Health is a unity and harmony within the mind, body and spirit which is unique to each person, and is as defined by that person. The level of wellness or health is, in part, determined by the ability to deal with and defend against stress. Health is determined by physiological, psychological, socio-cultural, spiritual, and developmental stage variables.
New Biomarker Predicts Response to Hepatitis C Treatment – Researchers at Duke University Medical Center have identified the first genetic marker that predicts response to hepatitis C treatments, and a single letter of DNA code appears to make a huge difference.
An apple a day keeps kidney stones away — More fruits and veggies, less salt prevents stones from forming. – Researchers have found another reason to eat well: a healthy diet helps prevent kidney stones. The study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN).
Men’s masculinity beliefs are a barrier to preventative health care — Sociologists find that middle-aged ‘macho men’ are less likely to obtain preventative care – Middle-aged men who strongly idealize masculinity are almost 50 percent less likely than other men to seek preventative healthcare services, revealed by researchers.
Hospital-acquired MRSA carriage was common at discharge to home health care and was frequently prolonged. Transmission occurred in nearly 20% of household contacts and was associated with older age and participation in health care of the index patient. – Infection with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) appears relatively common among patients discharged from the hospital into home health care, revealed by researchers. In addition, about one-fifth of infected patients may transmit the organism to other people in their households.
New research links social stress to harmful fat deposits, heart disease – Social stress could be an important precursor to heart disease by causing the body to deposit more fat in the abdominal cavity, speeding the harmful buildup of plaque in blood vessels, a stepping stone to the number one cause of death in the world.
The popular insect repellent deet is neurotoxic – The active ingredient in many insect repellents, deet, has been found to be toxic to the central nervous system, revealed by researchers.
Americans spent $33.9 billion out-of-pocket on complementary and alternative medicine – Americans spent $33.9 billion out-of-pocket on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) over the previous 12 months, according to a 2007 US government survey.
Diabetes gene raises odds of lower birth weight – Gene previously shown to be involved in the development of type 2 diabetes also predisposes children to having a lower birth weight, revealed by researchers.
Short stressful events may improve working memory – Acute stress – a short stressful incident – may enhance learning and memory through the effect of the stress hormone cortisol on the brain’s prefrontal cortex, revealed by researchers at the University at Buffalo.
Vi typhoid vaccine proves highly effective in young children — IVI-NICED study published by NEJM demonstrates that vaccine primarily used for travelers may have a major impact on morbidity and mortality in the world’s poorest populations. – A new study has found that a currently available yet underused vaccine against typhoid fever is highly effective in young children and protects unvaccinated neighbors of vaccinees.
Review provides new insights into the causes of anorexia – individuals with anorexia have an imbalance between circuits in the brain that regulate reward and emotion. – New imaging technology provides insight into abnormalities in the brain circuitry of patients with anorexia nervosa (commonly known as anorexia) that may contribute to the puzzling symptoms found in people with the eating disorder.
Large epidemiologic study supports brain power of fish in older people – Experts estimate that over 24 million people worldwide suffer from dementia, and many of these people live in low- and middle-income countries. Recently, there has been growing interest in whether dietary factors, particularly oily fish and meat, might influence the onset and/or severity of dementia.
