How your cough can impact on your quality of life
The characteristic symptoms of COPD include a chronic and progressive cough and sputum production that can be variable from day to day; it may start off intermittently but towards the end will be frequent throughout the day.
The cough itself is an important defence mechanism that helps to clear foreign bodies and excess mucus from the lungs to allow better breathing. However a chronic cough has been found to be associated with detrimental psychological and physical effects on the patient's life.
Depression, muscle strain and fatigue, sleep deprivation, incontinence and vomiting are all directly associated with coughing. Other related symptoms are rib fractures, fatigue, embarrassment, unconsciousness, difficult conversations on the phone, hoarse sound, unable to stand close to the their relatives due to their cough, and an inability to work in school or elsewhere.
In this new study it has been shown that a lower cough-specific quality of life is associated with a lessened ability to carry out daily activities due to its negative effect on fatigue and lower abdominal muscle endurance, and higher depression levels are also usually observed in patients with COPD.
When coughing the contraction of abdominal muscles is required. However with a chronic cough this can lead to a decline in the endurance of these muscles due to repeated overuse and resulting in them working ineffectively and not being able to help aid the cough or mucus clearance.
In a study of COPD patients with chronic coughs 33% were identified as anxious while 16% experienced depression and approximately 48% of all coughers had moderate or high trait anxiety. Also in general patients were at a higher risk of suffering from phobic anxiety, obsessional tendencies and depression showing that this group of individuals suffered from an emotional and psychological impact on their lives from their chronic cough.
53% of the group attended a speciality centre to help treat their chronic cough and depressive symptoms and there was a statistical improvement in both cough severity and depression scores after three months. This reinforces the fact that quality of life and chronic cough are linked but also that there is treatment to help improve both.
If cough is an important part of COPD and contributes to deterioration in quality of life, the symptom should be controlled and see your doctor who can help to ease your cough which in turn will hopefully improve your quality of life whether physically, psychologically or both.
Ensuring that you follow your doctor's advice regarding medications and oxygen therapy regime, exercising and eating correctly will help to ensure that you are easing the COPD symptoms as much as possible and therefore also the cough. If you find you are coughing more and gasping for breath maybe your medical oxygen requirements need altering; whether it be an increased flow rate or different machinery to fit your lifestyle. Ask your doctor straight away as anything that you can do to ease the coughing and breathlessness will not only instantly improve your medical condition but will indirectly improve your general quality of life.
References: www.dovepress.com
Stem cells and nanoparticles could be the future treatment for lung disease
Malaysian scientists are joining forces with Harvard University experts to help in seeking a safe, more effective way of tackling lung problems including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the progressive, irreversible obstruction of airways causing almost 1 in 10 deaths today and to revolutionize the treatment of lung diseases through the delivery of 'nanomedicine.'
Treatment of COPD and lung cancer commonly involves chemotherapeutics and corticosteroids which are misted into a fine spray and inhaled, enabling direct delivery to the lungs and a quick and effective medicinal effect. However, because the particles produced by today's inhalers are large, most of the medicine is deposited in the upper respiratory tract and does not reach down to lower parts of the airways and lungs.
The Harvard team is working on "smart" nanoparticles, which are tiny particles that deliver the appropriate levels of a medication to the deepest, tiniest sacs of the lung and ensures an even distribution, through the use of magnetic fields.
Malaysia's role is to help ensure the safety and improve the effectiveness of nanomedicine and in assessing how nanomedicine particles behave in the body, what attaches to them to form a coating, where the drug accumulates and how it interacts with different cells.
Inhaled nanomedicine holds the promise of helping doctors prevent and treat such problems in future, reaching the target area more swiftly than if administered orally or even intravenously. This is particularly true for COPD and lung cancer, says Dr. Brain. “Experiments have demonstrated that a drug dose administered directly to the respiratory tract achieves much higher local drug concentrations at the target site.”
"Nanotechnology is making a significant impact on health care by delivering improvements in disease diagnosis and monitoring, as well as enabling new approaches to regenerative medicine and drug delivery," says Prof. Zakri Abdul Hamid, Science Advisor to the Prime Minister of Malaysia.
Lung regeneration is another key focal point as scientists have found that regardless of their stage in life, lung cells are able to regenerate themselves in order to repair missing or damaged tissue. The team behind the discovery hopes that they will one day be able to replicate this natural behavior in order to help repair tissue damage in patients with conditions such as COPD.
There are two main types of lung cells: type 1 cells, where oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged during breathing and type 2, which secrete surfactants, a type of lubricant essential to the breathing process. Type 2 cells have been previously observed to regenerate into type 1 cells in the presence of cell damage, but a team of scientists from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Duke University have shown that the opposite also occurs.
"We saw new cells growing back into these new areas of the lung. It's as if the lung knows it has to grow back and can call into action some type 1 cells to help in that process," explained cardiologist Rajan Jain and the observation suggests that there is much more flexibility in the pulmonary system than previously thought.
Understanding how and why these mature cells are regenerating into different types of lung tissue may be the key to treating certain types of lung damage caused by conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Although patients may somewhat control the condition, there is currently no cure. The ability to regrow damaged lung tissue on demand, then, could completely change treatment options and possibly offer a cure for COPD patients.
References: www.news-medical.net and www.medicaldaily
You soon could wear a blood oxygen sensor like a plaster
For many patients such as those with COPD it is important for your health to be able to constantly monitor your blood oxygen levels in order to avoid exacerbations and worsening health and breathing problems. There are many pulse oximeter devices already out there but many are cumbersome or difficult to use. These rely on LEDs that shoot infrared light and red light through a part of the body with a sensor waiting on the other side to receive the light that remains and detects how much has passed through. Oxygen-rich blood will absorb much more infrared light and low-oxygen blood will absorb more of the red light.
Scientists at the University of California have a developed a much more simplified, easy to use and light weight device by developing a thin film-like sensor that can be worn around the finger much like a plaster. Instead of using infrared and red light this new device uses red and green light. These red and green LEDS are organically made and integrated onto a flexible piece of plastic.
Due to the organic components this electronic device is flexible and can easily conform to the body. It also means that the parts are cheaper to make, meaning that they can be thrown away after each use rather than having to disinfect the device each time. It is lightweight, more inconspicuous, cheap and disposable. The researchers tested the prototype alongside conventional pulse oximeters and found the readings to be equally as accurate.
Another device which is only the size of a post-it note is the Moxy-monitor, which has been designed to allow the user to monitor their body performance during workouts. It is a small black box worn against the skin that tracks blood oxygen levels in your muscles and it can display the data along with other fitness data in real time in third party devices and apps. It uses LEDS and light detectors to transmit near-infrared light though the skin and into the muscle tissue and back out again and extracts oxygen level readings from the results.
Although the device is geared more towards athletes, it is also beneficial for anyone with a medical condition such as COPD who want to exercise to help improve their condition but who need to monitor their oxygen levels closely to make sure they do not over do it and end up collapsing out of breath. The developers say that it is durable, even for rugby players and can even be used underwater. Its charge lasts for 3 hours and it transmits its data via a radio antenna or data can be retrieved via a USB port if the device has been out of signal or underwater.
There are other devices that have been developed such as a smart sock that monitors a baby's vital signs and iPhone compatible oximeters. The future however is set to explode under the term 'wearable.' Much more than smart watches and fitness bands, the market is set to be filled with garments laden with sensors sewn into them which can track and monitor our every move.
These garments will at first be aimed at runners and sports professionals who want to track their performance, but will quickly spread to help anyone who wants to keep tabs on their health. Sensors sewn into clothing will scan for heart conditions, Smart socks will help those recovering from injury to restore their balance and alert family members when an elderly relative suffers a fall. The clothing manufacturers and fashion world are keen to weave these devices into their clothes so that users can be fashion conscious and advertise sponsors and brands as they move around .
Looking further ahead 'wearables' will become medical devices more than fitness trackers. When the data from them is accurate enough to be used to monitor someone's heart over a period of time then their doctor could tell when the data is indicating a heart condition.
People in the industry believe that this will be a vast market and incredibly popular and that it will make such sensors cheap enough to sew into a whole range of clothes, and for them to be durable enough to be washed. They also forecast that these sensors could also be offered to users outside of retail such as with health insurance, gym membership and with diet plans.
References: http://www.gizmag.com and http://www.ibtimes.co.uk
Computers could help treat us 24/7
Normally your GP may see you for a few minutes a few times a year and take a handful of test results. What if a computer system was constantly monitoring you 24/7 and could compare your results with readings from thousands of other patients worldwide and use the knowledge from clinical guidelines and studies to treat you?
In 2016 this idea is closer to becoming a reality. A machine in California has been designed by Sentrian, an early-stage machine learning and biosensor analytics company for remote patient management to be able to do this and is currently being trialed on patients. “We are trying to build a system that will enable us to listen to the lives and bodies of patients all the time, so we can make better, earlier and more personalised decisions."
Currently one or two wireless 'biosensors' can collect simple data such as body temperature and heart rate as well as more complex information like oxygen saturation and potassium levels. If a patient could constantly wear several sensors at a time then the amount of data produced would be enormous.
Collecting all of this data and using learning algorithms to detect subtle patterns on chronic conditions such as heart disease and COPD can allow the machine to be able to detect early warning signs of an exacerbation or an attack and notify the doctor and patient when needed to warn them and allow more accurate treatment.
Many patients with COPD and similar chronic conditions will have symptoms a few days before an attack occurs but not feel ill until nearer the time. The computer could detect early signs of an upcoming attack and warn the doctor and patient so that medications could be altered, oxygen levels adjusted or warn the patient to eat or sleep more etc. It is currently being tested in the US and UK and early evidence has shown that the computer can spot early signs of a congestive heart failure exacerbations up to 10 days in advance. Early research is showing that even small things like heart rate change, sleep duration and body temperature may be indicators of an impending crisis and the system can even predict when someone may suffer a fall well in advance.
However the question being discussed is whether we should hand over all decision making to a computer when it comes to health-care? The profession itself is non-trusting of the results and of a computer being in control but Sentrian have suggested having joint control with humans. That doctors are notified of results and warning indicators and can use their judgment accordingly. The computer system would also be continually learning to know exactly which rules and interventions work best for which patients, and if a false alarm occurs the doctor can report this and the more feedback the system gets, the more it can learn and adapt.
Normally the human brain can remember the last 30 patients but the computer would be able to remember more than 30,000. Machine learning is also a lot faster than human learning. With the medical advances and research of the last 100 years medical knowledge has grown beyond belief and is becoming more difficult for the human brain to be able to intake and even during the course of a GP's life medicine is constantly progressing and it is difficult for a GP to keep up-to-date. On average it can now take 17 years for new evidence-based findings to find their way to the GP and be clinically used.
What if a doctor was able to bring up every single case study and worldwide guidelines on a particular disorder to the forefront of their minds and instantaneously have all the possible data they need? The computer system can do this and therefore will you not be treating the patient with the most up-to-date knowledge possible? It could read all textbooks, medical databases of journals and literature, thousands of patients records and be subject to 1000's of hours of teaching sessions from clinicians. Things that can take scientists 30 years to uncover may take the computer only a month, especially when it comes to research.
It could assist your GP by analyzing a patient's medical record in conjunction with all of it's acquired knowledge and suggest potential treatment recommendations. It could also match patients to clinical trials which usually takes hours of a human's time to trawl through patient's notes to see if they match the criteria for a trial and eliminates human error.
In theory by wearing a few sensors a computer system can monitor and record your readings, recognize subtle patterns and differences in your results, use data collected from around the world and if there are indicators for different treatments, a warning sign of an attack or deterioration of your condition then it can alert your doctor and you. It may just require a slight alteration in your medication dosage or oxygen saturation levels or ask that you eat, exercise or sleep more; things that the patient can do themselves or it may require intervention from the GP or hospital.
“Sentrian's system is currently undergoing several randomised controlled trials, which means that the data of thousands of patients will be added to the platform. While we wait on clinical evidence, it is just a matter of time before this sort of artificial intelligence becomes a regular occurrence in the doctor's office.”
References: http://www.wired.co.uk
Stopping smoking will not only help your lungs, but also your brain!
For COPD patients and others that use supplemental oxygen to help them to breathe, quitting smoking is hugely important to stop further lung damage, help slow the disease down and reduces the danger of smoking near oxygen cylinders. 2016 is going to be the year to stop smoking as part of a new campaign to try and combat lung disease. However if you stop smoking it is not only your lungs that you will help but your brain will benefit too.
It's never too late to quit, even if you're in your 70's, there is still a chance for a noticeable recovery. For light smokers the damage can be reversed in a few weeks and for heavier long-term smokers it may take anywhere up to 25years for full recovery but every little helps.
The cerebral cortex, which is responsible for memory, attention, awareness and language naturally thins with age but this process is hugely accelerated by smoking. Scientists at the University of Edinburgh found that even though smoking thins the outer layer of the brain and increases the risk of memory problems and dementia, it is reversible. The damage that cigarettes cause to the brain can start reversing as soon as you give up the habit. Even when quitting later in life there is still a chance of reversing the harmful damage done to your brain.
In the study the thickness of the cerebral cortex was measured and important thinking skills were tested on smokers, non-smokers and ex-smokers. Those who had never smoked tended to have a thicker cortex than the smokers but ex-smokers also had a thicker cortex than those who had continued with the habit. Also more importantly those who had kicked the habit some time ago seemed to have a thicker cortex than more recent quitters, showing that there had been continuous recovery.
Professor James Goodwin from AgeUK talks about how we all know that smoking is bad for our heart and lungs but it is also important that we know it is also bad for our brain. Avoiding smoking offers the best protection against the risk of brain decline, dementia and other cognitive disease but this study gives smokers a new hope that by quitting smoking even later in life can still allow our bodies to start to heal itself.
“With research suggesting that older people’s fear of developing dementia outweighs that of cancer, it is important we inform people about the simple steps they can take to safeguard against this horrible and distressing disease.”
COPD patients already have many health issues related to their condition but the fear of cancer and dementia adding to them is concerning for patients. Knowing that by quitting smoking you can help to reverse damage to your brain, on top of preventing further damage to your heart and lungs, reduce the risk of combustion with oxygen cylinders and concentrators and halting progression of the respiratory disease you're suffering from is a huge incentive for people to encourage them to give up smoking.
References: http://www.dailymail.co.uk
E-CIGS: Worth it?!
Smoking is the main factor in developing COPD and many patients struggle with giving up smoking. E-cigarettes could be the way to help COPD give up and to improve their lung function and slow down the progression of their disease. Using oxygen to help improve your breathing is highly beneficial in coping with the disease but if you are still smoking then it is counter-acting the good work of the oxygen and other medications prescribed for you. However what are the facts and are they actually safe?
Electronic cigarettes are battery-powered devices filled with liquid nicotine that is dissolved in a solution of water and propylene glycol. They can look very similar to ordinary cigarettes or other designs are less conspicuous. Often termed as 'vaping' you take a puff, the battery heats up the nicotine which creates a vapour than you then inhale, resulting in a sensation similar to smoking but without the smoke.
You can smoke them indoors, they are closer to a nicorette inhaler than tobacco and there are many studies supporting the opinion that they do alleviate the desire to smoke. For those people that use them in conjunction with tobacco in order to cut down on their tobacco intake, they found that they managed to reduce their tobacco intake and not suffer from any withdrawal symptoms. They have worked for people who constantly fail at ceasing smoking via other conventional methods. An online survey revealed that 96% said that E-Cigarettes helped them to quit smoking, 92% said that it made them smoke less and the majority stated that they helped to fight cravings, cope with withdrawal symptoms and avoid relapsing.
However many feel that they are not regulated enough and lack essential health warnings, proper labeling and instructions and disposal methods. Some have been found to leak which may expose you to a toxic exposure of nicotine.
A study found that e-cigarettes caused accused pulmonary effects after smoking it for 5 mins. Healthy non-smokers were reported to suffer airway flow resistance and oxidative stress. The authors however also suggested that if they were only being used as a bridge to stop smoking then the benefits would outweigh the risks.
The FDA states that "E-cigarettes may contain ingredients that are known to be toxic to humans, and may contain other ingredients that may not be safe." They also suggest that because e-cigarette manufacturers are not required to submit clinical study data to them, the public has no way of knowing "whether e-cigarettes are safe for their intended use, what types or concentrations of potentially harmful chemicals are found in these products, or how much nicotine they are inhaling when they use these products." The FDA is also concerned that the marketing efforts of e-cigarettes may increase addiction to nicotine, especially in young people, encouraging them to experiment with real tobacco products.
It is important to stop smoking as a COPD patient, not only for your health but for your safety due to the use of supplemental oxygen and the dangers of smoking around oxygen tanks. However how you choose to quit is a matter of personal choice and everyone is different and will respond differently to the various methods that are available from nicotine gum/patches, quit smoking medications, support groups and educational materials as well as E-cigarettes. You have to decide what is safe and easiest for you and ask your doctor for help, advice and support.
References: www.jsonline.com and http://copd.about.com and www.dailymail.co.uk
Image Credit to www.vaping360.com
COPD muscle weakness and the importance of oxygen
It has recently become apparent that patients with COPD commonly suffer skeletal muscle dysfunction, which may be the main cause in the reduction in exercise tolerance.
COPD patients tend to reduce their levels of physical activity as it causes unpleasant effects and results in a vicious cycle where a reduction in physical fitness leads to further impairment of muscle function
Skeletal muscle dysfunction is very common in patients with COPD, and may play an important role in limiting exercise performance. Muscle strength and endurance are both decreased and the muscle is more easily fatigued. Muscle atrophy is largely responsible for the reduction in muscle strength but deconditioning is of major importance as well as nutritional depletion, and steroid use. COPD may also produce a systemic inflammatory response that may adversely affect skeletal muscle function.
Muscle strength is seen to be decreased in patients with COPD and particularly in the lower limbs. An important factor is muscle wastage; either through medical reasons or a lack of exercise due to breathlessness. Muscle endurance and the length of time the muscles can be used also decreases significantly. In biopsies the ratio of different muscle fiber types are altered in COPD patients and type IIa convert to type IIb, resulting in reduced muscle endurance, increased fatigue and a reduction in muscle mass. The number of capillaries within the muscle is also significantly lower in COPD patients as well as the number of mitochondria. Enzymes that are required for metabolism within the muscles are also decreased in COPD patients. This all results in less oxygen reaching the muscle cells and metabolism and function of the cells being adversely affected.
Medications such as steroids which are used to treat exacerbations can also cause muscle wastage. Short-course doses are beneficial to the patient but long-term multiple short-courses requires further study.
Malnutrition is also common with COPD where 35% are less than 90% of their ideal body weight. This results in a reduction in muscle mass and metabolic functions are disrupted. Nutritional supplements however are not a substitute for eating a balanced, healthy and high in calories food plan. Patients can tend to either put on weight from a lack of mobility or lose weight from the increased energy required to breath and a reduction in appetite due to the difficulty of eating and breathing with breathlessness and the need for constant oxygen supplementation.
Deconditioning from disuse is believed to be the major contributing factor in the skeletal muscle dysfunction observed in patients with COPD. When healthy individuals undergo a training program to increase fitness levels physiological and morphological changes are seen and results in muscle larger in mass with increased oxidative capacity and more efficient in its ability. From previous studies it was thought that COPD patients could not reach the same levels of increased muscle efficiency when undergoing the same training program. However studies have shown that a certain level of intensity and duration needs to be reached before the muscle will begin to improve.
Exercise training will improve skeletal muscle function in those with COPD and pulmonary rehabilitation is shown to improve endurance capacity and quality of life, however the type of exercise training should be further studied and bespoke personal exercise plans developed for individuals to to get the maximum potential from their exercise.
Oxygen therapy is provided for patients to help them to breathe but long-term oxygen therapy has been shown to help improve muscle function and metabolism. It also reduces the potential harm of deconditioning as patients on oxygen therapy tend to be more mobile and physically active as they benefit from the positive benefits of supplemental oxygen.
Muscles require constant use, a balanced supply of metabolites from our diet and oxygen in order to work efficiently. Studies have shown that oxygen therapy not only directly affects muscle function positively but it enables patients to be more physically active and exercise more frequently and for longer, which in turn reduces potential deconditioning and helps to build up muscle mass, strength and efficiency.
REFERENCES: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov and www.respiratory-research.com
Could lung coils be the new treatment for COPD?
A recent trial has shown that the use of lung coils has produced significant lung function improvements for emphysema patients.
In advanced emphysema parts of the lung become hyperinflated when patients breathe in and these can press down on and impair the healthy lung tissue as well as pushing down on the diaphragm making breathing extremely difficult. Patients would normally undergo surgery and have a lung-reduction procedure, however this is risky and very invasive. The new lung coil may offer a less invasive and effective alternative treatment to reduce lung volume.
The coils are shaped in a simple loop around 10-15cm in length when stretched out. They are made from Nitinol which is a metallic 'memory' material that returns to its intended shape even after long-term repeated stretches and compressions.
They are inserted into the lungs using a bronchoscope and placed in areas with diseased lung tissue where they immediately resume their looped form. The coils grab lung tissue and pull it inwards to reduce the lung volume in these sections to allow other sections with healthy lung tissue to inflate more normally. It has been shown that a minimum of 10 coils are needed in order for there to be significant clinical benefits but 12 per lung is the current practice.
Coil treatment has shown to provide significant improvements in the 6 min walking distance test and forced expiratory volume and also less dependence on supplemental oxygen. These results are from 3 months post coil insertion and the trial is still continuing for another 9 months to see if the good results continue long-term. If the results continue to show an improvement in lung function and breathing ability long-term then the coil treatment will be an effective new treatment for COPD patients and other patients with diseases where damaged lung sections cause difficulty in breathing. It is far less drastic and invasive than lung reduction surgery and results show that it is more effective.
References: http://www.medpagetoday.com
Working with COPD
COPD can have a devastating impact upon your personal life but if you are also aged 45-65 it can also have an even greater impact on your job. Work-loss for COPD patients is not just due to COPD alone but also due to the other associated medical problems that coexist with COPD. Not being able to work has an impact on the rest of your life, from financial worries to personal fulfillment.
Results from a cross-sectional survey of 2,426 people with COPD living and working in 6 countries around the world (Brazil, China, Germany, Turkey, United States and United Kingdom) revealed the following:
• 80% were unable to maintain their previous lifestyle.
• One in four felt they could not continue to care for their children or other members of their family as they once did.
• One in five felt they had become a burden to family members and friends.
• 41% felt they could no longer plan for their future.
• 37% reported their income had dropped since being diagnosed.
However some people still manage to continue working until retirement. It depends on your job role; will it make your condition worse by continuing to work in that role or is there an option to change roles or career so that you can still work? If this is not possible then you can claim long-term disability which will give you some income.
If however you feel that you can continue employment then there are things that you and your employer can do to make your work life less of a burden on your disease. The employer will welcome that a few changes will help to ensure that you don't take as many days off from work for being ill.
Here are just a few accommodations that employers can make that are not overly imposing:
• Providing an accessible parking space that is close to the door.
• Moving your workstation closer to the entrance of the building.
• Allowing you to work from home at least a couple of days a week, if not every day.
• Providing a smoke-free, dust-free, fume-free environment. This can even mean asking other employees not to wear heavy colognes or perfumes.
• Providing adequate ventilation.
• Allowing you a flexible schedule so that you don't miss your doctor appointments or perhaps letting you come in later on certain days.
• Giving you advanced notification of any construction work or cleaning that will be going on in your particular work area.
• Allowing you to use a scooter or motorized cart to increase your mobility while in the workplace or to move from one office building to the next during work hours.
If your employer makes changes to help you then you must try to ensure that you are as productive as possible in return:
• Doing everything you can to prevent COPD exacerbation. An exacerbation can cause you to miss more days of work, or worse yet, land you in the hospital. Frequent hand-washing, staying away from crowds and sick people and getting your vaccinations will all help.
• Wearing your oxygen at work. Oxygen therapy helps prevent breathlessness, improves your mental alertness and increases your stamina so you can get through your work day. If you feel conspicuous with your nasal canula then there are oxygen glasses you can try or tracheal oxygen may be an option as you can hide the tubes with a scarf or a high-neckline top.
People with COPD are more likely to accept early retirement than those who do not have COPD and this can negatively impact your pension benefits and have a dramatic affect on your financial well-being, as well as that of your family.
Before deciding on retirement you should ensure you have explored with your doctor and your employer all possible avenues of adapting your workplace environment and tried different medications before giving up on work completely. You can also talk to a financial adviser to see what else you could do to ensure that you and your family are well taken care of.
References: http://copd.about.com
Fish oil and its far reaching health benefits
Recent studies have shown that fish oil and fish oil supplements provide nutritional protection against some of the most dreaded diseases of aging. Its major power is its ability to stop inflammation which is a key problem in many diseases and most age-related illnesses.
It is well known that a diet rich in omega-3s helps to reduce inflammation but now it has been realised how it happens. While studying acute inflammation in animals, scientists noticed the production of small molecules released in response to inflammation, especially in the presence of high levels of omega-3 fats. “These molecules had a dual set of actions. First, they sent out a 'stop signal,' quickly putting a stop to runaway inflammation. Next, they triggered the active resolution of inflammation.”
If you have a healthy supply of omega-3s in your body then it will help your body to produce these molecules to stop and repair inflammation. This pathway involving these pro-resolution molecules works well with acute inflammation but with chronic inflammation there is a reduced level of pro-resolution molecules which allows the inflammation to keep running at a low active level.
Studies have shown that people with diseases that involve chronic inflammation have reduced levels of pro-resolution molecules. Other studies have revealed that these molecules are sharply reduced with age. “In fact, it is this deficiency that is now recognized as one of the chief reasons that we increasingly suffer from chronic inflammation as we grow older.”
By restoring levels of pro-resolution molecules to normal levels many inflammatory conditions can be resolved and healing can take place. The best way to do this is to ensure you have a healthy supply of omega-3 by ensuring you have fish oil in your diet or take fish oil supplements.
Low-grade inflammation and low levels of these molecules has been linked to excessive body fat, insulin resistance and hypertension. Also boosting levels of these pro-resolution molecules would be especially important to people with cardiovascular disease because they have been found to reduce cholesterol, lower blood pressure, block clot-promoting platelet activation, prevent heart arrhythmias, prevent vascular inflammation and improve vascular function, and protect the heart muscle following a heart attack. “That immense spectrum of action has led some researchers to describe omega-3s as a 'poly-pill,' capable of attacking multiple targets of cardiovascular health at once.”
Lung diseases such as asthma and COPD are well known to involve out-of-control inflammation and recent studies show that asthma sufferers have reduced levels of pro-resolution molecules. Animal studies show that after treatment with omega-3 the asthma attacks were less severe. After a decade it was shown that after fish oil supplementation in pregnant women or the patient there was a 3 fold reduction in allergies and eczema, 63% reduction in children developing asthma, many athletes had a 5-fold improvement in pulmonary function and even non-athletes had vastly improved pulmonary function and exercise-induced asthma became resolved in many. COPD patients experienced significant improvements in their breathing ability, had increased oxygen saturation and found they could walk a lot further.
Neuro-inflammation is a major contributor to chronic neuro-degenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Studies have shown that by increasing pro-resolution molecules derived from fish oil can stop this neuro-inflammation and reduce the cognitive decline in these conditions as well as helping to improve memory and dementia statuses in these patients.
Therefore just by ensuring you are taking in enough fish oil can have a major impact upon your health and can help improve many conditions and diseases that are linked to inflammation.
References: http://www.prohealth.com
