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Thu, 04 Nov 2021
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Cells that 'taste' danger set off immune responses

Carrie Arnold
Quanta Magazine
Fri, 15 Nov 2019 12:10 UTC
Taste and smell receptors in unexpected organs monitor the state of the body's natural microbial health and raise an alarm over invading parasites.
lungs with tongues
© RenderBurger for Quanta Magazine
Cells with taste receptors sometimes develop inside the lungs of animals infected with influenza. By “tasting” the presence of certain pathogens, these cells may act as sentinels for the immune system.
When the immunologist De'Broski Herbert at the University of Pennsylvania looked deep inside the lungs of mice infected with influenza, he thought he was seeing things. He had found a strange-looking cell with a distinctive thatch of projections like dreadlocks atop a pear-shaped body, and it was studded with taste receptors. He recalled that it looked just like a tuft cell — a cell type most often associated with the lining of the intestines.

But what would a cell covered with taste receptors be doing in the lungs? And why did it only appear there in response to a severe bout of influenza?

Herbert wasn't alone in his puzzlement over this mysterious and little-studied group of cells that keep turning up in unexpected places, from the thymus (a small gland in the chest where pathogen-fighting T cells mature) to the pancreas. Scientists are only just beginning to understand them, but it is gradually becoming clear that tuft cells are an important hub for the body's defenses precisely because they can communicate with the immune system and other sets of tissues, and because their taste receptors allow them to identify threats that are still invisible to other immune cells.
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Marijuana

CBD and Lupus: The future of treating Autoimmune Disease

Alyssa Colton
Honey Colony
Fri, 01 Nov 2019 18:51 UTC
HOPE

CBD offers hope in the treatment of Lupus and autoimmune diseases without the side effects of pharmaceuticals

Five million people worldwide suffer from joint pain, rashes, and chronic fatigue due to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), an autoimmune condition. There is no cure and few options for help for the sometimes debilitating symptoms. There is hope, though. As the restrictions on research and the use of cannabis are lifted, more lupus and autoimmune disease sufferers may find relief through the use of CBD. The research on cannabis is also pointing the way to a better understanding of how our bodies work to fight pain and inflammation; the insight that may prove to be invaluable for the millions suffering from a host of autoimmune diseases.

Dr. Patricia Frye of Takoma Park Integrative Care in Maryland and the author of Medical Marijuana prescribes cannabis for her patients for a variety of conditions. Cannabis, as well as CBD, help modulate the symptoms of autoimmune disorders like SLE, or lupus. In addition, it can be more efficacious and comes with fewer side effects than pharmaceuticals.

"It generally has an overall anti-inflammatory effect," Frye says.
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Heart

New large study casts doubt on need for many heart procedures

Marilynn Marchione
PBS
Tue, 19 Nov 2019 07:14 UTC
medical
© Reuters/Yorgos Karahalis
People with severe but stable heart disease from clogged arteries may have less chest pain if they get a procedure to improve blood flow rather than just giving medicines a chance to help, but it won't cut their risk of having a heart attack or dying over the following few years, a big federally funded study found.

The results challenge medical dogma and call into question some of the most common practices in heart care. They are the strongest evidence yet that tens of thousands of costly stent procedures and bypass operations each year are unnecessary or premature for people with stable disease.

That's a different situation than a heart attack, when a procedure is needed right away to restore blood flow.

For non-emergency cases, the study shows "there's no need to rush" into invasive tests and procedures, said New York University's Dr. Judith Hochman.

There might even be harm: To doctors' surprise, study participants who had a procedure were more likely to suffer a heart problem or die over the next year than those treated with medicines alone.

Hochman co-led the study and gave results Saturday at an American Heart Association conference in Philadelphia.

Comment: Changing our lifestyle and what we consume can go a long way in preventing the need for heart medication or procedures. See also,

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Health

China sees 3rd plague case after man, 55, eats wild rabbit

Madeline Farber
Fox News
Mon, 18 Nov 2019 17:21 UTC
Bubonic plague

Bubonic plague
A 55-year-old man in China has become the country's third case of plague in recent weeks.

Inner Mongolia, an autonomous region of northern China, confirmed a case of bubonic plague on Sunday, according to Reuters. The man, who was not identified, became ill after eating wild rabbit meat on Nov. 5, according to the outlet. He is isolated and being treated at a hospital in Ulanqab.

At least 28 other people who had close contact with the man are also isolated and "under observation," per Reuters, which noted they do not appear to be showing any symptoms of the disease at this time.

Plague is a serious bacterial infection that's separated into three main types: bubonic, septicemic and pneumonic. Plague is usually contracted after being bitten by a rodent flea carrying the Yersinia pestis bacterium or by handling an infected animal, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The disease can be fatal if not promptly treated.
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Health

Why overuse of antibiotics is a massive, 'staggering' problem in health care


PBS
Thu, 14 Nov 2019 18:35 UTC
superbug microscope
A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that we are losing ground in the battle against so-called superbugs -- the harmful or deadly bacteria resistant to nearly all our antibiotic defenses. William Brangham talks to Dr. Arjun Srinivasan, who works on infection control at the CDC and helped compile the report, about how we can prevent these dangerous infections.

Transcript

Judy Woodruff: A new report out from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control highlights that we are still losing the battle against so-called superbugs, bacteria that are resistant to nearly all the antibiotics.

As William Brangham tells us, the scope of the problem is bigger than previously estimated.

Comment: Funny how they're putting the onus of responsibility on the patients rather than the doctors. If the doctors don't want to prescribe an antibiotic because they know it won't be effective, they shouldn't do so, no matter how much their patient whines about it. There's also the fact that patients aren't equipped to determine when they need an antibiotic and when they don't. The final decision is the doctor's, not the patient's, so put the responsibility where it belongs.

See also:

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Cow

This man wants to convince America beef is healthier than meatless burgers

Jessica Glenza
The Guardian
Fri, 15 Nov 2019 07:00 UTC
Richard Berman
© Luke Sharrett/The New York Tim​es/eyevine
Richard Berman: ‘These are not burgers or sausages or chicken strips that have been constructed with crushed celery.’
Richard Berman is running a campaign to educate the public on plant-based meat burgers such as Impossible and Beyond Beef

The food industry has a "weapon of mass destruction". His name is Richard Berman. And he has his sights set on destroying the growing appetite for meatless burgers and plant-based meat substitutes.

Berman has form in this line of work. A longtime Washington DC lobbyist and PR strategist, he has advised - and tried to shield - some of America's most powerful industries from criticism.

Comment: It's unsurprising that the established industries would employ someone like Berman to counter the propaganda coming out of the fake meat industry. But it's important to look at the message, not the messenger. From what's quoted in this article, nothing he's saying is wrong.

See also:

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Clock

Couple adopts intermittent fasting: Not only did they lose weight, it changed their lives

Ashley Strickland
CNN
Tue, 27 Aug 2019 09:48 UTC
Sklar

Jared and his girlfriend, Samantha, during their lifestyle change.
In May 2018, Jared Sklar's wake-up call was waiting for him when he got home from work. He opened the fridge and saw four different pizza boxes from four different restaurants.

"It's pretty embarrassing, but it's the truth," Sklar said. "I just opened the door, and I was just like, 'What are we doing here?' "

At 285 pounds (129 kilograms), he would sit on the couch and watch TV, with no energy left after conquering the work day. Late-night snacks included popcorn and ice cream. The 27-year-old, who works in sales for Corporate Strategies in Woodland Hills, California, knew something had to change.

And gradually, his clothes felt like they were getting smaller every time he did laundry."It gets to that point where you realize that you're getting bigger; the clothes aren't getting smaller," he said. "It was that a-ha moment."

There were other epiphanies as well. Sklar missed the feeling he got when he used to play sports as a teenager. And there was a history of heart disease in his family.

Together, he and his girlfriend, Samatha MacDonald, decided to make a lifestyle change. They had talked about doing it before, but this time, it stuck. They didn't want to look back 20 years from now and realize they could have made changes to be healthier then.

Comment: See also,

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Heart - Black

Florida vegan parents charged with manslaughter after toddler dies of malnutrition

Chris Kitching
Mirror
Fri, 15 Nov 2019 19:50 UTC
Ryan and Sheila O'Leary vegan manslaughter
A vegan couple's toddler died of malnutrition while they fed him almost nothing but raw fruit and vegetables, say police.

The 18-month-old boy weighed only 17lbs when he died in the care of his parents Ryan and Sheila O'Leary on September 27, according to police.

Sheila, 35, told police the boy was born at home, had never seen a doctor before and was fed a diet of raw fruit and vegetables, including mangoes, rambutans, bananas and avocados.

When he died, she said, he hadn't eaten food in a week - she thought it was because he was teething - and he was being breastfed.

The O'Learys have been charged with negligent manslaughter and child neglect.

Comment: How many children must die before the insanity of veganism is publicly denounced as the health threat it actually is, rather than lauded by ideologically possessed 'influencers'?

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Microscope 1

Ketogenic diet helps tame flu virus


Medical Xpress
Fri, 15 Nov 2019 00:01 UTC
influenza virus microscopy
© CDC
Electron microscopy of influenza virus.
A high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet like the Keto regimen has its fans, but influenza apparently isn't one of them.

Mice fed a ketogenic diet were better able to combat the flu virus than mice fed food high in carbohydrates, according to a new Yale University study published Nov. 15 in the journal Science Immunology.

The ketogenic diet — which for people includes meat, fish, poultry, and non-starchy vegetables — activates a subset of T cells in the lungs not previously associated with the immune system's response to influenza, enhancing mucus production from airway cells that can effectively trap the virus, the researchers report.

Comment: Is there nothing the ketogenic diet can't do?

See also:

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Health

Urgent warning as syphilis cases soar in New Zealand

Thomas Duff
Daily Mail, UK
Thu, 14 Nov 2019 21:18 UTC
Syphilis ulcers on the tongue

Syphilis ulcers on the tongue
Cases of syphilis in New Zealand have soared in the past decade with Māori men and women most at risk, shocking government data has revealed.

According to figures from the Ministry of Health there were 82 reported cases of syphilis in 2013 but that number rose to 548 in the past 12 months to March.

Researchers found that cases of syphilis were most common among men aged 20 to 39 years.

The groups most affected by syphilis are Asian and Māori men, and Māori women. Around 70 per cent of cases affected homosexual men.

The majority of recent cases have been in recorded in Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch.

Comment: See also:

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