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Sunday, July 8, 2012

Alternative Medicines



Alternative therapies in health and medicine are becoming increasingly popular as people are becoming more aware that what they put into their bodies and minds has a significant effect on their physical, mental and spiritual being. The modern medical solutions just don’t work.
Alternative therapies in health and medicine should start with what we take into our physical bodies. Then, after that, we should be concerned about what we put in our minds. And lastly, nurturing and developing our spiritual side is essential for a balanced Health.

Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine are becoming more mainstream

One of the most popular and rapidly expanding fields in medicine, alternative health care is starting to become a household word. But what exactly are alternative therapies in health and medicine? Alternative medicine and therapies come in many forms. In many cases, the very foundation of alternative medicine is based on ancient traditional forms of healing. Alternative medicine also stems and sometimes is a brand new field based on the latest scientific findings or theory. Alternative medicine is operating within the modern medical health system in more ways and places than ever before. Let’s take a closer look at some of the alternative healthcare options that are currently available.

Types of Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine

Alternative health covers just about every form of healing that is not traditionally covered by mainstream medicine. According to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine of the National Institutes of Health, alternative health care includes a wide range of therapeutic options, including herbs and supplements, natural nutrition, hypnosis, homoeopathy, naturopathy, yoga, tai chi, energy healing, chiropractic, acupuncture, massage and hypnosis.



When we seek treatment from a professional medical care person like a physician, the treatment is conventional and called as allopathic treatment. But when the treatment is not associated with allopathic drugs and the approach is away from the traditional treatment and towards remedies such as diet plan, yoga, acupressure, naturopathy or homoeopathy, it’s called alternative treatment.

1. Acupressure and Acupuncture

Acupressure is pressing on specific points of the body for pain relief whereas in acupuncture, specific needles (filiform) are used instead of pressure for relieving pain. There are certain acupoints which are specifically pressed or punctured for certain problems. Specific points are pressed with fingers for several minutes in acupressure. However, care should be taken not to use acupressure treatment near varicose veins, open wounds, abdomen during pregnancy or broken bones.

2. Yoga and Diet

Yoga is the perfect path to live a healthy life. Yoga can cure major ailments as well. Performing yoga creates harmony between body, mind and surroundings. Yoga is based on breathing exercises for improving respiration and elevating your mood. Asanas are specific sitting positions which can improve body functions significantly. Meditation is also a part of yoga, which improves mental stability memory and increases concentration. Natural diet is used as home remedies to control illnesses too, like having bananas during diarrhea, ginger or peppermint tea for aiding indigestion or having papaya as a laxative to cure constipation.
Yoga Accessories
Initially originated in India some 3000 years ago, yoga is a primitive art, which mainly comprises of different types of exercises. Balancing your mind or body, reducing anxiety and improving mental clarity are the main goals of yoga. It is a therapeutic activity, which helps in the union of a person???s own mind, body and spirit. The different styles and forms of yoga exercises helps in improving circulation, vitalizing the abdominal organs and balancing the glandular system of our body. Today, yoga is gaining worldwide popularity because it emphasis on teaching people about the different ways of living peaceful life. There was a study conducted by a Yoga Journal which says that about 15 million of Americans practice yoga these days and spend around US $ 27 billion annually on yoga classes and yoga accessories such as yoga mats, yoga balls, bolsters, blankets, rugs, towels, straps, eye pillows, sand bags etc. Yoga offers innumerable benefits such as relaxation of both body and soul, normalizing body weight, increasing productivity and energy level.

3. Ayurveda

Ayurveda works on diagnosis of three ‘Doshas’-Vata, Pitta and Kapha. The type of body is decided according to the degree of ‘Doshas’ in our body. Ayurveda is curing of the mind and body through herbal medicines, yoga, specific therapies and diet, and exposure to certain natural elements like mud, water, oil etc. One of the most popular methods of purification of body is known as ‘Panchkarma’, a famous body purification method which improves blood circulation, relieves stress and soothes the body and mind.
Ayurvedic Medicines
Ayurveda is one of the age-old systems of medicine in the whole universe that derives its origin from Indian subcontinent. Slowly and gradually, this form of alternative medication is moving towards other developed countries of the world as well. Globally, ayurvedic medicines have been acclaimed as the safe form of naturopathy treatment because of their complete preventive characteristics and low side effects. Ayurveda is a science-based system of curing disorders and physical conditions with the help of natural therapies and believes on the basic tenet of biologic individuality. Also, many ayurvedic formulations may be used to prepare products such asanti-dandruff shampoo, skin care creams, herbal soaps, anti-dandruff oil, etc. Presently, the worldwide market for herbal and ayurvedic medicines is around US$120 billions. The European Union, Japan and USA together accounts for a total share of 70 percent while Asian countries contribute around 30%. The Ayurveda and its products are gaining worldwide popularity. Ayurvedic medicines available in the global market these days are made from herbal ingredients are clinically proven that can cure several acute and chronic disorders such as pimples, acne, allergies, arthritis, asthma, depression, constipation, heart ailments, ulcers, insomnia, obesity, blood pressure, liver related diseases etc.
Siddha Medicines
Siddha medicines have been etching attention worldwide in recent times because of its ability to offer treatment for major degenerative ailments that can not be cured by modern medicines. It is that type of traditional medical science, which not just cure the disease but also treats the complete individual. The siddha system is the earliest form of Indian systems of medicine that has some presence of ayurveda, acupressure, unani, and reiki in it. This system is the mother of all medical sciences, which date back to at least 41000 years ago. This form of naturopathy treatment makes use of herbal plant extracts, metal oxides and simultaneous chanting of mantras to revitalize and rejuvenate the body organs. Siddha medicines are chemical free and thus do not cause any side effects. The siddha therapy is a boon for those who are suffering from chronic maladies like diabetes, arthritis, heart attacks, fractures, toothache, deep wounds, loss of appetite, constipation, psoriasis, urinary tract infections, anemia, diarrhea, and allergies. The global siddha medicines industry is all ready to grow exponentially in near future and replace the modern methods of treating diseases. At, present the size of this sector in whole drugs industry is US$ 1000 million.

4. Homeopathy

Homeopathy is a natural treatment and is derived from plants and natural minerals. Homeopathic treatment does not cause any side effects and is safe for anyone. As it treats the cause of the disease, symptoms rarely reappear. The body’s natural healing ability is activated in this treatment. Homeopathy, alongside curing the disease, works to improve the body’s immune system as well. In homeopathy, the reason of the illness is found through proper examination of patient history and the reason is treated.
Homeopathic Medicines
Homeopathy is one of the oldest forms of complementary and alternative medications, which is being used in over 80 countries by approximately 100,000 doctors worldwide. Homeopathic medicines have been proven to cure migraine, insomnia, joint pains, sinus infections, depression, asthma, eczema, rashes, anxiety and other diseases related to stomach, liver, pancreas and intestines. In this highly competitive global market, Indian Subcontinent is considered to be the largest market for homeopathy medicines followed by Germany, United States, France and United Kingdom. About one third of French population and more than 40% of British are treated by homeopathy these days. The worldwide sale of homeopathic medicines is around 1.5 billion occupying 0.3% of the total drugs market. This form of complementary medications is slowly and gradually moving towards Mediterranean basin, South America, or Eastern Europe. Homeopathic medicines are free of chemicals and mostly made from natural resources like plants, animals, and minerals.


5. Massage

The soft tissue manipulation of a massage improves blood circulation, thus increases the body’s functional ability for recovery from injury or ailments. Massage is one of the most common methods used for pain relief. Rhythmic and constant applied pressure improves blood circulation, expands arteries hence increases blood flow towards certain organs. Increased blood flow means increased oxygen to that organ, hence improving the overall health of the body. Massage therapies also improves lymph flow. Lymph nodes carry body’s toxins away. Thus massage causes improvement of lymph flow and reduces the toxins in the body.
Massage Therapies
Globally, there has been a new awakening about the relevance of natural ways of treating and curing most of the ailments. From the last two decades, the massage therapy industry has grown from an "alternative therapy" used by a few to worldwide billion dollar industry. The massage therapy industry is a growing sector with an annual market share of US $ 11 billions, which is estimated to reach US $ 15 billions by the end of 2010. Massage therapy is one of the old age ways of healing arts that originated some 3000 years back. Chinese, Persians, Hindus and Egyptians have been widely practicing this form of therapy for treating many disorders. Massage therapy has been very well recognized by both medical community and public. The main purpose of this therapy is to treat different types of injuries and medical conditions and improving athletic performance. More than 250 variations of massage and bodywork therapies have proven beneficial for many chronic diseases like arthritis, fatigue, high blood pressure, immunity suppression, diabetes, smoking cessation, infertility, bursitis or depression.
Aromatherapy
Growing health concerns and the search for natural ways of curbing diseases have given impetus to the practice of aromatherapy. Latest research reveal that aromatherapy is fast gaining acceptance as a holistic therapy with healing benefits all across the globe. This form of alternative medication is not new; it traces its origin some five thousand years back. Aromatherapy since its inception has become internationally well recognized, as the science and art of using essential oils or volatile plant oils for both psychological and physical well being. It has been also found that about 34.4 percent of the worldwide population is resorting to aromatherapy for healing and curing their ailments. The essential oil industry globally accounts for a US $ 400 million market share. China, Brazil, India, US, Mexico, Guatemala, Egypt and Indonesia are the chief manufacturing hubs of essential oils in the global market. In the last few years, the demand for various aromatherapy products like candles, essential oils, incense, diffusers, floral waxes, natural perfumes, creams, butters, air fresheners etc have gradually increased because of number of factors. The Western Europe, United States and Japan are the leading consumers of aromatherapy products in the world with a total consumption share of 78%.




Cold Therapy
Commonly referred to as cryotherapy, this therapy uses a cold bath or ice, which results in decreasing sensitivity of painful areas and relaxation of muscle spasms. The cold water gradually slows down nerve impulses to the muscle and lessens blood circulation, thereby reducing inflammation.



Crystal Therapy
The sudden revival of gem and crystal therapy in the recent times has added another impetus and a new frontier in the different techniques of healing naturally. Healing with the help of different versions of gemstones or crystals is the basic essence of this therapy. Holistic healers use this type of vibrational medicines for spiritual healing and bringing about balance in an individual???s life. Rocks and crystals used in this therapy come in various sizes, shapes, colors and textures. All these stones have some special meanings and can either be worn or placed on the injured part of the body. Crystal therapy emanated its origin in Ancient Egypt some 5000 years ago. This ancient art strengthens the body and conjugates the subtle energy fields of our aura with our feelings, emotions, glands and other physical body parts. Today, the market size of this industry is around US$ 50 billion. Canada, India, Malaysia, United States, Japan, China, United Kingdom are popular for using crystal therapies in the world.



Magnetic Therapy
Historical records have claimed that magnetic therapy is the most effective natural healing technique that relieves pain, increases circulation and speed up recovery from injuries. The size of the global magnetic market is huge and its demand is growing tremendously year by year. Presently, this industry enjoys a total market share of US $ 8.1 billion, which is expected to surpass US $ 11.8 billion in 2011. China, India, Indonesia, Russia, Mexico, Taiwan, and Malaysia are the countries that are famous for their techniques of massage therapy and massage based products. It is a non-invasive method in which different types of magnets are applied on to the body for stimulating the nerves and improving flow of blood to various parts of the body. This therapy has helped in making body's immune system powerful and curing host of ailments like arthritis, migraine, pneumonia, high and low blood pressure, rheumatism, gout, hernia, dropsy, leucoderma, menstrual disorders or asthma.


Regulation of Alternative Medicine

Most practices that fall under the category of alternative therapies in health and medicine are unregulated and, therefore, not recognised as forms of treatment by the mainstream medical community. Some notable exceptions, however, include TCM, traditional Chinese medicine that includes acupuncture that is covered by many insurance companies and licensed by a governing body; massage; and chiropractic care.

The Potential of Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine

Many mainstream medical providers are starting to integrate alternative or complementary health practices into their practices or are referring their patients to alternative health-care providers. As far back as the July 1997 issue of The Annals of Internal Medicine, An article by Dr. David M. Eisenberg advises physicians to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of alternative health care with their patients. Many hospitals and HMOs now are actively including alternative health care into their medical services as complementary or preventative medicine.

 Facts About Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine

In a November 1998 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers published a review of mainstream physicians' incorporation of complementary and alternative medicine. They found that up to 50 percent of patients in industrialized countries use some form of complementary or alternative medicine. The most commonly used forms were acupuncture, chiropractic and massage. In a more recent survey, the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine found that the rate of Americans using alternative health care practices rose by 2 percent between 2002 and 2007.
Considerations for Alternative Health Care
Nations outside of the scope of the studies mentioned above, particularly third-world countries, may use forms of medicine that would be considered alternative by the mainstream medical community but are in fact traditional to the local populace. This could mean that the real number and percentage of people worldwide who employ alternative therapies in health and medicine as a form of health care may be much higher.

When to Use Alternative Medicine


Alternative Medicine
Though there is absolutely nothing wrong with the conventional form of medicine which is tried and true and has withstood the test of time, society is growing at a rapid pace and starting to move along at just as rapid a pace as well. Along with this constant stream of development and change come innovative ideas and creative theories. Alternative medicines are a prime example of this new train of thought that is gradually coming to define this generation. The practice of alternative medicine is a relatively new field of healthcare, but it is growing in popularity and spreading throughout the nation. Alternative medicine refers to unconventional techniques or methods used to heal and strengthen the human body. The traditional method of medicine is relatively routine; a doctor gives a diagnosis, prescribes some medication, which is then supplied by the pharmacist, and the prescription medicine is the primary source of healing for any particular diagnosis. Alternative medicines are rather unique and at times unpredictable. The methods of alternative medicines varies from a range of different techniques, from herbal therapy, homeopathy, naturopathy, acupuncture, chiropractic, to even yoga and meditation. As you can see, alternative medicines consist of methods that are well outside of the norm, and calls for thinking outside of the box. There is heavy emphasis on natural remedies and healthy foods and ingredients in the practice of alternative medicine as well. Those who decide to exclusively practice alternative medicine are often opposed to the strong prescription medicines that can cause a variety of unwanted side effects. There is however, the possibility of alternative medicines creating side effects as well. Because of the nature of alternative medicine, doctors need to be well informed and up to date about their particular practices, especially when the alternative medicines involve various herbs and organic foods. Along with the traditional methods of medicine that continue to be practiced, many more individuals are looking into alternative methods of medicine, consisting of different treatments and techniques that are unconventional and rather unique at times.
Prior to using any form of alternative medicines, it is highly recommended that you speak with your family physician or doctor in order to ensure that it is safe for you. Certain people will react differently to specific methods of alternative medicine, and due to the heavy use of herbs and natural medicines, it is suggested that you speak with a professional healthcare provider first. Certain natural remedies may not mix well with everyday foods and other consumed products. A key resource to any and all aspects of alternative medicine is your local health and natural foods grocery store. More often than not, the health food store will have a trained alternative medicine doctor on staff to assist customers. Practicing alternative medicine can feel like a shift in lifestyles, and a gradual and controlled change is always better and safer than an abrupt and sudden transformation.
Though alternative medicine may be a relatively new field of healthcare, all the same rules of conventional medicine still apply, and the practice of alternative medicines is no replacement to the regular checkups with your local family physician or doctor.


As nonconventional medical treatments become increasingly mainstream, we examine the science behind some of the most popular ones.




If allopathic medicine (the scientific, evidence-based medical body prevalent in Western nations and in Europe) recognized the theories, cultural, philosophical and ideals of many of the medical systems, therapies and procedures found in alternative medicine, we would indeed, have a truly complete and nearly-infallable health-care system.
Briefly, What Is Alternative Medicine and Allopathic Medicine?
The term alternative medicine refers to any medical modality or system that has not been proven by science or if it has, proven definite for ineffectiveness, unreliable and/or depraved. Those modalities generally in exercise in allopathic medicine but not inducted into the system are known as complimentary medicine. Due to the nature of most of these, we will include them with alternative medicine in our diminutive ogle here.
“Alternative medicine” is a term coined in retrospect to allopathic medicine referring to many systems which have been in spending for centuries, and in some cases, since prehistoric times. The term is of fairly novel origin and, of course, includes modalities which have reach into existence in comparatively original times. We will now delve into our contemplate here.
Alternative Medicine in Theory and How This Compares to Allopathic Medicine
Most of the modalities in alternative medicine fragment a accepted trait – they tend to be holistic – in other words, in treatment and therapies, they are concerned with the whole being. This is one of the greatest strengths of these health care systems and therapies. In treatment practitioners tend to exercise remarkable longer in consultation with the patient discussing his lifestyle and how the ailment may have originated. This process takes in the physical, spiritual and emotional aspects in the life of the patient. Treatment tends to be personal, qualified to the needs of the patient and pin points the causes of the ailment. The practitioner addresses the underlying scrape after a thorough analysis of these things.
This is not so in allopathic medicine. Treatment begins with consideration of the symptoms the patient is having and in many cases, emphasis is placed on treating these rather than digging down to the cause. In essence, this is exactly what “allopathic” means. Coined by Samuel Hahnemann, the father of homeopathic medicine, he famous the tendency of novel medicine to treat symptoms rather than the disease, hence “allo,” from the Greek, allos – “other” + “pathy” (or pathos in Greek,) meaning “suffering.” In allopathic medicine, treatment tends to be standardized, brief, and impersonal. Treatment is also highly specialized in that it narrows down to specific symptoms and has a maze of departments, each of which concerns itself with a specific site of the physical body.
Albeit the strength of allopathic medicine is the weakness of most modalities in alternative medicine. Allopathic medicine is backed by scientific research and is the backbone of everything done within, from the initial consultation to discharge from services. Alternative medicine has never adhered so adamantly to scientific methodology and is therefore highly variant from modality to modality and even within each of these. Healing in far more cases comes about through the placebo conclude in many of the modalities and as a result, though a handsome amount of therapies through alternative medicine are effective and efficacious, some processes are nasty and downright despicable.
Okay, What’s the Punch-Line Here – Alternative Medicine or Allopathic Medicine?
Both are highly considerable in health-care. Albeit due to rigorous scientific abet and the amazing degree of technology found in allopathic medicine, this should always be the first in the line of consultation, especially in all medical emergencies and issues where lives are in serious trouble due to accidents, disease or any other physical malady.
Many alternative medicine modalities stress favorable health and lifestyles that would promote this. Allopathic medicine tends to leave this detail out and health education comes down to each individual in the societies which this medical system is found. Often a modality in alternative health embrace philosophies and cultures that consider their societies as a rule which includes holistic health and wholesome living.
In many cases continued and long-term therapy in allopathic medicine can be complimented and, in some cases, replaced altogether with a treatment or therapy in alternative medicine. hurt management through hypnotherapy rather than chemical-based therapy is a prime example and in clear circumstances, your regular physician will clear this.

By The Scientist Staff |
GETTYIMAGES, Barbara Bellingham
While traveling in China in 1971, two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist James Reston underwent an emergency appendectomy, after which Chinese medical personnel treated his pain with acupuncture. His description of the experience in the pages of the New York Times brought the practice of traditional Chinese medicine front and centre.
Two years later, Lewis Thomas, then president of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, delivered an address where he said, “These are bad times for reason, all around. Suddenly, all of the major ills are being coped with by acupuncture. If not acupuncture, it is apricot pits.” Thomas was referring to laetrile, a compound extracted from the pits of apricots and bitter almonds, one of the most sought-after alternative treatments for cancer at the time, but one whose effectiveness had been the topic of bitter controversy for years. Banned since 1963 in the U.S., laetrile is reported to still be readily available in the Bahamas and Mexico and is sold online.
And the examples don’t end there. Lots of ballyhoo, head-scratching, and accusations of quackery attended growing patient demand for alternative treatments, hyped in the popular press as cures that were “natural” and based on millennia-old medical traditions practiced in places such as China and India.
In 1999, in response to a growing outcry for some kind of evidence-based scientific analysis of the safety and efficacy of this blizzard of nonconventional treatments, the National Institutes of Health, then under the direction of Harold Varmus, established the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM). Since its founding, NCCAM has funded basic and clinical research at institutions around the world on plant and animal products such as acai, black cohosh, gingko biloba, and shark cartilage, as well as on the therapeutic value of treatments including acupuncture, yoga, massage, reiki, and meditation.
Source: TheScientist [Detailed article with links to related articles]
Comment:
The alternative to medicine is illness...Posted by
Robert Karl Stonjek'



Different alternative medicines can give natural remedies, treatments and cures to many known ailments. They give miraculous results that are sometimes far better compared to what conventional treatments and drugs can offer. The NCCAM or National Center for Complementary Alternative Medicine and NIH or National Institute of Health are continuously researching about alternative treatments and practices that can give better options, to people who are looking for other remedies to cure their diseases. Alternative medicine has been around for decades; it is present in many cultures from different countries and because of this vast knowledge it is now being categorized.
Natural Remedies, Treatments and Cures comes in different forms; Alternative Medical System focuses on traditional medicines from Asia and other Western countries that can give natural healing effects to diseases and other disorders. A good example of this is the acupuncture, which uses very thin needles and inserts it to the areas on the body that is aching or has been suffering from illness. Biological Based Therapies, makes use of chemicals extracted from natural resources like plants, example for this are herbal medicines. It can help treat bad vices like smoking, and some can even lessen stress and anxiety.
Mind Body Techniques on the other hand is an alternative treatment that was inspired by a theory, that emotional and mental issues can impact an individual's physical health. Because of this thought, therapy session has been widely accepted and some treatment facilities even offer mind and body wellness program for their patients. Body Based Techniques can cure sickness and maintain good health by body manipulation techniques. Massage therapy and Chiropractic are some examples that already gave impressive results. Energy Therapies from the name itself, came from the belief that energy can be focused on specific parts of the body that is suffering from pain. This has been practice during ancient times and the effects, based on studies, are very promising. Conventional Medications are still an effective way to cure an individual, but the growing success of alternative medicines gave people another choice of treatment.
Using alternative medicine has many advantages like, its much safer compared to the continuous intake of drugs, which are commonly prescribed by physicians. It's already a fact that prescription medicines do have side effects and it can cause personal problems that can lead to depression in the end. Like the radiation therapy for cancer patients, hair loss is one of its side effects. Alternative medicines can offer a safe way to heal the body, since it came from nature itself, the chemicals found on herbal supplements are not considered toxic compared to other drugs. Aside from that, natural remedies are often much affordable compared to commercialize prescription drugs and other treatments, making it easy for the public to buy.
Alternative Natural Remedies, Treatments and Cures are one of the best options when it comes to treating illnesses. It's about time that people go back to nature and experience its blessings. It will not only cure sickness but also prevent it from coming back; let nature be the guide to live a healthy, balanced life.

Neurodevelopment: Unlocking the brain


ANDY POTTS
 
Growing up in the suburbs of New York City, Takao Hensch learned German from his father, Japanese from his mother and English from the community around him. “I was always wondering,” he says, “what is it that makes it so easy to learn languages when you're young, and so hard once you begin to get older?”
Today, as a neuroscientist at Boston Children's Hospital in Massachusetts, Hensch is at the forefront of efforts to answer that question in full molecular detail. Language acquisition is just one of many processes that go through a 'sensitive' or 'critical' period — an interval during development when the neural circuits responsible for that process can be sculpted, and radically changed, by experience (see'Open and shut'). During critical periods, children can make rapid progress at discerning facial features that look like their own, recognizing spoken language and locating objects in space. But within a few months or years, each window of opportunity slams shut, and learning anything new in that realm becomes difficult, if not impossible.
Or maybe not. What Hensch and others in the small, but rapidly advancing, field of critical-period research are finding is that those windows can be prised back open. “For the first time, we are beginning to understand the biology that underlies critical periods,” says Hensch. And that understanding is suggesting ways to intervene in various neural disorders, including intractable conditions such as adult amblyopia, in which information from one eye is not correctly processed by the brain, and possibly even autism. The work could even lead to 'plasticity pills' that enhance learning or help to wipe out traumatic memories.
“What's so interesting about Takao's work is that he has shown that even if you miss these critical periods, you still may be able to go back in and fix things,” says Charles Nelson, a neuroscientist at Boston Children's Hospital, who studies the developmental effects of early social deprivation on orphans in Romania. “The idea that you could intervene later and make up for lost time is compelling.”
The first scientist to popularize the notion of a developmental critical period was the Austrian biologist Konrad Lorenz, whose pioneering work in animal behaviour earned him a share of the 1973 Nobel prize. In the 1930s, Lorenz showed that if he took on the role of a mother goose within a few hours after goslings hatched, the baby geese would follow him as though he were their mother until adulthood. He called this process 'imprinting'.

Dogma, inhibited

The first scientists to explore the neural basis of a critical period were David Hubel and Torsten Wiesel, neurophysiologists at Harvard Medical School in Boston who carried out work on the visual system in the early 1960s. First they discovered that in the adult brain, many cells in the visual cortex respond to signals from only one eye. Then they showed that in kittens that had had one eye sutured shut, individual cells that normally would have fired in response to the closed eye instead responded to the open eye, eventually causing amblyopia1. Shutting the eye of an adult cat did nothing, indicating that cells in the visual cortex were programmed during a key developmental window in the first few months of life.
SOURCES: T. HENSCH; MCCAIN, M.N., MUSTARD, J.F., & MCCUAIG, K. EARLY YEARS STUDY 3 CH. 2 (MARGARET & WALLACE MCCAIN FAMILY FOUNDATION, 2011).
Hubel and Wiesel lacked the tools to analyse how this programming worked at the molecular level, but they earned a Nobel prize in 1981 for their discovery. Their findings also inspired Hensch, during the 1980s, to change his undergraduate major from computer science and artificial intelligence to neurobiology. “Hubel and Wiesel's work made me realize that there was just so much we didn't know about the actual biology of the brain,” he says.
Hensch got a chance to learn more when he began his PhD work in Michael Stryker's neuroscience laboratory at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Stryker's group, like most researchers in the field, studied the critical period of the visual system as a model of critical periods in general, and had published a series of papers hinting at a new approach to understanding it.
For years, researchers had assumed that the brain's 'plasticity', or its ability to learn during critical periods, was the work of excitatory neurons, which encourage neighbouring neurons to fire. But Stryker's work suggested some kind of involvement by inhibitory interneurons, brain cells that dampen activity in their neighbours. Stryker's team had found that, in kittens, a drug that increases inhibition during the critical period made the visual cortex resistant to Hubel and Wiesel's trick: many neurons in that region began to fire in response to the closed eye rather than the open one2.
Hensch followed up on this work in a collaboration with Michela Fagiolini and her colleagues at the RIKEN Brain Science Institute in Wako, Japan. The researchers looked at the critical period in genetically engineered mice that had slightly reduced levels of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), an inhibitory neurotransmitter.
The effect of that reduction was far greater than either Hensch or Stryker had imagined: whereas control mice went through a typical critical period and developed amblyopia when one eye was blocked, mice with GABA deficiencies did not develop amblyopia, or have a critical period at all. Hensch and his colleagues were able to restore plasticity by administering a benzodiazepine, a drug that enhances the inhibitory effect of GABA (ref. 3).
Inhibition, the authors concluded, was a hidden force driving the onset of the visual critical period. “At the time, these ideas were just so counter-intuitive,” Hensch says. “We were turning dogma on its ear.”

Clever mechanisms

Researchers have since begun to clarify the workings of this force. In 2008, Hensch and Alain Prochiantz, a neuroscientist at the Collège de France in Paris, found that when mice first open their eyes after birth, a protein called OTX2 is transported through the optic nerve from the retina to the visual cortex — a marathon in cellular distance.
In the visual cortex, the accumulation of OTX2 sparks a series of events that causes PV interneurons, inhibitory cells that contain parvalbumin (PV), to mature and trigger the beginning of the visual critical period. But this transport takes place only after visual input is received; in mice raised in the dark, no OTX2 arrives in the cortex and no critical period ensues4. “I think this is a pretty clever mechanism from nature,” says Hensch, “because you don't want to be plastic until you know that the periphery is functional and signals are coming in.”
But it was unclear how the PV interneurons triggered the critical period. An important clue came from a group led by Stryker with Arturo Alvarez-Buylla and Sunil Gandhi, also at UCSF. The researchers transplanted embryonic cells that were destined to become interneurons into the brains of young mice, says Alvarez-Buylla, after which the mice “started having two critical periods”. There was the typical critical period, caused by the mouse's own interneurons, and then a later one, triggered when the transplanted interneurons began to mature5.
The transplanted cells, says Stryker, were pushing the system's 'reset' button. In the cerebral cortex of the adult brain, information travels through neural circuits along well-defined paths carved out by mature interneurons, which strongly inhibit some cells and not others. But in the transplant experiment, the maturing interneurons were making numerous weak connections with the older cells and inhibiting all the cells equally, overriding the brain's previously defined circuits.
Only as those new cells matured were their connections pruned and strengthened, eventually carving out new permanent circuits. The findings suggested that the same mechanism — PV synapse proliferation followed by pruning — underlies all critical periods.
Hensch and others have found that critical periods do not just taper off as PV interneurons mature. Instead, they are shut down as the brain slams on 'plasticity brakes' — presumably as a way to protect the newly optimized brain circuits from disruption by further input.
Hensch separates these 'brakes' into two categories — structural and functional. The first comprises physical structures such as the perineuronal net (PNN), a complex of macromolecules that attach to PV interneurons around the time that a critical period ends, and that seem to restrict the extent to which a neural circuit can change. Chemical breakdown of the PNNs in adult rats makes their brains prone to being rewired6.
Functional brakes are chemical compounds such as Lynx1 — a molecule, identified by Hensch and his colleagues, that shifts the balance of excitation and inhibition in the cortex by dampening the effect of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Experiments in mice show that the amount of Lynx1 in the brain increases at the end of the critical period, and its removal from adult brains, like degradation of the PNNs, seems to restore neural plasticity7.
Hensch says that what he finds particularly compelling about functional brakes is that they are relatively easy to release. One example of this is a behavioural intervention developed by Roger Li and Dennis Levi, optometrists at the University of California, Berkeley, for adults with amblyopia.
People develop amblyopia when problems such as cataracts or crossed eyes disrupt input to one of their eyes during early childhood, often leaving them without three-dimensional (3D) vision. The condition is considered untreatable once the critical period has ended. But when Li and Levi got people with amblyopia to play 40–80 hours of video games with their good eyes patched, most of them reported substantial improvements in visual function8. Describing one subject who was born with crossed eyes and had never seen the world in depth, Li says: “Once she found out she was able to see some 3D, she immediately began to cry.”
Hensch suggests that playing video games releases some of the brain's functional brakes. He notes that heightened attention, which often goes along with video-game playing, has been shown to increase the activity of acetylcholine — a surge that would counteract the damping effect of Lynx1.

Windows of opportunity

Researchers have begun experimenting with drugs to reopen the critical period. Hensch and David Hunter, an ophthalmologist at Boston Children's Hospital, received approval in May to begin a phase I clinical trial for treating amblyopia with a drug that increases the amount of acetylcholine in the brain.
A similar study9, published in 2010 and led by neuroscientist Michael Silver of the University of California, Berkeley, found that when people with normal vision are given a drug that increases acetylcholine levels, they show greater improvements in visual acuity than people given a placebo. And a group led by Lamberto Maffei, a neurobiologist at the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa, Italy, has begun phase II clinical trials for amblyopia with selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors, a class of drugs often used to treat depression.
Such research makes it easy to imagine pills or shots that could aid recovery from a severe brain injury, for example, or make it easier to learn a new language or forget a terrifying memory. Lifting plasticity brakes might even be useful in treating complex disorders such as autism, says Hensch. He points to the difficulty children with autism have integrating input from multiple senses at once — when looking at a person's facial expressions while listening to them speak, for example. Such integration may require the critical periods for each sense to have occurred in a specific developmental sequence. “I think that autism is a good example of what can go wrong when these different sensory critical periods are mistimed,” he says — a view for which there is some experimental evidence10.
For now, however, when it comes to the neural basis of complex psychiatric conditions such as autism, the experimental evidence is limited. But if tests could be created to identify risk factors for some developmental disorders, says Hensch, physicians may one day be able to deploy biologically informed interventions during the critical period, taking advantage of the brain's plasticity to set development on the right course.
But no one in the field is suggesting that the brain's critical periods should be tampered with casually. “When you reopen a critical period, there is, of course, always the possibility of a worse outcome,” says Alvaro Pascual-Leone, a neurologist at Harvard Medical School, pointing out that disorders such as amblyopia occur because of harmful input during the original critical period.
And structural brakes are considerably more difficult to release than functional ones. In 2009, for example, researchers showed that chemically destroying PNNs in mice makes it easier to erase their fear memories, suggesting a potential treatment for conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder11. But to do this in humans could cause widespread brain damage that would outweigh any benefits. After all, says Hensch, the mechanisms that the brain uses to shut down critical periods are very complex, and they require a substantial amount of energy, “which gives us a good sense that they've evolved for a reason”.
Stryker sounds a further note of caution. “I think it's a romantic notion that you can replicate the critical period later in life,” he says. “Some things just don't unhappen.”
Nature 487, 24–26 ( 05 July 2012 ) doi :10.1038/487024a

References

  1. Wiesel, T. N. & Hubel, D. H. J. Neurophysiol. 2610031017 (1963).PubMed
  2. Reiter, H. O. & Stryker, M. P. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 8536233627 (1988).Article
  3. Hensch, T. K. et alScience 28215041508 (1998).Article
  4. Sugiyama, S. et alCell 134508520 (2008).Article
  5. Southwell, D. G.Froemke, R. C.Alvarez-Buylla, A.Stryker, M. P. & Gandhi, S. P. Science 32711451148 (2010).Article
  6. Pizzorusso, T. et alScience 29812481251 (2002).Article
  7. Morishita, H.Miwa, J. M.Heintz, N. & Hensch, T. K. Science 33012381240 (2010).Article
  8. Li, R. W.Ngo, C.Nguyen, J. & Levi, D. M. PLoS Biol. 9, e1001135 (2011).Article
  9. Rokem, A. & Silver, M. A. Curr. Biol. 2017231238 (2010).Article
  10. Rubenstein, J. L. R. & Merzenich, M. M. Genes Brain Behav. 2255267 (2003).Article
  11. Gogolla, N.Caroni, P.Lüthi, A. & Herry, C. Science 32512581261 (2009).Article
 
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Robert Karl Stonjek

Antibodies Reverse Type 1 Diabetes in New Immunotherapy Animal Study


T cells (red, green) not detected and insulin (blue) readily observed in pancreatic islets of antibody-treated (Right) versus untreated (Left) diabetic NOD mouse. (Credit: Tisch Lab, UNC)

ScienceDaily — Scientists at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine have used injections of antibodies to rapidly reverse the onset of Type I diabetes in mice genetically bred to develop the disease. Moreover, just two injections maintained disease remission indefinitely without harming the immune system.

The immune system consists of T cells that are required for maintaining immunity against different bacterial and viral pathogens. In people who develop Type 1 diabetes, "autoreactive" T cells that actively destroy beta cells are not kept in check as they are in healthy people.
The findings, published online ahead of print (June 29, 2012) in the journalDiabetes, suggest for the first time that using a short course of immunotherapy may someday be of value for reversing the onset of Type I diabetes in recently diagnosed people. This form of diabetes, formerly known as insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, is an autoimmune disease in which the body's own immune T cells target and destroy insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas.
Senior study author Roland Tisch, PhD, professor of microbiology and immunology at UNC, said a need for effective immunotherapies also exists to treat Type 1 diabetes in people already living with the disease.
"Clinically, there have been some promising results using so-called depleting antibodies in recently diagnosed Type 1 diabetic patients, but the disease process is blocked for only a short period of time," Tisch said. "These antibodies don't discriminate between T cells normally required for maintaining immunity to disease-causing pathogens and the autoreactive T cells. Therefore T cells involved in maintaining normal immune function are also going to be depleted.
"You're getting some efficacy from immunotherapy but its only transient, it doesn't reverse the disease, and there are various complications associated with the use of these depleting antibodies."
Tisch said his UNC lab has been studying the use of certain "non-depleting antibodies." These bind to particular proteins known as CD4 and CD8 expressed by all T cells. Just as the name implies, when these non-depleting antibodies selectively bind to CD4 and CD8 they don't destroy the T cells; the overall numbers of T cells are unaffected.
With this in mind Tisch wanted to determine whether these non-depleting antibodies could have a therapeutic effect in the non-obese diabetic, or NOD mouse, an excellent model for human Type 1 diabetes.
The answer is yes. In some of the recently diagnosed NOD mice, blood sugar levels returned to normal within 48 hours of treatment. Within five days, about 80 percent of the animals had undergone diabetes remission, reversal of clinical diabetes.
"The protective effect is very rapid, and once established, is long-term," he said. "We followed the animals in excess of 400 days after the two antibody treatments, and the majority remained free of diabetes. And although the antibodies are cleared from within the animals in 2-3 weeks after treatment, the protective effect persists." The study showed that beta cells in the NOD mice had been rescued from ongoing autoimmune destruction.
In looking for the mechanism to explain how the therapy worked, the researchers found that the antibodies had a very selective effect on T cells that mediated beta cell destruction. After treatment, "all the T cells that we would normally see in the pancreas or in tissues associated with the pancreas had been purged," said Tisch. This despite the fact that the numbers of T cells found in other tissues and blood were unaffected.
The researchers also found an increase in the numbers of "immune regulatory" T cells. In the healthy individual, these regulatory T cells block autoimmunity, Tisch explained. "They protect us from the autoreactive cells that all of us have. And that's why most of us don't develop autoimmune diseases such as Type 1 diabetes."
"We've demonstrated that the use of non-depleting antibodies is very robust. We're now generating and plan to test antibodies that are specific for the human version of the CD4 and CD8 molecules."
UNC study coauthors with Tisch are first-author, Zuoan Li, (now at the University of Iowa); Ramiro Diz, Aaron Martin, Yves Maurice Morillon, Douglas E. Kline, (now at the University of Chicago); Li Li (now at Harvard Medical School); and Bo Wang.
Support for research came from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health; and from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

World's Fastest Camera Used to Detect Rogue Cancer Cells



Optical microscope with the world's fastest camera. (Credit: Image courtesy of University of California - Los Angeles)                      Science Daily  — The ability to distinguish and isolate rare cells from a large population of assorted cells has become increasingly important for early disease detection and treatment monitoring.

Circulating cancer tumour cells are a perfect example. Typically, only a handful are among a billion healthy cells. Yet, they are precursors to metastasis, the spread of cancer that causes about 90 per cent of cancer mortalities. Such "rogue" cells are not limited to cancer -- they also include stem cells used for regenerative medicine and other cell types.
Unfortunately, detecting such cells is challenging. Achieving good statistical accuracy requires an automated, high-throughput instrument that can examine millions of cells reasonably quickly. Microscopes equipped with digital cameras are currently the gold standard for analyzing cells, but they are too slow to be useful for this application.
Now, a new optical microscope developed by UCLA engineers could make the tough task much easier.
"To catch these elusive cells, the camera must be able to capture and digitally process millions of images continuously at a very high frame rate," said Bahram Jalali, who holds the Northrop Grumman Endowed Opto-Electronic Chair in Electrical Engineering at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science. "Conventional CCD and CMOS cameras are not fast and sensitive enough. It takes time to read the data from the array of pixels, and they become less sensitive to light at high speed."
The current flow-cytometry method has high throughput, but since it relies on single-point light scattering instead of taking a picture, it is not sensitive enough to detect very rare cell types, such as those present in early-stage or pre-metastasis cancer patients.
To overcome these limitations, an interdisciplinary team of researchers led by Jalali and Dino Di Carlo, a UCLA associate professor of bioengineering with expertise in optics and high-speed electronics, microfluidics, and biotechnology, has developed a high-throughput flow-through optical microscope with the ability to detect rare cells with a sensitivity of one part per million in real-time.
This technology builds on the photonic time-stretch camera technology created by Jalali's team in 2009 to produce the world's fastest continuous-running camera.
In the latest issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Jalali, Di Carlo, and their colleagues describe how they integrated this camera with advanced microfluidics and real-time image processing to classify cells in blood samples. The new blood-screening technology boasts a throughput of 100,000 cells per second, approximately 100 times higher than conventional imaging-based blood analyzers.
"This achievement required the integration of several cutting-edge technologies through collaborations between the departments of bioengineering and electrical engineering and the California NanoSystems Institute and adds to the significant technology infrastructure being developed at UCLA for cell-based diagnostics," Di Carlo said.
Jalali and Di Carlo are members of the California NanoSystems Institute at UCLA.
Their research demonstrates real-time identification of rare breast cancer cells in blood with a record low false-positive rate of one cell in a million. Preliminary results indicate that this new technology has the potential to quickly enable the detection of rare circulating tumor cells from a large volume of blood, opening the way for statistically accurate early detection of cancer and for monitoring the efficiency of drug and radiation therapy.
"This technology can significantly reduce errors and costs in medical diagnosis," said lead author Keisuke Goda, a UCLA program manager in electrical engineering and bioengineering.
The results were obtained by mixing cancer cells grown in a laboratory with blood in various proportions to emulate real-life patient blood.
"To further validate the clinical utility of the technology, we are currently performing clinical tests in collaboration with clinicians," said Goda, a California NanoSystems Institute member. "The technology is also potentially useful for urine analysis, water quality monitoring and related applications."
The study was funded by the U.S. Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) and by NantWorks LLC and the Burroughs Wellcome Fund.

HOUSE PLANTS


1. Bamboo Palm: According to NASA, it removes formaldehyde and is also said to act as a natural humidifier.

2. Snake Plant: Found by NASA to absorb nitrogen oxides and formaldehyde.

3. Areca Palm: One of the best air purifying plants for general air cleanliness.

4. Spider Plant: Great indoor plant for removing carbon monoxide and other toxins or impurities. Spider plants are one of three plants NASA deems best at removing formaldehyde from the air.

5. Peace Lily: Peace lilies could be called the “clean-all.” They’re often placed in bathrooms or laundry rooms because they’re known for removing mould spores. Also know to remove formaldehyde and trichloroethylene.

6. Gerbera Daisy: Not only do these gorgeous flowers remove benzene from the air, they’re known to improve sleep by absorbing carbon dioxide and giving off more oxygen over night.
1. Bamboo Palm: According to NASA, it removes formaldehyde and is also said to act as a natural humidifier.

2. Snake Plant: Found by NASA to absorb nitrogen oxides and formaldehyde.

3. Areca Palm: One of the best air purifying plants for general air cleanliness.

4. Spider Plant: Great indoor plant for removing carbon monoxide and other toxins or impurities. Spider plants are one of three plants NASA deems best at removing formaldehyde from the air.

5. Peace Lily: Peace lilies could be called the “clean-all.” They’re often placed in bathrooms or laundry rooms because they’re known for removing mould spores. Also know to remove formaldehyde and trichloroethylene.

6. Gerbera Daisy: Not only do these gorgeous flowers remove benzene from the air, they’re known to improve sleep by absorbing carbon dioxide and giving off more oxygen over night.

TAMIL HISTORICAL COIN