Alternative Medicine Under the Microscope (Part 1)

Alternative medicine has long been valued as an option to healing the body through unorthodox methods, herbs, oils, and meditation. The federal government has just stepped in to make sure alternative medicine is, in fact, all it claims to be: healthy and effective. Even though alternative medicine has been proven helpful in a variety of ailments and diseases, the government is now trying to make these methods rely on statistical numbers from their clinical trials in order to prove their success.

With more than 80 million adult alternative medicine subscribers in the United States alone, it makes sense to want to follow up these vast practices with costly amounts of scientific evidence. While some alternative medicine studies do use trials to track their results, a lot of these are lacking in structure and aren’t large enough to give accurate records.

The director of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), part of the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Josephine Briggs says that the focus on better standards are already making headway in new alternative research techniques, “The research has been making steady progress…it’s reasonably new that rigorous methods are being used to study these health practices.” To determine which trials are to get more money to create larger testing groups harboring more attention at the NCCAM, Dr. Briggs and her researchers are trying to spread out the $122 million this year evenly among those trials best suited for positive outcomes instead of investing in a lot of trials with a bigger possibility of a false positive reading which shines a poor light on alternative medicine.

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Youth Suicides on an Upward Trend (Part 2)

Sour economy. "When the economy is bad, and jobs are harder to find, it's a tough time for kids who are trying to get a job," she said. Zuckerman also noted the stressors of getting into college and being able to afford it. However, overall, she thinks that children are more isolated, even from their families, than ever before. "Kids and family members are spending more and more time apart," she said. "Apart might mean being on the computer. Kids and their families are not watching TV together, they're not eating meals together, they are not talking to each other nearly as much."Each year in the U.S., thousands of teenagers commit suicide. Suicide is the third leading cause of death for 15-to-24-year-olds, according to the CDC, surpassed only by accidents and homicide. The reasons behind a teen's suicide or attempted suicide can be complex and while it can be difficult for adults to remember how it felt to be a teen-to be caught in that gray area between childhood and adulthood-parents should be aware of the signs of adolescents who may try to kill themselves. Many of the signs and symptoms of suicidal feelings are similar to those of depression:

• Change in eating and sleeping habits
• Withdrawal from friends, family and regular activities
• Violent actions, rebellious behavior, or running away
• Drug and alcohol use
• Unusual neglect of personal appearance
• Marked personality change
• Loss of interest in pleasurable activities
• Persistent boredom, difficulty concentrating, or a decline in the quality of schoolwork
• Frequent complaints about physical symptoms, often related to emotions, such as stomachaches, headaches, and fatigue
• Not tolerating praise or rewards

They may also talk about suicide or death or "going away," or talk about feeling hopeless or guilty. If one or more of these signs occurs, parents should talk to their child about their concerns and seek professional help from a physician or a qualified mental health professional. With an adequate support network of family and friends, along with appropriate treatment, children and teens that are suicidal can heal and return to a healthier path of development.
The study findings were published in the September 3 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

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Youth Suicides on an Upward Trend (Part 1)

Being a teen isn't easy—it's a time of growing self-identity, pressure to fit in socially and to perform academically accompanied by the awakening of sexual feelings, which can bring about a great deal of confusion and anxiety. And life can feel even more difficult for teens that have additional problems to deal with, such as living in violent or abusive environments or experiencing a stressful life event, such as the death of a loved one, divorce, or a breakup with a boyfriend or girlfriend. For a growing number of teens, suicide may appear to be a solution to their problems and stress. After more than a decade of declines, there was an 18 percent increase in suicide rates for American youth under age 19 in 2004, with the trend persisting in 2005, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). So, what is fueling this spike in youth suicide?

Jeff Bridge, an investigator in the Center for Innovation in Pediatric Practice from Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, and colleagues studied suicide trends among adolescents from the National Vital Statistics Systems at the CDC. They found that, based on suicide rate trends from 1996 to 2003, the rates of suicide among youths aged 10 to 19 were higher in 2004 and 2005 than had been expected. In 2004, there were 326 more suicides than expected and in 2005, there were 292 more suicides than expected. "This is significant, because pediatric suicide rates in the U.S. had been declining steadily for a decade until 2004, when the suicide rate among U.S. youth younger than 20 years of age increased by 18 percent, the largest single-year increase in the past 15 years," Bridge said.

Some experts believe the increase could be due to the reluctance of doctors to prescribe anti-depressant medications after a public health advisory issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in October of 2003 warned health care providers of an increased risk of suicide attempts or suicide-related behavior among children and teens taking SSRI's, or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Since the warning and subsequent label revisions, there has been a 20 percent decline in the drugs' use. Dr. David Fassler, a psychiatry professor at the University of Vermont, who wasn't involved in the new study, said the report suggests a "very disturbing" upward trend that correlates with a decline in teen use of antidepressants, according to the Associated Press. Dr. Fassler is among those who believe the drugs' benefits, including treating depression that is the leading cause of suicide, outweigh their risks.

Bridge said that, while a link between the warnings and suicide risks has not been established, there are other factors that could be contributing to the increase in youth suicides. They include the influence of Internet social networking sites, an increase in suicide among U.S. troops returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan, higher rates of untreated or undiagnosed depression, and access to firearms. Nearly 60 percent of all suicides in the United States are committed with a gun. "We now need to consider the possibility that this increase is an indicator of an emerging public health crisis. Studies to identify causal factors are important next steps," he added.

Diana Zuckerman, president of the National Research Center for Women and Families, also thinks that untreated depression may play a role in the increased suicide rate, but says there are other reasons as well. For older teens, the increase may be due in part to the

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ncision-Free Weight Loss Surgery in Experimental Phase ( Part 1)

Obesity is proliferating in the United States. Research statistics show that between 1962 and 2000, the number of obese Americans grew from 13 percent to 31 percent of the population. Obesity surgery has been shown to be the only long-term effective means of weight loss for morbidly obese patients, typically working far better than diet, exercise or drugs. Over the years, these operations have become less painful and invasive. The most common bariatric operation, which once required a large incision, is now performed through several small incisions in the abdomen. A new weight loss surgery currently being evaluated in a U.S. study also allows doctors to reduce the size of the stomach, but with one big difference—no surgical incisions.

In the procedure, named Toga, for transoral gastroplasy, surgeons pass a stapler down the throat and staple the stomach from the inside, forming a thumb-sized tube that holds only a small amount of food. This gives patients a feeling of fullness after a small meal. The procedure is intended to be safer and easier for patients to tolerate than conventional obesity surgery. However, the procedure isn’t quite as simple as it sounds.

First, the patient is given general anesthesia and put on a respirator. Then the surgeons thread a dilator, a tube about three-quarters of an inch wide, down the patients’ throat to stretch the esophagus. The stomach is inflated with carbon dioxide to create a space to work. Next another wide tube, this one about two feet long, which contains the stapler, is inserted.

After the stapler is properly positioned, it is activated and a sail and curving wire emerges to help push aside the folds of the stomach. Then a vacuum pump is used to draw parts of the front and back walls of the stomach into the device to be stapled together. Three rows of staples are needed, but the stapler only holds one row. Consequently, the device has to be withdrawn, rinsed, reloaded, inserted back down the throat and repositioned for each row. The surgery takes about three hours.

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Link Between Sedentary Behavior and Uterine Cancer

Women, put down the remote or romance novel and get to exercising! It seems that not only could a little exercise help to reduce weight and other weight-attributing side effects, it may even help to ward off endometrine cancer, also known as uterine cancer, in obese or overweight women. Uterine cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women behind breast cancer, lung cancer and colon cancer.

More than 35,000 women are diagnosed annually in the U.S. with endometrine cancer, the #1 form of gynecologic cancer. The most common subtype is endometrioid adenocarcinoma that usually occurs a few decades after menopause and has been linked to excessive estrogen levels. The most common sign of endometrine cancer is vaginal bleeding between menstrual cycles or after menopause, and the most common treatment is the total removal of the uterus through a surgical procedure known as a hysterectomy.

The American Cancer Society’s Prospective Cancer Prevention Study II Nutrition Cohort found that overweight and obese women, who exercised even lightly or moderately instead of being sedentary, in their spare time, reduced their risks of developing uterine cancer. The study began in 1992 with a questionnaire being mailed to those baseline cohort member’s between 50 and 74 years old, who were chosen for the study and resided in one of the 21 states, with a population based state cancer registries. Detailed information in regards to diet, updated lifestyle factors, and prospective cancer and mortality incidence checks were gathered.

From 1992 to 2001, Dr. Alpha Patel and colleagues with the American Cancer Society gathered research from the participants through completed biannual questionnaires. The questionnaires asked questions in regards to time spent participating in recreational or non-recreational physical activities and questions about their time sitting, not including sitting time at work. They followed nearly 60,000 post menopausal women, according to the American Journal of Epidemiology’s April 15th issue. 314 cases of uterine cancer were reported. The study resulted in the conclusion that women who sat more than three hours a day, not accounting for time sitting at work, increasing their odds of developing uterine cancer by 55 percent.

Get to walking or take part in some form of physical activity, not only to reduce weight and the possible side effects extra weight may cause, but also to ward off cancer. The authors involved in the Prospective Cancer Prevention Study II Nutrition Cohort, released in the most recent issue of the International Journal of Cancer, say that the association between sedimentary behavior and uterine or endometrine cancer may be better defined with discoveries of other studies and that "sedentary behavior has been associated with obesity and with metabolic abnormalities, resulting in increased circulating estrogen, insulin, and other hormones that may promote cell proliferation."

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Slowing Down Cell Aging

You have heard it before, “eat right, exercise and reduce stress”. Now it seems there is even more evidence of the statements importance, because it may lead to longer cell life and ultimately extend your life. Major lifestyle changes from eating an apple or fresh fruit as your afternoon snack, rather than a candy bar, adding a regular exercise regime to your daily routine, and learning to reduce stress, may strengthen levels of telomerase, an enzyme that controls cell aging.

The life span of Americans has continued to improve. Possibly because the population is taking many doctors and healthcare providers advice to improve their lifestyles through better eating habits, living habits and exercise regimens. A recent study published online and to be published in print form, in The Lancet Oncology in November, gathered evidence showing major life style changes may extend life and prevent premature cell death.

Thirty men with low-risk prostate cancer who were asked to make significant lifestyle changes participated in a study lead by Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn, a UCSF biochemist and known for her discovery of telomeres, which control the longevity of dividing cells, along with her lead colleague Dr. Dean Ornish. A cardiologist and well-known diet, exercise and stress reduction advocate, to prevent deaths from heart disease.

The men were introduced to their new life style, which lasted for three months, during a three-day residential retreat. They were taught stress reduction techniques, and given instructions on how to follow their strict diet, that involved a 10 percent lower-calorie diet from fat, low refined sugars, and a diet filled with fresh fruits, veggies, whole foods, fish oil and supplemental vitamins. They were also taught to incorporate a moderate aerobic activity to their daily regimen and even learned relaxation methods, and breathing techniques.

Telomerase levels for the men were taken at the beginning of the study, and again after the three month period. Researchers discovered telomerase in the blood increased by 29 percent and bad cholesterol decreased. Telomerase is an enzyme that repairs and lengthens telomeres, a DNA protein complex which affects how fast cells age. A persons life may be cut short based on shorter telomeres which die quicker. A professor at King’s College in London, Tim Spector stated, “Lifestyle can affect your telomeres. It would be interesting to find out whether it is diet, stress or both that is important.”

It seems the more Americans learn through research and scientific studies, in regards to ways to live better and longer, many are taking notes, as seen with life expectancies continuing to grow. Based on this study, we see one more reason to improve our diets, exercise and to reduce stress. The authors of the study stated, “The implications of this study are not limited to men with prostate cancer. Comprehensive lifestyle changes may cause improvements in telomerase and telomeres that may be beneficial to the general population as well.”

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Music Therapy Goes Mainstream

Beth Israel Medical Center in New York uses music therapy to sooth their premature babies and trauma patients. The hospital finds that music eases patients' pain, lowers blood pressure, reduces anxiety and depression and allows patients to get well, faster and is less expensive than medication. Beth Israel is not alone. In 2007, nearly 600 facilities offered music therapy to their patients

Music therapy is not a new idea. Aristotle and Plato wrote about it. Primitive healers and witch doctors employed drums and rattles in their healing work. Ancient Egyptian doctors used incantation and sound healing. The Bible records the influence of David’s singing on King Saul. “And it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand and all shalt be well. “(1 Samuel 16:14-16) In the twentieth century, musicians visited veterans hospitals after both World War I and II. Entertainers continue to bring healing to troops on the ground and in hospital settings to this day.

Patients on breathing machines in intensive care units listened to Mozart sonatas in a study at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. Those listening to music had reduced stress hormones and more growth hormones, better metabolic regulation and better sleep. The group had lower blood pressure, lowered heat rate and needed less medication.

Mozart’s music is also played to premature babies at New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. The infants display lowered heart rates and better sleep. All it takes was two hours a week of Mozart to obtain these healing benefits.

Is it the music or is it the listening that makes the difference? Severe stroke patients listened to either music or audio books in a study in Finland. A recent issue of the journal Brain reported that the patients who listened to music for at least one hour were less depressed and had faster memory restoration and recovery from stroke symptoms.

Music therapy has been used with terminally ill patients to ease their anxiety and drowsiness, and has even been used to reduce pain perception. Music play lists are common now, in maternity wards, as mothers-to-be know all too well the soothing sounds that music brings to the delivery room. Music has been used to treat addictions, and even cancer.

A type of group drum playing, called composite drumming, has been shown to increase Natural Killer (NK) cell activity, the cells that fight cancer and viral infections.

The American Music Therapy Association describes music therapy as, “an established healthcare profession that uses music to address physical, emotional, cognitive, and social needs of individuals of all ages. Music therapy improves the quality of life for persons who are well and meets the needs of children and adults with disabilities or illnesses.”

The first degree in music therapy was granted by Michigan State University in 1944 and the AMTA was founded in 1998. The organization looks after the accrediting of therapists, conducts a national exam, and maintains a registry of practitioners, now numbering over 5,000.

Music therapy can now be found in nursing homes, schools, psychiatric facilities, as well as in hospitals, ICU, Emergency rooms and operating rooms. Music therapy can be prescribed by physicians, and is even reimbursed by Medicare, under the heading of Activity Therapy. Some Medicaid programs also cover it, but this varies from state to state. Many private insurance companies also cover music therapy for their patients.

For an alternative to stress, sleeplessness, anxiety, depression, high blood pressure, put away your pills and try a little Mozart.

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Hair Restoration Treatments: Hope or Hype? (Part 2)

Rogaine is a hair growth stimulator, meaning that when it is effectively applied to the scalp, it absorbs into the skin where it increases blood flow to the tissue and hair follicles underneath. It primarily benefits the crown and bridge area of the scalp, but some users have seen minimal benefit in the front and along the hairline. Rogaine is approved for use by men and women. It must be used twice a day, EVERY day. When used as directed, Rogaine has been reported to work in 60-70 percent of cases. Skin irritation is a side-effect and primary frustration for users.

Lasers are used with great success in a variety of medical specialties, but what about in improving hair density? The concept is simple; low-level lasers are known to increase blood flow to underlying tissue and can stimulate natural processes beneath the skin. If lasers are effective in stimulating blood flow to lasshair follicles and accelerating the hormonal process of hair regrowth, users should be able to realize slightly thicker hair and possibly more hair on the scalp at any given time.

In addition to the in-office laser treatment, there is a "laser comb" device that has been approved by the FDA. Reportedly, the laser comb, when brushed through the hair and over the scalp, administers phototherapy to the scalp. A six-month study reviewed by the FDA shows that men who used the comb grew an average of 19 more ‘thick' hairs per square centimeter than those who used sham devices. There are a variety of laser combs on the market, all for use three times per week. Prices range from $395 to $545, depending on the version.

Electro-magnetic stimulators claim to actually stimulate the hormones responsible for hair growth into growing new hairs in follicles that have long stopped. Small, acupuncture-type needles are injected into the areas of the scalp with thinning and loss. When the device is activated, slight electro-magnetic pulses are transmitted into the scalp. Supposedly, over time, the hormones responsible for hair growth and ultimately new hair are reactivated. While the product is receiving a lot of attention, there is virtually no clinical data to support its claims and very few medical doctors take it seriously.

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Psychiatrists Are Choosing Medications Over Traditional Psychotherapy

Many U.S. psychiatrists in today's environment are opting to break out the prescription pad and write prescriptions rather than inviting a patient to their couch for talk therapy. Some patients may like the new idea of prescribing medication rather than the more traditional therapy from their psychiatrists, especially for a quick fix, but is it just a band-aid or an actual resolution to the problem?
Lead author Dr. Ramin Mojtabai of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, which performed the most recent study based on the new trends of psychotherapy, explained that in today's environment insurance companies are reimbursing psychiatrists at a lower rate for a 45-minute psychotherapy, than they are for three 15-minute medication visits, possibly causing the swing in the form of treatment.

Psychiatrists are in a business, and as any business they also strive to make a profit. While their primary job is to help treat patients, they must also consider the profit-and-loss factor. Because patients are responsible for whatever part of their visit insurance doesn't cover, they may opt for the therapy that best meets their budget rather than their psychological needs. The authors of the study wrote that, "Psychiatrists who provided psychotherapy to all of their patients relied more extensively on self-pay patients, had fewer managed-care visits, and prescribed medications in fewer of their visits compared with psychiatrists who provided psychotherapy less often."

The findings of the new study, based on an annual survey performed during U.S. doctor visits, were published in a recent edition of Archives of General Psychiatry. The researchers based their analysis on 14,000 psychiatrist visits during a 10-year period and excluded psychologists visits or visits to other mental health counselors who may use talk therapy for treatment. Over 1996-1997 the study resulted in an average of 44 percent of patients that visited psychiatrists and received psychotherapy, but by 2004-2005 that number had dropped to only 29 percent.
Psychotherapy is used by trained psychotherapists as relational intervention. Psychotherapists work with a range of techniques to aid patients or clients in several areas, such as relationship building, open communication, attitude and behavior adjustments, and family struggles or group relationships, in hopes of improving the mental state of patients. Psychotherapy also known as verbal therapy, is used in hopes of aiding patients to evaluate their behaviors and thoughts and help to ease symptoms. Though there are other practitioners that may use psychotherapy to help patients, only psychotherapists may administer other medical treatments, such as psychosurgery, electroshock, and prescribe medications.

Some situations, such as those with childhood trauma or chronic depression sufferers, may benefit more from treatment through psychotherapy, than through medications. A child who is in the middle of their parents divorce may need to talk to someone outside of the family that can help them deal with their hurt, fears, and emotions. Hopefully, psychotherapists will continue to evaluate the overall situation, not be swayed by the insurance company's reimbursement percentage, and continue offering psychotherapy to those that would better benefit from the talk therapy rather than medications. Even though, based on this most recent study produced by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, it seems couches used for talk therapy are being left vacant more often than in the past.

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New Genetic Clues to Schizophrenia Discovered (Part 2)

Researchers stressed that the research explained only a tiny fraction of why people might develop schizophrenia and additional work needs to look at the full spectrum of other types of genetic factors that might influence schizophrenia. Schizophrenia, like autism, tends to run in families, which is the reason to focus on genetic determinants of the disease. The paper in Nature compared the genomes of 3,300 individuals with schizophrenia against those of 3,200 individuals without the illness. "We looked at a relatively rare type of DNA change where people have a substantial portion of a chromosome either missing or extra.

These are called copy number changes," Sklar explained. The consortium found three deletions on specific chromosomes that appeared multiple times in people with schizophrenia. Two of the deletions had never been recognized before. According to Sklar that triples the number of specific DNA areas that may be responsible for the disease.

Michael O'Donovan, lead author of the Nature Genetics study and professor of psychiatric genetics at Cardiff University in the United Kingdom, acknowledged "We've been working on schizophrenia for rather more years than we care to think, and successes have not been dramatic." Other researchers have looked at what are called "whole chapters" in the genome, his team honed in on what he described as tiny spelling differences. "In addition to rare variants, we were able to convincingly show that common variants are involved in schizophrenia, but we don't know how much of a role they play compared with rare variants." According to Donovan it means that all humans have genes for schizophrenia, but those who do not have it don't have enough of the genes or possibly have not been exposed to environmental stimulus.

The studies indicate a shift in focus for finding variants that affect the risk of schizophrenia. The search for rare variants may help identify groups of patients with different genetic causes for their diseases. This could lead to treatments tailored to different biological causes which would improve treatment outcomes.

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New Genetic Clues to Schizophrenia Discovered ( Part 1)

Ancient documents identify diseases with the symptoms of schizophrenia as far back as Egypt in the second millennium before Christ, and the condition has probably followed mankind through history. The word schizophrenia is less than 100 years old and the modern identification of the disease was first done by Dr. Emile Kraepelin in 1887 as a discrete mental illness. The exact cause of schizophrenia, as with other mental disorders has eluded research for years, but researchers believe that they are moving closer to the causes and the possibility of an effective treatment for the condition.
Schizophrenia is a not a single problem but a group of serious brain disorders. It can range from mild to severe and some people with the disease may be able to function well in daily life, while others need specialized, intensive care. Schizophrenia is not the same as a split personality or multiple personalities. The word does mean "split-mind," but it refers to a disruption of the usual balance of emotions and thinking. The disease usually appears in late adolescence or early adulthood, is more common in men than women, and even with effective treatment remains a chronic condition. Approximately 1% of the population suffers from schizophrenia.
Those with schizophrenia interpret reality abnormally and usually suffer from hallucinations, delusions and disordered thinking and behavior. They will usually withdraw into their own realm marked by psychosis. Schizophrenia can appear suddenly or develop gradually over months and may be unnoticeable at first.
In independent international studies, the same rare genetic variations in patients with schizophrenia were identified. The research indicates that three rare deletions in the human genome appear to increase the risk of developing the brain condition. Dr. Pamela Sklar, corresponding author of a paper appearing in Nature and director of genetics at Harvard Medical School, Boston said "These findings give a great deal of hope, for individuals with schizophrenia and their families, loved ones, and caregivers, that we're moving towards an under standing of the cause of the disease."

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