Drinking coffee could help cure baldness as caffeine blocks the effects of a chemical known to damage hair, say researchers. They took scalp biopsies from 14 men in the early stages of hair loss. They extracted hair follicles and placed them in test tubes with solutions containing different levels of caffeine. The samples were left in the laboratory for up to eight days. At the end of the length of the hair follicles mixed with testosterone showed that they grew at a much slower rate. The scientists believe caffeine affects hair cells in such a way that they are able to resist the damaging effects of dihydrotestosterone (DHT), a chemical that contributes to baldness. Most baldness is caused when hair follicles are exposed to too much DHT. Hair follicles treated with caffeine showed a highly significant growth rate at 24 hours, and still showed further significant growth at eight days.
Adding a little olive oil to your diet may help your colon. Researchers believe that olive oil may have the ability to help lower your risk of colon cancer. Studies indicate it may be the high concentration of squalene, an element of olive oil, that gives olive oil its cancer-fighting powers. Keep your colon young by adding a tablespoon of olive oil to your salad everyday.
Molluscum contagiosum is a virus that causes a mild skin disease that infects the skin usually around the eyes or on the arms and legs. It causes small pink or flesh colored bumps on the skin. It usually resolves without treatment in 6-12 months. This is a virus that is very prevalent and normally does not cause infection. It can cause infection in young or old, or anyone with a lowered immune system. Molluscum is a dermatology It involves wart-like bumps, that are comparable to chicken poxes, which they are tiny and itch. It is a very contagious condition and can be treated. There is no inflammation or irritation unless they are scratched a lot.
The Berkeley blood test is a cholesterol test. The Berkeley blood test is an extension of a lipid panel that in addition to choleterol levels, may help increase patients' risk factors for heart disease. These tests are not routinely done, but can be a helpful tool to customize therapy for patients at risk for heart disease. It gives a more detailed report on cardiovascular health than a basic cholesterol test. The Berkeley blood test measures particle size of LDL and HDL cholesterol. It shows genetic markers that are indications of coronary disease. The Berkeley blood test is an evaluation of blood plasma lipids and lipoprotein sub particles, measured by gradient gel electrophoresis technology, used by physicians for the assessment of cardiovascular disease risk.
Deja Vu is a sense of familiarity with a previous perception of time whether in dreams or in the subconscious. It is the imagination combined with random sensory stimuli that brain ends up processing the wrong way. Déjà vu is chemical fluctuations in the brain.
There are some scientific theories that explain it as a miss-timing of neural firing. In this case, your brain would receive a signal and then the same signal almost instantly right after it which would cause you to think that the situation has happened before and produce a sense of familiarity. The theories hypothesize that delayed signals coming from say one of your eyes or one of your ears could cause the miss-timing which would produce deja-vu. Personally, I believe it is true precognitive glimpses of our own future seen in the past that are being lived in the present. There are mental disorders where people live in a constant sense / state of deja vu.
The recent study suggests that the stem cells transplanted into early stage multiple sclerosis patients stabilized, and in some cases reversed debilitating the neurological disorder. Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease that impairs movement and coordination, while causing muscle weakness, cognitive impairment, slurred speech and vision problems. Certain drugs can retard or roll back symptoms during the initial phase of the spread of the disease. However, in the decade or onset, MS is characterized by gradual but irreversible neurological impairment.
The research scientists removed the defective white blood cells that rather than protecting the body, attacks the fatty sheath called Myelin that protects the nervous system. The immune system where then replenished with so-called haemopoeitic stem cells extracted from patient’s bone marrow capable of giving rise to any form of mature blood cell. This procedure not only seems to prevent neurological progression, but also appears to reverse neurological disability.
Health experts are urging people to avoid food with high salt content because it may lead to health problems like hypertension and strokes. Customers must be vigilant, read food labels, and demand low salt food in stores and restaurants.
Of the estimated one billion people living with hypertension, about 30% can attribute it to excess salt intake. According to them, populations, such as the Yanomami Indians in South America, with very low levels of salt intake do not have hypertension.
In contrast, Japan, with a salt intake of 15 g per person, has high rates of hypertension and the highest stroke rates in the industrialized world. Health Experts recommend a maximum daily intake of 2.8 g for active young people, and 2.2 for older adults.
The correct default should be no added salt in food we purchase, leaving those who still wish to do so free to indulge at their own risk.
Myocardial bridging – where portion of coronary is buried in myocardium, causes narrowing of artery when heart muscle contracts during systoly leading to decreased blood flow and pain. Usually benign with mild symptoms. If severe significant symptoms are present –deroofing of myocardial bridge segment or bypass grafting is required.
Precautions
Some anti-depressant drugs should be used cautiously in the elderly as they give rise to dizziness, constipation, decrease of blood pressure in the erect posture.
Persons requiring to be mentally alert (eg. those operating machinery or driving) should also be careful as some anti-depressants are sedative.
Treatment
Anti-depressant drugs are very effective and can bring about improvement in a large number of cases. The choice of the anti-depressant drug used depend on the age of the patient, presence of associated symptoms (like anxiety or excitement), need for sedatives and the side effects which are to be avoided. These drugs require a minimum of two to three weeks to start acting, and good recovery in most cases occurs within four to eight weeks. The treatment should be continued for eight to twelve months at least.
Stress ECG Test is useful to detect any evidence of decreased myocardial blood flow when patient symptoms are not clear cut and when ECG and Echo are not suggestive of coronary artery disease. It is useful to assess severity and prognosis of coronary artery disease. Also useful in advising fitness and workload for patients during rehabilitation period.
Left ventricular hypertrophy is increased myocardial wall thickness due to increased load on the heart muscle due to high BP or left ventricular outflow obstruction. Increased muscle mass with fibrosis and inadequate myocardial capillary growth results in imbalance between myocardial blood supply and demand which may present like angina, arrhythmia and diastolic dysfunction which may cause abnormal filling pressures and failure in long term cases.
• Garlic is one of the most effective remedies for whooping cough. The syrup of garlic should be given in doses of five drops to a teaspoon, two or three times a day, to treat this condition. It should be given more often if the coughing spells are frequent and violent.
• Ginger is another effective remedy for whooping cough. A teaspoon of fresh ginger juice, mixed with a cup of fenugreek decoction and honey to taste, is an excellent diaphoretic. The fenugreek decoction can be made by boiling one teaspoon of seeds in 250 ml of water till it is reduced to half.
• Syrup prepared by mixing a teaspoon of fresh radish juice with an equal quantity of honey and a little rock salt, is beneficial in the treatment. It should be given thrice daily.
• Almond oil is valuable in treating whooping cough. Five drops of almond oil should be mixed with ten drops each of fresh white onion juice and ginger juice, and taken thrice daily for a fortnight. It will provide relief.
September 23rd 2009 21:00
Detection
• Women aged 40 and above should go for digital mammogram every year.
• Women with family history of breast cancer and other risk factors should get a mammogram done after they are 30.
• Women aged 20 to 39 years should take clinical breast exam by a health expert, at least once in three years.
• Breast self exam is an option for women in their 20s. Use a step-by-step approach of checking your breasts on a set schedule. If you find any changes, see a doctor immediately.
Treatment
• Usually individualized and depends on stage of cancer
• Lumpectomy (removal of tumor), mastectomy (removal of breast) and lymph node dissection are the types of surgeries. Mastectomy’s rarely required.
• Chemotherapy, a systemic treatment, affects the whole body through the blood. The purpose is to get rid of cancer cells that may have spread from where the disease originated to other parts of the body.
• Radiation therapy is a targeted way of destroying cancer cells.
• Hormone therapy, also called anti-estrogen therapy, blocks the ability to estrogen to stimulate the growth of breast cancer cells.
• Other therapies target specific characteristics if cancer cells, such as a protein that allows them to grow in a rapid or abnormal way. These are less likely to harm normal, healthy cells than chemotherapy.
Precautions
• It is among the few cancers that can be detected early.
• Annual mammograms are a must for women above 40 years.
• Meet doctor if there is a family history of breast or other cancer.
Health is wealth
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