Tag: vitamins

Categories : Ageing Diet and NutritionTags :

Trial Results Show Daily Multivitamin Use May Slow Biological Ageing

On By ModernMedia
Photo by Diana Polekhina on Unsplash

An analysis led by Mass General Brigham investigators found slower aging in older adults after two years of a daily multivitamin, with greater benefits for those who began the trial with accelerated biological age.

‘Biological age’, age on a cellular level, can differ from chronological age. Using data from a large randomised clinical trial of older adults, researchers at Mass General Brigham evaluated the effects of taking a daily multivitamin over the course of two years on five measures of biological ageing and found a slowing equivalent to about four months of ageing. The benefits were increased in those who were biologically older than their actual age at the start of the trial. Their results are published in Nature Medicine.

“There is a lot of interest today in identifying ways to not just live longer, but to live better,” said senior author Howard Sesso, ScD, MPH, associate director of the Division of Preventive Medicine in the Mass General Brigham Department of Medicine. “It was exciting to see the benefits of a multivitamin linked with markers of biological ageing. This study opens the door to learning more about accessible, safe interventions that contribute to healthier, higher-quality ageing.”

Epigenetic clocks estimate biological ageing based specific sites in our DNA that regulate gene expression (known as DNA methylation) and change naturally as we get older, helping track mortality and the pace of ageing. This study, which uses data from the well-established COcoa Supplement Multivitamins Outcomes Study (COSMOS), analysed DNA methylation data from blood samples of 958 randomly selected healthy participants with an average chronological age of 70.

The study participants were randomised to take a daily cocoa extract and multivitamin; daily cocoa extract and placebo; placebo and multivitamin; or placebos only. Samples were analysed for changes in five epigenetic clocks from the start of the trial and at the end of the first and second years. Compared to the placebo only group, people in the multivitamin group had slowing in all five epigenetic clocks, including statistically significant slowing seen in the two clocks that are predictive of mortality. The changes equated to about four months less biological ageing over the course of two years. Additionally, people who were biologically older than their actual age at the start of the trial benefited the most.

“We plan to do follow-up research to determine if the slowing of biological ageing – observed through these five epigenetic clocks, and additional or new ones – persists after the trial ends,” said co-author and collaborator Yanbin Dong, MD, PhD, director of Georgia Prention Institute, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta Univeristy.

Further studies are also needed to determine how improvements in biological aging may explain reductions in clinical outcomes. The COSMOS team plans to investigate how the effects of a daily multivitamin on biological aging may extend to different outcomes they have seen evidence of benefits for, such as improvements in cognition and reductions in cancer and cataracts.

“A lot of people take a multivitamin without necessarily knowing any benefits from taking it, so the more we can learn about its potential health benefits, the better,” said Sesso. “Within COSMOS, we are fortunate and excited to build upon a rich resource of biomarker data to test how two interventions may improve biological aging and reduce age-related clinical outcomes.”

Source: Mass General Brigham

Categories : Cancer NeurologyTags :

Could a Common Vitamin Treat Glioblastoma?

On By ModernMedia

Findings indicate vitamin B3 looks promising to help rearm a compromised immune system

Unrestricted tumour growth in mouse brain, left, compared to the tumour growth in a mouse who received niacin treatment, right (both after 42 days). Courtesy Yong lab

Edward (Ed) Waldner had no idea why he didn’t feel well, but he knew he didn’t feel like himself. At 55 years of age, he felt exhausted all the time. It didn’t seem to matter how hard he had worked that day. He wondered if he had sleep apnoea. He noticed his walking was off. His heels would drag now and again. One day, when his symptoms were worse than usual, he decided to go to the Emergency department. 

“The doctor said I had a mass on my brain and needed to see an oncologist,” says Waldner. 

The mass was glioblastoma, a deadly brain cancer. Treatment often involves a three-pronged approach: surgery to remove as much of the tumour as possible, followed by radiation and chemotherapy. However, despite advances in cancer treatment, the aggressive cancer comes back. 

University of Calgary researchers are investigating whether adding high doses of vitamin B3 or niacin to the treatment plan could be beneficial. They approached Waldner about being in the trial.

“I have no problem trying to help anybody. I agreed. I want to help myself, too,” says Waldner. “I can tell you being part of this research helps me mentally because we’re trying. When I left the hospital after surgery I was told, that’s it, that’s all we can do.”

Hotchkiss, Charbonneau members partner for study

The research is led by two members of both the Hotchkiss Brain Institute and Arnie Charbonneau Cancer Institute – Dr Gloria Roldan Urgoiti, MD, PGME’16, an oncologist specialised in brain cancers, and Dr Wee Yong, PhD, a neuroscientist whose research focuses on immune effects on the brain. Together, they designed a study to investigate whether niacin could rejuvenate compromised immune cells to kill tumour cells. The research began in the Yong lab, with mice, where findings showed niacin prolonged survival. That work evolved into a Phase I and II clinical trial.

“Normally, the immune system will try to counter and prevent tumour growth; however, this brain cancer supresses the immune system,” says Yong, a professor at the Cumming School of Medicine (CSM). “Niacin treatment rejuvenates immune cells so they can do what they are supposed to do, attack and kill the cancer cells. I see it as an ongoing ‘battle for the brain.’”

Studying the benefits of adding niacin to chemotherapy, radiation

The clinical trial was designed to determine the maximum dose and potential benefit of controlled-release niacin that could be added to the recommended chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments. Researchers decided the study would stop if the progression-free survival over six-months did not improve by at least 20 per cent compared with older studies. Early results involving 24 patients showed 82 per cent of the participants were free of progression of the cancer at six months; an increase of 28 per cent from previous studies. The researchers say this is a promising advancement for this incurable cancer. 

“Glioblastoma is the most aggressive brain cancer in adults. Survival of patients with this condition hasn’t changed significantly for 20 years,” says Roldan Urgoiti, a clinical associate professor at the CSM. “Anything that may help should be explored, but it requires strict protocols and safety monitoring.”

The findings were published in the Journal of Neuro-Oncology.

The researchers caution that high amounts of vitamins, like niacin, have toxicity and can have a negative impact on someone’s health if not monitored closely by medical professionals. 

The team hopes to be able to do the final analysis, that will include 48 participants by the end of 2026 or early 2027. 

Waldner says he’s feeling really good these days and is just happy to hear the word “stable” when he goes for his regular scans. 

Source: University of Calgary

Categories : Diet and Nutrition OphthalmologyTags :

Vitamin Supplements Slow Down the Progression of Glaucoma

On By Peter Van Dyk
Photo by Ksenia Chernaya

A vitamin supplement that improves metabolism in the eye appears to slow down damage to the optic nerve in glaucoma. Promising results have been published in the journal Cell Reports Medicine. The researchers behind the study have now started a clinical trial on patients.

In glaucoma, the optic nerve is gradually damaged, leading to vision loss and, in the worst cases, blindness. High pressure in the eye drives the disease, and eye drops, laser treatment or surgery are therefore used – with varying effect – to lower the pressure in the eye and thus slow down the disease.

Glaucoma researchers have long theorised that the substance homocysteine is somehow relevant to understanding the disease. Now, researchers at Karolinska Institutet have investigated the role of homocysteine in several ways. In the current study, the researchers discovered that when rats with glaucoma were given elevated levels of homocysteine, their disease did not worsen. 

Investigated metabolic pathways

The researchers also found that high levels of homocysteine in the blood of people with glaucoma did not correlate with how quickly the disease progressed, and that glaucoma was not more common in people with a genetic susceptibility to forming high levels of homocysteine. Based on these findings, the researchers concluded that homocysteine does not drive the disease but is a consequence of it.

Since homocysteine is a natural part of the body’s metabolism, the researchers wanted to investigate metabolic pathways involving homocysteine in both rodents and humans with glaucoma. They then saw several abnormalities, the most important of which were metabolic changes linked to the retina’s ability to use certain vitamins. This change meant that metabolism was slowed down locally in the retina – and this played a role in the development of the disease. 

“Our conclusion is that homocysteine is a bystander in the disease process, not a player. Altered homocysteine levels may reveal that the retina has lost its ability to use certain vitamins that are necessary to maintain healthy metabolism. That’s why we wanted to investigate whether supplements of these vitamins could protect the retina”, says co-lead on the paper James Tribble, researcher and assistant professor at the Department of Clinical Neuroscience at Karolinska Institutet.

Promising results lead to clinical trial

In experiments on mice and rats with glaucoma, the researchers gave supplements of the B vitamins B6, B9 and B12, as well as choline. This had a positive effect. In mice that had a slower developing glaucoma, the damage to the optic nerve was completely halted. In rats, which had a more aggressive form of the disease with faster progression, the disease was slowed down. 

In these experiments, eye pressure was left untreated, which the researchers highlight as particularly interesting – it suggests that the vitamin mix affects the disease in a different way than lowering eye pressure does. 

“The results are so promising that we have started a clinical trial, with patients already being recruited at S:t Eriks Eye Hospital in Stockholm”, says James Tribble. 

Both patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (slower progression) and pseudoexfoliation glaucoma (faster progression) are included. 

Read more about the clinical trial here. 

Source: Karolinska Institutet

Categories : Diet and NutritionTags :

For Healthy Adults, Regular Multivitamins don’t Reduce Mortality Risk

On By ModernMedia
Photo from Pixabay CCO

A large analysis of data from nearly 400 000 healthy US adults followed for more than 20 years has found no association between regular multivitamin use and lower risk of death. The study, led by researchers at the National Institutes of Health’s National Cancer Institute, was published in JAMA Network Open.

Many adults in the United States take multivitamins with the hope of improving their health. However, the benefits and harms of regular multivitamin use remain unclear. Previous studies of multivitamin use and mortality have yielded mixed results and been limited by short follow-up times.

To more deeply explore the relationship between long-term regular multivitamin use and overall mortality and death from cardiovascular disease and cancer, the researchers analysed data from three large, geographically diverse prospective studies involving a total of 390 124 US adults who were followed for more than 20 years. The participants included in this analysis were generally healthy, with no history of cancer or other chronic diseases.

Because the study population was so large and included lengthy follow-up and extensive information on demographics and lifestyle factors, the researchers were able to mitigate the effects of possible biases that may have influenced the findings of other studies. For example, people who use multivitamins may have healthier lifestyles in general, and sicker patients may be more likely to increase their use of multivitamins.

The analysis showed that people who took daily multivitamins did not have a lower risk of death from any cause than people who took no multivitamins. There were also no differences in mortality from cancer, heart disease, or cerebrovascular diseases. The results were adjusted for factors such as race and ethnicity, education, and diet quality. 

The researchers noted that it is important to evaluate multivitamin use and risk of death among different kinds of populations, such as those with documented nutritional deficiencies, as well as the potential impact of regular multivitamin use on other health conditions associated with aging.

Source: NIH/National Cancer Institute

Categories : Diet and Nutrition Expert OpinionTags :

Multivitamins and Dietary Supplements are a ‘Waste of Time’ for Most

On By ModernMedia
Vitamin C pills and orange
Photo by Diana Polekhina on Unsplash

For those who aren’t pregnant, vitamins are a waste of money because the evidence for cardiovascular disease or cancer prevention is lacking, according to researchers at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

“Patients ask all the time, ‘What supplements should I be taking?’”

Dr Jeffrey Linder, Northwestern University

The researchers penned an editorial in JAMA that supports new recommendations from the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), a national panel which makes evidence-based recommendations on clinical prevention. 

Based on a systematic review of 84 studies, the USPSTF’s new guidelines state there was “insufficient evidence” that taking multivitamins, paired supplements or single supplements can help prevent cardiovascular disease and cancer in otherwise healthy, non-pregnant adults. 

“Patients ask all the time, ‘What supplements should I be taking?’ They’re wasting money and focus thinking there has to be a magic set of pills that will keep them healthy when we should all be following the evidence-based practices of eating healthy and exercising,” said Dr Jeffrey Linder, one of the editorial’s authors.

“The task force is not saying ‘don’t take multivitamins,’ but there’s this idea that if these were really good for you, we’d know by now,” Dr Linder added. 

The task force is specifically recommending against taking beta-carotene supplements because of a possible increased risk of lung cancer, and is recommending against taking vitamin E supplements because it has no net benefit in reducing mortality, cardiovascular disease or cancer.

“The harm is that talking with patients about supplements during the very limited time we get to see them, we’re missing out on counselling about how to really reduce cardiovascular risks, like through exercise or smoking cessation,” Dr Linder said.

No substitute for actual fruits and vegetables

Eating fruits and vegetables is associated with decreased cardiovascular disease and cancer risk, they said, so it is reasonable to think those key vitamins and minerals in pills could prevent disease. But, they explain, whole fruits and vegetables contain a mixture of vitamins, phytochemicals, fibre and other nutrients that probably act synergistically to deliver health benefits. Micronutrients on their own may also have a different effect than when consumed with others in foods.

Dr Linder noted that individuals with vitamin deficiency can still benefit from taking dietary supplements, such as calcium and vitamin D, which have been shown to prevent fractures and perhaps falls in older adults. 

New guidelines do not apply to those who are pregnant

The new USPSTF guidelines do not apply to people who are pregnant or trying to get pregnant, said JAMA editorial co-author Dr Natalie Cameron, a physician at Northwestern. 

“Pregnant individuals should keep in mind that these guidelines don’t apply to them,” said Dr Cameron. “More data is needed to understand how specific vitamin supplementation may modify risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes and cardiovascular complications during pregnancy.” 

Source: Northwestern University

Categories : UncategorizedTags :

Rights Group Supports No Patents for COVID Vaccines

On By ModernMedia

Business Live reports on the recent call by South Africa and India for COVID vaccines not to be patented. Human Rights Watch added its support by stating that vaccines obtained by public funding should be shared as widely as possible, and their intellectual property status waived.

Some 44 vaccine candidates are being trialled around the world. Wealthy countries have placed orders in order to secure stockpiles of the vaccines. South Africa has no vaccine scheme of its own and is instead has expressed interest in (without signing up to) the global Covax scheme, which involves the World Health Organization and which aims to have two billion doses to be shipped out by the end of 2021.

HRW researcher Margaret Wurth said, “You can’t fight a global pandemic by allowing publicly funded vaccines to go to the highest bidder, at whatever price pharmaceutical companies set. When a safe and effective vaccine is found, it should be available and affordable for everyone, everywhere.”