The cause of itching

Harvard researchers might have figured out what causes itching — at least some of it. The answer: Staphylococcus aureus, or rather an enzyme it generates (protease V8, if you’re interested). They knew that people with eczema often had more S. aureus on their skin, but didn’t know what the connection was. Now they do.

Normally conditions like eczema and atopic dermatitis are treated by treating the inflammation — the result. But this new research means they might be able to tackle the cause instead using an FDA-approved PAR1 blocker.

Of course, the researchers have already filed for a patent based on this.

Turkey vs. ulcerative colitis

If you have turkey leftovers, good for you — they might help relieve the symptoms of ulcerative colitis.

You might think of tryptophans as what people argue about every Thanksgiving. Do they make you sleepy, or is that a myth?

Who cares? The news out of Jefferson University is that — now follow along — tryptophan can make T-reg immune cells produce more of a receptor called GPR15. The more GPR15 receptors they have, the more strongly they’re attracted to the colon. And when they get to the colon, those T-reg cells reduce inflammation.

They tested this on mice and …

They saw a doubling in the amount of inflammation-suppressing T-reg cells in the colon tissue compared to mice that weren’t fed extra tryptophan [… as well as] a reduction in colitis symptoms. What’s more, the effects seemed to last for at least a week after tryptophan was removed from the diet.

The only downside is that it seems to prevent colitis flare-ups, but do little to treat them when they occur. Still, it’s a new twist on the annual tryptophan story.

Lower cholesterol, better breast cancer outcome

Statins, it seems, might help women with breast cancer stay alive. Well, it’s more accurate to say that lowering cholesterol was good for women with breast cancer.

Finnish researchers looked at the data for more than 13,000 women with breast cancer. They found that women had a lower risk of death from that cancer if, after diagnosis, they lowered their cholesterol level.

Read that carefully. It wasn’t just that lower cholesterol was good. It was that they lowered their cholesterol after they were diagnosed. I.e., they were looking at the change in levels, not the absolute levels.

Covid’s holiday rebound

Covid cases are on the rise again, and hospitalizations jumped 8.6% in mid-November, according to CDC data.

The good news is that it’s easy to get a high percentage jump when numbers are low, which is the case. The news to watch is that cases and hospitalizations are going up.

The bad news lurking in the background is that the CDC figures are probably low; there’s no longer any kind of national tracking in place. It’s not time to buy toilet paper, or probably even to mask up … but it might be time to think about avoiding crowded indoor spaces with strangers.

Nothing to see here

There’s a Mysterious Respiratory illness spreading in China, but don’t you worry says the WHO. It’s probably nothing to worry about.

This report brought to you by Charmin bathroom tissue. Do you have enough?