Effective treatment for neuroblastoma

Experts have claimed that they have discovered an effective treatment for deadly cancer -- neuroblastoma -- by applying new science with a 40-year-old known drug.

Michelle Haber, a molecular and cellular biologist in Australia, said laboratory trials with mice genetically programmed to develop neuroblastoma -- a solid tumour that spreads rapidly through the body -- showed the drug, DFMO, delayed the development of tumours or prevented them forming in the first place.

By combining DFMO with conventional anti-cancer drugs such as cisplatin, that was then used to treat mice with neuroblastoma, the tumours were reduced, took longer to return and some tumours never came back, according to a report published in The Australian.

Haber, executive director of Sydney-based Children's Cancer Institute Australia for Medical Research, said, "The mice were cured. That's something you virtually never see in aggressive neuroblastoma."

Luciano Dalla-Pozza, head of oncology at Children's Hospital in Sydney welcomed the series of genetic and animal experiments Haber's team had conducted. "If the trial was opened now, I'd unhesitantly look at enrolling patients in it," Dalla-Pozza said. While roughly 75 per cent of children diagnosed with other cancers survive, only 50 per cent of those diagnosed with neuroblastoma survive. Two-thirds of youngsters get an aggressive form of neuroblastoma that kills more than 80 per cent of them within a year.

Haber said discussions were under way with Sydney Children's Hospital and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia for trials of combination therapy with children who had relapsed from neuroblastoma.

"For me that's incredibly exciting," Haber said.

ref: thetimesofindia

A diet that predisposes baby to obesity

High-fat diet during pregnancy produces permanent changes in the offspring's brain that lead to increased appetite and obesity early in life, a study in rats has shown.

The surprising new research by Rockefeller University scientists has been reported in the Nov. 12 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience. The research provides a key step toward understanding mechanisms of fetal programming involving the production of new brain cells that may help explain the increased prevalence of childhood obesity during the last 30 years. "We've shown that short-term exposure to a high-fat diet in utero produces permanent neurons in the fetal brain that later increase the appetite for fat," says senior author Sarah F. Leibowitz, who directs the Laboratory of Behavioral Neurobiology at Rockefeller. "This work provides the first evidence for a fetal program that links high levels of fats circulating in the mother''s blood during pregnancy to the overeating and increased weight gain of offspring after weaning,” the expert added.

Research in adult animals by Leibowitz and others has shown that circulating triglycerides stimulate brain chemicals known as orexigenic peptides, which in turn spur the animals to eat more. Scientists also have shown that obese and diabetic mothers produce heavier children and that exposure to fat-rich foods early in life leads to obesity in adulthood.

These studies suggested that food intake and body weight may be programmed during fetal development. But little was known about the mechanism underlying this programming.

ref: thetimesofindia

Diet alters heart failure risk

Each serving of whole-grains may lessen heart failure risk by 7 percent among middle-aged African-American and white men and women, according to findings from a long-term study.

Conversely, each serving of high-fat dairy and egg appear to increase heart failure risk by 8 and 23 percent, respectively, Dr. Jennifer A. Nettleton, of the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in Houston, and colleagues found.

"A refined grain here, a full fat yogurt there, and the occasional egg aren't going to result in heart failure, but a continued pattern of such behaviors could," Nettleton told Reuters Health.

Heart failure is a chronic disease in which the heart gradually loses its ability to pump blood efficiently, leaving organs starved for oxygen.

On 3 occasions over the 13-year study, Nettleton's group assessed the dietary intake of 14,153 adults, aged 45 to 64 years, who did not have heart failure in 1987 when the study began. About half the participants were women and a quarter were African-American,

Overall, 1,140 of the participants were hospitalized for heart failure during the study period, the researchers report in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

After accounting for factors that impact heart failure risk such as calorie intake, lifestyle, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and high blood, the researchers found lower heart failure risk associated with greater intake of whole grains, and higher risk associated with greater amounts of eggs and high fat dairy.

The associations held independently of intake of red meat, fruits and vegetables, fish, and nuts. In this study these foods showed no association with heart failure risk likely because there were too few heart failure cases to detect the heart benefits previously linked with eating fish, fruit and vegetables, and nuts, Nettleton said. However, findings from the current study are consistent with current dietary recommendations to minimize saturated fat intake from meat and high fat dairy products, and eat at least 3 whole grains each day, Nettleton said.

ref: thetimesofindia

Why crying is therapeutic after breakup

Shedding tears often eases our sense of shock or trauma after a painful breakup. But why is the act so beneficial? And is there such a thing as a "bad cry"?

University of South Florida psychologists Jonathan Rottenberg and Lauren M. Bylsma, along with colleague Ad JJM Vingerhoets of Tilburg University analysed more than 3,000 recent crying experiences (outside of lab) and found that the benefits of crying depend entirely on the what, where and when of a particular crying episode.

They found that the majority of respondents reported improvements in their mood following a bout of crying. However, a third of the participants reported no improvement in mood and a tenth felt worse after crying.

The survey also revealed that criers who received social support during their crying episode were the most likely to report improvements in mood.

Research to date has not always produced a clear picture of the benefits of crying, in part because the results often seem to depend on how crying is studied, said a Southern Florida release.

The authors note several challenges in accurately studying crying behaviour in a laboratory setting. Volunteers who cry in a lab setting often do not describe their experiences as being cathartic or making them feel better.

Rather, crying in a lab setting often results in the study participants feeling worse; this may be due to the stressful conditions of the study itself, such as being videotaped or watched by research assistants.

However, these lab studies have provided interesting findings about the physical effects of crying. Criers do show calming effects such as slower breathing, but they also experience a lot of unpleasant stress and arousal, including increased heart rate and sweating. Research has shown that the effects of crying also depend on who is shedding the tears. For example, individuals with anxiety or mood disorders are least likely to experience the positive effects of crying. These findings will appear in the December issue of Current Directions in Psychological Science.

ref: thetimesofindia

Eating at buffets can make you obese

People who eat out often at buffets and cafeterias and find their community unpleasant for physical activity are more likely to get obese, says a new study.

Ross Brownson, Ph.D., senior author of the study and a professor at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis said that it's not that people don't want to get physical activity or eat healthy foods, but lack of easy access to fresh fruits and vegetables has made people obese.

In the study conducted over 258 randomly selected adults in 12 rural communities in Missouri, Arkansas and Tennessee showed that lack of sidewalks for walking or biking or just few places available to be active has made people perceive their community unpleasant for physical activity.

"It's not that people don't want to get physical activity or eat healthy foods, but we've made it difficult in many communities," said Brownson. "People in small towns spend a great deal of time in cars, and they also may not have easy access to fresh fruits and vegetables in their markets," Brownson added.

During the study, the researchers asked the participants about their access to produce and low-fat foods, frequency and location of food shopping and frequency and location of restaurant dining. They also were asked how they perceived their community for physical activity.

The findings revealed that respondents who ate out often, especially at buffets, cafeterias and fast food restaurants, were more likely to be obese. Rural adults have higher levels of obesity and are less active in their leisure time than urban and suburban U.S. adults, said Brownson. Those with a high school education or less reported limited access to fruits and vegetables and were more likely to shop at convenience stores.

"Although obesity rates are higher in rural areas, this is one of the first studies to look at food choices and exercise in this population," says Alicia Casey, first author of the paper and now a doctoral student in health communications at Penn State University. "Determining how much these factors increase the risk of obesity in rural areas can help us determine methods to help this group," he added.

ref: thetimesofindia

Bone drug can fight breast cancer - 3

Specialists took issue with a separate analysis of that study, which hinted at a bigger benefit from starting on Femara. And pooled results of prior studies involving 20,000 women suggest that any such advantage is very small.

"At this point in time, there is a slight increase in survival in patients treated with AIs but it is not statistically significant," said that study's leader, Dr. James Ingle of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

"The only really fair interpretation is that all of these are the same," and that women should include one at some point in their treatment as guidelines now recommend, Winer said.

About 90,000 women in the United States and many more worldwide each year face this decision, and key issues are cost and side effects.

Both drugs can cause hot flashes. Tamoxifen raises the risk of endometrial cancer and blood clots. The aromatase inhibitors can cause more bone loss, vaginal dryness, problems having sex, joint pain and muscle aches.

"Many of us think that overall, they're drugs that are a little harder to take," Winer said of the newer drugs.

"When you put it all together it's almost a balancing act," depending on each woman's health history and risks, said Dr. C. Kent Osborne, a breast cancer specialist at Baylor College of Medicine ghelaniin Houston. The San Antonio Breast Cancer symposium is sponsored by the American Association for Cancer Research, Baylor and the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.

ref: thetimesofindia

Bone drug can fight breast cancer - 2

The study was sponsored by Zometa's maker, Swiss-based Novartis AG, and the study leader consults for the company. With doctor fees, a Zometa infusion can run more than $1,200. In the study it was given every three weeks for four to six months.

Known side effects of Zometa and other bone-building bisphosphonate drugs like Fosamax include bone, joint or muscle pain and in rare cases, jawbone decay. They are mainly used to treat osteoporosis.

Also at the conference, several reports strengthened evidence that newer hormone-blockers called aromatase inhibitors, or AIs, do a better job of preventing cancer recurrences and may give a slight survival advantage over the long-used drug tamoxifen.

These drugs work against estrogen, which helps most breast tumors grow, and are given for about five years after surgery for early stage breast cancer to prevent its return.

Tamoxifen has been used for decades and is sold in generic form for about $70 a month. The newer drugs cost around $300 and come in three brands: AstraZeneca PLC's Arimidex (anastrozole), Pfizer Inc.'s Aromasin (exemestane) and Novartis' Femara (letrozole). They only work in women after menopause.

Doctors already know that women who take these newer drugs either as initial treatment or after a few years of tamoxifen have better chances of staying cancer-free. But which of these approaches is best is not known.

Results of a study led by Novartis consultant Dr. Henning Mouridsen of Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark mostly were a draw. There were trends toward improved survival for women starting on Femara, but the differences were so small they could have occurred by chance alone.

ref: the timesofindia

Bone drug can fight breast cancer - 1

New research adds fresh hope that a drug that strengthens bones might also fight breast cancer. Women who were given the drug, Zometa, as part of their initisl treatment had greater tumor shrinkage and were less likely to need radical surgery, according to a prelimenary study reported Thursday at a cancer conference in Texas.

In June, doctors were stunned when a big study found that Zometa — given to prevent bone loss caused by certain cancer treatments — also greatly cut the risk that cancer would recur in women who developed the disease before menopause.

Cancer specialists are eagerly awaiting the final results of a second, ongoing study testing Zometa in 3,360 women who had breast cancer after menopause — a much more common situation.

Its leaders gave a mini-report Thursday on 205 participants who had chemotherapy to try to shrink their tumors before surgery.

Those given infusions of Zometa along with chemo had a third more tumor shrinkage and as a result, were less likely to need their whole breast removed versus just the lump, said study leader Dr. Robert Coleman of the University of Sheffield in England.

Eleven percent of Zometa takers had a complete response to treatment — no evidence of cancer in their breasts or lymph nodes — versus 6 percent of women given chemo alone.

Partial studies like this are not enough to change practice, but these results are surprising and deserve further testing, said Dr. Eric Winer of the Dana-Farber Cancer Center in Boston. Such significant benefits from the bone drug before surgery "is not something I would have expected," he said.

Winer had no role in the work or financial ties to any breast cancer drugmakers. He also is a spokesman for the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the largest group of doctors who treat cancer.

ref: thetimesofindia

Aerobics help in weight loss

Sixty minutes of vigorous aerobic exercises on a treadmill is better than 90 minutes of weight-lifting in suppressing appetite.

Aerobics do so by modifying release of two key appetite hormones, ghrelin and peptide YY, while weight-lifting affects the level of only ghrelin, according to a new study.

This line of research may eventually lead to more effective ways to use exercise to help control weight, according to co-author, David J. Stensel of Loughborough University in Britain. There are several hormones that help regulate appetite, but the researchers looked at two of the major ones, ghrelin and peptide YY. Ghrelin is the only hormone known to stimulate appetite. Peptide YY suppresses appetite.

Ghrelin was discovered by researchers in Japan only about 10 years ago and was originally identified for its role as a growth hormone. Only later did its role in stimulating appetite become known. Peptide YY was discovered less than 25 years ago.

In this experiment, 11 male university students did three eight-hour sessions. During one session they ran for 60 minutes on a treadmill, and then rested for seven hours.

During another session they did 90 minutes of weight lifting, and then rested for six hours and 30 minutes. During another session, the participants did not exercise at all, said a Loughborough release.

During each of the sessions, the participants filled out surveys in which they rated how hungry they felt at various points. They also received two meals during each session. The researchers measured ghrelin and peptide YY levels at multiple points along the way.

They found that the treadmill (aerobic) session caused ghrelin levels to drop and peptide YY levels to increase, indicating the hormones were suppressing appetite. However, a weight-lifting (non-aerobic) session produced a mixed result. Ghrelin levels dropped, indicating appetite suppression, but peptide YY levels did not change significantly.

Based on the hunger ratings the participants filled out, both aerobic and resistance exercise suppressed hunger, but aerobic exercise produced a greater suppression of hunger.

The changes the researchers observed were short term for both types of exercise, lasting about two hours, including the time spent exercising, Stensel reported.

The study appears in the online edition of The American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology.

fer: thetimesofindia

Nuts help cut risk of heart disease

Good morning friends. This article is good for the nuts lovers. I’m sure that everyone will eat nuts to prevent heart ailment. This has reference to The Times of India.

Here's a health tip in a nutshell: Eating a handful of nuts a day for a year — along with a Mediterranean diet rich in fruit, vegetables and fish — may help undo a collection of risk factors for heart disease.

Spanish researchers found that adding nuts worked better than boosting the olive oil in a typical Mediterranean diet. Both regimens cut the heart risks known as metabolic syndrome in more people than a low-fat diet did.

"What's most surprising is they found substantial metabolic benefits in the absence of calorie reduction or weight loss," said JoAnn Manson, chief of preventive medicine at Harvard's Brigham and Women's Hospital. In the study, the people who improved most were told to eat about three whole walnuts, seven or eight whole hazelnuts and seven or eight whole almonds. They didn't lose weight, on average, but more of them succeeded in reducing belly fat and improving their cholesterol and blood pressure.

Manson, who wasn't involved in the study, cautioned that adding nuts to a western diet — one packed with too many calories and junk food — could lead to weight gain and more health risks.

"But using nuts to replace a snack of chips or crackers is a very favorable change to make in your diet," Manson cautioned.

The American Heart Association says that over 50 million Americans have metabolic syndrome, a combination of health risks, such as high blood pressure and abdominal obesity.

Nuts help people feel full while also increasing the body's ability to burn fat, said lead author Jordi Salas-Salvado of the University of Rovira i Virgili in Reus, Spain.

"Nuts could have an effect on metabolic syndrome by multiple mechanisms," Salas-Salvado said. Nuts are rich in anti-inflammatory substances, such as fiber, and antioxidants, such as vitamin E. They are high in unsaturated fat, a healthier fat known to lower blood triglycerides and increase good cholesterol.

Obese kids risk thyroid damage

Good morning friends. Obese kids out there. Being fat is not good. You may be looking healthy but the truth is it has a it's not good and it creates damage.

Obesity may cause inflammation that damages the thyroid, which secretes hormones to regulate metabolism and other important functions, Giorgio Radetti of the Regional Hospital of Bolzano in Italy and colleagues said.

They evaluated 186 overweight and obese children for about three years, testing thyroid hormone levels and thyroid antibodies and imaging the thyroid gland using ultrasound.

“We found an association between body mass index and thyroid hormone levels which suggests that fat excess may have a role in thyroid tissue modification,” Radetti said.

ref: thetimesofindia

Fungus can slash heart attack, obesity

Good morning friend. We all know teenage very seldom or some how i may say wer not reading newspapers. They are using computers to surf and to search anything. They are crazy about computers. That's why I'd like to share with all of you what I have read in The Times of India.

A vegetarian superfood, which is made from fungus, can cut the risk of having a heart attack and help people stay slim.

What's more, the miracle item can also slash the risk of suffering from diabetes, says the study published in the British Nutrition Foundation's journal.

According to experts, a diet rich in mycoprotein can lower cholesterol and could help reduce high levels of blood glucose and insulin. It may also prolong a feeling of fullness after a meal, potentially helping people to slim.

Mycoprotein is a meat-free form of high quality protein which is made by adding oxygen, nitrogen, glucose and minerals to a natural fungus called Fusarium venenatum.

It is found in meat free products like mince, sausages, escalopes, deli food and ready meals.

To reach the conclusion, the researchers reviewed data relating to the benefits of mycoprotein, a key ingredient in meat substitutes like Quorn.

The review discovered reported cholesterol reductions of up to 14 per cent among people eating 190 grammes of mycoprotein a day for three weeks. A single serving of meat substitute mince contains 80 grammes of mycoprotein, the study found.

Also a reduction in cholesterol of around 10 per cent among people with elevated cholesterol levels eating 120 to 140 grammes of mycoprotein a day was reported. As for the expanation, the researchers said that mycoprotein might be useful in the management of obesity and type 2 diabetes because it slows the transport of food sugars from the stomach to the bloodstream. This has the effect of lessening the peaks and troughs often seen in blood glucose and insulin levels after meals.

"Mycoprotein is a really healthy food and the bonus is all these benefits on top. If it fills you up and helps to reduce the impact of blood sugar and reduce cholesterol, it sounds like it is a bit of a superfood," the Daily Express quoted nutritionist Angela Dowden, as saying.

Treatment for food allergy on the anvil

Scientists across Europe are working towards developing a treatment for one of the most common and dangerous conditions for humans- food allergy.

The initiative called the Food Allergy Specific Therapy (FAST) research project has Dr Clare Mills of the Institute of Food Research as a lead partner.

"All people with food allergy can do is avoid the foods to which they are allergic. The threat of severe anaphylaxis has a great impact on their quality of life," he said.

Attempted treatment with allergen-specific immunotherapy, where a patient received monthly injections with an allergen extract for three to five years, failed because it could cause anaphylaxis as a side effect.

Anaphylaxis is a severe allergic reaction involving the whole body, often within minutes of exposure to the allergen.

Peanut allergy is the most widely known cause, but other causes of anaphylaxis include other foods, insect stings, latex and drugs. If untreated in time it can be fatal.

In the FAST project, scientists will use modified variants of allergic proteins that are hypoallergenic and therefore safer. The proteins will be purified making them more effective and making it easier to control the dose.

Almost 90 percent of all food allergies are caused by about 10 foods.

Allergies to fish and fruit are among the most common in Europe. In fish allergy the protein responsible is parvalbumin and in fruit it is lipid transfer protein (LTP). Modified hypo-allergenic versions of these proteins will be produced at tested as potential treatments.

"We are hoping for a cure that will allow people to eat fish or fruit again. But a significant reduction of sensitivity would already be a great step forwards," said Dr Ronald van Ree from the Academic Medical Center at the University of Amsterdam.

He added: "The risk of unintentional exposure due to cross-contamination of foods, or while eating in restaurants or at parties, will decrease. This will take away lot of the anxiety that has a negative impact on the quality of life of food allergy sufferers." (ANI)

Jupiter, Venus, Moon to come closer

When the Sun goes down on Monday evening, step outside to watch the best sky show of the year. Jupiter, Venus and Moon - three of the brightest objects up there at night - will be closest to each other then.

Jupiter and Venus have been rapidly coming towards each other for the last few days, a phenomenon that will not be visible against till 2012. And soon they will have the Moon for company.

"Look towards the southwest and you will see something very pretty - Venus and Jupiter beaming together through the twilight. The two closely-spaced planets are about to be joined by the slender crescent Moon for a spectacular three-way conjunction," Nehru Planetarium director N Rathnashree said. The three brightest objects in the night sky will be gathered so tightly together that you can hide them all behind your thumb held at arm's length.

The Nehru Planetarium will put out telescopes at Old Fort in the capital.

"Although clear to the naked eye, a small telescope will make the evening even more enjoyable. We will be putting up some telescopes at Old Fort in the evening for people to have a clearer look of the celestial triangle," Rathnashree said.

"It is a rare activity. The winter sky is very clear and you can have a spectacular look of the celestial activity," said Ajay Talwar, a member of the Amateur Astronomer Association. The celestial triangle will be visible from all parts of the world, even from
lightly polluted cities.

Drink brewed tea to protect your teeth

Good morning friends. Here's the good news for you all crazy drinker of brewed tea.

Forget lattes and fresh lime juice, the best thing to drink is brewed tea, for it has no erosive effect on teeth and its antioxidants provide health benefits, according to a new research.

Refined sugars and acids found in soda and citrus juice promote tooth erosion, which wears away the hard part of the teeth, or the enamel. Once tooth enamel is lost, it's gone forever.

However, brewed tea is a beverage that does not produce such irreversible results.

Apart from tasting good, brewed tea has many health benefits. Tea is loaded with natural antioxidants, which are thought to decrease incidence of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes.

For the study, lead author Mohamed A. Bassiouny, DMD, BDS, MSc, PhD, compared green and black tea to soda and orange juice in terms of their short- and long-term erosive effect on human teeth.

The study found that the erosive effect of tea was similar to that of water, which has no erosive effect. And, when comparing green versus black, he discovered that there is a better option among those as well.

"When we look at tea and read about the benefits, it's amazing-not because green tea is 'the in thing'-but because there are advantages," Bassiouny said.

He added that much research done overseas, in countries such as Japan and Europe, found that green tea was identified to being superior over black due to its natural flavonoids (plant nutrients) and antioxidants.

Experts suggest drinking drink tea without additives such as milk, lemon, or sugar because they combine with tea's natural flavonoids and decrease the benefits.

The also suggest to stay away from pre-packaged iced teas because they contain citric acid and high amounts of sugars. It does not matter whether the tea is warm or cold-as l as it is home brewed without additives.

Kenton Ross, DMD, FAGD, AGD spokesperson, sees patients' erosion problems on a daily basis in his practice. "This study clearly shows that brewed teas resulted in dramatically less enamel loss than soft drinks and acidic juices. I would highly recommend patients choose tea as an alternative to more erosive drinks like soda and fruit juice."

Studying how nitric oxide alters brain function can lead to Alzheimer's treatment

Good morning friends. These is one of the illness many wouldn’t want to have. I hope we don’t all get any of this.
A team of British researchers has found that nitric oxide (NO) can change the computational ability of the brain.
Experts at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Toxicology Unit at the University of Leicester say that their new finding has implications for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's Disease.
Professor Ian Forsythe, who led the study at the university, said that the new findings might also help advance scientists' understanding of brain function more generally.
"It is well known that nerve cells communicate via the synapse - the site at which chemical messengers (neurotransmitters such as acetylcholine or glutamate) are packaged and then released under tight control to influence their neighbours," Professor Forsythe, of the MRC Toxicology Unit, said in a research paper published in the journal Neuron.
"Nitric oxide is a chemical messenger which cannot be stored and can rapidly diffuse across cell membranes to act at remote sites (in contrast to conventional neurotransmitters which cannot pass across cell membranes).
"It is broadly localized in the central nervous system, where it influences synaptic transmission and contributes to learning and memory mechanisms. However, because it is normally released in such minute quantities and is so labile, it is very difficult to study.
"We have exploited an in vitro preparation of a giant synapse -called the calyx of Held, developed here at the University of Leicester in the 1990s- and its target in the auditory pathway to explore nitric oxide signalling in the brain.
"We show that NO is made in response to incoming synaptic activity (activity generated by sound received by the ear) and that it acts to suppress a key potassium ion-channel (Kv3). Normally these ion-channels keep electrical potentials very short-lived, but nitric oxide shifts their activity, slowing the electrical potentials and reducing information passage along the pathway, acting as a form of gain control.
"Surprisingly, the whole population of neurons were affected, even those neurons which had no active synaptic inputs, so indicating that nitric oxide is a 'volume transmitter' passing information between cells without the need for a synapse. Such a function is ideal for tuning neuronal populations to global activity. On the other hand, too much nitric oxide is extremely toxic and will cause death of nerve cells; so within the kernel of this important signalling mechanism are the potential seeds for neurodegeneration, which if left unchecked contribute to the pathologies of stroke and dementias," the researcher added.
Professor Forsythe revealed that his research team will be trying to understand how these signalling mechanisms are applicable elsewhere in the brain, and how aberrant signalling contributes to neurodegenerative disease processes such as in Alzheimer's disease. (ANI)

Studying how nitric oxide alters brain function can lead to Alzheimer's treatment

Good morning friends. These is one of the illness many wouldn’t want to have. I hope we don’t all get any of this.

A team of British researchers has found that nitric oxide (NO) can change the computational ability of the brain.

Experts at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Toxicology Unit at the University of Leicester say that their new finding has implications for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's Disease.

Professor Ian Forsythe, who led the study at the university, said that the new findings might also help advance scientists' understanding of brain function more generally.

"It is well known that nerve cells communicate via the synapse - the site at which chemical messengers (neurotransmitters such as acetylcholine or glutamate) are packaged and then released under tight control to influence their neighbours," Professor Forsythe, of the MRC Toxicology Unit, said in a research paper published in the journal Neuron.

"Nitric oxide is a chemical messenger which cannot be stored and can rapidly diffuse across cell membranes to act at remote sites (in contrast to conventional neurotransmitters which cannot pass across cell membranes).

"It is broadly localized in the central nervous system, where it influences synaptic transmission and contributes to learning and memory mechanisms. However, because it is normally released in such minute quantities and is so labile, it is very difficult to study.

"We have exploited an in vitro preparation of a giant synapse -called the calyx of Held, developed here at the University of Leicester in the 1990s- and its target in the auditory pathway to explore nitric oxide signalling in the brain.

"We show that NO is made in response to incoming synaptic activity (activity generated by sound received by the ear) and that it acts to suppress a key potassium ion-channel (Kv3). Normally these ion-channels keep electrical potentials very short-lived, but nitric oxide shifts their activity, slowing the electrical potentials and reducing information passage along the pathway, acting as a form of gain control.

"Surprisingly, the whole population of neurons were affected, even those neurons which had no active synaptic inputs, so indicating that nitric oxide is a 'volume transmitter' passing information between cells without the need for a synapse. Such a function is ideal for tuning neuronal populations to global activity. On the other hand, too much nitric oxide is extremely toxic and will cause death of nerve cells; so within the kernel of this important signalling mechanism are the potential seeds for neurodegeneration, which if left unchecked contribute to the pathologies of stroke and dementias," the researcher added.

Professor Forsythe revealed that his research team will be trying to understand how these signalling mechanisms are applicable elsewhere in the brain, and how aberrant signalling contributes to neurodegenerative disease processes such as in Alzheimer's disease. (ANI)

Snoring may stunt kids' growth

Good morning everybody. Time again for our health tips. And I'm sure mothers may be bother with it.

A new study from Yeshiva University has found that snoring and other nighttime breathing problems may delay growth in kids.

Researchers have long suspected these problems - collectively known as sleep disordered breathing (SDB) - contribute to growth delays in children but the studies have still not drawn definitive conclusions.

It is believed to interrupt deep sleep, a period of the sleep cycle when the body typically secrets large amounts of growth hormone.

And children with SDB are thought to produce a lesser amount of growth hormone.
To gain deeper insights, Karen A. Bonuck, Ph.D., associate professor of family and social medicine at Einstein collected and re-analyzed data from 20 well-designed studies, a statistical technique known as a meta-analysis.

These studies involved children with enlarged tonsils and/or adenoids - the principal causes of SDB. All the children had their tonsils/adenoids surgically removed, either to treat symptoms of SDB or recurrent infection, or both. "Our meta-analysis found significant increases in both standardized height and weight following surgery," said Bonuck.

"In other words, while all the children were expected to continue to grow after they underwent surgery, their growth rates were much greater than expected.

Our findings suggest that primary-care providers and specialists should consider the possibility of SDB when they see children with growth failure," Bonuck added.

Why type 1 diabetics avoid exercise

A new study has revealed that majority of diabetics avoid physical activity because they worry about exercise-induced hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) and severe consequences including loss of consciousness.

Despite the well-known benefits of exercise, this new study builds on previous investigations that found more than 60 percent of adult diabetics aren't physically active.

"Our findings confirmed our clinical suspicion," say Dr. Remi Rabasa-Lhoret, co-author of the study, a professor at the Universite de Montreal's Faculty of Medicine and an endocrinologist at the Centre hospitalier de l'Universite de Montreal (CHUM).

"Exercise has been proven to improve health and one would assume diabetics would remain active. Yet our findings indicate that type 1 diabetics, much like the general public, are not completely comfortable with exercise," Rabasa-Lhoret added.

In the study, one hundred adults, 50 women and 50 men, with type 1 diabetes answered questionnaires to assess their barriers to physical activity.

The biggest fear was hypoglycaemia and other barriers included interference with work schedule, loss of control over diabetes and low levels of fitness.

When questioned further, only 52 of the participants demonstrated appropriate knowledge of how insulin is metabolized and processed.

Those individuals who best understood how insulin works in their body were shown to be less fearful of physical activity.

Such knowledge is essential in order to adapt insulin and/or food intake to prevent hypoglycaemia induced by exercise.

Anne-Sophie Brazeau, lead author and doctoral student at the Universite de Montreal, said: "Our study was launched to find ways to make diabetics healthier and suggests there is a major gap in information and support required by these patients."

"Programs aimed an increasing physical activity among type 1 adult diabetics need to incorporate specific actions to prevent hypoglycemia," Brazeau added.

Dr. Hortensia Mircescu, co-author of the study, a professor at the Universite de Montreal's Faculty of Medicine and a CHUM endocrinologist, said: "We also found that individuals with the greatest fear of physical activity had the poorest control of their diabetes. Education is particularly relevant for this group."

The study is published in the November.

Exercise, calorie restricted diet 'lowers postmenopausal women's breast cancer risk'

Good morning friends. After reading news I want to share it to everyone specially to women out there. It's important.

Regular exercise and reduced-calorie diet can significantly cut breast cancer risk in postmenopausal women, suggests a new study.

The research team from University of Texas at Austin have identified pathways by which calorie restriction and exercise can modify a postmenopausal woman's risk of breast cancer. They found that both caloric restriction and exercise affect pathways leading to mTOR, a molecule involved in integrating energy balance with cell growth. Dysregulation of the mTOR pathway is a contributing factor to various human diseases, including cancers.

Diet and exercise reach mTOR through different means, with calorie restriction affecting more upstream pathways, which could explain why caloric restriction is more efficient in delaying tumour growth than exercise in animal models. "One of the few breast cancer modifiable risk factors is obesity," said lead author Leticia M. Nogueira, Ph.D., a research graduate assistant at the University of Texas.

"Our study may provide a good scientific basis for medical recommendations. If you're obese, and at high risk for breast cancer, diet and exercise could help prevent tumour growth," she added.
The research suggests that inducing a so-called "negative energy balance" (where less energy is taken in than expended) through eating a low-calorie diet or increasing exercise levels, decreases the postmenopausal breast cancer risk associated with obesity. Increased levels of leptin and decreased levels of adiponectin have been associated with breast cancer risk.

For eight weeks, they administered a high-fat diet to 45 mice that had their ovaries surgically removed to model the post-menopausal state.

During week nine of the study, the diet-induced obese mice were randomly assigned to one of three groups: a control group, permitted to eat at will; a group fed a diet reduced in calories by 30 percent; and a group that was permitted to eat at will but exercised on a treadmill for 45 minutes a day, five days a week. At week 16, researchers collected tissue from the mice for analysis.
The study showed that blood levels of leptin, a hormone that plays a role in fat metabolism, were significantly reduced in the calorie-restricted mice while blood levels of adiponectin showed an increase.

She also found that the key proteins found downstream of mTOR activation were less active in both the calorie-restricted and exercised mice compared to the controls. "These data suggest that although exercise can act on similar pathways as caloric restriction, caloric restriction possesses a more global effect on cell signaling and, therefore, may produce a more potent anti-cancer effect," Nogueira said.

The study was presented at the American Association for Cancer Research's Seventh Annual International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research. (ANI)

Listen to joyful music to stay healthy

For the first time, researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore have shown that the emotions aroused by joyful music have a healthy effect on blood vessel function.

Music, selected by study participants because it made them feel good and brought them a sense of joy, caused tissue in the inner lining of blood vessels to dilate (or expand) in order to increase blood flow, the study found.

On the other hand, when study volunteers listened to music they perceived as stressful, their blood vessels narrowed, producing a potentially unhealthy response that reduces blood flow. The results of the study, conducted at the University of Maryland Medical Center, have been presented at the Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association in New Orleans.

"We had previously demonstrated that positive emotions, such as laughter, were good for vascular health. So, a logical question was whether other emotions, such as those evoked by music, have a similar effect," says principal investigator Michael Miller, M.D., director of preventive cardiology at the University of Maryland Medical Center and associate professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

"We knew that individual people would react differently to different types of music, so in this study, we enabled participants to select music based upon their likes and dislikes," the expert added. Ten healthy, non-smoking volunteers (70 percent male, average age 36 years) participated in all phases of the randomized study. There were four phases. In one, volunteers listened to music they selected that evoked joy.

The volunteers brought recordings of their favorite music to the laboratory, or, if they did not own the music, the investigators acquired the recordings. Another phase included listening to a type of music that the volunteers said made them feel anxious. In a third session, audiotapes to promote relaxation were played and in a fourth, participants were shown videotapes designed to induce laughter.

Echinacea (Echinacea spp)

Echinacea helps with minor colds and flu. Treatment should start at the first signs of a cold and continue for five to seven days. Taken in capsules, tablets, or liquid extract. The most common labels youn might see are E. purpurea and E angustifolia. Standardized extracts generally provide 900 mg daily, powdered herb/root taken as 1,000 to 2,000 mg four times a day; tincture u:5 concentrational); 4 to 5 ml four times daily. allergic reactions have been reported, especially in those who are allergic to the daisy family or who have allergy-related asthma.

Tomatoes can Help Treat Endometriosis

An antioxidant present in tomatoes can help treat common causes of abdominal pain such as internal scarring after surgery and endometriosis, a study has shown.

Endometriosis is a common medical condition characterised by growth beyond or outside the uterus of tissue resembling endometrium, the tissue that normally lines the uterus.

According to a study of cells in culture, lycopene, the bright red pigment that gives tomatoes their characteristic colour, can inhibit proteins that are linked to the formation of abnormal patches of tissue called adhesions, reports Times Online.

Although the findings are very preliminary, the research hints that a diet rich in tomatoes and tomato products, or supplements containing lycopene, might be a promising way of controlling adhesions. Adhesions are basically patches of scar tissue or fibrous strands that form on internal surfaces in the abdomen, often connecting two organs or parts of organs together.

Besides being a common side effect of surgery, they also occur in endometriosis, a condition in which tissue that normally lines the womb grows in other parts of the abdomen. These growths can cause pain, bowel obstructions, bladder problems and infertility.

Tarek Dbouk, of Wayne State University in Detroit, investigated lycopene because of its antioxidant properties. The chemical, which is particularly abundant in cooked tomato products such as ketchup and pasta sauces, is already thought to have protective effects against cadiovascular disease and some cancers.

To reach the conclusion, Dr Dbouk exposed human cells to lycopene in the laboratory, and measured its effect on proteins that serve as markers for adhesion formation. Levels of these proteins were substantially reduced, by as much as 80 to 90 per cent.

Dr Dbouk said the results suggest that lycopene – and tomatoes that contain it – could be useful for treating post-surgical adhesions and other conditions such as endometriosis and uterine fibroids.

Exercise can cut heart failure mortality risk

Working out on a stationary bicycle or walking on a treadmill just 25 to 30 minutes daily can modestly reduce hospitalisation or death risk in heart failure patients, say a new study.

The HF-ACTION trial (A Controlled Trial Investigating Outcomes Exercise Training) led by Dr Christopher O'Connor, director of the Duke Heart Centre showed that exercising improved outcomes for patients who have suffered heart failure.

The study was conducted over 2331 patients, who were randomized, assigned a group that received usual care or to a group that received usual care plus an exercise training program that began under supervision but then transitioned to home-based, self-monitored workouts.

Patients in the exercise arm started out slowly, with a goal of three, 30-minute workout sessions three times per week. After 18 sessions, they transitioned to workouts at home, with a goal of 40 minutes five days per week on a stationary bicycle or treadmill. Patients kept logs of their exercise times and heart rates.

Based on the protocol-specified initial analysis, exercise training produced only a modest, non-significant reduction in the primary endpoint of all-cause hospitalisation or all-cause death.

However a planned, secondary analysis took into account the strongest clinical factors predicting hospitalisation or death and found that exercise was significantly beneficial. They found that those in the exercise group had a significant, 15 per cent lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease and hospitalisation due to complications of heart failure. The researchers hope the findings will finally put to rest long-held fears that exercise may be too risky for some patients.

"The most important thing we found from this study is that exercise is safe for patients with heart failure, and when adjustments were made for specific baseline characteristics, it significantly improved clinical outcomes," said O'Connor.

Rating Alternative Medicine – 6

The most recent study of the relative merits of the various forms of therapy. It involves more than 1,600 patients—conducted that among patients with acute low-back pain, the outcomes are similar whether they receive care for primary-care doctors, chiropractors, or orthopedic surgeons. Moreover, this study found that “primary-care practitioners provide the least-expensive care for low-back pain. Nevertheless, patients expressed the greatest satisfaction with the treatment provided by chiropractors, even though the long-term outcome was no different. Patients found the chiropractors examinations more thorough and their explanations more reassuring.

There may be a role for chiropractic in areas other than treating low-back pain, according to a sampling of published scientific reports. These studies suggest that chiropractic may be helpful for treating bed-wetting in childhood, duodenal ulcers, facial muscles affected by Bell’s palsy, shoulder pain, carpal tunnel syndrome and headaches, among other conditions.

But you should also be aware that there have been instances of life threatening dissection (tearing) of major arteries to the brain during spinal manipulation. If you have any blood vessel problems, check with your doctor before seeing a chiropractor for such manipulation. Manipulation can also lead to complications in the lower spine such as bladder and rectal disturbances, leg weakness, and loss of sensation in the genital area.

THE BOTTOM LINE. I sometimes refer my patients with back pain to a chiropractor, though not a straight or mixer. I emphasize to the patient that there is no credible evidence that chiropractic does anything for AIDS, a heart attack, pneumonia or other diseases. If you are referred to a chiropractor, take sure he or she is licensed, and ask you doctor to discuss you case with the chiropractor before your visit.

Rating Alternative Medicine – 5

Chiropractic

The theory behind chiropractic medicine is that improper alignment of the spine affects virtually every organ in the body and that correcting this condition restores health. Practitioners emphasize that the vertebral column is not simply a rigid structure that houses and protects the nerves coming from the brain, but a series of 24 joints, each of which must be intact and flexible. It’s thought that viturally every disease, not only back pain, is due to slippage—called subluxation—of one or more of these bones.

There are three types of chiropractors: straights, mixers, and the rest. The straights believe that virtually every illness—infection, arthritis, high blood pressure, hear attack—is due to subluxation. They not only correct these slippages when you are sick, but also recommend that your get your spine checked regularly in order to stay healthy. The mixers, who outnumber the straights, also focus on maintaining the mechanical integrity of the nervous system, but concede that there are other causes of illness. In addition to correcting subluxations, mixers advise about nutrition and lifestyle, gives therapeutic massages, perform ultrasound, and even administer an enema now and then Chiropractors in the third, as yet unnamed, category have more limited points of view. They restrict their therapy to nonsurgical neuromusculoskeletal disorders (pain due to muscles spasm nerve inflammation, or bone problems such as arthritis) and make no claims about curing other diseases.

Most orthopedists and osteopaths maintain that there’s no such thing as subluxation. Although mechanical derangement of the spine does occur, they say it is not universal, as claimed by chiropractors. Despite the long, rigorous formal education usually some four years of graduate work at an accredited institution-required before chiropractors on be licensed, the medical establishment views them as tradespeople with scientific pretensions and some M.D.’s rankle when chiropractors call themselves doctors.

Rating Alternative Medicine – 4

Ayurveda

The system of healing called Ayurveda (ayu means “life”, veda means “knowledge of”) originated in India sometime around 1500 B.C. Its basis is natural healing, the belief that humans are an integrated part of nature, governed by the same principles that determine the survival and health of all living matter-plant and animal. Its goal is to bring humans into harmony or equilibrium with their environment.

According to Ayurveda, each of us is born with a constitution composed of varying amounts of three doshas, of forces; vata, symbolized by air or space; pitta, by fire; and kapha, by earth and water. Your type is your individual tridosha, your combination of these three doshas. These characteristics determine what you should eat and how you should conduct your life.

The main objective of an Ayurvedic practitioner, trained in nutrition and meditation, is to characterize or define your type and prescribed accordingly. Since no two people are identical, each prescription for likfe and health must be personally tailored. As a general rule, those who are of predominantly vata constitution are full of energy and always on the move. They are most likely to be troubled by excessive gas, a bad back, arthritis and diseases of the nervous system. Pitta types are volatile, quick to anger, aggressive, and competitive; their major complaints are more likely to involve skin or liver problems, inflammation of some part of the body, ulcers and gall-bladder disease. Kaphas are similar to what conventional doctors call a type B personality: slower, relatively solid and tranquil. They are more susceptible to respiratory conditions such as bronchitis and pneumonia.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Should you head straight for an Ayurveda clinic for indoctrination into this ancient Indian school of medicine? The answer is no, there’s no scientific proof that Ayurveda is effective against disease. Should you maintain an interest in its principles and recommendations for a positive lifestyle? Definitely.

Rating Alternative Medicine – 3

Aromatherapy

Scent is an important part of our lives. Everyone has a favorite aroma-a perfume or an aftershave lotion, a certain flower, the oil used in a relaxing massage.

Professional aroma therapists claim that, in addition tot cosmetic pluses-making you smell good and feel attractive-scents can improve your mood and promote good health. Essential oils-aromatic substances extracted from flowers, roots, bark, leaves, wood resins, and lemon or orange rinds-can be sprayed into the air and inhaled, or absorbed through the skin via massage, hot baths, or hot or cold compresses. It’s believed that every oil either soothes and relaxes or stimulates and invigorates.

How we respond to a particular aroma-with feelings of lust, anxiety, sadness-influences our heart rate, blood pressure, breathing, and possibly our immune system as well. But there is little evidence that scent plays an important role in the management of serious disease. There are some scientifically valid studies that show it can help with less profound problems, including a recent one documenting that elderly substantial doses of sleeping pills slept like babies when a lavender aroma was wafted into their bedrooms at night. Another experiment looked at patients undergoing magnetic resonance imaging, who often complained of claustrophobia in the magnetic capsule. After exposure to the aroma of vanilla, 63 percent of patients reported that they felt less claustrophobic. Interestingly, there were no corresponding changes in their heart rates. So the patients’ anxieties were lessened either by pleasant associations they made with vanilla-a purely psychological phenomenon-or by some undiscovered physiological response.

THE BOTTOM LINE: I don’t believe aromatherapy is a major player in the fight against disease, but certain essential oils can relieve stress and help manage some skin disorders. If you’re considering aromatherapy or are already using it, beware that aromatic oils vary in quality, and their production is not regulated: so make sure your source is reliable. Your best bet is to find a product or brand that works well for you and stick with it. If your skin is sensitive, always test for allergies by applying a very small amount of the diluted oil before you try the whole treatment.

Rating Alternative Medicine – 2

Much of the evidence for the effectiveness of acupuncture is, like mine, have been scientifically controlled studies that have found it helpful for asthma, drug and alcohol abuse, pain management, rehabilitation of stroke victims, and irritable bowel syndrome.

The treatment doesn’t hurt; it feels very much like a mosquito bite, but it can sometimes leave you with a slight ache at the acupuncture point. Many patients describe a tingling or buzzing sensation and feel a sense of heaviness in the area. The number of treatments depends on the condition. I have, patients who’ve experienced relief from an attack of acute back pain in just two session; other with chronic problems are their acupuncturist at regular intervals, as they would see a physiotherapist.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Acupuncture is a legitimate pain-control technique. If you have a bad back or some other chronic disorder that’s giving you round-the-clock pain, suffer from asthma or irritable bowel syndrome, are addicted to alcohol or drugs, or are experiencing intolerable nausea from chemotherapy, it may be worth trying acupuncture from a qualified practitioner.

Rating Alternative Medicine - 1

From acupuncture to aromatherapy: what works—and what doesn’t

Americans spend billions of dollars every year on a wide variety of alternative therapies—often abandoning treatments, recommended by their regular doctors or supplementing prescribed therapies with a regimen that the medical establishment rejects or ridicules. They’re exploring alternative medicine not only to fight illness, but also in the hopes of preventing disease before it starts. And alternative practitioners are gaining credibility, in part, because “conventional” doctors so often seem to change their minds about the efficacy of longstanding treatment and drugs. Theories and practices that were presented as sacrosanct and indisputable often turn out to be harmful in the long run.

As a practicing M.D. who belongs to the medical establishment, he understanding the hunger for other options and have reviewed the leading alternative therapies. Here’s what you should know about seven of the most popular:

Acupuncture

I know one story when my friend visited in China. He witnessed an open-heart operation where the patient, a woman in her late 20s was anesthetized solely with acupuncture. He was apprehensive, to say the least, as the surgeon began to cut through her breastbone with an electric buzz saw. After her chest was split in two, it was spread apart with a large clamp to expose the heart. The repair of the diseased valve took about 30 minutes, after which the breastbone was sewn together with steel sutures, the skin was closed, and the patient was wheeled out of the operating room-still awake!

As a cardiologist, he had attended scores of such heart operations, but he had never seen anything like this. He would never have believed anyone could remain wide awake, let alone smile, through such and ordeal.

A Bacterium a Day Keeps the Doctor Away! – 3

Prebiotics, too

Another way to promote the growth of probiotic bacteria is to take in food they feed on. This is prebiotics. A prebiotic is a molecule that can reach the colon intact to be used by probiotic bacteria. They are mostly non-digestible, naturally occurring sugars that are broken down by certain microbes. Examples of such food are artichokes, chicory root, garlic, banana, onion and asparagus root.

Prebiotics can help maintain the good balance in the digestive system by encouraging the growth of probiotic bacteria.

Just the Beginning

The discovery of probiotics and prebiotics in food is just the beginning. Scientists are continuously researching for more bacteria strains that can help our bodies. One day, we will have a whole range of prebiotic food ingredients. More break-through in research is envisioned. Indeed, bacteria can do wonders for our bodies, don’t you agree?

A Bacterium a Day Keeps the Doctor Away! – 2

Hurray for Lactobacilli

Pathogenic bacteria need not win all the time the balance if the digestive system is tipped. Mechnikoff stumbled on something interesting when he noticed that Bulgarian peasants who regularly drank sour milk lived longer. This sour milk contained lactic acid bacteria, which included lactobacillus. Lactobacillus seemed to combat well the pathogenic bacteria in the digestive system.

After much study. Metchnikoff concluded that the careful management of probiotic and pathogenic bacteria can make a person healthier. He wrote a book called “The Protogation of Life. Optimistic Studies”, and he wrote therein. “By transforming the wild population of the intenstine into a cultured population of the intestine into a cultured population…the pathological symptoms may be removed from old age, and… in all probability, the duration of the life of man may be considerably increased.”

Probiotics in Food

Since then, many scientists have focused on intestinal flora. Researchers found out that only specific strains of bacteria can survive the gastric acid and bile salts in the intestinal tract. These bacteria can also colonise the system and produce healthy results.

Scientists also got excited with the idea of using probiotic bacteria in manufactured foods. Two bacteria strains seemed right for this. Bifidobacteria and lactobacilli.

At the Nestle Research Center in Lausanne. Switzerland, scientists looked at 3,500 varieties of lactic acid bacteria. They discovered which specific strain can survive in the intestine and thrive there. This bacteria strain can also boost the body’s immune system.

A Bacterium a Day Keeps the Doctor Away! – 1

Good morning to all, specially to mothers! This topic of mine is i know very important specially to your kids. As you not following your kids most of the time, they should be aware of everything specially when they are eating outside the house.

Bacteria. The mere mention of it connotes bad little germs responsible for those blows dealt to our body—that stomachache, that ugly rash, and other diseases and infections. Yes, like its cousin the virus, bacteria can be harmful. But do you know that not all bacteria are bad? “Probiotic” or good bacteria can do wonders for our bodies.

Right in Our Bodies

If we can just look right inside our digestive system—the stomach, the intestines and colon—we will find a host of bacteria ambling about. They number in billions, ten times more than the number of cells in the body. They first appeared within hours of our birth. Also called intestinal flora, these bacteria belong to more than 400 species. The good ones help us digest food, take in nutrients and process waste. The bad ones, also called “pathogenic” bacteria, wreak havoc in our system if not checked, pathogenic bacteria. They function in a number of ways. Some probiotic bacteria combat harmful microbes by secreting acids that are deadly to them. Others counter the production of certain mutagenic compounds that lead to cancer. Some also produce essential B vitamins such as niacin, folic acid, biotin and pyridoxine, or digestive enzymes like lactase, which breaks down milk and sugars. Probiotic bacteria also strengthens the immune system of our body.

Like in any society, the good and bad bacteria live together, competing with each other and checking the number and types of microbes present. The key is balance, and when this balance is achieved, the digestive system can work effectively.

Once in a while, this balance is tipped when stress comes in or fatigue sets in. A diet lacking in nutrients as well as a meal with unfamiliar foods can also upset this system. Antibiotics, disease and eating unclean food (those with Salmonella, etc.) can also have a disastrous effect. In all these cases, the pathogenic bacteria multiply in number and overpower the probiotics, causing diarrhea, abdominal pain and even ulcer, chronic gastritis and cancer.

Health Tips on What to do in Emergencies? - 3

Good morning! This next article of mine is important. Better get ready to read this. Everybody should have to know the first thing to do if this kind of situation will happen.

Poisoning

Call a doctor. Use the antidote listed on the label of the container. Give one or two glasses of milk or water if poison or antidote is unknown. Dilute the poison before vomiting is induced by tickling the back of the child’s throat after giving him a glass of lukewarm water.

Do not induce vomiting if victim is unconscious or if he had swallowed lye, petroleum products (kerosene, gas, metal and furniture polish, turpentine, over cleaners) and other corrosive or caustic substances (like bleach or acids). These strong substances may damage the child’s windpipe and lungs if they are allowed to be pushed up again.

When taking the child to the hospital, keep him warm and comfortable, and make sure his airways are open so that he does not choke on his vomit. Take along the poison’s container or what remains of it to help the doctor determine its antidote.
* Sign of poisoning: overstimulation, drowsiness, shallow breathing, unconsciousness,
nausea, convulsions, stomach cramps, heavy perspiration, burns on hands and mouth,
dizziness, change of skin color. Also, watch out for unusual stains on a child’s clothing, a
change in his behavior, open containers of chemicals, or medicines out of place.
* Food poisoning; usually caused by bacterial contamination of food, or by toadstools,
poisonous mushrooms or berries, shellfish or spoiled foods. Symptoms include tenderness
or pain in the abdominal area; nausea; vomiting; painful spasms; diarrhea; weakness; and in
some cases (like the ingestion of poisonous mushrooms, dimness of vision and symptoms
resembling those of alcohol intoxication. Wash out the victim’s stomach with large quantities
of water and take him to the hospital immediately (especially in cases of mushroom and
shellfish poisoning). Bring a specimen of the suspected food to the hospital. Children with
special problems like diabetes, epilepsy, cardiovascular diseases or allergy are also urged
to wear some sort of bracelet or emblem identifying their media=cal problem, to about being
given medications that are injurious or fatal to them. For example, many epileptics can be
mistaken for drunks.

Health Tips on What to do in Emergencies? -2

Here is the second part of my article. I know you will learn a lot with this.

BLEEDING
If possible, lower the head and raise the bleeding part. To stop the bleeding, press hard on wound with sterile compress or gauze pads after first removing any foreign objects in it. Send for a doctor if it is severe.

If the wound is large and gaping, gently press edges together and maintain pressure. Cover the wound with a sterile dressing and tape in place. If the child has lost a lot of blood, threat for shock.

BROKEN BONES
Get emergency help immediately for an open fracture or a broken neck or spine these are possible in any car accident or a fall from a height. Do not move the child yourself unless there is immediate danger – if the child is lying on the road, for example.

Perform a minimum of first-aid yourself. You can make a sling for a broken arm, but leave broken legs, ribs, hips and skulls alone till help comes. You can take a child with a broken arm, jaw, collarbone, wrist, ankle, finger or toe to the hospital yourself. Treat for shock if necessary. Do not give patient liquids or food in case anaesthesia is necessary later on.

Health Tips on What to do in Emergencies? -1

The question most mothers dread but which is bound to crop up someday is; What should I do until the doctor gets here?

Knowing just what to do for an injured child before a doctor or a trained person gets to the scene of the accident can save his life, especially in case of severe bleeding, broken bones and poisoning.

Most Accidents happen at home, so it is important that the phone numbers of nearby doctors, hospitals or an ambulance service are dept handy at all times. Teach your child how to use the phone properly and how to reach a responsible adult nearby.

When leaving for work or even for short errands, tell your children where and how you can be reached. If that is not possible, ask a neighbor or a relative to keep an eye on your brood or check on them through periodic phone calls.

With a medicine cabinet well-stocked with first-aid supplies, you can keep in mind the following measures to help you cope with these most common home accidents.

But, let me tell you that for my next issue of my article. I hope to see you there.

Doctor’s Health Tips – 2

Good day to all of you! I will not give much introduction now because I want to continue my sharing with you the doctor’s tips I knew. Let me share it now….

People who don’t eat breakfast have a metabolic rate that is 4-5% below normal? This lag means that a breakfast skipper could again about 1 pound every 7 weeks even if her caloric intake remained the same.

Following the same fitness video day after day won’t work in the long run? When monotony and boredom set in after sometime, the exercise becomes less of a challenge and one stops paying attention to proper body positioning. Try to have two or more sets of exercise programs. No single workout uses every muscle, so following one routine misses some other. For exercise to be effective, you must work out at least three to four times each week? Working out fewer times is insufficient and will not show a significant improvement in your body.

Eating less or avoiding to eat at all after 6 PM can actually help you lose weight? Your metabolic rate slows down after 6 PM when you become less active. The body requires six essential nutrients; protein, vitamins fats, carbohydrates, minerals and water? To keep healthy, eat more high-fiber foods and less sugar, use less salt and eat less fat.

Although it is said that smoking decreases the sensation of hunger, it causes such health problems as heart attacks and respiratory system-related diseases.

Doctor's Health Tips - 1

Although more and more people are becoming health and fitness-conscious, many are still misled by some diet and fitness myths surrounding the matter. Here are some information to enlighten you about fitness and health.

Being slim does not really mean being fit? Body weight is not a predictor of fitness level. Regardless of age, and body shape, you have to get up, get out and get going.

Eating slowly can actually help you peel off pounds? Try to develop a permanent habit of eating slowly if you want long term result.

Potassium can help lower blood pressure? To boost your potassium intake, reach for potatoes, orange juice, cantaloupe, skim milk, tomatoes and – the old stand-by-bananas.

Men with male-pattern baldness (hair that recedes and thins from crown outward) are most likely to have higher cholesterol and blood pressure levels than their thicker-haired peers. Some studies indicate that a hormonal imbalance may be behind the risk factors in both baldness and heart disease.

During the four days surrounding ovulation, women consumed about 300 fewer calories a day that usual, a drop that coincides with a surge in estrogen level?

Health Tips

Hello Friends, In today’s busy life Health and Fitness has now become one of the major concerns. In 18th century or early , people’s life style was so natural that they need to walk like 10 km a day. That way people were having walking habit and that habit keeps them fit. If we go more Earlier time than humans used to hunt for their living, due to which their body had to undergo a lot of physical exercise. This made life active and alert.

With Science new inventions and with more transportation and more technological inventions, human’s life become easier than before, People are having mobile and everything we need is just a phone call away. This patter of life has restricted humans to do that bit of physical. With the reduction of physical exercise, people start to lose their fitness.

Even our eating patter is also responsible to have lost of health and fitness. Now people want more spicy food, instant fast and junk food which are having less nutrition.

The concern for everyone is how to reamin healthy and wealthy with body. Good Health is all one craves for. With this blog I am going to give simple and easier health tips to all those who need.
Before I end this post, I want to give the first tip for today and that is Keep moving. We talk more on keep moving in next post. Wait till that……