Saturday
Stronger placebo effect
Like massage, acupuncture is difficult to study because it's hard to give a "fake" massage or "placebo" acupuncture. Says Clauw: "In 'sham' or placebo controlled trials in chronic pain, more studies have shown that acupuncture doesn't work. But that doesn't necessarily mean that it's not effective—it might be that there really is no such thing as sham acupuncture. Acupuncture might somehow be effective in engendering a placebo response." Whether that matters if someone feels significant pain relief is a question only the patient can answer. "The best evidence that it's effective is that a lot people will pay out of pocket to use it," he says.
Clauw himself conducted a fascinating imaging study of acupuncture, finding that while patients with fibromyalgia reported decreased pain with both fake and real acupuncture, fake acupuncture affected brain opioid receptors in a way that was more comparable to that seen with placebo. "Sham acupuncture may work via placebo effects and active acupuncture may work by more specific effects. That could help explain why trials don't show much difference," he says.
Some have claimed that electroacupuncture—which runs a small current through acupuncture needles—is more effective than needles alone, but Clauw says it's even harder to parse out placebo effects here. "It may give a stronger placebo effect," he says. For people in pain, however, that could be a good thing.
related pain relief:
Friday
Cafergot tablets buy
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Cafergot tablets buy
Ergotamine/caffeine (Rectal)
Caffeine (KAF-een), Ergotamine (er-GOT-a-meen)
Treats or prevents migraine and cluster headaches.
Brand Name(s):
Cafergot,Migergot
There may be other brand names for this medicine.
When Cafergot Should Not Be Used:
You should not use this medicine if you have had an allergic reaction to ergotamine or caffeine, or if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. You should not use this medicine if you have high blood pressure, kidney disease, liver disease, heart disease, blood vessel disorders, or problems with circulation.
How to Use Cafergot:
Suppository
Your doctor will tell you how much of this medicine(Cafergot) to use and how often. Do not use more medicine or use it more often than your doctor tells you to. Never take rectal suppositories by mouth.
Wash your hands with soap and water before using Cafergot. Remove the foil or wrapper from the suppository before inserting it.
To make the suppository easier to insert, you may use a lubricating gel such as K-Y® Jelly, but do not use petroleum jelly (Vaseline®).
Lie on your left side with your left leg straight or slightly bent, and your right knee bent upward. Gently push the pointed end of the suppository into the rectum about 1 inch.
Keep lying down for about 15 minutes to keep the suppository from coming out before it melts. Then, wash your hands again.
How to Store and Dispose of Cafergot:
Store Cafergot at room temperature, away from heat and direct light. Follow the directions on the medicine package label about storing the suppositories in the refrigerator, but do not freeze them.
Keep all medicine out of the reach of children and never share your medicine with anyone.
Drugs and Foods to Avoid:
Ask your doctor or pharmacist before using any other medicine, including over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal products.
Make sure your doctor knows if you are also using dopamine (Intropin®), sibutramine (Meridia®), antibiotics (such as Biaxin®, Dynabac®, Ery-Tab®), blood pressure medicine (such as atenolol, metoprolol, Inderal®, Toprol®), medicines to treat HIV/AIDS (Agenerase®, Crixivan®, Invirase®, Norvir®, Rescriptor®, Sustiva®, Viracept®), or other medicines to treat migraine headaches (Amerge®, Imitrex®, Maxalt®, Zomig?).
Do not drink alcohol while you are using this medicine. Avoid caffeine (coffee, tea, soft drinks, chocolate).
Smoking may make your headaches worse or increase the side effects of this medicine.
Warnings While Using This Medicine:
Make sure your doctor knows if you are breastfeeding, or if you have a stomach ulcer, glaucoma, or history of a stroke.
If you feel that the medicine is not working as well, do not use more than your prescribed dose. Call your doctor for instructions.
Possible Side Effects While Using Cafergot:
Call your doctor right away if you notice any of these side effects:
Fast or slow heartbeat
Lightheadedness or fainting
Numbness or tingling in your fingers or toes
Pain or discomfort behind your breastbone
Pain, itching, or irritation around your rectum
Skin rash, swelling, or itching
Vomiting, numbness, tingling feeling, or pain and blue discoloration of your hands and feet
If you notice these less serious side effects, talk with your doctor:
Muscle pain
Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or stomach pain
Nervousness, irritability, dizziness
Weakness in your legs
If you notice other side effects that you think are caused by this medicine, tell your doctor.
`
Cafergot tablets buy
Ergotamine/caffeine (Rectal)
Caffeine (KAF-een), Ergotamine (er-GOT-a-meen)
Treats or prevents migraine and cluster headaches.
Brand Name(s):
Cafergot,Migergot
There may be other brand names for this medicine.
When Cafergot Should Not Be Used:
You should not use this medicine if you have had an allergic reaction to ergotamine or caffeine, or if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. You should not use this medicine if you have high blood pressure, kidney disease, liver disease, heart disease, blood vessel disorders, or problems with circulation.
How to Use Cafergot:
Suppository
Your doctor will tell you how much of this medicine(Cafergot) to use and how often. Do not use more medicine or use it more often than your doctor tells you to. Never take rectal suppositories by mouth.
Wash your hands with soap and water before using Cafergot. Remove the foil or wrapper from the suppository before inserting it.
To make the suppository easier to insert, you may use a lubricating gel such as K-Y® Jelly, but do not use petroleum jelly (Vaseline®).
Lie on your left side with your left leg straight or slightly bent, and your right knee bent upward. Gently push the pointed end of the suppository into the rectum about 1 inch.
Keep lying down for about 15 minutes to keep the suppository from coming out before it melts. Then, wash your hands again.
How to Store and Dispose of Cafergot:
Store Cafergot at room temperature, away from heat and direct light. Follow the directions on the medicine package label about storing the suppositories in the refrigerator, but do not freeze them.
Keep all medicine out of the reach of children and never share your medicine with anyone.
Drugs and Foods to Avoid:
Ask your doctor or pharmacist before using any other medicine, including over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal products.
Make sure your doctor knows if you are also using dopamine (Intropin®), sibutramine (Meridia®), antibiotics (such as Biaxin®, Dynabac®, Ery-Tab®), blood pressure medicine (such as atenolol, metoprolol, Inderal®, Toprol®), medicines to treat HIV/AIDS (Agenerase®, Crixivan®, Invirase®, Norvir®, Rescriptor®, Sustiva®, Viracept®), or other medicines to treat migraine headaches (Amerge®, Imitrex®, Maxalt®, Zomig?).
Do not drink alcohol while you are using this medicine. Avoid caffeine (coffee, tea, soft drinks, chocolate).
Smoking may make your headaches worse or increase the side effects of this medicine.
Warnings While Using This Medicine:
Make sure your doctor knows if you are breastfeeding, or if you have a stomach ulcer, glaucoma, or history of a stroke.
If you feel that the medicine is not working as well, do not use more than your prescribed dose. Call your doctor for instructions.
Possible Side Effects While Using Cafergot:
Call your doctor right away if you notice any of these side effects:
Fast or slow heartbeat
Lightheadedness or fainting
Numbness or tingling in your fingers or toes
Pain or discomfort behind your breastbone
Pain, itching, or irritation around your rectum
Skin rash, swelling, or itching
Vomiting, numbness, tingling feeling, or pain and blue discoloration of your hands and feet
If you notice these less serious side effects, talk with your doctor:
Muscle pain
Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or stomach pain
Nervousness, irritability, dizziness
Weakness in your legs
If you notice other side effects that you think are caused by this medicine, tell your doctor.
Thursday
Bunch of grapes help to fight high blood pressure
Could eating a bunch of grapes help to fight high blood pressure related to a salty diet? Could they also calm other factors that are also related to heart diseases such as failure of the heart? You'd be amazed at what those oval rounds of goodness have packed inside their black, red or green skin.
A new study conducted by the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center gives tantalizing clues to the potential of grapes in reducing the risk of cardiovascular complications. The effect is thought to be due to the high level of phytochemicals, which are naturally occurring antioxidants that grapes contain.
The current study was performed on laboratory rats. The researchers studied the effects that regular table grapes (a blend of black, green and red grapes) that were mixed into the rat diet in a powdered form, as part of either a diet low in salt or a diet high in salt. The researchers then performed many comparisons between the rats that were consuming the test diet and the control rats that were receiving no grape powder—including some that had received a mild dose of a common blood pressure medication. All of the rats were from a research breed that is prone to developing high blood pressure when they are fed a salty diet.
Mitchell Seymour, M.S., who lead the research as part of his doctoral work in nutrition science at the Michigan State University, said that in all, after 18 weeks, the rats that had received the diet with the grape-powder had reduced inflammation in their bodies, lower blood pressure, better heart function, and fewer signs of heart muscle damage that the rats that had eaten the same salty diet but did not receive any grapes. The rats that received the blood pressure pill, hydrazine, along with the salty diet also had lower blood pressure, but their hearts were not protected from damage as the rats in the grape-fed group. "These findings support out theory that something within the grapes themselves has a direct impact on cardiovascular risk, beyond the simple blood pressure-lowering impact that we already know can come from a diet rich in fruits and vegetables."
Steve Bolling, M.D., who is a professor of cardiac surgery at the U-M Medical School, notes that the rats in the study were in a put in a similar situation as millions of Americans, who have suffered from high blood pressure related to their diet, and who develop heart failure over time because of the prolonged hypertension. He also stated that the inevitable downhill sequence from hypertension to heart failure was changed by adding the grape powder to a high salt diet. Bolling explained, " Although there are many natural compounds in the grape powder itself that may have an effect, the things that we think are having an effect against the hypertension may be the flavanoids—either by direct antioxidant effects, by indirect effects on cell function, or both. These flavanoids are rich in all parts of the grape—skin, flesh, seed, all of which were in our powder."
Although the current study was supported in part by the California Table Grape Commission, which also supplied the researchers with the grape powder, the authors note that the commission played no role in the design of the study, analysis, conduct, or preparation of the journal article for publication. Seymour has also received funding from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood institute, which is part of the National Institutes of Health, through a National Research Science Award.
This does not mean it is time to tell patients to throw all of their medication away and just eat grapes. However, the research on the grapes and other fruits that contain high levels of antioxidant phytochemicals continues to show promise. So does the research on the impact of red wine on the heath of the heart, though that issue is also far from being settled.
Bolling suggested that if people wish to lower their blood pressure, reduce the risk of having heart failure, or help their weakened hearts retain as much pumping power as possible should follow tried-and-true advice: Cut down on the amount of salt that you get through your drink and food. "There is, as we know, a great variability, perhaps genetic even, in sensitivity to salt and causing hypertension. Some people are very sensitive to salt intake, some are only moderately so, and there are perhaps some people who are salt resistant. But in general we say stay away from excess salt."
He also notes that the popular DASH diet, which is low in salt and high in vegetables and fruits, has been proven to reduce mild high blood pressure without taking any medications. The dose of whole table grape powder that was consumed in the new study was roughly equivalent to a person eating nine human-sized servings of grapes daily. Currently, five to nine servings of vegetables and fruits are recommended as part of the Dash diet plan.
In all, the researchers say that this study demonstrates that a diet enriched with grapes can have broad effects on the development of hypertension and the risk factor that come along with it. Whether the effect can be replicated on humans, the researchers say, remains yet to be seen.
http://www.healthnews.com/nutrition-diet/grapes-newest-heart-healthy-food-2044.html
A new study conducted by the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center gives tantalizing clues to the potential of grapes in reducing the risk of cardiovascular complications. The effect is thought to be due to the high level of phytochemicals, which are naturally occurring antioxidants that grapes contain.
The current study was performed on laboratory rats. The researchers studied the effects that regular table grapes (a blend of black, green and red grapes) that were mixed into the rat diet in a powdered form, as part of either a diet low in salt or a diet high in salt. The researchers then performed many comparisons between the rats that were consuming the test diet and the control rats that were receiving no grape powder—including some that had received a mild dose of a common blood pressure medication. All of the rats were from a research breed that is prone to developing high blood pressure when they are fed a salty diet.
Mitchell Seymour, M.S., who lead the research as part of his doctoral work in nutrition science at the Michigan State University, said that in all, after 18 weeks, the rats that had received the diet with the grape-powder had reduced inflammation in their bodies, lower blood pressure, better heart function, and fewer signs of heart muscle damage that the rats that had eaten the same salty diet but did not receive any grapes. The rats that received the blood pressure pill, hydrazine, along with the salty diet also had lower blood pressure, but their hearts were not protected from damage as the rats in the grape-fed group. "These findings support out theory that something within the grapes themselves has a direct impact on cardiovascular risk, beyond the simple blood pressure-lowering impact that we already know can come from a diet rich in fruits and vegetables."
Steve Bolling, M.D., who is a professor of cardiac surgery at the U-M Medical School, notes that the rats in the study were in a put in a similar situation as millions of Americans, who have suffered from high blood pressure related to their diet, and who develop heart failure over time because of the prolonged hypertension. He also stated that the inevitable downhill sequence from hypertension to heart failure was changed by adding the grape powder to a high salt diet. Bolling explained, " Although there are many natural compounds in the grape powder itself that may have an effect, the things that we think are having an effect against the hypertension may be the flavanoids—either by direct antioxidant effects, by indirect effects on cell function, or both. These flavanoids are rich in all parts of the grape—skin, flesh, seed, all of which were in our powder."
Although the current study was supported in part by the California Table Grape Commission, which also supplied the researchers with the grape powder, the authors note that the commission played no role in the design of the study, analysis, conduct, or preparation of the journal article for publication. Seymour has also received funding from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood institute, which is part of the National Institutes of Health, through a National Research Science Award.
This does not mean it is time to tell patients to throw all of their medication away and just eat grapes. However, the research on the grapes and other fruits that contain high levels of antioxidant phytochemicals continues to show promise. So does the research on the impact of red wine on the heath of the heart, though that issue is also far from being settled.
Bolling suggested that if people wish to lower their blood pressure, reduce the risk of having heart failure, or help their weakened hearts retain as much pumping power as possible should follow tried-and-true advice: Cut down on the amount of salt that you get through your drink and food. "There is, as we know, a great variability, perhaps genetic even, in sensitivity to salt and causing hypertension. Some people are very sensitive to salt intake, some are only moderately so, and there are perhaps some people who are salt resistant. But in general we say stay away from excess salt."
He also notes that the popular DASH diet, which is low in salt and high in vegetables and fruits, has been proven to reduce mild high blood pressure without taking any medications. The dose of whole table grape powder that was consumed in the new study was roughly equivalent to a person eating nine human-sized servings of grapes daily. Currently, five to nine servings of vegetables and fruits are recommended as part of the Dash diet plan.
In all, the researchers say that this study demonstrates that a diet enriched with grapes can have broad effects on the development of hypertension and the risk factor that come along with it. Whether the effect can be replicated on humans, the researchers say, remains yet to be seen.
http://www.healthnews.com/nutrition-diet/grapes-newest-heart-healthy-food-2044.html
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