Herbal Remedies and Complementary Therapies in the News

'Bee sting honey' for arthritis

2009-07-04T08:35:00.001+01:00

A New Zealand company is seeking EU approval to market honeybee venom to help people with arthritis ease their pain.

Nelson Honey & Marketing says two teaspoons a day of its honey with added venom milked from honeybees has anti-inflammatory power to soothe joints. The venom concept is not new - some clinics even offer up bee stings. The UK's Food Standards Agency said it would be considering the application in the coming months.

The Manuka honey with added bee venom has been available in New Zealand for 13 years and its makers say although it does contain a venom, it has proved extremely safe. It contains a blend of honey derived from the native New Zealand Manuka tree and dried venom harvested from the Apis mellifera honeybee using electrical milking machines that send impulses to stimulate worker bees to sting through a latex film onto a glass collector plate.

Source - BBC

Self-help 'makes you feel worse'

2009-07-04T08:32:00.000+01:00

Bridget Jones is not alone in turning to self-help mantras to boost her spirits, but a study warns they may have the opposite effect.

Canadian researchers found those with low self-esteem actually felt worse after repeating positive statements about themselves. They said phrases such as "I am a lovable person" only helped people with high self-esteem. The study appears in the journal Psychological Science.

A UK psychologist said people based their feelings about themselves on real evidence from their lives. The suggestion people should "help themselves" to feel better was first mooted by Victorian Samuel Smiles 150 years ago. His book, called simply "Self Help", sold a quarter of a million copies and included guidance such as: "Heaven helps those who help themselves". Self-help is now a multi-billion pound global industry.

Source - BBC

More harm than good?

2009-07-02T14:37:00.002+01:00

'Rich in antioxidants" is an advertiser's dream slogan. It ensures food and drinks are snapped up in the hope of preventing ageing, cancer or heart disease. Last year, 22 million of us took a supplement and 13% of supplements sold in the UK boasted on the label that they contained antioxidants. Antioxidants, such as vitamins A, C and E, are marketed as good for our health but what is the evidence?

The antioxidant story started more than 40 years ago when scientists discovered that chemicals called Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) react with components of our cells causing damage, sometimes irreversible. This process is called oxidative stress. ROS refer to any chemical that damages the cell by causing this stress. The "damaging free radicals" you hear about are one kind. Unfortunately, ROS are not avoidable; they are chemicals continually produced within our cells that generate the energy we need to stay alive. So cells also contain a battery of defences to protect us against oxidative stress.

Our cells run into trouble when these defences are overwhelmed, for example when we encounter large amounts of ROS; then oxidative stress is associated with heart disease, cancer and ageing. These insurmountable quantities of ROS may be from the environment, for example from cigarette smoke, or pollution, or they may be produced by our own bodies when we're sick.

Recognition that ROS cause disease was the first step towards our fascination with antioxidants; the substances that mop up ROS. Barry Halliwell, a professor of biochemistry at Singapore University and a world expert in free radicals, says that when research started in the mid-1990s it showed "diets rich in plants were associated with lower risk of developing many age-related diseases and most people would have better health if they ate more fruits and vegetables". Plants contain large amounts of antioxidants to protect them against the ROS they produce during photosynthesis, so scientists concluded fruit and veg were beneficial for us because they contained antioxidants. After this, it was assumed that taking antioxidants in the form of vitamin pills would help prevent disease. "The assumption often was that free radicals cause diseases, and antioxidants will prevent and/or cure them," says Halliwell.

Source - Guardian

Could heartburn drugs cause 'rebound' symptoms?

2009-07-02T14:31:00.002+01:00

A group of drugs called proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), which are widely prescribed for heartburn, may actually cause heartburn and other 'rebound' symptoms when people stop taking them, researchers suggest. Their study found that healthy volunteers who took a PPI called esomeprazole were at risk of developing heartburn and other acid-related symptoms once they stopped the drug..

The researchers suggest that this could explain why people who are prescribed PPIs end up taking them for long periods, although more research is needed to confirm this.

What do we know already?

Many people take PPIs for frequent heartburn, which is often caused by a condition called gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD for short). PPI drugs include omeprazole, lansoprazole, rabeprazole, pantoprazole, and esomeprazole. Most PPIs are only available on prescription, although omeprazole is available over the counter in pharmacies.

PPIs are designed to ease symptoms like heartburn and help heal any soreness or inflammation in the gullet (oesophagus). They work by reducing the amount of acid in the stomach, so there is less acid to flow back into the gullet and make it sore. For many people, these drugs are prescribed as a temporary treatment that ends after a month or two, once symptoms are under control. However, studies have shown that increasing numbers of people are continuing to take PPIs long term, without a clear medical reason (such as severe GORD). The reasons for this increase in long-term use aren't clear, although some researchers have reported a 'rebound' increase in the amount of acid being made in the stomach once treatment stops.

Researchers have now done the first large, good-quality study to find out if PPIs increase acid-related symptoms for some people once they stop taking them.

What does the new study say?

The study, which involved 120 healthy volunteers, found that those who took a PPI called esomeprazole for eight weeks, were more likely to develop heartburn, indigestion, and similar symptoms in the weeks after they stopped taking the drug. Overall, 44 percent of people who took the drug reported at least one acid-related symptom after stopping, compared with 15 per cent of volunteers who took an inactive placebo. The symptoms caused mild-to-moderate discomfort.

None of the participants had GORD or related symptoms at the start of the study. This meant that any increase in symptoms during the study could be related to the treatment, rather than to an existing condition.

If PPIs cause 'rebound' symptoms once stopped, it could lead to people becoming dependent on them, say the researchers.

Source - Guardian

Journal - Gastroentorology

Antibiotics may put children at risk of repeated ear infections

2009-07-02T14:27:00.000+01:00

Giving children antibiotics for an ear infection could make them more vulnerable to similar infections in future, a new study has found. The researchers say that antibiotics should be used more carefully.

What do we know already?

Ear infections are one of the most common childhood illnesses, affecting almost all children at some point. Simple painkillers, like paracetamol, are the standard treatment.

Antibiotics help children get better more quickly, but there are downsides. These include potential side effects for the child, like diarrhoea, and also a wider risk that bacteria will evolve resistance to commonly used antibiotics, creating 'superbugs' that can't be easily treated.

At the moment, doctors are advised to offer antibiotics to children under 2 and to those with more severe infections. However, not much is known about the long-term consequences of giving antibiotics. A new study followed 168 children for 3 years after treatment to see what the after effects might be.

What does the new study say?

Children who took antibiotics for an ear infection had a higher risk of further infections over the next 3 years.

In the group of children who were originally treated with antibiotics, 63 in 100 went on to get another ear infection. Only 43 in 100 children got another infection if they'd been given an inactive placebo.

There are a couple of possible explanations for the results. Antibiotics could kill off some of the weaker bacteria causing the infection, leaving more space for tougher, antibiotic-resistant bacteria to grow. It's also possible that killing bacteria with antibiotics means less work for a child's immune system, leading to weaker protection from infections in future.

Source - Guardian

Vegetarians 'avoid more cancers'

2009-07-01T09:51:00.001+01:00

Vegetarians are generally less likely than meat eaters to develop cancer but this does not apply to all forms of the disease, a major study has found.

The study involving 60,000 people found those who followed a vegetarian diet developed notably fewer cancers of the blood, bladder and stomach. But the apparently protective effect of vegetarian did not seem to stretch to bowel cancer, a major killer. The study is published in the British Journal of Cancer.

Researchers from universities in the UK and New Zealand followed 61,566 British men and women. They included meat-eaters, those who ate fish but not meat, and those who ate neither meat nor fish. Overall, their results suggested that while in the general population about 33 people in 100 will develop cancer during their lifetime, for those who do not eat meat that risk is reduced to about 29 in 100.

Source - BBC

Puppy to sniff out cancer

2009-06-26T14:25:00.001+01:00

A police puppy which will be trained to “sniff out” cancer has been gifted to a charity.

Copper, a cocker spaniel, was given to Cancer and Bio-detection Dogs, which trains dogs to detect the scent of cancer from urine samples. The dogs can also be trained to help people with diabetes by picking up the odour of changes in insulin levels before alerting owners to potential hypoglycaemic attacks.

Copper was born as part of Strathclyde Police’s puppy breeding programme and begins her new life with the Buckinghamshire-based charity today. She is one of a litter of seven pups and her brothers and sisters will begin their regular police dog training in a year.

Strathclyde Police dog training sergeant Tracy Reid said: “Our breeding programme has been very successful. We have had 14 puppies born this year alone including this litter, so we are pleased to be in a position to contribute to a worthy cause by donating one of our dogs. Copper is inquisitive and has lots of energy so we hope she sails through the training.”

Claire Guest, founder of Cancer and Bio-detection Dogs, said: “We are very grateful for the support Strathclyde Police has given to our charity and the force’s generous offer of a working cocker spaniel from the breeding programme.”

The charity published a joint study in the British Medical Journal in 2004 which showed for the first time that dogs can be trained to identify the odour of bladder cancer within urine. The finding opened the way for the new method of diagnosing bladder cancer, which was simple, quick and non-invasive.

Source - Independent

How to beat back pain

2009-06-26T14:22:00.000+01:00

Every day of the year, the number of Britons who are off work with back pain would fill London's new Olympic stadium. Yes, Britain's got backache – and in a very big way. Yet rather surprisingly, a lot of people have no idea about what causes back pain, or of how to avoid it, or how to treat it. Many of them think, "Oh, it won't happen to me". But it probably will. So here are 10 things not a lot of people know about back pain. Reading it might just save you from a lot of discomfort in the future.

Back pain is often preventable

Back pain doesn't just happen out of the blue. Very frequently, it's caused by doing something that is distinctly unwise. Common examples include: leaning forward to pick something up, without bending your knees – this puts a big strain on your lumbar region; lifting something that's far too heavy for you; carrying something weighty, but holding it away from your body – a load that is held tight against the body will put much less stress on the back; twisting round suddenly – for instance, to get something off the back seat of the car; continuing with what you were doing when the back pain started – if you suddenly feel pain while gardening, golfing, working out in the gym, carrying a toddler or sitting in an uncomfortable chair, then stop. Alas, the British have an endearing tendency to carry on, in the hope that it will all be OK. It probably won't.

You should take care of your sacro-iliacs

Most British people have never heard of the sacro-iliac joints. This is in sharp contrast to Americans, who are forever staggering into their doctors' offices muttering, "I guess it's my S-I joints again, Doc." The sacro-iliacs are a fairly common source of low back pain. There are two of them, and they are located just under the pair of dimples many people have at the top of their buttocks.

They are easily thrown out of kilter by sudden or awkward bending forward. Thus, the last time I had trouble with mine was on the day I tried to trim the lawn using a cheap, nasty, unwieldy strimmer that was much too short for my height.

Bending forward to vacuum the floor is another common cause of S-I joint pain. Typically, this is a dull ache that gets worse whenever you try to stand up from a chair. Happily, it gets better with rest. Manipulation often helps.

Source - Independent

Alcohol link to one in 25 deaths

2009-06-26T09:31:00.002+01:00

One in 25 deaths across the world are linked to alcohol consumption, Canadian experts have suggested.

Writing in the Lancet, the team from the University of Toronto added that the level of disease linked to drinking affects poorest people the most.

Worldwide, average alcohol consumption is around 12 units a week - but in Europe that soars to 21.5. The report authors warn the effect of alcohol disease is similar to that of smoking a decade ago. The analysis also found that 5% of years lived with disability are attributable to alcohol consumption.

The paper says that, although there have been some benefits of moderate drinking in relation to cardiovascular disease, these are far outweighed by the detrimental effects of alcohol on disease and injury.

In addition to diseases directly caused by drinking, such as liver disorders, a wide range of other conditions such as mouth and throat cancer, colorectal cancer, breast cancer, depression and stroke are linked to drinking.

Drinking patterns do vary around the world, and the researchers point out that most of the adult population - 45% of men and 66% of women - abstain from drinking alcohol for most of them for their life.

Across the Americas, average consumption is 17 units per week, while the Middle East was the lowest at 1.3 units per week.

Source - BBC

Annabel Croft: Why I have come to rely on homeopathic medicine

2009-06-25T08:59:00.000+01:00

Aconite, gelsemiun, ignatia… just a few things you might want to have handy when Andy Murray steps out at Wimbledon this week. For these homeopathic remedies can be helpful if, in respective order, you're feeling anxious and fearful, suffering pre-match nerves in the stands at Centre Court or, worse still, concerned that you might be grief-stricken when the umpire calls game, set and match.

You won't be alone in relying on homeopathic help; in the commentary box, former England women's number one Annabel Croft, now a TV presenter and mother of three, will be reaching for a cocktail of remedies to see her through the tournament. Annabel, who is reporting from Wimbledon for BBC Radio 5 Live and GMTV, has been taking homeopathic medicine in advance of the competition to prepare for whatever comes her way this week.

But her first encounter with homeopathy – a form of complementary treatment based on the premise that tiny quantities of certain substances can stimulate the body's natural forces of recovery – came in rather more dramatic circumstances.

In 2003, Annabel, now 42, began suffering throbbing pains on her lower left-hand side. The pain was sometimes so intense that, on several occasions, it caused her to faint. At one point, her daughter Amber, now 15, was so frightened she was on the verge of calling an ambulance.

After referral from a GP, an ultrasound scan from a private doctor showed that Annabel had developed a cyst on her left ovary. While ovarian cysts – fluid-filled sacs – are common and usually painless, if they swell, they can cause acute pain and may need to be removed. Annabel's pain was "unbearable", she says, and her GP thought she would need an operation.

Source - Telegraph

Are lentils the perfect food?

2009-06-25T08:57:00.000+01:00

Hate at first sight can often turn into love. I remember meeting my husband in someone else's house, taking one look and asking when he was leaving. Three years later, I arrived horribly late at Hawling Church, all dressed up to marry him.

Sixteen years on from that date, and the man I married has revived a teenage ambition to ride as an amateur jockey, losing several stone to reach the ideal racing weight. Lentils, something else with which I began an ambiguous relationship, play a vital part in the diet.

Being his stablemate, it is only fair to follow the regime with him and not sit there downing bottles of Tariquet in his presence. Consequently, we are eating lentils noon and night. I should be bored, but oddly, never am.

Scroll back to a much longer time ago and this would have been unthinkable. I can still remember the first time my mother made lentils and served them with boiled ox tongue.

As a teenager I was horror-struck. Ox tongue I could cope with (she was brilliant at cooking it) but these lentil things, I decided, were much worse than the dreaded grey peas they gave us at school. Earthy, slightly floury, I laboured to swallow a single mouthful.

I did not know that my mother was ahead of her time, cooking little green lentilles de Puy long before they were discovered by modern British chefs in the Eighties, nor did I ever expect to love them.

Source - Telegraph

A few extra pounds helps you live longer, study finds

2009-06-25T08:53:00.001+01:00

While the obese or underweight are at greater risk of death, people marginally overweight have longer lifespans than those considered to be of "healthy" weight, researchers claim.

The findings defy the commonly held belief that staying slim is the secret to healthy and long life. Scientists examined the relationship between body mass index and death among 11,326 adults in Canada over a 12-year period. They discovered that underweight people were 70 per cent more likely than people of normal weight to die, and extremely obese people were 36 per cent more likely to die.

However, modestly overweight individuals were 17 per cent less likely to die, the study showed. The relative risk for obese people was nearly the same as for people of normal weight, the report concluded.

The research was conducted by experts at Statistics Canada, Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research, Portland State University, Oregon Health & Science University, and McGill University.

Commenting on the findings, David Feeny from the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research, said: "It's not surprising that extreme underweight and extreme obesity increase the risk of dying. But it is surprising that carrying a little extra weight may give people a longevity advantage."

However, the researchers also warned people of normal weight not to try to put on extra pounds in the hope of improving their health.

Source - Telegraph

Mobile phones for children: a boon or a peril?

2009-06-25T08:45:00.001+01:00

In a world where everyone is busy texting and chatting, more and more parents believe that their little ones should join the fun. In spite of dire warnings about the long-term harm that mobile phone use may wreak on young children’s mental and physical health, we have just passed the tipping point: more than half of British children aged between 5 and 9 own a mobile phone.

Now, in this rapidly expanding market, a major network is about to adopt a range of kiddie-phones designed for children as young as 4, with claims that its handsets are safer and smarter. But can there be any sense in texting toddlers?

Health concerns about the impact of mobile phone use on adults’ brains may have largely subsided but government guidelines still warn that children’s vulnerable grey matter should be protected. Professor Lawrie Challis, an emeritus professor of physics who has led the Government’s mobile-phone safety research, says that parents should not give children phones before secondary school. After that, they should encourage them to text rather than to make calls, as texting exposes their brains to lower levels of electromagnetic radiation.

“We have no idea if they are different in reaction to this sort of radio frequency,” says Challis, “but there are reasons why they may be — children react differently to ionising radiation, radioactivity and gamma rays. If you are exposed to too much sunlight as a child, you are far more likely to get skin cancer than if you are exposed as an adult.”

A disturbing study by researchers at Örebro University Hospital in Sweden last year indicated that children may be five times more likely to get brain cancer if they use mobile phones.

Source - Times

Aspartame to be investigated after decade of claims it harms health

2009-06-25T08:41:00.001+01:00

Allegations that the artificial sweetener aspartame is linked to headaches and stomach upsets are to be investigated.

The Food Standards Agency say the sweetener, marketed as Nutrasweet and Canderel, is safe. However it has ordered a probe into consumer concerns.

The Agency's chief scientist Andrew Wadge, said: 'This research is not to test the safety of aspartame – that is already established. The study will address consumer concerns, including anecdotal reports that have linked a range of conditions to aspartame. The Agency’s view remains that aspartame can be consumed safely and we are not recommending any changes to its current use. However, we know that some people consider they react badly to consuming this sweetener so we think it is important to increase our knowledge about what is happening.’

The pilot study will start next month and will be used to inform the design and feasibility of a proposed study led by the European Food Safety Authority.

In May 2006, EFSA rejected a study by Italian scientists which named aspartame as a cancer risk. The watchdog said the study identifying a risk of leukaemia, kidney and other cancers was flawed. Subsequently, the author of the research, Dr Morandi Soffritti of the Ramazzini Foundation, stood by his team's findings and called for further research.

Source - Daily Mail

Why apples, avocados and a glass of red wine could ease your arthritis

2009-06-25T08:38:00.001+01:00

Arthritis is the term used for nearly 200 painful conditions of the joints and bones. It affects about 7million people in the UK and all types have similar symptoms of swelling, inflammation of joints, stiffness and restriction of movement.

Many of us take our joints for granted until they start playing up, by which time significant damage may already have occurred. But the sooner you start looking after your joints, the better. The good news is that many cases of arthritis can be relieved, postponed or even prevented by good joint care.

Research shows a definite link between the food you eat and the severity of your symptoms. Like your heart, your joints thrive best on plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables. Try to eat at least five (and preferably eight or more) servings a day. Fruit and vegetables provide an array of antioxidants that reduce the rate at which cartilage breaks down, helping to slow the process of osteoarthritis. Antioxidants can also reduce inflammation and help combat rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and gout.

Apples and avocados are anti-inflammatory superfoods. Don't peel your apples - the skin contains five times more antioxidants than the flesh. Oily fish are a rich source of omega-3 essential fatty acids that oil the joints and damp down inflammation. Research shows that omega-3 can reduce the long-term need for painkillers in those with joint problems. You should aim to eat oily fish such as salmon, sardines, herrings and mackerel two to four times a week. You can also take an omega-3 fish oil supplement.

Drink plenty of fluids - approximately three to five pints (two to three litres) - a day to maintain good hydration and a steady flow of nutrients to your joints. Choose from water, soups, tea and juices.

You may find your symptoms are triggered by particular foods. Culprit foods vary, so it's important to keep a food-and-symptom diary to help pinpoint the foods that irritate. This is not always easy, as symptoms can worsen up to 36 hours after eating a trigger food.

Source - Daily Mail

Opera 'is music for the heart'

2009-06-25T08:24:00.000+01:00

Listening to the right kind of music can slow the heart and lower blood pressure, a study has revealed.

Rousing operatic music, like Puccini's Nessun Dorma, full of crescendos and diminuendos is best and could help stroke rehabilitation, say the authors. Music is already used holistically at the bedside in many hospitals. Not only is it cheap and easy to administer, music has discernible physical effects on the body as well as mood, Circulation journal reports.

Music with a faster tempo increases breathing, heart rate and blood pressure, while slower-pace music does the reverse.

Dr Luciano Bernardi and colleagues, from Italy's Pavia University, asked 24 healthy volunteers to listen to five random tracks of classical music and monitored how their bodies responded. They included selections from Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, an aria from Puccini's Turandot, Bach's cantata No 169, Va Pensiero from Nabucco and Libiam Nei Lieti Calici from La Traviata.

Every musical crescendo - a gradual volume increase - "aroused" the body and led to narrowing of blood vessels under the skin, increased blood pressure and heart rate and increased respiratory rates. Conversely, the diminuendos - gradual volume decreases - caused relaxation, which slowed heart rate and lowered blood pressure.

Source -BBC

Green tea 'slows prostate cancer'

2009-06-20T10:01:00.000+01:00

A chemical found in green tea appears to slow the progression of prostate cancer, a study has suggested.

Green tea has been linked to a positive effect on a wide range of conditions, including heart disease, cancer and Alzheimer's disease. The research, in the US journal Cancer Prevention Research, found a significant fall in certain markers which indicate cancer development. A UK charity said the tea might help men manage low-risk tumours.

Although previous studies have shown benefits from drinking green tea - including some positive findings in relation to prostate cancer, there have been mixed results. In this study, Philadelphia-based researchers tested a compound called Polyphenon E.

They were looking for a number of biomarkers - molecules - including vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) which are indicators of developing cancer. They also looked for prostate specific antigen (PSA) - a protein only found in the prostate. Levels can rise if cancer is present.

Source - BBC

Time to chop and change

2009-06-18T13:56:00.001+01:00

According to Danish researchers, cooking carrots whole before chopping them has been shown to preserve more of the potentially cancer-busting supernutrient falcarinol. But carrots are not the only vegetable that can benefit from some special treatment in the kitchen. The same guidelines apply to preparing and cooking everything from garlic to broccoli, says Amanda Ursell

Sweetcorn

Cooking for the shortest possible time, in minimal water, preserves the folate, which, as well as keeping the nervous system in good shape, for pregnant women reduces the risk of babies being born with spina bifida. In some people it also lowers homocysteine, a substance in the blood which, like cholesterol, helps to block arteries and cause heart disease. Stir-frying, microwaving and short steaming are the best options.

Tomatoes

Boiling tomatoes down to a rich sauce has been shown to release the nutrient lycopene — which studies have shown is linked with lower levels of prostate and lung cancer. Our bodies find it hard to extract the lycopene from raw tomatoes because it is bound up in the plants’ cell walls and fibres. Adding a little oil will further increase the body’s ability to absorb lycopene.

Broccoli

Raw broccoli may not be to everyone’s taste but cooking destroys the enzyme myrosinase, which converts supernutrients into sinigrin. Studies have suggested that this chemical triggers pre-cancerous cells to, effectively, commit hara-kiri. Even if you do cook broccoli, our bodies have digestive enzymes that can take over this conversion process.

Garlic

Health-wise, it is better to crush raw garlic cloves between your teeth than it is to cook them. When the raw bulb is crushed or chewed, the sulphurous supernutrient alliin is converted into allicin, which appears to make our blood less sticky and therefore less likely to clot.

Asparagus

Asparagus is an excellent food for the B vitamin folate, which we need for a healthy nervous system. You can conserve maximum amounts of folate by steaming the asparagus upright in a little water, in a pan with the lid on, until just tender. Thankfully, cooking does not destroy fructo-oligosaccharides, a special type of fibre that helps to produce good probiotic bacteria, which aid digestion.

Lettuce

To get the most from your lettuce, tear rather than chop it, preferably just before eating it. Cutting with a knife damages the cellular structure, releasing oxidising enzymes which destroy vitamin C. This is true of most salad leaves — avoid pre-packed salads that contain chopped leaves. Lollo Rosso is one of the most nutrient-rich lettuce varieties. With its red “frill” at the top of the leaves, it delivers high levels of the supernutrient quercetin, which is linked to lowering bad cholesterol, and vitamin K, which is needed for strong bones.

Source - Times

St John's Wort helps cold hands

2009-06-18T13:53:00.001+01:00

St John's Wort, the herb widely used to treat depression, may help patients with Raynaud's syndrome, a condition that makes sufferers' fingers and toes go white and numb.

In a new Canadian trial, patients will take three 300mg tablets, three times a day for six weeks. It is hoped the herb will not only decrease the frequency of attacks, but also the duration and severity.

Raynaud's is thought to affect around 10 million Britons. It occurs when the blood vessels that supply blood to the skin temporarily narrow. In some cases it may be linked to medication such as beta-blockers, but mostly there is no apparent cause.

Treatments often include antidepressants. These act on the brain chemical serotonin, which is known to narrow blood vessels.

Source - Daily Mail

St John's Wort also acts on serotonin.

Shock of grandmother's death restores sight of teenage girl blinded in windsurfing accident

2009-06-18T13:47:00.001+01:00

A blind teenage windsurfer has had her sight restored - by the trauma of her grandmother's death.

Charly Sissons went blind from shock after a windsurfing accident last summer triggered a repressed memory of her being bullied and held underwater when she was a child. But this year, her grandmother Dorothy's death restored the 15-year-old's sight. Charly said: 'It was amazing. I was crying over Nan dying, and then I was crying tears of joy that I could see again.'

Charly was plunged into a world of darkness last August after she was trapped under her board while windsurfing. The accident triggered memories of being bullied when she was four years old when another girl held her underwater during a swimming lesson.

She said: 'The details of who did it and what happened after are hazy, but I have vivid memories of thinking I was going to die. When I was out windsurfing last year, I suddenly lost it and fell into the water. The board was on top of me and I was tangled underneath the sail. For a few seconds, I panicked. All of a sudden I suffered a flashback to being four years old.'

The next day her eyesight started to fail. She said: 'It was as if I was looking through two black rings. I was very frightened.' Days later, she had lost all the sight in her right eye and could only make out fuzzy shapes in her other.

Her mother Gill, 53, drove her straight to the nearest accident and emergency unit where she immediately referred to a specialist eye clinic.

The next day. Charly went totally blind.

Source - Daily Mail

Can lack of sleep drive you mad?

2009-06-18T13:42:00.000+01:00

How long could you manage without sleep? The current record-holder is Randy Gardner, who as a 17-year-old Californian high-school student back in 1964 managed a staggering 265 hours – or 11 days – without so much as a nap.

“I wanted to prove that bad things didn’t happen if you went without sleep,” Gardner explained. In fact, by the time he finally broke the record, Gardner had endured crippling exhaustion, forgetfulness, dizziness, slurred speech and blurred vision. He’d been moody and irritable, and unable to concentrate on the simplest tasks. He’d even experienced hallucinations and delusions (on one occasion, for instance, imagining that he was the legendary San Diego Chargers’ running back Paul Lowe). “We got halfway through the damn thing and I thought, ‘This is tough. I don’t want to do this any more,’ ” Gardner recalled in 2006. “But everybody was looking at me so I couldn’t quit.”

Of course, you don’t need to have made an attempt on Randy Gardner’s record to know that lack of sleep can have some pretty unwelcome consequences. Anyone who has ever had to suffer a sleepless night will know just how disruptive it can be. The following day we’re tired, irritable, a little miserable, and generally out of sorts. And the longer sleep problems go on, the more wretched we feel.

The consequences don’t end there. It’s long been known that people with psychological problems such as anxiety, depression, paranoia, bipolar disorder, and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) don’t sleep well. Until recently, it was assumed their sleep difficulties were a product of the psychological problem. But research suggests that the process may also work in the opposite direction: persistent sleep problems may help cause and exacerbate a number of common mental illnesses.

Source - Independent

Hope for test to measure ageing

2009-06-18T13:37:00.001+01:00

Scientists are developing a simple blood test to measure how fast the body's tissues are ageing at a molecular level.

They have found that as tissue ages, concentrations of a protein called p16INK4a dramatically increases. Measuring levels of the protein could potentially provide a way to assess how healthy the tissues are, and how they will respond to surgery or drugs.

The University of North Carolina study appears in the journal Aging Cell.

Scientists are already interested in p16INK4a because it is known to play a role in suppressing the development of cancer. The protein is present in the T-cells of the immune system, which play a key role in fighting disease, and repairing tissue damage.

Source - BBC

Cancer boost from whole carrots

2009-06-18T13:34:00.001+01:00

The anti-cancer properties of carrots are more potent if the vegetable is not cut up before cooking, research shows.

Scientists found "boiled before cut" carrots contained 25% more of the anti-cancer compound falcarinol than those chopped up first. Experiments on rats fed falcarinol have shown they develop fewer tumours.

The Newcastle University study will be presented at NutrEvent, a conference on nutrition and health, to be held in France.

Lead researcher Dr Kirsten Brandt, from Newcastle University's School of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, said: "Chopping up your carrots increases the surface area so more of the nutrients leach out into the water while they are cooked. By keeping them whole and chopping them up afterwards you are locking in nutrients and the taste, so the carrot is better for you all round."

The Newcastle scientist, along with colleagues at the University of Denmark, discovered the health benefits of falcarinol in carrots four years ago.

Source - BBC

ADHD: the tale of one boy and a dog

2009-06-13T10:46:00.001+01:00

Liam Creed is not the most voluble of 17-year-olds. No small talk, speaks to a visitor when spoken to, and in that sense he is entirely normal. Yet for him to spend 90 minutes without swearing, kicking anything or exploding out of the room is considerable progress, and that is the level of calm that I witnessed . As a child Liam was naughty and difficult. He pulled up plants, broke things, scratched cars, was excluded from school and had no friends. He was 8 when a psychiatrist said he had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Did it make a difference to have an explanation, I ask. “Not really. I just used it as an excuse for everything,” Liam replies with a grin.

This is an honest answer, and gratifyingly off-script. I am talking to Liam because his name is on the cover of a book that charts the story of a 14-year-old boy who has ADHD and has reached the last-chance saloon at school, when he is invited to spend one day a week working for a charity called Canine Partners (www.caninepartners.co.uk), which trains dogs to help disabled people. He meets a lovable and mischievous 14-month-old labrador called Aero and over six months the boy learns to take charge of the dog. In due course, a brilliantly trained Aero bounds off to his new owner, and the boy into the sunset, his ADHD under control and with a dream of working with dogs burning in his heart.

The book is based on an outline provided by Liam and his mum; the saccharine-loaded brush strokes have been crafted by a ghost writer. This is not to underestimate the difficulties that Liam and his parents have faced, and his experiences are instructive. So are his responses because he has a habit of inadvertently putting his finger on the controversy that surrounds ADHD. As often happens with recently medicalised conditions — attention deficit disorder became ADHD in the 1980s and can be treated with drugs — the number of diagnoses has risen rapidly. It is estimated that up to 5 per cent of school-age children have the condition and sceptics regard it as a convenient label for anti-social children who have grown up without structure and can’t pass exams.

“I got into trouble a lot, just did things before I thought about them, probably because I wanted attention,” Liam says. “We didn’t know what to do until I was told what I had and was given Ritalin. The head teacher didn’t even believe in ADHD. Before I met Aero I didn’t think I was good at anything. After I met him I was like, I’m doing something with my life.”

Source - Times

Gossip is good for you: Women who chat regularly are happier and healthier

2009-06-13T10:33:00.001+01:00

Their menfolk might argue that the last thing women need is another reason to gossip. But it actually makes them healthier, scientists claim.

Research shows gossiping boosts levels of progesterone, a hormone which reduces anxiety and stress. It also plays an important part in social bonding, making women happier.

Researchers at the University of Michigan put 160 female students in pairs, and half were given questions to ask each other designed to bring them closer together. These included 'Given the choice of anyone in the world, who would you want as a dinner guest?' and 'What has been your greatest accomplishment?' The remaining pairs were asked to proof-read a research paper on botany.

After 20 minutes, the students who got to know each other through 'chatty' questions saw progesterone levels stay the same or increase. But in the other group, progesterone declined.

Professor Stephanie Brown, who led the research, which was published in the journal Hormones and Behaviour, said: 'Many of the hormones involved in bonding and helping behaviour lead to reductions in stress and anxiety.'

Source - Daily Mail