Reproductive hormones control a woman’s monthly cycle and regulate fertility, the hormones are also related to how attractive women smell. Researchers at the University of Bern demonstrate that fittest women for reproduction smell better to men than others. Previous studies have shown that how attractive a woman smells changes across the menstrual cycle: a woman smells most attractive to the male nose during the most fertile days, during the time when she can actually reproduce.

A team of researchers led by Daria Knoch from the Social Psychology and Social Neuroscience Department at the University of Bern working together with colleagues from the University of Constance, the Thurgauer Institute of Economics and University Hospital, Inselspital Bern have now been able to show that this is actually the case: The scent of certain women is universally more appealing to men than others.

Women are perceived to be more or in fact less attractive by men depending on their hormone levels. Women with high oestrogen and low progesterone levels are most attractive to men in an olfactory sense, lots of oestrogen and not much progesterone, indicate high female fertility. According to evolution theory, men look for women with whom they can successfully reproduce.

The researchers also investigated other factors that might influence body odour : the stress hormone cortisol and certain genes that have an impact on the immune system. Several studies postulate that the choice of a partner is based on the man and women having a different immune system so that children are given the best possible defence against pathogens from birth.

The researchers conducted their study with 28 women and 57 men. The women who donated their body odour, followed “a strict protocol to minimise any factors that could distort the odour. The women were not allowed to use hormonal contraception, refrained from sexual relations during the time of odour collection washed themselves and their bed clothes using neutral detergents and did not drink any alcohol or eat any spicy foods on these days.

During the time of peak fertility, they stuck cotton pads in their armpits overnight to “capture” their unique body odour. Their hormone levels were determined using saliva samples. Later, the men sniffed the cotton pads in the laboratory and awarded each smell 0 to 100 points with the known result.

Reproductive hormones are indicators of a woman’s fertility, the higher their levels, the more attractive the woman is to men. High oestrogen levels make a woman’s face and body attractive to men. And their scent too, with women who are not using hormonal contraception in any case. The study did not investigate how the pill affects this.
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A pilot study by a team of researchers from the Desert Research Institute (DRI) and the University of Nevada, Reno shows that significant amounts of cancer-causing chemicals such as formaldehyde are absorbed by the respiratory tract during a typical vaping session.

Dangerous levels of aldehydes are formed during the chemical breakdown of flavored liquids in e-cigarettes and emitted in e-cigarette vapors. In this study, researchers estimated e-cigarette users’ exposure to these hazardous chemicals by analyzing the breath of twelve users before and after vaping sessions.

They determined how much the concentration of aldehydes in the breath increased. Researchers then subtracted the concentration of chemicals in exhaled breath from the amount found in the vapors that come directly from the e-cigarette.

They discovered that the average concentration of aldehydes in the breath after vaping sessions was about ten and a half times higher than before vaping and found the concentration of chemicals like formaldehyde in the breath after vaping was hundreds of times lower than what is found in the direct e-cigarette vapors, which suggests that a significant amount is being retained in the user’s respiratory tract.

The research team ensured that the test conditions of the study mirrored real-life vaping sessions as much as possible. Most participants used their own e-cigarette devices during the study, used e-liquid flavors that were familiar to them, and inhaled for the amount of time that they ordinarily would, which allowed the research team to understand how e-cigarettes are typically used by regular users.

Because they tested “normal” during vaping experiences, researchers confirmed that the high concentrations of aldehydes found in other studies aren’t limited to laboratory conditions.
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About one percent of people infected with HIV produce antibodies that block most strains of the virus, the antibodies provide the key to developing an effective vaccine against HIV. Researchers from the University of Zurich and the University Hospital Zurich have shown that the genome of the HIV is a decisive factor in determining which antibodies are formed.

A small number of people who are infected with HIV-1 produce very special antibodies. These antibodies do not just fight one virus strain, but neutralize almost all known virus strains. Research into developing HIV vaccine focuses on discovering the factors responsible for the production of such antibodies.

Virus load, genome of the virus and the diversity of the viruses, the duration of the infection, and the ethnicity of the affected person can influence the body’s immune response. In total the researchers found 303 potential transmission pairs- pairs of patients for whom the similarity of the viruses’ genomic RNA indicated that they were probably infected with the same virus strain.

Antibodies acting against HIV bind to proteins found on the surface of the virus. These envelope proteins differ according to virus strain and subtype. The researchers examined a patient pair with very similar virus genomes and at the same time very strong activity of broadly neutralizing antibodies and discovered that there must be a special envelope protein that causes an efficient defense.
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According to new research at Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS), it is widely believed that smiling indicates happiness. A new study led by body language expert Dr Harry Witchel, Discipline Leader in Physiology at BSMS, shows that the way people often behave during one-to-one Human-Computer-Interaction (HCI) is as if they were socially engaged.

The research involved asking participants aged 18-35 to play a geography quiz game consisting of difficult questions so that they often got the answer wrong. Participants interacted with a computer alone in a room while their faces were video recorded. After the quiz, the participants were asked to rate their subjective experience using a range of 12 emotions including ‘bored’, ‘interested’ and ‘frustrated’.

Meanwhile, their spontaneous facial expressions were then computer analysed frame by frame in order to judge how much they were smiling based on a scale of between 0 to 1. A genuine smile reflects the inner state of cheerfulness or amusement. However, Behavioural Ecology Theory suggests that all smiles are tools used in social interactions; that theory claims that cheerfulness is neither necessary nor sufficient for smiling.

The study showed that in these Human-Computer Interaction experiments, smiling is not driven by happiness; it is associated with subjective engagement, which acts like a social fuel for smiling, even when socialising with a computer on your own. Statistically, the emotion that was most associated with smiling was ‘engagement’ rather than ‘happiness’ or ‘frustration’. However, participants did smile right after the computer game informed them if their answer was correct or wrong, and surprisingly, participants smiled more often when they got the answer wrong.
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Female sexual dysfunction FSD is a condition that ranges from a lack of libido to an inability to achieve orgasm, it affects 40 to 45 percent of women. Two University of Michigan researchers were intrigued after learning that neuromodulation treatments for bladder dysfunction occasionally led to improvements in sexual function.

In this treatment, a patient receives nerve stimulation therapy once a week to improve neural signaling and function in the muscles that control the bladder, the nerves controlling the pelvic organs start out in the same location in the spinal cord and branch out.

The nerves that travel down to the foot overlap near the spinal cord with some of the nerves to the pelvic organs, leading to a possible overlap in synaptic routes. In the rat studies researchers stimulated nerves in the genital and ankle region. After 15 to 30 minutes, the rodents experienced a strong increase in vaginal blood flow.

Researchers recruited nine women with FSD (and without bladder problems) for a pilot study. Each woman received 12 half-hour sessions of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation in which participants had electrodes placed either in the genital region or on the ankle.

A 53-year-old woman who got involved with the study after reporting difficulty achieving orgasm to her gynecologist, described the experience as “a bizarre, pressure vibration sensation.” Eight of out the nine women reported some improvement in arousal, lubrication and orgasm. The study presents an alternative method for treating female sexual dysfunction that is non-pharmacologic and non-invasive.
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According to researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, and the Danish Cancer Society Research Center, wholegrain like rye, oat or wheat can prevent type 2 diabetes. The participants were divided into 4 different groups, based on how much wholegrain they reported eating. Those with the highest consumption ate at least 50 grams of wholegrain each day.

The proportion who developed type 2 diabetes was lowest in the group which reported the highest wholegrain consumption, and increased for each group which had eaten less wholegrain. In the group with the highest wholegrain intake, the diabetes risk was 34 percent lower for men, and 22 percent lower for women, than in the group with the lowest wholegrain intake. Drinking coffee, and avoiding red meat, are other ways of reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Wholegrains consist of three main components of the grain kernel: endosperm, germ, and bran. Those who avoid all cereals, in an attempt to follow a low carb diet lose out on the positive health effects of wholegrain, which come principally from the bran and the germ.

Carbohydrates are a very varied group of foodstuffs, including sugar, starch, and fibre Carbohydrates rich in sugar and starch may not be healthy, but when it comes to wholegrains, the research results are clear: among the many studies which have been made, in varied groups of people around the world, there hasn’t been a single study which has shown negative health effects.

Wholegrains consist of all three main components of the grain kernel: endosperm, germ and bran. It can be both loose grains, and wholegrain flour. Grains such as oatmeal and rye, wheatberries, bulgur, and wholegrain couscous are all wholegrains. In bread and pasta, the wholegrain content can vary.

Common cereals include wheat, rye, oats, corn, maize, rice, millet and sorghum. Eating different wholegrain regularly and engaging in physical activities can reduce insulin spike and prevents type 2 diabetes.[url]haleplushearty.org[/url]

Several studies have suggested that becoming proficient in at least one language other than mother tongue is good for the brain, especially in terms of boosting recall, attention span and concentration. In the first episode of a new series of Trust Me, I’m a Doctor on BBC2 tomorrow, Dr Michael Mosley oversees a unique piece of research on the effects of just four weeks of learning Spanish on a group of 20 people who didn’t know a single word of the language to start with.

The aim was to confirm whether the learning of a language improved brain function. But the scientists running the experiment also expected to find that younger volunteers would fare better on the grounds that their brains have greater plasticity, which is the ability to form new connections and ‘rewire’ themselves in response to challenges.

Each of the volunteers (half aged 18 to 30 and half over 56) underwent a battery of tests to analyse their memory, mental flexibility and ability to pay attention. For the next month, they took Spanish lessons for two hours a day, three times a week. In between lessons, they were given homework and told to practise as much as possible. When the month was up, they were subjected to the same tests again. Although all the volunteers improved their mental performance, it was the older age group which improved the most.

Without becoming perfect in Spanish, your brains responded very well and improved in attention tests. You can make just some progress and still get these benefits for the brain. But could the same benefits be seen with any of the other brain-boosting pastimes, such as Sudoku? Dr Thomas Bak, a lecturer in human cognitive science at the University of Edinburgh who oversaw the language experiment for the programme, says doing Sudoku is like going to the gym and using only one machine, whereas learning a language would be using 20 machines for different parts of the body.

However, other researchers question whether being bilingual really translates into a long-term reduced risk of dementia. The act of learning something new may be beneficial in the short-term, it’s a person’s underlying educational status that lowers their dementia risk, rather than skill at languages specifically. This is because being better educated across the board means they have accumulated ‘cognitive reserve’, the formation of new connections between brain cells that protects against cognitive decline later in life.

There have been studies that found bilingual people are better at executive brain functions- such as planning ahead, or switching between tasks. Experiments such as the one on Trust Me, I’m A Doctor, measure the short-term impact of ‘brain training’ exercises but not the long-term effect. Previous research suggests being bilingual means you may be less likely to develop dementia so it’s reasonable to assume any improvements will persist.
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A recent study co-authored by the University of Toronto’s Kang Lee suggests that learning to lie can confer cognitive benefits, kids who lie earlier tend to have much better cognitive abilities. A professor at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, and his co-authors in China, Singapore and the United States, based their findings on an experiment in which they asked 42 preschool-aged children in China.

They were split into two groups with an equal number of boys and girls, with an average age of about 40 months. Over four days, they played a game in which they hid a treat, such as popcorn, from an adult in one hand. The grown-up had to choose the hand that the child indicated. If the child successfully deceived the adult, they got to keep the treat. The experimental group of kids was taught how to lie in order to win the game while the control group was not.

On standardized tests used to measure executive function, including self-control and “theory of mind” the capacity to understand another person’s intentions and beliefs-the kids who were taught deception out-performed the control group. Negative human social behaviors may confer cognitive benefits when such behaviors call for goal pursuing, problem solving, mental state tracking, and perspective taking.

Learning to deceive causally enhances cognitive skills in young children. Children have been found to be capable of fibbing before they are seven years old, and some as early as two. Lying is a normal part of growing up, the earlier one learns to deceive, the better. Self-control and theory of mind are fundamental cognitive skills that humans must have to survive.
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New research has shown that a lack of protein in a father’s diet affects sperm quality which can have a direct impact on the long-term health of their children. University of Nottingham fed male mice a poor quality diet which resulted in their offspring becoming over weight, with symptoms of type 2 diabetes and reduced expression of genes which regulate the metabolism of fat.

Sperm and the fluid in seminal plasma from male mice fed a low protein diet could affect the long-term metabolic health of their offspring. Sperm from men who are overweight, smoke, drink excessively or who have type 2 diabetes are often of poorer quality than sperm from healthy, fertile men.

According to Dr. Adam Watkins, Assistant Professor in Reproductive Biology at the University of Nottingham led the study, what a mother eats during pregnancy can affect the development and health of her child. The research using mice shows that at the time of conception, the diet and well-being of the father influences the long-term growth and metabolic health of his offspring.

The study, carried out on mice, found that males fed a low protein diet produced sperm with fewer chemical tags on their DNA that regulate gene expression than mice fed a normal diet. Researchers also observed that the seminal plasma suppressed maternal uterine inflammatory and immunological responses, essential for a healthy pregnancy.

The health of a father’s offspring is affected both by the quality of a father’s genetic information passed on within the sperm at conception, and by the seminal plasma-primed maternal uterine environment in which the embryo will develop.

Sperm contribute more than just half of the genes that make up a child. During natural conception sperm deposited in the female reproductive tract are bathed in seminal plasma which can in itself influence pregnancy outcomes. The shows that the composition of seminal plasma can be altered by father’s diet, and that this can also influence offspring wellbeing.
[url]haleplushearty.org[/url]

A new study suggests chemotherapy may cause acute amenorrhea leading to early menopause in women with lung cancer. According to Mayo Clinic, the rate of lung cancer has risen to 94% percent in women and now has surpassed breast cancer as the leading cause of cancer death in women. Although lung cancer is more common in older adults, women are diagnosed at a younger age compared with men.

Extensive research of women receiving treatment for breast cancer has found that between 40% and 80% have premature menopause. Unique to the premenopausal survivor population is the concern that systemic chemotherapy may cause acute amenorrhea and menopause, leading not only to hot flashes, vaginal dryness, and bone loss but also the possibility of loss of fertility.

Premenopausal women with lung cancer may want children and should consult their healthcare providers about options for embryo and oocyte cryopreservation. The study included 182 premenopausal women (average age at diagnosis, 43 years). The Mayo Clinic Epidemiology and Genetics of Lung Cancer Research Program surveyed women between 1999 and 2016 at diagnosis and annually thereafter about their menstrual status. Types of lung cancer treatments were recorded, and frequencies of self-reported menopause at each survey were calculated.

For the 85 women who received chemotherapy, 64% self-reported that they were menopausal within a year of diagnosis. Only 15% of the 94 patients who did not receive systemic therapy within a year of diagnosis experienced self-reported menopause. Three patients received targeted therapy alone, two of whom remained premenopausal at the final survey completed a median of 3 years after diagnosis. The results suggest that chemotherapy for patients with lung cancer increases the risk of early menopause.
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Cedars-Sinai research have developed a simpler and more accurate method of estimating body fat than the used of body mass index BMI. This is a simple and inexpensive method to assess body fat percentage without using sophisticated equipment.

While the BMI is commonly accepted, many medical experts in the field of obesity consider it to be inaccurate because it cannot distinguish among bone mass, muscle mass and excess fat. BMI also does not account for the influence of gender-women generally have more body fat than men.

The new formula developed at Cedars-Sinai is called the relative fat mass index RFM, and it uses only height and waist circumference measurements. The results confirmed the value of the new formula in a large number of subjects: Relative fat mass is a better measure of body fatness.

Researchers examined more than 300 possible formulas for estimating body fat using a large database of 12,000 adults who participated in a health and nutrition survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They calculated the relative fat mass for 3,500 patients and compared the results to the patients’ outcomes from a specialized, high-tech body scan called DXA, widely considered one of the most accurate methods of measuring body tissue, bone, muscle and fat.

The patients’ RFM results corresponded most closely with the precision of the DXA body scan. The relative fat mass formula has now been validated in a large data base. It is a new index for measuring body fatness that can be easily accessible to treat overweight patients who often face serious health consequences like diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease.

To determine relative fat mass (RFM), measure height waist circumference. To measure waist, place the tape measure right at the top of the hip bone and reach it around the body for the most reliable result. Next, put those numbers into the relative fat mass equation-making a ratio out of the height and waist measurements. The formula is adjusted for gender:

Relative Fat Mass Formula

MEN: 64 – (20 x height/waist circumference) = RFM

WOMEN: 76 – (20 x height/waist circumference) = RFM
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Linear growth delay, in which normal growth in children is stunted, affects millions of children under the age of 5 years around the world yearly. Caused in part by malnutrition, it primarily affects children living in difficult economic conditions that expose them to sewage and waste. The consequences of stunted growth carry on into adulthood, including decreased income potential and health complications.

Stunting is associated with changes in the microbial community of the small intestine, a compartment vital for digestion and nutrient absorption. Nutrition, inflammation in the gastrointestinal system and an imbalance of the bacteria comprising the microbiota are the major cause.

In a new, multi-institutional study led by Pascale Vonaesch of the Pasteur Institute, researchers have collected evidence from a large cohort of children living in sub-Saharan Africa; Bangui, Central African Republic, and Antananarivo, Madagascar, suggesting that stunted growth could be caused by a massive overrepresentation in the intestine of bacteria that normally reside in the oropharyngeal cavity.

Although the Central African Republic and Madagascar are among the countries with the highest prevalence of linear growth delay, representing half of all affected children under the age of five, they have never before been included in an analysis of pediatric environmental enteropathy, the syndrome proposed as an underlying condition of stunted growth.

The study reports that the actual composition of small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) in stunted children-the similarity of microbiota in the intestines of these children with that of the stomach and duodenum. A traceable microbiological signature of stunting in feces characterized by the overrepresentation of oropharyngeal species, which could be used for diagnosis.

These findings were conserved between the countries included in the study, indicating the probability that this common feature could be an underlying cause of stunted growth. The authors propose that stunting is strongly associated with decompartmentalization of the gastrointestinal tract characterized by overabundance of oropharyngeal bacteria that extends from the stomach to the colon.

This challenges the current view of stunting, in which recurrent infections by enteric pathogens inflame and overstimulate the small intestine. It also highlights the complicated relationship between the intestinal microbiome, metabolism, human development, and the surrounding environment.

The study confirms the suspected overrepresentation of enteropathogenic bacteria in the duodenum of stunted children, but extends the current picture by demonstrating a previously unknown microbial decompartmentalization of the oropharyngeal to gastrointestinal tract.
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According to new research from Binghamton University, State University at New York, women need nutrient-rich diet to support a positive emotional well-being. Evidence suggests that anatomical and functional differences in men’s and women’s brain dictate susceptibility to mental disease.

A team of researchers led by Lina Begdache, assistant professor of health and wellness studies at Binghamton University, conducted an anonymous survey of 563 participants (48 percent men and 52 percent women) through social media to investigate this issue. They discovered that men are more likely to experience mental well-being until nutritional deficiencies arise. Women, however, are less likely to experience mental well-being until a balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle are followed.

These results may explain reports from previous studies that show that women are at a greater risk for mental distress when compared to men, and emphasize the role of a nutrient-dense diet in mental wellbeing. Women need a larger spectrum of nutrients to support mood, compared to men because women are twice more likely to be diagnosed with anxiety and depression.

Some diet are high in energy but poor in key nutrients that support brain anatomy and functionality. Evidence suggests that high-energy-nutrient-dense diet, contributed significantly to brain volumes and cognitive evolution of mankind. Males and females have different physical and emotional responsibilities that may have necessitated different energy requirements and food preference.

Gender-based differential food and energy intake may explain the differential brain volumes and connectivity between females and males. Therefore, a potential mismatch is happening between contemporary diet and the evolved human brain which is disturbing the normal functionality of certain systems in the brain.
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Shortly after birth, baby’s immune system change dramatically in response to the pathogens in its new environment, a phenomenon that is common to all babies. Examining changes in the neonatal immune system has been difficult, since the analyses are made from samples taken from the umbilical cord directly after delivery.

Researchers have now exploited a new technique of immune cell analysis to monitor how babies develop for the first few weeks of life outside the womb. Researcher at the Science for Life Laboratory (SciLifeLab) and the Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Karolinska Institutet saw drastic changes in the babies’ immune systems between each sampling, which shows that it is highly dynamic early in life.

The study compared blood samples from 100 babies, both premature and full-term, taken during the first, fourth and 12th week. The comparison was achieved using an advanced technique of immune cell analysis-mass cytometry in combination with extensive plasma protein analyses.

Just a few drops of blood from each baby are needed to analyse all the white blood cells and hundreds of proteins circulating in the blood. The researchers were also able to show that the babies with abnormal gut flora development during the first weeks also demonstrated a disorder of the immune system.

The adaptation of the immune system is thought to be triggered by the microbes, bacteria, fungi and so forth that the baby encounters outside the womb. The process begins primarily in the lungs, gut, skin and mucosa, the body’s points of contact with the outside world.
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Regular exposure to the sun’s Ultraviolet UV rays can cause DNA mutations that lead to skin cancer, new research reveals that inflammation from chronic skin injury can trigger cancer-causing mutations. The researchers was led by scientists at UC San Francisco and Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, in collaboration with Santa Cruz-based Nantomics LLC.

Understanding this previously invisible driver of tumor formation could lead to a new class of therapies for a variety of cancers. Previous studies of patients with head and neck cancers have suggested a link between tissue inflammation and cancer, but the specific mechanism behind this link is elusive.

Researchers studied the cells of children with a rare skin disorder- recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB). Patients with RDEB, sometimes called “butterfly children” because their skin’s extreme fragility calls to mind a butterfly’s wings, lack the connective protein collagen, which makes their skin prone to blistering and scarring at the slightest touch. In addition to severe pain and potential disfigurement, patients also frequently develop aggressive squamous cell cancer in injured areas.

The researchers sequenced the entire protein-coding part of the genome in these samples, which enabled them to detect subtle patterns of DNA mutation across the genome in inflamed and cancerous tissue that were clearly distinct from the types of mutational signatures caused by UV radiation. The researchers showed that this pattern of mutation is caused by a protein- APOBEC, which normally plays a role in adding diversity to cellular proteins and is also thought to defend against viruses.

In RDEB patients, APOBEC appears to become overly active as a consequence of chronic tissue inflammation, causing it to introduce mutations across the genome, some of which eventually lead to cancer. Using a computational approach, the researchers ruled out problems with DNA repair, which is a common driver of increased levels of mutation in many cancers.

Patterns of mutation density throughout the genome of RDEB tissue samples indicated that normal DNA repair mechanisms were functioning properly, confirming that the cancer-causing mutations in RDEB patients were as a result of inflammation and dysfunctional APOBEC alone.
[url]haleplushearty.org[/url]

Stroke is the fourth leading cause of death among women aged 65 and older. Some studies have reported that breastfeeding may reduce the rates of breast cancer, ovarian cancer and risk of developing Type 2 diabetes in mothers. Breastfeeding is good for babies, it may also reduce the risk of stroke in post-menopausal women who reported breastfeeding at least a child.

According to Lisette T. Jacobson, Ph.D., M.P.A., M.A., lead author of the study and assistant professor in the department of preventive medicine and public health at the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita, recent findings show the benefits of breastfeeding on heart disease and other specific cardiovascular risk factors.

Researchers analyzed data on 80,191 participants in the Women’s Health Initiative observational study, a large ongoing national study that has tracked the medical events and health habits of postmenopausal women who were recruited between 1993 and 1998. All women in this analysis had delivered one or more children and 58 percent reported ever having breastfed. Among these women, 51 percent breastfed for one-six months 22 percent for seven-12 months and 27 percent for 13 or more months. At the time of recruitment, the average age was 63.7 years and the follow-up period was 12.6 years.

After adjusting for non-modifiable stroke risk factors (such as age and family history), researchers found stroke risk among women who breastfed their babies was on average: 23 percent lower in all women, 48 percent lower in black women, 32 percent lower in Hispanic women, 21 percent lower in white women, and 19 percent lower in women who had breastfed for up to six months. A longer reported length of breastfeeding was associated with a greater reduction in risk.

Breastfeeding is one of many factors that could potentially protect against stroke. Others include regular exercise, eating healthy foods, healthy lifestyle, keeping blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar in the normal range.
[url]haleplushearty.org[/url]

A team of researchers with Liverpool John Moores University in the U.K. has found evidence of reduced blood flow to the brain in people who sit for long periods of time. Sitting for very long periods of time without getting up now and then is unhealthy. It may contributes to weight gain, increases the risk of diabetes, causes back pain and leg problems Evidence has been reported that it can reduce blood flow to the brain.

Suspecting that sitting for a long time could cause circulation problems to the brain, the researchers enlisted the assistance of 15 adult volunteers-each of them had a day job that required long hours of sitting. They participated in three exercises over a period of time, each came to the lab on three separate occasions and sat for four hours. On each visit, they were fitted with a headband that measured blood flow to the brain using ultrasound. Each subject also wore a face mask that captured and measured carbon dioxide levels.

During the first exercise, the volunteers were asked to sit at a desk for four straight hours, leaving their chairs only to use the restroom. For the second exercise, each rose from their chair every 30 minutes and walked on a treadmill for two minutes. In the third exercise, each subject remained in their chair for two hours and then walked on the treadmill for eight minutes, then returned to the chair.

The researchers found evidence of reduced blood flow in all of the volunteers during the exercises. However, they also found that normal blood flow was restored by walking breaks. Decreased cerebrovascular blood flow and function are associated with lower cognitive functioning and increased risk of neurodegenerative diseases. Prolonged sitting impairs peripheral blood flow and function.
[url]haleplushearty.org[/url]

E-cigarette was Introduced to the market in 2004, the handheld electronic devices heat a liquid, usually containing nicotine, into an aerosol that the user inhales. Different flavors of liquids are available such as fruit, chocolate and candy. More carcinogens arise from the combustion of tobacco in regular cigarettes than from the vapor of e-cigarettes. Vaping is the use of e-cigarette, vaping may modify the genetic material- DNA in the oral cells of vapers which could increase cancer risk.

To characterize chemical exposures during vaping, the researchers recruited five e-cigarette users. They collected saliva samples before and after 15-minute vaping session and analyzed the samples for chemicals that are known to damage DNA. To evaluate possible long-term effects of vaping, the team assessed DNA damage in the cells of the volunteers’ mouths. The researchers used mass-spectrometry-based methods they had developed previously for a different study in which they evaluated oral DNA damage caused by alcohol consumption.

They identified three DNA-damaging compounds: formaldehyde, acrolein and methylglyoxal, whose levels increased in the saliva after vaping. Compared with people who don’t vape, four of the five e-cigarette users showed increased DNA damage related to acrolein exposure. DNA adduct occurs when toxic chemicals, such as acrolein, react with DNA. If the cell does not repair the damage so that normal DNA replication can take place, cancer could result.
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Series of glands and ducts at the front of the vagina- the Skene glands are sometimes referred to as the female prostate. Researchers have discovered that the Skene glands share some of the same properties as the male prostate, which is located between the bladder and the penis. For example, both the prostate and the Skene glands contain prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and PSA phosphatase (PSAP), which are enzymes that can indicate the health of the prostate in males.
PSA is an indicator of prostate cancer in males and may appear as a symptom of certain types of breast cancer in females. Checking PSA levels during cancer treatment in females may be useful in monitoring the treatment for some types of breast cancer. Female prostate cancer accounted for approximately 0.003 percent of all cases of cancer reported in the female urinary tract or genital area.

Symptoms of prostate cancer in women are: pressure behind the pubic bone, pain during urination, pain during sexual intercourse, irregular menstrual cycle, difficulty urinating and frequent urination. However, these symptoms may indicate other noncancerous conditions related to the female prostate. Other conditions are: cysts, adenofibroma, polycystic ovary syndrome PCOS. The Skene glands are often referred to as the female prostate because they produce the same hormones as the male prostate.
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Skin cancer is the most common cancer, having multiple incidences of a common type of skin cancer increases the risk of developing a range of other cancers. Exposing skin regularly to ultra violet light damages DNA and can eventually lead to cancer. Many internal cancers do not produce symptoms until they are at an advanced stage.

Basal cell carcinoma may predict the risk of developing other types of cancer.
Researchers from Stanford University School of Medicine in California recently investigated how the number of basal cell carcinoma occurrences might impact an individual’s future cancer risk. Researchers followed different people who had been treated for unusually frequent basal cell carcinomas to see whether these people had any mutations in the proteins responsible for DNA damage.

They discovered that about 20 percent of the people with frequent basal cell carcinomas have a mutation in one of the genes responsible for repairing DNA damage against 3 percent of the general population. Those who develop six or more basal cell carcinomas during a 10-year period are about three times more likely than the general population to develop other, unrelated cancers.
The additional cancers included melanoma and cancer of the blood, breast, prostate, and colon. Researchers procured a larger sample: a database of insurance claims. The sample included over 13,000 people who had experienced six or more basal cell carcinomas.

The analysis mirrored their earlier findings; the individuals were more than three times as likely to develop other cancers. With the increased number of data points, the scientists identified an upward trend: the more basal cell carcinomas that someone had, the more their risk of other cancers increased.
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A research team from Massachusetts Eye and Ear and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has shown that immune cells in the eye that developed in response to early exposure to bacteria are a key contributor to progressive vision loss from glaucoma. High pressure in the eye leads to vision loss by setting into motion an autoimmune response that attacks the neurons in the eye similar to immune responses triggered by bacterial infections.

Current glaucoma therapies are designed to lower eye pressure; however, patients with glaucoma are treated and their eye pressure returns to normal, they can still have vision loss. Stress from high eye pressure can initiate an immune response that triggers T cells to attack neurons in the eye. Glaucoma is a group of eye conditions that often culminate in irreparable damage to the optic nerve, which transmits visual information from the eye to the brain.

Elevated eye pressure is the most important risk factor for glaucoma. When pressure in the eye rises, it induces the expression of heat shock protein, a family of proteins that develop in response to stressful conditions. This leads to a response from immune cells-memory T cells that are programmed to respond to heat shock proteins.

The memory T cells attack the neurons of the retina, leading to degeneration of the optic nerve and often permanent loss of vision. T cell responses are essential in the development of progressive vision loss following elevated eye pressure. The research team observed an immune response to heat shock proteins both in mice and in human patients with glaucoma.

The team detected T cells in the retina of a mouse model of glaucoma, which motivated experiments to determine if the T cells played a role in neuron loss. The team studied three groups of mice with glaucoma-some without T cells, some without B cells, and some without T or B cells.

Overwhelmingly, they observed a loss of neurons in the mice only if the mice contained functional T cells. More strikingly, development of glaucoma-inducing T cells required early exposure to bacteria; mice never exposed to bacteria (being raised in a “germ-free” facility) were free from glaucoma under elevated eye pressure.

The researchers also studied blood samples from patients with primary open angle glaucoma (POAG), the most common type of glaucoma. In humans, they observed T cells responses similar to the mice that were well over 5-fold higher in patients with POAG compared to samples from patients without POAG.
[url]haleplushearty.org[/url]

Life-expectancy for individuals with younger-onset disease is on average of 16 years shorter compared to people without diabetes, and 10 years shorter for those diagnosed at an older age. Being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at a young age is associated with more cardiovascular complications and higher risk of premature death than being diagnosed later in life, independent of disease duration.

Large observational study in Sweden that followed over 27,000 individuals with type 1 diabetes and more than 135,000 matched controls for an average of 10 years. With around half of individuals with type 1 diabetes diagnosed before the age of 14, the authors stress the need to consider wider and earlier use of cardioprotective measures such as statins and blood pressure lowering drugs in this high-risk population.

The age at disease is an important determinant of survival as well as cardiovascular outcomes in early adulthood, warranting consideration of earlier treatment with cardioprotective drugs. The new estimates suggest that individuals diagnosed before the age of 10 have a 30-times greater risk of serious cardiovascular outcomes like heart attack (0.31 cases per 100,000 person years for participants with diabetes vs 0.02 cases in every 100,000 person-years for controls) and heart attach (0.5 vs 0.03) than those in the general population, whilst risk levels are around six times higher for people diagnosed between ages 26 and 30 (0.87 vs 0.25 and 1.80 vs 0.46 respectively).

People with younger-onset type 1 diabetes are four times as likely to die from any cause (0.61 vs 0.17), and have more than seven times the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease (0.09 vs 0.02) than their diabetes-free counterparts. In contrast, people first diagnosed between ages 26 and 30 face a lower (three-fold) risk of dying from any cause (1.9 vs 0.6) and cardiovascular disease (0.56 vs 0.15) compared to their peers without diabetes.

The absolute risk levels are higher in those who develop diabetes when older due to age being a strong risk factor, the excess risk compared to healthy controls is much higher in those who developed diabetes when younger. If this higher excess risk persists over time in such individuals, they would be expected to have highest absolute risks at any given subsequent age. Indeed, those who develop type 1 diabetes when under 10 years of age experience the greatest losses in life expectancy, compared to healthy controls.

Type 1 diabetes mellitus is the second most common chronic disease in children, accounting for 85% of diabetes in the under 20s. But it’s not unusual to develop the disease as an adult. People with type 1 diabetes are at increased risk of health problems and have shorter life expectancies, due to premature cardiovascular disease.

To provide more evidence, the researchers calculated the excess risk of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, acute heart attack, stroke, cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease heart failure, and atrial fibrillation in 27,195 individuals from the Swedish National Diabetes Register compared to 135,178 controls matched for age, sex, and county from the general population (average age 29 years).

Those with diabetes, who registered between Jan 1988 and December 2012, were divided into groups by age at diagnosis—0-10 years, 11-15 years, 16-20 years, 21-25 years, and 26-30 years—and followed up for an average of 10 years. The researchers adjusted for a range of factors that may have influenced the results including age, sex, marital status, income, educational level, region of birth, diabetes duration, and previous history of cardiovascular complications.

Cardiovascular risks and survival were strongly related to age at disease onset, with people diagnosed before the age of 10 having five-times greater risk of heart attack and coronary heart disease than those diagnosed at age 26-30 years. The younger group also had much higher risk of heart failure and stroke than peers without diabetes and those diagnosed at an older age.

Excess risks were particularly pronounced in women, with those diagnosed before age 10 facing a 60-fold higher risk of heart disease (0.48 cases per 100,000 person years for participants with diabetes vs 0.02 cases in every 100,000 person-years for controls) and 90-times increased risk of heart attack than matched controls (0.25 vs 0.01). In comparison, men with young-onset diabetes have a 17 times greater risk of developing heart disease and 15 times higher risk of having a heart attack in early adulthood compared to those in the general population (0.53 vs 0.05 and 0.36 vs 0.03).

These estimates for early-onset disease are substantially higher than recent estimates by the American Heart Association and American Diabetes Association, which do not consider age of onset as a risk stratifier, and report that women with type 1 diabetes are at seven times increased risk and men at three times the risk of developing heart disease.

Life expectancy was also markedly shorter for women with type 1 diabetes. Women who develop the condition before 10 years of age die on average around 18 years earlier than their diabetes-free counterparts (average life expectancy 70.9 years vs 88.6 years), whilst men with early onset type 1 diabetes die around 14 years earlier (69.1 years vs 83.3 years). Individuals diagnosed at 26-30 years old lose, on average, about 10 years of life.

The authors speculate that loss of beta cells which contribute to glycaemic load, and is more severe and rapid among those with younger age onset, could be a contributing factor to the increased risk of cardiovascular-related death. Whilst they adjust for duration, longer exposure to higher glucose levels in individuals who develop diabetes when children might also contribute to greater heart disease risks. However, the authors acknowledge that their findings show observational associations rather than cause and effect.
[url]haleplushearty.org[/url]

A new study at Texas Biomedical Research Institute is shedding light on the role of specific proteins that trigger a mechanism allowing Ebola virus to enter cells to replicate. BSL4 is a high-containment facility that houses research on diseases for which there are no approved vaccines or cures.

The new outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo is believed to have claimed more than 30 victims. The cellular pathway under study is called autophagy, a ord that literally means “self-eating.” This ancient mechanism is switched on by cells to destroy invading foreign material or consume its own organelles and protein complexes in order to recycle nutrients and survive. Autophagy generally takes place inside the cell.

Conducting in vitro work using live Ebola virus, researcher discovered that the mechanism was clearly active near the surface of the cells and plays an essential role in facilitating virus uptake. Ebola virus invades cells though macropinocytosis, a poorly understood process in which the cell surface remodels to form membrane extensions around virions (virus particles), eventually closing to bring them into the interior of the cell. Ebola virus used autophagy regulators right at the surface of the cell.

The interplay between these two cellular processes could have implications for treatment of health conditions other than viruses. Regulation of the autophagy proteins with a drug could combat complex diseases where macropinocytosis is dysregulated such as in cancer and certain neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease.
[url]haleplushearty.org[/url]

According to Matthew Walker, one of the world’s leading experts on sleep, routinely sleeping less than six or seven hours a night weakens immune system and increases the risk of cancer. Insufficient sleep is a key lifestyle factor determining whether or not one will develop Alzheimer’s disease. Moderate reductions in sleep for one week disrupts blood sugar levels.

Short sleeping increases the likelihood of coronary arteries becoming blocked and brittle, causing cardiovascular disease, stroke and congestive heart failure. Sleep disruption contributes to all major psychiatric conditions like depression and anxiety.

Sleep enriches a diversity of functions within the brain, including ability to learn, memorise and make logical decisions. It also recalibrates emotional brain circuits, allowing the social and psychological challenges of the next day with cool-headed composure.

Dreaming provides a unique set of benefits like soothing painful memories, inspiring creativity, fighting malignancy, preventing infection and warding off all manner of illnesses. Sleep reforms the body’s metabolic state by fine-tuning the balance of insulin and circulating glucose. It regulates appetite, controls body weight by encouraging healthy food selection rather than impulsive choices.

It doesn’t take much sleep deprivation to impact cardiovascular system, one night of sleep reduction can promptly speed the contracting rate of heart causing a significant increase in systolic blood pressure, which puts greater strain on the heart and blood vessels.

Researchers at the University of Chicago studied almost 500 healthy midlife adults, none of whom had any existing heart disease or signs of atherosclerosis. They tracked the health of the coronary arteries of these participants for a number of years, all the while assessing their sleep.

A recent study by Dr David Gozal, from the University of Chicago, showed that sleep-deprived mice suffered a 200 per cent increase in the speed and size of cancer growth, relative to those mice who were well-rested.

Worse, when Dr Gozal performed postmortem examinations on the mice, he discovered that the tumours were far more aggressive in those who were sleep-deficient. Their cancer had metastasised, spreading to surrounding organs, tissue and bone.
[url]haleplushearty.org[/url]

According to several studies, transgender individuals may be at higher risk for myocardial infarction and death due to cardiovascular disease. This increased risk may be due to the hormone therapy that transgender patients take for masculinization or feminization.

A review authored by Michael S. Irwig, MD, associate professor of medicine at the George Washington University (GW) School of Medicine and Health Sciences and director of the Andrology Center at the GW Medical Faculty Associates, examined several studies that followed transgender individuals on hormone therapy.

The review focuses on cardiovascular events (myocardial infarction, stroke and venous thromboembolism) and surrogate markers- including blood pressure and lipid concentrations in transgender patients on hormone therapy who may or may not have undergone gender affirmation procedures.

The studies that the review covers show that transgender women appear to have increased risk for cardiovascular events due to hormone therapy whereas the data is unclear for transgender men. It is well known that estrogen therapy for trans women increases their risk of blood clots.

Rates for myocardial infarction were consistently higher in transgender women on estrogen therapy than in transgender men on testosterone, the relationship between endogenous sex hormones and heart disease is complex. In transgender women, estrogen may have a protective effect.
[url]haleplushearty.org[/url]

Stress has negative effects on mental states, it alters behavior and damages gut and brain. Eating high fiber foods like lentils, cereal and fruit may reduce the effects of stress on gut and reduce stress. New research from the University College Cork in Ireland suggests that a high-fiber diet could offer an easy and effective way to treat stress and its effects on the gut.

Foods like grains, legumes and vegetables, contain high levels of fiber and stimulate the production of a sort of cellular super food in the form of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in the gut. Prolonged stress can weaken the wall of the gut. Undigested food particles, bacteria and germs will pass through the leaky gut wall into the blood and cause persistent inflammation.

Treating the condition with the SCFAs can reverse gut ‘leakiness, researchers fed SCFAs to mice, then put simulated stressful situations for the animals and watched them for anxious or depressive-like behavior, cognition, social behavior and how smoothly their digestive systems were functioning. Anxiety and depression symptoms subsided in the rodents who were fed the SCFA diet, and their guts stopped leaking.

Stress can make the gut leaky, and treating the leaky gut with high-fiber foods can in turn help to reduce stress, though it’s not yet clear why. Developing dietary treatments which target these bacteria may be important for treating stress-related disorders. The study involved feeding mice the main SCFAs normally produced by the gut bacteria and then subjecting them to stress.
[url]haleplushearty.org[/url]

According to an analysis of NHS data carried out by a team at Cambridge University’s Autism Research Centre, women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are more likely to have an autistic child. PCOS affects about one in ten women and is caused by elevated levels of the hormone testosterone. It is associated with fluid-filled sacs-follicles in the ovaries, and with symptoms such as delayed onset of puberty, irregular menstrual cycles, and excess bodily hair.

Autism is a condition characterized by difficulties in social interaction and communication alongside unusually narrow interests, a strong preference for predictability, and difficulties adjusting to unexpected change. Some autistic people also have learning difficulties and delayed language, and many have sensory hyper-sensitivity.

The research team previously published work in 2015 which showed that before they are born, Autistic children have elevated levels of ‘sex steroid’ hormones-including testosterone which ‘masculinise’ the baby’s body and brain before birth. Prenatal sex steroid hormones are involved in the development of autism is why autism is diagnosed more in boys than girls.

Elevated sex steroid hormones may come from the mother if she had higher levels of testosterone than usual, the hormone might cross the placenta during pregnancy, exposing unborn baby to the hormone and changes the fetus brain development. Researchers used data from a large database of GP health records, the study looked at 8,588 women with PCOS and their first-born children, compared to a group of 41,127 women without PCOS.

The team found that, even after taking into account other factors like maternal mental health problems or complications during pregnancy, women with PCOS had a 2.3% chance of having an autistic child, compared with the 1.7% chance for mothers without PCOS. Researchers also conducted two other studies using the same data and found that autistic women were more likely to have PCOS, and women with PCOS were more likely to have autism.

The hormonal effects are not independent of genetic factors, mother or fetus may have higher levels of the hormone for genetic reasons, and testosterone can affect how genes function. Autism can have a significant impact on wellbeing, many autistic children have significant health, social care and educational special needs.
[url]haleplushearty.org[/url]

RCCG 66th Annual Convention 2018 » Programme Schedule (6th – 12th August) #DOMINION

MONDAY, 6TH AUGUST 2018 (OLD ARENA)

8.00-9.30AM Ordination of Deacons & Deaconesses
8.00PM 1. House Fellowship Leaders & Workers meet
Council Meet

TUESDAY, 7TH AUGUST 2018 (OLD ARENA)

8.00-9.30AM Ordination of Asst. Pastors
3.00-4.30PM Children of God meet
5.00 -6.30PM Group Seminars 1-6
8.00PM Welcome Service (Plenary Session 1)

WEDNESDAY, 8TH AUGUST 2018 (OLD ARENA)

8.00-9.30AM: Bible College Graduation

10.00AM – 11.30AM: Mummy GO holds meeting with missionaries based abroad
3.00-4.30PM: Special Seminars 1-13
5.00 -6.30PM: Melody Hour
8.00PM Plenary Session 2


THURSDAY, 9TH AUGUST 2018 (NEW ARENA)

8.00-9.30AM: Plenary Session 3
10.00AM -11.30AM: Plenary Session 4
3.00-4.30PM: Special seminars 1-13
5.00 -6.30PM: Service of Songs
8.00PM: Deliverance Service (Plenary Session 5)


FRIDAY, 10TH AUGUST 2018 (NEW ARENA)

8.00-9.30AM: Plenary Session 6
10.00AM -11.30AM: Bible study
5.00 -6.30PM: Youth Hour
8.00PM: Holy Ghost Service (Plenary Session 7 &


SATURDAY, 11TH AUGUST 2018 (NEW ARENA)

8.00-9.30AM: Questions & Answers
10.00AM -11:30AM: 1. Baptism services
Elders Meeting
Good Women Forum
3.00-4.30PM: Special seminars 1-13
5.00 -6.30PM: Children’s Hour
8.00PM: Holy Communion Service (Plenary Session 9)

SUNDAY, 12TH AUGUST 2017 (NEW ARENA)
8.30-10.00AM Ordination of Pastors & Farewell service

PLENARY SESSIONS

1. The New Creature
2. The Spirit of Excellence
3. More than conquerors
4. Binding and loosing
5. Name above all names
6. The journey to the top
7. Head and not tail
8. Dominion
9. The meal of kings
10. Seated in the heavenly places

GROUP SEMINARS
1. Unmarried youth and young adults: Unstoppable Generation
2. Married youth: Home like heaven on earth
3. Elders: Thy Kingdom Come
4. Teenagers: Perfect Submission
SPECIAL EVENTS
1. House Fellowship leaders: The power of two or three
Ordinations of deacons and deaconesses: Give me this mountain
3. Ordination of Assistant pastors: Possessing your possessions
4. Graduation: World-overcomers

SPECIAL SEMINARS
Living in Divine health
Peace, perfect peace
Journey to financial dominion
Jehovah El-Shadai
Mountain movers
Wisdom – The principal thing
On Eagles’ wings
Greater Works
In the days of His Power
The Lord of hosts
Maximising anointing
Open Heavens
Spiritual dominion (ministers only)

Normal scar tissue forms to heal an internal wound and quietly retreats after healing. But in many common diseases like kidney, liver and lung fibrosis the scar tissue goes rogue and strangles vital organs. These diseases are largely untreatable and ultimately fatal.

Fibrosis is a progressive scarring and hardening of internal organs, it may cause 40 percent of deaths across the globe. Fibrotic diseases include diabetic kidney fibrosis, alcoholic liver cirrhosis, hepatitis C, pulmonary fibrosis and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, which may lead to fibrosis of the liver-the leading cause of liver transplant.

In one subset of human fibrosis cells, scientists discovered a delinquent molecules that continually shouted at an immune receptor, the antennae on the cell to produce scar tissue instead of quieting down and allowing the scar tissue to go back to sleep. Scientists collaborated with a University of Colorado researcher who used crystallography and computer modeling to predict a molecule that could block the receptor that leads to the uncontrolled scarring.

When they tested the molecule, T53, in three different mouse models of fibrosis, the abnormality was significantly reversed. The leading cause of liver failure is liver fibrosis. Most fibrotic disease likely begins as normal repair of an injury, but if the immune system produces too much of an initial scar, it can’t go back to normal, an unhealed scar that keeps growing can wipe out the entire organ.

Not all fibrosis is caused by the same abnormality, if the compound-T53, is eventually developed into an approved drug, it would be targeted to patients with the specific genetic signature identified in the study. There is an emerging direction for treating fibrosis with precision medicine. Some people live with fibrotic disease for 30 years while others die in two years.
[url]haleplushearty.org[/url]

According to research Led by Calen Ryan and Christopher Kuzawa of Northwestern and Dan Eisenberg at the University of Washington, multiple pregnancies might make women’s cells age more quickly- women with many children tend to show signs of accelerated aging.

They discovered this by looking at two separate markers of cellular aging-telomere length and epigenetic age in hundreds of young women with different reproductive histories in the Philippines. Telomere length and epigenetic age are cellular markers that independently predict mortality, and both appeared ‘older’ in women who had more pregnancies in their reproductive histories.

Cellular aging was accelerated between 1 and 2 years for each additional pregnancy but women who were currently pregnant had cells that looked younger not older than predicted. A woman’s biological age was higher with each child that she had, if a woman was pregnant when the measurements were taken, her epigenetic age and telomeres, looked younger than predicted for her chronological age.

Pregnancy makes women look temporarily young, but there appears to be some lasting, cumulative relationship between the number of pregnancies and more accelerated biological age. Women who have many children tend to have slightly shorter lives and prone to different diseases than those who don’t. Having four or five children can increase the risk of certain diseases and shorten lifespan because cellular changes during pregnancy is related to adaptive changes in the mother’s immune system.
[url]haleplushearty.org[/url]

Fitness trackers can be useful for assessing the quality of life and daily functioning of cancer patients during treatment, the trackers are wearable activity monitors, worn on the wrist that log a wearer’s step counts, stairs climbed, calories, heart rate and sleep. This makes it easy to treat patients with advanced cancer. The physical state of cancer patient is accessible during therapy.

Patient’s health statuses change from day to day, the wearable make it easy to monitor the changes. The study focused on patients undergoing treatment for advanced cancer at Cedars-Sinai. They wore wrist-mounted fitness trackers throughout the study. Sets of activity data were collected for three consecutive visits during treatment. After the final clinical visit, patients were followed for six months to gather additional clinical and survival outcomes.

Researchers compared data from the trackers with patients’ assessments of their own symptoms like pain, fatigue and sleep quality, as collected from a National Institutes of Health questionnaire. These data sets also were compared with two common scales used to gauge physical status and overall health: the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status (ECOG) and Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) scales.

The results showed that objective data collected from wearable activity monitors can supplement and enhance the latest health status and physical function. In the study, increased daily step and stair activity correlated with more positive ratings of a patient’s condition on the provider surveys and lower rates of adverse events and hospitalization.

The information can indicate the effects of a particular treatment on a patient’s daily functioning, continuous activity monitoring may predict and monitor treatment complications and allow for more timely and appropriate interventions.

Wearable activity monitors could lead to development of individualized treatment and exercise plans that may result in increased treatment tolerability and improved survival outcomes for patients. Digital wearable and broadband telecommunication can allow remote monitoring of cancer patients and anticipate the need for intervention before symptoms occur.
[url]haleplushearty.org[/url]

Scientists at Texas Biomedical Research Institute have discovered new defense against HIV-1, the virus that causes AIDS. They used an animal model to show that an antibody- Immunoglobulin M (IgM) was effective in preventing infection after mucosal AIDS virus exposure.

Rhesus monkeys at the Southwest National Primate Research Center on the Texas Biomed served as models for the in vivo study. They treated the animals with a human-made version of IgM, which is naturally produced by plasma cells located under the epithelium (the surface lining of body cavities). After one hour, the same animals were exposed to simian-human immunodeficiency virus SHIV. Four out of the six animals treated this were protected against the virus. The animals were monitored for 82 days.

They discovered that applying the IgM antibodies causes immune exclusion. IgM prevents the virus from crossing the mucosal barrier and spreading to the rest of the body. The technique of introducing pre-formed antibodies into the body to create immunity is passive immunization. The protective potential of mucosal anti-HIV-1 IgM. IgM has a five-times higher ability to bind to virus particles compared to the standard antibody form called IgG.
[url]haleplushearty.org[/url]