Tag Archives: diabetes

Embryonic stem cells made from human skin

English: Embryonic Stem Cells. (A) shows hESCs...
English: Embryonic Stem Cells. (A) shows hESCs. (B) shows neurons derived from hESCs. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Scientists have come up with a new technique for using not just infant stem cells but also stem cells from older adults’ skin to develop treatments for many diseases. They pursued this angle because older adults’ DNA is more suitable to addressing conditions that tend to develop more frequently in older people such as diabetes, arthritis, and so on.

Good to see that the researchers have finally, after many years. found a way to create “embryonic” – meaning able to turn into any other type of human cells (plenipotent as opposed to multipotent) – stem cells without the controversial approach of taking them from discarded human embryos. Good news on all fronts.

This new approach could lead to building a genetic library of stem cells made from strong DNA. It could also be used to draw a patient’s own DNA to develop a patient-specific treatment, though this would be much more expensive than choosing from a library.

Imagine. Alleviating the pain, disability, disfigurement and suffering of diabetes. And arthritis.

For anyone facing the prospect of undergoing the current brutal approaches to joint replacement, according to research at Johns Hopkins,  the idea of using stem cells to grow new cartilage, which sounds like the proverbial miracle, may not be that far away.

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CoQ10 improves functionality and mortality in heart failure – and statins decrease CoQ10

The jury was out for a long time on the effectiveness of taking CoQ10 supplements for people with various heart

English: The illustration shows the major sign...
English: The illustration shows the major signs and symptoms of heart failure. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

conditions. I used to take it because I’d read many doctors’ favorable accounts. However, my cardiologist never recommended it specifically, so I stopped when I realized how much I was paying for it.

New research points to the idea that this substance may be even more valuable than previously thought by its proponents. CoQ10 is said to improve every measure of functionality – and now to dramatically decrease mortality – in heart failure patients, according to an article on FireEngineering.com. I’ve included the article’s references below.

Further research shows CoQ10 levels decrease naturally as we age, and they actually decrease further when patients take statins. Statins are those over-prescribed cholesterol-lowering drugs that gradually damage people’s livers and can produce other nasty side effects such as blocking the effects of cardiovascular fitness training and inclining patients to develop diabetes.

Compelling reading.

References

  1. Heart Failure 2013
  2. SA Mortensen, A Kumar, P Dolliner, et al. “The effect of coenzyme Q10 on morbidity and mortality in chronic heart failure.” Results from the Q-SYMBIO study. Presented at Heart Failure Congress 2013 Final Programme Number 440.
    The full title of the Q-SYMBIO study is: “Coenzyme Q10 as adjunctive treatment of chronic heart failure: a randomised double blind multicentre trial with focus on changes in symptoms, biomarker status with BNP and long term outcome.”
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