Proteins in COVID-19 patients' blood could predict severity of illness, study finds

LONDON - Scientists have found 27 key proteins in the blood of people infected with COVID-19 which they say could act as predictive biomarkers for how ill a patient could become with the disease.

In research published in the journal Cell Systems on Tuesday, scientists at Britain's Francis Crick Institute and Germany's Charite Universitaetsmedizin Berlin found the proteins are present in different levels in COVID-19 patients, depending on the severity of their symptoms.

The markers could lead to the development of a test that would help doctors predict how ill a patient might get when infected with the new SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, they said, and could also provide new targets for the development of potential treatments for the disease.

The COVID-19 pandemic has killed more than 374,000 people worldwide and infected more than 6.7 million.

Doctors and scientists say those infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, respond differently - with some developing no symptoms at all, while others need to be hospitalized and others suffer fatal infection.

"A test to help doctors predict whether a COVID-19 patient is likely to become critical or not would be invaluable," said Christoph Messner, an expert in molecular biology at the Crick Institute who co-led the research.

He said such tests would help doctors decide how best to manage the disease for each patient, as well as identify those most at risk of needing hospital treatment or intensive care.

Messner's team used a method called mass spectrometry to rapidly test for the presence and quantity of various proteins in blood plasma from 31 COVID-19 patients at Berlin's Charite hospital. They then validated their results in 17 other patients with COVID-19 at the same hospital, and in 15 healthy people who acted as controls.

Three of the key proteins identified were linked with interleukin IL-6, a protein known to cause inflammation and also a known marker for severe COVID-19 symptoms. 

-reuters-

Extra protein boosts muscle with resistance-training, but only slightly

Extra protein from food or supplements does lead to increases in strength and muscle, but not as much as some might hope, researchers write in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. 

Presented as an infographic, the results are based on a review of data from 49 randomized controlled trials in 17 countries and more than 1,800 participants.

The upshot: supplementing protein while doing resistance training can increase strength by about 9 percent and add about a pound of muscle. The effect levels off at a certain point, after which extra protein provides no additional benefit.

“Lots of people take protein supplements with the expectation that they are going to gain lots of muscle because of the protein supplement,” said senior study author Stuart Phillips of McMaster University in Ontario, Canada.

“Supplement companies tout huge benefits,” Phillips told Reuters Health by email. “We thought it was time to do some science.”

Phillips and colleagues conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of research published on the topic of protein supplementation and resistance training, looking at how much extra muscle men and women gained, as well as how much stronger they became.

The studies had to be at least 6 weeks long, include resistance training at least twice a week, and one group had to be given a protein supplement that didn’t have other muscle-building ingredients such as creatine or testosterone-enhancing compounds.

Ten of the studies involved people who were experienced in resistance training and 14 studies had exclusively female participants.

The team found that protein supplementation led to an increase in muscle, but not much. In addition, protein supplements were more effective in people who were already lifting weights and less effective in people over age 60.

The analysis didn’t find any differences between types of protein supplements or a distinction between getting protein from food or from supplements.

When Phillips’ team analyzed the relationship between the amount of muscle gained and total amount of dietary protein consumed, they found that gains leveled off at around 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day, or about 0.7 grams per pound. That is twice the recommended daily amount in most official nutrition guidelines, they note.

“Going to the gym is where most of the benefits come from,” Phillips said.

Current studies are investigating the key amino acids in protein that aid this muscle-building process, particularly leucine, and especially for adults over age 60 who may have muscle and bone loss known as sarcopenia.

“It’s a big deal to have sufficient enough quantities to stimulate muscle growth,” he added.

Future studies will focus on ways to boost muscle mass and the effect of protein supplementation in older adults, including through everyday foods such as milk and meat.

“Older adults experience age-related physiological changes that affect body weight and body composition,” said Li-Qiang Qin of Soochow University’s School of Public Health in Suzhou, China.

Qin, who wasn’t involved in the current review, has studied the effect of milk protein supplementation among older adults taking part in a resistance training program.

“Milk proteins are excellent sources of all the essential amino acids and may represent an ideal protein source to promote muscle anabolism in older adults undergoing resistance training,” Qin said.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Low-carb diet linked to elevated mortality risk: study

PARIS, France - Middle-aged people who get roughly half their daily calories from carbohydrates live several years longer on average than those with low-carb diets, researchers reported Friday.

The findings, published in The Lancet, challenge a trend in Europe and North America toward so-called Paleo diets that shun carbohydrates in favor of animal protein and fat.

Proponents of these "Stone Age" diets argue that the rapid shift 10,000 years ago -- with the advent of agriculture -- to grains, dairy and legumes has not allowed the human body enough time to adapt to these high-carb foods.

For the study, under 40 percent of energy intake from carbohydrates qualifies as a low-carb regimen, though many such diets reduce the share to 20 percent or less. 

At the other extreme, a 70 percent or higher share of carbohydrates -- such as pasta, rice, cakes, sugary drinks -- can also reduce longevity, but by far less, the scientists found.

"Low-carb diets that replace carbohydrates with protein or fat are gaining widespread popularity as a health and weight loss strategy," said lead author Sara Seidelmann, a researcher at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.

"However, our data suggests that animal-based low carbohydrate diets might be associated with shorter overall lifespan and should be discouraged."

Replacing meat with plant-based fats (such as avocados and nuts) and proteins (such as soy products and lentils) reduces the risk of mortality, Seidelmann and her team found.

The optimal balance of food groups for longevity remains hotly debated. 

Many studies have concluded that eating carbohydrates in moderation -- 45 to 55 percent calories -- is best, but others report improved short-term, cardio-metabolic health with high-protein, high-fat diets.

Measures of metabolic health include blood pressure, good and bad cholesterol, and blood sugar levels.

Seidelmann and colleagues poured over the medical histories of nearly 15,500 men and women who were 45-64 when they enrolled -- between 1987 and 1889 -- in a health survey spread across four locations in the United States.

Participants filled out detailed questionnaires about their dietary habits -- what foods, how much, how often, etc.

Over a 25-year follow up period, more than 6,000 of the men and women died.

People who got 50-55 percent of their calories from carbohydrates outlived those with very low-carb diets, on average, by four years, and those with high-carb diets by one year.

A review of medical records for an additional 432,000 people from earlier studies yield confirmed the results, which are also in line with World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations. 

"There is nothing to be gained from long-term adherence to low-carbohydrate diets rich in fats and proteins from animal origins," said Ian Johnson, a nutrition researcher at Quadram Institute Bioscience in Norwich, England, commenting on the research, in which he did not take part. 

But carb quality, not just quantity, is crucial he added.

"Most should come from plant foods rich in dietary fibre and intact grains, rather than from sugary beverages or manufactured foods high in added sugar." 

Fibers also help maintain a healthy gut flora, now considered to be a major player in health and disease.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Japanese scientists confirm fat-burning protein

OSAKA, Japan - A team of researchers of Japan's Kyoto University has found a protein that helps the body burn fat following an intake of fatty meals, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported Monday.

The researchers at the Kyoto University's Institute of Chemical Research compared mice with protein called GPR120 with those that do not have the protein, and provided them with high-fat feeds, the report said.

They confirmed that the mice without the protein were heavier than those who had it by an average of 15 percent, and accumulated twice as much fat in their bodies, it said.

The Japanese scientists also analyzed the genetic sequence of about 20,000 people in Europe, including the French and the British, and found that people with mutant GPR120 genes were 1.6 times more likely to be obese.

Based on the result of the research, the Japanese scientists concluded the protein is capable of detecting fat, and also plays a role in prompting the body to burn the fat.

Professor Gozo Tsujimoto, head of the researcher team, was quoted by NHK as saying that the development of drugs that activate the protein will help prevent obesity.

source: interaksyon.com