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Welcome to the last issue of the year, as I thought you deserved Boxing Day in peace!

A little science fiction sounding news this week, along
of course with some natural help. Wishing you the best of good
health- AnnA

In this issue:
- NATURAL HELP FOR GUM DISEASE
- IS YOUR SURGEON MADE OF STEEL?
- MEDICAL SPEAK AND MASSAGE FOR POST OP PAIN
- MICROSOFT DEVELOP CAMERA TO HELP WITH MEMORY LOSS

NATURAL HELP FOR GUM DISEASE
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Noticed your gums are inflamed and tender or bleed slightly when
brushing your teeth? These, together with receding gums, chronic
bad breath and loose teeth or widening space between gums and
teeth are symptoms of gum disease.

Gum disease starts with plaque on the teeth which is formed when
bacteria in the mouth mixes with saliva and residues from starchy
foods and sugar in your diet. If you don't remove it properly
then it accumulates and hardens underneath the gumline into
tartar. That is much more difficult to remove than everyday
plaque and will mean a visit to the dentist. If you have
bleeding from the gums with pain, called periodontitis, then
that is a sign that the infection and inflammation has spread
to the deeper tissues and bone. After the age of 30,
periodontitis is responsible for more tooth loss than cavities.
Brushing your teeth after every meal, and especially after eating
anything containing sugar, is a good preventive programme but
there is also natural help on hand.

*** Vitamin C
The link between vitamin C deficiency and gum disease is well
known and is one of the reasons that back in the 18th century,
sailors ate limes during long trips at sea to keep their gums
from bleeding. It probably helped the taste of the rum as well.
There is research showing a link between low intake of vitamin C
and higher rates of gum disease, particularly gingivitis, so make
sure you have a minimum of 250mg a day and eat foods rich in
vitamin C, such as grapefruit, oranges, kiwi fruit, mango, papaya,
strawberry, red pepper, broccoli, brussels sprouts, and cantaloupe
melon. If you are taking supplements, don't get the chewable
vitamin C because the acidity may promote the erosion of tooth
enamel over time.

*** Vitamin D
Vitamin D has been found to have anti-inflammatory effects and
may reduce susceptibility to gum disease, again research by
Boston University shows a link between low levels of vitamin D
and gingivitis. Being out in sunlight is one of the best ways to
boost levels of this vitamin so get out into the sun wherever you
can and no need for sun block at this time of year, unless of
course you are off to the Caribbean for the winter.

*** Stress reduction
Of course stress affects virtually every aspect of your health
and wellbeing, but in this context it contributes to gum disease
by increasing plaque accumulation. A University of Dusseldorf
study examined how exam stress would impact plaque and gum
bleeding. All students had a professional tooth cleaning 4 weeks
prior to exams and then 4 weeks after exams. They found that
students had significantly higher rates of plaque and gingivitis
after their exams compared to a control group of students that
didn't take exams. I suspect they didn't take into account the
fact that under stress our diets also lean heavily on sugar and
chocolate which also increases plaque.

** Tea tree oil
Tea tree oil has so many uses it's invaluable in my natural first
aid box and as it has proven antibiotic properties it can help
reduce gingivitis and bleeding, but it won't reduce the amount
of plaque. You must NOT use neat tea tree oil in the mouth or
anywhere else. You can get tea tree toothpaste from a health store
or you can put one drop in a cup of warm water and rinse it round
your gums. DO NOT SWALLOW but spit it out immediately and I suggest
you don't eat or drink for at least 15 minutes as it tastes pretty grim.

IS YOUR SURGEON MADE OF STEEL?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

No, I am not talking about his personality. Surgeons are renowned
for being a bit aloof but the ultimate model made an appearance
performing radical tonsillectomies on 27 patients with squamous-
cell carcinomas of the tonsil. This new model is not tall dark
and handsome, but is a four armed robot that was used in a pilot
study that has been reported in the December issue of Archives
of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery.

This computerized surgeon is not likely to turn up in your
operating theatre any day soon, and is in fact operated from a
computer console by a real surgeon, but is it a sign of things
to come? Reporting on the operations, Dr Weinstein who undertook
the trial said that using robots had definite advantages and is
looking for funding to conduct a much larger trial. Let's face
it robots can't have a worse bedside manner than some surgeons
I have encountered.

MEDICAL SPEAK AND MASSAGE FOR POST OP PAIN
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Sometimes the blindingly obvious seems to pass mainstream medicine
by. A recent research project in the USA got funding to run a
trial that established that massage can reduce the amount of
painkillers patients need after having an operation. Based, I
believe, on the well tried and tested old folk remedy of mum
rubbing it better after you had fallen off your bike, it is
automatic and natural to us to rub where we are hurt. It helps
blood flow to the area for faster healing and the therapeutic
effect of touch from another human being in a kind and
compassionate way will relieve stress so it would seem obvious
that massage could be helpful. Indeed several hospitals in the UK
employ massage with lavender oil for patients as a means of
cutting down on sleeping pill prescriptions and it does appear
to be very effective.

The researchers found, as any of us could have told them at a
fraction of the cost, that "Pain can affect physical functioning,
including the ability to cough and breathe deeply, move, sleep,
and perform self-care activities. This may contribute to unintended
and serious postoperative complications. Furthermore, ineffective
pain relief may result in significant psychological distress."
Being in pain is certainly distressing so along with the bottle of
lucozade and bunch of grapes you might want to treat the patient to
an in-hospital visit from a qualified masseur - check with the
hospital first though to get permission. The study authors concluded,
in a wonderful example of how to make a simple statement almost
impenetrable, that "massage may potentially be a safer alternative
as-needed form of pain relief. With proper training, health care
providers at the bedside (especially nurses) may now have a powerful
non-pharmacologic tool to directly address their patients' pain and
anxiety."

In other words massage works, and it's non addictive.


MICROSOFT DEVELOP CAMERA TO HELP WITH MEMORY LOSS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Microsoft is collaborating with a number of UK and worldwide studies
in developing the use of an automatic wearable camera that takes
photos continuously through the day. Researchers claim it can
transform the life of patients with memory loss, and they are developing
the 'SenseCam' camera at Microsft's Cambridge laboratory.

SenseCam is a wearable digital camera that is designed to take
photographs passively, without user intervention, while it is
being worn. Unlike a regular digital camera or a cameraphone,
SenseCam does not have a viewfinder or a display that can be used
to frame photos. Instead, it is fitted with a wide-angle (fish-eye)
lens that maximizes its field-of-view which ensures that nearly
everything in the wearer's view is captured by the camera.

It was in 2005 that Microsoft first started a trial with a 63-year
-old patient from the Memory Clinic and Memory Aids Clinic at
Addenbrooke's Hospital, in Cambridge. This patient had amnesia resulting
from a brain infection and typically would forget everything about
an event within five days or less of it happening.

The patient was given a SenseCam and asked to wear it whenever the
sort of event that she would like to remember was happening.
After wearing SenseCam for the duration of such an event, she
would spend around one hour reviewing the images every two days,
for a two-week period. During the course of this period of
assisted recall using SenseCam, her memory for the event steadily
increased, and after two weeks she could recall around 80 percent
of the event in question. What is perhaps more remarkable is that
following the two-week period of aided recall, Mrs. B appears to
have a lasting ability to recall the event even without reviewing
the images.

Following the success of this first trial and the excitement it
generated in both the research and clinical rehabilitation
communities, Microsoft initiated a number of additional trials and
are currently working with over half-a-dozen patients in the early
stages of Alzheimer's Disease, and while these trials are ongoing
the results to date are promising.

The programme has been funded with grants worth £220,000 for
academics to investigate its health and medical applications.
Among others, the money is going to the University of Exeter for
a study of memory in Transient Epileptic Amnesia and to the
Medical Research Council in Cambridge and the University of
Bangor, Wales to study facilitated recollection in patients
with dementia. Overseas, the University of Toronto and Columbia
Medical School are collaborating on a trial with Sensecam to see
if it could enhance quality of life in Alzheimer's patients and
the Centre for Mental Health and Brain Injury in Alberta, Canada
is studying if it could help with Memory recovery in brain injury
patients.


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I hope you have found this information useful, and please feel
free to pass it on to others. Remember, I am not a doctor and
cannot give you medical advice, so please always take appropriate
action by consulting your own medical advisor if you have
concerns about any aspect of your health.

Wishing you the best of good health, AnnA

Please feel free to pass on any of this information or suggest
they sign up for the newsletter themselves at the website.

www.catalystonline.co.uk
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