UF Health Podcasts

Certain kinds of nerve damage have long been considered irreversible. Now, a study from researchers at the University of Cambridge might point toward a way to repair the irreparable.

As we get older, our brains and bodies take longer to heal from injury. This is especially the case with our central nervous system, the lightning rod between the spinal cord and the brain. Axons, the nerve fibers our neurons zip up and down on to carry messages and control muscle, are less likely to be able to recover from damage.

It means an injury to the brain — or spinal cord — has a greater chance of resulting in permanent paralysis.

In the study, researchers grew tiny brains the size of peas from stem cells. Then, they added on to the models, creating miniature versions of the brain-spinal system. Because the parts are separate in the body, scientists kept them apart in the lab, too.

The result? Axons grew from the brain cells to the spinal cord, bridging the gap. It created a working neural circuit that prompted microscopic groups of muscle cells to contract.

The organoids were maintained in the lab for more than 365 days. After the 150th day, however, researchers noticed a difference: the axons were less capable of regrowing. This points to a “biological switch” that flips once neurons begin maturing and creating synapses. When researchers blocked it, the axons went back to regenerating.

Although further research is necessary, scientists note this is a successful instance in which stem cell organoids mimicked real human systems. They may have been miniature, but potential impacts could be larger than life.

Put down the crossword puzzle and pick up the nasal spray.

While those of us interested in preserving our rapier wits and steel-trap memories have doubtlessly dabbled in puzzles, conversation and regular exercise, it is unlikely a nasal spray ever crossed our minds — or our noses — for that express purpose.

And yet, scientists from Texas have created a nasal spray they say soothes the persistent, low-grade brain inflammation associated with aging. This kind of inflammation, referred to as neuroinflammaging, is also considered a key driver of some neurodegenerative conditions.

Soothing this inflammation via a nasal spray could restore memory and help brains work better.

The treatment uses tiny transport molecules called extracellular vesicles. They typically ferry genetic information between cells; here, they were loaded up with microRNAs, which are responsible for the regulation of different signals throughout the brain. They helped target certain immune cells, the culprits behind the inflammation, and strengthened the mitochondria damaged by it. Improving how the powerhouses of the cell worked seemed to prompt brain cells to improve how they received information and stored it. Researchers called it “giving neurons their spark back.”

The effects lasted for months after just two doses. A caveat: thus far, this has only been tested in mice. It will be some time before the treatment makes it to noses without whiskers.

Why a nasal spray, you might ask? It’s simple. Your nose is a shortcut to the brain and its tissue — and it makes the treatment delivery much less invasive.

It’s nothing to sneeze at.

At first glance, directing lasers into your eyes does not seem appealing or particularly helpful. Yet LASIK eye surgeries have been successful — and even prolific — for a number of years. They work by “carving” tissue away from the cornea, thus reshaping the eye and correcting vision. Sometimes there are complications like dry eyes, halos and weakened eye structure.

Still, there are those among us who would prefer to see better without such drastic measures. Researchers from Occidental College and the University of California, Irvine are testing out a means of vision modification that would be less invasive and could avoid many of LASIK’s potential side effects.

The method? Electromechanical reshaping, or EMR. Light, electrical pulses.

The technique was discovered by accident. While one scientist was tinkering with living tissue as a potentially moldable material, he discovered a means of chemical modification. The cornea is rich in collagen, held together by charged molecules, and rich in water. Applying a small electrical current can result in a change to pH levels, loosening the structure of the collagen and changing the shape of the eye. When the pH returns to normal, the “new” shape remains.

Importantly, this method does not result in any true surgery, or removal of tissue. This means it would allow the cornea to maintain its structural integrity.

Like most cures of tomorrow, this one has some ways to go before being tested in people. Glasses, traditional contact lenses and LASIK surgery are still going to be your quickest options for better vision.

But we’re excited to see what happens.

French fries rarely get any good news.

The crispy, salty snack earns the ire of cardiologists and nutritionists alike. Now, though the fry’s greasy reputation has extended to the humble potato itself, new research suggests the tuberous vegetable’s villainous reputation might be unwarranted.

A study published in The British Medical Journal used data from 205,000 people across almost four decades, finding that consuming three servings of fries per week was associated with a higher risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. Eating the hardworking potato in its other forms, however — like being boiled, baked or mashed, did not result in any significant risk.

But no potato is perfect.

Though participants did not have diabetes or heart disease at the start of the study, 22,999 of them developed Type 2 diabetes over the 40-ish years of follow-up. Even after taking lifestyle and dietary factors into account, the team found that three servings of potatoes per week were associated with a 5% increase in the rate of Type 2 diabetes. French fries remained the worst offender, though, and were linked to a 20% increase in Type 2 diabetes.

When study participants switched out potatoes for whole grains, they lowered their diabetes risk by about 19%. White rice, by contrast, increased it.

Now, it’s important to note researchers emphasize that the takeaway should not be, “French fries cause diabetes directly.” Rather, people should still prioritize whole grains — and note that when it comes to the potato, it’s its preparation that counts. Skip the fryer, keep an eye on the butter and sprinkle a little salt.

Perhaps there’s hope after all.

Drinking before driving is not recommended. Neither is using cannabis. Now, to the surprise of hopefully very few, research confirms what we already suspected: For drivers, using both is worse than either alone.

A new study from the Johns Hopkins Medicine University School of Medicine found that not only do cannabis edibles combined with alcohol greatly impair driving, but the impairment is also more difficult to detect by standard field sobriety tests.

Because adding cannabis into the mix adds to the impairment from alcohol, researchers worry the legal intoxication limit of .08% breath alcohol level might not suffice when the second drug is involved. It’s not just an additive effect, they emphasize — it’s “synergistic.”

Researchers recruited adults between the ages of 21 and 55 for the study. During outpatient study sessions, they were given a brownie: one with THC, and one without. They also received an alcoholic drink or a placebo drink, and alcohol doses were adjusted per individual to produce a BAC of .05% or .08%.

Notably, participants had previous experience using both substances together in the past year, and had also reported binge drinking in the previous 90 days. Driving was tested via a simulator. Participants each underwent seven sessions, consuming cannabis alone, alcohol alone and both together. There were also placebo versions.

Combining the edibles with alcohol produced effects that were more severe … and lasted longer. People also felt more intoxicated when they consumed both substances together. Researchers hope the study spurs further research and attention from policymakers and public health officials.

And as usual, the best way to drive is sober.

The brain does many things. It is the most complex machine known to us. Its billions of cells are the control center for thought, memory and body movement. It helps regulate breathing, heart rate and temperature.

And yet, it still retains mystery. How does this clump of matter between our ears create consciousness? If you come up with an answer, you’ll soon have an appointment with the Nobel Prize board.

Oh, one other thing: It sways.

A recent study by Penn State scientists used mice and brain simulations to demonstrate that the organ moves within the skull during exercise. Your first reaction might be understandable — namely, that such a delicate instrument moving can’t be a good thing.

Researchers, however, say this sway is beneficial.

The study notes the brain is more mechanically connected to the rest of the body than previous generations of scientists realized. Investigators now believe that during exercise, abdominal contractions compress blood vessels supplying the spinal cord and brain.

It’s like a hydraulic system. This applies pressure that creates movement. Pretty simple.

This, in turn, causes the brain’s cerebrospinal fluid to slosh around, though perhaps not as notably as water in a bathtub when you bathe your dog. But the movement helps the clear fluid to wash over the brain.

That helps the fluid remove waste, which in turn reduces the risk of neurodegenerative disorders. The study’s authors suggest this is an important reason why exercise benefits cognitive function.

Scientists say it’s a gentle movement. Less of an energetic Charleston than a crawling waltz.

These findings, ultimately, are brought to you by, yes, the human brain.

Most of us who reach adulthood would not mind shaving a few years from how our bodies feel.

What if it were as easy as changing your diet for a month?

A new study from Australian researchers found that a four-week diet change was enough to make some older adults appear biologically younger.

A group of just over 100 generally healthy adults ranging in age from 65 to 75 participated in the study.

They were separated into four groups and randomly assigned one of four diets.

Of the diets, two were omnivorous, meaning they included plant and animal proteins. The others were semi-vegetarian, with 70% of the protein coming from plants.

Within each category, participants were assigned either a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet or a low-fat, high-carb diet.

So, participants either ate an omnivorous, high-fat diet, an omnivorous high-carb diet, a semi-vegetarian, high-fat diet or a semi-vegetarian, high-carb diet.

Got all that? And of course, all we want to know is which diet will make us look and feel youngest. So, which was it?

Three of the diets resulted in positive changes. But the biggest changes came from the omnivorous, high-carb and low-fat diet. It included 14% protein, 28 to 29% fat and 53% carbohydrates.

The diet that resulted in the least change was the omnivorous, high-fat diet, because, as researchers noted, it was closest to what participants usually ate.

The researchers used biomarkers, things like lowered cholesterol or insulin levels, to calculate participants’ biological age.

And while it took just a month for most participants to see positive changes, sadly, the researchers said they have no idea how long the changes might last.

It’s a standard response to injury. Twist an ankle? Break out an ice pack, or for that matter, any frozen bag of vegetables from the fridge. Even the Greek physician and philosopher Hippocrates, the father of Western medicine, advised using cold to relieve pain more than 2,400 years ago.

More recently, however, many medical researchers have backtracked on the practice. In fact, scientists might have figured out why it could be a bad idea to apply cold to an injury.

In a recent study, researchers at McGill University in Montreal documented how icing an injury can provide an immediate respite from pain. This method provides short-term relief. But doing so, they found, can more than double healing time.

Yes, really.

The scientists believe cold blocks the body’s normal healing process, prolonging the pain. After an injury, white blood cells called neutrophils rush in within hours. They clear away dead cells, fight infection and assist in tissue repair. They also shut down pain.

This initial inflammatory immune reaction contributes to pain. It also helps prevent chronic pain.

Researchers suggest other alternatives after an injury. Those include acetaminophen, a common pain reliever found in many medications, nerve stimulation therapies or contrast therapy.

Contrast therapy involves rapidly alternating between hot and cold water.

Nobody, of course, enjoys the inflammation from an injury. The research, however, highlights that it is part of the body’s natural healing process. Getting in its way can have consequences.

So next time you twist an ankle, skip the frozen peas.

Step aside, cows. There’s a new hooved hero in town.

New research published in Food Science and Nutrition points to the surprising benefits of camel’s milk in remedying a variety of ailments, particularly those related to gut health and blood sugar control.

Widely revered for their transportation assistance abilities, camels’ nutrient-rich milk was also historically believed to heal tuberculosis and other skin conditions. In the present-day clinical trial, however, researchers found that Type 2 diabetes patients who drank about two cups of camel milk per day for three months showed a lower fasting blood glucose reading.

And the benefits don’t stop there.

Other investigations highlighted how children with asthma displayed positive outcomes from drinking less than a cup of camel’s milk a day, reducing their use of rescue inhalers and corticosteroids compared with their peers in a placebo group. Because camel’s milk is believed to contain lower levels of allergenic protein, researchers believe it might act as a more hypoallergenic substitute for traditional dairy milk. That being said, there are benefits to most milks. A cup of soy milk, for example, has roughly the same amount of protein as a cup of cow’s milk — but might be easier to digest for those whose stomachs do not tolerate lactose. And, when it comes to coffee, oat milk has solidified its status as a non-dairy darling.

It could be a while before you see camel’s milk on the shelves at your local grocery store. Until then, should you still, somehow, have access to camels, researchers emphasize the importance of pasteurization before consumption to safeguard against diseases like salmonella.

As long as smoothies have existed — roughly 45 years — people have put bananas in them. The “potato of fruits” is a relied-upon source of sweetness and starch, pairing well with the blended beverage’s more acidic players, like raspberries. Now, history might be encouraged to stop repeating itself.

New research from the University of California-Davis suggests that adding a banana to a berry smoothie can negatively impact how your body absorbs the oh-so prized flavanols in the latter.

Known for their presence in other delicious vittles like dark chocolate and green tea, flavanols are anti-everything that you’d want them to be. They contain properties that are anti-inflammatory, antiviral and antioxidative. Whether they come from berries or somewhere else, you want them to be able to do their job.

Bananas, by contrast, have high levels of an enzyme that can dramatically reduce how many flavanols your body can absorb.

To test how this molecule might impact nutrient absorption, researchers asked participants to drink a banana-based smoothie and a mixed-berry smoothie. There was a flavanol-capsule control group, too.

Researchers analyzed blood and urine samples and found that folks who drank the banana smoothie had 84% lower flavanol levels than the control group. The mixed berry group, however, demonstrated levels close to those of the capsule control group.

Now, this doesn’t mean that bananas are bad for you, or that you should never eat them. Think of it as trying to maximize the nutritional benefits, at least when it comes to your smoothie stance. If you end up missing the yellow fruit, you can always add it back in. In the meantime, bananas will be waiting in the wings.