Scientists Found A Way To Reverse Memory Loss, Study

Scientists who had been performing brain surgery on an obese man to suppress his appetite using deep brain stimulation, have accidentally discovered a way to reverse memory loss.

The study published in the Annals of Neurology (2008) reported that while the researchers were identifying potential points in his brain that controls appetite, the hypothalamus, that part of the brain associated with hunger the man suddenly began to say that memory was flooding back.

"He reported the experience of being in a park with friends from when he was around 20 years old and, as the intensity of stimulation increased, the details became more vivid. He recognized his girlfriend (from the time). The scene was in color. People werewearing identifiable clothes and were talking, but he could not decipher what they were saying," the study reported.

The result of the experiment surprised the scientists. Andres Lozano, a professor of neurosurgery at the Toronto Western Hospital, Ontario, who is leading the study said : "This is the first time that anyone has had electrodes implanted in the brain which have been shown to improve memory. We are driving the activity of the brain by increasing it's sensitivity - turning up the volume of the memory circuits. Any event that involves the memory circuits is more likely to be stored and stained."

Lozano, who is a known authority on deep brain stimulation, said the study "gives us insight into which brain structures are involved in memory. It gives us a means of intervening in the way we have already done in Parkinson's and for mood disorders such as depression, and it may have therapeutic benefit in people with memory problems."

Study Shows Genetic Causes of Schizophrenia

A study reported in the magazine Science showed that multiple errors or deletions in a person's genetic code, or DNA, can lead to schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a mental illness characterized by delusions, hallucinations, and disordered thinking. Today, it affects about one of every 100 people.

Scientists have long suspected that schizophrenia runs in families. What is surprising to the team who conducted the study is that they found strong evidence that it's usually not the same set of genes going bad in people who develop schizophrenia.

The scientists from the University of Washington and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory examined the DNA of 150 people with schizophrenia and compared what they found with the genetics of 268 people without the illness. Findings shows that people with schizophrenia had flaws in brain-related genes 15 percent of the time compared with 5 percent in healthy people. But it was never the same set of genes going bad.

"They were all different", said Mary-Claire King, a world renowned geneticist and co-authors on the report. "The standard dogma is that any complex trait (such as mental illness) is going to be caused by the cumulative effect of multiple common defects. But that's not what we found," said King. "The only way we could have found this was to look at the overall (genetic) profile," she added.

Those Who Keep Their Emotions In Check Are Healthier Than Those Who Vented, Study Says

A study led by Mark Seery published in the June issue of the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology reveals that those who chose not to express themselves were generally healthier than those who vented. The result is against popular belief that we have to express what we feel all the time after common tragedies.

The study found out that people who did not choose to express how they feel after known tragic community episodes were better off in terms of their "post-traumatic stress symptoms, their physical health and generalized distress."

The study, however, did not include those who experienced direct personal loss of a family member or friend from the collective tragedy such as 9/11.

Health Threats From Burning Wood

A lot has been written about the dangers of cigarette smoking and not enough information about the dangers of burning wood. Yet studies show many of the toxins found in tobacco smoke are the same found in smoke from burning wood.

Burning wood, like cigarette smoke, produce fine particle pollution which contains toxic chemical substances, including carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, benzene, formaldehyde and dioxin, the most toxic substances. Studies also found that cancer risk from wood smoke may be 12 times greater than from an equal amount of tobacco smoke.

Recent researches show that particle pollution is linked to many health risks such as respiratory diseases, heart attacks and stroke. Here's some tips one can do to reduce wood smoke pollution :

* Replace wood stoves with gas appliances. If you need to burn wood, make sure you burn seasoned hard wood that is clean and dry.

* Do not burn wood that is chemically treated and painted, or wet wood. Do not burn garbage, tires, plastics, old furniture to avoid releasing very toxic chemicals.

* Design kitchens with adequate ventilation in your home, especially those in the countryside that use wood as fuel for cooking.

Cooking At High Temperature May Be Culprit Behind Diseases, Study Says

A study in New York by a team from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine shows that cooking at high temperature such as frying, grilling and even microwaving creates compounds that are associated with disease when they are found in the body. Findings also showed that foods cooked through low-temperature methods such as boiling and steaming do not contain as many of these compounds.

It may not be the food itself, but how you cook it, that affects whether food causes heart disease, diabetes and other conditions, reports said. Researchers also added, that while they do not discount the benefits of a healthy diet, their findings may help explain why people who stick to such a diet continue to suffer from heart disease and diabetes.

Too much Protein In The Diet Linked To Osteoporosis

The article "Osteoporosis and the Calcium Myth," published in the Malaysian Vegnews, debunked the idea that we need to eat food rich in calcium to prevent osteoporosis. The article says calcium intake has nothing to do with osteoporosis. Rather, the article explores what is causing our bones to surrender their calcium by a study into African women of the Bantu race populations.

The study reveals some very startling facts. The women of the Bantu race in Africa do not suffer from osteoporosis, a broken bone is rare, and on average, Bantu women produce nine children, yet present remarkable bone density. Their daily average consumption of calcium is nearly four times lower than our average consumption. So, why do we get osteoporosis when our daily average of calcium is higher than that of the bantus?

The answer lies, according to the study, in the amount of protein we consume, especially animal protein. Here's an excerpts from the article:

"The human body is constantly working to maintain a state of balance. When the blood becomes too acidic, in an effort to balance the pH, the blood draws calcium and magnesium from the bones, as these are the two most readily available alkaline substances in the body."

"The more protein we eat, the more calcium our blood draws from our bones. The end result is high levels of uric acid, calcium and magnesium in the urine. It is very simple, very basic biochemistry."

Is Diabetes A Deficiency Disease?

A diabetes research conducted by a Taiwanese company has been working on the theory that most forms of diabetes are due to a deficiency in the body of a natural element called GTF or Glucose Tolerance Factor. GTF's most important component is trivalent chromium. When these two elements are found low in the body, human cells are unable to absorb glucose and hyperglycemia or high blood sugar occurs, according to Dr. Frank Mao Chia Hung, endocrinologist from Maxluck Biotechnology Corp. and the Taiwan Chung Hoing University.

The study also found that trivalent chromium from natural foods is not easily absorbed by the body. Previous studies have shown that the body absorbs only uo to three percent of the substance. According to Dr. Mao, by using Lactoferrin, a kind of protein as the carrier of trivalent chromium, blood glucose levels are lowered. Dr. Mao discovered that Lactoferrin is the best carrier for trivalent chromium.

Breast Cancer May Run In The Family, Study Says

The risk of getting breast cancer may have been there before being born, as some studies have shown. One research shows there is a close correlation between consanguinity and breast cancer incidence. Women with breast cancer have family members also suffering from the disease Women whose first-degree relatives such as their mothers, daughters, or sisters, who have breast cancer, have a higher risk of contracting the disease.

Although results of studies are conflicting, don't let a lack of family history of breast cancer give you a false sense of security, there are ways to improve your odds of avoiding the disease. Here's some tips from the "Natural Remedies Encyclopedia," to avoid and prevent breast cancer :

* Eat a nutritious diet centered around fresh fruits and vegetables.

* Get extra fiber in your diet.

* Take CoenzymeQ10, as well as full vitamin mineral supplementation.

* Exercise by walking 4-times a week.

* Do not eat too much soy or peanut products. Do not eat meat or dairy products. No alcohol, caffeine, or nicotine. No processed, fried, white flour, and junk foods. Birth control pills, x-rays, and permanent black hair dyes increase the likelihood of later breast cancer.

* Wearing a bra for more than 12 hours a day increases the likelihood of breast cancer.

* Examine your breasts regularly.