Cinnamon compounds ... protection ... in Alzheimer's disease

Cinnamon compounds may protect against tau protein aggregation in Alzheimer's disease

June 21, 2013. The June, 2013 issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease published an article by Donald J. Graves and his associates at the University of California, Santa Barbara which describes how compounds in cinnamon reduce the aggregation of tau protein that occurs, along with amyloid-beta aggregation, in the brains of men and women with Alzheimer's disease.

Tau protein is responsible for the assembly of microtubules within the cell that form its structure. When tau does not effectively bind to the microtubules, it clumps together, forming tangled fibers. Previous research conducted by Dr Graves' team uncovered an ability of cinnamon extract to inhibit tau aggregation and dissociate tangles in brain tissue derived from Alzheimer's disease patients.

The current study revealed that the compounds cinnamaldehyde and the oxidized form of epicatechin derived from cinnamon extract inhibited tau aggregation in vitro by protecting the protein from oxidative stress. "Take, for example, sunburn, a form of oxidative damage," explained Dr Graves, who is an adjunct professor at the UC Santa Barbara's Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology. "If you wore a hat, you could protect your face and head from the oxidation. In a sense this cinnamaldehyde is like a cap."

"Since tau is vulnerable to oxidative stress, this study then asks whether Alzheimer's disease could benefit from cinnamon, especially looking at the potential of small compounds," added lead author Roshni C. George. "Cell membranes that are oxidized also produce reactive derivatives, such as Acrolein, that can damage the cysteines. Epicatechin also sequesters those byproducts."

"Wouldn't it be interesting if a small molecule from a spice could help?" Dr Graves asked. However, he cautioned that they are "still a long way from knowing whether this will work in human beings."

http://www.lef.org/whatshot/2013_06.htm#Cinnamon-compounds-may-protect-against-tau-protein-aggregation-in-Alzheimers-disease

Deficient vitamin D and adolescent allergy and asthma

Deficient vitamin D levels linked with adolescent allergy and asthma

June 24, 2013. On June 18, 2013 at The Endocrine Society's 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco, Candace Percival, MD of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda presented the findings of a role for vitamin D deficiency in allergies or asthma occurring in overweight adolescents. "The increased risk for asthma and allergies, and for more severe cases of allergic disease, in overweight and obese adolescents has not previously been understood," stated Dr Percival, who is a pediatric endocrinology fellow at Walter Reed. "However, past research has shown that vitamin D is important for a normal immune system and that vitamin D deficiency is common in obese individuals."

The investigation included 54 obese and 32 non-obese participants between the ages of 10 to 8 years. Blood samples were analyzed for 25-hydroxyvitamin D and other factors. Subgroups of participants were tested for adipokines (including leptin and adiponectin), immunoglobulin E, which is involved in allergic reactions, and cytokines (involved in immune response) that included interleukins 4, 6, 10 and 13, and interferon-gamma.

Higher body mass index (BMI) values were associated with increased plasma leptin levels and lower levels of adiponectin and vitamin D. In addition, body mass was positively correlated with higher levels of immunoglobulin E, and interleukins 6 and 13.

"This is the first study, to our knowledge, that ties together the relationship of vitamin D deficiency and increased allergy risk and severity in obese and overweight adolescents," Dr Percival announced.

"The relationship between the BMI-Z score and the adipokines and markers of allergic disease seemed to depend on the vitamin D deficiency seen in the more obese patients, leading us to conclude that the increased risk for allergy in obesity may be mediated by vitamin D to some degree," she concluded.

http://www.lef.org/whatshot/2013_06.htm#Deficient-vitamin-D-levels-linked-with-adolescent-allergy-and-asthma

Vitamin D supplementation in diabetic women ...

Blood pressure, depression reduced by vitamin D supplementation in diabetic women

June 26, 2013. A presentation at the American Diabetes Association 73rd Scientific Sessions held in Chicago revealed improvements in blood pressure and depression among diabetic women supplemented with a high dose of vitamin D. Depression is estimated to affect over 25% of diabetic women, and may impact their ability to manage their disease.

In a pilot study conducted at Loyola University, Sue M. Penckofer, PhD, RN and her associates gave 46 diabetic women of an average age of 54.6 years 50,000 international units (IU) vitamin D weekly for six months. Participants had been diabetic for 7.8 years on average upon enrollment, and had insufficient serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D. At the beginning and end of the study, depression was evaluated via the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale and Physicians Health Questionnaire, and weight, blood pressure and serum vitamin D levels were measured.

At the study's conclusion, the women's serum vitamin D levels had increased significantly, and depression, weight and blood pressure were reduced. Dr Penckofer plans to validate the study's findings in a placebo-controlled trial of 180 depressed diabetic women with vitamin D insufficiency funded by a four-year grant from the National Institute of Nursing.

"Vitamin D supplementation potentially is an easy and cost-effective therapy, with minimal side effects," stated Dr Penckofer, who is a professor at Loyola's Niehoff School of Nursing. "Larger, randomized controlled trials are needed to determine the impact of vitamin D supplementation on depression and major cardiovascular risk factors among women with type 2 diabetes."

http://www.lef.org/whatshot/2013_06.htm#Blood-pressure-depression-reduced-by-vitamin-D-supplementation-in-diabetic-women