Reduce Pain From Chemotherapy

A combination of high-dose Vitamin D, Omega-3s, and simple home strength exercises can help reduce cancer risk in healthy adults aged 70 or older by 61 per cent, claims a study. Published in Frontiers in Aging, it is the first study to test the combined benefit of three affordable public health interventions for the prevention of invasive cancers that has grown past the original tissue or cells where it developed, and spread to otherwise healthy surrounding tissue. Apart from preventative recommendations such as not smoking and sun protection, public health efforts that focus on cancer prevention are limited, according to Dr Heike Bischoff-Ferrari of the University Hospital Zurich in Switzerland. "Preventive efforts in middle-aged and older adults today are largely limited to screening and vaccination efforts," Bischoff-Ferrari noted. Studies have shown that Vitamin D inhibits the growth of cancer cells. Similarly, Omega-3 may inhibit the transformation of normal cells into cancer cells, and exercise has been shown to improve immune function and decrease inflammation, which may help in the prevention of cancer. However, there was a lack of robust clinical studies proving the effectiveness of these three simple interventions, alone or combined. Bischoff-Ferrari and her colleagues tested the effect of daily high-dose Vitamin D3 (one form of Vitamin D supplements), daily supplemental Omega-3s, and a simple home strength exercise, alone and in combination, on the risk of invasive cancer among adults aged 70 or older. The three-year trial, held in Switzerland, France, Germany, Austria, and Portugal, involved 2,157 participants. The results show that all three treatments (Vitamin D3, Omega-3s, and exercise) had cumulative benefits on the risk of invasive cancers, Bischoff-Ferrari said. Each of the treatments had a small individual benefit but when all three treatments were combined, the benefits became statistically significant, and the researchers saw an overall reduction in cancer risk by 61 per cent. "Our results, although based on multiple comparisons and requiring replication, may prove to be beneficial for reducing the burden of cancer," Bischoff-Ferrari said, adding the need for further studies. (agency) Read More► Genes Can Affect Our Nutrient Tolerance: Study

London: More than 52 per cent of the global population are affected by a headache disorder every year, with 14 per cent reporting migraines, according to study. Headaches are one of the most prevalent and disabling conditions worldwide seen mainly among adults between 20 and 65. Researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology reviewed 357 publications from between 1961 and the end of 2020 to estimate the global prevalence of headaches. The review, published in The Journal of Headache and Pain, showed about 26 per cent people reported a tension-type headache and 4.6 per cent reported a headache for 15 or more days per month. Further, the studies also indicated that about 15.8 per cent of the world's population have a headache on any given day, and almost half of those individuals report a migraine (7 per cent). "We found that the prevalence of headache disorders remains high worldwide and the burden of different types may impact many. We should endeavour to reduce this burden through prevention and better treatment," said lead author Lars Jacob Stovner. Headaches were more common in females than males, most markedly for migraines (17 per cent in females compared to 8.6 per cent in males) and headaches for 15 or more days per month (6 per cent in females compared to 2.9 per cent in males). The team suggested that further investigation into middle and low-income countries would help present a more accurate global estimate. "Overall, headache disorders are highly prevalent worldwide and can be a high burden. It may also be of interest in future to analyse the different causes of headaches that varied across groups to target prevention and treatment more effectively," Stovner said. (Agency) Read More► Sleeping With Even Low Light is Harmful for Health: Study

Toronto: Neurons in the spinal cord process pain signals differently in women compared to men, suggests a study. The finding, published in the journal BRAIN, could lead to better and more personalised treatments for chronic pain, which are desperately needed, especially in light of the opioid epidemic. Women are disproportionately impacted by the burden of chronic pain. They are more likely than men to report low back pain, neck pain, orofacial pain and neuropathic pain, and twice as many women report common migraines or headaches. But to date, most research on pain was conducted on male rodents. The new study led by researchers at The Ottawa Hospital in Canada, however, used female and male spinal cord tissue from both rats and humans (generously donated by deceased individuals and their families). By examining the spinal cord tissue in the laboratory, the researchers were able to show that a neuronal growth factor called BDNF plays a major role in amplifying spinal cord pain signalling in male humans and male rats, but not in female humans or female rats. When female rats had their ovaries removed, the difference disappeared, pointing to a hormonal connection. "Developing new pain drugs requires a detailed understanding of how pain is processed at the biological level," said Dr. Annemarie Dedek, lead author of the study. "This new discovery lays the foundation for the development of new treatments to help those suffering from chronic pain." This is the first time a sex-related difference in pain signalling has been identified in human spinal cord tissue. Future studies are required to understand how this biological difference may contribute to differences in pain sensation between men and women, the researchers said. (agency) Read More► Scientists Find Microplastics in Human Blood For First Time

स्कूल के वेंटिलेशन सिस्टम में सुधार से छात्रों में कोविड-19 मामलों को कम करने में मदद मिल सकती है। एक इतालवी अध्ययन से इसकी जानकारी मिली है। अध्ययन एक इतालवी थिंक टैंक ह्यूम फाउंडेशन द्वारा आयोजित किया गया था और मंगलवार को जारी किया गया। इसमें मध्य इटली में मार्चे में 10,441 कक्षाएं शामिल थीं, जिनमें से 316 कक्षाएं यांत्रिक वेंटिलेशन सिस्टम से सुसज्जित थीं, जबकि अन्य 10,125 सामान्य थीं। समाचार एजेंसी सिन्हुआ की रिपोर्ट के अनुसार, मैकेनिकल वेंटिलेशन सिस्टम वाले 316 कक्षाओं में, कोविड के बहुत कम मामले थे और स्कूल के वेंटिलेशन सिस्टम की गुणवत्ता के साथ संक्रमण की संख्या में कमी आई। बिना वेंटिलेशन सिस्टम वाली कक्षाओं के स्तर की तुलना में, जब कक्षा की हवा को हर 25 मिनट में पूरी तरह से बदल दिया गया तो कोविड के मामलों में 40 प्रतिशत की कमी आई। जब हवा को हर 15 मिनट में पूरी तरह से बदल दिया गया, तो मामले कम थे और ऐसे मामलों में जहां हवा को हर 10 मिनट में बदल दिया गया था, रिपोर्ट की गई थी कि कोविड के मामले बहुत कम थे, जैसा कि अध्ययन से पता चला है। स्थानीय रिपोर्टों के अनुसार, इटली के अधिकांश स्कूलों में यांत्रिक वेंटिलेशन सिस्टम की कमी है। इटली के कोविड सुरक्षा नियमों में शिक्षकों को संभव होने पर कक्षा की खिड़कियां खोलने की आवश्यकता होती है। सितंबर 2021 और जनवरी 2022 के बीच किए गए अध्ययन में कहा गया है कि कुशल वेंटिलेशन सिस्टम स्थापित करने से स्कूलों में मामले 250 प्रति 100,000 छात्रों से घटकर 50 प्रति 100,000 छात्र हो सकते हैं। यह खबर तब आई जब फरवरी की शुरूआत से मार्च की शुरूआत तक इटली में कोविड संक्रमण बढ़ने लगा। इटली ने मंगलवार को 96,365 नए मामले दर्ज किए, जो 8 फरवरी के बाद से सबसे अधिक दैनिक नए मामले हैं। (एजेंसी) यह भी पढ़े► सीवेज के नमूनों में पोलियो वायरस !