Now check your eyes, sense of smell to spot Alzheimer’s early

Now check your eyes, sense of smell to spot Alzheimer's early

New research has revealed that Alzheimer’s key biomarker could be identified in the retina and lens of the eye, moreover, the ability to identify odors might indicate the development of cognitive impairment to Alzheimer’s disease in its early ages.

The study found that the decreased ability to identify odors was significantly associated with loss of brain cell function and progression to Alzheimer’s disease. In two other studies, the level of beta-amyloid detected in the eye was significantly correlated with the burden of beta-amyloid in the brain and allowed researchers to accurately identify the people with Alzheimer’s in the studies.

Beta-amyloid protein is the primary material found in the sticky brain “plaques” characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease. It was known to build up in the brain many years before typical Alzheimer’s symptoms of memory loss and other cognitive problems.

Heather Snyder, Ph.D., said that advanced researches were needed in the very promising area of Alzheimer’s biomarkers because early detection was essential for early intervention and prevention, when new treatments become available.

Clinically, at this time it was only possible to detect Alzheimer’s late in its development, when significant brain damage has already occurred, however, biological markers of Alzheimer’s disease might be able to detect it at an earlier stage.

Source: Business standard

Medicines for cough and cold

Medicines for cough and coldHaving cough and cold is probably one of the most annoying conditions to have. But you don’t have to necessarily suffer through it. There are medicines that can help you deal with the symptoms and infection, if any.

For colds:

Colds are most often caused due to a viral infection and one is usually affected when their immune system is weak. Cold spreads easily from one person to another; it is not uncommon to see many people suffering from one simultaneously. According to Dr Pradip Shah, consultant, Fortis, Mulund, ‘In case of a cold, a patient usually is advised enough rest and to drink a lot of fluids. Apart from that they can try steam inhalation as this will help unblock their nose and chest making breathing easy. If the discomfort is very severe, one can opt for OTC (over-the-counter) nasal saline sprays or decongestant nasal sprays. In some cases, a cold may lead to sinusitis ( a condition where the lining of the sinuses – spaces present above your eyebrows, below your eyes and on either side of your nose – gets infected and becomes inflamed. This leads to collection of fluid in those areas causing pain and discomfort). Here patient is usually prescribed pain killers, antibiotics (if the cause of the sinusitis is due to a bacterial infection) and anti-inflammatory agents such as fluticasone.’

For a cough: Cough is a condition that is most often triggered either by an infectious agent or an allergen and is divided into two main types – wet or productive cough and dry cough. Easily discernible from each other a wet and a dry cough do require specific treatments.

For dry cough: According to Dr Pradip Shah, ‘A dry cough brought on due to allergies is usually treated with antihistamines. These drugs help in controlling the allergic reaction in the body and lead to relief in cough.’ Apart from that a person with a dry cough will be most likely prescribed a cough syrup to help soothe his/her throat and to help suppress their cough reflex.

According to Dr Mehul Thakkar, pulmonologist practicing at various hospitals in Mumbai, ‘Though finding the root cause of the cough is a key to treating it completely, certain home remedies and OTC medication can give some symptomatic relief. Steam inhalation moistens the airways and helps relieve a sore and irritated throat. Other remedies include using lozenges to soothe the throat and OTC cough syrups specifically formulated to treat a dry cough. In cases where the cough is due to an infection or allergy, one may be prescribed antibiotics and anti-histamines respectively to relieve the associated symptoms. If the patient’s condition worsens it may be necessary to use a nebulizer, which is a method to help the patient breath easily by dilating the bronchioles.’

Antihistamines work by blocking the combination of histamines (compounds produced by the body in response to an allergic reaction) with their receptors in the body. By doing so they prevent the body from launching an attack on an allergen. Although these pills are highly effective in stopping an allergic reaction they do have certain side effects{3} like drowsiness, stomach aches, dizziness, confusion, muscle weakness, tremors. These drugs are also contraindicated in cases where a person is required to perform activities requiring alertness, in a pregnant or lactating woman, in children below 12 years, in people suffering from prostate enlargement, glaucoma, heart disease and peptic ulcers as the drug can increase the severity of symptoms. People who have consumed alcohol should also avoid antihistamines since they further the sedative effect of alcohol. And finally, antihistamines should be avoided in cases where the person is already taking other sedative drugs.

Bronchodilators are specifically used for asthmatics and in those people who have severe chest congestion that prevents them from breathing effectively. They work by helping the muscles around your airways to relax and help ease breathing. Bronchodilators can cause dryness in the mouth and throat, irritation in the throat and mouth (after using inhalers), nervousness, restlessness and trembling.

Productive cough: In the case of productive cough, an expectorant cough syrup works well to relieve the symptoms by reducing congestion due to mucus in the lungs. In addition, the cause of the cough is treated. According to Dr Pradip Shah, ‘If a productive cough is due to a bacterial infection then a patient is usually prescribed antibiotics. On further examination if one is diagnosed with pneumonia or tuberculosis then he/she will be prescribed pneumonia or TBspecificmedication and drugs to fight the infection.’

Cough caused due to asthma: ‘In the case of people with asthma, a cough is usually because they are unable to breathe. Therefore for such patients a doctor will normally prescribe bronchodilators and corticosteroids. Both these drugs help the person breathe more easily and prevent the onset of another asthmatic attack,’ says Dr Shah.

Source: the health site

Chainsaw in the neck: How surgeons saved one man from a traumatic accident

Chainsaw in the neck

A chainsaw to the neck is no routine injury – but fortunately for one Pittsburgh man, hospital trauma surgeons are prepared for the worst.

In April, 21-year-old James Valentine was working as a tree-trimmer when he was struck in the neck by a chainsaw. In a new episode of “Untold Stories of the ER,” his doctors revisited the case.

“As a trauma surgeon, we see a large collection of unusual things, including object impalement,” Dr. Christine C. Toevs, trauma ICU medical director at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, Penn., told. “But chains to the neck with a chainsaw is still very impressive, even in the world of a trauma surgeon.”

Toevs and her team had only 10 minutes’ notice before Valentine was brought in. Her biggest concern was that he would bleed to death or that he had injured his carotid artery, which supplies the brain with blood. An injury to his esophagus would have also presented a major issue, as breathing comes first in terms of sustaining life.

Fortunately, when Valentine arrived, he was able to speak and wiggle his toes, which indicated his airway wasn’t compromised and his spinal cord wasn’t damaged. He was in some degree of shock and was appropriately scared, but he wasn’t panicking, which could have worsened the situation.

“It’d be a big issue if he panicked; we couldn’t stabilize the chainsaw, which could come out and he could bleed to death… or we could lose the airway,” Toevs said.

When the accident occurred, the chainsaw still had the motor attached, but emergency personnel were able to take it off before they reached the hospital. However, the chainsaw blade needed to remain still, so in the trauma bay, Toevs designated one person’s sole responsibility to hold the blade.

The team took a chest X-ray and found no other injuries to the chest or lungs and no blood in the chest. Valentine was taken to the operating room (OR) after a brief examination in the trauma bay.

“If there’s a problem, you want all the [surgical] resources you have,” Toevs said. “We took him to the OR and in a very controlled situation, put him to sleep, and then we pressed and got totally all set up and took out the chainsaw in a very controlled situation.”

Because there was no damage to his trachea, doctors were able to intubate him and put him on a ventilator for the surgery. Though he was losing blood, it wasn’t an alarming amount, Toevs said.

“Yes, he was losing blood because the chainsaw did injure his muscles, skin, small veins and arteries that can be tied off and don’t supply blood to the brain,” Toevs said. “It wasn’t what we call ‘firehose’ bleeding [with blood spraying uncontrollably].”

The team put Valentine to sleep, then took out the blade. Exploring the wound, they found that the blade went in about three inches in his shoulder and one inch into his neck, injuring his trapezius muscle, sternocleidomastoid muscle and other smaller muscles. But, most importantly, they found that the blade had not damaged his carotid artery.

“If it had gone a centimeter deeper, it would’ve hit. The muscle overlying the carotid was intact. Then we just explored the wound,” Toevs said. “At that point in time, it’s a huge letdown— we were preparing for the absolute worst.”

With the situation stabilized, the surgery then became routine. It took about five minutes to explore the wound to ensure nothing else was injured, then the surgeons cleaned up the blood, dirt and tree particles and closed the wound.

Valentine was admitted to the hospital overnight and began working with a physical therapist the next day. After Valentine was released from the hospital, Toevs ordered physical therapy for him to help him get his arm back to normal usage, as well as help him to move his arm above his head again.

Since Valentine is a young, healthy adult, Toevs doesn’t expect him to deal with any residual issues from the accident, and he should fully recover.

Overall, the surprisingly benign nature of the injury and the coordinated efforts of everyone involved made the procedure go smoothly, Toevs said.

“He was very blessed that he wasn’t injured more and it was also a blessing that every part went perfectly, like it was supposed to,” she said. “It was a real testimony to the EMS, the emergency department, the OR, to all the people involved… each playing a critical role to making sure he did okay.”

As for Valentine, his calmness during the perilous situation was helpful for the team— and for his recovery.

Source: fox news

Hospital elevator buttons hide more germs than toilets

Hospital elevator buttons hide more germs than toilets

Elevator buttons are more likely to be colonised by bacteria than toilet surfaces, a new study of three large urban hospitals in Canada has found.

“Elevators are a component of modern hospital care, and are used by multiple people with ungloved hands who will later go on to make contact with patients,” said Dr Donald Redelmeier, University of Toronto professor and co-author of the study.

In the study, 120 randomly selected interior and exterior elevator buttons were swabbed over a ten-day period at each hospital.

These were compared against swabs of toilet surfaces in men’s washrooms, including exterior and interior entry-door handles, the privacy latch and the toilet flusher.

Sixty-one per cent of the elevator button samples showed microbiological growth, compared to only 43 per cent of the toilet surface samples.

Bacteria cultured from the elevator buttons and toilet surfaces included Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, coliform (or bowel) bacteria, Enterococcus and Pseudomonas, though they are unlikely to cause specific diseases in most cases, researchers said.

“We were surprised by the frequency of bacterial colonisation on the elevator buttons, but we were also struck by how easily it could be avoided, specifically by the use of good hand washing or hand hygiene,” said co-author Dr Andrew Simor, a professor of Medicine and of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology at U of T and chief, department of microbiology and infectious diseases at Sunnybrook.

The authors suggest several strategies for reducing the frequency of bacterial colonisation on commonly touched surfaces.

“Use alcohol-based hand sanitiser before and after touching the buttons, or avoid touching them altogether by using the tip of a pen or your elbow,” said lead author Dr Christopher Kandel, a fellow, department of infectious diseases, at U of T.

The study was published in Open Medicine Journal.

Source: Business standard

Custard Apple Nutritional Facts And Health Benefits

benefits-of-custard-apple

Custard apples, also known as chermoyas, are native to the West Indies and South America. The custard apple also grows on the slopes of the Andes and in several parts of Asia. The custard apple fruit is generally priced at the higher side because of the difficulty in transporting these (custard apples are soft and fleshy, with hard exteriors). This fruit with a sugary, grainy taste is rich in iron, niacin and calcium, and is also rich in calories.

So, what is a custard apple? It isn’t an apple and neither is it a dessert.

Custard apple is fruit with a sweet taste, which measures about 8-16 cm in diameter. This fruit can be round, heart-shaped or irregular. The skin that covers this fruit is thin but tough and generally green or brown in color. Once you break open this skin, you’ll find thick, creamy flesh surrounding the seeds. Sugary and granular, it’s this custard like texture that gives the fruit its name. An evergreen plant that grows up to 6 meters, the custard apple plant bears flowers and fruits in the mature branches.

Custard apples, with its high calories, natural sugars and delicious taste, are good as a dessert and as a nutritious snack. Custard apples can be made into shakes or smoothies, or even into natural ice creams. It is good for those who have hyper thyroidism or want to gain weight – a mixture of honey and custard apple is supposed to help people add on those much-needed calories. Let’s looks at some other custard apple nutritional facts.

Custard Apple Health Benefits

  • Custard apples are packed with vitamin C, an antioxidant that can combat the free radicals in the body.
  • The fruit also has vitamin A, which is good for healthy skin, better vision and for healthy hair.
  • The magnesium in custard apples can protect the heart from cardiac diseases and can relax the muscles.
  • Custard apples are also rich in vitamin B6 and potassium.
  • Custard apples are also rich in copper and have plenty of dietary fiber, which is good for keeping the digestive tract healthy and aids digestion as well prevents constipation.
  • Custard apples have low levels of fat, which is good for health.
  • It is believed that a paste made with the creamy flesh of the fruit can be used as a balm to treat boils, abscesses and ulcers.
  • Custard apples can be sun-dried and then ground into a powder, which can treat dysentery and diarrhea.
  • Custard apples also act as coolants, stimulants and expectorants. These fruits are good for treating anemia.
  • Some people make the fruit into a beverage that can act as a substitute to milk.

Custard apple fruit:

The custard apple fruit is a sweet fruit that has many benefits. Some of these benefits are:-

1. It is low in calorie content and therefore good for maintaining optimum health.
2. It contains Vitamin A which is good for the skin, hair, eyes.
3. It helps in digestion as it is a rich source of dietary fiber.
4. It is a coolant, stimulant and expectorant.
5. It has healing properties as well – the flesh can be applied on boils, abcessess and ulcers.
6. The magnesium in custard apples helps to protect the heart from cardiac diseases. It can relax the muscles as well.
7. Custard apples can also be used to treat dysentery and diarrhea.
8. It is good for anemic people.
9. The potassium present in a custard apple helps fight muscle weakness.
10. It is also a rich source of magnesium. It therefore helps to equalize the water balance in the body and this helps in removing acids from the joints. It is thus beneficial for rheumatic and arthritic patients.

Even the bark of the custard apple tree, which contains astringents and tannins, is used in making herbal medicines. The leaves of the tree are supposed to be god for treating cancer and tumors; while the bark can relieve toothaches and gum pain.
Thus, these were some of the custard apple health benefits.

Custard apple:
The custard apple fruit is taken but naturally from the custard apple tree. This tree is not very attractive to look at. It stands erect with a rounded or spreading crown. The trunk is about 10-14 inches thick. These custard apple trees grow from 4.5-10 meters long. The deciduous leaves of this tree can be either oblong, alternate or narrow lanceolate. These leaves do not have a pleasant smell but are wide with conspicuous veins. This tree is often made up of long drooping branches that can touch the ground. These trees have many light yellow trumpet shaped flowers that emit a sweet fragrance in the evening. Only a small number of these flowers will set fruit. This tree belongs to the Annonaceae family of trees. The custard apple fruit from this tree is rich in taste and can be used in various ways. Some people like it as dessert in the form of ice cream or a tart.

This fruit is also known as Cherimoya in the USA. They are considered an exotic fruit in the USA and are in high demand there.

Apple custard

Apple custard pie or apple custard cakes are delicious ways to end a meal with the family. Follow the recipe given below for pie.

Take 1-1 ½ cups all purpose flour, ½ cup cold butter, ½ teaspoon salt, 3 cups of peeled and sliced apples (about 4 apples should do), 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/3 cup sugar. For the custard you need 1 egg, ½ cup sugar and 1 cup evaporated milk. Combine flour, salt and butter till crumbly. Press this into a pie plate and put apples over the crust.  Mix the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over the apples. Bake this at 375° for 20 minutes. Whisk all the ingredients for the custard and pour over the apples. Bake till smooth.

There are several apple custard cake recipes that are easy to make as well. These can be found online or in recipe books.

Custard apple benefits:

There are several custard apple benefits and these include benefits during pregnancy as well. Some of these benefits are:-

  • Custard apples contain a great deal of copper which helps the body to form hemoglobin. This is especially useful for pregnant women as they need about 1000 micrograms of copper daily. Eating custard apples during pregnancy is therefore beneficial for the mother and child.
  • Custard apples are a rich source of Vitamin B.
  • This fruit is also a rich source of Vitamin C.
  • Custard apples in a dried and powdered form can be used to treat lice.
  • Custard apples contain potassium, magnesium and carbohydrates.
  • Skin infections such as abcessess or ulcers can be treated with custard apple. Simply grind the flesh into a thick paste and apply it to the affected area.

Source: diet health club

 

 

 

 

 

3 good yoga poses for runners

3 good yoga poses for runners

If you’re a runner, you’ve probably been told you “should do yoga.”
While generic yoga classes can help with recovery, one of the best ways runners can use yoga is by applying it specifically to correct and prevent chronic issues, such as achilles tendonitis, plantar fasciitis, IT band syndrome, knee discomfort, quad strains and hip pain.

Ask a runner about their past or present physical complaints and you can expect to hear about one or more of these conditions. So what’s behind these ongoing problems?

Consider this: Running is a symmetrical activity and human beings aren’t symmetrical. We all have a dominant side. Which side of your hips is your weight resting on as you read this? How about when you drive your car? Or sit on your couch?

Consequently, spending hours doing a symmetrical activity without awareness of your asymmetrical tendencies can wreak havoc on weight distribution and muscle firing patterns, resulting in compensations that feed all the issues listed above.

Most runners’ issues are due to an inability to transfer their center of gravity out of their dominant side,” said Mike Cantrell, president of the Cantrell Center for Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine in Warner Robins, Georgia, and a faculty member at the Postural Restoration Institute in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Lack of acknowledging the problem causes “a cascade of mechanical breakdown, particularly in elite runners.”

Here are three yoga-based moves I use with running athletes to help them address compensations. These can be integrated into overall training programs or used as part of a dynamic warm-up.

Step-forward and step-back lunges
From standing, inhale and raise your arms as you step forward with your right leg into a lunge. Exhale to hold. Inhale as you step back to standing and lower your arms. Repeat on the left side the same way. Once back to center, repeat on both legs, but exhale as you raise your arms and step forward, inhale on the hold and exhale to return back to standing.

Next, switch to step-back lunges, incorporating the same breathing pattern; begin stepping back on the inhalation and do the second set stepping back on the exhalation.

While practicing these, avoid rolling your forward foot inward or to the outer edge, and maintain knee alignment above the ankle. Be sure both hips point forward and your back-leg-glute area fires. Pay attention to your breath and core stabilization. If your pelvis and diaphragm function properly, you should be able to stabilize and absorb the shock of stepping backward or forward on either side, regardless of phase of breath.

Flowing bridge
Begin on your back with your knees bent and feet on the floor hip-distance apart. Be sure your feet are pointed forward and aligned horizontally. Your knees/feet indicate hip position, so a forward knee/foot means your hip on that side is pushed forward. Position yourself to place your hips, knees and feet in alignment. Exhale and lift your hips. Inhale and release to the floor. Repeat 8-12 times.

Pay attention to weight distribution in your feet and whether your hips lift evenly; you shouldn’t rely on one side more.

Like the lunges, this move allows you to establish awareness and work to correct favoring one side of your body while also counterbalancing quad and hip-flexor dominance with proper hamstring and glute firing.

Windshield wipers

Start in a bridge position, but place your arms out to the sides and feet wider than hip distance with knees dropped inward. Exhale and allow both knees and legs to drop to the right, coming as close to the floor as comfortable without pain. Inhale and bring the knees together again. Exhale and take the knees left. Repeat 10 times (five each side).

This move stretches and inhibits runners’ overactive hip flexors and quads.

Source: cnn

Top health benefits of cocoa

Top health benefits of cocoa

Cocoa products are very popular throughout the world. Whether it is eating a high-quality chocolate for a decadent snack or chocolate sauce added to the dessert of the evening, cocoa often tops the list of favorite foods for people across the globe. Many people do not realize that cocoa offers significant health benefits that can help them rationalize those times when they indulge in their favorite food, even if they are not supposed to do so.

Amazing antioxidant properties

A great body of evidence suggests that cocoa beans contain a hefty amount of antioxidants. Some researchers have put that amount at about a 10 percent concentration. This concentration is said to be greater than many common foods that are prized for their antioxidant properties. For example, cocoa beans contain 621 antioxidants, while wild blueberries contain 61, and domestic blueberries contain 32. Cocoa beans also contain three times the antioxidants that green tea has and twice the amount found in red wine.

A natural antidepressant

Cocoa beans contain enzymes that are known to combat depression. Serotonin, dopamine and phenylethylamine (PEA) are used by the body to promote positive mental health and a sense of well-being. In addition, cocoa also contains other enzymes that are designed to help these feelings of happiness last longer.

Good for heart health

Cocoa beans contain significant amounts of polyphenols which are good for the cardiovascular system. Researchers have uncovered evidence that this element could reduce blood pressure, increasing the health of the heart. Magnesium is another element that is vital to good heart health, as it increases the strength of the heart and improves its health. Magnesium also helps reduce the risk of blood clots. Blood clots are one of the risk factors associated with strokes and heart attacks.

Boost energy

Having a cup of hot cocoa gives a person the same energy-boosting results as a comparably sized cup of coffee without the coffee crash that is often experienced after its consumption. This is because there are fewer stimulants in cocoa beans than there are in coffee beans. In addition, consuming cocoa helps relieve anxiety.

Lose weight

Though it can sound paradoxical, eating cocoa beans might help people lose weight. Currently, researchers are studying the effect that cocoa consumption has on improving sensitivity to insulin. Studies are currently underway that focus on studying the link between obesity and a sensitivity to insulin, with some scientists believing that this connection could help support a person’s efforts to lose weight.

When choosing cocoa beans to consume for health, it is best to choose a high-quality dark chocolate. It should contain at least 70% cocoa, no dairy products and should be made from cocoa butter. This type of chocolate is more easily consumed when compared to the bitter cocoa beans.

Source: natural news

Seven ways to keep kids hydrated

Seven ways to keep kids hydrated

Don’t wait for your kids to tell you they’re thirsty before offering them water, experts say. Instead, offer them water and other hydrating foods and beverages throughout the day, particularly in the summer when more liquids are needed to stay healthy.

By the time children are thirsty, they’re already at least 3 percent dehydrated, according to Dr. Holly Benjamin, Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Orthopedic Surgery at University of Chicago.

And water does far more than slake thirst, said Marina Chaparro, spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. “Water is a cooling mechanism, it transports fluids and nutrients, helps with digestion, helps with cognitive function and maintains a healthy weight,” she told Reuters Health by email.

The amount of water a child needs to stay hydrated and healthy may surprise you: teenagers need as much as adults (eight to 11 cups), while even toddlers aged 1 to 3 should have four cups of fluids a day.

“I use a rule of thumb of 2 to 3 ounces per day per pound of body weight, to a maximum of 8 to 10 cups per day,” said Dr. Karl W. Holtzer, a pediatrician with the Pediatric Alliance Fox Chapel Division in Pittsburgh. In email to Reuters Health, he noted that water is not needed for infants under 6 months of age, and babies under 1 year can stay hydrated with breast milk or formula.

It’s particularly important to make sure active kids are getting their fill of water.

“Make sure they drink 30 minutes or so before an activity, and then every 20 minutes during the activity, especially during the summer months,” Holtzer said. While doctors advise against sugary drinks, they do say that a sports beverage containing electrolytes is okay during prolonged, vigorous exercise.

Aside from complaints of thirst, it can be hard to tell when a child is dehydrated. Some signs could be decreased or dark urine, dizziness and lethargy,

Parents can ensure that their kids get their recommended intake of fluids with these seven tips:

1. It doesn’t have to be water – many fruits and vegetables have a very high water content. Offer watermelon, strawberries, broccoli, celery, cucumbers and other watery fruits and veggies for snacks. Chaparro recommends five servings of fruits and vegetables each day.

2. Make sipping fun. Let your kids pick out their own drinking cups or travel bottles in their favorite colors or decorated with their favorite characters. Buy a set of crazy straws. Invest in ice cube trays that make ice in fun shapes.

3. If kids balk at drinking “boring” water, give it some flavor and color. Freeze berries or cranberries into ice cubes, or infuse water with fresh fruit, herbs or vegetables such as lemon, mint, watermelon or orange. Even adding unflavored soda to water makes it more of a treat – “bubbles without the calories,” says Chaparro. She also suggests using sugar-free drink mixes.

4. Make your own popsicles for a fluid-rich treat. Puree fruit or use no-sugar-added fruit juice and pour into freezer molds.

5. Make sure water is easily accessible for little ones. If they can’t reach the sink or the water tap in your refrigerator, set up an easy-to-use water dispenser and a few cups in a place where they can reach it.

6. Be prepared. Invest in an assortment of reusable travel bottles and keep them filled and in the fridge so you can grab them any time you head out for a walk, bike ride or car trip.

7. Create a reminder system for drinking water. This could be a chart on the refrigerator that kids can mark each time they have a serving of water, or, if you’re out and about, a timer set on your phone to remind the family that it’s time to take a drink.

Source: reuters

Extreme obesity cuts average life span extremely

Extreme obesity cuts average life span extremely

Those with a body mass index, or BMI, above 40 are robbed of at least 6 1/2 years, on average, of expected life span, a study has found. And the toll in years lost rises with the degree of obesity, reaching nearly 14 years for the most obese — those with a BMI above 55, researchers said.

The study found that the reduction in life expectancy associated with being extremely obese was similar to that seen in adults who smoke. And as a person’s obesity rises to higher levels, his or her expected life span falls below that of smokers.

The findings come from a project that aggregated the results of about 20 long-term studies on obesity conducted in the United States, Australia and Sweden. They were published Tuesday in the journal PLoS Medicine, in what is believed to be the largest study to date of the health consequences of severe obesity.

Compared with their normal-weight peers, the extremely obese are more likely to succumb early to heart disease, cancer and diabetes. For men with “class III obesity,” the rate of death attributable to heart disease and diabetes is especially elevated compared with normal-weight males. For women in the same obesity category, cancer deaths dramatically outstripped those among normal-weight women.

But premature deaths attributable to all causes, from injury to chronic lower respiratory infections, were consistently higher in those with severe obesity, the study found.

The extremely obese — those who generally would need to lose 100 lbs. or more to attain a “normal healthy weight” — are a fast-growing segment of the U.S. population, now representing about 6% of American adults.

The ranks of those with a BMI over 40 (for example, a 5-foot-6 person weighing 250 pounds or more) have grown fourfold since the 1980s. The population with a BMI over 50 (say, a 5-foot-10 person weighing more than 350 pounds) has grown by 10% in the same period.

The medical costs for such patients are outsized as well, accounting for 1 in 5 healthcare dollars spent per capita in the year 2000.

The latest findings suggest that extreme obesity may be even more dangerous for men than it is for women and for younger adults compared with older ones. They come as evidence mounts that weight-loss medications, as well as diet and lifestyle counseling, work only modestly in helping the obese lose weight and keep it off.

Increasing research has shown bariatric surgery to be highly effective not only at inducing weight loss but at forestalling and reversing the health consequences of obesity. But the substantial costs of such surgery are expected to limit its widespread use.

A 2010 Kaiser Permanente study conducted in California found obesity more prevalent among African African and Latino children, even as rates of such obesity have begun to level off and even drop among non-Latino white children across the country.

Among Latino teenage boys, the rate of extreme obesity was 11.2%, and among African American teenage boys, 12% fell in the extremely obese category. A study published this year in JAMA found that 16.5% of adult African American women and 7.4% of adult Latinas had BMIs above 40.

As the extremely obese age and their ranks continue to grow, the authors of the current study said, their medical problems may reverse progress made in driving down cardiovascular disease through smoking-cessation programs and more widespread treatment of risk factors, and in driving down cancer deaths with better prevention and treatment. Cancers more prevalent among the obese are those of the breast, colon, pancreas, ovaries, kidney, esophagus, thyroid and gall bladder.

“If current global trends in obesity continue, we must expect to see substantially increased rates of mortality due to these major causes of death, as well as increasing healthcare costs,” the authors concluded.

Source: latimes

Medical Council asked to expedite MBBS seat enhancement

MCI

Stung by the Medical Council of India (MCI)’s feet dragging over the MBBS seats cancellation-restoration issue, the union health ministry has urged the statutory body to urgently take a call on compliance reports filed by educational institutions all over the country.

Union health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said here on Wednesday that about 10,000 meritorious students face a bleak future because of the MCI’s obsession with minor details.

“Most of the deficiencies in the MCI’s reports are about problems with air-conditioning, or about partition walls in buildings and, of course, the shortage of faculty which is an old irritant. But even though most of the colleges have complied with the MCI’s demands, there has been no acknowledgement. This cannot be expected of MCI,” Dr Harsh Vardhan said.

The minister said senior officials of the ministry, including health secretary Lov Verma, and joint secretary Vishwas Mehta have been forwarding the recommendations of the hearing committee and compliance reports submitted by the various medical colleges. But MCI’s response is awaited, causing anxiety in all quarters, he added.

“The ministry has sent 150 cases, most of them government colleges, for review to MCI but there has been no response. I respect MCI’s autonomy but expect that it appreciates the agony of thousands of meritorious boys and girls whose future is jeopardised by procrastination,” Dr Harsh Vardhan said.

The minister disclosed that he has received numerous delegations of students, doctors, institution managements, members of parliament and other stakeholders complaining of MCI’s attitude.

“Reports are flooding the ministry of medical colleges, including reputed government-owned ones, cutting their intake of undergraduates for the current academic year. This is worrying for the government because the long-term effect would be a deeper crisis in the availability of qualified doctors. As it happens, India has just one doctor per 1,700 people compared to the global average of 1.5 per 1,000. The government has a policy of meeting the shortfall by opening more medical colleges over the next decade,” according to a statement by the union health ministry.

“MCI had undertaken to send its recommendations to the health ministry for issuance of letters of permission by June 15, 2014 as per a revised schedule made in May. In follow up, the government’s deadline for issuing letters of permission or denial was set for July 15, 2014. But with MCI reneging on its undertaking, the government is dismayed that it would not be in a position to mitigate the suffering of the students,” the statement said.

Dr Harsh Vardhan said, “It is disturbing that amidst all the reports of students’ agony over the delay, the non-seriousness of the MCI’s Executive Committee is appalling. Yesterday they had a meeting but we are yet to receive word on its outcome.”

In a letter to MCI president Dr Jayshreeben Mehta, health secretary Lov Verma has suggested that MCI should file an interlocutory application before the Supreme Court in the Priya Gupta case. The objective should be to get an extension to August 8, 2014 so that the passing of the present deadline does not have a destructive impact, the statement added.

Source: India Medical Times