Human PYY and Obesity -- Now Keep on Chewing Gum to Lose Weight Effectively

Diet and exercise may be the most common prescription for losing weight, but a team of US scientists believes they're close to delivering a gum that can help users fight the battle of the bulge one chew at a time.

Now Keep on Chewing Gum to Lose Weight Effectively

The key to the gum’s formulation is a hormone called human PYY that regulates appetite and energy and is released into the bloodstream when people eat or exercise, say researchers out of Syracuse University in an announcement made November 21.

Studies have shown that obese people have lower concentrations of PYY in their bloodstream compared to their non-obese counterparts. When given PYY intravenously, however, the hormone acted as an appetite suppressant in obese and non-obese volunteers as both groups consumed less calories.

The hard part? Delivering the hormone so that it can travel through the digestive system unharmed and allow it to be absorbed into the bloodstream.

Lead researcher Robert Doyle believes the answer lies in vitamin B12. It would be the second time Doyle developed the vitamin to act as a carrier for a hormone. Several years ago, he created an oral delivery system for insulin that was masked under vitamin B12. Early tests accomplished the same task for PYY. Results of the study were published in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry earlier this month.

"Phase one of this study was to show that we could deliver a clinically relevant amount of PYY into the bloodstream," Doyle said in a statement. "We did that, and we are very excited by the results."

Like nicotine-laced gums which are used to help people stop smoking, PYY-laced gums and oral pills would be a natural way to help people lose weight, Doyle said.

About four hours after chewing the gum, the PYY supplement would begin to kick in and decrease appetites as users approach their next meal.

Meanwhile, a story published last week on WebMD.com also highlighted the benefits of chewing gum sweetened with xylitol, also known as birch sugar.

While some dentists recommend chewing the gum to prevent cavities, scientists have also found that xylitol-sweetened gum could help prevent painful middle ear infections common in children because of its bacteria-fighting properties.

"World Diabetes Day" (Nov. 14) -- Raise Awareness as Diabetes Kills One Person Every Eight Seconds

"World Diabetes Day" is being observed today (Monday, Nov. 14) across the globe to raise public awareness about harmful effects of diabetes. The increased awareness will lead to more resources to fight the causes of diabetes and help fund research into improved treatment options.

Raise Awareness: Diabetes Kills One Person Every Eight Seconds

Started by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and World Health Organization (WHO), the Day is celebrated on 14 November to mark the birthday of Frederick Banting who, along with Charles Best, was instrumental in the discovery of insulin in 1922, a life-saving treatment for diabetes patients.

‘World Diabetes Day’ will be observed in Pakistan, like in other parts of the world, on Monday (today) in a bid to raise public awareness about harmful effects of diabetes and its complications so that the goal of healthy society can be achieved.

Diabetes kills one person every eight seconds, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has said in his message on World Diabetes Day, adding that the cost of treatment amounts to a staggering $465 billion in the neighbourhood.

In context to this Day; a record has also been entered in the Guinness Book of World Records on Sunday when 3,573 people tested their blood glucose levels within just eight hours.

The even was organized by the Novo Nordisk Education Foundation (NNEF) in Bangalore, India based on the theme “Act on Diabetes Now”.

Managing trustee of Novo Nordisk Education Foundation Melvin D’Souza received the certificate from the official from the Guinness Book of Records, UK who monitored the event.

Painkiller Abuse and Overdose Lead to 3 times High Fatality Rate Over a Decade

NEW YORK – Human Killers or painkillers…??

Human Killers or painkillers

The latest report issued by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta is an eye-opening document stating that the number of deaths have increased three times over a decade due to the over-dosage of powerful painkillers. It’s an epidemic trend but one that can be stopped with precautionary measures on urgent basis, a U.S. health official said.

Almost 15,000 deaths were recorded, including actor Heath Ledger, due to prescription painkillers such as OxyContin, Vicodin and methadone. The stunning number is almost four times of the deaths caused by narcotics in 1999.

Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Dr. Thomas Frieden, said, “such painkillers are meant to help people who have severe pain, but they are, however, highly addictive.”

The report further mentions almost 5% of Americans ages 12 and above said they've abused painkillers, using them without a prescription or doctor’s consultation, in the last year. In 2008-09 surveys, Oklahomans reported the maximum rate of drugs abuse; while Nebraska and Iowa were on the lowest side.

Sources and References

USA Today

New York Daily News

Conjoined Twin Sisters Angelina and Angelica Sabuco from Philippines Separated Successfully in U.S.

SAN FRANCISCO – Two conjoined Filipino sisters were successfully separated by U.S. surgeons in a California hospital on Tuesday (Nov. 01).

Conjoined Twin Sisters Angelina and Angelica Sabuco from Philippines

According to details; 2-year-old sisters Angelina and Angelica Sabuco, who were joined at the chest and abdomen at the time of their birth, were separated after 8-hour surgery at the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital in the northern city of Palo Alto.

After the twin sisters shifted to separate operation theatres for further surgeries needed, the hospital’s spokesperson Reena Mukamal said, “The surgeons are happy with the progress of the operation so far.”

The twin sisters, who turned two in August, were joined at the chest and belly but have separate brains, hearts, kidneys, stomachs and intestines.

The successful surgery was lead by surgeon Gary Hartman, who is believed to be the best for such kind of surgeries and this is his sixth surgery on conjoined twins. Costa Rica’s Yurelia and Fiorella Rocha-Arias were the most recent set of twins separated at the Hospital in November 2007.

Before the operation Hartman said, “This is a major operation, but we really expect both twins to survive and to do well.”

The girls’ mother, Ginady, said she knew that her babies were conjoined at her seventh month of pregnancy and her husband was working in San Jose, California.

She joined her husband, Fidel, in California in late 2010, more than a year after the girls were born, and the couple began consulting with doctors.

‘I want them to live normally, like other children,’ said Ginady.