A new study from Finland has found that Eating disorders like anorexia, bulimia and binge eating disorder significantly reduce the chances of women having children.
The study, which was conducted by the University of Helsinki and the National Institute for Health and Welfare, found that people with anorexia were less than half as likely to become pregnant. This may be due to biological factors like a lack of ovulation because of the eating disorder or it could have another unknown cause.
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Thursday 31 October 2013
Thursday 25 July 2013
Alcohol industry fights against Scotland healthcare measures
The alcohol industry as a whole, from small scale to large,
is resisting changes the policy of Scotland’s government aimed at minimizing
alcohol related health issues. In an attempt to bring down the figures of
alcohol related illnesses and deaths, and thus reduce the financial burden
related to such care, Scotland’s government is attempting to change currentpolicy.
It is unsurprising that the alcohol industry is fighting
this change; any industry will naturally do its best to ensure that profits are
maximized and steady. While it is arguable that in the case of alcohol there is
a moral obligation the industry should bow to, it is not fair to be surprised
that the companies responsible for our favourite drinks are not entirely happy
with changes in policy that reduce profits.
Dr Jim McCambridge of the London School of Hygiene &
Tropical Medicine is at the forefront of this issue, having discovered that the
alcohol industry is being far from open and fair in regards to research. “The
public interest is not served by the alcohol industry’s misinterpretation of
research evidence and we must consider to what extent we should allow the
health of the population to be compromised by these commercial interests.”
In a recent study, London School of Hygiene & Tropical
Medicine researchers analysed 27 different submissions made by the alcohol
industry to the Scottish cunsulation board. It was found that major companies
were negatively dismissing research and evidence that would negatively impact
their profitability, while placing emphasis on positive findings.
While certainly controversial and hard to sell to the
populace, it has long been the strong opinion of scientists and researchers
that, to quote Dr McCambridge ““There is a broad consensus internationally
among researchers that the most effective measures to control problems caused
by alcohol are to raise the price, control availability and restrict marketing
activities.”
The ongoing struggle against commercial interests and honest
and effective policy in regards to alcohol is one of major consequence. This is
due to the scale of which alcohol is consumed on a countrywide level; even
seemingly small alterations to price or marketing requirements and restrictions
can have the power to save or negatively impact thousands of lives. It is not
out of hand to say that the struggle over this industry and its limitations
will be bitter and shows no clear sign of outright resolution.
Wednesday 17 July 2013
Alpine Bacteria discovery may lead to new drugs
A rock growing bacteria found solely in the Swiss Alps has
lead to greater understanding of alcohol’s relation to brain proteins. This information could give us a better understanding of our relationship with drugs and alcohol.
This is a significant development and may pave the way for
drugs that would work by disrupting the link between the brain and alcohol.
Texas researchers have sequenced the genome of this special
type of bacteria. In doing so, a particular protein sequence has been found
that shares remarkably similar properties to a specific element of the human
brain.
This exciting discovery is remarkable partly due to the
difficulties inherent in such a specific scientific task. Adron Harris of the
Waggoner Center for Alcohol and Addiction within the University of Texas
elaborates: “For many of us in the alcohol field, this has been a Holy Grail,
actually finding a binding site for alcohol on the brain proteins and showing
it with X-ray crystallography, but it hasn't been possible because it is not
possible to get a nice crystal.”
The specific moment of triumph came through collaboration
from the Texas based researchers and French scientists from the Pasteur
Institute. The protein found that was so similar in nature to part of our human
brains was altered to make it sensitive to ethanol. This allowed comparison of
the original bacteria and the newly altered version to test if alcohol would
bind to the bacteria.
“This is something you never would have found with any sort
of logical approach” States Harris “You never would have guessed that this
obscure bacterium would have something that looks like a brain protein in it.
But the institute, because of Pasteur’s fascination with bacteria, has this
huge collection of obscure bacteria, and over the last few years they've been
sequencing the genomes, keeping an eye out for interesting properties.”
Through further research and testing on mice, the long-term
aim of this specific research is the creation and production of drugs that
could help lower alcohol consumption or halt it entirely. Through greater
understanding of how alcohol interacts with the brain through the rewarding,
positive effects as much as the negative, as well as research projects such as
these, tailor made drugs could allow enormous numbers of people struggling with
alcohol addiction increased odds of recovery.
Wednesday 10 July 2013
Facebook: A new tool in eating disorder analysis?
New research is showing the potential of social media
websites like Facebook in regards to the prediction of health issues.
A recent study led by scientists from the Boston Children’s
Hospital has given new attention to the possibility of using such a widespread
social media platform in a medical and scientific sense.
The use of geo-tagged user data from Facebook seems to show
that knowledge of a person’s online activity on a regional basis can help experts
predict obesity, eating disorders and other health related issues on increasingly small scales.
The possibilities of mapping the potential and current levels of obesity on a
neighbourhood scale, for instance, is a very exciting prospect for
professionals tasked with lowering such rates.
Traditionally, achieving such results has been difficult in
several ways. Cost is, as we all know, a primary concern when planning and
undertaking any medical research or study. The fact that Facebook is such a
widespread and open platform gives researchers a unique opportunity to analyse
this data for the betterment of communities and individuals. The problem of
sample size is also lesser, with untold millions using Facebook in current
days, often to the point where it is feasible to except an entire community to
be representable through the social media platform.
The researchers involved in this study are well aware of
these benefits; Brownstein, involved in running the computational epidemiology
section within CHIP (the runners of this study) clearly understands these
possibilities, saying that “Online social networks like Facebook represent a
new high-value, low-cost data stream for looking at health at a population
level. The tight correlation between Facebook users' interests and obesity data
suggest that this kind of social network analysis could help generate real-time
estimates of obesity levels in an area, help target public health campaigns
that would promote healthy behaviour change, and assess the success of those
campaigns."
With Facebook users that ‘like’ sports or activity related
pages shown to be up to 12% lower in terms of obesity rates, there is the great
possibility of low cost data being available for researchers in a truly large
scale.
This said, the issue of privacy and attainment of this data
may prove an issue, with Internet privacy an incredibly hot topic amongst net
users at present. It remains to be seen how this gold mine of data can be used
fairly and openly amongst researchers to improve the quality of life of those
they aim to understand better.
Brownstein concludes that this study “reveal(s) how social media data
can augment public health surveillance by giving public health researchers
access to population-level information that they can't otherwise get."
For more information about Eating Disorder Treatment visit The Life Works Website.
Monday 1 July 2013
Cannabis use in young adults linked to increased chance of stroke
A startling new study conducted in New Zealand has shown a
possible link between the use of cannabis in young adults and the possibility
of suffering from an ischemic stroke or attack. Based around a group of 18-55
year old participants, this new connection shows an alarming possibility
cannabis to be linked to such a severe health issue. (For more information about Cannabis visit the Life Works Community Website)
This new research is at the forefront in this area, casting
new light on the possible negative side effects associated with regular use of
the drug, something many may not be considering as possible. “Cannabis has been
thought by the public to be a relatively safe, although illegal substance. This
study shows this might not be the case; it may lead to stroke” States professor
Alan Barber.
While there is general knowledge that using cannabis can cause
mental impairment in very young smokers, little is known or appreciated by the
masses beyond this, with many even holding the opinion that cannabis is a
completely benign substance for anyone to partake of.
This recent study appears to show that cases of ischemic
strokes are connected with cannabis use several hours before the incident, with
patients usually displaying “no other
vascular risk factors apart from tobacco, alcohol and other drug usage.”
While interesting, the above sentence shows a core issue
with this research. Although the results of the study show a connection, there
is no causation; we do not truly know for certain that cannabis is responsible
for these attacks. It may be entirely likely that tobacco is the culprit, with
the majority of cannabis users rolling joints with tobacco inside for ease of
use or money saving purposes.
It is important that such possibilities are considered.
Personal and inherited health issues may make individuals involved in these
studies more prone to such attacks, combined with the possibility that tobacco
is a contributing factor. While this does not dismiss the possibility of
cannabis being the cause of such an increase in stroke possibility,
consideration of these extra factors is key for accurate research.
Traditionally, studies concerning cannabis and its link to
various health issues have been a complicated task for researchers due to the
illegal nature. While analysis of the drug itself is not a common issue, it has
proved difficult for researchers to conduct accurate and relevant studies on
cannabis. As a result of this, studies such as these are a valuable source of
new insight on cannabis.
Wednesday 19 June 2013
Brain Structure Is Different In Those With Anorexia
A study conducted earlier this year has discovered physical
differences in the brains of anorexics compared to those without the disorder.
The brain is always active and incredibly fast moving in its
processing. Whenever a person is receiving visual stimulus, the brain reacts
and becomes increasingly active in several different regions. This new study
has discovered that anorexics will have different levels of activity in
specific areas of the brain. The technique used in the study to discover this
new information is called functional magnetic resonance imaging and has allowed
for a new and interesting look at the brains of those suffering from anorexia nervosa.
The difference is in how the brain is connected. The two
main regions that are responsible for processing images of the body have been
found to be significantly weaker in anorexics when compared to those without
the disorder. It has been found that the weaker the connection is (the stronger
the difference when compared to a normal brain) the more anorexic individuals
consider themselves to be overweight. Dr Boris Suchan, Institute of Cognitive
Neuroscience at the Ruhr-Universitat states that“These alterations in the brain could
explain why women with anorexia perceive themselves as fatter, even though they
are objectively underweight"
This is exciting news for those involved in research and
treatment of anorexia; any solid, physical confirmation of differences in the
brain is grounds for new areas and directions of research and could pave the
way for new treatment for anorexia nervosa.
In the study, ten anorexic women were chosen, along with
fifteen healthy women as a control group. After being tasked with choosing
which visual representation of a body was most similar to their own by picking
from a list of silhouettes, the women were then scanned through MRI machines.
At the same time, the women were shown varying pictures of different types of
bodies.
The critical element of this study is the “fusiform body
area”, or FBA, and also the EBA, or “extrastriate body area”. The activity in
these areas and their connections was the base of the studies findings on how
different connection levels can be linked with anorexia.
As mentioned above, the link was weaker in the anorexic
group. This confirmation of the level of FBA and EBA connection and its
relation to anorexia is an extremely important discovery. While some studies
are more speculative in nature, this research has found physical differences in
the brain that can be tied to anorexia, guiding future research and prospects
of treatment.
For More information about Eating Disorders and all other forms of addiction, visit the Life Works Community Website.
Friday 7 June 2013
Can tailor made substances help cannabis withdrawal?
New synthetic drugs are currently undergoing research and testing that may help cannabis users wean themselves off the substance. With street cannabis growing increasingly strong for decades, these synthetic substances may aid heavy users in restoring much needed control to their lives.
With the rate of cannabis relapse estimated at 71% within the United States, the choice to go cold turkey with cannabis is far from simple and certainly not easy. While many would be surprised at such a figure, the fact remains that many thousands of users are struggling with the problem of staying clean from cannabis. This problem is expected to increase in scale in America as the drug comes ever closer to decriminalization or full legalization.
One of the substances aimed at assisting with this problem is Nabilone. Synthetic in nature, Nabilone mimics the structure of cannabis without giving a high to the user. It appears from initial testing that Nabilone is effective in reducing common cannabis withdrawal symptoms related to sleep and appetite. It also appears that the substance can help minimize the level of stress and general impairment in individuals attempting to quit cannabis; something quite significant in the psychological battle of withdrawal.
Similarly, it has been found that a combination of THC delivered orally and lofexidine can help reduce cravings and withdrawal symptoms in the same vein as Nabilone. Lofexidine is an opiate withdrawal drug that has seen use within the United Kingdom. It is not, however, approved for use within the United States as of yet.
While it may seem surprising or controversial to some, the use of synthetics in withdrawal from cannabis is a perfectly legitimate and feasible avenue, providing appropriate substances can be found that are both effective and minimal in their side effects. The fact that many view cannabis is a safer or more benign substance does not change the fact that many users struggle with abstinence. Symptoms such as sleeping issues and problems with the appetite of the individual in question are very real and can be very disruptive in day to day life, something that can spill over into other areas and be profoundly difficult to contain. If these synthetic drugs can be researched thoroughly and implemented in reducing the difficulty of withdrawal from cannabis for users, thousands will benefit and gain further confidence from conquering a difficult issue within their own lives.
With the rate of cannabis relapse estimated at 71% within the United States, the choice to go cold turkey with cannabis is far from simple and certainly not easy. While many would be surprised at such a figure, the fact remains that many thousands of users are struggling with the problem of staying clean from cannabis. This problem is expected to increase in scale in America as the drug comes ever closer to decriminalization or full legalization.
One of the substances aimed at assisting with this problem is Nabilone. Synthetic in nature, Nabilone mimics the structure of cannabis without giving a high to the user. It appears from initial testing that Nabilone is effective in reducing common cannabis withdrawal symptoms related to sleep and appetite. It also appears that the substance can help minimize the level of stress and general impairment in individuals attempting to quit cannabis; something quite significant in the psychological battle of withdrawal.
Similarly, it has been found that a combination of THC delivered orally and lofexidine can help reduce cravings and withdrawal symptoms in the same vein as Nabilone. Lofexidine is an opiate withdrawal drug that has seen use within the United Kingdom. It is not, however, approved for use within the United States as of yet.
While it may seem surprising or controversial to some, the use of synthetics in withdrawal from cannabis is a perfectly legitimate and feasible avenue, providing appropriate substances can be found that are both effective and minimal in their side effects. The fact that many view cannabis is a safer or more benign substance does not change the fact that many users struggle with abstinence. Symptoms such as sleeping issues and problems with the appetite of the individual in question are very real and can be very disruptive in day to day life, something that can spill over into other areas and be profoundly difficult to contain. If these synthetic drugs can be researched thoroughly and implemented in reducing the difficulty of withdrawal from cannabis for users, thousands will benefit and gain further confidence from conquering a difficult issue within their own lives.
For more information about substance abuse and all addiction, please visit the Life Works Community Website.
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