Things That Hold My Interest

Some chronic sinus problems may be caused by a depletion of “good” bacteria and the presence of “bad” bacteria in the sinuses, a new study says.

The findings suggest adding back some of these good bacteria to the sinuses may help treat the condition, analogous to the way probiotics may treat certain intestinal problems.

…

The study is published today (Sept. 12) in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

I gotta get me some good sinus bacteria!!!

A usually benign strain of the gut microbe E. coli produces toxins in mice with inflammatory bowel disease, which can lead to DNA-damage and cancer in the host tissue. The results were reported last week in Science  (August 16).

…

Experts think that the research could lead to methods of reducing the risk of cancer by altering the microbial community, though that strategy has to be tested.

New research [in mice] suggests that a compound found in red wine can help improve mobility among seniors and prevent falls.

Sadly, there is a catch:

To get the required amount of resveratrol that could help mobility, a person has to drink 700 four-ounce glasses of red wine per day. This is why researchers are now focusing their attention on man-made compounds containing resveratrol that can be absorbed by the body. Also, researchers will be working on determining how much of the chemical actually reaches the brain.

And how many Americans actually care?

Of the 1005 likely voters polled, 47% said they thought the United States would lead the world in health care by 2020…. Only 42% said they thought the United States would retain its position as the world leader in science and technology by 2020, while 26% predicted China would assume that mantle, and 23% chose India.

The Q about health care is something of a trick, as the U.S. is not a world leader in health care by most definitions — except for cost.

At a panel discussion at the conference, a number of scientists and science policymakers said these poll figures reveal a startling degree of public skepticism toward the United States’s ability to compete globally in scientific research. They blamed the public’s perception of the United States as a dwindling science powerhouse on a lack of long-term thinking by lawmakers tasked with funding national science endeavors. While China and the European Union have taken steps to increase their research budgets, the United States more recently has struggled to keep its research budget from declining, said National Institutes of Health Director Francis S. Collins.

It’s not just dwindling research budgets, but also the concerted attack on public education at all levels. 

An investigation by [the science journal] “Nature” has found that patients in Texas are receiving unproven stem-cell treatments. The state and the company involved need to ensure that they follow FDA guidelines.

Concern is focused on Rick Perry’s friends at Celltex.

This week, Nature raises important questions about one company that works with adult stem cells: Celltex Therapeutics in Houston, Texas. Nature’s investigation…suggests that the company has supplied adult stem cells to Texas doctors who offer unproven treatments to patients, and that the company is involved in these treatments. One doctor claims that the treatments are part of a clinical study run by Celltex and that the company pays him US$500 a time to inject the cells into patients, who are charged up to $25,000 for a course. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) considers it to be a crime to inject unapproved adult stem cells into patients. David Eller, chief executive of Celltex, denies that the company is involved in treatment procedures, but would not comment on Nature’s findings about how its cells are used or answer questions about them.

So, doctors are being paid by the company to inject patients who are paying big bucks for treatments which have not yet undergone standard clinical trials.

The journal “Nature” reports:

The proposed cut would come from the part of the agency’s budget that is controlled by Congress and pays for the core operations of the CDC, based in Atlanta, Georgia. These include grants to local, county and state public-health departments to monitor infectious diseases or track food-borne outbreaks. Core funding is also used to maintain the Strategic National Stockpile, a repository of drugs reserved for fighting epidemics and bioterrorism. If Obama’s plan is enacted, the CDC’s congressionally controlled funding will have fallen by roughly 20% since 2010

…

Cuts to the CDC have already contributed to the loss of nearly 50,000 jobs in state and local health departments since 2008. This year, the administration argues that “efficiencies” will make possible the specific cuts it has proposed in areas such as adult-immunization funding and epidemiological support. But CDC advocates and public-health officials are sceptical. A proposed $47-million cut to the Strategic National Stockpile “is a lot more than just efficiency. It’s going to cut capability as well,”…

Yeah, who needs public health anyway? 

“Resveratrol has potential as a therapy for diverse diseases such as type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease and heart disease,” study author Dr. Jay Chung, chief of the Laboratory of Obesity and Aging Research at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, said in an institute news release. “However, before researchers can transform resveratrol into a safe and effective medicine, they need to know exactly what it targets in cells.”

Resveratrol appears to inhibit proteins called phosphodiesterases (PDEs), which help regulate cell energy, according to the researchers.

I started looking into resveratrol when my vet suggested it as a joint supplement for my arthritic horse.  It helped her so much that I wondered what it might do for me, and went looking for a supplement marketed for humans.  Within days, I finally got rid of the chronic tendonitis that had been plaguing me for months (and defying both conventional and other alternative treatments).  It really does seem to have anti-inflammatory properties, though I honestly don’t care if it’s all placebo effect.

Anyway, it’s interesting to see serious investigations into how, why, and what effects it really has.

The “Cell” paper cited in the article can be found here. The figures and quite a bit of info are freely available, but if you don’t have a journal subscription, you’ll have to pay to read the entire article.