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A protein found in cells throughout the body must exist in a specific set of brain neurons to prevent weight gain after chronic feeding on high-calorie meals, revealed a study by researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center. Nicknamed the "longevity" protein because of its apparent role in mediating the effects of dietary restriction on life span, SIRT1 has been studied as a potential target for anti-aging drugs.  Prior research has also shown that this metabolic sensor protein in peripheral tissues plays an important role in regulating metabolism, but its physiological relevance in brain neurons remained unclear.  "This is the first study to show that SIRT1 in hypothalamic neurons, specifically POMC neurons, is required for preventing diet-induced obesity and maintaining normal body weight," said Dr. Roberto Coppari, senior author of the mouse study,  POMC, or pro-opiomelanocortin, neurons are found in the hypothalamus region of the brain and are known to play

A pregnant mother's diet could be inadvertently putting the health of her offspring at risk through her genes, says a new study. Researchers at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics at the University of Oxford found that mothers who eat a high    fat diet   before and through pregnancy influence the type or severity of birth defect. In a study conducted on mice, the team found that high fat diet and deficiency of Cited2 (A gene that helps prevent serious heart defects) combined, increased the risk of congenital heart defects. "We know that poor diet and defective genes can both affect development, but here we have seen the two combine to cause a much greater risk of developing health problems and more severe problems," says Dr Jamie Bentham, first author of the study. Professor Jeremy Pearson, Associate Medical Director of the BHF, which part-funded the study, said, "This research shows that diet during pregnancy can directly affect which genes get switche

Washington, July 7 : Cocoa flavanols may be an important part of a healthy diet for people with cardiovascular disease, according to new research. Poor blood vessel function is recognized as an early stage in the development process of cardiovascular diseases (CVD), including   coronary artery diseases. Daily cocoa flavanol consumption more than doubled the number of circulating angiogenic cells (CACs) in the blood, according to results of a study conducted at the University of California San Francisco. "And perhaps most importantly, for the first time, we found that cocoa flavanols might even directly mobilize important cells that could repair damaged blood vessels. The benefits are substantial, without any observed adverse effects," added study author Christian Heiss, MD, Heinrich-Heine University.  "Of course, more research is needed to confirm and build upon these observations, but we're intrigued by the potential for flavanols in the context of dietary and  

Washington, July 7 : Viewing television and playing video games can lead to attention problems in youths. A study led by Iowa State University psychologists found that children who exceeded the daily two hours of screen time, recommended by the American Academy of Paediatrics, were 1.5-2 times more likely to have attention-related problems.  "There isn't an exact number of hours when screen time contributes to attention problems, but the ... recommendation of no more than two hours a day provides a good reference point," said Edward Swing, the Iowa State psychology doctoral candidate who led the study.  "Most children are way above that. In our sample, children's total average time with television and video games is 4.26 hours per day, which is actually low compared to the national average," he said.  Collaborating with Swing on the research were Douglas Gentile, Craig Anderson and David Walsh, psychologists from Iowa State University.  The researchers e

Washington, June 29 (ANI): Bicycling and brisk walking help pre-menopausal women control weight, especially those who are overweight and obese, according to a new study. Additionally, the research found that slower walking does not offer the same benefits as brisk walking. Anne C. Lusk, of the Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, and colleagues, studied 18,414 women who participated in the Nurses' Health Study II, which is an ongoing study of more than 116,600 U.S. female nurses who were age 25 to 42 when the study began in 1989. The current evaluation included women who were premenopausal through 2005, focusing on weight change in participants between 1989 and 2005. The 1989 baseline characteristics of the study found that 50 percent of the women spent time slow walking, 39 percent reported spending time walking briskly and 48 percent reported they spent time riding a bicycle. In 2005, participants on average reported spending more time walking briskly, some time walking s

Tehran, May 31 (IANS) Use of tobacco kills more than 1.5 million women in world every year, and the number could rise to 2.5 million in the next two decades, the UN has warned. 'Most deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. Without concerted action, that number could rise to 2.5 million women by 2030,' UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said. Ban asked the governments to 'turn back the global tobacco epidemic' and 'address this public health threat'. 'Tobacco use is not stylish or empowering. It is ugly and deadly,' IRNA news agency quoted him as saying.                                               The UN said the number of women smokers could grow as the tobacco industry was spending heavily on advertisements that target women and link tobacco use with beauty and liberation. 'Although fewer than one out of 10 women are smokers, that still adds up to an estimated 200 million women around the world,' he said. According to the Wor

Washington, May 31 (ANI): Drinking tea can decrease the risk of ovarian cancer, according to a new study. "Our results indicate that drinking more than four cups a day of black, green or herbal tea may reduce ovarian cancer risk by almost 30 percent," said lead researcher Dr Christina Nagle from Queensland Institute of Medical Research. Nagle said that despite previous animal studies suggesting that tea can inhibit the growth of ovarian cancer cells, the results of human studies have been inconsistent. "However, our findings support the idea that the antioxidants in tea may be beneficial against cancer in humans," Nagle said.his study surveyed approximately 2,700 Australian women (half with ovarian cancer, and half without). Each woman was questioned about her diet and lifestyle, including tea-drinking habits. "Green tea is thought to be the healthiest kind of tea. Although the results of our study did not show a stronger effect for green tea, combining all of