06/11/2019

Sick from stress?

"“We know that there’s strong crosstalk between the immune system and the microbiota,"

A study by Bar-Ilan University has found that chronic social and psychological stress is recognized by some of the bacteria in the gut, which causes them to become more “violent.”

In response, the immune system kicks in and the result can be an increased risk for autoimmune disease in susceptible individuals.

“Many studies support the notion that stressful life events play a role in the etiopathogenesis of autoimmune disorders,” Orly Avni of the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine at Bar-Ilan University explained. “Stress-triggered neuroendocrine hormones lead to immune dysregulation, but considering the recently appreciated gut-brain-microbiota axis, and the well-known microbiota-immune interactions, we asked whether and how the brain-microbiota-immune triangle is involved in stress-promoting autoimmunity.”

The National Institutes of Health estimates that more than 20 million people in the United States, the vast majority of whom are women, have autoimmune disease. Worldwide, the incidence of autoimmune disease is estimated at 5%. Examples of autoimmune disease are multiple sclerosis, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile diabetes, scleroderma, and pulmonary fibrosis.

The study, conducted by Avni with Ph.D. student Michal Werbner and lab manager Yiftah Barsheshet and published in mSystems, was conducted on two groups of mice. One was exposed to stress in the form of daily, threatening encounters with other “dominant and aggressive” mice. The other group was left alone. After 10 days, the researchers analyzed the gut microbiome of each group and found that the stressed mice had higher levels of some bacteria. Those included Bilophila and Dehalobacterium microbes, genera that have been observed at unusually high levels in patients with multiple sclerosis, for example.

Further, the study showed that stress led to the activation of bacterial genes related to potentially violent traits – including growth, motility and signals sent between a pathogen and a host. Microbes with these traits can travel to other parts of the body, including lymph nodes, and elicit an immune response.

“We know that there’s strong crosstalk between the immune system and the microbiota,” Avni said. This study showed that social stress changed both the composition and transcriptional patterns in the microbiota, “and the consequent immune response to that threat jeopardized the tolerance to self.”

In other words, researchers found that the onset of stress caused changes in the intestinal bacteria that, in turn, stimulated the activity of immune cells in a way that increased the likelihood that the body would attack itself.

Avni told The Jerusalem Post that if this reaction could be better understood, it could offer opportunities for potential treatment, including through the use of pharmaceutical inhibitors.

https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Sick-from-stress-592054

http://archive.is/3DZmt

CURE NEWS: 02/12/2018

Israeli Miracle Drug Targets MS, Alzheimer’s, Crohn’s, (Ulcerative) Colitis

https://unitedwithisrael.org/watch-israeli-miracle-drug-targets-ms-alzheimers-crohns-and-colitis/

http://archive.is/5ezzG

An Israeli scientists may have found a cure for some of the worst inflammatory diseases, affecting millions worldwide – with a single drug.

Despite groundbreaking medical developments, a cure for many some of the worst inflammatory diseases has yet to be found.

However, Prof. David Naor of the Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School in Jerusalem says he may have discovered a new game-changing treatment with just one drug that targets several chronic inflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases, including multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s and colitis.

Each of these diseases affects millions of people worldwide.

Watch the video for more about this exciting news from Israel!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOgrSZPcl3k

>>6985958

CURE NEWS: 07/02/2019

Researchers have eliminated HIV in mice for the first time. Is a cure for humans next?

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2019/07/02/researchers-cure-hiv-mice-first-time-breakthrough-study/1635072001/

http://archive.is/wTOZD

Researchers say they've successfully eliminated HIV from the DNA of infected mice for the first time, bringing them one step closer to curing the virus in humans.

Scientists from Temple University and the University of Nebraska Medical Center were able to eliminate the virus using a combination of gene-editing technology and a slow-release antiviral drug, according to a study published Tuesday in Nature Communications.

"The possibility exists that HIV can be cured," Howard Gendelman, chairman of UNMC's pharmacology and experimental neuroscience department and study author. "It’s going to take a little bit of time but to have the proof of concept gets us all excited."

'''FUCKERY NEWS: 06/25/2019

Commonly prescribed drugs are tied to nearly 50% higher dementia risk in older adults, study says

https://edition.cnn.com/2019/06/24/health/dementia-risk-drug-study/index.html

http://archive.is/AXbPH

A study published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine on Monday suggests that the link is strongest for certain classes of anticholinergic drugs – particularly antidepressants, bladder antimuscarinics, antipsychotics and antiepileptic drugs.

Researchers wrote in the study that "there was nearly a 50% increased odds of dementia" associated with a total anticholinergic exposure of more than 1,095 daily doses within a 10-year period, which is equivalent to an older adult taking a strong anticholinergic medication daily for at least three years, compared with no exposure.

"The study is important because it strengthens a growing body of evidence showing that strong anticholinergic drugs have long term associations with dementia risk," said Carol Coupland, professor of medical statistics in primary care at the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom and first author of the study.

"It also highlights which types of anticholinergic drugs have the strongest associations. This is important information for physicians to know when considering whether to prescribe these drugs," she said, adding "this is an observational study so no firm conclusions can be drawn about whether these anticholinergic drugs cause dementia."

FUCKERY NEWS: 06/20/2019

High arsenic levels found in bottled water brands owned by Keurig Dr Pepper and Whole Foods

https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-tns-bc-water-arsenic-20190620-story.html

http://archive.is/beu9y

High levels of arsenic, which can increase chances of cancer and cause reproductive harm, has been found in popular bottled water brands Penafiel and Starkey Water, according to new testing.

The nonprofit Center For Environmental Health sent legal notices to Keurig Dr Pepper, which owns Penafiel, as well as Whole Foods, owner of the Starkey Water brand, after independent testing showed unsafe levels of the toxic metal.

The California-based organization asserts that the products require a health warning under California's consumer protection law.

"Customers typically purchase bottled water at exorbitantly high costs with the assumption that it is safer and healthier to drink than tap water, unaware that they are ingesting an extremely toxic metal linked to birth defects and cancer," CEH chief executive Michael Green said in a statement.

CEH didn't disclose the results of its testing, but said in a statement that it confirmed previous testing by Consumer Reports. In April, Consumer Reports found Penafiel samples contained nearly double the legally permissible amount of arsenic under FDA guidelines.

The FDA requires bottled water to contain fewer than 10 parts per billion of arsenic and the Penafiel samples contained an average of 18.1. The arsenic found in Starkey Water, however, was just barely above the FDA threshold.

Penafiel bottled water is bottled in Mexico and shipped to the U.S., where it's sold by various retailers such as Target and Walmart.

This week, Keurig Dr Pepper suspended production of Penafiel in order to improve its filtration system, according to Consumer Reports. It doesn't plan a recall.