Publisher Health

An exhalation delivery system that uses a patient’s own breath to carry the anti-inflammatory compound fluticasone (EDS-FLU) directly to the sinuses reduced chronic sinus infection (sinusitis) symptoms and decreased aggravations and infections associated with chronic inflammation of the sinus by more than 50 percent, researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania reported.
The randomized, international clinical trials (NCT03781804 and NCT03960580), published today in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice, compared EDS-FLU to a placebo in more than 500 adults with chronic rhinosinusitis with or without nasal polyps. Patients used either EDS-FLU or a placebo twice daily for 24 weeks. EDS-FLU works through a patient exhaling into the device to send the medication deep into the far reaches of their sinus cavities, where the topical medication is most effective. Compared to a placebo, sinus symptom scores and CT scan results were significantly improved. Symptoms of nasal congestion, nasal discharge, facial pain/pressure, and loss of smell improved dramatically with EDS-FLU compared to placebo, as measured by the sinonasal outcome test-22, a standardized scoring measure for sinonasal symptoms.
“Chronic sinusitis affects as much of 10 percent of the United States population, and can make breathing uncomfortable and negatively impact a person’s daily life,” said lead author James N. Palmer, MD, the David W. Kennedy, MD Endowed Professor of Otorhinolaryngology and director of Rhinology at Penn Medicine. “These findings provide strong evidence for an effective, non-invasive treatment option for people who continue to experience symptoms after over-the-counter medications have failed.”
Millions of Americans experience the symptoms of chronic sinus infections and inflammation, a largely inflammatory condition that causes nasal congestion, sinus pressure, and pain, when the sinus membranes are inflamed for long periods of time. Although over-the-counter nasal sprays offer marginal relief, no FDA-approved medication exists for the most common form of the condition, chronic rhinosinusitis without nasal polyps, known as “chronic sinusitis.”
While some nasal sprays may offer some symptom relief, patients who were using a standard-delivery nasal spray before study enrollment still reported similar improvements in symptoms compared to others in the study. These are the first placebo-controlled clinical trials to show that a medication reduces subjective symptoms and objective measures of sinus disease for patients with chronic sinusitis, both with and without polyps. Currently, patients whose symptoms are not resolved by over-the-counter nasal sprays or other medications, have limited options for relief, including antibiotics, surgery, or — for patients with nasal polyps — lifelong biologic therapies.
EDS-FLU was determined to be as safe as standard over the counter nasal sprays.
The study was funded by OptiNose US, Inc., and the company has submitted a new drug application to the FDA for EDS-FLU for chronic rhinosinusitis without nasal polyps based on these study results.
Note: Palmer chaired the steering committee for the studies, serves a consultant for OptiNose, and holds Optinose stock.

In a groundbreaking study published on January 18, 2024, in Cancer Discovery, scientists at University of California San Diego School of Medicine leveraged a machine learning algorithm to tackle one of the biggest challenges facing cancer researchers: predicting when cancer will resist chemotherapy.
All cells, including cancer cells, rely on complex molecular machinery to replicate DNA as part of normal cell division. Most chemotherapies work by disrupting this DNA replication machinery in rapidly dividing tumor cells. While scientists recognize that a tumor’s genetic composition heavily influences its specific drug response, the vast multitude of mutations found within tumors has made prediction of drug resistance a challenging prospect.
The new algorithm overcomes this barrier by exploring how numerous genetic mutations collectively influence a tumor’s reaction to drugs that impede DNA replication. Specifically, they tested their model on cervical cancer tumors, successfully forecasting responses to cisplatin, one of the most common chemotherapy drugs. The model was able to identify tumors at most risk for treatment resistance and was also able to identify much of the underlying molecular machinery driving treatment resistance.
“Clinicians were previously aware of a few individual mutations that are associated with treatment resistance, but these isolated mutations tended to lack significant predictive value. The reason is that a much larger number of mutations can shape a tumor’s treatment response than previously appreciated,” Trey Ideker, PhD, professor in Department of Medicine at UC San Diego of Medicine, explained. “Artificial intelligence bridges that gap in our understanding, enabling us to analyze a complex array of thousands of mutations at once.”
One of the challenges in understanding how tumors respond to drugs is the inherent complexity of DNA replication — a mechanism targeted by numerous cancer drugs.
“Hundreds of proteins work together in complex arrangements to replicate DNA,” Ideker noted. “Mutations in any one part of this system can change how the entire tumor responds to chemotherapy.”
The researchers focused on the standard set of 718 genes commonly used in clinical genetic testing for cancer classification, using mutations within these genes as the initial input for their machine learning model. After training it with publicly accessible drug response data, the model pinpointed 41 molecular assemblies — groups of collaborating proteins — where genetic alterations influence drug efficacy.

“Cancer is a network-based disease driven by many interconnected components, but previous machine learning models for predicting treatment resistance don’t always reflect this,” said Ideker. “Rather than focusing on a single gene or protein, our model evaluates the broader biochemical networks vital for cancer survival.”
After training their model, the researchers put it to the test in cervical cancer, in which roughly 35% of tumors persist after treatment. The model was able to accurately identify tumors that were susceptible to therapy, which were associated with improved patient outcomes. The model also effectively pinpointed tumors likely to resist treatment.
Further still, beyond forecasting treatment responses, the model helped shed light on its decision-making process by identifying the protein assemblies driving treatment resistance in cervical cancer. The researchers emphasize that this aspect of the model — the ability to interpret its reasoning — is key to the model’s success and also for building trustworthy AI systems.
“Unraveling an AI model’s decision-making process is crucial, sometimes as important as the prediction itself,” said Ideker. “Our model’s transparency is one of its strengths, first because it builds trust in the model, and second because each of these molecular assemblies we’ve identified becomes a potential new target for chemotherapy. We’re optimistic that our model will have broad applications in not only enhancing current cancer treatment, but also in pioneering new ones.”

Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness around the globe, affecting up to 44 million people. Although people of African ancestry are most frequently and severely affected by this hereditary disease, its genetic underpinnings in this population have rarely been studied. Now, a team of investigators has published findings revealing previously unknown inherited genetic variants that contribute to primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG), the most common form of the disease. The study was based on the analysis of 11,275 individuals of African descent and is being published January 18, 2024, in Cell.
“Individuals with African ancestry are five times more likely to be affected by glaucoma and up to 15 times more likely to experience vision loss or blindness from the disease compared to individuals with European ancestry,” says corresponding author Joan O’Brien, MD, Director of the Penn Medicine Center for Genetics of Complex Disease, who was funded by a $17.9 million grant from the National Institutes of Health for this research. “Our current treatments for this blinding disease are inadequate, and precision medicine could be applied if we more clearly understood the full pathophysiology of this inherited neurodegeneration.”
O’Brien explains that this research was made possible thanks to key contributions from glaucoma specialists of African ancestry and other Black community leaders living in the Philadelphia area, who were able to boost enrollment in the research because of increased trust within the community. Scientists from fields including genetics, ophthalmology, and computational biology also made important contributions to the paper.
POAG can occur when normal drainage of eye fluid becomes blocked, leading to a buildup of pressure within the eye. If the intraocular pressure rises too much, it can damage the optic nerve and result in permanent vision loss. People with POAG generally experience a loss of peripheral vision first, followed by loss in the central field of vision. Unfortunately, the disease has no early symptoms, and by the time vision loss is experienced, permanent damage usually has already occurred.
“Elevated intraocular pressure is currently the only targetable component of the disease, but many patients maintain normal pressure levels or do not respond to pressure-lowering therapies,” says co-author Rebecca Salowe, MSE, Research Project Manager at UPenn. “This suggested to us that POAG has additional underlying mechanisms that could be elucidated by genetic studies.”
In this study, the investigators worked with Black community leaders to organize glaucoma screenings in churches and senior centers. They also worked with a Black-owned radio station (WURD Radio) on a campaign promoting the importance of glaucoma screening in the Black community. The screenings were free, and participants received free lunch whether or not they agreed to enroll in the study.
The investigators ultimately were able to collect data and genetic samples for 11,275 people (6,003 individuals with glaucoma and 5,272 controls). Importantly, the enrollees were also given the opportunity to either enroll in or opt out of future studies.

Using genome-wide association studies and other forms of genetic analysis, the team identified two novel gene variants implicated in the formation of glaucoma. These variants were rs1666698, which is tied to the gene DBF4P2, and rs34957764, which is linked to the gene ROCK1P1.
A third variant, rs11824032, which is tied to ARHGEF12, was also identified. This variant was previously associated with cup-to-disc ratio, a measure of glaucoma severity, in a genetic co-localization analysis.
When the team compared their findings to results primarily featuring people of European descent, they found these variants were more common in people of African ancestry.
“This work highlights the essential role of diversity in genetic research,” says Shefali Verma, PhD, an assistant professor in pathology and laboratory medicine at UPenn. “Without our focus on this specific ancestry group, these unique and critical insights might have remained lost, and we would not have been able to substantially enhance our understanding of the genetics behind POAG in this overaffected population.”
The researchers were able to validate results in the Penn Medicine BioBank, an in-house repository of genetic information linked to health records. It includes a particularly diverse collection of genetic material.
“To enhance our work, we were able to identify patients in the Penn Medicine BioBank with glaucoma and controls to validate the genetic effects we gleaned from the initial cohort we analyzed,” explains Marylyn Ritchie (@MarylynRitchie), PhD, director of the Institute for Biomedical Informatics at UPenn. “Without that resource, it would have been much more difficult to produce such strong work.”
The team is currently focused on developing better methods for diagnosing glaucoma early, when it’s most amenable to treatment. Using identified variants, the team developed a polygenic risk score that outperformed a similar risk score developed using information from individuals of European ancestry. This improved risk score could help patients make decisions about screening and treatment for glaucoma before it produces vision loss.
“We are now working with community leaders to lead us in determining which other diseases over-affect this understudied population and are of greatest importance for further screening and research,” O’Brien says. “We are also sharing our genetic database with other researchers across departments and schools that are studying diseases that over-affect African ancestry populations. These collaborations are resulting in much more research on the health of a population that has been historically understudied.”

By 2060, according to the Alzheimer’s Association, nearly one in four Americans will be in an age bracket at elevated risk of cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease unless interventions can help preserve cognitive function before deficits begin. The COcoa Supplement and Multivitamin Outcomes Study (COSMOS) is a large-scale, nationwide, randomized trial rigorously testing cocoa extract and multivitamin supplements directed by researchers at Mass General Brigham. Two previously published studies of cognition in COSMOS suggested a positive effect for a daily multivitamin. COSMOS researchers now report the results of a third study of cognition in COSMOS, which focused on participants who underwent in-person assessments, together with the results of a combined analysis from the three separate studies. The results from this latest report confirm consistent and statistically significant benefits of a daily multivitamin versus placebo for both memory and global cognition. Results are published today in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
“Cognitive decline is among the top health concerns for most older adults, and a daily supplement of multivitamins has the potential as an appealing and accessible approach to slow cognitive aging,” said first author Chirag Vyas, MBBS, MPH, instructor in investigation at the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system.
In the in-clinic study the researchers administered detailed, in-person cognitive assessments among 573 participants in the subset of COSMOS known as COSMOS-Clinic. Within COSMOS, two previous studies had tested multivitamin supplementation on cognition using telephone-based cognitive assessments (COSMOS-MIND) and online web-based cognitive assessments (COSMOS-Web). In their prespecified analyses of data from COSMOS-Clinic, investigators observed a modest benefit for the multivitamin, compared to placebo, on global cognition over two years. There was a statistically significant benefit of multivitamin supplementation for change in episodic memory, but not in executive function/attention.
The team also conducted a meta-analysis based on the three separate studies, with non-overlapping COSMOS participants (ranging 2-3 years in treatment duration), which showed strong evidence of benefits for both global cognition and episodic memory. The authors estimate that the daily multivitamin slowed global cognitive aging by the equivalent of two years compared to placebo.
Vyas said, “The meta-analysis of three separate cognition studies provides strong and consistent evidence that taking a daily multivitamin, containing more than 20 essential micronutrients, helps prevent memory loss and slow down cognitive aging.” Olivia Okereke, MD SM, senior author of the report and director of Geriatric Psychiatry at MGH, added “These findings will garner attention among many older adults who are, understandably, very interested in ways to preserve brain health, as they provide evidence for the role of a daily multivitamin in supporting better cognitive aging.”
The overall COSMOS trial is led by JoAnn Manson, MD, DrPH, and Howard Sesso, ScD, MPH, both of Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH), also a founding member of Mass General Brigham. Manson, co-author of the report and Chief of the Division of Preventive Medicine at BWH, commented: “The finding that a daily multivitamin improved memory and slowed cognitive aging in three separate placebo-controlled studies in COSMOS is exciting and further supports the promise of multivitamins as a safe, accessible and affordable approach to protecting cognitive health in older adults.”
The COSMOS consortium of cognitive studies represents a collaboration between MGH, BWH, Columbia University, and Wake Forest University, using both traditional and innovative approaches to assessing cognitive outcomes. These approaches allow large numbers of participants ( >5,000 in total) to be included in cognitive studies in a high-quality and cost-efficient manner. COSMOS participants are aged 60 and older and reside throughout the U.S.
Sesso, also a co-author and the associate director of the BWH Division of Preventive Medicine, added: “With these three studies using different approaches for assessing cognition in COSMOS, each providing support for a daily multivitamin, it is now critical to understand the mechanisms by which a daily multivitamin may protect against memory loss and cognitive decline with a focus on nutritional status and other aging-related factors. For example, the modifying role of baseline nutritional status on protecting against cognitive decline has been shown for the COSMOS cocoa extract intervention. A typical multivitamin such as that tested in COSMOS contains many essential vitamins and minerals that could explain its potential benefits.”

Understanding why we overeat unhealthy foods has been a long-standing mystery. While we know food’s strong power influences our choices, the precise circuitry in our brains behind this is unclear. The vagus nerve sends internal sensory information from the gut to the brain about the nutritional value of food. But, the molecular basis of the reward in the brain associated with what we eat has been incompletely understood.
Now, a new study published in Cell Metabolism by a team from the Monell Chemical Senses Center, unravels the internal neural wiring, revealing separate fat and sugar craving pathways, as well as a concerning result: Combining these pathways overly triggers our desire to eat more than usual.
“Food is nature’s ultimate reinforcer,” said Monell scientist Guillaume de Lartigue, PhD, lead author of the study. “But why fats and sugars are particularly appealing has been a puzzle. We’ve now identified nerve cells in the gut rather than taste cells in the mouth are a key driver. We found that distinct gut-brain pathways are recruited by fats and sugars, explaining why that donut can be so irresistible.” Ultimately this research provides insights on what controls “motivated” eating behavior, suggesting that a subconscious internal desire to consume a diet high in both fats and sugar has the potential to counteract dieting efforts.
The team used cutting-edge technology to directly manipulate fat or sugar neurons in the vagus nerve system and demonstrated that both types of neurons cause a dopamine release in the brain’s reward center in mice. They discovered two dedicated vagus nerve pathways: one for fats and another for sugars. These circuits, originating in the gut, relay information about what we have eaten to the brain, setting the stage for cravings.
To determine how fats and sugars affect the brain, the team stimulated gut vagal nerves with light. This, in turn, induced the mice to actively seek stimuli, in this case food, that engage these circuits. The results indicated that sugar and fat are sensed by discrete neurons of the vagus nerve and engage parallel but distinct reward circuits to control nutrient-specific reinforcement.
But the story doesn’t end there. The team also found that simultaneously activating both the fat and sugar circuits creates a powerful synergy. “It’s like a one-two punch to the brain’s reward system,” said de Lartigue. “Even if the total calories consumed in sugar and fats stays the same, combining fats and sugars leads to significantly more dopamine release and, ultimately, overeating in the mice.”
This finding sheds light on why dieting can be so challenging. Human brains may be subtly programmed to seek out high-fat, high-sugar combinations, regardless of conscious efforts to resist. “The communication between our gut and brain happens below the level of consciousness,” said de Lartigue. “We may be craving these types of food without even realizing it.”
The team predicts that this line of research offers hope for future development of anti-obesity strategies and treatments. Targeting and regulating gut-brain reward circuits could offer a novel approach to curb unhealthy eating habits. “Understanding the wiring diagram of our innate motivation to consume fats and sugars is the first step towards rewiring it,” said de Lartigue. “This research unlocks exciting possibilities for personalized interventions that could help people make healthier choices, even when faced with tempting treats.”
de Lartigue’s co-authors are Molly McDougle, Alan de Araujo, Arashdeep Singh, Mingxin Yang, Isadora Braga, Vincent Paille, Rebeca Mendez-Hernandez, and Brandon Warren, all from the Monell Center; Macarena Vergara, Abhishek Gour, Abhisheak Sharma, and Nikhil Urs, all from the University of Florida, and Lauren N. Woodie, University of Pennsylvania.
The research was supported by the National Institutes of Health (R01 DK116004, R01 Q15, DK094871, F31 DK1311773); an AHA postdoctoral fellowship and grants from the SanteDige Foundation and Phillip Foundation.

What did people eat on the west coast of Scandinavia 10,000 years ago? A new study of the DNA in a chewing gum shows that deer, trout and hazelnuts were on the diet. It also shows that one of the individuals had severe problems with her teeth.
Some 9,700 years ago, a group of people were camping on the west coast of Scandinavia, north of what is today Göteborg. They had been fishing, hunting and collecting resources for food. And some teenagers, both boys and girls, were chewing resin to produce glue, just after munching on trout and deer, as well as on hazelnuts. Due to a bad case of periodontitis (severe gum infection that can lead to tooth loss and bone loss), one of the teenagers had problems eating the chewy deer-meat, as well as preparing the resin by chewing it.
We know this because an international research team has been working with the chewed resin from Huseby Klev for some time. “There is a richness of DNA sequences in the chewed mastic from Huseby-Klev, and in it we find both the bacteria that we know are related to periodontitis, and DNA from plants and animals that they had chewed before,” says Dr. Emrah Kırdök, from Mersin University Department of Biotechnology, who coordinated the metagenomic work on the Mesolithic chewing gum. Emrah Kırdök started to analyse the material when he was a postdoc at the Department of Archaeology and Classical Studies at Stockholm University, but the study has grown much since then.
The site Huseby Klev on the island Orust was excavated 30 years ago. Chewed resin was found together with remains of stone tools in a context dated to c. 9700 years ago. The stone material also indicated a Mesolithic chronology. The chewed material from Huseby Klev has already generated a study on the human genetic data from three individuals, and the DNA in the material that was not of human origin has also been analysed and published.
Identifying the different species present in the kind of mix of DNA that was present in the Mesolithic chewing gum was challenging. Dr Andrés Aravena, from the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics at Istanbul University spent much time on the computer analysing the data together with Dr. Emrah Kırdök. “We had to apply several computational heavy analytical tools to single out the different species and organisms. All the tools we needed were not ready to be applied to ancient DNA; but much of our time was spent on adjusting them so that we could apply them,” concludes Andrés Aravena. Metagenomics on ancient DNA is an expanding area, but there have yet only been a few studies on this type of chewed material.
Professor Anders Götherström, at the Centre for Palaeogenetics, a collaboration between Stockholm University and the Swedish Museum of Natural History, is the head of the project where this study was conducted. “This provides a snapshot of the life of a small group of hunter-gatherers on the Scandinavian west coast. I think it is amazing, there are other well established methods to work out what nutrition and diet relates to the Stone Age, but here we know that these teenagers were eating deer, trout, and hazelnuts 9 700 years ago on the west coast of Scandinavia, while at least one of them had severe problems with his teeth.”

A Columbia University study found that positive relationships with parents and other adults during childhood are associated with better mental health in adulthood, regardless of exposure to adverse childhood experiences.
The findings, published in JAMA Psychiatry Dec. 27, 2023, suggest that interventions promoting supportive adult connections during childhood could pay dividends in young adult population health, reducing the sociocultural risk of mental disorders, such as depression and anxiety.
“For kids, an extremely important resilience factor is a warm, nurturing relationship with a parent, caregiver, or other adult,” said lead study author Sara VanBronkhorst, MD, MPH, voluntary faculty in psychiatry at Columbia. “Our study demonstrates that children who have at least one positive, committed adult-child relationship are less likely to experience depression, anxiety and perceived stress later in life.”
The study sought to address an important gap in research by focusing on marginalized and minoritized youth who are more likely to experience multiple adversities and gain insight into sociocultural factors that would bolster their resilience over a lifetime.
To identify markers of resilience, the investigators examined data from 2,000 participants in the Boricua Youth Study (BYS), a longitudinal study following three generations of families for 20 years, led by Cristiane Duarte, PhD, MPH, the Ruane Professor for the Implementation of Science for Child & Adolescent Mental Health at Columbia, who is also senior author of the JAMA Psychiatry paper. All participants in BYS are of Puerto Rican descent, about half originally residing in the island of Puerto Rico and others residing in the South Bronx, New York.
The researchers assessed for adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs, at three points during childhood. These experiences can include things like physical or emotional abuse, neglect, caregiver mental illness, death or incarceration, and household violence.
They also measured seven sociocultural factors associated with resilience, which included social relationships (maternal warmth and friendships) and sources of meaning (familism and family religiosity). Mental health outcomes were measured during young adulthood and included generalized anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder, substance use disorder, and perceived stress.

As hypothesized, they found that the measures of social relationships, apart from peer relationships, were associated with less depression and anxiety, and less perceived stress in young adulthood. Surprisingly, the researchers discovered that family religiosity, often thought to be protective, was associated with more — not less — perceived stress among young adults who had experienced high ACEs. Of note, while there were associations between resilience factors and later stress, depression, and anxiety, none of the resilience factors studied were associated with substance use disorder.
“With factors such as religiosity, the story may be more nuanced,” said Dr. VanBronkhorst. “One explanation for this unexpected finding could be that religious families may experience higher levels of shame and guilt related to ACEs, such as parental substance use or incarceration.”
The researchers said that the fact that several markers associated with resilience did not confer protection underscores the importance of preventing ACEs and highlights the need to find other ways of supporting children experiencing adversity in the context of marginalization and minoritization.
“We may need to look beyond traditional predictors of resilience,” Dr. Duarte said. “Future studies could look at the roles, for example, of financial resources, racism, and social equity on resilience.”
Dr. VanBronkhorst, who in addition to her role at Columbia works as a child and adolescent psychiatrist at Network180, a community mental health clinic, sees many children with high ACEs.
“The parents I work with see their kids struggling, they want to form these positive relationships, but so much gets in the way,” she said. “We should be helping them with parenting classes and family therapy; we can educate teachers and community members. But we should also be looking at larger, structural, interventions that could reduce the experiences of adversities and the causes of stress that interfere with adults forming bonds that can buffer children from stress.”
In this study we wanted to acknowledge that resilience cannot be reduced to individual attributes that one may be born with,” Dr. Duarte added. “Resilience is a process. To engage in this process, children and caregivers need access to resources in their environment that foster strong, responsive relationships and meaningful experiences.”

Violinists, surgeons and gamers can benefit from physical exercise both before and after practicing their new skills. The same holds true for anyone seeking to improve their fine motor skills. This is demonstrated by new research from the University of Copenhagen, which, among other things, can make the way we rehabilitate more effective.
Before a violinist tunes their instrument or surgeon stands at the training table to learn the skills needed for a new symphony or surgical procedure, they might consider heading out for a bike ride or run. Once they’ve practiced the new skill, there’s good reason to put on their workout attire again.
Indeed, being physically active and elevating one’s heart rate has the wonderful side effect of improving our ability to learn by increasing the brain’s ability to remember.
In a new study, researchers from the Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports have shown that this effect also applies to the formation of motor memory, enabling us to recall and perform tasks such as riding a bike, drive a car and lace up our shoes, almost automatically.
Before or after is good, both are best
“Our results demonstrate that there is a clear effect across the board. If you exercise before learning a skill, you will improve and remember what you have learned better. The same applies if you exercise after learning. But our research shows that the greatest effect is achieved if you exercise both before and after,” says PhD Lasse Jespersen, first author of the study.
Specifically, the researchers see around 10% improvement in people’s ability to remember a learned motor skills when exercise is included either before or after an exercise. And, the effect can be enhanced by exercising at both times.

“Things can’t go wrong if a bit of physical exercise is incorporated. A person will experience beneficial effects. This is probably because physical activity increases the brain’s ability to change, which is a prerequisite for remembering,” explains co-author Jesper Lundbye-Jensen, who heads the department’s Movement and Neuroscience section.
The effect applies to everyone, including children, adolescents and older adults, but in particular, anyone who regularly needs to learn new skills. Moreover, the effects may hold significance for individuals undergoing rehabilitation, aiming to recover mobility and lost motor skills.
Gamers and musicians excluded
Sixty-seven test subjects were involved in the research project. To ensure for comparable data, all subjects were young men between the ages of 18 and 35 who were not physically or mentally impaired in ways that could limit their learning ability and physical performance.
The researchers examined the subjects’ behaviour and performance while reviewing one of four possible scenarios.
First, they either rested or exercised moderately on a bicycle. After that, they were subjected to a fine motor task in the form of a simple computer game that, with a small device on their fingertips, challenged and practiced the participants’ motor dexterity.

Next, they either had to exercise intensely on a fitness bike or rest. Thus, there was one group that rested both before and after, one that trained both times and two that trained once, either before or after. Their skill level and memory were tested again after seven days to assess whether what they had learned stuck.
As a somewhat unusual criterion, professional musicians and gamers were excluded as possible participants.
“People with extensive experience in practicing motor skills typically start at a different level. While the motor task used in the research study were unknown to all, involving experts would have changed the dynamic from the get go. But that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t benefit from the effects we’ve shown. To the contrary, in a future study, it could be exciting to investigate how exercise affects people with elite level fine motor skills,” says Lasse Jespersen.
Helping hand for those rehabilitating
The increased effect of motor learning is something everyone can benefit from. Children who are developing their motor skills are often highlighted, and previous studies with pianists have already shown that people with extraordinary motor skills also benefit from exercise.
At the other end of the spectrum, the new knowledge could make an important contribution as well. For example, among those needing to regain mobility after an accident.
“Typically, rehabilitation is divided between two or three different disciplines. In practice, this may mean that Mr. Smith will have physical training with a physiotherapist on one day, work with an ergonomist the next and train cognitive abilities with a psychologist on the third. Our research suggests that it could be wise to plan rehabilitation so that these areas are considered together, as doing so could have a synergistic effect,” explains Jesper Lundbye-Jensen, who points out:
“Coming back often entails hard work, and even slight improvements in efficiency can mean a lot to people in that situation.”
In the long term, the researchers hope to be able to provide such recommendations with more ammunition for a long-term study where more lasting effects can be measured. A longer-term study would also let the researchers investigate whether the effects observed by the study become even greater over a longer trial period.
* Extra info: This is what happens physiologically
Specific parts of the brain are activated when a person engages in motor practice that require the acquisition of fine motor skills.
If the task is an activity that one knows well, like riding a bicycle, the centers are less active, but that all changes when learning something new.
The brain undergoes actual changes which is essential for our ability to learn and remember new skills, a phenomenon known as brain plasticity. These changes occur both while the new skill is acquired through practice, but also in the hours after when the memory is consolidated. This is why it is meaningful to be physically active even after we’ve engaged in something new.
“In the study, we use the terms online and offline to describe these two aspects of learning — memory acquisition and retention. Both are important for us to acquire new motor skills and remember what we’ve learned,” Jesper Lundbye-Jensen explains.
Previous studies have also shown that physical exercise releases a number of neurotransmitters that have the side benefit of promoting the development in the brain that new learning has initiated. The researchers believe that this is the relationship that produces the beneficial effects.
Facts: About the study:
67 men between the ages of 18-35 participated in the studies.
A behavioural study, where results were studied across 4 groups with different behaviours. No blood tests, brain activity or genetics were used. group trained at moderate intensity before engaging in fine motor practice, but rested afterwards. group rested before the motor practice, but exercised intensely thereafter. group trained both prior to and after motor practice. group was the control group, and rested both before and after.(Previous studies have shown that intense exercise before can negatively affect results, while intense workout afterwards have the best effect.)
Facts: Measured performance in two dimensions
The researchers examined two dimensions of performance. Development of the skill level during motor practice (online) Maintaining skill levels when repeating the task after a 7-day break (offline)Behind the research
From the Department of Exercise and Nutrition, University of Copenhagen:
Lasse Jespersen Katrine Matlok Maes Nicoline Ardenkjær-Skinnerup Jonas Rud Bjørndal Jesper Lundbye-Jensen and Mikkel Malling Beck — also affiliated with the MR Research Center (DRMCR), Hvidovre Hospital
Additionally:
Marc Roig from the Memory and Motor Rehabilitation Laboratory, Feil and Oberfeld Research Centre, Canada and the School of Physical and Occupational Therapy, McGill University, Canada

Published13 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Getty ImagesBy Michelle RobertsDigital health editorCharities have welcomed the King going public and sharing details about his prostate problem, to encourage men with similar symptoms to ask their doctor for a check-up.He has an enlarged prostate – something many men develop as they age. Buckingham Palace has confirmed it is definitely not cancer. An enlarged prostate is not usually a serious threat to health but can cause troubling symptoms needing treatment. What is an enlarged prostate? The prostate is a gland that should be about the size of a walnut.It sits at the base of the bladder – the organ that stores urine. When men urinate, the urine flows into a long tube called the urethra, which passes through the centre of the prostate. An enlarged prostate hugs that pipe tighter and can start to restrict the flow. All prostates grow as men age.How quickly varies from person to person – and it will not always cause an issue. But more than one in three men over the age of 50 will have some symptoms of prostate enlargement. What are the symptoms? Ones to look out for include:urinating more frequently, waking up at night to urinate or needing to urinate urgentlyfeeling the bladder is not emptying fullyweak flow when urinatinghaving to wait for urine to flowerection and ejaculation problemsCould it be cancer?Doctors call the condition benign prostate enlargement. Benign means a growth that is not cancer. The risk of prostate cancer is no greater for men with an enlarged prostate.But the chances of developing prostate cancer also increase with age – and the symptoms can be similar.So those with prostate problems should ask their doctor for a check-up. What will a check-up involve?The doctor will ask about symptoms and probably offer a physical rectal exam. They put a gloved finger up through the anus to feel the prostate from inside the body.This can be uncomfortable, and might make the patient feel they want to urinate, but should not hurt. Doctors know some people can feel embarrassed – but it is a common procedure and takes just a few minutes. They may also test samples of:blood for prostate-specific antigen (PSA) – low levels can help rule out cancerurine to check if the symptoms might be due to an infection or something else What is the treatment?Symptoms are unlikely to disappear untreated – but, according to the NHS, half of men diagnosed with an enlarged prostate manage them without drugs or surgery, by:drinking less alcohol and avoiding caffeine but still drinking water to stay well hydratedavoiding too much fluid before bedtimeeating more fibre – beans, bran and vegetables – to avoid constipationavoiding certain medicines – but only when recommended by their doctorexercising to strengthen pelvic-floor muscleswearing discreet pads inside underwear, to catch dribblesHerbal supplements such as saw palmetto are not currently recommended, although some men say they work for them.What drugs can treat it?These are available on the NHS:tamsulosin, alfuzosin and silodosin – alpha blockers that relax the muscles of the prostate and bladderdutasteride and finasteride – alpha-reductase inhibitors that stop the prostate from growing and can even shrink itDesmopressins slow night-time urine production and anti-cholinergic drugs can reduce urgency to urinate.Most patients’ symptoms are alleviated, according to the NHS, but there can be side effects.What does surgery involve?There are several types of surgery or procedures to shrink the prostate or widen the urethra available on the NHS. Transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) is done with the patient asleep under general anaesthetic and involves inserting a a very thin wire into the urethra. The wire is then to shave off bits of the prostate. There is also a similar procedure that uses a laser instead.After both of these procedures, a catheter is fitted for a day or two, to collect urine while the patient recovers. Some NHS hospitals offer aquablation, which uses pressurised water instead of a laser. Others offer a steam treatment that takes about 20 minutes, under local anaesthetic, with the patient awake.All procedures carry some risks.More on this storyKing Charles to be treated for benign prostate conditionPublished21 hours agoBig-prostate steam treatment NHS approvedPublished21 August 2018Related Internet LinksBenign prostate enlargement – NHSThe BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

Image source, Billiejo ElmerJulia LewisNorth Yorkshire reporterPublished2 hours agoA mother says her daughter cannot sleep in her own bedroom due to the extent of black mould in their council flat.Billiejo Elmer, who is six months pregnant, lives in Heworth with her six-year-old child Lacey-May. The 23 year old said mould had forced her to replace furniture and had “completely taken over” her life.City of York Council said a new ventilation system would be installed in the property. Ms Elmer, who has lived in Croft Gardens for four years, said the mould had been a problem since they moved in. “It has taken its toll on me because I’m constantly cleaning the mould myself,” she said. “It has completely taken over my life, ruined it,” Ms Elmer said. Black mould had spread near windows and on ceilings, with the problem particularly concerning in her daughter’s room.“Her bed is just completely covered in mould.”We tried putting mattress protectors on and they have literally gone completely black.”“I’m just at the point of where I need to be out of here,” she added.” It’s just getting too serious for me, my daughter and my unborn child.”Michael Jones, head of housing and delivery asset management at City of York Council, said mould was a common issue in many homes. “We’ve worked with the housing association that owns the property and are planning to install a passive ventilation system, which will remove moisture from the home without the need to turn on additional vents,” he said. He added that the council had invested more than £7.8m to tackle damp and mould issues since 2016.Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook,