Fariha Munir, Author at Spark Health MD

Study Explains How Stress Affects Emotions in Children

New research from the Stanford University School of Medicine finds that it is harder for the chronically anxious or stressed children to control negative feelings when the decision making part of the brain receives signals from the fear center of the brain.

This study is published in the journal biological psychiatry. Click here to read the complete study findings.

This is the first study in which brain scans are used to examine how anxiety and chronic stress take part in changing emotion-regulation circuits. Functional magnetic resonance imaging is used to analyze the nature of the signals between the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the amygdalae. Both these are the parts of the brain. The amygdalae is an almond-shaped nerve cluster on both the left and right sides of the brain that works as its fear centers and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is involved in emotion regulation and decision making.

A co-author of the study and professor of child and adolescent psychiatry, Victor Carrion tells that this investigation shows the correspondence between the thinking centers and emotional centers of a person that becomes less fluid when there is noteworthy pressure. A person needs that association signaling back strongly back and forth. However, anxiety and stress of a specific level appear to interfere with that procedure.

In this study, more than 40 students are included who belong to poor families and regularly face several problems that are enough to increase their stress levels and anxiety levels. Their stress level is estimated by using standard social surveys. All of them had a high-stress level and none of them was diagnosed with mood disorders.

To test how the kids’ minds reacted as they were attempting to manage negative feelings, the researchers led functional MRI scans while the study members saw two kinds of images, neutral and aversive. Neutral images demonstrated lovely scenes like somebody going for a walk, while aversive images indicated conceivably upsetting scenes like a car crash.

With the help of brain scan data, the scientists tested the strength and course of associations between the reasoning center that is the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and fear center that is the amygdala. Even though the children with various degrees of anxiety and stress reactivity reported comparative decreases in their negative feelings when requested to reappraise the aversive images, their brains were doing various things.

The directional signals from the right amygdala to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex are stronger when a child is anxious or overstressed. While in the reverse direction the signaling was not increased from the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex to the amygdala.

More elevated levels of anxiety are related to more negative introductory responses to aversive images, less capacity to direct emotional response in light of aversive images, and progressively impulsive responses during reappraisal of aversive images. Higher stress reactivity was connected with less controlled, progressively impulsive responses while reappraising aversive images, proposing that the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is less ready to do its activity.

The researchers tell that the study’s findings reveal how the mind can be changed by anxiety. Also, go about as a baseline for future examinations to test mediations that may assist children in dealing with their anxiety and stress responses.

Menon tells that the researchers should be very careful about intervening. The outcomes show that the brain isn’t self- remedying in anxious children. No one can think positively automatically. It is a truth that its natural to think adversely. Negative thoughts automatically come to a person’s mind while for positive thoughts, a person needs to be practiced and learned.

Coronavirus Patients are Suffering from Kidney Damage- Shocking Report

Coronavirus patients admitted in various US hospitals are showing Kidney damage which is a highly unusual thing. This additional risk of kidney damage is causing more stress on physicians who are treating these patients. In addition to that, they are facing insufficient equipment especially ventilators to treat all these patients.

The chief of the division of nephrology at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, Dr. Michael J. Ross says,

“It’s an extremely serious problem. It’s putting many people’s lives at risk all over the New York region. It is, unfortunately, a common complication, especially for hospitalized patients with COVID, to develop acute kidney injury. I would say close to 50 percent of the (COVID) patients in the ICU setting are developing acute kidney injury.”

Doctors say that most of the COVID-19 infected patients had healthy kidneys before developing it but now many of them need dialysis to stay alive.

A nephrologist and primary care physician in New York City, Dr. Shivam Joshi tells that most of the patients in China are experiencing acute kidney injury while before getting COVID-19 they had healthy kidneys. The number of COVID-19 patients with kidney damage is increased from 0.5 % to 9 % in China. This is concerning because the virus is affecting so many people and instead of decreasing, the number of COVID-19 patients is increasing day by day.

Another serious issue is the lack of resources including equipment, dialysis machines, and dialysis nurses. Each customer is receiving twenty units instead of a hundred units.

A physician from NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital tweeted,

“This is a horrible, relentless, nasty disease in its severe form. If the patient is obese and/or has renal failure, the prognosis is extremely grim. We are forced to share dialysis circuits given the high percentage of renal failure (these people had normal kidneys before!).”

The president-elect of the Kidney Foundation and a professor of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Paul M. Palevsky says that all through his profession, he has never observed such a failure to treat individuals because of the high volume of individuals requiring care.

It’s something that they have never needed to manage to this extent in this nation. If a patient needs dialysis and he can’t get it then he can die of kidney failure. In emergency clinics where dialysis supplies are stretched, specialists are getting creative to attempt to think about such a high volume of patients.

Our extra blood, electrolytes, and toxins are filtered by the kidney but if the kidney stops working, these toxins build up in the blood that leads to severe problems. People with severe COVID-19 are at risk of totally shutting down their kidneys. When toxins build up in the blood, and the electrolyte levels disturb the heart can stop working. Doctors say that the only dialysis can remove the excess toxins and without dialysis patients will die.

Ross says, “It’s extremely stressful as a doctor to try to be saving the lives of people and not have access to the treatment you know you need to save that person’s life. Unfortunately, patients will die for lack of access to these treatments to replace kidney function. For people to die due to kidney failure because of the lack of available dialysis is a tragedy, and it’s preventable.’’

The chair of the department of medicine at Mt. Sinai Healthcare System in New York and a council member of the American Society of Nephrology, Dr. Barbara Murphy says there should be a response at the national level to equip better New York City medical clinics with resources.

Ross further says if things proceed as they are and emergency clinics across New York City aren’t better equipped to reach the demand, more deaths will happen.

Anaerobic Bacterial Infections Increase the Risk of Colorectal Cancer

Anaerobic bacteria don’t require oxygen for the production of energy and live in different environments including the human gut. Normally, these gut bacteria do not cause any disease. But disturbances in the gut microbiome could lead to colorectal cancer. The American Cancer Society reports that the third-leading cause of cancer-related death in the U.S. is colorectal cancer.

Past investigations have revealed a relationship between bacteria from Clostridium septicum, colorectal cancer (CRC), and Bovis group streptococci. Researchers have also reported associations between many Bacteroides species, colorectal cancer (CRC), and Fusobacterium nucleatum. The authors planned to explore this further in a large scale study.

A new study by Dr. Ulrik Stenz Justesen, Odense University Hospital, Denmark, and colleagues shows a connection between blood infections with anaerobic bacteria and the risk of developing colorectal cancer.

When the researchers combined blood culture data, new instances of CRC were identified after blood infection with the bacteria. Until 2018, the risk of CRC was researched for Fusobacterium spp., Clostridium spp., and Bacteroides spp. Furthermore, contrasted with Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, blood samples, and Bovis group streptococci that contained no disease controls. Each instance of infection was coordinated by sex and age with five controls.

The data included more than 40 thousand bacteraemia episodes, of which more than 400 were determined to have CRC after the bacterial disease, and more than 200 within one year. Results for infection with S. aureus and E.coli are not shown but were like negative control blood cultures. Most anaerobic species were related to an increased risk of CRC up to multiple times contrasted with negative blood cultures.

A study shows that colorectal cancer begins in the epithelial cells lining the rectum and colon. Human colon cells replicate at a high rate with more than ten thousand epithelial cells being replaced each day.

The authors concluded that this study helped to understand that the risk of developing colorectal cancer was 42 times higher in those patients where blood infections were caused by selected anaerobic bacteria as compared to the blood infections that are caused by aerobic bacteria like S. aureus, E. coli or negative controls. The disclosure of blood diseases with certain anaerobic bacteria might bring about a suggestion of screening for colorectal malignant growth in selected patients.

To place the findings in setting, there are generally two cases of blood infections causes by these anaerobic microscopic organisms every week in Dr. Justesen’s clinical microbiology department. They are generally caused by a breach in the intestinal wall that would itself be able to caused by cancer.

Dr. Justesen tells that at this stage researchers don’t know whether microorganisms directly cause colorectal cancer or cancer itself causes blood infections with these bacteria. It’s a case of the inquiry ‘is this the chicken or the egg?'”

Further tells that this study will concentrate on particular bacteria from cancer patients to check whether researchers can distinguish specific characteristics that could be involved in malignant growth development. If so it could be of great importance with regards to the treatment of colorectal cancer and screening.

When it comes to screening, if high-risk bacteria are seen in the combination with advanced age, at this point it would worth screening the patients for colorectal cancer. While there would no need to screen children however it is uncommon to see either anaerobic bacteria cause blood infections or colorectal cancer in children. There is a need to do further analysis to come up with screening or specific recommendations.

Breakthrough Research on Alzheimer’s Reveal New Information on Disease Progression

A new study published in the journal Nature Communications by the researchers at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) explains that Parkinson’s disease is somewhat an autoimmune disease. The specialists report that indications of autoimmunity can show up in Parkinson’s disease patients years before their official diagnosis.

Study in detail here.

This study is co-led by LJI professor Alessandro Sette, Dr. Biol. Sci and Professor David Sulzer of the Columbia University Medical Center.

Researchers have since a long time ago realized that clusters of a harmed protein called alpha-synuclein develop in the dopamine-producing synapses of patients with Parkinson’s disease. These clusters, in the end, lead to cell death, causing cognitive decline and motor symptoms.

LJI research assistant and Ph.D. professor Cecilia Lindestam Arlehamn tells that when these cells are gone, they can’t come back. If a person can diagnose the disease as right on time as could reasonably be expected, it could have a gigantic effect.

A study in 2017 led by the Sette and Sulzer was the first to show that alpha-synuclein can go about as a reference point for certain T cells and cause them to attack brain cells. This was the primary direct proof that autoimmunity could have a role in Parkinson’s disease.

The recent findings shed light on the reactivity of T cells and disease progression. The blood samples of Parkinson’s disease patients were taken and their T cells were compared with the healthy, age-matched control group. The researchers found that when the patient is first diagnosed with the disease, the T cells that respond to alpha-synuclein are most abundant. These T cells vanish as the disease advances, and some patients still have T cells after 10 years of diagnosis.

The scientists also did an analysis of another patient of Parkinson’s disease whose blood samples were preserved before the disease diagnosis. This analysis helped to understand that T cell response was stronger to alpha-synuclein 10 years before when the patient was not diagnosed with the disease.

Sette tells that identification of T cell response could assist in the analysis of individuals at risk or in the beginning times of disease development, when a large number of symptoms have not been distinguished at this point. Significantly, researchers could dream of a situation where early interference with T cell responses could keep the disease from showing itself or advancing

Sulzer further tells that one of the most significant findings is that the kind of the T cells changes throughout the disease, begins with more aggressive cells and moves to less aggressive cells that may restrain the immune reaction and about ten years later, disappears altogether. The immune responses happen during Parkinson’s disease are almost the same as in the seasonal flue except the changes occur over ten years rather than a week.

Some therapies already exist that are used to treat the disease from autoreactive T cells and these TNF therapies are related to lower frequency of Parkinson’s disease. Going ahead, the analysts are particularly keen on using a device called a T cell-based assay to screen patients who are already at risk for Parkinson’s to check whether TNF treatments could benefit them or not. These patients include individuals with certain genetic mutations and REM sleep disorders.

The scientists hope to study more patients of Parkinson’s disease and tail them over longer timespans to understand better how T cell reactivity changes as the disease advance.

Early Diagnosis of Colorectal Cancer Needs a Family History Check

The risk of colorectal cancer in people is higher with a strong family history of colorectal cancer. Cancer in brothers, sisters, or parents is more concerning as compared to cancer in relatives.

A new study published in a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society (ACS), Cancer finds that all the patients with colorectal cancer somewhere in the range 40 and 49 years old could have been analyzed earlier if they had been screened according to current family history-based screening guidelines.

Study in detail here.

In numerous nations, the risk of colorectal cancer is increasing in grown-up under fifty years of age. The researchers recommend early screening to diagnose colorectal cancer among people with a family history of the disease. Similarly, a few medical societies suggest starting screening at forty years of age or ten years of age for people with a first-degree relative with colorectal cancer.

A family history of colorectal cancer means the chances to develop colorectal cancer are several times higher than those without a family history.

Center for disease control and prevention finds that if abnormal growths, Precancerous colorectal polyps are not removed from the colon or rectum then these growths can turn into cancer but all the polyps do not turn into cancer. And it’s important to inform family members first if a person diagnosed with colorectal cancer. The history of both mothers’ side family and father’s side family should be included while collecting family health history.

The MD, of the VA San Diego Healthcare System and the University of California San Diego, Samir Gupta and his associates collected data on people of forty to forty-nine years old to estimate the potential impact of family history-based guidelines for screening.

More than two thousand of them were with colorectal malignancy and more than seven hundred were without colorectal malignancy in the Colon Cancer Family Registry from 1998 to 2007. The Colon Cancer Family Registry contains information and specimens contributed by more than 15,000 families around the world and across the spectrum of risk for colorectal cancer.

The examiners found that 25 percent of people with colorectal malignant growth and 10 percent of those without disease met the measures for family ancestry based early screening. Practically all patients with colorectal malignant growth who met these standards ought to have been screened at a younger age than the time when their disease was diagnosed. Therefore, early screening based on family history-based guidelines could help to diagnose the disease earlier in them or perhaps even prevented.

A study finds that most of the screening guidelines suggest biennial fecal occult blood test (FOBT) or 10-yearly colonoscopy for the lowest risk category while 5-yearly colonoscopy for the middle-risk category and annual or biennial (every two years) colonoscopy for the highest risk category which includes those with high-risk familial syndromes.

Most of the screening guidelines suggest screening to start at age 50 for all categories of risk or 10 years before the youngest age of colorectal malignancy analysis in a family member.

Dr. Gupta tells that the present study suggests that using family ancestry based measures to recognize people for earlier screening is advocated and has a guarantee for helping to identify people in danger for young-onset colorectal malignant growth.

Researchers have a chance to improve early detection and anticipation of colorectal cancer under age 50 if patients collect and offer their family ancestry of colorectal disease consistently, and healthcare providers more reliably elicit and follow up on family ancestry.

How to Tell if it’s a Heart Attack or Just Bloating?

A new case report published in the Journal JACC shows that severe bloating can squeeze the heart and trigger heart monitor readings that can be mistaken for a heart attack. This is a case of a 41-year-old man who was seen by doctors at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles after 21 days of fatigue, shortness of breath, and lower extremity swelling.

Doctors admitted him to the intensive care unit (ICU). Later, the patient was diagnosed with metastatic Hodgkin lymphoma.

Read the report in detail here.

A cardiologist at the University of Southern California and the senior author of the case report, Enrique Ostrzega tells that it is essential to know that ST-segment changes on an ECG are caused by acute gastrointestinal distention. Clinicians must recognize these cases from true heart attacks to avoid unnecessary treatment and intrusive methods.

While under sedation on a ventilator in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), the cardiac monitor of the patient showed a sudden onset of ST-segment elevation. As on the electrocardiogram (ECG), the ST segment is the interval between repolarization and ventricular depolarization of the heartbeat.

This sudden elevation of ST-segment can be an indication of cardiovascular failure and is normally known as a “STEMI” (ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction), which is a serious and dangerous introduction of a heart attack. In this case, ECG was interpreted as a heart attack by the computer algorithm.

An associate professor of medicine at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Alex Hewlett recommends seeking medical care if bloating is persistent and does not differ with changing dietary patterns or solid discharges.

Both heart attack and liver disease are the later symptoms of bloating. Once a person gets bloating it means the disease will affect his heart or liver in advance. Congestive heart failure can also cause bloating, not only in the abdomen but with swelling in the legs too.

When doctors placed pressure on the upper abdomen of the patient, the cardiac monitor stopped showing ST-segment elevations. These dynamic changes were affirmed with the help of ECG.

After a nasogastric tube was put for gastric decompression an ECG confirmed the halt of ST-segment elevations with no further recorded ST-fragment abnormalities and the patient had no signs of a heart attack.

The consulting team of cardiology speculated the reason might be related to the patient’s stomach extension and a stomach X-beam was performed, which uncovered significant gastric distension.

As per the report, when an atypical occasion of ST-segment elevation was presented on ECG, thorough examination and history are essential as various other issues can mimic a STEMI pattern on ECG.

Community-acquired pneumonia, intracranial bleeding, and pancreatitis are non-heart related causes of ST-segment elevation.

In previously reported cases of gastrointestinal distension causing a STEMI pattern on ECG, coronary angiography confirmed no proof of obstructive coronary artery disease, and in all reported cases it improved with the board and goals of the hidden gastrointestinal issue.

The report authors tell that it is the first case where a direct physical maneuver caused a reversal of ST-segment elevations. The authors believe the gastric expansion prompted a direct compressive impact on the heart and the use of mild pressure on the stomach assuaged or shifted the impact.

The MD, Ph.D., FACC, and editor-in-chief of JACC, Julia Grapsa tells that setting up the right differential diagnosis and careful clinical assessment is the foundation of the treatment of each patient. It’s her perception that the authors treated the patient without requiring interventional methods.

The New Chinese Medicine to Relieve Asthma Symptoms

Asthma is a long-term disease of lungs also called chronic respiratory disease. The asthma patients feel difficulty in breathing because their airways get narrow and swell and extra mucus is produced that makes it difficult for air to move in and out of the lungs.

Symptoms of Asthma are coughing, Trouble sleeping, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and wheezing that are caused by reversible bronchoconstriction. Usually, these symptoms can be controlled with treatment. Asthma is more common in males than in females.

A new study by the School of Chinese Medicine (SCM) at Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) finds a new Chinese medicine formula that is effective against Asthma. An assistant professor of Practice in the Clinical Division of SCM at HKBU, Dr. Peng Bo tells that this Chinese medicine has the potential to relieve and eliminate the symptoms of Asthma.

In this study, 90 percent of Asthma patients were given the new Chinese medicine formula for six weeks. In more than 50 percent of participants’ asthma symptoms were eliminated and 35 percent of participants’ asthma symptoms were relieved. About seventy thousand patients of asthma are found in Hong Kong.

Asthma is divided into two types, ‘heat type’ and ‘cold type’. In cold type, the asthma patients have sticky and white septum while in heat type, they have thick and yellow septum. In cold type, attacks are triggered by cold and in heat type attacks are triggered by heat.

Asthma is caused by purulent sputum and inherited abnormalities. Some external factors that trigger asthma are diet, emotion, tiredness, and exogenous disease. In severe cases, asthma patients can’t even lie down while panting.

The fundamental causes of Asthma are pollution, cold air, chemical irritants like varnishes, paints or adhesives, cold air, tobacco smoke, and allergy to dust or pollen. For some peolpe excercise or medicines may also cause problem.

Researchers recommend patients that should consult their doctors if the medications do not ease symptoms. Because the intake of more medicines can create more problems and make asthma worse. Early treatment may prevent long-term damage to the lungs.

In 2014, the data released by the Census and Statistics Department show that there were 68000 asthma patients in Hong Kong and in 2018, the figures released by the Department of Health show that more than seven thousand patients of asthma have died in Hong Kong.

An Assistant Professor of Practice in the Clinical Division of SCM, Dr. Peng Bo analyzed the data of sixty asthma patients. Thirty of them were male patients and thirty were female patients. About 65 percent had moderate asthma and 35 percent had mild asthma.

The ingredients include in the chines medicine formula are deerhorn gelatin, prepared dried ginger, cinnamon, ephedra, and Rehmannia root.

With the help of this formula, asthma symptoms of 53 percent of patients were eliminated and symptoms of 32 percent of patients were relieved while the remaining patients showed no improvement.

During a half year after treatment, the sixty patients of asthma experienced less than one acute asthma attacks and the patients who use antibiotics or bronchodilators before the treatment did not need to use them again.

Dr. Peng tells that Chinese medicine increases body immunity to speed up the recovery process. And eliminates and relieve asthma symptoms.

Dr. Peng advises that asthma patients should have minimum contact with pollen, dust or cold air and their homes should be ventilated with suitable temperature and humidity. Also, spicy food and seafood should not be part of their diet.

After Aspirin, Scientists Found a New Anti-cancer Compound from Willow Tree

Aspirin, a wonder drug obtained from the willow tree is used to prevent a number of health problems. The drug is extremely popular and the annual consumption of this drug around the globe is about 120 billion pills per year. It’s an anti-inflammatory drug given to patients immediately after a heart attack to prevent cardiac tissue death and clot formation.

After a century, Scientists led from Rothamsted Research and cancer biologists at the University of Kent are successful in finding another anti-cancer chemical, miyabeacin found in the leaves and stems of the willow tree.

Study in detail here.

The study results show that willow extract is more vulnerable to leukemia cells. Willow leaves are used in medicine as an antirheumatic, antipyretic and analgesic herbal medicine. Salicin might be the significant component that shows the counter tumor impact yet other metabolites may build the strength of the willow extract as compared to pure salicin.

Miyabeacin can kill the number of cancer cells even those that are resistant to all other drugs. It is also found effective against many throat, breast and ovarian cancer cell lines.

Researchers are progressively keen on the numerous natural compounds that can be extracted from trees and experimenting with several different ways by which these may be conveniently incorporated into modern medicines. In the previous history, several species of the trees were used as medicinal remedies and are still in use whether it is the bark, roots, fruit, seeds, or leaves.

In the previous century, analysts exhibited that aspirin restrains the production of certain hormone-like substances called prostaglandins. These prostaglandins when produced in the body, may trigger irritation, pain, blood clotting or fever.

Twenty years before, a second major mechanism of action for aspirin was discovered by the scientists that it supports the production of molecules called resolvins, which additionally assists to quench the fires of inflammation.

The co-leader of the study, Rothamsted’s Prof Mike Beale tells that the pharmacological properties of miyabeacin are found greater than aspirin. Miyabeacin, a new opportunity is also proved effective against neuroblastoma that is a common childhood cancer and survival rate is not even 50 percent. Two salicin groups are present in it that give it anti-blood-clotting and anti-inflammatory ability.

After brain cancer, neuroblastoma is the most continuous strong tumor found in the under-fives.

The researchers tested miyabeacin against several cancer cell lines. Professor Beale tells that the next step of researchers is to expand the creation of miyabeacin from cultivated willow and give more material to promote clinical testing.

The willow bark was first used in medicine by the ancient Greek, Assyrian and Egyptian civilizations. And the first remedy from willow was reported in 1763 against fever.

Another drug called aspirin (acetylsalicylate) was produced by the Bayer Company in 1897. It includes the most successful and earliest nature-inspired drugs.

Rothamsted Research is home to the UK’s National Willow Collection and related to the Institute’s established mastery in analytical chemistry. The co-leader of the study, Dr. Jane Ward puts the cancer breakthrough down to having fifteen hundred willow species and hybrids accessible to screen with state of art methods.

Dr. Jane Ward tells that modern sciences sometimes neglect the medicinal assessment of other salicinoids in willow due to the success of aspirin. And the National Willow Collection has demonstrated to be a gold-mine of new science, that maybe underlies its position in antiquated treatments.

Yoga Improves Androgen and Testosterone Levels in PCOS Patients

PCOS is the most common occurring endocrine disorder among the women of ages 18 to 44. Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) produce male hormones more than normal amounts. These exceeding amounts disturb the menstrual cycle that makes it difficult for women to get pregnant.

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) also causes the growth of hair on face and body and baldness. Long term health problems like heart disease and diabetes may also happen due to PCOS.

A new study published in The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association finds that women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) should adopt a mindful yoga practice to improve the androgen levels to get rid of symptoms and to improve the androgen levels.

With the help of this study, the researchers came to know that yoga practice of three hours a week reduces the testosterone levels by 29 percent in 90 days. Also, the anxiety levels are improved by 21 percent and depression levels by 55 percent. Androgens such as DHEA are reduced by adopting a mindful yoga practice too.

A Ph.D., Associate Professor of Biochemistry at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine and lead author, Diana Speelman tells that some pharmacologic options are also available to deal with PCOS but recommends avoiding these options due to some side effects.

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is diagnosed in women with the help of symptoms including cysts in the ovaries, high androgen levels, and irregular menstrual cycles.

Women who diagnosed with PCOS at a very young age become more frustrated and confused. But yoga practice can help them to attain a disease-free body and a healthy mind.

A study shows that exercise is proved more beneficial when a person takes a healthy diet too. Both exercise and a healthy diet help a person to reduce the weight that lowers the risk of heart diseases and diabetes.

Mindful yoga practice is the best option to treat PCOS in a way that can improve many aspects of the disorder. PCOS may cause some metabolic, reproductive and psychological health problems and is the most common reason for anovulatory infertility.

PCOS is also a reason behind some other problems including hirsutism, male pattern hair loss, acne, subfertility, higher incidence of miscarriage, and irregular menstrual cycles. These problems can be controlled by reducing the androgen levels including DHEA and including testosterone.

Researchers advise that while doing yoga practice don’t drink water before or after, wear comfortable clothes or yoga mat, don’t be shy to ask help from instructors, don’t take a heavy meal before a yoga practice, always pick a comfortable spot.

Losing 5-10 percent weight through regular yoga practice relaxes the mind and ease the stress of weight gain and a person feels much better. In the case of PCOS, it’s important to give enough time to Yoga practice to eases many problems like anxiety, depression, hair fall and many more.

In this study, researchers divided the women into two groups. In one group women didn’t participate in mindful yoga practice while in latter group women participated in mindful yoga practice three hours a week, over ninety days.

The study results show that the androgen levels were improved in the latter group of women. Anxiety and depression were reduced too. Acne breakouts were fewer in them and menstrual regularity was also improved.

Speelman tells that yoga has several advantages. Perhaps the best quality is that it is open to such a wide range of ages and fitness levels.

Study Finds an Ebola Drug Useful Against COVID-19

Scientists from the whole world are trying to find a cure against the deadly COVID-19. New research published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry finds that an Ebola drug, remdesivir can help fight the coronavirus. This research is done by scientists at the University of Alberta.

The World Health Organization Officials state that “one drug right now that we think may have real efficacy”.

Another research published in February 2020 shows that the drug was functional against the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus, a related coronavirus.

The chair of medical microbiology and immunology at U of A, Matthias Göttesda says that the researchers are highly optimistic to see that remdesivir drug is effective against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The results obtained are similar to the results reported with MERS. Thats why they consider the remdesivir drug a strong inhibitor for coronavirus polymerases.

He further said; “If you target the polymerase, the virus cannot spread, so it’s a very logical target for treatment. These coronavirus polymerases are sloppy and they get fooled, so the inhibitor gets incorporated many times and the virus can no longer replicate.”

A small study published in the New England Journal of Medicine shows that remdesivir, a drug developed to fight Ebola virus has helped more than sixty percent of patients with severe breathing problems due to coronavirus to improve and helped more than fifty percent patients who were dependent upon a ventilator to breath.

Previously published studies in animals and cell culture models, help to classify the remdesivir drug as a “direct-acting antiviral” against SARS-CoV-2. The researchers cautioned that lab results are not enough to predict the effect of the drug on people.

The present research is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Alberta’s Major Innovation Fund and Gilead Sciences, which manufactures remdesivir.

Götte tells that they must be patient and sit tight for the results of the randomized clinical preliminaries.

The Götte lab recently worked on human immunodeficiency infection (HIV) and HCV, yet several years prior switched to concentrate on infections with the most elevated pandemic potential. The World Health Organization (WHO) issued the list of the top pathogens liable to cause extreme outbreaks, including Ebola, coronavirus, and Lassa.

Gotte also tells that the next step will be to utilize the lab’s instruments to assess other promising antivirals.

The researchers are hopeful and confident that the number of research works going on worldwide and the high level of cooperation between them will prompt the disclosure of one or more successful treatments for COVID-19.

They are desperate to find a treatment against COVID-19 but despite everything, they need to keep the bar high for whatever they put into clinical preliminaries.

Remdesivir is one of a few drugs being optimized into preliminaries by the World Health Organization, contrasting potential treatments in hospitalized COVID-19 patients in many countries, including Canada. Researchers say that they can anticipate results from significant clinical trials as soon as April or May.

Götte says that it is frustrating that antivirals found at the hour of the severe acute respiratory disorder (SARS) outbreak of 2003 which may also have been useful against COVID-19 were never translated into accessible treatments because the high cost is needed to develop new drugs.

He says,

“This time around it’s obvious that we have to cross the finish line. Ten billion dollars, it seems a lot, a huge amount. But in the context of this pandemic and the costs associated with this pandemic, it’s nothing.”