Tiniest cells causing big misery in young and old

Tiniest cells causing big misery in young and old

An infection that previously was mostly seen in children, over the past 15 years has been showing up more frequently in older adults. With its extended incubation period (2-4 weeks), it is difficult to diagnose, and capable of emerging as bronchitis or pneumonia. And it is caused by the smallest free-living organisms — Mycoplasma pneumoniae — that were originally thought to be viruses, but have been shown to be bacteria. Unlike most bacteria they lack a cell wall and are…

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New shingles vaccine? Not quite yet

New shingles vaccine? Not quite yet

The lead article in the New England Journal of Medicine last month was on a new shingles vaccine. The study involved 15,000 people over age 70 in 18 different countries. Unlike the currently used shingles vaccine which uses a live virus, the new vaccine uses a single protein from the virus, along with an immune stimulator. The new vaccine, which is called HZ/su (Herpes Zoster subunit) prevented shingles in 92% of the patients, and prevented the dreaded complication of shingles…

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Q – Tips: Asthma and fracking

Q – Tips: Asthma and fracking

John Hopkins Epidemiologists have found that asthmatics who live in areas of the country where fracking is done have an increased incidence of hospital/ER-requiring flare-ups — that is four times greater than their counterparts not exposed to the environmental leak of natural gas.

Allergic clock might tick in our favor

Allergic clock might tick in our favor

Research scientists in Tokyo have been working on resetting the allergic clock in mice to lessen their tendency to allergy. Our daily circadian clock, which is critical for many of our biological systems, is located in a special area in the hypothalamus of our brain called the light-sensitive central oscillator. It is programmed by the varying exposure to light and dark. In turn, it signals all the peripheral oscillators (clocks) found in individual cells throughout the body. This includes the…

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Caring for childhood eczema clearer

Caring for childhood eczema clearer

Just-published research of eczema in children – and the accompanying sleep interruption it causes the kids and their parents – has led to a recommended treatment. University of Nevada researchers compared the benefit of antihistamines versus topical steroids to control the itch/scratching in children with eczema. They found that both forms of therapy were effective. In fact, they were equally good in preventing sleep disturbance from nocturnal itch – a particularly vexing symptom for families because it causes significant loss…

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Dear Doc: Exercise-induced symptoms confusing

Dear Doc: Exercise-induced symptoms confusing

Dear Dr. K: Dear Dr. K.: My husband and I both have allergies and we are both triathletes. When we exercise my husband’s nasal congestion always improves, while mine seems to get worse. What’s going on? The answer to your question is statistics. Your husband is on the good side of statistics and you are on the bad side. What I mean is that in the majority of people with allergies exercise helps open the nasal passages. It does this…

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Growing up on a farm can protect against allergies

Growing up on a farm can protect against allergies

  It has been observed for many years that living on a farm reduces the risk for children to develop allergies and asthma. To better understand this protective effect, researchers at the University of Munich conducted a study of thousands of children from birth to age 6. It turns out that a major protective factor was the consumption of unprocessed cow’s milk, as opposed to pasteurized milk. Before addressing the milk issue, readers should know that growing up on a…

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