Red grapes, blueberries may enhance immune function

In an analysis of 446 compounds for their the ability to boost the innate immune system in humans, researchers in the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University discovered just two that stood out from the crowd – the resveratrol found in red grapes and a compound called pterostilbene from blueberries.
Both of these compounds, which are called stilbenoids, worked in synergy with vitamin D and had a significant impact in raising the expression of the human cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide, or CAMP gene, that is involved in immune function.
The findings were made in laboratory cell cultures and do not prove that similar results would occur as a result of dietary intake, the scientists said, but do add more interest to the potential of some foods to improve the immune response.
The research was published today in Molecular Nutrition and Food Research, in studies supported by the National Institutes of Health.
"Out of a study of hundreds of compounds, just these two popped right out," said Adrian Gombart, an LPI principal investigator and associate professor in the OSU College of Science. "Their synergy with vitamin D to increase CAMP gene expression was significant and intriguing. It's a pretty interesting interaction."
Resveratrol has been the subject of dozens of studies for a range of possible benefits, from improving cardiovascular health to fighting cancer and reducing inflammation. This research is the first to show a clear synergy with vitamin D that increased CAMP expression by several times, scientists said.
The CAMP gene itself is also the subject of much study, as it has been shown to play a key role in the "innate" immune system, or the body's first line of defense and ability to combat bacterial infection. The innate immune response is especially important as many antibiotics increasingly lose their effectiveness.
A strong link has been established between adequate vitamin D levels and the function of the CAMP gene, and the new research suggests that certain other compounds may play a role as well.
Stilbenoids are compounds produced by plants to fight infections, and in human biology appear to affect some of the signaling pathways that allow vitamin D to do its job, researchers said. It appears that combining these compounds with vitamin D has considerably more biological impact than any of them would separately.
Continued research could lead to a better understanding of how diet and nutrition affect immune function, and possibly lead to the development of therapeutically useful natural compounds that could boost the innate immune response, the researchers said in their report.
Despite the interest in compounds such as resveratrol and pterostilbene, their bioavailability remains a question, the researchers said. Some applications that may evolve could be with topical use to improve barrier defense in wounds or infections, they said.
The regulation of the CAMP gene by vitamin D was discovered by Gombart, and researchers are still learning more about how it and other compounds affect immune function. The unique biological pathways involved are found in only two groups of animals – humans and non-human primates. Their importance in the immune response could be one reason those pathways have survived through millions of years of separate evolution of these species.
Source:Molecular Nutrition and Food Research

News Video:Girl with life threatening condition gets a magical trip

 Source:Fox News

Pot: Alaska, Oregon may vote to inhale next year

Marijuana legalization activists hope Alaska and Oregon will become the next two states to put recreational use of the drug before the voters, perhaps as early as next year.A more robust state-by-state legalization effort is planned for 2016, when the presidential election is expected to boost turnout among younger voters who are seen as more pro pot, said Mason Tvert, spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project.His group also plans to lobby lawmakers in five states, including Rhode Island and Hawaii, to legalize recreational pot by 2017, even as the drug remains classed as an illegal narcotic under federal law."I wouldn't be surprised to see legalization on the ballot in Alaska and Oregon in 2014," said Beau Kilmer, co-director of the RAND Drug Policy Research Center. "I expect the groups trying to put it on the ballot in these states to learn from what has happened in Colorado and Washington State."Washington and Colorado became the first states to legalize marijuana for recreational adult use after approving separate ballot measures last year. Some 20 states and the District of Columbia allow pot to be used for medical purposes.While pot activists remain optimistic over the prospects of legalizing the drug for recreational use in more states, the question of whether to push hard at the ballot box next year or to hold off until 2016 has divided some within the movement.Those eager to see such ballot measures in 2014 say successful campaigns in Washington state and Colorado, followed by the August release of a U.S. Justice Department memo giving states leeway to experiment with legalization, underscore a shift in public sentiment that should be quickly capitalized."Originally I agreed with the Marijuana Policy Project and other activists who urged waiting until 2017," said Anthony Johnson, director of New Approach Oregon, one of two planned 2014 pot legalization campaigns in Oregon. "But I've been convinced there's a path to victory in 2014."That path may start in the Oregon statehouse, as lawmakers consider referring a ballot measure to voters to tax and regulate commercially sold marijuana while allowing individuals to grow and possess a modest amount of the drug."Most of my colleagues have voiced a perspective of us putting something forward rather than having a citizen initiative go forward that could be much more unworkable," said Oregon Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Floyd Prozanski, a legalization supporter.If the legislative effort in Democratic-led Oregon fails, Johnson said his group was ready to gather roughly 87,000 signatures needed to put a similar measure on the 2014 ballot.By contrast, those preaching patience say that, since 2000, well-funded, marijuana-liberalization initiative campaigns have polled between 8 percent and 10 percent higher in presidential years than in mid-term elections.Among the failures was California's Proposition 19, which would have legalized recreational use, but was defeated 53.5 percent to 46.5 percent in 2010."It's a simple numbers game," said Steve Fox, a Washington D.C.-based marijuana policy and business consultant.

BIG MARIJUANAOpponents say they plan to counter the coming legalization campaigns by warning voters against the rise of "Big Marijuana," which they liken to the tobacco and alcohol industries."The Marijuana Policy Project has been very public about what states they've been focusing on," said Kevin Sabet, co-founder of Project Smart Approaches to Marijuana, or Project SAM, and director of the Drug Policy Institute at the University of Florida. "We're going to take our playbook from theirs and we're in the process of raising money to fight those campaigns..."The idea of big marijuana and targeting kids is not good for anybody," he said.Such an idea could be effective with most Americans, who view marijuana use as "no big deal" but are not passionate about ending its prohibition, said Robert MacCoun, a professor of public policy at UC Berkeley, who is advising Washington state lawmakers on the issue."The support for this shift toward marijuana legalization is soft, and these are the kinds of things that are going to persuade some people," he said.As pot legalization efforts progress in Oregon, the Marijuana Policy Project is funding a signature drive to put a measure on the 2014 ballot in Alaska to allow possession of up to an ounce of pot, and to tax and regulate a pot industry.It is ignoring its wait-until-2016 outlook in Republican-leaning Alaska because of the state's libertarian bent and permissive approach to marijuana, as well as state rules that dictate ballot measures be voted on in primary elections, dampening any presidential race bump, Tvert said.The Marijuana Policy Project, which has been behind a number of successful pot liberalization measures including last year's Colorado initiative, plans with its allies to target California, Arizona, Nevada and Maine in 2016.But grassroots campaigns are already underway in Arizona and California to put pot initiatives on the 2014 ballot, although those efforts are more far-reaching and appear less well funded.A proposed Arizona measure, for example, would make the legal age to use marijuana 18 years old, lower than in Washington state and Colorado where it is 21. It would allow possession of 2.5 ounces of pot and would make it harder to successfully prosecute stoned drivers.Safer Arizona Initiative author Dennis Bohlke said his campaign has raised roughly $2,000 and gathered less than 5 percent of the 259,000 signatures needed by next July to get on the ballot. "We've got a long ways to go," he said.Meanwhile, the California Cannabis Hemp Initiative will begin campaigning next month to get a measure on the 2014 ballot that would allow individuals to possess up to 12 pounds of cannabis. The measure is similar to ones that failed to get on ballots in 2008 and 2012.The initiative's campaign director Buddy Duzy relishes the opportunity to push his measure without competition from better-funded pot proponents."I'm appreciative that they are not standing in our way, other than to tell people that we don't stand a chance," he said.

Source:Reuters

Leg and Foot Swelling During Travel - The Cause and Solution

Swelling of the ankles and feet when travelling long distances is very common. The condition reverses by itself and is typically harmless. Normally, contractions of the leg muscles during movement aids in driving venous blood to return to the heart.During long periods of immobility, as it happens during long journeys with your legs on the floor, blood pools in the leg veins. Part of the pooled blood also passes into the surrounding soft tissues of the lower legs, and results in swelling. 

When should we seek medical attention? 
Foot swelling that lasts only for a short time is not a serious problem. The swelling usually resolves once you resume activity. In some cases, the swelling of the leg may be associated with serious conditions. The following may be a warning sign of such conditions: 

• The swelling does not resolve even several hours after resuming activity. 

• The swelling is limited to a single leg. 

• The swelling is associated with pain. 

• If you feel tired or suffer from breathlessness (the swelling may be due to anaemia and needs evaluation). 

How to relieve the leg swelling? 
• Wear loose-fitting clothing during travel 

• Move your ankles around; move your ankles and knees upwards and downwards frequently during long periods of travel. 

• Take short walks 

• Avoid sitting with crossed legs; keep shifting your position in your seat whenever possible. 

• Drink plenty of fluids to ensure adequate hydration. 

Supportive stockings (compression stockings) are recommended by doctors to people at increased risk of conditions like deep vein thrombosis (DVT). DVT may occur in people like those who had a recent major surgery or who are taking certain medications such as birth control pills. 
Source:Medindia
 
 

X Syndrome, Autism and Schizophrenia Share Same Brain Cell Abnormalities

The same brain cell abnormalities are shared by several psychiatric conditions such as schizophrenia, autism and intellectual disabilities: the contacts (synapses) between brain cells are poorly developed and not functional. Claudia Bagni and her group associated with the VIB, KU Leuven, and Tor Vergata University in Italy, in collaboration with leading laboratories in the Netherlands, France, USA and UK have unraveled how a single protein (CYFIP1) orchestrates two biological processes to form proper contacts between brain cells. Importantly, the researchers identified various proteins that are important for the balance of the two processes and associated with several neurological disorders. Their study is published in the leading journals Neuron.
Claudia Bagni (VIB/KU Leuven/Tor Vergata-Rome): "These findings provide insights into the shaping of our brain and have important consequences for further studies of conditions such as autism, schizophrenia and intellectual disabilities. This work has a substantial impact considering that 1 in 5 Europeans is confronted with one of these brain conditions ranging from mild to serious developmental disabilities. Synapses are essential for communication between brain cellsOur brain contain more than 100 billion brain cells (neurons) that contact each other in the so-called synapses, the place where signals are passed from one cell to the other. Synapses are like small "relay stations" containing around 2000 proteins that need to be regulated in a very controlled manner. Any small dysfunction of this cellular area can result in a brain disease. Autism, schizophrenia and intellectual disabilities (Down Syndrome, Fragile X Syndrome, Alzheimer Disease) are only a few examples of brain conditions that are linked to poorly functioning synapses. 
The Fragile X SyndromeClaudia Bagni and her team have pioneered the molecular studies on the Fragile X Syndrome, the leading cause of inherited intellectual disability. Patients often show autistic-like behavior, anxiety, aggression, hyperactivity and self-injurious behavior. The condition is caused by the absence of the Fragile X Mental Retardation protein (FMRP) that is involved in supplying the correct building blocks for the synapse. Claudia Bagni's team had previously demonstrated that FMRP forms a complex with CYFIP1 to regulate this supply. 
Shaping our synapsesBagni's group has now identified a key function of CYFP1 at synapses. CYFIP1 orchestrates two biological processes: together with FMRP, it acts to regulate the protein supply at synapses and when bound to another complex (WRC), controls actin polymerization, a scaffold of brain cells. These findings lead to the "hub" model, in which the same complex, having CYFIP1 at the center, might be affected in apparently different diseases. A disrupted balance between the two functions results in abnormal contacts between brain cells. Silvia De Rubeis, Emanuela Pasciuto and Claudia Bagni (VIB/KU Leuven/Tor Vergata-Rome) have exposed the molecular mechanisms that ensure that this balance is maintained. 
The important function of CYFP1 was underlined further by the discovery that many proteins that interact with CYFP1 were already associated with (hereditary forms of) brain conditions. The VIB scientists suggest that mutations in the proteins working together with CYFIP1 might perturb the balance of the interaction networks thereby triggering a spectrum of pathological processes at synapses that can lead to a broad range of clinical manifestations such as intellectual disabilities, autism and schizophrenia. This study offers new perspectives for a better understanding of these still not understood brain conditions.
Source:Neuron
 
 

Rare Undersea Discovery Could Extend Your Life by 10, 20 or 30 Years

Humans have made incredible health strides and are living longer lives than ever.  Many of the maladies that struck down our ancestors have for the most part been completely eliminated – everything from tuberculosis, to polio to malaria.

Today, the biggest killers stem as much from our lifestyles as from microscopic bacteria and viruses.  One of the worst of these is heart disease, and specifically high blood pressure. It’s a slow, but efficient killer that robs many people of what should be the last 10, 20 or 30 years of their lives.

Part of the reason that heart disease is so prevalent and intractable is that it often requires massive changes to one’s lifestyle— changes that are not easy to make.  Everything from radically altering ones diet to implementing serious exercise routines.  And while it’s never too late to start, people often realize the true danger only when it’s too late to make the changes and the damage is done.

Now, however, there may be a scientific breakthrough that could have an impact on high blood pressure comparable to penicillin’s ability treat infections or quinine’s effect on malaria.

Scientists are claiming that they have now isolated unusual ingredients in a rare seaweed discovered by fishermen off the coast of Korea that offer incredible health benefits—including the ability to restore blood pressure to normal levels.

Dr. Haengwoo Lee, a renowned biochemist living near Seattle, Washington conducted a massive 15 year, multimillion dollar clinical study on these two ingredients. The first is Seanol, an extremely rare seaweed extract from Ecklonia Cava that's proven to be 100 times more powerful than any land-based antioxidant. That's because it stays working in your body for 12 hours, compared to land-based antioxidants that work for 30 minutes.

"Its secret is its make-up of special polyphenol antioxidants that are a whopping 40% lipid (fat) soluble," Dr. Lee explains. "Unlike nearly all land-based antioxidants that are water soluble, Seanol's protective compounds can get into things like the fatty tissues of your brain and penetrate all three layers of your cells, including the outside, the oil-based cell membranes, and your DNA."

Indeed, Seanol is so powerful, it's the only FDA-approved Ecklonia Cava marine-algae extract in existence.

The second ingredient is Calamarine, a deep-sea omega-3 discovery that delivers 85% more DHA omega-3s to your heart, brain, joints, and eyes. It's known to combat everything from fatigue and poor memory, to vision problems, joint pain, mood swings and depression.

With that research in mind, Dr. Lee combined Seanol and Calamarine with a high dose of vitamin D to form Marine-D3, the newest supplement in the fight against age-related illnesses and high blood pressure.

According to the CDC, about 1 in 3 U.S. adults has high blood pressure, which increases the risk for heart disease and stroke, the two leading causes of death in the United States. Increasing your omega-3 intake can reduce high blood pressure, and because it's difficult to get enough omega-3s in foods like fish and nuts, many people turn to supplements.

Dr. Lee found that Calamarine delivers some of the greatest concentration of omega-3s known to science, and has been able to formulate it without any fishy burps or aftertaste. Combined with Seanol's ability to reduce body inflammation, as well as help cells get the nutrients they need to thrive, stay healthy and protected, Marine-D3 is able to boost a body's entire well being.

The makers of Marine-D3 are so confident that you'll see fast dramatic results from this product, that if you aren't happy after two full months, simply return the unused portion and they'll buy it back. They'll even give you ten dollars extra just for giving it an honest try! That kind of faith, combined with Dr. Lee's exhaustive research, shows that Marine-D3 really is a one-of-a-kind product.

Source:Howlife works

News Video:8-Year Old Girl Raises PH levels And Shrinks Cancer Tumors By 75 % With Diet

Another story of a cancer patient treating themselves through diet has surfaced. Not long ago we shared a similar story of a man with stage 3 colon cancer who refused chemotherapy and cured himself with a vegan diet. I want to make it clear that surgery does not cure cancer, especially when an individual is already in the later stages of the disease. If it did, that’s all they would do. Cancer is a systemic metabolic disease, the result of a body that is nutrient deficient, overloaded with toxins and usually the result of a PH level that’s too low, meaning that the body is bathed in acidity. If the body is not given the essential nutrients it needs to repair, regenerate and detoxify, cancer will most likely return.

Let food by thy medicine, and medicine by thy food – Hippocrates

In this case, the PH levels were raised, and as a result the lactic acid goes down and the cancer activity  goes down. This allows the body repair itself. It’s very concerning that most doctors don’t know that nutrition plays a vital role when it comes to cancer treatment. If you have cancer, the options you are given are usually drugs, chemotherapy and radiation treatment. Rarely is nutrition thought of when it comes to an effective cure for cancer. While each case is unique and no ONE treatment can be used in every case, it is important to look at multiple options that have been effective vs only looking at mainstream options which don’t have high success rates to begin with. For example, here is a list of  20 medical studies that prove cannabis can cure cancer.

Surgery, chemotherapy and radiation are constantly pushed as the only go-to options for cancer treatment, when this couldn’t be farther from the truth. How often does a cancer patient see a doctor who tells them that dichloroacetate can their cancer? That was recently discovered by researchers at the University of Alberta. Cancer is a multi-trillion dollar industry, it can be hard to believe that there are those who do not promote treatments that have been proven successful, but it simply means we have to go beyond what we are taught, use our critical thinking skills and find out the truth for ourselves.

Source:Collective Evolution

Amazing Results: The Healing Power of Cannabis Oil On Lyme Disease and Lyme Co-infections

The beginning of my journey with Lyme disease is similar to most. My ending, however, is playing out quite differently than most. I found a tick behind my ear at the age of fourteen, and had various health problems for seven years before I was finally diagnosed with Lyme disease, Lupus, Mycoplasma, Bartonella, and Babesia. After two years my Lupus, Mycoplasma, Bartonella and Babesia are entirely eradicated. As far as my Lyme disease goes, I now have zero symptoms. My remaining ones are a result of withdrawals from the prescriptions I so naively started taking when I was initially diagnosed. How am I already returning to a healthy lifestyle only two years after forgetting to read, write, walk and talk? Well, a wealth of credit is owed to the Buhner protocol. I would not be where I am today without it. Still, I had one last giant “hump” in healing to get over after a year on the protocol. So I took a shot in the dark which, for me, turned out to be the path to light. I decided to make my own cannabis oil and began taking it every waking hour. I now owe my life to this fascinating herb and am hopeful some of you will find strength and encouragement through this information.For a year and a half I had over ten seizures a day. I tried every treatment I could find, exhausting outlets in both conventional and holistic medicine. Desperately searching for answers, I stumbled across what turned out to be one of the most profound facts I have ever learned. Marijuana contains one of the most potent anticonvulsants in the world. Controversy over the subject was meaningless at that point, as the herb offered a possible solution to one of my most debilitating symptoms. As it turned out, smoking marijuana not only controlled my seizures, it completely cured them. With that in mind, I moved forward with my research. If it could do for seizures what no other plant or prescription could do, what could it do for Lyme? What I found was nothing short of fascinating, and essentially lifesaving.Cannabis has over 700 healing components which, to the best of my knowledge, is more than any other plant known to mankind.  Since my Lyme disease had reacted to and benefited from literally every herb I had taken, I figured it would without a doubt react to cannabis as well. Indeed, it did. Smoking marijuana had sometimes made me feel sick in the past, and I realized this could possibly be because it caused a Herxheimer reaction from bacteria die off each time. Experimenting what thankfully turned out to be an anything but crazy theory, I smoked an exceptionally large amount one night and suffered from a massive Herxheimer reaction. The next day, when it subsided, I felt I had regained a little chunk of my brain back. Since smoking the herb out of a regular pipe also means inhaling a lot of toxins, I began using a vaporizer to get more cannaniboids. My rate of improvement significantly sped up when I did this. Naturally, this motivated me to take treatment one step further and find out what the results of taking cannabis oil would do for me.  After only a month of taking it I was able to return to work and school, and began to drive and have a social life again. Now, I am finally planning to move out and be independent for the first time in years. Basically, I am returning to a lifestyle that I was once unsure I would ever see again thanks to the immense healing power of cannabis oil.Understandably, some will negate this article due to preconceived notions regarding cannabis, ones we were all conditioned to believe from a young age. Even I once held strong beliefs that cannabis was harmful to my health, but I could not be more thankful that I was proven otherwise. For me, the tangible proof stemming from first-hand experience will always trump the mere words of others.

Please browse through the CE website to find more links about the medicinal benefits of this herb. You can start here and here.

 Source:Collective Evolution

Attention Deodorant Users: New Studies Link Aluminum To Breast Cancer

If you really take the time to look into it, it can be extremely overwhelming to find out just how many ingredients in cosmetic and personal care products shouldn’t be in there. We have surrounded ourselves with an extremely toxic environment, with approximately one in every eight of the 82,000 ingredients used in cosmetic and personal care products being hazardous toxic industrial chemicals. This means that 10,500 industrial toxic chemicals are used as cosmetic ingredients, many of which are carcinogens, pesticides, reproductive toxins, endocrine disruptors and more. It doesn’t take long for your bloodstream to absorb whatever toxic chemicals you decide to put on your body. So why do we continue to use these products given the fact that they pose such a high risk to human health?Despite the fact that new research indicates that Aluminum has cancer-causing properties, it’s still considered by most health authorities as perfectly acceptable to eat, inject into your body as a vaccine adjuvant and to wear as an antiperspirant. This is clearly a problem, and it’s hard to understand how and why they are so heavily mass marketed. At the end of the day, you still have a choice. The days in which the human mind is so susceptible to programming from major corporations that do not have our best interests at hand are slipping away.A recent study published in the Journal of Inorganic Biochemistry found increased levels of aluminum in non-invasively collected nipple aspirate fluids from 19 breast cancer patients(1). These patients were compared with 16 healthy control subjects.

In addition to emerging evidence, our results support the possible involvement of aluminum ions in oxidative and inflammatory status perturbations of breast cancer microenvironment, suggesting aluminum accumulation in breast microenvironment as a possible risk factor for oxidative/inflammatory phenotype of breast cells (1)

The study also found that Aluminium content and carbonyl levels showed a significant positive linear correlation(1). Studies have already confirmed that plasma levels of protein carbonyls greatly increase the risk of breast cancer (2). It doesn’t stop there, the study also found a significantly increased level of pro-inflammatory cytokines(1), many studies have also confirmed that this type of inflammation correlates with increased invasiveness and poor prognosis in many types of cancer, including breast cancer (3).

In 12 invasive cancer nipple aspirate fluid samples we found a significant positive linear correlation among aluminum, carbonyls and pro-inflammatory monocyte chemoattractant cytokine(1).

The main point to take away from this research is the fact that common food ingestion (food additive), injection (as a vaccine adjuvant) and topical application (antiperspirant) and other forms of aluminum intake may be contributing to the increased cancer epidemic in the exposed population on the planet today. It doesn’t sound right does it? Most peoples intuition, heart and soul will not resonate with aluminum intake into their bodies, regardless if any studies have been done or not.

Another recent study conducted last year determined that aluminum salts used as antiperspirants have been incriminated as contributing to breast cancer incidence in Western societies (4).  Another study conducted the year before that outlined how aluminum is not a physiological component of the breast but has been measured recently in human breast tissues and breast cyst fluids at levels above those found in blood serum or milk (5).

I could go on and continue citing study after study on the damaging affects of antiperspirants, if you’re interested you can find more studies here. I think most who read this will not need a study to know that aluminum can be very hazardous to human health, it’s one of those things our intuition knows immediately, but it’s always good to get the information out there.

You might also be interested to know that a new study released by the University of California, Berkeley (UBC) School of Public Health has found many conventional lipstick products to contain dangerously high levels of aluminum, cadmium, lead and other toxins. Researchers tested over 30 popular lipstick products and found this to be the case. The study was published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. Even women using minimal amounts of product still increase their risk of developing harmful health conditions like nerve damage and cancer by an alarming amount. It is important to note that there is no oversight or limit on chemical additives into cosmetic care products.

What Can You Do?

I am a big believer that consciousness plays a large role in cancer and other ailments. I believe we can alter our biological environment by using our heart and mind, and science is slowly catching on to these facts. At the same time, that does not mean completely ignoring the chemical environment that surrounds daily. It’s nothing to be fearful of at all, but it is nice to be aware so that you can make the best possible choice for yourself and your health.  At the end of the day, the choice is yours. Cancer and increasing cancer rates is not a mystery like we are told it is, the cause is known and it is heavily linked to a toxic environment that includes a multitude of products we choose to use. You can look for antiperspirants that are Paraben (more specifically aluminum) free. You could also do your research on natural antiperspirants, there are a number of alternative options out there, you could even make your own. Unfortunately you never hear about them, most mainstream cosmetic products are heavily marketed and advertised. It’s time to start questioning things!

Much love.

Click here to find a list of hazardous chemicals to avoid in cosmetic and personal care products.

Sources:

(1)http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23916117

(2)http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17979889

(3) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20545607

(4) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22223356

(5)http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21337589

 Source:Collective Evolution

Acupuncture for Back Pain

Proud to be a workaholic or a multitasker? Well congratulations, you're doing great; but do you realize that the long hours at your work desk, then driving back home in the endless traffic, and then juggling over different household tasks can take a toll on your back? One of these days, you're bound to wake up with a back pain, sometimes mild if you're lucky enough, sometimes too painful to bear.Sounds like you? Don't rely on those minty-burning creams and gels for your back pain; they provide just temporary relief, if at all. A good option would be to check out acupuncture - an age old therapy arising from the roots of China, which is now being used worldwide to treat many health conditions. So…. getting down to the basics… 

What is Acupuncture? 
Acupuncture is an ancient healing therapy, an important component of Traditional Chinese Medicine that involves the use of tiny, microscopic needles into certain strategic points on the body. It aims to restore the body's balance by stimulating the correct flow of the vital life force energy (qi) flowing through the body, removing any possible blockages in its pathways. 

Acupuncture for Lower Back Pain 
Unlike the other common approaches to treat back pain including painkillers, topical ointments etc, acupuncture is believed to produce more long-lasting symptomatic relief. Since it also aims at restoring the body's internal balance, it is thought to work at the root cause of the pain, not just the symptoms. 

Benefits of acupuncture 
Acupuncture is now getting popular, and many people in the world are using it to help treat their health problems - minor or major. Here, we've listed below some benefits of using acupuncture to treat your back pain. 

• It is natural - As opposed to medicinal and other treatment approaches, acupuncture does not involve the use of drugs or chemicals to bring about pain relief. Simply put, it's a natural and safe painkiller. 

• It is a no-fuss treatment - Contrary to the presumption that acupuncture is a treatment that 'hurts,' it is actually a fairly simple, no-fuss way to treat back pain. So if you're tired of running around from physicians to orthopedics for second opinions and tests, try acupuncture. 

• It's light on the pocket - If diagnostic tests and consultations from physicians are burning a hole in your wallet, acupuncture may be a much cheaper option. 

• It offers added benefits - It is believed that acupuncture, when used for a particular treatment, brings with it some added benefits too. This is because it balances the body's internal energies; curbing away any teeny-tiny health problems that may have been nagging you in the back of your head, but you chose to ignore. If you've decided to use acupuncture for your back pain, you can expect improved bloodcirculation, improved skin health and a boost in your energy levels. 

Side effects/ Risks of acupuncture 
Getting acupuncture services from a well-qualified, certified professional is likely to be a side-effect free experience. However, you may experience a few undesirable effects after an acupuncture session if you suffer from any skin infections, soreness, bruising or if the acupuncturist uses non-sterile needles. Also, if you're currently on medications, especially blood thinners, you may have a chance of bleeding after an acupuncture session. Pregnant women need to be careful before trying acupuncture to treat back pain, as it is thought to induce labor, and could result in premature delivery. 

Source:Medindia
 

 

High fructose corn syrup damages learning abilities,memory

High-fructose corn syrup, a ubiquitous ingredient present in processed foods and sugary beverages across the globe, is a well-known health destroyer with ties to conditions like metabolic damage and cancer. Now, scientists have revealed that the substance — oftentimes genetically modified — may also be damaging the brain functions of consumers worldwide.

In fact, the official release goes as far to say that high-fructose corn syrup can make you ‘stupid’. Conducted by the UCLA and published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Physiology, the study is the first to demonstrate how a diet heavily concentrated with high-fructose corn syrup can hamper brain functions — particularly those associated with memory and learning.

“Our findings illustrate that what you eat affects how you think,” stated  professor of neurosurgery Fernando Gomez-Pinilla, from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

The findings should come as no surprise, given that it has previously been revealed that high-fructose corn syrup oftentimes contains the toxic heavy metal mercury. Mercury, of course, is highly dangerous and can cause serious complications with biological function — particularly when exposed to the substance on a daily basis through food intake and other sources (CFL light bulbs, amalgam fillings).

Despite the negative effects of high-fructose corn syrup on the brain, the scientists also found that there are natural solutions that can help to minimize and negate the damage. Scientists found that omega 3′s helped to fortify the brain after observing the results of feeding both flaxseed oil and DHA to the study rats. The scientists found that the omega 3′s were helpful in aiding the ability of brain cells to transmit signals to one another. As a result, memory and total mental ability is improved.

It is continually being found that high-fructose corn syrup is highly toxic to the human body, and is absolutely unfit for consumption. There is simply no reason why the ingredient should exist within the food supply, other than to save companies money.

Sources:Natural Society

Researchers: Hepatocytes Taken From Neonatal Livers Better Than Those From Adult Livers

High-yield preparations of viable hepatocytes (liver cells) isolated for transplantation from cryopreserved (frozen), banked neonatal livers that ranged in age from one day to 23 days were developed by a research team in Spain. The researchers also assessed cell quality and function and found that neonatal hepatocytes show better thawing recovery than hepatocytes isolated from adult livers.The study appears as an early e-publication for the journal Cell Transplantation, and is now freely available on-line at http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/cog/ct/pre-prints/content-cog_09636897_ct1036tolosa There are challenges in keeping a supply of good quality livers for hepatocyte isolation," said study co-author Dr. M.J. Gomez-Lechon of the Center for Hepatological Investigation in Valencia, Spain. "Once more, hepatocyte transplantation competes with organ transplantation. The source for hepatocyte isolation for transplantation is mainly adult livers that have been found unsuitable for organ transplantation. Accordingly, neonatal livers have emerged as an alternative source for hepatocytes because they are too small for organ transplantation, yet have good quality cells." 
According to Dr. Gomez-Lechon, the purpose of their current work was to explore various aspects of livers derived from neonates as alternative sources for isolating human hepatic cells. This required (1) assessing the suitability of neonatal livers that did not fill the organ transplant requirements; (2) assessing cell viability, the preservation of cell membrane integrity; (3) assessing the functionality of thawed neonatal hepatocytes and; (4) analyzing the percentage of progenitor cells in cryopreserved hepatocyte preparations. 
Knowing that cryopreservation can have a detrimental impact on adult hepatocytes upon thawing, including the diminishment of cell attachment efficiency, their research suggests that neonatal hepatocytes can be cryopreserved with "no significant loss of viability after thawing", an important factor for cell transplantation. 
"Our results not only indicate that neonatal hepatocytes can be cryopreserved without significant loss of viability, but also after thawing they show smaller apoptopic and necrotic cell numbers when compared to adult hepatocytes," explained Dr. Gomez-Lechon. 
Another benefit of hepatocytes derived from neonatal livers, said the researchers, is that their greater viability provided greater cell attachment efficiency and expression of adhesion molecules. They also suggested that there are good indications of hepatocyte mitochondria preservation. 
"The larger number of progenitor cells in thawed hepatocyte suspensions suggests that they may have an advantage for being engrafted into the host liver and better long-term survival," they wrote. "Thus, the characteristics of thawed neonatal hepatic cells may confer important advantages for transplantation when compared to adult cells." 
"This study demonstrates an alternative source for hepatocytes that could favorably impact the transplantation of liver cells, though numerous other factors need to be considered. Unfortunately, in most studies, stem, fetal or immature hepatocytes, do not engraft or proliferate well post transplantation. If the neonatal hepatocytes are mature enough to engraft efficiently, they may be useful for transplant. Studies of engraftment and proliferation will be needed to fully evaluate the value of these cells for patient transplants" said Dr. Stephen Strom of the Karolinska Institute, Sweden and section editor for Cell Transplantation.
Source:Cell Transplantation 

 

Scientist Stephen Hawking Supports Assisted Suicide

Physicist Stephen Hawking, one of the world's most intelligent scientists, who suffers from motor neurone disease and has spent most of his life in a wheel chair has now come out in the open about his support for assisted suicide for those suffering terminal illnesses. He speaks through a machine.
 Stressing the importance of safeguards, during an interview with the BBC, he questioned the need for allowing humans to suffer when we do not allow animals to undergo prolonged misery. 
Hawking is a victim of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a form of motor neurone disease which attacks the nerves that controls voluntary movement.
When he was asked about the idea of assisted suicide, Hawking said: "I think those who have a terminal illness and are in great pain should have the right to choose to end their lives and those that help them should be free from prosecution. We don't let animals suffer, so why humans?"

Source:MedIndia
 

News Video:Scientists Discover One Of The Greatest Contributing Factors To Happiness

We all want joy in our lives right? It sure beats feeling down doesn’t it? A scientific study looking thankfulness and gratitude revealed that both are a key factor to happiness and they are very often forgotten about when considering the feeling of joy. In fact, people who share gratitude on a regular basis experience a greater amount of happiness in their lives. Perhaps it is because we tap into our own internal love when we share gratitude and in turn that affects our overall state -or maybe it is the union that is created when you express gratitude to someone. Either way, it is clear that gratitude is key to experiencing joy in your life. Having a down day? Thank someone for something and see how it makes you feel -it can’t hurt to try. Check out the powerful video below for some examples.

Gratitude is the “forgotten factor” in happiness research.  We are engaged in a long-term research project designed to create and disseminate a large body of novel scientific data on the nature of gratitude, its causes, and its potential consequences for human health and well-being. Scientists are latecomers to the concept of gratitude.  Religions and philosophies have long embraced gratitude as an indispensable manifestation of virtue, and an integral component of health, wholeness, and well-being.  Through conducting highly focused, cutting-edge studies on the nature of gratitude, its causes, and its consequences, we hope to shed important scientific light on this important concept.  This document is intended to provide a brief, introductory overview of the major findings to date of the research project.  For further information, please contact either of the project investigators. -Robert A. Emmons, University of California

 By:Joe MartinoSource:Collective Evolution

News Video:Secrets Of Immortality Revealed By Moscow State University Scientists

The topic of prolonging life has been subject to debate over the past few years, especially as the human race continues to advance with regards to science and technology. More evidence is continually emerging to show that prolonging life and repairing biological damage created by old age is indeed possible, and very realistic. A Russian scientists and his team of researchers seem to have unlocked a portion to the mystery of aging and prolonging life.Prolonging life is not a new idea, throughout ancient history, religion, philosophy, mysticism, hermeticism and occultism as well as all others under that umbrella of definitions, it has been a recurring theme. A few examples are the Elixir of Immortality and the Philosopher’s stone(s), sought after Before the Common Era (BCE), all the way up through the middle ages and in many religions like Buddhism for example. It was also prominent in South/East Asian, African and European dynasties.The concept and the perceived reality of its existence has been prevalent throughout medieval times all the way up to the interests of Isaac Newton and more. It even seems to still be lingering around today, suggesting that these concepts have been around for all of our known existence.  If the full secrets are known, and if it is indeed ‘hidden science’ within a world we know nothing about, maybe one day we will be ready for it. I imagine if powerful concepts such as the Philosopher’s stone exist, we wouldn’t want them ending up in the hands of a consciousness that does not wish to do “good” with it.Regardless, as we continue to expand our knowledge of how things work, we are bound to figure these things out for ourselves one day.A team of scientists, led by Vladimir P. Skulachev -the Dean of the School of Bioengineering and Bioinformatics at MSU -have begun work further looking into this subject. Vladimir is a regarded as one of the worlds best in his field, and is the founder of “mitochondrial electricity” and the “Skulachev Ion,” which are penetrating ions that are electrophoretically targeted to mitochondria. His discoveries may extend human life span and cure age-related disease including cancer, cataracts and osteoporosis. The drug works by targeting mitochondrial oxidation.They first made the discovery regarding “eternal life” in 1972, but it was not put on paper until 2005. Oxygen, according to Dr. Skulachev is one of the most dangerous substances in the human body. When cells become over saturated with active forms of oxygen they become oxidized, which leads to an early death.

The body produces poisons, one of the most malicious poisons is generated at the heart of each cell in the Mitochondria. On one hand, they supply the body with energy and on the other, they gradually kill us. The older we are, the more poison we have in our bodies in the form of free radicals – Maksim Skulachev

There is a biological mechanism which makes cells age, Dr. Skulachev theorizes that a new biological process is set in motion immediately after a mother gives birth. This process makes the body destroy itself. Maybe if the Philosopher’s stone(s) did/do exist, it altered our DNA, or made genetic reparations to the ones who had them in their  possession? What Dr. Skulachev is trying to do is stop this process, thus stopping everything that comes along with old age, including death.

Given that aging is programmed, it can be stopped like any other program. In that case, ailments characteristic of old age will be nipped in the bum, we won’t age. 99 percent of the time oxygen turns into harmless water, but there is that one percent that later turns into very poisonous elements. The task was to find an antioxidant that stops that process – Vladimir Skulachev

That development is called the Skulachev Ion. They do not promise eternal life, they simply try to prolong the active period of life, to grant humanity with years of healthy, productive and happy living. Results from Skulachev’s work shows that the Skulachev Ion: (These conclusions are a result of numerous publications that you can view here)

• Reduces age-dependent mortality rate
• Slows down rethinopathies development
• Slows down cataract development
• Slows down uveitis development
• Slows down glaucoma development
• Prevents hypothermy development
• Reduces the area of myocardial infarction
• Prevents heart arrhythmia
• Prevents kidney infarction–induced death
• Slows down age-dependent decline of immunity
• Prevents age-dependent decline in limphocyte-neutrophil ratio in blood
• Slows down thymus degeneration
• Slows down degeneration of follicles responsible for b-limphocyte development
• Slows down development of certain cancer types
• Slows down reproductive functions dissipation in females
• Slows down disappearance of sexual motivation in males
• Slows down age-dependent decline of wound-healing
• Slows  down osteoporosis development
• Prevents balding
• Slows down canities
• Prevents senile anemia
• Prevents senile depression development
• Prevents age-dependent stimulation of apoptosis by hydrogen peroxide
• Prevents age-dependent β-galaktosidase induction
• Prevents phosphorylation of histone H2AX
• Reduces age-dependent peroxide oxidation of lipids
• Reduces age-dependent protein carbonylation

Although we in general do not support animal testing, this was a different case. Mice who were old in age and suffering from a number of ailments have been tested. Life-long treatment of mice with the Skulachev ion resulted in the increase of their lifespan when compared to a control group, but the increase was a minor one. At the same time, the average median lifespan of tested mice increased significantly when compared to a control group. This means that the number of mice with this longest lifespan was substantially higher in the Skulachev ion treated mice. For example, more than half of the mice of the control group died by the 300th day, whereas almost all the animals were still alive in the group that was receiving the ion. It is also important to mention that the increase of the lifespan of the mice treated was accompanied by improvement of their overall quality of life.  In a control group of 630 day old mice, some were loosing whiskers, becoming bald and humpbacked. They were failing into a stupor and had a reduced body temperature. Mice that were receiving the ion were lacking all those senescence signs.

There are over 300 professionals from 40 different institutions currently working on this project. Studies have been published multiple times that indicate the reality of this phenomenon.

Source:Collective Evolution

A Detailed Map Of Neural Connections in Human Brain Is Being Developed by Scientists

Scientists have been working tirelessly to build a detailed map of neural connections in the human brain---- with the ultimate hope of understanding how the mind works. In the past few years, imaging tools and techniques have improved.But determining how cells in the brain are physically connected is only the first clue for decoding our perceptions and behaviors. We also need to know the precise routes that information takes in the brain in a given context. Now, publishing their results September 8 in the journal Nature Neuroscience, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have shown a striking example of the flexibility in neural circuitry and its influence on behaviors in worms, depending on the animals' environment. 
The roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans has exactly 302 neurons----far less than the estimated 100 billion neurons a person has----and we already know how each of them is connected. That, in addition to how easily the tiny creature's cells can be manipulated, allows researchers to ask what sort of information passes through the circuits----in molecular-and circuit-level detail----and what are the behavioral consequences of this information flow. 
Even with a comprehensive map of the worm's neuronal connections in hand, however, scientists still don't know how the animal can interact with its environment in thousands of different ways. That's one big question that Sreekanth Chalasani, an assistant professor in Salk's Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory and Sarah Leinwand, a doctoral student at the University of California, San Diego, sought to answer. 
In C. elegans, thanks to studies performed more than 20 years ago, many sensory neurons were identified to have distinct roles such as sensing temperature, pheromones, salt and odors. To know what these cells did, scientists had zapped them one-by-one with a laser and measured the worms' behaviors. These studies implicated one neuron in the detection of increased salt in the worm's surroundings.Source: journal Nature Neuroscience 

Healthy Lifestyle Fights Cell Ageing

Following a healthy lifestyle helps the body's cells fight ageing, says study. 
The strategy is structured around a whole-food, plant-based diet, moderate daily exercise, yoga-based relaxation and stress management, they said.Researchers recruited 35 men, 10 of whom were asked to follow this lifestyle, while the other 25 were not asked to make any lifestyle changes at all. In addition to the diet and daily physical and mental routines, the 10 also attended weekly sessions for three months where their new skills were reinforced by specialists, including a one-hour weekly "support" session. 
After five years, the scientists assessed the participants for a hallmark of biological ageing called telomeres. 
Telomeres are nubby pieces of protein that are attached to the end of chromosomes. They help to protect the precious strings of DNA code when a cell replicates. 
They are often likened to the tips of shoelaces. As the telomere wears down, its protection erodes too, and so does the risk that the DNA is not faithfully replicated in the daughter cell, which boosts the risk of cellular malfunction and then disease, including cancer. 
Looking at the length of telomeres thus gives a telltale of cellular lifespan. 
Among the 10-man group, telomere length increased significantly by an average of 10 percent over the five years -- and it was higher among those who had adhered most faithfully to the new lifestyle. 
Among the "control" group, though, telomeres had shrunk by three percent on average. 
The study has limitations as the number of recruits was small, and it was conducted as part of an investigation into prostate cancer. 
In addition, the research was not empowered to test whether lifestyle changes affected the risk of cancer. 
But, say its authors, its focus on the vital telomeres was carried out scientifically and over the long term. 
This is what makes it new compared with evidence that is anecdotal or only short-term. 
"The implications of this relatively small pilot study may go beyond men with prostate cancer," said Dean Ornish, a professor at the University of California in San Francisco, who led the study. 
"If validated by large-scale randomised controlled trials, these comprehensive lifestyle changes may significantly reduce the risk of a wide variety of diseases and premature mortality. 
"Our genes, and our telomeres, are a predisposition, but they are not necessarily our fate." 
Ornish is the founder of the not-for-profit Preventive Medicine Research Institute at the university. He has vigorously promoted in medical presentations and books the argument that lifestyle changes, especially a shift in diet, can protect against disease. 
The study appears in the journal The Lancet Oncology.
Source-AFP
 
 

Thyroid Tests During Pregnancy

Thyroid dysfunction is common during pregnancy and can be detected with the help of thyroid function tests.The thyroid gland is a small gland in the neck that secretes thyroid hormone. Thyroid hormone plays an important role in the metabolism of the body and is involved in nearly every body function. The thyroid hormone is present in two forms, T3 and T4. A part of the hormones is attached to protein, whereas some part is present as free hormone. The hormone that controls the secretion of thyroid hormone is Thyroid-stimulating Hormone (TSH), which is secreted by a small gland in the brain called the pituitary. Thus, if the level of thyroid hormone is low, the pituitary secretes more TSH to stimulate the thyroid. The reverse is the case if the thyroid hormone levels are high.
The condition where thyroid hormone levels are low is referred to as hypothyroidism while the condition where thyroid hormone levels are high is referred to as hyperthyroidism. Hypothyroidism is more common in pregnancy as compared to hyperthyroidism.

Thyroid Problems during Pregnancy:
Hypothyroidism during Pregnancy: Hypothyroidism is more common during pregnancy as compared to hyperthyroidism. If untreated, it can result in goiter in the fetus and even malformations. However, if it is detected at the right time, the condition can be easily treated with thyroid hormone tablets, thus preventing any adverse consequences.Hyperthyroidism during Pregnancy: Hyperthyroidism can also have serious consequences on the mother as well as the baby if it is untreated. In pregnancy, a drug calle propylthiouracil is preferred for its treatment. 
Unfortunately, there is no consensus whether thyroid function should be carried out in all pregnant women. However, it is definitely recommended for women who are at a higher risk for developing thyroid disease, which includes all women over the age of 30 years. Tests used to detect thyroid dysfunction in pregnancy are:
TSH: Measurement of TSH levels is a common test done for screening thyroid disease in pregnancy. A high level indicates hypothyroidism, while a low level indicates hyperthyroidism. It should however be remembered that both the upper and lower limits of TSH are lesser during pregnancy as compared to the non-pregnant state. The levels also vary according to the trimester.
Other tests are usually done if the TSH levels are abnormal. These include:
Free T4 Levels: The T4 hormone is present in two forms, the free form and bound to protein. Since the protein levels in the blood increase during pregnancy, the total amount of the T4 hormone is higher. It is therefore necessary to measure the free T4 level, which gives a more accurate picture of the thyroid status during pregnancy.
Thyroid Antibodies: The presence of thyroid peroxidase antibodies along with slightly high TSH levels and normal free T4 levels can result in complications like miscarriage. These cases therefore should be treated with thyroid hormone.
Free T3 Levels: The level of this hormone is also altered in hyper and hypothyroidism, though this test is not commonly done in pregnant patients.

Reference:

1. Guidelines of the American Thyroid Association for the Diagnosis and Management of Thyroid Disease During Pregnancy and Postpartum

2. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3472679/pdf/thy.2011.0087.pdf