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Showing posts with label sex. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sex. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Relevence of Ayurveda in today’s life
The diseases pertaining to life science are neither contagious nor influenced by genetics. These diseases breed in exhausted bodies that are out-of-shape due to unhealthy and frenzied lifestyles. These diseases involve both mind and body and hence holistic approach of Ayurveda is essential in bringing about well being and good health and plays a major role in treating diseases prevalent in today’s world.
The advantages of holistic treatments for combating heart diseases, diabetes and cancer, as in Ayurvedic literature has already been proven and accepted in countries like Japan, Singapore and Finland.
Ayurveda emphasizes that an individual should adopt healthy habits like regular routine schedule for sleep, proper cleansing practices, body massage, meditation, regular physical exercises, yoga, good clothing habits, a balanced diet depending on the weather, adequate intake of fluids, avoiding anger and stress and maintaining healthy relationships, sex life that is socially permissible and self education.
The holistic approach of Ayurveda involves usage of drug, behavioral changes and diet in tackling problems of mind and body to ensure vitality and good health. In Ayurveda, an illness is treated by four main procedures; cleansing (Samshodhana), Palliation (Samshamana), rejuvenation (Rasayana) and spiritual and psychological healing (Satvavajaya). When there is an imbalance of doshas, the lifestyles and dietary managements that are based on these doshas get disturbed.
The advantages of holistic treatments for combating heart diseases, diabetes and cancer, as in Ayurvedic literature has already been proven and accepted in countries like Japan, Singapore and Finland.
Ayurveda emphasizes that an individual should adopt healthy habits like regular routine schedule for sleep, proper cleansing practices, body massage, meditation, regular physical exercises, yoga, good clothing habits, a balanced diet depending on the weather, adequate intake of fluids, avoiding anger and stress and maintaining healthy relationships, sex life that is socially permissible and self education.
The holistic approach of Ayurveda involves usage of drug, behavioral changes and diet in tackling problems of mind and body to ensure vitality and good health. In Ayurveda, an illness is treated by four main procedures; cleansing (Samshodhana), Palliation (Samshamana), rejuvenation (Rasayana) and spiritual and psychological healing (Satvavajaya). When there is an imbalance of doshas, the lifestyles and dietary managements that are based on these doshas get disturbed.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Spanking Raises Chances of Risky, Deviant Sexual Behavior
(HealthDay News) -- Researchers have uncovered another damaging consequence of spanking: risky sexual behaviors, or even sexual deviancy, when the child grows up.
"This adds one more harmful side effect to spanking," said Murray Straus, a spanking expert who was expected to present the findings of four studies at the American Psychological Association's Summit on Violence and Abuse in Relationships in Bethesda, Md., on Thursday.
"I think that it's pretty powerful," said Elizabeth Gershoff, an assistant professor at the University of Michigan's School of Social Work. "It's across several studies and across different forms of either risky or deviant sexual behavior."
Straus, who was the author of all four studies, hopes the findings will raise awareness among child development experts.
"My hope is to convince my colleagues that they ought to put this in their textbooks," said Straus, co-director of the Family Research Laboratory at the University of New Hampshire, in Durham. "It's amazing. Something experienced by all American kids gets an average of half a page in child development textbooks, and not a single one comes to the conclusion that parents should never spank."
Even the revered Dr. Spock, who was anti-spanking, never came right out and advised parents outright not to do it, he added. Instead, Spock advised "avoiding it if you can."
A meta-analysis of spanking studies conducted by Gershoff found 93 percent agreement among studies that spanking can lead to such problems as delinquent and anti-social behavior in childhood along with aggression, criminal and anti-social behavior and spousal or child abuse as an adult.
"There's probably nothing else in child development that has 93 percent agreement in results," Straus said.
Five percent of people who have never been spanked hit their partners, versus 25 percent of those who were spanked frequently.
However, some 90 percent of U.S. parents spank toddlers, according to Straus.
The review being presented at the meeting are the first to look at the relationship of spanking to sexual behavior.
They found that spanking and other corporal punishment is associated with an increased probability of verbally and physically coercing a dating partner to have sex; risky sex such as premarital sex without using a condom; and masochistic sex such as spanking during sex.
There is a "dose response" at work here. "The more parents spank, the higher the probability of harmful side effects," Straus noted.
Of course, there's a similar dose response for smokers. But if someone reaches the age of 65 without developing lung cancer, it doesn't mean that smoking isn't harmful. It means the person was one of the lucky ones.
It's the same with spanking, Straus said. "If a person says, 'I was spanked, and I don't have any interest in bondage and discipline sex, that's correct, but it's not because spanking is OK, it's because they're one of the lucky ones."
And spanking a child once may be like picking up that first cigarette. "The trouble is, if you have a 2-year-old, you pretty soon decide you can't avoid it. The recidivism rate for whatever 'crime' you correct a 2-year-old for is about 50 percent in two hours."
"I've been researching corporal punishment for 30 years and, in the course of that time, the evidence has accumulated that it doesn't work any better than non-corporal punishment but has harmful side effects. I have come to the conclusion that parents should never, ever spank because, although it does work, it's no better than non-hitting methods that don't have harmful side effects. If there was an FDA for spanking, they'd say use an alternative that doesn't have harmful side effects."
More information
Visit the Center for Effective Discipline for other ways to discipline your child.
"This adds one more harmful side effect to spanking," said Murray Straus, a spanking expert who was expected to present the findings of four studies at the American Psychological Association's Summit on Violence and Abuse in Relationships in Bethesda, Md., on Thursday.
"I think that it's pretty powerful," said Elizabeth Gershoff, an assistant professor at the University of Michigan's School of Social Work. "It's across several studies and across different forms of either risky or deviant sexual behavior."
Straus, who was the author of all four studies, hopes the findings will raise awareness among child development experts.
"My hope is to convince my colleagues that they ought to put this in their textbooks," said Straus, co-director of the Family Research Laboratory at the University of New Hampshire, in Durham. "It's amazing. Something experienced by all American kids gets an average of half a page in child development textbooks, and not a single one comes to the conclusion that parents should never spank."
Even the revered Dr. Spock, who was anti-spanking, never came right out and advised parents outright not to do it, he added. Instead, Spock advised "avoiding it if you can."
A meta-analysis of spanking studies conducted by Gershoff found 93 percent agreement among studies that spanking can lead to such problems as delinquent and anti-social behavior in childhood along with aggression, criminal and anti-social behavior and spousal or child abuse as an adult.
"There's probably nothing else in child development that has 93 percent agreement in results," Straus said.
Five percent of people who have never been spanked hit their partners, versus 25 percent of those who were spanked frequently.
However, some 90 percent of U.S. parents spank toddlers, according to Straus.
The review being presented at the meeting are the first to look at the relationship of spanking to sexual behavior.
They found that spanking and other corporal punishment is associated with an increased probability of verbally and physically coercing a dating partner to have sex; risky sex such as premarital sex without using a condom; and masochistic sex such as spanking during sex.
There is a "dose response" at work here. "The more parents spank, the higher the probability of harmful side effects," Straus noted.
Of course, there's a similar dose response for smokers. But if someone reaches the age of 65 without developing lung cancer, it doesn't mean that smoking isn't harmful. It means the person was one of the lucky ones.
It's the same with spanking, Straus said. "If a person says, 'I was spanked, and I don't have any interest in bondage and discipline sex, that's correct, but it's not because spanking is OK, it's because they're one of the lucky ones."
And spanking a child once may be like picking up that first cigarette. "The trouble is, if you have a 2-year-old, you pretty soon decide you can't avoid it. The recidivism rate for whatever 'crime' you correct a 2-year-old for is about 50 percent in two hours."
"I've been researching corporal punishment for 30 years and, in the course of that time, the evidence has accumulated that it doesn't work any better than non-corporal punishment but has harmful side effects. I have come to the conclusion that parents should never, ever spank because, although it does work, it's no better than non-hitting methods that don't have harmful side effects. If there was an FDA for spanking, they'd say use an alternative that doesn't have harmful side effects."
More information
Visit the Center for Effective Discipline for other ways to discipline your child.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Most Internet Sex Offenders Target Teens, Not Kids
(HealthDay News) -- The stereotype of the middle-aged male sex offender posing online as a young person to trick adolescents into clandestine meetings where they can be abducted and raped is inaccurate, a new study finds.
Instead, Internet-initiated sex crimes most often involve adult men who do not lie about their age, are open about wanting sex, and use instant messaging, e-mail and chat rooms to meet and seduce teenagers, according to research published in the February/March issue of American Psychologist, the journal of the American Psychological Association.
According to study co-author David Finkelhor, director of the Crimes against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire, most arrested sex offenders who find victims on the Internet are charged with crimes such as statutory rape that involve nonviolent sexual relations with adolescents too young to consent to sexual intercourse.
The research team found that online sexual predators rarely resorted to violence or abduction of their victims. Instead, the sex offenders worked slowly, developing the trust of their young victims who felt these relationships were romances or sexual adventures.
"We have to be frank about what is going on if we are going to stop the problem. The teens are often looking for attention, affection, excitement and romance. That doesn't make it a less serious problem, because the teenagers may in some ways contribute to the situation. The adult should know that having sexual relationships with young teenagers is against the law, but they go ahead and do it. It is still a crime," said Finkelhor.
The research was compiled from three surveys -- two telephone interviews totaling 3,000 young Internet users between the ages of 10 and 17 conducted both in 2000 and 2005 and 612 interviews in 2001 and 2002 with federal, state and local law enforcement officials who have expertise in investigating Internet-initiated sex crimes. The data revealed almost 75 percent of victims who met sex offenders in person did so more than once.
"This is a very interesting study and supports other previous research. My only caveat is that it was primarily based on phone interviews, and the researchers were reporting what they were told by the young people," said Ernie Allen, president of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
The investigators identified several behaviors that appear to make teens more likely to receive sexual contact from predators, including placing people they didn't know on their instant messaging buddy lists, talking about sex online with strangers, and engaging in rude or nasty chats online. The teens most vulnerable to online sex offenders are more likely to be risk takers and to have histories of sexual or physical abuse and family problems. In addition, the researchers concluded boys who are gay or are questioning their sexuality may be at higher risk of sex crimes initiated on the Internet than other groups.
The study indicates MySpace and Facebook, social networking Web sites popular with teens, do not appear to increase the risk of adolescents being victimized by sexual predators. The same conclusion was reached recently in a study by one of the researchers of this latest article; that earlier work appeared in the February issue of Pediatrics. Instead, talking online about sex to strangers in chat rooms or with instant messaging heightened the risk of exposure to sex offenders.
"I would caution that it is not clear the Internet has increased the level of risk in young people, although perhaps it has changed the venue for some of these situations with sexual predators. There has certainly been plenty of statutory sex offenses going on before the popularity of the Internet, and it may have migrated to the Web, because that's where people are. However, statistics don't suggest there's a big explosion of it and, in fact, suggest sex crimes against children are going down," Finkelhor explained.
"The bottom line is that most teens are doing a good and responsible job of being on the Internet. But teens think they are immortal, and it is important for parents to keep the lines of communication open and for youngsters to realize predators are out there," said Allen.
More information
For more on protecting children and teens from sexual exploitation, visit The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
Instead, Internet-initiated sex crimes most often involve adult men who do not lie about their age, are open about wanting sex, and use instant messaging, e-mail and chat rooms to meet and seduce teenagers, according to research published in the February/March issue of American Psychologist, the journal of the American Psychological Association.
According to study co-author David Finkelhor, director of the Crimes against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire, most arrested sex offenders who find victims on the Internet are charged with crimes such as statutory rape that involve nonviolent sexual relations with adolescents too young to consent to sexual intercourse.
The research team found that online sexual predators rarely resorted to violence or abduction of their victims. Instead, the sex offenders worked slowly, developing the trust of their young victims who felt these relationships were romances or sexual adventures.
"We have to be frank about what is going on if we are going to stop the problem. The teens are often looking for attention, affection, excitement and romance. That doesn't make it a less serious problem, because the teenagers may in some ways contribute to the situation. The adult should know that having sexual relationships with young teenagers is against the law, but they go ahead and do it. It is still a crime," said Finkelhor.
The research was compiled from three surveys -- two telephone interviews totaling 3,000 young Internet users between the ages of 10 and 17 conducted both in 2000 and 2005 and 612 interviews in 2001 and 2002 with federal, state and local law enforcement officials who have expertise in investigating Internet-initiated sex crimes. The data revealed almost 75 percent of victims who met sex offenders in person did so more than once.
"This is a very interesting study and supports other previous research. My only caveat is that it was primarily based on phone interviews, and the researchers were reporting what they were told by the young people," said Ernie Allen, president of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
The investigators identified several behaviors that appear to make teens more likely to receive sexual contact from predators, including placing people they didn't know on their instant messaging buddy lists, talking about sex online with strangers, and engaging in rude or nasty chats online. The teens most vulnerable to online sex offenders are more likely to be risk takers and to have histories of sexual or physical abuse and family problems. In addition, the researchers concluded boys who are gay or are questioning their sexuality may be at higher risk of sex crimes initiated on the Internet than other groups.
The study indicates MySpace and Facebook, social networking Web sites popular with teens, do not appear to increase the risk of adolescents being victimized by sexual predators. The same conclusion was reached recently in a study by one of the researchers of this latest article; that earlier work appeared in the February issue of Pediatrics. Instead, talking online about sex to strangers in chat rooms or with instant messaging heightened the risk of exposure to sex offenders.
"I would caution that it is not clear the Internet has increased the level of risk in young people, although perhaps it has changed the venue for some of these situations with sexual predators. There has certainly been plenty of statutory sex offenses going on before the popularity of the Internet, and it may have migrated to the Web, because that's where people are. However, statistics don't suggest there's a big explosion of it and, in fact, suggest sex crimes against children are going down," Finkelhor explained.
"The bottom line is that most teens are doing a good and responsible job of being on the Internet. But teens think they are immortal, and it is important for parents to keep the lines of communication open and for youngsters to realize predators are out there," said Allen.
More information
For more on protecting children and teens from sexual exploitation, visit The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Standard Hepatitis B Treatment Bested by Newcomer
(HealthDay News) -- New research suggests that a newer medication approved for treating hepatitis B is more effective than the standard treatment, lamivudine.
Additionally, the Chinese scientists found that a significantly smaller number of people developed resistance to the newer drug, known as telbivudine (Tyzeka, Sebivo).
The study, which is published in the Dec. 20 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, found that about 8 percent more people responded to telbivudine than lamivudine, and the risk of resistance was at least halved for people taking telbivudine.
"The multiple therapeutic choices now available for hepatitis B will enhance the ability of clinicians to maintain long-term control of HBV replication, ultimately improving clinical outcomes for more patients. These results support telbivudine as an effective therapy for patients with chronic hepatitis B," the study authors wrote.
Hepatitis B is a viral infection that attacks the liver. It can be spread in many ways, including through the exchange of blood and other bodily fluids when having sex, from sharing needles, or from a mother to her baby during pregnancy, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
As many as one third of people infected have no symptoms, according to the CDC. When symptoms do occur, they may include jaundice, fatigue, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting and joint pain. For most people, the infection is transient, lasting no more than six months or so. However, the infection can become chronic. This occurs in only about 6 percent of people over 5 who are infected with the hepatitis B virus, in about 30 percent of infected children between 1 and 5 years old, and in as many as 90 percent of babies who are infected with the virus. Chronic hepatitis B can cause scarring of the liver, which can lead to liver cancer or liver failure.
The goal of treatment is to keep levels of the hepatitis B virus as low as possible. Even if hepatitis B levels become so low that they're undetectable, long-term treatment is still required to prevent recurrence. People with hepatitis B are tested to see if they are positive or negative for E-antigens. A positive result on the E-antigen test often indicates a stronger infection, according to the Hepatitis B Foundation. Someone with a positive result is referred to as HBeAg-positive.
While there are several treatment options available to suppress the virus, one problem is that people can develop resistance to these drugs. Two new drugs, entecavir (Baraclude) and telbivudine, have been approved to treat hepatitis B since 2005.
The current study looked at how effective telbivudine is compared to the standard first-line treatment, lamivudine.
The researchers randomly assigned 1,370 people with chronic hepatitis B to receive either 600 milligrams of telbivudine or 100 milligrams of lamivudine once daily.
After a year of treatment, 75.3 percent of HBeAg-positive people taking telbivudine showed a therapeutic response versus 67 percent of those on lamivudine. In HBeAg-negative people, 64.7 percent of those on telbivudine had a response compared to 56.3 percent of those on lamivudine.
The number of study volunteers who had undetectable levels of hepatitis B virus by the end of the treatment year were much greater for those on telbivudine. In HBeAg-positive people, 60 percent achieved undetectable levels on telbivudine versus 40.4 percent for those taking lamivudine. For HBeAg-negative study participants, telbivudine brought viral levels down to undetectable for 88.3 percent compared to 71.4 percent for lamivudine. Telbivudine also got those viral levels down about five to six weeks faster, on average, than lamivudine.
Resistance developed in 5 percent of HBeAg-positive people taking telbivudine and in 11 percent of those on lamivudine. For those who were HBeAg-negative, the rates of resistance were 2.3 percent for those on telbivudine and 10.7 percent for those on lamivudine.
According to the study's authors, both medications have a similar side effect profile, and no significant differences were found in the current study volunteers.
"Telbivudine seems to work and be safe. It seems to have shown a better therapeutic and histological response," said Dr. Marc Siegel, an internist at New York University Medical Center.
"It decreases the risk of cirrhosis. It's well-tolerated, and it prevents the progression of hepatitis B better than the standard treatment right now," said Siegel.
The study authors pointed out that telbivudine hasn't yet been compared to the other new hepatitis B medication, entecavir, in a randomized clinical trial. Entecavir has also been shown to be more effective than lamivudine and creates less resistance as well.
More information
To learn more about available treatments for hepatitis B, visit the Hepatitis B Foundation.
Additionally, the Chinese scientists found that a significantly smaller number of people developed resistance to the newer drug, known as telbivudine (Tyzeka, Sebivo).
The study, which is published in the Dec. 20 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, found that about 8 percent more people responded to telbivudine than lamivudine, and the risk of resistance was at least halved for people taking telbivudine.
"The multiple therapeutic choices now available for hepatitis B will enhance the ability of clinicians to maintain long-term control of HBV replication, ultimately improving clinical outcomes for more patients. These results support telbivudine as an effective therapy for patients with chronic hepatitis B," the study authors wrote.
Hepatitis B is a viral infection that attacks the liver. It can be spread in many ways, including through the exchange of blood and other bodily fluids when having sex, from sharing needles, or from a mother to her baby during pregnancy, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
As many as one third of people infected have no symptoms, according to the CDC. When symptoms do occur, they may include jaundice, fatigue, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting and joint pain. For most people, the infection is transient, lasting no more than six months or so. However, the infection can become chronic. This occurs in only about 6 percent of people over 5 who are infected with the hepatitis B virus, in about 30 percent of infected children between 1 and 5 years old, and in as many as 90 percent of babies who are infected with the virus. Chronic hepatitis B can cause scarring of the liver, which can lead to liver cancer or liver failure.
The goal of treatment is to keep levels of the hepatitis B virus as low as possible. Even if hepatitis B levels become so low that they're undetectable, long-term treatment is still required to prevent recurrence. People with hepatitis B are tested to see if they are positive or negative for E-antigens. A positive result on the E-antigen test often indicates a stronger infection, according to the Hepatitis B Foundation. Someone with a positive result is referred to as HBeAg-positive.
While there are several treatment options available to suppress the virus, one problem is that people can develop resistance to these drugs. Two new drugs, entecavir (Baraclude) and telbivudine, have been approved to treat hepatitis B since 2005.
The current study looked at how effective telbivudine is compared to the standard first-line treatment, lamivudine.
The researchers randomly assigned 1,370 people with chronic hepatitis B to receive either 600 milligrams of telbivudine or 100 milligrams of lamivudine once daily.
After a year of treatment, 75.3 percent of HBeAg-positive people taking telbivudine showed a therapeutic response versus 67 percent of those on lamivudine. In HBeAg-negative people, 64.7 percent of those on telbivudine had a response compared to 56.3 percent of those on lamivudine.
The number of study volunteers who had undetectable levels of hepatitis B virus by the end of the treatment year were much greater for those on telbivudine. In HBeAg-positive people, 60 percent achieved undetectable levels on telbivudine versus 40.4 percent for those taking lamivudine. For HBeAg-negative study participants, telbivudine brought viral levels down to undetectable for 88.3 percent compared to 71.4 percent for lamivudine. Telbivudine also got those viral levels down about five to six weeks faster, on average, than lamivudine.
Resistance developed in 5 percent of HBeAg-positive people taking telbivudine and in 11 percent of those on lamivudine. For those who were HBeAg-negative, the rates of resistance were 2.3 percent for those on telbivudine and 10.7 percent for those on lamivudine.
According to the study's authors, both medications have a similar side effect profile, and no significant differences were found in the current study volunteers.
"Telbivudine seems to work and be safe. It seems to have shown a better therapeutic and histological response," said Dr. Marc Siegel, an internist at New York University Medical Center.
"It decreases the risk of cirrhosis. It's well-tolerated, and it prevents the progression of hepatitis B better than the standard treatment right now," said Siegel.
The study authors pointed out that telbivudine hasn't yet been compared to the other new hepatitis B medication, entecavir, in a randomized clinical trial. Entecavir has also been shown to be more effective than lamivudine and creates less resistance as well.
More information
To learn more about available treatments for hepatitis B, visit the Hepatitis B Foundation.
Monday, November 13, 2006
Lupus Biomarkers Discovered
(HealthDay News) -- People with lupus have certain molecular biomarkers that aren't present in those without the disease, a small, preliminary study has found.
"There are currently no defined biomarkers for lupus," said lead researcher Dr. Nilamadhab Mishra, an assistant professor of rheumatology at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine, in Winston-Salem, N.C.
But, in their new study, Mishra and his colleagues found that people with lupus have changes in their micro-ribonucleic acids (microRNAs) that aren't found in people who don't have lupus. "We found 40 are differently expressed between lupus patients and controls," he said.
"RNA acts like a mold for proteins," to help determine what the form and function of genes' proteins will be, explained Dr. Joan Merrill, medical director of the Lupus Foundation of America.
Mishra presented the findings on Friday at the American College of Rheumatology meeting, in Washington, D.C.
Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease that can damage the joints, kidneys, heart, lungs, brain, blood and skin, according to the Lupus Foundation of America (LFA). The LFA estimates that about 1.5 million Americans have the disease. It occurs 10 to 15 times more often in women than in men.
The disease can vary greatly in severity from person to person, and even for an individual. Some people with lupus have periods of time when no symptoms are present. Common symptoms include achy joints, frequent fevers, extreme and lasting fatigue, a skin rash and anemia.
There are no definitive diagnostic tests for lupus, and because symptoms can come and go, it often takes months, and possibly years, before a person can be diagnosed, according to LFA.
For the new study, the researchers compared the microRNA from five people with lupus to seven age- and sex-matched people without lupus. The people with lupus were not experiencing symptoms of the disease at the time of the study and were not taking commonly prescribed lupus medications during the study period.
The researchers found 40 microRNAs with a 1.5-fold difference in expression between the people with lupus and the control participants. Six microRNAs had a greater than 3-fold difference in expression.
"We hope we've found a biomarker that can be helpful for diagnosis and to help guide treatment," said Mishra, who added that it might also be possible to develop a new targeted treatment based on this and other research.
Said Merrill: "It looks like lupus patients are making funny RNA even when the disease isn't flaring."
Merrill cautioned that while this "novel research is very good research," it's a preliminary study done on a small group of people, and more work needs to be done.
Mishra said one of the next steps is to see if these microRNA changes are present in other autoimmune diseases, such as type 1 diabetes or rheumatoid arthritis, or if they are exclusive to lupus. He also agreed that the current work needed to be replicated in a larger trial.
"What's important is that there's a lot of research going on right now about the many tiny reactions that occur in lupus. Over the next few decades, we may develop medications that are strategic," said Merrill. "We're working on trying to fix a few small interactions between proteins, rather than wallop the whole immune system."
More information
To learn more about lupus, visit the Lupus Foundation of America.
"There are currently no defined biomarkers for lupus," said lead researcher Dr. Nilamadhab Mishra, an assistant professor of rheumatology at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine, in Winston-Salem, N.C.
But, in their new study, Mishra and his colleagues found that people with lupus have changes in their micro-ribonucleic acids (microRNAs) that aren't found in people who don't have lupus. "We found 40 are differently expressed between lupus patients and controls," he said.
"RNA acts like a mold for proteins," to help determine what the form and function of genes' proteins will be, explained Dr. Joan Merrill, medical director of the Lupus Foundation of America.
Mishra presented the findings on Friday at the American College of Rheumatology meeting, in Washington, D.C.
Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease that can damage the joints, kidneys, heart, lungs, brain, blood and skin, according to the Lupus Foundation of America (LFA). The LFA estimates that about 1.5 million Americans have the disease. It occurs 10 to 15 times more often in women than in men.
The disease can vary greatly in severity from person to person, and even for an individual. Some people with lupus have periods of time when no symptoms are present. Common symptoms include achy joints, frequent fevers, extreme and lasting fatigue, a skin rash and anemia.
There are no definitive diagnostic tests for lupus, and because symptoms can come and go, it often takes months, and possibly years, before a person can be diagnosed, according to LFA.
For the new study, the researchers compared the microRNA from five people with lupus to seven age- and sex-matched people without lupus. The people with lupus were not experiencing symptoms of the disease at the time of the study and were not taking commonly prescribed lupus medications during the study period.
The researchers found 40 microRNAs with a 1.5-fold difference in expression between the people with lupus and the control participants. Six microRNAs had a greater than 3-fold difference in expression.
"We hope we've found a biomarker that can be helpful for diagnosis and to help guide treatment," said Mishra, who added that it might also be possible to develop a new targeted treatment based on this and other research.
Said Merrill: "It looks like lupus patients are making funny RNA even when the disease isn't flaring."
Merrill cautioned that while this "novel research is very good research," it's a preliminary study done on a small group of people, and more work needs to be done.
Mishra said one of the next steps is to see if these microRNA changes are present in other autoimmune diseases, such as type 1 diabetes or rheumatoid arthritis, or if they are exclusive to lupus. He also agreed that the current work needed to be replicated in a larger trial.
"What's important is that there's a lot of research going on right now about the many tiny reactions that occur in lupus. Over the next few decades, we may develop medications that are strategic," said Merrill. "We're working on trying to fix a few small interactions between proteins, rather than wallop the whole immune system."
More information
To learn more about lupus, visit the Lupus Foundation of America.
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Health Highlights: Aug. 7, 2006
Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:
Indonesia Reports 43rd Bird-Flu Death
Indonesian officials announced Monday that a 16-year-old boy had died of bird flu. If it's confirmed by the World Health Organization (WHO), it would bring that country's death toll to 43, the highest in the world.
The boy was admitted to a hospital on Saturday and died late Monday. Tests at a laboratory in Jakarta showed he had the H5N1 virus, said Dr. Santoso Suroso, director of the city's infectious diseases hospital.
Health officials said the boy had contact with sick chickens at his home, just east of Jakarta, the Associated Press reported.
If a WHO-accredited laboratory confirms this as a bird-flu death, it would be the 43rd in Indonesia since July 2005. A third of those deaths have occurred this year. Vietnam has recorded 42 bird-flu deaths, but has not had any this year.
Experts have criticized Indonesian officials for not doing enough to halt the spread of bird flu among the millions of backyard poultry in that country.
In related news, officials in Thailand have started visiting every home in 29 provinces to provide people with information about how to protect themselves from bird flu if they discover dead poultry, Agence France Presse reported.
Thailand reported its 16th bird-flu death on the weekend.
The virus has killed at least 135 people worldwide since it first appeared in Asia in late 2003. Most cases have been traced to contact with infected birds. But experts worry that the virus could mutate into a form that's easily transmitted between people.
-----
Sexually Explicit Music Linked to Sex at Younger Age
Teens who listen to music spiced with raunchy, sexual lyrics start to have sex at a younger age than those who prefer more sedate tunes, says a U.S. study in the August issue of the journal Pediatrics.
The study included 1,461 youngsters, aged 12 to 17, who were first interviewed in 2001 and again in 2002 and 2004. Most of the participants were virgins at the time of the initial interview.
Those who listened to a lot of music with degrading sexual messages -- depicting men as "sex-driven studs" and women as sex objects -- and explicit references to sex acts were more likely (51 percent) to start having sexual intercourse or other sexual activities within two years than teens who listened to little or no sexually charged music (29 percent), the Associated Press reported.
Study leader author and Rand Corp. researcher Steven Martino said heavy exposure to sexually degrading music gives teens "a specific message about sex." Boys learn they should relentlessly pursue women, and girls learn they're sex objects, he said.
"We think that really lowers kids' inhibitions and makes them less thoughtful," about sexual decisions and may lead them to make choices they regret, Martino noted.
But one expert said parents and others shouldn't be too quick to pull the plug on this kind of music.
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Elderly Should Take Probiotics: Experts
Elderly people should take probiotic supplements -- including drinks, capsules or yogurt -- to protect themselves against bowel conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), according to experts.
People over age 60 have about 1,000-fold less "friendly" bacteria and more disease-causing bacteria in their guts compared with younger adults, scientists said at a briefing in London, England, BBC News reported.
Probiotic products, which contain live strains of bacteria, can help boost the amount of friendly bacteria in the guts of older people and help protect them against acute and chronic bowel diseases.
"The (scientific) literature has reported about 80 human studies with positive results against bowel conditions like traveler's diarrhea, irritable bowel syndrome and antibiotic-associated diarrhea," said Glenn Gibson, professor of food microbiology at Reading University.
He said that while probiotic products are useful for healthy adults -- for example, helping to fight bacteria that cause food poisoning -- they are even more beneficial for older people, the BBC reported.
However, Gibson and his colleagues said consumers need to carefully check products to determine whether they contain the correct strain of live bacteria -- such as bifidobacteria or lactobacilli -- and that there are at least 10 million bacterium in the product.
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Castro Said to Be Recovering Quickly From Intestinal Surgery
Cuban President Fidel Castro, 79, is recovering quickly from intestinal surgery and may be back to work within a few weeks, according to Vice President Carlos Lage.
"In a few weeks he'll be recovered and he'll return to his duties," Lage told reporters Sunday, the Associated Press reported.
Lage said Castro's return as leader of Cuba would expose a U.S. policy of "lies" behind speculation that Castro wouldn't recover. He also dismissed reports that Castro had stomach cancer.
"The operation that he underwent was successful and he is recovering favorably. Fidel's going to be around for another 80 years," Lage said.
There's been no sign of Castro since July 31, when it was announced that he'd undergone surgery and had temporarily ceded power to his younger brother, Defense Minister Raul Castro.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, a Castro ally, said the Cuban leader was out of bed and talking after his surgery, the AP reported.
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British Drug Trial Victim Says He Has Cancer
One of six men who became seriously ill earlier this year after volunteering for a drug trial in London, England, says he has early signs of cancer.
David Oakley told the Mail on Sunday newspaper that he's seeking compensation from Parexel, a clinical research organization that carried out the drug trial on behalf of German pharmaceutical company TeGenero, BBC News reported.
There's no evidence to confirm that Oakley's cancer was caused by the experimental drug, the newspaper said.
About two months ago, blood tests detected "cells that shouldn't be there," which indicates early signs of cancer, according to Oakley.
The drug in the trial, TGN 1412, has been under development for treatment of diseases such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and certain cancers.
British authorities investigated the incident involving the six men and concluded that Parexel failed to follow proper procedures, BBC News reported. Parexel has previously said that all guidelines were followed during the trial.
Indonesia Reports 43rd Bird-Flu Death
Indonesian officials announced Monday that a 16-year-old boy had died of bird flu. If it's confirmed by the World Health Organization (WHO), it would bring that country's death toll to 43, the highest in the world.
The boy was admitted to a hospital on Saturday and died late Monday. Tests at a laboratory in Jakarta showed he had the H5N1 virus, said Dr. Santoso Suroso, director of the city's infectious diseases hospital.
Health officials said the boy had contact with sick chickens at his home, just east of Jakarta, the Associated Press reported.
If a WHO-accredited laboratory confirms this as a bird-flu death, it would be the 43rd in Indonesia since July 2005. A third of those deaths have occurred this year. Vietnam has recorded 42 bird-flu deaths, but has not had any this year.
Experts have criticized Indonesian officials for not doing enough to halt the spread of bird flu among the millions of backyard poultry in that country.
In related news, officials in Thailand have started visiting every home in 29 provinces to provide people with information about how to protect themselves from bird flu if they discover dead poultry, Agence France Presse reported.
Thailand reported its 16th bird-flu death on the weekend.
The virus has killed at least 135 people worldwide since it first appeared in Asia in late 2003. Most cases have been traced to contact with infected birds. But experts worry that the virus could mutate into a form that's easily transmitted between people.
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Sexually Explicit Music Linked to Sex at Younger Age
Teens who listen to music spiced with raunchy, sexual lyrics start to have sex at a younger age than those who prefer more sedate tunes, says a U.S. study in the August issue of the journal Pediatrics.
The study included 1,461 youngsters, aged 12 to 17, who were first interviewed in 2001 and again in 2002 and 2004. Most of the participants were virgins at the time of the initial interview.
Those who listened to a lot of music with degrading sexual messages -- depicting men as "sex-driven studs" and women as sex objects -- and explicit references to sex acts were more likely (51 percent) to start having sexual intercourse or other sexual activities within two years than teens who listened to little or no sexually charged music (29 percent), the Associated Press reported.
Study leader author and Rand Corp. researcher Steven Martino said heavy exposure to sexually degrading music gives teens "a specific message about sex." Boys learn they should relentlessly pursue women, and girls learn they're sex objects, he said.
"We think that really lowers kids' inhibitions and makes them less thoughtful," about sexual decisions and may lead them to make choices they regret, Martino noted.
But one expert said parents and others shouldn't be too quick to pull the plug on this kind of music.
-----
Elderly Should Take Probiotics: Experts
Elderly people should take probiotic supplements -- including drinks, capsules or yogurt -- to protect themselves against bowel conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), according to experts.
People over age 60 have about 1,000-fold less "friendly" bacteria and more disease-causing bacteria in their guts compared with younger adults, scientists said at a briefing in London, England, BBC News reported.
Probiotic products, which contain live strains of bacteria, can help boost the amount of friendly bacteria in the guts of older people and help protect them against acute and chronic bowel diseases.
"The (scientific) literature has reported about 80 human studies with positive results against bowel conditions like traveler's diarrhea, irritable bowel syndrome and antibiotic-associated diarrhea," said Glenn Gibson, professor of food microbiology at Reading University.
He said that while probiotic products are useful for healthy adults -- for example, helping to fight bacteria that cause food poisoning -- they are even more beneficial for older people, the BBC reported.
However, Gibson and his colleagues said consumers need to carefully check products to determine whether they contain the correct strain of live bacteria -- such as bifidobacteria or lactobacilli -- and that there are at least 10 million bacterium in the product.
-----
Castro Said to Be Recovering Quickly From Intestinal Surgery
Cuban President Fidel Castro, 79, is recovering quickly from intestinal surgery and may be back to work within a few weeks, according to Vice President Carlos Lage.
"In a few weeks he'll be recovered and he'll return to his duties," Lage told reporters Sunday, the Associated Press reported.
Lage said Castro's return as leader of Cuba would expose a U.S. policy of "lies" behind speculation that Castro wouldn't recover. He also dismissed reports that Castro had stomach cancer.
"The operation that he underwent was successful and he is recovering favorably. Fidel's going to be around for another 80 years," Lage said.
There's been no sign of Castro since July 31, when it was announced that he'd undergone surgery and had temporarily ceded power to his younger brother, Defense Minister Raul Castro.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, a Castro ally, said the Cuban leader was out of bed and talking after his surgery, the AP reported.
-----
British Drug Trial Victim Says He Has Cancer
One of six men who became seriously ill earlier this year after volunteering for a drug trial in London, England, says he has early signs of cancer.
David Oakley told the Mail on Sunday newspaper that he's seeking compensation from Parexel, a clinical research organization that carried out the drug trial on behalf of German pharmaceutical company TeGenero, BBC News reported.
There's no evidence to confirm that Oakley's cancer was caused by the experimental drug, the newspaper said.
About two months ago, blood tests detected "cells that shouldn't be there," which indicates early signs of cancer, according to Oakley.
The drug in the trial, TGN 1412, has been under development for treatment of diseases such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and certain cancers.
British authorities investigated the incident involving the six men and concluded that Parexel failed to follow proper procedures, BBC News reported. Parexel has previously said that all guidelines were followed during the trial.
Postpartum Depression Hits Dads, Too
MONDAY, Aug. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Almost as many new fathers as mothers suffer depression after the birth of a child, a new study shows.
About 14 percent of mothers and 10 percent of fathers showed signs of moderate or severe postpartum depression, according to the study, which followed more than 5,000 members of two-parent families.
"There have been a few small studies in the last two years showing this, but nothing has been known on a national basis," said study leader James F. Paulson, an assistant professor of pediatrics and psychology and behavioral sciences at the Eastern Virginia Medical School Center for Pediatric Research.
The findings are published in the August issue of Pediatrics.
New parents who participated in the study filled out questionnaires and were interviewed to determine whether they showed symptoms of depression. Their relationships with their children were determined by questioning such practices as breast-feeding, putting the child to bed on his or her back, and whether the parents read to, played peek-a-boo with or sang to the child.
"What we found in this study is that basic day-to-day interactions were impaired in fathers, just as they were in mothers," Paulson said. "Also, basic activities were impaired."
Pediatricians should make a greater effort to identify postpartum depression in both mothers and fathers, Paulson said. "Pediatricians, in general, may be in the best position to catch depression, but they don't often do it," he said, adding he's now doing a study to look at patterns of screening for postpartum depression.
Dr. William Coleman is a professor of pediatrics at the University of North Carolina and chairman of the American Academy of Pediatrics committee on the psychosocial aspects of child and family health. "Physicians do a very poor job asking about or detecting postpartum blues in the mother, and they may not even see the father," he said. "They might detect the mother's feelings, but may not even ask the father."
Fathers usually feel elation after a birth, Coleman said, but that feeling of "engrossment" can fade away, depending on family circumstances.
That can happen "if the mother is very, very controlling and wants the baby all to herself," Coleman said. "Also, fathers can experience frustration, sexual and emotional, if they forget to remember that the wife is not interested in sex at that time. If the wife is very motherly and maternal, he might feel kind of useless, on the periphery."
Depression in a father leads to a well-known pattern of behavior, Coleman said. "He tends to work longer, to watch sports more, to drink more and be solitary," he said.
One problem in detecting postpartum depression in fathers is that "pediatricians are not told to inquire about adult issues," Coleman said. "It is a silent game."
Yet, it's important to detect postpartum depression in a father for the sake of the child's long-term outlook, Paulson said. "Based on what we know of mothers' postpartum depression, it is associated with health problems later on, not only emotional problems and difficulties adjusting to school but also basic health problems," he said.
More information
For more on postpartum depression, visit the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
About 14 percent of mothers and 10 percent of fathers showed signs of moderate or severe postpartum depression, according to the study, which followed more than 5,000 members of two-parent families.
"There have been a few small studies in the last two years showing this, but nothing has been known on a national basis," said study leader James F. Paulson, an assistant professor of pediatrics and psychology and behavioral sciences at the Eastern Virginia Medical School Center for Pediatric Research.
The findings are published in the August issue of Pediatrics.
New parents who participated in the study filled out questionnaires and were interviewed to determine whether they showed symptoms of depression. Their relationships with their children were determined by questioning such practices as breast-feeding, putting the child to bed on his or her back, and whether the parents read to, played peek-a-boo with or sang to the child.
"What we found in this study is that basic day-to-day interactions were impaired in fathers, just as they were in mothers," Paulson said. "Also, basic activities were impaired."
Pediatricians should make a greater effort to identify postpartum depression in both mothers and fathers, Paulson said. "Pediatricians, in general, may be in the best position to catch depression, but they don't often do it," he said, adding he's now doing a study to look at patterns of screening for postpartum depression.
Dr. William Coleman is a professor of pediatrics at the University of North Carolina and chairman of the American Academy of Pediatrics committee on the psychosocial aspects of child and family health. "Physicians do a very poor job asking about or detecting postpartum blues in the mother, and they may not even see the father," he said. "They might detect the mother's feelings, but may not even ask the father."
Fathers usually feel elation after a birth, Coleman said, but that feeling of "engrossment" can fade away, depending on family circumstances.
That can happen "if the mother is very, very controlling and wants the baby all to herself," Coleman said. "Also, fathers can experience frustration, sexual and emotional, if they forget to remember that the wife is not interested in sex at that time. If the wife is very motherly and maternal, he might feel kind of useless, on the periphery."
Depression in a father leads to a well-known pattern of behavior, Coleman said. "He tends to work longer, to watch sports more, to drink more and be solitary," he said.
One problem in detecting postpartum depression in fathers is that "pediatricians are not told to inquire about adult issues," Coleman said. "It is a silent game."
Yet, it's important to detect postpartum depression in a father for the sake of the child's long-term outlook, Paulson said. "Based on what we know of mothers' postpartum depression, it is associated with health problems later on, not only emotional problems and difficulties adjusting to school but also basic health problems," he said.
More information
For more on postpartum depression, visit the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
Monday, June 26, 2006
Kapha gives us substance and support
Kapha: Kapha gives us substance and support. Kapha is mainly concerned with providing the physical field for the Vata and Pitta energies. It governs cell structure, bodily secretions, and gives the mind stability.A thick, broad, well-developed frame and large, long limbs go well with a pleasant, deep and resonant voice with low, slow, rhythmic speech. The skin is usually thick, oily, pale or white and cold. Plentiful, thick, wavy, lustrous and generally brown hair is set on a large, rounded and full face. The neck is solid, with a near tree-trunk quality. A large, rounded nose and large, attractive, blue or light brown in color eyes are found in a mouth that is large with big, full lips.
Teeth too are big and white and set in strong gums. Kapha predominated people are calm, steady, considerate - stable, patient personalities they are slow to anger. Not easily provoked, once angry they do not calm down easily. They are honorable, true to their word and avoid lies. Loyal, forgiving and understanding, they can be lethargic, even lazy, if not driven by others. Learning may be slow but memory will be strong. Excellent in logical analysis, they take time before reaching conclusions. Long hours of deep sleep and a strong, enduring sex drive come naturally. While they do save money, it does get spent on food. And there can at times be an element of dullness, given that a kapha mind is usually too content to seek fresh mental stimulation.
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
Ayurveda remedies for Erectile dysfunction article by Dr.SavithaSuri
Twenty million American men suffer from some form of erectile dysfunction. Get the facts so you can get the help you need!Try a Proprietary Formula for Penis Enhancement based on Ayurveda - the Oldest and Most Holistic, Comprehensive Medical System Available.
more information: Erectile dysfunction
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