I often have tabs on my browser that I leave open for a week or more because I've been looking into a subject but haven't collected enough interesting material to write a whole blog post. Tonight I'm going to link to my open pages so that I can finally close them on my browser. One tab is connected to hydrogen peroxide and antioxidants, which tangentially goes along with our family research project of testing all our produce for catalase action. (If you want to have fun, put some mushed banana in a glass then pour in some 3% hydrogen peroxide; the results are slow but impressive.) A couple are about iron overload and its possible connection to mental health condition exacerbation (I'm curious as to whether there's a link between fluctuating iron stores in women and symptom severity.). And the rest are my research into whether there is anything special in chicken gizzards, which topic became one of interest a couple weeks ago after I noted that chicken gizzard soup, which I'd never cooked before, made me feel unusually happy and peaceful; the research led me to MUC1, a mucin in gizzards which is upregulated by GABA and which I suspect might help people feel calm (That could contribute to the common relaxed feeling after Thanksgiving dinner, which is the only time Americans tend to eat gizzard--it's part of giblets--broth on the same day. People wouldn't have noticed as large an effect from eating fried gizzards because they usually boil then dry gizzards before coating and frying them; no broth consumed. I think MUC1 might be heat stable at 100C, given that mucin in cooked okra is what makes it so slimy, but I couldn't find any clear evidence of that, only that it's
very resistant to heat denaturation at temperatures up to 85C. There are also
water-soluble forms of MUC1, which could explain how MUC1 would end up in gizzard broth instead of staying in the rubbery gizzard pieces in my soup. MUC1 is overexpressed in many cancers, so I'm sure much more research on it will be forthcoming.). Kind of random, but that's what roundups are for.
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Antioxidant
effect of red wine anthocyanins in normal and catalase-inactive human
erythrocytes. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0955286301001644
“Subsequently, we demonstrate that fractions containing anthocyanins lower ROS
(reactive oxygen species) and methemoglobin production in human erythrocytes
treated with H2O2. Finally, we reported that the protective effects of
anthocyanins were also confirmed in an experimental model in which RBCs were
deprived of catalase activity by treatment with 4 mM sodium azide. The results
obtained clearly demonstrate that red wine anthocyanins protect human RBCs from
oxidative stress.”
Abstract: Seven
patients with varying psychiatric disorders were found to have iron overload as
manifested by abnormal serum ferritin, transferrin saturation index (TSI), or
excessive urinary iron. All possible sources of secondary iron overload were
ruled out. The patients were treated with the specific iron chelator,
deferoxamine, given IM for seven to 22 weeks which resulted in significant clinical
improvements. These cases indicate a need to be aware that disordered iron
metabolism is a somatic cause of psychiatric illness and that there is clinical
improvement upon lowering elevated iron levels in patients with iron overload.
Abstract
Objective - A
patient presenting with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders,
Fourth Edition, bipolar disorder was found to be affected by high iron
hemochromatosis. This prompted us to explore the relation between bipolar
disorder and iron overload.
Method - We
report the case and review the peer-reviewed literature focusing on mood
symptoms in patients with hemochromatosis or iron overload. Animal studies of
brain effects of iron overload are summarized. High iron hemochromatosis was
confirmed by genetic testing, and treatment was instituted to address iron
overload.
Results -Patient's
bipolar symptoms completely subsided after phlebotomic reduction of iron
overload.
Conclusion -
Clinicians should explore the possibility of iron overload and seek genetic
confirmation of hemochromatosis in resistant bipolar disorder to avoid
unnecessary medication.
Histomorphological
and Histochemical Studies of the Stomach of the Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) http://scialert.net/fulltext/?doi=ajas.2015.280.292
“Rossi et al. (2005) observed in the gizzard’s mucosa of the partridge
(Rhynchotus rufescens) low folds lined by simple columnar to cuboidal
epithelium. The mucosa revealed the presence of tubular glands, which were
lined by low cuboidal at their bases, whereas higher at their upper portions.
In fact, the luminal surface of the gizzard was lined with secretory product of
the mucosal glands, which solidified at the surface to form a hard cuticle of
koilin. Selvan et al. (2008) recorded that the gizzard’s wall of the guinea
fowl (Numida meleagris) constructed from the usually known four tunics in
addition to an internal lining of koilin which was a secretary layer above the
mucosa. The koilin showed positive reaction with the PAS. The surface
epithelium was PAS positive too. They showed predominance of neutral mucin. The
PAS positive material was present in the lumen of the glands and in the cells
that were lined both the surface and crypts.”
The
differences between the localizations of MUC1, MUC5AC, MUC6 and osteopontin in
quail proventriculus and gizzard may be a reflection of functional differences
of stomach parts. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1469-7580.2010.01243.x/full
“In conclusion, the expressions of MUC1, MUC5AC, MUC6 and OPN in quail
proventriculus and gizzard were different. These differences may be a
reflection of functional differences of stomach parts. In addition, the
localization of MUC5AC in proventriculus was different from those of MUC1, MUC6
and OPN. The immunoreactivity of MUC5AC was present in the lining epithelium of
both folds and superficial proventricular glands in the proventriculus, whereas
MUC1, MUC6 and OPN reactivity was found in the oxynticopeptic cells of profound
proventricular glands. Furthermore, the immunoreactivity of MUC1 in gizzard was
different from that of MUC5AC. Although MUC5AC was expressed in the cells of
surface epithelium and profound glands of the gizzard, MUC1 was localized in the
simple tubular profound glands of the gizzard. However, MUC6 and OPN
immunoreactivity was absent in the gizzard. These differences may also be a
reflection of the functional differences between the surface epithelial cells
and glandular cells of both the proventriculus and gizzard.”
Disease-associated
epigenetic changes in monozygotic twins discordant for schizophrenia and
bipolar disorder. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3221539/.
The top biological function pathway in the SZ gene list was ‘psychological
disorders’, comprising nine genes directly implicated in SZ (CCND2, CHRNA2,
FXR2, FXYD6, HRH3, MUC1, PFN2, SLC31A2, SLC6A3) (P= 3.64E − 03).
GABA
selectively increases mucin-1 expression in isolated pig jejunum. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4607675/
“Porcine jejunum epithelial preparations were incubated with two different
amounts of GABA or glutamine on the mucosal side for 4 h, and changes in the
relative gene expression of seven different mucins, enzymes involved in mucin
shedding, GABA B receptor, enzymes involved in glutamine/GABA metabolism,
glutathione peroxidase 2, and interleukin 10 were examined by quantitative PCR
(TaqMan® assays). Protein expression of mucin-1 (MUC1) was analyzed by Western
blot. On the RNA level, only MUC1 was significantly up-regulated by both GABA
concentrations compared with the control. Glutamine-treated groups showed the
same trend. On the protein level, all treatment groups showed a significantly
higher MUC1 expression than the control group. We conclude that GABA selectively
increases the expression of MUC1, a cell surface mucin that prevents the
adhesion of microorganisms, because of its size and negative charge, and
therefore propose that the well-described positive effects of glutamine on
enterocytes and intestinal integrity are partly attributable to effects of its
metabolite GABA.”
Oral intake
of γ-aminobutyric acid affects mood and activities of central nervous system
during stressed condition induced by mental tasks. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22203366
“In this study, we investigated how the oral intake of GABA influences human
adults psychologically and physiologically under a condition of mental stress.
Sixty-three adults (28 males, 35 females) participated in a randomized, single
blind, placebo-controlled, crossover-designed study over two experiment days.
Capsules containing 100 mg of GABA or dextrin as a placebo were used as test
samples. The results showed that EEG activities including alpha band and beta
band brain waves decreased depending on the mental stress task loads, and the
condition of 30 min after GABA intake diminished this decrease compared with
the placebo condition. That is to say, GABA might have alleviated the stress
induced by the mental tasks. This effect also corresponded with the results of
the POMS scores.”
Relaxation
and immunity enhancement effects of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)
administration in humans. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16971751
“The effect of orally administrated gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) on
relaxation and immunity during stress has been investigated in humans. Two
studies were conducted. The first evaluated the effect of GABA intake by 13
subjects on their brain waves. Electroencephalograms (EEG) were obtained after
3 tests on each volunteer as follows: intake only water, GABA, or L-theanine.
After 60 minutes of administration, GABA significantly increases alpha waves
and decreases beta waves compared to water or L-theanine. These findings denote
that GABA not only induces relaxation but also reduces anxiety. The second
study was conducted to see the role of relaxant and anxiolytic effects of GABA
intake on immunity in stressed volunteers. Eight acrophobic subjects were
divided into 2 groups (placebo and GABA). All subjects were crossing a
suspended bridge as a stressful stimulus. Immunoglobulin A (IgA) levels in
their saliva were monitored during bridge crossing. Placebo group showed marked
decrease of their IgA levels, while GABA group showed significantly higher
levels. In conclusion, GABA could work effectively as a natural relaxant and
its effects could be seen within 1 hour of its administration to induce
relaxation and diminish anxiety. Moreover, GABA administration could enhance
immunity under stress conditions.”
