NLRP3 & Alzheimer's | Prostate Cancer | 23andMe
NLRP3, inflammation, and Alzheimer's:
New studies come out all the time showing how a specific diet/drug/supplement can prevent Alzheimer's in mice. For decades, researchers have been able to move the needle on Alzheimer's - in mice.
Recently, researchers published a study looking at decades of data from the VA and private health insurers for people on a specific type of anti-retroviral drug for hepatitis B or HIV. They found a significant decrease in Alzheimer's disease cases for people on the medications long-term. In addition to the effect on the virus, this type of drug also tamps down the NLRP3 inflammasome, which is likely why it cuts the rate of Alzheimer's.
Why is this interesting and important? It gives us a real-world view using data from hundreds of thousands of people (with a matched cohort group) to show a significant decrease in Alzheimer's risk.
For the details, check out my Longevity Lifehacks article on NLRP3 and Alzheimer's.
If you want to see your NLRP3 inflammasome genetic variants, check out the updated NLRP3 article on Genetic Lifehacks.
Expanded and updated this week:
Prostate Health: How Genes, Diet, and Lifestyle Shape Your Risk
With prostate cancer in the news, I took a day this week and overhauled my article on genetic variants related to prostate cancer, BPH, and overall health. In the article, I go over the connection to oxidative stress and cellular senescence, and then look at the environmental and genetic risk factors.
Response to Cannabis: CB1 & CB2 Variants:
This article got a major update, including five new genes added to it, along with information on the detoxification pathways involved.
Creatine: Boosting Muscles and Increasing Brain Power
Find out more about how the body synthesizes creatine, what low creatine levels do to the body in aging, and what the clinical trials on supplemental creatine show us.
23andMe in the news:
23andMe announced that its bankruptcy sale was approved, and Regeneron, a US-based biotech company, is acquiring 23andMe. The 23andMe privacy policy and data handling policy are still in place as part of the sale. It seems like at this point, not much will change with 23andMe. My hope is that Regeneron, which has done a lot in the biotech, genetics, and precision medicine fields, will end up improving what 23andMe has to offer.
What I've been reading:
1.) New study on creatine for Alzheimer’s patients
Trial Design: Single-arm pilot with 20 Alzheimer's patients taking 20g/day of creatine monohydrate (CrM) for 8 weeks
Compliance: 19 of 20 participants achieved ≥80% compliance with the supplement regimen
Measurable Results: Serum creatine increased significantly at 4 and 8 weeks (p < .001), and brain total creatine rose by 11% (p < .001)
Cognitive improvements were observed with statistical significance for global cognition, fluid intelligence, oral reading, and list sorting. This was just a pilot trial, and more studies are needed. However, creatine is a safe, inexpensive supplement, and these results here are definitely promising!
2) Acne and excessive vitamin B12
This is an interesting study on excess vitamin B12 fueling acne by promoting the growth of the skin bacteria Propionibacterium acnes. Definitely something to consider if you are taking vitamin B12 as a supplement and experiencing acne!
If you want to see how your genetic variants interact with the underlying causes of acne, check out this article: https://www.geneticlifehacks.com/acne-genes/
3. Spike protein activates mast cells
It's been known for a while that the spike protein activates mast cells (I wrote about it here in 2021), but this new study both corroborates that mast cells degranulate when exposed to mast cells and then explains the mechanism as to why.