World / Health & Beauty
Yoga, meditation improve health by switching off stress genes
03.07.2008 05:27
b4uindia.com
Scientists have achieved a significant breakthrough in understanding how relaxation techniques like yoga, meditation, and prayer improve health. Research collaborators from the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind/Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and the Genomics Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) say that such relaxation techniques work by changing patterns of gene activity that affect how the body responds to stress. The changes were seen in long-term practitioners as well as in newer recruits during the study, published the open-access journal PLoS. "It's not all in your head. What we have found is that when you evoke the relaxation response, the very genes that are turned on or off by stress are turned the other way. The mind can actively turn on and turn off genes. The mind is not separated from the body," Live Science quoted Dr. Herbert Benson, president emeritus of the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind/Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, as saying. Dr. Gerry Leisman, director of the F.R. Carrick Institute for Clinical Ergonomics, Rehabilitation and Applied Neuroscience at Leeds Metropolitan University in the U.K., agreed: "It's sort of like reverse thinking: If you can wreak havoc on yourself with lifestyle choices, for example, [in a way that] causes expression of latent genetic manifestations in the negative, then the reverse should hold true." Leisman added: "Biology is not entirely our destiny, so while there are things that give us risk factors, there's a lot of 'wiggle' in this. This paper is pointing that there is a technique that allows us to play with the wiggle." Benson, a pioneer in the field of mind-body medicine, first described the relaxation response 35 years ago. Mind-body approaches that elicit the response include meditation, repetitive prayer, yoga, tai chi, breathing exercises, progressive muscle relaxation, biofeedback, guided imagery and Qi Gong. "Previously, we had noted that there were scores of diseases that could be treated by eliciting the relaxation response -- everything from different kinds of pain, infertility, rheumatoid arthritis, insomnia," Benson said. During the study, Benson and his colleagues compared gene-expression patterns in 19 long-term practitioners, 19 healthy controls, and 20 newcomers who underwent eight weeks of relaxation-response training. The researchers observed that over 2,200 genes were activated differently in the long-time practitioners relative to the controls, and 1,561 genes in the short-timers compared to the long-time practitioners. They also found that some 433 of the differently activated genes were shared among short-term and long-term practitioners. Upon further genetic analysis, the researchers saw observed changes in cellular metabolism, response to oxidative stress and other processes in both short- and long-term practitioners. All such processes might contribute to cellular damage stemming from chronic stress. Robert Schwartz, director of the Texas A&M Health Science Center's Institute of Biosciences and Technology in Houston, said that the study was relatively small. He, however, added that the study was "unique and very exciting. It demonstrates that all these techniques of relaxation response have a biofeedback mechanism that alters gene expression." He pointed out that the researchers looked at blood cells, which consist largely of immune cells. "You're getting the response most probably in the immune cell population," he said. "We all are under stress and have many manifestations of that stress. To adequately protect ourselves against stress, we should use an approach and a technique that we believe evokes the relaxation response 20 minutes, once a day," Benson added. (ANI)
India
Health & Beauty
Having sex thrice a week halves erectile dysfunction risk in men
03.07.2008 05:27
b4uindia.com
A new study has revealed that frequent intercourse can cut erectile dysfunction (ED) risk in men. Researchers from Finland have revealed that men who had intercourse more often were less likely to develop ED. Over the period of five years, the team studied 989 men between 55 to 75 years from Pirkanmaa, Finland. They found that men who had intercourse less than once per week were twice as likely to suffer from erectile dysfunction. Further, the risk of erectile dysfunction was inversely related to the frequency of intercourse. Out of 1000 cases, 79 cases had men, who had sexual intercourse less than once per week, which dropped to 32 cases per 1000 in men having intercourse once per week The number further dropped to 16 per 1000 in those reporting intercourse 3 or more times per week. In addition, the frequency of morning erections predicted the development of complete erectile dysfunction, with an approximate 2.5-fold risk among those with less than 1 morning erection per week compared with 2 to 3 morning erections per week. "Regular intercourse has an important role in preserving erectile function among elderly men, whereas morning erection does not exert a similar effect,” said Dr Juha Koskimäki, PhD, Tampere University Hospital, Department of Urology, Tampere, Finland. “Continued sexual activity decreases the incidence of erectile dysfunction in direct proportion to coital frequency," Koskimäki added. The study indicates that regular intercourse protects men from the development of erectile dysfunction, which may, in turn, impact general health and quality of life. The study is published in the July 2008 issue of The American Journal of Medicine. (ANI)
India
Health & Beauty
Having sex thrice a week halves erectile dysfunction risk in men
03.07.2008 05:27
b4uindia.com
A new study has revealed that frequent intercourse can cut erectile dysfunction (ED) risk in men. Researchers from Finland have revealed that men who had intercourse more often were less likely to develop ED. Over the period of five years, the team studied 989 men between 55 to 75 years from Pirkanmaa, Finland. They found that men who had intercourse less than once per week were twice as likely to suffer from erectile dysfunction. Further, the risk of erectile dysfunction was inversely related to the frequency of intercourse. Out of 1000 cases, 79 cases had men, who had sexual intercourse less than once per week, which dropped to 32 cases per 1000 in men having intercourse once per week The number further dropped to 16 per 1000 in those reporting intercourse 3 or more times per week. In addition, the frequency of morning erections predicted the development of complete erectile dysfunction, with an approximate 2.5-fold risk among those with less than 1 morning erection per week compared with 2 to 3 morning erections per week. "Regular intercourse has an important role in preserving erectile function among elderly men, whereas morning erection does not exert a similar effect,” said Dr Juha Koskimäki, PhD, Tampere University Hospital, Department of Urology, Tampere, Finland. “Continued sexual activity decreases the incidence of erectile dysfunction in direct proportion to coital frequency," Koskimäki added. The study indicates that regular intercourse protects men from the development of erectile dysfunction, which may, in turn, impact general health and quality of life. The study is published in the July 2008 issue of The American Journal of Medicine. (ANI)
India
Health & Beauty
Women over 90 more prone to dementia than men
03.07.2008 05:27
b4uindia.com
Women, who make it to their 90s are more likely than men to suffer from dementia, say researchers. The team led by researchers from University of California, Irvin, studied 911 people enrolled in the 90+ Study. They found that 45 percent of the women had dementia, compared to 28 percent of the men. "Our findings show that more will need to be done to provide adequate resources to care for the increasing number of very old people with dementia," said Maria Corrada, a UC Irvine epidemiologist and study corresponding author. The study also found that likelihood of having dementia doubled every five years in women after reaching 90, but not in men. Moreover, women with a higher education appeared to be as much as 45 percent less likely to have dementia compared to women with less education. The incidence of dementia increases from 65 to 85 years in both men and women. The frequency of dementia increases with age from less than 2 percent for the 65-69-year-olds, to 5 percent for the 75-79-year-olds and to more than 20 percent for the 85-89-year-olds. "Our findings provide valuable information toward further inquiries into dementia, such as if oldest-old men can live as long with dementia as oldest-old women do, or whether in this age group women develop dementia at a higher rate than men," Corrada added. The study appears in the July 2 online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. (ANI)
India
Health & Beauty
Women over 90 more prone to dementia than men
03.07.2008 05:27
b4uindia.com
Women, who make it to their 90s are more likely than men to suffer from dementia, say researchers. The team led by researchers from University of California, Irvin, studied 911 people enrolled in the 90+ Study. They found that 45 percent of the women had dementia, compared to 28 percent of the men. "Our findings show that more will need to be done to provide adequate resources to care for the increasing number of very old people with dementia," said Maria Corrada, a UC Irvine epidemiologist and study corresponding author. The study also found that likelihood of having dementia doubled every five years in women after reaching 90, but not in men. Moreover, women with a higher education appeared to be as much as 45 percent less likely to have dementia compared to women with less education. The incidence of dementia increases from 65 to 85 years in both men and women. The frequency of dementia increases with age from less than 2 percent for the 65-69-year-olds, to 5 percent for the 75-79-year-olds and to more than 20 percent for the 85-89-year-olds. "Our findings provide valuable information toward further inquiries into dementia, such as if oldest-old men can live as long with dementia as oldest-old women do, or whether in this age group women develop dementia at a higher rate than men," Corrada added. The study appears in the July 2 online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. (ANI)
India
Health & Beauty
Diet sized snack packs actually make you eat more
03.07.2008 05:27
b4uindia.com
The small, diet-friendly packages of snacks –cookies, chips, and the like –– might be designed to help you control the waistline, but according to a new research, the mini packs may actually encourage people to eat more. Research from the Netherlands has found that small “diet packs” of lollies, biscuits or chips could be encouraging people to drop their guard and eat more than they usually would. Those who eat the mini portions feel they don't need to exercise self-control because it is a pre-portioned pack, and they end up eating several of them. To reach their conclusions, scientists gave different sized bags of potato crisps, divided into small and large packets to 140 students recruited for what they were told was an experiment on advertising and television. Each of the volunteers was given either two 200-gram bags of crisps or nine 45-gram bags, to munch as they watched TV. The group was asked a series of questions and was weighed in front of a mirror to trigger a diet "mindset". The findings, published today in New Scientist magazine, show that students who were worried about their weight ate twice as many crisps if they came in small packets rather than large packets. The group was also more likely to open the crisps and start eating them if they came in smaller bags. Almost 60 per cent of those with small bags opened them and started eating, compared with only a quarter of those who were assigned large bags. Smaller bags did not appear to curb the appetite of students without weight concerns either. Those students ate the same amount of crisps from small as large bags. However, those with the smaller packets were again more likely to open them. Three quarters of the group with small bags opened theirs while only half of those with large bags started eating the crisps. The researchers behind the study believe that the size of small bags could encourage dieters to drop their guard. Rik Pieters, a professor of marketing who led the study, said there could be a range of reasons why companies continue to sell smaller sized products if they make people eat more. "Some may truly want to help consumers (with these products) – although our results suggest they won't," the Telegraph quoted Pieters, as saying. He added: "Some may want to prevent lawsuits by showing it's not their fault consumers are overweight. Or they may know this happens, and want to look good while selling more of their products, at a higher profit." (ANI)
India
Health & Beauty
Diet sized snack packs actually make you eat more
03.07.2008 05:27
b4uindia.com
The small, diet-friendly packages of snacks –cookies, chips, and the like –– might be designed to help you control the waistline, but according to a new research, the mini packs may actually encourage people to eat more. Research from the Netherlands has found that small “diet packs” of lollies, biscuits or chips could be encouraging people to drop their guard and eat more than they usually would. Those who eat the mini portions feel they don't need to exercise self-control because it is a pre-portioned pack, and they end up eating several of them. To reach their conclusions, scientists gave different sized bags of potato crisps, divided into small and large packets to 140 students recruited for what they were told was an experiment on advertising and television. Each of the volunteers was given either two 200-gram bags of crisps or nine 45-gram bags, to munch as they watched TV. The group was asked a series of questions and was weighed in front of a mirror to trigger a diet "mindset". The findings, published today in New Scientist magazine, show that students who were worried about their weight ate twice as many crisps if they came in small packets rather than large packets. The group was also more likely to open the crisps and start eating them if they came in smaller bags. Almost 60 per cent of those with small bags opened them and started eating, compared with only a quarter of those who were assigned large bags. Smaller bags did not appear to curb the appetite of students without weight concerns either. Those students ate the same amount of crisps from small as large bags. However, those with the smaller packets were again more likely to open them. Three quarters of the group with small bags opened theirs while only half of those with large bags started eating the crisps. The researchers behind the study believe that the size of small bags could encourage dieters to drop their guard. Rik Pieters, a professor of marketing who led the study, said there could be a range of reasons why companies continue to sell smaller sized products if they make people eat more. "Some may truly want to help consumers (with these products) – although our results suggest they won't," the Telegraph quoted Pieters, as saying. He added: "Some may want to prevent lawsuits by showing it's not their fault consumers are overweight. Or they may know this happens, and want to look good while selling more of their products, at a higher profit." (ANI)
India
Health & Beauty
Scientists find herpes virus Achilles Heel
03.07.2008 05:26
b4uindia.com
A virologist at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, says that it is possible to bring herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1) out of its hiding place inside the body, which can help attack it with drugs. Bryan Cullen said that his team had found clues to how a gene called LAT, switched on by the herpes virus, works. Describing HSV-1 as a docile beast, the researcher pointed out that it could snooze inside a person’s neurons, secluded from drugs and the immune system. He said that scientists had for long suspected that LAT was the key to herpes' ability to remain dormant inside nerve cells, but no-one knew how it did so. To unravel this mystery, the researchers infected mice with HSV-1, and waited for the virus to retreat to nerve cells and go silent. The group later scoured the cells for traces of sliced RNA that matched that from LAT. Cullen revealed that the team found several microRNAs, a recently-discovered kind of molecule that cells use to dial down the levels of proteins. While four microRNAs came from cut-up LAT, the fifth came from a previously unknown chunk of RNA, which suggests LAT was not the only viral DNA molecule involved in latency. Many microRNAs play a role in maladies such as cancer and heart disease, and some viruses even make microRNAs to stymie cell defences. The researchers, however, observed that HSV-1's microRNAs latched onto viral mRNA molecules, and blocked cells from cranking out two virus proteins (ICP0 and ICP4) essential for escaping dormancy. Cullen is of the opinion that viruses may be coaxed out of hiding by blocking such microRNAs, and then to treat patients with drugs that stamp out herpes in epithelial cells, such as acyclovir. "Every virus that pops out gets killed," New Scientist magazine quoted Cullen as saying in a study report published in the journal Nature. However, Patricia Spear, a virologist at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, thinks that this approach may prove troublesome because waking a virus seems to sacrifice the infected nerve cell "You would be inducing replication of virus in the neuron and the question is how many neurons you want to kill off," she says. (ANI)
India
Health & Beauty
Scientists find herpes virus Achilles Heel
03.07.2008 05:26
b4uindia.com
A virologist at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, says that it is possible to bring herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1) out of its hiding place inside the body, which can help attack it with drugs. Bryan Cullen said that his team had found clues to how a gene called LAT, switched on by the herpes virus, works. Describing HSV-1 as a docile beast, the researcher pointed out that it could snooze inside a person’s neurons, secluded from drugs and the immune system. He said that scientists had for long suspected that LAT was the key to herpes' ability to remain dormant inside nerve cells, but no-one knew how it did so. To unravel this mystery, the researchers infected mice with HSV-1, and waited for the virus to retreat to nerve cells and go silent. The group later scoured the cells for traces of sliced RNA that matched that from LAT. Cullen revealed that the team found several microRNAs, a recently-discovered kind of molecule that cells use to dial down the levels of proteins. While four microRNAs came from cut-up LAT, the fifth came from a previously unknown chunk of RNA, which suggests LAT was not the only viral DNA molecule involved in latency. Many microRNAs play a role in maladies such as cancer and heart disease, and some viruses even make microRNAs to stymie cell defences. The researchers, however, observed that HSV-1's microRNAs latched onto viral mRNA molecules, and blocked cells from cranking out two virus proteins (ICP0 and ICP4) essential for escaping dormancy. Cullen is of the opinion that viruses may be coaxed out of hiding by blocking such microRNAs, and then to treat patients with drugs that stamp out herpes in epithelial cells, such as acyclovir. "Every virus that pops out gets killed," New Scientist magazine quoted Cullen as saying in a study report published in the journal Nature. However, Patricia Spear, a virologist at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, thinks that this approach may prove troublesome because waking a virus seems to sacrifice the infected nerve cell "You would be inducing replication of virus in the neuron and the question is how many neurons you want to kill off," she says. (ANI)
India
Health & Beauty
NPA Warns PCTs Not To Exploit Pharmacy As A Cash Cow In GP-Led Health Centers
03.07.2008 05:22
medicalnewstoday.com
The NPA has told PCTs planning new GP-led health centers to consider the impact on community pharmacy before rolling out plans for changes to their primary care infrastructure.
World
Pharmaceutics
Current Concepts In Clostridium Difficile Infection: A Focus On Recurrent Disease
03.07.2008 05:21
medicalnewstoday.com
Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is a serious condition that causes disease with a wide spectrum of severity, ranging from mild diarrhea to pseudomembranous colitis and death. Recurrent CDI can occur in up to 20% of patients who develop an initial case of CDI.
World
Infectious Diseases
This Summer Remember That Sunscreen Is No Longer Enough -- People Spending Time In The Sun Should Consider Sun Protective Clothing
03.07.2008 05:21
medicalnewstoday.com
Sunscreen has become a daily necessity for anyone spending time outdoors in the sun, especially during the hot summer months. Yet, very few people consider the protection afforded to them from their clothing. Clothing does protect the skin against the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays, but not all clothing provides the same protection.
World
Dermatology
Isolagen Completes Pivotal Efficacy Portion Of Phase III Studies Of Isolagen Therapy(TM) For Wrinkles
03.07.2008 05:21
medicalnewstoday.com
Isolagen(TM), Inc. (Amex: ILE) announced the completion of the pivotal efficacy portion of its Phase III clinical studies (IT-R-005/006) investigating the Isolagen Therapy(TM) for the treatment of nasolabial folds, or wrinkles. The last person in each study has completed the primary efficacy follow-up visit, and collation of this data has begun. The Company anticipates that top-line efficacy and safety data analyses from the studies will be reported in August 2008.
World
Dermatology
FDA Approves Abbott's XIENCE(TM) V Drug Eluting Stent
03.07.2008 05:20
medicalnewstoday.com
Abbott announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the XIENCE(TM) V Everolimus Eluting Coronary Stent System for the treatment of coronary artery disease. XIENCE V is the only drug eluting stent to have demonstrated superiority over Boston Scientific's TAXUS(R) paclitaxel-eluting coronary stent system in two randomized head-to-head clinical trials. XIENCE V will be launched in the United States immediately.
World
Cardiology
Texas Oncology Urges Texans To 'Save Your Skin:' Outsmart The Sun And Prevent Skin Cancer
03.07.2008 05:20
medicalnewstoday.com
Now that school is out and the first day of summer is upon us, the cancer care experts at Texas Oncology remind Texans to "save your skin" by outsmarting the sun when spending time outdoors. Although the most prevalent cancer in the United States today, skin cancer is also the most preventable. The majority of the more than 1 million annual U.S. cases of skin cancer are sun-related.
World
Cancer
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