Health & WellnessS


Health

Statins may do more harm than good in stroke victims

Rebecca Smith
Telegraph UK
Thu, 13 Jan 2011 06:32 UTC
Cholesterol-lowering statins may do more harm than good in people who have suffered a stroke, researchers warned.

People who have suffered a certain kind of stroke may be more likely to have a recurrence if they are taking statins to lower their risk of heart disease, a study has found.

A team at Harvard Medical School in Boston, America, found that patients who had had a haemorrhagic stroke, or a bleeding on the brain stroke, as opposed to a clot or blocking stroke, may increase their chances of having another if they were on statins.

The findings are published in the journal Archives of Neurology.

Millions of people take statins every day to reduce the risk of heart disease and of having a heart attack.
Read More...
Health

Cause of schizophrenia found?


IBNlive.in.com
Wed, 12 Jan 2011 17:04 UTC
Image
© Reuters
Washington: In what could be a possible cause of schizophrenia, scientists claim to have found a link between the condition and trapped brain cells that are unable to reach the cortex, the brain's outer part.

A new study, led by University of New South Wales, has claimed that brain cells might become "stuck" in their journey during brain development to the outer "thinking" layer of the brain, which could be a cause of schizophrenia.

The scientists have found that in people with schizophrenia, brain cells destined for the cortex - the outer part of the brain associated with thinking and other cognitive abilities - could get trapped in the layer below.
Read More...
Heart - Black

Watching television 'damages the heart'


The Telegraph, UK
Mon, 10 Jan 2011 02:29 UTC
TV
© Barry Marsden
Watching too much television or playing computer games damages your heart regardless of how much exercise you do, scientists have warned.

The risk of heart disease and premature death from any cause doubled for those spending more than fours hours a day glued to a screen, it was claimed.

Metabolic factors and inflammation may be partly to blame, the report said.

Research revealed those who devote more than four hours watching television, surfing the web, or playing computer games are more than twice as likely to have major cardiac problems.

Dr Emmanuel Stamatakis of University College London's Department of Epidemiology and Public Health said: "People who spend excessive amounts of time in front of a screen - primarily watching TV - are more likely to die of any cause and suffer heart-related problems.

"Our analysis suggests that two or more hours of screen time each day may place someone at greater risk for a cardiac event."
Read More...
Bug

In Vilnius and Kaunas flu spreads to epidemic level


The Baltic Course
Wed, 12 Jan 2011 12:53 UTC
The flu and upper respiratory tract infectious diseases cases, registered in Vilnius, Kaunas and Visaginas regions last week, have reached epidemic level, vz.lt/LETA reports.

In the capital of Lithuania 104.9 cases of the mentioned disease were registered per 10,000 inhabitants, in Kaunas the statistics is a bit lower - 103.1 case per 10,000 people, but the highest level was registered in Visaginas numbering 116.4. In Varena and Prienu districts the number of patients is close to epidemic level.

The report is based on data from the Center of Conveyable Diseases and AIDS of Lithuania.

Read More...
Bug

Germany kills 140 dioxin-contaminated pigs


Associated Press
Tue, 11 Jan 2011 09:45 UTC
German authorities ordered 140 pigs slaughtered Tuesday after tests showed high levels of a cancer-causing chemical for the first time in swine, as the nation's dioxin scandal widened beyond poultry and eggs.

The top agriculture official in northern Germany's Lower Saxony state demanded the cull after tests found illegal levels of dioxin in swine at a farm near Verden that purchased tainted feed from the company believed to be responsible for the scandal.

German firm Harles & Jentzsch GmbH, which produced fat used in the tainted feed pellets, is being investigated over allegations it did not alert authorities to the tainted product for months. Tests have shown that fat samples contained more than 70 times the permitted amount of dioxin.
Read More...
Pills

High doses of common painkillers increase stroke risk, warn researchers


Guardian UK
Wed, 12 Jan 2011 06:26 UTC
Image
© Nitschkefoto / Alamy/AlamyTablets Experts looked at 30 clinical trials to examine the effects of painkillers on health.
British Medical Journal study links ibuprofen to highest risk of stroke over long term

Commonly used painkillers increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes when taken at high doses or over the long term, according to research.

Experts analysed more than 30 clinical trials on more than 116,000 patients to examine the effects of painkillers on people's health.

The fears relate to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs as well as newer anti-inflammatory drugs known as Cox-2 inhibitors.

Doctors regularly prescribe such drugs to treat painful conditions, including osteoarthritis.

They are given at much higher doses than those found in over-the-counter remedies, which are used for occasional headaches, aches and pains.
Read More...
Bulb

An energy saving bulb has gone - evacuate the room now!


Daily Mail
Tue, 11 Jan 2011 13:38 UTC
Image
Energy-saving light bulbs are so dangerous that everyone must leave the room for at least 15 minutes if one falls to the floor and breaks, a Government department warned yesterday.

The startling alert came as health experts also warned that toxic mercury inside the bulbs can aggravate a range of problems including migraines and dizziness.

And a leading dermatologist said tens of thousands of people with skin complaints will find it hard to tolerate being near the bulbs as they cause conditions such as eczema to flare up.

The Department for Environment warned shards of glass from broken bulbs should not be vacuumed up but instead swept away by someone wearing rubber gloves to protect them from the bulb's mercury content.

In addition, it said care should be taken not to inhale any dust and the broken pieces should be put in a sealed plastic bag for disposal at a council dump, not a normal household bin.

None of this advice, however, is printed on the packaging the new-style bulbs are sold in. There are also worries over how the bulbs will be disposed of.
Read More...
Info

Flashback Your Diet May Be Depressing You

Megan Othersen Gorman
Rodale.com
Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:47 UTC
Image
© rodale.comBad mood food: People who eat lots of unhealthy processed food are more likely to develop depression, a study suggests.
A new study connects food and mood, finding that a diet high in processed foods makes depression more likely.

A new study published in The British Journal of Psychiatry makes a strong case that processed junk food can trigger or contribute to depression, while eating whole and healthy food seems protective.

The Details:

British and French epidemiologists analyzed food and mood data from 3,486 men and women (average age 55) in the Whitehall II study on London-based office staff. Each participant answered a food frequency questionnaire in which they were asked how often they had eaten a designated portion size of a food during the previous year (set responses ranged from "never" to "six or more times per day"). That data was then converted to a daily intake and two dietary patterns were identified: the "whole food pattern" (defined by a high daily intake of vegetables, fruits, and fish) and the "processed food pattern" (characterized by high consumption of sweetened desserts, chocolates, fried food, processed meat, pies, refined grains, high-fat dairy products, and condiments). Five years later, all the participants answered a short questionnaire designed to measure symptoms of depression in the general population.

After adjusting for variables such as age and sex, the scientists found that high consumption of processed food was associated with increased likelihood of depression, whereas those who had the highest consumption of whole foods were least likely to be depressed, and even less likely than those in the whole food pattern who ate fewer whole foods.
Read More...
Info

GMOs: Myths, Falsehoods, Superstitions

Vanadana Shiva
foodfreedom.wordpress.com
Mon, 10 Jan 2011 13:52 UTC
Image
© n/aRubber Tree
In February, the Minister of Environment of India, Jairam Ramesh, put a moratorium on Bt. Brinjal. He is now pushing trials of GM rubber on Kerala which is a GMO free State. The Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan and Kerala Agriculture Minister, Mullakkara Ratnakaran have both reiterated their commitment to keep Kerala GMO free.

Mr. Jairam Ramesh has stated that GM rubber is not transgenic i.e., it does not have genes from unrelated species. This is totally false. While the gene MnSOD comes from the rubber, the MnSOD construct is transgenic. It contains CaMV35S, a virus used as a promoter, an antibiotic resistance marker npt II (Kanamycin) and a CUS reporter gene from bacteria (E.Coli.). Putting viruses and bacteria into a plant is a transgenic transformation. The Environment Minister should not be misleading the nation on the issue of GMOs which has far reaching consequences.

The GM rubber is being developed to spread rubber cultivation to regions beyond Kerala by making it drought resistant. However, engineering drought resistance is linked to "pleiotropic effect". Pleiotropy is the ability of a single genetic change to cause unintended physiological effects throughout a plant.
Read More...
Sherlock

Study: Green Tea Wards Off Dementia and Cancer

Neharika Sabharwal
Medguru.com
Fri, 07 Jan 2011 13:40 UTC
Image
For centuries green tea has held on strong to its reputation as an effective and trustworthy beverage packed with health benefits.

Now, NewCastle University researchers have found new evidence that green tea can shield the brain against Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia.

In addition, the golden liquid the Chinese drink in copious amounts has also been credited with lowering the risk of certain cancers.

Although previous studies suggest that chemicals found in green tea can prevent a wide variety of ailments, the new study focused on whether the protective properties were still active after the beverage was digested.
Read More...