Traffic pollution may have an effect on those suffering from asthma according to a new research. Health problems in children too may be affected while still in the womb, it said.
Dr. Mohammad Shamssain and his research team recently completed a study into the impact that high levels of air traffic pollution has on schoolchildren’s respiratory systems, allergies and conditions such as asthma.
Testing the lung functions of 1,397 children, aged 7-10, and measuring air pollution levels in Cairo, one of the world’s most traffic congested cities, assessed through the ISAAC questionnaire (The International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood) Dr. Shamssain discovered a high prevalence of asthma, wheezing, eczema and hay fever symptoms.As part of his study - TRAP (Traffic Related Air Pollution) Dr. Shamssain has been researching findings in other countries and discovered that air pollution causes two million premature deaths worldwide per year.
His research, which has been welcomed by Asthma UK, was recently presented at the biggest international chest conference: The American Thoracic Society International Conference in Colorado.
However, he says this kind of research needs more attention, and is now calling on the Department of Health and Research Funding Council to conduct more serious surveys in major cities such as London, Manchester, Birmingham Glasgow and Newcastle to assess the impact vehicle emissions are having on the local populations, especially children and the elderly.
“Our aim is to improve the respiratory health of children, as well as adults and the ageing population, by studying lung function, respiratory symptoms and risk factors that might cause diseases like asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)”, explained Dr. Shamssain, a senior lecturer in human physiology respiratory pathophysiology and epidemiology at the University of Sunderland.
“We have identified that pollutants such as nitrogen and sulphur dioxide as well as particle matter from vehicle exhausts and road dust is linked to the onset of asthma.
“The risk can start from the time a child is in the womb, as the placenta does not offer protection to mothers exposed to pollutants. Pollutants entering the foetal circulation have a significant impact on growth and development; there have also been cases of babies born with retardation, morbidity and low birth weight.
“Children in homes near roads with heavy traffic also have increased risk of new onset-asthma, incidence of wheeze, risk of recurrent dry coughs, hospitalisation and school absenteeism.”
He added: “We must encourage more research in this area on a large scale and launch an intervention strategy and awareness programme to reduce morbidity and mortality caused by ambient air pollutants.
To help improve the situation Dr. Shamssain is proposing policy changes on pollution levels in towns and cities. Studies in Southern California showed that if ambient air pollution is reduced, annual asthma related emergency visits and hospitalisation decreased from 22 per cent to six per cent and bronchitis would decrease from 40 per cent to 20 per cent.
He also believes through awareness programmes relayed to parents, schools and children, personal exposure can be reduced by avoiding high level exposure and outdoor activities during periods of high pollution.
Finally, taking simple steps ourselves such as eating fruit, vegetables and taking vitamins A and C, can provide an antioxidant for the respiratory system.
He explained: “Antioxidants may strengthen defence mechanisms and reduce the harmful effects of air pollution.
Studies suggest that dietary supplementation with sulforaphene, a potent inducer of antioxidant enzymes, reduces inflammatory responses, especially in those exposed to diesel exhaust particles.
“Sulforaphene is produced naturally by vegetables including Brussel sprouts, turnips, cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower, carrots, tomatoes, apples and oranges.
Finally taking simple steps such as eating fresh fruit, vegetables and taking vitamins A & C, can provide an anti-oxidant for the respiratory system.”
Leanne Metcalf, Assistant Director of Research at Asthma UK, says: “We know that air pollution has a severe impact on the health and the quality of life of people with asthma; two thirds of people with asthma tell us that traffic fumes make their asthma worse and we are seeing increasing research evidence which suggests pollution may actually have a role to play in causing asthma in the first place.
“At Asthma UK we welcome any research that will help us gain more insight into this area which could ultimately improve the lives of people with asthma in the future.”
Sources: Sunderland University, AlphaGalileo Foundation
The biology behind alcohol-induced blackouts
A person who drinks too much alcohol may be able to perform complicated tasks, such as dancing, carrying on a conversation or even driving a car, but later have no memory of those escapades. These periods of amnesia, commonly known as “blackouts,” can last from a few minutes to several hours.
Now, neuroscientists have identified the brain cells involved in blackouts and the molecular mechanism that appears to underlie them.
They report July 6, 2011, in The Journal of Neuroscience, that exposure to large amounts of alcohol does not necessarily kill brain cells as once was thought. Rather, alcohol interferes with key receptors in the brain, which in turn manufacture steroids that inhibit long-term potentiation (LTP), a process that strengthens the connections between neurons and is crucial to learning and memory.Better understanding of what occurs when memory formation is inhibited by alcohol exposure could lead to strategies to improve memory.
Receptors
“The mechanism involves NMDA receptors that transmit glutamate, which carries signals between neurons,” says Yukitoshi Izumi, research professor of psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine. “An NMDA receptor is like a double-edged sword because too much activity and too little can be toxic. We’ve found that exposure to alcohol inhibits some receptors and later activates others, causing neurons to manufacture steroids that inhibit LTP and memory formation.”
Izumi says the various receptors involved in the cascade interfere with synaptic plasticity in the brain’s hippocampus, which is known to be important in cognitive function. Just as plastic bends and can be molded into different shapes, synaptic plasticity is a term scientists use to describe the changeable properties of synapses, the sites where nerve cells connect and communicate. LTP is the synaptic mechanism that underlies memory formation.
Brain structures
The brain cells affected by alcohol are found in the hippocampus and other brain structures involved in advanced cognitive functions. Izumi and first author Kazuhiro Tokuda, research instructor of psychiatry, studied slices of the hippocampus from the rat brain.
When they treated hippocampal cells with moderate amounts of alcohol, LTP was unaffected, but exposing the cells to large amounts of alcohol inhibited the memory formation mechanism.
But not all NMDA receptors are blocked by alcohol. Instead, their activity is cut roughly in half.
“The exposure to alcohol blocks some NMDA receptors and activates others, which then trigger the neuron to manufacture these steroids,” Zorumski says.
The scientists point out that alcohol isn’t causing blackouts by killing neurons. Instead, the steroids interfere with synaptic plasticity to impair LTP and memory formation.
“Alcohol isn’t damaging the cells in any way that we can detect,” Zorumski says. “As a matter of fact, even at the high levels we used here, we don’t see any changes in how the brain cells communicate. You still process information. You’re not anesthetised. You haven’t passed out. But you’re not forming new memories.”
Stress
Stress on the hippocampal cells also can block memory formation. So can consumption of other drugs.
When combined, alcohol and certain other drugs are much more likely to cause blackouts than either substance alone.
The researchers found that if they could block the manufacture of steroids by neurons, they also could preserve LTP in the rat hippocampus. And they did that with drugs called 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors.
These include finasteride and dutasteride, which are commonly prescribed to reduce a man’s enlarged prostate gland.
In the brain, however, those substances seem to preserve memory.
“We would expect there may be some differences in the effects of alcohol on patients taking these drugs,” Izumi says. “Perhaps men taking the drugs would be less likely to experience intoxication blackouts.”
The researchers plan to study 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors to see how easily they get into the brain and to determine whether those drugs, or similar substances, might someday play a role in preserving memory.
(Source: Washington University in St. Louis)
Breastfeeding does not protect against MS relapses
New research finds breastfeeding doesn’t appear to protect against multiple sclerosis (MS) relapses, despite previous studies suggesting there may be a protective role.
“Breastfeeding should not be encouraged by doctors to protect against MS relapses, especially among women with MS who have high disease activity and high risk of postpartum relapses,” said study author Emilio Portaccio, MD, of the University of Florence in Italy. “Since it is not considered safe for women to take MS drugs while breastfeeding, breastfeeding may not be feasible for these women who may need to resume treatment to avoid relapses soon after giving birth.”The study involved 302 pregnancies in 298 women with full-term deliveries who were followed for one year after delivery. A total of 34.4 percent of the women breastfeed for at least two months; the remaining 65.6 percent breastfed for less than two months or not at all and were considered not breastfeeding.
In the year after delivery, 37 percent of women experienced one relapse and 6.6 percent had two or more relapses.The study found breastfeeding did not appear to have a protective effect on relapses in women after adjusting for age at pregnancy, duration of MS, level of disability, relapses in the year before and during pregnancy, drug treatment and exposure to chemicals or smoking.
However, breastfeeding did not worsen the relapse rate.According to Portaccio, the only significant predictors of postpartum relapses were relapses in the year before and during pregnancy.Women who had relapses in the year before pregnancy were 50 percent more likely to have a relapse after giving birth than those who did not have relapses in the year before pregnancy. Women who had relapses during pregnancy were more than twice as likely to have a relapse in the postpartum period as women who did not have relapses during pregnancy.
“Earlier reported associations between breastfeeding and a lower risk of postpartum relapses may simply reflect different patient behaviour, biased by the disease activity. Women who have fewer relapses before and during pregnancy may be more likely to breastfeed and then continue to have fewer relapses in the postpartum period. However, a course of postpartum steroids might protect against later attacks.
Approaches of this type were not assessed in this study and might, in consultation with the treating neurologist, enable breastfeeding,” Portaccio said.
Source: American Academy of Neurology (AAN)
New device helps the blind move independently
A new device has been developed to helps the blind to move independently. This system, called EYE 21, is an electronic tool that allows blind people to move autonomously in any environment.
The blind, thanks to a pair of sunglasses equipped with two micro cameras and headphones, are able to perceive an acoustic image of the space at which they point their new eyes. This tool has been developed as a continuation of the European project Casblip.In its first version, the system recognises shapes and replaces them with sounds positioned on the surface of the recognised forms.
The two micro cameras analyse space, create a three-dimensional model of it and associate sound points to points on the surface that is being analysed. In this way a blind person can hear space, and their brain reconstructs its shape from that spatialised sound.
“We all have a natural ability to talk at the same time as we detect the position of coin that has just hit the ground.
This ability to represent space with sounds without disturbing other activities of the brain is the basis of how this system works.
Combining object recognition technology with sound representation of space allows a blind person to recreate those sounds and perceive their original shape”, said Guillermo Peris. According to this researcher from the Universitat Politècnica de València’s CITG, with this system, users will have a new sense of perception of 3D space, different from sight:
Sources: Asociación RUVID, AlphaGalileo Foundation
Sleep disorders and psychology
Sleep disorders can be described as a situation where the sleep pattern is disrupted and includes difficulty falling or staying sleep, falling sleep at inappropriate times, excessive sleep, or abnormal behaviours associated with sleep. There is close relationship between sleep and wakefulness and psychologists consider both sleep and wakefulness to be a part of a continuous, cyclic, tightly woven pattern of behaviour. Behaviours during wakefulness will alter the quality and duration of sleep.
Sleep disorders represent a diverse group of conditions that affect both sleep and wakefulness and lead to a reduction in quality of life. Sleep disorders may produce personal injury or social disruption. Some sleep disorders are also risk factors for other serious medical problems, such as blood pressure, stroke or heart disease. Sleep disorders can be grouped into 4 main categories.
* Problems with falling and staying asleep
* Problems with staying awake
* problems with adhering to a regular sleep schedule
* Sleep disruptive behaviour
Problems with falling and staying asleep could be due to psychological, illness, or stimulant dependent (eg. Taking tea, coffee just before sleep)
The most common sleep disorder is insomnia or difficulty with falling asleep, staying asleep, intermittent wakefulness, and early morning awakening. Insomnia could be transient or short term (1-4 weeks) or it could be intermittent (short term insomnia which returns periodically over months). Chronic insomnia is when insomnia persists almost nightly for at least one month. Insomnia may be related to a medical or spychiatric illness or it may be a result of lifestyle factors. Lifestyle factors are particularly important as causes of transient or intermitent insomnia.
The common causes are anxiety or stress, change of sleeping place or uncomfortable environment (hot/cold/humid/dress), alcohol or medication, smoking, high caffeine intake (tea, coffee, cocoa), heavy meal or exercising just before sleep. Change of hormones in pregnancy and old age also can cause insomnia.
Sleep terror disorder is an abrupt awakening from sleep with fear, sweating, rapdi heart rate, and confusion.
Sleepwalking is not remembered by the person doing it and affects children 2 to 12 years old. A brain disease, reactions to drugs, and other medical conditions may also cause it. Sleepwalking episodes usually occur 1-2 hours after going to sleep and last from 1-30 minutes. A sleepwalkers has open eyes and a blank expression, and is usually difficult to awaken. The next morning, they won’t remember the episode.
Providing an early bedtime preceded by relaxing activities will help prevent sleep disturbances. Sleepwalking injuries should be avoided by making the bedroom and house as safe as possible.
(The writer is a Consultant Psychologist)
Positive effects of being a vegetarian
In general terms, vegetarians are the people who exclude meat, poultry, fish or other animal derived food from their diets. There are different types of vegetarians such as, lacto ovo- vegetarian, lacto vegetarian and strict vegetarians. Lacto ovo- vegetarian include milk, milk products and eggs, but exclude meat, poultry, fish and sea food from their diets. Lacto vegetarians include milk, milk products but exclude meat, poultry, fish and sea food from their diets. Strict vegetarians include only grains, vegetables and fruits in their diets.
Normally, vegetarian diets are included a variety of whole grains,vegetables,legumes and fruits which offer abundant complex carbohydrate and fibres, an assortment of vitamins, minerals ,antioxidants and little fat. Therefore their diet will be helpful for them in prevention and treatment of many diseases such as blood pressure, coronary artery diseases and most notably the colon cancers. But there are some limitations as well.
Therefore the most important thing in vegetarian diet is the proper planning,if not their diet may be lack in certain important nutrients such as protein, iron, zinc, calcium, vitamin B12 and vitamin D since animal based foods are the richest source of these nutrients. So we will see how you can plan your diet to overcome these limitations.
Protein: Lacto-ovo-vegetarians can easily obtain adequate amount of protein since milk and eggs are good sources of high quality protein. Include variety of protein rich foods in your diet Eg: grains, legumes (eg: Dhal), seeds, nuts and vegetables (eg:soya beans, Beans). Always select a variety of whole food rather than using meat replacements made of textured vegetable protein(soy protein) which are formulated to look and taste like meat, fish or poultry.
Iron: The iron in plant foods is poorly absorbed.
Eat a variety of nutrient dense food including whole grains nuts and legumes and maintain an adequate energy intake. Calcium: Calcium intake of lacto-ovo-vegetarians is similar to non vegetarians.
But other vegans have to include more calcium rich food sources in their diet. Eg:okra, soyabean, cabbage, drumstick leaves, curry leaves, fruits like woodapple, cashew nuts and sesame seeds.
Because, calcium is a vital nutrient for children and adolescents especially for their bone development. Vitamin B12: Although the requirement is small, it is found only in animal derived foods.
Therefore it is not a problem for lacto ovo vegetarian since eggs and milk products are good source of vitamin B12.
But strict vegans must rely on vitamin B12 fortified food sources such as cereal and soy milk to defense against vitamin B 12 deficiency.
Vitamin D: Enough exposure to sunlight can eliminate vitamin D deficiency among vegans.
Older adults who do not have enough exposure to sunlight ,can use vitamin D fortified milk.
Finally, I would like to say that if you plan your diet properly by consuming wider varieties of foods in adequate amount, you can fulfill your daily nutrient requirement. With proper planning of diet if you can follow other healthy habits: no smoking, if at all regular physical activities, adequate rest and get medical attention when needed ,this all will contribute for a long healthy life.
No comments:
Post a Comment