Month: August 2014

Ebola Death Toll Rises To 1,350 In West Africa: WHO

The UN health agency also warned in its announcement that “countries are beginning to experience supply shortages, including fuel, food, and basic supplies.”

Ebola Death Toll Rises To 1,350 In West Africa

The death toll from the Ebola outbreak in West Africa has now risen to at least 1,350 people, World Health Organization said today. The latest figures showed that the deaths are mounting fastest in Liberia, which now accounts for at least 576 of the deaths.

The UN health agency also warned in its announcement that “countries are beginning to experience supply shortages, including fuel, food, and basic supplies.” This comes after a number of airlines and shipping services have halted transport to the worst affected capitals of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

In a desperate bid to halt the disease’s spread, authorities in Liberia have quarantined off a huge slum that is home to 50,000 people. Protests erupted in West Point today, where residents threw rocks at police.

Source: tehelka

For diabetics, losing weight may delay kidney problems

Healthy eating, staying active and losing weight are already recommended for people with type 2 diabetes, and new research suggests these steps may also delay or prevent chronic kidney disease.

For diabetics, losing weight may delay kidney problems

About 35 percent of U.S. adults with diabetes have some degree of kidney disease, and diabetes is the major cause of kidney failure and dialysis, according to the study’s lead author Dr. William C. Knowler.

“This result along with many others tends to reinforce the value of weight loss interventions and hopefully motivates people with diabetes to lose weight,” said Knowler, who is chief of the Diabetes Epidemiology and Clinical Research Section of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases in Bethesda, Maryland.

He and his co-authors reexamined data from an existing study of lifestyle modifications for people with type 2 diabetes.

For the original study, more than 5,000 overweight or obese Americans with type 2 diabetes ages 45 to 76 were divided into two groups. Half received diabetes support and education and the other half aimed to lose seven percent of their body weight through reduced calorie diets and increased physical activity.

People were recruited for the study between 2001 and 2004. For the first year or so, the weight-loss group met regularly with dieticians, case managers and physical activity experts to stay on track toward their calorie, activity and weight-loss goals.

The study continued, with encouragement to stick to diet and exercise programs, through 2012. As with many weight loss programs, the first year is the critical period for weight loss and later years are spent maintaining it, which can be difficult, Knowler said.

At the one-year mark, the diet and exercise group had lost an average of 8.6 percent of their body weight, compared to less than one percent lost in the support-and-education group.

Over the entire study period, people in the diet and exercise group were 31 percent less likely to develop very high risk chronic kidney disease, according to urine tests.

The study’s primary aim was to investigate the power of weight loss to reduce the risk of heart problems or stroke, and as the researchers published previously, no benefit was seen there.

Knowler emphasized, however, that the weight loss program did improve the outlook for kidney disease and many other aspects of health, including depression, knee pain, urinary incontinence and heart rate recovery after exercise.

Dr. Dick de Zeeuw writes in an accompanying editorial in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology that he found the kidney-health benefit with no heart benefit difficult to reconcile.

de Zeeuw, of the Hiddo Lambers Heerspink Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacology at the University of Groningen in Germany, also writes that using very high risk chronic kidney disease as the marker of success or failure in the study doesn’t line up with what most trials like this would do if a drug were being tested instead of a lifestyle change.

Nevertheless, these results reinforce the existing recommendation that people with type 2 diabetes should maintain a healthy weight, he told Reuters Health.

“In one sense it doesn’t add anything to existing recommendations because for overweight people, weight loss and increased activity are recommended already,” Knowler said. “But we don’t really put a lot of force behind that recommendation.”

For most people, telling them to lose weight and handing out some pamphlets is not enough, he said. This study indicates that an intense program of major behavioral change, including counseling, group session and mutual reinforcement can work.

“Any approach that results in sustained weight loss should work just as well,” Knowler said.

Source: fox news

Obesity in 30’s increases risk of dementia in later life

A new study has found that people who are obese in their early to mid-life face more risk of dementia in their later lives, with the ones in their 30’s facing triple the risk.

A new study has found that people who are obese in their early to mid-life face more risk of dementia in their later lives, with the ones in their 30's facing triple the risk.

The researchers used the anonymised data from hospital records for the whole of England for the period 1999-2011, and data in which obesity had been recorded were then searched for any subsequent care for, or death from, dementia.

During the study period, 451 232 of those admitted to hospital in England were diagnosed with obesity, 43 percent of whom were men.

The analysis revealed an incremental decrease in overall risk of hospital admission for dementia the older a person was when a diagnosis of obesity was first recorded, irrespective of gender.

For those aged 30-39, the relative risk of developing dementia was 3.5 times higher than in those of the same age who were not obese. For those in their 40s, the equivalent heightened risk fell to 70 percent more; for those in their 50s to 50 percent more; and for those in their 60s to 40 percent more.

People in their 70s with obesity were neither at heightened or lowered risk of developing dementia, while those in their 80s were 22 percent less likely to develop the disease, the findings indicated.

There were some age differences between the risk of developing vascular dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, with those in their 30s at greater risk of both. A diagnosis of obesity in the 40s through to the 60s was associated with an increased risk of vascular dementia, while the risk of Alzheimer’s disease was lower in those diagnosed with obesity from their 60s onwards.

The researchers concluded that while obesity at a younger age was associated with an increased risk of future dementia, obesity in people who had lived to about 60-80 years of age seemed to be associated with a reduced risk

Source: yahoo news

Suspected Ebola case found in Myanmar

Myanmar has discovered a suspected case of the deadly Ebola virus disease, the information ministry said Wednesday.

Suspected Ebola case found in Myanmar

A 22-year-old man, who worked in Guinea and Liberia in West Africa, was found during a screening of passengers at the Yangon International Airport Tuesday, Xinhua quoted the ministry as saying on its website.

The man, who arrived from Bangkok and had a fever, was immediately sent to an isolated ward on the outskirts of the capital city for further confirmation whether he is really infected with the deadly disease, it added.

Myanmar is taking preventive measures against the spread of Ebola in the wake of the discovery of such disease in four West African countries. Detection of the virus is being done at airports and ports by using modern equipment and training courses and infection control programmes are being carried out at the country’s heathcare facilities.

According to its earlier statement, the health ministry is cooperating with its counterparts from other countries, UN agencies, local international non-governmental organisations and civil societies for related preventive measures.

Source: One india news

Healthy Recipes: Sweet Corn Soup and Corn Upma

Mainlining in curries, vying for attention in salads or drowning in cheese as pizza toppings, there is no bigger rockstar in the culinary world than the humble vegetable. Nothing beats the nutrients and health benefits of veggies – reduced cholesterol levels, lowered risk of heart diseases and lowered calorie intake – especially when consumed seasonally. We throw the spotlight on one seasonal beauty each month with some must know info and some easy-to-cook recipes, so you can stock up and get munching!

Yes – corn is a vegetable. In fact, it’s the most widely consumed vegetable in summer after potatoes. Whether eaten as a roasted bhutta, as boiled corn or even in Indian gravies – everyone loves to get a little corny at times. A part of the grass family, corn is one of the few food staples that is consumed and used completely. Here are some other interesting facts about the golden star.

Sweet Corn Soup and Corn Upma

Lesser Known Facts

  • Corn can be grown in any region except Antarctica.
  • It is also used to produce fuel, alcohol and gasoline burn cleaner.
  • It is one of the main ingredients in most pet foods.
  • One bushel of corn can approximately sweeten more than 400 cans of aerated drinks.

Types of Corn
Corn comes in many forms, with the two most common types being sweet and field corn. The majority is bred particularly for their taste, while others are bred for their high yields, shape and for decoration.

Sweet Corn
They are sugary, shrunken and brittle, which makes them apt for use in salads, sandwiches and pizzas. They are most widely eaten with a pinch of salt and a dollop of butter. Sweet corn is harvested at an immature stage, rather than being left to dry out and is consumed as a grain.

Field Corn
Also called dent corns, these are generally high on starch content with a very thin outside layer and are used for their dry nature. Dent corn is also popular as animal feed, for making alternative fuel, in alcohol and solvents, and even as fiber.

Popcorn
When these dense, moisture resistant corn grains are introduced to heat, they pop up into big snowflake or mushroom style popcorn, which we all happily munch on. While we usually get the snowflake popcorn in movie theatres and at home, mushroom popcorns are used for candy confectionaries because of its non-crumbling nature.

Hominy
Corn soaked in alkali solution (lime water) is rich in Vitamin B and amino acids, which are essential for good health. They are also used in tortilla dough and salads. Polenta is another coarse meal eaten as soft mush. The concept started in Italy, and is now considered as a delicious and healthy option by Indians as well. It has a smooth, creamy texture which can be sliced in wedges or sticks, and pan-fried or oven-baked in a little olive oil, providing a lovely base for stews and thick sauces.

Here are some corn recipes shared by restaurants:

SWEET CORN SOUP

Ingredients

  • 6 cups of vegetable stock
  • 2 tablespoons cornflour
  • 1/4 teaspoon soy sauce
  • salt and black pepper to taste
  • 1/2 cup of cream style sweet corn
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped carrots, lightly steamed
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped beans, lightly steamed
  • 1/4 cup sweet corn kernels, steamed
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped spring onion leaves

Method:

  • – Dissolve the cornflour in a little bit of vegetable stock.
  • – Once dissolved completely, add the remaining stock, soy sauce, salt and black pepper to taste.
  • – In a heavy bottomed sauce pan (without turning on the heat), add the cream style sweet corn, the corn flour-stock mixture and stir well.
  • – When it mixes completely, turn the heat on and stir constantly before bringing the corn mixture to boil. – Once it thickens, stir in the remaining ingredients (carrots, beans, spring onion leaves) and boil for a few more minutes.
  • – Finally, turn off the heat and taste. Adjust the seasoning to suit your palate.

CORN UPMA

Ingredients

  • 4 white corn cobs (White corn is used in this recipe and not sweet corn since it is waxy, glutenious in nature)
  • Salt to taste
  • ½ tablespoon turmeric powder
  • ½ tablespoon hing
  • ½ tablespoon jeera/cumin seeds
  • ½ tablespoon sarson seeds
  • 10 curry leaves
  • 2-3 green chillies
  • ½ tablespoon sugar
  • Fresh Coriander leaves to garnish

Sweet Corn Soup and Corn Upma 2

Method:

  • – Grate 3 white cobs into a paste or cream with the help of a grater or a mixer. Then cut off the remaining corn into kernels with the help of a knife.
  • – Put some oil in a pan and add jeera, sarson, turmeric powder, green chilli, curry leaves and hing in it.
  • – Add the grated cream and kernels to the tadka and simmer it for 15 minutes. Add a cup of water if needed and then put a lid on the pan before letting it cook for 10 more minutes.
  • – Finally, add some sugar for flavour and garnish it with coriander leaves.
  • – Serve hot with some mint chutney.

Source: times city

Risky situations fuel anxiety among women

Risky situations in any setting increases anxiety among women, leading them to perform worse under stressed circumstances, finds a new study. Increased anxiety in risky settings is problematic for women because it may depress their ability to achieve.

Risky situations fuel anxiety among women

“Women have worse task performance than men in risky situations, even when they have the same ability in a non-risky setting,” said Susan. R. Fisk, a doctoral candidate in sociology at Stanford University.

In her study, Fisk relied on three experiments. The first experiment was conducted online among US adults aged 18 to 81 to determine whether risky workplace situations increased the anxiety of women and men.

After participants finished thinking and writing about their scenario, they took an anxiety test. Fisk found that when scenarios were framed in a risky way, women were more anxious than when the scenarios were framed in a non-risky way.

Women who received risky scenarios scored 13.6 percent higher on the anxiety test than those who received non-risky scenarios. In the experiment that used the verbal SAT questions, participants were given 20 questions to complete and were told that they could bet money on each answer, making the situation risky.

Women answered about 11 percent fewer questions than men in this risky situation involving betting. A similar effect was seen when using grades data from an undergraduate engineering course.

“People frequently encounter high-risk, high-reward situations in workplaces, and if women avoid these situations or perform more poorly in them because they are more anxious, they will reap fewer rewards than men,” Fisk said.

Furthermore, the research suggests that failure in a risky situation is more costly to women as it may reinforce or create self-doubt about their own competence.

Women’s anxiety and poorer performance in risky situations “may be an unexplored contributor to the dearth of women in positions of leadership and power, as success in these kinds of circumstances is often a precursor to career advancement and promotion”, researchers concluded.

Source: business standard

Top 10 Mistakes Made in Clinical Rotations

Arguing with a patient:
This is an exercise in futility, and is very unprofessional.
“One of your role’s as a physician is to invoke a shared decision making process with your patients who have decision making capacity.”

Top 10 Mistakes Made in Clinical Rotations

Reporting a physical finding without actually observing it:
I’ve even seen a student get in trouble for documenting a physical finding on a patient who had been discharged already.

Berating (aka “pimping”) your resident or attending:
Med school is similar to the military when it comes to respecting your place in the chain of command. Attendings “pimp” residents and med students. Residents berate med students. Thou shalt not berate up the chain. That said, the institutionalized nature of “pimping” does not absolve the word of its offensive and unethical practice. Eradicate it from your vocabulary and practice.

“Most of the time it is to show power, how smart they are and embarrass those lower in the “Hierarchy”. If residents and attendings really want to teach, than have a real discussion of the issues. Yes, ask questions but don’t berate someone if they don’t know the answer. Good attendings approach it like that, and if a student or resident doesn’t know the answer, they are told to look it up.

A few times, when I was a student, a hotshot resident would try to “pimp” me and they had the wrong answer and tried to correct me. I looked up a relevant article and proved my position. There is nothing wrong with that, as long as it is done respectfully.

Medicine is a life long learning experience. Everyone can learn something new including residents and attendings. Don’t automatically discount someone’s opinion because they are lower on the hospital chain. A student might have a Ph.D. or master’s in some field and truly knows more about a subject than the resident or attending.”

Disrespecting the nurses:
Seriously, this is a huge no-no. If you want to make your life miserable, make the nurses hate you. If you want to enjoy your time at the hospital, befriend every nurse you meet.

Dressing inappropriately:
Dressing appropriately is important, and applies to men as well as women. For example, no sandals, no jeans, no T-shirts (unless they’re under scrubs), a mohawk wouldn’t go over well, nor would wearing 4-inch stiletto heels, or a need to exhibit one’s cleavage. There’s a time and a place for everything, and the hospital is not a place to dress provocatively.

“Include personal hygiene. Use your dental floss and brush your teeth. Patients do not deserve a doctor with bad breath. Poor personal hygiene raises doubts in the minds of all about whether you are scrupulous about everything else.”

Documenting an important positive finding without alerting your resident or attending:
If you discover that a patient has rebound tenderness, or a temperature of 103.7, don’t write this in a note and walk away. You must always alert your higher-ups to significant findings, or else you will find yourself getting chewed out for a good while.

Showing up late:
This is a particular pet peeve of mine, and one that some students seem to think is insignificant. People notice when you’re late. It’s unprofessional and disrespectful to the rest of the group. Traffic is not an excuse. Leave your residence early enough to get to the hospital with plenty of time to spare.

Performing a procedure without having been authorized to do so:
If the resident walks in on you placing a central line on a patient without their authorization, you will find yourself in deep trouble with the doctor, hospital, and potentially a courtroom.

Forgetting you are in a hospital:
This is something that is easier said than done. We spend so many hours in the hospital that it’s easy to forget that we are surrounded by very ill, helpless, and frightened people. It’s not a high school football game; it’s a hospital. Patient’s lives are in the hands of the healthcare workers surrounding them. We are each one of the healthcare workers.

Being a slacker:
We all have seen students who try to get by with the bare minimum in everything they do. If you want to throw away a ridiculous amount of money, not learn anything, and end up being a crappy doctor, then by all means slack off during your clinical years. If you want to learn a lot and become an incredible doctor, then put in the time and effort.

Source: Einstein

Benefits of Shikakai (Acacia Concinna) for your hair

Benefits of Shikakai (Acacia Concinna) for your hair

Shikakai, which is popularly used in India, is a herbal powder which is made from the fruit pods of the Acacia Concinna tree. Shikakai is a wonderful herb that has been used for years for hair care.

Good, lustrous hair is certainly on the wish list of every woman, but in this hectic life we hardly get any time to maintain a beauty regime. Here are a few benefits of Shikakai for your hair:

-Shikakai has low pH level and hence is a natural cleanser for your scalp, cleansing it gently. -Shikakai with its natural elements is believed to promote hair growth and also reduces hair fall.

-It acts as a great detangler to leave you with those beautiful locks that you would love to run your fingers through. -Shikakai also prevents hair from greying naturally.

-Shikakai is rich in essential nutrients like Vitamin C and doesn’t make the scalp dry therby preventing dandruff and other scalp problems.

Source: zee news

Young Kids Diagnosed with Depression Can’t Shake It Later, Study Says

New research shows it’s hard for young children to get past depression. Children diagnosed with depression in preschool are likely to continue to be depressed throughout adolescence, according to a new study.

Young-Kids-Diagnosed-with-Depression-Can’t-Shake-It-Later-Study-Says

Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis tracked 246 children ages 3-5 to ages 9-12 and found that depressed preschoolers are 2.5 times more likely to suffer from the condition in elementary and middle school, according to the study published in the July issue of The American Journal of Psychiatry.

At the beginning of the study, 74 of the children were diagnosed with depression. Six years later, 79 of the children from the larger group had clinical depression, and 51% of the 74 children originally diagnosed were still depressed. By contrast, only 25% of the 172 children who were initially not depressed went on to develop depression during elementary and middle school.

“It’s the same old bad news about depression; it is a chronic and recurrent disorder,” child psychiatrist Joan L. Luby, who directs Washington University’s Early Emotional Development Program, said in a statement. “But the good news is that if we can identify depression early, perhaps we have a window of opportunity to treat it more effectively and potentially change the trajectory of the illness so that it is less likely to be chronic and recurring.”

The researchers also identified some of the factors that put children at a higher risk of becoming depressed: Children with depressed mothers were more likely to become depressed themselves, and children who were diagnosed with a conduct disorder in preschool were more likely to become depressed by middle school (though significant maternal support mitigated the latter risk). But neither of these factors mattered as much as an early depression diagnosis.

Source: TIME