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Clue to Migraine Headache Cause

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Scientists may be a step closer to uncovering the cause of certain types of debilitating migraine headaches. A French team observed activation in the hypothalamus region of the brain as sufferers had a migraine attack.
Migraines can be debilitating

The hypothalamus has long been suspected as it regulates physiological responses to factors known to trigger headaches, such as hunger.

It is hoped the discovery, featured in the journal Headache, could lead to new treatments.

The researchers, from Rangueil Hospital, used a technique called Positron Emission Tomography (PET), which contrasts functional activity within the brain, on seven patients with migraine without aura, the most common type of migraine.

Previously, activation in the brain stem and midbrain, and a thickening in some areas of the cortex were seen in migraine sufferers.

The present study may have seen a more detailed pathogenesis of the condition for two reasons.

First, timing was crucial: to capture an attack as it happened, patients rushed to hospital without self-medicating, arriving on average around three hours after the onset of the migraine.

Second, the observed headaches were spontaneous, and not chemically induced as in other laboratory studies.

Lead researcher Dr Marie Denuelle said: “When you induce the attack you miss the hypothalamic activation.

“We suspect the hypothalamus may play a role in the start of the migraine attack.

“But to prove it we would need to do similar study before the start of an attack.”

Dr Andrew Dowson, director of headache services at Kings College Hospital, London, said: “It has been suggested for many years that the hypothalamus is involved in the early stages of migraine attacks.

“But there are other factors involved in the early generation of headache.”

Suicide headaches

Activation of the hypothalamus had previously only been seen in cluster headache, a different and altogether more crippling condition.

Cluster headache sufferers experience headaches on a regular basis: for certain months of the year in the episodic form, or every day at regular intervals in the chronic form.

So debilitating can the attacks be that they have been dubbed “suicide headaches” because some sufferers have taken their own lives.

The new evidence for hypothalamic activation in migraine may explain why some migraine drugs, particularly the triptans, can sometimes be effective at aborting a cluster headache attack.

However, Professor Peter Goadsby, of the Insitute of Neurology at University College London, said there were distinct clinical and physiological differences between cluster headache and migraine.

He said: “The area [of the hypothalamus] reported as activated in migraine is about 10mm more anterior than the cluster headache area.

“The hypothalamus is not one thing but a collection of discrete neurons.”

Professor Goadsby said a cascade of changes in the brain seemed to cause the migraine problem.

“It’s easy to think that migraine is a specific brain disorder, but it is a series of systems that go wrong – a system disorder.

“There is no single holy grail. Multiple structures are involved.”

Sources: BBC NEWS ( 25th.Dec ’07)

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News on Health & Science

Sea Cucumber ‘New Malaria Weapon’

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Sea cucumbers could provide a potential new weapon to block transmission of the malaria parasite, a study suggests.

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Sea cucumbers live on the ocean floor

The slug-like creature produces a protein, lectin, which impairs development of the parasites.

An international team genetically engineered mosquitoes – which carry the malaria parasite – to produce the same protein in their gut when feeding.

The PLoS Pathogens study found the protein disrupted development of the parasites inside the insects’ stomach.

Malaria causes severe illness in 500 million people worldwide each year, and kills more than one million.

It is estimated that 40% of the world’s population are at risk of the disease.

To stimulate the mosquitoes to produce lectin, the researchers fused part of the gene from the sea cucumber which produces the protein with a gene from the insect.

The results showed that the technique was effective against several of the parasites which cause malaria.

Lectin is poisonous to the parasites when they are still in an early stage of development called an ookinete.

Usually, the ookinetes migrate through the mosquito’s stomach wall, and produce thousands of daughter cells which invade the salivary glands, and infect a human when the mosquito takes a blood meal.

But when exposed to lectin the ookinetes are killed before they can start their deadly journey.

Work left

Researcher Professor Bob Sinden, from Imperial College London, said: “These results are very promising and show that genetically engineering mosquitoes in this way has a clear impact on the parasites’ ability to multiply inside the mosquito host.”

However, he said much more work still had to be done before the technique could be used to curb the spread of malaria.

“Although the sea cucumber protein significantly reduced the number of parasites in mosquitoes, it did not totally remove them from all insects.

“At the current stage of development, the genetically modified mosquitoes would remain dangerous to humans.

“Ultimately, one aim of our field is to find a way of genetically engineering mosquitoes so that the malaria parasite cannot develop inside them.”

Professor Sanjeev Krishna, an expert in malaria at St George’s Hospital Medical School, London, said new treatments for malaria were vital, as there was some sign that the parasites which cause the disease were developing resistance to the current artemisinin drugs.

He said: “This is a very important first step in developing a potential new way to control this infection.”

Dr Ron Behrens, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said the technique showed promise in theory – but he warned that introducing genetically modified mosquitoes could be fraught with practical difficulties.

“You would have to get the modified version to become the predominant species, and that has never been done in any setting before,” he said.

Sources :BBC NEWS ( 23rd. Dec’07)

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Ailmemts & Remedies

Color Blindness

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Alternative Names : Color deficiency; Blindness – color

Definition: Color blindness is the inability to see certain colors in the usual way.Color blindness, or color vision deficiency, in humans is the inability to perceive differences between some or all colors that other people can distinguish. It is most often of genetic nature, but may also occur because of eye, nerve, or brain damage, or due to exposure to certain chemicals. The English chemist John Dalton in 1798 published the first scientific paper on the subject, “Extraordinary facts relating to the vision of colours”,  after the realization of his own color blindness; because of Dalton’s work, the condition is sometimes called Daltonism, although this term is now used for a type of color blindness called deuteranopia.…………....CLICK & SEE

Color blindness is usually classed as disability; however, in selected situations color blind people may have advantages over people with normal color vision. There are some studies which conclude that color blind individuals are better at penetrating certain camouflages. Monochromats may have a minor advantage in dark vision, but only in the first five minutes of dark adaptation.

Causes:
Color blindness occurs when there is a problem with the color-sensing materials (pigments) in certain nerve cells of the eye. These cells are called cones. They are found in the retina, the light-sensitive layer of tissue at the back of the inner eye.

If you are missing just one pigment, you might have trouble telling the difference between red and green. This is the most common type of color blindness. Other times, people have trouble seeing blue-yellow colors. People with blue-yellow color blindness almost always have problems identify reds and greens, too.

The most severe form of color blindness is achromatopsia. A person with this rare condition cannot see any color. Achromatopsia is often associated with lazy eye, nystagmus (small, jerky eye movements), severe light sensitivity, and extremely poor vision.

There are many types of color blindness. The most common are red-green hereditary (genetic) photoreceptor disorders, but it is also possible to acquire color blindness through damage to the retina, optic nerve, or higher brain areas. Higher brain areas implicated in color processing include the parvocellular pathway of the lateral geniculate nucleus of the thalamus, and visual area V4 of the visual cortex. Acquired color blindness is generally unlike the more typical genetic disorders. For example, it is possible to acquire color blindness only in a portion of the visual field but maintain normal color vision elsewhere. Some forms of acquired color blindness are reversible. Transient color blindness also occurs (very rarely) in the aura of some migraine sufferers.

The different kinds of inherited color blindness result from partial or complete loss of function of one or more of the different cone systems. When one cone system is compromised, dichromacy results. The most frequent forms of human color blindness result from problems with either the middle or long wavelength sensitive cone systems, and involve difficulties in discriminating reds, yellows, and greens from one another. They are collectively referred to as “red-green color blindness”, though the term is an over-simplification and is somewhat misleading. Other forms of color blindness are much more rare. They include problems in discriminating blues from yellows, and the rarest forms of all, complete color blindness or monochromacy, where one cannot distinguish any color from grey, as in a black-and-white movie or photograph.

Most color blindness is due to a genetic problem. About 1 in 10 men have some form of color blindness. Very few women are color blind.

The drug hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil) can also cause color blindness. It is used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, among other conditions.

If your clothes don’t match, someone might have teased you about being color-blind. But some people really are color-blind. It doesn’t mean they can’t see any color at all, like a black and white movie. It means that they have trouble seeing the difference between certain colors. (Check out the image on the right to see how well you see colors.)

CLICK & TEST YOUR COLOR VISION

Being color-blind can make it tricky to match your shirt and pants, but it’s not a serious problem. People who are color-blind can do normal stuff, even drive. Most color-blind people can’t tell the difference between red or green, but they can learn to respond to the way the traffic signal lights up. The red light is generally on top and green is on the bottom.

Cones and Color:
To understand what causes color blindness, you need to know about the cones in your eyes. Cones in your eyes? Yes, but they’re very small. These cones are cells on your retina, an area the size of a postage stamp that’s at the back of your eye.

You have “red,” “blue,” and “green” cones, which are sensitive to those colors and combinations of them. You need all three types to see colors properly. When your cones don’t work properly, or you don’t have the right combination, your brain doesn’t get the right message about which colors you’re seeing. To someone who’s color-blind, a green leaf might look tan or gray.

Color Blindness Is Passed Down:
Color blindness is almost always an inherited (say: in-her-ut-ed) trait, which means you get it from your parents. You get inherited traits through genes (say: jeenz), which determine everything about your body, including how tall you’ll be and whether your hair will be straight or curly.

…………....CLICK & SEE

Eye doctors (and some school nurses) test for color blindness by showing a picture made up of different colored dots, like the one above. If a person can’t see the picture or number within the dots, he or she may be color-blind.

Boys are far more likely to be color-blind. In fact, if you know 12 boys, one of them is probably at least a little color-blind. So girls, the next time a boy asks you if something matches, you’d better lend him a hand!

Symptoms :

Symptoms vary from person to person, but may include:

  • Trouble seeing colors and the brightness of colors in the usual way
  • Inability to tell the difference between shades of the same or similar colors

Often, the symptoms may be so mild that some persons do not know they are color blind. A parent may notice signs of color blindness when a child is learning his or her colors.

Rapid, side-to-side eye movements and other symptoms may occur in severe cases.

Exams and Tests:
Your doctor or eye specialist can check your color vision in several ways. Testing for color blindness is commonly done during an eye exam…..….CLICK & SEE

Treatment:
THERE IS NO TREATMENT

Outlook (Prognosis) :
COLOR BLINDNESS IS A LIFE-LONG CONDITION. MOST PERSONS ARE ABLE TO ADJUST WITHOUT DIFFICULTY OR DISABILITY. .

Possible Complications :
THOSE WHO ARE COLORBLIND MAY NOT BE ABLE TO GET CERTAIN JOB THAT NEEDS COLOR VISION. FOR EXAMPLE , A PILOT NEEDS TO BE ABLE TO SEE COLORS.

When to Contact a Medical Professional :
Make an appointment with your health care provider or ophthalmologist if you think you (or your child) have color blindness.

Click to learn more about Color blindness

Resources:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001002.htm
http://kidshealth.org/kid/talk/qa/color_blind.html

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Smoking Gives Women Acne

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Beware, women smokers! If health warnings are not enough to put you off the habit, just give a second thought before you puff your next fag because smoking can also cause spots.

CLICK & SEE

Yes, scientists in Europe have carried out a study which revealed that smoking can cause acne or a spotty skin disorder, characterised by blocked pores and large blackheads, among women.

The findings of the study have been published in the ‘British Journal of Dermatology‘.

“Our study demonstrates that non-inflammatory acne affects a high percentage of women, and is especially high among smokers.

“Recognising this form of acne is fundamental to providing correct information about the effects of tobacco on the skin,” Dr Bruno Capitanio, one of the study’s authors from San Gallicano Dermatological Institute in Rome, was quoted as saying.

In fact, the researchers came to the conclusion after studying 1,000 women aged between 25 and 50, and found that 42 per cent of smokers suffered from acne compared to one in ten non-smokers.

Moreover, smokers who had suffered acne in their teens were found to be four times more likely to suffer acne as an adult than non-smokers who had also experienced teenage acne.

According to Dr Colin Holden, the President of the British Association of Dermatologists, “Dermatologists have long associated smoking with premature ageing of the skin, wrinkles and a leathery complexion.

“This study also shows an interesting link between a specific type of acne and smoking. All of these findings will hopefully provide people with an extra incentive to quit.”

Source:The Times Of India

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Hookworms May Harbour Asthma Cure

 Blood-sucking parasitic worms are being studied as a potential treatment for asthma and other allergic diseases. People with asthma and hay fever are being purposely infected with hookworms to test whether the parasites can control the allergic reactions that cause the conditions……….CLICK & SEE

British researchers believe that hookworm infestations could be induced under medical supervision to reduce symptoms, or the worms could help the development of new drugs.

They also say that worm treatments might not only work for allergies, but also more serious auto-immune disorders such as type-1 diabetes and multiple sclerosis (MS).

Evidence from the early 1970s suggests that people infected with the tropical hookworm do not suffer allergies.

Studies in New Guinea, where hookworms are common, have suggested that the worms protect themselves in the human body by dampening down the immune system. At the same time, they appear to prevent over-active immune responses linked to allergies and auto-immune diseases.

Now, Dr David Pritchard, from the University of Nottingham, is leading a team to determine if the worms can be harnessed to fight these conditions.

Two small safety trials have already been completed and early preparations are in progress for a study of asthma patients.

“Many of the people who were given a placebo have now requested worms. And the people with worms, many of them have decided to keep them for the next hay fever season,” Times Online quoted Dr Pritchard, as saying.

Source:The Times Of India

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