January and February are peak times for new gym memberships
and many people flushed with optimistic New Year’s resolutions rush
out to health clubs, hand over big sums of money and then rarely return.
But there has been lots of research in the last few years advocating regular
exercise for people living with HIV and centres and schemes are slowly being
set up around the country specifically aimed at positive people (such as the
Positive Health Programme at London’s Central YMCA, the Globe Centre
in Mile End and SWISH in Swansea).
Not only does regular exercise strengthen heart and lungs but it also calms
the nervous system, improves sleep and goes some way to lower lipid levels
in the blood as well as reversing some weight loss associated with lipodystrophy
and lipoatrophy (abnormal fat loss or redistribution).
Now a study from the American Heart Foundation shows exercise encourages new
blood vessels to grow to supply muscle fibres, and switches the muscles to
aerobic metabolism.
Unlike anaerobic metabolism that uses sugar for energy, aerobic metabolism
breaks down fat for energy.
The research from Duke University showed that exercise training stimulated
the production of a protein called vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF).
This encourages the growth of new blood vessels.
Dr Maggie Brown, from the University of Birmingham, said: “If you can
get a muscle that makes best use of the oxygen that it does get, even if the
blood supply is poor, then obviously that is an advantage.”
People living with HIV are advised to start with a programme including a mixture
of aerobic exercise, such as cycling or swimming, stretch and resistance work
(light weights) and are equally advised not to try and do too much too quickly.
MALARIA ALERT FOR TRAVELLERS
Following 12 cases of malaria among European and North American visitors to
the Dominican Republic, the Health Protection Agency (HPA) is reminding travellers
about the importance of protecting themselves against the disease.
All cases were of the most dangerous form of malaria, caused by the parasite
Plasmodium Falciparam, and none of the travellers had taken the necessary
anti-malaria drugs.
Areas most affected by malaria include parts of Asia and the Middle East and
Central and South America. The risk is particularly great in Africa where
the potentially fatal falciparum malaria is common. A British resident who
recently visited the Gambia died of this form of the disease and in 2003 all
the fatal cases of malaria reported in the UK were contracted in Africa.
Professor Peter Chiodini said: “Malaria is a serious, potentially fatal,
disease that is preventable. It is important to ensure travellers seeking
winter sun in malarious locations are given adequate preventative advice.
This includes last minute holidays booked over the telephone and on the internet.”
The agency said travellers needed to take medication prior to travelling,
during their stay abroad and for a period on returning. Also, simple measures
to avoid mosquito bites, such as using insect repellent, covering arms and
legs at dusk, wearing light coloured clothes and sleeping under an insecticide-treated
net are also highly effective.
Anti-malarial tablets are available over the counter at pharmacists, on private
prescription from GPs or from specialist medical travel clinics.
ARE HIV INFECTION AND PERSONALITY LINKED?
Personality traits of individuals with HIV may influence
conditions for the infection itself, according to a study published in the
November-December Journal of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics.
A survey of 126 HIV positive outpatients found that drug-dependent patients
displayed higher scores in novelty seeking and harm avoidance and lower scores
in self-directedness compared with healthy controls.
The study found that people with HIV displayed more impulsiveness, which possibly
predates the HIV infection, and were also more fearful and lacked self-directedness.
WHY BUSINESS MEETINGS ARE SO BORING
Turgid business meetings are said to cost the UK economy
close to £8 billion a year, BBC News reported last month.
It’s not just the lukewarm orange juice and trays of sandwiches that
go to waste, the report said, but by the time the typical business presentation
drones to an end, the interest levels of the average listener will have curled
up far faster than the crusts left for the cleaners.
“A dogged reliance on visuals detracts from a speaker’s eye contact
with the audience,” said Professor Max Atkinson, “and used as
a support by the nervous speaker, gimmicks become more important than delivery
and enthusiasm for the subject.”
Atkinson estimated that if the average £30,000-a-year manager spends
one hour a week in meetings where they don’t pay attention, the total
cost to British industry is £7.9 billion a year.
Other guilty parties are those who insist on telling bad jokes, in true David
Brent style, in a desperate attempt to keep the audience on-side. Nobody is
immune from the dangers of boring meetings, says Mr Atkinson, but those addressed
by finance directors or the IT departments are in particular danger.
