Smileband General News

Overview

A brain tumor is a mass or growth of abnormal cells in your brain or close to your brain.

Many different types of brain tumors exist. Some brain tumors are noncancerous (benign), and some brain tumors are cancerous (malignant). Brain tumors can begin in your brain (primary brain tumors), or cancer can begin in other parts of your body and spread to your brain (secondary, or metastatic, brain tumors.  How quickly a brain tumor grows can vary greatly. The growth rate as well as location of a brain tumor determines how it will affect the function of your nervous system.

Brain tumor treatment options depend on the type of brain tumor you have, as well as its size and location. 

Symptoms

The signs and symptoms of a brain tumor vary greatly and depend on the brain tumor's size, location and rate of growth.

General signs and symptoms caused by brain tumors may include:

• New onset or change in pattern of headaches
• Headaches that gradually become more frequent and more severe
• Unexplained nausea or vomiting
• Vision problems, such as blurred vision, double vision or loss of peripheral vision
• Gradual loss of sensation or movement in an arm or a leg
• Difficulty with balance
• Speech difficulties
• Confusion in everyday matters
• Personality or behavior changes
• Seizures, especially in someone who doesn't have a history of seizures
• Hearing problems

When to see a doctor

Make an appointment with your doctor if you have persistent signs and symptoms that concern you. Primary brain tumors are much less common than are secondary brain tumors, in which cancer begins elsewhere and spreads to the brain.

Many different types of primary brain tumors exist. Each gets its name from the type of cells involved. Examples include:

• Gliomas. These tumors begin in the brain or spinal cord and include astrocytomas, ependymoma, glioblastomas, oligoastrocytomas and oligodendrogliomas.
• Meningiomas. A meningioma is a tumor that arises from the membranes that surround your brain and spinal cord (meninges). Most meningiomas are noncancerous.
• Acoustic neuromas (schwannomas).These are benign tumors that develop on the nerves that control balance and hearing leading from your inner ear to your brain.
• Pituitary adenomas. These are mostly benign tumors that develop in the pituitary gland at the base of the brain. These tumors can affect the pituitary hormones with effects throughout the body.
• Medulloblastomas. These are the most common cancerous brain tumors in children. A medulloblastoma starts in the lower back part of the brain and tends to spread through the spinal fluid. These tumors are less common in adults, but they do occur.
• PNETs. Primitive neuroectodermal tumors (PNETs) are rare, cancerous tumors that start in embryonic (fetal) cells in the brain. They can occur anywhere in the brain.
• Germ cell tumors. Germ cell tumors may develop during childhood where the testicles or ovaries will form. But sometimes germ cell tumors move to other parts of the body, such as the brain.
• Craniopharyngiomas. These rare, noncancerous tumors start near the brain's pituitary gland, which secretes hormones that control many body functions. As the craniopharyngioma slowly grows, it can affect the pituitary gland and other structures near the brain.

Cancer that begins elsewhere and spreads to the brain

Secondary (metastatic) brain tumors are tumors that result from cancer that starts elsewhere in your body and then spreads (metastasizes) to your brain.

Secondary brain tumors most often occur in people who have a history of cancer. But in rare cases, a metastatic brain tumor may be the first sign of cancer that began elsewhere in your body.

Secondary brain tumors are far more common than are primary brain tumors.

Any cancer can spread to the brain, but the most common types include:

• Breast cancer
• Colon cancer
• Kidney cancer
• Lung cancer
• Melanoma

Risk factors

In most people with primary brain tumors, the cause of the tumor is not clear. But doctors have identified some factors that may increase your risk of a brain tumor. Risk factors include:

• Your age. Your risk of a brain tumor increases as you age. Brain tumors are most common in older adults. However, a brain tumor can occur at any age. And certain types of brain tumors occur almost exclusively in children.
• Exposure to radiation. People who have been exposed to a type of radiation called ionizing radiation have an increased risk of brain tumor. Examples of ionizing radiation include radiation therapy used to treat cancer and radiation exposure caused by atomic bombs.
  More common forms of radiation, such as electromagnetic fields from power lines and radiofrequency radiation from cellphones and microwave ovens, have not been proved to be linked to brain tumors. 
• Family history of brain tumors. A small portion of brain tumors occur in people with a family history of brain tumors or a family history of genetic syndromes that increase the risk of brain tumors.

Smileband Health issues

What Is Brittle Bone Disease?

Brittle bone disease is a disorder that results in fragile bones that break easily. It’s typically present at birth, but it only develops in children who have a family history of the disease. 

The disease is often referred to as osteogenesis imperfecta (OI), which means “imperfectly formed bone.” 

Brittle bone disease can range from mild to severe. Most cases are mild, resulting in few bone fractures. However, the severe forms of the disease can cause:

• hearing loss
• heart failure
• spinal cord problems
• permanent deformities 

OI can sometimes be life-threatening if it occurs in babies either before or shortly after birth. Approximately one person in 20,000 will develop brittle bone disease. It occurs equally among males and females and among ethnic groups. What Causes Brittle Bone Disease?

Brittle bone disease is caused by a defect, or flaw, in the gene that produces type 1 collagen, a protein used to create bone. The defective gene is usually inherited. In some cases, however, a genetic mutation, or change, can cause it.

TYPES

What Are the Types of Brittle Bone Disease?

Four different genes are responsible for collagen production. Some or all of these genes can be affected in people with OI. Defective genes can produce eight types of brittle bone disease, labeled as type 1 OI through type 8 OI. The first four types are the most common. The last four are extremely rare, and most are subtypes of type 4 OI. Here are the four main types of OI: 

Type 1 OI

Type 1 OI is the mildest and most common form of brittle bone disease. In this type of brittle bone disease, your body produces quality collagen but not enough of it. This results in mildly fragile bones. Children with type 1 OI typically have bone fractures due to mild traumas. Such bone fractures are much less common in adults. The teeth may also be affected, resulting in dental cracks and cavities.

Type 2 OI

Type 2 OI is the most severe form of brittle bone disease, and it can be life-threatening. In type 2 OI, your body either doesn’t produce enough collagen or produces collagen that’s poor quality. Type 2 OI can cause bone deformities. If your child is born with type 2 OI, they may have a narrowed chest, broken or misshapen ribs, or underdeveloped lungs. Babies with type 2 OI can die in the womb or shortly after birth.

Type 3 OI

Type 3 OI is also a severe form of brittle bone disease. It causes bones to break easily. In type 3 OI, your child’s body produces enough collagen but it’s poor quality. Your child’s bones can even begin to break before birth. Bone deformities are common and may get worse as your child gets older.

Type 4 OI

Type 4 OI is the most variable form of brittle bone disease because its symptoms range from mild to severe. As with type 3 OI, your body produces enough collagen but the quality is poor. Children with type 4 OI are typically born with bowed legs, although the bowing tends to lessen with age.

Smileband Health issues

Students at University College London have been given 'precautionary' antibiotics after someone at the university was taken to hospital with meningitis.

The college said it had managed to identify everyone who had come into contact with the patient, who was described as a person associated with the university.

In a statement UCL warned students to make sure they were vaccinated after the individual was admitted to hospital with suspected meningococcal meningitis.

The university said: 'UCL is working closely with Public Health England and we have identified all of those who had close contact with the person and arranged a course of antibiotics for them as a precautionary measure. The antibiotics are given to kill the meningococci that they may be carrying in their nose or throat, and will reduce the risk of infection to others. 

'Although the risk to other members of the UCL community is generally low, it is important to be aware of the symptoms, which can include fever, a severe headache, stiff neck, drowsiness or confusion, aversion to bright light, painful joints, nausea and vomiting.

'It can also cause a characteristic rash that does not fade when pressed against a glass. Advice from Public Health England says that contact between two people has to be close for the bacteria to be picked up, because they cannot live for more than a few seconds outside the body. The college said that early signs of meningitis could be mistaken for flu or even a hangover, but warned staff and students to call their GP or NHS 111 if they suspected it could be something worse.

Members of the university were also told to make sure they had had the Meningitis ACWY vaccine which protects against four kinds of meningococcal bacteria. 

The vaccine, offered to people aged under 25, is available from GPs. 

Smileband Health issues

A cannabis compound could hold promise as a treatment for psychosis - despite the drug being considered a cause, 'promising' research suggests.

Cannabidiol, subject to an array of research in recent years, is widely known to have therapeutic benefits for dozens of ailments, including multiple sclerosis.

And a new medical trial, led by Kings College London scientists, has now found it can ease symptoms of psychosis - such as hallucinations and hearing voices.

The British study, which involved 88 patients, offers sufferers hope of a drug that doesn't trigger any serious side effects.

However, the findings dispute the substantial body of evidence that links smoking cannabis to the mental health condition that drives some to suicide. Campaigners have long been concerned that super-strength skunk, flooding the illegal market at a worrying rate, is actually fuelling rates of psychosis. 

But these high potency strains, often purposely created by criminals, are abundant in tetrehydrocannabinol (THC) - responsible for marijuana's high.

Researchers believe CBD, which doesn't cause a high, has quite the opposite effect - and has been touted as a cure for various conditions. 

Dangerous side effects 

Anti-psychosis drugs have been used as a first-line treatment for 60 years - but are worryingly linked to heart attacks.

Figures estimate that around one per cent of the population suffer from psychosis, which can cause delusions, such as hearing voices, and lead to severe distress.

Ian Hamilton, a lecturer in mental health at York University, welcomed the findings, which he described as 'timely'.

He told MailOnline: 'Traditional medicines are not tolerated well by patients as they have a range of side effects which can put people off taking them.'

Mr Hamilton suggested that the medicines using CBD could be effective at treating the symptoms of the condition. Is there a risk of psychosis? 

He was behind research in April that found the risk of developing psychosis as a result of smoking cannabis is much lower than first thought.

A review of existing studies published on 4/20, an unofficial day to celebrate cannabis, found that cases are relatively rare. 

Skunk, the potent form of the drug, is responsible for a quarter of new cases of psychotic mental illness, KCL researchers announced two years ago. 

They found skunk to be so powerful that users are three times more likely to suffer a psychotic episode than those who have never tried it. 

Smileband General News

A royal police officer is facing jail after he was found to have posed online as a 17-year-old girl and possessed more than 1,000 indecent images.

PC Adam Cox, 31, was working in Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection when he created an alter ego by the name of Emily Whitehouse, where he then exchanged explicit messages with other men online.

When he was asked to send sexually explicit photographs, Cox found images online of a Canadian woman named Alicia Fuller who had killed herself aged 21 which he then claimed was 'Emily'.

Cox's home was raided and police found chat logs and internet searches for 'pre-teens' on his computer.

He told police: 'I'm not hoarding images. I have never meant to hurt anyone. I'm not a collector. I've not got a secret stash.'

Yet police found 1,691 indecent and extreme images, including one featuring an infant and others showing children as young as seven.

Cox, from Windsor, pleaded guilty to four counts of possession of indecent images - 645 of the most serious category A pictures, 201 category B, 449 category C, and 396 extreme pornographic images of bestiality.

He has denied encouraging three men to attempt to illicit indecent images from 'Emily' and the charges were ordered to lie on file. Prosecutor Charles Falk said: 'This may very well be an abuse of trust because he is a police officer.

'His role is security for embassies, parliament and the royal family.'

The court heard how Cox had expressed 'intense remorse' and faced losing his job due to the case. 

He said: 'He is a man who finds it extremely difficult to articulate his motivation and one can quite understand that because the context is extremely unusual conduct, one might think.' 

Cox was in the Old Bailey alongside Harry Gibbs, 32, of Stevenage, Hertfordshire, Andrew Monk, 39, of Kettering, Northamptonshire, and Ajai Shridhar, 46, of Ealing, west London.

All three men admitted to talking to 'Emily' and attempting to possess indecent images of children.

Monk had pestered 'Emily' for images, particularly ones involving high heels, and sent her sexually explicit questions such as 'Are you a moaner or a screamer?'

He was given a 12-month community order by Judge Dennis, who said: 'Over two months you were engaged in online chat with a co-defendant who you now know as Adam Cox but who pretended to be a 17-year-old female.

'Over that two-month period as discussions went on you were making repeated requests to see images of the person you were speaking with who you thought was called Emily.

'In total you received five category C images and one category B of her, she being a teenager now sadly deceased from abroad, but images that Mr Cox had obtained online to carry out his fantasy of speaking to people such as yourself pretending he was a 17-year-old female in online chat. Gibbs, a supply teacher, talked to 'Emily' between July and September 2015, and even though she was under 18, he tried to coax her into logging onto 'Chaturbate' - a chat and masturbate website.

He told her she had 'real model quality' and sex was 'always big business'.

Gibbs was given a 12-month order and told by a judge: 'Fantasy or otherwise, it is of great concern to the court as to the risks you may pose for others.'

Shridhar asked 'Emily' for photos to 'cheer' him up as he chatted with her on Skype in February and March last year. He appeared keen to see her underwear and told her: 'Naughty of me to ask, but have you got any pics where you have to wear your school uniform?'

Cox has been made subject to a sexual harm prevention order and will be sentenced next Friday with Shridhar.

He was suspended from duty on August 2 2016 following his arrest by Hertfordshire Constabulary.

The Met's Directorate of Professional Standards (DPS) will conduct a misconduct review once criminal proceedings are complete. 

Smileband General News

An enormous asteroid is set to brush past Earth this weekened, Nasa has warned. 

The asteroid, called 3200 Phaethon, measures three miles (five kilometres) in diameter, and is classed as 'potentially hazardous. At its closest at 22:00 GMT (17:00 ET) on Saturday 16th December, the asteroid is estimated to be around 6.4 million miles away from our planet – 27 times the distance between the Earth and the moon.

It will be the closest this asteroid has been to Earth since December 16, 1974, when it was around 5 million miles away, although we were blissfully unaware at the time. In a statement about the asteroid, which was first discovered in 1983, a spokesperson for Nasa said: 'With a diameter of about 5km, Phaethon is the third largest near-Earth asteroid classified as "Potentially Hazardous".'

During its fly-by the the space agency hopes to take detailed images of the asteroid. 

The Nasa spokesperson said: 'Phaethon will approach within 0.069 au of Earth on 2017 December 16 when it will be a strong radar imaging target at Goldstone and Arecibo.

'This will be the best opportunity to date for radar observations of this asteroid and we hope to obtain detailed images.

'The images should be excellent for obtaining a detailed 3D model.'

The next pass is predicted to be in 2093 when it is expected to pass at just over 1.8 million miles (2.9 million kilometres) away. But Phaethon's orbit puts its origins in a region between Mars and Jupiter where asteroids commonly originate.

Typically, icy comets come from colder regions of space beyond Neptune. 

In a statement, Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University said: 'Apparently, this asteroid was once a much bigger object.

'But its many approaches to the sun have caused it to crumble into smaller pieces which eventually formed this meteor shower.

'If so, the asteroid itself could be the residue of a comet nucleus.

'The asteroid's extremely elongated orbit, thanks to which it sometimes gets to the Sun closer than Mercury and it sometimes moves away farther than Mars, is another argument in favour

Smileband Health issues

1. Lemons

The simple but versatile lemon goes way beyond anything you could imagine as far as a super food goes because it is a very therapeutic citrus fruit. One lemon has around 100% of your daily recommended intake of vitamin C, it is an anti inflammatory and cleanses the system from bad toxins in the body, plus it has citrus flavonoids, which can inhibit the growth of cancer cells. If you drink a glass of warm lemon water each morning, you are setting your body up for a healthy digestive system, helping your immune system and it works as a blood purifier. Lemons are positively full to the brim with calcium, potassium, pectin fiber and other nutrients, and one glass of juice has less than 25 calories. 

2. Broccoli

Broccoli, that gorgeous green stalk is one of the world’s healthiest foods. There have been numerous studies on the effect broccoli has on the body, all with positive results. Eating regular amounts of broccoli can lower cholesterol, reduce inflammation and allergy reactions, is beneficial for bone and heart health and it helps alkalize your body. Want more? Broccoli is also an antioxidant; it’s got lots of kaempferol and isothiocyanates and Omega 3 fatty acids. Because broccoli contains glucoraphanin and indole-3-carbinols, it means it can help prevent the growth of certain cancers in the body. We should be eating lots more broccoli. 

3. Salmon

It is widely known that salmon is a good for you fish. It’s labeled as one of the go-to fish for inflammatory disease sufferers because of its high omega 3 benefits, but it’s not just that, and not just for inflammatory disease patients. You get so much more in a piece of fresh wild caught salmon. High on the scale of vitamin B12, D, B3 and B6, it also contains selenium, protein, Iodine, and potassium. So it is perfect for bones and joints but also the brain and neurological symptoms. Heart health, better eyesight, and softer skin can seam as side benefits from the major help that eating salmon brings, which means all benefits are good. 

4. Spinach

Spinach is more and more popular these days in the average American diet than it was 40 years ago, and this is an excellent thing. One of the healthiest foods you can eat. It is low in fat and cholesterol, high in protein and fiber, zinc and iron, niacin, calcium, iron, magnesium, copper potassium, manganese and loaded with vitamins. Plus, hello flavonoids! Packed with good stuff, good for the gut, good for the brain, good for cardiovascular systems and blood pressure. Plus, versatile! Do a little research, and you’ll see that spinach works in a variety of hot and cold dishes. Popeye was not wrong here, it will, in fact, help you to get big and strong. 

5. Beans

A legume, or bean, is a member of the pea family, a vegetable grown in a crop which has a seed or pod that is edible. For a healthy body, it is recommended that you eat around 3 cups of legumes a week, which is not that hard to do really. They are full of fiber, both soluble and insoluble, so say hello to a good digestive system. They are low on the glycemic index, which keeps your blood sugar levels healthy and has a good impact on heart health, the cardiovascular system, blood pressure regulation and the functioning of the nerves system. Careful with beans though, they are very good for you but don’t over do it, and drink lots of water to help the beans along.