31 October, 2012 Clippings

Smoking can causes asthma in third generation

The dangers of smoking on users and their children are known but new research demonstrates that it also can causes asthma in their grandchildren.

Asthma is a major public health problem. It is the most common chronic disease of childhood. While there are many factors which contribute to asthma - maternal smoking during pregnancy is a well known, and avoidable, risk.

During pregnancy nicotine can affect a developing foetus' lungs, predisposing the infant to childhood asthma.

Researchers from Harbor-UCLA Medical Centre, California, tested the effect of nicotine exposure during pregnancy on rats, looking not only at their pups but also at second generation pups.

Exposure inside the uterus resulted in both male and female offspring having reduced lung function consistent with asthma.

It also impaired lung function of their own offspring, even though the first generation rats were not themselves exposed to nicotine once they were born, according to an UCLA statement.

Levels of proteins increased by maternal smoking in the lungs of their offspring such as fibronectin, collagen and nicotinic aceylcholine receptors, were also found to be raised in the grandchildren.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

31.10.2012

Smoking 'may lead to cataract in elderly'

In a new study, researchers have found new evidence that smoking may also increase the risk of age-related cataract, which is the leading cause of blindness and vision loss in the world.

The new findings are the result of a meta-analysis conducted by a team of researchers from China.

“Although cataracts can be removed surgically to restore sight, many people remain blind from cataracts due to inadequate surgical services and high surgery expenses,” author Juan Ye, MD from Zhejiang University in China said.

“Identifying modifiable risk factors for cataracts may help establish preventive measures and reduce the financial as well as clinical burden caused by the disease,” Ye said.

The team performed the analysis using 12 cohorts and eight case-control studies from Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and North America, to compare the prevalence of age-related cataract in individuals who ever smoked cigarettes to those who have never smoked.

Further subgroup analyses were performed based on the subjects’ status as a past or current smoker and the three subtypes of age-related cataract. The results showed that every individual that ever smoked cigarettes was associated with an increased risk of age-related cataract, with a higher risk of incidence in current smokers.

In the subgroup analysis, former and current smokers showed a positive association with two of the subtypes - nuclear cataract, when the clouding is in the central nucleus of the eye, and subscapular cataract, when the clouding is in the rear of the lens capsule.

The analysis found no association between smoking and cortical cataract, in which the cloudiness affects the cortex of the lens.

While the overall analysis suggests that smoking cigarettes may increase the risk of age-related cataracts, the researchers point out that further effort should be made to clarify the underlying mechanisms. “We think our analysis may inspire more high-quality epidemiological studies,” Ye said.

“Our analysis shows that association between smoking and the risk of age-related cataract differ by subtypes, suggesting that pathophysiologic processes may differ in the different cataract types,” Ye added.

The study has been published in Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science.

Source: www.dnaindia.com

31.10.2012

A duty which becomes a desire will ultimately become a delight

George Gritter

30 October, 2012 Clippings

Fortis launches India’s very first ‘hospital mall’

On Monday, the Fortis Memorial Research Institute (FMRI) was officially inaugurated in Gurgaon. Billed as a ‘next-generation concept hospital’, the facility is a unique combination of multi-specialty hospital and shopping mall with eighteen retail and food outlets on the premises.

‘This is a comprehensive institute, aimed at delivering cutting-edge medicine, in line with the best that is available in the West,’ said Malvinder Singh, executive chairman, Fortis Healthcare Limited (FHL). At present, the FMRI has 25 operating rooms and 450 beds. Fortis representatives say that this institute will look to provide ‘advanced multi-clinical treatments for complex medical problems.’

The next phase will also see an expansion in space and facilities. The number of beds is set to go up to 1000 and the place will also have a health club, spa and movie lounge. ‘The facility has been designed with great sensitivity, keeping in mind the anxiety and stress that patients and their families undergo,’ said Shivinder Singh, executive vice chairman, FHL.

Currently the hospital staff comprises of 400 docs and 1,000 nurses. ‘It is the first hospital in its category to have a full-fledged stem-cell lab. We will also offer robotic surgery and organ transplant facilities,’ said an FMRI representative.

Source: http://health.india.com

30.10.2012

Now a super sensitive test kit that can detect HIV, cancer faster!

Scientists have developed a super sensitive test kit — 10 times more accurate than the gold standard methods currently available — to detect prostate cancer and viral infections at the earliest stages. Gold standard is any standardised reliable clinical assessment, which is generally taken to be the best available.

Researchers from the Imperial College London also report that their visual sensor technology is more sensitive for measuring biomarkers, (specific biochemical indicating disease progression), which indicate the onset of prostate cancer and HIV.Their sensor would benefit developing countries where sophisticated detection equipment is scarce, enabling cheaper and simpler detection and treatments for large numbers of patients, the journal Nature Nanotechnology reports.

The team tested the sensor’s effectiveness by detecting a biomarker called p24 in blood samples, which indicates HIV infection, according to an Imperial College statement. The sensor works by analysing serum, derived from blood, in a disposable container. If the result is positive for p24 or PSA, there is a reaction that generates irregular clumps of nanoparticles, which give off a distinctive blue hue in a solution inside the container. If the results are negative the nanoparticles separate into ball-like shapes, creating a reddish hue. Both reactions can be easily seen by the naked eye.

Molly Stevens, professor of materials and bioengineering at Imperial College London, says: ‘It is vital that patients get periodically tested in order to assess the success of retroviral therapies and check for new cases of infection.’

‘Unfortunately, the existing gold standard detection methods can be too expensive to be implemented in parts of the world where resources are scarce. Our approach affords for improved sensitivity, does not require sophisticated instrumentation and it is 10 times cheaper, which could allow more tests to be performed for better screening of many diseases.’

The team also reported that the sensor was so sensitive that it was able to detect minute levels of p24 in samples where patients had low viral loads, which could not be diagnosed using existing tests such as the Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) test and the gold standard nucleic acid based test.‘We also believe that this test could be significantly cheaper to administer, which could pave the way for more widespread use of HIV testing in poorer parts of the world,’ says Roberto de la Rica, study co-author from Imperial College.

Source: http://health.india.com                              30.10.2012
Want to burn some calories? Watch a horror movie!

A new research suggests that watching a scary movie could help burn as much as 113 calories, which is almost equivalent to the amount burned during a half-hour walk. The University of Westminster study also found that the 1980 psychological thriller, ‘The Shining’ was the most calorie burning movie, with the average viewer losing as much as 184 calories!

Cult classic Jaws (161 calories) took second spot while the Exorcist (158 calories) came third. The research also found that movies with scenes that make viewers jump in terror are the best calorie-burners, as they cause heart rates to soar. ‘Each of the ten films tested set pulses racing, sparking an increase in the heart rate of the case studies,’ the paper quoted Dr Richard Mackenzie, senior lecturer and specialist in cell metabolism and physiology at the University of Westminster, as saying. ‘As the pulse quickens and blood pumps around the body faster, the body experiences a surge in adrenaline.’

‘It is this release of fast acting adrenaline, produced during short bursts of intense stress (or in this case, brought on by fear), which is known to lower the appetite, increase the Basal Metabolic Rate and ultimately burn a higher level of calories,’ he explained.

Helen Cowley, editor of the movie rental company LOVEFiLM – which commissioned the University of Westminster study – said: ‘We all know the feeling of wanting to hide behind the sofa or grab a pillow when watching scary or hair raising scenes, but this research suggests that maybe those seeking to burn some calories should keep their eyes on the screen.’

Source: http://health.india.com

30.10.2012

Never leave till tomorrow, which you can do today

Benjmin Franklin

26 October, 2012 Clippings

Electronic nose that sniffs obstruction in breathing during sleep!

Obstructive sleep apnea (dangerous pauses in breathing) could be diagnosed by tweaking an electronic nose used in detecting molecules in a patient’s breath. The gold standard used to identify sleep apnea is an overnight sleep test, a technically demanding, time-consuming and cost-intensive system.

Electronic noses have shown to distinguish between a number of diseases. They do this by analysing the pattern of volatile organic compounds in breath samples. This is the first study that has assessed whether the electronic nose could be used to confirm the presence of sleep apnea, the European Respiratory Journal reports. Researchers analysed the breath of 40 sleep apnea patients and 20 healthy patients who did not suffer from this disorder, according to a Marburg statement.

‘The electronic nose could be useful in two ways: First, it can rule out the disease in a low prevalence population. Second, in a population with a high risk of sleep apnea, the device could be used to help decide who would need to undergo an overnight sleep examination,’ Timm Greulich, from the Marburg Hospital in Germany, who led the study, said.

‘Following these results, we foresee that the use of the electronic nose could reduce costs by more appropriately selecting patients who require the sleep examination,’ Greulich said.

The study also aimed at assessing whether the electronic nose could detect the effects of the standard treatment for sleep apnea, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). The results found that the electronic nose could effectively diagnose sleep apnea. The statistical analysis showed that it was detected with a sensitivity of 93 percent

Source: http://health.india.com

26.10.2012

Is microwave cooking bad for you?

Microwave cooking is a hot debate. Some believe that microwaves may cause cancer and other diseases.

More specifically, is radiation from a microwave harmful?

It is true that microwaves work on radiation, but hold on. The story continues... radiation is energy that travels in waves. But there are different waves - radio waves, X-ray and energy waves and micro wave is weaker than gamma rays. So don't worry about turning into mutants.
Conclusion: Microwave cooking is not harmful as long as the door is closed. Thankfully no microwave allows use unless the door is firmly secure.

Does microwave cooking and heating affect food?

Microwave cooking and heating does not change the components of your food, it only heats the food. There is no evidence of toxin formation in food or carcinogens. If you over cook your food, then you are changing the components of the nutrients in your food. Over cooking on a grill, in the oven or micro wave - irrespective of the heat's source - destroys the nutrients.

Conclusion: Microwaves do not change the nutrients of the food.

Radiation leaks from the microwave

Microwave leaks are possible if the door is damaged and cannot be shut properly. There are a few steps to ensure that your cooking machine does not leak of radiation.

Do not fidget with the door

Check for door damage regularly

Clean the interior of the microwave frequently

There are no serious microwave health risks unless it's carelessness on your part. Be wise: Use the right containers, avoid cling film from touching the food, and maintain the microwave regularly.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

26.10.2012

Leave nothing for tomorrow which can be done today

Abraham Lincoln

25 October, 2012 Clippings

‘One in every 22 women in India is likely to suffer from breast cancer’

Sitting with the case files of four women – all educated, from well-to-do families and from metros, Dr (Mrs) Ramesh Sarin, oncologist at the Apollo Hospital here, said women troop into her chambers at late stages of breast cancer. ‘May be it is embarrassment and they don’t want to get themselves screened or simply denial that this can’t happen to me. Despite being aware, women come in late stages. Mind you, these are educated women, financially well-off and independent,’ Sarin told IANS. ‘According to ICMR (Indian Council for Medical Research), the incidence of breast cancer is on the rise while cervical cancer is beginning to come down,’ she added.

Sanjay Sharma, president of the Breast Cancer Foundation of India and Surgical Oncology at the S.L. Raheja hospital, said social taboo prevents women from talking about breast cancer. This poses a big problem in early detection. ‘ICMR studies show that incidence of breast cancer has nearly doubled in the last 24 years. One in every 22 women is likely to suffer from breast cancer. In India, almost 80 percent patients are in advanced stages when they come to hospitals. Social taboos regarding breast cancer prevent women from talking to friends and families, let alone doctors,’ he added.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has projected that India could see around 250,000 new cases by 2015. Considering the magnitude, October has been designated the breast cancer awareness month. Nitesh Rohtagi, a consultant at Max Super Speciality Hospital in Delhi, said four out of 10 cases he sees daily pertain to breast cancer. ‘The incidence is higher among Western women. But here too the number of new cases is rising. No one factor is responsible,’ Rohtagi told IANS.

The most common symptom is a lump or mass that feels different from the rest of the breast tissue. Other signs include discharge from the nipples, skin dimpling or rash on or around nipples. Pain is a non-specific symptom although it may be indicative of some other problem. The biggest factor for breast cancer is lifestyle-related.

‘Women these days marry late, have late childbirth, there is less breast feeding. All of this increases the risk of breast cancer,’ Rohtagi said. Early puberty and late menopause are also risk factors. ‘The incidence of breast cancer in the metros is higher. Girls in metros are generally better nourished and more well developed, and get their periods sooner. Early puberty, late menopauses are risk factors in breast cancer,’ Sarin said.

Source: http://health.india.com                             25.10.2012
Chewing gutka can cost you a tongue

Ghatkopar resident, Dinesh Shah (name changed) has a peculiar problem. Since the past few weeks, he has been troubled by a hairy outgrowth at the oddest of places, his tongue.

The hair growth is a repercussion of the tongue cancer surgery that Shah underwent in February this year.

Shah was an avid gutka consumer, finishing up to fifteen packets a day since the past eight years. A few months back, while eating spicy food, a sore on his tongue started causing him pain. A biopsy performed on Shah’s tongue revealed that he had tongue cancer. “Our world came crashing downwhen the doctors informed us that they had to cut off a portion of the tongue to prevent the cancer from spreading. We agreed to the operation,” said Sarla, Shah’s wife. In a surgery conducted by a team of six doctors that lasted for eight hours, the anterior portion of Shah’s tongue was removed.

Doctors say that surgery, called ‘glossectomy’, is the best solution to halt the spread of tongue cancer. Radiation and chemotherapy often prove ineffective to kill the tumours.

Dr Vimal Jain, the leading oncosurgeon who operated upon Shah added that they had to cut a a portion of flesh from his right arm to reconstruct a makeshift tongue. “The hairy outgrowth is due to the skin taken from the patient’s arm. Eventual bouts of radiation will ensure that the hair on his makeshift tongue is destroyed but in the process, Shah will lose all his facial hair,” said Dr Wasim Phophlankar, oncologist at LH Hiranandani Hospital, Powai.

Shah’s problems don’t end there. He has now been left with no sense of taste in his mouth. “I can hardly experience any taste. The makeshift tongue only helps in swallowing and balancing liquid food. I have been relegated to drinking milk, fruit juices and glucose water,” he said.

Criticising the practice of eating gutka, Shah revealed that his peers who turned him into a Gutka junkie, are till date clandestinely getting their daily fix from their regular pan vendors. This in spite of the state wide ban on selling of gutka and pan masala declared by the government of Maharashtra in July this year.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research’s cancer registry, one lakh new cases of mouth cancer are identified every year.

“Of these, more than 40,000 cases are of tongue cancer. Ninety percent of tongue cancer cases are caused due to chewing of smoke less tobacco including gutka. One in thirty Indians are likely to develop mouth cancers including that of tongue is a lifetime,” said Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi, head of department, head and neck cancer at Tata Memorial Hospital in Parel.

Source: www.dnaindia.com

25.12.2012

Learning without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is danger

Confucius

22 October, 2012 Clippings

Creativity linked to mental illness

People in creative professions are treated more often for mental illness as compared to the general population as there is a particularly salient connection between writing and schizophrenia, researchers say.

Last year, the Karolinska Institutet team showed that artists and scientists were more common amongst families where bipolar disorder and schizophrenia is present, compared to the population at large.

They subsequently expanded their study to many more psychiatric diagnoses like schizoaffective disorder, depression, anxiety syndrome, alcohol abuse, drug abuse, autism, ADHD, anorexia nervosa and suicide - and to include people in outpatient care rather than exclusively hospital patients.

The present study tracked almost 1.2 million patients and their relatives, identified down to second-cousin level. Since all were matched with healthy controls, the study incorporated much of the Swedish population from the most recent decades.

All data was anonymized and cannot be linked to any individuals.

The results confirmed those of their previous study - certain mental illness - bipolar disorder - is more prevalent in the entire group of people with artistic or scientific professions, such as dancers, researchers, photographers and authors.

Authors specifically also were more common among most of the other psychiatric diseases (including schizophrenia, depression, anxiety syndrome and substance abuse) and were almost 50 per cent more likely to commit suicide than the general population. The researchers also observed that creative professions were more common in the relatives of patients with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, anorexia nervosa and, to some extent, autism.

According to Simon Kyaga, consultant in psychiatry and doctoral student at the Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, the results give cause to reconsider approaches to mental illness. "If one takes the view that certain phenomena associated with the patient's illness are beneficial, it opens the way for a new approach to treatment," he said.

"In that case, the doctor and patient must come to an agreement on what is to be treated, and at what cost. In psychiatry and medicine generally there has been a tradition to see the disease in black-and-white terms and to endeavour to treat the patient by removing everything regarded as morbid," Kyaga added.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

22.10.2012

Pre-scan preparation must before CT, MRI scans

An allergic reaction to a dye administered before computed tomography (CT) resulted in a patient’s death. It’s believed the patient died of multiple organ failure. Experts warn it is essential to pre-scan the patient for conditions like asthma, lung ailments, etc. so that pre-scan drugs can be given to ensure no complications arise after administrating the dye.

Doctors are now stressing upon the importance of pre-scan preparation. This comes in the wake of the death of a patient in JJ Hospital allegedly due to an allergic reaction to a dye administered before computed tomography (CT) scan last week. The dye is administered intravenously and helps in identifying inflammation, cysts and other abnormalities.

According to doctors there was an adverse reaction after the administration of the dye owing to the patient’s multi-system disorder. The batch of the dye medication has since been sent to the state FDA which will analyse the samples.

‘Most hospitals have a standard operating procedure whereby the patient’s consent is taken before administering the dye. It is essential to know the patient’s history and identify conditions like asthma, lung ailments, etc. Accordingly, pre-scan drugs are given to ensure no complications arise after administrating the dye,’ said Dr Subhash Ramani, professor and radiologist at Tata Memorial Hospital, The Indian Express quoted.

Contrast dyes cause side effects such as nausea, skin infection and dizziness. The percentage of deaths is small. Doctors say patients with existing additional conditions need to exercise extra caution as they already have a compromised immune system.

Dr Suleman Merchant, head of the radiology department of Sion Hospital said, ‘Death due to contrast reaction is not unheard of. If a patient’s medical condition is that of borderline failure, especially the renal chemistry, then administering the dye can result in complete failure leading to death.’

Source: http://health.india.com

22.10.212

We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility for our future

George Bernard Shaw

18 October, 2012 Clippings

Cow’s milk – an unlikely HIV/AIDS cure?

A study has claimed that antibodies from cow’s milk that protect against HIV can be potentially developed into affordable creams that can help protect humans against the infection. Dr Marit Kramski from Melbourne University found that when pregnant cows were vaccinated with a HIV protein, they produced high antibodies against the disease in their colostrum – the first milk produced after giving birth to a calf.

The antibodies bind to the HIV virus and inhibit the virus from entering human cells, Dr Kramski and her colleagues discovered.

‘We think the antibodies bind to the surface of the virus and block the protein which needs to be freed to get in contact with human cells — like a key and lock system. If the key’s not accessible or you change the key, you can’t open the door,’ Kramski said. Dr Kramski said that the method can generate up to one kilogram of antibodies from a single cow leading to an affordable prevention treatment for HIV. ‘It’s a very cheap and easy way to produce a lot of antibodies,’ she added.

The next step would be to test the effectiveness and safety of the milk before developing the antibodies into a cream that could be inserted in the vagina allowing women to protect themselves against contracting the virus during sex.

‘We have the antibodies at the moment — the next step will be formulation,’ Kramski said. ‘A lot of women, especially in Africa or South America, don’t have the power to say you need to use a condom before we have sex. The cream would give women the power to protect themselves,’ she added. ‘This milk looks like it can be a cheap, easy new prevention tool, because if you use drugs it’s really expensive,’ she said. Dr Kramski developed the milk in association with Australian biotechnology company Immuron Ltd.

Source: http://health.india.com

18.10.2012

Alcoholic women have shorter lifespans

According to German researchers, the annual death rates of alcohol-dependent women are 460 percent higher than the non-drinking general population while male alcoholics have a 190 percent higher death rate than the general population.

‘Clinical data has revealed a higher proportion of individuals who have died than among the general population of the same age,’ explained Ulrich John, professor of epidemiology and social medicine at the University of Greifswald.

John and colleagues gathered a random sample of 4,070 respondents aged between 18 and 64 years. Of them, 153 were identified as alcohol dependent (AD). Of these, 149 (119 males, 30 females) were followed for 14 years.

‘Gender-specific data is rare, even among clinical samples. Furthermore, these studies have two main limitations,’ adds John, according to the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.

‘First, we know that only a minority of AD individuals receive treatment. We lack knowledge about how this selection occurs. Second, we have no evidence about the potential effects of specialized alcoholism treatment on mortality among people who had been diagnosed AD,’ says John, according to a University Medicine statement.

‘We would like to know whether treatment might enhance survival time. For ethical reasons, no controlled trials are possible. Thus, longitudinal descriptive data as in this study are helpful,’ says John, study co-author. John adds that Germany is well-suited for this kind of research since it is mandatory for residents to provide vital status data.

‘Our data are also of international interest because researchers used the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI), which is an internationally and widely accepted instrument,’ he said.

Source: http://health.india.com

18.10.2012

Attempt the impossible in order to improve your work

Bette Davis

18 October, 2012 Clippings

Cow’s milk – an unlikely HIV/AIDS cure?

A study has claimed that antibodies from cow’s milk that protect against HIV can be potentially developed into affordable creams that can help protect humans against the infection. Dr Marit Kramski from Melbourne University found that when pregnant cows were vaccinated with a HIV protein, they produced high antibodies against the disease in their colostrum – the first milk produced after giving birth to a calf.

The antibodies bind to the HIV virus and inhibit the virus from entering human cells, Dr Kramski and her colleagues discovered.

‘We think the antibodies bind to the surface of the virus and block the protein which needs to be freed to get in contact with human cells — like a key and lock system. If the key’s not accessible or you change the key, you can’t open the door,’ Kramski said. Dr Kramski said that the method can generate up to one kilogram of antibodies from a single cow leading to an affordable prevention treatment for HIV. ‘It’s a very cheap and easy way to produce a lot of antibodies,’ she added.

The next step would be to test the effectiveness and safety of the milk before developing the antibodies into a cream that could be inserted in the vagina allowing women to protect themselves against contracting the virus during sex.

‘We have the antibodies at the moment — the next step will be formulation,’ Kramski said. ‘A lot of women, especially in Africa or South America, don’t have the power to say you need to use a condom before we have sex. The cream would give women the power to protect themselves,’ she added. ‘This milk looks like it can be a cheap, easy new prevention tool, because if you use drugs it’s really expensive,’ she said. Dr Kramski developed the milk in association with Australian biotechnology company Immuron Ltd.

Source: http://health.india.com

18.10.2012

Alcoholic women have shorter lifespans

According to German researchers, the annual death rates of alcohol-dependent women are 460 percent higher than the non-drinking general population while male alcoholics have a 190 percent higher death rate than the general population.

‘Clinical data has revealed a higher proportion of individuals who have died than among the general population of the same age,’ explained Ulrich John, professor of epidemiology and social medicine at the University of Greifswald.

John and colleagues gathered a random sample of 4,070 respondents aged between 18 and 64 years. Of them, 153 were identified as alcohol dependent (AD). Of these, 149 (119 males, 30 females) were followed for 14 years.

‘Gender-specific data is rare, even among clinical samples. Furthermore, these studies have two main limitations,’ adds John, according to the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.

‘First, we know that only a minority of AD individuals receive treatment. We lack knowledge about how this selection occurs. Second, we have no evidence about the potential effects of specialized alcoholism treatment on mortality among people who had been diagnosed AD,’ says John, according to a University Medicine statement.

‘We would like to know whether treatment might enhance survival time. For ethical reasons, no controlled trials are possible. Thus, longitudinal descriptive data as in this study are helpful,’ says John, study co-author. John adds that Germany is well-suited for this kind of research since it is mandatory for residents to provide vital status data.

‘Our data are also of international interest because researchers used the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI), which is an internationally and widely accepted instrument,’ he said.

Source: http://health.india.com

18.10.2012

Attempt the impossible in order to improve your work

Bette Davis

17 October, 2012 Clippings

Regular exercise helps preventing stroke

Regular exercise could play an important therapeutic role in stroke, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases among the elder people, Hungarian scientist Z Radak said on Monday.

“Regular exercises positively affect the brain function as well as play an important preventive and therapeutic role in stroke, Alzheimer and Parkinson diseases,” Radak said while taking part at an international symposium on Ageing held in Shillong.

The Hungarian scientist said Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) are continuously generated during aerobic metabolism apart from stimulating a number of stress responses and activate gene expression for a wide range of proteins.

The ROS, necessary activators of stress responses, activate gene expression for a wide range of proteins, he said.

“Data from our laboratories indicate that exercise induced modulation of ROS levels plays a role in the protein content....” the scientist said.

Radak observed that regular exercise improves the physiological performance of skeletal and cardiac muscle which decrease the incidence of a wide range of diseases including heart and vascular.

Themed ‘Problems and prospects of elderly in today’s world’, the three day symposium which is also the 16th biennial conference of the Association of Gerontology in the country held at the North Eastern Hill University here drew participants from Japan, Germany, USA and from hosts India

Source: www.dnaindia.com

17.10.2012

Childhood asthma may pass on to many generations

An Indian origin scientist was recently awarded a two-year, 377,220-dollar grant by the National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to conduct a study that could potentially lead to effective treatments and prevention of asthma, which is currently a major public health challenge.

Virender Rehan, M.D., principal investigator at The Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center (LA BioMed), focuses on understanding the detrimental effects of maternal smoking, not only on the exposed offspring but also on the many generations that follow.

More specifically, the proposed study will determine if the risk of childhoodasthma induced following exposure to cigarette smoke during pregnancy is limited only to the offspring of the exposed pregnancy, or if this risk is carried to grandchildren or even great-grandchildren.

"While it is widely known that maternal smoking can pose problems for an unborn child, including asthma, this study is important in that it sheds light on the depth of the issue and raises concerns about the effects of smoke exposure during pregnancy on subsequent generations," said Dr. Rehan.

Studies have shown that exposure to nicotine in utero affects lung growth and differentiation by altering specific mechanisms that are necessary for fetal lung development, which often results in an offspring's predisposition to asthma.

Now there is strong evidence that these alterations in the structure and function of the lung caused by nicotine exposure during pregnancy can be passed from one generation to the next.

Dr. Rehan's concept is novel and innovative. This study has already been recognized as ground-breaking and is likely to dramatically change our understanding of asthma.

Moreover, by using comprehensive cell-molecular-epigenetic studies to understand the transgenerational effects of smoking on the prevalence of asthma, this study can potentially lead to effective interventions and prevention of this disease, which currently is a major public health challenge.

Dr. Rehan's research is part of a larger effort by the clinician-scientists at LA BioMed to better understand the long-term impact of maternal health, including diet and lifestyle, on offspring.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

17.10.2012

The circulation of confidence is better than the circulation of money

James Madison

16 October, 2012 Clippings

6 coffee cups a day cuts womb, cancer risk

Women who drink four to six cups of coffee a day are less likely to suffer from womb cancer, while men who drink the same amount are less likely to suffer from prostate cancer, says a study by Harvard University.

The researchers studied 117,000 volunteers- 67,000 women and 50,000 men over a 20-year period, the Daily Mail reported.

The effects were seen regardless of whether the people drank regular or decaffeinated coffee. This suggested the effects are not linked to caffeine.

Though many people limit the amount of coffee they consume as it can cause a rise in blood pressure, other studies suggest the drink may also offer health benefits, the daily said.

Regular coffee drinkers also appeared to have a lower risk of Type-2 diabetes, gallstones, colon cancer and even Parkinson's disease.

In the latest research, the Harvard team found that women who drank four or more cups a day reduced their risk of endometrial cancer by 25 per cent compared to those who drank less than one cup a day.

A similar effect was found for decaffeinated coffee, but tea consumption had no impact.

The experts also looked at coffee intake among 50,000 men.

Those who drank six or more cups had an 18 per cent lower risk of suffering from prostate cancer and a 60 per cent lower risk of developing its most deadly form.

One theory said coffee may have a beneficial effect on insulin levels.

The drink can improve glucose processing and has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, all of which play roles in cancer progression, the daily said.

The researchers, however, warned against adding sugar and cream to each cup because the extra calories could offset benefits gained from the coffee.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

16.10.2012

Vegetarians have more health benefits than meat eaters: Study

Loma Linda University study suggests that being vegetarian may give you more health benefits than eating meat. The kinds of foods frequently consumed in vegetarian diets can reduce a person’s risk for diseases, such as cancer, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes, control body mass index and waist size, and boost brain health, the study also revealed.

Loma Linda University in California has tracked tens of thousands of Seventh-day Adventists since 1958. According to the Huffington Post, their series of studies in the ’70s and ’80s were the first to show that vegetarians live longer than meat eaters. Loma Linda received a grant from the National Institutes of Health in 2002 to continue the research on Seventh-day Adventists as Adventist Health Study 2.

The study, which is midway to completion and includes 96,000 people from the United States and Canada, presents findings just as dramatic, principal investigator Gary E. Fraser, MD, PhD, said at the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ 2012 Food ‘n’ Nutrition Conference and Expo, reported DNA.

Fraser explained that vegetarian men live to an average of 83.3 years and vegetarian women 85.7 years — 9.5 and 6.1 years, respectively, longer than other Californians.

The Adventist Health Study 2 also found that compared to meat eaters vegans are, on average, 30 pounds lighter, five units lighter on the BMI scale, less insulin resistant than meat eaters.

Numerous factors are boosting the overall health of these participants was suggested by the fact that lean people are also more likely to exercise regularly, eat plants and avoid cigarettes than overweight people. Pesco-vegetarians and semi-vegetarians have ‘intermediate protection’ against lifestyle diseases. They limit animal products, but still eat meat once a week or so.

The most shocking finding in the study is that an African-American’s life span is cut by 6.2% due to obesity. The study population was 25% African-American and half vegetarian.

Source: http://health.india.com

16.10.2012

Forgive many things in others; nothing in yourself

Ausonuis