We’re inundated with so much news these days that it can be hard to know where to focus your attention. Here are some of the things I’ve been talking about on Intelligent Medicine:
U.S. taxpayers funded a campaign to dox foes of pesticides and GMOs. Controversy rages over the sweeping powers afforded Elon Musk in rooting out DOGE-y government programs, especially at USAID. But here’s one that most assuredly deserves defunding. Long before DOGE was launched, Lighthouse Reports, a consortium of public interest journalists, undertook an investigative report (“Poison PR”) in collaboration with the UK Guardian newspaper that highlighted the role of a U.S. taxpayer-funded PR operation in building a database of environmentalists. It was then shared with the agrochemical industry and international government officials:
“The US-based PR firm, v-Fluence, built profiles on hundreds of scientists, campaigners and writers, whilst coordinating with government officials, to counter global resistance to pesticides. These profiles are published on a private social network, which grants privileged entry to 1,000 people. The network’s membership roster is a who’s-who of the agrochemical industry and its friends, featuring executives from some of the world’s largest pesticide companies alongside government officials from multiple countries . . . Many of the profiles divulge personal details about the subjects, such as their home addresses and telephone numbers, and spotlight criticisms that disparage their work. Lawyers have told us this goes against data privacy laws in several countries.”
I wonder if I made that list!
“Our investigation reveals that the U.S. government funded v-Fluence as part of its program to promote GMOs in Africa and Asia. Between roughly 2013 and 2019, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) channelled over $400,000 to v-Fluence for services including ‘enhanced monitoring’ of critics of ‘modern agriculture approaches’.”
Surely, this is doxing at its worst, and an example of the covert role our government plays in crafting a shadowy campaign to support agribusiness worldwide. Fortunately, as a result of the disclosure and subsequent lawsuits, v-Fluence, the PR firm that compiled this directory, has removed the names of environmentally-oriented individuals and organizations, and announced layoffs of much of its staff.
Senior moments may not be inevitable. A Scientific American article (“Improving with Age”) reveals that “Contrary to stereotypes of the doddering elderly, research shows that half of people older than age 70 stay mentally sharp.”
Despite projections that the number of Americans with Alzheimer’s Disease will double by mid-century, researchers claim to have found that many older people maintain, and even gain, cognitive skills.
But there’s a widening gap between the haves and the have-nots at the threshold of age 75. While some experience steep declines, others remain mentally sharp:
“[A] study followed more than 2,000 individuals with an average age of 77 for up to 16 years. It showed that the three quarters who did not develop dementia showed little to no cognitive decline.”
Some of this is attributable to favorable genetics, but there’s strong evidence that a healthy lifestyle—exercise, diet, stress management, social connection and intellectual stimulation—plays a significant role in forestalling mental slackening.
An ancillary finding of the research is that healthy seniors may actually be better than their younger peers at regulating emotions and resolving conflicts. I guess that’s what they mean by “wisdom”.
“Normal” B12 may not be enough. Recently a family member emailed me her blood test results. She was told her values were okay but wanted my opinion. Indeed, her B12, at 337, was well within the “normal” range (>148 pmol/L). But that cutoff may be arbitrary, according to a new study published in the Archives of Neurology; it’s simply three standard deviations below the U.S. population average. According to the researchers, that may shortchange a considerable number of Americans, especially seniors.
B12 is essential for nervous system function; insufficiency may cause neuropathy and impair brain performance. But surely, a score of 337 is comfortably within the “safe” zone—isn’t it?
Not according to the latest study. It looked at 231 healthy subjects, average age 71, without overt signs of dementia or mild cognitive impairment. Their average B12 was 414.8.
But on closer examination, they showed slower processing speed, delayed response to visual stimuli, and lags in brain conductivity. Blood tests highlighted elevated markers of neurodegeneration. And brain MRIs revealed a higher percentage of white matter lesions.
A more sensitive infrequently-used marker of B12 adequacy—holo-transcobalamin—revealed insufficient stores of bio-available B12.
The researchers concluded that current standards for detecting B12 deficiency may underestimate seniors’ needs:
“The elderly population may be particularly vulnerable to the effects of declining B12 availability and may benefit from a change in guidelines for what is currently defined as healthy levels of vitamin B12.”
I sent my family member the study and told her to be sure to take some more B12.
Exercise your mitochondria. If you race your car at top speed hundreds of times, will it run better? Surely not. The wear and tear on engine parts would certainly decrease its efficiency.
But humans are not machines. Body systems are remarkable for their plasticity and adaptability. Stress, if not injurious, heightens resilience.
Scientists wondered if this applies to the mitochondria, the powerhouses of the cells, also responsible for protein synthesis and metabolic regulation. Could exercise up-regulate their performance? They posited:
“Evidence documenting the many beneficial mitochondrial adaptations to exercise has led to the notion of exercise as a mitochondrial medicine.”
Indeed, it’s long been acknowledged that exercise increases the size and number of mitochondria within muscle . . . an effect sometimes seen in as little as a few weeks. But longer training, with sustained exercise volume, may be required to fundamentally transform mitochondria.
What type of exercise works best for mitochondrial remodeling? Resistance training is somewhat effective, but the real gains seem to occur with bouts of high intensity aerobic exercise. This accords with evidence that VO2 max, a measure of oxygen utilization capacity, improves most with high intensity interval training (HIIT).
So take your mitochondria for a walk—or better yet—a brisk run!
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