Tips To reduce the Health Risk of Daylight saving time

Daylight saving time comes to an end this weekend, meaning a precious extra hour of sleep. A recent poll shows nearly a quarter people surveyed would use that time to get that extra hour of sleep, another twenty-eight per cent said they would get some much needed work done around the house. Twenty per cent said they would spend more time with family and friends, but only eight per cent said they would devote the extra hour to community service. The official time change is 2 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 6.,2011. With most people moving their clocks and watches back one hour before going to bed Saturday night. Making sure they are not late for church services or other Sunday morning activities.

For some people, it is not easy winding the clock forward by one hour as part of the daylight saving schedule. There are those who complain that daylight saving time affects their health, mood and body clocks, and that their sleeping patterns are out of synchronization. Furthermore, a recent study found a link between heart attack incidences and daylight saving time. However, researchers have suggested a number of possible solutions in combating the physiological effects of the daylight saving changes.

Daylight saving and Health Issues

Many people say that daylight saving time affects their sleeping patterns and body clocks. Drowsiness, headaches and additional stress are among the complaints given by those who feel negatively affected by daylight saving time.

Heart Attack

Researcher found that incidences of heart attacks increased significantly for the first three week days after the transition to daylight saving time in the spring. In contrast, there were fewer incidences of heart attacks after the transition from daylight saving to standard time in the autumn. The study found that the most plausible explanation for the findings is the adverse effect of sleep deprivation on cardiovascular health.

Sleep pattern

Moreover, the study reported that transitions into daylight saving time could disrupt chronobiologic rhythms and influence the duration and quality of sleep, which lasts for many days after the shifts. According to the researchers, the study also provides a possible explanation for heart attacks most commonly occurring on Mondays. This study, titled Shifts to and from Daylight Saving Time and Incidence of Myocardial Infarction, was conducted by Imre Janszky and Rickard Ljungand and was published in The New England Journal of Medicine on October 30, 2008.

Another study, printed in Current Biology in 2007 and titled The Human Circadian Clock's Seasonal Adjustment Is Disrupted by Daylight Saving Time, indicates that the human circadian system does not adjust to daylight saving time and that its seasonal adaptation to the changing photoperiods is disrupted by the introduction of summer time. This disruption may extend to other aspects of seasonal biology in humans.

Mental health/suicides

Two studies give a different light to the impact of daylight saving time on the human condition, particularly regarding mental health. Both studies were published in 2008. One study linked daylight saving time with suicide rates, while the other study found that it had no effect on manic episodes.

The first study, titled Small shifts in diurnal rhythms are associated with an increase in suicide: The effect of daylight saving, used Australian suicide data from 1971 to 2001 to determine the impact on the number of suicides of a one-hour time shift due to daylight saving. The results confirm that male suicide rates rise in the weeks following the commencement of daylight saving compared to the weeks following the return to Eastern Standard Time (EST) and for the rest of the year. After adjusting for the season, prior to 1986 suicide rates in the weeks following the end of daylight saving remained significantly increased compared to the rest of autumn. This study suggests that small changes in chronobiological rhythms are potentially destabilizing in vulnerable individuals.

Manic episodes

The other study, called Daylight saving time transitions and hospital treatments due to accidents or manic episodes, found that transitions into or out of daylight saving time had no significant effect on the incidence of accidents or manic episodes. The study explored transitions in and out of daylight saving time and its effect on accidents and manic episodes in Finland during 1987 to 2003.

What are Health Solutions?

1.Brisk walk

Exercise in form of a brisk walk or run can help people adjust to the advanced clocks. Biologist David Glass of Kent State University (cited in ABC News) suggests that a brisk walk or run stimulates the serotonin release in the brain and other types of neurotransmitters that will phase-advance the clock.

2.Exposure to bright natural light

Another suggestion is to gain exposure to bright natural light for an hour or two. According to Harvard University Gazette, people can adjust their daily rhythms by sitting in front of "light boxes", which are banks of fluorescent bulbs that emit two to three times more light than found in a typical room at home. This type of light is bright white light.

3.Low dosage melatonin

Researcher suggest that to take low dosage melatonin supplements to boost melatonin levels, as melatonin regulates cycles of sleep and wakefulness (although it is best to consult with a qualified health care professional on this matter); and to eat earlier – tricking the body to think it is later by eating dinner early (and avoiding caffeine and alcohol) may help to fall asleep sooner.

4.Using medical devices

On another health note, in March 2008 Health Canada reminded people using medical devices or systems with internal clocks to check that they continued to worked properly during the daylight saving switch. Examples of medical devices that could be affected by the change include (but are not limited to): implanted pacemakers/defibrillators with sleep modes that can only be adjusted by physicians; holter monitors, used to continuously record heartbeat; and glucose monitors that store data on glucose levels. Though users of these devices may be inconvenienced by the need to reset equipment timers, there is no safety risk to users of these devices, according to Health Canada.

Note:This blog provides general information only. Information on this site is not a substitute for professional health care advice

Video game Players Are More Creative and A New Effective Treatment for Cystic Fibrosis

So at last we all know that all Video games are not bad….

Best Sellers

Video Games

Updated hourly

	1. 172 days in the top 100 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Activision Publishing Xbox 360 $59.99 Click for details
	2. 170 days in the top 100 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Activision Publishing PlayStation 3 $59.99 Click for details
	3. Ranking has gone up in the past 24 hours 129 days in the top 100 Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception Sony Computer Entertainment PlayStation 3 $59.99
	4. Ranking has gone down in the past 24 hours 148 days in the top 100 Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Bethesda Xbox 360 $59.99
	5. 42 days in the top 100 Just Dance 3 UBI Soft Nintendo Wii $39.99 $33.96
	6. Ranking has gone up in the past 24 hours 97 days in the top 100 Batman: Arkham City Warner Bros PlayStation 3 $59.99 $54.96
	7. Ranking has gone down in the past 24 hours 164 days in the top 100 Battlefield 3 Electronic Arts Xbox 360 $59.95 $58.99
	8. Ranking has gone up in the past 24 hours 96 days in the top 100 Batman: Arkham City Warner Bros Xbox 360 $59.99 $54.96
	9. Ranking has gone down in the past 24 hours 87 days in the top 100 Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Bethesda PlayStation 3 $59.99
	10. Ranking has gone down in the past 24 hours 142 days in the top 100 Battlefield 3 Electronic Arts PlayStation 3 $59.95 $58.99

Both boys and girls who play video games tend to be more creative, regardless of whether the games are violent or nonviolent, according to new research by Michigan State University scholars.A study of nearly 500 12-year-olds found that the more kids played video games, the more creative they were in tasks such as drawing pictures and writing stories. In contrast, use of cell phones, the Internet and computers (other than for video games) was unrelated to creativity, the study found.

Linda Jackson, professor of psychology and lead researcher on the project, said the study appears to be the first evidence-based demonstration of a relationship between technology use and creativity. About 72 percent of U.S. households play video or computer games, according to the Entertainment Software Association.The MSU findings should motivate game designers to identify the aspects of video game activity that are responsible for the creative effects, Jackson said.“Once they do that, video games can be designed to optimize the development of creativity while retaining their entertainment values such that a new generation of video games will blur the distinction between education and entertainment,” Jackson said. The researchers surveyed 491 middle-school students as part of MSU’s Children and Technology Project, which is funded by the National Science Foundation. The survey assessed how often the students used different forms of technology and gauged their creativity with the widely used Torrance Test of Creativity-Figural.The Torrance test involved tasks such as drawing an “interesting and exciting” picture from a curved shape, giving the picture a title and then writing a story about it.In addition, the study found that boys played video games more than girls, and that boys favored games of violence and sports while girls favored games involving interaction with others (human or nonhuman).

Yet, regardless of gender, race or type of game played by the students, the study found a relation between video game playing and greater creativity. (Source: Computers in Human Behavior).

New And Effective Treatment for Cystic Fibrosis (ivacaftor (VX-770)

This drug is good hope for people suffering from Cystic Fibrosis…

A new study has confirmed that the drug, ivacaftor (VX-770), significantly improves lung function in some people with cystic fibrosis (CF). The results of the phase III clinical trial study, “A CFTR Potentiator in Patients with Cystic Fibrosis and the G551D Mutation,” led by Bonnie W. Ramsey, MD of Seattle Children’s Research Institute and the University of Washington, were published today in the New England Journal of Medicine.Ivacaftor, also known as VX-770, was developed by Vertex Pharmaceuticals with financial support from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. The oral medicine targets the defective protein produced by the gene mutation called G551D that causes CF.  Researchers found that patients carrying G551D – approximately four per cent of all CF patients – who were treated with VX-770 showed a 17 per cent relative improvement in lung function that was sustained over the course of 48 weeks.Additionally, patients with G551D treated with VX-770 showed improvements in other areas critically important to the health of people with CF. Study participants experienced significant reductions in sweat chloride levels indicating an improvement in the body’s ability to carry salt in and out of cells – a process which when defective leads to CF. They also experienced decreased respiratory distress symptoms and improved weight gain.  Those who received VX-770 gained on average seven pounds compared to those in the placebo group who gained approximately one pound. This is significant because many people with CF have difficulty gaining and maintaining weight due to reduced lung function and chronic infection.

“Our study shows that we are now able to improve the quality of life for cystic fibrosis patients with the G551D mutation with the administration of VX-770,” said Dr. Ramsey, director of the Center for Clinical and Translational Research at Seattle Children’s Research Institute and endowed chair in Cystic Fibrosis (CF) in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine.Dr. Ramsey and co-investigators evaluated lung function in patients 12 years or older who carry at least one copy of the G551D mutation. The study included 161 patients at multiple healthcare centers who received at least one dose of VX-770 or placebo. The study is the third and final in a series designed to assess VX-770’s effectiveness and safety before it is approved for public use.Dr. Ramsey and co-investigators evaluated lung function in patients 12 years or older who carry at least one copy of the G551D mutation. The study included 161 patients at multiple healthcare centers who received at least one dose of VX-770 or placebo. The study is the third and final in a series designed to assess VX-770’s effectiveness and safety before it is approved for public use.  (Source-New England Journal of Medicine)

Warning- A few drinks a week linked to Danger of breast cancer

Womens please watch your Wine or Beer Intake…

Women who drink just a few glasses of wine or beer a week may have a slightly increased breast cancer risk, researchers said Tuesday.Their findings are based on more than 100,000 nurses followed over three decades and add weight to earlier studies linking alcohol to breast cancer and other tumours. "Even at low levels of alcohol consumption, three to six drinks per week, we found a modest increase in risk," said Dr. Wendy Chen of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, whose findings appear in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

And, she added, "There wasn't a particular period in which it was safe to drink alcohol."But before you put away the Pinot, there are some important caveats to consider.First; it wasn't a huge effect -- about 15 per cent higher risk among drinkers compared with teetotalers. For example, even among women who sipped three to six glasses of wine per week, only 3.3 per cent would develop breast cancer over 10 years. That compares to 2.8 per cent of abstainers and 3.5 per cent of women having up to 13 drinks a week.

Second, there is still no ironclad proof that alcohol itself is to blame, even though the researchers did their best to rule out competing explanations such as smoking or older age. They also adjusted for other influences on breast cancer risk, like whether or not a woman has had children and breastfed."This is an observational study, so we really can't say anything definite about cause and effect," Chen, also of Harvard Medical School, told Reuters Health.Still, she believes the link between drinking and increased breast cancer risk is likely to be causal. Alcohol raises estrogen levels, which play a role in the development of many breast tumours.Overall, the researchers estimate that if drinking really does promote breast cancer, it might be responsible for 10 per cent of all cases in the U.S."The recommendation would not be to stop drinking altogether, but to keep it below the range of three to six glasses a week," Chen said, adding that going over that limit occasionally -- say, during vacation -- would be alright.

But that's not the end of the story because some research suggests a drink a day may be beneficial for the heart.

Just recently, one study of women showed that both light and heavy drinkers lived longer after a heart attack than abstainers.

"One drink a day is a really good target, assuming that a person can be disciplined about that," Dr. James O'Keefe, a cardiologist at St. Luke's Health System in Kansas City, Missouri, told Reuters Health last week.In an editorial published along with the latest findings, Dr. Steven Narod of the Women's College Research Institute in Toronto said the results probably aren't relevant for women with breast cancer. And even for women without the disease, the picture is murky."There are no data to provide assurance that giving up alcohol will reduce breast cancer risk," writes Narod. "Furthermore, women who abstain from all alcohol may find that a potential benefit of lower breast cancer risk is more than offset by the relinquished benefit of reduced cardiovascular mortality associated with an occasional glass of red wine."Chen acknowledged those shortcomings and said her group is currently studying the link between drinking and death from any cause, as well as whether people who stop drinking have a lower risk than those who don't.

(SOURCE: Journal of the American Medical Association)

Wow-How a bacteria will work as a Living Antibiotic

This is very good news for human beings and bad news for other bad bacteria or pathogens.

A vampire-like bacteria that leeches onto specific other bacteria – including certain human pathogens – has the potential to serve as a living antibiotic for a range of infectious diseases, a new study indicates. The bacterium, Micavibrio aeruginosavorus, was discovered to inhabit wastewater nearly 30 years ago, but has not been extensively studied because it is difficult to culture and investigate using traditional microbiology techniques. However, biologists in the University of Virginia’s College of Arts & Sciences, Martin Wu and graduate student Zhang Wang, have decoded its genome and are learning “how it makes its living,” Wu said.The bacterium “makes its living” by seeking out prey – certain other bacteria – and then attaching itself to its victim’s cell wall and essentially sucking out nutrients. Unlike most other bacteria, which draw nutrients from their surroundings, M. aeruginosavorus can survive and propagate only by drawing its nutrition from specific prey bacteria. This kills the prey – making it a potentially powerful agent for destroying pathogens.One bacterium it targets is Pseudomonas aeruginosavorus, which is a chief cause of serious lung infections in cystic fibrosis patients.“Pathologists may eventually be able to use this bacterium to fight fire with fire, so to speak, as a bacterium that will aggressively hunt for and attack certain other bacteria that are extremely harmful to humans,” Wu said.His study, detailing the DNA sequence of M. aeruginosavorus, is published online in the journal BMC Genomics. It provides new insights to the predatory lifestyle of the bacterium and a better understanding of the evolution of bacterial predation in general.

“We used cutting-edge genomic technology in our lab to decode this bacterium’s genome,” Wu said. “We are particularly interested in the molecular mechanisms that allow it to hunt for and attack prey. This kind of investigation would have been extremely difficult and expensive to do only a few years ago.” He noted that overuse of traditional antibiotics, which work by either inhibiting bacteria propagation or interfering with cell wall formation, are creating so-called “super bugs” that have developed resistances to treatment strategies. He suggests that new approaches are needed for attacking pathogens without building up their resistance.Additionally, because M. aeruginosavorus is so selective a feeder, it is harmless to the thousands of beneficial bacteria that dwell in the general environment and in the human body.“It is possible that a living antibiotic such as M. aeruginosavorus – because it so specifically targets certain pathogens – could potentially reduce our dependence on traditional antibiotics and help mitigate the drug-resistance problem we are now facing,” Wu said.Another benefit of the bacterium is its ability to swim through viscous fluids, such as mucus. P. aeruginosavorus, the bacterium that colonizes the lungs of cystic fibrosis patients, creates a glue-like biofilm, enhancing its resistance to traditional antibiotics. Wu noted that the living cells of M. aeruginosavorus can swim through mucus and biofilm and attack P. aeruginosavorus.M. aeruginosavorus also might have industrial uses, such as reducing bacteria that form biofilms in piping, and for medical devices, such as implants that are susceptible to the formation of biofilms.

Wu said M. aeruginosavorus requires further study for a more thorough understanding of its gene functions. He said genetic engineering would be required to tailor the predatory attributes of the bacterium to specific uses in the treatment of disease.

“We have a map now to work with, and we will see where it leads,” he said.

Wu and Wang’s co-author is Daniel E. Kadouri, a researcher at the New Jersey Dental School. Kadouri is interested in M. aeruginosavorus as an agent for fighting oral biofilms, such as plaque. (Journal ,BMC Genomics.)