ENVIRONMENT / GREEN II - Big interest in medical plants on open day - SEYCHELLES

 

A large crowd attended an open day on traditional medicine organised by the national heritage and research section of the Ministry of Education at La Bastille on Friday.

On exhibition were many plants found in Seychelles which are reputed to have medicinal virtues.
Also on display were several books on the best ways to lead healthy lives.
But, it was the Bwa torti or Noni which attracted the most attention.
The juice is derived from the tree of the Morinda citrofolia, a beautiful tree growing in Seychelles and in other tropical areas, such as Tahiti, Samoa, Tonga, Malaysia and Northern Australia.
A presentation by Marie-Andree Contoret aroused a lot of interest. She noted that the juice is a cure for a wide range of illnesses, in addition to boosting the immune system.
She said Bwa torti is a cure notably for inflammations, such as arthritis, skin rashes and even chronic conditions, such as diabetes, cancer and cardiac diseases.
The juice is extracted from the fruit when ripe, using a blender. It is then allowed to ferment in air-tight containers – to avoid contamination – in the sunlight for up to seven days.

There is usually a pungent smell, but this Ms Contoret said should be disregarded “as we should be focussing on its medical and curative virtues”.
She said she has also turned the fruit into jam, but would not advise persons with diabetic conditions to do that or add any sweeteners to the Bwa torti juice, which is normally taken in doses of two tablespoonfuls or four ounces daily.
Depending on the person, it can be taken in two dosages, morning and evening. For acute cancer, up to 30 ounces can be taken daily, but this depends on the individuals.
A reference book following research on the Morinda citrifolia by Melanie Alfred, of Brisbane Australia which Ms Contoret exhibited at the open day, states that some constituents include different amino acids, glycosides, vitamins and minerals as well as sugars, including fructose and glucose.
A few of the medicinal uses of Bwa torti are for digestive problems, such as diarrhoea, intestinal worms, nausea and food poisoning. It is also good for respiratory problems, such as congestive cough, tuberculosis, infant chest colds and sore throat.

The syrup of the fruit has also helped treat asthma, dysentery, gastric ulcers and diabetes.
Research at the French University of Metz claims that the analgesic activity of Bwa torti eases many types of pain. It was found to be 75% as effective as ordinary doses of morphine.
Another well-known local herbalist, Jean-Joseph Madeleine, advised against abuse of Bwa torti or any other medicinal plant. Responding to questions, Mr Madeleine said most medication prescribed by doctors can be taken along with traditional herbal medicine.
Those present agreed when a patient is taking one kind, he or she should refrain from taking a different kind of medicine as a precautionary measure as some substances can be reactive against another, leading to undesired effects.

For instance, it is a long held belief that Aspro, a mild pain-killer, should not be taken along with Yapana, an herb used to ease stomach pains.
Various health publications, such as Healthy Body, Understanding Nutrition, Medicinal Plants of Seychelles and How to reduce and survive cancer were also on sale during the open day
There was also a special issue of the plant conservation group newsletter Kapisen, which focuses on the Seychelles National Herbarium, located in the Natural History Museum in Victoria.
Source: NATION 9-3-12

Copyright © 2008 S

HEALTH - Light shines at the end of the HIV tunnel - SOUTH AFRICA

 

For the first time an Aids vaccine in our lifetime is possible, but scientists need money and support to make it work.

Over the next three years, South African scientists will begin to test two new strategies, one of which stems from a Thai vaccine trial that will be adapted for the local HIV strain. (Getty)

 

We are at a time of great promise in the fight against Aids. A few weeks ago at the international Aids conference in Washington, in the United States, the buzz was all about "ending Aids". And it was not just hype.

We are nowhere near the end of the Aids epidemic, but science is pointing us towards the beginning of the end. We have new options for HIV treatment and prevention that need to be made available to many more people. And we have new hope for developing an effective and safe Aids vaccine that could speed up the end of the epidemic.

In less than a decade, South Africa has greatly increased the number of people who receive life-saving HIV treatment, dramatically reduced the number of infants who are infected with HIV at birth and made major contributions to new HIV-prevention research breakthroughs, from voluntary medical male circumcision to antiretroviral-based prevention, including a promising vaginal microbicide and pre-exposure prophylaxis, which involves HIV-negative people taking antiretrovirals (ARVs) to prevent HIV infection.

We still have a long way to go to ensure that new prevention options and treatment are made available to all those who need them, but we are making definite and sustainable progress. We are also making great progress in the search for a vaccine and South Africa is at the heart of the search. Scientists are hard at work in laboratories and clinics and thousands of men and women, and their communities, have participated in clinical trials.

This week in Boston in the US more than 1 000 researchers, advocates and funders from around the world came together to talk about where we are and where we are heading in the development of an Aids vaccine.

Attacking the virus
A few years ago some people had given up hope that we would ever have an Aids vaccine. Scientists were struggling to find new ways to attack the virus, but HIV always seemed to find a way to outwit us. Then, in 2009, a large clinical trial in Thailand showed that a two-vaccine strategy had modest efficacy. It was not enough to lead to the immediate development and distribution of a licensed vaccine, but it provided the proof that it is possible.

Three years on, there is a lot to be excited about. Hundreds of researchers in dozens of labs across the globe sifted through the data, tested and analysed samples from the Thai trial and have begun to unravel why the combination worked and how we might develop a better vaccine.

Over the next three years, South African scientists and communities will begin to test two new strategies. One of those is adapted from the vaccine strategy tested in Thailand and optimised to be more durable and adapted to the strain of the virus that is most common in Southern Africa. We will need thousands more South Africans to volunteer for this trial.

If the vaccine is successful in that trial, it would begin to move towards licensing and eventually into the hands of men and women around the world. We are still some years away from that scenario, but we are hopeful that this strategy might work.

Just in case it does not work, researchers are looking at other vaccine strategies that show promise and are moving the most promising new ideas into the lab and to human trials. One of the most encouraging breakthroughs in the past few years is the discovery of a number of potent, HIV-specific neutralising antibodies. Researchers are working to develop vaccines based on these discoveries.

HIV-prevention options
We are at a crucial point in our response to the epidemic. We need to deliver proven HIV-prevention options such as the prevention of mother-to-child transmission, voluntary medical male circumcision, early ARV treatment and male and female condoms to all those who need them and can use them. We also need to develop pilot programmes to demonstrate how new options such as pre-exposure prophylaxis and eventually, we hope, microbicides, can be most effectively delivered to those who need them most.

If we work to get the proven treatment prevention options we already have to all the men and women who need them, we will start to see the trajectory of new infections turn down. But we will not be able to break the back of the epidemic until we have a vaccine.

South Africa has been a leader in discovering and developing new ways to treat and prevent HIV and in Aids vaccine research. We all have a role to play in finding safe and effective vaccines. Policymakers need to support research with rands and the political will needed to ensure that research programmes do not become bogged down in bureaucracy. And we will need thousands of people to participate in clinical trials with the active support and involvement of their communities and families.

Even a vaccine that is only partially effective could have a major effect on the trajectory of the epidemic if we are able to get it out widely to those who need it. We still have a long way to go, but with the right resources and leadership, support from communities and the participation of volunteers, we can have an Aids vaccine in our lifetime and end this epidemic.

Glenda Gray is the executive director of the perinatal HIV research unit and associate professor of paedia-trics at the University of the Witwatersrand, and co-principal investigator and director of the HIV Vaccine Trials Network's Africa programmes. Mitchell Warren is the executive director of Avac, a global HIV-prevention advocacy organisation based in New York

LIFE AND HEALTH - INDIA (FUNNY)

Farting may help cure high BP

The writer has posted comments on this articleANI | Jul 4, 2012, 12.00AM IST

Farting may help cure high BP (Thinkstock photos/Getty Images)

Flatulence could help treat patients with high blood pressure, according to a new research.

Hydrogen sulphide — a toxic gas that is generated by bacteria living in the human gut — has been shown to control blood pressure in mice.

The study showed that the rodents with higher levels of the gas had lower blood pressure than those with less.

Boffins at Johns Hopkins University, in Baltimore, Maryland, US, found that hydrogen sulphide in flatus — informally known as a fart — is also produced by an enzyme in blood vessels where it relaxes them and lowers blood pressure.

Now researchers at China's Southeast University in Nanjing are trying to figure out the possibility of using this to create a treatment for people suffering from high blood pressure.

"Despite the treatment's potential, using gas to treat high blood pressure has yet to be tested on humans," the Sun quoted Professor Yao Yuyu from the uni's Zhongda Hospital as saying.

"The effective dosage could prove difficult to establish due to the difference in size between humans and mice.

"The gas could also have negative effects on other parts of the body," he added.

HEALTH AND FAMILY - UNITED KINGDOM

How riding a horse taught a boy to speak

A father has found a therapy that can transform autistic children

When Rupert Isaacson's son, Rowan, was diagnosed, aged two and a half, with autism, his tantrums, lack of communication and obsessive behaviour left his parents fearing they would never break through the barriers separating them from him. Seven years later, Rowan is transformed: he's academically advanced for his age and, unusually for someone with autism, has strong friendships.

This radical change stems from a chance meeting with a horse which built into an incredible

relationship that led to Rowan learning to talk, read and tackle maths problems.
So remarkable was the friendship between horse and boy, Mr Isaacson wrote a bestselling book about it – The Horse Boy – which is currently being made into a feature film.

Now he is bringing his approach to the UK. The Horse Boy Foundation will be launched this autumn to help fund horse camps for autistic children and their families, to be held across Britain.

Mr Isaacson says the method – which focuses on developing a relationship with the horse rather than riding skills – is also effective for people with bipolar disorder, depression, or who are tackling obsessive behaviours. The Priory Group, the mental health provider, is interested in adopting the therapy. The Eden Project's founder Tim Smit suggested holding camps in St Austell and, in tandem with Mr Isaacson, plans to hold Horse Boy music festivals for autistic families at Eden from next year.

Mr Isaacson gave up riding when his son was diagnosed with autism, but both he and his wife, Kristin, a developmental psychologist, noticed Rowan's behaviour improved in nature. "He would have fewer tantrums; there would be less rocking."

Then, one day, Mr Isaacson, who lives in Texas, was in the woods with Rowan when his son ran under a fence towards his neighbour's mare Betsy. "She started licking Rowan," he remembers. From that moment, Rowan spent his time in the saddle.

On his first day riding, he used expressive language. He had been echolalic – only able to repeat what someone had said – but on horseback, sharing a saddle with his father, he saw a heron take flight. "Heron" became his first expressive word.

"We'd had a pretty grim year up till then. It felt like the door to his mind was opening," Mr Isaacson says.

On horseback, Rowan learnt the difference between ivy and poison ivy; that snakes can be harmful but lizards are not. His language developed; he learnt numbers through counting horses' paces and learnt to read – first through the letters of road signs, later with books.

"When he was moving, he was learning: the rhythm of the horse helped," his father says. He believes movement is crucial to his son's progress, as the pleasure hormone oxytocin is produced from the rocking rhythm of riding.

In 2007, Mr Isaacson, now a screenwriter, Kristin and Rowan travelled around Mongolia on horseback, meeting shamans. It was here that Rowan's incontinence, his inability to make friends and his constant tantrums became a thing of the past.

Rowan's progress has surprised his parents. "His vocabulary is that of an older kid, while his interactions those of a younger one," Mr Isaacson says. *********************************************** ***********************************