Clipmarks | mugofcoffee's 'disease' clips

Seized by Alzheimer’s, Then Love

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 08:18:40 GMT

clipped by: mugofcoffee
clipper's remarks: Heart-warming story...

Institutionalized patients, including those with Alzheimer’s, sometimes find new romance. (Marko Georgiev/The New York Times)

Sometimes Alzheimer’s disease means losing a loved one twice.

As the disease ravages the brain and erases memory, patients who have been married for years, even most of their lives, may stop recognizing their spouses. And sometimes, in a phenomenon rarely discussed, husbands and wives find they must watch helplessly as patients fall in love with someone entirely new.

The romantic lives of Alzheimer’s patients made headlines this week with news that the 77-year-old husband of retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, John Jay O’Connor III, has found companionship with a woman in the nursing home in which he lives. The two patients reportedly spend time together and hold hands, even in the presence of Justice O’Connor.

Let them have a friend, if it buys them a day of happiness

Obesity 'equal to terror threat'

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 05:40:02 GMT

clipped by: mugofcoffee

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

The threat to Britain and the NHS from rising obesity is as grave as that posed by terrorism, a top expert says.

compelling manufacturers to improve the salt, fat and sugar content of their products.

He said that bigger warning labels, changes in the taxation of "unhealthy" foods, and even the use of compulsory regulations to force manufacturers to cut levels of salt, sugar and fat in their foods could be employed.

The recent review by Lord Darzi placed emphasis on the prevention of disease as a priority for the NHS, as did the Public Health White Paper in 2004.

A spokesman for the Department of Health pointed to the decision to fluoridate drinking water to improve oral health, and the introduction of smoking bans, as signs that it was serious about this.

"We are tackling obesity through awareness campaigns and action in schools. Our alcohol and sexual health campaigns encourage responsible drinking and safer sex."

Weather alerts boosts lung health..

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 00:02:42 GMT

clipped by: mugofcoffee

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

By Jane Elliott
Health reporter, BBC News

A scheme warning people with a lung condition about weather which could have an effect on them has cut hospital admissions for the problem by a fifth.

The Met Office alerts tell people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) when cold weather is due.

More than 8,000 patients from 189 GP practices across the UK are signed up to the scheme.

The British Lung Foundation says users can plan to avoid being out during cold snaps which could harm their health.

COPD is a progressive lung disease that affects over 900,000 people in the UK, causing acute breathlessness meaning everyday life can be very difficult.

Cold air can worsen symptoms by making airways narrower, making it even harder to breathe. Chest infections are also more common in winter.

Deaths due to respiratory disease, like COPD, increase 12 days after a fall in temperature, which causes an increase in colds and breathing problems.

Stomach bug treatment for cancer...

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 16:18:06 GMT

clipped by: mugofcoffee

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

H. pylori is commonly known as the main cause of stomach ulcers

Eradicating a common bug in people with stomach cancer can prevent the disease from recurring, research suggests.

Helicobacter pylori, proved to be the cause of most stomach ulcers, has also been linked with stomach cancer.

In a study of 550 people who had stomach cancer surgery, antibiotics which killed the bug cut the risk of a second cancer developing by two-thirds.

There will now be a trial of 56,000 British people to see if killing the bacterium stops the cancer developing.

H. pylori lives in the stomach, and accounts for up to 90% of duodenal ulcers and up to 80% of gastric ulcers.

Preventing gastric cancer by eradicating H. pylori in high-risk regions should be a priority

The World Health Organisation also classes the bacterium as a leading cause of stomach cancer.

Patients with early stomach cancer underwent a procedure to remove the cancerous cells and surrounding tissue.

The long goodbye!

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 21:33:13 GMT

clipped by: mugofcoffee

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

The fourth instalment of the World News America series on Alzheimer's goes to South Korea, a country with the most rapidly ageing population in the world, as the BBC's John Sudworth reports.

Lee Byung Ray and Cho Sook Ja have been married for 50 years.

Alzheimer's disease has deprived Mrs Cho of her speech, her memory and her power to recognise faces.

In their apartment in Seoul, Mr Lee said he had only one wish: to outlive his wife.

"In Korea it used to be the tradition for children to look after their parents," he said.

"But society has changed and I want my children to be free of this burden, so I need to live as long as possible."

According to South Korean government figures, in the year 2000, 7% of the population were over the age of 65.

By 2019 it will have doubled.

"But the Korean family structure is becoming more nuclear, women are pursuing their own careers and people are no longer able to look after their elderly relatives."

The Alzheimer gene hunters...

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 01:23:24 GMT

clipped by: mugofcoffee
clipper's remarks: interesting and sad too! read through the full account at the site...

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

The Long Goodbye - Part 3

By Claire Marshall
BBC News, Dominican Republic

The third instalment of World News America's series on Alzheimer's explores the work of gene hunters

After decades of searching, five Alzheimer's disease genes have been discovered. But they are only a few pieces of a very complex puzzle.

Scientists believe that there could be a number of key genes that haven't yet been found. The best chance of developing a cure for Alzheimer's is if gene hunters can track down the rest.

The gene hunters are also at work more than 2,000km (1,242 miles) away, in the Washington Heights district of New York, where hundreds of thousands of Dominican immigrants have settled.

The tree shows which family members are affected by the disease, which are alive and which are dead. For some there is autopsy confirmation that they died of Alzheimer's.

For those hunting the Alzheimer's genes, such a wealth of information about one family is invaluable.

Epilepsy is Just a Condition and Not a Disease

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 09:41:08 GMT

clipped by: mugofcoffee

Clip Source: www.healthmad.com

Epilepsy is a problem affecting the brain, symbolized by recurring and uncontrolled seizures. Some of the symptoms of epilepsy are uncontrolled movements of the body, disorientation or confusion, sudden fear, or loss of consciousness. Epilepsy may occur due to a head injury, stroke, brain tumor, lead poisoning, genetic conditions, or severe infections like encephalitis.

Epilepsy has got nothing to do with “mental derangement” or “mental illness” like some societies of the world tends to believe!

Rather the epilepsy afflicted people are very special, and are specially blessed by God! Most of them are outstanding in at least one field or the other, especially in the creativity field! If not outstanding, at least they shine through in one area or the other, compared to the rest of their contemporaries!

Alexander the great - the Ancient Greek King

Agatha Christie - English crime fiction writer

Leonardo Da Vinci - The finest painter, architect, musician, mathematician, engineer

To go through such a pain most of her life!!!

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 05:38:27 GMT

clipped by: mugofcoffee
clipper's remarks: what is the justification for the genetic diseases and disorders in God's world? What wrong the child has done, except being born to someone with diseases and illness? What kind of a system is this? Why there is no cure for such diseases?

Clip Source: www.authspot.com

She had taken out the bottle of her pills! She is suffering from a worst kind of an inherited disease! She was wondering the billionth time as to what right the parents has got to pass on such diseases to their children? What kind of a system this is in the God's world?

She is on medication for a long time now and still the pain walks through her, killing her body and the spirit, making her to kneel in front it, begging for forgiveness and kindness! It just bounces on her unannounced and it possesses her like a demon! She becomes invalid when the pain kills her from inside! A hundred doctors can never cure her but still they give her the medications! There are more medicines in her cupboards now, than in the entire shop of a chemist!

She took yet another set of medication and was sitting, waiting for the pain to go away

waiting for the pain to move away

for a short while, she shall become normal again!

CANCER: The Facts!

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 15:23:33 GMT

clipped by: mugofcoffee
clipper's remarks: need 2 visit the site to click on the various links for more info...

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

One in three of us will be diagnosed with cancer during our life.

The disease tends to affect older people - but can strike at any time.

Excluding certain skin cancers, there were more than 270,000 new cases of the disease in 2001 - and the rate is increasing by about 1% a year.

Some cancer, such as breast, are becoming more common, while new cases of lung cancer fall away due to the drop in the number of smokers.

However, while the overall number of new cancers is not falling, the good news is that successful treatment rates for many of the most common types are improving rapidly.

BBC News Online has produced, in conjunction with Cancer Research UK, a guide to some of the most common forms of cancer and the treatments used to tackle them.

To learn more about different types of cancer, and to read the experiences of patients, click on the links to the right.

8 Careers to Help Lower Your Stress Meter

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 10:00:43 GMT

clipped by: mugofcoffee

Clip Source: education.yahoo.net

Understanding the Enemy

Job stress is one of the most common complaints among Americans, and research indicates that it has become a more widespread problem in recent years. In 1992, the United Nations named job stress "The 20th Century Disease," and the World Health Organization has called it a "World Wide Epidemic." Also, studies have shown that too much negative stress can contribute to health problems ranging from migraine headaches and depression to life-threatening illnesses such as heart attacks. Is that pension plan really worth it if you won't be alive to cash it in?

Turn Off the Career Pressure-Cooker

1. Accountant

2. Preschool Teacher

3. Nursing Assistant

4. Financial Planner

5. Massage Therapist / Physical Therapy Assistant

6. Pastry Chef

7. Graphic Design

8. Desktop Support

Derail Your Stress Train

Tags: careers, stress.

AIDS statistics! how people become mere numbers!!!

Sun, 02 Dec 2007 01:28:20 GMT

clipped by: mugofcoffee

Clip Source: events.yahoo.com

Every 7 seconds someone contracts HIV.

Every 11 seconds someone dies from AIDS.

Number of people with HIV in 2007:

33,200,000

total

30,800,000

adults

15,400,000

women

2,500,000

children

Number of AIDS deaths in 2007:

2,100,000

total

1,700,000

adults

330,000

children

Tags: aids, statistics, people, disease, world, aids day, numbers.

Alzheimer's memory loss faster among well-educated

Tue, 23 Oct 2007 07:40:30 GMT

clipped by: mugofcoffee
clipper's remarks: strange...I just thought that the more your read, think & write, the more you shall be excercising your brains!...wasted a lot of time in getting qualified!!!

Clip Source: www.reuters.com

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Having more years of formal education delays the memory loss linked to Alzheimer's disease, but once the condition begins to take hold, better-educated people decline more rapidly, researchers said on Monday.

Their study, published in the journal Neurology, tracked memory loss in a group of elderly people from New York City's Bronx borough before they were diagnosed with Alzheimer's or another form of old-age dementia.

Every year of education delayed the accelerated memory decline that precedes dementia by about 2-1/2 months, according to the researchers at Yeshiva University's Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York.

But once this memory loss began, the rate of decline unfolded 4 percent more quickly for each additional year of education, the researchers said.

Someone with 16 years of schooling might experience memory decline 50 percent more quickly than another person with just four years education, based on the findings.

Tags: alzheimer, memory loss, education, research, neurology.

the equation between the mental & the dental health!

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 13:32:27 GMT

clipped by: mugofcoffee
clipper's remarks: what all they research on?

Clip Source: articles.mercola.com

According to researchers in the U.K., older people who have lost all their teeth are more than three times more likely to develop memory problems and dementia than those who still have teeth left.

The study’s lead author, Dr. Robert Stewart of Kings College London, admits this study raises more questions than it answers, and that at this point they are not able to say what causes what. However, he states the take-home message is, “Particular attention may need to be paid to the health and nutrition of people with cognitive impairment because they may also have dental problems.”

Dental disease often causes prolonged inflammation and infection in your mouth, which may alter some factors in your blood, possibly causing problems in your brain.

People who lose their teeth tend to alter their diet. A less balanced diet can result in vitamin deficiencies and other problems that might alter or affect brain function.

Tags: mental, dental, health, problems, disease, dementia, inflammation, infection, mouth.

Stress Management as a cure for common cold?

Sun, 16 Sep 2007 16:18:14 GMT

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Clip Source: stress.about.com

As various colds and strains of the flu are passed around schools, offices and homes across America, you may be wondering what you can do to stay healthy. We’ve all heard recommendations to get flu shots, bundle up if it’s cold outside, and the like, but your mom and your doctor may have neglected to tell you about an important precaution you can take to avoid getting sick: practice your stress management skills! The effects of stress on immune system functioning and overall level of wellness have been studied and well-documented, and if you're worried about your health, stress levels should be monitored closely! Stress affects your overall wellness level and susceptibility to infection in two important ways:

Practice Stress Management Techniques.

Take Care of Your Body.

Maintain a Supportive Network.

Stay Organized and Maintain Balance in Your Life.

Wash Your Hands

Take Vitamin C and Drink Plenty of Water.

Avoid People Who Are Sick.

Tags: stress management, disease, cure, healing, cold, flu.

AIDS drug shows potential as weapon against cancer...

Fri, 31 Aug 2007 09:23:13 GMT

clipped by: mugofcoffee

Clip Source: www.reuters.com

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A drug used to treat people infected with the AIDS virus has shown promise as a possible future weapon against cancer, U.S. researchers said on Friday.

Scientists at the U.S. National Cancer Institute examined how drugs called protease inhibitors, usually given in combination with other drugs to fight the human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, performed against several types of cancer including non-small cell lung cancer.

In a study published in the journal Clinical Cancer Research, the scientists tested whether protease inhibitors would slow cancer cell growth in the laboratory and in mice. Three of six drugs they tried inhibited cancer cell growth.

The most effective of the drugs was nelfinavir, sold by Roche Holding AG as Viracept, the researchers said. The drug also slowed the growth of both drug-sensitive and drug-resistant breast cancer cells, they added.

The researchers have started an initial clinical trial to test nelfinavir in cancer patients.

Tags: aids, cancer, drug, disease.