Howllow Fellow Basset Hound and News of the weird lovers…
Get a load of this!
IS IT WEIRD OR WONDERFUL?
Chuck Shepherd, editor of “News of the Weird,” has been collecting peculiar stories for almost 20 years.
Proof that true stories are weirder than made-up stories.
I have been around basset drool for approximately 2 decades…I do feel healthy!
Here we have an action shot! LOL
WEIRD OR WONDERFUL? – Maybe dogs not only make up happy but also healthy!
The upcoming study will put match people between the ages of 50 and 60 with dogs and then measure to see if their immune response are affected by the presence of the dog over 12 weeks, the researchers told ABC News today.
In theory the dog’s microbiome would beneficially influence the human’s microbiome, which would affect the human’s immune system response.
Dr. Charles Raison, a professor of psychiatry at University of Arizona’s College of Medicine and lead researcher, said the dog could potentially work almost as a “probiotic” and help build healthy bacteria colonies in the human owner.
“We’re not really individuals, we’re sort of like communities [with bacteria],” Raison told ABC News. “These bacteria can powerfully impact brains and [immune health.]”
Raison said allergy and immunologist researchers have been searching for why certain immune diseases, including allergies and asthma, have increased in the Western world. One theory has been that human microbiomes have been depleted by less exposure to certain harmless bacteria. A dog could in theory help restore that balance.
“If the dogs and human owners look similar microbiota-wise … then it means dogs are basically having probiotic-enhancing microbiota of human owners,” Raison said.
The study is just the first step to investigating how dogs and their bacteria can affect immune health, he said, noting that he next wants to do another study with children.
Dr. Donna Hummell, a clinical director of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology at Vanderbilt University, told ABC News that earlier studies found that infants born to a household with dogs had lower rates of allergies and asthma and she’s interested to see if this study can shed light on what is happening on a bacterial level.
“Dogs spread their bacteria around more than cats do, particularly because dogs like to lick things and lick people and lick themselves in the process,” said Hummell, who is not involved with this study. She noted it could explain “what is happening with bacteria when [people are] living with an animal.”
Researchers have found positive news that introducing healthy bacteria in the gastrointestinal system seems to help other inflammatory gastrointestinal diseases such as Crohn’s disease but that the research on bacteria’s influence on our immune system is new, Hummell said.
“Influence of bacteria on immune system on the individual [we’re] just beginning to dissect and sort out,” she said.
End…
More, some saying weird but I say wonderful later…Love Cat, Daisy Lynn, (Chaps and Emma ATB thinking that is why bassets are best!;)
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