Stress Management May Prevent MS Brain Lesions

By Salynn Boyles
WebMD Health NewsReviewed by Laura J. Martin, MD

July 11, 2012 -- Teaching MS patients how to deal with stress can improve their quality of life -- and may also prevent or slow down formation of new brain lesions, according to a new study.Patients with multiple sclerosis who attended stress managementtherapy sessions for six months had fewer new brain lesions from disease flare-ups and slower disease progression during their treatment, Northwestern University researcher David C. Mohr, PhD, and colleagues found.The findings, published in the July 11 issue of the journal Neurology, add to evidence that stress management can slow MS disease activity."People who got the stress management training had significant reductions in the incidence of new brain lesions while enrolled in the weekly sessions," Mohr tells WebMD.But the improvement disappeared when the weekly sessions ended, suggesting that more sustained therapy may be needed, he says.

Stress Management and MS

Mohr says stress management therapy may be a useful addition to MS drugs. He has spent more than a decade researching the impact of depression and stress on MS progression.The new study included 121 MS patients randomly assigned either to a stress management treatment group or to a group that got no stress management training.The treatment group received 16 sessions delivered over a six-month period. Sessions focused on helping patients recognize and evaluate potentially stressful situations. They were also taught relaxation and meditation techniques to help them cope with stressful events that could not be avoided.Continue Reading

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Head retraction exercises

These exercises are just what they are called, retracting or bringing the head back.Standing or sitting up straight, look straight ahead and allow yourself to completely relax. Move your head slowly and steadily backward until it is pulled back as far as you can go. Be sure not to tilt your head up or down but glide it straight back. I find doing this in front of a mirror and using one of your index fingers on your chin will help guide you.

Imagining a track your head is sliding on also helps. Once you bring the head back, hold for a 3 to 5 count and relax. Repeat for only 5 repetitions your first time performing them. Each day do another rep or two until you have worked up to 20 repetitions. Then, move on to using resistance below.

Head retraction against pressure

Perform this same exercise but with your hands holding gentle pressure against your head in the back. This creates some resistance making your muscles work a little harder. Like you are doing crunches, place both hands behind your head; perform the exercise above only with a little resistance of your hands. Only do this exercise once you are comfortable without the resistance. Also, if still in acute pain Do Not do this yet; wait until you have gotten pain to subside. You can also do this one standing against a wall or lying down flat on the bed or even with a towel or elastic band for resistance.

Additional Reading Resources

• Forward Head Posture
• Arc4life- Your choice for neck pain, lower back pain and headache pain relief. Neck Pillows, neck traction, lower back pain relief and hot and cold therapy.
• The Dreaded Hunchback - How to Correct That Area of Your Upper Back That Pops Out and Looks Funny!
• Joint Restrictions Will Put Additional Stress on Discs
• The Neck Pain Relief Shop

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Lies, Damned Lies and Health Care
‘Facts’

(CC) Secom Bahia/Flickr

Our Main Health Care Problem: Severe Truth Decay

There have been some serious misrepresentations made of the Affordable Health Care Act. There have also been some gross exaggerations of its scope and authority. And then there have been some lies bordering so closely on actual insanity that your jaw falls open when you hear them seriously enunciated.

• Abortions will be available without parental consent to twelve-year-olds: Lie.
• Parents who refuse to have their children vaccinated will be guilty of a felony: Lie.
• All Muslim Americans will receive special care from Muslim M.D.s practicing Sharia medicine, which is like Sharia law except… medical: Lie.
• The whole “death panels” nonsense, a morbidly Damoclean fantasy without a shred of truth to it: Dismayingly successful lie.

What there have not been, you may have noticed, are any similarly raving-alarmist claims being made about the alternate health care plan offered by Mitt Romney and the Republican Party. The foremost reason for this lack is that nobody seems to have a clear idea of what that plan is. Most people, even in politics, find it hard to distort the positions of others when they don’t know what those positions are.

But some of us know a wide open opportunity when we see it, and are not finicky in seizing that opportunity for purposes of snarky amusement. And so, purely in the spirit of leveling the playing field, I am happy to leak to the public a few of the terrible ghastly little-known horrifying details that lurk in the Romney/Republican Health Care Plan.

• All unhealthy medical conditions of any kind are henceforth to be considered pre-existing, including injury due to occupational, recreational, automotive or other type of accident.
• Gunshot wounds are specifically not covered because guns don’t hurt people, people hurt people.
• Children’s coverage under their parents’ health insurance will terminate, and they will be required to begin purchasing their own, when they reach the age of Biblical maturity, that being 13 years (or younger in certain states… you know who you are).
• Emergency rooms will be required to turn away all prospective patients who are unable to provide a birth certificate or other notarized proof of American citizenship upon arrival. Expensive ambulance service will be replaced by economical transportation involving crates on the roof of passenger cars.
• Pharmacists and drugstore employees may refuse to sell any product to anyone whenever the notion of doing so strikes them as sinful or improper, including but not limited to all forms of contraception, erectile dysfunction medications, lubricants and massage oils, depilatories, really slutty nail polish, lip gloss and other cosmetics, suggestive greeting cards and scented candles.
• To simplify and speed up the current, unwieldy organ transplant procedure, donor organs will henceforth simply be awarded to the highest bidder. The donation for sale of one’s organs will become legal, and will be overseen by a nationwide Organ Exchange. The auction of one’s organs will additionally be permitted, and in some cases required, in order to meet the payment of debts.
• Medicare will gradually be phased out and replaced by a health-maintenance program known as Prayer.

By now, some readers have probably taken offense at this gag, but the sorry truth about our health care debate is that “debate” is actually too dignified a term for the seamy level of public discourse on the subject, and the jabs above are no more preposterous, tasteless or offensive than much of the hysterical drivel that is even now being peddled in and by the media with a straight face.

And the worst thing about this is that it ultimately repels us, leaves us so wearied and disgusted by the subject of health care that we want to cover our ears. Just the other day a national survey reported that nearly 60 percent of us are tired of hearing arguments about Obamacare already, and wish everyone would just drop the subject.

That’s where the ranting and raving on all sides has has brought us to: We are sick of having to think about our health care. And that’s not healthy.

(By Robert S. Wieder for CalorieLab Calorie Counter News):

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Lies, Damned Lies and Health Care ‘Facts’ is a post from: CalorieLab - Health News & Information Blog

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Quit Smoking Gain Weight Still Better Off

I found this article about weight gain after you quit smoking over at the CBC Canada website and thought it was an interesting study. As I have written before, I smoked for many years and would actually put out my cigarette on my way into the gym but once I tackled my smoking habit over and [...]

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http://www.fitnesstipsforlife.com/quit-smoking-gain-weight-still-better-off.html

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Tips to Create Your Own Smoothie Recipes

Featured blog post by guest blogger, Brittany Angell, of www.realsustenance.com and author of "Essential Gluten Free Baking Guides Part 1 & 2". 

A delicious smoothie can make any day better.  Easy to make and a quick meal on the go it’s a great excuse to eat your fruit (and veggies too) in a way that even a kid could not deny.

Creating your own smoothies is both easy and fun.  Use the following guide to get started. Use water or your favorite variety of milk (dairy or non dairy) in your smoothies to gain the desired thickness. 

1.  Select a neutral base.

2.  Add in the fruit that you wish to flavor the smoothie with and combine with base.

3.  Add in any additional flavor add-ons such as cocoa powder or an extract.

4.  Add nutritional booster of choice to increase health benefits of smoothie.

5.  If you would like your smoothie sweeter, add a little at a time a natural sweetener. 

Mix and match the following ingredients to create a variety of smoothies: 

Neutral Base (Use Frozen) :

Banana

Avocado

Peaches

Mango

Melon such as cantaloupe or honeydew.

 

Add in Fruits and or Veggies:

Berries:  Strawberries, Blueberries, Blackberries, Blueberries and cherries.

Spinach (Fresh of Frozen) Kale, or other leafy green of choice.

Pineapple

Apples or Ripe Pears

Grapes

Figs 

 

Flavor add-ons:

Cocoa Powder

Carob Powder

Coffee

A Nut or Seed Butter

Juice such as: Orange, Apple or Grape.

Lemon or Lime Juice

Extracts such as Vanilla, Almond or Hazelnut.

Fresh Mint Leaves 

 

Nutritional Boosters:

Wellesse Liquid Vitamins and Supplements (which are certified gluten-free)

Ground Flax Meal

Almond  or Coconut Flour

Acai Powder

Maca Powder

Lucuma Powder

Pomegranate Powder

Chia Seeds

Hemp Seeds

Coconut Flakes

Plain Sugar Free Yoghurt 

 

Natural Sweeteners:

Stevia (Powdered or Liquid)

Coconut Nectar

Honey

Maple Syrup  

 

Flavor Ideas: Peanut Butter Banana, Banana Pineapple, Strawberry Banana, Chocolate Banana, Vanilla Banana, Strawberry Beach, Citrus Melon, Chocolate Cherry Avocado, Orange Peach, Blueberry Peach, Orange Creamsicle, Mint Chocolate. Mojito (Avocado, Mint and Lime).  Chocolate Hazelnut Avocado.

Be sure to try my latest smoothie recipe Sugar & Dairy Free Chocolate Shake with Wellesse Liquid Calcium for added nutrition boost pictured above!  So tasty and good for you too!  Smoothies are a great alternative way to take your liquid supplements for a little change of pace.

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s

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With help from the DoD, Researchers Developing
New Multiple Sclerosis Drug That Can Be Taken Orally

MENLO PARK, Calif., July 10, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- The Department of Defense (DoD) has awarded SRI International a one-year grant to develop a novel therapy for multiple sclerosis (MS), an autoimmune nervous system disease that affects about 400,000 people in the United States and more than two million people worldwide. There is currently no cure for this disorder, which can impair vision and movement.The grant, funded through DoD's Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs, will support the development of an oral drug that targets miR-326, a molecule recently found to stimulate the production of immune system mediators known as T-helper 17 (Th17) cells. Patients with MS have high levels of miR-326, and Th17 is thought to play a critical role in causing MS and other autoimmune diseases. The new therapy will inhibit miR-326 and block the production of Th17 cells.The novel, orally administered drug will be more convenient for patients than currently available treatments. MS treatments today often require frequent hospital visits for injections or intravenous infusions. The new drug could also help patients who do not respond to existing medications, or who experience significant side effects as a result of taking them."New and more convenient and effective therapeutics for multiple sclerosis are greatly needed," said Jennifer Lam, Ph.D., a research scientist in SRI's Biosciences Division who is spearheading the project. "Our research is directed toward the development of a novel oral therapeutic as well as a deeper understanding of the mechanisms that contribute to MS."The project described was supported by Award Numbers W81XWH-11-1-0736 from the U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity. The content of the information does not necessarily reflect the position or the policy of the Government, and no official endorsement should be inferredREAD complete article here
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Watching Athletic Hydration During Summer

Athletic Hydration is a big issue this Summer with temperatures around the country being so high. I am always concerned about hydration when I exercise but in the summer months when it is hard to stay hydrated even when doing nothing it is even more critical to keep your water and electrolytes up. Proper hydration plays a critical [...]

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Lab Notes: Obesity in Pregnancy May Lower
Babies’ Iron; Heaviest Living Woman Losing Weight with Sex

On our Lab Notes page CalorieLab’s editors select and rank the day’s essential health news items in real time. Readers can suggest, vote and comment on items. Below are brief summaries of yesterday’s (July 10, 2012) Lab Notes items. To see today’s items, visit Lab Notes.

1. Obesity in Pregnancy May Lower Babies’ Iron

Obesity during pregnancy may increase the likelihood of having babies with low iron levels because of increased levels of a hormone that makes the transfer of iron from mom to fetus less efficient, according to results from a small study.

2. Heaviest Living Woman Losing Weight with Sex

Pauline Potter of Sacramento, California, the Guinness World Records holder of the title World’s Heaviest Living Woman, has reunited with her ex-husband Alex for sex sessions that are helping her shed pounds.

3. CDC Tells You How to Survive a Wedding

Planning for a wedding isn’t so different from planning for a disaster, says the CDC.

4. Cranberries Really Do Help Prevent UTIs

Women with recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs) may benefit from drinking cranberry juice often or consuming other cranberry-containing products, say researchers who evaluated 13 studies on the effectiveness of preventing UTIs with cranberries.

5. Sit Less; Live Longer

Want to live longer? Sit less, says a new study.

(By CalorieLab editors)

Lab Notes: Obesity in Pregnancy May Lower Babies’ Iron; Heaviest Living Woman Losing Weight with Sex is a post from: CalorieLab - Health News & Information Blog

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Beware the so-called immune boosters

July 11, 2012


Written by Stuart Schlossman



There is much talk these days from medical professionals (like Dr. Oz) who claims things like Vitamin D3 being an immune Booster (and good for people with Neurological dysfunction)
The same from people and clinicians who swear by Bee sting Therapy and other meds, foods (such as watermelon) and various supplements
I asked a neurologist if he could explain the difference of an Immune Booster vs. strengthening the immune system (like Vitamin C or Echinacea)?
I asked because we are always hearing that we (with ms) need to suppress our immune systems


Here is the Neurologists' reply to the question I asked above:



Stuart,The term immune booster is misleading.  No one wants to boost the immune system in any autoimmune disease, especially MS.  The real key is how to balance the anti-inflammatory aspects of the immune system against the pro-inflammatory aspects.  The MS drugs are ?immune system modifyers? because they push the immune system towards the anti-inflammatory side, especially in those parts of the immune system pertinent to MS.  Nearly all the claims made by those making supplements are theoretical and have not been studied in patients.  Therefore, they may have as much of a chance of producing harm as good.  At best, they are costly, with no proven benefit.  Even  vitamin C has shown conflicting benefit.   Echinacea has been shown NOT to be of any value, yet people still try to push it to ?boost? the immune system.
Hope this is useful,Scott L. Gold, M.D.  MSVN medical advisory board  

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