Meditation and Stress A team of researchers from China and the University of Oregon have developed an approach for neuroscientists to study how meditation might provide improvements in a person's attention and response to stress. The study, done in China, randomly assigned college undergraduate students to 40-person experimental or control groups. The experimental group received five days of meditation training using a technique called the integrative body-mind training (IBMT). The control group got five days of relaxation training. Before and after training both groups took tests involving attention and reaction to mental stress. The findings appear online this week ahead of publication in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . The experimental group showed greater improvement than the control in an attention test designed to measure the subjects' abilities to resolve conflict among stimuli. Stress was induced by mental arithmetic. Both groups initially showed elevated release of the stress hormone cortisol following the math task, but after training the experimental group showed less cortisol release, indicating a greater improvement stress regulation. The experimental group also showed lower levels of anxiety, depression, anger and fatigue than was the case in the control group. "This study improves the prospect for examining brain mechanisms involved in the changes in attention and self-regulation that occur following meditation training," said co-author Michael I. Posner, professor emeritus of psychology at the University of Oregon. "The study took only five days, so it was possible to randomly assign the subjects and do a thorough before-and-after analysis of the training effects." The IBMT approach was developed in the 1990s. Its effects have been studied in China since 1995. The technique avoids struggles to control thought, relying instead on a state of restful alertness, allowing for a high degree of body-mind awareness while receiving instructions from a coach, who provides breath-adjustment guidance and mental imagery while soothing music plays in the background. Thought control is achieved gradually through posture, relaxation, body-mind harmony and balanced breathing. The authors noted in the study that IBMT may be effective during short-term application because of its integrative use of these components. IBMT has been found to improve emotional and cognitive performance, as well as social behavior, in people, said lead author Yi-Yuan Tang, a professor in the Institute of Neuroinformatics and Laboratory for Body and Mind at Dalian University of Technology in Dalian, China. Tang currently is a visiting scholar at the University of Oregon, where he is working with Posner on a new and larger study to be conducted in the United States. The current study did not include direct measures of brain changes, although previous studies have suggested alterations have occurred in brain networks. Posner said the planned studies in the United States will include functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine any brain network changes induced by training. In summary, the 11-member team wrote: "IBMT is an easy, effective way for improvement in self-regulation in cognition, emotion and social behavior. Our study is consistent with the idea that attention, affective processes and the quality of moment-to-moment awareness are flexible skills that can be trained." At this point, the findings suggest a measurable benefit that people could achieve through body-mind meditation, especially involving an effective training regimen, but larger studies are needed to fully test the findings of this small, short-term study, Posner said. This project on meditation of body-mind was supported by the grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China, Ministry of Education of China and the UO's Brain, Biology and Machine Initiative.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Meditation of body-mind boosts performance, reduces stress
As More Americans Live To 100, Long Term Care Insurance Leader Gives Health Assist
As Americans increase their life spans, many eyeing 100-plus, the odds of needing long term care increase.
One solution is long term care insurance to pay the care bills. "A better solution," says Cameron Truesdell, CEO of LTC Financial Partners (LTCFP), "is the insurance plus health habits to keep yourself on your feet as long as possible."
To contribute to those good habits, LTCFP, the nation's most experienced long term care insurance brokerage, is offering two free assists. One is a quarterly newsletter with prevention tips; the second is access to Living Longer, a new online group that will share videos and forum posts on healthy aging. The group is hosted by SuperLife World Service, a social network that promotes physical, mental, and environmental betterment.
"Developing long-life health habits is like driving safely," says Truesdell. "You definitely need auto insurance just in case. But you also want to avoid accidents." The same logic applies to the risks of living longer, he asserts. "You need LTC insurance just in case. But you also want to do the things that keep you healthy, mentally fit, happy, and contributing for most of your days."
According to the latest census estimates, there are now more than 60,000 U.S. centenarians, up 63 percent since 1990, with a projected 1,000,000 by 2030 and more than 4,000,000 by 2050. Morbidity, existing in a state of illness, looms with longer life spans. "But it doesn't have to happen for excessive periods, not for everybody," Truesdell says. "If we're going to live longer, let's live stronger."
FDA Revises Warning Labels On Certain Epilepsy Drugs
FDA on Wednesday announced revisions to the labels of certain epilepsy, bipolar disorder and nerve pain medications to strengthen warnings about potential risk for rare skin disorders and recommended that patients with Asian backgrounds undergo genetic tests before they take the treatments, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The revisions apply to:
- Carbamazepine, the active ingredient in Carbatrol, manufactured by Shire;
- Tegretol, manufactured by Novartis; and
- Equetro, manufactured by Validus Pharmaceuticals.
The labels of the medications currently include warnings about potential risk for the skin disorders, which include toxic epidermal necrolysis and Stevens-Johnson syndrome. Under the revisions, the companies will place the warnings about potential risk for the skin disorders, as well as the recommendation for patients with Asian backgrounds, in black box warnings about potential risk for anemia currently included on the labels of the medications (Corbett Dooren, Wall Street Journal, 12/13).
According to FDA, about one to six per 1,000 patients who begin to take the medications will develop the skin disorders in nations with largely white populations, with a 10% increase in risk in nations with largely Asian populations (CQ HealthBeat, 12/12). FDA said that studies have found a link to the skin disorders and an inherited variant of HLA-B* 1502, a gene found almost exclusively in individuals with Asian backgrounds.
In addition, FDA said that patients who have taken the medications for more than a few months and have not developed the skin disorders likely will not develop them, regardless of background (Wall Street Journal, 12/13).
"Patients currently taking carbamazepine who are concerned about these skin reactions should not stop taking the drug without first consulting their health care provider," FDA said (CQ HealthBeat, 12/12).
Merck Recalls Hib Vaccine
Georgia is among a number of states whose vaccine supply has been affected by the recent voluntary recall of 10 lots of Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib) vaccine and two lots of a combination of Hib and Hepatitis B vaccine. The recall does affect the state’s vaccine supply but it does not have a negative impact on the health of Georgia’s children.
Revaccination of children who have received the affected Hib vaccine is not required at this time. No concerns have been raised about the effectiveness of the recalled vaccines. The vaccine is being recalled as a precautionary measure because the manufacturing company, Merck & Co., cannot assure sterility for the 10 lots. Sterility tests of samples from the recalled lots have not found any contamination. The potential for contamination of any individual doses of the Hib vaccine is very low.
Georgia received 66,430 doses of the affected Hib vaccine lots. However, only 32,990 doses were actually distributed. The Georgia Department of Human Resources, Division of Public Health has notified and distributed information to the Vaccines for Children program, Medicaid providers and the Georgia Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics about the recall. DHR has also placed an announcement about the recalled vaccine on the Georgia Registry of Immunization Transaction and Services (GRITS).
"We want people to know that this recall is not in response to any health threat for Georgia’s children," said Dr. Stuart Brown, Director of the Division of Public Health. "This recall is a preventive action Merck & Co. is taking to ensure the safety and health of the nation’s children. And kids who received the affected vaccine do not need to be revaccinated."
Merck & Co. initiated a voluntary recall on Wednesday in the United States for ten lots of PedvaxHIB [Haemophilus b Conjugate Vaccine (Meningococcal Protein Conjugate)] and two lots of COMVAX [Haemophilus b Conjugate (Meningococcal Protein Conjugate) and Hepatitis B (Recombinant) Vaccine]. The affected doses were distributed throughout the U.S. starting in April 2007.
Hib is a serious disease caused by bacteria that is commonly present in the nose and throat. It can be transmitted from person to person in droplets through sneezing and coughing. Infected children may carry Hib without showing any signs or symptoms of the illness; however, they can still spread the bacteria to others. Before the Hib vaccine, the disease was the leading cause of bacterial meningitis among children under 5 years old in the United States.
New approach for attacking lupus identified
“The study identifies very good therapeutic targets, and what needs to be done is identify better candidate drugs,” said Lionel Ivashkiv, M.D., director of Basic Research at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. He led the study, which was published online in Nature Immunology on December 16 and will appear in print in February.
Because abnormally high levels of interferon-alpha can lead to lupus, researchers have developed drugs that block interferon. These drugs, however, have immunosuppressive side effects that can leave patients vulnerable to various illnesses and infections, some of which can be deadly. Currently, these drugs are being tested in clinical trials. If researchers are able to develop drugs for the newly identified drug targets, patients may be able to avoid these immunosuppressive effects.
Interferons have two major functions. First, they protect against viruses and second, they regulate immune responses, strengthening immune responses and playing a role in autoimmunity. Different proteins, called STATs, mediate the two functions of IFN. STAT1 mediates the autoimmune and inflammatory functions, and STAT2 mediates the virus protection function. “What we were interested in understanding is how you can regulate the balance between activating the inflammatory effects and the antiviral effects,” Dr. Ivashkiv said. “We thought if we could control the functions of the interferons, that would lead to new therapeutic approaches where you could block specifically some of their functions, but not others.”
The investigators discovered that calcium specifically increases activation of STAT1 by interferons, and thus turned their attention to calcium. The researchers tested whether two kinase enzymes in the calcium-signaling pathway, CAMK and Pyk2, could be manipulated to control STAT1. In studies involving mice, the investigators showed that blocking these calcium-signaling pathways with a drug called KN-93 regulated the amount of STAT1, but not STAT2 activation.
“What we found was that these kinases that are regulated by calcium actually regulate the strength of activation of STAT1 by the interferons, but they do not regulate the strength of activation of STAT2,” said Dr. Ivashkiv. “The idea was if you block these signaling pathways, would you block the STAT1 part, which controls the inflammatory/deleterious effects and preserve the antiviral part. We tested that in an animal model of lupus and we were able to show, in vivo, that you can suppress STAT1 activation by inhibiting the calcium-dependent kinases.”
The researchers say that their work has identified a new therapeutic approach for attacking lupus. “What the companies are trying to develop are, basically, antibodies against the interferons. The concern there is that if you block the interferon completely, patients may become very immunosuppressed and unable to handle viral infections,” Dr. Ivashkiv said. “Our idea is that if you block these calcium pathways, you could block the deleterious effects of the interferon, but maintain the antiviral effects.”
Lupus is an autoimmune disease that can affect various parts of the body, including the skin, joints, heart, lungs, blood, kidneys and brain. Inflammation, considered the primary feature of lupus, is characterized by pain, heat, redness, swelling and loss of function. In most people, the disease affects only a few organs and symptoms are mild, but in others, the disease can cause serious and even life-threatening problems. According to the Lupus Foundation of America, an estimated 16,000 Americans develop lupus each year.
Pakistan Says One Person Dies of H5N1 Bird Flu
Pakistan health officials have confirmed the country's first human fatality caused by H5N1 bird flu. The Health Ministry says the victim worked at a poultry farm in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province, near the border with Afghanistan. Officials say the brother of the man infected with avian influenza also died recently, but he was not tested for the disease. At least five other people from the same border region have recently been confirmed as suffering from the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu. Pakistani authorities say two have recovered, and the remaining patients are in quarantine. The World Health Organization said Saturday it was aware of eight suspected human cases of H5N1 bird flu in Pakistan's Peshawar region. The Geneva-based organisation says it is providing technical support to the country's Health Ministry. WHO says more than 200 people have died of bird flu worldwide since 2003. Some information for this report provided by Reuters. From CDC on Bird Flu What are the risks to humans from the current H5N1 outbreak? So far, spread of H5N1 virus from person to person has been rare, limited and unsustained. Nonetheless, because all influenza viruses have the ability to change, scientists are concerned that H5N1 virus one day could be able to infect humans and spread easily from one person to another. Because these viruses do not commonly infect humans, there is little or no immune protection against them in the human population. If H5N1 virus were to gain the capacity to spread easily from person to person, an influenza pandemic (worldwide outbreak of disease) could begin. No one can predict when a pandemic might occur. However, experts from around the world are watching the H5N1 situation in Asia and Europe very closely and are preparing for the possibility that the virus may begin to spread more easily from person to person.
H5N1 virus does not usually infect people, but more than 200 human cases have been reported. Most of these cases have occurred from direct or close contact with infected poultry or contaminated surfaces; however, a few cases of human-to-human spread of H5N1 virus have occurred.
Bird Flu Outbreak Confirmed In Pakistan
Bird Flu In Pakistan
World Health Organization confirms bird flu influenza in Pakistan as country's Health Ministry informed WHO of eight suspected human cases of H5N1 avian influenza infection in the Peshawar area of the country. These cases were detected following a series of culling operations in response to outbreaks of H5N1 in poultry. One of the cases has now recovered and a further two suspected cases have since died.
Samples taken from the suspected cases have tested positive for H5N1 in the national laboratory and are being forwarded to a WHO H5 Reference Laboratory for confirmation and further analysis. The MoH is taking steps to investigate and contain this event, including case isolation and contact tracing and monitoring, detailed epidemiological investigations, providing oseltamivir for case management and prophylaxis, reviewing hospital infection control measures and enhancing health care-based and community-based surveillance for acute respiratory infections.
WHO is providing technical support to the MoH in epidemiological investigations, reviewing the surveillance, prevention and control measures that have been implemented and carrying out viral sequencing of avian and human isolates.
Multiple poultry outbreaks of H5N1 influenza have been occurring in Pakistan since 2006. In 2007, there have also been outbreaks in wild birds. A majority of the outbreaks discovered have been in the ‘poultry belt’ of North-West Frontier Province, particularly in the Abbottabad and Mansehra area and cases of infection in wild birds have been identified in the Islamabad Capital Territory.
Avian Influenza A (H5N1) Q&A from CDC
What is the avian influenza A (H5N1) virus that has been reported in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Near East?
Influenza A (H5N1) virus – also called “H5N1 virus” – is an influenza A virus subtype that occurs mainly in birds, is highly contagious among birds, and can be deadly to them.
Outbreaks of avian influenza H5N1 occurred among poultry in eight countries in Asia (Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam) during late 2003 and early 2004. At that time, more than 100 million birds in the affected countries either died from the disease or were killed in order to try to control the outbreaks. By March 2004, the outbreak was reported to be under control.
Beginning in June 2004, however, new outbreaks of influenza H5N1 among poultry and wild birds were reported in Asia. Since that time, the virus has spread geographically. Reports of H5N1 infection in wild birds in Europe began in mid-2005. In early 2006, influenza A H5N1 infection in wild birds and poultry were reported in Africa and the Near East.
Human cases of influenza A (H5N1) infection have been reported in Azerbaijan, Cambodia, China, Djibouti, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Kuwait, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Nigeria, Thailand, Turkey, and Vietnam. For the most current information about avian influenza and cumulative case numbers, see the World Health Organization Avian Influenza website.
What are the risks to humans from the current H5N1 outbreak?
H5N1 virus does not usually infect people, but more than 200 human cases have been reported. Most of these cases have occurred from direct or close contact with infected poultry or contaminated surfaces; however, a few cases of human-to-human spread of H5N1 virus have occurred.
So far, spread of H5N1 virus from person to person has been rare, limited and unsustained. Nonetheless, because all influenza viruses have the ability to change, scientists are concerned that H5N1 virus one day could be able to infect humans and spread easily from one person to another. Because these viruses do not commonly infect humans, there is little or no immune protection against them in the human population.
If H5N1 virus were to gain the capacity to spread easily from person to person, an influenza pandemic (worldwide outbreak of disease) could begin. No one can predict when a pandemic might occur. However, experts from around the world are watching the H5N1 situation in Asia and Europe very closely and are preparing for the possibility that the virus may begin to spread more easily from person to person.
How is infection with H5N1 virus in humans treated?
Most H5N1 viruses that have caused human illness and death appear to be resistant to amantadine and rimantadine, two antiviral medications commonly used for treatment of patients with influenza. Two other antiviral medications, oseltamivir and zanamavir, would probably work to treat influenza caused by H5N1 virus, but additional studies are needed to demonstrate their current and ongoing effectiveness.
Is there a vaccine to protect people from some strains of the H5N1 virus?
Yes. On April 17, 2007, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced its approval of the first vaccine to prevent human infection with one strain of the avian influenza (bird flu) H5N1 virus. The vaccine, produced by sanofi pasteur, Inc., has been purchased by the federal government for the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile; it will be distributed by public-health officials if needed. This vaccine will not be made commercially available to the general public. Other H5N1 vaccines are being developed by other companies against different H5N1 strains.
What is the benefit of the FDA-approved H5N1 vaccine produced by sanofi pasteur Inc?
The H5N1 vaccine approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on April 17, 2007, was developed as a safeguard against the possible emergence of an H5N1 pandemic virus. However, since the H5N1 virus is not a pandemic virus since it does not transmit efficiently from person to person, the H5N1 vaccine is being held in stockpiles rather than being used by the general public . This vaccine aids H5N1 preparedness efforts in case an H5N1 pandemic virus were to emerge.
What does CDC recommend regarding H5N1 virus?
In February 2004, CDC provided U.S. public health departments with recommendations for enhanced surveillance (“detection”) of H5N1 influenza in the country. Follow-up messages, distributed via the Health Alert Network, were sent to the health departments on August 12, 2004, February 4, 2005, and June 7, 2006; all three notices reminded public health departments about recommendations for detecting (domestic surveillance), diagnosing, and preventing the spread of H5N1 virus. The notices also recommended measures for laboratory testing for H5N1 virus.
Does CDC recommend travel restrictions to areas with known H5N1 outbreaks?
CDC does not recommend any travel restrictions to affected countries at this time. However, CDC currently advises that travelers to countries with known outbreaks of H5N1 influenza avoid poultry farms, contact with animals in live food markets, and any surfaces that appear to be contaminated with feces from poultry or other animals.