A little about: Weekly Gravy

All Sauce from Weekly Gravy:

Dogs (But Not Cats) May Protect Against Childhood Asthma, Study Says

By | | Add a Comment

Babies who grow up around dogs might be less likely to develop childhood asthma, a new study says. However, they don’t get the same protection from growing up around cats, according to findings presented Sunday in Amsterdam at a meeting of the European Respiratory Society. “We found that, while cat allergens showed no association, exposure to dog allergens was linked to improved lung function and a reduced risk of asthma,” researcher Jacob McCoy said in a news release. He’s a graduate student at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada. For the study, researchers analyzed samples of dust taken from 1,050 Canadian babies’ homes when they were 3 to 4 months old. The dust samples were tested for three potential allergens: Can f1, a protein shed in dog skin and saliva; Fel d1, a protein shed in cat skin and saliva; and endotoxin, a protein found on the surface of bacteria. The team then retested the children for asthma at age 5. Their lung function was measured by the amount of air they could exhale in one second after a deep inhale. Babies exposed to higher levels of the dog allergen had a 48% lower risk of developing asthma by age 5, results showed. These children also had better lung function. Further, researchers found this protective effect was even stronger in babies with a…  read on >  read on >

Dogs (But Not Cats) May Protect Against Childhood Asthma, Study Says

By | | Add a Comment

Babies who grow up around dogs might be less likely to develop childhood asthma, a new study says. However, they don’t get the same protection from growing up around cats, according to findings presented Sunday in Amsterdam at a meeting of the European Respiratory Society. “We found that, while cat allergens showed no association, exposure to dog allergens was linked to improved lung function and a reduced risk of asthma,” researcher Jacob McCoy said in a news release. He’s a graduate student at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada. For the study, researchers analyzed samples of dust taken from 1,050 Canadian babies’ homes when they were 3 to 4 months old. The dust samples were tested for three potential allergens: Can f1, a protein shed in dog skin and saliva; Fel d1, a protein shed in cat skin and saliva; and endotoxin, a protein found on the surface of bacteria. The team then retested the children for asthma at age 5. Their lung function was measured by the amount of air they could exhale in one second after a deep inhale. Babies exposed to higher levels of the dog allergen had a 48% lower risk of developing asthma by age 5, results showed. These children also had better lung function. Further, researchers found this protective effect was even stronger in babies with a…  read on >  read on >

Mouse Study Offers Cautionary Tale About The Keto Diet

By | | Add a Comment

It sounds counterintuitive: Eat more fat and lose more weight. But it’s the underpinning of a keto diet — a controversial eating regimen designed to retrain the body to rely on something other than sugar for energy. The regimen is rich in meat, eggs, high-fat dairy and oils. “I think a lot of people look at a ketogenic diet and think, ‘I’ll lose weight, I’ll be healthier,’ ” said lead researcher Molly Gallop, an assistant professor of anatomy and physiology at Earlham College in Richmond, Ind. The biology goes like this: On a keto diet, a person’s liver converts fat into molecules called ketone bodies that the body can burn for energy. Despite a high fat intake — up to 90% of daily calories — it can lead to substantial weight loss. And while it may seem OK on the surface, new research in mice suggests that staying on a keto regimen for a long time might be risky. Lab rats fed a keto diet for up to a year — decades in human time — showed signs of liver and heart disease and developed glucose intolerance, a team led by Gallop recently reported in the journal Science Advances. “It’s a cautionary tale,” said study co-author Amandine Chaix, an assistant professor of nutrition and integrative physiology at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.…  read on >  read on >

Mouse Study Offers Cautionary Tale About The Keto Diet

By | | Add a Comment

It sounds counterintuitive: Eat more fat and lose more weight. But it’s the underpinning of a keto diet — a controversial eating regimen designed to retrain the body to rely on something other than sugar for energy. The regimen is rich in meat, eggs, high-fat dairy and oils. “I think a lot of people look at a ketogenic diet and think, ‘I’ll lose weight, I’ll be healthier,’ ” said lead researcher Molly Gallop, an assistant professor of anatomy and physiology at Earlham College in Richmond, Ind. The biology goes like this: On a keto diet, a person’s liver converts fat into molecules called ketone bodies that the body can burn for energy. Despite a high fat intake — up to 90% of daily calories — it can lead to substantial weight loss. And while it may seem OK on the surface, new research in mice suggests that staying on a keto regimen for a long time might be risky. Lab rats fed a keto diet for up to a year — decades in human time — showed signs of liver and heart disease and developed glucose intolerance, a team led by Gallop recently reported in the journal Science Advances. “It’s a cautionary tale,” said study co-author Amandine Chaix, an assistant professor of nutrition and integrative physiology at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.…  read on >  read on >

Gene Therapy Slows Huntington’s Disease in Early Trial

By | | Add a Comment

A new gene therapy has shown promise in slowing the progression of Huntington’s disease, according to early trial results released Wednesday. In a Phase 1/2 study, patients given a high dose of UniQure’s experimental therapy AMT-130 experienced a 75% slowing of disease progression after three years, the company said. The therapy also reduced levels of a key marker of brain damage — neurofilament light protein in spinal fluid — by an average of 8.2%. “These findings reinforce our conviction that AMT-130 has the potential to fundamentally transform the treatment landscape for Huntington’s disease,” Dr. Walid Abi-Saab, chief medical officer at UniQure, told CNN. The trial, run in partnership with University College London, included 29 patients treated with either a high or low dose of AMT-130 and followed for 36 months.  The treatment was delivered surgically by injecting the therapy directly into the brain’s striatum, an area most affected by Huntington’s. Most side effects were linked to the surgical procedure and resolved, the company reported.  The findings have not yet been peer-reviewed or published in a medical journal and should be regarded as preliminary. Huntington’s disease is a rare genetic condition most common among people of European ancestry. It damages nerve cells in the brain, leading to movement problems, cognitive decline and changes in mood and behavior. There is currently no cure, but treatments can manage…  read on >  read on >

Backup Cameras Save Kids’ Lives, Study Says

By | | Add a Comment

The number of kids hurt or killed by a reversing car dramatically dropped after backup cameras were required in new vehicles, according to a new study. Cases of children severely injured by a car in reverse fell by half following the 2018 federal mandate requiring backup cameras, researchers will report Saturday at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Pediatrics in Denver. There also was a 78% drop in children killed by cars backing up, researchers found. “Our study demonstrates an important association between the federal mandate in 2018 requiring all new vehicles be equipped with a backup camera, and the reduction in both rate and severity of pediatric backover trauma,” researcher Dr. Natalie Drucker, an assistant professor of pediatric surgery at UTHealth Houston, said in a news release. Backover crashes cause about 210 deaths and 15,000 injuries each year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Most of these accidents involve children, who often are too small to be seen using rearview mirrors. For the study, researchers analyzed data for children younger than 5 involved in a backup accident between 2011 and 2024. They identified 71 children treated at a pediatric trauma center, as well as another 28 found in a case list maintained by the advocacy group Kids and Car Safety. Of the trauma center patients, 53 were involved in their…  read on >  read on >

Backup Cameras Save Kids’ Lives, Study Says

By | | Add a Comment

The number of kids hurt or killed by a reversing car dramatically dropped after backup cameras were required in new vehicles, according to a new study. Cases of children severely injured by a car in reverse fell by half following the 2018 federal mandate requiring backup cameras, researchers will report Saturday at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Pediatrics in Denver. There also was a 78% drop in children killed by cars backing up, researchers found. “Our study demonstrates an important association between the federal mandate in 2018 requiring all new vehicles be equipped with a backup camera, and the reduction in both rate and severity of pediatric backover trauma,” researcher Dr. Natalie Drucker, an assistant professor of pediatric surgery at UTHealth Houston, said in a news release. Backover crashes cause about 210 deaths and 15,000 injuries each year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Most of these accidents involve children, who often are too small to be seen using rearview mirrors. For the study, researchers analyzed data for children younger than 5 involved in a backup accident between 2011 and 2024. They identified 71 children treated at a pediatric trauma center, as well as another 28 found in a case list maintained by the advocacy group Kids and Car Safety. Of the trauma center patients, 53 were involved in their…  read on >  read on >

Routine Community Screening Catches Undiagnosed Asthma

By | | Add a Comment

Routine screening can help find kids who are suffering from undiagnosed asthma in communities with high levels of the breathing disorder, a new study says. Asthma screening during well-child visits found that more than two-thirds (35%) of children with no previous diagnosis of asthma had at least one risk factor for the disease, researchers will report Monday at an American Academy of Pediatrics’ meeting in Denver. Further, about 24% of kids with risk factors were subsequently diagnosed with asthma, researchers said. Those diagnosed with asthma reported coughing or shortness of breath at night, previous use of an inhaler or difficulty exercising due to breathing problems, researchers said. “Asthma is often diagnosed late or not at all because parents may not think of certain symptoms such as night-time cough or needing to stop activity to catch your breath, as being related to asthma,” researcher Dr. Janine Rethy, division chief of community pediatrics at MedStar Health, a not-for-profit health care provider in the Baltimore-Washington D.C., metropolitan area, said in a news release. For the study, researchers screened 650 children ages 2 and older for asthma during well-child visits performed in a mobile medical clinic between 2021 and 2024. The mobile clinic performed these screens in urban areas with a known high prevalence of asthma. Overall, about 8% of children screened were found to have previously undiagnosed asthma,…  read on >  read on >

Routine Community Screening Catches Undiagnosed Asthma

By | | Add a Comment

Routine screening can help find kids who are suffering from undiagnosed asthma in communities with high levels of the breathing disorder, a new study says. Asthma screening during well-child visits found that more than two-thirds (35%) of children with no previous diagnosis of asthma had at least one risk factor for the disease, researchers will report Monday at an American Academy of Pediatrics’ meeting in Denver. Further, about 24% of kids with risk factors were subsequently diagnosed with asthma, researchers said. Those diagnosed with asthma reported coughing or shortness of breath at night, previous use of an inhaler or difficulty exercising due to breathing problems, researchers said. “Asthma is often diagnosed late or not at all because parents may not think of certain symptoms such as night-time cough or needing to stop activity to catch your breath, as being related to asthma,” researcher Dr. Janine Rethy, division chief of community pediatrics at MedStar Health, a not-for-profit health care provider in the Baltimore-Washington D.C., metropolitan area, said in a news release. For the study, researchers screened 650 children ages 2 and older for asthma during well-child visits performed in a mobile medical clinic between 2021 and 2024. The mobile clinic performed these screens in urban areas with a known high prevalence of asthma. Overall, about 8% of children screened were found to have previously undiagnosed asthma,…  read on >  read on >