Latest news with #research study
The Independent
21 hours ago
- Health
- The Independent
Playing an instrument may help protect brain against ageing, study finds
Playing a musical instrument could help protect the brain against age-related decline, new research has suggested. Older adults with long-term musical training performed better at understanding speech in noisy environments and showed brain connectivity patterns closer to younger people, according to a study published in the journal PLOS Biology. brain activity in 25 older musicians, 25 older non-musicians and 24 young non-musicians. The participants were asked to identify syllables masked by background noise, a task that typically becomes harder with age. While older non-musicians showed the usual age-related increase in neural activity and connectivity - a sign that the brain is working harder to compensate for decline - older musicians maintained a more 'youth-like' pattern. The strength of connections in certain brain networks also correlated with better performance on the speech-in-noise task, the study found. The findings support what the researchers call the 'Hold-Back Upregulation' hypothesis. This is when the cognitive reserve built through musical training helps the brain hold onto its younger functional features, instead of simply compensating for loss. Dr Yi Du, co-author of the study, said: 'Just like a well-tuned instrument doesn't need to be played louder to be heard, the brains of older musicians stay finely tuned thanks to years of training. 'Our study shows that this musical experience builds cognitive reserve, helping their brains avoid the usual age-related overexertion when trying to understand speech in noisy places.' The authors said that although the study cannot prove cause and effect, it adds to growing evidence that positive lifestyle choices, such as musical training, higher education and bilingualism, can help the brain cope better with ageing. Dr Lei Zhang, another co-author, added: 'A positive lifestyle helps older adults cope better with cognitive ageing, and it is never too late to take up, and stick with, a rewarding hobby such as learning an instrument.' The scientists are now planning to explore whether other activities, such as exercise and multilingualism, could offer similar benefits.
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Health
- The Guardian
Some gut microbes can absorb and help expel ‘forever chemicals' from the body, research shows
Certain kinds of gut microbes absorb toxic Pfas 'forever chemicals' and help expel them from the body via feces, new first-of-its-kind University of Cambridge research shows. The findings are welcome news as the only options that exist for reducing the level of dangerous Pfas compounds from the body are bloodletting and a cholesterol drug that induces unpleasant side effects. The microbes were found to remove up to 75% of some Pfas from the gut of mice. Several of the study's authors plan to develop probiotic dietary supplements that boost levels of helpful microbes in the human gut, which would likely reduce Pfas levels. 'If this could be used in humans to create probiotics that can help remove Pfas from the body then this would be a nicer solution in that it wouldn't have so many side effects,' said Anna Lindell, Cambridge doctoral student and a co-author of the study. Pfas are a class of about 15,000 compounds most frequently used to make products water-, stain- and grease-resistant. They have been linked to cancer, birth defects, decreased immunity, high cholesterol, kidney disease and a range of other serious health problems. They are dubbed 'forever chemicals' because they do not naturally break down in the environment. The US Environmental Protection Agency has found no level of exposure to Pfos or Pfoa, two of the most common Pfas compounds, in drinking water is safe. They have a half-life in human blood of anywhere from two to five years, by most estimates. That means the body expels half the amount of the chemical that is in blood during that period. Depending on blood levels, it can take decades to fully expel Pfas naturally. Though the findings represent the first time gut microbes have been found to remove Pfas, they have been found to alleviate the impacts of other contaminants, such as microplastics. The researchers didn't set out to determine if the gut bacteria expelled Pfas specifically, but instead looked at a suite of 42 common food contaminants. No Pfas limits for food exist in the US, but there is broad consensus that it is among the main exposure routes. Some microbes performed well in expelling Pfas, so the study's authors zoomed in on those. The authors introduced nine of a family of bacterial species into the guts of mice to humanize the mouse microbiome – the bacteria rapidly accumulated to absorb Pfas eaten by the mice, and the chemicals were then excreted in feces. The bacteria seem to absorb the chemical, then use a 'pump' mechanism that pushes toxins from the cells and aids in excretion, the authors wrote. The mechanism by which the chemicals are pulled into the cell is not yet understood, Lindell said, but she suspects there may be a similar pump. These are developed by microbes to expel other contaminants, drugs or antibiotics, Lindell added. Sign up to Detox Your Kitchen A seven-week expert course to help you avoid chemicals in your food and groceries. after newsletter promotion The microbes largely addressed 'long-chain' Pfas, which are larger compounds and more dangerous than smaller 'short chains' because they stay in the body longer. The body more efficiently discharges short-chain Pfas through urine because the compounds are generally water-soluble. Among the most common and dangerous long chains are Pfoa and Pfna, which the microbes expelled at rates of up to 58% and 74%, respectively. Lindell and other study leaders have started a company, Cambiotics, that will develop a probiotic based on their findings. They are planning to follow up the research with a human study. However, Lindell stressed that the probiotic would not solve the broader Pfas crisis: 'This should not be used as an excuse to downplay other sustainable solutions or to not address the bigger Pfas problem.'
