Loneliness can tax the Immune System

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Interesting research has been conducted by investigators from the Ohio State University. The research links loneliness to a number of dysfunctional immune responses which suggests loneliness may adversely affect overall health. The results were based on a series of studies on two different groups: 1) a healthy group of overweight middle-aged adults and 2) a group of breast cancer survivors with an average age of 51. Loneliness was measured using the UCLA Loneliness Scale. The researchers measured presence of antibodies against Epstein-Barr virus and cytomegalovirus in the breast cancer survivor group with 200 participants. Lonelier participants were found to have higher levels of antibodies against cytomegalovirus compared to less lonely participants. Further, those higher antibody levels were related to more depression, pain, and fatigue symptoms. No difference was found for Epstein-Barr virus antibody levels. Previous research has shown that stress … Read more

Gingivitis Bacteria Manipulate Your Immune System

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An interesting article appears in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology discussing how the bacteria known for causing gum disease–Porphyromonas gingivalis–can manipulate the immune system to disable normal processes that would otherwise destroy it.The article talks about how this bacteria causes the anti-inflammatory molecule Interleukin-10 (IL-10) which inhibits the function of T-cells which would otherwise help to fight off the bacteria. The researchers discuss how it is important to understand how gingivitis bacteria affect the immune system since more than 50% of adults over 50 in the U.S. develop periodontal disease. The researchers used cells from mice that were exposed to Porphyromonas gingivalis and had some of them treated with an inhibiting antibody against IL-10 and the other portion of cells was not treated. The cells were then tested for interferon gamma production. The researchers found that an increase of interferon … Read more

American Medical Association (AMA) To Shut Down Newsmagazine

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I was upset today when I heard that the American Medical Association (AMA) is shutting down it’s newsmagazine. Crain’s Chicago Business has an article discussing this over at http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20130812/NEWS03/130819977/ama-to-close-news-magazine titled  “AMA to close news magazine,” written by Andrew L. Wang on August 12, 2013. Now not only is the AMA shutting down the print circulation, but it is also shutting down AmedNews.com which is the website for the publication. In recent years, I have enjoyed reading amednews.com and keeping up to date on the many informative articles published. I have always thought the domain name choice was a bit poor, but the current Alexa traffic rankings shows a 167,229 in the World and 46,097 in the United States which is quite good. The article by Chicago Business discusses that the print circulation has been going strong for 55 years and … Read more

Can a Persistent Headache be Caused by Sinus Problems?

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I came across an interesting article that appeared over a year ago in the Washington Post. The article is titled “A man’s persistent headache proves hard to diagnose and harder to treat,” by Sandra G. Boodman, and published on March 19, 2012. Article Link: http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-03-19/national/35448791_1_headache-sinus-pain-relievers The article discusses a 41 year old man who developed a constant headache in November of 2008. Over the course of many months the man consulted many neurologists, ear nose and throat doctors, ophthalmologist, and others but none could explain what was causing him the headache. The man is quoted as saying “I’d been chasing this for more than six months. No one could tell me what it was. I just remember thinking, ‘How am I going to be able to function if it never goes away?” Over the course of the treatment the man … Read more

Electric Stimulation of Brain Releases Powerful Painkiller

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Researchers have been exploring delivering electricity through sensors on the skulls of chronic migraine patients and have found a decrease in the intensity of pain of their headaches. A recent study published in Frontiers in Psychiatry has shown that when electricity is sent to certain regions in the brain of a patient with chronic, severe facial pain it releases an opiate-like substance and powerful painkiller. In the study, researchers administered a radiotracer that reached important brain areas in a patient with trigeminal neuropathic pain. They then applied electrodes and electrically stimulated the skull right above the motor cortex  for 20 minutes during a PET scan which is known as transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). The radiotracer was designed to measure the local brain release of mu-opioid, a natural substance that alters pain perception. The researchers argue that this is the … Read more