Dozens of people who were blinded or otherwise suffered severe eye damage to their cornea(s) when they were splashed with caustic chemicals had their sight restored with transplants of their own stem cells, a stunning success for the burgeoning cell-therapy field, Italian researchers reported 6/24.

In the study, published online by the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers took a small number of stem cells from a patient’s healthy eye, multiplied them in the lab and placed them into the burned eye, where they were able to grow new corneal tissue to replace what had been damaged. Since the stem cells are from their own bodies, the patients do not need to take anti-rejection drugs.

For information on nutrition and eye health, go to www.naturaleyecare.com

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A painkiller may be capable of causing cancer cells to kill themselves, U.S. researchers suggest.

Researchers at the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute in La Jolla, Calif., say the link between taking anti-inflammatory drugs such as aspirin and lower incidences of some types of cancer led them to determine how one anti-inflammatory used to treat pain and fever (called Sulindac) could initiate cell death, apoptosis, in cancer cells.

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New study published online and in the August print issue of Archives of Ophthalmology, found that smoking and cholesterol levels affect the risk for early-stage age related macular degeneration (AMD).

Editor’s Note: For information on nutrition, diet and macular degeneration, Click Here

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A type of  acupuncture that uses skin electrodes to apply electrical stimulation at different points on the body called transcutaneous electric acupoint stimulation (TEAS) may help people suffering from an addiction to opioid drugs.  The study, overseen by Harvard Medical School and McLean Hospital near Boston, showed that patients who received acupuncture in combination with their prescribed withdrawal medications were only 29% likely to return to drug use while 2/3 those who did not receive acupuncture took up the habit again.

In addition, patients in the active TEAS group reported they were less bothered by pain and that they experienced greater improvements in overall health.

Source: http://nccam.nih.gov/research/results/spotlight/010410.htm?nav=rss

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Fibromyalia is a notoriously difficult disease to treat.  Standard treatments include painkillers, antidepressants, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and exercise therapy.  Recent studies suggest that the most effective combination of therapies is exercise paired with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).

Study participants were separated into two groups based on how they dealt with their pain: those who curbed activities due to fear of pain and those who continued their activities in spite of pain.  The goal of CBT is to help people recognize thought patterns and emotional responses that contribute to their symptoms, and give them practical ways to change their behavior. For patients who habitually tried to avoid pain, the CBT sessions were geared toward helping them deal with their fear of pain and set goals for increasing their daily activities; those who typically attempted to push through pain, the CBT was designed to set more realistic goals and pace their daily activities and avoid overexertion.

Six months later, almost two thirds of participants showed “clinically significant” improvements, meaning that they had an increased ability to  perform daily activities like walking, climbing stairs and doing household chores.

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE65A5LZ20100611

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Research presented at the American Thoracic Society’s 105th International Conference indicates patients with diabetes who have retinopathy should also be screened for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) because evidence strongly suggests a link between the two conditions.  “We know from our earlier research that 23 percent of men with type 2 diabetes have OSA and this is under-recognized and under-treated,” said Sophie D. West, M.D., of the Oxford Centre for Respiratory Medicine in the United Kingdom, who led the research.”  Sleep apnea is marked by snoring, periods of when breathing stops during sleep, and daytime sleepiness.  OSA can be diagnosed through a sleep study and can be treated with the help of a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) device.

Source: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/150754.php

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FOLIC acid, the vitamin linked to the prevention of birth defects, may also prevent and help treat depression.

In two trials, around 1,000 people are being given a daily dose of folic acid, the synthetic form of the vitamin folate.

In one new trial, at the University of Oxford, researchers are looking at whether it can prevent new episodes of depression in young people.

In the second trial, at Bangor University, North Wales, researchers are treating adults with moderate to severe depression.

Research shows that up to a third of people with depression have low levels of folate. Studies have also shown that the greater the folate deficiency, the more severe the depression symptoms.

People with low levels also have a poorer response to antidepressants.

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New study shows low skeletal muscle mass and strength often found in those who are older or obese may put individuals at risk for developing type 2 diabetes, and that a good diet may not be enough to prevent type 2 diabetes.

These associations were stronger in people age 60 and under, in whom sarcopenia (the degenerative loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength associated with aging) was associated with high levels of blood sugar in both obese and thin people, and with diabetes in obese individuals.

The findings are published in the journal Plos One.

Editor’s Note: For information related to nutrition and diabetes, Click Here

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Laser therapy, also called laser photocoagulation, is more effective and produces fewer side effects than corticosteroids injected into the eye for the treatment of diabetic macular edema according to a large, two-year multicenter study reported in the journal Ophthalmology (Volume 115, page 1447).

For more details, Click Here

Editor’s Note: For more information in nutrition and diabetes/diabetic retinopathy, Click Here

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According to Dr. Andrew Weil, chlorinated pools are “obsolete.”  Chlorine in pools has been linked to increased risk of asthma and allergies as well as bladder and rectal cancer; it may also increase one’s risk for coronary heart disease.

Researchers from the Catholic University of Louvain in Brussels, Belgium discovered a link between inhaling chemicals at indoor pool facilities and a number of respiratory ailments.  Source: http://ehp03.niehs.nih.gov/article/fetchArticle.action?articleURI=info:doi/10.1289/ehp.8461.  A study published in Pediatrics showed that infants exposed to the chlorine in swimming pools “predispose children to the development of asthma and recurrent bronchitis.”

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