"Nature Biomedical Engineering" Intermittent fasting reduces chemotherapy side effects

Recently, a team led by scientists at Massachusetts General Hospital has created a nanoparticle probe that can identify signs of chemotherapy-induced heart damag.

Chemotherapy for cancer patients can save lives, but some of these drugs can harm the hear.

The study, published in the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering, focused on autophagy, a mechanism by which cells eliminate external or unhealthy component.

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Sosnovik, the study's senior author, said: "We used our nanoparticles to show that intermittent fasting -- only water and no food for 24 hours before chemotherapy -- can restore autophagy, eliminate damage to the heart muscle, and even improve overall Survival rat.

Sosnovik emphasizes that complementary studies in humans are needed, especially as the effects of fasting on tumor autophagy are unknow.

In addition, the team's autophagy-detecting nanoparticles can be used to better understand the role of autophagy in a range of disease.

Reference: A nanoparticle probe for the imaging of autophagic flux in live mice via magnetic resonance and near-infrared fluorescence” by Howard .