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March 2014 | Read this issue and more at www.healthandwellnessmagazine.net |
in the
By Angela S. Hoover, Staff Writer
Dogs Sniff Out
Ovarian Cancer
Dogs at the University of
Pennsylvania’s Working Dog Center are
being trained to bark or sit when they
smell anything that suggests cancer –
even before modern medicine can detect
it. Scientists hope to identify which
marker the dogs are detecting in the
blood of ovarian cancer patients so that
organic chemists can combine olfactory
science with technology to formulate a
device capable of detecting cancer. Dogs
have been shown in published studies
to detect early stages of cancer with
99 percent sensitivity and 88 percent
specificity.
A New Pill Approved To
Treat Type 2 Diabetes
The FDA approved Farxiga, a once a
day pill made by Bristol-Myers Squibb
and AstraZeneca in early January.
Farxiga is a SGLT2 drug, which works
by eliminating excess sugar via urine
rather than decreasing the amount
of sugar absorbed from food passing
through the liver. Farxiga was rejected
last year because studies raised concerns
linking it to bladder cancer and liver
toxicity. Ten cases of bladder cancer
were found in patients during clinical
trials. A panel of FDA advisors said
this was probably a statistical fluke
not related to the drug. Farxiga must
include a warning against bladder cancer
patients using the medicine, and Bristol
and AstroZeneca must track rates of
bladder cancer in patients enrolled in
a long-term follow up study. The most
common side effects associated with
Farxiga are fungal and urinary tract
infections. The drug can be used alone
or in combination with other treatments
such as insulin and metformin.
Could The Hunter-Gatherer
Gut Profile Protect Against
Modern Diseases?
Anthropologist Jeff Leach aims to
find out if the gut bacteria profile of
hunter-gatherers can protect against
modern diseases. The Hadza of northern
Tanzania are one of the last true huntergatherer communities in Africa. Leach
will work with a team of microbiologists
in the United States to determine the
composition of the bacteria living in
their guts. He suspects the Hadza’s
intimate contact with a huge variety of
microbial species may protect them from
modern diseases.
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A Cure for the
Common Cold?
In 2006, researchers discovered the
last of three major viruses known to
cause the common cold. Biochemists at
the University of Wisconsin-Madison
constructed a model of rhinovirus C to
better understand how all Enteroviruses
work, grow and react to fill in the gaps
of a lot of missing biology. The protein
shell of C is different from that of A
and B. This shell difference explains
why treatments for rhinovirus A and B
succeeded in the lab but later failed in
clinical trials: the patients also carried
the C strain along with A and B, per
the team. The researchers believe that
by understanding the structure of the
protein shell it will allow them to create
antivirals that can latch onto this shell.
Their results were published in the Jan. 5
issue of Virology.
Kentucky Is #6 Among the
10 Least Healthy States: The
United Health Foundation
The United Health Foundation’s
America’s Health Rankings report
offered dismal news about Kentucky. In
Kentucky, 31.3 percent of the population
is obese, which is the 9th highest in
the nation. Cardiovascular deaths are
the 8th highest at 299.8 per 100,000.
In 2012, 60.3 percent of Kentuckians
visited the dentist, which is the 10th
lowest nationally. More than 20 percent
of adults in Kentucky were smokers
last year, the highest rate in the nation.
Between 2008 and 2010, the state had
the highest rate of cancer deaths, with
about 227 deaths per 100,000 residents.
Lung cancer is particularly prevalent in
Kentucky. Nearly 30 percent of residents
do not perform physical activity
regularly. The report examines healthy
behaviors, quality of health care, health
policy, the presence of diseases and
deaths and illnesses across the nation
to make its ranking. The ranking was
released in December and reports on
2012 numbers.