Bukola Bolarinwa Receives Award From Queen Elizabeth in The UK

Bukola Bolarinwa, a 28-Year-Old Nigerian lady has received the Queens Young Leaders Award from Queen Elizabeth of England.

Bukola is the founder of Haima Health Initiative, an online blood donation platform which supports hospitals who struggle to find blood in a safe and timely way.

The Queen’s Young Leaders Awards recognise and celebrate exceptional young people aged 18 to 29 in the Commonwealth who are driving change within their communities and transforming people’s lives.

Can drinking tea prevent dementia?

A study in the December 2016 Journal of Nutrition, Health & Aging showed that drinking tea frequently is associated with a lower risk of dementia, especially for people who are genetically predisposed to the disease.

Researchers followed 957 older adults, average age 65, who were part of the Singapore Longitudinal Aging Study. Of these, 69% drank tea on a frequent basis. After a five-year period, the researchers found that the tea drinkers had a 50% lower risk of dementia. This is consistent with earlier findings that showed tea consumers scored higher on various cognitive tests.
The researchers also conducted genetic tests on the group and found that tea drinkers who carried the APOE4 gene variant, a known risk factor for Alzheimer's, were also at a lower risk compared with people who had APOE4 and did not drink tea.

How tea may help protect against dementia is not known, but other findings suggest that the brain-protecting effects of tea drinking could stem from bioactive compounds in tea leaves, such as flavonoids, which have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant potential, and L-theanine, which regulates neurotransmitter and brain activities.

It did not matter what kind of tea the people drank — black, green, and oolong all had the same association. The key was regular consumption, according to the scientists. The more the people drank tea, the stronger the relationship, and the best results were among those who had tea daily during the entire study period.

 Published: July, 2017

In the Journals
Harvard Health Publications
Harvard Medical School

Don't Joke With Your Life: Checkout The Cancer Symptoms You Must Never Ignore At All

Cancer is a killer disease that has destroyed many lives over the years, however some people are still unaware of the signs they should look out for.

 

When it comes to aches, pains, and other health problems, just because something seems minor doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take it seriously. In fact, research finds that even common ailments can actually be the first warning signs of cancer. In a survey of 1,729 adults over the age of 50 in the UK published in PLOS ONE, respondents evaluated how serious they perceived a list of 17 ailments—10 of which were actually markers of cancer.

 

They also indicated whether they’d experienced any of these symptoms recently and, if so, how they actually handled it.Turns out, many people aren’t paying as much attention to warning signs as they could be, says study author Katriina Whitaker, a senior research fellow at University College London. “Some people don’t think they [the symptoms] are serious, and cancer does not leap to mind.”

 

While for the vast majority, “these warning signs will not indicate cancer,” Whitaker says.

 

1. Lumps or bumps

 

It’s best to have any strange lumps checked out by a doctor. In the survey, 7.5 per cent  of people reported an unexplained lump. While 67 per cent did contact their doctors, 77 per cent didn’t think it could be a sign of something more serious.

 

2. Cough or hoarseness

 

It’s cold and flu season, so coughing can feel like a given. However, if your cough persists, it could indicate laryngeal, lung, or thyroid cancer or lymphoma. This was the most common symptom among survey participants. “We know coughs and colds are everywhere at the moment, and we’re not suggesting everyone with a cough goes to their doctor,” Whitaker said. “But if you have a symptom that doesn’t go away or is unusual, don’t be afraid to go to your doctor for advice.”

 

3. Change in bowel habits

 

In Whitaker’s study, 18 per cent of people had experienced changes in the timing, amount, or size of their bowel movements. While these disruptions are usually caused by certain foods or medication, if you notice it happens regularly over time, it could also be a sign of colon cancer.

 

4. Bleeding

 

Coughing up blood can signal lung cancer; blood in the stool could be a sign of colon or rectal cancer. Women who experience unexplained vaginal bleeding should be checked for cervical or endometrial cancer. A bloody discharge from the nipple can signal breast cancer, while blood in the urine can mean you have bladder or kidney cancer. Unusual bleeding can occur during any phase of cancer and warrants a visit to your doctor.

 

5. A long-lasting sore throat

 

A sore throat may be just another winter woe, but a persistent one could point to something more severe, such as laryngeal cancer or throat cancer. Of those surveyed, nearly 78 per cent  didn’t think throat woes were serious.

 

6. Unexplained pain

 

Persistent pain is your body’s way of signaling a problem, and that could be anything from nothing…to bone cancer or ovarian cancer. The American Cancer Society says that pain from cancer typically means it has spread—a good reason not to be a stoic and to make an appointment with your physician. One striking finding from Whitaker’s survey: Only about 40 per cent of people in the study were concerned that pain could be a serious issue.

 

7. Variation in bladder activity

 

Because urinary tract infections are common in women, this symptom is often disregarded as just another UTI. But whether you’re male or female, if you notice blood in your urine, experience sudden urgency, or feel pain while going, definitely bring it up with your doctor to rule out cancers of the bladder, kidney, or prostate.

 

Fatigue is a symptom

Fatigue is a symptom, not a disease, and it is experienced differently by different people. Fatigue from stress or lack of sleep usually subsides after a good night’s rest, while other fatigue is more persistent and may be debilitating even after restful sleep.

Breakthrough in stroke treatment: Stent thrombectomy

A randomized clinical research study looked at the effectiveness of a new treatment for stroke. The study involved adding a minimally invasive clot removal procedure called stent thrombectomy to standard clot-dissolving therapy, known as tissue plasminogen activator. The study showed a dramatic improvement in restoring blood flow back to the brain, which is critical in the recovery of stroke.

Senior (stock image). The addition of stent thrombectomy to standard clot-dissolving treatment led to 71 percent of patients returning to independent living, compared with 40 percent in the standard treatment group.

Credit: © Barabas Attila / Fotolia

Clot removal therapy effective outside six-hour window for some stroke patients

Results of a randomized controlled trial show that endovascular treatment (ET) to remove a stroke-causing blood clot in the brain is effective in some patients even when performed within 6 to 24 hours after a stroke. Current guidelines for acute stroke treatment endorse clot removal only when performed within six hours of a stroke. The findings are presented at the European Stroke Organisation Conference 2017 in Prague.

"This still means that you need to be rushed to the hospital as soon as possible after a stroke has occurred because the mantra "time is brain" still holds. However, our study shows that even if treated outside the time window, patients will have significantly reduced disability with clot removal," said Tudor Jovin, M.D., director, UPMC Stroke Institute, and professor of neurology and neurosurgery at the University of Pittsburgh, who co-led the trial.

The trial sets a new selection paradigm based on physiology, showing for the first time that looking at patients fulfilling certain imaging and clinical criteria, physiological state of the brain is a much better approach to determining whether patients will benefit from endovascular therapy as opposed to adhering to strict time windows, noted co-principal investigator Raul Nogueira, M.D., professor of neurology, neurosurgery and radiology at Emory University School of Medicine, and director of neuroendovascular service and neurocritical care service at Marcus Stroke & Neuroscience Center, Grady Memorial Hospital.

In the study, researchers randomly assigned stroke victims who arrived at the hospital outside the six-hour time window to either receive endovascular therapy or receive only standard medical therapy.
Brain imaging and clinical information (neurological deficit) was used to identify and enroll patients who had a small area of irreversibly damaged brain and a significantly larger brain tissue area that was imminently threatened by loss of blood supply, but still alive -- a criterion known as clinical core mismatch.
The results showed that almost half of the patients (48.6 percent) receiving endovascular therapy had a good outcome at 90 days after treatment -- defined as the patients being independent in activities of daily living -- showed clinical benefit while only 13.1 percent showed benefit in the group that received clot-busting drugs alone. There was no difference in mortality between the two groups.

The researchers planned to enroll 500 patients over the course of the study period. However, an intermediate review of the treatment effectiveness before enrollment was completed led the independent Data Safety Monitoring Board overseeing the study to recommend early termination of the trial after it was demonstrated that ET provided significant clinical benefit in the selected patients.
The multi-center international study known as the DAWN trial included trial locations in the United States, Spain, France, Australia and Canada. The trial was sponsored by Stryker Corporation, which manufactures the clot removal devices used in the study.

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Story Source:
Materials provided by University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

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Ladies, Be Careful: These are the Early Breast Cancer Symptoms You Should Never Ignore

Breast cancer is a dangerous ailment that has claimed the lives of many women over the years. These are some of the signs of breast cancer you should not joke with.

Most people know to look for lumps, but there are many other symptoms that you probably don't know about.

With one in two people now getting cancer at some point in their lifetime, the threat is more evident than ever.

Breast cancer was the most common cancer worldwide in women contributing more than 25% of the total number of new cases diagnosed in 2012.

There were 53,696 new cases of breast cancer in the UK alone in 2013 and 11,433 deaths in 2014.

Thankfully due to increasing awareness and advances in treatment the survival rate is now 78%, but it's important to catch it early.

While most people know to look out for lumps and bumps, there are a whole host of other warning signs that aren't spoken about as often.

October is breast cancer awareness month and in a bid to raise awareness, here are nine early symptoms you should look out for:

1. Lump or thickening in your breast or armpit

2. Change to the skin of your breast

3. Changes in the shape or size of your breast

4. Dimpling of the skin or thickening in the breast tissue

5. A nipple that's turned in (inverted)

6. A rash (like eczema) on the nipple

7. Nipple changes or discharge

8. Pain in your breast

9. Any other unusual or persistent changes to your breast

What should I do if I have any of these symptoms?

See your GP as soon as possible if you notice any symptoms of breast cancer. Your GP will examine you. If they think your symptoms need further assessment they'll refer you to a specialist breast cancer clinic.

Don't be worried about wasting your doctor's time – it's always better to be safe than sorry.

How is breast cancer diagnosed?

The most common way doctors look for breast cancer in women is to identify lumps in the breast. They most often do this with mammogram x-rays and sometimes an ultrasound scan – usually in women over 35.

These tests will detect whether there are any unusual lumps or bumps inside the breast. If they find anything worrying they will then do a biopsy, where a sample of tissue cells is taken from the breast to see if it's cancerous.

You may also need a scan and a needle test on lymph nodes in your armpit (axilla) to see whether these are also affected.

If you do have a cancerous lump, your specialist will then decided the best corse of treatment.

How is breast cancer treated?

Due to medical advances there are now a whole host of different treatment options for breast cancer.

Depending on your exact diagnosis you may have a combination of any of the following: surgery, radiation, hormonal (anti-estrogen) therapy and chemotherapy.

There are also complementary and holistic medicines and techniques such as yoga and meditation, that can be given alongside stronger treatment.

Culled from Daily Star UK