Back from the dead: Australian woman revived after 42 minutes

Vanessa Tanasio, declared clinically dead but revived after 42 minutes by a cardiologist Dr Wally Ahmar, who unblock the arteries to her heart

Australian doctors have saved the life of a woman who was clinically dead for 42 minutes.

The patient Vanessa Tanasio aged 41 was rushed to hospital after a major heart attack, but was declared clinically dead soon after arrival.

With the aid of a hi-tech machine that kept blood flowing to her brain, doctors at Melbourne’s MonashHeart managed to unblock vital arteries and return her heart to a normal rhythm.

The hospital today described her survival as “astonishing”.

Doctors say Vanessa Tanasio, a mother of two from the suburb of Narre Warren, needed numerous defibrillator shocks, including one in the ambulance on her way to hospital.

She said she was eager to get home. “I’m feeling excellent. For someone who has been dead for nearly an hour of this week I am feeling tremendously well” Through hospitals telephone

Emergency medics used a device called LUCAS 2 to keep her blood flowing while cardiologist Dr Wally Ahmar worked to unblock the arteries to her heart.

Tanasio, a sales representative for an earthmoving equipment company, said she had no history of heart problems.

“This has taken me completely by surprise. I am relieved to still be here for my children. The doctors and the nurses have been awesome. The machine is awesome.”


Lowa Woman takes Tapeworm to lose weight:

A dieter in Iowa ordered a tapeworm off the Internet in a desperate bid to lose weight and then told her doctor about her extreme weight loss measure.

Lot of people is more worried about their weight and obese. They take lot of measures to loss weight or whatever the tips they heard. The physicians warn them to take advised tips and not what they heard or by own

Some children and youngsters tried some tips on their own without their parent’s knowledge.
A dieter in Iowa ordered a tapeworm off the Internet in a desperate bid to lose weight and then told her doctor about her extreme weight loss measure.

Her physician was stumped by the news and with little clue what to do next he called the Iowa Department of Public Health for help.
Iowa’s Public Health Department medical director Dr. Patricia Quinlisk told the (doctor) to prescribe an anti-worm medication and then issued a warning to health workers about the dangerous practice.

say ‘no’ to tapeworm diet

She said: “Ingesting tapeworms is extremely risky and can cause a wide range of undesirable side effects, including rare deaths,” she wrote.
“Those desiring to lose weight are advised to stick with proven weight loss methods; consuming fewer calories and increasing physical activity.”

 


Measles Alert: Texas Health Officials urge people to be immunized

State health officials asked health care providers to take potential steps on patients with measles symptoms, especially in North Texas.

Texas health officials have issued a measles alert and urge people to be immunized after a dozen cases were reported this year.

The Texas Department of State Health Services said 11 cases were confirmed with Measles alert. In the last week 6 were suffered in Tarrant County, but county Public Health officials updated that number a total of nine cases.

Dallas and Denton reported two measles cases, Harris County has one. Agency officials say Texas had six reported cases of measles in 2011.

State health officials asked health care providers to take potential steps on patients with measles symptoms, especially in North Texas.

Measles is a airborne disease and easily spreads through coughing and sneezing.

Child suffered with Measles

Tarrant County Public Health experts traced some of the area’s measles cases to an adult who had traveled outside the U.S., the agency said. Further details about the person and where he or she traveled were not immediately released.

“Measles is so contagious that if one person has it, 90 percent of the people close to that person who are not immune or vaccinated will also become infected with the measles virus,” according to state health officials.

People should check their immunization status with their health care provider, the agency said.


Insulin inhaler could replace diabetic injections

An Insulin Inhaler delivers powdered insulin with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes

An inhaled insulin device made by MannKind Corp proved more effective than injected and oral treatments in trials, potentially improving the quality of life for millions of diabetics and creating a multi-billion dollar opportunity for the company.

The product, Afrezza, is a whistle-sized inhaler that delivers powdered insulin to adults with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. This ease the use of insulin compared to regular shots, it has the potential to capture a big share of the global insulin market.

The number of diabetic patients is increasing worldwide and is projected to cross half a billion by 2030. According to a July report by Transparency Market Research, the global insulin market is expected to reach $32 billion in 2018.

MLV & Co analyst Graig Suvannavejh expects Afrezza to get regulatory approval; to market the company successfully.

He estimates U.S. and European sales of about $3 billion for Afrezza by 2025.

The inhaled insulin market has seen high-profile commercial failure in the past. Pfizer Inc withdrew Exubera in 2007 due to poor sales. The large size of the device and a high price were blamed for its failure.

Suvannavejh said a potential partner for MannKind could come from among such major diabetes players as Denmark’s Novo Nordisk, French drugmaker Sanofi, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Merck & Co Inc, Eli Lilly & Co and Johnson & Johnson.

 


Chemical used in plastics make children obese

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Researchers found that children with higher BPA levels were more likely to have an abnormal waist circumference-to-weight ratio.

 

Children who have higher levels of Bisphenol A, a chemical used in plastics, make children to become obese and have abnormal waist circumference, a new study has suggested.

The University of Michigan researchers studied the levels of BPA in children`s urine and measured body fat, waist circumference, cardiovascular and diabetes risk factors.

Previously BPA was widely used in manufacturing of polycarbonate and epoxy resins used in a variety of products for children, including baby bottles, protective coatings on metal food containers, plastic toys, and dental sealants.

Donna Eng, M.D., author of the study and recent graduate of the Pediatric Endocrinology Fellowship at C.S. Mott Children`s Hospital, said that studies in adults had shown an association between high BPA levels and obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease, but little was known about its effects in children.

The study found that higher odds of obesity, defined as a BMI above the 95th percentile on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention growth curves, was associated with higher levels of urinary BPA.

Researchers also found that children with higher BPA levels also were more likely to have an abnormal waist circumference-to-weight ratio.

The study did not find significant associations of BPA with any other chronic disease factors, including abnormal levels of cholesterol, insulin or glucose levels.

Eng said that their study suggested a possible link between BPA exposure and childhood obesity. We therefore need more longitudinal studies to determine if there is a causal link between BPA and excess body fat.

Joyce Lee, M.D., M.P.H, associate professor of Pediatrics at C.S. Mott Children`s Hospital, said that they were surprised that their study did not find a link between BPA and measures of cardiovascular and diabetes risk, which has been established among adults.

She said that based on the results, BPA may not have adverse effects on cardiovascular and diabetes risk, but it`s certainly possible that the adverse effects of BPA could compound over time, with health effects that only later manifest in adulthood.


Copper plays key role in Alzheimer’s disease

A New study showed that copper accumulate in the brain and cause the blood to break down, resulting in the toxic accumulation of the protein

A new study reported that copper is one of the main cause for the onset and enhancement of Alzheimer`s disease.

The study by University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) Department of Neurosurgery showed that copper can accumulate in the brain and cause the blood to break down, resulting in the toxic accumulation of the protein amyloid beta, a by-product of cellular activity.

the research is conducted in both mice and human brain cells by a series of experiments and pinpointed the molecular mechanisms by which copper accelerates the pathology of Alzheimer`s disease.

The research team – “dosed” normal mice with copper over a three month period. The metal is available in drinking water and was one-tenth of the water quality standards for copper established by the Environmental Protection Agency.

The researchers found that the copper made its way into the blood system and accumulated in the vessels that feed blood to the brain, specifically in the cellular “walls” of the capillaries.

They observed that the copper disrupted the function of LRP1 through a process called oxidation which, in turn, inhibited the removal of amyloid beta from the brain. They observed this phenomenon in both mouse and human brain cells.

In mice, the cells that form the blood brain barrier have broken down and become “leaky” – a likely combination of aging and the cumulative effect of toxic assaults – allowing elements such as copper to pass into the brain tissue.

They observed that the copper stimulated activity in neurons that increased the production of amyloid beta. The copper also interacted with amyloid beta in a manner that caused the proteins to bind together in larger complexes creating logjams of the protein that the brain`s waste disposal system cannot clear.

This one-two punch, inhibiting the clearance and stimulating the production of amyloid beta, provides strong evidence that copper is a key player in Alzheimer`s disease. In addition, copper provoked inflammation of brain tissue which may further promote the breakdown of the blood brain barrier and the accumulation of Alzheimer`s-related toxins.


Smart phones cause rise in Myopia – warns Eye Surgeon

Operating Smartphone’s at a close proximity keeps the genes well beyond and the short-sightedness would be stabilized. This is known as `epigenetics`.

Smartphone’s have changed our lives easier but there is a flip side too. They cause eye problems like vision impairment, says a leading laser eye surgeon.

Surgeon David Allambym has revealed that Smartphone’s have caused cases of myopia (short-sightedness) among young people to surge.

Allamby, founder of Focus Clinics, has reported a 35 percent of people are suffering with advancing myopia, due to the launch of Smartphone’s in 1997, and warns that Myopia in young adults could increase by 50 percent within 10 years.

Half of Britons own Smartphone’s and spend an average of two hours per day using them. Combined with the amount of hours spent in front of a computer screen, laptop, tablet and television, it means that particularly young people and children are at risk of permanently damaging their vision.

New research found that the average Smartphone user holds the handset 30 cm from their face, with some people holding it just 18 cm away, compared to newspapers and books, which are held 40cm away from the eyes.

According to Allamby, watching and operating Smartphone’s at a close proximity keeps the genes well beyond and the short-sightedness would historically have stabilized, around the age of 21. This is known as `epigenetics`. Myopia used to stop in our early 20s but now we see it progressing throughout the 20s, 30s, and even into our 40s.

“If things continue as they are, I predict that 40-50 percent of 30-year-olds could have myopia by 2033 as a result of smart phones and lifestyles in front of screens, an epidemic we call Screen-Sightedness.

Parents and people should limit screen time wherever possible even by going outside without their phone for a period of time each day, and also seriously consider the age at which they give their children a Smartphone,” Allamby said.

It is predicted that by 2014 children aged 12 to 17 years will be the second biggest market for Smartphone’s behind 18-24 year olds.

 


China Will Stop Harvesting Prisoners’ Organs for Transplants

China remains the only country in the world that still systematically uses organs extracted from executed prisoners in transplant operations, a practice that has drawn widespread.

China announced it will begin to phase out the practice from November in light of international criticism, a senior official said on Thursday.

China remains the only country in the world that still systematically uses organs extracted from executed prisoners in transplant operations, a practice that has drawn widespread

Many Chinese view the practice as a way for criminals to redeem themselves. But officials have recently spoken out against the practice of harvesting organs from dead inmates, saying it “tarnishes the image of China”.

The health ministry will begin enforcing the use of organs from voluntary donors allocated through a fledging national program at a meeting set to be held in November, former deputy health minister Huang Jiefu, who still heads the ministry’s organ transplant office, told Reuters.

“I am confident that before long all accredited hospitals will forfeit the use of prisoner organs,” Huang said.

The first batch of all 165 Chinese hospitals licensed for transplants will promise to stop using organs harvested from death row inmates at the November meeting, he added.

ETHICAL STANDARDS:

An Australian-trained liver transplant surgeon, Huang said the China Organ Transplant Committee will ensure that the “source of the organs for transplantation must meet the commonly accepted ethical standards in the world“.

That effectively means the use of prisoner organs at approved hospitals will come to an end, but the timeframe remains indefinite, he added.

China has launched volunteer organ donor programs in 25 provinces and municipalities with the aim of creating a nationwide voluntary scheme by the end of 2013.

By the end of 2012, about 64 percent of transplanted organs in China came from executed prisoners and the number has dipped to under 54 percent so far this year, according to figures provided by Huang.

At a meeting in August last year, Huang, deputy health minister at the time, told officials that top leaders had decided to reduce dependency on prisoners’ organs, according to a transcript of the meeting obtained by Reuters.

Rights groups say many organs are taken from prisoners without their consent or their family’s knowledge, something the government denies.

So far, more than 1,000 organ donors have come through the new system, benefiting at least 3,000 patients, Huang said.

 


Women with weak thyroid more likely to have autistic children

A new study has claimed that pregnant women, who are unable to make enough thyroids, are nearly 4 times more likely to produce an autistic child.

More than 4,000 Dutch mothers and their children, have a growing view of autism spectrum disorders. This can be caused by a lack of maternal thyroid hormone, which helps the foetal brain cells during embryo development.

Gustavo Roman, M.D., a neurologist and neuro epidemiologist who directs the Nantz National Alzheimer Center, said that autism is caused by environmental factors in most cases, not by genetics.

The researchers also found that autistic children had more pronounced symptoms if their mothers were severely deficient for T4, also called thyroxine.

Mild T4 deficiencies in mothers produced an insignificant increase in autistic children’s symptoms. The most common cause of thyroid hormone deficiency is a lack of dietary iodine – because both the thyroid hormones, T3 and T4, contain that element.

The present work was based on the Generation R Study, conducted by Erasmus Medical Centre (Rotterdam, Netherlands) doctors and social scientists, in which thousands of pregnant women were voluntarily enrolled between 2002 and 2006.

Blood was withdrawn from the mothers at or around 13 weeks into their pregnancies to measure levels of T4 and two proteins that could indicate the cause of thyroid deficiency.

Six years later, mothers were asked to describe the behavioral and emotional characteristics of their children using a standardized psychology checklist.

Researchers identified 80 “probable autistic children” from a population of 4,039. 159 mothers were identified as being severely T4 deficient (defined as having 5 percent or less of normal T4, but producing a normal amount of thyroid stimulating hormone), and 136 were identified as mildly T4 deficient.

The researchers found a weak association between mild T4 deficiency and the likelihood of producing an autistic child, but a strong association between severe T4 deficiency and autism (3.89 more likely, as compared with mothers with normal thyroid hormone).

 


Grandparent – Grandchild relationship reduces depression in both

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The relationship between grandparents and grandchildren has significant effects on well being of both.

Sara M. Moorman, an assistant professor the Institute on Aging at Boston College, who present this study at the 108th Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association, said that they found that a close grandparent-adult grandchild relationship was associated with fewer symptoms of depression for both generations.

She said that the greater emotional support grandparents and adult grandchildren received from one another, the better their psychological health.

The study also revealed that giving tangible support to or receiving it from their grandchildren affected the psychological well-being of grandparents but not grandchildren.

Tangible support, also called functional solidarity or instrumental support includes anything from rides to the store and money to assistance with household chores and advice.

Moorman, who co-authored the study with Jeffrey E. Stokes, a PhD candidate in sociology at Boston College, said hat grandparents who experienced the sharpest increases in depressive symptoms over time received tangible support, but did not give it.

She asserted that there is a saying that it’s better to give than to receive.

Moorman said that their results support that folk wisdom – if a grandparent gets help, but can’t give it, he or she feels badly.

She explained that the grandparents expect to be able to help their grandchildren, even when their grandchildren are grown, and it’s frustrating and depressing for them to instead be dependent on their grandchildren.

The sample was comprised of 376 grandparents and 340 grandchildren. The average grandparent was born in 1917 and the average grandchild in 1963, making them 77 years old and 31 years old, respectively, at the midpoint of the study in 1994.