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Can Alzheimer's be 'caught'? Study suggests the illness could be spread via blood transfusions and surgical equipment

Jessica Hamzelo
New Scientist
Tue, 31 Oct 2017 00:00 UTC
Alzheimer's, dementia
© zephr/ SPL
Can you catch Alzheimer's disease? Fear has been growing that the illness might be capable of spreading via blood transfusions and surgical equipment, but it has been hard to find any evidence of this happening. Now a study has found that an Alzheimer's protein can spread between mice that share a blood supply, causing brain degeneration.

We already know from prion diseases like Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) that misfolded proteins can spread brain diseases. Variant CJD can spread through meat products or blood transfusions infected with so-called prion proteins, for example.

Like CJD, Alzheimer's also involves a misfolded protein called beta-amyloid. Plaques of this protein accumulate in the brains of people with the illness, although we still don't know if the plaques cause the condition, or are merely a symptom.

There has been evidence that beta-amyloid may spread like prions. Around 50 years ago, many people with a growth disorder were treated with growth hormone taken from cadavers. Many of the recipients went on to develop CJD, as these cadavers turned out to be carrying prions. But decades later, it emerged in postmortems that some of these people had also developed Alzheimer's plaques, despite being 51 or younger at the time.

Comment: See also:

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Magnify

Link found between condition of gut bacteria and several age-related diseases


Medical Xpress
Thu, 02 Nov 2017 00:00 UTC
gut bacteria
A new study shows for the first time that gut bacteria from old mice induce age-related chronic inflammation when transplanted into young mice. Called "inflammaging", this low-grade chronic inflammation is linked to life-limiting conditions such as stroke, dementia and cardiovasuclar disease. The research, published today in open-access journal Frontiers in Immunology, brings the hope of a potentially simple strategy to contribute to healthy ageing, as the composition of bacteria in the gut is, at least in part, controlled by diet.

"Since inflammaging is thought to contribute to many diseases associated with ageing, and we now find that the gut microbiota plays a role in this process, strategies that alter the gut microbiota composition in the elderly could reduce inflammaging and promote healthy ageing," explains Dr Floris Fransen, who performed the research at the University Medical Center Groningen, The Netherlands. "Strategies that are known to alter gut microbiota composition include changes in diet, probiotics, and prebiotics".

Comment: It seems like modern science is always playing a game of catch-up with the alternative health community. Here's a sampling of the numerous articles which state pretty much the same thing as the article above:

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Gift

New study offers insights into a dog's life in families with children

Cerri Evans
Phys.org
Fri, 03 Nov 2017 16:27 UTC
sheltie doggie

'Let's go play ball!'
Millions of families know how rewarding and enjoyable dog ownership can be - but now a new study has for the first time examined the quality of life for a pet dog owned by a family with children.

There is now extensive scientific research showing the many benefits that pet dogs bring to families, including improved family functioning and wellbeing for those with children with neuro-developmental disorders such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and ADHD. For all children, dogs can provide valuable companionship, encourage exercise and family activities, and teach them about responsibilities.

Until now, little attention has been paid to how living with children affects quality of life for pet dogs (those not trained as assistance dogs). Funded by Dogs Trust - the UK's largest dog welfare charity - a team of animal behaviour and welfare specialists from the University of Lincoln's School of Life Sciences are examining this question.
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Health

Ashwagandha root extract can normalize thyroid hormone levels

Mae Chan
Prevent Disease
Tue, 31 Oct 2017 15:39 UTC
Ashwagandha
Ashwagandha has been used as an herbal remedy for hundreds of years to help the body deal with stress. Extracts from Ashwagandha root helps normalize levels of serum thyroid hormones, suggests a new pilot study from India.

Ashwagandha also known commonly as Indian ginseng, poison gooseberry,or winter cherry is a plant that flourishes in India and North America. The roots of the ashwagandha plant have been employed for millennia by Ayurvedic healers. Ashwagandha has many beneficial elements, including flavonoids and members of the withanolide class. Numerous modern studies have found that ashwagandha shows great promise for being effective in reducing inflammation, decreasing stress, increasing mental activity, invigorating the body, and as an antioxidant. It is even known to relieve arthritis better than medication.

Eight weeks of supplementation with Ashwagandha root extract were associated with normalization of the thyroid stimulating hormones (TSH), serum thyroxine (T4) and serum triiodothyronine (T3) in people with elevated TSH levels.
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Health

Massage can help regrow muscle even on a non-massaged limb

Joe Battaglia
Prevent Disease
Thu, 02 Nov 2017 15:39 UTC
Massage, Rolfen, Rolfing, FAszien
Massage has been found to increase the regrowth of muscle tissue after an injury -- even when applied to the opposite, uninjured limb -- according to researchers from Colorado State University and the University of Kentucky.

It's well established that continuous deep massage treatment is an effective method of combating lower back pain.

In a paper published this week in The Journal of Physiology, the researchers showed that muscle grew faster after a massage because the making of protein in cells was improved. They also showed that when one leg was massaged, the muscle in the other, non-massaged leg also grew faster.

Muscle is lost very quickly during periods of disuse, such as during bed rest or a hospital stay, and it is extremely difficult to grow back, especially in older people. Massage is an easy-to-use treatment with very few side effects that can lessen pain, decrease anxiety and stress, increase flexibility, improve immunity, and increase blood flow. But its value for muscle regeneration had not been demonstrated before.
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Wine n Glass

This is your brain on alcohol

Alex Pietrowski
Waking Times
Wed, 01 Nov 2017 15:34 UTC
beer brain
Alcohol is such a ubiquitous part of our culture that it's easier to brush off any news of its harm than it is to even consider abandoning it in favor of better health, mental clarity, and spiritual awareness. And while there is no doubt that drinking can be fun, and no doubt that it is here to stay, it is still fascinating to see how a substance as harmful as alcohol can be legal and so well-accepted while other mind-altering substances are punished so severely.

We've known for sometime that even casual drinkers are susceptible to the downside of alcohol, and some research has even linked it to the development of cancer. The latest research into the harm of alcohol looks at how it affects the brain.

In a study published in July of 2017 in the medical journal The BMJ, researchers presented evidence supporting the enduring hypothesis that alcohol is very bad for the certain areas of the brain.
"The study followed 550 men and women for 30 years, measuring their brain structure and function to determine how alcohol use affects the mind over time. What they found is that the more people drank, the more atrophy occurred in the brain's hippocampus, a seahorse-shaped structure in your brain that plays a role in storing memories. The highest risk was for people who drank 17 standard drinks or more of alcohol per week. But even people who drank moderately saw an elevated risk for cognitive changes." [Source]

Comment: See also:

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Health

Cancer cells destroyed with metal from the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs


Phys.org
Fri, 03 Nov 2017 13:25 UTC
Diagram showing iridium attacking a cancer cell by making it produce singlet oxygen
© University of Warwick
Diagram showing iridium attacking a cancer cell by making it produce singlet oxygen
Cancer cells can be targeted and destroyed with the metal from the asteroid that caused the extinction of the dinosaurs, according to new research by an international collaboration between the University of Warwick and Sun Yat-Sen University in China.
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Brain

Scientists identify mechanism that helps us inhibit unwanted thoughts


Medicalxpress.com
Fri, 03 Nov 2017 13:07 UTC
Negative thoughts brain
Scientists have identified a key chemical within the 'memory' region of the brain that allows us to suppress unwanted thoughts, helping explain why people who suffer from disorders such as anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and schizophrenia often experience persistent intrusive thoughts when these circuits go awry.

Comment: GABA is a supplement that is easily available online, including in a mixed formula that includes Taurine and L-Tyrosine.

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Biohazard

Madagascar plague cases rocket by almost 40% in just 5 DAYS and could hit a further 20,000 in weeks

Stephen Matthews
MailOnline
Thu, 02 Nov 2017 12:22 UTC
Madagascar plague
© Mail Online / Leo Delauncey
Analysis of figures by MailOnline show the plague epidemic in Madagascar could strike a further 20,000 people in just a matter of weeks, if current trends continue
  • The World Health Organization now states there are 1,801 suspected cases
  • This is significantly higher than the 1,309 the agency reported last Thursday
  • Professor Robin May, an infectious diseases expert at Birmingham University, told MailOnline that the outbreak is 'concerning definitely'
  • Analysis of figures by MailOnline show the epidemic could strike a further 20,000 people in just a matter of weeks, if current trends continue
  • The 'unprecedented' outbreak has prompted warnings in 9 nearby countries
The deadly airborne plague spreading rapidly across Madagascar is now at 'crisis' point as cases have rocketed by 37 per cent in just five days, official figures reveal.

The outbreak, the 'worst in 50 years', is being fueled by a strain more lethal than the one which usually strikes the country off the coast of Africa.

The World Health Organization (WHO) now states there are 1,801 suspected cases - significantly higher than the 1,309 it reported last Thursday.

Academics have revealed such a jump in cases over the period of five days is concerning and have predicted it could get worse. The most recent statistics show there have been 127 deaths.

Professor Robin May, an infectious diseases expert at Birmingham University, told MailOnline that 'whichever way you look' at the outbreak, it's 'concerning definitely'.

Madagascar plague
© MailOnline/ Emily Beeny
More than 1,300 cases have now been reported in Madagascar, health chiefs have revealed, as nearby nations have been placed on high alert

Comment: See also: Plague outbreak plunges Madagascar into a state of emergency , where we read:
The Madagascar Plague is actually three plagues.

The first is bubonic - the type which ravaged Europe and the Mediterranean in the thirteen hundreds, leaving up to 60 percent dead.


Actually, the bubonic plague was universally and unequivocally believed to be the cause of the Black Death in the thirteen hundreds, despite the fact that it is well-established as biologically impossible. For more information, see: New Light on the Black Death: The Viral and Cosmic Connection.


The second is pneumonic - a super strain of the yersinia pestis bacterium which always results in death.

The third, more rare strain, is septecaemic - a life-threatening infection of the blood.

In Madagascar plague is endemic, and flare-ups cause public health emergencies on an almost annual basis but now the nation faces an uncontrolled epidemic which is terrifying the world's health agencies.

Between 1 August and 27 October, 113 people had died and 1,554 cases reported - out of which 985 were pneumonic plague, 230 bubonic plague and 339 unknown.


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Cloud Grey

How toxic air clouds mental health


MedicalXpres
Thu, 02 Nov 2017 19:06 UTC
The UK has broken EU air quality regulations every year since 2010 Reuters air pollution brain fog mental distress
© Reuters
The UK has broken EU air quality regulations every year since 2010
There is little debate over the link between air pollution and the human respiratory system: Research shows that dirty air can impair breathing and aggravate various lung diseases. Other potential effects are being investigated, too, as scientists examine connections between toxic air and obesity, diabetes and dementia.

Now add to that list psychological distress, which University of Washington researchers have found is also associated with air pollution. The higher the level of particulates in the air, the UW-led study showed, the greater the impact on mental health.

The study, published in the November issue of Health & Place, is believed to be the first to use a nationally representative survey pool, cross-referenced with pollution data at the census block level, to evaluate the connection between toxic air and mental health.
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