Health News

Acetaminophen, pain killer during pregnancy affects behavior problems in kids

Pregnant women have long been assured that acetaminophen can treat their aches, pains and fevers without bringing harm to the babies they carry. Now researchers say they have found a strong link between prenatal use of the medication and cases of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in children.

The findings do not establish that prenatal exposure to acetaminophen — which is also an ingredient in Excedrin and is known in Europe and other parts of the world as paracetamol — caused the observed increase in hyperactivity disorders. But they underscore that medications are only “safe” for pregnant women until studies become sensitive enough to detect subtle problems, said Dr. Daniel Kahn, a UCLA obstetrician who was not involved in the research.

“We used to count a baby’s 10 fingers and 10 toes and assume that any drug his mother took must have been safe,” said Kahn, a specialist in fetal-maternal health. Now observational studies like this are capable of picking up on possible drug effects that are less obvious and harder to measure. As such research moves forward, he said, it’s best to follow a “less is better” rule when it comes to taking medications during pregnancy.

Source: Los Angeles Times

 

Switching Schools May Give Your Kids Psychotic Symptoms

Changing schools can be a wrenching social and emotional experience for students, say researchers from Warwick Medical School in the U.K. And the legacy of that struggle may be psychosis-like symptoms of hallucinations and delusions.

Dr. Swaran Singh, a psychiatrist and head of the mental health division at Warwick, became curious about the connection between school moves and mental health issues after a study from Denmark found that children moving from rural to urban settings showed increased signs of psychoses. The authors also noted that the students had to deal with not just a change in their home environment, but in their social network of friends at school as well.

Singh was intrigued by whether school changes, and the social isolation that comes with it, might be an independent factor in contributing to the psychosis-like symptoms.

Working with a database of nearly 14,000 children born between 1991 and 1992 and followed until they were 13 years old, Singh and his colleagues investigated which factors seemed to have the strongest effect on mental health. The children’s mothers answered questions about how many times the students had moved schools by age nine, and the children responded to queries about their experiences either bullying others or being victims of bullying. The survey even included a look at the children’s in utero environments, and their circumstances from birth to age 2, by asking the mothers about where they lived (in urban or village areas, for example), and about financial difficulties or other family social issues.

Based on their analysis, says Singh, switching schools three or more times in early childhood seemed to be linked to an up to two-fold greater risk of developing psychosis-like symptoms such as hallucinations and interrupting thoughts. “Even when we controlled for all things that school moves lead to, there was something left behind that that was independently affecting children’s mental health,” he says.

Factors such as a difficult home environment – whether caused by financial or social tension, or both – living in an urban environment, and bullying contributed to the mental health issues, but switching schools contributed independently to the psychosis-like symptoms.

Singh suspects that repeatedly being an outsider by having to re-integrate into new schools may lead to feelings of exclusion and low self-esteem. That may change a developing child’s sense of self and prime him to always feel like an outlier and never an integrated part of a social network; such repeated experiences of exclusion are known to contribute to paranoia and psychotic symptoms.

Bullying created a secondary way in which repeated school moves could lead to mental health issues — bullying is known to be associated with psychotic symptoms, and mobile students are more vulnerable to bullying,

The negative emotional experiences students go through in trying to adjust to new schools can have physiological consequences as well. “Repeated experiences of being defeated in social situations leads to changes in the brain and in the dopaminergic system,” says Singh. That makes the brain more sensitive to stress, and stress, with its surges of cortisol, can lead to unhealthy neural responses that can contribute to mental health problems. “Something about chronic marginalization, and chronic exclusion, is neurophysiologically damaging,” he says.

Source: health and time

Night Eating Disorder Signals More Dangerous Mental Issues

Do you eat a lot of food at night, even after you feel full? Then you may want to see a specialist. Researchers have discovered a fairly rare eating disorder whose signature is excessive eating may just signal other mental health issues.

“Night eating syndrome is characterized not only by eating at night–certainly many college students might have a late night study fest with eating–but it’s also characterized by other things, like feeling that you can’t eat in the morning, and feeling like you have to eat in order to go back to sleep,” said Rebecka Peebles

The new findings are important amidst National Eating Disorders Week, which began on Feb. 23. The week brings awareness to devastating disorders, such as anorexia, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder.

“Eating disorders are complicated and vexing problems and we don’t exactly understand the pathophysiology of them,” said Aaron Krasner, Director of the Adolescent Transitional Living Program

The latest study reveals a new type of disorder. While it overlaps with binge eating, though, it’s not the same. It occurs in just under 3 percent of students after controlling for binge eating, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t a problem that shouldn’t be examined further. In fact, those with night eating disorders were also more likely to have a history of depression and self-injuring.

“Often times these people are eating throughout the night,” said Cristin Runfola,

“They might even be waking up and feeding multiple times throughout the night, so if you’re frequently hearing that someone’s getting out of bed throughout the night and you’re noticing that food is missing there might be something going on.”

The findings help reveal a bit more about this disorder, and also about binge eating disorder. By learning as much as possible about these disorders, researches can better treat individuals who suffer from them.

Source: Food world news

Solitary confinement: A man lives 29 years in a box

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Robert King still remembers well the dimensions of his cell: 6 x 9 x 12 feet. There was a steel bed and a sink that doubled as a toilet where he would also wash clothes.

King spent 29 years in solitary confinement in Louisiana. He has been free since 2001, but still has difficulty with geographical orientation.

“I get confused as to where I am, where I should be,” he said.

King joined researchers and legal experts at the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting in Chicago this month to talk about the mental and physical health consequences of solitary confinement.

“The widespread consensus among mental health professionals is that solitary confinement, for the overall majority of mentally ill prisoners, places them at severe risk of additional harm,” said Craig Haney, director of the program in legal studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

The talk was timely. This week, New York state agreed to several changes that would limit the use of solitary confinement for disciplining some groups of inmates, including those under 18 or pregnant women. The agreement stemmed from a class-action lawsuit.

The New York State Department of Corrections provided to CNN a statement from its acting commissioner, which read in part: “These are important reforms that will make the disciplinary practices in New York’s prisons more humane, and ultimately, our state’s criminal justice system more fair and progressive, while maintaining safety and security.”

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A department spokesperson said no statement was available on the general use of solitary confinement.

A brief history of solitary confinement
There are about 80,000 people being held in some sort of solitary-type confinement in the United States, Haney said.

Prisoners in solitary confinement tend to be restricted to cells of 80 square feet, not much larger than a king-size bed, Haney said. Sleeping, eating and defecating all take place inside that space. For exercise, prisoners in solitary confinement often get a short time in a cage rather than an outdoor yard — perhaps one hour per day.

Haney, who has studied prisons and punishment for more than four decades, estimates that about one-third of people in solitary confinement in this country are mentally ill, although some prison systems do not permit mentally ill inmates to be placed in solitary confinement.

Solitary confinement was used broadly in the 19th century, but the punishment was then largely abandoned because of the view that “it was doing more harm than good,” Haney said.

Correctional practice began to reincorporate solitary confinement in the late 1970s and 80s, as prisons began to get overcrowded, Haney said. He believes prison systems turned to solitary confinement as a short-term solution to controlling disruptive or violent behavior, lacking the resources to provide positive incentives or programming.

But overcrowding in prisons turned out to be permanent and mostly increased each year.
Prison systems continued to struggle over what to do to resolve conflicts or stop violence or disruption in the institutions. They put more prisoners in solitary confinement and left them there for longer periods of time, Haney said.

“I think the cost of solitary confinement is now being critically examined and rethought, and prison systems are beginning to ask themselves whether this is worth it, and whether or not it does not create more harm than good,” he said. “Courts are pushing them to consider the inhumanity of the practice, as well.”

Source: CNN news

Giving blood pressure medications right after stroke not beneficial

A major study has found that giving patients medications to lower their blood pressure during the first 48 hours after a stroke does not reduce the likelihood of death or major disability.

The study is published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

At least 25 per cent of the population has high blood pressure, which greatly increases the risk of stroke. Lowering blood pressure has been shown to reduce the risk of stroke. The study investigated whether there also would be a benefit to lowering blood pressure immediately after a stroke.

The study included more than 4,000 stroke patients in 26 hospitals across China who were randomly assigned to receive or discontinue blood pressure medications. At 14 days or upon hospital discharge, there were no statistically significant differences between the groups in mortality or disability.

Blood pressure often is elevated following a stroke.

“But in most cases, treatment is unnecessary because the blood pressure declines naturally over time, and lowering blood pressure may be contraindicated,” said stroke specialist Dr Jose Biller, chair of the department of neurology of Loyola University Medical Centre. “It is important not to over treat and cause low blood pressure because the most important objective is to maintain adequate blood flow to the brain.”

Dr Biller was a member of the study’s Data and Safety Monitoring Board. Dr Paul K Whelton, former president and CEO of Loyola University Health System, was chair of the monitoring board.

First author of the study is Dr Jiang He of Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.

The study is called the China Antihypertensive Trial in Acute Ischemic Stroke (CATIS). It involved patients who had suffered ischemic strokes, which account for about 85 per cent of all strokes. Such strokes are caused by blood clots that block blood flow to a part of the brain.

Source: India Medical Times

Homemade Energy Drink : Natural energy drinks

The intention of coming up with a recipe for a homemade version of the store bought energy drinks, but after doing some research and discovering how unhealthy they are for us

A system of three drinks and some energy boosting ideas that are going a long way to helping us keep energy up all day long! Here’s the good on the drinks:

The Fire Hydrant – 3-4 8oz glasses throughout the day

  • filtered water
  • 1 slice lemon
  • 1 pinch cayenne pepper

Other than getting 7-8 hours of sleep a night, staying hydrated is the most important thing you can do to help keep your body functioning at optimum levels. So this drink is just water with a squeezed lemon slice and a pinch of cayenne pepper. The lemon not only tastes good, but is also super alkaline* which helps your body maintain a healthy pH level. The cayenne pepper helps raise energy levels naturally and provides protection for your heart by helping to maintain proper cardiovascular movement throughout the body. Combining this with 4-5 glasses of regular water will bring you up to your recommended 8 glasses of water per day!

*For an explanation of lemons’ miraculous transition from acidic outside of the body, to alkaline once ingested, visit this link: http://phbalance.wikispaces.com/Lemons+Alkaline%3F

The Quick Fix  – as needed, during the day
(I don’t recommend drinking it at night as it might keep you up)

  • hot water
  • 1 1/2 – 2 tsp honey (to taste)
  • 1 inch of fresh ginger root
  • 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
  • 1/4 tsp tumeric

Cut off two thin slices of ginger and place in your cup or mug.
Use a garlic press to juice the remaining ginger into your mug.
Add both spices and fill your mug with hot water and stir.

This is the closest thing I found to a non-caffeine/refined sugar pick me up! And I find it pretty delicious. Ginger speeds up metabolism and increases circulation. It also aids in the digestive process which can help stave off the post lunch coma that contributes to the afternoon slump. Turmeric, a cousin of ginger, also helps speed things up in the body, including energy levels! And Cardamom has long been valued medicinally for its ability to increase circulation and improve energy. Honey is mother nature’s equivalent of an energy shot and is one of the best kinds of sugars for your body.

The Heavy Lifter– 1 glass in the morning

  • 1 ripe banana
  • 1/4 cup raw almonds or 2 tbsp almond butter
  • 1 scoop of high quality whey protein powder (low sugar content)
  • 2 washed kale leaves
  • 1/2 cup plain yogurt
  • 1 tbsp ground flax seeds
  • 1 cup milk of choice (I used unsweetened almond milk)

According to Dr. Oz, sixty percent of women don’t get enough protein in their diets and that is often the number one reason for fatigue! (http://www.doctoroz.com/media/print/11196) A morning protein shake is a really easy and delicious way to make sure that you’re starting the day off well fueled. Pair this with a piece of whole grain toast and you have everything you need to give you a solid energy foundation for the day.

Source: stumble upon

Healthy liver cells created in lab

In a path-breaking research, scientists have discovered a way to transform skin cells into mature, fully functioning liver cells that flourish on their own.

The technique could serve as an alternative for liver-failure patients who do not require full-organ replacement or who do not have access to a transplant owing to limited donor organ availability.

Researchers at Gladstone Institutes and University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) revealed a new cellular reprogramming method that transforms human skin cells into liver cells that are virtually indistinguishable from the cells that make up liver tissue.

“Earlier studies tried to reprogramme skin cells back into a stem cell-like state in order to then grow liver cells. However, generating these pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells, and then transforming them into liver cells was not always resulting in complete transformation,” explained Sheng Ding, senior investigator at Gladstone Institutes.

“So we thought that, rather than taking these skin cells all the way back to a stem cell-like state, perhaps we could take them to an intermediate phase,” he added

Instead of taking the skin cells back to the beginning, the scientists took them only part way, creating endoderm-like cells.

Endoderm cells are cells that eventually mature into many of the body`s major organs – including the liver.

This step allowed them to generate a large reservoir of cells that could more readily be coaxed into becoming liver cells.

Next, the researchers discovered a set of genes and compounds that can transform these cells into functioning liver cells.

After just a few weeks, the team began to notice a transformation.

“The cells began to take on the shape of liver cells and even started to perform regular liver-cell functions,” said Milad Rezvani from University of California.

They transplanted these early-stage liver cells into the livers of mice.

Two months post-transplantation, the team noticed a boost in human liver protein levels in the mice.

Nine months later, cell growth had shown no signs of slowing down.

These results offer new hope for the millions of people suffering from, or at risk of developing, liver failure.

At present, the only option is a costly liver transplant.

The power of regenerative medicine already allows scientists to transform skin cells into cells that closely resemble heart cells, pancreas cells and even neurons, concluded the study that appeared in the journal Nature.

Source: zee news

Prostate cancer chances rise with vitamin E, selenium supplements

The trial was stopped earlier than planned because it showed no protective effect for selenium and suggested an increased risk of cancer from vitamin E. Researchers told the men in the study to stop taking the supplements and kept checking in with them.

Investigators then re-analyzed the data for 1,739 men from the trial who were previously diagnosed with prostate cancer, compared with 3,117 others, without prostate cancer, who were matched to the patients by race and age.

The focus of the research then shifted to how the amount of selenium in the men’s bodies before they started taking supplements affected cancer rates.

The bottom line was there were no benefits to any men from either selenium or vitamin E supplements, said researchers. Taking selenium supplements increased the risk of high-grade cancer among men who had naturally high selenium levels.

“Men using these supplements should stop, period,” study author Alan Kristal of the Public Health Sciences division at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle said in a release.

Neither selenium nor vitamin E supplementation offers any known benefits, only risks, he said.

“While there appear to be no risks from taking a standard multivitamin, the effects of high-dose single supplements are unpredictable, complex and often harmful.”

There are still open questions about selenium and prostate cancer risk, according to a journal editorial published with the study. For example, animal studies suggest the form of selenium matters, such as whether it comes from pills, enriched wheat and broccoli, or yeast.

“We need to revisit the question of evaluating the prevention of a single disease in healthy people, where competing risks may obscure reality. Even if a subset can be identified that would benefit from some form of selenium or vitamin E supplementation, it must not be only a benefit to a single gland or based on one disease,” biostatistician Paul Frankel from City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center in Duarte, Calif. concluded in the editorial.

The U.S. National Cancer Institute funded the study.

Source: CBC news

Soon, more efficient vaccines for meningitis and pneumonia

Researchers have discovered the presence of a novel subtype of innate lymphoid cells in human spleen essential for the production of antibodies.

This work was done by the B cell Biology research group at IMIM (Institut Hospital del Mar d’Investigacions Mediques) in Barcelona, directed by Dr. Andrea Cerutti, ICREA research professor and leader in the field of B lymphocyte biology.

Innate lymphoid cells were recently described by the scientific community and represent the first line of immunological defence on our body surfaces, which are constantly exposed to bacteria, such as the intestine or skin.

Dr. Giuliana Magri, member of the research group of B Cell Biology at IMIM and first author in the paper, said that for the first time it has been described both their presence and function in human spleen. We have discovered how these cells regulate the innate immune response of a subset of splenic B lymphocytes that are responsible to fight against encapsulated bacteria, causative agents of meningitis or pneumonia.

This new finding improves our understanding on how the immune system protects us against infections.

This research has been published in the journal Nature Immunology.

Source: sify news

The 5 jobs most likely to make you sick

Talk about an occupational hazard: 40 percent of Australian workers may be exposed to chemicals that boost their risk of developing cancer, according to a team of Aussie researchers. Solar radiation, tobacco smoke, and diesel engine exhaust topped the list of the most common disease-causing culprits.

While some jobs, such as logging and power line repairing, are inherently dangerous–they rack up some of the highest fatalities each year–your career could be making you sick without you realizing it. Keep clicking for the five jobs most likely to put your health on the line.

#1: Agriculture

Although farmers tend to have lower death rates due to heart disease and cancers of the lung, esophagus, bladder, and colon–likely thanks to lower smoking rates and a physically active lifestyle–they have an exceptionally high risk of other conditions, according to the National Cancer Institute. Among them: leukemia, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, multiple myeloma, soft tissue sarcoma, and cancers of the skin, lip, stomach, brain, and prostate. Why? Farmers are exposed to a wide range of hazardous chemicals including pesticides, engine exhaust, fertilizers, fungicide, and fuels, as well as animal viruses and dust.

#2: Construction workers

Falling objects and machines that turn digits into stumps aren’t the only on-site dangers. Roughly 1.3 million construction workers are currently exposed to asbestos, according to the American Lung Association. Small fibers of asbestos build up in your lungs over time, causing scarring that can stiffen your breathers–a condition called asbestosis. The kicker: Asbestosis and malignant mesothelioma–a fatal cancer also caused by asbestos–can take as long as 40 years to develop after you’ve been exposed to the toxin. If you’ve worked in construction, talk to your doctor about whether you should receive a lung cancer screening, which can also detect these conditions.

#3: Firefighters

Trauma and smoke inhalation must be the most serious threats, right? Nope: Firefighters are seven times more likely to die of a heart attack than smoke inhalation and nearly twice as likely to kick the bucket because of ticker trouble than trauma, the U.S. Fire Administration reports. Blame physical and psychological stress: Firefighters’ risk of heart attack increases up to 100-fold while battling a blaze, suggests a Harvard study.

#4: Pilots

The saying, “don’t fly too close to the sun” takes on a whole new meaning when it comes to airline pilots. Researchers at the University of Iceland found that airline pilots have 25 times the normal rate of malignant melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. Cosmic radiation may be partly to blame, but researchers suggest lifestyle factors play a role in pilots’ susceptibility to skin cancer, too. These include excessive sunbathing when they’re not up in the air–hello, free flights to tropical locales–and disrupted circadian rhythms when crossing multiple time zones, which could affect the body’s ability to fight off disease.

#5: Anything at a desk

Despite your cushy chair and ergonomic keyboard, your desk-bound career is hardly harmless. A sedentary job is associated with an 82 percent increased risk of dying from cardiovascular disease compared to those who spend less than four hours per week sitting on the job, suggest new University of South Carolina research. In addition to the obvious–inactivity means burning fewer calories–excessive sitting causes changes in how well your muscles gobble up glucose and burn fat. Fortunately, researchers discovered that regular exercise significantly chips away at desk jockeying’s damaging effects.

Source: fox news