Month: May 2006

Treating Arthritis With Anti-Cancer Drug

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A very effective anti-cancer drug is now okayed to treat the rheumatoid arthritis patients who have tried the drugs to treat arthritis but has not get any benefit from them.

The anti-cancer drug that is used to treat arthritis is Rituxan, which is used to treat the non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

The companies Genentech Inc. and Biogen Idec Inc. said that the drug Rituxan should be used by patients who have not received any benefit from the drugs that are used specifically for rheumatoid arthritis such as tumor necrosis factor or TNF blockers of which the brand names include Enbrel, Remicade and Humira.

In the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis, the body’s immune system just attacks the tissues of the joints and causes inflammation of the joints and destroys the cartilage, tendon and bones and hence causing disabilities.

Now the drug, Rituxan, which is also known as rituximab, is being studied to treat the other autoimmune diseases such as lupus, multiple sclerosis and the route of administration of this drug is intravenous.

This news has proved a very good news for the company producing the drug, rituximab, to come back in the market with boost in sales. It is yet to be tested to see whether this drug can be used for the other autoimmune diseases.

It was also found that the Rituxan could eventually reach about $1 billion in sales to treat these autoimmune diseases other than cancer. The analysts also said that the sales of Rituxan in US would climb up from about $1.8 billion last year to about $2 billion this year and then further grow up to about $2.3 billion next year, which is a marked boost up in the sales of this drug.


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Sick Spouse Puts You At Risk

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A recent study suggested that illness of husband or wife can hasten the death of the other.

The reason for hastening the death includes stress, loss of companionship, practical help, income, and losing a part of oneself are what that strikes the mind when a spouse gets sick.

The researchers say that it is not necessary that it is not necessary that you can die because of your partners death, but you can also die of their severe illness.

In the past, the researches have shown that the spouses of the sick people are at much higher risks of illnesses and death and this data showed that there were a wide range of illnesses.

They found that the men were at much considerable risk of dying than women because according to the statistics, men were most likely to die after their wives were hospitalized.

The data also showed that if the spouse dies, the risk of death of the partner increases up to five folds, which rises by 21 percent among men and 17 percent among women. The data also shed light that the risk of death was pretty high in the first six months after the spouse was hospitalized.

There were increased rates of hospitalization with dementia and psychiatric problems raising the death risk to about 52.5 percent in men and about 57.5 percent in women. The older partners were the ones who were making big numbers in those percentages.

It is suggested that the spouses are connected and therefore their health is connected as well and this affects either one of them if any of them get sick.

It was also found that the most types of cancer except the ones with a more poor prognosis, the cancer did little or nothing to increase the risk of death of a companion because a lot of people are able to live a better and healthier life after treatments.

The researchers added that the numbers of the sexes who were dying from the severe illness of their spouses were not comparable, but men tend to die sooner.

The researchers also found that the risk was also at a larger level to not only the spouse but also involving the children and close friends.


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Love

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People from all over the world describe the feeling of love as euphoria, exhilaration, elation etc. The feeling of love is an intense craving that one person has for the other that they love. The researchers just dug out as to what are the brain processes through which it responds in romantic love.

The researchers studied the reason as to what makes the feeling of love so intense. They found out that the brain just perceives romantic love as a reward and stimulates the brain activity in the reward area of the brain, which occurs to any reward such as getting a chocolate, money etc.
The researcher mentioned that in her view, the romantic love was a drive, which is pretty strong and intense.

The researchers studied about 17 people who have fallen in love and to explain that, according to them they were unable to think of anything else for the most of the day than the one they love and the average time that these people have been in love was about seven months.

The researchers developed a questionnaire in which they asked about questions regarding passionate love and if they would die for their partner and the researchers said that they were amazed to hear that all of the people who were interviewed said that they would and they responded to that in a very casual way.

The participants of the study were then asked to look at the photograph of their love while they were put in an MRI machine to see as to what parts of their brain are responding to when they see the pictures and they saw that the part of the brain that lit up after they saw the pictures was the reward and pleasure area.

It was astonishing to find that the reward area got lit up when the researchers were trying to find out as to what areas of the brain are going to respond when the people would see the pictures of their lovers. So that meant that love is just a reward, which is like chocolate or money.

The area of the brain that lit up was in the brain stem, which is known as the ventral tegmental area. In that area, the pigmented cells contain the neurotransmitter dopamine, which sends messages to the part of the brain known as caudate nucleus.

The researcher said that it has changed the way that she thinks about love. She says it is a motivation and the individual that we love is a goal. The emotions, they just come and go. The researcher also added that the system that is driving the person that we are in love with is sense than an emotion.

The researchers added that love was not only an emotion, it was a basic mating drive, much stronger than the sex drive. They also added that the early feeling of love just does not remain forever such as the pounding of the heart, thinking about the love all the time, but in good relationships it just crosses onto a different stage of love known as attachment.

There was another pretty interesting comment made by the researcher on love, which was that when love is seen under microscope, it just takes away a bit of the mystery and romance.

The researcher also added that even if we know as to what are the ingredients in a cake, but we still love to eat that cake and even knowing about love, we can feel all the passion and desire of it.


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Healthy Tips On Diet

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There are a couple of wonderful health tips that would help you to have a healthy life.

1. You must eat a diet rich in organic foods. The fresh fruits and vegetables are the main source of protective phytonutrients and these are the compounds that are present in plants that help our bodily defenses that can reduce the risk of cancer and heart diseases, as well as other chronic diseases.

2. You must add color to your diet so that your appetite is boosted. As many colors you add to your diet, is as much your appetite will get good and you will definitely eat much better than before.

3. You must take a good multi-mineral vitamin. In order to have the right amounts of vitamins and minerals requires us to be very very specific in our diets and this is something really very difficult to achieve, so in order to get the right amount of vitamins and minerals, you must take a good multi-mineral vitamin.

4. It is imperative for the women to take care of the bone health at an early age. The bone health is mostly determined on the life that you have spent till your mid 30s and that is the time when the bone is being built. If you are eating right food as a teenager in your 20s and mid 30s, which means that you have been taking the right amount of calcium and vitamin D, and have gotten the exercise to be in shape, then this is going to help you a lot in your older years when you need that the most.

5. It is important that you eat well to protect yourself from the prostate cancer. There are a lot of studies conducted that have shown that the diet influences the prostate cancer. It is stated that the diets that are rich in animal foods, high fat levels, and are deficient in fruits and vegetables and are lower in omega-3 fatty acids are to cause prostate cancer. Therefore, the men should have more fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes, which are a source of lycopene, which is a protective carotenoid, soy foods, less meat, diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids to make sure that you are getting enough anti-oxidants, which will be protective against the prostate cancer.

6. The best way to reduce the hypertension problems is to avoid eating or slowly reduce the consumption of the processed food or refined foods that are very high in potassium and increasing the amounts of fruits and vegetables that are high in potassium, which bears a relaxant effect on blood vessels. The supplement such as calcium and magnesium can also help lower the blood pressure. Along with these, you can also take a neurovascular relaxant.

7. You must get enough vitamin D. According to the new research, vitamin D has a key role in the prevention of cancer such as lung, colon, breast, prostate and our body makes this vitamin on exposure to sunlight, but since most people apply sunscreens these days due to the threat of the ultraviolet rays, you can always add it to the foods, as well as supplemental forms of vitamin D and that will help you a lot in the long term effects on health.


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Risk Of Using Steroids In Teenagers

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A recent study suggested that the use of steroids in children may have a longer lasting effect on the brains of teenagers.

The study that was conducted to look at the different anabolic steroids on the hamsters found that the drug just causes a trigger that results in an aggressive state.

They also found that the effects of the steroids may also last for at least two years and they may cause permanent brain changes. The scientists also added that one cannot say as to how the length of the effects from the steroids in humans, since the study was conducted on hamsters.

It was also being stated that the long term use of steroids can cause mood swings, hallucinations, paranoia, liver damage, high blood pressure, as well as increased risk of heart disease and stroke and some types of cancers. It was also noted that coming off of steroids can lead to depression as well.

In another study that was conducted by a university in Boston, they studied the behavior of an adolescent hamster when another hamster was put into their cage. It was found that the hamster naturally defended their territory by wrestling, play fighting, wrestling.

But when the hamsters were injected with the commonly used steroids that were suspended in the oil, the hamsters became extremely aggressive and when the drug was withdrawn, even then the newly vicious hamster attacked, bit and chased the intruder.

It was found that the aggressiveness of the hamster increased to about 10 times more than that of the other hamster who was only injected with the oil.

They found that the effect lasted for almost two weeks and after that the animal just reverted back to its normal playful defensive state.

On the post mortem of the hamsters, it was found that there had been changes in the brain of those hamsters and while the time in which they were being given the steroids, the anterior hypothalamus regulates the aggression and social behavior, secreted more neurotransmitter known as vasopressin.

It was found that about three weeks after the withdrawal, the vasopressin levels had subsided and the aggression levels subsided with it.

The scientists also found that the portion of the brain that they studied in rodents is similar to that in humans and therefore this might be applicable to humans as well.

The researchers said that the developing brain in children is more adaptable and pliable, the steroids could change the trajectory if the steroids are administered during development.
The researchers said that if the steroids hit the right areas of the brain at the right time then they can cause permanent changes.

It is being said that the people who are abusing steroids and especially these are young athletes or weight lifters and the effects of these steroids can have long term effects even after they are stopped.


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