A large study conducted by researchers at the Sweden’s Karolinska Institute has pointed out some troubling statistics. Some people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may have their lives cut by 30 years compared to those without. ASD manifests itself in a wide variety of ways. It is still not well understood, but people who have it may have trouble socializing or communicating. They may find some stimuli overwhelming or change in routines hard to cope with. Some with ASD have intellectual disabilities and seizures. The study that the Swedish researchers carried out involved 27000 plus people who had been diagnosed with the disorder. They had 2.6 million others who were not affected by it. They found that as they followed them for eight years and recorded deaths and causes of deaths during that time, that those diagnosed with ASD were 2.5 times more likely to die than their age matched controls. The researchers concluded that those with ASD were likely to die 18 years earlier than their healthy counterparts. Those with intellectual challenges were likely to die 30 years earlier than a healthy person. Those with severe epilepsy fell into this category. Another leading cause of early death was suicide. In recent years, children are being diagnosed with ASD at earlier ages. With early intervention, many children can learn to cope with regular human interactions. A famous person with ASD is Temple Grandin who has emerged as an expert on animal behavior. In the US approximately one in every 68 children shows signs of ASD. The incidence is five times as frequent in boys. New brain research is pointing to the action of testosterone produced by the male fetus on the developing brain. A Danish study in 2014 sampled amniotic fluid of more than 300 boys and found that those who exhibited signs of ASD were higher in testosterone levels than those who did not. It’s early days yet in dealing with this syndrome but the developing science of epigenetics is leading investigators down some interesting pathways. Sources: British Journal of Psychiatry Medical News Today Autism Speaks Discover Magazine
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Ayahuasca can change your life, but not necessarily for the better. This emerging plant based substance has been touted as everything from curing drug addictions to allowing one to see into another dimension. For some, experiencing an ayahuasca trip can be a religious experience. The plant based substance has been a staple of traditional medicine in the Peruvian rain forest. It has been administered by trained shamans for a variety of health reasons, both mental and physical. It causes psychotropic reactions due to its dimethyltryptamine (DMT) that is released when the plant leaves are cooked in conjunction with another plant. A normal part of the treatment is vigorous vomiting. Sometimes the client also experiences diarrhea. The chemicals in the brew can kill intestinal worms and the vomiting and voiding expel them. The psychotropic part of the trip is a psychedelic experience, often with little creatures in the hallucinations. This part of the trip may cause physical health problems such as heart attacks and death. As the European and N. American public has become more aware of this psychotropic drug a lucrative industry has sprung up in Peru. Known as Ayahuasca Tourists many go to stay at questionable and expensive camps to experience a transformation or a very trippy experience. Traditional shamans recommend that this drug should only be taken in the presence of one or several experienced shamans. This has led to some problems where participants may have been guided by poorly trained cookers. Some cookers have been accused of adding other psychotropic drugs to the mix without understanding their effects. One of the drugs that may contaminate the mixture is Brugmansia or angel trumpet which gives very bad trips. A dispute and denunciation regarding the commercialization of this drug has been made about an organization called Ayahuasca International. The owner of this business runs retreats in Europe where the mixture is administered. Commercialization in Peru has become lucrative as well. Per night costs for a retreat there can easily cost the participant $1200 USD. Cost is not guarantee of a good experience. Women have been sexually assaulted under the influence of the drug and others have died when they wandered away and met with mishaps. DMT is classified as a controlled substance in Australia, Canada, France, New Zealand, the UK and US. Sources: Wikipedia Men’s Journal The Ayahuasca Forums New Age Frauds A young American tourist has been sentenced to 15 years of hard labour in N. Korea. He was sentenced on March 16 after confessing to attempting to steal a propaganda banner from his hotel room. The action, considered a prank in most countries was dubbed a “serious offense” in the DPRK. Otto Wambier was paraded before television cameras that recorded his tearful ‘confession’. It has been alleged that he was attempting to damage the unity of the country. Wambier said on camera that he had attempted the theft of the banner as a dare from his college mates. The Young Pioneer Tour that he was on was stopped at the Pyongyang airport and Wambier was detained in prison. The tours are arranged through a China based travel company. This comes at a difficult time for any American in the DPRK who falls afoul of the authorities. The current leader of the renegade country, Kim Jong Un, has continued with a programme to develop guided missiles capable of carrying nuclear war heads. His country has developed and tested atomic warheads, the latest test on January 6th. Tensions between the north and south on the Korean Peninsula are higher than in many months. A tri-country military exercise off the S. Korean coast had Korea, Australia and the US conducting war games off the coast earlier this month. It prompted Kim Jong Un to announce that he might order a pre-emptive nuclear strike. The Kim Jong Un answered the world today with another missile launch into the ocean. This missile was reputed to travel about 800km( 500 mi) before dropping into the ocean. The debate continues as to whether the world should continue to provide the reclusive nation with food aid when massive amounts of resources are directed to building nuclear weapons and their delivery systems. The UN has had to reduce its food donations this year as famine in many other areas have stretched resources thin. Normally 10 000 tons of food every month are delivered to N. Korea. Canadian government travel advisory gives the country a red warning and simply states that you should avoid all travel there. The US Government “strongly recommends against all travel by US citizens to North Korea”. The US warning was last updated in November of 2015. Sources: Radio Free Asia CBS News Reuters SKY News Op-ed: A labour dispute in northeastern China was settled quickly when authorities paid coal miners two months back pay. The miners took to the streets on Saturday and in spite of heavy police presence got the concession of some of their back pay. Often public demonstrations of unhappiness are put down quickly with force. Details of the labour action are still sketchy because the PRC discourages publicity about any form of civil unrest. Government officials at the Shuangyashan foreign affairs bureau told Reuters reporters that they were not allowed to report without permission and escorted them out of town on Tuesday. Reuters The mine operators, Longmay Group, have been suffering losses since 2012 and are seeking to cut their workforce from 248 000 to 148 000. The corporation is owned by the provincial government. Coal is the major supplier of energy to the nation, but the central government is seeking to curb its use because of worsening air pollution and reduced demand as factories slow output due to dropping demand for products. The central government has announced that no new coal mines will be opened for at least three years and a programme to shut down within the year, 1000 mines currently operating. In late January the central government added an additional 4300 more mines to the list of closures. More than 7 000 mines have already been shut down. Those are the official mines. There are an uncountable number of unofficial mines that are operated by one or two people making a subsistence living. The downturn in the Chinese economy has coined a new term – zombie factories. Many factories continue to operate at a loss in order to keep workers employed. As in the miners’ situation, sometimes the pay is late in coming. The central congress has decided that they must cut this over capacity not just in the mining sector, but across the whole economy and have predicted that as many as six million people will lose their jobs. While zombie factories can’t continue indefinitely, the prospect of millions of out of work, out of money people is a daunting one. The central government still maintains that the official growth rate is over 6% but those investing in the Chinese stock market have shown their lack of confidence in those figures. The value of the yuan has continued to drop. Adding to the economic woes, the wealthy are scurrying to get their money out of the country. Sources: Reuters Mining.com CBC News We know that exercise can ward off many of the frailties of aging, but now we can add brain health to the lengthy list. A study published this month in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease points out exercise as a possible way to reduce the chances of developing this debilitating disease. The researchers followed a cohort of 876 people over 30 years in a Cardiovascular Health Study. When the people reached an average age of 78 they were subjected to various cognitive and physical tests. After correlating life style choices which included exercise, the researchers found that those who exercised regularly had bigger brain volumes. This translated to a whopping 50% reduction in the incidence of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) in the study group. In order to maintain their healthy brain volumes, the participants only needed to engage in moderate exercise. It could be gardening, walking, or my favourite – dancing. There are known risk factors for developing AH. Chronic inflammation, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and type-2 diabetes are all known risk factors. Other risks factors are being studied including ethnicities and mental health. Two thirds of AD sufferers are women. There is no cure for AD which is a progressive disease which primarily affects older people. Eventually the person with AD becomes cognitively impaired and as brain damage continues brain cells die. AD is the leading cause of dementia and death usually occurs within ten years. Prevention is the most promising way to deal with this tragic and expensive disease. Research is progressing in that area as well, with researchers looking at the benefits of some natural spices and teas added to a balanced diet. The disease costs a great deal of money to deal with. The disease progressed in roughly three stages. While the first stage exhibits some cognitive impairment, the patient may still live independently, but by stage 2 some help and supervision will be necessary and by stage 3 full time help is necessary. In the US there are currently 5.3 million people with the disease. The cost of caring for them in 2015 was $226 billion. These costs are estimated to spiral to $1.1 trillion by 2050. The Alzheimer Association(American) estimates that if trends continue there will be nearly 14 million victims of the disease. So get out the dancing shoes and tap dance your way to good health. Sources: Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease Alzheimer’s Association |
Barbara McPherson
Blogger, gardener, farmer. Working toward food security and a 30 foot
diet. Addicted to reading. Love this planet, especially my little corner
on Vancouver Island, Canada Archives
October 2016
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