28 February, 2015

Eating fish can make you less aggressive

Washington: A new study has revealed that Omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin D may control the brain serotonin. In a new Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI) study, serotonin is explained as the possible missing link tying together why vitamin D and marine omega-3 fatty acids might ameliorate the symptoms associated with a broad array of brain disorders.

Here they discuss the relevance of these micronutrients for neuropsychiatric illness. Serotonin affects a wide-range of cognitive functions and behaviors including mood, decision-making, social behavior, impulsive behavior, and even plays a role in social decision-making by keeping in check aggressive social responses or impulsive behavior.

Many clinical disorders, such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and depression share as a unifying attribute low brain serotonin.

Rhonda Patrick said that they explained how serotonin is a critical modulator of executive function, impulse control, sensory gating, and pro-social behavior and linked serotonin production and function to vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids, suggesting one way these important micronutrients help the brain function and affect the way people behave.

Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) increases serotonin release from presynaptic neurons by reducing inflammatory signaling molecules in the brain known as E2 series prostaglandins, which inhibit serotonin release and suggests how inflammation may negatively impact serotonin in the brain.

Their paper illuminates the mechanistic links that explain why low vitamin D and marine omega-3 deficiencies interacts with genetic pathways, such as the serotonin pathway, that are important for brain development, social cognition, and decision-making, and how these gene-micronutrient interactions may influence neuropsychiatric outcomes.

Bruce Ames added that vitamin D, which is converted to a steroid hormone that controls about 1,000 genes, many in the brain, is a major deficiency in the US and omega-3 fatty acid deficiencies are very common because people don't eat enough fish.

The study is published in FASEB Journal.

Source: www.zeenewsindia.com

28.02.2015

Genes behind back pain and depression link: Study

Sydney: The commonly found association between low back pain and depression is actually due to certain genetic factors, suggests a large study of twins.

Genes affecting levels of neurotransmitters - such as serotonin and norepinephrine - might affect the risk of both back pain and depression, the researchers added.

Neurotransmitters are chemicals that transmit signals from one neuron to another 'target' neuron.

Thus the commonly found association between these health conditions is probably not a "true" relationship, as there are other factors influencing it, the study noted.

"Genetic factors affecting both conditions may be involved in the association between back pain and depression," said Marina Pinheiro from the University of Sydney, Australia.

For the study, the researchers analysed data from an established database (Murcia Twin Registry) of nearly 2,150 Spanish twins.

Twin studies provide a unique opportunity to elucidate the association between health conditions, by eliminating the genetic and environmental factors contributing to them.

On analysis of monozygotic twins -- who are genetically identical -- the researchers found that the commonly found association between symptoms of depression and low back pain disappeared.

This suggested that the strong association found in non-identical twins resulted from the "confounding" effects of common genetic factors influencing both conditions, the researchers noted.

Previous studies have shown a "consistent relationship" between back pain and depression -- a combination that may complicate diagnosis and treatment.

The new study is the first to examine the relationship between depression and low back pain using twin data to control for genetic and familial factors, the researchers pointed out.

The study appeared in the journal PAIN.

Source: www.zeenewsindia.com

28.02.2015

Start by doing what is necessary; then do what is possible and suddenly you are doing the impossible

Francis Assisi

27 February, 2015

Two hours of TV will put your kids at high BP risk

Parents must watch out as kids, who spend more than two hours watching television, computers or video consoles in a day run a 30 percent greater risk of developing high blood pressure, says new research.

Doing no daily physical activity or an activity which is less than an hour a day makes one more prone to risk by 50 percent, said researchers from University of Sao Paulo, in Brazil.

"The study shows the number of new high blood pressure cases and the connection between physical activity and different sedentary behaviours with the risk of high blood pressure in European children," explained lead researcher Augusto Cesar de Moraes from the University of Sao Paulo.

The scientists based their conclusion on data gathered over two years from eight European countries (Spain, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Cyprus, Estonia, Sweden and Belgium). It involved 5,221 children, who were between two and 10 years old at the beginning of the study.

The cumulative incidence of high blood pressure in this population during the two years analysed is high: 110 in 1,000, the findings showed.

"The figures are worrying, given that sedentary behaviours are common in infancy and subsequently, later in life," said the authors.

The researchers observed that not doing an hour of physical activity a day increases the risk of high blood pressure by 50 percent.

"Scientific evidence indicates that physical activity is a powerful vasodilator. Therefore, the rate of oxygenation of the heart increases, and at the same time, decreases arterial pressure," the researchers concluded.

The study was published in the International Journal of Cardiology.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

27.02.2015

More sleep may put you at higher stroke risk

In yet another instance of how too much of a good thing can be bad for you, new research shows that people who sleep more than eight hours a night face increased risk of stroke.

Long sleepers -- those who sleep more than eight hours a night -- are 46 percent more likely to have a stroke than people who sleep six to eight hours a night, which is considered an average amount of sleep, the findings showed.

"We do not know yet whether long sleep is a cause, consequence or early marker of ill health," said study author Yue Leng from the University of Cambridge in Britain.

The study involved 9,692 people with an average age of 62 who had never had a stroke. They were asked about their sleeping habits once and then again about four years later. The participants were followed for an average of 9.5 years. During that time, 346 people had a stroke.

Of the 986 people, who slept more than eight hours a night, 52 had a stroke, compared to 211 of the 6,684 people who slept an average amount. People who shifted over time from sleeping less than six hours a night to sleeping more than eight hours a night were nearly four times as likely to have a stroke as people, who consistently slept an average amount.

The relationship between long sleep and stroke stayed the same after researchers accounted for factors such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, body mass index and physical activity.

The study appeared in the journal Neurology.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

27.02.2015

They cannot take away our self-respect if we do not give to them

Mahatma Gandhi

26 February, 2015

Suffer from diabetes? A hearty breakfast can help!

The importance of breakfast cannot be stressed enough. The saying, breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like pauper holds true not only for an overall good health but according to a new study, also for controlling type 2 diabetes. The study published in the journalDiabetologia, claims that when compared to low energy breakfast and a high energy dinner, blood sugar levels in type 2 diabetes are better controlled by a high energy breakfast and a low energy dinner.

The study was conducted on 18 individuals  (8 men, 10 women) in an age range 30-70 years, with type 2 diabetes of less than 10 years duration, body mass index (BMI) 22-35 kg/m2. They were treated with metformin and/or dietary advice (eight patients with diet alone and 10 with diet and metformin).

The study revealed that  post-meal glucose levels were 20 percent lower and levels of insulin, C-peptide and GLP-1 were 20 percent higher in participants on the B diet compared with the D diet. Despite the diets containing the same total energy and same calories during lunch, lunch in the B diet resulted in lower blood glucose (by 21-25 percent) and higher insulin (by 23 percent) compared with the lunch in the D diet.

Prof. Oren Froy, one of the authors of the study from Hebrew University of Jerusalem, said that the observations suggest that a change in meal timing influences the overall daily rhythm of post-meal insulin and incretin and results in a substantial reduction in the daily post-meal glucose levels. It may be a crucial factor in the improvement of glucose balance and prevention of complications in type 2 diabetes and lend further support to the role of the circadian system in metabolic regulation.

Prof. Daniela Jakubowicz Jakubowicz concluded that high energy intake at breakfast is associated with significant reduction in overall post-meal glucose levels in diabetic patients over the entire day. The dietary adjustment may have a therapeutic advantage for the achievement of optimal metabolic control and may have the potential for being preventive for cardiovascular and other complications of type 2 diabetes.

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

26.02.2015

Wisdom teeth may prevent one from going blind

A wisdom tooth doesn’t make you wise but it definitely more helpful when treating blindness. A new study says that stem cells from a wisdom tooth can help treating diseases affecting the corne. The researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have managed to coax stem cells from the dental pulp of wisdom teeth to turn into corneal cells of the eye. This research paves ways to develop therapies to treat corneal blindness.

Senior investigator James Funderburgh said that corneal blindness affects millions world wide and it is generally treated with transplants of donor corneas. He further explained that his research is promising as patient’s own stem cells could be used  for the treatment, which would diminish the problems associated with donor tissue rejection.

The researchers extracted stem cells of the dental pulp, obtained from routine human third molar, or wisdom tooth, could be turned into corneal stromal cells called keratocytes and then injected them into the corneas of healthy mice, where they integrated without any signs of rejection. They also used the cells to develop constructs of corneal stroma akin to natural tissue.  

The study appeared in the journal Stem Cells Translational Medicine.

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

26.02.2015

Only he who can see the invisible can do the impossible

Frank L.Gaines

25 February, 2015

Indian scientist awarded 1.5 million euros grant

Berlin: A young Indian scientist based in Germany has been awarded a grant of 1.5 million euros to investigate the role of gut microbiota in autoimmune diseases of the central nervous system such as Multiple Sclerosis.

The Starting Grants of the European Research Council (ERC) seek to give talented scientists at an early stage in their careers the freedom to pursue their most creative ideas. Gurumoorthy Krishnamoorthy, group leader at the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology, was one of this year's successful Starting Grant applicants. With the 1.5 million euros he will receive over the period of five years, Krishnamoorthy will establish an independent research group at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Martinsried.

The group's aim is to investigate the role of gut microbiota in autoimmune diseases of the central nervous system such as Multiple Sclerosis. Multiple Sclerosis, or MS, is the most common inflammatory disease of the central nervous system. In the disorder, cells from the body's immune system penetrate into the central nervous system. Here, the cells wreak havoc by triggering off inflammatory reactions and attacking nerve cells.

Despite decades of research on MS, the causes and course of the disease are still largely unclear.

Three years ago, Krishnamoorthy and his team discovered that bacteria from the natural intestinal flora, which every human being needs for digestion, could act as a trigger for the development of Multiple Sclerosis.

The researchers showed that genetically modified mice develop an inflammation in the brain similar to the human disease if they have normal bacterial intestinal flora. Mice without microorganisms in their intestines and held in a sterile environment remained healthy.

With ERC Starting Grant, Krishnamoorthy seeks to unravel the role gut microbiota play in the development of autoimmune responses.

The aim is to identify the harmful gut bacteria and the molecular pathways involved which are relevant to central nervous system autoimmunity. Based on the results, he hopes to identify therapeutic strategies targeting gut microbiota in order to limit the development of inflammatory processes during autoimmune diseases.

Source: www.zeenewsindia.com

25.02.2015

Drug price monitoring cells across India planned

New Delhi: The government plans to set up monitoring cells across the country to keep a watch on price movements, collections and availability of drugs.

The move follows a proposal to the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers by drug price regulator National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) which suggested revision of the existing scheme of consumer awareness and publicity through various forms of media.

The proposal has a component for setting up consumer awareness, price monitoring and resource units at states and Union Territories (UTs) with the objective of forging better linkages with the state drug controllers (SDCs), an official statement said.

Most of the state drug controllers have in-principle supported the proposal for setting up the units at states/UTs level. The proposal is yet to be placed before the appropriate Committee for approval, it added.

Stating that the information was given by Minister of State (MOS) in the Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers Hansraj Gangaram Ahir in the Lok Sabha today, it said the units are expected to provide necessary technical assistance to the SDCs and NPPA.

The monitoring cells will assist SDCs and NPPA towards monitoring the notified prices of medicines, price movement, collection and compilation of market based data.

Besides, the cells would also provide help in conducting training, seminars and workshops at the state and district levels for consumer awareness and publicity covering aspects relating to availability of scheduled and non-scheduled medicines at reasonable prices, availability of alternative cheaper medicines, role and function of NPPA, among others, the statement added. 

Source: www.zeenewsindia.com

25.02.2015

When you cease to dream you cease to live

Malcolm Forbes

24 February, 2015

Brain goes silent when we talk loud

The part of the brain identified as the command centre for human speech does not actually work when we speak loudly, a study reveals.

The Broca's area -- named after 19th century French physician Pierre Paul Broca -- has been recognised for more than 150 years as the command centre for human speech, including vocalisation.

Now, scientists at the University of California Berkeley and Johns Hopkins University in Maryland are challenging this long-held assumption with new evidence that Broca's area actually switches off when we talk out loud.

"Broca's area shuts down during the actual delivery of speech, but it may remain active during conversation as part of planning future words and full sentences," said study lead author Adeen Flinker.

Neuroscientists have traditionally organised the brain's language centre into two main regions: one for perceiving speech and one for producing speech.

"This finding helps us move towards a view that Broca's area is not a centre for speech production but rather a critical area for integrating and coordinating information across other brain regions," Flinker said.

The discovery has major implications for the diagnoses and treatments of stroke, epilepsy and brain injuries that result in language impairments.

"The results could help us advance language mapping during neurosurgery as well as the assessment of language impairments," Flinker concluded.

The findings were reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

24.02.2015

Is your perfume safe?

Several perfumes contain undeclared chemicals that may have serious health implications, according to a report by two environmental advocacy groups in Canada.

To come up with the report, the two groups commissioned independent laboratory testing that identified several potentially harmful chemicals in perfume products including Acqua Di Gio by Giorgio Armani, and American Eagle's Seventy Seven.

According to the report, both contain lilial, an allergen that may prompt estrogen-like effects in the body, and benzyl salicylate, an allergen, as well as many other chemicals, reports The Globe and Mail.

"Anything in your house that smells like a rain forest or a strawberry patch or a pine tree will have these chemicals in them," added Rick Smith, executive director of Environmental Defence, which released the report along with California-based Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.

Dolce & Gabbana's Light Blue fragrance contains several chemicals including butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), a preservative and stabilizer that has been associated with adverse effects on the thyroid and is a possible carcinogen. 

Source: www.timesofindia.com

24.02.2015

A lie may take care of the present but it has no future

23 February, 2015

Protein that keeps heart beating identified

A new study has identified a crucial protein that keeps the heart beating on time, which could eventually help in finding potential treatment for deadly heart problems.

W. Jonathan Lederer, MD, PhD, professor of physiology at the UM SOM, as well as director of the Center for Biomedical Engineering and Technology, and David Warshaw, PhD, professor of molecular physiology and biophysics at University of Vermont (UVM) and the Cardiovascular Research Institute of Vermont, describe how myosin-binding protein C (“C protein”) allows the muscle fibers in the heart to work in perfect synchrony.

C protein sensitizes certain parts of the sarcomere to calcium. As a result, the middle of the sarcomere contracts just as much as the ends, despite having much less calcium. In other words, C protein enables the sarcomeres to contract synchronously.

It appears to play a large part in many forms of heart disease. In the most severe cases, defects in C-protein lead to extremely serious arrhythmias, which cause sudden death when the heart loses the ability to pump blood. In the U.S., arrhythmias contribute to about 300,000 deaths a year, according to the American Heart Association. (Not all arrhythmias are fatal; some can be controlled with medicines and electrical stimulation.)

The study is published in the journal Science Advances.

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

23.02.2015

Men with lower IQ tend to drink more

A lower IQ is clearly associated with greater and riskier drinking among young adult men, a research has found.

‘It may be that a higher IQ results in healthier lifestyle choices,’ said corresponding author for the study Sara Sjolund, doctoral student at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden.

Suggested explanations for the association between IQ and different health outcomes could be childhood conditions, which could influence both IQ and health, or that a socio-economic position as an adult mediates the association, Sjolund added.

The researchers analysed data collected from 49,321 Swedish males born during 1949 to 1951 and who were conscripted for Swedish military service from 1969 to 1971.

IQ results were available from tests performed at conscription, and questionnaires also given at conscription provided data on total alcohol intake (consumed grams of alcohol/week) and pattern of drinking, as well as medical, childhood and adolescent conditions, and tobacco use.

Adjustments were made for socio-economic position as a child, psychiatric symptoms and emotional stability and the father’s alcohol habits.

‘We found that lower results on IQ tests in Swedish adolescent men are associated with a higher consumption of alcohol, measured in both terms of total intake and binge drinking,’ Sjolund said.

The researchers noted that results may vary among cultures and countries.

‘Poor performance on IQ tests tend to go along with other disadvantages, for instance, poorer social background and emotional problems, which may explain the association with risky alcohol consumption,’ Daniel Falkstedt, assistant professor at Karolinska Institutet said.

‘In reality, other differences of importance are likely to exist among the men, which could further explain the IQ-alcohol association,’ Falkstedt said.

The study is forthcoming in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

23.02.2015

The taste of defeat has a richness of experience all its own

Bill Bradley

21 February, 2015

Cyber bullying increases depression in female students

Involvement in cyber bullying increases risk of depression in female college students - for both bullies and victims , says a study led by an Indian-origin researcher.

What is worse is that the bullies are also likely to report problem alcohol use, the researchers noted.

"Participants with any involvement in cyber bullying had increased odds of depression and those involved in cyber bullying as bullies had increased odds of both depression and problem alcohol use," said Rajitha Kota from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine in the US.

Cyber bullying and its effects have been studied largely in middle and high school students, but less is known about cyber bullying in college students.

This cross-sectional study investigated the relationship between involvement in cyber bullying and depression or problem alcohol use among college females.

For the study, two hundred and sixty-five female students from four colleges completed online surveys assessing involvement in cyber bullying behaviours.

Participants also completed the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) to assess depressive symptoms and the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) to assess problem drinking.

The researchers found that more than one in four females experienced cyber bullying in college, increasing their risk for depression.

Among the participants who had experienced cyber bullying, the most common behaviours reported were hacking into another person's account, receiving unwanted sexual advances, being harassed by text message, and posting of degrading comments.

Those who had experienced unwanted sexual advances online or via text message had six-fold increase in odds of depression, the findings showed.

The study appeared in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

21.02.2015

Soft drink consumers at a higher risk of cancer

People who consume one or more cans of cold drinks per day are exposing themselves to a potential carcinogen, warns a new study.

The ingredient, 4-methylimidazole (4-MEI) - a possible human carcinogen - is formed during the manufacture of some kinds of caramel colour. Caramel colour is a common ingredient in colas and other dark soft drinks.

"Soft drink consumers are being exposed to an avoidable and unnecessary cancer risk from an ingredient that is being added to these beverages simply for aesthetic purposes," said Keeve Nachman, senior author of the study.

Building on an analysis of 4-MEI concentrations in 11 different soft drinks first published by Consumer Reports in 2014, researchers estimated exposure to 4-MEI from caramel-coloured soft drinks and modelled the potential cancer burden related to routine soft drink consumption levels in the United States.

"This unnecessary exposure poses a threat to public health and raises questions about the continued use of caramel colouring in soda," Nachman of Johns Hopkins Center for a Liveable Future (CLF).

Results indicated that levels of 4-MEI could vary substantially across samples, even for the same type of beverage.

While there is currently no federal limit for 4-MEI in food or beverages, Consumer Reports petitioned the Food and Drug Administration last year to set limits for the potential carcinogen.

"This new analysis underscores our belief that people consume significant amounts of soda that unnecessarily elevate their risk of cancer over the course of a lifetime," said Urvashi Rangan, executive director for Consumer Reports' Food Safety and Sustainability Center.

The results were published online in the journal PLOS One.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

21.02.2015

Truth is such a rare thing; it is delightful to tell it

Emily Dickinson

20 February, 2015

Daily One Minute Walk can be Lifesaving

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The price of healthy living is really not that much, a mere 60 seconds walk per day can help cut the risk of a heart attack or stroke.

The study of more than 1,000 elderly people showed that inactive people who often do small doses of daily exercise combined with a healthy diet, cut their blood pressure and cholesterol and live a long and healthy life, the Daily Express reported. 

Housework and gardening chores can also make a person live longer. 

The breakthrough comes after tests showed it is better to keep moving throughout the day rather than undertake an intense burst of exercise followed by rest. 

Lead researcher Dr Thomas Buford at the University of Florida said that encouraging individuals to just reduce the amount of time they spend being sedentary may have important cardiovascular benefits.

Official UK guidelines say people should do 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise every week - but 3 in four Britons fail to achieve this target. 

June Davison, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said that it was already known that older adults who participate in any amount of physical activity gain some health benefits and they should just try to be active daily and should try to move regularly through the day and minimise time spent being sedentary for extended periods.

Source: www.medindindia.net

20.02.2015

Unhealthy Eating Habits Triumphing Over Healthy Eating

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Even though healthy eating habits have increased over the past two decades, consumption of unhealthy food had outpaced it in many countries.

According to the first study to assess diet quality in 187 countries covering almost 4.5 billion adults, the diet patterns vary widely by national income, with high-income countries generally having better diets based on healthy foods (average score difference +2.5 points), but substantially poorer diets due to a higher intake of unhealthy foods compared with low-income countries (average score difference -33.0 points). On average, older people and women seem to consume better diets. 

The highest scores for healthy foods were noted in several low-income countries (eg, Chad and Mali) and Mediterranean nations (eg, Turkey and Greece), possibly reflecting favourable aspects of the Mediterranean diet. In contrast, low scores for healthy foods were shown for some central European countries and republics of the former Soviet Union (eg, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Kyrgyzstan).

Of particular interest was that the large national differences in diet quality were not seen, or were far less apparent, when overall diet quality (including both healthy and unhealthy foods) was examined as previous studies have done. 

Dr Imamura said that as per the projections, by 2020, non-communicable diseases would account for 75 percent of all deaths. Improving diet has a crucial role to play in reducing this burden. Policy actions in multiple domains are essential to help people achieve optimal diets to control the obesity epidemic and reduce non-communicable diseases in all regions of the world.

According to Dr Mozaffarian, there was an urgent need to focus on improving diet quality among poorer populations, as under-nutrition would be rapidly eclipsed by obesity and non-communicable diseases, as is already being seen in India, China and other middle-income countries.

Carlo La Vecchia from the University of Milan in Italy and Lluis Serra-Majem from the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in Spain said that the main focus of the paper remains the need to understand the agricultural, trade and food industry and health policy determinants to improve dietary patterns and nutrition in various areas, taking into account the traditional characteristics of diets worldwide. 

The study is published in The Lancet Global Health journal.

Source: www.medindindia.net

20.02.2015

If there exists no possibility of failure, then victory is meaningless

Robert Schuller

19 February, 2015

Cancer cases to increase rapidly worldwide by 2030

Doha (Qatar): Cancer cases worldwide will increase rapidly between 2008 to 2030 with the poorest countries likely to see a 100 per cent rise in the cases, according to a report released at a world health summit here.

The report, released at the World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH) today, predicted that between 2008 to 2030 the incidence of cancer will increase by 65 per cent in high-income countries, 80 per cent in middle-income countries and 100 per cent in the world's poorest countries.

The report titled 'Delivering affordable cancer care: a value change to health systems' provided a roadmap for facilitating patient involvement in clinical decision-making, developing consistent and uniform transit for cancer patients through cost-informed clinical pathways and eliminating of waste in cancer care service systems.

It also stressed on developing new costing models for drugs based on a 'pay for results' principle, introducing accountable care reward systems and addressing potentially disruptive technologies associated with genomic medicine. In the summit, leading cancer specialists from around the globe discussed the increasing burden of worldwide spending on cancer treatment and care.

The delegates were informed that the burden of cancer is only set to intensify with new cancer diagnoses expected to increase by around 16-32 per cent over the next 10 years.

Policy makers were informed of the three root causes of excess spending -- Over-treatment and unnecessary interventions, technology without value and inefficient service delivery.

"Through our work we want to encourage governments, policy makers and healthcare organisations to address the problem of affordability in cancer care and treatment. This is a key and real issue for patients across the world.

Source: www.zeenewsindia.com

19.02.2015

Educated women avoid breast screening tests: Lancet

Melbourne: Women who understand the risk of over-detection and over-diagnosis associated with mammography screening are less likely to have a breast screening test, new research has found.

"Mammography screening can reduce breast cancer deaths but most women are unaware that inconsequential disease can also be detected by screening, leading to over-diagnosis and over-treatment," said study author Kirsten McCaffery from the University of Sydney.

Over-detection and over-diagnosis refer to the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer that would not have presented clinically during a woman's lifetime.

Such a diagnosis, and the resulting over-treatment, can harm women physically and emotionally.

The study involved 879 women aged 48-50 years. The women who participated in the study had not had mammography in the past two years and did not have a personal or strong family history of breast cancer.

The researchers found that compared to controls, in women provided with decision support containing explanatory and quantitative information about over-detection, significantly fewer women intended to be screened for breast cancer.

The intervention decision aid contained evidence-based information about important outcomes of breast screening over 20 years, compared with no screening -- that is, breast cancer mortality reduction, over-detection, and false positives.

The control version omitted all content about over-detection but was otherwise identical to the intervention decision aid.

The study "underlines the ethical imperative for women to have clear decision support materials so that they can make more informed decisions about whether they want to have a breast screening mammogram," McCaffery added.

The study appeared in the journal Lancet.

Source: www.zeenewsindia.com

19.02.2015

If you can’t make a mistake, you can’t make anything

Marva Collins

18 February, 2015

How a simple ‘Thank You’ can help your health

'Silent gratitude isn't much use to anyone.' - GB Stern

Last year, several small tete-a-tetes were organised in various offices across the Capital on Thanksgiving Day. Notices were sent in advance, employees posted brightly hued post-its about various things they were thankful for, and there was a lot of merriment and 'selfie-taking' that lasted for about an hour.

Yes, just an hour.

After life resumed its normal sobriety, it was perplexing to observe that people just slipped back into their deadline-tensing bubbles, barely learning from the exercise, or not even realising just how much happiness had lit their faces just because of an encouraging note that took all of two seconds to write. It didn't matter that the handwriting was bad, it didn't matter if the words were not correct. The message was clear. Yet, no one seemed to really get that this could be extended into a long term practice.

Just like the concept of Thanksgiving is relatively foreign in our country, the concept of saying thank you also seems to be increasingly being callously discarded as a formality. Or as word that is only potent when used in extreme cases of gratitude generation, else it loses its purpose. (Or so I have been told) Not true.

So, why are we so awkward about expressing a simple thank you?

Possibly because it renders our image as dependent on the person we're thanking. But expressing gratitude is very different from being indebted to someone. The next time you feel like you are exposing a more vulnerable side of yourself, consider this: Saying 'thank you' is not an IOU in any form: it's building a bond; even if it is with a complete stranger.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

18.02.2015

Can healthy ageing be achieved globally?

As scientists the world over are searching for the elixir of life for healthy ageing, some top researchers now suggest that the concept of successful ageing should be abandoned, pointing to social inequalities and the problems associated with labelling a person an "unsuccessful ager".

Through a series of 16 articles that appeared in the journal The Gerontologist, a team has looked back at the progress made over the past 28 years into what successful ageing is.

The paper lays the groundwork for building consensus on the topic - while pointing out that the answer may differ among academics and the general public as well as across populations and demographic groups.

"With an enhanced understanding of what successful ageing is, we will be in a stronger position to develop interventions that will enable more people to age successfully," said Rachel Pruchno, editor of The Gerontologist.

The sheer number of people comprising the baby boom generation transformed academic interest in successful ageing to a public policy imperative.

"Now more than ever, it is critical to develop science that empowers people to experience the best old age possible," she added.

The issue includes a number of groundbreaking studies involving several segments of the US population.

For example, one of the articles reports on the first study to examine physical and mental health quality of life among the older lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) population.

A further article addresses the growing body of literature suggesting that black women experience a number of social challenges that may present a barrier to ageing successfully.

The issue also contains articles examining successful ageing across cultures.

It reports that young, middle-aged and older people from the US and Germany have quite similar concepts of successful ageing which they view in far more multi-dimensional terms than do established scientific theories.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

18.02.2015

The first goal of man should be to defeat himself