Painkillers causing kidney disease among
youngsters
Painkillers and stress-reducing medicines are the primary
reason for kidney ailments in youngsters, said a leading urologist here on the
eve of World Kidney Day Wednesday. ‘Young people use painkillers rampantly
these days. Besides, they take stress-reducing medicines to deal with pressure.
This wreaks havoc on their kidneys,’ Shivaji Basu, urologist at the Fortis
Hospitals here, told IANS.
‘For any kind of pain, they (youngsters) take painkillers
and this has become a trend. They do not realise that frequent use of such
drugs is bad for their kidneys,’ Basu said. According to Basu, owing to fast
paced lifestyle, youngsters are prone to pop a pill to combat any kind of
problem. And since they are constantly travelling, they do not consume the
required amount of water.
Basu also dubbed diabetes and blood pressure as ‘silent
killers of the kidney’. ‘Earlier, aged people were affected by blood pressure
and diabetes. Now the young generation is also affected by them.’‘Those who
have problems of blood pressure should get their check-up done at least once a
year for signs of kidney disorders,’ said Basu. The National Kidney Foundation
of India estimates that about 100 people in a million suffer from kidney
ailments in the country and around 90,000 kidney transplants are required
annually in India.
Source: http://health.india.com
14.03.2013
BP
pills can halve dementia risk
.
British scientists believe that the 3p a day tablet could slow progression of the disease and even combat devastating memory loss, the Daily Express reported.
Experts at the University of Bristol hope that the drug losartan will be so effective that high blood pressurepatients could routinely be given it to protect long-term against Alzheimer's.
The university's Dr Pat Kehoe is launching a ground-breaking four-year 2-million-pound UK trial.
"Without wishing to get ahead of ourselves, the beauty of this drug, if it is found to work as we expect, is that it is already available and is cheap," he said.
Previous research has found that people on losartan for high blood pressure also appeared to be significantly protected against dementia - in fact, it is thought to slash the risk by as much as 50 percent.
Now, the scientists hope to test the drug on dementia sufferers. They believe losartan could slow down Alzheimer's by improving blood flow in the brain and altering chemical pathways that cause brain cell damage, brain shrinkage and memory problems.
The ultimate test of any potential new treatment strategy is success in clinical trials, so it is encouraging to see this trial getting underway.
Losartan, and related drugs working in a similar way, have been found to block a naturally occurring chemical called angiotensin II, which prevents the release of vital memory chemicals in the brain.
The new trial will use brain imaging on an estimated 230 patients to measure if losartan helps to reduce brain shrinkage that is strongly linked with reduced memory function and discover if the drug improves memory and quality of life.
Source: www.timesofindia.com
14.03.2013
If you judge people, you have no time to love them
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