A "true treasure" in breast milk may mitigate the effects of strenuous cancer treatment!

A team of researchers from Vanderbilt University in the United States discovered that breast milk contains a treasure trove of sugars that may have multiple health and industrial benefits, including alleviating the effects of chemotherapy.

Chemotherapy is a lifesaver for many cancer patients, but it also brings very stressful physical effects, the most important of which is mucositis, a condition that causes severe inflammation and ulceration in the digestive system, leading to pain, bleeding, and diarrhea.

The study's lead researcher, Stephen Townsend, a professor of chemistry at Vanderbilt University, was inspired by his mother's experience undergoing breast cancer treatment. He said she told him the worst part was not losing her hair or nails, but that she had diarrhea every day.

The Newsweek report revealed that Townsend and his colleague Fang Yan found that a sugar called 2-fucosilactose found in breast milk may solve this problem.

The study, published in the Journal of Cellular and Molecular Gastroenterology and Hepatology, showed that 2-fucosylactose could protect cells lining the stomach from damage caused by chemotherapy in mice.

Researchers hope that this sugar can be given to patients with chemotherapy, to reduce diarrhea.

Townsend believes the sugars in breast milk, which are estimated to be as many as 200, may have many applications other than cancer treatment.

“We have been studying these sugars for only 10 to 12 years, and we discovered that they have amazing properties,” he said.

For example, breast milk sugars may also help fight bacterial infections without harming the beneficial bacteria in our gut.

As a chemist, Townsend aims to create enzymes and engineered microbes that can produce these sugars industrially on a large scale. However, he stated that even if successful, his product would still be far from mimicking the complex composition of human breast milk.

The 20 harshest types of pain a person can suffer!

Feeling pain is a thorny topic due to the difference in pain thresholds between individuals, especially in the presence of health conditions that cause unbearable pain at times.

The British National Health Service (NHS) revealed that there are 20 conditions that are classified as causing “severe pain” to the point that it can prevent you from performing daily tasks, including bone fractures and kidney stones.

Frozen shoulder is classified by the NHS as one of the worst pains you can suffer from, as the joint becomes so tight and stiff that it is almost impossible to lift your arm.

The complete list of conditions that cause the worst types of pain includes:

- Herpes zoster.

- Cluster headache.

- Frozen shoulder.

- Bone shattering.

- Complex Pain Syndrome (CRPS).

- Heart attack.

- Slipped disc.

- Sickle cell disease.

- Arthritis.

- Migraines.

- Sciatica.

- kidney stones.

- Appendicitis.

- Trigeminal neuralgia.

- Acute pancreatitis.

- Gout.

- Endometrial.

- Ulcers.

- Fibromyalgia (a disorder characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain).

- Pain after surgery.

Regarding these cases, Dr. Gary Leroy, a family medicine specialist in Dayton, Ohio, said: “These are all pain conditions that we commonly see in the health care setting.”

However, Leroy believes that two conditions should also be included in the list: back pain and toothache.

He explained: “Chronic lower back pain affects 80% of the population at some point in their lives, because as rational humans we bend, push and pull, we end up with musculoskeletal back pain. Dental pain, which is often overlooked, can be very painful.” also".

As for what to do if "pain affects a person's ability to function in society," or when it "prevents a person from working, sleeping, or providing nutrition for themselves," Leroy recommends seeking medical advice.