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| Chinese medicine, acupuncture, nutritional and herbal medicine can be helpful for depression and for prevention of heart disease and stroke. |
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Daily meditation is found to alter brain structure, slow brain deterioration related to aging and help improve the way the brain works. Researchers are studying Western meditatiors, who typically meditate for as little as 40 minutes a day. The cerebral cortex, found to be thicker in meditators, plays a critical role in decision making, working memory and brain-body interactions, according to researcher Sara Lazar, PhD. The so-called working memory region of the brain is found to decrease rapidly, thinning during aging. Meditation helps to thicken this area as well as regions involed with attention and sensory processing.
As Reported on WebMD. Original study: Neuroscience 2005, annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, Washington, Nov. 12-16, 2005. NeuroReport, online edition, Sara W. Lazar, PhD, Psychiatric Neuroimaging Research Program, Massachusetts General Hospital; department of psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, boston. Stephen Kosslyn, PhD, professor of psychology, Harvard Medical School, Boston
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Serotonin, a neurotransmitter, also functions as a hormone which allows it to cause effects in the body outside of the nervous system. Fluctuations in estrogen levels in women are found to cause predictable changes in serotonin systems. Scientists now believe that serotonin may mediate the effects of estrogen. In the CNS (Central Nervous System), estrogen influences pain transmission, headache, dizziness, nausea and depression all of which are known consequences of serotonergic signaling. Outside of the CNS, estrogen produces changes in bone density, vascular function and immune function that are also consistent with effects of serotonin.
Only 1% of serotonin in the human body is found in the CNS, with 99% found in other tissues such as plasma, GI (gastro-intestinal) tract and immune tissues. Here serotonin functions as a hormone and regulates physiological functions such as vasodilation, clotting, immune cell recruitment, and GI motility. It is also involved in bone density as is estrogen.
Changes in estrogen levels (specifically E2 or estradiol) influence concentrations and actions of serotonin as well as modulating the actions of serotonin. For example, the loss of estrogen at menopause results in decreased density of 5HT (precursor of serotonin) receptors and lower activity of serotonin, which could explain aberrant temperature regulation, including hot flashes and night sweats. Prevalence of hot flashes and sweating at night could be the result of conversion of serotonin to melatonin at night, resulting in lower circulating serotonin levels.
Depression in women is often found increased during times of relatively low estrogen levels (early pregnancy, postpartum, peri-menopapuse and menopause) and this may be at least partially due to estrogen's effect on serotonin receptors.
As reported in Medscape 4/06/2006: An Overlooked Connection: Serotonergic Mediation of Estrogen-Related Physiology and Pathology. Leszek A. Rybaczyk; Meredith J. Bashaw; dorothy R. pathak; Scott M. Moody; Roger M. Gilders; Donald L. Holzschu
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Weight loss and exercise can help reduce pain in those with "impaired glucose tolerance neuropathy", which is called prediabetes. While aggressive control of blood glucose levels are known to slow the risk of neuropathy, researchers never thought it possible for reinervation to occur in the prediabetic state. In a study at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Dr. A. Gordon Smith and associates measured intraepiddermal nerve fiber density in the legs and thighs of 32 prediabetic subjects. These patients were given a weight loss goal of 7%, along with 150 minutes of moderate exercise a week and individual nutritional counseling once every 3 months. After 1 year of regular dieting and exercise, improvement was found in nerve fiber density, which correlated with decrease in neuropathic pain.
Dr. Smith recommends that doctors treating patients who are glucose intolerant with peripheral neuropathy, "should treat them as aggressively as possible with diet and exercise... Simply treating them with antihyperglycemic drugs appears to not allow damaged nerve fibers to recover."
As reported in Medscpae; Reuters Health Information 2006
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Checking your fibrinogen level during your regular blood test is essential, according to many experts. Fibrinogen is a protein produced by the liver and it plays a role in development of atherosclerotic plaque and can contribute to acute blood clot formation, which can cause a heart attack or ischemic stroke. Reports link elevated fibrinogen levels to increased heart attack risk and stroke risk.
The standard reference range for fibrinogen is 193-423 mg/dL. But studies have shown that those with fibrinogen levels of 300 or more are at greatly increased risk for heart attack, stroke and cardiovascular disease. The ideal range for health is a fibrinogen level of 200-300 mg/dL.
Increased rates of cancer incidence are also found in those with high fibrinogen levels. Fibrinogen is the precurser to fibrin, which cancer cells use to coat themselves in order to hide from the immune system. Fibrin also is part of a signaling system to cancer cells to begin antiogenesis, the growth of new blood vessels into the tumor, which contributes to the growth and spread of the tumor.
Compounds that can help lower fibrinogen levels include: fish oil, olive oil, carotenoid complex, folic acid, B12, B6, green tea, ginkgo. There are other helpful compounds and specific herbal medicines.
from Life Extension May 2006 pp. 7-11
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A study published in the 2003 Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine found Tai Qi can help reduce high blood pressure, which could help some patients avoid the potential negative side effects of life long medication and save on medical bills.
Meditation is found to create long-lasting physiological effects that can help reduce high blood pressure and even help to reverse heart disease. Dr. Herbert Benson, president of the Mind/Body Institute at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston had five long-time meditation practitioners undergo MRI brain scans while meditating. Dr. Benson, also an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, noted that during meditation the MRI showed areas of quietude across the entire brain. He calls this quietude the "relaxation response", which he says is also triggered by activities such as yoga, Tai Qi and even praying the Rosary. As the relaxation response is evoked in the body, it can result in decreased metabolism, heart rate, breathing rate, blood pressure and in slower brain waves. According to Dr. Benson, up to 90 percent of illnesses, other than hypertension are caused by stress.
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Web article, April 13, 2005 Lauren Gilchrist at myKawaratha.com Metroland Publishing
Dr.
Mark Guttman, director of the Centre for Movement Disorders in Markham,
Ontario, recommends people with Parkinson's do exercises that involve a
lot of stretching, similar to Tai Qi. Dr. Guttman says that evidence
gathered from animal studies whows that exercise can effect the brain
in a positive manner that can prevent Parkionson symptoms from emerging. |
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The Detroit News Tuesday, August 30, 2005 Reported by Cynthia Lambert Nehr
Dr.
Cedric Bryant, fitness expert for the American Council on Exercise
says: "It works on muscular endurance, conditioning of the major muscle
groups of your lower body, and can work to improve your flexibility. It
also is a very effective calorie burner, so it can help with weight
control." She also pointed out that tennis can be a great stress
reliever "....a good distraction, pounding that little yellow ball."
To get more cardio benefit from tennis, avoid standing around, play singles and try playing only half the court.
Tennis can also help build bone density, because of the running involved and because of its strengthening qualites. |
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Medscape Medical News article citing study results published in the October 2005 issue of Headache (Headache, 2005;45:1113-1123)
"Nonpharmacologic
interventions for frequent headaches may be appropriate because medical
management alone is often ineffective," says Remy R. Coeytaux, MD, PhD
of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and colleages.
When
medical headache management was supplemented with acupuncture, patients
experienced improvement in health-related quality of life and patients
reported that they suffered from less headaches. |
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Shambala Sun March 2003 The Lama in the Lab by Daniel Goleman; p 64-72
Recent
research in the field of neuroscience reports that the very act of
caring for another persons well-being, in itself creates greater
well-being in ourselves. Neuroscientists at the University of Wisconsin
in Madison studied several people who were long-term, advanced Buddhist
mediators. Discernable brain pattern changes were documented as the
result of several distinctly different meditative states. One of the
biggest shifts was seen during meditation on compassion for all beings,
a basic Buddhist meditative practice. During this practice, our hearts
soften and we develop the qualities of compassion and loving kindness
for both ourselves and others. We can embrace all of life, including
it’s more difficult challenges with this attitude of an open heart.
The
Dalai Lama, religious leader of Tibet, has made the observation that
when we meditate on compassion and loving-kindness for all beings, we
ourselves are the immediate beneficiaries. How much more so then, when
we extend loving kindness and compassion to all those with whom we come
in contact throughout our day? A smile to the cashier at the grocery
store, a kind word to the person on the other end of the phone, sending
a note of thanks to someone who was kind and helpful are simple ways we
can share a loving heart. As we extend loving kindness and compassion
for each person we come in contact with, our heart softens, our
emotional horizons expand, our brain patterns change and in turn, these
all have a positive benefit on our health.
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