Shocking The Facts About Sleep Deprivation

Have you ever heard of the shocking facts about sleep deprivation? Not? Well, you do rate people. Keep in mind, against burning the candle at both ends! We all know what it means to be deprived of sleep - I for one! To burn midnight oil at dawn, there really is money.
When you do not get enough sleep, that beauty, things can go horribly wrong on absolutely disgusting. Your mood, your character flies, your mental vision impaired, so what do you think - foul! Your head is ... oh! it hurts. That is, how vitally important your dream is.
Now for the shocking facts: -

    * Weak immune system - When you're deprived of sleep, your immune system is definitely weaker, jeopardizing your health, and may also interfere with the effectiveness of any vaccine, if you think about adoption.
    * Weight gain - Somehow, obesity is associated with chronic sleep deprivation, whether we are aware of it or not.
    * Cognitive impairment and decreased performance - Constant lack of sleep for a long time, this will break your memory, and significantly reduce your alertness and performance.
    * Breast Cancer - Women who work the night shift, there is a link with breast cancer, like melatonin, is necessary to protect against certain types of cancer - is suppressed. Shift work usually involves a violation of the circadian which is listed officially as a probable carcinogen.
    * Auto Accident - Dream of accidents happen when you lose sleep, which caused drowsiness at the wheel. It may sound scary, but the truth be known, that drowsy driving is worse than drunk driving. Worldwide, thousands of people died ... asleep at the wheel on the road! Watch out! When you feel sleepy - Mediator drive.
    * Pillow log - Due to the aggressive behavior, one partner usually loses sleep at night. This includes loud snoring or tossing and turning, which can bring your spouse or companion to log on to the idea of ​​sleeping the same bed.
    * Sleep apnea is sleep disordered breathing. When oxygen to the brain is reduced due to respiratory disorders, mental disorders, like dementia occurs.
    * Migraine or severe headache is often caused by extreme sleep deprivation, and it really hurts.
Many do not realize that when you trade in your beauty sleep for buy Ambien - a hefty price tag. Sometimes it can be cost precious life! Ignoring the absolute personal need for a nocturnal, akin to sitting on a time bomb ... knowing that the clock is ticking! As for me, I'm heading to Slumberland and sweet dreams.

WHO Mishandled H1N1 Pandemic

Remember how news about the H1N1 swine flu pandemic was the top story every day for weeks and months not so long ago? Remember the scare tactics? Now The Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) has endorsed the conclusions of its Health Committee, which stated there is “overwhelming evidence that the seriousness of the pandemic was vastly overrated by WHO” (World Health Organization), which led to a mishandling of public health priorities.
PACE noted that the handling of the H1N1 pandemic by WHO, European Union health agencies, and national governments resulted in a “waste of large sums of public money, and unjustified scares and fears about the health risks,” according to a news release from the Council of Europe.
For some time there has also been great concerns about the influence of the pharmaceutical industry, specifically those that manufactured the H1N1 vaccines, on decisions made about the pandemic and the advice given to the public. PACE parliamentarians voiced concerns that their conclusions and the other controversies surrounding the entire H1N1 affair could prove “disastrous” should a serious pandemic develop in the future because of a lack of public confidence.
Just prior to PACE’s endorsement of its Health Committee’s conclusions, two members of a review panel that was established to appraise WHO’s handling of the H1N1 pandemic stepped down because they said they had been involved in the response the panel was assessing, according to CBC News. Both men—Australian virologist John MacKenzie and head of aviation medicine at the International Civil Aviation Organization, Dr. Tony Evans—said they will act as expert witnesses if and when needed.
Earlier this year, Harvey Fineberg, head of the Institute of Medicine, announced that he and a 29-member committee were investigating the questionable relationship between WHO and the pharmaceutical industry during the swine flu outbreak. Fineberg said that “The committee is well aware that concerns have been expressed of the potential influence of industry on decision making at various advisory committees and the WHO more generally.”
In February 2010, Dr. Wolfgang Wodarg, the former head of health at the Council for Europe, accused WHO of “faking” the pandemic. “It looks like the WHO is under the influence of industry,” he said at a hearing in Strasbourg. Fineberg was quoted in EarthTimes, saying that if he and his committee discover any wrongdoings by WHO, the “conclusions and recommendations will be a matter of public record.” Results of the review are not expected to be presented until early 2011.
In light of PACE’s conclusion that WHO mishandled the H1N1 pandemic, the Assembly has issued recommendations urging greater transparency and better handling of public health issues, as well as efforts to protect against “undue influence by vested interests.” Along with a request for public monies to support independent research and advice, it has also asked the media to avoid “sensationalism and scaremongering in the public health domain.”

How Wildfires Affect Public Health

Many county health departments are getting questions from their residents who have been affected by the smoke from the wildfire burning in Eastern North Carolina. The accompanying information has been provided to the local health departments by the Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response and is being provided to the media to help facilitate dissemination of the information to the public. Thank you for assisting us in that effort.
Q: What is the health threat from wildfire smoke?
A: Smoke from wildfires is a mixture of gases and fine particles from burning trees and other plant materials. Smoke can irritate your eyes or your respiratory system, and worsen chronic heart and lung diseases. How much and how long you are exposed to the smoke, as well as your age and degree of susceptibility play a role in determining whether or not someone will experience smoke-related health problems. If you are experiencing serious medical problems for any reason, seek medical treatment immediately.
Q: How can I tell if the smoke is affecting my family or me?
A:
* Smoke can cause coughing, scratchy throat, irritated sinuses, shortness of breath, chest pain, headaches, stinging eyes and runny nose.
* If you have heart or lung disease, smoke might make your symptoms worse.
* People who have heart disease might experience chest pain, rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath and fatigue.
* Smoke may worsen symptoms for people who have pre-existing respiratory conditions, such as respiratory allergies, asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), in the following ways:
o Inability to breathe normally
o Cough with or without mucus
o Chest discomfort
o Wheezing and shortness of breath
* When smoke levels are high, even healthy people may experience some of these symptoms.
Q: How can I protect myself and my family from the harmful effects of smoke?
A: The best thing to do is to limit your exposure to the smoke. Specific strategies to decrease exposure to smoke include staying indoors whenever possible, using air conditioners (air conditioned homes usually have lower air exchange rates than homes that use open windows for ventilation), using mechanical air cleaners, keeping windows closed while driving in a vehicle, and minimizing other sources of air pollution such as smoking tobacco, using wood burning stoves, burning candles or incense and vacuuming.
Q: Will I suffocate in my house?
A: No. The most common call for evacuation during a wildfire is due to the direct threat of the fire, not smoke. Leaving the area of thick smoke may be an option for those who are sensitive to smoke. But it is often difficult to predict the duration, intensity and direction of smoke, making this an unattractive choice to many people. Those without air conditioning must also remember not to become overheated by closing all windows.
Q: Should I wear a dust mask or N95 respirator?
A: N95 respirators and dust masks are masks made of filtering material that fit over the nose and mouth. The filter material will filter out some of the small particles that may be found in smoke, but only if there is a good fit to the wearer’s face. It is also important to know that N95 particulate respirators and dust masks only filter particles, not toxic gases and vapors.
Most people will find it difficult to use the respirators and masks correctly for general use. For instance, it is impossible to get a good seal on individuals with facial hair. As a result, the respirator will provide little if any protection, and may offer the wearer a false sense of protection.
Filtering face-piece respirators and masks can make the work of breathing more difficult and can lead to increased breathing rates and heart rates. They can also contribute to heat stress. Because of this, respirator use by those with heart and respiratory diseases can be dangerous, and should only be done under a doctor’s supervision. Even healthy adults may find that the increased effort required for breathing makes it uncomfortable to wear a respirator for more than short periods of time. Decisions on whether to use respirators or masks as personal protection for people who must work outside should be made on a case by case, day by day basis.

Sign Language Via Cell Phone, You Heard Right

Deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals may soon have access to a cell phone capable of transmitting American sign language. University of Washington engineers are working on a device that can optimize compressed video signals for sign language.
Cell phone usage is ubiquitous: according to Cellphone.org, 89 percent of Americans used a cell phone in 2009. But there are many people who are not included in this statistic because they have a medical challenge that does not allow them to use a traditional mobile phone.

Mobile Video Phones Make Sign Language Possible

The MobileASL (American Sign Language) team has been working to change that. They have improved the quality of the image around the hands and face on video phone transmissions, and they also use motion detection to identify when a person is signing, which can extend the phone’s battery life when the video is being used.
The University of Washington engineers recently completed its first field test of the video phone device along with 11 volunteers in a summer program for deaf and hard-of-hearing students. Eve Riskin, a UW professor of electrical engineering, explained that although they knew the cell phones worked in a lab, they wanted to test them in real life.
“This is the first study of how deaf people in the United States use mobile video phones,” she said. “The field study is an important step toward putting this technology into practice,” because it allowed the participants to test the phones in their daily lives for three weeks.
In this study, the average call duration was 90 seconds, and the volunteers made about 200 calls during the first two and a half weeks of the study. Although most of the study participants said they currently preferred to use texting or e-mail for distance communication, they rated their experience with the MobileASL phone as a positive one.
One of the volunteers noted that while texting is good for short messages, use of the video mobile phone is similar to “making a real phone call.” Texting can be confusing, while the MobileASL phone can eliminate that problem. Tong Song, a Chinese national who is studying at Gallaudet University in Washington, DC, pointed out that “with the MobileASL phone people can see each other eye to eye, face to face, and really have better understanding.”
New high-end cell phones, such as the iPhone 4 and the HTC Evo, offer video conferencing, but broadband companies have blocked video conferencing from their networks and will be offering expensive plans for heavy users. The UW engineers estimate that iPhone’s FaceTime video conferencing service uses nearly 10 times the bandwidth of MobileASL.
Riskin noted that “We want to deliver affordable, reliable ASL on as many devices as possible.” The UW engineers say the MobileASL system could be integrated with any of the new, high-tech devices that have a video camera on the same side as the screen. Hopefully it won’t be long before deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals have a cell phone they can use to communicate via sign language.

New Technology Helps Restore Cognitive, Physical Functions

Stroke survivors and others with neurological injuries and illnesses often have difficulty regaining the ability to perform everyday functions such as walking, talking and even swallowing. In response to these difficulties, Fairlawn Rehabilitation Hospital has introduced several new therapeutic technologies to its inpatient and outpatient programs.
“These new technologies, combined with traditional therapy techniques, provide patients with the best possibilities for recovery,” said Dr. Howard Fixler, Chief of Internal Medicine at Fairlawn. “I have seen dramatic improvements in my patients’ quality of life due to their use.”
Bioness functional electrical stimulation systems help patients with neurological disorders affecting upper and lower extremities.
The Bioness H200 assists patients with upper limb paralysis to improve hand function and voluntary movement. The device surrounds the patient’s hand and forearm. Five surface electrodes are integrated into the H200 to stimulate and activate the hand. A microprocessor provides the patient and clinician control over the desired hand activation.
Once the device is fitted, movement can begin immediately. The device can be used for exercise as well as functional activities, such as practicing the grasp and release of objects and performing activities of daily living.
Bioness L300, which works much the same way as the Bioness H200, is used to help patients with conditions affecting the lower extremities.
Keeping The Beat
Interactive Metronome (IM) is a training program developed to improve processing abilities that control attention, motor planning and sequencing. IM challenges a patient to match a computer generated beat heard through headphones with repetitive actions such as tapping his or her toes on a floor sensor mat or hand clapping. By improving these skills, a patient can improve motor function, as well as many cognitive capacities such as planning, organizing, and using language.
The Interactive Metronome combines the concept of a musical metronome with a patented technology that measures, assesses and improves a person’s rhythm and timing.
Preventing Falls
Most individuals at risk for falls are not identified, assessed, diagnosed and treated until they have fallen. CAPS (Comprehensive Assessment of Postural Systems) is a computerized assessment tool that quickly and easily identifies individuals with asymptomatic balance disorders as well those who may be at risk for falls.
Using age-based norms, it provides immediate, objective quantification of risk. CAPS, which can benefit individuals with stroke, brain injury, hip fracture, joint replacement, and other neurological or orthopedic diagnoses, also provides diagnostic information to justify further treatments/testing, monitors therapy progress, and documents outcomes.

Hospital Size and Volume Important

Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine reviewed hospital size and volume for three common medical conditions and found they were indeed important, but only to a point.
Dr Joseph Ross and colleagues found that patients with acute myocardial infarction (MI), heart failure, or pneumonia were less likely to die if admitted to hospitals with greater case volumes for those conditions.
The report appears in the March 25, 2010 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. The researchers analyzed data from Medicare administrative claims data between 2004 and 2006 in acute care hospitals in the United States for acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, or pneumonia. This data was used to estimate the change in 30-day mortality for every 100-patient increase in annual case volumes for the three conditions after adjusting for hospital characteristics and patient risk features.
There were 734,972 hospitalizations for acute MI in 4128 hospitals, 1,324,287 for heart failure in 4679 hospitals, and 1,418,252 for pneumonia in 4673 hospitals. The researchers excluded the very lowest volume hospitals (10 or fewer cases over three years of observation) and patients discharged alive within one day of admission.
An increased hospital volume was associated with reduced 30-day mortality for all conditions, but "at greater volumes, the marginal benefit became increasingly small," regardless of whether a hospital was a teaching hospital or featured cardiovascular revascularization, the group writes.
For acute MI, once the annual volume reached 610 patients (95% confidence interval [CI], 539 to 679), an increase in the hospital volume by 100 patients was no longer significantly associated with reduced odds of death.
The volume threshold was 500 patients (95% CI, 433 to 566) for heart failure and 210 patients (95% CI, 142 to 284) for pneumonia.
In an interview with heartwire, Dr. Ross notes "we found volume to be a weak surrogate for quality," lead author Dr Joseph S Ross, "The really interesting finding is that the relationship between volume and mortality is dynamic. It makes less and less difference to be a bigger and bigger hospital," he said. The analysis also showed lots of variance, in that some small hospitals had poor outcomes for the three conditions while others rivaled the best of the higher-volume centers. "And there were big hospitals that didn't do so well."