Elderly victims of abuse often use alcohol or drugs, study says

Victims of severe traumatic elder abuse are more likely to be female, suffer from a neurological or mental disorder, and to abuse drugs or alcohol, according to research published in the March issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

"Past studies have shown that alcohol abuse by the perpetrator plays a substantial role and is strongly associated with physical abuse," says Lee Friedman, assistant professor of environmental and occupational health sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago and lead author of the study. "Our findings indicate that alcohol abuse among the victims may be an important contributing factor as well."

Twenty-nine percent of abuse victims in the study tested positive for alcohol, compared to 13 percent of controls.

Local researchers examined medical record data at two Chicago-area Level I trauma units from 41 cases of elder abuse and compared them to a random set of other over-60 patients between 1999 and 2006.

The researchers found that elderly victims of physical abuse suffered more severe injuries than their non-abused counterparts. They also suffered disproportionately from pre-existing medical conditions such as heart disease, dementia and Alzheimer's disease, mental illness and alcohol abuse.

All the key measures of injury severity -- length of hospital stay, treatment in an intensive care unit, assisted breathing, injury severity scores, in-hospital case fatality rates -- were higher in the abuse cases, according to the researchers, and are associated with long-term adverse outcomes.

In the study, 20 victims of abuse returned to the environment in which the abuse occurred. In the majority of cases, the perpetrator had been arrested, but 17 percent of the victims expressed a desire to return to the perpetrator and not to press charges.

Eighty-five percent of the perpetrators were family members or intimate partners. In most cases, the abuse was not identified until after the admission process or several days into hospitalization.

The failure of medical staff to properly identify abuse victims and contact adult protective services in the majority of cases shows that clinicians need to better understand elder abuse, Friedman said.

Source:Eureka Alert

Ayurvedictalk Is the Hub of Infromation Regarding Ayurveda Kerala

Ayurveda in Kerala is renowned internationally for its healing and rejuvenating properties. The efficacy of undergoing the various natural and herbal treatments for various health problems and other medical conditions is well-known across the globe. The company Ayurvedictalk has a blog that is based on the ancient science of Yoga and Ayurveda. This resource center is a treasure trove of useful information regarding ayurvedic herbs, herbal remedies, natural cosmetics, rest and rejuvenation therapies, meditation, yoga postures, meditation, herbal diets and much more.‘God’s Own Country’ that best describes what the place Kerala is all about is acclaimed for its ayurvedic treatments. Health tourism has multiplied by leaps and bounds not only due to the immense reach and scope of online and offline advertising and marketing but also due to the long-term effects and advantages of this natural science of medicine and healing. Even two decades ago, the place was not among the most sought after centers for Ayurveda and was all but unknown. However, in recent times, a concerted effort made by the government of Kerela and professional medical practitioners of this ancient form of medicine has enhanced the popularity of Ayurveda in Kerala. There are a number of beach houses, hotels, resorts, guest houses, jungle lodges and wellness centers that tourists can opt for today. Ayurvedic spas have mushroomed all over the place and Kerela with its beaches, hill stations and backwaters makes the entire experience all the more incredible and unforgettable.
Numerous initiatives and other plans and projects are contributing to the growth of the Ayurvedic sector and an increase in the promotional efforts to boost health tourism. New and innovative herbal remedies and health packages offered by the various resorts in Kerela appear towards the onset of the monsoon. The months from June to August are the busiest months of the year with people arriving from all over the world to seek help and guidance for problems of the bones and joints, skin and other health issues related to stress and burnout. Detoxification and refreshment are guaranteed to enjoy the benefits of good health in the long run.

Source:PR media

Urine-derived Fertility Hormones can Cause Brain-wasting Disorder

Scientists have stated that women who are injected with certain fertility hormones are at a higher risk of developing the human form of mad cow disease. This treatment is prescribed to stimulate ovulation. Scientists were studying the presence of prions (protein bits) in urine-derived hormones because some of these hormones are extracted and purified from the urine of pregnant or post-menopausal women. They found that the risks of these urine based fertility drugs could outweigh its benefits. Prion proteins are present naturally in the human body are harmless in their normal forms. But mutant, misfolded proteins destroy brain cells causing degenerative brain disorders.
Scientists also cited the possibility of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) being transmitted through any body fluid tainted with the abnormally formed prions which are responsible for the brain-wasting disorder. However, so far no case of CJD has been reported due to the use of fertility hormones, so the risk is theoretical.
There is a synthetic alternative to urine-based fertility products. But still fertility doctors opt for urine-based treatment as these synthetic hormones do not work well for every woman. But still the scientists feel that manufacturers could consider replacing urine derived fertility hormones with better biosynthetic versions. Caution has to be maintained while screening urine donors for symptoms of neurological disease. There is no reliable test for screening the presence of prions in urine and prion diseases have a long incubation period during which the urine is infectious.


Source-Medindia
 
 

25 Percent of Health Messages in Spanish Text Books Are Unscientific

Most school text books in Spain contain messages about health, but 24.6% of these are not based on any scientific evidence, according to a study."We analysed a total of 844 health messages in primary and secondary school text books in order to identify the level of scientific evidence underpinning these texts, and we classified them into three categories – messages with a high, medium or low level of evidence, messages with an unknown level of evidence, and messages with no known evidence", Inés María Barrio Cantalejo, a researcher at Baza Hospital and the lead author of this study published in the journal BMC Public Health, tells SINC. 

The research team compiled the information between 1 March 2006 and 1 June 2007 based on text books being used at the time in the city of Granada. Texts written in languages other than Spanish, "teachers' guides", and books not containing any health-related messages were discounted."We drew up a table to classify the messages and we recorded the data about the year and subject matter of the text book.
We identified 237 books and we manually reviewed 129 that met the previously-stated requirements. Lastly, we used 80 as a sample", explains Barrio Cantalejo. Out of all the books in the sample, 73.7% (59 books) were aimed at primary school level and contained 548 messages. The average number of messages per book was 10.6, with the highest levels of health-related content being found in books for the third year of secondary education (37%), and in terms of subject matter in Biology and Geology books (32.5%).

 

 

First Hand Transplant in Australia

A man who lost his hands and feet to a bacterial infection four years ago has become Australia's first recipient of a hand transplant, a report said Thursday. Peter Walsh, 65, underwent the successful nine-hour operation in Sydney this week."Peter was wriggling his fingers today," Professor Wayne Morrison, who led the 20-strong surgical team, told the Sydney Daily Telegraph.
"We actually don't want him to be moving his hand yet, but it's demonstrating everything is connected. Everything is on track." Walsh lost his hands, most of his left leg and part of his right foot four years ago to a bacterial infection which almost claimed his life. "I'm not one for holding hands but it would mean so much to have hands again," said Walsh, a grandfather of 16. "I don't know who gave it to me, but I am so thankful for what they have done."
Whether his body accepts the new hand will not be known for days, or even weeks.
More than 60 hand transplants have been performed around the world since New Zealander Clint Hallam became the first successful recipient in 1998 in an operation carried out in France.

Source-AFP
 
 

Study Reveals Why Salad Helps You Say Yes to 'NO'

It is well-known that disorders of the circulatory system- vascular diseases- are common in the developed world, and can lead to heart attacks, strokes and even death.However, treatments for these disorders, such as bypass surgery and angioplasty, themselves induce vascular injury, after which the cells of the blood vessel can over-proliferate in a way that limits blood flow. Nitric oxide (NO) is an important molecule that helps maintain the contractility and health of vascular smooth muscle cells, and multiple studies have linked vascular pathology to a decreased level of NO. Therefore, therapies that increase the availability of NO could help protect vascular health.
NO is synthesized from arginine by an enzyme called nitric oxide synthase (NOS). In new research, Brian Zuckerbraun and colleagues, of the University of Pittsburgh, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, determined that after vessel injury in the rat, the NOS pathway is disrupted, but a secondary pathway that generates NO from nitrate is activated. Furthermore, supplementing rats with nitrate before inducing vessel injury markedly limited the extent of the damage, while a diet low in nitrate exacerbated it. In the accompanying commentary, John Cooke and Yohannes Ghebremariam of Stanford University in Stanford, California point out that high levels of dietary nitrate might in part explain the vascular benefits of diets rich in leafy greens, but warn that high dose supplementation could lead to the generation of carcinogenic molecules. 

 
 Source-Eurekalert

Invitation to Ayurvedic Scholars