Tag Archives: Stem cell

Straight, No Chaser: Life Begins (To End) at 40 (Unless It Doesn’t) – The Musculoskeletal System

General Health and Wellness, Musculoskeletal System, Health Prevention, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

musculoskeletal-system
The second part of this series on how your body changes with age is about your muscles. This section combined with the previous skin section explains why you wrinkle. As before, I’m going to go through system – changes – challenges – solutions. If you’re keeping score, especially focus on the take home messages within solutions. I welcome any questions or comments.
Changes: Did you know that muscle cells are unable to replace themselves once they are formed? Therefore, muscle cell loss is permanent. Plus, muscular response gradually slows with age. That said, the loss of muscular capabilities over time is by far the result of cell loss due to inactivity. As muscle cells are lost, weakness and slowness increase. Plus, some of you don’t exercise at all, or as much/vigorously as you used to, so you’re not building up anything new.
Challenges: The effects of these changes on our health status are mostly due to the fact that the muscles are the main tools for effecting strong circulation throughout the body (i.e. muscular contraction pushes blood around). As the muscles become smaller, including the muscles in the face, and as fat tissue accumulates, including in the face, the entire appearance changes to that of an older person, with all the ramifications described in the post on the description of skin changes with aging. In addition, as muscle fibers decrease, weaken, and slow, it becomes increasingly difficult to keep up with younger people, who may make allowances, but who may also become avoidant. Your recognition of this creates a vicious cycle, and you eventually settle into ‘being old’.
Physical Therapist Working with Patient
Solutions: In two words – exercise & activity. A well designed, consistently followed exercise program addressing both strength and response is indispensable for the maintenance of muscle cells, and of good health over time. A personal trainer is a pretty good idea after a certain age. You neither need to under nor overdo your weight lifting regimen. In any event, move those muscles as much as you can, whether via walking, yoga, running or sex. Being a couch potato is never a good thing.
Post-scripts:

elderly-couple-stretching

  • Another thing that very few of us do is stretch. Those old muscles are tight, and the tendons/ligaments are short and ready to pop. You really must stretch before your weekend warrior events or most any big exertional activity. That’s a big part of why yoga promotes longevity.
  • Fortunately, the main muscles of the heart and the diaphragm (your breathing muscle) do not lose muscle fibers with age because they are continually active. Yet, your heart and lungs have their own problems besides the muscles. That topic is forthcoming. All that said, be mindful that through ongoing exercise and training, you can stem the tide on these changes.

Young is as young does.
Feel free to ask any questions you may have on this topic.
Order your copy of Dr. Sterling’s new book Behind The Curtain: A Peek at Life from within the ER at jeffreysterlingbooks.com, iTunes, Amazon, Barnes and Nobles and wherever books are sold.
Thanks for liking and following Straight, No Chaser! This public service provides a sample of what http://www.SterlingMedicalAdvice.com (SMA) and 844-SMA-TALK offers. Please share our page with your friends on WordPress, like us on Facebook @ SterlingMedicalAdvice.com and follow us on Twitter at @asksterlingmd.
Copyright © 2016 · Sterling Initiatives, LLC · Powered by WordPress

Straight, No Chaser: Life Begins (To End) at 40 (Unless It Doesn’t) – The Musculoskeletal System

Musculoskeletal System, Health Prevention, General Health and Wellness, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

musculoskeletal-system
The second part of this series on how your body changes with age is about your muscles. This section combined with the previous skin section explains why you wrinkle. As before, I’m going to go through system – changes – challenges – solutions. If you’re keeping score, especially focus on the take home messages within solutions. I welcome any questions or comments.
Changes: Did you know that muscle cells are unable to replace themselves once they are formed? Therefore, muscle cell loss is permanent. Plus, muscular response gradually slows with age. That said, the loss of muscular capabilities over time is by far the result of cell loss due to inactivity. As muscle cells are lost, weakness and slowness increase. Plus, some of you don’t exercise at all, or as much/vigorously as you used to, so you’re not building up anything new.
Challenges: The effects of these changes on our health status are mostly due to the fact that the muscles are the main tools for effecting strong circulation throughout the body (i.e. muscular contraction pushes blood around). As the muscles become smaller, including the muscles in the face, and as fat tissue accumulates, including in the face, the entire appearance changes to that of an older person, with all the ramifications described in the post on the description of skin changes with aging. In addition, as muscle fibers decrease, weaken, and slow, it becomes increasingly difficult to keep up with younger people, who may make allowances, but who may also become avoidant. Your recognition of this creates a vicious cycle, and you eventually settle into ‘being old’.
Physical Therapist Working with Patient
Solutions: In two words – exercise & activity. A well designed, consistently followed exercise program addressing both strength and response is indispensable for the maintenance of muscle cells, and of good health over time. A personal trainer is a pretty good idea after a certain age. You neither need to under nor overdo your weight lifting regimen. In any event, move those muscles as much as you can, whether via walking, yoga, running or sex. Being a couch potato is never a good thing.
Post-scripts:

elderly-couple-stretching

  • Another thing that very few of us do is stretch. Those old muscles are tight, and the tendons/ligaments are short and ready to pop. You really must stretch before your weekend warrior events or most any big exertional activity. That’s a big part of why yoga promotes longevity.
  • Fortunately, the main muscles of the heart and the diaphragm (your breathing muscle) do not lose muscle fibers with age because they are continually active. Yet, your heart and lungs have their own problems besides the muscles. That topic is forthcoming. All that said, be mindful that through ongoing exercise and training, you can stem the tide on these changes.

Young is as young does.
Order your copy of Dr. Sterling’s new book Behind The Curtain: A Peek at Life from within the ER at jeffreysterlingbooks.com, iTunes, Amazon, Barnes and Nobles and wherever books are sold.
Thanks for liking and following Straight, No Chaser! This public service provides a sample of what http://www.SterlingMedicalAdvice.com (SMA) and 844-SMA-TALK offers. Please share our page with your friends on WordPress, like us on Facebook @ SterlingMedicalAdvice.com and follow us on Twitter at @asksterlingmd.
Copyright, Sterling Initiatives, LLC. 2013-2015

Straight No Chaser: The Possibilities Presented By Stem Cell Research

Public Health, Health Prevention, General Health and Wellness, , , , , ,

stem_cells_2

It’s nice to know that medical advances aren’t limited to the development of new drugs (that themselves have side effects). Theoretically, the best efforts to definitively reverse disease will result from addressing its cause and point of formation at the core (or stem, if you must). Today’s topic is stem cell research. My goal is to provide a simple overview to decipher the noise of the political debate surrounding the topic, which is a very important (in fact, life-altering) one.

stem-cells3

When our developing embryos are only a few days old, the young stem cells begin the process of blossoming into everything that our bodies need, including our organs (e.g., heart, lung, skin, brain, etc.) and the specialized cells needed to perform functions within these organs. Stem cells don’t go away, however. Adult stem cells continue to function as sources to repair and replaced damaged and dying tissue. It is this study of embryonic and adult stem cells that allows scientists to learn about human development and cell function, to identify the cause and timing of birth defects and to develop treatments to combat disease.

 stemcelluse

Stem cells are a unique brand of cells within our bodies, having two unique attributes not seen in other cells.

  • They are unspecialized; meaning they have the capacity to become what the body needs, either at onset or throughout life. In experiments, stem cells have been induced to become both tissue-specific and organ-specific with special functions.
  • They have the capability to renew themselves instead of simply dying after being inactive.

Physiologically, these characteristics are of much value. Stem cells serve as an “internal repair system,” replenishing cells as the need arises. This is a common means of restoring losses from blood, muscle, brain and other damaged tissue cells. There appears to be no limit to the ability of stem cells to replenish other cells.
Based on the type of information frequenting the news, you might want to know about the different types of stem cells and the approaches to addressing disease that can result from using stem cells.

  • Embryonic stem cells are those arising from human embryos and grown in a laboratory. Surely you’re aware of some of the ethical and religious concerns related to using the cells of embryos.
  • Scientists have addressed some of these concerns by developing a newer type of stem call called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). In short, scientists have learned how to genetically reconfigure certain adult cells backwards to a stem cell likeness.

Stem_cell_treatments

Given their unique regenerative abilities, stem cells offer new potentials for treating many different diseases, including common ones such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease. The use of stem cells in this manner is referred to as regenerative or reparative medicine. Unfortunately, we’re not there yet, but here are two exciting avenues that scientists are pursuing:

  • Scientists are already using stem cells in the laboratory to screen new drugs. For example, once the path of development of cancer cells is defined (via its stem cell line), anti-tumor drugs can be tested on their ability to stop this development.
  • The notion of what’s called cell-based therapies is all the rage in this scientific community. The development of cells and tissues through stem cell research has theoretical applications for organ transplants (where the need greatly outpaces the supply).
  • The ability to replace damaged and diseases tissues with undamaged tissue grown from stem cells offers hope to patients suffering from many other disease such as Alzheimer’s, arthritis, stroke, diabetes, heart disease and many other conditions.

Again, we’re not there yet, but the science is fascinating, the possibilities are seemingly endless and the progress is real. Stay tuned.
This public service provides a sample of what http://www.SterlingMedicalAdvice.com (SMA) offers. Please share our page with your friends on WordPress, Facebook @ SterlingMedicalAdvice.com and Twitter at @asksterlingmd. Please like and share our blog with your family and friends. We’re here for you 24/7 with immediate, personalized information and advice. Call your Personal Healthcare Consultant at 1-844-SMA-TALK or login tohttp://www.SterlingMedicalAdvice.com.
Copyright © 2014 · Sterling Initiatives, LLC · Powered by WordPress

Straight, No Chaser: Life Begins (To End) at 40 (Unless It Doesn’t) – The Musculoskeletal System

Musculoskeletal System, Health Prevention, General Health and Wellness, , , , , , , , ,

Physical Therapist Working with Patient
The second part of this series is about your muscles. This section combined with the previous skin section explains why you wrinkle. As before, I’m going to go through system – changes – challenges – solutions. If you’re keeping score, especially focus on the take home messages within solutions. I welcome any questions or comments.
Changes: Did you know that muscle cells are unable to replace themselves once they are formed? Therefore, muscle cell loss is permanent. Plus, muscular response gradually slows with age. That said, the loss of muscular capabilities over time is by far the result of cell loss due to inactivity. As muscle cells are lost, weakness and slowness increase. Plus, some of you don’t exercise at all, or as much/vigorously as you used to, so you’re not building up anything new.
Challenges: The effects of these changes on our health status are mostly due to the fact that the muscles are the main tools for effecting strong circulation throughout the body (i.e. muscular contraction pushes blood around). As the muscles become smaller, including the muscles in the face, and as fat tissue accumulates, including in the face, the entire appearance changes to that of an older person, with all the ramifications described in the post on the description of skin changes with aging. In addition, as muscle fibers decrease, weaken, and slow, it becomes increasingly difficult to keep up with younger people, who may make allowances, but who may also become avoidant. Your recognition of this creates a vicious cycle, and you eventually settle into ‘being old’.
Solutions: In two words – exercise & activity. A well designed, consistently followed exercise program addressing both strength and response is indispensable for the maintenance of muscle cells, and of good health over time. A personal trainer is a pretty good idea after a certain age. You neither need to under nor overdo your weight lifting regimen. In any event, move those muscles as much as you can, whether via walking, yoga, running or sex. Being a couch potato is never a good thing.
Post-scripts:

  • Another thing that very few of us do is stretch. Those old muscles are tight, and the tendons/ligaments are short and ready to pop. You really must stretch before your weekend warrior events or most any big exertional activity. That’s a big part of why yoga promotes longevity.
  • Fortunately, the main muscles of the heart and the diaphragm (your breathing muscle) do not lose muscle fibers with age because they are continually active. Yet, your heart and lungs have their own problems besides the muscles. That topic is forthcoming. All that said, be mindful that through ongoing exercise and training, you can stem the tide on these changes.

Young is as young does.

Copyright © 2013 · Sterling Initiatives, LLC · Powered by WordPress

Straight, No Chaser: Trauma Quick (Finger)Tips – Give Me the Finger!

Trauma, Orthopedics/Bones, Medical Treatment, , , , , , ,

amputations
What you’re seeing is not a five-finger salute gone bad. It’s an all too often occurrence: amputated fingers. Believe it or not, 90% of reattached fingers are done so successfully, although many end up with decreased motion and sensation. Today’s tips are to tell you how to handle the time between when the amputation occurs and when you get to the hospital. It’s actually pretty important to be meticulous in how you handle the finger prior to reattachment.

  • Wrap the amputated part of the finger in moist, clean gauze. Moist – not wet, not dripping.
  • The gauze should be placed in a sealed plastic bag or sterile container.
  • Take the plastic bag and place in another sealed plastic bag or container, with the second containing ice or cold water. The finger never should touch the ice!

It’s actually more important to support the person than the finger. We can survive without a finger. Fingers are worthless without a live person. To that end, calling an ambulance should be the very first thing you do, and don’t forget to place a clean dressing or the cleanest towel you can over the bleeding part of the hand.
You should be aware that not all amputations are reattached, particularly when a poor outcome is likely. However, don’t make any assumptions, and make the effort to give yourself the best possible chance for the best possible outcome.