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Washington:
A new study conducted by researches at University of T|bingen Medical
Center in T|bingen, Germany suggests that a romantic break up in women
can trigger brain changes visible on MRI scans. The team led by lead
researcher Arif Najib found that women generally suffer more emotionally
following the breakup of a romantic relationship than men,but during
depression, the brain may have a malfunctioning of the normal circuitry
for handling sadness, separation, and grief. Najib and colleagues chose
11 female volunteers who were in the throes of grief over a recent breakup
of a romantic relationship. Many were having trouble getting it out
of their minds -- a risk factor for major depression. They looked at
brain scans while grieving women focused on sad thoughts about their
romantic relationship. Then they performed brain imaging scans while
women had neutral thoughts of a different person they had known for
an equally long time. During the study, the women were still having
difficulty getting the loss out of their minds, but most had resolved
their depressive symptoms. Women still grieving over the romantic relationship
had the greatest brain changes. Although there was increased brain activity
in many regions associated with sadness, they also had much less activity
in the brain region associated with emotion, motivation, and attention
- the amygdala. A similar thing happens with anxiety disorders and posttraumatic
stress disorder (PTSD) -- there is less amygdala activity rather than
more, he explains. His findings regarding grieving after a breakup lay
the groundwork for future studies of the connection between normal sadness,
grief, and depression, he writes. Haldi helps fight Alzheimer's (Go To Top) Washington:
Curcumin, the yellow pigment in curry spice may be a potential agent
to fight against Alzheimer's, according to researchers at the University
of California at Irvine. The new UCLA-Veterans Affairs study involving
genetically altered mice suggests that curcumin, the yellow pigment
in curry spice, inhibits the accumulation of destructive beta amyloids
in the brains of Alzheimer's patients and also breaks up existing plaques.
The research team also determined curcumin is more effective in inhibiting
formation of the protein fragments than many other drugs being tested
as Alzheimer's treatments. "Curcumin has been used for thousands of
years as a safe anti- inflammatory in a variety of ailments as part
of Indian traditional medicine," Gregory Cole, Professor of medicine
and neurology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA said. "Recent
successful studies in animal models support a growing interest in its
possible use for diseases of aging involving oxidative damage and inflammation
like Alzheimer's, cancer and heart disease. What we really need, however,
are clinical trials to establish safe and effective doses in aging patients,"
he added. A cherry a day can keep diabetes away (Go To Top) Washington:
In a new study, researchers at Michigan State University have identified
a group of naturally occurring chemicals abundant in cherries that could
help lower blood sugar levels in people with diabetes. Laboratory studies
using animal pancreatic cells indicate that the chemicals, called anthocyanins,
increased insulin production by 50 percent. Anthocyanins are a class
of plant pigments responsible for the color of many fruits, including
cherries. They also are potent antioxidants, highly active chemicals
that have been increasingly associated with a variety of health benefits,
including protection against heart disease and cancer. "It is possible
that consumption of cherries and other fruits containing these compounds
[anthocyanins] could have a significant impact on insulin levels in
humans," study leader Muralee Nair said. Until human studies are done
on cherry anthocyanins, those with diabetes should continue following
their doctor's treatment recommendations, including any medicine prescribed,
and monitor their insulin carefully, the researchers said. The team
tested several types of anthocyanins extracted from these cherries against
mouse pancreatic-beta cells, which normally produce insulin, in the
presence of high concentrations of glucose.Insulin is the protein produced
by the pancreas that helps regulate blood sugar (glucose) levels. Compared
to cells that were not exposed to anthocyanins, exposed cells were associated
with a 50 percent increase in insulin levels although the mechanism
of action by which these anthocyanins boost insulin production is not
known. SCI Biological pacemaker can be made with human embryonic stem (Go To Top) Washington:
Johns Hopkins University researchers have found the first evidence
that genetically engineered heart cells derived from human embryonic
stem (ES) cells might one day turn out to be a promising biological
alternative to the electronic pacemakers used by hundreds of thousands
of people worldwide. Human ES cells were genetically engineered by the
researchers to make a green protein, grown in the lab and then encouraged
to become heart cells. They then selected clusters of the cells that
beat on their own accord, indicating the presence of pacemaking cells.
These clusters triggered the unified beating of heart muscle cells taken
from rats, and, when implanted into the hearts of guinea pigs, triggered
regular beating of the heart itself. "These implanted cells also responded
appropriately to drugs used to slow or speed the heart rate, which electronic
pacemakers can't do. But many challenges remain before this technique
could be used for patients. We want to bring this to the clinic as fast
as possible, but we need to be extremely careful. If this process isn't
done properly, it could jeopardize a very promising field," said Ronald
Li, lead author of the study and an assistant professor of medicine
at Hopkins. "To our knowledge, these are the first genetically engineered
heart cells derived from human ES cells. We're now using genetic engineering
to customize the pacing rate of these cells, for example. For any future
clinical applications, you want to make sure that the beating rate is
what you want it to be," added Tian Xue, a post-doctoral researcher
at Hopkins. Simple joys, not moolah, the key to happiness (Go To Top) Washington: Believe it or not, it is not the moolah, but the simplest of the daily activities that determine how happy we are in our daily life, reveals a report published in an issue of Science. According to University of Michigan psychologist Norbert Schwarz, a co-author of the Science article, simple daily routines like watching TV, eating, exercising etc, hold the key to our happiness and the report reveals that intimate relations form the most enjoyable part of life, while commuting is least enjoyed. The researchers analysed questionnaires completed by a convenience sample of 909 working women and found that activities like intimate relations, socialising, relaxing, praying or meditating, eating, exercising, and watching TV were among the most enjoyable activities. Interactions with friends and relatives were rated as the most enjoyable, followed by activities with spouses or significant others, children, clients or customers, co-workers and bosses. At the bottom of the list were the activities done alone. Commuting emerged as the most detestable activity, followed by working, doing housework, using the computer for e-mail or Internet, and taking care of children rounding out the bottom of the list. The report also reveals that personal characteristics such as trouble maintaining enthusiasm or a poor night's sleep also have an effect on how happy or sad we feel at a given day. Ironically, the researchers found that most of us, spend the maximum of our day's time doing activities which we enjoy the least, work, housework and commuting. Dec 4, 2004 Green tea can prevent prostate cancer (Go To Top) Washington:
A new research to be published in the journal 'Cancer Research'
has found that the polyphenols present in green tea help prevent the
spread of prostate cancer. They do so by targeting molecular pathways
that shut down the proliferation and spread of tumour cells, as well
as inhibiting the growth of tumour nurturing blood vessels. The researchers
from the University of Wisconsin, documented the role of green tea polyphenols
(GTP) in modulating the insulin- like growth factor-1 (IGF-1)-driven
molecular pathway in prostate tumour cells in a mouse model for human
prostate cancer. They found that the consumption of GTP led to reduced
levels of IGF-1. It was also found that GTP also led to increased levels
of one of the binding proteins for IGF-1, the insulin growth factor
binding protein-3. These observations bear significance in light of
studies that indicate increased levels of IGF-1 are associated with
increased risk of several cancers, such as prostate, breast, lung and
colon. GTP also caused reduced expression of proteins known to be associated
with the metastatic spread of cancer cells. GTP inhibited the levels
of urokinase plasminogen activator as well as matrix metalloproteinases
2 and 9, cellular molecules linked to the metastasis. The green tea
polyphenols contributed to minimizing tumour development by governing
the amount of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the serum
of the prostate cancer mouse model. References: brain chemistry women break-up, haldi Alzheimer's, diabetes cherry, pacemaker embryonic stem, joy moolah, prostate cancer green tea, Science, Research, Science News, India, India News, Newspaper, Indian, News, Travel News, India Travel Times, Travel,Tourism, Tour, Tourist, India, Times, News, Hotels, Airlines, Ayurveda, Yoga, Hindu, Taj Mahal, Cuisine, Festival, Temple, Trekking, Hindu, Bharatanatyam, Kathakali, Odissi, Dance, Shimla,Varanasi, Kullu, Manali, Dehra Dun, Mussourie, Mussoorie, Haridwar, Hardwar, Rishikesh, Nainital, Delhi, Goa, Kovalam, Darjeeling, Bodh Gaya, Kancheepuram, Kanchipuram, Thekkady, Badrinath, Amar Nath,Vaishno Devi, Tirupati, Sabarimala, Guruvayoor, Kanyakumari, Kodaikanal, Ooty, Chennai, |
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