research

by

You be the judge

Typically Peggy and I would post this on CATNIPblog since it is health related but I think it important enough to share it with you.

I personally knew two men in their 40’s and a close friend in her 50’s (all spent the good part of every day with cell phones to their ears on personal and professional calls) who developed malignant gioblastoma brain tumors just behind their “phone-ear”.  Each died within 1 – 2 years of diagnosis.  Coincidence?  Pre-disposition?  I don’t know but it changed my behaviour and I only use the cell on “speaker” mode.  

When I read this release it got my attention.

Always having to look over my shoulder for people in white lab coats.

Cross talk: Federal agencies clash on cellphone cancer risk*

By LAURAN NEERGAARD AND SETH BORENSTEIN, ASSOCIATED PRESS

“Two U.S. government agencies are giving conflicting interpretations of a safety study on cellphone radiation: One says it causes cancer in rats. The other says there’s no reason for people to worry.”

“No new research was issued Thursday. Instead, the National Toxicology Program dialed up its concerns about a link to heart and brain cancer from a study of male rats that was made public last winter.”

THE ORIGINAL STUDY

“In a $30 million study, scientists put rats and mice into special chambers and bombarded them with radiofrequency waves, like those emitted by older 2G and 3G phones, for nine hours a day for up to two years, most of their natural lives.”

“The levels the rodents experienced were far higher than people are typically exposed to.”

THE FINDINGS

“Last February, the National Toxicology Program said there was a small increase in an unusual type of heart tumor in male rats, but not in mice or female rats. The agency concluded there was “some evidence” of a link. Also, the February report cited “equivocal evidence” of brain tumors in the male rats.”

“Thursday, the agency upgraded its description of those findings. The heart tumor increase marked “clear evidence” of cancer in male rats, it announced. There is “some evidence” of brain cancer.”

“The change came after the agency asked outside experts to analyze the findings.”

“We believe that the link between radio frequency radiation and tumors in male rats is real, and the external experts agreed,” said John Bucher, the toxicology agency’s senior scientist.”

“While his agency said the risks to rats don’t directly apply to people, the study raises safety questions.”

THE DISAGREEMENT

“The FDA immediately disagreed, firing off a press release assuring Americans that “decades of research and hundreds of studies” has made the health agency confident that the current safety limits for cellphone radiation protect the public health.”

“Plus, FDA pointed out confusing findings from the rodent study — such as that the radiated rats lived longer than comparison rats that weren’t exposed to the rays. The toxicology agency said it appeared that the radio-frequency energy helped older rats’ kidneys.”

“There’s a reason two different government agencies are clashing — they’re asking different questions, said George Washington University public health professor George Gray.”

“A former science chief for the Environmental Protection Agency, Gray said the toxicology program examined how cellphone radiation affected animals. By looking at what it means for humans, the FDA “brings in more sources of information and data than just these recent tests in rats and mice,” he said in an email.”

You be the judge.

*https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/cross-talk-federal-agencies-clash-cellphone-cancer-risk-58909891

by

If you don’t watch this you are stooooopid

Yes, I’m name calling to get your attention.  Watch this TO THE END!

Social psychologist Amy Cuddy shows how “power posing” — standing in a posture of confidence, even when we don’t feel confident — can affect testosterone and cortisol levels in the brain. . . .”

ERIN, THANK YOU for telling me about this!!!

 

by

Gut it out! Mind-Body links with Bacteria

Coincidently read this article and

received a note from a friend who said that some probiotics and supplements she was taking have incredibly elevated her mood.  I thought it worthwhile to post a snippet from and link to the article.

Gut Bacteria May Exacerbate Depression
By Tori Rodriguez

“The digestive tract and the brain are crucially linked, according to mounting evidence showing that diet and gut bacteria are able to influence our behavior, thoughts and mood. Now researchers have found evidence of bacterial translocation, or “leaky gut,” among people with depression”.

“Normally the digestive system is surrounded by an impermeable wall of cells. Certain behaviors and medical conditions can compromise this wall, allowing toxic substances and bacteria to enter the bloodstream. In a study published in the May issue of Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, approximately 35 percent of depressed participants showed signs of leaky gut, based on blood tests.”

IMG_0015

“Bugs That Influence the Brain
Preliminary research suggests that these common gut microbes can also affect our thoughts and feelings.

1. Helicobacter pylori: Children infected with this ulcer-causing bacterium performed worse on IQ tests, suggesting a possible link between H. pylori infection and cognitive development.

2. Lactobacillus helveticus and Bifidobacterium longum: Healthy human volunteers who consumed a probiotic mix of these bacteria exhibited less anxiety and depression.

3. Probiotic bacteria B. animalis subsp. lactis, Streptococcus thermophilus, L. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus, L. lactis

From judy's bug collection

From judy’s bug collection

subsp. lactis: Healthy women who consumed yogurt containing these bugs showed less activity in brain regions that process emotions and physical sensations. Researchers do not yet know whether these effects were beneficial; they also have not discovered the mechanism underlying the observed shift in brain activity.

4. Lactobacilli: Healthy students had fewer of these bacteria present in their stool during a high-stress exam time compared with a less stressful period during the semester. The findings suggest a potential link between stress and gut microbes, but the exact relation remains unknown”.

 

 

 

by

Sticks & Stones May Break My Bones but Rejection Feels GOOD

intriga090400013Pain Rx: Make inappropriate, insulting or degrading comments to people you know, barely know or don’t know at all!!!!!!!!!!!!  Here’s proof it works:

 Excerpt from Sticks and Stones: Brain Releases Natural Painkillers During Social Rejection

“Over more than a decade, U-M work has shown that when a person feels physical pain, their brains release chemicals called opioids into the space between neurons, dampening pain signals.”

“David T. Hsu, Ph.D., the lead author of the new paper, says the new research on social rejection grew out of recent studies by others, which suggests that the brain pathways that are activated during physical pain and social pain are similar.”

To read the entire research article click on the title

My back is really hurting, could use a bit of brain opioids . . . mmmm, I wonder if it works with blogs? . . .  you fools! . . . nope, guess I need to insult you in person to get my opioid hit . . .

by

Loneliness, like Chronic Stress, impacts our Immune System

DCP_7260The times when I feel most ‘alone’ is when I’m ill or fatigued.  Those are the times when I also isolate myself the most – little energy or desire to interact. With this research I wonder if I make my condition even worse by  isolating myself when I don’t feel well physically or emotionally?  (The research doesn’t specifically address that question.)  Just wondering . . .

(I’ve edited out a lot of the research description.  If you just want the bare bones read the red areas.)

Loneliness, Like Chronic Stress, Taxes the Immune System, Researchers Find

“New research links loneliness to a number of dysfunctional immune responses, suggesting that being lonely has the potential to harm overall health.”

“Researchers found that people who were more lonely showed signs of elevated latent herpes virus reactivation and produced more inflammation-related proteins in response to acute stress than did people who felt more socially connected.”

“These proteins signal the presence of inflammation, and chronic inflammation is linked to numerous conditions, including:

  • coronary heart disease
  • Type 2 diabetes
  • arthritis
  • Alzheimer’s diseases
  • the frailty and functional decline that can accompany aging.”

“Reactivation of a latent herpes virus is known to be associated with stress, suggesting that loneliness functions as a chronic stressor that triggers a poorly controlled immune response.”

“It is clear from previous research that poor-quality relationships are linked to a number of health problems, including premature mortality and all sorts of other very serious health conditions. And people who are lonely clearly feel like they are in poor-quality relationships,” said Lisa Jaremka, Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research at Ohio State University and lead author of the research.”

“The results are based on a series of studies conducted with two populations: a healthy group of overweight middle-aged adults and a group of breast cancer survivors. The researchers measured loneliness in all studies using the UCLA Loneliness Scale, a questionnaire that assesses perceptions of social isolation and loneliness.”

“The researchers first sought to obtain a snapshot of immune system behavior related to loneliness by gauging levels of antibodies in the blood that are produced when herpes viruses are reactivated.
Participants were 200 breast cancer survivors who were between two months and three years past completion of cancer treatment with an average age of 51 years. Their blood was analyzed for the presence of antibodies against Epstein-Barr virus and cytomegalovirus.”

“Both are herpes viruses that infect a majority of Americans. About half of infections do not produce illness, but once a DSCN1415person is infected, the viruses remain dormant in the body and can be reactivated, resulting in elevated antibody levels, or titers — again, often producing no symptoms but hinting at regulatory problems in the cellular immune system.
Lonelier participants had higher levels of antibodies against cytomegalovirus than did less lonely participants, and those higher antibody levels were related to more pain, depression and fatigue symptoms.”

“Previous research has suggested that stress can promote reactivation of these viruses, also resulting in elevated antibody titers.”

“The same processes involved in stress and reactivation of these viruses is probably also relevant to the loneliness findings,” Jaremka said. “Loneliness has been thought of in many ways as a chronic stressor — a socially painful situation that can last for quite a long time.”‘

“In an additional set of studies, the scientists sought to determine how loneliness affected the production of pro-inflammatory proteins, or cytokines, in response to stress. These studies were conducted with 144 women from the same group of breast cancer survivors and a group of 134 overweight middle-aged and older adults with no major health problems.”

“In both populations, those who were lonelier produced significantly higher levels of a cytokine called interleukin-6, or IL-6, in response to acute stress than did participants who were more socially connected. Levels of another cytokine, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, also rose more dramatically in lonelier participants than in less lonely participants . . .”

“In the study with breast cancer survivors, researchers also tested for levels of the cytokine interleukin 1-beta, which was produced at higher levels in lonelier participants.”
“When the scientists controlled for a number of factors, including sleep quality, age and general health measures, the results were the same.
“We saw consistency in the sense that more lonely people in both studies had more inflammation than less lonely people,” Jaremka said.”
“It’s also important to remember the flip side, which is that people who feel very socially connected are experiencing more positive outcomes.” ‘

The above story is based on materials provided by Ohio State University, via Newswise. The original article was written by Emily Caldwell.

by

Are You Man or Mouse?

The newest singing sensation in the animal kingdom? Mice.

Pavarottis sing 

When sexually excited.

Are you man or mouse?

By Rick Yerman Mice sang happily
while considering new mates.
Hearing, do cats clap?

“The creatures (mice) not only sing ultrasonic melodies high above sopranos, distinct from their regular squeaks, but they also learn new tunes from each other, researchers report today.”

Song learning is known to exist in humans, dolphins, songbirds and parrots, but the new research overthrows a 50-year assumption that mouse vocalizing is inborn and instead shows that mice have a rudimentary vocal system to control their vocal cords and learn new tunes.

This is not Pavarotti

“The mouse brain and behavior for vocal communication is not as primitive and as innate as myself and many other scientists have considered it to be,” senior author Erich Jarvis, a neurobiologist at Duke University, told LiveScience.”

“Mice have more similarities in their vocal communication with humans than other species like our closest relatives,” Jarvis added, referring to chimpanzees”.

“Generally, vocalizing comes from a coordinated effort between the brain’s motor cortex, which controls voluntary muscles, and the vocal cords in the larynx. Jarvis and colleagues found a rudimentary indirect connection in mice between the two, absent in chimpanzees and monkeys” (and me).

“The findings may also impact human speech disorders such as those found in autism, commonly studied in mice genetically engineered to mimic the disorders.”

“Previous research had shown male mice become mini-Pavarottis when sexually excited by the female

This is not a mouse

scent. But the new research suggests mice are able to mimic new songs.”

“These results came to light after placing two mice strains with different vocal ranges, like tenors and basses, in the same cage with females. After eight weeks, the tenors sang in the lower bass range. Some basses sang higher, but most continued to sing in the same register.”

“In other words, the mice changed their tune in front of the ladies so they all sounded pretty much the same, Jarvis said.”

Read the entire article at : http://www.livescience.com/23878-singing-mice.html

by

Men Explode, Women Erode

Tallulah Pacehead sez: "DRINK MILK"

Tallulah, my pacemaker, is doing her job and luckily resting on her laurels a lot (translation:  my pacemaker is only having to work 2% to 25% of the time).  I still having a bit of “heart matters” going on so this post on my favorite Heart blog: Heart Sisters caught my attention.

(P.S.  Fascinating information on Stem Cells and their impact on MEN)

If you are a woman or know a woman take a moment to listen.

“One out of every two of you reading this right now will be impacted by cardiovascular disease in your lifetime, warns cardiologist Dr. Noel Bairey-Merz, Director of the Cedars Sinai Women’s Heart Center in Los Angeles. And worse, diagnostic and treatment strategies “developed in men, by men, for men for the last 50 years” are not working so well for women.”

Sign up for My Heart Sisters Newsletter. 

http://myheartsisters.org/newsletter/

%d bloggers like this: