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We asked vets how to keep pets safe from respiratory disease this holiday season.As an unidentified canine respiratory illness continues to pop up in clusters around the United States — causing symptoms like cough, fever and lethargy, and in more serious cases, hospitalization or death — many dog owners are wondering what steps they should take to keep their pets safe.Despite the alarming headlines about fatalities, veterinarians are urging pet owners to be careful, but not to panic.“At this point in time, I don’t think there is reason for extreme alarm,” said Dr. Deborah Silverstein, a professor of small animal emergency and critical care medicine at the University of Pennsylvania Ryan Veterinary Hospital. “I do think it’s a time to be cautious and to stay informed.”We talked to Dr. Silverstein and other experts about the strategies they recommend (and in some cases, are using in their own homes) to protect dogs’ health.Know your dog’s risk factors.Though it is unclear whether the “mystery illness” is a new pathogen or a resurgence of a known bacterial or viral infection, dog owners should ensure their pets are up-to-date on their vaccinations, Dr. Silverstein said.Be mindful that some dogs are at higher risk for more serious complications if they get sick.“The animals we really worry about getting severe infections are those that don’t have a good immune system,” Dr. Silverstein said. “So those would be very young animals, especially if they have not had a full series of vaccines, or very old animals, because they’re more likely to have comorbidities or other diseases that may weaken their immune system.”Brachycephalic or short-nosed breeds, like pugs and French and English bulldogs, also tend to have a harder time clearing respiratory tract infections, Dr. Silverstein said.Exercise caution around other dogs.The surest way to keep dogs safe is to isolate them from other dogs, said Dr. Renee McDougall, a specialist surgeon with Bond Vet. She and her husband have a five-year-old pit bull mix, Rupert, who adores walks and sniffing other dogs. But for the past three weeks, she said, the couple have kept him from engaging in any “nose-to-nose greetings.”“My dog is so sad!” Dr. McDougall admitted.“We know how this disease typically spreads is through droplets and face-to-face interactions,” she said. “So if we just avoid those scenarios, we’re probably being as safe as we possibly can be.” But if you rely on doggy day care while you are at work, for instance, or if you intend to board your dog over the holidays, certain measures may help mitigate the risks in group settings.Doggy day cares or boarding facilities:Ask about the facility’s vaccine requirements and its screening policies, the two experts said.“Make sure that they’re following strict guidelines with any dogs that are allowed in the building,” Dr. Silverstein said. “If they show up, and they have a cough or a sneeze, they should not be let in.” Though she cautioned that dogs probably shed the virus before they show any symptoms.Dr. McDougall recommended asking about the size of the group your dog will be spending time in. Is it, say, 30 dogs running around together? Will different dogs be present every day? Smaller, consistent groupings are better, she said. And ideally, dogs should not share toys or water bowls.“You’re the dog parent,” Dr. McDougall said, acknowledging that many owners rely on outside facilities to care for their pups. “You decide how much risk you’re willing to take.”Dog parks:Dog parks are already somewhat controversial, Dr. Silverstein said, though she knows how beloved they can be. But right now, she said it was “safest to stay away from other dogs whose health status and vaccine status is unknown,” unless you are certain there is “very little incidence of disease” in your area. (Cases have been reported in several states, including Colorado, Massachusetts, Oregon and Rhode Island, but the number is growing and the illness is most likely more widespread, experts say.) Some communities have temporarily closed dog parks.As an alternative, Dr. Silverstein said dog owners might consider having a “play date” with another dog whose health and vaccine status they know — though there is no guarantee of safety.When in doubt, reach out to your vet.The vets we spoke to emphasized that pet owners should talk to their veterinarians if they have questions about whether there have been cases locally, or if they need help weighing their pet’s risks.Contact your veterinarian if you notice your dog coughing or experiencing nasal or eye discharge, Dr. Silverstein said. If your pet is otherwise eating and acting normally, the vet may advise monitoring it at home for 24 to 48 hours or may schedule a telehealth visit, Dr. McDougall said.Dogs who seem lethargic or who are having difficulty breathing need immediate attention.Dr. Silverstein and Dr. McDougall each said that veterinary practices were being careful to avoid exposure among patients, and acknowledged that many clinics and animal hospitals were backed up, so finding care may be easier said than done.

Published24 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingA hospital trust has apologised after the private information of more than 22,000 patients was released in two data breaches. The leaks, in 2020 and 2021, concerned maternity and cancer patients at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge. Roland Sinker, chief executive of Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said the breaches had “only recently come to light”. The details shared included names, hospital numbers and some medical data.The trust said no home addresses or dates of birth were included, adding: “We have found no evidence in either case of the information being accessed or shared any further.””I want to apologise to all of our patients for two data breaches, which happened in 2020 and 2021, and which have recently come to light,” Mr Sinker said.”Both were the result of mistakenly including patient information in Excel spreadsheets in response to Freedom of Information Act (FOI) requests.”Image source, PA MediaThe first case related to data provided about maternity patients in a FOI request via the What Do They Know website. The website group alerted the trust to the breach and removed the information from their own website, said Mr Sinker.In a statement, Mr Sinker explained: “In responding to the request, we mistakenly shared some personal data which was not immediately visible in the spreadsheet we provided but which could be accessed via a ‘pivot table’.”This data related to 22,073 patients booked for maternity care at The Rosie Hospital between 2 January 2016 and 31 December 2019.”It included the names and hospital numbers of patients and their birth outcomes.”‘Unacceptable errors’Following discovery of the breach, the trust said it undertook a review of all the FOI requests (some 8,000) it had responded to in the past 10 years. “In doing this, we discovered one further case where patient data was mistakenly contained in a spreadsheet sent in 2021 as part of a FOI response to Wilmington PLC. “We have requested confirmation from Wilmington PLC that it has been deleted.”That data related to 373 cancer patients on clinical trials and included their names, hospital numbers and some medical information, he said.”While there is no evidence in either case of the information being accessed or shared beyond the original recipients, we recognise that such errors are unacceptable given our clear duty to maintain the confidentiality of patient information,” Mr Sinker added.”We want to apologise unreservedly to our patients for the worry and concern that this news may cause.”Follow East of England news on Facebook, Instagram and X. Got a story? Email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp on 0800 169 1830More on this storyPolice probe hospital medic’s qualificationsPublished18 AugustHospital breached duty of care over stroke patientPublished20 May 2022Related Internet LinksCambridge University Hospitals – Addenbrookes, Rosie & ResearchThe BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

Published27 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Getty ImagesBy Jennifer ClarkeBBC NewsFormer Prime Minister Boris Johnson is appearing before the Covid inquiry in person for the first time. His evidence is part of the second round of public hearings, which is focusing on the response of the government and how ministers made decisions. LIVE: Follow Boris Johnson’s evidence to the Covid inquiryWhat is a public inquiry? Public inquiries respond to “public concern” about events. They are established and funded by the government, but led by an independent chair.An inquiry can demand evidence and compel witnesses to attend.No-one is found guilty or innocent, but lessons learned are published. The government is not obliged to accept any recommendations made.The Covid inquiry, originally announced by Mr Johnson, covers decision-making during the pandemic by the UK government and in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.At the time, he said the government’s response would be “under the microscope”. Covid inquiry: The UK pandemic in numbersWho is leading the Covid inquiry?The Covid inquiry is chaired by former judge and crossbench peer Baroness Hallett, who previously led the inquests into the 7 July London bombings.Image source, Piranha PhotographyHow does the inquiry work?The inquiry is split into different parts.Work in four areas has already begun:resilience and preparednesscore UK decision-making and political governancethe impact of Covid on healthcare systemsvaccines, therapeutics and antiviral treatmentFuture strands will consider:the care sectorgovernment procurement and PPEtest-and-tracethe government’s businesses and financial responseshealth inequalitieseducation, children and young peopleother public servicesThere is no specific timescale for how long the inquiry will last. Scotland is holding a separate inquiry.Loss and suffering at heart of Covid inquiryWhat is the second round of public hearings covering?Public hearings are taking place across 35 days between 3 October and 14 December.They are examining decision-making in Westminster between early January 2020 and February 2022, when the final Covid restrictions in England ended.These issues are also being considered separately from the perspectives of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, with more public hearings held in each nation in January, February and April 2024 respectively.When is Boris Johnson appearing, and who else has given evidence during the second round?Mr Johnson is appearing before the inquiry for the first time on 6 and 7 December. It has already heard from government officials and advisers, academic experts and representatives of bereaved families. Much of the evidence has been extremely critical of the the information given to the public and the way Mr Johnson and other senior ministers made decisions. The former PM began by apologising for the “pain and the loss and the suffering” in the UK during the pandemic. He admitted mistakes were made, and that “there were unquestionably things we should have done differently”. He said he takes “personal responsibility for all decisions made”.Eight tough questions facing Johnson on CovidIn an earlier session, former Health Secretary Matt Hancock denied he had lied to colleagues during the pandemic. But he admitted the UK should have locked down much sooner and criticised the “toxic culture” in government, which he said had been driven by Mr Johnson’s former adviser Dominic Cummings. Covid Inquiry felt like the trial of Matt HancockIn his evidence, cabinet minister Michael Gove also apologised to “victims and families who endured so much loss” due to mistakes made during the pandemic, but denied Mr Johnson had been “incapable of making decisions”. England’s chief medical officer Prof Sir Chris Whitty, his former deputy Prof Sir Jonathan Van-Tam and former chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance revealed significant tensions between their advice to government and its political priorities.Image source, PA MediaProf Whitty and Sir Patrick said they had not been consulted about the government’s “Eat out to help out” scheme, despite Mr Johnson’s earlier claim in written evidence that it had been “properly discussed”. Prof Van-Tam revealed he and his family had received death threats, while Sir Patrick Vallance said he had also faced abuse, and had considered resigning from his position. Former deputy cabinet secretary Helen MacNamara told the inquiry that she would struggle “to pick one day” when Covid rules were properly followed inside a “macho” and “toxic” No 10.She criticised Mr Johnson’s “breezy confidence” about the unfolding pandemic in March 2020, recounting the “horrible” moment she realised the UK was heading for “total disaster”.Image source, EPAIn his evidence, Mr Johnson’s former adviser Dominic Cummings described a “dysfunctional” government which had no plans to lock down the country or shield the vulnerable, even as the virus spread across the UK in early 2020. The inquiry heard scathing text messages from Mr Cummings, many of which contained offensive descriptions of ministers and officials.He said he regretted the disastrous handling of his infamous trip to Barnard Castle during the first lockdown, but denied that his actions had damaged public trust. Former aide Lee Cain told the hearing that the pandemic was the “wrong crisis” for Mr Johnson’s “skill set”, accusing him of delaying making decisions and “constantly” changing his mind. Covid inquiry WhatsApps paint picture of chaosHow inquiry is exposing deep flaws in Covid decision-makingWho gave evidence during the first public hearings?The first public hearings, linked to the UK’s resilience and preparedness, took evidence from 69 independent experts and former and current government officials and ministers.These included former health secretaries Jeremy Hunt and Matt Hancock, former prime minister David Cameron and former first minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon.Prof Whitty, his predecessor Prof Dame Sally Davies, and Sir Patrick Vallance also gave evidence during the first hearings. Covid Inquiry: What have we learnt so far? This video can not be playedTo play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.When will the inquiry publish conclusions?Baroness Hallett said she intends to publish the report for the first area of work “as soon as possible” – hopefully by early summer 2024.The next public hearings for the third area of examination – the impact of the pandemic on healthcare systems across the UK – are expected to run for 10 weeks from autumn 2024. How can the public get involved?Members of the public can share their experiences through the inquiry’s Every Story Matters project.The Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice campaign group – which has criticised the government’s handling of the pandemic – urged the inquiry to ensure these voices are heard.The questions we want the Covid inquiry to answerPublic hearings are streamed on the inquiry’s YouTube channel, and witness transcripts are published on its website. The BBC is also streaming the hearings. Members of the public can also apply to attend in person.Related Internet LinksCovid-19 Public InquiryThe BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

Shortly after he retired, the man’s health began to fail him. An accidental finding on a CT scan revealed the true culprit.The couple couldn’t quite remember when the 61-year-old man started to get sick. Was it before he retired the previous spring? No — it was later, the man insisted. But both men agreed that they knew something was seriously wrong the day the recent retiree fell going up the stairs. He was carrying his new laptop when his right leg suddenly buckled. If he hadn’t had the computer, he might have been able to catch himself. Instead, holding his new machine aloft, he fell forward and slid down a couple of steps. He scraped his shins and forearms; blood seeped from the shallow wounds. And he was too weak to get up. “I need help,” he called to his partner upstairs. The man, already on his feet after hearing the thump, appeared almost instantly at his side. He hefted his partner to his feet and half-carried him into the upstairs bathroom. “You really need to call your doctor,” he murmured as he dabbed the scrapes. He had been urging him to do this for weeks, ever since he noticed how easily his partner bruised, how strangely thin his skin looked. And there were other changes. He was quieter. His easy laugh had all but disappeared. Most worrisome, he seemed confused and forgetful; sometimes he didn’t make sense. They had been together for more than 40 years; the man knew his partner well. These changes scared him. By the time the man agreed to see the doctor, he could barely move the leg that gave way on the stairs. His walk was an awkward shuffle, and he had to hold on to his partner as they made their way from the car to the medical center in Durham, Conn. The doctor on duty that day basically took one look at the bruised and limping man and sent him to Yale New Haven Hospital. At the very least the patient was going to need a scan. He would probably need more. In the emergency room, a physical exam revealed that the muscles in his right thigh weren’t working at all. And the skin there was numb. His blood chemistries were out of whack — his potassium dangerously low. An M.R.I. of his entire spine provided no answers. He lived in a wooded area, not far from Lyme. Had he noticed a tick bite? Or a rash? No bites, but a friend had pointed out a rash earlier that summer. It was in a spot he couldn’t see, though, and he just forgot about it. A blood test and then a spinal tap confirmed the diagnosis: He had Lyme disease. Both men felt a shudder of relief. He would need a full month of antibiotics, but once he was treated, he should get better. The IncidentalomaBut he didn’t. A month later he was still weak, still bruising and bleeding. He was tired; his thinking remained foggy. And his blood pressure was out of control. He had a history of hypertension, but it had always been well controlled on a single medication. Suddenly, it wasn’t. His primary-care doctor put him on a second drug, then a third, but his blood pressure remained higher than it had ever been. His doctor sent him to a cardiologist, who put the patient on even stronger blood-pressure medications. He also ordered an ultrasound of the man’s heart to make sure it was beating normally. It was, but the aorta looked strange. A CT scan reassured him that the man’s aorta was normal but did reveal an unexpected finding: On top of his left adrenal gland was a golf-ball-size mass.Accidental findings on CT scans are so common they have a name — incidentalomas. Up to 7 percent of imaging studies of the abdomen will reveal an incidentaloma on one of the adrenal glands. Most of these masses are benign and don’t make any of the hormones normally produced by the adrenal gland. Still, all need to be evaluated. The cardiologist called the patient with the news and referred him to an endocrinologist at Yale. Between the difficulty of scheduling an appointment with a subspecialist and an unexpected snowstorm, it was months before the patient was able to see the endocrinologist. But finally, on a chilly, overcast day in April, he and his partner found themselves in an exam room at Yale New Haven Hospital. The brisk, smiling endocrinologist strode in and introduced herself. The two men described their strange journey over the previous nine months. It started, they explained, that summer with what turned out to be Lyme disease. He was treated but never got better. Indeed, he felt even worse now. He was weak — he stopped going to the gym because he could no longer do the workout. The muscles on his arms and legs seemed to evaporate. He put on weight, but none of it was muscle. He had never had a belly like this. And he was exhausted even though he slept 10 to 12 hours a night. The endocrinologist had already reviewed the man’s CT scan, as well as the M.R.I. done the summer before, and so she knew what she was looking for. This had nothing to do with his recent Lyme infection. The adrenal glands are responsible for providing several hormones, including the fight-or-flight hormones like adrenaline; cortisol, the hormone that regulates metabolism; and the fluid-balance hormone aldosterone. Excesses of any one of these could be responsible for his high blood pressure. His easy bruising and fragile skin suggested an excess of cortisol. His low potassium and elevated sodium could be caused by an excess of aldosterone. His rapid heart rate could be a sign of excess stress hormones. As the doctor examined him, she looked for clues to help her determine which hormone was being overproduced. His body was covered with bruises. His arms and legs were thin and the muscles wasted. His belly, in contrast, was soft and obese. He had pads of fat at the top of each shoulder and his face was puffy, red and round. This unusual collection of symptoms was classic for Cushing’s syndrome — caused by an excess of the metabolic hormone cortisol. Photo illustration by Ina JangA Puzzling ContradictionOne aspect of his illness, however, was puzzling. These adrenal tumors usually grow slowly, taking years to create this much physical discord. But this man described symptoms that appeared suddenly and worsened quickly. And the tumor itself seemed to be growing fast. Although it wasn’t noticed at the time, a smaller version of the tumor was visible on the M.R.I. done the summer before. A cancer could grow this rapidly. Was this adrenal carcinoma? These aggressive cancers are rare — with only one or two cases found per million people each year — but they can be deadly.The endocrinologist ordered a CT scan to be done that day. If this was a cancer, it should have grown in the months since his last scan. But even if it wasn’t cancer, it clearly needed to come out, and soon. She referred him to a surgeon. He had been sick with this growth long enough. The labs confirmed what the endocrinologist suspected. The man’s level of cortisol was sky high — 25 times the normal amount. The CT scan showed no growth in the tumor size. That was a relief. Adrenal cancers often spread beyond the gland itself, and once that happens the chance of living more than five years plummets. He had his surgery a month later. The response was immediate. The next day his blood pressure and heart rate were back to normal. His blood chemistries, including his cortisol level, were in the normal range. The overactive tumor had taken over the production of cortisol; his remaining adrenal gland was now on vacation, and it would take time for it to recover. In the meantime, he would need to take hydrocortisone. The mass was examined in the lab. The endocrinologist was surprised to find that it was adrenal carcinoma after all. Both doctor and patient were relieved when a PET scan showed no signs of spread. The rest of his recovery was slow. The bruises faded. His muscles reappeared and his endurance returned. By the end of the year he was able to start running again. He went for scans every few months, and after four and a half years he got what was supposed to be his final scan. But that scan showed a new lesion, on his spine. It was treated with radiation. The next year, just this fall, he had a hint of another lesion. A new metastasis. He and his doctors are discussing next steps. I spoke with the patient recently. He has a good life, he told me. He feels great. When asked about the new lesion, he was thoughtful but optimistic. He’ll take care of these problems as they come up, he said. In the meantime, he will continue to enjoy the life he and his partner have together. He asked: What else can any of us do?Lisa Sanders, M.D., is a contributing writer for the magazine. Her latest book is “Diagnosis: Solving the Most Baffling Medical Mysteries.” If you have a solved case to share, write her at Lisa.Sandersmdnyt@gmail.com.

Published10 hours agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, NHS EnglandBy Aurelia FosterHealth reporter Male cancer warnings are to appear on urinal mats in public toilets as part of an NHS England drive to increase early detection of the disease. The mats will carry a message urging men to seek help if they notice blood in their urine, which can be a symptom of bladder, kidney or prostate cancer.They will be installed in thousands of toilets in pubs, restaurants, hotels, football grounds and some workplaces.The NHS hopes to diagnose 75% of cancers at early stages by 2028. The mats are placed in urinals and designed to reduce odours.This awareness campaign follows recent NHS England research which revealed nearly half of men (49%) did not know blood appearing in urine was a cancer symptom.The survey also found that more than a third of men (39%) would wait for a recurrence of the symptom before visiting a doctor.NHS chiefs believe the scheme will take “vital cancer awareness messaging” into locations where symptoms such as blood in pee may first be noticed. Early cancer diagnosis blood test shows promiseProf Peter Johnson, NHS England’s National Clinical Director for Cancer, said the symptom “shouldn’t be ignored” and urged anyone experiencing it to “get checked out early”, as it could be life-saving.Image source, NHS EnglandAdil Malik, a kidney cancer patient from London, welcomed the initiative, after himself experiencing the symptom.Mr Malik, who was diagnosed aged 28, said: “My story shows that cancer can affect people of any age…”Prostate cancer patient Michael Sloane, 67, from Buckinghamshire, said the initiative was “an important way to ensure men get the message that if they have blood in their pee, they really need to get it checked out”. Bladder, kidney and prostate cancer are among the 10 most prevalent types of the disease in England, and generally affect men more than women. Other common symptoms include urinating very often, sudden urges to urinate, a burning sensation while urinating, a lump or swelling in the back, under the ribs, or in the neck, and pain in the side between the ribs and the hip.Under its long-term plan, NHS England set itself a goal for 55,000 more people annually to survive their cancer for at least five years after diagnosis by 2028.Plans to detect more cancers earlier include the rollout of a blood test which could detect up to 50 cancers before symptoms appear. NHS England is also planning to launch lung health checks by 2029 in order to detect lung cancer early more often.More on this storyThousands of men miss out on prostate cancer drugPublished23 OctoberBBC presenter Nick Owen reveals cancer diagnosisPublished7 AugustBlood test for 50 cancers excites scientistsPublished2 JuneTrial detects lung cancer earlier, NHS trust saysPublished17 November 2022NHS not making progress on early cancer diagnosisPublished5 April 2022Related Internet LinksNHS EnglandThe BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

Sniffles, snorts and blows of runny noses are the hallmarks of cold and flu season — and that increase in mucus is exactly what bacteria use to mount a coordinated attack on the immune system, according to a new study from researchers at Penn State. The team found that the thicker the mucus, the better the bacteria are able to swarm. The findings could have implications for treatments that reduce the ability of bacteria to spread.
The study, recently published in the journal PNAS Nexus, demonstrates how bacteria use mucus to enhance their ability to self-organize and possibly drive infection. The experiments, performed using synthetic pig stomach mucus, natural cow cervical mucus and a water-soluble polymer compound called polyvidone, revealed that bacteria coordinate movement better in thick mucus than in watery substances.
The findings provide insight into how bacteria colonize mucus and mucosal surfaces, researchers said. The findings also show how mucus enhances bacterial collective motion, or swarming, which may increase antibiotic resistance of bacterial colonies.
“To the best of our knowledge, our study is the first demonstration of bacteria collectively swimming in mucus,” said Igor Aronson, Huck Chair Professor of Biomedical Engineering, of Chemistry and of Mathematics at Penn State and corresponding author on the paper. “We have shown that mucus, unlike liquids of similar consistency, enhances the collective behavior.”
Mucus is essential for many biological functions, explained Aronson. It lines the surfaces of cells and tissues and protects against pathogens such as bacteria, fungi and viruses. But it is also the host material for bacteria-born infections, including sexually transmitted and gastric diseases. A better understanding of how bacteria swarm in mucus could pave the way for new strategies to combat infections and the growing problem of antibiotic resistance, according to Aronson.
“Our findings demonstrate how mucus consistency affects random motion of individual bacteria and influences their transition to coordinated, collective motion of large bacterial groups,” Aronson said. “There are studies demonstrating that collective motion or swarming of bacteria enhances the ability of bacterial colonies to fend off the effect of antibiotics. The onset of collective behavior studied in our work is directly related to swarming.”
Mucus is a notoriously challenging substance to study because it exhibits both liquid-like and solid-like properties, Aronson explained. Liquids are typically described by their level of viscosity, how thick or thin the liquid is, and solids are described by their elasticity, how much force it can take before breaking. Mucus, a viscoelastic fluid, behaves as both a liquid and solid.

To better understand how mucus becomes infected, the team used microscopic imaging techniques to observe the collective motion of the concentrated bacteria Bacillus subtilis in synthetic pig stomach mucus and natural cow cervical mucus. They compared those results with observations of Bacillus subtilis moving in a water-soluble polymer polyvidone at a wide range of concentrations, from high to low levels of polyvidone. The researchers also compared their experimental results to a computational model for bacterial collective motion in viscoelastic fluids like mucus.
The team found that the consistency of mucus profoundly affects the collective behavior of bacteria. The results indicated that the thicker the mucus, the more likely the bacteria would exhibit collective movement, forming a coordinated swarm.
“We were able to show how the viscoelasticity in mucus enhances bacterial organization, which in turn leads to coherently moving bacterial groups that cause infection,” Aronson said. “Our results reveal that the levels of elasticity and viscosity in mucus are a main driver in how bacterial communities organize themselves, which can provide insight into how we can control and prevent bacterial invasion in mucus.”
Aronson explained that the team expects human mucus to exhibit similar physical properties, meaning their findings are also relevant for human health.
“The onset of the collective motion of bacteria and their interaction with mucus should be the same as in cow, pig or human mucus since these substances have similar mechanical properties,” Aronson said. “Our results have implications for human and animal health. We’re showing that mucus viscoelasticity can enhance large-scale collective motion of bacteria, which may accelerate how quickly bacteria penetrate mucus protective barrier and infect internal tissues.”
The other co-author on the paper is Wentian Liao, a doctoral candidate in biomedical engineering at Penn State. The National Science Foundation supported the work.

For some people, extreme stressors like psychiatric disorders or childhood neglect and abuse can lead to a range of health problems later in life, including depression, anxiety and cardiovascular disease. A new study led by researchers in the Penn State Center for Healthy Aging identified genetic indicators that can predict another health problem, the decline of cognitive abilities, among people who have been affected by these extreme stressors.
The team recently published their findings in Neurobiology of Stress.
Not everyone who experiences maltreatment as a child or has a psychiatric disorder experiences health problems in later life, but many do, the researchers said. For people whose health is impacted by these extreme stressors, cells age faster, and the body physically begins to break down at an earlier age. This process is known as “accelerated biological aging.”
When people age naturally, several cognitive functions decline, including memory, reasoning, executive function and processing speed. Genetic research from investigators around the world has shown mixed results on whether accelerated biological aging starts the cognitive decline process at a younger age. One study led by researchers from Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, including Natan Yusupov, co-author on the Neurobiology of Stress paper, demonstrated a connection. Other papers, including one led by researchers at Emory University and also published earlier this year, determined that no connection exists.
In the Neurobiology of Stress paper, the researchers evaluated two separate population samples and found that accelerated biological aging may serve as a biomarker for cognitive decline.
“Understanding the connection between accelerated biological aging and cognitive decline may help researchers create treatments that help people who have experienced extreme stressors to experience better health,” said John Felt, assistant research professor in the Center for Healthy Aging and lead author of the study.
Scientists are looking for genetic markers that can assist in early identification of a variety of health problems that result from extreme stressors, according to Felt. He said that identification is needed to treat or prevent health problems.

“When addressing a problem like cognitive decline, there are three stages that researchers want to work through: identification, treatment and — if possible — prevention of the problem,” Felt said. “We are in the identification phase of understanding how stressors like child maltreatment and psychiatric disorders become embedded in our lives on a cellular level.”
Prior work by other researchers indicates that early cognitive decline is detectable for decades before it affects quality of life, Felt said. This creates a period of time when early identification and treatment could be possible.
In this study, the researchers used blood samples and other medical data collected for other studies to examine the relationship between potential genetic indicators of cognitive performance, cognitive performance testing data and incidence of psychiatric disorders or childhood maltreatment. The data was from two different studies: the Female Growth and Development Study (FGDS) conducted at Penn State and the Biological Classification of Mental Disorders (BeCOME) conducted at the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry in Germany. FGDS contained data on 86 women in the United States between the ages of 29 and 45. BeCOME contained data on 313 women and men in Germany between the ages of 18 and 66.
The researchers modeled the data and demonstrated that accelerated biological aging can predict lower cognitive ability and slower processing speed. However, the specific genetic indicators that demonstrate this relationship differed between the FGDS cohort data and the BeCOME cohort data.
Felt said the researchers believe that different genetic indicators predict cognitive decline in the two datasets because the studies were designed differently. The BeCOME cohort covered an age range of 48 years, while the FGDS cohort covered an age range of only 16 years. The restricted age range in the FGDS cohort may have made it insensitive to the indicator that worked on the BeCOME sample, while the FGDS sample indicator may be too limited to apply to the broader BeCOME group. Felt cautioned that other differences — like the racial composition of the two cohorts — could also account for these results.
“My previous research collaborations in this area have focused on accelerated biological aging among people who experienced childhood sexual abuse, but this finding extends to people who have psychiatric conditions,” Felt said. “Cognitive decline can undermine your personal and professional life, especially for people who also have a psychiatric condition. Our research could lead to blood tests for early identification of cognitive decline and eventually to personalized treatments that support cognitive function in people with accelerated biological aging.”
From Penn State, Karra Harrington, Zhenyu “Zach” Zhang, Martin Sliwinski and Chad Shenk contributed to this research. From the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry in Munich, Germany, Natan Yusupov, Julia Fietz Max, the BeCOME Working Group and Elisabeth Binder contributed to this research. Nilam Ram of Stanford University, Kieran O’Donnell of Yale University, Michael Meany of McGill University, Frank W. Putnam of University of North Carolina School of Medicine and Jennie Noll of University of Rochester also contributed to this research.
The National Institutes of Health supported this research.

In some diseases, the underlying processes can start years before a diagnosis is made. A new study finds that people who later develop multiple sclerosis (MS) are more likely to have conditions like depression, constipation and urinary tract infections five years before their MS diagnosis than people who do not develop MS. The study, which is published in the December 5, 2023, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, also found that sexual problems and bladder infections, or cystitis, are more likely in people who later develop MS.
The conditions were also more likely to occur in people who had other autoimmune diseases, lupus and Crohn’s disease.
“Knowing that these conditions may be prodromal symptoms or even early-stage symptoms of MS would not necessarily lead to earlier diagnosis of the disease in the general population, since these conditions are common and could also be signs of other diseases, but this information could be helpful for people who are at a higher risk of developing MS, such as people with a family history of the disease or those who show signs of MS on brain scans but do not have any symptoms of the disease,” said study author Celine Louapre, MD, PhD, of Sorbonne University in Paris, France.
The study involved 20,174 people newly diagnosed with MS. They were each matched with three people who did not have MS of the same age and sex, for a total of 54,790 people. Then the people with MS were also compared to 30,477 people with Crohn’s disease and 7,337 people with lupus. MS, Crohn’s disease and lupus are all autoimmune diseases. They all affect women more often than men and affect young adults.
Then researchers used the medical records database to see whether the participants had any of 113 diseases and symptoms in the five years before and after their diagnosis, or before that matching date for the people who did not have an autoimmune disease.
The people with MS were 22% more likely to have depression five years before their diagnosis than the people without MS. They were 50% more likely to have constipation, 38% more likely to have urinary tract infections, 47% more likely to have sexual problems, and 21% more likely to have cystitis, or bladder infections.
For depression, 14% of the people with MS had prescriptions for antidepressants five years before diagnosis, compared to 10% of the people who did not have MS. By five years after diagnosis, 37% of people with MS had antidepressant prescriptions, compared to 19% of those without MS.
“Of course, not everyone who has these symptoms will go on to develop MS,” Louapre said. “We’re hoping that eventually these early signs will help us understand the biological mechanisms that occur in the body before the actual symptoms of the disease develop.”
A limitation of the study was that data was not available for other factors that could influence people’s risk of developing MS, such as education level, ethnicity and socioeconomic status.
The study was supported by the French National Research Agency.

UC San Diego scientists’ debut “reverse metabolomics,” a groundbreaking approach to advancing microbiome research. They use the technique to discover hundreds of new human molecules, and a new biomarker and therapeutic target for inflammatory bowel disease.
In recent years, microbiome research has started to shift its focus from the microbes themselves to the molecules they produce. After all, it’s these molecules that directly interact with human cells to influence a person’s health. But trying to identify which molecules are being made by a person’s microbiome is quite challenging. A typical metabolomics study can only characterize about 10% of the molecular data from a human microbiome sample.
In a new study published on December 5, 2023 in Nature, microbiome experts at University of California San Diego debut a new approach they call “reverse metabolomics.” The technique combines organic synthesis, data science and mass spectrometry to better understand what molecules are being secreted by the microbiome and how they affect human health.
In their first application of reverse metabolomics, the scientists found hundreds of molecules that had never been observed in the human body before. Using this novel data, they were able to identify a new metabolomic signature for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The authors say these molecules could someday serve as a biomarker for diagnosing IBD, or as a potential therapeutic target to help treat the disease.
“We know the microbiome is important, but we don’t know what kinds of molecules the microbes produce or how influential they are in the human body,” said senior author Pieter C. Dorrestein, PhD, professor at Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at UC San Diego. “Reverse metabolomics helps us evaluate whether specific molecules can be found in the samples, predict which microbes are producing them, and relate these metabolomic signatures to health and disease.”
In a typical metabolomics study, researchers will use a tool called mass spectrometry to look for different molecules in a sample. In this technique, each molecule has its own “barcode” that it can be identified by. Still, scientists need to know what these barcodes represent to describe the contents of a sample, which remains challenge.
In the new study, researchers in the Dorrestein Lab took a backward approach. First author Emily C. Gentry, PhD, now an assistant professor at Virginia Tech, used organic synthesis to first produce thousands of different synthetic molecules from four classes of interest, and then defined each of their barcodes.

The researchers then utilized publicly available metabolomics data including the ones previously collected through the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation and searched for the new barcodes in that data. The findings revealed 145 of the synthesized bile acids were present in biological samples from public data, 139 of which had never been described before.
“If you read a biology textbook, none of these molecules will be in it,” said Dorrestein. “Not only are they new to our understanding of human physiology, they’re entirely new to science, which is pretty amazing.”
Gentry and colleagues then compared the metabolomic signatures of samples from different patient populations and found a strong association between a synthesized class of microbial molecules — bile amidates — and IBD. This association was then validated across multiple cohorts, supporting the idea that these molecules are likely involved in the pathology of IBD.
Looking closer, the scientists noticed that certain bile amidates were elevated in patients with Crohn’s disease specifically when they had active symptoms, but this was not the case for patients with ulcerative colitis. Patterns like these could one day be used to help differentiate and diagnose specific types of IBD.
The researchers then began to explore how these molecules might be influencing gut health. Additional experiments showed that several bile amidate compounds may promote gut inflammation by dysregulating T cell function. For example, one microbial compound produced a six-fold increase of a key cytokine known to be involved in the pathogenesis of Crohn’s disease.
“We’re using organic synthesis and data science to better understand how our bodies work on a molecular level,” said Gentry. “We’re also one of the first studies to discover new human molecules using publicly available metabolomics data. As more metabolomics data becomes publicly available, reverse metabolomics will become even more informative.”
The authors say the molecules they’ve described could one day inspire new therapeutics for treating IBD. For example, patients might be treated with pills containing live microbes that secrete specific molecules, or drugs that inhibit the enzymes these disease-associated molecules interact with.

“This is a remarkable achievement derived from our precision nutrition initiative, in which Dr. Dorrestein previously demonstrated that reverse metabolomics could identify food metabolites associated with disease severity in patients with IBD,” said Andrés Hurtado-Lorenzo, PhD, senior vice president of Translational Research & IBD Ventures at the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation. “Now, this groundbreaking work has further progressed to discovering new metabolites that hold potential for both diagnostic and therapeutic applications in IBD.”
Co-authors of the study include: Morgan Panitchpakdi, Pedro Belda-Ferre, Marvic Carrillo Terrazas, Hsueh-han Lu, Simone Zuffa, Julian Avila-Pacheco, Damian R. Plichta, Allegra T. Aron, Mingxun Wang, Alan K. Jarmusch, Mashette Syrkin-Nikolau, Brigid Boland, Amy Hemperly, Niels Vande Casteele, Hiutung Chu, Rob Knight and Dionicio Siegel at UC San Diego; Stephanie L. Collins, Fuhua Hao and Andrew D. Patterson at The Pennsylvania State University; Allison K. Stewart and Erin S. Baker at North Carolina State University; Tingting Yan and Frank J. Gonzalez at National Institutes of Health; Hera Vlamakis, Clary B. Clish and Ramnik J. Xavier at Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard; and Ashwin N. Ananthakrishnan at Massachusetts General Hospital.
The study was funded, in part, by the National Institutes of Health (grants R01GM107550, R01AI67860, U01 DK119702, R00DK110534, P30ES025128, P42ES027704, P42 ES031009, T32DK007202 and ES103363-01), the Collaborative Microbial Metabolite Center (grant R01DK13611701), the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation (grant 675191), the Center for Computational Mass Spectrometry (grant P41GM103484), a cooperative agreement with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (STAR RD84003201), the Pennsylvania Department of Health, the Tombros Foundation, the National Academies of Sciences, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Graduate Fellowships.

Pregnant women are not getting the essential nutrients they and their babies need from modern diets say scientists, who have warned that the situation will likely worsen as more people turn to plant-based foods.
A study looking at the health of expecting mothers from high-income countries, including the UK, New Zealand and Singapore, found that 90 per cent were lacking key vitamins necessary for healthy pregnancies and the wellbeing of unborn infants.
Scientists from the University of Southampton, working with experts worldwide, surveyed more than 1,700 women and found most were missing essential nutrients found in abundance in meat and dairy products.
These included vitamins B12, B6 and D, folic acid and riboflavin which are essential for the development of foetuses in the womb.
Lead author and Professor of Epidemiology Keith Godfrey, from the University of Southampton, said the prevalence of vitamin deficiencies among women attempting to become pregnant in wealthy countries is a serious concern.
He added: “The push to reduce our dependence on meat and dairy to achieve net-zero carbon emissions is likely to further deplete expecting mothers of vital nutrients, which could have lasting effects on unborn children.
“Our study shows that almost every woman trying to conceive had insufficient levels of one or more vitamin, and this figure is only going to get worse as the world moves towards plant-based diets.

“People think that nutrient deficiency only affects people in underdeveloped countries — but it is also affecting the majority of women living in high-income nations.”
The study, which was published in PLOS Medicine, assessed 1,729 women between the ages of 18 and 38 at conception and followed many during subsequent pregnancies.
It was undertaken by researchers from Southampton and its National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre, the University of Auckland, National University of Singapore, and Agency for Science, Research and Technology, Singapore.
Results showed that nine out of ten women had marginal or low levels of folate, riboflavin, vitamins B12 and D around the time of conception, and that many developed vitamin B6 deficiency in late pregnancy.
Co-author Professor of Paediatric Endocrinology Wayne Cutfield, from the University of Auckland, said while folic acid is recommended for women planning conception and during pregnancy, expecting mothers should be given over-the-counter multivitamins to reduce nutrient deficiencies.
He added: “The wellbeing of a mother ahead of conceiving and during a pregnancy has a direct influence on the health of the infant, their lifelong physical development, and ability to learn.”
The PLOS Medicine trial was the first to show that supplements, available over the counter, can reduce vitamin insufficiencies during the preconception, pregnancy and lactational periods.
Associate Professor Shiao-Yng Chan at the National University of Singapore said: “If we continue to move towards diets with less meat and dairy products, reducing intakes of micronutrients essential for a child’s development, vitamin deficiencies will continue to grow unless women start taking more supplements or are supported with specific advice about nutrient-rich foods.”