Monthly Archives: February 2011
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Posted: February 26, 2011Read more »
Years ago, a woman and her fiancé were traveling in a private plane when they got into trouble and plowed into a hillside. He died as a result of burns, and she was severely injured herself, with burns covering all but the soles of her feet.
She was in a coma for quite a while. When she regained consciousness, the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami designed a series of massage treatments to try to relieve her intense pain.
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Posted: February 26, 2011Read more »
Researchers from the OBGYN Department at University Hospital Basel in Switzerland, hypothesizing that adverse birth outcomes can be reduced by relaxation exercises, compared the immediate effects of two active and one passive 10-minute relaxation technique on perceived relaxation and concrete physiological indicators of relaxation in 39 healthy, pregnant women.
The subjects, recruited at the outpatient department of the University Women's Hospital Basel participated in a randomized controlled trial with an experimental repeated measure design. -
Posted: February 26, 2011Read more »
Question:
Hi Belleruth,
I checked your CD listing, and I didn't see a specific one for hypertension, and I'd rather have something of yours as a resource, so would you recommend your CD on Stress or is there another one that would be appropriate?
Nick
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Posted: February 26, 2011Categories: Update from Health JourneysRead more »
I invariably like what Internal Medicine Doc, David Edelberg, has to say about most things. He runs an integrative medicine center called WholeHealth Chicago, and I enthusiastically recommend you check out his site and subscribe to his newsletter. He’s sensible, succinct, knowledgeable, practical and such a good writer, I tend to just reprint his advice without editing his well-crafted, witty way with words. So here, verbatim, is what he had to say in his last newsletter: Edelberg writes, “Today we’re not touching on why sweetened beverages are rotten for you and we’re not ranting against fries, Little Debbies, or that new national favorite, KFC’s Double Down. I’m hopeful you’ve put all that behind you.
“Instead, based on some fairly solid research, here are 14 simple, healthful food choices you can make.
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Posted: February 17, 2011Categories: Inspiring StoryRead more »
If you’re willing to take 20 minutes, you’re in for a treat. Brene Brown presents her highly evolved truths on vulnerability, whole heartedness and connection with the thoughtfulness of a scholar and the comic timing of a standup artist. See her TED talk here. -
Posted: February 17, 2011Categories: Hot ResearchRead more »
Researchers at Leeds Institute of Health Sciences in the UK reviewed non-drug treatments for dementia to provide suggestions for informal (nonprofessional) caregivers looking for non-drug approaches for dementia that they might try.
The systematic review looked at which non-drug treatments work (and for what) and which are ineffective.
Thirty-three reviews were identified, 25 of which were judged to be of high or good quality. Studies within these systematic reviews were characterized by weak study designs with small sample numbers. Nonetheless, three interventions were found to be effective for use with particular symptoms of dementia: music or music therapy, hand massage or gentle touch; and physical activity and exercise. -
Posted: February 17, 2011Categories: Ask BelleruthRead more »
Question:
I recently purchased 2 cd's from you and was disappointed that the material was very similar on each. I am referring to the one on STRESS and the one on DEPRESSION. Perhaps if I had known how similar the material was, I would have only ordered one of those cd's.
Thanks,
Bart from Louisiana -
Posted: February 17, 2011Categories: Update from Health JourneysRead more »
A seminal study of nuns published a while ago in the journal Neurology collected long-term data on more than 600 nuns in Minnesota, and found that 21 percent of them had lesions and plaques in their brains -- key markings of memory disorders like dementia and Alzheimer's -- but nonetheless lived their lives with no outward signs of disease.
The nuns who had internal signs of Alzheimer's but no symptoms had happier and more positive outlooks on life, were good with linguistics and had better dietary and exercise habits.
Mehmet Oz says about this, "What this shows is that we can do an awful lot to change how our brain functions." Here are his tips for keeping your brain sharp: -
Posted: February 13, 2011Read more »
Researcher-epidemiologists from Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, NY, screened for PTSD in 9/11 exposed firefighters at two different time points - within six months of the attacks and after 3-4 years post follow-up.
Five thousand six hundred fifty-six individuals completed assessments at both times. 15.5% reported probable PTSD post-9/11, 8.6% at baseline and 11.1% at follow-up, on average 2.9 (SD 0.5) years later.
Analyses revealed that nearly half of all probable PTSD occurred as delayed onset (absent baseline, present follow-up). Compared with the resilient group (no probable PTSD at either time), probable PTSD at baseline, and delayed onset at follow-up were each associated with functional impairments (OR 19.5 and 18.9), respectively. -
Posted: February 13, 2011Read more »
Sara was first diagnosed with cancer at age 7, with a tumor in leg. She had surgery and 10 months of chemotherapy, but had a recurrence 9 months later. She had another surgery and local radiation, and then more chemotherapy with stem-cell rescue. This was a prolonged hospitalization - almost four weeks - but her mother had her doing her homework every day! (I totally salute this Jewish Tiger Mother approach!!)
She stayed cancer free for five years, but at age 15, she developed some headaches. The ophthalmologist suggested an MRI and that's how they found another tumor - the cancer was back. She had a local resection, went for radiation to the site, and then had a few rounds of chemotherapy.
