EPISODES OFTEN MISTAKEN FOR SEIZURES: IS IT DAYDREAMING OR A SEIZURE?”Phillip has become forgetful,” you tell your doctor. “The other day we were cleaning up the yard, and I asked him to pick up a pile of leaves. He just went on raking up the leaves. I shouted at him a second time, but he ignored me. I got mad, but when I went over to him he claimed he hadn’t even heard me. He seems to be doing that a lot lately.”"It could be a lot of things,” your physician replies. “As you know, adolescents often have selective hearing. It could be that he was listening to his Walkman, or daydreaming, or just tired of being nagged. Could he be taking drugs? Since you say that he has been having a lot of these things, I suppose that they could be seizures, the kind we call absence or petit mat. Let me get him to overbreathe (hyperventilate) a little bit and see if we can produce a spell.”A teacher may describe a child as “daydreaming a lot” or as “not paying attention.” Or, on occasion, a child herself may report that she is missing short segments of her lessons or brief parts of a TV program. Without seeing a staring spell, it will be difficult to interpret such brief events. Such spells may often be precipitated by hyperventilation in the physician’s office; if an episode can be made to occur, the physician can see the spell and interpret for herself.Daydreaming can be very difficult to differentiate from the brief lapses in attention caused by absence seizures. We will discuss this further in Chapter 6. Daydreaming, however, is common in situations which are boring or when a child is tired; absence seizures can occur at any time. Absence seizures may be seen at meal times and interrupt a conversation or eating, whereas in these situations a child is unlikely to daydream. Daydreaming can usually be interrupted by calling the child’s name or touching the child. Absence seizures cannot be interrupted.*22\208\8*
WHAT CAUSES OSTEOARTHRITIS?Although once thought of as a wear-and-tear disease, a new theory holds that osteoarthritis is a chemical disease of cartilage, the material that covers the ends of the bones where they join. Cartilage has a high water content and is mostly made up of a gel-like protein called collagen. Cartilage acts as a shock absorber, cushioning the bones and preventing them from grinding against each other as they move. Osteoarthritis may be the result of an imbalance in the normal breakdown and buildup of cartilage.One item of evidence has helped overturn the wear-and-tear theory: Joints have a low friction level, so they don’t wear out by themselves unless they are used excessively or are injured.5 Also, while osteoarthritis does occur more frequently in joints that have been stressed or damaged, it can also occur in uninjured joints. Furthermore, osteoarthritis frequently develops in many joints at the same time, often on both sides of the body symmetrically, even when there is no reason to believe that joints on both sides of the body have been subjected to equal amounts of wear and tear.Another intriguing clue is that osteoarthritis of the knee is commonly (and mysteriously) associated with osteoarthritis of the hands. These factors as well as others have led to the suggestion that osteoarthritis may actually be a systemic, or body-wide, disease of the cartilage.Osteoarthritis may be the result of an imbalance in the normal breakdown and buildup of cartilage.Cartilage is primarily made of two types of substances: proteoglycans and collagen. Proteoglycans stiffen the tissue and give it the ability to withstand the pressure placed on joints, for instance when you are lifting heavy objects. Collagen fibers give it strength to hold together even when stretched and ground between the bones it protects.The cartilage in your body is constantly being turned over by a balance of forces that both break it down and rebuild it. One prevailing theory suggests that osteoarthritis may represent a situation in which the forces that break down cartilage get out of hand for reasons that are unknown. We do know that substances called metalloproteinases, plasmin, and cathepsins all play a role in destroying cartilage, and they are found in increased amounts in the joints of those suffering from osteoarthritis. There is some evidence that chondroitin may slow joint deterioration by interfering with enzymes that help the breaking-down process.The first changes seen in osteoarthritis involve an abnormality of cartilage. These abnormalities include subtle disruptions in the network of fibers that make up the cartilage. In response to the damage, rebuilding mechanisms take effect, increasing production of collagen and proteoglycans.Certain natural supplements, such as glucosamine, S-adenosylmethionine, and chondroitin, may be able to support this rebuilding mechanism.Even after osteoarthritis has begun, these compensating mechanisms can keep the joint functioning well for several years. Because the cartilage has been damaged, it may thicken, but it still functions. The phase of osteoarthritis during which the joint remains functioning is called “compensated” or “stabilized” osteoarthritis. Eventually, however, unaided building forces cannot keep up with destructive ones, and what is called “end-stage” osteoarthritis develops. End-stage osteoarthritis results in the all-too-familiar picture of arthritic pain and impaired joint function.*10/306/5*
BIOLOGICAL TREATMENTS FOR HEART DISEASE
1. Plenty of exercise, both as preventative and therapeutic measures in heart disease, is imperative. Walking, jogging, jumping ropes, riding a horse or bicycle, swimming, etc. Not only would sufficient exercise in fresh air prevent most heart problems, but for those who survived a heart attack, exercise is singularly the most important measure to assure complete recovery and prolong life. There is a famous rehabilitation center for former heart attack victims in Yugoslavia where the only therapeutic program is gradually increased walks in hilly terrain. Patients, who could hardly walk 100 feet on arrival ” because of heart damage, walk and jog several miles in a few weeks, and leave the center able to continue with their normal work.2. The second most important preventative and therapeutic factor in heart disease is vitamin E. Those who have a heart condition should take preventive doses, 600 up to 1,200 IU a day, and surviving heart attack patients should take 1,600 to 2,000 IU of vitamin E a day for the rest of their lives.3. Avoid smog. Smoggy air definitely adversely affects a heart condition.4. Avoid emotional stresses and worries. Severe emotional stress causes spasmatic constriction of arteries and may contribute to heart attack.5. According to Dr. Royal Lee, the administration of cytotrophic extract of beef heart tissue is extremely effective in correction of heart abnormalities and in restoration of heart function after a heart attack.6. Do not smoke! A recently completed ten-year study made in Stockholm, Sweden, shows that smoking is the surest way to become a heart attack candidate. Study shows that 82 percent of all men who died of a heart attack were smokers. The other important factors that contributed to heart attacks were: emotional stress, lack of regular exercise, alcohol and high cholesterol and lipid (fat) count in the blood.7. If other measures fail, possibly periodic blood-letting can be considered, especially for those with high viscosity blood. Blood-letting is an ancient method, recently rediscovered by modern science. 8. Atherosclerosis, with excessive cholesterol and lipids in the arteries, is one of the main causes of coronary heart disease. It has been clinically demonstrated that atherosclerosis may be caused largely by C-vitamin deficiency. Administration of large doses of vitamin С (1,000 to 3,000 mg.) daily resulted in drastic reduction of blood serum cholesterol. Note: Administration of vitamin С to atherosclerotic patients may temporarily result in rise of serum cholesterol levels due to mobilization of the arterial cholesterol deposits. Although this is not serious and the continued treatment will eventually bring serum cholesterol level down, the phenomenon should be closely observed by a doctor, especially in coronary cases.There are eight other nutritional substances which play a vital role in maintaining proper levels of cholesterol and triglycerides in blood and arteries:a. Vitamin F, or unsaturated fatty acids. Sources are: crude, cold-pressed vegetable oils, raw seeds and nuts and grains. Also available in capsule form.b. Lecithin. Best food sources are unrefined, raw, crude vegetable oils, seeds, nuts and grains. Also available in granular, or liquid form, or in capsules, с Chromium. The best natural food sources of chromium are: unsaturated cold-pressed oils, whole grains, organically grown fruits and vegetables, raw sugar and sugar cane, and brewer’s yeast. Also in naturally hard drinking water.d. Niacin. Normalizes blood clotting and markedly reduces cholesterol levels in arteries. Best food sources: brewer’s yeast, whole grain products.e. Calcium. Extra supplementary calcium reduces blood cholesterol. Best sources: milk, bone meal, sesame seeds, vegetables.f. B6 (pyrodoxine). It has been shown that prolonged deficiency of vitamin B6 will lead to damage to arteries and consequent atherosclerotic development.g. Magnesium. It has been shown that plentiful magnesium in the diet is imperative to health of the heart. Magnesium strengthens the heart muscle, and can prevent atherosclerosis and heart attack, h. Zinc. Recent research shows that low zinc values are associated with atherosclerosis (William Strain, et al.). Best food sources of zinc; seeds, nuts, grains, milk, eggs.
*3/103/5*
BIO-DIVERSITY: HABITAT AND REGIONS OF MAXIMUM DIVERSITY
(a) ABROAD
The tropical forests, specially, rain forests are regarded as richest in biodiversity. Two third of world’s flowering plants area is tropical which emphasizes the great importance of plant conservation in the tropics. Many economically important families are restricted to the tropics, such as, Annonac-eae, Lauraceae, Moraceae, Dipterocarpaceae, Ebenaceae, Meliaceae, Gramineae and Leguminosae are most important domesticated families followed by Cruciferae, Rosaceae, Umbelliferae, Solanaceae and Labiatae. Other domesticated families are Chenopodiaceae, Araceae, Cucurbitaceae and Compositae.
High species diversity in the tropical forest may be because of constancy of the environment. It may also be because of the result of interaction between climate, organisms, topography rocks, time and heredity in the tropics which is the ideal place for such interaction. Certain extra-terrestrial factors-mass extinction, competitions,competitive exclusion and other biotic interactions also play a role in the evolution of biological diversity. All such conditions for evolutions are considered as optimal and for extinctions fewer.
(b) INDIA
India has a rich diversity with varied flora and fauna, consisting of 67,000 species of insects followed by 15,000 species of flowering plants, 6500 vertebrates, 4000 molluscs, 2000 fishes, 1200 birds, 450 reptiles, 400 mammals and 150 amphibians.
The western ghats in peninsular India, which extend in the southern states are also considered as a treasure house of species diversity. Out of 15,000 species of flowering plants so far identified in India about 5,000 species occurs on the western Ghats of Kerala and as many as 235 species are endemic to this region. Similarly, it is estimated that almost 1/3 of the animal varieties found in India have taken refuge in western Ghats of Kerala.*15\218\2*