Goruri

Jakarta. Some think the side effects of chemotherapy greater than the benefits gained. Even the opportunity to heal itself of cancer believed to be even higher if left without chemotherapy. Is this correct?

Various writings about it widely circulated on websites and discussion forums on the internet. Most said that the cure rates of cancer who were treated with chemotherapy only about 3 percent, while the remaining 97 percent ended in failure.

This figure is then compared with other data showing that the opportunity to heal themselves of cancer without treatment. According to a data from Norway, 22 percent of breast cancers have spontaneus remission or cured by itself.

This comparison raises a presumption that the success of chemotherapy is not only low, but it also lowers the opportunity for the body to fight the cancer cell itself. In fact, a chemotherapy drug is lowering the immune system.

Chairman of the Oncology Association of Indonesia, Dr. Drajat Ryanto Suardi, SpB (K) Onk confirmed that the side effects of chemotherapy drugs can lower the body resistance. But to say that the chances of success of chemotherapy only 3 percent, he emphatically denied.

“I would say, the data that is not true. There are many factors that influence the effectiveness of chemotherapy and cure rates, and so far no scientific data that says so,” said Dr. Drajat when contacted on Tuesday (24/01/2012).

One of the factors that influence the success of chemotherapy according to Dr. Drajat is a type of cancer cells and their sensitivity to the drug. Malignant lymphoma (lymph cancer) and breast cancer for example, if a rough figure is roughly the average success rate of chemotherapy could reach 50 percent.

The next factor is the grade or degree of malignancy of cancer (cancer properties), which consists of three grades, the lower the grade of the cancer so the higher the success rate of chemotherapy. Both of these factors, grade and type of cancer is determined based on the results of examination of biopsy or tissue sample.

In addition, the stage or stages of cancer that consists of 4 stages also affect the success of chemotherapy. As an example for breast cancer, stage 1 had a success rate between 80-85 percent so early inspection will determine the chances of recovery.

Equally important, the determination of patients in the chemotherapy also determines the level of success. According to Dr. Drajat, if the patient had a strong determination to heal the body without realizing it will help to fight or resistance to cancer cells.

Related opinion that the chances of cancer cure can be higher if left untreated, Dr. Drajat less agree. Even when a patient decides to undergo an alternative treatment, medical treatment either in the form of chemotherapy, surgery and radiotherapy remain should not be abandoned.

“Basically there are no prohibitions on alternative medicine. When just about to do is fine, the important medical should not be abandoned because if it’s just rely on alternative there is no scientific evidence,” Dr. message Drajat.

Baltimore. Some people may have experienced an incident of yawning when they wanted to make love. Of course this can provoke a negative reaction from partner, because yawning is generally regarded as a sign of boredom. In fact, yawning could be a sign that the body is aroused.

“Yawning is the nature of evolution that were shared by all vertebrate species. Fish do it, lions do it, people also do it. It is embedded in the primitive brain and even the fetus in the womb also evaporate,” said Dr. Robert Provine, professor of psychology neuroscientist at the University of Maryland, Baltimore.

Human evaporate for various reasons such as feeling tired, or can also be a social instinct because yawning is also contagious.

But yawning is in fact a sign of the emergence of passion. Yawning can be caused by the release of dopamine in the brain hormones that trigger the release of brain chemicals such as oxytocin and nitric oxide.

Dr. Provine describes a study with scientists who experimented with Melanotan or PT-141, a drug that can increase libido and blood pressure to provoke arousal. Researchers found that in addition to causing an erection, nausea and yawning is also generated as a side effect of the drug.

“Yawning serves several functions of the body. But yawning is generally associated with changes in body condition, from sleep to wake, from waking to sleep. So when the bodychanges from not aroused to aroused, it happens to evaporate. Yawning when they wanted to have sex is not a rare thing , ”said Dr. Provine as reported by msnbc.com on Thursday (1/26/2012).

Provine speculates that sexual climax and yawning may have the same evolutionary roots. Will evaporate when having sex does not mean boring or lack of oxygen or sleepy, but rather a sign that the body is aroused.

Jakarta. The doctor may be able to find any signs of dyslexia using brain scans in children from age 3 or 4 years before the child starts school. The signs of dyslexia in brain scans may still be known at the time of the scan is done, even if the child has not shown signs of dyslexia in behavior.

Dyslexia is a very broad term to define a learning disability that undermine accuracy in reading fluency or comprehension. The condition can manifest as difficulty with phonological awareness, phonological decoding, orthographic coding, auditory short term memory or rapid naming.

However, dyslexia is different with reading difficulties result from other causes, such as non-neurological deficiency with vision or hearing, or from reading the instruction of poor or inadequate.

Dyslexia can be detected as early as possible, rather than waiting for the child has signs of reading difficulties. The scientists were able to identify problems in reading even before children start school, long before they are labeled as students who are stupid and started to lose confidence.

Although dyslexia is usually diagnosed during the second or third graders in elementary school or around age 7 or 8 years. However, the Children’s Hospital Boston said the signs of dyslexia in children can begin to be detected from age 4 or 5 years using a brain scan.

“We call it the paradox of dyslexia. Most children are not diagnosed until the third grade, but for a brain scan can detect an early dyslexia. It is expected that dyslexic children can be detected before they begin learning to read,” said Nadine Gaab of the Laboratories of Cognitive Neuroscience as reported by HealthNews, Thursday (1/26/2012).

The results of these studies have been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

“Often, children who suffer from dyslexia diagnosed after 3 years as a mockery of his school friends. Or after a parent scold them because they are considered lazy. So that the children often lose confidence in himself,” says Gaab.

The study was based on an emerging understanding of dyslexia as a problem by identifying and manipulating individual sounds that language forms, known as phonological processing.

To read, children must master the sounds of spoken language map to specific letters that form words. While children with dyslexia did not control the mapping process.

“Early signs of dyslexia may include difficulties with rhyming, mispronouncing words or confused about the words that sound alike. It is a symptom of a very early,” said Dr. Sally Shaywitz, director of the Center for Dyslexia and Creativity at Yale University .

Dyslexia affects about 5 percent to 17 percent of all children and one of two children with a family history of the disorder will have difficulty in reading, these children will have difficulty spelling and having trouble understanding the words.

Jakarta. Pregnant women should really pay attention to nutritional intake. Not only because they have to feed the fetus in the womb, pregnant mothers also have to prevent many complications of pregnancy by maintaining a balanced nutrition.

Several disorders of pregnancy are often triggers maternal deaths are haemorrhage and preeclampsia. Obstetricians of Mother and Child Hospital UB, Dr. Damar Pramusinto, SpOG (K) said 55 percent of maternal deaths due to the disorder associated with unbalanced nutrition.

“Pregnant women are also at risk of malnutrition having a baby with low birth weight are at risk of having a low IQ and impaired growth and development,” said Dr. Rosin in media discussions on Goela Flower Restaurant Jakarta, Tuesday (01/17/2012).

The following are the types of nutrients needed for multiple preventing various disorders of pregnancy, as stated by Dr. Rosin Prasmusinto, SpOG (K).

1. Prevent bleeding
Bleeding during pregnancy (antepartum haemorrhage) or shortly after childbirth (postpartum haemorrhage) can occur due to various factors, one of which anemia or lack of blood. Less blood can be overcome by increasing the intake of iron, but do not overdo it in the first trimester because it can trigger nausea.

In addition to iron that can be obtained through vegetables and red meat, other nutrients needed to reduce the risk of bleeding during pregnancy and childbirth are calcium, folic acid, vitamin B-complex and vitamin A.

2. Prevent preeclampsia
Preeclampsia or high blood pressure during pregnancy can be prevented with foods that contain lots of antioxidants. Fruits and vegetables are highly recommended because it contains Vitamin C, A and E, which is a few examples of excellent antioxidant.

In addition, milk fortified with calcium, zinc, manganese, copper, selenium, folic acid, vitamin D and B-complex could also reduce the risk of preeclampsia in pregnant women.

3. Prevent infection
A good and balanced nutrition will enhance the immune system, so that pregnant women are not susceptible to infection. Any infection experienced by pregnant women may infect the fetus in the womb, so that growth is disturbed.

To maintain and increase endurance, pregnant women should increase their intake of foods that contain lots of vitamin A, zinc, iron, copper and vitamin B-complex.

Jakarta. Sometimes a person confused about how to behave when someone close to her suffers from breast cancer. Even so there are six steps that can be done to support breast cancer patients.

Positive support provided by people such as spouse, other family members, friends and the environment surrounding breast cancer patients may make it more powerful in fighting cancer.

Here are six things you can do as a form of support for people with breast cancer, as quoted from Health.MSN, Thursday (06/10/2011), namely:

1. Support anything she decided
Treatment for breast cancer involves an endless decision, ranging from lumpectomy, radiation, chemotherapy or even mastectomy. For that try to be good listeners without judging, but help her weigh the pros and cons to keep the fears and other emotional.

2. Do not let her go on her own for consulting
No matter how independent or brave she is, but try to stay with her because having a doctor’s appointment with cancer is just not fun. With someone who accompanied, it can reduce the sense of panic and give support.

3. Talking openly about her breast with a partner
Breast plays a major role in the couple’s sex life, so if you lose one or both breasts may reduce the sense of female sexuality. For it if she decides to do a mastectomy, then explain that there is still another attraction in itself in addition to breast health and assure her that something much more important.

4. Anticipate and help her if she could not do anything
Sometimes after surgery a person can not lift her arm, because it is closer or help with putting the goods they need at the bottom of the rack so that she does not need to lift the arm.

5. Be a strong nurse
Cancer treatment usually involves a lot of unpleasant side effects such as nausea, pain and fatigue. When cancer patients are too tired to get out of bed, too sick to eat or can not walk, grant assistance with being a strong nurse

6. Do not expect everything will be fine in quick time
Although the treatment is complete, it does not mean everything can be normal again in quick time. Chemotherapy can make hair loss or even baldness, and breast loss will impact her confidence. For that help her choose a beautiful headgear and convincingly that she is still sexy. Hang in there as long as needed

Jakarta. Caffeine in coffee is often used as arouse enthusiasm in the morning and medicine for people who are ready to stay up. Coffee has even more benefits for men who experience hair loss, because studies show that coffee can be used as a cure for baldness or hair loss especially in men.

Studies have been published in the International Journal of Dermatologist showed that the caffeine in coffee can stimulate the growth of small follicles in the scalp in men who begin to experience hair loss, as reported by Livestrong, Wednesday (30/11/2011).

Caffeine works by blocking the effects of chemicals known to damage hair follicles. Most baldness is caused because the hair follicles (tiny sacs in the scalp where the hair grows) exposed to dihydrotestosterone (DHT) too much.

DHT is a chemical produced by the male hormone testosterone. DHT is produced in several areas of the body, but mainly in the liver and skin (including hair). Many factors that increase the production of DHT in the body, such as stress, genetics, hormones and certain stimulants.

Hair follicles will shrink if too much DHT circulating in the blood, so the hair becomes thinner and grow into abnormal. If left unchecked, this triggers baldness on the scalp.

“Caffeine is a substance that is popular, but little is known about their effect on human hair follicle growth. But this study shows a promising candidate for hair growth stimulation,” explains Dr. Tobias Fischer, who conducted the study from the University of Jena in Germany.

But drinking lots of coffee may not be the best answer, because scientists estimate it took at least 60 cups of caffeine a day to reach follicles in the scalp.

Instead, researchers say it takes a topical lotion rich in caffeine that will be smeared on the scalp to block the damaging effects of DHT. Cream caffeine is expected to stimulate hair growth.

Northumberland, England. One of the treatments currently being developed is stem cells. A boy is diagnosed with blood cancer now have a hope of recovery thanks to stem cells from his brother.

Nathan Shorey (3 years) were diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in 2010 and requires a stem cell transplant to prevent the condition in order not to worsen.

“When we were told that Nathan suffered from leukemia, it was the saddest moment for us,” said the mother, Melanie (34 years), as quoted from Dailymail, Monday (16/01/2012).

Nathan’s parents, Melanie and Michael (36 years) is now very much hope that stem cells obtained from his brother, Samuel Nathan can help treat the condition for the better.

“Stem cells from Samuel has been tested and found suitable for Nathan, so that these stem cells can be used to help treat Nathan. And I am very lucky to have another baby,” says Melanie.

Nathan was first taken to Wansbeck General Hospital after his mother noticed a rash on the boy’s thigh and arm. He also underwent a series of tests and should be treated overnight before being transferred to North Tyneside General Hospital and was diagnosed with leukemia.

During the first 6 months after diagnosis he spent most of his time in hospital and undergoing chemotherapy treatment. But the birth of Samuel provide a great hope for him to recover.

Nathan is currently in a state condition is fine, and families still try to always be optimistic and positive. Although there are concerns in the minds of his parents that the condition could recur again.

“The possibility of a recurrence of Nathan’s condition was considered to be low, but I felt it was doing the right thing that the stem cell treatment can be obtained from Samuel’s umbilical cord,” he said.

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia is a type of blood cancer that attacks the spinal cord tissue in which blood cells are made. This disease is rapid and affects the blood cells are immature.

This type of leukemia is a cancer that most commonly affects children, although it can also affect adults. One fairly effective treatment for this condition is a bone marrow transplant.

Seattle, British. Heterosexual HIV-infected person will transmit the virus to their partners an average of 900 times the one time of unprotected sex. Similarly, according to a study conducted in Africa.

“However, what is certainly the possibility of sexual intercourse can transmit the virus vary in the amount of virus contained in the blood of an infected person,” said the researcher, James Hughes of the University of Washington in Seattle.

The amount of virus in the blood is the most important factor in determining whether HIV is transmitted from the partner or not. In each ten-fold increase in the concentration of virus, there is increased risk of transmission of approximately three-fold in all sexual relations.

“The person whose blood contains high concentrations of virus actually only need to have sex as much as 10 times to transmit the virus,” added Hughes as reported Myhealthnewsdaily.com, Friday (13/01/2012).

The new findings reinforce the idea that the best way to reduce HIV transmission is to reduce the concentration of virus in the blood, such as antiretroviral drugs that can be done. A study published in 2011 found that the drugs can reduce HIV transmission between sexual partners by 96 percent.

This study also confirmed that condoms are highly effective in preventing HIV infection. Condoms reduce the risk of HIV transmission by 78 percent. Male circumcision can reduce HIV transmission risk by 47 percent.

This study analyzed data from 3297 pairs of sub-Saharan Africa who have ‘HIV-discordant couples‘, meaning that one partner has HIV, but others do not.

HIV-infected people are tested regularly for two years to determine the amount of HIV in their blood. Uninfected partners were also interviewed each month and asked how many times they had sex, and whether they are using security.

Uninfected partners tested periodically to see if they had contracted HIV. The researchers used genetic tests to confirm whether the virus every new HIV infections are transmitted from a spouse who recorded at baseline. A total of eighty-six HIV transmission occurred during the study period.

Men are twice as likely to transmit HIV to women. The high risk of transmission can be attributed to the concentration of virus in the blood of men higher than women. But women are more likely to have genital herpes increases HIV vulnerability.

93 percent of sexual relations in the study using a condom, but researchers suspect the recognition of study participants are greatly exaggerated. Therefore, the researchers speculate that the effectiveness of condoms to prevent HIV transmission could be more than 78 percent as predicted.

“Average Risk of HIV infection per sexual act which is estimated in this study are consistent with what previous research has found,” said Dr. Myron Cohen, professor of medicine, microbiology, immunology and public health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

“Most of the findings may be generalizable to other countries. Previous research in the United States found the rate of HIV transmission is lower. In addition, these findings apply only to heterosexual couples, not men who have sex with men. Group homosexuals tend have HIV infection rates are higher, “added Hughes.

Jakarta. In adults, cancer is synonymous with unhealthy lifestyles such as smoking and rarely exercise so that it can be prevented. However in children, lifestyle, rather than the main precipitating factors making it much more difficult to do prevention.

“In children, suspected cancer is the interaction of four factors namely genetics, chemicals, viruses and radiation,” said Dr. Ekowati Rahajeng, SKM, M. Kes, Director of Communicable Diseases Control, Ministry of Health in a press conference at the HouseKemenkes, Friday (13 / 1 / 2011).

These factors of childhood cancer can not always be prevented, especially genetically acquired as innate. Likewise, chemicals, children may be exposed to chemicals while in the womb for example if a parent taking the drug or food contaminated with carcinogens.

Although cancer in children difficult to be prevented, does not mean parents should surrender if his son had cancer.

According to Dr. Eko, parents can still do something to reduce the impact of childhood cancer through early detection of cancer in children can be cured if it is not too late.

Meanwhile, experts from child oncology Dharmais Cancer Hospital, Dr. Edy Tahuteru,SpA (K) likens the cancer like a tiger sleeping. In adults, a tiger can be prevented so as not to wake the child while the tigers had been up since the children were born.

“Early detection is critical to the success of cancer treatment in children. Cancer eyes for example, tumor-free survival within 2 years after treatment to 80 percent if detected at an early stage whereas if it is too late his hopes only 25 percent,” said Dr. Edy who was also present at the conference the press.

Sometimes the process of treatment with childhood cancer also need a big sacrifice. For example, eye cancer, eye beans almost always be removed if it does not want the cancer cells spread to the brain and other organs, which is oftne the parents do not want if their son wear a fake eyeball.

Jakarta. Chemotherapy drugs, is the first line of defense to adult leukemia. But chemotherapy can make the illness of patients suspected of recurrence within 5 years but if not chemotherapy patients of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) can die within a few months.

The study was conducted by researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St.. Louis. The researchers took samples from eight patients diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Patients with AML who are not receiving chemotherapy typically die within several months.

But of patients receiving chemotherapy treatment and following treatment, approximately 80 percent relapsed and died within 5 years thereafter. The results of these studies have been published online in Nature on January 12, 2012 edition.

“The goal of this research is to try to understand the causes of relapse of AML,” said Dr.. Timothy Ley as reported from FoxNewsHealth, Thursday (01/12/2012).

The research team has conducted genome sequencing, ie build a complete DNA sequence of a person’s genome. Genome sequencing performed on three different patients, the normal healthy genome, the genome after the patient was diagnosed with leukemia, and the genome after patients received the chemotherapy drug, and eventually relapse.

The researchers conducted genome sequencing of cancer cells each almost 600 times. The researchers were eventually able to create a timeline of how cells mutate during diagnosis.

“The same tumors always come back. Every time the tumor comes back, usually have a couple of new mutations but not in large numbers. A small tumor may come back and become resistant to treatment,” said Dr.. Ley.

In order to combat AML, chemotherapy drugs cause DNA damage in both cancer and healthy cells. The researchers found that, of the new mutations that arise with the return of the damage, many of which contained tumor DNA.

These changes, known as transversions, is much higher in patients who relapsed compared with the original tumor. Leukemia patients received chemotherapy drugs to combat cancer are very likely to cause relapse. Other findings from the main team is that there are differences in the pattern of evolution of cancer cells associated with relapse of AML.

“Some tumors are really only has one large population of tumor cells. Others have a single large and small from subclones. Some of the subclones eliminated by therapy but occasionally a very small one would be one that will recur on and off , “said Dr.. Ley.

Chemotherapeutic drugs are not able to kill the clones that make up the founders of the original tumor and all patients will relapse. While the results of their research is surprising, Dr.. Ley did not want to stop looking for the treatment of chemotherapy patients.

“Without the initial chemotherapy, all patients will die within a few months. So the therapy used, so far is still quite helpful even have a problem. But the need to fix it because these therapies contribute to relapse,” said Dr.. Ley.