New York: In what could lead to anti-obesity treatment for the elderly who may not always have the fitness to exercise, researchers have discovered that an existing drug used in transplants may help reduce food consumption and body weight.

Rapamycin, a pharmaceutical used to coat coronary stents and prevent transplant rejection, reduces obesity and preserves lean body mass when given intermittently to older rats, the findings showed.

"We need to be able to intervene with treatments for older adults. They`re going to have health care issues, and not everyone can get up and exercise," said study co-lead author Christy Carter, assistant professor at University of Florida College of Medicine.

"So if you can give them a jump-start or combine rapamycin with other therapies, you could have better health outcomes," Carter said.

Using 25-month-old rats, which are about equivalent to 65-year-old people, the researchers found that body weight dropped by approximately 13 percent after the rats were treated with rapamycin.

The drug targets how the body makes leptin, a hormone produced by fat cells that affects hunger and metabolism.

Rapamycin`s ability to stabilise the rats` leptin level made them lighter, the study said.

It worked so well that the older rats ultimately developed a lean-to-fat ratio similar to that of their younger counterparts, researchers found.

"In this case, we feel like we restored the body composition to that of a young animal," Carter said.

In a second study, researchers found that small, intermittent amounts of rapamycin produced the desired slimming effect in both young and old rats.

"One point that is common is that it seems to work better in animals, old or young, that have more fat," lead authors Philip Scarpace, professor at University of Florida College of Medicine.

The two rapamycin-related studies were published in the Journals of Gerontology as a joint effort of two research teams.

Adding to the benefits of avocados, scientists have found that the nutritious fruit may hold the key to beating deadly leukemia.

University of Waterloo Professor Paul Spagnuolo has discovered a lipid in avocados that combats acute myeloid leukemia (AML) by targeting the root of the disease - leukemia stem cells. Worldwide, there are few drug treatments available to patients that target leukemia stem cells.

AML is a devastating disease and proves fatal within five years for 90 per cent of seniors over age 65.

Spagnuolo said that the stem cell is largely responsible for the disease developing and it's the reason why so many patients with leukemia relapse. They performed many rounds of testing to determine how the new drug worked at a molecular level and confirmed that it targets stem cells selectively, leaving healthy cells unharmed.

He added that not only does avocatin B eliminate the source of AML, but its targeted, selective effects makes it less toxic to the body, too.

The drug is still years away from becoming approved for use in oncology clinics, but Spagnuolo is already performing experiments to prepare the drug for a Phase I clinical trial.

Spagnuolo is among only a handful of researchers worldwide, applying the pharmaceutical industry's rigorous drug discovery research processes to food-derived compounds, called nutraceuticals.

The research is published in the journal Cancer Research.

A clinical trial to investigate the safety and efficacy of a drug therapy for autism has been launched in the US, University of California, San Diego School of Medicine has said in a statement.

The phase 1 clinical trial, which is recruiting 20 participants, will evaluate suramin -- a century-old drug still used for African sleeping sickness -- as a novel treatment for children with a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

ASD is characterised by social impairments, communication difficulties and restricted, repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behaviour.

"To date, there are no medications that can cure ASD, and very few that can improve its core symptoms," said Robert Naviaux, professor of medicine, pediatrics and pathology at the UC San Diego School of Medicine.

Previous published research by Naviaux and colleagues reported that a single injection of suramin reversed symptoms of ASD in mouse models.

This trial is the first to test suramin in children with ASD.

It is also the first clinical investigation of a novel theory, advanced by Naviaux, that posits autism may be a consequence of abnormal cell communication resulting from abnormal activation of the cell danger response.

Cells threatened or damaged by microbes, such as viruses or bacteria, or by physical forces or by chemicals, such as pollutants, react defensively, a part of the normal immune response, Naviaux said.

Their membranes stiffen. Internal metabolic processes are altered - most notably mitochondria, the cells' critical 'power plants' -- resulting in activation of the cell danger response and reduced communications between cells.

Naviaux said the cell danger response theory does not contradict other research regarding the causes of autism.

Rather, it offers another perspective and, perhaps, a new therapeutic target.

The study will involve 10 to 12 clinical visits over three to four months for each child.

In the trial, suramin will be given as a single dose through an intravenous line. Half of the participating children will receive suramin, half will receive a placebo (saline infusion).

Behavioural and medical tests will be conducted before and after treatment, and include some blood and urine analyses, the statement said.

A new study has suggested that peanuts can protect against early death from cancer and heart disease.

The Maastricht University study found that men and women who eat at least 10g of nuts or peanuts and not peanut butter per day have a lower risk of dying from several major causes of death than people who do not consume them, News.com.au reported.

Researchers in the Netherlands said peanuts and tree nuts both contain various vitamins, fibre, antioxidants and compounds such as monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids that can possibly contribute to the lower death rates.

They said peanut butter contains salt and trans fatty acids that could inhibit the protective effects of peanuts.

Women who ate nuts were also often leaner, had never smoked and were less likely to report diabetes.

Lead researcher Piet van den Brandt said that a higher intake was not associated with further reduction in mortality risk.

The study is published in the International Journal of Epidemiology.

A little exercise during pregnancy can bring in huge benefits for you and the baby.

Researchers have found that women who engage in moderate physical activity during pregnancy are less likely to have gestational diabetes, and the exercise also helps to reduce maternal weight gain.

"Exercise is not something to be feared during pregnancy - the moderate levels of exercise used in these studies had significantly positive effects on health and were found to be safe for both mother and baby," said lead author of the study Gema Sanabria-Martinez from Virgen de la Luz Hospital in Spain.

Gestational diabetes is one of the most frequent complications of pregnancy. It is associated with an increased risk of serious disorders such as hypertension, preterm birth, and with induced or caesarean birth.

It can have long term effects on the mother including long term impaired glucose tolerance and Type-2 diabetes.

The children of mothers with gestational diabetes are more likely to become overweight or obese and have a higher risk of developing diabetes themselves.

Gaining more weight than is recommended during pregnancy carries similar risks, and these women are also less likely to lose the excess weight after the baby is born.

In this study, analysis of 13 trials, involving more than 2,800 women, found that exercise reduced the risk of gestational diabetes by more than 30 percent - for women who exercised throughout pregnancy this was even greater (36 percent).

This effect was strongest for women who combined toning, strength, flexibility and aerobic exercise.

Exercise was also helpful in reducing excessive weight gain -- those who exercised were on average a kilogram lighter.

This held true for the weight gain even if the exercise programme was started in the second trimester of pregnancy.

The study was published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.