Bu Gu Zhi (botanical name Psoralea corylifolia) is an annual plant in the "Pea family" native to Asia where it often grows as a common weed. It is known as the "Scruffy Pea". The plant reaches a height of about 2 feet producing yellow clover-like flowers from spring to the summer followed by short black pods containing yellow-black seeds.
Bu Gu Zhi is cultivated in China for its medicinal use. The tiny seeds (with pods) of the plant are used in Chinese medicine as a kidney yang tonic to improve general vitality and treat conditions such as urinary complaints and impotence. The seeds have also been used with very good success to treat alopecia (hair loss).
Modern research has shown that the seed can encourage the production of new skin pigment and that it is of value in the treatment of various skin disorders, including vitiligo and psoriasis. Both internal and external use causes the skin to produce new pigment, especially after exposure to sunlight or ultraviolet light. When applied externally, it can cause some temporary photosensitivity.
Health & Wellness
© FDA/Renee Gordon
Psoriasis
Psoriasis
Speaking March 1 at the 68th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology (Academy), dermatologist Alan Menter, MD, FAAD, chair of the Psoriasis Research Unit at Baylor Research Institute in Dallas, addressed the need for psoriasis to be viewed as a serious disease affecting the whole body with significant quality of life issues.
© Virginia Tech
Poor air quality apparently affects the running times of women in marathons, according to a study by Virginia Tech civil and environmental engineer Linsey Marr.
Poor air quality apparently affects the running times of women in marathons, according to a study by Virginia Tech civil and environmental engineer Linsey Marr.
Marr's findings come from a comprehensive study that evaluated marathon race results, weather data, and air pollutant concentrations in seven marathons over a period of eight to 28 years. The top three male and female finishing times were compared with the course record and contrasted with air pollutant levels, taking high temperatures that were detrimental to performance into consideration.
Higher levels of particles in the air were associated with slower running times for women, while men were not significantly affected, Marr said. The difference may be due to the smaller size of women's tracheas, which makes it easier for certain particles to deposit there and possibly to cause irritation
© Unknown
Stress
Stress
Maria Giraki, from Heinrich-Heine-University, Düsseldorf, Germany, worked with a team of researchers to study the condition in 69 people, of whom 48 were 'bruxers'. She said, "Bruxing can lead to abrasive tooth wear, looseness and sensitivity of teeth, and growth and pain in the muscles responsible for chewing. Its causes are still relatively unknown, but stress has been implicated. We aimed to investigate whether different stress-factors, and different coping strategies, were more or less associated with these bruxism symptoms."
The next advance in treating major depression may relate to a group of brain chemicals that are involved in virtually all our brain activity, according to a study published today in Biological Psychiatry. The study is co-authored by Drs. Andrea J. Levinson and Zafiris J. Daskalakis of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).
This study shows that compared to healthy individuals, people who have major depressive disorder have altered functions of the neurotransmitter GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid). In the study, individuals with the most treatment-resistant forms of illness demonstrated the greatest reductions of GABA levels in the brain.
This points to the possibility that medications which correct a GABA imbalance could advance the treatment of major depressive disorder. Approximately 4% of Canadians experience major depressive disorder each year.
This study shows that compared to healthy individuals, people who have major depressive disorder have altered functions of the neurotransmitter GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid). In the study, individuals with the most treatment-resistant forms of illness demonstrated the greatest reductions of GABA levels in the brain.
This points to the possibility that medications which correct a GABA imbalance could advance the treatment of major depressive disorder. Approximately 4% of Canadians experience major depressive disorder each year.
People who become very angry, like Mr. T in the A Team, could have 'intermittent explosive disorder'
If you find it hard to throw out things of limited or no value, you could be suffering from hoarding disorder.
'Hoarding' is just one of the new mental conditions being added to the psychiatrists' bible, or the Diagnostic And Statistical Manual Of Mental Disorders (DSM), to give it its proper name.
Other new conditions identified as possibly needing professional help include binge eating - which is said to affect many people who are seriously obese - and 'cognitive tempo disorder', which seems very like laziness (symptoms include dreaminess and sluggishness).
© unknown
Chemtrails over Kanab, Utah
Chemtrails over Kanab, Utah
Animal study shows degeneration occurring in reverse order than commonly believed
Early signs of glaucoma can be detected in the brain, according to a new study that may trigger a major change in how the disease is treated.
It has long been believed that glaucoma -- the leading cause of blindness in the United States -- results from pressure within the eye that damages the retina and optic nerve, so treatments have focused on reducing pressure within the eye. However, this new study suggests that glaucoma is a central nervous system disease that requires different treatment approaches.
"This is a paradigm shift in how we think about the disease," study author David Calkins, director of research at the Vanderbilt Eye Institute, said in a news release from the Vanderbilt University Medical Center. "This will have global implications. This information opens up an entirely new domain of nerve-derived therapeutics."
Early signs of glaucoma can be detected in the brain, according to a new study that may trigger a major change in how the disease is treated.
It has long been believed that glaucoma -- the leading cause of blindness in the United States -- results from pressure within the eye that damages the retina and optic nerve, so treatments have focused on reducing pressure within the eye. However, this new study suggests that glaucoma is a central nervous system disease that requires different treatment approaches.
"This is a paradigm shift in how we think about the disease," study author David Calkins, director of research at the Vanderbilt Eye Institute, said in a news release from the Vanderbilt University Medical Center. "This will have global implications. This information opens up an entirely new domain of nerve-derived therapeutics."
Mental activity could stave off age-related cognitive and memory decline, suggest researchers.
UC Irvine neurobiologists have provided the first visual evidence that learning promotes brain health - and that mental stimulation could limit the debilitating effects of aging on memory and the mind.
Using a novel visualization technique they devised to study memory, a research team led by Lulu Chen and Christine Gall found that everyday forms of learning animate neuron receptors that help keep brain cells functioning at optimum levels.
These receptors are activated by a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which facilitates the growth and differentiation of the connections, or synapses, responsible for communication among neurons. BDNF is key in the formation of memories.
UC Irvine neurobiologists have provided the first visual evidence that learning promotes brain health - and that mental stimulation could limit the debilitating effects of aging on memory and the mind.
Using a novel visualization technique they devised to study memory, a research team led by Lulu Chen and Christine Gall found that everyday forms of learning animate neuron receptors that help keep brain cells functioning at optimum levels.
These receptors are activated by a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which facilitates the growth and differentiation of the connections, or synapses, responsible for communication among neurons. BDNF is key in the formation of memories.
Meditation appears to build up cortex, MRI scans find
If you're trying to reduce your sensitivity to pain, Zen meditation may help by actually thickening your brain, new research suggests.
The authors of a new study, published in a special issue of the journal Emotion, reached their conclusions after comparing brain thickness in 17 Zen meditators and a control group of 18 people who didn't meditate and hadn't practiced yoga or suffered from chronic pain, brain disease or mental illness.
The researchers applied heat to the participants' calves and used MRI scans to study how their brains reacted to the pain.
If you're trying to reduce your sensitivity to pain, Zen meditation may help by actually thickening your brain, new research suggests.
The authors of a new study, published in a special issue of the journal Emotion, reached their conclusions after comparing brain thickness in 17 Zen meditators and a control group of 18 people who didn't meditate and hadn't practiced yoga or suffered from chronic pain, brain disease or mental illness.
The researchers applied heat to the participants' calves and used MRI scans to study how their brains reacted to the pain.
Comment: The impulse to label reactions that are more or less a normal part of human nature as 'disorders' very probably originates with individuals who simply do not experience normal human emotions - aka Psychopaths.