Medical developments from around the world

Popularity of Treadmill Work Stations
For some years now, studies have revealed that sitting for a long time is bad for health and leads to obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. Health conscious companies, in the United States, now provide their workers standing facilities to work; they are building workstations with treadmills so that people can keep working while walking on the treadmill. This has cut down their health insurance spending. Interestingly, sitting jobs damage health, even if the person has been exercising regularly otherwise.

Female Sex Hormone Is Important for Males Also
Nature works wonders and scientists have not understood the whole thing even now. A study published in the 12th September issue of New England Journal of Medicine shows how reduction in oestrogen levels, and not testosterone, results in diminished sex drive and middle level spread of fat in men. Drug companies should take note that selling testosterone alone might not be of much use in male menopause.

Dying with Dignity
In 1968, a letter titled “Not Allowed To Die” was sent to the British Medical Journal describing the ordeal of a retired 68-year-old doctor, who had metastatic stomach cancer. Reporting on it, the New York Times stated: “After much of his stomach was surgically removed and a blood clot cleared from his lung, he asked that ‘no further steps be taken to prolong his life, for the pain of his cancer was now more than he would needlessly continue to endure.’ Two weeks later, the unfortunate doctor had a heart attack in the hospital. His heart was shocked and restarted five times in a single night; morning found him in a persistent vegetative state. His body remained alive for another three weeks. That hellish situation, rare in the rest of the world, is all too common in the USA, and now in India, a copy cat of US medicine. That has only become worse over the years from 1968. Although most of us claim a desire to die with dignity, as Katy Butler reminds us in the book Knocking on Heaven’s Door, a fifth of American deaths now take place in intensive care, where 10 days of futile flailing can cost as much as $323,000, as it did for one California man.”

I am told that 90% of the profits of American hospitals come from keeping dying people in intensive care units for the last 10 days! A very good business indeed!

What Has Food Colour Got To Do With Health?
Darker colours of fruits and vegetables contain a higher level of anti-oxidants. It is a good habit to include many coloured foods in your diet for good health. According to Naturalnews.com, a study published in the Journal of Medicinal Food showed the protective anti-tumour activity of tomatoes. The website said, “When mice were given either isolated lycopene or tomato paste for three days, the researchers found the tomato paste had much stronger antimutagenic activity compared to corresponding doses of pure lycopene.” The research paper said, "Results indicate that lycopene has antimutagenic effects, although the effects are lower than that of tomato puree, which contains a complex mixture of bioactive phytochemicals. The antimutagenic effect is connected with the chemo protective role of lycopene, tomatoes, and tomato products in the prevention of carcinogenesis.”