11 Years On

Now that the Christmas season is over, I can take a bit of a breather. It was fun, but so busy I didn't know some days from others.

I may actually put away the decorations this week (though I only took down the Halloween lights December 24th). My neighbour and I will be doing some purging this month as it's easier to get rid of stuff with an uninterested party aiding you. I hope to find a space to set up my bike besides the living room, though it did serve as a Christmas tree of sorts.

I have a slew of appointments to make for this month: eye doc, dentist, family doc...just regular annual or semiannual checkups but I will have my MS anniversary checkup soon, too. Oh, yeah, happy anniversary to me! This week marks 11 years with MS, though in retrospect, I may have had symptoms 5 years before that. I'll be making chocolate cake of some sort this week to share with the staff at the clinic, and like last year there will be pictures. Stay tuned!

And basketball begins this week. Here's a great shot of the owner of the Rainmen taken by the Wookie at one of the exhibition games recently:


We'll be attending the games with our friends Kathy and Jane, which in itself is a hoot. These gals have the same sense of humour we do, poor things.

S.

Let Them Eat Dirt

For almost 11 years I have been wondering what MS is good for, or to put it in other terms, how did MS evolve into what we know it as today?

Who or what organism benefits from a body having MS?

I have spoken about the "hygiene hypothesis" on this blog and the use of worms (called helminths) in possibly treating MS and other auto-immune disorders. Studies are currently under way to see if these creatures are truly beneficial to people with MS. If they are, we need to understand why. Do the worms provoke a type of response that protects from MS symptoms? If so, how?

I came across the "old friends" hypothesis recently and it is related to the hygiene hypothesis. Friendly microorganisms exist all over the world and in our guts. We eat them, drink them, and breathe them in without being aware of it. But we are an obsessed society these days, with improved sanitation and potable water systems, anti-bacterial soaps, and germaphobia, so many of these organisms don't stand a chance of surviving. There appears to be evidence that these "old friends" are needed to build and maintain healthy immune systems. And perhaps the presence of these "old friends" affects our own gene's expressions. If we don't have them, our genes are activated and ta-da! MS appears.

Humans have evolved to the point where we need certain microbes to live in and on us in order for us to maintain our health. If we didn't have the myriad of creatures living with us that we do, the world would be a lot less habitable.

We have been investigating the "viral" theory of MS for years; in other words, we are exposed to a virus that years later provokes an immune response we identify as MS. Maybe we should be looking at what we are missing from our bodies that causes MS. A virus may be the ultimate culprit for MS but what if there's another organism that by its mere existence in our system, battles the virus' long term effect on our immune system and stops the development of MS?

Scientists have identified certain genes that may be involved in MS. How they are activated remains to be seen. But it could be the simple presence of micro-organisms that keep them in line. So now I have to rethink my original question and perhaps look at who doesn't get MS and why not.

The other part of this post comes from an article I came across about a microorganism that when ingested seems to boost serotonin levels.

Researchers first spotted the special effects of the bacterium, Mycobacterium vaccae, when they used it to help treat patients with lung cancer. They discovered that the bacterium reduced the patient's pain and increased their feelings of well-being.
Lead researcher Dr Chris Lowry explains: 'We thought this might be due to some affect on serotonin in the brain - a chemical that affects happiness. It's a really important chemical and low levels of serotonin can lead to depression in some people.'
We injected the bacteria into mice and found that it had a very similar effect on them as antidepressant drugs such as Prozac', says Chris Lowry. 'The bacteria were triggering an immune response in the body which somehow led to an increase of serotonin in the brain.
'This response was really specific. The bacteria were activating groups of nerve cells that produce serotonin in the areas of the brain that regulate mood and brain function, but no where else. This was what was really striking to us - we didn't expect that,' he explains.
The scientists think their results could help unravel why immune system upsets can lead to depression in some people. But before they can put the bacteria to work treating depression, they need to do some more investigations.
'But before conducting clinical trials on people we need to understand exactly how this works. We believe that the bacteria may trigger sensory nerves in our body that send information back to the brain, causing the increase in serotonin. But at the moment we're really not sure.'
Other experts agree this could be an important step. 'If you take a drug like Prozac, you are setting off all the serotonin neurons, some of which can cause nasty side effects like insomnia,' says Graham Rook, an expert in Immunology at University College London.
'But this response is very specific and activates just the neurons that affect depression. If you could work out the exact molecular mechanisms by which this bacterium works you could find a whole new way of treating depression.'

To sum everything up: eat dirt, it's good for you.

S.

Another Goal for 2009

It's that time of year when many folks turn to thoughts of self improvement, usually in the form of exercise or losing a few pounds. And that includes me. I recently lost about 17 pounds and I need to keep it off so....

I've been fairly active for the past few years with regular biking, then taking up hiking as well. The lack of enough daylight hours and the overabundance of iffy weather makes the biking and hiking difficult to achieve, except for the weekends, which, of late, have been filled with work or family related activities. So that leaves indoor exercise.

Yech.

I don't like to exercise. There. I've said it aloud, or at least on the internet. My attempts at going to the gym last for a short time and then I'm outta there. Swimming would be fun except that I seem to be susceptible to any number of microscopic organisms that seem to thrive in a chlorinated environment and on the floors of the change rooms. I had taken to wearing those little surfer bootie thingies when I went to the pool, but those don't really offer much protection. I may give the pool another chance in the new year, but don't hold your breath.
So what to do?

When I was a kid, I remember my folks doing an exercise program at home. It was designed by the Royal Canadian Air Force and can be completed in just 12 minutes a day. It greatly improves flexibility and aids in weight loss. There are two different programs, one for women and one for men and they are available online absolutely free of charge to download. Years ago, I bought a copy of the program (in the days before this here interweeb thing) and dug it out of the bookcase the other day. After taking another look at it, I realized my biggest problem with it was the format of the exercise charts. I need a spreadsheet made up. I'm sure it would be faster if I just physically drew up a chart that indicated the exercises and number of times I'm supposed to do them, but there's a young gal at work (filling in for an admin assistant) who is working on a spreadsheet for me. And that will be one of my attempts to stay nimble and ready for biking and hiking in better weather. 12 minutes a day? I can do that easily. And as soon as I have a spreadsheet done I'll post it.

I also have a yoga DVD (I can hear Denver Refashionista cheering) that I hope to get into soon.

After having been to 4 exhibition basketball games in the past 4 days I have an additional goal for 2009. I want to be able to touch the bottom of my feet with my hands while keeping my legs straight. The ball players all do it while warming up before the game so I have been inspired to do the same. 25 years ago after taking an aerobics class for two months I was able to touch the bottom of my feet. I want to be able to do that again. For some reason The Rubberband Man by The Spinners is running through my head....

S.

More Bug Close-ups

This is the eye of a butterfly, a specimen I found at the side of the road one day coming back from a bike ride to Jack's Lake:

And a close-up of its antenna:

It was rather coincidental that I found a live ladybug in the hallway of my building the other morning. They are usually snug under a layer of snow waiting for the spring this time of year. Sometimes they find their way inside, like this one. It kept moving around so was a little hard to take a still photo. Must work on taking movies next.

And a close-up of its head:

After the exam was over I let the ladybug go in my living room.

The Wookie and I and two friends went to a basketball game last night, an exhibition match up between the Halifax Rainmen and the Chicago Throwbacks. A woman was sitting behind us with 3 small kids, and the youngest kept saying Dada. The mom would say "Daddy's working honey. He can't see you right now". Then we'd hear "Dada" again. And the mom said "Daddy's guarding someone, honey". That's when we clued in that Dada was one of the players. Too funny.

Back to work tomorrow. I've rather enjoyed the past 4 and a half days off.

S.

Best Christmas Gift Ever

We had a wonderful Christmas with friends and family and the next couple of days will see more merry making, food, and company. I am looking forward to those things but I have to admit I am also ecstatic about one of my Christmas gifts.

When I was 10 I received a microscope as a gift. Whether it was for my birthday or another occassion I don't recall. But I was taking samples of everything and putting them under the lens for close-up views. A few months ago, I pulled out the scope again and the Wookie and I were contemplating a camera for it to take pictures of stuff REALLY up close. He had given me a digital camera last year because of my blog and I've gotten a lot of use out of it; the natural progression would be to a microscope camera.

So the Wookie managed to find the niftiest, coolest, most amazing thing EVER for me this year. A microscope with a camera for stills and video that connects to your computer. You hook it up and whatever you put under the lens appears on your computer monitor at 10, 60 or 200 times magnification. Oh....my....freakin'....God!!!

Last night after we came back from Mom and Dad's, the Wookie set it up and I began to look at stuff. Butterfly wings, a beetle, paper, and my still living warehouse beetle larva. I do have to experiment with light settings, but it's an absolutely thrilling experience. I feel like Sir Alexander Flemming, Marie Curie, and Einstein all rolled into one.

Pictures of Bee Wear, my warehouse beetle larva:





To put these shots into perspective, the larva itself is less than a centimetre long...maybe 8 millimetres (10 mm to a cm, 2.5 cm to an inch) so to see the actual individual hairs or specks of dust on this creature is nothing short of a miracle in my book.

The other exciting thing is that I'll be able to examine living creatures. Instead of putting them in the freezer to put them to sleep permanently, I can put them in the fridge (for about 15 minutes) to put them to sleep for a nap, look at them under the microscope and take pictures, then let them go. For this, the Wookie gets a Superhero Bug Saving Award.

Back to the lab!

S.

Coincidentally, the larva was on a piece of paper with the End MS logo on it. Even insects are getting into the campaign.

Chocolate, Wine, and Tea

Picture taken from the BBC.

Ya' gotta love those Norwegians. The land that gave us Henrik Ibsen and Edvard Grieg, gravlaks and pickled herring, Jarlsberg cheese and akvavit, has now produced a study that shows the intake of chocolate, wine and tea to have a beneficial effect on cognitive performance. Yay!

We know that these food items contain flavanoids. According to Wikipedia, flavanoids themselves aren't particularly helpful to the human body, but actually provoke a response by the body that aids in the elimination of harmful agents (and the flavanoids themselves).

Whatever. Just pass the dark chocolate, pour me a glass a wine, and we'll have a cuppa (as the Brits say).

S.

1000 Kilometres

Picture from the Science Education Resource Centre at Carleton college


While reading another blog the other day, the author was quite pleased that she had reached the goal of running 1000 kilometres in 2008. It was a goal that Maria had set for herself back in January and she did it, in segments of course, about 5 k at a time.

I could do that on my bike. So I am hearby declaring my intention now for all the blog world to read. There are some road warriors out there who ride in the winter and through snow and wind. Not me. I'll be back outside on the bike by March (I did get out a couple of times in February last year) with the goal of biking 1000k by the end of September.

A few years ago I made a goal for the new year to give Brussels sprouts another try. I love cabbage, but the little green balls named for a European city have tortured my taste buds since I was a kid. About a month into the year I had the opportunity to try a Dutch dish of stuffed Brussels sprouts. I can only imagine the hours it took to stuff all those little things. The filling had walnuts which was delicious, but the Brussels sprouts just didn't cut the mustard (so to speak). At least I gave 'em another try. (My folks love this vegetable. I was going to a farm market one summer and Dad asked me to get some, so I did. I brought home a stalk of them and he didn't know what they were, never having seen them like that before. "What is that?" he asked me. "Brussels sprouts" I said. "No they're not" was his reply.)

The thing about resolutions or goals is that they have to be attainable (realistic) and the desire to achieve them has to be strong. In Canada in the 70s there was a public health push to get people more active. The national campaign was called Participaction and it lasted for years. In schools there was a program for phys ed that involved doing a set of tests, like the 50 yard dash, a chin up for 60 seconds, a certain amount of sit ups in a certain time and by the end of the year we were supposed to be able to do certain things according to our age and degree of physical fitness. At the end of the timed tests, our results were tallied and you received a cloth patch indicating your level of fitness: bronze. silver, gold, or the highly coveted Award of Excellence. Two years in a row I got silver, so by Grade 7 I was bound and determined to get the Award of Excellence. In gym class I practiced my sit ups and chin ups, trying to do as many as I could. I ran all over the place to begin with so wasn't too concerned with that. When it came time for the testing, I did really well. The last test was to hold a chin up for 60 seconds. If I did that I'd get my Award of Excellence. After 30 seconds my little arms were burning, but the class was cheering me on. At 40 seconds they started counting the time aloud. I got to 60 seconds and thought I was going to die, but held on. I lasted 10 more seconds to cheers and shouts and was finally able to claim my Award of Excellence.

Over the years I have tried my hand at different sports and failed miserably with most of them. In grade 8, I was always selected to be the goalie while playing soccer because I was flat chested and the other girls didn't want to risk stopping the ball with their chest. I ran track and field for a couple of years but was only in the middle of the pack as far as performance went and I really didn't enjoy it. I tried jogging for a while, but never enjoyed that. I played Little League baseball for a summer but that was because people told me girls couldn't play baseball and I wanted to prove them wrong.

Until I was 16, the whole purpose (in my mind) of going to school was with the goal of becoming a doctor, a brain surgeon actually. At 16 I realized there was an enormous world out there with so many other things I dropped the idea of medicine and decided not to decide on what I wanted to be until university.

An Ironman Triathlon is out of the question for me. As is neurosurgery as a career. So I will attempt 1000k on my bike this year instead. As Maria told me, totally doable. And fun, too.

S.