Friday, October 31, 2008

Diabetes and Kidney Disease

Diabetes mellitus, usually called diabetes, is a disease in which your body does not make enough insulin or cannot use normal amounts of insulin properly. Insulin is a hormone that regulates the amount of sugar in your blood. A high blood sugar level can cause problems in many parts of your body.

Are there different types of diabetes?
The most common ones are Type 1 and Type 2. Type 1 diabetes usually occurs in children. It is also called juvenile onset diabetes mellitus or insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. In this type, your pancreas does not make enough insulin and you have to take insulin injections for the rest of your life.


Type 2 diabetes, which is more common, usually occurs in people over 40 and is called adult onset diabetes mellitus. It is also called non insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. In Type 2, your pancreas makes insulin, but your body does not use it properly. The high blood sugar level often can be controlled by following a diet and/or taking medication, although some patients must take insulin. Type 2 diabetes is particularly prevalent among African Americans, American Indians, Latin Americans and Asian Americans.

What does diabetes do to the kidneys?
With diabetes, the small blood vessels in the body are injured. When the blood vessels in the kidneys are injured, your kidneys cannot clean your blood properly. Your body will retain more water and salt than it should, which can result in weight gain and ankle swelling. You may have protein in your urine. Also, waste materials will build up in your blood.


Diabetes also may cause damage to nerves in your body. This can cause difficulty in emptying your bladder. The pressure resulting from your full bladder can back up and injure the kidneys. Also, if urine remains in your bladder for a long time, you can develop an infection from the rapid growth of bacteria in urine that has a high sugar level.

How many diabetic patients will develop kidney disease?
About 30 percent of patients with Type 1 (juvenile onset) diabetes and 10 to 40 percent of those with Type 2 (adult onset) diabetes eventually will suffer from kidney failure.

What are the early signs of kidney disease in patients with diabetes?
The earliest sign of diabetic kidney disease is an increased excretion of albumin in the urine. This is present long before the usual tests done in your doctor's office show evidence of kidney disease, so it is important for you to have this test on a yearly basis. Weight gain and ankle swelling may occur. You will use the bathroom more at night. Your blood pressure may get too high. As a person with diabetes, you should have your blood, urine and blood pressure checked at least once a year. This will lead to better control of your disease and early treatment of high blood pressure and kidney disease. Maintaining control of your diabetes can lower your risk of developing severe kidney disease.


What are the late signs of kidney disease in patients with diabetes?
As your kidneys fail, your blood urea nitrogen (BUN) levels will rise as well as the level of creatinine in your blood. You may also experience nausea, vomiting, a loss of appetite, weakness, increasing fatigue, itching, muscle cramps (especially in your legs) and anemia (a low blood count). You may find you need less insulin. This is because diseased kidneys cause less breakdown of insulin. If you develop any of these signs, call your doctor.


TABLE 1
Signs of Kidney Disease in Patients with Diabetes

  1. Albumin/protein in the urine
  2. High blood pressure
  3. Ankle and leg swelling, leg cramps
  4. Going to the bathroom more often at night
  5. High levels of BUN and creatinine in blood
  6. Less need for insulin or antidiabetic medications
  7. Morning sickness, nausea and vomiting
  8. Weakness, paleness and anemia
  9. Itching

What will happen if my kidneys have been damaged?
First, the doctor needs to find out if your diabetes has caused the injury. Other diseases can cause kidney damage. Your kidneys will work better and last longer if you:

  • Control your diabetes
  • Control high blood pressure
  • Get treatment for urinary tract infections
  • Correct any problems in your urinary system
  • Avoid any medicines that may damage the kidneys (especially over-the-counter pain medications)

If no other problems are found, your doctor will try to keep your kidneys working as long as possible. The use of high blood pressure medicines called angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors has been shown to help slow the loss of kidney function.

How are the kidneys kept working as long as possible?
The kidney doctor, called a nephrologist, will plan your treatment with you, your family and your dietitian. Two things to keep in mind for keeping your kidneys healthy are controlling high blood pressure in conjunction with an ACE inhibitor and following your renal diabetic diet. Restricting protein in your diet also might be helpful. You and your dietitian can plan your diet together.


What is end stage renal failure in patients with diabetes?
End stage renal failure, or kidney failure, occurs when your kidneys are no longer able to support you in a reasonably healthy state, and dialysis or transplantation is needed. This happens when your kidneys function at only 10 to 15 percent. The usual span of time between the onset of diabetic kidney injury and kidney failure is about five to seven years.


How is kidney failure treated in diabetic patients?
Three types of treatment can be used once your kidneys have failed: kidney transplantation, hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis.

Can a patient with diabetes have a kidney transplant?
Yes. Once you get a new kidney, you may need a higher dose of insulin. Your appetite will improve so your new kidney will break down insulin better than your injured one. You will use steroids to keep your body from rejecting your new kidney. If your new kidney fails, dialysis treatment can be started while you wait for another kidney.


What about pancreas transplants?
Sometimes it is possible to perform a pancreas transplant along with a kidney transplant. Your doctor can advise you about this possibility.

What about a low-protein diet?
Research suggests that a low-protein diet can slow the advance of kidney damage.


What is the future outlook for patients with diabetes?
Today, more and more research dollars are spent on diabetes research. Hopefully, the prevention and cure of diabetes is in our future. In the meantime, you can manage your diabetes better with:

  • home monitoring of your blood glucose levels
  • maintaining an awareness of controlling your blood pressure, and possibly monitoring your pressure at home
  • following your special diet.

Source : http://www.kidney.org/ATOZ/atozItem.cfm?id=37

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Very Good "Energy Saving" initiative by BMW

I was browsing thro' the BMW's website and was real happy to see the initiatives they are taking in Saving Energy.

The webpages after a while (if not active) automatically turns to black and goes in to Energy Saving Mode (BMW EfficientDynamics energy-saving mode).

BMW EfficientDynamics ('ed') has theme - Less consumption. More driving pleasure.

Check the Energy Saving mode screen shot below :

Insight of the Energy Saving mode screen shot :
Check BMW's EfficientDynamics technologies here,
http://www.bmw.com/com/en/insights/technology/efficient_dynamics/phase_2/introduction.html

The idea helps in saving energy consumption and is a very good initiative indeed, like Google Black.

World's first production-ready Hydrogen vehicle

BMW Hydrogen 7
The world's first production-ready
Hydrogen vehicle
The BMW Hydrogen 7 is the world's first production-ready hydrogen vehicle. It's already proving itself in the real world too: we're putting 100 of them to the test as loan cars for leading figures from the worlds of culture, politics, business and the media, including Oscar-winning film director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck and Erich Sixt, chairman of rental car company Sixt AG. Real-world experience shows that switching to hydrogen can go hand in hand with the comfort, dynamics and safety you'd expect from a BMW.
What is the future of mobility? To start with, we'll be able to generate energy from hydrogen and driving will be emission-free. And with the BMW Hydrogen 7, the future starts now. This is because it's the first production-ready vehicle to be powered by hydrogen. The combustion engine delivers high performance but almost no emissions to make it a true pioneer of future mobility.
The future is closer than you think.
BMW Hydrogen 7 website:

Friday, October 24, 2008

Diwali - The Festival of Lights

Happy Deepavali

Diwali (Deepavali) is here to spread the light and joy in every Indians life. This exquistie festival is celebrated here in India which spreads feeling of happiness and crackers a are lit to spread the light of joy.

Many legends are associated with Diwali. Today it is celebrated by Hindus, Jains and Sikhs across the globe as the "Festival of Lights," where the lights or lamps signify victory of good over the evil within every human being . The festival is also celebrated by Buddhists of Nepal.

According to one theory Diwali may have originated as a harvest festival, marking the last harvest of the year before winter. In an agrarian society this results in businessmen closing accounts, and beginning a new accounting year. The deity of wealth in Hinduism, Goddess Lakshmi is therefore thanked on this day and everyone prays for a good year ahead. This is the common factor in Diwali celebrations all over the Indian subcontinent.

In many parts of India , it is the homecoming of King Rama of Ayodhya after a 14-year exile in the forest.

The people of Ayodhya (the capital of his kingdom) welcomed Rama by lighting rows (avali) of lamps (deepa), thus its name, Deepavali.

Southern India marks it as the day Lord Krishna defeated the demon Narakasura.

Diwali is celebrated on the first day of the lunar Karthika month, which comes in the month of October or November.

In Jainish it marks the Nirvana of Lord Mahavira, which occurred on October 15, 527 BCE.

The Sikhs celebrate Diwali for a different reason; on this day, the Sixth Guru, Guru Hargobind Ji, was freed from imprisonment along with 52 Hindu Kings (political prisoners) whom he had arranged to be released as well. After his release he went to Darbar Sahib (golden temple) in the holy city of Amritsar. There, he was greeted by Sikhs and many other people. In happiness they lit candles and diyas to greet the Guru.

In India, Diwali is now considered to be a national festival, and the aesthetic aspect of the festival is enjoyed by most Indians regardless of faith.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

INDIA'S first mission to moon

CHANDRAYAAN - 1

PSLV-C11 Successfully Launches Chandrayaan-1

Oh boy !!! This is a real amazing acheivement and a GREAT HONOUR for our country and to all INDIANS.

"A feather in the cap indeed".


WHAT : An unmanned Lunar Exploration mission

WHERE : INDIA

BY WHOM : Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), India's National Space Agency

TRAVEL FROM : Satish Dhawan Space Centre(SDSC) in Sriahri-kota island

TRAVEL TO : MOON (of course ; )

WHEN : 22 October 2008, at 6:22 AM Indian Standard Time (00:52 UTC)

THE VEHICLE : PSLV(Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) built by ISRO, India

TRAVEL TIME : After the spacecraft reaches its lunar transfer orbit, it will take 5.5 days to reach the Moon.

COST ESTIMATES : Cost to be Rs. 3.86 billion (US$ 80 million).

Chandrayaan's Network

Chandrayaan I - Official website
http://www.isro.org/chandrayaan/htmls/home.htm

Other Sites
http://www.isro.gov.in/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chandrayaan

Next What ?????

Chandrayaan II

The ISRO is also planning a second version of Chandrayaan named: Chandrayaan II. According to ISRO Chairman G. Madhavan Nair, "The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) hopes to land a motorised rover on the Moon in 2010 or 2011, as a part of its second Chandrayaan mission. The rover will be designed to move on wheels on the lunar surface, pick up samples of soil or rocks, do in situ chemical analysis and send the data to the mother-spacecraft Chandrayaan II, which will be orbiting above. Chandrayaan II will transmit the data to Earth."

Organization :
Indian Space Research Organization

Mission type : Orbiter, Rover

Satellite of :
Moon

Launch date : 2010/2011

Mission duration : 1 month (rover)

Mass : 30 to 100 kg (rover)

Keep watching, India Rocks.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Innerbody.com - Human Anotomy Online


Hello folks,

I urge you to have a look at this website, http://www.innerbody.com/

This site is rated as One in a Billion by Google.

This educational website is excellent and you can learn and explore the human anotomy supported with lot of graphics and animation. It's worth a visit.

Each topic has animations, 100’s of graphics, and thousands of descriptive links. Study the anatomy of the human body. It’s fun, interactive, and an ideal reference site for students or those who just want to know more about the medical descriptions used by doctors and nurses.

Have a look at this website.

Monday, October 20, 2008

Road Sense - Social Service by an elderly man

Since couple of weeks, I have been noticing an elderly man who is doing the possible bit to help the people / society at the area where I live.

Early morning everyone is out on the streets with their bikes and cars and the roads at my area are "jam-packed" (is not the word) and flooded with traffic. People with out any road-sense barge-in from all the possible places and create a traffic jam and due to this all the vehicles comes to a stand still.

Surprisingly I find an elderly man, wearing a track suit, white hand gloves, a whistle around his neck is busily mangaging and controlling the traffic like a traffic police man.

I was so very surprised and glad seeing the elderly man performing social service to help people travel smoothly in their vehicles with out much trouble. I saw him and thanked for his service while i was driving from home to office. I also thought that we call can and must contribute ourselves to the society and help. There are plenty of tasks that we can do to the society.

This elderly man indeed has taught me a lesson in my life. My due respects to him.

Friday, October 10, 2008

Bicycling to save the planet

Here at my oraganisation, techies have started the bicycling trend and are doing their best to protect our nature and planet. A few of them ride their bicycles from home-to-office and back. My collegue Praneet Upadhyaya, is one among them. These guys sparingly use the fossil fuel vehicles which causes and favors pollution and Global Warming and mostly use the bicycles to commute.

This is one of the 'real good' intiatives to protect and show caring towards our planet Earth.

At Bangalore, several people including techies have abondoned the fossil fuel motors and have cycles as their means of transportation.

We hope to see more people converting them as 'cyclists' and help protecting our nature.

Kudos to all the cyclists of Bangalore and rest of the world. Let's fight Global Warming.

Dussehra - Vijayadasahmi

It's a festive month here at India. 'Dussehra' is festival which comes with long holidays and is celebrated at all parts of the country. People worship 'Godess Durga' and the festival is celebrated with great pomp and show at Mysore since the kingly rules. It has the same charm more or less even now. The festival runs for nine days and the tenth day is 'Vijayadashami'. This is a not-to-be-missed festival here in India.

In Southern India, Eastern India and Western India, the festival of Navaratri which culminates with Vijayadashami commemorates the legend in which the Goddess Durga, also known as Chamundeshwari or Mahishasura Mardini, vanquishes the demon Mahishasura, an event that is said to have taken place in the vicinity of the present day city of Mysore in Karnataka.

In Northern India, the same 10-day festival commemorates the victory of Rama, prince of Ayodhya in present-day Uttar Pradesh, over Ravana, the ruler of Lanka.

Madikeri (Coorg / Kodagu)

In Madikeri Dasara is celebrated in a different style. Madikeri Dasara has a history of over 100 years. Here Dasara starts of with Kargas from four Mariamma Temples. There will be a procession of 10 Mantapas from 10 Temples on the night of Vijayadashami.

At night, effigies of Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Meghanada are stuffed with firecrackers and set alight. Children especially enjoy seeing this because of the beautiful fireworks on the ground. The festival, which is thought of as the "Victory of Good over Evil" and "Return of Rama from Exile" is celebrated in grand style. Because the day is auspicious, people inaugurate new vehicles, machines, books, weapons and tools by ceremonially asking god to bless the new items.