Invisible Salt Intake Adds Up

Salt is present in the packed foods, nobody cares this while satisfying the taste buds; but that adds up several milligrams of salt over and above the daily recommended dose.

We should limit salt intake for hypertensive patients to 1.5 grams/day. and for healthy individuals to 2.5 grams.day.

Limiting salt intake can control hypertension in some mild hypertensives and reduce dose of drugs for other hypertensives.

Let us be sensitive.

Amplify’d from www.hhs.gov

Hidden salt

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In the American food supply, salt has been doing a magic act. It’s there, but you can’t see it unless you look real hard – and sometimes, not even then. The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Thomas Frieden: ``It’s hidden in the processed packaged foods we buy at the grocery store, or in the meals we order at restaurants.’’ (6 seconds) Frieden says hidden salt leads most Americans to eat twice their daily limit. This raises the risk of high blood pressure, and makes it harder to control. Federal officials are working with food industry officials on how to reduce salt, but consumers should still choose low-sodium foods. An article on high blood pressure and the need to reduce salt intake is in the Vital Signs section of CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Read more at www.hhs.gov

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What is Cholecystectomy ?

Image via WikipediaCholecystectomy is removal of gall bladder. This is commonly done in case of cholecystitis and carcinoma of gall bladder.
Cholecystectomy can be performed through;
· Open method, open cholecystectomy,
OR
· Laparoscopic cholecystectomy .
Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is the golden standard surgery available at present and found superior to the conventional open cholecystectomy.
Open cholecystectomy is mostly employed for cancer of gall bladder where more wide resection of tissue is required and in case difficulty is encountered in laparoscopic cholecystectomy.
Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy may be;
· Conventional 4 port cholecystectomy,
OR
· Single port Cholecystectomy,
OR
· Cholecystectomy through natural orifices like vagina, where there is no scar visible in abdomen; called Natural orifices transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES)
OR
· Robotic assisted cholecystectomy.
The most common complications of cholecystectomy are;
· Bile duct injury,
· Bleeding; intra-operative or post-operative
· Injuries to neighbourhood organs
· Post-operative operative or port site hernia.
A well equipped hospital and experienced surgeon are clue to gall bladder surgery with satisfactory outcome.

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Synthetic Sperms for Infertility !

Sperm of mice was successfully developed from tissue of mice that could create offspring through IVF ( In Vitro Fertilization).
Image via Wikipedia

Let us wait for human sperm to be artificially made linking all those DNAs !

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Sperm grown in lab may cure male infertility

(CBS) - Who needs a man anyway? Scientists in Japan have successfully grown artificial sperm in a laboratory. This development could lead the way to someday discovering a cure to male infertility.

In an article published in the scientific journal "Nature," researchers at Yokohama City University cultivated tissue from baby mice and, over a period of several weeks, were able to create viable sperm from the tissue.

The researchers used in vitro fertilization to produce twelve mice with the developed sperm. These babies eventually grew and were able to have young of their own, according to the report. This marks the first time that laboratory-produced sperm has led to healthy and long-lived offspring.

It is, as Dr. Pacey said, a small step in the path of creating viable sperm with human applications. As he told the Guardian, "It is clearly important to make sure that any sperm produced are safe and give rise to healthy offspring when used, and that they in turn have healthy offspring. We need to be cautious with this kind of work." Read more at www.cbsnews.com

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Walnuts Supersede All Other Nuts In Antioxidant Content

Image of Walnut

Nuts are rich source of antioxidant that scavenge the dangerous free radicals of oxygen produced in the process of metabolism. Those include; peanuts, almonds, pecans, ground nuts and pistachios etc.
Now, it has been seen that walnut is best among those as regards the amount and quality of antioxidant content. A handful of walnuts contains almost twice as much antioxidants as an equivalent amount of any other commonly consumed nuts.
Apart from antioxidants; nuts also contain plenty of high-quality protein, vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber. Scientists around the world link regular consumption of small amounts of nuts or peanut butter with decreased risk of heart disease, certain cancers, gallstones, Type 2 diabetes, and other health problems.
 Image Antioxidant
The quality, or potency, of antioxidants present in walnuts was highest among the nuts. Antioxidants in walnuts were 2-15 times as potent as vitamin E, which acts as an antioxidant.
 Foods with Antioxidant Content
"There's another advantage in choosing walnuts as a source of antioxidants," said Vinson, who is with the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania. "The heat from roasting nuts generally reduces the quality of the antioxidants. People usually eat walnuts raw or unroasted, and get the full effectiveness of those antioxidants."
Nuts contain healthful polyunsaturated and monosaturated fats rather than artery-clogging saturated fat. As for the calories, eating nuts does not appear to cause weight gain and even makes people feel full and less likely to overeat. In a 2009 U. S. study, nut consumption was associated with a significantly lower risk of weight gain and obesity.
It is only about 7 walnuts a day, for instance, to get the potential health benefits.

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Curcumin in Turmeric can Sense Explosive

Image via Wikipedia

Curcumin found in turmeric is being used in the medicine as an anti-oxidant and tumour suppressor.

But, scientists are now using it to detect explosives in a cheaper way. Read the full story.

Amplify’d from www.bbc.co.uk

Curry powder molecule 'is cheap sensor for explosives'

The main chemical in the curry spice turmeric could be the basis for cheap explosives detectors, say researchers.

The curcumin molecule is already well-known in medicine for its anti-cancer and anti-oxidant properties.

Now, research presented at the American Physical Society meeting suggests it could replace more complex solutions to spot explosives like TNT.

A curcumin-based mine detector could outperform the animal version

In tests, the films can currently detect explosive levels down to 80 parts per billion, but Mr Kumar said that for hgh-sensitivity applications like mine detection, they needed to increase the sensitivity further, by adjusting the chemical groups attached to curcumin.

The team, which is funded in part by the US government, is already in discussions with a company to develop the technique into a portable detector device. Read more at www.bbc.co.uk

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More Sensitive Troponin 1 Assay to Screen for Possible Heart Attack in Future

Typical Changes in CK-MB and Cardiac Troponin In MI

Currently, troponin is measured on admission and 12 hours after the onset of symptoms of heart attack as recommended in the UK. However,
Troponin levels actually rise quickly after an MI but may not reach higher thresholds until six to 12 hours after symptom onset. The cut off level to diagnose myocardial infarction at present is more than 0.20ng/ml of plasma.
More sensitive troponin assay can detect levels as low as 0.05ng/ml of plasma. Symptomatic patients having level between 0.05ng/ml and 0.20ng/ml frequently had heart attack within following 12 months; observed by the researchers. But they are being conveniently reassured not to have myocardial infarction(MI) at that time; but may have high risk of another MI within following 12 months.
In the new study, published in the March 23/30, 2011 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, the researchers found that the introduction of the more sensitive assay to the clinic led to a halving in death/MI at 12 months in patients who had troponin levels between 0.05 and 0.20 ng/ml.
These more sensitive troponin tests have been available since 2008 and are more widely used in Europe than in the US. By lowering the diagnostic threshold, more patients will be referred to specialists and be investigated. Interestingly, the researchers identified only one patient in a study who was given an inappropriate diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome after the sensitive assay was introduced, and she turned out to have a pulmonary embolism. So false positive diagnosis is not an alarming problem.
False positives could be more of a problem with the new assays, if they were used inappropriately as a screening test in patients who don't have chest pain. This needs to be discouraged. But the study shown that in patients with chest pain, there is little doubt that sensitive troponin tests will improve diagnostic accuracy and outcomes.
From the enrolled 2092 patients with chest pain, 1340 (64%) had plasma troponin assay concentrations of less than 0.05 ng/mL, 170 (8%) had levels of 0.05 to 0.19 ng/ml, and 582 (28%) had levels of 0.20 ng/ml or more.
During the validation phase, at 12 months, a greater proportion of patients with troponin assay concentrations of 0.05 to 0.19 ng/ml had died or been re-admitted with an MI compared with those with troponin levels less than 0.05 ng/ml or 0.20 ng/ml or more; the study concludes.
During the implementation phase, lowering the diagnostic threshold to 0.05 ng/ml was associated with a lower risk of death and recurrent MI in patients with troponin concentrations of 0.05 to 0.19 ng/ml--from 39% to 21%; the study says.
This study was conducted by Dr Nicholas Mills (British Heart Foundation Centre for Cardiovascular Science, University of Edinburgh, Scotland).

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Occasional Physical and Sexual Activity Linked to Sudden Cardiac Events

Image via WikipediaIt has been seen by the researchers that occasional physical and sexual activity is associated with increased risk of heart attack.
Such type of physical activity amounts to rigorous un-accustomed physical activity that pressurizes the heart to work faster.
They say that episodic physical activity is associated with more than a threefold increase in the risk of heart attack.
The triggering effect of such episodes was muted for people who were more active on a regular basis, the researchers found.
It is beneficial to go for regular physical activity than to go for occasional rigorous activity.

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DASH Diet for Kidney Health

Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) has been seen to kelp kidney health. Watch the video; http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/videos/news/kidney_diet_032111.html

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The Kidney Diet Read more at www.nlm.nih.gov

 

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Full Face Transplant

A second full face transplant has been performed in Boston.

Amplify’d from www.medpagetoday.com

Texas Man Receives Full Face Transplant in Boston

A man horribly burned in an electrical accident has been given a full face transplant by surgeons in Boston.

The 15-hour procedure -- involving more than 30 physicians, nurses, anesthesiologists, and residents -- replaced Dallas Wiens' nose, lips, and facial skin, as well as the facial muscles and nerves, according to a spokesperson at Brigham and Women's Hospital.

It is the world's second full face transplant and the first in the U.S. Surgeons in Spain performed the first such transplant a year ago. The world's first partial face transplant took place in France in 2005, when surgeons replaced part of the face of a dog bite victim. Read more at www.medpagetoday.com

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Human Papilloma Virus and Vaccines

Image HPV in Electron MicroscopeThere are varieties of papilloma viruses, from those human papilloma viruses (HPV) form a group. There are at least 200 types of HPVs, amongst which about 100 are fully studied by the researchers. Broadly these form two large groups; those affect cells on skin surface and others, which affect such type of cells in the natural orifices like vagina, mouth and inside of penile skin etc. Some give rise to low risk lesions like skin warts and others high risk lesions having potential to turn into cancers, like cancer cervix.

About 40 types are found in the genital tract. Low risk HPVs like 6 and 11 cause 90% of genital infection, whereas some high risk group of HPVs like 16 and 18 cause 10% of infections. Other HPVs those can cause cancer are, 31, 33, 35, 52, 58, 39, 45, 59, 56, 66 and 51. However, HPV 16 is responsible for 50% of cancers followed by HPV 18 in 7 to 20% in a study; scientists say.

At present at least two types of vaccine are available, one manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and other by Merck Vaccine. The vaccine by GSK has been developed from parts of two viruses, HPV 16 and 18, whereas that from Merck Vaccine is from HPVintraepithelial cancer (CIN); vulvar and vaginal intra-epithelial neoplasia; and genital warts. 16/18/6/11. Both are being sold in many countries, are very much effective in preventing cervical

 Image via Wikipedia, A wart

It is expected that the antibody level so produced after vaccination may last at par, as seen in case of natural infection by HPV, to be around 10 years. It is also seen by researchers that there is some cross-protection from some other types of HPVs like 31, 45, 52 and 58 after immunization by these vaccines.

Protective effect of these vaccines in HIV infected persons is doubtful as well as in immune compromised patents.

Vaccines best works best in 9 to 12 years of pre-pubertal girls; but, can be extended up to 23 years of sexually inactive women, without antibody in the blood. This vaccine though has not been prescribed for boys, but can have potential benefit of prevention of genital warts; and seen to have good antibody status by the researchers.

This vaccination may have immense benefits in the long term in preventing as many as 80% of cervical cancers, 60% of vulval and 90% of anal cancers in women. There is likely to be major improvement for human health and well-being of women every-where.

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