Is Chocolate the Tastiest Natural Cough Medicine of All?

By: Care2 Causes Staff
From: http://www.treehugger.com/
Photo credit: CoCreatr/Creative Commons

This guest post was written by Robin Marty, a writer for Care2 Causes.

As if we needed another excuse to have some chocolate, new research shows that it may be an effective cough suppressant, too.

New Scientist reports:

An ingredient in chocolate may actually be a more effective cough medicine than traditional remedies, a new study suggests.

And not only that, the UK-based research showed that the cocoa-derived compound had none of the side effects associated with standard drug treatments for persistent coughs.

"These sorts of coughs, often lasting for weeks after a viral infection, can be difficult to treat, especially since it is not possible to give large doses of opiate-based medication to patients due to the side effects," says Peter Barnes, professor of thoracic medicine at Imperial College London, UK, who led the study.

In the study, the testers were given theobromine, a component of chocolate, codeine, or a placebo. Those who had the theobromine were less likely to cough than those who received the placebo, and even those who received codeine who coughed at the same rate as the placebo.

So the next time you have one of those nagging coughs you can't seem to shake, chocolate may be the answer.Of course, getting the weight off afterward is another issue.

Time lapse video of woman with HIV/AIDS

By: David Ng
From: http://www.boingboing.net/

Just noticed this powerful advertisement from the Topsy Foundation. It was one of the winners at TED's "Ad's Worth Spreading" contest, which is generally worth checking out.

This particular video does a great job (with a lovely twist at the end) at showing the effectiveness of HIV antiretroviral drugs (ARVs). There's also a followup video you can view that checks in on the woman (Selinah) as well as chatting with the folks behind the video.

Although I realize that the ARVs have been made possible by the work done in the pharmaceutical industry, and that there is a chance that Topsy's programs are facilitated by kind donations from the same industry, it's still a pity that there isn't a more sustainable system for the provision of such drugs to developing countries. Pity that these sorts of medicines are usually priced way too high for individuals like Selinah, which is why so many go untreated and so many die. Pity also that laws like Bill C-393 (which aim to explore different ways to create that sustainable market and lower that price) are being deliberately stalled in government so as to guarantee not being passed.

Man uses remote to control his 'bionic bottom'

A man whose bowel was damaged in a motorcycle crash has been given a bionic bottom.

By Nigel Bunyan

From: http://www.telegraph.co.uk

Ged Galvin Photo: SWNS

Ged Galvin, 55, now presses a remote control to open his bowels and go to the toilet.

The IT project manager from Barnsley, south Yorkshire, almost died when an off-duty police officer pulled out in front of him in her car.

Mr Galvin suffered massive internal injuries and had to be fitted with a colostomy bag until surgeons at the Royal London Hospital could perform the complex operation to rebuild his bottom.

The medical team took a muscle from above his knee, wrapped it around his sphincter, and then attached electrodes to the nerves.

These are now operated by a palm-sized remote control that he carries in his pocket.

“It’s like a chubby little mobile phone,” he said. “You switch it on and off, just like switching on the TV.

“They call me the man with the bionic bottom, but that doesn’t bother me. My gratitude to the surgeons is endless because what they have done is a miracle.”

Mr Galvin, who had previously endured the indignity of carrying a colostomy bag, added: “I thought that in these days of modern medicine surely there was something they could do. They'd mended everything else - why not this? Anything was better than a colostomy bag.

“The operation changed my life and gave me back my pride and confidence. Because of the remote control I can lead a normal life again.”

The father-of-two is resigned to having the muscles in his bionic bottom replaced every five years.

Surgeons perform world's first pediatric robotic bladder reconstruction

Pediatric surgeon Mohan Gundeti, MD, at the Da Vinci console. Credit: University of Chicago Medical Center

Click here to enlarge image

A 10-year-old Chicago girl born with an abnormally small bladder that made her incontinent has become the first patient to benefit from a new robotic-assisted bladder-reconstruction method developed by surgeons at the University of Chicago Medical Center.

The first patient, treated Feb. 21, 2008, suffered from a very small, spasmodic bladder, a birth defect that led to gradual kidney damage and loss of urinary control.

"We refer to this condition as neurogenic bladder," said team leader Mohan S. Gundeti, MD, assistant professor of surgery and chief of pediatric urology at the University of Chicago's Comer Children's Hospital. "Her bladder could barely hold six ounces. Worse, it produced frequent involuntary contractions, which forced the urine back up into the kidneys, where it slowly but inevitably causes damage, including frequent infections."

The girl always felt that she urgently had to go to the bathroom. She stopped drinking juice or soda. She even cut back on water, to less than two cups a day. Medication helped a little, but despite two years of trying different treatments, the problem continued to get worse and began to cause kidney damage, which made surgery necessary.

Although Gundeti had performed the operation to enlarge and relax a tiny spasmodic bladder many times, it had never been done robotically--an approach that has produced quicker recovery, less pain and minimal scars in other procedures.

"This is a major, lengthy operation," he said, "essentially five smaller procedures done in sequence."

Known as an augmentation ileocystoplasty with Mitrofanoff appendicovesicostomy, the surgery normally begins with a big incision, about six inches long, from above the navel down to the pubic area, followed by placement of retractors to pull the stomach muscles out of the way.

"The robotic approach enabled us to avoid that entire incision, which causes significant post-operative pain, presents an infection risk and leaves a big scar," Gundeti said.

Instead, the robotic tools enter the abdomen through five small, dime-sized holes. In this operation, the surgeons use about 12 inches of intestine to reconstruct a larger bladder, "more than twice the original size," said Gundeti. "Plus, it can no longer contract with the same force."

Then they converted the appendix into a "continent conduit," a drain for the new, expanded bladder, with one end implanted into the wall of the bladder and the other end leading outside the body through small outlet in the lower abdomen. A skin flap covers the fleshy appendix opening.

"No one had ever done the full operation this way," Gundeti said. "It requires a lot of familiarity with both the open operation and considerable laparoscopic experience."

This first case took about ten hours, compared to six-to-eight hours for an open procedure. The team included Gundeti and adult urologists Arieh Shalhav and Gregory Zagaja, as well as follows, residents and the nursing team. The team was able to reduce OR time in the subsequent cases.

After such a long, complicated operation, "I expected my daughter to be covered with bandages and gauze and tape, to have a big swollen belly with a big wound," the patient's mother recalled. "But there was none of that. I was stunned. Her belly was flat and normal, no bandages, not even a band-aid, just a few little cuts that looked like they had been covered with glue. Oh, I thought, she's going to like this. No big scars. She could wear a bikini."

"I would not want her to wear a bikini," she added, "but she could."

"Patients like surgery without significant scars," Gundeti said. "We also hope to show that in addition to the benefit of no big wound to heal, just five small punctures, there is less risk of infection, quick recovery and less pain."

Pain management for this case consisted of oral medications, rather than the traditional morphine and epidural anesthesia, which is contraindicated in young patients who have had previous spine surgery.

The patient started drinking clear liquids six hours after surgery and eating within 24 hours, which she "greatly appreciated," Gundeti said. She went home about four days after her surgery and within six weeks was completely continent, day and night. "This is a great benefit for the child and her family," Gundeti said.

Although she still has empty her bladder with a regular catheter, it is now easier to do and is far more reliable at retaining urine.

"She hasn't had a leak since then," her mother said. "She can drink water, or juice, even soda. She's enjoying the freedom she never had."

Source: University of Chicago Medical Center