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Colon Cancer News
A type of bacteria that causes dental plaque may be behind a treatment-resistant form of colorectal cancer, a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature found. The particular bacterium, which appears to shield tumor cells from cancer-fighting drugs, was found in 50% of the tumors tested in the study. The discovery, experts say, could pave the way for new treatments and possibly new methods of screening. (NBC)
Climate Affects Health
Climate change matters in so many ways. More diseases starting earlier staying in place longer moving to new areas. (UC Davis News Release)
The shorter and milder winters, warming oceans, altered precipitation patterns, and extreme weather of climate change are fueling the spread of infectious diseases, experts warn in JAMA. Infectious-disease physicians from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and the University of California Davis (UCD) noted that the past decade saw 9 of the 10 warmest years on record, along with severe heat, droughts, wildfires, floods, and hurricanes.
Changes in vector-borne, zoonotic, fungal, and waterborne diseases are already occurring. For example, from 2004 to 2018, the number of cases of arthropod-related disease in the United States more than doubled, to more than 760,000, the authors said, citing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). These include tick- and mosquito-borne illnesses such as those caused by the Zika, Powassan, and West Nile viruses.
Changing rain patterns are expanding vectors’ range and their active periods. Shorter, warmer winters and longer summers are also linked to more vector-borne diseases. For example, diseases caused by ticks (like babesiosis and Lyme disease) are now occurring in the winter too. They’re also being found in regions farther west and north than in the past.
“We're seeing cases of tick-borne diseases in January and February,” said first author of the study Matthew Phillips. Phillips is an infectious diseases fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. “The tick season is starting earlier and with more active ticks in a wider range. This means that the number of tick bites is going up and with it, the tick-borne diseases.”
Another concern is malaria. The mosquitos that transmit the disease are expanding northward, a climate-induced change. Changing rain patterns have led to more mosquitos and a higher disease transmission rate.
Another good reason to put the squeeze on fossil fuel usage.
Those Who Care and Those Who Don’t
Here are two stories that popped up this morning about schools.
(Care for Others) According to the Chicago Tribune, Illinois schools will now more easily be able to get life-saving asthma inhalers to keep on-hand in case a student is struggling to breathe. The Illinois Department of Public Health announced Wednesday that Director Dr. Sameer Vohra has signed a standing order allowing Illinois schools to more easily obtain asthma inhalers that can be administered to anyone on-site who is experiencing respiratory distress. The medication can only be administered by school personnel who’ve gone through training.
(TWMP* Doesn’t Care) Alabama state lawmakers on Wednesday advanced legislation that would prohibit classroom discussions or instruction related to gender identity or sexual orientation in public schools through 12th grade, expanding the existing law that extends through 5th grade. The House Education Policy Committee advanced the legislation, which now heads to the Alabama House of Representatives for a full vote. Students are typically 17 to 19 years old in 12th grade.
*Taliban Wing of the Maga Party
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Charley. chatbot abortion resource - make sure to use a secure incognito browser if you live in a state that has banned abortion
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United State of Women Reproductive health page (bottom of the page) has important resources such as medical support, access to Telehealth, prescriptions by mail, and legal support references.
Practice careful communications - The Digital Defense Fund has a number of tips to keep texts, calls, and internet use private. Here is their site.
If you need financial help with an abortion try abortionfunds.org
Claims Denials and Appeals & What to Do
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Chop Wood, Carry Water by Jessica Cravens
RESISTBOT
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Link to Chop Wood, Carry Water RESISTBOT write up
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Thank you! Another informative post.
In my experience early childhood trauma can have a deleterious effect on the digestive system which leads to various maladies in that part of the body. (Even our idea of what constitutes trauma is limited.). Yet mainstream healthcare does not seem to be aware of this. This reminds me that “science” focuses on agents which seem to cause disease….and the next, supposedly, logical step is to find, or invent, a drug that seems to deal with it. That’s where the money is, of course. If we’re going to have a healthcare system that is truly about healthcare, we are going to have to step outside our current thinking.