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photo credit: Steve & Jemma Cople

New insight has emerged this month in relation to a key factor which may play a role in cot deaths.

Research by the European molecular biology laboratory in Italy agrees with similar findings in 2006 in the United States that a chemical imbalance in the brain of a baby or a young child may make them susceptible to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

A neurotransmitter, serotonin, (which is associated with mood) passes messages between brain cells. Research has shown that in mice with low levels of serotonin, over half the number of mice died very early in life at a similar age range at which human infants succumb to sudden infant death syndrome, roughly 1 month to one-year-old.

These mice had been genetically engineered to produce low levels of serotonin, and it was found that the effect of this was that the low levels of the neurotransmitter triggers sudden changes in heart rate and body temperature, which led to the sudden death of the mice.

Public awareness of sudden infant death syndrome has increased since the early 1990s especially in the United Kingdom where a public campaign was launched. Because of this awareness, the number of deaths in the UK have fallen by about 75%, however sadly on average around 300 babies still die suddenly each year.

The study revealed that the mice underwent a series of crises during early life in which there were sudden unpredictable drops in body temperature and heart rate, and many of the mice died during one of these crises. The researchers suspected that crises were triggered as the mice began to enter the transition stage from sleep to wakefulness.

Cornelius Gross, PhD of the laboratory in Rome commented that, “The similarity to SIDS is there is sudden death during a restricted period of early life — and it is caused by a change in the serotonin system.”

There are it should be borne in mind that this research was based on genetically engineered mice, and children who have succumbed to sudden infant death syndrome do not have this overactive gene, however, the study suggests that serotonin levels may be a key factor in their susceptibility.

More research is needed as to what contributes to low serotonin levels in human infants before any definite conclusions can be reached, how ever it is clear that low serotonin levels are now suspect. Previously low serotonin levels were not believed to be life-threatening.

If you have a young baby or child under one year old, then I think it would be very wise to have some sort of monitoring alarm system in place during their first year, and to pay attention where possible to them at times when they would regularly begin to awaken from periods of sleep.

Tags: sudden infant death syndrome, sids, cot death, cot deaths, serotonin



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photo credit: The BrassPotato

Post Ironing Stress Disorder or PISD was first diagnosed back in the 1950’s by general practitioners who were seeing more and more housewives across Europe and America complaining of symptoms of tiredness and exhaustion while managing large families.

Let’s face it, no one enjoys ironing especially when you have to fold all of the clothes afterwards. The term PISD quickly became slang ‘pissed’, and hence the origin of the term ‘Pissed Off’.

Hey, I’m taking the Mickey, but I bet I was beginning to take you in.

Truthfully I do not like ironing and folding clothes myself, so about a year ago I found a wonderful solution. I only iron when I need something to wear, and as for folding clothes, towels, etc, I made myself a speed clothes folder so all my items were folded quickly and uniformly usually within five seconds for each item.

Here are photographs of what it does (folds clothes quickly within five seconds), and what it is made from, (an egg box from a supermarket). The item of clothing is not ironed in these photographs, however if it was the resulting uniform neat pile of clothes would resemble a shop shelf.

The measurements of the pieces are:

1 x 33cm x 72cm (base)
2 x 25cm x 72cm (sides)
1 x 25cm x 36cm (flipper)
The flipper is aligned centrally on the base on the bottom edge.

It’s possible you may not have come across this idea before, but it is actually a well known idea that has been around for many years. There are plenty of similar examples across the internet. It will save you a lot of personal stress with laundry.

Tags: pissed, pissed off, clothes folding, folding clothes, clothes folder



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photo credit: Ed Yourdon

The causes of menopause are either physiological or pathological. The physiological cause simply means that for a woman that her body is starting to go through the process of menopause for a natural reason which is quite normal. On the other hand a pathological cause means that a woman is starting to go through the process of menopause due to a medical condition which has led to a loss of ovarian function.

This loss of ovarian function prematurely pushes a woman’s body into menopause as hormonal support is gradually withdrawn from the body. Hormones control the initial development and release of the egg as well as initiating changes in the uterus to support a pregnancy such as building up a supply of blood. Additionally hormones aid in keeping collagen and elastin present in the skin as well as supporting physical and physiological processes which happen each month.

Pathological factors which can prematurely hasten menopause are conditions such as, extreme emotional stress, malnutrition, debilitation, reproductive tract tumours, a surgical procedure such as hysterectomy, radiation treatment and chemotherapy, or any other surgical procedure that can cause a loss of blood supply to the ovaries.

Once the ovarian function declines and the woman’s body reduces the natural functions surrounding ovulation then she is thrown first into peri menopausal, or pre menopause symptoms and then into menopause itself.

In normal physiological menopause the decline in function with the ovaries and symptoms of menopause are usually due to age. As the hormonal levels decrease the woman finds out her menstrual cycles become unpredictable, may last longer or shorter, and may be lighter or heavier than usual. These are menopause symptoms and the first signs of the start of approaching menopause.

Naturally these menopausal symptoms can bring an onset of depression, so if you are suffering from the above symptoms and some associated depression you may find menopause relief psychological support from a group of people suffering the same symptoms, helpful.

The first stage as I previously mentioned is peri menopause. There are actually three stages and the process is gradual and permanent. Peri menopause is the stage when you experience hot flushes and your menstrual cycle goes a bit pear shaped. The stage lasts for several years until the ovaries actually stop releasing eggs. During the last couple of years of the process there is a sudden decrease in estrogen.

In the second stage, which is actually menopause itself, is when a woman has her final menstrual period. Once this has happened for 12 consecutive months the normal diagnosis is menopause.

The latter stage is called post menopause. These are at the years following the diagnosis of menopause. By this time the hot flushes and depression should be well past, however they are are risks for women associated with the loss of estrogen during these years and they should seek regular medical consultation with their general practitioners. One condition which seems to affect women more than men is osteoporosis.

One word of warning though for a woman who starts to experience the symptoms of premature menopause before they are 39. If this applies to you be sure to be fully evaluated by your physician, in case there are any potential medical conditions that are causing the early onset of symptoms.

For further information and help with menopause symptoms click here.


Tags: menopause, pre menopause, premature menopause, peri menopause, post menopause, menopause symptoms, menopausal symptoms, pre menopause symptoms, early menopause symptoms, early signs of menopause, premature menopause symptoms, signs of menopause, symptoms of menopause, peri menopausal symptoms



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