Immunology

Concerned parents have been worried about the potential impact of exposure to low levels of mercury on the developing brain, such as when pregnant women consume fish, and that has led to claims that the chemical may be responsible for behavioral disorders such as autism. This had led to a debate over fish consumption. Fish are high in beneficial nutrients such as selenium, vitamin E, lean protein, and omega-3 fatty acids; the latter are essential to brain development. At the same time, exposure to high levels of mercury has been shown to lead to developmental problems, leading to the claim…

The main active constituent of cannabis - tetrahydrocannabinol or THC - has not shown to be effective in slowing the course of progressive multiple sclerosis (MS). The CUPID (Cannabinoid Use in Progressive Inflammatory brain Disease) study was carried out by researchers from Plymouth University Peninsula Schools of Medicine and Dentistry,the Medical Research Council Clinical Trials Unit and University College London and is the first large, non-commercial clinical study of THC for MS progression. CUPID enrolled 498 people with MS from 27 centers around the UK and has taken eight years to…

Our digestive system is home to trillions of bacteria which battle for our health. Sometimes they help us digest food and something they battle harmful microbes. When we take antibiotics to combat bacterial infections, beneficial bacteria can also be killed off, leaving us at risk of infection by harmful bacteria. Clostridium difficile is one of those harmful bacteria and is the leading cause of hospital infections in England and Wales and in hospitals all over the developed world. As C. difficile becomes more resistant to antibiotics, it becomes harder to treat, so new ways of controlling…

Tick-borne illnesses are on the rise, or at least better reported to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Lyme disease leads the pack, with some 35,000 cases reported annually but in the Northeast, the black-legged ticks (Ixodes scapularis) also infect people with other maladies, among them anaplasmosis, babesiosis, and now Powassan encephalitis, according to a new paper in Parasites and Vectors. Powassan encephalitis is caused by Powassan virus and its variant, deer tick virus. The virus is spread to people by infected ticks, and can cause central nervous system disruption,…

It was once believed that crazy ladies acquired a lot of cats. Then it was discovered that a lot of cats instead created crazy ladies; cat poop is laden with an infectious parasite known as Toxoplasma gondii, a protozoan that has recently caused toxoplasmosis epidemics in people. At first it was just schizophrenia in older women, but then broadened out to pregnant women and all people with immune deficiencies.  Once any link is established some will connect it to obsessive-compulsive disorder and kids' trouble in school, so maybe things have gone overboard in blaming, but Toxoplasma…

Birds in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta of western Alaska have been discovered having low-pathogenic avian influenza viruses with Eurasian genes, supporting the hypothesis that the area is a potential point of entry for foreign animal diseases such as the more highly pathogenic H5N1 strain, according to U.S. Geological Survey scientists. The Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta is an important breeding ground for many bird species and is located where multiple migratory flyways converge, providing opportunities for avian pathogens to spread. Among these pathogens are H5N1 avian influenza, which occurs in…

The noses of industrial livestock workers in North Carolina containeddrug-resistant bacteria- livestock-associated Staph- while the noses of antibiotic-free livestock workers did not, according to a new paper.  Workers were not experiencing Staph infections at the time of the study. The drug-resistant bacteria examined were Staphylococcus aureus, commonly known as "Staph," which include the well-known bug MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus). New Staph strains are emerging in people who have close contact with livestock animals and while everyone in the…

Myotonic dystrophy is an inherited disorder, the most common form of a group of conditions called muscular dystrophies that involve progressive muscle wasting and weakness. Myotonic dystrophy type 1 is caused a type of RNA defect known as a "triplet repeat," a series of three nucleotides repeated more times than normal in an individual's genetic code. In this case, a cytosine-uracil-guanine (CUG) triplet repeat binds to the protein MBNL1, rendering it inactive and resulting in RNA splicing abnormalities. Scientists have identified small molecules that allow for complete control over the…

Trisomy 21, commonly called Down syndrome, is a genetic condition in which a person has 47 chromosomes instead of the usual 46 - three of the #21 chromosomes, rather than the usual two.(1)  Down syndrome  is one of the most common genetic birth defects, affecting approximately one in 800 to 1,000 babies, and includes a combination of mental retardation, characteristic facial features and, often, heart defects, visual and hearing impairment, and other health problems.  It is very often accompanied by pathologies found in the general population: Alzheimer's disease, leukemia, or…

The largest investigation to-date has found a dramatic increase in the number of hospitalizations for children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) during the past decade in the United States. But does that mean there are actually more cases? The trend reflects what appears to be a phenomenon that has been reported for other countries, like Canada, Scotland and Finland. The paper in the Journal of Investigative Medicine, found a 65 percent increase in IBD hospital discharges from 2000 to 2009. The number increased from 11,928 discharges in 2000 to 19,568 discharges in 2009. IBD refers to a…