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Psoriasis Effects Go Beyond The Skin
December 31, 2009 By
Effects of psoriasis are not just limited to the skin – the disease is also linked to arthritis and cardiovascular disease, according to a new study.
Psoriasis is a chronic disease that causes red, raised patches of skin.
The new study provides an overview of this sometimes embarrassing condition, what’s known about it and how it’s treated.
The symptoms of the disease include-patches of thick, red skin covered with silvery, flaky scales commonly appear on the elbows and knees, but can appear anywhere on the body.
They result from skin cells on overdrive, reproducing much faster than normal.
Doctors aren’t sure why this overproduction occurs, although genetic and environmental factors likely play roles.
Psoriasis symptoms come and go and flare in response to triggers that can include infections, some medications, alcohol, smoking, stress, sunburn, skin irritation or injury.
The researchers have said that it is a systemic illness and doctors are finding that psoriasis is more than a skin disorder.
About one in four people with psoriasis develop a form of arthritis called psoriatic arthritis that can cause pain, stiffness and swelling in the joints.
Studies have shown that people with psoriasis face a higher risk of heart attack, stroke and other cardiovascular problems.
The underlying link may be chronic inflammation, which plays a role in psoriasis and heart disease.
While psoriasis can’t be cured, a variety of topical and systemic treatment options can help control the condition.
For mild-to-moderate psoriasis, topical treatments often are effective, and options include corticosteroids
or retinoids to reduce inflammation; vitamin D analogs to slow skin growth; and tar, to reduce scaling, itching and inflammation.
Calcineurin inhibitors (tacrolimus and pimecrolimus) can help reduce inflammation and skin cell buildup.
In addition, ultraviolet light slows the rapid growth of skin cells. Ultraviolet light therapy may be used alone or in combination with other treatments.
Several systemic medications are used for severe forms of psoriasis, though these options pose the risk of serious side effects.
Home-care measures can help prevent or manage symptoms-a daily bath removes scales and calms inflamed skin. Adding bath oil, colloidal oatmeal, Epsom salts or Dead Sea salts can offer additional relief.
After bathing, applying a thick moisturizing cream or ointment, such as petroleum jelly, can be helpful.
During cold, dry weather, it’s beneficial to apply moisturizer several times a day. Short sessions in sunlight three or more times a week can improve psoriasis, as can avoiding known triggers. The study has been published in the latest issue of Mayo Clinic Women’s HealthSource. Newstrack India
Angelina Is Named Beauty Icon Of The Decade
December 30, 2009 By
Angelina Jolie beat Jennifer Aniston to the top spot of a poll to decide the top 20 beauty icons of the decade.
The Tomb Raider star’s luscious lips and flawless skin have seen women across the world envy her and millions of men want to be with her.
Her stunning looks even helped her bag Hollywood superstar Brad Pitt, after the pair starred together in the film Mr and Mrs Smith.
As well as appearing in several box office hits during the past decade, Angelina has also become a mum-of-six after adopting three children and giving birth to another three with Pitt.
The poll was carried out by Onepoll for Superdrug, who questioned 3000 British women.
Second place in the poll went to Angelina’s love rival Jennifer Aniston, who was still married to Pitt when the couple first met.
After her iconic hairstyle in the 1990s, the Friends actress has carried on wowing people with her sleek hair and flawless beauty throughout the past ten years.
Australian pop princess Kylie Minogue came third in the poll of Brits followed by Welsh actress Catherine Zeta Jones.
Cheryl Cole topped off an amazing decade by being voted into fifth place.
Since winning her place in girl group Girls Aloud in 2002, the Geordie beauty has seen her career soar, finishing the decade as the nation’s golden girl thanks to her role as X-Factor judge, she was named Beauty Icon of 2009 in Superdrug’s research last year.
As well as marrying Chelsea footballer Ashley Cole, she has also become the high-profile face of L’Oreal.
Actress Scarlett Johansson was at six, followed by English rose Keira Knightly who was named Beauty Icon of 2008 in Superdrug’s research.
American superstar Beyonce was eighth while Armageddon star Liv Tyler was at nine.
Oscar winning actress Halle Berry completed the top ten.
Other stars to feature in the top 20 include Titanic star Kate Winslet, Transformer beauty Megan Fox and This Morning presenter Holly Willoughby.
A spokesman for Superdrug added: “It is great to see that the list is packed with women of all ages and colouring in the top twenty, from the ageless beauty Joanna Lumley to new national sweet heart Cheryl Cole.
“But the message from our stores for 2010 is you don’t have to be a film star or celebrity to be a beauty icon. Every single woman in Britain can walk into their local Superdrug and pick up products that will give them the confidence to turn heads on the high street. Unfortunately, we can’t promise that any of them will end up marrying Brad Pitt.” The Independent
Estate Planning Is Essential
December 30, 2009 By
At a time when individuals have more personal responsibility for their financial future, the needs for financial advice and products that will help them prepare for retirement, succession and estate planning is essential. Generally speaking, there are two types of life insurance policies for individuals. Both term life and whole life policies can be used by the insured / policyholder to protect loved ones when the insured dies. And as you age, and your financial life improves, whole life should be part of your financial plan. Or if you can already afford it make whole life insurance a member of your family. The whole life insurance policy has recently played an increasingly important role in individual retirement planning for working classes, and in it you can be sure you are getting fast and accurate information without bias.
Fit & Toned Body
December 29, 2009 By
Let us all remember that obesity is a disease and feeling blameful or shameful is not going to help one come out of it. Eating foods that are high in calories or gorging away on junk foods raises ones risk of becoming obese and it is really quite stressful to live with it. If you do not burn calories to the extent that you consume them, you are bound to put on weight. Towards this, you may experience low levels of confidence and sometimes you may even feel hopelessly depressed. Thus, according to a health expert, people need to look at weight loss holistically to combine a well-planned diet with an exercise regime and they should stick to it for a fit and toned body. Additionally, talk to your doctor for more information on healthy weight loss.
Exposure To Babies Triggers Maternal Instinct
December 29, 2009 By
Exposure to babies can trigger maternal instincts among women, says a study. Researchers from Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine exposed virgin or nulliparous rats to foster pups daily until they began to exhibit maternal behaviour.
The behaviour included crouching over the young, grouping them, or retrieving them back to the nest. The study also showed that such female rats have an increased number of new neurons (nerve cells).
Researchers Miyako Furuta and Robert Bridges from Tufts conducted the study.
Previous research has found that exposure to young can stimulate maternal behaviour not only in rats, but also in mice, hamsters, monkeys, and even humans.
Increased creation of new neurons or neurogenesis, has also been shown during pregnancy and lactation in rodents and associated with maternal behaviour.
However, studies analysing neurogenesis in virgin animals exhibiting maternal behaviour had not been done.
The area of the brain that was the focus of the present study was the region involved in the production of cells that affect odour recognition and possibly recognition of young.
Bridges and Furuta found increased numbers of new neurons in this zone in adult, nulliparous rats that behaved maternally, compared with numbers in subjects that either were not exposed to young or exposed to young, but did not behave maternally.
What stimulates increased new neuron production in such virgin mothers is not known.
One possibility is that the hormone prolactin, which stimulates both the onset of maternal behaviour as well as production of neurons during pregnancy, may play a role in the production of new neurons, says a Tufts release.
A second possibility is that stimulation received from the young themselves may, in fact, play a crucial role in stimulating maternal neuron production.
“These are the questions we hope to answer,” says Bridges. These findings were published in Brain Research Bulletin. Zeenews
Pomegranate Lotion Offers New Hope In War On Superbugs
December 28, 2009 By
The secret to beating the superbug MRSA could be found in the pomegranate. Scientists have created an ointment that tackles drug-resistant infections by harnessing chemicals that are contained in the fruit’s rind.
They found that by combining pomegranate rind with other natural products they created a strong, infection-busting compound.
It is hoped that this could lead to the creation of a lotion for hospital patients, or even an antibiotic.
The need for a new method of tackling superbugs is growing more and more desperate as they continue to develop resistance to common antibiotics.
Professor Declan Naughton, biomolecular scientist at the University of Kingston, Surrey, said the breakthrough by his team was significant and argued that one way to solve the problem of growing drug resistance was to investigate natural products.
He added: ‘A great deal of medicines come from plants, but the normal approach taken by the pharmaceutical industry is to try to find one particular active molecule.
‘We found that combining three ingredients – pomegranate rind, vitamin C and a metal salt – gave a much more potent effect; killing off, or inhibiting, drug-resistant microbes from growing.
‘It was the mix that fantastically increased the activity – there was synergy, where the combined effects were much greater than those exhibited by individual components. It shows nature still has a few tricks up its sleeve.’
Professor Naughton said he hoped the fact that natural products were being used would mean patients would suffer fewer side-effects.
However, it will be a long time before any pomegranate- derived lotions come on to the market.
Despite three years of research, the Kingston scientists are still at the stage of testing the fruit’s actions on MRSA bacteria in the lab.
More testing will be needed to see if it would work on a patient in the ward.
Professor Anthony Coates, a medical microbiologist at St George’s Hospital in London, urged caution.
He said: ‘This observation – the fact it has acted against MRSA and other drug-resistant infections – is potentially significant.
‘But we need to remember it is early research, of an observational nature, in vitro.
‘The need for new antibiotics is acute. To put it in context, about 20 new classes of antibiotics were marketed between 1940 and 1962 yet only three have been marketed since.
‘In all classes, resistance has arisen. Most antibiotics come from nature, so it is very valid to look at natural sources.’ By Daniel Martin, The Daily Mail