Bergerie Caroline

If you’re currently feeling so out of it, totally out of your normal system and just basically hating and ignoring almost, always everything and anyone that comes along, try to get yourself checked by a psychiatrist because you those little mood swings and erratic Ally McBeal-ish behavior that you’re trying to ignore for some long may actually be symptoms of depression. Act fast because if you do, it’ll certainly be a lot harder for you to be able to have yourself cured from this illness, especially once self-delusion starts to kick in.

Actually start by hauling your depressed ass into the hospital and get yourself diagnosed by a reputable psychiatrist, one that’ll actually help you with your depression concerns, answer all the possible questions that you may have when it comes to depression as well as provide you with the best available to depression treatment that’ll make you give yourself some good-old, yet extremly effective depression help. All it needs is the right attitude.

After actually being honest with yourself when it comes to actually being a patient who is suffering from depression, quit turning youself into a victim and find out from these various types of depression the actual one that you’re suffering from: Manic or Bipolar depression – characterized by sudden and extreme changes in one’s mood wherein one minute he or she is in an elevated state of euphoria while the next minute (day or week) he or she is feeling to be in a personal hell, Postpartum depression – characterized by a prolonged sadness and a feeling of emptiness by a new mother wherein physical stress during child birth, an uncertain sense of responsibility towards the new born baby can be just some of the possible factors why some new mother go through this, Dysthimia – characterized by a slight similarity with depression, although this time, it’s been proven to be a lot less severe, but of course with any case, should be treated immediately, Cyclothemia – characterized by a slight similarity with Manic or Bipolar depression wherein the individual suffering from this mental illness may occasionally suffer from severe changes in one’s moods, Seasonal Affective Disorder – characterized by falling in a rut only during specific seasons (i.e. Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall) studies however, prove that more people actually fall in to a rut more during the Winter and Fall seasons and lastly, Mood swings, wherein a person’s mood may shift from happy to sad to angry in just a short time. But in spite of how scary or how daunting a task is the road towards a sound mental health is, depression help abounds and is just up to you if you’re willing to take in some of that depression help, may it be from your family, friends, support group and mainly starting from yourself, there really is a lot of depression help to go around. 

The old adage, slowly but surely greatly applies in trying to treat depression, as the patient continues taking the prescribed medicines for his/her depression treatment, as well as the corresponding therapy sessions with the cognitive behavior therapist, a patient being treated from depression needs all the support and depression help that he or she can get.

While being treated for depression, the patient as well as his or her family and other loved ones are advised to make realistic goals concerning depression wherein, to not assume that their depression can be easily treated in a snap. Depression help begins with trying to understand the patient’s situation and continue on being patient as well as always extending your help because depression help is never easy nor is the depression treatment itself, which is why both patients and loved ones need to help each other out through every step of the way. Never set goals that are high above your reach, give yourself some depression help by not being too hard on yourself, believe that you are good and strong enough to achieve your goals but only one step at a time.

Part 1.

It’s remarkable that rooster combs have provided the source of a frequently used treatment for osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee. Through a combination of research and serendipity, viscosupplements- a type of lubrication treatment for OA of the knee- originally derived from rooster combs, are widely used by both rheumatologists as well as orthopedic surgeons. But do they really work? This two part article discusses the evidence in the medical literature.

Viscosupplements are compounds that have been created to mimic the effects of normal synovial fluid. Synovial fluid is the lubricating liquid present in normal joints that permits gliding and also helps with cushioning. Synovial fluid is produced by cells that line the joints and is essential for proper nourishment of the cartilage that caps the ends of long bones. At low levels of shear force (standing and walking for instance), synovial fluid’s primary effect is a lubricating one. At high levels of shear force (running and jumping), synovial fluid has a more shock absorbing function.

The major component of synovial fluid is a substance called hyaluronic acid. (HA). All synthetic viscosupplements also have HA as their major component. In this article I will use the term viscosupplement and HA interchangeably.

The first question is do these compounds work for osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee? As with any treatment, there is the possibility of negative studies. Viscosupplementation is no exception. Lo concluded that HA products have only a small effect compared with placebo (Lo GH, et al. JAMA. 2003; 290: 3115-3121). Brandt stated that HA and placebo produce similar results (Brandt KD, et al. Arthritis Rheum. 2000; 43: 1192-1203). And Karlsson posited that neither of two HA products did better than placebo at 26 weeks (Karlsson J, et al. Rheumatol. 2002; 41:1240-1248).

However, the majority of studies have demonstrated that there is a significant effect. But how well do they work? The interpretation of how effective these preparations are has been difficult because of a number of factors. These include:

Global use of these compounds with different measuring instruments and techniques in the research studies;

? Single versus multi-center studies

? Varying inclusion and exclusion criteria

? Different statistical outcome measurements

? Other study design issues

And comparisons have been made to treatments other than placebo. Two studies looked at viscosupplements compared with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). (Altman RD, et al. J Rheum. 1998; 25:2203-2212; Adams ME, et al. Osteoarthritis and Cart. 1995; 3: 213-216). They found that viscosupplements performed as well or better than NSAIDS. However, design issues of the studies make interpretation somewhat difficult. It must be pointed out that adverse events were noted in both treatment groups. Not surprisingly, systemic therapies (NSAIDS) had more systemic side effects and HA therapies had more local adverse events.

One question that clinicians often wonder about is, “What about corticosteroid injections?” How do they compare? These preparations are used to reduce pain and inflammation, especially in acute knee osteoarthritis flare-ups and are relatively fast-acting

However, there are shortcomings. They include:

? Duration of efficacy may not last

? Frequent injections (more than 3 per year) may cause cartilage damage

? Local adverse effects

? Post-injection flares of pain

? Skin atrophy

? Osteonecrosis (dead bone)

Studies have evaluated the effects of viscosupplements vs intraarticular glucocorticoids. These include the following studies:

[Leardini G, et al. Clin Exp Rheumatol. 1991; 9: 375-381 (both equivalent until day 28 when divergence favored Hyalgan)]

[Caborn D, et al. J Rheum. 2004; 31:333-343 (both worked @ 1-4 weeks post injection; Synvisc better @ 5-13 weeks post injection)]

[Tekeoglu I, et al. J Rheumatol and Medical Rehab. 1998; 9: 220-224. (For first 4 weeks Orthovisc and methylpredsolone acetate similar; @ 5-13 weeks post injection, Orthovisc better)]

Most studies show this divergence of effect occurring at 5-13 weeks post injection.

(Raynauld JP, et al. Osteoarthritis and Cart. 2002; 10: 506-517). This is an interesting study from Canada where they looked at the difference between usual care, meaning all the things you would do for a knee OA patient except viscosupplementation versus another group where viscosupplementation was added. And they found that the usual care group + visco supplementation did better.

So what about repeating treatment? This was one study that looked at patients receiving 5 injections of viscosupplement every 6 months for a total of 25 injections. While the results showed that good safety and positive outcomes, design issues made this study a bit difficult to interpret. (Scali JJ. Eur J Rheumatol Inflamm. 1995; 15: 57-62).

One important bit of information that we can glean from many of these studies, regardless of viscosupplement used, is that the period of maximum onset of relief is @ 5-13 weeks post injection.

Part 2 of this series will discuss more about what the medical literature can tell patients about “rooster comb” treatments.

People nowadays are getting more and more conscious of their body. As a matter of fact many people try several different ways on how to keep their body physically fit. Diets, several exercise regimen, diet pills, diet lotions, diet patches, etc. these have become very famous to those who would want to shed off some unwanted fats or simply lose weight.

In reality, we can actually start taking care of ourselves with the food and drink that we take. How’s this possible? It may sound simple but it is a known fact, what we eat or drink definitely makes a large impact on our health more so in our physical fitness. What types of food and drink could make us energized without us gaining too much weight? Those that do not contain high percentage of carbohydrates, fats and sugar are definitely a safe choice. We can always check the label of the food and drink that we are buying. The nutritional value or content is usually displayed in the packaging. If being fit is really a big deal organic food and drink are suggested.  Eating a balanced diet is also recommended. It is unhealthy to control or keep ourselves away from drinking or eating food that contains fats and carbohydrate, mainly because they are our energy-givers. The secret really is to keep everything in moderation. Know how to discipline yourself.

We need not spend our hard earned money over these highly publicized diet routines or procedures. The intake of healthy food and drink can be a better alternative over the more expensive and popular diets known to people nowadays. Be healthy the natural way.