#Gout: Causes, Symptoms and Treatment Also called gouty arthritis gout is a painful form of arthritis caused by too much uric acid in the body.
The painful flare-ups may be concentrated in the big toe (a symptom known as podagra) as well as swelling and pain in the ankles knees feet wrists or elbows.
Left untreated gout can cause permanent damage to joints and kidneys according to the National institutes of health (NIH.
Gout is seen most commonly in men particularly those between the ages of 40 and 50.
It is a very common disease. Six million adults age 20 and older have reported being diagnosed with gout according to the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin diseases (NIAMS.
Gout is the most common form of inflammatory arthritis. It is caused by an elevation of serum uric acid levels that cause crystals to accumulate in the joints
which bring on a gout flare Dr. N. Lawrence Edwards professor of medicine rheumatology and clinical immunology at the University of Florida and chairman and CEO of the Gout & Uric acid Education Society told Live Science.
Uric acid is created a waste product during the normal breakdown of purines naturally occurring substances found in foods such as liver mushrooms anchovies mackerel and dried beans according to the NIAMS.
Uric acid is cleaned normally out of the blood by the kidneys and passes out of the body along with urine.
This condition is known as hyperuricemia according to the NIH. The high concentration of uric acid in the blood will eventually convert the acid into urate crystals
Deposits of the needle-like urate crystals are responsible for the inflammation and the painful symptoms of gout.
There are several factors that can make a person more susceptible to gout according to the NIH.
According to the Mayo Clinic common symptoms of gout are: Gout and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) both cause bumpy painful joints but they couldn't be more different.
Rheumatoid arthritis is a disease in which the body's immune system attacks itself causing damage to tissue
and organs while gout has nothing to do with the immune system. Unfortunately when chronic it can involve many joints making it difficult to distinguish from rheumatoid arthritis Dr. Nathan Wei a rheumatologist
and director of the Arthritis Treatment Center in Frederick Maryland told Live Science. Obviously if the patient has a high level of rheumatoid factor
and anti-CCP that helps. However a few patients may have concomitant RA and gout. Gout and pseudogout closely resemble each other
but they each have very different characteristics. The amount of pain suffered by a patient with pseudogout is usually less than is experienced by a gout patient Edwards said.
The main difference between gout and pseudogout are the types of crystals that deposit into the joints and cause inflammation.
Edwards went on to point out that monosodium urate (MSU) crystals cause gout while pseudogout is caused by calcium pyrophosphate crystals.
While gout has painful and distinctive symptoms during flare-ups its symptoms can be vague during other times.
A doctor may extract a sample of joint fluid so it can be examined under a microscope for any presence of urate crystals according to the NIAMS.
Certain joint infections can produce symptoms similar to gout. If an infection is suspected the doctor may check joint fluid for bacteria.
Blood tests can reveal the concentration of uric acid in the blood and further confirm the diagnosis
. However according to the Mayo Clinic blood tests can be misleading because some gout patients do not have an unusual level of uric acid in their blood
and some people with high levels of uric acid do not go on to develop gout. A patient s gout will not get better until they start taking uric-acid-lowering drugs.
Patients need to know that their serum uric acid level should be below the target of 6 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl.
While gout cannot be cured it can be managed better or even controlled completely with the right medications
and lifestyle choices Edwards said. In most cases long-term medications for lowering uric acid will be used to treat gout
and prevent flares gout. Generally patients with gout will need to be on these drugs for life.
If they stay on them over time their gout symptoms and risk of deformity or disability will be decreased greatly Edwards added.
The painful symptoms of gout can be alleviated by nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) which can reduce both pain and inflammation around the joints according to the University of Maryland.
Depending on the severity of the flare-ups patients can be treated with over-the-counter NSAIDS such as ibuprofen (Advil or Motrin) or naproxen (Aleve) or with prescription-strength painkillers such as indomethacin (available under the trade name Indocin.
Corticosteroids such as prednisone can be injected directly into the affected joints for relief within a few hours according to Mayo Clinic.
However despite their effectiveness corticosteroids must be used sparingly because they can weaken bones or poor wound healing.
Another pain reliever commonly used to reduce gout pain is colchicine. It is most effective when taken within the first 12 hours of symptoms according to NIAMS.
Once the flare-up subsides the doctor may prescribe low daily doses of colchicine to ward off future attacks.
Beyond medications patients can also control the frequency of flare-ups through exercise and diet adjustments.
Because uric acid is created during the digestion and breakdown of purines patients can reduce the concentration of uric acid in the blood by avoiding high-purine foods such as anchovies asparagus dried beans and peas mushrooms and organ meats (such as livers
and kidneys). The Mayo Clinic also suggests that patients should drink more water and less alcohol because alcohol can raise the level of uric acid in the blood.
This article is for informational purposes only and is meant not to offer medical advice. e
#Big cats Eat Dogs in India, Leopard Poop Reveals Leopards that roam rural India have a surprising favorite food:
dogs. The big cats even seem to prefer eating domestic dogs in areas where cows goats and other farm animals are plentiful according to a new study.
To reconstruct leopard diets scientists had to take a close look at leopard poop. A team led by researchers with the Wildlife Conservation Society scooped up 85 leopard fecal samples as they scoured footpaths dried-up streams
and fields in a rural section of western Maharashtra (the same state where Mumbai is located).
Back in a lab the researchers looked for signs of claws hoofs and hair and other indigestible parts of unlucky prey in the scat.
See Photos of Leopards in Western Maharashtra The researchers found that domestic dogs were by far the most common prey making up 39 percent of the leopards'diet (in terms of biomass.
The remains of domestic cats were found in 15 percent of poop samples and accounted for 12 percent of the mass of leopards'meals.
By comparison livestock were a relatively small portion of the leopard diet. Domestic goats for example accounted for just 11 percent of the mass of the big cats'meals
even though they were seven times more abundant than dogs in the study area. All told 87 percent of the leopards'diet was made up of domestic animals including both livestock and pets;
this suggests the leopards though considered wild are completely dependent on human-related sources of food.
The small portion of the wild animals in the leopards'diet consisted of mostly rodents as well as civets monkeys mongooses and birds.
From alerting you to an incoming call to monitoring your heart rate the newly unveiled Apple Watch is being promoted as the next great high-tech tool for gadget lovers and fitness fans.
Fantasy Fitness Tracker: 8 Absolutely Must-Have Features Its crystal clear transparency makes sapphire ideal for display screens.
#Health check: Is It Safe to Cut Mold Off Food? This article was published originally at The Conversation.
and release poisons called mycotoxins into the food that could over time make you very sick.
and use the unaffected parts without exposing yourself to a health risk. That s good if your moldy food is an expensive vintage cheddar cheese!
The tips of the hyphae also release the mycotoxins which are released probably to ward off competitors.
So wherever the mycelia go in search of nutrients toxins may also be found. The extent of spread of the mycelium is not always visible
Among those we are likely to encounter on foods in our homes are Penicillium(#oecousins#of those used to make antibiotics
You re unlikely to experience any immediate symptoms from ingestion of mycotoxin-contaminated foods. Ongoing exposure increases the chances of a range of diseases including include kidney liver
and immune system damage increased risk of a range of cancers and neurological symptoms; though these worst-case scenarios are rare.
Not all molds on foods will produce mycotoxins or produce them at harmful levels but without a microscope and laboratory its hard to distinguish the dangerous and harmless ones.
Given the risk to your health its best to take a very cautious approach to visible mold growth on any food with some exceptions.
A good rule of thumb to judge whether a moldy food can be saved#is its moisture content or firmness.
and producing mycotoxins. The same is true for porous foods such as bread and cakes where the hyphae can penetrate.
The United states'Department of agriculture s website is a good source of advice for dealing with mold contamination on a wide variety of foods.
The Healthy Geezer answers questions about health and aging in his weekly column. Question: Are older people at greater risk of getting food poisoning?
The people at highest risk for suffering from food poisoning are seniors pregnant women young children and those with chronic diseases.
A chronic disease reduces your immune response. Food poisoning is caused by eating food contaminated by organisms such as bacteria viruses and parasites.
Symptoms include nausea vomiting diarrhea abdominal cramps and fever. The onset of symptoms can occur hours after consumption of the tainted food.
The following in alphabetical order) are some possible food contaminants: Campylobacter Clostridium botulinum Clostridium perfringens Escherichia coli (E coli) Giardia lamblia Hepatitis a Listeria noroviruses rotavirus Salmonella Shigella Staphylococcus aureus and Vibrio vulnificus.
And here are some of the sources: meat and poultry soiled by animal feces during processing foods kept warm for too long unpasteurized milk
For example antibiotics are used to combat bacterial food poisoning. Dehydration which can be fatal is the major complication of food poisoning
because you lose fluids from vomiting and diarrhea. Older people and others with inadequate immune systems can become extremely dehydrated.
Hospitalization for intravenous hydration may be necessary. Diarrhea can be much more than an inconvenience. Diarrhea can be lethal to older people.
With the fluid you lose from diarrhea you also lose salts that your body needs.
Diarrhea can make a victim pass more than a quart of watery stools a day. Dehydration symptoms include thirst reduced urination dark urine dry skin fatigue dizziness
and fainting. You should see a doctor if your diarrhea lasts more than 3 days or if you have dehydration symptoms severe abdominal or rectal pain a fever of 102 degrees Fahrenheit or higher or blood in your stools.
In many cases of diarrhea the only treatment needed is lost replacing fluid and salts. Adults should consume broth non-citrus fruit juices flat ginger ale and ice pops.
As your condition improves you can start eating bananas plain rice boiled potatoes toast crackers and cooked carrots.
Smaller meals are recommended because they're easier to digest. Here are some tips to prevent food poisoning:
Do not eat the following foods: anything that contains raw eggs such as cookie dough or hollandaise sauce packaged foods with broken seals
or cans that are bulging or dented honey that hasn't been heat-treated soft cheeses alfalfa sprouts raw ground beef or fish.
If you would like to read more columns you can order a copy of How to be a Healthy Geezer at www. healthygeezer. com. All rights Reserved 2014 by Fred Cicett t
In his 2005 book Last Child in the Woods which introduced the world to the term nature-deficit disorder journalist Richard Louv argued that children need to unplug from computers
And there are health benefits too: Kids who play outside more often are less likely to develop nearsightedness obesity diabetes and Vitamin d deficiencies.
On some days last summer usually when it was blazingly hot and my daughter seemed more interested in testing her foot speed in a dusty open field than mixing water into the dirt under a shady tree canopy
and because it impacts the health of the hosts she says. The gut microbiota is another dimension of animal biodiversity particularly
In recent years however there has been increasing concern over rampant bee colony losses dubbed Colony Collapse Disorder and the overall health of bees in general.
Colony Collapse Disorder While Moran and her colleagues are primarily trying to gain a basic understanding of biodiversity
Are problems with gut microbiota part of the problem of honeybee health or could microbiota be preserved in a way that helps bees thrive?
A big part of the problem with bee health is undoubtedly the decreasing availability of diverse floral resources
But exposure to toxins and to diseases also play a part based on numerous studies. Gut microbes very plausibly play a role in host resistance to these things and also in improving nutrition.
Antibiotic resistance Moran's research has revealed that bacteria in the guts of honeybees are highly resistant to the preventive antibiotic tetracycline probably the result of decades of exposure to it because of its use by beekeepers to prevent bacterial diseases.
Moran's team identified eight different tetracycline resistance genes among U s. honeybees that were exposed to the antibiotic
but the genes were largely absent in bees from countries where such antibiotic use is banned.
The antibiotic resistance study was an early hint about the dynamic nature of these genomes she adds.
It turns out that in the United states antibiotics have been used widely in beekeeping since the 1950s mostly tetracycline.
And the gut microbiota of U s. honeybees is a treasure trove of tetracycline resistance genes that have been transferred horizontally from other bacteria.
Now we are finding that strains of the bee gut microbiota show a large set of`accessory'genes and functions.
A given strain can have hundreds of genes that are not present in another strain of the same species
But we are finding that there are diverse strains within each species and that different bee species and different colonies within a species seem to have different strains of symbionts.
Another postdoctoral fellow in her lab Hauke Koch was the first to find that gut symbionts of bumblebees protect against protozoan parasites
and how this variation might affect colony health. By establishing methods for culturing and type strains that can be studied by different laboratories we can start to untangle the mechanistic basis for colonizing hosts she says.
And we can start to understand how the normal microbiota interacts with disease agents that infect bees.
In fact maybe she's too good#e can't recover the disease organisms that most beekeepers complain about even
and we sometimes cannot detect pathogens that are generally common. The main ones are Nosema species
which are eukaryotic pathogens related to fungi and RNA VIRUSES such as`Deformed Wing Virus'she adds. In some of our experiments we want to infect bees with pathogens to see
if the microbiota protects against pathogens. In those cases we have to go to other beekeepers to try
and find the disease organisms. New to bee research and wanting to learn the basics of beekeeping Moran actually kept several colonies in her own yard for several years.
But I have to admit I am afraid of stings she says. Yes I did get stung a few times.
But we do keep an epinephrine kit around for possible cases of a sting of someone allergic who might not realize the risk.
Western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) exhibited fewer stress-related behaviors when a recording of rainforest sounds was played in their enclosure.
The results accepted for publication in the journal Zoo Biology suggest that the forest melodies were more effective at reducing stress-induced habits such as hair-plucking
which are considered often signs of stress in captive gorillas. Koga the only adult male in the group plucked his hair approximately 8%of the time
Heavy-metal tunes from Motorhead and Judas priest appeared to increase pups body shaking considered a sign of nervousness.
& Health Claims The term probiotic is misused so often that a group of experts has taken a fresh look at what probiotics really are examined
Experts define probiotics as live microorganisms which confer health benefits when present in adequate amounts.
which bacterial species may have health benefits and what those benefits may be. But there's still enough confusion surrounding the concept of probiotics and
what they can offer that some governments do not even allow the term to appear on product labels to protect consumers from unfounded health claims.
and concluded that for most strains of well-studied probiotics the evidence has grown enough to say probiotics support digestive health.
When you look at findings from a variety of studies on different end points that look at some aspect of digestive health the combined evidence suggests that digestive health is a core benefit of many probiotic species said Mary Ellen Sanders
and consultant who was one of the experts on the panel as well as executive science officer for the organization that convened the panel. 5 Ways Gut Bacteria Affect Your Health
However the evidence for whether probiotics have health effects on other systems in the body wasn't as strong the scientific findings were either not as convincing
But because the effects of probiotic strains can vary broadly and immune-system effects are incredibly diverse the panel decided that an immune-system boost should not be considered a core benefit of probiotics Sanders said.
even if a bacterial species has the potential to offer health benefits it shouldn't be called a probiotic until the effects are demonstrated in studies.
There's much folklore around the health benefits of fermented food Sanders told Live Science. For example aged cheeses such as blue cheese contain a mix of bacteria.
and have been shown to have some health effect Sanders said. The researchers also said that fecal microbiota transplants#procedures that involve transferring fecal matter from a healthy person into an infected person to help patients suffering from hard-to-treat gut infections with the bacteria Clostridium difficile#shouldn't be considered probiotics
because they involve an undefined mixture of microbes. Does yogurt contain probiotics? The standard bacteria used for making yogurt are studied well
How much probiotics should be in products For probiotics to actually have a health benefit it is important for them to be ingested in sufficient amounts.
it has to be in suitable quantity to have health benefits. Some products cannot have probiotics The researchers on the panel noted that the term probiotics has been misused on products such as mattresses shampoos disinfectants and aftershave probably as a marketing effort that's not based on any scientific finding.
The concept of probiotics requires that the organism be alive and be substantiated to have a health benefit Sanders said.
But organisms are probably not surviving in a shampoo. And I'm not aware of any evidence that delivery in a shampoo confers a health benefit.
Email Bahar Gholipour or follow her@alterwired. Follow us@Livescience Facebook & Google+.+Original article on Live Science r
Getting Viral Cure Elizabeth Summer is cofounder and chief science officer for Phage Biocontrol Inc. This article was prepared by the U s. National Science Foundation (NSF) for the American Institute of Chemical Engineers publication Chemical engineering Progress.
The beneficial microbes that convert milk into yogurt and act in people's guts to promote digestive health cause big problems in ethanol fermentation tanks.
The most common control measures chemical antimicrobials such as antibiotics do not eliminate the lactic acid bacteria.
Additionally the potential antibiotic residue left on the grains after fermentation turns away customers who would
With support from the U s. National Science Foundation (NSF our company Ecolyse Inc. based in College Station Texas is working to address this issue by developing products to treat bacterial contamination.
like antibiotics there is a window of opportunity for treatment. A 10-or 100-fold reduction in lactic acid bacteria increases ethanol yields.
An additional plus is that replacing antibiotics with phages during the fermentation process increases the marketability of the dried distillers-grain byproduct (the potential animal feed)
which can be labeled as antibiotic free. Developing phage products to control such bacteria during ethanol fermentation represents an attractive phage application in the larger picture of industrial microbiology.
Until now no company had developed phage products other than for medical and agricultural applications. This is partly due to a general lack of awareness of industrial contamination.
Certain industrial sectors however experience chronic detrimental effects of bacterial contamination. For example the oil and gas industry faces staggering revenue losses due to product degradation by hydrogen sulfide consuming bacteria and the industry spends an estimated $7 billion per year for chemical biocide treatments.
Bacteria are implicated also in the corrosion of metal and concrete structures causing damage conservatively estimated to be about $82 billion per year.
One of the team's key findings was petrified that the tree seemed to react to fire stress in the same way as modern trees.
Stress from forest fires can leave behind bands of narrow tree rings in some modern trees a result of the struggle to recover
However its microscopic tree cells called tracheids internal highways that transfer water and nutrients show signs of fire stress in a manner similar to tree rings.
Cow Urine Promoted for Health Benefits Though it may never move into the mainstream an alternative medicine promoted by a Hindu group in India is getting some attention:
cow urine as a treatment for numerous diseases including cancer diabetes and tuberculosis. But not any old cow urine will do according to the followers of the hardline Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) sect only the urine collected from a female virgin cow will suffice
and it's best when collected before dawn. Cow urine offers a cure for around 70 to 80 incurable diseases like diabetes Om Prakash of the RSS Cow Protection Department told Reuters. All are curable by cow urine. 7
Medical Myths Even Doctors Believe Cow urine soda? Though Westerners may find the practice surprising if not outright disgusting the therapeutic use of cow urine has a long history in India particularly in Ayurvedic medicine an ancient health care tradition that has been practiced in India for at least 5000 years.
For people who would rather not drink their cow urine straight the RSS has developed a cow-urine-based soft drink called Gomutra Ark.
The drink is promoted as a healthy alternative to Coca-cola Pepsi and other soft drinks which are seen as part of a wider problem resulting from corrupt Western influences.
We refer to gau ark (cow urine) as gau jal (cow water) as it has immense potential to cure various diseases Prakash told The Telegraph.
Science weighs in Health experts however are less enthusiastic about the health benefits of drinking cow urine especially
when anticancer properties are claimed. I think I'm perfectly comfortable in saying that I'm aware of no data that cow's urine
in treating or preventing cancer Dr. Donald Hensrud of the Mayo Clinic told ABC News. Nonetheless the product has been studied by a handful of researchers.
A 2012 study published in the journal Ancient Science of Life suggested rats with diabetes that were fed Gomutra Ark had significantly lower blood glucose levels than rats in a control group did.
This study supports the traditional use of Gomutra Ark in diabetes the researchers wrote noting that it has a high therapeutic index
And a 2013 study in the International Brazilian Journal of Urology claimed that distilled cow urine might help to prevent the development of kidney stones in rats.
Just trust me on this this drink really will require flavoring Keith-Thomas Ayoob nutritionist at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine told ABC News
But while a diet high in sugar certainly promotes the formation of cavities (as well as other medical problems such as obesity) sugar itself isn't the real culprit behind tooth decay.
When digesting these carbohydrates bacteria in your mouth produce an acid that combines with saliva to form that nasty stuff your dentist warned you about:
which contains your teeth's blood vessels and nerves. Cavities affecting the pulp of a tooth as well as the bone supporting the tooth can cause severe toothaches sensitivity pain when eating and abscesses in the mouth.
Ultimately sugar is just one of many carbs that can land you in the dentist's chair
but that doesn't mean you should trade in your apples for candy corn just yet. In addition to the many health benefits of a plant-heavy diet the kinds of foods you eat are important to oral health.
Some foods like hard candy breath mints raisins and dry cereal can get stuck in the grooves and crevices of your teeth where they could cause decay.
By contrast caregiving from owl monkey mothers to their young is limited almost exclusively to nursing.
#Most Interesting Science News articles of the Week From a melted road at Yellowstone to growling seahorses a medieval case of downs syndrome to Nikola Tesla's birthday here are some of the coolest stories in Science this week.
While invoking not-so-delightful images food references in medical vernacular are useful aids in helping doctors identify many different ailments.
Doc Reviews Food Words Used in Medicine Hypersexuality in women linked to this: A condition often understudied in the female population hypersexuality in women is being linked with more aggressive sexual behaviors.
Contrary to widely held belief women with the disorder are less likely to engage in passive forms of sexuality like fantasies.
Americans Feel Most Attractive at This Age Medieval case of down syndrome: The skeleton of a child uncovered in 1989 in northeastern France is believed to be known the oldest case of Down syndrome.
Researchers not only studied the remains but also the burial practices used for the body to understand how the child was treated by the community.
Earliest Case of Down syndrome Discovered in Medieval Cemetery Remains of lost temple found: A 2500-year-old temple unearthed in northern Iraq may be lost a long temple to the god Haldi.
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