Anti-aging without Surgery

 article from springhill group

Ultherapy

Afraid to age but more afraid of knives and undergo surgery? We always look for the best things and best ways on how to avoid looking old. Have you ever wonder how to reclaim your youth while you do not have to go under the knife?

Dr. Luis Zapiach, a plastic surgeon and owner of Art Plastic Surgery in Paramus, N.J., thought that he sees trends in non-invasive procedures increasing year after year.

“We’re doing many, many more non-invasive treatments, which include the injectables Botox and Dysport – these are by far the most common treatments,” says Zapiach. “The other treatments that we’re doing are also injectable treatments such as the fillers Radiesse, Restylane, Juvederm – and then we’re also doing tightening procedures.”

All of us will age and as a part of aging process more and more physical features will vanish along the way. We lose volume in places like our eye sockets, cheeks and jaw line. the doctor have the solution for that, Fillers and injectables, although he said that those are temporary. It will last anywhere from six months to a year but will on depend on the one you choose. A non-invasive procedure that uses a patient’s own fat is permanent though.

“I’m actually a big proponent of fat if you have a good result with these temporary fillers,” said Zapiach. “We use it to volumize the face where people have lost that volume and that contour, also in the nasal labial folds we also put it along the jaw line itself.”

For the millions of people that have sun spots and scars on the surface of their skin that become more prevalent with age, Zapiach said laser technology has vastly improved over the past decade, with patients seeing full results in about three months.

“Before we had a solid beam of laser, now it’s fractionated into a lot of different little beams, and that allows for a much quicker recovery period,” he said. “Whereas before, you needed two or three weeks of downtime; now you only have five days.”

Patients looking to turn back the hands of time have a non-invasive option that was most commonly associated with pregnancy: ultrasound unlike before when face lifts used to be the way to go for patients looking to tighten up the saggy, loosening of the facial skin that comes with age.

“Ultherapy actually has an indication to lift and tighten that area . . . as well as the neck and also the eyebrows,” said Zapiach. “We'll see results in the cheeks that it will lift and tighten the cheeks and jowls as well.”

But the doctor warned that not everyone is a candidate for non-invasive procedures. Dr. Zapiach also cautioned that patients with advanced aging may have to resort to surgical options.

Springhill Group: What is the Stem Cell Therapy?

We have been hearing about this stem cell lately but does everyone know about what this really is?  According to medical researchers, stem cell treatments have the potential to change the face of human disease and alleviate suffering.

There are already many stem treatments nowadays but they are not usually used because they tend to be experimental and they are very expensive.

Medical researchers foresee being able to use technologies derived from stem cell research to treat cancer, spinal cord injuries, and muscle damage, amongst a number of other diseases and impairments.

This stem cell therapy is established in order to treat disease or injury by introducing new adult stem cells into damaged tissue.  Stem cell therapy is an intervention strategy.  The good thing about stem cell is that there are minimal risk of rejection and side effects.  They have the ability to self-renew and give rise to subsequent generations with variable degrees of differentiation capacities.  They also offer significant potential for generation of tissues that can potentially replace diseased and damaged areas in the body.

It has been said that there are already a number of stem-cell therapies that exist but most are costly.  But bone-marrow transplantation, to some extent has exemption.

Medical researchers are hopeful of that adult and embryonic stem cells will soon be able to treat cancer, Type 1 diabetes mellitus, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, Celiac disease, cardiac failure, muscle damage and neurological disorders, and many others. Even so, more research is necessary to understand stem-cell behavior before stem-cell therapeutics can be practiced in the clinical setting and upon transplantation as well as the mechanisms of stem-cell interaction with the diseased/injured microenvironment.

Tissues and organs in the body that are damaged due to age, disease and congenital defects can now regenerate and be repaired by the use of stem cells to create living and functional tissues again.  Stem cells have the ability to go to these damaged areas and regenerate new cells and tissues by performing a repair and a renewal process.  They restore functionality.

Stem cells have the power of restoring organ and/or tissue function for patients with serious injuries or chronic disease in which the bodies own responses are not sufficient enough to restore functional tissue.  The growing number of patients who needs transplantation and the fear of looking old lead to a search for new and alternative therapies.

Although stem cell therapy comes in to be very costly more and more are trying to gain benefits from the therapy.  There were many claims that the said therapy is yet very effective yet no side effects at all.  But many are still skeptical of stem cell theraphy because it is still under research and study.  It may have no effects now but could have later on.

Springhill Group: Older People More Vulnerable to Fraud

Federal Trade Commission: Up to 80 percent of scam victims are over 65. Despite long experience with the ways of the world, older people are especially vulnerable to fraud.

Crooks find older people more susceptive from fraud. Their age acts as if a built-in detector for the scammers. The reason may lie in the brain region called the anterior insula. The anterior insula is less active in older people as a result making them less cautious than younger people.

According to social neuroscientist Shelley Taylor of the University of California, Los Angeles, research backs up the idea that older people can put a positive spin on things — emotionally charged pictures, for example, and playing virtual games in which they risk the loss of money. “Older people are good at regulating their emotions, seeing things in a positive light, and not overreacting to everyday problems,” she says. But this trait may make them less wary. Both FTC and the Federal Bureau of Investigation agreed on their findings that older people are easy targets due in part to their tendency to put emphasis on the positive, which also supports Taylor’s findings.

Taylor and colleagues made an experiment to find out if older people really are less able to spot a shyster. Signs of untrustworthiness include averted eyes; an insincere smile that doesn’t reach the eyes; a smug, smirky mouth; and a backward tilt to the head. The participants were asked to rate each face on a scale from -3 (very untrustworthy) to 3 (very trustworthy). They showed photos of faces considered trustworthy, neutral, or untrustworthy to a group of 119 older adults (ages 55 to 84) and 24 younger adults (ages 20 to 42).

The study can be considered to be successful because, the “untrustworthy” faces were perceived as significantly more trustworthy by the older subjects as by the younger ones, as expected from the older people. To further attest to the theory, the researchers then performed the same test on a different set of volunteers, this time imaging their brains during the process, to look for differences in brain activity between the age groups. In the younger subjects, when asked to judge whether the faces were trustworthy, the anterior insula became active; the activity increased at the sight of an untrustworthy face. The older people, however, showed little or no activation.

The insula’s job is to collect information not about others but about one’s own body — sensing feelings, including “gut instincts” — and present that information to the rest of the brain. “It’s a warning bell that doesn’t seem to work as well in older people.” By habitually seeing the world in a positive light, older people may be overriding this warning signal, says Taylor. “It looks like the brain is conspiring with what older people do naturally.”

But the theory has its flaws since the study is limited to faces. Whether the insula activates in response to non-facial cues, such as telephone scams (a particular problem for older people), remains unclear, says Taylor.

Springhill Group: Treat Childhood Obesity

You may find fat kids cutie ones but they may be starting to suffer from obesity.  Obesity is a serious medical condition that often leads to serious diseases.  Childhood obesity often carried out until adulthood, more health complications may occur.  And obesity plays a significant role in causing certain so called ‘adult ailments’ in our children such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

Childhood obesity is usually caused by eating too much and not getting enough exercise.  While there are some genetic and hormonal causes of childhood obesity, studies show the primary cause of children being overweight is due to lifestyle issues such as eating more calories than is needed to support their growing bodies, daily activities and metabolism.


All experts agreed that obesity is a health risk that may result to the following health problems for children.

Hypertension
Type 2 Diabetes
Orthopedic
Sleep
Depression
Asthma
Body Mass Index (BMI)
Height and BMI
Heredity
Signs of stress of weight on lower limbs and joints
Absence of logical thinking

How to treat obesity in children:

 If your child has a weight problem you should a consult a doctor or nutritionist.  A healthy eating plan is strongly suggested. This is also to make sure that no serious health problems have developed.  Some parents delay this action in the hopes that the problem will just go away but this delay can cause more complications and illness and I will get worse.

Not only obesity can cause many health problems but it can also cause variety of emotional problems.  Their being obese can lower their self-esteem.  So do not make them feel bad more about themselves, they had enough from school instead just need to help them by developing healthy eating and exercise habits, and lots and lots of moral support.

You should be aware avoiding making their weight as an issue, if you will encourage him to focus on his weight tendency is that their self-esteem will suffer more rather it is best to show them how maintaining a healthy weight will lead to extra energy and fewer health problems.

Express your unconditional love. Remember to make them fell loved no matter what.  Overweight children need support, acceptance, and encouragement from their parents.


This is probably the most important and maybe the best solution.  Be a good role model. Parents are responsible for putting healthy foods in the kitchen at home, as well as leaving unhealthy foods on the grocery store shelves.  You cannot really blame the kids because you maybe is the problem.  Practice what you preach!  After all you are the one responsible of what food to put in the table.


Do not set food as rewards and put realistic goals.  It is also better if you will spend time together exercising, in this way he will be more excited to do it because he is with you.  Make them feel that you are together with this.

Highly Pathogenic H5N1: Deadly to Birds and to Humans

http://springhillmedgroup.com/


Influenza A virus or more known to us as H5N1 is an avian (bird) flu, an influenza A subtype that has caused outbreaks in domestic poultry in parts of Asia and the Middle East.  This is deadly to them and is considered “highly pathogenic” meaning highly disease causing.  Although the virus does not usually infect people but infectious that these viruses occurred in humans.  Most of these cases have resulted from people having direct or close contact with H5N1-infected poultry or H5N1-contaminated surfaces.



There are three types of viruses, A, B, and C, that can cause flu to human.  The type A is characterized not only to human but to other mammals and birds too.  The virus transmitted by air.  The type A virus is composed of two obligatory protein components. One is called hemagglutinin and is lettered H, and the other—neuraminidase (N).  And there are 13 variants of hemagglutinin and 9 of neuraminidase, which then can characterized what type of virus it is.  Making H5N1 is just out of the many possible variants of the virus structure.



Many parts of the world has been infected by the virus such as Asia, parts of Europe, the Near East Africa, birds as well as half of the humans infected did not survive.  The outbreaks infected poultry and wild birds, and humans who have direct contact with the infected animal.  In most cases, healthy children and young adult and have resulted from direct contact with H5N1-infected poultry or contaminated surfaces were infected.



The H5N1 virus does not infect humans easily and in general it remains very rare disease in people.  If the person is infected it is not that easy to spread it to another human.  However, there has been some human-to-human spread of the virus although it is limited.



But scientists are anxious that H5N1 virus one day could infect humans then spread easily from person-to-person because viruses such as influenza have the ability to change.



Although at the moment that the virus do not commonly infect humans, there is little or no protection against them and if the virus will change and could begin to spread from human-to-human there will likely result a very high deaths.



To know whether infected by the virus, people may show as follows:

Symptoms:

Fever and cough
Acute respiratory distress
Shortness of breath/difficulty breathing
Abdominal pain
Diarrhea
Muscle aches
Conjunctivitis
Breathing problems (severe cases)
Pneumonia (severe cases)
Complications:

Pneumonia
Respiratory failure
Shock
Altered mental state
Seizures
Failure of multiple organs (e.g. kidney failure)
Death


If someone with H5N1 experienced diarrhea followed rapidly by a coma without developing respiratory or flu-like symptoms.  Studies showed of the levels of cytokines in humans infected by the H5N1 flu virus.  Of main concern is an elevated level of tumor necrosis factor-alpha, a protein that is associated with tissue destruction at sites of infection and increased production of other cytokines.  A flu virus-induced increase in the level of cytokines is also associated with flu symptoms including fever, chills, vomiting and headache.  Tissue damage associated with pathogenic flu virus infection can ultimately result in death.

Warning! Cigarette Smoking is Dangerous to your Health!

Article from the Springhill Group

Did you know that the leading cause of premature death in the United States is no other than cigarettes?  A preventable death but it claims almost half a million lives each year.  To the extent that the government required larger and more prominent warnings on cigarette packaging and advertisements as part of the strategy to help consumers quit smoking and prevent young people from starting.  But despite of this it seems like tobacco users are not conscious about it.

The effects of cigarette smoking to human health are really serious and in fact deadly.  There are approximately 4000 chemicals that are present in the chemical composition of cigarette and hundreds of which are toxic.

 Smoking effects on the human body are destructive and widespread.  The ingredients in cigarette affect everything from the internal functioning of the organs and target the efficiency of the body’s immune system.  Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body. Smoking causes many diseases and reduces the health of smokers in general.

Here are some facts cigarette smoking can cause you.  Toxic ingredients in cigarette smoke travel throughout the body, causing damage in several different ways.    Carbon monoxide binds to hemoglobin in red blood cells, preventing affected cells from carrying a full load of oxygen.  Cancer-causing agents (carcinogens) in tobacco smoke damage important genes that control the growth of cells, causing them to grow abnormally or to reproduce too rapidly.  The carcinogen benzo(a)pyrene binds to cells in the airways and major organs of smokers.  Smoking affects the function of the immune system and may increase the risk for respiratory and other infections.  There are several likely ways that cigarette smoke does its damage.  One is oxidative stress that mutates DNA, promotes atherosclerosis, and leads to chronic lung injury.  Oxidative stress is thought to be the general mechanism behind the aging process, contributing to the development of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and COPD.  The body produces antioxidants to help repair damaged cells.  Smokers have lower levels of antioxidants in their blood than do nonsmokers.  Smoking is associated with higher levels of chronic inflammation, another damaging process that may result in oxidative stress.  Nicotine reaches the brain within 10 seconds after smoke is inhaled.  It has been found in every part of the body and in breast milk.

Due to these facts, it is now known that cigarette smoking is deadly.  An estimated 443, 000 deaths, or nearly one of every five years, each year has been noted in United States alone.   It is more than the deaths caused by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), illegal drug use, alcohol use, motor vehicle injuries, suicides, and murders combined.   Smoking causes an estimated 90% of all lung cancer deaths in men and 80% of all lung cancer deaths in women.  An estimated 90% of all deaths from chronic obstructive lung disease are caused by smoking.

This is very bothering.  That is just some of the diseases that one can get from cigarette smoking.  Smoking can also increased heart heath risks, cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease and cancer not to mention infertility, preterm delivery, stillbirth, low birth weight, and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

Springhill Group: Happiness Starts at Being Healthy

 http://springhillmedgroup.com/2012/11/springhill-group-happiness-starts-at-being-healthy/

It is important to monitor your health and start young but for most people out there who hold back because of their age, it is never too late to change your lifestyle and start living a healthy life. It has been a genre that if you wanted to get fit and healthy you must go to the gym and slog yourself to maintain your fitness. Sure it can help you but did you know that just by changing your general daily activity can particularly improve your health and energy?

Keeping healthy and staying fit is quite a challenge but will definitely make a big change in your emotional wellbeing, ease physical symptoms, lighten your loads and can make you see brighter outlook of life.

Here are tips on how to stay healthy with lesser effort:

Did you know that walking can be a great form of exercise? Yes, as simple as walking can make you healthier.

• Lower low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (the "bad" cholesterol)
• Raise high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (the "good" cholesterol)
• Lower your blood pressure
• Reduce your risk of or manage type 2 diabetes
• Manage your weight
• Improve your mood
• Stay strong and fit
• Provides many of the same benefits as more vigorous forms of exercise, but with less chance of injury
• Fits into any lifestyle, so you're more likely to do it regularly and stick with it
• Doesn't require special equipment, apart from a pair of supportive shoes
• You don't need special facilities, its FREE
• You can combine it with other activities like walking your dog.

After a few weeks or so, you will realize that you fell lighter and stress-free. Your energy levels increase, you do not get to tire easily.

Your daily habits can affect your health entirely as well. As you adapt to every changes in your daily activities you can notice many differences in your energy level.

· If your workplace is too far for walking and you need a means of transportation yet is too near to drive, you can use your bicycle instead.

· Takes stairs instead of the lift or escalators.

· Hand carry your groceries instead of using a trolley.

· Walk your dog in the afternoon.

· Do physical activities instead of turning into television and computers if bored.


Those are just examples of what you can do; maintain the habit and you will see changes in no time. Do not be impatient, as they say “no pain, no glory”.

Shave off calories! Body weight depends on a balance ‘calories in’ and ‘calories out’. Calories are another name for the energy content of food and drinks. Weight increases if these calories intake are higher than the calories that are being burned by your body. Calories are burned through the use of that energy. You must take off 600 calories energy intake everyday. Recommended target intake of calories for men is 1,900 and 1,300 for women. Avoid eating high-fat foods and alcoholic beverages they are high in calories. Eat variety of foods and avoid saturated fats.

Many factors are affecting your health for some reason there are factors you cannot change. But you can do something about your lifestyle and food intake. And as important as your diet and exercise are, your mind set, your mood and outlook in life play a big part for you to become a healthier you.