Hello health and wellness-minded readers, I’m Caitlin here to catch you up on the latest health news you may have missed.
Let’s take a look at what our team wrote this week.
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Natalie Lahal told the experts: Five simple things you can do Of course, to lower your risk of developing cancer, you also need to quit smoking and wear sunscreen.
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Scary but Important: Why Rachel Graman Bender Wrote It Leaving children in the car It can be very dangerous (especially on hot days).
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Road trips are a great summer activity — until you get motion sickness. Sarah Hunter Simanson explains Tips for fighting …and how to avoid it in the first place.
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Wait, do tampons contain toxic substances?! Natalie spoke to an expert Latest Research And whether or not you should panic about it.
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A new COVID wave has arrived. Should I wear a mask? Collin Miller explains who might want to wear an N95 mask again.
Plus, three health news stories you should know:
Potential Causes of Lupus
The researchers The root cause of lupusIt is a chronic disease in which the immune system attacks the body, with symptoms including fatigue, joint pain and skin rashes.
It all has to do with T cells, white blood cells that attack infected or abnormal cells and protect the body from disease. Published A study published this week in Nature found that lupus patients have too many T cells that damage the body and too few T cells that help repair it. The researchers believe that this T cell imbalance is caused by lupus patients having too many T cells. Proteins called interferons.
What it means:
Currently, common treatments for systemic lupus erythematosus include suppressing the immune system, which can lead to a variety of health problems, including putting patients at higher risk of contracting viruses and other diseases.
Some researchers think it’s too early to say for sure that this is why some people develop lupus, but it’s a step in the right direction, because the more we know about lupus, the more likely it is that we’ll find an effective treatment. Scientists found that giving subjects anifrolumab, a drug that blocks interferon, prevented the T-cell imbalance that may be the cause of lupus, but they caution that this treatment won’t work for all lupus patients.
Pig kidney transplant patient dies
Lisa Pisano, 54, of New Jersey, Receive a pig kidney transplantHer death came 47 days after doctors were forced to remove the transplanted pig kidney because of damage caused by medication to her heart. Although dialysis continued after the procedure, Pisano was eventually transferred to hospice care, where she died.
What it means:
Pisano was the second patient to undergo a xenotransplant experiment using pig organs into humans. Her death Richard Suleiman’sSuleiman died in early May, nearly two months after the xenotransplant procedure. Suleiman had pre-existing heart disease, and his death is not believed to be a result of the transplant, which was supposed to last two years.
Many researchers in the medical field now believe that xenotransplantation is the future of transplants, with companies exploring ways to adapt pig organs so they are more easily accepted by the human immune system. More people are on transplant lists If there were more successful pig-to-human transplants than there are available organs, many lives could be saved.
Epidemic outbreak in Colorado
Last week, Colorado health officials Confirmed cases of human infection with bubonic plague (This disease was once Known as the “Black Death” A case of the plague, which killed about 50 million people in Europe and Asia, has broken out in Pueblo County, about 100 miles south of Denver. The Pueblo County Department of Public Health and Environment said it could not identify the source of the infection because the plague is endemic. The department confirmed that the infected person is receiving treatment and is improving.
What it means:
Plague is caused by the Yersinia pestis bacteria, which commonly lives in rodents such as mice and prairie dogs, and is transmitted by infected fleas.
Although the bubonic plague is no longer as prevalent as it was in the 14th century, when it killed millions in Europe and Asia, it has never disappeared completely. On average, Seven cases of plague are reported in the United States each yearIt is mainly found in the southwestern region.
In most cases, the disease can be easily treated with antibiotics if you seek medical attention right away. Vaccine to prevent plagueHowever, this method is only recommended for people who work in laboratories and may come into direct contact with disease-causing bacteria.
There are simple steps you can take yourself to prevent contracting the plague: Avoid rats whenever possible – that means cleaning up areas around your property where rats are likely to congregate. Never touch sick or dead animals.
But it may be your pets that really need your attention: Keep them rodent-free and treat them regularly for fleas, with flea cases reported in Oregon in February. Suspected to have been infected by a sick cat To the owner.
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