Janice R. Andrews
Greetings, readers of health and wellness. Your go-to source for the most recent health news you might have missed is me, Kaitlin. Let’s examine the content that our team produced this week:
- Natalie Rahhal talked to experts about five easy steps you can take to reduce your risk of cancer; yes, that includes picking up sunscreen and quitting smoking.
- Rachel Grumman Bender writes about the terrible reasons why it’s dangerous to leave children in cars, especially on hot days.
- Travelling by car is an excellent summertime pastime, that is, until motion sickness sets in. Sarah Hunter Simanson offers advice on warding it off and preventing it altogether.
- Do tampons really contain harmful substances? Natalie talked to specialists over the most recent findings and whether or not we should become alarmed.
- Here we have the new COVID wave. Is it appropriate to wear a mask? We hear from Korin Miller about who would want to put that N95 back on.
And three more health-related stories to be aware of:
A Possible Lupus Cause
Researchers think they may have discovered the underlying cause of lupus, a chronic illness that causes the body to be attacked by the immune system and manifests as joint pain, rashes, and exhaustion. It all comes down to T cells, which are white blood cells that aid in the body’s defence against disease by attacking aberrant or contaminated cells. According to a study this week published in Nature, people with lupus have an excess of T cells that cause damage to the body and a deficiency of T cells that aid in its restoration. Researchers think that patients with lupus may have an excess of a protein called interferon, which could be the cause of this T cell imbalance.
Interpretation
The current standard of care for lupus patients involves immune system suppression. Patients may become more susceptible to viruses and other illnesses as a result, among many other health issues. Even if some experts think it’s too soon to declare with certainty that this is the cause of lupus in certain cases, this is still a positive step since the more people who understand lupus, the more likely it is that effective treatments will be found. Researchers discovered that administering anifrolumab, a medication that inhibits interferon, to study participants avoided the T cell dysregulation that may be the cause of lupus. They do caution that not all patients with the illness will benefit from this treatment.
A Patient Needing a Kidney Transplant Dies
Lisa Pisano, a 54-year-old native of New Jersey, suddenly away following a kidney transplant from a pig. 47 days after her surgery, the damage from her heart drugs necessitated the transplanted pig kidney to be removed, which ultimately led to her death. After the removal, Pisano continued receiving dialysis, but finally was placed in hospice care, where she passed away.
Interpretation
Pisano was the second patient in the xenotransplantation experiment, which involves transplanting human organs from pigs. Her passing comes soon after that of Richard Slayman, who passed away in the first part of May, almost two months after undergoing xenotransplantation. Since Slayman already had a cardiac ailment, the two-year transplant is not thought to have contributed to his death.
Many medical researchers currently hold the view that xenotransplantation—where businesses modify pig organs to enhance their acceptability by the human immune system—will be the predominant form of transplantation in the future. Successful pig-to-human transplants have the potential to save many lives because there are more recipients of transplants than there are organs available.
There is a case of the plague in Colorado
In Pueblo County, some 100 miles south of Denver, this week, Colorado health officials identified a human case of the bubonic plague, also known as “the Black Death,” which killed over 50 million people in Europe and Asia. The Pueblo Department of Public Health and Environment stated that they were unable to identify the precise source of the infection due to the endemic nature of the plague. The department stated that the afflicted individual is undergoing therapy and verified that their health has subsequently improved.
Interpretation
The Yersinia pestis bacteria, which is frequently found in rodents like rats and prairie dogs, is what causes plague. Fleas carrying the infection spread it. Millions of people died from the bubonic plague throughout Europe and Asia in the fourteenth century, and although it is no longer as widespread as it once was, it has not completely disappeared. Seven cases of the plague are reported annually in the United States, mostly in the Southwest.
If you get medical assistance as soon as possible, antibiotics can usually effectively treat the ailment. Additionally, there is a vaccination to prevent plague, but it is only advised for laboratory workers who may come into touch with the disease-causing germs directly.
There are easy things you may do to protect yourself in case you catch the plague. When at all possible, keep rodents away from your property by clearing up any spots where they might congregate. Never handle dead or ill animals.
But perhaps the people you should be most concerned about are your dogs. Make sure they receive frequent flea treatments and keep them away from any rodent exposure: It was suspected in February that an Oregon case had been passed from a sick cat to its owner.
