Health Tips - Learning-related protein induces cocaine addiction

Learning-related protein induces cocaine addiction:

Researchers have claimed that it has solved the longstanding puzzle of why a key protein linked to learning is also needed to become addicted to cocaine.

The study describes how the learning-related protein works with other proteins to forge new pathways in the brain in response to a drug-induced rush of the "pleasure" molecule dopamine.

By adding important detail to the process of addiction, the researchers, led by a group at Johns Hopkins, said that the work may point the way to new treatments.

"The broad question was why and how cocaine strengthened certain circuits in the brain long term, effectively re-wiring the brain for addiction," Paul Worley, M.D., a professor in the Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, said.

"What we found in this study was how two very different types of systems in the brain work together to make that happen," he said.

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Health Tips - Teen girls at infertility risk

Teen girls at infertility risk:

Love for fast food and inability to handle stress is predisposing teenage girls to a hormonal disorder that raises risk of infertility and diabetes

Last year, a 17-year-old college student from Bandra visited gynaecologist Dr Rishma Dhillon-Pai, complaining of a delayed menstrual cycle. The teenager told Dr Dhillon-Pai that she would get her periods only on taking hormone medication. If she stopped the course, her cycles would stop too. At 5'2", weighing 75 kilos, the teenager was overweight (her ideal weight should have been 52 kilos) and had excess facial hair. Dr Dhillon-Pai suggested that she undergo a battery of blood and hormone tests. These revealed that she had high insulin levels and an abnormally high LH/ FSH ratio (luteinising hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone — responsible for ovulation). She was found to be suffering from Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS).

PCOS is a hormonal disorder among women which derives its names from the appearance of ovaries — enlarged and containing numerous small cysts located along the outer edge of each ovary (polycystic appearance). PCOS interferes with the menstrual cycle causing either oligomenorrhea (few menstrual periods), hypermenorrhea (very frequent menstrual periods) or amenorrhea (no menstrual periods).

While doctors have reported a rise in the number of PCOS cases among adult women, it's the high incidence among teenage girls that they find worrying. Dr Dhillon-Pai, a consultant with Lilavati and Jaslok Hospitals, says, "Of the total PCOS cases I see, 25 per cent are adolescents."

While Dr Dhillon-Pai put her patient on a strict diet and exercise regime, the girl lost only a kilo over three months. When further tests showed that she was also insulin resistant, the teenager was put on a combination of insulin-sensitising drugs and low dose cyclical hormones (hormonal pills that help regularise periods). Six months later, she had lost eight kilos, her skin was free from acne and there was a dramatic reduction in facial hair.

Catch it early
With patients worrying most about skin problems such as, acne and excess facial hair, dermatologists are the first doctors the teens tend to consult. Irregular menstrual cycles are often ignored, attributing them to 'hormones settling down' during the teenage years. At his Bandra and Malad clinics, dermatologist Dr Sushil Tahiliani, sees nearly six to eight teenaged patients suffering from this condition every week. "With high levels of the male hormone testosterone in their body, they have unwanted hair in a pattern normally seen in men — hair on the face, chest and around the nipples. This also causes hair fall, thinning of hair, and darkening of complexion," he adds.

These symptoms, says Dr Uddhavraj Dudhedia, an Andheribased consultant gynaecological endoscopic oncosurgeon, need to be caught early and shown to the doctor immediately. For correct diagnosis, it is best to consult a gynaecologist. PCOS is a complicated condition and your child may show one or a combination of all symptoms. The right specialist will be able to customise treatment according to the patient's complaints.

Watch the insulin
However, the problem is not just cosmetic. Dr Dudhedia, who sees 15 cases a week, adds, "Such patients have high levels of serum insulin, insulin resistance and homocysteine (amino acids). Therefore, they have a tendency towards central obesity."

PCOS is a condition which predisposes patients to other ailments. "Obese patients with PCOS are insensitive to insulin. This raises the risk of diabetes and metabolic problems. Over time, this could result in cardiovascular disorders and endometrial hyperplasia," he points out. The condition can also affect reproductive capacity. Dr Dhillon-Pai says, "Most patients don't ovulate (release an egg) every month and face issues when they want to conceive."

How to correct it
While studies state that many patients are genetically predisposed to PCOS, eating excessive junk food, stress and a sedentary lifestyle increase the risk manyfold. Treatment, experts warn, will not cure the problem, but help manage it better. And it might mean being put on medication for a prolonged period.

Doctors suggest following a lowcarb diet with a low glycemic index (GI) where a significant part of total carbohydrates are obtained from fruits, vegetables and whole grain sources. "As the treatment is multidisciplinary (involving medical therapy, dietary alteration, exercise and sometimes a laparoscopic evaluation and procedure), it is important for the patient to stick to it," says Dr Dudhedia.

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Health tips - Arthritis ups leg and lung blood clots risk

Arthritis ups leg and lung blood clots risk:

Risk of potentially fatal blood clots in the legs and lungs are increased by rheumatoid arthritis, a nationwide study has claimed.

According to the evidence, between 11 per cent and 30 per cent of people who develop a blood clot in the legs, known as a deep vein thrombosis or DVT, or a blood clot in the lungs, known as a pulmonary embolism, or PE, die within 30 days of their diagnosis.

Researchers tracked the health of most of the population of Taiwan (23.74 million people) through the country's compulsory national insurance scheme between 1998 to 2008, and included a further monitoring period up to the end of 2010, to find out if rheumatoid arthritis raised the risk of potentially fatal blood clots.

Just less than 30,000 people developed rheumatoid arthritis during this period, and their details were entered into a national (catastrophic illness) registry of the National Health Insurance Database (NHIRD). By way of comparison, they were matched with almost 117,000 healthy people of the same age and sex.

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis were more likely to have other underlying conditions, like high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, heart failure and fractures, than were those in the comparison group.

But even after taking account of these influential factors, and allowing for age, patients with rheumatoid arthritis were still significantly more likely to develop potentially fatal blood clots, the analysis revealed.

They were more than three times as likely to develop a DVT, and twice as likely to develop a PE as those without the condition, the figures showed.

Furthermore, rheumatoid arthritis packed the greatest punch in the under 50s, who were almost six times as likely to develop a DVT and more than three times as likely to develop PE than were either middle aged (50 to 65) or older adults.

The findings of the study have been published online in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.

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Health Tips - Breast cancer awareness campaign in DU

Breast cancer awareness campaign in DU:

A month-long "Pink Chain" campaign to create awareness about breast cancer among Delhi University (DU) students has been launched.

The campaign, launched Wednesday, is an initiative of Punarjeevan Bihar, a non-governmental organisation, along with eminent doctors from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in association with the Department of Bio-technology (DBT) Science Centre, Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur (SGTB) Khalsa College.

"Two to three DU colleges will be grouped together and the students will be given information on breast cancer," Komal Kamra, secretary, DBT Star College Scheme, SGTB Khalsa College told us.

The students will be made aware about breast cancer through screening of documentary-drama, power-point presentations and experiences of people who have seen the disease closely.

"AIIMS doctors will make presentations and hold interactive sessions with the students," added Kamra.

Students from Miranda House, Daulat Ram and Khalsa colleges were present at the launch.

"Pink Chain" is a campaign dedicated to the nation's women. It is to create awareness regarding feeling of self care, for the protection of their feminism and self worth, and maintenance of their healthy or disease-free journey of life.

The Star College Scheme is a DBT initiative to improve infrastructure and academic capabilities in undergraduate (UG) colleges in order to promote research. Only colleges which offer courses for a minimum of 10 years are considered for the scheme.

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Excellent Health Tips - Men’s health: What is vasectomy?

Men’s health: What is vasectomy?:

Vasectomy is a surgical procedure for permanent birth control in the males. It is the surgical cut made in the vas deference (the tube that carries sperms from the testis).

In comparison to female sterilization (tubectomy) vasectomy is a simple office procedure requiring just about half an hour

Indications

When a married couple decides not to have any more children and are very sure about the decision.
When a married couple have some genetic disorder in either or both, and do not want to pass this to their offspring
Complications of Vasectomy

Generally no serious complications, some may have a mild infection or swelling and pain. Rarely the vas deferens may join together and may lead to pregnancy.
Have no doubts!!!
Vasectomy does not interfere with erection or orgasm or ejaculation
Does not prevent sexually transmitted disease (insist on a condom)
One is not sterile immediately after vasectomy
It takes about 3 months (due to live sperms in storage)
So use contraceptives for the duration.
Procedure of Vasectomy

Done under local anaesthesia
A small cut in the scrotum is made and a tie and cut of small piece of vas deferens It can be done without a cut called (non scalpel vasectomy) where no stitches are needed One can return to work after a few days

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Eye care: Top 8 tips to improve eye vision - Health Tips

Eye care: Top 8 tips to improve eye vision:

Nearly half of our days are spent in reading text, working on the computer or staring at lavish LCDs.

All these leads to eye fatigue and eye related problems, which further causes diminished vision. Follow these simple tips by Ophthalmologist Dr. Vijay Bhatt, to sharpen your vision so you can see your way to a future of longevity.

Tip to Improve Eye Vision # 1: Practice relaxation exercise
One of the simplest relaxation exercise you can do to your eyes is - place your hands together palm to palm and rub them together briskly creating heat. Place them over your eyes and allow your eyes to relax. Do not let light in. Do this whenever you have time during the day.

Tip to Improve Eye Vision # 2: Blink your eyes regularly
Constantly blinking your eyes is a very simple way to keep your eyes fresh and avoid eyestrain. Computer users tend to blink their eyes very less, thus it is recommended that they should follow the exercise of blinking their eyes every three-four seconds.

Tip to Improve Eye Vision # 3: Stare at a distance
Most of the computer victims are a victim of far-sightedness (have trouble seeing things, which are at a distance). To correct this or avoid this problem, make an effort to stare something at a distance every 30-45 minutes, for 5 seconds. This technique will help to improve your focus of distant objects.

Tip to Improve Eye Vision # 4: Splash water
If you feel that your eyes are strained, go to the washroom and wash your eyes thoroughly. Make this a daily habit. Splashing your eyes with water will help to relieve your eyes from excessive stress and make them fresh.

Tip to Improve Eye Vision # 5: Do '8' exercise
Practicing '8'exercise will help to increase your eye flexibility. Start it by imagining a giant figure of eight in front of you about 10 feet in front of you. Now trace the figure of eight with your eyes, slowly. Practicing tracing it on either side.

Tip to Improve Eye Vision # 6: Practice zooming exercise
Start this muscle straitening exercise by sitting in a comfortable position. Stretch out your arm with your thumb in the hitchhike position Focus on your thumb as your arm is outstretched. Now bring your thumb closer to you, focussing all the time, until your thumb is about 3 inches in front of your face. Now move your thumb away again until your arm is fully outstretched. Keep practicing this exercise for few seconds.

Tip to Improve Eye Vision # 7: Take an early walk
Get up early and go for a walk. This technique will make your eyes fresh and relaxed. Besides, it will also get sufficient sunlight.

Tip to Improve Eye Vision # 8: Don't make your eyes depended on glasses
Spectacles are just a great fix for your deteriorating vision power. It does not improve or fixes your eyesight. Thus, don't depend on your glasses too much.

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7 steps for a healthy heart in your 30s - Health Tips

7 steps for a healthy heart in your 30s:

When you enter your 30s, life gets more and more stressful and complicated. Your career has gained momentum, perhaps you're married and have children, a mortgage, some other loans.

Before you know it, stress adds up and raises the risk of heart problems. There are many ways to avoid the risk of heart problems at this age and enjoy your life. Practice these seven steps to live life without heart problems just like you lived at your 20s.

Getting away from the office or family tensions is not easy, but try to change how you handle them. The more you relax, the more easily your body will be able to regulate stress levels. Research suggests that exercise, in any form, is the best way to de-stress and relax. Select something you enjoy and stick to it.

Exercise regularly whether to deal with stress or to just get fitter. It's a smart move to have a healthy heart in your 30s. Even a 15-30 minutes exercise session, every day, will be beneficial for your heart, and will also prevent you from putting on extra weight and thereby compounding any potential health ailments.

Eat healthy

Try and avoid those unhealthy food items during the weekend with your friends and family. These unhealthy foods can add up to your calorie and cholesterol levels and increase the risk of heart problems. Instead opt for a diet full of protein, omega 3 or healthy food restaurants like Gostana.

Sleep well

Sleeping less than five hours a day, can increase the risk of stroke or cardiac arrest. Make sure you sleep well, maintain a daily bed time and wake up time and avoid smoking or consuming alcohol in excess, or heavy food before going to sleep.

Breakfast is essential

Never skip your breakfast. It is indeed very important to eat a healthy and nutritious breakfast. A good breakfast gives your body that much needed fuel to get active and stay fit.

Birth control needs some revamping

You should reconsider using contraceptives like pills and the patch, if you have high blood pressure or a family history of heart disease. According to Dr. Goldberg, using these may worsen the case if you have any heart ailments. Hence, talk to your gynecologist before trying any contraceptives. (as mentioned in fitnessmagazine.com)

Limit sugar and salt intake

Intake of sugar can raise your cholesterol and triglycerides level and salt can cause high blood pressure. You don't have to completely avoid salt and sugar but limit your daily intake to avoid heart problems. Cut off from indulgences in cakes, pastries and creamy food items.

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