During a recent experimental brain surgery to control the appetite of an obese man the doctors made an accidental breakthrough that may very well unlock how your memory works. It was simply a side-effect of the treatment of obesity, but the memory stimulation could potentially pave the road to treat Alzheimer's disease.
The doctors pushed electrodes deep into the hypothalamus - the section of the brain thought to control appetite - and stimulated it with an electric current. Instead of suppressing the patient's hunger, the deep brain stimulation unlocked vivid memories of an experience 30 years earlier. This result was nothing short of amazing and has raised the possibility of a pacemaker for the brain. It has also created a path of study now underway for patients with early Alzheimer's disease.
Professor Andes Lozano, lead researcher of the Toronto Western Hospital, explained that after his team planted the electrodes, memory was most intense near the fornix, a grouping of fibers that carry single signals within the limbic system, which is involved in memory and emotions and is situated next to the hypothalamus.
The patient recalled in detail being in a park with friends and then his girlfriend back when he was about 20. As the electric pulses intensified he was able to relate the scene more vividly. After surgery, the patient recovered for two months, after which the electrodes were fitted in a second time. More tests showed that his ability to learn was significantly improved when the current was switched on and his brain was stimulated. It soon became clear that the patient performed well in memory tests when the electrodes were stimulated but less when they were switched off.
Professor Lozano, who also teaches neurosurgery at the University of Toronto and is a world authority on DPS, stated that the approach could only address the symptom of forgetfulness. It would not modify the course of the disease but could still prove a useful tool in the fight against dementia. "It gives us insight into which brain structures are involved in memory," Professor Lozano said. "It gives us a means of intervening in the way we have already done in Parkinson's and for mood disorders such as depression, and it may have therapeutic benefit in people with memory problems."
The technique is now being studied on six Alzheimer's patients in an initial pilot research. Only three patients could afford to have the device surgically implanted. Rebecca Wood, Chief Executive of the Alzheimer's Research Trust, stated that she is keeping a close eye on this research as it will be interesting to see whether this method offers any benefit to people with Alzheimer's.
Though accidental, this 'discovery' was greatly appreciated and research is already underway to confirm its use as the Alzheimer's population is expected to double among baby boomers. It has become an amazing achievement in the ongoing battle to tackle the disease and we look forward to its effectiveness on our beloved relatives.
We at Boomer Yearbook are excited and thrilled by the prospect of this type of Alzheimer's treatment. We'd love to hear your thoughts.
www.boomeryearbook.com is a social networking site connecting the Baby Boomer generation. Share your thoughts, rediscover old friends, or expand your mind with brain games provided by clinical psychologist Dr. Karen Turner. Join today to discover the many ways we are helping Boomers connect for fun and profit.
If you or a close of friend of yours is suffering from anorexia you already know how this medical condition can affect your life. You'll need to know as much as you can about anorexia since the more informed you are about what's happening to your mind and body the better chance you have of succeeding at treatment.
Anorexia describes a condition where a person decides that they are too fat and therefore they decide that they won't maintain what should be a normal body weight for their body type and height.
Anorexia usually affects females but there have been many cases where young males have been affected as well. Most people suffering from anorexia will weigh considerably less than then should often by as much as 85% less than what they should weigh to remain healthy. Most females will stop having regular menstrual periods since the entire health of their body is jeopardized from the condition of anorexia.
Young girls suffering from anorexia will have a very poor body image and will think that they are too fat when they don't actually have any fat on their body. This poor body image affects everything that they do in life.
There are other medical complications that occur when someone has anorexia. Some of these other medical conditions include depression, heart problems, low blood pressures, headaches, and in inability to conceive.
Anyone who has anorexia should seek the help of their doctor so that can seek counseling. The problem is that most girls who have anorexia refuse to admit that they have a problem in the first place. If you know someone who has anorexia you may have to have an intervention of some kind to help them realize that they have an eating disorder.
Be prepared for a great deal of denial since admitting that they have an eating disorder means that they have to start eating and most anorexics will do anything not to have to eat.
About the Author: James Hunt has spent 15 years as a professional writer and researcher covering stories that cover a whole spectrum of interest.
Read more at www.anorexia-help-guide.com
Take a step back for just a moment and look at just how you are feeling today. Do you have the energy you think you should have? Are you just not motivated? Are you just plain tired from the long work week?
This is all too common, especially among the baby boomer generation. These are the years that the fatigue just creeps in, the health issues just start popping up, the diabetes is now diagnosed, or the extra weight is now more noticeable. Whatever the problems, chronic fatigue, obesity, joint pain, high blood pressure, the list goes on but one thing is for sure, it affects the quality of our lives. We no longer enjoy the things we used to and that then plays on our emotional health as well.
We go on day after day resigning ourselves to the fact that we just have to live with whatever it is that is slowing us down. NOT TRUE! Regardless of the circumstance, there is no reason why every baby boomer cannot enjoy better quality of life no matter what the ailments are.
Each person is different but there are numerous products on the market today that will "claim" just about everything to get you to make that purchase! Well it is time for you to take your own quality of life into your own hands and do the research to find what will work for you! There are many, but keep in mind, do your research! Get informed you cannot afford to waste your money in today's economic situation on products that will sit on the shelf at home.
The only claims that should really get your attention are the ones that say, results vary from person to person. You should also look at whether or not they offer some sort of satisfaction guarantee or money back guarantee. Read the fine print! The most important thing you must consider is, are you going to actually utilize the product or supplement for any length of time? And, do you have unrealistic goals on what any particular product will do for you?
If you look at it this way, it took years for all you baby boomers to end up where you are now, so keep the realistic view that it will not be an overnight "phenomenon" for any product to change your current condition, ailment or obesity issue. Look for the subtle changes, keep a log of what your goals are for bettering your quality of life and give yourself 6 months to a year to really see "the difference" with any product or supplement. And put forth the effort to do what you need to do to assist in the outcome of what it is that you desire. Whether that be walking, changing your eating habits or just plain changing your lifestyle altogether there are no miracle "cures" that will do this for you without your added efforts to go along with it.
Your health is IMPORTANT! What are you willing to do to change the quality of YOUR life?
Alzheimer's Prevention - Will You Take the Steps Necessary to Avoid Alzheimer's?
Buddies, boomers and readers, I came across this excellent article and would like to post it here to be shared among all people especially the boomers
By Jorge G. Chavez
Alzheimer''s Disease (AD) is a terrible disease. It destroys your mind, leaving your family to suffer with your slowly dying body. Whatever your life expectancy at the time, a diagnosis of AD cuts it in half. The average patient spends the last 8 years of his "life" in a care facility and dies not knowing his own name...
There is no cure, but we are learning more and more about AD. There is a genetic link, but it is not absolute, only a predisposition to the disease, as it is with diabetes and heart disease. If AD hit someone in your family, it is more likely to someday hit you, but environmental elements make a huge difference...
So much so that while one sibling (even a twin) may contract AD, another, with a different lifestyle, may not. The evidence strongly suggests that by taking proper steps for Alzheimer's prevention you have an excellent chance of avoiding the disease completely, whatever your genetic factors.
It is still not known for sure whether the beta amyloid plaques and tau protein tangles in the brain, the hallmark of AD, are causes of the disease or results of it. But we do know that they start to form years, decades, before the first symptoms appear. So any Alzheimer's prevention steps you take should start early.
Alzheimer's disease researchers are working feverishly to develop a cure for AD. But it is likely that any "cure" for AD will be found in Alzheimer's prevention. No cure is likely to restore dead brain cells or the memories they contained. The most that can be hoped for is to stop the progression of AD. If an eventual cure is going to help you, you will need to have enough viable brain cells left, when the cure becomes available, to be salvageable! Thus Alzheimer's prevention now becomes critical.
O.K. So what can you do? How can you make Alzheimer's prevention work for you?
First off, look to your circulation and general health. What's good for your heart is generally also good for your brain. So watch your diet, control your weight, control your blood pressure and cholesterol levels and exercise regularly.
Secondly, get good nutrition and plenty of the nutrients needed. We used to think (many still do) that vitamins, etc. are only needed in low levels to prevent disease. Now we are beginning to understand that long-term low levels may constitute a chronic deprivation of these essential nutrients.
This chronic deprivation seems to lead to slower developing ailments such as heart disease, diabetes and AD. For example, high levels of the toxic protein homocystein in the blood is strongly linked to both heart disease and AD. Homocystein levels can be reduced easily with enough B-vitamins and cofactors.
The cost of enough B-vitamins, etc. to control the homocystein concentration is trivial. A few cents a day. No one tells you about it because they don't know. Or maybe because they can't make any money selling you such a cheap solution to Alzheimer's prevention!
Third (and most important), make it a point to be well informed. It's your body, it's your life. No one else cares as much as you do. As the owner and operator of one human body (that comes with a lifetime guarantee but no operator's manual!) its maintenance and care are up to you.
This matter is much too important to be left in the hands of others. Others who, while they may be sympathetic, have their own different concerns and different agendas. For them it's a living. For you, it's a matter of life and death! Alzheimer's prevention for your body is your responsibility.
For more information About Alzheimer's prevention and what you can do about it, follow the links below...
For more information about Alzheimers disease research and Alzheimers prevention, visit: Alzheimers Prevention
To learn more about Alzheimers Treatment and prevention, visit: Alzheimers Disease Research
Jorge G. Chavez is an experienced independent Alzheimer's researcher. Sign up for our newsletter to stay informed. Receive valuable free reports! Just follow either of the links above and click on "Newsletter" in the navigation menu.
Joint pain is the leading cause of disability across the United States. It is estimated that 48
million people suffer from debilitating joint pain due to a form of arthritis. This figure is projected to reach 67 million by the year 2030 (CDC). Retired people, people with old sports injuries and America's rising overweight population contribute to these statistics leading to an increasing demand for joint health supplements. But by far, the chief factor that is expected to give further boost to the joint supplement industry is the aging of the baby boomers.
Every 7 seconds a baby boomer turns 55. This aging population is looking for health products that will offer them a way to delay or manage age-related diseases. Baby boomers account for 15% of the sale of special category dietary supplements. Nutritional supplement manufacturers would do well to consider gearing their products for this generation which has added double digit growth sales to the nutritional supplement industry.
Joint health products containing glucosamine and chondroitin are among the top ten dietary supplements in the United States. According to the Nutrition Business Journal, annual sales in 2007, was $831 million.
The total dietary supplement industry is estimated at $23.7 billion which means that revenue from supplements containing glucosamine or chondroitin accounted for about four percent of the sales.
The reasons for this could be three-fold:
More baby boomers are approaching middle age and find themselves prone to joint health disorders.
Preventive health measures and self-treatment provided by the use of nutritional supplements are gaining popularity, as indicated by growing statistics.
More scientific research supports the use of dietary supplements.
More Baby Boomers Are Turning to Joint Support Products
In 1995, it was evaluated that people, 50 and older, could have avoided hip fractures simply by taking a daily dose of calcium supplements. This would have saved them $2.6 billion in direct medical expenses (Adrienne Bendich et al in Clinical Therapeutics, 1999).
Joint health affects the economy as well. Loss of productivity at work due to debilitating joint pain and its related medical costs work out to an approximate $85 million loss. These statistics are on the rise and the Center for Chronic Disease (CDC) estimates that in 20 years, one-third of all arthritis patients will be in the category of 45 to 64 years. Joint pain could hinder such people from their normal daily activities unless preventive, proactive measures are taken today.
Ever since the GAIT testing in 2006 (Glucosamine/Chondroitin Arthritis Intervention Trial) which showed two ingredients, Glucosamine and Chondroitin, help reduce mild to severe joint pain due to osteoarthritis as against placebos, the sale of glucosamine and chondroitin has risen by 3.5 percent. In fact bone/joint health has become the second largest segment by volume, after multi-vitamins. This will grow as more baby boomers age.
Awareness of joint health issues has led baby boomers and the aged to realize that joint pain can be treated and progression of joint disease can be delayed by dietary supplements such as glucosamine sulfate, and other well-researched herbs and natural ingredients.
Joint Support Product Manufacturers
Growing consumer demand has given a big boost to the joint supplement industry. If you are thinking of manufacturing joint health supplement, take time to consider the right formula with ingredients that have been researched well.
Other factors to consider in this consumer-driven industry are ease of use or convenience of product. Consumers are more likely to choose products that are easy to take and fit in to their busy schedules. You may want to consult a quality contract manufacturer for formulation of your joint support product. Choose one who holds a high premium for integrity and quality as much as you do.
About the Author:
Nutricap Labs is a full service vitamin supplement manufacturing service. We primarily manufacture nutritional tablets, capsules, powders, liquids and creams,vitamin supplements but we also offer label and packaging design services and order fulfillment services to our customers.
Current trends indicate baby boomers are going to be living longer
than our ancestors. And, with living longer, the baby boomers road to
health becomes an important issue.
We all want all want to maintain the benefits a healthy life has to
offer. Baby boomers are no different. However, as we age our immune
system becomes more and more depleted of it's ability to protect
ourselves against viruses and bacteria. Preventative measures may very
well be our wake-up call to maintain overall health.
Baby boomers should know one of the most nutritious and powerful
foods in the world is the Acai berry. The Acai berry has been used for
centuries by the people of the Amazon rain forest to increase strength
and stamina. It's beneficial effects are well documented and merits
considerable consideration by baby boomers who want to continue along a
healthy pathway to their road of health.
Dr. Barnett Meltzer who has shared Acai with his patients views the
Acai berry as a super-food. He states, "I've shared Acai with my
patients and I see them improving their attitude, their mood and their
health. When people start taking it, they not only feel better, their
attitude improves, their brain chemistry improves, and their mood
improves. So I see it as a kind of super-food because of physical
effects on the immune system, and it's mental effects in improving
attitude and mood."
Baby boomers road to health needs that extra edge. We need that
boost for health purposes. "We not only want to lead a healthier life,
we want to feel better during our golden years, "said one baby boomer.
"Perhaps this is the natural medical breakthrough I've been searching
for."
Baby boomers want to retire happy. To retire happy we need to have a
healthy existence. Our health effects the way our everyday life is
lived, the way we feel, the way we think, the way we are. Without our
health we begin to have challenges upon challenges.
Baby boomers road to health is becoming an increasingly everyday regime throughout the world.
For further information about Baby Boomers Road to Health contact....
Baby boomer health is a big issue for today's seniors. The oldest baby boomers will celebrate their 65th birthdays in 2011. Fortunately the focus is not so much on which of the many ailments people will be stricken with and how soon, as it is on: how do we slow the aging process and maintain a high quality of life.
Boomers are the generation most terrified of getting old. In addition, almost two-thirds of baby boomers thought the best years of their life were already behind them, compared with just 48 per cent of their parents. Rather than rely on their families to care for them in retirement, researchers say Baby Boomers will face a new set of challenges in order to stay healthy longer. Aging baby boomers will drive health-care innovation Products which will be developed to serve the "geezer boom".
But despite this, the average baby boomer's health is worse today than adults 20 years ago. That's why much of the talk about Baby boomer health revolves around keeping mentally and physically fit. The bad news is that Canada's Heart and Stroke Foundation indicates that baby boomer's health is increasingly compromised because of their sedentary lifestyle and a soaring obesity rate.
So what do we do about that ? We look back at the diet & lifestyles of our parents and possibly their parents. What do we find? Generations that,in most cases, worked hard physically to provide for their families and, in the absence of frozen dinners,ready made dishes,fast food,etc., meals were prepared in the home with proven recipes and fresh ingredients. The obesity rate was obviously much lower than current times due to better nutrition and much more exercise.
Then what happened ? Along came us baby boomers who grew up in a fast changing world of modern inventions ,gadgets,fast cars and fast food. At the same time, our parents worked hard to provide many things for us that they never had when they grew up. We became the spoiled, "Me Generation". And now, when we want something, we want it right now and we certainly will not sacrifice for something or wait for anything.
We refuse to get old or accept that process. We want the health,vitality, and vigor we had in our twenties and we are willing to buy it if necessary. While most of us scramble around looking for that fountain of youth invention,gadget, or potion,....the answer lies in our past and what we have chosen to forget.
We simply have to understand that our Quality of Life depends on the right balance of diet,exercise, and possibly common sense. Yes, health care costs,drug costs, and treatment costs have gone through the roof and is severely impacting this nation. However, much more of our individual futures are up to good choices that we are all able to make. No, we will not be twenty again. But we can have enough health & vigor at our current age that we wouldn't want to be twenty again.
Let's not expect something or someone else to make our choices for us or to fix every mistake we might make. Let's try to understand that our future Quality of Life is more heavily dependent on our own sensible choices in many areas, than it is on someone or something else doing everything for us.
As baby boomers, we were given so much as we grew up. Maybe that is part of our problem. But, it is not a problem that we cannot overcome. Our best years can truly be ahead of us if we can learn to accept ourselves and understand how much control we really have over our lives by the choices we make.
Let's embrace a bright future ahead for all of us baby boomers and enjoy each new day.
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