StemCell Therapy

A fascinating documentary that is making the rounds at film festivals like Tribeca and Cannes gives a rare view of a controversial treatment that more and more Americans are paying up to $50,000 to receive. Stem cell therapy is widely considered to be the next big hope in medicine, with researchers everywhere from Stanford to Johns Hopkins investigating the technologys potential to treat seemingly every ailment known to mankindAlzheimers, cancer, joint injuries, even basic signs of aging. The only hitch: With one tiny exception, it isnt legal in the United States.

We all know the stem cell revolution is occurring outside the U.S., says Brian Mehling, M.D., a Manhattan-based orthopedic surgeon who is certainly doing his part to foment the insurgency. A coproducer of the film, as well as its charismatic recurring subject, Mehling is bringing stem cell tourism into the spotlight and determined to lift the curtain on a medical field that remains mysterious to most. His Blue Horizon medical clinics, with locations in China and Slovakiaand three more set to open in Mexico, Israel, and Jamaicacater to American tourists looking to cutting-edge therapy for help when traditional medicine fails.

Stem cells are the undifferentiated cells that abound in newborns and have the ability to transform into blood, nerve, or muscle cells and aid the body in self-repair. Proselytizers like Mehling say they constitute the latest in holistic medicine, allowing the body to healwithout drugs, surgery, or side effects. At clinics such as Mehlings, doctors either inject the cells, which are generally obtained from umbilical cords during C-sections, into a patients spinal cord (much like an epidural), or administer them via IV drip. The process is alarmingly quick, and patients can typically check out of the facility by the end of the day. One of the few stem-cell therapies approved for use in the United States is one used to treat the blood disease known as beta thalassemia; in that instance, the treatment replaces damaged blood in the immune system and saves tens of thousands of lives each year. Few other stem cell applications, however, have been proven effective in the rigorous clinical trials the Food and Drug Administration requires before signing off on any treatment.

In fact, stem cell clinics remain completely unregulated, and there have been incidents of related troubles. In one recent report , Jim Gass, a resident of San Diego who traveled to stem cell clinics in Mexico, China, and Argentina to help recover from a stroke, later discovered a sizable tumor on his spinal columnand the cancerous cells belonged to somebody else. Troubling cases also emerged at a loosely regulated clinic in Sunrise, Florida where, earlier this spring, three women suffering macular degeneration reported further loss of vision after having stem cells, extracted from their belly fat via liposuction, injected into their eyes. Though, on the whole, reports of treatments at clinics gone awry remain relatively few.

In his film, Stem Cells: The Next Frontier , which is set to appear at Cannes Film Festival this month, Mehling offers a persuasive side of the story, with rapturous testimonials from patients, some of whom who have regained the ability to walk after their stem cell vacations. Added bonus: They come home with better skin, bigger sex drive, and (in the case of at least one balding patient) more hair.

However compelling, there is scant evidence that the injections actually make a difference, and most American doctors caution against buying into the hype. Stem cell researcher Jaime Imitola, M.D. and Ph.D, director of the progressive multiple sclerosis clinic research program at Ohio State University, says he is impressed by the evidence that stem cells can help with neurological disorders in animals. But the question is how can you translate it into clinical trials? We still dont know what were doing when we put stem cells in people.

David Scadden, a professor of medicine and stem cell and regenerative biology at Harvard, and the director of Harvards Stem Cell Institute, says that stem cell tourism is a waste of money for the time being. A world-renowned expert in stem cell science, he remains optimistic about its future applications. Researchers are currently looking into reprogramming, for instance, which effectively converts a mature cell into a stem cell. You rewind its history so it forgets its a blood cell or a skin cell and it rewinds back in time and it can become any cell type, he says. Youd be able to test drugs on these cells, and it could be used to reverse Type 1 diabetes.

For now, though, he does not recommend experimenting with stem cells before we understand them well enough to properlyand safelyharness their benefits. People call me about it all the timethey say, I have this knee thats bugging me, Im going to one of these clinics, he says. His response? For the most part they dont do harm. But nobody Ive spoken with has come back to me and said, You Harvard docs have to get on this . . . . Not yet.

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Stem Cell Tourism Is the Controversial Subject of a New Cannes Documentary - Vogue.com

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ALLAHABAD: In yet another case of corporal punishment, a Class XII student of St. Joseph's School, Allahabad became the victim of brutality of the worst kind.

Serven Terence (14), lost vision in his right eye allegedly because he was caned by the vice-principle for standing in the morning assembly with his school bag on. Initially the student was being treated in Allahabad, but now is in Lucknow. The family of the victim registered the First Information Report (FIR) in the regard on last Friday against the accused in the Civil Lines police station in the city. On May 9, Terence went to school and stood in the morning assembly with his bag on, spotting which vice-principal Leslie Cotino started canning him with a baton and amid the act the baton struck his right eye which started bleeding. He was rushed to the hospital in Allahabad, from where he was sent to Lucknow where it was informed that Terence has lost vision in his right eye. Serven, who is the lone child of his parents, will undergo surgery in a month. Meanwhile, an investigation has been launched into the matter.

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UP Student loses eyesight after getting caned by vice-principal - The New Indian Express

A recently approved eye treatment offers a safe, long-term solution for that very annoying problem of aging: the inability to read close-up.

The condition, called presbyopia (which literally means old eye in Greek) happens to nearly everyone and usually hits sometime after age 40. Youll find yourself squinting to read menus or whipping out glasses to check your iPhone.

Approved last June by the FDA, the Raindrop Near Vision Inlay is a permanent, implantable device that restores close-up vision.

It allows you to turn back the clock, said Dr. Steven Stetson, the medical director ofDiamond Vision, who became certified to implant the inlay last fall.

Dr. Stetson

He said the treatment is allowing people in their 40s, 50s, and sometimes even 60s to read without glasses.

The Raindrop inlay is only the second permanent, implantable lens approved in the United States. Dr. Stetson, who is also certified to implant theotherFDA-approved inlay, called the KAMRA, said that it depends on each individual which inlay treatment works best.

For some, the Raindrop may perform better in dimmer light conditions, since it does not block any light to function, said Dr. Stetson. However, since the KAMRA inlay is placed in a small pocket instead of under a larger flap, patients may not need to take eye drops for as long afterward as with the Raindrop. Each patient is different and may heal at different rates, he added.

For both types, only one inlay, implanted in the non-dominant eye,is enough to correct vision.

Dr. Stetson said data from Europe, where these inlays have been in use for more than five years, indicate that vision improvement after the treatment is long-term.

Dr. Steven Stetson holds the Femtosecond laser and demonstrates how a patient would be positioned during the KAMRA inlay procedure in his office at Diamond Vision in New York on Aug. 26, 2016. (Samira Bouaou/Epoch Times)

The Raindrop corrects vision by changing the slope of the eye.

It makes the central cornea steeperprofocal, kind of like a hawk eye or like eagle eye, Dr. Stetson said.

The Raindrop looks like a small, clear contact lens and is made of a similar hydrogel material, he said.

It is implanted about a third of the way into the cornea, directly over the pupil. The inlay is a relatively thick compared to the thickness of the cornea, so when it is implanted it changes the curvature of the middle of the cornea, Dr. Stetson said.

The steeper slope allows people to focus more easily on nearby objects but because the inlay is small, the periphery of the cornea is unchanged and can still focus at a distance.

The other inlay, the KAMRA, corrects vision with a very different principle. The much thinner device (only 6 microns thick) is a dark brown color with a pinhole in the center. Light passing through the pinhole is focused when it hits the retina. This focus is necessary to see objects close up.

Young eyes have soft, flexible lenses, but with presbyopia, the lens becomes stiff and less able to focus on close images. The KAMRA inlay eliminates the need for the lens to focus because light passing through the pinhole is already focused.

Dr. Stetson said a big part of the reason these inlays are so successful is because doctors offer them to the right patients. He wont put the inlay in a person he does not think is a good candidate.

An employee in his Georgia office once flew to Manhattan with her husband so they could both get an inlay. But it turned out only her husband was a suitable candidate.

She was very heartbroken about that, but I think shes forgiven me, Dr. Stetson said.

The Raindrop is licensed for people 41 to 65 years old who have not undergonecataract surgery or aPRK (photorefractive keratectomy). This is because with PRK the layer just beneath the surface is disrupted and can change how the surface cells remodel, reducing the effect of the Raindrop, Dr. Stetson explained.

The KAMRA, approved for 45- to 60-year-olds, is more versatile because its smaller size does not change the shape of the cornea, and it is placed deeper in the cornea.

For both inlays, the procedure to implant them is very simple and very easy for the patient, Dr. Stetson said.

The surgeon uses a laser to cut a very precise flap in the cornea then slips the device into place. The operation takes only 10 to 15 minutes.

Side effects are minimal, but proper pre- and post-op care is essential. Patients with a history of dry eyes should seek treatment for the condition beforehand.

Diamond Vision clinics have an array of laser, LASIK, and dry eye treatments that will prepare eyes for an inlay. Afterward, patients generally need to use anti-inflammatory eye drops for two to three months.

And while it may take up to three weeks to regain distance vision in the operated eye, many patients can read again shortly after surgery.

Near vision usually comes back quickly. In many patients, its within a few days, Dr. Stetson said.

Diamond Vision Manhattan Location 15 W. 44th St., Ninth Floor 212-838-2020 DiamondVision.com

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Restore Your Eagle Eyesight - The Epoch Times

If you have glasses or contact lenses, your prescription is likely a baffling list of numbers and acronyms. Blame Ferdinand Monoyer.

The French ophthalmologist, born on this date (May 9) in 1836, was responsible for the diopter the unit of measurement we use to assess lenses and vision as well as modern-day eye charts seen in many opticians across the globe.

On what would have been his 181st birthday, Google has designed an animated Google Doodle to honour the anniversary. The Doodle features a pair of eyes on the left, which form the 'O's in the word Google, alongside an eye chart on the right. As the eyes squint, the letters on the right become blurred. Monoyer's signature is also hidden in the chart.

Although not the first to create an eye chart for ophthalmology Germany's Heinrich Kchler is widely accepted as the first to create a chart in 1836 using figures cut from calendars, books, and newspapers glued in rows of decreasing sizes Monoyer's legacy has been the one that has lasted the longest.

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Building on the work of Kchler, as well as the visual acuity chart design of Herman Snellen from 1862 used commonly in the US, Monoyer developed his chart to run alongside a visual acuity measurement known as the diopter. The diopter measures the distance you'd have to be from text to read it.

The Snellen Eye Chart was invented as a way to improve the subjective nature of vision testing and involved patients reading passages of text held their hands or held at a distance by the doctor. This test was dependent, however, upon the reading ability of the patient, typeface, and the fact the patient could guess the next word by reading a sentence. So he switched to letters.

Characters on the first Snellen Charts included: A, C, E, G, L, N, P, R, T, 5, V, Z, B, D, 4, F, H, K, O, S, 3, U, Y, A, C, E, G and L, and were Egyptian Paragons or slab serifs of contrasting line thickness with cross strokes on terminals.

Specsavers

Monoyer, who ran an ophthalmic clinic at the hospital in Nancy, France, took this initial idea and used it to introduce the first test-types corresponding to a decimal system in 1875. He selected his font style on a letter-by-letter basis because he didn't feel there was a need to select the same linear dimensions in every case. For example, a letter H that is as wide as it is high can look too drawn out, and he believed that if you're going to judge a person's vision by it, that letter needed to be as legible as possible.

In Monoyer's charts, every row represents a different diopter, from smallest to largest. A diopter indicates how powerful a lens is in order to properly focus light on a persons retina. It is officially defined as being the inverse of a persons focal length in metres.

A shortsighted person with a 1.00 diopter lens can see objects at one metre clearly before they become blurred. Similarly, someone with a 2.00 diopter measurement needs a lens that's twice as powerful, meaning they can only see objects up to a 1/2 metre away clearly. A 3.00 lens would mean the person can only see a distance of up to 1/3 of a metre clearly, and so on. Most nearsighted people are in the range of -1.50 to -7.00 diopters.

Alternatively, longsighted people who need a +1.00 diopter lens can see objects at one metre clearly, but anything closer than that is blurred.

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Ferdinand Monoyer is the reason your eyesight is measured in decimals - Wired.co.uk

When her seven-year-old daughter, Zoe, struggled to keep up with school work, Mrs Michelle Clarke scheduled an appointment to have her eyes checked.

The 36-year-old stay-at-home mum said: "Zoe was below average in class, and she was having a lot of trouble reading and writing. For instance, she would mix up her 'b's and 'd's. She did not like to learn at all.

"Her teacher highlighted that she was squinting a lot in class and felt she had some eye problems that were affecting her learning."

Mention poor grades and, more often than not, learning disorders such as dyslexia and attention deficit disorder come to mind.

But what does your little one's vision have to do with those persistent Band 3 or 4 scores?

Plenty, it seems. Vision and learning are closely related.

For children to reach their full academic potential, good vision is important, said Mr Yap Tiong Peng, a senior consultant optometrist trained in behavioural optometry at Igard Group Singapore. He has 18 years of clinical and research experience.

Behavioural optometrists look at how the eyes and brain function as they process visual information and how that may affect development in children.

Studies showed that nearly half of the children who struggle to read and learn in school complain of vision-related issues, Mr Yap explained.

Optometrist Titus Wu of Titus Eye Care, who has been in practice for nine years, estimated that as many as one in four children he sees in his practice may have learning difficulties linked to their vision woes, which are mostly due to undetected myopia and binocular vision-related issues.

Binocular vision refers to the ability to process information when both eyes work together at the same time.

This is as important as having clear vision in each individual eye, Mr Wu said.

Senior consultant optometrist Rachel Kelly of Igard explained that if your eyes do not coordinate well, for instance, you may have trouble reading or maintaining focus on an object.

Children with such vision woes tend to feel fatigued and have headaches when reading and studying.

They may also skip small words when reading, reread sentences and insert words that do not exist in the text, said Ms Kelly.

She added: "The child may appear inattentive in class, avoid reading and studying, make careless mistakes and have difficulty completing assignments.

"Sometimes, the symptoms show up only intermittently when the child has to read a larger volume of text, especially when running up to the school examinations."

As such, it is not unusual for parents and teachers to dismiss the child's complaints as a behavioural issue when he may be struggling with poor vision.

A common misconception parents have is that their kid has perfect vision that allows him to read and write well just because he had aced his cursory eyesight test during school check-ups, said the optometrists.

Mr Wu reckoned that about 15 per cent of children who pass a vision screening test actually have a vision problem that requires intervention.

In Singapore, the Health Promotion Board conducts yearly eye tests for pre-schoolers.

Routine eye checks are also conducted in primary school.

The screening test involves reading off an eye chart from a distance to check for myopia.

Children also undergo three-dimensional vision tests to screen for squint and other conditions.

Mr Yap said that while these routine vision screenings pick up refractive errors such as myopia, they may not detect other vision problems that can hinder learning.

Sometimes, the more subtle symptoms may also elude some eye-care professionals using standard eye examinations, he added.

In Zoe's case, she was found to be suffering from an alignment problem of the eyes, which gave her double vision and affected her ability to focus.

Her optometrist prescribed bifocal spectacles to alleviate some symptoms, and Zoe underwent thrice-weekly vision therapy.

Vision therapy is a set of techniques used by optometrists to improve a person's vision and the way they process what they see.

Depending on the specific problem, the intervention programme may involve the use of eye exercises and devices such as lenses, prisms and coloured filters.

"The aim of the treatment is to allow the child to gain control of his binocular vision by encouraging the two eyes to work together properly and for the whole visual system to work efficiently," said Mr Yap, who was part of the team that treated Zoe's vision problems.

Children who have problems with convergence and accommodation - these help us to see near and far objects clearly without double images - tend to have high success rates using vision therapy, with over 90 per cent seen at Igard resolving their vision problems and symptoms within a few months of therapy, Mr Yap shared.

But adjunct associate professor Audrey Chia, deputy head of the paediatric ophthalmology and strabismus department at Singapore National Eye Centre, cautioned: Be sure to have a healthy dose of scepticism before buying into treatment options not backed by strong scientific evidence.

"Some parents seeking a second opinion come into the clinic with a five-page report on what is wrong with their child's vision.

"But when we examine the child, they do not have any pressing problems," said Prof Chia, who also heads the eye clinic at KK Women's and Children's Hospital.

While it is important to ensure that a child has no major eye issues, over-diagnosis can be a double-edged sword.

Prof Chia said: "When you do 101 tests, you are bound to find something wrong. The question is, will the child's learning really improve even when you try to resolve that one problem?

"Even when symptoms seem to go away after doing eye exercises, what might have really improved might be the child's mental capacity to cope with learning over time."

Prof Chia urged parents not to lose sight of what is most important for their child.

"Many of these programmes often make parents feel like they are doing something for their child," she said.

But whether they are needed or whether a kid's learning could benefit equally from quality time spent with their parents is debatable.

"Sometimes, we need to accept that our child will have strengths and weaknesses. No one is perfect," Prof Chia said.

This article is adapted from Young Parents magazine (www.youngparents.com.sg)

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When bad eyesight causes bad grades - The New Paper

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Dr. Glaser of Clemson Eye performs a regular eye exam on a female patient. | Photo Provided.

Women are more likely to have eye-related diseases and conditions, including cataracts, glaucoma, and age-related macular degeneration. Nearly two-thirds of blindness and visual impairment occurs in women, and women make up the majority of the 4.4 million Americans age 40 and older who are blind or visually impaired. About 64% of the patients Clemson Eye sees on an annual basis are women.

You may be busy, on the go, and caring for your family, but it is important that you make the time to take care of you.

Here are five important steps to protect your sight.

Get a dilated eye exam. Getting a comprehensive dilated eye exam is the best way to know if your eyes are healthy and you are seeing your best. The sooner aneye-related issues is detected, the sooner it canbe treated.

Live a healthy lifestyle. Eating healthy foods, maintaining a healthy weight, managing chronic conditions, and not smoking can lower your risk of eye disease. Youve heard carrots are good for your eyes, but eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, particularly dark leafy greens such as spinach, kale, or collard greens, is important for keeping your eyes healthy, too. Research has also shown there are eye health benefits from eating fish high in omega-3 fatty acids, such as salmon, tuna, and halibut.

Know your family history. Talk to your family members including parents, grandparents, aunts, and unclesabout their eye health history. Its important to know if anyone has been diagnosed with an eye disease, since many diseases are hereditary. This will help to determine if you are at higher risk for developing an eye disease yourself.

Use protective eyewear. Protect your eyes when doing chores around the house, playing sports, or on the job to prevent eye injuries from happening. This includes wearing safety glasses, goggles, safety shields, and eye guards that are made of polycarbonate. Eyewear should sit comfortably on the face, so talk to your eye care provider about the appropriate type of protective eyewear for your sport or job. Make a habit of wearing the appropriate type at all times, and encourage your teammates and coworkers to do the same.

Wear sunglasses. Wear sunglasses outside to protect your eyes from the suns ultraviolet rays. When purchasing sunglasses, look for ones that block out 99 to 100 percent of both UVA and UVB radiation, so you can keep your eyes healthy. Prolonged exposure to sunlight can increase your risk for getting an eye disease like cataracts or age-related macular degeneration. A wide-brimmed hat offers great protection, too! These steps can help you keep your eyes healthy and prevent vision loss and blindness from eye disease.

***

Courtney Mitchell is the marketing manager for Clemson Eye, P.A.

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Your annual reminder to get your vision checked - Greenville Journal

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Teen Creates Fashionable, Durable Diabetes Tape WCCO | CBS ... CBS Minnesota / WCCO A University of St. Thomas freshman is not waiting for her college degree to pave her own career path. and more »

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Teen Creates Fashionable, Durable Diabetes Tape WCCO | CBS ... - CBS Minnesota / WCCO

CREDIT: AP Photo/Andrew Harnik

A top White House official tried to defend the American Health Care Act (AHCA) the GOPs response to Obamacareearlier this week by implying that health care systems shouldnt help someone who sits at home, eats poorly and gets diabetes.

According to the Washington Examiner, Mick Mulvaney of the Office of Management and Budget delivered the line on Thursday while speaking to the LIGHT Forum at Stanford University. Mulvaney was asked whether he agreed with the Jimmy Kimmel testor the idea famously forwarded by the late-night show host that No parent should ever have to decide if they can afford to save their childs life. Kimmel made the quip while delivering an impassioned account of his newborn sons struggle to survive a congenital heart disease.

Mulvaney said he agreed with the idea in principle, but with one a very specific caveat: taxpayers shouldnt help people who fall ill because of, ostensibly, their own actions.

That doesnt mean we should take care of the person who sits at home, eats poorly and gets diabetes, Mulvaney said. Is that the same thing as Jimmy Kimmels kid? I dont think that it is.

Mulvaney was attempting to defend the AHCA, which was narrowly approved by House of Representatives this month without a single Democratic vote. In its current form, the bill would essentially allow insurance companies to price people with pre-existing conditions out of the health insurance marketplace. Meanwhile, so-called Trumpcare includes a $880 billion cut to Medicaid, which stands to result in roughly 24 million Americans losing their health insurance because of premium increases.

Mulvaneys statement was widely panned by progressives as compassionless, but diabetes advocates also noted that it is also inaccurate: The American Diabetes Association was quick to condemn Mulvaneys remarks, saying they are extremely disappointed and describing his statement as misinformed.

Mr. Mulvaneys comments perpetuate the stigma that one chooses to have diabetes based on his/her lifestyle, the statement read. We are also deeply troubled by his assertion that access to health care should be rationed or denied to anyone. All of the scientific evidence indicates that diabetes develops from a diverse set of risk factors, genetics being a primary cause. People with diabetes need access to affordable health care in order to effectively manage their disease and prevent dangerous and costly complications. Nobody should be denied coverage or charged more based on their health status.

Indeed, poor diet and lack of exercise does not appear to have been the cause of diabetes for professional athletes who suffer from the disease, such U.S. soccer star Jordan Morris.

Whats more, Huffington Post health care reporter Jonathan Cohn pointed out that health care systems that attempt to segregate patients by medical condition (or, presumably, how they acquired their condition) often hurt all people with illnesses, because the practice almost inevitably leads to shabby care for the sick, regardless of how they got that way.

Roughly two-thirds of the states operated [condition-segregated health care systems] before the Affordable Care Act took effect, and they inevitably offered coverage that was less affordable, less available or less comprehensive than standard policies, he said.

The idea that the needy somehow contributed to their own plightand that more privileged Americans shouldnt be required to care for themis an old conservative argument traditionally applied to economics. In 2013, Republican and then-congressman Stephen Fincher attempted to justify cutting food stamps by misquoting a Biblical verse, declaring Anyone unwilling to work should not eat. Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-TX) repeated the exact same verse earlier this year to justify increasing the work requirements for unemployed adults on the food stamp program.

Now the same idea is reemergingoften with religious undertonesas a way to cut ostensibly underserving sick people out of health care systems. In March, Rep. Roger Marshall (R-KS) argued against Medicaid expansion by arguing that society will always have sick people.

Just like Jesus said, The poor will always be with us, Marshall told Stat News in March, citing scripture in a way that arguably belies its original intent. There is a group of people that just dont want health care and arent going to take care of themselves.

Just, like, homeless people. I think just morally, spiritually, socially, [some people] just dont want health care, he added. The Medicaid population, which is [on] a free credit card, as a group, do probably the least preventive medicine and taking care of themselves and eating healthy and exercising. And Im not judging, Im just saying socially thats where they are. So theres a group of people that even with unlimited access to health care are only going to use the emergency room when their arm is chopped off or when their pneumonia is so bad they get brought [into] the ER.

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Top Trump official says we shouldn't take care of someone who 'eats poorly and gets diabetes' - ThinkProgress

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG-TV9) - More than a thousand people walked a course around New Bo Market Saturday in an effort to end type 1 diabetes.

The Eastern Iowa chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation held its 19th annual One Walk in front of the New Bo Market Saturday morning. The weather helped boost the turnout for some food, music and festivities that accompanied the walk. Sponsors provided some free snacks and games for kids as teams met in a tailgate format ahead of the walk.

Teams competed to raise money to talk part in the walk. All the money raised goes to JDRF to fund research into treatment and finding a cure for type 1 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes can hit children or adults at any age and, unlike type 2 diabetes, is not preventable. It causes the pancreas to stop producing insulin, a hormone that helps breakdown food into energy. People with type one must constantly monitor blood sugar levels and manage it with insulin injections and diet restrictions. More tha 1.25 million Americans are living with type 1 diabetes, 200,000 of them less than 20 years old. 40,000 new cases are diagnosed in the U.S. every year.

Warning signs of T1D may occur suddenly and can include:

Extreme thirst Frequent urination Drowsiness or lethargy Increased appetite Sudden weight loss Sudden vision changes Sugar in the urine Fruity odor on the breath Heavy or labored breathing Stupor or unconsciousness

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Hundreds walk against diabetes - KCRG

After being diagnosed with diabetes, every meal became a complicated math lesson.

Barbara Goldsmith had to become vigilant about everything she put in her body. The Edinburgh resident meticulously counted carbohydrates, too many of which can spike her blood sugar level and wreak havoc on her body.

She calculated how much she has eaten, and immediately following a meal, factored in housework, gardening or some other activity so that her sugars dont rise to unsafe levels.

On top of the four different medications she takes, diabetes has shifted everything in Goldsmiths life. But changing her lifestyle has been her only option.

Lauren Witt unpacks the blood sugar monitor that she keeps with her at all times. The 29-year-old was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes five years ago, and utilized the Johnson Memorial Health Diabetes Care Center in Franklin to learn about testing her glucose levels, managing her diet and adapting her lifestyle to the disease. Ryan Trares

The blood sugar monitor and testing strips that Lauren Witt keeps with her at all times. Witt, 29, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes five years ago, and utilized the Johnson Memorial Health Diabetes Care Center in Franklin to learn about testing her glucose levels, managing her diet and adapting her lifestyle to the disease. Ryan Trares

Lauren Witt sets up the blood sugar monitor and testing strips that she keeps with her at all times. If her blood sugar, or glucose, reaches a certain level, she may need an emergency shot of insulin. The 29-year-old was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes five years ago. Ryan Trares

Lauren Witt sets up the blood sugar monitor and testing strips that she keeps with her at all times. If her blood sugar, or glucose, reaches a certain level, she may need an emergency shot of insulin. The 29-year-old was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes five years ago. Ryan Trares

Lauren Witt sets up the blood sugar monitor and testing strips that she keeps with her at all times. If her blood sugar, or glucose, reaches a certain level, she may need an emergency shot of insulin. The 29-year-old was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes five years ago. Ryan Trares

The different types of insulin that Lauren Witt keeps with her at all times in case of a diabetic emergency. The 29-year-old was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes five years ago, and utilized the Johnson Memorial Health Diabetes Care Center in Franklin to learn about testing her glucose levels, managing her diet and adapting her lifestyle to the disease. Ryan Trares

Lauren Witt, 29, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes five years ago, and utilized the Johnson Memorial Health Diabetes Care Center in Franklin to learn about testing her glucose levels, managing her diet and adapting her lifestyle to the disease. Ryan Trares

Watch what you eat and how much you eat. If you have medication, take it. Watch your sugar, and try to stay active. Those are the main things, she said. I dont know what would happen to me if I dont do that.

More and more Johnson County residents such as Goldsmith are living with diabetes or are on their way to developing it in the future. The disease has become worryingly more prevalent throughout Indiana, growing by more than 50 percent from 2000 to 2009.

Battling the growing epidemic has required a multi-faceted approach. Health officials have focused on educating patients about ways to avoid the disease, stressing diet and exercise, and teaching how the sugars we consume impact the body.

The hope is to stem the increase of new cases, while helping people already diagnosed live healthier and minimize the impact.

Diabetes is a global epidemic. Its out of control, said Dr. Gaston Dana of Johnson Memorial Internal Medicine Specialists. Once you develop it, you have it for life. By realizing that you can make changes in lifestyle that can significantly impact that, you can possibly stop that.

Diabetes is broad term for diseases characterized by high levels of glucose, or sugar, in the blood. The disease is caused by defects in insulin production, how insulin acts in the body, or a combination of both. Insulin is a hormone necessary for the regulation of blood glucose levels.

When insulin production and action in the body works improperly, complications such as heart disease, stroke, amputation and blindness can occur. At its worst, the disease can cause death.

The disease can come in varying forms. Type 1 diabetes occurs when the immune system attacks beta cells in the pancreas, the only cells in the body that make insulin to regulate glucose.

Type 2 is the more common form, accounting for between 90 and 95 percent of all diagnosed cases of diabetes. The bodys cells start resisting insulin and not using it properly, which eventually causes the pancreas to lose the ability to make it.

Diabetes levels in Indiana, particularly Type 2, have risen sharply since 2000, climbing from 6 percent of the population to 12.9 percent. In Johnson County, 11 percent of people have the disease. Treating diabetes costs Indiana $6.6 billion in medical costs each year, according to the American Diabetes Association.

I would say its over 50 percent of our patient population that is dealing with diabetes, Dana said.

Many of those people are referred to the Diabetes Care Center at Johnson Memorial Health, where specialists help patients adapt to what is a consuming and jarring diagnosis.

No one wants to have this diagnosis. Probably 50 percent of the people who sit in front of me are angry and in denial, said Carla Duncan, a registered nurse at the Diabetes Care Center. Theyre not hearing a word that I say, so you have to find a way to connect to them.

The staff works to ensure their patients understands what their disease is and what theyll be going through. They explain the genetic factors of the disease, how things such as being overweight, skipping meals or smoking can turn the hereditary aspects of diabetes on. Medication and how it can impact the disease is also covered.

The key is to help people understand how the disease is managed now, Duncan said.

A lot of the people who come here have preconceived ideas and old beliefs about diabetes. My grandma did this, it worked for her 50 years ago, why are you telling me something different now,' she said. So just making people realize that what we knew 50 years ago is different than what we know now about diabetes.

Lauren Witt was 24 when she was diagnosed with diabetes. She noticed that she was losing a lot of weight, despite still eating the same amount she always had. Her vision would get blurry, and on one occurrence, she passed out.

A blood test confirmed that her glucose levels were incredibly high. Once doctors determined that she had Type 1 diabetes, she was referred to Duncan to help manage the disease. She helped Witt learn to take insulin, count carbohydrates and learn more about nutrition.

(Duncan) has been so helpful. I call her my diabetes mom. She always takes care of me, and I can count on her to help with whatever questions I have, she said.

In the five years since diagnosis, Witt has adapted every part of her life around the disease.

It affects everything I do. When I wake up, I need to make sure sugar is decent, that I didnt get too low during the night. When I exercise, I have to have something to eat with me because my blood sugar can drop quickly. And everything I eat I have to count, she said. A lot of people dont know a lot about food, so to learn actual nutrition helped me comprehend everything better.

Lifestyle is a huge focus for patients with diabetes, Duncan said. Many of the people they see dont exercise, eat poorly or smoke, contributing to and exasperating the situation. Misconceptions about the disease also have to be overcome.

People have to adjust the food they consume, when and how much they eat, factor in exercise and adapt to the medications.

Changing your lifestyle is probably the hardest thing in the world. We want everybody else in the world to change, but not us. When were told to change, it gets very uncomfortable, Duncan said. The key to being successful at this is helping the patient get to that point in their life, when they say theyre ready to change.

Goldsmith was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes around 2005 but refused to change much about her life. She had always eaten whatever she wanted and didnt do much exercising.

Though she was told to watch her concentrated sugars, she didnt pay attention. She kept gaining weight, reaching 171 pounds at the most.

I knew I was diabetic, but I just didnt do anything about it. I didnt watch myself. Thats what got me out of control, she said.

But during a checkup with her doctor, a blood test revealed that Goldsmiths glucose levels were almost twice the normal levels.

(My doctor) was very upset with me. She put me on medication, and sent me to Carla, she said. Without their help I wouldnt be where I am today.

Duncan schooled Goldsmith on portion control, how to count her carbohydrates so that too much wouldnt spike her glucose levels.

Living a more active lifestyle was also very important. Goldsmith hurt her back, which prevents her from walking long distances or running. But after she eats, she makes sure to do housework, finish the dishes, take care of laundry anything to keep moving.

The more I move around after I eat, the better my blood sugar numbers will be. If you eat a meal and sit down, let it absorb, it will screw up your numbers, she said.

Following Duncans advice, Goldsmith lost 40 pounds and dropped to 133. Her blood sugar levels have stabilized and she feels better than she has for years.

In addition to her diet and exercise, she takes one pill after breakfast, and three others after dinner to help her body regulate her blood sugar. Three times a day, she has to test her blood to monitor her sugar levels.

Medical professionals measure blood sugar to determine if a patient has diabetes. A normal blood glucose level is below 5.7 percent, while diabetes is diagnosed if that level is 6.5 percent of above.

Patients need to know how different factors affect their blood sugar, how to test it and what those numbers mean.

Even most people who have had diabetes for many years cant tell me what their blood sugar should be, Duncan said.

Duncan and her staff also work with people who come to the center with prediabetes their blood glucose levels are higher than normal, but not yet reaching the level to be considered diabetes. The condition can often be reversed with lifestyle changes, such as improving your diet and getting more exercise.

They have to know how to do that, though, Duncan said.

Weight loss, exercise, diet. Most people with prediabetes need to lose a little bit of weight, probably arent as active as they need to be, she said. Our goal is more about lifestyle. By changing lifestyle, we can change that diagnosis back to normal to prevent the diagnosis of diabetes until later in life.

If you go

Diabetes education series

What: A series of workshops and informational meetings presented by the Johnson Memorial Health Diabetes Care Center teaching people about diabetes, blood sugar and other aspects of nutrition and the disease.

Where: Johnson County Public Library, Franklin Branch, 401 State St.

Next session: 1 to 3 p.m. June 22, focusing on sugars and carbohydrates, reading a food label and balancing your plate.

Additional workshop: 1 to 3 p.m. Sept. 28

Cost: Free. No registration necessary.

Information: (317) 346-3846 or JohnsonMemorial.org/Diabetes

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Diabetes cases on the rise - Daily Journal - Daily Journal

This article originally appeared on The Conversation.

The World Health Organisation estimates that the number of people with diabetes is422m, globally. And between 1980 and 2014 the number of people with the condition almost doubled. Despite the high prevalence of the disease, it is often misunderstood. Here are some common misconceptions about diabetes.

New research suggests Type 2 diabetes may be caused by high levels of toxins released by staph bacteria. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

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1. Diabetes is Purely a Disorder of the Pancreas

Diabetes doesaffect the pancreas, but it shouldnt just be thought of as an illness that affects the body from the neck down. If we take this viewpoint we miss the psychological impact of living with this condition. And its a big one. As well as the issue of adjusting to the diagnosis of a long-term health condition, people with diabetes aremore likely to develop depression. There is even a specific form of depression associated with diabetes known asdiabetes distress. Its when a person is struggling to cope with managing their condition.

Having diabetes affects your mental abilities too. Research suggests that diabetes can affect your ability tothink clearly, focus and recall memories.

Diabetes also affects other brain processes, such as how we weigh up food choices. Researchers are also investigating how hormones, such as insulin,seem to regulate food choices. These particular brain effects, within a system called the midbrain dopamine system, offer one potential explanation for why some diabetics find it difficult to follow health advice, no matter how often they are given it.

2. Only Overweight or Obese People Get Diabetes

There is a strong association between type 2 diabetes and obesity, but that doesnt mean that everyone who is diabetic is overweight or obese. Nor does it mean that everyone who is overweight or obese will develop diabetes.

However, a Public Health Englandreportsaid that obese adults in England were five times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than adults of a normal weight. But there is still a lot of work to be done to fully understand thelink between diabetes and obesity. This includes understanding the biological mechanisms that might link the two.

Type 1 diabetes isnt associated with obesity. It is considered to be an autoimmune disorder which means that the bodys own immune system attacks the cells that produce insulin in the pancreas. Its a very successful attack; a type 1 diabetic is no longer able to produce insulin. There is some evidence thattype 1 diabetes is genetic, yet not everyone in possession of the diabetes risk genes will develop diabetes. There is also some evidence thattype 1 diabetes might be caused by a virus.

3. You Need to Inject Insulin Regularly

Type 1 diabetics do require insulin therapy, but this can be delivered using insulin pumps. These devices reduce the need to inject insulin regularly. The insulin is still delivered via a needle, which is attached to a piece of tubing and then to the pump, and there are several advantages to this method. One is that it is more discrete and the diabeticavoids the social stigmaassociated withinjecting in public. The second is that it reduces the need tofind different injection sites.

There are a range of treatment options for type 2 diabetes, and for gestational diabetes (which develops during pregnancy). These types of diabetes may be treated by lifestyle changes or, in the early stages, might be successfully managed by pills, such as metformin. As diabetics age, or as a pregnancy progresses, there may be a need for insulin or a combination of pills. Those diabetics who are struggling to manage their condition might also be offered a drug such as bromocriptine, which targets areas of the brain that help toregulate the bodys metabolism.

4. Diabetes is Easy to Manage

There is some evidence that alow-calorie dietmay return fasting blood glucose levels to normal in type 2 diabetics, which has led to suggestions that this may be a cure. But theres no evidence that this is permanent and most doctors agree that diabetes (excluding gestational diabetes) is for life.

The serious long-term complications of diabetes arelimb amputation, loss of sight and cardiovascular disease. This is why routine screening is in place to monitor these aspects of diabetic health. In short, some diabetes complications can kill.

Diabetes is a hidden disease and for many people it certainly isnt easy to manage. Being given healthy living advice and education is not enough to help everyone, and many fail tomanage their condition(although some manage successfully until their illness progresses and everything changes). Blood sugar levels areaffected bynutrition, activity, sleep cycles illness, and stress and other hormone effects. So the signs and symptoms of diabetes are rarely stable.

For most people, diabetes is for life. It is a serious condition that can feel unpredictable and overwhelming, at times. Many people with diabetes report experiencing the stigma surrounding the condition. Some diabetics even have their own misunderstandings and preconceptions. It is therefore vital to raise awareness of the reality of living with diabetes to help improve the experience of it.

Claire Rostron is a Senior Lecturer at The Open University.

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Debunking Major Myths About Diabetes - Newsweek

Stanford and Harvard Universities have announced some astounding breakthroughs in stem cell research which raise hopes that we may postpone death, perhaps indefinitely. We age because stem cells lose the ability to produce new cells to replace those which are dying. When the researchers introduced blood from young mice into the vascular systems of old mice, the results were rejuvenated hearts and muscles and enhanced endurance. The brains of the old mice also responded with a burst of neurons which greatly increased memory and smell. The secret seems to be a protein molecule named CDF11.

The researchers are excited, if cautious, about the implications for us humans. Astronauts headed for Mars around 2030 would benefit immensely because it will be a very long journey and space travelers are subject to great stress as well as extra radiation. The future possibilities for mankind as a whole are staggering. What if we could live two or five centuries or even longer? Therefore we must ask, What is life without the anticipation of death?

Obviously, our already overpopulated earth would be inundated in a few decades. There are at least three further implications.

First, Ernest Becker, in his award-winning The Denial of Death, claims that some of our greatest achievements in art, architecture and science as well as heroic deeds arise from a motivation, largely unconscious, to create symbolic immortalities which will outlast our brief lifetimes. It must be one of our reasons for having children. That could apply to other areas as well, such as establishing national parks or even the research indicated above.

A second response to our awareness that we are mortal is the form of love called Eros. From Plato to Freud, thinkers have recognized that Eros love, the yearning to fulfill the self by uniting with something other than self, is awakened most be the knowledge that we and those we care for will one day die. Eros love is deeply related to Thanatos, or death. Eros runs through the whole range of experience, from sexual desire to attraction to the beautiful to longing for the Divine. Prolonged life without Eros could be a protracted bore.

A third example of how death influences our consciousness is found in Martin Heigeggers influential Being and Time. Our consciousness is always tensing toward the future. Life is constantly running forward toward death. That anxiety, or care, can bring us back to the present and awaken in us care in another sense, as caring or responsibility. We can become shepherds of Being by actualizing our potential and by taking a courageous attitude toward non-Being experienced as guilt, emptiness and finitude. Further, we can go beyond imposing our constructs on nature and let it reveal its Being to us as beautiful, uncanny and embracing.

In summary, this research appears to have real implications for our future. We shall wait and see. Meanwhile, our attitude toward dying will probably be the usual, well expressed in the country western song: Lord, Im ready to go when you call me. Just give me a little more time.

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Might We Live Forever? - Ken Vos - Caledonian Record

Rebecca Wallersteiner reviews Fragile Lives: A Heart Surgeons Stories of Life and Death on the Operating Table by Stephen Westaby at the cutting edge of medical memoir.

The finest of margins separates life from death, triumph from defeat, hope from despair a few more dead muscle cells, a fraction more lactic acid in the blood, a little extra swelling of the brain. Grim Reaper perches on every surgeons shoulder and death is always definitive. There are no second chances, writes Professor Stephen Westaby in the opening sentence of his moving, brilliant memoir, published this spring. During the past twenty years Westaby has become internationally renowned for his pioneering heart surgery techniques including the use of heart pumps, artificial hearts and technology to circulate blood around the body and for dealing with complex congenital anomalies in babies and toddlers. He is famed for inventing the Westaby tube, an ingenious instrument shaped like a T on top of a Y which helps keep the entrances of badly damaged lungs open during surgery.

He is famed for inventing the Westaby tube, an ingenious instrument shaped like a T on top of a Y which helps keep the entrances of badly damaged lungs open during surgery.

All heart surgery is a risk. Those of us who make it as surgeons dont look back. We move on to the next patient, always expecting the outcome to be better, never doubting it, writes Westaby. Cardiac surgery is not for the timid or nervy. In the operating room there is no room for doubt. The balance between life and death is so delicate and the heart surgeon walks the tight-rope between the two. An off-day can have dire consequences this job has a steep learning curve, and the cost is measured in human life.

Professor Westably didnt come from a medical family. He was raised church-mice poor in a grimy council estate in 1950s Scunthorp. He decided to become a heart specialist at the age of seven after watching American surgeons perform hole-in-the-heart surgery in the classic BBC series, Your Life in Their Hands, and seeing his beloved grandfather, a steelworker, who had smoked twenty a day die of cardiac failure, at the age of 63. Aged sixteen he got a job as a hospital porter in the school holidays.

As a pre-clinical medical student, aged 18, he illicitly watched from the Ether Dome, in the then Charing Cross hospital, as a 26-year-old woman called Beth was operated on for a heart weakened by rheumatic fever. The woman died. Beth taught me a very important lesson that day in the ether dome. Walk away as her surgeons did and try again tomorrow, writes Westaby. He quotes his mentor Sir Russell Brock, the most renowned heart surgeon of the era, who was known for his bluntness about losing patients I have three patients on my operating table today. I wonder which will survive. Even though it may seem insensitive, the heart surgeon cannot afford to dwell on death as to indulge in sorrow or regret brings unsustainable misery. One the important things he learnt from Brock was to regard his very ill patients as puzzles.

Soon Westaby was obsessed with his work: Cardiac surgery is like quicksand. Once in it youre sucked deeper and deeper, and I struggled to leave the hospital in case something remarkable happened and I missed it.

Cardiac surgery is like quicksand. Once in it, youre sucked deeper and deeper, and I struggled to leave the hospital in case something remarkable happened and I missed it.

He worked for thirty five years at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford without being sued or suspended, an increasing rare species.

Later in his career Westaby grappled with necessary detachment when his interests veered towards complex cases: heart surgery for complex congenital anomalies in babies and young children. Some came toddling happily into hospital, teddy bear in one hand, Mummy holding the other. Blue lips, little chest heaving, blood thick as treacle. Theyd never known a different life and I strived to provide that for them. To make them pink and energetic and liberate them from impending doom. In Saudi Arabia he battled for the life of an 18-month-old-boy who had an engorged heart on the wrong side of his chest.

Professor Westaby took chances and pushed the boundaries of heart surgery, saving hundreds of lives over the course of a thirty-five year career and in his fascinating and vividly written memoir he describes some of his remarkable and poignant cases such as the baby who suffered multiple heart attacks by the age of six months, a woman who lived the nightmare of locked-in syndrome, and a man whose life was powered by a battery for eight years.

As he approaches his 69th birthday, Westaby continues to investigate the possibility that the adult heart might be regenerated with its own stem cells.

A powerful, important and riveting book, Fragile Lives offers an exceptional insight into the world of heart surgery and how it feels to hold someones life in your hands. Although its gory descriptions mean that it is not for the faint-hearted, it would make ideal summer holiday reading for doctors. Highly recommended!

Fragile Lives: A Heart Surgeons Stories of Life and Death on the Operating Table by Stephen Westaby, published by Harper Collins, 2017, 14.99

Rebecca Wallersteiner is a health and arts journalist, who writes for The Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday, NetDoctor, Telegraph, The Times, Traveller and The Oldie magazines. She also works for the NHS and is the Hippocratic Post's roving reporter.

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Life and death on the operating table - The Hippocratic Post (blog)

ABU DHABI: The Ministry of Healths decision concerning the criteria for diagnosing death supports the Decree of Organ and Human Tissue Transplantation, which was issued by Federal Law No. 5 of 2016, Dr. Ameen Hussein Al Amiri, Assistant Undersecretary for Public Health and Licenses Policy, said in a statement issued on Saturday.

The decisions provisions exclude the transfer and transplanting of stem cells, blood cells and marrow. It stands a sustainable solution for a large number of patients, especially those with cancer, heart disease, pulmonary failure, hepatic fibrosis and kidney failure, because the transplantation fully ends the issue, Al Amiri added.

He reiterated the UAEs commitment to criminalise organ trafficking, which completely abuses humanity.

Al Amiri explained that the transplantation and transfer of organs from the deceased will begin in public and private hospitals with approved standards from the MoH so as not to allow mafias of organs trafficking or any health facility to tamper with the laws. He explained that it is because the nature of operation requires prior approval of the competent authorities to ensure compliance with the standards.

He noted said that the decision detailed the methods of death diagnosis resulting from the total stopping of the heart, breathing, and all brain functions using cerebral evidence. This method has become possible at any hospital through the ICU. It is applied on any patient dies due to the previous causes. The death caused by stroke happens when all the brains functions completely stop, including its stem, he explained.

He also explained the conditions and exceptions for diagnosing death using cerebral standards, through the initial clinical examination, followed by testing the brain stem reflexes in terms of the visual response to the light test and the period of observation (between the two test). The result shall be recorded on the stork death document by doctors who examined the case. The observation period is determined according to age of the patient. It is 48 hours for the infants between 7 to 60 days, 24 hours for the infants between 60 days to one year, and 12 hours for the children between 1 year to 16-18 and 6 hours for the adults.

Diagnosis of death using cerebral criteria shall be completed by other verification tests namely the EEG or the cerebral vasodilatation test and the apnea test with the explanation of how it is performed and the general considerations. The apnea test is positive. unless there is no respiratory signs during separation of the patient from the ventilator, he added.

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MoH issues new criteria for death diagnosis - Gulf Today

2017-05-13 08:57:41 2017-05-13 08:55:00 The Standard : Eve Woman 40 58 Catherine Mwayonga, 63, with her grand children, Mary Wambui (left) Christopher Mwayonga and Esther Njeri (right) during an interview with The Standard at her home in Thika

"You're a great mother!" These are words I hear almost every day from my children. The combination of widowhood, blindness and HIV sero-positive status has never been stigmatising enough to make me lose my self esteem as a woman and as a mother.

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Over the years, I have convinced myself that despite my blindness, which I got when I was only 7 years old, I have a right to do everything that a normal woman does. This includes a right to good education, falling in love, marriage, enjoying sex and having children. Even though my husband died, leaving me with school-going children and a HIV sero-positive status over 20 years ago, I am now the proud mother of eight very successful children and as they call me, a grand woman.

I wasn't born blind, neither was I born with HIV; but since this happened to me, I had to take control of my life knowing only too well that my life solely depended on my positive attitude. Brooding and murmuring about how life is unfair has never been part of me.

I became my own activist at an early age of seven when blindness struck me and since then I made up my mind to live life to the fullest. Though it hadn't occurred to me how challenging life would be as a blind girl then, I settled for nothing short of a happy life. I had to succeed like all the other girls who had their sight. Though I couldn't go dancing or do other outdoor social things that girls do, I made myself beautiful everyday for my own gratification.

I was born in Gatundu, Kiambu County 63 years ago and was the only girl among four brothers. I knew my rights long before I joined school and would never allow my brothers to bully me. When I look back today, I think I would see admiration in their eyes. It was so tragic then when one day a cow whose calf I was playing with charged and hit me throwing me up a nearby mango tree.

I screamed and people came to rescue me from the charging cow but I didn't feel hurt and had no visible injuries so the issue was ignored. It would later complicate my sight and gradually drive me to a total darkness for the rest of my life. Back-and-forth visits to the then King George hospital (now Kenyatta National Hospital) bore no fruit hence my parents resorted to enrolling me to the Thika School for the Blind though I could see dimly. I gradually lost my sight completely.

My adolescence was normal and I desired to love and be loved. Since the nearest is the dearest, I felt loved and appreciated when an older student in the school developed good interest in me. Christopher Mwayonga was older than me by ten years but he would later make my husband, father of my children and my best friend.

I was young and nave and enjoyed the way he held me and told me sweet nothings. He joined college and studied telephone operation and soon got a job at the then Kenya Canners Company (now Delmonte Kenya LTD). I felt safe and loved in Christopher's arms and before I knew it I was pregnant with our first son. Though generally I was a lover of babies, it dawned on me that I was in real trouble because my parents wanted me to join college.

ALSO READ: Taking personal responsibility of your career

Like any other young girl, I blamed Christopher and refused to involve him in my pregnancy journey. Though my mother was very tough, she supported me and mentored me on how to clean the baby on my own, feed him and to understand the different types of crying. After one year with the baby, I joined Kilimambogo Teachers College. Chris loved me so much that he pursued me to the college and soon our love was rekindled; this time from a more informed perspective.

My real experience in pregnancy and as a mother was with my second son whom I got shortly after I graduated from Kilimambogo. Being, blind, pregnant and a student was not an easy task for me at all but other students who of course had sight at the college were very supportive. I was posted at Likoni in Mombasa with a one month old baby.

I had thought Likoni was an appropriate place for me because Chris was from the Duruma Community in the then Coast province so we both thought it was good to be nearer home. How wrong we were! First his family couldn't accept a Kikuyu claiming that I was out to steal their land and on the other hand my family refused his community claiming that people from Coast were engaged in witchcraft. Life became so hostile for me at Likoni and Chris had to come for me to start teaching at the Thika School for the Blind to be near him and more so to bring up a family together.

Against all odds, we solemnised our marriage and life because so good for us and our children. Having grown up among boys, I was determined to have a daughter, so I kept trying but I ended up getting six sons! I didn't want the "men" to have the notion of me as the only woman in the house so I adopted two daughters.

After almost ten years of happiness, my husband suddenly developed a stroke which threw him on a sick bed for four years. I was the sole bread winner and most of all; I had to deal with his tantrums when he felt so helpless. To date, my payslip has never been without a loan. I was determined to have my children complete their studies and never to feel the impact of my blindness. I also had to pay for my husband's therapies. When my husband later died, I also started falling sick and was in and out of the hospital.

I would never have imagined I had HIV because Chris was my first boyfriend and to me he was an angel. Even today, I don't ever like to imagine that Chris may have cheated on me and contracted HIV. I had no one to cry to when I finally got my HIV results; Chris was long gone.

My eldest son had already completed university and so he took charge of his siblings. He denied himself the privilege of even getting married so he could help educate his siblings. Seeing his efforts gave me the passion to live though the doctors had given me only six months to live. "I have to live for my children!" I kept reassuring myself.

ALSO READ: I got stuck with a Sh6,800 dinner bill - We wined and dined but he could not pay

I fought for my life with all my strength. I started attending HIV related clinics and meetings and buying medication which was very expensive that time at the same time looking for sponsors for my children's school fees. I made rapport with the head-teachers and as a result two of my sons got bursaries. My elder son and I continued to work hard to pay for the others.

That was the toughest time of my life. Most of my in-laws from whom I expected help were either unwilling or were genuinely unable to help. I am glad that looking back at what happened; the whole experience made me a stronger person and made my children more responsible.

Today, all my sons have completed colleges and universities and are already married. The little girls are both in colleges and are doing very well. My eldest son still plays the head of the family though he has since married and has his own family.

He assigns his siblings responsibilities for taking care of me. I am a very happy mother and grandmother and now I live only with my househelp and her child. I am the national chairperson of the Disabled Infected and HIV Affected (DIAHA) Winners network and a board member of Kenya Network of Positive Teachers (KENEPOTE) among other positions.

"You're a great mother," are words I hear every day from my sons, their wives and my daughters!

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Blindness and my HIV status did not stop me from raising 8 great children - The Standard

Prana Biotechnology Limited (NASDAQ:PRAN) are being monitored closely by investors today as the name is currently priced at$2.22, a-1.77% difference from where it most recently opened. So where is the stock headed from here? We will take a quick look here at how the stock has performed recently.

Most investors are likely looking for that next stock that is ready to take off running. Maybe the focus is on finding a stock that has recently taken a turn for the worse for no real apparent reason. As we all know, as quickly as a stock can drop in price, it can bounce back just as fast.

Although the popular stocks that receive a high level of media coverage tend to recover quicker after a sell-off, there may be plenty of under the radar stocks that are ripe for buying. Scoping out these potential market gems may help repair a portfolio that has taken a hit for any number of reasons.

Is Prana Biotechnology Limited Ready to Move higher? Sign Up For Breaking Alerts on this Stock Before the Crowd.

The average investor might not have the time to monitor every single tick of a given stock, but taking a look at historical performance may help provide some valuable insight on where the stock may be trending in the future. Over the past week, Prana Biotechnology Limited (NASDAQ:PRAN) has performed -9.76%. For the past month, shares are -22.38%. Over the last quarter, shares have performed -2.20%. Looking back further, Prana Biotechnology Limited stock has been -10.48% over the last six months, and 36.20% since the start of the calendar year. For the past full year, shares are -39.01%.

There is rarely any substitute for diligent research, especially when it pertains to the equity markets. No matter what strategy an investor employs, keeping abreast of current market happenings is of the utmost importance. Everyone wants to see their stock picks soar, but the stark reality is that during a market wide sell-off, this may not be the case. Recently, shares of Prana Biotechnology Limited (NASDAQ:PRAN)have been seen trading -29.89% away from the 200-day moving average and -14.88% off the 50-day moving average. The stock is currently trading -66.82% away from the 52-week high and separated 46.05% from the 52-week low. Prana Biotechnology Limiteds RSI is presently sitting at 34.71.

New investors may sometimes be working with limited capital. Choosing which stocks to own can be a tough decision. Individuals may be deciding on whether to buy 10 shares of a stock trading at $100 as opposed to purchasing 100 shares of a stock trading at $10. We have recently been focusing on stocks that are trading under the $10 price level. We are constantly monitoring technical and fundamental factors that may lead to breakouts for these relatively cheap (in terms of price) stocks.

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At the Focal Point, Checking in on Prana Biotechnology Limited (NASDAQ:PRAN) - Morgan Research

Diabetes is an epidemic in the United States, with about 29 million people who have it, another 8 million who are undiagnosed and 86 million who are considered pre-diabetic, according to the American Diabetes Association.

Type 2 diabetes, the most common form, is a disease in which the bodys cells dont use insulin properly. At first, the pancreas makes more insulin to get glucose into the cells, but over time, the pancreas cant make enough to keep blood glucose levels normal and the result is type 2 diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes increases a persons risk for several health conditions including high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke. Its also responsible for as many as 12 percent of deaths in the U.S., three times higher than previous estimates, a January 2017 study in the journal PLOS ONE found.

7 HEALTHY MIDNIGHT SNACKS TO HELP YOU GET BACK TO SLEEP

Although genetics can increase your chances of developing type 2 diabetes, both diet and exercise also play a big role.

In fact, people with pre-diabetes who lost just 5 to 7 percent of their body weight reduced their risk by 54 percent, a study out of John Hopkins in July 2013 found.

Here, experts weigh in with 10 foods that balance your blood sugar and can prevent diabetes:

1. Apples You might think fruit is off the menu because of its sugar content, but fruit is filled with vitamins and nutrients that can help ward off diabetes.

Apples are one of the best fruits you can eat because theyre rich in quercetin, a plant pigment. Quercetin helps the body secrete insulin more efficiently and wards off insulin resistance, which occurs when the body has to make more and more insulin to help glucose enter the cells. Insulin resistance is the hallmark characteristic of type 2 diabetes.

Its filled with antioxidants, and also theres fiber in the fruit that naturally slows the digestion of the sugars, Karen Ansel, a registered dietitian nutritionist in Syosset, New York, and author of Healing Superfoods for Anti-Aging, told Fox News.

But be sure to eat apples with the skin because this park of the fruit has six times more quercetin than its flesh.

6 COMMON FOODS WITH HIDDEN SUGAR

2. Yogurt Eating a serving of yogurt every day can cut your risk for type 2 diabetes by 18 percent, a November 2014 study out of the Harvard School of Public Health found.

Although its not clear whether thats because yogurt has probiotics, one thing is for sure: The snack, especially the Greek variety, is high in protein, which makes you feel satiated and prevents large blood sugar spikes, Marina Chaparro, a spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND), and a certified diabetes educator in Miami, Florida, told Fox News.

Although yogurt contains natural sugars, be sure to read labels to avoid excess sugar, and select varieties that have 12 to 15 grams of carbohydrates.

3. Asparagus Low in calories and high in fiber, asparagus and other types of green leafy vegetables are rich in antioxidants, which reduce inflammation and can balance blood sugar levels.

In fact, people who ate one and half extra servings of green leafy vegetables a day cut their risk for type 2 diabetes by 14 percent, an August 2010 meta-analysis in the British Medical Journal found.

FOODS THAT CAN HELP IMPROVE YOUR EYESIGHT

4. Beans and legumes Studies suggest that people who follow a vegetarian or vegan diet are less likely to develop type 2 diabetes than their meat-eating counterparts.

Chickpeas, lentils and beans are all low in calories and saturated fat, have a low glycemic index and a ton of fiber, which takes a long time to digest, so blood sugar doesnt rise as quickly, Chaparro said.

In fact, eating a cup of beans a day has been shown to reduce blood sugar, an October 2010 study published in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine found.

5. Chia seeds Because type 2 diabetes can lead to heart disease and stroke, its also a good idea to eat foods like chia seeds. Two tablespoons of chia seeds provides 4 grams of protein and 11 grams of fiber, as well as heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids.

Chia seeds are also versatile: Add them to oatmeal or muffins, blend them into a smoothie, or make a chia pudding.

6. Berries Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries are all low in calories and carbohydrates, and have a low glycemic index to keep your blood sugar steady. Although they all contain fiber, raspberries and blackberries in particular take the lead to fill you up.

5 SURPRISING FOODS TO HELP YOU SLEEP BETTER

7. Coffee When it comes to preventing type 2 diabetes, coffee remains controversial, but some studies suggest a coffee habit can be a good thing for preventing diabetes.

In fact, people who drank more than one and a half cups a day for 10 years were 54 percent less likely to develop diabetes than non-coffee drinkers, a July 2015 study in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition found.

However, if youre going to drink coffee, enjoy it black or with a small amount of milk, but skip the sugar. Those fancy sugar-laden drinks at Starbucks will definitely spike your blood sugar and negate any benefit, Chaparro said.

8. Pumpkin seeds Pumpkin seeds are rich in plant chemicals known as lignans, as well as magnesium, both of which help the body use insulin more efficiently. They also contain globulins, or proteins that help lower blood sugar.

Pumpkin seeds are an excellent source of protein, which is slowly digested so it keeps blood sugar stable, and fiber, which curbs hunger, can prevent overeating and help you lose weight.

Enjoy them as a snack, or add them to a salad or baked goods.

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9. Brown rice People who ate three to five servings of whole grains per day were 26 percent less likely to develop type2 diabetes in a July 2012 study published in the Journal of Nutrition. One of the best types of whole grains is brown rice, which is rich in magnesium and fiber, and has a low glycemic index.

If you havent been able to make the switch, try medium-grain brown rice, which has a more tolerable texture than the whole-grain variety. Or mix brown and white rice together until youre able to nix the white rice altogether.

10. Vinegar Vinegar has acetic acid, a compound that can lower blood sugar and insulin levels after you eat carbohydrates.

Its suspected to reduce the activity of enzymes in your gut that break down sugars, Ansel said. So those sugars are being broken down much more slowly [and] released into your blood stream at a much more gradual pace.

Julie Revelant is a health journalist and a consultant who provides content marketing and copywriting services for the healthcare industry. She's also a mom of two. Learn more about Julie at revelantwriting.com.

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10 foods that can help prevent diabetes - Fox News

We are saddened by Mr. Mulvaney's comments, and we look forward to working closely with the White House and the Department of Health and Human Services to dispel the erroneous stigma around diabetes and the millions of Americans living with this disease.

About the American Diabetes AssociationMore than 29 million Americans have diabetes, and every 23 seconds, another person is diagnosed with diabetes. Founded in 1940, the American Diabetes Association (Association) is the nation's leading voluntary health organization whose mission is to prevent and cure diabetes, and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes. The Association drives discovery by funding research to treat, manage and prevent all types of diabetes, as well as to search for cures; raises voice to the urgency of the diabetes epidemic; and works to safeguard policies and programs that protect people with diabetes. In addition, the Association supports people living with diabetes, those at risk of developing diabetes, and the health care professionals who serve them through information and programs that can improve health outcomes and quality of life. For more information, please call the American Diabetes Association at 1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383) or visit diabetes.org. Information from both of these sources is available in English and Spanish. Find us on Facebook (American Diabetes Association), Twitter (@AmDiabetesAssn) and Instagram (@AmDiabetesAssn).

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/american-diabetes-association-extremely-disappointed-and-saddened-by-comments-about-people-with-diabetes-from-white-house-office-of-management-and-budget-director-mick-mulvaney-300456896.html

SOURCE American Diabetes Association

http://www.diabetes.org

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American Diabetes Association Extremely Disappointed and Saddened by Comments About People with Diabetes ... - PR Newswire (press release)

Manuelas most recent email set my skeptic senses tingling. This worried Colombian wife had reached out to me across the transom of the World Wide Web emphasis on the World Wide because of my personal experience and extensive research into awareness in vegetative states. Yet in this instance, I think my skeptical chops may be more helpful, as I attempt to get between her and predatory stem cell regeneration quacks.

Youll see why Im so concerned when you read her message:

Thanks for replying to my emails, this also helps me a lot [after I sent her a list Kate Allatt prepared for people in a locked-in or minimally conscious state].

I think my Husband (His name is Felipe [my pseudonym for him])is in that period of the coma [referring to my last email, in which I described my partial awareness during my coma, as my consciousness flickered in and out], he seem to be conscious some times, but other times he looks like he is somewhere else. He also has against his health that he has lost so much weight, he was 185 pounds, and today he is 125. We are looking for other options too, there is something called cells regeneration, it is very expensive, but I think is a good option. I will check out your blog.

Have a great day!

You may have picked this up by now, but my diplomacy skills are so atrocious that I could qualify for a position in the Trump administration diplomatic corps if I werent such a liberal. Thus, this was my typically too-blunt reply:

Manuela,

I would highly recommend against trying stem cell regeneration! Its not only unproven, but is potentially extremely dangerous. Read this article about three women who lost their all or part of their sight after having stem cells injected in their eyes in an attempt to cure macular degeneration:Patients Lose Sight After Stem Cells Are Injected Into Their Eyes. I think that in many cases, stem cell regeneration therapy is performed by quacks or at least unlicensed doctors pushing an unproven therapy, often exploiting desperate people.

If I were you, I would first try Ambien. Its harmless, inexpensive to try, and has had a few but remarkable successes (it was a small study). Zolpidem is the drugs name. Its available in a cheap generic. I used to take it myself before my coma.

Another technique that has shown temporary effectiveness is deep brain stimulation. I put some links into my first email, but here they are again (actually, this time the Ambien link is more specific to the drug treatment). Ambien:Sleeping pill may rouse coma patientsand deep brain stimulation:Electric brain stimulation rouses some people in a minimally conscious or vegetative state. The other thing that might help Felipes would be the physical therapy youve already said you were committed to beginning. If careful enough, that should be harmless as well.

As for Felipes weight, I myself lost a lot of weight and became dangerously skinny while being fed through my gastric tube. Perhaps you can request the high calorie liquid food I was eventually put on (if he isnt on it already).

Also, would you like me to put you in contact with the woman I mentioned who was in a locked-in state, Kate Allatt? (The link is Kates website, so you can contact her yourself if you like.) Kate is much more experienced in directing patients to resources than I am! In her memoir, by the way, she advocates for sometimes going against doctors wishes when you know whats best for your own body. She wasnt talking about a loved ones body, but you are Felipes voice right now.

At any rate, I hope you have a great day, as well, and that Felipe continues to improve!

There are further medical steps Manuela could take beyond the ones I had already suggested to her, though some involve slightly more powerful drugs. (Shes a looong way away from worrying about Ambien affecting Felipes driving.) These drugs at least have the advantage of having shown clinical effectiveness, albeit in studies that were small by necessity.

While stem cell regeneration is a promising area of legitimate medical research, these unlicensed clinics are a whole other kettle of fishiness. I had read about these scammers before, including an article about threewomen who lost their eyesight in whole or in part in an attempt to forestall their macular degeneration (which I linked to in my email).

I had also read about the sad case of Jim Gass, who had traveled to Mexico, China, and Argentina and paid tens of thousands of dollars to have stem cells injected into his spine in order to help him recover from a stroke.

Instead, he developed a huge tumor on his spine.

Whereas Gass was hampered before with a disabled arm and weakness in one of his legs, hes now a quadriplegic with the exception of one arm. And the growth of his spinal tumor continues unabated.

It may be too late for Jim Gass to learn this lesson about the dangers of unlicensed and unregulated stem cell regeneration clinics. But how can I impress that on Manuela without sounding paternalistic?

On the one hand, shes obviously a dogged online researcher. Thats how she found my coma recovery blog in the first place. But theres a reason why these scammers have a continual stream of victims beating down their doors to be fleeced.

There are a lot of desperate patients out there with no legitimate medical treatments, and theyre grasping for treatment options. Ive only been able to sense secondhand what my loved ones went through as I lay near death, with my doctors telling them to give up hope for my full recovery.

Or any recovery at all.

Keith did what Manuela is doing now, researching online. He found Dr. Adrian Owens tennis study, in which Dr. Owen and his team managed to communicated with a few people judged to be in persistent vegetative states.

That gave Keith the encouragement to continue trying to stimulate my mind as best he could without access to the expensive fMRI scanners Dr. Owen et al used.

What kind of desperately-needed hope can I offer Manuela?

Well, Ill probably send her a few more links to clinically tested treatments. Amantadine,a flu-fighting medication used as well for tremor in Parkinsons patients, and Levadopa(also used for Parkinsons disease) have both helped to improve awareness, increase periods of wakefulness, or even sparked awakening. While use of these drugs would be off label, at least there is clinical if limited data to back up their potential effectiveness.

Indeed, this is what the International Brain Injury Association had to say regarding patients in developing countries:

The situation gets worse in undeveloped countries where one can hardly find a brain trauma neurorehabilitation unit and exceptionally few patients can access them.

These treatment studies of course need to be replicated to spread more widely. But given that they employ tested treatments/drugs that are being used off label by specialists in the developed world, theyre certainly safer than stem cell regeneration, which is at best worthless and at worst has caused proven harm to many.

Manuela is already determined to take the matters into her own hands by giving Felipe physical therapy, despite his doctors dismissal of its utility. (My doctors said the same thing, and I believe that passive exercise wouldve at the very least shortened my recovery time. And given that my awareness and movement improved every time I was significantly stimulated, the physical therapy might well have hastened my awakening.)

In the end, all I can do is to try to gently encourage Manuela to try these safer and much cheaper interventions, which have show actual clinical effectiveness. With my decided lack of diplomatic skill, Im far from the best person to attempt this.

The stem cell regeneration clinic scammers will be waiting to pounce if I fail.

For as little as $1 a month, you can help feed a starving writer. Please considersupporting my work on Patreon.

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Stem Cell Regeneration Clinics: Waiting to Pounce on the Desperate - Patheos (blog)

Home Cancer New cancer treatment targeting cancer stem cells shows positive result in animal studies

Cancer is characterized by abnormal cells in the body that divide uncontrollably and have the ability to infiltrate and destroy normal body tissue. It is estimated that about 171 per 100,000 men and women will die from cancer every year, and it is considered the second leading cause of death in the U.S. Researchers estimate that approximately 39.6 percent of men and women will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives. While treatment does exist to help fight off these cellular abnormalities, they often come at a price, severely incapacitating the body and opening the potential for more opportunistic infections to occur. However, new research in the field of cancer study has uncovered new therapy in the form of a tumor vaccine that may shrink cancer, limiting the amount of side effects.

Researchers at the University of Cincinnati have created a vaccine that promotes that production of cancer-fighting immune cells in animal models. This was the effort of many years of research and development whereby cancer stem cells were engineered to express a pro-inflammatory process called interleukin-15 (IL-15) and its receptor (IL-15Ralpha). These proteins increase the production of immune cells previously mentioned, called T cells, which could lead to new immunotherapy treatments for cancer with improved side effects, according to the researchers.

The researchers go on to say that T cells and natural killer cells of the body are greatly stimulated by IL-15 and that they recognize and attack tumor cells. This pro-inflammatory protein was initially used in previous studies for the treatment of cancers such as melanoma and kidney cancer but caused a number of intolerable side effects in patients. So, the researchers found a way to transfer genes from IL-15 with its receptor into cancer cells, thereby increasing the tumors cell surface presentation of IL-15 to T cells. In animal models, this stopped the tumor cells from reproducing with little evidence of side effects.

These findings further support evidence of IL-15s ability as a cancer treatment. We are continuing vaccination studies in animal models with hopes of moving this research to a Phase I trial in humans to see if side effects are reduced, said John Morris, MD, co-author of this study and clinical co-leader of the Molecular Therapeutics and Diagnosis Program for the Cincinnati Cancer Consortium

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https://www.healthnews.uc.edu/news/?/28993/

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New cancer treatment targeting cancer stem cells shows positive result in animal studies - Bel Marra Health