Category: Health

{According to the new research which was published in the journal PLOS Medicine, a person who has all six bad habits is more than five times as likely to die during a six-year period as one who is very clean-living.}

The University of Sydney researchers revealed that unhealthy habits are behind a third of deaths.

{{The six deadly habits most likely to send you to an early grave are listed below}}

1. Alcohol consumption

2. Poor diet

3. Inactivity

4. Smoking

5. Spending more than seven hours a day sitting down

6. Sleeping for more than nine hours

The researchers also found these two habit-combinations were the most likely to send you to an early grave

1. Prolonged sitting and long sleep duration

2. Smoking and high alcohol intake

According to the researchers, going to the gym in the evening doesn’t cancel out the damage done by sitting all day in the office.

The researchers stressed on the importance of healthy lifestyles.

More than 230,000 people aged 45 and over took part in the six-year study.

{One of the world’s leading fertility specialist, Richard Paulson, President Elect of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, have advised women who want to start having children after 35 to freeze their eggs.}

According to Dr Paulson, it’s important women who plan to start having children later freeze their eggs because the quality of a woman’s egg takes a sudden downturn after 35 and getting pregnant becomes much harder.

“Most people want to have two or children and if by the time they reach 30 they think they’re going to be done by 35, great,” Dr Paulson said at the ASRM Congress in Salt Lake City, USA.

“I think they should get on with it. If not, then I think they should seriously consider some type of fertility preservation, whether that’s egg freezing or embryo freezing with a suitable life partner.

“What I’ve told my daughters is that really. Because the biological clock takes a sudden turn downwards at the age of 35, people need to work backwards. You should be done having your babies by the age of 35. Knowledge is power and having eggs that are frozen increases rather than decreases your options.”

{Walking briskly or cycling for the recommended 150 minutes a week can reduce a person’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes by up to 26%, according to new research by UCL and the University of Cambridge.}

People who carry out an hour of moderate to vigorous exercise every day can reduce their risk of getting type 2 diabetes by 40%. The study also revealed that any amount of physical activity can reduce the risk of developing the disease.

The research, published in the journal Diabetologia, is the most comprehensive study to look at the impact of exercise, independent of other behavioural factors such as diet, on a person’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

The UK Department of Health recommends 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise a week, which includes brisk walking, gentle cycling or sports such as doubles tennis. According to the Health Survey for England (2012), as many as a third of adults are not meeting this target.

The study, which analysed summarized data from over a million people, demonstrated that while any amount of physical activity is good for you, the benefits of exercise are greater for people who exceed this recommended level.

The study analysed data from 23 studies carried out in the USA, Asia, Australia and Europe. By combining observations from these studies, the researchers were able to separate out the effect of leisure time physical activity from other behavioural factors, and obtain better estimates of the effects of different physical activity levels.

Previous studies have often included changes to both diet and physical activity, making it difficult to isolate the impact of physical activity alone.

“Our results suggest a major potential for physical activity to slow down or reverse the global increase in type 2 diabetes and should prove useful for health impact modelling, which frequently forms part of the evidence base for policy decisions.,” said Andrea Smith (UCL Health Behaviour Research Centre and Institute of Public Health, University of Cambridge), who led the study.

The prevalence of type 2 diabetes is growing rapidly due to rising obesity levels and is estimated to reach nearly 600 million cases worldwide by 2035.

“This research shows that some physical activity is good, but more is better,” said Dr Soren Brage, co-author of the study from the Medical Research Council Epidemiology Unit at Cambridge University.

“We already know that physical activity has a major role to play in tackling the growing worldwide epidemic of type 2 diabetes. These new results add more detail to our understanding of how changes in the levels of physical activity across populations could impact the incidence of disease. They also lend support to policies to increase physical activity at all levels. This means building environments that make physical activity part of everyday life.”

{New research from the University of Montana demonstrates a unique relationship between fluid volume and fluid temperature during arduous work in the heat. The study, published in Wilderness & Environmental Medicine, indicated that an ice slurry/water mixture was as effective as ambient water even when consumed in half the quantity. Investigators also emphasized the importance of rest.}

“While the common approach to managing health in hot environments centers around maintaining hydration, limited attention is devoted to managing heat production from hard work or play,” explained lead investigator Brent C. Ruby, PhD, FACSM, Director of the Montana Center for Work Physiology and Exercise Metabolism, University of Montana, Missoula. “It should be obvious that as the temperature rises, so does the body’s need for proper fluid intake patterns. This ensures that blood and sweat volume can be maintained to continually enable heat loss through evaporative cooling (good old fashioned sweating). However, coaches, trainers, clinicians, medics, and safety officers continually emphasize the importance of proper hydration without providing sound guidance and attention to proper management of heat production from the working muscle. ”

Existing research indicates that fluids should be consumed to avoid more than an acute 2% body mass loss (reflecting modest dehydration) that is known to hinder performance and increase the risk of heat-related injury. Currently, the accepted minimum hydration rate is 2 grams of water per kilogram of body mass. However, controversy surrounds the link between moderate lapses in hydration status and risk for heat-related injury.

While these guidelines attempt to dictate how much water should be consumed, there is no existing recommendation for the optimal temperature of the water. In order to better understand how water temperature influences the body, investigators had subjects exercise in 88° F air temperatures (with 50% relative humidity) for three hours.

“While these guidelines serve as just that, ‘guidelines,’ constant access to body weight scales for repeated measures of nude body weight is impractical for nearly all sport or occupational settings. Reducing the emphasis on fluid volume, allowing cold fluid access, and emphasizing the need to rest adequately during the training session or workshift should become common practice,” stated Dr. Ruby.

During the trial, participants were randomly given one of three treatments: ambient temperature water at a rate of 2g·kg-1 of body mass; ice slurry (2/3 shaved ice and 1/3 water) at a rate of 2g·kg-1 of body mass; or the ice slurry mixture, but at a reduced rate of 1g·kg-1 of body mass. Each 2g·kg-1 body weight drink was provided at 10-minute intervals.

Several parameters indicating the physiological and thermoregulatory challenge during the three-hour exercise trials were measured. Investigators found the ice slurry, even at amounts that resulted in a 2% body mass loss, faired just as well as when subjects were provided the full amount of room temperature water. “There were no differences in rectal temperature, heart rate, physiological strain index, skin temperature, sweat loss, or rating of perceived exertion during three hours of exercise in the heat when participants were provided half the volume of fluid in the form of the ice slurry in comparison to ambient temperature water,” said Dr. Ruby.

While a reduced amount of ice slurry was just as effective as regular water, when the ice slurry was provided at the full rate, participants demonstrated significantly improved thermoregulation. Rectal and skin temperatures, heart rate, and overall all physiological strain were lower at the end of the exercise period, making the full amount of ice slurry the most effective liquid for managing thermoregulation and physiological responses.

“We want to emphasize that the temperature of fluids delivered will alter the physiological and thermoregulatory response during work in the heat. Consuming ambient temperature water did not improve the physiological or thermoregulatory responses compared to the one-half volume ice slurry/water mixture,” noted Dr. Ruby.

Previous studies have pointed to cold water as being a more effective method of hydration, but this new information reveals that temperature may be as important as volume. This means that people exercising or working in very hot conditions may be able to carry and drink less water if they are able to keep it ice cold. “Military training and operations, wildland fire suppression, and varied athletic/recreational pursuits require people to work or exercise in hot environments for extended periods of time. These activities also mandate the self-transport or frequent resupply of fluid to sustain performance for the duration of the work shift or event,” added Dr. Ruby. “For these individuals the weight of fluid that must be carried increases the metabolic demand and subsequent heat production, posing hindrances to completing the job or event.”

As more people become active outdoors and with temperatures on the rise, it is vital that we figure out the most effective ways to manage heat stress and remain safe in all conditions. This new study reveals that consuming an ice slurry mixture may offer protective effects against heat stress. “Individuals working in hot environments should be mindful of both the volume and temperature of the fluid they consume,” concluded Dr. Ruby. “Further research should be done to determine impact that exchanging fluid temperature for fluid volume has on exercise performance.”

{Pregnancy is an important time in a woman’s life, and it’s a delicate time where the woman’s body goes through various hormonal changes. These changes would make her react differently from when she isn’t pregnant. So it’s important for her to have some things handy in these times.}

Every woman should have the following items in her purse.

{{1. Water bottle }}

Every pregnant woman should have water can in her purse, because it’s very important to stay hydrated when pregnant. Remember, you are taking care of two people and not one, so you’d tend to drink more water when pregnant.

{{2. Healthy snacks }}

There would be times when you will feel so hungry that you can’t wait to grab a main meal. During times like these, reaching for a healthy snack in your purse will help you more than you can imagine.

{{3. Tissue/wipes }}

This is going to come in really handy, as you’d have a whole lot to clean. It could be that you could become sweaty in various parts of your body and you’d tend to use the bathroom more. Being able to clean up will be a huge relief.

{{4. Hand sanitizers }}

The last thing you would want is to become pregnant and sick; you’d feel so miserable.

Carry along hand sanitizers to clean your hands because you could come in contact with so many germs and bacteria, which could make you ill.

{{5. Throw up bags }}

Having throw up bags can really come in handy when you are pregnant, especially during your first pregnancy where you’d easily feel nauseous. Rather than puke all over the place, a throw up bag will come in handy and save you the embarrassment.

{{6. Pain reliever }}

If you suffer pains and headaches a lot when you’re pregnant, ask your doctor for pain relievers that you can use to calm the pains down, and never forget to put them in your bag.

{{7. Change of underwear}}

This is another item that could come in really handy when you are pregnant. You can easily discharge things and ruin your underwear when you’re pregnant, so having a change of underwear would make you feel comfortable without having to get home first.

{{8. Lotion }}

Lotion will help save you from that itchy and dry feeling when your skin starts to stretch during pregnancy.

Your pregnancy is important, and these items will help keep you comfortable even when you aren’t at home.

{Conventional medical wisdom has long held that placebo effects depend on patients’ belief they are getting pharmacologically active medication. A paper published in the journal Pain is the first to demonstrate that patients who knowingly took a placebo in conjunction with traditional treatment for lower back pain saw more improvement than those given traditional treatment alone.}

“These findings turn our understanding of the placebo effect on its head,” said joint senior author Ted Kaptchuk, director of the Program for Placebo Studies and the Therapeutic Encounter at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. “This new research demonstrates that the placebo effect is not necessarily elicited by patients’ conscious expectation that they are getting an active medicine, as long thought. Taking a pill in the context of a patient-clinician relationship — even if you know it’s a placebo — is a ritual that changes symptoms and probably activates regions of the brain that modulate symptoms.”

Kaptchuk, with colleagues at Instituto Superior de Psicologia Aplicada (ISPA) in Lisbon, Portugal, studied 97 patients with chronic lower back pain (cLBP), which causes more disability than any other medical condition worldwide. After all participants were screened and examined by a registered nurse practitioner and board certified pain specialist, the researchers gave all patients a 15-minute explanation of the placebo effect. Only then was the group randomized into one of two groups; the treatment-as-usual (TAU) group or the open-label placebo (OLP) group.

The vast majority of participants in both groups (between 85 and 88 percent) were already taking medications — mostly non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDS) — for their pain. (Patients taking opioid medications were excluded from the trial.) Participants in both the TAU and OLP groups were allowed to continue taking these drugs, but were required not to change dosages or make any other major lifestyle changes, such as starting an exercise plan or new medication, which could impact their pain.

In addition, patients in the OLP group were given a medicine bottle labeled “placebo pills” with directions to take two capsules containing only microcrystalline cellulose and no active medication twice daily.

At the end of their three-week course of pills, the OLP group overall reported 30 percent reductions in both usual pain and maximum pain, compared to 9 percent and 16 percent reductions, respectively, for the TAU group. The group taking placebo pills also saw a 29 percent drop in pain-related disability. Those receiving treatment as usual saw almost no improvement by that measure.

“It’s the benefit of being immersed in treatment: interacting with a physician or nurse, taking pills, all the rituals and symbols of our healthcare system,” Kaptchuk said. “The body responds to that.”

“Our findings demonstrate the placebo effect can be elicited without deception,” said lead author, Claudia Carvalho, PhD, of ISPA. “Patients were interested in what would happen and enjoyed this novel approach to their pain. They felt empowered.” Kaptchuk speculates that other conditions with symptoms and complaints that are based on self-observation (like other kinds of pain, fatigue, depression, common digestive or urinary symptoms) may also be modulated by open-label treatment.

“You’re never going to shrink a tumor or unclog an artery with placebo intervention,” he said. “It’s not a cure-all, but it makes people feel better, for sure. Our lab is saying you can’t throw the placebo into the trash can. It has clinical meaning, it’s statically significant, and it relieves patients. It’s essential to what medicine means.”

“Taking placebo pills to relieve symptoms without a warm and empathic relationship with a health-care provider relationship probably would not work,” noted Carvalho.

{Move over aspirin, a new formulation of ibuprofen might prove to be a “wonder drug.” In a research report published online in The FASEB Journal, scientists used mice and rats to show that ibuprofen arginate may allow people to take higher doses without the cardiovascular side effects that are associated with current formulations found in over the counter products. In addition to being better tolerated, ibuprofen arginate also is released into the bloodstream more rapidly than the current formulations, likely providing faster pain relief.}

“While more experiments are required, our observations show that ibuprofen arginate provides, in one preparation, a COX-2 inhibitor and arginine supplement,” said Jane A. Mitchell, Ph.D., a researcher involved in the work and Head of Cardiothoracic Pharmacology, Cardiothoracic Pharmacology and Vascular Biology Section at the National Heart and Lung Institute at the Institute of Cardiovascular Medicine and Science at the Imperial College in London, England. “Whilst remarkably simple, our findings are potentially game-changing in the pain medication arena.”

The scientists used a range of approaches from experiments using single types of cells to whole laboratory animals in which blood pressure was measured. In the first approach, mouse cells were studied in dishes where the normal arginine was removed from the growth solution. They found that the arginine contained in ibuprofen arginine could work in exactly the same way that regular arginine works in cells. The second experiment involved blood vessels from mice and rats, to which an artificial compound to block the protective effects of the normal arginine contained in all tissues, was applied. In this experiment, ibuprofen arginine reversed the block and restored blood vessel function to normal levels. The third experimental approach involved measuring blood pressure in live rats and blocking the protective effects of normal arginine in the body, which caused an increase in blood pressure. Study results demonstrated that ibuprofen arginine worked just like regular arginine to restore blood pressure to normal levels. Arginine formulations of ibuprofen could act to negate the harmful cardiovascular consequences caused by high doses of these common anti-inflammatory painkillers.

“This is a nifty idea and the results are clear”,” said Thoru Pederson, Ph.D., Editor-in-Chief of The FASEB Journal. “The potential for human use is attractive, not only for attenuating the cardiovascular risk, but also to the extent that this formulation may circumvent moving certain patients onto opioid painkillers, fraught with their own dangers.”

{Imagine being in an accident that leaves you unable to feel any sensation in your arms and fingers. Now imagine regaining that sensation, a decade later, through a mind-controlled robotic arm that is directly connected to your brain.}

That is what 28-year-old Nathan Copeland experienced after he came out of brain surgery and was connected to the Brain Computer Interface (BCI), developed by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC. In a study published online today in Science Translational Medicine, a team of experts led by Robert Gaunt, Ph.D., assistant professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Pitt, demonstrated for the first time ever in humans a technology that allows Mr. Copeland to experience the sensation of touch through a robotic arm that he controls with his brain.

“The most important result in this study is that microstimulation of sensory cortex can elicit natural sensation instead of tingling,” said study co-author Andrew B. Schwartz, Ph.D., distinguished professor of neurobiology and chair in systems neuroscience, Pitt School of Medicine, and a member of the University of Pittsburgh Brain Institute. “This stimulation is safe, and the evoked sensations are stable over months. There is still a lot of research that needs to be carried out to better understand the stimulation patterns needed to help patients make better movements.”

This is not the Pitt-UPMC team’s first attempt at a BCI. Four years ago, study co-author Jennifer Collinger, Ph.D., assistant professor, Pitt’s Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and research scientist for the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, and the team demonstrated a BCI that helped Jan Scheuermann, who has quadriplegia caused by a degenerative disease. The video of Scheuermann feeding herself chocolate using the mind-controlled robotic arm was seen around the world. Before that, Tim Hemmes, paralyzed in a motorcycle accident, reached out to touch hands with his girlfriend.

But the way our arms naturally move and interact with the environment around us is due to more than just thinking and moving the right muscles. We are able to differentiate between a piece of cake and a soda can through touch, picking up the cake more gently than the can. The constant feedback we receive from the sense of touch is of paramount importance as it tells the brain where to move and by how much.

For Dr. Gaunt and the rest of the research team, that was the next step for the BCI. As they were looking for the right candidate, they developed and refined their system such that inputs from the robotic arm are transmitted through a microelectrode array implanted in the brain where the neurons that control hand movement and touch are located. The microelectrode array and its control system, which were developed by Blackrock Microsystems, along with the robotic arm, which was built by Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Lab, formed all the pieces of the puzzle.

In the winter of 2004, Mr. Copeland, who lives in western Pennsylvania, was driving at night in rainy weather when he was in a car accident that snapped his neck and injured his spinal cord, leaving him with quadriplegia from the upper chest down, unable to feel or move his lower arms and legs, and needing assistance with all his daily activities. He was 18 and in his freshman year of college pursuing a degree in nanofabrication, following a high school spent in advanced science courses.

He tried to continue his studies, but health problems forced him to put his degree on hold. He kept busy by going to concerts and volunteering for the Pittsburgh Japanese Culture Society, a nonprofit that holds conventions around the Japanese cartoon art of anime, something Mr. Copeland became interested in after his accident.

Right after the accident he had enrolled himself on Pitt’s registry of patients willing to participate in clinical trials. Nearly a decade later, the Pitt research team asked if he was interested in participating in the experimental study.

After he passed the screening tests, Nathan was wheeled into the operating room last spring. Study co-investigator and UPMC neurosurgeon Elizabeth Tyler-Kabara, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Neurological Surgery, Pitt School of Medicine, implanted four tiny microelectrode arrays each about half the size of a shirt button in Nathan’s brain. Prior to the surgery, imaging techniques were used to identify the exact regions in Mr. Copeland’s brain corresponding to feelings in each of his fingers and his palm.

“I can feel just about every finger — it’s a really weird sensation,” Mr. Copeland said about a month after surgery. “Sometimes it feels electrical and sometimes its pressure, but for the most part, I can tell most of the fingers with definite precision. It feels like my fingers are getting touched or pushed.”

At this time, Mr. Copeland can feel pressure and distinguish its intensity to some extent, though he cannot identify whether a substance is hot or cold, explains Dr. Tyler-Kabara.

Michael Boninger, M.D., professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Pitt, and senior medical director of post-acute care for the Health Services Division of UPMC, recounted how the Pitt team has achieved milestone after milestone, from a basic understanding of how the brain processes sensory and motor signals to applying it in patients

“Slowly but surely, we have been moving this research forward. Four years ago we demonstrated control of movement. Now Dr. Gaunt and his team took what we learned in our tests with Tim and Jan — for whom we have deep gratitude — and showed us how to make the robotic arm allow its user to feel through Nathan’s dedicated work,” said Dr. Boninger, also a co-author on the research paper.

Dr. Gaunt explained that everything about the work is meant to make use of the brain’s natural, existing abilities to give people back what was lost but not forgotten.

“The ultimate goal is to create a system which moves and feels just like a natural arm would,” says Dr. Gaunt. “We have a long way to go to get there, but this is a great start.”

{Eating the right foods can do wonders for your sex life as your body will be provided with the right nutrients it needs to ensure you are at full throttle in bed.}

Below are 8 foods proven to improve your sex life

{{1. Avocado }}

Avocados are packed with vitamin E, potassium and vitamin B6, which promotes blood flow and reduces the risk of heart disease.

{{2. Unsweetened tea }}

Tea contains catechin, an antioxidant which promotes blood flow.

{{3. Sweet potatoes }}

Circulation is important for your sex life and high blood pressure is bad news for circulation. Sweet potatoes are rich in potassium which helps fight high blood pressure.

{{4. Water Melon }}

Watermelon contains a nutrient known as citrulline which the body converts to arginine. Arginine helps relax blood vessels in the same way that Viagra does.

{{5. Cloves }}

Cloves are known to be an incredible sex superfood which boost female libido and treat erectile dysfunction in men.

{{6. Sesame seeds }}

Sesame seeds are rich in zinc which helps boost sperm count and testosterone in men. Low testosterone is linked to low libido.

{{7. Strawberry }}

Strawberry are high in antioxidants which are good for blood circulation. Strawberries have been linked to increase in sperm count.

{{8. Eggs}}

You need stamina when you are under the sheets with your partner and eggs are known to boost stamina and endurance.