You can change your cells

June 1, 2012 at 8:10am

Just like stem cell science, we're going to be hearing a lot about epigenetics.  Epigenetics is the study of changes in gene expression. "Epi" simply means outside of or above.

These patterns of gene expression are governed by the cellular material — the epigenome — that sits on top of the genome, just outside it. It is these epigenetic "marks" that tell your genes  to speak loudly or whisper. It is through epigenetic marks that environmental factors like diet, stress and prenatal nutrition can make an imprint on genes that is passed from one generation to the next.

This new avenue of research looks at how environment changes our genes, by switching them on or off--this includes what we eat and drink, what we come in contact with, and how we move and handle stress.  How we live our lives can create and change our genes.

lhttp://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1952313,00.html

We used to believe that there was no outside influence that could effect our genes.  What you were born with was what you had for the rest of your life.  And this is true in many instances.  Your baby blue eyes are thanks to Grandma. But Grandpa's diabetes or heart disease aren't your destiny.

This is why identical twins can have different diseases.  We see this in cancer, heart disease and MS.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AV8FM_d1Leo

Recent research has shown that, just like cardiovascular disease,  there is not one specific gene related to multiple sclerosis.  The closest researchers have come is to isolate the HLA locus and the MHC gene.  But only 4% of pwMS have this gene. This has lead some researchers to posit that MS may be an epigenetic disease-

http://www.medical-hypotheses.com/article/S0306-9877(08)00339-3/abstract

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18930111

For an excellent article, published just last month on epigenetics and MS--

http://www.msdiscovery.org/news/news_synthesis/1644-nature-nurture-and-what’s-between

There's something you can do to change your own cells.  Today.  Honest. 

Shift Work, Cortisol and Environmental Factors in MS

October 19, 2011 at 8:11am

In the news yesterday, a new study showing how shift work (night time work outside of normal daytime hours) doubles a teen's risk of developing Multiple Sclerosis.  

This is considered an "environmental factor" as opposed to a genetic factor.  This new paper comes from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden and was published in the Annals of Neurology.  The researchers did not propose a specific theory as to how shift work might increase the risk of MS, but they did comment on how circadian rhythm disruption might affect melatonin and the immune system.

Here is the complete paper:

http://sverigesradio.se/diverse/appdata/isidor/files/83/11395.pdf

Oddly enough, just last week, another published study showed how shift work raises the risk of metabolic disease, higher body mass index (BMI) and cardiac problems in young adults vias cortisol release. This study was undertaken by Dutch researchers and published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology-- only a week prior to the Swedish study.  

Here's the abstract for that paper on shift work:

http://jcem.endojournals.org/content/early/2011/08/25/jc.2011-1551.abstract

Shift work, or work outside standard daytime hours, has been associated with an increased incidence of metabolic syndrome, and cortisol plays a major role in the development of the disease.