News and Views from kSero
News "Shorts"	May 16, 2008
Popular Asthma Drug Linked to Suicide We reported on this in last month's issue, but here is another reminder if you or someone you know suffers from asthma or allergies. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that they will be conducting an investigation examining a link between suicide and Singulair. This is serious. Read on to learn more: http://view.custombusinessemail.com/view_email.aspx?j=fe9010767d60077c70&m=fef0117773600d&ls=fe0016727261057d73107277 Botox Bad for the Brain? A recent study has revealed that Botox may be dangerous when injected into the face by migrating into the brain. This alarming study comes just weeks after the FDA announced it is going to study the drug to see how safe it really is after it was reported that some children developed botulism after they were injected with Botox that was being used to treat muscle spasms due to cerebral palsy. Botulism can cause the sufferer to become paralyzed and can also be lethal. http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,23553313-23272,00.html Green Tea Beats OSA-related Cognitive Problems Chemicals found in green tea may be able to stave off the cognitive deficits that occur with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), according to a new study published in the second issue for May of the American Thoracic Society's American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. Researchers examined the effects green tea polyphenols (GTP), administered through drinking water, on rats who were intermittently deprived of oxygen during 12-hour "night" cycles, mimicking the intermittent hypoxia (IH) that humans with OSA experience. People with OSA have been reported to have increased markers of oxidative stress and exhibit architectural changes in their brain tissue in areas involved in learning and memory. "OSA has been increasingly recognized as a serious and frequent health condition with potential long-term morbidities that include learning and psychological disabilities," wrote David Gozal, M.D., professor and director of Kosair Children's Hospital Research Institute at the University of Louisville, lead author of the article. GTPs are known to possess anti-oxidant properties, acting as a free radical scavengers, and research has shown that the compounds may reduce the risk of a variety of different diseases. Mindfulness Meditation Here is a simple meditation you can do that will help keep you focused and help cut down on a tendency toward multi-tasking. The beauty of it is that you can do it inconspicuously anywhere - during a meeting, in the grocery line, or in a waiting room, for example. Find an object within your line of vision to fix your eyes upon. Take several deep breaths as you glue your eyes to the object. Let the object capture your interest, as though it were the only object around you. Try not to judge what you are seeing, or have any thoughts abouit it at all. See if you can have the experience of "just seeing." When thoughts arise, note them and return your focus to the object. You can practice this "Seeing Meditation" with concrete objects that have a definite size and shape and which are usually stationary; natural objects such as clouds, grass and trees; vastnesss - any large uniform surface such as a wall or even a finely patterned rug; and moving objects - such as a crowd of people, cars on a busy street, etc. The key is not to follow individual shapes with your eyes. Instead, fix your eyes on a point in space and let the movement pass in front of you.