Lifestyle Medicine: A Brief Review of Its Dramatic Impact on Health and Survival.

By ignoring the root causes of disease and neglecting to prioritize lifestyle measures for prevention, the medical community is placing people at harm. Advanced nations, influenced by a Western lifestyle, are in the midst of a health crisis, resulting largely from poor lifestyle choices. Epidemiologic, ecologic, and interventional studies have repeatedly indicated that most chronic illnesses, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, and type 2 diabetes, are the result of lifestyles fueled by poor nutrition and physical inactivity.

Pathogenesis of two strains of lion (Panthera leo) morbillivirus in ferrets (Mustela putorius furo).

Canine distemper virus (CDV) was previously considered to have a host range restricted to the canid family. In 1994, the virus was associated with sporadic outbreaks of distemper in captive felids. However, after severe mortality occurred in the Serengeti lions (Panthera leo), attention became focused on the pathogenesis of the virus and a concerted effort was made to identify the virus as CDV or a closely related feline morbillivirus.

Serologic and molecular characterization of an abortigenic strain of equine arteritis virus isolated from infective frozen semen and an aborted equine fetus.

A virus isolated from an aborted equine fetus was determined to be antigenically distinct from several other strains of equine arteritis virus (EAV) by use of a neutralization assay with a large panel of neutralizing monoclonal antibodies. The virus was readily neutralized by polyclonal equine anti-EAV serum. Comparative nucleotide and amino acid sequence analyses indicated that the virus (WA97) isolated from the aborted fetus was virtually identical to a virus (S1971) isolated from imported semen used to inseminate another mare on the farm.

Occurrence of puma lentivirus infection in cougars from Washington.

Puma lentivirus (PLV) antibodies were detected in 13 (25%) of 52 serum samples obtained from cougars (Felis concolor) collected by hunters. The serum samples were collected from November 1993 through January 1994 from four specific regions throughout the state of Washington (USA), and included the Olympic Mountains, the Cascade Mountains, the Blue Mountains, and the Selkirk Mountains. More (38%) seropositive cougar samples originated from the Cascade Mountains than from any other site.

Serological evidence of morbillivirus infection in polar bears (Ursus maritimus) from Alaska and Russia.

One-hundred-and-ninety-one samples of blood serum collected from 186 polar bears (Ursus maritimus) between 1987 and 1992 were analysed for morbillivirus antibodies. The samples were collected in the Bering, Chukchi and East Siberian seas. Sixty-eight samples (35.