Group Therapy Helps Breast Cancer Patients
November 20, 2008 by Arun Pal Singh
A recent research conducted by researchers in United States have found that psychological group therapy for women with breast cancer helps them to cope better with their disease and also helps them to live longer.
The research was conducted in Ohio State University’s and led by Barbara Andersen. They studied 227 women with breast cancer. Patients were divided into two groups. One group took part in a year of therapy in groups of eight to 12 patients led by two clinical psychologists, while the other did not.
After 11 years, the women who participated in the group therapy were 56 percent less likely to die of breast cancer and 45 percent less likely to have their cancer return, the researchers wrote in the journal Cancer.
Psychological interventions have been found to enhance quality of life and reduce distress.
The improved survival may stem from better immune function resulting from stress reduction, the researchers said.
Brain Might Have Partially Slept When You Feel Sleepy
November 17, 2008 by Arun Pal Singh
A research conducted by scientists at Washington State University have brought a new theory that people feel sleepy when parts of their brains are actually asleep.
Popular belief that there is a center in the brain that controls when to fall sleep and dictates the time to for one to drift off. However these researchers suggest that sleepiness results when independent groups of brain cells become fatigued and switch into a sleep state, even when an individual is awake.
When a threshold reaches and people doze off.
Krueger, one of the researchers insists if sleep were being directed by a control center, the whole brain would respond at the same time. However, he adds, the brain behaves like a self directing orchestra in which most sections are more or less in sync, but a few race ahead or lag behind at any given time.
According to him, when a person is sleepwalking, the neuronal groups needed for balance are in a wake state while those needed for consciousness are in a sleep state. On the other hand, in sleep inertia, enough neuronal groups are in a wake state for one to be awake in a general sense, but some groups are still in a sleep state.
New Technology Just Needs To Swipe a Card For Medical Test
November 16, 2008 by Arun Pal Singh
Cards loaded with blood or urine samples can be scanned in minutes
Scientists have designed a sensitive prototype to test dozens of disease simultaneously by scanning a card loaded with microscopic blood, saliva or urine samples.
Unlike lab tests today, results could be available in minutes, not hours to weeks. The prototype works on same principle givant magnetoresistance or GMR that reads data on computer hard drives or listen to tunes on portable digital music players. [Read more]
Charged Immune Cells Beat Back Cancer
November 15, 2008 by Arun Pal Singh
Scientists in the United States have created super-charged immune cells that helped beat back cancer tumours in half of a small group of patients tested, according to a study. Adding an artificial receptor to T-lymphocyte immune cells boosted their ability to fight a deadly form of caner called neuroblastoma, the researchers reported on Sunday.
Neuroblastoma attacks the nervous system. While fairly rare, it accounts for 7 percent of all childhood cancers, and 15 percent of non-adult cancer deaths.
In more than sixty percent of cases, it is not diagnosed until it has already spread to other parts of the body. [Read more]
Why Do We Snore
November 14, 2008 by Arun Pal Singh
It is a loud sound produces during sleep by the vibration of respiratory structure when the airways get obstructed because of irregular flow of air. Studies have shown that at least 25 percent men and 9 percent women above the age of 40 suffer from snoring problem.
Snores, if ignored, can lead to serious problems. Because snoring causes a decrease in oxygen supply to the body, the body comes under extreme stress and undergoes metabolic changes. High blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes and, in extreme cases, strokes can occur
Causes of Snoring
- Throat weakness
- Misaligned jaw
- Obesity (especially fat gathering in and around the throat)
- Obstruction in the nasal passage
- Tonsillitis in children
Treatment
- Get yourself evaluated by a sleep therapy expert.
- Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP): In this, a patient has to wear a pressurized mask over the nose while sleeping. The mask is attached to a small pump that forces air through the airway to keep it open.
- Lifestyle changes and weight therapy.
