Several studies presented at the American College of Gastroenterology's 73rd Annual Scientific Meeting in Orlando highlight the safety and efficacy of probiotics in improving symptoms and normalizing bowel movement frequency in patients suffering from constipation or diarrhea related to Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).
A systematic review of the efficacy of probiotics in IBS that included 19 randomized controlled trials in 1,628 IBS patients found that "probiotics are effective in IBS, but we do not have enough information to be sure whether there is one probiotic that is particularly effective or whether combinations of probiotics are required," according to Dr. Paul Moayyedi, the study's lead researcher. Moayyedi and co-investigators at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL and Rochester, MN; McMaster University in Ontario, Canada; University College in Cork, Ireland and Montefiore Medical Center in New York City, conducted this meta-analysis presented at the ACG Annual Scientific Meeting in Orlando.
Multi-Strain Probiotic for IBS Patients with Diarrhea
Dr. Gerald Friedman of The Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York and co-investigator Greg Biancone conducted a multi-center analysis to determine if a multi-strain probiotic was effective in reducing the frequency of diarrhea in 84 IBS patients (IBS-D). In this small study, a multi-strain probiotic administered daily for 28 days normalized bowel habits in IBS patients compared to those who received the placebo. The average number of daily diarrheal episodes in the probiotic group significantly decreased from day 1 to day 28 compared to slight decreases in the placebo group during the same period.
Health & Wellness
IT is by now very clear that there is a serious problem with the mysterious disease reported and emergency measures must quickly be put in place to avoid a catastrophe.
The situation also serves as a wake up call for health authorities to take matters of regulation of stock pet and human immigration at our frontiers very seriously.
The situation also serves as a wake up call for health authorities to take matters of regulation of stock pet and human immigration at our frontiers very seriously.
What's the worst that could happen after eating a slice of pepperoni pizza? A little heartburn, for most people.
But for up to a million women in the U.S., enjoying that piece of pizza has painful consequences. They have a chronic bladder condition that causes pelvic pain. Spicy food -- as well as citrus, caffeine, tomatoes and alcohol-- can cause a flare in their symptoms and intensify the pain. It was thought that the spike in their symptoms was triggered when digesting the foods produced chemicals in the urine that irritated the bladder.
However, researchers from Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine believe the symptoms -- pain and an urgent need to frequently urinate -- are actually being provoked by a surprise perpetrator. Applying their recent animal study to humans, the scientists believe the colon, irritated by the spicy food, is to blame.
But for up to a million women in the U.S., enjoying that piece of pizza has painful consequences. They have a chronic bladder condition that causes pelvic pain. Spicy food -- as well as citrus, caffeine, tomatoes and alcohol-- can cause a flare in their symptoms and intensify the pain. It was thought that the spike in their symptoms was triggered when digesting the foods produced chemicals in the urine that irritated the bladder.
However, researchers from Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine believe the symptoms -- pain and an urgent need to frequently urinate -- are actually being provoked by a surprise perpetrator. Applying their recent animal study to humans, the scientists believe the colon, irritated by the spicy food, is to blame.
Honey may reduce healing times in patients suffering mild to moderate burn wounds. A systematic review by Cochrane Researchers concluded that honey might be useful as an alternative to traditional wound dressings in treating burns.
"We're treating these results with caution, but it looks like honey can help speed up healing in some burns," says lead researcher Dr Andrew Jull, of the Clinical Trials Research Unit at the University of Auckland, New Zealand.
Honey has been used in wound treatment since ancient times. The mechanism of action is unclear. While honey may help the body remove dead tissue and provide a favourable environment for the growth of new, healthy tissue, current interest in medicinal honey focuses largely on its antibacterial effects.
"We're treating these results with caution, but it looks like honey can help speed up healing in some burns," says lead researcher Dr Andrew Jull, of the Clinical Trials Research Unit at the University of Auckland, New Zealand.
Honey has been used in wound treatment since ancient times. The mechanism of action is unclear. While honey may help the body remove dead tissue and provide a favourable environment for the growth of new, healthy tissue, current interest in medicinal honey focuses largely on its antibacterial effects.
A cream commonly used to treat burns may actually delay healing. In addition, despite the wide range of wound dressings available for burns, there is no consensus on the most effective alternative treatment, say Cochrane Researchers who carried out a systematic review of existing data.
Increased understanding of the wound healing process means that there are now a large number of different ways to treat burns. Films, gels, artificial skins and fibre dressings may all help to heal wounds, but doctors still often turn to traditional gauze dressings, as well as silver sulphadiazine (SSD) cream. Healthcare providers have used SSD cream since the 1960s to minimize the risk of burns becoming infected, although concerns have recently been raised about its toxic effects on skin cells.
The Cochrane Team who carried out the research found 26 relevant trials. Although each trial was relatively small they concluded that SSD cream increases the time taken for a wound to heal, as well as increasing the number of dressing applications required.
Increased understanding of the wound healing process means that there are now a large number of different ways to treat burns. Films, gels, artificial skins and fibre dressings may all help to heal wounds, but doctors still often turn to traditional gauze dressings, as well as silver sulphadiazine (SSD) cream. Healthcare providers have used SSD cream since the 1960s to minimize the risk of burns becoming infected, although concerns have recently been raised about its toxic effects on skin cells.
The Cochrane Team who carried out the research found 26 relevant trials. Although each trial was relatively small they concluded that SSD cream increases the time taken for a wound to heal, as well as increasing the number of dressing applications required.
The circadian rhythm that quietly pulses inside us all, guiding our daily cycle from sleep to wakefulness and back to sleep again, may be doing much more than just that simple metronomic task, according to Stanford researchers.
Working with Siberian hamsters, biologist Norman Ruby has shown that having a functioning circadian system is critical to the hamsters' ability to remember what they have learned. Without it, he said, "They can't remember anything."
Though not known for their academic prowess, Siberian hamsters nonetheless normally develop what amounts to street smarts about their environment, as do all animals. But hamsters whose circadian system was disabled by a new technique Ruby and his colleagues developed consistently failed to demonstrate the same evidence of remembering their environment as hamsters with normally functioning circadian systems.
© Indiana University
Without circadian rhythms, Siberian hamsters did not recognize things they had investigated before.
Without circadian rhythms, Siberian hamsters did not recognize things they had investigated before.
Working with Siberian hamsters, biologist Norman Ruby has shown that having a functioning circadian system is critical to the hamsters' ability to remember what they have learned. Without it, he said, "They can't remember anything."
Though not known for their academic prowess, Siberian hamsters nonetheless normally develop what amounts to street smarts about their environment, as do all animals. But hamsters whose circadian system was disabled by a new technique Ruby and his colleagues developed consistently failed to demonstrate the same evidence of remembering their environment as hamsters with normally functioning circadian systems.
There's a lot of truth in the old proverb "experience is the best teacher," and apparently it even applies to 10-month-old infants.
Researchers have found that infants who had an opportunity to use a plastic cane to get an out-of-reach toy were better able to understand the goal of another person's use of a similar tool than were infants who had previously only watched an adult use a cane to retrieve a toy.
"Acting on the world is one way infants learn about the world, and only recently have there been studies showing that active, hands-on experience is a more effective way of learning than watching. This study indicates that there is a benefit to actual hands-on experience early in human development," said, Jessica Sommerville, a University of Washington assistant professor of psychology and lead author of a study published in the current issue of the journal Developmental Psychology.
Researchers have found that infants who had an opportunity to use a plastic cane to get an out-of-reach toy were better able to understand the goal of another person's use of a similar tool than were infants who had previously only watched an adult use a cane to retrieve a toy.
© University of Washington
An infant reaches for a toy after she retrieved it using a cane.
An infant reaches for a toy after she retrieved it using a cane.
"Acting on the world is one way infants learn about the world, and only recently have there been studies showing that active, hands-on experience is a more effective way of learning than watching. This study indicates that there is a benefit to actual hands-on experience early in human development," said, Jessica Sommerville, a University of Washington assistant professor of psychology and lead author of a study published in the current issue of the journal Developmental Psychology.
A 30 percent increase in chronic kidney disease over the past decade has prompted the U.S. Renal Data System (USRDS) to issue for the first time a separate report documenting the magnitude of the disease, which affects an estimated 27 million Americans and accounts for more than 24 percent of Medicare costs.
"NIDDK's annual analysis and publication of data on kidney disease in the United States is essential in quantifying public health trends, guiding funding priorities, and designing targeted kidney research programs," said NIH Director Elias A. Zerhouni, M.D. "The major focus on chronic kidney disease in this year's report acknowledges that this disorder is a growing public health issue deserving of wider public awareness and intensified scientific investigation."
Using data from multiple sources, the USRDS has created a new handbook of information that can be used by researchers, government officials, health program planners, and others to develop research goals, assess public health needs, set program priorities, and inform policymakers and the public. USRDS research depends on collaborations with other agencies of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, especially the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Health Resources and Services Administration, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Patient registries for other countries also contribute data for analyses.
"NIDDK's annual analysis and publication of data on kidney disease in the United States is essential in quantifying public health trends, guiding funding priorities, and designing targeted kidney research programs," said NIH Director Elias A. Zerhouni, M.D. "The major focus on chronic kidney disease in this year's report acknowledges that this disorder is a growing public health issue deserving of wider public awareness and intensified scientific investigation."
Using data from multiple sources, the USRDS has created a new handbook of information that can be used by researchers, government officials, health program planners, and others to develop research goals, assess public health needs, set program priorities, and inform policymakers and the public. USRDS research depends on collaborations with other agencies of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, especially the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Health Resources and Services Administration, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Patient registries for other countries also contribute data for analyses.
According to an article in Law.com, one major court has ruled that parents of an autistic child may sue vaccine makers based on the theory that thimerosal (a mercury preservative) in vaccines caused their child's autism. Earlier, similar cases in New York and Pennsylvania were denied by courts in those states.
Camp LeJeune, NC. - The explosion of practice mortars sent Army Spc. Kade Williams into panic attacks, and nightmares plagued his sleep. The ravages of post-traumatic stress had left the veteran of the war in Afghanistan vulnerable, and he was desperate for help.
But sitting silently on the floor with his eyes closed while listening to a soft-spoken instructor tell him to find a focal point by pressing on his lower stomach as guitar music hums in the background? That seemed a bit far-out.
Until he tried it.
"I will be the first one to admit that I was wrong," Williams said.
Warriors have long used such practices to improve concentration and relaxation - dating back more than 1,000 years to the techniques of the samurai. Here at coastal Camp Lejeune, 100 miles inland at the Army's Fort Bragg and at several bases in California, such meditation now comes with a name: Warrior Mind Training.
The course is catching on in military circles as a way not only to treat both post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injuries, but to improve focus and better prepare soldiers and Marines for the rigors of combat. It can also improve shooting range performance and raise training test scores, said Sarah Ernst, a senior Warrior Mind instructor.
But sitting silently on the floor with his eyes closed while listening to a soft-spoken instructor tell him to find a focal point by pressing on his lower stomach as guitar music hums in the background? That seemed a bit far-out.
Until he tried it.
"I will be the first one to admit that I was wrong," Williams said.
Warriors have long used such practices to improve concentration and relaxation - dating back more than 1,000 years to the techniques of the samurai. Here at coastal Camp Lejeune, 100 miles inland at the Army's Fort Bragg and at several bases in California, such meditation now comes with a name: Warrior Mind Training.
The course is catching on in military circles as a way not only to treat both post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injuries, but to improve focus and better prepare soldiers and Marines for the rigors of combat. It can also improve shooting range performance and raise training test scores, said Sarah Ernst, a senior Warrior Mind instructor.
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