Friday, March 28, 2008

Brain has sixth sense for calories
The brain has a way of sensing calories in food, independent of the taste mechanism, according to a new study. The discovery that the brain's reward system is switched on by this "sixth sense" machinery could have implications for understanding the causes of obesity. For example, the findings suggest why high-fructose corn syrup, widely used as a sweetener in foods, might contribute to obesity. Findings of the study have been published in the latest issue of the journal Neuron. Ivan de Araujo and his research colleagues genetically altered mice to make them "sweet-blind", or lacking a key component of taste receptor cells that enabled them to detect the sweet taste. The researchers next performed behavioural tests in which they compared normal and sweet-blind mice in their preference for sugar solutions and those containing the non-caloric sweetener sucralose. In those tests, the sweet-blind mice showed a preference for calorie containing sugar water that did not depend on their ability to taste, but on the calorie content. In analysing the brains of the sweet-blind mice, researchers showed that the animals' reward circuitry was switched on by caloric intake, independent of the animals' ability to taste. Those analyses showed that levels of the brain chemical dopamine, known to be central to activating the reward circuitry, increased with caloric intake. Also, electrophysiological studies showed that neurons in the food-reward region, called the nucleus accumbens, were activated by caloric intake, independent of taste.
Link Times of India

Sunday, March 9, 2008

Probiotic hope for kidney stones

Treating patients with bacteria may be an effective way of reducing their risk of repeatedly developing painful kidney stones, a study suggests.
People naturally carrying the bacterium Oxalobacter formigenes were found to be 70% less likely to have problems.
Researchers at Boston University, in the US, are now investigating the possibility of using the bacteria as a "probiotic" treatment.
The study features in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.
Kidney stones are small, hard lumps formed of waste products contained in the urine.
They normally range in size from a grain of sand to a pearl. They can be smooth or jagged, and are usually yellow or brown.
Once a kidney stone has formed in a kidney it may travel down through the other parts of the urinary system, where they can slow the flow of urine, cause infection, severe pain and even lead to kidney failure.
About three in 20 men and one in 20 women in the UK will develop a kidney stone at some point in their lifetime.
They are most likely to occur in people aged 20 to 40.
Up to 80% of kidney stones are predominately composed of a compound called calcium oxalate.
O. formigenes breaks down oxalate in the intestinal tract and is present in a large proportion of the normal adult population.
The Boston team compared 247 patients with recurrent calcium oxalate kidney stones with 259 people with no history of the condition.
They found just 17% of the kidney stones group were colonised with O. formigenes, compared with 38% of healthy group.
Researcher Professor David Kaufman: "Our findings are of potential clinical importance.
"The possibility of using the bacterium as a probiotic is currently in the early stages of investigation."
Promising avenue
Derek Machin, clinical director of urology at University Hospital, Aintree, said an effective treatment for recurrent kidney stones would be a significant step forward.
He said bigger kidney stones were currently treated by using shock waves to break them up, but this was not always completely effective.
Passing a stone in the urine intact can be extremely painful, and even getting rid of the smaller pieces created by shock treatment could cause significant pain.
"For some people kidney stones can be an on-going lifelong problem," he said.
"And in some cases a stone can destroy kidney function before it is even identified."
However, Mr Machin warned that there was much work to be done before clinical trials of a probiotic could be considered.
He said kidney stones had been linked to dehydration and were more common in countries such as Saudi Arabia where the climate is hot and dry.
In instances they may be linked to an unusually high rate of calcium excretion.
However, he said in many cases there was no obvious cause for the condition. It is a particular problem for airline pilots, who are not allowed to fly if they have a stone.

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Healthy signs of growth

Kerala’s booming Ayurveda industry is opening up employment opportunities for many women.
Even as more and more people are looking at Ayurveda for holistic healing, the popular ancient Indian system of medicine is offering a remedy in the area of gender development. In Kerala, the booming industry has been instrumental in the empowerment of women by engaging them in all aspects of the trade — from cattle rearing and tending herb gardens to contractual work as herb collectors and sifters to contributing as doctors, masseuses and packagers.
Every morning, serpentine queues form outside Vaidyaratnam Oushadhasala, an Ayurveda centre in Trichur district. Women from the nearby Thykattussery village supply fresh milk to the centre, which is used for manufacturing medicines. Over 200 women in the village have invested in milk cows. “The milk required by the Oushadhasala has to be of very good quality so we have invested in cows. I started with one cow, now I have three. I supply milk to the centre the year round. The cows are fed properly and kept in clean surroundings. They also undergo regular veterinary check-ups. The Oushadhasala is a confirmed customer and we make good money,” says Girija, 40, whose mother and sisters have joined her in the venture. After testing the milk for purity, the Oushadhasala buys around 700 litres daily at a competitive rate of Rs 11 per litre.Source of income
Before they started deriving economic benefit from the Ayurveda centre, most women in Thykattussery either worked as domestic help or farm labourers. However, now the milk business gives them a steady income. Girija’s sister, Rati, 26, says, “We took a loan from the lady of the house where Girija used to work as a domestic help to buy our first cow. But the next two cows were bought from the profits made by selling the milk.”
Centres like the Vaidyaratnam Oushadhasala play a huge role in the economic development of the area and thousands of women are piggy-backing this wave of prosperity. Doctors, nurses and masseuses head the list of qualified professionals that have found favour with the industry. Massage training
Dr Ambika Rahulan, 56, joint owner of Aswathy Bhavan Vaidyasala in Tiruvalla, says that while doctors and nurses require relevant degrees, masseuses can enrol for a six-month training course the centre offers, during which they are paid a stipend. “After completing the course, the women are qualified to start a massage unit of their own or join any centre or hotel as masseuses.”
“Besides those qualified to work in this sector, there is a large section of marginally educated women who take home a decent pay packet.” About 500 rural women, living mostly in forest and hill regions like Amdallur, Velikulangara and Peachy, are involved in collecting herbs for our pharmaceutical wing,” says T. Unnikrishnan, General Manager, Vaidyaratnam Oushadhashala.
“We impart preliminary knowledge to the women on the herbs we need at the lab. While some are natural, having lived amidst these plants throughout their lives, others are taught.” “We collect herbs like tulsi, kuruntoti and ketakamuladi , which are easily available. Depending on the herb, we are paid Rs 15 per kg. For example, a kg of Kuruntoti would fetch Rs 40. Many of us also have herb gardens where we plant the common herbs and then sell them,” says Thallur-based Lalita Srinivasan. Women look for herbs in the fields, forests and farms. At times, they even offer landowners a nominal fee for permission to collect herbs. They begin work early in the morning and sell the herbs to the Ayurveda centres by 4 p.m. every day.
“I studied only till Class IV. There were no job opportunities for me. My husband is a heart patient and is unable to work. I have two children. I earn about Rs 2,000 every month collecting and selling herbs like unnginver and chanakayanga ,” says Lalitha. High returns
Kanakamma, 28, from Marathakkara, cautions, “One has to be a regular to make good money. My mother did it for 30 years and now I am doing it. I have planted a herb garden near my house with an investment of Rs 5,000 and it has given me excellent returns.”
Other than those collecting herbs, there are women who sift and clean the collection for a daily wage of about Rs 70 to Rs 100. Susheela, 34, from Cherp, works as a contractual labourer and manages to earn around Rs 1,800 per month. “Some herbs take more time and effort to clean. We are paid more for such difficult tasks. Chuk or dry ginger is easier to clean so we do it in large quantities to make more money. This is the kind of work where the lack of education does not matter. I have only studied till Class III. Where else would I find work? My husband doesn’t work. I have to feed my children.”
Packaging units, where medicines and other products are made market-ready, are also popular avenues of employment. A.M. Sreedevi, 54, who has studied till class 10, works at the Oushadhasala’s packaging unit as a permanent employee. “It was unheard of in my family for women to work. However, when we were faced with financial difficulties, I started looking for work. The Ayurveda drugs packaging unit here was perfect. I joined in 1973. It is a comfortable working environment and there is no physical toil. I get basic pay, dearness allowance, washing allowance and incentives,” she says.
Shanta, 51, who joined in 1993, adds, “We work in shifts and the pay is good. We also get overtime. With an education up to Class III only, what more could I have expected? I am earning about Rs 4,000 to Rs 5,000 every month.”
Link Business Line
 
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