The Star Online: Lifestyle: Health
The Star Online: Lifestyle: Health |
| 'Bio-kidney' offers hope for renal patients in lab Posted: 15 Apr 2013 02:33 AM PDT Researchers in the United States on Sunday said they had bio-engineered a kidney and transplanted it into rats, marking a step forward in a quest to help patients suffering from kidney failure. The prototype proves that a "bio-kidney" can work, emulating breakthroughs elsewhere to build replacement structures for livers, hearts and lungs, they said. Described in the journal Nature Medicine, the work entailed taking a rat kidney and stripping out its living cells using a detergent solution, leaving behind a shell made of collagen. The next step was to repopulate this empty structure with living cells, comprising human endothelial cells, which line the walls of blood vessels in the kidney, and kidney cells taken from newborn rats. The trick was then to "seed" these cells in the correct part of the kidney, using a muscle duct called the ureter as a tube. The team transplanted the organ into living rats from which a kidney had been removed. The new kidney started filtering blood and producing urine through the ureter as soon as the bloody supply was restored, and there was no evidence of bleeding or clots. Further work is needed to fine-tune the cell types to improve organ function, and many hurdles must be overcome before any tests on humans can go ahead, the scientists cautioned. The researchers stripped cells from pig and human kidneys to test the first phase of the procedure on these organs, but have not taken this further for now. Harald Ott of the Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Regenerative Medicine said the goal was to help the millions of people with kidney failure whose lives are crimped by dialysis. "If this technology can be scaled to human-sized grafts, patients suffering from renal failure who are currently waiting for donor kidneys or who are not transplant candidates could theoretically receive new organs derived from their own cells" to prevent rejection by the immune system, he said. -- AFPRelaxnews |
| Posted: 13 Apr 2013 07:49 PM PDT Amid the constant hubbub of the campaign season, sound sleep and adequate nutrition becomes a distant luxury for many electoral candidates. Fit4Life speaks to experts in the field of medicine and nutrition on how candidates can stay healthy and remain on top of their game. DURING the political campaign season, electoral candidates clock in extra hours to carve out successful campaigns and attend countless social events, while dodging the omnipresent rumour mill. In Malaysia, they typically start their day from as early as 6am for walkabouts. This is followed by various campaign activities throughout the day, followed by ceramah sessions in the evening. After that, they may even have to keep going with more meetings. On top of their hyper-busy schedules, they also have to deal with chatter, gossip and media attention, both on the ground and online, as their opponents exploit their tiniest flaws. And in today's 24/7 news-cycles, responses must be quick for there is nowhere and no time to hide from any mudslinging. Amid the constant rush and hype, tempers may flare and emotions may run high. While candidates go to great lengths to win the hearts of the voters, the absence of adequate sleep and nutrition means that many will be predisposed to physical and mental stresses that could be detrimental to one's health. In 2011, Tan Sri Adam Abdul Kadir, president of The Association of Former Umno Elected Representatives (Pakku), had suggested that priority should be given to non-smoking and healthy candidates for the general election, to ensure that elected representatives would be able to serve efficiently. The suggestion was made in response to a worrying phenomenon of representatives dying due to illness. Indeed, following the 12th general election in March 2008, a total of 16 by-elections have taken place following the deaths of their representatives. Twelve of them had apparently died from heart-related diseases and cancer. With the elections approaching, many candidates are no doubt already feeling the heat. In view of that, Fit4Life speaks to experts in the field of medicine and nutrition for tips on how candidates can stay on top of their game, despite the various health challenges thrown their way. A healthy body There is little doubt that many candidates will face the ravages of stress and fatigue, amid the frantic activities of the campaign season. Stress is the body's way of responding to demanding or threatening experiences. When people feel stressed about an event affecting them, their bodies react by releasing chemicals into the blood. These chemicals give people more energy and strength, and create a biological response known as the fight-or-flight syndrome. However, this can be a bad thing if there is no physical outlet to channel that extra energy and strength. While stress is part and parcel of daily life, prolonged episodes of stress can take a toll on one's overall health, most notably on the cardiovascular, gastrointestinal (digestive), and immune systems, says Datuk Dr Krishna Moorthy Appalanaidu, a consultant in healthcare and education, and ex-president of the Malaysian Medical Association. The effects of stress on the heart are varied, and some are potentially deadly. "Long term effects of stress can result in an increased heart rate, damaged blood vessels, high blood pressure, and an increase in serum cholesterol levels. All of this leads to an increased risk of developing cardiovascular diseases," he explains. On the effects of stress on gastrointestinal system, Datuk Dr Krishna elaborates: "Stress virtually shuts down the gastrointestinal system and some people develop chronic constipation, problems with stomach acid, or ulcers as a result of stress" Long-term stress will jeopardise the immune system, he points out: "One will be more likely to fall ill." Other stress-related effects include headaches, muscle pain, chest pain, a decrease in sex drive, stomach upsets and most notably, sleep deprivation that could lead to fatigue. Fatigue, characterised by extreme tiredness, is a precursor to a different set of health problems altogether. According to Datuk Dr Krishna, fatigue can disrupt the production of hormones and proteins crucial to various biological processes. For instance, sleep deprivation inhibits the body's ability to produce insulin, a substance that allows people to metabolise sugar properly. This may lead to diabetes. Fatigue also decreases the body's level of leptin, a protein hormone that plays a key role in regulating energy intake and energy expenditure, affecting appetite, hunger and metabolism. "Leptin is a hormone that sends out a 'stop-eating' signal to the brain when the stomach is full," Datuk Dr Krishna says. This explains why people actually end up eating more than usual, when they are running short on sleep. In turn, poor sleep triggers a high-alert state in the body, which increases the production of more stress hormones and raises blood pressure. The solution to addressing these impending health problems sounds simple - get enough sleep, and supplement a healthy diet with regular exercise. "If you are getting six hours of sleep or less, you are not getting enough sleep. This could result in a build-up of 'sleep deficit', which makes focusing on daily tasks difficult," says Datuk Dr Krishna. "Effective time management will help to ensure that you are ahead of your schedule," he advises. "Exercise provides a good physical outlet to release any pent-up tension. Candidates can do some simple exercises for 15 minutes before their ceramah." Datuk Dr Krishna adds: "It is important for electoral candidates to maintain good health so that they can deliver their speeches properly. That alone can affect the voters' confidence." Certain medical conditions can also give tell-tale signs. "For example, if a candidate is diabetic, he will feel very thirsty and will need to urinate often." Mind matters The perpetual presence of stress can have a negative impact on one's mental capacities, such as making sound decisions and keeping one's emotions in check. Assoc Professor Dr Mariani Md Nor from Universiti Malaya's department of educational psychology and counseling explains that while stress helps to "sharpen concentration and keep you on your toes", prolonged periods of stress can result in "major damage to one's health, mood, work productivity, relationships, and consequently, one's quality of life. "When the stress response is triggered, it becomes difficult to think clearly and make good decisions. This is because when you are stressed, you can't access the prefrontal cortex of the brain, the part where clear cognitive functioning usually occurs." Stress can also lead to emotional symptoms such as mood swings, irritability and depression. "Clearly, this can affect a candidate's performance during campaign season," she opines. While familiarity breeds contempt for some, Dr Mariani shares that being exposed to a familiar environment may help mitigate the detrimental effects of stress. "In other words, if candidates get used to being in stressful situations, then the effects of stress on their performance are minimised. "There are people who are able to work effectively under stress. Some candidates are able to access the prefrontal cortex of the brain, due to the familiar environment that they have worked in throughout their political careers." While stress cannot be eliminated completely, you can have control over how much it can affect you. Dr Mariani offers some stress-management tips: "You can start by trying to alter the situation by changing the way you communicate and operate in your daily life. "Learning to think positively is also an important step in coping with fatigue and anxiety. Most of the time, it is a sense of anxiety that causes negative and destructive thoughts. Try spending time with positive and cheerful people. "Another way to cope with these mental stresses is to learn to talk about it openly, and don't try to hide when you're suffering." But are these things easier said than done in political situations? If candidates can't change a stressful situation, they have to learn to adapt, and change their own attitudes and expectations about it, to regain a sense of control. "Accept the things you cannot change as some sources of stress are unavoidable." |
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