sanjeevanii: Identifying heart disease symptoms can save your life.

sanjeevanii: Identifying heart disease symptoms can save your life.

Reptiles, Amphibians, and Salmonella...............Did you know that reptiles and amphibians like turtles, lizards, and frogs ca

Turtles, frogs, iguanas, snakes, geckos, horned toads, salamanders, and chameleons are colorful, quiet, and often kept as pets. Reptiles and amphibians frequently carry a germ called Salmonella that can cause serious illness in people. Although many people think that Salmonella infections are caused only by contaminated food, these germs can also be caught by handling animals, including reptiles or amphibians.Salmonella infections can also result from having contact with reptile or amphibian environments, including the water from containers or aquariums where they live.
Salmonella can make people sick with diarrhea, vomiting, fever, and/or abdominal cramps. Sometimes, people can become so sick from a Salmonellainfection that they have to go to the hospital. Young children, elderly persons, and those with weakened immune systems are more likely to develop severe illness from the infection. When severe illness occurs,Salmonella may spread from the intestines to the bloodstream and then to other body sites and can cause death unless the person is treated promptly with antibiotics.
Young children are at increased risk for Salmonella infection because their immune systems are still developing and because they are more likely than others to put their fingers or other items into their mouths. Therefore, families with children aged 5 years or younger in the home should avoid keeping reptiles or amphibians as pets.
How do people get Salmonella infections from reptiles and amphibians?
Reptiles and amphibians might have Salmonella germs on their bodies even when they appear healthy and clean. The germs can also get on cages, aquariums, terrariums, the water reptiles and amphibians live or swim in, and other containers that house them. Anything that reptiles and amphibians touch should be considered possibly contaminated with Salmonella. When you touch reptiles and amphibians, the germs can get on your hands or clothing. It is important to wash your hands immediately after touching animals, or anything in the area where they live and roam, including water from containers or aquariums, because the germs on your hands can easily spread to other people or things.

How do I reduce the risk of Salmonella infection from reptiles and amphibians?

• Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and warm water immediately after touching a reptile or amphibian, or anything in the area where they live and roam. Use hand sanitizer if soap and water are not readily available.
• Adults should always supervise hand washing for young children.
• Do not let children younger than 5 years of age handle or touch reptiles or amphibians, or anything in the area where they live and roam, including water from containers or aquariums.
• Keep reptiles and amphibians out of homes with children younger than 5 years old or people with weakened immune systems.
• Reptiles and amphibians should not be kept in child care centers, nursery schools, or other facilities with children younger than 5 years old.
• Do not touch your mouth after handling reptiles or amphibians and do not eat or drink around these animals.
• Do not let reptiles or amphibians roam freely throughout the house or in areas where food or drink is prepared, served, or stored, such as kitchens, pantries, or outdoor patios.
• Habitats and their contents should be carefully cleaned outside of the home. Use disposable gloves when cleaning and do not dispose of water in sinks used for food preparation or for obtaining drinking water.
• Do not bathe animals or their habitats in your kitchen sink. If bathtubs are used for these purposes, they should be thoroughly cleaned afterward. Use bleach to disinfect a tub or other place where reptile or amphibian habitats are cleaned.
• Wash any clothing the reptile or amphibian might have touched.
• Use soap or a disinfectant to thoroughly clean any surfaces that have been in contact with reptiles or amphibians.

Parenting: Dealing With the Bedtime Struggle-------- Do your kids resist going to bed? Put the nightly pushback to rest.

The answer couldn't be clearer when it comes to kids' health, despite their protests to the contrary. Sleep is one of the most valuable gifts you can give your children. Sleep provides the brain with much-needed time to recharge, store information, and even solve problems. It helps boost the body's immune system as well. Lack of sleep can cause crankiness and anxiety, and has been linked to obesity and higherbody mass index (BMI) in children.

One study followed hundreds of children from ages 3 to 7. The researchers found that each additional hour of sleep reduced the likelihood of a child being overweight at age 7 by 61%. Another study of more than 15,000 teens showed that teens with later bedtimes and fewer hours of sleep were more likely to become depressed and have thoughts of suicide. Lack of sleep also affects kids' performance at school -- plenty of research backs that up, too.

So how do you fight the nightly pushback? Most important, set a routine. Try to have the same events occur at the same place, same time each night. Second, no matter what your kids' ages, from preschool through high school, turn off all TVs, video game consoles, and digital devices at least an hour before bedtime. For young children, give them a bath, have them brush their teeth, and then read them a bedtime story.

Be patient. Change may not happen right away. After a few days of these new rules, my kids looked forward to bedtime and the storybooks that came with it. And guess what? At 8:15, with the twins tucked in bed, I kicked back and got some "me" time -- perfect for unwinding before my own bedtime.

How to Help Your Child Sleep

Need help encouraging your children to get a good night's sleep? Consider these tips.

• Know how much sleep your child needs daily. It varies by age. Three- to 5-year-olds need 11 to 13 hours daily. Kids ages 5 to 12 require 10 to 11 hours each day. Teenagers between the ages of 12 and 18 need at least 8.5 hours.
• Help your child unwind. Talk about her day and anything she may be worried about. Stress can interfere with sleep.
• See that your child is active. Aim for 60 minutes of daily activity, but if that sounds overwhelming, start small -- maybe 15 minutes. Outside playtime during the day is ideal.
• Prepare well-balanced dinners. If hunger strikes near bedtime, offer a small snack with carbohydrates and a little bit of protein, such as a few crackers with peanut butter and a small glass of milk.

Identifying heart disease symptoms can save your life.

The dramatic scene is familiar in the movies and on TV: The man clutches his chest and somebody screams, “He’s having a heart attack!”  Though we’ve all seen that Bollywood depiction unfold, it’s important to be aware that heart attack is just one kind of heart disease.

Heart disease is a general term for several problems that, together, kill more Indians than anything else. Identifying symptoms early can help you recognize an emergency or take action to prevent a larger health crisis, 

More than one in three adults have one or more of the damaging conditions associated with heart disease. Many of these conditions are related to plaque buildup in the walls of the arteries, or atherosclerosis, which makes it harder for blood to flow and creating a risk for heart attack or stroke.

Things to Look Out For

• Sudden chest pain could be a sign of a heart attack, but there are other warning signs as well. You might also feel pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach. Or you might have shortness of breath, a cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness.
• And, although in the movies it’s typically an overweight man having a heart attack, heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women, too. As with men, women’s most common heart attack symptom is chest pain or discomfort. But women may also experience other common symptoms, particularly shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting and back or jaw pain.

• Chest pain during exercise or other physical exertion, called angina, is a common symptom of chronic coronary artery disease (CAD). 

 If you are experiencing heart palpitations or angina, make an appointment to speak to your doctor, If you are having a heart attack, it’s important to “get to the hospital within minutes,”

• Excessive, acute shortness of breath that is persistent is a heart attack warning sign, but it could indicate other heart problems. Such breathlessness during exercise or other physical exertion may point to problem with the heart valves. When the heart valves aren’t working properly, either not opening wide enough (stenosis), or not closing properly (mitral valve prolapse), they can prevent the heart from pumping efficiently and can create a risk for infection. Shortness of breath may also be caused when the heart muscle becomes inflamed and weakened, and doesn’t contract well – called cardiomyopathy.

How to Avoid Heart Disease RiskThe good news about heart disease is that it can often be prevented through lifestyle choices. Avoiding these risk factors can go a long way: 

• Smoking
• High cholesterol
• High blood pressure
• Diabetes
• Obesity
• Lack of physical activity
• Age is another risk factor: Men older than 55 and women older than 60 face increased risks. But otherwise, there is much you can do to avoid heart disease.

 “The only risk factor you can’t control is age,

Asthma Attack

During an asthma attack, also called an asthma exacerbation, your airways become swollen and inflamed. The muscles around the airways contract, causing your breathing (bronchial) tubes to narrow. During an asthma attack, you may cough, wheeze and have trouble breathing. An asthma attack may be minor, with symptoms that get better with prompt home treatment, or it may be more serious. A severe asthma attack that doesn't improve with home treatment can become a life-threatening emergency.

The key to stopping an asthma attack is recognizing and treating an asthma flare-up early. Follow the treatment plan you worked out with your doctor ahead of time. This plan should include what to do when your asthma starts getting worse, and how to deal with an asthma attack in progress.

Asthma attack symptoms include:

• Severe shortness of breath, chest tightness or pain, and coughing or wheezing
• Low peak expiratory flow (PEF) readings, if you use a peak flow meter
• Worsening symptoms despite use of a quick-relief (rescue) inhaler

Signs and symptoms of an asthma attack vary from person to person. Work with your doctor to identify your particular signs and symptoms of worsening asthma — and what to do when they occur. If your asthma symptoms keep getting worse even after you take medication as your doctor directed, you may need a trip to the emergency room. Your doctor can help you learn to recognize an asthma emergency so that you'll know when to get help.

When to see the doctor 

If your asthma flares up, immediately follow the treatment steps you and your doctor worked out ahead of time in your written asthma plan. If your symptoms and peak expiratory flow (PEF) readings improve, home treatment may be all that's needed. If your symptoms don't improve with home treatment, you may need to seek emergency care.

When your asthma symptoms flare up, follow your written asthma plan's instructions for using your quick-acting (rescue) inhaler. If you use a peak flow meter to monitor your asthma, PEF readings ranging from 50 to 79 percent of your personal best are a sign you need to use quick-acting (rescue) medications prescribed by your doctor.

Check asthma control steps with your doctor 

Asthma can change over time, so you'll need periodic adjustments to your treatment plan to keep daily symptoms under control. If your asthma isn't well controlled, it increases your risk of future asthma attacks. Lingering lung inflammation means your asthma could flare up at any time.

Go to all scheduled doctor's appointments. If you have regular asthma flare-ups, low peak flow readings or other signs your asthma isn't well controlled, make an appointment to see your doctor.

When to seek emergency medical treatment 

Seek medical attention right away if you have signs of a serious asthma attack, which include:

• Severe breathlessness or wheezing, especially at night or in the early morning
• Inability to speak more than short phrases due to shortness of breath
• Straining chest muscles to breathe
• Low peak flow readings when you use a peak flow meter

An overly sensitive immune system makes your airways (bronchial tubes) become inflamed and swollen when you're exposed to certain triggers. Asthma triggers vary from person to person. Common asthma attack triggers include:

• Pollen, pets, mold and dust mites
• Upper respiratory infections
• Tobacco smoke
• Exercise
• Inhaling cold, dry air
• Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)

For many people, asthma symptoms get worse with a respiratory infection such as a cold. Some people have asthma flare-ups caused by something in their work environment. Sometimes, asthma attacks occur with no apparent cause.

Ohhh No..i Was In doubt till today

FIGHT AGAINST HUMAN AGEING AND CANCER

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2009

"how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase"

 

Summary

This year's Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded to three scientists who have solved a major problem in biology: how the chromosomes can be copied in a complete way during cell divisions and how they are protected against degradation. The Nobel Laureates have shown that the solution is to be found in the ends of the chromosomes – the telomeres – and in an enzyme that forms them – telomerase.

The long, thread-like DNA molecules that carry our genes are packed into chromosomes, the telomeres being the caps on their ends. Elizabeth Blackburn and Jack Szostak discovered that a unique DNA sequence in the telomeres protects the chromosomes from degradation. Carol Greider and Elizabeth Blackburn identified telomerase, the enzyme that makes telomere DNA. These discoveries explained how the ends of the chromosomes are protected by the telomeres and that they are built by telomerase.

If the telomeres are shortened, cells age. Conversely, if telomerase activity is high, telomere length is maintained, and cellular senescence is delayed. This is the case in cancer cells, which can be considered to have eternal life. Certain inherited diseases, in contrast, are characterized by a defective telomerase, resulting in damaged cells. The award of the Nobel Prize recognizes the discovery of a fundamental mechanism in the cell, a discovery that has stimulated the development of new therapeutic strategies.

Telomeres delay ageing of the cell

Scientists now began to investigate what roles the telomere might play in the cell. Szostak's group identified yeast cells with mutations that led to a gradual shortening of the telomeres. Such cells grew poorly and eventually stopped dividing. Blackburn and her co-workers made mutations in the RNA of the telomerase and observed similar effects in Tetrahymena. In both cases, this led to premature cellular ageing – senescence. In contrast, functional telomeres instead prevent chromosomal damage and delay cellular senescence. Later on, Greider's group showed that the senescence of human cells is also delayed by telomerase. Research in this area has been intense and it is now known that the DNA sequence in the telomere attracts proteins that form a protective cap around the fragile ends of the DNA strands.

An important piece in the puzzle – human ageing, cancer, and stem cells

These discoveries had a major impact within the scientific community. Many scientists speculated that telomere shortening could be the reason for ageing, not only in the individual cells but also in the organism as a whole. But the ageing process has turned out to be complex and it is now thought to depend on several different factors, the telomere being one of them. Research in this area remains intense.

Most normal cells do not divide frequently, therefore their chromosomes are not at risk of shortening and they do not require high telomerase activity. In contrast, cancer cells have the ability to divide infinitely and yet preserve their telomeres. How do they escape cellular senescence? One explanation became apparent with the finding that cancer cells often have increased telomerase activity. It was therefore proposed that cancer might be treated by eradicating telomerase. Several studies are underway in this area, including clinical trials evaluating vaccines directed against cells with elevated telomerase activity.

Some inherited diseases are now known to be caused by telomerase defects, including certain forms of congenital aplastic anemia, in which insufficient cell divisions in the stem cells of the bone marrow lead to severe anemia. Certain inherited diseases of the skin and the lungs are also caused by telomerase defects.

In conclusion, the discoveries by Blackburn, Greider and Szostak have added a new dimension to our understanding of the cell, shed light on disease mechanisms, and stimulated the development of potential new therapies.

Elizabeth H. Blackburn has US and Australian citizenship. She was born in 1948 in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. After undergraduate studies at the University of Melbourne, she received her PhD in 1975 from the University of Cambridge, England, and was a postdoctoral researcher at Yale University, New Haven, USA. She was on the faculty at the University of California, Berkeley, and since 1990 has been professor of biology and physiology at the University of California, San Francisco.

Carol W. Greider is a US citizen and was born in 1961 in San Diego, California, USA. She studied at the University of California in Santa Barbara and in Berkeley, where she obtained her PhD in 1987 with Blackburn as her supervisor. After postdoctoral research at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, she was appointed professor in the department of molecular biology and genetics at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore in 1997.

Jack W. Szostak is a US citizen. He was born in 1952 in London, UK and grew up in Canada. He studied at McGill University in Montreal and at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, where he received his PhD in 1977. He has been at Harvard Medical School since 1979 and is currently professor of genetics at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. He is also affiliated with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.