by admin | Oct 10, 2018 | Health Awareness
A fecal transplant may sound like the work of fiction, but it is in fact very real and can even have a life-saving effect for people with certain medical conditions. Also referred to as a stool transfer or fecal microbial transplantation (FMT), the treatment involves the transfer of fecal matter from a healthy donor to a patient in need.
Why Would Anyone Need It?
To function properly, the digestive system requires a very specific equilibrium. When the intestinal tract’s microbiota, or its population of living microorganisms, becomes altered, serious health issues can occur, one of which is clostridium difficile infection (CDI).
CDI can be contracted in healthcare environments, and it can also occur as a result of taking strong antibiotics. While antibiotics are prescribed to fight serious infections, they also pose inherent risks. For one, they can also kill off the good gut bacteria, leading to CDI and its host of unpleasant symptoms, including severe abdominal pain, fever, and diarrhea. Transferring healthy stool into a patient’s gastrointestinal tract, either via enema, colonoscope, or nasogastric tubes, can help patients who have not responded to medications overcome CDI. In fact, it has a worked among 90% of patients who have received the treatment.
Could FMT Also Treat Other Conditions?
Beyond treating CDI, FMT has been used experimentally to treat other gastrointestinal conditions. Ulcerative colitis and irritable bowel syndrome, for instance, have been treated via FMT, because it changes the patient’s entire microbiome. Individuals with GI conditions tend to have a lower diversity of microbes in their guts. Because a more diverse microbiota is linked to better health, receiving a transplant from the right donor could be an effective therapy for patients with ulcerative colitis and similar conditions.
Recently, the interest in FMT has increased rapidly as scientists have begun to explore whether it can treat metabolic, autoimmune diseases, and neuropsychiatric diseases, as well as conditions such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, and chronic fatigue syndrome. Because a balanced gut microbiota plays an integral role in so many aspects of health (including immune system functionality), the healing potential of this innovative treatment could be tremendous. For patients afflicted with certain gastrointestinal conditions, treatment is already available. While other practical applications are limited, evolving research may soon make FMT available to address a broad range of health issues.
by admin | Oct 8, 2018 | Health Awareness
Neurological disorders affect the central nervous system, including the brain, spinal cord, and/or peripheral nerves. These conditions can impede speech, movement, learning, and even vital functions such as breathing and swallowing. They may also impact a person’s mood, senses, and memory. For individuals with these types of conditions, physical therapy (PT) can be a powerful component in a robust and individualized treatment plan.
While there is no cure for conditions like multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease, treating the symptoms associated with these conditions can aid promote functionality, pain management, and overall quality of life. Here, we take a closer look at the role of physical therapy (PT) plays in the managing neurological disorders.
Minimize Symptoms
PT can be used to proactively minimize symptoms and slow their progression. Neurological physical therapy can reduce motor defects that impair nerve cell functionality through specific exercises. Before a patient experiences motor loss, physical therapy may help an individual stay fit and mobile.
Regain Functionality
Once symptoms do occur, the focus of PT shifts to helping a person relearn motor skills. Advanced neurological therapy may include balance and exercise activities, compensatory strategies to perform daily tasks, use of therapy equipment such as splints or braces, and gait training with the use of assistive devices. Therapy for speech, language and swallowing can also be provided as needed.
Preserve Skills & Abilities
After individuals with neurological conditions have regained skills or developed adaptive means, they can attend PT on an ongoing basis to preserve their abilities. PT programs can assist neuroadaptive and neuroprotective processes to support independence and social participation for patients even after symptoms have begun to impact their lives. In combination with other treatments such as medications and alternate forms of therapy, PT support an optimal quality of life for people with neurological disorders.
by admin | Oct 3, 2018 | Health Awareness, Stroke
Stroke is a serious, life-threatening condition in which the blood supply to the brain is interrupted or diminished, often resulting in permanent brain damage and disability. While nearly 800,000 people experience a new or recurrent stroke each year, these conditions are largely preventable. In fact, up to 80% of all strokes can be prevented.
Part of prevention comes from knowing to understand your risk factors. There are many factors contributing to the condition, including lifestyle, medical, and genetic factors, which are explored below.
Lifestyle Risk Factors
Smoking: Smoking can damage the blood vessels in many ways, causing thickening and narrowing and increasing the buildup of fat. This makes it more difficult for blood to get through, which can eventually lead to conditions like stroke and heart disease.
Being Overweight: Excess body weight produces similar effects: it can increase blood pressure and spike cholesterol levels, so exercising regularly and eating a diet consisting mostly of unprocessed foods can help to minimize your risk factors.
Heavy/Binge Drinking: A recent study linked frequent binge drinking to specific cardiovascular risk factors known to cause stroke, including high blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar, at a younger age. The Stroke Association recommends limiting alcohol consumption to two drinks per day for men and one drink per day for women.
Medical Risk Factors
High Blood Pressure: High blood pressure puts physical pressure on your blood vessels, which can cause them to narrow, rupture, leak, or experience clots. Luckily, high blood pressure can now be controlled successfully through medications and lifestyle changes.
Diabetes: Type 2 diabetes is an independent risk factor for stroke, but when coupled with being overweight and having high blood pressure (which most patients with the disease have), the correlation is even stronger. Managing diabetes is critical to reducing risks of other serious conditions, including heart disease and stroke.
Other Risk Factors
Sex: Each year, more women than men have strokes. Certain factors such as pregnancy, gestational diabetes, oral contraceptive use (especially when combined with smoking), and hormone therapy can impact risk, so be sure to discuss your women’s health history with your physician.
Age: Individuals over the age of 55 are more likely to suffer a stroke than younger individuals. For this reason, minimizing risk factors wherever possible and maintaining regular preventive care appointments with physicians is essential in older adults.
Personal/Family History: If you’ve previously suffered a stroke or heart attack, or if someone in your immediate family has, you may face a higher risk of stroke. Individuals who have experienced cardiac issues should maintain the preventive care treatment plan recommended by their cardiologist.
While stroke isn’t always preventable, having even a basic understanding of these principles can help you maintain awareness and seek the right preventive care to help reduce your risk.
by admin | Oct 1, 2018 | Health Awareness
Certain types of food are commonly known to trigger inflammation in people who are sensitive to specific agents. To manage diseases such as irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn’s disease, and other chronic inflammatory disorders, many people have turned to the low-FODMAP diet.
What Does FODMAP Mean?
FODMAP is an acronym for fermentable oligo-, di-, monosaccharides and polyols. In short, they are dietary sugars found in many grains, types of produce, and dairy products. While these FODMAPs sound complex, they simply refer to characteristics in foods that are known to present digestion challenges. These agents are highly fermentable, and it is their rapid fermentation that leads to bowel issues. For instance, they create an osmotic effect, meaning they draw water through the bowel, creating increased permeability. They are also poorly absorbed within the small intestine, and the fermentation that takes place within can create gas, abdominal pain, discomfort, diarrhea, and constipation.
Which Foods are Considered High-FODMAP?
There are many foods high in FODMAPs. Foods with excess fructose, including honey, dried fruit, watermelon, pears, and apples, should be avoided on the diet. Sources of lactose, including milk, yogurt, and dairy desserts, are also high-FODMAP. Leeks, onions, barley, rye, wheat, garlic, legumes, cashews, and chickpeas are best avoided on the diet as well. This list is by no means exhaustive, however, and there are many other foods considered to be high enough in FODMAPs to cause an inflammatory response. With that said, certain food sources don’t have to be avoided entirely on the diet and limiting portion sizes may be enough to minimize inflammatory effects.
Is the Low-FODMAP Diet Right for Me?
Because many high-FODMAP foods are also rich sources of key nutrients, it is typically not recommended for anyone who doesn’t have an apparent sensitivity to FODMAPs to try the diet. Avoidance of FODMAPs could put individuals at risk of nutritional deficiencies, as it restricts many healthy foods. Thus, it should only be followed as prescribed by healthcare professionals.
In fact, this restrictive diet is only practiced for three to eight weeks at a time. It is typically followed in phases. The first phase involves strict elimination of FODMAPs, followed by a reintroduction stage during which one type of FODMAP is introduced at a time. This allows patients to gauge which group triggers the most significant inflammatory response. Then, in the final phase, the modified FODMAP diet can be followed, in which certain trigger foods can be avoided at the patient’s discretion.
While a low FODMAP diet is not intended to be a permanent solution, it can shed light on which dietary sources elicit the most challenging symptoms in disorders like IBS and Crohn’s disease. If you’re interested in exploring the eating plan to help you manage your condition, be sure to speak with your gastroenterologist to discuss your eligibility for the diet.
by admin | Sep 26, 2018 | Health Awareness
Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is an antioxidant occurring naturally in the body. It is critical to the growth and maintenance of cells and is found to be lower in individuals with conditions such as Parkinson’s disease and Huntington’s disease. Research shows that taking CoQ10 supplements in combination with creatine may benefit individuals with these neurodegenerative conditions – but why?
CoQ10 & Creatine
Both CoQ10 and creatine are commonly found in meat and seafood. The body produces creatine naturally as well, in the kidneys, liver, and pancreas. It is an amino acid located in the brain and muscles, where it is used for energy. Together, both CoQ10 and creatine have neuroprotective effects. When taken in conjunction, they have been shown to improve motor performance and reduce DNA oxidative damage. They work by protecting against dopamine depletion and reducing lipid peroxidation, or the cellular damage caused by free radicals. CoQ10 and creatine have also been shown to reduce the volume of lesions found on the striatum, a part of the brain responsible for many aspects of cognition, including motor and action planning and decision making. In conditions like Parkinson’s disease, this area of the brain is compromised, resulting in symptoms such as tremors and slow movement. With Huntington’s disease, the degeneration of brain cells in this area causes progressive dementia.
How Should I Take CoQ10 & Creatine?
While CoQ10 and creatine can be ingested through food, they are found in minimal amounts in nutritional sources. Thus, eating more meat or seafood alone is unlikely to help you produce more of the antioxidant and amino acid. With that said, findings suggest that they can be taken as supplements as a form of combination therapy to treat neurodegenerative diseases. Moderate daily doses of CoQ10 (500-800 mg) in contrast with high doses (2,700 mg) in particular have been shown to yield mild to moderate improvements in symptoms like fatigue and muscle tone. Creatine has been shown to provide benefits for patients suffering from muscle-related pain. Before taking either CoQ10 or creatine, it is important for patients to discuss proper dosages and potential symptoms with their physicians for their ensured safety.
St. Petersburg, Florida
