News Briefs: Excessive Drinking & DNA; Diabetes Guidelines for Older Adults; Inadequate Sleep & Dehydration
Excessive Drinking May Change DNA
Binge and heavy drinking may trigger a long-lasting genetic change, resulting in an even greater craving for alcohol, says a Rutgers-led study in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research. According to senior study author professor Dipak K. Sarkar, PhD, people who drink heavily may be changing their DNA, which may help explain why alcoholism is such a powerful addiction. The researchers focused on two genes implicated in the control of drinking behavior: PER2, which influences the body’s biological clock, and POMC, which regulates the stress-response system. By comparing groups of moderate, binge, and heavy drinkers, the researchers found that the two genes had changed in the binge and heavy drinkers. This occurred through an alcohol-influenced gene modification process called methylation. The binge and heavy drinkers also showed reductions in gene expression, or the rate at which these genes create proteins. These differences increased with greater alcohol intake. Additionally, in an experiment, the drinkers viewed stress-related, neutral, or alcohol-related images. They also were shown containers of beer and subsequently tasted beer, and their motivation to drink was evaluated. The result: Alcohol-fueled changes in the genes of binge and heavy drinkers were associated with a greater desire for alcohol. The findings may eventually help researchers identify biomarkers, measurable indicators such as proteins or modified genes, that could predict an individual’s risk for binge or heavy drinking. It also may one day contribute to new ways to treat alcoholism or help prevent at-risk people from becoming addicted.
New Diabetes Guidelines for Older Adults
In a recent edition of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, the Endocrine Society announced new guidelines on screening for and treating diabetes in patients ages 65 and older. Aging plays a major role in the development of diabetes, which currently affects an estimated 33 percent of older adults in the U.S. Older adults with diabetes often have one or more co-existing conditions, such as cognitive impairment, cardiovascular disease, impaired vision, and arthritis, which affect diabetes self-management. The new guidelines encourage clinicians to consider a patient’s overall health, likelihood of benefitting from interventions, and personal values when considering treatment goals such as glucose, blood pressure, and cholesterol. The framework prioritizes blood glucose targets over the hemoglobin A1c test when managing diabetes in older adults. Recommendations also include simplifying medication regimens, tailoring glycemic targets in older adults with diabetes and cognitive impairment (e.g., dementia) to improve compliance and prevent treatment-related complications, and designing outpatient diabetes regimens specifically to minimize low blood sugar (hypoglycemia). In patients with prediabetes, focus on lifestyle modification is recommended; medication with metformin is not advised for this population. Also, older patients with diabetes should be screened periodically for cognitive impairment. For those who screen positive, diabetes regimens should be simplified to facilitate adherence and help prevent treatment-related complications. Glycemic targets should also be more lenient.
Inadequate Sleep Can Lead to Dehydration
New research from Penn State looked at how sleep affected hydration status and risk of dehydration in U.S. and Chinese adults. In both populations, adults who reported sleeping six hours had significantly higher odds of being inadequately hydrated compared to adults who slept eight hours on a nightly basis. The cause was linked to the way the body’s hormonal system regulates hydration. A hormone called vasopressin is released to help regulate the body’s hydration status. It is released throughout the day, as well as during nighttime sleeping hours, which is what the researchers focused on for this study. Vasopressin is released both more quickly and later on in the sleep cycle. So, if you’re waking up earlier, you might miss that window in which more of the hormone is released, causing a disruption in the body’s hydration. The study suggests that if you’re not getting enough sleep, and you feel bad or tired the next day, you should drink extra water. The study appeared in SLEEP, a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal.
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