Just two apples a day could help protect women against heart diseases by cutting their cholesterol levels, according to study. Scientists found that apples significantly lowered blood fat levels in postmenopausal women, the group most at risk of heart attacks and strokes, the Daily Mail reported Thursday. Snacking on the fruit every day for six months slashed cholesterol by almost a quarter. The biggest reduction was seen in low-density lipoprotein, the so-called bad cholesterol that furs up arteries and raises the risk of a life-threatening clot forming near the heart or brain. The findings, by researchers at Florida State University in the US, support previous evidence that apples could be good for heart. But the latest study suggests they could benefit one of the highest-risk groups.
COMPOUND LIKELY TO REGENERATE VISION IN HUMANS: An improved version of a newly discovered chemical may enable people with degenerative blindness to see again, says a study. The approach could eventually help those with retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic disease and the most commonly inherited form of blindness, as well as age-related muscular degeneration, the commonest cause of acquired blindness in the developed world. In both diseases, the light sensitive cells in the retina – the rods and cones – die, leaving the eye without functional photo receptors, according to researchers from the Universities of California (Berkeley), Washington (Seattle) and Munich (Germany), the journal Neuron reported. The chemical, called AAQ, acts by making the remaining, normally blind cells in the retina sensitive to light, said Richard Kramer, professor of molecular and cell biology at California, who led the study, according to a university statement. AAQ is a photo switch that binds to protein ion channels on the surface of retinal cells. When switched on by light, AAQ alters the flow of ions through the channels and activates these neurons (brain and nerve cells) much the way rods and cones are activated by light.
“This is similar to the way local anesthetics work: they embed themselves in ion channels and stick around for a long time, so that you stay numb for a long time,” Kramer said. “Our molecule is different in that it’s light sensitive, so you can turn it on and off and turn on or off neural activity.” Because the chemical eventually wears off, it may offer a safer alternative to other experimental approaches for restoring sight, such as gene or stem cell therapies, which permanently change the retina. It is also less invasive than implanting light-sensitive chips in the eye.
“The advantage of this approach is that it is a simple chemical, which means that you can change the dosage, you can use it in combination with other therapies, or you can discontinue the therapy if you don’t like the results,” Kramer said. “This is a major advance in the field of vision restoration,” said co-author Russell Van Gelder, professor and head of ophthalmology at the University of Washington, Seattle.
