Medicine News

A man presumed to have been in a deep coma for 23 years has spoken of his "second birth" after doctors realised that he had been fully conscious all along but unable to communicate.

Rom Houben, 46, was paralysed in a car accident that left him in what doctors thought was a persistent vegetative state. In fact he remained aware of his surroundings and could hear medical staff gradually give up hope on him.

Researchers using new scanning techniques discovered that his brain was still active and trained him to use his right forefinger to express himself on a specially adapted keyboard.

His case is being highlighted in his native Belgium by doctors who are pioneering new ways of understanding coma victims, hundreds of whom around the world could be conscious but locked in paralysis – and, unlike a true coma patient, able to feel pain.

"All that time I just literally dreamt of a better life. Frustration is too small a word to describe what I felt."

Mr Houben, an engineering student and martial arts expert, had been written off as in an "extinct" state after he was seriously injured in a car crash in 1983.

He "woke up" three years ago thanks to coma specialists at the University of Liege who have spoken about the case for the first time to try to draw attention to the condition and save other misdiagnosed patients.

Mr Houben recalled the terrifying realisation after he came round from his accident when he knew that he had lost complete control of his body – but no one knew that he was fully conscious.

"I screamed, but there was nothing to hear," he told the German magazine Der Speigel.

Want to know is a food you are going to eat high in fat? Just look at the label to see how much fat a food contains. Generally the label will say how many grams (g) of fat there are in 100g of the food. What's high and what's low?

High is more than 20g fat per 100g
Low is 3g fat or less per 100g

If the amount of fat per 100g is in between these figures, then that is a medium level of fat.

Saturated fat - what's high and what's low?

High is more than 5g saturates per 100g
Low is 1.5g saturates or less per 100g

If the amount of saturates per 100g is in between these figures, then that is a medium level of saturated fat.

Remember that the amount you eat of a particular food affects how much fat you will get from it.

Try to choose more foods that are low in fat and cut down on foods that are high in fat.

According to health officials child deaths from the new virus, identified in April as a global epidemic and named swine flu were 'shooting up" in the United States. The CDC doesn't have an exact count of all swine flu deaths and hospitalizations, but existing reports suggest more than 600 have died and more than 9,000 have been hospitalized. Health officials believe millions of Americans have caught the virus. The regular flu kills between 46 and 88 children a year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That suggests deaths from the new H1N1 virus could dramatically outpace children's deaths from seasonal flu, if swine flu continues to spread as it has.

CDC officials say 10 more states, a total of 37, now have widespread swine flu. A week ago, reports suggested that cases might be leveling off and even falling in some areas of the country, but that did not turn out to be an enduring national trend.

"We are seeing more illness, more hospitalizations, and more deaths," the CDC's Dr. Anne Schuchat said at a press conference Friday.

It's not enough to eat and warry less to avoid sickness and to prolong life but health Insurance is also important part of happy long live. According homenews report lack of health insurance kills nearly 45,000 Americans every yearA new report posted online by Harvard Medical School on Thursday shows that a lack of health insurance can be attributed to more deaths every year than kidney disease. The study, titled Health Insurance and Mortality in U.S. Adults, shows that the lack of health insurance coverage could be tied to the death of as many as 44,789 Americans per year in the United States. The report added that those without health insurance - which they identified as approximately 46 million Americans - had a 40 percent higher risk of death than those with private health insurance - a rate that has risen significantly after standing only at 25 percent in 1993.

The increased health risk was attributed to findings that showed those with insurance were "more likely" to follow through on recommended medical screenings and appointments to treat chronic conditions and were "less likely to suffer undiagnosed chronic conditions or to receive substandard medical care" than those without coverage.

In the report's summary it suggested that, despite the "thorny" political debate surrounding the idea, health professionals' push for a universal healthcare plan ensuring coverage could have a very positive impact.

"If you extend coverage, you can save lives,” said Dr. Steffie Woolhandler, a professor of medicine at Harvard and one of the study's authors, according to the New York Times.

"Health insurance can only make you healthier if you have access to care," she added.

After the report's posting online, its findings will be published in the December issue of the American Journal of Public Health, according to the Times.

Already France, Hong Kong, New Zealand and Spain have reported about potential new cases in which people had been infected with swine flu and Canada confirmed several new cases. In the U.S., where 20 such infections have been confirmed, federal health officials declared a public-health emergency and are preparing to distribute to state and local agenciesa quarter of the country's 50 million-dose stockpile of antiviral drugs. Time.com reported. Meanwhile, in hard-hit Mexico, where more than 80 people have died from what is believed to be swine flu, the government closed all public schools and canceled hundreds of public events in Mexico City.



First of all is this a flu pandemic?


The influenza virus is constantly mutating. That's why we can't get full immunity to the flu, the way we can to diseases like chicken pox, because there are multiple strains of the flu virus and they change from year to year. However, even though the virus makes us sick, our immune systems can usually muster enough of a response so that the flu is rarely fatal for healthy people.


But every once in awhile, the virus shifts its genetic structure so much that our immune systems offer no protection whatsoever. (This usually happens when a flu virus found in animals - like the avian flu still circulating in Asia - swaps genes with other viruses in a process called reassortment, and jumps to human beings.) A flu pandemic occurs when a new flu virus emerges for which humans have little or no immunity and then spreads easily from person to person around the world. In the 20th century we had two mild flu pandemics, in 1968 and 1957, and the severe "Spanish flu" pandemic of 1918, which killed an estimated 40 to 50 million people worldwide.


The WHO has the responsibility of declaring when a new flu pandemic is underway, and to simplify the process, the U.N. body has established six pandemic phases. Thanks to H5N1 avian flu, which has killed 257 people since 2003 but doesn't spread very well from one human to another, we're currently at phase 3. If the WHO upgraded that status to phase 4, which is marked by a new virus that begins to pass easily enough from person to person that we can detect community-sized outbreaks, such a move would effectively mean that we've got a pandemic on our hands.



The truth is that every outbreak is unpredictable, and there's a lot we don't know yet about the new swine flu. There hasn't been a flu pandemic for more than a generation, and there hasn't been a truly virulent pandemic since long before the arrival of mass air transit. We're in terra incognito here. Panic would be counterproductive - especially if it results in knee-jerk reactions like closing international borders, which would only complicate the public-health response. But neither should we downplay our very real vulnerabilities. As Napolitano put it: "This will be a marathon, not a sprint." Be prepared.


Outside of Mexico, the swine flu hasn't looked too serious yet - unlike during the SARS outbreaks of 2003, when an entirely new virus with no obvious treatment took the world by surprise. In the U.S., the normal flu season is winding down, which should make it easier for public-health officials to pick out swine flu cases from run-of-the-mill respiratory disease. And there are simple things that people can do to protect themselves, like practicing better hygiene (wash hands frequently and cover mouth and nose when sneezing) and staying away from public places or traveling if they feel sick. "There's a role for everyone to play when an outbreak is ongoing," said Besser.

But the truth is that every outbreak is unpredictable, and there's a lot we don't know yet about the new swine flu. There hasn't been a flu pandemic for more than a generation, and there hasn't been a truly virulent pandemic since long before the arrival of mass air transit. We're in terra incognito here. Panic would be counterproductive - especially if it results in knee-jerk reactions like closing international borders, which would only complicate the public-health response. But neither should we downplay our very real vulnerabilities. As Napolitano put it: "This will be a marathon, not a sprint." Be prepared.

via Time.com

Man's brain starts to decline in late 20s, studies say. Yeas, a new study on aging indicates that reasoning, speed of thought and spatial visualization begin to decline in that age, the BBC reports.
Professor Timothy Salthouse of Virginia University, who worked on the research, said: "Results converge on a conclusion that some aspects of age-related cognitive decline begin in healthy, educated adults when they are in their 20s and 30s."



In the study, the BBC says, Salthouse had his subjects solve puzzles, recall words and details of stories, and spot patterns in letters and symbols. In nine out of 12 tests, the BBC says, 22 was the average age for peak performance. Marked decline began at 27.

It means that just the findings could mean that therapies designed to slow or reverse the aging process may need to start much earlier.

Very often we use complementary natural medicine such as different kinds of herbs, even preferring alternative medicine to modern medicine and sometimes we have all reasons to do that. An herb is plant and we use the plant or part of it for its scent, flavor and therapeutic properties of course. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), as many as 4 billion people, or 80 percent of the earth’s population, are estimated to use a form of herbal medicine in their health care. No doubt herbal medicine is a large part of naturopathic, homeopathic, Native American Indian, Ayurvedic, and traditional oriental medicine.



People which want to improve their health use herbal medicine as a dietary supplements, because herbs have been used for a long time for claimed health benefits. They are sold as tablets, capsules, powders, teas, extracts and fresh or dried plants.

Just don’t forget befour you start to use it

Consult your doctor first
Dont take a bigger dose than the label recommends
Take it under the guidance of a trained medical professional
Be especially cautious if you are pregnant or nursing

CYPRESS, Calif., Feb. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Focus Diagnostics, Inc., the infectious disease diagnostics company of Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX), today announced the first laboratory developed test in the U.S. for detecting the mosquito-borne chikungunya virus. Commercial availability of the molecular polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test will enable physicians in the U.S. to test patients who may have contracted the virus, such as individuals returning from regions in Africa and Asia where chikungunya is endemic. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has suggested that the chikungunya virus, which caused an outbreak in Italy in 2007, has the potential to enter and spread in the U.S.



"The availability of our chikungunya virus PCR test will give healthcare providers in the U.S. an important option for identifying patients, particularly travelers, who may be infected with this potentially disabling virus," said Dr. Jay M. Lieberman, medical director, Infectious Diseases, Focus Diagnostics. "In recent years, Focus Diagnostics has brought to market new diagnostic tests that physicians can use to diagnose emerging infectious diseases, such as West Nile Virus and SARS. If chikungunya emerges in the U.S., our test could become an important tool to help mobilize an effective public health response. Chikungunya is a challenge to diagnose because its symptoms can mimic those of other diseases, including other mosquito-borne diseases, so the availability of an accurate diagnostic test is essential to minimize spread of the disease."

“The longer I live the more beautiful life becomes.
Frank Lloyd Wright” (1869 - 1959)


How to stay healthy in every age this is the question that everyone wants to get answer. First of all one has to watch over the health that is right. Studies show that people who live to age 100, as a rule, feel fine into their 90s.
And maintaining a healthy weight is important step on this way. Avoid coronary heart disease and other killer conditions associated with being overweight by keeping your weight in check: Eat fruits and vegetables and limit your intake of fat and calories. Our food choices dictate our body weight, energy level and what raw materials are available to the body. Also an exercise is one of the best things you can do for your body. It helps your heart, your immune system, your mood and much more. Learning about its benefits can prove to be enough motivation to get you moving. And when you need a little extra nudge, you can rely on tips for sneaking in enough activity and actually making it enjoyable. Have a good sleep because this is essential to good health. Improving the quality of your sleep can have great impact on your health. Some research has even tied lack of sleep to weight gain, diabetes, and more. Some sleep problems are the result of habits, while others may be caused by a sleeping disorder. Don't smoke. Quitting reduces your risk of heart disease almost immediately, and over the years also reduces your chance of getting lung diseases, including cancer. Protect yourself from the sun's deadly rays. To lower your risk, try to avoid unnecessary sun exposure, especially between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. And when you are outdoors, wear a sunscreen with an SPF of at least 15.
Don't drink to excess. While studies have shown that a single drink each day might not harm health — and might even have some beneficial effects — too much alcohol can damage almost every organ in the body and weaken the immune system.



To stay young and healthy as long as it possible is within your power. Keep your mind wide open all the possibilities, keep learning, keep cheerful friends, tell the people you love that you love them at every opportunity. Lost time can never be found.

I want to take a minute to bring your attention to the website myforumabout.com which has some outstanding health forums here. Health related forums are becoming increasingly popular and these ones are sure to make the grade. Whether you have a disease that you need information on or are looking for a support group, be sure to check out these health forums. You'll be glad you did and your mind and body will thank you for it. I know that if I was suffering from a debilitating disease that I would want to find others who were in the same boat. It's not a matter of misery loves company, it's more along the lines of finding people who understand what you're going through. And an online forum is the best place to do exactly that.