Mediterranean Diet May Be Good For The Brain

What is a Mediterranean Diet?


A Mediterranean diet includes higher amounts of olive oil, vegetables, fruit and fish. Higher adherence to the diet involves more consumption of fruit and vegetables and fish, and less consumption of meat and dairy products.



Recently a new study suggests that eating a Mediterranean diet may be good for your brain and might reduce the risk of dementia.


Researchers analyzed data from 11 observational studies and one randomized controlled trial. Nine studies found that people with higher adherence to a Mediterranean diet had better brain function, lower rates of mental decline and a reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease.


Mediterranean food is both delicious and nutritious, and it may help to protect the aging brain by reducing the risk of dementia.


Although this link between adherence to a Mediterranean diet and dementia risk is not new, but recently British researchers systematically analyzed all existing evidences and studies, for a better approach to this link.


While the new research uncovered a link between the Mediterranean diet and brain health, it didn't prove a cause-and-effect relationship.


SOURCE: University of Exeter, news release, Healthday.
#mHealth ,#digitalhealth,#HealthTalk,#MedEd,#hcsm

Read More

New Research Say's - Antiviral Drug May Extend Brain Cancer Survival

A drug used against a common virus may lengthen the lives of people with a deadly form of brain cancer, study suggests..

A research was performed on 50 patients, who were given antiviral drug valganciclovir (Valcyte) to help treat glioblastoma ( most common form of brain tumor in adults, which carries a dismal prognosis of just over 1 year) and these 50 patients, however, fared far better, researchers found.

After two years, 62 percent were still alive. Of the 25 who took the antiviral continuously, 90 percent were still alive. That compared with just 18 percent of patients who received most of the same treatments -- including surgery and chemotherapy -- but did not take Valcyte.

Valcyte is a pill used to treat cytomegalovirus (CMV) eye infections in people with AIDS. CMV is a very common virus -- up to 80 percent of adults contract it by age 40 -- and it usually causes no harm in someone with a healthy immune system.

One recent lab study found that when certain cancer-promoting gene mutations are present, CMV might speed the growth of glioblastoma.

All though more research is to be performed on this, Doctors could prescribe this antiviral drug for glioblastoma patients,But since it's not specifically approved for the cancer, insurers may not pay -- a big obstacle, since the drug costs a couple thousand dollars a month.

Sources-  Cecilia Soderberg-Naucler, M.D., Ph.D., professor, medicine, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden; David Reardon, M.D., director, Center for Neuro-Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston; Chang-Hyuk Kwon, Ph.D., assistant professor, neurological surgery, Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbus; Sept. 5, 2013, New England Journal of Medicine, Health day.

#mHealth , #pharma100, #digitalhealth, #hcsmeu, #BrainTumorThursday

Read More

A glass of wine can help you keep your depression away

Hello reader,

Of-course we all have heard before that drinking red wine in moderate amount is known to be very good for our health since it decreases the risk of heart diseases, But recently the researches have found that drinking red wine can also help to reduce the risk of depression, this article was posted in the BMC medicine journal.

Researches in Spain analysed about 2,683 men and 2,822 women over a 7-year period, the participants in the study were between 55-80 yrs of age, with no history of depression and alcohol-related problems.

The findings of the study showed that those people who drank moderate amounts of alcohol (5- 15 g a day) were less likely to suffer from depression, additionally those who drank a moderate amount of wine on weekly basis( about 2-7 small glasses of wine a week) were found to have even lower risk of depression.


Also, however further findings show that if this amount is increased to more then 7 glasses per week then it can increase the risk of depression. 

So,it's recommended to drink a moderate amount of red wine, not only to reduce the risk of heart diseases but also to over come depression.

Stay sober, be healthy ;)



#mHealth, #hcsm, #digitalhealth ,#MedEd

Read More

New Defibrillator Works Without Wires Touching Heart

A new implantable defibrillator accurately detects abnormal heart rhythms and shocks the heart back into normal rhythm, yet has no wires touching the heart.

This device is called as - subcutaneous implantable cardiac defibrillator (S-ICD), this device is placed under the patient's skin and has a wire under the skin along the left side of the breast bone.

The device detects life-threatening arrhythmias from normal rhythms, and once it notices the life-threatening rhythm it will automatically shock the heart back to its normal rhythm.

This device has a great advantage that it's very durable, because of the flexibility in the wiring.

However, the new device won't replace standard implantable defibrillators because many patients who need an implantable defibrillator also need a pacemaker to keep the heart beating regularly and this new device does not pace the heart, so it will be a good alternative for the patients who doesnt need pacing.

Also, this new device is more costly then the standard defibrillators and cost about $24,000.

For more information about the study please visit-http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_140080.html

So, what are your thoughts about the device? will it be very useful in future? looking at the cost of the device and also the fact that it doesn't have the ability of pacing the heart.

 #hcsm  #meddevice #healthinnovations #biotech

Read More