Too Much Watching Of TV Can Damage Children's Brain Structure

Watching too much television can change the structure of a child's brain in a damaging way, according to a new study.
Researchers found that the more time a child spent viewing TV, the more profound the brain alterations appeared to be.

The Japanese study looked at 276 children aged between five and 18, who watched between zero and four hours TV per day, with the average being about two hours.

MRI brain scans showed children who spent the most hours in front of the box had greater amounts of grey matter in regions around the frontopolar cortex - the area at the front of the frontal lobe.
But this increased volume was a negative thing as it was linked with lower verbal intelligence, said the authors, from Tohoku University in the city of Sendai.
They suggested grey matter could be compared to body weight and said these brain areas need to be pruned during childhood in order to operate efficiently.

These areas show developmental cortical thinning during development, and children with superior IQs show the most vigorous cortical thinning in this area,’ the team wrote.
They highlighted the fact that unlike learning a musical instrument, for example, programmes we watch on TV ‘do not necessarily advance to a higher level, speed up or vary’.
‘When this type of increase in level of experience does not occur with increasing experience, there is less of an effect on cognitive functioning,’ they wrote.

The authors said the impact of watching TV on the ‘structural development’ of the brain has never before been investigated.
‘In conclusion, TV viewing is directly or indirectly associated with the neurocognitive development of children,’ they wrote.
‘At least some of the observed associations are not beneficial and guardians of children should consider these effects when children view TV for long periods of time.’
The children in the study were an almost even split between girls and boys.
The findings, published in the journal Cerebral Cortex, highlighted an association between TV viewing and changes in the brain but do not prove that TV definitely caused the changes.
Scientists also cannot be sure whether missing out on activities such as reading, playing sports or interacting with friends and family as a result of watching TV could be behind the findings, rather than TV being directly to blame.
But they did say that the frontopolar cortex area of the brain has previously been associated with ‘intellectual abilities'.

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New Chip Raises Hope Of Blindness Reversal

In the effort to check rising vision impairment worldwide, scientists have produced a new prosthetic device that is designed to restore lost vision.
This is contained in a study published in ‘PLOS Biology’. The prosthetic device senses signals and transmits them to the brain by stimulating the cells in the retina – the area at the back of the eye that collects light focused from the lens.
The ‘bionic eye’ senses visual signals and transmits them to the brain, but requires extensive training to help patients’ brain learn to see again. Around the world, an estimated 40 million people are blind, with many of them reaching this condition after years of slow and progressive degeneration. The new study comes from researchers at an Italian public research university, the University of Pisa, who wanted to test the brain’s capacity to process artificial visual inputs.
They focused on seven patients with Retinitis Pigmentosa – an inherited disease that gradually leads to complete blindness. Retinitis pigmentosa is the name given to a group of inherited conditions of the retina that lead to a gradual progressive reduction in vision. With the development of this condition, difficulties with night vision and peripheral vision are the first things that are noticed. Later, reading vision, colour vision, and central vision are affected.
The age at which symptoms start is variable and the rate of deterioration often varies – for example with the different genetic types – but is generally very slow with changes occurring over years rather than months. In approximately half of all cases, there are other family members affected. The researchers then used functional magnetic imaging – technology that measures brain activity by detecting changes associated with blood flow.
This showed that patients learned to recognise unusual visual stimuli, such as bright flashes, and this ability led to increased brain activity. As the patient practiced seeing, the more their brain responded to visual stimuli using the prosthetic implant.
The researchers, led by Maria Concetta Morrone, said: “The boost in response takes a long time and intensive training to appear, being stronger in those subjects who used the prosthetic device more intensely and for a longer time.”
The results suggest that after the device is implanted, the brain undergoes plastic changes to re-learn how to process the visual signals. The fact that after years of blindness, the brain still has some plasticity is highly promising for the further development of new prosthetic implants.

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Why Colon Cancer Is Rising In Nigeria

Doctors treating colorectal cancer in Nigeria have raised the alarm over the rising number of Nigerians coming down with the disease. The doctors under the auspices of the Society for Gastroenterology and Hepatology in Nigeria (SOGHIN) disclosed that more Nigerians above 40 years were coming down with colorectal cancer, blaming the development on the lack of periodic screening to detect the disease early since colon cancer usually don’t have symptoms.
Also, lending his voice to the alert, President of SOGHIN, Prof. Musa Borodo, urged Nigerians to imbibe the habit of periodic screening, especially for colon cancer, which he said was becoming a huge burden in Nigeria especially among people above 40. Bodoro and his colleagues spoke at the opening day of SOGHIN 2016 Conference, which started with a workshop on modern technology and surgical skills at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital ( LUTH).
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), nearly two–thirds of annual mortality worldwide is attributable to non–communicable diseases (NCDs), with 70 per cent estimated to occur in low and middle income countries (LMIC).
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is said to account for over 600, 000 deaths annually. Similarly, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) estimates that CRC is the 5th most common cancer in sub Saharan Africa.
According to the president of SOGHIN, diseases such as CRC, liver cancer, helicobacter pyloris and other infections that occur in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract are usually not easy to detect when looking out for signs and symptoms. Even when the symptoms are obvious, it’s often too late to treat, he added. Bodoro said that was the situation in hospitals at the moment and doctors treating GI diseases were disturbed about this development.

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New Technic Lowers Blood Pressure At No Cost

At a time of recession when households are faced with difficult choices and challenges, the possibility of developing high blood pressure, HBP, surely increases. Going by the findings of a new study, fully relaxing your body and mind for a few minutes a day could lower your blood pressure by about 10 points or more, at no cost and with no side effects.
The new research was conducted by doctors at Benson-Henry Institute for Mind-Body Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School.
The technique developed by Dr. Herbert Benson is called “the relaxation response” and indicated that 32 per cent of those who volunteered to experiment with it were able to eliminate one blood pressure medication and still keep their blood pressure under control, compared with 14 per cent in another group that focused on lifestyle changes to help reduce blood pressure.
Blood pressure is the force that a wave of blood propelled from the heart exerts on the arteries.
It is measured at two points; each measurement is recorded in millimeters of mercury (mm Hg). Systolic pressure gauges the pressure in the arteries at systole, the instant when the heart contracts and pushes a wave of blood along the arterial tree. It is the top number of a blood pressure reading.
On its part, the diastolic pressure reflects the pressure during diastole, the brief period of relaxation between beats. It is the bottom number of a blood pressure reading. The report, titled “Relax your way to lower blood pressure”, is contained in the latest edition of Health beat, a publication of the Harvard Medical School.
The report reads: “The easiest way to lower blood pressure is by popping a pill. It takes just a few seconds and you are finished.
But pills cost money and often have side effects. Fully relaxing your body and your mind for a few minutes a day could lower your systolic blood pressure (the top number of a blood pressure reading) by 10 points or more—at no cost, and with no side effects.”

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10 Strategies To Prevent Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer for men (excluding skin cancer), but the good news is that there are things you can do to stop it from happening to you.

1. Eat your G-BOMBS. G-BOMBS (greens, beans, onions, mushrooms, berries and seeds) have powerful anti-cancer effects. Cruciferous vegetables (greens like broccoli, kale, bok choy, arugula, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, plus cauliflower, radish and more) contain phytochemicals that stimulate the body to detoxify carcinogens, and higher cruciferous vegetable intake is associated with lower prostate cancer risk. Men who consume three or more half-cup servings of cruciferous vegetables per week are 41 percent less likely to develop prostate cancer.
2. Reduce consumption of meat, eggs and dairy. It is widely recognized that a high consumption of animal protein has been linked to a greater risk of prostate cancer. Greater consumption of meat, poultry and fish is associated with higher blood level of IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor-1), which is positively correlated with an increased risk of prostate cancer. There is substantial evidence indicating that men who avoid dairy products are at a lower risk for prostate cancer. One study that spanned 41 countries reported a strong correlation between per capita milk consumption and prostate cancer deaths. For prostate health, avoid or limit animal products to two or fewer servings per week. Plant protein, however is protective—legumes and minimally processed soy products, are associated with decreased risk of prostate cancer.

3. Eat lots of tomatoes, especially cooked. A review of several studies revealed that those who consumed the most tomato-based foods reduced their total risk of prostate cancer by 35 percent and their risk of advanced prostate cancer by 50 percent. Lycopene, which is abundant especially in cooked tomatoes, is believed to be primarily responsible for this benefit. The lycopene in cooked tomatoes is more bioavailable than in raw tomatoes. Tomatoes are extremely nutrient-dense, containing a variety of other protective phytochemicals, such as flavonoids and antioxidant vitamins.

4. Eat plenty of yellow and orange vegetables. In studies, the greater the consumption of carotenoid-rich yellow and orange vegetables, including carrots, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, winter squash and corn, the lower the number of people with prostate cancer.

5. Confirm adequate vitamin D levels with a blood test. Insufficient vitamin D levels are associated with an increased risk of several cancers, including prostate cancer. The safest way to obtain vitamin D is through supplements. Aim for a vitamin D blood level (25(OH)D) between 30 and 45 ng/ml.

6. Do not rely on PSA screening as a method of “early detection” to prevent prostate cancer. About 70 per cent of men with elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) do not actually have cancer. Many scientists think that PSA screening does not reduce prostate cancer-related deaths.

7. Avoid supplemental folic acid. Folic acid is the synthetic form of folate (one of the B vitamins), and is included in most multivitamins. Similar to breast cancer, folic acid supplementation has been associated with increased risk of prostate cancer, whereas food folate is associated with decreased risk. Get natural folate from green vegetables and beans instead of synthetic folic acid from supplements.

8. Avoid fried foods. Potential dietary carcinogens form in foods when high heat cooking methods, such as frying or grilling, are used. Heterocyclic amines (HCAs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are formed in meats, aldehydes are produced in oils and acrylamide is formed in starchy foods and coatings. One study evaluated frequent (once a week or more) consumption of certain fried foods in relation to prostate cancer risk; French fries, fried chicken, fried fish and doughnuts were associated with increased risk.

9. Exercise at least 3 hours a week. Exercise, particularly endurance-type exercise such as walking, running, cycling and swimming, are effective forms of disease protection.

10. Supplement with a conservative amount of zinc. Zinc has been shown in scientific studies to suppress tumor growth and induce prostate cancer cell death. There is evidence that adequate levels of zinc are protective, while deficiency and excess may promote prostate cancer.

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How Environmental Factors Fuel Male Infertility - Prof Oluyemi Akinloye

Nigeria and other countries of the world have continued to witness a sharp rise in male infertility. Unfortunately in some cases, their causes are not known. A Professor of Clinical Chemistry and Molecular Diagnosis, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, CMUL, Prof Oluyemi Akinloye says several men can not achieve their desire to impregnate their female partners due to reasons beyond their control.

“Infertility is a disease of the reproductive system, defined by the failure to achieve a clinical pregnancy after 12 months or more of regular, unprotected sexual intercourse," He said. Akinloye linked involuntary male infertility to hormonal disturbances, environmental factors such as diet and toxic elements, genetic aberrations, improper medical waste disposal by healthcare workers, exposure to environmental pollutants, human activities like occupational factors and climate change. The Professor of Clinical Chemistry and Molecular Diagnosis while presenting his Inaugural Lecture entitled: “The Nigerian Milieu and Genetic Diversity: The Case for Personalised Medicine”, said despite these multi faceted factors, male infertility in Nigeria has suffered significant neglect in reproductive health. Noting that too much attention was being paid to female infertility factors, than that of their male counterparts, he said: "In Nigeria, the male factor contribution to infertility is estimated to be about 54 per cent, based on semen analysis and globally, the male contribution to infertility among couples has been estimated to be about 33 per cent.” 

Akinloye who accused the scientific and medical communities of paying more attention to female factors than that of their male counterpart, identified one of the factors that have contributed significantly to low sperm count and other abnormalities as exposure to heavy metals or toxic elements. “Two of such metals are cadmium and lead and they are in the Nigerian environment. In Nigeria, the burning of fossil fuels such as coal or oil accounts for their gross contamination of food chain and environments," he stated.

He affirmed that studies have shown that half of the cases of human male infertility of unknown causes may be attributable to various environmental and occupational exposures. He maintained that environmental discharge of cadmium due to use of petroleum products in addition to exposure to cadmium via contaminated food or paper, cosmetic remedies put many Nigerians at high risk of cadmium. “Cigarette smoking is also contributing significantly to Cadmium environmental pollution,” he added. He further called for strict implementation of law prohibiting smoking in public places adding that unwilling exposure to second -hand smoke is high in Nigeria and high level of cadmium had been reported as the possible cause of azoospermia, (complete absence of sperm in the ejaculate) in smokers. Continuing, he lamented the effect of lead on the reproductive health of the population, particularly pregnant women where it has been found to cause miscarriage, prematurity, low birth weight and problems with development during childhood. Akinloye said concentration of lead in blood is associated with a decrease in sperm count, sperm volume, sperm motility and morphological alterations.

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Malaria Outbreak: 382 Hospitalised, 48 Die In Sokoto

An outbreak of malaria has claimed no fewer than 48 lives in the Gandu area of Sokoto North Local Government of Sokoto State in the last one month. The Officer in Charge of Kofar Kade Clinic, Mrs Rabi Ahmed-Gandi, disclosed this in Sokoto on Friday when she received the second consignment of free anti-malarial drugs from the State Government. She said: “These deaths were recorded out of the 382 patients who were hospitalised in the hospital during the period under review. The problem had hitherto reached an epidemic level, although it has subsided now.” She attributed the problem to the contamination of the environment sequel to the prevalence of toxic refuse heaps. Ahmed commended the state government for its swift intervention, saying that it has helped to stabilise the ugly situation. The state Commissioner for Health, Dr Balarabe Kakale, said that the state government had provided essential drugs and medicament to the area. Kakale further said that health personnel have also been dispatched to the affected area to augment the staffers at the clinic.

He said: “The Ministry has also commenced a fumigation exercise against mosquitoes. In the same vein, sanitary inspectors have been deployed to the affected areas to help in the clean up. They are also conducting social mobilization campaigns on the need for the residents to ensure environmental and personal hygiene. We are also partnering with the Ministry of Environment and the State Environmental Protection Agency, to team up and evacuate the killer-heaps of refuse.”

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Recurrent Miscarriages Could Be Genetical

Recurrent miscarriages in the first three months of pregnancy in some women could be a result of genetic mutation. This is the findings of a new study published in the ‘Royal Society Journal Open Biology’. The Royal Society Journal Open Biology reported that mutations in the FOXD1 gene could be responsible for half of miscarriages while the other half could be tied to infections, hormonal balance or immune problems. Miscarriage, also known as spontaneous abortion and pregnancy loss, is the natural death of an embryo or foetus before it is able to survive independently.
Some use the cut-off of 20 weeks of gestation after which foetal death is known as a stillbirth. The most common symptoms of a miscarriage is vaginal bleeding with or without pain. However, recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA) is the occurrence of two or more pregnancy losses in the initial 13 weeks of gestation and affects one or two in every 100 pregnancies. According to the study, the mutation of FOXD1 was first discovered in laboratory mice.
Five hundred and fifty women, who had been affected by RSA, were examined to find out if they had mutations of the same gene. Two hundred and seventy-one non- RSA patients were used as control for comparative analysis.
The researchers discovered that a majority of women with RSA possessed the gene mutation of FOXD1. However, findings from the control group led scientists to believe that the gene could have protective abilities when in its normal state:
“Our results have also shown that FOXD1 is possibly a new molecular actor modulating pregnancy maintenance, with mutations associated with ER in mice and RSA in humans".
 Human fertility, like most biological processes in mammals, is assumed to be the result of subtle interaction of gene variants located in different genomic regions, having a quantitative effect and thus called QTL for quantitative trait loci. The Medical Daily reported that FOXD1 isn’t the first gene linked to early pregnancy loss. The MTHFR gene is an enzyme that is involved in amino acid metabolism in the body.
Common mutations in this gene can affect how a person’s body processes homocysteine, an amino acid found in the blood. Women with MTHFR gene mutations are more likely to have elevated levels of homocysteine — a potential risk factor for miscarriages. These mutations can also lead to a decreased ability to metabolize folic acid and other B vitamins.

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Pregnancy: Red Wine Can Boost Female Fertility

A glass of red wine a day could help women who are struggling to get pregnant, experts claim.A chemical compound found in the popular tipple can combat a major cause of female infertility, a new research has revealed.Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is estimated to affect one in five women, but that number could be much higher as almost half of sufferers show no symptoms of the condition.
It causes a hormone imbalance, with the body producing too much testosterone – the male sex hormone which can prevent pregnancy.
But now, researchers in the United States and Poland believe resveratrol – a natural compound in the skin of grapes used to make red wine – can reverse the damaging hormone imbalance.
It adds to past studies that show the compound can help ward off heart disease and some cancers.
Dr Antoni Duleba, lead researcher from the University of California, San Diego, said: “Our study is the first clinical trial to find resveratrol significantly lowers PCOS patients’ levels of testosterone.
“This nutritional supplement can help moderate the hormone imbalance that is one of the central features of PCOS.”

What is Polycystic Ovary Syndrome?
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is a common condition – a leading cause of infertility in women.
The three main features of the condition are:

1. Irregular periods – which means your ovaries do not regularly release eggs
2. Excess androgen – high levels of “male” hormones in the body, which can cause physical symptoms such as excess facial or body hair
3. Polycystic ovaries – enlarged ovaries that contain fluid-filled sacs around the eggs

If you have at least two of these features, it is likely you will be diagnosed with PCOS.
Signs and symptoms include:

• irregular or no periods at all
• difficulty getting pregnant
• excessive hair growth, often on the face, chest and back
• weight gain
• oily skin or acne
• hair loss or thinning hair on the head

Across the world, PCOS is one of the most common causes of infertility in women, the report, published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, noted.
Women suffering PCOS can also suffer irregular periods, weight gain, acne and excess hair growth on the face and body, as well as chronic conditions including diabetes.
Researchers believe it is resveratrol’s anti-inflammatory properties that help tilt the hormone imbalance back to optimum levels for conception.
They tested 30 women with PCOS – giving half a placebo, while the other half took a resveratrol compound once a day for three months.
Blood samples were examined at regular intervals to monitor each woman’s hormone levels.
The researchers noted those women taking resveratrol showed falling levels of testosterone over the course of the trial.
On average testosterone levels in this group of women fell by 23.1 per cent.
That is compared to a 2.9 per cent fall in testosterone among those women taking the placebo.
Dr Duleba said: “The findings suggest resveratrol can improve the body’s ability to use insulin and potentially lower the risk of developing diabetes.
“The supplement may be able to help reduce the risk of metabolic problems common in women with PCOS.”
He said his team also noted added benefits in the fall of other harmful hormones, and the body’s ability to control insulin in the resveratrol group, that was not seen in the women taking placebo.

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High-Stress Jobs Lead To Early Death

Researchers have raised the alarm over the danger posed to employees engaged in high-stress jobs, saying the job might be killing them. A new study has found evidence to back up what many disgruntled employees have been saying all along – your job just might be killing you.
Stress is defined as an organism’s total response to environmental demands or pressures. Stress in humans results from interactions between persons and their environment that are perceived as straining or exceeding their adaptive capacities and threatening their well-being.
Analyzing more than 2,300 people during a seven-year period, the researchers found that employees in high-stress positions who have little decision-making freedom at work were more likely to die young.
Along with this, they said these people often have a higher body mass index, BMI, than employees who have more control at work, as they may eat more, smoke, or engage in other behaviours to cope with the demands of the job.
T he findings suggest that having a higher degree of discretion in your job could help to manage work-related stress, contributing to a longer and healthier life. In the study from Indiana University Kelley School of Business, researchers sampled 2,363 Wisconsin residents in their 60s over a seven-year period. Data were derived from the Wisconsin Longitudinal study, in which more than 10,000 people were interviewed at various intervals over the course of their lives, from 1957 to 2011.
The researchers found troubling trends among employees in stressful jobs: 26 per cent of deaths occurred in people with front line service jobs, while 32 per cent of deaths were among people in manufacturing jobs, who reported high demands and low control at work.
Overall, people in lowcontrol, high-demand jobs showed a 15.4 per cent increase in the likelihood of death compared with those in low demand jobs. But, those with highcontrol at work were linked to a 34 per cent decrease in the likelihood of death, compared with.

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