Steer Clear Of Monsoon Diseases

One of the best times of year to witness nature's full splendor is during the monsoon. However, monsoons are notorious for their never-ending spells of sickness and cold. One's immune system is tested though the entire season. And it doesn't stop there. There is always the possibility of contracting cholera, dengue fever, or other distressing ailments. So, how can one enjoy the monsoons as they should be while being safe and healthy? Good eating habits, exercise, and adequate rest are a few factors that can keep you safe during the rainy season. It doesn't end there. There is always the risk of contracting cholera, dengue fever, or other dreadful diseases. So, how can one truly enjoy the monsoons while remaining safe and healthy? Yoga and nutrition expert Garima Goyal recommends doing a workout session of 60 minutes a day to help you stay active and fit during the season. Garima further shares simple yoga exercises to help build strength, agility, meditation, relaxation, and focus. Padangusth Asana (Big Toe) Padangusth Asana is a foundational asana in Ashtanga Yoga. It is a basic standing position that incorporates forward bending. The asana is classified as beginning due to its easiness. Padangusthasana stretches every muscle in the body from head to toe. It relaxes the body and soothes discomfort. It is beneficial for flat feet, among other things. Padangusthasana is an excellent place to begin your yoga experience. Trikon Asana (Triangle Pose) Trikon Asana is derived from the Sanskrit terms 'Trikona' (three corners) and 'Asana' (posture). In trikonasana yoga, the practitioner spreads their legs apart without bending their knees, with their hands extended apart, producing a 90-degree angle between the upper and lower bodies. Trikon Asana yoga, also known as Triangle position exercise, is a standing posture that improves strength, balance, and flexibility. There are several variants in the trikonasana stages or processes. In general, it is divided into three types: Baddha Trikonasana, Parivrtta Trikonasana, and Utthita Trikonasana. Utkat Asana (Chair Pose) Chair posture, also known as "awkward chair pose" and "fierce stance" in Sanskrit, is a form of asana or yoga practice. Begin in a standing stance and bend your knees to lower your body as if you were sitting in an imaginary chair. This standing forward bend is part of the Vinyasa or Ashtanga yoga Sun Salutation routine. Chair posture strengthens your legs, upper back, and shoulders while also improving balance and flexibility. The chair position is a standing yoga practice that works the core. This strong stance may help you strengthen your legs, back, and shoulders. Bhujang Asana (Cobra Post) Bhujang Asana is derived from the words bhujanga (cobra or snake) and asana (position). Cobra Stretch is another name for Bhujangasana. Suryanamaskar (Sun Salutations Position) and Padma Sadhana incorporate this pose. Do you wish to tone your stomach but lack the time to go to the gym? Are you exhausted or anxious as a result of an excessive workload? Bhujangasana, also known as Cobra Stretch, is a great way to cure these and other issues while sitting (or lying down) at home! Bhujangasana, also known as the Cobra Pose, is performed while laying on your stomach. It stretches your body (particularly your back) and rapidly melts your tension away! Vriksh Asana (Tree Pose) Vrks Asana is a Sanskrit noun that combines the terms Vriksha and Asana. The Sanskrit term for a tree is Vriksha, whereas the Sanskrit word for posture is Asana. As a result, this is known in English as Tree Pose. Vrikshasana is a standing fundamental yoga position. Furthermore, in Hinduism, Sages utilised this stance as a form of austerity or Tapasya. In a seventh-century CE rock temple in Mallapuram, a man performs a position akin to Vrikshasana. As a result, this is an old yoga stance. Shishu Asana (Child Pose) A child's pose, also known as balasana/shishuasana, is a beginner's position that aids in the relaxation of the mind and body. Balasana is derived from the Sanskrit words Bala, which means "young and childlike," and asana, which means "seat or sat pose." It is a vital resting posture that helps to quiet your senses. It is a fundamental yoga stance that teaches us that inactivity may be as helpful as action and doing. It's a chance to take a breather, assess your circumstances, and prepare to move on. Tad Asana (Mountain Pose) While Tad asana is one of the most fundamental yoga asanas, it is a challenge for all levels and delivers various physical and emotional advantages. Tadasana calms your body and mind, promoting inner tranquility. Maintaining alignment and body awareness is an ongoing effort. Standing firm, stable, and focused in Mountain Pose helps to improve posture, alignment, and balance. This can help with other yoga positions as well as your regular activities. Keep your practice new by always thinking of ways to change the stance. (Agency) Read More► Why Yoga and Walnuts Are Your Go-To Health Essentials

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

Tokyo: Mycobacteria, a group of pathogenic bacteria that cause diseases like leprosy and tuberculosis in humans, are associated with red blood cells at lung infection sites. M. tuberculosis and other mycobacteria implicated in lung disease are now known to live in macrophages - white blood cells that engulf and kill pathogens. Mycobacteria turn up in blood and sputum coughed up by sick patients. Red blood cells, although also found in the sputum of tuberculosis patients, have not yet been specifically studied in disease progression. But, "our research will change the conventional common sense that mycobacteria grow intracellularly", said Yukiko Nishiuchi, Associate Professor at Hiroshima University in Japan. The team obtained lung tissue samples from five mice infected with two species of Mycobacteria - M. avium and M. intracellulare - as well as from a human patient infected with Mycobacterium avium subsp. hominissuis (MAH). Microscopic examination revealed red blood cells were co-located with mycobacteria in both the capillary vessels and granulomas (clumps of immune cells) of mice and human lung tissues. To assess the relationship of the mycobacteria to human red blood cells, the team monitored their growth with and without the blood cells. They found that MAH grew more in the presence of red blood cells, multiplying at a rate dependent on blood cell concentration. Their exponential growth was even faster than the growth of MAH inside macrophages - typically targeted as parasitic hosts by mycobacteria. The findings, published in the journal Microbiology Spectrum, showed that pathogenic mycobacteria attach to human red blood cells, then capitalise on the relationship to multiply. Mycobacteria had previously been found outside macrophages at infection sites; the new findings suggest that the presence of those extracellular mycobacteria may be a result of the relationship with red blood cells. While red blood cells are best known for their role in transporting oxygen between lungs and tissues, they also play two roles in mycobacterial infections. They play a defensive role against infections by capturing pathogens and transferring them to macrophages in the liver and spleen to eliminate them. Nishiuchi said the study shows that red blood cells may also get targeted as host cells for mycobacteria. However, how these roles play out might determine the outcome of an infection. If the red blood cells' defense role is going well, the TB or other mycobacterial disease is controlled. But red blood cells overwhelmed by an attack of mycobacteria may help spread them throughout the body, Nishiuchi noted. (Agency) Read More► Commonly Used Anti-Nausea Drugs May Triple Stroke Risk

लंदन: शोधकर्ताओं ने टीबी (ट्यूबरक्यूलोसिस) और कैंसर के बीच एक अप्रत्याशित संबंध का पता लगाया है, जिससे वैश्विक स्तर पर हर साल 1.5 मिलियन से अधिक लोगों की जान लेने वाले जीवाणु रोग के लिए नई दवा का उपचार हो सकता है। स्टैनफोर्ड मेडिसिन के शोधकर्ताओं के नेतृत्व में किए गए अध्ययन में पाया गया कि सक्रिय ट्यूबरक्यूलोसिस से संक्रमित वाले लोगों के फेफड़ों में ग्रेन्युलोमा नामक घाव प्रोटीन से भरे होते हैं जो कैंसर कोशिकाओं या संक्रमण के लिए शरीर की प्रतिरक्षा प्रतिक्रिया को कम करने के लिए जाने जाते हैं। कुछ प्रकार की कैंसर की दवाएं इन इम्यूनोसप्रेसिव प्रोटीन को लक्षित करती हैं। चूंकि इन दवाओं का व्यापक रूप से कैंसर रोगियों में उपयोग किया जाता है, शोधकर्ताओं को उम्मीद है कि यह परीक्षण करने के लिए नैदानिक परीक्षण जल्दी से शुरू किए जा सकते हैं कि क्या वे संक्रमण का मुकाबला कर सकते हैं। ट्यूबरक्यूलोसिस दुनिया भर में लाखों लोगों को प्रभावित करता है और विस्तारित एंटीबायोटिक चिकित्सा के साथ भी इसका इलाज करना मुश्किल है। विश्वविद्यालय के प्रमुख लेखक और स्नातक छात्र एरिन मैककैफ्रे ने कहा, ट्यूबरक्यूलोसिस एक बड़े पैमाने पर वैश्विक स्वास्थ्य पर बोझ है। मैककैफ्री ने कहा, "ज्यादातर समय, प्रतिरक्षा प्रणाली बैक्टीरिया को खत्म करने में असफल होती है, लेकिन यह ज्ञात नहीं है कि क्यों। ट्यूबरक्यूलोसिस बैक्टीरिया की प्रतिरक्षा प्रतिक्रिया को भी प्रभावित कर सकते हैं।" तकनीक का उपयोग करते हुए, उन्होंने सक्रिय टीबी वाले 15 लोगों के फेफड़ों और अन्य ऊतकों में ग्रेन्युलोमा में इम्यूनोसप्रेसिव प्रोटीन के स्थान का मानचित्रण किया। स्टैनफोर्ड यूनिवर्सिटी मेडिकल सेंटर में पैथोलॉजी के सहायक प्रोफेसर माइक एंजेलो ने कहा, "हमने कैंसर के ट्यूमर की तुलना में अब तक देखे गए कुछ संकेतों को देखा।" एंजेलो ने नेचर इम्यूनोलॉजी जर्नल में प्रकाशित अध्ययन में कहा, "यह ग्रैनुलोमा में प्रमुख इम्यूनोसप्रेसिव प्रोटीन की लगभग सार्वभौमिक उपस्थिति को इंगित करता है।" विशेष रूप से, शोधकर्ताओं ने दो प्रोटीन- पीडी-एल 1 और आईडीओ 1 के उच्च स्तर को देखा, जो कैंसर के प्रति प्रतिरक्षा प्रतिक्रिया को दबा सकते हैं और अक्सर ट्यूमर के ऊतकों में पाए जाते हैं। इन प्रोटीनों को अनुमोदित कैंसर दवाओं द्वारा लक्षित किया जाता है। जब मैककैफ्रे और एंजेलो ने टीबी से संक्रमित 1,500 से अधिक लोगों के रक्त के नमूनों का अध्ययन किया, तो उन्होंने पाया कि पीडी-एल1 का स्तर नैदानिक लक्षणों से संबंधित है। एंजेलो ने कहा, "हमने रक्त में इन संकेतों के वास्तव में लगातार अपग्रेडेशन देखा, जो असफल प्रतिरक्षा प्रतिक्रिया का प्रतीक है। उनका उपयोग सक्रिय रोग में रोग की प्रगति की भविष्यवाणी करने के लिए भी किया जा सकता है।" यह भी पढ़े► आनुवांशिक जांच से दिल की बीमारियों का पता चल सकेगा।