A Guide to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, sometimes called Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, a newer illness with a lot of buzz, is characterized by extreme fatigue that doesn't go away with rest. This exhaustion interferes with completion of daily activities. This mysterious disease is more likely to affect women, and usually affects people in their 40s and 50s.  

Unfortunately there is no diagnostic test, and a diagnosis is a process of elimination because all other illnesses need to be ruled out. Doctors will diagnose the syndrome when you have been suffering fatigue and the associated symptoms (listed below) for longer than 6 months. While CFS is not a progressive disease, it has a cyclical nature, with periods of wellness and relapses.

Why do people get CFS?CFS is not entirely understood, and at present the causes are speculated in the medical profession. Sufferers have been reporting the phenomenon for several decades, and doctors have found that the disease often follows having a viral infection, such as Epstein-Barr and Mononucleosis. Research has also shown that there is a link between CFS and inflammation of the nerve cells of the brain, as well as problems in the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus is the part of the brain responsible for the internal body's balance and hormone production.

What Are the Symptoms?
The foremost symptom is persistent fatigue, not resolved with sleep. Other symptoms include loss of memory or concentration, enlarged lymph nodes, and sleep problems. Another notable problem is recurring pain in the throat or muscles, headaches and multi-joint pain that doesn't swell or redden. Sufferers also experience exhaustion and feel unwell after being physically, or mental active and this feeling can last more than 24 hours.

Sometimes sufferers might report being sensitive to light or sound, or experience a disoriented or confused state, and exhibit slow thinking. Other times they might have muscle weakness or struggle with muscle coordination.  CFS is commonly accompanied by depression, which often exacerbates the CFS symptoms.

Care & Treatment
CFS has no cure and treatment focuses on relieving symptoms and maintaining emotional health. It is recommended that you work with a health care team to create an individualized coping strategy. This can include being prescribed medications for depression, pains and aches, therapies, and general lifestyle changes.

Graded Exercises TherapyWith the aid of a certified specialist, this therapy aims to gradually increase one's ability to do physical activities for longer stretches of time, without tiring you out. Usually GET includes stretching and aerobic exercises, balanced with rest periods.

Cognitive Behavior Therapy
This talking therapy focuses on helping you manage the disease by changing the way you think and behave. CBT looks to for positive, practical ways to improve your state of mind and is  intended to help you accept your diagnosis. It also focuses on challenging negative thoughts that might exaggerate symptoms, and aims to empower you with a sense of control.

Alternative Therapies
Some complementary therapies help relieve pain and stress associated with CFS. Successful therapies reported include hydrotherapy, stretching therapy, massage, acupuncture, toing exercises, or relaxation techniques.

Changes to Diet
Many CFS patients have found their symptoms reduced by cutting out sugar, caffeine and alcohol in their diets, and both eating healthy balance improves quality of life considerably.

Activity Management and Regular BedtimeSome simple lifestyle changes include monitoring the amount of activities you participate in and your general pacing, as not to deplete your limited energy levels. Establishing a regular bedtime is highly recommended, and it needs to feature consistent, and healthy habits. Bedtime should be preceded by light exercise and stretching completed several hours before retiring to bed.

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.     

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BP drug shows promise for treating Parkinson's

Felodipine, a prescribed drug to treat high blood pressure, has shown promise against Parkinson's, Huntington's and forms of dementia in studies carried out in mice and zebra-fish.

In a study, scientists have shown in mice that felodipine may be a candidate for re-purposing.

A common feature of neuro-degenerative diseases is the build-up of misfolded proteins.

These proteins, such as huntingtin in Huntington's disease and tau in some dementias, form "aggregates" that can cause irreversible damage to nerve cells in the brain.

A team led by a Prof. used mice that had been genetically modified to express mutations that cause Huntington's disease or a form of Parkinson's disease, and zebra-fish that model a form of dementia.

Felodipine was effective at reducing the build-up of "aggregates" in mice with the Huntington's and Parkinson's disease mutations and in the zebrafish dementia model.

The treated animals also showed fewer signs of diseases.

"This is the first time that we're aware of that a study has shown that an approved drug can slow the build-up of harmful proteins in the brains of mice using doses aiming to mimic the concentrations of the drug seen in humans," said the Prof.

The hypertension drug was able to slow down the progression of these potentially devastating conditions and "so we believe it should be trialed in patients," he added.

In healthy individuals, the body uses a mechanism to prevent the build-up of such toxic materials.
This mechanism is known as autophagy, or 'self-eating', and involves cells eating and breaking down the materials.

"This is only the first stage, though. The drug will need to be tested in patients to see if it has the same effects in humans as it does in mice. We need to be cautious, but I would like to say we can be cautiously optimistic," said the Prof. 

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Researchers Look to Old Algae to Combat Alzheimer's

What do algae blooms, British explorers and neurodegenerative diseases have in common? A lot, it turns out.Century-old samples from an Antarctic expedition are helping researchers fighting to find a cure for Alzheimer's and Lou Gehrig's diseases.

Scientists worked with the Natural History Museum in London for over five years to analyze samples of cyanobacteria mats collected in the summer of 1902 by explorer Robert Falcon Scott from ponds and sediment accumulated in the Antarctic.

The samples have been preserved for more than 100 years at the museum in London. After testing them the researchers found the samples contained toxins produced by cyanobacteria, including toxins linked to liver cancer and neurodegenerative diseases.

"We jumped at the chance," one of the researcher said of the collaboration. "We thought, 'Well, we can't lose.' If there are toxins, great. That helps us understand exposure. If not, then it helps with the pollution aspect.

"But it seems like they've always been there and we've always been exposed to them. And it's important for our research to find ways to combat their effects and provide cures for people who may be susceptible to the actions of these toxins," he said.

A Closer Look at Cyanobacteria

This discovery, the result of years of collaboration between scientists, is promising for the future of medicine.

The samples were run through the lab two to three years ago, but the analysis was published recently.

"What drives us is results," he said. "Our only goal is to change patient outcomes."

Alzheimer's is a chronic, progressive neurodegenerative disease that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills. Estimates vary, but experts believe more than 5 million Americans may have Alzheimer's, which is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is also a progressive neurodegenerative disease. It affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, weakening muscles and affecting physical functions.

The discovery of the toxins in the Antarctic samples provides a much-needed baseline for cyanobacterial toxin levels before pollution and climate change, the scientists say.

"What this shows is that there is a background amount of toxin exposure for people," said one of the scientist. "And we're really interested in how that fits into the puzzle because we know that for certain neurological illnesses, there is a background rate. What this puzzle piece suggests is that we've always been exposed to these toxins as people, as human beings."

The low-level exposure to cyanobacteria could account for a low but constant rate of certain diseases. Recent increases in frequency and duration of cyanobacteria blooms may be associated with increases of neurodegenerative diseases, the scientists believe.

They point to Guam ALS/PDC, a disease that presents traits of ALS and Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. As the name suggests, it is found in people living in Guam.

A cyanobacterial toxin, BMAA, found in contaminated traditional foodstuffs appears to trigger the disease, Cox said. The presence of BMAA has been discovered in the brains of those with the disease but not the brains of the control patients who died of causes unrelated to neurodegeneration.

Confirmation of that pattern was found in replicated experiments, showing that chronic dietary exposure resulted in brain tangles and plaques that were chemically, structurally and positionally identical to the people in Guam with ALS/PDC.

These results that were published recently.

THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOU PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES.                                                                                                                                                                                                        PS- THOSE INTERESTED IN RECIPES ARE FREE TO  VIEW MY BLOG-                                                                                           https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com/  

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