26 September, 2016

Indian scientists discover major breakthrough in combination drug therapy to fight ovarian and breast cancer

Bolstering the know how behind targeted cancer treatment, Indian scientists have offered a new rationale for combination drug therapy for ovarian cancer and breast cancer, which they say can counter drug resistance and reduce side-effects.The insight into molecular mechanisms of how the drug combination works to selectively hunt down cancer cells with minimum effect on healthy cells is ‘highly relevant’ for ongoing clinical trials, the researchers say.’Cancer specific-cell killing’ is the most exciting change in the treatment strategy since the advent of the recent personalised chemotherapy, contends senior scientist Benu Brata Das of the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science here.In that arena, Das and his team worked on the two classes of drugs, PARP inhibitors and Top1 inhibitors, which exploit the cell’s own DNA repair machinery to kill cancer cells.

The US FDA recently approved Olaparib, a PARP inhibitor for ovarian cancer.’PARP inhibitors (Poly ADP-ribose polymerase) have triggered immense interest in clinical trials as a single agent for the treatment of breast and ovarian cancer or in combination with DNA topoisomerase1 (Top1) inhibitors. However, some of these patients develop resistance,’ Das told IANS.To overcome such chemotherapeutic limitations, combination therapy (PARP + Top1 inhibitors) is the ‘effective’ strategy, Das asserted.Further, the overarching idea of combination therapy is to reduce side-effects in patients.’Combination therapy generates synergy at low drug concentrations for selective killing of the cancer cells,’ said Das, Assistant Professor & Wellcome-Trust/India Alliance Fellow, Laboratory of Molecular Biology, IACS.But why go deep into the cellular level to strengthen arguments for combination therapy? It all boils down to ensuring the mechanism is safe and validated before patients can access the drugs.’Understanding the molecular mechanisms of the combination treatment is needed to be validated in the laboratory using cultured cancer cell and animal models before it goes for clinical trials. So, development of new rationale is important for the clinical combination of drugs before it directly goes to the patients,’ Das explained.The synergistic clinical combination (PARP inhibitors + Top1 inhibitors) is ‘relatively new’ and is mostly part of ongoing clinical trials conducted by the US’s National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the UK’s Cancer Research foundations, Das elaborated.’Patients in USA are administered the combination of PARP + Top1 inhibitors relatively more in comparison to the UK. The combination of PARP inhibitors (such as Veliparib; ABT-888) and Top1 inhibitors (like Irinotecan) is effectively used for patients with advanced breast carcinoma (BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutation), ovarian carcinoma, metastatic lung cancer and triple-negative breast carcinoma,’ he said.

In their study published in the Nucleic Acids Research journal in July, the team comprising Subhendu K. Das, Ishita Rehman, Arijit Ghosh, Souvik Sengupta, Papiya Majumdar, Biman Jana from IACS showed how ABT-888 or Veliparib and camptothecin (a Top1 inhibitor) work in tandem to spike up toxicity to cancer cells.’Further studies are warranted in different cancer models to establish the effective impact for the combination therapy. We are hopeful for the effective clinical combination of PARP1 and Top1 inhibitors in ovarian cancer patients and are actively working in collaborating with the clinicians of the Tata Medical Centre-Cancer Hospital (in Kolkata),’ Das added.According to molecular oncology and therapeutics expert Bushra Ateeq of the Indian Institute of Technology-Kanpur, the findings are ‘significant’ for developing novel therapeutic interventions as PARP inhibitors are gaining momentum for the treatment of a variety of cancers in combination with Top1 inhibitors.’This study will provide a new perspective for the combinatorial therapy using PARP-inhibitors and Top1 inhibitors for the treatment of breast or ovarian cancer patients harboring BRCA1/2 mutations,’ Ateeq, Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Sciences & Bioengineering, IIT-Kanpur, told  in an email.

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

Five ways to reduce your risk of heart disease!

 

New Delhi: Heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases remain to be the top killer of both men and women in the world. According to the American Heart Association, heart disease is the number killer in the United States.

 Heart disease, coronary heart disease or CHD, has now become the leading cause of mortality in India. Heat disease is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels.

Although some people are born with heart disease, there are many things you can do to protect your heart and blood vessels by making some healthier lifestyle choices such as:

·         Not smoking – it’s the single best thing you can do for your heart health.

·         Being physically active – regular physical activity can reduce your risk of developing heart disease. It can also be a great mood booster and stress buster.

·         Control other health conditions, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes to help prevent a heart attack or stroke.

 Maintaining a healthy weight as being overweight can increase your risk of a heart disease and other health problem. In order to achieve an ideal weight, stick to a healthy, balanced diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables while cutting down on saturated fat, sugar and salt.

·         Reduce and manage stress which increases the risk of heart attack.

Source: www.zeenews.india.com

23 September, 2016

Detection of spurious milk in 40 seconds

Union cabinet minister Dr Harsh Vardhan has praised the Central Electronics Engineering Research Institute (CEERI) for developing a device which can detect the adulterant in milk in less than 40 seconds.The minister was addressing in the ceremony to mark the 64th anniversary of CEERI in Pilani on Wednesday.

"This device can detect the adulteration with a price of just 5 paisa which is a remarkable meant to suit the needs of our country ," said Vardhan. The device is now being developed by three companies including Rajasthan Electronics and Instrumentation Limited. It will be available in the market for general public soon.

"Our great scientist--Dr CV Raman and Dr Jagdish Chandra Bose had carried out research work in adverse situations. On the contrary , we have the best facilities in the world for research work," said Vardhan.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

23.09.2016

Beware of false knowledge it is more dangerous than ignorance

22 September, 2016

Your sibling’s mental disorder may put you at an increased risk of developing the condition

Individuals who have a brother or sister with mental disorders may be at an increased risk of developing the condition, a study has warned. The study found that having a sibling with schizophrenia increases a person’s risk of developing the condition by ten times. They also have six to eight times increased chance of suffering from schizoaffective disorder — symptoms of both schizophrenia and a mood disorder — and seven to 20 times greater risk of suffering from bipolar disorder than the general population. If a brother or sister suffers from bipolar disorder, then their siblings have four times greater chance of suffering from bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and otherpsychiatric disorders. ‘This is a large study which allows us to put meaningful figures on the risks of developing mental disorders after they have arisen in a brother or sister,’ said lead researcher Mark Weiser, Professor at the Tel Aviv University in Israel. These results are important clinically, as they encourage mental health workers to be aware of the increased risk of psychiatric disorders in siblings of patients, the researchers said.

‘The study can also be used by scientists studying the genetic underpinnings of mental disorders, as they indicate that the same genes might be associated with increased risk for various psychiatric disorders,’ Weiser noted. In the study, the team examined the rates of mental disorders in the families of 6,111 Israeli patients who had been hospitalised with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or depression. They compared them to over 74,000 controls, age and gender matched controls. The findings were presented at the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP) congress in Vienna, recently.

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

22.09.2016

The Dream is not what you see in sleep, Dream is the thing which does not let you sleep

21 September, 2016

Epileptics face higher risks of discrimination

Researchers, including one of Indian-origin, have found that people with epilepsy are at significantly higher risk of experiencing discrimination due to health problems than the general population.

This risk is greater for them than those with other chronic health problems such as diabetes, asthma and migraines.

People with epilepsy also had a greater likelihood of experiencing domestic violence and sexual abuse than the general population, according to the study published in the journal Epilepsia.

The analysis also found that such psychosocial adversities could help explain why individuals with epilepsy are at an increased risk of developing depression and anxiety disorders.

"We still don't know enough about why people with epilepsy develop depression and anxiety disorders much more often than the general population. Our findings suggest that adverse life events such as discrimination may be important," said senior author Dheeraj Rai from University of Bristol in Britain.

For the study, the researchers used data from the the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey 2007 that included comprehensive interviews with 7,403 individuals living in private residences in England.  Doctor-diagnosed epilepsy and other chronic conditions were established by self-report.

Discrimination, domestic violence, physical and sexual abuse, and other stressful life events were assessed using computerised self-completion and a face-to-face interview, respectively.

The researchers found that people with epilepsy were sevenfold more likely to have reported experiencing discrimination due to health problems than the general population without epilepsy. 

"This paper demonstrates that despite all of the advances made over the last 100 years, the experience of discrimination continues to be a significant problem for people with epilepsy," first author of the study Victoria Nimmo-Smith from University of Bristol said.

Source: www.zeenews.india.com

21.09.2016

We are judged by what we finish, not what we start

CME in Dept. of Orthopedics

CME held on 18th September, 2016 at Dept. of Orthopedics, S.N.Medical College Bagalkot

Workshop in Pediatrics

Workshop held on 18th Sep, 2016 at Dept. of Pediatrics, S.N.Medical College Bagalkot

20 September, 2016

Brain cancer emerges as major cause for child deaths: Study

According to a recent research,brain cancer has taken overleukemia and has become the major cause of cancer deaths in children. The report states that pediatric cancer death rates have been dropping since the mid 1970s and describes the changes in cancer death rates among the children and teens aged between 1 to 19. Lead author Sally Curtin said, "The shift from leukemia to brain cancer as the leading site of cancer death is a noteworthy development in the history of childhood cancer as it was always leukemia until quite recently."

There were still 1,785 cancer deaths in children and adolescents in 2014, Curtin added.

Brain cancer and leukemia accounted for more than half of the children suffering. In 1999, six out of 20 cancer deaths among the children were due to leukemia and about five in 20 were due to brain cancer and those numbers had reversed by 2014. "Major therapeutic advances" in the treatment of cancers, particularly leukemia, has likely resulted in the increases in survivorship, the researchers said.

Overall, the cancer death rate for children and teens dropped 20 percent over the 15 years. Among females, the overall cancer death rate dropped 22 percent and it dropped 18 percent among males. Throughout the study period, the rate of cancer deaths among males outpaced that of females. Expert Peter said, "The leukemia specialists have done a really great job of stratifying these patients to give them appropriate therapy based on whether they feel their tumors are more aggressive or not."

Another expert Manley, however, pointed out that survival rate among children with brain tumors has not changed much. "Still, the survival rates related to certain subtypes of brain tumors, such as low-grade gliomas, are improving and that current research is very promising. "There's some really interesting information that's coming out," Manley added.

However, pediatric cancer doesn't receive nearly as much national funding as adult cancers, he noted. "Overall, the important thing to take from this [report] is that, across the board, there are significantly [fewer] cancer deaths just in the last 15 years. So the hope is, in the next 15 years, we'll continue to see that decline," Manley said.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

20.09.2016

If friendship is your weakest point then you are the strongest person in the world 

Abraham Lincoln

19 September, 2016

Food Allergies Linked to Raised Risk of Asthma, Hay Fever

Children with food allergies are at increased risk for asthma and hay fever, and the risk rises with the number of food allergies, new research shows.

The study included information on nearly 363,000 children and teens. Half of the kids were white, and 40 percent were black. Between 7 and 8 percent had one food allergy.

"For patients with an established diagnosis offood allergy, 35 percent went on to developasthma," said study senior author Dr. Jonathan Spergel. He is chief of the division of allergy and immunology at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

"Patients with multiple food allergies were at increased risk of developing asthma as compared to those with a single food allergy," he added in a hospital news release.

Just over one-third of patients with food allergy went on to develop hay fever, also called allergic rhinitis, Spergel said.

Those rates are about double that of children and teens in the general population, the study authors said. However, this study doesn't prove a cause-and-effect link between these factors.

The study's lead researcher was Dr. David Hill. "Of the major food allergens, allergy to peanut, milk and egg significantly predisposed children to asthma and allergic rhinitis," Hill said.

"Eczema, asthma and allergic rhinitis are among the most common childhood medical conditions in the U.S.," he noted.

Hill, who is an allergy and immunology fellow, added that there's a greater need for more information on these conditions because the rates have been changing.

The study was published recently in the journal BMC Pediatrics.

Source: www.medicinenet.com

19.09.2016

A man is a product of his thoughts, what he thinks he becomes

Mahatma Gandhi

17 September, 2016

600 malnutritioned kids’ death issue: Maharashtra minister asks, ‘So what?’

Maharashtra’s Tribal Welfare Minister Vishnu Sawra faced the ire of tribals in Palghar whose children have perished due to malnutrition. When he visited a tribal hamlet in Khoch village in the worst-hit Mokhada sub-district on Thursday evening, angry locals confronted the minister and demanded answers. Some infuriated tribals asked him: ‘600 children have died here (in 2016) what have you done for us?’ ‘So what? The government is doing its work, implementing schemes…..,’ Savra retorted, as some of the enraged villagers virtually asked him to ‘get out’. One grieving young tribal woman, whose two-year-old son died due to severe malnutrition late August, accosted the minister at the doorstep of her hut: ‘Where were you so long.. My son died 15 days ago and you come now? You want to click pictures? We don’t want to meet you. No need to come here.’ Other villagers also joined the chorus and said there was no need for the minister to come, and Savra arrogantly shot back: ‘If you don’t want me to come, then I won’t’. Savra’s comments were dubbed ‘insensitive’ by the Congress, Nationalist Congress Party and even ruling alliance partner Shiv Sena, with several leaders including Leader of Opposition (Congrss) Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, demanding his resignation or dismissal from the cabinet.

Later, Savra alleged that some activists of Shramjeevi Sanghatana, a local organisation, were instigating the tribals and that his comments were being ‘twisted out of context,’ even as videos of the encounter went viral on the social media. The locals expressed their anger that though claims are made of huge funds being allocated for their welfare, they received no funds and had to even ‘beg’ for money to treat the child of the young tribal woman. The child’s condition suddenly worsened last month and he was rushed to a Nashik government hospital, but succumbed due to suspected malnutrition symptoms. Stung by the villagers’ aggressive attitude, the BJP leader who is also Guardian Minister for the district, beat a hasty retreat along with his motorcade from the village. Governor C. V. Rao had directed three ministers — Minister for Women and Child Development Pankaja Munde, Tribal Welfare Minister Vishnu Savra and Minister for Public Health Deepak Sawant — to take urgent remedial steps to tackle malnutrition not only in Palghar but in other parts of the state also.  

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

17.09.2016

If Hard Work is your Weapon…

Success will be your slave…

15 September, 2016

Oversleeping during weekends may leave you tired, not relaxed

Researchers at Sweden's Karolinska Institute claim that sleeping till late on weekends disturbs the natural rhythms of the body leading one to feel worse rather than relaxed. Lead researcher Susanna Jernelov said, "It's partly because of our circadian rhythm, so when you sleep in later, it's like giving yourself a bit of jet-lag and jet-lag makes you less bright and perky," reports The Independent.

"If you sleep a little bit too little all the time and just catch up on the weekends, you are messing with your circadian rhythms, you should stay on a regular schedule but that doesn't really work with most people's lives," she added. Her claims have also been vouched by fellow researcher Bjorn Bjorvatn, who said "You should get up and go to bed at about the same time every day. Do not sleep in late on weekends. Do not have a lie-in. If you get up at 12pm on the weekend, it will take time for your rhythm to adjust back"

And despite the onset of autumn and winter being the most tempting time to stay in bed, it was actually the most important time of the year to stick to the normal sleep routine for wellbeing.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

15.09.2016

Forgiveness is not something we do for other people . We do it for ourselves to get well and move on

14 September, 2016

Sugar Companies shifted focus to fat as heart harm

Analysis of 50­year­old documents suggests the sugar industry manipulated research to play down the harmful effects of sugar on the heart, a new study says. The sugar industry paid Harvard University nutrition scientists to build a case against saturated fat and cholesterol as primary causes of heart disease while downplaying the negative health effects of sugary foods and beverages, according to researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Those Harvard scientists received the equivalent of $50,000 in today's dollars, the investigators said. As a result, consumers may have been misled for decades into thinking only saturated fat harmed the heart, and not sweets, the researchers said.

During that time, obesity and associated ills like diabetes reached alarming levels in the United States. "There are all kinds of ways that you can subtly manipulate the outcome of a study, which industry is very well practiced at," said the study's senior author, Stanton Glantz, a professor of medicine at UCSF. "As the saying goes, he who pays the piper calls the tune," Glantz said in a university news release. The Sugar Association said it still supports industry­funded research, but admitted it should have been more open about past its involvement. For its report, the UCSF team searched public archives for internal corporate documents from the sugar industry. According to their analysis, the sugar industry was aware by the 1950s that if people cut fat out of their diets, their sugar intake would jump by about 30 percent. Around this time, studies began to warn of a link between sugar and risk factors for heart disease, like high cholesterol and triglycerides, the researchers said. As media attention on the health risks associated with sugar increased, a trade group for the sugar industry ­­ the Sugar Research Foundation ­­ commissioned a research review by Harvard scientists. (The trade group today is called the Sugar Association.) The association report appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1967. “The literature review helped shape not only public opinion on what causes heart problems but also the scientific community's view of how to evaluate dietary risk factors for heart disease ," said Dr. Cristin Kearns, lead author of the new study. It was Kearns who unearthed the industry documents.

The review identified high cholesterol as the major risk for heart disease , suggesting high triglycerides associated with sugar were less problematic, Kearns and colleagues said. Also, the Harvard researchers criticized prior studies that linked sugar and heart disease while sidestepping flaws in studies exploring the effects of fats, the new report revealed. In all, the UCSF team analyzed more than 340 documents between sugar representatives and two Harvard scientists behind the 1967 paper. One of the scientists also served on scientific advisory boards for the sugar industry, the authors of the new study said. Besides paying the scientists, the sugar group chose articles for inclusion in the review, and received drafts before publication, according to the new report. These key details weren't noted in the 1967 publication, the authors of the new study said in a report published Sept. 12 in JAMA Internal Medicine. In response to the new report, the Sugar Association said in a statement that conflictof­interest policies were less stringent and researchers weren't required to make financial disclosures back then. However, the association acknowledged it should have "exercised greater transparency in all of its research activities." The statement further said research had continued to show that sugar "does not have a unique role in heart disease." The UCSF team disputes that, noting health policy has since begun to address sugar's role in heart disease.

Source:www.webmd.com

14.09.2016

Forgiveness easier to ask for,

but difficult to give 

12 September, 2016

Work-life imbalance 'afflicts' doctor couples too

Doctors too don't seem to be immune to the disease called 'occupational hazard'. Hyderabad-based psychiatristsare reporting increased incidence of old mates from medical college approaching them for help in dealing with work-life crises. And these happen to practising doctor couples in particular. While mostly such `patients' turn up pretending to seek treatment for their children's behavioural problems, but a little probing by psychiatrists often brings to surface the marital discord in their own lives which is the cause of what was touted as a 'problem' in the kids.

Though the number of cases involving doctors seeking psychiatrist help may not be high -at three or four couples a month -a survey by a city-based psychiatrist found that three in 10 doctor couples lived with marital discord that in turn affected their children.

"It is important that couples who are both doctors realise that they are as vulnerable as other working couples in developing psychiatric morbidity. This is more so in case of doctor couples working in emergency departments," said Dr Kandrakonda Srinivas, a neuro-psychiatry consultant in Kukatpally . Those high on the vulnerability list are couples who are surgeons, anaesthetists, paediatricians and gynaecologists, who work long hours and have to attend to unscheduled emergencies which ultimately affect the time they devote to interpersonal relations.

"Besides affecting their marital life, it also leaves work-related psychological health effects that include burnout, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), fatigue, stress, depression and anxiety," said Dr Srinivas, who said he sees three or four doctor couples a month with such problems.

Ditto in case of Dr Yerra Sridhar Raju, state president of Telangana chapter of Indian Psychiatric Society, who counsels four-five doctor couples a month at his hospital in Warangal, and maintains that such occurrence is more or less consistent across the state.

"The causes for marital discord are many among working doctor couples, but it mainly surrounds on one question -Who looks after children and other family affairs when both are doctors," said Dr Sridhar Raju. Interestingly, he points out that in spite of disharmony, such couples prefer to stay together due to several reasons.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

12.09.2016

Attitude makes you different from others, while ego makes you alone from others

10 September, 2016

Nearly 60 million Indians suffer from mental disorders

New Delhi: At least 60 million Indians -- a number more than the population of South Africa -- suffer from mental disorders, even as the country lags the world in medical professionals and spending on mental-health issues.

Nearly 10-20 million Indians (1-2 per cent of the population) suffered from severe mental disorders such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, and nearly 50 million (5 per cent of population) suffered from common mental disorders like depression and anxiety at the end of 2005, Health and Family Welfare Minister JP Nadda informed the Lok Sabha (lower house of Parliament) in May 2016, quoting data from the National Commission on Macroeconomics and Health, 2005, the last report available.

India spends 0.06 per cent of its health budget on mental healthcare. The government has commissioned a national mental health survey through the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru, to estimate the number of mental patients and utilisation patterns of mental health services.

Started on June 1, 2015, the study interviewed 27,000 respondents by April 5, 2016, according to a reply in the Lok Sabha from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. India is short of health professionals to address mental issues, particularly at the district and sub-district level.

There are 3,800 psychiatrists, 898 clinical psychologists, 850 psychiatric social workers and 1,500 psychiatric nurses nationwide, according to a reply by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in the Lok Sabha in December 2015. This means there were three psychiatrists per million people, according to data from WHO, 18 times fewer than the commonwealth norm of 5.6 psychiatrists per 100,000 people.

By this estimate, India is short of 66,200 psychiatrists. Similarly, based on the global average of 21.7 psychiatric nurses per 100,000 people, India needs 269,750 nurses.

The Mental Health Care Bill, 2013, which provides for protection and promotion of rights of persons with mental illness during the delivery of health care in institutions and in the community, was passed unanimously by a voice vote in the Rajya Sabha (upper house of Parliament) on August 8, 2016.

The new Bill has increased the funding to centres of excellence in mental health, from Rs 30 crore to Rs 33.70 crore per centre.

Source: www.zeenews.india.com

10.09.2016

Never apologize for being correct or for being years ahead of your time

Gandhiji

9 September, 2016

Irregular heartbeat may cause serious health problems: research

Irregular heartbeat — also known as atrial fibrillation — may lead to serious health issues like heart attacks, heart failure, chronic kidney disease and sudden cardiac death, finds a study. The researchers studied the associations between atrial fibrillation and cardiovascular disease, renal (kidney) disease and death. They analysed the results of 104 studies involving over nine million participants (587,867 with atrial fibrillation). Absolute risk increases included 3.8 events per 1,000 participant years for all cause mortality, 1.4 events per 1,000 participant years forischaemic heart disease, and 6.6 events per 1,000 participant years for chronic kidney disease. The absolute risk increase for heart failure (11 events per 1,000 participant years) was the highest among the outcomes examined.

According to the study, published in the journal The BMJ, atrial fibrillation was associated with a two times risk of cardiovascular mortality, a 2.3 times risk of stroke and a five time risk of incident congestive heart failure. ‘Our study could have implications for the prioritisation of public health resources and the development of novel interventions for adults with atrial fibrillation,’ said lead author Ayodele Odutayo, doctoral candidate at University of Oxford. The researchers pointed out that the risk increases associated with many of these events is greater than that of stroke and mentioned that the study adds to the growing literature on the association between atrial fibrillation and cardiovascular outcomes beyond stroke.

One can overcome the problem of irregular heartbeat by yoga. Practice of yoga not only helps improve quality of life in patients with irregularheartbeats, but also lower their heart rate and blood pressure, according to a recent study. Sophiahemmet University’s Maria Wahlstrom said that many patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) can’t live their lives as they want to. They refuse dinners with friends, concerts and travelling because they are afraid of an AF episode occurring. Wahlstrom added that AF episodes are accompanied by chest pain, dyspnoea and dizziness. These symptoms are unpleasant and patients feel anxious, worried and stressed that an AF episode will occur.

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

09.09.2016

Greatness  cannot be achieved by doing big things, if you really want to be great do small thing in a great way

8 September, 2016

Electric fans may make elderly feel hotter, not colder

While electric fans keep young adults cooler by increasing the evaporation of sweat, they may, surprisingly, have the opposite effect for those above the age of 60, suggests new research.

The heart rate and internal temperature of seniors exposed to 41.6 degree Celsius temperatures and increasing humidity levels climbed even higher when they tried to cool off with fans -- instead of falling as expected, according to study findings reported in the journal JAMA.

"Although differences were small, the cumulative effect could become clinically important during prolonged heat exposure, such as during extreme heat waves," said Craig Crandall, Professor of Internal Medicine at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in the US.

"We know that fans keep young adults cooler by increasing the evaporation of sweat," Crandall said. "We surmise that age-related impairments in sweating capacity make fans an ineffective means of cooling for the elderly during exceptionally hot days, and may, in fact, increase thermal and cardiac strain," Crandall noted. Researchers studied the physiological responses of a small group of elderly patients in a high-heat, high-humidity environment.

Participants between the ages of 60 and 80 were observed for approximately two hours in a room with the temperature set at a sweltering 41.6 degrees Celsius and a humidity level that was gradually increased from 30 per cent to 70 per cent. Not surprisingly, both heart rate and internal body temperature rose as the humidity level in the room rose.

The eight individuals in the study were tested under those conditions without a fan and, on a separate occasion, with an electric fan. Unexpectedly, the participants' heart rates were 10 beats per minute higher and their internal temperatures marginally higher when a fan was part of the experimental environment.

Although these findings suggest that fan use may be counterproductive for seniors during heat waves, the investigators propose that fan use may still be beneficial under less extreme environmental conditions, though this needs to be confirmed.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

08.09.2016

Never forget the three powerful resources you always have: love, prayer and forgiveness

H. Jackson Brown

7 September, 2016

Air pollution casts magnetic waste in human brain, ups risk of Alzheimer's

New Delhi: The tiny, hazardous nanoparticles of air pollution emitted by cars and industries travel directly to the brains and triggers the risk of Alzheimer's, according to a latest study.

Scientists at Lancaster, Oxford and Manchester Universities discovered 'abundant' quantities of toxic air pollution particles in human brains.

The study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, detected the brain of 37 persons aged from three to 85 who have either lived in Manchester in UK or Mexico city.

They found presence of minute magnetic particles in the brain tissues significantly increases the risk of various neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's.

"Our results indicate that magnetite nanoparticles in the atmosphere can enter the human brain, where they might pose a risk to human health, including conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease,” Barbara Maher, lead author of the paper from the Lancaster University in Lancashire, U.K., said in a statement. 

Source: www.zeenews.india.com

07.09.2016

Never change your originality for the sake of others because no one can play your role better than you

6 September, 2016

Life story work has potential to help dementia patients: Study

Life story work, which involves helping people to record past incidents and present lives, has the potential to help people with dementia, a study has found. Read: Old women who take calcium supplements at the risk of suffering from dementia.

Life story work involves helping people to record aspects often in a book or folder or, increasingly, in music, film and multi-media formats. Researchers in the study, published in the journal Health Services and Delivery Research compiled evidence on life story work in dementia care through a literature review, in addition to listening first-hand to views of people with dementia, family carers, and professionals through a series of focus groups. Conducting a survey of family carers and dementia service providers, along with an analysis of life story work in care homes and hospital wards, researchers tested the feasibility of doing a full-scale evaluation of life story work. Read:Often forget things? Could be a sign of dementia.

‘People with dementia and their family carers have played a pivotal role in identifying key features of good practice in life story work. This includes not assuming that a person wants to do life story work, and respecting the person’s wishes about what goes into their life story and who will see it,’ said Kate Gridley, Researcher at the University of York.

The study identified some improvements in staff attitudes towards people with dementia in care homes where they introduced life story work and improvements in quality of life for some of the people with dementia, although the numbers were small. The study concluded that life story work has the potential to help people with dementia. Read: Prevent anxiety and stress to protect yourself from dementia.

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

06.09.2016

Beauty is a state of mind, not a state of the body

3 September, 2016

4-year-olds often not physically ready for school

            A "concerning" number of today's four-year olds are not physically ready to start school, new research has revealed, withchildren's mobility levels said to be at an all-time low.

            Early-years specialists monitoring children of school age found a higher number experience problems with their balance and coordination than previously thought, ultimately affecting their ability to learn in class. Researchers from the University of Loughborough said the increase was partly a result of modern children being less active in their early years compared with previous decades, with typical movements associated with play and development reduced by the introduction of electronic toys and screens.

            Tests to assess Foundation Stage children's physical development at the start of the first school year found almost a third to be "of concern" for lack of motor skills and reflexes.

Almost 90% of children demonstrated some degree of movement difficulty for their age. The tests suggest up to 30% of children are starting school with symptoms typically associated with dyslexia, dyspraxia, and ADHD -conditions which can be improved with the correct levels of physical activity, experts say.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

03.09.2016

When life puts you in tough situations don’t say why me, say try me