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Saliva Test Detects Early Signs of Stroke

A simple saliva test could help doctors identify patients most at risk of a life-threatening stroke.

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New research shows that high levels of the hormone cortisol in saliva are directly linked to the build-up of fatty deposits in arteries carrying blood to the brain.

When these deposits – called plaques – break loose, they can cause a blockage that starves the brain of blood and oxygen.

A simple saliva test-> CLICK & SEE

Research published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism suggests many strokes could be prevented if doctors routinely tested patients’ saliva.

Strokes are the third most common cause of death in England and Wales, after heart disease and cancer. They occur when a clot cuts off the blood supply to the brain.

Clots are often caused by fatty deposits that get dislodged and travel towards the brain. Once they get into smaller blood vessels in the skull, they cause a blockage.

In the latest study, experts at the Erasmus Medical Centre in Rotterdam, Holland, and the Technical University of Dresden in Germany tested volunteers to see if cortisol levels in their saliva pointed to diseased arteries.

Each volunteer provided four saliva samples throughout the course of one day and underwent ultrasound tests to check for plaque deposits in their carotid arteries (in the neck).

The results showed those with the highest cortisol levels also had the largest build-up of plaques.

Sources:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/

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Lack of Joy Ups Early Death Risk

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People who don’t think life is worth living are more likely to die within the next few years, research from Japan shows.

The increased death risk was mainly due to cardiovascular disease and external causes — most commonly, suicide.

The research is the largest to date to investigate how ‘ikigai’, or “joy and a sense of well-being from being alive”, affects mortality risk, and only the second to examine death from specific causes, according to Toshimasa Sone and colleagues from the Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine in Sendai.

The investigators looked at 43,391 men and women 40 to 79 years old living in the Ohsaki region who were followed for seven years, during which time 3,048 died. All were asked, “Do you have ikigai in your life?” Fifty-nine per cent said yes, 36.4% said they weren’t sure, and 4.6% said no.

Those who didn’t have a sense of ikigai were less likely to be married or employed, and were also less educated, in worse health, more mentally stressed, and in more bodily pain. They were also more likely to have limited physical function.

But even after the researchers used statistical techniques to adjust for these factors, people with no sense of ikigai were still at increased risk of dying over the follow-up period compared to people who did have ikigai. The relationship also was independent of history of illness and alcohol use.

Overall, people with no sense of ikigai were 50% more likely to die from any cause during follow-up compared to those who did have a sense that life was worth living. They had a 60% greater risk of death from cardiovascular disease, most commonly stroke, and were 90% more likely to die of “external” causes. Of the 186 deaths due to external causes among study participants, 90 were suicides.

Another study released in August said that happiness could increase a person’s life span by 7.5 to 9 years.

“Happiness does not heal, but happiness protects against falling ill,” reported Ruut Veenhoven of Rotterdam’s Erasmus University. The Dutch professor said the effects of happiness on longevity were “comparable to that of smoking or not”.

Sources: The Times Of India

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Healthy Tips

Happiness Keeps the Doctor Away

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Keep humming “Don’t Worry Be Happy“. The 1980s New Age-inspired hit got it right. New research shows being happy can add years to life.

“Happiness does not heal, but happiness protects against falling ill,” says Ruut Veenhoven of Rotterdam‘s Erasmus University in a study to be published next month.

After reviewing 30 studies carried out worldwide over periods ranging from one to 60 years, the Dutch professor said the effects of happiness on longevity were “comparable to that of smoking or not”. That special flair for feeling good, he said, could lengthen life by between 7.5 and 10 years.

The finding brings a vital new piece to a puzzle currently being assembled by researchers worldwide on just what makes us happy – and on the related question of why people blessed with material wealth in developed nations no longer seem satisfied with their lives.

Once the province of poets or philosophers, the notions of happiness and satisfaction have been taken on and dissected, quantified and analysed in the last few years by a growing number of highly serious and respected economists – some of whom dub the new field “hedonics”, or the study of what makes life pleasant, or otherwise.

In Veenhoven’s findings, the strongest effect on longevity was found among a group of US nuns followed through their adult life – perhaps reflecting the feel-good factor from belonging to a close-knit stress-free community with a sense of purpose.

In his paper, Veenhoven first looked at statistics to see whether good cheer impacted on the sick, but concluded that while happiness had helped some cancer patients suffering from a relapse, in general “happiness does not appear to prolong the deathbed”.

Among healthy populations, on the contrary, happiness appeared to protect against falling ill, thus prolonging life. Happy people were more inclined to watch their weight, were more perceptive of symptoms of illness, tended to be more moderate with smoking and drinking and generally lived healthier lives.

They were also more active, more open to the world, more self-confident, made better choices and built more social networks.

Sources: The Times Of India

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