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posted by martyb on Wednesday April 08 2020, @09:48PM   Printer-friendly
from the carnivores++ dept.

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

Asthma patients react even to low concentrations of some allergens with severe inflammation of the bronchi. This is also accompanied by increased mucus production, which makes breathing even more difficult. A central role here is played by cells of the innate immune system, which were only discovered a few years ago and are called Innate Lymphoid Cells (ILC). They perform an important protective function in the lungs by regenerating damaged mucous membranes. For this purpose they produce inflammatory messengers from the group of cytokines, which stimulate division of the mucosal cells and promote mucus production.

This mechanism is normally very useful: It allows the body to quickly repair damage caused by pathogens or harmful substances. The mucus then transports the pathogens out of the bronchial tubes and protects the respiratory tract against re-infection. "With asthma, however, the inflammatory reaction is much stronger and longer than normal," emphasizes Prof. Dr. Christoph Wilhelm from the Institute for Clinical Chemistry and Clinical Pharmacology, who is a member of the Cluster of Excellence ImmunoSensation at the University of Bonn.

[...] The ILCs multiply rapidly during this process and produce large amounts of proinflammatory cytokines. [...] "We have investigated which metabolic processes are active in the ILCs when they switch to reproduction mode," explains Wilhelm's colleague Dr. Fotios Karagiannis. "Then we tried to block these metabolic pathways and thereby reduce the speed at which the cells divide."

[...] the researchers put asthmatic mice on a diet that contained mainly fats, but hardly any carbohydrates or proteins. With this diet, also known as a ketogenic diet, the cell metabolism changes: The cells now get the energy they need from burning fat. However, this means that they lack fatty acids, which they need for the formation of new membranes during cell division.

As a consequence, the division activity of the ILCs in the rodents fed a special diet decreased -- dramatically: "Normally, contact with allergens increases the number of ILCs in the bronchi fourfold," says Prof. Wilhelm. "In our experimental animals, however, it remained almost unchanged. Both mucus production and other asthma symptoms decreased accordingly."

[...] The scientists now want to investigate on patients whether a ketogenic diet can prevent asthma attacks. However, this is not completely without long-term risks and should only be carried out in consultation with a doctor. "We are therefore trying to determine which components of the dietary change are responsible for the effect," explains Wilhelm. "Maybe this will open the door to the development of new drugs."

Journal Reference:
Fotios Karagiannis, et al. Lipid-Droplet Formation Drives Pathogenic Group 2 Innate Lymphoid Cells in Airway Inflammation. Immunity, 2020; DOI: 10.1016/j.immuni.2020.03.003

-- submitted from IRC


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  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 08 2020, @09:53PM (7 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 08 2020, @09:53PM (#980399)

    She always used to tell us: "Broccoli for bronchitis and asparagus for asthma"

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 08 2020, @10:19PM (3 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 08 2020, @10:19PM (#980405)

    And chicken vindaloo and six pints of lager for piles.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 08 2020, @11:15PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 08 2020, @11:15PM (#980428)

      Phaal and twelve pints cures everything.

    • (Score: 2) by Gaaark on Thursday April 09 2020, @01:52AM (1 child)

      by Gaaark (41) on Thursday April 09 2020, @01:52AM (#980476) Journal

      And hookers and blow for weird sex.

      --
      --- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 09 2020, @02:57PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 09 2020, @02:57PM (#980576)

        huh i sort of expected them to do anything. i mean once married it continued to cost--but in harrowing soul crushing ways.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 08 2020, @11:36PM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 08 2020, @11:36PM (#980433)

    Your granny sounds like a bit of a wuzz, mine just drank and smoked and lived to be 90+

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 09 2020, @02:53PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 09 2020, @02:53PM (#980575)
      Which proves conclusively that all smokers live to be 90+, and if you don't you are a wuss and it's your own fault! Hallelujah! God bless the Republican Party! God bless Donald Trump! Trump 2020! MAGA!
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 09 2020, @03:10PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 09 2020, @03:10PM (#980584)

      Ah, a 'my granny coukd beat up your granny' competition...

      One of mine, smoked, drank, lived to her 80's...and was the first person in the family to have a motorbike accident, back in the 1920's when she was a courier of some sorts (she had a permanent limp as a reminder..), other grandmother always referred to her as 'the bohemian', so there's probably more about her 'adventures' back in the 20's/30's than we were ever told.

      I'll also offer, for your consideration, one of my great-grandmothers; smoked a pipe, drank like a fish (she was Irish, and of the impoverished gentry...reason for being impoverished? see the drinking like a fish bit...), died in her 80s, in a police cell, after being picked up for being drunk and disorderly...