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

Chromium picolinate may lessen inflammation in diabetic nephropathy

Supplement linked to decreased protein in the urine of diabetic mice

2010-09-22
(Press-News.org) Bethesda, Md. (September 22, 2010) – Taking chromium picolinate may help lessen inflammation associated with diabetic nephropathy (kidney disease), say researchers at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta. In a study comparing diabetic mice treated with chromium picolinate with those that received placebo, the researchers found that mice who received the supplement had lower levels of albuminuria (protein in the urine), an indication of kidney disease.

The Study

To arrive at their conclusions, the researchers compared three groups of mice, one lean, healthy group and two groups genetically engineered to be obese and have diabetes. When the mice were 6 weeks old, the researchers separated them according to treatment plan. The healthy mice and one group of diabetic mice, the untreated diabetic group, were fed a regular rodent diet. The remaining group, the treated diabetic group, were fed a diet enriched with chromium picolinate.

Over the course of 6 months, the researchers measured glycemic control and albuminuria in all three groups. The untreated diabetic mice excreted nearly 10 times more albumin than the db/m mice, which was to be expected. However, the treated diabetic mice, who were fed the diet with chromium picolinate, excreted about half as much albumin compared to their untreated diabetic counterparts.

At the end of 6 months, the mice were euthanized and the researchers studied tissue samples from the mice's kidneys. They found that the untreated diabetic mice had marked immunostaining for interleukin 6 (IL-6) and interleukin 17 (IL-17), two cytokines associated with inflammation. These mice also had moderate immunostaining for indolamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), an immunoregulatory enzyme that modulates the production of IL-6 and IL-17. However, the treated diabetic mice had intense immunostaining for IDO but reduced IL-6 and IL-17 compared to the untreated diabetic group. The implication is that the chromium picolinate may have reduced inflammation in the treated diabetic group by affecting IDO, IL-6, and IL-7.

Mahmood Mozaffari, DMD, PhD, professor in the Medical College of Georgia Department of Oral Biology and lead author of the study, noted that the results are preliminary and that further studies are necessary to tease out the effects of chromium picolinate. He is particularly interested in the relationship between IDO and chromium picolinate because IDO is involved in the metabolism of tryptophan, an amino acid, and one of the by-products of that metabolism is picolinic acid.

"This clearly raises an important question for us as to whether our observations are related to the provision of picolinic acid from the chromium picolinate or whether the formulation [chromium picolinate], in and of itself, is mediating the effects."

###

NOTE TO EDITORS: Dr. Mozaffari discussed the study at the 2010 American Physiological Society conference, Inflammation, Immunity, and Cardiovascular Disease, in Westminster Colorado. To arrange an interview with him, please contact Donna Krupa at 301.634.7209 or dkrupa@the-aps.org.

Physiology is the study of how molecules, cells, tissues and organs function to create health or disease. The American Physiological Society (www.The-APS.org/press) has been an integral part of this discovery process since it was established in 1887.

END



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

New species of sea slug discovered by UCSB marine scientist

New species of sea slug discovered by UCSB marine scientist
2010-09-22
(Santa Barbara, Calif.) –– Sometimes, treasures can be found in your own backyard –– especially if you know what to look for. This is what happened to Jeff Goddard, project scientist with the Marine Science Institute at UC Santa Barbara. Goddard was working in the tide pools at Carpinteria Reef, in Carpinteria State Park, Calif., when he found a new species of nudibranch –– a group of sea slugs noted for their bright colors and delicate forms. Recognizing it as new, Goddard carefully documented the living specimen before preserving it and sending it off to Terrence M. ...

Fruit flies help Yale scientists sniff out new insect repellents

2010-09-22
By following the "nose" of fruit flies, Yale scientists are on the trail of new insect repellents that may reduce the spread of infectious disease and damage to agricultural crops. That's because they've learned for the first time how a group of genes used to differentiate smells is turned on and off, opening new possibilities for insect control. Just as in new drug development, researchers can target these or similar genes in other insects to create substances that make crops and people "invisible" to insect antennae. Without the ability to smell correctly, the insects ...

GOES-13's wide view of Atlantic's Tropical Storm Lisa and low, Pacific's Georgette

GOES-13s wide view of Atlantics Tropical Storm Lisa and low, Pacifics Georgette
2010-09-22
The GOES-13 satellite may be stationed in orbit over the eastern U.S., but it has a wide field of view from the eastern Atlantic to the eastern Pacific, and today it captured three tropical cyclones in one image. At 1445 UTC (10:45 a.m. EDT) today, Sept. 22, the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite called GOES-13 captured Tropical Storm Lisa in the far eastern Atlantic, a developing tropical low in the south-central Caribbean Sea, and Tropical Storm Georgette in the eastern Pacific Ocean, making landfall in Baja California. The GOES series of satellites ...

Huge post-tropical Hurricane Igor drenched Newfoundland, Canada

Huge post-tropical Hurricane Igor drenched Newfoundland, Canada
2010-09-22
Hurricane Igor may have transitioned into a post-tropical hurricane late yesterday, but when he approached Newfoundland, Canada and merged with an area of low pressure it resulted in heavy rainfall throughout the region. NASA satellites captured Igor's northern march toward the Labrador Sea yesterday. NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites captured visible and infrared images of Hurricane Igor yesterday as he brought heavy rainfall into northeastern Canada. A visible image of Hurricane Igor over Newfoundland, Canada was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer ...

Human-powered ornithopter becomes first ever to achieve sustained flight

2010-09-22
TORONTO, ON – Aviation history was made when the University of Toronto's human-powered aircraft with flapping wings became the first of its kind to fly continuously. The "Snowbird" performed its record-breaking flight on August 2 at the Great Lakes Gliding Club in Tottenham, Ont., witnessed by the vice-president (Canada) of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), the world-governing body for air sports and aeronautical world records. The official record claim was filed this month, and the FAI is expected to confirm the ornithopter's world record at its meeting ...

Humanized mice may provide clues to better prevent and treat typhoid fever

Humanized mice may provide clues to better prevent and treat typhoid fever
2010-09-22
Better treatments and prevention for typhoid fever may emerge from a laboratory model that has just been developed for the disease. The model is based on transplanting human immune stem cells from umbilical cord blood into mice that are susceptible to infections. The transplanted cells live alongside the mouse's own immune system. Although mice are normally resistant to the dangerous strain of Salmonella that causes typhoid fever, the bacteria are able to reproduce in the mice that have received transplanted human cells. Because typhoid fever affects only humans, ...

Positive behavioral interventions programs found to improve student behavior and learning

2010-09-22
Los Angeles, CA (September 22, 2010) Adopting the evidence-based procedures of School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS) helped 21 elementary schools reduce student suspensions, office discipline referrals and improve student academic achievement, according to a study published in the July 2010 issue of the Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions. SWPBIS is a rapidly expanding approach to improving educational environments that is estimated to be used in more than 9,000 schools nation-wide Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Center for the Prevention ...

Experience, privacy guide how people choose online news

2010-09-22
Adjustments, applications and other tools allow users to configure preferences and use services such as iGoogle and Yahoo to control and customize the news they consume online. These tools can make online experiences more efficient and productive, but they do not ensure that users will be consistently pleased with their selections, according to Penn State researchers. "There is a major push toward customization in the marketplace because designers assume that more customization is better, but our research shows that only some users prefer customization," said S. Shyam ...

Losing your religion deemed unhealthy

2010-09-22
People who leave strict religious groups are more likely to say their health is worse than members who remain in the group, according to a Penn State researcher. The percentage of people who left a strict religious group and reported they were in excellent health was about half that of people who stayed in the group, said Christopher Scheitle, senior research assistant, in sociology. "Previous research showed some association between belonging to a religious group and positive health outcomes," Scheitle said. "We became interested in what would happen to your health ...

Gum disease found to be significant public health concern

2010-09-22
September 21, 2010 – Chicago – The prevalence of periodontal disease in the United States may be significantly higher than originally estimated. Research published in the Journal of Dental Research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Academy of Periodontology (AAP) suggests that the prevalence of periodontal disease may have been underestimated by as much as 50 percent. The implication is that more American adults may suffer from moderate to severe gum disease than previously thought. In a National Health and Nutrition Examination ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Reality check: making indoor smartphone-based augmented reality work

Overthinking what you said? It’s your ‘lizard brain’ talking to newer, advanced parts of your brain

Black men — including transit workers — are targets for aggression on public transportation, study shows

Troubling spike in severe pregnancy-related complications for all ages in Illinois

Alcohol use identified by UTHealth Houston researchers as most common predictor of escalated cannabis vaping among youths in Texas

Need a landing pad for helicopter parenting? Frame tasks as learning

New MUSC Hollings Cancer Center research shows how Golgi stress affects T-cells' tumor-fighting ability

#16to365: New resources for year-round activism to end gender-based violence and strengthen bodily autonomy for all

Earliest fish-trapping facility in Central America discovered in Maya lowlands

São Paulo to host School on Disordered Systems

New insights into sleep uncover key mechanisms related to cognitive function

USC announces strategic collaboration with Autobahn Labs to accelerate drug discovery

Detroit health professionals urge the community to act and address the dangers of antimicrobial resistance

3D-printing advance mitigates three defects simultaneously for failure-free metal parts 

Ancient hot water on Mars points to habitable past: Curtin study

In Patagonia, more snow could protect glaciers from melt — but only if we curb greenhouse gas emissions soon

Simplicity is key to understanding and achieving goals

Caste differentiation in ants

Nutrition that aligns with guidelines during pregnancy may be associated with better infant growth outcomes, NIH study finds

New technology points to unexpected uses for snoRNA

Racial and ethnic variation in survival in early-onset colorectal cancer

Disparities by race and urbanicity in online health care facility reviews

Exploring factors affecting workers' acquisition of exercise habits using machine learning approaches

Nano-patterned copper oxide sensor for ultra-low hydrogen detection

Maintaining bridge safer; Digital sensing-based monitoring system

A novel approach for the composition design of high-entropy fluorite oxides with low thermal conductivity

A groundbreaking new approach to treating chronic abdominal pain

ECOG-ACRIN appoints seven researchers to scientific committee leadership positions

New model of neuronal circuit provides insight on eye movement

Cooking up a breakthrough: Penn engineers refine lipid nanoparticles for better mRNA therapies

[Press-News.org] Chromium picolinate may lessen inflammation in diabetic nephropathy
Supplement linked to decreased protein in the urine of diabetic mice