Month: November 2013

Brushing your teeth can lower heart disease risk

A new study has revealed that taking care of your gums by brushing, flossing, and regular dental visits could keep heart disease at bay.

 Researchers at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health have shown for the first time that as gum health improves, progression of atherosclerosis slows to a clinically significant degree.

Artherosclerosis or the narrowing of arteries through the build-up of plaque is a major risk factor for heart disease, stroke, and death.

“These results are important because atherosclerosis progressed in parallel with both clinical periodontal disease and the bacterial profiles in the gums. This is the most direct evidence yet that modifying the periodontal bacterial profile could play a role in preventing or slowing both diseases,” Moise Desvarieux, MD, PhD, lead author of the paper and associate professor of Epidemiology at the Mailman School, said.

The researchers followed 420 adults as part of the Oral Infections and Vascular Disease Epidemiology Study ( INVEST), a randomly sampled prospective cohort of Northern Manhattan residents. Participants were examined for periodontal infection.

Overall, 5,008 plaque samples were taken from several teeth, beneath the gum, and analyzed for 11 bacterial strains linked to periodontal disease and seven control bacteria.

Fluid around the gums was sampled to assess levels of Interleukin-1a, a marker of inflammation. Atherosclerosis in both carotid arteries was measured using high-resolution ultrasound.

Over a median follow-up period of three years, the researchers found that improvement in periodontal health—health of the gums—and a reduction in the proportion of specific bacteria linked to periodontal disease correlated to a slower intima-medial thickness (IMT) progression, and worsening periodontal infections paralleled the progression of IMT.

Results were adjusted for potential confounders such as body mass index, cholesterol levels, diabetes, and smoking status.

There was a 0.1 mm difference in IMT change over three years among study participants whose periodontal health was deteriorating compared with those whose periodontal health was improving.

Previous research has shown that a .033 mm/year increase in carotid IMT (equivalent to approximately 0.1 mm over three years) is associated with a 2.3-fold increased risk for coronary events.

“When it comes to atherosclerosis, a tenth of a millimeter in the thickness of the carotid artery is a big deal. Based on prior research, it appears to meet the threshold of clinical significance,” Tatjana Rundek, MD, PhD, a co-author of the study and professor at the University of Miami whose lab read the carotid ultrasounds, said.

Source: http://bit.ly/1fgmyTJ

Lasers could potentially cure Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s

Researchers at South Africa’s Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) have unveiled the world’s first digital laser

Lasers (photo therapy) might someday be the cure for brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s or Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, together with researchers at the Polish Wroclaw University of Technology, have made a discovery that may lead to the curing of diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (the so called mad cow disease) through photo therapy. You can check out the abstract of the latest study, “Multiphoton absorption in amyloid protein fibers” published in the November 3, 2013 issue of Nature Photonics.

Lasers might be the cure for brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Zap your Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s with a laser light instead of a drug or invasive surgery since a properly functioning protein is optically invisible to high power laser light, and toxic amyloid is responsible for brain diseases. A special laser zap on your Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s could be the answer. These diseases might potentially be cured using lasers in photo therapies. Since the different amyloids have the same structure, perhaps they can be zapped by certain types of laser light using a process known as photo therapy.

After all, how many patients would prefer photo therapy to the side effects of drugs that may not work or other procedures that are more invasive?

Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, together with researchers at the Polish Wroclaw University of Technology, have made a discovery that may lead to the curing of diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (the so called mad cow disease) through photo therapy. The researchers discovered, as they show in the journal Nature Photonics that it is possible to distinguish aggregations of the proteins, believed to cause the diseases, from the the well-functioning proteins in the body by using multi-photon laser technique.

“Nobody has talked about using only light to treat these diseases until now. This is a totally new approach and we believe that this might become a breakthrough in the research of diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. We have found a totally new way of discovering these structures using just laser light”, says Piotr Hanczyc at Chalmers University of Technology, according to the November 3, 2013 news release, “Lasers might be the cure for brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.”

If the protein aggregates are removed, the disease is in principle cured. The problem until now has been to detect and remove the aggregates

The researchers now harbor high hopes that photo acoustic therapy, which is already used for tomography, may be used to remove the malfunctioning proteins. Today amyloid protein aggregates are treated with chemicals, both for detection as well as removal. These chemicals are highly toxic and harmful for those treated.

With multi photon laser the chemical treatment would be unnecessary. Nor would surgery be necessary for removing of aggregates. Due to this discovery it might, thus, be possible to remove the harmful protein without touching the surrounding tissue.

These diseases arise when amyloid beta protein are aggregated in large doses so they start to inhibit proper cellular processes. Different proteins create different kinds of amyloids, but they generally have the same structure. This makes them different from the well-functioning proteins in the body, which can now be shown by multi photon laser technique. You may also wish to check out the site of the Foundation for Polish Science Welcome Grant, European Research Council or Chalmers University of Technology.

Here’s how the process works

Fibrillization of peptides leads to the formation of amyloid fibers, which, when in large aggregates, are responsible for diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. In the latest study, researchers show that amyloids have strong nonlinear optical absorption, which is not present in native non-fibrillized protein. Z-scan and pump–probe experiments indicate that insulin and lysozyme β-amyloids, as well as α-synuclein fibres, exhibit either two-photon, three-photon or higher multiphoton absorption processes, depending on the wavelength of light.

The researchers proposed that the enhanced multiphoton absorption is due to a cooperative mechanism involving through-space dipolar coupling between excited states of aromatic amino acids densely packed in the fibrous structures. This finding will provide the opportunity to develop nonlinear optical techniques to detect and study amyloid structures and also suggests that new protein-based materials with sizable multiphoton absorption could be designed for specific applications in nanotechnology, photonics and optoelectronics.

It’s a possibility that someday shining a laser light on someone might be able to cure Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s or Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. The idea is that if the different amyloids have the same structure, perhaps they can all be zapped by certain types of laser light.

Source: http://exm.nr/1cBmAYK

Home remedies to treat wounds and minor cuts

Most of us have gotten cuts or wounds at various stages in our lives. But, sometimes minor cuts and wounds can have an adverse effect on our health.

 So, in order to get immediate relief, try these simple and effective home remedies to treat cuts and wounds. These tips are shared by Syeda Kiran Zahra Hussain, Certified Holistic Nutrition Therapist, SNHS , UK. Certified Health Coach, IIN, US.

Honey for cuts

If you just got a cut on your finger, apply some honey over it a disinfectant. Keep it for minutes, before covering it with any band aid.

Hive attacks

After a hike attack, try to relieve your pain with a cool shower by adding a cup of oats in it. This treatment will help you to bring down the pain, itches and bumps. Use this treatment for a minimum of 30 minutes.

 Bee sting

To treat a sting, tie a clean cloth just a little below the sting, soak another towel into some onion juice, and dab it on the wound. This will provide immediate relief and help lower the pain.

 Diarrhoea

If you have been suffering from low energy levels after a stomach upset, increase your consumption of bananas. Bananas are rich in vitamins and potassium, which will provide relief and boost your energy levels.

Feet itch

If you’re feet are itching, try soothing them by soaking them in a tub of tea water. Tea contains tanin acid, which helps, in relieving pain.

Source: http://bit.ly/18UXTym

Sugar intake not linked with liver disease

A new study has claimed that sugar intake is not directly associated with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, as it was earlier believed.

Rather, high-calorie diets promote the progression of this serious form of liver disease.

Researchers conducted a double-blind study of healthy, but centrally overweight men to compare the effects of high intakes of two types of sugar, glucose and fructose, in two conditions — weight-maintaining (moderate-calorie diet) and weight-gaining (high-calorie diet).

In the weight-maintaining period, men on neither diet developed any significant changes to the liver.

However, in the weight-gaining period, both diets produced equivalent features of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, including steatosis (fatty liver) and elevated serum transaminase and triglycerides.

These findings indicate that fructose and glucose have comparable effects on one’s liver, and calorie intake is the factor responsible for the progression of liver disease.

“Based on the results of our study, recommending a low-fructose or low-glycemic diet to prevent nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is unjustified,” Professor Ian A. Macdonald, study author and faculty of medicine and health sciences, University of Nottingham, UK, said.

“The best advice to give a patient is to maintain a healthy lifestyle with diet and exercise. Our study serves as a warning that even short changes in lifestyle can have profound impacts on your liver,” he said.

The study is published in Gastroenterology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association.

Source: http://bit.ly/18UXxYB

Why diabetics should have regular eye exams

Researchers have said that people who are suffering from diabetes should also get their eye check-ups done regularly.

In the United States, diabetic eye disease is the leading cause of vision loss among working-age adults.

Diabetic retinopathy is the most common form of this disease, and affects about 28.5 percent of Americans with diabetes age 40 and older. That’s more than 7 million people, and the number is expected to reach more than 11 million by the year 2030.

The condition can creep up quietly. It gradually weakens small blood vessels in and around the retina, the light-sensing layer of tissue at the back of the eye. If the disease progresses, these vessels may rupture and leak blood into the eye; they can also spread and grow on the surface of the retina and cause scarring.

Typically, diabetic retinopathy has no symptoms until it reaches an advanced stage. But the disease can be detected early through a comprehensive dilated eye exam. In this procedure, an eye professional will put drops in your eye to dilate (widen) the pupil, which allows a closer look at the retina.

The good news is that with early detection, timely treatment, and appropriate follow-up, the risk of severe vision loss from diabetic retinopathy can be reduced by 95 percent. There are several effective treatment options including laser surgery and injections of anti-VEGF drugs . These drugs block the actions of a protein that can cause abnormal blood vessels to grow and leak fluid.

Source: http://bit.ly/1b2KF5Q

Wombs for Rent: India’s Surrogate Mother Boomtown

Madhu Makwan asks a reporter to translate a card in English she received from a Canadian family for whom the Indian laborer spent nine months gestating their son for them.

The letter reads in part: “Without your help and sacrifice, we would not be able to have our family. Please know we will tell him about you and how special you are to us. We will never forget you, you will always be in our hearts.”

Makwan delivered the boy two weeks ago. “Of course I feel bad — I kept the child in my womb for nine months,” she said. “But she needs a child; I need money.”

Surrogacy in India is booming, thanks to the low cost of the procedure, availability of surrogates in the world’s second most populous country and the fact that India is one of the few countries in the world that allows commercial surrogacy.

In one hostel in Anand — a small city known as the “milk capital” of India in the far western state of Gujarat — there are 50 surrogate mothers living together, each who will earn around U.S.$8,000 for carrying a baby.

“It’s a lot of money,” said a woman who identifies herself as Manjula. “For people like us who have never seen money, it’s a lot of money.”

This is the second time Manjula — a 30-year-old who has a son and two daughters of her own — has carried a child for profit. Before surrogacy, she and her husband used to earn less than $2 a day working in the fields. “The first time I came, I made a house,” she said. “Now I have come for my daughter. I have to educate her, I have to get her married.”

“I want to teach my daughters computers; I have to educate them — get (them) married to a nice boy,” she added.

The number of skilled doctors has made India a global Mecca for couples seeking someone to carry their baby for them. At this hostel, all the women are under the care of Dr. Nayana Patel. She began caring for surrogates in 2003, when she helped a grandmother who was carrying twins for her daughter.

“That’s when I started commercial surrogacy because not everyone is lucky to have a mother or a sister or a friend to carry their child,” she said.

“The surrogate is getting the life that she dreamed of, because otherwise she could not get this kind of money or change the life for her husband, her children, get a house, educated her children,” said Patel, who has delivered close to 700 babies from surrogates for 580 couples since 2004. “And the couple could never have had a child if the surrogate had not helped them. So — the ultimate result is a baby has come into this earth, which is beautiful.”

Read more: http://bit.ly/173WwxT

Kneady ball can help ease knee pain, stiffness

Try This: The rubber kneady ball created by Jill Miller for Equinox is aimed at the knee’s suprapatellar pouch, providing a massage that can ease tightness.

If you have knee pain, we’ve got a remedy for you. Called the kneady ball, this therapy ball (or tennis ball) massage developed by Jill Miller for the Rx Series class at Equinox gyms eases stiffness and soreness, allowing you to move like your old self again.

What it does

The rubber therapy ball digs into the suprapatellar pouch, massaging the area where the quadriceps muscles converge, loosening tightness and allowing the knee to track more smoothly.

What to do

Come down to the floor on hands and knees with a ball and a yoga block. Take the therapy ball and dig it in just above your knee, displacing some of the flesh, until the skin crinkles or dimples. Place the leg with the ball on top of the block, resting on your hands and the other knee.

From here, simply bend and straighten your leg behind you to move the ball up and down above your knee. The ball won’t travel very far.

Next, move the ball side to side across the same area by internally and externally rotating your leg. The best way to do this is to wave your foot from right to left. Repeat on the other leg.

How much

Spend a minute bending and straightening and a minute moving the ball across each leg.

Source: http://lat.ms/19xjQrF

 

Johnson & Johnson to pay $2 billion for false marketing

Johnson & Johnson will pay $2.2 billion to settle charges that the company marketed drugs for unapproved uses and paid “kickbacks” to doctors and nursing homes.

The penalties announced Monday involve fines and forfeiture to the federal government and several states. The settlement involves the schizophrenia drugs Risperdal and Invega, and the heart failure drug Natrecor, the company and Attorney General Eric Holder said.

Johnson & Johnson and two subsidiaries “lined their pockets at the expense of American taxpayers, patients and the private insurance industry,” Holder said.

The penalty amounts to one of the country’s largest health care-related settlements, the Justice Department said.

It also results in what one plaintiff’s attorney called the largest whistleblower payout in U.S. history. Whistleblowers in three states will collect $167.7 million under the False Claims Act.

In 2011, Johnson & Johnson $1.2 billion in fines for deceptive marketing and making false claims about Risperdal. The Arkansas case involved 239,000 violations of the state’s False Claims Act and 4,600 violations of the Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

On Monday, Johnson & Johnson defended Risperdal “as safe and effective for its approved indications” and said two decades of research shows it is “an important treatment option for people with serious mental illness.”

Risperdal was approved by the Federal Drug Administration to treat schizophrenia but was marketed to doctors and nursing homes as a treatment for elderly patients with dementia.

Johnson & Johnson subsidiary will plead guilty to a misdemeanor misbranding charge stemming from the marketing charges.

The company knew patients on the drug were at increased risk for developing diabetes, but did not publicly acknowledge the risk, according to the settlement. The company also promoted the drug in nursing homes in part by sending paid pharmacists to review patient records.

“Although consultant pharmacists purported to provide ‘independent’ recommendations based on their clinical judgment, J&J viewed the pharmacists as an ‘extension of [J&J’s] sales force,'” the Justice Department said. Holder said kickbacks and other incentives could have put the “health of some patients at risk.”

Johnson & Johnson and another subsidiary also marketed Risperdal and Invega as safe for elderly patients, a claim the FDA considered “misleading.” This was done in part through an “ElderCare sales force,” federal officials said.

The heart failure drug Natrecor was marketed as a treatment for patients with less severe heart failure than mentioned in its FDA approval, according to the DOJ statement.

The settlement includes payments to the federal government and several states by Johnson & Johnson, as well as subsidiaries Janssen Pharmaceuticals and Scios.

Source: http://cnnmon.ie/173Tgb7

Weight loss surgery has ‘few’ short-term complications for teens

New research has found that severely obese teenagers who undergo weight loss surgery may experience very few short-term complications. This is according to a study published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.

 Obesity is a growing problem worldwide, particularly for adolescents. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the percentage of obese adolescents in the US aged between 12 and 19 has increased from 5% in 1980 to 18% in 2010.

Researchers from the US, led by investigators from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, say as the rate of adolescent obesity is increasing, so is the popularity of weight loss surgery (bariatric surgery) as a treatment option.

Researchers say that weight loss surgery for teenagers poses very few short-term complications.

Previous data has indicated that bariatric surgery can be safely offered to obese teenagers, the researchers say. However, they note there have been few comprehensive or prospective studies analyzing the safety and outcomes of weight loss surgery in adolescents.

Source: http://bit.ly/Ht6SRk

Obesity linked to early onset of puberty in girls

The earlier onset of puberty in some girls is linked to obesity, U.S. researchers say.

In Monday’s issue of the journal Pediatrics, researchers found the onset of puberty in terms of breast development varied by body mass index and race among more than 1,200 girls in the study.

“The obesity epidemic appears to be a prime driver in the decrease in age of onset of breast development in contemporary girls,” Dr. Frank Biro of the adolescent medicine division at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and his team concluded.

The findings suggest that the ages for both early and late maturation in girls may need to be redefined, the researchers said.

The biological impact of early maturation includes greater risk of breast, ovarian and endometrial cancer as well as obesity and hypertension, the study’s authors said. The picture isn’t clear though, since obese children also often become obese adults.

As part of the study, doctors observed and measured breast development of 1,239 girls in San Francisco, Cincinnati and New York City who were aged six to eight when the study began. The girls were examined at least once a year from 2004 to 2011.

Trend observed in Canada

Breast buds started at 8.8 years of age for African-American girls, 9.3 for Hispanic girls, and 9.7 for white non-Hispanic and Asian girls, the researchers found. The onset of breast development in white girls was four months earlier than a previous U.S. study from 15 years ago.

Overall, the findings likely reflect what is happening in Canada and doctors are observing the same trend at clinics in this country, said Dr. Jean-Pierre Chanoine, a pediatric endocrinologist at British Columbia’s Children’s Hospital.

“It’s really the parents who are anxious,” Chanoine said. “It’s not like it’s huge breast development, they just notice it and then they come to the clinic.”

While the results may seem scary to parents, the age of menarche or first menstrual cycle is quite stable, Chanoine noted. In the study, it went from 12.5 years to 12.3 years, which suggests earlier breast development is not associated with earlier full-blown changes of puberty.

Chanoine said there are many potential implications of early puberty, such as an increased breast cancer risk, changes in bone development, or behaviour such as developing an interest in boys at an earlier age. But these are all still open questions that haven’t been proven, he noted.

While the study participants were diverse in racial/ethnic and socio-economic terms, they were not nationally representative, the study’s authors said.

A journal commentary accompanying the study said the factors involved in earlier puberty are complex.

“This article adds to studies providing the unsettling findings that the age of onset of breast development, in synch with, though not entirely explained by the ‘obesity epidemic,’ has continued to drop,” Marcia Herman-Giddens of the University of North Carolina said in the commentary.

Herman-Giddens said low fibre diets, preschool diets high in meat, dairy products are also associated with earlier development. Again, these haven’t been proven.

Biro’s team is investigating whether endocrine-disrupting chemicals, such as plasticizers, are involved.

The study was funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

Source: http://bit.ly/1helBzL