Increased fructose consumption may deplete cellular energy in patients with obesity and diabetes

Obese people who consume increased amounts of fructose, a type of sugar that is found in particular in soft drinks and fruit juices, are at risk for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NFALD) and more its more severe forms, fatty inflammation and scarring.

The researchers also noted that more uric acid is produced in the body when excess fructose is consumed. Too much uric acid is associated with conditions that include gout, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome and uric acid stones, a form of kidney stones.

The silver lining is that measuring the amount of uric acid in these individuals may help doctors predict the presence and monitor the severity of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Source:Science Daily

Low oxygen levels could drive cancer growth, research suggests

Low oxygen levels in cells may be a primary cause of uncontrollable tumor growth in some cancers, according to a new study. The authors' findings run counter to widely accepted beliefs that genetic mutations are responsible for cancer growth. The gene HIF1A as a biomarker of the amount of molecular oxygen in a cell. All seven cancers showed increasing amounts of HIF1A, indicating decreasing oxygen levels in the cancer cells.

Low oxygen levels in a cell interrupt the activity of oxidative phosphorylation, a term for the highly efficient way that cells normally use to convert food to energy. As oxygen decreases, the cells switch to glycolysis to produce their energy units, called ATP. Glycolysis is a drastically less efficient way to obtain energy, and so the cancer cells must work even harder to obtain even more food, specifically glucose, to survive. When oxygen levels dip dangerously low, angiogenesis, or the process of creating new blood vessels, begins. The new blood vessels provide fresh oxygen, thus improving oxygen levels in the cell and tumor and slowing the cancer growth-but only temporarily. Source: Science Daily