Archive for the ‘Animal Desease’ Category
5 Reasons Runners Are Like Cats
Saturday, January 28th, 2012
I just read something that got me to thinking. According to Adam Drajcir, head coach for the New York Road Runners’ Team For Kids, runners are like either cats or dogs. Cat runners just want to be left alone and do their own thing. Dog runners want to be social.
Yes, I am a cat runner. I used to be a dog runner, but crossed over to the cat runner in me several years ago. I love to go out when I want to, run what distance I want and be left alone to my thoughts.
But, then I got to thinking about how runners are like cats. See if you agree with me. (more…)
Learn About The Little-Known Omega-3 Fatty Acid And Why You Need A Fish Oil Supplement
Thursday, January 19th, 2012
Omega-3 has been a buzzword for a generation or possibly more now. Whilst many of us may not entirely understand how beneficial it is as a dietary ingredient, we may nevertheless have heard about it. Yet have you heard about omega-6? What exactly is this – is it some other miraculous “cure all,” and as it is a “six” is it therefore twice as powerful as a “three?”
In truth, both omega-3 and omega-6 are essential parts of a diet and each has a part to play. However, whilst we don’t have any problem at all getting a sufficient amount of 6, as such, we definitely do struggle when it comes to (more…)
Can Fish Oil Reduce The Pain Associated With Osteoarthrits ?
Friday, December 23rd, 2011
Fish oil is often recommended for people with arthritis and many people take it regularly to help ease the pain and stiffness in the joints as a result of osteoarthritis. However, there has been a lot of speculation amongst health professionals as to whether a daily dose of fish oil really does help alleviate the symptoms that is characteristic of osteoarthritis as the effects of Omega 3 haven’t been thoroughly investigated in a randomized trial.
Now according to the results of a new study, the indications are that even those taking a low dose of fish oil are likely to see a reduction in the symptoms of osteoarthritis. The research lasted for 2 years and was a randomized double blind clinical trial carried out in Australia and Tasmania in several hospitals and universities. (more…)
Fish Oil Along With Statins Lowers Triglycerides
Tuesday, December 20th, 2011
The participants were all considered to be at a high risk of heart disease and all had elevated triglyceride levels. They were also taking Statins to control cholesterol. Each of them received fish oil of either 2 gr or 4 gr a day or a placebo. The results showed that those on the highest dose of EPA fish oil saw an average reduction of triglyceride levels of 22 percent/had the biggest reduction of triglyceride levels.
These results came from the ANCHOR trial, which was a trial sponsored by Amarin, the company which is developing AMR101 a highly purified form of EPA fish oil.The Anchor study involved patients with an average age of 61 and an average BMI of 33. Around 73 percent had diabetes, 30 percent were on a “high” efficacy statin regimen, 68 percent were on a “medium” efficacy regimen and 7 percent were on a “low” efficacy regimen. (more…)
Glucosamine for dogs: a safe supplement to treat canine arthritis
Wednesday, November 30th, 2011
Typically, if your dog is middle aged or older and they start exhibiting symptoms such as whimpering, limping, refusing to climb stairs and they reduce their amount of play time, it is possible that they have canine arthritis. Glucosamine is an effective supplement treatment for dogs that are suffering with arthritis and joint pain. In addition to glucosamine supplements, low impact exercise, quality food and weight management will produce a drastic improvement in most dogs versus risking the side effects of prescribed drugs.
Glucosamine sulfate occurs naturally in the joints, cartilage and tendons of dogs and is also naturally found in many food products and treats. (more…)
Glenohumeral joint dislocation alpacas: 10 cases (2003-2009).
Sunday, November 27th, 2011
To describe the clinical findings, treatments, and outcome in alpacas treated for scapulohumeral joint luxation (SHJL). Retrospective case series. 10 alpacas. Medical records of alpacas with SHJL that were treated at 2 referral hospitals were reviewed. History, signalment, physical examination results, radiographic findings, treatments, complications, and outcome were evaluated. Records for 8 male and 2 female alpacas with 16 instances of SHJL were reviewed. Three male alpacas each had 2 recurrences of SHJL in the treated limb. The proportion of male alpacas treated for (more…)
'Mad Cow' Prions Could Harm Vegetarians
Tuesday, October 18th, 2011Fancy a dose of prions with your vegetables? A new study suggests that infectious prions – thought to be the causative agents in mad cow disease and human vCJD – can survive wastewater decontamination and wind up in fertiliser, potentially contaminating fruit and vegetables.
The prions would be present in such low quantities that they are unlikely to pose a health threat, but as a precaution, “we should prevent the entry of prions into wastewater treatment plants,” says microbiologist Joel Pedersen, of the University of Wisconsin in Madison, US, who led the research.
Prions could end up in wastewater treatment plants via slaughterhouse drains, hunted game cleaned in a sink, or humans with vCJD shedding prions in their urine or faeces, Pedersen says.
How to Recognize "Mad Cow" Desease ?
Thursday, October 13th, 2011Infected adult cattle may develop signs of the disease slowly. It may take from 2 to 8 years from the time an animal becomes infected until it first shows signs of disease. Symptoms in the animal include a change in attitude and behavior, gradual uncoordinated movements, trouble standing and walking, weight loss despite having an appetite, and decreased milk production. Eventually the animal dies. From the onset of symptoms, the animal deteriorates until it either dies or is destroyed (cattle who cannot stand are called “downers”). This disease process may take from 2 weeks to 6 months.
Possibility for "Mad Cow" Treatment
Thursday, October 13th, 2011British scientists have made a discovery which could lead to an effective treatment for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or Mad Cow Disease, it was announced last night.
BSE and its human form Creutzfeldt Jakob disease (CJD) are caused by an abnormal infectious form of a prion protein present on nervous system cells.
The human disease linked to BSE has affected a small number of people since it appeared in the late 1980s – but has had a devastating and fatal impact, often on young adults.
Professor Nigel Hooper of Leeds University, UK, and colleagues investigated why the prions become abnormal.
Professor Hooper explained: “We were looking at how the normal prion protein functions in cells and spotted that it was interacting with something. Some lateral thinking and deduction led us to Glypican-1 and when we carried out the experiment, we found we were right.”
This protein, Glypican-1, plays an important role in the development of BSE. Its presence causes the number of abnormal prion proteins to increase. In experiments, the researchers found that when levels of Glypican-1 are reduced in infected cells, the levels of the abnormal prion also reduced.
This suggests that the protein functions as a scaffold bringing the two forms of the prion protein together, the team believes, and this contact causes normal prions to become infectious through mutation.
Findings are published today (November 20) in PLoS Pathogens.
“Now that we know the identity of one of the key molecules in the disease process, we may in the future be able to design drugs that target this,” Professor Hooper said.
He added that it is possible that Glypican-1 is involved in other diseases of the nervous system. His team now plan to carry out further work towards developing treatments for both BSE and CJD.
“While initial experiments haven’t shown any link with other neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, we’re not yet completely ruling that out,” Professor Hooper concluded.
What Causes "Mad Cow" Desease ?
Wednesday, October 12th, 2011Prion diseases are unique and can be transmitted in a variety of ways:
- Some forms can be inherited such as familial CJD, Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker disease (GSS), and fatal familial insomnia (FFI). The disease is caused by a gene mutation in the prion gene. Other inherited prion diseases are more rare.
- Prion disease may develop sporadically, for no apparent reason and with no pattern such as sporadic CJD. Cases can occur in men and women of all ages, but the average age is 62 years. The prevalence of sporadic CJD is about 1 case per million people each year throughout the world, even among vegetarians. Sporadic CJD is the most common type of human prion disease.
- Sporadic prion disease may be introduced into a human through infected surgical instruments or transplant tissues.
- Infectious prion disease such as new variant CJD (nvCJD) is likely caused by eating BSE-infected meat from cattle. No cases have been reported in the US (one Florida case occurred in a woman who had lived in England).
- A few seemingly sporadic cases in young men in Michigan may point to transmission to hunters from deer or elk with chronic wasting disease (CWD), a form of animal prion disease. CWD is becoming common in this animal population in the US. Because hunters eat the meat of these animals, there is a potential for the prion disease to cross from hunted to hunter.