How do I stop my hair from being dry?

Dry hair does not absorb or retain enough moisture to keep its texture and brightness, so it may look lacklustre and be fragile and brittle. Although it may look unhealthy, most of the time, it is unlikely to be a health problem that causes dry hair.

Dry hair can be caused by factors, including:

• nutritional deficiencies
• excessive sun exposure
• contact with chlorinated water
• excessive hair wash
• use of styling products and tools
• use of harsh hair products

Some possible medical causes of dry hair may be anorexia nervosa, Menkes disease, hypoparathyroidism, hypothyroidism, and other hormone abnormalities.

Home remedies for dry hair

People can use home remedies to treat hair if it becomes dry and brittle. Listed below are 12 different home remedies that can be tried:

1. Using hot oils

Olive oil is one of the most popular home remedies for dry hair. Besides olive oil, the following can also be used with good results:

• coconut oil
• almond oil
• castor oil
• jojoba oil
• corn oil

All of these oils are rich in vitamin E and antioxidants and help to seal the outer hair layer or cuticle with moisture, thus repairing the damage.

To prepare this home remedy:

1. Warm but do not boil around half a cup of oil.
2. Gently massage it into the hair for some minutes.
3. Cover the hair with a warm towel.
4. Leave for 30−45 minutes or overnight.
5. After this time, shampoo and rinse the hair.

This treatment will strengthen and add shine to dry hair.

2. Using good hair care products specific to your hair type

A person may want to try using gentle, sulfate-free shampoos and hair conditioners.

Also, they can shampoo less frequently, for example, only once or twice a week.

3. Using beer as a hair conditioner

Beer contains a protein that helps to repair the hair cuticles, making the hair smooth and shiny.

If someone shampoos their hair as usual and then sprays on some drops of beer, allowing it to dry naturally, it will work as a good conditioner without leaving any smell on the hair.

4. Applying a coconut oil mask

Coconut oil has a soothing and moisturizing effect when applied to the hair.

People can prepare a simple hair mask by boiling curry leaves with coconut oil for 2–3 minutes and leaving it to rest in a cool place for a few days.

When the mixture has cooled, it can be gently rubbed into the hair and scalp with the fingertips and covered with a warm towel. It should then be left on for a few minutes before being rinsed.

5. Applying a gelatin preparation

Plain gelatin is a good protein source for the hair. It coats the hair strands and moisturizes them, making the hair smooth and shiny.

To prepare this home remedy:

1. Mix 1 tablespoon of gelatin with 1 cup of warm water.
2. Leave it aside for 5 minutes to partially set the gelatin.
3. Add 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar and 6 drops of an essential oil, such as jasmine, lavender, clary sage, or rosemary to the preparation and stir.
4. Apply the mixture to clean hair.

Finally, leave the preparation on the hair for 10 minutes and rinse with tepid water.

6. Using egg and mayonnaise-based mixtures

Eggs and mayonnaise contain lots of protein, which helps to fortify and strengthen the hair and restore moisture to brittle or very dry hair.

People can prepare one of these protein-based mixtures at home in the following ways:

1. Whip an egg white with 2 tablespoons of tepid water.
2. Apply the mixture to the hair and scalp.
3. Massage with the fingertips in circular movements for a few minutes.
4. Rinse the hair with cool water and then shampoo.

Or:

1. Mix three eggs in a bowl.
2. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of honey.
3. Apply the mixture to hair and scalp.
4. Cover the head with a plastic covering or shower cap for about 30 minutes.
5. Rinse the hair with cool water and shampoo.

Or:

1. Wet the hair with warm water and gently apply to it a thick layer of mayonnaise.
2. Gently massage the hair and scalp, working it through the hair strands to the ends.
3. Cover the head with a plastic cap for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
4. Rinse the hair with cool water and shampoo.

Source: Medical News Today

What causes pale gums?

Pale gums may indicate that a person has anemia, which is often the result of an iron deficiency. However, if the gums are white or painful, the cause may be more serious.
Healthy gums should be a relatively consistent shade of pink. They may appear slightly lighter around the teeth and darker around the sides of the mouth. One person's gums may be naturally a little paler or darker than another's.
When an individual notices that the color of their gums is changing, they should speak with a doctor, especially if additional symptoms are causing concern.
Read on to learn more about the causes of pale gums. We also describe accompanying symptoms, treatments, and when to see a doctor.
Causes and symptomsTreatment and the number of symptoms will vary, depending on the cause of pale gums.
Below is a list of underlying conditions, their other symptoms, and their treatments:
AnemiaAnemia occurs when the body is not getting enough oxygen-rich blood. A lack of blood can cause some tissues to grow pale.
In addition to pale gums, a person with anemia may notice the following symptoms:

inexplicable exhaustion or weakness

shortness of breath

pale or yellowish skin and eyes

headaches

heart palpitations
Anemia often results from a lack of iron, folate, or vitamin B12.
Otherwise, a person may have too few blood cells or not enough hemoglobin. In people with sickle cell anemia, the blood cells are abnormally shaped.
Medical conditions can also lead to anemia or increase a person's risk. Some involve blood loss. They include:

very heavy menstruation

pregnancy
liver, spleen, or kidney conditions
hypothyroidism
bleeding in the stomach or intestines, which may result from gastrointestinal ulcers, cancers, abnormal growths, colitis, or swelling of the large intestine
Certain medications, particularly those for chemotherapy, can increase a person's risk of developing anemia. Others develop the condition after taking too many nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, which leads to internal bleeding.
Treatment may be as simple as taking prescribed iron pills for at least 6 months. These pills are best taken with food and citrus juices, especially orange juice. It can also help to eat foods rich in iron, such as dark leafy greens and fortified cereals and bread.
When very heavy periods are responsible for anemia, a person may benefit from hormone medications that lighten menstruation.
Certain foods can interfere with the body's absorption of iron. A person with anemia may wish to avoid:

coffee and tea

alcohol

whole grain product

dairy products

LeukoplakiaOral leukoplakia can cause uniform, thin, white patches to develop on the gums. These alternate with, or are bordered by, regular gum or mucous tissues.
The white patches may have raised, white nodules or be speckled with red.Leukoplakia patches can develop anywhere in the mouth and cannot be rubbed or scrubbed off.
The cause of this condition is unclear, but it seems to occur more often in people who smoke, consume a lot of alcohol, or have poor oral hygiene.
In many cases, leukoplakia patches are harmless. However, they can transform and become cancerous.
Anyone who notices these patches should speak with a doctor or dentist. Depending on the patches' size and location, as well as individual risk factors such as smoking, a doctor may choose to monitor leukoplakia patches or surgically remove them.
MenopausePale or bleeding gums can occur because of hormonal changes.
The hormonal changes associated with menopause are known to decrease blood flow, which can cause the gums to become pale and dry.
A form of infection called menopausal gingivostomatitis can lead to pale, dry gums that may bleed.
Hormone therapies can treat these symptoms. When a fungal species is responsible for gingivostomatitis, a person may need to use a topical antifungal cream, such as nystatin or clotrimazole.
Oral lichen planusIn a person with oral lichen planus, a film of web-like, slightly raised white threads develop throughout the gums' mucus membranes.
To diagnose this condition, a doctor will usually take a biopsy, a small portion of tissue from the affected areas, to rule out other medical issues.
Cases of erosive oral lichen planus involving ulcers, or open sores, can be treated using topical corticosteroids or systemic steroids.
There is no cure for oral lichen planus, and treatment will focus on limiting the number of flare-ups and the severity of symptoms. Eating a healthful, balanced diet, staying hydrated, exercising, and quitting smoking can help to manage the condition.
When to see a doctorPale gums are a common sign of anemia, and mild anemia can be managed at home by increasing the intake of iron. However, severe cases can be life-threatening.
Speak with a doctor or dentist about pale gums as soon as possible. Receiving treatment early can reduce the risk of complications.
Seek medical advice if symptoms of infection accompany pale gums. These symptoms include:  bleeding gums

swollen, painful, or tender gums

gums that recede around the teeth

very bad breath

fever

loose teeth

difficulty or pain swallowing

gum abscesses

a metallic taste in the mouth

pain in the jaw or the face
Anyone who suspects that they have abnormal oral growths, such as those that occur in lichen planus or leukoplakia, should see a doctor or dentist and discuss treatment options.
When pale gums are associated with menopause or heavy menstrual periods, a person may want to speak with a doctor about hormone therapies that can reduce symptoms.
 

Source: Medical News Today

Can chewing gum help you walk faster, burn more calories?

Chewing gum. Whether you munch on it because you're bored or restless, because you simply enjoy the taste, or as a quick fix after a very umami meal, you've probably had a fair share of it in your life. But does chewing gum bring surprising benefits that we hadn't considered.

According to recent data, in 2017 alone, 174.74 million people in the United States declared that they habitually use bubblegum or chewing gum.

But whether, and to what extent, chewing gum may aid or endanger health has been a matter of dispute.

Research demonstrates that sugar-free gum, specifically, is actually good for your teeth, because it can prevent decay and plaque formation.

One paper also found that munching on gum can help to alleviate stress, which, the study authors hypothesized, may be due to increased blood flow to the brain.

But other studies, including one published in the journal Eating Behaviors, concluded that a gum-chewing habit reduced individuals' appetite for healthful snacks, such as fruit, but did nothing to curb their preference for junk foods, such as chips.

Now, however, scientists at the Waseda University Graduate School of Sport Sciences in Tokyo, Japan, have turned their attention in a different direction, asking whether chewing gum while walking could in any way influence a person's physiological functions.

The study, which was conducted by Yuka Hamada and colleagues from Waseda University, has yielded interesting results for those looking to understand how even one of their smallest daily habits could impact their body and its use of energy.

Hamada and team reported their results last week at the European Congress on Obesity, held in Vienna, Austria.  

Chewing gum increases heart rate

In their study, the researchers worked with 46 participants — both male and female — aged 21–69. The recruitees agreed to take part in two different trials.

In the first one, they received two pellets of chewing gum of 1.5 grams and 3 kilocalories each, and they were asked to chew on them while walking for 15 minutes (after 1 hour of rest) at a normal pace.

The second trial created a "control" situation, by asking participants to engage in the same actions — walking at a natural pace for 15 minutes after 1 hour of rest — except that this time, they only swallowed a powder containing the same ingredients as the chewing gum pellets. Each time, the researchers measured or calculated the participants' resting heart rate and mean heart rate while walking, as well as what distance they had covered and their walking cadence.

They also calculated how much energy each participant had likely spent by taking into account their mean walking speed and body mass.

Interestingly, for all the participants, the mean heart rate while walking increased when they chewed gum as they walked.

The same was true for the difference between their heart rate at rest versus their heart rate in movement.

 Older males reap the most benefit

 To understand whether there were any significant differences in physiological effects according to biological sex or age group, Hamada and team conducted a set of analyses that took these factors into account.

Thus, they split the participants into groups of male and female, and young (aged 18–39) or middle-aged and older (aged 40–69).

They noticed that both men and women had a higher mean heart rate while walking, and a higher change in heart rate from resting to moving state, if they chewed gum at the same time.

But in the case of the male participants, the distance covered in their 15-minute walks, and their mean walking speed, increased more significantly in the gum-chewing trial. This was not seen in the case of female participants.

Also, those in the 40–69 age range showed a greater change in heart rate during the gum-chewing trial than their younger counterparts.

"Chewing gum while walking affects a number of physical and physiological functions in men and women of all ages," the researchers conclude, emphasizing that the most benefits seemed to be felt by the older male participants.

Source - Medical News Today

These neurons may explain aggressive behavior

New research has identified neurons that control aggression and may help to establish social hierarchies.

The human brain seems to have neurons for everything. There are neurons that "tell us" when to eat, sleep, and wake up.

But the nerve cells in our brain can control even more complex functions than merely appetite or sleep.

For instance, recent studies have identified the neurons that are to blame for our "bad habits," as well as which brain cells cause anxiety.

Now, researchers may have uncovered the neurons that drive a fundamental human emotion: aggression.

Though the new research was conducted in mice, the mammals share a lot of neural characteristics with us humans. This makes the findings important for understanding the neurobiological basis of aggression.

The new study was carried out by researchers at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden — led by Christian Broberger, an associate professor of neuroscience — and the findings were published in the journal Nature Neuroscience.

How PMv neurons control aggression

Broberger and colleagues put a new male mouse in the cage of several others and noticed that the rodents that displayed the highest level of aggression also had more active neurons in a brain area called the ventral premammillary nucleus (PMv).

The PMv is located in the brain's hypothalamus — the peanut-sized region that gets our adrenaline surging when we have to speak in public, confront an enemy, or go to a job interview.

The hypothalamus is an important emotional "hub" that regulates our feelings of euphoria, sadness, and anger.

Using optogenetics — a technique that genetically modifies neurons to make them responsive to and controllable by light — the scientists selectively activated and inhibited PMv neurons.

By doing so, the scientists were able to "make" mice behave aggressively under circumstances that wouldn't normally elicit an aggressive response. Conversely, by deactivating PMv neurons, they were able to stop an aggressive attack from occurring.

"We also found," explains first study author Stefanos Stagkourakis, a postdoctoral researcher in neuroscience at Karolinska Institutet, "that the brief activation of the PMv cells could trigger a protracted outburst."

"[This] may explain something we all recognize — how after a quarrel has ended, the feeling of antagonism can persist for a long time," he continues.

Furthermore, the scientists were able to reverse the "dominant/submissive" roles that tend to establish among rodents.

Using a traditional experiment known as the "tube test" — in which two mice are made to confront each other in a long, narrow space — the researchers established which mice were dominant and which were submissive.

Then, by deactivating PMv nerve cells in dominant rodents, they "turned" them into submissive ones, and vice versa.

"One of the most surprising findings in our study," says Broberger, "was that the role-switch we achieved by manipulating PMv activity during an encounter lasted up to 2 weeks."

He and his team are hopeful that their recent findings will shed some light on potential ways we can learn to control anger and aggression.

"Aggressive behavior and violence cause injury and lasting mental trauma for many people, with costly structural and economic consequences for society [...] Our study adds fundamental biological knowledge about its origins."

Source: Medical News Today

Tuberculosis: Soil bacteria compound may yield potent new drug?

Researchers have discovered a compound found in soil bacteria that could lead to new drugs to combat tuberculosis, a global disease that is becoming increasingly resistant to current treatments. They have produced synthetic versions of the natural compound and showed that they can kill the tuberculosis bacterium in the laboratory.

The findings, published in the journal Nature Communications, are the work of an international consortium led by the University of Sydney in Australia and includes researchers from the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada.

Tuberculosis (TB) is a disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis. While it can affect any organ of the body, it is most commonly found in the lungs. Most cases are treatable and curable, but people can die if they do not receive proper treatment.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), TB is globally one of the top 10 causes of death: 10.4 million people became ill with it and 1.8 million people died from it in 2015. Over 95 percent of TB-related deaths affect low- and middle-income countries.

Huge progress has been made in the global fight against TB. The WHO report that 49 million lives were saved through effective diagnosis and treatment between 2000 and 2015.

Growing threat of resistant TB

However, there is a growing threat to continuing this progress, in that the TB bacterium is becoming increasingly resistant to the current drugs available to treat it - many of which have been in use for more than 40 years.

There are two forms of drug-resistant TB: multidrug-resistant (MDR-TB), and the much rarer form, extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB).

MDR-TB is resistant to at least isoniazid and rifampin, two potent first-line drugs used to treat everyone who falls ill with TB.

XDR-TB is resistant to isoniazid and rifampin, any fluoroquinolone, and at least one second-line drug, leaving patients with few effective treatment options.

In the U.S., the average direct cost of treating TB ranges from $18,000 to treat drug-susceptible forms, to $494,000 to treat XDR-TB.

These costs are even higher when they take into account income losses experienced by patients while undergoing treatment.

The new study concerns a compound called sansanmycin uridylpeptide, which is produced by soil bacteria and stops other bacteria growing around them.

Compound stops TB bacterium building a cell wall

The team used synthetic chemistry to produce a library of more potent structural variations, or analogs, of the natural compound.

Laboratory tests showed that the sansanmycin natural product analogs were effective killers of M. tuberculosis, the bacterium that causes TB.

The compounds target an enzyme called Mtb phospho-MurNAc-pentapeptide translocase, or MraY, which plays a key role in building the cell wall of the TB bacterium.

Attacking this "Achilles heel" of the bacterium prevents it from being able to build a cell wall.

Richard Payne, a professor in Sydney's School of Chemistry and one of the lead investigators, says that the new analogs effectively killed the TB bacteria inside macrophages - the host immune cells that TB bacteria inhabit when they infect human lungs.

Prof. Payne says that their findings offer a starting point for developing a new TB drug, and that further tests and safety studies are already being planned.

Future work will also explore the underlying mechanism through which the new compounds select their target, note the authors.

"Without a cell wall, the bacterium dies. This wall-building protein is not targeted by currently available drugs." 

Source : Medicalnewstoday