New Study: Acupuncture beneficial for Bell's Palsy treatments.

New York (Reuters Health) - Patients with facial paralysis saw greater improvements in function after a more intensive form of acupuncture in a new study from China that compared the treatment to standard acupuncture.

Researchers found that wiggling the acupuncture needles to produce a sensation called "de qi" led to a patient's having a better chance of recovering full facial function in six months than if the needles were just inserted and left alone.

De qi "should be considered to be included in clinical guidelines for acupuncture treatment," said Dr. Wei Wang at Key Laboratory of Neurological Diseases of Chinese Ministry of Education in Wuhan, Hubei.

The study did not measure how well people would have recovered without receiving acupuncture, so it's impossible to say whether the therapy worked any better than conventional, Western approaches or no therapy at all.

De qi is combination of feelings - including achiness, coolness, warmth, and tingling - which is considered by traditional Chinese medicine to ensure the best therapeutic benefit, said Wang, one of the authors of the study.

But "this long held belief has never been confirmed," he told Reuters Health.

To see whether de qi makes a difference to the effectiveness of acupuncture therapy, he and his colleagues asked 317 adults with Bell's palsy to undergo five half-hour acupuncture treatments for four weeks.

Bell's is usually a temporary facial paralysis that typically affects one side and lasts a few months.

It often results from a viral infection that inflames facial nerves, and the steroid prednisone is a common treatment. Over the counter analgesics, vitamins and physical therapy are also sometimes used to treat the condition.

About 40,000 Americans get Bell's palsy each year, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

Wang said his group focused on this condition because recovery of the facial nerves affected by Bell's does not seem to be as susceptible to the placebo effect as other nerve conditions, such as pain.

Half of the participants were randomly assigned to receive treatments that would elicit de qi, in which the acupuncturist twisted the needles and moved them up and down several times during the session.

The other participants had the needles inserted and left alone.

All of the patients also received prednisone.

Neurologists, who didn't know which treatment each participant had received, determined the patients' facial function score on a scale of 200, with higher numbers corresponding to better movement.

In both groups, patients had started with facial function scores around 130 to 135. After six months of treatment, participants in the de qi group had somewhat greater facial function, such as in raising the eyebrows, blinking and baring teeth.

The de qi group scored an average of 195, while the other acupuncture group scored 186.

Wang said it's difficult to interpret just what these numbers mean in terms of muscle performance - say, whether a person can smile fully or not - but that a difference of nine points would be noticeable to the patients.

In addition, the team found that 94 percent of participants who received de qi acupuncture completely recovered their facial function by the end of six months, while 77 percent did in the other acupuncture group.

read more: 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/26/acupuncture-bells-palsy_n_2767694.html

Homeopathic vaccine given to 200,000 people in India to help stem dengue fever.

Ongoing Story: With the outbreak of dengue fever in India, the homopathic vaccine Eupatorium Perfoliatum has continued to be distributed and has shown positive results in treatment, and preventing the ailment. 

Two hundred thousand people have been administered homoeopathy medicine free of charge so far as part of a drive to prevent the outbreak of dengue fever in the district. The Government Homoeopathic Medical College and Hospital at Thirumangalam near here has been conducting special camps to distribute homeopathy pills following the spread of dengue in the district last year. Apart from holding free camps in urban and rural areas with the consent of the Corporation and local bodies, doctors from the homoeopathic college distributed medicines in Sivaganga and Tuticorin districts as well.

“Dengue preventive medicine was given to 240,000 persons in three districts put together through our college. In Madurai district alone, 47 homoeopathy camps were conducted,” A. Gopalakrishnan, Principal in-charge, Government Homoeopathic Medical College and Hospital, toldThe Hindu on Wednesday.

Doctors have been distributing ‘Eupatorium Perfoliatum’ medicine for adults and children in the prescribed dosage. Dr. Gopalalakrishnan said camps were not conducted since December 22 because of the festival holidays. The camps will resume shortly. “A special camp is planned on January 18 and 19 in TVS Group companies for the benefit of 4,500 employees and their families,” the Principal added. A homoeopathy dispensary is likely to come up in the Government Rajaji Hospital, sources said. During the recent visit of the Tamil Nadu Assembly Assurance Committee, the issue was raised by Thirumangalam MLA M. Muthuramalingam, who sought a dispensary in the GRH.

“There is a Siddha dispensary and it is quite appropriate to request for a homoeopathy facility as well. It is being considered and the Government is likely to sanction it after a consultation with the dean,” an official said.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Madurai/homoeopathy-medicine-given-to-two-lakh-people/article4315617.ece

Non-Domestic Animals Receive Effective Vet Treatments of Homeopathy.

Homeopathic treatments found effective by Zoo Veterinarians. 

NEW DELHI: It's not part of the regular treatment but in a pinch, alternative medicine in the form of homeopathy, ayurveda or herbal concoctions, does the trick. And the doctors responsible for animals at the National Zoological Park, Delhi, find, that they sometimes work when allopathy doesn't.

"We started using them seven-eight years ago," says Delhi zoo veterinary officer Paneer Selvam. "We get them wheneve necessity arises." The zoo's standard line of treatment is allopathy but whenever a particularly difficult case comes up, Selvam consults practitioners of alternative medicine. 'About two years ago, one of the Asiatic lions had hind-quarter paralysis. Another one developed the condition some time back.

The zoo doesn't stock homeopathy or ayurvedic medicines. The vet says that homeopathic courses typically last for about three months and they stock enough for one. The decision to attempt the other lines for treatment isn't Selvam's own. Health issues pertaining to animals at the zoo are attended to by a health committee that consists of a team of doctors and meets once in three months.

In both cases we first tried with allopathic treatment but when that didn't work we used homeopathic treatment," says Selvam, "In my experience, we have got good results." A Himalayan black bear that was afflicted with the same condition a year ago and was cured by homeopathy. "Many of the zoo vets prefer to try alternative medicine now," says Selvam.

One of the first time he tried it was some years ago with an old white tiger with a stone in the urinary bladder. Surgery was too much of a risk for the aged tiger and homeopathy was used instead. But the black herbal concoction, a potent medicine for wounds, Selvam's been using for a decade. "It is a very good ointment for maggot wounds," he says.

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-06-05/delhi/32055174_1_alternative-medicine-delhi-zoo-homeopathy

New: Tart Cherry Juice as a relief for Arthritis.

Tart cherries' juice has natural anti-inflammatory properties; but the actual chemical detail is unknown.  

From the Oregonian

May 30--The study was small but the results appear appetizing for arthritis sufferers and others with debilitating joint pain: Tart cherries seem to do a great job fighting inflammation.

Dr. Kerry Kuehl of Oregon Health & Science University led a study of 20 women age 40 to 70, each of whom has inflammatory osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis. Results showed that those who drank tart cherry juice twice daily for three weeks had significantly lower inflammation markers.

"With millions of Americans looking for ways to naturally manage pain," Kuehl says in a news release, "it's promising that tart cherries can help, without the possible side effects often associated with arthritis medications."

The findings were presented Wednesday at the American College of Sports Medicine Conference in San Francisco.

In a previous study, Kuehl found that those who drank tart cherry juice while training for a long-distance run reported less pain afterward than runners who didn't drink the juice.

Fried food in olive / sunflower oil NOT linked to heart disease/death.

Food fried in olive or sunflower oil was not linked to heart disease or premature death, researchers in Spain found.

Professor Pillar Gullah-Castillo of Autonomous University of Madrid surveyed the cooking methods of 40,757 adults ages 29-69 over an 11-year period. None of the study participants had heart disease when the study began.

Trained interviewers asked the study participants about their diet and cooking methods.

The participants' eating habits were divided into ranges of fried food consumption, the first quartile related to the lowest amount of fried food consumed and the fourth indicated the highest amount.

The study follow-up indicated 606 events linked to heart disease and 1,134 deaths, but eating fried foods was not associated with coronary heart events such as heart attack, the study said.

"In a Mediterranean country where olive and sunflower oils are the most commonly used fats for frying, and where large amounts of fried foods are consumed both at and away from home, no association was observed between fried food consumption and the risk of coronary heart disease or death," Gullah-Castillo said in a statement.

However, Gullah-Castillo emphasized the study took place in Spain, a Mediterranean country where olive or sunflower oil is used for frying and the study findings would probably not be the same in another country where solid and re-used oils were used for frying.

The findings were published in the British Medical Journal.

Iced and Hot Tea, a pleasant way to enjoy health benefits.

Teas can naturally be anti bacterial, prevent bad breath, be a source of anti oxidants, and also curb hunger pangs to help dieters. 01-13-12

"There is no trouble so great or grave that cannot be much diminished by a nice cup of tea," wrote Bernard-Paul Heroux. (http://www.quotegarden.com/tea.html)

What is it about a cup of hot tea that is so...soothing? I happen to think it's the warmth that emanates from pretty tea cups. But scientists credit a host of naturally-occurring compounds in tea with beneficial health effects.

All tea comes from the same plant: Camellia sinensis. And over the centuries as this plant grew in the sun, says the USDA Agricultural Research Service, it formed chemicals called "polyphenols" to protect it from the elements. Polyphenols are family to "flavonoids" - health-promoting antioxidant substances found in many fruits and vegetables.

When tea leaves are processed into the various forms of tea, the flavonoid content changes, say researchers. Green tea, for example, contains more simple antioxidant flavonoids while black tea contains more complex varieties.

Green, black and oolong teas are all from the same C. sinensis plant...just processed differently. Green tea is minimally fermented - the process of exposing to air and drying. Black tea is maximally fermented. And oolong tea is somewhere in the middle.        

Beside the fact that tea contains zero calories and soothes your soul, here are some other compelling reasons to enjoy a cup of tea:

Curb food cravings.  "Afternoon tea" was supposedly started by the 7th Duchess of Bedford (England) to keep her hunger pangs at bay between lunch and dinner. And (from personal experience) it also seems to work in those munch-prone hours after dinner.

Lower cholesterol. Tea drinking has shown to help lower "bad" LDL cholesterol levels in some studies. Powerful antioxidant substances in tea are believed to be the reason.

Fight infections. Several compounds have been found in black and green teas that work like antibiotics to fight off the bad bugs that make us sick.

Prevent halitosis (bad breath). Swish with tea to suppress foul mouth odor? Researchers at the University of Illinois found that some of the polyphenols in tea inhibit the growth of bacteria in the mouth that can cause this unpleasant smell.

What about herbal teas? While not officially "tea" from the Camellia sinensis plant, infusions from the leaves of other plants may have their own benefits, according to scientists at Tufts University.

Chamomile and peppermint teas, for example, appear to have infection-fighting capabilities. Peppermint tea is also rich in antioxidants that help fight against cancer growth. And a clinical trial with hibiscus tea showed a blood pressure lowering effect in volunteers who drank 3 cups a day for six weeks.

How to make a perfect cup of tea? Here are some key steps, according to Cindy Bigelow, whose grandmother invented Constant Comment:

-Start with cold fresh water every time, not the leftover in your tea kettle. "It's the oxygen in the water that opens up the tea leaf for full flavor extraction," says Bigelow.

-For black and oolong teas, bring the water to a rolling boil and then pour over leaves or tea bag. Steep for 1 or 2 minutes.

-Green teas are more delicate.  Use water that has just begun to boil and steep for 3 to 4 minutes.

-Do not, do not squeeze your teabag into your tea, says Bigelow. This releases bitter tannins that destroy flavor.

Lastly, "Remember the tea kettle," someone once said."It is always up to its neck in water, yet it still sings!"

http://www.lef.org/news/LefDailyNews.htm?NewsID=12131&Section=NUTRITION

S.Korean Led Team Announces Cancer Breakthrough.

Research recently conducted, has discovered how certain cancer fighting cells that naturally exist in the body act with various biological stimuli that may, someday, help lead to more effective and targeted cancer therapy. 

Asia Pulse Pte Ltd

10-11-11

SEOUL, Oct 11 Asia Pulse - An international research team led by a South Korean scientist has identified an agent that affects the ability of killer cells already present in human bodies to fight cancer, the science ministry said Tuesday.

Scientists are discovering ways to help "Natural Killer Cells" do their job to fight cancer. The team from the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB) has confirmed that an abundance of newly identified microRNA-27a* (miR-27a*) in the so-called "natural killer cells" inhibits the production of perforin and granzyme, which help fight cancer, according to the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.

"So for natural killer cells, microRNA-27a* is a negative agent," Kim Tae-don, a researcher from KRIBB, said in a telephone interview.

The discovery is significant because scientists did not previously know how the production of perforin and granzyme was controlled.

Laboratory experiments showed that injecting miR-27a* into natural killer cells caused a significant deactivation of the cancer-fighting cells, while an injection of microRNA inhibitor led to significantly increased activities of killer cells, the ministry said.

The research, partly funded by the science ministry, was jointly conducted with a team led by Prof. E. Peter Greenberg from University of Washington. It was published Sept. 30 on the Web site of a U.S. science journal, Blood.

"For effective treatment of cancer, optimizing activities by immune cells such as natural killer cells is an important step," the ministry said in a press release.

"The discovery of miR-27a* will be helpful in strengthening natural killer cells, and can be applied to other immune system cells, which in turn may help develop a cure for cancer."

http://www.lef.org/news/ LefDailyNews.htm?NewsID=11754& Section=DISEASE.

Sweden Accepts Homeopathy As Valid Medical Treatment.

Sweden accepts homeopathy into it's valid medical practices, via the Supreme Administrative Court, and over rules the Swedish Medical Association's prohibition on treatments. 

A ruling by Sweden’s Supreme Administrative court this week struck down the Swedish Medical Association’s prohibition of homeopathy.

Swedish doctors may now recommend it.

The ruling has drawn the usual spears from its competitor of allopathy (common modern medicine), but this time the defense of the embattled doctrine has been joined byMarilyn vos Savant, the woman the Guiness Book of World Records claimed has the world’s greatest IQ for a woman,  rated to be as high as 230.

Savant points out a noted fact, that criticisms of homeopathy bear little or no references. At 12:59 on September 24, 2011 she posted a reply to the announcement that Swedish courts are recognizing homeopathy.

http://www.nationalcenterforhomeopathy.org/content/world’s-smartest-woman-sweden-accept-homeopathy