News by Subject Medicine & Health

Researchers from University of California San Diego School of Medicine and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies reported a form of intermittent fasting, called time-restricted eating, improved the health of study participants who had been diagnosed with metabolic syndrome.

Patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), a chronic liver disease and a leading cause for liver transplantation in the US, currently lack an approved drug therapy, but this may soon change. A large Phase III clinical trial designed in collaboration with Virginia Commonwealth University is the first to demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of an oral medication to treat the disease.

Scientists from 22 institutions, including UCLA, are recommending early diagnosis, prevention and treatment of severe chronic inflammation to reduce the risk of chronic disease and death worldwide.

In a study publishing Dec. 5 in the journal Cell Metabolism, researchers for the first time looked at the effects of TRE in people who had been diagnosed with metabolic syndrome and therefore were at a higher risk of diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. The investigators found that when participants restricted their eating to 10 hours or less over a period of 12 weeks, they lost weight and some symptoms of metabolic syndrome improved.

Daily exercise at moderate intensity is associated with beneficial levels of a hormone that may lower risk of diabetes, according to a study published in Endocrine Connections. Men who were physically active at moderate intensity for 30 minutes a day, released higher levels of a hormone that reduces appetite and blood sugar levels. These findings may suggest that even lower intensity of daily habitual physical activity could help prevent metabolic diseases such as diabetes.

An analysis published in the Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology revealed considerable sex differences when considering links between psoriasis and metabolic disorders.

The identification of a protein important for insulin synthesis may hold clues for understanding the pathogenesis of diabetes. Although the protein, called TRAP-alpha, was first discovered more than 30 years ago, its biological function has been unclear. The new findings, reported Dec. 4 in Science Advances, demonstrate that TRAP-alpha is required for both early and late steps in insulin synthesis.

A new Tel Aviv University study finds that a starch-rich breakfast consumed early in the morning coupled with a small dinner could replace insulin injections and other diabetes medications for many diabetics.