What should you if your infants have cough and cold or are agitated at night?

Posted on September 12, 2010 by wngai
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baby & bubblesNew dads or moms are usually worried when they find their infants or small children with low grade fever or become agitated (crying a lot) at night.  It is because no cough and cold medicine is indicated for children under 6 years old. 

If your infants with periodic low grade fever or like to cry a lot before falling asleep, you may like to try Bo Ying Compound for a day.

Bo Ying Compound is an ancient Chinese herbal formula that was developed for young children. The formulation has been used by many Chinese to treat paediatric discomforts like restlessness at night, poor appetite, cold, cough, phlegm, vomiting of milk, excessive air in the stomach and diarrhoea.

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Lingzhi and San-Miao-San May Improve the Symptoms of Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)

Posted on September 12, 2010 by wngai
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Last time, we reported the beneficial effect of a Chinese mushroom, Yunzhi, on cancer patients receiving chemotherapy.  This time, we would like to share with you the immunomodulatory effect of another Chinese mushroom, Lingzhi, on patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

RA is an autoimmune joint disease affecting millions of patients.  This disease is more prevalent in females than in males.  Current treatment for RA include nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID), prednisolone, and methotrexate, but all these drugs have side effects and can only partially alleviate RA associated symptoms.

Lingzhi belongs to the Ganoderma family of mushrooms and has been a valuable medicine for longevity in ancient China.

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Drink Cranberry Juice to Prevent Urinary Tract Infection

Posted on September 12, 2010 by wngai
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CranberryPreviously studies have suggested cranberry juice can fight against bacteria in Petri disk.

A new study, presented at the national meeting of the American Chemical Society, added to the existing evidence by showing cranberry juice could reach the urinary tract and prevent bacterial growing within eight hours of drinking cranberry juice.

Researchers from the Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts grew strains of E. colin, which was collected from healthy people before and after they drank cranberry juice cocktail.

They found that, in petri dishes, cranberry metabolites in the juice prevented bacteria from sticking to one another and prohibited them from multiplying.

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Water: A Secret Weapon to Lose Weight?

Posted on September 12, 2010 by wngai
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When I was a kid, my mom always told me not to drink water before a meal.  She told me drinking water would fill up my stomach and made me eat less.  I believed her words, but have never seen the proof.

Now, study presented at American Chemical Society confirmed that drinking two 8-ounce glasses of water before meals can help people to melt their pounds away.

The study included 48 adults between age 55 and 75 and were divided to drink either two cups of water before meals or with other beverages. All participants ate a low-calorie diet throughout the study.

After 12 weeks, water drinkers lost about 15.5 pounds, compared to non-water-drinking dieters, who lost only 11 pounds.

Furthermore, most water drinkers were able to keep the weight off for a full year after the study.

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How to Prevent Lung Cancer if You Are a Smoker?

Posted on September 12, 2010 by wngai
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If you are a smoker and would like to prevent lung cancer, you should consider eating a variety of fruit and vegetable.

This piece of advice came from a new study published in the Aug 31 issue of the Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

The study included 452,187 participants who were followed for 8.7 years.  During the study period, the smoking behavior and the dietary intake of the participants were recorded.

Using statistical modeling, the investigators found an inverse association between the variety of vegetable and fruit intake and the risk of lung cancer among the smokers.   Smokers who ate a variety of fruit and vegetable had a 12% reduction in risk of lung cancer compared with those who did not (p=0.03)

Even though this might be good news for smokers, smokers are still advised to quit their smoking since smoking is still the predominant risk factor for lung cancer.

Source: Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev.  Published online August 31, 2010.

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A New Treatment Option for patients with Gastric Cancer

Posted on September 12, 2010 by wngai
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 Gastric cancer is the fourth most commonly diagnosed cancer and the second most common cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide.  Previous study has found that patients with operable disease have a 5-year survival rate of 36%.  In patients with advanced or metastatic gastric cancer, however, the 5-year survival is only 5-20% with median overall survival of less than 1 year.

Fluoropyrimidine and platinum compounds are the typical therapeutic options for these patients, but a new study indicated that trastuzumab (Herceptin) plus chemotherapy may be more effective in patients with HER2-postivie advanced gastric or gastro-esophageal junction cancer.

The study randomized 594 HER2-positive gastric or gastro-esophageal cancer to receive either chemotherapy (capecitabien(Xeloda) plus cisplatin) or chemotherapy (fluorouracil plus cisplatin) plus trastuzumab every 3 weeks for six cycles.

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Yunzhi-Danzhen Improves Immune System in Nasopharyngeal Cancer(NPC) Patients

Posted on September 12, 2010 by wngai
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Nasopharyngeal carcinoma is a prevalent tumor in Hong Kong.  If you have nasopharyngeal cancer, that is a bad news.  The good news is patients with early stage disease (Stage I and II disease) have a 5-year survival rate of more than 70%.

Radical external radiotherapy is the mainstay of treatment for NPC, but this treatment is associated with both acute and long-term toxicities (weight loss and mucositis).

A study published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine suggested that Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)Yunzhi-Danshen capsules improved the immune system and alleviated the toxicity during radiotherapy.

Yunzhi (Coriolus versicolor) is a mushroom used in traditional Chinese herbal remedies.  .  In phases II and III double-blind clinical trials in China, Yunzhi has been shown to activate immune cell system, alleviate chemotherapy symptoms and increase tumor destruction by white blood cells.

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Sitting Increases the Risk of Death?

Posted on August 29, 2010 by wngai
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Cat drawingIf you think sitting more and moving less can make you live longer, you might like to think again…

In the 14-year study published in the American Journal of epidemiology, researchers found that people who spent at least 6 hours (excluding work) of their daily leisure time sitting died sooner than people who sat less than 3 hours.

Furthermore, people who both sit a lot and exercise little are at even higher risk of death.

The study was based on the daily activities of 53,440 U.S. men and 69,776 women who were 50-74 years old.   The study began in 1992 and study participants were asked about the length of time they spent each day on sitting (watching television, reading, etc.).

The researchers found that, sitting more than six hours a day increased the death rate by about 40% in women and 20% in men, when compared with sitting less than three hours a day.

The main causes of death associated with sitting more were cancer death and death due to heart disease.  It is very possible that sitting for a long time affect the proper circulation of blood and the response of immune system.

Source: American Journal of Epidemiology, published online July 22, 2010

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Tai Chi May Be Useful to Treat Fibromyalgia

Posted on August 29, 2010 by wngai
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We have previously reported that Tai Chi might be effective in improving the efficacy of antidepressant agents.  Now, a new study published in New England Journal of Medicine indicated that Tai Chi might also relieve the symptoms in patients with fibromyalgia.

Fibromyalgia is a medical disorder characterized by chronic widespread pain.  Evidence from medical research has revealed abnormalities in the central nervous system, but the exact cause of fibromyalgia has not been found.

Tai chi combines meditation with slow, gentle movements, as well as deep breathing and relaxation, to move vital energy (or qi) throughout the body. It is a multicomponent exercise that integrates physical, psychosocial, emotional, spiritual, and behavioral elements.

In the study, 66 patients with fibromyalgia were randomly assigned receive classic Yang-style tai chi or a control intervention consisting of wellness education and stretching for 12 weeks.

Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ) were used to evaluated the improvement in symptoms while Short-Form Health Survey was use to assess the physical and mental well-beings.

The results indicated that patients who received Tai Chi training have a statistical significant improvement in symptoms when compared with the control group (p < 0.001).

The tai chi group also fared better in physical and metal component scores of the Short-Form Health Survey (P< 0.03).

Furthermore, the improvements were present at 24 weeks with no reports of adverse events.

If you have fibromyalgia, you like to try Tai Chi and see whether it improves your symptoms.

Source: American Journal of Epidemiology, published online July 22, 2010

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Resveratrol Slows Your Aging; Reduces Your Risk of Diabetes and Heart Disease

Posted on August 29, 2010 by wngai
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Resveratrol, the plant extract that is found in the skin of red grapes, appears to suppress inflammation and cut the risk of diabetes and heart disease.

The popular plant extract has previously been shown to prolong life and reduce the rate of aging in roundworms, fruit flies, and yeast, due to its effects on a gene associated with longevity.

Now, a new study found that resveratrol reduces inflammation in humans that could lead to heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes.

The researchers recruited 20 people and randomly assigned them to receive either placebo or a supplement containing 40 milligrams of resveratrol. The volunteers took pills once a day for six weeks.

Results showed that patients who took resveratrol have a lower level of “free radicals”, which are known to damage the blood vessel and a reduction in other chemicals (such as TNF) which are known to interfere with insulin action and cause diabetes.

Besides taking supplement, you can also get resveratrol by eating grapes, wine, peanuts, blueberries, and cranberries.

Sources: Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 2010

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