Archive for November, 2011

German Memory in Asia – A Discussion on American and World Affairs

Posted by admin in European Studies on November 5, 2011

European Studies

European Studies

Lionie, a German Praktikum (Internship) student entered the discussion speaking on various interesting issues.

She was sharing her ideas to organise an awareness program on landmine issues between the AGSEP and the PDIP. John Stephen III, a Foreign Affairs Officer at the Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement of the Bureau of Political and Military Affairs of the US State Department was so helpful and has taken a personal interest to help us, to make the awareness program a success by sending various materials from the US State Department.

Leonie is from Düsseldorf, a city located in the Western part of Germany close to The Netherlands. She told she had come across various Tamil refugees from Sri Lanka and asked various issues on the region. Though it was her first visit to Asia, she is well-informed on various Asian crises.

She said she is a vegetarian because she couldn’t bear the way they are rearing poultry in congested cages, giving no chance for those birds to feel free during those few weeks in the world before they were killed. She was a lover of animals and in Germany many homes have pets such as dogs, cats, guinea pigs and even birds. I found her to be a sincere animal lover when she said, “Even I won’t eat eggs if those are from hens which are denied a comfortable living”. Read the rest of this entry »

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Prostate Screening Can Lead to Unnecessary Treatment and Risks 95% of the Time

Posted by admin in European Studies on November 4, 2011

Two large studies published recently in the New England Journal of Medicine found that the PSA blood test used to screen for prostate cancer saves few lives and can lead to risky and unnecessary treatments for 95% of the men who are screened.

Dr. Otis Brawley, the chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society, was quoted in the New York Times as saying that the two studies – one in Europe and the other in the United States – are “some of the most important studies in the history of men`s health.”

The PSA (prostate-specific antigen) test, which measures a protein released by prostate cells, does what it is supposed to do – indicates a cancer might be present, leading to biopsies to determine if there is a tumor. Most of the cancers tend to grow very slowly and are never a threat and, with the faster-growing ones, even early diagnosis might be too late. Until the release of the results of the two new studies, it has been difficult to know whether finding prostate cancer early saves lives. Both studies have confirmed that in most instances it does not.

The findings, which are the first based on robust, independently audited evidence and randomized studies, confirmed some longstanding concerns about the wisdom of prostate screening and indicated that the practice of widespread prostate screening may result in far more harm than benefits. Prostate cancer treatment can result in impotence and incontinence when surgery is used to destroy the prostate, and, at times, painful defecation or chronic diarrhea when the treatment is radiation. In addition, many believe that the practice of cancer biopsies often leads to the spread and more rapid development of cancer. Read the rest of this entry »

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Caffeine and Your Brain

Posted by admin in European Studies on November 3, 2011

European Studies

European Studies

Caffeinated drinks are the most popular way to start the day in the Western world, with tea, coffee, cocoa, colas and drinks with added guarana being major sources. Around 2002 there was the first appearance of a study linking caffeine to Alzheimer’s Disease. The surprise was the link was that too little caffeine increased the risk of dementia. In the following years there has been much more research showing that caffeine lowered the chance of losing your marbles.

Caffeine & dementia

In Alzheimer’s there is a build-up of beta amyloid proteins in the brain that disrupt memory. In mice, caffeine halts the formation of this nasty protein. Caffeine is also anti-inflammatory, helping to protect the brain further as Alzheimer’s is an inflammatory disease of the brain. That may help explain the results of two recent studies.

A European study tracked 676 men, aged 70-90 years, for over 10 years while assessing their cognitive decline (European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2007; 61: 226-232). The lowest decline in brain function was observed in the men drinking 3 cups of coffee a day. Those with the greatest decline were the non-coffee drinkers and those drinking more than 4 cups a day. In fact, if you didn’t drink coffee then your brain went downhill four times quicker than if you had three cups a day. I bet nobody would have predicted that last century.

That’s good news for blokes, but can it apply to women too? A more recent European study of 875 women and 534 men, aged 65-79 years, also found a strong correlation between coffee consumption and dementia in both the men and women (Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease 2009; 16: 85-91). Moderate coffee drinkers reduced their risk of dementia by two-thirds compared to non-drinkers after 21 years of follow-up. What is moderate coffee drinking? Between 3-5 cups a day. Read the rest of this entry »

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