The human brain is the most complex and highly sophisticated computer ever built. The entire nervous system is very complex and is as vulnerable to various problems as the rest of the body is. There is fear of damage to the brain cells, infections, injuries, degeneration and other defects and tumors. Degeneration or disease in which nerve cells degenerate and die, usually quite slowly, is pre-senile dementia, which includes Alzheimer’s.

What is Alzheimer’s Disease?

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a non-reversible age-related brain disorder that develops over a period of time (years). In the initial stages, people experience confusion and memory loss, which usually is mistaken for memory changes associated with aging. However, these symptoms of AD gradually lead to personality and behavior changes, a decline in cognitive abilities such as decision-making skills, language skills as well as problems recognizing even close family and friends. Ultimately, AD leads to loss of mental function. These losses are caused by the worsening breakdown of the connections between different neurons in the brain and eventually their death. AD comes under the group of disorders called dementias and is the most common cause of dementia among people aged 65 and older. (more…)

Death begins in the colon! That may sound a little extreme but it is a fact that a troubled colon leads to all sorts of diseases, some more serious than the others. Colon cleansing is one of the best ways of cleaning an unhealthy colon that is severely out of balance. While it is necessary to learn about different methods of cleansing, it is of utmost importance to understand that several mishaps can occur if colon cleansing is not performed properly.

Do not believe anyone that says colon cleansing is free from any reactions. It is common to have physical reactions to the colon cleansing process. These reactions may include headaches, vomiting, fatigue, diarrhea or dizziness. For all the discomfort, this is actually a sign that the process is working and that you are actually eliminating toxins from the body. Although, these symptoms may not be considered as serious, if they do occur, you may need to temporarily cut back on your cleansing procedure.

You must learn not to confuse cleansing supplements with laxatives. Laxatives are not considered to be a good alternative, despite the fact that many health professionals recommend them. According to colon hydrotherapists, laxatives only stimulate the muscular movement of the colon. They can also cause dehydration and do nothing to loosen and remove the colon’s false lining. Laxatives may also weaken the colon by irritating and over-stimulating it, and it is best to stay away from them. (more…)

Prenatal diagnosis is currently the most widespread application of technology and genetic knowledge. Along with the benefits that advancing technologies provide, they also give birth to new dilemmas. Researchers can now detect many health problems of an unborn child in the womb. While it is a good thing as it helps parents prepare well to receive such a child, this information also creates situations where parents face the wrenching decision of whether they should give birth to the child or terminate the pregnancy. They are left to decide if giving birth to such a child is an injustice to the child.

What about the ethics of prenatal testing, especially in Down syndrome? How do mothers experience the personal and ethical choices about prenatal testing? We should also be looking at the perspective of mothers of children with Down syndrome.

Society believes that it is a grave burden to raise a child with Down syndrome and that it is both medically appropriate and morally correct to take measures to ensure the child is not born. Because of few treatment options, testing is basically linked to the only option of ‘therapeutic’ abortion. (more…)

A woman’s curse? In the West, through much of its history, women were considered ritually unclean during the monthly flow of blood. This period put a woman into a state of ritual defilement. Theologians believed that this “unclean creature” could not be entrusted with the care of God’s sacred rituals. Similar taboos existed among many cultures, including the Greeks and Romans. Women were not only considered to be “impure” but in danger of communicating this impurity to others. Anyone who touches a woman or her belongings becomes unclean and must clean themselves. These traditions were onerous and complicated.

Now for the blessings of the curse! The same blood is now claimed by researchers as life-saving. It is found to contain stem cells that are in the early stages of development, thus having the potential to turn into different types of cells.

American and Japanese researchers say that this blood contains adult stem cells and can be the “super repair kit” for the body. These stem cells can be used to develop nine different types of cells for growing new cartilage, bone, fat, skin, brain cells, lung, nerve, muscle and even the heart. (more…)

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). (more…)

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. (more…)

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. (more…)

“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. (more…)

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. (more…)

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. (more…)