आयुष दर्पण

Yoga is Indias gift to the world

2012-02-11T07:40:00.001-08:00

Inaugurating the Arogya Expo 2012, Chief Minister DV Sadananda Gowda mentioned that India’s gift to the world is the ancient Yogic science of healing and healthcare. However, he also stressed on how Indians need to start practicing this art form as a daily routine to keep healthy and fit.
In co-ordination with the Department of Ayush, Government of India, seven Yoga and Naturopathy institutes came together at the five day international conference on Yoga and Naturopathy. Policy makers, clinical practitioners, academicians of Yoga and Naturopathy and researchers from across the globe came together at the expo to discuss and explore new treatment methodologies, manage the modern challenges of health care systems and also to prove that Yoga and Naturopathy are strong evidence based medicines.
“The system of Yoga is a gift of India to the world. Both naturopathy and Yoga are very safe and effective combinations of drugless therapy and it needs to be promoted in the interest of the society. There has been a great resurgence in the study of traditional systems of medicine around the world. The altered lifestyle, faulty food habits, stressful life, overuse of chemical medicine, pollution of all kinds have made health to be measured by percentage of diseases,” the CM noted.
“Our government has duly recognized the importance of Yoga in daily life and has given priority for the empowerment of the sector. We have established a full-fledged Yoga and Naturopathy college in Mysore that offers several useful courses. The department of Ayush with the Shantivana trust of Dharmasthala has opened out patient units in ten taluka level hospitals in the state on public private partnership model,” Gowda said.
All the speakers threw light on the increasing international important that the ancient wisdom of Yogic practice has received. “Yoga should be taught at schools and each district in the state should have one yoga and naturopathy stall. This is an important step in the field of Yoga and is sure to bring with it a better understanding and knowledge of this ancient art that is as old as the civilization itself,” noted yogacharya BKS Iyengar.
Dr D Veerendra Heggade, Swami Chidananda Saraswathi, Legislative Assembly Speaker KG Bopaiah, Leader of opposition in the Legislative Assembly Siddramaiah were present at the event.
Attended by over 3,000 enthusiasts, students, NGOs and medical practitioners from across the globe, the five-day conference will showcase various speakers from different fields of healing sciences sharing their wisdom and emphasizing on the need for Yoga and naturopathy in the current scene.
Source:IBN Live

International Ayurveda Foundation urges govt to include Ayush streams in NCHRH

2012-02-10T18:18:00.001-08:00

The International Ayurveda Foundation (IAF) has asked the government to reconsider the National Commission for Human Resources in Health (NCHRH) Bill to include the Ayush streams into the bill. The bill, at present, is waiting for passage in the Rajya Sabha.
In a recent representation to Rajya Sabha, the IAF pointed out that the government has been very careless to ignore a huge market like Ayush as 38 per cent of the population in the country depends upon traditional systems of medicine. The association urged the government that the present bill should be put on hold so that the government can re-consider the same keeping in mind the pluralistic health care system in the country.
The objective of the NCHRH is to consolidate the law in certain disciplines of health sector and promote human resources in health sector and provide for mechanism for the determination, maintenance, coordination and regulation of standards of health education throughout the country to ensure adequate availability of human resources in all States.
According to Praful Patel, general secretary, IAF, “Like the modern medicines, Ayush is equally an important branch that needs to be included into the mainstream system of medicine. For the benefit of the industry, at least now steps should be taken to ensure mainstreaming of Ayush in the main health care policy so that Ayush systems are not disengaged from the health care related legislation and its standardisation.”
He further stressed that like the modern medicines even Ayush streams are equally important and should be considered simultaneously, not separately. Through the representation, he suggested that the the Bill should be re-drafted taking into consideration the recommendations sent by the department of Ayush as well.
On NCHRH Bill, Dr S S Savrikar, former vice chancellor of Gujarat Ayurved University whose paper on the bill has been attached with the representation, stated that the vision document of Ayush for 11th five-year plan had emphasised the need for mainstreaming Ayush by designing strategic interventions for wider utilisation of Ayush both domestically and globally making mainstreaming of Ayush major objective of Ayush health policy. He pointed out that if Ayush which is an important discipline of healthcare is not included in NCHRH, it will never be brought in mainstream health service sector.
“Ayush drug will not be included in the definition of drugs, if Ayush remains outside the purview of NCHRH. Thus keeping Ayush outside the NCHRH will give a wrong message to the world community that India is not recognising Ayush as a reliable health care system. Creating a scenario where the world will never take note of Ayush systems putting all attempts to market Ayush drugs as drug in the world market in vain,” Dr Savrikar cautioned.
Source:Pharmabiz

Ayush Dept seeks Rs.450 cr for hospitals, dispensaries during 12th Plan

2012-02-10T18:16:00.001-08:00

The Department of Ayush is looking for Rs.450 crore under the scheme of hospitals and dispensaries during the next five-year plan period to complete the works initiated in the current plan period and to set up new hospitals and dispensaries for Indian systems of medicine.
The department was given Rs.162.80 crore during the current plan period. The components under the scheme were All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA), New Delhi (Rs.150 crore); CGHS expansion of Ayush dispensaries (Rs.6.30 crore); Advanced Ayurvedic Centre for Mental Health in NIMHANS, Bangalore (nil allocation) and CGHS Ayurveda Hospital, New Delhi (Rs.6.50 crore).
During the 11th Plan, establishment of AIIA has been taken up vigorously, construction of its buildings started since 2009-10, services of Director, personal staff and Clinical Consultants have been engaged, OPD facility started and several posts got created. The Department has now sought a whopping Rs.300 crore to complete the remaining capital works and make the institute function in the academic and clinical departments, sources said.
During the current plan period, the Ayush dispensaries opened in CGHS could not be made functional due to shortage of medical officers and paramedical staff, apart from non-creation of posts. Mid-term appraisal found the AIIA project on track and recommended necessary action for creation of posts on priority basis for Ayush dispensaries in CGHS as done for NRHM. The Department is looking for Rs.150 crore to expand this scheme.
The expansion and strengthening of Ayush under CGHS would be taken up by creating dedicated administrative set up with provision of Additional Director, CGHS (Ayush), opening new dispensaries/hospitals in various CGHS-covered locations and up-gradation of existing CGHS Ayurveda Hospital, New Delhi, sources explained.
Source:Pharmabiz

Trauma Patients Have High Risk of Vitamin D Deficiency

2012-02-10T18:14:00.000-08:00

About 77 percent of trauma patients had deficient or insufficient levels of vitamin D, new research presented at the 2012 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) has found.
Researchers have linked a lack of vitamin D with muscle weakness, bone fractures, and the inability of bones to fully heal. In a new study, investigators sought to determine the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among orthopaedic trauma patients.
Investigators reviewed the medical records of 1,830 adult (ages 18 and older) patients at a university Level 1 trauma center from Jan. 1, 2009 to Sept. 30, 2010. Participants with vitamin D levels below 20 ng/mL were categorized as "deficient," and those with levels between 20 and 32 ng/mL, "insufficient" (levels between 40 and 70 ng/mL are considered "healthy.")
Thirty-nine percent of all patients were vitamin D deficient, and another 38.4 percent had insufficient levels of vitamin D. Patients ages 18 to 25 had the lowest levels of vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency of any age group, and yet 29 percent were deficient, and 54.7 percent, insufficient.
"Vitamin D deficiency affects patients of all ages and is more prevalent than we thought it was," said Brett D. Crist, MD, lead investigator and co-director of the Orthopaedic Trauma Service, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Missouri. The findings are important "as vitamin D deficiency has been linked to increased incidences of fracture nonunions (bone breaks that fail to heal)."
With the new data showing that a significant number of patients have deficient or insufficient levels of vitamin D, physicians should consider treating fracture patients with a supplement to ensure optimal outcome, said Dr. Crist, who provides vitamin D and calcium supplements to all trauma patients in his care, except to those patients for whom higher levels of calcium are not recommended.
"Although we've gone to treating most patients with weekly high dose vitamin D, in addition to daily vitamin D and calcium, monitoring vitamin D levels can be done to diagnose and monitor levels," said Dr. Crist. Vitamin D deficiency is "easy to manage," and "can prevent future fractures and improve healing of current fractures."
It is extremely difficult to naturally obtain enough vitamin D. An adult needs at least 1,000 International Units (IU) of vitamin D (10 glasses of milk and one fish meal each day), and a child, 400 to 800 IUs for good health, depending on age, weight and growth.
To ensure appropriate levels of vitamin D, a daily supplement is recommended for children and adults.
Source-Eurekalert

Botanical Formula Suppresses Prostate Cancer Growth

2012-02-10T18:10:00.000-08:00

Botanical formula fights prostate cancer without toxicity, say researchers.
Scientists at Indiana University, Methodist Research Institute study a botanical formula that kills aggressive prostate cancer tumours. Their findings are based on experiments in mice using a human prostate cancer tumour model.
This is the third published study from a major university to show significant results of this specific multi-nutrient prostate formula against the invasive behaviour of aggressive prostate cancer cells, tumour growth and metastasis.
The formula combines botanical extracts, phytonutrients, botanically-enhanced medicinal mushrooms, and antioxidants.
"Multiple studies demonstrate that this prostate formula is a possible treatment for hormone refractory (androgen independent) prostate cancer," said lead researcher, Dr. Daniel Sliva.
This study also analyzed the formula for potential toxicity, demonstrating it to be safe with no signs of toxicity at the highest dosages.
"This study is a milestone in the research of this formula, demonstrating its safety and effectiveness in treating human prostate cancer in an animal model," said researcher and formulator, Dr. Isaac Eliaz.
These positive results offer a significant contribution to the field of prostate cancer research, and add to the growing body of published data substantiating the role of natural compounds in the treatment of prostate cancer."
Results of the study show that the oral administration of the formula produced a statistically significant 27 percent suppression of tumour growth, compared to controls.
The study was performed using a xenograft tumor model of human prostate cancer in mice.
Even more important, in addition to significant reduction in tumour volume, results showed inhibition of the expression of several genes involved in cancer proliferation and metastasis.
Three prostate cancer-related genes (IGF2, NRNF2 and PLAU/uPA) that were suppressed by this formula not only control aggressive prostate tumor growth, but also relate to the metastatic potential.
It is metastasis that makes prostate cancer deadly. The formula also significantly increased the expression of a gene that fights against prostate cancer, CDKN1A, which works by specifically inhibiting other cancer promoting cellular mechanisms.
By suppressing specific genes related to aggressive prostate cancer growth and proliferation, and increasing the expression of cancer-fighting genes, this integrative formula demonstrated multiple anti-cancer mechanisms and genetic targets.
This pre-clinical in vivo study confirms previously published in vitro data, which also shows the ability of this formula to decrease the expression of PLAU/uPA genes in aggressive, hormone-independent prostate cancer cells.
The study has been published online in The International Journal of Oncology.
Source-ANI

Make Kerala global hub of Ayurveda: Ravi

2012-02-10T18:06:00.000-08:00

Kerala deserves to become the global hub of Ayurveda system of medicine in view of the State's inherent strength in the ancient Indian system of wellness, the Union Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs, Mr Vayalar Ravi, said on Friday.
Inaugurating six-day Global Ayurveda Festival here, Mr Ravi wanted both national and state governments to come forward to promote Ayurveda and traditional systems of medicines on a global scale.
“It is good to see that at last Keralites are coming up with new projects that would promote Ayurveda. It is also important that Kerala is giving greater attention to research in the Ayruveda stream of health care,” he said.
Ayurveda treatment focuses not just on curing diseases but lays emphasis on improving the lifestyle of the person coming for treatment.
The Kerala Agriculture Minister, Mr K.P. Mohanan, said Ayurveda was not a mere system of treating diseases but a science that paid attention to all aspects of life with the aim of maintaining the individual and societal health.
The event, organised by Ayurvedic fraternity with the support of the state and central government and health NGOs, was envisaged to bring together medical practitioners of the country, researchers, students, industry representatives and other stakeholders.
Renowned Ayurveda practitioner Ashta Vaidya Cheriya Narayana Namboothiri was honoured at the inaugural function by the Union Minister.
The Sri Lankan Minister, Mr Amarathunga, and the Health Secretary, Bandhula Gunanayage, and Indian Systems of Medicine Director Dr Anita Jacob were among those present at the function.
An Ayush clinic, which offers free consultation and services of expert doctors, has been opened for the general public as part of the event.
An Ayurveda medical exhibition with 350 stalls on various branches of Ayurveda on natural herbs, medicine production, endangered plants and animals, ancient surgical tools and techniques is a major attraction of the festival.
Source:PTI

Hope of Early Disease Detection Via Metabolic 'Breathalyzer'

2012-02-10T18:02:00.000-08:00

Scientists have indicated that a "breathalyser," a non-invasive and sensitive technology may help in early detection and diagnosis of diseases.New research demonstrates a simple but sensitive method that can distinguish normal and disease-state glucose metabolism by a quick assay of blood or exhaled air.
Many diseases, including diabetes, cancer, and infections, alter the body's metabolism in distinctive ways. The new work shows that these biochemical changes can be detected much sooner than typical symptoms would appear - even within a few hours.
"With this methodology, we have advanced methods for tracing metabolic pathways that are perturbed in disease," said senior author Fariba Assadi-Porter, a University of Wisconsin-Madison biochemist and scientist at the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Facility at Madison.
"It's a cheaper, faster, and more sensitive method of diagnosis."
The researchers studied mice with metabolic symptoms similar to those seen in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), an endocrine disorder that can cause a wide range of symptoms including infertility, ovarian cysts, and metabolic dysfunction.
PCOS affects approximately 1 in 10 women but currently can only be diagnosed after puberty and by exclusion of all other likely diseases - a time-consuming and frustrating process for patients and doctors alike.
"The goal is to find a better way of diagnosing these women early on, before puberty, when the disease can be controlled by medication or exercise and diet, and to prevent these women from getting metabolic syndromes like diabetes, obesity, and associated problems like heart disease," Assadi-Porter said.
The researchers were able to detect distinct metabolic changes in the mice by measuring the isotopic signatures of carbon-containing metabolic by-products in the blood or breath.
They injected glucose containing a single atom of the heavier isotope carbon-13 to trace which metabolic pathways were most active in the sick or healthy mice.
Within minutes, they could measure changes in the ratio of carbon-12 to carbon-13 in the carbon dioxide exhaled by the mice, said co-author Warren Porter, a UW-Madison professor of zoology.
One advantage of the approach is that it surveys the workings of the entire body with a single measure. In addition to simplifying diagnosis, it could also provide rapid feedback about the effectiveness of treatments.
"The pattern of these ratios in blood or breath is different for different diseases - for example cancer, diabetes, or obesity - which makes this applicable to a wide range of diseases," explained Assadi-Porter.
The technology relies on the fact that the body uses different sources to produce energy under different conditions.
"Your body changes its fuel source. When we're healthy we use the food that we eat," Porter said.
"When we get sick, the immune system takes over the body and starts tearing apart proteins to make antibodies and use them as an energy source."
That shift from sugars to proteins engages different biochemical pathways in the body, resulting in distinct changes in the carbon isotopes that show up in exhaled carbon dioxide.
If detected quickly, these changes may signal the earliest stages of disease.
The researchers found similar patterns using two independent assays - nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy on blood serum and cavity ring-down spectroscopy on exhaled breath.
The breath-based method is particularly exciting, they say, because it is non-invasive and even more sensitive than the blood-based assays.
In the mice, the techniques were sensitive enough to detect statistically significant differences between even very small populations of healthy and sick mice.
The current cavity ring-down spectroscopy analysis uses a machine about the size of a shoebox, but the researchers envision a small, hand-held "breathalyzer" that could easily be taken into rural or remote areas.
The study has been published online in the peer-reviewed journal Metabolism.
Source-ANI

Breastfeeding Cuts Childhood Obesity Risk

2012-02-10T17:57:00.000-08:00

Diabetic pregnant women give birth to children who have a greater risk of childhood obesity, but new research from the Colorado School of Public Health shows breastfeeding can reduce childhood obesity risk.Epidemiologist Tessa Crume, Ph.D., MSPH, and fellow researchers tracked 94 children of diabetic pregnancies and 399 of non-diabetic pregnancies from birth to age 13. They evaluated the influence of breastfeeding on the growth of body mass index (BMI), an indicator of childhood obesity.
"There are critical perinatal periods for defining obesity risk, pregnancy and early infant life," Crume said. "We looked at children exposed to over-nutrition in utero due to a diabetic pregnancy to determine if early life nutrition could alter their risk of childhood obesity."
Children of diabetic pregnancies who were breast-fed had a slower BMI growth as they grew older than those who nursed less than six months. A similar pattern emerged for children of non-diabetic pregnancies.
According to Crume, researchers know that children exposed to diabetes or obesity during gestation are at higher risk for childhood obesity and metabolic diseases. Now they know there is a second critical opportunity to normalize BMI growth by encouraging mothers to breast-feed for at least six months, the time recommended by the Academy of Pediatrics.
"Breast-feeding support represents an important clinical and public health strategy to reduce the risk of childhood obesity," said Crume. She hopes the research will further encourage mothers to breast-feed, especially those who experienced a diabetic pregnancy.
"We can work with pediatricians, obstetricians and the public health community to give these women targeted support immediately following birth," she said.
The research, "The impact of neonatal breast-feeding on growth trajectories of youth exposed and unexposed to diabetes in utero: the EPOCH Study," appears in the latest edition of the International Journal of Obesity. It was conducted as a partnership between the Colorado School of Public Health and Kaiser Permanente of Colorado.
Source-Eurekalert

Let mother nature cure your illness

2012-02-09T18:16:00.000-08:00

Department of Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (Ayush), along with other Ayush institutions, is organising a mega international conference, the Arogya Expo-2012, at Gayatri Vihar in Palace Grounds on Thursday.
The expo will have over 300 stalls, showcasing advances in relevant fields. It will create a global platform for yoga, naturopathy, ayurveda, and other ancient practices.
“By 2010, a vast percentage of the population are bound to suffer from non-communicable diseases. This can be attributed to our current life style. Such expos will help in bringing about the much-needed awareness,” said GN Sreekantaiah, director, department of Ayush.
The expo is meant for exhibiting fitness equipment, including services such as traditional treatment of diseases, yoga centres in the city, and therapies for various health problems such as arthritis, muscle problems, diabetes etc.
“Visitors to the expo will benefit from an array of products exhibited by naturopathy and yoga institutions. It will showcase advances in relevant fields, orient students and facilitate interaction between healthcare professionals, therapists, academicians, policy makers, and health educators. It will also help establish yoga and naturopathy as a system of choice to deal with challenges of lifestyle-related diseases,” he said.
“This is a great opportunity to know about the prevention of diseases, and promotion and management of health. This is especially beneficial for lifestyle-related diseases like hypertension, arthritis and obesity,” he said.
The ICYN -2012 will be inaugurated by chief minister DV Sadananda Gowda and Minister for health and family welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad. The Arogya Expo will be inaugurated in the same day by Union minister of state for health and family welfare S Gandhiselvan.
Arogya Expo exhibition will be held as a part of ICYN-2012 from February 9 to February 13.
Source:DNA

Parkinson's Patients Doing Tai Chi Achieve Better Balance: Study

2012-02-09T18:09:00.000-08:00

People with Parkinson's disease practicing the Chinese martial art tai chi for six months showed better balance than counterparts who did other forms of exercise, a US study observed Wednesday
A total of 195 people took part in the randomized study in four different cities in the western state of Oregon, according to the results published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Subjects were assigned to twice weekly sessions of 60 minutes each in either tai chi, resistance-training or stretching.
Those who did tai chi outperformed the stretching and resistance-training groups in tests of balance and length of stride when walking.
The tai chi group also showed experienced fewer falls than the stretchers, and just as many falls as the resistance-trainers.
"These results are clinically significant because they suggest that tai chi, a low-to-moderate impact exercise, may be used, as an add-on to current physical therapies, to address some of the key clinical problems in Parkinson's disease," said lead author Fuzhong Li of the Oregon Research Institute.
"The improvements in the balance and gait measures that we demonstrated highlight the potential of tai chi-based movements in rehabilitating patients with these types of problems."
Tai chi entails regular practice of deep breathing and relaxation techniques, combined with slow and gentle movements.
It is based on tenets in Confucian and Buddhist philosophies that there are two opposing life forces, yin and yang, which govern health.
Ill health results from an imbalance in these forces, but it can be corrected by tai chi, according to these beliefs.
Parkinson's is a progressive motor-system disorder which usually affects people over the age of 50, although it can strike earlier, often causing severe symptoms including body trembling, stiffness and loss of balance.
Source-AFP

Fasting Weakens Cancer in Mice

2012-02-09T18:05:00.000-08:00

Fasting may weaken tumors and help chemotherapy work better, scientists said on Wednesday analyzing early research on mice with cancer.While it remains unknown if the same approach could work in humans, or if it would even be safe, researchers said the findings suggest a promising new route of study for improving response to cancer treatment.
In the mice experiments, "the combination of fasting cycles plus chemotherapy was either more or much more effective than chemo alone," said senior author Valter Longo, professor of gerontology and biological sciences at the University of Southern California (USC).

Longo and colleagues previously published findings in 2008 that showed how fasting protected normal cells against chemotherapy in a study that focused on one type of cancer and a single chemo drug.
The latest study expands on that research to show that fasting makes cancer cells more vulnerable, and spanned several different types of cancer in mice.
Types of cancers studied included breast cancer, melanoma, glioma and human neuroblastoma.
All cancers studied showed that fasting combined with chemotherapy improved survival, slowed the growth of tumors and/or limited their spread.
The study appears in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
"We don't know whether in humans it's effective," Longo said, adding that for now fasting should be "off-limits" to cancer patients, although they should feel they can ask their doctors about the possibility.
In 2010, a small study of 10 human cancer patients who tried fasting cycles with their drug treatment showed that they perceived fewer side effects from chemo, according to self-reported data. The study was published in the journal Aging.
The results of a phase 1 trial assessing the safety of fasting two days before and one day after chemotherapy in patients with breast, urinary tract and ovarian cancer, conducted at the USC, have been submitted for presentation at the annual meeting of the American Society of Cancer Oncologists later this year.
"A way to beat cancer cells may not be to try to find drugs that kill them specifically but to confuse them by generating extreme environments, such as fasting that only normal cells can quickly respond to," Longo said.
Source-AFP

Effective Weight Loss With Anti-obesity Drugs and a Modified Lifestyle: Study

2012-02-09T18:00:00.000-08:00

Anti-obesity drugs coupled with lifestyle advice are effective in reducing weight and BMI, a study led by the University of Leicester has revealed.Dr Laura Gray and colleagues from the Department of Health Sciences at the University of Leicester have published a paper in the journal Obesity Review which looks at the effectiveness of anti –obesity drugs and a modified lifestyle on weight loss and body mass index. The research was funded by an National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment (NIHR HTA) programme.
The review was based on 94 studies including over 24,000 individuals and assessed how effective the drugs were in terms of weight loss and body mass index at 3, 6 and 12 months. Two of the included drugs (sibutramine and rimonbant) were withdrawn from use during the review due to possible side effects.
The research also looked at the effect of lifestyle advice on weight loss. Lifestyle advice alone led to weight loss at 6 and 12 months but had less effective results in comparison to the anti-obesity drugs.
Laura Gray, lead author of the report said: "This is the first review to combine all available evidence for anti-obesity drugs in a single analysis. In clinical practice, orlistat should be considered to aid weight reduction with lifestyle interventions in those individuals who have not been successful in reducing their weight with lifestyle alone. The effectiveness of the withdrawn interventions – sibutramine and rimonabant – suggests that more effective drugs may be available in the future if the side effect risk can be alleviated."
Researchers recognize that although drugs are effective, all drugs can lead to several side effects and it is advised that a modified lifestyle is a beneficial way to prevent weight gain and to reduce body weight.
Professor Kamlesh Khunti from the University of Leicester added: "Our study shows that some of the medications that we were using for weight management were beneficial, however, they have had to be withdrawn because of side effects. We are therefore limited in terms of drug treatment for weight reduction. Nevertheless, it is reassuring to note that lifestyle interventions (diet and exercise) were also effective, especially in people with diabetes at reducing weight in our study. Lifestyle interventions should therefore be promoted for weight reduction as they also have many other benefits as well."
Source-Eurekalert

Questions Help Tell Memory Loss from Dementia

2012-02-09T17:52:00.000-08:00

On the 21-item Alzheimer's Questionnaire, patients having trouble remembering the day, month, year, and time of day were almost 18 times more likely to have amnestic mild cognitive impairment, a precursor to dementia (OR 17.97, 95% CI 2.63 to 122.77, P=0.003), according to Michael Malek-Ahmadi, MSPH, and colleagues from the Banner Sun Health Research Institute in Sun City, Ariz.
Those who often repeated questions, statements, and stories on the same day also were at very high risk (OR 13.12, 95% CI 3.02 to 57.66, P=0.001), the researchers reported online in BMC Geriatrics.Distinguishing mild cognitive impairment, particularly when associated with memory loss rather than loss of other functional domains, can be clinically challenging and time consuming, and brief screening tools are sorely needed as the aging population expands, according to the researchers."Additionally, as new therapies for Alzheimer's disease transition from being symptomatic to disease-modifying, identifying individuals who are at risk or in the earliest stages of the disease will be crucial in determining and improving disease outcome," they wrote.
A pilot study by these researchers recently showed good sensitivity and specificity for the Alzheimer's Questionnaire, with responses about various aspects of memory and related cognitive concerns being provided by caregivers or other informants.
To see if certain components of the questionnaire were particularly accurate in pinpointing these types of impairments, Malek-Ahmadi's group compared responses among 47 patients who had been diagnosed with amnestic mild cognitive impairment and 51 controls who were participants in a program involving posthumous brain and body donation.
The diagnosis of cognitive impairment had been made clinically and with neuropsychological testing, with scores on verbal memory recall measures falling 1.5 standard deviations below normal ranges for age and educational attainment.
Cognitively normal participants all scored higher than 1.5 standard deviations on the neuropsychological tests.
A simple questionnaire can help differentiate individuals experiencing normal age-related memory loss from those at risk for developing dementia, most notably by their orientation to time and patterns of repetitive speech, researchers found.
The Alzheimer's Questionnaire assesses memory, language, orientation, visuospatial competence, and functional capacity by a series of yes/no questions such as, "Does the patient have trouble remembering to take medications?"
On almost all questions, significantly more "yes" responses were seen for the cognitive impairment group.
Regression analysis determined that, along with repetitive speech and disorientation as to time, two other questions were highly predictive.
One was whether the patient has trouble dealing with financial matters such as paying bills (OR 11.60, 95% CI 2.10 to 63.99, P=0.005), and the second was if the patient showed an impaired sense of direction (OR 5.84, 95% CI 1.09 to 32.30, P=0.04), according to the researchers.
Further analysis indicated that the coefficient of determination (R2) was 0.71, which meant that the four identified items could account for a substantial proportion of the variance between patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment and those who were cognitively normal.
The researchers then calculated that the four items together had a sensitivity of 80.3% and a specificity of 81.8%, with the area under the curve being 0.94.
"These data indicate that problems with orientation to time, repeating statements and questions, difficulty managing finances, and trouble with visuospatial orientation may accompany memory deficits in amnestic mild cognitive impairment," the researchers stated.
Limitations of the study included the wide confidence intervals for the four items' odds ratios and the possibility of bias in the R2 approximation.
In addition, the study sample was ethnically homogeneous.
Primary source: BMC Geriatrics
By Nancy Walsh for MedPage Today

Weight Loss Drug Has Killed At Least 1,300 in France

2012-02-09T17:46:00.000-08:00

Benfluorex, commonly known as Mediator, a diabetes drug that was widely prescribed as a slimming aid, has been responsible for thousands of hospitalizations and deaths in France before it was withdrawn.Mahmoud Zureik of the National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm), who co-led the probe, told AFP that around 3,100 people had required hospitalisation during the 33 years during which the drug was sold.
However, these figures could well be an "underestimate," he said.
The study, appearing in the specialised journal Pharmacoepidemiology & Drug Safety, finetunes an estimate by Zureik in 2010 that the death toll from the scandal was between 1,000 and 2,000.
Mediator, known by its lab name as benfluorex, was initially licensed to reduce levels of fatty proteins called lipids, with the claim that it helped diabetics control their level of blood sugar.
But it also suppressed appetite, which meant it gained a secondary official use to help obese diabetics lose weight.
In fact, it was widely sold on prescription for non-diabetics wanting to slim.
In 2009, Mediator was pulled from the European market amid evidence that it damaged heart valves and caused pulmonary hypertension.
Its French manufacturer, Servier, is being probed on suspicion of dishonest practices and deception.
The new study is an extrapolation based on figures for deaths from faulty heart valves, although not from hypertension, among major users of the drug.
The main data comes from France's national health insurance system, which said that 303,000 patients used Mediator in 2006.
According to Mediator, 145 million packets of Mediator were sold on the French market before the drug was pulled.
The Mediator case came to light after a scandal involving a similar type of anti-obesity drug, fenfluramine, in the late 1990s.
Source-AFP

Study Sheds Light on Psychiatric Symptoms and Functional Outcomes in HIV-Infected Youth

2012-02-09T17:38:00.000-08:00

There is little evidence of an association between specific antiretroviral therapy and the severity of psychiatric disorders in children and adolescents who had been infected at the time of their birth with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), says a new study.The report is published Online First by Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
A major concern for health professionals is the possibility that the severity of HIV illness or use of specific highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) regimens may be associated with increased risk for mental health problems, the researchers note.
The study by Sharon Nachman, M.D., of Stony Brook University in New York, and colleagues is a cross-sectional analysis of entry data from an observational, prospective two-year study. Participants included 319 children and adolescents with HIV between the ages of 6 and 17 years enrolled in the International Maternal Pediatrics Adolescent AIDS Clinical Trials Group (IMPAACT) study.
A third of the patients included in the study met the criteria for at least one targeted psychiatric disorder in the study, which reviewed HIV illness severity markers and the severity of some psychiatric symptoms.
"Analyses of HIV disease variables and severity of psychiatric symptoms revealed few specific associations, and we feel compelled to emphasize that findings were variable, mixed and at times counterintuitive," the researchers comment. For example, they note a lower entry CD4 (cells that help fight off infection) percentage was associated with less severe depression, but a higher entry RNA viral load was associated with more severe depression.
The authors cite previous research that did not find a significant association between HIV illness severity and development of psychiatric illness, and another study that suggested an association between a past Centers for Disease Control and Prevention AIDS-defining illness (class C [CDC-C)] and an increased risk of psychiatric impairment.
Researchers in the current study noted some evidence of an association of certain HIV variables (such as lower nadir CD4 percentage) with quality of life and cognitive, social and academic functioning.
"We found that more severe HIV disease (indicated by the nadir CD4 percentage) was associated with worse cognitive functioning and social skills, but our analyses do not allow us to make causal inferences about these associations," the researchers comment. "Our data, in conjunction with findings from other groups, suggest that receptive language, word recognition and educational problems are common in youth with perinatal HIV infection regardless of virologic suppression."
Source-Eurekalert

Link absent between antidepressant and youth suicide

2012-02-08T17:56:00.000-08:00

In 2004, concerns about antidepressant drugs increasing suicidal thoughts and behaviors in young patients prompted the FDA to issue a rare "black box warning." Now, a new analysis of clinical trial data finds that treatment with the antidepressant fluoxetine did not increase — or decrease — suicidality in children compared to placebo treatment.
An analysis built on data from 41 trials and more than 9,000 patients also found that two different popular antidepressant drugs were effective at reducing suicidal behavior and depressive symptoms in adult and geriatric patients. The findings are published online Monday in the journal Archives of General Psychiatry.
The failure to replicate the link between antidepressants and suicide should reassure doctors about prescribing these drugs to depressed patients, said first author Robert Gibbons, professor of medicine, health studies, and psychiatry at the University of Chicago Medicine.
"The key finding here, when we re-analyze all the patient-level longitudinal records in these studies, is that antidepressants neither increase nor decrease suicidal thoughts or behavior in children," Gibbons said.
The FDA decision on the black box warning was based on retrospective data from 25 clinical trials of newer antidepressant medications, including the serotonin reuptake inhibitor drug fluoxetine, marketed as Prozac or Sarafem. A meta-analysis combining adverse event data (primarily based on self reports of suicidal thoughts) from the trials revealed a small, but significant, increase in suicidal thoughts and behavior in children and young adults up to the age of 25.
For the new analysis, Gibbons and colleagues from the University of Illinois at Chicago, the University of Miami and Columbia University obtained individual-level, longitudinal clinical trial data — some of it unpublished — from pharmaceutical producers and a large National Institute of Mental Health study of fluoxetine and venlafaxine.
The data included weekly screening of each trial subject for depression and suicidal thoughts, allowing researchers to compare the effect of drug or placebo over time on these measures.
In the analysis of the adult and geriatric trials testing fluoxetine or venlafaxine, both antidepressants were found effective in reducing suicide risk and depression symptoms. These two effects were also found to be statistically associated, suggesting that the drugs reduced suicidality by alleviating depression. Therefore, Gibbons said, effective treatment of major depressive disorder is important for a patient's safety.
"Basically, the results say that the mechanism by which the antidepressants affect suicide rates is by decreasing depression," Gibbons said. "It follows that if a treatment is not working for an individual, the risk for suicidal behavior remains high."
To analyze the effects of antidepressants in children, the researchers used four trials of fluoxetine, which until recently was the only antidepressant approved for pediatric use. Once again, a reduction in depressive symptoms was observed in the drug-treated population compared to placebo. However, no significant change in suicide risk was detected between the two patient groups.
"I think that this paper supports the general idea that the effects of antidepressants in kids and adults are not really the same, since we don't see anything but beneficial effects of antidepressants in adults and geriatrics," Gibbons said. "In kids, we don't see a harmful effect, but we do see a disassociation between the beneficial effects on depression and the potential beneficial effect on suicide."
"This raises continued questions about what's going on in children," he said. "Maybe children think about suicide in part because of depression, but also maybe due to other reasons not related to depression that are not affected by antidepressants."
Gibbons, who sat on the Food and Drug Administration panel that considered placing the black box warning on antidepressants, said he hoped the new results would reassure clinicians about the safety of the drugs.
Source:my SA

Allopathic doctors community supports ISM sector's plea to be part of NCHRH

2012-02-08T17:53:00.000-08:00

In their efforts to incorporate the Indian systems of medicine to the NCHRH Bill, the Ayurveda doctors community and practitioners of other Indian system of medicines in the country have received support from an unexpected quarters. In their support, the private allopathic doctors and hospital managements’ association, QPMPA, has also urged the union health ministry and the chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on health & family welfare to incorporate the Indian systems to the NCHRH Bill.
The Qualified Private Medical Practitioners Association (QPMPA), after gathering signatures from all of its members, submitted a memorandum to the authorities asking them to review their decision. The allopathic doctors argue that there is no need of a separate Commission/Council for the ISM sector. According to them, all disciplines of health services should be under one umbrella. Regarding research and development in the field of medical or health education, the new bill does not give any direction or idea, the association observed.
Speaking to Pharmabiz, QPMPA secretary Dr Kishore Kumar said the NCHRH Bill does not give a clear picture about how to enhance and promote the standard of education in the health sector. It also fails to facilitate the growth of adequate human resources to the services of hundred crore plus Indian population. While framing the bill the policy makers have forgotten the importance of academic excellence. He said without the association of Indian systems, it is not possible to manage the health needs of the rural India.
As a suggestion to the policy makers of India, Dr Kishore Kumar said for promoting national education on health, the government must conduct a national common admission test and MBBS be made as the minimum qualification to treat a sick person, except dentistry. The MBBS degree holders can specialize in various segments of alternative medicines and follow that line. He pointed out that since the minimum qualification is MBBS, nobody will question or raise suspicion over the methods of treatment and the dignity of the practitioners could be maintained. He alleged that the present NCHRH bill was following the lines of imperial rulers of British colonialism and the Union government should immediately intervene in the matter.
Further, QPMPA suggested that the university concept itself has to be changed provided a national body to control the medical education is realized. All the councils and universities are just to satisfy a group of academicians and politicians. To strengthen the medical education, all the courses should be conducted by respective colleges and those pass out can register with the national body to practice their discipline. It is suggested that NCHRH bill should specifically contain a national common agenda for health education and human resources irrespective of western or Indian systems.
The QPMPA will gather suggestions from doctors of all the states and union territories in support of its decisions and suggestions.
The Confederation of Ayush community in Kerala had earlier submitted a memorandum to the union government requesting inclusion of ISM in the Bill.
Source:Pharmabiz

Latest Weight Loss Tip

2012-02-08T17:46:00.001-08:00

Consuming desserts for breakfast can help you shed weight and stay slim, suggests study.
Attempting to avoid sweets entirely can create a psychological addiction to these same foods in the long-term, explains Daniela Jakubowicz, professor at Tel Aviv University's Sackler Faculty of Medicine, who led the study.
Over the course of a 32-week-long study, participants who added dessert to their breakfast - cookies, cake, or chocolate - lost an average of 40 pounds more than a group that avoided such foods, the journal Steroids reports.
What's more, they kept off the pounds longer. A meal in the morning provides energy for the day's tasks, aids in brain functioning, and kick-starts the body's metabolism, making it crucial for weight loss and maintenance, according to a Tel Aviv statement.
And breakfast is the meal that most successfully regulates ghrelin, the hormone that increases hunger, explains Jakubowicz. While the level of ghrelin rises before every meal, it is suppressed most effectively at breakfast time.
These findings were based on 193 clinically obese, non-diabetic adults, who were randomly assigned to one of two diet groups with identical caloric intake - the men consumed 1,600 calories daily and the women 1,400.
However, the first group was given a low carbohydrate diet including a small 300 calorie breakfast, and the second was given a 600 calorie breakfast high in protein and carbohydrates, always including a dessert item (i.e. chocolate).
Halfway through the study, participants in both groups had lost an average of 33 pounds per person. But in the second half of the study, results differed drastically.
The participants in the low-carb group regained an average of 22 pounds each, but participants in the group with a larger breakfast lost another 15 pounds each.
At the end of the 32 weeks, those who had consumed a 600 calorie breakfast had lost an average of 40 pounds more per person than their peers.
Jakubowicz conducted the study with Julio Wainstein and Mona Boaz from Tel Aviv and Oren Froy of Hebrew University Jerusalem.
Source-IANS

Aerobic Exercise Benefits Fibromyalgia Patients

2012-02-08T17:42:00.000-08:00

Aerobic exercise helps improve cognitive performance in fibromyalgia patients, say Georgetown University Medical Center researchers They say the changes indicate brain functioning is more streamlined after an exercise intervention because less of the brain’s resources is devoted to processing bothersome fibromyalgia perceptions such as pain.The study, presented at the Society of Neuroscience’s annual meeting, Neuroscience 2011, used functional MRI scans to assess changes in the brain. Researchers observed a decrease in brain activity in areas responsible for memory and pain control after fibromyalgia patients took part in an exercise regimen.
“The decreased brain activity we see in the area of cognition suggests that the brain is working more efficiently,” explains Brian Walitt, M.D. M.P.H., director of the Fibromyalgia Evaluation and Research Center at Georgetown University Medical Center and senior study author. “We also see less brain activity in areas responsible for pain processing which might be aiding that efficiency.” Walitt cautions that more research needs to be conducted before suggesting a change in clinical care for fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia is a medical disorder characterized by widespread pain, fatigue, disordered sleep, and cognitive changes.
It is regarded as an interoceptive disorder in that it has no apparent cause, Walitt says. “In conditions like this, the body perceives something by mistake.” The pain is not psychosomatic, but is real and likely produced by the central nervous system, he says.To that end, the research team used fMRI to “provide a definitive measure of cognitive functioning, so that we can more scientifically measure the effect of exercise,” says Manish Khatiwada, M.S., who will be presenting the results. “This is a novel approach to the study of fibromyalgia.” (Khatiwada is working in the laboratory of co-author John VanMeter, Ph.D., director of the Center for Functional and Molecular Imaging.
For this study, the researchers enrolled eighteen women with fibromyalgia, and gave them a baseline fMRI to assess working memory and questionnaires about their well-being and pain while they were on medication. They then were told not to use their medications for a “washout” period, and had a second fMRI and memory testing. After six weeks, they had another assessment. The final scan was taken after the volunteers engaged in a six-week period of exercise, which involved three 30-minute sessions of aerobic exercise each week with a trainer.Memory and pain typically worsen in patients after stopping their medication — which was the experience of patients in this study. After six weeks of exercise, however, patients reported an improvement in overall well-being. However, their performance in the memory task did not change significantly when compared to their baseline study measurements. Despite a change in memory test performance, brain activity in the memory task and pain processing areas of the brain decreased. “What we see is a less interference by pain activity which could be contributing to the decrease in activity in the memory section. Basically, the brain is using less energy for the same task,” Walitt says.

Source-Eurekalert

Scientists Reveal 1 in 100 People Have Natural Genetic Resistance to HIV, Malaria, Leprosy, Hepatitis

2012-02-08T17:39:00.000-08:00

One per cent of the population have a natural genetic resistance to deadly diseases like HIV, malaria, leprosy and hepatitis, scientists have revealed.The findings came after research into anthrax found susceptibility to the acute disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis varied from person to person.
There are effective vaccines against anthrax and some forms of the disease respond well to antibiotic treatment.
However, researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine in the United States have discovered that susceptibility to anthrax toxin is a heritable genetic trait.
Professor Stanley Cohen, the senior author of the new study, and his colleagues found that variation in the level of expression of a gene that produces a cell-surface protein called CMG2 affects the success of the anthrax toxin in gaining entry into human cells.
The research suggests that analogous effects may occur in people exposed to anthrax bacteria.
Anthrax disease is caused by infection with the anthrax bacteria. Spores of the bacteria exist naturally in the environment.
When inhaled by humans or animals, the spores are transported by immune cells to lymph nodes, where the bacteria begin to multiply and are secreted into the bloodstream.
Once in the bloodstream, the bacteria begin to produce the anthrax toxin that infiltrates and kills host cells.
Many lethal pathogens - including HIV (pictured) malaria, leprosy and hepatitis - rely on interactions with host genes to infect and replicate within human cells
Untreated, anthrax infection can cause widespread tissue damage, bleeding and death.
The researchers studied immune cells called lymphocytes collected from 234 people of varying ethnic and geographic backgrounds: 84 Nigerians, 63 Americans whose ancestors came from northern and western Europe, 44 Japanese and 43 Han Chinese.
They found that, of the 234 samples, lymphocytes from three individuals of European ancestry were thousands of times more resistant to killing by an engineered hybrid toxin brought into the cells by protective antigen.
In addition, they observed that cells isolated from parents and their children responded similarly, indicating that toxin sensitivity is an inherited trait.
The researchers noted that the finding has implications beyond anthrax exposure.
"Our findings, which reveal the previously unsuspected magnitude of genetically determined differences in toxin sensitivity among cells from different individuals, suggest a broadly applicable approach for investigating pathogen susceptibility in diverse human populations," the Daily Mail quoted Prof Cohen as saying.
The research was published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Source-ANI

Study Says Punishment Makes Children More Aggressive

2012-02-08T17:36:00.000-08:00

Punishment makes kids more aggressive, reveals study.
"Virtually without exception, these studies found that physical punishment was associated with higher levels of aggression against parents, siblings, peers and spouses," write study co-authors Joan Durrant and Ron Ensom.Durant and Ensom from University of Manitoba and Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, respectively, based their findings on analysis of a number of researches over the past 20 years.
However, when parents in more than 500 families were trained to reduce their dependency on physical punishment, the difficult behaviours in the children also declined, the Canadian Medical Association Journal reports.
"Results consistently suggest that physical punishment has a direct causal effect on externalizing behaviour, whether through a reflexive response to pain, modeling or coercive family processes," write the study authors.
Physical punishment is also associated with a variety of mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety and use of drugs and alcohol, according to a Manitoba statement.
It may change areas in the brain linked to performance on IQ tests and increase vulnerability to drug or alcohol dependence, as recent neuroimaging studies suggest.
Attitudes toward the use of physical punishment have changed, and many countries have shifted focus to positive discipline of children and have legally abolished physical punishment.
Physicians can play an important role in advising parents on constructive approaches to discipline, based on evidence, to enhance children's healthy development.
Source-IANS

Untangling the benefits, and hype, surrounding yoga

2012-02-08T17:27:00.000-08:00

William Broad, a New York Times science writer, has a lot of nice things to say about yoga. There's good reason, he says, that this mix of stretching, bending and deep breathing, with roots in ancient Indian meditation, has attracted some 20 million Americans.He also has some bad things to say, and said many of them in a recent story titled "How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body." It focused on yoga's "potential to inflict blinding pain." and it caused a lot of online outrage among dedicated yogis.
But the piece was an excerpt from a book out this week with the more even-handed title The Science of Yoga: The Risks and Rewards. And the author is no yoga-hater: Broad has practiced it since 1970 and just spent five years researching it.
His conclusion, conveyed in a phone interview: "There's a lot of good stuff in yoga, but there's also a lot of hype."
How to choose a yoga class, teacher
There’s no scientific formula for choosing a safe, appropriate yoga class. Different branches of yoga have different criteria for teacher training, individual teachers and classes vary — and so do student needs and goals. But you can:
Ask about teacher credentials. Many will have a certificate showing 200 or 500 hours of training. Others will have several years of training, required by some yoga groups.
Ask if you can watch a class or attend a trial class before committing.
Be especially wary if an instructor adjusts your position without your permission or urges you to do anything that hurts, says Christina Geithner, a yoga teacher who is a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine and a professor of human physiology at Gonzaga University, Spokane, Wash.
The good (and bad) stuff is revealed in studies Broad unearthed and in new ones published nearly every week. And the hype is evident in marketing behind all those yoga pants, snacks, videos and classes that have spread to nearly every cruise ship, senior center and YMCA across the land.Science has yet to show what, if anything, yoga pants do. But here's a sampling of what the science, much of it detailed in Broad's book, says about yoga itself:
•It's not a total fitness plan. Even vigorous forms don't raise heart rates high enough, consistently enough to qualify as aerobic exercise on par with running, swimming or brisk walking. Yoga does help with flexibility and includes proven strength-building moves (yoga's "plank" pose looks and works a lot like a push-up).
•It's not a weight-loss plan. A typical session doesn't burn a lot of calories, and it slows metabolism, which might even spur weight gain. But there's a big caveat, Broad says: Yoga's stess-reducing powers might reduce unhealthy eating.
•It may have heart health benefits. Most notably, it has been shown to reduce blood pressure.
•It has mental health benefits. One review of 80 studies found it equaled or surpassed other forms of exercise in reducing stress, anxiety and fatigue, lifting moods and improving sleep.
•It can ease some pains and inflict others. Broad tells gruesome stories of people crippled by yoga, including some who suffered strokes. But studies show yoga often soothes common aches — though one recent study on back pain showed that a specialized stretching class (which skipped the poses and breathing exercises unique to yoga) worked just as well.Karen Sherman, a researcher from Group Health Research Institute in Seattle, led that study and says it remains possible that yoga has extra pain-calming powers. Sherman, who does yoga, also wonders "what would happen if we had depressed people with high blood pressure and lots of pain and they all did yoga. … Yoga might start to look better."
The bottom line for Broad, 60, who also swims and lifts weights, is that he still practices yoga (albeit more carefully) and marvels at its potential.
He writes that yoga "can turn our bodies into customized pharmaceutical plants that churn out tailored hormones and nerve impulses that heal, cure, raise moods, lower cholesterol, induce sleep and do a million other things."
Others who have looked at yoga research are not bowled over. Yoga is a glorified form of "light resistance training," says Timothy Caulfield, a health law and policy professor at the University of Alberta in Canada, who has written his own book on diet, fitness and alternative medicine called The Cure for Everything: Untangling Twisted Messages About Health, Fitness and Happiness, to be published in the USA in April.
Like any form of exercise, yoga has benefits, he says. "But is there something special, unique or magical about it? No."
For Neal Pollack, an Austin writer whose books include Stretch: The Unlikely Making of a Yoga Dude, "the real benefits of yoga are mental." He says he has stopped using antidepressants and lost weight since starting yoga eight years ago: "It gives you an ability to slow down the pace of your life, calm your mind, and control your emotions. That's got to be good for your health."
He has been injured, he says, but "even after a bad yoga class, I feel better than when I went in."
Kaitlin Quistgaard, editor of Yoga Journal, says that may be yoga's greatest strength: "There's this intangible benefit. It makes people feel good so they keep coming back for more."
Source:USA Today

Nestle to use Ayurveda knowhow in India R&D centre

2012-02-08T17:22:00.001-08:00

Nestle believes it will be stronger, better and faster with R&D deployment in India. “We will be quicker to market once the R&D centre comes up,” said Mr Patrice Bula, global head of sales and marketing, Nestle during his recent visit to India.
According to him, Nestle's upcoming Rs 230 crore R&D centre at Manesar will become operational by last quarter of 2012.
Mr Bula said by bringing R&D closer to the consumer, it would help the company develop more relevant products for India. “If our customer wants Bhuna Masala, by getting closer, we can offer it faster,” he said.
He hinted that just like Nestle's R&D centre in China uses knowhow from Chinese medicine, the Manesar centre here in India could be using local knowhow from Indian Ayurveda traditions. R&D would be around basic food science, nutrition, and agriculture developments. It would also focus on developing affordable fortified popularly positioned products (PPPs) such as calcium enriched Maggi noodles.
Nestle SA will directly control the R&D centre in India, and is looking at a team of about 100 people.
This will be Nestle's 30{+t}{+h} R&D centre worldwide. Interestingly, Nestle which is only 25 years old in China has already got R&D going there, while it has taken the company hundred years of presence in India to set up a research centre here.
Mr Bula, who has been market head for China earlier, pointed out that both the countries offer a combination of scale and high growth for Nestle. But, he said, “Managing organisations through high growth environment is a challenge.”
He also pointed out that increasingly in both countries, Nestle is meeting new competition — the local player, who understands the consumer well. “And that is a new paradigm. Because of the size, the local companies are also getting very big.” But we embrace this challenge, he said. “Competition is good. It makes you come up with new ideas.”
Source:Businessline

Sperm Test to Hit Drugstore Shelves

2012-02-07T17:32:00.000-08:00

SpermCheck Fertility, a male fertility test, is set to hit drugstores in April. (Amazon)
A home sperm test is set to join dozens of female fertility predictors on drug store shelves this spring.
Walgreen's and CVS are already selling the sperm-counting kit, called SpermCheck Fertility, online. Now they're banking on men - and their mates - favoring a quick pick-up at the drug store over a trip to the urologist.
"There is nothing like it on the shelf," Maeve Egner of Fusion Marketing, the company hired to help market SpermCheck, told Bloomberg. "It's plugging a gap."
The $40 test is set to hit stores in April. To use it, a man mixes his semen with a solution in the kit and drops it onto a test strip. A reddish line means the sperm count is above 20 million per milliliter, which is considered normal. A negative test shows no color and means the man should "should consult a physician about a complete fertility evaluation," according to the kit's instructions.
Studies have found that SpermCheck Fertility correctly counted sperm 96 percent of the time compared with laboratory sperm- counting methods. But some doctors say sperm count is only one aspect of male fertility.
"There are four major things we look for," said Dr. James Goldfarb, a fertility specialist at UH Case Medical Center in Cleveland: The number of sperm; their shape; their mobility; and the volume of the ejaculate. "This test only measures one thing."
While a low sperm count may signal a problem, Goldfarb said a count of 15 million per milliliter - considered "low normal" by the latest criteria - can be more than enough if the other three fertility factors are in place.
"The biggest risk of this test is that a guy who gets a very low sperm count might panic and end up getting more intervention than he really needed," said Goldfarb. "It might reassure some couples, but it might scare some couples, too."
Sperm counts can vary widely from week to week, Goldfarb said. So a man who rings in at 15 million per milliliter one week could hit 40 million the next. If the sperm count stays low, however, there are options.
"First we would look for anatomical problems," said Goldfarb, describing varicose veins in the scrotum or blockages to the penis that thwart sperm release. "Then we can look at hormonal things… If the problem can't be found or corrected, the simplest solution is to concentrate sperm and do intrauterine insemination. That way, there are more sperm getting closer to the fallopian tubes."
And if that doesn't work, in vitro fertilization allows a single sperm to fertilize an egg."We always try the simpler things first," said Goldfarb. "But if the couple is willing to be very aggressive, then we can still get a very good pregnancy success rate even if a man has a very low sperm count."
Source:abcNews

India asks South Asian countries to share innovative methods to tackle health problems

2012-02-07T17:25:00.000-08:00

India has asked the members of the South Asian Forum for Health Research (SAFHeR) to explore ways for strengthening collaboration by sharing innovative methods for tackling the problems faced by the countries.
“Be it poverty, be it disease, be it natural disaster, the destiny of South Asia is interlinked and we must, therefore, work together to deal with these challenges”, said Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad while inaugurating the fourth meeting of SAFHeR hosted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) here on February 4.
Delegates and Officials from Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Thailand representing their health and medical research councils, are attending the three day conference on the theme of “Empowering through Sharing – Working towards Implementation of Regional Health Priorities”.
Azad said India would do everything to facilitate regional cooperation among the member countries for addressing common health problems towards sustainable solutions. He hoped that the deliberations would help arrive at concrete plans to initiate actual projects in selected areas in terms of exchange of personnel, trainings or multi-lateral research projects.
This regional meeting is discussing a wide range of subject areas like Vector borne diseases; cholera and other diarrhoeal diseases; drug resistance; influenza, health problems due to heavy content of arsenic & fluorides; continued challenge of malnutrition and high maternal and child morbidity & morality; non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, cancer and for finding the determinants that may be common and affordable solutions, an official release said.
South Asian Forum for Health Research (SAFHeR) was established in 2003 as a mechanism for enhancing regional cooperation and partnership in Health Research among South Asian countries. The Nepal Health Research Council (NHRC) had earlier organised three such meetings during 2008 and 2010. Indian Council of Medical Research, the apex research body in India completed its 100 years of existence very recently in November, 2011 and has now accepted to host the SAFHeR Secretariat for the period 2012-2014. Dr. V.M. Katoch, Secretary, Department of Health Research, Government of India has assumed the charge of President of SAFHeR.
Source:Pharmabiz

Vaccine Against Drug Addiction

2012-02-07T17:21:00.000-08:00

In Mexico, a vaccine against heroin addiction has been patented and will be ready for human use in next few years, say sources.
Health Secretary Salomon Chertorivski said laboratory experiments have been carried out on rats and "the next step is testing on humans".The vaccine, however, must undergo a "normal development process" and therefore at least another five years of work will be required before it can be used by human beings, he said.
"We can be very proud of our scientists at the National Institute of Psychiatry because they've achieved something that hasn't been achieved in other areas of the world," the official said.
"And it's not only heroin... that's what's been patented so far but we're advancing rapidly on cocaine and methamphetamines," he said.
Source-IANS

Climate Response to Volcanic Eruptions may be Undervalued by Tree Rings

2012-02-07T17:16:00.000-08:00

Researchers have said that some climate cooling caused by past volcanic eruptions may not be evident in tree-ring reconstructions of temperature change. This is because huge temperature plunges lead to greatly shortened or even absent growing seasons.The climate researchers compared tree-ring temperature reconstructions with model simulations of past temperature changes.
"We know these tree rings capture most temperature changes quite well," said Michael Mann, professor of meteorology and geosciences and director of the Penn State Earth System Science Center.
"But the problem appears to be in their response to the intense short-term cooling that occurs following a very large volcanic eruption. Explosive volcanic eruptions place particulates called aerosols into the stratosphere, reflecting back some fraction of incoming sunlight and cooling the planet for several years following the eruption."
Tree rings are used as proxies for climate because trees create unique rings each year that often reflect the weather conditions that influenced the growing season that year.
For reconstructing climate conditions, tree-ring researchers seek trees growing at the extremes of their growth range. Inferring temperature changes required going to locations either at the tree line caused by elevation or at the boreal tree line, the northern most place where the trees will grow.
"The problem is that these trees are so close to the threshold for growth, that if the temperature drops just a couple of degrees, there is little or no growth and a loss of sensitivity to any further cooling. In extreme cases, there may be no growth ring at all," said Mann.
"If no ring was formed in a given year, that creates a further complication, introducing an error in the chronology established by counting rings back in time."
The researchers compared temperature reconstructions from actual tree-ring data with temperature estimates from climate models driven with past volcanic eruptions.
Comparing the model-simulated temperatures to the Northern Hemisphere temperatures reconstructed from tree-ring thickness, Mann, working with Jose D. Fuentes, professor of meteorology, Penn State, and Scott Rutherford, associate professor of environmental science, Roger Williams University, found the overall level of agreement to be quite good.
However "there is one glaring inconsistency; the response to the three largest tropical eruptions - AD 1258/1259, 1452/1453 and the 1809+1815 double pulse of eruptions - is sharply reduced in the reconstruction."
Following the 1258 eruption, the climate model simulations predict a drop of 3.5 degrees Fahrenheit, but the tree ring-based reconstruction shows only about a 1 degree Fahrenheit dip and the dip occurs several years too late. The other large eruptions showed the same type of discrepancy.
Using a theoretical model of tree-growth driven by the simulated temperature changes, the team determined that the cooling response recorded by the trees after a volcanic eruption was limited by biological growth effects.
Any temperature drop exceeding roughly 1 degree Fahrenheit would lead to minimal tree growth and an inability of trees to record any further cooling.
When growth is minimal enough, it is likely that a ring will not be detectable for that year.
The potential absence of rings in the first one to three years following eruption further degrades the temperature reconstruction.
Because tree-ring information is averaged across many locations to obtain a representative estimate of northern hemisphere temperature, tree-ring records with and without missing rings for a given year are merged, leading to a smearing and reduced and delayed apparent cooling.
The researchers also noted that aerosol particles forced into the air by volcanoes block some direct sunlight causing cooling and they produce more indirect, scattered light at the surface. Trees like indirect sunlight and grow better under those conditions.
However, this effect is small compared to that of lower temperatures and shorter growing seasons.
By accounting for these various effects in the tree growth model, the researchers were able to reproduce the reduced and smeared cooling seen in the actual tree-ring temperature reconstruction, including the near absence and delay of cooling following the massive 1258 eruption.
"Our findings suggest that past studies using tree-ring data to infer this sensitivity have likely underestimated it," Mann added.
The study has been published in Nature Geoscience.

Source-ANI

Spoon-Feeding Babies Makes Them Overweight

2012-02-07T17:11:00.000-08:00

A new study by psychologists at The University of Nottingham has suggested that weaning babies on solid finger foods rather than spoon-feeding purees helps them to develop healthier food preferences and could prevent them becoming obese in later childhood. The study implies that the weaning method has an impact on food preferences and health in early childhood.
The study found that baby-led weaning in which the babies are allowed to feed themselves from a selection of foods are more likely to prefer carbohydrates than babies who are spoon-fed. The spoon-fed babies tend to have a sweet tooth even if these children are offered carbohydrates, fruits and vegetables, proteins and whole meals. Early self-regulation of what to eat keeps the self-fed babies slim.
The authors said, "Our results suggest that infants weaned through the baby-led approach learn to regulate their food intake in a manner which leads to a lower BMI (body mass index) and a preference for healthy foods like carbohydrates. This has implications for combating the well-documented rise of obesity in contemporary societies."
The study is published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ).

Using Pancreas to Taste Fructose

2012-02-07T17:06:00.000-08:00

The tongue’s taste receptors aids in telling apart between safe food and spoilt food or toxic. Nevertheless taste receptors are now being discovered in other organs, also. In a study published online the week of February 6 by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, researchers at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham) discovered that beta cells in the pancreas use taste receptors to sense fructose, a type of sugar. According to the study, the beta cells respond to fructose by secreting insulin, a hormone that regulates the body's response to dietary sugar."Before this study, fructose's effect on insulin release was not appreciated. Fructose, and especially high-fructose corn syrup, is found in everything from sodas to cereals, but it remains to be seen whether dietary fructose is good or bad for beta cells and human metabolism," said Björn Tyrberg, Ph.D., adjunct assistant professor in the Diabetes and Obesity Research Center at Sanford-Burnham's Lake Nona campus in Orlando and senior author of the study.
After a meal, beta cells in the pancreas typically respond to the suddenly high levels of glucose, another type of sugar, in the blood by releasing insulin. Insulin then binds to receptors present on many cells in the body. Like a key unlocking a door, insulin binding allows glucose to enter the cell and be used for energy. But most meals are a mix of different types of sugar. This study shows that glucose is not the only sugar that triggers insulin secretion—fructose also plays a role.
Using human and mouse pancreatic cells, Tyrberg, along with postdoctoral researchers George Kyriazis, Ph.D. and Mangala Soundarapandian, Ph.D., found that fructose activates sweet taste receptors on beta cells. Together with glucose, fructose helps amplify insulin release. To substantiate this observation, the team took a look at cells genetically engineered to lack the taste receptor gene. Without the gene, fructose did not stimulate insulin release, underscoring the role beta cell taste receptors play in insulin signaling.
Source-Eurekalert

Karnataka CM praises ayurveda system

2012-02-06T20:34:00.000-08:00

Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda reached out to Ayurvedic practitioners’ community in his own style on Sunday.
The CM, who inaugurated the Ayurveda Doctors Conference here, spoke in Malayalam and appreciated the ancient Indian practice and its practitioners for having taken their service to the next level.
The Ayurveda is in practice from five thousand years and has done wonders in the medical field, the CM said and sought sustainable growth of home grown medicinal and Ayurvedic plants.� “Our government will give support to the Ayurveda and will vouch for its comprehensive development in all districts in the State and its studies,” Sadananda Gowda stated.
He said 45 lakh people in the State are being treated through Ayurveda. Later, speaking to media persons he said, “There will not be any cut in the existing 27% reservation for the OBCs to accommodate Muslims.” However, he preferred not to comment on Centre’s 4.5 reservation to Muslims.
Source:IBN Live

Role of Determination in Dieting

2012-02-06T17:48:00.000-08:00

People all over America are resolving to better manage their weight and have a more healthy lifestyle in the New Year.According to a new study, those starting new weight loss programs may be surprised to find out that both location and level of experience may influence their success. A recent article published in The Journal of Black Psychology (a journal from the Association of Black Psychologists, published by SAGE) finds that African American women beginning a new group weight loss program are more successful if they are less experienced with weight management and if the program meets in a church.
The authors of this new study monitored two groups of women in the same weight loss program. One group met weekly at a university and the other group met in a church. After 13 weeks, they found that the women meeting in the church setting lost a greater percentage of weight than those who met at the university. Additionally, those women who set out to change their eating and exercise practices for the first time lost a greater percentage of weight than women who had experience managing their weight.
Researchers Tracy Sbrocco, Robyn Osborn, Robert D. Clark, Chiao-Wen Hsiao, and Michele M. Carter studied 55 African American women, ages 18 to 55, involved in a 13-week weight-management program designed to promote long-term diet and exercise practices that produce moderate but lasting weight loss. Of these 55 women, 19 met together in a church and 36 met at a medical school in the area. All participants were weighed and had physical fitness tests at pre- and post-treatment.
The authors provided possible explanations for their findings by stating that women with weight-loss experience may find it more difficult to lose weight when starting a new program because they are less likely to seek and accept social support for their efforts and are unable to shake the bad habits that they have learned in past weight-loss programs. Furthermore, they explained that churches are familiar environments that are conducive to lending encouragement and support.
"Church-based groups have a built-in social support system that allows members to see each other, check in, and follow up on behavior changes," noted the authors. "Whereas individuals who attended the university often rushed into groups as they began and left as soon as the groups ended, individuals in the church setting were more likely to linger before and after group times."
Source-Eurekalert

CIAS urges govt to include Ayush streams in NCHRH Bill

2012-02-06T17:43:00.000-08:00

The Centre for Integration of Ayush Systems (CIAS), a forum constituted by the leaders of the professional organizations of Indian System of Medicines in Kerala, has strongly condemned the union government for its move to exclude Ayush streams from the National Commission for Human Resources in Health (NCHRH) Bill which is waiting for passage in the Rajya Sabha currently.
The Bill will shortly come to the consideration of the Parliamentary Standing Committee for Health & Family Welfare.
Foreseeing a setback to the growth of the systems in future if the Bill is passed in its present form, the CIAS demanded to the central government to incorporate the Ayush streams (Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, Homoeopathy and Naturopathy) into the NCHRH Bill.
In a memorandum to the chairman of the Standing Committee of Parliamentary Affairs for Health and Family Welfare, CIAS has urged the government to make changes in the draft bill and include Ayush in order to accommodate the professionals in the field into the classified disciplines among modern medicines, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy and para-medicals.
According to the professional body, the exclusion of Ayush streams would degenerate the growth and benefit of the country’s traditional methods of treatment. The traditional and alternative medicines play a major role in the national healthcare delivery of India because of its easy access, affordability and cost effectiveness. More than 30 per cent of the Indian population seeks traditional, complementary and alternative systems for their health needs. This massive acceptance of Indian medicines emphasizes the need to accommodate Ayush streams into the larger umbrella of healthcare academics and its standardization envisioned under NCHRH.
In the representation it is said that the fundamental agenda of healthcare delivery such as prevention, promotion, cure, preservation of health and rehabilitation is grossly compromised by excluding Ayush from common fronts of healthcare related HR legislation and its standardization. CIAS feels that the credibility of the traditional medicines will be at stake if it is excluded from the Bill. If researches and studies are to be continued in future, the NCHRH should be inclusive of Ayush systems and brought under one umbrella. Further, the Ayush exclusion from NCHRH would permanently close doors for inter disciplinary education in healthcare and integrated approaches, which is a priority area of development in healthcare academics.
The memorandum to the parliamentary committee says that the NCHRH is constituted to regulate about 5000 health sciences higher education colleges among the approximately 22000 total higher education colleges in our country. These 5000 institutions are spread under the health science universities, a few Ayush universities and in certain places under the regional universities. Out of these 5000 health sciences institutions, Ayush institutions come around 500 only. So there is no need of a separate Commission or Bill to regulate these 500 institutions. The efforts and the infrastructure to build up a separate Commission for 500 Ayush institutions will become monotonous.
The physicians of Indian systems observed that in USA and Europe, Ayush was part and parcel of their curricula under integrative medicine. In view of this, inclusion of Ayush in NCHRH is necessary in the national healthcare, education and research strategy.
Dr Vijayan Nangelil (Ayurveda) has been made the chairman of the association and Dr Sreevals G Menon (Homoeopathy) the general convener. Dr Induchoodan (Ayurveda), Dr Stanly Johns (Siddha), Dr K R Jayakumar (Naturopathy) and Dr K T Ajmal (Unani) are the conveners.
Source:Pharmabiz

Alternative Medicine Is Not Pseudoscience, Groups Tell Friends Of Science In Medicine in Australia

2012-02-06T17:37:00.000-08:00

Alternative medicine practitioners in Australia are fighting claims by a 400-strong lobby group, called the Friends of Science in Medicine, that techniques such as acupuncture and homeopathy are pseudoscience.
A group of 400 doctors, medical researchers, and scientists, called the Friends of Science in Medicine (FSM), says universities that are awarding degrees in alternative medicine should be named and shamed.
Formed in December 2011, the group, which includes biologist Sir Gustav Nossal and Gardasil vaccine researcher Professor Ian Frazer, has written to university vice-chancellors, saying they should back evidence-based science rather than give “undeserved credibility to what in many cases would be better described as quackery.”
Co-founder Professor John Dwyer said 19 universities across the country were currently offering “degrees in pseudoscience,” in courses such as homeopathy, iridology, naturopathy, acupuncture, and energy medicine.
Alleged offenders include well-established universities such as the University of Sydney, RMIT, and the University of Queensland.
Alternative medicine practitioners fight back
The lobby has come under fire from alternative medicine practitioners such as the Australian Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine Association Limited (AACMA) and the National Herbalists Association of Australia (NHAA), which have called it a “witch hunt,” with the intention of stripping complementary medicine of its credibility and standing in Australia.
James refuted Prof. Dwyer’s claim that subjects such as healing touch therapies, energy medicine, iridology, and homoeopathy were being “taught as science” in universities. Rather, bona fide practices such as acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine were taught at the bachelor level for more than 16 years and should be protected, James said.James said that from July 1 this year, the Chinese medicine profession has been scheduled for inclusion in the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme for the Health Professions. A more constructive approach to dealing with egregious conduct, she said, was to support the introduction of Codes of Conduct and negative licensing approaches adopted in New South Wales and South Australia.
In addition, NHAA defended the need for private health insurance providers to continue providing rebates for CM treatments.
An increase in popularity in AustraliaNew research from the University of Adelaide has shown that when diagnosed with cancer, more than 50 percent of Australian men are turning to alternative medicine to help find a cure, or to improve their health.
The study, published recently in the Annals of Oncology, is based on an Adelaide questionnaire of 400 men with various types of cancer, and was carried out by psychology graduate student Nadja Klafke.
According to Klafke, published data shows that acupuncture and acupressure may relieve chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, hypnosis and massage are beneficial for cancer-related pain, and meditation and relaxation techniques can relieve fatigue.
Source: AACMA; Sydney Morning Herald; Friends of Science in Medicine.

Diet supplements recalled on unlabeled drug worries

2012-02-06T17:31:00.001-08:00

Healthy People Co is recalling 15 lots of seven different dietary supplements because they contain appetite suppressants or a drug for male erectile dysfunction, the Long Beach, California, company said.
The seven brands of supplements were sold at the company's store at 13105 Ramona Boulevard, Irwindale, California, Healthy People said in a Friday statement carried on the Food and Drug Administration's website.
Five of the supplements -- Mince Belle, Everlax, Ever Slim, Ever Slim Shake Mix Dietary Supplement Strawberry, and Ever Slim Shake Mix Dietary Supplement Chocolate -- contain sibutramine, an appetite suppressant.
Sibutramine can increase blood pressure or heart rate and has been withdrawn from the U.S. market, the statement said.
Two other supplements -- Perfect Men Dietary Supplement and Herbal Drink Acai-man Mangosteen Dietary Supplement -- contain tadalafil, used to treat male erectile dysfunction.
Tadalafil may interact with nitrates in prescription drugs such as nitroglycerin and may dangerously lower blood pressure, the statement said.
The statement did not say if any deaths or injuries had resulted from their use.
Source:Reuters

Aspirin, Warfarin Fare Equally for Heart Failure Patients

2012-02-06T17:28:00.001-08:00

A major head-to-head trial finds that aspirin is equally as good as warfarin in preventing stroke and death in heart failure patients.
The researchers said that, all things being equal, the findings raise questions about the wisdom of routinely using warfarin (Coumadin), which can cause dangerous bleeding. The findings were presented Friday at the annual meeting of the American Stroke Association in New Orleans.
Heart failure patients are at increased risk for blood clots, stroke and death.
The study is the largest and longest of its kind to date and included more than 2,300 patients averaging 61 years of age. All patients had heart failure and a normal heart rhythm, and were followed for up to six years (average 3.5 years).
The patients were randomly assigned to receive either 325 milligrams a day of aspirin or warfarin doses meant to achieve a pre-specified degree of blood thinning.
Death, ischemic stroke (caused by blockage of an artery carrying blood to the brain) or bleeding inside the brain (intracerebral hemorrhage) occurred in about 8 percent of the patients taking aspirin and about 7.5 percent of those taking warfarin. This difference was not deemed to be statistically significant, the research team said.
Among patients who were followed for more than three years, strokes occurred in 0.72 percent of those taking warfarin and in 1.36 percent of those taking aspirin, according to the study. While warfarin users had half the stroke risk of those on aspirin, the overall risk for stroke for patients in either group was considered low.
On the other hand, the researchers found that major bleeding (other than intracerebral hemorrhage) occurred in 0.9 percent of the patients on aspirin each year, compared with 1.8 percent of those on warfarin. That was a statistically significant difference, the team said.
"Although there was a warfarin benefit for patients treated for four or more years, overall, warfarin and aspirin were similar," lead author Dr. Shunichi Homma, a professor of medicine at Columbia University in New York City, said in a stroke association news release.
"Given that there is no overall difference between the two treatments and that possible benefit of warfarin does not start until after four years of treatment, there is no compelling reason to use warfarin, especially considering the bleeding risk," Homma noted.
One expert said the study provides valuable information to doctors and patients.
"There has always been a question about whether warfarin or aspirin is better when treating heart failure in patients with normal heart rhythms, so this is a very important study," noted Dr. Kenneth Ong, a cardiologist at The Brooklyn Hospital Center in New York City.
"Until now, we considered warfarin a more potent anti-clotting drug than aspirin, though each affects a different mechanism of clotting," he explained. "In the past, the only reason to put heart failure patients on warfarin was in the case of patients with a history of strokes, transient ischemic strokes (TIA or 'mini-stroke') or an irregular heart rhythm. This study confirms current standards of treatment. Aspirin is just as effective as warfarin in the treatment of heart failure, but warfarin is indicated for high-risk patients."
Homma's team said that they are currently analyzing whether certain subgroups of patients benefited more from either aspirin or warfarin.
Because this study was presented at a medical meeting, the data and conclusions should be viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.
Source:HealthDay

No 'Facebook fatigue' for longtime users - survey

2012-02-06T17:25:00.000-08:00

A survey released on Friday shows that people who have used the social networking site over a long period - since its founding in 2004, say - show no sign that they have become tired of posting pictures, updating weekend plans or just relaying random thoughts.The Pew Research Center report, based on a U.S. phone survey, logs and data from November 2010, sheds light on Facebook's possible long-term popularity as the company founded by Mark Zuckerberg heads for a $5 billion initial public offering.Ahead of the IPO, one concern about Facebook has been that users will simply bore of it after a while, a phenomenon known as "Facebook fatigue." The Pew research suggests those worries may be unfounded.
The longer that people have used Facebook site, the more frequently they hit the "like" button, commented on friends' content, posted status updates and tagged their friends in photos, the report showed.
It also concluded that having more Facebook friends kept users more involved with the social networking site.
"The more Facebook friends users have, the more they perform every activity that we explored: friending, liking, private messages, commenting, posting, photo tagging, joining groups and poking," Pew said regarding the survey by its Internet & American Life project.
Facebook users on average can reach 156,569 other network users through friends of friends. The number is skewed by Facebook users with especially large friend lists, and the median is 31,170 people reached through friends of friends.
"This examination of people's activities in a very new realm affirms one of the oldest truths about the value of friendship," said Lee Rainie, head of Pew's Internet project. "Those who are socially active have a better shot at getting the help and emotional help they need."
The survey was based on a phone survey of 2,255 U.S. adults that was conducted in November 2010. Respondents were asked to share logs of their Facebook activity, and about 269 respondents let Facebook release data on their use.
Facebook says it has 845 million active users today.
Source:Reuters

Who knew? Eat more to gain less

2012-02-05T17:42:00.000-08:00

This is for all you ladies out there - the time has come to do away with the age-old adage of 'breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dine like a pauper'. Today's mantra of losing more weight is to eat more.
The caveat? No caveat, actually - just smart compartmentalisation of your meals. If not gaining weight is your prime concern (as opposed to losing it), eat frequently. A new study claims that girls who eat more frequently through the day, including meals and snacks, tend to gain fewer pounds (okay, kilos) than those who have 3-4 heavy meals.
Moderation is key for this to work, the research says. When a woman eats every couple of hours, the body conditions itself to be on the alert for frequent meals so it actively works towards not storing energy in the form of fat. One has to eat healthy, of course. If we eat candy bars and chips, the study is moot. But if our meals are and healthy, and our portions are small, the body's metabolism regulates over time and stops paving the way for weight gain.
Moral: Don't overdo the lasagna. Eat a quarter portion instead of the whole serving. And eat some vegetable sticks a couple of hours later. There is no substitute for healthy eating.
Source:Yahoo Lifestyle

Laugh Out Loud

2012-02-05T17:37:00.000-08:00

Guffawing is great. It not only helps you bond better but also does your heart and head a sea of good.
When we moved into our home, I immediately fell in love with the expansive, lush green park in front. The only thing that startled me was the sound coming from the early morning laughter club that drowned out all other gentle sounds of nature. As I sat with my newspaper and tea in the balcony, a range of irritated thoughts passed my head from "Why do they have to be so loud?" to "They are just faking it", as I glowered at the group of senior men who were bent upon laughing their lungs out.
Eight years on, my attitude has changed, from irritated cynicism to wistful admiration. The group too has changed over the years as some very senior members have passed away making way for fresher greys. However, nothing, not even Delhi's extreme weather condition has dented their commitment and determination. And their early morning zest and back-slapping humour actually seems to be working wonders for them! There have been mornings when I have woken up feeling grumpy and on edge and their energetic mirth has added a dash of amusement and perked me up instantly.
If they can laugh for no reason then so can I! One very striking thing about laughter is that it is entirely social (unless you are watching a funny flick). We can smile alone, cry in solitude, be scared in isolation and rage all by ourselves, but we usually laugh when we are with people. It is even more contagious than yawning. Often while with friends and family, I have found myself laughing aloud at a joke that I did not entirely get. Laughter touches our empathy centre in the brain and before we know it, we are giggling away merrily, our thinking brain desperately trying to catch up. As a kid I was always told that I laughed too much. I was sent out of class by my teachers for not being able to hold my mirth at the slightest provocation. My funny bone can still be tickled effortlessly and I also connect well with people who laugh easily. I have found that some of the most resilient people I have met are the ones who are able to laugh at themselves. An added bonus: a healthy sense of humour also keeps them going through the roughest of times. Robert Provine, a neuroscientist (Laughter: A Scientific Investigation, Penguin Books) gives a meticulous account of the anthropology and biology of laughter. According to him, laughter has tremendous analgesic properties.
In simple terms, it could be the best stress buster known to humans. It also has aerobic benefits as it activates the cardiovascular system, increases the heart rate and pumps more blood to internal organs. So the next time you miss the gym, don't fret. Just get hold of your friends or family and laugh it out. It will do your heart and your relationships a world of good! I have started believing that laughter is an excellent way to bond. Families that laugh together stay together. Giggling is the bonding glue for friends.
Even at workplaces, I have seen that teams that laugh together are most synergistic and effective. So if you are a little concerned about any relationship in your life, check out if you are injecting enough laughter into it. Whatever your unique style may be-giggle, chortle, chuckle, guffaw, hoot, cackle-don't hold back. Joyful living's got to be celebrated loudly.
Courtesy:IndiaTodayPrevention

SC pulls up central govt for delay in framing pharma policy to make essential drugs affordable to poor people

2012-02-05T17:31:00.000-08:00

In what can virtually be termed as an indictment of their dilly-dallying tactics on the issue of framing a pharma policy, the Supreme Court has asked the Union ministry of health and Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) to immediately review and come up with their views to make the essential medicines affordable to the poor people of the country. Come up with your view on the policy by February 9, or else the Court will give its direction on the issue, the Supreme Court said.
Literally pulling up the Union health ministry and the DoP for inordinate delay in framing the pharma policy and for its failure in bringing down the prices of medicines included in the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM), the Supreme Court bench consisting of Justices G S Singhvi and S J Mukhopadhaya asked the government to come up with its views on the issue of reducing the prices of essential medicines. The NLEM has 348 drugs, of which the prices of only 37 medicines are controlled by National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA).
The two-member SC bench also posed a question to the Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI), an organisation of multinational pharma companies in India, who was also made a party in the case. The SC bench asked its counsel U Lalit, why you cannot reduce the prices of essential medicines to make it affordable to the poor people of this country.
The next hearing on the issue will be held on February 9.
Hearing on a petition filed by All India Drug Action Network (AIDAN), an NGO working in the health sector, the court expressed its anger over the insensitivity of the concerned ministries on the issue. What have you done during the last several years to reduce the prices of essential medicines. It is a sensitive issue involving the health of crores of poor people of this country, the court said.
Source:Pharmabiz

Cannabis says success in 4th brand new self-administering cancer patient

2012-02-05T17:27:00.001-08:00

Cannabis Science Inc., a pioneering US biotech company developing pharmaceutical cannabis (marijuana) products, has introduced 4th cancer patient with basal cell carcinoma (skin cancer) on his left nostril, who is self-administering a topical cannabis extract and having noticeable results.

Cannabis Science has received images and documented information from this 4th patient who has basal cell carcinoma on his left nostril. The patient is enrolled in a photographic mole-mapping programme at the University of Colorado Hospital and is examined annually. The last time he was examined was in October of 2011, where his doctors found a small bump on his left nostril that was less and 1/8" in diameter, and believed it to be basal cell carcinoma. At that time it was too early to be certain if it was in-fact basal cell carcinoma.
By January 2012 the small bump on his left nostril had grown slightly and had developed a rough scaly texture similar to his previous episodes of basal cell carcinoma. The patient began self-administering cannabis extract oil (CT-1) topically to the spot on his left nostril in the middle of January. The patient immediately reported minor irritation of the spot but that the surrounding healthy skin was not irritated. The rough scaly texture and the minor irritation disappeared by day four of treatment and by day nine of treatment the bump had shrunk considerably and was almost imperceptible to the touch. In these three images you can notice a significant reduction in the lesion.
This patient has a history of having five different episodes of basal cell carcinoma starting at the age of 27, and had one malignant melanoma at age 35. He is now 46, and has suffered from numerous severe sunburns which caused blistering and peeling. This patient was diagnosed with dysplastic nevus syndrome (over 100 atypical moles) and has been told that he is certain to have additional melanomas at some point in the future. Doctors have already confirmed that he has had basal cell carcinoma on his right jaw line, which resulted to Mohs procedure that was performed in December of 2011.
Cannabis Science, Inc. is at the forefront of pharmaceutical grade medical marijuana research and development. The second formulations will address the needs of patients choosing to use concentrated cannabis extracts to treat their ailments. Eventually, all Americans will have access to a safe and effective FDA approved medicine regardless of which state they live in.
Source:Pharmabiz

Silver As Competent As Chemotherapy Drug to Treat Cancer

2012-02-05T17:24:00.000-08:00

Silver is as proficient as a principal chemotherapy drug in treating cancer and may possibly even have fewer side effects, reveals a new study.

Results from the study at the University of Leeds, show that particular silver compounds are as toxic to cancer cells as the platinum-based drug Cisplatin, which is widely used to treat a range of cancers.
But the crucial difference is that silver is thought to be much less toxic to healthy human cells, and in some cases, can be beneficial.
Silver is currently used for its antiseptic and antibiotic properties, in bandages, wound dressings and water purification filters in the third world.
Nausea and vomiting, kidney damage and an increased risk of infection are common side effects of Cisplatin, which is used to treat cancer of the lungs, breast, bladder, testicles, head and neck, ovaries and lymph nodes.
"As many are unfortunately aware, chemotherapy can be a very gruelling experience for the patient. Finding effective, yet non-toxic drugs is an ongoing problem, but these preliminary results are an important step in solving it," Dr Charlotte Willans who is leading the study said.
"Our research has looked at the structure which surrounds a central silver atom. This 'shrubbery' is what determines how reactive it is and what it will interact with. Our research has used different types of these ligands to see which is the most effective against cancer cells," Dr Willans added.
The research, still the first phase of drug development, involved exposing breast and colon cancer cells with different silver-based chemicals for six day periods.
It has been shown that ligands which are co-ordinately bonded to the central silver atom through two sites are more effective than those coordinated through only one site.
This may be due to the release of silver being much slower and make these compounds more effective over a longer period of time.
A major barrier to the continued development of these compounds is a lack of understanding of how they work. Over the next 12 months, research will focus on investigating how the compounds damage cancerous cells and what effects they have on healthy cells.
This will establish whether these silver complexes are in fact less toxic to ordinary human tissue, and will help to design and develop the next-generation of chemotherapy drugs.
The study has been published in Dalton Transactions.
Source-ANI

Sleep Apnea May Be Tied to 'Silent' Strokes, Study Finds

2012-02-05T03:57:00.000-08:00

Sleep apnea, the disorder marked by abnormal pauses in breathing during sleep, is already known to boost the risk of stroke. Now, a new study links sleep apnea to so-called silent strokes, in which there is tissue death in the brain without symptoms.
In another new study, researchers found that rapid memory loss before a stroke boosts the risk of the stroke being fatal.
Both studies are slated for presentation Wednesday at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference in New Orleans.
Stroke affects 795,000 Americans annually, according to the association.
In one study, Dr. Jessica Kepplinger, a fellow at the University of Technology in Dresden, Germany, and her colleagues evaluated 56 patients who had a stroke. They knew that silent strokes had been linked to an increased risk of strokes. However, "there are barely any studies that have investigated the relationship between sleep apnea and the so-called clinically silent strokes," she said.
To look at the relationship, they first gave patients in-hospital testing for apnea. "We found an overall high frequency of sleep apnea, 91 percent, in our study population of acute stroke patients, which underlines the importance of this stroke risk factor," Kepplinger said.
The team also performed brain-imaging studies. Those with sleep apnea were more likely to have the silent strokes, as evidenced on the brain scans, the researchers found. Having more than five episodes a night was linked with having silent strokes. The higher the severity of the apnea, the more likely these silent strokes were found on brain imaging.
The more severe the apnea, the less favorable the outcome when the patient was discharged.
The patients were on average 67 years old, and just over half of them were women, the study authors noted.
While the study found an association between sleep apnea and stroke, it did not prove a cause-and-effect relationship.
In the second study, Qianyi Wang, a graduate student at the Harvard University School of Public Health, and colleagues evaluated nearly 12,000 men and women, all above age 50, enrolled in the U.S. Health and Retirement Study.
All were stroke-free at the start. The men and women were given memory tests every two years for up to 10 years.
Over time, 1,820 strokes were reported, including 364 people who died after the stroke.
The others were stroke-free for the entire follow-up period, the study authors noted.
The research looked at the memory declines over time. Those who later survived a stroke "had memory decline that is nearly twice as fast as stroke-free individuals, even before their stroke," Wang said.
"For people who do not survive stroke, this difference is even more striking," said M. Maria Glymour, an assistant professor of society, human development and health at Harvard and a study co-author. "Prior to stroke, people who later died shortly after stroke were declining three times as fast as the stroke-free."
The study was funded by the U.S. National Institute on Aging and the American Heart Association.
"Our study is the first national picture of how memory changes over the long-term before and after stroke onset, compared to individuals who do not have a stroke," Glymour said.
Both studies provide some valuable information, said Dr. Ralph Sacco, chair of neurology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and past president of the American Heart Association. He reviewed the findings.
"It's been mainly in smaller studies that sleep apnea has been shown to be a risk factor for stroke," Sacco said. The new research, he noted, goes even further by linking sleep apnea with the milder "silent" strokes.
"There are many reasons to treat sleep apnea, including reducing the risk for clinical and now silent stroke," Sacco said.
The memory-loss study, he said, "is telling us that those who have the worst memory loss may have a greater death rate when they have the stroke." Those with more memory loss in the study may also have had more risk factors for stroke, Sacco added.
Even so, he said, the message seems to be that taking care of brain health may help us in several ways. "What is good for our memory may also be good for surviving a stroke," Sacco said.
Because these studies were presented at a medical meeting, the data and conclusions should be viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.
Source:HealthDay

Researchers uncover probable mechanism underlying resveratrol activity

2012-02-05T03:26:00.001-08:00

Researchers and their colleagues from National Institutes of Health have identified how resveratrol, a naturally occurring chemical found in red wine and other plant products, may confer its health benefits. The authors present evidence that resveratrol does not directly activate sirtuin 1, a protein associated with aging. Rather, the authors found that resveratrol inhibits certain types of proteins known as phosphodiesterases (PDEs), enzymes that help regulate cell energy.

These findings may help settle the debate regarding resveratrol's biochemistry and pave the way for resveratrol-based medicines. The chemical has received significant interest from pharmaceutical companies for its potential to combat diabetes, inflammation, and cancer. The study appears in the February 3 issue of Cell.

"Resveratrol has potential as a therapy for diverse diseases such as type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, and heart disease," said lead study author Jay H. Chung, chief of the Laboratory of Obesity and Aging Research at the NIH's National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. "“However, before researchers can transform resveratrol into a safe and effective medicine, they need to know exactly what it targets in cells."

Several previous studies suggested that resveratrol's primary target is sirtuin 1. Chung and colleagues suspected otherwise when they found that resveratrol activity required another protein called AMPK. This would not be the case if resveratrol directly interacted with sirtuin 1.

In this study, the researchers methodically traced out the metabolic activity in cells treated with resveratrol and identified PDE4 in the skeletal muscle as the principal target for the health benefits of resveratrol. By inhibiting PDE4, resveratrol triggers a series of events in a cell, one of which indirectly activates sirtuin 1.

To confirm that resveratrol attaches to and inhibits PDE proteins, Chung's group gave mice rolipram, a drug known to inhibit PDE4. Rolipram reproduced all of the biochemical effects and health benefits of resveratrol, such as preventing diet-induced obesity, improving glucose tolerance, and increasing physical endurance.

Chung noted that because resveratrol in its natural form interacts with many proteins, not just PDEs, it may cause not-yet-known toxicities as a medicine, particularly with long-term use. He added that the levels of resveratrol found in wine or foods are likely not high enough to produce significant health benefits or problems. Convincing clinical studies in humans have used about 1 gm of resveratrol per day, roughly equal to the amount found in 667 bottles of red wine.

The study results also suggest that inhibitors of PDE4 may offer the benefits of resveratrol without the potential toxicities arising from resveratrol's interactions with other proteins. One PDE4 inhibitor called roflumilast has already been approved by the FDA for the treatment of COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease).
"This result underscores the need for careful, well-controlled studies to illuminate how these natural products operate," said Robert Balaban, director of the NHLBI Division of Intramural Research. "As Dr. Chung’s work suggests, the effects of resveratrol seem to be more complicated than originally thought. However, this new insight into the phosphodiesterases might prove an interesting avenue to pursue."
In addition to Dr. Chung's lab at the NHLBI, other contributors to this study included collaborators in the Cardiovascular Pulmonary Branch of the NHLBI; the University of California, Davis; the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas; Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China; University Medical Center, Utrecht, The Netherlands; and Emerald BioStructures, Bainbridge Island, Wash.
Part of the National Institutes of Health, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) plans, conducts, and supports research related to the causes, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of heart, blood vessel, lung, and blood diseases; and sleep disorders.
Source:Pharmabiz

Mechanisms Behind Aging may be Unraveled by Identical Twins

2012-02-05T03:24:00.000-08:00

Uppsala University researchers have led a recent study that compared the DNA of identical twins of different age.They could show that structural modifications of the DNA, where large or small DNA segments change direction, are duplicated or completely lost are more common in older people. The results may in part explain why the immune system is impaired with age.
During a person's life, continuous alterations in the cells' DNA occur. The alterations can be changes to the individual building blocks of the DNA but more common are rearrangements where large DNA segments change place or direction, or are duplicated or completely lost. In the present study the scientists examined normal blood cells from identical (monozygotic) twins in different age groups and looked for large or smaller DNA rearrangements.
The results showed that large rearrangements were only present in the group older than 60 years. The most common rearrangement was that a DNA region, for instance a part of a chromosome, had been lost in some of the blood cells. Certain, almost identical, rearrangements were found in several individuals and some of these could be correlated with a known blood disease in which the bone marrow's capacity to produce new blood cells is disturbed. Rearrangements were also found in the younger age group. The changes were smaller and less complex but the researchers could also in this case show that the number of rearrangements correlated with age.
We were surprised to find that as many as 3.5 percent of healthy individuals older than 60 years carry such large genetic alterations. We believe that what we see today is only the tip of the iceberg and that this type of acquired genetic variation might be much more common, says Jan Dumanski, professor at the Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology and one of the authors of the paper.
Out of the cell types in blood only white blood cells contain DNA. The researchers believe that the increased number of cells with DNA alterations among elderly can have a role in the senescence of the immune system. If the genetic alterations lead to an increased growth of the cells that have acquired them, these cells will increase in number in relation to other white blood cells. The consequence might be a reduced diversity among the white blood cells and thereby an impaired immune system.
The study is a collaboration between researchers at Uppsala University and Hudson-Alpha Institute for Biotechnology, as well as Karolinska Institutet and other research centres in USA, Poland, the Netherlands and Norway. The study was mainly financed by Ellison Medical Foundation. The results are published on-line in the American Journal of Human Genetics.
Source-Eurekalert

Coffee Cuts Fibrosis Risk in People With Fatty Liver Disease

2012-02-05T03:19:00.000-08:00

Intake of coffee may reduce the risk of advanced fibrosis in people with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), research confirms.
Caffeine consumption has long been associated with decreased risk of liver disease and reduced fibrosis in patients with chronic liver disease.
Now, a new study has found that increased coffee intake, specifically among patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), decreases risk of hepatic fibrosis.
The steady increase in rates of diabetes, obesity, and metabolic syndrome over the past 20 years has given rise to greater prevalence of NAFLD. In fact, experts now believe NAFLD is the leading cause of chronic liver disease in the U.S., surpassing both hepatitis B and C.
The majority of patients will have isolated fatty liver, which has a very low likelihood of developing progressive liver disease. However, a subset of patients will have NASH, which is characterized by inflammation of the liver, destruction of liver cells, and possibly scarring of the liver.
Progression to cirrhosis (advanced scarring of the liver) may occur in about 10-11percent of NASH patients over a 15-year period, although this is highly variable.
To enhance understanding of the correlation between coffee consumption and the prevalence and severity of NAFLD, a team led by Dr. Stephen Harrison, Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army at Brooke Army Medical Center in Fort Sam Houston, Texas surveyed participants from a previous NAFLD study as well as NASH patients treated at the center's hepatology clinic.
The 306 participants were asked about caffeine coffee consumption and categorized into four groups: patients with no sign of fibrosis on ultrasound (control), steatosis, NASH stage 0-1, and NASH stage 2-4.
The researchers found that the average milligrams in total caffeine consumption per day in the control, steatosis, Nash 0-1, and Nash 2-4 groups was 307, 229, 351 and 252; average milligrams of coffee intake per day was 228, 160, 255, and 152, respectively.
There was a significant difference in caffeine consumption between patients in the steatosis group compared to those with NASH stage 0-1. Coffee consumption was significantly greater for patients with NASH stage 0-1, with 58percent of caffeine intake from regular coffee, than with NASH stage 2-4 patients at only 36 percent of caffeine consumption from regular coffee.
Multiple analyses showed a negative correlation between coffee consumption and risk of hepatic fibrosis.
"Our study is the first to demonstrate a histopatholgic relationship between fatty liver disease and estimated coffee intake," concluded Dr. Harrison.
"Patients with NASH may benefit from moderate coffee consumption that decreases risk of advanced fibrosis. Further prospective research should examine the amount of coffee intake on clinical outcomes," he added.
The findings have been published in the February issue of Hepatology, a journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.
Source-ANI

Anemia Triples Death Risk After Stroke

2012-02-05T03:07:00.000-08:00

Being anemic could more than triple your risk of dying within a year after having a stroke, according to research."Among stroke patients, severe anemia is a potent predictor of dying throughout the first year after a stroke," said Jason Sico, M.D., lead researcher and an assistant professor of neurology at Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Conn.
Anemia is a common condition in which the body does not have enough healthy red blood cells.
Without red blood cells to carry oxygen throughout the body, fatigue, shortness of breath, rapid heartbeat and other symptoms can occur.
Previous research has shown anemic people who have a heart attack, heart failure or kidney disease are more likely to die within a year. Only a few small studies have focused on the link between stroke and anemia-related death.
Researchers reviewed medical records of 3,750 men treated for a first ischemic stroke at 131 Veterans Health Administration facilities in 2007. Ischemic stroke, the most common type of stroke, occurs when a blood vessel to the brain is blocked.
Compared to stroke survivors who were not anemic:
Patients with severe anemia were 3.5 times more likely to die while still in the hospital and 2.5 times more likely to die within a year.
Stroke survivors with moderate anemia were twice as likely to die within six to 12 months after a stroke.
People with mild anemia were about 1.5 times more likely to die within six to 12 months after a stroke.Anemia is measured by hematocrit, the percentage of red blood cells in the blood.
In the study, a healthy hematocrit ranged from 38 to 42 percent; 33 to 37 percent was considered mild anemia; 28 to 32 percent was moderate anemia; and 27 percent or below indicated severe anemia.
Researchers tracked whether stroke patients died in the hospital at 30 days, 60 days and at one year, based on how anemic they were in the hospital.
To establish an independent association between anemia and the risk of dying, researchers eliminated patient factors that could alter the results. These included age, stroke severity, stroke risk factors, vital signs, lab results and how healthy patients were before and after the stroke.
Based on the results, stroke patients with anemia and their doctors should be aware of the increased risk of death and treat any modifiable causes for anemia, Sico said.
Anemia may be related to nutritional problems or blood loss in the stomach or intestines. Severe anemia may be treated with blood transfusions; however, studies have not been performed to see how safe and effective a blood transfusions are for someone hospitalized with an ischemic stroke.
"Regularly seeing your primary care physician is important. If blood tests show someone has anemia, working with one's doctors to figure out the cause is important," Sico said.
The research is ongoing and Sico hopes to determine within the next year which types of anemia are associated with higher risks. Because this study looked only at men, future studies will need to determine the impact of anemia on women after a stroke, particularly since anemia may behave differently in women.
A possible explanation for the relationship between stroke and anemia in men is that during an ischemic stroke, anemia disables the brain's blood vessels from responding properly to the blood pressure change, Sico said. Another possibility, he said, is that people with anemia often have other conditions associated with a higher stroke risk, such as heart disease and kidney disease.
Source-Eurekalert

Anxiety therapy doesn't work as well in elderly: study

2012-02-03T23:50:00.000-08:00

A form of talk therapy called cognitive behavioral therapy appears to help older adults battle anxiety disorders slightly better than other approaches, but not as well as in younger adults, according to a new study.
"Cognitive behavioral therapy is the mainstay for treating anxiety disorders in younger adults. Its lower effect in older adults in this study is concerning," said Dr. Eric Lenze, a professor at Washington University School of Medicine, who was not involved in this study.
Anxiety disorders, which include panic disorder, phobias, post-traumatic stress and generalized anxiety disorder, are common in adults over age 55.
The authors write in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society that three to 14 out of every 100 older adults has an anxiety disorder.
While earlier studies have shown that cognitive behavioral therapy works well for younger and middle-aged adults, there has not been as much research into the treatment for seniors.
"The prevailing assumption tends to be that what works with working-age people will work with older people, but this might not actually be the case," said Rebecca Gould, the lead author of the study and a researcher at King's College London.
Gould's team gathered up the results from 12 previous studies on people over age 55 with an anxiety disorder.
Half of the studies compared cognitive behavioral therapy to other treatments, such as medications or group discussions, while the other half compared the therapy to no treatment.
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) often involves one-on-one meetings with a therapist, with the ultimate goal of solving the defective thinking process that's causing the disorder.
On average in the studies, people went through 12 sessions of therapy.
Compared to doing nothing, cognitive behavioral therapy had a "moderate" effect on helping people's anxiety.
Compared to medications or group discussions, the therapy relieved the disorder slightly better.
Gould's team noted that the improvement over other treatments was small.
"What this might mean clinically is that the client in the CBT condition might be a little less severely or moderately anxious relative to the client in the active control condition," Gould wrote in an email to Reuters Health.
GOING AFTER ROOT CAUSES
Gould says therapy might work better than drugs because it seeks to fix the causes of anxiety rather than the symptoms.
"If we can address the causes of symptoms of anxiety (e.g. by changing how we think about or interpret things) then we can stop them coming back in the future. If we only address the symptoms of anxiety then we can't," she said.
Though Gould's analysis and those of studies in younger adults agree that cognitive behavioral therapy helps treat anxiety, the effect in older adults is small while the effect seen in younger adults is moderate or large, the authors wrote.
Gould said she doesn't know why the therapy seems less effective in older adults, but it's possible that talk therapy might take longer to work for them.
Lenze said that cognitive behavioral therapy is still worthwhile in older adults.
"Until better treatments are developed there are somewhat limited options," he told Reuters Health.
He added that anxiety can take a toll on the mental and physical health of adults if it's not treated.
Gould said more studies that compare cognitive behavioral therapy to other treatments are needed in older adults, and her group is planning a study that explores the benefit of "mindfulness-based" cognitive therapy, which includes practices such as meditation.
Lenze said he and his colleagues are also exploring this approach, as well as combining cognitive behavioral therapy with medications.
SOURCE: Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, online January 27, 2012.

‘The Science of Yoga’ Considers the Practice’s Benefits

2012-02-03T18:42:00.000-08:00

In “The Science of Yoga,” William J. Broad brings something unusual to his subject: an open mind. Broad, the book’s biographical note informs us, has practiced yoga since 1970. For nearly that long he has also been a science reporter for The New York Times, writing books like “Teller’s War: The Top-Secret Story Behind the Star Wars Deception” along the way. But Broad brings neither the boosterism of a yoga devotee nor the leeriness of a professional skeptic to his project — just curiosity, energy and a commitment to follow where his investigations lead. That route turns out to be a long and meandering one, ending up at an ambiguous, or at least ambivalent, conclusion. Though “The Science of Yoga” lacks the clarity of a book that sets out to define and defend a preconceived position, what it does offer is an intellectually honest exploration that is true to yoga’s own winding path.Broad’s objective is simple enough: to evaluate in scientific terms the claims made for yoga. But this turns out to be more complicated than it seems. For one thing, there are the sheer number and variety of those claims: yoga, it is said, can prevent heart disease, reverse aging, eliminate pain, and bestow serenity and peace. Broad patiently and exhaustively examines the evidence for each of these assertions, revealing surprises along the way. Yes, yoga can reduce anxiety and improve mood. No, it won’t help the overweight shed pounds. Yes, it may actually slow the body’s biological clock. Broad doesn’t just discuss the results of the scientific literature; he weighs the relative prestige of the journal in which the studies were published and scrutinizes each experiment’s design and methodology. This is more information than some readers may want, but Broad leaves no doubt that he’s done his homework.
This dogged pursuit of the truth about yoga enables Broad to excavate its remarkable history. He combs through decades of studies, talks to hundreds of scientists and practitioners and roams the world in search of the real deal on yoga. Locating its origins in India thousands of years ago, he recounts his visits to “historians, archives, literary societies and more, traveling by bus, subway, bicycle rickshaw and train (open doors, looking out over villages and smoky morning fires).” In Calcutta, he visits a library so obscure and little-used that dust covers the books and cobwebs hang, horror-movie style, from the ceiling. What he finds in these records bears little resemblance to the yoga we know today as the quintessential activity of a clean-living, upper-middle-class American lifestyle. The yogis of old, Broad notes, “were often vagabonds who engaged in ritual sex or showmen who contorted their bodies to win alms — even while dedicating their lives to high spirituality.” They read palms, interpreted dreams and sold charms; they promoted yoga as the way to sexual ecstasy (“yoga,” Broad tells us, means “union,” and not just the spiritual kind).
Yoga’s bid for respectability began with its home country’s campaign for independence from Britain. In 1924, an Indian nationalist named Jagannath G. Gune established a sprawling compound dedicated to the scientific study of yoga. The goal was to give the ancient and often unsavory ritual “a bright new face that radiated with science and hygiene, health and fitness” — to present it as an indigenous practice that Indians could point to as proof of both their traditional wisdom and their swift modernization. The rebranding was a spectacular success. Yoga as a means to physical fitness and psychological equilibrium spread quickly around the world, and once it reached the United States in the early years of the 20th century, it changed yet again. Broad uncovers the fascinating fact that many of the practices we associate most closely with yoga, like the flowing series of poses known as the Sun Salutation, have no ancient pedigree, but are instead modern inventions.If this history is recounted in intricate, perhaps excessive detail (it comes complete with a list of “main characters” that spans seven pages), one grows to appreciate Broad’s conscientiousness upon arriving at his chapter on yoga injuries — a real risk, he argues persuasively, that has been largely overlooked. The notion that a person can be hurt while engaging in yoga, Broad writes, “runs counter to yoga’s reputation for healing and its promotion of superior levels of fitness and well-being”; many current practitioners turned to yoga after being injured by more high-impact activities. Nevertheless, he makes a strong case that without careful precautions, yoga can produce painful or incapacitating impairments in the form of torn Achilles tendons, nerve damage, back injuries and even stroke.But Broad isn’t done yet. His chapter on injuries is followed by discussions of yoga’s power — real or not — to heal disease, enhance sexuality and uplift the spirit. His conclusion? “The discipline on balance does more good than harm.” It can relieve stress and decrease pain, but along with the possibility of serious injury, it can also lead to disappointment for those expecting a miraculous change to their bodies or psyches.In other words, yoga is a decidedly mixed bag. Yet after centuries of practice by millions of people, how could this bag not be filled with gems and gimmicks, treasures and trash?Nor is yoga at the end of its evolution. Broad details the recent growth of the “yoga industrial complex,” the big business of selling books, magazines, DVDs, clothes and the mats that seem to inhabit every tote bag carried in brownstone Brooklyn and on the Upper West Side. And he brings us up to date on current trends in yoga practice, documenting the popularity of routines that combine yoga poses with vigorous aerobic exercise. These very un-serene styles include Ashtanga yoga, Bikram yoga and YogaFit, whose “YogaButt” program promises “a bottom that is ‘sleek and sexy.’ ”
Appropriately, yoga seems to have come full circle: flush with cash and focused on perfecting the body, modern yoga has returned to its earthy origins in money and sex. Not that Broad traces anything so neat as a circle. True to his open-minded orientation, he resists final summations, leaving ample room for yoga’s next self-transformation.

Courtesy:Annie Murphy Paul, the author of “Origins: How the Nine Months Before Birth Shape the Rest of Our Lives,” is writing a book about the science of learning.
Source:NewYork Times

Study Results of Massage....

2012-02-03T18:16:00.000-08:00

Researchers from Buck Institute and McMaster University have produced scientific evidence that a massage does indeed help heal sore and stressed muscles and may be as effective as aspirin or other pain medicines to calm the effects of intense exercise.
The study which is published online in the Science Translational Medicine claims that massage reduces inflammation by slowing the production of chemicals in the body linked to inflammation, promotes the growth of new mitochondria in skeletal muscle and reduces muscle pain.
Lead author, Dr. Mark Tarnopolsk said, "This study provides evidence that manipulative therapies, such as massage, may be justifiable in medical practice. The potential benefits of massage could be useful to a broad spectrum of individuals including the elderly, those suffering from musculoskeletal injuries and patients with chronic inflammatory disease."
About 18 million people undergo massage therapy annually in the US, making it the fifth most widely used form of complementary and alternative medicine.
Source:MedIndia

Health ministry plans measures to combat rising zoonotic diseases

2012-02-03T18:12:00.000-08:00

With India being identified as a hot-spot for zoonotic diseases, the Union Ministry for Health and Family Welfare is planning a number of combative steps including coordination cell and appointment of veterinary consultants under the Disease Surveillance and Response Programme to check these diseases.
Zoonotic diseases account for a substantial burden of morbidity and mortality due to endemic as well as emerging diseases. While 61 per cent (868/1415) of all identified infectious organisms are zoonotic, about 75 per cent (132/175) of pathogens associated with emerging diseases are zoonotic, according to statistics collected by the Ministry, following increasing apprehension about the rise of such diseases.
“A strong coordination is needed between human health, animal health and other sectors at all levels to control the zoonotic diseases like avian influenza, plague, rabies, leptospirosis, etc. Existing Committees and Groups (for example, Standing Committee on Zoonoses, Joint Monitoring Group) at central level and existing disease surveillance committees at state level will be responsible for inter-sectoral coordination. A zoonosis coordination cell will be established to monitor the activities,” sources said.
Besides, one additional contractual position for a veterinary (consultant) is proposed under the Disease Surveillance and Response Programme at state level to improve inter-sectoral coordination and to support the State Surveillance Officer in tackling the zoonotic diseases. At the district and the block levels, District Surveillance Officer would coordinate the activities between veterinary, municipal corporation/committees and other local bodies and voluntary agencies involved in the subject.
The Ministry is also seeking an amount of Rs.51.08 crore every year under the next Five Year Plan towards this programme. Activities would also include lab strengthening for identified target diseases and manpower development, sources said.
A zoonosis is any disease or infection that is naturally transmissible from vertebrate animals to humans. The number of human deaths in India due to rabies alone is 20,000 every year of the total of 55,000 global deaths.
Source:Pharmabiz

GCP FOR AYURVEDIC DRUGS

2012-02-03T18:08:00.001-08:00

The Department of Ayush has recently issued a circular making clinical trials mandatory for all the existing and new ayurvedic medicinal products in the country. A set of guidelines has been already prepared by the Department for the purpose and it plans to implement it from coming April onwards. The guidelines are formulated based on CDSCO document on Good Clinical Practices for pharmaceutical products. The draft states that these guidelines should be followed for carrying out research in all ASU and traditional medicines in India at all stages of development. Currently, clinical trials on the ASU and TM medicines are conducted by very few companies and institutions according to their own expertise incorporating ayurvedic principles. These are mainly in the form of confirmatory trials on safety and efficacy of patents and propriety medicines. The government felt the need for bringing an orderly development of this sector for some time now in the wake of persistent demand for documented evidence of clinical efficacy and safety of these drugs from the importing countries. As a first step, It had undertaken elaborate studies of toxicity and metal content analysis of about 5000 herbal raw materials commonly used by the country's Ayurveda units. Currently, these raw materials with no uniformity in quality are procured from divergent sources resulting in sharp variations in product efficacy.
Lack of a standardized manufacturing practice and a system of scientific documentation are two fundamental problems faced by this sector from the very beginning. The main reason for this trend is the unorganized character of this industry consisting of mostly small and tiny units spread across the country. These units have been resisting introduction of any regulatory reforms for years. The move to introduce clinical trials is also being objected to by a section of this industry on the ground that it is not necessary for traditional medicines especially for the ones which are already established in the market for years. This argument is not very convincing and not acceptable to the international market and the regulatory authorities there. The regulatory authorities of the developed countries are willing to accept the fact that many diseases can be cured and prevented with ayurvedic drugs but they need documented evidence to support this contention. Indian Ayurveda industry is not able to fully cash in on the growing international demand for its products as these countries are insisting on safety of these products, standardisation of raw materials and dosage forms as in the case of modern medicine. Ayurveda industry should realize this position and cooperate with the government in implementing basic regulatory reforms if it has to grow into a science based modern industry.
Source:Pharmabiz

Regenerative medicine: the future of organ donation?

2012-02-03T18:06:00.000-08:00

As we face a severe and worsening shortage of donor organs, Dr. Anthony Atala says we should look to a new approach: regenerative medicine.
“Regenerative medicine promises to be one of the most pervasive influences on public health in the modern era,” says Dr. Atala, director of Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine. The Institute was the first in the world to successfully grow organs in a lab and transplant them into humans.
Regenerative medicine uses cell transplantation, material sciences, and bioengineering to construct biological substitutes that may restore and maintain normal organ function in people. Stem cells may offer a potentially limitless source of cells for tissue engineering.
Dr. Atala will discuss how regenerative medicine may offer new treatment options for people with diseased and failing organs from 1 to 2 p.m. Thursday, March 15, 2012, in the auditorium of Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine, 670 Albany Street.
The lecture is the keynote of Science Day, a research celebration featuring posters and oral presentations by pre- and post-doctoral dental students, post-doctoral fellows and faculty and staff, and dental vendors. The event is free and open to the public.
The Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine will be the premier academic dental institution promoting excellence in dental education, research, oral health care, and community service to improve the overall health of the global population.

Source: DentistryIQ

Diabetes Associated With Biological Time-Keeper

2012-02-03T18:02:00.000-08:00

Mutations in the melatonin receptor gene lead to an almost seven fold increase in the risk of developing diabetes, researchers in Lille and Paris have demonstrated.
This research, which was published in Nature Genetics on 29 January 2012, could contributed to the development of new drugs for the treatment or prevention of this metabolic disease.
Type 2 diabetes is characterised by excess blood glucose and increased resistance to insulin. It is the most common form of the disease and affects 300 million people in the world, including 3 million in France. This figure should double in the next few years, driven by the obesity epidemic and the disappearance of ancestral lifestyles. It is known that genetic factors, combined with a high-fat, high-sugar diet and lack of exercise, can also contribute to the onset of the disease. Furthermore, several studies have shown that sleeping disorders that affect the duration and quality of sleep are also high risk factors. Shift workers, for example, are at greater risk of developing the disease. No previous research has described any mechanism linking the biological clock to diabetes.
The researchers focused their attention on the receptor of a hormone called melatonin, which is produced by the pineal gland as light fades. Melatonin, also known as the hormone of darkness, can be seen as a biological "time-keeper", synchronising biological rhythms with nightfall. The teams sequenced the MT2 gene, which encodes its receptor, in 7600 diabetics and persons with normal glycaemia. They found 40 rare mutations that modify the protein structure of the melatonin receptor, 14 of which made the receptor in question non-functional. The team went on to demonstrate that the risk of developing diabetes is nearly seven times higher in people affected by such mutations, which make them melatonin-insensitive.
It is known that the production of insulin, the hormone responsible for controlling blood glucose levels, drops at night to prevent any risk of hypoglycaemia. Insulin production starts up again, however, to avoid excess blood glucose during the day, which is when most people eat.
This study could lead to new drugs aimed at preventing or treating diabetes. Researchers could, for example, adjust MT2 receptor activity to control the metabolic pathways associated with it . The work also highlights the importance of genome sequencing as a means of personalising treatment for diabetic patients. There are many genetic causes for diabetes and the therapeutic approach needs to be adapted to the metabolic pathways concerned by each patient's particular disorder.
Source-Eurekalert

Ayurveda plant raises Alzheimer’s hope :Ashwagandha extracts reverse symptoms in mice, Indian scientists claim

2012-02-02T19:02:00.000-08:00

Ashwagandha, a plant used for centuries in Ayurvedic medicine, cleaned out abnormal protein deposits in the brain and reversed damage and behavioural changes observed in Alzheimer’s disease when tested on mice, a team of Indian scientists announced today.
The scientists have shown through experiments on mice that extracts of Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) can reverse within 30 days the abnormal accumulation of a protein, called beta-amyloid plaque, in the brain that is linked to Alzheimer’s disease.
The researchers at the National Brain Research Centre (NBRC) at Manesar in Haryana fed genetically-engineered mice, which had symptoms similar to those of Alzheimer’s disease, a daily oral dose of a cocktail of chemicals called withanosides and withanolides, extracted from Ashwagandha.
The extracts appeared to boost the synthesis of a special protein in the liver that acts as a chaperone and helps remove amyloid plaque from the brain. The scientists said a component of this protein slips into the bloodstream and draws the accumulated amyloid plaque out of the brain into the bloodstream for eventual disposal and excretion from the body. The findings appear today in the US journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
“It’s like vacuum cleaning the brain to get rid of unwanted amyloid plaque,” said Vijayalakshmi Ravindranath, a senior neuroscientist at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, who initiated the study eight years ago while she was director of the NBRC.
In their experiments, the scientists observed the elimination or reduction of amyloid plaque within the brain and an improvement or a complete reversal of behavioural deficiencies in the model mice, depending on the age of the animals.
Suvarna Alladi, a neurologist at the Nizam Institute of Medical Sciences in Hyderabad, who is not associated with the study, said all current therapy against Alzheimer’s disease directly target the brain. “This is a novel strategy. They’re targeting the liver to remove amyloid plaque from the brain. But this is also essentially an anti-amyloid therapy which currently appears to be a promising way ahead against Alzheimer’s disease.”
Neurologists estimate that India has about four million people with dementia, the majority with Alzheimer’s disease. Current treatment involves pharmaceutical compounds designed to prevent the accumulation or the synthesis of amyloid plaque. “But the best available therapy today does not cure Alzheimer’s disease,” Alladi said.
While the use of Ashwagandha has been advocated for centuries in traditional medicine, the NBRC study is the first to show that its extracts reverse Alzheimer’s disease.
“The results appeared so stunning that we requested an independent laboratory in Canada to validate them,” Ravindranath told The Telegraph. Neurologist Edith Hamel at McGill University in Montreal and fellow researcher Jessica Mills repeated the experiments with a different model mouse and obtained similar results.
The NBRC team, including Neha Sehgal, Alok Gupta, Rupanagudi Khader Valli, and Shanker Datt Joshi collaborated with Delhi University plant chemistry experts Subhash Jain and Pankaj Khanna who extracted the withanosides and withanolides from the plant.
The researchers caution that the Ashwagandha extract is not ready for human trials yet. Ravindranath points out that the dose given to mice was very high — about one gram per kilogram bodyweight of the animal.
“The evidence with mice looks good. If this holds up in future studies, we should go into human trials,” said Manjari Tripathi, a neurologist at AIIMS, New Delhi.
“This is a desperate hunt for a devastating disease that robs its victims of memory and thinking capacity. There may also be other herbs waiting to be assessed through rigorous scientific research.”
Source:The Telegraph

Yoga, naturopathy are effective therapies for lifestyle diseases

2012-02-02T18:57:00.000-08:00

Fifteen-year-old Dhanush R Krishna was diagnosed with diabetes mellitus at birth. In January, he was admitted to Arogyadhama, an ayurvedic centre. He underwent a therapeutic programme that included asanas, suryanamaskara, relaxation techniques, pranayama, yogic diet and meditation, as a lifestyle intervention for two weeks. Result? On admission, Dhanush had a blood sugar level of 295 mg/dl. After the treatment, which lasted for 11 days, it came down to 83mg/dl.
Dhanush’s experience was cited on Wednesday by the department of Ayush, at a press conference to promote alternative therapies for the treatment of
diabetes, blood pressure, rheumatoid arthritis and obesity.
GN Sreekantaiah, director, department of Ayush, said: “We have been successful in not only finding alternative therapies for illnesses such as hypertension, diabetes and lifestyle diseases, such as obesity and lower backache, but also in conducting thorough research before publishing the data. Yoga and naturopathy have emerged as effective alternative therapies for these diseases.”
The department of Ayush has been promoting research into alternative therapies for various diseases through yoga and naturopathy.
The SDM College of Naturopathy and Yoga, Dharmasthala, Dakshina Kannada district, and Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana (S-VYASA yoga university), Bangalore, have carried out extensive research in treating patients suffering from diabetes, back pain, obesity and hypertension using natural remedies.
“Some of the natural interventions, such as therapeutic yoga sessions, relaxation and meditation, hydrotherapeutic treatment, oil massages, restrictive and therapeutic dietary measures, stress management and personalised counselling, have been effectively used to control several diseases,” said Dr Prashanth Shetty, director, SDM College of Naturopathy and Yoga.
Source:DNA

A call centre for promoting genuine Ayurveda is established in Kerala

2012-02-02T18:52:00.000-08:00

Quack ayurvedic practitioners in Kerala will not have an easy time hereafter. A call centre identifying genuine ayurvedic centres and doctors will start functioning near Shoranur soon.
It is being set up jointly by the 110-year-old Keraleeya Ayurveda Samajam, Shoranur,� and Tata Business Support Services at the Poomully Neelakantan Namboodiripad Memorial Ayurveda College run by the Sringeri Madom, Karnataka, and the Keraleeya Ayurveda Samajam at Cheruthuruthy.
The call centre will list out the ayurvedic professionals� at specific locations, time-tested traditional physicians in this field, mode of treatment and units producing genuine medicines in the state apart from suggesting medicines for common ailments.
“It is a� helpline for promoting ayurveda,’’ says Arjun Bhaskaran, associate vice-president of� Tata Business Support Services.
M Muralidharan, secretary of the Keraleeya Ayurveda Samajam, who is also the secretary of the PNNM Ayurveda College, says that� initially, the call centre will function for 12 hours and gradually be extended round the clock. A committee will be formed consisting of retired professors from government and private ayurvedic medical colleges and a screening of all panchayats and taluks in Kerala will be undertaken to list out genuine ayurveda practitioners. They would be included in the directory being prepared, he says.
The call centre is mainly aimed at the propagation of ayurvedic medicines all over the world and to prevent quacks from bringing disrepute to the profession. For example, in the case of mental health, doctors at the Kottackal Arya Vaidyasala were experts and they would be referred, he says.
It is also proposed to undertake digitisation of the traditional ayurveda texts and engage in more research activities through this tie-up with the Tata Group,� Muralidharan says.
Hitherto insurance companies had found it difficult to provide� cover for patients undergoing ayurvedic treatment since they were unable to distinguish between the genuine and the fake. By undertaking such a joint venture with the Samajam, the insurance arm of the Tatas, Tata AIG, also could come up with suitable products and ensure full cover for the treatment, says Bhaskaran.
Tata Business Support Services has a similar call centre for AIDS in Tamil Nadu which was set up four years ago. They attend to 700 to 800 calls per day. It is also proposed to set up a call centre for tuberculosis in five states shortly, Bhaskaran adds.
Tata Business Support Services Ltd is one of the largest third-party customer service providers in India and one of the leading integrated end-to-end outsourcing service providers serving a global clientele.

Purple Potatoes Help Cut Blood Pressure

2012-02-02T18:47:00.000-08:00

Consumption of purple potatoes decreases blood pressure by about 4 percent, say scientists.
The researchers say that decrease, although seemingly small, is sufficient to potentially reduce the risk of several forms of heart disease.
It is the first study to check the effects of eating potatoes on blood pressure in humans.
Purple-skinned potatoes, a boutique variety increasingly available in food stores, are noted for having high levels of healthful antioxidant compounds. And in Korea, purple potatoes are renowned in folk medicine as a way to lose weight.
Joe Vinson and colleagues thus decided to investigate the effects of eating 6-8 small microwaved purple potatoes twice a day on 18 volunteers, most of whom were overweight with high blood pressure.
The volunteers ate potatoes or no potatoes for four weeks, and then switched to the opposite regimen for another four weeks while researchers monitored systolic and diastolic blood pressure (the higher and lower numbers in a blood pressure reading like 120/80), body weight and other health indicators.
Average diastolic blood pressure dropped by 4.3 percent and systolic pressure decreased by 3.5 percent. The majority of subjects took anti-hypertensive drugs and still had a reduction in blood pressure.
None of the study participants gained weight. Vinson said that other studies have identified substances in potatoes with effects in the body similar to those of the well-known ACE-inhibitor medications, a mainstay for treating high blood pressure.
But he suspects that the effects may be due to other substances in potatoes. The scientists do not know yet whether ordinary white potatoes have the same beneficial effects.
The finding was reported in the ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
Source-ANI

The Bitter Truth About Sugar

2012-02-02T18:41:00.000-08:00

Sugar is a poison and is as detrimental to health and addictive as alcohol or tobacco. Therefore, the research team from the University of California feels that the sale of products containing added sugar should be subject to regulation through taxation and legislation, just like alcohol and tobacco.
Sugar makes people fat and also changes the body's metabolism, raises blood pressure, throws hormones off balance and harms the liver. Sugar consumption has tripled worldwide over the past 50 years. Sugary foods and drinks are responsible for illnesses including obesity, heart disease, cancer and liver problems which contributes to 35million deaths a year worldwide. This damage is similar to the effects of drinking too much alcohol- which is made from distilling sugar.
Lead author of the study Prof. Robert Lustig said, "Governments need to consider major shifts in policy, such as taxes, limiting sales of sweet food and drinks during school hours, or even stopping children from buying them below a certain age."
In their article published in the journal 'Nature', entitled 'The Toxic Truth About Sugar', the scientists said, "A little is not a problem but a lot kills- slowly."

Moderate Alcohol Consumption Boosts Miscarriage Risk

2012-02-02T18:29:00.000-08:00

Two glasses of alcohol a week raises miscarriage risk by 66 percent, reveals study.
Despite some studies showing that light drinking during pregnancy is fine, the new research, which included over 90,000 women, offer the strongest evidence yet that playing it safe might be the best strategy for women who are gestating.
"You should never give a recommendation based on a single study," said lead author Anne-Marie Nybo Anderson, an epidemiologist at the University of Copenhagen.
"But if I was to give a recommendation to my daughter, I would say that if you plan a pregnancy and if you want to be careful and do everything you can in order to not harm your future baby, then I think you should stop drinking when you start trying to become pregnant, and then after the first four months you can be a little more relaxed."
Undoubtedly heavy or binge drinking during pregnancy is dangerous to a developing foetus but research on the effects of low levels of alcohol consumption has offered contradictory results, with conclusions depending on the way studies are designed and even the country where studies are done, the Discovery News reported.
For the new study, Nybo Andersen and colleagues took advantage of a natural experiment in Denmark. For quite a few years in the late 1990s, the country's national health board relaxed its recommendations for pregnant women, suggesting that they usually avoid alcohol but if they decided to drink, they should not have more than a drink a day and they should not drink every single day.
The new guidelines turned moderate drinking during pregnancy into standard and permissible behaviour for Danish women.
Having a glass of wine with a baby on board was no longer associated with depression or other negative health habits. It became just a normal thing to do, and many women indulged - before the health board reversed its guidelines and became stringent again after a few years.
During that period of societal permissiveness, a national program enrolled more than 100,000 pregnant women to participate in a Birth Cohort study.
The participants were asked several questions about their lifestyles, health behaviours and pregnancies through digital telephone interviews.
They also revealed how much alcohol they had drunk before and how much they drank after getting pregnant.
Mothers entered the study when they were six weeks pregnant, and follow-up interviews recorded the eventual outcomes of their births.
Overall, about 55 percent of the Danish women continued drinking alcohol while pregnant during the study period. Only 2 percent averaged more than four drinks a week, and majority of them drank far more moderately.
However, according to the study, it only took two drinks a week to increase the risk of miscarriage during the first 16 weeks by 66 percent.
Women who drank between half a drink and one and a half drinks each week showed a 19 percent increased risk in pregnancy loss, but only at the start of the second trimester. After the first four months, light drinking did not seem to make a difference in rates of miscarriage or stillbirth.
"I was pretty sure that alcohol intake at such low amounts in pregnancy would not have dramatic effects," Andersen said.
"But what we found was that there was quite a high risk for miscarriage with moderate alcohol intake, and there was a stronger risk the earlier in pregnancy we looked," Andersen added.
The study has been reported in the International Journal of Epidemiology.
Source-ANI

Health ministry seeks Rs.250-cr financial outlay for national pharmacovigilance programme

2012-02-01T18:31:00.000-08:00

The union health ministry has sought a financial outlay of Rs.250 crore for the national pharmacovigilance programme (PvP) for setting up more adverse drug reaction (ADR) centres and increasing the manpower during the 12th five year plan.
The ministry has sought Rs.50 crore per year during the plan period towards strengthening the programme, including setting up more ADR centres and increasing the manpower. Thus Rs.250 crore has been sought for the next five year plan period, sources said.
The programme was launched in July 2010 to capture ADR data in Indian population in a systematic way. The main objective of the programme is to monitor ADR in Indian population. The data would be captured through the medical colleges in the country which would be provided necessary administrative and logistic support.
The programme, that ultimately aims at helping the drug regulators to limit the use or even phasing out approved drugs with high toxicities, will also help generate independent, evidence based ADR data which would help in taking regulatory decisions on safety aspects of drugs marketed in India, sources said.
While endorsing the demand for Rs.250 crore for the programme, an expert panel under the Planning Commission has recently recommended to make the process of reporting adverse reactions simple and accessible. “Steps should be taken to encourage patients and consumer protection groups - to report drug reactions as it has been observed that consumers do a better job in reporting drug reaction than doctors,” the panel said.
“Develop and maintain a national (computerised) pharmacovigilance database consisting of all suspected adverse drug reactions to medicines observed in India. Mandate that the report of any suspected adverse drug reaction should be filed with the national pharmacovigilance database and not with the manufacturer. Sensitise the overworked physicians to the why and how of pharmacovigilance,” the recommendations of the panel said.
In the first phase of the programme, the target was to set up 40 ADR centres, but 20 were set up. The target is to cover the entire country through the network or ADR centres by 2017.
Source:Pharmabiz

Anna Hazare heads to Bangalore for naturopathy treatment

2012-02-01T18:29:00.000-08:00

Anna Hazare, who is undergoing treatment in a city hospital at Gurgaon , will leave for Bangalore on Thursday for naturopathy treatment. The 74-year-old activist will fly to Bangalore in the morning and get admitted to Bangalore’s Jindal Naturecare Institute, his close aides told PTI. Meanwhile,
doctors at Medanta — The Medicity said his health has improved after the treatment.
Dr AK Dubey, medical superintendent of the hospital, said, “In the morning, Anna expressed his desire to go for a walk. He slept well on Tuesday and this is certainly a good sign.” According to the doctor, Anna is being given low-sodium diet.
The anti-graft activist was admitted to Medanta on Sunday.
During his stay in the Gurgaon hospital, allegations were levelled that he was administered overdose of anti-biotics and steroids while he was in treatment at Sancheti hospital in Pune. However, Hazare has said there was no basis to these allegations and stood by Dr KL Sancheti.
Dr RR Kasliwal, head of internal medicine at Medanta, said, “He came to us with complaints of breathlessness and high blood pressure. As far as we know he has no heart ailment and his vital organs are all right.”
Source:HT News

World meet on yoga from February 9

2012-02-01T18:26:00.001-08:00

The Department of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) will host an international conference on Yoga and Naturopathy from February 9 to 13.
The conference which to be held at Gayatri Vihar, Palace Grounds, will also have an Arogya Expo.
The conference aims to spread awareness on the benefits of Yoga.
More than 5,00,000 people and 5,000 delegates, including yoga exponents, health professionals, students, academicians and policy makers from across the globe are expected to take part in the International Conference on Yoga, Naturopathy and Arogya Expo – 2012.
“It was a generally held belief that hypertension, lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, obesity and pain in the lower back could be cured only by one form of medicine.
However, now, yoga and naturopathy have emerged as alternative therapies,” said G N Sreekantaiah, Director, Department of AYUSH.
Source:Deccan Herald

India is to assist Srilanka on improving the indigenous medical system.

2012-02-01T18:24:00.001-08:00

Following discussions held by Minister Salinda Dissanayake with India’s Health and Family Welfare Minister Gulam Nabhi Azad, India has come forward to assist in improving the indigenous medical system. This meeting has taken place on the sidelines of the 66th World Homeopathy Conference held in India recently. An MOU is to be signed between the two countries shortly. As a preliminary step, a delegation led by the Secretary of India’s health and family welfare Ministry will arrive in Sri Lanka next Sunday. During this visit the Indian delegation will discuss about establishing an indigenous medicine university and a homeopathy university. They will also discuss about providing Indian assistance for Ayurvedict research activities.

Beware of Counterfeit Liquor

2012-02-01T18:21:00.001-08:00

A university student’s experience with a cheap bottle of vodka should be a warning for others to avoid consuming cheap liquor.
21-year-old student, Lauren Platts, purchased an inexpensive bottle of vodka. She felt extremely uneasy after consuming some of the vodka.She was unable to get out of bed for two days and she felt her eyesight deteriorating gradually. Even though it is two months after the incident, she is still battling problems with her sight.
"I've been sent home from work because of the vision problems. It's really scary. I think I might have it for good, but I'm just grateful to be alive or not completely blind," she said.

New Guidelines to Minimize Surgical Infections

2012-02-01T18:19:00.000-08:00

Healthcare Infection Society (HIS) has come up with new guidelines to prevent infection in minor surgery."These guidelines are the first ever published guidance in the UK that define, from an infection prevention and control perspective, the basic physical requirements for facilities in which surgical procedures may be performed outside conventional operating theatres and carried out within day centres and primary care," advises Professor Hilary Humphreys, lead author on the HIS guidelines and Professor of Clinical Microbiology at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland in Dublin.
Recent changes in healthcare include the provision of more surgical services in primary care and day centres where it may be cheaper and easier for patients to access them, rather than admit patients to an acute hospital. In addition, developments in certain areas of medicine, such as interventional radiology and cardiology, have expanded the range and complexity of procedures now undertaken outside an acute hospital setting. However, not all of these new settings are suitably equipped to prevent and control infection when undertaking minor surgery.
"The trend to carry out more minor surgery in day centres and primary care is presenting new challenges – as some of these facilities are not appropriately set up to undertake minor surgery," continues Professor Humphreys.
To address this issue, HIS convened a multi-disciplinary group tasked with producing the first ever UK guidelines to minimise infection occurring outside conventional operating theatres. The guidelines, published in the February 2012 issue of the Journal of Hospital Infection, cover topics such as appropriate ventilation, use of instruments, flooring/ceiling requirements etc.
These guidelines should now be referred to by all infection prevention and control teams and others (e.g. practice managers) involved where minor surgical procedures are to be carried out in day centres or primary care settings. They should also be considered when developing new facilities or updating/refurbishing pre-existing facilities.
Dr. Tim Boswell, Consultant Microbiologist at Nottingham University Hospitals, and Chairman of HIS comments, "The Society hopes that these guidelines will improve the safety and quality of patient care in settings outside hospital operating theatres and also recommends that on-going surveillance of outcomes, such as surgical site infection, takes place to guide future guidelines and practice."
Source-Eurekalert

Why are Men the First to Say the Three Famous Words, ‘I Love You’?

2012-02-01T18:17:00.000-08:00

A research conducted by American scientists who interviewed 171 heterosexual students below 25 years of age, found that men are more likely to speak about their feelings and profess love much faster than women. Infact, men are the first to say 'I love you' to their girlfriends.
The research found that men took only a few weeks to fall in love while women nursed their feelings for a few months and expressed it only when they were absolutely sure of what they felt.
Women appeared to be more cautious about expressing their love, whereas men seemed to have a hidden agenda behind their rather premature expression of love.
The best way to get women to bed faster is by expressing feelings of love and perhaps sexual desire is top of mind among most men. The study also showed that men could not differentiate between lust and love, and are rather confused about their feelings.

Gene Mutation Triggers Accumulation of Fat, Other Lipids in Liver

2012-02-01T18:14:00.000-08:00

Mutation of a gene encoding a ketone body transporter leads to accumulation of fat and other lipids in the livers of zebrafish, scientists from the University of Utah and the University of California at San Francisco have discovered This discovery, published in the Feb. 1, 2012, issue of Genes & Development, reveals that transport of ketone bodies out of the liver is a critical step in energy metabolism during fasting. It also provides a new approach for studying the development of fatty liver disease in humans.
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), or abnormally high accumulation of lipids in the liver, is the most common cause of chronic liver disease worldwide. Lipids are a broad group of molecules that include fats, triglycerides, and cholesterol. In some people, NAFLD causes no complications, but in others, excess fat in the liver can lead to inflammation or development of scar tissue, resulting in permanent liver damage or even liver failure. NAFLD may also increase the risk of heart disease in people who are overweight or obese. The increasing prevalence of NAFLD in the United States is due, in large part, to the obesity epidemic and it is estimated that more than 6 million U.S. children already have fatty liver disease.
"Currently, there are a limited number of treatment options for decreasing excess fat in the liver and there are no methods for reversing damage to liver tissue due to NAFLD," says Amnon Schlegel, M.D., Ph.D., investigator in the University of Utah Molecular Medicine program, assistant professor of internal medicine at the University of Utah School of Medicine, and senior author on the study. "By identifying and characterizing novel genes that regulate accumulation of lipids in the liver, we may be able to gain new insight into the physiological processes that lead to NAFLD."
Previous research has shown that many of the proteins known to control lipid metabolism in humans are also present in zebrafish. Schlegel and his colleagues began by identifying a zebrafish mutant known as red moon (rmn), which developed abnormal lipid accumulation in liver cells, without evidence of associated liver inflammation or liver damage, when exposed to fasting conditions. Schlegel and his colleagues then used a molecular genetic technique called positional cloning to isolate the gene disrupted by the rmn mutation. They found that the rmn mutation inactivated slc16a6a, a gene thought to encode a protein required in the transport of nutrients during fasting.
"Until now, the activity of the Slc16a6a protein has not been functionally characterized in any organism," says Schlegel, who's also an adjunct assistant professor of biochemistry at the U medical school. "Our studies indicate that Slc16a6a is a protein involved in the transport of β-hydroxybutyrate."
β-hydroxybutyrate is a ketone body, a compound that is produced in the liver when blood glucose is low and fatty acids are broken down for energy. During periods of fasting, most body tissues can use fatty acids as an energy source, but the brain relies on β-hydroxybutyrate and other ketone bodies for fuel. Schlegel and his colleagues discovered that, in rmn mutants deprived of nutrition, loss of Slc16a6a function disabled secretion of ketone bodies from liver cells and increased lipid accumulation in the liver. They also found that introducing the human form of the SLC16A6 protein into rmn mutant livers restored ketone body secretion.
"Our research has uncovered a previously unrecognized, but critical step, in the complicated physiology of fasting," says Schlegel. "We still don't know whether altered fasting liver metabolism influences the development of NAFLD, but knowing that Slc16a6a is required for secretion of ketone bodies from liver cells during fasting may have implications for our understanding and treatment of other medical conditions where ketone bodies play a role. These include uncontrolled type 1 diabetes, obesity, and childhood metabolic disorders caused by defects in fatty acid metabolism."
Source-Eurekalert

Kalam asks experts in medicine to develop new technology

2012-02-01T18:09:00.001-08:00

Former President of India, Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam said here on Tuesday that the country's best talent in the field of medicine should strive to develop innovative technology so that the needy could afford the fruits of modern medicine. On Tuesday, Dr. Kalam inaugurated VICTUS Femtosecond Laser Cataract Surgery machine at Maxivision Eye Care, Somajiguda.
“I call upon the Maxivision eye surgeons to form a team of experts who can explore the multidimensional uses of Femtosecond laser in treating various eye ailments. We need to utilise the technology and help people who can't afford modern medical care,” Dr. Kalam said.
The former President said that the multiple applications of the Femtosecond laser would help doctors treat a host of eye ailments.
Immediately after the inauguration, the renowned nuclear scientist also interacted with the eye surgeons of Maxivision and enquired about the newly acquired laser surgery machine.
The officials of Maxivision said that the new machine had been under test from November 2010.
Already, the eye surgeons had completed close to 450 eye surgeries by using the new laser machine. The surgeons pointed out that not a single case had reported complications after the surgery.
The VICTUS platform, essentially, helped doctors conduct cataract, refractive and therapeutic procedures of the eye on a single platform. The laser machine would help surgeons perform computer controlled precise, accurate and reproducible incisions compared to current manual procedures. The success rate for such surgery was 100 per cent, doctors added.
“This is the first such laser machine in the World and I would like to congratulate Maxivision for this accomplishment,” founder and chairman of GVK, G. V. K. Reddy said.
Chairman of L.V. Prasad Eye Institute, Dr. G. N. Rao, Founder of Maxivision Eye Hospitals, Dr. Kasu Prasad Reddy, Film Producer D. Ramanaidu and several other doctors were present.
Source:The Hindu

Confusion prevails over status of six banned drugs as court is yet to deliver final verdict

2012-01-31T18:49:00.000-08:00

Confusion prevails among the state drug authorities and the industry over the status of the union health ministry's notification dated 10/2/2011 in which it had banned six drugs including nimesulide for below 12 years of age and combination of PPA (phenylpropanolamine HCL).
Even though the Madras High Court had stayed the notification subsequently, there are complaints that the state drug authorities are not issuing manufacturing licenses on the grounds that the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) has not yet issued any specific guidelines on receipt of Madras High Court orders. “Upon receipt of the notification, the state drug authorities had asked the manufacturers to surrender the licenses for cancellation. But, even after the Madras High Court's stay on the notification, the concerned FDAs are not issuing the licenses and are as a matter of dilly- dallying tactics referring the requests of manufacturers to technical officers,” sources said.
Immediately after the notification, the authorities were prohibiting the distribution and sale of these formulations. But, after the court stay, these same authorities have stopped taking action on sale/distribution of these formulations and the sale is freely allowed thereafter. Under this situation not issuing licenses for manufacturers by these same authorities is not understandable, sources said.
“In ethical promotion, we are getting very good response for the product nimesulide suspension as there is a segment of paediatricians, who are strong supporters of nimesulide as NSAID in management of pain and fever in paediatric patients. As per these doctors, there is no bad experience or any negative report on this molecule. The role of FDAs in non-issuing of the license for this product in spite of unambiguous orders of Madras High Court is not tenable and posing constraint in business,” a manufacturer said.
He further said that same is the story of phenylpropanolamine. The general physicians are prescribing these time tested combinations in management of cold and fever. There is good and continuous demand in market for combinations of PPA. It is however, observed that the PPA as API is not available in the market. Though the PPA is manufactured by them, they are not permitted by concerned FDAs to sale PPA to local manufacturers. The sale of PPA is only permitted to export market/export manufacturers.
Immediately after the controversial notification last year, the CIPI had moved the Madras High Court, praying to allow time for the companies to liquidate their stocks. In its order on March 15, 2011, the court allowed the drug companies to liquidate the stocks of nimesulide suspension and PPA. Later on March 23, the court merged the CIPI case with another similar case filed by pharma major Cipla Ltd. Hearing the petition filed by Cipla, the court had stayed the entire notification of the ministry (GSR 82 E) dated February 10, 2011.
But, confusion prevailed in the market over the status of the notification once CIPI decided to withdraw the case citing several reasons, including short of funds to continue the case in the court. After the exit of CIPI from the case, there were contradicting interpretations about the status of the case, even among the regulatory authorities. There was a plea that since the court has allowed the stay to Cipla, it is applicable to it only.
But, legal experts like Manoj Tongra have clarified that since the court had stayed the entire notification, it is status quo ante, meaning companies can sell all these products as before the notification.
Though the hearing on this high voltage case has been concluded way back in September last year and the court had reserved its judgment, it is yet to deliver the final order. But, it did not vacate the stay either.
Source:Pharmabiz

Birth control pills recalled, may not prevent pregnancy

2012-01-31T18:46:00.001-08:00

Pfizer said on Tuesday it was recalling about 1 million packets of birth control pills in the United States because they may not contain enough contraceptive to prevent pregnancy.
Pfizer said the birth control pills posed no health threat to women but it urged consumers affected by the recall to "begin using a non-hormonal form of contraception immediately."
The drugmaker said the issue involved 14 lots of Lo/Ovral-28 tablets and 14 lots of Norgestrel and Ethinyl Estradiol tablets.
It said an investigation had found that some blister packs of the oral contraceptive might contain an inexact count of inert or active ingredients in the tablets.
The pills were manufactured by Pfizer and marketed by Akrimax Pharmaceuticals and shipped to warehouses, clinics and retail pharmacies nationwide, the company said.
Source:Reuters

Study questions proton therapy for prostate cancer

2012-01-31T18:45:00.001-08:00

A warning to men considering a pricey new treatment for prostate cancer called proton therapy: Research suggests it might have more side effects than traditional radiation does.
A study of Medicare records found that men treated with proton beams later had one-third more bowel problems, such as bleeding and blockages, than similar men given conventional radiation.
This is an observational study so it is not definitive, but it is one of the largest to compare these treatments. Proton therapy is rapidly growing in use — Medicare covers it — even though no rigorous studies have tested whether it is as safe or effective as usual care.
It costs around $48,000 — at least twice as much as other prostate radiation treatments. Hospitals are rushing to build proton centers, and nine are operating now — sites include Boston, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, Jacksonville, Fla., and Loma Linda, Calif., east of Los Angeles. Promoters often claim it is less likely to cause complications.
"There's no clear evidence that proton therapy is better" for prostate cancer, and the new results suggest it may cause more complications, said Dr. Ronald Chen, a radiation specialist at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
He led the study and will give results at a medical meeting in San Francisco later this week. They were discussed Tuesday in a telephone news conference sponsored by the American Society of Clinical Oncology and two other cancer groups.
Proton therapy uses proton particles instead of X-rays. In theory, it targets radiation more directly to tumors and spares healthy tissue, which should lead to fewer side effects. Its value is established for treating eye and certain pediatric tumors. But it often is marketed for prostate cancer — a far more common condition.
Researchers checked Medicare records on more than 12,000 men treated for early-stage prostate cancers from 2002 through 2007. Follow-up information was available for four years on average.
First they compared an older version of external beam radiation to a newer form that now dominates the field — intensity-modulated radiation therapy, or IMRT. It, too, targets radiation more precisely to the prostate, and this is the first large study to show it was better than the older method — even though it came into use a decade ago.
"We found that patients who were treated with IMRT required fewer additional treatments after radiation which indicates better cancer control," Chen said. There also were slightly fewer bowel problems, although there also were slightly more sexual problems among men treated with IMRT.
A second part of the study compared 684 men with proton therapy to a similar group treated with IMRT. There were 18 cases of bowel problems for every 100 proton therapy patients per each year of follow-up versus 12 such problems for those treated with IMRT.
"That's a red flag," said Dr. Bruce Roth, a cancer specialist at Washington University in St. Louis who is involved with the cancer conference but had no role in the study.
It's too soon to know whether proton therapy will prove more effective to justify higher side effects, but seeing this difference so soon in its use is troubling, he said. Doctors don't want a repeat of the IMRT experience, "where it becomes the new standard of care without that comparative data," he said.
The federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality paid for the study, which included researchers from the National Cancer Institute. The government also is paying for a definitive study to compare proton therapy to other types.
It "clearly is a promising therapy," but it has not yet shown an advantage for treating prostate cancer, said Dr. Jason Efstathiou of Massachusetts General Hospital, who will lead the new study.
Early results from patients at his hospital suggests there are fewer complications in the first six months after proton therapy, but "maybe this is a short-term advantage" that disappears or does not occur at every hospital using it, he said.
Only a rigorous study will tell. It starts this summer and will give results in three to five years.
Source:AP

‘We are not quacks

2012-01-31T18:25:00.001-08:00

CLAIMS by some Australian doctors that universities should stop teaching "nonsense" alternative medicine courses have angered a Byron Bay naturopath.
Michelle Lowe said she had studied the Complementary Natural Medicine course at Southern Cross University for four years.
"It's a very demanding course where we actually study pre-medical science and clinical diagnosis," she said.
"We are certainly not quacks as some of these doctors have claimed."
The Friends of Science in Medicine last week claimed that universities had been trashing their reputations by teaching "quackery" and pseudoscience.
The Australian group has written to university vice-chancellors saying they should back evidence-based science rather than give "undeserved credibility to what in many cases would be better described as quackery".
One of the group's founders, Professor John Dwyer, said 19 universities across the country were offering "degrees in pseudoscience".
"It's deplorable, but we didn't realise how much concern there was out there for universities' reputations until we tapped into it," Prof Dwyer said.
Michelle said she totally disagreed with the group's claims.
"There is an increasing demand for natural remedies, as well as advice on diet and lifestyle.
"Practitioners in our industry are all about preventative medicine as well as treating the symptoms with herbs that have been around for thousands of years.
"Herbal remedies do work - there have been clinical trials to back that up."
Michelle said naturopaths provided a viable alternative to doctors.
Head of SCU's School of Health and Human Sciences Iain Graham said he welcomed any scrutiny of educational practices.
"Eighty per cent of Australians seek alternative therapies," Professor Graham said.
"Many alternative approaches to health have been around longer than conventional medicine.
"Overseas, there is a broader view of these types of treatments and they are well accepted, particularly in many European countries."
SCU offers an undergraduate Bachelor of Clinical Sciences and as part of completing that degree, students can choose to study naturopathy and osteopathy.
Prof Graham said the uni aimed to produce capable and creative practitioners.
Michelle Lowe
Complementary Natural Medicine student
Herbal remedies do work - there have been clinical trials to back that up.
Source:Bryon Shire News

Milk may Boost Brain Function

2012-01-31T18:23:00.000-08:00

A glass of milk could boost brain and mental performance, reports study published in the International Dairy Journal. Researchers found that adults with higher intakes of milk and milk products scored significantly higher on memory and other brain function tests than those who drank little to no milk. Milk drinkers were five times less likely to "fail" the test, compared to non milk drinkers.Researchers at the University of Maine put more than 900 men and women ages 23 to 98 through a series of brain tests – including visual-spatial, verbal and working memory tests – and tracked the milk consumption habits of the participants. In the series of eight different measures of mental performance, regardless of age and through all tests, those who drank at least one glass of milk each day had an advantage. The highest scores for all eight outcomes were observed for those with the highest intakes of milk and milk products compared to those with low and infrequent milk intakes. The benefits persisted even after controlling for other factors that can affect brain health, including cardiovascular health and other lifestyle and diet factors. In fact, milk drinkers tended to have healthier diets overall, but there was something about milk intake specifically that offered the brain health advantage, according to the researchers.
In addition to the many established health benefits of milk from bone health to cardiovascular health, the potential to stave off mental decline may represent a novel benefit with great potential to impact the aging population. While more research is needed, the scientists suggest some of milk's nutrients may have a direct effect on brain function and that "easily implemented lifestyle changes that individuals can make present an opportunity to slow or prevent neuropsychological dysfunction."
New and emerging brain health benefits are just one more reason to start each day with lowfat or fat free milk. Whether in a latte, in a smoothie, on your favorite cereal, or straight from the glass, milk at breakfast can be a key part of a healthy breakfast that help sets you up for a successful day. The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend three glasses of lowfat or fat free milk daily for adults and each 8-ounce glass contains nine essential nutrients Americans need, including calcium and vitamin D.
Source-Eurekalert

Reliability Holds Key to Lasting Happiness, Not Love

2012-01-31T18:20:00.000-08:00

Those couples who can rely on each other are the ones to have the most successful lasting relationships, states to a new study.
Scientists at the Edinburgh University found that what people think they desire in a partner is often unrelated to what they end up choosing."The most likely romantic partners are those that are around you every day at times when you are looking for a match," the Daily Express quoted relationship specialist Dr Lars Penke as saying.
"Students, exactly at the age when most people look for romance, are fortunate enough that they are surrounded by many potential partners," he said.
The findings of the study were published in the European Journal of Personality.
Source-ANI

You can practice Yoga at International Airport...

2012-01-31T18:16:00.000-08:00

Last week the San Francisco International Airport announced the opening of its new "Yoga Room,” a peaceful space in which travelers can practice yoga, do breathing exercises or simply meditate. The room, represented in airport directional signage by a pictograph of a seated figure in the lotus position, is located past the security check-in, allowing folks to wind down from that often stressful experience before boarding their plane.
I called Baxter Bell, an M.D. and yoga teacher in Oakland, Calif., to ask about the potential health benefits yoga might provide an air traveler.
“I think it could be of some benefit,” Bell says. “The general tenor of travel these days is so stressful, it’s almost designed to get the blood pressure up and stimulate the fight-or-flight response. Stretching [as in doing yoga] can switch from the sympathetic, fight-or-flight nervous system to the parasympathetic, or rest and digest,” system. That could go a long way toward reducing stress.
Bell says he actually just flew into the San Francisco airport but was so eager to get to his nearby home that he didn’t check out the yoga room, which the airport press office says is the first of its kind in the nation. “I would be surprised if many people chose to pop in before going home,” he said. “But it’s a good antidote for the first part of a travel day, which is getting into the airport.” A yoga interlude in a designated room would also be useful “during a layover,” when it would be “such a great place to chill out.”
Chilling out is all well and good, but might there be any non-stress-related benefits to practicing yoga at the airport? Bell, who also writes a blog about yoga and healthy aging, supposes that doing some yoga might offer a bit of protection against deep vein thrombosis, the development of blood clots that sometimes occurs when people remain inactive during long flights by “getting the circulation going.” But he thinks walking up and down the aisle during the flight itself, or doing the seat-bound exercises some airlines recommend on seat cards, might be more beneficial in that regard.
I asked whether people who’ve never done yoga before should avail themselves of airport yoga; the San Francisco airport offers mats and some props but no formal instruction. “It’s a tough call,” he said, “with all the hoopla [surrounding the upcoming publication of William Broad’s book ‘The Science of Yoga’ and a much-discussed New York Times article about it]. It would be irresponsible to just go in and start practicing yoga if you never have practiced yoga before,” just as it would be irresponsible to tackle a rock-climbing wall for the first time without instruction, he says. But yoga newbies can still benefit from “gentle breathing and meditation,” Bell says.
And many people might enjoy their flight more if they manage to squeeze in few simple “inversions,” poses in which the head is positioned below the heart, before boarding. “A simple standing forward-folding bend, downward-facing dog, or legs-up-the-wall pose could prepare you for sitting on the plane, could possible prepare you physiologically to handle the flight better.”
Source:WP

The medicine that may end up killing the patient

2012-01-31T18:12:00.000-08:00

A new international accord between the majority of the EU countries - a treaty on “Stability, Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union” - was born last night –Monday 30th January-. Presumably the bearers were 27 EU leaders but 2 of them refused, for the time-being, to adopt the new-born. The birth took place behind closed doors and no representative of the European peoples was allowed in the room.Now the 25 member states will start the long and cumbersome march of ratification in the respective national institutions. However this treaty, differently to the custom EU treaty ratification process, would enter into force as soon as 12 Eurozone countries will have ratified it.
The purpose of the treaty is to impose long-term fiscal and financial stability to the member states, the underlying assumption being that this should bring about growth. Many leading political figures and economists raised their voices to argue the impossibility to generate the latter solely with the former. Yet, the only initiative to stimulate the European demand has come from the Commission President J.M. Barroso has proposed to reallocate funds originally intended to regional policies. As much as this should be welcome, the amount considered is clearly insufficient to give the boost the European economy needs.
On the request of Germany, the decisions taken during the summit were mainly about enforcing mid and long-term austerity measures. The treaty is being referred to as “fiscal pact” but this name is misleading because all the measures go in the direction of reducing expenses and restricting budgets. No real fiscal solidarity between states is being established. In other words, if a country is in a downward spiral there is no mechanism to transfer income from surplus to deficit countries, instead the country should ask for help to the European Stability Mechanism, an intergovernmental organisation. The Eurozone might qualify as a monetary union but for sure not as a fiscal union. It is important to note that, the European parliamentarians, i.e. the elected representatives of the citizens of Europe, have not been part of this dramatically important process. The new treaty will use the European Commission and the European Court of Justice to enforce the rules but the European Commission has seen its powers removed like never before and has de-facto become a secretariat of the European Council.
Taking a step back to regard the process of European unification, this treaty reaffirms the coup d’état given by the states to the integration process. Since the crisis started in 2008 any pretended solution, from the EFSF to this “fiscal pact”, has increasingly downgraded the European Commission and consistently ignored the European Parliament. This dynamic has not brought about benefits; whereas the financial crisis of 2008 was caused by the US and the financial markets, the current economic crisis has its roots in the actions taken by the Franco-German directoire and in the inaction of the EU as a whole. It is hence worrying that this treaty will continue administering the medicine that may end up killing the patient.
A real European solution requires more than governance; it requires a government. The Franco-German directoire has proven ineffective in governing the crisis precisely because it has put the national interests before the European interests. During the last years the communitarian institutions have proven to be as effective in pursuing the common interest as they have been incapable of showing the necessary leadership. The only way the European Commission can stop the tendency of becoming the Council’s secretariat is if it manages to gain legitimacy in front of the European peoples. Therefore, it is necessary that the next European elections are not only about the European Parliament but also about the election of the leader of the European government. i.e. the President of the European Commission. Once such a leadership is established, it will be possible to create a proper EU budget and an EU treasury capable of replacing the “fiscal pact” with a real fiscal union.
This intergovernmental treaty is neither a solution to the short-term problems nor it will be the long-term solution to the problems of Europe. However it can be an intermediate solution in the run-up to the construction of a real European government which could emerge from the new EP elections in 2 years’ time.
There is still time but… is there political will?
Source:thenewfederalist.eu

Alternative medicine can be scientific, say besieged academics of Australia

2012-01-31T18:07:00.000-08:00

RMIT University’s School of Health Sciences has rejected the suggestion that it peddles pseudo-scientific quackery via its courses in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).
Acting head of the school Dr Ray Myers has defended RMIT’s health science programs as “evidence-based education and practice”, citing collaboration in clinical research of CAM treatments funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).
Dr Myers was speaking in the face of a campaign by a coalition of prominent medical researchers to expunge higher education of the “undisciplined nonsense” taught in CAM courses at Australia’s “somewhat lesser universities”.
The campaigning group, Friends of Science in Medicine (FSM), has about 400 signatories, including immunologist Sir Gustav Nossal and Professor Jock Findlay, chairman of the NHMRC’s Embryo Research Licensing Committee. It has written to every vice-chancellor in Australia asking for a review of their health science courses to “ensure that primacy is given to scientific principles based on experimental evidence”. The letter laments the spread of chiropractic studies to 19 Australian universities, and complains that ‘energy medicine’, ‘tactile healing’, homeopathy, iridology, kinesiology, acupuncture, and reflexology are taught “as if they were science”.
Group co-founder Emeritus Professor John Dwyer from the University of NSW said that FSM wants “vice-chancellors to ask their deans of science what’s the heck’s going on … It’s just extraordinary that such undisciplined nonsense is being taught in universities around Australia.”
“One of the complaints that we have about so-called alternative medicine is that it doesn’t strive to be tested. … modern medicine is totally devoted to doing everything we can to take this evidence-based approach and do good science and do good research into the things we do to people,” he said. “Alternative medicine doesn’t do that – it’s more than happy to rely on tradition and anecdote and it doesn’t really want to be tested.”
However, Dr Myers said that CAM research at RMIT was conducted in a thoroughly scientific manner, with the NHMRC funding clinical trials of alternative medicines. In a clinical study granted A$560,000 by the NHMRC and A$30,000 by the National Institute of Complementary Medicine, the university was collaborating with two Melbourne hospitals on a clinical study investigating the use of ginseng, a herb used in traditional Chinese medicine, for improving lung function in patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), he said.
The NHMRC had also granted A$400,000 for a project in which the university was collaborating with three Melbourne hospitals on a three-year clinical trial of acupuncture for pain management in emergency departments, Dr Myers said. “The project follows the promising results of pilot studies by RMIT researchers, in which more than 1,000 patients received acupuncture treatment for acute pain relief at the emergency department of the Northern Hospital.”
The professions of Chinese medicine, chiropractic and osteopathy are government regulated, Dr Myers said, with RMIT programs in these fields meeting current professional standards and subject to external accreditation. Chiropractic and osteopathy were areas in which clinical research was limited, but RMIT’s education program incorporated the “best available evidence, while promoting further clinical research into these treatments,” Dr Myers said. “RMIT stands by its long record of evidence-based research and the high quality of its health sciences programs.”
But FSM is not buying it. “Those universities involved in teaching pseudoscience give such ideologies undeserved credibility, damage their academic standing and put the public at risk,” the group’s letter states.
The great danger, said Professor Dwyer, was that people who have chronic health problems or who have been persuaded that doctors do not have the answers are delaying the “proper investigation and treatment” of their illness by instead seeking help from therapists offering alternative medicine.
“These are dangerous delusions, and our campaign at the moment is aimed at those somewhat lesser universities, but nonetheless universities, that are offering and teaching pseudoscience as if there was an evidence base to support it, because obviously that gives credibility in the eye of the public,” Professor Dwyer said.
Citing the late CEO of Apple, Professor Dwyer said that “Steve Jobs spent a year with his cancer of the pancreas trusting homeopathic remedies, and by the time he got to the surgeons it was all over.” It is worth noting the veracity of this claim by Professor Edzard Ernst about Mr Jobs treating his cancer with homeopathy has left some struggling to find evidence for it, while others have claimed that for nine months after his diagnosis, Mr Jobs spurned what could have been life-saving surgery in favour of not homeopathy but a vegan diet and herbal remedies.
The “lesser universities” that have aroused the ire of FSM include the Australian Catholic University, Charles Sturt University, Central Queensland University, Edith Cowan University, Macquarie University, Monash University, Murdoch University, RMIT University, Southern Cross University, Swinburne University, the University of Ballarat, the University of New England, the University of Newcastle, the University of Queensland, the University of Technology Sydney, the University of Western Sydney, and the University of Wollongong. To buttress its case, FSM has gathered a list of offending courses, which includes Chinese Medicine, Wellness studies, Applied Eastern Anatomy, Clinical Science with options to study osteopathy and naturopathy, Mind/Body Medicine, and many others.
“It should be a policy that all universities, higher education institutions, should not be involved in in this woolly teaching,” Professor Dwyer said, adding that “I suspect that these are well attended, popular, money-earning courses for cash-strapped universities.”
The claims of FSM, however, ignore the evidence about CAM in higher education, said Dr Wardle, a NHMRC Research Fellow at the University of Queensland’s School of Population Health and co-director of the Network of Researchers in Public Health and Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NORPHCAM), an international group promoting clinical research in CAM.
“They’re actually not that interested in evidence, because the overwhelming evidence is that putting CAM into universities has increased the standards, decreased the fringe element, and improved public safety, so it definitely smacks of dogmatism,” said Dr Wardle, who is a naturopath.
“They love to say that there’s no such thing as complementary medicine and conventional medicine, there’s just evidence-based and non-evidence-based, but, for example, St John’s Wort for over a decade now has been shown to be equally as effective as any pharmaceutical indication for mild to moderate depression, yet there’s still a large group of doctors who refuse to integrate it simply because it’s a herbal medicine,” Dr Wardle said.
The world of CAM is not a “homogenous entity”, said Dr Wardle. “There is a lot of crap, but there’s good stuff, and treating it like it’s all the same thing is very, very fraught. Taking it out of universities runs a real risk of the fringe element getting a stronger voice in the profession.”
“There are studies from Canada, Australia, and Britain that show that CAM practitioners are less anti-vaccination when they’re university trained, and they refer more to conventional [medical] providers when things get serious if they’re university trained.”
“If you look at chiropractic courses [in universities], most of it is human physiology. Chiropractic is certainly not the dominant part of the course. If you look at naturopathy, they do learn herbal medicine and nutrition but they also learn basic health science: they learn the common language of health practice – they learn what a physio or a medical doctor or a nurse would learn. Putting it into the universities diminishes the fringe element,” Dr Wardle said. “If they [FSM] are really worried about public safety they should be not trying to exclude and ostracise them from the university sector.”
He questioned how representative FSM’s roll call of doctors really is, saying that he has just completed a survey of every rural GP in NSW and qualitative interviews with about 30. “About a third wouldn’t have anything to do with complementary medicine providers, another third were very open to it – maybe too open – and the other third if they knew a practitioner who got results they’d send people on.”
About 70 per cent of Australians use CAM and it thus makes sense for research and training to be carried out within the regulation and scientific rigour of the universities, Dr Wardle said.
Source:The Conversation

Blood Pressure Differences Between Arms Could Signal Heart Risk

2012-01-30T18:21:00.001-08:00

People whose systolic blood pressure -- the upper number in their reading -- is different in their left and right arms may be suffering from a vascular disease that could increase their risk of death, British researchers report.
The arteries under the collarbone supply blood to the arms, legs and brain. Blockage can lead to stroke and other problems, the researchers noted, and measuring blood pressure in both arms should be routine.
"This is an important [finding] for the general public and for primary care doctors," said Dr. William O'Neill, a professor of cardiology and executive dean of clinical affairs at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.
"Traditionally, most people just check blood pressure in one arm, but if there is a difference, then one of the arteries has disease in it," he said.
The arteries that run under the collarbone can get blocked, especially in smokers and diabetics, he noted. "If one artery is more blocked than the other, then there is a difference in blood pressure in the arms," O'Neill explained.
"Doctors should, for adults -- especially adult smokers and diabetics -- at some point check the blood pressure in both arms," he said. "If there is a difference it should be looked into further."
The report appears in the Jan. 30 online edition of The Lancet.
For the study, a team led by Dr. Christopher Clark, from the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Exeter in Devon, England, reviewed 28 studies that looked at differences in systolic blood pressure between arms.
This process is called a meta-analysis. It uses data from previously published studies to find trends that may not have surfaced in the original data.
This analysis found that a difference of 15 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) or more between readings was linked with an increased risk of narrowing or hardening of the arteries supplying the lower limbs, called peripheral vascular disease.
The risk of reduced blood flow to the legs and feet was increased 2.5 times and the risk of decreased blood flow to the brain was increased 1.6 times, the researchers found.
The difference in blood pressure was also associated with a 70 percent increased risk of dying from cardiovascular disease and a 60 percent increased risk of death from any cause, the authors added.
The risk of having peripheral vascular disease was also increased with a 10 mm Hg difference in blood pressure between arms, the researchers noted.
It makes no difference which arm has the higher or lower pressure, it's the difference between them that matters, the study authors said.
Finding peripheral vascular disease early and treating it by lowering blood pressure and cholesterol as well as giving up smoking can help reduce the risk of death, Clark's group said.
"Our findings suggest that a difference in [systolic blood pressure] of 10 mm Hg or more, or 15 mm Hg or more, between arms could identify patients at high risk of asymptomatic peripheral vascular disease and mortality who might benefit from further assessment," the researchers concluded.
"Findings from our study should be incorporated into future guidelines for hypertension [high blood pressure] and blood pressure measurement," they added.
Another expert agreed that when it comes to blood pressure monitoring, both arms matter.
"These findings further reinforce blood pressure measurement guidelines of the American Heart Association, World Health Organization, International Society of Hypertension and European Society of Hypertension, which recommend that blood pressure should be measured in both arms at initial assessment," said Dr. Gregg Fonarow, a professor of cardiology at the University of California, Los Angeles, and spokesman for the American Heart Association.
He believes that, "individuals found to have differences in systolic blood pressure in between arms of greater than 10 or 15 mm Hg should undergo further vascular assessment."
More information
For more information on high blood pressure, visit the American Heart Association.
Source:HealthDay

Doctors 'should check blood pressure on both arms

2012-01-30T18:19:00.000-08:00

Measuring blood pressure on both arms rather than only one can reveal an elevated risk of heart disease or even death, according to a study released Monday.
In a review of medical literature, researchers at the University of Exeter found that a difference in the so-called systolic blood pressure between arms can be a useful indicator of the likelihood of heart trouble.
People with high blood pressure -- also called hypertension -- have an increased risk of developing heart disease, stroke, kidney disease and dementia, previous research has shown.
High blood pressure is defined by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as 140 over 90 millimetres of mercury or more. Mercury is used in blood-pressure gauges.
The first number measures maximum heart pressure (systolic), while the second measures pressure when the heart is in a resting phase (diastolic).
Published in the British medical journal The Lancet, the findings suggest that both-arm blood pressure checks should become standard practise, the researchers said.
The probe reviewed 28 studies with data on the difference in systolic blood pressure between arms.
They concluded that a gap of 15mm of mercury or more was linked with an increased risk of the narrowing and hardening of the arteries that supply blood to the legs and feet.
It was also associated with pre-existing cerebrovascular disease, which affects blood supply to the brain and can contribute to dementia.
Above this threshold, death rates due to cardiovascular problems likewise went up.
Most such cases are "clinically silent" and double-arm checks would better identify those at risk, the study said.
Source:AFP

India, Tunisia to launch joint research projects in biotechnology, medical science

2012-01-30T18:15:00.000-08:00

India and Tunisia will launnch joint research programmes in the field of biotechnology, medical sciences and other allied sectors of the science and technology with a view to find out and promote areas of joint research beneficial to the people in both the countries.
The research will be held under the Programme of Cooperation in the fields of Science and Technology for the years 2012-14. The Department of Science and Technology (DST), Ministry of Science and Technology and the Tunisian Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research, (MHESR) will partner for the programme.
The proposals have been invited from Indian and Tunisian universities, research centres and institutes to submit joint proposals for scientific and technological research and development projects. The key areas identified included biotechnology, material sciences, medical sciences and science popularisation. The duration of the projects should be of two years which could be extended by one year, on the basis of progress assessment, after mutual agreement of both Coordinating Ministries.
Both the partnering departments also have worked out the mode of supports like visits by the project researchers from the two countries. The jointly approved projects are likely to be started in September 2012.
Tunisia has been looking for opportunities to strengthen the ties with India in the field of science and technology. The third meeting of the Joint Commission Meeting will be held soon in Delhi to take forward ongoing collaborations. Both the countries also have joint working groups in many areas including drugs and pharmaceuticals.
Source:Pharmabiz

Smells can Evoke Powerful Emotional Memories

2012-01-30T18:11:00.000-08:00

Smells can revoke powerful and emotional memories from the past more efficiently in comparison to sounds, finds a new study.
A well-known idea called the "Proustian phenomenon" proposes that distinctive smells have more power than any other sense to help us recall distant memories, the Telegraph reported.
The theory is named after the French writer Marcel Proust, who in his novel 'A la recherche du temps perdu' (In search of lost time) describes a character vividly recalling long-forgotten memories from his childhood after smelling a tea-soaked madeleine biscuit.
Experts have suggested that the special impact of odour on our memory could be related to the proximity of the closeness of our olfactory bulb, which helps us process smells, and the amygdala and hippocampus brain regions which control emotion and memory.
However, although the theory is well-known anecdotally, no studies have been able to firmly establish that the phenomenon even exists.
Now researchers could have gone a step closer to proving it after an experiment showed smells trigger more detailed, arousing and unpleasant memories of painful experiences than sounds.
A team from Utrecht University in The Netherlands recruited 70 female students and played them video footage designed to provoke aversion, such as car accidents and reports on the Rwandan genocide.
While the film was played, the smell of cassis was pumped into the room, coloured lights were directed onto the back wall and neutral music was played in the background.
A week later, the participants were asked to recall their memories of the film while exposed to either the same smell, lights or sounds used in the initial screening.
Those who were given the cassis smell remembered more details about the film and found their memories more unpleasant and arousing than those who had the background music as a memory trigger, although the lights and the smell were equally effective.
Researchers said that there was no difference between the triggers in two other categories measuring how evocative and vivid the memories were.
Re-testing participants after a longer period than one week could produce more distinctive results, they said.
The researchers said that the findings "do not confirm the Proust phenomenon", but could prove useful for research into post-traumatic stress disorder, which causes patients to recall vivid and painful experiences.
The study has been published in the Cognition and Emotion journal.
Source-ANI

Sleep Patterns - Problems, Prevalence and Persistence in First Three Years of Life

2012-01-30T18:08:00.000-08:00

Sleep problems in early childhood can be easily missed or recognized by parents and doctors. A short and flexible screening tool (like a questionnaire) may help the process of recognizing these children do that corrective measures can be instituted.Sleep is essential for daily functioning, sleep related issues are routinely addressed through anticipatory guidance in pediatric settings. However, research indicates that pediatric sleep problems may go undetected during routine clinical care. Although there is no gold standard for sleep assessment during infancy and early childhood, a study confirms the importance of focused screening for sleep problems during infancy and early childhood that goes further than merely asking if the child has problems sleeping.
This study was performed in United States in which 359 mother/child pairs participated.Sleep questionnaires were administered to mothers when children were 6, 12, 24, and 36 months old. Sleep variables included parent response to a nonspecific query about the presence/absence of a sleep problem and 8 specific sleep outcome domains: sleep onset latency, sleep maintenance, 24-hour sleep duration, daytime sleep/naps, sleep location, restlessness/vocalization, nightmares/night terrors, and snoring.
The sample was 64% white participants and 31% African American participants. In the 6- months survey point, the overall rate of parent-reported sleep problems and behaviors around sleep maintenance did not significantly differ by race or family income at any time point. However, there was differential attrition over time among African Americans and those in the lowest education and income groups. Those from lower-income families were reported to have longer sleep onset latency, shorter overall sleep duration, less independent sleep, and more snoring than were white children and those fromhigher-income families.
Reported napping/daytime sleep, vocalization/restlessness, and nightmares/night terrors differed by race or family income at only one time point. Nightmares/ night terrors and restlessness/ vocalization were significantly associated with parent report of a sleep problem from 12 to 36 months of age.
While the presence of a nonspecific sleep problem was reported by roughly 10% of parents at each time point, parent report of a sleep problem was significantly associated with snoring only at 12 months and with the location of a child’s sleep only at 24 months. Parent report of a sleep problem was significantly associated with longer sleep onset latency across all age ranges, as well as poorer sleep maintenance and shorter sleep duration at 6 to 24months but less strongly at 36 months.
21% to 35% of those who were reported to have a sleep problem during infancy showed persistent sleep problems 1 to 2 1/2 years later. Night waking and shorter sleep duration were perceived as sleep problems by 6 months of age and then remained particular concerns for parents through 2 years of age. Also, across all time points, the majority of children (62.5%–81.9%) were sleeping in their own bed.
Parents did not seem to associate snoring with sleep problems as a result snoring could be completely overlooked during well-child visits, despite its known risk for morbidity. It is noteworthy that the failure of a parent to recognize and report problems related to these domains could lead to errors in clinical decision making. Like sampling error may have influenced prevalence estimates of sleep problems. All sleep measures were based on parent-report. Since there is no single validated instrument for assessing sleep problems in children aged 6 to 36 months, the data was pooled from 2 independent sleep questionnaires. Sleep problem and behavioral domains that were the focus of this study are culturally defined to varying degrees; study did not propose nor examine potential mechanisms underlying sleep problems.
Parent interpretation and report of a sleep problem during early childhood may be inconsistent with clinical criteria for diagnosing pediatric sleep disorders, especially when assessed via a nonspecific query. To clarify parental concerns about sleep during early development and ensure that clinically relevant sleep issues are not overlooked, it is recommended that sleep problems be screened by using a flexible family-centered approach while addressing specific sleep behaviors and symptoms that have known clinical significance.
Reference: Prevalence, Patterns, and Persistence of Sleep Problems in the First 3 Years of Life; Kelly Byars et al; Pediatrics 2012.

Anti-Molestation Device for Women Invented by Indian Schoolboy

2012-01-30T18:03:00.000-08:00

An Indian schoolboy from Delhi claims that his invention is a device, which can help women fend off potential attackers.
The device, which can be worn like a wristwatch, delivers an electric shock once it touches the attacker's skin.Manu Chopra, 16, said that he wanted to "use science to provide safety to women on the street".
Parts of many Indian cities, including the national capital, are unsafe for women.
Many working women carry pepper spray to deter attackers.
The latest National Crime Records Bureau figures show that India recorded almost 22,000 rape cases in 2008, 18 percent up from 2004.
Chopra said that it was "shameful" that women consider it unsafe to go out of home at night.
"Even my sister is not allowed to go out when dark because it is unsafe," the BBC quoted the boy as saying.
"This is the state of the national capital.
Chopra, whose sister Kaanchi is 12, said that it took him about six days to make the device and he expects it to be up for sale for as little as 122 rupees.
The student of Delhi's GD Goenka School said the idea to work on the device came to him when he read about a national competition, organised by the National Innovation Foundation (NIF).
The foundation, set up by the government, awards children for their innovation and creativity.
The product is attracting a lot of attention and there is talk of its market launch.
But the foundation says it may take time as the "prototype needs to be refined further to be launched as a product" and tests need to be conducted to prove its efficiency.
The "anti-molestation device" is activated when it records a significant rise in nerve speed and pulse rate of the victim.
For it to be effective, the victim has to ensure the dial of the device touches an exposed part of the attacker's body.
"It gives a feeble shock to the molester, giving precious time to the victim to flee," Chopra added.
The device also has an inbuilt camera to record the image of the attacker.
Source-ANI

Ayurveda hospitals face major crisis in Kerala due to shortage of several important medicines

2012-01-30T05:45:00.000-08:00

The Ayurveda hospitals in Kerala are facing major crisis as there are complaints of Ayurveda pharmacies running short of several important drugs and the resultant dwindling turnout of patients to these hospitals.
Medical Officers in the ayurvedic dispensaries and hospitals complain that their pharmacies are running short of many important drugs and the number of patients coming to the hospital is steadily decreasing. The situation blights the existence of these traditional medical institutions by forcing the patients to depend on allopathic hospitals and expensive methods of treatments.
Due to non-availability of drugs, patients have to purchase these medicines from private medical shops by giving huge prices. “Only economically stable patients can afford them, but it becomes difficult for the poor patients to do so,” said a medical officer belongs to Idukki district in Kerala.
Apart from the drug shortage, all the Indian medicine hospitals are working without sufficient staff such as pharmacists, nurses and attenders. According to the medical officers, government is showing no interest in Ayurveda hospitals and the sector itself is in a major crisis.
In a chat with Pharmabiz during the Ayurveda Medical Association’s state conference in Kozhikode in Kerala, the physicians of Ayurveda system said the hospitals are getting an allotment of Rs.75000 from government during three terms for procurement of medicines. Since the hospitals come under the local bodies, additional expenditures are incurred by the local Panchayats, most of whom do not have supportive attitude.
“The delivery of supply is done by Aushadhi, but we have to wait three to six months period to get it. Government or the local Panchayats do not take any step to avoid the delay. There is always shortage of the essential ‘Kashaayams’, tablets, 'Arishtams', ointment and powders. So we advise the patients to buy the medicines from outside. Recently, the government has given order to Aushadhi to deliver the supply within two months of the intent received,” said a doctor.
An ayurveda dispensary or hospital should have some essential Kashaayams including Rasnerandaathi, Punarnavaathi, Desamoola Kaduthrayam and Rasnaasthakam, but these medicines are not available in most of the hospitals in Kerala, said the doctors. In the case of tablets, shortage is there for Kaishoragugulu, Yogarajagugulu, Vettumaaran and Chandraprabha.
Arishtams such as Amruthaarishtam, Abhayaarishtam, Mustaarishtam and Vaashaarishtam, oils including Murivenna, Karpooradi thailam, Kottamchukkaathi and Pindathailam, ointments like Dhanwantharam, Sahacharaadi, and powders such as Taaleesapathraadi and Raasnaadi are also not available in any of the hospitals or dispensaries functioning across the state.
The members of AMAI said Kerala has about 800 Ayurveda dispensaries which are controlled by the local bodies. But in 256 Panchayaths, there are no dispensaries.
Meanwhile, when contacted, joint director of ISM admitted that there is pending of supply from Aushadhi and said the management of dispensaries and hospitals in the villages is under the control of local bodies whose duty is to procure the medicines on time. He said there is no budget allocation for purchase of medicines to these Ayush hospitals from the government.
Source:Pharmabiz

Shrinking Research Funding Resulting in Rising Problem of Scientific Plagiarism

2012-01-29T18:36:00.000-08:00

Since scientific researchers are becoming fiercely competitive for scarce funding, scientific journals are increasing efforts to identify submissions that plagiarize the other’s work.
"We need a better system," said Harold Garner, executive director of the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute at Virginia Tech. Garner discussed the problem and solution in a Comment in the January 4, 2012 issue of Nature and in a January 19, 2012 radio interview with NPR's Leonard Lopate.
Garner, creator of eTBLAST plagiarism detection software, identified numerous instances of wholesale plagiarism among citations in MEDLINE. "When my colleagues and I introduced an automated process to spot similar citations in MEDLINE, we uncovered more than 150 suspected cases of plagiarism in March, 2009.
"Subsequent ethics investigations resulted in 56 retractions within a few months. However, as of November 2011, 12 (20 percent) of those "retracted" papers are still not so tagged in PubMed. Another two were labeled with errata that point to a website warning the papers are "duplicate" -- but more than 95 percent of the text was identical, with no similar co-authors."
But even when plagiarism is uncovered, it does not guarantee that the plagiarized articles will be retracted. In Garner's study, as noted in his Nature commentary, "Three of the 56 retracted papers are cited in books, including one citation after the retraction. Another eight were cited in other PubMed Central archived articles before retraction, and seven were cited after retraction."
Some researchers say plagiarism has become a pandemic in many large institutions and schools, and that there is an entire industry built on the business of copying the work of others for the purpose of developing theses content and technical papers.
Quelling the proliferation of scientific plagiarism by identifying and retracting plagiarized articles is not the only issue. Publication editors and researchers must agree on the definition of plagiarism as noted in Nature.
Said Garner, "Ultimately, plagiarism comes down to human judgment, similar to other questionable practices -- you know it when you see it."

Source-Eurekalert

Study Reveals Secret Behind Centenarians' Longevity

2012-01-29T18:31:00.000-08:00

Researchers have found that genetic variants play a crucial and complex role in the exceptional longevity in centenarians.The findings of the study by researchers from the Boston University Schools of Public Health and Medicine, Boston Medical Center, IRCCS Multimedica in Milan, Italy, and Yale University are the corrected version of work originally published in Science in July 2010.

The new study includes additional authors who independently assessed and helped to produce a valid genotype data set, for which the same analysis as in the original paper was performed. It also contains an additional replication data set of subjects with an average age of 107.
Centenarians are a model of healthy aging, as the onset of disability in these individuals is generally delayed until they are well into their mid-90s.
Because exceptional longevity can run strongly in families, and numerous animal studies have suggested a strong genetic influence on life span, the researchers set out to determine which genetic variants play roles in human survival beyond 100 years of age.
They used a well-established Bayesian statistical method for determining which single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs, or genetic variants) could, as a group, be used to categorize subjects as centenarians versus controls, based solely upon the genetic information.
The predictive sensitivity of the model they developed, which contains 281 SNPs, increased with the age of the subject, supporting the hypothesis that genes play an increasingly strong role in survival in centenarians.
The model was able to predict exceptional longevity with 60 to 85 percent accuracy, depending on the average age of the replication sample that was used. The older the sample, the stronger the sensitivity.
Many of the 130 known genes associated with the SNPs in the prediction model have been shown by other gerontologists to play roles in age-related diseases and aging, said the study's lead researchers, Paola Sebastiani, PhD, professor of biostatistics at the BU School of Public Health, and Thomas Perls, MD, MPH, associate professor of medicine at the BU School of Medicine.
"This is a useful step towards meaningful predictive medicine and personal genomics," said Dr. Perls, a geriatrician at Boston Medical Center.
"When people can do this kind of analysis on whole genome sequences for traits that have important genetic components, the predictive value should be even better," he stated.
The corrected study, as did the original, found that subjects who shared the same profile of variations for genetic markers in the model appeared to share similar levels of risk for various traits or diseases associated with exceptional longevity-most notably, in their ages of survival.
The revised publication appeared in PLoS ONE.
Source-ANI

Olive Oil May Protect Against Liver Damage

2012-01-29T18:24:00.000-08:00

Olive oil, an integral part of Mediterranean diet, is known to have numerous health benefits that protect against heart diseases and some cancers. It also modifies the immune and inflammatory responses of the body. A new study showed that extra virgin olive oil and its hydrophilic extract protect against oxidative damage of the liver.
An impaired antioxidant defence of the body is one of the major causes for the development of heart disease, cancer and premature degeneration of the nerve cells. A healthy human body maintains a balance between the generation of Reactive Oxidant Species (ROS) which cause oxidation, and the counteractive antioxidant defences. ROS are by-products of normal metabolic processes and accidental exposure to occupational chemicals like pesticides accelerate their production.
Ar ecent study reported that rats fed on a diet containing olive oil were protected from liver damage following exposure to a moderately toxic chemical called 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyaceticacid (2,4-D). 2,4-D is one of the most widely used herbicides that causes liver damage. It is known to produce oxidative stress, and/or deplete antioxidants.
In the study, rats fed on the herbicide 2,4-D were supplemented with either extra virgin olive oil, or one of its extracts (hydrophilic or lipophilic).
2,4-D caused significant liver damage in the rats. Intake of extra virgin olive oil or its hydrophilic fraction induced a substantial increase in antioxidant activity and decreased markers of liver damage. These two contained a high amount of phenols, which could contribute to the antoxidant effect. The lipophilic fraction, which was deprived of phenols, failed to produce a protective effect.
Authors of the study concluded that extra virgin olive oil and its hydrophilic extract protect against oxidative damage of liver cells. More detailed studies dealing with the effect of antioxidant compounds separately and/or their interactions could corroborate these results.
Reference: Effects of olive oil and its fractions on oxidative stress and the liver's fatty acid composition in 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid-treated rats; Amel et al; Nutrition & Metabolism 2010.

Company combines genomics and digital tech for a health care revolution

2012-01-29T01:13:00.000-08:00

Modern medical technology is revealing the secrets of the human genome at an accelerating rate, and also making it possible to give patients anywhere intensive monitoring once available only in the hospital.
But translating medical technology into medical practice has fallen far behind, says Samir Damani, a Scripps Clinic cardiologist. Damani has co-founded a company called MD Revolution to close that gap.
Damani said the company personalizes medicine to the individual, something that advances in genomics is supposed to provide, but hasn't materialized. Genomics refers to the complete set of DNA in an individual.
"Medicine lacks plasticity, and the average technology takes 15 to 20 years to (enter) clinical practice, and we can't afford to do that anymore," Damani said.
MD Revolution, which opened this month, offers customers intensive workups and tests to guide them in staying healthy, Damani said. These are developed with Damani's clinical experience with patients, augmented with a team of specialists and including everything from nutritional consulting to health apps for the iPhone.
Colleagues at the company include board member Nicholas Schork, director of bioinformatics and biostatistics at the Scripps Translational Science Institute, which combines personalized medical with digital technology..
Customers can select from three programs, called DNA-Fit, DNA-Select and, at the high end, DNA-3-Day. The cost ranges from roughly $2,000 to $10,000, depending on the choice of programs. Some of the cost goes to devices that customers are given to assess their progress and gather data that's emailed back to the office. For DNA Fit, for example, the devices include a heart monitor and iPod Touch.
MD Revolution also gives customers a report in electronic form on a USB drive. The genomic information is not linked to the medical records, Damani said, so it's kept confidential. Customers have the option to share this information with their regular doctors, if they choose.
Equipped
Once they've been examined initially, customers have the option of a virtual office visit via teleconferencing.
"You can meet with me through Skype on ITV or on Facetime on your iPhone," he said. "These are the kinds of technologies that are built into the practice."
While the programs aren't now covered by insurance, Damani said he expects they will eventually be, because they are scientifically valid approaches to preventing and managing health problems.
The programs include a scan of customers' DNA to find disease predispositions and how they metabolize drugs. The higher-end programs include a more complete genomic report, medical imaging, metabolic testing and more extensive monitoring of vital signs and activities.
Damani said the programs aren't meant to steal customers away from their regular doctors, but to help the patients stay healthy, and to help the doctors help their patients stay healthy.
For example, customers can get a personalized exercise regimen that's crafted to their own physiology. And the intensive examination can detect a wrong diagnosis.
Bringing in science
"My first patient was a 75-year-old gentleman who thought his heart was going to explode," Damani said. "He was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease but did not really have Parkinson's disease. He had a bad tremor and he had something called orthostatic hypotension, where he gets really light-headed because his blood pressure drops. We took him off the medication, but he had never really exercised at the level he should have."
Testing found that the man had a low metabolic rate, so he was given instructions on how to perform interval training. He also received a wrist monitor that tracked his heart rate. The patient emailed the information from the device to MD Revolution, so doctors could check on how he was responding to the exercise.
"There is a science to exercise, there is a science to nutrition, there is a science to genomics" Damani said. "There's a lot out there that's being under-utilized because our system doesn't allow us, as physicians, to use these because of time constraints. You cannot see 20 patients a day and be able to provide some of these tools."
Source:NCT

New ‘killer' bacteria on the prowl

2012-01-29T01:07:00.000-08:00

After the scary New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase-1 or the “superbug” was detected two years ago, the world is now faced with the community-acquired methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (ca-MRSA) bacterium that is resistant to almost all common antibiotics.
In India, where poor hygiene and the availability of over-the-counter antibiotics lead to development of resistance, an estimated 100 to 200 million people are reportedly already carriers of these virtually unbeatable killer bacteria. The killer bugs have also reached England, presumably through medical tourists who travelled to India for cosmetic surgery, and reportedly already infected several hundred people. A few cases have also turned up in Germany.
The bacterium has become a serious health threat in the United States. India had protested the naming of the superbug after New Delhi and denied its presence then. Now, the ca-MRSA is all set to raise another storm.
There is only one antibiotic left — a drug that is normally not even used anymore owing to its potentially fatal side effects — that is still effective against these killer bacteria. In serious cases, people who become infected with these types of pathogens die of urinary tract infections, wound infections or pneumonia. And, in contrast to the highly drug-resistant hospital-acquired MRSA (ha-MRSA) strains, which primarily affect the elderly and people in hospitals and nursing homes, ca-MRSA affects healthy young people.
An article written by Philip Bethge, Veronika Hackenbroch, Laura Hoflinger, Michael Leockx and Udo Ludwig for German news magazine Der Spiegel says the two bacteria, ha-MRSA and ca-MRSA, are only two strains from an entire arsenal of pathogens that are now resistant to almost all available antibiotics. Less than a century after the discovery of penicillin, one of the most powerful weapons ever produced by modern medicine, it threatens to become ineffective.
FEAR OF ‘PANDEMIC'
The British medical journal The Lancet warns that the drug-resistant bacteria could spark a “pandemic.” And, in Germany, the dangerous pathogens are no longer only feared “hospital bugs” found in intensive care units (ICUs). Instead, they have become ubiquitous.
The pathogens thrive in warm, moist environments. They can be found in people's armpits, in the genital area and in the nasal mucous membranes. Their hunting grounds are the locker rooms of schools and universities, as well as the community showers of prisons and health clubs.
The bacteria are transmitted via skin, through towels, clothing or direct body contact. All it takes is a small abrasion to provide them access to a victim's bloodstream. Festering pustules develop at the infection site, at which point the pathogens are also capable of corroding the lungs. If doctors wait too long, patients can die very quickly.
The dangerous bacteria have even been detected on one of Germany's high-speed ICE trains. Likewise, more than 10 per cent of the residents of German retirement homes have been reportedly colonised by MRSA bacteria. In their case, every open wound is potentially deadly. The pathogens have also been found in beef, pork and vegetables.
ALARMING FINDING
Another alarming finding is that about 3 to 5 per cent of the population carries the so-called ESBL-forming bacteria in the intestine without knowing it. Even modern antibiotics are completely ineffective against these highly resistant bacteria, the article warns.
Infestation with multidrug-resistant bacteria is normally harmless to healthy individuals because their immune systems can keep the pathogens under control. Problems arise when an individual becomes seriously ill.
Israel even experienced a nationwide outbreak a few years ago. Within a few months, about 1,300 people were afflicted by an extremely dangerous bacterium that killed 40 per cent of infected patients. Even today, the same bacterium still sickens some 300 people a year.
Source:The Hindu

Who should be allowed to teach yoga?

2012-01-29T00:22:00.000-08:00

Joe Palese took his first yoga class in the 1990s, right as the practice began gaining in popularity in the United States.
"They didn't even have any yoga mats," he said, recalling the New York sports club that offered the class.
It wasn't until Palese started taking classes at yoga studios that he realized a lot of the previous sessions were "watered down" versions of yoga.
The loose interpretation wasn't bothersome; yoga by definition is a diverse practice with more than a dozen different styles. But as Palese remembers, some of the poses the inexperience teachers were demonstrating were simply not right.
"The instructors were cool people, and they'd play good music, but students didn't know they were being taught poorly," said Palese, who became a yoga instructor himself 14 years ago.
And, according to author and New York Times science writer William J. Broad, some of the common yoga poses can cause serious injuries like nerve damage, torn cartilage, and strokes, among others.An article adapted from Broad's upcoming book on yoga featured in the New York Times Sunday Magazine earlier this month with the title "How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body," sparked a lively debate within the yoga community about how to keep practitioners safe.
In the article, Broad noted that yoga is a "free-for-all" with "no hierarchy of officials or organization to ensure purity and adhere to agreed-upon sets of facts and poses, rules and procedures, outcomes and benefits."
Broad is correct -- there isn't a government oversight committee dedicated to yoga practice. And that's because many practitioners prefer it that way.
"Yoga comes from India. Things are not uniform by tradition," said Gyandev McCord, who has taught yoga for 25 years.In an effort to provide a common ground for the diverse practice of yoga, a group of seasoned yoga practitioners -- "yogis" -- came together in 1999 to form the Yoga Alliance, a nonprofit organization whose sole purpose is to create minimum standards for yoga teacher training.
Fearing government or insurance companies might step in and start calling the shots, the alliance set forth to self-regulate, said McCord, who is the co-founder and vice chairman of the organization.
It is for yogis, by yogis. After all, McCord said, those "who don't understand the landscape of yoga aren't qualified" to regulate the standards for teaching.
Anyone trained by schools registered with the Yoga Alliance completes 200 or 500 hours of training, based on the following five principles: yoga techniques, including poses, breathing and meditation; general teaching methodology; anatomy and physiology; yoga philosophy and ethics; and training, practicum, and supervised teaching, in which senior instructors observe trainees to identify and correct any issues.McCord said the five principles allow for "a lot of wiggle room," and aim to protect and promote the teacher's individuality.
Once trained, the instructors are certified by their school and their names are listed on a registry that informs the public of teachers in their area who have completed the minimum standards for yoga instruction. Yoga Alliance-trained teachers may also use the trademarked "RYT" -- registered yoga teacher -- behind their name, indicating they've completed the required hours.Not all members of the yoga community are on board with this approach, however.
Leslie Kaminoff, co-founder of the Breathing Project, a nonprofit that provides continuing education to yoga practitioners, disagrees with yoga regulation of any kind. She believes in a free market approach to regulations for yoga teacher training.
"Yoga is about freedom," he said, "The market place is the ultimate quality control."Yoga instruction, he said, is about a relationship between a teacher and a student. If a teacher is trained to teach yoga on the Internet or by a DVD at home and the student is fine with it, it's really nobody's business.
McCord said he has no problem with that approach. "It's not illegal to teach without training as a teacher," he said.
But Palese is more wary. He believes that learning how to align properly is something that needs an "expert eye," one that can't be achieved by watching a DVD.
"Anyone can tell you what to do, it's explaining how to do it," he said. And that is what separates effective teachers from the rest, according to Palese.
"It's alignment with awareness," he said.
Palese trains teachers at a studio where he teaches in suburban Atlanta. His 200-hour training class meets one weekend a month for 10 months, a long stretch of time imperative to the teaching process.
"You need time for information to settle," Palese said.
Since yoga instruction is far more complex than just leading students to do poses, Palese said he reserves the right to extend the training past 10 months if needed. He wants to give his new teachers whatever time they need to assimilate the information so that they can feel confident teaching others.
"It's the integrity and the awareness that the teacher brings to class that is most important," Palese said.
Palese said successful teachers are committed to the safety for their students and will provide suggestions for modification, as well as props like belts, blankets and blocks to make those modifications. A willingness to adapt the practice for different audiences and environments helps too.
"I've taught yoga in the oddest of places," he said. Good teachers "can teach yoga in an auditorium, a prison, a hospital."
They "can transform the whole thing just by who they are."

By :Stephanie Gallman, Source:CNN

Black Tea Helps Reduce Blood Pressure

2012-01-28T19:00:00.000-08:00

Drinking three cups of black tea daily may considerably help to lower blood pressure, reveals a new study.
Scientists at The University of Western Australia and Unilever based their findings on drinking black tea and the effect of drinking tea with milk is not known."There is already mounting evidence that tea is good for your heart health, but this is an important discovery because it demonstrates a link between tea and a major risk factor for heart disease," the Daily Mail quoted lead author Research Professor Jonathan Hodgson as saying.
Blood pressure measurement comprises two numbers. The first is the systolic and measures blood pressure when the heart beats, or contracts to push blood through the body. The second number is the diastolic and measures the amount of pressure in between beats, when the heart is at rest.
In the study, 95 Australian participants aged between 35 and 75 were asked to drink either three cups of black tea or a placebo with the same flavor and caffeine content, but not derived from tea.
The researchers recorded their readings after six months and found that as compared to the placebo group, participants who drank black tea had a lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure of between 2 and 3 mmHg (millimeters of mercury).
The authors consider that a 2 to 3mmHg drop in blood pressure across the board would lead to a 10 per cent drop in the number of people with hypertension and heart disease.
"A large proportion of the general population has blood pressure within the range included in this trial, making results of the trial applicable to individuals at increased risk of hypertension," Dr Hodgson added.
The study has been published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Source-ANI

Business, social media to prevent babies with HIV

2012-01-28T18:56:00.001-08:00

Business and social media leaders teamed up Friday to tackle the transmission of HIV from mothers to babies, saying the medicine and the money are largely in place, and with the right organizational skills they can eliminate HIV-infected births by 2015.
John Megrue, CEO of Apax Partners U.S., will chair a business group that includes bankers and consulting experts and will help coordinate work being done by several governments and other international donors, as well as filling in gaps in the funding.
Women need to receive antiretroviral drugs to prevent the virus being passed to their unborn babies.
"There are no technological issues around it. There are no medical issues around it. It does not exist in the wealthy part of the world," Megrue said. "But there are still almost 400,000 children a year born — primarily in sub-Saharan Africa — with HIV."
Ambassador Eric Goosby, a top U.S. AIDS official, said that although the group set a goal of zero transmission by 2015, in reality about 13 percent of babies born to HIV-positive mothers will unavoidably be born with the virus.
Randi Zuckerberg, who founded RtoZ Studios after leaving the Facebook company that her brother Mark started, will lend the power of social media to increase awareness about the issue, by pulling in 1,000 influential Twitter and Facebook users in an expansion of an earlier social media effort to raise $200 million to fight malaria.
"I'm calling this a social good broadcast experiment," she said. "The long-term vision is for this to be a group of thousands or millions of people who can all broadcast in a coordinated manner where there is a global crisis."
Other business leaders involved in the project include Dominic Barton, managing director of consulting firm McKinsey & Co., and Cynthia Carroll, CEO of the mining company Anglo American PLC.
"AIDS," Carroll said, "should not be a disease of children."
Source:AP

Informed consent and compensation to victims set to drive more volunteers and patients for clinical trials

2012-01-28T18:54:00.000-08:00

The Union government’s stringent regulations on seeking informed consent and providing compensation to clinical trial victims would increase the number of volunteers and patients going for a trial in India, according to experts.
According to Dr Bhanu Priya, director and head, clinical research, G7 Synergon Life Sciences Consulting, the clause of compensation has now been insisted and therefore it is an assurance for the patients and for clinical research organizations to participate in human study and carry out the trial respectively.
Although Schedule Y of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act (D&C Act) called for compensation, Clinical Research Organizations (CROs) took up insurance policies to protect the patient in the wake of an adversity. But now with the amendment in the Act, the compensation cannot be ignored. There have been several insurance players who have chipped in to support the CROs with a dedicated policy. These include National Insurance, Oriental Insurance and Metflife, to name a few.
There is no doubt that both informed consent and compensation to victims are the two key factors which are giving the Indian volunteers and patients the confidence of participating in a clinical trial. While the former helps the volunteer or patient to understand the risks of the human study, the latter provides the much needed financial and medical support if the medicine turns fatal or reports an adverse drug reaction.
These two features will not just benefit the patients, but both informed consent and compensation for the clinical trial participants give them the option to even withdraw from a human study, Prof. SP Thyagarajan, Pro Vice Chancellor, Sri Ramachandra University, Chennai told Pharmabiz.
But Dr Krathish Bopanna, president & executive director, Semler Research Centre, begs to differ and stated that the move on compensation is a threat to the clinical research companies and we need to challenge this aspect of the law. This is primarily because there is no basis on which the compensation could be based because there are two aspects to the issue on whether it could be the test or the reference drug. Patients in a double blinded study could receive a placebo drug. We need clear cut guidelines and self regulatory norms.
Source:Pharmabiz

Govt statistics show cases of spurious and sub-standard drugs are coming down in the country

2012-01-28T18:49:00.001-08:00

With sterner measures in place to check production and supply of spurious drugs, the instances of sub-standard drugs being sold in the market have come down during the last year, according to the statistics collected by the Health Ministry.
“As per the countrywide survey conducted by the Government in 2009 to assess the extent of spurious drugs in the country, out of 24,136 samples collected for analysis, only 0.046 per cent samples were found spurious. Further, as per the available information received from state drug controllers, the drug samples tested all over the country in four years 2007-2008 to 2010-2011 reveal that only about 0.25 per cent of around 43,000 samples per annum have been found to be spurious/adulterated,” sources said.
During the year 2010-11, the official machinery took 49682 samples through random checks in the chemist shops across the country and 2372 samples were declared not of standard quality. The number of spurious or adulterated drugs stood at 95 while prosecutions were launched against 167 persons in this regard. The officials conducted 1295 raids throughout the country.
During 2009-10, the total number of drugs of substandard quality was 1942 and the total number of spurious or adulterated drugs was 117, out of the total 39248 samples collected. As many as 147 persons were arrested and a total of 2513 raids were mounted on the medical shops.
Likewise, the quantum of fake drugs during the period of 2008-09 was also higher. Out of 45145 total samples collected, as many as 2597 were declared as not of standard quality while 157 samples were found to be either spurious or adulterated in the tests. The officials held 2836 raids and arrested 133 persons during the period, according to the statistics collected.
Responding to recent report in the media that sub-standard drugs worth Rs.5,000 crores are flooding the Indian market creating threat to human lives, an official of the ministry said “the media had been projecting the problem of spurious or sub-standard drugs in the country in a manner which does not provide a balanced perspective.”
The Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 (D&C Act) has been amended under Drugs & Cosmetics (Amendment) Act 2008 and it has come into force since 10th Aug, 2009. Under this Act, stringent penalties for manufacture of spurious and adulterated drugs have been provided. Certain offences have been made cognizable and non-bailable. Guidelines for taking action on samples of drugs declared spurious or not of standard quality in the light of enhanced penalties under the D&C Act have been forwarded to the state drugs controllers for implementation, he said.
Source:Pharmabiz

16 drug companies lose manufacturing licence

2012-01-28T18:47:00.000-08:00

Acting tough against drug manufacturing companies failing to comply with the set norms after obtaining licences, Himachal Pradesh ayurvedic department has cancelled licences of 16 units in the state. All these companies were issued prior notices but they had failed to respond.
Himachal Pradesh has become a drug manufacturing hub in the country with all major brands running their units from Solan and Sirmaur districts. According to an estimate, the state caters to around 30% demand in the domestic market.
According to sources, many of the companies whose licenses were cancelled never bothered to start manufacturing drugs despite obtaining the license, while others never approached the department for renewal of their license after its expiry. Majority of the ayurvedic drug manufacturing units against whom action has been initiated are located in Solan and Sirmaur districts.
Functioning of allopathic drug manufacturing units in the state has also come under the scanner since the directorate of revenue intelligence (DRI) raided some companies at Baddi and Paonta Sahib area of the state.
Director (ayurveda) P S Draik said that action has been initiated against the companies in routine exercise after finding these companies violating the norms. He said 16 licences have been cancelled while others too are being checked.
Himachal Pradesh has 65 units manufacturing ayurvedic medicines, of which 162 are in private sector while three are in the government sector. Most of them are located in Solan, Sirmaur and Kangra districts.
Source:TNN

Saliva HIV Test as Accurate as Blood Test for HIV: Study

2012-01-28T18:43:00.000-08:00

A saliva test used to diagnose the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), can be compared in accuracy to the traditional blood test, says a new study led by the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) and McGill University.The meta-analysis, which compared studies worldwide, showed that the saliva HIV test, OraQuick HIV1/2, had the same accuracy as the blood test for high-risk populations. The test sensitivity was slightly reduced for low risk populations. The study, published in this week's issue of The Lancet Infectious Diseases, has major implications for countries that wish to adopt self-testing strategies for HIV.
"Testing is the cornerstone of prevention, treatment and care strategies," says the study's lead author, Dr. Nitika Pant Pai, a medical scientist at the RI-MUHC and assistant professor of Medicine at McGill University. "Although previous studies have shown that the oral fluid-based OraQuick HIV1/2 test has great promise, ours is the first to evaluate its potential at a global level."
Dr. Pant Pai and her colleagues analyzed and synthesized real-life field research data from five worldwide databases. Their findings showed that the saliva test is 99 percent accurate for HIV in high risk populations, and about 97 percent in low risk populations.
The oral HIV test has become one of the most popular tests because of its acceptability and ease of use. It is non-invasive, pain-free, and convenient and produces results in 20 minutes. "Getting people to show up for HIV testing at public clinics has been difficult because of visibility, stigma, lack of privacy and discrimination. A confidential testing option such as self-testing could bring an end to the stigmatization associated with HIV testing," says Dr. Pant Pai, whose work is supported by a Grand Challenges Canada's Rising Star in Global Health Award. "There is a huge global momentum for alternate HIV self-testing strategies that can inform people know of their status."
High risk populations fuel the expansion of HIV epidemics but they face widespread discrimination, violence and social marginalization from healthcare services. UNAIDS estimates that globally, 90% of men who have sex with men lack access to the most basic sexual health services. "Oral HIV tests can be a powerful tool for high risk populations, but self-testing must be accompanied by linkage to care to achieve good health outcomes," says the study's co-author Dr. Rosanna Peeling, Professor and Chair of Diagnostics Research at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.
Source-Eurekalert

Doctors Save Stillborn Baby Who Had No Blood in His Body

2012-01-28T18:36:00.000-08:00

Doctors at the Maidstone General Hospital in Britain successfully managed to save the life of a stillborn baby who had no blood in his body due to a rare condition.A rare condition during pregnancy meant that Katy, 36, had an additional blood vessel in her womb which burst 37 weeks into her pregnancy, draining all the blood out. Oliver Morgan was stillborn and was without any blood or heartbeat but doctors at the hospital managed to resuscitate him before giving a blood transfusion via his umbilical cord.
Katy revealed that it took her a long time to recover from the traumatic birth and said that the work done by the doctors was nothing short of a miracle. “It's hard to believe, looking back at what he's been through, but Ollie's now a bright, happy boy with his whole life ahead of him. He's a walking tribute to the doctors who worked miracles - and he's a right little battle”, she said.
Source:MedIndia

Skin Hydration may be Improved by French Maritime Pine Bark Extract

2012-01-27T19:05:00.000-08:00

A new study has revealed that a natural supplement Pycnogenol reduces visible signs of aging. The former is an antioxidant plant extract from the bark of the French maritime pine tree
Human skin is the body's first line of defense and often mirrors the health, nutritional status and age of a person.ver time, skin shows signs of aging due to the gradual breakdown of collagen and elastin. However, skin can be rebuilt and made healthier no matter one's age.
In a clinical trial conducted at the Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine (IUF) in Dusseldorf, Germany, Pycnogenol was found to improve skin hydration and elasticity in women.
Participants (20 healthy women, aged 55 - 68 years) were given 75 mg of Pycnogenol per day, over a period of 12 weeks.
Skin hydration, skin elasticity and skin fatigue were assessed by non-invasive biophysical methods at trial start and after six and 12 weeks.
In addition, at the beginning and again after 12 weeks of Pycnogenol supplementation, each time, a biopsy was obtained to assess gene expression of HAS-1 and COL1A1 and COL1A2.
The study found that Pycnogenol elevated COL1A1 by 29 percent and COL1A2 by 41 percent and increased hyaluronic acid production in skin by 44 percent.
Hyaluronic acid binds large quantities of water in the skin and in other tissues, such as cartilage. An increased amount of hyaluronic acid explains the increased skin hydration, higher elasticity and overall smoother skin appearance found in women taking Pycnogenol.
It enhanced skin elasticity by 25 percent, in addition to skin hydration by eight percent, and was especially noticeable in women who had dry skin from the start, with an increase of 21 percent.
Pycnogenol also decreased skin fatigue considerably and reduced skin wrinkles by three percent and increased skin smoothness by six percent.
"To date, Pycnogenol is the only natural supplement that stimulates hyaluronic acid production in human skin. And, we are encouraged by the molecular evidence confirmed in this study that shows nutritional supplementation with Pycnogenol benefits human skin," explained Dr. Jean Krutmann, the lead researcher from the Leibniz Research Institute in Dusseldorf, Germany.
The finding was published this month in Skin Pharmacology and Physiology.
Source-ANI

Build bridges between Ayurveda and Allopathy

2012-01-27T19:02:00.000-08:00

Sam Pitroda, chairman of the National Innovation Council and advisor to the Prime Minister on IT Infrastructure, Public Information and Innovations, said that ayurveda doctors were underutilised in this country where there was a huge shortage of doctors.
He was inaugurating an awareness campaign on ayurveda for children in connection with the Global Ayurveda Festival on Wednesday.
“How we deliver health is very important. We invest huge amounts in modern medicine but we don’t invest in traditional medicine. The challenge is to build bridges between ayurveda and allopathy. Instead we are building walls,” said Sam Pitroda adding that his biggest dream would be to have one ayurveda wing in every modern hospital.Sam Pitroda said his association with ayurveda goes back a long way, as a child who grew up in a tribal village in Orissa when his mother would grind a few leaves for common ailments or fight ear infection with a few drops of oil, all examples of low cost medicine.
“Unfortunately ayurveda is still not mainstream medicine. We follow American model of medicine because it is fashionable.
You should also remember that 15 to 16 percent of the GDP of the US goes for health costs, which is not sustainable or desirable in India,” said Pitroda.
He pointed out that India needs a health system that is both affordable and scalable. It has to come from ayurveda, Unani or traditional medicine. ‘’We have a living and evolving tradition that has been around for millions of years, yet they need trials to make it more acceptable,’’ he said.
Source:The Express News Service

Tainted Heart Drugs Claim 100 Lives In Pakistan

2012-01-27T18:59:00.000-08:00

At least 100 people belonging to the Pakistan's Punjab province died after taking spurious heart drugs and more than 200 are in a critical condition in hospital, according to official reports.
"Nearly 100 patients have died due to a reaction to heart drugs," said Shahbaz Sharif, the head of the government in central Punjab province.
The victims were mostly poor patients who received free drugs from the state run Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC), he said.
The government said another 287 people had been admitted to hospitals in Lahore, Pakistan's second largest city, after taking the drugs.
Police have arrested owners of three pharmaceutical companies suspected of supplying the medicine.
"Police registered a case on Tuesday after reports of deaths of people due to reaction of drugs for cardiovascular diseases," police spokesman Haroon Rashid told AFP.
Initial investigations show that drugs supplied by local manufacturers were "sub-standard," police said.
The patients died due to a sudden drop in white blood cells, platelets and bone marrow damage.
The problem was first detected in December when contaminated drugs in at least one batch of medicine caused 23 deaths.
Sharif said samples of the suspect drugs have been sent to laboratories for tests in Pakistan, London and Paris.
"Action will be taken against those found guilty," he said.
Government official Khwaja Salman Rafiq said most of the deaths were due to "at least one of five medicines which PIC had been prescribing".
The medicine has since been removed from hospitals and stores, he told AFP.
Doctor Javed Akram, involved in the investigation, said 46,000 patients receive drugs from PIC every month. "On the basis of this we suspect the number of patients affected by sub-standard drugs may rise," he said.
Lahore the capital of Punjab, last year faced an outbreak of the deadly tropical disease dengue fever which killed more than 130 people.
Source-AFP