Watch: Spinal Cord Injuries: Life Changes in an Instant

NYPD Officer Talks Man Out of Bridge...More Popular VideoUK's All-Male Synchronized Swim Team Left Out...U.S. Bridges, Roads Being Built by Chinese...Mitt Romney: Fallout Continues in PolandOlympic Games 2012: French Beat Michael...James Holmes Charged With 24 Counts of MurderIn The NewsU.S.PoliticsEntertainmentWeird and WackySpinal Cord Injuries: Life Changes in an InstantThe Miami Project aims to find a cure for paralysis.07/30/2012Share:

View the Original article

Vicky Hortman Changes Name of Bottleless Water Company to Pure Water Innovations

Share: Tweet28
Jul
2012Pure Water Technology of Central & Eastern NC Inc. is now Pure Water Innovations Inc.

Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC (1888PressRelease) July 28, 2012 - Vicky Hortman, President of Raleigh-based Pure Water Technology of Central & Eastern NC, Inc. announced it the company's name has changed to Pure Water Innovations, Inc.

The name change came as the company added Wellsys USA to their product line of coolers in addition to PHSI Pure Water Technology

View the Original article

Western diet changes gut bacteria and triggers colitis in those at risk

ScienceDaily (June 13, 2012) — Certain saturated fats that are common in the modern Western diet can initiate a chain of events leading to complex immune disorders such as inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) in people with a genetic predisposition, according to a study to be published early online in the journal Nature.

See Also:Health & MedicineDiet and Weight LossGastrointestinal ProblemsObesityCholesterolColitisImmune SystemReferenceSaturated fatTransplant rejectionColostrumIrritable bowel syndrome

The finding helps explain why once-rare immune-mediated diseases have become more common in westernized societies in the last half century. It also provides insights into why many individuals who are genetically prone to these diseases are never affected and how certain environmental factors can produce inflammation in individuals already at risk.

Researchers at the University of Chicago found that concentrated milk fats, which are abundant in processed and confectionary foods, alter the composition of bacteria in the intestines. These changes can disrupt the delicate truce between the immune system and the complex but largely beneficial mix of bacteria in the intestines. The emergence of harmful bacterial strains in this setting can unleash an unregulated tissue-damaging immune response that can be difficult to switch off.

"This is the first plausible mechanism showing step-by-step how Western-style diets contribute to the rapid and ongoing increase in the incidence of inflammatory bowel disease," said study author Eugene B. Chang, MD, the Martin Boyer Professor of Medicine at the University of Chicago. "We know how certain genetic differences can increase the risk for these diseases, but moving from elevated risk to the development of disease seems to require a second event which may be encountered because of our changing lifestyle."

The researchers worked with a mouse model that has many of the characteristics of human IBD. Genetically deleting a molecule, interleukin 10, which acts as a brake on the immune system's response to intestinal bacteria, caused about 25 percent of mice to develop colitis when fed a low-fat diet or a diet high in polyunsaturated fats. But when exposed to a diet high in saturated milk fats, the rate of disease development within six months increased to more than 60 percent. In addition, the onset, severity and extent of colitis were much greater than that observed in mice fed low-fat diets.

Why would milk fat -- a powdered substance that remains when fat has been separated from butter and dehydrated -- trigger inflammation when polyunsaturated fat did not? The researchers traced the answer to the gut microbiome, the complex mix of hundreds of bacterial strains that reside in the bowels.

The researchers found that an uncommon microbe called Bilophila wadsworthia was preferentially selected in the presence of milk fat. Previous studies had found high levels of B. wadsworthia in patients with appendicitis and other intestinal inflammatory disorders, including inflammatory bowel disease.

"That piqued our interest," Chang said. "These pathobionts, which are usually non-abundant, seem to be quite prominent in these diseases."

Indeed, while Bilophila wadsworthia levels were almost undetectable in mice on a low-fat or unsaturated-fat diet, the bacteria made up about 6 percent of all gut bacteria in mice fed a high milk-fat diet.

"Here we show how the trend in consumption of Western-type diets by many societies can potentially tip the mutualistic balance between host and microbe to a state that favors the onset of disease," Chang said.

As its name implies, Bilophila wadsworthia has an affinity for bile, a substance produced by the liver and released into the intestines to help break down ingested fats. Milk fats are particularly difficult to digest and require the liver to secrete a form of bile that is rich in sulfur. B. wadsworthia thrives in the presence of sulfur. So when the bile created to dissolve milk fats reaches the colon, it enables wadsworthia to blossom.

"Unfortunately, these can be harmful bacteria," Chang said. "Presented with a rich source of sulfur, they bloom, and when they do, they are capable of activating the immune system of genetically prone individuals."

The byproducts of B. wadsworthia's interaction with bile also can amplify the effect. They serve as "gut mucosal barrier breakers," said Suzanne Devkota, PhD, a member of Chang's laboratory and first author of the study. "By increasing the permeability of the bowel, they enhance immune-cell infiltration, and that can induce tissue damage."

Much of the recent progress in understanding the biology of inflammatory bowel disease has focused on gene variants that can increase risk, beginning with the discovery in 2001 of Nod2 by researchers at the University of Chicago. But the new study puts the focus on changing environmental factors that might trigger the disease in high-risk patients.

"Right now we can't do much about correcting genes that predispose individuals to increased risk for these diseases," Chang said, "and while we could encourage people to change their diets, this is seldom effective and always difficult."

"However, the balance between host and microbes can be altered back to a healthy state to prevent or treat these diseases," he added. "In essence, the gut microbiome can be 're-shaped' in sustainable and predictable ways that restore a healthy relationship between host and microbes, without significantly affecting the lifestyles of individuals who are genetically prone to these diseases. We are testing that right now."

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:

View the Original article

From One Generation to the Next, Dental Care Changes

HealthDay – Fri, May 18, 2012 FRIDAY, May 18 (HealthDay News) -- Stephanie Crowe, a mother of three from Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y., still remembers dreading a visit to the dentist as a young girl. It was often a painful experience, and her family's dentist showed little empathy to his smallest patients.

When Crowe had her first child, she brought her to the dentist that she and her husband were seeing at the time, and was surprised that the dentist suggested she take her young daughter to a pediatric dentist instead.

"He actually said, 'I don't think I can work with her.' It was like he didn't want to deal with kids," Crowe recalled. "But I'm glad because it got us to a dentist the kids liked better. It was more like going to a pediatrician's office."

It also was a bit fortuitous because her third child, son Justin, ended up needing a lot of dental work.

"He was just 2 or 3 when he needed his first root canal," Crowe said. "I was shocked when I was brushing his teeth and I saw a hole in his tooth. He's just much more prone to cavities than my other two children."

Some of the treatments now offered by her kids' dentist weren't available when Crowe was young. She said all of her children had dental sealants on their back teeth to help prevent decay. They also all get fluoride treatments whenever they get their teeth cleaned.

Like other parents, Crowe said, she brushed her kids' teeth for them when they were young, and once they were old enough to take care of their own teeth, she continued to remind them to brush. Her two oldest are 18 and 22, so they're on their own as far as their oral hygiene is concerned, but Crowe said she still has to remind her 13-year-old to brush his teeth.

All three children have had braces, and her oldest had her wisdom teeth removed recently.

"They weren't causing problems yet, but the dentist told me that if they came in more, it could cause her teeth to shift and ruin what had been done by her braces," she explained. For the same reason, she expects that her second son will probably have his wisdom teeth out soon.

Overall, Crowe said, her experiences with her children's dental health professionals have been much more positive than what she experienced as a child. And, she's glad her children don't have a lingering sense of trepidation about going to the dentist like she had.

More information

A companion article offers more on what's new in pediatric dentistry.

View the Original article

Tiny Tots in the Dentist's Chair Among Changes in Pediatric Dentistry

background:url(http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/a/5b/a5ba32682eb601fb573b57542c19b9c1.png);width:115px;height:25px;margin-left:50px;margin-top:7px

View the Original article

Study unpicks gene changes behind breast cancer

"background-image:url('http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/oJpYIGrSfP_iuYO6kw6chQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Y2g9MzAwO2NyPTE7Y3c9NDUwO2R4PTA7ZHk9MDtmaT11bGNyb3A7aD0xMjc7cT04NTt3PTE5MA--/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/Reuters/2012-05-17T161235Z_1_CBRE84G191300_RTROPTP_2_US-CANCER-BREAST-GENETICS.JPG');" width

View the Original article

Eye Changes May Predict Heart Disease in Blacks With Diabetes

background:url(http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/a/5b/a5ba32682eb601fb573b57542c19b9c1.png);width:115px;height:25px;margin-left:50px;margin-top:7px

View the Original article

Increased bodyweight after stopping smoking may be due to changes in insulin secretion

ScienceDaily (May 7, 2012) — Fear of putting on weight is one of the major reasons why smokers do not give up their habit. The reasons for this weight gain are believed to be in part due to metabolic changes in the body, but until now precise details of these changes were not known. On May 8, 2012, however, a researcher from Austria told delegates at the International Congress of Endocrinology/European Congress of Endocrinology that her work had shown that changes in insulin secretion could be related to weight gain after smoking cessation.

See Also:Health & MedicineSmokingDiet and Weight LossDiabetesObesityFitnessHormone DisordersReferenceBlood sugarDiabetes mellitus type 2HyperglycemiaGlycemic index

Dr. Marietta Stadler, from the Hietzing Hospital in Vienna, Austria, enrolled healthy smokers on a smoking cessation programme into a study in which they underwent three-hour oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTT) while still smoking and after a minimum of three and six months after giving up. Their body composition was also measured at the same time. The researchers measured beta cell

View the Original article

Dietary changes help some children with ADHD

ScienceDaily (Apr. 24, 2012) — Together with child and adolescent psychiatrists, researchers from the University of Copenhagen have just completed an extensive report which reviews the studies which have been done so far on the significance of diet for children and young people with ADHD. The report shows that there are potential benefits in changing the diets of children with ADHD, but that key knowledge in the area is still lacking.

See Also:Health & MedicineAttention Deficit DisorderChildren's HealthNutritionMind & BrainADD and ADHDChild PsychologyChild DevelopmentReferenceAdult attention-deficit disorderGluten-free, casein-free dietAutistic spectrumAlpha wave

The comprehensive report covers the scientific literature on the significance of diet for children with ADHD: "Our conclusion is that more research is required in the area. There is a lot to suggest that by changing their diet, it is possible to improve the condition for some ADHD children," says professor in paediatric nutrition Kim Fleischer Michaelsen from the Department of Human Nutrition at the Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Copenhagen, who is heading the study.

Professor Kim Fleischer stresses that more research is needed: "Several of the studies show, for example, that fatty acids from fatty fish moderate the symptoms. Other studies detect no effect. Elimination diets are also promising. These look at whether there is anything in the diet which the children cannot consume without adverse side effects. However, we still lack knowledge about which children with ADHD benefit from dietary changes, how positive the effect is in the long term and what the changes mean for children's health."

Dietary changes not beneficial for everyone

The report shows that not all ADHD children benefit from changes to their diet, and that there are still many unknown factors. Tine Houmann, a consultant at the Centre for Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, says:

"There are different types of ADHD, and the disturbance is probably due to both genetic and environmental factors. We know that children with ADHD react very differently to both medication and dietary changes. We therefore need to study which children benefit from dietary changes, and whether we can identify genetic or environmental factors that can predict this."

Bigger studies needed

The experts hope that, by acquiring more knowledge on the subject, it is possible to reduce the use of medication and instead develop special dietary advice for the children: "It is promising that many research results indicate that dietary changes can help some ADHD children. However, it is crucial that bigger studies on dietary changes are conducted on children with ADHD to see how effective this is and how long the benefits last," says Kim Fleischer Michaelsen, while stressing that parents should always seek professional advice before changing their children's diet.

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:

View the Original article

Teen Drinking May Boost Odds of Precancerous Breast Changes

background:url(http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/a/5b/a5ba32682eb601fb573b57542c19b9c1.png);width:115px;height:25px;margin-left:50px;margin-top:7px

View the Original article