Monday, April 7, 2014

4/7/14 Health News: Chinatown Skin Infection Outbreak Spreads in NYC ♦ From Dogs, Answers About Breast Cancer ♦ Allergy-cancer Connection Discovered

Chinatown Skin Infection Outbreak Spreads in NYC, Number of Cases Doubles
The number of New Yorkers suspected of having a rare skin infection that comes from handling raw seafood, causing skin lesions, pain and swelling to the hands and arms and even difficulty moving fingers, has more than doubled, officials said Wednesday.Health officials are warning those who purchase raw fish and seafood at Chinatowns in Manhattan, Queens or Brooklyn to wear waterproof gloves when handling those items, and to seek medical care if they discover red bumps on hands or arms.Continue Reading
From Dogs, Answers About Breast Cancer
Mammary cancers in dogs respond to many of the chemotherapy drugs that are used in people, and feature some of the same molecular abnormalities. As in humans, the risk of tumors increases with age, though some breeds, especially smaller dogs, develop the cancer at higher rates than others. Because dogs typically have 10 mammary glands and often develop tumors in several glands at the same time, they present a unique research opportunity, enabling scientists to study lesions that are at different stages of development — from benign to cancerous, and at transitional stages — all in the same animal. “The dog gives us the potential to answer the question: When did something go wrong at the molecular level?”. “We can also study the benign tumors and ask: What’s different in that one tumor that doesn't change and become malignant versus another one that does change?” Continue Reading
Allergy-cancer Connection Discovered

The study demonstrated that histamine, a component of the immune system that responds to allergens and foreign pathogens and is also linked to inflammation, plays a role in protecting tumors from the immune system. By blocking the production of histamine in animal models, the researchers were able to interrupt a process that promotes melanoma growth.  Continue Reading

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