World's highest rate of lifestyle diseases is in Caribbean

Latin America and the Caribbean have the highest rates of non-communicable and lifestyle diseases in the world and this has put an economic burden on the countries, an expert has said.

The high level of occurrence of lifestyle diseases has put a burden on theeconomy of small and developing states, Dyer Narinesingh, acting principal of the University of the West Indies said Wednesday.

He was speaking at an international seminar and exhibition at the Medical Campus of the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine.

The seminar was organised by the Indian High Commission and the Mahatma Gandhi Institute for Cultural Co-operation in collaboration with the University of the West Indies. It was supported by the department of Ayush, Government of India.

Trinidad and Tobago has the potential to develop ayurvedic treatment for these diseases, leading experts said.

Minister of Science, Technology and Tertiary Education, Fazal Karim said alternative medicine is no stranger to Trinidad and Tobago.

'The possibility of finding a balance between the two types of medicines - alternative and conventional - can be achieved, but it is not expected that you will embrace all the principles or concepts of alternative medicine but you should try to understand it,' he said.

Indian High Commissioner to Trinidad and Tobago, Malay Mishra said ayurveda is part of the Vedic system of 'looking at life in a holistic manner'.

'Ayurveda looks after the body, soul and emotions to create a well-balanced and well-rounded individual.'

There were around 7,000 practitioners of ayurveda and over 3,000 hospitals which employ ayurvedic technologies in India.

Trinidad and Tobago has a population of 1.3 million people with 44 percent being people of Indian origin, whose forefathers came from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar between 1845 and 19

Scientific research needed in ayurveda: Valiathan

Kottayam, Aug 28 (PTI): Renowned medical educationist Dr.M S Valiathan today said shortage of scientific research was the main reason for ayurveda not getting due recognition at international level. Valiathan, speaking at a lecture on "ayurveda in the eyes of science", organised by Mahatma Gandhi University and Darsana Cultural Centre here, said india, already devleoped in scientific and technical fields, had the capacity to fill up the shortage. He said a consistent effort was needed to utilise the scientifc research studies fruitfully. One difference between ayurveda and modern medicine was that many philosophical and theological factors were inherent in ayurveda, he said, adding Scientifc research studies were needed for proving this. The studies conducted by the centre would definitely prove the importance of ayurveda. In modern science mercury was considered as poison but a kind of vermilion produced from mercury was used as medicine in ayurveda, Valiathan said.

PTI 

Breastfeeding Reduces Diabetes, Cancer Risk

 New study currently published in the American Journal ofMedicine has confirmed prior research regarding breastfeeding and diabetes:  breastfeeding for at least one month or longer seems to reduce diabetes risk later in life.
Study Details
Eleanor Bimla Schwarz, MD, assistant professor of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh Medical School, led a team of researchers who discovered that women who never breastfed were twice as likely to develop Type 2 diabetes mellitus than those who do.
Specifically, 2,200 women from the ages of 40-78 were questioned about their lactation history, or lack thereof.  27% of those who’d never given birth or lactated developed the diabetes, which occurs when the body’s cells become insensitive or impervious to insulin.
According to BusinessWeek, Dr. Schwarz stated in a news release that the reason for the risk reduction is that breastfeeding reduces maternal belly fat, a known risk factor for diabetes.
Other Breastfeeding Advantages
There are a plethora of other health benefits that result from breastfeeding; a 2009 study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine showed a direct link between breastfeeding and a 59% decrease of breast cancer risk.  Additionally, breastfeeding triggers accelerated weight loss while it simultaneously lowers both ovarian cancer and cardiovascular disease risk.
In May of 2009, a Swedish study concluded that women who breastfed their babies from 1-12 months cut their rheumatoid arthritis risk by 25%, while those who breasted longer than one year cut their risk by half.  Researchers believe that this might be due to the long-term changes in the immune system that breastfeeding sets in motion.
Breastfeeding also strengthens an infant’s immune system, especially during the first few days following childbirth.  Immediately after giving birth, a mother secretes a yellow substance called colostrom from her breasts.  Studies have indicated that this substance provides the baby with some of the benefits of the mother’s immune system, providing baby with a better shot at staying healthy.
Certainly, it can be overwhelming for some women to commit to breastfeeding for an entire year, but the good news is that even one month can keep both mother and baby healthy.
For more information on the pluses of breastfeeding as well as tips on how to make the process easier, consult the La Leche League website.  Per the site, the League states that it is still devoted to educating the public about “The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding.”

Practicing yoga may do more than calm the mind — it may help protect against certain diseases, a new study suggests.

In the study, women who had practiced yoga regularly for at least two years were found to have lower levels of inflammation in their bodies than did women who only recently took up the activity. Inflammation is an immune response and can be beneficial when your body is fighting offinfection, but chronically high levels of inflammation are known to play a role in certain conditions, including asthma, cardiovascular disease and depression.Inflammation is known to be boosted by stressful situations. But when yoga experts were exposed to stress (such as dipping their feet in ice water,) they experienced less of an increase in their inflammatory response than yoga novices did."The study is the first one, I think, to really suggest how yoga could have some distinctive physical benefits in terms of the immune system," said researcher Janice Kiecolt-Glaser of Ohio StateUniversity. "It suggests that regular yoga practice is really good for you." she told LiveScience.Stressed OutKiecolt-Glaser and her Ohio State colleagues recruited 50 women between the ages of 30 and 65 and with different degrees of yoga experience. Those labeled "yoga experts" had practiced yoga once or twice a week for at least two years, while "yoga novices" had participated in only six to 12 sessions. (The researchers wanted novices to have at least some experience so that they wouldn't be stressed out simply from having to practice yoga for the first time.)The two groups were very similar in terms of age, physical fitness level and amount of body fat. This was important because all three of these factors are known to influence inflammation. Participants completed three stressful tasks in succession. In one, subjects immersed a foot in warm water and then in ice water for one minute. In another, they had to perform tricky mental arithmetic for five minutes.Then subjects either completed a yoga session or took part in one of two control experiments, which involved walking on a treadmill, or watching a video.All the while, subjects had catheters placed in their arms to collect blood samples periodically. The researchers examined the blood samples for key markers of inflammation, one of which is a protein called IL-6.Across all the tasks and other experimental scenarios, the novices' IL-6 levels were 41 percent higher than the experts'. The novices also produced more IL-6 in response to the stressful tasks.

Breath Control

While the researchers aren't sure why yoga would have this effect on inflammation, they have a few speculations

.

Yoga focuses on deep breathing and controlling breathing, which may slow down the body's "fight or flight" response — the body's reaction to stress, Kiecolt-Glaser said.

Yoga also involves meditation, which helps people learn to pay attention to how they are feeling. So yoga experts may be more aware of their stress and better able to control their response to it.

Finally, yoga is a form of exercise, which is known to decrease inflammation.

A randomized clinical trial will be needed to confirm the findings, Kiecolt-Glaser said. Such a trial would involve randomly assigning participants to either practice yoga or refrain from it over a certain time frame. Researchers would then look to see whether the activity had any effect on inflammation.

The study was published in the January issue of the journal Psychosomatic Medicine. Kiecolt-Glaser also discussed her study at the 118th annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, which was held Aug. 11 to Aug. 14 in San Diego.

 Source:Fox News

Drug-Related Deaths Rise Alarmingly

In a worrying bit of statistic for the health department, recent figures have revealed that the number of deaths due to drug related incidents in Wales has risen by more than 67 percent over a period of three years from 2006 to 2009. 

According to the figures released by International Centre for Drugs Policy, 102 deaths occurred in Wales which were related to illicit drugs in 2009, almost doubling from 61 deaths back in 2006.
 More than half of the deaths were due to heroin and morphine though deaths due to cocaine and other ecstasy-type drugs had fallen down. While the number of drug related deaths in Scotland remained around the same level, it showed an increase in England and Northern Ireland as well. 

However while there are fears that it could prove to be a major problem across the UK, the Welsh Assembly Government has refused to panic stating that it was too early to identify it as a rising trend. 

International Centre for Drug Policy’s (ICDP) Professor Hamid Ghodse said that the available treatment should be improved if the number of such incidents is to be reduced. “An immediate impact in reducing drug-related deaths could be achieved by improving the availability of effective treatment and rehabilitation services”, he said. 
Source-Medindia

 

HIV/AIDS Conference in India to Begin on Monday

The Third National Science Symposium on HIV/AIDS ‘HIV SCIENCE 2010’ to be held for 2 days at Vigyan Auditorium, CSIR Campus, Taramani, Chennai, South India will begin with the inaugural function at 8.30 am on
This science symposium will bring together leading experts to provide an update on the various aspects of HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases that include sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), tuberculosis and viral hepatitis. The range of disciplines on HIV/AIDS includes basic science, epidemiology, pathogenesis, diagnostic criteria, co-infections, opportunistic infections, host-virus interactions, advances in treatment, emerging drug resistance, exciting translational research goals, vaccine strategies, clinical trials and updates on the giant strides made in India both in prevention of infections and expansion of treatment access.

The purpose of this national science symposium is to provide knowledge on the epidemiology and biology of HIV disease which will facilitate identifying key areas of research in HIV/AIDS and encourage more people to initiate collective efforts in the fight against the HIV epidemic in India.

HIV/AIDS that was identified over 25 years ago is now one of the deadliest epidemics killing more than 25 million people world over. According to recent estimates, with 2 to 3.1 million infections India is only next to South Africa and Nigeria in terms of having the largest HIV infected population in the world.
Source-Medindia

 

New Treatment For Weight Loss And Muscle Wasting In Cancer Patients

Researchers with Deakin University, Australia, are working on a treatment for cancer cachexia, the debilitating weight loss and muscle wasting condition that affects patients with cancer. 

Cancer cachexia has a major impact on quality of life for cancer patients. It can also inhibit the effectiveness of cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy. There is currently no effective treatment.
 Deakin Medical School researchers are testing a combination of two readily available therapies (an omega 3 fatty acid and an anti-gout medication) they believe could delay the onset of cancer cachexia and ultimately improve quality of life for cancer patients. 
“Cancer cachexia is a serious, debilitating and often unrecognised health issue,” explained research team leader, Dr Paul Lewandowski. 
“Around half of all patients with cancer develop cachexia. One in three of us will develop cancer, so one in six Australians will suffer from the condition. Approximately 20 per cent of cancer deaths are thought to be due to cachexia and not the cancer itself. 
“Cachexia commonly affects older patients, whose quality of life is dramatically reduced. They don’t feel like eating and can’t exercise because they are constantly tired and lethargic. 
“Many of us have watched a loved one waste away because of cancer. Our hope is that the treatment we are working on will delay the onset of cachexia or slow down its progression. This could buy time for other cancer therapies to have an effect.”