Tag Archives: medicine

A guide to 6 types of yoga

Don’t get in a twist over which type to choose. This guide will help you find a practice—whether you’re looking for muscle tone or peace of mind. 1. Hatha Ideal for: Beginners. What it is: Hatha refers to any practice that combines poses, or asanas, with breathing techniques, or pranayamas. The goal of a basic hatha class is to develop flexibility and balance and to integrate breath into every movement, so it is generally relaxing and restorative. In fact, a study published in the Journal of Nursing Research found that just one 90-minute hatha class significantly reduced women’s feelings of stress. Participants often begin by chanting the syllable om, then move into a series of poses and finish on the floor in a supine position called shavasana for 5 to 15 minutes, Julie Wood, the director of programming for YogaWorks, in New York City and California, said. Related: 10 Things Trainers Wish You Knew About Your Workout Good to know: You can gauge the intensity of a class by asking the instructor how quickly you’ll be moving (or “flowing”) between poses. If the answer is rapidly, you may want to find a slower-paced class for your first few sessions. 2. Vinyasa Ideal for: Weight loss. What it is: This fairly fast-paced style, sometimes called power yoga, requires you to move continuously throughout the class. The most well-known vinyasa sequence is the sun salutation, a flowing series of lunging, bending, and stretching asanas. Expect to do standing and seated poses that develop strength, flexibility, and balance. You’ll also spend some time on inversions, such as a shoulder stand or a headstand, in which the feet are raised above the head. (Don’t worry: You work up to them over time.) Related: Fun Hula-Hoop Exercise Routine Good to know: Vinyasa burns up to seven calories a minute, according to a study published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 3. Iyengar Ideal for: Anyone with neck or back problems. What it is: Developed by yoga guru B.K.S. Iyengar in the 1930s, this method emphasizes proper alignment to strengthen the muscles and support the joints. You often use props, like blocks and straps, to help you get into poses. In the 90-minute to two-hour class, you’ll do standing, seated, and twisting asanas, as well as inversions and backbends. (If your pain is due to an injury, be sure to check with your doctor first before starting a program.) Related: How to Start Running Good to know: This style of yoga can improve chronic neck pain, according to the Clinical Journal of Pain. 4. Bikram Ideal for: Building flexibility. What it is: Founder Bikram Choudhury popularized this style of “hot yoga” in the 1970s. To mimic the climate in Choudhury’s hometown in northern India, studios are heated to a sauna-like 105 degrees Fahrenheit, with a 40 percent humidity level. “The heat loosens your muscles, increasing your ability to stretch,” Raffael Pacitti, the owner of Bikram Yoga Manhattan, in New York City, said. Each 90-minute class includes a series of 26 poses done twice through, sandwiched between two sessions of breath work (think rapid inhalations and exhalations). Good to know: Avoid eating at least two hours before class, as being too full in high heat can make you feel nauseated. And don’t forget your towel and water bottle. 5. Kundalini Ideal for: A more spiritual experience. What it is: This form of yoga was developed to calm the mind and energize the body through movement, the chanting of mantras, and breathing. “The average session is made up of 50 percent exercise, 20 percent breath work, 20 percent meditation, and 10 percent relaxation,” Hari Nam Singh Khalsa, the director of Yogaheaven.com, said. The goal is to release the energy that kundalini devotees believe is stored at the base of the spine. Good to know: Consider this style the most “out there.” If chanting is not for you, simply repeat the mantras in your head. 6. Ashtanga Ideal for: Seasoned yoga practitioners. What it is: This physically challenging style consists of an unvarying sequence of poses. “Typically, you execute 70 poses in one 90-minute to two-hour session,” Coni Pappas, the owner of White Orchid Yoga, in Clearwater, Fla., said. These will include 10 sun salutations, backbends, and inversions. Good to know: Ashtanga requires strength and endurance, so you’ll get the most out of it if you practice regularly. Make a commitment to do the routine at least three times a week.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/28/guide-to-6-types-yoga/

Patient communication has room to grow, study shows

There's room - and need - for improvement in the discussions between doctor and patient that go into medical decision-making, according to research out on Monday. In four studies and a commentary published in JAMA Internal Medicine, the authors look at various aspects of doctors' dialogue with patients about prognoses, options and treatment preferences and find little consistency. And though not all patients want the responsibility of making treatment decisions, medical organizations have long promoted the idea of patient-centered care through shared decision-making, and the 2010 Affordable Care and Patient Protection Act that goes into effect next year incorporates the idea into law. What's more, “When physicians reach out and communicate to patients that their views are welcome, patients really like that a lot,” said Floyd Fowler, senior scientific advisor for the Informed Medical Decisions Foundation in Boston. But research in the past decade showed that U.S. patients with common medical conditions were not being adequately informed about their treatment options, so Fowler and his colleagues wanted to see if anything had changed recently. They surveyed 2,718 U.S. adults who were over 40 years old in 2011 and had seen a doctor for any of the five most commonly treated medical conditions - high blood pressure and cholesterol, prostate and breast cancer screenings and back and knee problems - during the previous two years. They found that doctors tended to discuss the pros and cons of surgeries, but not of cancer screenings or the choice of medication to treat high blood pressure or cholesterol. “Each decision has its own dynamic, and it's intriguing that the heart risk related discussions weren't very good,” said Fowler, the study's lead author. He added that doctors may view back and knee surgeries as more complicated treatments, which is why they were discussed in more detail. In a separate study of 207 kidney patients from two dialysis centers in Boston, researchers found that doctors rarely discussed very sick patients' prognoses or their eligibility for kidney transplants. Dialysis patients tend to have one- and five-year survival rates comparable to those of many cancer patients, Dr. Melissa Wachterman, a palliative care physician with the VA Boston Healthcare system, and her colleagues point out in their report. “Talking about prognosis is tough, but there are a lot of reasons why there is a benefit for patients to have this information if they want it,” Wachterman said. In their study, Wachterman's team interviewed 60 of the sickest dialysis patients and their doctors about expectations for the patients' survival and to what degree they had been discussed. The researchers found only two patients whose doctors may have discussed their prognosis with them, and that more than half of the doctors said they would refuse to discuss prognoses - even if patients asked. “I think we do a disservice to patients if we don't give them a sense that time could be short, because they have a lot that they want to do with the time they have left,” Wachterman said. In addition, the researchers found that while patients were good judges of whether or not they'd live another year, they tended to overestimate their long-term survival without their doctors' guidance. “I think - in the long term - having this kind of information can actually give people hope and the ability to plan,” Wachterman said. But not everyone may want to play an active role in their care, according to Dr. Mack Lipkin, a professor of medicine at the New York University School of Medicine and the Bellevue Hospital Center in New York City. “There are many people who want to be active participants in their care but there are also many people who prefer not to be so active,” said Lipkin, who wrote an editorial accompanying the new research. That's supported by a study of hospitalized patients, led by Hyo Jung Tak of University of Chicago, which found the vast majority wanted information on their illness and treatment options but more than 70 percent wanted doctors to make their medical decisions. Moreover, Tak's group found that patients who preferred to participate in decision-making were more expensive. They stayed, on average, an extra quarter day in the hospital and racked up $155 to $1,576 more in costs. Still, a study led by Dr. Harlan Krumholz, of Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, surveyed 7,000 heart attack patients and found more than two-thirds preferred to play an active role in decision-making. A quarter of the respondents preferred to be the sole decision-maker. At the very least, Krumholz's report concludes, doctors “who aspire to provide patient-centered care” should ask patients about their decision-making preferences directly. Lipkin also said it's best to ask patients their preferences. “We think the first thing to do is ask the patient what they'd like to know, how they'd like to learn it and then tell them,” he said. Fowler added that patients who want to be a part of the decision process shouldn't be afraid to speak up, and he hopes they get used to sharing in the process as the Affordable Care Act emphasizes shared decision-making initiatives. “We're hoping these types of changes that are in the works really happen… and that when we repeat the study three or four years from now we'll start to see a difference. That would be great,” he said.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/28/patient-communication-has-room-to-grow-study-shows/

Boosting body’s natural flu killers as way to offset virus mutation problem

Emergence of new influenza strains, such as the recent avian influenza (H5N1) and swine influenza (H1N1 2009), can lead to the emergence of severe pandemics that pose a major threat to the entire world population. Recently, the concern regarding the emergence of such a pandemic arose when a new and deadly avian influenza strain (H7N9) was discovered in China, causing the death of six people in only one month. The body’s immune system can fight influenza infection. Natural killer (NK) cells, which are an essential component of this system, can recognize and eliminate influenza-virus-infected cells and inhibit the spread of the virus in the respiratory system…

Sugary drinks tied to kidney stone risk

Adults who drink at least one sugar-sweetened drink a day are slightly more likely to develop kidney stones than people who rarely imbibe them, according to a new study. While the recommendation for kidney stone prevention has been to drink a lot of fluids, the study suggests that it's not just the amount of fluid but the type of drink that also matters. Dr. Gary Curhan, the senior author of the study, said patients often ask for dietary advice to help prevent kidney stones. While the recommendation has been to drink plenty of fluids, Curhan said, patients often ask, “what should I drink? There's a lot of lore out there.” To see whether the type of beverage might matter, Curhan, of the Channing Division of Network Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital, and his colleagues collected data from three massive surveys of nearly 200,000 people. The questionnaires surveyed participants every two to four years and asked about diet, lifestyle and health, including how much they drank certain beverages and whether they developed kidney stones. None of the people in the study had kidney stones at the start. They found that 159 out of every 100,000 people who drank a sugar-sweetened non-cola beverage, such as clear soda, less than once a week developed kidney stones, compared to 306 out of every 100,000 who drank soda daily. After accounting for other factors, that translated to a 33 percent greater chance of developing kidney stones. Frequent punch drinkers also had an 18 percent higher chance of developing kidney stones. For every 100,000 people who drank punch at least every day, 226 developed kidney stones, compared to 158 out of every 100,000 participants who had punch less than once a week. Curhan said that while the numbers of people developing kidney stones in each group are not enormously different, the increased risk spread across an entire population is quite big. “Sodas are so commonly used that even though the absolute rate doesn't look that different, if there's a huge number of people consuming it, then the magnitude on the public health can be quite substantial,” Curhan told Reuters Health. Other drinks, such as coffee, tea, wine, beer and orange juice were tied to a lower risk of developing kidney stones. For instance, 205 out of every 100,000 people who rarely drank coffee developed kidney stones, compared to 137 out of every 100,000 people who drank it daily. Just 96 out of every 100,000 people who drank red wine daily developed kidney stones, while 174 out of every 100,000 people who drank red wine less than once a week developed kidney stones. Curhan's study, published in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, follows others showing a link between stones and fructose, non-dairy calcium, vitamin C supplements and other factors. The new study doesn't prove cause-and-effect between certain drinks and kidney stones, but it's possible that sugar could be involved, Curhan said, because it might play a role in how the body handles calcium. Another possibility is that sugary drinks might be contributing to obesity, and obesity is also tied to a higher kidney stone risk, said Dr. Elaine Worcester, a professor at the University of Chicago, who was not part of the study. Despite the lack of proof of a cause-effect relationship, Worcester said “these kinds of studies are the best we have to give advice to our patients.”source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/23/sugary-drinks-tied-to-kidney-stone-risk/

Cannabis use associated with lower blood sugar

A new study published in the American Journal of Medicine has revealed a potential benefit from the use of cannabis. The article, entitled “The Impact of Marijuana Use on Glucose, Insulin, and Insulin Resistance among U.S. Adults,” investigated the blood sugar-related effects of cannabis use among participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2005 to 2010. In several other studies of large populations, lower rates of both obesity and diabetes have been noted among users of cannabis, as compared with non-users. This curious fact encouraged the three primary authors of the study to examine cannabis use among the 4657 participants in the national survey. The researchers noted that although cannabis smokers generally consume more calories than non-users, they paradoxically live with lower body mass indexes (BMIs) and reduced rates of both obesity and diabetes. Of the participants in the national survey, 579 were currently using cannabis and 1975 had previously used cannabis. To assess blood glucose, insulin resistance and other factors among cannabis users, the authors organized survey participants into three groups – those who had never used cannabis, those who had used cannabis but not within 30 days, and those who were current users. The authors put study participants through tests for fasting blood sugar levels, high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) testing, and assessments of blood pressure, BMI and waist circumference. The researchers found that subjects who were current cannabis users had lower levels of fasting insulin, lower levels of insulin resistance, smaller waist circumference, and higher levels of HDL cholesterol, which is known to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. This supported findings from earlier studies in which cannabis users showed improved weight, improved insulin resistance, and reduced incidence of diabetes, as compared with non-users. While the potential relationship between cannabis and improved body mass and blood sugar has yet to be fully understood, it is believed that cannabis acts on the cannabinoid 1 and 2 receptors in the brain, enhancing the activity of adiponectin. This hormone helps to regulate blood sugar and plays a role in controlling weight and reducing the tendency toward diabetes.   Cannabis is the most widely used illicit drug in the United States, with approximately 17 million regular users. Medical marijuana has been legalized in 19 states plus the District of Columbia, and two states, Colorado and Washington, have legalized cannabis outright. A number of states have effectively decriminalized the possession of small quantities of cannabis and its use. This fundamental shift in legal status has drawn more researchers to investigate cannabis for any possible health benefits. This study strikes at the heart of two major epidemics: obesity and diabetes. Based on results reported in this study and supported by other epidemiological surveys, it is possible that cannabis use helps to reduce the tendency toward both obesity and type 2 diabetes. Thus, the substance that induces “the munchies” may hold hope for two epidemic diseases arising from overeating.Chris Kilham is a medicine hunter who researches natural remedies all over the world, from the Amazon to Siberia. He teaches ethnobotany at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he is Explorer In Residence. Chris advises herbal, cosmetic and pharmaceutical companies and is a regular guest on radio and TV programs worldwide. His field research is largely sponsored by Naturex of Avignon, France. Read more at& MedicineHunter.com.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/22/cannabis-use-associated-with-lower-blood-sugar/

Cancer and birth defects in Iraq: The nuclear legacy

The radioactive element uranium is widely dispersed throughout Earth’s crust and is much sought after as a fuel for nuclear power plants and for use in weapons. Depleted uranium (DU), commonly used in modern munitions such as defensive armour plating and armour-piercing projectiles, is 40 per cent less radioactive than natural uranium, but remains a significant and controversial danger to human health. The World Health Organisation (WHO) sets a maximum uranium exposure of 1 millisievert (mSv) per year for the general public, but environmental scientists at the University of Mosul and the Institute of Forest Ecology, Universitaet für Bodenkultur (BOKU), Vienna, Austria, led by Riyad Abdullah Fathi have measured significant levels of uranium in soil samples from three sites in the province of Nineveh in the north of Iraq. Writing in the journal Medicine, Conflict and Survival, Fathi and colleagues link their findings with dramatic increases in cancers reported to the Mosul Cancer Registry and the Iraqi national cancer registry (which began collecting data in 1975)…

Timing of cancer radiation therapy may minimize hair loss

The study, which appears in the early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), found that mice lost 85 percent of their hair if they received radiation therapy in the morning, compared to a 17 percent loss when treatment occurred in the evening. The researchers, from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, the University of Southern California (USC) and the University of California, Irvine (UCI), worked out the precise timing of the hair circadian clock, and also uncovered the biology behind the clockwork — the molecules that tells hair when to grow and when to repair damage. They then tested the clock using radiotherapy. …

Genetic testing guidelines under fire

If you underwent a genetic test for a heart condition, but the test also revealed that you have a high risk of colon cancer, would you want to know? A respected scientific society says your doctor should tell you, but the group is receiving criticism for its recommendation that “incidental findings” of genetic tests be shared with patients. Incidental findings are unexpected results, unrelated to the reason for testing. What to do with these findings has been a controversial issue for adults undergoing genetic testing, as well as children. In March, the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) released guidelines saying that when patients receive genetic testing for any medical reason, they should be screened for mutations in an additional 57 genes, including mutations that strongly increase the risk of breast, ovarian and colon cancer. The ACMG argues that doctors have an obligation to look for and report these mutations because there are ways that people can act to reduce their of developing a medical disorder. However, some researchers and bioethicists say the new recommendations go too far, and take away patients' rights to refuse medical information they do not wish to know. Informed consent A crucial part of genetic testing ethics is ensuring that patients understand what a test might find, and what those findings could mean for future treatment. Under the new recommendations, a patient who consents to any genetic test is consenting to be screened for mutations in an additional 57 genes. Some bioethicists take issue with this approach, because patients may not wish to know their results for all of these genes. A positive result for any one of these mutations may increase patients' anxiety, or cause them to live their life differently, said Susan Wolf, a professor of law, medicine and public policy at the University of Minnesota. Under the new guidelines, “unless they are willing to have this extra analysis done, the only option is to walk away from the sequencings altogether,” Wolf said. “It's all or nothing.” Arthur Caplan, a bioethicist at New York University School of Medicine's Division of Medical Ethics, agreed that patients should have an opportunity to refuse. “People do not have any obligations to accept any findings that they hadnt been expecting,” Caplan said. And even calling such findings “incidental” is a misnomer, Wolf said, because under the new guidelines, researchers have to actively test for these gene mutations. What about kids? Earlier this year, both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the AMCG advised that children not be screened for genetic conditions that occur in adulthood (such as breast cancer), unless some action in childhood can lower the risk of disease or death. Children should wait until they are at least 18 years old to decide if they want to know their risk, the guidelines say. But under the new recommendations, children should be informed about any findings from the extra screening, including those that relate to adult disorders. Supporters of the new recommendations say that they are not at odds with earlier guidelines. Dr. Robert Green, of Harvard Medical School, and colleagues, wrote in the May 16 issue of the journal Science that if doctors are screening a child for a genetic disease that occurs in adulthood, the child would presumably have a family history of the disease. With incidental findings, no other family members, including the child, would be known to be at risk. So reporting an incidental finding could alert the child, as well as other family members including adults, to their risk of a certain condition, Green said. But others disagree, saying the new recommendations contradict earlier guidelines, and are not in children's best interest. “You've deprived the child of their own choice later as an adult,” Wolf said. Practical issues The guidelines also say that patients should be counseled about the implications of genetic testing before the test is ordered. But some argue that discussing all 57 genes would be demanding. “That is going to be a rather time consuming process,” said Dr. Harry Ostrer, a medical geneticist at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City. Wolf and others are calling on the AMCG to reconsider the new guidelines. The AMCG says that the guidelines will be reviewed yearly and updated in light of new evidence. But in the meantime, doctors are in a bind about what to do when screening patients. “It really creates a big dilemma because, when an organization like the AMCG makes a recommendation, it's seen as establishing a standard of care,” Ostrer said. If doctors don't follow the guidelines, patients could sue for malpractice if it turns out they are a carrier of a mutation that the additional screening would have caught, Ostrer said. Ostrer said he would like to see more evidence about how patients respond to being told about incidental findings. Studies looking at this question are being carried out now, he said. Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/20/genetic-testing-guidelines-under-fire/