Helsinki, studies where zinc lozenges were found to be Finland investigated the effect of zinc acetate. effective,” said Dr. Hemilä. “In future trials To minimize the delay between the onset of of zinc lozenges, the dosage of zinc should common cold symptoms and the initiation of be greater, the lozenges should dissolve treatment, the participants were administered more slowly, and the treatment should last a package of lozenges with an instruction longer than five days. Before zinc lozenges to start treatment as soon as feasible after can be widely promoted for common cold the onset of symptoms. Participants were treatment, the characteristics of lozenges that instructed to slowly dissolve 6 lozenges per day are clinically efficacious should be defined in in their mouth with a total zinc dose of 78 mg/ detail.” ❖ day zinc for 5 days. During the trial, 88 participants contracted John Schieszer is an award-winning national journalist and the common cold and started to use lozenges. radio and podcast broadcaster of The Medical Minute. He No difference in the rate of recovery from the can be reached at medicalminutes@gmail.com.
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