14, November 2014

Gene test may identify kidney transplant rejection: Study

Washington: US researchers have said they have developed a potential gene test for identifying acute rejection in kidney transplant patients, a finding that could eventually replace the need for biopsies.

Acute rejection after kidney transplantation occurs in about 15 percent to 20 percent of patients, even when they are treated with immunosuppressive medications, Xinhhua reported citing the researchers Tuesday.

Rejection is usually heralded by an increase in the patient's serum creatinine, a marker of kidney function, and a kidney biopsy is then performed to confirm whether rejection is taking place.

However, elevated creatinine is not sufficiently sensitive to identify all early rejection or specific enough to prevent some unnecessary kidney biopsies, so a non-invasive means of identifying acute rejection is needed, according to researchers from the University of California San Francisco.

For the new study, the researchers used an assay called quantitative polymerase chain reaction to measure the expression of 43 genes whose expression levels change during acute kidney rejection in blood samples collected from patients who had had a kidney transplant.

The researchers also found that the gene set was able to predict acute rejection up to three months before detection by biopsy, independent of age, time after transplant and sample source.

"The kSORT assay has the potential to become a simple, robust, and clinically applicable blood test," the researchers said.

The study was published in the US journal PLOS Medicine.

Source: www.zeenews.india.com

14.11.2014

Even doctors struggle to identify obesity

London: Most people, including health care professionals, are unable to identify healthy weight, over-weight or obese people just by looking at them, says a research.

Viewing people with heavy body weight may influence what we see as normal and healthy weight and even causes people to underestimate a person's weight, the researchers found.

"Over the last 30 years we have seen changes to population body weight, so examining how this has affected how we view our own and other people's body sizes is an interesting area of research," said researcher Eric Robinson from the University of Liverpool in Britain.

The researchers asked participants to look at photographs of male models and categorise whether they were healthy weight, over-weight or obese according to World Health Organization (WHO) Body Mass Index (BMI) guidelines.

They found that the majority of participants were unable to correctly identify whether they were a healthy weight, over-weight or obese.

Participants underestimated weight, often believing that over-weight men possessed a healthy weight.

In a related study of health care professionals, the researchers found that GPs (General Practitioners) and trainee GPs were also unable to visually identify if a person was over-weight or obese.

"Our study of GPs found a tendency to underestimate weight which has important implications as it means that over-weight and obese patients could end up not being offered weight management support or advice," Robinson concluded.

The study of GPs was published in the British Journal of General Practice.

Source: www.zeenews.india.com

14.11.2014

WRONG is WRONG even if everyone is doing it. RIGHT is RIGHT even if no one is doing it.

13, November 2014

Why thinking skills go down with age

If your grandparents take a long to recognise known faces from a fleeting glance, that may well signal their declining intelligence.

The slowing of simple, visual decision-making processes might be part of what underlies decline in the complex decision making that we recognise as general intelligence, says a study.

As the basic ability to make correct decisions based on brief visual impressions declines with age, so does intelligence, said Stuart Ritchie from University of Edinburgh in Britain.

"The typical person who has better-preserved complex thinking skills in older age tends to be someone who can accumulate information quickly from a fleeting glance," Ritchie added.

The evidence comes from experiments in which researchers showed 600 healthy older people very brief flashes of one of two shapes on a screen and measured the time it took each of them to reliably tell one from the other.

Participants repeated the test at ages 70, 73, and 76. The longitudinal study is among the first to test the hypothesis that the changes they observed in the measure known as "inspection time" might be related to changes in intelligence in old age.

"Since the declines are so strongly related, it might be easier under some circumstances to use inspection time to chart a participant's cognitive decline than it would be to sit them down and give them a full, complicated battery of IQ tests," Ritchie noted.

The study appeared in the journal Current Biology.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

13.11.2014

Walking could arrest memory decline

Living in a a neighbourhood that encourages walking could help the elderly stave off cognitive decline, says a new research. 

Easy-to-walk communities result in better outcomes both for physical health - (such as lower body mass and blood pressure) - and cognition (such as better memory) in the elderly, the findings showed. 

"People can walk either to get somewhere or for leisure," said Amber Watts, assistant professor of clinical psychology at the University of Kansas in the US. 

The study involved 25 people with mild Alzheimer's disease and 39 older adults without cognitive impairment. 

Older adults, health care professionals, caregivers, architects and urban planners could benefit from the findings, the researcher noted. 

"Features of a neighbourhood that encourage walking for transportation require having someplace worth walking to, like neighbours' houses, stores and parks," Watts added. 

She said neighbourhoods that inspire walking for leisure also are full of pleasant things to look at, like walking trails or shade provided by trees. 

The findings were recently presented at the Gerontological Society of America's annual meeting in Washington, DC. 

Source: www.timesofindia.com

13.11.2014

Life dosen’t gets EASIER; you just get STRONGER

12, November 2014

Mild anxiety can increase your risk of Alzheimer’s by 33%

Research carried out at University of Toronto in Canada  says that people with mild cognitive impairment that exhibit anxiety symptoms  are at the risk of a speedier decline in cognitive functions – independent of depression. The study shows that Alzheimer’s risk increased by 33 % in mild , 78 % in moderate  and 135% in severe anxiety. The study was published in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. 

Who was the study carried out on?

The research was carried out over a period of three years. 376 adults, aged 55-91 were analysed for anxiety, depression, cognitive and brain structural changes. Changes  in patients were monitored every 6 months. All of the adults had a clinical diagnosis of MCI and a low score on the depression rating scale, indicating that anxiety symptoms were not part of clinical depression

What should one watch out for?

People with anxiety issues and those suffering from MCI should get themselves monitored regularly for any deteriorating signs. Anxiety in patients with MCI is a signal that these patients are at a greater risk  of developing Alzheimer’s. The study concludes that anxiety can predict if  MCI may develop into Alzheimer’s.

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

12.11.2014

Surgeons at AIIMS perform jaw reconstruction, first of its kind surgery in India

New Delhi, Nov 10:   A team of oral and maxillofacial surgeons at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), performed a Total Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) replacement in a 19-year-old boy. Shivam, who suffered from TMJ Ankylosis after he fell flat on his face while flying kite, had his jaw joint fused to his skull, because of which he could never open his mouth. After successfully TMJ replacement surgery at AIIMS, he could open his mouth for the first time after eight years.

Shivam was barely surviving on liquids and was unable to speak since his injury and his condition was deteriorating day-by-day. After a surgery at government hospital in Lucknow failed to cure Shivam, he had to turn up at the Centre for Dental Education and Research, at AIIMS. He underwent TMJ replacement, the first case in India, on October 4.

What is the total Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) Ankylosis?

‘TMJ is the point of attachment of the lower jaw to the skull and it is the most complex joint of the human body,’says  Ajoy Roychoudhury, professor and head of the department of oral and maxillofacial surgery at AIIMS. According to medical experts, the causes of TMJ ankylosis are trauma or fall, ear infection and inflammation. Ongkila Bhutia, another senior dental surgeon who was part of the surgery team, said the TMJ replacement allows reproduction of the natural anatomy, avoids donor site morbidity, reduces surgery time and lessens the risk of re-ankylosis.

‘He said there are various treatment options for ankylosis like gap arthroplasty, and interpositional arthroplasty with autogenous bone graft such as ribs and sternoclavicular joint. However, the chances of recurrence are high due to poor patient compliance for postoperative oral physiotherapy or due to excessive hetrotrophic bone formation around the operated site,’ says Roychoudhury.

What is TMJ replacement surgery?

‘Main goal of the total jaw joint reconstruction is to re-establish function and aesthetic, said Dr Roychoudhury. During the surgical procedure, the doctors removed the neurovascular structure of joint, including the nerves and muscular structures. FDA-approved imported implants were then used to surgically introduce in the jaw.

‘Though this joint replacement has been introduced in India now, in the west it is being done since 1995 and over 400 such surgeries have been done. ‘Currently the cost of the surgery is over Rs.3 lakh for both side jaw replacement. However, the cost will definitely come down with increase in the number of cases,’ he said. After the replacement, the patient has improved his quality of life very much and he is enjoying food every day now,’ he concluded.

Source: www.thehealthsite.com             12.11.2014

Knowing yourself is the Beginning of all Wisdom…

 Aristotle

7, November 2014

Alcohol addiction recovery may trigger insomnia

New York: For people in the early phases of recovery from alcohol addiction, insomnia is a "prevalent and persistent" problem, says a study.

The incidence of insomnia during early recovery may be five times higher than the general population and may persist for months to years, the findings showed.

Therefore, "treating sleep disturbance in early recovery may have considerable impact on maintenance of sobriety and quality of life," according to study co-author Nicholas Rosenlicht from the University of San Francisco in the US.

The study suggests that effective treatment of sleep disturbance may lower risk of drug and alcohol relapse.

While insomnia may be linked with a higher risk of alcohol-related problems and relapse, the association may run in the other direction as well - population studies report people with sleep disturbance are more likely to be at risk of developing addiction.

"Treatment of insomnia after abstinence represents an important treatment target and an integral part of any recovery plan," Rosenlicht concluded.

The review is accompanied by a clinical case discussion about effective use of behavioural treatment of a veteran with alcohol dependence and insomnia.

The study appeared in the Journal of Addiction Medicine.

Source: www.zeenews.india.com/health

07.11.2014

Premature babies at higher risk of brain disorders

New York: In the early stages of brain growth, a disturbance like a premature birth could affect its neuro-circuitry, leading to a higher risk of neurological disorders, says a new research.

Premature babies are at higher risk of disorders, which include attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder, the findings showed.

"For the first time, we have demonstrated the feasibility of using measurements of these abnormalities in the brain of preterm newborns as potential indicators of risk for future cognitive and behavioural problems," said Natasha Lepore from the Children's Hospital Los Angeles in the US.

Using three-dimensional, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), Lepore and colleagues analyzed the structure and neural circuitry of two specific areas of the brain in 17 preterm and 19 term-born babies: the thalamus - the brain's relay station, critical to sending and receiving sensory information - and the putamen, involved in a number of different processes, most notably regulation of movement and learning.

"The ability to identify structural signs of neuro-developmental disease shortly after birth in premature infants could allow for early interventions, increasing the child's social and learning behaviours as they age," Lepore concluded.

The study was published in the journal Brain Structure and Function.

Source: www.zeenews.india.com/health

07.11.2014

Before you quit, try.  Before you talk, listen. Before you react, think. 
Before you criticize, wait. 

6, November 2014

Muscle disease treatment can now be monitored by your smartphone

A smartphone-based technology can effectively monitor the treatment progress of muscular dystrophy, a condition which causes the muscles of the body to weaken. According to Michael S. Hughes from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Washington, DC, an ultrasound technique can be incorporated into smartphones and other hand held devices to allow patients to determine how they are responding to medication.

By using ultrasound, doctors can effectively distinguish between healthy, damaged and treated muscles. Steroids are often prescribed for the condition to slow muscle degeneration but they have serious side effects. The researchers found that by collecting large amounts of data from ultrasound images of the mice, they were able to effectively distinguish between healthy, damaged and treated muscles.  

In September this year, researchers were able to trigger muscle repair in mice with muscular dystrophy. The findings were shared at the annual meeting of the Acoustical Society of America in Indiana.

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

06.11.2014

Smoking indoors could harm your family hours after your cigarette is stubbed out

A new research has revealed that thirdhand smoke continues to harm health even hours after smoking ends. Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) looked at levels of more than 50 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and airborne particles for 18 hours after smoking had taken place.

Lead author Hugo Destaillats said that in the U.S., the home is now where nonsmokers are most exposed to second and third hand smoke and the goal of their study is to provide information supporting effective protective measures in the home. Destaillats added that many smokers know secondhand smoke is harmful, so they don’t smoke when their kids are present, but if, for example, they stop smoking at 2 p.m. and the kids come home at 4 p.m., their work shows that up to 60 percent of the harm from inhaling thirdhand smoke remains.   

The study found that the total integrated harm rises sharply in the first five hours after a cigarette has been smoked, continues to rise for another five hours, and doesn’t start to level off until after 10 hours. The study is published online in the journalEnvironmental Science and Technology.

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

06.11.2014

One of the best feelings in the world is knowing your presence and absence both mean something to someone…..

5, November 2014

Alcohol more injurious to women than men

Woman who find alcohol hard to resist even after three standard drinks are more likely to suffer from injury when compared with men, shows new research that includes patients from India. 

While the risk of injury is similar for both men and women up to three standard drinks (containing 16 ml or 12.8 g of pure ethanol), the risk then increases more rapidly for women, becoming twice the risk to men around 15 drinks and three times the risk to men around 30 drinks. 

"There is an increasing risk relationship between alcohol and injury, but risk is not uniform across gender, cause of injury, or country drinking pattern," said lead author, Cheryl Cherpitel from the Alcohol Research Group (ARG) of the Public Health Institute in the US. 

In this study the drinks were reportedly consumed six hours prior to injury. 

The risk of violence-related injury is consistently larger than the risk of other types of injuries, the study showed. 

The researchers also found that the risk of injury from violence increases more rapidly as the volume of alcohol consumed increases. 

The study looked at over 13,000 injured patients from 18 countries - Argentina, Belarus, Brazil, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Guyana, India, Ireland, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Panama, Sweden, and Switzerland. 

The study appeared online in the scientific journal Addiction.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

05.11.2014

Meditation: a boon for breast cancer survivors

Practising meditation has a positive physical impact at the cellular level in breast cancer survivors, new research shows.

The team found that telomeres - protein complexes at the end of chromosomes - maintain their length in breast cancer survivors, who practise meditation or are involved in support groups.

Although the disease-regulating properties of telomeres are not fully understood, shortened telomeres are associated with several disease states as well as cell ageing while longer telomeres are thought to be protective against disease.

"We know that mindfulness meditation will help you feel better mentally but for the first time, we have evidence that they can also influence key aspects of your biology," said Linda E. Carlson, director of research in the psychosocial resources department at Alberta Health Services' Tom Baker Cancer Centre.

The study involved 88 breast cancer survivors.

In the Mindfulness-Based Cancer Recovery group, participants attended eight weekly, 90-minute group sessions that provided instruction on mindfulness meditation and a gentle Hatha form of yoga.

Participants were also asked to practise meditation and yoga at home for 45 minutes daily.

In the Supportive Expressive Therapy group, participants met for 90 minutes weekly for 12 weeks and were encouraged to talk openly about their concerns and their feelings.

"It was surprising that we could see any difference in telomere length at all over the three-month period studied," Carlson added.

Further research is needed to better quantify these potential health benefits but this is an exciting discovery that provides encouraging news, the authors concluded.

The study was published online in the journal Cancer.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

05.11.2014

The practice of forgiveness is our most important contribution to the healing of the world

 Marianne Williamson

3, November 2014

Scientists develop blood test to detect cancer in children

A research to be presented at the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) Cancer Conference, in Liverpool, Nov 2-5 will reveal a new diagnostic test for cancers in children. Developed by researchers from University of Cambridge in Britain the blood test serves a better and more accurate method of detecting cancer cell fingerprints in blood.

In the study, researchers found unique molecular fingerprints for 11 different types of cancerous tumours detected in children and used them to develop diagnostic tests for cancers.  They uncovered these fingerprints left behind by the tumours with the help of analysis of blood samples from children when they were diagnosed with the disease. They looked for proteins or molecules that were responsible for switching on and off of the genes in order to identify common changes that were linked to different tumours.

According to lead researcher Matthew Murray, the test could replacement of surgical removal of a tumour sample and improve cancer diagnosis, since it is non-invasive and takes only a few hours to complete produce results rather than days or weeks, Murray added. The study also suggests that the findings could reduce the need for children to undergo surgery to receive a diagnosis.

‘We hope that this early research could eventually lead to the development of non-invasive tests which are faster, more accurate and gentler, transforming the way we make a cancer diagnosis in the future,’ said lead researcher Matthew Murray from University of Cambridge in Britain.

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

03.11.2014

Dysfunctional protein main culprit for Alzheimer’s

Debunking a prevalent theory of Alzheimer’s development, researchers have now found that it is not the amyloid-beta (A-beta) protein fragments but the tau tangle proteins which are the real culprits behind the disease. Plaque made of beta-amyloid protein fragments and tangles formed from tau proteins are familiar hallmarks of disease in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients.

Tau protein spurs neuron death in disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, showed the findings that could explain why some people with plaque build-up in their brains do not have dementia. ‘The common culprit is tau, so a drug that helps tau do its job may help protect against progression of these diseases,’ said Charbel Moussa, senior study investigator and assistant professor of neuroscience at the Georgetown University Medical Centre.

 He found that nilotinib, a drug approved to treat cancer, can aid tau proteins function better. ‘Nilotinib helps the neuron clear toxins but requires some functional tau,’ Moussa added. Neuronal death happens when tau, found inside neurons, fails to function. ‘When tau is abnormal, these proteins, which include A-beta, accumulate inside the neurons,’ Moussa said.

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

03.11.2014

The difference between what you were yesterday and what you will be tomorrow is what you do today