Not in the Mood? You Could Have Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder

 Not interested in sex? Perhaps you have a condition called hypoactive sexual desire disorder, caused by a brain chemical imbalance. That's the message conveyed in a new "educational campaign" launched last week by the Society of Women's Health Research with actress Lisa Rinna as a celebrity spokesperson talking about "the brain's potential role in desire." On the campaign's new website, you might conclude that if you're not fantasizing about sex a lot you should definitely talk to your doctor.

You won't, though, learn about any medications for HSDD—because there are no approved drugs for it. A new drug, called flibanserin, may be approved by the Food and Drug Administration after its advisory committee meets to discuss the drug next month. In the meantime, flibanserin manufacturer Boehringer-Ingelheim has funded an HSDD educational campaign to create demand for the drug, some experts say. And, yes, Rinna is a paid spokesperson.
"It's like priming the market," says Lisa Schwartz, an associate professor of medicine at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice in Lebanon, N.H. "Disease awareness is a very important part of [preparing for] an upcoming ad campaign" for any new drug—which will no doubt occur if and when flibanserin is approved. (I previously reported on the over-medicalization of low sexual desire in women.)
Unfortunately, the website doesn't provide much useful information about the low sex drive condition, which was first identified in the 1970s and is included in the psychiatric bible, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder. You wouldn't learn from the website, for example, that certain medications—including antidepressants, birth control pills and antihypertensives—can dampen your sex drive. Nor would you learn about the usefulness of psychological treatments like psychotherapy or mindfulness training. And the website doesn't differentiate between "situational" HSDD, caused by lifestyle factors like lack of sleep, breastfeeding, stress, and relationship issues, and "generalized" HSDD, which may arise from some sort or physiological problem, like low testosterone levels or a brain chemical imbalance. In this interview with Fox News, Rinna said she lost her sex drive soon after her second child was born, which, according to experts, means she probably had some explainable reason like excess fatigue or low sex hormones due to nursing.
[Here are 5 natural ways to boost your sex drive.]
"Will the drug help if you're tired and have young children? Probably not," says psychologist Stanley Althof, executive director of the Center for Marital and Sexual Health in West Palm Beach, Fla. He's been testing flibanserin in the manufacturer's clinical trials and says he sees a real need for an effective medication to treat women who have been carefully screened and diagnosed with generalized HSDD, where sex drive suddenly disappears without any explainable cause. "These are women in good relationships, generally happy in life but who describe their loss of desire as a mystery," he adds.
The drug is being considered for approval only in premenopausal women who have a low sex drive and isn't meant to treat other forms of sexual dysfunction, like an inability to achieve orgasm or painful intercourse. Clinical trial results presented at a recent medical conference have found that women taking flibanserin had an average of 1.7 satisfying sexual events each month beyond their baseline measurement of 2.7 events; those who took a placebo had just a 0.8 event increase. Flibanserin users also reported feeling more desire and lower levels of distress related to their sexual functioning compared to placebo takers.
Whether the FDA will deem the drug effective enough to be approved remains an open question. In 2004, its advisory committee voted against approval for a desire-boosting testosterone patch called Intrinsa that had produced clinical trial results very similar to flibanserin's. The panel said it was concerned about a lack of long-term safety data and that the drug would be overprescribed to women who didn't really need it. After all, primary care doctors may not take the time to tease out the real causes of a low sex drive and may simply prescribe it to any woman who asks. (Manufacturer Procter & Gamble is still testing the Intrinsa patch in postmenopausal women and already has it on the market in Europe.) The FDA might make the same call with flibanserin given that, as with any medication, it's not free of side effects. It causes fatigue, nausea, and dizziness in about 10 percent of users, according to Althof—which underscores the need for doctors to use caution when prescribing it if the drug, indeed, gets approved.

Dr. Murray Feingold: Stroke can affect all ages

The fact that Vice President Joe Biden's son recently had a stroke at the age of 41 calls attention to the fact that strokes are not limited to older people.
They do not occur as frequently as they do in older people, but strokes in the younger age group are not rare.
Generally, a stroke can be caused by a brain hemorrhage or a clot. A common cause of a brain hemorrhage is the presence of a brain aneurysm. An aneurysm is a ballooning out of a group of blood vessels. If these blood vessels rupture, the blood then goes into the brain, causing a stroke.
People can be born with these aneurysms or they can occur secondary to trauma or infections. It has been estimated that 5 percent of the population have aneurysms.
Blood clots can also cause a stroke in young adults. Blood clots occur in individuals who have various blood disorders that result in hypercoagulation of the blood, resulting in clot formation.
Strokes in young people may also occur secondary to some type of heart disorder. An abnormal heart rhythm, such as atrial fibrillation, is associated with strokes.
During the formation of the heart, a wall or septum is formed to separate the upper chambers of the heart. In about 20 percent of the people this septum does not close completely. This opening is called a patent foramen ovale and is also associated with stroke.
The vast majority of times, this does not cause any symptoms. However, at times the blood may go from the right upper chamber -- the right atrium -- to the left atrium, and then out to the body. This blood may contain small clots that can then lodge in the brain, causing a stroke.
This opening of the heart can be closed, but since the majority of times it doesn't cause any trouble, there is controversy concerning when and if it should be closed.
Certain people are at a greater risk of having a stroke at a younger age. They include people with migraine headaches, high blood pressure, women on oral contraceptives and smokers. Also, those who are overweight or have a family history of strokes.
So just because you are young, don't disregard the symptoms of a stroke. Early treatment can be life-saving.
Massachusetts-based Dr. Murray Feingold is the physician in chief of The Feingold Center for Children (formerly the National Birth Defects Center), medical editor of WBZ-TV and WBZ radio, and president of the Genesis Fund. The Genesis Fund is a nonprofit organization that funds the care of children born with birth defects, mental retardation and genetic diseases.

Tosh claims 3D lenses reduce brain strain

Toshiba says it has developed a new LCD panel for 3D glasses which will cut down on headache-inducing 3D crosstalk.
The new OCB (Optically Compensated Bend) LCD panels will be used for shuttered 3D glasses which trick the brain into seeing three dimensional images by rapidly blocking off each eye in turn, synchronised with the left and right eye images which are shown sequentially on the viewing screen.
Until now, shuttered 3D glasses have been susceptible to 3D crosstalk which is where the left eye senses the right eye image leading to blurred vision and user fatigue.
Toshiba reckons it has fixed the problem with the high-speed shutter response and wider viewing angle of its new OCB lenses.
Hopefully by the time the new technology comes to market somone will have designed an enclosure for the panels which doesn't make you look like an android Roy Orbison.
The Japanese Electronics giant will showcase the new glasses at SID 2010 which starts May 25th in Seattle.

Caffeine: A Brain Booster

Several studies indicated caffeine’s potential in “Therapeutic Opportunities for Caffeine in Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Neurodegenerative Diseases.” It is a collection of researches that tackled the benefits of caffeine in multiple perspectives.

Caffeine, in a series of epidemiological studies, is instrumental in preventing motor dysfunction similar to Parkinson’s disease. In addition, moderate consumption of caffeine reverses the effect of cognitive decline because of age and also Alzheimer’s Disease by preventing memory loss and neurodegeneration. It targets a particular adenosine A2A receptor to do this. It normalize brain functioning and reduce amyloid beta production.

The said research collection is a compilation of original researches from international experts and funded by Associação Industrial e Comercial do Café with editors from the University of Lisbon and University of Coimbra, in Portugal. Coffee has been known for its anti-oxidant properties but it is only recently that caffeine is being appreciated for its remarkable effects on the brain.

Emotional Eating: The Brain-Stomach Connection

Find out how the “brain” in your stomach drives mood, outlook, and happiness

You’re famished. Nothing has touched your lips since your out-the-door breakfast bar (except maybe gloss), and then there it is, inches from your mouth, happiness in your hand: a classic Chipwich, its two warm chocolate chip cookies meeting the vanilla ice cream middle that’s slowly melting down your fingers. This may sound like a Liz Lemon dream sequence, but food legitimately affects your mood—more than you probably realize. Take the chocolate in your ’wich: It contains happy-making serotonin and anandamide, and once it hits your gut, your body thanks you with a surge of opioids—the cocktail of all three reaches your brain and, voilà, bliss! “Different foods signal pleasure both through the substances they contain and the chemicals they cause the gut to release,” says Gianrico Farrugia, director of the Enteric Neuroscience Program at the Mayo Clinic. This prompts the question: Should we be eating to balance our moods, not just our scales?
The brain-gut connection has necessitated a new field of science, neurogastroenterology, whose experts reverentially refer to the gut (comprised of the esophagus, intestines, and stomach) as the “second brain.” Unglamorous as it may sound, the gut is a physical and emotional powerhouse: It’s estimated to contain more than 200 million neurons, more than the spinal cord has, and can do its work (i.e., digestion) independent of the brain.
Indeed, many of the mood-related messages between these two brains go from the bottom up. Researchers now look at the digestive system as an indicator of what may be going on in the brain: Tissue lesions from Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases have been found in the stomach wall, matching those in the brain—a discovery that could aid in early diagnoses. Studies also indicate that people stricken with intestinal diseases, including irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), benefit from low doses of antidepressants, drugs once thought to work only in the brain. Since the gut contains about 95 percent of the body’s supply of serotonin, some neurogastroenterologists now believe that antidepressants actually work primarily in the digestive system, as opposed to the brain, by blocking the reuptake of serotonin and making it more available to bind with important receptors.
Depression sufferers who are unresponsive to antidepressants sometimes turn to vagus nerve stimulation—which essentially delivers a mega-dose of the rush you’d get from that Chipwich. Electrodes are im­planted under the skin near the neck to send electrical impulses through the nerves, “mimicking the good feelings that the gut usually sends to the brain,” says Michael Gershon, professor of anatomy and cell biology at Columbia University and author of The Second Brain (HarperCollins).
In fact, Emeran Mayer, director of the Center for Neurobiology of Stress at UCLA, believes that one day psychiatry may improve mental well-being by treating both brains. He’s currently running a brain-imaging study to examine the effect of probiotic supplements, hypothesizing that they will impact mood positively (possibly by improving the digestive system’s function). “When we ingest something, it doesn’t just sit in our stomachs. It most certainly has an affect on our overall being,” Mayer says. Of course, anyone who has ever savored the perfect Chipwich knows that already.

myFOX Health: Cell Phones and Brain Tumors

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myFOX Health: Cell Phones and Brain Tumors EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. - Each week, Fox Health Expert, Dr. Archelle Georgiou, helps explain some of the leading health headlines. THis week, she talks about:

1) Pesticides and ADHD Risk. Exposure to the pesticides, known as organophosphates, has been linked to behavioral problems in children in the past, but previous studies have focused on communities of high-risk populations. This study is the first to examine the effects of exposure in the general population of kids. Using data from a national survey, researchers found that children with higher levels of the certain types of pesticides in their urine is associated with a higher risk of ADHD. Those with high levels were almost twice as likely to develop ADHD as those with undetectable levels.

Where did the pesticides come from? Food may be a factor. Since the Environmental Protection Agency regulations have eliminated most residential uses for these pesticides, the largest source of exposure is believed to be food--especially commercially grown produce. According to a 2008 report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 28 percent of frozen blueberries, 20 percent of celery, and 25 percent of strawberries contained traces of one type of organophosphate. Other types of organophosphates were found in 27 percent of green beans, 17 percent of peaches, and 8 percent of broccoli.

This doesn't mean parents should stop feeding their kids fruits and but here are some ways to minimize the exposure and potential
risk:
--Buy fruits & vegetables from a farmers market, are organic or locally grown.
--Wash and peel produce before serving them --Put variety into a childs diet to minimize ongoing exposure from a particular food.

2) Cell phones and Barin Tumors: Despite the completion of a $24 million dollar, 13 country study on the risk of brain tumors from cell phone use, there is continued debate over this issue. A World Health Organization study surveyed of almost 13,000 participants and found up to 40% higher incidence of a cancerous brain tumor among the top 10% of people who used their mobile phone most. In addition, the highest risk found was for tumors on the same side of the head as users held their phone.
However, the 21 researchers involved in the study disagreed on the findings and the study is considered inconclusive. An important reminder is the the lack of a conclusion does not eliminate the possibility that there is risk from cell phones. Reasonable advice for those concerned about the radiation is to use a headset, and minimize use of cellphones in kids. Most importantly, don't use a cell phone when driving. The distractions are
linked to motor vehicle accidents.

No increased risk of brain tumor by using mobile phones: research

There is no increased risk of brain tumor in people who have used a mobile phone regularly for ten years, according to an international study published in a scientific journal, the International Journal of Epidemiology, on Tuesday.
The study was coordinated by the World Health Organization's cancer research agency International Agency for Research on Cancer and conducted by 16 research centers in 13 countries, including the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm.
"The results are consistent with available experimental research that has failed to demonstrate any carcinogenic effect from the type of radiation cell phones emit. They also correspond with previous epidemiological research," Maria Feychting, professor of epidemiology at the Karolinska Institute, said in a statement. She is also the person who is in charge in part of the research in Sweden.
The Interphone study is the largest-ever international research conducted on a possible link between brain cancer and other tumors in the head and mobile phone use.
A total of 2,708 people with glioma-type brain tumors and 2,409 people with meningioma-type brain tumors in the study were compared with normal subjects. Overall, the study showed no increased risk of brain tumors among those who regularly used mobiles for 10 years, the statement said.

Treatment for partially sighted

Rehabilitation techniques for people who have lost some of their sight after a stroke or brain injury could be delivered using hand-held games consoles or mobile phones.
More than 4,000 people are affected by hemianopia, a condition which limits sufferers' sight. Their ability to "see" could be improved by what is being dubbed as a simple, cheap and accessible training course.
The new computer-based technique was discovered after research at Durham University.
The study, published in the academic journal Brain, tested the technique on patients who suffer from hemianopia.
Sufferers lose half of their visual field due to stroke or other brain injuries.
They are heavily dependent on others as they struggle with balance, walking, finding things around the house, and they are not normally able to drive.
Professor David Mendelow, a neurosurgeon at Newcastle General Hospital and Professor of neurosurgery at Newcastle University, said: "At Newcastle General, we have trained our occupational therapists to recognise this visual problem and we can now identify patients with hemianopia at an early stage.
"The Neurosciences Unit at Durham University, where we refer patients on to, is to be congratulated on demonstrating how successful this kind of visual retraining can be."

Brain gain

Think about the brain. It is the seat of learning, the sanctum sanctorum of wisdom.  It is that one critical organ which ensures man’s superiority over other creatures. Our memories, our thoughts, our survival, all our innovations, experimentations and explorations that have taken us from the deepest levels of the blue oceans to the farthest blurred limits of outer space, are  controlled and regulated by the brain.

And it takes a highly specialised man or woman to tinker with this super delicate and superpowerful organ – no bagatelle definitely.

“A neurosurgeon, who is often thought of as being next to God, faces the challenge of getting it right every time, hence the stress,” explains Dr Rajendra Prasad, FRCS (neurosurgery), senior consultant neurosurgeon, Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, New Delhi.

Dr Prasad was attracted to the profession because of the aura of exclusivity, “and a certain romance surrounding neurosurgeons”, little realising that it would take him “on the road of hard work, long hours, extreme discipline and a lot of personal sacrifice”.

A romantic at heart who was “predestined” to follow in his father’s (the first neurosurgeon of Bihar) footsteps, Dr Prasad was “heavily into stage acting at one time.” His mother ensured he picked up the scalpel. After graduation from Ranchi University, Dr Prasad went to the UK to specialise in neurosurgery after obtaining the Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons. “I trained and worked at the University Hospitals of London, Nottingham and Bristol over a 10-year period, returning to India in 1996 when the state -of- the-art Apollo Hospital, New Delhi was set up by Dr Prathap C Reddy. I am now proud to be part of this hospital, which has one of the best neurosciences centre in the country,” he adds.

Be prepared for a long, arduous haul before you get to don your scrubs. You’ll have to first pass MBBS and then do MS general surgery through an entrance examination. Says Dr Alok Gupta, senior neurosurgeon and unit head, VIMHANS, New Delhi, “There are just 25-30 neurosurgery seats and candidates appearing would not be less than 40,000 to  50,000. The course itself is very difficult. It is a 24-hour-seven-day job for three years. Throughout this period you have to be on your toes and hardly get any time to sleep. I remember at PGI Chandigarh we used to sleep after three days for one night.”

Medical science, says Dr Gupta, who was chief neurosurgeon at Escorts hospital Faridabad before joining VIMHANS, has made amazing progress since the 19th century, when it was said that bed rest was better than neurosurgery. Now, doctors are aiming for zero mortality in surgery. All brain tumours, spinal tumours and cervical disc problems, brain haemorrhage, head injuries etc, are treated by neurosurgery.

When he was young, says Dr Gupta, a tutor’s younger brother suffering from Parkinson’s disease was reportedly cured after surgery in a London hospital. “That was fascinating and I started and revived the same surgery for Parkinson’s disease in India,” adds the man who did his MBBS and MS in general neurosurgery from GR Medical College Gwalior and later on an M Ch in neurosurgery from G.B. Pant Hospital in New Delhi. He has also done extensive training in stereotactic (requiring minimally invasive interventions) neurosurgery in A.M.C Netherlands, Karolinska Hospital Stockholm and the Singapore General Hospital. At VIMHANS, he says, “we are doing surgery for Parkinson’s disease and gamma knife surgery for selected tumour by high beam of radiation. Epilepsy surgery and surgery for psychiatric patients is also going to start shortly.”

There is need for more neurosurgeons in the country. “At present there are only 2,000 in the country. Many districts don’t have a single neurosurgeon. The number should increase. The problem is that we do not have the required number of teaching institutes,” says Dr Gupta.

There is urgent need in this country for skilled practitioners to work on minimally invasive neurosurgery, stereotactic neurosurgery, surgery for behavioral disorder, stem cell surgery for disabling illnesses like Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis spinal trauma stroke, etc, he adds,

Doctors Prasad and Gupta and Dr Rana Patir of Max Healthcare admit their work is very stressful. Despite the tensions, however, there are equally great moments daily, says Dr Prasad. “I see miracles happen when a paralysed patient is able to walk again. Like all surgeons I thank God for these ‘gifted hands’.”

Through the course of his career he has also developed  an interesting philosophy on the existence of a greater force. “The deeper I got into the study of the human brain,” says Dr Prasad, “my conviction grew that there was a God. The perfection with which the brain and spinal cord was created strengthened my belief in the Divine Creator.”
What's it about?
Neurosurgeons operate for problems related to the spine and brain. Spinal surgery is done for slipped discs, dislocations, fractures, tumours, vascular malformations and congenital deformities. The brain is operated upon for tumours, head injuries, brain haemorrhage, brain bypass surgery, aneurysm and vascular malfor-mation. Neurosurgeons also perform various endoscopic (with small incisions) surgeries within the ventricles or the skull base
Clock Work
This is what Dr Rana Patir’s day is like
8.30 am:   Reach hospital, check patient in operation theatre who is being prepared for anaesthesia, check position of patient on operating table and discuss approach (to surgery) with assistant
9 am:       Attend academic session
10 am:     Do a round of the patients wards
11.30:     Return to theatre to complete the operation (surgical time can take anything from one to 12 hours – sometimes more). Accordingly, do one operation, or more
5 pm:      Complete all surgery
5.15 pm: See patients in the outpatient’s department (OPD)
8 pm:      Finish OPD
8.15 pm: Spend time in office answering patients’/hospital staff’s queries
9 pm:      Quick round of operated cases
9.30:       Leave for home
The Payoff
.  In the government sector, with the Sixth Pay Commission hikes, you can earn around Rs 60,000 to Rs 1 lakh a month and above Rs 2 lakh in the private sector
Skills
.    Skilled pair of hands
.    Excellent operative knowledge, ability to stay informed about breakthroughs in the field and apply them in day-to-day working
.    Ability to stay unflustered in times of crisis
How do i get there?
AEnsure you take up biology at the plus-two level. Apply for admission to medical college (entrance through All-India Pre-Medical/Pre-Dental Entrance Examination, etc) after Class XII to study for MBBS. You have follow this up with an MS in general neurosurgery and later an M Ch in neurosurgery
Institutes & urls
.  AIIMS Delhi
   www.aiims.edu
.  G.B.Pant Hospital Delhi
   http://health.delhigovt.nic.in/Hospitals/GBP/default.html
.  PGI Chandigarh
   pgimer.nic.in
.  Sanjay Gandhi PG Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow
   www.sgpgi.ac.in
.  Christian Medical College Vellore
   http://www.cmch-vellore.edu
.  Sri Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology Trivandrum
   http://www.sctimst.ac.in/
Pros & Cons
.    Highly respected profession For some people you are ‘next to God’
.    You get to save lives
.    Very stressful work
.    The high mortality rates can be disturbing unless you learn to detach
.    You get to study the brain — a fascinating field

Infants Brain Keeps Working Around the Clock

It was recently told by the scientists that infants stay awake for just a few hours a day whereas their brains keep working all the time even when they are sleeping.
According to them, the brain all the time adjusts and adapts to the physical world in spite of appearances that they sleep.
From the tests conducted on one and two day-old babies it was seen that they have a capability of acting like data sponges. They keep soaking up information about the world around them.
It was noticed that the discovery was made by experts at the University of Florida after simple experiments were conducted with 26 sleeping newborns.
In the experiment researchers played a tune to them, and then followed it with a gentle puff of air to the babies' eyelids. It was noticed that after 20 minutes, 24 children learned to expect the puff by closing their eyes.
"We found a basic form of learning in sleeping newborns, a type of learning that may not be seen in sleeping adults. They are better learners, better 'data sponges' than we knew. While past studies find this type of learning can occur ininfants who are awake, this is the first study to document it in their most frequent state, while they are asleep”, said Dana Byrd, a Psychologist.

You must remember this: Give brain a boost

YOU DOCS | Prevent memory loss by eating food with omega 3s and lots of Vitamin D 
My mother had type 2 diabetes for about 15 years before she died. She also suffered from dementia. Lately, I find myself forgetting thoughts mid-sentence or just not remembering things. If this is the beginning of dementia, what can I do to halt it?
A. Almost everyone has walked into a room and wondered, "Why am I here?" It's not a philosophical question, and in most cases, it's not dementia or early Alzheimer's, either. It's normal memory overload.
About two-thirds of people over 50 complain of memory lapses like yours. Blame them on all those brain connections you've been overtaxing, underusing or both since your 20s. Although you're right to worry about a family link, it's very possible that your mother's dementia was related to her diabetes.
A recent study found that poorly controlled blood sugar raises the risk of dementia by as much as 160 percent. So get a hemoglobin A1C test, which looks at blood sugar levels over three months. If you're concerned that your memory problems are serious, talk to your doctor about other tests, too.
Meanwhile, give your brain a boost by eating foods high in omega-3s (salmon, trout, canned tuna, a dozen walnuts). Supplement those with 900 mg daily of DHA, your brain's favorite omega-3 (recent data suggests it may make your memory about three years younger).
Also, take 1,000 IU of vitamin D-3 and walk 30 minutes daily. Six times a week, have a little curcumin (a spice used in curry and many mustards). And keep mentally active by reading books, doing brain-teaser games or learning a new skill, whether it's healthy cooking or archery.
Q. I lost 25 pounds six years ago, and I kept it off until two years ago, when my doctor prescribed antidepressants. The weight has been slowly creeping back and no matter what I do, I can't lose it. That's depressing me! Should I stop taking the drug?
A. Your choices don't really come down to heavy or happy. There's evidence that certain antidepressants trigger weight gain that resists even the best diet and exercise program.
That may be because some older drugs -- such as monoamine oxidase inhibiters (MAOIs) and tricyclic antidepressants -- alter not only mood chemistry but also metabolism and fat storage. Newer antidepressants, known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), have been associated with both weight loss AND gain, particularly when taken for short periods. These include Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil and Wellbutrin.
No one is really sure why some SSRIs may pile on the pounds, or take them off. But you don't have to give up your good mood for a slim waist. Talk to your doctor about switching drugs. Some meds are more likely to promote pudginess, while others may help you lose weight.
Q. Is it possible to take too much vitamin D? I have a friend who takes 5,000 IU a day on her doctor's advice. She doesn't have any health issues that I know about. I have osteopenia and take 1,000 IU a day. Should I take more?
A. The short answer is yes, it's possible to take too much vitamin D, because it's a fat-soluble vitamin. That means it's stored in your body fat and can build up to toxic levels.
(Unlike water-soluble vitamins, like vitamin C, which are excreted -- you see this happening when C turns your pee sunshine yellow as it exits.)
But vitamin D overload isn't a major problem in the U.S. Quite the opposite: One study estimates that three-quarters of American teens and adults don't get enough D.
If you're one of them, it ups your risk of everything from diabetes to cancer to thinning bones (your osteopenia). You're likely to be short on D if you're over 60, have dark skin, don't get much sun (smart redheads fall into this category), are obese or overweight, live anywhere but the Sun Belt or have certain digestive, liver or kidney diseases.
The standard advice is to get no more than 2,000 IU (international units) per day. We suggest 1,000 IU a day, and 1,200 if you're over 60.
And we strongly suggest taking vitamin D-3, the active form of D. However, some people need more than 1,200 IU to get their levels out of the dumpster (a k a out of a deficiency state). Your friend might be in that category, and there's one study that indicates taking as much as 10,000 IU doesn't have adverse effects.
Careful, though. Too much of this vitamin can cause nausea, vomiting, weakness, weight loss, kidney stones and, most seriously, a spike in calcification that can lead to mental confusion and heart rhythm abnormalities. Have your doc test your vitamin D-3 level. It's not inexpensive, but we think it's very valuable.

Father in court over 'brain-damaged' baby

Alleged baby shaker facing court (ABC News)

A father accused of shaking his three-month-old baby to the point where he was blinded and suffered brain damage has gone on trial in the District Court in Adelaide.

Prosecutors told the jury that baby William suffered severe damage to his brain and eyes while he was at home with his parents, in August 2006.
The infant's father, Philip Edward Clarke, 28, of Ingle Farm, has pleaded not guilty to aggravated recklessly causing serious harm and criminal neglect.
The court heard, when interviewed, Clarke had said William was smiling when he woke up for a feed at 7:00am and went floppy while he was feeding him.
He later admitted getting frustrated at times with the baby.
The prosecutor said medical evidence would show the injuries must have been caused either by throwing the baby onto a soft surface or by shaking him violently.

Falling in Old Age Linked to Low Blood Flow in Brain

A new study shows that slower than normal blood flow in the brain due to high blood pressure and other conditions may lead to falls in elderly people.

The research will be published in the May 18, 2010, issue of the journal Neurology.

"At age 60 years, 85% of people have a normal walking ability," said study author Farzaneh Sorond, MD, Harvard Medical School, and Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts. "However, by age 85, only 18% of seniors can walk normally."

For the study, researchers followed 419 people age 65 years or older. Ultrasound tests were used to measure participant's blood flow in the brain. Walking speed was measured by a 4-meter walking test. The seniors and their caregivers reported any falls that occurred over two years.

The study found that the 20% of people who had the slowest rate of blood flow in the brain were at a 70% higher risk of falling compared with the 20% of people who had the highest rate of blood flow in the brain. Those with the slowest rate had an average of nearly 1.5 falls per year, compared with less than 1 fall per year for those with the highest rate.

"Our findings suggest there could be a new strategy for preventing falls, such as daily exercise and using statins and treatments for high blood pressure, since blood pressure affects blood flow in the brain and may cause falls," said Dr. Sorond.

The American Academy of Neurology has a guideline on how to identify people most at risk for falling. For more information on the guideline, visit http://www.aan.com.

Genetics of kids' brain tumour

Genetics of kids’ brain tumour (Getty Images)

An important cancer gene that could lead to more effective drugs being developed to fight pediatric high grade glioma – a disease that currently has a poor prognosis, has been identified.

Gliomas are the most common brain tumour in children.

Scientists at The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) and The University of Nottingham on behalf of the UK Children’s Cancer and Leukaemia Group, and St Jude Children’s Research Hospital in the US, conducted by far the most comprehensive analysis to date of pediatric high-grade glioma, making a detailed scan of the genome of 78 newly-diagnosed patients.

They compared these pediatric tumour samples with the genome of adult gliomas, looking through 5,00,000 individual pieces of DNA for variations in the number of copies of each.

In pediatric gliomas, a gene called PDGFRA on chromosome 4q12 was commonly amplified and there were often extra copies of chromosome 1q. These changes are rarely seen in the adult form of the disease.

Clinical differences between gliomas in adults and youth had already been observed, for example growth in disparate areas of the brain, but this is the first study to establish that the underlying genetics differ.

“We found significant differences between the genomes of adult and young people’s gliomas. This is an important finding because it means studies on adult gliomas cannot simply be applied to younger patients, and it has particular implications for drug trials,” said Dr Chris Jones, Leader of the Paediatric Molecular Pathology Team at the ICR.

The researchers also tracked gene activity in 53 of the tumour samples, and compared the results with adult gliomas. Paediatric glioma tumours that did not have the PDGFRA alteration were nevertheless found to have associated genes switched on, suggesting that this biological pathway is a key to the development of this childhood cancer.

The PDGFRA gene carries instructions for making a protein found on the cell surface, which is part of a pathway that helps control cell growth, proliferation and survival — processes that are commonly disrupted in cancer.

“This cancer gene is unusually active in pediatric high-grade gliomas and is likely to be an important drug target,” said Professor Richard Grundy from the Children’s Brain Tumour Research Centre at The University of Nottingham.

In addition, 10 children in the study had glioma that arose after they were treated with radiotherapy to the brain for a previous cancer. Analysis of these children’s tumours revealed they had the gene alterations at even higher frequency than the other cancers studied, which had been triggered by other factors.

The presence of these alterations irrespective of the trigger for the cancer also indicates that they are crucial to glioma development.

Depression Common After Traumatic Brain Injuries

Washington, United States (AHN) - A new study found that depression is a common occurrence following a traumatic head injury. University of Washington School of Medicine researchers said that a majority of traumatic brain injured patients report experiencing major depression sometime during the year they were hospitalized.
They said in a statement that major depressive disorder could be the most common and disabling psychiatric condition in people who have suffered a major head injury.
Adverse conditions associated with depression after a head injury include poorer cognitive function, aggression and anxiety, greater functional disability, poorer recovery, higher rates of suicide attempts and higher health care costs.
The study is published in the May 19 edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Cravings for a sweet treat 'bad for brain too'

Cravings for a sweet treat like a chocolate bar or an ice cream is not only bad for your waistline, but it also harms your brain, says a new study.

An international team has found that when a one craves for a food, one draws a mental picture of it -- this obsession is such a drain on the brain that it can make it difficult for one to concentrate on other tasks, the Daily Mail reported.

Fighting an all-consuming desire for chocolate or ice cream can have consequences ranging from simple memory lapses to car crashes, according to researchers.

For their study, the researchers, led by Flinders University, set out to see whether the intensity of desires for food affects a person's ability to concentrate on other things.

The study found that volunteers whose favourite chocolate bar was unwrapped and within their reach while they sat a series of tests had slower reactions and poorer memories than those who did the same tests in a chocolate-free zone.

"Though cognitive effects of individual food cravings are likely to be small, in practice even small reductions in cognitive resources have the potential to compromise optimal performance in everyday situations, thereby reducing work efficiency or increasing the likelihood of accidents," the researchers said.

But they also believe that when one craves for a food one draws a mental picture of it -- and that filling the brain with competing images, such as visualising a rainbow, can ease cravings.

Lead researcher Dr Eva Kemps said: "Engaging in a simple visual task seems to hold real promise as a method for curbing food cravings."