Recently in Disorders and Conditions Category

A new study of 1256 elderly people affirmed that people who have a positive outlook suffer from far less memory loss than their worried peers.  At the initiation of the study, all participants completed surveys about their negative emotions. Then, every year for 12 years, they were assessed for cognitive impairment.  At the conclusion of the study, the subjects who tended to maintain a negative outlook had more memory loss than the more optimistic subjects. In fact, those indicating the highest degree of distress at the outset were 48 percent more likely to develop memory loss than those subjects who were the most positive.

Question:

I've had hand tremors for the last five years, but within 72 hours of taking your carnosine/acetyl-l-carnitine/dmae formula for the first time, the tremors completely stopped. Is that possible? Could this fomula do that? If so, how did it happen?

First let me explain that my carnosine/acetyl-l-carnitine/dmae formula was not designed as an anti tremor formula and is not sold to treat tremors -- or any other medical condition for that matter. It was designed to protect the body against the ravages of sugar and aldehydes in the bloodstream and to nutritionally extend the life of cells. And in that regard, it does a spectacular job. Nevertheless, over the years, I've had a number of people relate similar experiences to yours using variations of this formula. How can this be? There is an answer.

Children ages 1-11 who suffer from heartburn can now find relief in the medication Nexium. The FDA just approved the drug for short-term use in young children after extrapolating data from tests on adult patients, plus running pediatric safety and pharmacokinetic tests.  According to an FDA press release, "In one study, 109 patients 1-11 in age, diagnosed with GERD, were treated with Nexium once-a-day for up to eight weeks to evaluate its safety and tolerability. Most of these patients demonstrated healing of their esophageal erosions after eight weeks of treatment."

Popular wisdom tells us to control passion by hopping in a freezing cold shower -- but research shows that icy water cures more than raging hormones. A new study by Researcher Nikolai Shevchuk of the Department of Radiation Oncology at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine found that cold showers can alleviate, and even prevent, depression. The recipe to get the psychological lift includes taking a cold shower -- around 68 degrees -- for 2 to 3 minutes once or twice daily, preceded by a five-minute gradual adaptation to the temperature. Shevchuk theorizes that short, cold showers may stimulate the locus ceruleus, or "blue spot," which is the brain's primary source of noradrenaline -- a biochemical that could help mediate depression. As in homeopathy, the body is stressed by a hostile factor--in this case, icy water--that stimulates a healing response.

Two new studies just released on diabetes should serve as a wake up call to the powers that be; but of course, that won’t happen.

The National Changing Diabetes Program (NCDP) study was released today at a briefing of the Congressional Diabetes Caucus. The study concluded that:

The Foundation receives continual emails concerning gout. If this is you, you are not alone. According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III, 1988-1994, an estimated 5.1 million people in the United States suffer from gout, and it is the most common form of inflammatory arthritis in men. Gout affects approximately 3 times as many men as women, and men are more likely than women to have gout at all ages. It’s also worth noting that there is also some evidence that the prevalence and incidence of gout appear to be rising.

Is it necessary to always remove tonsils or adenoids when problems arise? Perhaps not. Tonsils, adenoids and Peyer's patches are small masses of lymphatic tissue in the body (some sources consider them specialized lymph nodes). These tissues serve to prevent infection in the body in areas where bacteria is abundant. There are five tonsils that form a "ring" around the throat that helps trap and remove any bacteria or other foreign pathogens entering the throat through breathing, eating, or drinking. Peyer's patches, which resemble tonsils, are located in the small intestine. The macrophages of Peyer's patches prevent infection of the intestinal wall by destroying the bacteria always present in the moist environment of the intestine.

The actual cause of acne is unknown. Hormones, diet, genetics, vitamin deficiency, and stress play a role. In simple terms, though, acne happens when a skin pore gets plugged. That said, let's look at the process in a little more detail.

There are two primary mechanisms for the onset of acne.

Sleep apnea, a condition that affects over 18 million people in just the US alone, is defined as a temporary suspension of breathing that occurs repeatedly during sleep. It is usually accompanied by heavy snoring. Essentially, it occurs when the throat briefly collapses or becomes restricted, thus causing pauses in your breathing. With pauses in breathing, the oxygen level in your blood may drop.

Primary causes include: