Archive for July, 2009

Hydrotherapy

Monday, July 20th, 2009

Water  is one of the most important elements  needed  for survival for every living being. Water also has invaluable benefits when used in various types of therapies for human beings. There are documents that demonstrate the knowledge and use of hydrotherapy in old Chinese villages, but their use spread itself only from the nineteenth century, when Protestant pastor Sebastian Kneipp systematized it .

Etymologically, we find the origin of the word in the Greek terms’ Hydor ‘(water) and’ Therapeia ‘(therapy).

Although hydrotherapy techniques were used in ancient times, Hippocrates (460 to 337 BC), for example, mentions some of them; they were abandoned for a long time and only started to create a buzz in the eighteenth century through the work of doctors Sigmund Hahn (1664 1742) and his son Johann Sigmund Hahn (1696-1773). From this work, Vinceriz Priessnitz (1799-1851) created  the cold water therapy by associating it to sudorific implement . But who really renovated modern hydrotherapy was the Protestant pastor Sebastian Kneipp (1821 -1897), whose basic tenet was that the disease in humans happens when their natural force is undermined by an inadequate diet and unnatural lifestyle. His methods, known today as the “Kneipp cure” included not only complete and partial baths of hot and cold water, but jets of water, exercise, use of medicinal herbs and a healthy diet. (more…)

Biotechnological Medicine

Monday, July 20th, 2009

In late 2005 several chemical analysts agreed that the total number of known molecules exceded 20 million but due to an exponential growth could reach 100 or even 200 million by the end of the twenty-first century.

Of these, at this time, only about 80,000 have some therapeutic use. Currently drugs are obtained by four different methods: a) chemical synthesis, b) biosynthesis, c) from natural products, and d) biotechnology. However, it is often used as mixed processes, eg with certain antibiotics (macrolides) or antifungals (Echinocandins), which combines chemical synthesis to biosynthesis to improve the microbiological activity orits pharmacokinetic characteristics.In other occasions, some active ingredients extracted from natural products are modified by semi-synthesis reactions to complete its structure and improve its business or its pharmacokinetic characteristics. Thus, precursors of anovulatory or anti-inflammatory steroids, from plants of the genus Dioscorea and Solanum, are amended later by methods of semi-synthesis or biosynthesis to produce various medicines.  Finally, some proteins produced by recombinant technology (interferons, G-CSF, erythropoietin, etc..) are chemically modified by chemical synthesis to improve their bioavailability or delay its clearance. (more…)

How much should I weigh?

Tuesday, July 7th, 2009

It’s a question that we commonly ask and it is important to know whether your weight is adequate or if you are below or above your ideal weight.

  1. The first thing to do is know your complexion. We need to measure the circumference in centimeters of your hand you use most, ie the right if you’re right-handed and left if you are left handed. After you measure you hand, find your complexion in the following table:Height Complexion Table (more…)

Why can’t I sleep?

Tuesday, July 7th, 2009

One study found abnormal levels of a neurochemical substance associated to sleep disorders.

Adults who suffer from primary insomnia have an abnormality that prevents a neurochemical substance to shut off the mind at night, finds a recent investigationThe researchers measured levels of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in 16 adult men and women with insomnia and 16 men and women with normal sleep patterns.

Primary Insomnia is when people find it is difficult to sleep or stay asleep at night over a period of at least a month, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Unlike most cases of insomnia, primary insomnia is not a cause psychiatric, medical or environmental. The new study found that people who suffer from primary insomnia for more than six months have GABA levels that are 30% lower. GABA, the most common inhibitory transmitter in the brain slows the overall activity in many brain areas; the investigation was filed on June 9 at the annual meeting of Associated Professional Sleep Societies in Seattle.
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Etiology of Influenza

Tuesday, July 7th, 2009

The viruses that cause influenza in humans are classified into three types morphologically similar: A, B and C. Influenza viruses A, the most frequently studied are the most important for its ability to undergo antigenic changes, resulting in epidemics and pandemics and infect animal populations. A virus is based on two surface antigens: hemagglutinin (H) and neuraminidase (N), giving rise to this name is so familiar today in the media with the issue of avian and swine influenza. Full identification of the strain contains the place of origin, number of isolation, year of isolation, and subtype (eg. A/Victoria/3/79 H3N2 influenza virus).
Influenza viruses B and C are identified similarly, but the antigens M and N do not have subtype names because they have less variation.

Structurally, the virions are irregular spherical particles with a diameter of approximately 100 nm (80 to 120 nm), covered by a lipid membrane in the looming glycoproteins hemagglutinin (H) and neuraminidase (N).
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The Secret Laws of Attraction

Tuesday, July 7th, 2009

In the universe there are natural laws, that are very good and predictable, allowing us to apply the science without any major physical problems, wherever they are, anywhere in the world these universal laws work, with or without our understanding. So as well as the law of gravity, there is also “THE LAW OF ATTRACTION”.

“THE LAW OF ATTRACTION” argues that opposite poles repel each other and alike poles attract each other.

If we translate this into practice, we can positively say that if you think positive things will happen, odds are they will, and if you think negatively then you are in sync with the negative and this will happen to you. When we believe in something so intensely that we do not want it to happen , it happens! And because the law of attraction does not recognize a no, it only recognizes the action itself.
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Spirulina “Life Support”

Tuesday, July 7th, 2009

In recent years the issue of global warming is becoming an issue that occupies the agendas of many countries and officials of governmental agencies, but if something is agreed is that if current trends continue, within a very short span of time the planet will be uninhabitable. The Worldwatch Institute in Washington has confirmed this trend, and scientists in the United Kingdom estimate that this period would be 20 years. Probably the most optimistic are the members of the environment program of the United Nations, who still believe that we have 50 years to save the biosphere. Our unsustainable food production methods may be the factor that could aggravate further the stability of the biosphere.On our planet, about 75% of fertile and arable soils of temperate and tropical areas of the globe are engaged in agriculture, yet despite this, the use and misuse of land has disqualified thousands and one hundred thousand hectares in the world are becoming deserted and useless land. The type of food that we receive today is very poor compared to those received in previous years. In light of this problem we should ask ourselves three questions:
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Spirulina to lose weight

Friday, July 3rd, 2009

There are three inviolable pillars to achieve and maintain the right weight:
A balanced nutrition, physical activity and the incorporation of healthy eating habits.
The problems that usually occur when you go on a diet to “lose weight” are the difficulty to control your  appetite, the risk of poor nutrition because of harsh diets and the rebound phenomenon of body weight.
Spirulina goes very well together with diets established to reduce obesity because it decreases appetite stimulation by increasing the production of neurotransmitters, (due to its content of phenylalanine and other amino acids) that limit the tendency of compulsive eating, acting on the centers that trigger the anxiety of the cerebral cortex. Brings together non-essential and essential amino acids, vitamins and minerals, which are frequently used for the reduction of food intake, as with the adoption of various hypocaloric schemes.
In a double-blind study of Spirulina compared to a placebo, Becker et al. have found that a diet of 2.8 g of Spirulina-1 D 3 times during 4 weeks resulted in a statistically significant reduction in body weight in obese patients.  (Becker, EW, Jakover B., Luft H., et al -Clinical and biochemical evaluations of the alga Spirulina with regard to its application in the treatment of obesity).
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Pharmaceutics and Clinical Research

Thursday, July 2nd, 2009

Clinical research has a key role within pharmaceutics because it determines the efficacy and safety of new drugs on people. It is also the link between basic research and patient care.

The most common factors for failure in clinical research include: lack of efficacy, doubts about the clinical safety and negative results toxicological in preclinical evaluation.

Among the objectives of the areas of efficiency and safety it has been prioritized to enhance the capabilities of clinical trials and intensify dialogue with the authorities to reduce time and costs of clinical development, and improvement in patient recruitment. Thus has begun the clinical research setting in motion Best Project, as a platform for excellence in clinical research.
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How To Beat Stress?

Thursday, July 2nd, 2009

Modern life fills us with tension, nerves and anxiety situations. So, we learn to live with two dangerous guests: stress and anxiety. First, you have to understand that stress is a normal situation that serves as a defense mechanism in humans. Faced with an imminent danger, the brain responds by putting on an alert, so it is easier and quicker to respond to the threat. The problem is when we get used to living always in that state. Then, the problems appear such as headaches, gastrointestinal problems, fatigue, changes in character, anxiety, excessive anger, depression, excessive distraction, poor performance, repeated mistakes, dissatisfaction, frequent arguments and fights, decreased social circle, difficulties in initiating relationships and alterations in feeding behavior, sleep and sexuality. In addition, the person who suffers from stress begins to drink alcohol in bigger quantities, increase the consumption of cigarettes or feel the urge to use drugs.

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