A less active thyroid may mean more years added to your life, hints a new Dutch study.

However, the researchers emphasize that the finding, which builds on prior evidence touting the possible link, still does not prove that decreased thyroid function is the fountain of youth -- it may just be related to something else that is.

"In an earlier study, we observed that middle-aged children of long-lived siblings have lower thyroid function compared to controls from the general population," Diana van Heemst of Leiden University Medical Center, in the Netherlands, told Reuters Health in an email.

"In the current study, we sought to assess whether in the generation of the long-lived siblings low thyroid function was related to enhanced survival of the parents of the siblings as well," she said.

The researchers studied 859 siblings from 421 long-lived families. As reported in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, their average age of 93 years old far exceeded current U.S. life expectancy of about 78 years.

After rating the longevity of these siblings' parents, the team analyzed the thyroid hormones in the siblings' blood. The two sets of values appeared to be strongly linked, supporting previous findings of heritability in decreased thyroid functioning and its relationship to long life, they say.

This result held up even after accounting for critical illness, which can also affect thyroid activity.

From its location in the neck, the thyroid secretes hormones that affect metabolism. The researchers suggest that the lower activity of thyroid hormones could shift the body's energy expenditure away from growth and proliferation in favor of protective maintenance, keeping the body healthier longer. However, other factors could be associated with both thyroid function and longevity, removing credit from the thyroid.

"These results may come as (a) surprise as low thyroid function is commonly regarded as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease," said van Heemst. "The prevailing recommendation therefore is to treat elderly with low thyroid function with hormone supplementation."

But it is still too early to say whether this practice cheats the elderly of some extra years.

"These data underpin the need for a dedicated clinical trial to test whether treating (mild decreases in thyroid function) with thyroid hormone supplementation is effective in the elderly," van Heemst said.

                                                                                                                                           2010-09-06
 

If you live in the following nine issues, you must be on guard! you exceeded the toxin should take clear body Detox.

1. Constipation:

If you have more than 3 days intervals, or more than three days, you may be suffering from constipation. According to the symptoms can be divided into different, constipation and occasional constipation constipation habitual two types. Faecal coliform formation and control of defecation, the body is to secrete toxins of one of the main channel. If a virus exists in vivo effects of running, and stomach, causing large conduction disorders, cause intestinal barrier constipation. Chronic constipation, and fecal matter can not be timely discharge, can produce large amounts of toxin accumulation, these toxins to be absorbed by the intestines are consequential discomfort, halitosis, pigmentation and other symptoms that cause human organ function, resistance to degradation.

2. Obesity:

If your weight is 20% more than standard weight or BMI [weight (kg)/body surface area (m2)] is greater than 24, it belongs to obesity. Obesity is a disease of the excess, if long-term excessive eating high-fat, high-calorie food, the body grow, causing imbalance in the body, causing obesity. In addition to frail, dexterity, action asthma, heart palpitations, hot Hyperhidrosis or back pain, joint pain and other symptoms of lower limb, mostly with sugar, fat, water and other substances of metabolic and endocrine abnormalities.

3. Chloasma:

Endocrine changes, long-term oral contraceptives, liver disorders, cancer, chronic alcoholism, sunlight is Chloasma there. Everyone is expected to have her good looks, but I do not know when you face a yellow-brown or black-spotted, it sends a map or a butterfly-shaped leaf blade, the skin lost its water gloss.

4. Acne:

Acne is a hair follicles and sebaceous glands of chronic inflammatory diseases of the skin. Various bacterial toxins in the loads produced large amounts of toxic substances, with the blood circulation endanger the whole body; and when from the blocked again through the skin to extravasation, the skin becomes rough and acne. In addition, the trace element deficiencies, stress, high-fat or high-carbohydrate diet are the cause of acne.

5.Bad breath:

  Bad breath is the mouth smell dirty after a symptom, a lung, spleen, stomach or Shiji no heat accumulation due to long-term deposition of these things could go in the body becomes a toxin. Belly-spicy food or overeating, fatigue, excessive heat, suffering from a sense of stagnation, or some oral diseases, such as oral ulceration, tooth decay and digestive diseases can cause bad breath is fresh.

6.Pruritus:

The skin is the body's largest organ toxin on the skin to sweat and sebaceous glands, through sweating from other organ cannot be solved by toxins. External stimuli, life is not law, mental tension, and endocrine disorders, such as the skin of this function will throw an itch weakened.

7.Duodenal ulcer:

Anxiety-depression and anger, the stagnation of the drugs, diet, hunger belly, smoking and drinking too much of the toxicity associated with alien can be caused by a duodenal ulcer.

8.Irritable bowel syndrome:

Means to stimulate intestinal on excessive reactions or distortions occur, causing blood flow, Detox does not open, a variety of toxin retention in the body. The main feature is the abdominal discomfort or abdominal pain, constipation, diarrhea, abdominal distention.

9.Eczema:

Much is made of digestive diseases, gastrointestinal disorders, nervous, or in the context of a variety of physical, chemical substances stimulate the skin disease inflammatory reactions, it is the metabolic process of too much waste can not be timely discharge in vivo.

                                                                                                                                                             2010-09-05
 

All that glitters is not gold - as everyone who gets a rash from cheap jewelry knows - and now German scientists have proven that there is such a thing as being allergic to costume jewelry.

All modern-day "solid gold" jewelry is in fact an alloy of gold mixed with baser metals such as copper and nickel. The "carat" designation indicates the amount of gold. The higher the carat number, the more gold and less base metal there is in the piece of jewelry - and the higher the price.

In the past, it was generally assumed that the negligible amounts of base metals in "solid gold" jewelry could not possibly result in an allergic skin reaction. The new findings show that you can indeed be allergic to cheap jewelry.

For many people, wearing a pair of alloy earrings can produce a painful red swelling and blisters. Coins, belt buckles, and even mobile phones may cause an unpleasant allergic reaction when they rub against the skin.

The reason is that they all contain nickel, the most common cause of skin-contact allergies in the industrialized world. But few people realize that nickel is commonly used to make "gold" jewelry.

The researchers, led by Dr Matthias Goebeler from the University of Giessen in Germany, have shown that nickel binds to a particular immune-system protein normally involved in detecting harmful invaders. In susceptible people, this results in the body recognizing nickel as an infectious agent and triggering inflammation.

As the immune system goes into overdrive, it produces the classic symptoms of burning, itching, redness, swelling and blisters.

The scientists studied the nickel-immune response in genetically engineered mice. Only animals capable of producing the human protein TLR4 (toll-like receptor 4), developed "contact hypersensitivity" (CHS) when exposed to nickel.

Human TLR4 acts like a "switch" that triggers a cascade of biochemical reactions when certain substances bind to it. The molecular signals it gives off result in the increased blood flow, leaky tissue, and influx of immune-system cells that give rise to inflammation.

Although the reaction is due to the body defending itself, it often has undesirable side effects.

The scientists outline their findings in the journal Nature Immunology. Drugs that block specific TLR4 binding sites could provide a way of treating nickel allergy, the researchers suggest.

"Our data implicate site-specific human TLR4 inhibition as a potential strategy for therapeutic intervention in CHS that would not affect vital immune responses," the scientists write.

In Europe alone, an estimated 65 million people are sensitized to nickel and develop contact dermatitis when atoms of the metal touch their skin.

                                                                                                                                                             2010-09-05