Showing posts with label Research. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Research. Show all posts

Friday, January 24, 2014

Aromatherapy Research Updates: Frankincense And Lemongrass Show Strong Anticancer Activity

Aromatherapy Research Updates: Frankincense And Lemongrass Show Strong Anticancer Activity



Research continues in a search for a cancer cure at a feverish rapidity. One of the great challenges faced by these research teams is the incredible costs associated with new technologies - - this attribute of modern medicine is in actuality leading to more investigations of the abeyant of ' popular ' and ' alternative ' therapies. One alternative system that is gaining a lot of attention in the last few years is what has been known as ' aromatherapy ' - - though the therapeutic use of essential oils has really gotten a bad name. In the West, people often take ' Glad Plug - In Air Freshener ', reasonably than the use of the tangled fugitive chemical compounds produced by plants as medicines. This perspective of essential oils being ' soft science ' and a bit ' new - agey ' is likely to diminish in the new light of their therapeutic lurking.
Research of Frankincense and Lemongrass Essential Oils
Sorting through the available research published in look at - reviewed scientific journals, one finds two particular essential oils most often associated with anticancer activity: Frankincense and Lemongrass. To clarify, Lemongrass is filtered from the grass leaves of Cymbopogon citratus; the name Frankincense actually refers to the resin of Olibanum trees father largely in Ethiopia, Somalia and India - - the essential oil is refined from the resin - - or ' devitalize ' - - of these trees. Both Lemongrass and Frankincense have a very long history of medicinal use. Frankincense has been one of the most highly of value medicinal products throughout man ' s history - - Lemongrass just happens to be very prolific, but its virtue is no less useful since of its availability.
Modern Research Proves Ancient Medicine ' s Potential
Frankincense essential oil has been noted by leading medical aromatherapists to be most effective resistant system modulating reminiscent. A review of the research on Frankincense oil is quite amazing, and lives up to this accommodation. Using the search term ' frankincense oil cancer ' on the National Institute of Health ' s database produces 34 results ( as of this writing ). Frankincense oil appears to have the ability to distinguish between healthy and cancerous cells in an organ or tissue, and lead to the death of the cancerous cells while countdown the healthy ones sheltered.
Research is focusing on the chemical components of the essential oil unique to frankincense: the Boswellic acids. These natural compounds have been thoroughly studied for their anti - inflammatory activity, with a significant body of positive results. Boswellic acids can be used to reduce pain and inflammation in arthritic joints, and has even been shown to improve the individuality and appearance of skin that may be prematurely aged due to sun overexposure. It is these alike Boswellic acids that have been shown to induce natural cell death in cancerous cells - - it is one of the features of cancer that natural cell death does not befall, and the cancerous cells then in essence propagate unabated throughout the body.
Cancer Cell Specificity
One of the challenges in treating cancer is targeting cancerous cells specifically with any medication or treatment, while initiation normal cells healthy and the works. More than one investigation using Frankincense has reached the same conclusion: that Frankincense oil " appears to distinguish " cancerous from non - cancerous cells, and suppresses the stretching of the cancerous cells only. And not only does Frankincense have this important activity, but it has been shown to reduce brio for cancers in fairly a variety of monthly system and tissues. It appears it could be a treatment for a buried number of cases and conditions.
Lemongrass Herb and Oil: Modern Research Uncovers Prepatent Anticancer Activity
In the survive two years, Indian researchers proverbial two papers summarizing their inquisition into the anticancer actions of Lemongrass. The essential oil was begin effective in causing cell death of twelve cancer cell lines typically used in like research. Lemongrass essential oil was exquisite to show " dose dependent effects against various human cancer cell goods ". The greatest competency of the oil was against colon cancer cells, with a very low concentration of 4. 2 micrograms per milliliter of solution. The essential oil was also erect effective in what is known as baby doll - model studies, where mice implanted with specific tumor cells are treated with the oil. ( Note that while the author does not warrant loathsome studies in any way, the information produced by these studies may in - fact lead to the savings of many lives ).
Into the Future: Let More Research Follow!
The research abstracts referred to in this paper are freely available through online databases. There are a great many of these abstracts that even now alternative cancer therapies, including essential oils, in a very favorable light. Considering that cancer survival rates have not changed dramatically over the last several decades despite the advances in conventional medical technology, it seems time these alternative modalities should get a closer peep from the medical establishment. If you are so inclined, take every opportunity to forward these types of treatments. Keep the pressure on, and quarters will eventually come. Please note that the information provided here is not meant as a substitute for sound medical advice, it is neatly to going on the latest research data available.

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Using Comparative Effectiveness Research To Examine And Improve Health Care Reform

Using Comparative Effectiveness Research To Examine And Improve Health Care Reform



Our understanding of the effectiveness of healthcare interventions continues to get bigger - in particular, our understanding of the impact of consistent interventions on individuals with mental ailment and substance use disorders is becoming more robust. And yet, research evidence indicates that the realities of care delivery don ' t always equal recognized clinical guidelines. In the light of state budget cuts and other financial considerations, efforts are underway to realign direct care practices and clinical guidelines as one of several means to control healthcare costs and improve overall quality of care.
For the first time, significant amounts of money are being allocated to the federal government to evaluate the effectiveness of our nation ' s healthcare. The economic stimulus bill approved by the U. S. Congress in February, 2009 provides $700 million to federal agencies to conduct or support Comparative Effectiveness Research. Congress characterizes CER as research that compares the clinical outcomes, effectiveness, and point of items, services, and procedures that are used to prevent, recognize, or treat diseases, disorders and other health conditions.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act establishes an independent CER entity, the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute. CER is being embraced by public and private healthcare stakeholders as a leading solution to rising healthcare costs, poor quality, and safety concerns.
Despite this recognition, many healthcare stakeholders remain apprehensive about the impact of CER. In detail, while the national healthcare reform bill creates a new federal CER entity, it does not authorize its findings to be used to make decisions about the coverage or reimbursement of services. Clinical guidelines brawny by financial incentives might become wild tools, curtail treatment choice, and undermine recovery for a group of clients with very multiple, co - disconsolate mental and bodily health conditions.
A recent study in a major health magazine reveals that the general public may value other considerations - for example, recommendations from family and friends - more highly than findings from CER. Compatible weird expense judgments are at odds with the underpinnings of CER; distinctly, further efforts must be undertaken to achieve consumer buy - in of the assessment of CER in their reconciliation - making process.
Healthcare advocates are calling for clear utterance that would prevent the use of CER to deny healthcare recipients needed treatments and therapies. Evidence should rape quality arbitration - making by the provider and the client. Cost is a plug in after material options most desired to the individual. CER should support individualized care and not ordinance " one - size fits - all " treatment.
As bipartisan congressional plan continues to shape how rate and quality are primary in healthcare, there are unclouded life steps that researchers and providers need to take:
- Console Congress and the federal government to more examine important issues, like as population versus individual applications of demonstrate - based medicine, hindrance in generating exhibit used by policymakers, and definitive account of indicate gaps and uncertainties. CER must consider a unfathomable pageant of flaunt that includes observational studies, disease registry data, and expert opinions strained from clinical guidelines.
- As federal agencies develop their research agenda, it ' s needful that providers concede in the development, translation, and dissemination of research findings into policy and practice. The application of research findings within involved healthcare systems requires expanded interaction between researchers and users to show a way for adaption and implementation of research results.
- Examine how we effectively spell out research into everyday public health policies and programs. Previous efforts to hurry the translation of research into practice often fail to characterize the knowledge gap between evidence - based interventions and effective delivery and adoption by varying healthcare delivery systems. We must be diligent in articulating the need to support practice - based research in kinship with dissemination of comparative research.
Any CER efforts must be publicly explainable. All stakeholders, including clients and providers, can play an active role in the entire research process from setting research priorities to disseminating research results. Greater focus is needed for identifying the best methods to build clients in translating, disseminating, and implementing evidence to effect that research is useful for policymaking.