High blood pressure aka hypertension is one of the most researched topics online as it is one of the prevalent health disorders across the world. For the unversed, high blood pressure is when the pressure of blood against the arteries are higher than normal. The same can lead to damaged blood vessels over a period of time and if left unchecked and untreated then it can also lead to life-threatening diseases such ash stroke, heart, kidney, eyes and brain issues. It is insidious health disorder as the symptoms can be missed easily. One of the common triggers which can spike your BP levels is stress.

There are no studies which prove that stress leads to long term high BP, however, it can lead to jump in BP levels temporarily and also reacting to stress in unhealthy ways can increase the risk of high blood pressure. Many of us cope with stress and tension with smoking, heavily drinking and by having unhealthy food items and these reactions to stress are directly linked to high BP. For the uninitiated, the body produces hormones during stressful situations and the same causes our heart to beat faster and narrows down our blood vessels. And the hormones which are released can damage arteries as well.

So it is ideal to reduce stress levels to prevent and lower BP levels. One should master stress management techniques as it is difficult to eliminate stress from life but at least one can cope with it for healthier you. Some of the ways are as follows.

1. Simplify schedule and bring change in expectations

One can make daily to-do lists and plan it out to avoid stressful situations. It is very vital to work on priorities and focus on them as one cannot achieve everything. So, avoid trying too much and learn to say no.

Also, one should understand that you cannot change or control many things but you can focus on how you react to it. So, work on issues which you control and try and solve the issues. Instead of a complaining focus on finding solutions.

2. Avoid stress triggers

It is important to know what is stressing you and work on the same. For example, If the rush-hour traffic on the way to work is the cause stress then try leaving earlier in the morning. 

3. Relax

Make sure that you get your personal me time to relax and unwind. Everyday try and sit quietly and breathe deeply. Also, try and remove some time for your hobbies.

4. Practice gratitude

Make sure you to do positive self-talk and write about the things you are thankful for.

5. Meditation and Yoga

These two techniques help to relax our body and mind and as per reports, the same help High BP patients to reduce systolic blood pressure by 5 mm hg.

6. Exercise

If you are BP patient then exercising will be recommended to you. Not only it is a vasodilator but also helps to improve mood and reduce stress.

7. Sleep

A night of good sleep is very vital for high BP as well as for overall health. Less sleep makes things worst as it makes issues appear bigger than they are.

The post High Blood Pressure: Here’s how reducing stress can also lower hypertension appeared first on MyMedicPlus.

An injection has helped reduce body weight and glucose levels in patients with diabetes and obesity in four weeks.

The findings came from a small study in which patients lost on average 4.4kg and the treatment led to substantial improvements to their blood glucose, with some patients’ reducing to near-normal levels.

Obesity is a common problem in the UK and it is estimated that one in four adults are obese.

One of the most common types of weight loss surgery is a procedure known as gastric bypass surgery, which can be very effective in keeping excess weight off and improving blood sugar levels in diabetics. However, some patients decide against surgery and the procedure can cause complications such as abdominal pain, chronic nausea, vomiting and debilitating low blood sugar levels.

Previous research by Imperial College London suggested that one of the reasons why gastric bypass surgery works so well is because three specific hormones originating from the bowels are released in higher levels. This hormone combination, called “GOP’ for short, reduces appetite, causes weight loss and improves the body’s ability to use the sugar absorbed from eating.

Researchers wanted to see if infusing patients with the GOP hormones glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), oxyntomodulin and peptide, to mimic the high levels seen after surgery, could aid weight loss and reduce high glucose levels.

Fifteen patients were given the GOP treatment for four weeks using a pump that slowly injects the GOP mixture under the skin for 12 hours a day, beginning one hour before breakfast and disconnecting after their last meal of the day. Patients also received dietetic advice on healthy eating and weight loss from a dietician.

Professor Tricia Tan, Professor of Practice (Metabolic Medicine & Endocrinology) at Imperial College London and lead author of the study, said:

“Obesity and type 2 diabetes can lead to very serious and potentially life-threatening conditions such as cancer, stroke and heart disease. There is a real need to find new medicines so we can improve and save the lives of many patients. Although this is a small study our new combination hormone treatment is promising and has shown significant improvements in patients’ health in only four weeks. Compared to other methods the treatment is non-invasive and reduced glucose levels to near-normal levels in our patients.”

The work, published in Diabetes Care and presented at the American Diabetes Association 79th Scientific Sessions meeting at San Francisco, took place at Imperial College London in collaboration with University of Copenhagen and University College Dublin. The treatment was trialled on patients at the National Institute for Health Research Imperial Clinical Research Facility at Hammersmith Hospital, part of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.

Twenty-six obese patients with prediabetes (when blood glucose is too high but not high enough to be classified as diabetes) and those with diabetes were recruited to the study at Hammersmith Hospital from July 2016 to October 2018. Fifteen patients were randomly selected to receive the hormone treatment and 11 patients were given a saline (salt water) infusion as a placebo over a four-week period. The team also recruited 21 patients who had undergone bariatric surgery and 22 patients who followed a very low-calorie diet to compare the results of GOP. All patients were given a glucose monitoring device to track their glucose levels following treatment.

In the trial, patients on the GOP treatment lost an average of 4.4kg, compared with 2.5kg for participants receiving a saline placebo. The treatment also had no side effects.

However, patients who received bariatric surgery or who followed a very low calorie diet lost significantly more weight than GOP patients. The changes in weight were 10.3kg for bariatric patient and 8.3kg for patients who followed a very low calorie diet.

Professor Tan commented: “Although the weight loss was smaller, using the GOP infusion would be preferable as it has fewer side effects than bariatric surgery. This result shows that it is possible to obtain some of the benefits of a gastric bypass operation without undergoing the surgery itself. If further trials are successful, in future we could potentially give this type of treatment to many more patients.”

The team also found that GOP was capable of lowering blood glucose levels to near-normal levels, with little variation in the blood glucose. Patients who received bariatric surgery also had an overall improvement in blood glucose, but the levels were much more variable, leaving them vulnerable to low blood glucose levels.

The team aim to carry out a larger clinical trial to assess the impact of GOP on more patients over a longer period of time.

The research was funded by the UK Medical Research Council (MRC) and the NIHR Imperial Biomedical Research Centre.

This research is an example of the work carried out by Imperial College Academic Health Science Centre, a joint initiative between Imperial College London and three NHS hospital trusts. It aims to transform healthcare by turning scientific discoveries into medical advances to benefit local, national and global populations in as fast a timeframe as possible.

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TOKYO

A new medication for treatment of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) was placed on sale in Japan from April. But the government has been slow to approve other effective methods for dealing with HIV that have achieved favorable results in foreign countries.

To learn more about the current status of HIV/AIDS in Japan, Nikkan Gendai (June 28) met with Dr Shinichi Oka, director-general of AIDS Clinical Center at the International Medical Center of Japan in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture.

HIV carriers whose conditions go undiagnosed or untreated may eventually develop one or more of 23 afflictions, such as malignant lymphoma and others to which carriers are most vulnerable.

“What’s important is to begin a regimen of treatment before AIDS develops,” Oka is quoted as saying. “With the right treatment and support, people living with HIV can enjoy normal lives.”

Once a drug regimen is initiated, within three to six months the volume of HIV in the blood is reduced to “untraceable” levels. Use of a condom during sex is generally considered sufficient to prevent infecting one’s partner. Likewise the statistical likelihood of a pregnant female HIV carrier receiving treatment to transmit the HIV to her fetus is below 1%.

“There’s no chance of the virus developing resistance,” says Oka. “As in the past, missing one dosage won’t result in a problem. Moreover development is progressing with new drugs that will only need to be administered by injection once a month, or every other month.”

“In the case of Japan, some 30% of patient infections are diagnosed after the appearance of full-blown AIDS,” Oka points out. “There are certain areas where this phenomenon occurs more common than others. Over the past decade, the situation in Japan related to AIDS has not changed, and the number of new cases reported remains the same as before.”

The methodology for reducing the number of new cases is clear. The first step calls for early diagnosis of HIV and initiating a full treatment regimen. In Japan for some reason, this appears to be a high hurdle.

A free, anonymous blood test can only be conducted at public health offices, but people make various excuses for not going, such as “I can’t make the time.” (The offices are closed on weekends.) Or, “If people find out, I’ll be in trouble.” Or, “There’s a chance I’ll run into someone I know at the public health office.” And so on.

In many foreign countries, a number of test options are available such as diagnosis by mail using a saliva test kit — something that has yet to receive government approval in Japan.

Also available overseas is Truvada, a PrEP (an acronym for preexposure prophylaxis) prescribed to high-risk individuals. This has been strongly promoted by the World Health Organization and already approved in over 40 countries. But not Japan. If purchased out-of-pocket (without insurance coverage), a daily PrEP dosage costs about 3,800 yen; individuals who want it can purchase generic varieties online from overseas and it can enter the country legally as a “personal import.” But physicians are reluctant to recommend drugs that have yet to be approved and the average person cannot easily come by useful information.

“In many African countries with a serious AIDS problem, the number of cases has been reduced by half from the peak,” says Oka, who added. “In some parts of the U.S., Australia and Europe, where preventative medication is available, new cases have been drastically reduced.”

Japan, meanwhile, continues to cling inflexibly to two strategies: “Get a test at the public health office” and “Use a condom.” The data on new cases indicate that reliance on these is ineffective in reducing the contagion.

At the very least, Nikkan Gendai concludes, Japan should approve the simple and inexpensive saliva test and adopt the strategy of making preventative drugs available to high-risk individuals with multiple sex partners.

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