Archive for the ‘Natural’ Category
Friday, April 27th, 2007
Shoulder Tendinitis Responds to Lavage and Needle Aspiration
Friday, April 27th, 2007BILBAO, Spain, Sept. 27 — For calcific tendinitis of the shoulder, ultrasound-guided percutaneous needle aspiration and lavage can improve range of motion and provide both short- and long-term relief of pain, reported investigators here. Action Points
Explain to patients that ultrasound-guided lavage and aspiration of calcific tendinitis, or bursitis, is a minimally invasive therapeutic option that in this study appeared to show good relief up to one year.
Point out that the study was not controlled, and that the improvements seen in the patients in the study could have been from natural healing or from the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents.
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ECCO: Acupuncture — Real or Fake — Helps Relieve Nausea in Cancer Patients
Friday, April 27th, 2007BILBAO, Spain, Sept. 27 — For calcific tendinitis of the shoulder, ultrasound-guided percutaneous needle aspiration and lavage can improve range of motion and provide both short- and long-term relief of pain, reported investigators here. Action Points
Explain to patients that ultrasound-guided lavage and aspiration of calcific tendinitis, or bursitis, is a minimally invasive therapeutic option that in this study appeared to show good relief up to one year.
Point out that the study was not controlled, and that the improvements seen in the patients in the study could have been from natural healing or from the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents.
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Simple Changes Could Greatly Improve XDR TB Control
Thursday, April 26th, 2007
[…] oleuropein […] proteasome stimulatory properties in vitro and confers life span extension of human embryonic fibroblasts
Thursday, April 26th, 2007The olive constituent oleuropein exhibits proteasome stimulatory properties in vitro and confers life span extension of human embryonic fibroblasts.: Rejuvenation Res. 2007 Jun;10(2):157-72 Authors: Katsiki M, Chondrogianni N, Chinou I, Rivett AJ, Gonos ES
Normal human fibroblasts undergo replicative senescence due to both genetic and environmental factors. Senescence and aging can be further accelerated by exposure of cells to a variety of oxidative agents that contribute among other effects to the accumulation of damaged proteins. The proteasome, a multicatalytic nonlysosomal protease, has impaired function during aging, while its increased expression delays senescence in human fibroblasts. The aim of this study was to identify natural compounds that enhance proteasome activity and exhibit antiaging properties. We demonstrate that oleuropein, the major constituent of Olea europea leaf extract, olive oil and olives, enhances the proteasome activities in vitro stronger than other known chemical activators, possibly through conformational changes of the proteasome. Moreover, continuous treatment of early passage human embryonic fibroblasts with oleuropein decreases the intracellular levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), reduces the amount of oxidized proteins through increased proteasome-mediated degradation rates and retains proteasome function during replicative senescence. Importantly, oleuropein-treated cultures exhibit a delay in the appearance of senescence morphology and their life span is extended by approximately 15%. In summary, these data demonstrate the beneficial effect of oleuropein on human fibroblasts undergoing replicative senescence and provide new insights towards enhancement of cellular antioxidant mechanisms by natural compounds that can be easily up-taken through normal diet.
TCT: Drug-Coated Balloons Promoted as a Back-to-the-Future Approach to Restenosis
Thursday, April 26th, 2007Jeffrey Popma, M.D.
Harvard Medical School
WASHINGTON, Oct. 26 — Old-style balloon angioplasty married to the latest in drug-eluting technology may be an effective alternative to stenting, according to a pair of small studies from two German centers.
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Enhancement of innate and adaptive immune functions by multiple echinacea species.
Thursday, April 26th, 2007Enhancement of innate and adaptive immune functions by multiple echinacea species.: J Med Food. 2007 Sep;10(3):423-34 Authors: Zhai Z, Liu Y, Wu L, Senchina DS, Wurtele ES, Murphy PA, Kohut ML, Cunnick JE
Echinacea preparations are commonly used as nonspecific immunomodulatory agents. Alcohol extracts from three widely used Echinacea species, Echinacea angustifolia, Echinacea pallida, and Echinacea purpurea, were investigated for immunomodulating properties. The three Echinacea species demonstrated a broad difference in concentrations of individual lipophilic amides and hydrophilic caffeic acid derivatives. Mice were gavaged once a day (for 7 days) with one of the Echinacea extracts (130 mg/kg) or vehicle and immunized with sheep red blood cells (sRBC) 4 days prior to collection of immune cells for multiple immunological assays. The three herb extracts induced similar, but differential, changes in the percentage of immune cell populations and their biological functions, including increased percentages of CD49+ and CD19+ lymphocytes in spleen and natural killer cell cytotoxicity. Antibody response to sRBC was significantly increased equally by extracts of all three Echinacea species. Concanavalin A-stimulated splenocytes from E. angustifolia- and E. pallida-treated mice demonstrated significantly higher T cell proliferation. In addition, the Echinacea treatment significantly altered the cytokine production by mitogen-stimulated splenic cells. The three herbal extracts significantly increased interferon-alpha production, but inhibited the release of tumor necrosis factor-gamma and interleukin (IL)-1beta. Only E. angustifolia- and E. pallida-treated mice demonstrated significantly higher production of IL-4 and increased IL-10 production. Taken together, these findings demonstrated that Echinacea is a wide-spectrum immunomodulator that modulates both innate and adaptive immune responses. In particular, E. angustifolia or E. pallida may have more anti-inflammatory potential.
Survey Report: MRSA Publicity Will Make a Difference
Thursday, April 26th, 2007Six out of every 10 respondents to a MedPage Today poll believe the recent attention in the lay media given to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) will help stem the spread of community-acquired infection.
Outbreaks of MRSA at high schools in Connecticut and the death of a student in Virginia were highly publicized. And the CDC confirmed that the rate of invasive MRSA was three times higher than previously estimated. (See: Focus on Community-Acquired MRSA Was Preceded by Cadence of Concerns)
So we asked MedPage Today readers whether all the publicity will help stem the spread of community-acquired MRSA.
AACR-NCI-EORTC: Immune Stimulation May Boost Kidney Cancer Response to Targeted Therapy
Tuesday, April 24th, 2007
Hopes Dashed Again for HIV Preventive Vaccine
Tuesday, April 24th, 2007SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 24 — In another setback to the effort to create a preventive vaccine against HIV, a key trial has been halted because of a lack of efficacy, according to Merck and the HIV Vaccine Trials Network.Action Points
Explain to interested patients that many authorities believe that a key element in halting the HIV pandemic will be a vaccine that prevents new infections.
Add that HIV vaccines have proven difficult to develop because of the extreme changeability of the virus.
Note that this trial showed that a vaccine aimed at cell-mediated immunity had no apparent effect and was stopped for that reason.
Why Serious Progressives Should Be Drug War Libertarians (And How They Can Do This Without Causing Their Brains To Explode)
Monday, April 23rd, 2007Why is that more people who are politically progressive don’t speak out in favor of ending our nation’s disastrous war on drugs?
Part of the answer has to do with the fact that there are other fish for progressives to fry right now: like the other disastrous war (the one in Iraq), the battle over Men’s health care, and so forth.
But part of it also has to do with what might be called the “brain explodes” factor: the difficulty of reconciling the progressive belief that government can and should be a tool for taking care of vulnerable people with a stance on drugs that involves doing less to police ourselves, spending less money, and perhaps having less control over individual behavior. If you’ve spent your life fighting for progressive causes, maybe walking a picket line here and there or doing your time in the nonprofit trenches, the whole notion of embracing a libertarian stance on a particular issue like drugs just doesn’t come naturally. The lack of consistency makes you feel uncomfortable, and then your brain explodes, and it’s a mess.