Copy

Dear all, 

⛱ I hope you’ve had a smooth week so far, with summer holidays around the corner, maybe you are already counting down your last days at work. Speaking of “time” in a broader manner, we all should regularly reflect on how and where we invest our time, and most importantly why we do what we do (no matter if it regards our work or personal life). If you haven’t done this exercise in a while, it is time to check your time investment, after all, it’s your most valuable asset! 


🎧 And if you missed the latest episodes of my Podcasts, about stress and the heart ("When stress is heartcore"), you have the quick access here; stay tuned, a new episode will be released by the end of the week about how stress affects our brain and decision making.

📖The past week was rich in medical discoveries, you’ll be amazed reading the news!

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please remember that this Newsletter is NOT by any means a medical advice, if you have any medical problem you should consult your medical doctor.


💡 Here is what we’ll talk about in this newsletter:

  • Inspirational story: Luminita's story

  • News:  
    - Parkinson’s disease might begin in the gut
    - Cannabinoids news: some good and bad
    - FDA-approved drug for women’s libido

  • Few snaps from my week
    - Embracing the unknown or the plan to have no plan
     

Visit www.drionita.com ;) or keep reading :)

INSPIRATIONAL STORY 

Luminita's story
 

I met Luminita very briefly in NY, several years ago, thanks to our dear shared friend, Daria, who kindly kept us both updated over the years about each other’s journeys. Luminita’s story is an extraordinary one, one of the most beautiful acts of courage and inspiration I’ve ever seen. It is a true incarnation of the inner drive to “follow your dream”, she is a blast of inspiration!

Luminita Cuna is an IT professional and a professional explorer. When she is not managing some funky software project in New York City she can be found roaming around in Latin America, most of the time in the Amazon, a place she has been visiting extensively since 2005. She loves to travel and to share stories from her journeys.

Luminita has a knack for adventure. Ever since she was a child, inspired by books and dreams, she wanted to set foot in the Amazon rainforest. She was fascinated by the mystery that shrouded that remote forest, incredibly green and teeming with life. She was dreaming of exploring the Amazon, getting to know its secrets and the people that live in it. And she did. She lived with several indigenous communities, she trekked through the Amazon, she floated on its rivers. She ate, fished, walked along indigenous peoples in Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru and Brazil. For her it was no big deal being a Romanian woman, leaving behind the comfort of a regular life, and diving into once-in-a-lifetime experiences. To the surprise of many, and contrary to many stereotypes, she never saw the Amazon or the indigenous peoples she met as dangerous. On the contrary, all threats and nuisances came from the “civilized” world.  

One of the most captivating things about the Amazon, she says, is that there still live about 70 groups of people in complete isolation. To know that there are people on our planet that have never been contacted is the most remarkable thing! These are the last truly free people on Earth. Unfortunately, they are the most vulnerable as well, without the possibility of defending themselves against the forces of “civilization” that are encroaching on their territories.  

The more time she spent in the Amazon, the more Luminita realized how crucial this immense forest is to our planet. Not only for its beauty, for its richness of plants and animals and for its diversity of cultures, but for the vital role it plays for the health of the planet and implicitly, for our own health and survival. She decided that she needed to become more than an enthusiastic tourist. She wanted to protect the Amazon and its peoples, a daunting task for a young woman. She realized that protecting the Amazon can be best achieved by supporting the indigenous peoples that already live in it; they are already protecting the forest which is their home, giving them food and shelter. This is how she started Maloca Communities, a small NGO that works with indigenous communities in the Amazon. One thing Luminita always highlights is that all the initiatives she supports are generated by the communities, by the indigenous peoples themselves. Her philosophy is that if you impose a project on a community, it will not be successful. But if the community comes up with an idea and you help them implement it, the success rate is high. Only the community really knows what their needs are. She is very active in her passion work, and she supports several people and NGOs with the same goals.

It was not always easy for Luminita, as she had to balance her “city” life, with its demands, travels and voluntary work. She knows, however, that with patience and perseverance, anyone can reach their passion. A big round of applause for Luminita and don’t hesitate to help her NGO!

Share
Tweet
Forward
Share

PARKINSON'S DISEASE AND THE GUT

The are new findings supporting the idea that Parkinson disease might actually begin in the gut and not in the brain. This hypothesis was already made several years ago by the pioneering work of Heiko Braak and his colleagues from  the University of Ulm in Germany. 
This new study published last week  in Neuron and conducted by Ted Dawson and his team from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, support previous Braak hypothesis and shows how Parkinson’s disease might begin in the gut. The researchers created a new disease animal model of Parkinson disease by injecting particular proteins into the stomachs of mice. About a month later, the animals showed symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. "The model not only demonstrates how the disease protein can travel up from the gut to the brain, but also presents nonmotor symptoms rarely seen in other animal models", explains one of the researchers.

Read more

CANNABIDIOL (CBD) : SOME GOOD & BAD NEWS

1/COULD BE A POWERFUL ANTIBIOTIC 

CBD is a non-psychoactive compound taken from cannabis and hemp; it does not produce the "high" that regular marijuana does. There is a growing evidence about CBD's benefits in a variety if conditions like anxiety, pain, inflammation etc.

Nota Bene: pay attention to the spam and the hype around this topic, oftentimes CBD is presented as a solution for pretty much everything, which is misleading.

New research presented recently at the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology has found that Cannnabidiol is active against Gram-positive bacteria, including bacteria that have become resistant to other antibiotics (such as Staphyloccocus aureus and Streptococcus pneumoniae), and did not lose effectiveness after extended treatment. CBD based drug would have similar potency to that of established antibiotics such as vancomycin or daptomycin. The study investigating topical uses of synthetic cannabidiol for a range of skin conditions, found that Cannabidiol was remarkably effective at killing a wide range of Gram-positive bacteria, including bacteria that have become resistant to other antibiotics, and did not lose effectiveness after extended treatment.

 

2/COULD DAMAGE THE LIVER 

A study from the University of Arkansas for Medical Science suggests that CBD may be damaging to our livers in the same way that alcohol and other drugs are. 

Using mice to test CBD hepatotoxicity, researchers found that people using CBD could be at an elevated risk for liver toxicity. Researchers utilized the recommended dosage, as well as safety recommendations, from the CBD-based drug known as Epidiolex – a the first cannabinoids based drug that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved for certain kinds of epilepsy in children. 

When examining the mice with various doses of CBD in their system, it appeared that mice that had consumed the higher doses of CBD showed signs of liver damage in as short as 24 hours. Within a few days, those in the sub-acute phase had either died or were near death.” 

More research is needed since few studies have explored the effects of CBD on the liver. Until then, keep in mind to be prudent when using cannabinoids if you have any known liver damage or if your liver toxicity is increased by other substances (alcohol, drugs, medication, etc).

Read more
Share Share
Tweet Tweet
Forward Forward
Share Share

FDA-APPROVED DRUG FOR WOMEN LIBIDO

Last week, the FDA approved Vyleesi (bremelanotide), the second medication aimed at helping premenopausal women with low sexual desire caused by generalized hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD). Here's how the FDA defined HSDD in their announcement:

“HSDD is characterised by low sexual desire that causes marked distress or interpersonal difficulty and is not due to a co-existing medical or psychiatric condition, problems within the relationship or the effects of a medication or other drug substance. Acquired HSDD develops in a patient who previously experienced no problems with sexual desire. Generalized HSDD refers to HSDD that occurs regardless of the type of sexual activity, situation or partner.”

HSDD is a very complex disorder, involving a myriad of hormones and neurotransmitters in the brain alongside other psychosocial aspects.

Vyleesi possibly works by activating melanocortin receptors, but the exact mechanism is not known.

The medication would be administrated by subcutaneous injection in the abdomen about 45 minutes prior to having sex. In the trial, 25% of participants noticed an improvement compared to 17% with placebo. Not lastly, 40% of study participants had nausea as a side effect, while others have had darkening gums and skin, which did not go away in about half of the patients after they stopped treatment. Also, people having high blood pressure or a high risk of cardiovascular disease should not take the drug. Unlikely the previous FDA-approved medication (Addyi), alcohol consumption is not forbidden while taking Vyleesi treatment.

All in all, this is good news for women’s sexuality; still, more research is needed and the complexity of women’s sexual desire should give us caution, moderating the enthusiasm about the “female Viagra”.

 While reading the news, I discovered that Amag Pharmaceuticals, the company that designed the Vyleesi drug, also has a websiteunblash- inviting people to talk about low sexual desire

Read more

 MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

As perhaps may be the case for many of you, the last burst before my summer holiday is pretty intense. Although I’ve prepared almost nothing for my holiday (this is a quite exceptional summer, usually I prepare a little bit more than that :), I realise that instead of hurrying up to prepare my trip, I actually enjoy not planning at all (well, I only know that I want a "dolce far niente"). Having not  yet organised my itinerary, it made me realise that as we get more and more into “planning” mode in our modern lives, we may forget that sometimes we just have to take a chance on the unknown and unplanned. 


PS: What's your book list for the summer?
Looking forward to hearing from you!  
lavinia@drionita.com

Share
Tweet
Forward
Share

Want to know more?

Just give me a signal, I’m happy to talk :)

Have a nice summer and stay healthy!

Lavinia  ❤️


Medical Doctor | Dr Ionita

Founder | Akesio

Copyright © 2018  DR IONITA, All rights reserved.



Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can  
unsubscribe from this list

 






This email was sent to <<Email Address>>
why did I get this?    unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences
Sorcova Health · 78/79 Pappelallee 10437 · Berlin 10437 · Germany

Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp