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COMMENT: I am an RN, and I travel around the country. All over the US, we started to see upticks in diseases the US hadn’t seen in decades when Obama brought the Somalians introducing polio, but that never made the news. Then, in the Western US, we have seen TB, AIDS, whooping cough, and EVERY SINGLE STD you could name. Even the kids have these diseases. Then yellow fever, Rocky Mountain fever, and dengue fever. Some time ago, you said some Roman Emperor brought back the Antonini Plague from Asia. I believe you said migration always brings new diseases. Thank...

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) often starts with the buildup of lipid deposits or plaques within the blood vessel, setting the stage for atherosclerosis. Rupture of these atherosclerotic plaques clot blood vessels and lead to life-threatening conditions including heart attack or stroke. Dyslipidemia, meaning having too much "bad" or atherogenic lipids in the blood, represents the most common cause of CVDs. Accordingly, doctors often prescribe lipid-lowering medications. In two studies, researchers found a novel approach to achieve intensive lipid lowering, which enabled reversal of atherosclerotic plaques in murine disease models. This potential therapy employs a previously unknown function of the essential element...

RUSH researchers recently discovered that a muscle-building supplement called beta-hydroxy beta-methylbutyrate, also called HMB, may help protect memory, reduce plaques and ultimately help prevent the progression of Alzheimer's disease. HMB is not a prescription drug or a steroid, but an over-the-counter supplement that is available in sports and fitness stores. Bodybuilders regularly use HMB to increase exercise-induced gains in muscle size and strength while improving exercise performance. HMB is considered safe even after long-term use, with no known side effects. "This may be one of the safest and the easiest approaches to halt disease progression and protect memory in Alzheimer's...

Researchers earlier this year showed that the common herpes virus could induce plaques in the brain associated with Alzheimer's disease. Now, researchers are working to understand what might slow progression of the disease. They have tested 21 different compounds in Alzheimer's-afflicted neural cells in the lab, measuring the compounds' effect on the growth of sticky beta amyloid plaques. These plaques develop in the brains of people with Alzheimer's. The researchers found that two common compounds—green tea catechins and resveratrol, found in red wine and other foods—reduced the formation of plaques in those neural cells. And they did so with few...

A retrospective review of more than 24,000 patients who underwent an EKG at Mayo Clinic finds that nearly one-quarter of the patients had mitral annulus calcification, a chronic degeneration of tissue at the base of the heart's mitral valve. Mitral valve dysfunction was more than twice as prevalent for those patients, who also were at higher risk of all-cause mortality. Mitral annulus calcification has been associated with cardiovascular diseases and events, as well as higher mortality rates. The research suggests that mitral annulus calcification is a predictor of mortality, as well as a marker of valvular and cardiovascular disease. "Mitral...

Four Neolithic “chalk plaques” were discovered near Stonehenge between 1968–2017. A new study has shown that the ancient illustrations on the Stonehenge plaques are much more than just abstract patterns. The Stonehenge plaques were buried in a pit about 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) from England’s most famous ancient monument. English Heritage scientists have dated the plaques to between 2900 BC and 2580 BC. The new study has called these four ancient art works “some of the most spectacular chalk designs ever discovered in Britain.” According to an article on Silent Earth , the plaque pit in which the artworks were...

An antioxidant drug reverses atherosclerosis and could be used to prevent heart attacks and strokes due to clots. Atherosclerosis is the build-up of fatty deposits in the arteries. When a type of fat called LDL cholesterol becomes oxidized and builds up to form plaques in the artery walls, inflammation and damage increase which can cause the plaques to rupture and cause blood to clot. These clots can block vital arteries that allow blood to flow to the heart, causing a heart attack, or to the brain causing a stroke. Previously, researchers at the University of Reading discovered that LDL cholesterol...

Scientists have discovered the key to stopping Alzheimer’s disease in its earliest stages. The breakthrough paves the way for a ‘statin-like’ drug that could be taken by millions to prevent dementia. Cambridge University researchers have found a naturally occurring molecule that can slow the formation of plaques in the brain. Amyloid plaques are closely associated with declining memory and other Alzheimer’s symptoms. The discovery raises the prospect of a treatment which could be routinely taken in middle age to stop dementia. It could even result in a pill that could be used to treat dementia in the same way that...

Watertown, MA—Scientists at Boston Biomedical Research Institute (BBRI) and the University of Pennsylvania have found that combining two chemicals, one of which is the green tea component EGCG, can prevent and destroy a variety of protein structures known as amyloids. Amyloids are the primary culprits in fatal brain disorders such as Alzheimer's, Huntington's, and Parkinson's diseases. Their study, published in the current issue of Nature Chemical Biology (December 2009), may ultimately contribute to future therapies for these diseases. "These findings are significant because it is the first time a combination of specific chemicals has successfully destroyed diverse forms of amyloids...

Enlarge Caffeine treatment removed the beta amyloid plaques from the brains of the Alzheimer's mice. Credit: Photo courtesy of Florida Alzheimer's Disease Research Center Coffee drinkers may have another reason to pour that extra cup. When aged mice bred to develop symptoms of Alzheimer's disease were given caffeine - the equivalent of five cups of coffee a day - their memory impairment was reversed, report University of South Florida researchers at the Florida Alzheimer's Disease Research Center. Back-to-back studies published online today in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, show caffeine significantly decreased abnormal levels of the protein linked to...

Source: University of California - Los Angeles Date: July 17, 2007 Scientists Isolate Chemical In Curry That May Help Immune System Clear Plaques Found In Alzheimer's Science Daily — Researchers have isolated bisdemethoxycurcumin, the active ingredient of curcuminoids -- a natural substance found in turmeric root -- that may help boost the immune system in clearing amyloid beta, a peptide that forms the plaques found in Alzheimer's disease. Using blood samples from Alzheimer's disease patients, researchers found that bisdemethoxycurcumin boosted immune cells called macrophages to clear amyloid beta. Ground turmeric in small bowl. (Credit: iStockphoto/Jenny Horne)In addition, researchers identified the...

AUSTIN - A state district judge said Monday he does not have the authority to order plaques commemorating Confederate soldiers be reinstalled in the Texas Supreme Court building. The Sons of Confederate Veterans organization had sued to restore the plaques, which were removed in June 2000 under then-Gov. George W. Bush in response to objections by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. District Judge Paul Davis agreed with the Texas Attorney General's Office that state law does not give the courts jurisdiction over the plaques. Texas representatives of the NAACP could not be immediately reached for comment....

AUSTIN — A hearing has been delayed in a lawsuit by the Sons of Confederate Veterans to restore plaques commemorating the Confederacy to the Texas Supreme Court building. Bill Kuhn, Addison lawyer for the Confederate veterans group, said he requested the postponement because he was feeling “under the weather.” “We're going to reset it,” Kuhn said. “It's purely a scheduling issue.” The hearing on the request for summary judgment — a ruling without a trial — likely will be rescheduled in three to four weeks, Kuhn said. Assistant Attorney General John Morehead also said today's hearing wasn't taking place as...

Sons of Confederate Veterans lawsuit demands display of plaques removed in 2000. Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson says he wants to find a compromise that would allow the state to restore plaques commemorating the Confederacy that were removed from the Texas Supreme Court building in 2000. The Sons of Confederate Veterans organization has sued to restore the plaques, which were removed under then-Gov. George W. Bush in response to objections by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Patterson belongs to the Confederate descendants' group, but he said he is not actively involved in the lawsuit. Patterson told...

24 Jul 2003 20:07:59 GMTBible verses back up at Grand Canyon PHOENIX, July 24 (Reuters) - The bible is back at the Grand Canyon - at least for now. Three bronze plaques inscribed with biblical passages that were removed this month from scenic overlooks at the canyon's South Rim have been reinstalled pending legal advice, David Barna, a National Park Service spokesman, said on Thursday. The plaques were pulled from Hermit's Rest, Lookout Studio and Desert View overlooks earlier this month after the Arizona chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union concluded that they violated the U.S. Constitution's precepts...

<p>Bronze plaques displaying Bible verses removed from Grand Canyon National Park after a query from the American Civil Liberties Union were returned to the park Wednesday.</p> <p>The plaques, quoting three verses from the Psalms, were returned to Hermit's Rest, Lookout Studio and Desert View after Donald Murphy, deputy director of the National Park Service, ordered them put back.</p>

The National Park Service removed plaques with Bible verses from the Grand Canyon after the American Civil Liberties Union claimed they violated separation of church and state. But the park service decided that one of the main trails down into the canyon can still be called 'Bright Angel' and that a number of the canyons formations can be named after Hindu gods.The plaques had been on display at the Grand Canoyns south rim for more than 30 years and inculded the following verses from the book of Psalms.68:4 Sing to God, sing praises to his name; lift a song up...