Possible Cause of Arthritis in Moose: Malnutrition

It's a condition we generally associate with old age and the wear and tear of life on the joints.  Researchers have found a possible new cause for arthritis thanks to studies of animal health.  Rather than observing rats and mice, researchers turned their attention to larger subjects:  wild moose. 

For the past 50 years an ongoing study has revealed that moose suffer from a form of arthritis that is nearly identical to that humans suffer from, osteoarthritis.  The results of the half-century study has shown that malnutrition early in the life of the moose played a role in the development of arthritis in the animals. 

On Isle Royale, in Lake Superior and Michigan, the study began in 1958.  Since then, the skeletal remains of over 4,000 moose killed by harsh winters or wolves have been studied by three generations of scientists.  As the moose population increased and food became scarce, cases of osteoarthritis in the moose increased as well.  When the population fell and food became more plentiful, cases of arthritis lowered.

Researchers are hoping that the studies they've done with the moose will aid in research of osteoarthritis in humans. 

For more information you can read this article.

Researchers Discover Blood Protein Link to Alzheimer's Disease

On Monday, July 5th, researchers from the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College in London, England revealed that a blood protein called clusterin has been linked to the development of Alzheimer's Disease.  This new discovery could lead to new tests in perhaps as little as five years where doctors could identify the disease before it is able to take hold of the patient.

The findings, published in the Archives of General Psychiatry, detailed the processes used in the two "discovery phase" studies of 95 patients that linked clusterin to the early signs of Alzheimer's Disease. 

Researchers stressed that there was still a great deal of work that needed to be done with this information before clinical testing could begin by doctors.

Alzheimer's Disease is the most common, and feared, form of dementia.  It affects some 35 million people worldwide and there is no known cure for the disease.  There are drugs patients can take but they cannot cure the disease, only relieve or slightly delay the symptoms.

Read this article for more information about this interesting discovery.

Got a Cavity? Forget the Drill. A New Gel May Regenerate The Tooth For You

According to a new study in the journal ACS Nano, the dreaded sound of the dentist's drill could soon be a thing of the past.  A new peptide, embedded in a soft gel or thin, flexible film could be placed next to a cavity.  It would encourage cells inside the teeth to regenerate in about a month.  This technology is the first of its kind and would eliminate the need for root canals or drilling.

Nadia Benkirane-Jessel, a scientist at the Institut National de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale and co-author of a recent paper on the subject says it isn't like a toothpaste.  It doesn't prevent cavities but instead helps to control them once they develop.

The gel or thin film contains a peptide known as MSH, melanocyte-stimulating hormone.  Experiments reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has shown that MSH encourages bone regeneration.  Since bone and teeth are relatively similar, French scientists conducted a test of the MSH substance.  They applied a film or gel containing MSH to cavity-filled mice teeth.  After about a month, the cavities had disappeared.

MSH doesn't prevent cavities, it just treats them so proper oral hygiene such as brushing and flossing is still necessary.  Numerous clinical trials over several years will still need to be performed before the MSH gels are available for human treatments.

The causes of cavities, which are bacteria and pus-filled holes on or in teeth, are varied.  It could be anything from improper oral hygiene to eating acidic or sugary foods.  When bacteria get the chance to start eating away at the teeth, they damage the protective enamel and other minerals inside the tooth.

Source:  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37978810/ns/health-oral_health/

The Scourge of Summer: Tick-Borne Illnesses

It's that time of year again, folks.  Summer is arriving in all its glory.  It's time to enjoy family get togethers, endless amounts of sunshine, picnics, swimming and for spending time at the beach.  Unfortunately, not everything about summer is all fun and good times.  Along with the good things of summer come the bad things:  ticks.

If you live in an area of the world where ticks are a problem you know all too well about the nasty little bloodsuckers and the problems they can cause.  They cling to the high grass and weeds in your yard, in the woods and even on the backs of the leaves on the trees and wait for a warm-blooded creature to come by.  It might be your family dog or it might be you that is unlucky enough to pass by the waiting pest.  When something does brush past, the tick leaves its station and works its way to a warm part of the body where it can attach itself to the skin and begin to feed.  If you are lucky, you catch it before it has a chance to attach itself to your skin.

Gamers Can Control Their Dreams?

I always knew the countless hours I love to wile away playing on Pogo.com or playing PC video games would eventually pay off!

Jayne Gackenbach, a psychologist at Grant MacEwan University in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada  has been interested in video games and how they affect those who play them since the 1990's.  For a decade, she has been involved in game-related research and that research has offered up several surprises.  However, it is important to note that the findings aren't definitive proof, just representations of suggestive associations.

Both lucid dreamers and gamers seemed to have better spatial skills, were less prone to motion sickness and demonstrate a high level of focus or concentration. 

Gackenbach surveyed dreams of hardcore gamers and non-gamers with two studies published in 2006.

Gackenbach's first study suggested that gamers were more likely to report lucid dreams, observer dreams and dream control.  Her second study attempted to narrow down uncertainties and focused more on gamers than non-gamers.  The second study revealed that lucid dreams were common but gamers never had control over anything beyond their dream selves.    They also changed between first person and third person view of themselves during dreams.

Gackenbach's studies have shown that gamers have been able to control nightmare situations during dreaming that, instead of providing fear, the nightmares were more of a fun situation.  Gamers also showed lower levels of aggression during dreams overall but Gackenbach found that when gamers did show agression in dreams, they really showed aggression.

Gackenbach is pursuing a new study with Athabasca University in Athabasca, Alberta, Canada to determine whether or not gaming could be of help to individuals suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).  PTSD sufferers have used virtual reality simulators in the past to help manage the nightmares symtomatic with the illness.  If Gackenbach's theories prove true, PTSD sufferers might need to just spend some time playing on thier PC's or consoles before bed.

This week, Gackenbach is scheduled to discuss her studies at the Sixth Annual Games for Health Conference in Boston, Massachusetts.

For more information about this interesting study, read the MSNBC.com Technology and Science article.

Dark News on the Alzheimer's Front

Alzheimer's Disease is something very personal to me. I lost my beloved grandmother three years ago to his horrible disease. There isn't a day that goes by that I do not miss her and wish that she hadn't developed the horrible form of dementia. I watched her go from a vibrant, loving and active woman down to someone who couldn't care for herself, speak or even remember my name. Because of her struggle with the disease I make sure to keep myself informed of new developments in Alzheimer's research.

There is some new news on the disease that isn't quite as positive as I would have liked for it to be.

For years now we have heard that if we challenge our minds, exercise and eat the right kinds of foods and even take certain dietary supplements we could possibly prevent, or at the very least, slow down Alzheimer's Disease.

According to studies done by Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois, this isn't the case. A group of medical experts poured over the dozens of studies of ways to possibly prevent Alzheimer's Disease and concluded that none of the ways we've long been told could help does anything to prevent the disease.

According to Dr. Martha Daviglus, chairwoman of an independent panel meeting at the National Institute of Health outside Washington D.C., most of the studies that have been done thus far show associations but none show cause and effect.

Alzheimer's Disease is an incurable disease and scientists currently do not completely understand how it works. Research continues to determine just how the disease develops and progresses. There are drugs that have been approved to treat Alzheimer's Disease but the effect they have on the disease is only temporary. They do not cure it.

The Alzheimer's Association says that as many as 5.3 million Americans have the disease and they estimate that as many as 16 million will be affected by the disease by 2050.

You can download and read the entire report here.

For more information on Alzheimer's Disease visit the Alzheimer's Association web site.