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News on Health & Science

New Osteoporosis Drug

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The drug, called denosumab, blocks production of cells that break down bones. In two studies, spinal fractures were reduced by two-thirds in women ages 60-90 and in men getting prostate cancer therapy

The first member of a new class of osteoporosis drugs reduced spinal fractures by about two-thirds in post-menopausal women and in men undergoing hormone-deprivation therapy for prostate cancer, according to two studies released online Tuesday by the .
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The drug, called denosumab, blocks production of cells called osteoclasts that break down bones, and physicians have high hopes for it because of its efficacy, ease of administration and apparent lack of severe side effects. But it’s a biological agent rather than a chemical, meaning it’s difficult to produce, and it is likely to be the highest-priced osteoporosis drug in an already-crowded marketplace.

The most well-known osteoporosis drug, Fosamax, is in a class known as bisphosphonates. Those drugs actually kill osteoclasts but carry the risk of stomach and esophageal irritation and have been linked to some cases of jaw necrosis.

Amgen, the manufacturer of denosumab, has not said how much the drug will cost, but analysts expect it to be at least $2,000 a year — and potentially much higher — and predict yearly sales of $2 billion to $3 billion.

Already, many insurance companies are pushing physicians to the generic version of Fosamax, alendronate, which costs about $100 a year.

Some medical experts think a high price would discourage the use of denosumab.

“If it is going to be quite a bit higher than the next-most-expensive drug, I don’t see that it is going to be used so widely,” said Dr. Frederick R. Singer, director of the endocrine/bone disease program at John Wayne Cancer Institute in Santa Monica, who was not involved in the research.

An advisory committee of the Food and Drug Administration will meet Thursday to consider Amgen’s application for approval of the drug, to be called Prolia, for treating osteoporosis in women and in men being treated for prostate cancer. If approved, it would be the first drug specifically approved for treating such men.

As many as half of women and 30% of men will suffer an osteoporosis-related fracture during their lifetime, according to the International Osteoporosis Foundation. About a third of the 2 million American men with prostate cancer undergo hormone-deprivation therapy to prevent release of the hormones that fuel the tumors, which sharply increases their risk of osteoporosis.

The two new trials were designed and funded by Amgen, and most of the researchers were Amgen employees or recipients of funds from the company. Nonetheless, osteoporosis experts were impressed.

“From a scientific standpoint, these are outstanding publications,” Singer said.

The first study included 7,686 women ages 60 to 90. Half were given an injection of denosumab every six months for three years, and half received a placebo. Overall, 2.3% of women receiving the drug had a spinal fracture and 0.7% had a hip fracture, compared with 7.2% and 1.2% in the placebo group.

That is similar to or slightly better than results with bisphosphonates, although the drugs have not been compared head to head.

The drug “does everything you would want a drug to do in women to prevent fractures,” said Dr. John S. Adams, an orthopedic surgeon at UCLA‘s Geffen School of Medicine.

The second study involved 1,468 prostate cancer patients receiving hormone-deprivation therapy. They underwent the same protocol as the women. Overall, 1.5% of men receiving the drug had a spinal fracture, compared with 3.9% of those in the placebo group. Men receiving the drug also had a 5.6% increase in bone mineral density, while those receiving placebo had a 1% decline.

There was no decline in non-spinal fractures.

Many of the patients in both studies reported soreness at the injection site and transient bone pain similar to arthritis. The drug caused eczema, an inflammation of the epidermis, in a few patients,and about 12 of the women got a serious skin infection called cellulitis.

Some earlier, small studies showed an apparent small increase in tumors in treated patients, but that was not observed in either of the new studies. Such potentially severe side effects will be a focus of the FDA panel.

“This appears to be the most potent of the osteoporosis drugs,” Singer said, “but it will require very careful monitoring to look for rare side effects,” which did not show up for other drugs until large numbers of people took them.

Source:The Los Angeles Times

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Healthy Tips News on Health & Science

Drinking Milk is Good for Health.

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Drinking milk ‘cuts risk of dying from heart disease and stroke by one fifth’..say Scientists
Contrary to reports that milk harms health, they claim consumption could reduce the risk of succumbing to chronic illness by as much as a fifth.
Scientists at Reading and Cardiff universities reviewed 324 studies on the effects of milk consumption.

CLICK  & SEE
Healthy stuff: Drinking just a third of a pint of milk daily can benefit health.

They found milk protects against developing most diseases, apart from prostate cancer, and can cut deaths from illnesses by 15 to 20 per cent.
Reading University‘s Professor Ian Givens said milk had more to offer than just building strong bones and helping growth.
‘Our review made it possible to assess whether increased milk consumption provides a survival advantage or not,’ he said. ‘We believe it does.
‘When the numbers of deaths from coronary heart disease, stroke and colo-rectal cancer were taken into account, there is strong evidence of an overall reduction in the risk of dying.

‘We found no evidence milk might increase the risk of developing conditions, with the exception of prostate cancer. ‘


The White Stuff: Milk doesn’t just build healthy bones

The reviewers say that encouraging greater milk consumption might eventually reduce NHS treatment costs because of lower levels of chronic disease.
‘There is an urgent need to understand the mechanisms involved and for focused studies to confirm the epidemiological evidence since this topic has major implications for the agri-food industry‘ said Professor Givens.


Source:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1201474/Drinking-milk-cuts-risk-dying-heart-disease-stroke-fifth.html#ixzz0M699ngRY

 
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News on Health & Science

Flower Helps Treat Prostate Cancer

Belamcanda chinensis
Image via Wikipedia

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A substance from the root of a flower may help treat prostate cancer, according to Germany‘s cancer-science council.

Experts at the University of Goettingen said that in laboratory tests, tectorigenin, obtained from roots of Belamcanda chinensis, stopped cancer cells growing and in animal tests it had slowed the spread of the cancer.

The lily-like flowers of Belamcanda chinensis are grown in temperate-region gardens as a perennial. In China, it grows wild.

The plant is used in Korean and Chinese medicine, reports 24.com.

Scientists Peter Burfeind and Paul Thelen will conduct further studies.

They say it might also be possible to use the substance as preventive medicine to stop men developing the cancer in the first place.

Source: The Times Of India

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Diagnonistic Test

Transrectal Ultrasound and Biopsy of the Prostate

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What is the test?
Your doctor is likely to recommend this test if you’ve had a rectal exam or blood tests that suggest that you might have prostate cancer. For this test, a urologist takes tissue samples from several places in your prostate, to be examined for cancer. A transrectal ultrasound helps the urologist see the prostate during the procedure.

………..CLICK & SEE THE PICTURES
How do you prepare for the test?
Some doctors recommend that you have an enema before the test. Tell your doctor if you have any allergies, especially to antibiotics.

What happens when the test is performed?
In most cases, you lie on your side with your knees bent up to your chest. An ultrasound machine’s sensor-a short rod about the width around of two fingers-is covered with a condom and clear jelly and gently inserted into your rectum. You may feel some pressure similar to the sensation before a bowel movement. Once the sensor is in place, an image of your prostate appears on a video screen.

The ultrasound sensor surveys the whole prostate gland and pinpoints specific areas for biopsy. Then the doctor removes this ultrasound sensor and replaces it with a slightly smaller one. In addition to generating an ultrasound image, the smaller sensor has a small tube on its side called a needle guide. Your doctor points the needle guide at specific parts of your prostate. The guide releases a spring-loaded needle to take biopsies from different parts of the prostate. The spring-loading allows this needle to move into and out of the prostate very quickly. You are likely to feel some discomfort from each biopsy, but because the needle moves so quickly, any pain lasts only for a second at a time. Doctors usually collect multiple samples.Your doctor will probably give you antibiotics at the end of this procedure to prevent infection.

What risks are there from the test?
Many people have some blood in their urine or stool for a day or two after the biopsy. The only significant risk is the possibility of an infection in the prostate, but antibiotics can help prevent this.

Must you do anything special after the test is over?
Call your doctor if you develop a fever.

How long is it before the result of the test is known?
A pathologist will examine the biopsies under a microscope for cancer. This process usually requires several days.

For more knowledge & information you may click :-http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/457757-overview

Source:https://www.health.harvard.edu/fhg/diagnostics/transrectal-ultrasound-and-biopsy-of-the-prostate.shtml

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Our body extricts

The Poop!

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Stool – Healthy and Unhealthy Stool:-

Click to see the  pictures of ->
Bristol  Stool  Chart

This writing might “stink” a little, but this information might serve as an important revelation to many particularly for elderly and persons with contineus stomac problem!

Human poops or  stools, is the waste product of the human digestive system and varies significantly in appearance, depending on the state of the whole digestive system, influenced and found by diet and health.

Normally stools are semisolid, with a mucus coating. Small pieces of harder, less moist feces can sometimes be seen impacted on the distal (leading) end. This is a normal occurrence when a prior bowel movement is incomplete; and feces are returned from the rectum to the intestine, where water is absorbed.

Meconium (sometimes erroneously spelled merconium) is a newborn baby’s first feces. Human feces are a defining subject of humor.

Some persons have bloody stools on and off, usually accompanied by a sight tinch of discomfort. Many times, this doesn’t appear as a threat or danger to them as they often regard it as constipation though they may be passionate lover of fruits and vegetables. This might go  on for some time until one day, bloody stools became really “bloody” and the pain became increasingly painful. Alarmed and paranoid, they call their dear ones who will  recommend  to see the doctor over at his or her clinic.

Now let us see What Does an Ideal Bowel Movement Look Like?

Click to see the pictures

Click for different pictures

Alternative practitioners often ask clients about their stool as part of their assessment. Find out what normal stool should look like, and learn about the causes of green stool, pale stool, yellow stool, blood in stool, mucus in stool, pencil thin stool, infrequent stool, and more.

What Does an Ideal [amazon_textlink asin=’B001U1UKOO’ text=’Bowel Movement’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’finmeacur-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’5c1f8c56-ee7e-11e6-87a4-8d88514c5f8b’]

Look Like?
An ideal bowel movement is medium brown, the color of plain cardboard. It leaves the body easily with no straining or discomfort. It should have the consistency of toothpaste, and be approximately 4 to 8 inches long. Stool should enter the water smoothly and slowly fall once it reaches the water. There should be little gas or odor.

Stool That Sinks Quickly
Rapidly sinking stool can indicate that a person isn’t eating enough fiber-rich foods, such as vegetables, fruits, and whole grains, or drinking enough water. This stool is often dark because they have been sitting in the intestines for a prolonged time. Click to learn 5 tips to boost your water intake.

Pale Stool
Stool that is pale or grey may be caused by insufficient bile output due to conditions such as cholecystitis, gallstones, giardia parasitic infection, hepatitis, chronic pancreatitis, or cirrhosis. Bile salts from the liver give stool its brownish color. If there is decreased bile output, stool is much lighter in color.

Other causes of pale stool is the use of antacids that contain aluminum hydroxide. Stool may also temporarily become pale after a barium enema test.

Pale stool may also be shiny or greasy, float, and be foul smelling, due to undigested fat in the stool (see soft and smelly stool).

Soft, Smelly Stool
Soft, foul-smelling stool that floats, sticks to the side of the bowl, or is difficult to flush away may mean there is increased fat in the stools, called steatorrhea. Stool is sometimes also pale. Click to Learn more about the causes of soft, foul-smelling stool.

Mucus in Stool
Whitish mucus in stool may indicate there is inflammation in the intestines. Mucus in stool can occur with either constipation or diarrhea. Click to Read more about the causes of mucus in stool.

Green Stool
The liver constantly makes bile, a bright green fluid, that is secreted directly into the small intestine or stored in the gallbladder. Continue reading about the causes of green stool.

Loose Stool
In traditional Chinese medicine, loose stools, abdominal bloating, lack of energy, and poor appetite can be signs of a condition known as spleen qi deficiency. It doesn’t necessarily involve your actual spleen, but it is linked to tiredness and weak digestion brought on by stress and poor diet. Learn more about the causes of loose stool.

Pencil Thin Stool
Like loose stools, stool that is pencil thin can be caused by a condition known in traditional Chinese medicine as spleen qi deficiency.

Other symptoms of spleen qi deficiency are: easy bruising, mental fogginess, bloating, gas, loose stools, fatigue, poor appetite, loose stools with little odor, symptoms that worsen with stress, undigested food in the stools, and difficulty ending the bowel movement. Spleen qi deficiency can be brought on by stress and overwork.

Eating certain foods in excess is thought to worsen spleen qi deficiency. Offending foods include fried or greasy foods, dairy, raw fruits and vegetables, and cold drinks, all believed to cause “cold” and “dampness” in the body. Dietary treatment of spleen qi deficiency involves eating warm, cooked foods. Ginger tea and cinnamon tea are also warming.

Pencil thin stool can also be caused by a bowel obstruction. Benign rectal polyps, prostate enlargement, colon or prostate cancer are some of the conditions that can cause obstruction.

Infrequent Stool
With constipation, infrequent or hard stool is passed with straining. Learn about the causes of infrequent stool.

Pellet Stool

Pellet stool is stool that comes out in small, round balls. In traditional Chinese medicine, pellet stool is caused by a condition known as liver qi stagnation. Liver qi stagnation can be brought on by stress. Lack of exercise can worsen the problem. Find out more about the causes of pellet stool.

Yellow Stool
Yellow stool can indicate that food is passing through the digestive tract relatively quickly. Yellow stool can be found in people with GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease). Symptoms of GERD include heartburn, chest pain, sore throat, chronic cough, and wheezing. Symptoms are usually worse when lying down or bending. Foods that can worsen GERD symptoms include peppermint, fatty foods, alcohol, coffee, and chocolate.

Yellow stool can also result from insuffient bile output. Bile salts from the liver gives stool its brownish color. When bile output is diminished, it often first appears as yellow stool. If there is a greater reduction in bile output, stool lose almost all of its color, becoming pale or grey.

If the onset is sudden, yellow stool can also be a sign of a bacterial infection in the intestines.

Yellowing of stool can be caused by an infection known as Giardiasis, which derives its name from Giardia, an anaerobic flagellated protozoan parasite that can cause severe and communicable yellow diarrhea. Another cause of yellowing is a condition known as Gilbert’s Syndrome. This condition is characterized by jaundice and hyperbilirubinemia when too much bilirubin is present in the circulating blood.

Dark Stool
Stool that is almost black with a thick consistency may be caused by bleeding in the upper digestive tract. The most common medical conditions that cause dark, tar-like stool includes duodenal or gastric ulcer, esophageal varices, Mallory Weiss tear (which can be linked with alcoholism), and gastritis.

Certain foods, supplements, and medications can temporarily turn stool black. These include:

*Bismuth (e.g. Pepto bismol)

*Iron

*Activated charcoal

*Aspirin and NSAIDS (which can cause bleeding in the stomach)

*Dark foods such as black licorice and blueberries

Stool can be black due to the presence of red blood cells that have been in the intestines long enough to be broken down by digestive enzymes. This is known as melena (or melaena), and is typically due to bleeding in the upper digestive tract, such as from a bleeding peptic ulcer. The same color change (albeit harmless) can be observed after consuming foods that contain substantial proportion of animal bloods, such as Black pudding or Ti?t canh. The black color is caused by oxidation of the iron in the blood’s hemoglobin (haemoglobin). Black feces can also be caused by a number of medications, such as bismuth subsalicylate, and dietary iron supplements, or foods such as black liquorice, or blueberries. Hematochezia (also haemochezia or haematochezia) is similarly the passage of feces that are bright red due to the presence of undigested blood, either from lower in the digestive tract, or from a more active source in the upper digestive tract. Alcoholism can also provoke abnormalities in the path of blood throughout the body, including the passing of red-black stool.

Dark stool can also occur with constipation.

If you experience this type of stool, you should see your doctor as soon as possible.

Blue Stool
Prussian blue, used in the treatment of radiation cesium and thallium poisoning, can turn the feces blue. Also, substantial consumption of products containing blue food dye (things such as blue koolaid or grape soda)

Bright Red Stool
When there is blood in stool, the color depends on where it is in the digestive tract. Blood from the upper part of the digestive tract, such as the stomach, will look dark by the time it reaches exits the body as a bowel movement. Blood that is bright or dark red, on the other hand, is more likely to come from the large intestine or rectum.

Conditions that can cause blood in the stool include hemorrhoids, anal fissures, diverticulitis, colon cancer, and ulcerative colitis, among others.

Eating beets can also temporarily turn stools and urine red.

Blood in stool doesn’t always appear bright red. Blood may be also present in stool but not visible, called “occult” blood. A test called the Fecal Occult Blood Test is used to detect hidden blood in stool.

Silver Stool
A tarnished-silver or aluminum paint-like stool color characteristically results when biliary obstruction of any type (white stool) combines with gastrointestinal bleeding from any source (black stool). It can also suggest a carcinoma of the ampulla of Vater, which will result in gastrointestinal bleeding and biliary obstruction, resulting in silver stool.

 

You may click to see white stool:–>   : Should I be concerned

Note: Speak with your doctor about any change or abnormality concerning bowel movements.

YOU MAY CLICK TO SEE :Doctors explain exactly how often you should be pooping and give tips for regularity

Resources
http://gracemagg.blogspot.com/2008/07/poop.html
http://altmedicine.about.com/od/gettingdiagnosed/a/stools.htm
http://www.healingwatersaz.com/colon.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_feces

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