Posted on Feb 20, 2011 under Cardio & Blood-Cholesterol |
This odd-sounding habit is common among cardiac sufferers. It seems to give a temporary easing of distress, but in the end it merely aggravates it. While difficult to describe, the action is easily’recognized once one knows what to look for. The patient makes a swallowing movement, much as the normal occasional swallowing of saliva, but with a peculiar extra exertion so that a bubble of air is driven down the gullet. The air usually reaches the stomach, where it remains for a few minutes, then is brought up again. Occasionally, it only stays in the gullet for a second or two before being released. In either case, the patient believes that he is bringing gas up from the stomach, and complains of having poor digestion accordingly.
Poor digestion he may well have, but the gas does not come from fermentation. By filling the stomach with air, in a succession of swallows, pressure is exerted upon endings of the vagus nerve. A reflex effect produces a brief feeling of relief, but this counter-irritant action quite soon begins to cause further distress by overdistending the stomach. The air-swallower is usually quite unaware of his habit, and even when his attention is drawn to it he may find it difficult to break. He may continue to produce an abnormal condition in his stomach, with the same distressing mechanical effects as true gastric flatulence. An observant and candid friend can help!
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Posted on Feb 12, 2011 under Cancer |
Ideas about the cause of lung cancer have been so dominated by recognition of the effect of smoking for the last forty years that it is sometimes easy to forget that there may be other important causal factors and that lung cancer still occurs in non-smokers. The effect of smoking is so strong that it can be quite difficult to unravel other causes, because the presence of a few smokers in any group will so alter the statistics. However, there are undoubtedly other factors at work in the development of lung cancer and many of them can now be judged.
Passive smoking and the effects of asbestos and industrial hazards can act through atmospheric pollution to cause lung cancer. General atmospheric pollution by coal smoke was probably not a very important cause of lung cancer, although it may have contributed to some lung cancers in smokers.
Radon gas is radioactive and is present in some rocks. Certain geological conditions allow it to be released from the soil and, in some parts of the world, it appears to accumulate with its radioactive products in houses. In the United Kingdom this is most apparent in Devon and Cornwall and in parts of Derbyshire where the concentration of radon gas in houses may be much higher than in the country in general. However, lung cancer is not especially common in Cornwall and the whole question of a relationship between radon and lung cancer is now the subject of careful examination. Studies from Scandinavia and the United Scares do suggest that there may be a link between background radon concentrations and lung cancer, and if this is confirmed in Britain, some houses may well nerd specialized ventilation.
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Posted on Feb 06, 2011 under Cancer |
Urinary bladder polyps, like colon polyps, can also become cancerous. They are easily removed by surgical procedures, but 70 percent of them will recur or new polyps will form in these patients.
Approximately 120 people have been enrolled in a study being conducted at West Virginia University to test whether four nutrients can decrease the risk of future bladder polyps after surgical removal. Patients were divided into two groups: one group took a multiple vitamin at the Recommended Dietary Allowance levels; the other group took the same multivitamin but additional doses of vitamins А, В6, and C, as well as E. В6 has been known to decrease recurrence rates in bladder cancer studies in humans. Vitamins A and С have been used in used in animal studies with very good results, but vitamin E has never been used in this setting before. While the study is still ongoing, preliminary results again indicate that the extra doses of nutrients have decreased the risk of recurring bladder polyps.
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