Jun 1, 2022 06:55 PM
(This post was last modified: Jun 1, 2022 07:10 PM by C C.)
This tick can make you allergic to meat and it's spreading
https://www.scientificamerican.com/artic...spreading/
EXCERPTS: Alpha-gal syndrome (AGS) is an allergic reaction that can arise after someone is bitten by a lone star tick. [...] They transmit the alpha-gal molecule from mammals they’ve fed on to people they bite.
Now the ticks are being found [...] farther north along the Eastern Seaboard and in parts of the Midwest. The spread is prompting researchers to consider the potential long-term complications of AGS and to further verify the cause of the allergy using genetically modified meat.
Normally, when a person eats meat from nonprimate mammals, such as cows and pigs, their body does not react to alpha-gal. But when a tick bite introduces the molecule, the immune system recognizes it as an invader and produces antibodies known as immunoglobulin E (IgE) tailored against it. IgE antibodies attach to disease-fighting white blood cells called basophils in the bloodstream and mast cells in tissues. The next time those cells come into contact with alpha-gal from any source, including meat, the antibodies recognize it, and the immune system attacks it.
[...] The resulting allergic reactions, which typically begin two to six hours after ingesting alpha-gal, vary from person to person. They can be as mild as a tingling in the mouth or as extreme as anaphylactic shock. Some people with AGS can eat a double cheeseburger and experience only light itching of their palms or scattered hives. Others who consume a trace amount of pork fat in refried beans can go into full anaphylaxis. After eating meat, Carlson would immediately experience tingling and sometimes sores in her mouth. Within 24 hours, she would often suffer eye irritation, joint inflammation, rashes on different parts of her body and swelling in her left arm.
There is currently no treatment or antidote for AGS itself. Epinephrine is the first-line treatment for anaphylaxis, and some other allergic reactions can be managed with medications, including antihistamines and corticosteroids. People with the condition have to try their best to avoid any triggering foods. [...] One consolation for Carlson and most of the 34,000 other Americans diagnosed with AGS is that the meat sensitivity does not appear to be permanent and often resolves in four to five years... (MORE - missing details)
Staying 'conscious' under anesthesia may be much more common than we realized
https://www.sciencealert.com/some-people...we-thought
EXCERPTS: General anesthesia is a marvelous thing, knocking us out and blocking our sense of pain in a matter of seconds before surgery. But in rare cases, some people are responsive to their surrounds under general anesthesia, yet they cannot remember what happened afterwards.
This is called 'connected consciousness', and now the largest study of its kind to date on the phenomenon suggests that it's more common than first thought, affecting 1 in 10 young adults, and women more than men.
The findings highlight the need to better understand how different people respond to anesthetic drugs, the researchers say. Even after 170 years of use, we still don't have a firm grasp on how general anesthesia works – and now age and sex seem to be another factor in the mix.
[...] If the results of the new study can be replicated, it might put us one step closer to understanding who is more likely to experience 'connected consciousness' and how anesthetists can reduce the odds of it happening. ... The results of the new study suggest that a larger than expected amount of young adults are still responsive under general anesthesia, before surgery begins.
Roughly one in 10 of the 338 young adults in the study, aged between 18 and 40 years, responded to commands asking them to squeeze the researchers' hand once if they understood, and twice if they were in pain while under general anesthesia.
An hour after waking up, participants were asked to recall 16 words that they had heard under anesthesia, to see what they remembered of the experience. Women were between two to three times more likely than men to experience 'connected consciousness', the study found... (MORE - missing details)
https://www.scientificamerican.com/artic...spreading/
EXCERPTS: Alpha-gal syndrome (AGS) is an allergic reaction that can arise after someone is bitten by a lone star tick. [...] They transmit the alpha-gal molecule from mammals they’ve fed on to people they bite.
Now the ticks are being found [...] farther north along the Eastern Seaboard and in parts of the Midwest. The spread is prompting researchers to consider the potential long-term complications of AGS and to further verify the cause of the allergy using genetically modified meat.
Normally, when a person eats meat from nonprimate mammals, such as cows and pigs, their body does not react to alpha-gal. But when a tick bite introduces the molecule, the immune system recognizes it as an invader and produces antibodies known as immunoglobulin E (IgE) tailored against it. IgE antibodies attach to disease-fighting white blood cells called basophils in the bloodstream and mast cells in tissues. The next time those cells come into contact with alpha-gal from any source, including meat, the antibodies recognize it, and the immune system attacks it.
[...] The resulting allergic reactions, which typically begin two to six hours after ingesting alpha-gal, vary from person to person. They can be as mild as a tingling in the mouth or as extreme as anaphylactic shock. Some people with AGS can eat a double cheeseburger and experience only light itching of their palms or scattered hives. Others who consume a trace amount of pork fat in refried beans can go into full anaphylaxis. After eating meat, Carlson would immediately experience tingling and sometimes sores in her mouth. Within 24 hours, she would often suffer eye irritation, joint inflammation, rashes on different parts of her body and swelling in her left arm.
There is currently no treatment or antidote for AGS itself. Epinephrine is the first-line treatment for anaphylaxis, and some other allergic reactions can be managed with medications, including antihistamines and corticosteroids. People with the condition have to try their best to avoid any triggering foods. [...] One consolation for Carlson and most of the 34,000 other Americans diagnosed with AGS is that the meat sensitivity does not appear to be permanent and often resolves in four to five years... (MORE - missing details)
Staying 'conscious' under anesthesia may be much more common than we realized
https://www.sciencealert.com/some-people...we-thought
EXCERPTS: General anesthesia is a marvelous thing, knocking us out and blocking our sense of pain in a matter of seconds before surgery. But in rare cases, some people are responsive to their surrounds under general anesthesia, yet they cannot remember what happened afterwards.
This is called 'connected consciousness', and now the largest study of its kind to date on the phenomenon suggests that it's more common than first thought, affecting 1 in 10 young adults, and women more than men.
The findings highlight the need to better understand how different people respond to anesthetic drugs, the researchers say. Even after 170 years of use, we still don't have a firm grasp on how general anesthesia works – and now age and sex seem to be another factor in the mix.
[...] If the results of the new study can be replicated, it might put us one step closer to understanding who is more likely to experience 'connected consciousness' and how anesthetists can reduce the odds of it happening. ... The results of the new study suggest that a larger than expected amount of young adults are still responsive under general anesthesia, before surgery begins.
Roughly one in 10 of the 338 young adults in the study, aged between 18 and 40 years, responded to commands asking them to squeeze the researchers' hand once if they understood, and twice if they were in pain while under general anesthesia.
An hour after waking up, participants were asked to recall 16 words that they had heard under anesthesia, to see what they remembered of the experience. Women were between two to three times more likely than men to experience 'connected consciousness', the study found... (MORE - missing details)