Here are the top medical news for the day:
Study Finds Swapping Butter for Plant-Based Oils May Lower Heart Disease and Diabetes Risk
Switching from a diet high in saturated animal fats to one rich in plant-based unsaturated fats can significantly alter blood fat composition.
Recent research published in Nature Medicine revealed that diets abundant in plant-based unsaturated fats, as opposed to saturated animal fats, are linked to lower rates of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
The World Health Organization advises that lowering saturated fat intake can decrease LDL cholesterol and improve heart health. Replacing saturated fats with polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fats from plant-based sources may reduce coronary heart disease risk.
The Dietary Guidelines recommend that less than 10 percent of daily calories come from saturated fats, yet 70-75 percent of adults exceed this limit.
Foods like deli sandwiches, burgers are major sources of saturated fats and often lack nutrient density. The guidelines suggest swapping saturated fats for unsaturated fats, such as using nuts, seeds, or avocado instead of cheese, and choosing cooking oils high in polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats instead of butter.
For the study, researchers analyzed blood fats and examined data from a subset of 113 participants from the DIVAS trial, a dietary intervention randomized control trial.
One group consumed a diet high in saturated animal fats for 16 weeks, while the other two groups consumed diets higher in monounsaturated or polyunsaturated plant-based fats. Participants also provided blood samples. Using blood lipid data from the DIVAS trial, researchers developed a scoring system to summarize the effects of replacing saturated fats with unsaturated fats on 45 lipid metabolite concentrations. This scoring system, the MLS score, assessed the impact of dietary fat quality on blood lipids and health outcomes.
The analysis revealed that participants with higher MLS or rMLS scores, indicating a diet rich in beneficial fats, had a significantly reduced risk of developing cardiometabolic diseases compared to their peers. Specifically, a higher MLS score was associated with a six-fold stronger reduction in heart disease risk (32% vs. 5%) and a five-fold stronger reduction in type 2 diabetes risk (26% vs. 5%).
“Fats and the foods containing them greatly impact heart health. Plant-based fats are typically found in nutrient-rich foods high in micronutrients, antioxidants, and anti-inflammatory compounds. In contrast, animal-based saturated fats and proteins increase inflammation, raising the risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers. The healthiest plant-based oils are monounsaturated, such as olive, avocado, peanut, and grapeseed oils. Other healthy unsaturated oils include walnut, flax, and hemp oils,” said the authors.
Reference: Eichelmann, F., Prada, M., Sellem, L. et al. Lipidome changes due to improved dietary fat quality inform cardiometabolic risk reduction and precision nutrition. Nat Med (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-024-03124-1
Diabetes-Reversing Drug May Boosts Insulin-Producing Cells by 700%: Study
People living with diabetes may have a new beacon of hope. A recent study published in Science Translational Medicine revealed a ground breaking drug therapy that has shown remarkable results in diabetic mice. Scientists discovered that this new treatment boosted insulin-producing cells by 700% over three months, effectively reversing the disease in these animals.
Beta cells in the pancreas are crucial for producing insulin in response to blood sugar levels. In diabetes, these cells are often destroyed or fail to produce sufficient insulin, leading to the common necessity of regular insulin injections to manage blood sugar levels. However, scientists at Mount Sinai and City of Hope have now demonstrated a significant breakthrough in diabetes treatment.
Previous approaches primarily involved cultivating new beta cells in a lab and then transplanting them into mice or human devices. This new study, however, successfully grew insulin-producing cells directly within the body in just a few months.
The therapy combined two drugs: harmine, a natural molecule found in certain plants that inhibits an enzyme called DYRK1A found in beta cells, and a GLP1 receptor agonist, a class of diabetes drugs that includes Ozempic, known for its weight loss side effects.
The researchers tested this innovative therapy on mouse models of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Initially, they implanted a small amount of human beta cells into the mice and then treated them with harmine and GLP1 receptor agonists. Remarkably, the beta cells increased in number by 700% within three months, leading to a rapid reversal of diabetes symptoms. These positive effects persisted even a month after the treatment was stopped.
Despite the promising results, it is important to note that this was an animal study, and more research is needed before this therapy can be considered for clinical use.
Harmine alone has recently undergone a phase 1 clinical trial in humans to assess its safety and tolerability, and other DYRK1A inhibitors are scheduled for human trials next year.
A crucial next step for the research team is to combine beta-cell-regenerating drugs with immune system modulators. This approach aims to address a significant challenge: preventing the immune system from attacking newly produced beta cells.
Reference: Carolina Rosselot et al. ,Harmine and exendin-4 combination therapy safely expands human β cell mass in vivo in a mouse xenograft system.Sci. Transl. Med.16,eadg3456(2024).DOI:10.1126/scitranslmed.adg3456
Study Links Prenatal Dietary Pattern to Offspring Autism Risk
A small team of public health specialists from the University of Glasgow and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health reported a possible link between some cases of autism and prenatal diet.
In their study, published in JAMA Network Open, the group analyzed information in two large databases of medical information on thousands of mothers and daughters.
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by challenges in social communication and restricted, repetitive behaviours. It affects about 1% to 2% of the population and encompasses a range of symptoms and severity levels. Early signs often appear in early childhood, and diagnosis can be made through behavioural assessments. While the exact cause is unknown, both genetic and environmental factors are believed to play a role.
Prenatal diet may influence autism risk in offspring. Studies suggest that a healthy prenatal diet, characterized by high adherence to specific nutritional patterns, could be linked to a lower likelihood of autism diagnosis and autism-associated traits. Diets rich in certain nutrients, such as folic acid, vitamin D, and omega-3 fatty acids, have been associated with reduced autism risk. Conversely, deficiencies or imbalances in these nutrients may increase risk.
For the study, researchers analyzed patient information from two large databases: the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children and the Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort Study. The researchers looked at data for the years 2002 through 2008 and 1990 through 1992, which included data for children up to age 8. In all, they analyzed data for more than 95,000 mother/daughter pairs.
As part of their analysis, the researchers found a pattern—women who adhered to a "healthy diet" have a 22% lower chance of delivering a child with autism than women who ate a less-than-healthy diet.
In their study, they defined a healthy diet as one that included regular servings of vegetables, fruits, nuts, fish and whole grains, and excluded foods high in fat, processed meats, soft drinks and refined carbohydrates.
They also found that children born to mothers who regularly ate a healthy diet while pregnant were 24% less likely to develop social and/or communication problems irrespective of autism.
The researchers noted that the association in both cases was stronger in mother/daughter pairs than in mother/son pairs.
Reference: Friel C, Leyland AH, Anderson JJ, Havdahl A, Brantsæter AL, Dundas R. Healthy Prenatal Dietary Pattern and Offspring Autism. JAMA Netw Open. 2024;7(7):e2422815. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.22815
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