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Herbal remedies may help kids with gastrointestinal issues

[email protected] (Agencies)
May 6, 2017

May 6: Many parents of children with debilitating gastrointestinal disorders may be frustrated by the lack of good treatment options and tempted to try herbal remedies at home, but a new study suggests they should proceed with caution.

medicineResearchers examined data from 14 previously published studies with a total of 1,927 children suffering from problems like diarrhea, dehydration, colic, constipation, abdominal pain and irritable bowel syndrome. They didn’t have enough data to combine results from multiple small studies to offer definitive proof that herbal remedies might work for any of these health problems.

But some of the small studies did suggest certain herbal medicines might help ease diarrhea, abdominal pain and colic. And the studies didn’t find serious side effects associated with herbal remedies.“The lack of conclusive research is unfortunately a general problem in pediatrics, but a special problem in herbal medicine is that for many herbal remedies no licensed and standardized products are available,” said lead study author Dr. Dennis Anheyer of the University of Duisburg-Essen in Germany.

In other words, even if evidence shows an herb may be safe and effective for a specific health problem, that doesn’t necessarily mean that every single version of that herb available for sale would work as well or be free of side effects.

When researchers looked at four studies with a total of 424 participants, they found some evidence suggesting that a variety of herbal remedies might help diarrhea: a plant in the rose family called potentilla erecta, carob bean juice, and an herbal compound preparation with chamomile.

One study with 120 participants also suggests that peppermint oil might help curb the duration, frequency and severity chronic abdominal pain that doesn’t have a clear medical explanation.And, fennel might help ease colic symptoms in babies according to a review of five small studies of herbal remedies for infant colic.

While it’s possible herbal remedies might be used in addition to traditional medications or to help reduce reliance on drug therapy, parents should still see a doctor before trying out herbal therapies on their own, Anheyer said by email.

Another reason for caution is that even the studies in the current analysis that found herbal remedies effective don’t show how large the effects are, noted Dr. Peter Lucassen, a researcher at Radboud University Medical Center in the Netherlands who wasn’t involved in the study.

These small studies might get results that find herbs are statistically better than no treatment or alternative therapies, but the difference still might not be big enough to have a meaningful clinical impact on patients’ symptoms, Lucassen said by email.“I would not advocate any of the herbal medicine because the article does not provide any data about how large the effects are,” Lucassen said.

Often, herbal remedies combine a variety of ingredients and use differing amounts of the main ingredients, which may alter how well they work and how safe they are for kids, Lucassen added. They might also contain chemicals not found in prescription medications that have dangerous side effects or a risk of overdose.

And there’s another reason parents shouldn’t try herbal remedies without seeing a doctor.“Delayed diagnosis might be the result of herbal medications because parents seek help too late because they try the herbs first,” Lucassen said.

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News Network
February 4,2020

Boston, Feb 4: Practising yoga may increase levels of a messenger molecule involved in regulating brain activity, and completing one yoga class per week may maintain elevated levels of this chemical, according to a study which may lead to better ways of mitigating depressive symptoms.

The study, published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, assessed a group of 30 clinically depressed patients who were randomly divided into two groups.

According to the researchers, including those from Boston University in the US, both groups engaged in coherent breathing, and Iyengar yoga -- a form of hatha yoga, developed by B. K. S. Iyengar, emphasising on detail, precision, and alignment in the performance of yoga postures.

The only difference between the groups, the scientists said, was the number of 90 minute yoga sessions, and home sessions in which each group participated.

Over three months, they said, the high-dose group (HDG) was assigned three sessions per week, while the low-intensity group (LIG) engaged in two sessions per week.

The participants underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of their brain before the first and after the last yoga session, and also completed a clinical depression scale to monitor their symptoms, the study noted.

Results of the study revealed that both groups had improvement in depressive symptoms after three months.

Their MRI analysis showed that levels of the brain messenger molecule GABA were elevated after three months of yoga, as compared to the levels before starting yoga.

According to the study, this increase was found for approximately four days after the last yoga session, but the rise was no longer observed after about eight days.

"The study suggests that the associated increase in GABA levels after a yoga session are 'time-limited' similar to that of pharmacologic treatments such that completing one session of yoga per week may maintain elevated levels of GABA," explained study co-author Chris Streeter from Boston University.

Providing evidence-based data may help in getting more individuals to try yoga as a strategy for improving their health and well-being, the scientists said.

"A unique strength of this study is that pairing the yoga intervention with brain imaging provides important neurobiological insight as to the 'how' yoga may help to alleviate depression and anxiety," said study co-author Marisa Silveri from Harvard University.

In this study, we found that an important neurochemical, GABA, which is related to mood, anxiety, and sleep, is significantly increased in association with a yoga intervention," Silveri said.

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Agencies
February 6,2020

Researchers have found the rates of lung cancer are higher in young women than men.

The study, published in the journal Pediatrics, examined lung cancer rates in young adults in 40 countries across five continents and uncovered a trend of higher lung cancer rates in women compared with men in recent years.

The emerging trend was widespread, affecting countries across varied geographic locations and income levels.

The changes appeared to be driven by a rising rate of adenocarcinoma lung cancer among women, said the study researchers from University of Calgary in Canada.

Lung cancer rates have been higher among men than women because men started smoking in large numbers earlier and smoked at higher rates; however, recent studies have reported converging lung cancer incidence rates between sexes.

Among men, age specific lung cancer incidence rates generally decreased in all countries, while in women the rates varied across countries with the trends in most countries stable or declining, albeit at a slower pace compared to those in men.

For the findings, lung and bronchial cancer cases between 30-64 age group from 1993-2012 were extracted from cancer incidence in five continents.

The study found the higher emerging rates of lung cancer in young women compared to young men.

According to the researchers, future studies are needed to identify reasons for the elevated incidence of lung cancer among young women.

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Agencies
July 7,2020

The World Health Organization (WHO) is reviewing a report that suggested its advice on the novel coronavirus needs updating after some scientists told the New York Times there was evidence the virus could be spread by tiny particles in the air.

The WHO says the Covid-19 disease spreads primarily through small droplets, which are expelled from the nose and mouth when an infected person breaths them out in coughs, sneezes, speech or laughter and quickly sink to the ground.

In an open letter to the Geneva-based agency, 239 scientists in 32 countries outlined the evidence they say shows that smaller exhaled particles can infect people who inhale them, the newspaper said on Saturday.

Because those smaller particles can linger in the air longer, the scientists - who plan to publish their findings in a scientific journal this week - are urging WHO to update its guidance, the Times said.

"We are aware of the article and are reviewing its contents with our technical experts," WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic said in an email reply on Monday to a Reuters request for comment.

The extent to which the coronavirus can be spread by the so-called airborne or aerosol route - as opposed to by larger droplets in coughs and sneezes - remains disputed.

Any change in the WHO's assessment of the risk of transmission could affect its current advice on keeping one-metre physical distancing. Governments, which also rely on the agency for guidance policy, may also have to adjust public health measures aimed at curbing the spread of the virus.

"Especially in the last couple of months, we have been stating several times that we consider airborne transmission as possible but certainly not supported by solid or even clear evidence," Benedetta Allegranzi, the WHO's technical lead for infection prevention and control, was quoted as saying in the New York Times.

WHO guidance to health workers, dated June 29, says that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, is primarily transmitted between people through respiratory droplets and on surfaces.

But airborne transmission via smaller particles is possible in some circumstances, such as when performing intubation and aerosol-generating procedures, it says.

Medical workers performing such procedures should wear heavy-duty N95 respiratory masks and other protective equipment in an adequately ventilated room, the WHO says.

Officials at South Korea's Centers for Disease Control said on Monday they were continuing to discuss various issues about Covid-19, including the possible airborne transmission. They said more investigations and evidence were needed.

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