Mental demands of managing people boosts hippocampus size |  |
- Mental demands of managing people boosts hippocampus size
- Doctors' strike hits Maharashtra, talks fail
- South Asians more prone to knee arthritis: Expert
| Mental demands of managing people boosts hippocampus size Posted: 12 Sep 2011 12:43 AM PDT ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Managing other people at the workplace promotes brain health, protects memory and the learning centre well into old age. University of New South Wales (UNSW) researchers have identified a clear link between managerial experience and larger size of one's hippocampus, the brain area responsible for learning and memory at the age of 80. The findings refine our understanding of how staying mentally active promotes brain health, potentially warding off neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's. The study was presented this week at the Brain Sciences UNSW symposium Brain Plasticity –The Adaptable Brain. The Symposium focused on research that is revealing the brain's ability to repair, rewire and regenerate itself, overturning scientific dogma that the brain is "hard-wired". "We found a clear relationship between the number of employees a person may have supervised or been responsible for and the size of the hippocampus," says Dr Michael Valenzuela, Leader of Regenerative Neuroscience in UNSW's School of Psychiatry. "This could be linked to the unique mental demands of managing people, which requires continuous problem solving, short term memory and a lot of emotional intelligence, such as the ability to put yourself in another person's shoes. Over time this could translate into the structural brain changes we observed." The research comprises the doctoral work of Mr Chao Suo, supervised by Dr Valenzuela in collaboration with Scientia Professor Perminder Sachdev's Memory and Ageing Study based in Sydney. Using MRI imagery in a cohort of 75-92 year-olds, researchers found larger hippocampal volumes in those with managerial experience compared to those without, even after accounting for any of a number of possible alternative explanations. While many male participants followed traditional management career paths, the effect was also seen in women who had taken on managerial roles in nursing or teaching. http://www.rxpgnews.com    |
| Doctors' strike hits Maharashtra, talks fail Posted: 10 Sep 2011 10:51 PM PDT ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Mumbai, Sep 10 - Medical services in Maharashtra were severely hit Saturday as over 3,000 resident doctors in government hospitals across the state went on an indefinite strike to press for enhanced security at hospitals, even as talks with authorities proved unsuccessful, doctors said. Patients at various hospitals were hard pressed to find a doctor. Department heads at various hospitals said that more than 50 percent of their scheduled surgeries had to be postponed. 'We had two meetings today - one with the Mumbai's Municipal Commissioner Subodh Kumar and the other with the director of DMER - Dr P.S. Shingare. While the municipal commissioner has agreed to most of our demands, Shingare has asked for some time to look into the matter,' said Pankaj Nalawade of Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors - from KEM Hospital. Nalawade said three government hospitals in Mumbai that come under the municipal corporation have major security issues. He also identified 11 government hospitals across the state which do not have adequate security for doctors. 'We have scheduled a meeting with Shingare Sunday and are awaiting a positive outcome. Till then, we continue to strike work,' Nalawade said. The stir was triggered after a physically challenged doctor at the state-run Sion Hospital here was assaulted by a patient's kin. Angered by the death of a 10-month-old baby girl, relatives assaulted the on-duty resident doctor, Vishnu Dhadwad, at the hospital Wednesday. His colleagues who tried to intervene were also beaten up. The infant, Sadia Siddique, was brought to Sion Hospital Sep 3 for lower respiratory tract infection. According to the doctors, she was recovering well and was moved to the general ward. However, her condition deteriorated and she was put in the intensive care unit, where she died Wednesday. 'Dr. Vishnu, who is physically challenged, sustained bruises and a fractured right hand,' said Yogesh Pawar of MARD from Sion... http://www.rxpgnews.com   |
| South Asians more prone to knee arthritis: Expert Posted: 10 Sep 2011 08:08 PM PDT ( From http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Panaji, Sep 10 - Senior citizens in the Indian sub-continent suffer a 15 percent more severe attack of osteo-arthritis in their knee joints as compared to their counterpart Caucasians from Europe or northern America, a specialist orthopaedic surgeon said here Saturday. Speaking to reporters while announcing the merger of Ahmedabad-based Shalby Hospitals with Goa's Vrundavan Hospital and Research Centre -, chairman and managing director of Shalby Hospitals, Vikram Shah, also said that the new post-merger entity -- Shalby Vrundavan Hospital -- would focus on knee replacement surgeries in the first phase. 'There is scientific explanation for this, but south Asian elders suffer 15 percent more severe osteo-arthritis attacks in the knee joints than their Caucasian counterparts from Europe and north America,' Shah said. 'Unlike us, Caucasians are more vulnerable to osteo-arthritis of the hip,' Shah added. Shah further said that the merger, where Shalby Hospitals picked up a 55 percent stake in VHRC, will help the tremendous potential of medical tourism in Goa, as thousands of foreign tourists flock to the state for their summer vacations annually. 'We are certainly looking at that market,' said Shah, who has conducted over 22,000 knee replacement surgeries. The Shalby Hospital is a 230-bed facility in Ahmedabad employing over 100 doctors and has several other medical establishments in other cities of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Kenya. VHRC, located at Mapusa, 15 km north of here, is a 115-bed facility. http://www.rxpgnews.com   |
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