Monday, May 07, 2007
Chronic
Finals are finally over (yay!), and so much has been going on that I want to catch up about. So, some highlights:
My epidemiology professor said at one point that "chronic diseases are those things that, should we live long enough, we will all enjoy." So, in honor of the discovery of a gene responsible for the increased longevity seen from calorie-restricted diets, a few bits on chronic disease.
Two groups of researchers have found (separately) that an allele appears to be responsible for as much as a 60% increase in heart disease risk. The gene, which is especially common in white people, is not determinant: you still need lifestyle and other risk factors, but having one or two copies of this gene is no good either!
Diabetic ulcers are just one of the many complications of that potentially debilitating chronic disease, whose incidence is likely to begin really skyrocketing soon, as the world's population gets older and fatter. And now, of course, we have super-bugs, which are resistant to antibiotic treatment, which can infect these ulcers and make amputation more likely. Two new treatments may be on the horizon: honey and maggots. Both have shown promise in preliminary and anecdotal studies, the former helping healing by sterilizing the area with peroxide and dehydration, the latter doing a number of (not entirely clear) things to kill even MRSA infections.
Another chronic, but more annoying than debilitating, disease is herpes. US researchers claim to have found the gene responsible for HSV's ability to 'hide' in the body, a promising discovery for future improvements in treatment.
Once you've gotten old and have managed your diabetes and heart disease risks, living in a walkable neighborhood may be another good thing to do for yourself: US researchers found that elderly men who lived in walkable neighborhoods (those with things like sidewalks, crosswalks, and nearby shops and cafes) were less likely to be depressed than those living in nonwalkable areas. I live in a dreadfully unwalkable area, and I know I think it's depressing!
Finally: too much of a good thing. Green tea's supposed to be all kinds of good for you, right? Well yes, unless you're overdoing it. Rutgers researchers found that people who take 'green tea supplements' may be at risk of liver and kidney damage. I always say, don't take as a pill that which you can get in real life...it's just never quite right.
My epidemiology professor said at one point that "chronic diseases are those things that, should we live long enough, we will all enjoy." So, in honor of the discovery of a gene responsible for the increased longevity seen from calorie-restricted diets, a few bits on chronic disease.
Two groups of researchers have found (separately) that an allele appears to be responsible for as much as a 60% increase in heart disease risk. The gene, which is especially common in white people, is not determinant: you still need lifestyle and other risk factors, but having one or two copies of this gene is no good either!
Diabetic ulcers are just one of the many complications of that potentially debilitating chronic disease, whose incidence is likely to begin really skyrocketing soon, as the world's population gets older and fatter. And now, of course, we have super-bugs, which are resistant to antibiotic treatment, which can infect these ulcers and make amputation more likely. Two new treatments may be on the horizon: honey and maggots. Both have shown promise in preliminary and anecdotal studies, the former helping healing by sterilizing the area with peroxide and dehydration, the latter doing a number of (not entirely clear) things to kill even MRSA infections.
Another chronic, but more annoying than debilitating, disease is herpes. US researchers claim to have found the gene responsible for HSV's ability to 'hide' in the body, a promising discovery for future improvements in treatment.
Once you've gotten old and have managed your diabetes and heart disease risks, living in a walkable neighborhood may be another good thing to do for yourself: US researchers found that elderly men who lived in walkable neighborhoods (those with things like sidewalks, crosswalks, and nearby shops and cafes) were less likely to be depressed than those living in nonwalkable areas. I live in a dreadfully unwalkable area, and I know I think it's depressing!
Finally: too much of a good thing. Green tea's supposed to be all kinds of good for you, right? Well yes, unless you're overdoing it. Rutgers researchers found that people who take 'green tea supplements' may be at risk of liver and kidney damage. I always say, don't take as a pill that which you can get in real life...it's just never quite right.
Labels: amputation, chronic, depression, diabetes, diet, exercise, geneitcs, green tea, healing, heart disease, herpes, honey, HSV, infection, longevity, maggots, MRSA, pills, ulcers
Friday, March 30, 2007
Meet the Toyger...
Seriously, a mini-tiger? YES PLEASE! I'm not even a cat person, but I want one of these guys so bad it hurts. And that's not the only wonderful science brings us today.
Canadian researchers have identified a peptide, which they are calling innate defense regulator peptide (IDR-1), that appears to be able to upregulate the innate immune system without a dangerous inflammatory response, offering hope against antibiotic resistant infections (among other things).
The battle against HIV/AIDS may get some new help now, as the WHO has published its recommendation that heterosexual men in sub-Saharan African be circumcised as a preventive measure. Now, I won't re-hash all the innumerable problems with this approach and its announcement (go here for a good, if shrill, discussion), but if it has any chance of helping, I say go for it. The potential harm is minimal, especially if the media is willing to be a little, teensie bit responsible about it.* In a possibly-more-important discovery, a US-UK team of researchers have found that green tea's famous epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) could help stop HIV, by interfereing with its ability to bind to cells. The work is really preliminary, but also has tons of potential.
And
* OK, so there's a good chance this'll be a disaster.
* * I don't actually buy any of this ADD stuff. 50 or 100 years ago, people who were interested in lots of different things and didn't like to do one thing too long were called "Renaissance Men," which was a compliment. Now we get tossed on Ritalin and told to settle down, which makes no one happier.
Labels: AIDS, antibiotic resistance, brains, circumcision, cute, cute overload, EGCG, green tea, HIV, immune system, toyger
