Chromosomal Link to Colorectal Cancer
July 21, 2008Researchers at the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research and at Cancer Care Ontario have successfully identified a genetic variation on Chromosome 8 that is associated with colorectal cancer.
This is the first genetic predictor that has been identified for the most common forms of colorectal cancer, and may play a significant role in how people are screened for the disease.
Previous research on Chromosome 8 has linked it to other forms of cancer, including cancer of the prostate, suggesting that people with this newly discovered variation may be at risk for a broad spectrum of cancers.
Cutting Caffeine to Control Diabetes
July 20, 2008Daily consumption of caffeine increases blood-sugar levels in people with Type 2 diabetes and may undermine patients’ efforts to control the disease, according to a study from Duke University Medical Center.
Using a tiny glucose (sugar) monitor embedded under the abdominal skin, researchers were able to track the real-time impact of caffeine intake on glucose levels. The study, published in the journal Diabetes Care, revealed that when subjects consumed caffeine, average daily glucose levels went up by eight per cent. Caffeine also exaggerated the natural rise in blood glucose after meals, increasing levels by nine, 15 and 26 per cent after breakfast, lunch and dinner, respectively.
Lea as Cinderella - tickets are on sale now!
The Sweetest Sounds, I’ll ever hear are still inside my head
The Kindest Words I’ll ever know are waiting to be said
The most entrancing sight of all is yet for me to see….
– The Sweetest Sounds, Cinderella (Rodgers & Hammerstein)
Hello to all Lea fans out there! 
I just came through this at ticket2me.multiply.com. To the owner of the said multiply account, thanks a lot!
Thought many of us are interested about the ticket prices so here’s the list…
Cinderella’s glass slipper perfectly fits Lea Salonga
July 18, 2008
World–renowned Filipina artist Lea Salonga will topbill the biggest musical production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Cinderella” in the Philippines which will open on July 29, 2008, at the CCP Main Theater.
Producer Marc Routh of Broadway Asia Entertainment (BAE) says that the musical will cost about US $ 2 million for its Manika production.
“Cinderella” will be staged for four weeks in the Philippines before it moves to Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Korea.
Lea Salonga won the Laurence Olivier Award in London and the Tony, Outer Critics Circle, and Drama Desk Awards in Broadway for her outstanding performance as the Vietnamese bar girl Kim in “Miss Saigon.”
She is the first Asian to play Eponine in “Les Misérables” on Broadway and is currently portraying Fantine in the musical since March.
She also played the singing voice of Princess Jasmine in “Aladdin” and Fa Mulan in “Mulan” and “Mulan 2.” (more…)
UP Manila Celebrates its 41st Year as Health Sciences Center
The University of the Philippines (UP) is one-hundred years old! As the ONLY national university in the country, by virtue of RA 9500 or UP Charter of 2008 signed into law on April 29, 2008, UP takes pride in being the pioneer in higher education through academic excellence, outstanding research, public service, and modernized facilities. Established on June 18, 1908, UP started as a small Manila campus with only a few colleges. Today, the University is has seven constituent universities located in 12 campuses throughout the archipelago. UP’s constituent universities nurture the intellectual and cultural growth of the Filipino through 246 undergraduate and 362 graduate programs. No other academic institution in the country can match the scope and range of the University’s course offerings that include almost all disciplines and embrace all interests and inclinations.
The University of the Philippines Manila (UPM) prepared a grand celebration commemorating the centenary of the University and the 41st year of UPM as the Health Sciences Center . The celebration was centered on the campus’ role as the cradle of the early founding years of the University and of UPM as a Health Science Center. The highlights of the week-long festivities were: Gawad Parangal for outstanding faculty, students, administration staff and student organizations, recognition program for retirees and service awardees, turnover of new donated equipment by Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago to PGH, unveiling of the Oblation, inauguration and blessing of the Oblation Plaza and UP Manila Gateway, soft launching of the coffee table book on heritage, culture and history and unveiling of the scale model of the UP Manila Museum and Archives.
– www.pgh.gov.ph
Images of UP Manila
UP Manila is located in historic Ermita, Manila east of Manila Bay which was UP’s birthplace in 1908. As the Philippines’ health science center, UP Manila fulfills its role of improving the health of Filipinos by constantly ensuring the relevance and excellence of its academic programs, generating significant knowledge and technologies through its researches, and rendering varied forms of health, training and extension services to Filipino communities. The programs and services address the priority health concerns of Filipinos and are being undertaken through close partnership and collaboration with the government, policy makers, other health institutions and professional health groups. (more…)
Working in PGH so far
July 12, 2008
The new PGH logo was presented to the PGH community by Director Carmelo Alfiler during the flag-raising ceremony held January 7, 2008. The change in the official symbol of the hospital is part of PGH’s modernization and bench-marking efforts as the country’s National University Hospital enters its next century. The PGH Logo Contest was organized as part of the hospital’s centennial celebrations. The winning entry of Dr. Mark Marinas, a fourth year surgery resident,came from a pool of 145 entries submitted by 73 contestants. The new logo, bearing in the university’s official colors of maroon and green, features the UP Oblation and the facade of the hospital. To highlight the relationship of PGH with the University, the words “University of the Philippines Manila” was included. The winning entry was chosen by a panel of judges composed of UP College of Fine Arts Dean Tina Colayco, National Historical Institute Chair Ambeth Ocampo, professional photographer Isa Lorenzo, art gallery owner Albert Avellana and Dr. Armand Crisostomo, chair of the PGH Centennial Celebrations. The new logo was approved by the UP Board of Regents during its 1228th meeting on December 19, 2007. (www.pgh.gov.ph)
Asian of the Year: The Medicine Maker
by Ashok Mahadevan
Krisana Kraisintu has fought tirelessly to get her generic AIDS and malaria drugs to the people who need them most
Krisana Kraisintu, on her way to an orphanage in southeastern Thailand where most of the kids are HIV-positive, is growing testy. She wants to treat them to Dunkin’ Donuts. But despite keeping a sharp lookout since leaving Bangkok nearly three hours earlier, we haven’t found a DD outlet.
“Won’t other donuts do?” I ask Kraisintu as we near the orphanage.
“No,” says the renowned Thai pharmaceutical chemist. “Dunkin Donuts are sweet. They’re colourful. The kids love them.”
Suddenly a Tesco Lotus supermarket appears. Kraisintu rushes in, finds a Dunkin’ Donuts and buys four big boxes crammed with donuts.
We arrive at the orphanage just before lunch. Kraisintu carefully arranges the boxes on a table, and turns around as the kids start filing into the dining room.
A tiny girl in a grey dress runs up and flings her spindly arms around the chemist’s ample waist. Kraisintu fondles her head and murmurs endearments. “Nuj was abandoned in front of this orphanage when she was a baby,” she tells me. “She’s HIV-positive and brain-damaged. She looks very young, but she’s actually around 10.”
With Nuj in tow, Kraisintu wanders the room, chatting to the kids who are noisily tucking into their lunch of fish, curry and rice. A boy introduces himself as Tor and says he’s seven years old. “I’ve been here for a month,” he tells Kraisintu. “Is this your first time?”
“No,” she replies, “I’ve been here many times.”
Indeed she has. Coming here is a tonic for Kraisintu – the medicines that she developed are part of the reason these children are alive and perky. But each visit to the orphanage is also a painful reminder of the price Thailand has paid for not allowing widespread access to low-priced AIDS medicines until five years ago.
Although international pharmaceutical companies began manufacturing effective AIDS drugs in the 1990s, they were so expensive that the Thai government couldn’t afford to provide them to poor patients. Only the rich could buy them. That is part of the reason more than 450,000 Thais died of AIDS.
But in 2002, thanks in large measure to Krisana Kraisintu, Thailand started mass producing inexpensive AIDS medicines. Death rates plummeted. Today, Thailand has one of the best public AIDS treatment programmes in the developing world, with most poor patients getting free medicine. (more…)
Hangover
“I will never take another drink for as long as I live!” So goes the mantra of anyone who has ever woken up with a hammering headache and a stomach rolling around like an old sneaker in a washing machine. First advice: if you feel as if you have to throw up, don’t resist the urge. Vomiting is the body’s way of ridding itself of toxins. And don’t reach for a painkiller. These can harm your liver if you’ve been drinking.
First Steps for Fast Relief
- As soon as you wake up, drink two 8-ounce glasses of water to undo the dehydration.
- Have a large glass of grapefruit, orange or tomato juice. Fruit juices contain the simple sugar fructose, which speeds the metabolism of alcohol.
- If you drink Coffee, have a cup or two as soon as possible. Caffeine is a vasoconstrictor, meaning it narrows the swollen blood vessels in your head.
- Kudzu is a traditional Chinese remedy for alcohol poisoning, usually taken in a “morning after” tea. You can pick up kudzu extract at a health-food store. Follow the dosage directions on the package.
Moderate Alcohol Drinking Defined
By now the French Paradox is old news. The phrase refers to the fact that despite eating lots of saturated fats and cholesterol (read: cheese, butter and cream), the French have a relatively low incidence of heart disease. A major reason, researchers suspect, is the generous amount of wine that the French drink. Although the very existence of the paradox itself is currently under question-some researchers believe the French underreport heart disease-the evidence in support of wine and other forms of alcohol is not.
Dozens of studies on white wine, red wine, beer and spirits attest to the heart-protective effects of alcohol. (That’s right, it’s not just wine that’s good for you.) In fact, 60 to 80 per cent of the population could benefit from moderate drinking. In a study of more than 80,000 American women, those who drank moderately had only half the heart attack risk of those who did not drink at all, even if the teetotalers were slim, eschewed tobacco, and exercised daily.
How does alcohol help?
It raises healthy HDL cholesterol. This is true no matter what type of alcohol you drink. Recent research suggests that the heart-health benefit of alcohol is increased if moderate consumption is also consistent: three to seven times per week, rather than sporadic.
(more…)
7 Things You Can Do Now to Keep Your Brain Sharp in Old Age
July 6, 2008Research shows that your lifestyle could affect your risk of contracting diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
1. Drink alcohol. In moderation, that is. A US study of older women found that those who reportedly have one or two drinks a day had a 40% lower risk of cognitive decline than those who claimed to drink nothing.
(more…)
On Being a Nurse
July 5, 2008Being a nurse isn’t about grades…
It’s about being who we are.
No book can teach you how to cry with a patient…
No class can teach you how to tell a family that their parents have died or are dying…
No professor can teach you how to find dignity in giving someone a bed bath.
A nurse is not about the pills, or the charting;
It’s about being able to love people when they are at their weakest moments.
This one was sent to me via text message also by Ate Kathleen, my friend/college classmate. Another thought that clearly underscores what it is being a nurse.
A Nurse’s Prayer
The world grows better year by year,
Because some nurse in her little sphere,
Puts on her apron and grins and sings
And keeps on doing the same old things.
Taking the temperature, giving the pills
To remedy mankind’s numberless ills;
Feeding the baby, answering the bells
Being polite with a heart that rebels.
Longing for home and all the while
Wearing the same old professional smile;
Blessing the new born babe’s first breath
Closing the eyes that are still in death.
The Road I Take
Each day I wake before the sun
I travel a road that has not been run.
New hands to hold, new hearts to heal,
New tears to wipe, new hearts to feel.
New eyes that twinkle above the pain,
New feet to guide without a cane.
Sharing new smiles from a hardened face,
Changing lives with a sweet embrace.
Each road I take is a road well traveled.
The bumps and the bruises are not always handled.
They hurt, tire, degrade and despise,
They heal, strengthen, uplift and revive.
The hands I hold, the tears I wipe.
The smiles I share, the feet I guide.
The life I touch is in my hands,
The road I travel is God’s plan.
– Carol Fountain, RN
I came across this poem as I was scanning nursing journals in our library. That was towards the end of the school year, in March 2007 (my last year in college). If I remember it right, I got the poem from RN Journal. I find it beautifully written and inspiring and certainly every nurse can relate to it.
The doctor treats the disease a person happens to have; the nurse treats the person who happens to have the disease…
The 7 Deadly Sins and You
July 4, 2008Yes, everyone’s sinful in this world. And since we’re always striving to become better persons as we grow, let me just share these results I got from one of the numerous Tickle tests I’ve tried. It’s interesting and informative. Hope many will derive learnings from it, as well.
It’s obvious below that the sin I’m most guilty of is pride. I admit it. It’s bad I know and I’m not proud of it. I won’t show anymore my scores in each sin, haha!
By the way, the name of the test is: How Sinful are You?
Try it by creating a free Tickle account at: http://web.tickle.com
The sin you’re most guilty of is
Pride
In this context, Pride is defined by an exaggeration of your worth and power in an attempt to feel superior to others. Pride can lead you down the wrong path when you feel like you have to be the best at everything. This kind of compulsion to achieve can get in the way of your ability to connect respectfully and equally with others. Historically, Pride has been seen as the worst of all the deadly sins, as it is believed to lead to all other sins and to recklessly cruel behavior. In a religious context, Pride was originally cast as the human attempt at godliness. People were supposed to be humbled by their mortality: But being prideful was seen as the ultimate denial that humanity was at the mercy of God. Modern-day psychology, though, also recognizes the benefit of possessing a certain degree of Pride. In this light, Pride in this regard, is akin to self-respect. Taking Pride in a job well-done and a life well-lived is generally considered to be healthy. This view of Pride evolved, in part, due to the cultural shift in the Western world from being purely God-centered to being more focused on individual achievement and actualization.
Humor and Laughter May Influence Health: Laughter and Health Outcomes
Mary Payne Bennett; Cecile Lengacher
Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2008;5(1):37-40. ©2008 Oxford University Press
Posted 06/26/2008
Abstract and Introduction
Abstract
This is part three of a four-part series reviewing the evidence on how humor influences physiological and psychological well-being. The first article included basic background information, definitions and a review of the theoretical underpinnings for this area of research. The second article discussed use of humor as a complementary therapy within various clinical samples, as well as evidence concerning how a sense of humor influences physiological and psychological wellbeing. This third article examines how laughter influences health outcomes; including muscle tension, cardio-respiratory functioning and various stress physiology measures.
(more…)
Dietary Pattern in Women Linked to Cardiovascular, All-Cause Mortality CME
News Author: Laurie Barclay, MD
CME Author: Désirée Lie, MD, MSEd
June 26, 2008 — Women who eat a diet rich in vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains, fish and poultry may reduce their risk for death from cardiovascular disease and from all causes, according to the results of a prospective study reported in the June 23 Online First issue of Circulation. In contrast, women who follow a traditional “Western” diet of red and processed meat, refined grains, french fries, and sweets may increase their risk.
(more…)
What Makes a Hero?
Nature, Nurture or Both?
Susan McClelland
Leaving the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada, in 2001, Denise Bebenek had a vision. As she drove away from the parking lot, she looked in the rear-view mirror and saw people circling the hospital, holding hands. “Most people would have thought, ‘I’m seeing things. I’m going crazy,’” says Bebenek, now 47. But for her, the apparition made something clear: “I finally knew what I was being called to do.”
Just two hours earlier, Bebenek’s five-year-old daughter Meagan had died of cancer - a brain tumour had been discovered three days before Christmas 2000. Several times over the six months she lived following the diagnosis, Meagan said to her mum, “Use my death to help other children.” Bebenek now could see a way to help.
In The Hero With a Thousand Faces, scholar Joseph Campbell writes that the hero’s journey is marked by several distinct phases. The first is the sometimes-mystical call to adventure.
(more…)
About Me…
Well, this is my first time in the world of blogging and at first I was even kind of hesitant about it. I thought having an email and friendster is already enough (and by the way, I also have zorpia, eskwela and shellfari accounts), since I’m not really a person with a show-off/impress me personality. Hmmm, until a friend finally convinced me to try it and I’ve seen by his example that it’s not nonsense after all. Then I began having ideas of posting useful articles and creative expressions and inspiring thoughts. I hope that other people, especially those in line with the nursing profession and medical field, could get something helpful out of my blog… (”,)
(more…)
