Category Archives: Heavy Metal Toxicit

The Human Brain

July 24, 2014

The Human Brain – Human Operation Manager

Brain

The Human brain. Being the nerve center and regulator of all body functions, drugs must not be allowed to get into the brain

Have you ever considered how the brain works, the a mount of information being processed by this organ is huge and what is surprising is how orderly and efficient hey are being processed. Take for example one of the life practical example like driving a car. A lot of multi-tasking will be taking place like you position yourself well on the steering wheel, focused on the road and not sleeping, communicate with your feet, leg, hands and arms, knowing where the brakes are  among very many things like listening to the radio, talking to your passengers. Can you imagine the kind of speed involved in processing such an amount of data all at the same time! While you look at these tasks as simple either because of your driving experience it may not be so if you bring the nerve center in the picture. In fact all these you are able to do them because of the proper functionality of your brain and so how does the brain work all these efficiently and perfectly?

Different Brain Regions Contribute to the Regulation of Different Functions

Taking our example of driving as the bigger task, the brain will break it into smaller units like communicating, hearing, seeing etc. for them to be processed. A section of the brain will analyze movement of objects we see, the other part will be organizing the tasks in other words each part of the brain carry out specific task meaning that whenever a given task is to be done the right information is processed by that specific part of the brain. The other aspect of the brain is that in the event that a section of the brain is damaged then all the functions done by that section will not be done and that is why in an accident if the occipital lobe at the back of the brain is damaged then blindness occurs but other unaffected areas like seeing and movement continues to function normally because the job of seeing is highly compartmentalized, individuals who have lost one aspect of sight like the ability to see colors or to recognize faces, may still be able to do other visual tasks can you imagine being able to recognize people by hearing their voices but not being able to recognize them by their faces when you see them?

The advantage of this localization of function is when larger jobs are parceled out throughout the brain they all can be done at once. This decentralization of labor adds great speed to our ability to understand what is happening in the world around us, to analyze it, and then to generate appropriate responses. Dealing with information in this way is called parallel processing and it has been used by the computer scientists in the development of computers.

The human brain consists of several large regions, each of which is responsible for some of the activities necessary for life. These include the brainstem, cerebellum, limbic system, diencephalon, and cerebral cortex.

The brainstem is that part of the brain which connects the brain and spinal cord. This part of the brain is involved in coordinating many basic functions such as heart rate, breathing, eating, and sleeping.

The cerebellum coordinates the brain’s instructions for skilled repetitive movements and for keeping balance and posture.

The limbic system is involved in regulating emotions, motivations, and movement. It includes the amygdala and hippocampus, which is important for memory formation.

The diencephalon contains the thalamus and hypothalamus. The thalamus is involved in sensory perception and regulating movement. The hypothalamus is an important regulator of the pituitary gland, which directs the release of hormones throughout the body.

The cerebral cortex makes up the largest part of the brain mass and lies over and around most of the other brain structures. It is the part of the brain accountable for thinking, perceiving, and producing and understanding language. The cortex can be divided into areas that are involved in vision, hearing, touch, movement, smell, and thinking and reasoning.

Drugs on the Reward System in the Brain

The same ways specific areas of the brain control seeing and hearing, specific brain areas also control emotions, motivations, and movement. These functions are carried out by a part of the brain called the limbic system. The limbic system prevails on how we react to the world around us. Imagine a cool sunny day. You finish your work early and head to your favorite park for a leisurely walk with your dog. You are feeling so mellow that when the dog slobbers on your clean shirt, you merely scratch him behind the ears. Nonetheless on another day you have a completely different experience when you have to work late, traffic is up, and the dog runs away instead of coming to welcome you home. This time when the dog slobbers on you (after he finds his way home again) you shove him away and scold him.

The feelings you have in those two different situations are a result of your limbic system at work. The limbic system uses memories, information about how your body is working, and current sensory input to generate your emotional responses to current situations.

The limbic system is involved in many of our emotions and motivations, particularly those related to survival, such as fear and anger. The system is also involved in pleasurable activities necessary for survival, such as eating and sex. If something is pleasurable, or rewarding, you want to do it repeatedly. Pleasurable activities engage the reward circuit (or system), so the brain notes that something important is happening that needs to be remembered and repeated. The reward system includes several interconnected structures the ventral tegmental area (VTA), located at the top of the brain stem; the nucleus accumbens; and the prefrontal cortex). Neurons from the VTA relay messages to the nucleus accumbens and the prefrontal cortex. Information is also relayed back from the cortex to the nucleus accumbens and the VTA.

Most drugs of abuse activate the same VTA and nucleus accumbens neurons and that is why drugs produce pleasurable feelings to the drug user. And, because the feelings are pleasurable, the user wants to continue to experience the pleasure which they felt during previous drug use.

One of the reasons that drugs of abuse can exert such powerful control over our behavior is that they act directly on the more evolutionarily primitive brainstem and limbic structures, which can override the cortex in controlling our behavior.

The Human Brain – Human Operation Manager

 

 

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Employees and Drug Addiction

July 24, 2014

Employees and Drug Addiction – Workplace

Addiction

Workplace must be accommodating enough to discourage drug addiction. Stressful set ups will only injure any meaningful gains made.

The reality of addiction related problems in the workplaces is becoming a common phenomenon and unless we positively come out to address it we will soon not have an economy to run as organization or nations. The prevalent of addiction cut across all sectors of life of both the individuals and the society and when it does it destroys one’s health, relationships, emotional well-being and this effects eventually finds their way in the workplace bringing very negative results. It is believed that majority of people struggling with addiction are employed in various sectors of the economy and because of this their performance is reduced to about two thirds in relation to those employees free from the scourge.

Various studies have established that prior to enrolling for treatment these employees were unproductive due to consistent absconding of duty, lateness or just lazing a round because of their addiction problems. This is a clear indication that employees addiction impacts negatively to their work performance which eventually translate to the inflated cost of doing business to their employers beside the dented reputation of the organization image and goodwill. In the interest of this it’s important to consider and understand the role of the workplace and the employer in the addiction recovery process. Therefore:

Why is it Difficult for Employees to Ask for Help?
It may not be easy for employees to seek for help for fear of being victimized by their employers and the related stigmatization. However employers should take note that support their employees with addiction problems to reach out for help not only benefits the employee in terms of their physical, emotional, and mental health but also benefits the organization in many productive ways.

The Benefits of Addiction Treatment

As indicated above helping employees with their addiction conditions in beneficial to both the employees and the employer as discussed below.

Benefits to an Employee and the Employer – when our mental health is good, we are able to cope with the hassles and stressors of everyday life. We are purposeful and productive. But our mental health is poor it can impact a variety of aspects of our lives. When someone is suffering from mental health problems or illness, such as a substance abuse problem or other type of addiction, the impact on the individual can be more pervasive and severe. Co-workers may perceive these types of individuals as difficult or unreliable, and this can create a very unpleasant work environment.

When mental health or other medical conditions become so severe, the individual may have to take a leave from work for an extended period of time. This can escalate:

  • Disability costs
  • Benefits utilization
  • Replacement costs and
  • Costs associated with lost productivity.

Failing to address the underlying mental health problems of the employee increases the likelihood of the individual developing recurring problems at work. However, with adequate intervention and an ongoing treatment strategy, someone suffering from a mental health illness such as an addiction can experience good mental health and an improved quality of life.

How Employers Can Help?
There are several ways an employee can benefit including some of the recommendations made by the Mental Health Commission of Canada which include the following steps to be taken by the employers at workplaces:

  • Health promotion and prevention of psychological issues at work
  • Early identification of psychological problems and optimal treatment of mental health conditions to reduce disability and to support a return to work strategy.

Early Intervention for Best Results
What makes the establishment of wellness programs even more imperative, is that research has demonstrated that individuals struggling with an addiction, on average wait thirteen and a half years before entering residential treatment. The goal therefore is, to intervene early with an employee who has a substance use or behavioral addiction problem, before it progresses and worsens over time. By establishing a non-punitive, supportive organizational culture involved in the psychological well-being of their employees, an organization can minimize the potential escalating costs associated with employees and their problematic substance use and behavior.

Treatment Benefits beyond Absenteeism, Tardiness and Productivity
Even though studies have established the above as some of the costs and benefits associated with addiction in the workplace, employers must not limit their evaluation of the cost-effectiveness of treatment based exclusively on workers’ absenteeism, tardiness and productivity. The economic benefit of addiction treatment goes beyond these variables to include reduction on-the-job errors, accidents and injuries, and reduced disability costs. Other benefits may include improved morale, decreased conflict among workers and reduced costs associated with dismissal, hiring and training. Depending on the workplace context, other potential benefits can also include reduced legal liabilities and minimizing potential negative impacts on organizational reputation and trust between stakeholders and clients.

However it is understandable that becoming involved in employees’ psychological well-being is not an easy feat for employers and when performance is affected, it’s difficult to have the tough talk. This is where adequate training and education for managers and employees would help organizations to overcome this potential barrier.

The Bottom-Line and Beyond
Appealing to “the bottom line” and outlining the economic benefits of addiction treatment has shown to be an effective way to engage employers in the recovery of their employees’ addiction. The American Society of Addiction Medicine defines addiction as a primary neurological disease affecting brain reward, motivation, memory and its related circuitry. Because it is a chronic brain disease, addiction requires treatment and management over a lifetime unlike other chronic diseases such as diabetes or cardiovascular disease. Addiction can be as devastating as any other illness and is classified as a disability by many employment legislations across the globe.

It is therefore very important to assist employees in their recovery process. Common barriers such as shame, organizational denial, and enabling behaviors of coworkers can prevent employees from seeking help for this medical and psychological problem. Employers need to understand the ways that their organizations may maintain these barriers and appreciate that employer involvement in the recovery process is beneficial for both the employee and the organization.

Effective addiction treatment that includes long-term continuing care and support from family and employers is a mutually beneficial solution to a problem that often permeates a variety of aspects of an individual’s life – including their work. So when it comes to your employees and addiction it is your business to liaise with reputable addiction professionals like doctor Dalal Akoury who founded AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center where addiction treatment is administered in total focus on Neuroendocrine Restoration (NER) to reinstate normality through realization of the oneness of Spirit, Mind, and Body, Unifying the threesome into ONE.

Employees and Drug Addiction – Workplace

 

 

 

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Positive psychology in addiction treatment

July 24, 2014

Positive psychology in addiction treatment – Drug Addiction

Addiction

Positive psychology in addiction treatment. It is much healthier to treat addiction when there is common understanding of the problem at hand.

Everyone would want to be given hope that their life situation is not permanent and there is light at the end of the tunnel. When professionals are administering treatment they often give their patients words of hope and keep it that way even when they are convinced that chances of living the hospital bed is diminishing every passing second after all the patients only visited the facility to get better and being hopeful is very necessary in treatment of any kind of health condition. However there are instances when this has not been the practice in some quarters like in addiction related problems we know for sure that there is high possibilities of relapsing during and after recovery a process that may occur repeatedly and can be very discouraging. When one relapses consistently such a person needs to be encouraged to soldier on and be given hope that this is normal and will be defeated with time. To do this it will be important that we cultivate the positive psychology in both the addict and the health care provider.

Positive psychology in addiction treatment – Definition

Therefore let us understand what positive Psychology is all about. First this is a new initiative in the arena of psychological research and intervention defined as the scientific study of the strong points and virtues that enable individuals and communities to flourish. The initiative is founded on the understanding that people want to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives, to promote what is best within them and to improve their experiences of love, work, and play.

In effective addiction treatment, positive psychological approaches play an important role in achieving long-term addiction recovery goals. Usually addicts are told that:

  • They have a disease which they will have to manage for the rest of their lives.
  • To expect relapse and that from a statistical perspective, most will die from their illness.

This is extremely demoralizing prognosis to provide to someone who has presented a problem to you for help. This is not the way to go and a positive psychologist would rearrange the conversation and the situation by instilling hopeful suggestions that addiction is a behavioral disorder and even the most rooted behaviors can be changed with proper treatment and change of life style among other applicable factors. While not denying the negative statistics surrounding addiction recovery, reframing of the opportunity to recover into something achievable is empowering and motivating giving hope to many who may be suffering from substance abuse.

Positive psychology in addiction treatment – Self-discovery

Positive psychology is a continuous process and is boundary less so long as the patients still need help. Therefore after giving these quality encouragement to the addict patient by suggesting that recovery is possible not just for a select few, the positive psychologist will then begins to work with the addict to re-evaluate life and initiate a process of self-discovery where the addicted patient get to know the kind of activities and relationships of great importance to and for them.

Like I said before with this positive psychology there are no limits. For instance example, consider a physically challenged person on a wheelchair all his or her life being pushed to your office for advice in life telling you that what they want to do is to be serving seals, what would you tell them? Many may condemn then because they cannot walk and so may not be productive in an assignment. This is the wrong way of handling people by doing this you will for sure achieve great injury and demoralization to this people, instead you may instill hope in them by suggesting  and encouraging them to look into what it would take for them to save seals. You may inspire them that since they are not able to walk and be physically active what about if they be involved through the internet in those types of activities and raise funds to support the work! Being visionary is the kind of process being applied to the people suffering from addiction to help them a world and life beyond substances they abuse and to give them achievable goals to work towards with the sole objective helping them keep to their recovery.

Meaningful recovery is achieved when the pain of the past is worked through and goals for the future are set and worked toward. Part of the problem of addiction generally may include: An inability to envision a different future, future in which happiness, good work, and strong relationships are the fabric of daily life. With the application of positive psychology, the therapists are able to inspire and help addicts plan for and believe that they can attain the kind of future of which they previously could not even dream. This is the spirit that is transformative and realistic. If you have been with me on this link you may have read from our previous articles putting emphasis to every one of the duty of care owed to one another, this is an endless commitment that you and I should embrace for the good of our well-being. In attempting to achieve this doctor Akoury a known addiction professional of several decades founded AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center where total care and treatment is administered to all in need while focusing on Neuroendocrine Restoration (NER) to reinstate normality through realization of the oneness of Spirit, Mind, and Body, Unifying the threesome into ONE this is ware to be for all kinds of addiction related problems.

Positive psychology in addiction treatment – Drug Addiction

 

 

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Targeted Cancer Therapies

July 23, 2014

 

  Targeted Cancer Therapies are effective in cancer treatment

Targeted cancer therapies are drugs designed to interfere with specific molecules necessary for tumor growth and metastasis. Conventional chemotherapy is a treatment that targets cell division. It kills rapidly dividing cells hence affecting their spread. However as known conventional chemotherapy has side effects as healthy cells are also affected. The aim of target therapies is to fight cancer more strategically with few side effects.

The target therapies are always pre tested before they are used on a patient. This is mostly done on animals like mice. However in some cases it may be tested on humans. The target therapies are mostly used with other treatment methods such as chemotherapy. They help in killing the culprits behind the uncontrolled cancer cell growth and metastasis making such treatments more effective.

Typically the body cells grow and divide to give rise to new cells that will replace them when they grow old and die. However this circle maybe broken and that is where all problems begin, new cells may come up earlier before the body requires them while the old cells may refuse to die and leave space for new cells. The many cells may initiate a growth which divides without control. Eventually these cancerous cells will break away from the parent tumor and spread to the rest of the body causing damage to healthy tissues.

The growth and division of cancer cells is not controlled. The growth of healthy body cells is controlled by the certain enzymes, chemicals and molecular signals that issue instructions to the cells to divide when they ought to. Genes are also involved in cell growth. Hormone proto-oncogenesis is involved in cell growth and division. Changes in these genes may result in formation of cancer cells. The change otherwise known as oncogenesis promotes excessive cell growth and division. To help save this situation, tumor suppressor genes need to stop the cell from dividing rapidly but in case they don’t work as needed the tumor growth begins.

If the changes in the genes are not corrected appropriately by the cell, abnormal proteins may be produced. Proteins help the cells to accomplish some of their duties. The growth factors are and growth factor receptors help in growth and division of cells. In some cases case of abnormal proteins may over respond to signals or may not respond at all. The cancer cells are the result of abnormal proteins that have signaled the cells to reproduce excessively.

Therefore changes in the genes may play a very important role in the formation and growth of tumors. By use of target therapy, the excessive growth of cells can be inhibited and hence put a control to the rise of cancer cells.

How can target cancer therapies help in cancer treatment?

Target cancer therapies are useful in cancer treatments as they work in a number of ways to inhibit the growth and division of cancerous cells at various stages in cancer cell development, growth and metastasis. These therapies interfere with the signals that are sent to the cancer cells to divide. These signals are sent by the abnormal proteins. The target therapies may do away with these proteins completely blocking the signals that trigger excessive cell division and spread of the cancer cells.

By interfering with the signals that promote growth and division of the cancer cells, the target therapies help in controlling cancer. These therapies are always pre tested for effectiveness and so they are precise in executing their intended duties.

Target cancer therapies provide doctors with a better means to personalize cancer treatments. With unique molecular targets produced the treatment of a cancer patient can be individualized hence avoiding the standard treatment where cancer patients are given the same drugs that may not work well in treating the patient. Another advantage of target cancer therapies is that they are more selective hence few healthy cells are affected. It also has few side effects as well as enhances the effectiveness to cancer treatment. It is also convenient to the patients as it may save the patient from repeat chemotherapies that is always the case with haphazard cancer treatment.

Examples of target cancer therapies

Small Molecule Inhibitors

Small molecule inhibitors typically interrupt cellular processes by interfering with the intracellular signaling of tyrosine kinases which are enzymes that transfer phosphate groups from adenosine triphosphate to tyrosine amino acid residues in proteins. Tyrosine kinase signaling initiates a molecular surge that can lead to cell growth, proliferation, migration, and angiogenesis in normal and malignant tissues. EGFR, HER2/neu, and VEGF receptors are tyrosine kinases.

The small molecule inhibitors are therefore very helpful in controlling the spread of cancer. One of the most powerful small molecule inhibitors is Imatinib which was approved in 2002 for the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia.

Monoclonal antibodies

Targeted cancer therapy

Monoclonal antibodies  can help in fighting cancer through many ways. Monoclonal antibodies may trigger the natural body killer cells to fight the cancer cells. They help in interrupting the cancer cell growth process by binding ligands and receptors. They may also use toxins or radioisotope to harm the cancer cells. Monoclonal has a denatured protein structure and are administered intravenously, they are subject to drug interactions as they do not undergo hepatic metabolism. Their ability to interact favorably with drugs allows them to be used alongside other treatment methods.

To be cancer free you need updates on cancer to know more about cancer. Dr. Dalal Akoury runs a website that equips people with relevant information about cancer. Check on her website regularly to benefit from her wealth of health knowledge

            Targeted Cancer Therapies are effective in cancer treatment

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Rectal Ozone and Cancer

July 23, 2014

 

Coffee Enemas, Rectal Ozone and Detoxification in Cancer Treatment.

Rectal ozoneCancer treatment is a subject that has involved lots of research and still up to now medical researchers and other doctors are still doing lots of research to come up with new ways to better treat cancer. Basing on the findings of the past researches, we find that our environment plays a major role in cancer cell formation as it exposes as to toxins that may change the DNA makeup of our healthy body cells putting us at a risk of developing cancer.

Detoxification is a necessity in cancer treatment

Detoxification is a very important process in cancer treatment especially through the natural ways. The basis of treating cancer by detoxification is that the cancerous cells formation are as a result of the many toxins in our bodies that we get from the environment in the air we breathe as well as in the foods we eat. We may also get cancer from malignant body cells that may turn cancerous resulting into tumors in our bodies. All malignant cells and free radicals should be flushed out of our bodies to ensure we are free from cancer. Treating cancer without detoxification may not help as the toxins  present will lead to re-infection.

Carcinogens that we expose ourselves to in our work environment for a long time will cause cancer by altering the DNA makeup. These toxins play a major role in cancer formation as well as the growth of tumor cells.

Factory chemicals such are benzene and vinyl chloride are very dangerous and are known to cause certain types of cancer. This therefore calls for periodic detoxification to get rid of these toxins from the body.

Detoxification helps in cleansing the organs by getting rid of toxins that may be cancerous, it also improves cell permeability that is good for cell survival. Cell permeability in turn makes cancer cell vulnerable by increasing its exposure to poison during chemotherapy. The benefits of detoxification in cancer treatment can’t be underestimated as through detoxification, malignant cells and free radicals that may be cancerous are flushed out of the body. Detoxification improves oxygen circulation within the cells however cancerous cells do not do well in presence of oxygen. They thrive in anaerobic conditions hence their growth is altered. Natural detoxification process is the best as they are less expensive, very effective and has no serious side effects. One of the natural detoxification methods is by use of coffee enemas.

Coffee enemas and its role in cancer treatment

Coffee enemas are very effective for detoxifying the body; getting rid of the cancer causing malignant cells and free radicals. Coffee enemas were first featured in cancer treatment by Dr. Gerson in his popular Gerson’s therapy. It was used in detoxification in the therapy.

Caffeine which is a major component of coffee has been proved to stimulate the liver and the gall bladder to effectively release bile. Coffee plays a role in dilating the bile duct helping to improve the detoxification function. The proof of this fact is evident in a research done by Dr. Lee Wattenberg in 1981 which revealed that some substances found in coffee such as kahweol and cafestol palmitate aids in detoxification through the help of enzyme glutathione S-tranferase. This enzyme helps in neutralizing free radicals in the body hence promotes detoxification of cancer causing toxins.

The liver which is the largest internal organ plays very many roles. It lays a fortress that diseases find hard to pass as all nutrients that enter your body must pass through the liver for filtration where they are either excreted or absorbed. Our exposure to dangerous chemicals makes our livers overworked and this may affect its functions. It is therefore necessary for the liver to be detoxified. Coffee enemas help improve the liver’s ability to filter toxins from the serum. Coffee enemas offer an effective detoxification method in cancer treatment.

Rectal Ozone is much safer

In the past doctors have effectively been using the ozone therapy to treat cancer patients. The method was effective. However the doctors are making changes in the way the ozone therapy is administered to patients. In the past Autohemotherapy was used as a method of administering ozone therapy into patients. It involved removing pints of a patient’s blood, exposing the blood to ozone and re-injecting the blood intravenously back into the patient’s body. This treatment however effective was more invasive and doctors developed a new way of administering the ozone therapy; the Rectal Insufflation. This method is less invasive and is easy to administer. Unlike Autohemotherapy it does not require any removal of the patient’s blood. It is therefore safer, less painful but just as effective as Autohemotherapy.

The ozone therapy is a popular cancer treatment alternative as it is friendly to the patient; it has no side effects as common with other treatment methods. It uses the high oxidant property of the ozone to kill the cancer cells which cannot not resist the oxidant ability of the ozone. In the healthy cells the blood tames the oxidant ability of the ozone hence they can dwell in it. Rectal ozone has some advantages over Autohemotherapy. These may include; it is easy to administer, it is less invasive hence does not cause pain, it is the best in curing chronic hepatitis in patients.

How is rectal ozone done?

The procedure involves inserting a small catheter into the rectum about 4 inches. 3 to 6 ounces of ozone is administered into the patient for about 10 minutes. The patients lay on her side. The doctors refrains the patient from bowel movement or passing gas for about 30 minutes after the procedure is done. For this reason it is always recommended that this process be done after the patient has had bowel movements for convenience.

Dr. Dalal Akoury (MD) has profound knowledge on cancer and can offer you a good advice on how to stay cancer free. Frequently check this website for most current updates on cancer treatment. Generally, natural approach to cancer treatment is worth a try.

Coffee Enemas, Rectal Ozone and Detoxification in Cancer Treatment.

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