Is Oxytocin the Moral Molecule?

 Oxytocin is only released during three events during a female’s lifetime; while breastfeeding, during birth, and while having sex. It is produced in the hypothalamus and released to the blood via the posterior pituitary. Studies have shown that countries who have a greater amount of communal trust are richer and more prosperous. This idea was tested in a study called the “Investment Game” where one person was given $10 and could either keep or send how ever much of it. The second group who received this amount of money had their share tripled and were then faced with the same choice, to keep or send some, or all of the money back. Oxytocin levels of each of the participants were measured during different points of the study as well. The first part of the scenario is a test of trust; will the first person decide to trust that the second will return part of their share? The second part is a test of trustworthiness; will the second person reward the first for their kindness? The study showed that there are different levels of trust and trustworthiness that people employ, and this level varies from person to person; 90% of the first group send money, while 95% of the second group returned part of their money. The more the second person received, the greater their oxytocin levels were, and more they returned.

A second study was done to compliment this and prove that oxytocin causes trustworthiness, where the same scenario was proposed, but 200 men received a nasal inhaler which contained oxytocin, while 200 did not. Those who inhaled the oxytocin prior to receiving an amount of money showed more trust, and the number of people who sent all of their money was doubled, as compared to the last study. This indicated that oxytocin was the molecule directly related to trust.

Continued testing on oxytocin revealed that it is also related to empathy. Participants of a study were asked to watch a sad video between a father and his son, and then rate their feelings; blood was also taken before and after the video. Changes in the blood oxytocin levels directly correlated to their feelings of empathy. The relationship between this scenario and real life is that empathy is what connects us to other people, which in turn influences our decisions and makes us moral.

Following this logic, we can then predict instances when immorality could occur. We know that when stress levels are high oxytocin is inhibited as well as when testosterone is produced. In these cases, we can assume that when these conditions are met, individuals will behave immorally.

This post is based on a Ted Talk, which is highly interesting, the link for which can be found below.

https://www.ted.com/talks/paul_zak_trust_morality_and_oxytocin#t-964750

Daylight Savings Time - A Ticking Time Bomb?

Daylight Savings Time is observed by more than 1.5 billion people worldwide. In the United States, outside of Hawaii and Arizona, citizens adjust their time by one hour twice per year. They roll their clocks forward in the spring and back in the fall. A research initiative has found a significant increase in the volume of acute myocardial infarctions (AMI) in the state of Michigan the Monday following the Spring time change and a modestly significant decrease during the fall change.

The study included 42,060 hospital admissions for AMI over 1354 days including the time change study period. On the Monday following the Spring time change, researchers observed a 24% increase in AMI for that day alone (p=0.011). The Tuesday following the fall time change observed a 21% decrease in AMI for that day (p=0.044). However, no significant difference in the total number of AMIs were observed for the week as a whole following Day Light Savings.

The hypothesized reason for why this is occurring is the manipulation of the sleep-wake cycle, specifically the imbalance of the autonomic nervous system and the associated rise in pro-inflammatory cytokines. Overall incidence of AMI during the week of the Spring Daylight Savings Time change remained constant, suggesting that the reduction in sleep during this period was potentially accelerating AMI events that were likely to occur in vulnerable patients regardless of the time change.

There has been controversy over the economic efficacy of Daylight Savings Time. It was implemented to make better use of daylight hours, thereby decreasing electricity needs. Some experts have suggested the practice be stopped altogether. Regardless of whether Daylight Savings is efficient economically, should it be removed based on the evidence presented here? Ethically, how does government justify the economic benefits of such a practice at the detriment to the health of its citizens? If the overall weekly rate of acute myocardial infarctions remains unchanged, is it justifiable to maintain the practice? Or does the increased rate of AMIs the Monday following the Spring time change justify a revision of the system?

References

Kotchen, M., & Grant, L. (2008). Does Daylight Saving Time Save Energy? Evidence from a Natural Experiment in Indiana. doi:10.3386/w14429

Sandhu, A., Seth, M., & Gurm, H. S. (2014). Daylight savings time and myocardial infarction. Open Heart,1(1). doi:10.1136/openhrt-2013-000019

Chemotherapy Helping Tumors to Grow?

Researchers at Harvard Medical School recently studied the remains of tumor cells that were killed by chemotherapy or other cancer treatments. What they discovered is was quite alarming. These treatments or therapies can stimulate the growth of the tumor. This is done by triggering an inflammatory reaction. Chemotherapy is just supposed to kill cells not package them up and transport them out of the body. The dead cells that re left behind have the ability to stimulate the productions of proimflammatory cytokines. These cytokines are signaling molecules that promote tumor growth.

            In their study, they killed laboratory cultured cancer cells with different types of cytotoxic or targeted drugs. They then injected the debris into mice containing a small amount of living cancer cells that were not able to proliferate on their own. The results showed that the treatment contributed to cell growth. More research showed that the dead cancer cells have phosphatidylserine, a lipid, exposed on their surface. This lipid triggers the proinflammatory cytokines.

            This group went on to test if clearing out the debris would help this situation. The results can be read in the paper below. The question that is burning in the back of my mind while reading this is “Why are we continuing to administer chemotherapy and other cancer treatments if there is research showing that it helps the tumors grow?”

            Chemotherapy is known for its ability to make the patient extremely sick, cause loss of hair, and make them extremely susceptible to infection. Patients have a hard time eating due to the extreme nausea. On top of everything, 15%-25% of patients with cancer are diagnosed with depression. It brings up the ethical value of non-maleficence and not wanting to cause more harm than is already done. If we know the cancer could or is trigger the proinflammatory cytokines and allowing the tumor to grow, then should we be giving the patients chemotherapy in the first place?

Obviously, each patient is an individual case and cost to benefit is examined on an individual basis.  Finally, it is always the patient’s decision. 

Megan L. Sulciner, Charles N. Serhan, Molly M. Gilligan, Dayna K. Mudge, Jaimie Chang, Allison Gartung, Kristen A. Lehner, Diane R. Bielenberg, Birgitta Schmidt, Jesmond Dalli, Emily R. Greene, Yael Gus-Brautbar, Julia Piwowarski, Tadanori Mammoto, David Zurakowski, Mauro Perretti, Vikas P. Sukhatme, Arja Kaipainen, Mark W. Kieran, Sui Huang, Dipak Panigrahy. Resolvins suppress tumor growth and enhance cancer therapy. The Journal of Experimental Medicine, 2017; jem.20170681 DOI: 10.1084/jem.20170681 

https://www.cancer.net/navigating-cancer-care/how-cancer-treated/chemotherapy/side-effects-chemotherapy

Repairing Your Neuron

It has long been thought that once damaged, a neuron will not repair itself. New research, however, is trying to find new ways to encourage neuron regeneration. During embryonic development, a growth factor called netrin1 is released by floor plate cells. It had been thought that netrin1 acted as a "long-distance guide" for axon growth by attracting axons toward this growth factor from a relative distance, however, Varadarajan et al, 2017, found something to the contrary.

Rather than acting on axon growth from a distance, netrin1 has been found to be released from early, undifferentiated neuronal cells. Once released, netrin1 forms a pathway stemming from the point of secretion, creating an environment for the axon to proliferate on. Thus, netrin1 is a direct influencer of where new axons form on the neuron.

This extremely exciting research is the first step to considering neuronal regeneration. More research needs to be done to figure out exactly what factors encourage axons to interact and grow on netrin1. The hope is that netrin1 can be localized to a damaged neuron after injury to promote regrowth, something once thought to be implausible.

Works Cited
Varadarajan, S.G. et al. "Netrin1 Produced by Neural Progenitors, Not Floor Plate Cells, Is Required for Axon Guidance in the Spinal Cord". Neuron, Volume 94, Issue 4, p790–799.e3, 17 May 2017. Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2017.03.007

 

Swimming in Pee

              A new way of measuring the amount of pee in a swimming pool was developed at the University of Alberta by measuring the concentration of artificial sweeteners in the pool water. Artificial sweeteners are calorie free because the body cannot metabolize the molecules, meaning they pass through the body and get excreted in the same form.  Artificial sweeteners like acesulfame potassium (Ace-K) are also universally used in most foods and drinks.  The study found that an average commercial size pool contains about 20 gallons of urine and this goes up almost triple in pools commonly used by competitive swimmers.  As the pool water goes unchanged for a long period of time and more people use it, the urine content increases (Blackstock,2017).  YUCK!

               Along with artificial sweeteners, urine and sweat contain uric acid. Although uric acid at this concentration is not dangerous to the body, the combination of the nitrogen in uric acid and chlorine makes volatile disinfection byproducts (DBP’s) such as cyanogen chloride (CNCL).  Cyanogen chloride is considered an agent of chemical warfare and causes irritation in the eyes, nose, and lungs.  The classic pool smell is the smell of cyanogen chloride, not just chlorine. 

               When CNCL is used as a chemical weapon, it causes disorientation and death in victims by affecting the respiratory and nervous systems.  The initial irritation of chemoreceptors in the trachea and lungs causes violent coughing followed by shallow gasping.  Eventually, the sensory surfaces are damaged and coughing stops, but the alveolar surface also gets damaged leading to a decrease in oxygen and carbon dioxide transfer.  The lack of CO₂ expiration leads to a buildup of acid in the circulatory system which leads to vomiting to compensate for the acidity of the blood.  In the blood, CNCL is quickly metabolized by the liver but becomes Hydrogen Cyanide, an even more toxic molecule.  HCN can cause damage to the central nervous system such as blindness, paralysis, and loss of reflexes (Aldridge,1946).  Ultimately, victims usually die horribly, which is why chemicals like these are banned from use in wars.

               Various news articles published after Michael Phelps claimed that every swimmer pees in pools had headlines like “Peeing in pools is chemical warfare.” Thankfully, cyanogen chlorine in pools is nowhere near the concentration needed to cause these effects.  Although it will not instantly kill you, higher rates of asthma and bladder cancer have been seen among frequent swimmers.  The DBP’s will also cause slight irritation of the eyes, skin, and nose.  Ultimately, you are more likely to die from drowning, being killed by your friend for peeing in the pool, or fecal bacteria in the pool (a whole different story) than being killed from the pee in the pool. 

Works Cited:

https://www.healthline.com/health-news/peeing-in-the-pool-is-chemical-warfare-033114

Aldridge, W. N., & Evans, C. L. (1946). The Physiological Effects And Fate Of Cyanogen Chloride. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Physiology and Cognate Medical Sciences,33(4), 241-266. doi:10.1113/expphysiol.1946.sp000908

Blackstock, L. K., Wang, W., Vemula, S., Jaeger, B. T., & Li, X. (2017). Sweetened Swimming Pools and Hot Tubs. Environmental Science & Technology Letters, 4(4), 149-153. doi:10.1021/acs.estlett.7b00043

E, Y., Bai, H., Lian, L., Li, J., & Blatchley, E. R. (2016). Effect of chloride on the formation of volatile disinfection byproducts in chlorinated swimming pools. Water Research, 105, 413-420. doi:10.1016/j.watres.2016.09.018