Last week';s record: 6-9. Ugh!
Let's try to do better:
NFL PICKS:
Miami even at BUFFALO. My pick: DOLPHINS. Miami is playing well. Buffalo will be without E.J. Manuel. Go with the fish...
CINCINNATI 4 over Minnesota. My pick: BENGALS. Cincy has played well at home all year. Look for a bounce-back win for them here.
KANSAS CITY 3.5 over Indianapolis. My pick: CHIEFS. I think KC has righted the ship. Indy has not played well away from home for some time.
Tampa Bay even at ST. LOUIS. My pick: RAMS. Hard to go against St. Louis here, given their big win last week and being at home.
Cleveland even at NY JETS. My pick: JETS. Very appropriate that this game is rated even; who can ever tell from week to week what these teams will do? But I think the Jets at home will take this one; while Cleveland again will find a way to lose.
Dallas even at WASHINGTON. My pick: COWBOYS. Time for the good side of the Jekyll and Hyde Cowboys to show up. Although no one can be certain what either of these teams will do.
CAROLINA 2 over New Orleans. My pick: SAINTS. This pick would seem to go against recent trends, I know; but I like Drew Brees' experience in a game like this. This game basically means a division title.
Tennessee even at JACKSONVILLE. My pick: TITANS. Because Jacksonville has so many injuries, mainly. And Tennessee has continued to play hard.
Denver 13 over HOUSTON. My pick: BRONCOS. That's a lot of points; but Houston appears to be mailing it in, while the Broncos have everything to play for. Peyton Manning will get them back on track.
DETROIT 3 over NY Giants. My pick: LIONS. I expect a better effort from the Giants this week, after last week's tongue-lashing from Tom Coughlin, but if the Lions can avoid a bunch of turnovers, they should prevail.
SEATTLE 11 over Arizona. My pick: CARDINALS. Arizona's defense is pretty good. This is an improving team. Seattle will win this game; but look for the Cards to keep it close.
Pittsburgh even at GREEN BAY. My pick: STEELERS. I have a feeling Aaron Rodgers won't play; and this time not having him will catch up to the Pack.
SAN DIEGO 10.5 over Oakland. My pick: CHARGERS. San Diego and Philip Rivers are still in there fighting, with something to play for. Oakland looks to be running for the bus.
New England even at BALTIMORE. My pick: RAVENS. Joe Flacco again is finding ways to get it done. New England badly misses Rob Gronkowski.
Chicago even at PHILADELPHIA. My pick: EAGLES. This time that high-flying Eagles' offense won't be grounded; Chicago's defense is especially vulnerable against the run, and the Eagles have the perfect weapons to exploit it.
SAN FRANCISCO 14.5 over Atlanta. My pick: FALCONS. Atlanta has not quit. Matt Ryan can still make some plays. San Fran will win; but I just think that somehow the Falcons will keep it close against a 49er team that might just not be in the most focused frame of mind.
Friday, December 20, 2013
Thursday, December 19, 2013
I-JUST-THOUGHT-THIS-WAS-INTERESTING DEPT.
Some of you with Moebius Syndrome or with someone in your family who has it, and who know something about the use of, shall we say, canine assistance for therapy and assistance, will I thought find this story interesting--therapy dogs can help you in a lot of ways:
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The tension at Emory University's Robert W. Woodruff Library is palpable.
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The tension at Emory University's Robert W. Woodruff Library is palpable.
It's finals. Nearly every
single desk is full amid a flurry of activity. A young woman in an
Emory sweatsuit tears through her notebook as the furious whoosh of
pages turning carries through the hushed study area.
Next to her, a group of
young men stand in a circle, leaning in and frantically whispering a
debate about supply side economics. To the left of them is another a
young woman, her face firmly planted on a computer keyboard. She snores
softly.
Everywhere students are stressed out -- but not in the Jones Room.
Normally the Jones Room hosts world famous poets like Mary Oliver or Billy Collins. Today, its star attraction is Henry.
Henry is the spokesdog for CanineAssistants, an Alpharetta, Georgia-based nonprofit that trains and provides service dogs to children and adults with disabilities.
This sharp-eyed golden
retriever isn't reciting poetry, although as smart as he is, he probably
could -- if someone sneezes, he actually can bring them a tissue. But
today, the K-9 volunteer is happily allowing himself to be petted. Henry
and his colleagues along with their volunteer human handlers visit
hospitals and schools as part of their training,
About half a dozen dogs
are taking two-hour shifts at Emory. Students line up to get 10 minutes
with them. These cute ambassadors of calm are part of a growing trend of
colleges trying to help ease the pain of finals for students.
The University of
Louisiana at Lafayette, UC Berkeley, Columbia University, Marquette and
dozens more campuses are providing what has become one of the more
popular study breaks.
"It's been fantastic for the students," says Chris Daood, who works with the program out of Marquette University's counseling center.
He advertises the event
in advance and puts the dogs in an open space so students can casually
walk by and engage with the animals. The organization Health Heelers brings its dogs and even a couple of mellow therapy cats.
Daood says it works.
"You see (students') shoulders drop and see them smile. This is a great way for them to keep life
in perspective. That really is the most significant part of the
program. With academic stress, it's not uncommon for students to get
tunnel vision during finals. Five minutes with a cat or dog, it clears
their head."
Scientific studies
do show that canine interaction increases a human's level of oxytocin, a
hormone that reduces anxiety and blood pressure. Petting a dog or
caring for a pet helps people become less frightened, more secure and
diverts their attention away from their own fears or anxieties.
Studies also show
excessive stress, like the kind students may experience during finals,
impairs memory. An activity that relieves that stress even for a moment
improves a student's ability to retain what they are trying to learn.
"Next," calls out a
librarian in wire-framed glasses as three young women crowd the door,
excitedly peering over each other to see what's inside. "Are you three
together?" the librarian asks, as they nod in the affirmative.
She waves them in to a
circle of chairs positioned around Wesley, a young dog so large he looks
like his parents could have been horses or Great Danes.
The three get down on
the floor and crowd around Wesley, positioned like the famous ancient
statue of three muses. They coo and reach to stroke his long golden fur.
The dog closes his eyes and goes limp.
"I'm all studied out,"
Ali Serpe says as she strokes the dog's back. The senior has one final
left for her anthropology/human biology major. She's also working on
medical school applications. A lot rides on this work.
"This is exactly what I needed," she says.
Erin Mooney, the library's outreach and education librarian, says Emory got the idea for the study break from another library last year.
"We were surprised how
many students showed up to pet the dogs," she says. "There was such a
crush of people. We had to do it again."
Serpe stops petting
Wesley to ask Susan Dansberry, the dog's volunteer, about the dog's
training. As soon a she does the dog looks up as if she has done
something wrong.
"OK, OK," she says as she resumes petting and then kisses the dog's head. "This really does help me, I guess he likes it too."
Dansberry tells Serpe the dogs learn about 90 commands before they can become certified.
A retired insurance
agent, Dansberry spends much of her free time volunteering with the
dogs. She especially loves the hospital and school visits.
The dogs typically live
on an 18-acre farm in Milton, Georgia, but go home with volunteers to
learn "home manners," as volunteer Karen Edge calls them.
The volunteers also get a
list of sounds and environments the dogs must learn. The dogs get used
to the sound of a vacuum or a computer printer. They learn to walk up
stairs slowly rather than race. They ride escalators and elevators --
anything to ensure they can be calm in the future.
Edge sits in a circle of
her own with her dog Sneakers and a crowd of students. The dog is so
relaxed, it is unclear if the dog is asleep or awake. Sneakers' tranquility visibility relaxes the tense young woman who bends to pet him.
Edge says she took the
day off from Oracle, where she works, to volunteer. She says she
couldn't resist the chance to see the dogs work their magic, even if the
students only have 10 minutes with them.
"I know when I do work
at home, these dogs are always making me laugh," Edge says. "They make
me happy all day. How could I pass up an opportunity to share them like
this?"
Alex Harrison, an Emory
junior, sits with the circle of students around another dog. He says
this is his fourth time signing up. "I was here yesterday too."
His phone buzzes. It's a calendar alert telling him about another upcoming dog shift.
"I have dogs at home,
but my parents live overseas, so they are very far away," Harrison says.
"I spent 18 hours at the library yesterday, so I just booked my
appointments early in the day to make sure I got here and got to
studying."
He says he has three
finals left, and the 10-minute bouts of canine calm will carry him
through. "This is the happiest I've been all week," he says, stroking
the dog's neck.
"I'm sorry, ladies and gentlemen, but it's time to say good-bye," the time keeper says to the students. Their 10 minutes is up.
"Thank you for all that you do," Serpe says quietly to the dog she's been petting. "You are the perfect medicine for finals."
Another student pulls
out her cell phone to remember her new furry friend, saying, "this way
when I'm studying, I've got something to calm me down."
*********************************************
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
HEALTH TIP OF THE DAY
Swimming--it is excellent exercise and can keep you healthy:
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In some ways, the health effects of swimming are similar to those of land-based aerobic activities, such as jogging, walking or bicycling, said Hirofumi Tanaka, the director of the Cardiovascular Aging Research Laboratory at the University of Texas at Austin. Like them, swimming is a “rhythmical aerobic exercise that you can maintain continuously” to improve cardiovascular and muscular health, he said. Experiments by Dr. Tanaka and others have found that swimming “is very effective at reducing blood pressure and improving vascular function,” just as walking and other land-based endurance exercises are.
The unique advantage of swimming is that it is done in water, which provides buoyancy and cooling, Dr. Tanaka said. “So the incidence of orthopedic injury as well as the rate of heat-related illnesses are both low,” he said.
But swimming has a notable drawback. “It seems to stimulate appetite,” Dr. Tanaka said, more so than do vigorous land-based exercises like running. As a result, swimming is not particularly effective at promoting weight loss or maintenance. In a 2005 study of exercise habits and body weight involving more than 15,000 adults ages 53 to 57, those who briskly walked, jogged or cycled gained little weight over the course of a decade. Those who swam tended to pack on pounds.
Still, “there is no doubt that swimming is a beneficial activity for other factors,” particularly cardiovascular health, Dr. Tanaka said. Just skip the celebratory cupcakes after your laps.
**************************
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What are the health benefits to swimming vs. other aerobic exercises?
In some ways, the health effects of swimming are similar to those of land-based aerobic activities, such as jogging, walking or bicycling, said Hirofumi Tanaka, the director of the Cardiovascular Aging Research Laboratory at the University of Texas at Austin. Like them, swimming is a “rhythmical aerobic exercise that you can maintain continuously” to improve cardiovascular and muscular health, he said. Experiments by Dr. Tanaka and others have found that swimming “is very effective at reducing blood pressure and improving vascular function,” just as walking and other land-based endurance exercises are.
The unique advantage of swimming is that it is done in water, which provides buoyancy and cooling, Dr. Tanaka said. “So the incidence of orthopedic injury as well as the rate of heat-related illnesses are both low,” he said.
But swimming has a notable drawback. “It seems to stimulate appetite,” Dr. Tanaka said, more so than do vigorous land-based exercises like running. As a result, swimming is not particularly effective at promoting weight loss or maintenance. In a 2005 study of exercise habits and body weight involving more than 15,000 adults ages 53 to 57, those who briskly walked, jogged or cycled gained little weight over the course of a decade. Those who swam tended to pack on pounds.
Still, “there is no doubt that swimming is a beneficial activity for other factors,” particularly cardiovascular health, Dr. Tanaka said. Just skip the celebratory cupcakes after your laps.
**************************
Monday, December 16, 2013
HEALTH NEWS OF THE DAY
Here are 5 recent medical studies you may have missed. Maybe their results will interest you:
**********************************
Drug that may reduce breast cancer risk
Journal: The Lancet
The conference brought good news for preventing breast cancer in some women. Researchers found that an antihormone therapy called anastrozole cuts the likelihood of breast cancer by about half among postmenopausal women at high risk of breast cancer.
About 80% of U.S. women with breast cancer each year suffer tumors with high levels of hormone receptors, fueled by estrogen. Anastrozole stops the body from making estrogen. It has been used in the past as a treatment for breast cancer of the hormone receptor positive kind.
The study involved 3,864 postmenopausal women at increased risk for developing breast cancer. This was a double-blind, randomized controlled trial, which is the gold standard for drug research.
Women who took anastrozole were 53% less likely to develop breast cancer compared with those who took the placebo. This was after a follow-up time period of more than five years. Few side effects were reported.
Exercise reduces drug-linked joint pain
Presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium
About half of patients on breast cancer drugs called aromatase inhibitors say that they feel joint pain and stiffness. That’s the most common reason that patients stop taking the drug.
But a new study shows that exercise during treatment can reduce the unpleasant side effect.
Participants included 121 postmenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive breast cancers in stages 1, 2 or 3. All of them were taking an aromatase inhibitor, had at least mild joint pain, and did not exercise before beginning the study.
Researchers are interested in investigating how exercise helps with the pain and at what point during the intervention such improvements occurred.
Metastatic breast cancer patients may not benefit from surgery and radiation, post-chemotherapy
Presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium
Retrospective analyses of metastatic breast cancer patient outcomes have given conflicting views over the value of surgery or radiation after chemotherapy.
A new study found no difference in overall survival between patients with metastatic breast cancer who had surgery or radiation after chemotherapy, and those who did not. This was a prospective, randomized, controlled trial.
"Loco-regional treatment" is the name for radiation and removal of the breast tumor and nearby lymph nodes.
“I’m sure a lot of oncologists who believe in conventional wisdom and don’t provide loco-regional treatment will feel a lot more comfortable looking at these results,” study author Dr. Rajendra Badwe, director of the Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai, India, said in a statement.
And here are two other recent studies, which are on the lighter side:
Liars Really Lie
Journal: Human Communication Research
Knowing whom to trust is tricky business. Interestingly, a new study suggests that liars are more honest about their dishonesty than you might think.
Researchers from the University of Amsterdam and Ben-Gurion University gave participants a variety of psychological tests and asked them how often they'd said something untrue in the past 24 hours. They also did some follow-up experiments where participants rolled a die and reported their scores, and another activity involving word puzzles - some of which are not solvable.
Statistically, some people had to have lied, the researchers determined, because there's no way that all of the high scores reported were real.
“The interesting thing was,” study co-author Shaul Shalvi, a psychology professor at the University of the Negev told TIME.com, “that the more people reported they lied in the last 24 hours, the higher their reported die roll outcomes were."
Sugar, Not Fat, Drives Cravings
This sounds like a fun study to participate in: More than 100 high school students drank chocolate-flavored milkshakes, all with the same calorie count. Some were high in sugar and low in fat, and some were low in sugar and high in fat.
Researchers wanted to know whether we're more drawn to the sugar or to the fat during cravings. So they did functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) on the students while they drank the milkshakes.
It appears that the pleasure center of the brain responded to both milkshakes tested in the study, but it was the high-sugar, low-fat version that tended to be a more powerful stimulus.
“We do a lot of work on the prevention of obesity, and what is really clear not only from this study but from the broader literature over all is that the more sugar you eat, the more you want to consume it,” Eric Stice, a senior research scientist at the Oregon Research Institute, told the New York Times. “As far as the ability to engage brain reward regions and drive compulsive intake, sugar seems to be doing a much better job than fat.”
**********************************
Here's a roundup of five medical studies published
this week that might give you new insights into your health, mind and
body. Remember, correlation is not causation – so if a study finds a
connection between two things, it doesn't mean that one causes the
other.
This week kicked off the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium,
at which researchers presented information about the treatment,
diagnosis, prevention and biology of this condition. There were several
important studies presented there.Drug that may reduce breast cancer risk
Journal: The Lancet
The conference brought good news for preventing breast cancer in some women. Researchers found that an antihormone therapy called anastrozole cuts the likelihood of breast cancer by about half among postmenopausal women at high risk of breast cancer.
About 80% of U.S. women with breast cancer each year suffer tumors with high levels of hormone receptors, fueled by estrogen. Anastrozole stops the body from making estrogen. It has been used in the past as a treatment for breast cancer of the hormone receptor positive kind.
The study involved 3,864 postmenopausal women at increased risk for developing breast cancer. This was a double-blind, randomized controlled trial, which is the gold standard for drug research.
Women who took anastrozole were 53% less likely to develop breast cancer compared with those who took the placebo. This was after a follow-up time period of more than five years. Few side effects were reported.
Exercise reduces drug-linked joint pain
Presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium
About half of patients on breast cancer drugs called aromatase inhibitors say that they feel joint pain and stiffness. That’s the most common reason that patients stop taking the drug.
But a new study shows that exercise during treatment can reduce the unpleasant side effect.
Participants included 121 postmenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive breast cancers in stages 1, 2 or 3. All of them were taking an aromatase inhibitor, had at least mild joint pain, and did not exercise before beginning the study.
Researchers are interested in investigating how exercise helps with the pain and at what point during the intervention such improvements occurred.
Metastatic breast cancer patients may not benefit from surgery and radiation, post-chemotherapy
Presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium
Retrospective analyses of metastatic breast cancer patient outcomes have given conflicting views over the value of surgery or radiation after chemotherapy.
A new study found no difference in overall survival between patients with metastatic breast cancer who had surgery or radiation after chemotherapy, and those who did not. This was a prospective, randomized, controlled trial.
"Loco-regional treatment" is the name for radiation and removal of the breast tumor and nearby lymph nodes.
“I’m sure a lot of oncologists who believe in conventional wisdom and don’t provide loco-regional treatment will feel a lot more comfortable looking at these results,” study author Dr. Rajendra Badwe, director of the Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai, India, said in a statement.
And here are two other recent studies, which are on the lighter side:
Liars Really Lie
Journal: Human Communication Research
Knowing whom to trust is tricky business. Interestingly, a new study suggests that liars are more honest about their dishonesty than you might think.
Researchers from the University of Amsterdam and Ben-Gurion University gave participants a variety of psychological tests and asked them how often they'd said something untrue in the past 24 hours. They also did some follow-up experiments where participants rolled a die and reported their scores, and another activity involving word puzzles - some of which are not solvable.
Statistically, some people had to have lied, the researchers determined, because there's no way that all of the high scores reported were real.
“The interesting thing was,” study co-author Shaul Shalvi, a psychology professor at the University of the Negev told TIME.com, “that the more people reported they lied in the last 24 hours, the higher their reported die roll outcomes were."
Sugar, Not Fat, Drives Cravings
This sounds like a fun study to participate in: More than 100 high school students drank chocolate-flavored milkshakes, all with the same calorie count. Some were high in sugar and low in fat, and some were low in sugar and high in fat.
Researchers wanted to know whether we're more drawn to the sugar or to the fat during cravings. So they did functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) on the students while they drank the milkshakes.
It appears that the pleasure center of the brain responded to both milkshakes tested in the study, but it was the high-sugar, low-fat version that tended to be a more powerful stimulus.
“We do a lot of work on the prevention of obesity, and what is really clear not only from this study but from the broader literature over all is that the more sugar you eat, the more you want to consume it,” Eric Stice, a senior research scientist at the Oregon Research Institute, told the New York Times. “As far as the ability to engage brain reward regions and drive compulsive intake, sugar seems to be doing a much better job than fat.”
Friday, December 13, 2013
FRIDAY FOOTBALL PICKS!
I was 8-8 last week.
I'm still under .500 for the year. Yikes!
NFL PICKS
Arizona 2.5 over TENNESSEE. My pick: CARDINALS. Arizona has a lot to play for; and Tennessee is still reeling from Denver's assault last week.
ATLANTA 7 over Washington. My pick: REDSKINS. 2 teams playing out the string. The Falcons have not quit and you have to admire them for that. But I think Kirk Cousins will actually inspire the 'Skins this week.
Buffalo 2 over JACKSONVILLE. My pick: JAGUARS. Jacksonville is improving quite a bit.
CAROLINA 11 over NY Jets. My pick: PANTHERS. Watch out for this Carolina team, despite their loss to the Saints. Look for the Panther defense to bedevil Geno Smith.
Cincinnati 2.5 over PITTSBURGH. My pick: BENGALS. I think this Cincinnati team is coming into its own. They won in Pittsburgh last season. Meanwhile, that loss last week at home to Miami had to be a big blow to the Steelers' psyche.
CLEVELAND vs Chicago. Pick 'em. My pick: BROWNS. Cleveland has not quit and has been competitive. They should have won last week in New England. Meanwhile, Chicago has a short week and Jay Cutler--rusty, perhaps?--will start. The Bears may find they'll miss Josh McCown.
DALLAS vs Green Bay. Off the board. My pick: COWBOYS. This game was off the board because of the uncertainty at QB for the Pack. It appears to me Matt Flynn will still probably start. Of course, who can tell which Cowboys team will show up. My guess--this week, it will be the good Cowboys.
INDIANAPOLIS 5.5 over Houston. My pick: COLTS. The Colts need to right the ship, and especially to get off to a faster start. What better way to do it than to play the reeling Texans.
Kansas City 4.5 over OAKLAND. My pick: CHIEFS. I think last week's win in Washington means that maybe the Chiefs are over their slump. Look for the Chiefs' defense to give Matt McGloin problems.
New England 1.5 over MIAMI. My pick: DOLPHINS. New England has been playing with fire, getting off to slow starts against what appears to be inferior teams. I think this week it will cost them.
New Orleans 6 over ST. LOUIS. My pick: SAINTS. The Saints, many would say here, aren't the same team on the road. Ah, but this game isn't outdoors--it is in a dome. The Saints are the better team and I think they'll show it.
Philadelphia 4.5 over MINNESOTA. My pick: EAGLES. The Eagles are hot. They have speed, more than does a beat up Vikings team. And remember, this game will be indoors--perfect for the fast-paced Eagles offense.
San Francisco 5.5 over TAMPA BAY. My pick: 49ers. They are the better team and I expect in the end the Niners will show it here.
Seattle 7 over NY GIANTS. My pick: GIANTS. I know--upset. I expect Seattle will win here. But it will be a close game, closer than many think. The Giants are tough at home. The Seahawks may be mentally down after a tough loss at San Fran.
DETROIT 6 over Baltimore. My pick: LIONS. Yes, Detroit lost last week...but in a bizarre snowstorm. This week they're at home where their offense does play better.
I'm still under .500 for the year. Yikes!
NFL PICKS
Arizona 2.5 over TENNESSEE. My pick: CARDINALS. Arizona has a lot to play for; and Tennessee is still reeling from Denver's assault last week.
ATLANTA 7 over Washington. My pick: REDSKINS. 2 teams playing out the string. The Falcons have not quit and you have to admire them for that. But I think Kirk Cousins will actually inspire the 'Skins this week.
Buffalo 2 over JACKSONVILLE. My pick: JAGUARS. Jacksonville is improving quite a bit.
CAROLINA 11 over NY Jets. My pick: PANTHERS. Watch out for this Carolina team, despite their loss to the Saints. Look for the Panther defense to bedevil Geno Smith.
Cincinnati 2.5 over PITTSBURGH. My pick: BENGALS. I think this Cincinnati team is coming into its own. They won in Pittsburgh last season. Meanwhile, that loss last week at home to Miami had to be a big blow to the Steelers' psyche.
CLEVELAND vs Chicago. Pick 'em. My pick: BROWNS. Cleveland has not quit and has been competitive. They should have won last week in New England. Meanwhile, Chicago has a short week and Jay Cutler--rusty, perhaps?--will start. The Bears may find they'll miss Josh McCown.
DALLAS vs Green Bay. Off the board. My pick: COWBOYS. This game was off the board because of the uncertainty at QB for the Pack. It appears to me Matt Flynn will still probably start. Of course, who can tell which Cowboys team will show up. My guess--this week, it will be the good Cowboys.
INDIANAPOLIS 5.5 over Houston. My pick: COLTS. The Colts need to right the ship, and especially to get off to a faster start. What better way to do it than to play the reeling Texans.
Kansas City 4.5 over OAKLAND. My pick: CHIEFS. I think last week's win in Washington means that maybe the Chiefs are over their slump. Look for the Chiefs' defense to give Matt McGloin problems.
New England 1.5 over MIAMI. My pick: DOLPHINS. New England has been playing with fire, getting off to slow starts against what appears to be inferior teams. I think this week it will cost them.
New Orleans 6 over ST. LOUIS. My pick: SAINTS. The Saints, many would say here, aren't the same team on the road. Ah, but this game isn't outdoors--it is in a dome. The Saints are the better team and I think they'll show it.
Philadelphia 4.5 over MINNESOTA. My pick: EAGLES. The Eagles are hot. They have speed, more than does a beat up Vikings team. And remember, this game will be indoors--perfect for the fast-paced Eagles offense.
San Francisco 5.5 over TAMPA BAY. My pick: 49ers. They are the better team and I expect in the end the Niners will show it here.
Seattle 7 over NY GIANTS. My pick: GIANTS. I know--upset. I expect Seattle will win here. But it will be a close game, closer than many think. The Giants are tough at home. The Seahawks may be mentally down after a tough loss at San Fran.
DETROIT 6 over Baltimore. My pick: LIONS. Yes, Detroit lost last week...but in a bizarre snowstorm. This week they're at home where their offense does play better.
Thursday, December 12, 2013
HEALTH TIP OF THE DAY
Exercise is kind of a good medicine, as well as being good for you overall. Read more about it:
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Exercise can be as effective as many frequently prescribed drugs in
treating some of the leading causes of death, according to a new report.
The study raises important questions about whether our health care
system focuses too much on medications and too little on activity to
combat physical ailments.
For the study, which was published in October in BMJ, researchers compared how well various drugs and exercise succeed in reducing deaths among people who have been diagnosed with several common and serious conditions, including heart disease and diabetes.
Comparative effectiveness studies are a staple of science, of course, especially in pharmaceutical research. Scientists often track how well one drug treats a condition compared with the outcome if they use a different drug. But few studies have directly compared drugs with exercise, and even fewer have compared outcomes in terms of mortality or whether the intervention significantly lessens the chance that someone with a disease will die from it, despite treatment.
So Huseyin Naci, a graduate student at the London School of Economics and Political Science, and Dr. John Ioannidis, the director of the Stanford Prevention Research Center at the Stanford University School of Medicine, decided to create a comprehensive comparison of the effectiveness of drugs and exercise in lessening mortality among people who had been diagnosed with one of four diseases: heart disease, chronic heart failure, stroke or diabetes. They chose these particular conditions because those were the only ones for which they could find studies that had examined whether exercise lessened the risk of death among patients with that disease, Mr. Naci said.
He and Dr. Ioannidis then gathered all of the recent randomized controlled trials, as well as previous reviews and meta-analyses of older experiments relating to mortality among patients with those diseases, whether they had been treated with drugs or exercise.
They ended up with data covering 305 past experiments that, collectively, involved almost 340,000 participants, which is an impressive total. But most of the volunteers had received drugs. Only 57 of the experiments, involving 14,716 volunteers, had examined the impact of exercise as a treatment.
Still, the numbers were large enough that Mr. Naci and Dr. Ioannidis could create an elaborate network of cross-references, comparing the outcomes when people received certain drugs, followed exercise regimens or, occasionally, both. The exercise routines, typically part of rehabilitation programs, usually involved walking or other aerobic routines but sometimes consisted of weight training or other exercises.
The researchers compared mortality risks for people following any of the treatment options.
The results consistently showed that drugs and exercise produced almost exactly the same results. People with heart disease, for instance, who exercised but did not use commonly prescribed medications, including statins, angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitors or antiplatelet drugs, had the same risk of dying from — or surviving — heart disease as patients taking those drugs. Similarly, people with diabetes who exercised had the same relative risk of dying from the condition as those taking the most commonly prescribed drugs. Or as the researchers wrote in statistics-speak, “When compared head to head in network meta-analyses, all interventions were not different beyond chance.”
On the other hand, people who once had suffered a stroke had significantly less risk of dying from that condition if they exercised than if they used medications — although the study authors note that stroke patients who can exercise may have been unusually healthy to start with.
Only in chronic heart failure were drugs noticeably more effective than exercise. Diuretics staved off mortality better than did exercise.
Over all, Dr. Ioannidis said, “our results suggest that exercise can be quite potent” in treating heart disease and the other conditions, equaling the lifesaving benefits available from most of the commonly prescribed drugs, including statins. Statins are at the center of a debate about new treatment guidelines that could vastly expand the number of people taking the drugs.
The results also underscore how infrequently exercise is considered or studied as a medical intervention, Dr. Ioannidis said. “Only 5 percent” of the available and relevant experiments in his new analysis involved exercise. “We need far more information” about how exercise compares, head to head, with drugs in the treatment of many conditions, he said, as well as what types and amounts of exercise confer the most benefit and whether there are side effects, such as injuries. Ideally, he said, pharmaceutical companies would set aside a tiny fraction of their profits for such studies.
But he is not optimistic that such funding will materialize, without widespread public pressure.
For now, Mr. Naci said, he hopes that this new study will prompt smaller-scale negotiations. “We are not suggesting that anyone stop taking their medications,” he said. “But maybe people could think long and hard about their lifestyles and talk to their doctors” about whether exercise could and should be incorporated into their care.
For the study, which was published in October in BMJ, researchers compared how well various drugs and exercise succeed in reducing deaths among people who have been diagnosed with several common and serious conditions, including heart disease and diabetes.
Comparative effectiveness studies are a staple of science, of course, especially in pharmaceutical research. Scientists often track how well one drug treats a condition compared with the outcome if they use a different drug. But few studies have directly compared drugs with exercise, and even fewer have compared outcomes in terms of mortality or whether the intervention significantly lessens the chance that someone with a disease will die from it, despite treatment.
So Huseyin Naci, a graduate student at the London School of Economics and Political Science, and Dr. John Ioannidis, the director of the Stanford Prevention Research Center at the Stanford University School of Medicine, decided to create a comprehensive comparison of the effectiveness of drugs and exercise in lessening mortality among people who had been diagnosed with one of four diseases: heart disease, chronic heart failure, stroke or diabetes. They chose these particular conditions because those were the only ones for which they could find studies that had examined whether exercise lessened the risk of death among patients with that disease, Mr. Naci said.
He and Dr. Ioannidis then gathered all of the recent randomized controlled trials, as well as previous reviews and meta-analyses of older experiments relating to mortality among patients with those diseases, whether they had been treated with drugs or exercise.
They ended up with data covering 305 past experiments that, collectively, involved almost 340,000 participants, which is an impressive total. But most of the volunteers had received drugs. Only 57 of the experiments, involving 14,716 volunteers, had examined the impact of exercise as a treatment.
Still, the numbers were large enough that Mr. Naci and Dr. Ioannidis could create an elaborate network of cross-references, comparing the outcomes when people received certain drugs, followed exercise regimens or, occasionally, both. The exercise routines, typically part of rehabilitation programs, usually involved walking or other aerobic routines but sometimes consisted of weight training or other exercises.
The researchers compared mortality risks for people following any of the treatment options.
The results consistently showed that drugs and exercise produced almost exactly the same results. People with heart disease, for instance, who exercised but did not use commonly prescribed medications, including statins, angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitors or antiplatelet drugs, had the same risk of dying from — or surviving — heart disease as patients taking those drugs. Similarly, people with diabetes who exercised had the same relative risk of dying from the condition as those taking the most commonly prescribed drugs. Or as the researchers wrote in statistics-speak, “When compared head to head in network meta-analyses, all interventions were not different beyond chance.”
On the other hand, people who once had suffered a stroke had significantly less risk of dying from that condition if they exercised than if they used medications — although the study authors note that stroke patients who can exercise may have been unusually healthy to start with.
Only in chronic heart failure were drugs noticeably more effective than exercise. Diuretics staved off mortality better than did exercise.
Over all, Dr. Ioannidis said, “our results suggest that exercise can be quite potent” in treating heart disease and the other conditions, equaling the lifesaving benefits available from most of the commonly prescribed drugs, including statins. Statins are at the center of a debate about new treatment guidelines that could vastly expand the number of people taking the drugs.
The results also underscore how infrequently exercise is considered or studied as a medical intervention, Dr. Ioannidis said. “Only 5 percent” of the available and relevant experiments in his new analysis involved exercise. “We need far more information” about how exercise compares, head to head, with drugs in the treatment of many conditions, he said, as well as what types and amounts of exercise confer the most benefit and whether there are side effects, such as injuries. Ideally, he said, pharmaceutical companies would set aside a tiny fraction of their profits for such studies.
But he is not optimistic that such funding will materialize, without widespread public pressure.
For now, Mr. Naci said, he hopes that this new study will prompt smaller-scale negotiations. “We are not suggesting that anyone stop taking their medications,” he said. “But maybe people could think long and hard about their lifestyles and talk to their doctors” about whether exercise could and should be incorporated into their care.
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
MOEBIUS SYNDROME IN THE NEWS
Today, read again about a young man who has been a recurring Moebius hero: Jack Marshall, from the UK. Look what he's done now:
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A brave teenager with a rare neurological condition has again defied the odds by completing a gruelling challenge.
Jack Marshall, aged 15, from Belton in the Isle of Axholme took part in Africa’s biggest road race, the epic Great Ethiopian Run.
Jack suffers from Moebius Syndrome which leaves him unable to walk unassisted and unable to smile. He is also blind in one eye and has reduced hearing and balance.
He completed the 10k run with help from his 19-year-old sister Jaimie.
There were 37,000 participants in this year’s event, including more than 400 elite athletes.
Jack’s mum Linda said: “They were invited to Ethiopia by Olympic legend Haile Gebrselassie after they competed in the junior Great North Run in September, and they actually went to his house after the run.
“The junior race was cancelled so Jaimie took him on the senior event pushing him in his wheelchair over 10k of unmade roads.
“Jack ran the last 200 metres. She said it was the most amazing experience of their lives.”
Linda said the race was not as formal as running events in the UK.
All 37,000 competitors started at the same time after a gun was fired and at each kilometre a band played while runners stopped, danced, chanted and sang.
“They let a fire hydrant off to cool everyone down,” Linda added.
It is not the first time Jack has taken part in a challenge.
He has previously completed the Junior Great Manchester Run and walked up Pen-y-ghent, one of the three Yorkshire Dales Peaks with Emmerdale actor, and good friend, Chris Chittell – who plays Eric Pollard in the TV soap.
His selfless fundraising led to him being selected to carry the Olympic torch during the 2012 relay.
And he has even more challenges lined up – Jack is planning to climb Mount Snowdon in April with Emmerdale cast members.
His ultimate aim is to climb Kilimanjaro.
He is also set to take part in a parachute jump in July, along with Doncaster soldier Ben Parkinson, the most severely injured soldier ever to survive.
********************************
Congratulations, Jack!
*****************************
A brave teenager with a rare neurological condition has again defied the odds by completing a gruelling challenge.
Jack Marshall, aged 15, from Belton in the Isle of Axholme took part in Africa’s biggest road race, the epic Great Ethiopian Run.
Jack suffers from Moebius Syndrome which leaves him unable to walk unassisted and unable to smile. He is also blind in one eye and has reduced hearing and balance.
He completed the 10k run with help from his 19-year-old sister Jaimie.
There were 37,000 participants in this year’s event, including more than 400 elite athletes.
Jack’s mum Linda said: “They were invited to Ethiopia by Olympic legend Haile Gebrselassie after they competed in the junior Great North Run in September, and they actually went to his house after the run.
“The junior race was cancelled so Jaimie took him on the senior event pushing him in his wheelchair over 10k of unmade roads.
“Jack ran the last 200 metres. She said it was the most amazing experience of their lives.”
Linda said the race was not as formal as running events in the UK.
All 37,000 competitors started at the same time after a gun was fired and at each kilometre a band played while runners stopped, danced, chanted and sang.
“They let a fire hydrant off to cool everyone down,” Linda added.
It is not the first time Jack has taken part in a challenge.
He has previously completed the Junior Great Manchester Run and walked up Pen-y-ghent, one of the three Yorkshire Dales Peaks with Emmerdale actor, and good friend, Chris Chittell – who plays Eric Pollard in the TV soap.
His selfless fundraising led to him being selected to carry the Olympic torch during the 2012 relay.
And he has even more challenges lined up – Jack is planning to climb Mount Snowdon in April with Emmerdale cast members.
His ultimate aim is to climb Kilimanjaro.
He is also set to take part in a parachute jump in July, along with Doncaster soldier Ben Parkinson, the most severely injured soldier ever to survive.
********************************
Congratulations, Jack!
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
AWARENESS UPDATE
Asperger's Syndrome is sometimes--though by no means always--associated with Moebius. Look at the famous person who has it:
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Susan Boyle Reveals Asperger’s Diagnosis
Susan Boyle, the Scottish singer who rose to
international fame after stunning audiences on the television show
“Britain’s Got Talent,” says she’s been diagnosed with Asperger’s
syndrome.
Boyle, 52, told The Observer
newspaper in London that she was diagnosed with the form of autism a
year ago by a specialist who found that she has an above-average IQ.
Previously, Boyle said she was told as a child that she had brain damage stemming from complications at birth, but now says she had been misdiagnosed.
“I was told I had brain damage. I always knew it was an unfair label,” the singer said in an interview published over the weekend. “Now I have a clearer understanding of what’s wrong and I feel relieved and a bit more relaxed about myself.”
Boyle wowed audiences when she sang “I Dreamed a Dream” from “Les Misérables” on the show “Britain’s Got Talent” in 2009. Since then, she’s sold millions of albums, topping charts in Britain and elsewhere.
As a child, Boyle was bullied and called “Susie Simple.” More recently, since achieving fame, she has reportedly struggled at times and was treated for exhaustion shortly after coming in second on “Britain’s Got Talent.”
Boyle told The Observer that she hopes her new diagnosis will help others understand where she’s coming from.
“It will not make any difference to my life. It’s just a condition that I have to live with and work through,” Boyle said. “I think people will treat me better because they will have a much greater understanding of who I am and why I do the things I do.”
Singer Susan Boyle says she’s been diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome. (Shutterstock)
Previously, Boyle said she was told as a child that she had brain damage stemming from complications at birth, but now says she had been misdiagnosed.
“I was told I had brain damage. I always knew it was an unfair label,” the singer said in an interview published over the weekend. “Now I have a clearer understanding of what’s wrong and I feel relieved and a bit more relaxed about myself.”
Boyle wowed audiences when she sang “I Dreamed a Dream” from “Les Misérables” on the show “Britain’s Got Talent” in 2009. Since then, she’s sold millions of albums, topping charts in Britain and elsewhere.
As a child, Boyle was bullied and called “Susie Simple.” More recently, since achieving fame, she has reportedly struggled at times and was treated for exhaustion shortly after coming in second on “Britain’s Got Talent.”
Boyle told The Observer that she hopes her new diagnosis will help others understand where she’s coming from.
“It will not make any difference to my life. It’s just a condition that I have to live with and work through,” Boyle said. “I think people will treat me better because they will have a much greater understanding of who I am and why I do the things I do.”
Sunday, December 8, 2013
SUNDAY FOOTBALL PICKS!
We've been kind of iced-in here in North Texas lately, so things have kind of gotten backed up. But here are my football picks for today!
NFL PICKS
ARIZONA 7 over St. Louis. My pick: CARDINALS. They are very good at home.
BALTI juIMORE 6.5 over Minnesota. My pick: RAVENS. The Baltimore defense will make a big difference here; it has stepped up its game.
CINCINNATI 6.5 over Indianapolis. My pick: COLTS. Maybe not to win, but to keep it close; I think the Colts defense will hold its own here.
DENVER 12 over Tennessee. My pick: BRONCOS. Denver to keep rolling at home.
Kansas City 3 over WASHINGTON. My pick: CHIEFS. Mainly because the Redskins, while competitive, seem to find ways to lose this year.
GREEN BAY vs Atlanta. No line. My pick: FALCONS. I don't think Aaron Rodgers will play. The Falcons have not quit. Green Bay is not the same team without Rodgers.
NEW ENGLAND 11.5 over Cleveland. My pick: PATRIOTS. Tom Brady and co. will roll at home.
NEW ORLEANS 3 over Carolina. My pick: SAINTS. Because they are one of the best teams in the NFL--at home.
NY JETS 2.5 over Oakland. My pick: JETS. Look for the Jekyll and Hyde Jets to have a good week.
PHILADELPHIA 2.5 over Detroit. My pick: EAGLES. I just think the Lions will have a difficult time slowing down the Eagles' pass game.
PITTSBURGH 3 over Miami. My pick: STEELERS. The Steelers remain tough and dangerous at home, and are playing better. Will the Dolphins be able to handle the cold? No.
SAN DIEGO 3 over NY Giants. My pick: GIANTS. Just a feeling--Eli Manning will find a way.
SAN FRANCISCO 2 over Seattle. My pick: SEAHAWKS. I think Seattle has become the class of the NFC, and they will show it here.
TAMPA BAY 2 over Buffalo. My pick: BUCCANEERS. Tampa Bay has significantly improved.
CHICAGO vs Dallas--pick 'em. My pick: BEARS. Just a feeling--I think the cold and being on the road, and the Bears being a desperate team, will work in favor of Chicago.
NFL PICKS
ARIZONA 7 over St. Louis. My pick: CARDINALS. They are very good at home.
BALTI juIMORE 6.5 over Minnesota. My pick: RAVENS. The Baltimore defense will make a big difference here; it has stepped up its game.
CINCINNATI 6.5 over Indianapolis. My pick: COLTS. Maybe not to win, but to keep it close; I think the Colts defense will hold its own here.
DENVER 12 over Tennessee. My pick: BRONCOS. Denver to keep rolling at home.
Kansas City 3 over WASHINGTON. My pick: CHIEFS. Mainly because the Redskins, while competitive, seem to find ways to lose this year.
GREEN BAY vs Atlanta. No line. My pick: FALCONS. I don't think Aaron Rodgers will play. The Falcons have not quit. Green Bay is not the same team without Rodgers.
NEW ENGLAND 11.5 over Cleveland. My pick: PATRIOTS. Tom Brady and co. will roll at home.
NEW ORLEANS 3 over Carolina. My pick: SAINTS. Because they are one of the best teams in the NFL--at home.
NY JETS 2.5 over Oakland. My pick: JETS. Look for the Jekyll and Hyde Jets to have a good week.
PHILADELPHIA 2.5 over Detroit. My pick: EAGLES. I just think the Lions will have a difficult time slowing down the Eagles' pass game.
PITTSBURGH 3 over Miami. My pick: STEELERS. The Steelers remain tough and dangerous at home, and are playing better. Will the Dolphins be able to handle the cold? No.
SAN DIEGO 3 over NY Giants. My pick: GIANTS. Just a feeling--Eli Manning will find a way.
SAN FRANCISCO 2 over Seattle. My pick: SEAHAWKS. I think Seattle has become the class of the NFC, and they will show it here.
TAMPA BAY 2 over Buffalo. My pick: BUCCANEERS. Tampa Bay has significantly improved.
CHICAGO vs Dallas--pick 'em. My pick: BEARS. Just a feeling--I think the cold and being on the road, and the Bears being a desperate team, will work in favor of Chicago.
Thursday, December 5, 2013
I-JUST-THOUGHT-THIS-WAS-INTERESTING DEPT
How to think yourself well. Worth reading--check it out:
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What if you had the ability to heal your body just by changing how you think and feel?
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What if you had the ability to heal your body just by changing how you think and feel?
I know it sounds radical,
coming from a doctor. When people are doing everything "right" --
eating veggies, avoiding red meat and processed foods, exercising,
sleeping well and so forth -- we should expect them to live long,
prosperous lives and die of old age while peacefully slumbering, right?
So why is it that so many health nuts are sicker than other people who pig out, guzzle beer and park in front of the TV?
I consider myself one of
those health nuts. I drink my green juice, take my vitamins, hike and
practice yoga daily, get quality sleep, see a doctor and avoid harmful
toxins.
And yet I have come to
believe that the purely physical realm of illness -- the part you can
diagnose with laboratory tests -- is only part of the equation. It's a
big part, mind you, but not the whole shebang.
My experience with
patients (as well as my personal background) has led me to the
conclusion that whether they become sick or stay healthy, as well as
whether they remain ill or manage to heal themselves, might have more to
do with everything else that's going on in their lives than with any
specific health standard they abide by.
When healthy habits aren't enough
Five years ago, I started
working in an integrative medicine practice. My new patients were some
of the most health-conscious people I've ever had the privilege to
serve. Many of them ate a vegan diet, worked out, slept soundly each
night and took vitamins every morning.
But some of them were
also mysteriously sick, complaining of fatigue, aches, gastrointestinal
disturbances and other symptoms. I was baffled! I ran batteries of
tests, and occasionally I would pick up something that eventually
resulted in the complete resolution of a patient's symptoms. But more
often than not, I would find nothing.
I was really motivated
to solve the puzzle of why these "healthy" patients were so sick.
Instead of focusing exclusively on physician-recommended behaviors,
medical history and other traditional factors, I dug deep into their
personal lives.
I asked them questions:
"What do you love about yourself? What's missing from your life? What do
you appreciate about your life? Are you in a romantic relationship? If
so, are you happy? If not, do you wish you were? Are you fulfilled at
work? Do you feel like you're in touch with your life's purpose? Do you
feel sexually satisfied? Do you express yourself creatively? Do you feel
financially stable, or are you stressed about money? If your fairy
godmother could change one thing about your life, what would you wish
for?"
My patients' answers
often gave me more insight into why they might be sick than any lab test
or exam could. They were unhealthy not because of bad genes or poor
habits or rotten luck, but because they were lonely or miserable in
their relationships, stressed about work, freaked out about their
finances or profoundly depressed.
On the flip side, I had
other patients who ate junk, forgot to take their supplements, rarely
exercised and enjoyed seemingly perfect health. Their responses revealed
that their lives were filled with love, fun, meaningful work, creative
expression, spiritual connection and other traits that differentiated
them from the sick health enthusiasts.
Ironman champ: 'Your mind matters more'
What's really making you sick?
That's when I narrowed
it down to two questions I would ask patients at their appointments:
"What do you think might lie at the root of your illness?" and "What
does your body need in order to heal?"
Occasionally, they
answered with conventional health-related insights, saying, "I need an
antidepressant" or "I need to lose 20 pounds." But more often than not,
they said introspective things, like "I hate my job," "I need more 'me'
time," "I must divorce my spouse," "I have to finish my novel," "I need
to hire a nanny," "I need to make more friends," "I need to forgive
myself," "I need to love myself" or "I need to stop being such a
pessimist." Whoa.
While many patients
weren't ready to do what their intuition told them their bodies needed,
my bravest patients made radical changes. Some quit their jobs. Others
left their marriages. Some moved to new cities or towns. Others pursued
long-suppressed dreams.
The results these
patients achieved were astonishing. Sometimes, a list of illnesses would
disappear, often quickly. Even smaller steps, like talking to a boss
about workplace problems or seeing a marriage counselor, helped. I was
in awe.
But I shouldn't have
been surprised: I had healed myself in much the same way. By the time I
was in my 20s, I had been diagnosed with multiple health conditions,
including high blood pressure and precancerous changes on my cervix.
At 33, I was burned out,
thanks to my career in a busy obstetrics and gynecology practice. I
wound up leaving my job, selling my house and liquidating my retirement
account.
My husband, baby and I
moved from chaotic San Diego to a small, sleepy town in northern
California, where I spent two years digging into the root causes of my
illness, diagnosing what needed to be changed and mustering up the
courage to take action. As a result, my health conditions either
completely resolved or drastically improved.
The get-well Rx
This is not "woo-woo"
metaphysics here. The scientific evidence I have uncovered in major
medical journals backs this up: The lifestyle choices you make can
optimize your body's relaxation response, counteract the stress response
and result in physiological changes, leading to better health.
The body doesn't fuel
how we live our lives. Instead, it is a mirror of how we live our lives.
So if you're not feeling well, despite doing all the "right" things,
take a deep breath and ask yourself: What do I think might lie at the
root of my illness? What does my body need in order to heal? If you're
honest with yourself, the answers could save your health -- and your
life.
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Wednesday, December 4, 2013
HEALTH TIP OF THE DAY
Yes, take a walk--but make it a brisk one, too, okay? Read more about it:
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Walking, fast or slow, is wonderful exercise. But now a
first-of-its-kind study shows that to get the most health benefits from
walking, many of us need to pick up the pace.
The findings stem from a new analysis of the National Walkers’ Health Study, a large database of information maintained at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory about thousands of middle-age men and women who walk regularly for exercise. Recruited beginning in 1998 at walking events and from lists of subscribers to walking-related publications, these volunteers filled out a lengthy survey about their typical walking distance and pace, as well as their health history and habits.
As most of us would likely guess, walking is the most popular physical activity in America. But people who walk for exercise do so at wildly varying speeds and intensities. Some stroll at a leisurely 2 miles per hour, which is low-intensity exercise. Others zip along at twice that pace or better, resulting in a sweatier workout.
Exercise guidelines generally suggest that for health purposes, people should engage in 30 minutes of moderate-intensity activity most days of the week. For walkers, a moderately intense pace would probably be about 15 or 16 minutes per mile.
It has generally been assumed that if people walk more slowly but expend the same total energy as brisk walkers — meaning that they spend more time walking — they should gain the same health benefits. But few large-scale studies have directly compared the impact of moderate- and light-intensity walking, especially in terms of longevity.
To do so, Paul T. Williams, a statistician at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, gathered data about 7,374 male and 31,607 female participants from the walkers’ health study, who represented almost every speed of fitness walker, from sluggish to swift. His findings were published online this month in PLoS One.
Dr. Williams divided participants into four numerically equal categories, based on their normal pace. Those in Category 1, the fleetest, averaged less than 13.5 minutes per mile, putting them on the cusp of jogging, while those in Category 4, the slowest, strolled at a relatively dilatory 17 minutes or more per mile. The majority of the walkers in this group in fact required at least 20 minutes to complete a mile, and many had a pace of 25 minutes or more per mile. (Interestingly, on average, female walkers were faster than men in all of the categories.)
Next, Dr. Williams cross-referenced his data against that in the essential if somewhat ghoulish National Death Index to determine which of the almost 39,000 walkers had died in the decade or so since they had joined the survey and from what.
It turned out that nearly 2,000 of the walkers had died. More telling, these deaths disproportionately were clustered among the slowest walkers. Those in Category 4 were about 18 percent more likely to have died from any cause than those in the other three categories and were particularly vulnerable to deaths from heart disease and dementia.
Unexpectedly, the death rate remained high among the slowest walkers, even if they met or exceeded the standard exercise guidelines and expended as much energy per day as someone walking briskly for 30 minutes. This effect was most pronounced among the slowest of the slow walkers, whose pace was 24 minutes per mile or higher. They were 44 percent more likely to have died than walkers who moved faster, even if they met the exercise guidelines.
One important inference of these statistics is that intensity matters, if you are walking for health. “Our results do suggest that there is a significant health benefit to pursuing a faster pace,” Dr. Williams said. Pushing your body, he said, appears to cause favorable physiological changes that milder exercise doesn’t replicate.
But there are nuances and caveats to that conclusion. The slowest walkers may have harbored underlying health conditions that predisposed them to both a tentative walking pace and early death. But that possibility underscores a subtle takeaway of the new study, Dr. Williams said. Measuring your walking speed, he pointed out, could provide a barometer of your health status.
So check yours, your spouse’s or perhaps your parents’ pace. The process is easy. Simply find a 400-meter track and, using a stopwatch, have everyone walk at his or her normal speed. If a circuit of the track takes someone 6 minutes or more, that person’s pace is 24 minutes per mile or slower, and he or she might consider consulting a doctor about possible health issues, Dr. Williams said.
Then, with medical clearance, the slow walkers probably should try ramping up their speed, gradually.
The most encouraging news embedded in the new study is that longevity rises with small improvements in pace. The walkers in Category 3, for instance, moved at a speed only a minute or so faster per mile than some of those in the slowest group, but they enjoyed a significant reduction in their risk of dying prematurely.
*********************************
The findings stem from a new analysis of the National Walkers’ Health Study, a large database of information maintained at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory about thousands of middle-age men and women who walk regularly for exercise. Recruited beginning in 1998 at walking events and from lists of subscribers to walking-related publications, these volunteers filled out a lengthy survey about their typical walking distance and pace, as well as their health history and habits.
As most of us would likely guess, walking is the most popular physical activity in America. But people who walk for exercise do so at wildly varying speeds and intensities. Some stroll at a leisurely 2 miles per hour, which is low-intensity exercise. Others zip along at twice that pace or better, resulting in a sweatier workout.
Exercise guidelines generally suggest that for health purposes, people should engage in 30 minutes of moderate-intensity activity most days of the week. For walkers, a moderately intense pace would probably be about 15 or 16 minutes per mile.
It has generally been assumed that if people walk more slowly but expend the same total energy as brisk walkers — meaning that they spend more time walking — they should gain the same health benefits. But few large-scale studies have directly compared the impact of moderate- and light-intensity walking, especially in terms of longevity.
To do so, Paul T. Williams, a statistician at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, gathered data about 7,374 male and 31,607 female participants from the walkers’ health study, who represented almost every speed of fitness walker, from sluggish to swift. His findings were published online this month in PLoS One.
Dr. Williams divided participants into four numerically equal categories, based on their normal pace. Those in Category 1, the fleetest, averaged less than 13.5 minutes per mile, putting them on the cusp of jogging, while those in Category 4, the slowest, strolled at a relatively dilatory 17 minutes or more per mile. The majority of the walkers in this group in fact required at least 20 minutes to complete a mile, and many had a pace of 25 minutes or more per mile. (Interestingly, on average, female walkers were faster than men in all of the categories.)
Next, Dr. Williams cross-referenced his data against that in the essential if somewhat ghoulish National Death Index to determine which of the almost 39,000 walkers had died in the decade or so since they had joined the survey and from what.
It turned out that nearly 2,000 of the walkers had died. More telling, these deaths disproportionately were clustered among the slowest walkers. Those in Category 4 were about 18 percent more likely to have died from any cause than those in the other three categories and were particularly vulnerable to deaths from heart disease and dementia.
Unexpectedly, the death rate remained high among the slowest walkers, even if they met or exceeded the standard exercise guidelines and expended as much energy per day as someone walking briskly for 30 minutes. This effect was most pronounced among the slowest of the slow walkers, whose pace was 24 minutes per mile or higher. They were 44 percent more likely to have died than walkers who moved faster, even if they met the exercise guidelines.
One important inference of these statistics is that intensity matters, if you are walking for health. “Our results do suggest that there is a significant health benefit to pursuing a faster pace,” Dr. Williams said. Pushing your body, he said, appears to cause favorable physiological changes that milder exercise doesn’t replicate.
But there are nuances and caveats to that conclusion. The slowest walkers may have harbored underlying health conditions that predisposed them to both a tentative walking pace and early death. But that possibility underscores a subtle takeaway of the new study, Dr. Williams said. Measuring your walking speed, he pointed out, could provide a barometer of your health status.
So check yours, your spouse’s or perhaps your parents’ pace. The process is easy. Simply find a 400-meter track and, using a stopwatch, have everyone walk at his or her normal speed. If a circuit of the track takes someone 6 minutes or more, that person’s pace is 24 minutes per mile or slower, and he or she might consider consulting a doctor about possible health issues, Dr. Williams said.
Then, with medical clearance, the slow walkers probably should try ramping up their speed, gradually.
The most encouraging news embedded in the new study is that longevity rises with small improvements in pace. The walkers in Category 3, for instance, moved at a speed only a minute or so faster per mile than some of those in the slowest group, but they enjoyed a significant reduction in their risk of dying prematurely.
*********************************
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
AUTISM UPDATE
For those of you interested in autism--have you heard of something called "oxytocin"? You will want to know about it--read on:
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The hormone oxytocin has been generating excitement — and caution — among people who care about autism.
Scientists have been eager to see if oxytocin, which plays a role in
emotional bonding, trust and many biological processes, can improve
social behavior in people with autism. Some parents of children with
autism have asked doctors to prescribe it, although it is not an
approved treatment for autism, or have purchased lower-dose versions of
the drug over the counter.
Scientifically, the jury is out, and experts say parents should wait
until more is known. Some studies suggest that oxytocin, sometimes
called the “love hormone,” improves the ability to empathize and connect
socially, and may decrease repetitive behaviors. Others find little or
no impact, and some research suggests that it can promote clannish and
competitive feelings, or exacerbate symptoms in people already
oversensitive to social cues. Importantly, nobody knows if oxytocin is
safe or desirable to use regularly or long term.
Now, the first study of how oxytocin affects the brains of children with autism finds hints of promise — and also suggestions of what its limitations might be.
On the promising side, the small study, published Monday in The
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that the hormone,
given as an inhalant, generated increased activity in parts of the
brain involved in social connection. This suggests not only that
oxytocin can stimulate social brain areas, but also that in children
with autism these brain regions are not irrevocably damaged but are
plastic enough to be influenced.
The limitations could include a finding that oxytocin prompted greater
brain activity in children with the least severe autism. Some experts
said that this could imply that oxytocin may work primarily in
less-impaired people, but others said it might simply suggest that
different doses are needed.
“Here we have a really clear demonstration that oxytocin is affecting brain activity in people with autism,” said Dr. Linmarie Sikich,
director of the Adolescent and School-Age Psychiatric Intervention
Research Program at the University of North Carolina, who was not
involved in the study. “What this shows is that the brains of people
with autism aren’t incapable of responding in a more typical social
way.”
Nonetheless, said Dr. Sikich, who will be leading a large federally
funded trial of 300 children to evaluate behavioral effects of daily
oxytocin for six or 12 months, “there’s still a big gap in knowing how
much it will really change overall functioning and how to best use it.”
In the new study, conducted by the Yale Child Study Center,
17 children, ages 8 to 16, all with mild autism, got a spray of
oxytocin or a placebo (researchers did not know which, and in another
session each child received the other substance). The children were
placed in a functional magnetic resonance imaging machine, an f.M.R.I.,
and given a well-established test of social-emotional perception:
matching emotions to photographs of people’s eyes. They took a similar
test involving objects, choosing if photos of fragments of vehicles
corresponded to cars, trucks, and so on.
During the “eyes” test, brain areas involved in social functions like
empathy and reward — less active in children with autism — showed more
activity after taking oxytocin than after placebo. Also, during the
“vehicles” tests, oxytocin decreased activity in those brain areas more
than the placebo, a result that especially excited some experts.
“If you can decrease their attention to a shape or object so you can get
them to pay attention to a social stimulus, that’s a big thing,” said Deborah A. Fein, a psychology professor at the University of Connecticut.
With oxytocin, the children did not do better on the social-emotional
test, unlike in some other studies. But experts said that was not
surprising, given the difficulty of answering challenging questions
while staying still in an f.M.R.I.
“What I would look for is more evidence of looking in the eyes of
parents, more attention to what parents are saying, less tendency to
lecture parents on their National Geographic collection,” Dr. Fein said.
The Yale researchers did study oxytocin’s effect on such social
interactions and are analyzing those results for later publication, said
Ilanit Gordon, a co-author of the study.
The Yale team suggests that oxytocin may be most useful not as a
continuous treatment to enhance general social skills, but as a tool to
help children benefit more from behavioral therapy or specific social
experiences.
Several experts agreed.
“Most people believe that these drugs will not immediately improve
social behavior or improve some of the more negative symptoms,” said Geraldine Dawson,
director of the Center for Autism Diagnosis and Treatment at Duke
University. Instead, “Think of this as possibly priming the brain to
make it more receptive to social information,” she said. “This may help
to enhance that child’s response to behavioral therapy and early
intervention, and may not have to be used long term.”
The Yale study includes another intriguing result: that children whose
saliva showed higher oxytocin concentrations had more activity in the
amygdala. That, experts said, may eventually mean that a simple saliva
test could help identify who might benefit most from oxytocin.
One participant in the Yale study, Jesse, then 15, said he could tell
immediately which spray was oxytocin because he became giggly, “laughing
uncontrollably — it was like they gave me laughing gas.” The effects
did not last long, said Jesse, whose parents asked that his last name be
witheld.
Since then, his parents started buying low-dose over-the-counter
oxytocin spray, which they keep at home and with the high school nurse.
Occasionally, when Jesse, who has Asperger’s syndrome, has a “panic
attack or spiraling, it just sort of shuts off that mood, and it doesn’t
come back,” said his mother, Jackie.
Or, as Jesse described it, when “I’m really stressed or sad, pretty
quickly I start feeling a lot more calm. It sort of disrupted the
thoughts that were making me nervous.”
Dr. Gordon does not recommend such use. “I don’t want a wave of parents
now giving their children oxytocin,” she said. “We’re not seeing that
giving oxytocin equals treating autism, not yet.”
Both animal and human studies give reasons for caution. While early
research found that oxytocin promoted pair bonding in prairie voles,
newer studies found that giving the equivalent of several years’ worth
of daily oxytocin to adolescent male prairie voles made them behave
abnormally, bonding with strange voles rather than their partners, said Karen Bales,
a psychologist at the University of California, Davis, who conducted
the research. She said early repeated use might tell the brain to make
less oxytocin than it would produce naturally.
A study of healthy men found that oxytocin made them more biased against
outsiders. And when people with borderline personality disorder took
oxytocin, they became more distrustful, possibly because they were
already socially hypersensitive.
Even if it ends up easing autistic symptoms, autism is so complex and
varied that oxytocin is unlikely to work for everyone. People with
different oxytocin receptor genes may respond differently, for example.
“We’re still really in the early stages of understanding whether
oxytocin is going to be an effective treatment for autism,” Dr. Dawson
said.************************
Monday, December 2, 2013
AWARENESS UPDATES
Two new items today--both of them containing good news. First--college roommates help one of their own who is disabled:
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A college student who needs help with everything from
showering to dressing and even getting out of bed is receiving all that
and more from a group of devoted friends turned roommates.
Cesar Ibanez, 28, has spinal muscular atrophy, a genetic condition that leaves his muscles weak. Despite being told that he wouldn’t make it to adulthood, Ibanez is now a biology major at Brigham Young University-Idaho in Rexburg, Idaho with dreams of one day treating his own condition.
During his first semester of college, Ibanez lived at an assisted-living facility. But after bonding with a group of six other guys who tell the (Idaho Falls, Idaho) Post Register that he’s routinely one of the funniest people in the room, Ibanez’ friends convinced him to move in with them.
None of the men had any caregiving experience and Ibanez’ roommates admit that it was an adjustment at first taking on the role full-time and without pay.
“I was nervous about this and how I’d ever have enough time … knowing just a fraction of the responsibilities we’d have if Cesar moved in,” roommate Trevor Rubio told the newspaper. “It really was an act of faith.”
But now the guys say they would drop anything for their friend. When Ibanez had a cold and struggled to breath, they nursed him back to health. And the men admit to worrying about Ibanez when he leaves the house in the morning since they know what could happen if he were to get sick again.
“After knowing Cesar for two semesters, I can honestly say that I love him like he’s my brother,” roommate Jake Christensen told the Post Register. “Cesar doesn’t always greet you with a smile, but you always know he’s grateful.”
Cesar Ibanez, 28, has spinal muscular atrophy, a genetic condition that leaves his muscles weak. Despite being told that he wouldn’t make it to adulthood, Ibanez is now a biology major at Brigham Young University-Idaho in Rexburg, Idaho with dreams of one day treating his own condition.
During his first semester of college, Ibanez lived at an assisted-living facility. But after bonding with a group of six other guys who tell the (Idaho Falls, Idaho) Post Register that he’s routinely one of the funniest people in the room, Ibanez’ friends convinced him to move in with them.
None of the men had any caregiving experience and Ibanez’ roommates admit that it was an adjustment at first taking on the role full-time and without pay.
“I was nervous about this and how I’d ever have enough time … knowing just a fraction of the responsibilities we’d have if Cesar moved in,” roommate Trevor Rubio told the newspaper. “It really was an act of faith.”
But now the guys say they would drop anything for their friend. When Ibanez had a cold and struggled to breath, they nursed him back to health. And the men admit to worrying about Ibanez when he leaves the house in the morning since they know what could happen if he were to get sick again.
“After knowing Cesar for two semesters, I can honestly say that I love him like he’s my brother,” roommate Jake Christensen told the Post Register. “Cesar doesn’t always greet you with a smile, but you always know he’s grateful.”
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And also--who says that sexuality isn't for those with special needs? Check out the new calendar that will soon be available:
A new calendar featuring scantily-clad models with disabilities is
designed to squash preconceived notions about sexuality among those with
special needs.
Dubbed “Undressing Disability,” the calendar produced by the British
disability advocacy group Enhance the UK includes images of people who
are deaf, blind and those with cerebral palsy, among other conditions,
showing off their physiques.
Sporting little more than lingerie or swimsuits, the models are
featured in studio portraits and on location, posing in an iconic London
taxi and in front of British landmarks like Big Ben and the Tower
Bridge.
Those behind the calendar are hoping to turn a few heads.
“All too often disabled people get ignored and desexualized, even ‘babied,’ being seen as people who just need looking after and not wanting or capable of having an active, healthy sex life and loving relationship,” said Jennie Williams, CEO of Enhance the UK and one of the models for the calendar.
Williams said her group wants to “change the way society views sex and disability.”
The calendar is available for free, but a donation is requested. All funds raised will go toward an inclusive sex and relationships education project, Williams said.
***********************************
Those behind the calendar are hoping to turn a few heads.
“All too often disabled people get ignored and desexualized, even ‘babied,’ being seen as people who just need looking after and not wanting or capable of having an active, healthy sex life and loving relationship,” said Jennie Williams, CEO of Enhance the UK and one of the models for the calendar.
Williams said her group wants to “change the way society views sex and disability.”
The calendar is available for free, but a donation is requested. All funds raised will go toward an inclusive sex and relationships education project, Williams said.
***********************************
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
THANKSGIVING WEEKEND FOOTBALL PICKS!
Might as well do these now, as I don't know if I'll have time as Turkey Day gets closer.
So here they are--although based on last week's record (only 5-9) my cred is a little low right now.
I'm now 87-95-2 for the year.
COLLEGE PICKS
Ohio State at Michigan. My pick: BUCKEYES. Though as a Michigan fan, it pains me to say it. Still, I just don't see any way the messed-up Michigan offense can score enough to allow Michigan to hang with OSU.
Alabama at Auburn. My pick: CRIMSON TIDE. Yes, Auburn has improved a lot. But which team has pretty much passed every test for Lord knows how long? 'Bama. Hard to see them dropping the ball here.
NFL PICKS
DETROIT 6 over Green Bay. My pick: PACKERS. And as a Lions fan, it pains me to write that, too. But the last 2 games show it--the Lions are having problems handling the pressure. Meanwhile, Green Bay knows how to handle the drive to the playoffs.
DALLAS 9.5 over Oakland. My pick: RAIDERS. Not to win. But to beat the spread. The Cowboys show it over and over--they tend to play down to the level of their competition. Dallas won a big one last week in New York. But look for a letdown here.
BALTIMORE 3 over Pittsburgh. My pick: RAVENS. This will be a hard-fought battle. But I like the way Baltimore's defense has been playing.
INDIANAPOLIS 4.5 over Tennessee. My pick: COLTS. I know--the Colts have struggle mightily lately. But they have too much talent not to bounce back. I think they'll do it this week at home.
Denver 4 over KANSAS CITY. My pick: BRONCOS. Because of KC's injuries on defense.
CLEVELAND 7 over Jacksonville. My pick: JAGUARS. Cleveland seemed to have improved earlier in the season, but I sense they've lost their edge. And, hello--Jacksonville is playing better.
CAROLINA 8.5 over Tampa Bay. My pick: PANTHERS. Yes, the Bucs have won 3 straight. But they probably wouldn't have come close last week at Detroit were it not for the many Lions turnovers. Now the Bucs must go on the road again, against an even better team.
Chicago 1 over MINNESOTA. My pick: VIKINGS. The main problem for the Bears right now is not their QB situation. Instead, it's their defense, and especially their very poor run defense. Not a good thing especially when you have to go and play Adrian Peterson.
PHILADELPHIA 3.5 over Arizona. My pick: EAGLES. These appear to be 2 improving teams. Arizona's performance last week against Indy was especially strong. But remember--you don't want to overreact to one week. The Cardinals tend to be a better team at home. Historically, trips to the east coast have not been easy for them. Go with the Eagles here.
NY JETS 1.5 over Miami. Who can figure out either of these teams? But--this season, seems like whenever one counts the Jets out, they rise again. And they've been a better team at home. I like the Jets to both win and thus tease their fans once again.
BUFFALO 3.5 over Atlanta. My pick: BILLS. They've played tough at home all year. The Falcons got up for their divisional foe, the Saints, last week...but they know their season is a goner. You have to question how motivated they'll be in the cold of northern New York.
SAN FRANCISCO 9.5 over St. Louis. My pick: 49ERS. St. Louis is improved. Tavon Austin is showing himself to be a real threat. But this week he plays a 49er team that appears to be rolling, and...one that has a much better defense.
New England 7.5 over HOUSTON. My pick: PATRIOTS. Houston has lost 9 in a row. Now here comes Brady and the Patriots--and Tom won't allow a slip-up here.
SAN DIEGO 1 over Cincinnati. My pick: BENGALS. Yes, Philip Rivers played brilliantly last week in KC and pulled off an upset over the Chiefs. But a big problem for the Lightning Bolts has been their inability to showcase consistent play. They have to come right back and play a tough Bengals team this week. I think Cincy will win a close game here.
NY Giants 1 over WASHINGTON. My pick: GIANTS. As last night's game showed--the Redskins have big problems offensively; RGIII just isn't what he was (yet). The Giants have not quit; look for them to pull out a close one here.
SEATTLE 6 over New Orleans. My pick: SEAHAWKS. Mainly because they're at home and will play outside--the Saints are much better at home indoors.
So here they are--although based on last week's record (only 5-9) my cred is a little low right now.
I'm now 87-95-2 for the year.
COLLEGE PICKS
Ohio State at Michigan. My pick: BUCKEYES. Though as a Michigan fan, it pains me to say it. Still, I just don't see any way the messed-up Michigan offense can score enough to allow Michigan to hang with OSU.
Alabama at Auburn. My pick: CRIMSON TIDE. Yes, Auburn has improved a lot. But which team has pretty much passed every test for Lord knows how long? 'Bama. Hard to see them dropping the ball here.
NFL PICKS
DETROIT 6 over Green Bay. My pick: PACKERS. And as a Lions fan, it pains me to write that, too. But the last 2 games show it--the Lions are having problems handling the pressure. Meanwhile, Green Bay knows how to handle the drive to the playoffs.
DALLAS 9.5 over Oakland. My pick: RAIDERS. Not to win. But to beat the spread. The Cowboys show it over and over--they tend to play down to the level of their competition. Dallas won a big one last week in New York. But look for a letdown here.
BALTIMORE 3 over Pittsburgh. My pick: RAVENS. This will be a hard-fought battle. But I like the way Baltimore's defense has been playing.
INDIANAPOLIS 4.5 over Tennessee. My pick: COLTS. I know--the Colts have struggle mightily lately. But they have too much talent not to bounce back. I think they'll do it this week at home.
Denver 4 over KANSAS CITY. My pick: BRONCOS. Because of KC's injuries on defense.
CLEVELAND 7 over Jacksonville. My pick: JAGUARS. Cleveland seemed to have improved earlier in the season, but I sense they've lost their edge. And, hello--Jacksonville is playing better.
CAROLINA 8.5 over Tampa Bay. My pick: PANTHERS. Yes, the Bucs have won 3 straight. But they probably wouldn't have come close last week at Detroit were it not for the many Lions turnovers. Now the Bucs must go on the road again, against an even better team.
Chicago 1 over MINNESOTA. My pick: VIKINGS. The main problem for the Bears right now is not their QB situation. Instead, it's their defense, and especially their very poor run defense. Not a good thing especially when you have to go and play Adrian Peterson.
PHILADELPHIA 3.5 over Arizona. My pick: EAGLES. These appear to be 2 improving teams. Arizona's performance last week against Indy was especially strong. But remember--you don't want to overreact to one week. The Cardinals tend to be a better team at home. Historically, trips to the east coast have not been easy for them. Go with the Eagles here.
NY JETS 1.5 over Miami. Who can figure out either of these teams? But--this season, seems like whenever one counts the Jets out, they rise again. And they've been a better team at home. I like the Jets to both win and thus tease their fans once again.
BUFFALO 3.5 over Atlanta. My pick: BILLS. They've played tough at home all year. The Falcons got up for their divisional foe, the Saints, last week...but they know their season is a goner. You have to question how motivated they'll be in the cold of northern New York.
SAN FRANCISCO 9.5 over St. Louis. My pick: 49ERS. St. Louis is improved. Tavon Austin is showing himself to be a real threat. But this week he plays a 49er team that appears to be rolling, and...one that has a much better defense.
New England 7.5 over HOUSTON. My pick: PATRIOTS. Houston has lost 9 in a row. Now here comes Brady and the Patriots--and Tom won't allow a slip-up here.
SAN DIEGO 1 over Cincinnati. My pick: BENGALS. Yes, Philip Rivers played brilliantly last week in KC and pulled off an upset over the Chiefs. But a big problem for the Lightning Bolts has been their inability to showcase consistent play. They have to come right back and play a tough Bengals team this week. I think Cincy will win a close game here.
NY Giants 1 over WASHINGTON. My pick: GIANTS. As last night's game showed--the Redskins have big problems offensively; RGIII just isn't what he was (yet). The Giants have not quit; look for them to pull out a close one here.
SEATTLE 6 over New Orleans. My pick: SEAHAWKS. Mainly because they're at home and will play outside--the Saints are much better at home indoors.
Monday, November 25, 2013
HEALTH UPDATE: 5 STUDIES YOU MAY HAVE MISSED
Which may give you insight into what's going on with your mind, health, and body. But remember--you can't be sure until you see your doctor and have him/her check you out. Read on:
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Journal: Pediatrics
With up to 8% of children in the United States dealing with food allergies, many parents want to know how they can prevent this condition. A new study suggests that babies who receive solid food while they are breast-feeding may be protected from food allergies.
Researchers tended to find a lower incidence of food allergies among babies who were still breast-feeding when they started eating solid food. Why? Scientists say that if infants are ingesting both solid foods and breast milk, the immune system can learn that the food is safe.
"My theory was that if food allergens – those things that infants become allergic to – aren't there at the same time as the breast milk, the breast milk can't educate the immune system," lead researcher Kate Grimshaw, a research fellow and allergy specialist at the University of Southampton, told HealthDay.
Exercise may help pregnant women quit smoking
Journal: Addictive Behaviors
How to stop craving cigarettes is on the minds of many smokers who want to quit. Earlier studies have established that exercise may disrupt nicotine cravings, but it remained unclear if these findings were true for pregnant women.
Now a new Canadian study suggests that "15 to 20 minutes of walking at a mild to moderate pace is sufficient to ward off cravings," Reuters Health reports.
Researchers looked at 30 pregnant women in their second trimester who smoked more than five cigarettes daily and did not regularly exercise.
Helping males procreate - at least, mice
Journal: Science
Biologists have long considered the Y chromosome as a genetic marker for the male sex, but there's still more to learn about it. A new study suggests that there are only two genes on this chromosome necessary for males - at least, male mice - to fertilize an egg.
Since the research was done in mice, it's uncertain how applicable it will be to humans. But scientists said it could potentially help in the quest for male infertility treatments.
It also doesn't mean that the rest of the Y chromosome is useless. Researchers said the entire chromosome is probably needed for normal reproduction.
"We're not trying to eliminate Y chromosomes with our work – or men, for that matter," Monika Ward, a reproductive biologist at the University of Hawaii, told LiveScience. "We're just trying to understand how much of the Y chromosome is needed, and for what."
Waiting for pain is painful
Journal: PLOS Computational Biology
No one wants to be in pain. But if we know it's coming – say we have to get a cavity filled – we usually want to get it over with fast.
Scientists in London conducted two small experiments with 35 volunteers to find out how dreading pain affects our decisions. Each study participant was asked to choose when they would receive electric shocks of varying intensity.
Most people preferred to experience the shocks sooner rather than later and were even willing to experience stronger shocks if it meant speeding up the process.
"Anticipating pain is unpleasant or disadvantageous, rather like pain itself," the researchers concluded.
Skip the excuse: There's no such thing as being 'left-brained'
Journal: PLOS ONE
We can't tell you how many times we've used the "right-brained" excuse to explain why our math skills stink. Right-brained people are more creative and word-driven, while those who have stronger left brains are more analytical and detail-oriented. Right?
Wrong, say scientists at the University of Utah.
The neuroscientists scanned the brains of more than 1,000 people, ages 7 to 29, to determine if there were any truth to the better half hypothesis. They found no evidence to support the myth that people had a stronger side. While certain activities may require you to work one half of the brain more than the other, the two halves would be a good match in an arm-wrestling competition.
"The neuroscience community has never accepted the idea of 'left-dominant' or 'right-dominant' personality types," lead study author Jeff Anderson told The Guardian. "The truth is that it would be highly inefficient for one half of the brain to consistently be more active than the other."
*************************************
*******************************
Here's a roundup of five medical studies published
recently that might give you new insights into your health, mind and
body. Remember, correlation is not causation – so if a study finds a connection between two things, it doesn't mean that one causes the other.
Breast milk + solid foods = allergy prevention?Journal: Pediatrics
With up to 8% of children in the United States dealing with food allergies, many parents want to know how they can prevent this condition. A new study suggests that babies who receive solid food while they are breast-feeding may be protected from food allergies.
Researchers tended to find a lower incidence of food allergies among babies who were still breast-feeding when they started eating solid food. Why? Scientists say that if infants are ingesting both solid foods and breast milk, the immune system can learn that the food is safe.
"My theory was that if food allergens – those things that infants become allergic to – aren't there at the same time as the breast milk, the breast milk can't educate the immune system," lead researcher Kate Grimshaw, a research fellow and allergy specialist at the University of Southampton, told HealthDay.
Exercise may help pregnant women quit smoking
Journal: Addictive Behaviors
How to stop craving cigarettes is on the minds of many smokers who want to quit. Earlier studies have established that exercise may disrupt nicotine cravings, but it remained unclear if these findings were true for pregnant women.
Now a new Canadian study suggests that "15 to 20 minutes of walking at a mild to moderate pace is sufficient to ward off cravings," Reuters Health reports.
Researchers looked at 30 pregnant women in their second trimester who smoked more than five cigarettes daily and did not regularly exercise.
Helping males procreate - at least, mice
Journal: Science
Biologists have long considered the Y chromosome as a genetic marker for the male sex, but there's still more to learn about it. A new study suggests that there are only two genes on this chromosome necessary for males - at least, male mice - to fertilize an egg.
Since the research was done in mice, it's uncertain how applicable it will be to humans. But scientists said it could potentially help in the quest for male infertility treatments.
It also doesn't mean that the rest of the Y chromosome is useless. Researchers said the entire chromosome is probably needed for normal reproduction.
"We're not trying to eliminate Y chromosomes with our work – or men, for that matter," Monika Ward, a reproductive biologist at the University of Hawaii, told LiveScience. "We're just trying to understand how much of the Y chromosome is needed, and for what."
Waiting for pain is painful
Journal: PLOS Computational Biology
No one wants to be in pain. But if we know it's coming – say we have to get a cavity filled – we usually want to get it over with fast.
Scientists in London conducted two small experiments with 35 volunteers to find out how dreading pain affects our decisions. Each study participant was asked to choose when they would receive electric shocks of varying intensity.
Most people preferred to experience the shocks sooner rather than later and were even willing to experience stronger shocks if it meant speeding up the process.
"Anticipating pain is unpleasant or disadvantageous, rather like pain itself," the researchers concluded.
Skip the excuse: There's no such thing as being 'left-brained'
Journal: PLOS ONE
We can't tell you how many times we've used the "right-brained" excuse to explain why our math skills stink. Right-brained people are more creative and word-driven, while those who have stronger left brains are more analytical and detail-oriented. Right?
Wrong, say scientists at the University of Utah.
The neuroscientists scanned the brains of more than 1,000 people, ages 7 to 29, to determine if there were any truth to the better half hypothesis. They found no evidence to support the myth that people had a stronger side. While certain activities may require you to work one half of the brain more than the other, the two halves would be a good match in an arm-wrestling competition.
"The neuroscience community has never accepted the idea of 'left-dominant' or 'right-dominant' personality types," lead study author Jeff Anderson told The Guardian. "The truth is that it would be highly inefficient for one half of the brain to consistently be more active than the other."
*************************************
Friday, November 22, 2013
FRIDAY FOOTBALL PICKS!!
Hey, I had yet another winning week last week--I was 9-5.
I'm now 82-86-2 for the year. Let's keep it going!
COLLEGE PICK
Baylor at Oklahoma State. My pick: BEARS. Oklahoma State has looked good lately. They beat up on Texas last week. They're the trendy pick in this game, therefore. But not for me--I think the Baylor offense--and their defense too--is that good. Go with Baylor.
NFL Picks
Pittsburgh 2.5 over CLEVELAND. My pick: STEELERS. Ben Roethlisberger and co. are finally getting it going, though it might be too late.
DETROIT 6 over Tampa Bay. My pick: LIONS. Yes, Tampa Bay is an improved team, but...the Lions are tough at home, the Bucs not so good on the road. I look for Detroit to bounce back here.
GREEN BAY 2 over Minnesota. My pick: PACKERS. Huh? How can one pick the Pack when Aaron Rodgers isn't playing? But--Scott Tolzien isn't that bad. And the Vikings continue to go with Christian Ponder at QB, who isn't that good.
KANSAS CITY 3 over San Diego. My pick: CHIEFS. KC will bounce back. The Chargers meanwhile suffered a tough loss last week and have to go on the road yet again, in a very tough environment. The Chargers will wear down in this game.
Chicago 1.5 over ST. LOUIS. My pick: RAMS. Josh McCown and the Bears somehow got by last week...but the Rams are an improved team, and again--there's a reason McCown has been a career backup.
Carolina 3 over MIAMI. My pick: DOLPHINS. Look out here--yes, Carolina is much improved and could very well be a playoff game. But this is a trap game--Carolina's coming off a tough, big, emotional Monday night game, and they have to go on the road against a Miami team that clearly has stuck together in the face of adversity and has something left.
BALTIMORE 1 over NY Jets. My pick: RAVENS. Who knows with these 2 teams? From week to week they change. But the Ravens are at home, and the Jets last week showed that away from home, they are...well...undependable, to say the least.
HOUSTON 2.5 over Jacksonville. My pick: TEXANS. Because Houston, which has lost close game after close game, is bound to win one.
Tennessee at Oakland. Line: pick 'em. My pick: RAIDERS. Matt McGloin has given Oakland a spark.
Indianapolis 1 over ARIZONA. My pick: COLTS. This is actually a very good game between 2 teams who are tough; of course, everyone knows the Colts are tough...but so are these Cardinals, whose defense is underrated. But I think the Colts have the advantage here at QB.
Dallas at NY GIANTS. Line: pick 'em. My pick: GIANTS. Again, with this game, and these two teams...who really knows? But the Giants seem to have found an identity; the Cowboys haven't.
Denver 3.5 over NEW ENGLAND. My pick: PATRIOTS. This is the kind of game--a big contest, at home, national TV--where so often, Tom Brady absolutely shines. Peyton Manning of course will shine too; but at home, look for Brady to get the ball last and pull out a last-second win.
San Francisco 6.5 over WASHINGTON. My pick: 49ERS. The San Fran defense and run game will make a big difference here; one senses disarray and a lack of cohesion meanwhile in Washington.
I'm now 82-86-2 for the year. Let's keep it going!
COLLEGE PICK
Baylor at Oklahoma State. My pick: BEARS. Oklahoma State has looked good lately. They beat up on Texas last week. They're the trendy pick in this game, therefore. But not for me--I think the Baylor offense--and their defense too--is that good. Go with Baylor.
NFL Picks
Pittsburgh 2.5 over CLEVELAND. My pick: STEELERS. Ben Roethlisberger and co. are finally getting it going, though it might be too late.
DETROIT 6 over Tampa Bay. My pick: LIONS. Yes, Tampa Bay is an improved team, but...the Lions are tough at home, the Bucs not so good on the road. I look for Detroit to bounce back here.
GREEN BAY 2 over Minnesota. My pick: PACKERS. Huh? How can one pick the Pack when Aaron Rodgers isn't playing? But--Scott Tolzien isn't that bad. And the Vikings continue to go with Christian Ponder at QB, who isn't that good.
KANSAS CITY 3 over San Diego. My pick: CHIEFS. KC will bounce back. The Chargers meanwhile suffered a tough loss last week and have to go on the road yet again, in a very tough environment. The Chargers will wear down in this game.
Chicago 1.5 over ST. LOUIS. My pick: RAMS. Josh McCown and the Bears somehow got by last week...but the Rams are an improved team, and again--there's a reason McCown has been a career backup.
Carolina 3 over MIAMI. My pick: DOLPHINS. Look out here--yes, Carolina is much improved and could very well be a playoff game. But this is a trap game--Carolina's coming off a tough, big, emotional Monday night game, and they have to go on the road against a Miami team that clearly has stuck together in the face of adversity and has something left.
BALTIMORE 1 over NY Jets. My pick: RAVENS. Who knows with these 2 teams? From week to week they change. But the Ravens are at home, and the Jets last week showed that away from home, they are...well...undependable, to say the least.
HOUSTON 2.5 over Jacksonville. My pick: TEXANS. Because Houston, which has lost close game after close game, is bound to win one.
Tennessee at Oakland. Line: pick 'em. My pick: RAIDERS. Matt McGloin has given Oakland a spark.
Indianapolis 1 over ARIZONA. My pick: COLTS. This is actually a very good game between 2 teams who are tough; of course, everyone knows the Colts are tough...but so are these Cardinals, whose defense is underrated. But I think the Colts have the advantage here at QB.
Dallas at NY GIANTS. Line: pick 'em. My pick: GIANTS. Again, with this game, and these two teams...who really knows? But the Giants seem to have found an identity; the Cowboys haven't.
Denver 3.5 over NEW ENGLAND. My pick: PATRIOTS. This is the kind of game--a big contest, at home, national TV--where so often, Tom Brady absolutely shines. Peyton Manning of course will shine too; but at home, look for Brady to get the ball last and pull out a last-second win.
San Francisco 6.5 over WASHINGTON. My pick: 49ERS. The San Fran defense and run game will make a big difference here; one senses disarray and a lack of cohesion meanwhile in Washington.
Thursday, November 21, 2013
FOR MOEBIUS MOMS AND DADS: STRESS-BUSTING TIPS
These are tips from a very busy wife, mother, and career woman--Cathy Reese, who created these tips, is the coach of the University of Maryland's lacrosse team. And she has several children, and a husband. How does she do it all? And how can you parents of children with Moebius do it all? You are very busy too. Here are some ideas:
******************************
Tips from Team Reese’s playbook
→ Get kid time where you can.It would be easier to make the trip to Wegmans for groceries by herself, but Reese often takes her children with her. She says it’s worth the stress of having all four children with her in the store to have some time together, even if they are begging for Jolly Rancher popsicles or tossing gum into the cart when mom isn’t looking.
“If that’s the time I get to spend with them, that’s what we
do,” Reese says. “As much as it may make my hair turn gray or fall out,
it’s still time with them.”
→ Outsource or delegate what you don’t like. Reese admits she is terrible at cleaning house, so she has a maid service take care of chores such as bathrooms and floors.
“That’s been the best money ever spent, because at least I know the toilets get cleaned,” Reese said. “It doesn’t last very long. Someone cleans your house and in two hours it doesn’t even look like they were there, but at least the counters are wiped down, the bathrooms have been cleaned, the sinks have been cleaned. It just makes me feel better.”
→ → → Share duties with your spouse. Cathy and Brian Reese split the cooking, homework help and chauffeur duties. Who does what largely depends on who is home when, she says. Cathy does most of the grocery shopping, and Brian usually handles the laundry.
Reese says he delivers a fresh pile of folded laundry to her side of the bed, the idea being that she has to put it away before climbing in to go to sleep. More often than not, she says, she moves the pile to the floor instead.
→ Surround yourself with good people. Reese has a supportive husband and family around to help. She is also able to lean on her staff at the University of Maryland. When son Riley was sick last winter, Reese never missed a game or practice, but assistant coaches Lauri Kenis and Caitlyn McFadden handled a lot of the day-to-day running of the program while she visited him in the hospital.
“I was out for a month and had people covering for me in all areas,” Reese says. “If you are surrounded with good people, anything is possible.”
**********************************
"Always dream and shoot higher than you know you can do. Don't bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself."--William Faulkner
******************************
Tips from Team Reese’s playbook
→ Get kid time where you can.It would be easier to make the trip to Wegmans for groceries by herself, but Reese often takes her children with her. She says it’s worth the stress of having all four children with her in the store to have some time together, even if they are begging for Jolly Rancher popsicles or tossing gum into the cart when mom isn’t looking.
“That’s been the best money ever spent, because at least I know the toilets get cleaned,” Reese said. “It doesn’t last very long. Someone cleans your house and in two hours it doesn’t even look like they were there, but at least the counters are wiped down, the bathrooms have been cleaned, the sinks have been cleaned. It just makes me feel better.”
→ → → Share duties with your spouse. Cathy and Brian Reese split the cooking, homework help and chauffeur duties. Who does what largely depends on who is home when, she says. Cathy does most of the grocery shopping, and Brian usually handles the laundry.
Reese says he delivers a fresh pile of folded laundry to her side of the bed, the idea being that she has to put it away before climbing in to go to sleep. More often than not, she says, she moves the pile to the floor instead.
→ Surround yourself with good people. Reese has a supportive husband and family around to help. She is also able to lean on her staff at the University of Maryland. When son Riley was sick last winter, Reese never missed a game or practice, but assistant coaches Lauri Kenis and Caitlyn McFadden handled a lot of the day-to-day running of the program while she visited him in the hospital.
“I was out for a month and had people covering for me in all areas,” Reese says. “If you are surrounded with good people, anything is possible.”
**********************************
"Always dream and shoot higher than you know you can do. Don't bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself."--William Faulkner
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
BRAIN TALK
Because Moebius Syndrome has, after all, something to do with your brain; and thus we are all about knowing as much as we can about brains, and how to improve them. This particular item might interest moms and dads--your own exercise can help your unborn baby. Read more about it:
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If a woman is physically active during pregnancy, she may boost the development of her unborn child’s brain, according to a heart-tugging new study of expectant mothers and their newborns. The findings bolster a growing scientific consensus that the benefits of exercise can begin to accumulate even before someone is born.
It has long been suspected that a mother-to-be’s activity — or lack of it — affects her unborn offspring, which is not surprising, given how their physiologies intertwine. Past studies have shown, for example, that a baby’s heart rate typically rises in unison with his or her exercising mother’s, as if the child were also working out. As a result, scientists believe, babies born to active mothers tend to have more robust cardiovascular systems from an early age than babies born to mothers who are more sedentary.
Whether gestational exercise similarly shapes an unborn child’s developing brain has been harder to quantify, although recent studies have been suggestive. An experiment presented this month at the Society for Neuroscience’s annual meeting in San Diego, for instance, reported that pregnant rats allowed to run on wheels throughout their pregnancies birthed pups that performed more dexterously in early childhood on a tricky memory test — having to identify unfamiliar objects in a familiar environment — than pups born to sedentary moms. These clever rats retained their cognitive advantage into adulthood (meaning, for rats, weeks later).
But this and similar experiments have involved animals, rather than people. Many of these studies also began comparing the creatures’ cognitive abilities when they were old enough to move about and respond to their world, by which time they potentially might have been shaped as much by their environment as by their time in the womb.
So to minimize these concerns, researchers at the University of Montreal in Canada recently recruited a group of local women who were in their first trimester of pregnancy. At that point, the women were almost identical in terms of lifestyle. All were healthy, young adults. None were athletes. Few had exercised regularly in the past, and none had exercised more than a day or two per week in the past year.
Then the women were randomized either to begin an exercise program, commencing in their second trimester, or to remain sedentary. The women in the exercise group were asked to work out for at least 20 minutes, three times a week, at a moderate intensity, equivalent to about a six or so on a scale of exertion from one to 10. Most of the women walked or jogged.
Every month, for the remainder of each woman’s pregnancy, she would visit the university’s exercise lab, so researchers could monitor her fitness. All of the volunteers, including those in the nonexercise group, also maintained daily activity logs.
After about six months and following the dictates of nature, the women gave birth. All, thankfully, had healthy boys or girls — which the scientists gently requested that the mothers almost immediately bring in for testing.
“We know that baby’s brains respond to these kinds of sounds with a spike” in certain types of brain activity, said Elise Labonte-LeMoyne, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Montreal, who led the study and also presented her findings at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting. This spike is most pronounced in immature brains, she continued, and diminishes as a newborn’s brain develops and begins processing information more efficiently. “It usually disappears altogether by the time a baby is 4 months old,” she said,
In this case, the relevant brainwave activity soared in response to the novel sounds among the children born to mothers who had remained sedentary during pregnancy. But it was noticeably blunted in the babies whose mothers had exercised. In essence, “their brains were more mature,” Ms. Labonte-LeMoyne said.
How gestational exercise can remodel an unborn child’s brain is not clear, Ms. Labonte-LeMoyne admits, since, unlike circulatory systems, a mother’s brain is not hardwired directly to that of her child. “But we suspect that when mom exercises, she generates a variety of chemicals,” including many related to brain health, which can move into her bloodstream and eventually mingle with the blood of her baby.
But that possibility is only theoretical for now. It is also unclear whether the precocious brain development seen in newborns with active mothers will linger into their later lives. Ms. Labonte-LeMoyne and her colleagues plan to retest the children on various cognitive tests once they are a year old.
But for now, the lesson is clear. “If a woman can be physically active during her pregnancy, she may give her unborn child an advantage, in terms of brain development,” Ms. Labonte-LeMoyne said. And the commitment required can be slight. “We were surprised,” she said, “by how much of an effect we saw” from barely an hour of exercise per week.
*************************************
***************************
If a woman is physically active during pregnancy, she may boost the development of her unborn child’s brain, according to a heart-tugging new study of expectant mothers and their newborns. The findings bolster a growing scientific consensus that the benefits of exercise can begin to accumulate even before someone is born.
It has long been suspected that a mother-to-be’s activity — or lack of it — affects her unborn offspring, which is not surprising, given how their physiologies intertwine. Past studies have shown, for example, that a baby’s heart rate typically rises in unison with his or her exercising mother’s, as if the child were also working out. As a result, scientists believe, babies born to active mothers tend to have more robust cardiovascular systems from an early age than babies born to mothers who are more sedentary.
Whether gestational exercise similarly shapes an unborn child’s developing brain has been harder to quantify, although recent studies have been suggestive. An experiment presented this month at the Society for Neuroscience’s annual meeting in San Diego, for instance, reported that pregnant rats allowed to run on wheels throughout their pregnancies birthed pups that performed more dexterously in early childhood on a tricky memory test — having to identify unfamiliar objects in a familiar environment — than pups born to sedentary moms. These clever rats retained their cognitive advantage into adulthood (meaning, for rats, weeks later).
But this and similar experiments have involved animals, rather than people. Many of these studies also began comparing the creatures’ cognitive abilities when they were old enough to move about and respond to their world, by which time they potentially might have been shaped as much by their environment as by their time in the womb.
So to minimize these concerns, researchers at the University of Montreal in Canada recently recruited a group of local women who were in their first trimester of pregnancy. At that point, the women were almost identical in terms of lifestyle. All were healthy, young adults. None were athletes. Few had exercised regularly in the past, and none had exercised more than a day or two per week in the past year.
Then the women were randomized either to begin an exercise program, commencing in their second trimester, or to remain sedentary. The women in the exercise group were asked to work out for at least 20 minutes, three times a week, at a moderate intensity, equivalent to about a six or so on a scale of exertion from one to 10. Most of the women walked or jogged.
Every month, for the remainder of each woman’s pregnancy, she would visit the university’s exercise lab, so researchers could monitor her fitness. All of the volunteers, including those in the nonexercise group, also maintained daily activity logs.
After about six months and following the dictates of nature, the women gave birth. All, thankfully, had healthy boys or girls — which the scientists gently requested that the mothers almost immediately bring in for testing.
Univesite de Montreal A baby who participated in the study.
Within 12 days of birth, in fact, each of the newborns accompanied
his or her mother to the lab. There, each baby was fitted with an
adorable little cap containing electrodes that monitor electrical
activity in the brain, settled in his or her mother’s lap, and soothed
to sleep. Researchers then started a sound loop featuring a variety of
low, soft sounds that recurred frequently, interspersed occasionally
with more jarring, unfamiliar noises, while the baby’s brain activity
was recorded. “We know that baby’s brains respond to these kinds of sounds with a spike” in certain types of brain activity, said Elise Labonte-LeMoyne, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Montreal, who led the study and also presented her findings at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting. This spike is most pronounced in immature brains, she continued, and diminishes as a newborn’s brain develops and begins processing information more efficiently. “It usually disappears altogether by the time a baby is 4 months old,” she said,
In this case, the relevant brainwave activity soared in response to the novel sounds among the children born to mothers who had remained sedentary during pregnancy. But it was noticeably blunted in the babies whose mothers had exercised. In essence, “their brains were more mature,” Ms. Labonte-LeMoyne said.
How gestational exercise can remodel an unborn child’s brain is not clear, Ms. Labonte-LeMoyne admits, since, unlike circulatory systems, a mother’s brain is not hardwired directly to that of her child. “But we suspect that when mom exercises, she generates a variety of chemicals,” including many related to brain health, which can move into her bloodstream and eventually mingle with the blood of her baby.
But that possibility is only theoretical for now. It is also unclear whether the precocious brain development seen in newborns with active mothers will linger into their later lives. Ms. Labonte-LeMoyne and her colleagues plan to retest the children on various cognitive tests once they are a year old.
But for now, the lesson is clear. “If a woman can be physically active during her pregnancy, she may give her unborn child an advantage, in terms of brain development,” Ms. Labonte-LeMoyne said. And the commitment required can be slight. “We were surprised,” she said, “by how much of an effect we saw” from barely an hour of exercise per week.
*************************************
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
AUTISM UPDATE
Too much screen time in the bedroom can add to sleep issues. Read more about it:
******************************
******************************
Kids with autism and related disorders are prone to sleep
disturbances but a new study finds that screen time, especially in the
bedroom, may make their sleep problems worse.
When researchers compared boys with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) to other boys, they found that all the kids with bedroom access to media slept fewer hours, but the relationship was twice as strong for the boys with autism.
"In-room media access was associated with about 1.5 fewer hours of sleep per night in the group with autism," said Christopher R. Engelhardt, who led the study at the University of Missouri-Columbia.
"This association can potentially be problematic, particularly if the reduction in sleep interferes with other daily activities, such as school, homework, interactions with other people, or driving," he told Reuters Health in an email.
Past studies suggest that up to 80 percent of kids with autism, and related conditions like Asperger syndrome, experience sleep troubles, including difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep through the night. Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) also are known to have a high rate of sleep disturbances.
With both conditions, it's unclear why sleep is so difficult. Theories include a disruption in sleep-wake cycles that are regulated by the hormone melatonin, which is often deficient in kids with ASDs, Engelhardt and his colleagues write in Pediatrics.
Because kids with autism spectrum disorders, like those with ADHD, also tend to spend a lot of time watching TV and playing video or computer games, the researchers wondered whether that could be contributing to their sleep problems.
So they recruited the parents of 49 boys with autism spectrum disorders, 38 with ADHD and 41 comparison boys with typical development to fill out questionnaires about their children's bedroom screen access and sleep patterns. All the kids were between ages eight and 17.
Boys with autism who had TV, computers or video games in their bedrooms got less sleep than all the other boys, including boys with autism who didn't have media in their bedrooms.
Without a TV in their room, boys with autism spent an average of about nine hours sleeping, compared to less than eight hours among kids with an ASD and a bedroom TV.
In contrast, bedroom TVs didn't seem to make a difference for boys with ADHD or typical development.
Boys with autism with computers in their rooms slept nearly two hours less than boys with autism and no bedroom computer.
A lot of time spent playing video games, regardless of where they were located, was also linked to shorter sleep times among boys with ASDs.
Even for typical children, too much time with TV or video games has been linked to attention problems, hyperactivity, arguments and physical fights, Engelhardt said.
"We can't say that access to a TV causes less sleep," only that the two are linked for some kids, he said.
Last month, the American Academy of Pediatrics called for limiting screen time for all kids to one or two hours per day.
"This is a good recommendation for all children," Dr. Beth Marlow, Burry Chair in Cognitive Childhood Development and director of the Sleep Disorders Division at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee.
"Following this recommendation for kids with (autism spectrum) and ADHD is good, although children with (autism spectrum) or ADHD who are still having difficulty with sleep despite limiting electronics really deserve a sleep evaluation by their pediatrician or sleep specialist."
Sleep troubles can also stem from anxiety, sleep apnea, pain that the child might not be able to express, gastrointestinal problems or seizures, she said.
For typically developing kids, bedroom TV access doesn't usually seem to cut into sleep.
"However, (Engelhardt's) finding for teens with ASD concurs with our clinical impressions - that these teens have difficulty 'switching off' videogames," Michael Gradisar said.
Gradisar is a clinical psychologist who studies technology use and sleep, especially among teens, at Flinders University in Adelaide, South Australia.
"Many teens have a distorted sense of time passing when playing videogames, however, it may be that this time distortion is stronger for teens with ASD," he said.
Parents can have a tough time managing how much their children play games or watch TV, he said. "It may take quite some time to do, but one option is for parents to introduce other hobbies and activities into their teens lives, so that videogaming eventually occupies less time."
People with autism tend to spend more time with media outlets, researchers think, because the electronic worlds have engaging audio and visual features and their social interactions are easy relative to real life interactions.
This doesn't necessarily mean that parents should take TVs or video games out of their autistic children's rooms, but might consider limiting or monitoring media consumption, he said.
"Screen media can certainly be good for kids with autism," he said. "Scientists have long known that video games are great at teaching and reinforcing certain behaviors, so it's possible that these games can be used to adjust and shape the types of behaviors generally valued by society, such as behaviors intended to help others."
**************************************
When researchers compared boys with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) to other boys, they found that all the kids with bedroom access to media slept fewer hours, but the relationship was twice as strong for the boys with autism.
"In-room media access was associated with about 1.5 fewer hours of sleep per night in the group with autism," said Christopher R. Engelhardt, who led the study at the University of Missouri-Columbia.
"This association can potentially be problematic, particularly if the reduction in sleep interferes with other daily activities, such as school, homework, interactions with other people, or driving," he told Reuters Health in an email.
Past studies suggest that up to 80 percent of kids with autism, and related conditions like Asperger syndrome, experience sleep troubles, including difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep through the night. Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) also are known to have a high rate of sleep disturbances.
With both conditions, it's unclear why sleep is so difficult. Theories include a disruption in sleep-wake cycles that are regulated by the hormone melatonin, which is often deficient in kids with ASDs, Engelhardt and his colleagues write in Pediatrics.
Because kids with autism spectrum disorders, like those with ADHD, also tend to spend a lot of time watching TV and playing video or computer games, the researchers wondered whether that could be contributing to their sleep problems.
So they recruited the parents of 49 boys with autism spectrum disorders, 38 with ADHD and 41 comparison boys with typical development to fill out questionnaires about their children's bedroom screen access and sleep patterns. All the kids were between ages eight and 17.
Boys with autism who had TV, computers or video games in their bedrooms got less sleep than all the other boys, including boys with autism who didn't have media in their bedrooms.
Without a TV in their room, boys with autism spent an average of about nine hours sleeping, compared to less than eight hours among kids with an ASD and a bedroom TV.
In contrast, bedroom TVs didn't seem to make a difference for boys with ADHD or typical development.
Boys with autism with computers in their rooms slept nearly two hours less than boys with autism and no bedroom computer.
A lot of time spent playing video games, regardless of where they were located, was also linked to shorter sleep times among boys with ASDs.
Even for typical children, too much time with TV or video games has been linked to attention problems, hyperactivity, arguments and physical fights, Engelhardt said.
"We can't say that access to a TV causes less sleep," only that the two are linked for some kids, he said.
Last month, the American Academy of Pediatrics called for limiting screen time for all kids to one or two hours per day.
"This is a good recommendation for all children," Dr. Beth Marlow, Burry Chair in Cognitive Childhood Development and director of the Sleep Disorders Division at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee.
"Following this recommendation for kids with (autism spectrum) and ADHD is good, although children with (autism spectrum) or ADHD who are still having difficulty with sleep despite limiting electronics really deserve a sleep evaluation by their pediatrician or sleep specialist."
Sleep troubles can also stem from anxiety, sleep apnea, pain that the child might not be able to express, gastrointestinal problems or seizures, she said.
For typically developing kids, bedroom TV access doesn't usually seem to cut into sleep.
"However, (Engelhardt's) finding for teens with ASD concurs with our clinical impressions - that these teens have difficulty 'switching off' videogames," Michael Gradisar said.
Gradisar is a clinical psychologist who studies technology use and sleep, especially among teens, at Flinders University in Adelaide, South Australia.
"Many teens have a distorted sense of time passing when playing videogames, however, it may be that this time distortion is stronger for teens with ASD," he said.
Parents can have a tough time managing how much their children play games or watch TV, he said. "It may take quite some time to do, but one option is for parents to introduce other hobbies and activities into their teens lives, so that videogaming eventually occupies less time."
People with autism tend to spend more time with media outlets, researchers think, because the electronic worlds have engaging audio and visual features and their social interactions are easy relative to real life interactions.
This doesn't necessarily mean that parents should take TVs or video games out of their autistic children's rooms, but might consider limiting or monitoring media consumption, he said.
"Screen media can certainly be good for kids with autism," he said. "Scientists have long known that video games are great at teaching and reinforcing certain behaviors, so it's possible that these games can be used to adjust and shape the types of behaviors generally valued by society, such as behaviors intended to help others."
**************************************
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