Sweet-toothed children 'may have depression' While most children like sweets, those with an extra- sweet tooth may be depressed or at higher risk offuture alcohol problems, researchers say. The US team report in the journal Addiction that certain children are especially drawn t o very sweet tastes. These were children who had a close relative with an alcohol problem or who themselves had symptoms ofdepression. But it is unclear if the preference for the very sweet is down to genuine chemical differences or upbringing. The researchers say sweet ta ste and alcohol trigger many of the same r eward circuits in the brain. Lead author Julie Mennella said: "We know that sweet taste is rewarding to all kids and makes them feel good. "In addition, certain groups of children may be especially attracted to t he intense sweetness due to theirunderlying biology." Experts say alcoholics tend to have a s weet tooth. But the link is less clear in children. Other US researchers ha ve shown that a preference forthe sweetest drinks was found in the ones undergoing growth spurts. In the latest study, the scientists at the Monell Chemical Senses Center asked 300 children aged five to 12, of whom half had a family member with alcohol dependency, to taste five sweet water drinks containing different a mounts of sugar. The children were asked to say which tasted the best and were also as ked questions to checkfor depressive symptoms. A quarter had symptoms that the researchers believed suggested they might be depressed. Sweet toothLiking for intense sweetness was greatest in the 37 children who had both a family history ofalcoholism and reported depressive symptoms. Sweets may boost 'reward' chemicals in the brain, expe rts believe It may be that even higher levels of sweetness are needed to make depressed children feel better Lead researcher Julie Mennella The taste difference may be explained by differences like
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8/8/2019 News Articles for Man Chester Interview 10.2.10
These children preferred the drink containing the mostsugar - 24% sucrose, which is equivalent to about 14
teaspoons of sugar in a cup of water and more than twicethe level of sweetness in a typical cola.
This was a third more intense than the sweetness level preferred by the other children.
The researchers then decided to test whether the children's taste difference had any impact on
their reaction to pain or discomfort - past studies have suggested sweets may help act as
analgesics as well as mood lifters.
They found non-depressed children were able to tolerate keeping their hands in very coldwater for longer if they had a sugar hit.
However, the extra sugar did nothing to the depressed children's pain threshold.
Cardiff University's Professor Tim Jacob, an expert in smell and taste, said the findings were
interesting, but that it was hard to make firm conclusions or generalisations from one study
alone.
He said the findings could be down to brain chemistry, but might also be explained by
behaviour and upbringing.
"While it is true that sweet things activate reward circuits in the brain, the problem is that
sweets and sugar are addictive, because the activation of these reward circuits causes opioidrelease, and with time more is needed to achieve the same effect.
"But the taste difference may be explained by differences like parental control over sweet
consumption."
Patients with amygdala injury 'unafraid' to
gamble
Californian scientists think they may have discovered
the part of the brain which makes people fear losing
money.
The study, reported in Proceedings of the NationalAcademy of Sciences, looked at two patients who had
damaged their amygdala, deep within the brain.
These patients were less worried about financial losses
than the normal volunteers they were compared with.
The scientists say this could translate to how people
make decisions in fields ranging from politics to game shows.
parental control over sweet
consumption
Taste expert Professor Tim Jacob
The amygdala is associated with
fear
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'Loss aversion' describes the avoidance of choices which can lead to losses, even whenaccompanied by equal or much larger gains.
Game behaviour
Lead author, Dr Benedetto De Martino, explains: "Imagine you're on Who Wants to Be a
Millionaire.
"You've just answered the £500,000 question correctly
and have moved on to the final question.
"You're down to your 50:50 lifeline but don't know theanswer.
"If you get it right, you'll win £1 million; if you get it wrong, you'll drop back to £32,000.
"The vast majority of people would take the 'loss averse option' and walk away with
£500,000."
This study, carried out by scientists from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), set
out to find out if the amygdala plays a role in causing loss aversion.
It looked at two women who had a rare condition which produced lesions on their amygdalae
but no other brain damage.
The lesions prevented them from perceiving, recognising or feeling fear.
The two women were each matched with six control volunteers who had similar age, income
and education.
Gambles
The participants were offered a series of gambles to test whether the chance of losing moneyaffected their willingness to gamble.
The study found that healthy volunteers would only opt
to gamble if the potential gains were one and a half to
two times the size of the potential losses.
But the patients whose amygdalae were damaged would
play even if there was a much poorer ratio between gains
and losses, and one sometimes played even if the potential loss was greater than the potential gain.
The authors say that a fully functioning amygdala appears to make people more cautious, and
afraid of losing money.
"It may be that the amygdala controls a very general biological mechanism for inhibitingrisky behaviour when outcomes are potentially negative, such as the monetary loss aversion
This is a novel and exciting
study.
John Aggleton, Professor of
Psychology at Cardiff University
It may be that the amygdala
controls a very general biological
mechanism for inhibiting risky
behaviour when outcomes are
potentially negative
Dr Benedetto De Martino,University College, London
8/8/2019 News Articles for Man Chester Interview 10.2.10
Those taking part in the study were split into four groupsdepending on how much exercise they did and the
researchers found that those who did moderate amountsof exercise also had a lower risk of painful symptoms
from gallstones than those who were the most inactive.
They worked out that if everyone increased the amountof exercise they did by one category 17% of gallstones that need medical treatment could be
prevented.
Using the same data the researchers had previously discovered that drinking a moderate
amount of alcohol is protective against gallstones.
Consuming two units a day cuts the chance of developing gallstones by a third, the earlier study showed.
Cholesterol
Gallstones form in the gallbladder from bile and are generally made up of hardened
cholesterol.
It is thought that around one in three women and one in six men get gallstones at some point
in their life but they are more common in older adults.
Other factors which increase the chances of themforming include pregnancy, obesity, rapid weight loss
and some medications.
Many people who have gallstones may never know they
have them but for some they cause severe pain,inflammation and infection and jaundice.
And almost 50,000 people have to have their
gallbladders removed every year in the UK.
Study leader Dr Paul Banim, a clinical lecturer at theUniversity of East Anglia and a specialist registrar in
gastroenterology said: "It is difficult to prove a link between lifestyle and disease but we weren't surprised to
see these results.
"If everyone was to achieve the impossible and do the same amount of exercise as those inthe most active category, gallstones could be reduced by 70%."
Dr Charlie Murray, secretary of the British Society of Gastroenterology, said the study
seemed to show a direct protective effect of higher levels of exercise.
"The study does not however tell us how much exercise is effective in prevention of
gallstones as this would require specific recording of exercise activity, nor the mechanism bywhich exercise is protective.
the impossible and do the same
amount of exercise as those in
the most active category,
gallstones could be reduced by
70%
Dr Paul Banim, study leader
ACTIVITY LEVELS
Inactive - sedentary job, no
exercise
Moderately inactive - sedentary
ob plus 30 min exercise daily or
standing job but no exercise
Moderately active - sedentary job
plus 1h exercise daily, standing job plus 30 min exercise or physical
obActive - Sedentary job plus more
than 1h exercise daily, standingob plus more than 30 min
exercise, or physical job with someexercise
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"It does however demonstrate that as with the prevention of many disease processes, exerciseimproves your chances of staying healthy."
Unplanned pregnancy warning to older
women over 35Experts fear older women are ditching contraception in the mistaken belief that they
cannot get pregnant past a certain age.
The Family Planning Association (FPA) believes the message on infertility and age has gone"too far".
Although fertility does wane, women can still get pregnant well into their thirties, forties and
even fifties.
Abortion rates for women aged 40 to 44 match those for the under 16s, figures for England
and Wales show.
In 2008, both of these groups had an abortion rate of
four per 1,000 women.
There are many reasons why some women opt for an
abortion - including birth abnormalities in the baby,which are more common when the mothers are older.
But FPA says its anecdotal evidence suggests some of
the abortions are because women wrongly assumed they
could not get pregnant because they were too old.
Aimed at women aged 35 and over, the FPA's new campaign 'Conceivable?' reminds women
to stay vigilant about unplanned pregnancy and to keep using contraception until after the
menopause if they do not wish to become pregnant.
Chief executive of the FPA Julie Bentley said: "Whilst the message about fertility decliningwith age is an important one, it is often overplayed, alongside disproportionate messaging
about unplanned teenage pregnancies.
"It sends an inaccurate message to women and society that only the young fall pregnant andis leading older women to believe their fertility has gone long before it actually has."
Once is enough
She said women should realise it is entirely conceivable that just one night of unprotected sex
in your late 30s, 40s and even 50s can end in an unplanned pregnancy.
"Our helpline receives calls from such women, shocked this has happened to them.
"They thought their age would protect them from becoming pregnant."
Whilst the message about
fertility declining with age is an
important one, it is often
overplayed
FPA Chief Executive Julie Bentley
Readers' comments
8/8/2019 News Articles for Man Chester Interview 10.2.10
She said in general all methods of contraception weresuitable for the over-35s.
Women aged 30 to 34 continue to have the highest
fertility rate - 113.1 live births per 1,000 women.
But the rate among women aged 40 and over has morethan doubled since 1988, from 5.1 to 12.6 per 1,000
women, and there were more than 26,000 live births to
women in this age group in 2008, figures from the Office
for National Statistics show.
Emily James of Marie Stopes International said: "Many
older women facing an unplanned pregnancy arecompletely shocked to find themselves in this position - many assume that their irregular
periods are due to menopause, and are surprised to learn that they are in fact pregnant.
"It is vital that women of all ages are provided with the information, support and advice they
need when deciding whether or not to continue with an unplanned pregnancy."
Genes reveal 'biological
ageing'
Gene variants that might show how fast people's
bodies are actually ageing have been pinpointed byscientists.
Researchers from the University of Leicester and KingsCollege London say the finding could help spot people at
higher risk of age-related illnesses.
People carrying the variant had differences in the
"biological clock" within all their cells.
The British Heart Foundation said the findings could offer a clue to ways of preventing heart
disease.
While doctors know that as people age they are more at risk from diseases such asAlzheimer's, Parkinson's and heart disease, some people fall prey to these at an earlier age
than expected.
Telomeres
One theory suggests that biological timers called "telomeres", part of the chromosomes in
every cell that carry genetic code, may be a factor in this.
Age alone is not a contraceptive,
experts warn
Telomeres at the end of
chromosomes shorten with age
What our study suggests isthat some people are genetically
8/8/2019 News Articles for Man Chester Interview 10.2.10
From birth, every time a cell divides, the telomeres getshorter and there is some evidence that people with
shorter telomeres, either because they diminish morequickly or because they were born with shorter versions,
may be at higher risk from age-related illness.
The researchers say in the journal, Nature Genetics, that they looked at more than 500,000genetic variations across the entire human genome to see which variants cropped up more
frequently in people known to have shorter telomeres.
They eventually located a number of variants located near a gene called TERC which, in
people carrying them, seemed to be equivalent to an extra three or four years of "biological
ageing".
Bad lifestyles
Professor Tim Spector, from King's College London, said: "What our study suggests is that
some people are genetically programmed to age at a faster rate.
"Alternatively, genetically susceptible people may age even faster when exposed to proven
'bad' environments for telomeres such as smoking, obesity or lack of exercise - and end up
several years biologically older or succumbing to more age-related diseases."
Professor Jeremy Pearson, associate medical director at the British Heart Foundation, which
part-funded the study, said it was not yet clear whether telomeres did contribute to anincreased risk of disease.
He said: "Understanding how our cells age is an important step in our quest for better ways to
prevent and treat heart disease.
"Perhaps in the future one of the ways we try to reduce the risk of, or treat, heart diseasewould be to use an 'anti-ageing' approach for our arteries."
Premature birth gene clue
found
DNA differences which appear to affect the risk of
giving birth early have been found by US scientists.
The US National Institutes of Health study found thevariants in both babies and mothers, a US conference was
told.
It is thought they may play a role in controlling immune
responses which could theoretically trigger labour if they
become too powerful.
programmed to age at a faster
rate
Professor Tim Spector, King's
College London
Identifying mothers is vital
8/8/2019 News Articles for Man Chester Interview 10.2.10
"artificial pancreas" can be used to regulate blood
sugar in children with Type 1 diabetes.
A trial found that combining a "real time" sensor
measuring glucose levels with a pump that delivers
insulin can boost overnight blood sugar control.
The Lancet study showed the device significantly cut the
risk of blood sugar levels dropping dangerously low.
Experts said the results were an important "stepforward".
Type 1 diabetes is a chronic, life threatening condition, in which the pancreas does not
produce insulin - the hormone that regulates blood sugar levels.
In total, 17 children and teenagers with Type 1 diabetes
took part in the study over 54 nights in hospital.
Individually, the glucose monitoring system and the
insulin pump used in the study are both already widelyused and commercially available.
But in order to turn them into a "closed loop" system
which monitors the patient's condition and deliverstreatment accordingly, the researchers developed a
sophisticated algorithm to calculate the appropriate amount of insulin to deliver based on the
real-time glucose readings.
They then measured how well the artificial pancreas system controlled glucose levels
compared with the children's regular continuous pump, which delivers insulin at preselected
rates.
Low blood sugar
Testing was done in different circumstances - for example on nights when the children wentto bed after eating a large evening meal, which can lead to 'insulin stacking' or having done
early evening exercise - both of which can increase the risk of low blood sugar episodesknown as hypoglycaemic attacks or "hypos".
Insulin injections are currently the
mainstay of type 1 diabetes
treatment
We need to redouble our
efforts to move the artificial
pancreas from a concept in the
clinic to a reality in the home of
children and adults with Type 1
diabetes
Karen Addington, Juvenile
Diabetes Research Foundation
'Pump has been really liberating'
8/8/2019 News Articles for Man Chester Interview 10.2.10
Overall, the results showed the artificial pancreas kept blood glucose levels in the normal range for 60% of the
time, compared with 40% for the continuous pump.
And the artificial pancreas halved the time that blood
glucose levels fell below 3.9mmol/l - the level considered
as mild hypoglycaemia.
It also prevented blood glucose falling below 3.0mmol/l,
which is defined as significant hypoglycaemia, compared
with nine hypoglycaemia events in the control groups.
Study leader Dr Roman Hovorka said: "This is the first
randomised study showing the potential benefit of theartificial pancreas system overnight using commercially-
available sensors and pumps.
"Our study provides a stepping stone for testing the system at home."
Karen Addington, chief executive of Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, who funded the
research said the study provided "proof of principle" of an artificial pancreas.
"We need to redouble our efforts to move the artificial pancreas from a concept in the clinicto a reality in the home of children and adults with type 1 diabetes."
Dr Victoria King, research manager at leading health charity Diabetes UK, said: "This is an
important step forward in managing overnight blood glucose levels as well as in the eventualdevelopment of a full 'artificial pancreas' which could vastly improve the quality of life for
people with type 1 diabetes and reduce the risk of the associated complications."