23 November, 2018

Scientists identify 35 genes linked to chronic kidney disease risk

Scientists have identified 35 genes that predispose people to chronic kidney disease(CKD), a finding that can boost diagnostic tests and treatment for the debilitating condition that affects around one in ten adults worldwide. “Chronic kidney disease is known for its strong genetic component,” said lead researcher Maciej Tomaszewski, Professor at the University of Manchester in the UK.

“Our limited knowledge of its exact genetic mechanisms partly explains why progress in the development of new diagnostic tests and treatments of chronic kidney disease has been so slow,” Tomaszewski added. Over 100 variants associated with CKD have been uncovered in large-scale genetic studies. Yet, the biological mechanisms underlying the genetic susceptibility to CKD have remained elusive and the progress in clinical translation of the findings from genome-wide association studies has been slow.

The findings, published in the journal Nature Communications, were done by using “next-generation RNA sequencing” applied to one of the largest ever collections of human kidneys. One of the genes — mucin-1 — makes a sticky protein called mucin that coats urinary tubes inside the kidney. Mutations of this gene have already been found in rare families with inherited kidney failure.

“We hope that early prediction by genetic testing even before the development of symptoms will in the future be the first line of defence against one of the world’s top killers,” said Professor Fadi Charchar from the Federation University Australia.

“Early detection followed by treatment using kidney-protective medication or avoidance of drugs which can damage the kidneys is the key to healthier kidneys later in life.”

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

23.11.2018

If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything

Mark Twain

19 November, 2018

Slow reading speed linked to dry eyes, finds study

A condition in which a person doesn’t have enough quality tears to lubricate and nourish the eye can be termed as dry eye. It can make your life miserable. You may feel annoying and frustrated due to that constant irritation. You may exhibit symptoms like itchy eyes, burning sensation, red eyes, fatigued eyes and blurred vision. It can snatch away your peace and can hamper your productivity. You will not be able to focus on your day-to-day activities.

According to a study, this can be a major issue as this condition can slow a person’s reading speed by 10 per cent and can make it difficult to read for more than 30 minutes. Isn’t this shocking? Reportedly, those with a clinically significant dry eye could read fewer words per minute and than those without the condition, who read at the same rate of 272 words per minute. We are not kidding here!

Reportedly, according to Esen Akpek, from the Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute in the US, people with dry eye were unable to sustain good reading performance as their tears cannot re-lubricate their eye surfaces fast enough.
The team included 186 adults aged 50 or older, for the study, published in the journal Optometry and Vision Science. Also, the participants didn’t use prescription or over the counter eye drops for 24 hours before going for the testing.

Reportedly, all the participants in the study responded to eye discomfort vision quality and environmental contributors to eye complaints like wind or smoke. According to Akpek, people who had dry eye symptoms like stinging, fluctuating vision and dryness can opt for the counter eye drops, but they should undergo professional testing and diagnosis as well. This can help them to tackle their problem.

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

19.11.2018

Be yourself, everyone else is already taken

Oscar Wilde

17 November, 2018

Tea or coffee your genes will decide: Study

Are you a tea or coffee person? The answer may lie in your genetic predisposition towards bitter tastes, say, researchers. It could be because bitterness acts as a natural warning system to protect us from harmful substances. The study, led by researchers from US-based Northwestern University, and QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute in Australia, explored reactions to three bitter substances — caffeine, quinine and propylthiouracil (PROP) — to understand how they affect people’s preference for drinking tea, coffee and alcohol.

The findings showed that people who were more sensitive to caffeine and were drinking a lot of coffee consumed low amounts of tea. In other words, people who have a heightened ability to taste coffee’s bitterness — and particularly the distinct bitter flavour of caffeine — learn to associate “good things with it”. “You’d expect that people who are particularly sensitive to the bitter taste of caffeine would drink less coffee,” said Marilyn Cornelis, assistant professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

“The opposite results of our study suggest coffee consumers acquire a taste or an ability to detect caffeine due to the learned positive reinforcement (stimulation) elicited by caffeine.”

The study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, also found that people sensitive to the bitter flavours of quinine and of PROP — a synthetic taste related to the compounds in cruciferous vegetables — avoid coffee.

For alcohol, a higher sensitivity to the bitterness of PROP resulted in lower alcohol consumption, particularly of red wine. “The findings suggest our perception of bitter tastes, informed by our genetics, contributes to the preference for coffee, tea and alcohol,” Cornelis said.

Scientists applied Mendelian randomisation — a technique commonly used in disease epidemiology — to test the causal relationship between bitter taste and beverage consumption in more than 4,00,000 men and women in the UK.

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

17.11.2018

Happiness is not something you find ….. It’s something you create

15 November, 2018

Tamarind seed protein can treat chikungunya, say IIT researchers

Chikungunya can be challenging to manage. It can hamper your quality of life. Reportedly, two professors at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee have claimed that they have come out with a protein in tamarind seeds which has antiviral properties and can be used to make medication for chikungunya.

A mosquito-borne viral disease, very similar to dengue can be called as chikungunya. Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus can spread it. Those suffering from chikungunya can exhibit symptoms like nausea, vomiting, a headache and so on. But, you will be shocked to hear that you may be able to tackle chikungunya now. We are not kidding1
Reportedly, the research group at IIT Roorkee has filed a patent for an antiviral composition containing this tamarind antiviral protein and are developing tamarind-based therapeutic agents for dealing with chikungunya. Lectin, which is a diverse group of proteins derived from plant sources can bind to glycan sugars. It has been extensively studied for a range of viruses like HIV and HPV.

Reportedly, the IIT professors, in a study, have showcased that a lectin derived from tamarind seeds bind to glycans or sugar molecules having N-acetylglucosamine (NAG) on the capsule of viruses, and can prevent the entry of the virus into the host cells.

Reportedly, the researchers have isolated lectin from those tamarind seeds with the help of chromatography and have examined the binding of the lectin molecules to the glycan in the viral capsule with the help of a process called Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay (ELISA).

Reportedly, according to professor Pravindra Kumar, who is one of the members of the research team, antiviral drugs and vaccines against most alphaviruses along with chikungunya are still not available in, and preventive measures are the only route to manage diseases caused by these viruses.

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

15.11.2018

Happiness is not something ready made; it comes from your own actions

13 November, 2018

Scientists develop new cell phone-based tool to detect HIV

Recently, scientists have developed a low-cost and portable diagnostic tool by utilising a nanotechnology and cell phone, which can detect HIV. It can also monitor its management in resource-limited regions.

According to the Hindustan Times report, management of human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV) remains a major global health challenge in developing countries that lack infrastructure and trained medical professionals. This is a serious disorder that cripples the immune system by attacking healthy cells.

Hadi Shafiee from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in the US report said that early detection of HIV is critical to prevent disease progression and transmission, and it requires long-term monitoring, which can be a burden for families that have to travel to reach a clinic or hospital. She also added that this rapid and low-cost cell phone system represents a new method for detecting acute infection, which would reduce the risk of virus transmission and could also be used to detect early treatment failure.

According to the study published in the journal Nature Communications, traditional virus monitoring methods for HIV are expensive, requiring the use of polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

An affordable, simple tool has been designed by Shafiee and his colleagues that makes HIV testing and monitoring possible for individuals in developing countries with less access to medical care.

The researchers said the total material cost of the microchip, phone attachment and reagents was less than USD 5 per test.

Mohamed Shehata Draz from Brigham and Women’s Hospital reportedly said that we could use this same technology as a rapid and low-cost diagnostic tool for other viruses and bacteria as well. This platform could help a lot of people worldwide.

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

13.11.2018

It is very easy to defeat someone, but it is very hard to win someone

Dr Abdul Kalam

9 November, 2018

Shorter sleep ups dehydration risk

The effects of sleeping less are well known. From diabetes to hypertension and heart diseases to Alzheimer’s, insufficient sleep has been linked to a number of diseases and condition. But a recent study has found that shorter duration of sleep (just six hours or less per night) — as opposed to eight — may have a higher chance of being dehydrated. It is natural not to feel too well after a night of insufficient sleep. The next time you sleep less, you must consider drink more water you may suffer from dehydration. The results of the study are published in the journal SLEEP. The research involved studying US and Chinese adults who reported sleeping six hours. The study observed that these had significantly more concentrated urine and 16-59 per cent higher odds of being inadequately hydrated compared to adults who slept eight hours on a regular basis at night.

The link between less sleep and dehydration

The cause was linked to the way the body’s hormonal system regulates hydration. A hormone called vasopressin is released to help regulate the body’s hydration status. It is released throughout the day, as well as during nighttime sleeping hours, which is what the researchers focused on for this study. According to lead author Asher Rosinger, vasopressin released both more quickly and later on in the sleep cycle. When you wake up earlier, you might miss that window in which more of the hormone is released, causing a disruption in the body’s hydration.

Dehydration negatively affects many of the body’s systems and functions, including cognition, mood, physical performance, and others. Long-term or chronic dehydration can lead to more serious problems, such as higher risk of urinary tract infections and kidney stones. Some of the other health risks associated with dehydration include depression, high blood pressure, constipation, uremia and gallstones.

This simply means that if you are only getting six hours of sleep a night, it can and you feel bad or tired the next day, drink extra water.

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

09.11.2018

Give the world the best you have and the best will come back to you

Madeline Bridges

2 November, 2018

Bigger brains could increase cancer risk, reveals study

Reportedly, a large brain means more brain cells, and if you have more cells, the more cell divisions that can go wrong and create mutations that lead to cancer. According to Even Hovig Fyllingen, a PhD candidate at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), aggressive brain cancer is a rare type of cancer, but once you suffer from it, your chance of survival is relatively low. Many studies have shown that the size of different organs is a vital factor in developing cancer. Like, women with larger breasts have a greater risk of breast cancer. So, we want to examine if this was also the case for brain tumours.

Reportedly, the researchers used data from the Nord-Trondelag Health Study which has health data and blood samples collected in multiple waves of data. Fyllingen took the data on everyone who had been operated on for high-grade gliomas (brain tumours) between 2007 and 2015 and compared their data with healthy controls from that study.

Reportedly, the researchers used MRI scans to measure the size of the brain. The study revealed that more men than women develop brain tumours.

Reportedly, men have a larger brain than women because men’s bodies are generally larger. Reportedly, women with big brains have a greater risk of developing brain tumours in comparison to men with big brains, observed researchers.

According to the researchers, seventy per cent men than women develop brain tumours, but when we correct for head size, it’s no longer beneficial for female. Women with large brains are particularly susceptible. reportedly.

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

02.11.2018

Be brave. Take risks. Nothing can substitute experience

Paul Coelho