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Dog Study Could Lead to Help For Humans with Sports Injuries

06Jun
Green KeyHealthcare, Pharma

Osteoarthritis of the knee is a common condition in humans and in their canine companions. An estimated 20% of dogs older than a year and 12% of people between 25 and 74 will develop the condition.

The causes and mechanisms are not well understood, however age and weight are considered major risk factors.

Injuries also lead to developing the disease. In fact one of the most common of all sports injuries in humans as well as dogs – a tear of the anterior cruciate ligament — is the leading cause of post traumatic osteoarthritis.

The mystery is why many, but not all, dogs and people with ACL injuries develop post traumatic osteoarthritis, medically referred to as PTOA. Now, a study of dogs at Cornell University’s veterinary school, published this month in Scientific Reports, offers clues to the potential for developing PTOA.

Researchers led by Dr. Heidi Reesink, assistant professor in equine health at Cornell, found that changes in the production of lubricin, a joint lubricating protein, could be a precursor to developing joint disease.

Lubricin is critical to smooth joint functioning. “We know that if a person or animal doesn’t make that protein, they will develop devastating joint disease affecting all the major weight-bearing joints,” says Reesink.

The prevailing view among veterinarians and physicians is that lubricin production declines after injury, leading to the development of PTOA. “The dogma in this field has been that lubricin decreases in joint disease,” Reesink said.

But the study found that in canine patients with a knee ligament tear lubricin increased and it was correlated with the development of osteoarthritis.

“This indicates that the presence of increased lubricin might actually be a biomarker for predicting future osteoarthritis,” said Reesink. “We also saw increased lubricin in dogs months to years after they injured their ACLs, suggesting that lubricin might be an indicator of ongoing joint instability.”

Increased lubricin could serve as a tipoff to clinicians to intervene with early treatments to ward off or slow the development of osteoarthritis, not just in dogs, but in people, too.

Photo by Alvan Nee on Unsplash

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Jun 6, 2023

Aspirin Helps Prevent Digestive Cancers

Healthcare
Jun 6, 2023

Aspirin Helps Prevent Digestive Cancers

It wasn’t that long ago that doctors advised taking a low dose aspirin a day as a preventive against heart attacks. Then, new studies found the risk of aspirin-induced internal bleeding outweighed any benefits it might confer, except in older patients at risk of heart problems.

Yet, there’s still enough uncertainty about the overall preventive benefits that the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force gives that recommended use a grade of B, and says there’s just not enough evidence to decide aspirin’s benefit for younger people. Just last week, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force issued a final research plan on aspirin use to prevent cardiovascular disease and colorectal cancer.

But now one of the largest and most comprehensive studies reports that aspirin can reduce the risk of digestive tract cancers between 22% and 38%.

Researchers analyzed of 113 observational studies investigating cancers in the general population published up to last year, finding that regular use of aspirin significantly reduced the risk of most types of digestive tract cancers, including liver and pancreatic cancers that are almost always fatal.

Published last month in the Annals of Oncology, the report found aspirin use was linked to:

  • 27% reduced risk of bowel cancer;
  • 33% reduced risk of oesophageal cancer;
  • 39% reduced risk of gastric cardia (a part of the stomach);
  • 36% reduced risk of stomach cancer;
  • 38% reduced risk of liver, gallbladder and bile duct cancer;
  • 22% reduced risk of pancreatic cancer.

In an article for ESMO, the oncology professional organization, Dr. Cristina Bosetti (PhD), head of the unit of cancer epidemiology at the Mario Negri Department of Oncology in Milan, said, it appears that the higher aspirin doses the greater the decreased risk.

“We found that the risk of cancer was reduced with increased dose; an aspirin dose between 75 and 100mg a day was associated with a 10% reduction in a person’s risk of developing cancer compared to people not taking aspirin; a dose of 325mg a day was associated with a 35% reduction, and a dose of 500mg a day was associated with a 50% reduction in risk. However, the estimate for high dose aspirin was based on just a few studies and should be interpreted cautiously.

“Our findings on bowel cancer support the concept that higher aspirin doses are associated with a larger reduction in risk of the disease. However, the choice of dose should also take into consideration the potential risk of stomach bleeds, which increases with higher aspirin doses.”

As strong as the results are, the analysis is based on observational studies, meaning the researchers in each of the 113 studies simply collected data from the subjects and reported on the outcome. It’s possible that other factors may have influenced the results of some or all of the 113 studies.

Photo by HalGatewood.com on Unsplash

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Healthcare, Human Resources
Jun 6, 2023

Benefits Are More Important Than Ever This Year

Healthcare, Human Resources
Jun 6, 2023

Benefits Are More Important Than Ever This Year

More than ever, employees are placing a high value on benefits this year, with a majority of workers feeling pressure to make the right choices when open enrollment begins in the next several weeks.

Due to the pandemic, the importance of benefits – voluntary as well as employer provided – has risen significantly in the minds of workers according to a survey sponsored by Prudential Finance. Three-quarters said the current environment has caused them to realize how important benefits are. And 75% agreed that, “Due to the pandemic, I feel that access to benefits through an employer is now more important than ever before.”

Benefits survey chart.jpg

So important have benefits become to employees that 77% now see them as a key part of their compensation, a big increase over the 67% who said that last year. By an even larger margin, 73% of workers said their benefits are a major reason for staying at their job. Last year, 59% of workers said that.

A majority – 52% — said they’d be willing to risk a job change if it offered better benefits.

Speaking to Human Resource Executive, Leston Welsh, head of business segments at Prudential Group Insurance, said, “The pandemic has driven home the idea that no one is immune to unexpected life events that can disrupt their income. The dangers of an ‘it won’t happen to me’ mentality are now very clear, and employees are placing greater value on benefits because they are more aware of how these benefits can help them during a life event, including paying for high out-of-pocket medical costs and hospital visits.”

The survey, in fact, showed that for 42% of the respondents benefits help to reduce their financial stress. These employees are most likely to have one or more of such benefits as accidental death & dismemberment (45%), a Health Savings Account (42%) and hospital indemnity insurance (32%).

Not surprisingly, medical benefits and paid sick leave are the most valued two benefits. These are typically part of a basic total compensation plan. But access to a retirement savings plan (38%) and flexible work arrangements (25%) ranked just behind.

Because of the importance benefits now have for so many workers, this year’s open enrollment season will be more stressful than usual. The survey found 51% of workers are feeling a lot more pressure to make the right choices.

As a consequence Welsh said, “Employees will need better information and more time to analyze how a different set of benefits may be better suited for their new normal.

“Given the uncertainty of the current environment, it’s more important than ever for employers to educate and encourage their employees to choose the solutions that will help safeguard their financial security — over the near and long term.”

Photo by Clayton Cardinalli on Unsplash

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