Asclepius News

A diet rich in folic acid - Vitamin B9 - may protect men from producing abnormal sperm shows a study of scientists from the University of California, Berkeley. This vitamin, which also protects the embryos from the development of genetic abnormalities can be found in dark green leafy vegetables, fruits, legumes, orange juice, peanut, cereals , in wheat crust, kiwi, avocado, almonds and ch estnuts. As the researchers explain in the journal "Iuman Reproduction», up to 4% of the sperm producing healthy men may have the wrong number of chromosomes. This disorder is called aneuploidy and related difficulties in conceiving, miscarriages and birth of children with genetic diseases such as Down's syndrome, Turner and Klinefelter. The Berkeley researchers analyzed sperm samples from 89 healthy non-smoking volunteers, and then asked to fill out diet questionnaires, of which and got information about the intake of zinc, folate, vitamin C, vitamin E and beta carotene.   Th...

Hippocrates numbers Nettle or Urtica Dioica among the "panacea" plants (which can be used for all diseases) today after 2500 years no one can argue with the nettle is one of the most useful medicinal plants, which is easy to found and has no side effects. The whole plant is useful to its roots, fresh and dry. Nettle is rich in Vitamin A (more than carrot), B, K, E,  vitamin C, iron, potassium, calcium, potassium salts, histamine, formic acid, chlorophyll and many other important minerals. Its leaves contain formic acid, chlorophyll, serotonin, acetylcholine, glykokinones, and tannins. Properties of Nettle It has astringent, diuretic and tonic properties, controls bleeding, cleanses the body of toxins, increases the hemoglobin, stimulates the circulatory system and lowers the blood pressure and blood sugar levels. It stimulates the functioning of pancreas. Used internally as effusion or tincture (drops) for anemia, bleeding, diarrhea, excessive menses...

One of the most famous "miracle drugs" of modern medicine are steroids. However, a recent double-blind randomized clinical study showed that honey coffee is superior to prednisolone substance in the treatment of post-infectious persistent cough.   A remarkable new study examined the natural alternatives to drugs found that compared to systemic steroids, the combination of honey and coffee was effective in reducing symptoms associated with post-infectious cough.   The post-infectious cough is a cough that persists after a common cold or infection of the upper respiratory tract for more than three weeks and in some cases up to several months. The conventional treatment may include any number of potent drugs, many of which have serious side effects. These include codeine and dextromethorphan (known centrally acting antitussive), antihistamines and bronchodilators.   The new study published in the journal «Primary Care Respiratory» conducted by researchers...

                                                                      Rule 1   According to the latest studies our diet should be based on Monounsaturated fatty acids which are more successful in reducing fat than diets based on carbohydrates. Foods containing monounsaturated fats reduce low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and are associated with increased daily physical activity and resting energy expenditure. These precious monounsaturated fats we can find in:   - Olive oil - The olives - Salmon - Nuts - Avocado               ...

 The breast consists of milk-producing glands surrounded by fat and connective tissue. The glands connect to the ducts, which carry milk out to the nipple. Breast cancer is generally an adenocarcinoma. It develops in the glands themselves and grows out. It is the most common cancer in US women. Approximately 230,000 people are diagnosed per year in the US. Is the second leading cause or cancer death in women approximately 40,000 deaths per year. Again notice the big difference between the number of cases diagnosed and the number of deaths, that's because most of the cancers are diagnosed early enough to be treated with surgery or radiation, which we'll talk about in our last lecture. Which leads to fewer deaths per diagnosed case per year. Again, 80% of primary breast cancers are called infiltrating ductal cancers. They are adenocarcinoma's. There are subtypes like lobular and nipple cancers. But again, the vast majority are adenocarcinomas.  What are the risk fac...

Lung Cancer  Lung cancer is the most common cancer in men and women, approximately 220,000 diagnoses per year in the US. Somewhere between 1.5 and 2 million people are diagnosed worldwide with cancer, and it is an extremely lethal disease. It is the leading cause of cancer death, approximately 160,000 deaths per year in the U.S, and 1.3 million worldwide. We do a very poor job of being able to cure lung cancer, because by the time it's diagnosed, it is too far advanced to be treated locally for cure with surgery or radiation. It is a lethal disease. There are many sub types of lung cancer but 85% of them are called non-small-cell lung cancers or NSCLC. They come in various histologies. Adenocarcinoma is the most common, 40%. But then, there's squamous cell carcinoma and large cell carcinoma. By and large, although we have different histologies for these cancers, they are essentially treated very similarly. On the right you have a picture of lungs, you notice they'r...

Does our diet affects the hair of our head? The answer is "YES" from many researchers involved in this issue. Vitamins A -B -C -D and E has been proven that strengthen our hair and prevent their loss while lack of these vitamins, can be the cause of hair loss. Herbs and food containing vitamins A -B -C -D and E reduce stress and improve circulation, which are known as the main reasons of hair loss.   Vitamin A is involved in the development and maintenance of the hair as well as regulates the synthesis of retinoic acid in the hair follicle. It can be found in abundance in fish, fish eggs and mainly in the liver oil (cod liver oil). Also in butter, milk and the liver of different animal. Many vegetables and fruits contain different ingredients and pigments such as carotenes, which are converted into vitamin A in the body. A very good source of vitamin A is beta-carotene or provitamin A which is in abundant in carrots. T he complex of B vitamins help hair gro...

Many studies have been made to understand the pharmacological actions of Chamomille. They discovered the anti-inflamatory properties used to treat inflammation associated with hemorroids when topically applied and most important the anti-anxiety properties that could be used to treat stress and insomnia. The flavonoids are antiinflammatory and anti-spasmodic, stabilizing capillaries and relaxing smooth muscles, particularly in the gastrointestinal tract.i The flavonoid apigenin (5,7,4'-trihydroxyflavone ) has been reported to have antianxiety activity. So in a study funded by the University of Pennsylvania to demonstrate the anxiolytic activity of chamomile it has been observed that compared to placebo chamomile was associated with greater reduction of generalized anxiety disorder ... The study lasted eight weeks and included fifty-seven volunteers, because of course this was the first controlled study with chamomile extract for anxiety, researchers note that they require ...

The action of a substance in the body depends on the pharmacodynamics, while the effect of the body essentially determines the pharmacokinetics. In a substance ingested by a person, there are many body systems, intestine, liver, kidneys etc., that intervene and modify, to exert the final action of the specific target cell.   The Grapefruit is a fruit that interacts with many drugs and medicines received from patient for various diseases. A recent study from Canada showed that at least 85 drugs react negatively with Grapefruit and cause varying different effects, while 43 drugs still can, if administered simultaneously with Grapefruit, cause severe and dangerous side effects.   The researchers analyzed 161 studies, many of these were controlled and randomized, 29 drug monographs like many medicines leaflets and concluded that the most common side effects due to interactions of Grapefruit with various medications are: myelotoxicity, rhabdomyolysis, gastroi...

  Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are gripping the world like wild fire. Nutritionists believe that they are ‘The Plague’ of the 21st century. One of the key risks for developing CVD is clogged arteries. This is not an overnight occurrence, but a series of wrong choices in food and lifestyle. Your arteries are blood vessels that carry oxygen and nutrients from your heart to the rest of your body. They go to your brain as well as to the tips of your toes. Healthy arteries are flexible, strong, elastic and clear of any deposits — blood flows through them easily. But as you age, deposits of fatty substances, cholesterol, cellular waste products and calcium are formed on the inner walls of the arteries. This arterial plaque can reduce blood flow or, in some instances, block it altogether. As plaque deposits grow, a condition called atherosclerosis results. This condition causes the arteries to narrow and harden. Clogged arteries in different parts of the body can l...

Cannabis Sativa THC  Cannabis is a plant that is thought to have been used by humans for over 10,000 years. Centuries old Chinese documents describe using cannabis for clothing production, food, and as an agent to comunicate with spirits. Today marijuana is the most frequently used illicit drug, and the illicit drug that new users are most likely to try.Those numbers are expected to grow as legalization is introdused in several states.Certain cannabis plants can be used for making rope or clothing; however the species Cannabis sativa is the most often used for its hallucinogenic properties. The main psychoactive alkaloid is Δ9- tetrahydrocannabinol(THC). Growing techniques have been evolved over the past 50 years, and the concentrations found in the plant have increased sa much as 20-fold during that time period. Specific receptors in the brain, cannabinoid or CB1 receptors, were discovered in the late 1980s and found to be reactive to THC. When CB1 rece...