Muscular Dystrophy, which affected me. (Limb-girdle)

What is Muscular Dystrophy? (click the title for details)

Muscular Dystrophy (MD) is a genetic disease characterized by progressive weakness and degeneration of the skeletal muscles, which control the body’s movement. Muscular Dystrophy takes on several forms, thus Muscular Dystrophy can be properly referred to as Muscular Dystrophies. Some of the forms of Muscular Dystrophy are detectable at birth these forms of Muscular Dystrophy are referred to as Congenital Muscular Dystrophy. However, others are detectable during the adolescence years, and are called Becker Muscular Dystrophy or Becker MD. The three most prevalent types of Muscular Dystrophy are as follows:

· Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy or Duchenne MD is found principally in young males. This form of Muscular Dystrophy is the result of mutations in the gene that regulates Dystrophin. Dystrophin is a protein utilized to help maintain muscle fibers. The disease is detectable in during the early years of a childs life (toddler years) and progresses rapidly. Most boys become unable to walk during their early teenage years, and by their early twenties require the use of a respirator to breathe.

· Facioscapulohumeral MuscularDystrophy or Facioscapulohumeral MD can be both mild and disabling in the severity of its symptoms. This form of Muscular Dystrophy appears during the adolescence years causing progressive weakness in the facial muscles as well as in the arms and legs.

· Myotonic Muscular Dystrophy or Myotonic MD varies in the age of onset and is characterized by Myotonia. Myotonias are prolonged muscle spasms in the fingers and facial muscles. Individuals with Myotonic Muscular Dystrophy are identifiable by their long faces and drooping eyelids (frontal baldness in men).

· Becker's muscular dystrophy (slowly progressive form of MD; affects legs and pelvis most severely)

· Duchenne's muscular dystrophy (similar to Becker's, but progresses more rapidly)

· Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (mild, slowly progressive form; face, shoulders, and upper arms affected)

· Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy

Disorders are distinguished by the type of inheritance (dominant genes, recessive gene, and so on), the age when symptoms appear, and the types of symptoms that develop. Because these are inherited disorders, risks include a family history of muscular dystrophy.
Symptoms:

· muscle weakness
o progressive
o frequent falls
o delayed development of muscle skills
o problems walking
o difficulty using a muscle group (the specific muscle affected depends on the type of MD)
o eyelid drooping (ptosis)
o drooling
· intellectual retardation
o present in only some types of muscular dystrophy
· floppy, decreased muscle tone (hypotonia)
· skeletal deformities
· muscle deformities
· clawfoot
· clawhand

Diagnosis:

Examination and history help to distinguish the type of MD. Different types of MD affect specific muscle groups. There often is a loss of muscle mass (wasting), which may be disguised in some types of muscular dystrophy by an accumulation of fat and connective tissue (pseudohypertrophy). Muscle contractures are common, which involve the inability to use the muscle because of shortening of the muscle fibers and fibrosis of the connective tissue. Some types of MD involve the heart muscle, causing irregular or inadequate heart pumping. Other points of note include:

· A muscle biopsy is the primary test used to confirm the diagnosis.

· A serum CPK (muscle enzyme) may be elevated.

· An EMG (electromyography) may confirm that weakness is caused by destruction of muscle tissue rather than damage to nerves.

Treatment
None of the Muscular Dystrophies have a specific treatment available at present. Treatment is aimed at controlling symptoms to maximize the quality of life. Activity is encouraged to the degree tolerated. Inactivity (such as bedrest) can worsen the muscle disease. Physical therapy may be helpful to maintain muscle strength and functioning. Orthopedic appliances such as braces and wheelchairs may improve mobility and self-care abilities.

Sensex Boom

BSE, originally uploaded by Jeevan_.

Creating history of sorts, the Bombay Stock Exchange 30-share Sensex on Thursday raced past the 8050-mark to hit a new peak of 8060 on frenzied all-round buying support with foreign institutional investors playing a pivotal role in a buoyant market, which is poised for further gains.

Bolstered by ample liquidity, the benchmark 30-share index (Sensex) scaled a new intra-trade record high of 8060.26 before ending the day at a new closing peak of 8052.56, a net rise of 105.78 points or 1.33 per cent over Tuesday's close of 7946.78. The Sensex covered the 1000-point journey in a short span of 55 trading days, riding high on aggressive purchases by FIIs from June onwards. It had reached the 7000 mark on June 20.

According to a leading stockbroker, the market is fundamentally strong and can rally further if it closed above the magic 8000 level for two continued trading sessions. However, another brokerage house chief said though the valuations were slightly stretched and needed to be cautious in the short-term, the bull phase in the long-term could be sustainable. Meanwhile, the Union Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram, endorsed the rally saying that the Sensex rise was not a cause for worry or concern and market movements were orderly.

Global oil prices also fell below $65 a barrel level a further plus point for the upbeat sentiment. The FIIs reportedly were extending their long positions in futures while making fresh purchases in cash. They have reported net investments of over Rs. 800 crore in September so far. Operators and private mutual funds also were believed to be heavy buyers in select stocks, which promise high returns at the prevailing price levels.

Heavyweights such as HDFC, RIL, Infosys Technologies, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Auto, BHEL, Grasim, Tata Motors, ONGC, Bharti Tele-Ventures and L&T scored impressive gains.

Garbage dump turned into World Heritage Site

Valley of Flowers National Park
Originally uploaded by Jeevan_.

If you love flowers, Chamoli is the place to be in. The Valley of Flowers National Park here has 520 species of flowering plants, six of which don't exist anywhere else in the world. It was recently recognised as a world heritage site.

Just three years ago, the valley was a garbage dump. It took the extraordinary effort of a forest officer Jyotsna Sitling to change it into a world heritage site.

The Valley of Flowers, ensconced within the upper Himalayan ridges at 3,200 to 6,675 metres over 87.5 sq. km, had its own cachet of conservation concerns. About five lakh Sikh pilgrims converge at the Hemkund Sahib shrine here from June to October every year. The 19-km long route to the shrine is through the Bhyundar Valley, which is also the access to the Valley of Flowers. The ecosystem of Bhyundar was under great pressure because of the accumulation of garbage and plastic waste, said Srikant Chandola, chief wildlife warden of Uttaranchal.

Sitling's department prepared a conservation plan for the entire region. One of the first things was to clear an 87-tonne pile of garbage (which matched the surrounding peaks!) from the buffer zone of Nanda Devi biosphere. The work required synergy between many agencies and involved sensitive livelihood and ecological issues. Hence, Sitling's department struck upon a participatory approach. They crafted mini pockets of 40 van (forest) panchayats and 60 Mahila Mangal Dals to make conservation a socially and economically self-alleviating experience for the local people. The disposal of garbage involved no burning, burying or draining of the refuse through the water gradient. The Mahila Mangal Dal packed all non-biodegradable waste in 14,000 sacks and transported them on mule back to Govind Ghat, 19 km away, for recycling.

The department has formed an eco-development committee to maintain the ecology of the Bhyundar Valley. Local youth have formed 'Friends of The Valley of Flower Group' to promote environmental cause. They have also been trained to become guides for tourists in the valley. The community was trained to grow and preserve medicinal plants, exotic condiments and traditional crops. This ultimately helped prevent poaching and illegal removal of herbs from nearby forests. Local people were also encouraged to document and preserve their culture and folklore. The department underscored cleanliness in home stay facilities with the flavour of exquisite remoteness.

Slowly, the region's ecosystem started showing signs of regeneration. Egged on by the Archaeological Survey Of India, Sitling's department nominated the Valley of Flowers for the UN World Heritage list in 2002. Nowhere else in the Himalayan region will a tourist find a trove of over 500 flowering plants in profusion (from May to October) within a compact 87 km.

The UN team visited the region in September 2004 to assess the conservation status, its management strategy and the community interface in the conservation of the two parks. On July 14 this year, Sitling got a call from Unesco informing her about the world heritage status to the valley. The World Heritage Site list includes 812 properties which form a part of the unique cultural and natural heritage of the earth. Of these, 628 are cultural sites, 160 natural sites and 24 mixed sites.

The valley's international status has other positive spin-offs, like attracting more international tourists and global conservation funds. Not to mention a thrilled local populace who can now go back to boasting, How green is my valley.

Tagged

Jagan and Preethi tagged me. Here is mine

Seven things you plan to do before you die!!

What to see the world 7 amusements.
What to travel as long as possible.
To come big in graphic world and trade Business.
Want to see all Oscar Award movies.
A good life should come to my sister (cousine sister)
Want to talk with President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
Want a girl friend.

Seven things you can do

Drawing
Reading
Watching TV and Listening Music
Working in computer
Dream
Play cram board and Chess
Obey for my Parents

Seven things you can’t do!!

Can’t walk with out my parents help
Playing out door games.
Drive a car
Go to school after 8th STD
Can’t meet my school friends
Moving from one place to another
Can’t talk about my emotions

Seven things that affected you to the opposite sex!

Face
Intelligent
Good heart
Socialism
Beauties (like Aishwariya Rai)
Peace people
Talented people

Seven things you say most!!!

Mother
Haiyo
Cha
Ya
Hello
Hoi
Narram ellai

Seven celebrity crushes!!!

Trisha – fresh
Trisha – cute
Trisha – acting (Gilly & E20-U18)
Trisha – Dream girl
Trisha – Dancing (Gilly – appadi podu)
Trisha – Dressing type
Trisha – Smile

Seven people you want to take this quiz.

Prabu (addaggapa): http://tringtring.blogspot.com
Vasanthi: http://vasanthi.rediffblogs.com
Venkitu: http://mentalcentral.blogspot.com
Keerthivasan: http://avyukta.blogspot.com
Monu: http://monuspeaks.blogspot.com
Prasana: http://imakeme.blogspot.com
Manoj: http://manojar.blogspot.com

Memories of Mother

Mother Teresa, originally uploaded by Jeevan_.

The entire world was saddened to learn of Mother Teresa’s death Yesterday (who died on 5 September, 1997). People from every continent, from every walk of life and from every persuasion grieved her loss and spoke of her with love. Again and again, she was praised as one of this century’s great humanitarians.

That she was – but she was so much, much more. In truth, Mother Teresa’s life and work cannot be explained apart from her clear, uncompromising Catholic faith and her profound love for the Lord Jesus. That is the key, which unlocks who she was and what she did as a lover of the poor and a universally respected advocate for human life and dignity.

As a young woman growing up in her native Albania she experienced the faith of her parents. Successful and prosperous, they were also generous to those in need. From her father, a well-traveled merchant, the future Mother Teresa learned of human suffering in various parts of the world. From her parish priest, she learned about the foreign missions. As she grew to adulthood, she sensed God’s call to religious life and to missionary activity. At the age of 18 she accepted His call in faith and in loving trust by becoming a Sister of Loretto and by embarking to far-off India. It was in India that she received much of her religious formation deepening her already ardent faith and love. It was also in India that she encountered the poor as she labored in a hospital in Bengali, and later, in a school in Calcutta. Wherever she went and whatever she did, her faith and trust in Jesus prompted her to open her heart and hands to the poor.

Yet the Lord was asking more of her. He was asking her to dedicate her whole life to the poorest of the poor. In 1948, the Holy Father granted her permission to begin a new religious order, the Missionaries of Charity – dedicated to the poor and abandoned on the streets of Calcutta. All this she did as a woman of faith. Her philosophy of life was simple. She summed it up this way: Give God permission to work through you. The work is God’s work. The poor are the Lord’s poor. Put yourself completely under the influence of Jesus, so that He may think His thoughts with your mind, [and] do His work through your hands.

The Jesus she knew in deep prayer she met also in the poor. At the very heart of her life and mission are the words from St. Matthew’s Gospel: ‘whatever you did for one of these least brothers, you did for me.’ Truly, she recognized the Lord Jesus in the abandoned leper dying in the streets, in the person ravaged by AIDS, in the newborn baby in need of a home, in children, hungry and neglected – and she taught her sisters to do the same. Mother saw Jesus in the poor and the dying but she also led them to Jesus and His love. She did not pity the poor but loved and respected them as human beings called to eternal life and glory. Her goals were simple and straightforward: to comfort them in hunger and illness and to open their hearts to God’s love. She knew they needed bread, but also the living word of God. She knew they needed water, but also peace, truth, and justice. She knew they needed a home but also a loving embrace and deep respect.v

We pray that she will rejoice forever, accompanied by those whose lives she touched.
May the angels lead her to paradise.
May the martyrs welcome her.
May she rejoice in the Holy City Jerusalem
where Lazarus is poor no longer!