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| HEALTH & FITNESS |
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Who is prone to retinal
detachment?
Ayurveda & you
Low birth weight is
worrying
Food and worsening of asthma in kids
Kids from broken homes end up with the same fate
Anti-fungal drug may provide cancer treatment
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Meditation is not free from side-effects
Dr Herbert Benson of the Mind-Body Medical Institute, which is affiliated to Harvard and several Boston hospitals, reports that meditation induces a number of biochemical and physical changes in the body, collectively referred to as the “relaxation response”. This relaxation response includes changes in metabolism, heart rate, respiration, blood pressure and brain chemistry. Research is going on to study the process of mediation and its effects on the body and mind. It’s human nature to know the logic and rationals behind every phenomenon therefore and the process of meditation has also come under the scrutiny of scientific studies. After they showed its positive effects in different studies, people, especially in the West started accepting it with an open mind. But the studies conducted in this area also revealed its negative effects besides unfolding benefits. Meditation can lead to considerable psychological and physiological problems even in the persons who have been practising meditation for a long time. Unfortunately, very few know about this fact as people generally take it as a completely harmless activity. Broadly, all types of meditations bring a person to an altered state of consciousness. During this state a number of changes take place in the body and some of these are long lasting and some for a short period. The different positive effects that have been found and confirmed with the practice of mediation are:
These effects can prove helpful in a number of psychological and physical problems. But thinking that meditation can cure everything would be a wrong impression. Now, let us look at the negative effects of meditation (which have been found in different scientific studies) :
Some people might say “adverse effects are only a part of the path. It takes years of practice”. How much this statement is true needed to be debated. Even highly experienced meditators or experienced teachers have reported such side-effects. There are also certain contraindications to meditation as proposed by psychiatrists. A person having a history of psychosis, epilepsy, severe anxiety state, hypochondriac thinking and somatisation disorder should avoid doing meditation; otherwise his condition may worsen. Remember, no healing process is free from side-effects. Hence be careful when you do anything for maintaining your health. The writer is a psychiatrist at Government Medical College and Hospital, Chandigarh.
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Who is prone to
retinal detachment? RETINAL
detachment (RD) is a serious eye problem that may occur at any age.
Retina is a thin transparent tissue of light sensitive nerve fibres
and cells. It covers the inside wall of the eye like wall paper. In RD
there is separation of the retina from its underlying attachments. It
is of three types:
Of the three types, Rhegmatogenous RD is the most common. It affects approximately one in every 10,000 population each year and eventually affects both eyes in 10 per cent of the cases. Some factors, if present, predispose a patient to develop RD — a) Males are more commonly affected than females. b) Certain diseases make a person more prone to develop RD. Myopia : More than 40 per cent of all retinal detachments occur in myopic eyes. A person having high myopia (I.e., power of glasses more than -6 Diopters) is at a higher risk of developing a RD. These patients should undergo a regular retina examination with their ophthalmologist. Lattice degeneration of the retina-Lattice is an area of retinal thinning and so prone to tear/break. Lattice is usually present in both eyes and is seen in 8 per cent of the general population. These are more commonly seen in myopia, Marfan syndrome, etc. It is the most frequent form of peripheral retinal degeneration directly related to RD. c) Certain congenital malformations of the eye are also associated with the development of a RD-like coloboma of the eye, Goldman-Favre syndrome, etc d) History of the previous eye surgery like cataract surgery with or without lens implantation e) History of previous ocular trauma (injury to the eye). f) History of retinal detachment in the fellow eye. g) Family history of retinal detachment.
Symptoms The classic premonitory symptoms reported by 60 per cent patients of RD are sudden development of the following: Flashes of light — a patient complains that he/she sees flashes of light or streaks of light bursting in the field of vision. Floaters — a patient complains that he/she sees black spots of variable sizes floating in front of the eye which move to and fro as he/she moves the eye. After a variable period of time, the patient notices a shadow encroaching onto his/her field of vision, which ultimately leads to total blindness. The remaining 40 per cent do not experience any warning signs and the first symptom in these cases is a black shadow.
Prophylaxis Patients seeing a warning sign like floaters and flashes of light must immediately undergo a retina evaluation with an ophthalmologist because at this stage the lesion in the form of a retinal break, tear and lattice is easily treatable by laser treatment or cryotherapy. If on retina evaluation, the retina is normal the patient should see the ophthalmologist at regular intervals. The following myopic patients should undergo regular retina examination: 1. History of RD in the other eye. 2. History of eye surgery like cataract surgery with or without artificial lens implantation. 3. History of injury to an eye. 4. Family history of RD. 5. Systemic diseases like diabetes mellitus, hypertension, marfans syndrome. Laser treatment and cryotherapy are both OPD procedures which, if done in time, prevent an unnecessary surgery for RD. They both seal the retinal break and prevent it from progressing to RD.
Treatment If RD develops it is an emergency situation and should be treated as soon as possible. Successful reattachment of the retina consists of sealing the retinal tear and preventing the retina from pulling away from the back of the eye again. The only treatment available is in the form of surgery: Scleral buckling can be done in fresh case of RD or if RD is localised or the breaks are small. Vitreo-retinal surgery has to be done if RD is old, and there is traction on the retina or the breaks are large.
Prognosis Visual recovery depends on the extent and duration of RD and the overall condition of the retina. Visual recovery is good if it is operated at the earliest. The writer is Chairman and Medical Director, Centre for Sight, New Delhi. E-mail: msachdev@bol.net.in.
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Ayurveda & you IRRITABLE bowel syndrome (IBS) is one of the most common disorders that people suffer from. It is a condition that interferes with the normal functioning of the bowels or the intestines. It is characterised by a group of symptoms - crampy abdominal pain, bloating, constipation and diarrhoea. Ayurveda defines it under the “grahani dosha”, where the learned masters have dealt with many other disorders related to the malfunctioning of the small and large intestines. Causative factors Though a number of factors are held responsible for the occurrence of IBS, no one exactly knows about its definite causes. Modern researchers believe that people with IBS have a colon that is more sensitive and reactive to a number of things, including certain foods and stress. Altered motility of the intestines, muscle contractions, a weakened immune system and a disturbed nervous system result in fastened or slower movements of the intestinal contents. The end result is too much fluid in the stool due to the poor absorption or constipation occurring due to the sluggish propulsion and more absorption of the liquid contents. Sometimes both of these conditions occur alternately. Ayurveda attributes IBS as a sequel to “mandagni” or the weakening of the digestive fire. “Grahani” or the lower end of the stomach and the upper part of small intestine is said to be the seat of “agni” which is deranged by a number of factors. These include irrational fasting, eating during indigestion, over-eating or irregular eating and more often consuming food which is unsuitable heavy, sticky or too cold, too unctuous or too dry. Habitual suppression of the natural body urges, abuse of laxatives and continuous anxiety can also unhinge the “agni” which ultimately results a condition where a person is unable to digest even a simple food.
Sign and symptoms Like the complexity of its causes, the presentations of IBS are equally intricate and confusing and vary from person to person. Abdominal discomfort or pain in association with the bowel dysfunction is the main symptom of IBS. Some people experience frequent loose stools with an urgent need to move the bowels, others complain of constipation with hard or difficult to pass stool. Yet there are those who complain of alternating constipation and diarrhoea and acidity or gas in the intestines which gives a feeling of pressure inside the abdomen. Certain psychological commotions like stress, tension and feeling troubled, angry, overwhelmed or exited stimulate colon spasms in people suffering from IBS. Many times and specially in the elderly persons these upheavals take a vicious turn and a stage is reached when physical symptoms of IBS are equally marked by a number of psychological presentations. In some cases the sufferer may become so conscious of his condition that travelling or visiting a place before going to the toilet access becomes difficult. Patients of IBS may also complain of malaise, general run-down, pain in the calf muscles and a low self-esteem. Acharya Sushruta has described indigestion, reduced desire to enjoy food, distaste of mouth and acidity accompanied by anxiety and depression as additional symptoms of IBS. However, according to the vitiation of each of the “dosha” - the Vata, the Pitta and the Kapha these symptoms acquire specific presentations in various individuals. The writer is a Ludhiana-based senior ayurvedic physician.
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Low birth weight is
worrying
London: A new study has found that low birth weight is
associated with adult psychological distress. The research found that children born full term but weighing less than 5.5 lbs had a 50 per cent increased risk of psychological distress in later life. This remained the case after taking into account potential confounding factors, such as the father’s social class, maternal age and adult marital status. Until now it has been unclear whether the effect of low birth weight on common mental health problems in later life is direct, or is affected by childhood factors, such as IQ or behavioural problems.
— ANI
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Food and worsening of asthma in kids NEW DELHI: Avoidance of certain foods may prevent seasonal exacerbation of asthma in children, a new study has said. The study links hypersensitivity in children with seasonal asthma to a wide variety of food items, Mr S.R. Agarkhedkar from the Allergy Research Institute, Pune, and H.B. Bapat and Mr B.N. Bapat from MIMER Medical College, Pune, who carried out the study, said. The results also suggest that the use of a specific elimination diet might prevent the seasonal exacerbation, they reported in “Indian Paediatrics”. The study was carried out on children in the age group of 3-15 years — 14 boys and 10 girls — who were suffering from bronchial asthma and reported deterioration of symptoms during August and September in two previous years. Levels of IgE (substances in the body which indicate allergic reactions) against various food items — rice, jowar, tur and urad dal, carrot, cabbage, ridge-gourd, brinjal, apple, tomato, water melon, eggs, pomfret, milk, ghee, garlic, turmeric, asofoetida and groundnut and mustard oils — where measured for each patient. Patients were asked to avoid food items against which they produced higher allergic reaction measured by IgE levels. The scientists said that food allergies need not be personal and partients may manifest symptions only during seasons when these foods are available or consumed in large amounts affecting allergen (which causes allergy) load. “The results indicated that deterioration could be prevented in most patients with specific food avoidance in the vulnerable period,” they said. The degree of response is directly related to the dose of antigen, they said. Each individual antigen may not be able to produce much reacton since the number of antigen-specific receptors for that particular antigen is few, they said, adding simultaneous exposure to a number of such antigens, however, would bind enough antigen-specificg IgF receptors on a greater number of most cells (cells involved in allergy) and result in symptoms.
— PTI
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Kids from broken homes end up with the same fate
London: A new study conducted by researchers at the University of Utah suggests that children of divorced parents often end up with broken marriages. Nicholas H. Wolfinger spent a decade studying the marriages of children from divorced homes in America. These children are more likely to marry as teens, cohabitate and marry someone who is also a child of divorced parents and one-third less likely to marry if they are over age 20. “Growing up in a divorced family greatly increases the chances of ending one’s own marriage, a phenomenon called the divorce cycle or the intergenerational transmission of divorce,” he added. Wolfinger’s research also suggests that if one spouse comes from divorced parents, the couple may be up to twice as likely to divorce. — ANI
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Anti-fungal drug may provide cancer treatment
Washington: A drug that has been used for 40 years for the treatment of skin fungus has been found to be a possible cancer treatment, according to an international team of scientists. Leslie Wilson, professor of biochemistry and pharmacology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, said that the antifungal drug, griseofulvin, has been shown to inhibit the growth of cancer cells in his laboratory. The results are published in the online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The work is the result of a collaboration between Wilson’s lab, in UCSB’s Department of Biochemistry, Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, and a lab in the School of Biosciences and Bioengineering of the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. “The drug has remarkably few side-effects and has been used for a long time,” said Wilson.
— ANI |
THE medical community has developed keen interest in studying the physiological effects of meditation. Many concepts of meditation have been applied to clinical settings in order to measure its effect on different body functions.