Medical Bulletin 07/ April/ 2025

A switch of just two weeks from a traditional African diet to a Western diet causes inflammation, reduces the immune response to pathogens, and activates processes associated with lifestyle diseases. Conversely, an African diet rich in vegetables, fiber, and fermented foods has positive effects. Findings are published in nature medicine.

Researchers from Radboud university medical center and KCMC University in Tanzania have studied the effects of such dietary changes on health.

Seventy-seven healthy men from Tanzania, both urban and rural residents, participated in the study. Some participants who traditionally ate an African diet switched to a Western diet for two weeks, while others who ate a Western diet adopted a traditional African diet. A third group consumed a fermented banana drink daily. As a control, ten participants maintained their usual diet. The researchers comprehensively analyzed the function of the immune system, blood inflammation markers, and metabolic processes at baseline, after the two-week intervention, and again four weeks later.

Participants who switched to a Western diet exhibited an increase in inflammatory proteins in their blood, alongside activation of biological processes linked to lifestyle diseases. Their immune cells also responded less effectively to pathogens. Meanwhile, those who switched to a traditional African diet or consumed the fermented drink showed a reduction in inflammatory markers. Some of these effects persisted even four weeks later, indicating that short-term dietary changes can have long-lasting effects.

Reference: http://radboudumc.nl/en/news-items/2025/western-diet-causes-inflammation,-traditional-african-food-protects

In a new extensive systematic review, Mass General Brigham researchers identified 17 modifiable risk factors that are shared by stroke, dementia, and late-life depression. Modifying any one of them can reduce the risk of all three conditions. The findings are published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry.

The researchers systematically searched the scientific literature for previously published meta-analyses of risk factors associated with stroke, dementia, and late-life depression. Then, they combined these data to identify modifiable risk factors (i.e., those that can be altered through behavioral change) shared amongst at least two out of the three diseases. They also estimated the relative impact of each risk factor on measures of quality of life and early death.

Altogether, the researchers identified 17 risk factors shared by at least two of the diseases, including blood pressure, kidney disease, fasting plasma glucose, total cholesterol, alcohol use, diet, hearing loss, pain, physical activity, purpose in life, sleep, smoking, social engagement, and stress. Of these, high blood pressure and severe kidney disease had the biggest impact on the incidence and burden of stroke, dementia, and late-life depression. In contrast, physical activity and engagement in leisure activities with a cognitive aspect (e.g., puzzles) were associated with a lower risk of disease, though the researchers suspect that these associations may be symptomatic rather than causal, since individuals with brain disease may be less capable of engaging in physical and cognitive leisure activities.

"Dementia, stroke, and late-life depression are connected and intertwined, so if you develop one of them, there's a substantial chance you may develop another one in the future," said first author Jasper Senff, MD, post-doctoral fellow at the Singh Lab at the Brain Care Labs at MGH. "And because they share these overlapping risk factors, preventive efforts could lead to a reduction in the incidence of more than one of these diseases, which provides an opportunity to simultaneously reduce the burden of age-related brain diseases."

Reference: https://www.massgeneralbrigham.org/en/about/newsroom/press-releases/modifiable-risk-factors-for-stroke-dementia-depression

Researchers have developed new technology that could lead to the creation of a rapid point-of-care test for HIV infection competitive with traditional lab-based HIV testing in a fraction of the time and without the need for a stressful wait while results are processed or confirmed in a clinical laboratory.

The technology described in a study published in the journal Biosensors and Bioelectronics uses a nanomechanical platform and tiny cantilevers to detect multiple HIV antigens at high sensitivity in a matter of minutes. These silicon cantilevers are cheap and easy to mass produce and can be readily equipped with a digital readout. Built into a solar-powered device, this technology could be taken to hard-to-reach parts of the world where early detection remains a challenge to deliver fast interventions to vulnerable populations without waiting for a lab.

"When we first developed the microcantilever technology 20 years ago, I realized that this technology is so generally applicable," Dravid said. "It is a very powerful tool that depends on three basic things: sensitivity, antigen-antibody affinity and specificity. This is where HIV comes in, because HIV is so pernicious that it mutates so there is no unique antibody. We had to figure out how to overcome that challenge."

Beginning with pure samples of the p24 antigen, the team applied layers of antibodies onto each "finger" of the gold-coated microcantilever to measure how strongly p24 bonded to the surface, which would cause the cantilever to bend a measurable and quantifiable amount.

After this proof-of-concept, the team introduced human blood samples, which are much more complex than purified samples. The sensor continued to bend only in samples where p24 was present, demonstrating high specificity.

Finally, the scientists added two antibodies to different "fingers" of the microcantilever to more broadly cover all HIV subtypes. Even in very low concentrations, the test accurately responded when antigens specific to HIV were introduced.

Reference: https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2025/04/accurate-hiv-results-in-minutes/?fj=1