Copaxone
Generic Name: glatiramer (injection) (gla TIR a mer)
Brand Names: Copaxone
What is Copaxone?
Copaxone is a combination of four amino acids (proteins) that affect the immune system.
Copaxone is used to prevent relapse of multiple sclerosis (MS). This medication will not cure MS, but it can make relapses occur less often.
Copaxone may also be used for purposes other than those listed in this medication guide.
Important information about Copaxone
Use Copaxone exactly as it was prescribed for you. Do not use the medication in larger amounts, or use it for longer than recommended by your doctor. Follow the instructions on your prescription label.
Yoga can help tone and strengthen all parts of the body, including internal organs. The Full Boat Pose is an abdominal and deep hip flexor and strengthener, requiring you to balance on the tripod formed by your sitting bones and tailbone.
Here's another reason to stay away from secondhand smoke: even if you never smoked or quit smoking years ago, just being around someone who does can increase your risk of hearing loss.
A study conducted by a hearing aid company using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey collected from 1999 to 2004 showed that secondhand smoke could boost the risk of hearing loss in the low to mid frequencies for both former smokers and people who never smoked. Earlier studies have shown that hearing loss is a risk for active smokers, but this is the first one to look at the effects of secondhand smoke on hearing.
The prevalence of hearing loss among former smokers was 14 percent for low to middle frequencies and 46.6 percent for high frequencies. Losses seen among those who never smoked were 8.6 percent for low to middle frequencies and 26.6 percent for high frequencies. More studies are needed to confirm these findings.
It is particularly healthy for men: it is a good source of the carotenoid lycopene, which has been shown to help reduce the risk of prostate and other cancers.
Try spicing it up and add some black or crushed red pepper to sliced watermelon.
Studies have been so encouraging that researchers at the University of California, Irvine, have launched a human trial. In the mice, nicotinamide lowered levels of a protein that leads to development of a brain lesion characteristic of Alzheimer's. The researchers added nicotinamide to the mice's drinking water and then tested the animals' short and long-term memory over time.
The Alzheimer's mice given nicotinamide performed as well as normal mice in the water-maze and object recognition tests. When given to normal mice, the nicotinamide slightly increased their cognitive abilities, a finding that led one of the study leaders to suggest that the vitamin might improve some aspects of normal memory in humans. (While nicotinamide is generally safe, it can be toxic at very high doses.)The study was published online November 5, 2008 in the Journal of Neuroscience. The researchers are recruiting volunteers for Alzheimer's patients 50 years of age or older for their human study. Participation involves taking the vitamin or a placebo twice a day for 24 weeks.
A new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St.
Louis found that as the day goes on, doctors who perform colonoscopies are less likely to spot suspicious polyps. The investigators looked at the results of nearly 1,100 colonoscopies and noted the time of day the procedures were performed. They found that at least one polyp was identified in 42 percent of the colonoscopies but that for each hour later in the day, the number of polyps seen dropped by four percent.
The probable reason? Doctors' fatigue. However, the investigators noted that the chief reason for missing polyps is still improper bowel cleansing by patients in preparation for the exam. They also advised prospective patients to query the doctor who will be performing the colonoscopy, make sure that he or she is aware of the study, and ask them what can be done to compensate for factors that may lead to missing polyps. The study was published on March 29, 2011 by the American Journal of Gastroenterology.
Peppermint can help relieve the abdominal pain of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), but until recently, no one knew exactly how it provided its benefits.
Symptoms of IBS, a common digestive tract disorder, can include any combination of constipation, diarrhea, gas, bloating, abdominal pain or discomfort, fatigue, and headaches. In April 2011, Australian researchers published a study showing that peppermint works to soothe gastrointestinal pain due to inflammation by activating an "anti-pain" channel in the colon called TRPM8.
The pain-sensing fibers that are eased by peppermint are the same as those activated by mustard and chili in foods. The researchers also said that while some affected individuals complain that IBS symptoms occur after they eat fatty and spicy foods or drink coffee and alcohol, the nerve pain fibers in these patients seem to be in a continuously heightened state, perhaps due to an earlier bout of gastroenteritis. The findings were published online by the journal Pain.
Word from the Mayo Clinic is that people whose diets provide higher levels of vitamin K have an approximately 45 percent lower risk of developing non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, an immune system cancer, than those whose "K" intake is lowest.
The investigators compared food questionnaires from 603 newly diagnosed patients with the disease as well as from 1,007 cancer-free controls. The questionnaire asked about the intake of 120 food items two years prior to the cancer diagnosis or enrollment in the study. The researchers also asked about a variety of supplements in order to estimate overall vitamin K intake.
The team leader described the findings as "fairly strong" but cautioned that they need to be confirmed by further studies. The data showed that increasing intake of "K" via supplements was protective, but that the highest intake from supplements provided no extra advantage, suggesting that taking high doses isn’t likely to be helpful. Good dietary sources of "K" include leaf lettuce and spinach.
Researchers at Temple University in Philadelphia noted that our bodies transform high levels of methionine into another amino acid, homocysteine and that high levels of homocysteine are associated with a higher than normal risk of developing dementia. The investigators explored this connection in a study in which they fed seven-month old mice that had the mouse version of Alzheimer's a high methionine diet and while a similar group of mice ate their regular diet. After eight months, the mice on the normal diet had normal homocysteine levels but those on the high methionine diet had increased levels of homocysteine plus up to 40 percent more plaque in their brains (plaque is characteristic of Alzheimer's).
The high homocysteine mice also were less able to learn new tasks. Methionine is an essential amino acid for humans so it isn't advisable to avoid foods that contain it. However, a diet high in red meat could put you at added risk because it is associated with high levels of circulating homocysteine.
