By Gozde Zorlu
Vitamin D kick-starts the immune system
Vitamin D plays a crucial role in the body’s immune system, scientists at the University of Copenhagen have found. The vitamin is required to trigger a vital signaling enzyme which activates T-cells to seek out and destroy invading microbes.
“If the T-cells can’t find enough Vitamin D in the blood, they won’t even begin to mobilise,” said Professor Carsten Geisler of the University of Copenhagen, who led the research published in Nature. The findings “could help us to combat infectious diseases and global epidemics,” he added.
Gene interaction linked to Parkinson’s disease
Two genes that work together to remove damaged mitochondria from cells have been discovered, paving the way for potential treatments of Parkinson’s disease. Scientists studied the interaction of the genes, called parkin and PINK1, in fruit flies, and hope to develop ways to keep cells healthy.
“From this, we may be able to slow down or even stop Parkinson’s from progressing,” said Kieran Breen, director of research and development at the Parkinson’s Disease Society. The study is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Bacteria make us hungry
Intestinal bacteria can increase appetite and insulin resistance, calling into question whether it’s just lack of exercise and bad food that make people overweight, according to research published in Science magazine. By transferring certain kinds of intestinal bacteria into mice, the team of scientists was able to induce an increased appetite, obesity, elevated blood sugar levels, and insulin resistance in the rodents.
“Our results suggest that excess caloric consumption is not only a result of undisciplined eating, but that intestinal bacteria contribute to changes in appetite and metabolism,” said Andrew Gewirtz, professor of Pathology at Emory University School of Medicine.
HIV hides in bone marrow
The HIV virus returns after treatment because it lays dormant in bone marrow, a new study published in Nature Medicine has found. When the bone marrow produces blood cells, the HIV virus is reactivated. The aim is to find a way to reach the virus in hiding so patients don’t need to be on drugs for life. “One way is to find a way to push the cells from latency to go into an active infection while patients are still on their drugs,” said Kathleen Collins of the University of Michigan, one of the authors of the study.
Polio to be eradicated in Africa
More than 85 million children in 19 countries across West and Central Africa will be vaccinated against polio as part of a mass campaign to end a year-long epidemic.
Over 40,000 volunteers and health workers will go from door to door giving the oral polio vaccine to all children under the age of five.
Africa has made progress in the fight against polio but the virus has not been entirely eradicated, with outbreaks being reported in nine countries over the last six months.
The campaign, a joint collaboration between the Red Cross and the United Nations (UN), is being funded by Rotary International, a volunteer humanitarian organisation.
TB and leprosy: genetic variant found
A genetic variant has been found to improve protection against Tuberculosis (TB) and leprosy. Researchers discovered that a genetic variant of LTA4H improves resistance by studying patients with TB in Vietnam and leprosy in patients from Nepal. “This is an interesting finding and opens up a potential new target for drugs against these diseases,” said Dr Sarah Dunstan from the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit, part of the Wellcome Trust’s South-East Asia programme.
The study, published in Cell, was a collaboration between researchers at the University of Washington and the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit in Vietnam.
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