Like-the-colors-of-my-mind-

Like-the-colors-of-my-mind-
Originally uploaded by patgarcia

Our last camping trip............... beautiful peace. I was already feeling many strange things happening, and studies were ordered to be made. We didn't sleep in tents, the weather was so pleasant we slept under the stars. I had a strange episode one of those nights, my nephew Victor Alonso "woke me up" and said I was shocking and then I wasn't breathing. He was really scared.

I have managed to stay awake all day, I did yesterday and I have today..... seems like the sleeping episode is over. I told my husband I wanted to watch a beautiful sunset so we're preparing to go the beach.It's a nice cloudy day so I know the sunset will be specially beautiful today.
I was talking to my dad last night and he was amazed that I love sunsets as much as he does. He remembered when as a teenager he used to take me with him to "marvel" at the wonders of God's creation and we were laughing to remember that I used to say "This is so boring papi."

sunset from Panoramic Highway
Originally uploaded by patgarcia

Cloudy day at the bay of La Paz , mangrove tree enhanced by beautiful sunset and reflection on the ocean water. Temperature 29 C.
12 Jul 07

sunset July 4th 2007
Originally uploaded by patgarcia

One of my favorites!

Las Cruces B.C.S Purple Sunset
Originally uploaded by patgarcia

AWESOME!

Grace and Peace
Originally uploaded by patgarcia

Soothing experience at La Paz

Epilepsy is unique to every individual afflicted. Each medication has a unique effect on the patient. In many cases physicians will implement multiple drug therapy plans in order to find the right combination and dosage levels necessary. While steps can be taken to limit the substitution of anti-epileptic drugs, only notification and consent will ensure the proper level of oversight and control.

Sleep Episodes since Friday.

After sleeping practically all friday, being in a daze saturday and sunday and sleeping all day and night monday I was able to get myself out of bed, take a shower and have something to eat. My husband is working out of town, my daughter who is always with me is out on summer vacations, my son had the night shift at his work and I hardly saw him. A friend of my offered to come by and take me to her home to rest and sleep until I felt better and everyone is back on a regular schedule.( She's a nurse) I said I'll accept your offer if I can't stay awake today. I don't want to spend another day like the pathetic ones I just spent. She prayed for me and is ready to help me anytime. I thank God for friends like her.

Treatment of Epilepsy at home
Strict diet, complete relaxation and optimum exercise is the key factor.
Adopt an exclusive fruit diet for first few days.
Sprouted Alfa Alfa seeds, raw goat milk, raw butter and homemade cottage cheese are essential.
Take frequent small meals than few large ones.
Apply mud packs to the abdomen twice a day to remove epileptic conditions.
Alternate application of hot and cold packs at the back of the head for 2-3 minutes about 4 times is beneficial.
Full Epsom salt baths twice a day are also beneficial.
Excitements should be avoided and avoid all severe mental and physical stress and remain in good spirits.

silver and bronze

silver and bronze
Originally uploaded by janchan

Zejnab

Zejnab
Originally uploaded by janchan

deep in my heart
Originally uploaded by janchan

In a rehabilitation center for women with obstetric fistula in northern Nigeria

Fatima at a rehabilitation center for women with obstetric fistula in northern Nigeria...

published for title of the documentary "Carry Me Home" and for the DVD cover

Fatima
Originally uploaded by janchan

Fourth International Consultation On Incontinence. Vesicovaginal Fistula In The Developing World.

by patgarcia

The efforts of many women and associations have helped many suffering this dreadful condition, a condition that women in First World Countries can not even imagine. The numbers are still very high.
The pressure of obstructed childbirth is so much and so long that it cuts out blood irrigation to surrounding tissues, which die and decompose leaving internal ulcers where urine and feces leak from constantly.Fourth International Consultation On Incontinence (ICI) - Vesicovaginal Fistula In The Developing World Committee HighlightsArticle Date: 25 Jul 2008
The increasing attention to vesicovaginal fistulae (VVF) in the developing world continued with the first presentation of the afternoon by Dr. DeRidder. He noted the challenges in this area with respect to presenting levels of evidence and recommendation grades due to a scarcity of randomized controlled trials and high-level evidence. The committee evaluated 149 articles published over the last 5 years, which included only 8 trials, most being observational in nature and Level 3-4 evidence. The incidence of VVF globally is anywhere from 10,000-50,000 cases, depending on methodology of surveys with a worldwide prevalence of approximately 2 million cases. Dr. DeRidder presented a graph from the 2005 World Health Report that showed maternal mortality as a surrogate risk indicator for VVF. Rates are highest in sub-Saharan Africa and likely reflect common risk factors including poverty, young maternal age and limited access to prenatal care. Dr. DeRidder presented a 2007 study from Nigeria that showed the number of cases surgically corrected dependent on external funding to the surgical clinic. The etiology of VVF was reviewed including the obstructed labor complex, iatrogenic injuries, cases of abuse/rape and traditional practices such as Gishiri cutting. The obstructed labor complex was highlighted as the primary cause in the developing world and consists of not only VVF but also a high incidence of fetal death, vaginal scarring, complex urologic injuries, secondary infertility, neurological injuries (foot-drop) and pelvic floor injuries, among others. VVF can have devastating consequences for women in the developing world, and Dr. DeRidder highlighted two publications from 2007 that showed a divorce rate of 36%, a fetal death rate of 85%, and frequent maternal loss of self-esteem, depression and suicidal thoughts. Women with VVF are often ostracized from their communities.
Source: medicalnewstoday.com

Wubete
A strikingly beautiful, petite girl of 17, Wubete’s sorrows began during her motherless childhood. Her father married her off at age 10, but stubborn and longing to go to school, she ran back home. Her father beat her, but the cycle of running away from forced marriages and enduring beatings continued until she got pregnant by her fourth husband. She was 15 years old and too small to delivery a baby safely. Wubete’s fistula is closed surgically but by her third visit to the Fistula Hospital, her injuries have proven so severe, she still suffers from incontinence. She finds hope in a medical device that helps her lead a productive life.Today she is mother to four adopted children at Grace Village in northern Ethiopia.
Read update on Wubete's story(May 2008).
Source: oasisfoundationethiopia.org
WHAT IS FISTULA?
Obstetric fistula is an injury to a woman's reproductive organs, usually occurring during prolonged, obstructed labor and without Caesarean section which would relieve the problem. Tears in the vagina occur which also tear other organs, producing leakage of urine and feces. Labor that lasts several days creates pressure on tissues, which cause tissue death. After 2 to 3 days of obstructed labor, the infant usually dies, but even so the labor may continue several days or more if medical treatment is not provided. It is painful, dangerous for the mothers, and devastating to their lives if left untreated.
Source: squidoo.comA WALK TO BEAUTIFUL, DOCUMENTARY
To tell the story of women hiding in shame in a remote corner of Africa posed inherent problems in the making of "A Walk to Beautiful." How could we show their loneliness and isolation while at the same time time entering their intimate space? How would we follow a woman smelling of urine on a long bus ride to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital, and remain true to the experience she and so many like her have endured? At the end of a day of shooting, how should we respond to 10 people suffering from various illnesses lined up outside the family compound hoping to get help from us—foreigners with cars and money?
Source: pbs.org
Vesico- and Recto-Vaginal Fistulas
At the same age as Swiss girls start their final years in school or begin an apprenticeship and experience their first romances, thousands of young women, especially in Africa, already have to live through terribly painful labour without any medical help.

In many Third World Countries, the woman’s role is to satisfy the sexual needs of her husband, to give birth to children, and to work hard in the house and in the fields. Childbirth injuries make it impossible for a woman to fulfill these duties, therefore her self-respect and self-confidence are destroyed. The mere right to exist in the village society is put into question.
Source: womenshope.ch
Second Chances
Having a baby can be one of the most joyous events in a woman's life. Yet for the millions of young women in the developing world who develop severe injuries called fistulas from obstructed labor, it's the beginning of a living nightmare, one that can last the rest of their lives. Since 1974, when she and her late husband Reginald established the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital in Ethiopia, Dr. Catherine Hamlin has given her all to curing fistulas and restoring life to these women, many of whom are just teenagers. In this interview, conducted at the fistula hospital by "A Walk to Beautiful" codirectors Mary Olive Smith and Amy Bucher, Hamlin talks about just how heartbreaking this tragedy can be for poor women—and how miraculous the cure.
Source: pbs.org

5 years ago.... on this never ending fight

Help me Lord........................
The weather is so hot, and I feel so fat. I'm so tired .....................
I need your strength and power.
I thank you Lord for your love and patience. Hold me in your arms
with your everlasting love...............amen

7/23/2003 6:20 PM

I have to Thank you Lord .......... I am complete in You, who are the head of all principality and power...........Like it says in Col.2:10
I have nothing to fear , you're with me , I will be redeemed.

bare feet on the grass

May 2007
Originally uploaded by Sarah S.R.

The day was beautiful on Saturday.

It was rejuvenating to walk through the grass in bare feet.

Uploaded by Sarah S.R. on 13 May 07, 6.34PM PDT.
spacer image

Hers is a complex walk within deadly diseases and difficult environments of a developing country, but also and above all, through the voices of brave women who fought and won their enemy .She has found in Zanzibar and in all Africa a home for my heart.
Nasra uses her natural gift of turning feelings into musical words, to give relief to our daily sufferings by reminding that everything comes from God and is there for a purpose :Don't ask "why this pain" ?Do we ever ask "why this laughter" ?Her love for Africa is the love we must have for the entire humanity cause too often we're chained in our egoism forgetting those in needs or placing barriers between us and the others .She invites us all to celebrate the poetry of life and to embrace life's miracles

~Hear Your Voice~

Take every step
Face the waves
Urge your heart to be brave
Be ready to face the blows
Don’t wonder which path is easy
Bare feet walking on ice
Or walking on fire
Which one burns more
Hotter than the other?
Don’t ask “why this pain”?
Do we ever ask “ why this laughter”?
Naturally accepting the glee
Always questioning the sadness and tears
You’re given another chance to live
Hear your voice, embrace life’s miracles

(from the book Brave Faces)

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Nasra Al Adawi, a poet of Omani and Tanzanian heritage, has just published Brave Faces, a collection of poetry and prose in tribute and honour of the African women she has met who are coping with either breast or cervical cancer. The prose sections of the book are either written by Nasra based on her meetings with individual survivors of cancer, individual patients recounting their stories, or by medical professionals discussing the state of female cancer patients in Africa and the disease itself. With only two exceptions, all the poems are the work of Nasra (Nasra Al Adawi is a pen name), and are without a doubt some of the most purely emotionally powerful poetry I've ever read.

"I am not sure if poetry is a sensible way to fight cancer" she says in her introduction. While it may be true that words on a page or spoken aloud can't heal a body, there is no way of measuring the impact of the intent behind them on the spirit of the listener. Can you imagine the lift it would give to you knowing that somebody cares deeply enough about the circumstances of people in your situation that they are inspired to create poetry that speaks to your experience?

Nasra's poetry does just that. Without presuming to "know" what any individual is experiencing or feeling, her poetry speaks of universal truths that all of us can identify with. They're about the journeys of self-discovery we all must take in order to grow and thrive, finding the strength that's needed to do what we want, and finding the means to keep going when the reasons aren't always obvious.

Footprints

Footprints
Originally uploaded by Joshua Davis (jdavis.info)

Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time ;

Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o'er life's solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.

Uploaded by Joshua Davis (jdavis.info) on 12 Sep 06, 9.30AM PDT.

Walking bare feet:
Good for the pineal gland

The big toe of the foot represents this gland. 25 years ago it was considered a useless gland. Now it has become an important gland for study and up to now, about 18,000 papers have been published about it. It has always been known as the Seat of the soul. The Pineal gland has optic nerve endings. The remaining four toes represent glands too -- pituitary, hypothalamus, thalamus and amygdala. Amygdala for the last 2 years has been gaining importance in medical research. It's a nucleus of the sun or cosmic energy and plays an important role in the photosynthesis via the sunlight reaching the brain through the eye. When you walk bare foot, your body weight stimulates all these 5 glands through your toes.

By walking barefoot over open countryside, early man was inadvertently enjoying the benefits of reflexology, a therapeutic form of foot massage. (Self-Healing Techniques: Reflexology, The Complete Guide to Natural Healing)

Practice walking barefoot on grass (to cure insomnia). (Disorders – Cure for Insomnia, Corry Stuart’s Herbal Healing website)

Bare feet get the beneficial fungicidal effects of the sun’s ultra-violet rays (when walking outdoors barefoot). (The Journal of the National Association of Chiropodists, Samuel Shulman)

Abebe Bikila of Ethiopia won the 1960 Olympic Games Marathon running barefoot. Not only did it not hurt him, he won again (shod) at the 1964 Olympics. (Olympic facts, many sources)

For barefoot walking over longer distances, natural ground (lawn, earth, sand) feels much more pleasant than asphalt and concrete. When shoe soles were invented as barriers between mankind and nature, there (were) no more obstacles to building up desert-like towns from aggressive and dead materials. (Lorenz Kerscher, Going Barefoot in Nature website)

The barefoot walker receives a continuous stream of information about the ground and about his own relationship to it, while a shod foot sleeps inside an unchanging environment. Sensations that are not used or listened to become decayed and atrophy. There is a sense of aliveness and joy which I experience walking barefoot that I never get in shoes. (Brand)

Nerve endings on the bottom of the feet sense the ground beneath and send signals to the brain that help it determine how and where weight should be distributed with each new step. Shoes alter that feedback to the brain. (Parents for Barefoot Children website)

• Having your feet free of confining, hot, sweaty shoes, open to the air and sunshine, able to wiggle your toes, able to feel the various textures and temperatures of surfaces as you walk, is wonderful. It is one of life’s most simple pleasures and is part of what it means to be human. (Lucas)

• Walking barefoot on grass is one of the best exercises that there is. (Tom Kutscher)

• Our feet connect us to the ground and they are therefore a connection between our earthly and spiritual life. They ground us literally and figuratively. They are our base and foundation and our contact with the earth and the energies that flow through it. (Reflexology, Inge Dougans & Suzanne Ellis)

A Sandy Barefoot Stroll
Originally uploaded by moonjazz


Walking Barefoot on Dew

Dew has curative properties. We recommend barefoot walk, face or hand wash, etc. It is considered a homeopathic remedy. We already know that water has amazing properties when kept inside electromagnetic-radiation or anti-gravity fields. Morning dew which we find condensed on leaves, flowers or stems is perfect for producing real elixirs. But specialists should learn how to use its properties.

Barefoot walk on dew
- it is a perfect method for refreshing, reinvigorating and strengthening human body. One morning, go to a place with clean grass (no splinters, thistles, etc.), take off our shoes and walk barefoot into the dew, for a few minutes. Without wiping off our feet, put on our shoes and take a few more steps or a short walk, to make our blood work well. In the beginning, the walk should last for only 2-3 minutes, but as time goes by, any walk should last longer - not more than 15 minutes, or else we risk to get cold. The perfect moment to do that, is at dawn. It is a perfect remedy for strengthening our body; it becomes more resisting to cold, infections of the kidneys, genitals or bladder disease. It is helpful to clear out emotions and negative thoughts and improve mind peace and produces energy.
It is perfect in case of: chronic urinary and kidney disturbance (nephritis, cistitis, and urethritis), blood circulation through feet, infectious dermatitis, diseases caused by sedentary life, proclivity for bronchitis or lung disease, inappetence, asthenia, fatness, psychical stress and tiredness, neurosis, etc.

Shapes of Beauty by Pat Garcia

My morning walk seemed quite challenging today. Even during challenging paths, shapes of beauty are found along the way

Start by doing what is necessary, then do what is possible,

and suddenly you are doing the impossible.

St. Francis of Assisi

The Earth through Droplet
Originally uploaded by Jeremy-G

“When we work together in a bond of brotherhood, when we love each other and
are loyal and faithful to the great cause to which we have been called, the
impossible becomes possible.”
Joseph B. Wirthlin


by Jeremy-G

The Earth through Droplet
Originally uploaded by Jeremy-G



To make the impossible possible The Earth through Droplet
Originally uploaded by Jeremy-G

Just have to keep on going.....

Hebrews 1:14: "Angels ... Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?"

I was in church today during worship when I noticed this little feather falling from above, I quietly picked it up. It means so much to me.........

The little bird that we saved from my cat's mouth died.

He was OK and ready to fly away. He was saved but he died anyway. What are you trying to teach me Lord?

I was informed yesterday night that my dad's wife died in Ecuador on Tuesday after praying for the Lord to take her to His prescence on Monday.

From:Pat

Sent: Monday, July 14, 2008 3:30:59 PM

To sister Annie: I'm praying for all of you, I will be praying for what you are asking, so mamia can have rest and peace that surpasses all understanding. We love you.

Today's sermon

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Romans 12:2 (New International Version)

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.

Romans 8:5 (New King James Version)

I know she's resting in peace!

Cancer's Unexpected Blessings

When you enter the Valley of the Shadow of Death, things change.
Tony Snow

I sat by my best friend's bedside a few years ago as a wasting cancer took him away. He kept at his table a worn Bible and a 1928 edition of the Book of Common Prayer. A shattering grief disabled his family, many of his old friends, and at least one priest. Here was a humble and very good guy, someone who apologized when he winced with pain because he thought it made his guest uncomfortable. He retained his equanimity and good humor literally until his last conscious moment. "I'm going to try to beat [this cancer]," he told me several months before he died. "But if I don't, I'll see you on the other side."
His gift was to remind everyone around him that even though God doesn't promise us tomorrow, he does promise us eternity—filled with life and love we cannot comprehend—and that one can in the throes of sickness point the rest of us toward timeless truths that will help us weather future storms.

"Fastest Man on No Legs": Double Amputee Just Misses Olympic Berth

I want to share this article about a courageous man that has reached for higher goals.

The story was posted by jordan at nowpublic.com

by jordan | July 19, 2007 at 04:00 pm | 815 views | 2 comments

by alessiogiovannini

by jordan

• 

slideshow view all 3

Update: This chapter in Oscar Pistorius' Olympic story does not end happily, but the future is still bright for this super-determined athlete.

On Wednesday, the athlete, nicknamed the "Blade Runner", ran his best ever 400-metre time, but his 46.25 seconds fell short of the 45.55 second minimum needed to qualify for Beijing. The world record, held by American Michael Johnson, stands at 43.18 seconds.

Source: technology.newscientist.com

However, Pistorius says he is happy with his season's achievements despite missing out. He now plans to work towards qualifying for the 2012 Olympics in London.

Source: technology.newscientist.com

Update: "Blade Runner" has won his arbitration hearing, and is cleared to compete for an Olympic berth, despite his carbon-fiber lower legs. Unless he's awarded a spot on South Africa's squad, he still has to qualify.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that the 21-year-old South African is eligible to race against able-bodied athletes, overturning a ban imposed by the International Association of Athletics Federations.

CAS said the unanimous ruling goes into effect immediately.

Pistorius still must reach a qualifying time to run in the individual 400 meters at the Aug. 8-24 Beijing Games. However, he can be picked for the South African relay squad without qualifying.

Pistorius appealed to CAS, world sport's highest tribunal, to overturn a Jan. 14 ruling by the IAAF that banned him from competing. The IAAF said his carbon fiber blades give him a mechanical advantage.

Source: sportsillustrated.cnn.com

The twist here is that Oscar Pistorius is seeking a berth in the Beijing Summer Games in 2008, and not its cousin, the Paralympics.

He faces obstacles beyond the physical though, as Olympic officials disagree over the "advantage" Pistorius' artificial limbs provide.

Three years ago Oscar Pistorius had never stepped onto a track, let alone run a race.

Today he is an athletics sensation - holder of world records in the 100m, 200m and 400m events.

His coach, Ampie Louw, says Oscar is "a natural champion - born that way".

The 20-year-old South African is one of a handful of runners around the globe who could make the Olympic qualifying time. He is less than a second away.

But Oscar's Olympic bid is like no other - he is a double amputee.

At birth he was missing bones below the knee.

After his legs were removed, at the age of one, he learnt to walk on prosthetics, and he believes this pushed him to excel.

He has done everything from quad biking to water skiing. He took up athletics as rehabilitation for a rugby injury.

On the track, they call him "blade runner" - thanks to his carbon fibre prosthetics, custom-made in Iceland.

Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Ossur, the manufacturer of Pistorius' artificial legs, refers to him on their website as "The fastest man on no legs".

Visual auras

More often, however, when we talk about auras we're referring to visual disturbances that come shortly before a headache hits. People will see jagged lines, flashing lights, circles, squares, or just a distortion. There could even be partial blindness. Objects may seem closer or farther away than they actually are.(Visual distortions may have inspired some scenes in Lewis Carroll's book Through the Looking Glass, such as the scene when Alice grows and grows and her feet seem to be very far away!)These disturbances have inspired a lot of migraine aura art through the years, and there has been a lot of speculation that historic art at times may have been inspired by these "visions".Auras such as these typically last between 20 and 40 minutes.

Illusions

Shadows by the seashore

Last night we were walking bare feet on the sand

My computer seems to have a ind of its own. When I press the return key, it insists upon identifying the next line of text even though I want lefthand justification. The brain outdoes the computer by a mile in getting its own way. Like a computer, the brain is a victim of habit. View two or three dadhed and the brain images a line. The brain always wants to fill in the dots, even when dots are all there are. The difference between a computer and a brain is that you can eventually get your own way with your computer if you persevere. With the brain, there are situations when there is no solution short of surgery.
In essence the brain says to re4ality: Don't bother with the facts. I have my preconceived notions. Ideas triumph over the physical world_ even when they are mistaken.

Gerald L. Schroeder
from the Hidden Faces of God

In this second part of our study on the mechanism of perceived brightness, we explore the effects of manipulating three-dimensional geometry. The additional scenes portrayed here demonstrate that the same luminance profile can elicit different sensations of brightness as a function of how the objects in the scene are arranged in space. This further evidence confirms the implication of the scenes presented in the accompanying paper, namely that sensations of relative brightness—including standard demonstrations of simultaneous brightness contrast—cannot arise by computations of local contrast. The most plausible explanation of the full range of perceptual phenomena we have described is an empirical strategy that links the luminance profile in a visual stimulus with an association (the percept) that represents the profile’s most probable real-world source.

My eyes

Fig. 5 shows a stimulus that is seen as a stair by most observers. In fact, the diagram (the so-called Schroeder stair) equally well represents an overhanging cornice, as can be seen by turning the figure upside down. Observers presumably see a stair rather than a cornice because this set of lines and angles has signified a stair much more often than a descending overhang. The association elicited by the stimulus therefore is biased heavily toward a stair by the statistics of what the stimulus usually has meant.
The plausibility of this parallel explanation of illusions concerning two different visual qualities—brightness and form—raises the possibility that the visual system generally is organized to elaborate percepts on a statistical basis rather than by computations that directly inform us about the properties of a visual stimulus.

sun spot

The “errors” in the perception of brightness that arise in the exercise of this probabilistic process are counterbalanced by the enormous value of this strategy of perception. Thus, a scheme of perception based on empirically determined probabilities insures that a given stimulus always elicits a pattern of neural activity (the percept) that represents the most frequently encountered real-world source of the stimulus. In the face of the many uncertainties that the visual world routinely presents, this statistical mechanism may be the best way to disambiguate scenes and thus to guarantee appropriate behavior (which provides the feedback that motivates this process). Although an observer perceiving luminance or other visual relationships on this basis only rarely will see objects that precisely accord with the measured values of the stimulus, the “misperceptions” that ensue are trivial compared with the benefit of always seeing visual stimuli as the scenes they are most likely to represent.

Visual perception is fundamentally ambiguous because an infonite number of three-dimensional
scenes are consistent with our retinal images. To circumvent these ambiguities, the visual system uses prior knowledge such as the assumption that light is coming from above our head. The use of such assumptions is rational when these assumptions are related to statistical regularities of our environment. In confirmation of previous visual search experiments, we demonstrate here that the assumption on the illumination position is in fact biased to the above-left rather than directly above.

Q: I have been reading a book written in the 17th century which claims that animals do not have the eye muscle that is required to look up. However, man has a special muscle for looking up. This would be a great illustration showing that God created man to look up to him. However, I am afraid to use 17th century science to make a point. Is this true about the muscles in the eye?

A: Great question.There are many differences between the eyes of man and all the various creatures in God's creation. Acuity, motion detection, light sensitivity, peripheral field, color perception, just to name a few. However, most of these differences deal with the internal structure and function of the eye and its interrelatedness with the accompanying brain function. There are scientific views that consider the eye an extension of the brain. This is due to the degree of connectedness and the fact that the size of the optic nerve and the percentage of the brain dedicated to processing vision is quite large. Our Lord said that "if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light" in Matthew 6:22. It sounds like to me He knows what He is talking about, and we need to be very careful about what we let in our windows to the soul.

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith

"My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up." Psalm 5:3

Look up to Heaven Part 1

English Sign Language

I can only imagine what my eyes will see.....

Sign Language

TRICKS OF THE EYE, WISDOM OF THE BRAIN

Most people assume that what you see is pretty much what your eye sees and reports to your brain. In fact, your brain adds very substantially to the report it gets from your eye, so that a lot of what you see is actually "made up" by the brain (see Seeing more than your eye does). Perhaps even more interestingly, the eye actually throws away much of the information it gets, leaving it to the rest of the brain to fill in additional information in its own ways. A characteristic pattern of connections among neurons (nerve cells) in the eyes of most animals (including humans), termed a "lateral inhibition network", is a significant way information is thrown away. Lateral inhibition helps to explain a number of "optical illusions" and, more importantly, provides an excellent example of how the brain is organized to actively "make sense" of the information it gets, rather than to simply absorb and respond to it. In so doing, it provides some valuable insights into the sources of our sense of "reality".

R.L.Gregory’s Theory of Illusions

When perception ‘goes wrong’ we have an illusion of reality. This can happen in many ways, and very sometimes very dramatically! Illusions happen in four main ways:

• drug induced states (altered states of reality)




• mental illness (hallucinations)




• distortions




• Hallucinations and Dreams - very similar - visual or auditory (but can involve other senses: touch, smell)
  socially determined (witnesses of events which never occur)

Two ways of viewing hallucinations:

• Mystics: people who have insights into another world of reality and truth (supra physical reality) where the brain gets in the way of understanding (see Aldous Huxley Doors of Perception - the complete text is on-line)


• Empirical Philosophers: people who consider hallucinations as abnormal outputs of the brain (not to be trusted)
  

Definition of hallucination: Spontaneous activity of the nervous system when unchecked by sensory information

What we know about the brain's auto stimulation (situations where hallucinations may take place):

Premise: The brain is continually active (as it is in sleep and dreaming).

• Brain Tumours and Epileptic seizures may cause hallucinations of various kinds.

• SENSORY DEPRIVATION - the active brain runs wild and hallucinates (terrifying and dangerous or irritating and amusing)



• Possibly in SCHIZOPHRENIA when the outside world makes little contact with the individual



• In normal life, when isolation and lack of stimulation, such as when operating automatic machines.



• In outer space (don’t go there alone!)

DON"T BE DECEIVED BY WHAT YOU SEE!

The substance of things hoped for

‘Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.’

Hebrews Chapter 11 Verse 1

We look every which way for evidence in order that we may be convinced that what we believe and hope for is true. Our souls must be filled with the light of His Word to enjoy the benefit of His counsel and wisdom, knowing with certainty that we are following the right path.

LIGHT - EYE - BRAIN / PINEAL GLAND.

It is sensitive to different levels of light and is essential to the functioning of an animal's biological clock. In many animals, including humans, the pineal gland synthesizes a hormone called melatonin in periods of darkness. Melatonin synthesis is halted when light hits the retina of the eye, sending impulses to the gland via the optic nerve.

How does the retina transmit information about light-dark exposure to the pineal gland? Light exposure to the retina is first relayed to the suprachiasmatic nucleus of the hypothalamus, an area of the brain well known to coordinate biological clock signals. Fibers from the hypothalamus descend to the spinal cord and ultimately project to the superior cervical ganglia, from which post-ganglionic neurons ascend back to the pineal gland. Thus, the pineal is similar to the adrenal medulla in the sense that it transduces signals from the sympathetic nervous system into a hormonal signal

The pineal gland — which regulates the cycles of sleep and waking — appears to have evolved as an indirect way to improve vision, by keeping toxic compounds away from the eye, according to a theory by a researcher at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development at the National Institutes of Health.

In support of his theory, Dr. Klein noted that the photoreceptor cells of the retina strongly resemble the cells of the pineal gland and that the pineal cells of sub-mammals (such as fish, frogs and birds) detect light. In addition, melatonin's origin in the ancestral photoreceptor cell is indicated by the capacity of the retinas of mice, fish, frogs, and birds to make low amounts of melatonin.

The suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) - site of the central circadian oscillator in mammals

Within the anterior hypothalamus of mammals the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) form the “master” biological clock, and coordinate 24-hour rhythmicity in every cell of the body. If this region of the brain is damaged or destroyed, then we lose our 24 hour patterns of sleep/wake, and all other 24 hour rhythms. In the early 1990’s transplant experiments provided the definitive proof that the SCN houses the master clock of mammals. The subsequent finding that individual SCN neurones, isolated from all other cells, show near 24 hours rhythms in electrical activity demonstrated that the basic mechanisms that generate this internal clock must be due the molecular interactions within a single cell.

Epilepsy Vs Narcolepsy

Epilepsy Vs Narcolepsy

From: NeurologyGuru, 10 months ago

Epilepsy Vs Narcolepsy

view presentation (tags: students case reports medical)

Epilepsy Vs Narcolepsy:- case report of a 16 year old girl who keeps losing consciousness with sharp waves on her EEG.


Link: SlideShare Link

Narcolepsy vs Epilepsy

For many years I told my doctors I had strange sleeping episodes, when I was the young mother of a toddler, my neighbor had instructions to come and wake me up, if she didn't see me around my garden in the morning. My son is 24 years old now.

During those years I was under homeopathic care and took something for that "invincible sleep" my dear family doctor would say. Unfortunately when I was diagnosed with the pituitary adenoma many years later I had to use Social Security Hospitals here in Mexico due to the high cost of lab test. I say unfortunately because I had to take all kinds of medications and face many complications from them, different doctors from month to month, information that was lost, wrong diagnoses, ironic comments etc. Last year things were "different", something strange was happening. I had had a Tomography so we knew the tumor was not back.

"I'm falling asleep for days, just getting up to eat and having a great battle just to come out of it." "I've been absent from work a lot and I love my work" I would tell the doctors "

Maybe it's menopause, depression, everybody gets tired, relax, do exercise, they would answer.

"I'm forgetting things"

Everybody forgets things.

"Not me, not like this. "

When we age these things start to happen.

"I'm 46! I'm still a young women, and the women in my family live long pleasantly sound- minded lives. You could help me, but you're not doing your job!"Didn't you make an oath to help people?"

So this arrogant doctor actually said "Who is the family doctor whose mind conceived that you needed special studies? It's probably just menopause so I'll check your hormone levels and I will order another tomography and a electroencephalogram but I don't think it's needed. I had to wait for 2 months to have the tests done.

In the meantime I lost consciousness while driving, threw my wedding rings in the trash, forgot that my husband gave me a rose for mother's day and had many personality changes. Had to be hospitalized once. Finally the exams were made:

Results: Normal Hormone Levels..........It's not menopause!

Generalized Epilepsy of the postictal type, five seizures were registered within a half an hour. But what did it mean? I really didn't know but many things began to have a reasonable explanation...... all the falls...... little episodes of my life that were forgotten, but I wasn't sure, the sleeping episodes, the taste distortions, water tasted bad and sodas had a rancid taste, the beautiful sunrise I wanted to photograph in the middle of the night, feeling paralyzed, not being able to breath.

Narcolepsy is now clearly known to be a physical disorder, physicians are still very likely to misdiagnose these patients as having psychologic problems.

It often takes a year or longer for a patient with narcolepsy to receive a correct diagnosis. To determine specific sleep disorders, the physician will take a medical and family history and should be told of any medications being taken.
The symptoms of narcolepsy are sometimes undeniable if the patient reports all of the major symptoms: Excessive daytime sleepiness with a tendency for frequent naps. (These frequent naps should occur every day for at least six months to serve as a diagnosis of narcolepsy.) Narcolepsy is usually diagnosed in adolescence and young adulthood when falling asleep suddenly in school brings the problem to attention.

Cataplexy (abrupt loss of muscle tone or weakness that causes a person to stop all motor activity).
Hypnagogic hallucinations (vivid visual or auditory phenomena) experienced at the onset of sleep.Sleep paralysis (an inability to move on first awakening).

Diagnosis based only on symptoms, however, is often problematic for various reasons: Patients often seek medical help for single symptoms (e.g., sleep paralysis or hypnagogic hallucinations) that might be associated with other disorders, particularly epilepsy.
Sometimes symptoms are not dramatically apparent for years, even to the patient or a skilled observer. In one study the average number of years between onset of symptoms and diagnosis was 14. Another study conducted in a sleep clinic reported that more than half of narcolepsy patients were diagnosed when they were over 40 and had not realized they had narcolepsy until they experienced a bout of cataplexy.

In some cases, the patient may need to consult a sleep specialist or go to a sleep disorders center for accurate diagnosis of a sleep disorder. About 250 centers are accredited by the American Sleep Disorders Associations. Patients should investigate centers carefully, being sure that they offer full sleep studies. One night at a sleep clinic can be very costly and is not usually covered by insurance. At most, sleep disorders centers' patients undergo an in-depth analysis, usually supervised by a multi-disciplinary team of consultants who can provide both physical and psychiatric evaluations.

Hypnagogia

I stayed up last night working on these image from a picture of my garden taken after hurracane Paul last year.

The idea came after I used some flowers to decorate yesterday's shrimp meal when Iwas celebrating how I started cooking joyfuly again after all the bad days I've had to endure. It was quite a special Day! We rescued the little baby bird from my cat's mouth and decided to photograph it and work on it a little, then I looked for the flower pictures and started working on them .......... remembering the episode at church, the powerpoint-like illusion of images. After the storm that came to my life, something beautiful has come out of the fallen flowers of my garden!

After the storm, flowers from my garden

Yun-Wen Shaw

" To dream and altogether not to dream. This synthesis is the operation of genius,

by which both activities are mutually reinforced."

Every night of every day, people everywhere retreat to their beds to sleep, and oftentimes to dream. Many of us are not aware however, that the many levels of consciousness we undergo during the stages of sleep offer a link between our conscious mind and its manifested dream world; perhaps even the possibility of another realm of cognition altogether. Hypnagogia, the deeply relaxed state of consciousness that occurs shortly prior to falling asleep, has been recognized for hundreds of years as a source of creative thought and intuition by a long list of distinguished philosophers, artists, and scientists, names of which include Aristotle and Albert Einstein.
Further experimentation performed on monkeys has determined the temporal lobes to be the part of the brain which mediates various states of consciousness. EEG readouts from the temporal lobes are markedly different when a person is asleep and undergoing a hallucinogenic seizure, or on LSD.


hypnagogia

Landskabet bevæger sig forbi mig der var/er den vandrende på vej mod ingenting glemt og de varme fyrreskove bag skorstenene der udsendte skamløst smukke klaser af gule græskar og ligeså violette auberginer.

The landscape is moving past me there was / is the migrant on the road to nothing and forgotten the heat fyrreskove behind the chimneys are issued shamelessly beautiful bunches of yellow squash and just as purple aubergines.

I'm cooking again!

A flower from my garden to decorate

Camaron al Mojo de Ajo

I had a fresh green juice to drink at the market this morning then I bought fresh shimp and avocado to cook today, just like in the old times.

This cutie was saved from my cat's mouth this afternoon.

Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder marked by excessive sleepiness during the day or recurring, uncontrollable episodes of sleep during normal waking hours, plus sudden episodes of muscle weakness (cataplexy). Sometimes sleep paralysis, vivid dreams, and hallucinations while falling asleep or waking up from sleep also occur.

• Testing in a sleep laboratory, with polysomnography and multiple sleep latency testing, is needed to confirm the diagnosis.
• Drugs are used to help keep people awake and to control other symptoms.

Narcolepsy occurs in about 1 of 2,000 people in the US and Europe. In some cases, the disorder tends to run in families, but its cause is unknown. Although narcolepsy has no serious medical consequences, it can be disabling and increases the risk of motor vehicle and other accidents. Narcolepsy persists throughout life but does not affect life expectancy.

Narcolepsy reflects, in part, abnormalities in the timing and control of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Many symptoms resemble what happens during REM sleep. The muscle weakness, sleep paralysis, and hallucinations of narcolepsy resemble the loss of muscle tone, paralysis, and vivid dreaming that occurs during REM sleep.

Symptoms

Symptoms usually begin during adolescence or young adulthood and persist throughout life. Only about 10% of people with narcolepsy have all the symptoms. Most people have only a few. All have excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS).

EDS has been going on for a long time, often despite long periods of excessive sleep. Many people are overcome by sudden episodes of uncontrollable sleep that can occur at any time, often without warning (called sleep attacks). Falling asleep can be resisted only temporarily. People may have many episodes or only a few in a single day. Each usually lasts a few minutes or less but may last hours. Patients typically feel refreshed upon awakening even if the sleep episode lasts a few minutes. Episodes are most likely to occur in monotonous situations, as during boring meetings or long periods of highway driving. When intentionally taking short naps, people dream vividly. Nighttime sleep may be unsatisfying and interrupted by periodic awakenings and vivid, frightening dreams.

While people are awake, during the day, a sudden episode of muscle weakness without loss of consciousness—called cataplexy—may be triggered by a sudden emotional reaction such as anger, fear, joy, laughter, or surprise. People may become limp, drop something being held, or fall to the ground. These episodes resemble the normal muscle paralysis that occurs during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and, to a lesser degree, the experience of being “weak with laughter” Cataplexy occurs in about 3 of 4 people with narcolepsy.

Occasionally, when just falling asleep or immediately after awakening, people try to move but cannot. This experience, called sleep paralysis, can be terrifying. The touch of another person may relieve the paralysis. Otherwise, the paralysis disappears on its own after several minutes.

When just falling asleep or, less often, when awakening people, may clearly see images or hear sounds that are not there. These extremely vivid hallucinations are similar to those of normal dreaming but are more intense. Hallucinations are called hypnagogic when they occur before falling asleep or hypnopompic when they occur before awakening.

People are less able to function and concentrate. They may lose their motivation and become depressed. Family and other relationships may be hurt.

Diagnosis

Doctors cannot base the diagnosis on symptoms alone because other disorders can cause some of the same symptoms. Sleep paralysis and similar hallucinations occasionally occur in otherwise healthy adults, in people who have been sleep deprived, and in people with sleep apnea syndrome or depression. These symptoms may also occur when certain drugs are taken. Therefore, testing in a sleep laboratory is necessary. Polysomnography is done overnight, and multiple sleep latency testing is done the next day. These tests involve monitoring and recording the activity of the brain, heart, breathing, muscles, and eyes (see Diagnosis of Brain, Spinal Cord, and Nerve Disorders: Electroencephalography). Various other body functions, including movement of the limbs, are also monitored and recorded.

Usually, narcolepsy does not result from abnormalities that can be detected by imaging procedures, such as computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) was defined in 1985 by the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) as a condition characterized by recurrent unprovoked seizures originating from the medial or lateral temporal lobe. The seizures associated with TLE consist of simple partial seizures without loss of awareness (with or without aura) and complex partial seizures (ie, with loss of awareness). The individual loses awareness during a complex partial seizure because the seizure spreads to involve both temporal lobes, which causes impairment of memory.

TLE was first recognized in 1881 by John Hughlings Jackson, who described "uncinate fits" seizures arising from the uncal part of temporal lobe and the "dreamy state." In the 1940s, Gibbs et al introduced the term "psychomotor epilepsy." The international classification of epileptic seizures (1981) replaced the term psychomotor seizures with complex partial seizures. The ILAE classification of the epilepsies uses the term temporal lobe epilepsy and divides the etiologies into cryptogenic (presumed unidentified etiology), idiopathic (genetic), and symptomatic (cause known, eg, tumor).

July 15th sunset
Evening walk

Through his description of the "dreamy state," Hughlings-Jackson accurately characterized and localized medial temporal epilepsy. Correlating the ictal semiology of the "dreamy state" with consciousness, he developed a theory of consciousness that remains relevant to current understanding of the mind-brain relationship.

Patients with temporal lobe epilepsy sometimes experience unusual hallucinations and strange sensations when they have a seizure. Back in the nineteenth century, the legendary English neurologist John Hughlings Jackson called these experiences ‘dreamy states’. Now a team of French researchers, led by Jean-Pierre Vignal, have re-visited these strange phenomena.

One hundred and eighty epileptic patients were having parts of their brains stimulated and recorded from, to try to establish the source of their seizures. During these tests, Vignal’s team found 17 of the patients reported a total of 55 dreamy state experiences, some were a result of seizures, others were caused by the stimulation.

A frequent experience reported by the dreamy state patients was deja vecu (like déjà vu but involving all the senses). As one patient explained:

It’s like in my seizures, I’m reliving something…but I can see you clearly…It’s as if what is happening now has already happened to me, it’s like an old memory that I am in the middle of living out”.

However, at other times, the sensation was more like a visual hallucination:

I see myself playing the drums, with people from my family listening to me”, another patient said.

Such hallucinations always involved personal memories from either the recent or distant past, but never featured public or historical events. This fits with the fact the dreamy states were provoked by a seizure in, or stimulation of, the mesial temporal lobe, the seat of our autobiographical memories.

Tryptophan in nuts and grains similar to prozac

Can some foods make you smarter? Research shows that nuts and seeds just might boost your brainpower and balance your moods. That's right, everything from the most common nuts -- such as walnuts, hazelnuts, cashews and almonds -- to the more exotic seeds and nuts can clear up that "brain fog" and enable you to think clearer and be happier than you ever imagined.

Both figuratively and literally speaking, walnuts are "brain food." As Rebecca Wood points out in her "New Foods Encyclopedia," the walnut looks remarkably like the human brain. "The thin, outer green husk, which is removed before the walnuts are marketed, is likened to the scalp. The walnut's hard shell is like a skull. The thin envelope inside, with its paper-like partitions between the two halves of the nut, is like the membrane. The convoluted nut itself represents the human brain's two hemispheres." Now, you might not like to remember this resemblance while you're eating a handful of them, but you will want to remember that walnuts are made up of 15 to 20 percent protein and contain linoleic (omega-6 fatty acids) and alpha-linoleic acids (omega-3 fatty acids), vitamin E and vitamin B6, making them an excellent source of nourishment for your nervous system.

A healthy nervous system means both clearer and happier thinking, according to research. In fact, according to Readers Digest's "Fight Back with Food," under-consumption of omega-3-rich foods may actually lead to depression. The same walnuts that you can find in the baking aisle of just about any grocery store, may be able to boost your mood in a way similar to the famous antidepressant drug Prozac. Back in November 2004, NaturalNews covered the amazing antidepressant effects of omega-3 fatty acids.

As is the case with Prozac, walnuts' potential antidepressant effect pertains to serotonin, the important brain chemical that controls both your moods and your appetite. Like Prozac and other selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor drugs (SSRIs), walnuts may influence the human brain's serotonin levels, according to Professor James Duke's book "Anti-Aging Prescriptions." That means that you may be able to relieve the disorders commonly treated with antidepressant drugs -- insomnia, depression, overeating and other compulsive behavior -- without the dangerous side effects.

Walnuts aren't the only nut with mood-boosting omega-3s, either. Gandhi praised flax seeds as a wonder food, and many nutritionists and health food fans everywhere agree. In fact, at a recent visit to the Canyon Ranch Health Resort, flax seeds were all the rage. Guests just couldn't get enough flaxseed bread and whole flax seeds as a garnish, and with good reason. Flax seeds are an excellent source for omega-3s, making them a viable source for those who don't like to eat fish, the most common source of omega-3s.

Like walnuts, flax seeds may offer an alternative to antidepressant pharmaceuticals, which are often loaded with side effects. However, as the editors of Bottom Line Health point out in their "Uncommon Cures for Everyday Ailments," the effectiveness of walnuts or any other emotion-boosting seeds and nuts depends on the severity of your mental disorder. Furthermore, boosting your moods with nutrition should not be used as a substitute for the care of a medical specialist.

Walnuts aren't the only common nuts that can boost your moods and your brainpower. According to Professor James Duke, many varieties of seeds and nuts contain tryptophan, an important amino acid that the brain converts to serotonin. Roasted pumpkin seeds and dry sunflower seeds are an excellent source of tryptophan, making them a safe, natural way to relive mild depression and insomnia. Additionally, sunflower seeds are high in thiamine, an important B vitamin for memory and cognitive function.

While you're in the nut aisle shopping for walnuts, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds, be sure to pick up some cashews, almonds, pecans and peanuts too. Each can improve your mental health in its own way. Cashews are high in magnesium, which can "open up" the blood vessels in your body, including those in your brain. When more oxygen-rich blood nourishes your brain, like any organ, it operates better. By providing your body with phenylalanine, adding almonds to your diet can do wonders for your mental and neurological health.

According to "Off the Shelf Natural Health: How to Use Herbs and Nutrients to Stay Well" author Mark Mayell, phenylalanine has the rare ability to cross the blood-brain barrier, where it then stimulates your brain to produce "the natural pain-killing and mood-boosting neurotransmitters dopamine, adrenaline and noradrenaline." Accordingly, phenylalanine-rich almonds can drastically reduce the symptoms of Parkinson's Disease, a neurological disorder that is always debilitating and often eventually deadly. Additionally, almonds are high in riboflavin, which may boost your memory. Peanuts and pecans provide another important nutrient for optimal brain function, choline. According to "Permanent Remissions" by Robert Haas, choline aids in both memory and brain development.

When you look at our history as a species, the knowledge that some seeds and nuts may enhance brainpower and moods makes perfect sense. As "Origin Diet" author Elizabeth Somer writes, seeds and nuts were an essential part of our ancestors' diets: "Up to 65 percent of our original diets were fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, seeds, and other plants. Our ancient ancestors ate pounds of produce every day. The other 35 percent came from wild game, low in saturated fats and rich in polyunsaturated fats called the omega-3 fatty acids.

Hundreds of studies spanning decades of research show that diets based on these foods are also the ones that lower disease risk, prevent obesity, boost energy and mood, improve mental function, and slow aging." Seeds and nuts are essential to a healthy, well-functioning brain and, if they're high in omega-3, essential to the brain development of an unborn fetus and growing child. It is worth your efforts to make them part of your diet, and that of your family.

Inside you, the essential amino acid L-tryptophan is broken down into anxiety-reducing, snooze-inducing niacin. Even more important, tryptophan is also made into serotonin, one of your body's most important neurotransmitters. Serotonin gives a feeling of well-being and mellowness, or as the Australians would say, "no worries." This is such a profound effect that Prozac, Paxil and similar antidepressants usually either mimic serotonin or artificially keep the body's own serotonin levels high. You can do the same thing with your food. And no one can tell us that beans, peas, cheese, nuts and wheat germ are toxic if you eat a lot of them!

Plenty of carbohydrates (starches) in your meals help tryptophan get to where it does the most good: in your brain. In order to cross the blood-brain barrier to get in, carbos are required. So cheese and crackers provides a better effect than the cheese standing alone. An egg or two on toast is better than just the egg. Beans, peas, and nuts already contain carbohydrate, so you are all set there.

Consider that five servings of beans, a few portions of cheese or peanut butter, or just one big handful of cashews provides one to two thousand milligrams of tryptophan, which will work as well as prescription antidepressants...
Foods high in the Amino Acid L-Tryptophan (in milligrams (mg) per 100 gram (3.5 ounce) portion), about the size of a deck of playing cards. That is not a large serving, and in a single meal you might easily double or triple the figures listed here.


Beans
Lentils 215 mg
Dried Peas 250
Navy (pea) 200
Pinto Beans 210
Red Kidney 215
Soy 525


Nuts and Seeds
Brazil Nuts 185 mg
Cashews 470
Filberts 210
Peanuts 340
Peanut Butter 330 (this is for natural peanut butter, not popular commercial brands)
Pumpkin Seed 560
Sesame Seeds 330-575 (if seeds are ground up)
Sunflower 340

Other nuts generally provide at least 130 milligrams per small serving; usually more.

Grains
Wheat Germ 265 mg

Cheese
Cheddar: 340 mg
Parmesan: 490
Swiss: 375

Other cheeses tend to be lower in tryptophan, but are still very good sources.

Eggs 210 mg

Brewer's Yeast 700 mg

Remember when you ate a bunch of turkey and felt tired? There is truth to the turkey makes you tired statement. Turkey is a food high in tryptophan, which is a precursor to serotonin. Some of the other major foods rich in tryptophan are milk, yogurt, eggs, meat, nuts, beans, fish, and cheese. Cheddar, Gruyere, and Swiss cheese are particularly rich in tryptophan.

Tryptophan and depression: These elevated tryptophan levels will make it easier for your body to naturally produce serotonin, and thus stab off depression.

I will be adding oats and milk either for breakfast or night snack. I found a neat web page with all kinds of nutritional information and data recommended by the Institute of Medicine's Food and Nutrition Board

Protein quality of oats with milk

Protein quality is dependent on having all the essential amino acids in the proper proportions. If one or more amino acid is not present in sufficient amounts, the protein in your diet is considered incomplete.

Each spoke on the Protein Quality graph represents one of the nine essential amino acids, and the graph shows how close the protein in your diet is to the optimal distribution of amino acids recommended by the Institute of Medicine's Food and Nutrition Board.

An Amino Acid Score of 100 or higher indicates a complete or high-quality protein. If the Amino Acid Score is less than 100, a link is provided to complementary sources of protein. By combining complementary proteins, you may be able to increase the overall quality of the protein you consume.

It's score is 79

Though I have fallen, I will rise

Something Strange happened to me on Sunday the 13th.

I had what seems to be a visual hallucination in a kind of dreamy state in church. I saw designs and many images of the pastor like in a power point presentation, I would snap out of it then go back into that sensation.

I know partial lobe epilepsy can cause that, my doctor is on holidays so I'll have to wait.


I found something I wrote back in December 5th 2001, during a time when I was constantly falling,after each fall I ended up in the hospital with headaches, vomiting, deeply depressed, all kinds of things. I remember a doctor telling me we start losing our balance as we age! I was 40 and had just recovered from a pituitary adenoma that was diagnosed due to and epileptic seizure! He's one of the doctors that I'm not grateful for, he didn't have any test done. Once I fell flat on my face without even using my hands to protect myself from falling, everything seemed like in slow motion.I remember my face hitting the floor, like in those slow motion shots when a boxer is knocked out.

José Everardo Cristóbal Quirino's biography is quite inspiring, in spite of many looking down at him and making racist comments on internet because of his humble origins.

Racism even among Mexicans. Malinchismo perhaps? Distorted role models?

It doesn't matter he's a Mexican flatwater canoeist 2007 Pan American and 2006 World champion in flatwater ( canoe) racing in C-1 1000m.

He was born at the island of Uradén, 4 km from Pátzcuaro, Michoacan, where fishing is a way of life. Jose Everardo is the 8th of 10 brothers and was able to study only up to secondary school.

At age 5 he began to row canoes with his father or brothers but at age 7 he was on his own to go to school by this mean of transportation.

One tragic day playing races with his brother they tipped over and his brother drowned while saving his life. Therefore he dedicates all his victories to his memory.

One day a canoe coach went over to his school to invite whoever was interested and Everardo decided to accepted but somehow he had to keep up with school and chores forcing him to row his canoe pretty fast to get home on time and not get in trouble.

"Canoes are like my shoes, I feel comfortable in them" He says smiling.

Interesting facts about the pineal gland.

Every pineal gland varies, no two glands look alike. It is small ( 50-150 mg. in man) but it’s flow only second to the kidney which is a much bigger organ .

The Pineal is not regarded as having left and right divisions like the brain.

It is made up of two types of cells- pineocytes and astrocytes. Astrocytes are found through the nervous system, but not in any other gland except the pineal gland .

No organ runs by itself in the human body, every organ depends on something. The pineal though linked with the brain, is not activated by the cells surrounding it. It appears to be activated not from a source of the body, but from the eyes- messages conveyed by the pupils.

McMillin1991.

Kumarswamiji

IMPORTANCE OF EPILEPSY MONITORING UNIT

I think I had a seizure las night....... I felt involuntary movements as I was sleeping. This is the second time I have experienced this form of seizure ( that I'm aware of) . The first time I wasn't sure,I usually lose conciousness or have abscence seizures and memory loss. Well. this morning, I had a difficult time waking up, feeling totally exausted. Did I take my medication last night? I think I did. What could have triggered it? Could it be because I'm preocupied about my dad's wife who is in agony? The change of weather? Thyroid condition?

Unlocking Mysteries of Epilepsy is Goal of New Monitoring Unit

Emory University Hospital’s state-of-the-art Epilepsy Monitoring Unit (EMU) helps patients better identify the source of epileptic seizures, which in turn, can lead to more effective treatments and outcomes. Epilepsy, which takes many forms, can result in severe physical convulsions to loss of consciousness or even short-term memory loss. More than 40 million people currently suffer from epilepsy, a neurological disorder that causes abnormal electrical activity in the brain resulting in recurrent seizures. The condition affects children, adults and seniors. It can be genetically present from birth or caused by a head injury, brain tumors or strokes. In many cases the cause cannot be discovered. The newly renovated unit allows for continuous video and EEG (electroencephalography) monitoring of electrical activity in the brain. A standard EEG test typically lasts 30 minutes and only offers a brief snapshot of a brain’s activity within a limited time frame. However, continuous monitoring can improve diagnostic accuracy when the diagnosis of epilepsy, particular seizure type or location of onset is not clear by routine EEG recordings. According to Suzette LaRoche, MD, director of neurophysiology at Emory University Hospital there are many different types of seizures a patient with epilepsy may experience. Accurate diagnosis of seizure types aids in the appropriate selection of effective medications and possible surgical treatment options. "Accurate diagnosis of the correct seizure type and pinpointing exactly where in brain seizures originate can help us to determine therapeutic options which may include one or a combination of drug therapy, surgery or even a device similar to a pacemaker called a vagus nerve stimulator" explains LaRoche.

BEAUTIFUL SUNSET LA PAZ BAJA CALIFORNIA JULY 8th 2008

I have been walking daily and recovering my energy and physical condition, I even jogged a little! I had an appointment at the nutriocionist yesterday and celebrated losing 4 pounds!

“When I admire the wonder of a sunset or the beauty of the moon,

my soul expands in worship of the Creator”

Mahatma Gandhi

Life waited as I gathered my thoughts, Static I was as the moments passed by. Thunder greeted me as I looked heavenwards, My senses tingled me as I felt the raindrop from the sky.

My heartbeat slowed down, the mist enveloped me, The moment was mine to live, mine to share. Nothing mattered, not the rain, nor the sunset glow, Life was mine to live, without a worry, without a care.

The world seemed different, distant yet very close. As I had transcended to a state of absolute peace. Each raindrop shattered the silence around me. I clasped my hands and fell to my knees.

Guidance I wanted, guidance to walk the path. Guidance to help me read, to understand the signs. Guidance to tell me what was my existence all about, Guidance to tell me what was I for and what was mine.

Then the truth dawned upon me, in a trickle of raindrops. It was my existence in a world full of love and endless strife, Which would temper me, teach me, prepare me; For the moment when I would know the meaning of my life.

- Pranay

Sunrise, Sunset

Each day of our lives the sun rises and sets. This gourd speaks to the strength and continuity of that. I used a deep burn around the sun, making the rays stand out.

Pituitary hyperplasia

Morning walk July 7th. Mermaid at the malecon La Paz Baja California Sur

Pituitary hyperplasia is rare and difficult to diagnose, any pituitary cell is capable of undergoing hyperplasia in the presence of the right stimuli.
It is a uncommon condition that is inadequately studied, difficult to diagnose and under-diagnosed.
Thyrotroph hyperplasia can be large enough to mimic tumor and compress the adjacent structures, a fact that needs to be kept I mind in order to avoid confusion with pituitary adenoma.
Pituitary cell hyperplasia can be a source of hyperprolactinemia, gigantism and Cushing’s disease ans some non remissions following successful removal of corticotroph adenoma could be attributed to corticotroph hyperplasia.
Pituitary hyperplasia can occur in coexistence with pituitary adenoma.
Though pituitary hyperplasia is not a prerequisite for the formation of pituitary adenoma, the hyperplastic cells are more susceptible to neoplastic transformation than normal cells.
HYPERPLASIA

Hyperplasia is an increase in the number of cells of an organ or tissue in response to a stimulus. Any cell population within the pituitary gland can undergo hyperplasia. This process can be physiological or pathological (3;95;96) and when prolonged may progress to adenoma formation (97-102).

Somatotroph hyperplasia is seen in patients with ectopic production of GH-releasing hormone (GRH) by pheochromocytomas, endocrine tumors of lung, pancreas or other elements of the dispersed endocrine system (97;103;104). Rarely, it may be associated with a gangliocytoma of the hypothalamus (105). Mammosomatotroph hyperplasia is the characteristic pituitary lesion in McCune-Albright syndrome (106;107); rarely, it may be due to GRH excess or it may be idiopathic (108). Lactotroph hyperplasia is physiologic during pregnancy or other conditions of estrogen excess, but pathological idiopathic lactotroph hyperplasia is a rare cause of hyperprolactinemia (109;110). Corticotroph hyperplasia is a cause of Cushing's disease that may be associated with a corticotroph adenoma (98-100). In rare patients, it is attributed to ectopic or eutopic excess of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH). It is also physiological in patients with untreated Addison's disease. Thyrotroph hyperplasia develops in patients with prolonged primary hypothyroidism(111-113). Gonadotroph hyperplasia is seen in patients with prolonged primary hypogonadism (101;102).

Radiologic evaluation of patents with hyperplasia usually reveals diffuse sellar enlargement without enhancing normal tissue on contrast administration. Hyperplasia is usually reversible if the underlying condition is appropriately treated. However, in patients with idiopathic hyperplasia, the underlying stimulus is not known. Patients with lactotroph hyperplasia can be treated with dopaminergic agonists. Those with Cushing's syndrome may require total hypophysectomy to achieve clinical control.

The key to distinguishing adenohypophysial hyperplasia from adenoma lies in the reticulin stain (Figure 14). Hyperplasia is characterized by expanded acini with an intact reticulin framework whereas adenomas have breakdown of the reticulin fiber network. Immunohistochemistry shows predominance of the hyperplastic cell type with other hormone-containing cells interspersed. Ultrastructural examination is not a reliable method to distinguish hyperplasia from adenoma, however, it was the method used to describe the cell enlargement that defines "thyroidectomy" cells (Figure 15) in patients with primary hypothyroidism, and "gonadectomy" cells in patients with primary hypogonadism. In both situations, the target cells develop abundant vacuolated cytoplasm that is occupied almost entirely by dilated rough endoplasmic reticulum with secretory material.

When Laughter Makes Little Children Die

NowPublic by patgarcia

by patgarcia

Another one of those life threatening illnesses where immediate proper diagnosis can make a great difference.

Most mothers hope their child's life will be filled with laughter - but for Lucy Hoggan, the sound of her son's giggles fills her with dread.

Lucy's son three-year-old Cadell has a rare form of epilepsy that causes strange laughter fits, which could one day kill him.

'It's frightening,' his mother Lucy, 38, said.

'Cadell may sound like he's laughing but his eyes are filled with fear. He's laughing but his eyes are panic stricken.

'It happens about ten times a day, at the most inappropriate times. One minute he'll be serious or relaxed the next he'll be manically laughing. Afterwards he cries or wants a cuddle and some reassurance.'

Cadell's epilepsy is caused by a benign tumour in his brain. Doctors have warned his family he will one day need an operation to remove the tumour. If the fits are allowed to carry on too severely, Cadell may one day kill himself laughing.

Source: dailymail.co.uk

'It seems that brain surgery is the best way to treat it in the future,' said Lucy.

'When he has a seizure most people would just think he is laughing, but I can always tell. I know his brain is malfunctioning.'

The devoted mother is a member of the international support group Hypothalamic Hamartoma Uncontrolled Gelastic Seizures, or HHUGS. She wants more research so other children can be diagnosed earlier.

A decade ago there was no effective treatment for the HH tumour. But a pioneering team of neurosurgeons in Australia brought hope for sufferers.

The team at Melbourne Royal Children's Hospital, headed by Prof Jeffrey Rosenfeld, devised a delicate operation whereby the HH tumour is accessed though the top of the brain.

Now years later, the surgery has become available at Kings College Hospital in London.

Dr Chris Chandler, specialist neurosurgeon at King's, said: 'It's such a rare condition.

'The hypothalamus controls hormones, body temperature, hunger, thirst, fatigue and anger.

'After the operation some patients experience uncontrollable hunger which can lead to obesity.

'Parents literally have to bolt all their food cupboards because the child will feel ravenous all the time even if they've just eaten.

'However all my patents have seen an improvement in their quality of life. We have seen some amazing results.'

Source: dailymail.co.uk

The tuber cinereum is a part of the hypothalamus located between the mamillary bodies and the optic chiasma.

A hamartoma is a focal malformation that resembles a neoplasm; it is not a malignant tumor and it is composed of tissue elements normally found at that site that grow in a disorganized mass.

Hypothalamic hamartoma in the brain typically occurs in the hypothalamus and presents as a discrete mass isointense to cortex on both T1 and T2, without contrast enhancement (notice that this picture
is a post-contrast T1). This lesion may cause gelastic seizures, visual problems or early onset of puberty. The symptoms often begin in early infancy and are progressive, often with general cognitive and/or functional disability.

Curiously:
tuber cinereum is named after its colour…in fact, being gray matter it is called “cinereum” - the colour of the ash.

The word “hamartoma” derives from the greek “hamartia”: in Greek tragedy, the concept of “hamartia” is an error in judgment or unwitting mistake, normally applied to the actions of the hero…in the same view, in medicine, hamartoma is considered an error of development.

“Gelastic” is a term often used in medical terminology to indicate an association of a symptom or syndrome with laughter. The word originates from the Greek “gelaein” that means “to laugh”.

Source: radpod.org

Three-year-old Grace Webster perches on the operating table, tiny and cold, covered only by a diaper and her sandy-blond Raggedy Ann hair. Her blue eyes gaze warily at the monster-size machines sprouting tube tentacles that encircle her — machines that will guide surgeons four inches into her brain.

Grace had her first menstrual period at 14 months old. Her body is racked more than 10 times a day with seizures, some of them bizarrely mimicking laughter or rage.

The source of her suffering is a hypothalamic hamartoma, or H.H., a tumor on the hypothalamus that strikes only a few thousand people in the world. And while the tumor is not malignant, until five years ago it was considered incurable, even when baffled doctors could diagnose it. Surgery was risky and largely ineffective. Medication seldom helped. Many children were institutionalized.

Now, thanks to an innovative surgical procedure, scores of these children have been cured at two centers that specialize in the disease. One is in Melbourne, Australia; the other is the Barrow Neurological Institute here in Phoenix.

Source: nytimes.com

Rescuing the brain Australian neurosurgeon brings breakthrough to Shands

About six times a day for most of his two years, Nicholas Worthington would break out into a heartbreaking laugh.

In one of nature's cruel ironies, the laughter is a symptom of hypothalamic hamartoma, an extremely rare disorder that brings sorrow to the victims and their families.

"When one of the seizures would come on, Nicholas would come over to you and say, 'owee,' 'owee' 'owee,' " said Nicholas's mother, Tricia Worthington of Jacksonville. "You never get used to it."

The Worthingtons and two other families' lives were transformed this week under the skilled hands of a renowned Australian neurosurgeon who came to Gainesville to spread hope to patients and expertise to the neurosurgical staff at Shands at the University of Florida.

The hypothalamus
Hypothalamic hamartoma is characterized by benign but abnormally formed brain tissue that grows near or against the hypothalamus, the control center of the brain. The hypothalamus is a well-protected region near the center of the brain that performs many nervous-system functions.

It controls hormones, hence young HH patients often have an abnormally early puberty. The hypothalamus influences everything from body temperature and food intake to the body's fight-or-flight mechanisms.

In HH patients, tissue called hamartoma develops near or intertwines with the hypothalamus early in pregnancy. It typically causes "gelastic" seizures, which Rosenfeld described as short bursts of what could be called a hybrid of laughing and crying. In some cases tremors of the arms occur.

Patients also commonly develop severe aggression, he said, called "hypothalamic rage."

Rosenfeld said he once operated on a patient about 25 years old who had exhibited such severe rage that it was feared he would kill somebody.

But the surgical treatment, he said, is more successful on younger patients, and only about 10 of his 52 patients have been adults. Medication usually is prescribed to adults to control the epileptic seizures associated with HH.

Source: search.gainesville.com

Butter from pasteurized cream prevents calcification of the pineal gland and is necessary for health of thyroid gland

Butter made from pasteurized cream is healthier than the highest quality margarine.

But grass-fed raw cream butter is a completely natural food essential to our health. Following is a long list of health benefits from consuming grass-fed raw cream butter:
1. Butter is rich in the most easily absorbable form of Vitamin A necessary for thyroid and adrenal health.
2. Contains lauric acid, important in treating fungal infections and Candida.
3. Contains lecithin, essential for cholesterol metabolism.
4. Contains antioxidants that protect against free radical damage.
5. Has antioxidants that protect against weakening arteries.
6. Is a great source of Vitamins E and K.
7. Is a very rich source of the vital mineral selenium.
8. Saturated fats in butter have strong anti-tumor and anti-cancer properties.
9. Butter contains conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), which is a potent anti-cancer agent, muscle builder and immunity booster.
10. Vitamin D3 found in butter is essential to absorption of calcium.
11. Protects against tooth decay.
12. Is our only source of an anti-stiffness factor, which protects against calcification of the joints. 13. Anti-stiffness factor in butter also prevents hardening of the arteries, cataracts, and calcification of the pineal gland.
14. Is a source of activator X, which helps our body absorb minerals.
15. Is a source of iodine in a highly absorbable form. 16. May promote fertility in women.
17. Is a source of medium-chain triglycerides, which are not stored in our bodies as fat tissue.
18. Cholesterol found in butterfat is essential to children’s brain and nervous system development.
19. Contains arachidonic acid which plays a role in brain function and is a vital component of cell membranes.
20. Protects against gastrointestinal infections in the very young or the elderly.

REMEMBER ABOUT SELENIUM'S ANTIAGING, ANTIDEPRESSION PROPERTIES

http://patgarcia-marathonoflife.blogspot.com/2008/06/seleniums-antiaging-antidepression.html

Happy 4th of July! Warning about fireworks.

Photo by Timmy the Camera Guy

It started with a migraine, not even five minutes after the fireworks show began. Damon Thorne tried to look away but the entire sky was lit up.

"Even closing my eyes -- I could still see the fireworks through my eyelids," he says.

Then, his right hand began to quiver. Little points of light, much like the "stars" that compose a firework's bloom, panned across his field of view. This was Thorne's "aura," visible only to him, and a warning sign that a seizure was about to happen.
"Next thing I remember, I was waking up in the hospital," says Thorne, who has epilepsy. "Come to find out I had some massive grand mal seizure."

In what's called reflex epilepsy, the seizures can be sparked by things patients see or hear, even sense in the environment around them. A small percentage of people with epilepsy -- somewhere between 3 and 5 percent -- are considered photosensitive, because light can trigger their seizures. The source could be a computer monitor, a television or even sunlight reflecting off water in a certain way.

Doctors often can determine whether patients are photosensitive by having them look at a strobe light to see if it sets off a seizure. This photostimulation exercise is routinely done during a common diagnostic test for epilepsy, in which technicians use an electroencephalogram, or EEG, to monitor patients' brain waves for unusual electrical activity.

"There are literally thousands of different triggers for seizures," says Dr. John Gibbs, a neurologist who now treats Damon Thorne in Greeneville, N.C. "[Fireworks] certainly can mimic photostimulation."
Diagnosing photosensitivity is important because it can guide the type of medication patients get and help them identify a potential trigger to avoid, helping prevent further seizures.

A Healthier July Fourth To Light Up The Sky ! Chemists seek environmentally friendlier fireworks

perchlorate in fireworks has also been identified as a potential human health hazard. Studies suggest that it inhibits the thyroid's ability to take up iodine from the bloodstream and can reduce the production of thyroid hormone. And because the anion is highly water soluble, it readily slips into groundwater. "The major effort in most areas of environmentally friendly pyrotechnics research is to find perchlorate replacement materials," Conkling says.
Source: pubs.acs.org

Brain Actively Suppresses Distracting Memories

A landmark study is the first ever to record visual images of the human brain as it actively suppresses distracting memories.

These findings reveal why remembering details isn’t necessarily a good thing.

Dr. Anthony Wagner, senior author of the study conducted at Stanford University, points out that people often have a difficult time remembering new passwords, because our brains get distracted by all of the other past and present passwords rattling around in our heads. Dr. Wagner says that if the brain can block out the distractions, or essentially forget the unnecessary digits or words, the easier it is to remember the new ones.

A landmark study is the first ever to record visual images of the human brain as it actively suppresses distracting memories. These findings reveal why remembering details isn’t necessarily a good thing.

In essence, the brain could not work quickly and efficiently if it did not have the capacity to forget what it determines as irrelevant. The human brain doesn’t like to be cluttered with what it deems unnecessary information. That may be why many of us can’t remember most of what we learned in college algebra.

What the study wasn’t able to explain however, is why our brains think remembering lines from Shaun of the Dead is more important than recalling where we left the car keys…

"Power Shift" -How to Enhance Your Memory

A recent study suggests that merely glancing from left to right (the traditional “shifty look” of spies and sneaks) can boost memory power and help people differentiate between real and imagined memories. Moving the eyes up and down had no such effect. The trick may work because the specific left/right eye movement engages both the left and right hemispheres of the brain at the same time. As little as 30 seconds of the activity could be enough to help you remember where you left your wallet, or the number sequence needed to deactivate that bomb.

“This could be important in situations where we feel uncertain, unclear or maybe even just confused about what we may have done or said.

“Our work shows that true memory can be improved and false memory reduced. One reason for this is that bilateral eye movements may improve our ability to monitor the source of our memories.”

“Some research indicates that certain types of memory – for example what one did yesterday, or memory for a word in an experiment – are dependent upon interactions between the cerebral hemispheres.”

Previous research has suggested that wiggling your eyes can trigger childhood memories to come flooding back.

But the latest research could help people to distinguish between things they have heard and things they have only “thought”.

Flouride toxicity on the brain

) Fluoride's ability to damage the brain represents one of the most active areas of research on fluoride toxicity today.

2) The research on fluoride and the brain has been fueled by 18 human studies from China, India, Iran, and Mexico finding elevated levels of fluoride exposure to be associated with IQ deficits in children. Fluoride's impact on IQ is exacerbated among children with low-iodine exposure.

3) The impact of fluoride on children's IQ has been documented even after controlling for children's lead exposure, iodine exposure, parental education and income status, and other known factors that might impact the results (Rocha-Amador 2007; Xiang 2003 a,b).

4) In addition to IQ studies, 3 studies (Yu 1996; Du 1992; Han 1989) have found that fluoride accumulates in the brain of the fetus, causing damage to cells and neurotransmitters and 1 study (Li 2004) has found a correlation between exposure to fluoride during fetal development and behavioral deficits among neonates.

5) Several recent studies have found that even adult exposures to fluoride may result in central nervous system disturbances, particularly among industrial workers.

5) The findings of neurological effects in fluoride-exposed humans is consistent with, and strengthened by, recent findings from over 40 animal studies published since 1992. As with the studies on humans, the studies on animals have reported an impairment in learning and memory prorcesses among the fluoride-treated groups.

6) The animal studies have also documented considerable evidence of direct toxic effects of fluoride on brain tissue, even at levels as low as 1 ppm fluoride in water (Varner 1998). These effects include:

-- reduction in nicotinic acetylcholine receptors;
-- reduction in lipid content;
-- impaired anti-oxidant defense systems;
-- damage to the hippocampus;
-- damage to the purkinje cells;
-- increased uptake of aluminum;
-- formation of beta-amyloid plaques (the classic brain abnormality in Alzheimer's disease);
-- exacerbation of lesions induced by iodine deficiency; and
-- accumulation of fluoride in the pineal gland.

In mammals, the pineal gland is located above the thalamus of the brain between the cerebral cortices. In the 1990s, Jennifer Luke of the UK discovered that the pineal gland is a major site of fluoride accumulation within the body - with higher concentrations of fluoride than either teeth or bone.

Luke's studies indicate that the accumulation of fluoride in the pineal gland can reduce the gland's synthesis of melatonin, a hormone that helps regulate the onset of puberty. Fluoride-treated animals were found to have reduced levels of circulating melatonin and an earlier onset puberty than untreated animals. Luke concluded:

"The safety of the use of fluorides ultimately rests on the assumption that the developing enamel organ is most sensitive to the toxic effects of fluoride. The results from this study suggest that the pinealocytes may be as susceptible to fluoride as the developing enamel organ"

Ref: The Effect of Fluoride on the Physiology of the Pineal Gland. Jennifer Anne Luke, 1997. A dissertation submitted to the School of Biological Sciences, University of Surrey, in fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
See excerpts

The fact that fluoride's impact on the pineal gland was never studied, or even considered, before the 1990s, highlights a major gap in knowledge underpinning current policies on fluoride and health.

The Pineal Gland: A Photoperiodic Transducer
Through its nocturnal secretion of the biogenic amine melatonin, the pineal has effects on the regulation of many internal physiological rhythms and may provide an important clue for translating photoperiodic stimuli into action. Furthermore, melatonin can alter coat pigmentation and hair growth; can inhibit hypothalamic regulation of the HPA [Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal], HPT [Hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid], and HPG [Hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal] axes; and has been shown to enhance the immune response system (Norris, 1999). Photic input in birds and mammals is accomplished primarily via the optic visual system. However, the pineal of most fishes, amphibians, and reptiles also plays an important role as a direct photoreceptor, and through secretion of melatonin, it may be an important modulator of the HPA, HPT, and HPG axes as well. Any environmental factor that alters pineal function may have profound effects on the well-being of vertebrates.
• Chapter 3: Endocrinology and Endocrine Toxicology
From the report: 2002. Safety Global Assessment of the State-of-the Science of Endocrine Disruptors. International Programme on Chemical Safety. WHO/PCS/EDC/02.2 - An assessment prepared by an expert group on behalf of the World Health Organization, the International Labour Organisation, and the United Nations Environment Programme. Edited by: Terri Damstra, Sue Barlow, Aake Bergman, Robert Kavlock, Glen Van Der Kraak.

Until Jennifer Luke's work (1,2) many people were unaware that the pineal gland produced the same crystals of calcium hydroxyapatite as the bones and teeth. [Having looked through numerous text books I found that these crystals are called "brain sand" -- a term used by scientists, not Hollywood producers! The terminology may have been factor.] According to Luke's 1997 thesis (1):

"It is remarkable that the pineal gland has never been analysed separately for F because it has several features which suggest that it could accumuate F. It has the highest calcium concentration of any normal soft tissue in the body because it calcifies physiologically in the from of hydroxyapatite (HA). It has a high metabolic activitity coupled with a very profuse blood supply: two factors favouring the deposition of F in mineralizing tissues. The fact that the pineal is outside the blood-brain barrier suggests that pineal HA could sequester F from the bloodstreatm if it has the same strong affinity for F as HA in the other mineralizing tissues (page 1).

"After a half a century of the prophylactic use of fluorides in dentistry, we now know that fluoride readily accumulates in the human pineal gland. In fact, the aged pineal contains more fluoride than any other normal soft tissue... However, the pineal gland is unique in that it can be classified as a soft or as a mineralizing tissue. In terms of mineralized tissue, the mean fluoride concentration in the pineal calcification was equivalent to that in severely fluorosed bone and more than four times higher than in corresponding bone ash, i.e., 8,900 ± 7,700 vs. 2,040 ± 1,100 mg/kg, respectively. The calcification in two of the 11 pineals analysed in this study contained extremely high levels of fluoride: 21,800 and 20,500 mg/kg (page 167)."

Luke's work is particularly illuminating because she showed that fluoride accumulated in the human pineal gland. She also found that fluoride lowered the production of melatonin in animal studies - the hormone produced by the pineal gland.

Luke analyzed the pineal glands of 11 elderly corpses in the UK and found that the levels of fluoride were extremely high (a mean of about 9,000 ppm).

Luke also noted a finding from the first 10-year follow-up health study of the Newburgh-Kingston fluoridation trial (which was not thought significant at the time) that on average the girls in Newburgh started menstruation 5 months earlier than the girls in the control, non-fluoridated, city of Kingston (3). -- see excerpts below.

One of the risks we may be taking by exposing our whole population to fluoride is interfering with delicate regulatory timing processes, from the onset of puberty to the aging process. - EC.

Fluoride may affect the enzymatic conversion of tryptophan to melatonin. Although melatonin was the hormone investigated in this project, fluoride may also affect the synthesis of melatonin precursors, (e.g., serotonin), or other pineal products, (e.g., 5-methoxytryptamine). This would depend on the position(s) of the susceptible enzyme(s). For some unknown reason, pineal calcification starts intracellularly. Calcium has been demonstrated in pinealocyte mitochondria. Therefore, it may be a mitochondrial enzyme that is sensitive to the effects of fluoride, e.g., tryptophan-5-hydroxylase. Alternatively, fluoride may affect pinealocyte enzymes which require a divalent co-enzyme because such enzymes are particularly sensitive to fluoride.

Recent research also indicates a link between pineal gland calcification and degree of fluoride deposition in the gland, and can cause thyroid disorders.

In the past, fluoride was used to reduce the activity of the thyroid gland for people suffering from hyperthyroidism €" an overactive thyroid. But the daily does of fluoride people receive in communities that have fluoridated water (1.6 to 6.6 mg/day) exceeds the dose of fluoride which depressed the thyroid gland (2.3 to 4.5 mg/day).

Symptoms of fluoride toxicity point towards some kind of profound metabolic dysfunction, and are strikingly similar to the symptoms of Hypothyroidism.

Hypothyroidism is an under-production of thyroid hormone. The two hormones produced by the thyroid controls the body's temperature, ability to burn calories, and energy usage. It is estimated that hypothyroidism affects over 13 million people in the USA.. One in eight women may develop a thyroid condition at some time in their life usually between the ages of 30 and 50.

Symptoms of Hypothyroidism: Nervousness, irritability, increased perspiration, insomnia and fatigue, weakness, hair loss, seperation of the nails, hand tremors, intolerance of heat, rapid heartbeat, and sometimes protuding eyeballs. The condition is sometimes called thyrotoxicosis, or Grave's disease.

marathon of life: Flouride Poisoning