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Use Probiotics to Reduce Bone Loss and Newborn Infections

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Bone loss leading to increased fracture risk occurs in half of postmenopausal women, but new research from Sweden offers a deterrent: a combination of three Lactobacillus probiotic strains. A total of 249 healthy, early postmenopausal women over the age of 50 that took the probiotics for a year suffered no significant bone loss in the lumbar spine compared to a placebo group, report researchers at Gothenburg University. They had slight reductions in bone loss at the neck and no changes at the hip or upper femur.

In a British Medical Journal-published study on probiotics that spanned 10 years and involved nearly 1,000 at-risk babies, researchers from the UK’s Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital found that newborns with gut infections were twice as likely to recover when given probiotics as part of their treatment in intensive care units, with sepsis rates reduced from 22.6 percent to 11.5 percent. The strains used were L. acidophilus, Bifidobacterium bifidum and B. longum subspecies infantis. The babies were suffering from necrotizing enterocolitis, a rare infection and inflammation of the intestines which can affect low-birthweight babies.
In-Print National Content Global and Health Briefs Health Brief Bone Health February 2020
Tick Talk

Spring officially sprung on March 21. We have turned our clocks ahead. We are looking forward to warm winds, sunny skies and the smell of fresh cut grass. The daffodils and tulips have recently bloomed and we are just starting with the yard work that comes with the warmer weather.  Sadly, another season has started ramping up.  Tick season.

•             The best form of protection is prevention. Educating oneself about tick activity and how our behaviors overlap with tick habitats is the first step.

•             According to the NJ DOH, in 2022 Hunterdon County led the state with a Lyme disease incidence rate of 426 cases per 100,000 people. The fact is ticks spend approximately 90% of their lives not on a host but aggressively searching for one, molting to their next stage or over-wintering. This is why a tick remediation program should be implemented on school grounds where NJ DOH deems high risk for tick exposure and subsequent attachment to human hosts.

•             Governor Murphy has signed a bill that mandates tick education in NJ public schools. See this for the details.  Tick education must now be incorporated into K-12 school curriculum. See link:

https://www.nj.gov/education/broadcasts/2023/sept/27/TicksandTick-BorneIllnessEducation.pdf

•             May is a great month to remind the public that tick activity is in full swing. In New Jersey, there are many tickborne diseases that affect residents, including Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis, Ehrlichiosis, Lyme disease, Powassan, and Spotted Fever Group Rickettsiosis.

•             For years, the focus has mainly been about protecting ourselves from Lyme disease. But other tick-borne diseases are on the rise in Central Jersey. An increase of incidence of Babesia and Anaplasma are sidelining people too. These two pathogens are scary because they effect our blood cells. Babesia affects the red blood cells and Anaplasma effects the white blood cells.

•             Ticks can be infected with more than one pathogen. When you contract Lyme it is possible to contract more than just that one disease. This is called a co-infection. It is super important to pay attention to your symptoms. See link.

https://twp.freehold.nj.us/480/Disease-Co-Infection

A good resource from the State:

https://www.nj.gov/health/cd/topics/tickborne.shtml

 

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