Single shot can affect health
lt only takes one time. That's the message of a new study by scientists at the University of Massachusetts Medical School on binge drinking. Their research found that a single episode of binge drinking can have significant negative health effects resulting in bacteria leaking from the gut, leading to increased levels of toxins in the blood. Published online in Plos One, the study showed that these bacterial toxins, called endotoxins, caused the body to produce immune cells involved in fever, inflammation, and tissue destruction. Binge drinking is defined by National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) as a pattern of drinking alcohol that brings blood alcohol concentration (BAC) to 0.08g/dl or above.
E-cigarettes linked to depressionIJ
Researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine report that people living with depression, anxiety or other mental health conditions are twice as likely to have tried e-cigarettes and three times as likely to be current users of the controversial battery-powered nicotine-delivery devices, as people without mental health disorders. They are also more susceptible to trying e-cigarettes in the future in the belief that doing so will help them quit, the scientists said. The FDA has not approved e-cigarettes as a smoking cessation aid. The study was published in the May 13 online issue of Tobacco Control. “The faces of smokers in America in the 1960s were the ‘Mad Men' in business suits,” said lead author Sharon Cummins, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine.
Asthma sufferers prone to bone loss
Some of the 26 million Americans with asthma may also be prone to bone loss. According to a study published today in the May issue of Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, the scientific journal of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, there seems to be association between asthma and a decrease in bone mineral density. "We know prolonged use of corticosteroids in the treatment of asthma is a risk factor of osteoporosis, but we haven't had definite data showing the relationship between asthma itself and bone loss," said Jae-Woo Jung, MD, lead study author. "This study has shown a meaningful association between the two conditions even in the absence of previous oral corticosteroid use."
Problem over Tumour cells in blood
Tumour cells in bone marrow of early breast cancer patients predict a higher risk of relapse as well as poorer survival, but bone marrow biopsy is an invasive and painful procedure. Now, it may be possible to identify tumor cells in a routine blood sample and use them as prognostic markers, according to a study published in the journal of the National Cancer Institute. To assess the prognostic value of circulating tumour cells (CTCs) in patients with early breast cancer, Brigitte Rack, MD, of the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Klinikum Innenstadt, ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet Muenchen, in Munich, Germany, and colleagues analysed CTCs in peripheral blood from patients from the success trial.
How does meditation helpIJ
Meditation is more than just a way to calm our thoughts and lower stress levels: our brain processes more thoughts and feelings during meditation than when you are simply relaxing, a coalition of researchers from Norway and Australia has found. Mindfulness, zen, acem, meditation drumming, chakra, Buddhist and transcendental meditation...there are countless ways of meditating, but the purpose behind them all remains basically the same: more peace, less stress, better concentration, greater self-awareness and better processing of thoughts and feelings. But which of these techniques should a poor stressed-out wretch chooseIJ What does the research sayIJ Very little — at least until now.