Acne – Acne Treatment – Acne Skin Care Tips

Archive for July, 2009

According to one definition, fear is defined as “a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid.”

The element in the definition that I want to highlight and work with is the part of the definition that states “whether the threat is real or imagined”. There is a good clue in that statement.

What it tells us is that our physical, mental and emotional response is exactly the same whether the threat is real or imagined. What this means is that we cause ourselves a huge amount of grief by imagining events and scenarios which are completely imaginary and have no basis in reality.

How often do we waste hours and days imagining possibly dangerous and/or damaging outcomes only to have everything work out and nothing bad happen? While it is wonderful that we managed to escape the manifestation of our fears in a real-world environment, what toll have we taken on ourselves in terms of the impact we’ve caused on a physical, mental and emotional level?

By understanding that our body chemistry reacts in exactly the same way whether the threat is real or imagined, and now that it’s been scientifically proven that under stress our body chemistry literally changes and negatively impacts our immune response, it means that we need to minimize the amount of fear to which we expose ourselves. It means that we have to become fully present and aware of what thoughts we allow to run through our minds.

We all know that it’s so much easier said than done. The concept of being fully present and monitoring one’s thoughts is an easy one to understand, and can be extremely difficult to execute. However, there is no other answer. NOW is all we have, and all we need. We will never have yesterday, the minute that just passed or the minute that’s still to come. All we have is NOW, and if we hope to have a next “now” that is to our liking, then we need to make sure that we’ve taken care of the current “now” to the best of our ability.

Only by being fully present in THIS moment now, and giving whatever it is that we’re doing in this moment our full attention, can we assure a good outcome in the “future”.

We can take a lesson from the animals in the wild. They have no worries or cares from one moment to the next while they wander around to find their food and water, and just generally enjoy the day. They don’t wander around wondering about whether they will be attacked by a predator sometime that day, or the next day or in three weeks time.

Until there is actually a predator that is around them, they are calm, content and at peace with themselves and the world. As soon as a predator comes into their environment, they react appropriately in that moment. As soon as the danger has passed, they are back to being calm, content and at peace, and don’t worry about when the predator may come back.

Being present in each moment takes a lot of discipline, but in the long run the benefits far outweigh the effort required. Energy Medicine is particularly effective in helping to shift old patterns and help us overcome being stuck in a fearful state.

Reductil sibutramine is categorized as an appetite suppressant weight loss drug. Reductil was approved by the FDA in 1997 as a prescription only weight loss drug. Since then Reductil sibutramine has helped number of obese people to effectively lose weight and lead a more healthy life.

Reductil sibutramine is recommended to patients who do not derive satisfactory weight loss results from regular means such as dieting and exercise. Though proved effective as a weight loss aid, Reductil sibutramine does not guarantee weight loss by its own. Reductil will only help people who are determined to lose weight and who use the drug in conjunction with a reduced calorie diet and exercise.

Sibutramine – the active ingredient in Reductil works on the neurotransmitters in the brain and dupes your brain to feel ‘full’ even when you have eaten less. Further, Reductil sibutramine also reduces craving in between meals so that you are not tempted to eat those high-calorie snacks. Thus by reducing your appetite, Reductil sibutramine controls the calorie in-take and thereby helps you to gradually loss weight.

Proper use of Reductil sibutramine

To achieve best weight loss results, one should make proper use of Reductil sibutramine. Given here is important information that will help you make proper use of Reductil sibutramine.

Always consult your doctor before using Reductil sibutramine and inform in detail about your general health conditions and medicines you may be taking. This will help your doctor determine the suitability of Reductil in your case and also determine the right Reductil sibutramine dosage for you.

The standard recommended dose of Reductil sibutramine is once daily, generally in the morning before your first meal. Reductil treatment is usually started with one 10mg tablet one day. However, your doctor may increase your dosage to 15mg depending on the effectiveness of the drug in your body and also on your tolerance to sibutramine. The dosage may also be reduced to 5mg if the 10mg treatment is not tolerated well by your body. In any case, do not alter the Reductil sibutramine dosage without first consulting your doctor.

Precautions to take before using Reductil sibutramine

Reductil sibutramine is a prescription only drug hence one should use proper precautions before using the drug for weight loss. This section offers you important information on precautions to take before using Reductil sibutramine weight loss drug.

While considering Reductil sibutramine treatment with your doctor either face-to-face or via online consultations always offer detailed information about your general health conditions and any type of prescription or OTC medicine that you may be taking. This will help your doctor to determine if Reductil will be appropriate for you and also determine the dosage.

* Do not use Reductil sibutramine if you have eating disorders, high blood pressure, and hardening of the arteries, have had a stroke.
* Do not use Reductil sibutramine if you have history of seizures, are taking another appetite suppressant, if you have taken anti-depressant monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAO) inhibitor (eg, phenelzine) within the last 14 days.
* Do not use Reductil sibutramine if you have severe liver or kidney problems, hemophilia or other bleeding problems
* Do not use Reductil sibutramine if you are suffering from depression or if you have a history of depression.
* Do not use Reductil sibutramine if you are pregnant, breastfeeding or below 18 years of age.
* Caution is also advised in patients who have epilepsy or sleep apnea.
* Inform your doctor if you have glaucoma (an eye disease) or Parkinson’s disease.
* Inform your doctor if you have any allergies or if you have a known sensitivity to any of the ingredients of Reductil sibutramine.
* Inform your doctor immediately if you experience any bothersome Reductil side effects.

Tests on Reductil sibutramine

Reductil sibutramine is proven to be a safe and effective weight-loss drug in the numerous clinical trials that were conducted before the drug was approved for use. When used in conjunction with a reduced-calorie diet and proper physical activity, about 77 percent of patients achieved weight loss that benefited their health.

Eleven double-blind, placebo-controlled obesity trials were conducted on weight loss using Reductil. Study length varied from 12 to 52 weeks and doses ranged from 1 to 30 mg once daily. Weight was significantly lowered when doses varied from 5-20mg in Reductil treated patients as opposed to those treated with a placebo. In two 12-month studies, greatest level of weight loss was gained by 6 months and significant weight loss was upheld across the 12 months.

Acne skin care normally focuses on the elimination of the skin’s excess oils. Facial acne can be prevented by washing with a mild soap twice a day, that is, in the morning and in the evening. You can also wash your face after heavy exercise. Taking care of your skin involves routine cleaning as a way of guarding against acne.

If you have acne, apply a mild soap on the skin but make sure that the soap does not remain there for a prolonged period. Proper skin care requires that you rinse your face thoroughly. You should not allow dirty hair to fall on the face after washing because it can lead to further irritation and worsen the condition. Touching the infected parts of your face with dirty fingers can further aggravate the situation.

Proper acne skin care demands that when you are on medication, you stay away from direct sunlight. Some medications make the skin to be extra sensitive when it is exposed to the sun’s rays. The sun’s rays are usually strongest between 10 am and 2 pm and therefore protective clothing as well as use of sunscreen between these times can help a great deal in protecting your skin

Skin care involves supplying the body with proper nutrients. If you are an acne patient, you need to take foods that enrich your body with vitamin A. Some of these foods include fresh fruits and vegetables. As an acne patient, you are not supposed to smoke. Smoking normally slows down the flow of blood in the blood vessels thus depriving the skin of vital nutrients.

Specific variations or mutations in a particular can gene raise a man’s risk of familial, or inherited, testicular germ-cell cancer, the most common form of this disease, according to new research by scientists at the National Institutes of Health. This is only the second gene to be identified that affects the risk of familial testicular cancer, and the first gene in a key biochemical pathway. The study appeared online June 23, 2009, in Cancer Research.

Researchers have suspected for years that heredity plays a role in some patients with testicular germ-cell cancer, although attempts to identify a single gene with very strong effects have been unsuccessful thus far. Scientists currently believe that multiple genes with weaker individual effects — but acting together — probably influence an individual’s risk of familial testicular cancer.

Men with a family member who had a testicular germ cell cancer are at three-to six-fold greater risk than other men of developing testicular cancer. Although a family history of testicular cancer probably accounts for less than five percent of all testicular cancers, the careful study of rare familial cancer clusters has often led to important new understanding of the non-familial versions of the same cancer. There will be an estimated 8,400 new cases of testicular cancer diagnosed in 2009 with about 90 percent of them being germ-cell cancers, according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

“This study contributes to our understanding of why testicular germ cell cancer appears to run in families,” said Raynard Kington, M.D., Acting NIH Director. “The findings may also lead to new ways to identify men at high risk, as well as more effective ways to prevent and treat testicular germ cell cancer.”

The key pathway in this disease is the cyclic AMP pathway, which regulates how cells respond to such signals as hormones. Drugs that affect the cyclic AMP pathway are widely available, and, in theory, could affect progression of testicular cancer.

In this study, Anelia Horvath, Ph.D., Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), performed the laboratory research and Larissa Korde, M.D., NCI, led the clinical cancer genetics study which identified the multiple-case testicular cancer families used for the DNA analysis. The NICHD and NCI are parts of NIH.

The researchers found that seven different mutations in the gene in question, PDE11A, created abnormal versions of the PDE11A enzyme that slowed down the enzyme’s destruction of cyclic AMP.

“The mutations don’t cause cancer directly, but instead appear to increase an individual’s susceptibility to developing a tumor,” explained the study’s senior author, Constantine Stratakis, M.D., D.Sc., chief of NICHD’s Section on Endocrinology and Genetics. “Almost one out of every five families we studied had a variation in the gene that affected its functioning.”

To conduct the research, Stratakis and his colleagues analyzed the portion of the DNA from 95 familial testicular cancer patients that contains the PDE11A gene. They found seven mutations in the cancer patients, and noted that the rate at which they were detected was much higher than that seen in the DNA of people without testicular cancer.

The researchers also had access to the DNA of a group of healthy men, who had been screened for diseases of the endocrine organs, including the testicles. None of the men who screened negative carried any of the genetic mutations identified in the familial testicular cancer patients. “Because this group had no mutations in PDE11A, we were more confident that the mutations had something to do with testicular cancer,” said Korde.

Learning how disruptions in the PDE11A enzyme lead to an increased risk of tumor formation may help researchers identify other proteins that also play a role, Stratakis said. He indicated that a good place to look is among other proteins in the cyclic AMP pathway.

“This research is a perfect example of how effective medical research can be when investigators from multiple, different disciplines work together as a team to solve a problem,” said Korde. “This is team science at its best; it represents the kind of research synergy at which NIH excels.”

Stratakis noted that PDE11A is also highly expressed in the prostate gland. He and his colleagues are now undertaking the research to find the frequency of PDE11A mutations in patients with prostate cancer.

The NICHD sponsors research on development, before and after birth; maternal, child, and family health; reproductive biology and population issues; and medical rehabilitation. For more information, visit the Institute’s Web site at http://www.nichd.nih.gov/.

NCI leads the National Cancer Program and the NIH effort to dramatically reduce the burden of cancer and improve the lives of cancer patients and their families, through research into prevention and cancer biology, the development of new interventions, and the training and mentoring of new researchers. For more information about cancer, please visit the NCI Web site at http://www.cancer.gov or call NCI’s Cancer Information Service at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237).
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) — The Nation’s Medical Research Agency — includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov. Reference: Horvath A, Korde L, Greene MH, Libe R, Osorio P, Faucz FR, Raffin-Sanson ML, Tsang KM, Drori-Herishanu L, Patronas Y, Remmers EF, Nikita M, Moran J, Greene J, Nesterova M, Merino M, Bertherat J, and Stratakis CA. Functional phosphodiesterase 11A mutations may modify the risk of familial and bilateral testicular germ cell tumors. Cancer Research. Online June 23, 2009.

Source: http://www.nih.gov/news/health/jun2009/nichd-29.htm