Heart Disease

Insufficient or interrupted sleep may have more of an impact than smoking history in patients with a progressive lung disease, according to a study. Researchers at the University of California-San Francisco found that for patients with COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), inadequate sleep may boost their risk of a flare-up by up to 95 per cent compared to those with good sleep. Over time, these flare-ups, which manifest with worsening shortness of breath and cough, may cause irreversible lung damage, and accelerate disease progression and mortality. The findings appeared in the journal 'SLEEP'. The research shows sleep deprivation is associated with a drop in infection-fighting antibodies and protective cytokines, said Aaron Baugh, a clinical fellow at the UCSF Division of Pulmonary Research Institute. The researchers followed 1,647 patients with confirmed COPD. They recorded flare-ups, defined as short-term worsening of symptoms requiring treatment, and compared their incidence with self-reported data on sleep quality. Pulmonologist Neeta Thakur from the UCSF School of Medicine said that questions about sleep are often overlooked by physicians evaluating patients with COPD.  "Sleep hygiene and sleep aids may significantly improve their health," she said, adding: "Sleep should be considered both in the clinic and at the wider community/neighbourhood level, where the structural factors that contribute to worse sleep can be addressed."  (Agency) Read More► Human Brains are Hotter Than Thought, Particularly Women's: Study

London: Older adults who start to experience bad dreams or nightmares could be exhibiting the earliest signs of Parkinson's disease, according to a study. The study, published in eClinicalMedicine, showed that in a cohort of older men, individuals experiencing frequent bad dreams were twice as likely to be later diagnosed with Parkinson's as those who did not. Previous studies have shown that people with Parkinson's disease experience nightmares and bad dreams more frequently than adults in the general population, but using nightmares as a risk indicator for Parkinson's has not previously been considered. "Although it can be really beneficial to diagnose Parkinson's disease early, there are very few risk indicators and many of these require expensive hospital tests or are very common and non-specific, such as diabetes," said lead author Dr. Abidemi Otaiku from the University of Birmingham, UK. "While we need to carry out further research in this area, identifying the significance of bad dreams and nightmares could indicate that individuals who experience changes to their dreams in older age without any obvious trigger should seek medical advice," Otaiku added. The team used data from a large cohort study from the US, which contained data over a period of 12 years from 3,818 older men living independently. Participants reporting bad dreams at least once per week were followed up at the end of the study to see whether they were more likely to be diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. During the follow-up period, 91 cases of Parkinson's were diagnosed. Most of the diagnoses happened in the first five years of the study. Participants with frequent bad dreams during this period were more than three times as likely to go on to develop Parkinson's. The results suggest that older adults who will one day be diagnosed with Parkinson's are likely to begin experiencing bad dreams and nightmares a few years before developing the characteristic features of Parkinson's, including tremors, stiffness and slowness of movement. The study also shows that our dreams can reveal important information about our brain structure and function and may prove to be an important target for neuroscience research. The researchers plan to use electroencephalography (EEG) to look at the biological reasons for dream changes. They will also look at replicating the findings in larger and more diverse cohorts and explore possible links between dreams and other neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's. (Agency) Read More► Aerobic Exercise May Help Boost Immune System Against Cancer: Study

आयुर्वेद और पीपल की पत्तियां  -  Ayurveda and Peepal Leaves in Hindi आयुर्वेद ग्रंथों में पीपल को अश्वत्थ कहा जाता है और इसके कई चिकित्सीय उपयोग भी बताएं गए हैं। किसी भी औषधि का किस तरह से चिकित्सीय उपयोग होता है यह बात उस द्रव्य या औषधि में निहित गुण रस वीर्य विपाक कर्म और प्रभाव पर निर्भर करती है। चूँकि पीपल को आचार्य चरक ने मूत्र संग्रहणीय वर्ग, कषाय स्कन्ध वर्ग में, आचार्य सुश्रुत ने न्यग्रोधादि में और भावप्रकाश ने क्षीरिवृक्ष, पंचवल्कल वर्ग में रखा है। इसका विशेष उपयोग तो मूत्र संग्रहणीय कर्म के लिए, रक्त शोधन, घावों को धोने आदि के लिए ही विशेष रूप से किया जाता है। इसके काढ़े का प्रयोग वातरक्त की चिकित्सा में जब रक्त में यूरिक एसिड की मात्रा बढ़ जाती है में किया जाता है परंतु आयुर्वेद की औषधियों में इसके गुण कर्मो के आधार पर कई अन्य रोगों में उपयोग करने की युक्ति का विधान है तो हम ऐसे में जहाँ पीपल में निहित गुणों का प्रयोग किया जा सके उन बीमारियों में वैकल्पिक रूप से प्रयोग कर सकते हैं। यह भी पढ़े► स्वास्थ्य के लिए धीमे जहर की तरह है चाय पीपल का प्रयोग हॄदय रोगों में करने में भी यही  युक्ति है, मतलब हॄदय रोगों में ब्लॉकेज (Blockage) का मुख्य कारण रक्त में वसा की वॄद्धि होने से होता है और यह वसा की वृद्धि ग्रहणी रोग का उपद्रव कहा जा सकता है। इसलिए पीपल का प्रयोग ग्रहणी को ठीक करते हुए उन हॄदय रोगों में किया जा सकता हैं जिनमें रोगी को वसा की अधिकता ग्रहणी के कारण हुई हो। परंतु वातज हॄदय रोगों में पीपल का प्रयोग उचित नहीं क्योंकि रुक्ष और कषाय होने से और अधिक वात की वृद्धि करेगा । उक्त परिस्थितियों के अनुसार यदि कफज और पित्तज हॄदय रोग है तो सहायक औषध के रूप में या मुख्य औषधि के अभाव में विकल्प के रूप में चिकित्सक की देखरेख में किया जा सकता है और इससे परिणाम मिलने की संभवना भी 30 से 40 % तो है। आयुर्वेद में पीपल की पत्तियों के और क्या - क्या स्वास्थ्य लाभ बताए गए हैं? पीपल की पत्तियों से लेकर पंचाग सभी उपयोगी है और इसका प्रयोग घाव को धोने और भरने में किया जा सकता है, पत्तियों के प्रयोग से ज्यादा इसकी छाल और फल, पुष्पकली का उपयोग प्रचलन है। जहाँ पर व्रण से स्राव हो रहा हो उस घाव की सफाई और स्राव रोकने में इसका प्रयोग किया जा सकता है। वातरक्त में भी इसका अच्छा लाभ देखने को मिलता है। इसके फल का प्रयोग पित्त शांति कर पेट साफ करने में किया जाता है। इसकी कली का प्रयोग त्वचा के रंग को निखारने में भी किया जाता है। मुंह मे छाले होने पर पीपल की त्वचा का प्रयोग करते हैं। पीपल की पत्तियों और त्वचा को जलाकर मंजन बनाने के रूप में करते हैं। (वैद्य संकेत मिश्र, वरिष्ठ समुदाय प्रबंधक (Senior  Community Manager), निरोगस्ट्रीट) यह भी पढ़े► अर्जुन कषाय होते हुए भी हॄदय बल्य कैसे ?

Liver disease has become a lifestyle disease in India, with the incidence of non-alcoholic and alcoholic fatty liver disease now much higher than hepatitis B virus as the main cause of liver disorders, said experts here ahead of the World Liver Day. World liver day is observed on every April 19, to spread awareness about liver related disease. The liver is the second largest and the most complex organ in the body, after the brain. It is a key player in our body's digestive system. Fatty liver condition occurs when fat builds up in the liver that can cause liver inflammation, and damage your liver and create scarring. In severe cases, the scarring can lead to liver failure. Among people who drink a lot of alcohol, the condition is known as alcoholic fatty liver disease (AFLD), while among those who don't drink a lot, it's metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), earlier known as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). MAFLD is associated with increased all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. Lifestyle changes involving obesity, sedentary lifestyle, food rich in sugar, calories and fat, and alcohol are the main reasons behind the poor liver health. According to Dr Bhaskar Nandi, HOD - Liver & Digestive Sciences, Sarvodaya Hospital, Faridabad, till a few decades back, the most common cause of chronic liver disease in India was hepatitis B infection, that led to liver cirrhosis, liver cancer and liver failure. "However, fatty liver, a metabolic disorder, now constitutes the largest burden of liver disease today due to changing lifestyle of people," he said. Nandi added that as many as "80 per cent of people coming for an ultrasound checkup today are found to have fatty liver disease". While about one in three of these will progress to chronic liver disease, liver cancer, cirrhosis, or end-stage liver disease, it is difficult to predict which ones will fall in that one-third bracket. "India is seeing a significant rise in liver problems due to lifestyle changes. To fight liver disease, it is necessary to change our lifestyle - proper and healthy diet, exercise, avoid drinking alcohol or drink in moderation, increasing our screening," Dr. Pankaj Puri, from Fortis Escorts Liver and Digestive Diseases Institute, told IANS. Often liver disease goes undiagnosed for years, as the initial stages generally have no symptoms and people feel well, and routine blood tests may not show liver abnormalities. Globally, liver condition is seen in about 25 per cent or one in four adults that often goes undiagnosed, raising the risk for heart disease, according to a new American Heart Association scientific statement. Nandi said that liver disease is fast becoming a public health problem for India. In 2015, acute and chronic liver diseases accounted for 2 million deaths worldwide, 18 per cent of whom were from India. The burden of liver disease has consistently been increasing in the country since then. While hepatitis B vaccination is commonly given to children for immunisation, it is not popular among adults. "Every year, more than 115,000 people die in India due to hepatitis B related complications. About 4 crore people in the country are carriers of this virus but remain asymptomatic and unaware of the risk they pose to others," Nandi said. "Unlike in the West where main causes of transmission of hepatitis B virus include infected needles and sexual contact, in India, the spread is due to horizontal transmission by staying in proximity with an infected individual, like a family member who is asymptomatic," he noted. Read More► How Exercise Keeps Dementia at Bay