Forums

Posted: 21-10-2009 07:57 Post subject:

Threads merged.

Posted: 03-02-2010 09:56 Post subject:

And now for something completely different...

Cellulite? Try organic Indian knickers
Underwear infused with extracts from the Indian neem tree and woven with threads of silver is claimed to be the latest miracle cure for cellulite.
Published: 9:58AM GMT 02 Feb 2010

An Indian underwear manufacturer says its knickers, crafted using neem oil, basil leaves and pure silver, will smooth the wearer's skin as well as protecting them against infection.

Neem, a type of mahogany known in India as the "Divine Tree", is known for its soothing properties and has long been used in Asia as an ingredient in skincare products to ease irritations.

The product is currently only available in T-shirts and shorts but its manufacturer, Advantage Organic, a company based in New Delhi, is now designing a range of sexy underwear for the western market.

Rajiv Rai Sachdev, owner of Advantage Organic, said: "These garments are very healthy and very practical. They will prevent wrinkling and clear all infections."

Neem is thought to be able to counter the wrinkles and bumps of cellulite, which gives skin the appearance of orange peel.

It is the latest product to be advertised as a cure for the condition, which is notoriously difficult to get rid of.

Previous examples of unusual products aimed at conquering cellulite are tights laced with caffeine, seaweed massages and "fit flops", a type of flip-flop that deliberately unbalances the wearer, forcing their muscles to work harder in order to stay upright.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/fashion/beauty/7143896/Cellulite-Try-organic-Indian-knickers.html

Posted: 09-02-2010 08:13 Post subject:

Leeches Pump Fresh Blood Into Russian Economy

Posted: 17-05-2010 14:22 Post subject:

A bit ruff.

Posted: 20-06-2010 17:30 Post subject:

Im not sure if I said this already, but I went to a reiki practitionar once, I think it was reiki at least, something like healing touch, and I felt shaky after and less nervous than usual at the same time, although my illness didnt completely go away Razz

Posted: 20-06-2010 17:33 Post subject:

Posted: 24-06-2010 11:08 Post subject:

Magnets can improve Alzheimer's symptoms
By Jeremy Laurance, Health Editor
Thursday, 24 June 2010

To sceptics of alternative medicine, it will come as a surprise. Applying magnets to the brains of Alzheimer's disease sufferers helps them understand what is said to them. The finding by Italian scientsts, who conducted a randomised controlled trial of the treatment, suggests that magnets may alter "cortical activity" in the brain, readjusting unhealthy patterns caused by disease or damage. The study was small, involving just 10 patients, and the results are preliminary.

But the scientists from Brescia and Milan say they "hold considerable promise, not only for advancing our understanding of brain plasticity mechanisms, but also for designing new rehabilitation strategies in patients with neurodegenerative disease."

Sweeping claims are made for magnet therapy, including stimulating hair growth, boosting energy and warding off arthritis. Magnetic bracelets and jewellery, hairbrushes, insoles and even dog bowls are a lucrative branch of the alternative medicine industry.

Evidence for most of these claims is dubious or non-existent. But one product gained sufficient credence in orthodox circles to to be made available on the NHS. Since 2006 a device called the 4UlcerCare – a strap containing four magnets that is wrapped around the leg – has been available on prescription from GPs. Its maker, the Bristol-based firm Magnopulse, claims that it speeds the healing of leg ulcers and prevents their recurrence. It is believed that the magnets stimulate the circulation but it is not known how.

Findings from the latest study, published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, are likely to be seized on as further evidence of magnetism's healing powers. Although many may scoff, the capacity of magnets to affect the working of the brain is already well established.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), the technique investigated by the Italian scientists, has already been shown in separate experiments by British researchers to temporarily stun the part of the brain which controls speech, rendering volunteers unable to utter familiar words. Using a paddle placed on the head and focusing the TMS on an area of the brain at the back of the left frontal lobe, researchers found they could halt speech in mid flow. The volunteers reported having the words "right there" in their heads but were unable to make them "come out".

In a similar way, a magnetic wand waved over the left side of the head, can make the right arm jump involuntarily. The excitation of the neuronal pathways that this demonstrates suggests, according to researchers, that the technique might be useful in the rehabilitation of stroke victims.

For the latest study, Maria Costelli and colleagues applied repetitive TMS – a rapid succession of magnetic pulses – to the prefrontal lobes of the Alzheimer's patients for 25 minutes at a time.

Half the patients received daily doses five days a week for four weeks and half received a dummy treatment for two weeks followed by two weeks of TMS. Tests showed that those who had the full course of TMS had significantly higher scores on comprehension of what was said to them – up from 66 per cent to 77 per cent. The improvement was still evident eight weeks after treatment.

The authors say the technique did not affect other language abilities or other cognitive functions, including memory, which suggests that it is "specific to the language domain of the brain when applied to the prefrontal lobes".

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/magnets-can-improve-alzheimers-symptoms-2008823.html

Posted: 28-03-2011 20:33 Post subject:

Tanzanian 'miracle' pastor Mwasapile calls for a break

A Tanzanian pastor has asked people to stop going to his remote home for a "miracle cure" after thousands flocked there, causing chaos in the surrounding area.
Rev Ambilikile "Babu" Mwasapile, 76, says he does not want any new arrivals until after Friday 1 April, to let the crowds die down.
Local media report that about 52 people have died while waiting to see him.
A BBC reporter says the queues to see him stretch for 26km (16 miles).

Belief in magic and the powers of traditional healers are widespread in Tanzania.
Some witchdoctors say that the body parts of people with albinism are effective when making magic charms, leading to the killing of dozens of albinos in recent years.

In 2009, the government outlawed all witchdoctors and traditional healers.
But on Monday, Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda said he would not take any action to stop Mr Mwasapile's activities.
Mr Mwasapile's concoction is made from herbs and water, which he sells for 500 Tanzanian shillings (five cents; 3p).

When she visited Mr Mwasapile's home near the northern Loliondo town recently, the BBC's Caroline Karobia found 6,000 people waiting to see the retired Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania (ELCT) pastor.
They are waiting for days by the roadside and outside his home in Samunge village without shelter, clean water or toilets.

As word has spread in the past month of the pastor's supposed ability to cure any ailments, some people have even been taken out of hospital by their relatives who believe they are more likely to be cured by Mr Mwasapile.
Some of these have died before seeing him, while others are reported to have died after taking his concoction.

Health Minister Haji Hussein Mponda told the BBC that tests had shown that the mixture was safe for human consumption.
He said tests were now being conducted to see if it has any medicinal properties.

Extra police have been deployed to the area to control the huge crowds, some of whom have travelled from neighbouring countries such as Kenya and even further afield.

Mr Mwasapile asked for the break following a meeting with local officials.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12878811

Posted: 20-11-2012 23:47 Post subject:

Plymouth NHS acupuncture service petition reaches 1,200

More than 1,200 people have signed an online petition to save an acupuncture service based at the maternity unit at Plymouth's Derriford Hospital.
Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust said there was no official evidence to support the use and because of changes to funding it had to prioritise services.
Supporters said it was a safe and effective method of treating some conditions such as morning sickness.
The trust added that the service would still be available but not on the NHS.

In October, the BBC learnt the NHS had decided to withdraw the service - set up 25 years ago - due to a lack of money.

Kerry Dungay, from Plymouth, used the acupuncture service after suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum, a severe form of morning sickness.
"I think it gives women a sense of wellbeing and it improves their pregnancy experience.
"For me the service was a lifeline."

Di Gibson, who is a former midwife in Plymouth, said: "There are women who have used acupuncture in the past and found it very beneficial who will not be able to use it in the future.
"I can certainly say that the vast majority of women who I referred for acupuncture had benefits, some huge benefits."

A spokeswoman from Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust said that previously it received money from the commissioners for every acupuncture treatment it gave.
Dr Imogen Montague, the lead consultant at the maternity unit, said: "We cannot continue to provide this service on the NHS because we do not have the financial envelope to pay for this as well as essential core services.
"The service will still be available but not on the NHS."

In 2011, 69 patients had at least one appointment with the acupuncture service out of a total of more than 5,000 women who used the maternity unit.

Dr Montague added that not everyone benefits from acupuncture.
A trust spokeswoman said: "There is no evidence recognised by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) to support the use of acupuncture in pregnancy and childbirth."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-20402684

Posted: 06-02-2013 12:33 Post subject:

Dr Daniel Amen interview: the shrink who believes technology will replace the couch
Dr Daniel Amen believes brain scans, not hours talking on the couch, can help cure depression, anxiety, and a host of mental problems. No wonder his peers think he's out of his mind
By Sanjiv Bhattacharya
7:00AM GMT 06 Feb 2013

It’s no accident that the most controversial psychiatrist in America may also be the most commercially successful. For Daniel Amen, the two accolades go hand in hand.

At one extreme he has a booming business — six clinics, a packed speaking schedule and a new book on its way (his 33rd). But at the other pole, his critics – many representing major institutions such as the American Psychiatric Association — label him a snake oil huckster who preys on the afflicted. They liken him to a self-help guru rather than a scientist, on account of all the books, DVDs and nutritional supplements which he hawks so shamelessly on infomercials.

“One reason why they hate me is because I make money,” Amen says, with a shrug. “Well, excuse me, but I thought this was America! And by the way, our biggest referral sources are our patients. If I’m defrauding them how would I stay in business for decades, with a success rate that blows everyone else away?”

We’re sitting in his office at his clinic in Newport Beach, southern California, a modest low-ceilinged building of tube lights and grey walls. Amen is a slight man of 58, with an attentive manner. But he’s sprightly and keen to give as good as he gets. “The other reason they hate me,” he says, “is because no one likes to be told they’re wrong. And I’m going further. I’m saying 98 per cent of my colleagues are performing malpractice.” The heart of the controversy – and Amen’s success – is a form of brain imaging called SPECT (Single Photon Emission Computerised Tomography), which reveals the blood flow in an organ. Doctors use it to look for tumours and heart disease, as well as evidence of strokes, epilepsy and trauma.

Amen advocates SPECT as an aid to diagnosis in psychiatry – and it’s no secret that psychiatric diagnosis could use a little help.
The brain remains the least understood of all organs – a function of being the least accessible and the most complex. Plus, psychiatry is a relatively young science, whose most effective remedies were discovered by chance – the first antipsychotics were happened upon, rather than sought out. The most common conditions – bipolar disorder and depression – are diagnosed not by blood tests but by a conversation; that is, we diagnose mental illness by questioning the mentally ill. And in 2006, a study in the American Journal of Psychiatry, concluded that treatment outcomes were no better than they were 40 years previously.

As the infamous DSM — the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders — adds scores of new “illnesses” with every new edition, it adds to the suspicion that psychiatrists are either flailing in the dark, or, at worst, in cahoots with a pharmaceutical industry that, to paraphrase Gary Greenberg, author of Manufacturing Depression, would invent an illness in order to sell the cure. Twisted Evil

For Amen, SPECT scans are a step towards scientific rigour, and ought to be mandatory. “We’re the only field of medicine that doesn’t look at the organ that we treat,” he says. But he doesn’t just believe that SPECT is a powerful tool – he sees it as a way to revolutionise psychiatry.

“My nephew Andrew was nine when he attacked a girl for no reason,” he says. “He would draw pictures where he was shooting other children. Now if you don’t look at his brain, you do what psychiatry has always done – blame the mother, or say that maybe someone’s molesting him.
“But it’s all just psychobabble. We looked at his brain and found a cyst the size of a golf ball in the left temporal lobe, which is often associated with violence. Once we removed the cyst, the behaviour stopped and Andrew and his family got their lives back. Modern psychiatry would have just thrown them on the trash.” This was 1995, and Amen had been a psychiatrist for almost a decade. He graduated from Oral Roberts University Medical School, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and established his own practice in Fairfield, northern California, while writing books in his spare time. Business is in his blood. Amen’s father is a Lebanese immigrant who worked his way up from poverty to chairman of the board of Unified Grocers, a $4 billion company. “People need to understand,” Amen points out. “I don’t do this for the money. My family’s rich!” Cool

He first became excited about the diagnostic power of SPECT in 1991 but when he gave a lecture on the topic, it caused such uproar that he shied away from talking about it. When Andrew came along, however, he became, in his own words, “a zealot”. He wrote a bestseller in 1999 entitled Change Your Brain, Change Your Life, which laid out his central thesis that many of our psychological problems are rooted in physical trauma, the kind that a SPECT scan can reveal. The title chimed with the burgeoning culture of self-help at that time, as did his sensible advice to take health supplements and to exercise. But above all, he advised getting a SPECT scan. And people listened. Today, he has a library of 74,000 scans and a website which claims that SPECT can help with “marital conflict”, “weight issues” and “anxiety and depression”. The argument is simple – these problems are sometimes caused by the kind of neurological damage that SPECT can reveal, such as head trauma, toxic damage or even the early onset of Alzheimer’s.

“A famous neuroscientist once said that all truth goes through three stages,” he says, misattributing a quote by the 19th-century philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer. “First it is ridiculed. Second it is vehemently denied. And third it is accepted as self-evident. Right now we’re between two and three.” Amen’s critics find it all either outrageous or amusing. I spoke to several – from the American Psychiatric Association, the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging and others – and their view is that SPECT is a limited diagnostic tool. Depression, for instance, has many causes outside of clear physical damage – in particular, low levels of serotonin (the notorious “chemical imbalance”). SPECT doesn’t reveal any of that, so the impression that Amen gives his patients – that SPECT is key to recovery – is misleading. In fact, say his detractors, there’s no evidence that common psychiatric disorders can be diagnosed with a SPECT scan at all, and Amen hasn’t published any research that might persuade them.

“SPECT is valuable for diagnosing neurological disorders like epilepsy, dementia and brain tumours,” says John Seibyl of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging. “But not for psychiatric disorders like depression. There’s no debate here.” Amen’s response is similarly robust. “I’ve never said that you can make a blind diagnosis using SPECT scans alone. You have to talk to people. But scans add an important part of the evaluation puzzle.”

Another charge is that, as scanning techniques go, SPECT is old news. According to Elizabeth Oates of the American College of Radiology, “PET (Positron Emission Technology) is a much better way to image the brain. The images have better resolution, and they map brain function, rather than just where the blood’s flowing.” Again, Amen is dismissive: “PET is just as old as SPECT. The fact is SPECT is the least expensive and most widely available scan – every major hospital has a machine. But PET researchers are biased to PET. The reason they say SPECT is a crude technology is because they don’t know how to use it – they can’t make 3D renderings. Let me show you.” He opens a file on his computer and a series of brains appear on his screen, each one a vivid patchwork of red, pink, yellow and blue (“hot” colours correspond to high blood flow and “cold” to less).

“These are healthy brains,” he says. Then he shows me images of a brain that has experienced toxicity damage, and the colour distribution is darker, with noticeable holes. It’s a startling contrast.

But what these images reveal is unclear. There’s no telling if the damaged brain is depressed or schizophrenic or none of the above. And as Amen admits, a slight adjustment of the settings on the software can transform a “healthy” image to one that has suffered severe trauma. “You can make it look like anything if you want,” he says. “But why would I do that if I’m trying to help a patient?”

Then there’s the placebo effect to complicate things further. In psychiatry it’s been shown that, for depression, sugar pills work almost as well as standard SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors). Similarly, SPECT images may have a palliative benefit irrespective of their diagnostic power. “All those pretty colours make it look scientific,” says Oates. “So when the doctor tells the patient, ‘this yellow part should be red’, there’s comfort in that.”

For Amen, this comfort is not trivial. “When patients see their own brains, they feel for the first time that there’s not something wrong with them, but with their brains,” he says. “I’ve had patients burst into tears, they feel such relief.” Could it be, as the Washington Post posited, that the placebo effect of a SPECT scan is enhanced by the fact that the scans are much more expensive than a bottle of pills? An initial session of two scans comes in at $3,500 (£2,225). Twisted Evil

“Sure!” Amen looks delighted. “I don’t care! If it’s helping the patient, I’m all for it.” In some ways, Amen isn’t quite the wild card within psychiatry that he might appear. For instance, his belief that neuroimaging is the future is something his critics agree with – they just don’t believe SPECT will be the technique of choice. Jeffrey Lieberman, of the American Psychiatric Association, believes that “nuclear imaging will be a cornerstone of diagnosis.” For Oates, the potential of scanning is already in evidence – “we already have tracer chemicals that we use in PET scans, which can target the protein that causes Alzheimer’s.” Neuroimaging is also part of a larger shift in psychiatry – a shift towards biology, the province of organs and neurons, as opposed to one’s relationship with one’s mother. Cool

For now, diagnoses are based largely on behavioural, not biological, criteria (although most treatments are biological, especially pharmaceuticals). But this is changing. Thanks to neuroimaging, we understand better how neurology can guide behaviour – how tumours, for instance, can drive people to violence. It’s even possible that, by giving psychiatry a biological foundation, brain scans may rehabilitate its chequered reputation.

As for SPECT, Amen isn’t entirely alone in his advocacy. No specialists practise his techniques in Britain, but his publicist encourages me to call Ted Henderson, a psychiatrist in Colorado, who finds it a useful tool in diagnosing treatment-resistant depression. Often, those patients who don’t respond to traditional antidepressants have an underlying brain injury or condition. SPECT scans can reveal this root cause. Henderson views the whole ruckus over SPECT as a symptom of American arrogance. SPECT, he tells me, is used in several countries like the Netherlands and France. “But American institutions don’t pay attention to what’s being done abroad,” he says.

In the meantime, Amen remains undeterred – his commitment to his colourful scans undimmed. “I scanned my wife within two and a half weeks of dating,” he says. “And the rule in my family is that if you date my daughters for more than four months, I want to see your brain.” Evidently one of the boyfriends had a brain that was “overactive”, while the other exhibited signs of toxicity which Amen attributed to growing up on a farm. Neither case was a deal-breaker – both boyfriends became husbands.

“These people who accuse me of selling snake oil need to explain: when your outcomes haven’t improved in 40 years, what’s the argument against more information?” He grins. “And anyway, snake oil is 23 per cent Omega 3 fatty acids.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/9836429/Dr-Daniel-Amen-interview-the-shrink-who-believes-technology-will-replace-the-couch.html

Posted: 01-07-2013 10:11 Post subject:

Now there’s proof: laughter really is the best medicine
Laughter is increasingly being used to cope with mental and physical ailments, from depression to chronic pain
By Sarah Rainey
6:55AM GMT 01 Jan 2013

It is 7am on a grey Thursday, and I am on the telephone to a group of strangers in the throes of hysterical laughter. There must be 20 of them – men and women; young and old – chortling, giggling and chuckling. These people have never met; nor do they know each others’ names. Yet for 10 minutes, five mornings a week, they simply pick up the phone and laugh.

This is the “laughter line”, part of the growing industry in laughter therapy, Britain’s latest and most unusual alternative remedy. The simple act of laughing is increasingly being used as a strategy for coping with mental and physical ailments, from depression to chronic pain, ME and even to support cancer patients. Since it was founded in 2004, the UK Laughter Network – made up of NHS workers, counsellors and social workers – has increased ten-fold, training 8,000 people to use laughter to improve their health.

It is an unconventional therapy, but proponents claim laughter is the best medicine – and there is some scientific evidence to support them.

A study at Oxford University in 2011 found that laughter increases our pain threshold. Researchers found that subjects who had watched comedy videos could withstand 10 per cent more pain than normal. Another study, at the University of Arizona, found that laughter boosts cardiac health; while a report by scientists at the University of Maryland in 2005, showed that blood flow increased by 22 per cent when participants laughed.

“It’s an injection of happy hormones into your body,” says Amanda Bate, 41, co-founder of the Laughter Network, who runs laughter sessions in Brighton and London, most recently for a group of 850 accountants.

So how does it work? Not only does laughing release endorphins, but it reduces the stress hormones cortisol and epinephrine. The Maryland study found that it dilates the inner lining of our blood vessels, the endothelium, and so improves circulation. “Your immune system is boosted by up to 40 per cent,” explains laughter therapist Julie Whitehead, whose work includes training staff at Great Ormond Street Hospital. Prolonged laughter has also been shown to lower blood pressure and improve mental function.

But Lotte Mikkelson, 45, founder of the laughter line, who also runs courses in St Albans and Durham, warns that it’s important to see it as a method of coping – not a cure. “In 2008, I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis,” she explains. “My sister died at the age of 32 from it, so I know what could happen. Since I started laughing, I haven’t had any relapses and my health is great. I never say laughter is a cure – but it can help.”

The content of laughter therapy varies, but classes tend to include dancing, singing and movement. In laughter yoga (hasyayoga), this is combined with breathing and visualisation exercises. “The yogic breathing element focuses on long exhalations, which calm the parasympathetic nervous system,” explains Dalbinder Kular, 44, a laughter yoga teacher from Sheffield.

Participants say they have seen long-lasting results. Vikki Wemyss, 21, a student nurse from Southampton, says laughing has raised her energy levels and helped her de-stress. Mary Adshead, 60, from north London, started laughter yoga in 2009. Now a teacher herself, she says it helped her overcome mild bronchiectasis (abnormal widening of the airways) and a persistent cough. “If I occasionally get a cough now, it doesn’t last,” she adds.

Just 15 to 20 minutes of laughter is enough to make a difference, supporters claim. “We have forgotten how to laugh,” says Mikkelsen. “As adults, we only do it 15 times a day; as children, it’s 300. We need to bring those big belly laughs back into our lives.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/alternativemedicine/10149577/Now-theres-proof-laughter-really-is-the-best-medicine.html