Swine flu

Posted on October 10, 2009 by Antony Zimmer

swineflu

Swine flu (H1N1) is a disease caused by strains of flu virus and characterized by epidemic spread of the disease in swine populations. It is widely spread over everywhere among pigs with the exception of Australia, greater part of Africa and naturally Antarctica. Swine flu is “well known” in North and South America, Europe, continental China, Taiwan, Japan and other countries in Asia and some regions in Africa. The virus circulates among pigs as well as among other mammals, birds and people. The virus tends to mutate with time. Swine flu is rarely transmitted from animal to human.

Swine flu outbreak in 2009

In 2009 an outbreak of a new strain of the H1N1 virus occurred, which was at once called “swine flu”. It was caused by H1N1 subtype virus which genetically resembles swine flu virus most. The viruses of this type are transmitted from human to human and cause symptoms similar to those of seasonal flu. However, this disease, which caused panic in so many people all over the world, has nothing to do with true swine flu: not a single pig caught this disease in the period when Mass Media started “swine flu” hysteria. It is believed that those were newsmen who gave the disease the name of “swine flu”. Now “new flu” is a more frequently used name for H1N1.

Geography of H1N1

The 2009 outbreak is believed to start on March 18 when the first cases of the disease were fixed in Mexico City. Then the flue has spread in Mexico (now more than 17 450 infected) and to south-west of the US. Now the number of the infected prevail in the US (43 800 patients) and Australia (29 000patients). The H1N1 virus has been detected in almost all European counties, but among the European countries the situation is most serious in Great Britain (12 500 patients) and Germany (11 100 patients).

The symptoms of H1N1

The symptoms of “swine flu” are the same as of regular flu. They include dizziness, high temperature, fever, general weakness, cough, angina, runny nose, pain in muscles, joint ache, nausea and upset stomach.

What medicines are used to treat swine flu?

World Health Organization recommends the following antiviral medicines intended for the treatment and prevention of “swine flu”: Oseltamivir and Zanamivir. They claim that H1N1strain is less sensitive to other antiviral drugs. Oseltamivir also comes under the name of Tamiflu.
However, statements that the right medicines for treating “swine flu” are Tamiflu, Triazoverin and Interferon spread by mass media are more like of marketing fad. And as an ad it works great: after mass media announced about the effectiveness of Tamiflu against swine flu, the medicine was literally snapped up despite its expensiveness. However, the effectiveness of this medicine against H1N1 has not been confirmed. In due time, this medicine was also believed to be panacea for avian flu, which occurred in 2004. However, 70% of patients who died of this disease used Tamiflu.

How to protect yourself against swine flu?

You can avoid this infection by observing regular measures taken during flu or acute respiratory disease outbreaks. Avoid busy places; do not make trips to regions where “swine flu” outbreaks have been reported. However World Health Organization considers it ineffective and inappropriate to organize quarantines or restrict people`s right to travel.

Vaccine against H1N1

World Health Organization and medics in the whole world are still trying to create a vaccine against H1N1 virus.

Is H1N1 virus that dangerous?

Both “regular “and the “new” flue pandemia could be dangerous. Every year about 10 million people in the world have flu; half a million of them die. Many doctors think that the panic about the disease is often more scary than the disease itself. Meanwhile, the statements made by mass media about “swine flu” could be described in no other way than panicky. Fresh are the memories of the audience, so frequently “intimidated” by newsmen, about the recent outbreaks of bird flu and Siberian plague which also were alleged to be dangerous for humanity. However, there were no serious consequences for humanity in planetary scale, and all the “terror” happened just on the pages of newspapers, web-sites and TV screens.

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How the embryo develops?

Posted on October 6, 2009 by Antony Zimmer

embryo

Month by month embryo development
Magic within 270 days
The course of human embryo development is a real wonder. Imagine, just within 270 days more than 200 million cells are developed out of only one cell. And the little embryo, which is initially invisible and could be discerned only through microscope, grows half a meter in height.
Every process of its development runs in a step by step mode, following the rules of nature like everything else in the universe.
The first step: the moment of ovum fertilization till the end of the second week of fetus`s life in the mother`s womb. The second step: development of the fetus from the beginning of the third week through the eighth week. In this period some important changes happen to the fetus – the embryo starts to look like human and the formation of all vitally important organs is commenced. At the end of the second step the embryo could be called a fetus. The third step is the final one. It starts from the third month and culminates with baby birth. The most interesting thing about the human fetus is resemblance of its main development processes to those of vertebrates.  There are only a few differences between human fetus and that of other representatives of earth`s fauna which allow to trace the development stages of human fetus. Thus only human fetus develops inside mother`s womb within 270 days, which equals to 10 lunar months.
The first trimester of pregnancy
The first trimester or the first 13-14 weeks is the most important period in the development of a baby, since it is the period when his all internal organs start to form.
In the first 7 days after fertilization the ovum cell starts to divide. Even if this process runs without pathologies, it does not mean successful pregnancy unless ovum implantation occurs. That is why the period from the 7th through the 9th day are considered the most crucial.
In case when the ovum did not get fastened well enough or got attached too high or low, it could be a risk pregnancy.  It means that the baby would be developing normally, but the threat of miscarriage will be impending for a rather long time.
Another anomaly could be considered implantation of the ovum in any of the uterine tubes. In such a case the fertilized ovum does not get enough nutrition, since there are too few vessels there. Moreover, maintenance of such a pregnancy poses hazard to woman`s life.
The next important period of pregnancy is the 2nd -through the 9th week. Any deviation in the development of the embryo in this period usually leads to spontaneous abortion. Also pay special attention to your health in the 11th-13th week, since it is time when a new stage of fetal development starts.
Now we see how important the first trimester is and how little the successfulness of this period depends on the mother. It is time when the nature by natural selection promotes birth of healthy children. Nonetheless in most cases when the mom-to-be does not abuse alcohol, smoking or some medicines and is in good health, she has greater chances to avoid miscarriage and her pregnancy would proceed without any abnormalities. First of all normal pregnancy is associated with the correct chromosome number in the egg cell.

The second trimester of pregnancy
During the second trimester the fetus continues to develop. During this period it would grow considerably. Now your pregnancy would be noticeable to others, since your stomach grows in size quite quickly. In this period the baby makes more coordinated moves, the number of which may reach 600 during one day. The baby would be most active in the 6th month of pregnancy.
By the end of the second trimester the fetus is already viable. But if the baby is born at this period, he would be able to make the first breath and cry, but unfortunately the baby is still too weak to survive.

The third trimester of pregnancy
During the third trimester of the pregnancy quite a few changes happen in the life of the baby.  Most of his organs have already formed and some of them even function. Now he needs to gain some weight and grow in height. The last period of pregnancy is the most difficult for the mother. It is a period when most of complications and ailments occur.  They include leg swelling, varicose veins dilatation, backache, heavy breathing, etc.
In this period the mom gets exhausted very quickly and need to rest more frequently. She is no longer able to perform same volume of activity she used to.

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Alzheimer’s disease

Posted on October 4, 2009 by Antony Zimmer

Alzheimer`s disease is a degenerative brain disease characterized by progressing  loss of intellect. The disease first described in1907 by German psychiatrist and neuropathologist Alois Alzheimer is one of the most common forms of acquired dementia. Only in the USA more than 1,5 million people suffer from Alzheimer`s disease. 30 % out of total number of 1,3 million aged in the US nursing homes make up Alzheimer`s patients.

This disease affects people independently of their nationality or socio-economic status. The youngest Alzheimer`s patent known was 28 years old, though the disease usually affects people above 40. Though very often Alzheimer`s diseases goes unrecognized, it is the fourth leading cause of death: in the US more than 100 thousand people die of Alzheimer`s disease every year.

Alzheimer’s disease was first described in patients under 65 years old; that is why earlier it was called presenile dementia. It was also wrongly considered as manifestation of aging or brain vessel sclerosis. In truth the disease is associated with degeneration of nerve cells (neurons) rather than with the affection of blood vessels.

The symptoms of Alzheimer`s disease may vary from person to person and from stage to stage.   Alzheimer’s symptoms include:  memory and attention impairment, thought disorder, cognition disintegration, disorientation in time and space, speech impairment, communication disorder, personality disintegration.  The symptoms of dementia gradually progress leading to full inability of the patient of self-service.  The process of disintegration of the psyche may last several years causing a lot of sufferings to the patient and his family.

Diagnosing Alzheimer`s.
There is no such a test which could help diagnose Alzheimer`s disease accurately. That is why the doctor should exclude other diseases causing dementia symptoms too, especially those ones which are curable, i.e. benign tumors, injuries, infections, metabolism disorders, medicine overdose and mental disorders such as depression or anxiety syndrome. Even after exclusion of other diseases the diagnose of Alzheimer’s disease is still considered hypothetical.  It could only be confirmed after post-mortem microscopic examination of brain tissue.  Rarely this type of examination is applied to live people. For this purpose biopsy is done (a small sample of brain tissue is removed for examination).

Changes in brain confirming the diagnose of Alzheimer`s disease are usually found in outer layer of the brain (cortex) and hippocampus, which lays deep in the hemispheres and plays an important role in the memory processes. Microscopic examination reveals neurofibrillar tangles and neuritic plaques in these region of brain of Alzheimer`s patients.  The tangles consist of pathologically changed neurons containing anomalous proteins. Plaques represent are extracellular deposits of amyloid (protein and carbohydrate complexes)   in the gray matter of the brain. The greater the number of tangles and plaques in the brain the more evident the intellectual disorders are.

Biochemical researches show that Alzheimer`s disease cause considerable reduction in acetyltransferase rate in brain – a ferment necessary for acetylcholine synthesis. The latter is a neurotransmitter, i.e. a substance transmitting stimulation from one cell to another and participating in memory processes.

The treatment of Alzheimer`s disease.
The disease is incurable. Tacrine is a medicine that can only suspend or decelerate the progression of the disease. That is why the treatment generally carries symptomatic nature.  The patients and their families are usually helped to adjust themselves to the disease. It is important to make the patient lead an active life. In case of delirium, excitation or other behavioral changes medical therapy is recommended.

The cause of Alzheimer`s disease is yet unknown. Presently many researches are carried out in order to determine the role of viral infections, heredity, pathological immune responses, environmental factors and toxic agents in the development of the disease.

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Acne treatment. What to do about them?

Posted on September 15, 2009 by Antony Zimmer

Acne should be treated correctly to avoid scars. First of all consult a dermatologist. Only the dermatologist can determine the cause of your acne break out. If you are older than 25 years old, he is likely to ask you to undergo a full examination, since acne at this age may be a consequence of some disease.

The treatment of acne should be prescribed by your dermatologist as well and may vary depending on your sex, age, duration of the break-out, clinicopathologic examination (identifying type, localization and abundance of the elements) and the results of complete examination (helps to detect concomitant diseases). The treatment course should be determined individually for each patient and may include hormonal treatment, immune system improvement or topical treatment only, etc.  Self-treatment is ineffective and even dangerous, since it may worsen acne break-out and cause complications including scars.

The acne treatment approach depends on the type of acne break-out, but the common principles are the following:

* inhibition of sebaceous gland function;
* elimination of dead skin cells blocking the canals of sebaceous glands;
* elimination of bacteria causing skin inflammation.

Acne therapy consists of special skin care and medicines. The medicines for treating acne may come in a form of ointments, creams, masks, tablets for peroral administration and even injections(in severe cases). However, today most dermatologists recommend their patients to use medicines for topical use, i.e. lotions, creams, ointments, etc.

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Depression statistics

Posted on September 13, 2009 by Antony Zimmer

World Health Organization (WHO) compares depression with epidemic outbreak spread in the whole world. Depression takes the lead among reasons for absence from work and is rated second among incapacitating illnesses. If relevant measures are not taken in time, by 2020 the depression would have paralyzed the economics of both developed and developing countries.  Every year about 150 million people in the world become incapable of work because of depression. Because of it only the economics of the US suffers an estimated 50 million dollar loss annually. This amount includes the costs of 290 lost working days, psychotherapeutic aid and worsening of work quality. According to WHO`s forecast, by 2020 the depression would have taken the first place among all diseases leaving behind today`s leaders- infectious and cardiovascular diseases. Now depression is the most common disease among women. According to American Psychiatric Association presently in the US more than 15 million people suffer from depression. Other researches name even larger figures: more than 26% of women and 12% of men. In the USA depression is number two reason for sick leaves and number one reason in Sweden. In the US, Canada and most countries of Western Europe about 80% of antidepressants are prescribed by general practitioners, not psychiatrists. According to researches carried out in the US, people who are susceptible to depression are at twice the risk of dying of other diseases.     Women have depression twice as frequent as men (20-26% against 8-12%).  There is no such divergence in children with depression- it usually becomes apparent in adulthood. Actually, it is not that the stronger sex has better immune system, just men, unlike women, rarely resort to professional aid preferring to suppress depression symptoms by alcohol, medicines or diving into work. This fact has been confirmed by researches carried out among some religious    concessions which prohibit using alcohol and medicines. Frequency of depression in men and women in these concessions were equal. Therewith there are types of depression which affect only women due to their physiological peculiarities (e.g. PMS, depression accompanying menopause, severe postnatal depression which affects every tenth woman). About 50% of all people suffering from depression never seek medical aid, and only 25-30% of the rest visit a psychiatrist. Unipolar depression is a leading reason for disability among children above 5 years old. Special researches showed that 60% of all patients seeking medical care have depression symptoms of various levels of severity. Meanwhile, the traditional medical methods used in clinics allow to detect depression only in 5% of depressive patients who turn there. Depression is diagnosed in 22-33% of hospitalized patients, in 38% of oncological patients, in 47% of stroke patients, in 45% of myocardial infarction patients and in 39% of Parkinson’s disease patients. Not long ago depression mostly developed in patients aged 30-40, presently the disease has “grown younger” dramatically, and now depression often affects young people below 25. Among those who was born before 1940, the number of people who had depression before the age of 25 makes up 2,5%.  Among those born in 1940-1959 this figure makes up 10%.  There is no data available for later dates; however, this growth tendency is kept on. In 2-3% of people development of depression does not depend on any external circumstances (endogenous depression), in the rest depression occurs as a reaction to stress (psychogenic depression).  45-60% of all suicides on the planet are committed by depressed patients. As predicted, in 2020 depression would become  1 “killer”.  Depressed patients kill themselves 35 times more often than non-depressed ones.  50% of patients with endogenous depression and 20% with psychogenic depression try suicide. People with mild to moderate depression have ability to give more objective assessment of reality (it was even mentioned by Freud). Thus, in one research after half an hour of a shooting game the gamers were asked to name the number of monsters killed by them.  People with depression named a figure maximally close to real. The ones who were not depressed exaggerated their results by 4-6 times. Other research showed that both depressed and non-depressed people answer equally well to abstract questions, but when it comes to control over some events, non-depressed people suggest that they have better control of things than they actually do; depressed people are able to give a more accurate estimation of their abilities.
The sickness of annual catalog of new antidepressants reaches 3 cm. If you experience the first episode of depression the possibility of a recurrence makes up 50%, in case it is the second episode the possibility of recurrence makes up 70 %, and 90% in case of third episode. Married couples where at least one of the spouses is depressed break up 10 times more often than couples where none of the partners is depressed. A number of researches in the USA showed that depression affects homosexuals more often than heterosexuals.   Another research with participation of 60 thousand workers showed that people who work in the sphere of nursing, elderly and child care are exposed to depression most of all (11,3%), job holders in the sphere of public catering go next (10,3%), and doctors are in the third place (9,6%). Scientists, architects and engineers are susceptible to depression least of all (4,3%). Among the unemployed the number of the depressed makes up12,7%. Very often depression develops in family members of depressed patients.      Approximately 20% of people who have depressed relatives are susceptible to depression, whereas this figure among those who have no depressed next of kin makes up just 7%.  The risk of developing depression among singles and divorced people is 2-4 times higher than among family people. At the same time divorced and single men are at greater risk than divorced and single women.

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