closer look
If food is medicine, what does that mean? Coalition sets standards to define it
Alissa Ambrose / STAT
Food as medicine makes intuitive sense. Eating better can help treat certain medical conditions, including HIV and heart failure. The trick is how to define what constitutes a medically tailored meal. To fill that gap, the Food is Medicine Coalition, a group of community-based nonprofit food providers, released its accreditation standard yesterday, sharing it first with STAT's Nicholas Florko. Some requirements:
- Organizations must have one accredited full-time dietitian on staff for every 1,000 clients they serve.
- No foods with artificial sweeteners, preservatives, or anything "ultra-processed."
- Foods must be cooked in a way that "preserves the nutrient value of the food," such as "baking, braising, and sautéing rather than frying."
The new standards were crafted to head off dilution of its goal — by commercial meal providers, among others — to become as much a part of health care as drugs and medical devices. Nick has more, including some pushback.
chronic disease
Study discerns different MS subtypes
As chronic conditions go, multiple sclerosis is a difficult one to live with and to treat. Thought to be more common in women, it causes vision problems, fatigue, and weakness or spasms in the arms and legs, among many other symptoms. But the neurological condition doesn't always look the same. That spurred a team of scientists across Germany to look for clues in its earliest stages.
A new study published yesterday in Science Translational Medicine sheds light on three specific subgroups of the disease they found in 500 patients, corresponding with differences in immunological activation early in their disease and sustained over the study's four years. This could suggest the disease arises through multiple immune system pathways, the researchers say. And because the groups responded differently to treatments over time, that might help inform their care and future drug development. STAT's Isabella Cueto has more.
microbiome
Gut bacteria may play a role in a kidney disease
We're accustomed to the idea that a whole universe of microbes lives within us. But what are they doing? A new study implicates certain bacteria in the development of an autoimmune disease in the kidney. Writing in Science Translational Medicine, the researchers describe how these bacteria change antibodies inside us so much that the immune system thinks they are enemies. Then friendly fire leads to IgA nephropathy, an autoimmune disease of the kidneys, they conclude.
The rare disease causes inflammation, blood in the urine, and potential kidney failure. The new research traces the bacterially modified antibody from the gut to the intestines, the bloodstream, and then the kidney. "We need to stop thinking about this passive, indirect effect of the microbiota on human disease and autoimmunity," study author James Gleeson said. "And more start looking for the direct ways that bacteria could be modifying molecules in the human body." STAT's Theresa Gaffney has more.
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