Health & WellnessS


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Virus and genes involved in causation of schizophrenia

For the first time, an international team of researchers has found that a combination of a particular virus in the mother and a specific gene variant in the child increases the risk of the child developing schizophrenia

Viruses and genes interact in a way that may increase the risk of developing schizophrenia significantly. This happens already in the developing foetus.

An international team of scientists led by Aarhus University, Denmark, has made this discovery. As the first in the world, they scanned the entire genome of hundreds of sick and healthy people to see if there is an interaction between genes and a very common virus - cytomegalovirus - and to see whether the interaction influences the risk of developing schizophrenia.

And it does.

Women that have been infected by the virus - and around 70 % has - will have a statistically significant increased risk of giving birth to a child who later develops schizophrenia if the child also has the aforementioned gene variant. This variant is found in 15 percent. The risk is five times higher than usual, the researchers report in Molecular Psychiatry.

No cause for alarm

People infected with cytomegalovirus most often do not know it, as the infection by the virus, which belongs to the herpes virus family, is usually very mild. But the researchers stress that there is no cause for alarm - even if both risk factors are present in mother and child, there may be a variety of other factors that prevents disease development in the child.

Bulb

Schizophrenia: A disorder of neurodevelopment and accelerated aging?

Suggests a new study in Biological Psychiatry.

Philadelphia, PA, March 6, 2013 - Many lines of evidence indicate that schizophrenia is a disorder of neurodevelopment. For example, genes implicated in the heritable risk for schizophrenia are also implicated in the development of nerve cells and their connections. Numerous findings in brain imaging studies describe the changes in brain structure and function associated with schizophrenia as emerging early in the course of the disorder. Some early brain imaging studies even found little or no evidence of progression of structural deficits.

Yet, a new generation of studies now also describes degenerative processes in schizophrenia that resemble accelerated aging. Schizophrenia is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular illnesses and persons with schizophrenia have shorter average lifespans. Studies have also found that individuals with schizophrenia have shortened telomeres, a marker of aging. Structural imaging studies describe enhanced reductions in gray and white matter volumes and increased cortical thinning with age associated with schizophrenia. Similar findings have also emerged for individuals diagnosed with major depressive disorder.

This evidence led researchers of a new study in Biological Psychiatry to specifically examine age-related decline in cerebral white matter in schizophrenia and major depressive disorder, using a measure of microstructural integrity called fractional anisotropy. For comparison, they recruited two normal control groups, one for each cohort.

Ambulance

Terrifying meningitis outbreak in NYC among gay men

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© www.doctortipster.com
17 Confirmed Cases Since 2012; 7 Reported Deaths Since 2010


The New York City Department of Health has issued a new vaccination recommendation for men at risk of contracting a serious and potentially deadly strain of meningitis.

The outbreak of meningitis among gay men has sickened four people already this year, increasing the number of cases to 17 since 2012, according to city health officials. Seven fatalities have been reported in the city since 2010.

"Once you get infected the time from being infected to being horribly sick and possibly dying is very short," Deputy Health Commissioner Dr. Jay Varma told WCBS 880′s Alex Silverman on Wednesday. "We've had several cases who have been actually found dead in their apartment before they'd even gone to see a medical provider. So that is, to us, absolutely terrifying."

The original Health Department warning was issued for HIV-positive men.

Life Preserver

Dying for reform: UK health situation worsens

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© Reuters / Toby MelvilleBritain's Secretary of State for Health, Jeremy Hunt, in London February 12, 2013.
Money won't buy you health. This seems to be true for the UK, where substantial financial injections into the NHS do not prevent increasing death rates. A recent report on UK health performance exposed a worsening public health situation.

The report published in The Lancet, a recognized medical journal, revealed that despite a substantial increase in health expenditure, the UK only occupies 12th place in the list of 19 countries including France, the US, Canada and Australia.

"The UK performed significantly worse than the EU15+ for age-standardized death rates, age-standardized YLL rates, and life expectancy in 1990, and its relative position had worsened by 2010," the report from The Lancet magazine said.

The report was based on the data extracted from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2010, which analyzed health figures for the UK and 18 other nations.

According to the findings when it comes to premature mortality the worst rankings were for men and women aged 20-54 years.

Overall life expectancy has improved in the UK by 4.2 years, but other countries have improved faster, with Spain, Italy and Australia leading the list.

2 + 2 = 4

Are the government's dietary guidelines making us obese?

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© modified from motivatethis.net
Since the early 1980s the USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans have urged trusting Americans to eat a low-fat high-carbohydrate diet for their health and weight control. Since then, there has been an alarming increase in chronic diseases such as cancer and diabetes. In addition, obesity rates have shot up to 30%, and more than 70% of Americans are overweight.

Can the dietary guidelines be to blame?

Many experts believe that the USDA and other government agencies have stubbornly disregarded the science and continued a 30-year long nutrition experiment on Americans that has had disastrous results.

Nutrition experts from The Healthy Nation Coalition, which includes the Weston A. Price Foundation, the Salt Institute, and the Nutrition and Metabolism Society, have voiced concerns about the current USDA Dietary Guidelines issued in 2010. They criticize the guidelines for perpetuating the wrong-headed advice to eat a low-fat diet, high in processed grains and cereals, which has contributed to the current obesity and health crisis.

Comment: The author is clearly stating (based on well researched data): Enjoy Saturated Fats, They're Good for You! Read more about the numerous benefits of saturated fats:


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Gluten and the autoimmune disease spectrum

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New Research Links Gluten Sensitivity to Multiple Autoimmune Diseases

Research continues to link the autoimmune spectrum of diseases to gluten sensitivity. In a recent study, gluten intolerance was found to be present in patients with multiple types of autoimmune conditions:
"Results of our studies revealed in the group of 110 patients with diagnosed gluten enteropathy, coexistence of autoimmune disease, such as diabetes mellitus type 1 in 7.2% cases, hyperthyreosis on 1.8% of cases, vitiligo in 0.9% of cases, primary biliary cirrhosis in 2% of cases and rheumatoidal arthritis in 0,9 of cases. In the group of 80 ulcerative colitis patients, coexistence of celiac disease basing on serological histopatological investigation was found in 4 patients (5%)."
A previous post on Gluten Free Society showed the connection between gluten induced liver disease (autoimmune hepatitis). Now another new study points more autoimmune disease overlap in patients with autoimmune hepatitis.
"A total of 111 patients (40%) were diagnosed with additional autoimmune diseases...autoimmune thyroiditis was the most common concurrent disease (28 patients, 10%). Other concurrent autoimmune diseases comprised vitiligo (5 patients), rheumatoid arthritis (5 patients), Sjogren syndrome (4 patients), ulcerative colitis (4 patients), conjunctivitis (4 patients), celiac disease (3 patients), systemic lupus erythematodes (2 patients), type I diabetes (2 patients), multiple sclerosis (2 patients), polymyalgia rheumatica (2 patients), and urticaria (2 patients). One patient each was diagnosed with Crohn's disease, autoimmune gastritis, collagenous colitis, hypophysitis, and sarcoidosis."
Sources

J Clin Gastroenterol. 2010 Jan 15. [Epub ahead of print]
Przegl Lek
. 2009;66(7):370-2.

Beaker

Manufacturers replace BPA with still highly toxic BPS

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© greenmedinfo.com
As we reported on back in June of last year, in an exposé titled, Consumer Alert: BPA-Free Goods Still Contain Toxin Bisphenol, the petrochemical bisphenol A (BPA), a ubiquitous ingredient in thousands of consumer products and which has been linked to a wide range of serious adverse health effects,[i] has been removed by many ostensibly scrupulous manufacturers in favor of another equally toxic analog in the same chemical class, known as bisphenol S (BPS). This has enabled manufacturers of products as varied as thermal printer receipts to sippy cups to advertise their products as "BPA-free," while still exposing consumers to potentially harmful, and less regulated chemicals.

BPS is actually not only within the same range of toxicity of BPA, but is slower to degrade, and therefore will be more likely to remain a persistent toxin and environmental pollutant.[ii] It has already been found to be present in the urine of 81% of those tested from the United States and seven Asian countries.[iii]

Now, new concern is being raised by a study published this month in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives showing that BPS has estrogenic activity comparable to estradiol, the most potent and therefore concerning human estrogen, and is even capable of enhancing estradiol-mediated cell signaling activity. These actions indicate it has great potential to disrupt normal endocrine processes. The study also found that BPS is capable of inducing cell death (apoptosis), as well as interfere with cellular prolactin (PRL) secretion. This latter effect has a broad range of indications, as the prolactin hormone regulates hundreds of biological functions, including metabolism, reproduction and lactation.[iv]

Stop

Bumble Bee tuna recall

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© Photo via Bumble Bee Food LLC.Bumble Tuna recall issued for some Bumble Bee products.
Bumble Bee Food, LLC announced on Wednesday that they are issuing a voluntarily recall of some of their 5 ounce cans of tuna.

The recall was issued after concerns of quality control issues were revealed.

Apparently some of the cans were not properly sealed or seamed in the manufacturing process, leaving the possibility open for contamination. Consuming tuna from one of these cans could potentially lead to illness from pathogens or organisms, although the company says they have not received any reports from consumers who have fallen ill.

The cans in question were sold between Jan. 17, 2013 and Feb. 28, 2013.

Health

Nightmare superbug killing half of those who are infected says CDC

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© Photo Illustration by Sean Gallup/Getty Images Pork cut into cubes and purchased at a local discount supermarket lies on a plate in this photo illustration on February 8, 2012 in Berlin, Germany.
A nightmare gut bacteria that can kill up to 50 percent of those infected, the extremely drug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC) - producing K. pneumoniae sequence type 258 (KpnST258) has emerged as an important pathogen worldwide. Hospitals are scrambling to get rid of this bacteria. Check out the video, "Hospitals scramble to kill 'superbug'"on NBCNews.com.

A deadly class of superbugs nearly impossible to treat with a fatality rate approaching 50 percent need to be stopped. But how do scientists stop the CRE outbreaks from reaching the general public? The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has identified deadly 'nightmare' bacteria that's resistant to antibiotics and spreading through the nation's hospitals. There's the potential for CRE bacteria to spread to patients with common ailments such as diarrhea or more severe infections such as pneumonia. The doctors don't have any drug to treat CRE outbreaks because the bacteria is resistant to what's currently available.

Donut

Mark Hyman: The dangers of sugar in all its forms


Comment: Additional information about the numerous dangers of sugar:Addicted to Sugar?
Sugar: The Bitter Truth
A Spoon Full of Sugar.... Is Toxic?
Sugar Addiction is Real
The Health Detriments of Sugar Revealed
Sugar High: The Dark History and Nasty Methods Used to Feed Our Sweet Tooth
Sweet Sabotage: The Harsh Reality of Sugar, Sugar Substitutes and "Natural Sweeteners"