The failure of the STEP trial (Merck AD5 candidate vaccine) loomed large over last week high-level AIDS Vaccine meeting in Cape Town as delegates tried to look ahead and remain positive about the prospects of discovering an AIDS vaccine.

Many presentations dealt with the lessons learnt and trying to answer questions as to why the STEP trial failed and whether there needed to be a fundamental shift in focus.

The STEP trial was halted prematurely last year when analysis of the data suggested that that those who received the vaccine, which cannot cause HIV infection, might have an increased susceptibility to acquiring HIV and it was found that the Merck candidate vaccine neither prevented HIV infection nor lessened the amount of virus in those who became infected. One of the STEP trial arms, Phambili, was in its early stages in South Africa.

Storing donated blood too long increases the chance of an infection, US researchers claim.

The risk of blood poisoning or pneumonia doubled once the 29-day mark passed, Cooper University Hospital in New Jersey found.

The study, presented at a US conference, calls for increased care over the way blood is used and stored.

UK authorities said blood took 10 days on average to reach hospitals and daily deliveries meant it was not stockpiled.

The US does not allow the use of blood stored for longer than 42 days - in the UK this is lower, at 35 days.

After two weeks in storage, red blood cells start to undergo changes which lead to the release of chemicals called "cytokines".

Miriam Webster’s definition of human stress: a physical, chemical, or emotional factor that causes bodily or mental tension and may be a factor in disease causation.

It has been proven by several studies over the years that excessive stress affects your immune system, reduces your body’s ability to fight disease and speeds up your aging process.

Excessive stress leads to facial wrinkles and premature or rapid graying of hair, as well as to impatience, irritability, impaired decision-making, confusion and forgetfulness.

And as if these “minor” effects of stress weren’t bad enough, stress regularly leads to actual medical conditions, such as:

* High blood pressure and hypertension (leading to heart problems)

* Cancer

* Hormone imbalances

* Mental disorders

* Respiratory problems

* Digestive problems

* Diabetes

* Weight gain and the inability to lose weight

* Susceptibility to colds and flu

* Frequent headaches

* Neck and back pain

* Teeth grinding and TMJ

The amount of stress a person can handle varies by individual and affects different people in different ways. It will benefit you to know what causes stress in your life and how much you can handle. Unfortunately most people don’t try to understand and take control of stress in their life until it is too late.

Good and Bad Stress:

Some stress in your life is good for you. Good or positive stress helps strengthen your immune system, gives you that extra burst of energy when you need it, motivates you, makes you more productive and contributes to your happiness.

Bad or negative stress, on the other hand, negatively affects your immune system. It saps your energy, affects your performance and creates tension in your mind and body. On a daily basis bad stress comes from conflict, negative pressure, anxiety and frustration. Long term bad stress creates a negative impact on your life that can continually bring you down. Bad stress can come from the death of a family member or close friend, losing a life partner or spouse, job loss, work related situations, financial problems, verbal or mental abuse, serious injury or a life threatening illness, to name just a few.

The longer bad stress is left unchecked the greater the chances are it will cause disease in your life and contribute to shortening your life expectancy.

Where does stress come from?

Stress comes from three sources: your situation, your mind and your body.

From your situation -- Your situation has to do with where you live, the air you breathe, the sounds you hear, the people you know, the job you do, boredom, loneliness, the relationship you’re in and your family dynamics.

From your mind -- What we think about and how we think are both instrumental in determining what will cause us stress and what won’t. Living with too many self-imposed rules (should, ought, must, have to, owe, deserve) adds unnecessary stress to our lives. As do guilt, envy, jealousy, worry and self-defeating thoughts like, “Things are bad,” “I hate,” “There’s nothing I can do about it,” and “Why me?”

From your body -- This source of stress has to do with what you do to your body: too little sleep, irregular meals, working long hours, drinking caffeinated beverages, lack of exercise, smoking, excessive alcohol use, drugs and eating too much salt and simple carbohydrates like sugar, white bread and pasta.

How can I reduce stress?

Stress affects everyone differently. While there are various programs for identifying and reducing stress, there is no one fix that fits all. You first need to identify your stressors, determine which are good and which are bad, and then set up a personalized program that works for you. Some typical things that can help reduce stress are:

* Meditation

* Yoga

* Visualization

* Mental exercises

* Diaphragmatic breathing or deep breathing

* Physical exercise

* Good nutrition

* Counseling

* Support groups (including friends and family)

Conclusion:

Stress is a normal part of life that affects everyone differently. Knowing your stressors and how stress affects you is the key to developing a personal healthy life plan and reducing your biological aging.

Stress is the leading contributor to physical and mental aging and to the shortening of your life expectancy. Too much bad stress, or the inability to manage stress, is why some fifty-year-olds look like they’re seventy. On the other hand, the ability to control their stress explains how some seventy-year-olds look like they’re fifty! Which group do you want to be in? Stress can rule your life, but only if you let it. Reducing or controlling your stress is the key to looking better and living a long, healthy life.

disease information blog

Such approaches are thought to be particularly effective in people with Metabolic Syndrome, a pre-diabetic state involving multiple symptoms including over-weight and central obesity, insulin resistance, elevated blood lipids, elevated blood glucose, and high blood pressure.

We hear a lot from both recent and past studies that if we shift in dietary habits to include low-glycemic functional foods and low-calories meals, and the modest increases in physical activity it could offer a valuable approach for reversing Metabolic Syndrome and preventing Type 2 diabetes and heart disease in at-risk people.

The simplest, cheapest and most effective way to access the benefits associated with a physically active lifestyle and they are many is to walk. No kidding.

Foe example, you might be able to find a few community projects that encourage people to walk 10,000 steps a day. Of course most people do not know what 10,000 steps are equal to, how long, or how far they should walk. 10,000 steps are roughly equivalent to seven or eight kilometers of walking. That may sound like a long walk, but the idea is not to do it all at once, but rather accumulate it over the course of your entire day. Walk and pick up the paper, walk a bit further from where you park the car, and take as many opportunities as you can during the day to acquire steps. Simply put, be a bit more self-propelled during the day. Depending on your habits, you may or may not need to add some extra walking before or after work to achieve the 10,000-step goal.

The normal person, by the way no one is normal, takes about 100 steps per minute. If we use this number we can calculate that 10,000 steps will take you one hour and forty minutes to complete. Again this doesn't have to be done all at once. Instead spread it over the entire day which means that still leaves you with over 22 hours on virtual inactivity!

You can use of a pedometer to keep track of the steps that you complete. These are relatively inexpensive and are available through a number of retailers. The pedometer is an effective means of establishing how much you do, and is a great little tool to start you on the road to increased activity.

One time I saw a movie on television. It started off with a wealthy man hold got into his car, drove down his driveway to the letterbox, picked up the newspaper, got back into the car, and reversed back to the house. This is only one (extreme) example of the poor activity decisions many of us make everyday. Called it the American Paradox, this seemingly conflicting message reflects the drastic decrease in 'incidental' physical activity and its effects on the energy balance. There has been a significant decline in the amount of incidental physical activity as opposed to goal-directed exercise that we are required to do, or choose to do, in our daily lives.

Walking is the only sustained aerobic activity that is common in the population today. Getting more people to walk more often will help the health and well being of both the individual and the community. It is estimated that an increase of 4,000 steps per day will equate to a loss of 0.2 kilograms per week for a moderately overweight person. Although this may not seem like a lot, one should remember that if you started that habit this week, within 12 months you would be over 10 kilos lighter!

All of us go through cyclic variations in moods - sometimes happy and cheerful, and at other times, sad and depressed. Do we always need drugs when we are depressed? No, we don't. Drugs may be needed only when depression becomes persistent in the form of a disease called Endogenous (mental) depression, interfering with our capacity to cope with everyday life.

Symptoms of Mental Depression: A patient of mental depression suffers from a slow down of physical and mental processes. There is lack of interest in immediate surroundings. The thinking capacity and ability to concentrate gets impaired. There maybe complete or partial loss of memory, with only unhappy experiences being recalled. The appetite either gets inhibited or augmented; or the person suffers from a lack of energy and loss of weight. Sexual desire diminishes and the person may suffer from insomnia or early morning awakening. As the disease advances, the patient shows behavioural abnormalities and may complain of various mental and physical symptoms. He may, become tense and anxious as if something dreadful is about to happen, or may develop a fear of meeting people. In some patients there may be a feeling of self­deprecation, or unworthiness. Such patients are prone to committing suicide if not treated properly.

Types of Mental Depression: There are three broad types of mental depression - reactive, endogenous, and drug-induced. When it is associated with marked dejection, such as following the death of a near relative or friend, some major illness, failure in business or loss of job, or due to any other episode causing severe and persistent psychic trauma, it is called reactive depression (also called Transient situational disturbance, i.e. a reaction to a particular event). Another type of depression found in many cases is endogenous depression, which means that it is not due to any obvious external reason but comes from within the patient. Certain drugs may cause mental depression. This kind of mental depression is called drug-induced or iatrogenic depression. These drugs are propranolol, methyldopa, reserpine, oral contraceptives, cimetidine, indomethacin, long term use of corticosteroids and withdrawal of amphetamines.

Treatment and Drugs

In all kinds of depression, antidepressant drugs are used. It is quite important to note that mental depression is a self-limiting disease in more than 80% of cases, which means that it slowly gets cured by itself even if untreated. The extent of illness should be carefully evaluated before starting therapy with antidepressant drugs. These drugs take 2 to 3 weeks to take effect, and the patient should be so informed. If the patient has only a few symptoms of anxiety, anti-anxiety will give immediate relief and some patients get fully cured. However, if the depressive illness is very severe, the antidepressive therapy must be given to prevent the development of suicidal or homicidal tendencies. If drugs fail, then electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) may provide quick relief.

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There is no doubt that overeating can lead to putting fat on your body, but there are some foods that are more likely to put those pounds on you than others. These foods are either high in calories, total fat, carbohydrates, sugar or sodium. Below are 15 of the most fattening foods.

Mashed Potatoes - When made with cream and butter, one half-cup serving is about 200 calories.

Candy - This is high in sugar and bad fats. Baked Treats (Doughnuts, cakes, sweet rolls) These are high in sugar and carbohydrates, as well as being very high in calories.

Ice Cream - Ice cream is high in fat, and sugar and is high calorie.

Potato Chips - Potato chips are one of the most fattening foods you can eat. They are high in sodium, fat, and sugar. Not only are they high in calories but also they contain many preservatives and artificial flavor. Preservatives are very bad for you.

Processed Meats - Processed meats include meats such as hotdogs, sausages and lunchmeats. These have a high content of very bad fats, as well as sodium.

Fast Food - Most fast food such as hamburgers, nachos, French fries have a high fat content that is extremely bad for you and they are very high in calories with very few healthy ingredients.

Fried Foods - Fried foods are very well known for being bad for you. These foods are usually very high in fat and if they are made with breading you also have a food that is high in carbohydrates.

Soda Drinks - Soda drinks are high in sugar, sodium and calories with no nutritional value at all.

High Sugar Cereals - These are high in carbohydrates and sugar. They raise your blood sugar and cause your body to store fat.

Whole Milk - Though the calcium in milk is good for you, whole milk has a very high fat content, which will put fat on your body. Try fat free or reduced fat milk instead.

Gravy - Gravy is high in fat and carbohydrates as well as very high in calories.

Breads - Breads made with refined flour are high in fat and carbohydrates. Try eating wholegrain breads. Some additional foods that are very fattening include, sour cream, and mayonnaise.

These are 15 of the most fattening foods you could eat. You can increase your chance of dieting success by substituting these types of food with low calorie and low fat options.

In order to understand why it is important to lower cholesterol, it is necessary to first understand what cholesterol is. Cholesterol is a fatlike waxy substance and is produced by the liver. Although cholesterol has purposes and is important to overall health and body function, too much cholesterol in the body has damaging effects.

High cholesterol can be avoided! It is recommended that you visit your physician on a regular basis to keep a keen eye on your levels. Talk with your doctor before changing your diet. If you have other health problems this is necessary before changing diet.

1. Simple activities that get you moving and that you enjoy enough to repeat are almost always adequate. Just 20 minutes of aerobic exercise, including walking, each day will lower cholesterol.
2. Reduce your overall use of oils even further by using cooking techniques that require little or no oil. Reduce your overall use of oils even further by using cooking techniques that require little or no oil.
3. Limit your sodium intake to 2400 milligrams a day. Sea salt is a better option, but reducing your intake of all salts is the better choice.
4. Enjoy foods high in soluble fiber. These foods include:
* Oats, rye, and barley
* Fruits (especially try oranges and pears)
* Vegetables (especially brussel sprouts and carrots)
* Dried peas and beans
5. When selecting meat, choose leaner cuts, white meat, and cuts that have less white "marbleized" texture although chicken and turkey are the better choices. You can keep the skin on to seal in the juices so long as you remove the skin before eating.
6. Increasing your intake of fresh (not canned, not poached, not sweetened or boiled) fruits and vegetables significantly should be your first goal.
7. If you are very busy and tired at the end of a long day, a salad and sandwich take less time to put together than it takes to phone the pizza parlor. Wrap some veggies in a tortilla, cut more veggies into a salad, and drizzle the salad with olive oil and lemon juice. Use a mashed avocado or salt-free salsa as the "dressing" on your sandwich. Soups and stir-fries are other kitchen friends of busy people who aren't very handy in the kitchen.
8. Combine your favorite fresh fruits in a blender with fresh fruit juice and a small squirt of honey. Combine until blended. This makes an excellent and very healthy snack.
9. Read labels. Many foods that claim to be "low-cholesterol" are full of saturated fats that are terrible for your cholesterol level. Many foods that claim to be "low fat" still have plenty of fat or have small portion sizes.
10. Keep cut up fruits and vegetables in your refrigerator to make stir-fries, salads, and other healthy meals easier. If you can make low-fat alternatives easier to reach for than fast food, you are more likely to reach for meals and foods that are good for you as well as schedule-friendly. Keep low-fat yogurt and other low fat foods around for fast snacking, and you will reach for these foods rather than turning to high-fat, high-sodium "fast foods.”.

Research is providing good evidence that there several effective natural herbs and supplements to help lower LDL and raise HDL or "good" cholesterol. This research has been done in lab settings. If you visit a naturopath or health care practitioner who specializes in alternative medicines, you may be advised to try some of these treatments.

If you are worried about the side effects of pharmaceutical cholesterol-lowering drugs or testaments, you may wish to speak with your doctor about drug-free ways to lower cholesterol or you may wish to ask for a recommendation for a natural health practitioner. Considering alternative remedies gives those dealing with higher levels of cholesterol new options. It is especially good for those who do not react well to traditional pharmaceutical cholesterol-lowering medications.

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Constipation can be divided into three categories, by the time it takes to treat the problem. The short-term ones are caused by travel, diet, medication, surgery and other known causes. They mostly correct themselves. The medium-term ones are caused by low-fiber diet, low liquid consumption, lack of exercise, old age, pregnancy, abuse of laxatives and consumption of dehydrating things like caffeine and alcohol. These can be treated with changed in diet, life-style changes and laxatives.

The long-term Constipation, or Chronic Constipation, is caused by serious disorders of the GI tract or other chronic diseases. The GI tract problems include irritable bowel syndrome, intestinal obstruction, colonic inertia, anorectal dysfunction and structural problems like tumors, fissures, hemorrhoids, fistulae and other problems. To diagnose the above problems many tests are used, including barium x-rays, sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy, colorectal transit study, anorectal function test and defecography.

If no structural obstruction is found in the GI tract, the Chronic Constipation is treated like other less serious ones. Educating the patients about bowel movements, maintaining a high-fiber diet and a lot of liquid intake, avoiding dehydrating substances, exercising and bowel training are the starting treatments, along with bulk-forming laxatives like psyllium and methylcellulose. If the problem persists, more harsh laxatives, such as hyperosmatics or saline, can be tried. Stronger laxatives like anthraquinones, emollients or stimulants are tried next. Biofeedback is a good treatment if the Constipation is caused by outlet inertia.

Surgery should be considered a last resort if no improvements is seen in three to four months of treatment. Abdominal colectomy, ileorectomy and ileoanal pouch are the surgical procedures with a very good chance of relief. Other underlying causes are neurological disorders, metabolic and endocrine problems, diabetes, stroke, Parkinson�s disease, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injuries, uremia, hypercalemia, amyloidosis and scleroderma.

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Low-carb diets have been extremely popular in recent years. They boast large weight loss, which is a major selling point in society today. Everyone wants to lose a large amount of weight, and fast. Low-carb diets will make you lose weight, but are they really healthy?

The logic behind low-carb diets is that an increase in carbohydrates raises blood sugar and insulin levels, leading to a weight gain. By decreasing intake of carbohydrates, blood sugar and insulin levels will decrease, leading to weight loss. What is left out is how you are supposed to get the nutrients and vitamins your body needs without certain foods. A low-carb diet is good in the sense that it cuts out sugar and refined carbohydrates, but it also leads to a lack of dietary fiber, and deficiencies of several essential vitamins and nutrients.

The South Beach Diet and the Atkins Diet are two of the most popular low-carb diets around today. Each has a different approach to weight loss.

The South Beach Diet

The South Beach Diet works on three phases, and focuses on eating the "right" carbs and the "right" fats. Phase one eliminates most carbs for two weeks. This is to allow your body to get used to not having them. Phase two reintroduces some carbs, and this phase lasts until your target weight is achieved. Phase three introduces a wider variety of foods, and phase three lasts for life.

The downsides to this diet are that the first two weeks require a lot of willpower, because your body has been used to having those extra carbohydrates, and now it has none. People on this diet can sometimes experience weakness and shakiness because of the lack of carbs. As stated before, The South Beach Diet is supposed to allow you to lose 8-13 pounds in phase one. This is extremely unhealthy, and probably more due to the water weight that comes off and not the diet of low-carbs. Phase one bans fruits and vegetables, so for the first two weeks of the diet, you are missing out on important vitamins and nutrients, a similar problem found in the Atkins Diet.

The Atkins Diet

The Atkins Diet has limitation of carbs similar to The South Beach Diet. The Atkins Diet contains four phases, and all of them require a calculation of a certain number of grams of carbohydrates. This diet encourages you to eliminate sugar from your diet and usually requires frequent meat consumption. The meat consumption immediately eliminates vegetarians and vegans from taking part in the diet. The Atkins Diet is high in saturated fats and cholesterol due to the amount of meat that is eaten.

Much like The South Beach Diet, the Atkins Diet will allow you to successfully lose weight. However, many key nutrients and vitamins are being cut out on this diet. This diet is low on fiber and will lead to deficiencies of calcium, potassium, and magnesium.

You will and can lose weight on both of these diets. However, keeping the weight off is another story. Since these diets restrict many foods, staying on them is extremely difficult. Staying on them can also lead to health issues such as osteoporosis because of the continuous lack of nutrients and vitamins. Taking a daily supplement while on either of these diets can help offset the deficiencies. The best way to lose weight and keep it off is to eat a balanced diet with plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains and keep up with an exercise program. This plan is easy, healthy, and good for the long term.

What is Accutane?

Accutane is a form of vitamin A. It reduces the amount of oil released by oil glands in your skin, and helps your skin renew itself more quickly.

Accutane is used to treat severe nodular acne. It is usually given after other acne medicines or antibiotics have been tried without successful treatment of symptoms.

Accutane may also be used for other purposes not listed in this medication guide.

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Anxiety Disorders affect about 40 million American adults age 18 years and older (about 18%) in a given year,¹ causing them to be filled with fearfulness and uncertainty. Unlike the relatively mild, brief anxiety caused by a stressful event (such as speaking in public or a first date), anxiety disorders last at least 6 months and can get worse if they are not treated. Anxiety disorders commonly occur along with other mental or physical illnesses, including alcohol or substance abuse, which may mask anxiety symptoms or make them worse. In some cases, these other illnesses need to be treated before a person will respond to treatment for the anxiety disorder.

Effective therapies for anxiety disorders are available, and research is uncovering new treatments that can help most people with anxiety disorders lead productive, fulfilling lives. If you think you have an anxiety disorder, you should seek information and treatment right away.

Each anxiety disorder has different symptoms, but all the symptoms cluster around excessive, irrational fear and dread.

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What is Amoxil ?

• Amoxicillin is an antibiotic in the class of drugs called penicillins. It fights bacteria in the body.
• Amoxicillin is used to treat many different types of infections, such as tonsillitis, pneumonia, ear infections, bronchitis, urinary tract infections, gonorrhea, and infections of the skin.
• Amoxicillin may also be used for purposes other than those listed in this medication guide

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Zoloft is an antidepressant in a group of drugs called SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors). Zoloft (Sertraline) is used to treat depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD).

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune
disease that causes inflammation and deformity of the
joints.