Lack of Sleep Is Linked to Obesity, " New Evidence Shows "

Q - Can lack of sleep make you fat ?
A new paper which reviews the evidence from sleep restriction studies reveals that inadequate sleep is linked to obesity. The research, published in a special issue of the The American Journal of Human Biology, explores how lack of sleep can impact appetite regulation, impair glucose metabolism and increase blood pressure.
Obesity develops when energy intake is greater than expenditure. Diet and physical activity play an important part in this, but an additional factor may be inadequate sleep," said Dr Kristen Knutson, from the University of Chicago. "A review of the evidence shows how short or poor quality sleep is linked to increased risk of obesity by de-regulating appetite, leading to increased energy consumption."
>> The studies revealed how signals from the brain which control appetite regulation are impacted by experimental sleep restriction. Inadequate sleep impacts secretion of the signal hormones ghrelin, which increases appetite, and leptin, which indicates when the body is satiated. This can lead to increased food intake without the compensating energy expenditure.

Sperm Gene Discovery May Lead To Non-Hormonal Male Contraceptive

 

The discovery of a gene that enables sperm to mature may lead to the development of a non-hormonal male contraceptive, according to new research in mice, led by the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, that was published in the journalPLoS Genetics on 24 May.
Currently, the only male contraceptives available rely on disrupting the production of hormones like testosterone, which can cause unpleasant side effects such as acne, irritability and mood swings.
First author Dr Lee Smith is Reader in Genetic Endocrinology at the University of Edinburgh's Centre for Reproductive Health. He told the media:
"If we can find a way to target this gene in the testes, we could potentially develop a non-hormonal contraceptive."
The gene, called Katnal1, is critical to enabling sperm to mature in the testes.
Finding a way to regulate the gene could potentially stop the sperm maturing and render them ineffective.
Not only could this form the basis of a new type of male contraceptive that does not involve disrupting hormone levels, it could also lead to new treatments for male infertility caused by a faulty Katnal1 gene.
"The important thing is that the effects of such a drug would be reversible because Katnal1 only affects sperm cells in the later stages of development, so it would not hinder the early stages of sperm production and the overall ability to produce sperm," explained Smith.
"Although other research is being carried out into non-hormonal male contraceptives, identification of a gene that controls sperm production in the way Katnal1 does is a unique and significant step forward in our understanding of testis biology," he added.
The production and maturation of sperm cells is a complex process that relies on key interactions between germ cells and supporting mechanisms, including a "scaffolding" structure made of microtubules that allows nutrients and other compounds essential to sperm health and growth to travel to the germ cells.
The authors write that it is well established that an essential component of male fertility is a process that breaks down and rebuilds the microtubules, which allows the sperm cells to move within the testes as they mature.
But until now, nobody knew which gene was responsible for this process.
In their study, Smith and colleagues discovered that when they knocked out the Katnal1 gene in male mice it rendered them infertile.
They found that Katnal1 is expressed in the testicular Sertoli cells (SC) that support germ cell maturation and that "consistent with chemical disruption models, loss of function of KATNAL1 leads to male-specific infertility through disruption of SC microtubule dynamics and premature exfoliation of spermatids from the seminiferous epithelium".
Thus they established that Katnal1 is the essential controller of the process that regulates the microtubule scaffolding structure.
In their discussion, Smith and colleagues describe Katnal1 as an essential promoter of male fertility, and discovering how it behaves within the testicular Sertoli cells "represents an important first step towards understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying SC microtubule remodelling".
"Such information will be of utility both for increasing our understanding of male infertility and the development of treatments and non-hormonal male contraceptives," they conclude.
Grants from the UK Medical Research Council and the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia helped finance the study.
Written by Catharine Paddock PhD

Jet Device Injects Drugs Without Needles

The prospect of less painful medicine shots without needles came a step closer this month, as US researchers revealed how they have developed a device that delivers a controlled, tiny, high-pressure jet into the skin without using a hyperdermic needle.
While there are already several jet-devices on the market, they tend to be of an "all or nothing" design that delivers the same amount of drug to the same depth each time.
However the new jet-injection device that researchers at MIT have engineered can be programmed to deliver medicine into the skin in a range of doses to variable depths in a controlled manner.
A statement released earlier this week gives details of the new technology, with comments from study leader Ian Hunter, the George N. Hatsopoulos Professor of Mechanical Engineering at MIT, and some members of his team. Earlier this year, the journal Medical Engineering & Physics also published a paper where they describe the progress of their development.
Hunter and colleagues see a number of advantages to the technology.
One advantage is a reduction in needle-stick injuries. For instance, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are around 385,000 cases a year in the US of health workers in hospitals accidentally pricking themselves with needles.
Another advantage of a needle-less device is it may help improve compliance, for instance among diabetes patients who are reluctant to use hyperdermic needles to inject themselves with insulin.
Team member Catherine Hogan is a research scientist in MIT's Department of Mechanical Engineering. She said:
"If you are afraid of needles and have to frequently self-inject, compliance can be an issue."
"We think this kind of technology ... gets around some of the phobias that people may have about needles," she added.
Scientists have been working for some time to find alternatives to the hypodermic needle. For instance, nicotine patches are one example of how to release drugs through the skin. But there is a limit to the size of the molecule you can use in a patch: it has to be small enough to pass through the pores of the skin, which rules out larger protein-based drugs, for instance, which are increasing in use.
A jet injector device delivers a high-velocity jet that penetrates the skin. But while these are commercially available, many have spring-loaded designs, they are all limited by the fact they deliver the same amount of drug each time to the same depth of skin.
But thanks partly to a "custom high-stroke linear Lorentz-force motor that is feed-back controlled during the time-course of an injection", the MIT jet injector can deliver a range of doses to variable depth in a highly controlled manner.
The feed-back control aspect of it allows the device to react in "real time" and adjust itself accordingly to meet the programmed instruction.
The Lorentz-force motor is essentially a small, powerful magnet surrounded by a wire coil attached to a piston located inside a drug ampoule.
When an electric current passes through the coil it produces a magnetic field that forces the piston forward, ejecting the drug at very high pressure and speed (nearly as fast as the speed of sound) through the nozzle of the ampoule, which is about the same thickness as the proboscis of a mosquito.
The researchers have shown how using this device, they can monitor and modulate continuously the speed of the drug jet, and "regulate precisely the volume of drug delivered during the injection process", as they write in their paper.
They also report being able to control injection depth up to 16 mm, and "repeatably and precisely inject volumes of up to 250 μL into transparent gels and post-mortem animal tissue".
By controlling the amount of current, the researchers control the speed and pressure. They have generated pressure profiles that modulate the current.
There is a high-pressure phase that ejects drug at a speed sufficient to "breach" the skin and reach the desired depth, and there is a lower-pressure phase that delivers drug in a slower stream that can easily be absorbed by the surrounding tissue.
From tests, the team established that different skin types may require different pressures to deliver the right volume to the right depth in the skin, as Hogan explained:
"If I'm breaching a baby's skin to deliver vaccine, I won't need as much pressure as I would need to breach my skin."
"We can tailor the pressure profile to be able to do that, and that's the beauty of this device," she added.
The team is also developing a version of the device that delivers drugs normally dispensed in powdered form: by programming the device to vibrate, the powder becomes "fluidized" and can penetrate the skin like a liquid.
This version would be very useful in situations where there is risk of a "cold chain" problem. This problem is not uncommon in developing countries, where whole batches of drugs and vaccines have to be destroyed if they can't continuously be kept refrigerated in liquid form.
Written by Catharine Paddock PhD

Calcium Supplements May Increase Heart Attack Risk

Article Date: 24 May 2012 - 12:00 PDT

An analysis of data on nearly 24,000 people followed for over a decade suggests taking calcium supplements may increase the risk of having a heart attack. This is the main finding of a study published online this week in the journal Heart that also concludes boosting overall calcium intake through dietary sources brings no significant benefit in terms of reducing risk of heart disease or stroke.
The researchers say calcium supplements, which are often recommended to the elderly and women after the menopause to protect against bone thinning, should be "taken with caution". Some experts are saying we should wait for further research to corroborate these findings before acting on this advice, and people who take supplements who are concerned should talk to their doctor.
The findings also appear to go against previous studies that have shown a higher calcium intake is linked to a lower risk of a number of conditions that predispose to heart disease and stoke, namely high blood pressure, obesity, and type 2 diabetes.
The study is based on data collected on participants who were aged 35 to 64 years old between 1994 and 1998 when they joined one of the German arms of the EPIC (European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition) study in Heidelberg.
At the start of the study the participants filled in questionnaires that assessed their diet for the previous 12 months, and they also answered questions about regular intake of vitamin and mineral supplements.
Their health was followed for an average of 11 years afterwards. During this time, the group experienced 354 heart attacks and 260 strokes, and 267 participants died of related causes.
When they analyzed the results, the researchers ranked them according to levels of calcium intake, and examined them from various points of view, such as calcium intake including supplements, and the effect of supplements alone. They also adjusted them to remove as far as possible effects from other known influencing factors.
They found participants with a moderate intake of calcium from all sources (820mg a day, including supplements) had a 31% lower risk of heart attack than the ones in the bottom 25% of calcium intake.
But those who calcium intake from all sources, including supplements, was higher than 1,100mg a day did not have a significantly lower risk of heart attack than the bottom intake group.

Plus, the researchers found no link between raised or lowered risk of stroke for any level of calcium intake from all sources, which they say reflects the findings of other studies.
However, when they looked at the results for supplements only, they found the participants who took calcium supplements on a regular basis had an 86% higher risk of having a heart attack than those who did not take any supplements at all.
And for participants who only took calcium supplements (that is no other vitamins or mineral supplements), this figure shot up: they had more than double the risk of having a heart attack compared with those who took no supplements at all.
The researchers conclude that their findings suggest:
"... increasing calcium intake from diet might not confer significant cardiovascular benefits, while calcium supplements, which might raise [heart attack] risk, should be taken with caution."
The study has drawn a mixed response, with some saying it adds to those that are questioning the safety of calcium supplements, and others pointing to the study's limitations and calling for further studies to corroborate the findings.
In an editorial in the same issue of the journal, Professors Ian Reid and Mark Bolland from the Faculty of Medical and Health Science at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, write that calcium supplements are "now coming under increasing scrutiny".
They refer to studies that link them to kidney stones and problems with the gut and abdominal symptoms. They also point out that while there is evidence that they reduce levels of cardiovascular risk factors, this does not actually translate into reduction in heart attacks and strokes.
Another point they make is that women who take calcium supplements to protect against bone thinning are already healthier than the women who do not, and the effect is modest anyway, around 10% only.
They say dietary calcium is helpful because it is taken in small amounts that are absorbed throughout the day, whereas supplements tend to be taken all in one go, causing blood calcium levels to spike above normal, and it is this that causes harm, they suggest.
"It is now becoming clear that taking this micronutrient in one or two daily [doses] is not natural, in that it does not reproduce the same metabolic effects as calcium in food," they write, suggesting we should discourage taking supplements to boost calcium intake.
"We should return to seeing calcium as an important component of a balanced diet, and not as a low cost panacea to the universal problem of postmenopausal bone loss," they conclude.
Natasha Stewart, Senior Cardiac Nurse with the British Heart Foundation, said while this study suggests there may be an increased risk of having a heart attack for people who take calcium supplements, it doesn't mean the supplements cause heart attacks. She told the press:
"Further research is needed to shed light on the relationship between calcium supplements and heart health. We need to determine whether potential risks of the supplements outweigh the benefits calcium can give sufferers of conditions such as osteoporosis."
"If you've been prescribed calcium supplements, you should still keep taking your medication, but speak to your doctor if you have any concerns," she added.
This study was published in the journal Heart.
The supplement industry expresses a similar view. Dr Taylor C. Wallace is Senior Director for Scientific & Regulatory Affairs at The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) in the US. He said in a statement issued from Washington on Wednesday that "the study itself is not reason enough to discount the important benefits of calcium".
He urges consumers with questions, and their doctors, to consider some of the study's limitations, for instance the fact it was not originally designed to measure cardiovascular events, so confounding factors were not distributed equally through the groups. As an example he points to the fact the calcium supplement group had more people with high cholesterol and more long-term smokers.
Wallace said consumers like the elderly who are at greater risk of falls and fractures due to weak bones, need calcium, and removing it from their diet could increase their risk of these problems.
"Our advice is for consumers to be aware of how much calcium they get from their diet, supplement with calcium if needed, and check with their doctor or other healthcare practitioner to determine their own personal needs," he urged.
Written by Catharine Paddock PhD

Characteristics of Major " Serum Proteins "

- Prealbumin,transthyretin
Transport of the thyroid hormones thyroxine and triiodothyronine; useful as a measurement of nutritional status
- Albumin
Transport of bilirubin, drugs; maintenance of colloid oncotic pressure
- IgG
Produced in response to specific infections to destroy toxins and foreign invaders of the body
- IgA
Secretory immunoglobulin protecting the mucosal surfaces
- IgM
First antibody produced in response to an infection
- C3
Complement protein that plays a role in immune defense; an acute-phase protein
- C4
Complement protein involved in antibody-antigen response and in the destruction of bacteria and viruses; an acute-phase protein
- C-reactive protein
Acute-phase protein that appears in the blood following infection or tissue damage
- Beta2-microglobulin
Light chain of the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) molecule
- Beta lipoprotein
Transports lipids, primarily cholesterol (e.g., low density lipoprotein)
- Haptoglobin
Transports free hemoglobin through the blood to the liver for degradation; an acute-phase protein
- Transferrin
Transport protein for iron
- Ceruloplasmin
Acute-phase protein; has enzymatic activity and transports copper
- Alpha1-antitrypsin
Serine protease inhibitor; an acute-phase protein
- Alpha1 acid glycoprotein
Inactivates lipophilic hormones; an acute-phase protein
- Alpha-fetoprotein
Predominant plasma protein of the fetus; a fetal albumin analog
- Alpha2-macroglobulin
Protease inhibitor and acute-phase reactant

Early Pregnancy Symptoms

• Missed Period

  There are certain cases where the missed period can be caused due to some other reasons like stress, weight fluctuation, illness or the use of some other contraceptive pills. A woman can miss her period if she is suffering from polycystic ovary syndrome. In this the menstrual periods comes after several months. If you miss your period and do not have any of the above stated condition proceed further to know other pregnancy symptoms.

• Nausea

  Another classic pregnancy symptom is the nausea morning sickness. It is one of the most scary pregnancy symptoms. It can occur any time in the day. The pregnant woman complaints of feeling sick, this feeling of being sick starts usually in the 5-6 weeks of pregnancy. Sometimes morning sickness can be felt as early as two weeks after conception. Normally morning sickness is one of the pregnancy symptoms that fade away at the end of third trimester.

• Tender breasts

  Some women claim that the breast becomes very sensitive and have a tingling feeling. Some experience an increase in the size of the breasts soon after conception. Like the breasts are ready for breast feeding. It is the earliest pregnancy symptoms and it disappears few weeks after conception.

• Darkness of areola

  This is considered as one of the first pregnancy symptoms and remains there throughout the pregnancy. If any women notice the darkness in her areolas she may rightly consider her pregnant.

• Fatigue

  Though it is a common pregnancy symptoms but tiredness can take place due to many other reasons as well.

• Frequent urination

  This pregnancy symptom is caused due to the increase in the size of the uterus usually after two weeks of conception. The expanding uterus puts some pressure on the bladder which makes the pregnant women to urinate frequently. The rising levels of progesterone hormone stimulates the muscles of bladder, and the bladder feels full, the women feels to urinate even if actually she don’t have the need to do it.

• Constipation

  This constipation is never good for the growing fetus. So should be immediately taken care of

• Change in taste and smell

  Some favorite foods of the women may suddenly become quenching soon after the conception. Likewise she may feel craving for many other foods. Another most common pregnancy symptom is the metallic taste.

What does a Medical Representative Do?

A medical representative is employed by a pharmaceutical company to maximize the prescribing of that pharmaceutical company's products in a geographical area.
There are no strict formulae for how to maximize product prescribing - hard work is only part of the story and often working smarter is the key to success. This is why pharmaceutical companies are constantly looking for candidates who have the ability to think (and then put into practice) new ways of approaching sales opportunities.
As an experienced representative you will know your territory, know your customers and have a clear idea which part of your territory offers the highest potential for sales. You set yourself clear objectives for every day that you work and will know exactly what you want to achieve from each customer visit.

 

Interview Tips

Preparation, communication, enthusiasm and understanding the interviewer's requirements are the 4 key ingredients to success at interview.

Companies want to feel that they are exceptional. If you haven't thoroughly researched a position or company you will find it very difficult to persuade the interviewer that their particular position or company is the one you are looking for.
If you want to break into medical sales then you will need to have spent at least 1 day work-shadowing an experienced medical representative. This can be difficult to arrange but - if you can't persuade someone to take you out on a day's work-shadow what chance do you have of persuading a doctor to change his or her prescribing habits?
You must also understand some of the issues facing a medical representative and have developed some ideas of your own on how to tackle these challenges:
How are you going to get to see more doctors than other applicants?
How are you going to plan your territory?
What initiatives can you think of that might help you develop good working relationships with your customers?

You must be able to communicate, succinctly, why you are the best person for the position. Demonstrating a sound understanding of what the position requires and what transferable skills you already have will give you a distinct advantage. Don't expect to be taken at face value, you must be prepared to back up any claims with specific evidence from your previous experience.

Enthusiasm is probably the single most important ingredient that most pharmaceutical companies look for in their sales recruitment. You can train representatives in most things but you can't train people to be enthusiastic - you either have it or you don't!
Enthusiasm can be demonstrated in many ways.

Body language

By the amount of preparation you have done.

The vitality with which you discuss the subject of medical sales

You're overall determination to get a position with this particular company.

Remember to sell yourself for the medical sales position that is being interviewed for. You can demonstrate ambition by telling the interviewer that you are looking for a career but reinforce that you have a realistic expectation of the timescales involved. Remember, they will be trying to fill this sales territory for at least the next 2 - 3 years.

Training

Training is an essential ingredient to becoming successful in any field. Pharmaceutical sales is no exception and you will receive a comprehensive initial training program. This comprises 3 areas:

Basic anatomy and physiology

How your particular drug works

How to become a more effective salesperson

10 Amazing Life Lessons You Can Learn From " Albert Einstein "

1- Follow Your Curiosity.
"I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious."

2- Perseverance is Priceless.
"It's not that I'm so smart; it's just that I stay with problems longer."

3- Focus on the Present.
"Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves."

4- The Imagination is Powerful.
"Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions. Imagination is more important than knowledge."

5- Make Mistakes.
"A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new."

6- Live in the Moment.
"I never think of the future - it comes soon enough."

7- Create Value.
"Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value."

8- Don't Expect Different Results.
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

9- Knowledge Comes From Experience.
"Information is not knowledge. The only source of knowledge is experience."

10- Learn the Rules and Then Play Better.
"You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else."

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Contaminated TCM products cause liver damage

Contaminated TCM products cause liver damage

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FDA Approves New Erectile Dysfunction Drug Stendra

Stendra Works Like Cialis, Levitra, Staxyn, Viagra

By Daniel J. DeNoon
WebMD Health News

Reviewed by Laura J. Martin, MD

April 27, 2012 -- The FDA has approved Stendra (avanafil) for men with erectile dysfunction (ED).

Stendra, from Vivus Inc., is in the same drug class as the four oral ED drugs now on the U.S. market: Cialis, Levitra, Staxyn (an orally dissolving version of Levitra), and Viagra. An estimated 30 million U.S. men have ED, according to the FDA.

"This approval expands the available treatment options to men experiencing erectile dysfunction, and enables patients, in consultation with their doctor, to choose the most appropriate treatment for their needs," Victoria Kusiak, MD, deputy director of the Office of Drug Evaluation III in the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, states in a news release.

In some participants in clinical trials, the drug was effective in as little as 15 minutes. Some men in clinical trials reported improved erections more than six hours after taking the drug.

In clinical trials, 77% of men with general ED were able to get erections after taking Stendra, compared to 54% of men taking an inactive placebo pill. Among men with diabetes-related ED, 63% were able to get erections after taking the drug, compared to 42% of men taking placebo.

Stendra resulted in successful intercourse for 57% of men with general ED (vs. 27% of men taking placebo) and for 40% of men with diabetes-related ED (vs. 20% of men taking placebo).

The main side effects of avanafil are similar to those of its sister drugs:headache, flushing, stuffy nose, and back pain. Rarely, an erection lasting for four or more hours may occur, which would need immediate medical attention. Other side effects occurring rarely include color vision changes, sudden loss of vision, and sudden loss of hearing. If sudden loss of vision or hearing occurs, it is recommended to call a doctor immediately.

Men who take nitrate medications should not take Stendra because the combination of these two medications can lead to a sudden drop in blood pressure.

SOURCES: Alwaal, A. Drug Design, Development and Therapy, 2011.Goldstein, I. Journal of Sexual Medicine, April 2012.Zhao, C. BJU International, March 27, 2012.