Thursday, January 29, 2009

Stroke indicators

STROKE: Remember the 1st Three Letters.... S.T.R.


STROKE IDENTIFICATION

It only takes a minute to read this...

A neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within 3 hours he can totally reverse the effects of a stroke... totally . He said the trick was getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed, and then getting the patient medically cared for within 3 hours, which is tough.

RECOGNIZING A STROKE

Thank God for the sense to remember the '3' steps, STR . Read and Learn!

Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer severe brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke.

Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:

S * Ask the individual to SMILE.
T * Ask the person to TALK and SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (Coherently)
(i.e. It is sunny out today)
R * Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.

If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks , call emergency number immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.

New Sign of a Stroke -------- Stick out Your Tongue

NOTE: Another 'sign' of a stroke is this: Ask the person to 'stick' out his tongue.. If the tongue is 'crooked', if it goes to one side or the other , that is also an indication of a stroke.

A cardiologist says if everyone who gets this e-mail sends it to 10 people; you can bet that at least one life will be saved.

I have done my part. Have you?

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Aubrey de Grey: Why we age and how we can avoid it

Cambridge researcher Aubrey de Grey argues that aging is merely a disease -- and a curable one at that. Humans age in seven basic ways, he says, all of which can be averted.Aubrey de Grey, British researcher on aging, claims he has drawn a roadmap to defeat biological aging. He provocatively proposes that the first human beings who will live to 1,000 years old…

Friday, January 16, 2009

HEALTH Israeli researcher proves the healing power of the cranberry

Israeli researcher proves the healing power of the cranberry
By Ilana Teitelbaum April 29, 2008

Cranberries have long been known as a popular folk remedy for the treatment of urinary tract infections, but until recently there was no scientific evidence to back up this claim. Now Professor Itzhak Ofek of Tel Aviv University has discovered that the benefits ascribed to cranberries are not only real - there are several more as well.

"Cranberries started as a folk medicine in the US," Ofek told ISRAEL21c. "Every fourth American in the '60s knew it was good for urinary tract infection." Ofek's goal was to find out the truth behind the myth.

With his research funded by the cranberry juice-producing monolith Ocean Spray, Ofek recently published his findings in the journal Molecular Nutrition & Food Research. There is only one snag: the benefits of cranberries, though prodigious, appear to apply only to women.

"It appears that in certain infections, such as ulcers caused by H. pylori bacteria, a clinical trial showed that the cranberry has beneficial effects for women only," says Ofek. "In urinary tract infections (UTI), the cranberry has been tested only on women and has proven to be beneficial, although UTI is primarily an infectious disease most common in women."

Ofek has been researching the healing properties of the cranberry for more than a decade, and has discovered numerous benefits in the course of his research. He began at the logical starting point: the claim that cranberries prevent urinary tract infections. Ofek explains that while other researchers had investigated this phenomenon in the past, they had been looking for an antibiotic substance in cranberries.

"We thought: perhaps they did the wrong test?" says Ofek. Sure enough, he and his colleagues found the answer when they tested cranberries for an anti-bacterial substance.

He discovered that cranberries contain a heavy molecule, also known as non-dialyzable material or NDM. This molecule, isolated by Ofek and collaborator Professor Nathan Sharon of the Weizmann Institute, seems to coat some bodily surfaces with Teflon-like efficiency, preventing infection-causing agents from taking root. Surprisingly, the NDM has no effect on good bacteria.

More recently in collaboration with other researchers, Ofek discovered that the NDM substance inhibits the flu virus from attaching to cells. This NDM also has a gastrointestinal benefit: it inhibits unhealthy bacteria from attaching to gastric cells, thereby preventing ulcers.

But cranberries don't have to be swallowed to provide benefits. When Ofek explored other properties of the cranberry in collaboration with Professor Ervin Weiss of Hadassah Medical Center, they discovered that the benefits of cranberries extend to the teeth as well; a property of cranberries is that it can reduce the bacteria in the mouth that causes cavities. This find could end up giving current brands of mouthwash a run for their money.

However, Ofek cautions against gargling with cranberry juice. "The cranberry is very tart and acidic, so dentists say it will hurt your teeth. That's why we're isolating the substance that helps, to put in mouthwash."

This substance has been patented by Ramot, TAU's technology transfer company, and is currently the subject of negotiations with companies and investors.

Ramot is also commercializing this active substance in pill form, for people who don't like to drink cranberry juice but want to reap the benefits.

Ofek's work isn't done: he's still investigating the cranberry for further health benefits, and to see if it can also help men. While he acknowledges that other fruits may also contain healing properties that are waiting to be explored, Ofek also says that in comparison to other fruits, "Cranberries are unique." And since his research was publicized, cranberry juice consumption has gone up. "The sales of cranberry juice were tripled since our study," says Ofek.

Monday, January 12, 2009

IBM microscope 100 million times stronger than MRI



BM Research on Monday announced that it has built a new nanoscale microscope capable of creating images with 100 million times finer resolution than existing MRI technology. The project was made possible through a process called magnetic resonance force microscopy, which, according to IBM, detects "ultra-small magnetic forces. The technique is said to be able to "see" beneath surfaces and be safe for sensitive biological materials.

IBM said that it ran a test using the new system that established for the first time, magnetic resonance imaging on nanometer-scale items. By running it on a tobacco mosaic virus that is 18 nanometers across--18 billionths of a meter--the new system achieved resolution down to four nanometers.
According to IBM Research, this is an image of the most important features of a magnetic resonance force microscope: 'An ultrasensitive silicon cantilever detects the tiny magnetic force between a nanoscale magnetic tip--green--and the hydrogen nuclei present in the virus particles placed at the end of the cantilever--blue, seen in the reflection. Nanoscale magnetic resonance imaging is achieved by manipulating the hydrogen nuclei in the sample with a radiofrequency magnetic field generated by a 'microwire'--red. A sensitivity improvement of 100 million is achieved compared to conventional magnetic resonance imaging.'