Science shorts: Benefits of EPA for migraine, vitamin D in reducing menstrual pain and more

High dose EPA shown to reduce migraine frequency and severity – 12-week RCT​

Taking 1,800mg of omega-3 eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) daily has significantly reduced migraine frequency and severity among individuals suffering from episodic migraine, says a 12-week study from Taiwan.

The findings, published in Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, ​pointed out that supplementation of EPA also reduced anxiety and depression scores, with benefits more pronounced in women than men.

Among women, migraine frequency had decreased significantly from 8.1 ± 5.1 days per month to 3.1 ± 2.2 days per month. In men, migraine frequency reduced from 4.9 ± 3.6 days per month to 2.6 ± 1.0 days per month, but the change was not statistically significant.

‘Moderate’ dose of caffeine intake found to enhance performance of female athletes – new study​

A ‘moderate’ dose of 6 mg/kg caffeine could enhance the performance of young female athletes in short-term high intensity exercises.

Writing in Nutrients, ​researchers compared the effects of caffeine at three different levels, 3 mg/kg, 6 mg/kg, and 9 mg/kg in 16 female athletes while doing countermovement jumps, repeated sprints, and agility t-test.

Findings showed that those who took 6 mg/kg and 9 mg/kg of caffeine performed better, but the latter reported more adverse side effects associated with caffeine.

Probiotics could aid rheumatoid arthritis sufferers, but more research needed to encourage industry growth​

Probiotics have been shown to aid and potentially prevent rheumatoid arthritis, but further research is needed to determine treatment strategies, say researchers.

Rheumatoid arthritis, often mistaken as osteoarthritis, is a chronic autoimmune disease that can lead to joint swelling, joint pain, joint deformities, osteoporosis, and even disability.

Compared to healthy individuals, rheumatoid arthritis patients have a significantly different composition of gut microbiota, which negatively affects their immune defence, the researchers wrote in Frontiers in Immunology.​

Vitamin D supplementation shown to reduce period pain and use of analgesics – systematic review​

Vitamin D supplementation has shown promise in decreasing the intensity of period pain, says a new systematic review and meta-analysis.  

Assessing 11 studies involving 687 participants, the findings published in Nutrients ​reported that vitamin D supplementation had significantly decreased pain intensity, especially in people with dysmenorrhoea.

In addition, while the findings indicated a trend towards decreased use of rescue analgesics among those receiving vitamin D supplementation, it did not reach statistical significance to draw conclusive findings.

Sugarcane fix: Revolutionary remote trial to explore health benefits of polyphenols in plant extract​  

Researchers at Deakin University Australia are planning a fully remote trial to investigate the health beneficial properties of polyphenols in sugarcane extract and their potential to improve gut, heart, and mental health.

The six-month double-blinded randomised controlled crossover trial will recruit healthy males and females between 18 to 55 years old, where they will take either two capsules of 250mg of polyphenol-enriched sugarcane extract (PRSE) or the placebo daily.

The effects of PRSE on inflammation, key blood biomarkers, gut bacteria, general mood and wellbeing will be assessed.