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Antidepressants may help only the severely depressed

Posted on by Sally Kneidel

Text and photo by Sally Kneidel, PhD, at sallykneidel.com

According to the CDC, about one in five Americans are affected by depression and/or anxiety. That seems about right to me, or maybe even a low estimate. Perhaps women talk about it more, but it seems to me at least half my close friends struggle with anxiety or depression at some point. Could be because it’s February right now. You know, seasonal affective disorder (SAD).  SAD is depression brought on by the diminished daylight hours of winter. Check out the symptoms and solutions for season affective disorder on WebMD. It’s more common than I used to think.

But anyway, I didn’t start this post to discuss depression.

What caught my attention, and what I want to tell you about, is a recent report about antidepressants. This  report was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.. The authors of the study concluded that antidepressants don’t seem to work well for people with mild or moderate symptoms of depression.

A depression-rating questionnaire

To back up for a moment, it turns out that pharmaceutical companies test their new medications only on subjects who are severely or very severely depressed, because the tests are then more likely to show that the medicines are effective.  In order to qualify for a clinical trial of a new antidepressant, a subject must score over 19 on a standardized test (the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale ) that rates the degree of depression. A score of 20 or more qualifies you as severely or very severely depressed.  I understand the pharmaceutical companies’ perspective – they want their drugs to be approved by the FDA, so they pick the subjects most likely to improve on the med being tested.

But is it ethical, to then claim that the medicine is effective for people with any degree of depression?

Perhaps not. Says Gregory Simon, a mental health researcher in Seattle, “About half the people treated by doctors fall into the moderate or even mild range.”

Do antidepressants work better than placebos?

In the JAMA study referenced below, Fournier and DeRubeis and their colleagues compared depressed people taking an antidepressant with depressed people taking a placebo. They grouped their subjects according to their score on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale. For subjects who scored less than 25 on the test, the antidepressants had so significant effect or only “a small effect” over the placebo.  For subjects scoring higher than 25 on the test, the antidepressants did have “a clearly significant effect.”

The authors of  the JAMA article concluded that “the magnitude of benefit of antidepressant medication may be minimal or nonexistent, on average, in patients with mild or moderate symptoms.”

So what does it mean? Should mildly or moderately depressed people be prescribed antidepressants? Is there any chance of their being significantly helped by the medications?

Dr. Philip Wang, deputy director of the National Institute of Mental Health, says that consumers with mild symptoms shouldn’t necessarily be scared off drugs.

“They don’t not work for everyone, and they don’t work for everyone,” Wang says. “I think buried within the group are people who do respond if they have mild or moderate depression.” He recommends that doctors monitor patients who don’t respond to meds, and offer then alternative treatments instead.

Wang sounds a bit evasive.

$9.5 billion in 2008 sales of antidepressants

One option for doubtful patients is to take the test (link below), print this post, and show it to your doctor. Why take meds if they’re not helping? Most antidepressants have side effects that can be unpleasant…including sexual dysfunction, headaches, constipation, and stomach upset. Are we being bilked by the pharmaceutical companies?  Antidepressants were the third most popular type of drug dispensed in 2008, with $9.5 billion in sales!  The strategies of the huge pharmaceutical companies are working, that much is clear. But then again…..when meds do help with depression, they can help a lot.

It’s hard to know for sure. I do know that we need more studies to tell us definitively if antidepressants can help mildly or moderately depressed people, who comprise a huge segment of our population.

Sources:

“Treatment works: get help for depression and anxiety”. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
www.cdc.gov

“What is seasonal affective disorder (SAD)?” www.WebMD.com

Jay C. Fournier, Robert J. DeRubeis et al. “Antidepressant drug effects and depression severity.” Journal of the American Medical Association 303:47-53. January 6, 2010.

Alix Spiegel. “Meds may only help those with severe depression.” All Things Considered, NPR. January 6, 2010.

Hamilton Depression Rating Scale

Rebecca Ruiz. “America’s most medicated states.”   www.forbes.com  8/17/09

Keywords:: depression, health, medication, antidepressants, antidepressants work only for severe depression, depression questionnaire, depression rating scale

Posted in Health, Pharmaceuticals Tagged with: ,

Insects breeding faster due to global warming

Posted on by Sally Kneidel

Orange-sulphur butterfly, photo by Alan Kneidel

This post now appearing on the Daily Me

Those of us concerned about greenhouse gases and climate change have a new study to ponder. This study, from Dr. Florian Altermatt at UC Davis, documents once again the biological effects of global warming.

Altermatt examined insect data from Central Europe. Temperatures have been increasing there for decades, but particularly since 1980. This European warming trend is increasing the number of generations per year for some insects.

Altermatt discovered this by analyzing climate records and population data for 263 butterfly and moth species in Central Europe. He included only species that are known to have more than one generation per year, at least occasionally.

Because the warming trend in Central Europe has been more dramatic since 1980, he compared insect-breeding data before 1980 to insect-breeding data after 1980.

He found that, for 190 of the 263 species examined (=72%), the second or subsequent generation became more pronounced after 1980 compared with before 1980.  In other words, for most of the species he examined, there were more generations per year after 1980.

So what?

What difference does that make to the ecology of our planet?  There are a number of potential repercussions, few of them good.

For one thing, many crop pests are larvae of moths or butterflies, such as the cabbage white and the tomato hornworm – to name just a couple from my own garden.  A population that is having more generations per year will grow in number faster than a population with fewer generations per year, all other things being equal. So global warming could mean faster-proliferating insect pests, hence higher numbers of insect pests on crops.

In addition to that, higher numbers of a particular insect species can lead that species to deplete its food source, or outcompete and eliminate its competitors for limited resources such as food or breeding sites.

Ecosystems can be altered if just one species goes awry

Another potential result of an overblown insect population could be increases in the predators of this insect species. Predators of butterflies, moths, and their larvae include birds, lizards, mice, toads, parasitic wasps, and many more. If these predator populations increase, this could have a dampening effect on the other prey of these predators, prey that could have economic value – or could be significant species in their respective ecosystems.  As ecologists have demonstrated repeatedly, eliminating any species from an ecosystem, or even just changing the density of one species, can have profound effects on the stability of the ecosystem as a whole.  Ecosystems are highly complex systems whose parts are intricately interdependent.

The principle that Altermatt demonstrated is far more significant than the particulars he reported.  Specifically, he showed that 72% of the moths and butterflies he looked at in Central Europe have more generations per year now that the climate is warmer.  But his data suggest something far more sinister….that any or all terrestrial invertebrates may have their breeding disrupted in some fashion by climate change.

Most animal species are invertebrates

The vast majority of animal species on this planet are invertebrates, which are much more directly susceptible to temperature changes, since their body temperature fluctuates with the air or water around them. When invertebrates are warmer, all of their physiological processes are speeded up.  This is unlike warm-blooded mammals and birds (including humans), whose body temperatures remain the same regardless of ambient temperatures (disregarding accidents such as a plunge into frigid waters).

Are negative consequences inevitable?

We don’t really know. Animals that have more generations can adapt faster to changing conditions. Or maybe more insects could mean more prey for birds that are declining.  It’s conceivable that there could be benefits to having insects breed faster.  Is that the most likely outcome?  I don’t know.  But I don’t think so.  The few stable ecosystems we have remaining are the result of millions of years of co-evolution.  It’s hard to think that a few years of random interference is going to improve millions of years of fine-tuning.

What can be done?

Reduce your own carbon footprint.  Residents of the United States generate more greenhouse gases per person than residents of any other country in the world.

The easiest thing you can do, every day,  is to eat fewer animal products (see “Livestock and Climate Change” by Worldwatch Institute).  The Worldwatch Institute, a prominent environmental think-tank, reports that the livestock sector generates 51% of greenhouse gases worldwide.

Find ways to drive less. Carpool, ride your bike, take public transportation.  If you do drive, use a fuel-efficient car.

Choose a passive-solar home, which can reduce your heating and cooling needs to almost nothing.

The Union of Concerned Scientists has reported that our diets, our transportation, and the way we heat and cool our homes are the biggest consumer contributions to greenhouse gas emissions and pollution in general.

Take the Environmental Footprint quiz and learn more about how to reduce your own carbon footprint.

We have only a short window of opportunity over the next few years to have any hope of slowing global climate change.  Once the ice sheets are all melted, the loss of all that white ice reflecting solar radiation away from the planet will accelerate the process of global warming.

For more practical suggestions about how to reduce your carbon footprint, see our book Going Green: A Wise Consumer’s Guide to a Shrinking Planet. The book offers strategies regarding diet, housing, transportation, clothing, and other consumer choices that we all make every day.

Sources:

Florian Altermatt.  12/22/2009. “Climatic warming increases voltinism in European butterflies and moths.” Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

Sally Kneidel, PhD, and Sadie Kneidel. 2008. Going Green: A Wise Consumer’s Guide to a Shrinking Planet. Fulcrum Books.

Some of my recent posts about climate change:

North Carolina’s vital coastal breeding grounds vulnerable to climate change

Tree deaths have doubled due to climate change

Livestock account for 51% of annual global climate change.

Famous ice caps of Kilamanjaro gone by 2022

Copenhagen data: 10% of Florida underwater by the end of the century

One-tenth of Louisiana to be submerged by 2010

Irvine CA schools go solar; most comprehensive solar school plan in the U.S.

Less meat…..smaller footprint

Most earth-friendly mass transit

Green tip #1: Annex the outdoors and save energy and materials

How to buy a used, fuel-efficient, and green car

Keywords:: climate change greenhouse gases global warming carbon footprint Florian Altermatt increase number of generations in butterflies Central Europe voltinism Proceedings of Royal Society B University of California at Davis

Posted in Climate change, Energy-efficient housing, Environmental footprint, Sustainable choices for your home, Sustainable Living, Wildlife, Wildlife behavior, Wildlife survival Tagged with: , , , , , ,

Natural daylight may improve children’s eyesight

Posted on by Sally Kneidel

Photo by Sally Kneidel, PhD

This post now on Google News and on wwwbasilandspice.com

In the last 30 years, the number of nearsighted Americans has increased dramatically, by 66%.  Nearsightedness, or myopia, is the inability  to focus on distant objects. In the early 1970s, 25% of Americans were nearsighted. Now, says epidemiologist Dr. Susan Vitale of the National Eye Institute, 42% of Americans are nearsighted.

Why?

Does too much reading cause nearsightedness?

Scientists have believed for decades that nearsightedness is caused by genetics (family history) and the amount of “near-work” that a person does, such as reading. For Americans, that could include watching TV and playing video games. Dr. Don Mutti, an optometrist at Ohio State, says, “Kepler wrote…400 years ago, that he thought his nearsightedness was due to his intense study of astronomical tables and so forth.”

Dr. Mutti has been researching the causes of myopia.  For the past 20 years, Dr. Mutti has followed a group from childhood to adulthood, tracking their habits to see who develops myopia.  Heredity does, to a large degree, influence who will become myopic later on.  But Dr. Mutti has discovered something else, something surprising and unexpected.

In his study, the amount of “near-work” such as reading and watching TV did not predict who would be nearsighted later. Said Dr. Mutti about his most current research, “near-work had no influence at all”.

Dr. Mutti found an unexpected cause…

What did predict nearsightedness was the amount of time spent indoors vs. outdoors during childhood.

Said Dr. Mutti: “If you have two nearsighted parents and you engage in a low level of outdoor activity, your chances of becoming myopic by the 8th grade are about 60%. If children engaged in over 14 hours per week of outdoor activity, their chances of becoming nearsighted were now only 20%.  So it was quite a dramatic reduction in the risk of becoming myopic.”

This could seem to support the “near-work” theory – if you’re not outside, then you must be inside reading or watching TV. But Mutti looked at that possibility, and ruled it out. Mutti looked at exercise too, and ruled that out as well.  Children exercising indoors did not get the same benefit of better vision as children spending time outdoors.

Outdoor light may benefit the eyes

Mutti is now conducting a study to test his suspicion that outdoor light levels may be responsible, that outdoor light may have a beneficial effect on the eye. He suspects that outdoor light may change some aspects of retinal physiology.

Let’s use natural lighting in all our schools

Sounds good to me. Daylight can save energy, as well as possibly preserving our vision.  In fact, one of the most cost-effective changes a school can make toward saving energy is using natural daylight to illuminate classrooms.  See Jeff Barrie’s award-winning documentary “Kilowatt Ours” or the article on Treehugger to learn more about schools that have made the move to natural daylight, and have saved money and reduced their carbon footprint by doing so. Could these progressive schools be protecting eyes and protecting the planet at the same time?

Sources:

Susan Vitale, PhD, et al. December 2009. “Increased Prevalence of Myopia in the United States Between 1971-1972 and 1999-2004.” Archives of Ophthalmology 127(12):1632-1639.

Deborah Amos. January 11, 2010. “Medical detectives focus on myopia”. Morning Edition, National Public Radio.

Nathan Seppa. January 16, 2010. “Nearsightedness increasing.” Science News. www.sciencenews.org

Jeff Barrie. “Kilowatt Ours“.

Jasmin Malik Chua. “Natural light gives you smartypants“. August 28, 2007. www.treehugger.com

I took the photo of the child above in Welverdiend, South Africa. A few of my previous posts about Welverdiend are “An African village seeking solutions” and “African village of Welverdiend believes in the power of good” and “My visit to a traditional healer“.  Enter the word Welverdiend in this website’s search window to find more of my posts about this inspiring and welcoming village.

Posted in Climate change, Environmental footprint, Health, Human behavior Tagged with: , , , ,

North Carolina’s vital coastal breeding grounds vulnerable to rising seas

Posted on by Sally Kneidel

This post now a Google Link and on www.basilandspice.com

Map of NC coastline with barrier islands, courtesy of www.cop.noaa.gov

by Sally Kneidel, PhD

I’ve written posts about Florida and Louisana losing ground to rising seas. Both states are projected to lose at least 10% of their land mass this century.

North Carolina hasn’t gotten has much press as Louisiana and Florida, but NC is among the states most vulnerable to rising seas, reports the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association. Coastal inundation in North Carolina would affect industries and wildlife far beyond the state’s borders.

The Outer Banks protect the mainland

North Carolina’s mainland coast is at present protected by a continuous arc of barrier islands known as the Outer Banks. The Outer Banks take the full brunt of the hurricanes and tropical storms that often strike the Atlantic coast of the southern U.S. Over the past few decades, the Outer Banks have become increasingly developed with expensive vacation real estate as well as year-round communities.

One undeveloped area on the Outer Banks is the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, which remains a breeding ground for sea turtles and for thousands of shore birds, including endangered species such as the Piping Plover.

The people and the wildlife of the Outer Banks are extremely vulnerable to rising seas.

NC seas could rise 4.6 feet, says panel on January 16

A panel of scientists and engineers reported on January 15, 2010, that the sea level on the NC coast may rise as much as 4.6 feet this century. Even a rise of 3 feet, they report, would wipe out the Outer Banks. If or when that happens, the repercussions will be far flung.

Rising seas likely to wipe out vital breeding grounds

Between the Outer Banks and North Carolina’s mainland are brackish wetlands and the calm waters of the Pamlico Sound, an area of fewer predators than the open ocean. The Pamlico Sound serves as a nursery for much of the young sea life of the entire East Coast. But if the Banks are submerged, the Sound and 2300 square miles of low-lying marshland will be flooded with saltier sea water, which will destroy the brackish ecosystem, as well as the fishes that are adapted to the less salty water of the Pamlico Sound as youngsters.

This is not just a nightmare for naturalists and ecologists. The commercial fishing industry would also be devastated by the loss of this important breeding ground.

Although scientists cannot predict with certainty how much sea levels will rise this century, estimates by climate scientists are leaning toward higher numbers. Ice sheets in Greenland are are shifting faster than expected, and indications of unstable ice are appearing in Antarctica, reports Gordon Hamilton of the University of Maine. Writes Bruce Henderson of the Charlotte Observer, “Ice sheets in Greenland alone could raise global seas some 20 feet.”  This is a generally accepted approximate figure. The question is, how long will it take?  And will we be able to stop or slow the process?

What can you do?

We can work to slow the process by reducing our own greenhouse gas emissions. As residents of the United States, we have the highest per capita generation of GG in the world. We can reduce our output by
eating fewer animal products (see “Livestock and Climate Change” by Worldwatch Institute), by driving less, carpooling, driving fuel-efficient cars, choosing passive-solar homes, and in general burning fewer fossil fuels. Take the Environmental Footprint quiz and learn more how to reduce your own carbon footprint. We all have to participate, if we are to reduce global climate change during the short window of opportunity we have over the next few years.

For more practical suggestions about how to reduce your carbon footprint, see our book Going Green: A Wise Consumer’s Guide to a Shrinking Planet. The book offers strategies regarding diet, housing, transportation, clothing, and other consumer choices that we all make every day.

Sources:

Bruce Henderson. “Sea rising along N.C., but how quickly? Accelerating upward creep could reshape the coast and endanger Outer Banks, scientists say.” The Charlotte Observer. January 16, 2010.

Sally Kneidel, PhD, and Sadie Kneidel. 2008. Going Green: A Wise Consumer’s Guide to a Shrinking Planet. Fulcrum Books.

Some of my recent posts about climate change:

Tree deaths have doubled due to climate change

Livestock account for 51% of annual global climate change.

Famous ice caps of Kilamanjaro gone by 2022

Copenhagen data: 10% of Florida underwater by the end of the century

One-tenth of Louisiana to be submerged by 2010

Irvine CA schools go solar; most comprehensive solar school plan in the U.S.

Less meat…..smaller footprint

Most earth-friendly mass transit

Green tip #1: Annex the outdoors and save energy and materials

How to buy a used, fuel-efficient, and green car

Keywords:   rising sea levels climate change Outer Banks North Carolina fisheries devastated endangered birds

Posted in Climate change, Environmental footprint, Rising sea levels, Wildlife, Wildlife habitat Tagged with: , , , , ,

Trees deaths have doubled due to climate change

Posted on by Sally Kneidel

Climate change is killing our trees.  This is an unfortunate irony, because we rely on living trees to remove and store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Dead trees do the opposite – their decomposition releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is the greenhouse gas primarily responsible for global climate change.

This tree data comes from a study published recently in the prestigious journal Science. The authors examined records of tree deaths from 76 plots of healthy old-growth temperate forests in the western U.S. and Canada, ranging from British Columbia to Arizona.  The scientists reported that trees are falling twice as fast as they were 50 years ago.

The study included only trees that died for “noncatastrophic” reasons.  That is, they were not victims of wildfires or huge outbreaks of pine beetles, but were routine deaths.  Overall, more than 58,000 trees were monitored for the study.

Little numbers add up to a big number

The number of routine deaths were relatively small, said co-author Mark Harmon of Oregon State University in Corvallis, but “a lot of little numbers can add up to a big number.”

If this trend continues, forests of the future may be composed of younger and thinner trees that store less carbon than the larger trees of today.  Such an effect, in addition to increased decomposition, would speed the rate of global warming.

Warm temps have changed water dynamics

The scientists concluded that the deaths were not due to air pollution such as ozone because many of the trees were in national forests with relatively clean air.  The more likely explanation, they wrote, is that the deaths are occurring as a result of climate change.  Warming temperatures have changed water dynamics in the West, with more precipitation falling as rain than snow, with earlier snow melts and longer droughts. Trees are getting less water.  Also, climate change is giving a boost to tree pathogens that prosper in warmer temperatures.

Scientists in tropical forests have not found the same effect.  In the tropics, the growth of new trees is keeping pace with the death of old ones.

What can be done?

Author Simon Lewis of Leeds University concluded that “systemic long-term monitoring of forests is essential as a warning system to potentially more dramatic changes.”  Yes, monitoring could be useful.

In addition to that, we can all try to reduce our own carbon production: by eating fewer animal products (see “Livestock and Climate Change” by Worldwatch Institute), by driving less, carpooling, driving fuel-efficient cars, building passive-solar homes, and in general burning fewer fossil fuels. Take the Environmental Footprint quiz and see how to reduce your own carbon footprint. We all have to participate, if we are to reduce global climate change during the short window of opportunity we have over the next few years.

For more practical suggestions about how to reduce your carbon footprint, see our book Going Green: A Wise Consumer’s Guide to a Shrinking Planet. The book offers strategies regarding diet, housing, transportation, clothing, and other consumer choices that we all make every day.

Sources:

Phillip J. Van Mantgem et al. “Widespread Increase of Tree Mortality Rates in the Western United States.” Science 23.  January 2009.

Susan Milius. “Everyday tree deaths have doubled“. Science News. Feb 14. 2009

Sally Kneidel, PhD, and Sadie Kneidel. Going Green: A Wise Consumer’s Guide to a Shrinking Planet: Fulcrum Publishing. 2008.

A few of my recent posts about climate change:

Livestock account for 51% of annual global climate change.

Famous ice caps of Kilamanjaro gone by 2022

Copenhagen data: 10% of Florida underwater by the end of the century

One-tenth of Louisiana to be submerged by 2010

Irvine CA schools go solar; most comprehensive solar school plan in the U.S.

Less meat…..smaller footprint

Most earth-friendly mass transit

Green tip #1: Annex the outdoors and save energy and materials

How to buy a used, fuel-efficient, and green car

Posted in Climate change, Environmental footprint, Going Green (co-authored with Sadie Kneidel), Livestock, Sustainable choices for your home, Sustainable Living, Wildlife habitat Tagged with: , , , , , , , ,

H1N1 weekly deaths increase, but spread of virus decreases

Posted on by Sally Kneidel

This post now a Google News Link and on www.basilandspice.com.

Wonder what’s going on with the H1N1 virus?  If there’s going to be a third wave of the epidemic this flu season, we should know soon.  But the CDC is still not sure what lies in store for the rest of this winter.

The Centers for Disease Control closely monitor and analyze all data on H1N1, and do their best to make predictions. On their very thorough website, they posted their most recent H1N1 reports on January 4. As you can see, the report has mixed indicators of future trends for H1N1.  It also has a lot of information about what you can do to protect yourself.

Number of deaths has increased
The Jan 4 report says that, for the most recent week analyzed (Dec 20-26), the number of flu deaths increased over the preceding week. The number of deaths is now back above the “epidemic” threshold, after dipping below it for the first time in 11 weeks. Almost all of the influenza viruses identified this winter in the U.S. continue to be 2009 H1N1 influenza A virus, which is susceptible to the H1N1 vaccine now being widely offered to the public.

Doctor visits up; hospitalization rates steady
For the week Dec 20-26, visits to doctors for flu-like symptoms increased over the previous week. Overall hospitalization rates for flu and its most dangerous complication (pneumonia) were unchanged from the previous week.

Antivirals still effective
For persons very sick with H1N1 and pneumonia, the currently circulating H1N1 virus remains susceptible to the antiviral drugs oseltamivir and zanamivir “with rare exception.”

Is the virus in decline?
The number of states reporting widespread influenza activity decreased for the last week analyzed (Dec 20-26).  In addition, the number of pediatric deaths has decreased, even though the total number of deaths increased.

Get the shot!
The CDC continues to urge the public to get inoculated against H1N1. The shot or mist is offered widely at county health departments and doctors’ offices. When I went to get a shot at my local county health department, the vaccine was free. There was a $15 administration fee, which is covered by insurance. The CDC has said repeatedly that widespread vaccination of the public can be a major factor in preventing a third wave of the disease. The vaccine will continue to be widely available through January.

Vulnerable groups
On January 2, Science News ran an online story saying sickle-cell increases vulnerability to H1N1 in children, although I didn’t see that on the CDC website.

The CDC reports that persons most vulnerable to complications from H1N1 are:

  • People 65 and older
  • Children under 5
  • Pregnant women
  • African Americans
  • People with these health conditions:
  • HIV/AIDS, severe immunosuppresssion, diabetes, disabilities, cardiovascular disease, asthma, arthritis, cancer patients and survivors, chronic pulmonary obstructive disease.

People who interact a lot with the public in their jobs may be more likely to contract H1N1 than others.

See Source #4. below for more info about vulnerable groups.

Symptoms
According to the CDC, you may have the flu if you have some or all of these symptoms:

  • fever (may or may not be present)
  • cough
  • sore throat
  • runny or stuffy nose
  • body aches
  • headache
  • chills
  • fatigue
  • sometimes diarrhea and vomiting

Prevention
To prevent infection in yourself and your children: get the vaccine, wash your hands frequently with soap or alcohol gel, avoid contact with those who are ill, avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth when out in public.  And if you have flu-like symptoms, call or see your health care provider. Stay home at least 24 hours after your fever is gone.

Sources:
1. Centers for Disease Control. 2009 H1N1 Flu: Situation Update January 4, 2009
2. CDC. 2009 H1N1 Flu: Situation Update – Key Flu Indicators January 4, 2009
3. CDC. General Information about 2009 H1N1 Vaccines (and where to find a vaccine)
4. CDC. People at High Risk of Developing Flu-Related Complications. November 10, 2009
5. CDC. Flu View. (a map of state-by-state influenza activity). For week ending Dec 26, 2009
6. Nathan Seppa.  “H1N1 Hits Sickle Cell Kids Hard“. Science News. January 2, 2009

My previous posts about H1N1:
H1N1 shot made my son vomit, but GO GET THAT SHOT 12/24/2009

H1N1 widespread but declining. Experts disagree about a third wave of H1N1 this winter. 12/02/2009

Second wave of H1N1 declining in numbers but not severity. Third wave may be the worst 11/18/09

The most dangerous cases of H1N1 11/12/2009

My daughter says elderberry got rid of her H1N1 10/22/2009

Why is swine flu likely to return in winter? It’s not because we’re cooped up together in winter 5/8/2009

H1N1 is a swine flu and has its roots NC, the land of Smithfield 5/2/2009

Smithfield blamed for swine flu by Mexican press 4/29/2009

Keywords: CDC H1N1 vaccine influenza swine flu vulnerable groups epidemic

Posted in Wildlife

Exposure to a widely used chemical in utero leads to less masculine play in male children

Posted on by Sally Kneidel

Boys exposed in the womb to chemicals called phthalates are less likely to engage in masculine play during childhood.  So says a study soon to be published in the International Journal of Andrology.  Masculine play was defined as playing with guns, cars, trucks and other toys typically favored by boys.  The greater the exposure during pregnancy, the more dramatic was the behavioral effect later. Girls’ play was not affected.

Hormones program the fetal brain

According to Heather Patisaul, a neuroendocrinologist at NC State, male sex hormones program fetal brain development, and this programming explains why boys like trucks and girls tend to prefer dolls. Anything that interferes with this hormonal influence can subtly reduce masculinization of a male’s brain.

Phthalates have previously been reported to affect male hormones, but it was not known how this affected behavior.  The current study began several years ago when researchers measured phthalates during mid-pregnancy in a group of women across four states.  Three to six years later, the researchers asked the mothers to rate their children’s play using the Pre-school Activities Inventory.  Each mother recorded how often in the past month her child had engaged in activities such as playing house, playing with dolls, dressing up in girls’ clothes, playing with toy cars and trucks or guns, or play-fighting.  The study included 71 girls and 74 boys.

Less masculine play; more gender-neutral play

The behavioral assessment revealed that boys with the highest exposure to phthalates in the womb had the lowest incidence of typically male play and a higher incidence of gender-neutral play. The phthalate-exposed boys did not have higher scores for typically female play. The lead researcher, Shanna Swan of the University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry, said “We’d describe their play as less masculine,” but not more feminine.

These findings are thought to be particularly significant because exposure to phthalates is so widespread and includes virtually everyone in the U.S.  Phthalates are industrial chemicals widely used as solvents, including use in cosmetics such as nail polish and hair spray. They are also widely used in plastic tubing involved in food processing.

The summary I read of the study, in Science News, did not offer any suggestions about how to avoid ingesting phthalates.  If I do find any information about that, I’ll post it on http://veggierevolution.blogspot.com and on http://sallykneidel.com.  I’ll keep an eye out for the report of the study that will soon be published in the academic journal mentioned above.

by Sally Kneidel, PhD

Source:

Janet Raloff. “Chemicals from plastics show effects in boys: Fetal exposure to phthalates linked to less masculine play.” Science News. December 19, 2009.

My previous post on behavioral effects of chemical exposure in womb:

BPA exposure in womb linked to childhood behavioral changes Dec 26, 2009.

Posted in Babies, Environmental pollution, Health, Human behavior Tagged with: , ,

Baboons are Africa’s most widespread primate, but Cape subspecies may be extinct in 10 years

Posted on by Sally Kneidel

This post now a Google News Link and on www.basilandspice.com.

Chacma baboons on the road outside Skukusa in Kruger National Park, South Africa.  Photo by Sally Kneidel, PhD

The baboons were all over the road, the males with two-inch-long fangs. Scary? No, baboons are cool. Even though they can be aggressive, for the most part they totally ignore human onlookers. Unless you have food they want….

To me, monkeys and apes bridge the gap from animal to human.  Their behavior is in many ways similar to ours, but it seems so unhampered by civility.  I love them for that.  In my view, they represent our own animal nature.

I fell in love with chimps in grad school, trying to teach them American Sign Language. But the chimps really did scare me. They have big teeth too. And just like human teenagers, chimps will test authority when forced to sit for lessons. They tested me during the language sessions, “accidentally” running into me and trying to bite me, sometimes succeeding. (See my previous post about the chimps and ASL.) I gave up on teaching chimps to behave like humans, and fled to the relative simplicity of studying salamanders in the field.

But I never lost my fascination with primates. This past summer I had the joy of 4 weeks in South Africa, where we saw several primate species – vervet monkeys, lesser bushbabies, thick-tailed bushbabies, and most of all, Chacma baboons.

An adult Chacma baboon, with its long doglike face. Photo by Sally Kneidel, PhD

Baboons are the most widespread primate in Africa.

The range of some baboon species has even expanded, in spite of widespread deforestation, overgrazing, and habitat destruction. The range expansion is due to the local extinction of their predators (especially leopards), and because baboons are so adaptable in their eating habits. Chacmas can forage equally well on trees or grasses, on farmland or savannas, can get most of the water they need from their food.

A young baboon eating leaves. Photo by Sally Kneidel, PhD
Young baboons eating sausage fruits that fall from trees in southern Africa. Photo by Sally Kneidel, PhD

Baboons are clever; they can dig to reach water

Chacma baboons can even dig shallow wells in dry streambeds, which most animals don’t do. When grasses are dry, baboons just dig up the juicier roots. They will eat almost any small animal they can catch, from fish and bird eggs to young antelope. In South Africa, Chacma baboons are a major predator of young goats and sheep.

I said that primate behavior is unhampered, but that’s not really true.  According to biologist Richard D. Estes, a baboon troop is one of the most complex societies in the animal kingdom. And complexity means structure. Females and their offspring are the core of the troop, with females outnumbering males 2 or 3 to 1. The female Chacmas spend their whole lives in the troop where they were born, where they compete to attain and maintain dominance. Female rank-order is family-based: daughters inherit their mother’s rank.

A female Chacma baboon with her infant and two youngsters. The older ones may be her own, or they may be others just interested in holding her baby. Photo by Sally Kneidel, PhD

Baboons’ matrilineal society is complicated

Dominance relationships between matrilines are managed by alliances and by communication that’s nearly as complex as that of the great apes, according to Dr. Estes.(A matriline is a line of females linked by maternal descent.)

Males in the troop are subordinate to their mothers until the age of four, when their dangerous fangs develop and they leave the troop. The males may try out several troops before settling in one, at least temporarily. Males grow much larger than females, and can weigh as much as 100 lbs. The upper limit of female weight is about 60 lbs.

A male Chacma baboon displays his genitals as a signal of his maturity and social rank or dominance. Photo by Sally Kneidel, PhD

Males play “godfather” roles

After transferring to a new troop, a male is better off if he cultivates a social bond with a mature female. Estes says that a male may play a “godfather” role to her offspring, even though he is not their father. He holds and carries them, shares food with them, grooms them. Social grooming is a major pastime for baboons, and a major bonding activity.

Social grooming of the head is common.The recipient here seems to enjoy it! Photo by Sally Kneidel, PhD
Grooming of the hind-end is common too. I think they’re looking for fleas and ticks, but I’m not sure. Photo by Sally Kneidel, PhD

A male “godfather” will also protect his female friend from attack and protect her young from bullies. So lots of Chacma females have one to three male friends that they roost with at night. (Chacmas generally roost in trees, where they’re safer from predators.) When the female comes into estrus, one or more of these favorites, or “godfathers”, usually becomes her consort.

During estrus, the sexual skin of a female is swollen and pink, as in the female at right, above. The degree of swelling and redness signals how close she is to ovulation.  Photo by Sally Kneidel, PhD

Black-haired infants are magnets

Low-ranking females especially benefit from having male friends to protect their babies. All Chacma baboons are attracted to black-haired infants and a dominant female can hold and play with the infant of a subordinate mother, regardless of how much distress it causes the mom or the infant. But a male “godfather” will put an end to that, even though the youngster is not his own offspring. The males’ larger size, and their fangs, make them excellent defenders.

Above, a newborn infant, with the black hair that all Chacmas find so attractive in infants.  Photo by Sally Kneidel, PhD

A Cape Chacma mother nursing her black-haired infant, with her older youngster alongside. The Cape Chacma baboons are a different subspecies found only at the southern tip of Africa.  It’s thought that the isolated population of Cape Chacmas will be extinct in 10 years. Photo by Sally Kneidel, PhD

The same mother grooming her older offspring, with her black-haired infant clinging to its sibling. Photo by Sally Kneidel, PhD

A black-haired infant is such a powerful attractant for Chacma baboons that “a lower-ranking male can safely threaten and even dominate a higher-ranking one by holding out a black infant – it completely inhibits the others’s attack tendencies.”  So writes Richared Estes in his very useful book, The Safari Companion: A Guide to Watching African Mammals. Estes is a research associate of the Smithsonian Institute, an associate of the Harvard Museum of Natural History, and co-chairman of the World Conservation Unions’s Antelope Specialists Group.

Almost all primates are now in danger

Virtually all the world’s primates now are threatened by loss of habitat, by capture for the pet trade, for research labs, and for traditional medicines. Snaring or shooting primates and other species for bushmeat is a growing problem in impoverished areas. Most primates live short lives; very few die of old age. The Chacma is considered to be potentially threatened under C.I.T.E.S Appendix 2, if populations are not managed.

Some Chacma baboon troops forage in human neighborhoods, overturning garbage cans and entering homes looking for food. When food is in question, baboons can be aggressive and dangerous. And when they become pests to families, farmers, or herders, baboons and other wildlife are often poisoned.

A young baboon foraging in northern Kruger National Park, South Africa.  Photo by Sally Kneidel, PhD

What can you do?

When visiting an area with primates, never feed them, even if you see others doing so. Feeding them endangers their health and the safety of the entire troop. Baboons that associate humans with food can get dangerously aggressive, and then are likely to be killed. Consider making donations to conservation organizations that protect habitat or protect primates directly, such as the Jane Goodall Institute, Traffic, World Wildlife Fund,  African Conservation Foundation, and Conservation International. Or support impoverished communities in areas where primates live. People with other opportunities to support their families are less likely to snare and sell wildlife.

Sources:

Richard D. Estes. The Safari Companion: A Guide to Watching African Mammals.1997.

Bill Branch et al. Travellers’ Wildlife Guides: Southern Africa. 2007.

My previous posts about Africa: wildlife, indigenous villages, health, climate change, and ecotourism:

Famous ice caps of Kilimanjaro gone by 2022.  12/17/2009

Budding scientists assess the tiny critters of Africa 11/11/2009

New studies confirm that circumcision saves lives in Africa 10/28/2009

My visit to a traditional healer in Africa: “Call on your female ancestors” 9/28/2009

Seeing myself….in the eyes of a monkey 9/8/2009

A sustainable, locally run, and off-the-grid resort in South Africa; great for birding 8/26/2009

With a chain-saw, he cut off the rhino’s valuable horn 8/15/2009

Leopard adventure: male and female clash over prey 8/4/2009

We were lucky to see lions on a kill. But are lions disappearing from Africa? 7/30/2009

In the Africa village of Hamakuya, we learned about life with limited resources. 7/24/2009

Female hyenas, all hermaphrodites, bully male hyenas and steal prey from lions. 7/17/2009

African village of Welverdiend believes in the power of good. 7/10/2009

Pope values religious dogma over African lives? 3/18/2009

Ecotourism can buffer the effects of poverty. 10/20/2008

Can a warmer planet feed us? 6/14/2008

Environmental footprints of rich nations outweigh debt 3/21/08

Violence in Darfur fueled by global warming. 11/2007

Breastfeeding gets a new review in sub-Saharan Africa. 10/25/2007

An African village seeking solutions. 8/26/2007

Plan to spend a day in the African village of Welverdiend 8/6/2007

The luminous, magical continent. 7/19/2007

Back from Africa; elephants may be culled. 7/13/2007

One African family struggles to survive 3/17/2007

Key words:: Chacma baboons primates South Africa Kruger National Park loss of habitat endangered threatened impoverished communities conservation pet trade research trade poisoning bushmeat traditional medicine

Posted in Wildlife Tagged with: , , , , ,

BPA exposure in womb linked to childhood behavioral changes

Posted on by Sally Kneidel

I came across two articles recently (1.and 2. below) about an environmental contaminant, bisphenol-A, that can cause subtle behavioral changes in offspring when ingested during pregnancy. The articles reported on the same study, but chose somewhat different remarks to report from the researchers.

For this study, urine samples were taken from 249 pregnant women at 16 and 26 weeks of pregnancy, and BPA levels were measured in their urine. When the children were 2 years old, their behavior was assessed with the Behavioral Assessment System for Children-2 (BASC-2).

The study of BPA exposure was published in Environmental Health Perspectives online on Oct 6, 2009, by researchers at Simon Fraser University, University of North Carolina, and Cincinnati Children’s hospital.

Exposed girls may act more like boys

The researchers reported that daughters of women with higher levels of PBA in their urine during early preganancy were more likely to have aggressive and hyperactive behaviors than daughers of women with lower BPA levels. “In other words, girls whose mothers had higher BPA exposure were more likely to act like boys than girls whose mothers has lower BPA levels, especially if the exposure was seen earlier in pregancy, ” said doctoral student Joe Braun, one of the study’s lead authors, at the UNC School of Global Public Health.

Male offspring exposed to BPA in utero became more anxious and withdrawn than unexposed male offspring.

Early pregnancies most vulnerable

The higher the levels of BPA during mom’s first 16 weeks of pregnancy, the more likely her child was to later show behavior somewhat atypical of his or her gender on the BASC-2 test.  High levels of BPA in mom’s urine later than 16 weeks showed no link to behavior.

Behavioral changes in the most highly exposed babies averaged 2 to 6 points higher on the BASC-2 test (on a 100-point scale) for each 10-fold increase in mom’s early urinary BPA values, Braun reports.  Said researcher Lamphear, “the magnitude of these changes is similar to the subtle IQ drops attributable to environmental lead exposures in U.S. children.”

The team has continued to study the children who are now 3 to 5 years old.

The cause for the changes are not known. But there have been growing concerns about BPA exposure for years, said Braun.  Earlier studies have shown the same effects in the offspring of mice exposed to high BPA levels during pregnancy. The changes have persisted beyond infancy in the mice.

BPA is used to make polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins that are found in some kinds of plastic bottles, canned food linings, water supply pipes and medical tubing.  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 93% of people in the U.S. have detectable levels of BPA in their urine.  More than 99% of the pregnant women in the study tested positive for BPA in at least one of the urine tests, usually in the low parts-per-million range.

Canada has banned BPA in baby bottles

“Canada has bannned BPA in baby bottles and other baby products but that may not be sufficient to protect children.  Although this is the first study of its kind, it suggests that we may also need to reduce exposures during pregnancy,” said Dr. Bruce Lanphear, professor of children’s environmental health in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University and one of the study’s lead authors.

Cash register receipts a major source of contamination

Janet Ratloff writing for Science News noted: Early data from the Warner Babcock Institute for Green Chemistry point to cash register and credit card receipts as “potentially rich sources of BPA.  Spot checks typically turn up between 60 and 100 milligrams of BPA per receipt, well avove the nanogram values that have been measured leaching from polycarbonate plastic foodware”. Says scientist John Warner,” The biggest [BPA] exposures in my opinion, will be those cash register receipts.”

Alternative sources of  “canned” tomatoes

I read elsewhere this week the comments of Fredrick Vom Saal, PhD, an endocrinologist at the University of Missouri who studies bisphenol-A.  He says: “You can get 50 mcg of BPA per liter out of a tomato can, and that’s a level that is going to impact people, especially the young.  I won’t go near canned tomatoes.”  One solution to the canned tomatoes is to buy tomatoes in glass bottles, which don’t need resin linings, such as Bionature and Coluccio. Also available are Tetra Pak boxes such as Trader Joe’s and Pomi.

Sources:
1. Patric Lane. “Prenatal exposure to BPA might explain aggressive behavior in some 2-year-old girls.” UNC News. October 6, 2009. http://uncnews.unc.edu/conctent/view/2944/1/   Patric Lane can be reached at 919.962.8596 or at patric_lane@unc.edu

2. Janet Ratloff. “BPA in womb linked to childhood behavior. Found for exposure during first 16 weeks of pregnancy.” Science News. November 7, 2009.

3. Joe Braun and Bruce Lanphear. Environmental Health Perspectives online. October 6, 2009.

Researcher contact info:
Braun can be reached at jmbraun@unc.edu or at 919.951.8519.  Lanphear can be reached at blanphear@sfu.ca or at 778.387.3939.  UNC’s Gillings School of Global Public Health contact is Ramona DuBose at ramona_dubose@unc.edu or 919.966.7467.

Key words:: BPA bisphenol-A pregnancy contaminants

Posted in Wildlife

H1N1 shot made my son vomit, but GO GET THAT SHOT

Posted on by Sally Kneidel
This post now a Google News Link and posted on www.basilandspice.com
Swine on a Smithfield factory farm,
one of which is thought to have spawned the H1N1 virus.
Photo by Sally Kneidel, PhD

Poor lad
Yesterday, my son and I went to get H1N1 shots at our local health department.  We didn’t have to wait more than five minutes, and the shot didn’t hurt more than just the needle stick. But as we walked out to the car, my son (in his early 20s) said he felt sick.  We got in the car, and before we were even out of the parking lot, he told me to pull over.  He jumped out and vomited two or three times on the grass.

When we got home he vomited again, went to bed and slept for 4 hours. When he got up he still felt sick and had a bad headache.  But the sheet we’d been given at the health department said that both “nausea” and “headache” were “mild problems” that might occur after the injection.  More serious reactions would be wheezing, hives, rapid pulse, paleness, difficulty breathing – symptoms that indicate an allergic reaction.  He had none of those.  About 7 p.m. he got off the sofa, took two Tylenol, and then took a long hot shower. After that, he felt fine.  Today he’s fine, and I’m fine too.

Get that shot
I’m not writing this to discourage anyone from getting a shot.  I’m glad we got our shots, and my son is too.  My point in writing this post is actually to urge everyone to get H1N1 shots now, because the CDC continues to say that the more vaccinations are given to the public, the lower the chance we will have a dangerous third wave of H1N1 later this winter.

The latest news on H1N1 from the CDC
Yesterday, Dec 22, the Centers for Disease Control gave another of their weekly press conferences on the status of H1N1.  I studied all 8 pages; below I’ve summarized the main points.

In the U.S., the good news about H1N1 is two-fold:

  • Less virus is circulating.
  • The vaccine is more readily available than it has been. But, the current map provided by the CDC shows that the virus is still widespread in 11 states and regionally widespread in 20 more states.

About 60 million of the 307 million people in the U.S.have been vaccinated for H1N1 thus far.  Of those, two-thirds have been children.  About half the unvaccinated people in the U.S. who have been recently polled indicate that they want to be vaccinated.  Just a month ago, interest in vaccination was higher, at 60%.  Interest in vaccination is waning because the number of cases in the current wave of infection has been declining.

The waning interest is unfortunate, say the doctors at the CDC.  Dr. Anne Schuchat of the CDC led Tuesday’s press conference, and she urged against public complaisance.  She said whether or not the U.S. experiences a third and perhaps more virulent wave of the H1N1 flu after December depends in part on how many people get vaccinated in the next few weeks. “Getting vaccinated will reduce the chance of your getting sick and reduce the chance of the country going through a third wave,” said Dr. Schuchat.

Who is most vulnerable to hospitalization with H1N1?
Schuchat was asked during the press conference, what pre-existing health conditions make patients more vulnerable to serious illness with H1N1? The most serious cases are generally those that develop into pneumonia.

She answered that H1N1 patients are more likely to be hospitalized if they have these pre-existing conditions:

  • asthma
  • chronic lung disease
  • diabetes
  • cancer
  • chronic heart disease
  • pregnancy

She said any pregnant woman who has respiratory symptoms should be seen by a doctor and treated.

Virtually all the cases of flu in the U.S. at this time are H1N1, said Schuchat.  “Everything we’re seeing in terms of the flu strains is the H1N1 virus and so it’s not gone at all. None of us know what the weeks and months ahead will bring in terms of influenza activity.”

How to find the vaccines for H1N1 and seasonal influenzas
For those who are interested in the seasonal flu vaccine, Schuchat said, “there’s a little bit of seasonal flu vaccine around.  It will be spotty place to place….the vast majority has already been used.”  She recommended checking with your doctor or pharmacy.

As for locating the vaccine for H1N1, Schuchat said about 2/3 of the states have carried out school vaccination programs.  As of Dec 22, 111 million doses of H1N1 vaccine have become available for order by states. This vaccine is available through doctors’ offices, hospitals, and health departments.

Schuchat said emphatically that children under the age of 10 need two doses of the H1N1 shot, a month apart. Five or six weeks apart is okay”

Pets
Schuchat said it’s true that some household pets – cats and dogs – have contracted H1N1. But she said “the rare occurrances of this virus in other species is not a general problem.”

My own comments about H1N1 in animals
It’s my understanding that hogs having the virus is a potential problem, because a single hog can simultaneously have two or more types of viruses that also infect people. If a particular hog has more than one type of virus, the different viruses can exchange genetic material within the hog’s cells, and make recombinant forms of virus which may be more virulent (more infective, more dangerous) than either of the contributing viruses.  This is why hogs are sometimes called “mixing vessels” in discussions of avian and swine flu viruses. It’s believed that hogs have been an essential component in the development of avian and swine flus that have or may in the future cause widespread infections.  Birds are called “trojan horses” in virology, carrying viruses far afield, and as I said, hogs are called “mixing vessels.”

So if your hogs get H1N1….well, I don’t know what to tell you.  Let’s hope they don’t.

Sources:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Wenjun Ma et al. “The hog as a mixing vessel for influenza viruses: human and veterinary implications.” J. Mol. Genet. Med. 2009.

My previous posts about Smithfield and the swine flu:
H1N1 is a swine flu and has its roots NC, the land of Smithfield 5/02/09

Smithfield blamed for swine flu by Mexican press 4/29/09

My previous posts about H1N1:
H1N1 widespread but declining. Experts disagree about a third wave of H1N1 this winter.  12/02/2009

Second wave of H1N1 declining in numbers but not severity. Third wave may be the worst 11/18/09

The most dangerous cases of H1N1 11/12/2009

My daughter says elderberry got rid of her H1N1 10/22/2009

Why is swine flu likely to return in winter? It’s not because we’re cooped up together in winter 5/8/2009

Keywords:: H1N1 swine flu hogs mixing vessels trojan horses avian flu vaccinations

Posted in Flu, Health, Livestock Tagged with: , , , ,

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These days, I blog mostly about nature and wildlife. Even the tiniest creatures make me happy! You'll also find here lots of posts about plant-based foods, health, and ecotourism. Ecotourism can support local people who make a living through sustainable use of wildlife, habitat, and natural resources.

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Our other blog, Veggie Revolution, focuses more on food than this one does, especially the environmental, health and humane aspects of our food choices. That blog was started in 2005 and continues today, while the blog you're reading now began in 2009. Some of the newer posts are on both blogs, but Veggie Rev has at least 260 more posts than this blog, including Sadie's travels to Morocco. In the sidebar of Veggie Rev, you'll see links to each year that can take you back to all the posts for a particular year.

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