The Greek Island Where People Live to Be 90 – Is it the Coffee?

The Greek Island Where People Live to Be 90 – Is it the Coffee? - Forget the expression “there must be something in the water.” As it turns out, the secret to longevity could be in a specific brew of coffee.
 

The Greek island Ikaria first made national news when The New York Times published an article about its inhabitants called “The Place Where People Forget to Die.” One percent of Ikaria’s inhabitants live well into their 90s (as compared to the rest of Europe’s .01 percent), and they tend to stay sharp and healthy until the very end.

The article pointed to a number of reasons why Ikarians live so long: lack of pollution, a diet heavy in fruits and vegetables, moderate consumption of wine, and, interestingly, coffee brewed by a method of boiling.

 

Greek boiled coffee may benefit your cardiovascular health. (Photo: Getty Images)

 

Because general coffee consumption has been previously associated with various health benefits including protection against type two diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, and liver disease, researchers led by Dr. Gerasimos Siasos of the University of Athens set out to discover if the Ikarians’ regular consumption of boiled coffee, specifically, could be connected to their longevity.

"This boiled Greek type of coffee, which is rich in polyphenols and antioxidants and contains only a moderate amount of caffeine, seems to have more health benefits compared to other coffee beverages," Dr. Siasos told Yahoo! Shine.

From the group of 673 Ikarians over 65 who live on the island, the research team randomly selected 71 men and 71 women and compared their endothelial function with their coffee consumption. The endothelium is the layer of cells that surround blood vessels—over time, due to aging and lifestyle habits, it breaks down, leading to cardiovascular disease.

The results of the study, which was published March 18 in the journal Vascular Medicine, showed that subjects who consumed a moderate amount of boiled Greek coffee had better endothelial function than those who consumed coffee brewed by other methods. “Even in those with high blood pressure, boiled Greek coffee consumption was associated with improved endothelial function, without worrying impacts on blood pressure,” Siasos told Shine.

“The new study provides a new connection between nutritional habits and cardiovascular health. Given the extent of coffee drinking across the world, and the fact that even small health effects of at least one type of coffee could have a large impact on public health, this study provides an interesting starting point,” Siasos said. “However, further studies are needed to document the exact beneficial mechanisms of coffee on cardiovascular health.”

Dr. Rob van Dam, an Assistant Professor of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, also recommends that coffee drinkers assess the results of this study with some degree of caution. “We should not make nutrition recommendations based on a single study. Moreover, this was a rather small cross-sectional study. Participants who consumed traditional Greek coffee may well have had other traditional habits such as a healthy diet that may have been responsible for their better endothelial function,” he explained to Yahoo! Shine.

Dr. van Dam also points out that coffee contains cafestol, a stimulator of LDL cholesterol levels, and that those with high cholesterol should avoid boiled coffee. “When you brew coffee with a paper filter, the cafestol gets left behind in the filter. Other methods of coffee preparation, such as the boiled coffee common in Scandinavian countries, French press coffee, or Turkish coffee, are much higher in cafestol. So for people who have high cholesterol levels or who want to prevent having high cholesterol levels, it is better to choose paper filtered coffee or instant coffee, since they have much lower levels of cafestol than boiled or French press coffee.”

Others agree that the results of the study should be taken with a grain of salt, or perhaps, sugar. Matt Milletto, the Vice President of the American Barista ; Coffee School in Portland, Oregon, told Yahoo! Shine that Greek coffee is usually prepared with sugar. “I doubt that three teaspoons full of white sugar do wonders for your health.”

But, if you don’t suffer from high cholesterol, and you’d like to give Greek coffee a try, you’re in luck: it’s easy to make at home. “This is a regional style of coffee preparation, and could easily be replicated by grinding coffee very fine (on a burr grinder) and bringing the water and coffee to a boil,” Milletto told Shine. “This method dates back to Ethiopia, the birth place of coffee. Coffee does not grow in Greece, so roasted coffee from your local coffee roaster could be a good choice.” ( Healthy Living )

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Don't Feed Me' T-Shirts Calm Parents of Allergic Kids

Don't Feed Me' T-Shirts Calm Parents of Allergic Kids - Kym Whitley, a comedian and reality television show star, is launching a new line of "Don't Feed Me" T-shirts that parents of allergic kids can use to alert caregivers and others who might feed their children.

 

'Don't Feed Me' T-Shirts Calm Parents of Allergic Kids (ABC News)

17 Scary Allergy Triggers

Parents can use a pen to fill in the child's name and check off boxes of what the child is allergic to. Whitley first made the shirts for her son, Joshua, 2, who wore them to day care.

"The other parents were like, 'Oh my God that's great, we need that," said Whitley, whose new reality show, "Raising Whitley," starts April 20 on the Oprah Winfrey Network. It chronicles the Los Angeles single mother's experience raising her adopted son.

Now she's producing big batches of the T-shirts in different colors and selling them for $10 on her website, DontFeedMe.org, with co-creator Rodney Van Johnson, her friend, she told ABCNews.com. She's also selling clear bags that have the same "Don't Feed Me" warning on the sides that can hold Benadryl, Epi-Pens (epinephrine injectors) and other allergy aids.

At least 3 million American children have a food or digestive allergy, and the problem is growing, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Between 1997 and 2007, the figure rose 18 percent.

Food allergies in children are age-dependent, said Dr. Wayne Shreffler, director of the Food Allergy Center at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Small children have mostly egg, milk and peanut allergies, while older children might react to peanuts, shellfish and tree nuts, he said.

Death from food allergies are rare, and usually happen when an older child worried about social acceptance accepts food from a peer, Shreffler said. On average, a child with food allergies experiences a reaction once or twice a year.

Shreffler said he has "mixed feelings" about the T-shirts, because they could become a bully magnet.

"I think schools increasingly are aware of the issue," he told ABCNews.com. "By and large, most schools handle it well." Whitley said the shirts were meant to be worn by children who are too young - younger than 5 - to communicate their needs or to know how to read.

Shreffler said the T-the shirts might be useful for an introverted child in a specific setting, such as day camp, that relies on volunteers, he said.

Whitley said it was a nanny who accidentally fed her son peanut butter.

"Luckily, I was home," she said. "That's the thing. I heard that cough that sounded like what he had before he was tested."

Whitley had Joshua tested before he turned 1. A friend encouraged the testing, after hearing that Joshua had thrown up after eating eggs, had dry patches on his arm and would sometimes break out in red spots on his face, Whitley said.

When the test results came back, "the doctor told me to sit down and [she] said, 'Do you have a pencil and paper?' 'I said, 'What?' 'She said, yeah, it's a lot,'" Whitley said.

Joshua's most severe allergies included peanuts, chicken, corn, shellfish and peaches.

Whitley's friend, Van Johnson, who stepped up to become Joshua's father after Whitley adopted him as a baby, had the "Don't Feed Me" shirts made, Whitley said. Van Johnson was no stranger to food allergies: He learned that he shouldn't eat mango pits on a trip to Thailand as an adult.

Now Joshua wears his "Don't Feed Me" T-shirt when he's with a new babysitter or goes to a kids' party, for example, his mother said.

The shirt also makes it easy for teachers and habitual caregivers to remember what Joshua can't eat, she said. With the shirt making it obvious, adults around Joshua don't have to fish for a piece of paper in his backpack, look for a note pinned onto his shirt or go through a classroom file.

"It's right there," she said. ( ABC News )

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Health care failing diabetics

Health care failing diabetics - Diabetes health care in England is failing thousands of people, a group of MPs has warned.

Members of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Diabetes have called on ministers to take action on the "poor state" of diabetes care after its report highlighted "huge variations" in standards of care across the country.

 

Press Association - Almost half of people with diabetes are not getting the nine annual recommended checks, MPs said

It added that almost half of people with diabetes are not getting the nine annual checks recommended by the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice). The MPs said that without this care, patients are at higher risk of developing diabetes-related complications such as blindness, strokes or amputations.

The report calls for a national plan for better healthcare across the country and also says the Government should increase funding for type 1 diabetes.

Torbay MP Adrian Sanders, chairman of the group, said: "Diabetes is one of the greatest challenges we face yet diabetes healthcare is poor, patchy and expensive, and too many people with the condition are not getting the care or support they desperately need.

"It is completely unacceptable that barely half of people with diabetes are getting the nine checks and services recommended by Nice. This postcode lottery of care is leading to devastating health conditions and premature death for many people with the condition.

"While we welcome the Government's acceptance that care for people with diabetes is poor and must improve, we now need the Government to spell out exactly how they intend to make diabetes a priority so that everyone with diabetes receives the care and support they need.

"Unless this happens, thousands more people a year will be condemned to entirely avoidable debilitating complications and early death."

Barbara Young, chief executive of Diabetes UK, said: "Time and time again we hear about the depressingly poor state of diabetes healthcare, yet we are still waiting to hear how the Government intends to deal with what is fast becoming a crisis. The Government must designate diabetes as a priority and commit to ensuring everyone with diabetes gets good quality care so that they can live long healthy lives."

In the UK, there are 3.8 million people with diabetes, including about 850,000 who have type 2 diabetes but do not know it. ( Press Association )

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Drug Executive Faces Manslaughter Charges

Drug Executive Faces Manslaughter Charges - A French court brought manslaughter and injury charges on Tuesday against a drug executive and six companies in a case involving a diabetes and weight-loss drug that caused cardiovascular damage, the Paris public prosecutor’s office said.

The executive, Jacques Servier, 90, and six companies of the Servier group are accused of having known the risks associated with the drug, Mediator, which they produced and marketed until French authorities ordered it withdrawn in 2009, the spokeswoman, Agnès Thibault-Lecuivre, said.

Mr. Servier has been ordered to pay almost $100,000 in bail, while the companies have each been ordered to pay about $520,000. Investigators believe Mediator may have caused as many as 2,000 deaths in France. Two related weight-loss products made by the Servier pharmaceutical group were at the center of the fen-phen scandal of the late-1990s in the United States.( nytimes.com)

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Brain Storm to start adult stem cell trial for ALS

Brain Storm to start adult stem cell trial for ALS - BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc received approval from Israel's Health Ministry for a clinical trial of its adult stem cell therapy for people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

"The trial represents a significant step forward in our goal of using stem cells with neuro restoration capabilities to treat ALS," Adrian Harel, acting CEO of BrainStorm, said on Tuesday.

BrainStorm expects to begin treating patients in the coming weeks and will work with Jerusalem's Hadassah Medical Center.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in February granted orphan drug designation to the company's NurOwn adult stem cell product for the treatment of ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.

The initial phase of the study is designed to establish the safety of NurOwn and will later be expanded to assess efficacy.

Patients will be transplanted with stem cells derived from their own bone marrow and treated with the NurOwn stem cell technology. The trial will include 24 patients, 12 in an advanced stage of the disease and 12 in an early stage.

The patients will be examined at regular intervals and followed for six months post transplantation.

ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. According to the ALS Association, 5,600 people in the United States are diagnosed with ALS each year and it is estimated that as many as 30,000 Americans may have the disease at any given time. ( Reuters )

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Radioactive water at 5 million times limit found at Japan plant

Radioactive water at 5 million times limit found at Japan plant – The operator of Japan's crippled nuclear power plant said on Tuesday it had found water with 5 million times the legal limit of radioactivity as it struggles for a fourth week to contain the world's biggest nuclear disaster in quarter of a century.

Underlining the concern over spreading radiation, the government said it was considering imposing radioactivity restrictions on seafood for the first time in the crisis after contaminated fish were found in seas well south of the damaged nuclear reactors.

Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant No - Radioactive contaminated water from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant No. 2 reactor leaks through a crack in a concrete pit and drains into the ocean in Fukushima prefecture, April 2, 2011

The plant's operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) offered token "condolence" money to those affected in the Fukushima region where the plant is based, the local mayors who came to Tokyo to meet Prime Minister Naoto Kan made clear they expected far more help.

"We have borne the risks, co-existed and flourished with TEPCO for more than 40 years, and all these years, we have fully trusted the myth that nuclear plants are absolutely safe," said Katsuya Endo, the mayor of Tomioka town.

He was one of eight Fukushima prefecture mayors who went to Kan to demand compensation and support for employment, housing and education for the tens of thousands of people evacuated as a result of the radiation crisis.

In desperation, engineers at the Fukushima Daiichi plant have turned to what are little more than home remedies to stem the flow of contaminated water. On Tuesday, they used "liquid glass" in the hope of plugging cracks in a leaking concrete pit.

"We tried pouring sawdust, newspaper and concrete mixtures into the side of the pit (leading to tunnels outside reactor No.2), but the mixture does not seem to be entering the cracks," said Hidehiko Nishiyama, deputy director-general of Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA).

"We also still do not know how the highly contaminated water is seeping out of reactor No.2," said Nishiyama.

TEPCO said it suspected that a stone layer beneath the trench feeding into the pit at reactor No. 2 might be the source of the contaminated water, but added they were still investigating the exact causes and were prepared for the possibility that there were other sources of radioactive water.

Engineers also plan to build two giant polyester "silt curtains" in the sea to block the spread of more contamination from the plant.

Workers are still struggling to restart cooling pumps -- which recycle the water -- in four reactors damaged by last month's 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami.

Until those are fixed, they must pump in water from outside to prevent overheating and meltdowns. In the process, that creates more contaminated water that has to be pumped out and stored somewhere else or released into the sea.

There is a total of 60,000 tons of highly contaminated water in the plant after workers frantically poured in seawater when fuel rods experienced partial meltdown after the tsunami hit northeast Japan on March 11.

TEPCO on Monday had to start releasing 11,500 tons of low-level radioactive seawater after it ran out of storage capacity for more highly contaminated water. The release will continue until Friday.

FIVE MILLION TIMES LEGAL LIMIT

Radioactive iodine of up to 4,800 times the legal limit has been recorded in the sea near the plant. Cesium was found at levels above safety limits in tiny "kounago" fish in waters Ibaraki Prefecture, south of Fukushima, local media reported.

Iodine-131 in the water near the sluice gate of reactor No. 2 hit a high on April 2 of 7.5 million times the legal limit. The water, which was not released into the ocean, fell to 5 million times the legal limit on Monday.

TEPCO said it had started paying token "condolence money" to local governments to aid people evacuated from around its stricken plant or affected by the radiation crisis.

It faces a huge bill for the damage caused by its crippled reactors, but said it must first assess the extent of damage before paying actual compensation.

"We are still in discussion as to what extent we will pay on our own and to what extent we will have assistance from the government," TEPCO executive vice-president Takashi Fujimotohe told a news conference.

TEPCO offered just 20 million yen ($238,000) in condolence money each to towns near the reactors whose residents were forced to evacuate. A second TEPCO official said they offered that sum to 10 towns but one refused to take the money.

FISH PRICES TUMBLE

Fishermen from neighboring Ibaraki prefecture saw prices for flounder and sea bream tumble as buyers shunned their catch.

"Unless problems at the plant end soon, fishermen won't be able to go on living without compensation. We want compensation from TEPCO, the government and the prefecture," said Hikaru Sugiyama a fishing cooperative official in Ibaraki.

The company's shares plunged to a record low of 363 yen on Tuesday on uncertainty over the nuclear crisis, and are now over 80 percent of their value before the quake struck.

The quake and tsunami have left nearly 28,000 people dead or missing, thousands homeless and Japan's northeast coast a wreck.

The world's costliest natural disaster has caused power blackouts and cuts to supply chains, threatening Japan's economic growth and the operations of global firms from semiconductor makers to shipbuilders.

Fujimoto said TEPCO wants to avoid having to impose rolling power blackouts in summer, when demand surges due to heavy use of air-conditioning. Analysts say blackouts could cause the biggest economic damage to Japan. ( Reuters )

($1 = 84.040 Japanese Yen)

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Are Japanese Pregnant Women in Danger?

Are Japanese Pregnant Women in Danger? - As we have been monitoring the after-effects of the devastating natural disaster in Japan, we have seen a population faced with a number of health risks over the past few weeks. From a health care system in disarray, to shortages of medicine, to a limited supply of food and water, one group in particular that has me terribly worried is pregnant women.

We are beginning to hear reports of the Japanese food and water supply contaminated with radiation - not only in the area where the damaged nuclear reactors are - but also as far away as Tokyo, which is 150 miles from the affected region.

March 21, 2011: Children play with balloons at a shelter in the March 11 earthquake and tsunami-destroyed town of Minamisanriku, northern Japan

Radiation and pregnancy can be a lethal combination.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) calls the exposure of a fetus to radiation “prenatal radiation exposure.” This occurs when the mother’s abdomen is exposed to radiation outside the body, or when the mother swallows or breathes in radiation, and it enters her blood stream.

The overall effects of radiation in the general population can include cancer development and organ system toxicity. Human fetuses have rapid cellular metabolism, which is the type of environment where radiation could have significant consequences.

The good news is that the fetus is protected by the mother’s womb, which is able to act as a shield against radiation to some extent. Whatever amount of radiation the mother is exposed to, generally the dose of radiation to the fetus is less than that.

The bad news is that any radiation exposure can be damaging to a developing fetus.

The extent to which radiation exposure can affect the fetus is predicated on two factors: what the age of the fetus is at the time of exposure and how much radiation the fetus is exposed to.

For very early pregnancies, radiation risk is described as an all or nothing phenomenon. Many times, a lot of women that are pregnant miscarry due to the radiation. For those that don’t, there is a chance that there will be no major effect on the fetus.

However, a number of birth defects are possible following exposure. Between two to 15 weeks of pregnancy, radiation exposure equaling more than 500 chest X-rays can cause severe problems for fetal development including stunted growth, deformities, abnormal brain function, or an increased risk for cancer later in life.

Between eight to 15 weeks of development, in particular, a large dose of radiation can put the fetus at risk of brain damage. After atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, doctors found that babies who had been exposed to radiation at this stage of development showed high rates of brain damage, which generally resulted in lower IQs or even severe mental retardation.

Once the fetus has reached 16 weeks of development, the risks of radiation exposure drop off considerably. While it is still possible for them to suffer from the same birth defects as fetuses in earlier stages of development, it would take a significantly larger dose of radiation for this to happen – the equivalent of more than 5,000 X-rays. A mother who received this dosage would likely be suffering from radiation sickness.

However, this data is mostly based on a one-time exposure. The problem with Japan is that there is the potential for continuous low-dose exposure for a long period of time, and pregnant women may not even be aware of it. The outcomes resulting from this type of exposure will not be known for a long time.

Any pregnant woman who has believes she may have been exposed to radiation ought to consult with her physician right away. In Japan, it is important to make sure that pregnant women are routinely tested for exposure.

Women that are pregnant should definitely adhere to the guidelines that experts have put into place, advising that people stay at least 50 miles away from the nuclear plant disaster. And from an obstetrical and epidemiological point of view, children who are born in Japan over the upcoming months should be monitored for several years to make sure any inadvertent exposure was not damaging to them. ( foxnews.com )

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Infections acquired in the hospital environment : A threat to your loved ones

Infections acquired in the hospital environment : A threat to your loved ones - Two major medical events next month will address important issues related to infectious diseases, infection control and patient safety.

They include a GCC infection control conference and an infection control course designed and conducted by the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA).

The five-day events, to be opened in Riyadh on Oct. 17, will be attended by a panel of international experts as well as delegates from the Kingdom’s medical world.

Dr. Hanan H. Balkhy, director of the WHO Collaborating Center and GCC Center for Infection Control, said that the GCC infection control meeting would highlight topics on emerging antimicrobial resistance from a global and regional perspective.

“The event will also speak about important infections acquired in the healthcare environment and some of the most important emerging fevers in the Arabian Peninsula,” said Balkhy, who works as an executive director for infection prevention and control at King Abdul Aziz Medical City.

Balkhy said that the infection control course would address important topics relevant to infection prevention, hospital epidemiologists and healthcare staff involved in patient safety.

International and local experts will provide interactive sessions on infection control precautions, related infections, surveillance and the accreditation process.

Attendees will also hear from experts on relevant topics such as waste management, monitoring construction in a healthcare setting and occupational health issues.

She pointed out that more and more sophisticated medical procedures are taking place every day.

Advancements in treating cancer patients and organ failure patients with new medicines or organ transplants, which would allow for a longer healthy life, has made the medicine world a fascinating field, added Balkhy, who is professionally a consultant pediatrician for infectious diseases.

Balkhy said that neonatologists were now supporting babies born at barely 500 grams, while the life expectancy has exceeded 75 years in many countries.

“By doing all these wonders in medicine, we have created a vulnerable population that needs continuous care and prolonged and repeated contact with the healthcare system,” she said.

Healthcare associated infections (HAIs) have also evolved over the past decades as an important challenge for patient safety, she observed.

She said that another group of vulnerable patients are those who have undergone some sort of surgical procedure followed an unexpected infection to a wound they have suffered.

The World Health Organization, she said, has made HAIs and infection control its primary patient safety challenge.

“We all remember the efforts conducted to improve hand hygiene initiated by the WHO in 2005, and the Kingdom was a major partner in that effort,” she said.

Such awareness on hand hygiene, according to Balkhy, was beneficial to the public and patients during the swine flu pandemic last year.

Improving hand hygiene, however, is not the only way of preventing the spread of infections, she said.

She recalled that the UK battled the spread of the well-known superbug MRSA a decade ago. In fact, it is a pathogen that has been known for a very long time to cause infections in humans, she said. She warned that newer bugs with novel resistance patterns are continuing to emerge. In December 2009 a common bug with a novel and very resistant character was detected in India — Klebsiella pneumonia carrying the New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase gene.

Since then it has been detected in Pakistan, England, the United States and Japan, she said. ( arabnews.com )

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Marilyn Monroe or Johnny Cash? How the brain chooses

Marilyn Monroe or Johnny Cash? How the brain chooses – Do you like Marilyn Monroe or Johnny Cash better? Researchers in California have homed in on the individual brain cells that help make that choice.

Their findings could eventually lead to new ways to control a computer using the mind alone, although the researchers do not see any immediate applications. More interesting to them is what their experiment reveals about how the brain works.

The brain can "choose" to notice one image over another by stepping up the activity of one brain cell and stopping the activity of another, the team at the California Institute of Technology reported in the journal Nature.

The Caltech researchers took advantage of a completely unrelated medical trial for treating severe epilepsy. They recruited patients whose brain tremors could not be treated well by drugs, who had signed up for surgery.

The dysfunction for these particular patients was in a part of the brain called the medial temporal lobe, which is involved in the higher processing of information. "The medial temporal lobe is pretty much in the center of the brain," Moran Cerf, who led the research, said in a telephone interview.

This part of the brain has a backup, Cerf said. "You can take part of the brain out but the patient doesn't lose any function," he said.

The patients had volunteered for this procedure, but in order to take out the right part, the doctors had to see an epileptic seizure in real time. So each patient had electrodes implanted in the brain and then waited for a seizure.

Cerf and colleagues recruited them for their own experiment in the meantime.

HALLE BERRY NEURON

Caltech's Itzhak Fried, who oversaw the research, led a team that found out in 2005 that people have a "Halle Berry neuron" -- a brain cell responsible for recognizing a particular movie star.

The epilepsy patients were tested to see just what stimulus would activate the particular neurons they had hooked up to the electrodes. One patient, for instance, liked the singer Johnny Cash and one of her electrodes activated strongly when she viewed pictures of the country music star.

They designed a computer that could recognize these signals and control a program to fade pictures in and out on a screen. "It's kind of like a thought projector, we call it," Cerf said.

The researchers superimposed two images -- say singer-musician Johnny Cash superimposed over the actress Marilyn Monroe. The 12 volunteers were asked to fade one image up and the other down, using only their thoughts.

They were able to do so 69 percent of the time, as the computer recognized the firing of the "Johnny Cash" neuron or the "Marilyn Monroe" neuron, Cerf said.

It was a highly individualized process, based on each patient's preferences.

Cerf is unsure about real-world applications of the technology, because the neurons involved are fickle, he says.

"They change their properties often. On day one they might fire for Marilyn Monroe, on day two they fire for something else," he said. "They are not the best neurons for a brain-machine interface."

Researchers trying to make mind-controlled machines have helped a boy with epilepsy play computer games using a brain implant, and have used electroencephalography or EEG signals to help patients control computer cursors.

Monkeys have controlled robotic arms using thoughts transmitted wirelessly, as well. ( Reuters )

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Flu jab for pregnant women cuts virus in babies

Flu jab for pregnant women cuts virus in babies - Vaccinating expectant mothers against flu almost halves the chance of their babies getting the virus in the first six months of life, according to research.

Antibodies developed by the mother in response to the innoculation are passed to the child via the placenta and breastfeeding.


The US study of 160 women and their infants found that the babies of those vaccinated while pregnant, were 41 per cent less likely to get flu up to six months old.


The chance of such a baby being hospitalised with a flu-like illness was also 39 per cent lower than those whose mothers had not been vaccinated while pregnant, found Dr Angelia Eick, who was working at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, Maryland.


Writing in the Archives of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, she and her colleagues concluded: "These findings provide support for the added benefit of protecting infants from influenza virus infection up to six months, the period when infants are not eligible for influenza vaccination but are at highest risk of severe influenza illness."


Last week the Department of Health announced that all pregnant women would be offered the seasonal flu vaccine for the first time this winter.


The move was prompted by data from last year's H1N1 swine flu pandemic, which showed expectant mothers were four times more likely to be treated in hospital for it than the general population. The mortality rate among them also appeared to be twice the norm. The H1N1 strain is to be included in the vaccine.


A decision over whether to continue giving pregnant women the seasonal flu jab after the coming winter has yet to be taken. ( telegraph.co.uk )

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Uncovering a hidden epidemic

Uncovering a hidden epidemic. It is an illness you have probably never heard of but Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) affects one in five women in Britain.

This hidden epidemic is a miserable hormonal condition that can lead to depression, relationship traumas and a lack of self-esteem, but worst of all women who have experienced it first hand say it has robbed them of their femininity.

Classic symptoms include problem periods, obesity, acne, and excess facial or body hair, infertility problems, breast pain, mood swings, dizziness and an increased risk of miscarriage.

In the long term the risks to your health, if not treated, can be costly. Sufferers are seven times more likely to develop diabetes and suffer a heart attack than non sufferers.

The condition is thought to be hereditary, and is triggered or made worse by poor diet, a lack of exercise, and stress. Other contributory factors include pollution and a weak immune system.

Although the condition has been recognised for 75 years and much research is underway, it is still not known exactly what causes it. The good news, though, is that it is treatable by medication, changes in diet and exercise.

What is known is that the two key biochemical causes of PCOS are that sufferers make too much insulin and too much testostorone.

Insulin works to control sugar levels in the blood but women with PCOS are known to be resistant to their own insulin. By the age of 40, up to 40 per cent of women with PCOS have some level of abnormal glucose tolerance, in the form of either diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance.

Most often, symptoms first appear in adolescence, around the start of menstruation. However, some women do not develop symptoms until their early to mid-20's. Although PCOS presents early in life, it persists through and beyond the reproductive years.

The condition gets its name from the many small cysts that build up inside the ovaries. The first step to diagnosing it is a blood test followed by an ultrasound scan.

A lot of GPs know very little about PCOS, as 28-year-old Colette Harris found out when she was diagnosed with the condition in 1996. She had all the classic symptoms - and had put on two stone in weight in a few months.

'I was bewildered, frightened because I was told there was 'no cure' and left with my self-esteem in shreds,' she said.

'I didn't want to be fat and spotty, be so tired that I could sleep for 17 hours on a Friday night and be ready for bed again only four hours after I woke up. And I didn't want to feel unfeminine, with darkening hairs on my upper lip and a sense that my body might not be able to produce children should I decide that would be a good idea.'

One explanation for why it is difficult to diagnose this hormonal disorder is that it can vary wildly in severity.

At the time Colette's doctor told her there was nothing she could do except go on the Pill - which has now been shown makes the condition worse. Colette had suffered a range of side-effects from taking the contraceptive, and was unwilling to go back on it.

The only option left to Colette, now a health journalist, was to wait to be referred to a specialist which would have taken over a year. So she decided to trawl endless health articles in a bid to find her own answers and came up with a fairly drastic health regime.

The basics were a wholefood vegan diet, cutting out dairy produce, no alcohol or caffeine, herbal and nutritional supplements to rebalance her hormonal system, filtered water and gentle exercise.

After a year she astounded doctors who examined her ovaries to find they were cyst-free.

'My periods, which had finally disappeared completely in August 1996, four months before my diagnosis, came back within the month,' she says. 'Weight started to come off, my painful acne-type spots receded, my hair stopped falling out and my moods began to level off.'

Colette felt she should share her experiences in a bid to raise greater awareness of the condition.

Her book A Woman's Guide to Dealing with PCOS, written with Dr Adam Carey, offers a comprehensive guide to the illness plus tips on how to get advice. In 1997 a self-help group for women with PCOS called Verity began to meet, and now receives thousands of enquiries each year.

Adam Balen, a consultant gynaecologist and specialist in reproductive medicine at Leeds General Infirmary is one of few experts in PCOS and has devised a fact sheet for Verity.

'Even specialists are confused as PCOS crosses the boundaries of different specialities, such as endocrinology which deals with hormones, gynaecology and even dermatology for the acne,' he says.

'There has been increasing awareness of PCOS in the last five years and while traditionally it has been a taboo subject I think more and more women are happy to discuss their symptoms.

'Verity have made a huge difference in raising public and professional awareness of the syndrome.' ( dailymail.co.uk )

READ MORE - Uncovering a hidden epidemic

Breastfeeding - How Important Is It?

Breastfeeding - How Important Is It?. Breastfeeding helps protect and nurture your baby in innumerable ways. There have been many studies in regard to breastfeeding babies and the results have shown increases in brainpower within as little as six weeks of breastfeeding.

The study has also shown a reduced risk of obesity due to the fact that breastfed babies are much less likely to overeat than formula-fed babies. Overall, babies that have been breastfed for roughly six months are also less likely to have breathing problems.

We now know how nourishing breast milk is for your baby. Breastfeeding is highly recommended by doctors as well as health care professionals. Further, it's been shown that breast milk supports brain function as stated above and also provides valuable nutrients that would not otherwise be available.

Breast milk is very special, every mother's milk is slightly different, tailored to her own baby's needs. A baby's immune system is directly affected by the breast milk of his/her mother.

Every feeding time is an extremely important time of the day, it allows the mother and baby time to bond to each other without any distractions. A new mother will really get to know her baby by breastfeeding and will feel much more at ease with him or her during breastfeeding.

Milk induced sleep is one of the most wonderful things a mother will experience. Newborns love to be cuddled and they also love to eat. When you combine the two you get an extremely sleepy baby who will snuggle up in their mother's arms long after the feeding is over. Breastfeeding will instill a naptime but you'll find yourself continuing to rock your precious little one, it's calming to mother as well.

Babies have a built-in latching instinct, although some babies will not latch properly, causing pain to the mother. You'll detect these problems early on and you'll find that most hospitals have a nursing specialist that will help to determine if your baby is latching on wrong. If you continue to have problems in this area in the first week, you should consult with your doctor. With a little practice you'll be a pro in no time! Hang in there, It's worth it!

Breast milk is not only good for your baby, but it's also good for the mother as well. It has been stated that Mother's who breast-feed their babies for at least six months have shown a dramatical reduction in the risk of various types of cancer including breast cancer and ovarian cancer.

Another happy note... through breast-feeding, new mother's will also lose the additional weight she gained while pregnant, and another benefit is that it will also help her uterus contract to its pre-baby size.

All new parents want to give their babies the very best and when it comes to nutrition, the very best "first food" for baby is breast milk.

Although you may experience a few challenges at first while breastfeeding; it will be the best experience a new mother will have. There may even come a time later in life when you look back on this wonderful experience and wish that you had breast fed your baby longer. ( articlealley.com )

READ MORE - Breastfeeding - How Important Is It?

Hey, you! Stop smoking in my atmosphere!

Hey, you! Stop smoking in my atmosphere!. Smoke-Free PlanetThe disappearing boundaries of cigarette prohibition.

That's the message from New York City, where the mayor and health commissioner have just released a policy agenda called "Take Care New York 2012."* Page 10 of the document says the city's health department "will work with the city's Department of Parks and Recreation and other entities to expand smoke-free spaces to include city parks and public beaches." The city council speaker is very interested in the idea, but her help might not be necessary if the parks department can implement the ban as a regulation.

A no-smoking sign in China

According to the New York Post, cities and counties in Utah, Louisiana, and Maine have already taken this step. The New York Times points out that Los Angeles and Chicago have done the same, and the whole state of California is considering it.

Let's step back and recall how we got here. When tobacco fighters began to outlaw smoking in elevators, buses, restaurants, bars, and public buildings, their stated rationale was to protect nonsmokers trapped inside. Then the crusade moved on to apartment buildings, extending the same theory: You can't smoke in your apartment, because the smoke seeps under your door into hallways and other people's apartments.

Now this rationale has moved outdoors. Way outdoors. David Kessler, the former FDA commissioner who led the anti-smoking fight in the 1990s, says New York City is doing the right thing, because "the majority of the population today doesn't want to be breathing in tobacco smoke, whether indoors or outdoors."

That's true. I hate tobacco smoke. I don't want to breathe it anywhere. I don't want the tiniest particle of it to touch my lungs, even if my nose doesn't notice it.

But do I have the right to that standard of purity? If so, doesn't that justify a ban on smoking absolutely anywhere? Forget parks and beaches. If you smoke in your backyard, aren't you violating my airspace? In fact, aren't you violating my airspace by lighting your grill or driving your car down my street? How far does my right to clean air extend?

Studies have proved that secondhand smoke is harmful. But those studies aren't conducted in wide-open spaces. They can't cover the whole atmosphere. They're conducted in enclosed spaces. That's why they justify smoking bans in elevators and restaurants, not in acres and acres of parkland.

New York's health commissioner, Thomas Farley, suggests that parks are defined spaces. Here's his argument, as quoted by the Post:

"We don't think children, parents, when they're standing at soccer games, should have to be breathing in smoke from the person next to them," Farley said after unveiling the city's 10-point plan alongside Mayor Bloomberg. "We don't think our children should have to be watching someone smoke."

Whoa, there. First of all, you don't have to ban smoking on every square inch of park land in order to protect nonsmokers from "the person next to them." You can chalk off spaces where smoking is prohibited. Believe me, I coach kids' soccer games. Last week, some guys who work for the county league showed up to paint new lines on our practice field. If you can paint boundaries for play, you can paint boundaries for smoking. Want to keep smokers 100 yards away from where kids are playing? Draw a line.

But check out Farley's second argument: Kids shouldn't "have to be watching someone smoke." We're no longer talking about breathing even a particle of smoke. We're talking about banning bad habits to prevent cultural contamination.

In that case, can we please ban public lotteries? Because I don't like my kids having to watch people gamble, particularly under the auspices of the state. Gambling is addictive and destructive. I want the tickets out of convenience stores and the results off television.

Why is a huge outdoor smoking ban justified even in the absence of substantiating medical evidence? Because, as one anti-smoking leader tells the Times, "There is no redeeming value in smoking at beaches or parks." That's the bottom line: Any basis for a ban, no matter how slight, is now sufficient, because the value of smoking is zero.

Once we agree on that, the movement to ban smoking, having conquered the outdoors, can move back indoors, this time without any reference to other people's health. Because the value of smoking is zero in your bathroom, too. ( slate.com )

READ MORE - Hey, you! Stop smoking in my atmosphere!

The art of Ayurveda

The art of Ayurveda. Ayurveda is the beauty world's best kept secret. Meaning 'knowledge of life', it originated 3,000 years ago in India.

It is a traditional holistic health and beauty philosophy which harnesses the natural benefits of herbs and spices.

How does it work?

The main aim of ayurveda is to encourage people to take control of their wellbeing, both physical and spiritual, by understanding the body's imbalances and rectifying these with diet and self-help therapies. Now you can try it yourself because the Body Shop has launched its own ayurvedic beauty and health range.

The ayurvedic philosophy works on a belief that the individual characteristics of our mind, body and spirit fall into three different groups called 'doshas'. Depending on your temperament and physical health, you may either be a Pitta (Fire), Vata (Air) Kapha (Earth).

PITTAS

Typical Pittas: Madonna, Cindy Crawford and Jennifer Aniston.

Traits: You are dynamic and passionate and you do not like to be ignored. At your best, you are intelligent, perceptive and highly efficient. You are a natural leader.

At worst, you tend to be overcritical of others and you are often too intense and competitive.

Remedies: You need to de-stress and concentrate on not getting overwrought. Try the Body Shop's Pitta herbal supplement to calm you down (£15 for 50 tablets) and their Pitta pillow spray, which is made from a variety of calming herb essences, to lull you to sleep before you start worrying about work (£9 for 150ml).

Because of your highly competitive nature, you are likely to suffer from painful PMT because you push yourself too hard, so try The Ayurvedic Company's Feminac capsules for problem periods.

Feminac is a multi-herb dietary supplement made from a herbal recipe that has been used to treat menstrual problems for thousands of years (£6.95 for 60 capsules).

To tame your temper, try The Ayurvedic Company's Shatavari Tonic, which soothes nerves and increases strength and the immune system.

Shatavari is also commonly used by both breast-feeding mothers to increase lactation and by menopausal women to relieve symptoms such as excessive sweating, hot flushes and irritability (£6.95 for 60 capsules).

Also for de-stressing, try Bharti Vyas's Holistic Refresh Oil. It will encourage relaxation and will also help increase energy levels (£12.99 for 100ml).

Bharti also makes Ayurvedic Soap, which helps to even out skin tone and reduce skin irritation to help you calm down (£3.99 a bar).

Finally, ease away your worries with the Ayurvedic Company's refreshing Pitta Tea. It should be taken when you feel anxious or if you have irritable skin or rashes and flushes (£2.95 for 50ml).

KAPHAS

Typical Kaphas: Kate Winslet, Christina Ricci and Oprah Winfrey.

Traits: You are solid, dependable and very loyal. You are brilliant to have around in a crisis. At best, you are open, friendly and a great listener. At worst, you are lethargic and like to be entertained, which can make you hard work as a friend or partner.

Remedies: You need to concentrate on energising and motivating yourself. You are naturally prone to lethargy. Try the Body Shop's Kapha Cleansing Body Scrub to stimulate your lymphatic system (£15 for 350ml).

In the mornings, the Body Shop's Kapha Renewal Brew Herbal Tea will cleanse your system and wake you up (£7 for 350g).

Skin tone and is excellent for treating dry skin (£12.99 for 100ml).

Her Keen Oil will aid the dispersion of unwanted localised fatty deposits (£12.99 for 100ml).

Kaphas are prone to allergies and asthma so, for summer, try Bharti's Aller H and Antifect supplements to protect the body against pollen and enhance detoxification (£6.99 for 100 tablets).

Ayurveda Company's Basil Toner and Basil Cream are brilliant for getting rid of water retention and thoroughly cleansing the skin. Basil is the ancient ayurvedic remedy for pimples, which you may get because of your often erratic diet.

The mask stimulates the skin's circulation during application and removal and encourages cell renewal to prevent scarring, while the toner cleanses it. (Toner, £9.95 for 100ml; cream, £6.95 for 50g).

Also try their Anti-Obesity Tea, which is a fragrant drink formulated to help balance and regulate fat in the body for the Kapha's sluggish metabolism (£2.95 for 100g).

VATAS

Typical Vatas: Cameron Diaz, Gwyneth Paltrow and Julia Roberts.

Traits: You live life at a hectic pace, with quickly changing moods and many ups and downs in your emotions.

You are at your best when you are using your imagination. You are highly motivated and you get things done.

At your worst, you are easily stressed, scatty and quickly exhausted, which can take its toll on your nerves and on your digestion.

Remedies: You need to do as much as possible to slow yourself down and rationalise your thoughts. You are likely to suffer from spots because of your dramatic mood swings.

Try the Ayurvedic Company's Vata face mask. Water is added to this powder to make an effective exfoliator. The paste removes dead skin, cleanses and stimulates circulation, leaving the face with a radiant glow (£3.95 for 50g).

Also try their Bath Powder, which is a mask that acts as both a body cleanser and exfoliator. The paste is applied to the body to draw out toxins and impurities. It is then washed off in a circular motion to exfoliate and encourage circulation (£3.95 for 50g).

The Body Shop's Vata Nourishing Body Balm (£10 for 200ml) and Vata Massage Gel (£9 for 100ml) will help you calm down.

Have as many massages as possible to stop you getting too hyperactive. Practice rubbing the balm rhythmically into your body to relax and comfort yourself. Bharti recommends Santhwana Oil, which encourages relaxing and sound sleep (£12.99 for 100ml) for manic Vatas.

Her Promotor Hair Oil helps to reduce dandruff and inflammation to the hair follicle - classic Vata complaints because they generally have too much adrenaline and so overproduce the male hormones that cause dandruff (£12.99 for 100ml).

Bharti's Rheumaxin tablets will help to reduce inflammation of the joints by helping to clear toxin buildup. This is a common Vata complaint because they drink too much coffee and alcohol (£6.99 for 100 tablets).

The Ayurvedic Company's Vata Tea is calming and relaxing. Drink it if you feel restless and your sleep is interrupted. Or try taking it when travelling or if the weather is dry and cold (£2.95 for 50ml). ( dailymail.co.uk )

READ MORE - The art of Ayurveda