1 February, 2017

Creative people have more trouble sleeping

Creative people especially those working with art tend to have disturbed sleep causing them to experience difficulty in functioning during the day time, a new study has found. It also found that verbally creative people tend to go to bed and wake up later than others, although they sleep for more number of hours.

"Visually creative people reported disturbed sleep leading to difficulties in daytime functioning," said Neta Ram-Vlasov from the University of Haifa in Israel.

"In the case of verbally creative people, we found that they sleep more hours and go to sleep and get up later," said Ram-Vlasov.

"The two types of creativity were associated with different sleep patterns. This strengthens the hypothesis that the processing and expression of visual creativity involves different psychobiological mechanisms to those found in verbal creativity ," Ram-Vlasov added.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

01.02.2017

It is not selfish to do what is best for you

31 January, 2017

India spends less than BRICS, SAARC nations on health; should fix it in Budget': Health body

New Delhi: Nothing that India's spend on healthcare is much lower than some fellow BRICS and SAARC nations, a health body has asked the Centre to bolster investments in health, particularly in family planning, in the upcoming budget. Insisting that increasing the budget allocation for health and family planning is of "utmost concern", Population Foundation of India (PFI) has said low spending by the country in the sector has caused growing inequities, insufficient access and poor quality of healthcare services. "India spends just 1.3 per cent of its GDP on healthcare. This figure is much lower compared to BRICS countries - Brazil spends around 8.3 per cent, Russian Federation 7.1 per cent and South Africa around 8.8 per cent.

"Among SAARC countries, Afghanistan spends 8.2 per cent, Maldives 13.7 per cent and Nepal 5.8 per cent. This low spending by India has been a cause for the growing inequities, insufficient access (to), and poor quality of healthcare services," Poonam Muttreja, Executive Director, PFI said. PFI said the 12th five year plan recommends increasing public expenditure on health to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2017.

Between 2015-16 and 2016-17, the government's allocations for Health Ministry increased by 13 per cent but the share of National Health Mission in the Ministry's budget declined to 48 per cent. Trends in budget allocations indicate that percentage share to family planning has remained unchanged between 2013-14 and 2016-17 -- at 2 per cent of the total Health Ministry's budget.

Noting that during 2015-16, 59 per cent of government fund was released primarily in the last quarter while 72 per cent was released in the first two quarters in 2014-15, PFI said this evidences staggered supply of funds for health resources and affects investments.

"Investing in health is critical for achieving the economic development goals. The health sector, which drives domestic demand for health care, has the potential of providing new jobs. The lack of skilled workforce is stark in the health sector. Increased investment will also bring down the prices of health services and assist in sustaining the medium term inflation target of four          percent.

"Adequate and proportionate resources invested (in health and specifically family planning) in the upcoming budget announcement will bear positive dividends for the country's future," Muttreja said. 

Source: www.zeenews.india.com

31.01.2017

Beautiful things happen when you distance yourself from the negativity

30 January, 2017

Artificial kidney may hit market soon

Thousands of people with chronic kidney disease now being kept alive by dialysismachines that tie them to a hospital bed for hours will be enormously relieved when a fist-sized artificial kidney hits the market, possibly by the end of the decade. The device being engineered in the US will go through a series of safety and efficacy trials on hundreds of patients in that country before it is approved by the FDA, University of California San Francisco researcher Dr Shuvo Roy , co-inventor of the device, said at the Tanker annual charity and awards night on Wednesday .

The device that can be implanted in the abdomen and will be powered by the heart is designed to filter the blood and perform other kidney functions, including production of hormones, and help assist in blood pressure control, he told a hall filled with doctors, paramedics and patients. Unlike conventional haemodialysis, which merely filters toxins from the blood, the artificial kidney has a membrane that filters the blood and a bio-reactor comprising living kidney cells that are exposed to the blood during dialysis. "It performs the job of a kidney more holistically than just convention al dialysis," he said.

The final stage of chronic kidney disease, called end stage renal disease, is when the kidneys are no longer able to remove enough wastes and excess fluids from the body . At this point, patients are put on dialysis, sometimes up to three times a week, as a bridge to transplant. Increasing incidence of diabetes and hypertension has been pushing up chronic kidney disease among many patients.

At least 2.5 lakh people in India die due to kidney disease every year. Diabetes and high blood pressure are the two most common causes and account for most cases. The cost of treating end-stage kidney disease through dialysis or a kidney transplant is enormous. n the Tamil Nadu chief minister's health insurance I scheme, which covers more than 1.5 crore families in the state, renal dialysis is the most opted for treatment by policyholders, although the cost of giving a heart patient a stent is several times higher. Between January 2012 and May 2016, more than 2.21 lakh people have undergone dialysis at a cost of `169.72 lakh. The charges do not include the inestimable costs to quality of life among patients with advanced kidney disease. In addition to dialysis, more than 60,000 people have opted for treatment of kidney stones and renal transplant. At least 3,000 people in the state have been wait listed for kidney transplant with the state cadaver transplant registry . "Getting an organ is still not easy. So patients with end-stage renal diseases will have to be on regular dialysis and medicines," said nephrologist Dr Georgie Abraham. ICMR director general Dr Soumya Swaminathan said the Union health ministry has been working with engineers at various IITs to develop solutions for various health problems in India. Tanker Foundation honoured young scientists and doctors with awards for their contribution in the field of nephrology.

Source: www.timesofindia.com           30.01.2017

Being true to yourself is better than being a liar just to impress everyone

28 January, 2017

Football may reduce high blood pressure in women

Suffering from high blood pressure? Playing football may be just as effective as tablets in lowering the condition, researchers say. Undergoing football fitness training may also help improve physical fitness, decrease body fat percentage and strenthen bones in women, said researchers from the University of Southern Denmark. Football Fitness — a training concept developed by the Danish Football Association and Professor Peter Krustrup at the University of Southern Denmark — comprises high-pulse, stamina and strength training followed by games with the focus on fun, socialising and health. The findings showed that the women engaged in this football training derived significant positive effects on blood pressure (9 mmHg), body fat mass (3.1 kg), triglyceride (0.3 mmol/l), bone mass (70 g) and interval fitness (120 per cent better).

“Our study shows that untrained women with high blood pressure benefit greatly from football in respect of blood pressure, body fat percentage, bone density and physical fitness. This form of football can rightly be described as effective and broad-spectrum medicine for women with high blood pressure,” Krustrup said. In addition, football can also be used for effective prevention and treatment of a number of lifestyle diseases, including cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes. For the study, the team involved 31 women aged 35-50 with mildly high blood pressure, one hour of football training two to three times a week over an year. The trial proved to be an effective broad-spectrum medicine, with positive effects on blood pressure, body fat percentage, bone density and physical fitness. The results are detailed in the Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports.

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

27.01.2017

Making mistakes is better than fake perfection

27 January, 2017

What happens when we blink our eyes

Ever wondered why we are not plunged into intermittent darkness when we blink? Researchers in Singapore may have the answer. It is because our brain works extra hard to stabilise our vision, without which our surroundings would appear shadowy, erratic and jittery after we blink, a study has showed. Blinking lubricates dry eyes and protects them from irritants. However, when we blink, our eyeballs roll back in their sockets and do not always return to the same spot when we reopen our eyes. This misalignment prompts the brain to activate the eye muscles to realign our vision, the researchers said. The finding showed that when we blink, our brain repositions our eyeballs so we can stay focused on what we are viewing. ‘Our eye muscles are quite sluggish and imprecise, so the brain needs to constantly adapt its motor signals to make sure our eyes are pointing where they’re supposed to,’ said lead author Gerrit Maus, Assistant Professor at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

‘Our findings suggest that the brain gauges the difference in what we see before and after a blink and commands the eye muscles to make the needed corrections,’ Maus added. For the study, healthy young adults participated where they sat in a dark room for long periods staring at a dot on a screen while infrared cameras tracked their eye movements and eye blinks in real time. Every time they blinked, the dot was moved one centimetre to the right. While participants failed to notice the subtle shift, the brain’s oculomotor system registered the movement and learned to reposition the line of vision squarely on the dot. After 30 or so blink-synchronised dot movements, participants’ eyes adjusted during each blink and shifted automatically to the spot where they predicted the dot to be. The study was published in the journal Current Biology.

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

27.01.2017

We don’t grow when things are easy; we grow when we face challenges

24 January, 2017

'80% of people with eye problems in Delhi are IT professionals'

As much as 80 per cent of the people with eye-related problems in the national capital are Information Technology (IT) professionals, opthalmologists said on Saturday. They said the basic reason was that the IT professionals spend a minimum of 10 hours in front of laptops, computers or were busy fiddling with their cell phones.

"Digital eye strain is a discomfort felt by many individuals after spending a few hours in front of a digital screen like desktop computers, laptops, tablets, and smart phones. It is responsible for 80 per cent of the overall patients visiting us and this problem is now rising among the IT professionals," said Mahipal Sachdev, Director of Centre for Sight, a leading chain of eye hospitals in India.

According to Sachdev, the impact of exposure is compounded by the fact that multiple devices are often used simultaneously, putting excessive strain on the eyes. Medical data says that on an average, nine out of 10 adults spend more than two hours each day on a digital device, of which 10 per cent spend at least three-fourth of their waking hours.

According to experts, India is now home to the world's largest population of blind at 15 million cases against 37 million globally. Ritika Sachdev, a city based ophthalmologist, said: "IT professionals have more eye problems as they spend more time on laptops and phones compared with other professionals. "This constant exposure to technology shocks our eyes and lead to digital eye strain, dry and irritated eyes, blurred vision, eye fatigue, neck and back pain accompanied by headache."

However, Ritika says, a few exercises can be performed to keep the eyes relaxed, such as palming which can soothe eyeballs. "Convergence exercises (to focus on closer object) can strengthen the eye muscles," said Ritika. According to experts, it is always better to take precautionary measures to avoid eye strain. Frequent blinking of eyes while looking at the screen helps to avoid fatigue and dryness.

Individuals should make sure to have enough brightness in the room while working on laptops, and take regular breaks.

Source: www.timesofindia.com             24.01.2017

A positive thinker sees the invisible, feels the intangible and achieves

 the impossible

23 January, 2017

Low income women at greater risk of heart disease

Women from low socio-economic backgrounds are 25 per cent more likely to suffer a heart attack than disadvantaged men, research shows. Cardiovascular disease is the single leading cause of death in women worldwide, with an estimated 8.6 million women dying every year. The findings showed that a lower socioeconomic status, compared to a higher, is associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease for both sexes, but women from more disadvantaged backgrounds were relatively more likely to suffer from coronary heart disease than similarly affected men.  However, the study found no difference found for stroke. ‘Our study has shown there is a significant difference between the sexes – more disadvantaged women are suffering from heart disease than their male counterparts, which is concerning,’ said Sanne Peters, research student at The George Institute for Global Health, in Britain. Further, men and women have a similar lifetime risk of heart disease. However, women, on average, develop heart disease 5-10 years later in life than men. This advantage is smaller among women with a lower socioeconomic status.

For the study, the team examined data from 22 million people from North America, Europe, Asia and Australasia. The results demonstrated a need for tailored interventions for women to address the gender gap and deliver the best possible care. ‘There is a clear need for sex specific research to discover why disproportionally more women than men are suffering from heart disease in disadvantaged communities and to deliver prevention and treatment programs that will reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease around the world,’ Peters said. The study was published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

23.01.2017

The best apology is changed behavior

20 January, 2017

Men, work-related stress may cause cancer

Dear men, beware! Prolonged exposure to work-related stress may increase likelihood of cancer. The findings indicate that the link was observed in men, who had been exposed to 15 to 30 years of work-related stress and in some cases, more than 30 years. According to the study published in journal of Preventive Medicine, prolonged exposure of men to work-related stress has been linked to an increased likelihood of lung, colon, rectal and stomach cancer and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Researchers at INRS and Université de Montréal in Canada conducted the study to assess the link between cancer and work-related stress perceived by men throughout their working life. On average, the study participants had held four jobs, with some holding up to a dozen or more during their working lifetime. A link between work-related stress and cancer was not found in participants who had held stressful jobs for less than 15 years. Significant links to five of the eleven cancers considered in the study were revealed.

The most stressful jobs included firefighter, industrial engineer, aerospace engineer, mechanic foreman, and vehicle and railway-equipment repair worker and for the same individual, stress varied depending on the job held. The study also shows that perceived stress is not limited to high work load and time constraints. ‘One of the biggest flaws in previous cancer studies is that none of them assessed work-related stress over a full working lifetime, making it impossible to determine how the duration of exposure to work-related stress affects cancer development,’ the authors explained. ‘Our study shows the importance of measuring stress at different points in an individual’s working life,’ the authors noted. Customer service, sales commissions, responsibilities, the participant’s anxious temperament, job insecurity, financial problems, challenging or dangerous work conditions, employee supervision, interpersonal conflict and a difficult commute were all sources of stress listed by the participants.

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

20.01.2017

Our world is a reflection of our thoughts

19 January, 2017

Coffee may help you live longer – Study

A new research suggests that drinking coffee can be helpful in increasing a person's life span.

Drinking coffee and tea may help people to live longer by reducing chemicals in the blood that can trigger heart disease, researchers have found. Now researchers at Stanford University believe they may have hit on a reason why having a coffee or tea break is so good for us.

Caffeine, the ingredient that gives coffee, tea and some fizzy drinks a lift, blocks chemicals in our blood that promote inflammation. Inflamed blood vessels are more likely to become stiffer - a risk factor for heart disease. Inflammation also plays a key role in many other diseases, the research study said.

Tests on the blood of people fewer of the chemicals linked to inflammation - were found to have more caffeine in their bloodstream. Further investigation revealed that they, as might be expected, drank more coffee than their peers.

A chemical found in chocolate, theobromine, was also found to have an anti-inflammatory effect, although not as pronounced as caffeine.

David Furman of the Stanford University's Institute for Immunity, Transplantaion and Infection said:

'More than 90 per cent of all noncommunicable diseases of aging are associated with chronic inflammation.' Dr Furmann added: 'It's also well known that caffeine intake is associated with longevity. Many studies have shown this association. We've found a possible reason for why this may be so.'

His colleague Mark Davis added: 'Our findings show that an underlying inflammatory process, which is associated with aging, is not only driving cardiovascular disease but is, in turn, driven by molecular events that we may be able to target and combat.'

Source: www.zeenews.india.com

19.01.2017

Never be defined by your past,

 it was just a lesson

18 January, 2017

Taking antidepressants may up the risk of hip fracture in elderly

Older adults with Alzheimer’s disease who are on antidepressants for treating symptoms of dementia, including insomnia and anxiety, may be at twice at risk of hip fracture, researchers report. The study found that even in people without Alzheimer’s, the regular use of antidepressants was associated with two times higher risk of hip fracture among controls. However, the relative number of hip fractures was higher among persons with Alzheimer’s disease. This risk was highest at the beginning of antidepressant use and remained elevated even four years later, the researchers said. The increased risk was associated with all the most frequently used antidepressant groups, which were selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI drugs), mirtazapine and selective noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors (SNRI drugs), said Sanna Torvinen-Kiiskinen from the University of Eastern Finland.

Apart from being used in the treatment of depression, antidepressants medications are also used for the treatment of chronic pain and behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia, including insomnia, anxiety and agitation. If antidepressant use is necessary, the medication and its necessity should be monitored regularly, researchers recommended. In addition, other risk factors for falling should be carefully considered during the antidepressant treatment. For the study, the team included 50,491 persons with and 100,982 persons without the Alzheimer’s disease, with the mean age of 80 years from Finland. For each person with Alzheimer’s disease, two controls without the disease were matched by age and sex. The study was published in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. 

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

17.01.2017

                                 

Having a soft heart in a cruel world is courage not weakness

17 January, 2017

Airway Differences May Explain Why Asthma Can Be More Serious for Blacks

Differences in airway inflammation may be one reason why black people with asthma are less responsive to treatment and more likely to die from the disease than white people, a new study suggests.

Asthma is a chronic lung disease, and airway inflammation is a major component of asthma. The inflammation causes the airways to swell and become more sensitive, which eventually leads to symptoms such as wheezing and shortness of breath, according to the U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

"Emerging evidence suggests that differences in airway inflammation can affect a patient's response to treatment, but whether the patterns of airway inflammation vary across race has, until now, been very unclear," said study corresponding author Dr. Sharmilee Nyenhuis. She's an allergy, asthma and immunology specialist at University of Illinois at Chicago.

Blacks are two to three times more likely than whites to be hospitalized or die from asthma, and factors such as access to health care and living conditions don't entirely explain that large difference, according to background information with the study.

The researchers analyzed samples of coughed-up fluids from 1,000 asthma patients nationwide. The samples were tested for a type of white blood cell called eosinophils.

The study found that black people were more likely than white people to have what is called eosinophilic airway inflammation -- even if they took similar doses of asthma medications such as corticosteroids.

"Our findings of higher numbers of African-Americans with this type of airway inflammatory pattern suggests a mechanism that may account for more severe and difficult to control asthma in African-Americans," Nyenhuis said in a university news release. This eosinophilic airway inflammation in blacks may be associated with worsened asthma and a reduced response to corticosteroids, she added.

The results suggest that black people with eosinophilic airway inflammation may not benefit from increasingly strong corticosteroid treatment. Instead, they may need other types of treatment, Nyenhuis said.

The study was published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

Source: www.medicinenet.com

17.01.2017

You can not solve a problem with the same thinking that created it

16 January, 2017

Mother's BP can predict sex of child even before conceiving

For mommies-to-be! Scientists, including an Indian-origin researcher, have revealed that woman's blood pressurebefore she gets pregnant could affect whether she has a boy or a girl.

The study was published in the journal of American Journal of Hypertension.

Researchers from Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto found that those with lower blood pressure tended to have a girl, while higher blood pressure was an indication that a boy was more likely to be conceived. "A woman's blood pressure before pregnancy is a previously unrecognised factor that is associated with her likelihood of delivering a boy or a girl," said a researcher Dr. Ravi Retnakaran.

"This novel insight may hold implications for both reproductive planning and our understanding of the fundamental mechanisms underlying the sex ratio in humans," he said. The team studied a group of women from Liuyang in China who were planning to get pregnant.

Their blood pressure was tested before and after conception and other factors, such as age, whether they smoked, weight and cholesterol, were also taken into account.

The results indicated that 1,411 mothers had given birth to 739 boys and 672 girls. The findings indicate that those who had a female child had an average systolic blood pressure of 103.3mmHg before pregnancy, while for mothers of males the figure was 106, about 2.6 per cent higher.

Fundamental biology means there is generally a 50/50 split in the sex ratio, although in humans there is a slight bias towards males. This is seen as nature's way of balancing out their slightly higher risk of premature death. But various methods of influencing the outcome have been suggested over the ages.

In 2009, a scientific study found that being closer to the equator meant a baby girl was more likely.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

16.01.2017

Success is doing ordinary things extraordinarily well

13 January, 2017

A drug that could ‘melt away’ cancer cells has been approved for human use

The drug, which was approved for use in the US in August 2016, would be made available to patients.

A drug that could ‘melt away’ cancer cells has been approved for human use in Australia, a media report said on Tuesday. Developed in Melbourne, Venetoclax, which will be sold as Venclexta, has been approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) for use by patients with advanced forms of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, Xinhua news agency reported. The drug, which was approved for use in the US in August 2016, would be made available to patients who have not responded to standard treatments or who have not been able to undergo other therapies. Venetoclax works by blocking the action of the BCL-2 protein which enables cancer cells to survive, a solution that researchers worldwide have been studying for more than 30 years.

Doug Hilton, the director at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, said the approval was important for patients with limited options. ‘Like a lethal arrow, Venetoclax flies straight to the heart of BCL-2,’ Hilton told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). David Huang, the developer of the drug from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, won the Eureka Prize for Innovation in Medical Research in 2016. 

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

13.01.2017

The ladder of success doesn’t care who climbs it

12 January, 2017

Heart attacks are more common in January

Cardiovascular deaths around the world, such as heart attacks and strokes, peak in January. Why this is the case has baffled scientists for some time, but new evidence is starting to unravel the mystery.

Scientists initially thought it had something to do with the cold, but this proved to be a false start. Researchers at the University of Southern California examined deaths from heart attacks between 1985 and 1996 in Los Angeles, a city with a mild winter and a daily minimum temperature that is relatively constant throughout the year. They found a seasonal variation in heart attacks, with a third more deaths occurring in January.

The researchers also analysed 1.7m death certificates (2005 to 2008) from seven US locations that ranged from hot to cold. Again they found a similar pattern of cardiac mortality including heart attacks in these different locations with a peak in January. These results chime with other studies conducted across the globe, including the UK, which uncovered a winter peak in deaths from cardiovascular disease.

Air pollution

Researchers have also considered air pollution, and here they seem to be on firmer ground. There is a seasonal rhythm to air pollution. Nitrogen dioxide levels - a key pollutant in causing premature deaths in Britain, for example, are at their highest in January in the large cities. Oxford Street in London is reported to be the most polluted street in the world for nitrogen dioxide. In fact, London is so polluted that in just the first seven days of 2015 and 2016, London already breached its legal limit on air pollution for the whole of that year.

Flu

Another important trigger for heart attacks is infection. Infections are high during winter and there is a known link between the flu virus and cardiovascular disease. The flu virus affects inflammatory and blood-clotting pathways, which can cause fatty deposits on the artery wall (plaque) to break loose, leading to coronary artery blockage - the main cause of heart attacks.

Other risk factors that are also seasonal include high cholesterol, high blood pressure and low vitamin D levels. Vitamin D deficiency is associated with increased incidence and risk of heart attacks. Combine these with the previously mentioned risk factors for coronary death (pollution and flu), and you have a recipe for disaster.

Beware January mornings

It turns out these circulating risk factors not only have seasonal variations, but daily ones too. Research shows that they are at high levels in the morning and low in the evening. So, not only are we more susceptible to heart attacks in January but there is also a higher incidence of heart attacks between 6am and noon.

Source: https://in.news.yahoo.com

12.01.2017

I am responsible for what I say, not for what you understand