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Cycling to health & happiness Hospital faces fines because it is ‘too popular’ Can vitamin-A protect you from eye diseases?
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Cycling to health & happiness I’m incapable of emptying my mind but there have been occasions on my bike when I realise I have no recollection of the preceding miles. Whether during solo pursuits along country lanes in spring, or noisy, dirty commutes, time can pass unnoticed in a blissful blur of rhythm and rolling. It’s not a new sensation. In 1896 at the height of the first cycling boom, a feature in the The New York Times said this about the activity: “It has the unique virtue of yielding a rate of speed as great as that of the horse, nearly as great as that attained by steam power, and yet it imposes upon the consciousness the fact that it is entirely self-propulsion.” The writer, credited only as “ANJ”, continues: “In the nature of the motion is another unique combination. With the great speed there are the subtle glide and sway of skating, something of the yacht’s rocking, a touch of the equestrian bounce, and a suggestion of flying. The effect of all this upon the mind is as wholesomely stimulating as is the exercise to the body.” Almost 120 years after these observations, and in the middle of a new cycling boom, what have we learnt about the nature and effects of this stimulation? Cycling can of course be miserable, but beyond its ability to more often make me feel emotionally as well as physically enriched, what could be happening inside my head? Several studies have shown that exercises, including cycling make us smarter. Danish scientists who set out to measure the benefits of breakfast and lunch among children found diet helped but that the way pupils travelled to school was far more significant. Those who cycled or walked performed better in tests than those who had travelled by car or public transport, the scientists reported last month. Another study by the University of California in Los Angeles showed that old people who were most active had 5 per cent more grey matter than those who were least active, reducing their risk of developing Alzheimer’s. But what is about cycling that leads me to believe it has a peculiar effect? John Ratey is a Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and the author of Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain. He can’t point to a specific reason but says he has seen patients whose severe depression has all but disappeared after they started to cycle. Rhythm may explain some of the effects. “Think about it evolutionarily for a minute,” he says. “When we had to perform physically, those who could find an altered state and not experience the pain or a drag on endurance would have been at an advantage. Cycling is also increasing a lot of the chemistry in your brain that make you feel peaceful and calm.” At the same time, the focus required to operate a bicycle, and for example, to negotiate a junction or jostle for space in a race, can be a powerful medicine. Dr Ratey cites a study his department is currently conducting. More than 20 pupils with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are expected to show improved symptoms after a course of cycling. The link between cycling and ADHD is well established. It’s “like taking a little bit of Prozac and a little bit of Ritalin,” Dr Ratey says. Ritalin is a stimulant commonly used to treat ADHD in children by boosting levels of neural transmitters. Exercise can achieve the same effect, but not all exercise is equal. The apparent mindlessness of pedalling can not only make us happier (“Melancholy,” the writer James E Starrs has said, “is incompatible with bicycling”) but also leave room for other thoughts, from the banal to the profound. On the seat of my bike, I’ve made life’s decisions, “written” passages of articles, and reflected usefully on emotional troubles. Of his theory of relativity, meanwhile, Albert Einstein is supposed to have said: “I thought of it while riding my bicycle.” — The Independent
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Hospital faces fines because it is ‘too popular’ LONDON: One of Britain's best hospitals is facing fines of more than £500,000 a month from April because it is too popular. The hospital, a specialist orthopaedic centre in Shropshire, has regularly topped league tables for the quality of its clinical care. But its popularity has meant it has come bottom of the league for the length of its waiting list as patients have flocked to the hospital. Now, a new government drive to rid the NHS of excessively long waits for treatment means that hospitals will be fined £5,000 a month for each patient who has waited more than a year. The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic NHS Foundation Trust, which specialises in spinal surgery, has 101 patients who have waited more than a year for their operations . If it does not reduce the number before April, it will face fines of £505,000 a month. It is also the worst performer in England on patients waiting longer than 18 weeks, the official NHS limit, with almost two-thirds delayed beyond this period. In surveys, patients have rated it the best for doctor's hygiene, ward cleanliness, the quality of its food and the provision of single sex accommodation, as well as the quality of care. Val Doyle, director of operations at the hospital, said plans were in place to "increase activity" over the next three months to clear the long waiters and they were currently "on target." There was a "national problem" with waiting times for spinal surgery, she added. A spokesperson for the Department of Health said: "It is not acceptable for patients who require an operation to have to wait for more than a year. "Hospitals where demand exceeds its capacity should look at options to develop capacity in order to deal with that demand." Other hospitals facing hefty fines from April include King's College Hospital, London, which could have to pay £685,000 a month. — The Independent
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Can vitamin-A protect you from eye diseases? Vitamins are essential for a healthy body and healthy eyes. Taken under medical supervision, these can also help shore up bones, heal wounds, support the immune system, convert food into energy, repair cell and tissue damage and probably save vision. Self-medication and over-dosage can be harmful. The old belief went that the intake of a large dosage of vitamin-A or a regular intake of carrots could save you from various eye ailments! Be cautioned. Not more than 3,000 IU is the recommended daily adult dose. In case of children, 1500 IU or less may suffice. The use of vitamin-A in large doses for preventing or treating eye diseases or to be obsessed with carrots to get rid of glasses or to prevent the occurrence of short-sightedness or myopia is a myth and is unwarranted. Excessive vitamin-A consumption can lead to nausea, irritability, reduced appetite, vomiting, blurry vision, headaches, hair loss, muscle and abdominal pain, weakness, drowsiness, altered mental status, dry skin, drying of the mucous membranes, fever, loss of sleep, fatigue, weight loss, bone fractures, anaemia, and diarrhoea. Sources of vitamin-A Colourful fruits and vegetables are rich in pigments known as carotenoids. The body converts two carotenoids, beta carotene and alpha carotene, into vitamin A. Animal-based foods, including liver, milk and eggs contain another form of vitamin-A, called retinol. Lutein and zeaxanthin, the two carotenoids that aren't transformed into vitamin-A, have also been found useful. Spinach and kale, the two lutein-rich vegetables, appear to moderately reduce the risk of cataract. Occasional administration of vitamin-A tablets will also prevent Vitamin-A, deficiency-related night blindness. Cooking or over-cooking of foods can be counter-productive. How Vitamin deficiency can affect the eyes? Night blindness is one of the first signs of vitamin A deficiency. Damage to cornea -Xerophthalmia, keratomalacia and complete blindness can also occur. Approximately 250,000 to 500,000 malnourished children in the developing world go blind each year from a deficiency of vitamin-A, approximately half of whom die within a year of becoming blind. Vitamin-A deficiency also diminishes the ability to fight infections. In countries where children are not immunised, infectious diseases like measles have higher fatality rates. Even mild, subclinical deficiency can also be a problem, as it may increase children's risk of developing respiratory and diarrhoeal infections, decrease growth rate, slow bone development and decrease the likelihood of survival from serious illness. What to do in cases of myopia? Around 80 per cent to 90 per cent of school children in countries like China, Japan and Singapore suffer from myopia. In India the incidence may be about 25-30 per cent. When glasses are prescribed, don't say “Why me, why glasses put on my face, save me from the scourge of glasses?” Don't get agitated, accept willingly the fact that your eyes are weak and stop cursing your parents or doctors for offering you a useful aid like spectacles or contact lenses, or referring for refractive surgery to treat myopia. Vitamin-A cannot get you rid of spectacles. The best way to manage your myopia is by reducing the amount of unnecessary near work, which forces the eyes into a continuous near-focusing position that may affect myopia, by taking frequent breaks from near work, and by wearing glasses only when they are needed. Unless otherwise specified, don't wear spectacle all the time with the belief that by constant use you may reduce the power of glasses or get rid of them altogether at a later date. However, when an eye specialist prescribes a constant use to treat eye strain, headache, etc, glasses may be used accordingly. Relaxing the eyes by looking at objects at infinity after working on a computer for half an hour is a good strategy. The writer is a senior eye specialist, based in Chandigarh. Email-
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Health Notes Washington: A new research has linked loneliness to a number of dysfunctional immune responses, suggesting that being lonely has the potential to harm overall health. Researchers found that people who were more lonely showed signs of elevated latent herpes virus reactivation and produced more inflammation-related proteins in response to acute stress than did people who felt more socially connected. These proteins signal the presence of inflammation, and chronic inflammation is linked to numerous conditions, including coronary heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, arthritis and Alzheimer's disease, as well as the frailty and functional decline that can accompany aging. Reactivation of a latent herpes virus is known to be associated with stress, suggesting that loneliness functions as a chronic stressor that triggers a poorly controlled immune response. — ANI 'Brain pacemakers' may help in Alzheimer's
Washington: The first US experiments with brain pacemakers for Alzheimer's are getting under way, in which researchers are looking beyond drugs to implants in the hunt for much-needed new treatments. The research is in its infancy and only a few dozen people with early-stage Alzheimer's will be implanted in a handful of hospitals. No one knows if it might work, and if it does, how long the effects might last. Kathy Sanford was among the first to sign up, Fox News reported. The Ohio woman's early-stage Alzheimer's was gradually getting worse. She still lived independently; posting reminders to herself, but no longer could work. The usual medicines weren't helping. Then doctors at Ohio State University explained the hope - that constant electrical stimulation of brain circuits involved in memory and thinking might keep those neural networks active for longer, essentially bypassing some of dementia's damage. — ANI How helper cells become killers to attack viruses
London: Researchers have discovered the mechanism that enables CD4 helper T cells to assume the more aggressive role of killer T cells in mounting an immune attack against viruses, cancerous tumours and other damaged or infected cells. The finding could enable the development of more potent drugs for AIDS, cancer and many other diseases based on using this mechanism to trigger larger armies of killer T cells against infected or damaged cells. The team led by the La Jolla Institute for Allergy 'n' Immunology conducted the study in collaboration with researchers from the RIKEN Institute in Japan. — ANI |
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