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Alzheimer’s Disease May Be Infectious, Study Suggests

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alzheimers-getty3-v2The “seeds” of Alzheimer’s disease may be transmitted from one person to another during certain medical procedures, scientists have found.

A study into people who died of a separate kind of brain disease after receiving injections of human growth hormone suggests that Alzheimer’s may also be a transmissible disease.

The findings have raised questions about the safety of some medical procedures, possibly including blood transfusions and invasive dental treatment, which may involve the transfer of contaminated tissues or surgical equipment.

The investigation has shown for the first time in humans that Alzheimer’s disease may be a transmissible infection which could be inadvertently passed between people.

Scientists emphasised that the new evidence is still preliminary and should not stop anyone from having surgery. They have also stressed that it is not possible to “catch” Alzheimer’s by living with someone with the disease. (Read more from “Alzheimer’s Disease May Be Infectious, Study Suggests” HERE)

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Legionnaires’ Disease in California Prison: Six Cases at San Quentin Prompts Safety Measures for 3,700 Inmates

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rtx19kj8Officials at one of California’s most notoriously dangerous prisons Sunday sought to determine the source of a Legionnaires’ disease outbreak. There have been six confirmed cases of the severe respiratory illness at San Quentin State Prison, but none was fatal, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said in a statement.

Since discovering its first case Aug. 26, the prison placed approximately 51 inmates under observation for the respiratory illness. Confirmed cases have been treated at hospitals outside the prison while all unconfirmed cases were being treated at San Quentin’s on-site medical unit, officials said Sunday.

Legionnaires’ disease, a form of pneumonia, is caused by bacteria found in water systems such as cooling towers and is carried via steam, mist and moisture. The bacteria is inhaled and is not spread through human-to-human contact. The cases in California come a few weeks after official in New York City confirmed 12 deaths caused by the disease in the South Bronx, a city borough north of Manhattan.

At San Quentin, officials said they have limited water use at the prison “to eliminate the spread of the bacteria.” Portable shower units arrived at the prison Saturday, which prison personnel have distributed to allow in-cell bathing until normal water use resumes. Inmates also are being served boxed meals “to avoid exposure to steam and mist during cooking operations.” (Read more from “Legionnaires’ Disease in California Prison: Six Cases at San Quentin Prompts Safety Measures for 3,700 Inmates” HERE)

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Officials Order Cooling Tower Inspections to Battle Deadly Legionnaires’ Outbreak in NYC

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gty_legionnaires_disease_tk_120111_wmainNew York State health officials are ordering widespread inspections of cooling facilities to try to stem New York City’s worst outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease, which had killed 10 people and infected a reported 101 people as of Friday afternoon.

The state and the city are collaborating with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to suppress the outbreak, Commissioner of Health for New York State, Dr. Howard Zucker, said during a press conference Friday afternoon.

“While it is clearly a significant outbreak in the Bronx, this is a state-wide issue and the governor is monitoring Legionnaire’s statewide,” Zucker said . . .

“We want to be confident that every cooling tower in this city is clean,” said Dr. Mary Bassett, commissioner of the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. “The city will be taking a lead for the nation in making sure our cooling towers are safe.”

The respiratory disease, which causes pneumonia-like symptoms, isn’t transmitted from person to person but rather by contact with the bacterium Legionella. The bacteria can thrive in warm water and become especially dangerous when the water is turned into a mist that can be inhaled. Medical investigators have linked past outbreaks to public fountains, air conditioning systems, spas, showers and even the misters than keep fruit moist in supermarkets. (Read more from “Officials Order Cooling Tower Inspections to Battle Deadly Legionnaires’ Outbreak in NYC” HERE)

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Doctors Say Tick Borne ‘Powassan Virus’ Is Worse than Lyme Disease [+video]

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ticksIt’s even worse than Lyme disease. Ticks in our area have been found to carry a rare, potentially life-threatening, virus.

As CBS2’s Tracee Carrasco reported, doctors have warned that the Powassan virus, a rare, tick borne illness could be serious. It doesn’t have a treatment or a cure.

“The doctor just has to support you during the acute illness and hope that you survive,” Dr. Daniel Cameron explained.

Dr. Cameron is the President of the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society. He said that if bitten by an infected tick you can get the virus within a matter of minutes, and while the symptoms are similar to Lyme disease, they are more severe.

“You can get seizures, high fevers, stiff neck. It comes on so suddenly that it’s the kind of thing people go to the emergency room for,” he explained. (Read more from “Doctors Say Tick Borne ‘Powassan Virus’ Is Worse than Lyme Disease” HERE)

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Why Everyone is Wearing Yellow Today for This Little Boy [+video]

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SethWhat started as a way to put a smile on a 5-year-old’s face has become an international phenomenon beyond his mom’s wildest dreams.

Seth, who was born without an immune system, has a big smile, an even bigger personality and a simple message: Wear yellow [today] on March 27 to show him support.

Seth’s disorder, called severe combined immunodeficiency, is also known as the “bubble baby” disease because children like Seth must live in extremely clean environments.

Leanne (occasionally joined by Seth’s dad, Nik) has been keeping supporters updated on Seth’s condition through her blog. He is due for another bone marrow transplant in about five weeks, she said, when he’s well enough. His first transplant in 2010 was unsuccessful.

She’s thankful for the supportive responses her blog has gotten, she said. (Read more from “Why Everyone is Wearing Yellow Today for This Little Boy [+video]” HERE)

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