For children with autism, a dose of oxytocin — the so-called "love hormone" — seems to fine-tune the activity in brain areas linked to social interactions, according to a new study.
Although the hormone didn't change children's social skills in the study, its boosting effect on the brain's social areas suggests that using oxytocin nasal sprays immediately before behavioral therapies could boost the effects of those treatments, the researchers said.
"Oxytocin temporarily normalized brain regions responsible for the social deficits seen in children with autism," said study researcher Ilanit Gordon, a neuroscientist at Yale University in New Haven, Conn.
The study involved 17 children and teens with autism spectrum disorders who underwent two sessions of brain imaging as they performed a task related to social behavior. In each session, the participants received either oxytocin nasal spray or a placebo, and were asked to judge the mental states of people based on a picture of their eyes.
The results showed that, compared with placebo sessions, when children received oxytocin they showed greater activity in the "social brain," which includes regions that process social information and are linked to reward, social perception and emotional awareness.
In contrast, oxytocin seemed to decrease the activity of the brain's social regions when children were engaged in a task that was not related to social processing, such as labeling the category of vehicles shown in pictures of cars.
In other words, the hormone seemed to help attune the brain to the difference between social and nonsocial stimuli, according to the study, published today (Dec. 2) in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
However, Gordon said the findings do not mean that one dose of the hormone would treat social deficits in people with autism. "It means that there's a change in the brain that we read as positive and exciting, but we need to learn how to utilize it to create a change in real-life behavior," she said.
Oxytocin is a hormone produced in the brain, and is thought to be involved in various aspects of social interaction, such as emotional bonding, trust and love.
Previous studies had found lower blood levels of the hormone in children with autism than in typically developing children, and it had been suggested that oxytocin treatments could help children with autism overcome their difficulties with social interactions.
However, studies that examined the behavioral effects of administrating oxytocin yielded negative or weak results. In those studies, researchers gave the hormone to adults and children with autism for days and weeks, and found only modest improvements, or no change at all, in participants' social behavior.
Similarly, in the new study, when children received oxytocin, they didn't perform any better in identifying mental states based on their assessment of a person's eyes. But the greater activity in the brain's social regions after they received the hormone suggests that it may improve the effectiveness of behavioral treatments.
"There's a window where the brain increases its efficiency in processing, and we can utilize that window to teach kids on the autism spectrum in behavioral treatment," Gordon told LiveScience.
It remains unclear how the hormone affects the brain and leads to better social processing. One possibility is that oxytocin makes social stimuli more rewarding to children with autism, the researchers said. It is also possible that the hormone makes the information pertaining to humans stand out from the background information consisting of objects and, in turn, helps social information to become salient to people with autism, the researchers said.
Source: LiveScience
This is a static for the top ten pharmaceutical companies in the world according to total revenues.
1- Johnson & Johnson
2- Pfizer
3- Roche
4- GlaxoSmithKline
5- Novartis
6- Sanofi
7- AstraZeneca
8- Abbott Laboratories
9- Merck & Co.
10- Bayer
Source: Facmedicine
While searching in the web , I read this topic about benefits of being in relationship with a nurse , I think nurses here in the forum will like it
1- Nurses make a comfortable living, are goal-oriented, and future-focused. These are very positive qualities to potential mates seeking a serious and/or long-term relationship. Potential mates look at someone with these qualities as a person who knows what he/she wants and has a plan for getting there. This equals stability!
2- Nurses are hardworking. We worked hard to get our degrees and licensure, and now toil at work every day. After all, relationships need a serious dose of elbow grease to be successful and long-lasting.
They do not simply exist, but, like your flower garden, require constant work and routine maintenance to grow. So when you’re with a nurse, expect him/her to put in that extra effort to make it work.
3- Nurses are good listeners, complete with understanding and patience. Our work life has taught us to be patient listeners! We are experts at putting ourselves in other people's shoes in understanding his/her position. Dating and building a nursing relationship requires patience, understanding, and good listening skills.
4- Nurses are compassionate. Not only are we great listeners, but we are well equipped to help handle difficult situations. We will always "be there"!
5- We tend not to sweat the small stuff. When you take care of sick patients all day long, having dirty dishes in the sink or having the toilet seat up are not really big issues to us.
6- Nurses deal with life and death situations on a daily basis. We tend to handle everyday stressors, which may "freak" some people out, with a quick-witted remark and a smile.
7- We have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly involving the human body. Nothing surprises, shocks, or disgusts us! More importantly, we tend not to laugh anymore about anomalies with any human body.
8- We don't mind the dirtier cleaning jobs around the house. When you empty bedpans for years on end, no cleaning task bothers you.
9- We have cool work tools your potential mate can play with.
10- Free medical advice and care, even for his/her family and friends!
11- We are really good at bed baths—and making beds for that matter. What other professional has been trained to give baths and make beds? Add to that a one-of-a-kind bedside manner and you've got a combo that's hard to beat.
12- We are great at medicating minor headaches and flu symptoms.
13- We can multi-task like nobody else.
14- We look good in our nursing scrubs.
15- He/She should be proud to say i am dating a nurse.
Source: Facmedicine
History has the weirdest way of uncovering itself! A more contemporary version of a mummy was found in the form of a 15 year old Incan girl in 1999 near Llullaillaco’s 6739 meter summit. Scientists revealed that there was blood present in the girl’s undamaged vital organs, therein showing how well preserved her internal system was. They also revealed that this was due to the cold mountainous temperature and this girl had eventually frozen to death. This “mummy” is a relic of a 500 year old tradition called the capacocha, whereby children were sacrificed by religious leaders so as to protect the Incan tribe.
The history behind the Incan Girl
The mummy’s discovery expanded upon the mysterious scope of Incan history. It was then found that children who were the most “attractive” were sacrificed to Incan Gods to protect the tribe from harm. These younglings were taken to high mountain tops where they were left by religious leaders.
In the course of that time, most children freeze to death. This girl is the perfect example of that. The cocoa leaf on her lip explains that it was obviously difficult for children to maintain their warmth in these high altitude areas. Therefore, their leaders would give them these leaves so that they could keep their inner system revitalized enough to function till they reach the mountain top.
New age technology and history enthusiasts
After preserving her body in an acrylic cylinder inside a box made of tripe paned glass, scientists ensured that the conditions perfectly matched those of the mountain tops. Therefore, her body could remain frozen and just as preserved as found on Llullaillaco. The mummy has earned the title of “La Doncella” and awed many history enthusiasts. Scientists have even ensured that the condition she was found in remains the same. Therefore, she sits at the Museum of High Altitude Archaeology in Salta in her finely braided hair, brown clothes and sandals, with her head leaning lightly against her shawl so as to put her head to sleep or to keep away the deathly cold.
Source: Facmedicine
According to a recent study conducted by the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, this is a list with the most popular countries for plastic surgeries either non-surgical procedures or surgical procedures.
1: United States
Total Non-Surgical Procedures: 2,011,100
Top Non-Surgical Procedure: Botulinum Toxin Type A
Total Surgical Procedures: 1,094,146
Top Surgical Procedure: Breast augmentation
2: Brazil
Total Non-Surgical Procedures: 542,090
Top Non-Surgical Procedure: Botulinum Toxin Type A
Total Surgical Procedures: 905,124
Top Surgical Procedure: Lipoplasty
3: China
Total Non-Surgical Procedures: 635,720
Top Non-Surgical Procedure: Botulinum Toxin Type A
Total Surgical Procedures: 415,140
Top Surgical Procedure: Lipoplasty
4: Japan
Total Non-Surgical Procedures: 579,878
Top Non-Surgical Procedure: Botulinum Toxin Type A
Total Surgical Procedures: 372,773
Top Surgical Procedure: Lipoplasty
5: Mexico
Total Non-Surgical Procedures: 494,731
Top Non-Surgical Procedure: Botulinum Toxin Type A
Total Surgical Procedures: 299,835
Top Surgical Procedure: Breast augmentation
6: Italy
Total Non-Surgical Procedures: 388,440
Top Non-Surgical Procedure: Botulinum Toxin Type A
Total Surgical Procedures: 316,470
Top Surgical Procedure: Breast augmentation
7: South Korea
Total Non-Surgical Procedures: 391,588
Top Non-Surgical Procedure: Botulinum Toxin Type A
Total Surgical Procedures: 258,350
Top Surgical Procedure: Lipoplasty
8: India
Total Non-Surgical Procedures: 274,792
Top Non-Surgical Procedure: Botulinum Toxin Type A
Total Surgical Procedures: 191,439
Top Surgical Procedure: Lipoplasty
9: France
Total Non-Surgical Procedures: 248,247
Top Non-Surgical Procedure: Botulinum Toxin Type A
Total Surgical Procedures: 207,049
Top Surgical Procedure: Breast augmentation
10: Germany
Total Non-Surgical Procedures: 228,255
Top Non-Surgical Procedure: Botulinum Toxin Type A
Total Surgical Procedures: 187,193
Top Surgical Procedure: Breast augmentation
Source: Facmedicine
1. Cigarette industries earn about $400 billion a year as cigarette is the most traded item in the world.
2. Out of total cigarettes sold all over the world, 25 % are smuggled.
3. 70 % of the cigarette market is owned by major brands like Marlboro, Camel, Kent and kool.
4. The American cigarette manufacturers sell much less cigarettes to Americans as compared to the number that they sell to non-Americans.
5. Urea, which is excreted in urine is used to flavor the cigarettes.
6. Additional flavors are mixed in blended tobacco with the help of toppings of substances like, clove, licorice, orange oil, apricot stone, lime oil, lavender oil, cocoa and many others.
7. Legally tobacco can not be sold to people younger than 18 years in most of countries except Japan where legal age for the purpose is 20 years.
8. There is a myth that smoking helps in digestion. In fact smoking slows digestion by diverting the blood towards other organs, away from intestine where it is required for digestion.
9. Within 10 seconds of inhalation of cigarette smoke, nicotine reaches every part of body including brain.
10. It has been proven by research that smokers’ life expectancy is reduced by 14 years.
Source: Facmedicine
Lack of Sleep Makes You Fatter
In the Nurses’ Health Study, 70,026 women were studied to see whether not sleeping enough increased the risk of future weight gain and even obesity. Researchers concluded that self-reported sleep restriction impacts your ability to burn calories and increases the risk of weight gain. In fact, they reported that women in the study who slept 7 to 8 hours per night had the lowest risk for major weight gain. Similar studies suggest that those who sleep less than 7 hours per night are more likely to be obese.
In a study of middle-aged women, researchers concluded that weight gain was directly correlated with the amount of sleep the subjects received each night. This study started about 20 years ago and included more than 68,000 women who were asked every 2 years about their sleep patterns as well as their weight. After 16 years, the findings revealed that those women who slept 5 hours or less each night weighed 5.4 pounds more than the women who slept 7 hours. In addition, women who slept 5 or fewer hours per night were 15 percent more likely to become obese than women who slept 7 hours each night. Another sleep study reported that losing just 16 minutes of sleep per night increased the risk of obesity.
Lack of Sleep Makes You Eat More Carbs and Snacks
In a revealing study, scientists at the University of Chicago allowed people to sleep 5.5 hours on 1 night and 8.5 on another and then measured how many free snacks they downed the next day. The participants ate an average of 221 calories more when sleepy—an amount that could translate into almost a pound gained in 2 weeks! (More: A snack to satisfy every craving)
In another study that reviewed short sleep (less than 6 hours) in young adults, researchers concluded that after poor sleep, the increase in appetite for foods with high carbohydrate content was particularly strong. It was as if the sleep-deprived brain craved its primary fuel, glucose, which your body produces from carbs.
In addition, not getting enough sleep affects the amounts and types of food you eat. Some studies show that sleeping for a shorter time and spending waking hours in an environment where people tend to overeat can cause you to engage in excessive snacking—and I don’t mean on fresh fruits and vegetables.
Lack of Sleep Increases Inflammation and the Risk of Diabetes
Sleeping too little for just one night can increase proinflammatory markers in the blood and boost hunger-promoting chemicals. Studies show that inflammation provoked by certain immune cells leads to insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is directly correlated to obesity and is epidemic worldwide. There is increasing evidence that people who sleep fewer than 7 hours a night have a higher risk of diabetes.
Researchers at the University of Chicago found that losing just 3 to 4 hours of sleep over a period of several days is enough to trigger metabolic changes that are consistent with a prediabetic state. They determined that when sleep was restricted to 4 hours for 6 consecutive nights, the body’s ability to keep blood glucose at a consistent level declined significantly, which increases the risk of type 2 diabetes. This may be because sleep deprivation stresses the body. Getting good-quality sleep is now considered a basic defense mechanism for staying healthy and preventing obesity and type 2 diabetes.
Lack of Sleep Leads to High Blood Pressure
Studies report a link between high blood pressure and sleep deprivation. When people are sleep deprived, whether it is from insufficient sleep quantity or poor sleep quality, they place an increased load on their hearts. Here’s why: When you are awake, your heart pumps faster to move the blood around. During sleep, your body does not require that much bloodflow, so your heart rate slows and the heart gets a much-needed rest. Without ample resting time, the heart muscle gets fatigued. Because your heart has to work harder, you can have an increase in blood pressure or possibly thickening of the heart muscle, which can lead to more serious heart problems.
Lack of Sleep Leads to Metabolic Disturbances
In a study of shift workers with irregular sleep, researchers found that the volunteers had definite metabolic disturbances that are clearly linked to insulin resistance. Insulin, a hormone released by the pancreas, promotes the storage of calories as fat and regulates the glucose level in the blood. Metabolic syndrome—also called insulin resistance syndrome—happens when your body steadily becomes less responsive to the actions of insulin. With metabolic syndrome, your blood sugar level rises despite the blood’s high level of insulin, and type 2 diabetes can result.
Source: Facmedicine
