Health Care

Posted by Zack Lynch

Slowly but surely, the word about the beneficial effects that the National Neurotechnology Initiative Act would have on our ability to accelerate the development of treatments for the brain and nervous system is slowly seeping into the national consciousness as evidenced by the today's Op-ed mention by Michael Paul Mason in his piece Keeping Our Head.

"THE death of the actress Natasha Richardson after a fall on a ski slope has further publicized an ugly truth that millions of Americans already know: Hardly anyone outside of an emergency room knows how to respond to brain trauma. There isn’t a standard response system that has been adequately promulgated in high school or college athletics, boxing rings or ski resorts. We’re fascinated by the inner workings of the brain and marvel at its mysteries, yet we aren’t very serious about protecting our most prized organ.

"The best hope for legislative reform comes from the National Neurotechnology Initiative Act, introduced last year, which calls for $200 million toward “science and technology that allows an individual to analyze, understand, treat and heal the brain and nervous system.”

The human body contains a number of nutrients which are naturally formed. These nutrients form the base of life as they are essential for boosting the life process like growth, reproduction, respiration, etc. Creatine is also one of these naturally formed nutrients. Amino acids and food present in the body are the main things responsible in the production of Creatine. So it is an essential compound based on amino acids.

Red meat and fish are a great source of nutrients containing Creatine. The Creatine which is produced in the body is transformed into a molecule called “phosphocreatine”. Phosphocreatine plays a vital role in energy accumulation in muscular tissues. The energy stores particularly in the muscles having voluntary function. At the same time it stores in the nervous system as well, because this system of the body consumes energy in a great bulk.

Creatine also promotes lean-muscle mass and decrease the wasting of muscles in patients who have undergone some surgery. If one is suffering from some cardiac disorders, it proves a great boon to the heart patient. It is due to the fact that Creatine has been found to lessen spasms of the heart and boost up the capacity to exercise more. Thus it gives pace to the functions of the heart. According to some research, this nutrient is also very useful in the treatment of neuromuscular disorders. Taking these benefits into account, FDA has put Creatine in the category of a food supplement.

Creatine is now being used a legal food supplement by sports persons to enhance their performance level. This supplement is useful particularly for those sportspersons who belong to the high energy level sports category such as wrestling, weightlifting, and sprinting. The intake of Creatine enhances the recouping of energy in a fast way. And the best thing about is that if one take excess of creatine, he or she needn’t worry at all, as it the body absorbs only as much required and the rest is also helps the athlete to recover sooner even after using up all the energy. Taking too much Creatine is also not very harmful as the body can absorb only a certain quantity and the rest comes out with urine.

When it comes to a health supplement, the thing that causes deep concern is whether it is going to have any side effect or not. But the matter of joy is that Creatine has almost no side effects. So, one can go for this without being prejudiced in any way. The Creatine supplement comes in various forms like chewable tablets, capsules, and powder. But while purchasing, one must be a bit careful and buy it from some reliable medical store, may be online or offline.

Posted by Zack Lynch

A cool new study in The Journal Neuroscience shows that the activity in the caudate nucleus can predict a person's preferences. The study showed that after a decision is made, activity in the caudate nucleus increases for the selected option and decreases for the rejected one.

The researchers imaged people's brains as they imagined vacationing in 80 different destinations around the world. After rating how much they would like to travel to each location, participants were asked to decide between similarly rated options — for example, Greece or Thailand. Participants then imagined and rated each location again, and their brains were imaged a second time.

"Re-evaluating our options post-choice may serve an adaptive purpose by increasing an individual's commitment to the action taken. In the absence of a rapid update of value that concurs with choice, we are likely to second-guess our decisions and actions," said study author Tali Sharot, PhD, a British Academy postdoctoral fellow at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging at University College London.

Posted by Zack Lynch

I've spent a few years on this...happy to see it moving forward in the 111th Congress.

National Neurotechnology Initiative Act seeks to accelerate development of new treatments for brain and nervous system conditions

SAN FRANCISCO & WASHINGTON, D.C., March 12 - A team of prominent members of both houses of Congress introduced today the National Neurotechnology Initiative (NNTI) Act, a bill designed to foster new discoveries and accelerate the development of new and safer treatments for the one in three Americans living with a brain-related illness, injury or disease.

The sponsors of the NNTI Act, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and Representatives Patrick J. Kennedy (D-RI 1st) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL 18th), have called upon Congress to reverse the growing economic burden generated by brain-related illness, which exceeds $1 trillion per year in the U.S. due to healthcare costs and lost income.

"The huge numbers speak for themselves: There are 100 million Americans suffering from a brain-related illness, with an enormous economic burden that continues to grow as the population ages," said Zack Lynch, Executive Director of the Neurotechnology Industry Organization. "For a modest investment, Congress has the opportunity to streamline research efforts, accelerate the development of new treatments, promote innovation and job creation by small businesses and have a meaningful impact on the lives of those suffering from devastating diseases and injuries."

Designed to increase private investment and accelerate the development of treatments reaching the market, the NNTI employs targeted increases in funding to improve Federal research coordination and ease bottlenecks that inhibit the development of treatments for brain-related illnesses. The bill accomplishes these goals with less than 4 percent of the total Federal neuroscience research budget - $200 million - and reflects a more balanced disease-cost to research-dollars-expended ratio.

"While our ability to understand how the brain works grows each day, our ability to understand and repair brain illnesses remains limited," said Senator Murray. "For the millions of Americans that suffer from a brain related illness, and the thousands of Americans coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan with Traumatic Brain Injury and PTSD, a new federal commitment to research and treatment can't wait. This bill will place a premium on sharing the information researchers gain everyday and will support ongoing but underfunded programs at NIH."

"With so many Americans suffering from brain-related illnesses, it is crucial for us as a society to maximize our efforts and continue learning about the many facets of the brain, leading to a healthier life for all Americans," said Congressman Patrick Kennedy.

"This legislation will turn America into a nation where brain injuries and diseases are tackled through innovative technology, state of the art medical equipment and top notch neuroscientists. Together we can make this a reality," said Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.

Zinc is an important mineral that serves many vital purposes in the body. Approximately one hundred enzymes rely on the presence of zinc to be able to effectively perform their specialized tasks within the body.

As with most nutrients and minerals, zinc is often ignored by the average person however, it is an essential mineral that plays many roles in promoting the healthy functioning of the body. Its importance to the body's well-being goes far back as the earliest moments of growth and development and is serves a highly important role in maintaining a healthy way of life. And as like with the other nutrients and vitamins that the body needs in order for it to stay in tip, top shape, there are recommended amounts of zinc that each and every person should be able to maintain daily. Refusal to do so can actually cause all sorts of complications with one's health while taking in excessive amounts of zinc can still prove to be quite detrimental to a person's well-being.

Zinc is an important mineral that serves many vital purposes in the body. Approximately one hundred enzymes rely on the presence of zinc to be able to effectively perform their specialized tasks within the body. Zinc has a significant role in the process of physical growth of babies developing in the womb as well as for the growth of both children and teenagers. Zinc is necessary to the mixture of DNA and also helps to keep the senses of taste and smell to actually function properly. It helps the body to develop a stronger immune system and while the lack of it makes a person weak and definitely more prone to illnesses. Deficiencies in zinc can show a wide variety of symptoms concerning both physical and mental processes. Among the most common are the growth stunt of babies even while they're still in their mother's womb, as well as the slow down of growth in older children. The lack of zinc can get in the way of the development of the reproductive organs, as well as interfere with reproductive functions and processes. It can even lead to impotence. Chronic diarrhea, poor appetite and significant weight loss of the unhealthy and undesirable sort, hair loss and the slow healing of wounds are all associated with zinc deficiencies. As well as open sores on the skin and in the mouth, strange tastes in the mouth and the inability to think faster as well as other mental incapability are all caused by a serious lack in the daily intake of zinc.. It is highly important to always keep in mind the various functions of each and every vitamin, nutrient and mineral that our body needs. Sufficient knowledge about our body's needs will help us further understand and take seriously the need to start being conscious of our health. A growing number of people actually rely on nutritional supplements to help them balance out the amount of vitamins and minerals that they need in a day since we're not sure if the food that we eat actually contains enough of these nutrients already. Those who opted to go for a vegetarian lifestyle must be especially careful about monitoring the zinc levels in their day-to-day nutrition. A dietary supplement containing zinc may be their best option to keeping their zinc levels right where they should be as it is more difficult to obtain all the necessary zinc from plant sources only. This is especially important for children that are being raised under the vegetarian lifestyle, as zinc plays an important role to normal growth and puberty. A person opting to go for the vegetarian lifestyle, for whatever reasons that he or she may have need not sacrifice these beliefs anymore by actually just taking in nutrition supplements to help balance out their daily dietary needs.

Zinc needs to get the rightful recognition that it deserves due to the highly important role that it plays in the overall health of a person. For those concerned about their daily zinc intake and is not sure about whether they're getting enough of it daily, a dietary supplement containing the proper dosage of zinc is definitely the right choice.