| New Cures |
| Options for treating diseases |
Dec 17 – Video of tumor growth in zebrafish is providing clues that could lead to new cancer treatments. Images from scientists in the UK and Italy show how new cancer cells co-opt the immune system into helping the disease spread. Rob Muir reports
View video hereSourced & published by Henry Sapiecha
I. Introduction
Blood can be dangerous. Blood can be contaminated with
blood borne pathogens. Exposure to a blood borne pathogen
can cause blood borne disease.
II. General Reference Source
The general reference source is the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration (OSHA) standard and is found at 29
CFR 1910.1030. This part of the Code of Federal Regulations
applies to all occupational exposure to blood or other potentially
infectious materials.
The reference was primarily adopted for workers such as
nurses, EMS, paramedics, medical technologists etc. whose
exposure to blood and sharp materials was often present.
III. Bloodborne Pathogens
Working in the wastewater industry may expose a worker to
blood borne pathogens.
The blood borne pathogens include, but are not limited
to, the following:
• Hepatitis B (HBV)
• Hepatitis C
• Hepatitis D, Hepatitis G
• Syphilis
• Malaria
• Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
IV. Other Potentially Infectious Material
In addition to blood borne pathogens, other potentially infectious
materials may present a risk of harm in the wastewater
workplace.
In this contact hour course, both blood and other infectious
materials will be referred to as “PIM” (potentially infectious
materials).
Although PIM could present a risk of harm in the wastewater
workplace, with some exceptions, it is not considered
a significant threat. The standard was primarily adopted for
occupations such as doctors, nurses, EMTs, ambulance…
Study the short course and do the exam below
More—http://www.waterworldce.com/coursereview.aspx?url=23%2fPDF%2fbloodborne.pdf&scid=23
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Understanding Thrombosis
Deep vein thrombosis is a common chronic health condition extensively present amongst adults. The condition is caused by the clotting of blood in the veins causing an obstruction in the blood flowing through the circulatory system. Whenever a vein experiences injury, fibrin and platelets forms a clotting in the blood to prevent further blood loss. But blood clot can also form under certain conditions. An obstruction in the blood passages of more than 25 percent of the artery walls affects the oxygen supply of the tissues resulting to a complication called embolism.
Thrombosis can be highly hereditary. A condition called hypercoagulability is a genetic deficiency wherein the blood has heightened tendencies to clot. The condition can also be caused by the quality of the walls of the blood vessels and the disturbance of blood flow due to an injured vessel causing blood stagnation; this may be brought about by sitting for a long period of time, for example.
Cases of thrombosis can be classified depending on where the condition is located. Deep vein thrombosis happens when the blood clots within the deep veins. This normally happens in the leg’s femoral veins. Superficial symptoms include reddening, swelling and chronic pain on the affected area. A study aimed at finding an effective means of alleviating the symptoms of deep vein thrombosis finds exercise as a potential supplementation to pharmaceutical intervention.
Study on the Benefits of Exercise on Deep Vein Thrombosis
A group of researchers from Canada conducted a study involving a group of thrombosis patients. They evaluated the effects of performing long-term leg exercises to the symptoms of the health condition. The researchers designed a specialized training program lasting for six months dedicated at improving leg flexibility and strength and overall fitness and they found that the program improves symptoms of deep vein thrombosis and its chronic complications. It has also been found to improve the symptoms of post-thrombotic syndrome. The study was published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
A professor of medicine from the Division of Internal Medicine and Center for Clinical Epidemiology at McGill University, Dr Susan Kahn, said that given the divergence in treatment plans for managing the symptoms of post-thrombotic syndrome, the pilot study, aimed at determining the effectiveness of exercise training to treat post-thrombosis, establishes a new approach on more effective ways of fighting the condition. The researchers, led by Dr Kahn, gathered a group of 95 thrombosis patients. The authors said that findings of the small trial procedures will need further confirmation and that conducting a larger study is recommended. A variable was that most of the patients were young active and well-educated; results may differ on different demographics. Despite the preliminary quality of their findings, the researchers concluded that exercise training designed at improving leg flexibility and strength can help alleviate the pains of post-thrombotic syndromes.
Natural Methods of Preventing Thrombosis
The body has its natural means of repairing and maintaining itself. When the vascular system experiences damage like a cut or any incision that causes blood to flow out of the blood vessels, structures dedicated at preventing blood loss works to clot the blood. But not all blood clotting is healthy to the body. Serious health problems like stroke are caused by the undesirable clotting of the blood that leads to obstructed blood flow. The condition results to the insufficient oxygen supply to the tissues and, as a result, thrombosis develops. Research has found different reasons for a person to develop thrombosis.
Smoking has never been good to the body. The different toxins and other chemicals in tobacco have been found to cause different diseases. Cancer and pulmonary diseases are on top of the list. Smoking also reduces the body’s natural ability to protect itself against diseases by weakening the immune system. A common condition that results to the development of thrombosis is hypercoagulability. This happens when the blood easily coagulates with minimal or no reason to do so. Smoking results to myocardial infraction which is associated with hypercoagulation. Though primarily genetic, the condition can be developed by unhealthy practices like smoking and prolonged immobility and bed rest.
The common pharmaceutical treatments for thrombosis include aspirin, coumadin, heparin and ticlopidines. These medications are formulated to either prevent the coagulation of blood or to dissolve blood clots that obstruct healthy blood flow. But these medications have side effects. They can slowly impair the body’s natural ability to initiate and maintain blood clots even in situations where it is highly needed to prevent blood loss.
Lowering one’s cholesterol levels is one of the best natural ways of preventing the onset and development of thrombosis. Cholesterol is known to be one of the fatty acids that can form in the wall of the arteries and thwart blood flow. Other common health conditions associated with high cholesterol levels are mostly cardiovascular in nature. In the treatment of specific types of thrombosis, medications that work to lower cholesterol levels and remove any cholesterol plaques from the walls of blood vessels are also used. But it is also important to remember that the use of pharmaceutical agents can bring about unwanted side effects – adverse reactions that may be life-threatening. So when looking for a treatment regimen, it is emphasized that one choose what is healthy, effective, and safe.
The natural food ingredients that have been found to have high potential in preventing thrombosis are aged garlic, gingko biloba, nutrients like niacin, vitamin E, vitamin K, and other anti-inflammatory compounds. Aged garlic has been used to serve as a strong food supplement to promote the health of the cardiovascular system. Garlic increases the synthesis of a chemical messenger called nitric oxide that inhibits the clotting of the blood. A study on the food ingredient found that consuming one clove of fresh garlic in a day for a period of 26 weeks can result to approximately 20 percent reduction of serum cholesterol.
Benefits of Frequent Exercise
There are numerous health benefits of exercise – and this starts with the decision to get up from the couch and resolve to avoid a sedentary lifestyle. It is not necessary to go to the gym or burden over hours of heavy weights in order to achieve a healthy body. A simple walk in the park for a few minutes in most days of the year will give you the effects necessary in order to improve and maintain body functions.
Sourced & published by Henry Sapiecha
A dose of watermelon a day could keep high blood pressure at bay. Florida State University researchers have discovered the fruit is rich in compounds that widen blood vessels, and might cut the risk of heart attacks and strokes. And a daily fix of its juice could be enough to lower blood pressure in patients suffering from hypertension. High blood pressure doubles the risk of a fatal heart attack or stroke. Watermelon is an edible source of E-citrulline, involved in the production of nitric oxide gas, which widens blood vessels. The researchers found a daily does of 6g of L-citrulline lowered blood pressure after 6 weeks.
Watermelon, that icon of the Aussie summer, has always been an icon of summer. Now science has confirmed that watermelons are packed with nutrition. They are fat-free and low in calories, a good source of vitamins A, B6 and C; thiamine;and potassium, a mineral essential to water balance in the body. Watermelons have now been declared the fruit or veg with the highest amount of lycopene, which gives watermelon its redness. Lycopene has been linked to reduced risk of heart attack and certain cancers. Just 1 1/2 cups of ripe, red watermelon contains 9 to 13 milligrams of lycopene, which is approx 40 percent more than raw tomatoes.
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DRUGS FOR CHLOLESTROL REDUCTION CAN BE DEADLY
Anacetrapib – The Latest Cholesterol Pill to Fail?
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: A new cholesterol drug is set to hit pharmaceutical shelves in the not too distant future that will lower bad cholesterol while raising good cholesterol.
Did you say, “Stop”?
You should have, because this is the same old song and dance we’ve heard before from cholesterol-lowering pharmaceutical companies. And all too often, the promises run hollow, as the drug is inevitably taken off the market because of health concerns.
Just this past August, for example, the Food and Drug Administration pulled the cholesterol drug Baycol off the market because of increases in reported deaths associated with taking it. It also increased the incidence of a rare condition called rhabdomyolysis. This occurs when cells are stripped away from muscle tissue and into the bloodstream, causing a host of painful symptoms like vomiting, nausea, weakness, fever and muscle tenderness.
So you’ll have to excuse my skepticism when I hear how the latest drug invention could provide cholesterol-lowering benefits that are “unprecedented,” according to the study’s lead researcher.
Dr. Christopher Cannon of Brigham and Women’s hospital in Boston tested the effectiveness of this drug, called anacetrapib, after recruiting 1,600 patients who had unusually high levels of LDL cholesterol. Over an 18-month period, patients were instructed to take ancetrapib along with the statin they were already using.
One-third of the way through the study (i.e. six months), the doctors saw dramatic improvements in cholesterol levels. LDL cholesterol levels (the bad kind) dropped precipitously – going from an average of 81 to an average of 45 – while HDL cholesterol levels (the good kind) rose, going from an average of 41 to an average of 101. The positive effects continued through to the end of the trial.
A larger scale study is scheduled to take place over four years. If there aren’t any serious side effects, you can expect to see anacetrapib on pharmacists’ store shelves some time in 2015.
If anacetrapib passes with flying colors, people battling heart disease will no doubt turn to it for help. And if they do, so be it; I’m in no position to tell people how to live. After all, the rate of heart disease is not going down, and one of the chief risk factors for heart disease is high cholesterol. I just wish that more people believed in the power of all natural supplementation and turned to it first, not the almighty pill.
Heart Disease: Still an Epidemic
As I mentioned, the rate of heart disease in this country is enormous. More people die from heart disease than any other disease – 635,000 people per year, in fact. So the mere possibility that a pill could potentially lower that grim statistic comes with a high degree of fanfare.
There’s another way to potentially lower one’s risk for heart disease, though, one that is guaranteed not to cause any unwanted side effects.
According to a study down under (i.e. Australia), aged garlic may reduce one’s systolic blood pressure by as much 10 points. And a 10-point drop can take someone from being hypertensive, to normal, thus reducing his or her risk for heart disease.
Researchers from the University of Adelaide discovered this after recruiting 50 people that had elevated systolic blood pressure levels (over 140 mmHg). Some of them took a placebo; the rest took approximately four grams of a Kyolic-brand garlic product (i.e. four grams of Kyolic is the equivalent of about two grams of fresh garlic).
After 12 weeks, the researchers saw a “marked difference” in the cholesterol levels of those taking the aged garlic; they had an average drop in systolic blood pressure levels of 10 mmHg.
Similar to the cholesterol-lowering study, the results were convincing enough to warrant a larger, longer study.
The study is published in the medical journal Maturitas.
And if you want more details about the study, you’re going to have to go there, because do you think you will hear the results of the garlic study on tonight’s evening news? I doubt it. I’m not exactly sure why, either. I don’t think it’s done as a result of politics or money. And I don’t think it’s because people don’t buy into the natural health lifestyle. I think it’s because we as a nation have become so conditioned to look to pharmaceuticals as the primary resource for healing all our ills.
That’s just not true.
The only way we can detach ourselves from that line of thinking is to look to natural healing methods first. The mainstream media can help that process along by reporting on findings that people can take advantage of now, not reporting a study that may prove beneficial if everything pans out right five years from now.
Other Ways Garlic Can Improve Your Health
Garlic has long been known as a heart healthy supplement, so this study isn’t a breakthrough. It does, however, add to the growing body of literature that supports garlic’s effectiveness for heart health.
Garlic’s magic touch lies in its richness in allicin. Allicin is what gives garlic its signature scent, but it’s also what relaxes the body’s blood vessels, which reduces tension and lowers blood pressure.
Garlic can be a boon to other aspects of your life. Several studies have shown garlic to be cancer preventive. Speaking to the BBC in 2000, Professor Lenore Arab of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill said, “There seems to be a strong, consistent protective effect for people who are regular garlic consumers.”
It can even be helpful with more bothersome, less serious conditions like the common cold. A particularly illuminating study on garlic’s effectiveness was done in late 2001, when 146 volunteers took either a placebo or a garlic supplement for 90 days.
At the end of the three-month study, there was a marked difference in cold incidence. There were 65 colds among those taking the placebo. Among the garlic-supplementing group – less than half of that (24 people got a cold).
What’s more, the 90-day trial was done during the height of the cold and flu season!
From libido enhancement, to eye health, weight control to greater iron absorption, garlic and all natural supplements like it can do wonders for your health. Look to it as your first line of defense in the ongoing battle to stay as healthy as possible
Sourced & published by Henry Sapiecha
| Understanding Multiple Myeloma – What is Blood?
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Multiple myeloma is a cancer affecting plasma cells, which are a type of white blood cell.
Blood is pumped around your body to supply oxygen and nutrients to your tissues and take away waste products. It is made up of:
The different kinds of blood cells are made by the bone marrow (the spongy part in the centre of bones). The bone marrow contains stem cells, which are primitive blood cells that develop into either red cells, white cells or platelets. When a stem cell matures, in most cases it is released into the bloodstream.
Plasma cells, which are affected in multiple myeloma, are a type of white blood cell that normally remains in the bone marrow. They:
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Link Between Migraines And Stroke Confirmed
Migraine headaches may do much more damage than cause a throbbing pain. A new study confirms that individuals who suffer from migraines are about twice as likely to have a stroke caused by a blood clot, compared to those who don’t get the painful headaches. According to Reuters, researchers analyzed the results of 21 previous studies conducted between 1975 and 2007, and involving more than 622,000 adults with and without migraines. More »
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A combination of nanotechnology and adult stem cells has been shown to destroy arterial plaque atherosclerosis in the hearts of pigs. Animals that received stem cells also showed signs of new blood vessel growth and restoration of artery function, according to the study reported at the American Heart Association’s Basic Cardiovascular Sciences 2010 Scientific Sessions.
The study was conducted at the Department of Internal Medicine and Research Center of Regenerative Medicine, Ural State Medical Academy in Yekaterinburg, Russia. Nanoparticles were infused into the heart of pigs, along with adult stem cells, then heated by laser light until they burned away arterial plaque. The volume of plaque shrunk an average of 28.9 percent immediately after treatment across the three treatment groups, and six months later it had declined 56.8 percent on average. In the control group, plaque volume increased an average of 4.3 percent.
“Biophotonics (light therapy), plasmonics (plasma therapy), stem cell therapy and nanotechnology might someday offer a completely novel treatment to reduce artery plaque build-up,” said lead author and research manager Alexandr Kharlamov. “Nanoburning in combination with stem cell treatment promises demolition of plaque and functional restoration of the vessel wall.”
This new approach may one day replace angioplasty, a common treatment for atherosclerosis, in which a balloon-tipped catheter is threaded into a blocked artery and the balloon is inflated to restore blood flow. The balloon squeezes plaque against the artery wall, but does not eliminate it.
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Simple blood test could examine fetus
ROME (UPI) — A simple non-invasive blood test could replace invasive diagnostic techniques in early pregnancy, Dutch researchers say.
Researchers at the Maastricht University Medical Centre in the Netherlands say they are developing a simple blood test capable of accurately detecting chromosomal abnormalities in a developing fetus responsible for Down syndrome and other conditions, a university release said Tuesday.
Currently, the only way to make such determinations is through amniocentesis or other invasive techniques that carry the risk of triggering miscarriages, the release said.
Dr. Suzanna Frints, a clinical geneticist at Maastricht, says molecular genetic probes can detect DNA belonging to the fetus in blood samples taken from a pregnant woman.
The simple blood test could replace current diagnostic procedures, said Frints, who is scheduled to address the annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Rome Tuesday.
“It is inexpensive compared to the costs of invasive prenatal diagnosis, and could easily be implemented at low cost, between 30-150 Euros ($35-$180) per kit per person, with a small apparatus in every hospital in the world,” Frints said. “Blood samples can be taken during routine antenatal visits.”
Copyright 2010 by United Press International
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DARK CHOCOLATE LOWERS BLOOD PRESSURE – STUDY FINDS
Science (June 28, 2010) — For people with hypertension, eating dark chocolate can significantly reduce blood pressure. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Medicine combined the results of 15 studies into the effects of flavanols, the compounds in chocolate which cause dilation of blood vessels, on blood pressure.
Dr Karin Ried worked with a team of researchers from the University of Adelaide, Australia, to conduct the analysis. She said, “Flavanols have been shown to increase the formation of endothelial nitric oxide, which promotes vasodilation and consequently may lower blood pressure. There have, however, been conflicting results as to the real-life effects of eating chocolate. We’ve found that consumption can significantly, albeit modestly, reduce blood pressure for people with high blood pressure but not for people with normal blood pressure.”
The pressure reduction seen in the combined results for people with hypertension, 5mm Hg systolic, may be clinically relevant — it is comparable to the known effects of 30 daily minutes of physical activity (4-9mm Hg) and could theoretically reduce the risk of a cardiovascular event by about 20% over five years.
The researchers are cautious, however, “The practicability of chocolate or cocoa drinks as long-term treatment is questionable,” said Dr Ried.
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