Archive for January, 2008

Infra-red Helmet May Help Alzheimer’s Patients

Alzheimer's HelmetA helmet that looks like it came from a sci-fi flick may offer real help to Alzheimer’s sufferers. The Daily Mail reports that the helmet bathes the wearer with infra-red light. The helmet only needs to be worn for ten minutes each day.


Dr Dougal claims that only ten minutes under the hat a day is enough to have an effect.



“Currently all you can do with dementia is to slow down the rate of decay – this new process will not only stop that rate of decay but partially reverse it,” he said.



Low level infra-red red is thought to stimulate the growth of cells of all types of tissue and encourage their repair. It is able to penetrate the skin and even get through the skull.



“The implications of this research at Sunderland are enormous – so much so that in the future we could be able to affect and change the rate at which our bodies age,” he said.



“We age because our cells lose the desire to regenerate and repair themselves. This ultimately results in cell death and decline of the organ functions – for the brain resulting in memory decay and deterioration in general intellectual performance.

The reason the scientists believe the infra-red helmet may work is because there was study conducted on mice that showed infra-red treatments can reduce memory loss. It worked for mice so it might work for humans.



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What Are The Essential Detoxification Ingredients to Keep in your Home

When it comes to cleansing your body on the inside there are important steps that one should take in order to successfully rid themselves of bad toxins and bad feelings overall. The most important thing to consider, though, when undergoing a detoxification process is whether or not you will continue the process month to month, [...]

Why Does Your Body Need to Detox

Gasoline smells and fumes, road construction smoke that enters your car when your windows are down, second-hand cigarette smoke that comes from a smoking stranger nearby, paint thinner fumes, highlighters, unknown substances that burn while cooking, fast food hamburgers and cheeseburgers, as well as many other foods and random fumes that we are exposed to [...]

Studies Show Arthritis Drug Helps Alzheimer’s Patients

This is London reports that U.S. researchers have had surprisingly positive results using an arthritis drug called Enbrel on alzheimer’s patients. The drug is injected into the patients spine. One patient showed improvements within in minutes. Some patients have been able to drive again after receiving the treatements.


The drug, called Enbrel, is injected into the spine where it blocks a chemical responsible for damaging the brain and other organs.



A pilot study carried out by U.S. researchers found one patient had his symptoms reversed “in minutes”.



Other patients have shown some improvements in symptoms such as forgetfulness and confusion after weekly injections over six months.



The study of 15 patients with moderate to severe Alzheimer’s has just been published in the Journal of Neuroinflammation by online publishers Biomed Central.



The experiment showed that Enbrel can deactivate TNF (tumour necrosis factor) – a chemical in the fluid surrounding the brain that is found in Alzheimer’s sufferers.

It is likely that there are many different forms of Alzheimer’s and one treatment probably won’t be a cure for all Alzheimer’s sufferers. But hopefully this is a step in the right direction toward a treatment that will help many people.



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FDA: Cloned Animals OK For Human Consumption

The FDA says clones are ok to eat. The FDA’s food safety chief Dr. Stephen Sundlof said that they “found nothing in the food that could potentially be hazardous. The food in every respect is indistinguishable from food from any other animal.” The Associated Press reports that two companies have alread produced over 600 cloned animals for U.S. breeders.


The two main U.S. cloning companies, Viagen Inc. and Trans Ova Genetics, already have produced more than 600 cloned animals for U.S. breeders, including copies of prize-winning cows and rodeo bulls. They agreed to USDA’s call for a continued moratorium Tuesday, but stressed that it applied only to clones themselves, not those animals’ conventionally produced offspring, which can begin selling immediately.



The FDA spent six years tracking the safety of cloning, and its decision was long expected, but it came after an emotional fight by opponents. Congress passed legislation last month urging further study of the issue, a call echoed by consumer advocates who also asked that foods from cloned animals be labeled as such.



Their objections aren’t just about food safety but also include animal welfare since many attempts at livestock cloning still end in fatal birth defects.



“If you have moral objections to a particular food, or ethical objections to them, FDA’s saying, ‘Tough, you’ve got to eat it,’” said Carol Tucker-Foreman of the Consumer Federation of America, who pledged to push for more food producers to shun clone-derived ingredients.



“The FDA did not give adequate consideration to the welfare of these animals or their surrogate mothers,” said Wayne Pacelle of the Humane Society of the United States.

The FDA also said, “It is beyond our imagination to even find a theory that would cause the food to be unsafe.” There are many that disagree with the FDA and would argue that the FDA is not being nearly imaginative enough. Six years does not seem like enough time to make a decision. This is something new that we are very unfamiliar with. It may very well turn out that cloned animals are no less nutritious and healthy for humans to eat than non-cloned animals but could a few more years of tests really hurt?



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Norovirus Rages in England

Norovirus is raging through England. Times Online reports that 2.8 million people have been sick with the norovirus in England and another 200,000 are falling ill each week.


The rate of new cases being confirmed has reached the levels of reports during the massive outbreak five years ago, when officials announced an epidemic.



Norovirus can prove deadly for vulnerable people, such as children and the elderly. The impact of the bug has been exacerbated by a new outbreak of flu with those most at risk now being given antiviral drugs by their doctors.



NHS Direct, which patients can telephone for health advice, has been inundated with people calling with symptoms of the norovirus.



Helen Young, the clinical director, said: “We are seeing an increasing number of calls about diarrhoea and vomiting. Norovirus is a major issue for the whole NHS right now and we urge anyone who has symptoms to engage in good hygiene to prevent it spreading further and to drink plenty of fluids.”



The number of reports of norovirus is expected to rise over the next six weeks, as children return to school and employees head back to work after the Christmas break.

There was a particularly severe strain of norovirus that hit the United States last year. This virus will really hit you hard for a couple of days before you start feeling better. It really does as the Times reports lead to symptoms of “projectile vomiting, diarrhoea, mild fevers and headaches.” The virus can continue to spread via stools for two to three weeks after a person is infected which makes it very difficult to curtail the spread of the dreaded virus.



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