Posts

May 16, 2013

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11:34 PM | Angelina no longer has them. Does that mean I should get rid of them too?

We love them and yet we hate them. They get censored, augmented, reduced, replaced, covered, exposed. They get grilled, occasionally, but those are not the ones I'm talking about. We want to see them and yet we pretend we don't. We criticize them and yet we forget what they are made for, the most beautiful thing of all: nourish a new life.Yes, I'm talking about breasts. Angelina Jolie's breasts have been extensively discussed this week, more now that they are reportedly gone than when they were […]

Hall, J., Lee, M., Newman, B., Morrow, J., Anderson, L., Huey, B. & King, M. (1990). Linkage of early-onset familial breast cancer to chromosome 17q21, Science, 250 (4988) 1684-1689. DOI: 10.1126/science.2270482

Bernstein, L. (2008). Identifying population-based approaches to lower breast cancer risk, Oncogene, 27 DOI: 10.1038/onc.2009.348

Citation

May 15, 2013

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6:25 PM | Wrap-Up of Cell Symposium on Microbiome and Host Health

For a parasitologist with a major interest in novel technology like me the Cell Symposium on Microbiome and Host Health (#CMHH) was a challenging, yet stimulating tour de force in bacteriology and immunology, and I realise that gut fungi and protists still fly below the radar of intestinal microbiome research. The announced line-up of speakers was impressive, and although we missed e.g. Drs Peter Turnbaugh and Fergus Shanahan, we were still spoiled with brilliant talks. Most of the […]

Koren O, Knights D, Gonzalez A, Waldron L, Segata N, Knight R, Huttenhower C & Ley RE (2013). A guide to enterotypes across the human body: meta-analysis of microbial community structures in human microbiome datasets., PLoS computational biology, 9 (1) PMID: 23326225

Andersen LO, Vedel Nielsen H & Stensvold CR (2013). Waiting for the human intestinal Eukaryotome., The ISME journal, PMID: 23407309

Ivanov II & Honda K (2012). Intestinal commensal microbes as immune modulators., Cell host & microbe, 12 (4) 496-508. PMID: 23084918

Brown J, de Vos WM, Distefano PS, Doré J, Huttenhower C, Knight R, Lawley TD, Raes J & Turnbaugh P (2013). Translating the human microbiome., Nature biotechnology, 31 (4) 304-8. PMID: 23563424

Blaser M, Bork P, Fraser C, Knight R & Wang J (2013). The microbiome explored: recent insights and future challenges., Nature reviews. Microbiology, 11 (3) 213-7. PMID: 23377500

Citation

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6:25 PM | Wrap-Up of Cell Symposium on Microbiome and Host Health

For a parasitologist with a major interest in novel technology like me the Cell Symposium on Microbiome and Host Health (#CMHH) was a challenging, yet stimulating tour de force in bacteriology and immunology, and I realise that gut fungi and protists still fly below the radar of intestinal microbiome research. The announced line-up of speakers was impressive, and although we missed e.g. Drs Peter Turnbaugh and Fergus Shanahan, we were still spoiled with brilliant talks. Most of the […]

Koren O, Knights D, Gonzalez A, Waldron L, Segata N, Knight R, Huttenhower C & Ley RE (2013). A guide to enterotypes across the human body: meta-analysis of microbial community structures in human microbiome datasets., PLoS computational biology, 9 (1) PMID: 23326225

Andersen LO, Vedel Nielsen H & Stensvold CR (2013). Waiting for the human intestinal Eukaryotome., The ISME journal, PMID: 23407309

Ivanov II & Honda K (2012). Intestinal commensal microbes as immune modulators., Cell host & microbe, 12 (4) 496-508. PMID: 23084918

Brown J, de Vos WM, Distefano PS, Doré J, Huttenhower C, Knight R, Lawley TD, Raes J & Turnbaugh P (2013). Translating the human microbiome., Nature biotechnology, 31 (4) 304-8. PMID: 23563424

Blaser M, Bork P, Fraser C, Knight R & Wang J (2013). The microbiome explored: recent insights and future challenges., Nature reviews. Microbiology, 11 (3) 213-7. PMID: 23377500

Citation

May 09, 2013

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5:34 AM | YouTube Video on Blastocystis Subtyping

For those who want to venture into Blastocystis subtyping - the easy way - I've recorded and uploaded a video on YouTube fyi.

May 08, 2013

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10:40 AM | Measuring the Unmeasurable

How the heck do you measure health? At first glance it seems pretty overwhelming. That's because something like "How healthy are we?" Is a big, hazy question that's hard to out your finger on. You might as well ask people what love means, or whether they believe in unicorns. But if you start narrowing down your definitions a bit, it becomes quite a simple task - who do you mean by "we"? "How healthy" in what terms? Whether we have gum... Read more

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2:53 AM | 6 sickened; Salmonella-contaminated blueberries from Georgia in 2010 tracked down by Minn. health types using GTINs and shopper cards

Abstract: In August 2010, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture and Minnesota Department of Health investigated an outbreak of six cases of Salmonella Newport infection occurring in northwestern Minnesota, which identified fresh blueberries as the cause. Initially, traditional traceback methods involving the review … Continue reading →

May 05, 2013

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9:51 AM | More on 'Bugs as Drugs'

This morning, I was just doing a lazy ramble through my favourite blogs and found a post by Carl Zimmer on 'Bugs as Drugs' - primarily on probiotics. And I just came to realise that there is a very interesting tendency these years of using bugs as drugs in a variety of fields. We are all very much aware of the worries about the increase in antibiotic resistance in bacterial and other pathogens. Moreover, it appears that sometimes antibiotic treatment leads to imbalance in the intestinal […]

Hyman P, Atterbury R & Barrow P (2013). Fleas and smaller fleas: virotherapy for parasite infections., Trends in microbiology, PMID: 23540830

van Nood E, Vrieze A, Nieuwdorp M, Fuentes S, Zoetendal EG, de Vos WM, Visser CE, Kuijper EJ, Bartelsman JF, Tijssen JG & Speelman P (2013). Duodenal infusion of donor feces for recurrent Clostridium difficile., The New England journal of medicine, 368 (5) 407-15. PMID: 23323867

Weinstock JV (2012). Autoimmunity: The worm returns., Nature, 491 (7423) 183-5. PMID: 23135449

Citation

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9:51 AM | More on 'Bugs as Drugs'

This morning, I was just doing a lazy ramble through my favourite blogs and found a post by Carl Zimmer on 'Bugs as Drugs' - primarily on probiotics. And I just came to realise that there is a very interesting tendency these years of using bugs as drugs in a variety of fields. We are all very much aware of the worries about the increase in antibiotic resistance in bacterial and other pathogens. Moreover, it appears that sometimes antibiotic treatment leads to imbalance in the intestinal […]

Hyman P, Atterbury R & Barrow P (2013). Fleas and smaller fleas: virotherapy for parasite infections., Trends in microbiology, PMID: 23540830

van Nood E, Vrieze A, Nieuwdorp M, Fuentes S, Zoetendal EG, de Vos WM, Visser CE, Kuijper EJ, Bartelsman JF, Tijssen JG & Speelman P (2013). Duodenal infusion of donor feces for recurrent Clostridium difficile., The New England journal of medicine, 368 (5) 407-15. PMID: 23323867

Weinstock JV (2012). Autoimmunity: The worm returns., Nature, 491 (7423) 183-5. PMID: 23135449

Citation

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9:51 AM | More on 'Bugs as Drugs'

This morning, I was just doing a lazy ramble through my favourite blogs and found a post by Carl Zimmer on 'Bugs as Drugs' - primarily on probiotics. And I just came to realise that there is a very interesting tendency these years of using bugs as drugs in a variety of fields. We are all very much aware of the worries about the increase in antibiotic resistance in bacterial and other pathogens. Moreover, it appears that sometimes antibiotic treatment leads to imbalance in the intestinal […]

Hyman P, Atterbury R & Barrow P (2013). Fleas and smaller fleas: virotherapy for parasite infections., Trends in microbiology, PMID: 23540830

van Nood E, Vrieze A, Nieuwdorp M, Fuentes S, Zoetendal EG, de Vos WM, Visser CE, Kuijper EJ, Bartelsman JF, Tijssen JG & Speelman P (2013). Duodenal infusion of donor feces for recurrent Clostridium difficile., The New England journal of medicine, 368 (5) 407-15. PMID: 23323867

Weinstock JV (2012). Autoimmunity: The worm returns., Nature, 491 (7423) 183-5. PMID: 23135449

Citation

May 03, 2013

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10:06 AM | Animal Therapy

Animal-assisted therapy is a huge topic: almost 1500 hits using those terms alone. There is no way I am going to cover all of them and do them justice. Instead I am going to cherry pick, er, I mean, select references of interest to illustrate issues surrounding animals in the hospital. Sometimes I get the [...]

May 02, 2013

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2:33 PM | Redefining Mental Disorders as Brain Disorders: TED Talk of Thomas Insel

Components of Brain Limbic SystemAdvances in the diagnosis and treatment of brain disorders like bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and autism are a public health priority.Dr. Thomas Insel, director at NIMH recently presented a TED talk that emphasized the need to rethink how we conceptualize and study these types of disorders. He argues for a need to redefine mental disorders as brain disorders. Advances in brain research tools are likely to provide improvements in early diagnosis and […]

Collins, P., Insel, T., Chockalingam, A., Daar, A. & Maddox, Y. (2013). Grand Challenges in Global Mental Health: Integration in Research, Policy, and Practice, PLoS Medicine, 10 (4) DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1001434

Insel, T. (2011). A bridge to somewhere, Translational Psychiatry, 1 (4) DOI: 10.1038/tp.2011.4

Citation

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2:33 PM | Redefining Mental Disorders as Brain Disorders: TED Talk of Thomas Insel

Components of Brain Limbic SystemAdvances in the diagnosis and treatment of brain disorders like bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and autism are a public health priority.Dr. Thomas Insel, director at NIMH recently presented a TED talk that emphasized the need to rethink how we conceptualize and study these types of disorders. He argues for a need to redefine mental disorders as brain disorders. Advances in brain research tools are likely to provide improvements in early diagnosis and […]

Collins, P., Insel, T., Chockalingam, A., Daar, A. & Maddox, Y. (2013). Grand Challenges in Global Mental Health: Integration in Research, Policy, and Practice, PLoS Medicine, 10 (4) DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1001434

Insel, T. (2011). A bridge to somewhere, Translational Psychiatry, 1 (4) DOI: 10.1038/tp.2011.4

Citation

April 29, 2013

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2:54 PM | 'Invasive Blastocystis' in ECCMID 2013

ECCMID - the annual European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (hosted by ESCMID) is currently taking place in Berlin. This year, I'm not attending, but I've been scanning the abstract book for 'Blastocystis', and it appears that an oral presentation was scheduled for yesterday in the "Emerging Infectious Diseases" section: First of all: it's great to see fellow researchers screening larger (i.e. hundreds) of faecal DNAs by PCR for Blastocystis. I wish more […]

Alfellani MA, Stensvold CR, Vidal-Lapiedra A, Onuoha ES, Fagbenro-Beyioku AF & Clark CG (2013). Variable geographic distribution of Blastocystis subtypes and its potential implications., Acta tropica, 126 (1) 11-8. PMID: 23290980

Stensvold CR (2013). Comparison of sequencing (barcode region) and sequence-tagged-site PCR for Blastocystis subtyping., Journal of clinical microbiology, 51 (1) 190-4. PMID: 23115257

Stensvold CR, Suresh GK, Tan KS, Thompson RC, Traub RJ, Viscogliosi E, Yoshikawa H & Clark CG (2007). Terminology for Blastocystis subtypes--a consensus., Trends in parasitology, 23 (3) 93-6. PMID: 17241816

Citation

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2:54 PM | 'Invasive Blastocystis' in ECCMID 2013

ECCMID - the annual European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (hosted by ESCMID) is currently taking place in Berlin. This year, I'm not attending, but I've been scanning the abstract book for 'Blastocystis', and it appears that an oral presentation was scheduled for yesterday in the "Emerging Infectious Diseases" section: First of all: it's great to see fellow researchers screening larger (i.e. hundreds) of faecal DNAs by PCR for Blastocystis. I wish more […]

Alfellani MA, Stensvold CR, Vidal-Lapiedra A, Onuoha ES, Fagbenro-Beyioku AF & Clark CG (2013). Variable geographic distribution of Blastocystis subtypes and its potential implications., Acta tropica, 126 (1) 11-8. PMID: 23290980

Stensvold CR (2013). Comparison of sequencing (barcode region) and sequence-tagged-site PCR for Blastocystis subtyping., Journal of clinical microbiology, 51 (1) 190-4. PMID: 23115257

Stensvold CR, Suresh GK, Tan KS, Thompson RC, Traub RJ, Viscogliosi E, Yoshikawa H & Clark CG (2007). Terminology for Blastocystis subtypes--a consensus., Trends in parasitology, 23 (3) 93-6. PMID: 17241816

Citation

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2:54 PM | 'Invasive Blastocystis' in ECCMID 2013

ECCMID - the annual European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (hosted by ESCMID) is currently taking place in Berlin. This year, I'm not attending, but I've been scanning the abstract book for 'Blastocystis', and it appears that an oral presentation was scheduled for yesterday in the "Emerging Infectious Diseases" section: First of all: it's great to see fellow researchers screening larger (i.e. hundreds) of faecal DNAs by PCR for Blastocystis. I wish more […]

Alfellani MA, Stensvold CR, Vidal-Lapiedra A, Onuoha ES, Fagbenro-Beyioku AF & Clark CG (2013). Variable geographic distribution of Blastocystis subtypes and its potential implications., Acta tropica, 126 (1) 11-8. PMID: 23290980

Stensvold CR (2013). Comparison of sequencing (barcode region) and sequence-tagged-site PCR for Blastocystis subtyping., Journal of clinical microbiology, 51 (1) 190-4. PMID: 23115257

Stensvold CR, Suresh GK, Tan KS, Thompson RC, Traub RJ, Viscogliosi E, Yoshikawa H & Clark CG (2007). Terminology for Blastocystis subtypes--a consensus., Trends in parasitology, 23 (3) 93-6. PMID: 17241816

Citation

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2:54 PM | 'Invasive Blastocystis' in ECCMID 2013

ECCMID - the annual European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (hosted by ESCMID) is currently taking place in Berlin. This year, I'm not attending, but I've been scanning the abstract book for 'Blastocystis', and it appears that an oral presentation was scheduled for yesterday in the "Emerging Infectious Diseases" section: First of all: it's great to see fellow researchers screening larger (i.e. hundreds) of faecal DNAs by PCR for Blastocystis. I wish more […]

Alfellani MA, Stensvold CR, Vidal-Lapiedra A, Onuoha ES, Fagbenro-Beyioku AF & Clark CG (2013). Variable geographic distribution of Blastocystis subtypes and its potential implications., Acta tropica, 126 (1) 11-8. PMID: 23290980

Stensvold CR (2013). Comparison of sequencing (barcode region) and sequence-tagged-site PCR for Blastocystis subtyping., Journal of clinical microbiology, 51 (1) 190-4. PMID: 23115257

Stensvold CR, Suresh GK, Tan KS, Thompson RC, Traub RJ, Viscogliosi E, Yoshikawa H & Clark CG (2007). Terminology for Blastocystis subtypes--a consensus., Trends in parasitology, 23 (3) 93-6. PMID: 17241816

Citation

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2:37 PM | Essential Tremor as a Risk Factor for Parkinson's Disease

The number people suffereing from Parkison's disease in the United States is estimated to be between 500,000 and 1,000,000.The key symptoms of Parkinson's disease include tremor and slowed movement or bradykinesia.Known risk factors for Parkinson's disease include advanced age, male gender, family history of Parkinson's disease and exposure to pesticides.Of note, smokers appear to have a reduced risk of Parkinson's disease although the mechanism for this protective effect is unknown.Romero and […]

Romero JP, Benito-León J & Bermejo-Pareja F (2012). The NEDICES Study: Recent Advances in the Understanding of the Epidemiology of Essential Tremor., Tremor and other hyperkinetic movements (New York, N.Y.), 2 PMID: 23439396

Citation

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2:37 PM | Essential Tremor as a Risk Factor for Parkinson's Disease

The number people suffereing from Parkison's disease in the United States is estimated to be between 500,000 and 1,000,000.The key symptoms of Parkinson's disease include tremor and slowed movement or bradykinesia.Known risk factors for Parkinson's disease include advanced age, male gender, family history of Parkinson's disease and exposure to pesticides.Of note, smokers appear to have a reduced risk of Parkinson's disease although the mechanism for this protective effect is unknown.Romero and […]

Romero JP, Benito-León J & Bermejo-Pareja F (2012). The NEDICES Study: Recent Advances in the Understanding of the Epidemiology of Essential Tremor., Tremor and other hyperkinetic movements (New York, N.Y.), 2 PMID: 23439396

Citation

April 26, 2013

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4:43 PM | This Month in Blastocystis Research (APR 2013)

I have been extremely bored all day writing up my evaluation of a (not so interesting) PhD thesis, and I thought I'd spice up my day by introducing a new series of posts on this blog inspired by so many other blogs, namely: This Month in Blastocystis Research! A place for me to go through some of the most recent papers on Blastocystis. There is paper out by Gould and Boorom who look at the stability of Blastocystis surface antigen over time. They show that detection of Blastocystis […]

Gould R & Boorom K (2013). Blastocystis surface antigen is stable in chemically preserved stool samples for at least 1 year., Parasitology research, PMID: 23609598

Dogruman-Al F, Simsek Z, Boorom K, Ekici E, Sahin M, Tuncer C, Kustimur S & Altinbas A (2010). Comparison of methods for detection of Blastocystis infection in routinely submitted stool samples, and also in IBS/IBD Patients in Ankara, Turkey., PloS one, 5 (11) PMID: 21124983

Alfellani MA, Stensvold CR, Vidal-Lapiedra A, Onuoha ES, Fagbenro-Beyioku AF & Clark CG (2013). Variable geographic distribution of Blastocystis subtypes and its potential implications., Acta tropica, 126 (1) 11-8. PMID: 23290980

Alfellani MA, Jacob AS, Perea NO, Krecek RC, Taner-Mulla D, Verweij JJ, Levecke B, Tannich E, Clark CG & Stensvold CR & (2013). Diversity and distribution of Blastocystis sp. subtypes in non-human primates., Parasitology, 1-6. PMID: 23561720

Abdulsalam AM, Ithoi I, Al-Mekhlafi HM, Khan AH, Ahmed A, Surin J & Mak JW (2013). Prevalence, predictors and clinical significance of Blastocystis sp. in Sebha, Libya., Parasites & vectors, 6 86. PMID: 23566585

Clark CG, van der Giezen M, Alfellani MA & Stensvold CR (2013). Recent developments in blastocystis research., Advances in parasitology, 82 1-32. PMID: 23548084

Malheiros AF, Stensvold CR, Clark CG, Braga GB & Shaw JJ (2011). Short report: Molecular characterization of Blastocystis obtained from members of the indigenous Tapirapé ethnic group from the Brazilian Amazon region, Brazil., The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene, 85 (6) 1050-3. PMID: 22144442