Loneliness raises risk of dementia
LONDON - Elderly people living alone without a social network or close friends may have a 60 per cent increased risk of developing dementia, Swedish doctors said on Friday.
Drug firms don't do follow-up studies
WASHINGTON - Most of the studies that federal health officials require drug companies to perform on new medicines after they hit the market are never done, a US consumer group charged last week.
Inspection reveals bathouses 'not clean'
RECENT Chinese blockbuster "Shower" might have roused your interest in local public bath houses.
Smoking linked to querulous children
CHICAGO - Mothers who smoke cigarettes during pregnancy are "far more likely" to have children who turn out to be rebellious toddlers, according to a report published on Thursday.
CD to help flight cancer
EARLY discovery, early diagnosis and early treatment can actually help save many cancer patients' lives, say local experts on cancer featured on a new compact disk launched on Saturday by Shanghai Centre of Disease and Control.
Spheeris: I'm a Chinese at heart
LIKE many expatriates in Shanghai, 74-year-old Paul Spheeris has furnished his spacious apartment with traditional Chinese red-wood furniture.
New swimwear at its seductive bare minimum
SUMMER is on its way - so it's time to dive into your wardrobe, find your swimsuit and head for the coast.
Donghua students win 'Playboy' scholarship
WINNERS of the third annual Playboy Style and Design Scholarship were announced recently in Shanghai.
Chinese medicine -- the heat is off
IF you are entertaining Chinese friends and offer them beef steak, don't be surprised if they say: "Thanks. But lately I have been on fire and should not eat too much beef." Some might even point to small, red bumps on their skin as evidence. When they profess to being on fire, what they actually mean is that they have an excess of body heat. According to traditional Chinese medicine, some body heat or "internal fire" is essential to maintain a smooth flow of chi, believed to be healthy for the functioning of various organs, including the liver, kidney, heart, lung and spleen. "But too much body heat can alter the chi, usually a positive force, so that it harms these organs," said Xu Liang, a doctor from Shanghai Shuguang Hospital, which specializes in traditional Chinese therapies. Xu said the weather can cause "fire" in the body, including strong winds, cold weather, dryness, and hot weather. "Lots of people know that dry and hot weather can increase the possibility of internal fire," said Xu. "But actually, prolonged periods of humidity and coldness in the body can also increase body heat and impair the function of the organs. We call this ‘wet fire." Stress and dietary habits including coffee, seafood or very spicy food, can all cause fire. "Wet fire and dry fire show very similar symptoms, but require quite different treatment," he said. The most common symptom is itchy red bumps surrounded by a patch of red skin. They usually occur on the face and also on parts of the body normally covered by clothing, such as the back, abdomen, neck, upper chest, groin or armpits. The irritation goes away on its own after a few days. Other symptoms include mouth ulcers, aches all over the body, especially in the waist or the spine, insomnia and irascibility. In severe forms, body heat can also interfere with the body's natural system of regulating heat causing fever, heat exhaustion and even death. There is another kind of heat or "non-authentic fire" that is simply the result of an inability of the body's organs to discharge enough toxins. "Such cases are characterized by a red, healthy-looking face. In actual fact, the patient is very weak," Xu said. "Such patients must not take medicines or food to reduce the body heat which will only hurt their organs more and worsen their health," said Xu. He said most modern people suffer from both real fire and "non-authentic fire." Most green vegetables, chrysanthemum tea, and some fruits including pears and bananas can help reduce body heat, but pineapple, some oranges and other fruits do not, said doctor Xu. Chinese herbal treatments include root of Chinese thorowax, felwort and rheum officinale. Herbal Chinese medicines that can help recover the functions of the liver, kidney, heart, lung and spleen include: soft-shelled turtle, Western ginseng, dried rhizonme of rehmannia, prepared rhizome of rehmannia and the fruit of Chinese wolfberry. Local hospitals of Chinese medicine: Doctor Xu Liang, Department of Internal Medicines, 185 Pu'an Road (near Huaihai Park), Shuguang Hospital. Tel: 6326-1650; Longhua Hospital: 532 Lingling Road, Tel: 6438-5700 Yueyang Hospital: 110 Ganhe Road, Tel: 6516-1782
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