Curiously Awesome

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Surgical procedures have improved immensely over recent years. One of the best improvements has been the move to more and more laparoscopic procedures instead of more invasive surgeries.

So, why has laparoscopic surgery gained so much popularity? Well, obviously the smaller incisions mean that the patient will have a much faster recovery, less chance of infection, and a smaller scar after the whole thing is said and done.

Dr. Miklos and Dr. Moore are international leaders in laparoscopic and minimally invasive surgical procedures.

Some of their fields of medical expertise include:

• urogynecology

• Enterocele Repair

• Sacrospinous Ligament

• Adhesiolysis

• Vault Suspension

This is only a small representation of the surgical procedures these physicians are considered experts in. Their site also contains extensive testimonials both from patients and fellow physicians.

Research has found that high cholesterol levels in your 40’s or younger increases the risk of dementia - and this includes Alzheimer’s disease. Dementia is a syndrome in which the memory, thinking and behavior becomes illogical and disorganized. Dementia can be caused by a number of serious diseases that destroy brain cells. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common of these diseases.

Another way to look at it is that Dementia is really a brain failure. It gets worse over time and progresses from mild to a moderate and finally to a severe stage. It progresses at different rates.

The mental capacities that decline include:

* Recent memory

* Immediate and distant memory

* Capacity to use and understand words

* Sense of where the body is in space, or where body parts are in relationship to objects and other people.

* Ability to monitor the ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ of behavior

* Ability to initiate or cease speech or activity

* Comprehension of what is going on in the world around you

Other problems include being agitated and restless, walking aimlessly, wanting to escape, and wandering. People who have dementia have trouble starting and stopping routine tasks. They may also misunderstand words as well as use them in the wrong way.

Due to the fact that dementia occurs in older people, it is often not considered to be necessary to take steps to prevent it. However, just like preventing heart disease and diabetes, we can take steps to prevent dementia.

New research is showing that there are prevention strategies that can be adopted. It seems to be necessary to do so early on in life.

It has also been shown that obesity increases the risk of dementia by 80%. Other risk factors include heavy drinking and smoking, as well as high blood pressure in your 40’s.

One theory about why the brain may be affected is the brain needs blood and oxygen delivered via arteries. When arteries are affected by cholesterol, adequate blood and oxygen cannot be delivered. Another theory is that free radicals damage brain cells. This theory is supported by by the fact that people with diets high in antioxidants and lots of fruits and vegetables appear to have less dementia.

There is another theory that excess fat around the waist contributes to brain ageing due to inflammatory chemicals that speed up the ageing process.

Dementia can be hereditary if it occurs before age 65. There is no hereditary link when it occurs later in life.

So, the message today is that if you want to prevent dementia, you need to maintain healthy levels of cholesterol and blood pressure, keep to low levels of alcohol, and be sure to exercise.