Headwear Etc Blog

Dogs and Cancer: Do Dogs Have the Ability to Detect Cancer in Humans?
From Lisa Fayed,
Your Guide to Cancer.
Can dogs really sniff out cancer in their humans? The idea of dogs being able to detect cancer may seem far fetched, but considering the physiology of the canine nose, it may be a possibility.

Dogs have 25 times more smell receptors than humans and bread down concentration of smells 100 million times lower than a human.

In a study done in Amersham England, published in the British Medical Journal , the researchers set out to find out if dogs can be trained to identify bladder cancer solely on the odor of urine. The conclusion was successful.
Dog cancer symptoms
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The dogs used in the study correctly identified bladder cancer in urine 41% of the time. It is evident that bladder cancer gives off an odor or compound that can be dtected by dogs.
Dr. Armand Cognetta of Tallahassee, Fl, an expert in melanomas, began researching if dogs could detect skin cancer. He enlisted the help of a dog trainer, and with samples of melanomas tried to train dogs to sniff out skin cancer. George, the dog used in the study, was able to detect the melanoma 99% of the time. Further research proved that George could detect malignant melanoma lesions from benign lesions on patients successfully.
More research is being done to study whether dogs can be trained to detect other types of cancer, like breast, prostate, cervical, and bladder cancer. Initial results show to be promising.

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Does diet or exercise influence a person’s risk of dying from cancer? It is a question that researchers have been struggling with for years. The scientific data are mixed. While maintaining a low-fat diet and exercising regularly have been shown to provide several health benefits, including decreasing the risk of heart disease, whether a certain diet or hitting the gym can reduce the risk of dying. Now, two new studies add fuel to the fire. Both studies suggest that people who follow Mediterranean diets or exercise regularly may be less likely to die from cancer compared to sedentary people or those who follow other diets.

In the first study, researchers Panagiota Mitrou from the University of Cambridge and colleagues examined whether a diet consisting mainly of vegetables, legumes, fruit, fish and whole grains-a so-called Mediterranean diet-can affect cancer survivorship. Study participants included over 214,000 men and 166,000 women who were enrolled in the National Institutes of Health Diet and Health Study.

The study results appear to support maintaining a Mediterranean diet, which also consists of fiber and low amounts of saturated fats. The researchers found that people followed such a diet were less likely to die from any cause, including cancer and heart disease, during five years of observation.

In the second study, Michael Leitzmann of the National Cancer Institute and colleagues investigated the relationship between national exercise recommendations and mortality in nearly 253,000 people participating in the same study as Dr. Mitrou’s research. U.S. national exercise guidelines recommend at least 30 minutes of physical activity per day.

The study results suggest that exercise can lower the risk of death. In the study, people who performed moderate physical activity for at least 30 minutes nearly every day were 27% less likely to die during the period studied. Moreover, the study appears to suggest that people do not necessarily need to follow national exercise guidelines to reap the benefits. In the study, people who exercised vigorously for at least 20 minutes three times per week were 32% less likely to die compared to their sedentary counterparts.

Results of both studies must be confirmed in additional research but provide more insight into a connection between diet, exercise, and death.
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Is Chocolate healthier than green tea?
From Rhonda Parkinson,
“Chocolate contains up to four times the anti-oxidants found in tea.” Sound too good to be true? In fact, that was the conclusion of a recent study by Holland’s National Institute of Public Health and Environment. Researchers found that chocolate - specifically dark chocolate - contains 53.5 mg of catechins per 100 grams. (Catechins are the powerful anti-oxidants that fight against cancer-causing cells and help prevent heart disease). By contrast, 100 ml of black tea contains a mere 13.9 mg of catechins.
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Trichotillomania

The name of a psychological condition which results in an obsession with plucking or pulling on one’s own body or scalp hair. There are several problems that can result from this activity, and the psychology behind it can be confusing. Commonly treatable in children, adults with this condition rarely recover.
What exactly is Trichotillomania?
Trichotillomania is now recognized as being neither so rare nor so benign as previously believed. Patients with Trichotillomania seen in dermatological clinics appear normal in their daily behavior, at least as viewed by laypersons, except for the habit causing the Alopecia. Young patients and their parents regard the Alopecia. as a dermatological condition. In fact, these patients are largely treated by dermatologists, specialists who have sufficient training and knowledge to make the correct diagnosis. The prognosis of Trichotillomania is guarded or fairly good. In a smaller group of adult-aged patients with years of Trichotillomania, the Alopecia. is usually extensive and hard to treat in spite of psychiatric intervention.

This condition occurs as a result of a person’s compulsive hair-pulling/plucking behavior. According to Mehregan (1970), 100 practicing dermatologists evaluated 2-3 cases per year. According to Muller (1990), the condition was far from rare, although not common, both in children and adults. According to a report in 1978, it was estimated that up to 8 million Americans might be affected. Considering its benign self-limited course in most patients, the real incidence in the general population should be much higher than the numbers seen by physicians. In South Korea, practicing dermatologists see approximately 1 case per year.

In children, males most commonly display this activity. In adolescence, it is more common in females. In adulthood, most patients are females.
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Hair Loss
People who notice hair falling out, thinning, or appearing in large amounts on their comb or brush should consult a dermatologist. With correct diagnosis, many people with hair loss can be helped. A dermatologist will evaluate a patient’s hair-loss problem to find the cause so they can determine whether the problem will resolve on its own or medical treatment is needed.

Normal Hair Growth
About 90 percent of the hair is growing at any one time, and the growth phase lasts between two and six years. Ten percent of the hair is in a resting phase that lasts two to three months, and at the end of its resting stage the hair is shed. When a hair is shed, a new hair from the same follicle replaces it and the growing cycle starts again. Scalp hair grows about one-half inch per month, but as people age their rate of hair growth slows. Most hair shedding is due to the normal
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