Monday Roll Call
Hello everyone
I worked all day yesterday. It was a sprint to the finish line....so to speak. I had to have everything done by today. So I got up early and by 4pm I worked 10 hours and I was done. I went to Chris's house for dinner and hung out there for the rest of the day. By 11pm I was so tired I got home and climbed into bed and right to bed.
We will see what today brings. I don't think I have to work any overtime for a bit. I say think because I don't want to assume. But I have to tell you I am kind of looking forward to leaving work on time and coming home and NOT doing anything for work!!! I will come home and relax....after yesterday I feel like I need a break.
So do you guys have any plans for today???
Well I better get going....have a good day...stay warm. Bye
Hi Everyone,
Time sure flies, I was so surprised to see so many days had passed since I last stopped in. Been busy.
G went to the Bulls game on Friday so I had the day off and the evening alone. I love when that happens. I went to get my hairs cut and colored and then went out for dinner with some friends. Saturday I watched the babies all day. I was a bit anxious because my daughter and son in law had a large red squirrel in the house and it was not afraid to come into the kitchen and help itself to the fruit bowel. Thankfully they finally caught it today.
Sunday was church and getting caught up on a few things. Tonight I am going to grill steaks.
I read in one of the medical journals today that weight loss surgery may cause us not to age or slow down the aging process! I will put the article at the end of this hello if you are interested in reading more about it.
Today is day 14 of the Atkins Diet. So far I have been good and haven't cheated. It is easier now that the carbs are out of my system. I just eat tons of eggs and salads. My clothes are beginning to feel comfortable again.
I'll be glad when this walking cast comes off so I can start to work out. I am ready to really use that gym membership.
Miss you guys,
Sharon
Bariatric Surgery May Stunt Aging Mechanism
By Christina Frangou
Bariatric surgery may reverse the shrinkage of telomeres, the caps on the ends of each strand of DNA that are considered markers for biological aging, according to a small, preliminary study presented at Obesity Week.
“This is the first study to demonstrate that surgical weight loss leads to decreased aging by increasing telomere length,” said lead author John M. Morton, MD, MPH, director of bariatric surgery, Stanford University in Stanford, Calif.
He and his colleagues presented the findings at the first annual joint meeting of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery and The Obesity Society.
Over the past decade, there has been increased attention focused on telomeres. Often likened to the tips on the ends of shoelaces, telomeres are responsible for maintaining chromosome stability. Every time cells replicate, the telomere frays and shortens, losing some genetic material in the process. Shortened telomeres have been linked to higher rates of cancer, neurodegenerative diseases and mortality.
But although researchers understand more about what happens as telomeres lose integrity, little is known about how to prevent it. It is believed that interventions to prevent telomere shortening could increase longevity and decrease incidence of age-related dementia (Arch Neurol 2012;69:1332-1339).
Obesity is one of the drivers of telomere shortening and experiments in mice suggest that obesity increases the formation of reactive oxygen species in fat cells and shortens telomeres (Nat Med 2009;15:996-997). Based on these findings, Dr. Morton and his colleagues set out to look at whether weight loss induced by bariatric surgery could influence telomere length.
They studied 55 patients with a mean age of 48.5 years who underwent laparoscopic gastric bypass for obesity and telomere analysis by Telomere Diagnostics, Inc.
Overall, patients’ telomere length remained relatively stable, measuring 0.987 (relative to 1.0) preoperatively and 0.982 one year after surgery (P=0.764).
But specific groups of patients showed remarkable improvements in telomere length, particularly those with the highest preoperative levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and C-reactive protein (CRP).
Patients with high preoperative CRP, defined as 7 at baseline, demonstrated a 2.83% increase in telomere length one year after surgery. Patients with high LDL-C preoperatively, defined as greater than 140 at baseline, showed a 1.62% increase in telomere length.
“I look at it this way: It’s the sickest patients—those with the worst cholesterol, the most inflammation—who got the most benefit,” explained Dr. Morton.
The findings suggest that there may be a way to determine who will have the best results from bariatric surgery, an issue that will become even more important in the next few years under health care reform, said Bruce Wolfe, MD, professor of surgery at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland. Dr. Wolfe was not involved with the study.
“A fundamental question in bariatric surgery is how can we determine beforehand who will have a very good operation so we can focus the selection of patients,” he said.
“What this study showed, as I interpret it, is that the gastric bypass and resultant weight loss led to restoration of telomere function and chromosomal preservation. If indeed the weight loss does have a positive effect on preservation of DNA and how it functions, that is a remarkable finding.”
Dr. Wolfe cautioned that although the study provides proof of concept, much more information is needed.
Currently, the investigators have expanded the study and plan to conduct telomere analysis on more than 1,500 patients who underwent gastric bypass as part of the National Institutes of Health research consortium on bariatric surgery, known as LABS. Such a study would provide more information what happens to the telomeres of bariatric surgery patients, particularly in the long term. Dr. Wolfe is co-chair of LABS.
It is unknown if telomere erosion itself contributes to aging or if it is a reflection of the aging process. That’s a question for future research, said Dr. Morton.
