Tag: Alternative Medicine

ADHD Treatment

There is no cure for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Therapy aims to reduce the symptoms to allow for normal learning and growth of the child. Basic tenets of therapy include medication and counselling. Other parts of therapy include accommodating the child in regular classrooms and providing family and community support. Types of ADHD Medication

Alternative and Western Medicine

Alternative therapies have become increasingly popular. Half the global population use some form of alternative medicine annually and, as they typically exist outside of Government-backed healthcare systems, pay directly for such services. Many healthcare practitioners incorporate therapies that exist outside of conventional medicine in their practices. The following article discusses the differences between alternative and

Widely available antibiotics could be used in the treatment of ‘superbug’ MRSA

Some MRSA infections could be tackled using widely-available antibiotics, suggests new research from an international collaboration led by scientists at the University of Cambridge and the Wellcome Sanger Institute. Since the discovery of penicillin, the introduction of antibiotics to treat infections has revolutionised medicine and healthcare, saving millions of lives. However, widespread use (and misuse)

People with happy spouses may live longer

Research suggests that having a happy spouse leads to a longer marriage, and now study results show that it’s associated with a longer life, too. The study was published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. “The data show that spousal life satisfaction was associated with mortality, regardless of individuals’ socioeconomic

Deaths due to tainted herbal medicine under-recorded

A University of Adelaide forensic pathologist is warning that potentially harmful substances found in herbal medicines may be playing a bigger role in deaths of ‘health tourists’ than previously thought. Professor Roger Byard is calling for closer checks during post-mortems for the presence of drugs and adulterants that originate from herbal remedies. “There is a

Molecular mechanisms of ancient herbal remedies: Components of leaf extract prove highly effective at preventing life-threatening seizures

Researchers in the Department of Physiology & Biophysics at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine have discovered the molecular basis for a therapeutic action of an ancient herbal medicine used across Africa to treat various illnesses, including epilepsy. The herbal medicine, a leaf extract from the shrub Mallotus oppositifolius, was previously found to

The quality of protein supplements for athletes

Powdered protein supplements are one of the most commonly consumed nutritional supplements, whether by professional athletes or amateurs, even by those who use them for aesthetic purposes instead of sporting ones. This study, led by a researcher from the Area of Human Motility and Sporting Performance at the University of Seville, has analysed the quality

Caspase-2 enzyme inhibitor shows promise for ameliorating fatty liver disease: Researchers identify enzyme as responsible for onset and progression of fatty liver disease in mice and human clinical specimens

Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have discovered using mice and human clinical specimens, that caspase-2, a protein-cleaving enzyme, is a critical driver of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), a chronic and aggressive liver condition. By identifying caspase-2’s critical role, they believe an inhibitor of this enzyme could provide an effective way to

New hope for rare disorder

Hereditary angioedema (HAE) is a rare genetic disorder characterized by recurrent painful swellings of the skin and mucous membranes. Without treatment, patients’ quality of life is noticeably compromised: Angioedema may not only be disfiguring; in the gastrointestinal tract it may lead to severe abdominal colic ad in the upper airways it can even be fatal

Changes in stress after meditation

For a thousand years, people have reported feeling better by meditating but there has never been a systematic study that quantified stress and how much stress changes as a direct result of meditation until now. U.S. Army Research Laboratory researchers spent a year collaborating with a team of scientists from the University of North Texas

Acupuncture possible treatment for dental anxiety

Researchers have found evidence that acupuncture could help people who experience dental anxiety. Dental anxiety affects up to an estimated 30% of the adult population in countries world-wide. Patients can experience nausea, difficulty breathing and dizziness at the thought of going to the dentist, during an examination, and following treatment. Reasons behind dental anxiety can

Statistical designs accelerate the optimization of layered 2-D crystals

It has been estimated that there are more than 10^100 possible materials that can be synthesised, grown, and optimised. Materials design can be a slow and laborious process and investigating the full parameter space is a formidable challenge. Machine learning and other advanced statistical techniques will almost certainly help accelerate materials discovery, design, and optimisation,

Practicing Tai Chi helps improve respiratory function in patients with COPD: Tai Chi offers a low-cost, easily accessible alternative to pulmonary rehabilitation, study finds

Finding ways to help patients with COPD improve their functional status is an area of interest for pulmonary healthcare providers. Currently, pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is used where available to improve exercise capacity and quality of life, but the treatment requires access to trained staff and specialized facilities. A new study in the journal CHEST® looked