PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Up in smoke: Secondhand smoke can cause weight gain

Risk is 'massive' for children in home of a smoker

Up in smoke: Secondhand smoke can cause weight gain
2014-11-04
(Press-News.org) New research is challenging the decades-old belief that smoking cigarettes helps keep you slim.

A BYU study published in the American Journal of Physiology: Endocrinology and Metabolism finds that exposure to cigarette smoke can actually cause weight gain. But here's the kicker: Secondhand smoke is the biggest culprit.

"For people who are in a home with a smoker, particularly children, the increased risk of cardiovascular or metabolic problems is massive," said author Benjamin Bikman, professor of physiology and developmental biology at Brigham Young University.

Data shows half of the U.S. population is exposed at least once daily to secondhand cigarette smoke and approximately 20 percent of young children live with someone who smokes in the home. Every day, almost 4,000 young adults smoke their first cigarette and 1,000 become habitual smokers.

Bikman and BYU colleague Paul Reynolds' interest in cigarette smoke is tied to metabolic function: they wanted to pinpoint the mechanism behind why smokers become insulin resistant. To carry out their study, they exposed lab mice to side-stream (or second-hand) smoke and followed their metabolic progression.

Sure enough, those exposed to smoke put on weight. When they drilled down to the cellular level, they found the smoke triggered a tiny lipid called ceramide to alter mitochondria in the cells, causing disruption to normal cell function and inhibiting the cells' ability to respond to insulin.

"The lungs provide a vast interface with our environment and this research shows that a response to involuntary smoking includes altering systemic sensitivity to insulin," Reynolds said. "Once someone becomes insulin resistant, their body needs more insulin. And any time you have insulin go up, you have fat being made in the body."

The key to reversing the effects of cigarette smoke, they discovered, is to inhibit ceramide. The researchers found the mice treated with myriocin (a known ceramide blocker) didn't gain weight or experience metabolic problems, regardless of their exposure to the smoke. However, when the smoke-exposed mice were also fed a high-sugar diet, the metabolic disruption could not be fixed. Now Bikman and his team are in a race with other researchers to find a ceramide inhibitor that is safe for humans.

"The idea that there might be some therapy we could give to innocent bystanders to help protect them from the consequences of being raised in a home with a smoker is quite gratifying," he said.

And what about the smokers themselves? Bikman said that one is easier said than done.

"They just have to quit," he said. "Perhaps our research can provide added motivation as they learn about the additional harmful effects to loved ones."

INFORMATION:

Mikayla Thatcher, a PhD student in Bikman's lab, is the lead author on the paper. Trevor Tippetts, now a graduate student working in Bikman's lab, worked on the research while still an undergraduate student at BYU.


[Attachments] See images for this press release:
Up in smoke: Secondhand smoke can cause weight gain Up in smoke: Secondhand smoke can cause weight gain 2 Up in smoke: Secondhand smoke can cause weight gain 3

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Drinking and poor academics affect the future of children with behavioral disorders

2014-11-04
Childhood behavioral conditions such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and conduct disorder are linked with an increased risk of being convicted of a felony later in life, with heavy drinking and educational failure contributing to this link. The findings, which come from an analysis of 4,644 men, suggest that substance use and educational disengagement in adolescence operate as stepping stones toward adult criminality among behaviorally disordered children. "We think the findings are important because they suggest potential avenues for preventing antisocial ...

NASA's Terra satellite sees Typhoon Nuri in eyewall replacement

NASAs Terra satellite sees Typhoon Nuri in eyewall replacement
2014-11-04
High clouds had moved over Super Typhoon Nuri's eye early on Nov. 4 when NASA's Terra satellite passed overhead as the storm was undergoing eyewall replacement. Eyewall replacement occurs when the thunderstorms that circle the eye of a powerful typhoons or hurricanes are replaced by other thunderstorms. Basically, a new eye begins to develop around the old eye. Many intense hurricanes undergo at least one of these eyewall replacements during their existence. On Nov. 4 at 01:55 UTC (8:55 p.m. EST) the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer or MODIS instrument ...

Framework may help improve use of social media during disasters

2014-11-04
A new analysis illustrates the robust ways that social media can be employed to inform and improve disaster operations, and it provides a framework that could help standardize and organize disaster social media uses. Disaster social media users in the framework include communities, government, individuals, organizations, and media outlets. Fifteen distinct disaster social media uses were identified, ranging from providing and receiving disaster preparedness information to (re)connecting community members following a disaster. "Ultimately, emerging communication technologies ...

Parents' work schedules may impact family members' sleep

2014-11-04
In a recent US study of 1,815 disadvantaged mothers and their children, mothers who worked more than 35 hours per week were more likely to experience insufficient sleep compared with mothers who worked fewer hours, while children were more likely to experience insufficient sleep when their mothers worked between 20 and 40 hours. Nonstandard work schedules—such as working evenings, nights, or week-ends—were linked with an increased likelihood of insufficient sleep for mothers but not their children. "The results highlight a potentially difficult balance ...

To succeed in academia, grad students need 'street smarts'

2014-11-04
MAYWOOD, Il. – In an era of reduced funding, it's not enough for a young researcher to be a good scientist. He or she also needs "street smarts" to, for example, find an influential mentor, dress professionally, network during scientific meetings and be able to describe a research project in the time it takes to ride an elevator. These are among the techniques taught at a "Street Smarts for Science" workshop offered at the annual Society for Leukocyte Biology meeting, and described in the November issue of the journal Nature Immunology. What students learn in ...

Youth pastors feel ill-equipped to help youths with mental health issues, Baylor study finds

2014-11-04
Many mental health disorders first surface during adolescence, and college and youth pastors are in a good position to offer help or steer youths elsewhere to find it. But many of those pastors feel ill-prepared to recognize and treat mental illness, according to a Baylor University study. The study — "Adolescent mental health: the role of youth and college pastors" — is published in the journal Mental Health, Religion & Culture. Unlike senior pastors, those who work with young people are expected to have more extensive contact with their congregants because ...

TSRI study shows how exercise could reduce relapse during meth withdrawal

TSRI study shows how exercise could reduce relapse during meth withdrawal
2014-11-04
LA JOLLA, CA – November 3, 2014 – Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have found that even brief workouts can reduce the risk of relapse in rats withdrawing from methamphetamine. In addition, the team found that exercise affected the neurons in a brain region that had never before been associated with meth withdrawal, suggesting a new direction for drug development. "There was no correlation between length of workout and risk of relapse—it's the mere involvement in the activity of physical fitness, rather than how much time you can put ...

Lactose intolerants at lower risk of certain cancers: Study

2014-11-04
People with lactose intolerance are at lower risk of suffering from lung, breast and ovarian cancers, according to a new study by researchers at Lund University and Region Skåne in Sweden. "We found that people with lactose intolerance, who typically consume low amounts of milk and other dairy products, have a reduced risk of lung, breast and ovarian cancers", says Jianguang Ji, Associate Professor at Lund University and researcher at the Center for Primary Care Research in Malmö. "The risk of cancer was not reduced in relatives of people with lactose intolerance, ...

Nature adores a hybrid

Nature adores a hybrid
2014-11-04
This news release is available in French. Montreal, November 4, 2014 — Overfishing, climate change and pollution have reduced fish populations in Canadian lakes and rivers. While hatchery-raised fish could return numbers to normal, they aren't as well adapted to their new environments, and there's been concern that the wild population is "tainted" once it breeds with its domesticated counterparts. But new research from Concordia, published in the journal Evolutionary Applications, shows that after a few generations of breeding and natural selection, these ...

Hot flushes are going unrecognised leaving women vulnerable

2014-11-04
Hot flushes are one of the most distressing conditions faced by women who have been treated for breast cancer, but they are not being adequately addressed by healthcare professionals and some women consider giving up their post cancer medication to try and stop them, a new study has shown. More than 70 per cent of women who have had breast cancer experience menopausal problems, and hot flushes in particular, which are among the most prevalent and potentially distressing problems following breast cancer treatment. These can also be long lasting, persisting for more than ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Are lifetimes of big appliances really shrinking?

Pink skies

Monkeys are world’s best yodellers - new research

Key differences between visual- and memory-led Alzheimer’s discovered

% weight loss targets in obesity management – is this the wrong objective?

An app can change how you see yourself at work

NYC speed cameras take six months to change driver behavior, effects vary by neighborhood, new study reveals

New research shows that propaganda is on the rise in China

Even the richest Americans face shorter lifespans than their European counterparts, study finds

Novel genes linked to rare childhood diarrhea

New computer model reveals how Bronze Age Scandinavians could have crossed the sea

Novel point-of-care technology delivers accurate HIV results in minutes

Researchers reveal key brain differences to explain why Ritalin helps improve focus in some more than others

Study finds nearly five-fold increase in hospitalizations for common cause of stroke

Study reveals how alcohol abuse damages cognition

Medicinal cannabis is linked to long-term benefits in health-related quality of life

Microplastics detected in cat placentas and fetuses during early pregnancy

Ancient amphibians as big as alligators died in mass mortality event in Triassic Wyoming

Scientists uncover the first clear evidence of air sacs in the fossilized bones of alvarezsaurian dinosaurs: the "hollow bones" which help modern day birds to fly

Alcohol makes male flies sexy

TB patients globally often incur "catastrophic costs" of up to $11,329 USD, despite many countries offering free treatment, with predominant drivers of cost being hospitalization and loss of income

Study links teen girls’ screen time to sleep disruptions and depression

Scientists unveil starfish-inspired wearable tech for heart monitoring

Footprints reveal prehistoric Scottish lagoons were stomping grounds for giant Jurassic dinosaurs

AI effectively predicts dementia risk in American Indian/Alaska Native elders

First guideline on newborn screening for cystic fibrosis calls for changes in practice to improve outcomes

Existing international law can help secure peace and security in outer space, study shows

Pinning down the process of West Nile virus transmission

UTA-backed research tackles health challenges across ages

In pancreatic cancer, a race against time

[Press-News.org] Up in smoke: Secondhand smoke can cause weight gain
Risk is 'massive' for children in home of a smoker