Why limb bones weaken with age?

In a development that could help treat bone fragility or osteoporosis, scientists in the UK found the reason why our skull remains tough as compared to the bones in our arms and legs as we age.

Researchers at Queen Mary, University of London, have uncovered fundamental differences between the bone which makes up the skull and the bones in our limbs, which they believe could hold the key to tackling bone weakness and fractures.

Lead author, Dr Simon Rawlinson explained: "This research is exciting because it tells us why our skulls remain so tough as we age compared to the bones in our arms and legs".

"Now we understand this phenomenon better, we also understand osteoporosis better. And this has opened up many new lines of research into how the disease could be treated or even prevented," Rawlinson said.

People who develop osteoporosis have fragile bones which are prone to breaking. The condition becomes more common as we age, especially in post-menopausal women when levels of estrogen fall dramatically. In the over 50s it affects half of all women and a fifth of all men.

It is well known that bones in the arms and legs become weak and vulnerable to breaks when they are not maintained by weight bearing exercise, however skull bone that bears almost no weight remains particularly resistant to breaking but the new research, published in journal Plos One, offers an explanation for this phenomenon for the first time.

The researchers say that their new understanding of the differences between the two types of bone could lead to new ways to treat or prevent osteoporosis.

The team wanted to understand why the skull bones are resistant to bone thinning as they age, even in post-menopausal women and to investigate this, they looked in detail at rat bone cells from the skull and compared them with cells from limb bone.

They found differences between the appearance of the cells and how they behaved in the lab and also noticed that treating the cells with estrogen had a far greater effect on the cells from the limb bone.

Because the differences are so profound, they believed that they were set very early on in life -- probably when the bones are still forming in the womb.

The researchers also made a detailed genetic study of the two types of bone cell. They looked at which genes were active in the two types of cell and found a startling level of difference between the two.

They found a total of 1236 -- around four percent of the genome -- were showing different levels of activity in the two types of bone cell.

Among these they found a number of genes which are known to be involved in the process of forming healthy bones.

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High-flow oxygen can ease headaches

Fifteen minutes of treatment with high flow oxygen significantly eased cluster headaches, according to a new study.

Cluster headache attacks, characterised by bouts of excruciating pain usually near the eye or temple, typically last for 15 minutes to three hours if untreated and have a frequency of up to eight attacks a day on alternate days.

High flow oxygen is given at a rate of six to seven litres per minute for 10 to 20 minutes at the start of a cluster headache.

Attacks usually occur in bouts, or clusters, lasting for weeks or months, separated by remissions lasting months or years, according to the study.

The current treatment for acute attacks of cluster headache is injection with the drug sumatriptan, but frequent dosing is not recommended because of adverse effects.

Another treatment option is the inhalation of high-dose, high-flow oxygen, but its use may be limited because of the lack of a good quality controlled trial.

Anna S. Cohen, of the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, and colleagues conducted a randomised, placebo-controlled trial of high-flow oxygen for the treatment of acute attacks of cluster headache.

The study included 109 adults (aged 18-70 years). Patients treated four cluster headache episodes alternately with high-flow oxygen (inhaled oxygen at 100 percent, or 12 litres per minute, delivered by face mask, for 15 minutes at the start of an attack) or placebo (high-flow air).

Patients were recruited and followed up between 2002 and 2007. The final analysis included 57 patients with episodic cluster headache and 19 with chronic cluster headache.

The researchers found that 78 percent of the patients who received oxygen reported being pain-free or to have adequate relief within 15 minutes of treatment, compared to 20 percent of patients who received air.

For other outcomes, such as being pain-free at 30 minutes or a reduction in pain up to 60 minutes, treatment with oxygen was superior to air. There were no serious adverse events related to the treatments, says a National Hospital release.

"To our knowledge, this is the first adequately powered trial of high-flow oxygen compared with placebo, and it confirms clinical experience and current guidelines that inhaled oxygen can be used as an acute attack therapy for episodic and chronic cluster headache," the authors write.

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New AIDS infections down by over 1 lakh

India had reassuring news on the HIV/AIDS front on World AIDS Day Tuesday. The number of HIV positive people in the country had declined by 400,000 over the last five years and new infections were down by at least 100,000 per year.

"In 2002, over 27 lakh (2.7 million) people in India were HIV positive. The number has gone down to 23 lakh (2.3 million) in 2007. We have reduced the number by over 400, 000," Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said on the occasion of World AIDS Day here.

India is home to 2.3 million HIV positive people, third in terms of absolute numbers in the world. South Africa and Nigeria are the top two countries.

"AIDS is not spreading like earlier. It is stable now. Earlier, over 350,000 people were getting infected every year but for the last two years the new infections have reduced to 2 lakh to 2.5 lakh," Ajay Khera, assistant director general of the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) told IANS .

He said the huge investment to tackle HIV/AIDS and the large-scale awareness drive were key in mobilizing people against the dreaded disease. "The life span of HIV positive people has increased due to medical intervention and the use of condoms has also increased. These factors are primarily responsible for such a positive change," Khera added.

He informed that over 200,000 people are also dying in India due to AIDS every year.

According to NACO, there are 5,000 counselling centres in India for HIV positive people. Of these, nearly 200 are providing treatment to infected people. Over 240,000 people are currently under anti-retro viral treatment.

A first-line treatment costs the government around Rs.4, 500 per person/year. However, the second-line treatment is very expensive around Rs.40, 000 per person/year. The second line treatment is given when a patient develops resistance to the earlier drugs.

The NACO official said that the Red Ribbon Express Phase-II, which was flagged off by United Progressive Alliance chief Sonia Gandhi Tuesday morning, would spread awareness among rural people of 10,000 villages in 141 districts.

The Red Ribbon Express will halt in 152 stations in high prevalence areas during its year-long journey. It will disseminate information among the masses and "try to unite people" by bridging the information gap between urban and rural areas and dispel the stigma about the disease.

"The last train (Red Ribbon Express - Phase I) was a tremendous success. This train is taking its message to far flung areas of our country. It will help in containing the disease from spreading," the Congress chief said before flagging off the train at the Safdarjung Railway station here.

During its halts, volunteers will "disseminate information regarding prevention and services. It will develop an understanding about the infection in order to reduce stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS".
The eight-coach train with both doctors and volunteers on board will also strengthen people's knowledge about general health.

"This train will not only provide counselling but also locate people who need testing and anti-retro viral treatment. Those who need ARV will be referred to designated hospitals in the region by the doctors on board," K. Chandramouli, director general of National AIDS Control Organization (NACO), told IANS .

"We will also provide treatment for sexually transmitted diseases (STIs) inside the train. The train will be linked with mobile health clinics at the district level," he added.

Besides the direct intervention, there will also be folk troupes and exhibitions to create maximum awareness among people.

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US approves first "ethical" human stem cell lines

The US government approved the first 13 batches of human embryonic stem cells on Wednesday, enabling researchers using them to get millions of dollars in federal funding as promised by President Barack Obama in March.

The batches, known as lines, were made by two researchers at Harvard University and Rockefeller University using private funds, said Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health.

"Today we are announcing the approval of the first 13 stem cell lines," Collins told reporters in a telephone briefing.

In March, Obama lifted restrictions on human embryonic stem cell research imposed by his predecessor, George W. Bush.

He could not lift a restriction set by Congress, called the Dickey-Wicker amendment that forbids the use of federal money to make the stem cells, which require destruction of a human embryo. But the decision made it possible for researchers to use federal funds to work with cells that others have made.

The NIH set up a panel to decide which stem cell lines met strict ethical restrictions. The cells, for instance, have to have been made using an embryo donated from leftovers at fertility clinics, and parents must have signed detailed consent forms.

Stem cells are the body's ultimate master cells. They make up days-old embryos and have the power to give rise to all the cells and tissues in the body.

Scientists hope to use them to transform medicine by growing new tissue and repairing damage. Opponents say it is wrong to destroy human embryos for any reason.

Ethically acceptable

But Collins said the NIH-approved lines represent an acceptable compromise. "I think the broad consensus among most of the public ... is that stem cell research of this ethically acceptable kind should go forward," he said.

"These were derived from embryos derived under ethically sound consent processes."

The first 13 lines were "open and shut" cases, he said. Another 96 lines are under consideration and more approvals can be expected in the coming days, Collins said.

"I think people are champing at the bit," he said. "This is the first down payment in what is going to be a much longer list of such lines."

Eleven of the lines were made by Dr. George Daley of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute in Massachusetts. He said his lab started making the stem cells in 2006 using private donations and is looking forward to getting federal money.

"It is a huge boost. It is a stimulus to my research," said Daley, who said he has hired three technicians in the past two weeks.

"I can point to people and say 'Thank God for Obama -- you're here'," Daley said in a telephone interview.

"We have been very fortunate at Harvard to have been the beneficiaries of philanthropy but it has dried up in past years, in part because of the economy and in part because of the perception that the government was about to step in and clear everything up."
The NIH says it has funded 30 proposals totaling more than $20 million that would use human embryonic stem cells. Now the researchers can get the cells and get going, it said.

"This group of grants includes research using human embryonic stem cells for the therapeutic regeneration of diseased or damaged heart muscle cells, developing systems for the production of neural stem cells" among others, it said.

Collins said these cells are still needed for research even though scientists have found ways to turn ordinary cells into what resemble embryonic stem cells.

"I think one could make a very strong case that we need both," he said.

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Depression is as deadly as smoking: Study

Based on a series of tests, European scientists now believe that depression can increase mortality rates as much as smoking.

According to a study by researchers at the King's College in London, and the University of Bergen in Norway, depression is as deadly as smoking.

"Patients with depression face an overall increased risk of mortality, while a combination of depression and anxiety lowers the mortality risk compared with depression alone," lead author Dr Robert Stewart said.

He said, "The possible reasons that may underlie these surprising findings is that Unlike smoking, we don't know how causal the association with depression is but it does suggest that more attention should be paid to this link because the association persisted after adjusting for many other factors".

Utilising a unique link between a survey of over 60,000 people and a comprehensive mortality database, the researchers found that over the four years following the survey, the mortality risk was increased to a similar extent in people who were depressed as in people who were smokers, The British Journal of Psychiatry said.

"One of the main messages from this research is that 'a little anxiety may be good for you," Stewart said.

In light of the findings, Dr Stewart makes suggestions on the focus of future developments in the treatment of depression and anxiety: "The physical health of people with current or previous mental disorder needs a lot more attention than it gets at the moment".

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Smoking ban leads to drop in heart attacks: Study

Smoking ban has resulted in a 27 percent decrease in heart attacks in the city of Starkville in United States, reveals a new study.

Researchers, led by Robert McMillen and Dr Robert Collins, have also recommended a state-wide public ban on smoking.

The study — that focussed on Starkville residents in the three-year span after the ban became law, compared to three years prior — showed fewer heart attacks being treated at the Oktibbeha County Hospital.

The findings are part of a larger SSRC evaluation of Mississippi communities that passed smoking bans in recent years. McMillen said the data shows Starkville benefitting medically from the smoking ban.

"The emerging scientific consensus clearly demonstrates that communities like Starkville can reduce heart attacks simply by prohibiting smoking in indoor public places. Smoke-free laws are popular with the public and are free to implement," said McMillen.

The MSU investigation mirrors findings of a federally commissioned panel of scientists recently made public.

Commissioned by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, that report by the independent and non-profit Institute of Medicine examined information from 11 studies of communities in Canada, Italy, Scotland, and the United States.

The CDC/IM concluded that bans on smoking in public places reduces cases of heart attacks and heart disease.

"Our research substantiates that report from the Institute of Medicine," McMillen said.

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New bra boosts breasts' size in seconds!

The firm’s latest invention could see boob job clinics going bust, for it is pain-free and costs 24 pounds.

The revolutionary bra can be worn for work and then boosted for a night on the town by adding silicone pouches - made from the same material used in breast implants.

These push the boobs together and up, for a natural-look cleavage. "The effect of this bra is both visible and dramatic without the drastic measures of surgery, proving you don’t have to spend 35,000 pounds on new boobs like Amy Winehouse," the Sun quoted Ultimo boss Michelle Mone as saying.

Model Tal Berkovich, 24, tested the new bra and said: "I love my boobs in this bra and I would definitely wear it on a night out. It’s actually really comfortable as well.”

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Mastectomy patients may regrow breasts

Australian scientists have developed a surgical technique that may allow cancer-suffering women to regrow breasts after having a mastectomy, with human trials planned to start within three to six months.

The procedure involves inserting a breast-shaped chamber, containing a sample of the woman’s fat tissue, under the chest skin. A blood vessel is then connected to the fat tissue allowing it to grow to fill the chamber within six to eight months.

The Melbourne-based Bernard O'Brien Institute of Microsurgery, which pioneered the procedure, said on Thursday that it hopes to develop a biodegradable chamber within 24 months, which would mean the chamber would dissolve once filled.

“We are starting what is called a prototype trial in the next three to six months — a proof of principle trial with about five to six women just to demonstrate that the body can regrow its own fat supply in the breast,” Dr Phillip Marzella, the institute's chief operating officer, told local radio.

He said the procedure relies on the body's own behaviour of filling internal voids, but a gel-like substance can also be injected to stimulate fat growth.

The women in the trial have had a mastectomy or partial mastectomy, but there remains a defect or asymmetry issue with their breasts. The trial will not seek to grow a whole breast, but grow fat in the defected area to prove the procedure is viable, said an Institute report on the procedure.

The regenerative procedure could be used to help restore other damaged body parts, he said.

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Low carb diet may land you in depression

A very low carbohydrate diet, seen as a sure shot way to shed weight, may not be good for your mental health, warn researchers.

An Australian study published in prestigious medical journal, Archives of Internal Medicine, a journal of America Medical Association, shows that compared to low fat diets the very low carbohydrate diets can cause depression, anxiety and mood swings in the patients. The study says that very low carbohydrate diet takes away all the joys of weight loss.

The researchers from University of South Australia and Flinders and University Adelaide, Australia, studied about 106 overweight and obese individuals who were either given a low carbohydrate or a low fat diet for about a year. The people were allowed to consume only 1433-1672 kcal. The researchers observed the changes in body weight, psychological mood and well being.

It was observed that both diets achieved a similar reduction in body weight of approximately 14 kg. Compared with the low carb diet, the low fat diet had greater improvements in psychological mood state. Both diets had similar effects on cognitive functioning (working memory and speed of processing information).

"These findings suggest that although dietary macronutrient composition may have little influence on long-term weight loss, some aspects of the low carb diet may have detrimental effects on mood that may negate any positive mood effects following weight loss," the researchers wrote.

Renowned clinical nutritionist and Director of health food chain in Delhi, Whole Foods, Ishi Kosla says carbohydrates are important for brain and taking them out of food completely can cause depression.

"Lot of neurotransmitters are carbohydrate dependant and taking carbs out of food can not only cause depression but also manifest in things like lack of stamina. Brain requires a minimum of 100 gm of carbs daily and some crash diets like atkins and others reduce carbs to less than 30 to 40 grams per day which has bad impact on the brain," she said.

Even the psychiatrists agree. "We see a lot of such cases were eliminating or giving less carbs than what the body requires is causing severe reaction in people and the reactions manifest more in the physical functions like in chronic fatigue syndrome, mixed anxiety, restlessness, palpitations and panic attacks," said Dr Jitendra Nagpal, Delhi based clinical Psychiatrist.

"Carbs are fuel of the body and eliminating them can effect the emotion regulating centers of the brain. It is wrong on part of dieticians or weight loss management experts to even suggest taking carbohydrates out of the diet," he added.

There however are some for whom the study warrants more study. A number of factors have to be considered.

In context of diabetes management low carbohydrates have been seen to have positive impact on disease management but the new study needs to be further evaluated as if the patients gets depressed not only will it affect diet control but taking medicines as well," said Dr Anoop Misra, HoD, department of diabetes and metabolism at Fortis Hospitals Noida and Delhi.

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Both genetics and environmental factors determine asthma risk

It's not just genes, environmental exposure too determines if a person would develop asthma, says a leading expert.

Dr. Fernando D. Martinez, director of Arizona Respiratory Center, said that 39 potential "asthma genes" have already been identified.

But, for nearly every gene found to be negatively associated with asthma in one study, other studies have failed to replicate the findings.

"This suggests that the effect of these genes on allergic diseases is not direct and simple. Many genetic variants associated with asthma will not increase the risk of the disease in all persons. Most will modulate the effects of environmental exposures, making certain subjects more or less susceptible," he said.

With respect to environmental exposures worsening asthma, Martinez highlights viral infections, passive smoking and air pollution.

But the impact of all environmental factors is not necessarily obvious, as some exposures play a protective role.

"For example, in farming communities where exposure to microbial products is high, children have significantly less asthma and allergies," said Martinez.

In some cases, an allele (part of a gene) found to be a higher risk factor for allergic asthma in some individuals might be associated with less risk of developing asthma in others.

Martinez has pinpointed the CD14 gene as one such example, saying that when people with a variant of this gene are exposed to high levels of endotoxin (a product present in bacteria), it protects them from developing an allergic response.

But people with this same gene variant who are exposed to low levels of endotoxin are at higher risk of an allergy.

Research is going on to identify and understand the genes related to asthma.

"We have identified many genetic variants associated with asthma and allergies. However, only a fraction of the variants have been discovered. A lot of work still needs to be done to uncover how these diseases are inherited," said Marteniz.

Martinez suggests that the expectation that doctors will someday be able to predict asthma at birth should be replaced with an expectation that experts will be able to identify which children should or should not be exposed to certain environmental factors to lessen their risk of developing asthma.

"The hope is that by combining information on genetic markers and exposures, we will be able to identify even more accurately children at high-risk for different forms of asthma in the future," he said.

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Eight cups of tea a day can boost your heart and brain

Drinking eight cups of tea daily might sound a bit too much for some people, but health experts say the intake can help fight heart disease, improve brain power and also boost longevity.

Independent dietician Dr Carrie Ruxton's research on caffeine at King's College, London, saw her review 47 published studies to reach the conclusion that caffeinated drinks such as tea, coffee and cocoa have positive effects on mental function, increasing alertness, feelings of well-being and short-term memory.

Previous studies have already linked the drink's healthy antioxidant properties and high flavonoid content to preventing heart disease and cutting the risk of some cancers.

Ruxton has supported earlier reports by claiming that an optimal intake of 400mg of caffeine a day leads to "key benefits in terms of mental function and heart health".

She assessed three studies, accounting for almost 90,000 patients, to find that drinking four cups of tea or coffee a day reduced chances of cardiovascular disease.

She referred to another study of 26,500 middle-aged smokers, which hinted that men who ingested more than two cups of tea a day pulled down the probability of getting a stroke by 20 percent.

Ruxton insisted that she aimed to "debunk" false beliefs surrounding caffeine.

Moreover, she asserted that people who avoid drinking team might be doing more harm than good.

"People who cut out caffeinated drinks may miss out on the potential health benefits of the compounds they contain," the Daily Express quoted her as saying.

She further suggested that there was "no need" for parents to stop children from drinking tea and coffee.

In fact, she claimed it was better than juice in some regards.

Also, Dr Catherine Hood, of the Tea Advisory Panel, agreed to Ruxton's claims.

She said, “Caffeinated drinks have been unfairly demonised. Black tea, in particular, contains polyphenols, which are natural plant antioxidants.”

"These have beneficial effects on many biochemical processes in the body because they protect cells against harmful free radicals.

"Flavonoids are thought to be especially useful, with a number of studies reporting a link between them and lower risk of heart attack."

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Sperm may play a lead role in HIV spread

A new study has shown that HIV can be transmitted by sperm and not just semen. It is well known that during sexual intercourse, HIV-infected men transmit HIV through their semen, which carries free-floating virus as well as HIV-infected leukocytes.

However, lead researcher Ana Ceballos at the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina claims that sperm can also transmit HIV to macrophages, T cells, and dendritic cells (DCs).

Ceballos et al. showed that HIV attaches to the surface of sperm and that these HIV carriers pass on the virus to DCs and other HIV targets.

Sperm express molecules known to interact with HIV's envelope, such as heparan sulfate and mannose receptors.

The authors show that HIV relies on heparan sulfate to attach to sperm, but not mannose receptors as previously predicted.

Once attached, the virus was transmitted from sperm to DCs in culture. The DC receptors CD4 and DC-SIGN were required for transmission, suggesting that DCs pick up the virus by binding to sperm rather than by ingesting them.

DCs matured after interacting with the sperm, producing tolerance-promoting cytokines like interleukin-10. The authors speculate that this immune-suppressing profile, versus an inflammatory profile, might also help the virus spread.

The authors suggest that sperm might reach DCs by passing through microabrasions in the vaginal or anal lining that often form during intercourse.

The study appears in Journal of Experimental Medicine.

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Obese people likely to be at high risk for heart disease: Study

Obese people are likely to be at high risk for heart disease and stroke as obesity could be a factor in delaying optimal control of blood pressure and cholesterol, a new research led by an Indian-origin scientist said.

"Patients taking medications to lower their blood pressure and cholesterol levels were less likely to attain recommended targets for these cardiovascular disease risk factors than their normal weight counterparts," a study, presented at the 2009 Canadian Cardiovascular Congress, said.

Resident at the University of Toronto Dr Vineet Bhan, who led the research, examined a large number of people deemed to be at high risk for heart disease and stroke to find out if there were differences in achieving guideline-recommended targets for blood pressure and cholesterol levels according to body mass index
(BMI).

"This, to our knowledge, is the first study looking at patients with established cardiovascular disease who are on treatment to see how obesity relates to the control of these risk factors," Dr Bhan said.

The observational study was based on two outpatient registries led by senior co-author, Dr Shaun Goodman, and coordinated by the Canadian Heart Research Centre.

Senior author Dr Andrew Yan said: "Although a direct cause-and-effect relationship cannot be proven, our data would suggest that pharmacologic treatment alone without achieving optimal weight may not be adequate".

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Carbon nanotubes can affect lung lining

Carbon nanotubes which are used in everything from sports equipment to medical applications can affect the lining of the lungs, say researchers.

The long term effects, however, remain unclear.

The study was a collaboration between North Carolina State University (NCSU), The Hamner Institutes for Health Sciences, and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

Using mice in an animal model study, researchers set out to determine what happens when multi-walled carbon nanotubes are inhaled.

Specifically, researchers wanted to determine whether the nanotubes would be able to reach the pleura, which is the tissue that lines the outside of the lungs and is affected by exposure to certain types of asbestos fibres which cause cancer.

Researchers found that inhaled nanotubes do reach the pleura and cause health effects. Short-term studies described in the paper do not allow conclusions about long-term responses such as cancer.

The "unique reaction" began within one day of inhalation of the nanotubes, when clusters of immune cells (lymphocytes and monocytes) began collecting on the surface of the pleura.

Localised fibrosis, or scarring on parts of the pleural surface that is also found with asbestos exposure, began two weeks after inhalation.

The study showed the immune response and fibrosis disappeared within three months of exposure. However, this study used only a single exposure to the nanotubes, says an NCSU release.

It remains unclear whether the pleura could recover from chronic, or repeated, exposures.

"More work needs to be done in that area and it is completely unknown at this point whether inhaled carbon nanotubes will prove to be carcinogenic in the lungs or in the pleural lining," an NCSU release said.

These findings were published in Nature Nanotechnology.

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Ten tips to avoid back pain

Tried and tested everything but back pain still giving you nightmares?

Marcus, who is the director of muscle pain research at the New York University School of Medicine said on "The Early Show," that people seek medical advice for back pain most than for anything else.

Also, the National Institutes of Health revealed that four out of five Americans would suffer from disabling back pain during their lifetime, reports CBS News.

However, Marcus offered tips to prevent back pain:

1. Your bed does matter- The physician advised tossing and turning at night and getting rid of sagging mattress if you have one.

2. What you do in bed matters- Reading or watching television while lying down is best avoided as when you lift your head to view the screen your muscles may contract causing pain in the neck.

3. Don''t just sit there- Apparently, staying in a particular position for too long stresses the postural muscles in your body. Hence, one should frequently change positions.

4. Cross your legs- The doctor advised alternately crossing a leg if you are sitting for long hours in a particular place, like while in a theatre, as it helps move back and hip muscles.

5. Around the house: Regularly used household items should be preferably kept on easily accessible shelves, as it can help avoid bending and stretching movements.

6. Watch where you put your wallet: Marcus advised men to completely stop sitting with wallet in the back pocket as it can result chronic pain.

7. Just say no- Lifting heavy weights should be avoided. Marcus added: "Ask for help, wait for help, hire help -- or walk away."

8. When you do have to lift a heavy object, bend with your knees and hips - While lifting heavy objects it should be brought close to the body, such that leg muscles bear maximum pressure.

9. Shoveling snow: A short walk to warm up before beginning to shovel may be a good idea. Also, a smaller blade can help limit each load¸ as snow is pretty heavy.

10. For women only: Women should try to lose weight after pregnancy and strengthen key postural and abdominal muscles, as it is weakened and stretched.

Apart from all the above advice, Marcus also suggested not putting computer keyboards on top of the desk in office to be handy for office employees.

He said: "To avoid neck, shoulder and back muscle strain, your arms should be positioned so that you reach down to use the keyboard, which is the reason keyboard trays can be found under desktops."

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A kiwifruit a day can keep doctor at bay

Kiwi fruit has been labelled as the best source of vitamin C, which can have wonderful health benefits, according to an expert.

Professor Robin Fraser, of Otago University's Christchurch School of Medicine, has said that the furry fruit could be the key to living longer as it appears to be the perfect food for preventing all sorts of liver problems, as well as keeping white blood cells health.

Fraser, who has seen many unhealthy livers in his time as a pathologist, is a convert to the benefits of the fruit.

"It just seems as though it works. I'm so convinced that I eat kiwifruit every morning for my breakfast," Stuff.co.nz quoted him as saying.

Fraser compared the liver to a sieve that when working properly effectively filtered the carrier of cholesterol.

But, he said, those holes could be closed because of excess drinking, an overly fatty diet, smoking, illicit drug use and stress, which could lead to atherosclerosis- a major killer through heart failure, strokes, gangrenous feet and aortic aneurism.

But he pointed out that a daily dose of kiwifruit, along with a healthier lifestyle, appeared to be able to reopen those holes in the liver-which, in his opinion was an exciting development.

He said kiwifruit was the most efficient way of getting the recommended dose of vitamin C, the active ingredient that appeared to fix the liver.

Dr Margreet Vissers, the dean of research at Otago University in Christchurch, said that vitamin C was also needed by white blood cells to kill bacteria and ensured they did not kill off everything else in the process.

Fraser presented his findings at the annual scientific meeting of the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia in Christchurch yesterday.

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Smoking can cause chronic lower back pain

Canadian researchers have linked smoking to chronic lower back pain.

In the study, boffins identified a higher rate of chronic lower back pain among people who smoke every day, reports News.com.au.

According to Professor Michael Cousins, the research suggests that smoking interferes with pain transmitters, causing osteoporosis.

The condition resulted in chronic lower back pain which could also trigger a "downward spiral" in a person's life, he warned.

"Chronic pain is now regarded as a disease in its own right," said Prof Cousins, who is director of the Pain Management Research Institute at Sydney's Royal North Shore Hospital.

"Patients with it rapidly progress into a downward spiral of physical, psychological and environmental changes, resulting in major deterioration of all life activities, in their work, family and community roles,” he added.

Prof Cousins commented on the study published in the journal Clinical and Investigative Medicine, and included more than 73,000 people aged 20-59.

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Eat chocolates to cure pain

Eating chocolate or drinking water can relieve aches and pains, a new study has shown. Chocolate

A team of researchers says the distraction of eating or drinking for pleasure acts as a natural painkiller. Although the findings come from studies on animals, the scientists believe the same effect takes place in people.

The study, published in the Journal of Neuroscience by authors Peggy Mason, PhD, professor of neurobiology, and Hayley Foo, PhD, research associate professor of neurobiology at the University of Chicago, is the first to demonstrate that this powerful painkilling effect occurs while the animals are ingesting food or liquid even in the absence of appetite.

"It's a strong, strong effect, but it's not about hunger or appetite," Mason said. "If you have all this food in front of you that's easily available to reach out and get, you're not going to stop eating, for basically almost any reason,” the expert added.

In the experiments, rats were given either a chocolate chip to eat or had sugar water or regular water infused directly into their mouth. As the rat swallowed the chocolate or fluid, a light-bulb beneath the cage was switched on, providing a heat stimulus that normally caused the animal to lift its paw off the floor.

Mason and Foo found that rats were much slower to raise their paw while eating or drinking, compared to tests conducted while they were awake, but not eating.

Surprisingly, the researchers found no difference in the delayed paw-lift response between when the rat was eating chocolate and when it was drinking water, despite previous research indicating that only sugary substances were protective against pain. "This really shows it has nothing to do with calories," Mason said. "Water has no calories, saccharine has no sugar, but both have the same effect as a chocolate chip. It's really shocking."

Mason and Foo then repeated the heat test as the rats were given quinine, a bitter drink that causes rats to make an expression called a gape that's akin to a child's expression of "yuck." During quinine administration, the rats reacted to heat as quickly as when not eating, suggesting that a non-pleasurable food or drink fails to trigger pain relief.

The context of ingesting was also important to whether eating or drinking blunted pain, the researchers found. When rats were made ill by a drug treatment, eating chocolate no longer delayed their response. However, drinking water still caused a reduced pain response, indicating that drinking water was considered a positive experience while ill.

By selectively inactivating a region in the brainstem called the raphe mangus – an area previously shown to blunt pain during sleep and urination – Mason and Foo were able to remove the effect of drinking water on the rat's pain response. The brainstem controls subconscious responses such as breathing and perspiration during exercise.

"You're essentially at the mercy of your brainstem, and the raphe magnus is part of that," Mason said. "It tells you, ''you're going to finish eating this, whether you like it or not,' just like you sweat while running whether you like it or not."

In the wild, Mason said, rats and other animals would not want to be distracted during the rare but important times that they were able to eat or drink. Therefore, the activation of the raphe magnus during eating or drinking would allow the rat to filter out distractions until their meal was completed. For obvious reasons, this natural pain relief would be activated when an animal is eating or drinking something pleasurable, but not when it tastes something that could be toxic or harmful.

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Ten Tips to Help You Control Your High Blood Pressure

Ten Tips to Help You Control Your High Blood Pressure

1. Make sure your blood pressure is under 140/90 mm Hg. If your systolic pressure (the top number) is over 140, ask your doctor what you can do to lower it.

2. Take your high blood pressure medicine, if prescribed, every day. If you have questions, talk to your doctor.

3. Aim for a healthy weight. If you are overweight or obese, carrying this extra weight increases your risk of high blood pressure. One way to determine if you need to lose weight is to find out your body mass index or BMI. If your BMI is above the healthy range (i.e., 25 or greater), or if your waist measurement is greater than 35 inches (women) or 40 inches (men) you probably have excess abdominal weight and you may benefit from weight loss especially if you have other risk factors. Talk to your doctor to see if you are at increased risk for high blood pressure and need to lose weight.

4. Increase your physical activity. Do at least 30 minutes of moderate activity, such as walking, most days of the week. You can do 30 minutes in three 10-minute segments.

5. Choose foods low in salt and sodium. Most Americans should consume no more than 2.4 grams (2,400 milligrams) of sodium a day. That equals 6 grams, about one teaspoon of table salt a day. For someone with high blood pressure, the doctor may advise less.

6. Read nutrition labels. Almost all packaged foods contain sodium. Every time you prepare or eat a packaged food, know how much sodium is in one serving.

7. Keep a sodium diary. You may be surprised at how much sodium you consume each day and the diary will help you decide which foods to decrease or eliminate.

8. Use spices and herbs instead of salt to season the food you prepare at home.

9. Eat more fruits, vegetables, grains, and low-fat dairy foods.

10. If you consume alcohol at all, consume moderate amounts. For men, this is less than two 12 oz servings of beer, or two 5 oz glasses of wine, or two 1 oz servings of "hard" alcohol a day. Women or lighter weight people should have no more than a single serving of any one of these beverages in a given day.

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Mother's cancer passes on to unborn child

In a rare case, that has baffled medical scientists around the world, cancer cells passed over from a mother to her unborn baby.

The discovery was made by scientists in when an 11-month old baby developed cancer soon after her mother died from leukemia.

The 28 year-old Japanese mother had developed lymphoma during the course of her pregnancy. A team of scientists from the Institute of Cancer Research , found that leukemia cells had crossed the placenta and spread from the infected mother to the fetus, defying age-old biology theories.

Though, for over 100 years, scientists had established the possibility of such transmission, this case provides hard evidence of the phenomena, Nik Zeps, the scientific adviser to Cancer Council Australia told the Guardian. However, he added that it is a rare occurrence for pregnant women to contract cancer and even rarer for the unborn to get infected with it.

In this case, the mother was detected with advanced leukemia a month after she delivered the baby girl and died. 11 months later, the baby was hospitalized for swollen right cheeks, and eventually was diagnosed with tumor in her jaw, by which time the cancer had spread to her lungs.

It is fascinating to note how the cells escaped the baby's immune system, which should have recognized them as foreign invaders and destroyed them, if they had attempted to cross the placental barrier.

Researchers found the cancer cells of mother and baby carried the identical mutated cancer gene, called BCR-ABL1, but the infant had not inherited this gene. This meant that the cells must have come from the mother. The scientists tried to figure out if there was any scope of immunological acceptance of the cells by the fetus.

On further examining the genes of the cancer cells in the infant's and they found a deletion mutation that means some of the DNA was missing. This was an important discovery as the missing cells were responsible for making the distinction between the mother's ce''s and the baby's cells.

This explained why the baby's immune system did not react to the cancer cells, and hence did not make any effort to counter them.

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