A drug that is the "first of its kind in the world" to treat a very painful disorder affecting women

Researchers from the Universities of Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Birmingham plan to see if dichloroacetate can help manage pain among people with the condition.

If successful, the drug could be the first ever non-hormonal, non-invasive treatment for endometriosis, and the first new treatment in 40 years.

About 100 women with this condition will be invited to join the trial.

Endometriosis is defined as a painful disorder affecting the female reproductive system, where endometrial-like tissues grow in places other than the endometrium, such as the ovaries and fallopian tubes, a lifelong condition that can cause severe pain and discomfort.

The tissue, known as endometrial lesions, acts as endometrial tissue, thickening, degrading and bleeding with each menstrual cycle leading to inflammation, pain and the formation of scar tissue.

The new research, which was funded by Wellbeing of Women and the Scottish Government, will begin this autumn.

Half of the women enrolled in the trial will be given dichloroacetate, a drug previously used to treat rare metabolic disorders in children, while the other half will be given a placebo.

Previous work found that cells from the pelvic wall of women with endometriosis produce higher amounts of lactate, a chemical the body generates to provide energy when oxygen is lacking.

This is thought to create an environment that supports the development and growth of endometriosis.

The researchers also previously found that when endometriotic cells were treated with dichloroacetate, lactate production decreased to normal levels and the size of endometriotic lesions decreased.

Dr Lucy Whittaker, researcher and clinical lecturer at the University of Edinburgh, who led the study, said: “We know that women with endometriosis desperately want more treatment options and better ways to manage the pain it often causes. Our research so far shows promising results that DCH "Acetate can make a huge difference. I hope our new trial confirms this and gives women hope that new treatments and a better quality of life are on the horizon."

Janet Lindsay, chief executive of the Wellbeing of Women health charity, added: “It is completely unacceptable that there have been no new treatments for endometriosis for 40 years. So many women and girls suffer from debilitating symptoms, such as chronic pelvic pain, fatigue and even fertility issues, and treatments Current hormonal and surgical procedures are not appropriate for everyone."

She added: "Endometriosis is an extremely underfunded area for women's health, so we are very pleased to partner with the Scottish Government and invest in medical research that can change the way the condition is treated for millions of women." Source: The Independent

A "new supplement" may be a miracle weight loss aid!

Experts claim that a dietary supplement derived from a flower may be a "hero" ingredient for weight loss.

The bright red hibiscus plant, which is native to Africa, is packed with powerful compounds that researchers believe have 'anti-obesity' properties.

Laboratory tests indicated that it hinders the body from forming new fat cells.

Australian scientists believe that the antioxidants present in the plant prevent the body from absorbing fat, which leads to its transmission as waste instead of being stored.

Professor Ben Adhikari, one of the researchers at RMIT University in Melbourne who conducted the study, said the fat-fighting compounds in hibiscus could be made into a supplement that "interferes with the formation of fat cells".

It will avoid the side effects of other weight-loss treatments, such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea caused by Wegovy, which was approved in the UK this week.

Duane Mellor, a registered dietitian and researcher from Aston Medical College in Birmingham, said the research was still at a "very early stage".

"It has not yet been proven to affect body weight or fat in animals, let alone in humans," he told MailOnline. Body fat accumulates when a person consumes more energy - in the form of calories - than they expend.

The extra calories are stored as fat inside specialized fat cells called adipocytes, and are needed to regulate the body's energy and sugar levels.

However, eating too much food over time will cause adipocytes to expand or create new ones, leading to weight gain and obesity.

The study examined how components of hibiscus, also known as Hibiscus Sabdariffa, can interrupt this process.

Previous studies have shown that compounds within the plant can interfere with fat accumulation and obesity.

For the experiment, the researchers freeze-dried the flowers to extract antioxidant compounds (phenolic extracts) and organic acid (hydroxycitric acid).

Then, they treated the human stem cells with either phenolic extracts, hydroxycitric acid, or any of the compounds before artificially converting the cells into fat cells.

The cells treated with hydroxycitric acid showed no change in lipid content.

But those exposed to extracts of phenols - a type of polyphenol - had 95 percent less body fat.

The researchers said their findings may be due to polyphenols found in hibiscus, which inhibit a digestive enzyme called lipase.

This enzyme helps break down fats into small pieces for the body to absorb through the intestines. Excess fat is converted into fat cells.

The researchers said that it is not possible, by inhibiting the lipase enzyme, to absorb fat, so it is passed through the colon in the form of waste.

The team said this process is similar to how some obesity drugs work.

Prof Adhikari claimed the findings could impact obesity treatment, which currently includes advice about diet and exercise, medication or surgery.

He said: "The phenolic extracts from hibiscus can help produce a healthy food product that is effective in interfering with the formation of fat cells, but also in overcoming the bad side effects of some medications."

Dr. Mellor noted that many foods already contain phenolic compounds and organic acids, and these compounds are not well absorbed by our bodies.

"So what works in a test tube may not work well in a whole person," he said.

He explained: “We also need to be careful to say that polyphenols can help manage conditions like obesity without the side effects of drugs, as some drugs are very similar to these compounds found in plants, and they have side effects. And just because something is natural, it is It is not automatically healthy or has a lower risk of side effects than medication."

He added: "It will be interesting to see how this research develops, but it is important to remember that it is in the early stages in the laboratory and more work is needed to test that it is a safe and effective treatment in humans."

The study was published in the International Journal of Food Science and Technology. Source: Daily Mail

Japan confirms the death of the first case directly related to vaccination against the Corona virus

Officials from Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare confirmed for the first time a death directly related to the coronavirus vaccination.

This was reported by the Japanese Kyodo Agency, today, Friday, as the Japanese government indicated, for the first time, that a causal relationship between vaccination and death could not be ruled out, and the exact details of the patient and the type of vaccine had not yet been determined, except that the patient was a woman at the age of 42 years. The government has been emphasizing all the time privately that such a connection between vaccination and death is completely excluded.

At least two thousand deaths have been recorded in Japan in recent years from patients vaccinated with the Corona virus vaccine, but a direct link between deaths and vaccination has not been proven.

In Japan, more than 104 million people have been vaccinated with one component of the vaccine (81.3% of the population), more than 103 million (80.3% of the population) with two components, and more than 86 million (68.4% of the population) with three components. Vaccination with booster components of the vaccine against the Omicron strain is also performed. During the entire epidemic period in Japan, more than 33.2 million cases of coronavirus and nearly 73,000 deaths were recorded. Source: TASS