News From The Journal Of Clinical Investigation: April 2, 2012
METABOLISM Linking obesity and high cholesterol Obese patients are at increased risk for cardiovascular disease and a hardening of blood vessel walls called atherosclerosis. One factor that drives atherosclerosis development in obesity is abnormal blood cholesterol levels. ApoB is the major lipid-binding protein that transports low density lipoprotein (LDL cholesterol) and very low density lipoprotein (VLDL cholesterol) from the liver to blood. Alan Tall of Columbia University and colleagues wanted to better understand the genes that are associated with altered levels of LDL and VLDL cholesterol in an obese mouse model system.
Precancerous Condition Associated With Reflux Disease Triggered By Bile - Not Acid
For many people with gastroesophageal reflux disease or GERD, acid reflux drugs are the answer to their woes, curbing the chronic heartburn and regurgitation of food or sour liquid characteristic of the disorder. But when it comes to Barrett's esophagus, a condition commonly found in people with GERD, acid control may be less important than beating back another bodily fluid - bile. A new study published in the Annals of Surgery shows that bile - a digestive fluid that leaks backwards from the stomach into the esophagus along with acid in patients with GERD - plays a critical and previously unrecognized role in the development of Barrett's esophagus.
The Anticancer Effects That Come With Breastfeeding May Be Due To High Levels Of TRAIL Protein In Breast Milk
The benefits of breast milk are well known, but why breastfeeding protects against various forms of cancer remains a mystery. A new study in the Journal of Human Lactation (published by SAGE) found high levels of cancer-fighting TNF-related apoptosis inducing ligand (TRAIL) in human milk, which might be one source of breast milk's anticancer activity. Researchers took samples of colostrum, the first milk available to newborns, and of mature breast milk from new mothers. Researchers then obtained samples of blood from healthy women, and various ready-to-feed infant formulas.