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ICU Stays Destroy Gut Microbiome, Ups Sepsis Risk

Researchers at the University of Chicago have shown that after a long stay in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) only a handful of pathogenic microbe species remain behind in patients’ intestines. The team tested these remaining pathogens and discovered that some can become deadly when provoked by conditions that mimic

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MAP Bacteria in Milk and Beef May Be Associated with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Should your patients drink cow’s milk? Should they eat red meat? It’s a question that cannot always be answered with a categorical yes or no. This new study from the University of Central Florida, shows that a strain of bacteria commonly found in milk and beef may be an associativeRead

Could Cannabidiol Be the Answer to Treatment-resistant Epilepsy & Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome?

The level of frustration and hopelessness is high among one-third of epilepsy cases that are resistant to medication. A just-released study in Lancet, outlines how a pharmaceutical formulation of cannabidiol (20 mg/kg daily), alongside other anti-epilepsy treatments, reduced the number of drop seizures – seizures which involve sudden falls due

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Auburn University: Beet ‘Bama Secret Weapon

The Auburn University football team may have secret weapon. Football teams are claiming beet root improves their athletic performance. Its not pregame hype, a study from Kansas State University supports the claim and they say it also benefits heart failure patients. Recently, the Auburn University football team revealed its pregame

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Effectiveness of Medical Cannabis for Parkinson’s Disease

Medical Cannabis for Parkinson's
Current treatments of Parkinson disease (PD) and parkinsonism still provide suboptimal effects, especially regarding the patients’ quality of life. This has led to the search for alternative and often unconventional therapies, such as medical cannabis for Parkinson’s Disease (PD). The use of medical cannabis (MC) is controversial. Support for its

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Influenza Vaccine in Elderly: Nutritional Status-Dependent Immunogenicity

influenza vaccine

The immune response to influenza vaccine is attenuated in elderly persons, though they are at greatest risk for morbidity and mortality by influenza virus infection. Experimental studies demonstrate that co-administration of L-cystine and L-theanine enhanced antigen-specific production of immunoglobulin in aged mice infected with influenza virus. This study thus investigated the effect of L-cystine and L-theanine on antibody induction by influenza vaccines in elderly persons. By Koichi Miyagawa, Yoshimitsu Hayashi, Shigekazu Kurihara and Akiko Maeda, published in Geriatrics Gerentology Int’l., Japan Geriatrics Society, Vol. 8.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Saves Thousands for Treatment of Teen Depression

cognitive behavioral therapy

Cognitive behavioral therapy delivered in a primary care setting is a cost-effective way to treat adolescents with depression who decline or quickly stop using antidepressants, according to a Kaiser Permanente study published today in the journal Pediatrics. The study, which included 212 adolescents who received care in Kaiser Permanente primaryRead

Larch Arabinogalactan and Immune Response

Influenza A

In 2013, a study, Immunomodulatory Effects of ResistAid™: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Multidose Study, evaluated the ability of a proprietary arabinogalactan extract from the larch tree (ResistAid™, Lonza Ltd., Basel, Switzerland) to change the immune response in healthy adults to a standardized antigenic challenge of tetanus and influenza vaccines in a dose-dependent manner compared to placebo. As it is flu season, Today’s Practitioner is revisiting the study and the subject with an interview with Bryan Rodriguez, Global Products Manager, of Lonza, makers of Resist Aid. Download the full study at the end of this article.