(HealthDay News) -- Smoking increases the risk of advanced kidney cancer, researchers report.
In a new study, a team from Duke University Medical Center reviewed the cases of 845 patients who had had surgery for kidney cancer -- or renal cell carcinoma -- between 2000 and 2009. They found that current and former smokers were 1.5 to 1.6 times more likely to have advanced cancer than nonsmokers.
Heavy smoking (smoking for a longer period of time and smoking more) was associated with advanced renal cell carcinoma. Kicking the habit reduced the risk of advanced disease by 9 percent for every 10 years that a former smoker was smoke-free, the investigators found. Read more...
Ayurtox for Body Detoxification
Jumat, 26 Agustus 2011
Kamis, 25 Agustus 2011
Ethical Dimensions of Neuromarketing
Subliminal messaging has always been a fascinating topic: Can we (should we) manipulate people's thoughts, choices, and subsequent behaviors by tapping into their private subconscious space, below the threshold of conscious perception? Subliminal messaging via wearing headphones to listening to recordings meant to induce weight loss or confidence-building has been deemed as the relatively innocuous self-help realm. Subliminal messaging used for marketing purposes has been greeted with a bit more judgment and suspicion. We know that current marketing techniques utilize interviews with focus groups to sell a variety of products. These interview data are then correlated with behavioral (purchasing decision) data. But why not cut out the middle (wo)man--namely you, the consumer--and go straight to your brain?
This is precisely what several companies have begun to do. "Don't just advertise. Neurotise" is the slogan of the the new Houston neuromarketing firm Neurotise. Another company, EmSense touts "A Window into the Mind of the Consumer." Mindsign boasts, "Don’t rely on focus groups and consumers' ability to express their opinions about your product, let their minds speak for themselves." A list of neuromarketing companies has been compiled by a one neuromarketing blogger here. A video from the Discovery Science Channel featuring Mindsign can be viewed below What makes neuromarketing such an exciting tool? The idea of mind reading is the kind of lore we want to believe, and that "we" includes the marketers and consumers alike. Companies like Yahoo, Microsoft, Frito-Lay, Hyundai, Paypal, and Chevron have all been cited as utilizing neuromarketing. What exactly are the ethical issues of using neurotechnologies that measure brain activity for non-medical purposes like marketing. Is neuromarketing really worse than low-tech methods that are also used to meet the goal of making more money? An extensive list exploring the ethical issues of neuromarketing have been discussed by Ariely and Berns in Nature Reviews Neuroscience. I have summarized just a few of them below 1. Mind Reading and Privacy of thoughts: Will data collected about an individual's preference's regarding, say, potato chips be used to understand preferences outside of potato chip preference, like one's morality or sexual orientation? At this time this is not the case. Specific areas of the brain do not have exclusive rights to specific thoughts. This is beyond the capability of neurotechnology. Neuroscience data, such as colorized brain images often make non-neuroscientist readers assume they understand more than they do. We must always keep in mind that functional brain imaging technology is purely correlation and is best used as a non-invasive way to explore human behavior and generate data-based hypotheses about about neural mechanisms of human cognition. While these brain images give information about the individual's behavior while in the scanner, images cannot predict future behavior or necessarily retroactively explain behavior. 2. Regulation: Related to privacy and consumer protection, how will neuromarketing be regulated? Currently MRI scans for non-clinial purposes such as neuromarketing are not regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), nor regulated by Institutional Review Boards (IRB) that work to approve, monitor, and approve research with human subjects to protect the rights and welfare of the individuals subjected to study. One related concern is how to handle abnormal findings detected in brain scans. According to Illes et al, 2006, approximately 1% of the population will have abnormal scans. Some may be false positives; others may warrant a medical referral. There is no standard protocol or regulation on how to handle these situations. 3. Consumer vs. company goals: What if the company doesn't have the consumers' best interests in mind when using neuromarketing? Companies ultimately design products that consumers want to buy. However, a maximization of profit may come to the the consumer detriment. In this sense, the utilization of neuromarketing is not different than current marketing methods. Ultimately, the solution will be to make sure proper regulations are in place to protect those participating in neuromarketing research. Subjects must be made aware of what the purpose of the market research is and how the results will be used. In this way, subjects can decide to agree on how their individual brains scans are utilized before participating in neuromarketing research. In addition, neuroscientists must be involved in conversations on how neuroimaging data can or cannot be correlated with social behavior and deeper brain mechanisms. In sum, we must exercise "neuro-caution," while appreciating the exciting discoveries we are making about human behavior using neurotechnologies.
Recommended Watching and Reading:
60 minutes:"How Technology May Some Day Read Your Mind" Aired June 2009 (Featuring Paul Root Wolpe, PhD, Director of the Center for Ethics at Emory University)
Title: Neuromarketing: the hope and hype of neuroimaging in business Authors: Dan Ariely & Gregory S. Berns (Co-authored by Distinguished Professor of Neuroeconomics at Emory University, Greg Berns MD, PhD) Publisher: Nature Reviews Neuroscience 11, 284-292 (2010)
Title: Ethical use of Neuroscience Authors: Karen S. Rommelfanger & Paul Boshears (Co-authored by Emory Neuroethics Program Assistant Director, Karen Rommelfanger, PhD) Publisher: American Journal of Bioethics Neuroscience 2, 19-21 (2011)
This is precisely what several companies have begun to do. "Don't just advertise. Neurotise" is the slogan of the the new Houston neuromarketing firm Neurotise. Another company, EmSense touts "A Window into the Mind of the Consumer." Mindsign boasts, "Don’t rely on focus groups and consumers' ability to express their opinions about your product, let their minds speak for themselves." A list of neuromarketing companies has been compiled by a one neuromarketing blogger here. A video from the Discovery Science Channel featuring Mindsign can be viewed below What makes neuromarketing such an exciting tool? The idea of mind reading is the kind of lore we want to believe, and that "we" includes the marketers and consumers alike. Companies like Yahoo, Microsoft, Frito-Lay, Hyundai, Paypal, and Chevron have all been cited as utilizing neuromarketing. What exactly are the ethical issues of using neurotechnologies that measure brain activity for non-medical purposes like marketing. Is neuromarketing really worse than low-tech methods that are also used to meet the goal of making more money? An extensive list exploring the ethical issues of neuromarketing have been discussed by Ariely and Berns in Nature Reviews Neuroscience. I have summarized just a few of them below 1. Mind Reading and Privacy of thoughts: Will data collected about an individual's preference's regarding, say, potato chips be used to understand preferences outside of potato chip preference, like one's morality or sexual orientation? At this time this is not the case. Specific areas of the brain do not have exclusive rights to specific thoughts. This is beyond the capability of neurotechnology. Neuroscience data, such as colorized brain images often make non-neuroscientist readers assume they understand more than they do. We must always keep in mind that functional brain imaging technology is purely correlation and is best used as a non-invasive way to explore human behavior and generate data-based hypotheses about about neural mechanisms of human cognition. While these brain images give information about the individual's behavior while in the scanner, images cannot predict future behavior or necessarily retroactively explain behavior. 2. Regulation: Related to privacy and consumer protection, how will neuromarketing be regulated? Currently MRI scans for non-clinial purposes such as neuromarketing are not regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), nor regulated by Institutional Review Boards (IRB) that work to approve, monitor, and approve research with human subjects to protect the rights and welfare of the individuals subjected to study. One related concern is how to handle abnormal findings detected in brain scans. According to Illes et al, 2006, approximately 1% of the population will have abnormal scans. Some may be false positives; others may warrant a medical referral. There is no standard protocol or regulation on how to handle these situations. 3. Consumer vs. company goals: What if the company doesn't have the consumers' best interests in mind when using neuromarketing? Companies ultimately design products that consumers want to buy. However, a maximization of profit may come to the the consumer detriment. In this sense, the utilization of neuromarketing is not different than current marketing methods. Ultimately, the solution will be to make sure proper regulations are in place to protect those participating in neuromarketing research. Subjects must be made aware of what the purpose of the market research is and how the results will be used. In this way, subjects can decide to agree on how their individual brains scans are utilized before participating in neuromarketing research. In addition, neuroscientists must be involved in conversations on how neuroimaging data can or cannot be correlated with social behavior and deeper brain mechanisms. In sum, we must exercise "neuro-caution," while appreciating the exciting discoveries we are making about human behavior using neurotechnologies.
Recommended Watching and Reading:
60 minutes:"How Technology May Some Day Read Your Mind" Aired June 2009 (Featuring Paul Root Wolpe, PhD, Director of the Center for Ethics at Emory University)
Title: Neuromarketing: the hope and hype of neuroimaging in business Authors: Dan Ariely & Gregory S. Berns (Co-authored by Distinguished Professor of Neuroeconomics at Emory University, Greg Berns MD, PhD) Publisher: Nature Reviews Neuroscience 11, 284-292 (2010)
Title: Ethical use of Neuroscience Authors: Karen S. Rommelfanger & Paul Boshears (Co-authored by Emory Neuroethics Program Assistant Director, Karen Rommelfanger, PhD) Publisher: American Journal of Bioethics Neuroscience 2, 19-21 (2011)
Minggu, 21 Agustus 2011
Green tea nutrients may prevent glaucoma
Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of blindness in the U.S., according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It comes like a silent thief, gradually stealing sight and usually providing no warning symptoms in the early stages. But as the disease progresses, damage to the optic nerve grows worse and side vision can gradually fail until there's only tunnel vision left, and then no vision at all. Treatment with drugs and surgery may slow down the eyesight deterioration but there's no cure. However, new research provides evidence there's a natural way to prevent glaucoma from developing in the first place -- drink green tea regularly.Read more...
Ayurtox for Body Detoxification
Ayurtox for Body Detoxification
Minggu, 14 Agustus 2011
Gene Linked to Liver Disease in Cystic Fibrosis
(HealthDay News) -- A variant of a particular gene in people with cystic fibrosis greatly increases their chances of developing severe liver disease, new research shows.
Cystic fibrosis is an inherited disorder that can lead to deadly lung infections and digestive problems.
About 3 percent to 5 percent of the 30,000 people in the United States with the condition will also develop a serious form of liver disease, including cirrhosis and portal hypertension, or high blood pressure caused by obstruction in the liver, according to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
Researchers from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill analyzed nine variants in five genes previously implicated in cystic fibrosis liver disease. The study included 124 patients with cystic fibrosis liver disease and 843 patients without liver disease. A second study looked at a different group of 136 patients with cystic fibrosis liver disease and 1,088 without liver disease. Read more...
Cardiofy Heart Care Supplement
Cystic fibrosis is an inherited disorder that can lead to deadly lung infections and digestive problems.
About 3 percent to 5 percent of the 30,000 people in the United States with the condition will also develop a serious form of liver disease, including cirrhosis and portal hypertension, or high blood pressure caused by obstruction in the liver, according to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
Researchers from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill analyzed nine variants in five genes previously implicated in cystic fibrosis liver disease. The study included 124 patients with cystic fibrosis liver disease and 843 patients without liver disease. A second study looked at a different group of 136 patients with cystic fibrosis liver disease and 1,088 without liver disease. Read more...
Cardiofy Heart Care Supplement
Selasa, 09 Agustus 2011
Plant-sourced food, vitamin intake associated with lower risk of endometrial cancer
A report published in the April 15, 2007 issue of the International Journal of Cancer described the finding of a study funded by the National Cancer Institute that a greater intake of calories, attributable to a higher proportion of animal-sourced protein and fat, is associated with an increased risk of endometrial (uterine) cancer, and plant sources of these nutrients as well as vitamins A, C and E, beta-carotene, fiber and vitamin supplements are associated with a decreased risk.
Researchers in China and at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee compared 1,454 Chinese women with newly diagnosed endometrial cancer to 1,212 age-matched women without the disease. Questionnaires completed by the participants provided demographic information, health history and data on macronutrient (protein, fat, carbohydrate, fiber) and micronutrient (vitamin) intake, including the use of vitamin supplements.Read more...
Ayurtox for Body Detoxification
Researchers in China and at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee compared 1,454 Chinese women with newly diagnosed endometrial cancer to 1,212 age-matched women without the disease. Questionnaires completed by the participants provided demographic information, health history and data on macronutrient (protein, fat, carbohydrate, fiber) and micronutrient (vitamin) intake, including the use of vitamin supplements.Read more...
Ayurtox for Body Detoxification
Rabu, 03 Agustus 2011
Reverse Heart Disease without Meds
Each day the media presents horrific news of death and destruction caused by war, terrorism, and other violence. It virtually ignores a silent but much more deadly enemy . . . heart disease.
More than 1.5 million people will have a heart attack this year, with 1 million deaths resulting from heart attacks (or a death every 30 seconds). When it comes to combating heart disease, most information sources promote drugs and surgery as the only viable defenses. We need to keep in mind that angioplasty and bypass surgery have some significant adverse outcomes, including heart attacks, stroke and death. Most people treated with such interventions continue to suffer from, and eventually die from, heart disease. The average person is not aware that there are safer, more effective options available. Read more...
Immunice for Immune Support
More than 1.5 million people will have a heart attack this year, with 1 million deaths resulting from heart attacks (or a death every 30 seconds). When it comes to combating heart disease, most information sources promote drugs and surgery as the only viable defenses. We need to keep in mind that angioplasty and bypass surgery have some significant adverse outcomes, including heart attacks, stroke and death. Most people treated with such interventions continue to suffer from, and eventually die from, heart disease. The average person is not aware that there are safer, more effective options available. Read more...
Immunice for Immune Support
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