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Kidney Disease Soars

June 3, 2009 By

kidney_diseaseTHE rate of Australians receiving dialysis and kidney transplants has shot up by more than a quarter, new figures show. Chronic kidney disease was a factor in nearly one in 10 deaths in 2006 and more than one million hospitalizations in 2006-07, according an Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report released today.

Between 2000 and 2007, the rate of people receiving dialysis and kidney transplants for the treatment of end-stage kidney disease rose by 26 per cent. Over the same period, the number of new cases of end-stage kidney disease attributed to diabetes increased by almost two thirds in people aged 55 years and older.

The institute’s Claire Ryan said the risk factors for chronic kidney disease in Australia are high, including smoking and obesity. “Statistics like these obviously indicate that chronic kidney disease is a common and serious problem in Australia,” she said.

Chronic kidney disease is particularly common among indigenous people, who also have a high rate of diabetes. Aboriginal people are six times more likely than non-indigenous people to receive dialysis and kidney transplants. The death rates from the chronic kidney disease for indigenous men and women were seven and 11 times those of their non-indigenous counterparts.

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Promoting RP Tourism

June 2, 2009 By

rp_tourismTHE National Association of Independent Travel Agencies is promoting volunteer vacations to further promote tourism in the country.

Robert Lim Joseph, Naitas chairman emeritus, said his group has tied up with Hands On Manila for “Hands On Volunteer Vacations” in various provinces of the country.

Joseph, who is also consul general of Latvia to the Philippines , said Naitas will provide logistical support for the vacation aspect of the program. The Philippine Tour Operators Association will also be tapped for the same assistance.

He said this new Naitas advocacy will promote to the local and foreign travelers who prefer to go to communities where they can be of help and contribute while enjoying the sights and the company of local people and appreciating the indigenous arts and culture.

Volunteer vacations are not new in other countries where travelers do not only lend helping hand literally but also share their expertise and knowledge, but are only being introduced here.

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Hope In A Dose Of Nature

June 1, 2009 By

green_teaOnce a day, Matthew Hudson takes a square of chocolate mixed with green-tea extract and lets it dissolve in his mouth. Hudson, who has leukemia, is skeptical of natural therapies. But he has been taking the concoction for more than three years, ever since his doctor at the Mayo Clinic suggested it. “My disease has not progressed since I’ve been taking it,” said Hudson, a retired lawyer and investor from northern Virginia. “What does that mean? I don’t know. It means I’m not going to stop taking it.”A study by Mayo Clinic researchers last week provided more reason for hope. They found that high doses of green-tea extract can have a positive effect on Hudson’s type of cancer, chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). The saga of Daniel Hauser, the 13-year-old Minnesota boy with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, has sparked public debate over the value of natural medicine, especially in cancer treatment. In labs at Mayo and elsewhere, scientists are putting those same questions to the test, training their microscopes on everything from shark cartilage to mistletoe and finding some surprising answers.

At last count, the National Institutes of Health’s center for complementary medicine had sponsored 47 cancer-related studies — on macrobiotic diets, soy, Reiki-energy healing, yoga, flaxseed, self-hypnosis, fish oil, massage, acupuncture and more. So far, most have focused on how alternative therapies can help ease the pain or side effects of cancer treatment, says Mary Jo Kreitzer, director of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Spirituality and Healing. Studies that have looked for cancer-fighting properties have been disappointing, she said. “There have just not been good vigorous studies that have found these natural remedies to cure cancer,” said Kreitzer, who is both a scientist and a supporter of complementary medicine. The green-tea study shows the promise, she said, as well as the difficulties in trying to tap nature’s curing powers.

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Nuclear North Korea

May 31, 2009 By

us-opposes_The US “will not accept” a nuclear-armed North Korea, Defense Secretary Robert Gates has told an Asian summit.Mr Gates said the US would “not stand idly by as North Korea builds the capability to wreak destruction on any target in the region or on us”. A top Chinese army official attending the meeting called on all parties involved to remain “cool-headed”.

Earlier, the US said activity in the North could indicate plans for a new long-range missile test. Vehicle movements resembled the build-up to a test last month, the US said.

‘Potential arms race’

Speaking in Singapore, Mr Gates made it clear the US would take an extremely dim view of more nuclear or missile testing by North Korea. “The truth of the matter is if they continue on the path they are on, I think the consequences for stability in the region are significant. “I think it poses the potential for some kind of an arms race here in this region. “We will not stand idly by as North Korea builds the capability to wreak destruction on any target in the region or on us,” Mr Gates added. However, he said he did not consider North Korea to be a direct military threat to the US “at this point”. He insisted the next step in negating Pyongyang’s ambitions would be political, not military.

The Pentagon chief also argued for bolstering diplomatic relations with China, and cited common challenges facing regional Asian powers: counter-terrorism, piracy, energy security and disaster relief. “It is essential for the United States and China to find opportunities to co-operate wherever possible,” he said. The BBC’s Asia correspondent, Jonathan Head, says Mr Gates’ speech is probably intended to reassure countries in the region that the new administration in Washington is committed to supporting its allies.

Some of Mr Gates’ words were echoed by Ma Xiaotian, deputy chief of general staff of China’s People’s Liberation Army. “Our stand on the issue is consistent. We are resolutely opposed to nuclear proliferation. “Our view is that the Korean peninsula should move towards denuclearisation,” Mr Ma told the summit. “Our hope is that all parties concerned will remain cool-headed and take measures to address the problem.”

New test concerns

Before Mr Gates spoke, defence officials in Washington said US satellite photos had revealed vehicle activity at a site in North Korea used to fire long-range missiles. The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the US was closely monitoring the North’s missile sites and other sensitive facilities. However, a Pentagon official told the BBC that the US had noticed this type of activity on previous occasions which did not always lead to a missile being fired. The official said activity at this site had been going on for more than a couple of days, but did not know for how long exactly.

On Friday, Pyongyang also fired a short-range missile off its east coast, and warned of “self-defence” measures if the UN Security Council imposed sanctions over what it says was a successful nuclear test carried out earlier in the week. The North has been subject to international criticism, from the US, China and Russia among others, since the explosion, which, if confirmed, would be the North’s second atomic test.

The hardline communist state, under President Kim Jong-il, has threatened military action against the South after Seoul’s decision to join a US-led Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), under which North Korean ships could be stopped and searched. US and South Korean troops are currently on high alert after the North said it was no longer bound by the truce that ended the Korean war in 1953. Pyongyang says Seoul’s decision to join the PSI is tantamount to an act of war.

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Laughter Promotes Heart Health & Lowers Blood Pressure

May 30, 2009 By

laughter_Laughter is not only an effective stress-reliever, but can be heart-healthy, according to research presented today at the American College of Sports Medicine’s 56th Annual Meeting in Seattle. Two separate studies examined the role of a good laugh as it relates to health. One of the studies took an inverted approach to previous research on the harmful cardiovascular tolls of stress and negative mood. A small group of healthy adults were instructed to watch either a comedy or documentary film, and were monitored for carotid artery activity during the films.

Subjects who watched the comedy benefited from improved “arterial compliance,” the amount of blood that moves through the arteries at a given time. Conversely, decreased arterial compliance is often associated with high blood pressure and heart disease. “Arterial compliance was improved for a full 24 hours after subjects watched a funny movie,” said lead researcher Jun Sugawara. “Laughing is likely not the complete solution to a healthy heart, but it appears to contribute to positive effects.”

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It’s Not Just Humans Who Have Morals

May 29, 2009 By

animals_Animals have a sense of morality and can tell right from wrong, according to new research. Species ranging from mice to wolves are governed by similar codes of conduct as humans, say ecologists. Until recently, humans were thought to be the only species to experience complex emotions But Professor Marc Bekoff, from the University of Colorado, Boulder, believes that morals are ‘hard-wired’ into the brains of all mammals. They also provide the ‘social glue’ that allow often aggressive and competitive animals to live together in groups, he said.

For instance dominant wolves dominate fairness by ‘handicapping’ themselves by engaging in role reversal with lower ranking wolves, showing submission and allowing them to bite, provided it is not too hard. Chimpanzees also demonstrate a sense of justice by setting upon those in the group who deviate from the code. They also treat disabled members differently by rarely subjecting them to displays of aggression, research found. Dolphins and whales are known to be capable of empathy because they have the same spindle cells in their brains as humans.

Prof Berkoff, who presented his case in new book, Wild Justice, said: ‘There are cases of dolphins helping humans to escape from sharks, and elephants that have helped antelope escape from enclosures.’ Experiments with rats have shown that they will not take food if they know their actions will cause pain to another rat. Similarly, mice react more strongly to pain when they have seen another mouse in pain. ‘The belief that humans have morality and animals don’t is a long-standing assumption, but there is a growing amount of evidence that is showing us that this simply cannot be the case,’ Prof Bekoff told the Sunday Telegraph.

‘Just as in humans, the moral nuances of a particular culture or group will be different from another, but they are certainly there. ‘Moral codes are species specific, so they can be difficult to compare with each other or with humans.’ His conclusions will provide ammunition for animal welfare groups pushing to have creatures treated more humanely.But some experts are sceptical about the extent to which animals can experience complex emotions and social responsibility.

Professor Frans de Waal, a primate behaviourist at Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, said: ‘I don’t believe animals are moral in the sense we humans are – with well developed and reasoned sense of right and wrong – rather that human morality incorporates a set of psychological tendencies and capacities such as empathy, reciprocity, a desire for co-operation and harmony that are older than our species. ‘Human morality was not formed from scratch, but grew out of our primate psychology. Primate psychology has ancient roots, and I agree that other animals show many of the same tendencies and have an intense sociality.’

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