Health Information Series

Archive for the ‘Natural Medicine’ Category

The laurel (Laurus nobilis) is an evergreen tree native to Mediterranean countries. In addition to its use in cooking the leaves are beneficial to health by some applications, of which we offer the most important:

*Useful to regulate menstruation. Laurel
*Helps digestion and helps eliminate gas.
*Topical pain relief in bone and muscle.
*It is a good astringent.

*Reduces sweating and foot odor assaulted the water if you take a bath.
*Be careful not to eat the bay leaves in large quantities because they can be toxic.

An investigation of the Columbia University in the United States has found that the use of inhibitors of Cox-2 enzyme, such as aspirin, which is widely used for its anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects, prevent the formation of oxidizing , somehow involved in the development of Parkinson’s disease.

Experts have demostrajo that the presence of Cox-2 is higher than normal in the use of drugs aimed at reducing it could allow slow the progression of this disease, characterized by the loss of certain neurons, the dopamine. The authors noted similar results, both in the brains of rodents and in human tissue samples obtained from cadavers of patients with Parkinson’s.

In both cases, the administration of drugs capable of reducing the activity of this enzyme was able to multiply the survival of dopaminergic neurons and, consequently, slow the progression of the disease. What scientists explain is that the neurons with an “excess” of Cox-2 would cause his own death by means of complex cellular mediators.

This is the first time a person has been officially cured of HIV, a disease suffered by millions of people worldwide for which no known cure to date. The treatment followed by Timothy Ray Brown could have ended his life, but instead he did a great favor.

The 42-year-old was placed under the care of the Charité, the largest university hospital in Europe to treat cancer. The treatment received was very aggressive: chemotherapy that destroyed most of their immune cells. A total body irradiation. Ending with a stem cell transplant that one third of patients can not survive, which cured him of HIV.

The donor chosen had a genetic mutation that affects very few people and that makes them virtually immune to AIDS. As Brown cells were killed by the treatment, the new cells began to repopulate the immune system. Now and then a few trials, the man was declared cured of HIV.

What does this mean for the future of the treatments? Remember that Brown risked his life with all the radiation received by the AIDS cure, and perhaps many people do not want to risk as did this man.

One thing I know is that for the first time ever, HIV can be cured, which leaves the technology open doors for research in gene therapy and stem cell transplants.

Acupuncture is one of the main forms of healing in medicine, traditional Chinese. It is performed using needles that are placed on specific body points. The process should regulate and adjust the flow of energy to return to as it should be and is used to treat many conditions and pain.

The basis of acupuncture is that when the body has health problems your energy flow is blocked, usually happens by 14 points throughout the body, which are called meridians. With this practice, the needles are inserted into the meridians and thus change the electrical impulses, which causes energy to flow again as it should and you feel better. It is used to provide relief for chronic conditions such as arthritis , rheumatism, and some types of addiction. Read the rest of this entry »