US buys nearly all of Covid-19 drug remdesivir

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US buys nearly all of Covid-19 drug remdesivir

US buys nearly all of Covid-19 drug remdesivir

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https://ift.tt/3iicW1v July 01, 2020 at 10:26PM https://ift.tt/1R552o9

US buys nearly all of Covid-19 drug remdesivir

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Epigenetics, or What I Mean by “Reprogram Your Genes”

You can’t change your genes. But you can program them.

The modern world presents a number of problems for our genes. The world we’ve constructed over the last 50 years is not the environment in which our genetic code evolved. Our genes don’t “expect” historically low magnesium levels in soil, spending all day indoors and all night staring into bright blue lights, earning your keep by sitting on your ass, getting your food delivered to your door, communicating with people primarily through strange scratchings that travel through the air. So when these novel environmental stimuli interact with our genetic code, we get disease and dysfunction.

The genes look bad viewed through a modern prism. They get “associated” with certain devastating health conditions. But really, if you were to restore the dietary, behavioral, and ambient environments under which those genes evolved, those genes wouldn’t look so bad anymore. They might even look great.

This is epigenetics: altering the programming language of your genes without altering the genes themselves.

Think of your genome as computer hardware. If you were to program your computer you wouldn’t be changing the hardware; you would be changing the software that tells the computer what to do. So just as we talk about reprogramming or programming a computer and don’t suggest that the hardware itself has changed we likewise can talk about reprogramming our genes without suggesting that the genes have changed.

Okay, so how does this play out in reality? Are there any good examples of epigenetics in humans?

One of the most striking cases of the environment altering gene expression was in an old study of a homogeneous population of Berbers from North Africa.¹ Researchers studied desert nomads, mountain agrarians, and coastal urban residents. All were Berbers with low genetic variance. These people had very similar genetic patterns—were from the same basic genetic stock—but very different living situations.

The researchers analyzed the white blood cells of the group “to study the impact of the transition from traditional to urbanized lifestyles on the human immune system.” Berbers from urban environments had evidence of upregulated respiratory and immune genes, for example. Those same genes lay more “dormant” in nomadic and agrarian Berbers.

Overall, gene expression between the three groups varied by up to one-third based on geographic location and corresponding lifestyle. In their conclusion, the authors lay out the foundation of everything we talk about on this blog and in this space:

“Diseases due to genetic factors in urban populations may bear little resemblance to the impact of the same genetic factors in traditional societies.”

Did you get that?

“Bad genes” aren’t bad in traditional environments. The trick, of course, is figuring out what makes up the traditional environment and whether you can replicate it in the modern world.

Let’s look at a specific example: Tobacco.

Epigenetic Effects of Tobacco

Tobacco smoking “silences” the MTHFR gene via hypermethylation.² Since MTHFR is the gene that constructs the proteins we use to activate thousands of other genes, suppressing MTHFR suppresses all those genes that rely on MTHFR-related proteins for activation. This disrupts numerous physiological systems and can set the stage for things like birth defects, cancer, and heart disease. It’s an epigenetic disaster, and it’s one reason why smoking increases the risk of so many different diseases.

Tobacco also induces hypermethylation (overactivation) of the GCLC gene which controls glutathione production. This causes a suppression of glutathione levels, an increase in oxidative stress, and initiation of COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease).³ GCLC is meant to deal with more moderate levels of toxins and irritants; these can actually have a beneficial hormetic effect that triggers higher levels of glutathione and less oxidative stress. In this case, tobacco represents a supranormal stimulus that turns a helpful gene harmful.

Or how about the genetics of obesity?

Epigenetics and Obesity

For the last decade, we’ve been inundated with the idea that obesity is caused by your genes. That some people are just destined to be be overweight. Sure enough, there are dozens of genes linked to an elevated risk of obesity and overweight.

Only genes can’t wholly explain the huge rise in obesity rates over the last hundred years because genes don’t change that fast. People used to be thin, and now they aren’t, and they have the same basic genetic profiles.

The real problem is that almost everyone in the western world exists in a shared food environment which is obesogenic. If you live in America, you’re awash in drive-thrus, Big Gulps, and inexpensive, delicious processed food that’s been engineered to interact with the pleasure centers in your brain. Most modern countries are in similar boats, and obesity rates are climbing across other nations as they adopt our food-ways and work habits. The genes aren’t changing (at least, not quick enough to account for the stats), the environment is changing.

Because the environment has changed for everyone, and most people never really question its obesogenic nature — they eat the pizza, they buy the processed food, they sit for eight hours a day at work and watch TV for four, they slog away on the treadmill—researchers looking for the genetic origins of obesity miss or discount the effect of environment. Almost everyone whose genetic data they’re examining is exposed to the same obesogenic food environment, and its ubiquity masks its effects. And because some people appear to have genetic profiles that protect them against obesity, researchers lay the blame at the feet of the genes.

The “epigenetics of obesity” is more accurate than the “genetics of obesity.”

Let’s see a few more examples.

Exercise Non-responders Epigenetics

Some people carry an “exercise non-responder” gene. by most counts, it’s 15% of the population. For these folks, doing standard “cardio” doesn’t do much. It may even impair insulin sensitivity, raise blood pressure, lower HDL, and leave cardiovascular fitness unchanged.⁴

If the idea of someone being an exercise “non-responder” sounds ridiculous and unbelievable, you’re right. It turns out that while regular cardio is neutral or even detrimental to this genetic profile, high-intensity training confers the normal benefits you’d expect from exercise⁵. I’d also guess that resistance training would work as well.

It’s not the genes that are faulty. It’s the (exercise) environment that’s faulty.

MTHFR Mutation Epigenetics

MTHFR mutations often impair folate absorption or conversion of folic acid into bioavailable folate, and they increase the requirements of others nutrients like choline and vitamin B12. In the modern food environment bereft of vegetation and nutrient-dense animal products, those mutations cause huge issues. In a traditional food environment full of vegetation and nutrient-dense animal products, or supplemental forms that mimic the active food forms, they aren’t as bad.

If you eat a lot of vegetables (a good source of folate), you weaken the link between MTHFR mutations and kidney cancer.⁶

If you have some of the common MTHFR mutations, you need to eat more dietary choline (eggs, liver).⁷ Doing so preserves methylation status.⁸

PUFA Metabolism Epigenetics

Your genes also affect fat metabolism. Some mutations in the FADS1 improve the ability of a person to elongate plant omega-3s into long-chained omega-3s like the fish fats EPA and DHA. In the context of a low-fish diet, they can still make the EPA and DHA they require to function as long as they eat some alpha-linolenic acid. This mutation is more common in populations with a long history of farming.

Another mutation impairs the ability of a person to elongate those plant fats into animal-type EPA and DHA; they need to eat a high-fish diet or supplement with fish oil to get the omega-3s their bodies need. That’s the boat I’m in—I fucntion best with a steady supply of long-chained omega-3s in my diet, probably because my recent ancestors ate a lot of seafood. This mutation is more common in populations with a shorter history of farming, or a longer history of reliance on seafood.

What’s the point of all this?

There are multiple future possible versions of you. It’s up to you to decide which version you will become. It’s up to you to make lifestyle choices that direct genes toward fat burning, muscle building, longevity and wellness, and away from fat storing, muscle wasting, disease and illness. The day-to-day choices we make—whether it’s what to pack for lunch, or hitting the snooze button and missing the gym, or even sneaking a cigarette break—don’t just impact us in the short-term (or even in ways that are immediately clear to us). That can make this scary, but it can also be empowering.

You can fix yourself. You can be better. Your genes can work better. Everyone, no matter how dire their circumstances or how “poor” the cards they were dealt were, can forge their own epigenetic destiny.

You can’t ignore the genes. They still matter. You have to figure out, of course, how your particular genes interact with diet, exercise, sleep, sun, nature, socializing, and every other lifestyle behavior. That’s the journey you’re on. That’s the journey we’re all on—it’s what this website and movement are about.

There’s a lot we don’t know about this topic. What if I don’t have a study I can refer to? What if I don’t sign up for a DNA analysis—am I out of luck?

Use your intuition when you don’t have a study or haven’t defined an epigenetic mechanism: Does it feel right? Does it feel wrong? Are you getting good results? How’s your energy? How’s your performance? Those subtle (or not-so-subtle) cues from our subconscious and direct feedback from our waking life are where true knowledge and wisdom lie. After all, your genes “want” you to do the right thing. If we’re cued into our subconscious and we’ve led a generally healthy way of life, we become more sensitive to those messages. Those flutters of doubt or little urges we get are the body’s way of telling us we’re headed for epigenetic ruin or success.

Listen to those, or at least consider and don’t ignore them.

This is what The Primal Blueprint, The Keto Reset Diet, The Primal Connection, and even Primal Endurance have all been about. It’s why the sub-title of my first book is “Reprogram Your Genes for Effortless Weight Loss, Vibrant Health and Boundless Energy”. And it’s what we talk about (either directly or indirectly) day-in and day-out here at Mark’s Daily Apple.

Now I’d love to hear from you. Do you have any questions about epigenetics? About how we can alter our genetic destiny through modifying our environments?

Leave them down below.

References

1. https://journals.plos.org/plosgenetics/article?id=10.1371/journal.pgen.1000052
2. https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-12/aafc-ilc122308.php
3. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26087411/
4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22666405
5. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/fitness/non-responders-need-to-try-harder-when-exercising-study-suggests/article27513859/
6. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18098291/
7. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27342765/
8. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20220206/

The post Epigenetics, or What I Mean by “Reprogram Your Genes” appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

Marijuana may be risky for your heart

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Now that marijuana is legal for medical or recreational use in many states, growing numbers of Americans — including older people — are imbibing this popular drug. In fact, the percentage of people ages 65 and older who said they used some form of marijuana almost doubled between 2015 and 2018, a recent study reports.

Compared with prescription drugs, the health consequences of using marijuana are not nearly as well studied. But converging evidence suggests that the drug may be harmful for the heart, according to a review article in JACC: Journal of the American College of Cardiology. More than two million Americans with heart disease currently use or have used marijuana, the authors estimate.

Puffing pot vs. cigarettes

Derived from Cannabis sativa or Cannabis indica plants, marijuana is most often smoked in joints or in a pipe. People also vape the drug in electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), or consume it in foods or candy (called edibles) or as a tincture. Many people assume that smoking or vaping marijuana isn’t as dangerous as smoking cigarettes, says study co-author Dr. Muthiah Vaduganathan, a cardiologist at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

“But when people smoke tobacco, they take frequent, small puffs. In contrast, smoking marijuana usually involves large puffs with longer breath holds,” he says. So smoking marijuana may deposit as much or more of the chemical toxins into the lungs as when people smoke cigarettes, he adds. And vaping any substance can be dangerous; thousands of people in the United States have suffered serious lung injuries using e-cigarettes. As of this writing, 64 of them have died.

Heart-related risks

Marijuana can cause the heart to beat faster and blood pressure to rise, which can be dangerous for people with heart disease. The risk of heart attack is several times higher in the hour after smoking marijuana than it would be normally, research suggests. Other studies have found a link between marijuana use and atrial fibrillation, the most common heart rhythm disorder. And one survey suggests that smoking marijuana may raise the risk of a stroke.

Most of the evidence about marijuana is based on studies of people who smoked it. But even if you ingest marijuana by other methods, such as edibles or tinctures, the drug can still affect your cardiovascular system. The plant contains more than 100 unique chemical components classified as cannabinoids. The two most prevalent are tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC (which is what gives people a high), and cannabidiol, or CBD. These compounds bind to specific receptors in the brain. “But cannabinoid receptors are found throughout the body, including on heart cells, fat cells, and platelets, which are cells in the blood involved in clot formation,” says Dr. Vaduganathan.

Cannabinoids can affect a number of medications used to treat or prevent heart disease, including blood pressure drugs, cholesterol-lowering statins, and drugs used to treat heart rhythm disorders, as detailed in the JACC study.

Have heart disease? Avoid pot

People use marijuana for a variety of reasons, including chronic pain, says Dr. Vaduganathan. “In my clinic, I ask people if they use marijuana, and most are quite open to these discussions,” he says. Although the evidence about marijuana’s potential harms is limited, people with heart disease should be cautious about using the drug, he says. However, the advice doctors offer should be individualized. For example, heart-related risks may be less relevant for people using marijuana at the end of life for palliative purposes, he adds.

The post Marijuana may be risky for your heart appeared first on Harvard Health Blog.

How to help your young child cope with the pandemic

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The COVID-19 pandemic has been stressful for all of us, and this includes our youngest children.

It’s easy, and tempting, to think that infants, toddlers, and preschoolers aren’t affected by the pandemic. The truth is, though, that that life has changed for them, too — and for some of them it has changed dramatically. Even if the change is mostly positive for them — such as having their parents home all the time — it’s still a change that can be confusing and unsettling. Young children are less able to understand the nuances of all of this; for them, the world truly is all about them. And they also have very acute radar when it comes to the emotions of their caregivers.

As a pediatrician, I’ve been hearing from families about young children who are having trouble sleeping, whose eating habits have changed, who are crying or throwing tantrums for no good reason, or are just generally crankier and more irritable than usual. Some are more clingy, which can get tough for parents who are working from home.

So what can a parent do? It should be said up front that there are no magic answers or quick fixes; this is a hard time, and it’s going to stay hard until case numbers go down a lot or there is a vaccine, or both. But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t some strategies that can help.

Talk to your children about the pandemic — but keep it simple and optimistic

Obviously, this is more about preschoolers than infants and toddlers, but you need to have an explanation for why you can’t go on the swings or visit Grandma, or why you have to do a Zoom meeting instead of playing with blocks. Tell them that there is a germ that can make some of us sick, and we want to be sure that we don’t catch it or give it to someone else without realizing it.

As much as you talk about this, talk about how lots of people are working very hard to make the germ go away and keep us safe. Talk about all the things that you as a family are doing, like wearing masks (for children over the age of 2) and washing hands and staying a safe distance from others. It’s important to talk positively, not just because you want to keep things positive now, but also because at some point we will be going out more, and if you haven’t laid the groundwork, kids may be frightened when they begin to do things they weren’t allowed to do before.

Be mindful of the media your child is exposed to — and the things you say when they are in hearing distance. Little ears can be easily worried and confused.

Build routines into your day

Life has been upended for all of us in some way or another, and it’s tempting to, well, wing it. But kids do best with some degree of predictability, so keep to a regular sleep and meal schedule. Create a schedule that includes fun and playtime. If a child knows that they will have that time with you, they may be more willing to play independently while you work.

As you are building routines, build in some exercise. It’s good for everyone’s health, and it blows off steam too; something like a walk around the block playing I Spy can be both playtime and exercise for everyone.

Cut yourself slack

A little extra screen time for your kid so that you can get some work done may just be inevitable. Playtime may not be particularly inspiring (it’s totally fine to turn chores into games, in fact it’s a great idea). Meals don’t need to be inspiring either. We can only do our best — and as I said at the beginning, this is hard on all of us.

Take care of yourself

Children really do notice when their parents are stressed or sad — and may worry that it’s their fault. And when we snap (or worse) at our children because we are feeling bad, it can make everything harder. So as you build those routines, build in some time for the things you need and enjoy. Don’t try to tough it out if you are feeling bad, too; reach out for help. While all of us need to take care of our physical and mental health during the pandemic, it’s even more important for caregivers — because others are counting on them.

If you have any worries about your child or your child’s behavior, call your doctor. Even though some offices have limited hours, there should always be someone you can talk to.

Follow me on Twitter @drClaire

For more information on coronavirus and COVID-19, see the Harvard Health Publishing Coronavirus Resource Center. The American Academy of Pediatrics also offers helpful information on what parents should know about these topics.

The post How to help your young child cope with the pandemic appeared first on Harvard Health Blog.

You Can Find Peace in Difficult Times

At certain times, it might seem impossible to find a few moments of peace in your life. If you have a lot of responsibilities or worries, you may feel caught in a whirlwind of trying to get things done while trying to deal with problems or your own complex emotions. Other people impact your sense of peace, too, when they ask you to do more than you feel you can handle comfortably or when they cause additional issues.

The good news is, no matter how difficult your external life is, you can add healing peace to each day. This won’t magically make everything okay, but it can help you deal with stress and protect your health.

Where can you squeeze in these moments? It only takes a news report or controversial comment to see that problems today are very real. And these are important. Doing what you can when you can is one way to achieve peace about issues. Plan and make your efforts as meaningful as possible. The feeling of control over something can help minimize the stress that feeling helpless brings. And you can make a difference when changes need to be made.

Recognize early when stress is beginning to overtake you. Ask for help with chores that can be delegated. Take a look at your calendar; use that and notes or lists to make sure you prioritize those things that have to be done, others that need to be done but can be rescheduled for a later time, and some that are just on your wish list. Prioritizing may help you find those tasks that you can let go completely. Don’t forget to make space for self-care.

When new ideas, needs, opportunities, and requests for help come in, you can look at your calendar and see a true picture of your time. It’s always a good idea to delay an answer by saying something like, “Let me check my calendar and get back to you with a decision.” This also avoids the immediate pressure of having to make a quick decision. Saying “no” is a skill and does not usually come naturally. Develop it by practicing what you really want to say. 

If you are grieving or feeling ill, minimize the demands on your strength and seek support from professionals or peers. Support groups of all kinds can be found in local areas or online. Connecting with other people dealing with similar pain can give you immense strength. And you will find yourself feeling more in control as you return the favor by helping others or just letting them know you hear them and care.

These may seem like small, unimportant things, but having moments of peace in your life everyday can help you live better and do more. Even a simple plant on your table can bring your thoughts to nature and give you a break from pressing matters. When you can, a swim, a shower, listening to music, or working on an art project can do the same thing and nurture your resiliency. 

Friends and family members need peace, too, so share what worked for you. You live in a complicated society, a global society, in which people interact with others who think and behave differently or who share your values but express them in different ways. Conflict increases stress. Make sure your day does not revolve around disagreements.

You may be experiencing anxiety or stress about parenting, money, work, relationships, health. One stressor often impacts other areas, and situations can be acute, episodic, or chronic. Parents of young children are faced with a different kind of stress than parents of adult children. At all stages of life, however, working with those who are important in your life requires the cooperation of everyone involved. 

Don’t let stress go unaddressed. Your health and the wellbeing of those you care about are at risk if you do. It you need to make a major shift (job change, break up, relocation), find ways to make the adjustment easier, but first make sure you won’t be just exchanging one stress for another. Examine scenarios and address emotional issues that can clear the way for a healthy decision. 

If no beneficial change can be made and you cannot find workable solutions, consider accepting a situation. The measurable difference in stress may make it worthwhile for you to stop trying to change or “fix” it. Ask yourself if what you’re struggling against really is worth all the anger and frustration you feel. It may be. That is very different from other things that can be let go without much sacrifice. 

Only you can decide what is best for you and your family. Exploring these different strategies allows you to hold onto hope.