Quick Yoga Tips

• The time most suitable for Yoga is in the morning before breakfast when the mind is calm and fresh and the movements can be done with ease and vitality.
• The most important things you'll need to get started - as they say - are a big heart and a small ego.
• A person must seek a place of quietude, which is well ventilated, free from dust, insects, unpleasant smell, draught, and moisture. There should be no distraction whatsoever.
• You must empty your bowels and bladder, clean your nostrils and throat of all mucus, consume a glass of lukewarm water and then begin the exercises after 15 minutes.
• Always remember that you should begin with the easy postures and then proceed to the difficult ones. One must follow the graded steps of Yoga.
• In the beginning, all movements should be practiced lightly and you must cease to go further if fatigue shows.
• Yoga must pep up and not impart weariness and despondency.
• Periods of relaxation are advisable if a particular exercise proves to be tiring.
• Yoga trainers recommend a balanced diet (sattwik). There should be an interval of 4 hours between meals.
• Regarding the quantity of food, it should be moderate (mitahara), only that which satisfies one's appetite.
• One should avoid overeating, fasting or eating once a day. Stale or non-nutritious food, you know, is harmful.
• The clothing should be loose and as scanty as possible, because maximum amount of the skin should be exposed to air.
• Form-fitting cotton/Lycra pants and shirts are the best.
• The breathing should be long and deep. The mouth should be closed and inhale and exhale only through the nose.
• Always take a mat of kusa or any other grass or hay for sitting postures.
• For lying postures use a woolen carpet, and spread a clean sheet over it.
• You can check out some other commercial Yoga accessories, like Yoga belt, foam blocks, Yoga pillows and rubber mats.

Source: www.medical-health-care-information.com

FDA approves human thrombin for topical use in surgery

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Evithrom (human thrombin), a blood-clotting protein used to help control bleeding during surgery.

Evithrom is the first human thrombin approved since 1954 and is the only product currently licensed. It is derived from human plasma obtained from carefully screened and tested U.S. donors and has undergone steps to further reduce the risk for transfusion-transmitted diseases.

Evithrom is indicated as an aid to stop oozing and minor bleeding from capillaries and small veins and when control of bleeding by standard surgical techniques is ineffective or impractical. The product is applied to the surface of bleeding tissue and may be used in conjunction with an absorbable gelatin sponge. Evithrom must not be injected into blood vessels, which would result in serious clinical complications and may even be fatal.

"The approval of Evithrom offers an important additional option for surgeons and their patients to help control surgical bleeding," said Jesse L. Goodman, M.D., M.P.H., director of FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. "Surgeons will now be able to choose between human thrombin and thrombin derived from cattle plasma."

In a clinical trial involving several hundred subjects, Evithrom was found comparable to cattle-derived thrombin in both safety and effectiveness.

Source: www.epsdrugstore.com

Xolair Gets Black Box Warning

The asthma drug Xolair has a new "black box" warning about severe, potentially life-threatening allergic reaction (anaphylaxis).

In February, the FDA requested Xolair's maker, Genentech, to put the boxed warning on Xolair. Now, those warnings have been added to Xolair's packaging.

Black box warnings are the FDA's sternest warning for prescription drug labels.

The new warning notes reports of anaphylaxis in patients taking Xolair. Those reports include new users of Xolair and patients who have been taking the asthma drug for longer than one year, according to the FDA.

The FDA notes that due to the risk of anaphylaxis, Xolair should only be administered to patients under direct medical supervision by health care workers who are aware of Xolair's anaphylaxis risk, monitor patients taking Xolair, and are prepared to treat anaphylaxis.
Xolair is given by injection to patients who are at least 12 years old and have moderate-to-severe persistent allergic asthma that doesn't respond to inhaled corticosteroids.

Patients taking Xolair should be informed about their chances of developing anaphylaxis, note the FDA and Genentech.

The warning notes that signs and symptoms of anaphylaxis can include the following:

• Wheezing, shortness of breath, cough, chest tightness, trouble breathing
• Low blood pressure, dizziness, fainting, rapid or weak heartbeat, anxiety, or feeling of impending doom
• Swelling of the throat or tongue, throat tightness, hoarse voice, trouble swallowing
• Flushing, itching, hives, or feeling warm Patients experiencing such symptoms should seek emergency medical care.

The FDA notes three cases of anaphylaxis among 3,507 patients taking Xolair in the drug's premarketing clinical trials.

The FDA also states that in a review of 124 case reports among some 57,300 patients who took Xolair from June 2003 to December 2006, the frequency of anaphylaxis attributed to Xolair was estimated to be at least 0.2% of treated patients.

Source: www.epsdrugstore.com

Mild Drug Offers Hope in Treating Severe Alzheimer's

A new study has discovered that a drug initially used to treat mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease improved the memory and global function of people with severe Alzheimer's disease, and was safe and effective.

The six-month study involved 343 people with severe Alzheimer's disease at clinics in the United States, Canada, France, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Half of the group received a daily dose of donepezil; the other half received placebo. Cognitive tests were performed throughout the study.

The study found cognitive function stabilized or improved in 63 percent of people taking donepezil compared to 39 percent of people taking placebo. Compared to the placebo group, those taking donepezil showed improvement in memory, language, attention, and recognizing one's name. The donepezil group also showed less of a decline in social interaction, skills needed to complete a jigsaw puzzle, and arranging sentences compared to the placebo group.

"The effectiveness of donepezil in preserving cognitive and global function in people wit
h severe Alzheimer's disease, as evidenced by this study and others, is encouraging," said study author Sandra Black, MD, Brill Professor of Neurology at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, University of Toronto in Canada, and member of the American Academy of Neurology.

"People who progress to the severe stage of Alzheimer's disease have markedly diminished cognitive and global function, so preserving cognitive function is a worthwhile treatment goal because it may help to keep patients at home longer, something that patients and caregivers often desire and which delays the costs of nursing home care," said Black.

According to Black, the most common side effects reported in this study,diarrhea, insomnia, nausea, infection, and bladder problems, were mild to moderate and consistent with the known side effects of such drugs.

"Our findings provide further evidence that donepezil is safe, effective and benefits cognition and global function in people with severe Alzheimer's disease," she said. According to Black, the most common side effects reported in this study, diarrhea, insomnia, nausea, infection, and bladder problems, were mild to moderate and consistent with the known side effects of such drugs.

"Our findings provide further evidence that donepezil is safe, effective and benefits cognition and global function in people with severe Alzheimer's disease," she said.

Source: www.epsdrugstore.com

Rash means cancer drug Tarceva is working

The development of a skin rash in patients with pancreatic cancer or lung cancer treated with Tarceva is a strong indication that the drug is working, report researchers from OSI Pharmaceuticals, the drug's developer.

Dr. Bret Wacker and colleagues analyzed data from two clinical trials testing Tarceva in advanced lung cancer and advanced pancreatic cancer. These studies led to the approval of this drug for treating both types of cancer.

In both studies, overall survival was better in Tarceva-treated patients who developed a rash, the investigators report in the journal Clinical Cancer Research. In fact, the more severe the rash, the longer patients survived.

Some patients are stopping treatment because of the rash, yet those are the ones most likely to benefit. This is a critical problem; Wacker said in a statement from the American Association for Cancer Research.

Physicians and patients should view rash development as a positive event indicative of greater likelihood of clinical benefit," he and his colleagues conclude. "Developing strategies to manage rash while continuing (Tarceva) therapy is important,they add.

Source: www.epsdrugstore.com

Ways to help prevent acne

Acne is caused by factors including hormonal changes, certain medications, and the use of certain products.

Acne is a term that’s used to describe whiteheads, blackheads, and pimples. (You may well recognize slang terms like spots, or zits). Most teenagers get the type of acne called acne vulgaris, which can show up on the face, neck, shoulders, back, and chest. Skin pores contain oil glands which naturally lubricate your skin and hair. But sometimes if a pore gets clogged beneath the skin with excess oil and bacteria, the dreaded acne is caused...

Whiteheads happen when a pore gets clogged, closes, and then bulges out. If a pore gets clogged but stays open, the top may darken and you've got a blackhead. A pimple happens when dead skin and bacteria work their way under live skin. This leads to a small infection that makes your skin look red. Get glowing!

Although everyone is different, acne is usually caused by the build up of oil and dead skin in a pore.
This build up of oil and dead skin is caused because of:

• Natural hormones. These are particularly active in your teens.
• Plugged skin. Lots of skin cells can close the oil glands or pores, creating blackheads or whiteheads, (as mentioned earlier).
• Bacteria. Bacteria can easily infect oil glands and pores and grow very quickly.
• Family background. If you have acne, your kids are more likely to have it too.

Here are skin-care suggestions to help reduce acne, courtesy of the U.S. National Library of Medicine:

• Wash your face once or twice a day with a gentle, mild soap or cleanser that won't dry the skin. Always wash your face after sweating or exercising, but don't wash excessively or more than a few times a day.
• Wash your hair with shampoo each day, particularly if you have oily hair
• Keep oily hair pulled back and away from your face
• Don't touch your face with your hands or fingers.
• Don't pick at, scratch or pop any blemishes, as this can cause infection and scarring.
  Avoid any makeup or face creams that are greasy or oily.

Source: www.medical-health-care-information.com

Give your child a smoke-free pregnancy

While most women in the United States understand the importance of prenatal check-ups, limited stress and good nutrition during pregnancy, the American Cancer Society reports that only 39 percent of women smokers quit smoking while pregnant. According to the Office of the Surgeon General, smoking is the most important modifiable cause of poor pregnancy outcomes among women in the United States. The effects of tobacco can do irreparable and lasting damage to the lungs, brain and blood of an unborn child and can cause dangerous conditions for the mother.

Smoking during pregnancy essentially starves a growing child of the food, oxygen and nutrients needed for healthy development – both physical and mental. Cigarette smoke carries toxins such as carbon monoxide, nicotine and cyanide into the baby’s blood stream, hindering the supply of blood to the fetus’ body and brain and the supply of oxygen and nutrients through the placenta. This lack of nourishment slows the baby’s growth and more than doubles the risk of serious complications for both mother and child.

Risks for the mother include:

• miscarriage
• required caesarean delivery
• bleeding
• premature delivery
• ectopic pregnancy (in which the fetus grows inside a fallopian tube instead of the uterus)
  

Risks at birth for the child include:

• polycythemia (abnormal elevated red blood cell count).
• low birth weight - On average, babies of smokers are almost half a pound lighter than babies of non-smokers.
• cleft lip or palate.
  But the health risks for the child only multiply after birth. Because the nicotine is directly ingested by the child while in the womb, its effects are far more severe than those of environmental second-hand smoke. Smoking during pregnancy is one of the leading causes of illness, disability and death for infants.

As infants, children and later as adults, this group of children is more vulnerable to a variety of conditions:

• Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
• Asthma - Exposure to tobacco compromises the development of the fetus’ lungs, leading to an increased risk of asthma.
• Significant behavior problems including hyperactivity, anxiety, depression and antisocial behavior.
• Lung cancer - Research has also found that NNK, a chemical found in nicotine that is linked to lung cancer, is able to cross the placenta and reach the fetus.

According to the American Cancer Society, even quitting the habit in mid-pregnancy can reduce the chances of tobacco-related illness in children by 17 to 26 percent. If you are pregnant and have unsuccessfully tried to quit or have considered quitting, consider the health of your child – and consider your reasons for quitting doubled.

Source: www.medical-health-care-information.com