Phenytoin in the treatment of bipolar mood disorder- new study!!!

Phenytoin is a well known antiepileptic agent widely used throughout the world. Recent clinical studies in patients with bipolar disorder have suggested that, as for other anticonvulsant drugs commonly used in the treatment of bipolar patients including valproate and carbamazepine, phenytoin may have mood-stabilizing effects in addition to its well-known anticonvulsant properties.

In a study published in the March 2010 issue of Experimental Biology and Medicine, Veronica Mariotti and colleagues utilized DNA microarrays to investigate the molecular underpinnings of the potential mood-stabilizing action of phenytoin by looking at its effect on gene expression in the rat brain.

As compared with untreated animals, rats treated for a month with phenytoin had 508 differentially expressed genes in the hippocampus and 62 in the frontal cortex, including genes involved in GABAergic and glutamatergic neurotransmission, neuroprotection and other genes thought to be crucial for mood regulation. Furthermore, some of these same genes have been shown to be modulated by classical mood-stabilizer agents, like lithium and valproate.

Thus, the findings of this study indicate that chronic phenytoin administration modulates the expression of genes involved in mood regulation and genes that are targets of established mood stabilizers. Dr Mariotti noted that "The results of this study provide preliminary insights into possible molecular mechanisms of action of phenytoin as a potential mood stabilizer and, more in general, the pathophysiology of bipolar disorders."

World Rabies Day - September 28 th

According to WHO ( World Health Organization ):-

World Rabies Day highlights the impact of human and animal rabies and promotes how to prevent and stop the disease by combating it in animals. Sponsors - the Alliance for Rabies Control and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - report that 55 000 people die every year from rabies, an average of one death every 10 minutes.

• About 95% of human deaths occur in Asia and Africa.
• Most human deaths follow a bite from an infected dog. Between 30% to 60% of the victims of dog bites are children under the age of 15.
• Wound cleansing and immunizations, done as soon as possible after suspect contact with an animal and following WHO recommendations, can prevent the onset of rabies in virtually 100% of exposures.
• Once the signs and symptoms of rabies start to appear, there is no treatment and the disease is almost always fatal.
• Globally, the most cost-effective strategy for preventing rabies in people is by eliminating rabies in dogs through animal vaccinations.

There are safe and effective vaccines available for people who have been bitten by an animal that might have the disease, but usage in developing countries is low due to the high cost.

Play More Video Games , Get your Brain handle more Hand-Eye tasks !!!!!

New research from Canada suggests that extensive video-game experience prepares the brain for complex hand-eye coordination tasks beyond those tackled in game-playing; so next time you find yourself concerned that perhaps your teenager is wasting time playing video games, consider this: is the experience readying them for a future career as a laparoscopic surgeon?

FLU (including H1N1) Vaccination decreases Heart attack risk by 19% - Universit of Lincoln,UK Study

People who have the seasonal flu vaccine (flu shot) have a 19% lower risk of having a first heart attack, say researchers from the University of Lincoln, England, in a study that appears in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). It appears that the earlier the vaccine is taken in the autumn the better the benefits are, the authors wrote.


It has been suggested there may be an association between respiratory infections and heart attacks - both increase in incidence significantly in the winter months when flu and pneumonia are prevalent.

Drink 2 glasses of Fat free milk for a free weight loss of 10 pounds, in 6 months

Now there's a new reason to grab a glass of milk when you're on diet, suggests a new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. In a 2-year weight loss study, milk drinkers had an advantage over those who skipped the milk. Israeli researchers found that adults who drank the most milk (nearly 2 glasses per day) and had the highest vitamin D levels at 6 months, lost more weight after 2 years than those who had little or no milk or milk products -- nearly 12 pounds weight loss, on average.




Researchers also found that each additional 6-ounce serving of milk or milk products (about 3/4 of a glass of milk) was associated with 10 pounds successful weight loss above the average, at 6 months.

Children with H1N1 more chance for FITS

A recent study by researchers at the University of Utah determined that the 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1) caused a higher rate of neurological complications in children than the seasonal flu. The most common complications observed were seizures (fits) and encephalopathy. Full details of the study, the most extensive evaluation of neurological complications following H1N1 flu in children, are published in the September issue of Annals of Neurology, a journal of the American Neurological Association.

joke

When a physician remarked on a new patient's extraordinarily ruddy complexion, he said, "High blood pressure, Doc. It comes from my family."



"Your mother's side or your father's?" I asked.
"Neither," he replied. "It's from my wife's family."


"Oh, come now," I said. "How could your wife's family give you high blood pressure?"

He sighed. "You oughta meet 'em sometime, Doc!"

CELL PHONE ELBOW

These days talking on a cell phone is pretty common. Take a look around and you will most likely find at least five people with their cell phone practically glued to their ear. But can constantly talking on your cell phone have its disadvantages? Researchers are now saying that some people may be suffering from cell phone elbow.

Cell phone elbow, also called cubital tunnel syndrome, can be diagnosed by numbness, tingling and pain in the forearm and hand. This is most likely caused by compression on the ulnar nerve, which means that talking on a cell phone repeatedly puts pressure on this nerve.

Tension on the ulnar nerve occurs when a person bends their elbows for too long, such as when holding a cell phone up to their ear.

“Repetitive, sustained stretching of the nerve is like stepping on a garden hose,” said Dr. Peter J. Evans, director of the Cleveland Clinic's Hand and Upper Extremity Center. “With the hose, you're blocking the flow of water. With the elbow, you're blocking the blood flow to the nerve, which causes it to misfire and short circuit.”

The first symptoms people notice are a tingling or aching in the forearm or hand, which is a pain often described as similar to hitting the “funny bone”. As symptoms get worse, they can progress to loss of muscle strength and coordination, which can make writing a difficult task. If left untreated, the ring finger and pinky can become clawed.

Small changes can be made to help fix some of the symptoms, such as using a Bluetooth earpiece or a hands-free headset while talking on the phone.

The doctors best advice to avoid this type of injury? Switch hands before the symptoms get worse.

This study was included in the May issue of the Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine.

Rosalind franklin !!!

Rosalind Franklin always liked facts. She was logical and precise, and impatient with things that were otherwise. She decided to become a scientist when she was 15. She passed the examination for admission to Cambridge University in 1938, and it sparked a family crisis. Although her family was well-to-do and had a tradition of public service and philanthropy, her father disapproved of university education for women. He refused to pay. An aunt stepped in and said Franklin should go to school, and she would pay for it. Franklin's mother also took her side until her father finally gave in.

War broke out in Europe in 1939 and Franklin stayed at Cambridge. She graduated in 1941 and started work on her doctorate. Her work focused on a wartime problem: the nature of coal and charcoal and how to use them most efficiently. She published five papers on the subject before she was 26 years old. Her work is still quoted today, and helped launch the field of high-strength carbon fibers. At 26, Franklin had her PhD and the war was just over. She began working in x-ray diffraction -- using x-rays to create images of crystalized solids. She pioneered the use of this method in analyzing complex, unorganized matter such as large biological molecules, and not just single crystals.

She spent three years in France, enjoying the work atmosphere, the freedoms of peacetime, the French food and culture. But in 1950, she realized that if she wanted to make a scientific career in England, she had to go back. She was invited to King's College in London to join a team of scientists studying living cells. The leader of the team assigned her to work on DNA with a graduate student. Franklin's assumption was that it was her own project. The laboratory's second-in-command, Maurice Wilkins, was on vacation at the time, and when he returned, their relationship was muddled. He assumed she was to assist his work; she assumed she'd be the only one working on DNA. They had powerful personality differences as well: Franklin direct, quick, decisive, and Wilkins shy, speculative, and passive. This would play a role in the coming years as the race unfolded to find the structure of DNA.

Franklin made marked advances in x-ray diffraction techniques with DNA. She adjusted her equipment to produce an extremely fine beam of x-rays. She extracted finer DNA fibers than ever before and arranged them in parallel bundles. And she studied the fibers' reactions to humid conditions. All of these allowed her to discover crucial keys to DNA's structure. Wilkins shared her data, without her knowledge, with James Watson and Francis Crick, at Cambridge University, and they pulled ahead in the race, ultimately publishing the proposed structure of DNA in March, 1953.

September 10 th - World Suicide Prevention day - SOME FACTS ABOUT SUICIDE

September 10^th is World Suicide Prevention Day, aimed at promoting a global commitment and action to prevent suicides. According to WHO (World Health Organization), nearly 3,000 people commit suicide each day worldwide - out of every 20 people who attempt to end their lives, one dies.

Several organizations have got together to promote the provision of adequate treatment and follow-up care for people who tried to commit suicide, including the International Association for Suicide Prevention and WHO. All parties also call for responsible reporting of suicides in the media.

Suicide is a major preventable cause of premature death. WHO urges governments and health authorities to develop policy frameworks for nationwide suicide prevention strategies.

According to the WHO:

• Nearly one million people commit suicide each year.
• Suicide global mortality rate stands at 16 per 100,000 per year
• One person commits suicide somewhere on earth every 40 seconds

A NEW RAPID DETECTION TEST FOR TUBERCULOSIS , which detects tuberculosis and drug resistant tuberculosis IN LESS THAN 2 HOURS !!

Rapid Molecular Detection of Tuberculosis and Rifampin Resistance


Catharina C. Boehme, M.D., Pamela Nabeta, M.D., Doris Hillemann, Ph.D., Mark P. Nicol, Ph.D., Shubhada Shenai, Ph.D., Fiorella Krapp, M.D., Jenny Allen, B.Tech., Rasim Tahirli, M.D., Robert Blakemore, B.S., Roxana Rustomjee, M.D., Ph.D., Ana Milovic, M.S., Martin Jones, Ph.D., Sean M. O'Brien, Ph.D., David H. Persing, M.D., Ph.D., Sabine Ruesch-Gerdes, M.D., Eduardo Gotuzzo, M.D., Camilla Rodrigues, M.D., David Alland, M.D., and Mark D. Perkins, M.D.

September 1, 2010 (10.1056/NEJMoa0907847)

Background

Global control of tuberculosis is hampered by slow, insensitive diagnostic methods, particularly for the detection of drug-resistant forms and in patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection. Early detection is essential to reduce the death rate and interrupt transmission, but the complexity and infrastructure needs of sensitive methods limit their accessibility and effect.


Methods
We assessed the performance of Xpert MTB/RIF, an automated molecular test for Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) and resistance to rifampin (RIF), with fully integrated sample processing in 1730 patients with suspected drug-sensitive or multidrug-resistant pulmonary tuberculosis. Eligible patients in Peru, Azerbaijan, South Africa, and India provided three sputum specimens each. Two specimens were processed with N-acetyl-L-cysteine and sodium hydroxide before microscopy, solid and liquid culture, and the MTB/RIF test, and one specimen was used for direct testing with microscopy and the MTB/RIF test.

Images - Subclavian Steal syndrome (NEJM )

Click on the link below to view the image
Subclavian Steal syndrome
fromNew England Journal of Medicine
 
 
Subclavian steal syndrome (SSS), also called subclavian steal phenomenon or subclavian steal steno-occlusive disease, is a constellation of signs and symptoms that arise from retrograde (reversed) flow of blood in the vertebral artery or the internal thoracic artery, due to a proximal stenosis (narrowing) and/or occlusion of the subclavian artery.

A study by Pennsylvania State University researchers -- Short Sleep and Insomnia Increases the risk of death in MEN four fold !!!

Short Sleep And Chronic Insomnia Linked To Four-Fold Risk Of Early Death In Men


Featured Article
Main Category: Sleep / Sleep Disorders / Insomnia
Also Included In: Men's health; Psychology / Psychiatry; Men's health
Article Date: 02 Sep 2010 - 9:00 PDT

US researchers found that short sleep and insomnia was linked to a four times higher risk of early death in men; they urged public health policy makers to emphasize earlier diagnosis and treament of chronic insomnia.


You can read how researchers from the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, in Hershey, Pennsylvania, came to these findings in a paper they wrote that was published on 1 September in the journal SLEEP.

The study is thought to be the first to show that chronic insomnia, coupled with short sleep as measured objectively in a lab (as opposed to self-reported in questionnaires), is linked to higher mortality in men.

Previous studies using objective measures of sleep duration have shown a link between this particular subset of insomnia and poorer health, but have not investigated association with mortality, said the authors in their background information.

Basic Instinct actor fighting against Throat Cancer !

Michael Kirk Douglas (born September 25, 1944) is an American actor and producer, primarily in movies and television. He has won three Golden Globes and two Academy Awards, first as producer of 1975's Best Picture, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and as Best Actor in 1987 for his role in Wall Street. Douglas received the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2009.


Michael Douglas told a US television audience on recently that he has been diagnosed with and is receiving treatment for stage four throat cancer.