Author Interviews, Coffee, Diabetes / 26.10.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Yuji Komorita, MD, PhD Department of Medicine and Clinical Science, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University Maidashi 3-1-1, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?   Response: Both green tea and coffee have been reported to confer health benefits, and reduce all-cause mortality in general population, respectively. However, no study has investigated the combined impact of them on health or mortality. We followed 4,923 Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes registered at the Fukuoka Diabetes Registry (median, 5.3 years; follow-up rate, 99.5%).  MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings?  Response: Drinking 4 or more daily cups of green tea was associated with 40% lower risk of death, and 2 or more cups of coffee was associated with 41% lower risk. Furthermore, the combination of 4 or more cups of green tea and 2 or more cups of coffee every day was associated with 63% lower risk of death. We have shown that higher consumption of green tea and coffee was associated with reduced all-cause mortality, and their combined effect appeared to be additive in people with type 2 diabetes. (more…)
Author Interviews / 10.01.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Xinyan Wang Department of Epidemiology Fuwai Hospital, National Center for Cardiovascular Disease Peking Union Medical College & Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Beijing,  China MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Does the type of tea matter (green vs black etc.)? Response: Tea is one of the most popular beverages globally and has attracted great interest from both the public and scientific researchers due to its potential benefits for cardiovascular system and people’s general health as well. However, previous results from population-based studies remained inconsistent. Thus, we aimed to investigate the association between tea and cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of disease burden, using our unique long-term cohort data with multiple follow-up visits.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Nutrition, Pancreatic / 05.06.2014

Wai-Nang Paul Lee, M.D. Division Chief, Division of Pediatric Endocrinology and Metabolism Professor of Pediatrics Director of Biomedical Mass Spectrometry LaboratoryMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Wai-Nang Paul Lee, M.D. Division Chief, Division of Pediatric Endocrinology and Metabolism Professor of Pediatrics Director of Biomedical Mass Spectrometry Laboratory Harbor-UCLA MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Wai-Nang Lee: The study reports that EGCG, the active biologic constituent in green tea, changed the metabolism of pancreatic cancer cells by suppressing the expression of an enzyme associated with cancer, LDHA. The researchers also compared the effects of EGCG with those of an enzyme inhibitor, oxamate, which is known to reduce LDHA activity, and found that they both operated in a similar manner by disrupting the pancreatic cancer cells metabolic system. Scientists had believed they needed a molecular mechanism to treat cancer, but this study shows that they can change the metabolic system and have an impact on cancer. (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes, Nutrition / 30.04.2013

This interview content is written by Dr Dae-Kyu Song, the corresponding and responsible author of the manuscript shown at “Park, Jae-Hyung et al. (2013). Green tea extract with polyethylene glycol-3350 reduces body weight and improves glucose tolerance in db/db and high-fat diet mice. Naunyn-Schmiedeberg’s Archives of Pharmacology. DOI 10.1007/s00210-013-0869-9“. Dr Jae-Hyung Park is the first author of the manuscript and a graduate student of Dr. Dae-Kyu Song MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: At doses which could be achieved by drinking green tea on a daily basis, it has been known that green tea extract (GTE) inhibits intestinal glucose and lipid absorption when it is present in the intestinal tract. It is a reason why green tea consumption has been known to be beneficial for controlling obesity and type 2 diabetes. However, we have found that, after the intestinal absorption of GTE itself, the circulating GTE can elevate blood glucose levels by blocking cellular glucose uptake in most tissues, thereby limiting glucose utilization of the tissues. Therefore, we have tried to prolong the residence time of GTE in the intestine and block the intestinal absorption of GTE, by adding non-toxic polymer polyethylene glycol (PEG) to GTE. As a result, in 4 week treatment, the GTE+PEG regimen dramatically helps obesity-induced diabetic mice lose body weight and ameliorate glucose intolerance. Interestingly, GTE alone is without any effect. (more…)
Author Interviews, Nutrition / 18.03.2013

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Yoshihiro Kokubo, MD, PhD, FACC, FAHA, FESC Department of Preventive Cardiology, National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center, 5-7-1, Fujishiro-dai, Suita, Osaka, MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Kokubo:  In this study, higher green tea (2 or more cups/day) and coffee (3 to 6 times/week, 1 or more cups/day) consumption were found to be inversely associated with the incidences of cardiovascular disease and stroke. Higher green tea (2 or more cups/day) or coffee (1 or more cups/day) consumption reduced the risks of cardiovascular disease, strokes, and its subtypes, especially in intracerebral hemorrhage (P for interaction between green tea and coffee=0.04). (more…)