Traffic pollution affects unborn children
Traffic pollution may have an effect on those suffering from asthma
according to a new research. Health problems in children too may be
affected while still in the womb, it said.
Dr. Mohammad Shamssain and his research team recently completed a
study into the impact that high levels of air traffic pollution has on
schoolchildren’s respiratory systems, allergies and conditions such as
asthma.
Testing the lung functions of 1,397 children, aged 7-10, and
measuring air pollution levels in Cairo, one of the world’s most traffic
congested cities, assessed through the ISAAC questionnaire (The
International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood) Dr. Shamssain
discovered a high prevalence of asthma, wheezing, eczema and hay fever
symptoms.
As part of his study - TRAP (Traffic Related Air Pollution) Dr.
Shamssain has been researching findings in other countries and
discovered that air pollution causes two million premature deaths
worldwide per year.
His research, which has been welcomed by Asthma UK, was recently
presented at the biggest international chest conference: The American
Thoracic Society International Conference in Colorado.
However, he says this kind of research needs more attention, and is
now calling on the Department of Health and Research Funding Council to
conduct more serious surveys in major cities such as London, Manchester,
Birmingham Glasgow and Newcastle to assess the impact vehicle emissions
are having on the local populations, especially children and the
elderly.
“Our aim is to improve the respiratory health of children, as well as
adults and the ageing population, by studying lung function, respiratory
symptoms and risk factors that might cause diseases like asthma and
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)”, explained Dr. Shamssain,
a senior lecturer in human physiology respiratory pathophysiology and
epidemiology at the University of Sunderland.
“We have identified that pollutants such as nitrogen and sulphur
dioxide as well as particle matter from vehicle exhausts and road dust
is linked to the onset of asthma.
“The risk can start from the time a child is in the womb, as the
placenta does not offer protection to mothers exposed to pollutants.
Pollutants entering the foetal circulation have a significant impact on
growth and development; there have also been cases of babies born with
retardation, morbidity and low birth weight.
“Children in homes near roads with heavy traffic also have increased
risk of new onset-asthma, incidence of wheeze, risk of recurrent dry
coughs, hospitalisation and school absenteeism.”
He added: “We must encourage more research in this area on a large
scale and launch an intervention strategy and awareness programme to
reduce morbidity and mortality caused by ambient air pollutants.
To help improve the situation Dr. Shamssain is proposing policy
changes on pollution levels in towns and cities. Studies in Southern
California showed that if ambient air pollution is reduced, annual
asthma related emergency visits and hospitalisation decreased from 22
per cent to six per cent and bronchitis would decrease from 40 per cent
to 20 per cent.
He also believes through awareness programmes relayed to parents,
schools and children, personal exposure can be reduced by avoiding high
level exposure and outdoor activities during periods of high pollution.
Finally, taking simple steps ourselves such as eating fruit,
vegetables and taking vitamins A and C, can provide an antioxidant for
the respiratory system.
He explained: “Antioxidants may strengthen defence mechanisms and
reduce the harmful effects of air pollution.
Studies suggest that dietary supplementation with sulforaphene, a
potent inducer of antioxidant enzymes, reduces inflammatory responses,
especially in those exposed to diesel exhaust particles.
“Sulforaphene is produced naturally by vegetables including Brussel
sprouts, turnips, cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower, carrots, tomatoes,
apples and oranges.
Finally taking simple steps such as eating fresh fruit, vegetables
and taking vitamins A & C, can provide an anti-oxidant for the
respiratory system.”
Leanne Metcalf, Assistant Director of Research at Asthma UK, says:
“We know that air pollution has a severe impact on the health and the
quality of life of people with asthma; two thirds of people with asthma
tell us that traffic fumes make their asthma worse and we are seeing
increasing research evidence which suggests pollution may actually have
a role to play in causing asthma in the first place.
“At Asthma UK we welcome any research that will help us gain more
insight into this area which could ultimately improve the lives of
people with asthma in the future.”
Sources: Sunderland University, AlphaGalileo Foundation
The biology behind alcohol-induced blackouts
A person who drinks too much alcohol may be able to perform
complicated tasks, such as dancing, carrying on a conversation or even
driving a car, but later have no memory of those escapades. These
periods of amnesia, commonly known as “blackouts,” can last from a few
minutes to several hours.
Now, neuroscientists have identified the brain cells involved in
blackouts and the molecular mechanism that appears to underlie them.
They report July 6, 2011, in The Journal of Neuroscience, that
exposure to large amounts of alcohol does not necessarily kill brain
cells as once was thought. Rather, alcohol interferes with key receptors
in the brain, which in turn manufacture steroids that inhibit long-term
potentiation (LTP), a process that strengthens the connections between
neurons and is crucial to learning and memory.
Better understanding of what occurs when memory formation is
inhibited by alcohol exposure could lead to strategies to improve
memory.
Receptors
“The mechanism involves NMDA receptors that transmit glutamate, which
carries signals between neurons,” says Yukitoshi Izumi, research
professor of psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine. “An
NMDA receptor is like a double-edged sword because too much activity and
too little can be toxic. We’ve found that exposure to alcohol inhibits
some receptors and later activates others, causing neurons to
manufacture steroids that inhibit LTP and memory formation.”
Izumi says the various receptors involved in the cascade interfere
with synaptic plasticity in the brain’s hippocampus, which is known to
be important in cognitive function. Just as plastic bends and can be
molded into different shapes, synaptic plasticity is a term scientists
use to describe the changeable properties of synapses, the sites where
nerve cells connect and communicate. LTP is the synaptic mechanism that
underlies memory formation.
Brain structures
The brain cells affected by alcohol are found in the hippocampus and
other brain structures involved in advanced cognitive functions. Izumi
and first author Kazuhiro Tokuda, research instructor of psychiatry,
studied slices of the hippocampus from the rat brain.
When they treated hippocampal cells with moderate amounts of alcohol,
LTP was unaffected, but exposing the cells to large amounts of alcohol
inhibited the memory formation mechanism.
But not all NMDA receptors are blocked by alcohol. Instead, their
activity is cut roughly in half.
“The exposure to alcohol blocks some NMDA receptors and activates
others, which then trigger the neuron to manufacture these steroids,”
Zorumski says.
The scientists point out that alcohol isn’t causing blackouts by
killing neurons. Instead, the steroids interfere with synaptic
plasticity to impair LTP and memory formation.
“Alcohol isn’t damaging the cells in any way that we can detect,”
Zorumski says. “As a matter of fact, even at the high levels we used
here, we don’t see any changes in how the brain cells communicate. You
still process information. You’re not anesthetised. You haven’t passed
out. But you’re not forming new memories.”
Stress
Stress on the hippocampal cells also can block memory formation. So
can consumption of other drugs.
When combined, alcohol and certain other drugs are much more likely
to cause blackouts than either substance alone.
The researchers found that if they could block the manufacture of
steroids by neurons, they also could preserve LTP in the rat
hippocampus. And they did that with drugs called 5-alpha-reductase
inhibitors.
These include finasteride and dutasteride, which are commonly
prescribed to reduce a man’s enlarged prostate gland.
In the brain, however, those substances seem to preserve memory.
“We would expect there may be some differences in the effects of
alcohol on patients taking these drugs,” Izumi says. “Perhaps men taking
the drugs would be less likely to experience intoxication blackouts.”
The researchers plan to study 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors to see how
easily they get into the brain and to determine whether those drugs, or
similar substances, might someday play a role in preserving memory.
(Source: Washington University in St. Louis)
Breastfeeding does not protect against MS relapses
New research finds breastfeeding doesn’t appear to protect against
multiple sclerosis (MS) relapses, despite previous studies suggesting
there may be a protective role.
“Breastfeeding should not be encouraged by doctors to protect against
MS relapses, especially among women with MS who have high disease
activity and high risk of postpartum relapses,” said study author Emilio
Portaccio, MD, of the University of Florence in Italy. “Since it is not
considered safe for women to take MS drugs while breastfeeding,
breastfeeding may not be feasible for these women who may need to resume
treatment to avoid relapses soon after giving birth.”
The study involved 302 pregnancies in 298 women with full-term
deliveries who were followed for one year after delivery. A total of
34.4 percent of the women breastfeed for at least two months; the
remaining 65.6 percent breastfed for less than two months or not at all
and were considered not breastfeeding.
In the year after delivery, 37 percent of women experienced one
relapse and 6.6 percent had two or more relapses.The study found
breastfeeding did not appear to have a protective effect on relapses in
women after adjusting for age at pregnancy, duration of MS, level of
disability, relapses in the year before and during pregnancy, drug
treatment and exposure to chemicals or smoking.
However, breastfeeding did not worsen the relapse rate.According to
Portaccio, the only significant predictors of postpartum relapses were
relapses in the year before and during pregnancy.Women who had relapses
in the year before pregnancy were 50 percent more likely to have a
relapse after giving birth than those who did not have relapses in the
year before pregnancy. Women who had relapses during pregnancy were more
than twice as likely to have a relapse in the postpartum period as women
who did not have relapses during pregnancy.
“Earlier reported associations between breastfeeding and a lower risk
of postpartum relapses may simply reflect different patient behaviour,
biased by the disease activity. Women who have fewer relapses before and
during pregnancy may be more likely to breastfeed and then continue to
have fewer relapses in the postpartum period. However, a course of
postpartum steroids might protect against later attacks.
Approaches of this type were not assessed in this study and might, in
consultation with the treating neurologist, enable breastfeeding,”
Portaccio said.
Source: American Academy of Neurology (AAN)
New device helps the blind move independently
A new device has been developed to helps the blind to move
independently. This system, called EYE 21, is an electronic tool that
allows blind people to move autonomously in any environment.
The blind, thanks to a pair of sunglasses equipped with two micro
cameras and headphones, are able to perceive an acoustic image of the
space at which they point their new eyes. This tool has been developed
as a continuation of the European project Casblip.
In its first version, the system recognises shapes and replaces them
with sounds positioned on the surface of the recognised forms.
The two micro cameras analyse space, create a three-dimensional model
of it and associate sound points to points on the surface that is being
analysed. In this way a blind person can hear space, and their brain
reconstructs its shape from that spatialised sound.
“We all have a natural ability to talk at the same time as we detect
the position of coin that has just hit the ground.
This ability to represent space with sounds without disturbing other
activities of the brain is the basis of how this system works.
Combining object recognition technology with sound representation of
space allows a blind person to recreate those sounds and perceive their
original shape”, said Guillermo Peris. According to this researcher from
the Universitat Politècnica de València’s CITG, with this system, users
will have a new sense of perception of 3D space, different from sight:
Sources: Asociación RUVID, AlphaGalileo Foundation
Sleep disorders and psychology
by Dr. R.A.R. Perera
Sleep disorders can be described as a situation where the sleep
pattern is disrupted and includes difficulty falling or staying sleep,
falling sleep at inappropriate times, excessive sleep, or abnormal
behaviours associated with sleep. There is close relationship between
sleep and wakefulness and psychologists consider both sleep and
wakefulness to be a part of a continuous, cyclic, tightly woven pattern
of behaviour. Behaviours during wakefulness will alter the quality and
duration of sleep.
Sleep disorders represent a diverse group of conditions that affect
both sleep and wakefulness and lead to a reduction in quality of life.
Sleep disorders may produce personal injury or social disruption. Some
sleep disorders are also risk factors for other serious medical
problems, such as blood pressure, stroke or heart disease. Sleep
disorders can be grouped into 4 main categories.
* Problems with falling and staying asleep
* Problems with staying awake
* problems with adhering to a regular sleep schedule
* Sleep disruptive behaviour
Problems with falling and staying asleep could be due to
psychological, illness, or stimulant dependent (eg. Taking tea, coffee
just before sleep)
The most common sleep disorder is insomnia or difficulty with falling
asleep, staying asleep, intermittent wakefulness, and early morning
awakening. Insomnia could be transient or short term (1-4 weeks) or it
could be intermittent (short term insomnia which returns periodically
over months). Chronic insomnia is when insomnia persists almost nightly
for at least one month. Insomnia may be related to a medical or
spychiatric illness or it may be a result of lifestyle factors.
Lifestyle factors are particularly important as causes of transient or
intermitent insomnia.
The common causes are anxiety or stress, change of sleeping place or
uncomfortable environment (hot/cold/humid/dress), alcohol or medication,
smoking, high caffeine intake (tea, coffee, cocoa), heavy meal or
exercising just before sleep. Change of hormones in pregnancy and old
age also can cause insomnia.
Sleep terror disorder is an abrupt awakening from sleep with fear,
sweating, rapdi heart rate, and confusion.
Sleepwalking is not remembered by the person doing it and affects
children 2 to 12 years old. A brain disease, reactions to drugs, and
other medical conditions may also cause it. Sleepwalking episodes
usually occur 1-2 hours after going to sleep and last from 1-30 minutes.
A sleepwalkers has open eyes and a blank expression, and is usually
difficult to awaken. The next morning, they won’t remember the episode.
Providing an early bedtime preceded by relaxing activities will help
prevent sleep disturbances. Sleepwalking injuries should be avoided by
making the bedroom and house as safe as possible.
(The writer is a Consultant Psychologist)
Positive effects of being a vegetarian
In general terms, vegetarians are the people who exclude meat,
poultry, fish or other animal derived food from their diets. There are
different types of vegetarians such as, lacto ovo- vegetarian, lacto
vegetarian and strict vegetarians. Lacto ovo- vegetarian include milk,
milk products and eggs, but exclude meat, poultry, fish and sea food
from their diets. Lacto vegetarians include milk, milk products but
exclude meat, poultry, fish and sea food from their diets. Strict
vegetarians include only grains, vegetables and fruits in their diets.
Normally, vegetarian diets are included a variety of whole
grains,vegetables,legumes and fruits which offer abundant complex
carbohydrate and fibres, an assortment of vitamins, minerals
,antioxidants and little fat. Therefore their diet will be helpful for
them in prevention and treatment of many diseases such as blood
pressure, coronary artery diseases and most notably the colon cancers.
But there are some limitations as well.
Therefore the most important thing in vegetarian diet is the proper
planning,if not their diet may be lack in certain important nutrients
such as protein, iron, zinc, calcium, vitamin B12 and vitamin D since
animal based foods are the richest source of these nutrients. So we will
see how you can plan your diet to overcome these limitations.
Protein: Lacto-ovo-vegetarians can easily obtain adequate amount of
protein since milk and eggs are good sources of high quality protein.
Include variety of protein rich foods in your diet Eg: grains, legumes
(eg: Dhal), seeds, nuts and vegetables (eg:soya beans, Beans). Always
select a variety of whole food rather than using meat replacements made
of textured vegetable protein(soy protein) which are formulated to look
and taste like meat, fish or poultry.
Iron: The iron in plant foods is poorly absorbed.
Eat a variety of nutrient dense food including whole grains nuts and
legumes and maintain an adequate energy intake. Calcium: Calcium intake
of lacto-ovo-vegetarians is similar to non vegetarians.
But other vegans have to include more calcium rich food sources in
their diet. Eg:okra, soyabean, cabbage, drumstick leaves, curry leaves,
fruits like woodapple, cashew nuts and sesame seeds.
Because, calcium is a vital nutrient for children and adolescents
especially for their bone development. Vitamin B12: Although the
requirement is small, it is found only in animal derived foods.
Therefore it is not a problem for lacto ovo vegetarian since eggs and
milk products are good source of vitamin B12.
But strict vegans must rely on vitamin B12 fortified food sources
such as cereal and soy milk to defense against vitamin B 12 deficiency.
Vitamin D: Enough exposure to sunlight can eliminate vitamin D
deficiency among vegans.
Older adults who do not have enough exposure to sunlight ,can use
vitamin D fortified milk.
Finally, I would like to say that if you plan your diet properly by
consuming wider varieties of foods in adequate amount, you can fulfill
your daily nutrient requirement. With proper planning of diet if you can
follow other healthy habits: no smoking, if at all regular physical
activities, adequate rest and get medical attention when needed ,this
all will contribute for a long healthy life.
- Dilki Supeshla Perera , Wayamba University of Sri Lanka
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