Why getting healthy can seem worse than getting sick

Posted on March 21, 2012 by ev1

Public release date: 20-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Kevin Stacey kstacey@press.uchicago.edu 401-284-3878 University of Chicago Press Journals

A new article in The Quarterly Review of Biology helps explain why the immune system often makes us worse while trying to make us well.

The research offers a new perspective on a component of the immune system known as the acute-phase response, a series of systemic changes in blood protein levels, metabolic function, and physiology that sometimes occurs when bacteria, viruses, or other pathogens invade the body. This response puts healthy cells and tissue under serious stress, and is actually the cause of many of the symptoms we associate with being sick.

"The question is why would these harmful components evolve," asks Edmund LeGrand (University of Tennessee, Knoxville), who wrote the paper titled with Joe Alcock (University of New Mexico). The researchers contend that answer becomes clear when we view the acute-phase response in terms of what they call "immune brinksmanship."

The immune brinksmanship model "is the gamble that systemic stressors will harm the pathogens relatively more than the host," LeGrand said. The concept, he explains, is akin to what happens in international trade disputes. When one country places trade sanctions on another, both countries' economies take a hit, but the sanctioning country is betting that its opponent will be hurt more.

"One of our contributions here is to pull together the reasons why pathogens suffer more from systemic stress," LeGrand said.

The acute-phase response creates stress in several ways. It raises body temperature and causes loss of appetite and mild anemia. At the same time, certain vital nutrients like iron, zinc, and manganese are partially sequestered away from the bloodstream.

Some of these components are quite puzzling. Why reduce food intake just when one would expect more energy would be needed to mount a strong immune response? Zinc is essential for healthy immune function. Why pull it out of the bloodstream when the immune system is active? The benefits of a stressor like fever are fairly well known; heat has been shown to inhibit bacterial growth and cause infected cells to self-destruct. But what hasn't been clear is why pathogens should be more susceptible to this stress than the host.

LeGrand and Alcock offer some answers. For an infection to spread, pathogens need to multiply, whereas host cells can defer replication. Replication makes DNA and newly forming proteins much more susceptible to damage. It also requires energy and nutrientswhich helps explain the benefits of restricting food and sequestering nutrients.

More here:
Why getting healthy can seem worse than getting sick

What was B.F. Skinner really like? A new study parses his traits

Posted on March 21, 2012 by ev1

Public release date: 20-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Lucy Hyde lhyde@psychologicalscience.org 202-293-9300 Association for Psychological Science

March 20th marks the birthday of famed behavioral psychologist B.F. Skinner, who would have turned 108 today. Besides Sigmund Freud, B.F. Skinner was the most famous and perhaps the most influential psychologist of the 20th century. But his own "radical behaviorism"the idea that behavior is caused solely by environmental factors, never by thoughts or feelingsmade him a magnet of controversy, which grew even more intense with the publication of his best-known book, Beyond Freedom & Dignity.

"He was looked at as beyond the pale by a lot of other psychologists, including me," says Dean Keith Simonton, a psychologist at the University of California Davis, who was a graduate student at Harvard when Skinner taught there. Some even called Skinner a fascist for his radical views of human malleability. But, says Simonton, "people who knew him would also say, 'You really should talk to Skinner, because he's a much broader, more open person than you think.'"

Who was B.F. Skinner? University of Oslo psychologists Geir Overskeid and Cato Grnnerd, along with Simonton, used a variety of source material plus an instrument that scores people on five major personality factors, to describe him and compare him with other eminent scientists. The study, which appears in Perspectives in Psychological Science, a journal published by the Association for Psychological Science, reveals a complex manbut nothing like the monster his detractors called him.

To draw an objective picture of Skinner, the psychologists first combed through published sources both biographical and autobiographical, archival material, and sketches written by people who knew him. From these they culled 118 descriptive words and phrases, from "fanatic" to "afraid of the police." Five raters blind to the subject's identity categorized each descriptor under the Big Five traits that psychologists use to describe personalityOpenness, Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, Extroversion, and Neuroticismand assigned to the descriptor a degree from -2 to +2. The authors chose the 81 descriptors on which four of the five raters agreed; there was almost complete agreement as to degree.

The results: Skinner was highly conscientiousscoring 1.8working tirelessly and meticulously toward ambitious goals. Indeed, he wrote that he aimed to remake the "entire field of psychology" and viewed relaxation as dangerous. And those Harvard students were right about Skinner's openness to experience. Besides being a psychologist, he painted, wrote a novel, played saxophone and piano, and enjoyed all kinds of music. He was also somewhat neurotic and extroverted: known as charming, funnyand a womanizer.

In many respects, Skinner's is the profile of an eminent scientistfor his drive and discipline, creative versatility, and also for his neuroticism, a trait shared by as many as 45% of leading scientists, according to one analysis. What the profile does not represent: an evil authoritarian. "This article makes Skinner more human," says Simontonnot just a "consolidation" of traits but also an array of nuanced detail. Though objective, it's not "a polarizing treatment. You don't have to love or hate him."

###

To learn more about B.F. Skinner, you can also read this profile and interview recently featured in the APS Observer.

See the original post here:
What was B.F. Skinner really like? A new study parses his traits

Third Aesthetic Plastic Surgery / Anti Aging Medicine: The Next Generation Symposium Brings Industry Leading Courses …

Posted on March 21, 2012 by ev1

New York, March 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --The third Aesthetic Plastic Surgery / Anti Aging Medicine: The Next Generation Symposium will be held on July 20-22, 2012 at the Conrad New York, a new luxury complex overlooking the Hudson River in lower Manhattan. This interactive, multidisciplinary conference brings together world-class faculty from around the globe who will share ground-breaking research and practical advancements in aesthetic surgery, cosmetic medicine and anti-aging therapy.

The Next Generation Symposium combines the best of continuing medical education, state-of-the-art information that is presented in a manner that encourages forward thinking among the core specialties of Plastic Surgery, Facial Plastic Surgery, Dermatology and Oculoplastic Surgery. Now in its third year, The Next Generation Symposium is distinguished for providing attendees a multitude of practical hands-on instruction, expert insights and pearls from world renowned experts in the field.

As Course Chairman Z. Paul Lorenc, M.D., F.A.C.S states, "We are focused on what is happening now, what is coming next and what the future will bring."

NEW for 2012:

The meeting encourages excellent interaction and discussion among the international core specialty faculty, fostering an atmosphere of different points of view, which creates a positive learning experience. "The Next Generation Symposium will continue to deliver both in the quality of the presentations and the scope of the program," states Executive Co-Chairman,Brian M. Kinney, M.D., F.A.C.S.

About Aesthetic Plastic Surgery & Anti-Aging Medicine: The Next Generation An interdisciplinary approach to disseminating, teaching and promoting the most advanced information and developments in the fields of aesthetic plastic surgery and anti-aging medicine. In view of the rapid pace in development of new technology and techniques employed in these fields, collectively we feel that it is critical that new information is shared in an efficient, unbiased, forward looking manner with the focus of enhancing patient's safety and level of care.

For information about sponsorship opportunities and early bird registration, visit http://www.nextgenmtg.org

Like us on http://www.facebook.com/apssny and follow us on http://www.twitter.com/nextgenmtg for daily updates and additional workshops

See the original post here:
Third Aesthetic Plastic Surgery / Anti Aging Medicine: The Next Generation Symposium Brings Industry Leading Courses ...

Anatomy of a heat wave

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Danzig

OTTAWA A warm, dry winter set up conditions to turn a warm spell into a March heat wave like nothing Ottawa has ever seen.

The heat came from the south of us, but weve had south winds before in March, and the temperature has never risen past 17 C.

On Tuesday it reached 25.1, continuing the weeks pattern of smashing records by eight or nine degrees each day. The old record was 14.6 C, in 1995.

Even David Phillips, who has published 24 weather trivia calendars with 365 daily weather anecdotes each, has seen nothing like this.

Summer has arrived here, not spring, he said.

He has a point. Ottawas average high temperature for June is 23.6 C. Yes, June.

The first ingredient in our heat wave: The wind. For day after day after day, its been southerly air, he said.

Normally we get north winds coming in to jostle the southern airstream. Not this year: By his count, Tuesday was the thirteenth straight day of air from down south.

Its just standing its ground, kind of a monotonous situation.

This kind of heat cannot be produced in Canada at this time. It has to come from the United States.

See the original post:
Anatomy of a heat wave

Anatomy of an ACA Lie – Health Stew – Boston.com

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Danzig

Most good lies have a kernel of truth in them, giving them undeserved credibility. Here's a great example of a lie intended to scare senior citizens into opposing both the Affordable Care Act (aka: ACA/ObamaCare) and President Obama as well.

Last week, I spoke to the GE Oldtimers Association, a luncheon group of about 50 older gents (and a few women) who are retired managers and engineers from the GE jet engine plant in Lynn, Massachusetts. They meet at Anjelica's Restaurant in Middleton, MA. They are nice, smart, informed, and attentive. They had lots of questions about the ACA, and we had a great discussion.

Near the end, some of them asked me about unsolicited emails they were getting claiming that the ACA, beginning in 2013, would impose on them a new Medicare tax of 3.8% when they sold their homes. Now, I knew that the ACA creates a new 3.8% Medicare tax on unearned income in excess of $200,000 for individuals and $250,000 for couples. But a tax on principal residences? It didn't sound right. Rather than guess, I asked them to send me the email and I would check it out.

So here's the email (addresses deleted -- but notice the date, really recent):

From: --- Sent: Sunday, March 11, 2012 10:30 PM To: --- Subject: If you own a home-- Sent from my iPhone Begin forwarded message:

sorry I hate passing this stuff on but its pretty good

Subject: If you own a home--

If you own a home, Please read this. THIS WILL BLOW YOU AWAY !!!!!

The National Association of REALTORS is all over this and working to get it repealed, before it takes effect. But, I am very pleased we aren't the only ones who know about this ploy to steal billions from unsuspecting homeowners. How many REALTORS do you think will vote Democratic in 2012?

Did you know that if you sell your house after 2012 you will pay a 3.8% sales tax on it? That's $3,800 on a $100,000 home, etc. When did this happen? It's in the health care bill and goes into effect in 2013.

Link:
Anatomy of an ACA Lie - Health Stew - Boston.com

Parents Television Council study: Anatomy of a trend

Posted on March 21, 2012 by ev1

In case you hadn't noticed, there are an awful lot of lady parts being discussed on broadcast TV these days. And they aren't the only ones exposed the male anatomy is explicitly mentioned on prime time as well, markedly more than even a few years ago.

So says a new study from the conservative watchdog group the Parents Television Council that tracks the number of times the words "vagina" and "penis" are spoken in dramas, comedies, TV movies and reality shows.

The research found that in just nine fall episodes of CBS' hit sitcom "2 Broke Girls," characters said the word "vagina" more times than anyone did on broadcast TV across all networks in an entire season a decade ago.

In fact, the anatomical term gets tossed around eight times more frequently on TV now than it did during the 2001-2002 season, which served as a benchmark. The word "penis" was used nearly four times as often in a recent season as it was in the relatively tame early 2000s.

With tallies for individual series, the study cites CBS' "2 Broke Girls" and "Two and a Half Men," NBC's "The Office" and "30 Rock," Fox's "American Dad" and "Family Guy," and ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" as those that invoke the words most frequently.

"It's a broader reflection of the progression of raunch," said Tim Winter, president of the PTC, which took up the study after TV critics and industry watchers noticed the trend. "So many shows and networks seem to think they need it to be funny or successful."

Although the mini-study wasn't timed to the current U.S. Supreme Court deliberations about broadcast standards, it may add fuel to the fire for those arguing against relaxing the existing rules about profanity, sex and nudity on TV.

The Supreme Court, which started debating the issue early this year, has regularly ruled in favor of free speech claims. But justices have spoken publicly about the need to retain Federal Communications Commission guidelines about what can be aired on NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox and the CW.

At the heart of the court case is "fleeting profanity" that was uttered during live awards shows on Fox and a partially visible bare bum shown on an ABC drama. There's no firm date on when the court will issue a judgment, but it's expected within the next month or two.

"Broadcast networks say they have to compete against cable and that's why they're pushing the envelope like this," Winter said. "They're forgetting that they're broadcast networks that use public airwaves and go out to every single person who has a TV."

Go here to read the rest:
Parents Television Council study: Anatomy of a trend

Curcumin shows promise in attacking Parkinson’s disease

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Fredricko

Public release date: 20-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Layne Cameron layne.cameron@ur.msu.edu 517-353-8819 Michigan State University

EAST LANSING, Mich. Curcumin, a compound found in the spice turmeric, is proving effective at preventing clumping of a protein involved in Parkinson's disease, says a Michigan State University researcher.

A team of researchers led by Basir Ahmad, an MSU postdoctoral researcher, demonstrated earlier this year that slow-wriggling alpha-synuclein proteins are the cause of clumping, or aggregation, which is the first step of diseases such as Parkinson's. A new study led by Ahmad, which appears in the current issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, shows that curcumin can help prevent clumping.

"Our research shows that curcumin can rescue proteins from aggregation, the first steps of many debilitating diseases," said Lisa Lapidus, MSU associate professor of physics and astronomy who co-authored the paper with Ahmad. "More specifically, curcumin binds strongly to alpha-synuclein and prevents aggregation at body temperatures."

Lapidus' lab uses lasers to study protein folding. Proteins are chains of amino acids that do most of the work in cells. Scientists understand protein structure, but they don't know how they are built a process known as folding. Lapidus' team is shedding light on the process by correlating the speed at which protein folds with its tendency to clump or bind with other proteins.

When curcumin attaches to alpha-synuclein it not only stops clumping, but it also raises the protein's folding or reconfiguration rate. By bumping up the speed, curcumin moves the protein out of a dangerous speed zone allowing it to avoid clumping with other proteins.

Finding a compound that can fix a protein when it first begins to misfold can lead scientists to identify drugs that can treat certain diseases. Doctors won't be prescribing curcumin pills any time soon, though, Lapidus said.

"Curcumin's usefulness as an actual drug may be pretty limited since it doesn't go into the brain easily where this misfolding is taking place," she said. "But this kind of study showcases the technique of measuring reconfiguration and opens the door for developing drug treatments."

###

Read the rest here:
Curcumin shows promise in attacking Parkinson's disease

The Brain-Makers

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Fredricko

For years, doctors have treated the Parkinson's disease symptoms they could see: the shaking hands, the stumbling feet.

But one of the likely causes of Parkinson's is almost invisible. It's buried deep within brain cells, where tiny engines called mitochondria slowly are shutting down.

Now a team of researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University, and a biotech company in Charlottesville, say they think they've found a way to rev up those engines once again, potentially reversing the disease.

Every cell in your brain is packed with mitochondria tiny engines that generate the energy cells need to function. But sometimes these brain cells do a curious thing. They turn off the signals to make mitochondria, depriving themselves of power. The tiny engines sputter and eventually cease to operate.

Essentially, "the brain is divorcing its mitochondria," says Dr. James P. Bennett Jr., director of the university's Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Center. This, scientists recently discovered, appears to be a likely root cause of Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and other heretofore mysterious brain disorders.

In 2004 one of Bennett's graduate students, Shaharyar Khan, developed a way to deliver healthy mitochondrial DNA directly into mitochondria via a protein carrier. In mice and cultured human cells, this method of gene therapy has been shown to revive the mitochondria, restoring the cell to normal function.

"It's novel," Bennett says. "No one else has it."

In January the researchers asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for approval to begin human clinical trials. The approval process may take a while, but Bennett's optimistic the team will be able to begin the trials this year.

One of Bennett's colleagues, Dr. Patricia A. Trimmer, is pursuing another promising therapy for Parkinson's patients: near-infrared laser light. The laser beam painlessly penetrates a person's skull, stimulating brain cells and rousing their sluggish mitochondria.

Trimmer shows speeded-up video clips of two sets of mitochondria, which look like tiny white rods traversing a long, narrow nerve cell. In the first video, they creep like rush-hour traffic. In the second video, after being treated with the laser light, they're zipping around like go-karts.

Read the original here:
The Brain-Makers

Curcumin shows promise in attacking Parkinson's disease

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Fredricko

Public release date: 20-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Layne Cameron layne.cameron@ur.msu.edu 517-353-8819 Michigan State University

###

Read the rest here:
Curcumin shows promise in attacking Parkinson's disease

Tai Chi Shown to Vastly Improve Parkinson’s Symptoms

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Fredricko

With recent remarks made by Republican Presidential nominee Rick Santorum on his stance on Stem Cell Research, people suffering from Parkinsons disease and other afflictions which can benefit from Stem Cell research have opened up Pandoras Box in their search for non-traditional methods to reduce symptoms. Recent medical studies as well as an in-depth report posted at BeWellBuzz.com have confirmed that the ancient martial art of Tai chi can significantly reduce some of the worst physical problems of Parkinson's disease.

Las Vegas, Nevada (PRWEB) March 20, 2012

Parkinson's disease is a nervous system disorder which commonly develops in humans of age 50 and above, however, many people, such as Hollywood actor Michael J. Fox have been diagnosed with this affliction much earlier in life. Parkinsons carries certain specific symptoms such as constant blinking, lack of facial expressions, shaking, loss of balance and coordination, and other irregular bodily reactions, and is caused primarily by the destruction of the nerve cells in the brain which makes dopamine, a neurotransmitter responsible for the transfer of pleasure and reward feelings in the center of the brain.

Medications may help control some things, like tremors, but many drugs are not as good at helping the so-called axial symptoms of Parkinson's disease, which include problems with balance and walking. It is for this reason that a recent study was completed at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore which showed significant improvements to these symptoms which have plagued Parkinsons patients for decades.

According to the study, doctors assigned 195 people with mild-to-moderate Parkinson's disease to one of three groups: Tai Chi classes, Exercise with Weights and a third group which completed a program of seated stretching exercises. After six months, people who had been taking tai chi were able to lean farther forward or backward without stumbling or falling compared to those who had been doing resistance training or stretching. They were also better able to smoothly direct their movements. And they were able to take longer strides than people in the other two groups.

"The results from this study are quite impressive," says Ray Dorsey, MD, MBA, a neurologist and associate professor at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore. "It's always difficult to compare results across studies, but the magnitude of the impact that they had is larger, in some cases, than what is seen with medications in Parkinson's."

"This is a very encouraging study," says Chenchen Wang, MD, associate professor at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston who has studied the benefits of Tai Chi on Osteoarthritis and Fibromyalgia in the past. "Most of our previous studies have measured pain, depression, and anxiety, which are subjective measures. These results are very impressive because they used objective measurements,"

To learn more about the recent discovery and other ways that Tai Chi can improve other conditions, please visit the article posted at BeWellBuzz.com posted below.

http://www.bewellbuzz.com/wellness-buzz/tai-chi-and-parkinsons-disease

About BeWellBuzz.com

Challenges With Movement Only Half the Story in Parkinson's

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Fredricko

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire -03/21/12)- Attention: Health and Lifestyle Editors

People with Parkinson's disease have a new tool to help them identify the non-motor symptoms they are experiencing with their Parkinson's disease.

A Guide to the Non-Motor Symptoms of Parkinson's Disease, the first of its kind in Canada, is a user-friendly, educational booklet, designed to help people with Parkinson's recognize non-motor symptoms such as cognitive impairment, sleep problems and compulsive behaviours and learn about treatments and strategies to manage them.

The 50-page booklet, available in English and French, is the result of a partnership between Parkinson Society Canada and the CIHR Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction. The author, Dr. Ronald Postuma is a researcher in neurosciences at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) in Montreal.

Citing a typical example, Dr. Postuma says a man with Parkinson's may present with a urinary problem that is initially thought to be a prostate issue when, in fact, it may be related to Parkinson's. "Many patients do not realize that urinary problems, constipation, insomnia and other symptoms are linked to Parkinson's disease. As a result, they go untreated," says Postuma who is also a neurologist at the MUHC and an Associate Professor of Neurology and Neurosurgery in the Faculty of Medicine at McGill University. "The booklet is a simple, pragmatic tool that I hope will improve patient care," he added.

Postuma says that the booklet is intended to help people with Parkinson's identify their non-motor symptoms, record what they are experiencing using the Non-Motor Symptoms Questionnaire at the back of the booklet, and discuss these symptoms with their doctor. He cautions it is not intended to replace the advice or instruction of a professional healthcare practitioner, or to substitute medical care.

"This is an excellent example of the practical application of evidenced-based research that benefits clinical care," says Joyce Gordon, President & CEO, Parkinson Society Canada.

A Guide to the Non-Motor Symptoms of Parkinson's Disease is available at http://www.parkinson.ca/NonMotorGuide.

Parkinson Society Canada's national research program is dedicated to improving the quality of life for Canadians living with Parkinson's. Its 10 regional partners and 240 chapters and support groups, have been providing education, support, and advocacy on behalf of over 100,000 Canadians living with Parkinson's since 1965. To learn more visit http://www.parkinson.ca.

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) is the Government of Canada's health research investment agency. CIHR's mission is to create new scientific knowledge and to enable its translation into improved health, more effective health services and products, and a strengthened Canadian health care system. Composed of 13 Institutes, CIHR provides leadership and support to more than 14,100 health researchers and trainees across Canada. http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca.

Excerpt from:
Challenges With Movement Only Half the Story in Parkinson's

Challenges With Movement Only Half the Story in Parkinson’s

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Fredricko

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire -03/21/12)- Attention: Health and Lifestyle Editors

People with Parkinson's disease have a new tool to help them identify the non-motor symptoms they are experiencing with their Parkinson's disease.

"This is an excellent example of the practical application of evidenced-based research that benefits clinical care," says Joyce Gordon, President & CEO, Parkinson Society Canada.

A Guide to the Non-Motor Symptoms of Parkinson's Disease is available at http://www.parkinson.ca/NonMotorGuide.

Excerpt from:
Challenges With Movement Only Half the Story in Parkinson's

Lifestyle study highlights key differences in relapsing and progressive onset multiple sclerosis

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Fredricko

ScienceDaily (Mar. 19, 2012) Patients with relapsing onset Multiple Sclerosis (MS) who consumed alcohol, wine, coffee and fish on a regular basis took four to seven years longer to reach the point where they needed a walking aid than people who never consumed them. However the study, published in the April issue of the European Journal of Neurology, did not observe the same patterns in patients with progressive onset MS.

The authors say that the findings suggest that different mechanisms might be involved in how disability progresses in relapsing and progressive onset MS.

Researchers asked patients registered with the Flemish MS Society to take part in a survey, which included questions on themselves, their MS and their current consumption of alcohol, wine, coffee, tea, fish and cigarettes.

The 1,372 patients who agreed to take part were also asked to indicate whether they had reached stage six on the zero to ten stage Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) and, if so, when this had happened.

"MS is a chronic, often disabling disease that attacks the central nervous system" explains lead author Dr Marie D'hooghe from the National MS Center at Melsbroek, Belgium. "The clinical symptoms, progression of disability and severity of MS are unpredictable and vary from one person to another.

"Two major MS onset types can be distinguished. Progressive onset MS is characterised by a gradual worsening of neurological function from the beginning, whereas patients with relapsing onset MS patients experience clearly defined attacks of worsening neurologic function with partial or full remission.

"EDSS 6 is an important milestone in the development of MS as it is the point at which patients need support to walk a reasonable distance."

The patients who took part were aged between 17 and 89 years-of-age:

The researchers analysed how long it had taken people to reach EDSS 6 and compared those who reported moderate consumption of fish, alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks and cigarettes with those who reported occasional or no consumption. This showed that:

The time differences quoted above did not take into account gender, age at onset and treatment, which are known to affect disability progression in MS. But even after adjusting for these factors, the hazard risk analysis for time to sustained EDSS 6 (where 1.0 was the reference number for zero consumption) showed that:

Go here to see the original:
Lifestyle study highlights key differences in relapsing and progressive onset multiple sclerosis

HOUSE CALL: Raising hope: The future of Multiple Sclerosis

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Fredricko

By Dr. Mark Tullman stltoday.com | Posted: Wednesday, March 21, 2012 5:45 am | (Loading) comments.

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an immune-mediated disease that affects the brain, nerves that connect the eyes to the brain, and spinal cord. Approximately 400,000 people in the U.S. have MS, which typically begins between the ages of 20 and 40 and is the leading cause of non-traumatic disability in young adults.

2011 was a remarkable year in MS. Here's a glimpse at some of the latest discoveries:

Twenty-nine new genes that influence the risk of developing MS were identified.

New criteria were established that allow for an earlier MS diagnosis.

Researchers found that higher vitamin D levels in people with MS are associated with fewer new brain MRI lesions. * Another study concluded vitamin D supplementation in combination with interferon (an MS medication) may be more effective than interferon alone. Studies are ongoing to conclusively determine if vitamin D supplementation is beneficial in MS.

Research suggests individuals with MS who smoke may be more likely to develop disability. People with MS who smoke should definitely try to stop.

In 2008, a vascular surgeon, Dr. Paolo Zamboni, coined the phrase chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI) to describe a state of impaired drainage of blood from the brain and spinal cord due to narrow veins in people with MS.

He has speculated CCSVI might contribute to the cause of MS and surgery to improve blood flow might be a treatment for MS. Numerous studies in the past year have yielded conflicting results regarding the frequency of CCSVI in MS.

Some revealed no evidence of CCSVI while others reported CCSVI in healthy individuals. Research is ongoing to determine if CCSVI is related to MS. If an association is confirmed, a study to determine if surgical treatment of blocked veins is safe and effective should begin later this year.

Continue reading here:
HOUSE CALL: Raising hope: The future of Multiple Sclerosis

Arcadia sex offender with dementia is reported missing

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Fredricko

Arcadia police are searching for a convicted sex offender with dementia who went missing last week.

James Randall McCain, 58, was last seen at his home on Huntington Drive in Arcadia on March 12, police said. He was reported missing the next day.

After visiting the residence this weekend, police do not believe he has returned there since his disappearance.

McCain has been registered in Arcadia as a sex offender for a long time, said Sgt. Dan Crowther, and has never been a problem. Police said he usually gets around by foot and is not known to drive. He has a conviction for lewd and lascivious acts on a child under 14, KTLA-TV reported.

Police are asking anyone with more information about his whereabouts to contact the Arcadia Police Department at (626) 574-5156.

ALSO:

Thousands remain without power after Southland storm

Jury to resume deliberations in 'Desperate Housewives' lawsuit

Granada Hills Charter High to welcome back Academic Decathlon champs

--Anna Gorman

The rest is here:
Arcadia sex offender with dementia is reported missing

Health Matters: Differences between Alzheimer’s and dementia

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Fredricko

FORT MYERS, FL -

Hank Graefen's mother-in-law suffered from dementia. When he and his wife became caretakers in her final years, they studied up on the condition.

"The more you can learn the better you're going to be and you better understand the disease."

Often used interchangeably, both dementia and Alzheimer's are forms of mental degradation. In many ways they seem the same but are actually two different medical terms.

"I tell people that its sort of like dementia is the team and Alzheimer's is one of the players," says Dr. Michael Raab, a geriatrician with Lee Memorial Health System.

Dementia covers a number of disorders; Alzheimer's is most common.

"Depending on who you believe, between 60% and 80% are caused by Alzheimer's disease," says Dr. Raab.

Alzheimer's has physical characteristics in the brain, which most other forms of dementia don't have.

"When you look at the brain, there are tangles and plaques. The Lewy Body dementias, the vascular dementias, the front dementias, none of them really have any plaques or tangles," says Dr. Raab.

What's more, Alzheimer's involves a gradual progression that can begin in middle age. General dementia is usually found in advanced years, Hank's mother-in-law was in her 90s.

View post:
Health Matters: Differences between Alzheimer's and dementia

Health Matters: Differences between Alzheimer's and dementia