There are about more than 28 million Americans who are suffering from the migraine headaches and the women represent about three quarters of the above number whereas the men constitute only the one third. Migraine headache is very severe and leaves the individual totally crippled who is suffering from it. The migraine headaches are mostly preceded by an aura and the aura consists of tingling in the arms or legs, ringing in the ears, flashes of light etc., and there are certain signs and symptoms that are present during the episode of migraine that includes nausea, vomiting and high levels of sensitivity to the light and sound. The pain of migraine is so severe that it really incapacitates the individual for hours and can even prolong for days as well.

There have been a lot of medications that have been introduced for the treatment of migraine and they work effectively as well, but the people who are suffering from migraine headaches must get in touch with their doctors as soon as possible and if there is no help from the medications that they are getting, then they should make an appointment with the neurologist so that they are able to find as to what would be the right medication for them and in this article we are going to discuss a big breakthrough that is being made for the people who are suffering from the migraine attacks on and off and in lives of some people it is a constant thing that hurts them on a consistent basis.

Before we move on to tell you the new breakthrough regarding the treatment of migraine, we will explain on the different aspects of the migraines as to what are the different causes of the migraines that include a lot of different factors but the actual reason that causes the migraine headache is still not understood clearly. It is being thought by some researchers that the migraines are being caused by the changes in the trigeminal nervous system, which is a major pain pathway in our body, as well as the chemical imbalances in the brain such as serotonin, as the serotonin regulates the pain messages that are relayed through this pathway. The mechanism suggested that causes the headache is caused by the drop in the serotonin levels and when this happens, the trigeminal nerve releases chemical substances known as neuropeptides, which then travel to the brain and thus causes the blood vessels in the brain to dilate and cause inflammation, which result in the causation of headache.

Another theory that is being suggested is the drop in the levels of magnesium, which is a key ingredient in the normal functioning of a nerve cell and if the levels of the magnesium are dropped, then it causes the migraine headache, but the exact cause of the migraine headache is still a mystery and is still in the research phase so as to understand as to what is the exact mechanism that causes the migraine headache. Whatever the mechanism may be, there are a lot of factors that causes the trigger of migraine headaches that include hormonal changes in which when the balance of the estrogen and progesterone is changed, this leads to the triggering of the migraine headaches in a lot of women, therefore the development of migraines is closely linked to the start or end of their menstrual cycles. Other women report of migraine headaches when they are going through pregnancy or menopause.

There are also foods that cause the triggering of the headaches that include alcohol, chocolate, the foods that either pickled or marinated, aspartame, caffeine etc. It is also being said that the people who are in a habit of skipping their meals are the ones who are mostly suffering from the headaches. Along with the foods, another big cause for the development of migraine headaches is the stress, because migraine headaches are present in people who are working in either high stressed environment at work or at home or are suffering through any high level of stress in their life. Another factor that triggers migraine is the bright lights, unpleasant scents that can trigger migraines include perfumes or scent of flowers etc. There are physical factors that can trigger the migraine headaches and that include change in sleep patterns, sexual activity and changes in sleep patterns, as well as changes in the weather and medications can also trigger the migraine headaches.

Since migraine has been hurting the lives of a lot of people and preventing them to be able to live their life to the full, the researchers have been working on to find a way so that people are not suffering through the misery of the migraines. The researchers are currently working on a device that is handheld, which is about the size of a dryer, which transmits magnetic pulses and the mechanism with which it works is by short circuiting the path of the migraine by interrupting the activity inside the brain that is causing it.

The researchers conducted a study on a little number of patients and they added that the patients who were suffering from migraine headaches were given about two magnetic pulses to the back of their head and they said that the patients reported no pain or just a slight pain as compared to the individuals who took the placebo. These results are very encouraging and can literally change the lives of the people who are suffering from this problem. This device can be used by 28 millions American who are currently a victim to this dreaded headache.

It was found that the individuals who were suffering from the migraines when used this device, this greatly reduced the light sensitivity and the aura. They reported that the individuals who used the device had positive effects in the 84% of the patients who reported that they were not suffering through noise sensitivity about two hours later and only about 17% of the individuals who used placebo had reported that they do not have any noise sensitivity. About 70% of the individuals had no light sensitivity two hours later and only about 22% of people who used placebo had no light sensitivity issues.

A woman who has used the device said that her life has been turned upside down. Before using this device she was having migraine for about 14 to 16 days in a month with the migraine headache, but after using this device, her life started to function normally and she said that within about two hours time the sensitivity of the light went away as well as the sensitivity to sound and nausea also went away. She said that she is living her life in a more complete way now and things have been more bright and wonderful and she is not incapacitated with the migraine headaches any more.

There is a new breakthrough that is being brought up with the latest research that the statin medications reduce the risk of cataracts. This is an amazing breakthrough where a lot of people who are using the statin medications can now have a hope of reducing the risk of the cataracts. In this article we are going to discuss in detail about the different facts regarding the cataract, as well as the statin medications, as well as what did the researchers commented on the statin medications lowering the cataracts.

Cataracts are commonly considered by the people as a membrane that comes over the eye that reduces the vision of the individuals that causes them to see the images that are either double or blur. The cataract is not formed over the eye but is formed within the eye. In the cataract, there is clouding of the lens that is located behind the iris and is attached to it and is present in front of the vitreous humor. The lens is responsible to converge the image on the retina and that is how we are able to see the things in their right dimensions, but if the lens is being clouded then we are not able to see the objects, near of far. The lens is present in a capsule and as the old cells die, they are trapped within the capsule and with the passage of time these cells causes the lens to cloud and causes the vision to become poor. We can also say that the cataracts occur due to the result of aging in a lot of individuals. It is also best to mention here that the cataracts are a cause of loss of vision in about the individuals who are 55 years or older. The other factors that are known to cause cataracts are the eye injuries, medications as well as diabetes and alcoholism. There are millions of people throughout the world who are suffering from cataracts.

Now we will focus on the statins; the statins are drugs that are used to decrease the level of cholesterol in the blood. The statin medications that are used are known as simvastatin, whose brand name is Zocor and pravastatin, also known ans Lipostat. Now the question that arises is that why the different individuals need these drugs, the answer is very simple and that there are millions of people throughout the world who are suffering from cardiovascular diseases and millions die throughout the world because of heart attacks or strokes. The statin medications can reduce the risk of having heart attacks or strokes in many individuals and thus it increases the life expectancy in people who are suffering from heart diseases.

Now if we look into things a little further, we know that there are two types of cholesterol in the body, one is known as LDL, which is also known as the low density lipoproteins and the other is known as the HDL, which is also known as the high density lipoprotein. Now the low density lipoprotein is a bad cholesterol whereas the high density lipoprotein is known as the good cholesterol. The LDL cholesterol causes the arteries to block and thus results in impaired circulation to the heart as well as the brain and also to the different organ systems and due to the decreased blood flow to the heart, it causes the development of the cardiovascular diseases. If we think for a moment, the arteries that are supplying blood to the heart are blocked, then this can result in a heart attack. On the other hand if we look at the role of the high density lipoprotein or the HDL, we will see that it clears up the bad cholesterol and transports it to the liver where it is being broken down. Therefore when the blood is being checked for cholesterol, it is checked for LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, as well as the ratio of the HDL to the total cholesterol.
Now it is really important for us to understand that what kind of the diets are we eating every day, is our diet healthy or our diet is something that has a lot of bad fats in it, if we are eating the bad fats, we must know that this can be really harmful to our bodies and we can be one of the individuals who can be really affected from the bad cholesterol and this can be really damaging to our health in the longer run. Therefore we need to be wise in selecting our diets so that we make the right decisions and choices as to what we are eating.

The way the statin medications work is that they work by blocking an enzyme that works in the production of the LDL cholesterol, especially in the liver and this enzyme that works in the formation of the LDL cholesterol is known as the HMG CoA reductase and hence statins are the most effective medicines to stop the formation of the LDL cholesterol and thus lowers the levels of the LDL cholesterol in our body to a great degree. Thus the statin medications are for those people who are unable to control their high levels of LDL cholesterol through changes in their diet.

As there are benefits of the statin medications, there are also risks or side effects that are present as well, which includes headaches, insomnia, diarrhea, feeling of sickness, muscular pain, tenderness and weakness. There is also a word of advice that the doctors give that if the individual who is taking the statin medication experiences any muscle pain or weakness, then they should immediately contact their physicians. It is also being said that the individuals who are taking the statin medications they should take care if they have a history of liver problems or they have a history of high alcohol consumption. Those individuals who have liver problems, are pregnant, breast feeding or have severe kidney disease must avoid the statin medications.

Now since we now have a basic information of the cataracts and statin drugs, we will see as to how the statin medications reduce the risk of the cataracts. It was found in a study that the adults who were taking the statin medications were 45 percent less likely to develop the age related cataracts. This study was based on about 1299 individuals who were being followed for a span of about five years. It was found that the nuclear cataracts that affects the nucleus of the lens was diagnosed in about 12 percent of the statin users as compared to the 17 percent of people who were not using the statin drugs and thus the researchers concluded that the statin drugs result in the prevention of the nuclear cataracts in individuals who are taking it.

It was also revealed that the statin drugs have an antioxidant effect that reduces the inflammation and thus helps prevent the development of cataracts because oxygen damage to the body and inflammation are considered to be factors contributing to the cataracts. Right now, there are about 20 million Americans who are suffering from cataracts, which is a major culprit of causing blindness in such large numbers of people and in them the people with old age are pretty prominent ones.

There have been a lot of wonders that modern day science has given to the mankind. At this day and age when the technology has become so advanced, people look forward that the modern day science will have an answer to all the questions that they have and it is indeed that they have gotten a whole lot answers in terms to the different questions that they had in mind. It is being thought for long that the people who are once paralyzed cannot move and that is their fate till they die because the nerves once damaged do not regenerate and that is why these individuals lose the motor and the sensory responses in their limbs, and the loss of the motor response in the limbs lead to the loss of the muscle power and tone and that leads to the paralysis of the musculature. This problem which can be caused by a severe trauma to the specific nerves supplying that limb can cause a person to be paralyzed and that is why this is considered one of the horrors in the world of medical sciences and there are a lot of people who are suffering their lives without any movement at all.

In recent years there has been a major advancement to help cure this problem so that the individuals who are suffering from the paralysis can now walk and move for the first time in their life. The scientists have taken the help of the embryonic stem cells and with the help of which they are able to form the new and functional nerve cells and connections in a mice that was paralyzed and through which they were able to restore the movement in that specific limb that was paralyzed. This is a test that was conducted on mice and that has open a new horizon in the world of people that is bleak because of the fact that they know that there is nothing that can help them and that they have to live the life as they are and this has just put them to close themselves in the dark rooms inside themselves. In this situation where there was no hope, this research has emerged as a light where these people can see that it is not far away when they will be able to move and live a normal life.

It is now being thought that as these tests have shown positive results in the individuals who have been suffering from the paralyzed condition will be able to live a normal life and this stem cell grafts will help the people who are suffering from spinal cord injuries, Parkinson’s disease, as well as other crippling diseases that affect the neurological system of an individual. The scientists said that this was something that they have been working on for about more than 30 years and this has finally given them a big breakthrough in which they can proceed their work further in hopes that in the span of some years they will be able to find a way to treat the individuals who are suffering from the neurological conditions that cripple them totally.

The scientists said that they now know as to what is the right combination of things that are needed to build the nerve cells on and they are hoping that millions of people throughout the world will find a new life with the research that they are currently doing and this will ultimately be something that the mankind has been needing for a long long time. The researcher also added that they have now got the principle on which they will build the things on and this will prove to be the key to unlock the facts that have been hidden from us for a long time.

The researchers said that there had been numerous studies that have been carried out knowing the fact that the nerves can be developed through the stem cells but the major block that the researches had been going through have been to develop the motor neurons to make functional connections to the muscles that had been stopping them from getting into the right direction where they would be able to learn as to how this process runs in its complete form and now they have made a big breakthrough in that.

The researchers said that if we are to make things simple, there are motor neurons in the spinal cord and when the movement is desired in a muscle the brain relays the message to the motor neuron in the spinal cord and then that motor neuron relays out the axons and reaches to the muscle and makes it contract through the impulses that it carries, but this process that is seemingly pretty simple in the layman terms is not that simple because it requires a lot of complex growth factors, chemicals that signal at each individual process and this movement happens at the level of the muscle. So everything needs to be put in the right order so as to maintain the right direction or else this entire research leads into the wrong direction where the results are not achieved and things finally go in waste.

The researchers said that they have find the exact combination that was required to develop the nerve cells and during the research process there were a lot of challenges that they had to face and they went through one by one and were able to accomplish the task that was there in front of them to achieve, which was defined as a first goal to achieve the bigger goal and that is where they have to go by accepting all the challenges that are going to come their way.

It all started in the laboratory when they used specific growth factors to cause the embryonic stem cells in the mouse to develop into the motor neurons. After that phase was accomplished, the researchers added the chemicals known as retinoic acid as well as sonic hedgehog protein, which helped those cells to provide an environment that was similar to the spinal cord. Then they transferred these cells into the spinal cord of the mice that was paralyzed with a viral infection. The challenge that the scientists faced was that there was a protein that was inhibiting the growth of the axons from growing and those proteins are linked to the myelin sheath that is protecting the nerve fibers, so in order to overcome the resistance, the scientists added two agents, one was the cyclic AMP and the other was the rolipram, which was a drug and then due to these two substances the axons started to grow.

Getting the axons to grow was one big breakthrough but to give these axons a destination to go from one place to another was something that was needed because they had to reach to that specific muscle to where they belong to supply the stimulus to contract. Therefore, they made a powerful neutral growth factor, which is known as GDNF near the dead sciatic nerve cells to make the connection and this worked out and with this strategy they were able to treat 11 of the 15 paralyzed mice and there were about 4100 motor neurons that were created in the spinal cord of the mouse and about 200 of the motor neurons were able to exit the cord and about 120 neurons were able to make the connection in the skeletal muscle and this is a big breakthrough that can change the lives of millions of people who are suffering from the aftermath of paralysis, because this research can just provide them with a new life.

Stress has always been known to cause a lot of detrimental effects on the health of the individuals and there have been a lot of problems that are reported because of the increased stress in a life of a person. Stress is known to cause ulcers in the individuals who are living a highly stressed life and along with the medications, these individuals are being asked to make their life as stress free as possible. In this article we are going to discuss regarding the stress that really damages the individual financially and also can cause heart attack and that is loss of job, which is known to affect the lives of millions of people throughout the world. This stress doubles up if the individual is to lose his job in the later years of his or her life and this can be really traumatic to that individual.

There was a study that was conducted in which there were about 4031 people who were from the ages of 51 to 61. This study was conducted over a period of time and these individuals were the ones under observation and over the span of about 10 years it was found out that there were individuals who lost their jobs and in that there were about 23 people who suffered from heart attacks and about 13 people suffered from the stroke out of the group of about 582 individuals who were laid off from their jobs. The major cause of death in these individuals was blamed upon the stress because of their need to keep the jobs and the reason to have a stable life and their dependency on that. One of the major reason for the stress because of job loss and that leading to heart attack is their fragile nature to go through that kind of an experience that is really shattering to them and thus leading them to live a much harsher life after the loss of their job, which deals with a great deal of a psychological factor that plays an important role in the part of lives of these people.

It has been mentioned that the individuals who are elderly and who are not able to work in full capacity in their jobs must be provided a place in their current jobs where they are able to work less than what they are doing now, which will help to reduce the number of individuals who go through stress and then ultimately suffer from heart attacks. It is also of great importance that there must be centers that are developed that would work to counsel the individuals who are elderly and help them go through this process very smoothly because at an elderly age there are a lot of health related problems and other factors that does not allow them to work in full capacity and if there are such centers, there would be better outcome in terms of helping them find the jobs that they can do in their capacity and also counseling them so that they can understand that what is the thing that is in their best interest.

One of the biggest fears that are being faced is the loss of health coverage that these individuals have through their employment because they are relying heavily on their health insurances and when these are being taken away, this just adds the burden on their thoughts as to how they are going to cope with that and how they would be able to manage their life with such and these things just put a great toll on them and hurts them really bad and results in the worst outcomes that can be faced by these individuals, death.
The researchers who were conducting the research on the aged people said that it was not surprising to them that loss of job could have such an effect on the elderly people because these days the life is becoming too difficult to live and that things are getting pretty expensive, especially the health and that the elderly just cannot help themselves in getting out of the depression and anxiety that they are going through, which then ultimately works to take them out of the misery of life by taking their life.

The learning that we gather from the effects the job loss in the elderly bears is that we should understand and learn as to what are the different things that they are going through, what are their problems that need to be addressed, how we can support them as a human because these are the individuals who still want to work and earn, but that opportunity is being taken from them, what are the reasons that put them through so much stress, is that the worry of health insurance? Do they worry a lot of their extinguishing finances that are going to burn out the moment they are going to lose their job because they are living pay check to pay check. There must be a lot of problems that I am sure they must be suffering from and that is something that we need to understand and see as to what are these places where we can help them live and sustain their lives better. I think we can do it and this just needs our attention, dedication and devotion and sincerity to the cause.

Infertility is gaining its ground pretty fast and now one out of every six couples are suffering from the problems of infertility where about forty percent of the problems of infertility are linked to the females and about forty percent to the males, whereas twenty percent of the problems are linked to both the males and the females. The couples who are going through the problems of infertility are suffering a lot psychologically and is a lot damaging to the mental health of the couple. The problem of infertility has long been a problem, but this problem has been overcome by the efforts of two doctors who have given a great hope to a lot of couples throughout the world and now the couples who are going the problems with infertility can have their child with the procedure of in vitro fertilization. The two doctors who have introduced this procedure are Dr. Edwards and Dr. Steptoe who have provided a lot of couples with hope and this procedure was being introduced in the year 1978 for the very first time.

Now this procedure is being used through the entire world where the couples have been going through the problems with infertility and this technology has since been refined by a lot of physicians and embryologists throughout the world and there have been 20,000 babies that have been born with this procedure. The chances or the possibilities of a continuing pregnancy being achieved have been enhanced from about none to one chance in four to six at the centers where the in vitro fertilization is being performed.

There are a lot of variables on which achieving a pregnancy in a couple is achieved and it varies from couple to couple and these variables include age, the reproductive health of both the man and the woman who want to achieve pregnancy and the chances of the in vitro fertilization also varies from case to case for that reason a complete evaluation is being required so that the chances of pregnancy can be determined in the given situation.

In the process of in vitro fertilization the egg is being obtained from the ovary by a needle that is being placed under ultrasound guidance and this ultrasound guided procedure has taken over the surgical procurement of the egg. The best thing that the ultrasound guided procedure offers is that the woman who is undergoing that procedure does not need to undergo hospitalization neither general anesthesia because both these have their own risks and complications profile.

Before obtaining the egg through the transvaginal ultrasound guided procedure, there is a proper environment that needs to be prepared in a woman so that the chances of getting the multiple healthy and mature eggs is possible and for that reason the woman just goes for about two weeks of extensive preparation. In this procedure, the woman goes on the fertility drugs and then the blood tests are being done and then the ultrasound scans are being performed of the ovaries so that the optimal time to retrieve the eggs from the ovary is being defined and the optimal time to obtain the eggs is the ovulation time because it is when the eggs are ready to be fertilized.

Around the time of ovulation the patient is prepped and draped and under sterile conditions and under the transvaginal ultrasound guidance a 16-gauge single lumen needle is passed transvaginally and then the eggs are being obtained. The women who have gone through this procedure has said that there is mild discomfort that is being felt and that is very much similar to the pap smear or the endometrial biopsy that is being taken. Once the procedure is being done, then the patient can go home in a short time and they can do their activities of daily living.

After that the fluid that is being obtained from the follicles is being examined under the microscope and then the eggs are being located and then the sperms are being placed within the eggs. The eggs then start to cleave down to indicate that the process has started and then after two or three divisions that the egg goes into, it is then known as the preimplantation embryo. These embryos are then kept in the laboratory and then in a mixture that acts as a substitute for the environment that would have been provided by the fallopian tubes. After that the embryos are then placed in the uterus by passing it through the vagina by using a special catheter and then when the embryo has been placed in the uterus, the woman is asked to lie in the bed quietly for about an hour or so and then she is asked to return home.

After that the embryo starts to develop inside the uterus and then the woman goes through the regular checkups so that the fetus in the mother’s womb can be checked regarding growth. It was important that the entire procedure of the in vitro fertilization is being explained in detail so that you must know as to what are the different things that are involved in that. Now this procedure is a great hope for women who want to be pregnant in the late ages and along with this process there is also a breakthrough in getting the embryos frozen for women who want to preserve the embryos and a new technique has been developed where the problems with the thawing of the embryos has been eradicated and that has brought a big hope for the women.

There are also women who are going through the cancer treatments and also the other life threatening conditions in which they have to go through the aggressive therapies and have a chance to get their ovaries affected by these treatments, then they think that their eggs be preserved so that they are able to conceive once they are in a stable condition and their cancer is in remission, which is a big hope for these women. The process known as Cryotop in which the embryos can be frozen more rapidly, which can remove the ice from them and prevent damage to the embryo and through this they have come to manage about 90 percent survival rate of the embryo and a high pregnancy rate of about 42 percent which is the same as can be achieved through a fresh egg. This process has helped eliminate the infertility problems in which the eggs are produced for a specific time span.