The Alzheimer’s Symptoms That Start Outside Your Brain

…and other items from this week’s health news:

Body & brain

Researchers (Dr. Akhmetzada Kargazhanov et al.) have found that some symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease—especially movement problems—begin outside the brain, in the peripheral nervous system.

In few words: changes in balance, gait, and coordination can appear years before memory loss.

Further, the team found that mutations linked to Alzheimer’s disrupted the neuromuscular junction even without any involvement from the brain or spinal cord, when impaired signaling between nerves and muscles reduces contraction reliability and increases fatigue, directly affecting movement.

This is important in practical terms, because if symptoms start outside the brain, treatments that only target the brain can easily miss a significant part of the disease!

Read in full: Study suggests some Alzheimer’s symptoms may begin outside the brain

Related: How To Reduce Your Alzheimer’s Risk

Do we need GLP-1 receptor agonists at all?

For weight loss, that is, not for diabetes control (which latter thing is what they were invented for, before the world collectively forgot about treating a potentially deadly disorder, in order to focus on a more widely marketable aesthetics angle instead).

Researchers (Dr. Fa Zhang et al.) examined this by investigating a different pathway using GIP and glucagon itself, instead of targeting GLP-1.

What she and her team found is that not only did this work even in animals without GLP-1 receptors, but also, combining GIP and glucagon appears to enhance weight loss more than either alone, likely by both reducing appetite and increasing energy expenditure.

And, importantly, high doses of the new drug were tolerated much better than existing GLP-1-based treatments, which would make a big different to many people when GLP-1 receptor agonist side effects can be very off-putting, so say the least.

Read in full: Weight loss research questions need for GLP-1 drugs

Related: Most People Who Start GLP-1 RAs Quit Them Within A Year (Here’s Why)

Another Promethean endeavor

We’ve written before about the liver’s amazing regenerative abilities, but sometimes, the liver does defy its name (i.e., it dies, and needs replacing before it stops completely).

One of the problems is that patients with end-stage liver disease often need transplants, but shortages mean about 20% die while waiting.

Thus, lab-grown livers are of course a promising avenue of research. To this end, researchers (Dr. Amy Stoddard et al.) developed a method called BOOST whereby instead of growing a full liver in the lab, scientists implant a small engineered “seed” of liver tissue that can expand inside the body.

In other words, they can now grow liver tissue directly inside the body after implantation.

As for how it works: the method rewires gene expression in liver cells (hepatocytes) and support cells so growth can be turned on with a trigger drug and stopped when needed.

Read in full: Growing liver tissue directly in the body could ease donor organ shortage

Related: How To Unfatty A Fatty Liver

Take care!