Flu may save you from common cold

Researchers have found that people who suffered from influenza were 70 per cent less likely to have acquired rhinoviruses, or the common cold.

For the study samples from 44,230 cases of acute respiratory illness, in 36,157 patients, were tested for 11 types of respiratory viruses over nine years at National Academy of Sciences (NHS) Greater Glasgow and Clyde board in UK.

“One really striking pattern in our data is the decline in cases of the respiratory virus rhinovirus, which is typically a mild common cold causing virus, occurring during winter, around the time that flu activity increases,” said a researcher.

During the study, the most striking interaction they found was between influenza A viruses and rhinoviruses, a type of virus that can cause the common cold.

Computer modelling of the data found that the inhibitory interactions between influenza and rhinoviruses appeared to occur within individual people as well as at a population level.

According to the study, patients with influenza were approximately 70 per cent less likely to also be infected with rhinovirus, than were patients infected with the other virus types.

“We believe respiratory viruses may be competing for resources in the respiratory tract. There are various possibilities we’re investigating, such as these viruses are competing for cells to infect in the body, or the immune response to one virus makes it harder for another unrelated virus to infect the same person,” the researcher said.

Limitations of the study include that the correlations observed cannot show what is causing these interactions and that samples were only taken from people with symptoms of a respiratory infection, so it may not capture how the viruses behave in people who don’t develop symptoms.

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The Surprising Connection Between Melanin and Hearing

Did you know that white cats are a lot more likely to be deaf? Did you know the odds of the cat being deaf were dramatically exacerbated by having either one or two blue eyes? It’s true: 20% of green-eyed white cats are deaf, 40% of white cats with one blue eye are deaf, and about 75% of blue-eyed white cats are deaf. It doesn’t stop there, as white dogs are also likelier to be deaf, as are white ferrets. Albino animals, too, seem to be disproportionately deaf.

But what does hair or eye color have to do with hearing loss? And can such a connection between hair, skin and eye color be drawn in humans, as well? Looking at medical literature, it certainly seems so.

One particularly well-known congenital disorder that some scientists believe may explain hearing loss in animals is called Waardenburg syndrome, and it affects humans as well. People born with Waardenburg tend to have brilliant blue, wide-set eyes, pale blotches on the skin that may appear like vitiligo, and varying degrees of deafness.

Patient with Waardenburg syndrome, displaying broad nose bridge and wide-set eyes

To assume that Waardenburg is the cause for congenital propensity to deafness would mean that all of the aforementioned animals also have this syndrome and that this syndrome explains everything there is to know about the relationship between color and deafness. But this theory doesn’t quite hold up when put to the test.

Several epidemiological studies into the association of paler skin and hearing loss have come up with some shocking results: black people are roughly 50% less likely to develop hearing loss when compared to white counterparts. Studies specifically targeting whites and blacks whose occupation incorporated increased hazard of hearing loss found much the same thing: whites were more susceptible to hearing loss. Well, considering Waardenburg syndrome affects a mere fraction of society and people of various races, it can’t very well explain this disparity, can it?

But it doesn’t end here. Remember how paler eyes predicted higher chances of deafness among white cats? A 2001 study looking at 130 deaf patients found that the same was true of humans. Of the entire study population, 32 patients had acquired deafness as a result of meningitis and the rest had become deaf due to various other reasons. Among the general deaf population, 73% had pale eyes, compared to 27% with dark eyes, while among the meningitis group, the results were even more dramatic, as 94% of the deaf patients had pale eyes, compared to only 6% with dark eyes.

How about hair color? Does that also figure into risks of hearing loss? According to a 2012 study of military personnel who were exposed to sounds of gunfire, soldiers with blond or light brown hair were significantly more vulnerable to hearing loss compared to fellow combatants with dark hair.

The common thread between paler skin tone, lighter hair color, and green and blue irises is melanin, or more accurately, the lack of it. Melanin is the pigment that is responsible for the color of our skin, our hair, and our eyes, and it is produced in specialized cells called melanocytes. Typically speaking, melanocytes are dispersed equally throughout the body, but some unique conditions (such as Waardenburg) may cause particular areas of the skin or the eyes to have an abnormally low level of melanocytes, causing a striking difference between that area and the rest of the body (nonwhites with blue eyes, for example). But what does all of this have to do with deafness?

Well, we don’t rightly know. We know that all of the color variations presented here are also associated with lack of melanocytes in the inner ear, and can thus surmise that the melanocytes within the ear have an important role in hearing, but we do not know what it is. In the meanwhile, until we manage to figure out the exact mechanism that connects paler complexion to hearing loss, knowing whether you (or ones you hold dear) are in the risk group or not may be able to aid you in avoiding situations that may put your hearing in danger.

this is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.   
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Brain Damage - Types, Causes and Symptoms

Regardless of whether the cause is a tumor, trauma, stroke or any other illness, any injury which inflicts damage on your brain cells is considered to be a brain damage. 
There are two types of brain damage, both of which interfere with the standard functioning of the brain.
They are:

1. Acquired brain injury (ABI): Either resulting from a tumor or a neurological illness, for instance a stroke, this type of brain injury originates from the cellular level and is commonly linked with brain pressure.
2. Traumatic brain injury (TBI): It results from any damage imparted to the skull usually from an external and physical force like a blow to the head or a head accident, which in turn damages the brain.

How severe the brain damage is depends largely on the type of brain injury. Mild brain injuries are temporary, causing headaches, memory lapses, nausea and confusion. On the other hand, severe brain injuries cause cognitive, physical and behavioral impairments which are often life-changing and permanent.
Causes:
Acquired brain injuries may be caused by:

1. Poisoning
2. Being exposed to toxic substances
3. Choking, strangulation or drowning
4. Heart attacks
5. Infections
6. Stroke
7. Tumours
8. Neurological illnesses
9. Aneurysms
10. Illegal drug abuse

Traumatic brain injuries are usually caused by:

1. Car accidents
2. Sports Injuries
3. Physical violence
4. Head blows
5. Falls and other mishaps

Symptoms:
Whether acquired or traumatic, symptoms of brain damage can be classified under four major groups:
1.  Cognitive symptoms generally include

• Having a hard time processing information or expressing thoughts
• Difficulty in understanding others or abstract concepts
• Indecisiveness
• Memory Loss
• Short attention spans

2.  Physical symptoms generally include

• Excessive physical fatigue
• Extreme mental fatigue
• Persistent and frequent migraines or headaches
• Paralysis
• Seizures
• Tremors
• Sleep disorders
• Light sensitivity
• Loss of consciousness
• Slurred speech

3.  Perceptual symptoms generally include

• Spatial disorientation
• Smell and taste disorders
• Heightened pain sensitivity
• Changes in hearing, seeing, or touch sensations
• Unable to perceive time
• Balance problems

4.  Emotional or behavioral symptoms generally include

• Decreased stress tolerance
• Heightened or flattened reactions or emotions
• Aggressiveness
• Sluggishness
• Impatience and irritability
• Self-denial If you have any specific problem, you please consult a neurosurgeon.
  
  
   this is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.   
  https://gscrochetdesigns.blogspot.com. one can see my crochet creations 
  https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com. feel free to view for easy, simple and healthy recipes    
  https://kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com. for info on knee replacement