Red wine component pill successful during heart attacks

 Researchers seeking a more reliable alternative than aspirin for heart attacks may have found it in a red wine molecule called resveratrol.

University of Connecticut (U-C) researchers induced heart attacks in animals and found that resveratrol significantly reduces damage to heart muscle. Scarring and fibrosis were limited and the animals survived an otherwise mortal event.

Dipak Das, professor at the U-C Cardiovascular Research Centre, Farmington, says that resveratrol provokes a "pre-conditioning effect" whereby antioxidant defenses in the heart are switched on prior to a heart attack. This limits damage to heart muscle.

Mr. Das says that resveratrol's preconditioning effect is “the best yet devised method of cardioprotection.” The dosage of resveratrol is critical in producing the pre-conditioning effect.

Mr. Das found the human equivalent dosage of 175-350 milligrams reduced damage to the heart during a heart attack.

Since resveratrol also thins the blood and inhibits clots that form in coronary arteries in a similar fashion to aspirin, and exhibits other beneficial properties, such as anti-adhesion factors that inhibit plaque from sticking to artery walls, it may be superior to aspirin.

Breathe easy

With changes in climate and increase in pollution, many people routinely suffer from the common cold. A blocked nose is the most common symptom. When you have a cold, many chemicals are released, which act on the tiny blood vessels in the lining of the nose. This causes the lining to swell and makes breathing difficult. If this happens during sleep, it is far more distressing. If neglected, a blocked nose leads to chronic ailments.

The nose filters the air we breathe. When the nose is blocked, it cannot filter the air efficiently leading to entry of germs and other foreign particles. This further aggravates the cold and leads to infections. Since the nose, ear, throat and sinuses are interconnected, an infection in the nose can travel to these areas.

The feeling of stuffiness in the nose, during a cold, makes breathing difficult, and also leads to headaches, body pain and watery eyes. This makes it very difficult to concentrate on work. Moreover the constant headache makes you irritable and frustrated. A blocked nose also affects sleep patterns. With loss of sleep, a feeling of lethargy creeps in and it becomes almost impossible to keep pace with the daily routine.

Treatment options

Pediatricians advocate introduction of pentavalent vaccine

 Two top pediatricians have strongly advocated the introduction of pentavalent (five-in-one) vaccine into the national immunisation programme citing a consensus on the issue by the Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP).

“The national consensus has been in active existence since last then years and there is an urgent need to wake up and immunise every infant with three doses of pentavalent vaccine,” Dr. Mrudala Phadke, former Vice Chancellor of Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS) told PTI.

“We already have diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus in our national programme and addition of two more components - Hepatitis B and Heamophilus Influenzae (Hib) will automatically cover five diseases in the same injection,” Dr. Phadke along with Dr. Uday Bodhankar, former IAP President and now Secretary General of Common Wealth Association for Health & Disability, said.

Vaccinations against Hib have known to decrease early childhood meningitis and pneumonia significantly in developed and recently in developing countries.

Throwing light on the need to include these two diseases in the programme, Dr. Bodhankar said, “in terms of morbidity, a child who develops meningitis may remain as handicapped as a child of poliomyelitis in terms of paralysis, and may also suffer from mental and hearing 

impairment.”

Polluted water kills more people than war: UN

 Polluted drinking water claim more lives than all forms of violence, including war, a UN report has said, highlighting the need for clean water.

The report, released on the occasion of World Water Day by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) on Monday, said one child under the age of five dies every 20 seconds from water-related diseases.

According to the report titled ‘Sick Water’, the sheer scale of dirty water means more people now die from contaminated and polluted water than from all forms of violence including wars.

“These deaths are an affront to our common humanity, and undermine the efforts of many countries to achieve their development potential,” UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in his message marking Word Water Day.

“Day after day, we pour millions of tons of untreated sewage and industrial and agricultural wastes into the world’s water systems. And the poor continue to suffer first and most from pollution, water shortages and the lack of adequate sanitation.”

The report said that some two million tons of waste is being discharged daily into rivers and seas causing the spread of disease and damage of ecosystems.

Handling fussy eaters

Food for thought - Children have small stomachs, and their meals should be small and frequent

Children between the ages of 4-8 need 1300- 1700 kcal. in their daily diet. 

This includes 19 gm of protein, 800 mg of calcium, 10 mg of iron, and 5 mg of zinc. 

Environmental influences, including media and peers, and parental choices, influence the dietary behaviours of children and can have important consequences for long-term health. The following are a few pointers for parents.

Snack healthily

Children have small stomachs, and their meals should be small and frequent: 4-6 per day, rather than the usual three square meals per day. It is better to pack two small-portion lunch boxes rather than one large lunch box for the child. Snacks are an essential component of a child's diet. Milk, fruit juice and nuts are the most healthful snacks for a child.

Establish a healthy eating environment at home. No television during meals. This is important because the child needs to focus on inner cues of hunger and satiety while eating. It is easy to overeat when the mind is distracted by matters other than food.

Counter negative dietary influences with positive examples. It is useless to ask children to not be tempted by advertisements featuring fast foods and soft drinks. The better option is for parent to demonstrate good eating choices by example. Do not force-feed the child beyond his point of satiety. Parents tend to overestimate the child's capacity for food, and the stomach's natural elasticity aids them in this mistake. Do not encourage the child to “make a happy plate”. If the child indicates he is full, respect his wishes. Wait a couple of hours and try again when he is hungry.

Walnuts: good for the heart, prostate

 Walnut consumption slows the growth of prostate cancer in mice and has beneficial effects on multiple genes related to the control of tumour growth and metabolism, researchers have found.

Paul Davis, nutritionist and researcher with the UC Davis Cancer Centre in California, said the findings provide additional evidence that walnuts, although high in fat, are healthy.

“This study shows that when mice with prostate tumours consume an amount of walnuts that could easily be eaten by a man, tumour growth is controlled,” he said. “This leaves me very hopeful that it could be beneficial in patients.” he added.

Prostate cancer affects one in six American men. It is one in which environmental factors, especially diet, play an important role. Numerous clinical studies have demonstrated that eating walnuts - rich in omega-3 polyunsaturated fats, antioxidants and other plant chemicals - decreases the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Davis fed a diet with whole walnuts to mice that had been genetically programmed to get prostate cancer. After 18 weeks, they found that consuming the human equivalent of 2.4 ounces of walnuts per day resulted in significantly smaller, slower-growing prostate tumours compared to mice consuming the same diet with an equal amount of fat, but not from walnuts.

‘An hour of physical activity enough for normal BMI women’

 Women with normal Body Mass Index need not do rigorous exercise to keep slim as a new study has claimed that an hour of moderate physical activity, like yoga and taking a stroll, daily is enough for maintaining their fitness.

In a 13-year-long study, a team of researchers led by scientists from the Women’s Hospital at Harvard Medical School found that by climbing stairs, taking a hike, taking a yoga class, or any other moderate physical activity thousands of healthy women maintain their weight without cutting calories.

“The only catch is that it only worked for women with a normal body mass index (BMI) who did these exercised for an hour daily,” the team was quoted as saying by the Scientific American.

During the study, they monitored 34,079 relatively healthy middle age and older women seven times to gather information on weight and physical activity levels and saw that for women under the age of 65 and with BMIs below 25, exercise made a big difference.

“Those in that group who got less than 420 minutes of moderate activity each week gained significantly more weight than those who were able to squeeze in more than 60 minutes a day,” said lead author I-Min Lee.

However, for women who started the study either overweight or obese and who maintained average eating habits, the amount of moderate activity did not seem to affect their statistical likelihood of losing weight.

Predator turns prey

57 million years ago, when dinosaurs roamed across the Indian sub-continent, a new study has shown that they were as vulnerable to being preyed upon as those they were hunting.

Revisiting the growth story

There is an air of celebration within the economic policy establishment in the country. India, it is argued, has weathered the global crisis well, experienced an early reversal of the downturn in GDP growth during 2008-09 and is all set to return to the pre-crisis trajectory of 9 per cent growth per annum. As evidence of these trends, the official Economic Survey 2009-10 refers to the “turnaround” in the second quarter of 2009-10, when GDP grew by 7.9 per cent, and to the CSO’s advance estimates of GDP for 2009-10, according to which the economy is predicted to grow at 7.2 per cent per year during the fiscal year as a whole.

The 7.2 per cent figure is now repeatedly quoted by official spokespersons, with the Finance Minister reportedly declaring in his reply to the general discussion on the budget in the Lok Sabha that it “was not a pipe dream but a reality”. There is indeed some cause for celebration. Though GDP growth is by no means the best indicator of a nation’s health, the 7.2 per cent figure is creditable given the global context in which it has been realised.

Taliban bombers sneaked in by local bus

The two Taliban suicide bombers who targeted army vehicles within the cantonment here on Friday had apparently sneaked into the heavily guarded area by using a bus, police sources said.

“Since all seven points leading into the cantonment are heavily guarded by the army and police personnel, hardly any private vehicle is allowed to enter the area without being thoroughly checked,” a source in the Crime Investigation Department told PTI.

“Security officials usually do not inspect buses plying on routes in this area. There is a great possibility that the two terrorists reached R A Bazar within the cantonment by riding a local bus,” he said.

“Specific directions have been issued to officials guarding entry points to the cantonment to check teenagers with a pathan look,” said the source.

The source further said both bombers were on foot and it would not have been possible for them to enter the area by evading security personnel.

Local buses were the only “safe” mode of transport they could have used to reach the destination, he said.

The suicide bombers blew themselves up after throwing grenades at vehicles of the Garrison Security Force killing 45 people, including 10 soldiers, and injuring over 100.

The bombers were aged between 17 and 20 years. Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said the bombers' features indicated that they hailed from the tribal areas in northwest Pakistan. Meanwhile, police sources said three suspects had been arrested in the cantonment.

Unrest

Pakistan has “solid evidence” of India's alleged involvement in fomenting unrest in Balochistan province and the government is taking up this matter diplomatically with its Indian counterpart, Interior Minister Rehman Malik claimed on Friday.

Mr. Malik made the remarks while talking to the media at Parliament.

“We are not levelling mere allegations against India but we have solid evidence of Indian involvement in Balochistan.

Disappointing finish for India

There was precious little to portray anything in eloquent terms as India suffered a disappointing reverse to settle for the eighth place in the Hero Honda hockey World Cup on Friday.

In a space of two minutes in the second half, Argentina floored the opponent to emerge winner by a 4-2 margin to secure the seventh place.

What contributed to the end game was the failure to make good of the moves that were well conceived by the consistent mid-field. Bharat Chikkara on the left and Sardara Singh from the middle put across a stream of passes.

Rajpal Singh with Vikram Pillay and Halappa as able allies managed to sneak in a few times as did Chandi and Shivendra Singh. But these raids were not sharp enough to confuse the Argentine defenders, Padro Ibarra and Alajendro.

Argentina's victory came largely on account of the pace the players generated thanks to the loping runs by Mario Almada and Lucas Vila and by the display of opportunism. The lead surfaced midway through when goal-keeper Adrian padded a long ball. Innocente lurking in the area pounced on the rebound.

Two penalty corners brought India no reward as the shots by Sandeep Singh were met without a fuss by goal-keeper Juan Tomas. Sandeep, however, converted a penalty stroke awarded by the Korean umpire Kin Hong Lee. It was disputed by the Argentine players but approved by the video umpire for a stick check by Mathias Vila on Vikram Pillay.

Knight Riders begins well

Deccan Chargers stumbled at the first hurdle, stunned by Kolkata Knight Riders in the opening game of the DLF-Indian Premier League 2010.

The 2009 champion lost the way despite a superb 54 from captain Adam Gilchrist, scoring 150 for seven in the face of a spirited show from the Knight Riders bowlers.

Chargers lost by 11 runs chasing the 162-run target set by Sourav Ganguly's side. Ganguly used six bowlers, all of them chipped in with wickets at the D.Y. Patil stadium.

Charl Langeveldt got two for 26 and the others managed a wicket each as KKR held its nerve when defending.

Taking into account the dropped catches under pressure and lapses in the field, the turnaround was remarkable against a side boasting of big-hitting batsmen.

V.V.S. Laxman, opening for Chargers, tried to tune into the T20 wavelength with a swatted six over long-on, then let captain Gilchrist show how bowlers can be tamed. The Aussie got cracking with two sixes, number one off Langeveldt over mid-wicket and bettered the effort next time with a straight six, stepping out against L.R. Shukla.

Gilchrist's mastery

Two dropped catches did not diminish Gilchrist's mastery, spotting the length early for clean hits, sending the ball soaring in a 35-ball 54 (3x4, 3x6). Hodge got him eventually, caught by Manoj Tiwary on the fence. Rohit Sharma (13 off 12 balls) took on the scoring duties, a late cut to third man and an on-drive. He fell for the bait from Mathews, chopping a short delivery towards short mid-on for Hodge to run across and do the rest. Knight Riders recovered from early upsets to post 161 for four. Mathews flexed his arms for an unbeaten 65 (46b, 5x4, 4x6) and saved his team from embarrassment.

The Sri Lankan, taking charge at number six, put on 130 runs in a fifth-wicket stand with England's Owais Shah 58 not out (46b, 3x4, 3x6). Shah used the pace of the wicket to stroke the ball, Mathews re-arranged his footwork to smash anything within range.

Salt reduction in processed foods could save lives

A new study has found that reducing salt in processed foods could prevent strokes and heart attacks and also save billions of dollars in medical costs.

According to researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine and the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, the U.S. food service industry should make a voluntary effort to reduce salt.

In the study, the researchers developed a computerized model that simulates the effects of reduced sodium intake on a large population of people between the ages of 40 and 85. Based on a similar, salt-reduction campaign in the United Kingdom, the researchers estimated that a collaborative industry effort could lead to a 9.5 per cent decline in Americans’ salt intake.

Happy mornings

Here's a wake-up call: What you do in the hour after you get up can help you look and feel your best for the rest of the day. The right moves and foods will give you the focus, stamina, and positive outlook. Plus, you'll kick-start your metabolism, helping you torch extra calories and melt more fat. Our get-up-and-go routine outlines tips guaranteed to make your morning a true power hour.

Even early birds can find it difficult to slip out from under their warm, cosy covers on dark winter mornings. Here's how to make it easy. Because of hormonal shifts that occur while we're asleep, the majority of us wake up feeling a bit down. So, put a sticky note on your alarm clock reminding you of something exciting that's happening the next day, to give you a quick lift.

A toasty room temperature makes it easier to nod off, but you may wake up groggy. The ideal temperature is between 60 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

‘Biological clock’ key to longer life

A not-so-good night’s sleep could reduce your ability to handle oxidative stress, cause impacts to your health, speed aging and ultimately cut short your life.

In a study based on fruit fly, scientists from Oregon State University have outlined how a key gene that helps control circadian rhythms can improve the health of aging fruit flies if it is intact, but can result in significant health impacts, up to and including earlier death, if it is absent.

The research, published in the journal Aging, found that young fruit flies without this gene were able to handle some stress, but middle-aged and older flies were not.

“We’re beginning to identify some of the underlying mechanisms that may help explain why organisms age,” said Natraj Krishnan, a research associate in the OSU Department of Zoology. “This study suggests that young individuals may be able to handle certain stresses, but the same insults at an older age cause genetic damage and appear to lead to health problems and earlier death. And it’s linked to biological clocks.” Natraj added.

Kidney ravages

Kidney is a vital organ of the body with multiple roles. Apart from detoxifyingthe blood and making it fit to carry appropriate nutrition, it also helps make the red blood cells by producing a hormone called erythropoietin and balances various minerals in the body. Take for example calcium and phosphorus which helpthe bones to be in shape and sturdy.

The bone tissues are constantly being remodelled and rebuilt while they are fortified with calcium and phosphorus. The balance of these minerals is maintained by the kidney with the help of calcitriol that it produces. This enzyme takes the help of the Vitamin D which is gained from sunlight and helps in assimilation of the minerals into the bones. In chronic kidney diseases or End Stage Renal Failure, the functioning of the kidney declines and the minerals are not assimilated causing weakness and brittleness of bones. These changes become apparent only when it becomes irreversible and it makes it that much more imperative to balance these hormones in such patients at the earliest even as they are under treatment with medication and dialysis.

‘Moderate alcohol intake prevents weight gains’

Women are often advised to stop drinking to avoid extra calories but a new research suggests that women who regularly consume moderate amounts of alcohol are 30 per cent less likely to gain weight than those who do not drink.

Researchers at Brigham and Women’s hospital in Boston said the women who consumed two to three servings of beer or wine each day were less likely to gain extra pounds as they get older. The 13-year research found that women who did not drink at all gained the most weight.

The findings, reported this week in the Archives of Internal Medicine, are based on a study of 19,220 U.S. women aged 39 and over who had normal body weight at the start of the study. Researchers tracked the women’s drinking habits over 13 years.

About 60 per cent of the women were light or regular drinkers, while about 40 per cent reported drinking no alcohol. Over the course of the study, 41 per cent of the women became overweight or obese. The risk of becoming overweight was almost 30 per cent lower for women who consumed one or two alcohol beverages a day, compared to others who did not drink at all.

The non-drinkers in the study actually gained more weight over time: nine pounds, on average, compared with an average gain of about three pounds among regular moderate drinkers.

The effects were found for beer, red wine, white wine and spirits, although the strongest association was found for red wine. It isn’t clear what accounts for the association, the authors said.

Protect your kidneys and control diabetes — this year's theme

You are reading this on World Kidney Day and the doctors are telling you to mind your blood sugar. Puzzling? Wait, diabetes and hypertension are two of the most common causes of renal disease in Indians.

No wonder then that the International Society of Nephrology (ISN) and the International Federation of Kidney Foundations has taken on the diabetes monster, only a year after they took on hypertension (last year's theme). This year's theme is ‘Protect your Kidneys, Control Diabetes.'

In the online resources available on World Kidney Day (worldkidneyday.org) Paul Zimmet and Robert Atkins observe that in 2003, the ISN and the International Diabetes Federation launched a booklet called “Diabetes and Kidney Disease: Time to act” to highlight the global pandemic of type 2 diabetes and diabetic kidney disease. “Seven years later, the same message has become even more urgent,” the authors write.

“With the incidence of diabetes and hypertension on the rise, we are going to see the group of people with kidney disease swell,” says Sunil Shroff, founder, MOHAN Foundation. He also calls for lifestyle alterations, not only to stem the tide of the epidemic, but also to reverse it.

Zimmet and Atkins also state that primary prevention of Type 2 diabetes will require massive lifestyle changes in the developing and developed world supported by strong governmental commitment to promote lifestyle and societal change. 

Another milestone in Tamil Nadu's legislative history

The inauguration of the Assembly-Secretariat complex on the Omandurar Government Estate in the heart of the State capital of Chennai marks another milestone in the history of the elected legislature of Tamil Nadu.

The origins of the legislature can be traced back to the Indian Councils Act, 1861. The law restored the legislative power taken away by the Charter Act of 1833. The legislature of the Madras Presidency, which then comprised the present area of Tamil Nadu and parts of what are now the States of Orissa, Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, was given the power to make laws for the “peace and good government.”

The Provincial Legislative Council was constituted. It consisted of the Advocate General and four to eight ad hoc members nominated by the Governor to the Executive Council. At least half the members were to be non-officials, nominated for two years. The Legislative Council could not interfere with the laws passed by the Central Legislature. All Bills passed by Provincial Councils required the assent of the Governor-General. Even after that, they could be disallowed by the Queen, to whom they had to be referred. Though the Council was a mere advisory committee for the government in its legislative work, one positive feature was that the public came to know of what went on in the Council, which was till then not possible.

As a result of the Minto-Morley Reforms, a package of constitutional concessions was formulated through the Indian Councils Act, 1909. This raised the strength of the Council from 20 to 50. Elections, though not direct, were introduced.