Oregon Research Institute Tai Chi program helps Parkinson's disease patients

An Oregon Research Institute (ORI) exercise study conducted in four Oregon cities has shown significant benefits for patients with mild-to-moderate Parkinson's disease. In an original article published in the February 9, 2012 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), ORI scientist Fuzhong Li, Ph.D. and colleagues report that a tailored program of twice-weekly Tai Chi training resulted in improved postural stability and walking ability, and reduced falls in the participants.

"These results are clinically significant because they suggest that Tai Chi, a low-to-moderate impact exercise, may be used, as an add-on to current physical therapies, to address some of the key clinical problems in Parkinson's disease, such as postural and gait instability. Since many training features in the program are functionally oriented, the improvements in the balance and gait measures that we demonstrated highlight the potential of Tai Chi-based movements in rehabilitating patients with these types of problems and, consequently, easing cardinal symptoms of Parkinson's disease and improving mobility, flexibility, balance, and range of motion," noted Dr. Li.

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http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-02/ori-ori020612.php

Steve Connor - No way of stopping leak of deadly new flu, says terror chief

The bioterrorism expert responsible for censoring scientific research which could lead to the creation of a devastating pandemic has admitted the information "is going to get out" eventually.

Professor Paul Keim, chairman of the US National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity, controversially recommended that researchers be stopped from publishing the precise mutations needed to transform the H5N1 strain of birdflu virus into a human-transmissible version.

In an exclusive interview with The Independent, he argued it had been necessary to limit the release of the scientific details because of fears that terrorists may use the information to create their own H5N1 virus that could be spread easily between people.

Professor Keim said that it was necessary to slow down the release of scientific information because it was clear that the world is not yet prepared for a strain of highly lethal H5N1 influenza that can be transmitted by coughs and sneezes.

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http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/no-way-of-stopping-leak-of-deadly-new-flu-says-terror-chief-6660997.html#

Are Dormant Viruses Killing You: Even While They Are Asleep?

The Center for the Biology of Chronic Disease is a not-for-profit organization specializing in researching the biology of chronic disease (the original disruption that causes the disease and the sequence of events that lead from the disruption to the clinical symptoms.) CBCD believes it is crucial to understand the biology of the disease in order to effectively develop drugs that will cure chronic diseases, such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, or arthritis. 

CBCD’s work is based on the research of Dr. Hanan Polansky, author of ‘The Purple Book’ - Microcompetition with Foreign DNA and the Origin of Chronic Disease. This highly technical well-researched book has been lauded for its biological theories on the origin of chronic disease by medical experts around the world including distinguished researchers from the National Institute of Health.^1.

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http://sanevax.org/are-dormant-viruses-killing-you-even-while-they-are-asleep/

Grape seed extract kills head and neck cancer cells, leaves healthy cells unharmed

Nearly 12,000 people will die of head and neck cancer in the United States this year and worldwide cases will exceed half a million.

A study published this week in the journal Carcinogenesisshows that in both cell lines and mouse models, grape seed extract (GSE) kills head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cells, while leaving healthy cells unharmed.

“It’s a rather dramatic effect,” says Rajesh Agarwal, PhD, investigator at the University of Colorado Cancer Centerand professor at the Skaggs School of Pharmaceutical Sciences.

It depends in large part, says Agarwal, on a healthy cell’s ability to wait out damage.

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http://www.coloradocancerblogs.org/news/grape-seed-extract-kills-head-and-neck-cancer-cells-leaves-healthy-cells-unharmed

Mind Over Matter: Patients' Perceptions of Illness Make a Difference

 Whenever we fall ill, there are many different factors that come together to influence the course of our illness. Additional medical conditions, stress levels, and social support all have an impact on our health and well-being, especially when we are ill. But a new report suggests that what you think about your illness matters just as much, if not more, in determining your health outcomes. 

In the February issue of Current Directions in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, Keith Petrie, of the University of Auckland, and John Weinman, of the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College, review the existing literature on patients' perceptions of illness. The authors find that people's illness perceptions bear a direct relationship to several important health outcomes, including their level of functioning and ability, utilization of health care, adherence to treatment plans laid out by health care professionals, and even overall mortality.

In fact, some research suggests that how a person views his illness may play a bigger role in determining his health outcomes than the actual severity of his disease.

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http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120127162753.htm

High Animal Fat Diet Increases Gestational Diabetes Risk, Study Finds

Women who consumed a diet high in animal fat and cholesterol before pregnancy were at higher risk for gestational diabetes than women whose diets were lower in animal fat and cholesterol, according to researchers at the National Institutes of Health and Harvard University. 

Gestational diabetes is a form of diabetes seen during pregnancy. Gestational diabetes increases the risk for certain pregnancy complications and health problems in the newborn.

Women whose diets were high in total fat or other kinds of fats -- but not in animal fat or cholesterol -- did not have an increased risk.

Moreover, the increased risk for gestational diabetes seen with animal fat and cholesterol appeared to be independent of other, dietary and non-dietary, risk factors for gestational diabetes. For example, exercise is known to reduce the risk of gestational diabetes. Among women who exercised, however, those who consumed higher amounts of animal fat and cholesterol had a higher risk than those whose diets were lower in these types of fat.

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http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120125163406.htm

Too much television can give you diabetes

"The message is simple. Cutting back on TV watching can significantly reduce risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and premature mortality," said senior author Frank Hu, professor of nutrition and epidemiology at HSPH. 

"We should not only promote increasing physical activity levels but also reduce sedentary behaviour, especially prolonged TV watching," he added. 

Hu and first author Anders Grontved, a doctoral student and visiting researcher in the HSPH Department of Nutrition, conducted a meta-analysis, a systematic assessment of all published studies from 1970 to 2011 that linked TV viewing with increased risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and premature death. 

Eight large prospective cohort studies from the United States, Europe, and Australia met the researchers'' criteria and were included in the meta-analysis. 

Read More:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/health/Too-much-television-can-give-you-diabetes/articleshow/8861830.cms

Michael Smith - 'Totally' Resistant TB Surfaces in India

Drug resistance in tuberculosis appears to have reached a peak in several patients in India, who are virtually untreatable with available medications.

In a letter to Clinical Infectious Diseases, published online, Mumbai physicians described four patients whose TB was resistant to five front-line drugs and seven second-line medications.

They are "totally drug-resistant," according to Zarir Udwadia, MD, and colleagues at P. D. Hinduja National Hospital and Medical Research Centre in Mumbai.

Udwadia and colleagues blamed the rise of such resistance on India's healthcare system, which has had some success against normal TB, but which they said does not pay enough attention to resistant strains.

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http://www.medpagetoday.com/InfectiousDisease/Tuberculosis/30710

[Video] Meryl Nass on Vaccines

Knight Ridder - Non-infectious diseases are today's main killers

Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News  12-16-11

http://www.lef.org/news/LefDailyNews.htm?NewsID=12021&Section=Disease

Dec. 16--ABU DHABI -- Chronic non-communicable diseases are today's killers in the world. Despite people knowing the risk factors, such as smoking and unhealthy lifestyle, changing behaviour still remains a big challenge.

"A lot of people still think that a lot of people in developing countries die of infectious diseases, but this isn't the case anymore except for a few countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Most people in the world today die from chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like cardiovascular diseases, Type 2 diabetes, chronic lung diseases and cancers.

"Those countries that still face infectious diseases, they now face a double burden -- on the one hand, they're dying from HIV and malaria, and at the same time, they are being hit by these chronic diseases," said Prof Abdallah Daar, chair of the Global Alliance for Chronic Citing a report published in September this year, Prof Daar said it will cost the world about $47 trillion over the next 20 years to deal with chronic NCDs.

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Anna Taylor - Warning as infectious salmon disease spreads from Europe's fish farms to Canada

Anna Taylor

The Ecologist, 15th December, 2011

http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_analysis/1165637/warning_as_infectious_salmon_disease_spreads_from_europes_fish_farms_to_canada.html#

Discovery of the deadly salmon virus Infectious Salmon Anaemia in Canada is just latest likely example of disease spreading to wild fish stocks from the world's mega fish farms

The rise of the farmed fish industry in recent years has been accompanied by the emergence of many infectious diseases of fish. One of the most recent and serious diseases is the marine viral disease, Infectious Salmon Anaemia (ISA). 

First detected in Atlantic salmon farmed along the southwest coast of Norway in 1984, it has since spread throughout the world. 

As the name suggests, ISA shows itself by a severe anaemia, with fish displaying pale gills, and often swimming close to the surface of the water, gulping for air. More insidiously, however, many fish show no signs at all until they suddenly die. 

An outbreak of the ISA was detected in wild Pacific salmon last October, in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Outbreaks of this virus have previously been detected in fish farms in Chile and Scotland, and although not dangerous to human health, have had serious impacts on the industry and the communities who depend upon it.

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Lawrence B. Palevsky - False Alarm Over Pertussis "Outbreak"

A Letter from Lawrence B. Palevsky

In an October 2011, the Suffolk County Health Commissioner published a Health Advisory stating that 179 cases of pertussis have been reported to the NYS Department of Health this year, compared with 54 cases in 2010 and 75 cases in 2009.Click Here to Read Report 

In response to the following news report (Click Here to Read Report), Tribeca Pediatrics in NYC wrote a letter to the patients in their practice warning them that the number of cases of pertussis infections in Suffolk County has now surpassed 200. An alarm has been raised in the public arenas about this surge in cases of pertussis infections. I'd like to take this opportunity to raise a few points and answer a few questions about this sudden alarm, which appears to be more like a false alarm than anything else. 

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Sciencedaily - Eating Fish Reduces Risk of Alzheimer's Disease, Study Finds

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111130095257.htm

ScienceDaily (Nov. 30, 2011) — People who eat baked or broiled fish on a weekly basis may be improving their brain health and reducing their risk of developing mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease, according to a study presented November 30 at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

"This is the first study to establish a direct relationship between fish consumption, brain structure and Alzheimer's risk," said Cyrus Raji, M.D., Ph.D., from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. "The results showed that people who consumed baked or broiled fish at least one time per week had better preservation of gray matter volume on MRI in brain areas at risk for Alzheimer's disease."

Alzheimer's disease is an incurable, progressive brain disease that slowly destroys memory and cognitive skills. According to the National Institute on Aging, as many as 5.1 million Americans may have Alzheimer's disease. In MCI, memory loss is present but to a lesser extent than in Alzheimer's disease. People with MCI often go on to develop Alzheimer's disease.

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Ethan Evers - Green tea supplements prevent flu better than vaccination

by Ethan Evers

http://www.naturalnews.com/034218_green_tea_flu_season.html

(NaturalNews) Flu season is now in full swing and seasonal vaccinations are being pushed from every corner. Nonetheless, a recent clinical trial showed that green tea-based supplements reduced the risk of flu by 75%. This is far better than the 60% risk reduction recently reported in the Lancet for vaccinations. Given that green tea provides a host of other health benefits and none of the risks of injections, it would appear to be a far superior alternative to vaccination.

Green Tea: Natural Antiviral and Immune Enhancer

For many years it has been known that green tea polyphenols actively suppress many bacterial, fungal and viral species. On the virus front, green tea suppresses the adenovirus, Epstein-Barr, herpes simplex, HIV-1 and influenza viruses. EGCG, one of the main polyphenols in green tea, is mainly responsible for this suppression. Specifically, ECGC binds to the hemagglutinin of the influenza virus, which blocks it from attaching to (and infecting) target receptor cells. EGCG also alters the virus cell membrane, which further inhibits its ability to infect other cells. Another important component of green tea is the amino acid L-theanine, which has been shown to activate human gamma-delta-T lymphocytes to proliferate and make interferon-gamma, a potent antimicrobial cytokine. These lymphocytes are considered to be the body's first line of defence against infection. Green tea therefore offers a two-pronged protection from the flu which vaccination simply cannot match. But for final proof, we need clinical trials.

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ScienceDaily - Nanoparticles Used as Additives in Diesel Fuels Can Travel from Lungs to Liver

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111117141157.htm

ScienceDaily (Nov. 17, 2011) — Recent studies conducted at Marshall University have demonstrated that nanoparticles of cerium oxide -- common diesel fuel additives used to increase the fuel efficiency of automobile engines -- can travel from the lungs to the liver and that this process is associated with liver damage.

The data in the study by Dr. Eric R. Blough and his colleagues at Marshall's Center for Diagnostic Nanosystems indicate there is a dose-dependent increase in the concentration of cerium in the liver of animals that had been exposed to the nanoparticles, which are only about 1/40,000 times as large as the width of a human hair. These increases in cerium were associated with elevations of liver enzymes in the blood and histological evidence consistent with liver damage. The research was published in the October 13 issue of the peer-reviewed research journal International Journal of Nanomedicine.

Cerium oxide is widely used as a polishing agent for glass mirrors, television tubes and ophthalmic lenses. Cerium oxide nanoparticles are used in the automobile industry to increase fuel efficiency and reduce particulate emissions. Some studies have found that cerium oxide nanoparticles may also be capable of acting as antioxidants, leading researchers to suggest these particles may also be useful for the treatment of cardiovascular disease, neurodegenerative disease and radiation-induced tissue damage.

Blough, the center's director and an associate professor in the university's Department of Biological Sciences, said, "Given the ever-increasing use of nanomaterials in industry and in the products we buy, it is becoming increasingly important to understand if these substances may be harmful. To our knowledge, this is the first report to evaluate if inhaled cerium oxide nanoparticles exhibit toxic effects in the liver."

Dr. Siva K. Nalabotu, the study's lead author and a Ph.D. student in Blough's lab, said, "The potential effects of nanomaterials on the environment and cellular function is not yet well understood. Interest in nanotoxicity is rapidly growing.

"Our studies show that cerium oxide nanoparticles are capable of entering the liver from lungs through the circulation, where they show dose-dependent toxic effects on the liver. Our next step is to determine the mechanism of the toxicity."

The research was supported with funding from the U.S. Department of Energy, grant DE-PS02-09ER09-01.

Neil Bowdler - Study links Parkinson's disease to industrial solvent

BBC News, 13 November 2011 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-15639440

By Neil Bowdler Health reporter, BBC News

An international study has linked an industrial solvent to Parkinson's disease.

Researchers found a six-fold increase in the risk of developing Parkinson's in individuals exposed in the workplace to trichloroethylene (TCE).

Although many uses for TCE have been banned around the world, the chemical is still used as a degreasing agent.

The research was based on analysis of 99 pairs of twins selected from US data records.

Parkinson's can result in limb tremors, slowed movement and speech impairment, but the exact cause of the disease is still unknown, and there is no cure.

Click to read more ...