Any form of cancer does not only affect the person diagnosed, but the family also. Every year more than two thousand people are diagnosed with mesothelioma, one of the most dreaded diseases that is linked to inhalation of asbestos dust and fibers. This disease lies dormant hiding itself for many years or even decades before revealing its dark face, by which time it is often too late to do anything about it. The most unfortunate aspect of this disease is that it is often misdiagnosed because it has symptoms that are similar to other diseases and certain types of lung cancer.

Over the years, science has advanced tremendously but there have not been many breakthroughs in research and many clinical trials underway currently, for the diagnosis and treatment of mesothelioma.

Dr. Anton Berns from The Netherlands Cancer Institute says, “There is an urgent need for experimental models of malignant mesothelioma that can be used to not only study the onset and progression of the disease, but also to serve as a model to select new combination therapies and targeted agents.”

This is precisely the reason why the results of the latest test conducted by the Columbia University Medical Center and Rosetta Genomics Ltd. is being hailed as a major breakthrough, especially for people suffering from this form of cancer. Researchers say that now they can differentiate between lung cancers of two forms, squamous and the non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Read the rest of this entry »

By now you know that it is not possible to “live” with a toxic colon because it will not let you live. Yes, it can get very bad if neglected and lead to a host of debilitating health issues, including obesity, severe gastrointestinal dysfunction, gum disease, food allergies as well as recurring depression. But, how do you know if you are a victim?

You will certainly know when you cannot see your knees anymore – due to overweight. That sounds scary but it is a fact.

There are other ways of finding out the condition of the colon. One obvious sign is difficult and painful bowel movements. According to Robert Gray, a nutritional counselor, “Few people have any inkling as to how much old, hardened feces are chronically present within their bodies.”

Transit time can also be used to measure the health of a bowel, with the optimal transit time being 18-20 hours. Other symptoms of a toxic bowel are bloating and gas, weight gain, lower back pain, headaches, fatigue, depression, dark circles under the eyes, sallow complexion, abnormal body odor, tender abdomen and bad breath.

While observing the symptoms is essential, nutritionists also advise undergoing tests to get more detailed information about the colon condition. These tests may also help determine the treatment that is needed. Read the rest of this entry »

A trend for specialization has seen an increase in healthcare facilities all over the world. A healthcare facility can be anything from a simple medical clinic to a large multispecialty hospital. A good hospital is one that has specialized staff and equipment, the latest technology, research facilities, conducts clinical trials and strives towards improving patient care.

With the thousands of hospitals out there, deciding where to get treatment is a daunting task. However, hospital popularity among patients goes a long way in determining which hospital is good and what each hospital specializes in.

Consistency being the key; hospitals with consistent great performance are considered to be the best. Hospitals that belong to this cadre not only recruit the most qualified physicians and nursing care, but also strive to provide specialized services to patients.

There are several such health facilities in the United States that provide specialized services to their patients. Here we look at a few top hospitals that have good reviews from the patients as well as from various hospital surveys done. They top the charts of the healthcare providers.

1:- The Johns Hopkins Hospital

A teaching hospital situated in Baltimore, Maryland, The Johns Hopkins Hospital is considered to be one of the best hospitals in the world. It has been topping the charts at No. 1 in the U.S. News and World Report for 18 years consecutively.

Inception

This hospital was founded in the year 1889, in the name of Johns Hopkins, who was a banker and merchant in Baltimore. He left several million dollars and asked for this money to be used in the creation of two institutions under his name. Thus came into being, “The Johns Hopkins Hospital” and “The Johns Hopkins University.”

Johns Hopkins Hospital Institutions:

• The Brady Urological Institute
• The Wilmer Eye Institute
• The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center
• The Johns Hopkins Children’s Center

Specialties

The hospital has been ranked high for the following specialties:

• Rheumatology
• Urology
• Otolaryngology (ear, nose and throat)
• Neurology and Neurosurgery
• Psychiatry
• Gynecology
• Ophthalmology
• Geriatrics

The above specialties are ranked high; however, their services extend to several other branches, such as respiratory disorders, digestive disorders, endocrinology, oncology, heart and heart surgery, orthopedics, general pediatrics and kidney diseases. They have a rehabilitation section as well. Read the rest of this entry »

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is an epidemic that threatens millions of lives globally. Even with all the advancement of science, there is no known cure and the only hope is to prevent the transmission of the AIDS causing Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).

The HIV virus takes several routes to transmit the disease, such as sexual contact, exposure to contaminated blood or blood products, needle sticks and in pregnancy, which is the worst, because it also affects the baby. Breast feeding is said to increase the risk of transmission from mothers to infants by almost 10 to 20%. In countries like the UK and U.S., HIV-positive mothers are advised not to breastfeed; however, in countries that are hardest hit by HIV, such as Africa, HIV-positive mothers have no alternative to breastfeeding and there are no effective methods as of now, to prevent HIV transmission through this route.

In this scary scenario, researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago and Lavax, of Palatine, Ill., have come up with a ray of hope in the form of a freeze-dried formula that reduces the risk of transmission to the infants. This formula contains good bacteria, which has the potential to capture and destroy this virus.

Researchers reveal that they have isolated a particular strain of probiotic lactobacilli from the mouth of humans. This strain belongs to the same species as the one found in dairy products, such as yogurt.

The HIV virus is captured by this strain by binding itself to the outer envelope of the HIV virus. Since this grows and reproduces in milk, after inoculation with Lactobacillus, the protection for the infant is expected to last till weaning. Read the rest of this entry »

“Funiculus umbilicalis” in spite of sounding like a magic spell from a Harry Potter movie; is the Latin name for the narrow cord of tissue, commonly known as the umbilical cord that connects the embryo to the placenta. It brings nutrient-rich oxygenated blood from the placenta to the embryo or fetus and returns the deoxygenated, nutrient-depleted blood to the placenta.

According to researchers, this fetal life-support system has now been found to have other uses too. Stem cells from the umbilical cord are said to be helpful in the treatment of several diseases, such as hepatic diseases, sickle cell disease, leukemia, thallasemia, Hodgkin’s lymphoma and others. When healthy stem cells are transplanted into an ill child, these cells can grow new bone marrow cells and replace the destroyed ones.

Cord blood is the blood that is left in the umbilical cord after birth. This blood contains stem cells, which is what a human body is made of. These cells have the ability to develop into hundreds of different types of cells in the human body, like blood cells, bone marrow cells and brain cells. They are found at every stage, when developing from an embryo into an adult.

Stem cell research was always believed to hold awesome potential. Scientists believe that stem cells may be used to repair or even replace damaged cells and this has a huge potential of changing the treatment for diseases such as cancer, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s etc.

Researchers from the Universities of Leon and Granada have revealed that the human umbilical cord blood cells (HUCBCs) have been studied to have the capacity to treat hepatic diseases, such as hepatitis. They also say these cells can prove to be an effective alternative to bone marrow.

Currently, the treatment for hepatic failure is liver transplant; however, this is an issue because of lack of enough donors. There is also no specific treatment for fibrosis that is caused by hepatic diseases and this research can help many people suffering from this condition. Read the rest of this entry »

It is said that hundreds of years ago, the intestinal “transit time” was much shorter than it is now, which is the interval from the time the food entered the mouth until it was excreted as feces. In those days, this was believed to be between 15 and 20 hours; whereas now it is anywhere from 50 to 70 hours.

The reason for this drastic increase is that our diets now consist of less fiber from fruits and vegetables. Since fiber is indigestible, it gives the stools bulk, making them soft and flexible. Another factor that determines the transit time is the modern lifestyles, antibiotics, stress, and certain foods that form acid, such as eggs, meat, sugar etc. These things cause a thick and sticky mucus formation in the intestinal tract.

Food remains longer in the intestinal tract, putrefying the stool, letting harmful microorganisms flourish and toxins develop and poison the body. The perfect transit time should be about 18 to 20 hours, with 24 to 48 hours being acceptable. Ideally, just like babies do, even adults should have unforced bowel movements about 20 minutes after every meal.

The sign of a healthy colon is stool that is soft but formed, and consists of 70% water but has enough bulk to respond to the muscular contractions of the bowel.

Unhealthy intestinal functions have a major impact on the body weight. People who have a toxic colon tend to overeat, since they cannot absorb the nutrients they are consuming. Human body goes into a nutritional crisis and metabolic shock waves travel to every cell in the body, when the bowel fails.

Nutritionists say that more than 90% of the people metabolize less than 55% of what they eat. Many even happen to consider it normal to have a bowel movement once a day or even every few days. It is easy to understand how all this works, if we question what is happening to all the food that is eaten, where is it all going, if there is only one bowel movement everyday or every other day.

It is not only the weight of the fecal material that contributes to weight gain. Even toxic byproducts from the colon can lower metabolism and drain the body of energy. They also put a lot of burden on the liver and kidneys. The main reason why toxins from the colon need to be cleansed is to remove those byproducts from getting back into other parts of the body. Once the colon is clean, the metabolism should work as it has to, and with that the main obstacle to weight loss is eliminated. Read the rest of this entry »

Being diagnosed with mesothelioma is understandably met with disbelief, shock and dread, but that soon gives way to investigating the disease and looking at what is going on in the world of mesothelioma therapies and treatments.

There are several treatment options for mesothelioma, although none have been capable of curing cancer caused by asbestos exposure. Conventional methods used for treating have not proved successful and the survival rate of patients after treatment has been below twelve months.

Earlier, treatment was often aggressive in the form of surgeries; however, a lot of progress has been made in the medical field and surgery is now combined with chemotherapy or/and radiation therapy. There are several other treatment options available as well as a whole lot of research going on in this field.

Surgery by itself has proven to be unsuccessful, which involves a pleurectomy, where the chest lining is taken out. A not-so-common surgery involves taking out the inside lining of the chest, the pericardium and the hemi-diaphragm are also taken out, and this is known as the extrapleural pneumonectomy. Both are major surgeries requiring long periods of anesthesia, and people with heart problems or poor lung capacity are not considered good candidates for these surgeries. Read the rest of this entry »

Human beings are susceptible to diseases that make our body weak but conditions such as cancer make us emotionally low as well, due to the fear factor and loss of hope involved, which is a result of lack of proper cure. The uncertainty of life hits home hardest when any type of cancer is diagnosed.

Mesothelioma is one of the most common primary tumors involving the pleura, which is the outer covering of the lungs and the cavity of the chest. It may sometimes occur in the peritoneum too, which is the abdominal cavity lining or even the pericardium surrounding the heart. This cancer is considered to be difficult for physicians to diagnose and treat.

There are different ways in which a person can get affected by this dreaded disease.

Mesothelioma due to asbestos exposure is the most common. Who would have thought that a simple exposure to a substance that is used in many products and in workplaces can spell disaster?

Asbestos exposure has been proved to lead to serious and fatal diseases, such as mesothelioma. Unfortunately, the symptoms are slow to show up and take a long time to develop and in some cases it may take more than twenty years. Research shows that people who smoke tobacco and have been exposed to asbestos are at a far greater risk for cancer than non-smokers. Read the rest of this entry »

Terror is said to wound the brain just as bullets wound the body. Exposure to trauma and events that are extremely tough to handle affect the body chemistry.

This is what happens to soldiers at war, who develop disorders related to the brain or suffer from depression caused by traumatic experiences. Hundreds of thousands of troops serving the nation in Iraq and Afghanistan are said to be suffering from major depression or Post-traumatic stress.

This major health crisis is being handled by the U.S. Military in a way that has never been done in history – by popping the pill.

Growing numbers of U.S. troops are reported to be taking daily doses of Prozac, which is an antidepressant, to calm the nerves.

Officials say that increasing violence in Afghanistan and the isolation caused the troops to rely more on medication; although, it is the same in Iraq, but to a lesser extent. The Army’s fifth Mental Health Advisory Team report reveals data that shows about 12% of the Iraqi combat troops and 17% of the Afghanistan troops are taking antidepressants or sleeping pills.

Prozac (Fluoxetine hydrochloride) is the third most prescribed antidepressant, with over 22.2 million prescriptions having been filled during the last year alone. It has been approved by the FDA for use in treatment of obsessive compulsive disorder, clinical depression, panic disorder and bulimia nervosa. It is prescribed to alleviate anxiety and improve sleep.

Healthcare professionals say that antidepressants are to be used on people with chemical imbalances and not on people who are justifiably depressed because they see horror every day and they are thousands of miles away from home. If antidepressants are given to people without chemical imbalances, it can lead to adverse reactions and probably made worse by “medication.” They are also of the opinion that these soldiers need to receive appropriate care for the mental health conditions, or else they will have to face long-term consequences. Read the rest of this entry »

“To my favorite honeydew, do you carrot all for me?
My heart beets for you, with your turnip nose, and radish face.
You are a peach. If we cantaloupe, lettuce marry.
Weed make a swell pear.” ~ Author - unknown

“Eat your vegetables and fruits” is one of the most heard recommendations and it holds true for every age group, from children to the elderly.

Most people that eat meat do not consume enough vegetables and fruits. They believe that their nutritional requirement is being met with meat. This is a totally wrong notion as plant food includes more fiber and less cholesterol and fat than a meat diet.

Irrespective of the age of the person, it is important to ensure that the body is deriving the benefits of all the essential nutrients, by eating a well-balanced diet with the addition of plenty of vegetables and fruits. This will provide the body with the much needed vitamins and proteins that keep all sorts of diseases, such as heart diseases at bay.

Researchers have confirmed that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables lowers the risk of stroke and heart disease. They believe that the higher the intake of fruits and vegetables, the lower the chances of cardiovascular disease. Although, all the vegetables and fruits contribute towards the health of the heart, green leafy vegetables such as spinach, lettuce, mustard greens and Swiss chard; cruciferous vegetables such as cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts; citrus fruits such as lemons, limes, grapefruit and oranges (even juice) are excellent for the heart.

The main risk for stroke and heart disease is high blood pressure, which needs to be kept under control. People take medications on a regular basis and diet is considered to be an extremely effective means of lowering blood pressure. Consuming a diet rich in vegetables and fruits has been found by researchers to lower the systolic blood pressure by almost 11 mm Hg and the diastolic blood pressure by 6 mm Hg, which is as good as any medication. Blood pressure can be lowered even more when carbohydrates in the diet are replaced with unsaturated fat or protein. Read the rest of this entry »