Lupus and the cure-all hormone?
New medical treatments are at their most exciting stage when treating diseases that are as yet not very well understood by medics or scientists. When it comes to lupus, not only are symptoms diverse and can number as many as eleven discrete types, but treatments by medication are also various in their application and effect. In this article, we will consider one of the methods to improve the operation of the immune system, the target of the lupus disease.
Lupus can occur in several forms, but systemic lupus erythematosus — usually referred to simply as lupus — is the most serious type. The symptoms of lupus are rather hard to categorize but in short, lupus is an incurable disease marked by inflammation and damage to tissue and organs throughout the body, including the joints, skin, heart, kidney and central nervous system. Lupus is an autoimmune disorder, meaning the immune system mistakenly attacks the body’s own tissue. Many believe the way to treat this hormonally based autoimmune disease is by giving the body a dose of super-hormones.
DHEA
It is quite possible that this substance with the four-letter acronym will prove essential to the lupus treatment regime. Dehydroepiandrosterone, or DHEA, is a chemical cousin of testosterone and estrogen. It is made from cholesterol by the adrenal glands, which are found above the kidneys. Around age six or seven, the adrenal glands begin to produce DHEA, and production peaks in the mid-20s, when DHEA is the most abundant hormone in circulation. From one’s early ’30s on, there’s a steady decline in DHEA production, so the average 75-year-old has only 20% of the DHEA in circulation that he or she had 50 years earlier. At all ages, men tend to have higher DHEA levels than women.
What exactly is DHEA and does it work on lupus?
By definition, hormones are chemical messengers made in a gland or tissue that start, stop, or otherwise orchestrate activity in some other issue. What exactly DHEA does in the body is hard to assess, but evidence is coming in right now that it has positive impacts on people with lupus.
How has DHEA been tested?
Much of DHEA’s high reputation in recent years comes from experiments in which mice were fed daily low level doses. Such studies have shown that DHEA can prevent or delay the onset of cancer, “hardening” of the arteries, lethal viral infections, lowered immunity, obesity, and diabetes. The longest and perhaps most carefully conducted work in humans was published last year in a special issue of the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences devoted to DHEA and aging, eight men and eight women aged 50 to 65 took either 100 milligrams of DHEA or an identical placebo pill each night for three months. For three months after that, they took the opposite pill. This study showed a rise in some chemical markers that suggested improvement in the immune function, though the number of colds and other illnesses was not measured.
How has DHEA been tested as a lupus treatment
The research was followed up with one on the lupus disease itself. Volunteers took DHEA suggests that this hormone may help treat the autoimmune disease lupus. Trials looking at DHEA’s ability to boost the immune system and maintain mental function in older adults are in progress. What we really need at this point are some long-term clinical trials to identify clear benefits and risks say most doctors. To put it positively, these trials are exactly what is happening, but in order to give us more weighty evidence, need to be applied to the test of time. Short scale tests, or those in animals simply won’t do for the next generation of DHEA testing for lupus.
Overcome ADD/ADHD with Hypnosis
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or ADD with hyperactivity (ADHD) is as common in today's schools as well, the common cold. If you would like to explore alternatives to drug therapy to help your child become more focused and calm and do better in school, then hypnosis is a comforting and natural choice.
Adults and children alike can suffer from the effects of ADD and ADHD. Both are treated with similar medications including Adderall, Stratera, or Ritalin. These prescriptions tend to work only as long as they are in the body, so most children have to take time out of their school schedule to visit the nurse for a mid-day dose. There can also be a drop off effect when the medication leaves the body that manifests itself as an extreme change in behavior based on the decreased ability to focus. Hypnosis addresses the core causes of the inability to stay on task by organizing thoughts and developing skills used in concentration.
Hypnotherapy designed to alleviate ADD and ADHD starts as other hypnosis sessions. First you are brought to a state of total relaxation. From there you are able to shut out all external stimuli and focus on the matter at hand. The dialog used to battle ADD and ADHD works on developing concentration by learning to focus on one specific thought or task at a time.
If you or your child struggles each day to stay on task and live a peacefully organized life, then hypnosis can help. The cause may be a condition known to doctors and psychiatrists as ADD/ADHD. Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or ADD combined with Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are conditions diagnosed in approximately 5-7 percent of children. It is also becoming recognized as a disorder not exclusive to children, but in many adults. The growing pharmaceutical hold on those who suffer from these conditions is not the only treatment.
Symptoms of ADD and ADHD are an inability to concentrate and complete tasks. It is believed to be a chemical imbalance that causes these disorders. A hyper or extremely active child does not necessarily have a problem, nor does a scatter-brained adult. Much of a person's diet and the way they process information, can lead experts to the diagnosis of ADD or ADHD. Since hypnosis naturally works to organize and sort through thoughts and stored bits of information in the brain, it is extremely effective in helping those who have ADD.
Because hypnosis is able to help a person relax it can go into the depths of the brain where information is stored. Often the information stored there is vying for attention and comes to the conscious mind in the form of scattered and disconnected ideas. Likewise, throughout the day the brain is receiving millions of pieces of information simultaneously and unless it knows how to organize it quickly, it can cause distractions. Hypnosis, simply put, is the way to file all of these stimuli and keep order.
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Steve G. Jones is a board certified Clinical Hypnotherapist. He is a member of the National Guild of Hypnotists, American Board of Hypnotherapy, president of the American Alliance of Hypnotists, on the board of directors of the Los Angeles chapter of the American Lung Association, and director of the California state registered Steve G. Jones School of Hypnotherapy. http://www.betterlivingwithhypnosis.com
Your Skin Care and Looking Good
Caring for your skin and looking good involves three very important processes.
The processes we are talking about are; cleaning your skin properly, applying a moisturizer to it, and ensuring its protection.
Everything begins with cleanliness of course, for without it, all other processes would not be as effective or even work at all.
There are numerous skin care cleansers on sale, ranging from cheap to those which are exorbitantly priced. But you do not necessarily have to have those expensive items to achieve the results you desire.
To begin, first dissolve your makeup with an oil-based cream. This is a necessary step in the process to prepare your face prior to the application of the cleanser. When that's done, any residue clogging up the skin pores will be removed when you apply the cleanser.
Make sure all traces of makeup are removed before going to bed. Makeup, left overnight, clogs up your pores and eventually causes all kinds of skin problems. There's a saying, a night with your makeup on ages you by four; definitely something to avoid when on a "looking good" routine.
After washing, apply a good moisturizer. Remember, washing removes natural oils from your face whereas the moisturizer replaces it, and helps to keep your skin moist and soft.
Moisturize your face each day, and that includes the skin around your eyes and throat.
It's also well known, if left unprotected against the elements, your skin will age fast. It goes without saying; you need to protect your skin against them too.
No doubt, when you were at school, you had been taught that sunlight is good for the skin. But too much of it, especially during this day and age, will cause damage to your skin, and it may prove irreversible.
Being exposed to the sun is particularly destructive, because UV rays penetrate tissues and are detrimental to the underlying collagen that supports the skin. 70% of skin aging has been attributed directly to the sun.
To help protect your skin against sun damage, choose day moisturizers that have suitable SPF sun protection factors. This is important when you intend to be out in the sun for some prolonged period.
And yes, have your moisturizers on too when driving on sunny days.
It doesn't stop there. Apply balms, i.e moisturizers, to your lips to prevent them parching out and becoming chapped.
Put on sunglasses and apply eye creams to protect the sensitive skin around your eyes. There are creams especially designed to reduce aging signs around the eye area, typically the incidence of fine lines. You can get rid of puffiness, dark circles, and smoothen the delicate area around your eyes when such creams are applied daily.
Why emphasize on skin care? You want to look good and have all the benefits that come with it; confidence, success, respect... and more. Your skin is the largest and most observable organ of your body; protect it with the care it deserves. Think about it, isn't it great to have a good looking skin? Sure it is, because it's right there on your face... for all to see.
