Acupuncture Can Aid Those Addicted to Opiates

A type of acupuncture that uses skin electrodes to apply electrical stimulation at different points on the body called transcutaneous electric acupoint stimulation (TEAS) may help people suffering from an addiction to opioid drugs.

A type of  acupuncture that uses skin electrodes to apply electrical stimulation at different points on the body called transcutaneous electric acupoint stimulation (TEAS) may help people suffering from an addiction to opioid drugs.  The study, overseen by Harvard Medical School and McLean Hospital near Boston, showed that patients who received acupuncture in combination with their prescribed withdrawal medications were only 29% likely to return to drug use while 2/3 those who did not receive acupuncture took up the habit again.

In addition, patients in the active TEAS group reported they were less bothered by pain and that they experienced greater improvements in overall health.

Source: http://nccam.nih.gov/research/results/spotlight/010410.htm?nav=rss

White rice tied to higher risk of diabetes

A US-based study on Monday linked eating white rice to higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes, and backed long-held claims that brown rice is healthier than the white variety.

A 2010 study connected including white rice (as opposed to brown rice) to a greater likelihood of developing adult-onset diabetes.  It substantiated long-time reports that brown rice is more healthy than white.  The study investigated patients who ate a minimum of 5 white rice servings per week and found that they had a 17% higher risk of developing the conditions – compared to those who eat less than one serving per month.

Researchers: Harvard School of Public Health

Editor’s Note:  All refined foods – white rice rather than brown, white flour rather than whole wheat, highly refined sugars, grits rather than corn – would likely generate similar results because the outer husk contained the bulk of the nutrients has been removed.

Learn  more  about diabetes and diabetic retinopathy and guidelines for supplementing your diet with juicing to combat diabetic retinopathy.

Exercise and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Relieve Fibromyalgia

Recent studies suggest that the most effective combination of therapies to treat fibromyalgia is exercise paired with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).

Fibromyalgia is a notoriously difficult disease to treat.  Standard treatments include painkillers, antidepressants, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and exercise therapy.  Recent studies suggest that the most effective combination of therapies is exercise paired with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).

Study participants were separated into two groups based on how they dealt with their pain: those who curbed activities due to fear of pain and those who continued their activities in spite of pain.  The goal of CBT is to help people recognize thought patterns and emotional responses that contribute to their symptoms, and give them practical ways to change their behavior. For patients who habitually tried to avoid pain, the CBT sessions were geared toward helping them deal with their fear of pain and set goals for increasing their daily activities; those who typically attempted to push through pain, the CBT was designed to set more realistic goals and pace their daily activities and avoid overexertion.

Six months later, almost two thirds of participants showed “clinically significant” improvements, meaning that they had an increased ability to  perform daily activities like walking, climbing stairs and doing household chores.

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE65A5LZ20100611

Current and Future Treatment Options for Amblyopia

Amblyopia is a common childhood eye disorder in which the brain favors vision in one eye.

Amblyopia is a common childhood eye disorder in which the brain favors vision in one eye. Current treatment involves wearing a patch over the dominant eye in order to force the brain to use the other eye. Clinical trials sponsored by the National Institutes of Health have provided more concrete guidelines for wearing an eye patch: most can wear a patch for just two hours a day while the most severe cases require six hours of patch wearing (not full time as was once directed).

In the future, functional MRI technology is expected to help cure this neurologic disorder. Because recent research show that this condition may have genetic origins, future preventative therapies may be developed.

Source reference: National Institutes of Health

Diabetic Retinopathy Linked to Sleep Apnea

Research presented at the American Thoracic Society’s 105th International Conference indicates patients with diabetes who have retinopathy should also be screened for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)

Research presented at the American Thoracic Society’s 105th International Conference indicates patients with diabetes who have retinopathy should also be screened for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) because evidence strongly suggests a link between the two conditions.  “We know from our earlier research that 23 percent of men with type 2 diabetes have OSA and this is under-recognized and under-treated,” said Sophie D. West, M.D., of the Oxford Centre for Respiratory Medicine in the United Kingdom, who led the research.”  Sleep apnea is marked by snoring, periods of when breathing stops during sleep, and daytime sleepiness.  OSA can be diagnosed through a sleep study and can be treated with the help of a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) device.

Source: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/150754.php

Human Embryonic Cells Used to Create a Retina

Scientists have created an early stage retina from human embryonic stem cells to potentially treat retinitis pigmentosa and macular degeneration.

Scientists at UC Irvine have created an early stage retina from human embryonic stem cells.  It is the first three-dimensional tissue structure to be made from stem cells and bring us closer to the development of transplant-ready retinas to treat eye disorders such as retinitis pigmentosa and macular degeneration that affect millions.  Researchers managed to employ a technique that allowed them to create the multiple cell types necessary for the retina.

Source: Journal of Neuroscience Methods, 4-24-10.

Tiny blood vessels in brain spit to survive

Scientists at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine have discovered capillaries have a unique method of expelling debris, such as blood clots, cholesterol or calcium plaque, that blocks the flow of essential nutrients to brain cells. The capillaries spit out the blockage by growing a membrane that envelopes the obstruction and then shoves it out of the blood vessel.

Scientists at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine have discovered capillaries have a unique method of expelling debris, such as blood clots, cholesterol or calcium plaque, that blocks the flow of essential nutrients to brain cells. The capillaries spit out the blockage by growing a membrane that envelopes the obstruction and then shoves it out of the blood vessel.

Scientists also found this critical process is 30 to 50 percent slower in an aging brain and likely results in the death of more capillaries.

“The slowdown may be a factor in age-related cognitive decline and may also explain why elderly patients who get strokes do not recover as well as younger patients,” said Jaime Grutzendler, senior author and principal investigator of the study and assistant professor of neurology and of physiology at Feinberg. “Their recovery is much slower.”

The study with mice, funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), will be published May 27 in the journal Nature.

Editor’s Note:  See more information on nutrition and dementia/Alzheimer’s Disease,

5 Strategies For Living Well with Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia can be a challenging disease, but the following tips can help you to manage your symptoms

Fibromyalgia can be a challenging disease, but the following tips can help you to manage your symptoms:

1) Keep track of the pain: Keep a pain diary so that you can connect your symptoms to other factors in your life including diet, environment, and activities.

2) Do not expect too much from your medication: Though there are drugs that have been approved to treat fibromyalgia, they do not work for everyone.

3) Consider alternative and complementary therapies: Yoga, meditation, massage, acupuncture, Tai Chi, biofeedback, and other forms of bodywork and stress relief techniques have been proven to help manage the pain of fibromyalgia.

4) Be an active participant in your care: If your doctor is not helping you find the best way to deal with your particular symptoms or is not taking your pain seriously, consider finding another provider.

5) Avoiding activity due to pain: Remaining active and pursuing activities that bring you joy and exercise your body are keys to your health.

Source: http://health.msn.com/health-topics/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100259977&page=1

 

 

Promising Therapies for Diabetic Macular Edema

Laser therapy, also called laser photocoagulation, is more effective and produces fewer side effects than corticosteroids injected into the eye for the treatment of diabetic macular edema according to a large, two-year multicenter study reported in the journal Ophthalmology (Volume 115, page 1447).

A new technique called photocoagulation is a form a therapy using a laser light.  It has been effective in treating diabetic macular edema – swelling – a condition that develops from untreated diabetes.  It is more effective and injecting corticosteroids in the eyes and has fewer side effects.

This was reported by researchers after a large two-year study of more than 600 people.

Published: Journal of Ophthalmology, vol. 115, p. 1447

Editor’s Note: Learn  more about nutrition and diabetes and diabetic retinopathy.

The Very Unappetizing Truth About McDonald’s Chicken Meals

Although McDonald’s has made some excellent strides in food sustainability such as serving free-range eggs and organic milk in the United Kingsom, a recent article exposed that the chickens they use are grown in deplorable conditions.

Although McDonald’s has made some excellent strides in food sustainability such as serving free-range eggs and organic milk in the United Kingsom, a recent article exposed that the chickens they use are grown in deplorable conditions.

For example, each bird is crowded into a space just large enough to hold all the birds living there –  the floor space for each is roughly equal an 8 1/2″ x 11″ piece of paper.  The birds are all killed after 40 days when a  genetically-engineered slaughter weight is attained although a number of birds die from stress or other reasons before 40 days.  The birds are inundated – externally and in their food with a number of potentially hazardous chemicals.

In the popular book by Michael Pollan, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, he reveals that, for example,  McNuggets contains 38 listed ingredients, including TBHQ (tertiary butylhydroquinone), which is a chemical derived from petroleum which is sprayed onto McNuggets or sprayed  inside their container to keep them fresh.