The devil's tic tacks well and truly kicked in. Vertigo, from left ear damage, perforated ear drum, has subsided. A tear along one of the scars seems to be the probable cause of the bleeding. Lesson: do not try to stifle a sneeze.
Articles from the week:
UM Research Reveals How Bacteria Defeat Drugs That Fight Cystic Fibrosis.
University of Montana researchers and their partners have discovered a slimy strategy used by bacteria to defeat antibiotics and other drugs used to combat infections afflicting people with cystic fibrosis. The research was published Feb. 23 in the journal Cell Reports.
Cystic fibrosis is a life-threatening disease that causes persistent lung infections and limits a person’s ability to breathe over time. A common strain of bacteria, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, often thrives in the lungs of people with cystic fibrosis, as well as in wounds from burns or diabetic ulcers. Once a P. aeruginosa infection is established, it can be incredibly difficult to cure, despite repeated courses of antibiotics.
umt.edu/news/2021/02/022521...
Cell Reports. Research Paper:
cell.com/cell-reports/fullt...
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Discovery: Neanderthal-derived protein may reduce the severity of COVID-19.
Researchers at the Lady Davis Institute (LDI) at the Jewish General Hospital have discovered that increased levels of the protein OAS1 are associated with reduced mortality and less severe disease requiring ventilation among patients with COVID-19. Using drugs that boost OAS1 levels could be explored to try to improve these outcomes. The findings are published today in Nature Medicine.
“Our analysis shows evidence that OAS1 has a protective effect against COVID-19 susceptibility and severity,” explains Dr. Brent Richards, a senior investigator at the LDI’s Centre for Clinical Epidemiology and Professor of Medicine, Human Genetics, Epidemiology and Biostatistics at McGill University. “This is a very exciting development in the race to identify potential therapies to treat patients because there are already therapies in pre-clinical development that boost OAS1 and could be explored for their effect against SARS-CoV-2 infection.”
publications.mcgill.ca/mede...
Nature. Research Paper:
nature.com/articles/s41591-...
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Statin Use Associated With Increased Survival in Severe COVID-19.
People who took statins to lower cholesterol were approximately 50% less likely to die if hospitalized for COVID-19, a study(link is external and opens in a new window) by physicians at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and NewYork-Presbyterian has found.
“Our study is one of the larger studies confirming this hypothesis and the data lay the groundwork for future randomized clinical trials that are needed to confirm the benefit of statins in COVID-19,” says Aakriti Gupta, MD, a cardiologist at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center and one of the co-lead authors of the study.
cuimc.columbia.edu/news/sta...
Nature. Study Paper:
nature.com/articles/s41467-...
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Vitamin B6 may help keep COVID-19's cytokine storms at bay.
Who would have thought that a small basic compound like vitamin B6 in the banana or fish you had this morning may be key to your body’s robust response against COVID-19?
Studies have so far explored the benefits of vitamins D and C and minerals like zinc and magnesium in fortifying immune response against COVID-19. But research on vitamin B6 has been mostly missing. Food scientist Thanutchaporn Kumrungsee hopes their paper published in Frontiers in Nutrition can be the first step in showing vitamin B6’s potential in lowering the odds of patients becoming seriously ill with the coronavirus.
“In addition to washing your hands, food and nutrition are among the first lines of defense against Covid-19 virus infection. Food is our first medicine and the kitchen is our first pharmacy,” Kumrungsee, an associate professor at Hiroshima University’s Graduate School of Integrated Sciences for Life, said.
hiroshima-u.ac.jp/en/news/6...
Frontiers in Nutrition. Study Paper:
frontiersin.org/articles/10...
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High fructose diets could cause immune system damage.
Fructose is commonly found in sugary drinks, sweets and processed foods and is used widely in food production. It is associated with obesity, type 2 diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and its intake has increased substantially throughout the developed world in recent years. However, understanding the impact of fructose on the immune system of people who consume it in high levels, has been limited until now.
The new study published today [22 February] in the journal Nature Communications shows that fructose causes the immune system to become inflamed and that process produces more reactive molecules which are associated with inflammation. Inflammation of this kind can go on to damage cells and tissues and contribute to organs and body systems not working as they should and could lead to disease.
bristol.ac.uk/cellmolmed/ne...
Nature Communications. Study Paper:
nature.com/articles/s41467-...
( The same is also very true with regard to African Grey Parrots)
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Identification of ‘violent’ processes that cause wheezing could lead to better diagnosis and treatment for lung disease.
A team of engineers has identified the ‘violent’ physical processes at work inside the lungs which cause wheezing, a condition that affects up to a quarter of the world’s population.
The researchers, from the University of Cambridge, used modelling and high-speed video techniques to show what causes wheezing and how to predict it. Their results could be used as the basis of a cheaper and faster diagnostic for lung disease that requires just a stethoscope and a microphone.
Improved understanding of the physical mechanism responsible for generating wheezing sounds could provide a better causal link between symptoms and disease, and help improve diagnosis and treatment. The results are reported in the journal Royal Society Open Science.
cam.ac.uk/research/news/ide...
Royal Society Open Science. Research Paper:
royalsocietypublishing.org/...
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Researchers identify mechanism by which exercise strengthens bones and immunity.
Scientists at the Children’s Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern (CRI) have identified the specialized environment, known as a niche, in the bone marrow where new bone and immune cells are produced. The study, published in Nature, also shows that movement-induced stimulation is required for the maintenance of this niche, as well as the bone and immune-forming cells that it contains. Together, these findings identify a new way that exercise strengthens bones and immune function.
Researchers from the Morrison laboratory discovered that forces created from walking or running are transmitted from bone surfaces along arteriolar blood vessels into the marrow inside bones. Bone-forming cells that line the outside of the arterioles sense these forces and are induced to proliferate. This not only allows the formation of new bone cells, which helps to thicken bones, but the bone-forming cells also secrete a growth factor that increases the frequency of cells that form lymphocytes around the arterioles. Lymphocytes are the B and T cells that allow the immune system to fight infections.
utsouthwestern.edu/newsroom...
Nature. Study Paper:
nature.com/articles/s41586-...
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Independent SAGE 26 02 2021
