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BACKGROUND: Padma Lax (PL) is a multi-component herbal laxative, derived from traditional Tibetan medicine. It has been used in the treatment of constipation dominant irritable bowel syndrome. Beyond its purgative and bowel-regulating properties we found it to exhibit antiproliferative properties.MATERIALS AND METHODS: C6 tumor cells were incubated with either an ethanolic or aqueous extract of PL. Cell proliferation, cell cycle, percentage of apoptotic cells, caspase-3/-7 activity as well as mitochondrial membrane potential were determined.
RESULTS: Ethanolic extracts of PL inhibited cell proliferation in a dose- and time-dependent manner (half max concentration: 384.4 mug/ml after 48 h of incubation). Aqueous extracts were less effective. Ginger and elecampane were the active components of PL in respect to its antiproliferative action and were found to act synergistically. Supplementing the culture medium with polyamines could not override the cytostatic action of PL. Incubation of C6 cells with PL in the presence of catalase proved that the PL effect was specific and not due to oxidative stress. PL had no effects on the cell cycle at a low dose but arrested cells in G1 at high concentrations. Reduction of cell numbers was found to be due to apoptosis. The caspase- 3/-7 pathway was not involved in the PL-induced cell death. However, mitochondrial membrane potential was lost during the course of incubation with PL indicating a mitochondrial- but not caspase-mediated induction of apoptosis.
CONCLUSION: PL exhibits antiproliferative properties which may be beneficial to prevent constipation-related cancer. This study may also contribute to a future development of a new herbal-based antiproliferative treatment.
The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) appears to be high in the general population and in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). There are no diets or dietary supplements that are definitely effective in altering the disease course in MS. However, diets and dietary supplements that increase the intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids may produce mildly beneficial effects. Because these approaches are not definitely effective, they may be of limited interest to physicians and other conventional health providers. In contrast, for patients with MS, these interventions may be of considerable interest, because they may be mildly effective and are inexpensive and relatively safe. Vitamin D, ginkgo biloba, cannabinoids, and Padma 28 produce immunomodulatory actions and therapeutic effects in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. However, for these compounds, there are not enough clinical trial data or safety information to support their use as disease-modifying therapies. The role of antioxidant compounds in MS is unclear. There is no evidence that vitamin B(12) supplementation or gluten-free diets are effective MS therapies. Conventional health providers can play an important role in the care of MS patients by being open to discuss CAM therapies and by providing objective MS-relevant CAM information.
Using data for 25,780 species categorized on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List, we present an assessment of the status of the world’s vertebrates. One-fifth of species are classified as Threatened, and we show that this figure is increasing: On average, 52 species of mammals, birds, and amphibians move one category closer to extinction each year. However, this overall pattern conceals the impact of conservation successes, and we show that the rate of deterioration would have been at least one-fifth again as much in the absence of these. Nonetheless, current conservation efforts remain insufficient to offset the main drivers of biodiversity loss in these groups: agricultural expansion, logging, overexploitation, and invasive alien species.Though the threat of extinction is increasing, overall declines would have been worse in the absence of conservation.
Though the threat of extinction is increasing, overall declines would have been worse in the absence of conservation.
This study is the first to examine the potential role of mindfulness for attenuating anger and aggression in prospective criminal justice professionals. The Mindful Attention Awareness Scale, Aggression Questionnaire, Hostile Attribution Bias Scale, and Thought Recognition Inventory were administered to 272 undergraduate criminal justice majors. The results of a multivariate analysis of variance model indicated that dispositional mindfulness related negatively with self-reported aggression and hostile attribution bias and positively with thought recognition. A possible relationship between mindfulness and thought recognition may operate to influence other mechanisms to heighten mental health, as well as reduce anger and aggression. The potential benefits of mindfulness and thought recognition training for criminal justice professionals and prospective criminal justice professionals are discussed.
Anxiety is a debilitating symptom of many psychiatric disorders including generalized anxiety disorder, mood disorders, schizophrenia, and autism. Anxiety involves changes in both central and peripheral biology, yet extant functional imaging studies have focused exclusively on the brain. Here we show, using functional brain and cardiac imaging in sequential brain and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sessions in response to cues that predict either threat (a possible shock) or safety (no possibility of shock), that MR signal change in the amygdala and the prefrontal and insula cortices predicts cardiac contractility to the threat of shock. Participants with greater MR signal change in these regions show increased cardiac contractility to the threat versus safety condition, a measure of the sympathetic nervous system contribution to the myocardium. These findings demonstrate robust neural-cardiac coupling during induced anxiety and indicate that individuals with greater activation in brain regions identified with aversive emotion show larger magnitude cardiac contractility increases to threat.
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Background High stress and depression during pregnancy are risk factors for worsened health trajectories for both mother and offspring. This is also true for pre-pregnancy obesity and excessive gestational weight gain. Reducing stress and depression may be one path to prevent excessive caloric intake and gestational weight gain. Study Purpose We tested the feasibility of two novel interventions aimed at reducing stress and overeating during pregnancy. Reflecting different theoretical underpinnings, the interventions target different mechanisms. Mindful Moms Training (MMT) uses mindfulness to improve awareness and acceptance of experiences and promote conscious rather than automatic behavior choices. Emotional Brain Training (EBT) uses active coping to change perceptions of negative experience and promote positive affective states. Methods Forty-six overweight/obese low-income women were assigned to either MMT (n = 24) or EBT (n = 22) for an 8-week feasibility study. Pre-post changes in perceived stress, eating and presumed mechanisms were assessed. Results Women reported high levels of stress at baseline. Both interventions were well attended and demonstrated clinically significant pre-post reductions in stress, depressive symptoms, and improved eating behaviors. MMT significantly decreased experiential avoidance, whereas EBT significantly increased positive reappraisal; these changes were marginally significantly different by group. Conclusions This feasibility study found that both interventions promoted meaningful reductions in stress and depressive symptoms and improved reported eating behaviors in a high-risk group of pregnant women. Each intervention has a potentially different pathway-acceptance for MMT and reappraisal for EBT. Larger studies are needed to test efficacy on longer term reductions in stress and overeating.