Publisher Health

Scientists have developed a new method to measure and remove sulfate from water, potentially leading to cleaner waterways and more effective nuclear waste treatments.
A collaborative team from The University of Queensland and Xiamen University in China has designed a cage-like molecule to trap sulfate, a naturally occurring ion, in water.
Professor Jack Clegg from UQ’s School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences said controlling the sulfate concentration in water is a significant challenge in health, industry and environmental management.
“Sulfate is a very common and important ion,” Professor Clegg said.
“In low quantities in the human body, sulfate has diverse metabolic roles such as eliminating toxins and helping drugs work effectively.
“But in the environment, too much sulfate can pollute drinking water and accelerate the corrosion of pipes.
“The presence of sulfate also causes problems when immobilising radioactive wastes.

“Being able to monitor and completely remove sulfate in water has great potential across many areas.”
The researchers developed a molecule that measures and traps sulfate in water with a high degree of selectivity.
This ‘molecular trap’ can be prepared inexpensively from off-the-shelf chemicals.
Dr Xin Wu, a former DECRA fellow at UQ now based at Xiamen University, said while there are enormous benefits from cheaply and easily measuring sulfate levels, the molecular trap’s ability to capture negatively charged chemicals from water is also valuable.
“Being able to stabilise a highly negatively charged chemical such as sulfate inside a charge-neutral cavity is a remarkable feature of our molecule,” Dr Wu said.
“This mimics the function of naturally occurring sulfate-binding proteins.
“The technology could also have applications in medicine, such as helping to funnel chloride and bicarbonate ions through cell membranes to treat diseases that involve defective ion transport such as cystic fibrosis.
“This is just the beginning — we’re excited to see how this fundamental science can be applied in all sorts of fields.”
The research paper is published in Nature Chemistry.

Having bad breath really stinks! Now, researchers from Japan report that a particular combination of bacteria in our mouths may be responsible for producing some very unpleasant smells.
In a study published last month in mSystems, researchers from Osaka University revealed that the interaction between two common types of oral bacteria leads to the production of a chemical compound that is a major cause of smelly breath.
Bad breath is caused by volatile compounds that are produced when bacteria in the mouth digest substances like blood and food particles. One of the smelliest of these compounds is methyl mercaptan (CH3SH), which is produced by microbes that live around the teeth and on the surface of the tongue. However, little is known about which specific bacterial species are involved in this process.
“Most previous studies investigating CH3SH-producing oral bacteria have used isolated enzymes or relatively small culture volumes,” explains lead author of the study Takeshi Hara. “In this study, we aimed to create a more realistic environment in which to investigate CH3SH production by major oral bacteria.”
To do this, the researchers developed a large-volume anaerobic co-culture system that enabled them to test interactions between multiple different types of bacteria that live in the mouth. This system was able to test both direct, physical interactions among the bacteria, as well as whether these species could affect each other from a distance, for example by secreting active substances.
“The results were very intriguing,” says Masae Kuboniwa, senior author. “We found that Fusobacterium nucleatum produces large quantities of CH3SH in response to Streptococcus gordonii, another oral bacterium.”
By using stable isotope tracers and analyzing gene expression, the researchers showed that S. gordonii releases a substance called ornithine that prompts F. nucleatum to produce more of a molecule called polyamine. Because F. nucleatum needs methionine to produce polyamine, this enhanced polyamine production activates its methionine salvage pathway, which in turn results in increased CH3SH production.
“Taken together, these findings suggest that CH3SH production in the mouth is driven by the interaction between S. gordonii and F. nucleatum,” says Hara.
Understanding how these two bacterial species work together to cause bad breath could be helpful in developing ways to treat or even prevent bad breath. In addition, given that bad breath is often associated with periodontal disease, treating this symptom early could help prevent more serious damage in the future.

Up to 80,000 people in Austria are estimated to suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome, also known as ME/CFS or myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome. The number of ME/CFS patients is expected to rise drastically due to long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, research in the field has neither identified mechanisms of disease onset nor causal treatment approaches. Scientists at MedUni Vienna have now identified possible biomarkers that could improve the diagnosis and treatment of long-lasting and debilitating fatigue. The study has recently been published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine.
The study by Eva Untersmayr-Elsenhuber and her team from MedUni Vienna’s Center for Pathophysiology, Infectiology and Immunology builds on earlier research on immune disorders and the intestinal barrier function in patients with ME/CFS. It is well known that ME/CFS patients often differ greatly in the clinical manifestations of their disease. However, despite intensive research, there is still no measurable parameter (biomarker) that clearly indicates the disease.
As the MedUni Vienna research team shows, ME/CFS patients can be divided into subgroups based on the function of their immune system. The study was able to identify various biomarkers in the patients that indicate immune system disorders or reduced intestinal barrier function. As a result, differences relevant to clinical care were identified in ME/CFS patients that would have remained undetected without the previous immunological stratification of the ME/CFS patient group. “In our study, we see that the immunological evaluation of ME/CFS patients is of crucial importance. Patients suffering from immunodeficiencies are characterised by an altered innate immune function. In ME/CFS patients with an intact immune system, the intestinal barrier function was reduced,” explains the study’s principal investigator Eva Untersmayr-Elsenhuber. According to the researchers, this not only provides a more detailed insight in different disease mechanisms, but also indicates that depending on the patient’s immune competence, some treatment approaches might be more suitable than others.
The next step will be to review the study results on a larger scale. In order to advance research in the field, the first ME/CFS Biobank in Austria is currently being set up at MedUni Vienna with the support of the WE&ME Foundation. “ME/CFS Biobank Austria” collects human samples, which will be made available for future research projects. Untersmayr-Elsenhuber: “To ensure that ME/CFS research can take place quickly and transnationally in the future, we have been coordinating with research groups in the UK, the Netherlands and Germany from the outset.”
25 per cent of those affected are bedridden
ME/CFS is a severe multisystemic disease that often leads to a high degree of disability. 60 per cent of patients are unable to work full-time and 25 per cent are bedridden. The exact causes of the disease are still unclear. As diagnosis is difficult due to the lack of biomarkers, the number of people affected cannot be precisely quantified. According to current studies, between 26,000 and 80,000 people in Austria suffer from chronic fatigue. Due to Covid-19, this number could double in the next few years. The links between infection with SARS-CoV-2 and ME/CFS are also the subject of intensive research.

Traditional wearable thermal control devices use bulky and noisy components. New advancements such as the small electrohydrodynamic pump and soft tubes offer a promising avenue for such devices. However, they require real-time flow-rate monitoring, requiring additional equipment. Now, a team of researchers has developed a novel device that uses self-sensing technology for flow-rate monitoring, resulting in a compact personal thermal control device, marking a significant step in wearable device research.
Imagine adjusting your clothes to beat the summer heat or winter chill just by changing the temperature of your clothes, on the go. Wearable thermal control devices promise just that, offering portable personal thermal comfort. Not only that, but these devices also have other applications such as providing temperature feedback in virtual and augmented reality and offering thermotherapy for heat issues among others. Consequently, researchers have been thoroughly exploring different types of wearable thermal devices. In particular, soft robotics and liquid-cooling garments stand out for their ability to naturally conform to the human body.
Liquid cooling garments, already used for race car drivers, surgeons, chemotherapy, multiple sclerosis patients, and athletes, employ tubes embedded in clothes to circulate cool or warm liquids via a pump to change body temperature. However, providing power to these systems requires bulky and noisy equipment, making them cumbersome. Recently, the electrohydrodynamic (EHD) pump, which pumps liquids by injecting charges inside a liquid and moving them by using an electric field, has been gaining attention for wearable devices. The EHD pump is silent, lightweight, and offers higher flow rates than other pumps. Combining EHD pump with soft tubes, which easily conform to the human body, offers a unique opportunity for compact and silent wearable thermal control devices. However, these soft tubes can experience blockages due to bending, necessitating real-time flow-rate monitoring and thus requiring additional equipment and power sources.
Addressing this issue, a team of researchers from Japan, led by Ph.D. student Yu Kuwajima from the Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics at the Shibaura Institute of Technology, has developed an innovative new Pocketable and Smart Electrohydrodynamic Pump (PSEP) for clothes. “Our innovative device, with its compact and stylish design, breaks the constraints of size and appearance associated with traditional wearable cooling and heating devices, while its self-sensing capability to monitor flow rates enhances system reliability without the need for any additional equipment,” explains Mr. Kuwajima. The team included Yuhei Yamada and Shingo Maeda from Tokyo Institute of Technology, Naoki Hosoya from the Shibaura Institute of Technology, and Yasuaki Kakehi from the University of Tokyo. Their study was made available online on December 14, 2023, and published in Volume 16, Issue 1 of the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces on January 10, 2024.
A key innovation of PSEP is the model for self-sensing of flow rates in EHD pumps. This self-sensing model uses the changes in current between the electrodes of the PSEP to measure the flow rate. If any load changes the flow rate, the current through the electrodes changes. This change in current can then be used to measure the flow rate within the device itself. The team experimentally validated their model and found that the results were consistent with their theoretical calculations. Moreover, their testing revealed that the PSEP can adjust temperatures by up to 3 oC, significantly enhancing personal comfort.
Using this model, the team constructed a compact PSEP device that fits into a regular shirt pocket, offering stylish and discreet thermal control. Additionally, it features an intuitive smartphone interface for seamless wireless control and monitoring. Furthermore, its ability to detect and notify users of blockages, through self-sensing, ensures efficient operation and long life. In future, the team plans to integrate technologies such as self-healing liquids and advanced materials into PSEP to improve its resilience.
“Next-generation wearable tech has the potential to go beyond mere gadgets and truly transform our lives,” says Mr. Kuwajima, emphasizing the importance of this study. “The key lies in achieving both miniaturization and advanced functionality. Our research marks the beginning of this exciting journey, paving the way for a future where technology seamlessly integrates into our daily routines, making them richer and more comfortable.”

New research by the University of Sussex could help to increase life expectancy and improve treatment for an aggressive brain cancer, which impacts thousands of people every year in the UK, and hundreds of thousands worldwide.
In the study, published in the journal of Advanced Science, researchers have discovered that an understudied protein, called PANK4, is able to block cancer cells from responding to chemotherapeutic treatment for the highly intrusive brain cancer, glioblastoma.
Scientists at Sussex have demonstrated that if the protein is removed, cancer cells respond better to the main chemotherapy drug used globally for the treatment of glioblastoma.
Prof Georgios Giamas, Professor of Cancer Cell Signalling at the University of Sussex explains:
“Glioblastoma is a devastating brain cancer, and researchers are working hard to identify ways to delay progression of the disease, and tackle cell resistance to treatment. As this is the first time that PANK4 has been linked to glioblastoma, the next step is to develop a drug targeting this protein to try to reverse chemo-resistance and restore sensitivity, ensuring that patients receive the best treatment and have better outcomes.”
Glioblastoma is one of the most aggressive forms of brain cancer. Approximately 3,200 adults are diagnosed with the disease each year in the UK, and around 250,000 — 300,000 globally, with a best-case survival rate of just one to 18 months after diagnosis.
Following surgery to remove the tumour, glioblastoma patients are typically treated with radiation and the chemotherapeutic drug, temozolomide. Although patients initially respond well to the drug, the cancer cells quickly develop resistance to this treatment.

The University of Sussex scientists led an international research team to understand the possible reasons for this resistance, helping to guide future therapies to improve quality of life and increase life expectancy for those with glioblastoma.
The team identified a protein called PANK4 which, when removed from the cancer cells, can lead to the cell’s death, and saw patients better responding to temozolomide.
Linked to this, the researchers found that patients expressing high levels of the PANK4 protein had lower survival rates.
Dr Viviana Vella, research fellow at the University of Sussex explains:
“There are a multitude of under-investigated proteins that may hold great potential for therapeutic intervention. Our study sheds light on this understudied protein, PANK4, unveiling a protective role in temozolomide-resistant cancer cells. Ultimately, PANK4 depletion represents a vulnerability that can now be exploited to restore sensitivity to the drug and improve treatment.”
This study contributes to a body of ground-breaking research from the Sussex researchers, which focuses on the early diagnosis and treatment of glioblastoma.
The research group now hope to develop a drug to reverse chemo-resistance and improve outlook for patients.
Ms Charley Cranmer, Director of Fundraising and Communications, Action Against Cancer who funded the research adds:
“Action Against Cancer is very proud to have funded this ground-breaking research that offers such hope for patients with this type of aggressive brain cancer.”

When an enemy invades, defenders are ferried to the site to neutralise the marauders. In the human body, a protein carrier called SPNS2 transports S1P molecules from endothelial cells to rally immune cell response in infected organs and tissues.
Using specially-developed nanobodies that bind to SPNS2 and enlarge the entire structure, the enlarged SPNS2 structure allows the S1P molecules to be viewed via cryogenic electron microscopy. Scientists from the Immunology Translational Research Programme at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS Medicine) and their partners at the Harbin Institute of Technology, China, have analysed the structure of the SPNS2 protein at an atomic level that could provide greater insights into how S1P signalling molecules are released to communicate with the immune cells to regulate inflammatory responses.
“Seeing is believing. This work shows that SPNS2 is directly exporting S1P for signalling and it is possible to inhibit its transport function with small molecules. This work provides the foundation for understanding of how S1P is released by SPNS2 and how this protein function is inhibited by small molecules for treatment of inflammatory diseases,” said team leader Dr Nguyen Nam Long.
The SPNS2 protein allows the binding of the S1P signalling molecules to trigger the immune cells to leave the lymph nodes and induce inflammation in different parts of the body when needed. Made up of amino acids, the SPNS2 protein is malleable enough to change its shape and structure to release the S1P signalling molecules through small cavities found within the protein.
Through the discovery of how the SPNS2 protein releases S1P molecules, the SPNS2 structure can be exploited for future drug development. Similar to discovering how the shape of the lock looks like before the key can be designed, this finding sheds more light into how future drugs can be designed to better target the protein to increase drug efficacy.
This finding builds on previous research which found that deleting SPNS2 protein from a pre-clinical model effectively blocks the S1P signalling pathway so that the S1P signalling molecules are unable to be transported to prompt immune cells to leave the lymph node to induce inflammation. Both SPNS2 protein and S1P signalling molecule are required for immune cell recruitment to inflammatory organs, which goes towards treating various inflammatory diseases.
“Using pre-clinical models, we have shown that targeting SPNS2 proteins in the body blocks inflammatory responses in disease conditions, such as multiple sclerosis. This work has provided us a possibility to inhibit its transport function with small molecules that will go a long way to treating inflammatory diseases more efficiently and effectively,” said Dr Nguyen.

A new Danish study has explored the link between diet and cognitive function, and the results reveal that a protein-rich breakfast can increase satiety and improve concentration. This is important knowledge in a society with increasing obesity rates and lifestyle-related diseases, say researchers.
“Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” This is a well-worn platitude that has never had much basis in scientific evidence.
But a new Danish study has explored how different types of breakfast affect satiety and concentration and it has added new fuel to the old cliché.
The study followed 30 obese women aged 18 to 30 for three days, during which the women consumed a protein-rich breakfast, a carbohydrate-rich breakfast or no breakfast at all. The women’s sense of satiety, hormone levels and energy intake were measured at lunchtime. Their total daily energy intake was measured as well.
The participants also had to complete a cognitive concentration test during the study.
“We found that a protein-rich breakfast with skyr (a sour-milk product) and oats increased satiety and concentration in the participants, but it did not reduce the overall energy intake compared to skipping breakfast or eating a carbohydrate-rich breakfast,” says Mette Hansen, associate professor and PhD at the Department of Public Health, and one of the authors of the study.
Possible strategy to combat obesity?
The number of overweight people is increasing both in Denmark and across the globe. Obesity is often accompanied by lifestyle-related diseases such as type 2 diabetes.

Previous studies have shown that people who eat breakfast have a lower BMI than people who do not eat breakfast, and protein-rich foods have generally been shown to have an increased satiety effect compared to carbohydrate-rich and high-fat foods with the same calorie content.
The idea was therefore to test whether a protein-rich breakfast could be a good strategy to achieving greater satiety during the day and thus reducing daily calorie intake.
However, the solution is not that simple, says Mette Hansen:
“The results confirm that protein-rich meals increase a sense of satiety, which is positive with regard to preventing weight gain. However, the results also suggest that for this nutritional strategy to be effective, it’s not enough to just eat a protein-rich breakfast.”
Intriguing difference
The potential of replacing a carbohydrate-rich diet with a protein-rich diet can clearly be seen in the satiating effects measured in the study.

Several of the subjects had difficulty consuming the entire protein-rich breakfast consisting of skyr and oats.
“It’s intriguing that there can be such a big difference in the satiety effect of two different meals with the same calorie content. Had the women in the project been allowed to choose the size of the meal themselves, it’s likely that they’d have consumed more food and thereby more calories on the day
they were served bread and jam than on the day they were given skyr and oats,” explains Mette Hansen.
Further research needed
According to the researcher, although the study has provided important insights, it also has its limitations because only overweight young women participated in the study. The study is also based on relatively short-term observations, leaving open the question of how long-term dietary changes can affect health and weight.
Mette Hansen therefore points out that the study underlines the need for further research to understand how different types of food affect health over time.
“We already have new data incoming from a trial where participants received either a high-protein breakfast or a low-protein breakfast. The objective was to study how the different types of breakfast affect body composition and other parameters such as microbiota and cholesterol levels,” says Mette Hansen.
According to Mette Hansen, the results of these studies may result in the development of more targeted nutritional recommendations in the future.

It is not uncommon for people to “hit the wall” at work and experience burnout for short or long periods of time.
“We have found that approximately 13 per cent of Norwegian employees are at high risk of burnout,” says Leon De Beer, Associate Professor of Work and Organizational Psychology at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) Department of Psychology.
De Beer has contributed to a new study on burnout published in the Scandinavian Journal of Psychology with colleagues from the Healthy Workplaces research group.
They are working on a new tool that can identify people at risk of burnout. 
Signs that you might be at risk of burnout
If you are facing demands and stress at work that seem to be intractable, and you have frequently experienced the following symptoms in recent weeks, it might be a sign that you are on the verge of burning out: You feel mentally exhausted at work. You struggle to feel enthusiastic about your job. You have trouble concentrating when working. You sometimes overreact at work without meaning to.Early intervention is key
It is important to identify the early signs of burnout in order to mitigate the harmful effects. The warning signs are often present before things have gone too far, as long as we manage to identify them.

“Not addressing the risk of employee burnout in time can have long-term consequences,” says De Beer.
The physical and psychological effects of burnout include cardiovascular disease, pain related to musculoskeletal injuries, sleeping problems, and depression. Organisations can also lose talented employees and experience an increase in sickness absence and lost productivity.
A new tool may become standard
De Beer’s research group has trialled a new measurement tool to identify the early warning signs of burnout. In the past, it has not always been that easy.
“Previously, we have not had a detailed enough measurement tool for use in both the field of practice and research that identifies workers who are at risk of burnout,” says De Beer.
There is currently no international standard for assessing burnout.

The new tool is called the Burnout Assessment Tool, or BAT among researchers who have a penchant for amusing abbreviations. The BAT consortium, of which the researchers are a part, is now testing the instrument in more than 30 countries.
https://burnoutassessmenttool.be/start_eng/
“Our studies show that BAT is a good tool for identifying the risk of burnout,” says De Beer.
Burnout is the body’s response to stress
BAT measures four main groups of risk factors: exhaustion, mental distancing, cognitive impairment and emotional impairment.
Burnout is not really an illness, but a feeling of being mentally or physically exhausted — the body’s response to a lasting, demanding situation.
Burnout is normally defined as a work-related syndrome, but there is evidence that work-life balance also plays a role. Stress and burnout don’t necessarily stop when you go home at the end of the day, as these effects often extend into other areas of life and vice versa.
Some people may experience years of burnout
For some people, burnout can be stopped in its tracks and solutions found to improve their situation. For others, however, burnout can last for years if the problem isn’t addressed.
“We can deal with burnout through individual treatment, but it is of little use if people return to a workplace where the demands are too high and there are few resources. It is then highly likely that the employee will become ill again. Therefore, it is important to create good working conditions and structures that safeguard the health of employees,” says Professor Marit Christensen at NTNU’s Department of Psychology.
Studied 500 workers
The researchers studied a representative sample of 500 Norwegian workers. Norway is roughly on par with the EU average when it comes to mental health, but somewhat better when it comes to work-related matters.
A lower percentage of the Norwegian population struggles with exhaustion in connection with work. Somewhat fewer people than the EU average report health hazards at work, and we experience a better work-life balance.
“Using a recognised method, we found that around 13 per cent of the 500 surveyed workers were at high risk of burnout,” says Professor Christensen.
The tool can help identify who requires the most urgent follow up so that the risk of burnout can be reduced.
We do not yet know whether the prevalence of burnout in Norway is high in an international context. The Norwegian study is among several BAT studies that are currently taking place, so these answers will be available at a later date.
The tool is intended to be culturally independent, and it certainly works well in Norway. The researchers also found that the tool works regardless of gender.
“For entertainment and educational purposes, interested parties can use our online tool to test if they are at risk of burnout,” says Professor Christensen.
“Please note that the tool only gives an indication of risk and does not provide any type of formal diagnosis or medical advice. If you are concerned about your levels of work-related stress, we encourage you to visit a health care provider to discuss the matter,” says Professor Christensen.

For many people with dementia and the caregivers helping them live at home, mealtime is no picnic.
The home environment can pose challenges for both the patient and those providing care — confusion and functional problems linked to dementia and a lack of caregiver support for friends and family members thrust into the role, to name a few.
A new study led by researchers at The Ohio State University has laid the groundwork for a future intervention designed to help caregivers establish a safe and workable mealtime routine for people with dementia living at home.
In addition to explaining the various barriers to patients’ mealtime participation, interviews with a range of health professionals for the study identified strategies to make eating go more smoothly. Among them: reducing distractions and clearing away clutter, using written cues, and leveraging assistance that can come from a community-based nutrition program like Meals-on-Wheels.
“It comes down to keeping things simple. How do we keep that environment as simple as possible so people’s eyes and ears aren’t distracted and taking their attention away from their food?” said lead author Lisa Juckett, assistant professor of occupational therapy in The Ohio State University School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences.
“For people with dementia, it’s not just ‘I forget to eat and therefore that’s why I’m at risk of malnutrition,’ which some people might think. It’s the combination of all these other factors that really come into play, which is why eating is complex — it’s much more than bringing a fork to your mouth.”
The study was published recently in the journal The Gerontologist.

Over 80% of people with dementia in the United States live at home, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. An estimated 60% of home-based patients aren’t able to routinely eat or prepare food on their own.
“We know that the older adult population is growing and older adults are living longer, but that doesn’t mean they’re living lives that are healthier and disease-free,” Juckett said. “Alzheimer’s and related dementias are expected to be on the rise over the next several decades, and it’s estimated that the health care system won’t be able to keep up with addressing the needs of people with dementia. That places more burden on caregivers who are not paid to do this but want their loved ones to stay at home, because that’s where the majority of people want to age — at homes and in communities of their choosing.”
While organizations hold training sessions or support groups and offer educational resources about looking after dementia patients at home, a stressed and overwhelmed caregiver may not be able or want to take that route, Juckett said.
“We wanted to give caregivers actionable steps and strategies that they can try out with loved ones at home because they already have a lot going on,” she said.
Juckett interviewed 20 professionals whose work involved providing community-based care to people with dementia, including registered nurses, speech-language pathologists, social workers, occupational therapists, counselors and registered dietitians, as well as staff of the largest Meals-on-Wheels provider in Ohio, LifeCare Alliance.
The sessions identified the main challenges to mealtime participation at home. For people with dementia, cognitive impairment may mean they forget to eat, don’t recognize unsafe food, and are distracted during preparation and eating. Some also lack the functional ability to open packages and operate a microwave. A cluttered home environment poses a fall risk, radio and TV sounds can be distracting, and even a patterned tablecloth can cause visual confusion. On top of these factors, caregiver training doesn’t typically cover these complexities surrounding mealtime in the home.

Strategies recommended in the study take these barriers into account. Professionals recommended: Lowering auditory and visual distractions. Eliminating household clutter, clearing pathways and improving lighting. Providing written instructions to guide patients’ mealtime activities.Establishing an association between a table and eating can improve the routine, but for people with dementia who prefer to eat on the couch, ensuring they’re sitting upright can help keep them safe when they swallow.
Caregivers are also advised to sign up for a clinical assessment of the home environment to receive individualized guidance. If that’s not possible, Juckett said, this is where a Meals-on-Wheels program can help — staff and volunteers who have eyes on meal recipients on a daily or weekly basis can watch for behavioral or household hints that a referral or coordination of services is in order.
“Meals-on-Wheels could be powerful for addressing the needs of people living with dementia, of course, but also at providing some relief and reduced burden for the caregiver as well,” Juckett said.
Juckett has begun interviews with caregivers and the people with dementia in their care for insights into how their experiences line up against what the health professionals had to say. From there, the work will move into developing core components of an intervention focused on mealtime in the home and testing its effectiveness.
“We don’t want to make recommendations that add to the caregivers’ burden,” she said. “It often goes unrecognized how much work goes into caregiving.”
This work was supported by the National Institute on Aging’s IMbedded Pragmatic Alzheimer’s disease and Related Dementias Clinical Trials (IMPACT) Collaboratory.
Co-authors included Mequeil Howard, Shannon Jarrott and Lorraine Mion of Ohio State, Beth Fields of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Kali Thomas of Brown University.

Columbia researchers have found that a rare type of lipid is a key driver of ferroptosis, a form of cell death discovered by Columbia professor Brent Stockwell.
The findings provide new detail on how cells die during ferroptosis and could improve understanding of how to stop ferroptosis in contexts where it is harmfully occurring- in neurodegenerative diseases, for example- or induce it in contexts where it could be useful, such as using it to kill dangerous cancer cells.
The new research found that a rare type of lipid with two polyunsaturated fatty acyl tails, called a diPUFA phospholipid, was present in a range of contexts where ferroptosis was occurring, including in aging brains and Huntington disease-affected brain tissue. The finding indicates that the lipid is efficient at promoting ferroptosis.
The research was conducted by professors in Columbia’s Department of Biological Sciences, Department of Chemistry, and the Columbia University Irving Medical Center.
Stockwell first discovered ferroptosis in 2012, when he found that certain cells were dying because their lipid layers were collapsing- an unusual form of cell death that differs from the most common kind, which begins with the cell forming blisters on its outer surface. Since that discovery, researchers in Stockwell’s lab and elsewhere have continued to investigate ferroptosis, discovering that it can occur naturally in aging cells, in pathological contexts, and can be induced to treat disease. Another paper out this month with several co-authors found that a gene named PHLDA2 can sometimes promote ferroptosis by attacking a different lipid, and that this gene can block some tumors from forming. Together, these papers show that specific lipids promote ferroptosis, so defining the driver lipids in specific cancers is important.
“The discovery that these diPUFA lipids are important drivers of ferroptosis deepens our understanding of this form of cell death, and these lipids’ role in controlling a cell’s homeostasis in general,” Stockwell said. “Harnessing these lipids may eventually help us identify where ferroptosis has occurred and deliberately manipulate them to either induce cell death or stop it. This can begin to give us both understanding and the power to control cell death.”