AMSA UPH Makrab 2014 (BOLT 2)

Bulan Februari kemarin, semua anggota AMSA UPH pergi ke Pulau Harapan untuk melaksanakan proker dari MnD yaitu, malam keakraban yang bertemakan BOLT 2, yang juga merupakan lanjutan dari BOLT 1. Kami berkumpul di FK UPH pada pukul 6 pagi lalu pergi menuju pelabuhan Muara Angke. Sekitar pukul 8 pagi kami berangkat menuju Pulau Harapan. Perjalan kami menuju Pulau Harapan sedikit tidak nyaman di karenakan faktor cuaca. Sekitar pukul 1 siang kami semua sampai dengan selamat. Setelah sampai, kami semua beristirahat dahulu selama kurang lebih 1 jam. Setelah itu kami semua berangkat menuju pulau-pulau disekitar Pulau Harapan untuk melakukan games. Tetapi sangat di sayangkan, karena cuaca yang buruk banyak games yang di batalkan.

Kami semua tetap berbahagia, karena meskipun cuaca yang buruk pada hari itu kami merasakan rasa kebersamaan yang tidak ada tandingannya. Setelah kami berjalan-jalan keliling pulau, kami semua kembali ke penginapan untuk makan malam dan beres-beres. Setelah itu panitia mengadakan games lagi. Game ini dinamakan “ Would You Be Mine “. Game ini sangat seru! Acara hari pertama ini diakhiri dengan sesi sharing, dimana setiap orang di berikan satu buah lilin dan kami semua mengeluarkan semua kesan pesan tentang AMSA dan BOLT 2. 

Keesokan harinya, kami dibangunkan untuk berolahraga pagi, agar kami semua semangat. Setelah itu kami pun bersiap-siap untuk snorkling (kegiatan yang paling di tunggu oleh kami). Kami snorkling di 2 tempat yang berbeda, dua kata untuk snorkling: SERU BANGET! Sebenarnya, banyak dari kami yang belum berpengelaman melakukan snorkling, tetapi banyak juga yang sudah beberapa kali melakukan snorkling. Saat snorkling, tidak lupa kami berfoto-foto. Setelah puas dan kelelahan, kami pun kembali ke penginapan untuk bersiap-siap pulang ke Jakarta. Pukul 1 kami berangkat menuju ke jakarta. Makrab kali ini merupakan makrab yang luar biasa dimana kami semua mendapatkan rasa kebersamaan yang sangat tinggi dan semakin memahami sesama anggota AMSA UPH.

By: Vicko Pratama

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Medicine vs Grapefruit Juice

A nutraceutical is a food or part of a food that allegedly provides medicinal or health benefits, including the prevention and treatment of disease. Grapefruit juice has been touted as containing many compounds that can reduce hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis) and even the risk of cancer. Grapefruit juice can, therefore, be justifiably referred to as a classic nutraceutical. However, for many persons taking certain medications, grapefruit juice might actually better be termed a "nutrapollutical!"

It turns out that grapefruit juice can directly or indirectly interact in important ways with a number of medications. This is especially important since grapefruit juice is consumed by approximately one fifth of Americans for breakfast - a time of the day when medications also are commonly taken.

Grapefruit juice blocks special enzymes in the wall of the small intestine that actually destroys many medications and prevents their absorption into the body. Thus, smaller amounts of the drugs get into the body than are ingested. When the action of this enzyme is blocked, more of the drugs get into the body and the blood levels of these medications increase. This can lead to toxic side effects from the medications.

Amazingly, this remarkable food-drug interaction was discovered completely by accident over a decade ago! Researchers were investigating whether alcohol could interact with felodipine (Plendil) and used a solution of alcohol with grapefruit juice to mask the taste of alcohol for the study. Researchers discovered that blood levels of felodipine were increased several fold more than in previous studies. This increased blood level caused an increase in the effect and side effects of felodipine. Further research revealed that the grapefruit juice itself was actually increasing the amount of the study drug in the body.

Research about the interaction of grapefruit juice with drugs suggests that compounds in grapefruit juice, called furanocoumarins (for example, bergamottin), may be responsible for the effects of grapefruit juice. Researchers believe that furanocoumarins block the enzymes in the intestines that normally break down many drugs. One glass of grapefruit juice could elicit the maximum blocking effect, and the effect may persist for longer than 24 hours. Since the effects can last for such a prolonged period of time, grapefruit juice does not have to be taken at the same time as the medication in order for the interaction to occur. Therefore, unlike similar interactions, where the interaction can be avoided by separating the administration of the two interacting agents by a couple of hours, administration of grapefruit juice with susceptible drugs should be separated by 24 or more hours to avoid the interaction. Since this is not practical for individuals who are taking a medication daily, they should not consume grapefruit juice when taking medications that are affected by grapefruit juice.

The grapefruit juice-drug interaction can lead to unpredictable and hazardous levels of certain important drugs.

by: Charlene Janice

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Love hits like cocaine

Falling in love affects intellectual areas of the brain and triggers the same sensation of euphoria experienced by people when they take cocaine, researchers from Syracuse University reveal in an article in Journal of Sexual Medicine. The study, called "The Neuroimaging of Love" found that several euphoria-inducing chemicals, such as vasopression, adrenaline, oxytocin and dopamine are released in 12 areas of the brain that work simultaneously. The authors also reveal that falling in love can occur in a fifth of a second.

So, is love linked to the brain or the heart?

According to Professor Stephanie Ortigue “That's a tricky question always. I would say the brain, but the heart is also related because the complex concept of love is formed by both bottom-up and top-down processes from the brain to the heart and vice versa. For instance, activation in some parts of the brain can generate stimulations to the heart, butterflies in the stomach. Some symptoms we sometimes feel as a manifestation of the heart may sometimes be coming from the brain.”

The scientists also found that when couples had just fallen in love, their blood levels of NGF (nerve growth factor) had gone up. NGF is a molecule that is key in human social chemistry, and in "love at first sight". Ortigue believes their findings confirm that love does have a scientific basis.

When a love affair goes wrong, or when it ends, there is a significant risk of depression and emotional distress for at least one of the partners. The authors say that this study has revealed facts that could have implications for mental health and neuroscience research.

Ortigue said: It's another probe into the brain and into the mind of a patient. By understanding why they fall in love and why they are so heartbroken, they can use new therapies.

If we can identify which parts of the brain are activated and stimulated by love, clinicians and therapists might have a deeper understanding of what is going on when treating a love-sick patient, the authors believe.

We know there are various types of love, and it appears that different parts of the brain are affected depending on what type of love there is. The love between a mother and her offspring, for example, what we call unconditional love is generated by the common and different brain areas, which includes the middle of the brain. The reward part of the brain is stimulated when passionate love is involved, as well as associative cognitive areas of the brain which deal with higher thought functions, such as body image. The Syracuse University team worked with researchers from West Virginia University as well as Geneva University Psychiatric Center, Switzerland.

by: Abiyoso

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WORLD HEALTH DAY

Pada hari Sabtu, 8 Februari 2014, kami, divisi Community Outreach AMSA UPH, mengadakan acara dengan tema “Voice of AWEtism” untuk memperingati World Health Day. Acara ini bertempat di Yayasan Sayap Ibu Orphanage, Bintaro, Tangerang Selatan. Sebelum hari H, kami sebagai panitia mengadakan kampanye kesehatan dengan tujuan memberi informasi ke masyarakat tentang anak dengan autisme di Indonesia serta sebagai tanda dukungan acara kita. Dalam kampanye ini, panitia mengumpulkan tanda tangan dan juga membagikan flyer dan bookmark.

Tujuan acara kami dengan tema utama Autism Spectrum Disorder adalah untuk memberi pengetahuan kepada orang tua yang memiliki anak autisme dan juga pengurus panti tentang asupan gizi, kebersihan dan cara mengeksplorasi bakat-bakat anak autisme. 

Setelah melakukan registrasi, anak-anak bermain dan membuat kerajinan tangan origami bersama panita-panitia, sementara itu, diruangan lain, orangtua dari anak-anak autisme tersebut menyaksikan seminar yang dibawakan oleh dr. Engelberta Perdamean, SpKJ.

Setelah seminar selesai, panitia mengadakan penyuluhan untuk mengajarkan tentang cara menyikat gigi dan mencuci tangan yang benar kepada anak-anak autisme. Acara terakhir diisi dengan bermain clay atau lilin plastisin bersama orangtua, anak-anak autisme, dan panitia. Hal ini bertujuan agar keterampilan anak-anak dapat terasah. Sekitar pukul 12 siang, acara selesai dan ditutup dengan serah terima plakat kepada kepala panti. 

foto bersama orangtua, anak-anak, dan panitia

by: Christine Qws

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There's a drug that can let you stay up for 48 hours with no side effects!

It's called Modafinil and it's in a class of drugs called eugeroics. It's a stimulant in the same vein as caffeine and adenosine, but the difference in how it works the brain means it doesn't have the same side-effects that the others do. 

The way caffeine and Adenosine work is that they block certain receptors in the brain that react to dopamine, which makes it slow down. This means, for example, that coffee does not give you energy, but rather, doesn’t let the brain realize it needs more energy. This is why people crash after caffeine. The effect goes away and all the tiredness catches up to you. Modafinil doesn't have that problem.

No one really knows how it works yet, but it seems that instead of blocking the brain's dopamine processing, it just slows production of dopamine. On top of that, it also prevents the re-uptake of another neurotransmitter called noradrenaline, which triggers sleep.

The end result, and one of the most mysterious, is that modafinil doesn't trigger sleep debt. People who stay awake for a day or two on modafinil don't report a need to catch up on sleep after the effect wears off. They can sleep the normal amount!

by: V. Levana

further more: http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/sleep-is-so-last-year.htm

AMSA UPH Makrab 2014 (BOLT 1)

On 17 January 2014, the seniors of AMSA UPH threw a makrab (malam keakraban) for the new members. The AMSA newbies were asked to pack to stay overnight on campus. They had to bring a name tag with a picture of them attached to it, a watch and some specific snacks. It started at 6 p.m. when everyone was given an AMSA UPH polo shirt and asked to change into it. After that, they are all gathered in a big room where they line up in groups. Each group  was given a dinosaur name and they had to make a mascot of it out of newspaper in around thirty minutes. They were specifically asked not to ever leave their mascots behind, or else their group scores would be deducted. Then they were asked to fill a class where a meeting was held. After the meeting, everyone was gathered in the same big room and each group was given a huge bowl of food, which they must share with the other members. When dinner was done, the groups had to prepare a performance with different themes, and the performance had to involve the mascot of the group. The newbies were then allowed to get ready for bed, and they all went to sleep right after. The seniors told them that they would be waken up at 6, but turns out, they were all waken up at 4. After a short toilet break, they all lined up in groups and were ready for a scavenger hunt. However, in this scavenger hunt the groups had to actually earn the clue to the next location by winning mini games. All of the members had breakfast right after the scavenger hunt, and they were given some time to share and bond with their fellow division member in AMSA UPH. Soon after, the makrab was closed with a prayer and everyone was allowed to go home. This makrab was successful and has brought the old and new members a lot closer.

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by: Marissa Christy