One Liter of Tears: "Spinocerebellar Degeneration" Explained

Have you heard about Spinocerebellar Degeneration? It is also known as Spinocerebellar Ataxia. I really don’t have any idea about this disease until I watched “One Liter of Tears” also called as “One Litre no Namida" or "A Diary with Tears" or "A Diary of Tears”. It’s a Japanese TV drama series, an adaptation of the diary from a Japanese girl named Aya Kito. This drama series is one of the best TV series I have ever watched. You will feel the pain that her family actually feels. Aya Ikeuchi the girl who suffers Spinocerebellar Degeneration was played by Erika Sawajiri. The drama series is so heart touching which will make anyone watch the entire series.

Now, I’ll change the topic and give you some information about this disease. Sad to say but this disease is not curable. I want this to be written on my blog to share it to everyone who doesn’t have any idea about this disease. Let’s help one another to share information like this so that everyone will be aware of it. I just can take the pain like what happened to the girl. So hard to see someone who always fell in the ground and getting hurt because a person suffering this will actually encounter problems in control ling their muscles.

Spinocerebellar Ataxia (SCA):

A progressive, degenerative, genetic disease with multiple types, each of which could be considered a disease in its own right.

Symptoms:

Spinocerebellar ataxia is one of a group of genetic disorders characterized by slowly progressive incoordination of gait and often associated with poor coordination of hands, speech, and eye movements. Frequently, atrophy of the cerebellum occurs, and different ataxias are known to affect different regions within the cerebellum.

As with other forms of ataxia, SCA results in unsteady and clumsy motion of the body due to a failure of the fine coordination of muscle movements, along with other symptoms.

The symptoms of an ataxia vary with the specific type and with the individual patient. Generally, a person with ataxia retains full mental capacity but may progressively lose physical control.

Treatment and Prognosis:

There is no known cure for spinocerebellar ataxia, which is a progressive disease (it gets worse with time), although not all types cause equally severe disability.

Treatments are generally limited to softening symptoms, not the disease itself. The condition can be irreversible. A person with this disease will usually end up needing to use a wheelchair, and eventually they may need assistance to perform daily tasks.

The treatment of incoordination or ataxia, then mostly involves the use of adaptive devices to allow the ataxic individual to maintain as much independence as possible. Such devices may include a cane, crutches, walker, or wheelchair for those with impaired gait; devices to assist with writing, feeding, and self care if hand and arm coordination are impaired; and communication devices for those with impaired speech.

Many patients with hereditary or idiopathic forms of ataxia have other symptoms in addition to ataxia. Medications or other therapies might be appropriate for some of these symptoms, which could include tremor, stiffness, depression, spasticity, and sleep disorders, among others.

Both onset of initial symptoms and duration of disease can be subject to variation. If the disease is caused by a polyglutamine trinucleotide repeat CAG expansion, a longer expansion may lead to an earlier onset and a more radical progression of clinical symptoms.

Diagnosis:

It can be easily misdiagnosed as another neurological condition, such as multiple sclerosis (MS).

The most precise means of identifying SCA, including the specific type, is through DNA analysis. Asymptomatic and at risk family members considering a genetic test should consult with a physician and genetic counselor. An MRI of the brain may also show whether certain regions of the cerebellum have noticeably degenerated, but this is often not the most robust way to provide a diagnosis.

SCA is related to olivopontocerebellar atrophy (OPCA); SCA types 1, 2, and 7 are also types of OPCA. However, not all types of OPCA are types of SCA, and vice versa. This overlapping classification system is both confusing and controversial to some in this field.

Source: wikipedia

Conjugated Linoleic Acid and Its Benefits

Before knowing its health benefits, it is important to know first what a Conjugated Linoleic Acid is. Basically, Conjugated Linoleic Acid or CLA in short term was discovered by researchers as a family of at least 28 isomers of linoleic acid that is found in beef and other dairy products. By accident they have found out that people, especially those who have cancers can get a lot of health benefits with this Conjugated Linoleic Acid.

Why? One reason is because Conjugated Linoleic Acid can increase a person’s metabolic rate. This is good for people having problems with their thyroid glands. Conjugated Linoleic Acid can also decrease the abdominal fat; lower the cholesterol and triglycerides while enhancing the muscle growth. Therefore, if a person wants to lose weight but still wants to maintain a strong body, including Conjugated Linoleic Acid in their diet is very ideal. Lowering insulin resistance is also one of its great benefits. This is good for diabetic and hypothyroid patients. Conjugated Linoleic Acid also reduces food-induced allergic reactions which also assist thyroid patients when they need to undergo weight loss. And last but not the least, enhancing the immune system is one of the major key health benefits of Conjugated Linoleic Acid.

So when combined with proper diet and healthy exercise, eating foods that are rich with Conjugated Linoleic Acid can certainly bring back your healthy and vigorous body. The cancer-fighting substances of CLA can certainly keep a person away from any type of cancer. It’s a good thing to know that everyone can get it for free in our dairy food.

Progesterone Cream Effects

Progesterone is actually a steroid hormone produced in the ovary. This is the kind of female hormone that is involved in menstrual cycle and prepares and maintains the uterus for pregnancy. Our body produces natural progesterone as well. A lot of reasons why this is considered a good component but to top it all, natural progesterone actually helps in balancing overproduction of estrogen

Progesterone cream on the other hand is used as a hormone replacement therapy for menopausal women. Basically, progesterone cream is used to balance or oppose the effects of estrogen. When unconstrained, this estrogen may create a risk for reproductive and breast cancers. In simple form, progesterone cream is used to overcome or if not, prevent the symptoms of PMS (Premenstrual Syndrome) and normalize women’s cycle.

However, there is always a limitation of using progesterone cream just like any other kind of cream. This is because complications may develop if a particular woman uses this cream too much. In effect, one may encounter problems with her hormone balance. That’s why Dr. Mercola himself recommends lower dose creams with prescription strength of 10%. Not only will it be safe to use but also provides huge cost savings. He even suggests reading Dr. Lee's books on” What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Premenopause and What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause” because he certifies that it is a good read.

Of course, women must also consider changing their lifestyle to cope up with the balancing process. When using progesterone cream, it is also very important to sleep on time so you need to go to bed by 10pm. Stress is also a big factor. Therefore, you also need to fight stress by having some stress management which also plays a big role in the development. If still uncertain, we recommend that you contact BioHealth Diagnostics for an information kit.