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Recipe for your hair and skin problems

Feb 19, 2015

4018

How great would it be if you get to have the panacea lotion that could make your skin and hair in the most perfect condition that you always wanted them to be in. It is a common scene to witness people running after the products offered by biggest of the Multi-National Companies but not getting the results at all. So, they end up getting nothing plus wasting a lot of time and money to get the perfect fit for their hair and skin which could keep them healthy.

How would you react if you know you have been keeping the remedy for years in your kitchen and your mum has been using it since ages, for all your household chores? Still, wondering what it is. It is lying somewhere on your kitchen shelf or the sauce cabinet. Voila! It is the Vinegar.

Vinegar is the panacea that can be used to keep your skin and hair healthy. The western diet contains a lot of vinegar which tends to give the westerners a lot of charm on their skin and hair. In countries like India, especially the northern part,� the onions are soaked in vinegar and then consumed with the vegetables, rice and grams and that is why you would see the Indians from the north being the fairest of all the Indians. So, it is usually a regular part of the diet but even then its most miraculous characteristics are unknown to us.

Vinegar too is found in different types and tastes. In its most natural form, Vinegar is present in the form of Apple Cider Vinegar which is the most famous variant. The consumption of this form of vinegar is most famous in the western parts of the world where the benefits of its consumption are known as compared to Asian countries where these are actually produced in large number but exported more than is actually consumed. The apple Cider Vinegar is extracted from a thorough processing and fermentation of the apple pulp. The benefits that it gives are present in bounty. It tends to leave a healthy and noticeable luster on your hair, a radiant skin that tends to keep all the kinds of skins problems at bay and also acts as a great cleaning aid in kitchen to help you in the toughest of kitchen tasks.

Apple Cider Vinegar spins magic when it comes to striking a balance between your scalp and the pH level of your hair. It carries anti-fungal and anti-bacterial remedies that take good care of infections on the scalp, itchiness, dandruff and dryness. All you need to do is put some vinegar after the shampoo and you would maintain a good pH level of your scalp leaving you with the most desired hair-shiny and smooth. It also takes care of the hair cuticles which are course.

Researchers have observed that the apple cider vinegar can help one lose weight, keep a normal blood pressure and even sugar levels, help to a great extent in fighting cold, diabetes, cancer and even maintain the high cholesterol levels. It keeps the immunity of the body intact and fights any kind of stomach problems relating to constipation, infection in the intestines etc. It removes any kind of toxins present in your body and lowers the level of glucose in the body.

Also, warm water gargles are taken with a pinch of vinegar in it, will help you fight bad breath.� Your skin and your hair would not stop thanking you if you happen to add it in hot water and sip it at least half an hour before your meal. It will increase your metabolism and keep your appetite in control.

References

https://www.hairskinremedies.com/

https://www.thehealthsite.com/beauty/11-traditional-indian-home-remedies-for-beautiful-skin-and-hair-gallery/

MRI Scan Sensitive to Metabolic Changes Reveals Brain Differences in Bipolar Disorder

Feb 19, 2015

4288

MRI Scan Sensitive to Metabolic Changes Reveals Brain Differences in Bipolar Disorder

When we look at something in a new way, it brings to light an entire new perspective. The same can be said to hold true for the new findings by the researchers at the University of Iowa. They used an MRI technique that is sensitive to certain byproducts of cell metabolism like the levels of glucose and acidity and found previously unrecognized differences in the brains of patients with bipolar disorder.

There were a total of 40 participants for this study � 15 of them had bipolar disorder and 25 were normal. The T1rho MRI scans revealed that brain regions in 15 participants with bipolar disorder had elevated signal as compared to the 25 participants who did not have bipolar disorder. The study was published recently in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.

Bipolar affects nearly 1% of the population. It is characterized by sudden mood shifts from normal to depressed or manic mood state. Despite it being relatively common, scientists do not have a good understanding of the cause of this psychiatric condition.

The findings of the study say that there were marked differences in the white matter of patients’ brains and in the cerebellum, an area of the brain not previously linked with the disorder. It is interesting to note that the cerebellar differences were not present in patients who were lithium – the most commonly used treatment for bipolar disorder.

John Wemmie, MD, PhD, UI professor of psychiatry and senior author of the study said that this imaging technique used for the study seem to be sensitive to things that had not been imaged effectively before. �So, it is providing a new picture that paves way for new insights into the composition and function of the brain suffering from in bipolar disease.

The MRI imaging technique used by the researchers is known as quantitative high-resolution T1 rho mapping. It is is sensitive to certain byproducts of cell metabolism, like the levels of glucose and acidity in the brain. The researchers found that the MRI signal was elevated in the cerebral white matter and the cerebellar region of people who had bipolar disorder as compared to the people who did not have this condition. It is understood that the elevated signal may be due to either a reduction in pH or a reduction in glucose concentration. There have been previous studies which suggest that abnormal cell metabolism have a role to play in bipolar disorder. However, further studies had been hindered due to the lack of good imaging tools. The new MRI imaging technique used for the first time to investigate a psychiatric disease has solved the problem. It can rapidly acquire a high-resolution image of the whole brain.

Casey Johnson, PhD, UI postdoctoral researcher and first author on the study said that no one looked at the cerebellum for bipolar disorder before. There has been evidence of differences in the frontal region of the brain in bipolar disorder in previous studies.

To find pieces of evidence that suggested that the cerebellum may function abnormally in bipolar disorder, Johnson and Wemmie conducted an extensive search of the scientific literature on bipolar disorder.� It is possible that lithium might potentially target the cerebellum and alter glucose levels in this brain region. Lithium is undoubtedly an effective mood stabilizer for people with bipolar disorder, but it does have side effects that can be quite unpleasant.

If effect of lithium on the cerebellum is key to treating bipolar disease, then the researchers hope that the new insights provided by the T1 rho imaging might help in finding a more targeted treatment for the disorder that can bring similar change in the cerebellum, but doesn't have undesirable side-effects.

References

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-01-mri-scan-sensitive-metabolic-reveals.html

https://neurosciencenews.com/neuroimaging-bipolar-metabolic-changes-1676/

Basics of Meditation

Feb 18, 2015

3623

Meditation helps you to understand yourself better and to attain a state of inner peace, that helps you live life in a better way eliminating all tensions and stress. Meditation is a life transforming experience with many benefits. A person enhances his personality mentally, physically and spiritually. With many lifelong benefits of this practice, meditation has become a desirable practice in order to keep your body calm and composed.

If you are one among the people, who really want to attain the state of inner peace and are not here just to read and forget, your effort is appreciable because in this world of busy lives, people merely tend to give time to themselves, their health and fitness. Meditation is an art, where you silence your mind, listen to your soul, remove all junk from your mind, and make it a better and clean place to live in. When stress and tensions go out of mind, life becomes more easy and beautiful. Moreover a person becomes physically and mentally healthy and strong. Some people travel distances just to find peace from the busy and crowded life. But instead of it, many people forget that it's not crowded on streets, it's their mind which is crowded with negativities and stress of busy life.

Below are mentioned some of the basics of meditation, which would help you to gear up yourself on the enlightened way of relaxation, inner peace and positivity.

Find a good place, where you are alone and there are no disturbances, noises and interruptions. It may be your bathroom, bedroom or any space, where no one interrupts.
Sitting posture is another important aspect of meditation. Be in your comfortable posture. Keeping your back straight is recommended as it would help in free flow of energy.
Concentrate on your breathing and try to control it. Instead of forcing it to something, just calm down and allow the free flow of air, from your lungs to the brain.
Focus on your breath. This would fade away the noises.
Detach yourself from any kind of thoughts. It is somewhat difficult for some people, but try to make your mind as much silent, so that you can meditate.
Don't eat before meditation and never stand up in between of meditation to feed yourself.
Keep your sustained attention on the moment you are living in, rather than focusing on unwanted stuff.
Instead of effort, go for skillful efforts. Directing your energy in right direction is as important.
Do remember, meditation doesn't makes regular payouts. The effects are definite, which is gradual process and is achieved by experience.

So, meditation is not a single day's process. An effort done every day to achieve an inner peace is important, as practice makes man perfect. It's important that you leave all your sorrows and tensions behind, because a meditation with no concentration is just the wastage of time. If you are really interested in meditation, chose a day when you are calm, rather than when you are annoyed with people or situations, because on the day of mental stress, concentrating is a difficult task.

The goals of meditation are ultimate. If done calmly and properly, the meditation helps you to reach the highest level of awareness and inner calm.

Your meditation space should be a place you feel at peace, and free of distractions of any kind. The temperature should be such that you are comfortable � you don't want a hot, stuffy room that will put you to sleep, and you don't want to be uncomfortably chilled, either!

References

https://www.omharmonics.com/blog/basics-of-meditation/

www.freemeditation.com/meditation-basics/

Fat isn’t all bad: Skin adipocytes help protect against infections

Feb 17, 2015

3636

Our body's immune system protects us from skin infections. But, how our immune system responds to this infection depends on a number of things. In a new study that was published in an issue of Science recently says that the researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicines have made a surprising discovery. It reveals that the fat cells below the skin also play the role of protecting us from bacterial infection.

The dermal fat cells are known as adipocytes. In this study carried out by Richard Gallo, MD, PhD, professor and chief of dermatology at UC San Diego School of Medicine, and colleagues, it has discovered that these dermal fat cells produce antimicrobial peptides which help in fending off invading bacteria and other pathogens.

Gallo, the study’s principal investigator said that it was thought that once the skin barrier was broken, the responsibility of protecting us from the infection was on the circulating white blood cells like neutrophils and macrophages. Now, we have discovered that it takes time to recruit these cells at the wound site and till then the fat stem cells produce antimicrobials which protect us.

The way our immune system works is complex; it is multi-tiered and it eventually culminates in the in the arrival of neutrophils and monocytes – specialized cells who fight pathogens. But, since these cells take time to arrive at the wound site, the body needs something else for an immediate response. This work is done by epithelial cells, mast cells and leukocytes that are present at the area of infection.

One of the major causes of skin and soft tissue infections in humans is the bacteria – Staphylococcus aureus. Antibiotic-resistant forms of S. aureus have emerged which pose a significant problem worldwide in clinical medicine. The previous work published by the Gallo lab had made the observation that S. aureus was present in the fat layer of the skin. So, they wanted to find out if the subcutaneous fat played a role in preventing skin infections.

For the study, the experiment mice were exposed to S. aureus by the researcher Ling Zhang, the first author of the paper. Within hours, it was seen that there was a major increase in both the number and size of fat cells at the site of infection. Another important observation was that these fat cells produced high levels of cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide (CAMP) which is an antimicrobial peptide (AMP). These molecules are used by the innate immune response to directly annihilate invasive bacteria, viruses, fungi and other pathogens. Gallo opined that these AMPs are our body's natural first line defense against infection. Even though they are evolutionarily ancient, they are used by all living organisms to protect themselves. But, in humans the presence of AMPs is both beneficial and harmful. Too little CAMP result in frequent infections while too much CAMP can drive autoimmune and other inflammatory diseases in people,

The scientists confirmed their findings by analyzing S. aureus infections in mice. They found that the mice were unable to effectively produce adipocytes. They also noticed that those fat cells did not express sufficient antimicrobial peptides in general and CAMP in particular. Such mice suffered more frequent and severe infections. Further tests were carried out in human that suggested that the immune response is similar in both rodents and humans. It was interesting to note that the obese subjects had more CAMP in their blood than subjects of normal weight.

Gallo said in order to find out the potential clinical applications of the findings, further study will be needed.

References

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-01-fat-isnt-bad-skin-adipocytes.html

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/01/150101142316.htm

Early Blood Glucose Control Lengthens Life in People with Type 1 Diabetes

Feb 16, 2015

3833

A report published recently 6 in the Journal of the American Medical Association said that people with type 1 diabetes who intensively control their blood glucose early in their disease are likely to live longer than those who do not. These were the findings of a research funded by the National Institute of Health and are the latest findings of the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT) and its follow-up, the Epidemiology of Diabetes Control and Complications (EDIC) study.

Catherine Cowie, Ph.D., of NIH’s National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), the primary funder of the study said that the outlook of people with type 1 diabetes is better than ever before. The findings of the study say that by tightly controlling their blood glucose, people with type 1 diabetes can certainly live longer.

Formerly known as juvenile-onset diabetes, type 1 diabetes generally occurs in younger people. The bodies of these people do not make insulin and hence, they need to take daily insulin to live.

In 1983, the DCCT/EDIC study enrolled 1,441 people who were aged between 13 and 39 and had been diagnosed with recent-onset type 1 diabetes. Half of these enrolled people were assigned at random to intensive blood glucose control that was designed to keep blood glucose as close to normal as safely possible. The other half was given conventional treatment at the time. Both groups were similar in age. The DCCT study ended in 1993 and the study revealed that the intensive control group was found to have substantially less eye, nerve and kidney diseases.

A total of 107 deaths occured among DCCT/EDIC participants who were followed for an average of 27 years from enrollment. 64 of the deaths were in the group that received standard treatment initially and 43 deaths happened in the intensive treatment group which means there was a 33 percent reduction in deaths in this group. Not all causes of death were related to diabetes. The common ones were cardiovascular diseases (22 percent), cancer (20 percent), acute diabetes complications – where blood glucose became dangerously high or low (18 percent) – and accidents/suicide (17 percent).

It was seen that more people died of diabetic kidney diseases (6 to 1) in the conventional treatment group. It was also found that increased protein in the urine and higher average glucose levels were the major risk factors for death.

Trevor Orchard, M.D., a professor at the University of Pittsburgh and the study's lead author said that there have been earlier studies which suggest that increased protein in the urine largely accounts for shorter lifespans for people with type 1 diabetes. That is why the results of this study are significant as it emphasizes on the importance of early glucose control. Intensive early glucose control reduces the risk of increased protein in the urine in general, as well as diabetic kidney disease.

Ever since the 1993 DCCT findings were published, the DCCT intensive treatment has become standard practice for people suffering from type 1 diabetes. The findings of this new study say that complications arising due to type 1 diabetes can be significantly reduced by tight glucose control which could translate into longer lifespans.

NIDDK Director Griffin P. Rodgers, M.D remarked that it is because of the findings over the years from the landmark DCCT/EDIC study, millions of people with diabetes have a way of preventing or delaying debilitating and often fatal complications from the disease. He further added that the mission of NIH is to help improve lives of people through biomedical research and their findings reiterate their mission.

References

�https://www.diabeticwarrior.com/

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-01-early-blood-glucose-lengthens-life.html

https://www.sciencenewsline.com/articles/2015010622430037.html

Exercise Allows You to Age Optimally

Feb 16, 2015

3662

Photo Credits

There is a common belief that aging makes your frailer. A recent study at the King's College London and The University of Birmingham published in the �Journal of Physiology' has challenged this notion. According to the result of this study one can age optimally by staying active. For this research, a study of old amateur cyclists was carried out and it was found that many of them has physiological functions that would place them at par with much younger individuals.

For this study, 84 male and 41 female cycling enthusiasts between the age of 55 and 79 were recruited. The aim of this study was to explore how the ageing process affects the human body and also to find out if certain physiological markers can be used to determine your age.

The reason why cyclists were chosen for the study was that the researchers wanted to exclude the effects of sedentary life which are known to aggravate health problems and cause changes in the body. These changes are commonly thought to be due to the ageing process. Another selection criterion was that the chosen men and women had to be able to cycle 100 km within 6.5 hours and 60 km in 5.5 hours, respectively. The study excluded smokers, heavy drinkers and those with high blood pressure or other health conditions.

The participants were made to undergo laboratory testing at King's following which their physiological profile was established. This profile included measures of cardiovascular, respiratory, neuromuscular, metabolic, endocrine and cognitive functions, bone strength, and general health and well-being. On top of these the participants' reflexes, muscle strength, oxygen uptake during exercise and peak explosive cycling power were also determined.

The results of the study were interesting. It was noted that in these active individuals the effects of aging were far from obvious. Only the maximum rate of oxygen consumption was seen to be the closest association with age, but even this marker could not identify the age of any given individual accurately. Another basic but important test of function was carried out. For this the time taken to stand from a chair, walk three meters, turn, walk back and sit down was measured. �Typically, taking more than 15 seconds to complete the task indicates a high risk of falling. Even the oldest participants for the study completed this task in less than 15 seconds.

The overall conclusion of the study was that ageing is likely a highly individualist phenomenon. Since, people are so different the researchers agreed that more studies are needed which follow the same healthy and exercising individuals over time to better understand the effects of ageing the body.

Dr. Ross Pollock, who is the lead author of the paper from King’s College London, said that an essential part of our study was deciding which volunteers should be selected to explore the effects of ageing. One of the big problems facing health research today is that the majority of the population is inactive. The fact is a sedentary lifestyle can cause physiological problems irrespective of age. Therefore, it is difficult to find out how much decline in bodily functions is due to the natural ageing process and how much is due to the combined effects of ageing and inactivity.

In human beings life span is not the primary measure. What is important is the quality of life. The years we spend in poor health and struggling with disabilities in old age have increased significantly.

Professor Stephen Harridge, senior author and Director of the Centre of Human & Aerospace Physiological Sciences at King’s College London where the study took place opined that since most of the population is largely sedentary, we have a tendency to assume that inactivity is the inevitable condition for humans. But, we know that our genetic inheritance stems from a period when high level of physical activity was normal. That is why it is important that we should be physically active if we want to maintain good health and wellbeing even in old age.

Human body is likely to experience some decline with age, but staying physically active can buy us extra years of function compared to sedentary people.

References

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-01-age-optimally.html

https://esciencenews.com/sources/science.daily/2015/01/06/exercise.allows.you.age.optimally

How to Stay Fit On The Road

Feb 15, 2015

4250

Maintaining a fitness regime is a taxing work in itself and above all doing it while on the road is even more challenging. This is how; We all constantly struggle in balancing a daily workout routine with your job, our personal life and family issues. This becomes especially hard when your job requires you to travel for work. But on the other hand, we confess that we have to keep the job to make a life and that traveling can really be fun. You get to see a lot of different places and your workout program gets sacrificed. Yes, this is what we really get riled up about; the fact that travel puts strain on our fitness and daily routine.

A once steady life gets tossed around completely when we travel and all the reason to keep on the diet and remain motivated to workout goes out the window. But that is not going to be an excuse for lazing around anymore.

Many hotels around the world have realized by now that business travelers of today don’t just have a habit of sitting around and ordering expensive food and drinks for as long as they are visiting. Some hotels also offer rooms that are well equipped with all the modern gym tools and machines for the visitor to use and stay in their routine.

Well, if you’re lucky enough to stay in one of these hotels, in the rarest of occasions, do consider yourself blessed. But it is more likely that you will find a hotel that does not have these “health-fit rooms.”

Since most hotels have a fitness center and spa and many other facilities, it is a fact that those hotel gyms just have a few pieces of semi functional rusty old bicycles that are kept in a converted storage room. Now working out in such a dramatic facility would be really challenging.

Things have changed though. Nowadays, hotel owners have understood the importance of fitness and offer functional gyms that have modern weight training and cardio equipment and some even have at times, a few personal trainers as well as yoga center and spinning classes.

If you are fitness freak, you need to call or check the hotel’s website that you’re going to be staying at and see what kind of fitness facilities are available to the guests. Usually if there’s no gym on the hotel premises, the management may have an arrangement or a tie up with a nearby fitness club, �that may or may not charge a nominal fee depending upon the policies.

But worst case scenario, if your hotel doesn’t have a gym or a health club or if you enjoy workin out on your own without any intrusion of your privacy, thenn there are many ways you

can take your workout anytime, anywhere on the road, to the nearby park or to the field of a neighboring school.

Working Outdoors: If you’re unable to can’t find a hotel with a gym, a nearby park or recreational area might be apt for a nice run or walk. It will get your endorphins going and you’ll

get enough pump for the rest of the day.

Circuit Training In The Room: You do not need ayy equipment to perform circuit, but just your body weight. On the spot marching, or running may be the ideal start. Followed by jumps to touch your ankles and then squats. You can do pushups, sit ups, lunges, dips and crunches. The number of sets and repetitions all depend on your current level of fitness.

Bring A Video: You can make your very own gym in you hotel room by just popping in your favorite fitness or yoga video into the DVD system that most hotels provide these days.

You might also like to try out the travel trainer�–��No Time And No Where To Train? The Travel Trainer Gives You 10 Minute Workouts, Meals On The Go, And Members Status Click Here!

References

https://www.thetraveltrainer.com

https://www.active.com/travel/articles/how-to-stay-fit-on-the-road-881416

https://exercise.about.com/library/bltravelworkout.htm

Popular Diabetes Drug May Be Safe For Patients with Kidney Disease

Feb 12, 2015

3868

Metformin is a popular treatment of people suffering from type 2 diabetes. However, this medicine was not usually prescribed to those who also had a kidney disease. A new systematic review of the literature published by Yale investigators in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reveal that metformin may actually be safe for patients with mild to moderate kidney disease than previously suggested by guidelines.

For the past 20 years, metformin has been used in the United States to lower blood sugar in people suffering from type 2 diabetes. It is considered by most experts to be the best first agent to treat blood sugar increases in this disease. Even though it has a strong safety profile, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had long recommended that people with kidney disease should not take the drug because it could increase their risk for a potentially serious condition called lactic acidosis. Lactic Acidosis is a condition characterized by a buildup of lactic acid in the bloodstream after oxygen levels in the body are depleted. However, the old guidelines have been questioned, re-analysed and it has been found that metformin do not pose the kind of threat previously assumed.

A team of researchers led by Dr. Silvio Inzucchi, a professor of medicine at Yale University which consisted of colleagues at Yale, the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, and Aston University in the U.K, reviewed the published research in order to evaluate the risks associated with metformin among people with mild to moderate kidney disease. The review revealed that these patients were at actually at no greater risk for lactic acidosis than people who were not taking the drug.

Inzucchi, who is also medical director of the Yale Diabetes Center said that their review reveal that there is essentially zero evidence that taking this medicine is risky for those suffering from mild to moderate kidney disease. He added that in his opinion the drug could be used safely, as long as kidney function is stable and not severely impaired.

This finding is of significance as doctors had long been avoiding prescribing metformin to elderly diabetes patients, even though they needed it. After a certain age, the kidney function starts to decline and the one thing most doctors do is they stop prescribing metformin to the aged diabetes patients. The result of that in most condition is that their diabetes goes out of control. Of course, other substitute drugs are prescribed, but they are usually not generic like metformin and therefore they are more expensive and in many cases have more side effects.

Inzucchi noted that despite the guidelines many doctors routinely prescribed metformin to patients with type 2 diabetes and kidney disease. That's because they had the knowledge that if used cautiously in people suffering from mild to moderate kidney problem, it will not pose any issues. However, it should be noted that doctors should abstain from prescribing it to patients with severe kidney diseases. In case there is a change in the guidelines, dosage of metformin will likely need to be reduced to a level so that it is safe for patients. In that scenario, patients would need to be more closely monitored to ensure that their kidney functions are sound.

If Dr. Inzucchi and colleagues recommendation is heeded and the FDA guidelines are updated, this drug could be made available to more than 2.5 million Americans living with type 2 diabetes.

For the Kidney Disease Solution Click Here!

If Your’e suffering from Diabetes Type 2 – Click Here

References

The Kidney Disease Solution!

https://www.HealKidneyDisease.com�–�100% Natural Remedies For Improving Your Kidney Function & Reversing Your Kidney Disease

https://www.reverse-diabetes-today.com

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2014-12-popular-diabetes-drug-safe-patients.html

https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_150110.html

Whole Plant Therapy Shows Promise To Beat Malaria Parasites Drug Resistance

Feb 11, 2015

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The malaria parasite has the ability to evolve and become resistant to the succession of drugs that have been created to treat it. This has baffled researchers, physicians and public health officials worldwide for decades. However, there is some good news about the same. Stephen Rich, microbiologist at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and his research team have reported that they have developed an effective and sustainable malaria intervention which have shown great promise in laboratory models.

The details were published in an early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The new treatment is based on a use of the whole plant Artemesia annua. �The drug artemisinin (AN) is extracted from it. Rich and his team found that the whole plant treatment has the ability to withstand the evolution of resistance and remain effective for up to three times longer than the pure drug. It was also found in their experiment that the whole plant therapy was quite effective in killing rodent parasites that were previously known to have evolved to resist pure AN.

The researchers say that their study suggest that there are reason now to explore this inexpensive, non-pharmaceutical treatment for the millions of people who suffer from malaria each year.

Artemisinin is the drug used in treatment of human malaria worldwide. However, resistance to it has now been established in some areas. The researchers of this study have demonstrated the WP approach is more effective at killing rodent malaria when compared to purified AN drug approach. A series of experiments were carried out by Rich and his team to determine rates at which parasites become resistant to their new WP treatment as compared to the resistance rate with pure AN. For this they chose two rodent malaria species with specific characteristics: Plasmodium yoelii as it has an artemisinin-resistant and can test whether the whole plant can overcome that resistance. And a second strain, P. chabaudi, as it most closely biologically resembles the deadliest of the five human malaria parasites, P. falciparum.

The respective evolutionary rates of resistance to WP and AN were determined by conducting artificial evolution experiments which concluded that the WP treatment lasts at least three times longer than its AN counterpart, and at least twice as long as the doubled dose of pure AN.

Rich opined that the results of their study are significant because there have been recent reports of resistance to artemisinin in malaria-endemic regions of the world. The malaria parasites adapt alarmingly fast and clinicians for years have been having tough time combining drugs, particularly AN with others, to try to outmaneuver the parasites’ evolution.

The present study also reveals that dried WP is also effective in overcoming existing resistance to pharmaceutical AN. So, it seems evident that by consuming the whole plant, malaria can be combated more effectively. The reason for that could be that the whole plant may have a naturally occurring combination therapy that augments artemisinin delivery and synergizes the drug’s activity.

Rich also pointed out that while the exact mechanisms of WP’s effectiveness is still not fully identified, there are reasons why the role of non-pharmaceutical forms of artemisinin to treat human malaria should be further explored which includes the demonstrated anti-malarial activity of WP Artemisia against artemisinin-resistant parasites.

References

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-01-therapy-malaria-parasites-drug-resistance.html

https://www.umass.edu/newsoffice/article/whole-plant-therapy-shows-promise-beat

Tackling Ebola

Feb 10, 2015

3575

Ebola viruses

For current outbreak of Ebola in West Africa, Ebola is a disease of humans and other primates caused by Ebola virus.

After the virus has been contracted, the symptoms show up after 3 days and primarily in the form of sore throat, fever muscle pain and headaches.

And it so happens that the people who tend to show all the effect, start bleeding and this in turns spreads like a wild fire among other people.

But just like any other deadly disease, it can be prevented from spreading over to humans from animals by checking such animals for any kind of infections and then safe disposal of dead bodies.

People died in Monrovia and there have been a lot of unclaimed bodies of Ebola. A lot of death cases have been coming to light as well and the death rates have been so alarming that they are predicted to rise in the coming times. The disease often has a high mortality rate between 50 percent and 90 percent.

There have been a large number of treatments that are under study to find which can be the best treatment for this deadly disease. The E Bola is now considered an epidemic sweeping away 3 nations in West Africa and can last for 1 year to 2 years affecting hundreds of people in the area.

The researchers have a lot to add on it. At various Universities around the world, there have been about 20,000 cases that are reported in a month. The worst affected has been cities like Monrovia which is the capital of Liberia.

There have been more than 4000 people to have been the victims of the Ebola virus in West Africa alone. Because it cannot be eliminated so far, the villages have been quarantined so that they do not spread elsewhere.

Liberia is still to emerge from the drastic effects of civil war that lasted for a decade till 2003. Seems like Ebola is another eclipse in its fate that has stuck and the nation is supposed to get into the same deplorable state as it was earlier before the tiny recovery. The health agencies have been warning of an exponential rise in the Ebola cases in Liberia since majority of the deaths have taken place here.

But there is positive news and a ray of hope to be seen. The gates foundation has promised to contribute $50 to provide as an aid to handle the Ebola in the affected countries. But also it is said that there is an urgent need to curb the Bio hazard containment in Africa.

The Gates Foundation set up by Microsoft founder Bill Gates and his wife Melinda have promised to release funds for the support of E Bola.

The United Nations Organization and other related agencies have also taken a step forward and have offered partnerships to speed up the fight against Ebola with reliable drugs and vaccines. All these organizations want to ensure that the disease is curbed down as soon as possible so that all the sufferings can be stopped and any future outbreaks can be controlled.

UK has also extended support by contributing $400 to the UN and setting up a 62 bed medical treatment in Sierra Leone.

The European Union also doesn't lag behind much and has announced release of $180 to help the govt in West Africa to enhance their health services so that the disease can be controlled down to the minimal level. More countries are dropping in to help.

It is imperative that states immediately come to help whenever there is an epidemic or any deadly disease spread.

References

https://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs103/en/

https://www.who.int/csr/disease/ebola/en/

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