by Toni Baker
Black adolescents with high normal blood pressure who practice transcendental meditation improve the ability of their blood vessels to relax and may reduce their risk of becoming adults with cardiovascular disease, researchers say.
After eight months of meditation, these adolescents experienced a 21 percent increase in the ability of their blood vessels to dilate compared to a 4 percent decrease experienced by their non-meditating peers, says Dr. Vernon A. Barnes, physiologist at the Medical College of Georgia’s Georgia Prevention Institute and lead investigator on the study.
“Our blood vessels are not rigid pipes,” says Dr. Barnes. “They need to dilate and constrict, according to the needs of the body. If this improvement in the ability to dilate can be replicated in other at-risk groups and cardiovascular disease patients, this could have important implications for inclusion of meditation programs to prevent and treat cardiovascular disease and its clinical consequences.
“We know this type of change is achievable with lipid lowering drugs, but it’s remarkable that a meditation program can produce such a change,” the researcher says.
In the April 2004 issue of the American Journal of Hypertension, Dr. Barnes and his colleagues reported that 15 minutes of twice-daily transcendental meditation steadily lowered the blood pressure of 156 black, inner-city adolescents and their pressures tended to stay lower.
This new study, being presented during the 63rd Annual Scientific Conference of the American Psychosomatic Society held March 2-5 in Vancouver, focused on 111 of those adolescents, 57 who meditated and 54 controls.
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MCG researchers found among the meditators an increased ability of the blood vessel lining, called the endothelium, to relax. “Dysfunction in the ability of the endothelium to dilate is an early event in heart disease, a process that starts at a young age,” says Dr. Barnes.
At four months and again at eight months, researchers used echocardiography to measure the diameter of the right brachial artery, the main artery that feeds the arm, before and after a blood pressure cuff was inflated for two minutes. They found essentially no difference in the ability of that vessel to relax after stress in either group at four months. But by eight months, EDAD or endothelial-dependent arterial dilation, was significantly improved in the meditators, says Dr. Barnes, noting that as with all lifestyle changes, the full benefits of meditating may take a while.
“Change can’t be expected overnight,” he says. “Meditation and other positive lifestyle habits such as exercising and eating right have to become part of your life, like brushing your teeth.” Long-term studies are needed to determine the long-term impact of meditation on the risk of heart disease, he says.
Doctors already know that smoking, high blood pressure and cholesterol, and cardiovascular disease are all associated with decreased EDAD. “With the high prevalence of heart disease we have in our country today, this is something that should be considered,” he says of meditation, which is inexpensive and has no side effects.
The obesity epidemic in the United States, he says, likely is the primary contributor to the increasing blood pressure rates in children. But obesity appears to be part of an unhealthy cycle where the stresses of everyday life – such as poverty and not feeling safe at home – contribute to bad habits such as overeating and/or eating high-fat comfort foods and not exercising. Stress also may impair sleep, preventing the body – and blood pressure – from resting and recovering.
It appears that meditating – allowing the mind to settle to minimal activity for 15 minutes twice daily – may help the meditator and his blood vessels relax in the hectic world around him.
Dr. Frank Treiber, director of MCG’s Georgia Prevention Institute, and Dr. Surender Malhotra, cardiology fellow at MCG, are co-authors on the study which is highlighted as one of 10 abstract submissions to the conference viewed as having the highest potential to change clinical practice from the perspective of screening, diagnosis or treatment.
The research was funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.
6/20/07
military spams
Military Psychiatric-Care Overhaul Urged
By Ann Scott Tyson and Christopher Lee
Washington Post Staff Writers
Top officials in the Bush administration and on Capitol Hill said yesterday that the federal government must move quickly to revamp the nation's system for identifying and caring for military personnel with the invisible wounds of mental illness.
Acting Army Secretary Pete Geren visited Walter Reed Army Medical Center yesterday and discussed mental-health issues, including treatment for patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on Ward 53, according to an Army spokesman.
"We have realized there are shortfalls, and we've been going about fixing it," said Col. Dan Baggio, noting that the Army has conducted four mental-health surveys of soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Geren, whose Senate confirmation hearing is scheduled for today, regularly visits Walter Reed. The previous Army secretary, Francis J. Harvey, resigned after Washington Post articles published in February revealed poor living conditions and bureaucratic obstacles for wounded soldiers at Walter Reed. Over the past two days, The Post has published stories detailing the bureaucratic and health difficulties of troops returning home with PTSD.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates "is very concerned that we're doing everything possible for the wounded warriors as they return, not just the physical wounds but the psychological trauma," said Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman.
The Army is hiring 200 more psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers to help soldiers with mental-health problems, and next month it will launch an educational program on stress for all soldiers and commanders, said Maj. Gen. Gale S. Pollock, the acting surgeon general of the Army.
The Army is also expanding a pilot program at Fort Bragg to offer behavioral-health treatment at primary-care facilities to reduce the stigma for soldiers seeking care, Pollock said.
"The tragic cases of combat stress discussed in the Washington Post June 17-18 are powerful and concerning to the U.S. Army," Pollock said in a statement. She emphasized that the Army is continuing to address the problems of soldiers with PTSD, including placing hundreds of mental-health specialists on the battlefield in Iraq and Afghanistan to counsel soldiers with combat stress.
Pollock cited efforts such as post-deployment health assessments, begun in 1998. Based on a 2004 study by Walter Reed researchers, the Army added a second screening for soldiers a few months after their return to catch problems that are not quickly apparent, such as PTSD.
Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson on Sunday telephoned former Army Spec. Jeans Cruz of New York, who was profiled in the Post series.
Cruz, who helped capture Saddam Hussein, has been plagued by anxiety and nightmarish images of dead Iraqi children since returning home. Yet VA has denied his claim for compensation, ruling that his psychological problems existed before he joined the Army and that he had not proved that he saw combat.
"The secretary did call on Sunday, and there is an immediate review of that case going on," said Lisette Mondello, a VA spokeswoman.
According to Cruz, VA officials told him that a records search yesterday had confirmed that his Army Commendation Medal With Valor -- awarded for his help in catching the Iraqi leader -- had been left off his records. Cruz said he was told that his application for disability compensation would be reopened and expedited.
VA officials said they are aware of the growing PTSD problem. Last week, for instance, Nicholson directed the department's 153 medical centers to extend their hours to ensure that veterans can reach VA's more than 9,000 mental-health professionals when they need them.
This month, William F. Feeley, VA's deputy undersecretary for health, directed top department officials to implement new mental-health initiatives by Aug. 1, including a requirement that all veterans asking for mental-health or substance-abuse care be evaluated within 24 hours.
"The VA takes its role as the leader in mental health in this country very seriously," Mondello said.
Lawmakers in Congress also noted the PTSD crisis.
"Certainly you need a whole new attitude from the top leadership on mental health," said Rep. Bob Filner (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Military leaders "have got to say, 'It's okay to admit this and get treated for it. It's not going to affect your promotions.' "
Sen. Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii), chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, said the committee is scheduled to consider legislation next week that would extend automatic health-care coverage for combat veterans to five years, up from two, so they can receive treatment for mental illnesses that can take years to surface.
A congressionally mandated Pentagon mental-health task force issued a report with 90 recommendations on Friday, and Rep. John M. McHugh (R-N.Y.), who was involved in establishing the panel, said he is hopeful that the Pentagon "will use the task force findings to straighten this ship up and do a better job."
Rep. Susan A. Davis (D-Calif.), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, said she is encouraged that the Pentagon report called for overhauling the system of care for mentally wounded service members. "They seem to take the issue for what it is, which is a need to transform the way we respond," said Davis, who has introduced legislation to create two Defense Department centers dedicated to understanding and treating military mental health.
By Ann Scott Tyson and Christopher Lee
Washington Post Staff Writers
Top officials in the Bush administration and on Capitol Hill said yesterday that the federal government must move quickly to revamp the nation's system for identifying and caring for military personnel with the invisible wounds of mental illness.
Acting Army Secretary Pete Geren visited Walter Reed Army Medical Center yesterday and discussed mental-health issues, including treatment for patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on Ward 53, according to an Army spokesman.
"We have realized there are shortfalls, and we've been going about fixing it," said Col. Dan Baggio, noting that the Army has conducted four mental-health surveys of soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Geren, whose Senate confirmation hearing is scheduled for today, regularly visits Walter Reed. The previous Army secretary, Francis J. Harvey, resigned after Washington Post articles published in February revealed poor living conditions and bureaucratic obstacles for wounded soldiers at Walter Reed. Over the past two days, The Post has published stories detailing the bureaucratic and health difficulties of troops returning home with PTSD.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates "is very concerned that we're doing everything possible for the wounded warriors as they return, not just the physical wounds but the psychological trauma," said Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman.
The Army is hiring 200 more psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers to help soldiers with mental-health problems, and next month it will launch an educational program on stress for all soldiers and commanders, said Maj. Gen. Gale S. Pollock, the acting surgeon general of the Army.
The Army is also expanding a pilot program at Fort Bragg to offer behavioral-health treatment at primary-care facilities to reduce the stigma for soldiers seeking care, Pollock said.
"The tragic cases of combat stress discussed in the Washington Post June 17-18 are powerful and concerning to the U.S. Army," Pollock said in a statement. She emphasized that the Army is continuing to address the problems of soldiers with PTSD, including placing hundreds of mental-health specialists on the battlefield in Iraq and Afghanistan to counsel soldiers with combat stress.
Pollock cited efforts such as post-deployment health assessments, begun in 1998. Based on a 2004 study by Walter Reed researchers, the Army added a second screening for soldiers a few months after their return to catch problems that are not quickly apparent, such as PTSD.
Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson on Sunday telephoned former Army Spec. Jeans Cruz of New York, who was profiled in the Post series.
Cruz, who helped capture Saddam Hussein, has been plagued by anxiety and nightmarish images of dead Iraqi children since returning home. Yet VA has denied his claim for compensation, ruling that his psychological problems existed before he joined the Army and that he had not proved that he saw combat.
"The secretary did call on Sunday, and there is an immediate review of that case going on," said Lisette Mondello, a VA spokeswoman.
According to Cruz, VA officials told him that a records search yesterday had confirmed that his Army Commendation Medal With Valor -- awarded for his help in catching the Iraqi leader -- had been left off his records. Cruz said he was told that his application for disability compensation would be reopened and expedited.
VA officials said they are aware of the growing PTSD problem. Last week, for instance, Nicholson directed the department's 153 medical centers to extend their hours to ensure that veterans can reach VA's more than 9,000 mental-health professionals when they need them.
This month, William F. Feeley, VA's deputy undersecretary for health, directed top department officials to implement new mental-health initiatives by Aug. 1, including a requirement that all veterans asking for mental-health or substance-abuse care be evaluated within 24 hours.
"The VA takes its role as the leader in mental health in this country very seriously," Mondello said.
Lawmakers in Congress also noted the PTSD crisis.
"Certainly you need a whole new attitude from the top leadership on mental health," said Rep. Bob Filner (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Military leaders "have got to say, 'It's okay to admit this and get treated for it. It's not going to affect your promotions.' "
Sen. Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii), chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, said the committee is scheduled to consider legislation next week that would extend automatic health-care coverage for combat veterans to five years, up from two, so they can receive treatment for mental illnesses that can take years to surface.
A congressionally mandated Pentagon mental-health task force issued a report with 90 recommendations on Friday, and Rep. John M. McHugh (R-N.Y.), who was involved in establishing the panel, said he is hopeful that the Pentagon "will use the task force findings to straighten this ship up and do a better job."
Rep. Susan A. Davis (D-Calif.), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, said she is encouraged that the Pentagon report called for overhauling the system of care for mentally wounded service members. "They seem to take the issue for what it is, which is a need to transform the way we respond," said Davis, who has introduced legislation to create two Defense Department centers dedicated to understanding and treating military mental health.
6/2/07
The Peaceful Nations
Surprise: United States & Israel among least peaceful nations!
The United States is among the least peaceful nations in the world, ranking 96th between Yemen and Iran, according to an index of 121 countries।
According to the Global Peace Index, created by the Economist Intelligence Unit, Norway is the most peaceful nation and Iraq is the least, just after Israel and Sudan। The survey places Israel at the bottom end of the scale - 119th.
Here is a list of all Arab countries and few others (most at peace ranked first):
1) Norway
,22) Oman,25) Australia,30) Qatar,33) Italy,34) France,38) United Arab Emirates,39) Tunisia,46) Kuwait,48) Morocco,49) United Kingdom,58) Libya,60) China,62) Bahrain,63) Jordan,73) Egypt,77) Syria,90) Saudi Arabia,92) Turkey,95) Yemen,96) United States of America,97) Iran,107) Algeria,114) Lebanon,119) Israel,120) Sudan,121) Iraq,
Notice that ALL Arab counties (but Iraq and Sudan) ranked better than Israel. Also only Algeria and Lebanon beside Sudan and Iraq, ranks worse than the United States… And they are still SEARCHING for a partner for peace!
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