Vaccines: What are they, how do they work, and different kinds: Great research here.

 

A vaccine works by training the immune system to recognize and combat pathogens, either viruses or bacteria. To do this, certain molecules from the pathogen must be introduced into the body to trigger an immune response.

These molecules are called Anitgens, and they are present on all viruses and bacteria. By injecting these antigens into the body, the immune system can safely learn to recognize them as hostile invaders, produce antibodies, and remember them for the future. If the bacteria or virus reappears, the immune system will recognize the antigens immediately and attack aggressively well before the pathogen can spread and cause sickness.

 

The Herd Immunity Imperative

Vaccines don't just work on an individual level. They protect entire populations. Once enough people are immunized, opportunities for an outbreak of disease become so low even people who aren't immunized benefit. Essentially, a bacteria or virus simply won't have enough eligible hosts to establish a foothold and will eventually die out entirely. This phenomenon is called "Herd Immunity" or "Community Immunity," and it has allowed once-devastating diseases to be eliminated entirely, without needing to vaccinate every individual

This is critical because there will always be a percentage of the population that cannot be vaccinated, including infants, young children, the elderly, people with severe allergies, pregnant women, or people with compromised immune systems. Thanks to herd immunity, these people are kept safe because diseases are never given a chance to spread through a population.

 

However, if too many people forgo vaccinations, herd immunity can break down, opening-up the population to the risk of outbreaks. That is why many officials and doctors consider widespread immunisation a public health imperative and blame recent disease outbreaks on a lack of vaccination.

For example, in 1997, prominent medical journal The Lancet published research claiming to have found a link between the measles vaccine and autism. As a result, in following years the parents of over a million British children decided not to vaccinate their kids. The research has since been thoroughly debunked, but the number of measles cases has skyrocketed from just several dozen a year in 1997 to over 2,000 cases in 2011. Similar outbreaks have occurred throughout the United States, involving both measles and whooping cough, with doctors and officials blaming low rates of vaccination.

 

Types of Vaccines

The key to vaccines is injecting the antigens into the body without causing the person to get sick at the same time. Scientists have developed several ways of doing this, and each approach makes for a different type of vaccine

Live Attenuated Vaccines:

For these types of vaccines, a weaker, asymptomatic form of the virus or bacteria is introduced into the body. Because it is weakened, the pathogen will not spread and cause sickness, but the immune system will still learn to recognize its antigens and know to fight in the future.

Advantages:  Because these vaccines introduce actual live pathogens into the body, it is an excellent simulation for the immune system. So live attenuated vaccines can result in lifelong immunity with just one or two doses.

Disadvantages:  Because they contain living pathogens, live attenuated vaccines are not given to people with weakened immune systems, such as people undergoing chemotherapy or HIV treatment, as there is a risk the pathogen could get stronger and cause sickness. Additionally, these vaccines must be refrigerated at all times so the weakened pathogen doesn't die. 

Specific Vaccines:

• Measles
• Mumps
• Rubella (MMR combined vaccine)
• Varicella (chickenpox)
• Influenza (nasal spray)
• Rotavirus

 

Inactivated Vaccines: For these vaccines, the specific virus or bacteria is killed with heat or chemicals, and its dead cells are introduced into the body. Even though the pathogen is dead, the immune system can still learn from its antigens how to fight live versions of it in the future.

• Advantages:  These vaccines can be freeze dried and easily stored because there is no risk of killing the pathogen as there is with live attenuated vaccines. They are also safer, without the risk of the virus or bacteria mutating back into its disease-causing form.
• Disadvantages:  Because the virus or bacteria is dead, it's not as accurate a simulation of the real thing as a live attenuated virus. Therefore, it often takes several doses and "booster shots" to train the body to defend itself.
• Specific Vaccines:
• Polio (IPV)
• Hepatitis A
• Rabies

 

Subunit/conjugate Vaccines:  For some diseases, scientists are able to isolate a specific protein or carbohydrate from the pathogen that, when injected into the body, can train the immune system to react without provoking sickness.

• Advantages:  With these vaccines, the chance of an adverse reaction in the patient is much lower, because only a part or the original pathogen is injected into the body instead of the whole thing.
• Disadvantages:  Identifying the best antigens in the pathogen for training the immune system and then separating them is not always possible. Only certain vaccines can be produced in this way.
• Specific Vaccines:
• Hepatitis B
• Influenza
• Haemophilus Influenzae Type B (Hib)
• Pertussis (part of DTaP combined immunization)
• Pneumococcal
• Human Papillomavirus (HPV)
• Meningococcal

 

Toxoid Vaccines: Some bacterial diseases damage the body by secreting harmful chemicals or toxins. For these bacteria, scientists are able to "deactivate" some of the toxins using a mixture of formaldehyde and water. These dead toxins are then safely injected into the body. The immune system learns well enough from the dead toxins to fight off living toxins, should they ever make an appearance.

• Specific Vaccines:
• Diphtheria
• Tetanus

 

Conjugate Vaccines:  Some bacteria, like those of “Hib DVisease”, possess an outer coating of sugar molecules that camouflage their antigens and fool young immune systems. To get around this problem, scientists can link an antigen from another recognizable pathogen to the sugary coating of the camouflaged bacteria. As a result, the body's immune system learns to recognize the sugary camouflage itself as harmful and immediately attacks it and its carrier if it enters the body.

• Specific Vaccines:
• Haemophilus Influenzae Type B (Hib)
•  

DNA Vaccines:  Still in experimental stages, DNA vaccines would dispense with all unnecessary parts of a bacterium or virus and instead contain just an injection of a few parts of the pathogen's DNA. These DNA strands would instruct the immune system to produce antigens for combating the pathogen all by itself. As a result, these vaccines would be very efficient immune system trainers. They are also cheap and easy to produce.

• Specific Vaccines:
• DNA vaccines for influenza and herpes are currently in human testing phases.

 

Recombinant Vector Vaccines:  These experimental vaccines are similar to DNA vaccines in that they introduce DNA from a harmful pathogen into the body, triggering the immune system to produce antigens and train itself to identify and combat the disease. The difference is that these vaccines use an attenuated, or weakened, virus or bacterium as a ride, or vector, for the DNA. In essence, scientists are able to take a harmless pathogen, dress it in the DNA of a more dangerous disease, and train the body to recognize and fight both effectively.

• Specific Vaccines:
• Recombinant vector vaccines for HIV, rabies, and measles are currently being developed.

Strokes can be deadly. Let's look at the facts

Around 85% of all strokes are due to a blockage cutting off the blood supply to the brain.

This is called an Ischaemic Stroke.

Causes

A blockage can be caused by a blood clot forming in an artery leading to the brain, or within one of the small vessels deep inside the brain.  Blockages in the brain can also be caused by a clot moving through the blood stream from another part of the body.

There are several reasons why blockages can form and cause an ischaemic stroke.

These include:

Atherosclerosis, which occurs when fatty deposits build up on the inside walls of your arteries. They cause your arteries to become harder and narrower, making them more likely to become blocked. Sometimes, a blood clot forms on the fatty deposit. If this clot breaks away it can travel to the brain and cause a stroke.

Small vessel disease, which is when the tiny blood vessels deep within your brain are damaged.

Atrial fibrillation and other heart conditions, which can cause blood clots to form in your heart, which can then move through your blood stream up into your brain.

Arterial dissection, which occurs when tears develop in the lining of an artery and allow blood to get between the layers of your artery walls. This can happen for no clear reason or it can happen because of an injury to the neck.

Symptoms of a stroke.

The main symptoms of stroke can be remembered with the word FAST:

Face:               The face may have dropped on 1 side, the person may not be able to smile, or their mouth or eye may have dropped.

Arms:             The person with suspected stroke may not be able to lift both arms and keep them there because of weakness or numbness in 1 arm.

Speech:          Their speech may be slurred or garbled, or the person may not be able to talk at all despite appearing to be awake; they may also have problems understanding what you're saying to them.

Time:             It's time to dial 999 immediately if you see any of these signs or symptoms

Treatment

If your ischaemic stroke is caused by a blood clot, you may be given a clot-busting treatment known as Thrombolysis.

Thrombolysis can break down and disperse a clot that is preventing blood from reaching your brain. However, for it to have the best effect, it needs to be given within four and a half hours of your stroke symptoms starting.

Thrombectomy is a treatment that removes the clot with a mechanical device. Only a small proportion of strokes are eligible for Thrombectomy, but it can have a big impact on reducing disability after a stroke.

Most people who have an ischaemic stroke will be given anti-platelet medication, which helps to prevent blood clots from forming.

After a stroke you will be checked for health conditions linked to stroke, such as atrial fibrillation, diabetes and high cholesterol. If you have any of these conditions you will be given treatment and advice. This is important to help reduce the chance of having another stroke.

 

Recovering from a stroke

People who survive a stroke are often left with long-term problems caused by injury to their brain.

Some people need a long period of rehabilitation before they can recover their former independence, while many never fully recover and need ongoing support after their stroke.

Local authorities should provide free reablement services for anyone assessed as needing them.

These services help the person recovering from a stroke learn or relearn the skills they need to live at home independently.

Some people will continue to need some form of care or help with their daily activities.

For example, a care worker may come to the person's home to help with washing and dressing, or to provide companionship

Lemons are one of the healthiest fruits: Let's take a look

 

Lemons are a citrus fruit that people often use in traditional remedies because of their health benefits. Like other citrus fruits, they contain Vitamin C and other antioxidants.

Antioxidants are essential for human health. These compounds mop up free radicals in the body that can damage the body’s cells and lead to diseases, such as cancers.

Researchers believe that the flavonoids in lemon and other citrus fruits have antibacterial, anticancer, and antidiabetic properties.

Citrus fruits, including lemons, contain active components called phytochemicals that benefit health. These include:

• Vitamin C
• Folic Acid
• Potassium
• Pectin

The juice from one 48 g lemon contains the following nutrients in grams (g) or milligrams (mg):

• 11 Calories
• 3.31 g Carbohydrate
• 49 mg Potassium
• 18.6 mg Vitamin C
• 3 mg Calcium
• 0.1 g Fibre

Lemons also contain Thiamine, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin B-6, Folate and Vitamin A.

Here some of the possible benefits of consuming lemons.

1) Lowering stroke risk

According to a 2012 study, the flavonoids in citrus fruits may help lower the risk of ischemic stroke in women.  Around 85% of all strokes are due to a blockage cutting off the blood supply to the brain. This is called an ischaemic stroke.

A study of data from nearly 70,000 women over 14 years showed that those who ate the most citrus fruits had a 19% lower risk of ischemic stroke than women who consumed the least.

A 2019 population study showed that long term, regular consumption of foods that contain flavonoids might help protect against cancer and cardiovascular disease. However, the study indicated that people who smoked or consumed a lot of alcohol were less likely to benefit.

Potassium may help lower the risk of stroke.

2) Blood pressure

One 2014 study found that women in Japan who walked regularly and consumed lemon every day had lower blood pressure than those who did not.

More research is needed to identify the role of lemon in this improvement and to discover whether consuming lemon can help reduce blood pressure since walking daily can also lower blood pressure.

3) Cancer prevention

Lemons and lemon juice are an excellent source of the antioxidant vitamin C.

Antioxidants may help prevent free radicals from causing cell damage that can lead to cancer. However, exactly how antioxidants can help prevent cancer remains unclear.

4) Maintaining a healthy complexion

Vitamin C plays a vital role in the formation of Collagen, the support system of the skin.

Sun exposure, pollution, age, and other factors can result in skin damage. A 2014 mouse study suggested that either eating vitamin C in its natural form, or applying it topically, can help prevent this type of damage.

5) Preventing asthma

People with Asthma who consume higher amounts of vitamin C and other nutrients when they have a cold may experience fewer asthma attacks, according to one review. The authors found evidence that vitamin C also benefitted people with bronchial hypersensitivity when they had a common cold.

However, they called for more research.

6) Increasing iron absorption

Iron deficiency is a leading cause of Anaemia.

Pairing foods that are high in vitamin C with iron-rich foods maximises the body’s ability to absorb iron.

However, a high intake of vitamin C can trigger gastrointestinal problems in people who are taking iron supplements. For this reason, it is best to obtain iron from dietary sources, such as beef liver, lentils, raisins, dried beans, animal meats, and spinach.

Squeezing a little lemon juice onto a salad containing baby spinach leaves can help maximize the intake of both iron and vitamin C.

7) Boosting the immune system

Foods that are high in vitamin C and other antioxidants may help strengthen the immune system against the germs that cause the common cold and the flu.

One review found that, while vitamin C supplements do not appear to reduce the incidence of colds in a population, they may help reduce the length of time a cold lasts. Vitamin C may also help boost immunity in people who are undergoing extreme physical activity.

Squeezing a whole lemon into a glass of hot water with a large spoonful of honey makes a soothing drink for someone with a cough or cold.

8) Weight loss

In a 2008 study, rodents who consumed lemon peel phenols with a high fat diet for 12 weeks gained less weight than those who did not consume lemon.

In 2016, 84 premenopausal Korean women with a high body mass index (BMI) followed a lemon detox diet or another diet for 7 days. Those who followed the lemon detox diet experienced greater improvements in insulin resistance, body fat, BMI, bodyweight, and waist-hip ratio than those on the other diets.

Further research is needed to confirm whether lemon can contribute to weight loss, and if so, how.

Do probiotics help relieve depression: Research here

Probiotic supplements containing helpful bacteria and yeast are marketed as a way to maintain a diverse mix of healthy gut microbes.

Now, a review published online July 6, 2020, by BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health suggests that probiotic supplements may help relieve depression symptoms.

Scientists evaluated seven clinical trials from the past 15 years, which tested a total of 12 different strains of helpful bacteria. One trial in the review tested a "prebiotic," a type of plant fibre that provides food for gut bacteria. Scientists concluded that 11 of these probiotics, either alone or combined with prebiotics, were potentially useful for relieving symptoms of depression, perhaps by reducing inflammation that could affect brain function.

The studies were small and short-term, but taken together, they suggest a gut-based approach to maintaining emotional well-being is worth pursuing.

In the meantime, talk therapy, exercise, and medications remain the most effective approaches to treat depression.

To support your gut health without expensive probiotic supplements, enjoy foods that naturally contain probiotics, such as yogurt, kefir, and sauerkraut. The prebiotic powers of whole grains also may support a healthy gut

Regular exercise improves thinking skills: says Study

There are plenty of good reasons to be physically active. Big ones include reducing the odds of developing heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. Maybe you want to lose weight, lower your blood pressure, prevent depression, or just look better. Here’s another one, which especially applies to those of us (including me) experiencing the brain fog that comes with age: exercise changes the brain in ways that protect memory and thinking skills.

In a study done at the University of British Columbia, researchers found that regular aerobic exercise, the kind that gets your heart and your sweat glands pumping, appears to boost the size of the hippocampus, the brain area involved in verbal memory and learning. Resistance training, balance and muscle toning exercises did not have the same results.

The finding comes at a critical time. Researchers say one new case of dementia is detected every four seconds globally. They estimate that by the year 2050, more than 115 million people will have dementia worldwide.

Exercise and the brain

Exercise helps memory and thinking through both direct and indirect means. The benefits of exercise come directly from its ability to reduce insulin resistance, reduce inflammation, and stimulate the release of growth factors—chemicals in the brain that affect the health of brain cells, the growth of new blood vessels in the brain, and even the abundance and survival of new brain cells.

Indirectly, exercise improves mood and sleep, and reduces stress and anxiety. Problems in these areas frequently cause or contribute to cognitive impairment.

Many studies have suggested that the parts of the brain that control thinking and memory (the prefrontal cortex and medial temporal cortex) have greater volume in people who exercise versus people who don’t. “Even more exciting is the finding that engaging in a program of regular exercise of moderate intensity over six months or a year is associated with an increase in the volume of selected brain regions,” says Dr. Scott McGinnis, a neurologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and an instructor in neurology at Harvard Medical School.

Put it to the test

So what should you do? Start exercising! We don’t know exactly which exercise is best. Almost all of the research has looked at walking, including the latest study. “It’s likely that other forms of aerobic exercise that get your heart pumping might yield similar benefits,” says Dr. McGinnis.

How much exercise is required to improve memory? These study participants walked briskly for one hour, twice a week. That’s 120 minutes of moderate intensity exercise a week. Standard recommendations advise half an hour of moderate physical activity most days of the week, or 150 minutes a week. If that seems daunting, start with a few minutes a day, and increase the amount you exercise by five or 10 minutes every week until you reach your goal.

If you don’t want to walk, consider other moderate-intensity exercises, such as swimming, stair climbing, tennis, squash, or dancing. Don’t forget that household activities can count as well, such as intense floor mopping, raking leaves, or anything that gets your heart pumping so much that you break out in a light sweat.

Don’t have the discipline to do it on your own? Try any or all of these ideas:

• Join a class or work out with a friend who’ll hold you accountable.
• Track your progress, which encourages you to reach a goal.
• If you’re able, hire a personal trainer. (Paying an expert is good motivation.)

Whatever exercise and motivators you choose, commit to establishing exercise as a habit, almost like taking a prescription medication. After all, they say that exercise is medicine, and that can go on the top of anyone’s list of reasons to work out.

Better to drink coffee after breakfast, not before

A strong, black coffee to wake you up after a bad night's sleep could impair control of blood sugar levels, according to a new study.

Research from the Centre for Nutrition, Exercise & Metabolism at the University of Bath (UK) looked at the effect of broken sleep and morning coffee across a range of different metabolic markers.

Writing in the British Journal of Nutrition the scientists show that whilst one night of poor sleep has limited impact on our metabolism, drinking coffee as a way to perk you up from a slumber can have a negative effect on blood glucose (sugar) control.

Given the importance of keeping our blood sugar levels within a safe range to reduce the risk of conditions such as diabetes and heart disease, they say these results could have 'far-reaching' health implications especially considering the global popularity of coffee.

For their study, the physiologists at the University of Bath asked 29 healthy men and women to undergo three different overnight experiments in a random order:

• In one, condition participants had a normal night's sleep and were asked to consume a sugary drink on waking in the morning.
• On another occasion, participants experienced a disrupted night's sleep (where the researchers woke them every hour for five minutes) and then upon waking were given the same sugary drink.
• On another, participants experienced the same sleep disruption (i.e. being woken throughout the night) but this time were first given a strong black coffee 30 minutes before consuming the sugary drink.

In each of these tests, blood samples from participants were taken following the glucose drink which in energy content (calories) mirrored what might typically be consumed for breakfast.

Their findings highlight that one night of disrupted sleep did not worsen participants' blood glucose / insulin responses at breakfast, when compared to a normal night's sleep. Past research suggests that losing many hours of sleep over one and/or multiple nights can have negative metabolic effects, so it is reassuring to learn that a single night of fragmented sleep (e.g. due to insomnia, noise disturbance or a new baby) does not have the same effect.

However, strong black coffee consumed before breakfast substantially increased the blood glucose response to breakfast by around 50%. Although population-level surveys indicate that coffee may be linked to good health, past research has previously demonstrated that caffeine has the potential to cause insulin resistance. This new study therefore reveals that the common remedy of drinking coffee after a bad night's sleep may solve the problem of feeling sleepy but could create another by limiting your body's ability to tolerate the sugar in your breakfast.

Professor James Betts, Co-Director of the Centre for Nutrition, Exercise and Metabolism at the University of Bath who oversaw the work, explains: "We know that nearly half of us will wake in the morning and, before doing anything else, drink coffee -- intuitively the more tired we feel, the stronger the coffee. This study is important and has far-reaching health implications as up until now we have had limited knowledge about what this is doing to our bodies, in particular for our metabolic and blood sugar control.

"Put simply, our blood sugar control is impaired when the first thing our bodies come into contact with is coffee especially after a night of disrupted sleep. We might improve this by eating first and then drinking coffee later if we feel we still feel the need it. Knowing this can have important health benefits for us all."

Lead researcher, Harry Smith from the Department for Health at Bath added: "These results show that one night of disrupted sleep alone did not worsen participants' blood glucose/insulin response to the sugary drink compared to a normal night of sleep which will be reassuring to many of us. However, starting a day after a poor night's sleep with a strong coffee did have a negative effect on glucose metabolism by around 50%.

"As such, individuals should try to balance the potential stimulating benefits of caffeinated coffee in the morning with the potential for higher blood glucose levels and it may be better to consume coffee following breakfast rather than before.

"There is a lot more we need to learn about the effects of sleep on our metabolism, such as how much sleep disruption is necessary to impair our metabolism and what some of the longer-term implications of this are, as well as how exercise, for instance, could help to counter some of this."

Body Clock disruptions linked to mood disorders

At the moment, with all the Covid uncertainty, people are more stressed and sleeping issues have increased, as reported by the NHS. This can not only effect your daily routine, but can actually create further health implications, as per the results of a recent study.

"People who experience disrupted 24-hour cycles of rest and activity are more likely to have mood disorders, lower levels of happiness and greater feelings of loneliness," was the conclusion of a study published in the peer-reviewed journal, The Lancet Psychiatry

Researchers wanted to see if disruptions to the 24-hour "body clock" of rest and activity (circadian rhythm) had an impact on mental health.

They used wearable fitness-tracking devices to assess the physical activity of 90,000 people in the UK, and then compared the results with associated questionnaires looking at mood and mental health outcomes.

They found that people who were less active in the daytime and more active at night were more likely to have depression and bipolar disorder, less likely to describe themselves as happy, and more likely to say they were often lonely.

But we don't know whether this is cause or effect; for example, insomnia leading to increased night-time activity could be either a cause or effect of depression.

The researchers who carried out the study were from the University of Glasgow, the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland, and the Karolinska Institute in Sweden .

Researchers used data from 91,105 people in the UK Biobank study who'd worn an activity monitor on their wrists for 7 consecutive days from 2013 to 2015.

They had also filled in questionnaires about their mood when first recruited between 2006 and 2010, and filled in an online questionnaire about their mental health in 2016.

People who were less active in the day and more active at night were slightly more likely to have had depression or bipolar disorder in their lifetime.

Using the activity monitors, the researchers calculated people's day/night activity levels – a measure that shows the ratio between someone's activity during their 10 most active hours and their 5 least active hours.

This study adds to the evidence that good sleep at night, and activity during the day, is linked to better mental health.

“The big question is exactly how this link works and what "direction" it's travelling in: does poor sleep and sluggish activity during the day affect people's mental health, increasing their chances of mood disorders, or do mood disorders affect people's ability to sleep well and be active during the day?

It's also possible that both sleep cycles and mood disorders are caused by another underlying factor we don't know about yet.”