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Memory Loss and Its Prevention

July 3, 2016 By Brian Galloway Leave a Comment

The loss of memory can be a symptom of many medical conditions, from alcohol abuse to dementia.

FDA released a new info note on memory loss and its potential in signaling more serious diseases. Not every forgetfulness moment is a sign of illness. However, there are several details that can help a person to distinguish between a normal memory lapse caused by fatigue and one resulting from cognitive deterioration.

The signs of serious issues are related to the density of memory errors and their impact on the daily activities. For example, forgetting how to balance a checkbook or how to drive, or skipping on personal hygiene, could be indicators of brain malfunctions.

Moreover, if the memory lapses reoccur on a permanent basis, even if the details may be insignificant, a person could be restricted from performing day to day activities and from maintaining social, medical and professional activities.

Another aggravating factor is the progressive nature of the events that involve memory loss.

In order to prevent an occasional memory loss, a person could control the blood pressure and the cholesterol levels. Avoiding smoking and alcohol drinking could also improve the memory function. A healthy diet and social activities could both benefit the brain.

Moreover, keeping the mind active by writing, reading, playing games, and learning new things could also improve brain functions.

Memory loss can be induced by many factors and situations. It can be a symptom of many illnesses, such as depression, HIV infection, syphilis, tuberculosis, thyroid problems, or head injuries. Other memory disturbance elements are the lack of sleep, low levels of B1 and B12 vitamins, drug use, and heavy drinking.

For each of the situations above, the correct treatment for the disease or medical condition will also lead to an improvement in memory functions.

Experts also notice that forgetting things is a part of the normal aging process. Cognitive impairment is diagnosed only when the difficulties are beyond the expected level for a certain age.

The gravest form of memory loss appears in dementia, a degenerative disease that affects the cognitive functioning of the brain. The medical condition completely disturbs daily activities and prevents an aged person from acting independently.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of cognitive impairment in old age. The condition involves a progressive loss of brain cells. More than 5 million people in the US are suffering from a form of dementia.

To prevent cognitive degradation, the experts recommend regular exercise, a healthy diet, mental stimulation, quality sleep, stress management and an active social life.

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Study Shows That 7,500 People Die Daily Due To Cancer In China

February 1, 2016 By Chen Lai Leave a Comment

China is currently fighting against lung cancer.

As sad as it is, a recent study shows that there are 7,500 people dying in China due to lung cancer.

China is known for being a country with good economy and strong military capabilities. However, as per this new report, 2.8 million people died in China last year due to cancer. This terrifying number accounts for one-fifth of the global population death rate.

The above mentioned research was published in the U.S. medical journal CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians. The researchers were able to gather relevant data from hospitals, health centers and the Civil Administration Bureau.

Also, according to the study’s authors, “cancer is the leading cause” of death in the country and it’s “a major public health problem,” as the China’s official Xinhua News Agency reported on Saturday.

Another statement, regarding the study is that “almost 22 percent of global new cancer cases and close to 27 percent of global cancer deaths occur in China” and, more importantly, that ” the cancer profile in China is markedly different from those of developed countries.

The only difference between the cancer profiles of China and those from other developed countries all over the world is that the most common cancer cases in China are lung cancer, stomach cancer, liver cancer and esophageal cancer.

Some other research proves that during the year of 2015, 4,3 million new cancer cases were found in China. The highest number of these cases corresponds to lung cancer. This reasearch was conducted by Dr. Wanqing Chen of the National Cancer Center in Beijing.

Now, what causes the lung cancer and what makes it spread among the population in such a very large number?

The answer is: air pollution and smoking. As the researchers noted, the air pollution in China is one of the worst all over the world. Smoking is, nonetheless, a very bad habit among Chinese citizens, which numbered well over a billion in 2013.

Apart from pollution and smoking, the lifestyle factors, such as alimentation, also account for many cancer cases.

Which brings us to our next point. Happily, there are some tips people can follow in order to avoid getting lung cancer. According to Mayo Clinic, some of these tips are: not smoking, avoiding second-hand smoke, diet, regular exercise, testing your home for radon levels, avoiding exposure to toxic chemicals, eating healthy.

The health crisis that is currently bringing down Chna’s natural developmental course depends merely on reducing these cases of cancer. This would be a great way to solve the crisis and prevent further tragedies among the population.

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Exercise As Beneficial As Quitting Smoking For Older Men

May 16, 2015 By Deborah Nielsen Leave a Comment

New research suggests that only thirty minutes of physical activity six days each week is linked with 40 percent lower risk of death for elderly men. The study claims even light activity is very beneficial.

The study, which was published online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, also discovered that increasing exercise levels seemed to be as good for health as quitting smoking.

The results, researchers wrote, point to the fact that “public health strategies in elderly men should include efforts to increase physical activity in line with efforts to reduce smoking behavior.”

Scientists from Norway started with a survey of 15,000 men who were born between 1923 and 1932. As part of the Oslo Study from 1972, the men’s weight, height, blood pressure, cholesterol and smoking status were collected. They also recorded their weekly leisure time and physical activity levels, which were split into more categories: watching TV/reading (sedentary); walking or cycling, including to and from work (light); formal exercise or heavy gardening for at least 4 hours a week (moderate); and hard training or competitive sports a few times a week (vigorous).

Nearly three decades later, approximately 5,700 of the surviving men took the tests again. They were analyzed for almost 12 more years to observe if physical activity levels over a long period of time could be connected to a lowered risk of death from heart disease or any other cause, and to observe how how the body reacts to smoking cessation.

During the monitoring schedule, 2,154 of the men who had taken part in both studies died. The findings revealed that while less than an hour of light exercise each week had too little effect on risk of death, more than an hour was linked with a 32 to 56 percent lower risk.

The more time spent taking part in vigorous physical activity, the lower the risk appeared to be. Men who regularly participate to moderate to physical activity enjoyed an average of five years more of life than participants who were labeled as sedentary.

When looking at all the results, scientists determined that half an hour of physical activity, no matter if it is light, moderate, or vigorous, carried out six days a week, was connected with a 40 percent reduction in risk of death from any cause.

Scientists acknowledged that the study did not determine cause and effect, and that just the healthiest men from the first portion of the study took part in the second round, which may have affected the numbers.

Image Source: Web MD

Use Of Hookah Tobacoo Boost Up The Risk Of Leukemia

November 23, 2014 By Rebecca McGhee 1 Comment

Individuals who go to hookah parlors register larger amounts in their body of benzene — a substance linked with an increased risk for leukemia, whether they smoke or not, as indicated by the results of a study reported Friday by San Diego State University.

The study is published in the Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention – a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. The researchers found that a benzene metabolite in the smokers’ urine who go to hookah parlors was 4 times higher than usual. It was twofold the ordinary amount for nonsmokers who went to hookah parlors.

Nada Kassem, the associate director at the Center for Behavioral Epidemiology and Community Health at SDSU said, “Hookah smoking involves the use of burning charcoal that is required to heat the hookah tobacco to produce the smoke that the smoker breathes in.”

“Besides inhaling toxicants and cancer-causing agents found in the hookah tobacco smoke, hookah smokers and nonsmokers who hang out with hookah smokers also breathe in substantial amounts of charcoal combustion-generated toxic and carcinogenic emissions,” Kassem said.

For the study, Kassem along with fellow colleagues examined levels of the metabolite, S-phenylmercapturic acid, in the urine of 105 hookah smokers and 103 nonsmokers. They acquired urine samples the morning of and the morning after members went to hookah parlor or attended a smoking event at a private home.

The scientists found that S-phenylmercapturic acid levels were also considerably higher in hookah smokers after going to the private home event.

Kassem said the results demonstrate that smoking hookah is no more secure than other sorts of tobacco smoking — and that regulations ought to reflect that reality.

“As opposed to what is believed, hookah tobacco smoking is not a safe substitute to smoking other forms of tobacco,” Kassem said. “Since there is no sheltered level of exposure to benzene, our results call for intercessions to lessen or stop hookah tobacco use, regulatory actions to cut off hookah-related exposure to toxicants including benzene, and incorporate hookah smoking in clean indoor air enactment.”

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