30, May 2014

Samsung unveils Simband – a new digital health platform to track your health better

Samsung on Wednesday unveiled a new digital health technology platform that uses sensors to track a range of body functions such as heart rate and blood pressure. Unveiled at an event in San Francisco the new platform dubbed ‘Simband’ does not include any commercial products, but Samsung demonstrated how it might work with a wristband.

The South Korean electronics giant showed how a device can track measurements such as heart rate, respiratory rate and blood pressure and collect data from a variety of sources to help consumers better understand what is happening with their health.

Simband will work in tandem with a cloud-based open software platform called SAMI which securely stores data and can provide better insights into health issues.

‘The combination of Simband-designed sensor technologies and algorithms and SAMI-based software will take individual understanding of the body to a new level,’ the company said in a statement. The new tech platform in cooperation with university researchers is part of an effort by Samsung to use digital products to help improve health care.

‘Our bodies have always had something to say but now, with advanced sensors, algorithms and software, we will finally be able to tune into what the body is telling us,’ said Michael Blum of the University of California at San Francisco, in the Samsung statement.

‘Validation of these technologies will improve the quality of data collected and help advance the ability to bring new products to market quickly.’

The Samsung Digital Health Initiative is based on open hardware and software platforms and allows the use of sensors, algorithms, and data collection and analysis that can help consumers and health care providers.

The initiative ‘provides an exciting opportunity for the brightest minds in the technology world to come together to develop the products that will, for the first time, put individuals in the driver’s seat in understanding their own health and wellness,’ said Young Sohn, president and chief strategy officer, Device Solutions at Samsung Electronics.

‘At a time when health care spending is at record levels and when the number of people over the age of 60 worldwide is expected to exceed more than 1.2 billion by 2025, digital health is an incredibly important area for innovation. We believe this initiative will be an essential first step and we invite developers and partners across the globe to join us in creating the technologies of the future that will help make people’s lives healthier.’

The move follows an announcement by Google last year that it was launching a new company that could draw on the work from technology and other sectors to combat health problems.

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

30.05.2014

High BP medicines may increase vision loss risk

Certain blood pressure lowering medications may have dangerous side effects as researchers have found a link between taking vasodilators and developing early-stage age-related macular degeneration (AMD) that could lead to vision loss and blindness. AMD – the deterioration of the eye’s macula, which is responsible for the ability to see fine details clearly – affects millions worldwide.

‘As significant as these results may be, it is important that they be replicated first, and if possible tested in a clinical trials setting before changing anyone’s medication regimens,’ cautioned Ronald Klein from University of Wisconsin’s school of medicine and public health. To reach this conclusion, the researchers conducted a long-term population-based cohort study from 1988 to 2013 of nearly 5,000 people aged 43 to 86 years. After adjusting for age, sex and other factors, the researchers found that using any vasodilator such as Apresoline and Loniten, which open (dilate) the blood vessels – was associated with a 72 percent greater risk of developing early-stage AMD. Among people who were not taking vasodilators, an estimated 8.2 percent developed signs of early AMD. In comparison, among those taking a vasodilator medication, 19.1 percent developed the disease.  

While the study provides risk estimates of associations between blood pressure lowering medications and AMD at various stages, the researchers cautioned that their study was not able to discern effects of the medications themselves and the conditions for which participants were taking those medications

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

30.05.2014

Adjustment with right people is always better than argument with wrong people

29, May 2014

Asthma may lead to bone loss

People suffering from asthma may be more prone to bone loss as researchers have now discovered links between asthma and a decrease in bone mineral density.

"We know prolonged use of corticosteroids in the treatment of asthma is a risk factor of osteoporosis, but we have not had definite data showing the relationship between asthma itself and bone loss," explained Jae-Woo Jung of Seoul National University Medical Research Centre in South Korea.

"This study has shown a meaningful association between the two conditions even in the absence of previous oral corticosteroid use," Jung added.

For the study, researchers examined more than 7,000 patients, 433 of which had airway hyper-responsiveness (AHR) or asthma.

Lumber spine and femur bone density was significantly lower in those with AHR or asthma, than those without the conditions, showed the findings of the research.

"Reasons can include corticosteroid use, low levels of vitamin D or even race," said John Oppenheimer, an associate editor of the journal Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology that published the study.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

29.05.2014

Stiff arteries alone can cause high BP

In what could open a new debate on what actually causes high blood pressure, a team of scientists have suggested that stiff arteries can be the main culprit.

In experiments over a computer model of a 'virtual human', they found that stiff arteries alone are enough to cause high blood pressure.

"The arterial stiffness represents a major therapeutic target. This is contrary to existing models, which typically explain high blood pressure in terms of defective kidney function," explained Klas Pettersen, a researcher at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences.

When blood pressure travels down the aorta from the heart, a special group of cells in the aortic wall, called baroreceptors, sense the pressure in this stretch of the aortic wall and send signals with this information to the nervous system.

If the blood pressure is too high, these cells send stronger signals and the body is able to lower blood pressure.

However, if the aorta gets stiffer, as typically happens with age, this stretch of the aorta is not as sensitive as it once was in measuring blood pressure.

With the stiffening of the wall that follows ageing, these sensors become less able to send signals that reflect the actual blood pressure.

"Our mathematical model predicts the quantitative effects of this process on blood pressure," Pettersen emphasised.

If this is proven right, "arterial stiffness and baroreceptor signaling will become hotspot targets for the treatment of high blood pressure and the development of new medicines and medical devices", said Stig W. Omholt from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

The model predictions were compared with data on the health history of 74,000 people, including blood sample collection from 65,000 people, said the study recently published in PLOS Computational Biology.

High blood pressure affects more than one billion people worldwide. But doctors cannot fully explain the cause of 90 per cent of all cases.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

29.05.2014

A meaningful silence is always better than meaningless words

28, May 2014

Soon, pill to wipe out bad memories?

London: Scientists have found that a drug used to treat multiple sclerosis may pave the way for a pill that can erase bad memories.

Researchers have found that mice given fingolimod, a drug approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for treatment of multiple sclerosis, had enhanced 'memory extinction' of previous experiences that had caused pain.

If the effects of the drug apply to humans, it may offer new treatment options for sufferers of post-traumatic stress, phobias and eating disorders.

Fingolimod, available as a tablet under the brand name Gilenya, treats remitting forms of MS by suppressing the immune system.

Sarah Spiegel, of the Virginia Commonwealth University, in Richmond, and colleagues found that it can also inhibit an enzyme called histone deacetylase, a key protein that regulates gene expression, 'The Times' reported.

When fed to mice, fingolimod crossed the blood-brain barrier and was faster at extinguishing "previously acquired fear memories".

The mice were put in a chamber where their feet were exposed to a mild electric shock, and when returned to the cage the extent to which they froze to the spot was recorded as a measure of anxiety.

This complete lack of movement, known as "freezing" - a fear response in rodents providing a good indication of memory - subsided rapidly after receiving the drug.

The study is published in the journal Nature Neuroscience.

Source: www.zeenews.india.com

28.05.2014

Having ice cream may not lift your mood

  

New York: Do you often rush for comfort foods such as chocolate or ice cream in order to boost your mood?

Scientists have found the idea that eating certain foods makes us feel better when we are in a bad mood may be a myth.

On the other hand, people may simply feel better after some time has passed, regardless of what they eat, according to a new study.

Researchers asked study participants to pick foods that they thought would make them feel better if they were in a bad mood, such as chocolate, cookies or ice cream.

They were also asked to choose foods that they liked, but that they did not think would boost their mood, 'Live Science' reported.

Participants then watched a 20-minute video intended to elicit feelings of sadness, anger and fear. They rated their mood immediately after the video, and three minutes later.

In those three minutes, they were served either their comfort food, a food they liked, a granola bar, or no food at all.

As expected, participants were in a bad mood immediately after watching the video. Three minutes later, their mood improved, regardless of whether they had their comfort food, another food, or no food at all.

"We were incredibility surprised by those results," said researcher Heather Scherschel Wagner, a doctorate candidate at the University of Minnesota.

Before the study was conducted, the researchers believed that there was something to eating comfort food, said Wagner.

"Whether it's your comfort food, or it's a granola bar, or if you eat nothing at all, you will eventually feel better. Basically, comfort food can't speed up that healing process," Wagner said.

Source: www.zeenews.india.com

28.05.2014

The best insurance policy for tomorrow is to make the most productive use of today

27, May 2014

Your spit could help diagnose pancreatic cancer

Researchers have said that patients with pancreatic cancer have a different and distinct profile of specific bacteria in their saliva compared to healthy controls and even patients with other cancers or pancreatic diseases.

Pedro Torres of San Diego State University who presented the research said their studies suggest that ratios of particular types of bacteria found in saliva may be indicative of pancreatic cancer.

In the study, Torres and his colleagues compared the diversity of saliva bacteria across 131 patients, 63 female and 68 male, being treated at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Moores Cancer Center. Of these patients, 14 had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, 13 with pancreatic disease, 22 with other forms of cancer and 10 disease free.

Results showed that patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer had higher levels of two particular oral bacteria, Leptotrichia and Campylobacter, when compared to any other healthy or diseased state including non-cancerous pancreatic disease. Those with pancreatic cancer also had lower levels of Streptococcus, Treponema and Veillonella.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

27.05.2014

Nasal spray may deliver drugs to brain

Researchers have said that when it comes to brain diseases pills are actually an extremely ineffecient way to deliver drugs to the brain.

Massimiliano Di Cagno, assistant professor at the Department of Physics, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Southern Denmark, said people with brain diseases are often given huge amounts of unnecessary drugs. During a long life, or if you have a chronic disease, this may become problematic for your health.

He and his colleagues at University of Southern Denmark and Aalborg University have turned their attention to the nose - specifically the nasal wall and the slimy mucosa that covers it.

As we know from e.g. cocaine addicts, substances can be assimilated extremely quickly and directly through the nose. But many medical substances, however, need help to be transported through the nasal wall and further on to the relevant places in the brain.

The vehicles for drug delivery through the nose are typically made of so called polymers. A polymer is a large molecule composed of a large number of repeats of one or more types of atoms or groups of atoms bound to each other. Polymers can be natural or synthetic, simple or complex.

The study has been published in the International Journal of Pharmaceutics.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

27.05.2014

Believe you can and you are halfway there

Roosevelt

26, May 2014

Tips to stay fit on a vacation

Staying healthy during a holiday period isn’t as tough as it seems. Just a few simple steps can make all the difference.

International nutritional therapist Natalie Lamb has shared advice to keep your body healthy from inside out, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

Planes and air-conditioning can help in spreading germs, with many suffering from colds after flying. Taking some zinc, Vitamin C and probiotics during the flight could help give the immune system a little extra support.

Fancy a flat stomach for the beach this year? Bloating can be due to an imbalance of bacteria in the gut. Probiotics have been shown to increase levels of beneficial bacteria that do not produce as much gas in the gut leaving you feeling slimmer and less bloated.

Reduce simple sugars and refine carbohydrates in your diet, chew food well and eat in a quiet and relaxed environment.

Increased alcohol consumption and foreign foods can affect your digestive system and keep you from running as smoothly as you’d like. To ease the symptoms of digestive issues, it’s a good idea to take a daily gentle fibre supplement to keep things moving.

Antioxidants are believed to protect the skin from damage by reducing the harmful effects of the sun’s ultra-violet rays. Eat a wide variety of raw or lightly cooked fruits and vegetables in a rainbow of different colours. 

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

26.05.2014

Eating antibiotic-fed animals can cause health problems in humans

After a WHO report highlighted that use of antibiotics in animal farms poses a danger to the health of humans, an animal rights group launched a campaign to stop the proliferation of animal farms.

The campaign was launched by the Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisations (FIAPO) Friday due to the way poultry, sheep, goats, pigs and other animals are reared for commercial purposes, such as churning out meat products. The animals are fed antibiotics regularly which creates health problems for them as well as the humans who consume these food products.

Puja Mitra, campaign manager, said: ‘WHO’s report highlights that antibiotic resistance in both animals and people leads to increased vulnerability to diseases and bacterial infections. 

‘The risk of developing antibiotic resistance is greater in commercial production of animals raised for food.’

FIAPO said that such occurrences are high in poultry farms where poultry is reared in the thousands in confinement and fed antibiotics to control the outbreak of any disease.

The continuous non-therapeutic use of antibiotics leads to a build-up of resistance in the birds and that eventually passes into humans when they consume the meat/eggs.

‘Further, these factory farms treat animals as inanimate products denying them the freedom’s essential to their mental and physical well being.

‘FIAPO has launched a national campaign to combat the increase in (animal) factory farms across the country and to protect human health as consumption of food from commercial products is harmful,’ Mitra added.

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

26.05.2014

Start where you are, use what you have, do what you can

Arthur Ashe

24, May 2014

Pain and itch blocking antibody discovered

Washington: Scientists have discovered a new antibody that simultaneously blocks the sensations of pain and itching in studies with mice.

According to the researchers of Duke University, the new antibody works by targeting the voltage-sensitive sodium channels in the cell membrane of neurons.

The scientists said that voltage- sensitive sodium channels control the flow of sodium ions through the neuron's membrane and theses channels open and close by responding to the electric current or action potential of the cells, and that one particular type of sodium channel, called the Nav1.7 subtype, is responsible for sensing pain.

The research team first tested the antibody in cultured cells engineered to express the Nav1.7 sodium channel and found that the antibody can bind to the channel and stabilize its closed state.

Seok-Yong Lee, assistant professor of biochemistry in the Duke University Medical School, said that he was originally interested in isolating these sodium channels from cells to study their structure, but they he thought of making an antibody that interferes with the channel function.

The study found that the antibody can also relieve acute and chronic itch in mouse models, making them the first to discover the role of Nav1.7 in transmitting the itch sensation.

Lee added that they now have a compound that can potentially treat both pain and itch at the same time and hope that their discovery will garner interest from pharmaceutical companies that can help us expand our studies into clinical trials.

The study was published online in Cell.

Source: www.zeenews.india.com

24.05.2014

World's first ever kidney dialysis machine treats multiple organ failure in babies

Washington: Scientists have developed a miniaturised kidney dialysis machine capable of treating the smallest babies that has successfully treated a newborn baby with multiple organ failure for the first time.

According to the researchers, this technology has the potential to revolutionise the treatment of infants with acute kidney injury.

The new continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) machine-named CARPEDIEM (Cardio-Renal Pediatric Dialysis Emergency Machine)-was created to overcome the problems of existing dialysis machines that are only designed for adults and have to be adapted for use in newborns and small infants.

Lead author Professor Claudio Ronco from San Bortolo Hospital in Vicenza, Italy, said that such modifications make adult devices inaccurate when used in infants smaller than 15kg and can result in complications with fluid management and treatment delivery.

Ronco added that a major problem is the potential for errors in ultrafiltration volumes, and adult dialysis equipment has a tendency to either withdraw too much fluid from a child, leading to dehydration and loss of blood pressure, or too little fluid, leading to high blood pressure and edema.

The study was published in The Lancet.

Source: www.zeenews.india.com

24.05.2014

The greater damage for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it it too low and we reach it

Michelangelo

23, May 2014

Two meals a day may be best for type 2 diabetics

Eating a hearty breakfast and lunch might benefit people suffering from Type 2 diabetes who are now encouraged to go with up to six small portions a day, according to a new study. ‘We compared the efficiency of the classic model with five or six small meals a day with that of two larger meals, breakfast and lunch, having more or less the same daily calorie count,’ Hana Kahleova, a researcher at Prague’s IKEM institute, told AFP on Tuesday. The research focused on a sample of 54 men and women aged 30-70 who suffer from obesity and Type 2 diabetes, which is not insulin dependent.

Within three months, those who ate larger meals twice a day lost 1.4 kilos (three pounds) more than those who followed the classic model, Kahleova said. ‘Levels of sugar, insulin and glucagon on an empty stomach also fell more rapidly in patients who ate in the morning and at midday, and their sensibility to insulin also improved.’ But she warned that ‘anyone taking insulin cannot start on this diet without consulting a doctor,’ saying it would require a significant adjustment of the insulin dosage. She added that more extensive research was now needed to confirm the results of the study.‘We cannot draw general recommendations based on this single study,’ she told AFP

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

23.05.2014

Nasal spray could soon replace pills to deliver drugs to brain

Researchers have said that when it comes to brain diseases pills are actually an extremely ineffecient way to deliver drugs to the brain. Massimiliano Di Cagno, assistant professor at the Department of Physics, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Southern Denmark, said people with brain diseases are often given huge amounts of unnecessary drugs. During a long life, or if you have a chronic disease, this may become problematic for your health.

He and his colleagues at University of Southern Denmark and Aalborg University have turned their attention to the nose – specifically the nasal wall and the slimy mucosa that covers it. As we know from e.g. cocaine addicts, substances can be assimilated extremely quickly and directly through the nose. But many medical substances, however, need help to be transported through the nasal wall and further on to the relevant places in the brain.  

The vehicles for drug delivery through the nose are typically made of so called polymers. A polymer is a large molecule composed of a large number of repeats of one or more types of atoms or groups of atoms bound to each other. Polymers can be natural or synthetic, simple or complex. The study has been published in the International Journal of Pharmaceutics. 

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

23.05.2014

What the mind of man can conceive and believe, the mind of man can achieve

 Napoleon Hill

22, May 2014

Temporary tattoos trigger skin problems

Want a tattoo to impress your friends but worry about the pain of real ink? Do not fall for temporary tattoos as these may cause allergic reactions to skin.

Allergic reactions to press-on temporary tattoos can involve rashes and blisters while long-term effects might include scarring, skin changes and increased sensitivity to sun, a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) report has warned.

"If you had a reaction to a temporary tattoo or any cosmetic product, the FDA wants to know," said Katherine Hollinger, an epidemiologist with the FDA office of cosmetics and colours.

Beyond the wet-and-press tattoos found in bubble gum machines, there are several types of temporary tattoos that use plant-based and synthetic dyes.

Some uses henna, mixed with a hair-dye ingredient p-phenylenediamine (PPD), that is not approved by the FDA for use on the skin, the agency noted.

Another dye jagua, derives from the unripened fruit of the Genipa americana, is also not recommended for use.

Real tattoos too come with their own set of risks, including contaminated ink that has caused infection outbreaks, the report added.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

22.05.2014

Too much exercise dangerous for heart patients

A new research has found that too much exercise may increase the risk of death from heart attack or stroke in patients with existing heart problems.

The new study tracked a decade's worth of exercise habits and survival of more than 1,000 people with diagnosed -- but stable -- coronary artery disease.

The majority of the study's participants were in their 60s and had attended a cardiac rehabilitation program to avoid future heart attacks or strokes.

Around 40 percent of the study participants did an hour of moderate-intensity aerobic activity 2 to 4 times per week; of the remaining 60 percent, half exercised at that level more than four times a week and the other half exercised less. Overall, 1 in 10 said they rarely or never exercised.

The researchers found those who were most sedentary were around twice as likely to have a heart attack or stroke as those who were regularly physically active, CBS News reported.

They were around four times as likely to die of cardiovascular events and all other causes.

But more surprisingly, those who did the most strenuous daily exercise were also more likely to die of a heart attack or stroke than people who engaged in more moderate activity.

The study is published in the journal Heart.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

22.05.2014

Regret for wasted time is more wasted time

20, May 2014

Infertile men at higher risk of death: Study

Researchers have said that men, who are infertile because of defects in their semen, appear to be at higher death risk compared to men with normal semen. According to a study led by a researcher at the Stanford University School of Medicine, men with two or more abnormalities in their semen were more than twice as likely to die over a roughly eight-year period as men who had normal semen, the study found.  

In the new study, Michael Eisenberg, MD, PhD, assistant professor of urology and Stanford’s director of male reproductive medicine and surgery, and his colleagues examined records of men ages 20 to 50 who had visited one of two centers to be evaluated for possible infertility. In all, about 12,000 men fitting this description were seen between 1994 and 2011 at Stanford Hospital and Clinics or between 1989 and 2009 at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. At both clinics, data were available for several aspects of a patient’s semen quality, such as total semen volume and sperm counts, motility and shape. (Dolores Lamb, PhD, and Larry Lipshultz, MD, of Baylor were senior authors of the study.) By keying identifiers for the patients to data in the National Death Index and the Social Security Death index, the investigators were able to monitor these men’s mortality for a median of about eight years.  

While no single semen abnormality in itself predicted mortality, men with two or more such abnormalities had more than double the risk of death over the eight-year period following their initial fertility examination compared with those with no semen abnormalities. The greater the number of abnormalities, the higher the mortality rate, the study found. Of the 11,935 men who were followed, 69 died during the follow-up period — a seemingly small number. This reflects, first and foremost, the patients’ relative youth: Their median age was 36.6 years. But it also reflects the fact that men who get evaluated for infertility tend to have a higher-than-average socio-economic status and have accordingly better diets, education and access to health care.  

The new study has been published online in the journal Human Reproduction.

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

20.05.2014

Study shows many smokers don’t know about its dangers yet!

Researchers have found that many smokers still find accurate and detailed facts about the dangers of tobacco both new and motivating in terms of their desire to quit. One of the study’s authors James Thrasher, associate professor at the University of South Carolina Arnold Schotol of Public Health, said the tobacco industry systematically deceived the public for decades, denying that smoking was dangerous or addictive.  

Thrasher added that smokers indicate that receiving factual, corrective information about the dangers of smoking motivates them to quit; also that members of groups that are highly targeted by the tobacco industry were especially responsive to the corrective statements. These groups include women, African Americans, Latinos and lower-income people. ‘This study suggests that the longer we wait to give smokers this information about the tobacco industry’s lies, the more smokers will continue to consume tobacco’ noted Thrasher.

1,404 smokers ranging in age from18 to 64 years old and of diverse ethnic, gender and income groups were presented with the corrective statements. Between one half and one third of the study participants stated that some information in the corrective statements was novel to them. Those who experienced novelty were likelier to express anger at the industry, to find the message(s) relevant and to feel motivated to quit by the message(s). Novelty ratings ran consistently higher among African Americans and Latinos than among non-Hispanic whites.

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

20.05.2014

Being honest may not get you a lot of friends but it will always get you the right ones