• Stress and working at night are both known to affect cancer risk, including colorectal cancer risk.
• Colorectal cancer risk and progression have both been linked to the microbiome, dysregulation of which has been linked to stress and disruption of the circadian rhythm.
• Recent research in mice has linked stress and a disrupted circadian cycle to disruption of the gut microbiome, and suggested that this may contribute to colorectal cancer progression due to its impact on intestinal permeability and inflammation.

The impact of circadian rhythm and stress on the gut microbiome and colorectal cancer progression are the focus of recent research.

Researchers have found that colorectal cancer is exacerbated by disruption to the circadian rhythm, which contributes to changes in the gut microbiome that can increase intestinal permeability, which in turn increases inflammation, which can lead to the progression of colorectal cancer.

These were the findings of a study in mouse models of colorectal cancer, which appeared in Science Advances in September 2024.

Stress can also impact the microbiome, having an impact on colorectal cancer progression in mice, findings presented at the United European Gastroenterology (UEG) Week 2024 — held in Vienna, Austria — which are yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal, showed.

Both of these studies used mouse models that had been genetically modified to mimic certain conditions, including tendency towards forming tumours or circadian disruption.

The stress of sleep disruption and impact on the circadian cycle could both have significant impacts on various homeostatic processes, Shuji Ogino, MD, PhD, professor of pathology at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, told Medical News Today.

Ogino, who was not involved in either of these studies, said he viewed “night shift work being accepted as a carcinogen,” and pointed to hormonal disturbances and interference with anticarcinogenic and anti-inflammatory…

• A growing body of research has suggested that the consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPF) has severe consequences for health.
• However, some researchers are now suggesting that many of the studies on UPFs and their adverse effects on health are not accounting for the differences in processing and ingredients of certain subgroups.
• Experts say that avoiding certain UPFs like deli meats, hot dogs, sugary drinks, and salty snacks are of greater importance than attempting to avoid anything processed at all.

Essentially, the paper suggests, many of the studies on UPFs and their adverse effects on health are not accounting for the differences in processing and ingredients of certain subgroups. By lumping them all together, these approaches tend to paint all UPFs with the same brush.

“Different groups of UPF evaluated within the same epidemiological study often show markedly different associations with the incidence of the health endpoints,” the authors wrote.

“Statistical analyses are based on numerous assumptions such as the food intake is measured accurately and precisely, that food composition is known quantitatively, the methods of food storage, preparation and cooking have no effect on the values, etc. Those assumptions are potentially questionable, and so are the corresponding results,” they suggested.

• Carbonated drinks, fruit juices/drinks, and too much coffee can increase the risk of stroke and intracerebral hemorrhage, according to newly released research.
• Drinking four cups of coffee per day increases the risk of stroke, but drinking less does not, the researchers found.
• Tea generally protects against stroke, although not in South Asia, say the researchers.
• These conclusions are drawn from data representing a large number of participants from 32 countries.

Beverages many of us drink in our daily lives can increase the risk of having a first ischemic stroke or intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), according to a pair of new analyses from an international team of researchers.

The analyses implicate carbonated beverages, fruit juices and fruit drinks, and more than four cups of coffee per day, all of which significantly increase the risk of stroke or ICH.

The data upon which the analyses were based was the large, international INTERSTROKE case study whose results were first published in 2016. That study involved 26,950 individuals from 32 countries. The current analyses of INTERSTROKE data were collaboratively conducted by researchers at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, and the University of Galway in Ireland.

The risks associated with the beverages varied to some extent depending on geographic location and population in the new analyses.

According to the analyses:

• Carbonated drinks, both sugar- and artificially sweetened, such as sodas, were associated with an increased likelihood of a first stroke or ICH by 22%. This association was strongest in Africa, Eastern and Central Europe and the Middle East, and in South America.
• Fruit juice and fruit drinks raise the risk of ICH by 37%, with women at a higher risk than men. Two such drinks a day triples this risk. The researchers suggest this may be due to sugar and other ingredients added to fruit-based drinks that overwhelm their healthy properties.
• Drinking more than four cups of coffee per day raises one’s chances of…

• A woman has undergone a stem-cell therapy made from her own cells, to treat her type 1 diabetes.
• Researchers in China discovered the woman did not need to use insulin 75 days after the procedure, and that the stem-cell derived islet cells she was injected with had been engrafted inside her abdomen.
• More people have been enrolled in this trial and other stem-cell therapy trials at several sites around the world.

A woman with type 1 diabetes started producing her own insulin less than 3 months after receiving an injection of a stem-cell derived treatment. She remained free from insulin injections 1 year after treatment.

The case is the first of its kind, and two more people have been enrolled in the clinical trial in China since, researchers involved in the study told Medical News Today.

Hongkui Deng, PhD, lead author of the new study — which appears in Cell — and cell biologist at Peking University, Beijing, China, who has previously done groundbreaking work developing induced pluripotent stem cells told MNT that:

“The trial is ongoing and includes three patients in total. After [an] interim analysis of the [data of the] first patient and the submission of this work, the second and third patients were enrolled. Follow-up with these patients is ongoing, as they were sequentially enrolled in accordance with regulatory safety requirements. [A] long-term follow-up of at least 2 years will be conducted.”

Other stem-cell based therapies for type 1 and type 2 diabetes are also currently in development and in trials.

• Older adults who have experienced a traumatic injury as a result of falling are 21 percent more likely to later receive a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease or another related dementia.
• A new study examined data from more than 2 million older adults who had sustained a traumatic injury; more than 10 percent of them later received a diagnosis of some form of dementia.
• Experts say pinpointing the direct association with falls and dementia is difficult, but suggest that older adults who have been hospitalized as a result of a fall should undergo cognitive testing.

Older adults who have experienced a traumatic injury as a result of falling are more than 20 percent likely to later receive a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease or another related dementia, according to a new study published in JAMA Network Open.

The retrospective cohort study, conducted by researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, examined data from more than 2 million older adults who had sustained a traumatic injury. More than 10 percent of them later received a diagnosis of some form of dementia in the year after their fall.

From the study cohort, the average age of patients who experienced a fall was 78; more women fell than men. In general, adults over 65 who sustain traumatic injury after a fall are more subject to already developing cognitive decline.

Some types of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s disease, result from the progressive death of brain cells and neurons. It develops and worsens over time. But head injuries can contribute to dementia through the damage to cells directly. Some types of traumatic brain injury — particularly if repetitive, which can happen in some sports — may increase the risk of certain types of dementia later in life.

• Cafestol is a natural compound found in unfiltered coffee that may benefit certain aspects of metabolic health.
• New research suggests that 6 milligrams of cafestol twice daily for 12 weeks might slightly reduce weight and body fat but not improve insulin sensitivity or glucose tolerance.
• Experts say more research is needed, but in moderation, consuming unfiltered coffee may offer health benefits.

Cafestol is a natural diterpene compound found in coffee, particularly coffee brewed through unfiltered methods, such as boiled, Turkish, French press, and espresso coffee.

It adds to coffee’s flavor and aroma and may possess certain health benefits.

In recent years, a team of Danish researchers has studied cafestol’s influence on insulin sensitivity and other metabolic health markers. Their initial findings suggested that cafestol might help prevent type 2 diabetes.

In cell studies, they observed that cafestol increases insulin secretion and enhances glucose uptake, while in mouse models of diabetes, it improved insulin sensitivity and reduced blood glucose (sugar) levels.

They also explored the effects of cafestol — and kahweol — in participants with abdominal obesity and type 2 diabetes.

They found that these compounds appeared to briefly lower glucose, particularly in those with impaired glucose tolerance or fasting glucose or with type 2 diabetes.

In their latest randomized controlled trial — published in the journal Nutrients — the researchers aimed to assess whether pure cafestol affects insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance in healthy individuals with high waist circumference, which is a diabetes risk factor.

Their novel findings suggest that 6 milligrams (mg) of cafestol twice daily for 12 weeks may lead to slight weight and body fat loss, but not significantly improve insulin sensitivity or glucose tolerance.

The study’s limitations prevent conclusive results, but it offers valuable insights for future research on cafestol’s potential role in…

• Breast cancer, the most common type of cancer in women, affects around 13% of women at some time in their lives.
• In the United States, although deaths from breast cancer are falling, the incidence of the disease is increasing, particularly among younger women, and experts are unsure why.
• A new study could suggest one possible explanation — chemicals that transfer from packaging into our food.
• The study identified 189 chemicals in food packaging that are possible mammary carcinogens — substances that could increase the likelihood of breast cancer.

According to the American Cancer Society, the lifetime risk of developing some form of cancer is 41.6% for men and 39.6% for women. For women, the most common form is breast cancer, which is likely to affect one in 8 women at some stage in their life.

A new study from the American Cancer Society has shown that deaths from breast cancer have declined by 44% since 1989, largely due to greater screening and improved treatments, but it warns of an increase in the incidence of breast cancer every year, particularly among younger women. The reasons for these rises are unclear.

• Being female — women are much more likely to develop breast cancer than men.
• Getting older — most breast cancers are diagnosed in women over 50.
• Genetics — certain genetic mutations can increase breast cancer risk.
• Having dense breasts.
• Exposure to substances called carcinogens may increase cancer risk.

However, they advise that the following can decrease breast cancer risk:

• Being physically active
• Maintaining a healthy weight, particularly after menopause.
• Having children, especially before the age of 30, and breastfeeding them.
• Drinking only moderate amounts of alcohol.

Now, a study may offer an explanation for some of the increase in breast cancers. The study, by the Food Packaging Forum Foundation, based in Zurich, Switzerland, and published inFrontiers in Toxicology, researchers identified 189 potential breast carcinogens in common food packaging…

• Researchers have found that a novel drug molecule may fight the development of early-onset Parkinson’s disease in younger people.
• The new compound, BIO-2007817, is from the family of tetrahydropyrazolo-pyrazine (THPP) compounds.
• It offered promising results in activating parkin, a key protein in the brain responsible for tagging damaged proteins in mitochondria.
• Experts say the molecule’s ability to assist patients with early-onset Parkinson’s is promising, but more research is needed to establish a larger clinical application.

Researchers at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, have found that a novel drug molecule may have the ability to fight the development of early-onset Parkinson’s disease in younger people, according to a new study published in Nature Communications.

The new compound is in the family of tetrahydropyrazolo-pyrazine (THPP) compounds developed by Biogen. The most successful such compound, referred to as BIO-2007817, can offer promising results activating parkin, a key protein in the brain responsible for tagging damaged proteins in mitochondria.

Mutations in parkin, often caused by genetic variation, can, in turn, result in damaged mitochondria, leading eventually to Parkinson’s disease. Parkin malfunction can also be caused by oxidative stress, environmental factors, and mitochondrial dysfunction.

Sreeganga Chandra, PhD, an associate professor of neurology and neuroscience at Yale School of Medicine, who was not involved in the study, told Medical News Today that these mutations in parkin can also be passed down to family members.

“Most Parkin mutations are inherited — so both parents are carriers. The mutations are due to DNA damage/improper repair etc. The Parkin mutations are recessive or loss-of-function. Parkin mutations impact a process called mitophagy which is the removal of damaged mitochondria. The issue is that damaged mitochondria ‘adulterate’ healthy mitochondria through fusion as well as cause oxidative…

Millions of years ago, when our ancestors were roaming the plains of Africa, physical activity was part of everyday life. Even 100 years ago, people were more active in daily life: Jobs were more likely to be manual, and if you needed to get somewhere, you usually had to walk.

Today, thanks to modern technology, we are much more sedentary. However, to maintain good health, we need to move our bodies. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends “at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per week.”

Although scientists have established that keeping active is linked to a reduced risk of a wide range of diseases, questions still remain. One important outstanding question is whether weekend warriors get the same benefits as people who spread their activity throughout the week.

However, little research has been done to date into how this modern exercise pattern impacts overall disease risk or cardiometabolic disease risk. The latest study helps answer this question.

• Tirzepatide, a once-weekly GIP/GLP-1 receptor agonist, is a medicine used for weight reduction in adults with obesity.
• A new analysis of the SURMOUNT clinical trials reveals that the medicine, administered as a once-weekly injection, leads to significant weight reduction.
• Across all doses and trials, women lost up to 24.6% of their body weight compared to 18.1% in men, indicating a potential sex-based difference with regard to drug response.

Obesity is the most common chronic health condition globally, affecting around 650 million adults.

Recent studies have shown that drugs targeting specific hormones involved in energy balance, such as GLP-1, can help people lose weight effectively and safely.

Another hormone, GIP, also plays a role in controlling weight, and a combination treatment that targets both GIP and GLP-1 receptors may be even more effective.

Tirzepatide is a new medication that works on both GIP and GLP-1 receptors and is already approved for treating type 2 diabetes.

Early research showed that it helped mice lose more weight compared to treatments that only target GLP-1. In studies with people who have type 2 diabetes, it also showed promising results for weight loss.

For example, the SURMOUNT-1 (SM-1) trial looked at how well tirzepatide works for weight loss in people with obesity or overweight who do not have diabetes.

To further explore potential differences in how men and women respond to the treatment, researchers conducted a post-hoc analysis of the SURMOUNT (SM) program, which included four clinical trials (SM-1 to SM-4).

Their analysis shows that a weekly injection of tirzepatide results in substantial weight loss for both men and women, with women experiencing greater reductions in weight.

Their findings, presented at the Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Madrid (September 9-13), compared tirzepatide to a placebo over 72 to 88 weeks in 4,677 adults (2,999 women and 1,678 men) with obesity.

“This was a…