Tag: Health

The largest analysis yet has found Ebola virus particles present in semen as long as 565 days after recovery from an infection, highlighting the potential role of sex in sparking another outbreak, researchers reported on Tuesday.

The study, published in the Lancet Global Affairs, involved 429 men seen between July 2015 and May 2016 who were part of the Liberian government’s Men’s Health Screening Program (MHSP), the first national semen testing program for Ebola virus.

Of the participants, 38 men tested positive during the study period. Within this group, 24 men, or nearly two thirds, had semen samples that tested positive for Ebola fragments a year after recovering from disease. Ebola tended to linger longer in men over age 40, the researchers said.

In one case, Ebola was detected at least 565 days after a man recovered from his illness.

“Before this outbreak, scientists believed that Ebola virus could be found in semen for three months after recovery. With this study, we now know that virus may persist for a year or longer,” said Dr. Moses Soka, coordinator of the Ebola Virus Disease Survivor Clinical Care at the Liberian Ministry of Health, who worked on the study.

As part of Liberia’s monitoring program, male survivors aged 15 and older can enroll for monthly tests of their semen. Participants also get counseling on safe sex and condoms at each visit.

“This program provides important insights into how long Ebola remains in semen, a key component to preventing flare-ups of the disease and protecting survivors and their loved ones,” Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which is collaborating with the ministry. Other partners include the World Health Organization, and the Academic Consortium Combating Ebola in Liberia.

Semen samples in the study were tested for genetic fragments known as the viral RNA, but the tests could not tell if the virus was capable of spreading disease.

Sexual contact with an Ebola survivor in March 2015 resulted in the infection and eventual death of a woman from Monrovia, even after Liberia had been declared free of Ebola. Tests of the man’s semen showed the presence of Ebola virus 199 days after he first became ill.

The World Health Organization advises that all male Ebola survivors should be tested three months after the onset of symptoms and then monthly until they know they have no risk of passing on the virus.

Researchers have been using a rigorous study design to assess the biological impact of meditation as compared to going on a vacation.

Examining the effect of meditation on gene expression patterns in both novice and regular meditators, they found that a resort vacation provides a strong and immediate impact on molecular networks associated with stress and immune pathways, in addition to short- term improvements in well-being, as measured by feelings of vitality and distress.

A meditation retreat for those, who already used meditation regularly, was associated with molecular networks characterized by antiviral activity.

The molecular signature of long-term meditators was distinct from the non-meditating vacationers.

The study involved 94 healthy women, aged 30-60. Sixty-four women were recruited who were not regular meditators.

Participants stayed at the same resort in California for six days, and randomized so that half were simply on vacation while the other half joined a meditation training program for Well Being.

The meditation program included training in mantra meditation, yoga, and self reflection exercises.

For greater insight into the long-term effects of what scientists dubbed the

“meditation effect” compared to the

“vacation effect,” the team also studied a group of 30 experienced meditators who were already enrolled in the retreat that week.

Researchers collected blood samples, and surveys, from all participants immediately before and after their stay, as well as surveys one month and ten months later.

Eric Schadt, the senior author said, “In the spirit of other research efforts we have pioneered with other groups, this work underscores the importance of studies focused on healthy people. By combining an interrogation of gene networks with advanced data analysis and statistics, we have generated clinically meaningful information about stress and aging that is relevant to the broader population.”

The research team examined the changes in 20,000 genes to determine which types of genes were changing before and after the resort experience.

Scientists performed an integrative transcriptomic analysis, comparing gene expression networks across all three groups of participants and finding unique molecular profiles and pathway enrichment patterns.

Study results show that all groups, novice meditators, experienced meditators, and vacationers had significant changes in molecular network patterns after the week at the resort, with a clear signature distinguishing baseline from post-vacation biology.

The most notable changes in gene activity were related to stress response and immune function.

Researchers also assessed self-reported measures of well being.

While all groups showed improvements up to one month later, the novice meditators had fewer symptoms of depression and less stress much longer than the non-meditating vacationers.

The psychological effects appear to be enduring and it is unknown how much of this longer lasting benefit may be due to continued practice or lasting changes in how people view events in their lives.

Professor Elissa S. Epel, the first author of the study explained, “It’s intuitive that taking a vacation reduces biological processes related to stress, but it was still impressive to see the large changes in gene expression from being away from the busy pace of life, in a relaxing environment, in such a short period of time. These findings will have to be replicated to see if the changes are reliably invoked under the same circumstances, in future studies, and compared to an at-home control group.”

“Based on our results, the benefit we experience from meditation isn’t strictly psychological; there is a clear and quantifiable change in how our bodies function. Meditation is one of the ways to engage in restorative activities that may provide relief for our immune systems, easing the day-to-day stress of a body constantly trying to protect itself. The prediction is that this would then lead to healthier aging,” she said.

 

LONDON (TIP): New research in Britain has claimed there is very little difference in the way male and female brains function, overturning the notion of ‘Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus’ as propagated by the 1990’s psychology bestseller.

Professor Gina Rippon, a cognitive neuroscientist at Aston University in Birmingham, has found no real evidence to show that women’s and men’s brains are wired differently.

“The latest evidence shows that we are all part of a spectrum, so dividing us into binary categories gives misleading results. I will be discussing new evidence that our brains and behaviour are mosaics of different characteristics and there is no such thing as a male or female brain,” she told ‘The Sunday Times’ in reference to her findings, which she will be presenting at the British Science Festival in Swansea next month.

‘Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus’ by American writer John Gray had popularized the idea that each gender’s supposedly different behaviour was linked to physical and hormonal differences in their brains.

The book, which is due to be made into a film starring Hollywood star Reese Witherspoon, even argued that housework benefitted women by boosting their hormones.

“Men and women not only communicate differently, they think, feel, perceive, react, respond, love, need, and appreciate differently,” the book claimed.

But Rippon argues such studies are “neurotrash” riddled with flaws and reflecting the bias of researchers.

“Sex differences in the brain have been extensively researched, widely reported and enthusiastically believed but modern brain-scanning techniques show there are few real differences — and the interpretations are borne more from prejudice than science,” she said.

But Rippon believes that any differences found by researchers could equally be caused by the different expectations imposed on men and women. (PTI)

People who are married, or cohabitating, generally tend to drink less both in amount and frequency, a new University of Virginia study indicates.

The findings also show that singles are more inclined to drink more often, and in larger quantities.

“Intimate relationships cause a decline in alcohol consumption” is the gist of the finding, according to lead study author Diana Dinescu.

Her study compared the reported drinking patterns of twins in and out of relationships.

Previous studies have shown that married adults drink less than single or divorced people, and Dinescu and her colleagues examined the behaviors of 2,425 same-sex twin pairs to see if these findings held up among people who share genetic and familial backgrounds. Previous studies used more random sample pools that might include unidentifiable variables that could skew results.

“It is impossible to tell from co-relational research whether marital status has a protective effect, or whether people who naturally drink less simply are more likely to get married,” Dinescu said.

“By using twins, our study allows us to eliminate entire classes of alternative explanations, such as genetic predispositions and upbringing influences, and brings us a step closer to understanding the true impact of relationships on drinking behaviour,” he added.

The researchers culled their data from the Washington State Twin Registry, a database of twins who participate in health and behavior research. Their sample included 1,618 female pairs and 807 male pairs.

Registered participants stated on forms whether they were married, divorced, widowed, separated, never married or living with a partner. They also included information about their level of alcohol consumption -how much they drank when drinking, and how frequently they drank.

Dinescu’s team compared married twins with their single, divorced and cohabitating co-twins on drinking frequency and quantity. The married co-twins, they found, consumed less alcohol than their single or divorced co-twins and also drank less frequently. Cohabitating twins, like their married cohorts, consumed less alcohol than single or divorced twins.

Interestingly, the researchers found that cohabitating participants generally drank more frequently than married men and women participants, but less than their single, widowed and divorced counterparts. Cohabitating men, however, drink fewer alcoholic beverages per occasion than married men, while – quantity-wise -cohabitating women drink about the same in one sitting as their married counterparts.

The study concluded that once a relationship is over, people may be more inclined to drink more heavily in a session, but not necessarily more frequently.

“It is useful to look at drinking frequency and quantity separately, as we believe they are fundamentally different behaviors in both intention and venue,” Dinescu said. “Our data revealed an interesting pattern where, once you’re in a committed relationship, your drinking frequency declines permanently, whereas quantity goes back up if you exit that relationship.”

“It seems that intimate relationships may provide a real benefit in terms of drinking behavior, maybe through mechanisms such as a monitoring effect that partners have on each other,” she added.

Hypertension on the high? Here are top 10 tips to get it down and keep it down.

Seven in 10 adults are at a greater risk of stroke or heart attack because their blood pressure is too high. Desk jobs, lack of exercise and eating salty fast foods have contributed to the problem, even among the young.

If your level is consistently at or above 140mmHg/ 90mmHg (referred to as 140 over 90). The 140 figure is the systolic pressure —the pressure reached when the heart forces the blood around the body — and 90 is the diastolic pressure — the lowest pressure that occurs between heartbeats when the heart relaxes.

In India, experts say, the prevalence of hypertension ranges from 20-40 per cent in urban adults and 12-17 per cent among rural adults.

But there’s no reason to worry. Simple measures will help to cut your risk.

Go for a weekly jog

Jogging for just an hour a week can increase your life expectancy by six years, according to a Copenhagen City Heart cardiovascular study of around 20,000 men and women aged from 20 to 93.

Researchers believe jogging delivers multiple health benefits, improving oxygen uptake and lowering blood pressure, as well as many more benefits. However, any physical activity can help lower blood pressure by strengthening the heart so it can pump more blood with less effort, thereby decreasing the force on the arteries. Power walking can be just as effective as jogging.

Enjoy yoghurt

Just one small pot a day can reduce your chances of developing high blood pressure by a third, according to a study presented at the University of Minnesota in the US. Scientists think naturally occurring calcium can make blood vessels more supple, enabling them to expand slightly and keep pressure low.

They found those who ate a 120g pot daily were 31 per cent less likely to develop high blood pressure over a 15-year period than those who did not.

Go bananas

Eating potassium-rich foods, such as bananas, and reducing salt intake could save thousands of lives every year, according to a new study published in the British Medical Journal online. Potassium is an important mineral that controls the balance of fluids in the body and helps to lower blood pressure.

Cellulite affects more than 85 per cent of women, representing all shapes and sizes. It is made up of free-floating fat cells that are deposited just beneath the skin. It has a distinct appearance, like the dimpled surface of an orange peel or cottage cheese. It is most common in the thighs, but it can also be present on the legs, buttocks or stomach.

Having cellulite doesn’t mean you are overweight. Even thin people can have it. If you are overweight, however, losing weight may reduce cellulite. Cellulite is more common among women than men. If other women in your family have cellulite, there’s a good chance you will too. Other factors that influence how much cellulite you have and how visible it is includes poor diet, fad dieting, slow metabolism, hormone changes, dehydration, total body fat and lack of physical activity.

Most women would highly value anything that works against the challenge of cellulite, and the good news is that we have the remedy for this dimpling of skin in our nature itself. Here is the list of natural herbs that will help to get rid of those stubborn Cellulite. So when you are buying an anti-cellulite cream, look for these ingredients in them.

Coleus forskohlii

Coleus forskohlii herb extract is derived from the roots of Coleus Forskohlii. This “power” herb has an active ingredient in it called forskolin which acts as a skin conditioning agent. It dislodges localized fat deposits under the skin and improve the skin elasticity and firmness.

Caffeine

Caffeine is obtained from coffee beans and it is clinically evaluated for anti-cellulite activity. It reduces fat and improves the skin texture. It also protects skin from damage caused by radiation, especially wrinkle formation.

Boswellia

Boswellia extract enriched with boswellic acid is clinically evaluated for skin firming benefit. It improves skin elasticity and provide anti-inflammatory benefits to the skin.

Horse Chestnut

Extract from Horse chestnut is clinically evaluated to strengthen blood vessels. Research has shown that it improves blood circulation and has anti-swelling and anti-inflammatory properties, which can help reduce fluid “spillover” in areas affected by cellulite, and thus reduce its visibility.

Amarantus

Amaranthus extract is a rich source of squalene and vitamins. It helps the skin to maintain moisture content and make skin supple and firm.

A wearable device developed by Arizona-based research firm Brain State Technologies could help improve sleep and thereby lower the risk of developing post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), suggests new research.

Recent studies show that sleep disturbance is not only a negative outcome from PTSD, it may also contribute to its onset.

Collaborating with researchers from Wake Forest School of Medicine in North Carolina, the Brain State team produced an analysis showing that sleep improvement may be a strategic approach to reducing the number of new-onset cases of PTSD in service members who will be deployed to combat zones.

Neither counseling nor medication treatments tend to be highly effective for helping people overcome PTSD-related sleep problems.

So the company developed a wearable technology intended for exactly this purpose, partially supported by an award from the US Army Research Office.

The technology improves sleep by helping the brain relax and rebalance itself.

“We think that focus on sleep quality could reduce PTSD not only in the military, but also in police, medical first-responders, and others who have high exposure to trauma,” Brain State Technologies’ Founder and CEO, Lee Gerdes said in a company statement.

By combining estimates of the risk for PTSD conferred by insomnia, with estimates for how much insomnia might be reduced through use of a wearable device for sleep quality enhancement, the Brain State-Wake Forest team produced quantitative estimates for reductions in new cases of PTSD, for a scenario where a large group of service members is sent into a combat zone.

The analysis was presented at the ongoing Military Health System Research Symposium (MHSRS), being held in Kissimmee, Florida.