Three-person In vitro fertilisation plan announced

Plans to allow the creation of babies using sperm and eggs from three people have been announced in the UK.

The draft regulations will be reviewed as part of a public consultation and could come into force by the end of 2014.
Doctors say three-person IVF could eliminate debilitating and potentially fatal diseases that are passed from mother to child.
Opponents say it is unethical and could set the UK on a "slippery slope".
Using the parents' sperm and eggs plus an additional egg from a donor woman should prevent mitochondrial disease.
Mitochondria are the tiny, biological "power stations" that provide energy to nearly every cell of the body.
One in every 6,500 babies has severe mitochondrial disease leaving them lacking energy, resulting in muscle weakness, blindness, heart failure and even death.
As mitochondria are passed down from mother to child, using an extra egg from a donor woman could give the child healthy mitochondria.
However, it would also result in babies having DNA from two parents and a tiny amount from the donor as mitochondria have their own DNA.
Scientists have devised two techniques that allow them to take the genetic information from the mother and place it into the egg of a donor with healthy mitochondria.
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1) Two eggs are fertilised with sperm, creating an embryo from the intended parents and another from the donors 2) The pronuclei, which contain genetic information, are removed from both embryos but only the parents' is kept 3) A healthy embryo is created by adding the parents' pronuclei to the donor embryo, which is finally implanted into the womb

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The Department of Health has already backed the technique and says this consultation is not about whether it should be allowed, but how it is implemented.

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The woman who lost all her children

Every time Sharon Bernardi became pregnant, she hoped for a healthy child.
But all seven of her children died from a rare genetic disease that affects the central nervous system - three of them just hours after birth.
When her fourth child, Edward, was born, doctors discovered the disease was caused by a defect in Sharon's mitochondria.
Edward was given drugs and blood transfusions to prevent the lactic acidosis (a kind of blood poisoning) that had killed his siblings.
Five weeks later Sharon and her husband, Neil, were allowed to take Edward to their home in Sunderland for Christmas - but his health slowly began to deteriorate.
Edward survived into adulthood, dying in 2011 at the age of 21.
Now Sharon is supporting medical research that would allow defective mitochondria to be replaced by DNA from another woman.

• Sharon's full story

The regulatory body, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, will have to decide in each cases that there is a "significant risk" of disability or serious illness.

It is anticipated that only the most severely affected women - perhaps 10 cases per year - would go ahead.
The regulations suggest treating the donor woman in the same manner as an organ donor.
Any resulting children will not be able to discover the identity of the donor, which is the case with other sperm and egg donors.
Prof Doug Turnbull, who has pioneered research in mitochondrial donation at Newcastle University, said: "I am delighted that the government has published the draft regulations.
"This is very good news for patients with mitochondrial DNA disease and an important step in the prevention of transmission of serious mitochondrial disease."
The chief medical officer for England, Prof Dame Sally Davies, said: "Allowing mitochondrial donation would give women who carry severe mitochondrial disease the opportunity to have children without passing on devastating genetic disorders.
"It would also keep the UK at the forefront of scientific development in this area.
"I want to encourage contributions to this consultation so that we have as many views as possible before introducing our final regulations."

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High-dose vitamin D supplements may benefit people with chronic urticaria

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People plagued by chronic urticaria (hives) may benefit from high-dose daily vitamin D supplements, new research suggests.
Add-on therapy with 4,000 International Units (IUs) of vitamin D3 per day could be considered safe and potentially beneficial in patients with chronic hives, the authors reported online February 7 in Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.
But principal investigator Dr. Jill A. Poole of the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha cautioned by phone with Reuters Health that "urticaria is usually a tough disease to treat; in our study, vitamin D was an add-on therapy, not a cure."
"We studied doses that are readily available over the counter, 600 IU vs 4,000 IU, which is the National Institute of Medicine's upper safe limit for adults, and patients on 4,000 IU had a 40% reduction in their hives symptoms," she said.
"But vitamin D has a long half-life and needs to be given for up to three months to reach a steady state in the body. We didn't see effects until the end of the study at three months," she added.
Building on previous observational studies, Dr. Poole and her colleagues conducted the first randomized controlled trial linking vitamin D with chronic urticaria. To explore whether high-dose vitamin D supplements would decrease the Urticaria Symptom Severity (USS) scores and the medication burden in patients with chronic hives, the research team conducted a prospective, double-blind study of 42 adults at one academic medical center.
The patients had a history of urticaria and/or angioedema daily or almost daily for longer than six weeks, although the mean duration in both groups was over five years.
The researchers excluded patients with pure physical urticaria, angioedema, hypercalcemia, renal insufficiency, primary hyperparathyroidism, sarcoidosis, granulomatous disease, malignancy or who were pregnant or lactating.
All patients were given a standard triple-drug therapy (cetirizine, ranitidine, and montelukast) for the duration of the study.
Additionally, in the high-dose group, 21 patients were randomized to take 4,000 IU of vitamin D3 per day, and in the low-dose group, 21 patients were randomized to take 600 IU of vitamin D3 per day, for 12 weeks.
At enrollment and weeks one, six, and 12, all patients completed the USS and had their allergy medications for chronic hives recorded. At enrollment and weeks six and 12, their blood was tested for 25-hydroxyvitamin D.
The USS is an established questionnaire with 12 questions about hives severity. Scores range from 0 to 93, with higher numbers indicating more severe hives.
At enrollment, the two groups had similar total USS scores, but one week after enrolling and starting the triple-drug therapy, the total USS score decreased 33% in both groups (p=0.001).
Then the groups split: the high-dose group -- but not the low-dose group -- decreased 40% more in its total USS score at 12 weeks, compared with the total USS score at one week after enrollment (p=0.02).
Compared with the low-dose group, the high-dose group trended toward lower total USS scores at week 12 (p=0.052), with significant decreases in body distribution, fewer days with hives, improved pruritus and sleep quality.
Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels increased in the high-dose group, but there was no correlation between 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and USS scores. Both groups had similar allergy medication use, and there were no adverse events.
Co-author Dr. Whitney S. Goldner, also of the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, wrote in an email to Reuters Health, "It is known that vitamin D is beneficial for treatment of metabolic bone disease, and it has been suggested that it is helpful in other disease states such as autoimmune or inflammatory conditions, but this prospective study helps add more data to support these previous findings and observations."
"This is a very frustrating disease for patients and they tend to search for answers," said Dr. Poole by phone. "I'm not sure vitamin D is going to be the answer for them, but it's worth a try. People might benefit from it, and what an easy over-the-counter help it would be for the patients, compared with some of the more serious medications that have adverse effects.
SOURCE : http://www.annallergy.org/article/S1081-1206%2814%2900012-X/abstract

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Blood Pressure Meds May Raise Risk of Serious Falls for Seniors

Seniors who take drugs to lower their blood pressure may be more likely to fall and end up with a broken hip or head injury, Yale University researchers report.

Side effects of blood pressure medications include dizziness and problems with balance, the study authors noted. Older adults taking these drugs were 30 percent to 40 percent more likely to suffer a serious injury following a fall than those who did not take these drugs. The risk was more than double among those who had suffered a similar injury previously, the researchers added.

Given the higher risks for illness and death after serious falls, “the potential harms versus benefits of blood pressure medications should be weighed in deciding how aggressively to treat high blood pressure in older adults,” said lead researcher Dr. Mary Tinetti, a professor of medicine and public health at Yale.

Death and loss of function associated with serious falls are akin to strokes and heart attacks — the very events blood pressure medications are designed to prevent, she added.

The report was published online Feb. 24 in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine.

Dr. Sarah Berry, an instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School and co-author of an accompanying journal editorial, pointed out that “there does not appear to be one class of blood pressure drugs that are safer than others.”

So, Berry added, “When treating an elderly patient with high blood pressure, it makes sense to use the lowest dose possible to achieve the target blood pressure.”

However, another expert wasn’t convinced by the findings.

“With respect to the association between blood pressure medication use and falls, I believe at this point it is inconclusive,” said Dr. Adam Skolnick, an assistant professor at the Leon H. Charney Division of Cardiology at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City. “The authors cannot entirely exclude the possibility that high blood pressure itself, and not necessarily its treatment, is associated with falls.”

For the study, Tinetti and her colleagues collected data on almost 5,000 people older than 70 with high blood pressure. In all, 14 percent didn’t take drugs to control their blood pressure, nearly 55 percent took some medications and 31 percent took several blood pressure-lowering drugs.

During three years of follow-up, 446 patients (9 percent) suffered serious injuries from falls. The risk for these injuries was higher among people taking blood pressure medication than people not taking any such drugs. Moreover, the risk was higher among those who had a serious injury from a fall before, the researchers found.

While the study found an association between using blood pressure medications and serious falls among seniors, it did not prove a cause-and-effect link.

Another expert thinks the risk of high blood pressure and the risk of injury from falls need to be considered in context of overall health.

“High blood pressure is a leading risk factor for heart attack, stroke, heart failure and kidney disease in older adults, and use of blood pressure medications has been shown to substantially lower the risk of cardiovascular and stroke events as well as [all causes of death],” said Dr. Gregg Fonarow, associate chief of the division of cardiology at the University of California, Los Angeles, David Geffen School of Medicine.

However, use of blood pressure medications has been associated with increased risk of falls in a number of studies, he noted.

“While patients and clinicians should be aware of the increased risk of falls with use of blood pressure medications, if they closely monitor blood pressure sitting and standing, and take precautions to avoid falls, the proven cardiovascular benefits of these drugs substantially outweigh the potential risk of falls,” Fonarow said
more on this story:     http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/highbloodpressure.html

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Diabetes medications 'help people look younger

Blood pressure medicine which prevents potentially fatal complications of diabetes may one day lead to drugs which can delay the effects of ageing.
The medication reduces the accelerated ageing which affects diabetics, especially those with Type 1 which people often develop in childhood.
The condition can lead to blindness, heart and kidney disease and high blood pressure, which can strike far earlier than normal.
But diabetics taking drugs called ACE inhibitors suffer these complications less than those taking other blood-pressure lowering medications.

There's no tablet that has a universal effect on the ageing process

Professor Stuart Parker, Sheffield Institute for Studies on Ageing

ACE inhibitors can cause unpleasant side effects such as coughing and an irregular heartbeat, making it an unlikely candidate for an anti-ageing drug for all. But New Scientist magazine suggests that understanding how they block the diabetic ageing process may lead to drugs which do not have these side effects.
The ageing seen in diabetics happens partly because having high-blood sugar levels leads to the production of complex proteins called advanced glycation end products (AGEs).
These interfere with how some cells function and make tissues such as blood vessels stiffer.
They can also accumulate in the skin, helping make it wrinkly.
AGEs form much more slowly in healthy people.
'Complete prevention'
Tests on rats carried out by Australian researchers has suggested how ACE inhibitors help diabetics.
Researchers from the Baker Institute in Melbourne, Australia found an ACE inhibitor called ramipril stopped the build-up of AGEs in rats with diabetes.
The animals also had far less damage to their kidneys.
Josephine Forbes, who worked on the study, said: "There was complete prevention".
Juliana Chan, a diabetes expert at the Chinese University of Hong Kong said ACE inhibitors were the first choice blood pressure medication for diabetics, but she said they were not a panacea.
"Diabetics still need to control their blood glucose, stop smoking and have their risk factors controlled."
The research will be published next month in the journal Diabetes.
Side effects
The team will now look at the blood of diabetics taking ACE inhibitors to see if their AGE levels are lower.
They are also looking at different types of AGEs to see which cause the problem.
ACE (angiotensin-converting enzyme) inhibitors work by blocking the production of angiotensin II, a protein which makes blood vessels constrict.
The protein could also increase oxidative stress, which it is believed damages cells by creating free radicals which then stimulate the production of AGEs.
ACE inhibitors have also been linked reducing the loss of muscle strength in elderly women, the development of Alzheimer's Disease and heart disease.
Many ACE inhibitors are no longer covered by patents and could prove cheaper that drugs currently being designed to inhibit AGEs.
New Scientist says: "ACE inhibitors are unlikely to become an elixir of youth because they cause unpleasant side effects such as coughing and irregular heartbeat.
"But future drugs designed to block AGEs might have fewer side effects."
'Big leap'
But Professor Stuart Parker, clinical director of the Sheffield Institute for Studies on Ageing, told BBC News Online: "There's no tablet that has a universal effect on the ageing process, so could therefore be said to slow the ageing process."
He said ACE inhibitors did have a beneficial effect on health - when used for treatment for specific conditions.
But he added: "It seems a big leap to go from that to assuming that ACE inhibitors are going to help us all look younger."
Source:  http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/2293527.stm

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Cooking meat danger To dementia.

Browning meat in the oven, grill or frying pan produces chemicals which may increase the risk of developing dementia, US researchers suggest.

Advanced glycation end products (AGES) have been linked to diseases such as type-2 diabetes.
Mice fed a high-AGES diet had a build-up of dangerous proteins in the brain and impaired cognitive function.
Experts said the results were "compelling" but did not provide "definitive answers".
AGES are formed when proteins or fats react with sugar. This can happen naturally and during the cooking process.
Researchers at the Icahn school of medicine at Mount Sinai, in New York, tested the effect of AGES on mice and people.
The animal experiments, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, showed that a diet rich in AGES affects the chemistry of the brain.
It leads to a build-up of defective beta amyloid protein - a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease. The mice eating a low-AGES diet were able to prevent the production of damaged amyloid.

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This subject has so far not been well studied in people, and we don't yet know whether the amount of AGES in our diet might affect our risk of dementia”

Dr Simon Ridley Alzheimer's Research UK

The mice performed less well in physical and thinking tasks after their AGES-rich diet.

A short-term analysis of people over 60 suggested a link between high levels of AGES in the blood and cognitive decline.
'Effective treatment' The study concluded: "We report that age-related dementia may be causally linked to high levels of food advanced glycation end products.
"Importantly, reduction of food-derived AGES is feasible and may provide an effective treatment strategy."
Derek Hill, a professor of medical imaging sciences at University College London, commented: "The results are compelling.
"Because cures for Alzheimer's disease remain a distant hope, efforts to prevent it are extremely important, but this study should be seen as encouraging further work, rather than as providing definitive answers.
"But it is grounds for optimism - this paper adds to the body of evidence suggesting that using preventative strategies might reduce the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias in society and that could have very positive impact on us all."
Dr Simon Ridley, from the charity Alzheimer's Research UK, said: "Diabetes has previously been linked to an increased risk of dementia, and this small study provides some new insight into some of the possible molecular processes that may link the two conditions.
"It's important to note that the people in this study did not have dementia. This subject has so far not been well studied in people, and we don't yet know whether the amount of AGES in our diet might affect our risk of dementia."

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Hookah Smoking Could Cause Heart Disease And Cancer

Hookah smoking has become more popular in the U.S. among young people and college students, because of the belief that it is somehow safer than smoking cigarettes.
But another study has emerged warning of the potentially harmful effects of smoking hookah, which has commonly been considered less dangerous than tobacco smoke. Though hookah is a water pipe, it still has nearly as many toxins as cigarette smoke and nicotine, the addictive drug in cigarettes.
Smoking tobacco through water doesn’t necessarily filter out any of these toxins that can damage the lungs and heart. “The cooled and sweetened flavor of hookah tobacco makes it more enticing to kids and they falsely believe it’s less harmful,” Tracey E. Barnett of the University of Florida in Gainesville told Reuters. “One-time use can lead to carbon monoxide poisoning or other diseases, including but not limited to tuberculosis, herpes, respiratory illnesses including the flu, and long-term use can lead to heart disease and many cancers.”
Smoking hookah, or “shisha,” dates back to the 15^th century, where it was common among Hindus in India. The practice spread throughout the Ottoman Empire, and has recently become far more popular in Europe and the West.
Smoking Hookah Just As Bad Or Worse Than Cigarettes
In a study completed in 2012, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) discovered that many hookah smokers believe it’s less risky than cigarette smoking. “However, hookah smoke contains many of the same harmful toxins as cigarette smoke,” the CDC writes on its website, “and has been associated with lung cancer, respiratory illness, low birth weight, and periodontal disease.” The World Health Organization (WHO), meanwhile, states that hookah smoking sessions last much longer than a typical cigarette break. They can last from 20 to 80 minutes, with the smoker inhaling the same amount of smoke that would be produced by 100 cigarettes. A typical one-hour long hookah session involves about 200 puffs, compared to an average of 20 puffs per cigarette.
There’s also the nicotine aspect. Smoking enough hookah could easily trigger addiction, ultimately leading more easily into other tobacco products like cigarettes.
Despite the increasing number of studies pointing to hookah’s risks, people continue to be unaware and assume it’s safer than cigarettes. “In casual conversations with friends and patients, folks often appreciate that smoking anything comes with risks,” Adrienne J. Heinz, who researches alcohol and drug use patterns at the Stanford University School of Medicine, told Reuters. “However, hookah is certainly viewed as more benign, and when you share general facts about toxin exposure in one hookah session, it often shocks and surprises them.” Heinz also points out that there hasn’t been a strong public health campaign to raise awareness about the dangers of hookah smoke, the way there is for cigarettes. “There is also the misconception that because hookah sessions tend to be less frequent than smoking a cigarette, and because hookah is smoked through a water chamber, that the practice is safer,” Heinz told Reuters.
SOURCE: http://health.yahoo.net/articles/cancer/smoking-hookah-could-give-you-heart-disease-and-cancer

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Could Sleep Apnea Be Causing Your multiple sclerosis (MS) Fatigue?

Fatigue is a common, often debilitating symptom that affects nearly 80 percent of people with multiple sclerosis (MS). Whether it’s chronic or due to a flare-up, the National MS Society (NMSS) says fatigue “can significantly interfere with a person's ability to function at home and at work.” Extreme fatigue is also a common symptom of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a disorder that afflicts nearly 18 million Americans.
Dr. Tiffany J. Braley, an assistant professor of neurology at the University of Michigan Multiple Sclerosis and Sleep Centers, was curious about whether OSA plays a role in MS-related fatigue. In her team's latest study, 195 patients from the university’s MS clinic were given questionnaires designed to measure OSA risk, OSA diagnoses, and fatigue.
“The inspiration behind this stems from personal experiences with my patients,” Braley said in an interview with Healthline. “I have encountered many MS patients in my practice whose fatigue improved when their underlying sleep disorders, particularly OSA, were finally diagnosed and treated."
The study took into account other conditions often seen in people with MS, such as depression, which can also affect sleep and fatigue. The patients answered questions about their quality of sleep, the quality of their waking hours, and whether they took anything to help them either sleep or stay awake.
7 Tips to Beat MS Fatigue 
Braley and her team used a validated scale to determine the patients' risk of OSA (the STOP-Bang Questionnaire), which measures snoring, tiredness, apnea, blood pressure, body mass index, age, neck circumference, and gender.
They found that one fifth of the MS patients surveyed had definite OSA and more than half were at an increased risk of developing the sleep disorder. Most had never been formally diagnosed with the condition, and among those who had, less than half were receiving treatment for it.

What Is Obstructive Sleep Apnea?

According to The National Sleep Foundation, OSA is a disorder in which patients stop breathing briefly but repeatedly throughout the night.
OSA is characterized by a pause in breathing while asleep—sometimes for as long as ten seconds—when the muscles of the throat relax and cause the airway to collapse. This can cause disrupted sleep and oxygen deprivation to the brain, which can lead to heart disease and high blood pressure.
Besides fatigue, other symptoms of OSA include chronic snoring, high blood pressure, sleeplessness, irritability, trouble concentrating, and falling asleep while at work or driving.

Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired

If you suspect your MS fatigue may be compounded by OSA, your first step should be to create a sleep journal. Document how well you slept the night before, what your daytime symptoms were the next day, and if you took anything to either fall sleep or stay awake. Ask your sleep partner to tell you if you snore loudly or pause while breathing.
Then speak to your neurologist or primary care doctor who can refer you to a sleep specialist. OSA is typically diagnosed with a sleep study and usually involves an overnight stay at a sleep center. You may also need to fill out questionnaires designed to draw out the details of your sleeping habits.
The treatment of choice for OSA is a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine. The CPAP machine has a mask that fits over your nose and mouth, and it gently blows air into your airway to keep it open while you sleep. According to the National Sleep Foundation, CPAP treatment is highly effective.
Learn the Early Signs of MS 

Could MS Cause Sleep Apnea?

“That is a good question,” Braley said. Her study did not look at MS-specific causes for OSA, but her group published an earlier study that addressed this possibility. The results suggested that “patients who have more MS-related damage to their brainstem (which controls airway opening and breathing) may be at higher risk for OSA, but additional studies are necessary to confirm this.”
MS is a disease that affects the nervous system, which in turn controls muscle movements. Dysphagia, or trouble swallowing, is a symptom experienced by many with MS and involves the muscles of the throat, which are controlled by the brainstem. If these same muscles relax during sleep, it could cause apnea, but for now, that is just speculation.
Although there is evidence to suggest a link between sleep disturbances and MS fatigue, a cause-and-effect relationship has not been established. “Our study has some limitations,” the authors concede. It’s possible that the researchers saw such a high prevalence of OSA in their MS patients because the center specializes in sleep disorders as well as MS.
Whatever the connection, if you suffer from fatigue, it's a good idea to have your sleep quality checked by a doctor.

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children Polio-like illnesses discovered in California

STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — More than a dozen children in California have developed an extremely rare, polio-like syndrome within the past year that within days paralyzed one or more of the children's arms or legs, Stanford University researchers say.
The illness is still being investigated and appears to be very unusual, but Dr. Keith Van Haren at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford University warned Monday that any child showing a sudden onset of weakness in their limbs or symptoms of paralysis should be immediately seen by a doctor.
"The disease resembles but is not the same as polio," he said. "But this is serious. Most of the children we've seen so far have not recovered use of their arm or their leg."
But doctors are not sure if it's a virus or something else, he said. Van Haren said he has studied five cases from Monterey up through the San Francisco Bay Area, including two that were identified as the disease enterovirus-68, which is from the same family as the polio viruses. He said there have been about 20 cases statewide.
"We want to temper the concern, because at the moment, it does not appear to represent a major epidemic but only a very rare phenomenon," he said, noting similar outbreaks in Asia and Australia.
But for some children, like Sofia Jarvis, 4, of Berkeley, rare doesn't mean safe.
She first developed what looked like asthma two years ago, but then her left arm stopped moving, and it has remained paralyzed ever since.
"You can imagine. We had two boys that are very healthy and Sofia was healthy until that point," said her mother, Jessica Tomei. "We did not realize what we were in store for. We did not realize her arm would be permanently paralyzed."
Van Haren, who diagnosed Sofia, said polio vaccines do not protect children from the disease, but he stressed that it is still important for children to receive that vaccine.
Dr. Jane Seward of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta said Monday that the research is still underway in California, and there are a variety of infectious diseases that can cause childhood paralysis.
Any of a number of illnesses could be at work, and it's possible some of the cases had one infection and some had another. Regarding the presence of EV-68 in at least two cases, "it could be an incidental finding," Seward said.
Until officials get more information, Seward said they are not looking around the country for similar cases of EV-68.
The California Department of Public Health has not identified any common causes that suggest that the cases are linked, said Dr. Gil Chavez, the deputy director of the Center for Infectious Disease and state epidemiologist.
"Physicians and public health officials who have encountered similar illnesses have submitted 20 reports to CDPH, and CDPH has conducted preliminary tests on 15 of these specimens," he said. "Thus far, the department has not identified any common causes that suggest that the cases are linked."
University of California, San Francisco, neurology professor Emmanuelle Waubant said doctors believe, but don't have proof, that it's a virus that for most children shows up only as a benign cold. She said a few children, due to their biological makeup, are having much more serious symptoms and she hoped doctors would look for them.
"For a lot of the neurologists who have trained in the last 30 years, it's extremely rare to see polio or polio-like syndrome," she said
from: http://health.yahoo.net/news/s/ap/polio-like-illnesses-called-a-rare-phenomenon

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Anticonvulsants may Help Some Heavy Drinkers Cut Alcohol Use

Treatment with the anticonvulsant topiramate may help alcohol-dependent individuals who do not want to stop drinking completely reduce their alcohol consumption, new research shows.
A randomized controlled trial of 138 adult heavy drinkers in the United States showed that those who received topiramate at a maximum daily dose of 200 mg for 12 weeks were 5 times less likely to experience a heavy drinking day compared with those who received matching placebo. In addition, participants in the topiramate group experienced significantly more abstinent days.
In further analysis, the investigators found that the effect on heavy drinking days after topiramate treatment was only shown in the participants who carried the rs2832407 genotype. They note that, if validated, this finding could help identify patients most likely to respond to this treatment.
"We had 2 main results. First, topiramate is useful to help people reduce drinking at a lower dosage, and it was well tolerated," lead author Henry R. Kranzler, MD, professor of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine in Philadelphia and director of the school's Center for Studies of Addiction, told Medscape Medical News.
"We have very complete data, which gives us confidence that the findings are real," he added.
Secondly, "it is possible with an SNP [single-nucleotide polymorphism] genotype, which is easy to get done these days, to predict who will respond better to topiramate than to placebo."
Dr. Kranzler noted that the findings also implicate the importance of the kainate receptor, and specifically its GluK1 subunit, in controlling alcohol drinking behavior.
"This means it might be possible to design a new drug to specifically block that subunit and avoid many of the side effects that topiramate has," he said.
The study was published online February 14 in the American Journal of Psychiatry.
Few Seek Treatment
Data released in 2010 showed that 23% of all US residents older than 11 years consumed 5 or more drinks in 1 setting during the previous month ― and 7% reported doing so at least 5 days per month.

Dr. Henry Kranzler

"Despite this, few heavy drinkers seek out treatment ― especially those who do not meet the clinical criteria for an alcohol use disorder but whose drinking causes substantial damage to individuals, their families, and the community," note the researchers in a release.
Previous research has shown that topiramate can reduce drinking in those who want to abstain from alcohol. But for this trial, the investigators sought to determine whether it could also help those who wanted to limit their alcohol consumption to safe levels, rather than to stop drinking altogether.
Topiramate increases γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) while also inhibiting glutamate activity by blocking α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) and kainate receptors.
As reported by Medscape Medical News, a recent randomized controlled trial showed that adults who were dependent on both cocaine and alcohol were significantly more likely to be abstinent from cocaine after 13 weeks of treatment with 300 mg/day of topiramate plus cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) than those who received placebo plus CBT.
"By increasing GABAergic activity in the nucleus accumbens, topiramate may reduce the dopamine release associated with cocaine or alcohol use and reduce the reinforcing effects," the researchers wrote at the time.

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(Videos) Management of Anaphylactic Shock

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New smartphone apps 'detect epilepsy and improve stroke care'

In these modern times, there is practically a smartphone app for all aspects of life. Now, new research has detailed two new apps that could help people detect epileptic seizures and receive better treatment for stroke.
The two new studies will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 66th Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, PA, in April.
For the first study that looks at the creation of the epilepsy app, the research team analyzed 67 people with the condition.
They were asked questions about their seizures, and the researchers used the most useful questions and answers that could predict an epileptic seizure in order to create the app.
The investigators tested the app on 132 individuals with epilepsy in India and Nepal and compared the results with their doctors' diagnoses.
The researchers found that the app was informative in 87% of people, and it complied with doctors' diagnoses in 96% of these cases.
Commenting on the findings, Dr. Victor Patterson, a neurologist from Belfast in the UK and co-author of the study, says:

"It can often be difficult to determine whether someone is having an epileptic seizure. This app will help health professionals evaluate and make the diagnosis, especially when doctors are not available."

Stroke app 'could improve patient care'

For the second study, Dr. Claude Nguyen, of the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine in Philadelphia, and colleagues created an app they say could enable doctors to provide more effective care for patients who have suffered acute stroke.
Dr. Nguyen says he first thought about a stroke app when he was a fellow at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.
He told Medical News Today that as a physician treating acute stroke patients, he needed a tool that would allow him to "accomplish several goals simultaneously." He wanted to be able to treat the patient in a timely manner, treat them within certain benchmarks and evaluate them for eligibility in clinical trials.
"In addition, I often needed to contact research study coordinators or other personnel," he adds. "I created the app as a way to centralize and streamline these seemingly disparate tasks."
Dr. Nguyen said the app is designed to be used in real-time. He explained that a doctor can enter data about a patient, such as symptom onset time, demographics and their score on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Stroke Scale. Using these data, the app can then determine which clinical trials the doctor might consider the patient for.
"The app also has a stopwatch feature to track and record treatment times, a phonebook to allow quick contact of study personnel and access to inclusion/exclusion criteria for clinical trials," he added.
Dr. Nguyen said he believes the app will become widely used for stroke care:

"On the most basic level, the app can be used as a quality assurance and workflow tool to ensure that practitioners are meeting treatment times for acute stroke.
What makes this app novel is that it can help identify patients who are eligible for clinical trials, which is the key toward finding the next stroke treatment."

It seems mobile technology is increasingly being investigated for use in the medical world. 
Read more on:http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/272919.php

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Brain of one monkey used to control the movements of another, "avatar", monkey.

The brain of one monkey has been used to control the movements of another, "avatar", monkey, US scientists report.

Brain scans read the master monkey's mind and were used to electrically stimulate the avatar's spinal cord, resulting in controlled movement.
The team hope the method can be refined to allow paralysed people to regain control of their own body.
The findings, published in Nature Communications, have been described as "a key step forward".
Damage to the spinal cord can stop the flow of information from the brain to the body, leaving people unable to walk or feed themselves.
The researchers are aiming to bridge the damage with machinery.
Match electrical activity The scientists at Harvard Medical School said they could not justify paralysing a monkey. Instead, two were used - a master monkey and a sedated avatar.
The master had a brain chip implanted that could monitor the activity of up to 100 neurons.
During training, the physical actions of the monkey were matched up with the patterns of electrical activity in the neurons.
The avatar had 36 electrodes implanted in the spinal cord and tests were performed to see how stimulating different combinations of electrodes affected movement.
The two monkeys were then hooked up so that the brain scans in one controlled movements in real time in the other.
The sedated avatar held a joystick, while the master had to think about moving a cursor up or down.
In 98% of tests, the master could correctly control the avatar's arm.
One of the researchers, Dr Ziv Williams, told the BBC: "The goal is to take people with brain stem or spinal cord paralysis and bypass the injury.
"The hope is ultimately to get completely natural movement, I think it's theoretically possible, but it will require an exponential additional effort to get to that point."
He said that giving paralysed people even a small amount of movement could dramatically alter their quality of life.
Reality or science fiction?

The idea of one brain controlling an avatar body is the stuff of blockbuster Hollywood movies.
However, Prof Christopher James, of the University of Warwick, dismissed a future of controlling other people's bodies by thought.
He said: "Some people may be concerned this might mean someone taking over control of someone else's body, but the risk of this is a no-brainer.
"Whilst the control of limbs is sophisticated, it is still rather crude overall, plus of course in an able-bodied person their own control over their limbs remains anyway, so no-one is going to control anyone else's body against their wishes any time soon."
Instead, he said this was "very important research" with "profound" implications "especially for controlling limbs in spinal cord injury, or controlling prosthetic limbs with limb amputees".
Realising that goal will face additional challenges. Moving a cursor up and down is a long way from the dextrous movement needed to drink from a cup.
There are also differences in the muscles of people after paralysis; they tend to become more rigid. And fluctuating blood pressure may make restoring control more challenging.
Prof Bernard Conway, head of biomedical engineering at the University of Strathclyde, said: "The work is a key step forward that demonstrates the potential of brain machine interfaces to be used in restoring purposeful movement to people affected by paralysis.
"However, significant work still remains to be done before this technology will be able to be offered to the people who need it."
SOURCE: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-26224813

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New Ways to Treat Irregular Heartbeat

If left untreated, one kind of irregular heartbeat called atrial fibrillation can result in blood clots, stroke or serious heart problems. Beyond taking a pill, there are other ways of trying to correct the problem.
Video Overview: Helping Hearts Hit the Right Beat
Prescription medication generally is the first treatment for atrial fibrillation (AFib) — the most common type of abnormal heart rhythm.
A new study showed that treatment with radiofrequency ablation resulted in a lower rate of abnormal heart rhythms than prescription medications in treating AFib patients who had not previously been treated.
"Ask your doctor about how to treat an irregular heartbeat."
Carlos A. Morillo, MD, FRCPC, a cardiologist at McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada, was this study’s lead author.
Dr. Morillo and his team wanted to research the use of radiofrequency ablation, a surgical technique that electrical current produced by a radio wave to destroy abnormal heart tissue, as first line treatment for atrial fibrillation. Prescription medications are usually first line treatment. When those medications are not effective, radiofrequency ablation generally is the second treatment choice.
Dr. Morillo and colleagues selected 127 patients from 16 medical facilities in Europe and North America. These researchers treated 61 of those patients with the antiarrhythmia medications flecainide (brand name Tambocor) and propafenone (Rhythmol), and treated 66 of them with radiofrequency ablation. They monitored the patients’ heart health for two years ending in February 2012.
Patients who were assigned antiarrhythima medications had more overly fast heartbeats lasting longer than 30 seconds at a time than the patients who underwent radiofrequency ablation.
Of those taking medications, 44 patients (72 percent) had repeated episodes of irregular heartbeats. Of patients undergoing radiofrequency ablation, 36 (55 percent) had repeated episodes of irregular heartbeats. Electrocardiogram (EKG) tests measured the irregular heart rates and how long they lasted.
Related: MRI May Help Doctors Find Best A-fib Treatment
AFib that was not accompanied by difficulty breathing, heart palpitations, extreme fatigue or other obvious symptoms of AFib occurred more often in the group of patients taking medications than in the group undergoing ablation. Of the patients who were prescribed medications, 11 (18 percent) had AFib with no obvious symptoms. In the other group, nine patients (9 percent) had AFib without outward symptoms.
AFib accompanied by symptoms occurred repeatedly more often in patients taking medications than in those treated with ablation. In the medication-taking group, 36 patients (59 percent) had recurring bouts of AFib with symptoms. In the ablation group, 31 patients (47 percent) had recurring bouts of AFib.
Treatment improved everyday quality of life for both groups, who also had about the same quality of life.
No deaths or strokes were reported in either group. However, four cases of dangerous fluid build-up around the heart occurred in the ablation group.
"Radiofrequency ablation of atrial fibrillation has surged in popularity as electrophysiologists have refined and upgraded their techniques," said Sarah Samaan, MD, cardiologist and physician partner at the Baylor Heart Hospital in Plano, Texas. "As this study shows, there is no perfect solution for many people to the aggravation of atrial fibrillation. However, when performed in appropriate patients by experienced physicians, ablation has the advantages of being more effective without the potential side effects of drug therapy."
Related: Cardiac Patients Dying Less From Heart Troubles
According to Dr. Samaan, "It's important to understand that ablation is not for everyone. People with enlarged or weakened hearts may be less likely to benefit. Those with other serious medical conditions, like chronic lung disease (which often aggravates atrial fibrillation) may not be good candidates. And the longer that you are persistently in atrial fibrillation, the less likely the procedure is to be effective. There are also potentially serious (even fatal) side effects such as stroke and puncture of the heart walls that need to be discussed and understood prior to going ahead with the procedure. But for many people, atrial fibrillation ablation can be life changing."
Dr. Morillo and team concluded that more research on the effectiveness of ablation as a first choice for treatment is needed.
"These findings highlight the fact that although ablation is effective, there are still approximately 50 percent of patients who have [AFib] recurrences 24 months after undergoing a single procedure," the researchers wrote. "Ablation extends the time free of both symptomatic and asymptomatic [AFib] and significantly reduced the recurrence of repeated episodes, potentially having an effect on [AFib] progression."
This study was published online February 19 in JAMA.
Biosense Webster, maker of heart catheters, and McMaster University’s Population Health Research Institute funded the study.
Each of the study’s 10 researchers reported having received research grants and/or consulting fees from pharmaceutical makers or research hospitals
source: http://health.yahoo.net/articles/heart/helping-hearts-hit-right-beat

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DNA prostate test 'will predict deadliest cancer risk'

DNA testing can predict which men face the highest risk of deadly prostate cancer, scientists say.

The team at the Institute of Cancer Research, in London, say men could soon be offered genetic screening in a similar way to breast cancer in women.

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I can see in two to three years offering screening to men with prostate cancer and to men worried about their family history”

Dr Zsofia Kote-Jarai Institute of Cancer Research

They have shown 14 separate mutations can greatly increase the odds of aggressive prostate cancers, which could form the basis of a test.

Prostate Cancer UK said such testing could "revolutionise" care for men.
Prostate cancer is the commonest cancer in men in many countries, including the UK - where more than 40,000 people are diagnosed each year.
But not every patient has, or needs, invasive therapy that results in severe side-effects.
Identifying which men will need treatment - those who are likely to develop the most aggressive and deadly form of the cancer - is a huge challenge.
Danger genes The researchers took blood samples from 191 men with prostate cancer and at least three close family members with the same condition.
Each was tested for risky mutations - this included the BRCA genes that are involved in repairing DNA and already linked to breast and ovarian cancers.
The results, published in the British Journal of Cancer, show that 7% of the men had one of 14 high-risk mutations.
The researchers said that it was also these men who had the aggressive prostate cancer that had started to spread around the body.

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We urgently need to understand more about which men are at risk of developing prostate cancer and in particular aggressive forms of the disease”

Dr Iain Frame Prostate Cancer UK

One of the researchers, Dr Zsofia Kote-Jarai, told the BBC: "I can see in two to three years offering screening to men with prostate cancer and to men worried about their family history."

However, she said it was unlikely these men would immediately opt to have their prostate removed.
Many women with a high risk of breast cancer, for example Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie, opt to have their breast tissue removed.
"A mastectomy is removing an organ we don't really need, and there is excellent plastic surgery afterwards. Radical prostatectomy has really big side-effects. It is more likely men will be monitored more closely."
The side-effects include infertility, difficulty maintaining and keeping an erection, and uncontrolled urination.
'Exciting' However, the screening is not ready yet. The research group is already running a larger trial involving 2,000 men and testing 192 genes.
Dr Iain Frame, the director of research at the charity Prostate Cancer UK, said: "We urgently need to understand more about which men are at risk of developing prostate cancer, and in particular aggressive forms of the disease.
"Genetic testing to predict risk could revolutionise how we treat the 40,000 men diagnosed with the disease every year in the UK.
"These results are exciting as they add to the growing weight of evidence that men with a family history of prostate cancer who possess certain genes may be at higher risk, providing us with another crucial piece of the jigsaw."
FROM: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-26274475

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New tool to test clinical depression in teenagers

The findings identify risk of clinical depression among boys but not girls

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A tool for predicting the risk of clinical depression in teenage boys has been developed by researchers.

Looking for high levels of the stress hormone cortisol and reports of feeling miserable, lonely or unloved could find those at greatest risk.
Researchers at the University of Cambridge want to develop a way of screening for depression in the same way as heart problems can be predicted.
However, their method was far less useful in girls.
Teenage years and early adulthood are a critical time for mental health - 75% of disorders develop before the age of 24.
But there is no way to accurately say who will or will not develop depression.
Risky combination Now researchers say they have taken the "first step" towards a screening tool.
Tests on 1,858 teenagers, reported in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, combined hormone levels and mood questionnaires to assess risk.
They showed that having both high cortisol levels and depressive mood symptoms posed a higher risk of depression than either factor alone and presented a risk of clinical depression 14 times that of those with low cortisol and no depressive symptoms.
Around one in six boys was in the high-risk category and half of them were diagnosed with clinical depression during the three years of study.
One of the researchers, Prof Ian Goodyer, said: "Depression is a terrible illness that will affect as many as 10 million people in the UK at some point in their lives.
"Through our research, we now have a very real way of identifying those teenage boys most likely to develop clinical depression.
"This will help us strategically target preventions and interventions at these individuals and hopefully help reduce their risk of serious episodes of depression, and their consequences, in adult life."
'Many contributory factors' Women are twice as likely as men to develop depression during their lifetimes, but the test was little help in determining risk.
One theory is that women naturally have higher cortisol levels, which affects their risk.
However, the test is not yet ready for clinical use.
Dr John Williams, from the Wellcome Trust, which funded the study, said: "Progress in identifying biological markers for depression has been frustratingly slow, but now we finally have a biomarker for clinical depression."
Sam Challis, from mental health charity Mind, said: "This study claims there is a biomarker linked to depression, but it's important to bear in mind that many factors play a part in depression, such as life events, genetic factors, side effects of medication and diet.
"However, this research could help identify those who may need extra support.
"We know that it is possible to recover from a mental health problem, and this is more likely for those who seek help straight away."
FROM http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-26224812

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Why do we get headaches?

There is a range of different types of headaches, from the dull ache of a tension headache to the migraines and cluster headaches that are called "vascular headaches". Tension, or stress headaches are caused by tightened muscles in the back of the neck and scalp. The tension can be caused by a variety of things, from anxiety to eye strain caused by bad glasses.
On the other hand, vascular headaches occur because of changed blood flow to your brain. Scientists don't quite know why: for instance, it could be due to a localised lack of oxygen caused by a spasm in the cerebral arteries; or caused by blood vessel swelling. We do know that migraines can be triggered by the weather, by diet, bad sleep or stress. They tend to last between 4-72 hours, and some people report bright flashes of light or other visual disturbances.
We still don't know what causes cluster headaches, which can last for weeks or months, but scientists think that may be related to blood flow to the brain.
Read more on: http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20140214-why-do-we-get-headaches

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The Best Anti-Inflammatory Skincare

If you have sensitive skin, odds are inflammation is to blame. Fortunately, there are many products formulated with anti-inflammatory ingredients that soothe sensitive skin and keep redness under control. Just keep in mind that truly sensitive skin can react differently to different products, so you should selectively test out one new ingredient at a time to see how your skin responds.
If possible, try to get samples of new products (although most drugstores and department stores will let you return products even if you open them as long as you have the receipt). Just remember, not all reactions are instant and it can take up to 24 hours to see redness or a rash.
Aloe: Known for its ability to ease inflammation (hence its reputation as a sunburn-soother), aloe can help keep reactive skin calm. Find it in: Basis Face Wash.
Feverfew: Derived from a flowering plant that’s part of the daisy family, this anti-inflammatory ingredient was originally used to reduce fever (as the name implies). Today, it’s the star ingredient in Aveeno’s Ultra-Calming line. Note: Avoid feverfew if you have a ragweed allergy.
Oatmeal: If your mom put you in an oatmeal bath when you had the chickenpox, it’s because oatmeal has been used as a skin treatment since ancient Egyptian times. Even the FDA has acknowledged its skin-protecting properties. Find it in:Dermalogica Ultra Calming Relief Masque.
Chamomile: One of the most commonly used medicinal herbs, chamomile is an anti-inflammatory that has also been found to aid wound healing. Find it in: Neutrogena Ultra Gentle Soothing Lotion SPF 15.
Calendula: A close relative to marigolds, calendula provides an antiseptic effect without irritating sensitive skin. Note: Avoid calendula if you have a ragweed allergy. Find it in: California Baby Calendula Cream.
Green tea: A powerful antioxidant, green tea helps protect the skin from free radicals, which goes a long way for preventing aging changes in the skin. But unlike many synthetic (and even naturally-derived) antioxidants, green tea has a low risk of skin reaction. Find it in: Kinerase Gentle Daily Cleanser.
Licorice extract: Good news for those with sensitive skin: Licorice extract can help fade unwanted pigment without irritating side effects. Find it in: Boscia Oil-Free Nightly Hydration.
Cucumber extract: The phrase “cool as a cucumber” can mean a lot to sensitive skin, and is great for soothing stinging and burning. Find it in: Yes to Cucumbers Facial Towelettes.
If you believe your sensitive skin is caused by allergies, look for products by VMV Hypoallergenics, and Burt’s Bees now has a line geared toward sensitive skin
From:http://health.yahoo.net/experts/skintype/best-anti-inflammatory-skincare

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congratulations: Belgium's parliament approved child euthanasia

Parliament in Belgium has passed a bill allowing euthanasia for terminally ill children without any age limit, by 86 votes to 44, with 12 abstentions.

When, as expected, the bill is signed by the king, Belgium will become the first country in the world to remove any age limit on the practice.
It may be requested by terminally ill children who are in great pain and also have parental consent.
Opponents argue children cannot make such a difficult decision.
It is 12 years since Belgium legalised euthanasia for adults.
In the Netherlands, Belgium's northern neighbour, euthanasia is legal for children over the age of 12, if there is parental consent.

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Conditions for child euthanasia

• Patient must be conscious of their decision
• Request must be approved by parents and medical team
• Illness must be terminal
• Patient must be in great pain with no treatment available to alleviate their distress

Under the Dutch conditions, a patient's request for euthanasia can be fulfilled by a doctor if the request is "voluntary and well-considered" and the patient is suffering unbearably, with no prospect of improvement.

'Immoral' law One man in the public gallery of Belgium's parliament shouted "murderers" in French when the vote was passed, Reuters news agency reports.
Supporters of the legislation argue that in practice the law will affect an extremely small number of children, who would probably be in their teens, the BBC's Duncan Crawford reports from Brussels.
The law states a child would have to be terminally ill, face "unbearable physical suffering" and make repeated requests to die - before euthanasia is considered.
Parents, doctors and psychiatrists would have to agree before a decision is made.
Protesters have lobbied politicians against the changes.
Church leaders argued the law is immoral.
"The law says adolescents cannot make important decisions on economic or emotional issues, but suddenly they've become able to decide that someone should make them die," Brussels Archbishop Andre-Joseph Leonard, head of the Catholic Church in Belgium, said at a prayer vigil last week.
Some paediatricians have warned vulnerable children could be put at risk and have questioned whether a child can really be expected to make such a difficult choice.
Last week 160 Belgian paediatricians signed an open letter against the law, claiming that there was no urgent need for it and that modern medicine is capable of alleviating pain.
But opinion polls have suggested broad support for the changes in Belgium, which is mostly Catholic.
SOURCE: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-26181615

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