Health News

Virtual arm eases phantom limb pain

Doctors have devised a new way to treat amputees with phantom limb pain.

Using computer-generated augmented reality, the patient can see and move a virtual arm controlled by their stump.

Electric signals from the muscles in the amputated limb “talk” to the computer, allowing real-time movement.

Amputee Ture Johanson says his pain has reduced dramatically thanks to the new computer program, which he now uses regularly in his home.

He now has periods when he is free of pain and he is no longer woken at night by intense periods of pain.

Mr Johanson, who is 73 and lives in Sweden, lost half of his right arm in a car accident 48 years ago.

After a below-elbow amputation he faced daily pain and discomfort emanating from his now missing arm and hand.

Over the decades he has tried numerous therapies, including hypnosis, to no avail.

Within weeks of starting on the augmented reality treatment in Max Ortiz Catalan’s clinic at Chalmers University of Technology, his pain has now eased.

“The pain is much less now. I still have it often but it is shorter, for only a few seconds where before it was for minutes.

“And I now feel it only in my little finger and the top of my ring finger. Before it was from my wrist to my little finger.”

Mr Johanson says he has noticed other benefits too. He now perceives his phantom hand to be in a resting, relaxed position rather than a clenched fist.

“Can you imagine? For 48 years my hand was in a fist but after some weeks with this training I found that it was different. It was relaxed. It had opened.”

Mr Johanson has also learned to control the movements of his phantom hand even when he is not wired up to the computer or watching the virtual limb.

Max Ortiz Catalan, the brains behind the new treatment, says giving the muscles a work-out while being able to watch the actions carried out may be key to the therapy.

“The motor areas in the brain needed for movement of the amputated arm are reactivated, and the patient obtains visual feedback that tricks the brain into believing there is an arm executing such motor commands. He experiences himself as a whole, with the amputated arm back in place.”

He says it could also be used as a rehabilitation aid for people who have had a stroke or those with spinal cord injuries.

Source: BBC news

Obesity Rates Dropping in U.S. Preschoolers

Obesity rates are falling among America’s pudgy preschoolers, perhaps the latest sign that the super-sized nation is getting a handle on its weight problem, according to new figures from government health officials.

Obesity among kids ages 2 to 5 dropped by 43 percent between 2003-2004 and 2011-2012, from 14 percent of children to 8 percent, data released Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show.

It’s the brightest spot in a report that found that overall obesity held steady but remains high in the U.S., with about one-third of adults and 17 percent of kids and teens still medically obese. Nearly a third of all kids ages 2 to 19 and more than two-thirds of adults remain either overweight or obese, CDC officials found.

“We continue to see signs that, for some children in this country, the scales are tipping,” said CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden, who added that the new data echo other recent encouraging studies about obesity in preschoolers. “This confirms that at least for kids, we can turn the tide and begin to reverse the obesity epidemic.”

The preschool drop is particularly encouraging in light of recent research that found that overweight kindergarteners are four times as likely as normal-weight kids to become obese by middle-school.

“This is the second report that shows that things have plateaued,” said Dr. Adrienne Youdim, medical director of the Cedars-Sinai Weight Loss Center in Los Angeles.

The new data are based on analysis of 9,120 participants in the 2011-2012 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a nationally representative sample. Obesity had been rising for years, until the 2009-2010 figures.

The findings show obesity among women older than 60 jumped more than 20 percent from 2003-2004 to 2011-2012, climbing from 31.5 percent to 38 percent. It’s not clear why older women are so much heavier, Youdim said. Menopause may play a role, and women may be more sedentary as they age.

“There are so many factors at play,” she said. “In order to really make a dent in this epidemic, it has to be not in the area of treatment, though it’s important, but in the area of prevention.”

Source: NBC news

Radiation fears from mobile towers unfounded: Panel

Fears of electromagnetic radiation from cellphone towers adversely affecting human health are unfounded and without any scientific merit, claims an expert panel, brushing aside apprehensions raised by a professor of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay.

Rejecting the contention of electrical engineering professor Girish Kumar, the 13-member panel said Kumar repeatedly red-flagged these concern in the media because of his family’s commercial interest in companies involved in manufacturing radiation-shielding products. Kumar’s daughter Neha Kumar sells radiation-shielding products through her company NESA Radiation Solutions Pvt Ltd. The panel said the IIT professor did not disclose his “conflict of interest” while being part of the panel, though he initially agreed to do so.

“In October 2013 I disclosed my daughter’s business in my newsletter, which was circulated to the committee members. What more I can do?” Kumar told Deccan Herald.

The members of the committee noted that on one hand Kumar was spreading misinformation and creating misconceptions and ill-founded apprehensions in the mind of people by sensationalising and blowing out of proportions the effects of EMF radiation, while on the other side he was promoting his family’s business on related products, thus throwing professional ethics to the winds.

The committee, comprising five IIT professors, besides scientists from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Industrial Toxicology Research Centre (ITRC), Lucknow, and the Indian Council of Medical Research, along with government officials, was formed at the behest of the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court, which was hearing a litigation on health hazards of cellphone towers.

The court instructed Kumar to be a part of the Department of Telecom panel, so that other scientists get an opportunity to listen to his arguments and comments.

In its report, the panel has concluded that Kumar’s assertion of people living within 50-300 m of mobile towers are more prone to the dangerous ill effects of electromagnetic radiation are not backed by “conclusive scientific evidence”.

“The word ‘evidence’ in the draft report was replaced by ‘conclusive evidence’ in the final report by the committee, in which eight out of 13 persons are pro to the Department of Telecommunication. On every page, I have signed that I do not agree with the report and also on the last page, I have signed that committee was biased,” said Kumar.

“He (Kumar) may not agree, but other committee members agree that Kumar’s assertion could not be substantiated by available scientific literature,” said committee member, Ajoy Chakraborty, who is professor in the department of electronics and electrical communication engineering at IIT Kharagpur.

Source: The Deccan Herald

7 Reasons Vegetarians Live Longer

There’s nothing wrong with eating meat if you’re doing so in moderation (I for one, will never give up the occasional cheeseburger), but research does show that vegetarians tend to be healthier overall, and even live longer.

Now there’s another health perk vegetarians can boast about. A new study published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine looked at data from seven clinical studies and 32 other studies published between 1900 and 2013 where participants kept a vegetarian diet and found that vegetarians have lower blood pressure compared to people who eat meat.

Here are some other reasons vegetarians may outlive meat-lovers.

1. Low blood pressure: In the latest study, researchers found that not only do vegetarians have lower blood pressure on average, but that vegetarian diets could be used to lower blood pressure among people who need an intervention.

2. Lower risk of death: A 2013 study of more than 70,000 people found that vegetarians had a 12% lower risk of death compared with non-vegetarians. With none of the saturated fat and cholesterol that clogs arteries, vegetarians may be at a lower risk for chronic diseases overall.

3. Better moods: A 2012 study randomly split participants into a three diets: all-meat allowed, fish-only, and vegetarian no-meat. The researchers found that after two weeks, the people on the vegetarian diet reported more mood improvements than those on the other two diets.

4. Less chance of heart disease: Another 2013 study of 44,000 people reported that vegetarians were 32% less likely to develop ischemic heart disease.

5. Lower risk of cancer: Researchers at Loma Linda University in California studied different versions of the vegetarian diet and cancer risk among people at a low risk for cancer overall and discovered that a vegetarian diet may have protective benefits. Although the study is not the final say on the matter, vegans had the lowest risk for cancers, specifically cancers most common among women, like breast cancer.

6. Lower risk of diabetes: Studies have shown that vegetarians are at a lower risk for developing diabetes. While the diet won’t cure the disease, it can lower an individual’s risk by helping them maintain weight and improve blood sugar control.

7. Less likely to be overweight: Research shows that vegetarians tend to be leaner than their meat-eating counterparts, and that they also tend to have lower cholesterol and body mass index (BMI). Some data suggests that a vegetarian diet can help with weight loss and be better for maintaining a healthy weight over time.

People who don’t eat vegetarian can still be very healthy, and a vegetarian diet comes with its own health risks. For instance, research has also shown that vegetarians are at a higher risk for iron deficiencies, and some experts question whether children who are raised vegetarian get the right amount of nutrients for their growing bodies. Making sure you get the right amount of nutrients is important, and keeping your physician in the loop about your eating habits can make sure you’re meeting all the requirements for good health.

Source: health and Time

Camels Linked to Spread of MERS Virus in People

A new study suggests that camels are the major source of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS, a viral disease that has sickened 182 people and killed 79 of them since it was first detected in Saudi Arabia in 2012.

The animals are most likely to infect people through respiratory secretions — from coughing, sneezing, snorting or spitting — that travel through the air or cling to surfaces.

People with chronic illnesses like diabetes, lung disease or kidney failure, or other conditions that weaken their immunity, seem to be most susceptible, and should avoid close contact with camels, researchers say.

Saudi Arabia has had the most cases, other Middle Eastern countries have had a few and a handful of travelers from that region have taken the disease to Europe. There have been no cases in the United States. Although people have infected one another, the disease is not highly transmissible among humans, so researchers say that unless the virus changes to become more contagious in people, the risk of global spread does not seem high.

The new study provides the first evidence that the virus is widespread in dromedary camels (the kind with one hump) in Saudi Arabia, and has been for at least 20 years.

Younger animals are more likely than older ones to be infected and contagious. The virus invades the camels’ nose and respiratory tract, but does not kill them. It is not known whether it even makes them sick.

“It would be very difficult to know if they were ill, since these are creatures that slobber a great deal,” said Dr. W. Ian Lipkin, the senior author of the study and a virus expert at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health in New York.

Genetically, the virus found in camels matches samples from infected humans.

The disease was not detected in people until 2012. It is not known whether the cases in humans are a new phenomenon, or whether they have been occurring but were not recognized. Some people develop mild respiratory infections, but in others the disease turns deadly, with worsening fever, cough and shortness of breath.

In some cases, patients were known to have been around camels, but until recently it was not clear whether the animals might be the source. Other cases have been complete mysteries, with no known exposure to animals or ill humans. Sick people have infected family members, health workers and nearby patients in the hospital, but the virus is not considered highly contagious among humans.

Researchers do not know how camels become infected, but they suspect that the virus may have originally come from bats. MERS belongs to the coronavirus family, like SARS, the deadly and more contagious respiratory infection that began in China and caused a global outbreak in 2003. Bats are a host for SARS and other coronaviruses, and studies have found evidence linking MERS to bats.

Source: The New York Times

Vegetarian diets may lower blood pressure

People who eat a vegetarian diet tend to have lower blood pressure than non-vegetarians, according to a new review of past studies.

Researchers said for some people, eating a vegetarian diet could be a good way to treat high blood pressure without medication.

Vegetarian diets exclude meat, but may include dairy products, eggs and fish in some cases. They emphasize foods of plant origin, particularly vegetables, grains, legumes and fruits.

High blood pressure contributes to a person’s risk of heart disease, stroke, kidney disorders and other health problems. For many people, the only treatment has been medication, but that means costs and possible side effects, lead author Yoko Yokoyama told Reuters Health in an email.

“If a diet change can prevent blood pressure problems or can reduce blood pressure, it would give hope to many people,” Yokoyama said. She is a researcher at the National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center in Osaka, Japan.

“However, in order to make healthful food choices, people need guidance from scientific studies,” she said. “Our analysis found that vegetarian diets lower blood pressure very effectively, and the evidence for this is now quite conclusive.”

According to the American Heart Association, blood pressure readings under 120 mm Hg systolic and 80 mm Hg diastolic (120/80) are considered normal. High blood pressure starts at 140/90.

The new review, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, combined results from 39 previous studies, including 32 observational studies and seven controlled trials.

“Observational studies show what happens when people have chosen their own diets and stuck with them, often for years,” Yokoyama said. “Controlled trials are different – a diet is given to people who had not tried it before, and that will show the effect of beginning a new way of eating.”

Together the studies included close to 22,000 people.

The researchers found that in the observational studies, people who had been eating a vegetarian diet had an average systolic blood pressure that was about 7 mm Hg lower than among meat-eaters and a diastolic blood pressure that was 5 mm Hg lower.

Participants in the clinical trials who were given vegetarian diets to follow had, on average, a systolic blood pressure that was 5 mm Hg lower and a diastolic blood pressure that was 2 mm Hg lower than participants in control groups who were not on vegetarian diets.

“Unlike drugs, there is no cost to a diet adjustment of this type, and all the ‘side effects’ of a plant-based diet are desirable: weight loss, lower cholesterol, and better blood sugar control, among others,” Yokoyama said.

She said a plant-based diet is typically low in fat and high in fiber, so it helps people lose weight, which, in turn, causes a healthy drop in blood pressure.

“But there is more,” Yokoyama said. “Plant-based foods are often low in sodium and are rich in potassium, and potassium lowers blood pressure.”

The same foods are also very low in saturated fat – the type of fat in meat and cheese – and eating less saturated fat means blood can circulate more easily, she explained.

“I would encourage physicians to prescribe plant-based diets as a matter of routine, and to rely on medications only when diet changes do not do the job,” Yokoyama said. “And I would encourage everyone to try a plant-based diet, and especially to introduce plant-based diets to their children – they could prevent many health problems.”

Alice Lichtenstein, director of the Cardiovascular Nutrition Laboratory at Tufts University in Boston, said the results of the review are encouraging, but added that it didn’t take sodium in the diet and lifestyle factors into account.

“Individuals who adhere to vegetarian diets are likely to use fewer processed foods, the major source of dietary sodium, and adhere to healthy lifestyles behaviors such as maintaining a body weight in the optimal range and engaging in regular physical activity,” Lichtenstein told Reuters Health in an email. She was not involved in the new research.

“Until we understand the contribution of these factors we can’t attribute the effect observed solely to adhering to a vegetarian diet,” Lichtenstein explained.

“We certainly would not encourage substituting a slice of quiche for a grilled chicken breast for dinner, due to the sodium, calories and saturated fat,” she said.

What’s more, the findings do not mean that people taking blood pressure medication should go off their drugs in favor of diet changes without talking to a doctor.

Yokoyama said doctors who would like to prescribe diet changes need tools.

“We have developed a free program, called the 21-Day Kickstart program, which introduces a plant-based diet through daily emails that provide menus, recipes, cooking videos, and a discussion board for questions. It is available at no charge in English, Spanish, Mandarin, and Japanese, along with a special English-language program for India,” Yokoyama said.

The program is affiliated with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, an organization that promotes plant-based diets.

Source: Reuters

When Men Get Breast Cancer?

That is the message of a provocative new photography series featuring the faces, and scars, of men with breast cancer.

The vast majority of the photos in that project are of young women, shown topless with scars where their breasts used to be. The pictures, which are both shocking and beautiful, are featured in a traveling exhibition that will be on display next month in Toronto.

But most visitors to the Scar Project find the photos on the Internet, where they have been viewed by millions of people. One of those people is Oliver Bogler, a cancer biologist in Houston who found out that he had breast cancer 18 months ago after noticing a lump in his chest.

As in a woman’s breast, the duct cells in a man’s breast can undergo cancerous changes fueled by hormones that influence the growth of cells. It is not clear why some men get breast cancer while most do not, but risk factors include a family history of breast cancer, inherited gene mutations, radiation exposure, extended occupational exposure to certain chemicals or intense heat, obesity, liver disease, alcoholism, and other cancer treatments.

All of these factors can influence the level of hormones in a man’s body and potentially spur breast cancer. That said, many men who develop breast cancer do not have any of these risk factors.

Fewer than 1 percent of breast cancers are diagnosed in men, but that is little comfort to the 2,400 men a year who learn they have the disease. For Dr. Bogler, 47, the diagnosis was particularly shocking because his wife had learned five years earlier that she had breast cancer.

“I struggled with the huge coincidence,” Dr. Bogler said. “We were both diagnosed when we were 46. It seemed a bit unlikely. I couldn’t imagine having this conversation with her, either: ‘Honey, I think I have what you have.’ ”

Like many cancer patients, Dr. Bogler found himself spending time online in hopes of learning more about his disease. He stumbled across the Scar Project and asked Mr. Jay if he would consider including men in the series. As a result, the Male Scar Project was created.

The photo of Dr. Bogler shows him next to a radiation machine, his chest covered with marker lines used to guide the radiation beam.

The photos of men with breast cancer are admittedly less jarring than those of women. One reason may be that it is less surprising to see a shirtless man, and the absence of his breast and nipple is not as immediately noticeable. But the portraits of the men are still haunting and show, in a more subtle way, the spiritual ravages of cancer.

The photos are also similar in that they capture both the vulnerability and the strength of breast cancer patients, regardless of their sex.

One of the subjects, William Becker, of Bridgeport, Conn., said he had wanted to be photographed to raise awareness among men who may be ignoring a lump, not realizing it could be breast cancer.

breast_cancer_male

 

 

“I was dealing with a lot of health issues that could have been avoided had I done something sooner about the lump that I had found on my chest,” Mr. Becker said. “No man should be going through what I was enduring.”

Mr. Becker said he felt the photo captured his experience better than words could.

“The photo is very striking,” he said. “It gives you a sense of fear, in that there is this man with a scar on his chest and burn marks surrounding it from the radiation treatment — a kind of ‘don’t let this happen to you’ image.”

Dr. Bogler worked with Mr. Jay to include men in the Scar Project because he felt that more awareness was needed about the male experience with the disease. He also believes that more research into male breast cancer could help unlock new knowledge about the disease for both men and women.

Dr. Bogler added that while ovarian, uterine, prostate and testicular cancers are inherently gender-specific, breast cancer is no more gender-specific than lung or colon cancer.

“I was surprised to learn how little awareness there was for men,” he said. “Breast cancer is skewed toward women, but it’s not just a woman’s cancer.”

Even when filling out forms at the doctor’s office, Dr. Bogler found that many of the questions were aimed at women.

“I live in this very pink world,” he said. “I’m not complaining about it. I don’t mind skipping the ‘Are you pregnant?’ part of the form. But I realized most people don’t even know men get breast cancer.”

Source: New York Times

 

Life Saver: Women With Cancer Gene Should Remove Ovaries by 35

Men with certain genetic mutations that greatly raise their risk of breast and ovarian cancer can cut the risk by as much as 80 percent if they get their ovaries removed by age 35, a new study suggests.

It’s the first study to show just how much the operation can do to lower the risk of cancer, and it’s the first to put such a clear age on the benefits.

It’s a finding so striking that the researchers think ovary removal should become standard for anyone with so-called BRCA1 mutations.

“This really validates for those of us who take care of women who have a high-risk BRCA1 … gene, that removing the ovaries and fallopian tubes really does have a positive impact on that woman, reduces her risk of ovarian cancer tremendously and also improves her survival,” said Dr. Ursula Matulonis of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, who was not involved in the study.

It’s not an easy decision. Having the ovaries out, an operation called an oophorectomy, throws a young woman into instant and permanent menopause. But the study, published in the journal of Clinical Oncology, suggests it is worth all the awful side-effects, which include a likely end to a woman’s childbearing years.

Many women with BRCA mutations already get their breasts removed long before any sign of cancer — actress Angelina Jolie was one of them, having her breasts removed at age 37.

Nicole Armstrong knew she was at risk because her grandmother died so young. “So I always thought, ‘OK, I have an increased risk. Instead of going for mammograms at 50, I have to go around 40,” the 28-year-old, who lives in Easton, Pa.
Source: NBC news

5 Natural Back Pain Remedies That Work

Lower-back problems are the number two reason people visit a doctor, second only to the common cold and flu. If you’re prone to pain, you may already be treating it with OTC medications or trying to prevent it by strengthening your core and back. Consider these pill-free treatments another weapon in your arsenal.

Yoga
People who took a weekly 75-minute class for 12 weeks found that they had diminished lower-back pain symptoms and less need for pain meds than those who didn’t, according to a 2011 study in Archives of Internal Medicine. Can’t stomach downward dog? Researchers found similar results among those who took a 50-minute weekly intensive stretching class instead.

Osteopathic Manual Therapy (OMT)
Six sessions of OMT—during which a doctor of osteopathy stretches and uses gentle pressure on muscles and joints—led to substantial improvement in about half of people with lower-back pain after 12 weeks, according to a University of North Texas Health Sciences Center study published last March. Nearly two-thirds reported moderate improvement.

Comfrey Root
Using an ointment that contains this plant-based extract reduced lower-back pain by 95%, according to a 2009 study conducted by Merck and published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. Look for comfrey-root ointment in health food stores or online. Just don’t use it for more than 10 days at a time—it can be toxic.

Acupuncture
It may relieve lower-back pain more effectively than meds or physical therapy, according to a 2009 study done at Group Health Cooperative for Health Studies in Seattle and Northern California Kaiser Permanente in Oakland.

Massage
A third of people who got one weekly for 10 weeks reported significant relief from their lower-back pain, compared with 4% who didn’t go for rubdowns, according to a 2011 study in The Annals of Internal Medicine.

Source: health news

 

If You Have An Irregular Heartbeat, Take Blood Thinners

The American Academy of Neurology on Monday issued new guidelines on the use of blood thinners for people with an irregular heartbeat, after last considering the issue in 1998. Since then, several new anticoagulants have proven at least as effective as the traditional warfarin treatment for non–valvular atrial fibrillation, and is safe for those who’ve survived stroke or its precursor, a transient ischemic attack.

Dr. Antonio Culebras, an Academy fellow at SUNY Upstate Medical University, says blood thinners are especially important for people at risk of stroke. “The World Health Organization has determined that atrial fibrillation is nearing epidemic proportions, affecting 0.5 percent of the population worldwide,” he said in a statement.

Although presenting no immediate danger, an irregular heart rhythm allows blood to collect in the heart’s upper chambers, where it may clot. Eventually, blood clots forming in the heart may flow to the brain, obstructing vessels and arteries. Approximately one in 20 Americans with an untreated irregular heartbeat will suffer stroke this year, the Academy says. To date, doctors have exercised caution in prescribing blood thinners, wary of the risk of bleeding. However, new drugs on the market carry a reduced risk of bleeding in the brain, with much greater convenience. Patients on warfarin today require frequent blood testing to monitor risk for bleeding.

But wait, there’s more. A greater safety profile for blood thinners extends the range of patients who might benefit. Such drugs may now help more elderly patients, including those with dementia and those at moderate risk of falls — factors considered too dangerous for the old-line of anticoagulants.

“Of course, doctors will need to consider the individual patient’s situation in making a decision whether or not to use anticoagulants, and which one to use, as the risks and benefits can vary for each person,” Culebras said.

Source: Medical Daily