Gut-level response

Artificial sweeteners, long touted as aids to weight loss and prevention of diabetes, may actually help cause the very disorders they were designed to prevent, according to research recently conducted at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel.

The researchers discovered that even though artificial sweeteners contain no sugar they may effect gut bacteria and thereby inhibit the body’s ability to use glucose.

Mice given water treated with the three most common artificial sweeteners developed glucose intolerance while mice given sugar water did not. In humans glucose intolerance is the first step toward metabolic syndrome and Type 2 diabetes.

The researchers asked a group of volunteers who did not usually use artificial sweeteners to consume them for seven days, after which they analyzed the volunteers’ glucose levels and gut bacteria compositions. Many of the volunteers had begun to develop glucose intolerance, but some did not.

The researchers discovered that there are two different types of human gut bacteria and only one induces glucose intolerance when exposed to artificial sweeteners. “Our relationship with our own individual mix of gut bacteria is a huge factor in determining how the food we eat affects us,” Eran Elinav, lead researcher, said.

The research is preliminary, and any health recommendations must await further studies.

Possible cure?

Siberian scientists at the Vorozhtsov Institute of Organic Chemistry, in Novosibirsk, may have found a cure for Parkinson’s disease. Animal trials are complete, and the researchers will begin human testing soon. If the medication proves to be safe and effective, it could be available before 2019.

The chemical is a derivative of turpentine, a paint thinner obtained by distilling resin from pine trees. “Our substance helps to restore the balance of neurotransmitters and is mild and works without major side effects,” lead chemist Konstantin Volcho told The Siberian Times.

Approximately 60,000 Americans are diagnosed with Parkinson’s each year, and 10 million people worldwide suffer from it. Scientists are baffled by its cause, but most suspect it is a combination of genetic and environmental factors. —J.B.

Crash cushion

Hundreds of thousands of football-related concussions occur every year. Raymond Colello, a neuroscientist at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, is devising a way to use the repulsive forces of palm-sized magnets embedded into the front and sides of football helmets to reduce the impact of head-to-head collisions, the cause of 60 percent of football-related concussions.

The material packed inside traditional helmets reduces impact by deflecting some of the energy after a collision, but magnets pushing against each other could slow the collision down before it occurs. According to the Sports Concussion Institute, male football players have a 75 percent risk of sustaining a concussion. The average NFL player sustains over 600 helmet hits per season, ranging from 20 g’s of force to more than 150 g’s. Around 100 g’s will cause a concussion. During testing the magnetic inserts have reduced 140-g hits to 88 g’s.

Although the magnetized helmets sound promising, they will only work in head-to-head collisions. Colello plans to begin testing with crash dummies by the end of the year. —J.B.