Medical Bulletin 17/ December/ 2024

Here are the top medical news for the day : 

Can Intermittent Fasting Slow Hair Growth?

Intermittent fasting has proven benefits for metabolic health, but a new study shows that it could slow hair growth—at least in mice. Researchers report in the Cell Press journal Cell that mice subjected to intermittent fasting regimes showed improved metabolic health but slower hair regeneration compared to mice with 24/7 access to food. A similar process might occur in humans, based on a small clinical trial that the team also conducted, but it’s likely to be less severe since humans have a much slower metabolic rate and different hair growth patterns compared to mice.

The researchers examined hair regrowth in mice that were shaved and then subjected to different intermittent fasting regimes. Some mice were fed on a time-restricted feeding (TRF) schedule that involved 8 hours of food access and 16 hours of fasting each day, while other mice were subjected to alternate-day feeding.

They were surprised to find that fasting inhibited hair regeneration. While control mice that had unlimited access to food had regrown most of their hair after 30 days, mice on both intermittent fasting regimes showed only partial hair regrowth after 96 days.

The team showed that this inhibited hair growth occurs because hair follicle stem cells (HFSCs) are unable to cope with the oxidative stress associated with switching from using glucose to fat. Using genetic engineering methods, the team showed that the fasting-induced apoptosis was driven by an increased concentration of free fatty acids near the hair follicles, which caused a build-up of harmful radical oxygen species within the hair follicle stem cells. Free fatty acids also caused human hair follicle stem cells to undergo apoptosis in vitro.

In comparison, epidermal stem cells, which are responsible for maintaining the epidermal skin barrier, were unaffected by intermittent fasting. The major difference between these stem cell types is that epidermal stem cells have a higher antioxidant capacity. When the team tested whether antioxidants could mitigate the effects of fasting on hair growth, they showed that both topical application of vitamin E and genetic upregulation of antioxidant capacity helped hair follicle stem cells survive fasting.

The team also conducted a small clinical trial with 49 healthy young adults to examine whether fasting similarly affects hair regrowth in humans. They showed that a time-restricted diet involving 18 hours of fasting per day reduced the average speed of hair growth by 18% compared to controls, but larger studies would be needed to verify this effect given the study’s small sample size and short duration.

Reference: Intermittent fasting triggers interorgan communication to suppress hair follicle regeneration, Chen, Han et al.Cell, Volume 0, Issue 0

Reading Book versus Watching Television: Study Highlights Implications on Long-Term Health

One’s choice of reading a book or watching television could have implications for their long-term brain health, say researchers at the University of South Australia.

Assessing the 24-hour activity patterns of 397 older adults, researchers found that the context or type of activity that you engage in, matters when it comes to brain health. And specifically, that some sedentary (or sitting) behaviours are better for cognitive function than others.

When looking at different sedentary behaviours, they found that social or mentally stimulating activities such as reading, listening to music, praying, crafting, playing a musical instrument, or chatting with others are beneficial for memory and thinking abilities. Yet watching TV or playing video games are detrimental.

Researchers believe that there is likely a hierarchy of how sedentary behaviours relate to cognitive function, in that some have positive effects while others have negative effects. It’s a valuable insight that could help reduce risks of cognitive impairment, particularly when at least 45% of dementia cases could be prevented through modifiable lifestyle factors.

UniSA researcher Dr Maddison Mellow says that not all sedentary behaviours are equal when it comes to memory and thinking ability. “In this research, we found that the context of an activity alters how it relates to cognitive function, with different activities providing varying levels of cognitive stimulation and social engagement,” Dr Mellow says.

“We already know that physical activity is a strong protector against dementia risk, and this should certainly be prioritised if you are trying to improve your brain health. But until now, we hadn’t directly explored whether we can benefit our brain health by swapping one sedentary behaviour for another.

“We found that sedentary behaviours which promote mental stimulation or social engagement – such as reading or talking with friends – are beneficial for cognitive function, whereas others like watching TV or gaming have a negative effect. So, the type of activity is important.

“And, while the ‘move more, sit less’ message certainly holds true for cardiometabolic and brain health, our research shows that a more nuanced approach is needed when it comes to thinking about the link between sedentary behaviours and cognitive function.”

“To achieve the best brain health and physical health benefits, you should prioritise movement that’s enjoyable and gets the heart rate up, as this has benefits for all aspects of health,” Dr Mellow says.

Reference: Maddison L Mellow, Dorothea Dumuid, Alexandra Wade, Timothy Olds, Ty Stanford, Hannah Keage, Montana Hunter, Nicholas Ware, Felicity M Simpson, Frini Karayanidis, Ashleigh E Smith, Should We Work Smarter or Harder for Our Health? A Comparison of Intensity and Domain-Based Time-Use Compositions and Their Associations With Cognitive and Cardiometabolic Health, The Journals of Gerontology: Series A, Volume 79, Issue 11, November 2024, glae233, https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/glae233

India’s First Diabetes Biobank Established in Chennai By ICMR

The country’s first diabetes biobank, a repository of population-based biological samples aimed at supporting scientific research, has been established in Chennai by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in collaboration with the Madras Diabetes Research Foundation (MDRF).

The biobank set up at the MDRF, Chennai aims to gather, process, store and distribute biospecimens to assist scientific studies with the permission of the ICMR.

The biobank will facilitate advanced research on the causes of diabetes, the variations of the Indian type of diabetes and related disorders, said Dr V Mohan, chairman of the MDRF and Dr Mohan’s Diabetes Specialities Centre. The biobank has blood samples from two ICMR-funded studies. A plethora of blood samples of different types of diabetes in the young, such as Type 1, Type 2 and gestational diabetes, have been stored for future studies and research, Mohan said.

The process of setting up the biobank started around two years ago. The details of the biobank and the purpose behind setting it up have been explained in detail in an article published in the “Indian Journal of Medical Research” last week. Biobanks are critical in biomedical research, collecting, processing, storing and distributing biospecimens to support scientific research, the article said.

“This diabetes biobank could help in the identification of novel biomarkers for early diagnosis and the development of personalised treatment strategies,” it added. Additionally, it would support longitudinal studies to track the progression of diabetes and its complications over time, leading to better management and prevention strategies.

“By fostering collaborative research efforts, a diabetes biobank in India could significantly advance our understanding of the disease and contribute to the global fight against the diabetes epidemic,” the article said.

Reference: https://www.ptinews.com/story/national/icmr-sets-up-india-s-first-diabetes-biobank-in-chennai/2088147