March 23, 2024 - Organic Pesticides
lyme disease || lung cancer || leaky gut || metformin || keto & alz || farmed salmon || pesticides || microplastics || cannabis vapes
This Week’s Headlines
+ Tick Killing Lyme Disease Prevention
+ Treating Stage 4 Lung Cancer
+ Human Sweat Can Help Prevent Lyme Disease
+ Leaky Gut
+ Metformin During Pregnancy
+ Keto Slows Alzheimer’s Disease
+ Eat Wild
+ Essential Oils As A Pesticide
+ Biodegradable Microplastics
+ Toxins In Cannabis Vapes
Tick Killing Lyme Disease Prevention
Quick Take - Developing a dog med for people is interesting, and should provide some existing evidence for potential long term side effects. It will be interesting to watch where the bigger clinical trials go. A drug that lives in your blood for over 30 days to kill ticks sounds a little scary, even though we've used it with our dogs already 🤔
A potential on-demand oral treatment for preventing Lyme disease by effectively killing ticks within 24 hours of attachment, which could significantly reduce the risk of Lyme disease transmission, addressing a growing public health concern.
Tarsus Pharmaceuticals reports positive findings from the Phase 2a Carpo trial evaluating TP-05 (lotilaner) for Lyme disease prevention. TP-05 demonstrated significant tick mortality compared to placebo, indicating potential as an on-demand prophylactic. The trial, conducted with healthy volunteers, evaluated the efficacy of TP-05 in killing ticks within 24 hours of attachment, aiming to prevent Lyme disease transmission. Both high and low doses of TP-05 showed statistically significant benefits in tick mortality compared to placebo. TP-05 was well tolerated, with no significant differences observed between the two treatment arms. These results suggest TP-05's potential to offer rapid and durable protection against tick-borne diseases.
Treating Stage 4 Lung Cancer
Quick Take - A successful treatment for severe late stage cancers that has metastasized is a good thing.
A significant medical achievement in cancer treatment, demonstrating advancements in surgical techniques and offering hope for patients with metastatic cancer by showcasing innovative approaches to managing and treating the disease. “isolated chemoperfusion” — the Russian medical center’s modernized and patented technique, which can save patients even with the most severe Stage 4 cancer. The method makes it possible to remove the smallest metastases of the lung tissue, thus eliminating the possibility of new metastases appearing in the lungs.
Russian doctors at a St. Petersburg medical center conducted six surgeries to remove 170 metastases from a patient's lungs, setting a world record for metastasis removal. The surgeries, lasting several hours each, utilized the center's innovative "isolated chemoperfusion" technique to eliminate the smallest lung tissue metastases and prevent new ones, resulting in an optimistic prognosis for the patient.
Human Sweat Can Help Prevent Lyme Disease
Quick Take - I was incorrectly under the impression that Lyme disease wasn't curable; it is for 90% of people. The potential for a human based amino acid that can prevent getting Lyme disease via a skin lotion is really cool.
A novel approach to Lyme disease prevention using a naturally occurring protein found in human sweat, offering hope for developing new methods such as skin creams to prevent Lyme disease transmission. Additionally, the discovery sheds light on the potential role of secretoglobins as antimicrobial agents, hinting at broader implications for combating infectious diseases.
Researchers from MIT and the University of Helsinki discovered a protein in human sweat that may protect against Lyme disease, with about one-third of the population carrying a genetic variant associated with Lyme disease susceptibility. This protein, secretoglobin SCGB1D2, inhibits the growth of Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacterium responsible for Lyme disease, offering potential for preventative and therapeutic applications.
Leaky Gut
Quick Take - The gut and microbiome affects wellness and diseases. Knowing how different foods are processed and the changes we can make to our behaviors to potentially improve wellness is a good thing.
Understanding how gut health can impact overall well-being, as it delves into the controversial topic of leaky gut syndrome and offers insights into potential factors contributing to gastrointestinal disturbances. Additionally, it provides practical advice on nutrition and lifestyle adjustments to promote optimal gut function, which may benefit individuals seeking to improve their metabolic health and overall wellness.
The article discusses the concept of "leaky gut," where a compromised intestinal barrier allows unwanted particles into the bloodstream, potentially triggering immune responses. It explores factors affecting gut health, including infection, diet, medications, sleep, and stress, and suggests nutrition and lifestyle strategies to support gut health.
Metformin During Pregnancy
Quick Take - More long term studies are needed, then again, perhaps just not use drugs that cross the placenta and are known to impact the babies brain development.
The potential impact of maternal medication use during pregnancy on offspring health, particularly concerning brain development. The findings shed light on the complexities of gestational diabetes treatment and highlight the importance of considering both maternal and fetal outcomes when prescribing medications during pregnancy.
A research team from the German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbrücke (DIfE) investigated the effects of metformin treatment during pregnancy on offspring brain development using mouse models. The study revealed that while metformin had positive effects in pregnant animals, it did not benefit the offspring.
There are currently only a few studies on the long-term effects of metformin on the health of offspring. It is known that metformin has an impact on the AMPK signaling pathway, which regulates the networking of nerve cells during brain development.