The article discusses a groundbreaking study that demonstrates the potential for a small walking adjustment to delay knee surgery for years. Researchers from the University of Utah, New York University, and Stanford University conducted a year-long randomized control trial that showed participants who made a small adjustment to the angle of their foot while walking experienced pain relief equivalent to medication. Critically, those participants also showed less knee cartilage degradation over that period as compared to a group that received a placebo treatment.

The study, published in The Lancet Rheumatology, was co-led by Scott Uhlrich of Utah’s John and Marcia Price College of Engineering. The researchers specifically looked at patients with mild-to-moderate osteoarthritis in the medial compartment of the knee, which tends to bear more weight than the lateral compartment. This form of osteoarthritis is the most common, but the ideal foot angle for reducing load in the medial side of the knee differs from person to person depending on their natural gait and how it changes when they adopt the new walking pattern.

The researchers used a personalized approach to selecting each individual’s new walking pattern, which improved how much individuals could offload their knee and likely contributed to the positive effect on pain and cartilage that they saw. In the first two visits, participants received a baseline MRI and practiced walking on a pressure-sensitive treadmill while motion-capture cameras recorded the mechanics of their gait.

This allowed the researchers to determine whether turning the patient’s toe inward or outward would reduce load more, and whether a 5° or 10° adjustment would be ideal. The personalized analysis also screened out potential participants who could not benefit from the intervention, as none of the foot angle changes could decrease loading in their knees.

The study found that participants in the intervention group reported a significant decrease in pain over the placebo group, which was comparable to what would be expected from an over-the-counter medication like ibuprofen or a narcotic like oxycontin. The MRIs also showed slower degradation of knee cartilage health in the intervention group.

Beyond the quantitative measures of effectiveness, participants expressed enthusiasm for both the approach and the results. One participant said they were thrilled with their new gait, which would be with them for the rest of their days.

The researchers believe that this intervention could help fill the large treatment gap for people with osteoarthritis, who may experience decades of pain management before being recommended for a joint replacement. The study’s findings have significant implications for the treatment and management of knee osteoarthritis, and future studies are needed to further develop and refine this approach.

The article’s core idea is that a single bout of either resistance or high intensity interval training could help in the cancer battle by increasing levels of myokines, a protein produced by muscles which have anti-cancer effects. Here’s the rewritten article:

A groundbreaking study from Edith Cowan University (ECU) has shed light on the potential benefits of exercise for cancer patients. Researchers found that a single bout of either resistance or high intensity interval training could help reduce cancer cell growth by 20 to 30 per cent.

PhD student Mr Francesco Bettariga led the research, which measured myokine levels in breast cancer survivors before, immediately after, and 30 minutes post-exercise. The results showed that both types of exercise increased myokine levels, a protein produced by muscles with anti-cancer effects.

“The results from this study are excellent motivators to add exercise as standard care in the treatment of cancer,” Mr Bettariga said. His research aimed to investigate whether breast cancer survivors would see similar benefits compared to a healthy population, given the impact that cancer treatments and cancer itself often has on the body.

Further research by Mr Bettariga investigated how changes in body composition, following consistent exercise, could impact inflammation, which plays a key role in breast cancer recurrence and mortality. The study found that reducing fat mass and increasing lean mass through exercise could help decrease inflammation, making it a more supportive environment for cancer survivors.

“Strategies are needed to reduce inflammation which may provide a less supportive environment for cancer progression,” Mr Bettariga said. He stressed the importance of consistent exercise, stating that quick fixes to reduce fat mass would not have the same beneficial effects.

“You never want to reduce your weight without exercising, because you need to build or preserve muscle mass and produce these chemicals that you can’t do through just diet alone.” The long-term implications of elevated myokine levels should be further investigated, particularly in relation to cancer recurrence.

The study, published in Nature Metabolism, reveals that consuming fewer calories is not the only way to improve health and lose weight. Researchers have discovered a specific sulfur-containing amino acid called cysteine as a key component in weight loss. When participants restricted their calorie intake, it resulted in reduced levels of cysteine in white fat cells.

The Pennington Biomedical researchers, Dr. Eric Ravussin and Dr. Krisztian Stadler, examined cysteine’s role in metabolism and found that it triggers the transition of white fat cells to brown fat cells. These more active fat cells burn energy to produce heat and maintain body temperature. When researchers restricted cysteine entirely in animal models, it drove high levels of weight loss and increased fat burning and browning of fat cells.

Dr. Stadler stated, “In addition to the dramatic weight loss and increase in fat burning resulting from the removal of cysteine, the amino acid is also central to redox balance and redox pathways in biology.” This suggests future weight management strategies that might not rely exclusively on reducing caloric intake.

The article is based on results from trials involving both human participants and animal models. For the human trials, researchers examined fat tissue samples taken from trial participants who had actively restricted calorie intake over a year. The exploration of these metabolites indicated a reduced level of cysteine.

Dr. Ravussin said, “Reverse translation of a human caloric restriction trial identified a new player in energy metabolism.” Systemic cysteine depletion in mice caused weight loss with increased fat utilization and browning of adipocytes.

The tissue samples came from participants in the CALERIE clinical trial, which recruited healthy young and middle-aged men and women who were instructed to reduce their calorie intake by an average of 14% over two years. With the reduction of cysteine, the participants also experienced subsequent weight loss, improved muscle health, and reduced inflammation.

In the animal models, researchers provided meals with reduced calories. This resulted in a 40% drop in body temperature, but regardless of the cellular stress, the animal models did not exhibit tissue damage, suggesting that protective systems may kick in when cysteine is low.

Dr. John Kirwan, Executive Director of Pennington Biomedical Research Center, stated, “Dr. Ravussin, Dr. Stadler, and their colleagues have made a remarkable discovery showing that cysteine regulates the transition from white to brown fat cells, opening new therapeutic avenues for treating obesity.” I would like to congratulate this research team on uncovering this important metabolic mechanism that could eventually transform how we approach weight management interventions.