Posts Tagged ‘health’

Cats’ Central Nervous System Could be Key to Curing Multiple Sclerosis

Tuesday, March 31st, 2009

Recent studies prove cats have a special kind of central nervous system which has the ability to heal certain parts of itself. The sheaths (myelin) around nerve fibers are  able to regenerate, allowing damaged parts of the nervous system to regain function.

When myelin in humans deteriorates, some functions of the nervous system won’t work as well. In some cases this causes Multiple Sclerosis. If scientists could figure out exactly how cats are able to regenerate myelin, they could reproduce the affects in humans.

The study shows that cats who had myelin deteriorated with irradiated food lost some function, but regained it once they were taken off of the food. The myelin sheaths regenerated and the cats were able to regain the functions they once lost.

The technology to bring these traits in cats to humans isn’t available yet, but it seems like an avenue that scientists could take to try and fix humans nerve fibers. Modern medicine hasn’t been able to pinpoint how the nervous system works, and if cats can help us figure that out, then great!

Hopefully researchers look into this discovery more and are able to find out real ways to help people. Animals already help humans in a lot of ways, this would just be one more thing to help people realize how valuable our animals are to us.

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Humans Fall for Pets, Especially Dogs

Friday, March 27th, 2009

About 86,000 people a year suffer injuries because pets cause their owners to fall. Only about one seventh of the accidents involve cats, while most of the rest involve dogs.

A lot of the accidents involve children and people around middle-age, but severe injuries happen to the elderly. This only amounts to about one percent of the total falling accidents that occur, but people who own pets should still be aware of the risk.

Your pets are walking tripwires. Most of them a small, low to the ground, and love being around your feet. It would be easy to see that you’re about to step on your pet, then lose your balance and crack your head open on the side of a table. It sounds gruesome, but it does happen.

Some of the falling accidents occur on walks while your dog is on a leash. These falling accidents can be prevented as long as your dog is well trained. Don’t let your dog pull you around. If you’re in control, it’ll be easier to keep your balance and make sure you’re safe.

The Howard dog causing his owner to fallAs long as you take precautions, there won’t be a big chance that you’ll trip over your pet. While pets can cause you to fall, if you’re aware of your surroundings, it would be tough for one to sneak under you. Combine that with proper leash training, and you shouldn’t have much to worry about.

Also, if your dog is massive, make sure he doens’t try to jump on you or give you his paw while you’re in a chair. This can cause serious injury as you fly back and smack your head on the floor. It’s a dangerous situation, and may be comical to onlookers.

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Posted in Cartoon, Pet Safety | No Comments »

Dog Cancer Survivors Could Help Humans

Tuesday, March 24th, 2009

Scientists are researching cancer in dogs to find ways to improve medication for humans. Recently, some research from the dog trials is showing it might be useful if applied to humans.

A dog named Oscar has successfully fought a cancer using drugs these scientists have made. Oscar was supposed to live no more than three months after his diagnosis, but has now been alive for five years since his owners were given the terrible news.

Cancer experiments used to be administered to rats, but testing on dogs is much more efficient. This is because dogs are more closely related to humans. Also, the tumors that sprout up in dogs are spontaneous like those that are in humans. Rat tumors are genetically bred into the rats, making them different when compared to those that are spontaneous.

The medication is still a couple of  years away from being used on humans, but this is much sooner than it would be if scientists weren’t using dogs. Without dogs, the medication would be at least a decade away, but since dogs age faster than humans, research can be done at a quicker rate.

The medication works like a Trojan Horse. The cancer killing elements are combined with B12, which attracts itself to the cancer cells, and allows the cancer killing elements in.

Some may think that testing these drugs on dogs in inhumane, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. These dogs would probably be put down if their owners didn’t agree to clinical trials. In most of the dogs’ cases, this testing is their only chance.

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Pets Affect Your Blood Pressure in a Good Way

Tuesday, March 24th, 2009

When you get home from a hard day’s work, or are just relaxing on the weekends, a pet by your side can be calming. No matter what else is happening in the world, the little animal by your side loves you and seems to try and make you feel better.

Even though you seem to feel better when your pet is around, is there evidence that shows pets have a positive medical affect on their owners? Could owning a pet really prolong your life and relieve your stress? Well, the studies have come out, and that definitely looks to be the case!

An article on the Humane Society’s Web site does a great job of citing studies and showing how a pet can help at the end of a hard work day. According to a study in the article, “…people who owned pets had much lower heart rates and blood-pressure levels…”

While our pets help our health by reducing blood pressure, do we help theirs in the same way? Can we help prolong their lives by helping with their stress? It’s possible, especially if we make an effort.

We need to help our pets in the same ways they help us. If we make sure to give our pets attention and cuddle them when they want (not just when we want), the relationship becomes more mutually beneficial.

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Posted in Howard's Opinion | No Comments »