ΥΓΕΙΑ health

Maria Dalamagka  According to recent research published in the journal Pain , "Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is an inflammatory cytokine known to modulate muscle pain. However, the mechanisms underlying this effect still remain unclear." "Here we show that the injection of IL-6 into mice gastrocnemius muscle evoked a time-and dose-dependent mechanical hyperalgesia. This effect is in part dependent on the presence of gp130 expression in inflammatory cells in the gastrocnemius muscle as well as in DRG neurons. We also demonstrated an increased inflammatory cell recruitment and cytokines levels, namely TNF-alpha, IL-1 beta and KC. TNFR1(-/-) mice or mice pre-treated with the selective CXCR2 antagonist, SB225002, with the anti-macrophage, anti-TNF-alpha or anti-KC antibodies or with IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1RA) showed decreased IL-6-mediated mechanical hyperalgesia. Furthermore, systemic pre-treatment with the classically used drugs indomethacin, celecoxib, guanetidine, mor...

Dalamagka Maria  Most of us have already heard the loose rumor that "classical music is good for your brain", whether as brain-booster while working or as something that mothers should be doing for their developing children or even "sound as audio therapy" unto itself. For many , it may feel intuitive that listening to complex classical music pieces must somehow be better for one's brain than listening to, say, a simplistic three-chord rock anthem or a Rap track featuring a single looping drum beat with repetitive vocal (or many other genres of current pop/rock/rap music).  Or does that truly depend on the song in question, or one's world view, or one's attention to complex subtle nuances that may lie just below the surface of a seemingly trite piece of Pop? The truth is that the potential for brain-boosting benefits from listening to music (or sound content of any type, for that matter) is a largely unstudied area, ripe for much deeper research ...

Dalamagka Maria  "A more effective and convenient alternative treatment for anisometropic amblyopia is required, especially for older children," write Jianhao Zhao, MD, from Joint Shantou International Eye Center of Shantou University and Chinese University of Hong Kong in Shantou, China, and colleagues. "Acupuncture...has been used for treating ophthalmic disorders such as dry eye, myopia, and amblyopia. In recent years, the use of functional magnetic resonance imaging has demonstrated a correlation between vision-related acupoint stimulation and visual cortical activation, suggesting a possible basis for the use of acupuncture in treating amblyopia." The study goal was to compare the efficacy of daily patching for 2 hours with that of acupuncture in treating anisometropic amblyopia. Participants were 88 children, aged 7 to 12 years, with an amblyopic eye, who had worn optimal eyeglasses for at least 16 weeks and had achieved a best spectacle-corrected visual ...

Maria Dalamagka  question I am 80 years old. Forty years ago I had a heart attack. I stopped smoking but remained very active. My blood pressure, with the help of medications, is around 125/70. I now walk 2 to 3 miles a day, work out with weights three times a week, and walk up and down 25 flights of stairs twice a week. My physician thinks I am pushing too hard and has urged me to take it easier. Is he right? answer I congratulate you on being so vigorous and giving your blood pressure and overall health so much attention. You are living proof that you can survive a heart attack and do extremely well for many decades. The medications and lifestyle changes you have made add up to a big reduction in your cardiovascular risk. Your blood pressure is close to perfect, and I can only assume that your cholesterol and blood sugar are also in good shape. Obviously, stopping smoking in 1970 was a great idea. The question of how much exercise is too much is a challenging one. Although...

Maria Dalamagka  Many diet books advise people to chew slowly so they will feel full after eating less food than if they ate quickly. As we explain in the current issue   eating slowly doesn’t always work, but when it does, the reason has as much to do with the brain as with the gut. Scientists have known for some time that a full stomach is only part of what causes someone to feel satisfied after a meal; the brain must also receive a series of signals from digestive hormones secreted by the gastrointestinal tract. Stretch receptors in the stomach are activated as it fills with food or water; these signal the brain directly through the vagus nerve that connects gut and brainstem. Hormonal signals are released as partially digested food enters the small intestine. One example is cholecystokinin (CCK), released by the intestines in response to food consumed during a meal. Another hormone, leptin, produced by fat cells, is an adiposity signal that communicates with the brai...

Maria Dalamagka  One of the things I like most about Thanksgiving is the laughter around the dinner table. The food is great, make no mistake. But it’s the sounds of happiness—the high peal, the good-natured guffaw, the snort-and-shaking-shoulders, and the deep belly laugh—that really make me give thanks. Laughter isn’t just a way to stay connected with family and friends. If new research pans out, it is also doing our hearts some good. From brain scans and other tests, neuroscientists are compiling evidence that laughter triggers chemical responses in the brain that lead to feelings of pleasure and a sense of well-being. Laughter also appears to go beyond the belly and the brain—arteries respond to it in healthy ways that could improve blood flow and long-term health. (I’m talking about “mirthful” laughter here, the kind sparked by a funny story or a Billy Crystal routine. Sarcastic or other kinds of unfriendly or hostile laughter are a different story.) At the University of Texas...

Physiology of Pain. J Anaesth Anesth Drug, 2022,  2(1): doi https://doi.org/10.54289/JAAD2200101 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/382428764_ebookpdf www.iator.gr Maria Dalamagka  Τι είναι πόνος ; Προσδίδουμε διαφορετικούς χαρακτήρες στο πόνο . Αν ένα παιδί τραυματιστεί , θα κλάψει και θα πει «έχω πληγή».Η μητέρα θα ρωτήσει: που πονάει αγάπη μου; Σκεφτείτε ότι πρόκειται για δυο διαφορετικές προσεγγίσεις στο πόνο : 1.Το συναισθηματικό στοιχείο του πόνου , που είναι φυλογενετικά πρωτόγονο και ασχολείται με το πόνο σαν κάτι δυσάρεστο , που πρέπει να αποφεύγεται και το τελευταίο πιο πρόσφατο : 2.το διακριταίο στοιχείο του πόνου , που είναι η ικανότητα να αντιλαμβάνεται ακριβώς που είναι ο πόνος και να ανταποκρίνεται κατάλληλα. Πόνος στο φλοιό Συνηθιζόταν να λέγεται ότι οι δομές του φλοιού μόνο επιφανειακά ασχολούνται με την αντίληψη του πόνου, αν όχι και καθόλου. Αυτό είναι λάθος , καθώς ένα πλήθος συνδέσεων , συνδέουν υψηλότερες δομές του φλοιού με κέντρα του πόνου στο θ...

Maria Dalamagka  Stroke has always been a much-feared medical emergency, and rightly so. Someone in the United States has a stroke every 40 seconds, and someone dies of a stroke every four minutes, amounting to 795,000 strokes and 137,000 deaths annually. Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States, behind heart disease and cancer. Not all strokes are preventable, so it is very important to recognize the early signs of stroke and get treatment as rapidly as possible. Stroke damages brain tissue, but that loss can be minimized by getting quickly to an emergency room that can connect to a rapid-response stroke center. Everyone should learn the following warning signs of stroke. If you experience any of these symptoms, immediately dial 911 or go to an emergency room: weakness in an arm, hand, or leg numbness on one side of the body sudden dimness or loss of vision, particularly in one eye sudden difficulty speaking inability to understand what someone is saying ...

Maria Dalamagka  Lung cancer is usually discovered late when it’s difficult to treat and has often spread outside the lung. A reliable screening test to find it at an earlier, more treatable stage would be a legitimate breakthrough—and could potentially save thousands of lives. About 160,000 Americans die each year from lung cancer, which is more than who die from   breast, prostate and colon cancer combined. Chest x-rays do a good job of finding small lung cancers that can be removed surgically. Why not use them to screen for lung cancer? Because at least a half-dozen studies have been done and for reasons that aren’t entirely clear, early detection with chest x-rays hasn’t translated into prevention of fewer deaths from lung cancer. And in screening, early detection is a means to an end. The real goal is preventing deaths from the disease that is being screened for (and deaths in ...