'Magic Eraser' removes Tumour June 2010, LOS ANGELES - A US doctor has successfully removed a terminal brain tumour from a little boy's brain stem by using a 'magic eraser,'it was announced on Tuesday. Doctor Amin Kassam used the device, called a Nico Myriad, to remove the tumor from a Belgian boy's brain system, China's Xinhua news agency reported Saint John's Health Centre as saying in Santa Monica near Los Angeles. The boy, identified only as Tristan, was facing certain death from a chordoma, a rare, malignant brain tumour, according to the hospital. The tumour had wrapped around the 4-year-old's brain stem, making it impossible to use normal surgical techniques to save the child's life, the hospital said. Dr Kassam went to Belgium with the newfangled device, which is described as an automated device that can cut the tumour up into microscopic strands without producing heat. The Myriad device was introduced to the United States about a year ago, and Dr Kassam is one of the few neurosurgeons trained to use one. The device has a bendable cutting tip that allows surgeons to access hard-to-reach tumor sites, and the child's tumour removal was performed through the child's nostril, taking a team of surgeons 13 hours. The 'magic eraser' provides precise tissue shaving on or near critical body parts, like blood vessels and nerves, and also vacuums tumour tissue into a collection chamber for laboratory evaluation, the hospital said. Although chordomas are slow-growing, they can cause pain, paralysis, problems with vision, swallowing and death. -- BERNAMA

FDA warns of Zocor risk to Muscles at high doses March 2010 - Based on new data, the FDA today warned that higher doses of the cholesterol-lowering drug Zocor, sold generically as simvastatin, carry an increased risk of muscle injury. The FDA also warns that mixing Zocor with certain other drugs also increases patients' risk of muscle injury, including the rare but serious complication known as rhabdomyolysis. Rhabdomyolysis can sometimes result in fatal kidney damage. The combination products Vytorin and Simcor also contain simvastatin, the active ingredient in Zocor. Zocor is a member of the class of drugs known as statins. All statin drugs carry a risk of muscle damage, but new data suggest that this risk may be particularly high for the 80 milligram dose of Zocor. For details, click here

Little Touches Do Mean So Much Feb. 22, 2010 - Psychologists have long studied the grunts and winks of nonverbal communication, the vocal tones and facial expressions that carry emotion. A warm tone of voice, a hostile stare — both have the same meaning in Terre Haute or Timbuktu, and are among dozens of signals that form a universal human vocabulary. But in recent years some researchers have begun to focus on a different, often more subtle kind of wordless communication: physical contact. Momentary touches, they say — whether an exuberant high five, a warm hand on the shoulder, or a creepy touch to the arm — can communicate an even wider range of emotion than gestures or expressions, and sometimes do so more quickly and accurately than words. Read more...

Can These Parents be Saved? Over-parenting is slowly taking its toll on everyone! Nov. 20, 2009 - The insanity crept up on us slowly; we just wanted what was best for our kids. We bought macrobiotic cupcakes and hypoallergenic socks, hired tutors to correct a 5-year-old's "pencil-holding deficiency," hooked up broadband connections in the treehouse but took down the swing set after the second skinned knee. We hovered over every school, playground and practice field - "helicopter parents," teachers christened us, a phenomenon that spread to parents of all ages, races and regions. Stores began marketing stove-knob covers and "Kinderkords" (also known as leashes; they allow "three full feet of freedom for both you and your child") and Baby Kneepads (as if babies don't come prepadded). The mayor of a Connecticut town agreed to chop down three hickory trees on one block after a woman worried that a stray nut might drop into her new swimming pool, where her nut-allergic grandson occasionally swam. A Texas school required parents wanting to help with the second-grade holiday party to have a background check first. Schools auctioned off the right to cut the carpool line and drop a child directly in front of the building - a spot that in other settings is known as handicapped parking. Read more...

Boy or Girl may depend on Mom's eating habit This interesting preliminary report shows that a high calorie intake at the time of conception may favour mom getting a boy rather than a girl. The researchers don't know why. It's just an observation and more studies need to be done to verify this findings. Read the report here: Boy or Girl may depend on mom's eating habit

Fasting Before Chemotherapy Protects Healthy Cells A recent study revealed an interesting phenomena with fasting for those patients going for chemotherapy for cancer treatment. In their study with mice, fasting 2 days before high dose chemotherapy actually confers protection to the healthy cells. For more details, click here.

New Screening Tests for Colon Cancer The American Cancer Association recently recommended 2 additional tests to the existing colon cancer screening armaments. Besides colonoscopy, sigmoidoscopy and occult blood test of the stool, we now have virtual colonoscopy and detection of mutated DNA shed from tumours into the stool. Click here for all the details

Study Links Stress to Cervical Cancer Stress has already been identified as a cause of many illnesses such as hypertension, heart attack, peptic ulcer and even backache. Now another study has linked stress to cervical cancer. So Dr. Herbert Benson was right all along when he emphasized that the cause of most modern diseases can be traced back to stress. For more information, go to Study links stress to cervical cancer

Stay Healthier with Regular Sex No time to exercise? Feeling old? Thinking of ways to stay healthy and prevent illnesses? Here's an interesting solution for you - SEX! The British Government's NHS Direct advocates "sexercise" in place of exercise to stay healthy and young. Here's the deal... Get more than zeds in bed

Warning: Avoid cough and cold medicine for toddlers less than 2 years old Here's the latest in a series of warnings from FDA in USA regarding the use of cough and cold syrups for children below 2 years old due to certain side-effects: Avoid cough and cold medicine for less than 2 year olds

Healthy Living can add 14 Years to Life Living a healthy lifestyle by exercising regularly, taking 5 servings of vegetables and fruits a day, no smoking and drinking only a small amount of alcohol can add as much as 14 years to your life. Here is the report: Healthy living adds 14 years to life

A Little Alcohol Can Be Healthy With regards to heart attacks, physically active people are less likely to have one compared to those who are inactive. However, drinking small amount of alcohol (1 - 14 units per week) can confer even more protection to your heart. Here is the full report: A little alcohol can be healthy

Heart Attack links to Anxiety and Worry We are finding more and more links between physical illnesses and psychological state of health. Most of them point to negative emotions affecting our physical health negatively. Truly, our diseases are due to our dis-ease within. Here's another article that links heart attacks with anxiety and worry. Anxiety links to heart attacks

Seven Medical Myths Exposed Here's an interesting article on beliefs and their effects on us, and the importance of being critical in our thinking. 7 Medical Myths exposed

Optimum Health Here are some related articles: Importance of Health Screening Achieving Optimum Health Preventive Guide