Category: Health

{The Rwanda Association of Midwives has requested women to respect doctors’ medical advice during the antenatal services to avoid a post-birth complication known as Obstetric Fistula. }

The president of the Association, Murekezi Josephine made the call on 10th December 2016 after a walk organized by Kigali Marriot Hotel (Kigali Marriot Charity Walk) aimed at creating awareness on Obstetric Fistula.

“Women suffering from Obstetric Fistula should understand that the complication is curable and shouldn’t be ashamed of seeking medical attention from any hospital in the country and girls should avoid conceiving at a tender age when their sexual reproductive organs are not fully developed,” she advised.

During the event of commending International Organisation for Women and Development (IOWD) held at Kibagabaga Hospital , Dr Patrick Ndimubanzi ,the State Minister in the Ministry of Health in charge of Public Health and Primary Health Care announced that a total of 3000 women have been treated and healed of Obstetric Fistula by a team of doctors from International Organisation for Women and Development (IOWD) since 2008.

The management of Kigali Marriot Hotel said they organized the event to create awareness on the dangers of the complication and create hope as the ailment can be healed.

“ We have preferred creating awareness about this disease because we want to help people with inadequate capacity of treating it and reminding victims it can be healed,” said Peter Mukulu, the director of sales and marketing at Kigali Marriot Hotel.

Obstetric fistula (or vaginal fistula) is a medical condition in which a fistula (hole) develops between either the rectum and vagina or between the bladder and vagina after complicated childbirth, when adequate medical care is not available.

According to UNFPA, “Due to the prolonged obstructed labour, the baby almost inevitably dies, and the woman is left with chronic incontinence. Unable to control the flow of urine or faeces, or both, she may be abandoned by her husband and family and ostracized by her community. Without treatment, her prospects for work and family life are virtually non-existent.”

{Meals based on legumes such as beans and peas are more satiating than pork and veal-based meals according to a recent study by the University of Copenhagen’s Department of Nutrition, Excercise and Sports. Results suggest that sustainable eating may also help with weight loss.}

Numerous modern dietary recommendations encourage high protein consumption to help with weight loss or prevent the age-related loss of muscle mass. Furthermore, consuming more vegetable-based protein from beans and peas, and less protein from meats such as pork, veal and beef, is recommended because meat production is a far greater burden on our climate than vegetable cultivation. Until now, we haven’t known very much about how legumes like beans and peas stack up against meat in satiating hunger. As a result, little has been known about the impact of vegetables and the possibility of them catalyzing or maintaining weight loss.

{{High protein vegetables fill more}}

The recent study demonstrated that protein-rich meals based on beans and peas increased satiety more in the study participants than protein-rich veal and pork based meals. In the study, 43 young men were served three different meals in which patties — consisting of either beans/peas or veal/pork — were a key element. The study also demonstrated that when participants ate a protein-rich meal based on beans and peas, they consumed 12% fewer calories in their next meal than if they had eaten a meat-based meal.

“The protein-rich meal composed of legumes contained significantly more fiber than the protein-rich meal of pork and veal, which probably contributed to the increased feeling of satiety,” according to the head researcher, Professor Anne Raben of the University of Copenhagen’s Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports.

{{Sustainable eating can help weight loss}}

Most interestingly, the study also demonstrated that a less protein-rich meal based on beans and peas was as satiating and tasty as the protein-rich veal and pork-based meals.

“It is somewhat contrary to the widespread belief that one ought to consume a large amount of protein because it increases satiety more. Now, something suggests that one can eat a fiber-rich meal, with less protein, and achieve the same sensation of fullness. While more studies are needed for a definitive proof, it appears as if vegetable-based meals — particularly those based on beans and peas — both can serve as a long term basis for weight loss and as a sustainable eating habit,” concludes Professor Raben.

The results are published in the scientific journal Food & Nutrition in the article: Meals based on vegetable protein sources (beans and peas) are more satiating than meals based on animal protein sources (veal and pork) — a randomized cross-over meal test study.

{Breathing is not just for oxygen; it’s also linked to brain function, behavior.}

Northwestern Medicine scientists have discovered for the first time that the rhythm of breathing creates electrical activity in the human brain that enhances emotional judgments and memory recall.

These effects on behavior depend critically on whether you inhale or exhale and whether you breathe through the nose or mouth.

In the study, individuals were able to identify a fearful face more quickly if they encountered the face when breathing in compared to breathing out. Individuals also were more likely to remember an object if they encountered it on the inhaled breath than the exhaled one. The effect disappeared if breathing was through the mouth.

“One of the major findings in this study is that there is a dramatic difference in brain activity in the amygdala and hippocampus during inhalation compared with exhalation,” said lead author Christina Zelano, assistant professor of neurology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “When you breathe in, we discovered you are stimulating neurons in the olfactory cortex, amygdala and hippocampus, all across the limbic system.”

The study was published Dec. 6 in the Journal of Neuroscience. The senior author is Jay Gottfried, professor of neurology at Feinberg.

Northwestern scientists first discovered these differences in brain activity while studying seven patients with epilepsy who were scheduled for brain surgery. A week prior to surgery, a surgeon implanted electrodes into the patients’ brains in order to identify the origin of their seizures. This allowed scientists to acquire electro-physiological data directly from their brains. The recorded electrical signals showed brain activity fluctuated with breathing. The activity occurs in brain areas where emotions, memory and smells are processed.

This discovery led scientists to ask whether cognitive functions typically associated with these brain areas — in particular fear processing and memory — could also be affected by breathing.

The amygdala is strongly linked to emotional processing, in particular fear-related emotions. So scientists asked about 60 subjects to make rapid decisions on emotional expressions in the lab environment while recording their breathing. Presented with pictures of faces showing expressions of either fear or surprise, the subjects had to indicate, as quickly as they could, which emotion each face was expressing.

When faces were encountered during inhalation, subjects recognized them as fearful more quickly than when faces were encountered during exhalation. This was not true for faces expressing surprise. These effects diminished when subjects performed the same task while breathing through their mouths. Thus the effect was specific to fearful stimuli during nasal breathing only.

In an experiment aimed at assessing memory function — tied to the hippocampus — the same subjects were shown pictures of objects on a computer screen and told to remember them. Later, they were asked to recall those objects. Researchers found that recall was better if the images were encountered during inhalation.

The findings imply that rapid breathing may confer an advantage when someone is in a dangerous situation, Zelano said.

“If you are in a panic state, your breathing rhythm becomes faster,” Zelano said. “As a result you’ll spend proportionally more time inhaling than when in a calm state. Thus, our body’s innate response to fear with faster breathing could have a positive impact on brain function and result in faster response times to dangerous stimuli in the environment.”

Another potential insight of the research is on the basic mechanisms of meditation or focused breathing. “When you inhale, you are in a sense synchronizing brain oscillations across the limbic network,” Zelano noted.

{In today’s world where there’s so much buzz about keeping fit and working out, a lot of people seem to be warming up to the idea of exercising; however, there is still a very big number of those who still think it’s not worth it, because of the amount of time and energy it requires. Well, if you do not exercise, or maybe you quit along the line for some reason, hopefully, you’ll have a change of heart after reading this.}

{{It boosts mental strength }}

One of the major consequences of regular exercising is that it increases and enhances the flow of blood around the body, as well as the production of cells that are responsible for mental development. Studies have shown that when you work out often, your body produces cells that aid in sharper memory as well as vocabulary retention. In children, for instance, it is proven that regular physical exercise enhances mental development, but as I said before, it’s not exclusive to them alone, you too can enjoy the same even as an adult.

{{It eases stress }}

The reason a lot of people suffer stress is because they don’t dedicate time for themselves to work out. Stress is a normal part of living, but you can control and contain it by doing the right thing. One sure way of dealing with stress is exercising. When you work out, you increase blood flow in your body, which in turn, helps you relax and sleep better.

{{Confidence booster }}

Confidence comes from looking good, amongst other things. I don’t know about you, but I know that exercising is one sure way of looking good. If it’s a bigger, firmer butt you want, you can get it from squats; if it’s bigger biceps and chest, you can get it from lifting weight or simple push-ups. What about great-looking abs? Sit ups! You can get it all from working out, and the better you know you look, the more confident you are.

{{Healthier,greater looking skin }}

Due to increased blood flow in the body, your skin is better. Sweat from exercising is also important for detoxifying the skin pores. When all these happen, you are left with a healthier looking skin.

{{Reduced cancer risk }}

Active people are safer from cancer than those who aren’t. When you exercise, you boost your chances of being free from all forms of cancer, including breast cancer, studies say.

{Researchers discover new cancer spreading protein.}

A study partly funded by UK charity Worldwide Cancer Research and headed by Professor Salvador Aznar Benitah, at the Institute for Research in Barcelona (IRB) have identified for the first time a specific protein called CD36 on cancer cells which have the ability to metastasize (spread). CD36, found in the cell membranes of tumour cells, is responsible for taking up fatty acids. This unique CD36 activity and dependence on fatty acids distinguishes metastasis-initiating cells from other tumour cells. The work was published today in the journal Nature.

Cancer is most deadly when it has begun to spread as successful treatment is much more difficult. Scientists around the globe are therefore trying to understand how the process occurs and develop new ways to stop it.

Professor Benitah’s team found CD36 was present on metastatic cancer cells from patients with a range of different tumours including oral tumours, melanoma skin cancer, ovarian, bladder, lung and breast cancer. To confirm its essential role in cancer spread, they added CD36 to non-metastatic cancer cells which then caused the cells to become metastatic.

“Although we have not yet tested this in all tumour types, we can state that CD36 is a general marker of metastatic cells, the first I know of that is generally specific to metastasis,” says Professor Benitah, Head of the Stem Cell and Cancer Lab at IRB Barcelona.

“We expect this study to have a big impact on the scientific community and to further advances in metastasis research, and we hope to be able to validate the potential of CD36 as an anti-metastasis treatment. Things like this don’t happen every day.”

The researchers next looked at the role of fat intake on cancer spread. They provided mice with a high fat diet then injected them with a type of human oral cancer. The high fat diet caused 50% more mice to have larger and more frequent metastases.

They went on to test a specific saturated fatty acid called palmitic acid — a major component of animal and vegetable fats and present at high levels in palm oil which is used in many house hold products from peanut butter and processed food to toothpaste. The researchers treated human oral tumours with palmitic acid for two days then injected them into mice fed a standard diet. The team observed that all the mice with CD36 developed cancer spread compared to only half when not treated with palmitic acid.

“In mice inoculated with human tumour cells, there appears to be a direct link between fat intake and an increase in metastatic potential through CD36. More studies are needed to unravel this intriguing relationship, above all because industrialised countries are registering an alarming increase in the consumption of saturated fats and sugar,” warns Professor Benitah. “Fat is necessary for the function of the body, but uncontrolled intake can have an effect on health, as already shown for some tumours such as colon cancer, and in metastasis, as we demonstrate here.”

Using mice with human oral cancer, the researchers were next able to show that blocking CD36 completely prevented metastasis. In mice with cancer cells that had already metastasised, CD36 blocking antibodies led to the complete removal of metastases in 20% of the mice, whilst in the others it caused a dramatic reduction of 80-90% of metastases and reduced the size. Importantly, this was all achieved with no serious side effects.

The researchers are now developing new antibody-based therapeutics against CD36 that could potentially be suitable to treat a range of cancers in patients in the future.

Dr Lara Bennett, Science Communications Manager at Worldwide Cancer Research said: “We have been supporting Professor Benitah’s work for a number of years and it is fantastic to now see these truly game-changing results. If the team are able to go on to develop this antibody into a treatment for humans it could save thousands of lives every year.”

{First study to successfully detect traces of marijuana chemicals in children’s bodies.}

Relaxing with a joint around children is not very wise. Not only do youngsters inhale harmful secondary smoke in the process, but the psychoactive chemicals in the drug are taken up by their bodies as well. This warning comes from Karen Wilson of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the American Academy of Pediatrics Julius B. Richmond Center of Excellence in the US. She led the first study showing that it is possible to pick up traces of THC, the primary psychoactive chemical in marijuana, in the urine of children exposed to secondary marijuana smoke. The findings are published in Springer Nature’s journal Pediatric Research.

The two primary active components in marijuana are the psychoactive chemical delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and the nonpsychoactive cannabidiol (CBD). Previous analytical methods were mostly developed to measure biomarkers of marijuana in users themselves. In this study, a new and more sensitive analytic method was developed and used by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to quantify the trace biomarkers resulting from secondhand marijuana smoke exposure.

The method was used to analyze the urine samples of 43 babies between the ages of one month and two years who were hospitalized with bronchiolitis in Colorado in the US between 2013 and 2015. Their parents also completed a survey about their marijuana smoking habits. The urine samples were analyzed for traces of marijuana metabolites (measured as levels of COOH-THC) and also for cotinine, a biomarker that indicates exposure to tobacco smoke.

COOH-THC was detectable in 16 percent of the samples, at concentrations between 0.04 and 1.5 nanograms per milliliter of urine. Higher concentrations were found in the urine of non-white children compared with white children.

“While documenting the presence of metabolites of THC in children does not imply causation of disease, it does suggest that, like tobacco smoke, marijuana smoke is inhaled by children in the presence of adults who are using it,” says Wilson.

In 56 percent of children with detectable COOH-THC levels, more than 2.0 nanograms of cotinine per milliliter of urine were also measured. This indicates that children exposed to marijuana smoke are also more likely to be exposed to tobacco smoke, which increases their risk for cognitive deficits and respiratory ailments.

According to Wilson, more research is needed to investigate if secondhand marijuana smoke exposure is also a health risk. She believes that further high-sensitivity testing will give researchers the opportunity to do so more effectively, and that funds and human resources should be prioritized for such investigations.

“This research will help inform appropriate educational materials and outreach to parents and caregivers who use both marijuana and tobacco in the presence of their children,” she says.

Wilson also supports the inclusion of a parent report screening question for institutions in areas where marijuana is legal, so that those who report household marijuana smoking can be counseled on how to reduce potentially harmful secondhand smoke exposure of their children.

{Bad Breath or Halitosis simply means a smelly mouth. Halitosis is caused by a host of factors; from the food you eat, to the way you care for your mouth. Garlic, onion, alcohol and nicotine are examples of foods that can cause bad breath (temporarily). Other causes include poor oral hygiene, gum diseases, cavities, uncontrolled diabetes, dry mouth, sore throat, coated tongue, etc.}

So how can you prevent or even cure bad breath? Well, you may find the following useful…

* Drink plenty of water and swish cool water around your mouth. This is especially helpful to freshen “morning breath.”

* Brush after every meal and floss, preferably twice a day.

* Replace your toothbrush every two to three months. This is because gems build up in toothbrushes over time.

* Arrange regular dental checkups and cleanings.

* Scrape your tongue each morning with a tongue scraper or spoon to decrease the bacteria, fungi, and dead cells that can cause odour. Hold the tip of the tongue with gauze to pull it forward in order to clean the back of the tongue.

* Chew a handful of cloves, fennel seeds, or aniseeds. Their antiseptic qualities help fight halitosis-causing bacteria.

* Chew a piece of lemon or orange rind for a mouth-freshening burst of flavor. (Wash the rind thoroughly first.) The citric acid will stimulate the salivary glands—and fight bad breath.

* Chew a fresh sprig of parsley, basil, mint, or cilantro. The chlorophyll in these green plants neutralises odour.

*Try a 30-second mouthwash rinse that is alcohol-free (unlike many off-the-shelf products). Mix a cup of hot water with a teaspoon of baking soda (which changes the pH level and fights odour in the mouth) and a few drops of antimicrobial peppermint essential oil. Don’t swallow it! (Yields several rinses.)

If you follow the aforementioned measures, you’re sure to have a better feeling and smelling breath.

{Repeated dieting may lead to weight gain because the brain interprets the diets as short famines and urges the person to store more fat for future shortages, new research by the universities of Exeter and Bristol suggests.}

This may explain why people who try low-calorie diets often overeat when not dieting and so don’t keep the weight off.

By contrast, people who don’t diet will learn that food supplies are reliable and they do not need to store so much fat.

The study, published in the journal Evolution, Medicine and Public Health, is based on observations of animals such as birds.

Animals respond to the risk of food shortage by gaining weight, which is why garden birds are fatter in the winter when seeds and insects are hard to find.

The authors studied a mathematical model of an animal that knows whether food is currently abundant or limited, but does not know when things will change, so must learn about the changeability before deciding how fat to be.

The model shows that if food supply is often restricted (as it is when dieting) an optimal animal — the one with the best chance of passing on its genes — should gain excess weight between food shortages.

Dr Andrew Higginson, Senior Lecturer in psychology at the University of Exeter, says: “Surprisingly, our model predicts that the average weight gain for dieters will actually be greater than those who never diet.

“This happens because non-dieters learn that the food supply is reliable so there is less need for the insurance of fat stores.”

With more and more people becoming obese, scientists are looking for evolutionary reasons to explain why many find it hard to resist overeating.

Humans evolved in a world where food was sometimes plentiful and sometimes scarce — and in the latter case those with more fat would be more likely to survive.

Today, people can get into a vicious cycle of weight gain and ever more severe diets — so-called yo-yo dieting — which only convinces the brain it must store ever more fat.

The researchers’ model predicts that the urge to eat increases hugely as a diet goes on, and this urge won’t diminish as weight is gained because the brain gets convinced that famines are likely.

“Our simple model shows that weight gain does not mean that people’s physiology is malfunctioning or that they are being overwhelmed by unnaturally sweet tastes,” says Professor John McNamara, of the University of Bristol’s School of Mathematics.

“The brain could be functioning perfectly, but uncertainty about the food supply triggers the evolved response to gain weight.”

So how should people try to lose weight?

“The best thing for weight loss is to take it steady. Our work suggests that eating only slightly less than you should, all the time, and doing physical exercise is much more likely to help you reach a healthy weight than going on low-calorie diets,” Dr Higginson says.

{Some genetic and biological factors affect how a woman experiences her period but there’s a degree of period pain that is behavioral.}

Here are 5 things you do that worsens your period pain

{{1. Too much salt }}

Consuming too much salt can make period pain worse because it exacerbate the bloating and water retention that make cramps worse. You can reduce your period pain by reducing your salt intake.

{{2. You don’t exercise or exercise too much }}

Regular exercise can help ease your menstrual cramps but this doesn’t mean you should exercise too much because too much exercise can affect your cycle.

{{3. Too much coffee }}

Just as too much salt worsens menstrual cramps, too much coffee isn’t good for your cramps either. Caffeine tightens the blood vessels thereby increasing the severity of your cramps.

{{4. You smoke }}

Smoking worsens period pain. In fact, each cigarette smoked increases your menstrual pain. Researchers have also found that smokers are more likely to have severe period pain than non-smokers.

{{5. Alcohol}}

Alcohol consumption doesn’t help your period and it can increase the severity of cramps. Alcohol consumption decreases the body’s production of anti-diuretic hormones, thereby exacerbating any kind of pain.