Beauty Boosters

Vitamin D supplements may lower the risk of melanoma
The findings suggest that even occasional users of vitamin D may have a lower risk for melanoma.
A new study has found that regular users of vitamin D supplements have a considerably lower risk of skin cancer, including melanoma, than non-users. The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Eastern Finland and Kuopio University Hospital, is the latest in a series of studies that have explored the link between vitamin D and skin cancer.

Using Vitamin D to Fight Melanoma
Previous studies have mainly focused on the relationship between serum levels of calcidiol, a metabolite of vitamin D, and skin cancer. However, these studies have often yielded inconclusive or contradictory results. The new study, conducted under the North Savo Skin Cancer Program, took a different approach.

Researchers recruited 498 adult patients who were previously assessed to have an increased risk of skin cancer, including basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and melanoma. The patients were examined by experienced dermatologists and classified into different skin cancer risk classes based on their use of oral vitamin D supplements.

Logistic regression analysis showed that the risk for melanoma among regular users of vitamin D was reduced by more than half compared to non-users. Additionally, the study found that even occasional users of vitamin D may have a lower risk for melanoma than non-users. However, there was no statistically significant association between the use of vitamin D and the severity of photoaging, facial photoaging, actinic keratoses, nevus count, basal cell carcinoma, and squamous cell carcinoma.

The research design was cross-sectional, and therefore, the researchers were unable to demonstrate a causal relationship. Additionally, the study did not explore the optimal dose of oral vitamin D for beneficial effects. Nevertheless, the findings warrant further attention from the scientific community at large.

Professor Ilkka Harvima of the University of Eastern Finland notes that until more is known, national intake recommendations should be followed. Other studies have also found evidence of the potential benefits of vitamin D in preventing melanoma.

Vitamin D Research and Implications on Cancer
Despite the new study’s limitations, the findings have important implications for public health. Melanoma is a serious form of skin cancer that can be fatal if not caught early. A 2015 study found that the rate of melanoma, the most dangerous form of skin cancer, has more than doubled in the past three decades – and is on track to increase even more.

By identifying new ways to reduce the risk of melanoma, researchers can help to save lives and improve the health outcomes of those affected by the disease. Bearing this in mind, vitamin D supplementation may prove to be a highly cost-effective solution, potentially offering important protection against cancer with little to any drawbacks.

“We still need to follow the recommendations in each country on the dose of vitamin D supplement. However, in countries with a short daylight in winter, like in Finland, one might consider a higher dose of vitamin D, perhaps some 20-50 micrograms a day. The dose should not reach/exceed 100 micrograms because toxicity may take place. This is important to note because there are always people in populations who get too excited at scientific articles and consequently may take too high doses with resultant toxic effects,” Harvima told Medical Research.

While these results are promising, it’s important to note that taking vitamin D supplements should not be seen as a replacement for traditional methods of preventing skin cancer such as wearing sunscreen, avoiding prolonged sun exposure, and regular skin self-examinations.

The new findings appear in the journal Melanoma Research.

Brain scan of dying man shows ‘life flashing before their eyes’
The findings could finally explain, at least partly, mysterious near-death experiences some people have.
One of humanity’s never-ending quests since times immemorial is revealing what happens to us after we die. But although whether there’s an afterlife or soul are the kind of questions science may never be able to answer satisfactorily, modern tools allow us to probe the next best thing: what goes on inside the human brain during its final fleeting moments.

While an 87-year-old man with epilepsy was strapped to a machine that scanned his brain, searching for signs of seizures, the patient, unfortunately, suffered a heart attack and died shortly after. But the man’s tragic death offered scientists the opportunity of a lifetime, allowing them to record brain activity 30 seconds prior to and after the patient’s heart stopped beating.

The recorded brain waves suggest that, as we die, we experience the same neural activity as during dreaming, recalling memories, or meditating. These high-cognitive functions could be a literal example of someone’s life flashing before their eyes, according to the authors of a new study published in Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience.

“We measured 900 seconds of brain activity around the time of death and set a specific focus to investigate what happened in the 30 seconds before and after the heart stopped beating,” said Dr. Ajmal Zemmar, a neurosurgeon at the University of Louisville, who led the study.

“Just before and after the heart stopped working, we saw changes in a specific band of neural oscillations, so-called gamma oscillations, but also in others such as delta, theta, alpha and beta oscillations.”

Gamma brain waves are the fastest brain oscillations and mainly occur when you’re highly alert and conscious. They’re associated with higher-order cognitive functions, being particularly active when concentrating, dreaming, and meditating, as well as when the brain is engaged in memory retrieval, information processing, and conscious perception.

Near-death experiences
These oscillations are often associated with memory flashbacks and may explain anecdotal reports by people who have gone through near-death experiences, in which important life events are recalled in rapid succession. “These findings challenge our understanding of when exactly life ends and generate important subsequent questions, such as those related to the timing of organ donation,” Zemmar said.

Near-death experiences are surprisingly common, with a third of people who have come close to death reporting having experienced one. Common characteristics people report are feelings of contentment, psychic detachment from the body (such as out-of-body experiences), rapid movement through a long dark tunnel, and entering a bright light.

Neuroscientists Olaf Blanke and Sebastian Dieguez have previously proposed two types of near-death experiences. Type one is associated with the brain’s left hemisphere, featuring an altered sense of time and impressions of flying. Type two, involving the right hemisphere, is characterized by seeing or communicating with spirits, and hearing voices, sounds, and music.

It has always been unclear why there are different types of near-death experiences, but the fact that the brain goes into a sort of overdrive during our last moments alive could be telling. However, we should exercise caution because this is the first and single case when live brain activity was monitored during the process of dying in humans. The patient had suffered injury, seizures, and swelling, so any conclusion cannot be generalized for the entire population. Nevertheless, these limited findings suggest that our final moments on Earth may be pleasant and peaceful.

“As a neurosurgeon, I deal with loss at times. It is indescribably difficult to deliver the news of death to distraught family members,” Zemmar said.

“Something we may learn from this research is: although our loved ones have their eyes closed and are ready to leave us to rest, their brains may be replaying some of the nicest moments they experienced in their lives.”

Man wakes up after 12 years of coma: “I was aware of everything”
Martin Pistorius spent years trapped inside his body while being aware of everything around him.
When he was 12, Martin Pistorius came home with a sore throat. It didn’t seem like much, but his condition quickly deteriorated. He was soon unable to move or even speak. Eventually, he crashed into a coma that would go on to last 12 years.

It was not clear at the time what caused his condition. Doctors didn’t know what happened to him, although they suspected cryptococcal meningitis, an infection that spread from the lungs to the brain. Pistorius went into a deep coma and for the next 4 years, he did interact with the world.

But around age 16, he started regaining his consciousness. He was still paralyzed except for his eyes, and no one realized he was conscious. By age 19, he was completely conscious and could hear everything around him — but he couldn’t communicate. Not even during this stage, no one realized he was aware.

He was suffering from locked-in syndrome.
Martin’s body became his prison, but he was ultimately able to escape after spending years trying to communicate with the outside world. After his recovery, he would speak of news events that happened and that he had heard of on the TV or radio.

“I was aware of everything,” he said, “just like any normal person. Everyone was so used to me not being there that they didn’t notice when I began to be present again. The stark reality hit me that I was going to spend the rest of my life like that – totally alone.”

Unfortunately, there were no brain scans conducted on him at the time, which would have shown that his brain is very much active. Martin is the subject of the first episode of NPR’s series Invisibilia.

Martin, who is often referred to as “Ghost Boy” by the media, says his worst memory is the cartoon character Barney, which he was forced to watch for hours and hours straight.

“I cannot even express to you how much I hated Barney,” Martin recalled on the first episode of NPR’s new radio show about human behavior, Invisibilia.

Although Pistorius could see and even hear what was around him, he couldn’t move. He felt as if his body was encased, and even when he started to make small movements, nobody noticed. That’s when the sadness really kicked in… and Barney was the last straw.

“You don’t really think about anything. You simply exist. It’s a very dark place to find yourself because, in a sense, you are allowing yourself to vanish.”

He was aware of important events happening in the world by listening to the TV or people speaking around him. He was also aware that his family had continued their lives without him.

“I have a younger brother and a sister, and they and my parents would go on holidays without me, which was extremely difficult. The worst part was that I had a perpetual fear they’d have a car accident and die, and would never come to fetch me,” Pistorius told MailOnline.

“I never felt angry with my parents as I knew they loved me and they did the best they could. But I felt furious about the situation. There were many times when I cried inside. I reached a point where I essentially gave up.”