Medical Bulletin 25/ April/ 2025 - Video

New clinical trial results from the UConn School of Medicine reveal that consuming walnuts may reduce systemic inflammation and help lower the risk of colon cancer. The findings, published in Cancer Prevention Research, underscore the health-promoting effects of ellagitannins, polyphenols found in walnuts that are metabolized by the gut microbiome into powerful anti-inflammatory compounds called urolithins.

The research, led by Dr. Daniel W. Rosenberg and a multidisciplinary team at UConn, highlights the unique role of urolithin A—formed in the gut after walnut consumption—as a key anti-inflammatory agent with potential cancer-inhibiting properties. “Ellagitannins in the walnut are importantly providing the anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties that we’re seeing in patients in our clinical trial research, particularly the gut’s conversion of ellagitannins to a potent anti-inflammatory agent, urolithin A,” said Dr. Rosenberg, who has studied walnut health benefits for over a decade.

In the study, 39 participants aged 40 to 65, all at elevated risk for colon cancer, followed a controlled diet that included ellagitannin-rich walnuts after eliminating similar foods for a week. Researchers closely monitored biomarkers from blood, urine, and fecal samples before and after the three-week walnut intervention.

The results showed higher levels of urolithin A in urine correlated with increased levels of peptide YY—a protein associated with colon cancer inhibition—and reduced markers of inflammation, especially in obese participants who produced more urolithins. Advanced imaging of polyps removed during post-study colonoscopies showed fewer cancer-linked proteins in patients with higher urolithin levels. Notably, the cancer-associated protein vimentin was markedly reduced in these patients.

Building on prior findings in mice, the human study supports walnuts as a dietary tool for cancer prevention. “Urolithin A has a very positive influence on inflammation and maybe even cancer prevention,” said Rosenberg. “Our study provides strong rationale for dietary inclusion of walnut ellagitannins for cancer prevention. Nutrients from walnuts can contribute to reduced cancer risk. There are many potential benefits one can get from eating walnuts, with so little downside risk, that just grabbing a handful every day is really something that you can easily do for your long-term health benefit.”

Reference: Marmar R. Moussa, Nuoxi Fan, John Birk, Anthony A. Provatas, Pratik Mehta, Yuichiro Hatano, Ock K. Chun, Manije Darooghegi Mofrad, Ali Lotfi, Alexander Aksenov, Vinicius N. Motta, Maryam Zenali, Haleh Vaziri, James J. Grady, Masako Nakanishi, Daniel W. Rosenberg; Systemic Inflammation and the Inflammatory Context of the Colonic Microenvironment Are Improved by Urolithin A. Cancer Prev Res (Phila) 1 April 2025; 18 (4): 235–250. https://doi.org/10.1158/1940-6207.CAPR-24-0383

A new study published in the Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation has found that lung transplant recipients treated with twice-daily tacrolimus have significantly lower rates of chronic lung allograft dysfunction (CLAD) and better overall survival compared to those receiving cyclosporine. The findings are based on data from over 22,000 patients in the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation Thoracic Organ Transplant Registry.

CLAD is a major long-term complication following lung transplantation, leading to progressive and irreversible loss of graft function. Immunosuppressive medications such as calcineurin inhibitors—tacrolimus and cyclosporine—are widely used to help prevent rejection. However, whether one drug is more effective than the other had remained uncertain.

The new study is the first to demonstrate a clear survival benefit associated with tacrolimus, particularly its immediate-release, twice-daily formulation. Among the 22,222 patients analyzed, 88.6% were on immediate-release tacrolimus. This group had a notably lower incidence of CLAD and improved survival outcomes compared to those treated with cyclosporine.

“This present study should reassure transplant patients and providers twice-daily tacrolimus — and not only once-daily tacrolimus — is the superior treatment to cyclosporine,” said Michael Combs, M.D., M.S., an assistant professor of pulmonary diseases and internal medicine at Michigan Medicine. “Importantly, in our study we found that twice-daily tacrolimus not only resulted in lower rates of CLAD relative to cyclosporine, but it was also associated with improved overall survival after lung transplantation. This is an important, patient-centered finding which has not been previously demonstrated.”

He added that future studies may help determine whether one tacrolimus formulation is definitively superior. Until then, the study supports tacrolimus as the preferred option for lung transplant patients.

Reference: https://www.michiganmedicine.org/health-lab/most-effective-prevention-method-complications-post-lung-transplant

A recent study published in Communications Medicine by the University of Tokyo introduces a non-invasive method to assess blood glucose regulation, offering an approach for early diabetes risk detection without the need for blood samples. ​

Traditional diagnostic tools for diabetes, such as fasting blood glucose tests and HbA1c measurements, often miss early signs of impaired glucose regulation. These methods typically capture only snapshots of glucose levels, potentially overlooking fluctuations that could indicate developing issues. In contrast, continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) provides real-time data on glucose variations throughout the day, presenting a more dynamic view of an individual's glucose regulation.​

The team analyzed 64 individuals without a prior diabetes diagnosis, using a CGM device, oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTT), and clamp tests that are used to assess insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism.

They then validated their findings with an independent dataset and mathematical simulations.

Their analysis showed that AC_Var, a measure of glucose-level fluctuations, strongly correlates with the disposition index, a well-established predictor of future diabetes risk.

Notably, the CGM-based model outperformed traditional markers such as fasting blood glucose and HbA1c in predicting the disposition index. ​

Dr. Shinya Kuroda, a professor at the University of Tokyo's Graduate School of Science and co-author of the study, emphasized the significance of their findings: ​

"By analyzing CGM data with our new algorithm, we identified individuals with impaired glycemic control—even when standard diagnostic tests classified them as 'normal.' This means we can potentially detect issues much earlier, creating an opportunity for preventive interventions before diabetes is diagnosed."​

The research team's development of a web application allows individuals and healthcare providers to easily calculate these CGM-based indices, facilitating broader access to early diabetes screening.

Reference: https://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/focus/en/press/z0508_00403.html