Month: August 2010

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News on Health & Science

Synthetic Corneas Prove Successful

The collagen-based implants could be an alternative to cadaver corneas. A preliminary test shows that they restored vision as effectively as the latter and did not require anti-rejection drugs.
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An experimental synthetic cornea implanted in 10 patients may be a potential alternative to cadaver corneas for curing vision loss due to corneal inflammation and scarring, researchers said .

Eye surgeons currently use primarily cadaver corneas for transplants, but that requires the use of anti-rejection drugs and presents a risk of infection. Plastic corneas can also be used, but they present other problems and are generally tried only when tissue transplants have failed.

The new artificial corneas use collagen produced in yeast as a scaffolding that allows cells from the recipient to grow into the graft so that it mimics the original tissue. The two-year preliminary test showed that the biosynthetic corneas restored vision as effectively as cadaver corneas, did not require anti-rejection drugs and allowed normal tears to form.

“This is a huge breakthrough,” said Dr. Francis W. Price Jr., founder and president of the board of the Cornea Research Foundation, who was not involved in the research. “It still has to go through additional studies … but it shows a lot of promise.”

An estimated 5 million people worldwide suffer corneal damage from trachoma, an eye infection caused by the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis, and another 1.5 million to 2 million people develop it as a result of ulceration and trauma. In the United States, about 42,000 cadaver cornea transplants are performed each year and another 10,000 corneas are exported to other countries, according to Marianne O’Connor Price, executive director of the Cornea Research Foundation.

“The U.S. is very fortunate that everybody who needs a transplant here is able to get one, but there is definitely a big shortage around the world,” she said. “Even people here could benefit if there was a synthetic cornea that eliminated the chance of rejection.”

The new study, reported Wednesday in the journal Science Translational Medicine, used biosynthetic collagen produced by FibroGen Inc. of San Francisco. A team headed by Dr. May Griffith of the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute in Canada molded the collagen into an artificial cornea and demonstrated that it worked in animals.

Dr. Per Fagerholm of Linkoping University in Sweden then implanted the corneas in one eye of each of 10 Swedish patients with central corneal scarring. The researchers found that, after two years, no complications developed and, with the use of contact lenses, vision was as good as with cadaver transplants. Contact lenses are normally used with the latter as well.

The study is the first to show that an artificially fabricated cornea “can integrate into the human eye and stimulate regeneration,” Griffith said.

Griffith said her team was now building a clean room to manufacture more of the corneas and that she hoped to begin larger clinical trials after the first of the year with about 20 to 25 patients.
When implanted with contact lenses that they previously couldn’t tolerate, patients saw as well as a similar group of patients who had received standard corneal transplants.

The study is the first to show that an artificially fabricated cornea “can integrate into the human eye and stimulate regeneration,” Griffith said.

Griffith said her team is building a clean room to manufacture more corneas and hopes to begin larger clinical trials with 20 to 25 patients.

Researchers also are working to create stem-cell treatments that could spur corneal growth.

You may click to see this as well and Synthetic cornea offers hope to thousands

Resource :

Los Angeles Times

The Seattle Times

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Featured News on Health & Science

The Truth About the Super Bug

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The bug is actually a single-celled bacteria belonging to the Eschericia coli (E. coli) family. The species carries an enzyme called New Delhi metallo-beta—lactamase (NDM-1), which allows it to neutralise all known antibiotics and survive in their presence.

The enzyme was first isolated from a patient who had come to India for elective surgery. When he left, he took the “super bug” with him. No one knows how prevalent the organism is in India, as we do not have a centralised surveillance and reporting system that tracks hospital acquired infections and bacterial antibiotic resistance patterns.

Resistance is not a new phenomenon. Sulpha drugs and penicillin — the first antibiotics — were once hailed as “miracle” drugs. Today, they are hardly used. Overuse and misuse resulted in almost all bacteria becoming resistant to them.

If appropriate antibiotics are administered during a disease process caused by bacteria, the germs die. The host develops antibodies that help the body eliminate the weakened organisms.

E. coli has been around for thousands of years. That’s because the microorganisms developed “plasmids”, stable genetic elements composed of DNA or RNA. These help the bacteria grow resistance to chemicals and antibiotics. Once they have acquired this ability, they pass on the gene to other bacteria, even belonging to different species. Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella too have developed multiple drug resistance.

The outbreak of plague in Gujarat in 1994 killed hundreds. The state government realised the disease could be controlled by preventing rats from infesting human habitation and with appropriate antibiotic treatment. The situation was thus brought under control.

The spread of antibiotic resistance too can be controlled with combined concentrated effort. People are often “too busy” to consult a doctor when they are ill. The neighbourhood pharmacy then seems an attractive alternative. The man at the counter (often not a qualified pharmacist) dispenses antibiotics for coughs, colds, fever and diarrhoea. But there is often no rational or appropriate use of antibiotics.

Also, people sometimes do not complete the full course of a drug. They keep a few tablets, popping them for similar symptoms later or dispensing them to friends and relatives. A single dose may temporarily suppress the symptom. In a previously healthy person, the body’s natural defences then take over and eliminate the bacteria. The elderly or those with poor immunity become sicker, requiring the services of a qualified doctor. The bacteria, meanwhile, thrives in the presence of the antibiotic, because either they were not susceptible or the dosage was too small to be effective. Antibiotic resistance develops.

Practitioners of alternative systems of medicine prescribe and dispense antibiotics (which they are not licensed to use) inappropriately, perpetuating the problem.

At times, qualified physicians and surgeons use antibiotics prophylactically, especially after surgical procedures, to “prevent infection”. These antibiotics are eventually excreted by the body. They reach the sewage systems and seep through the earth. Bacteria are naturally present in sewage. They spread and multiply in the presence of the antibiotic.

Cattle and poultry feed are laced with antibiotics to “prevent” infection. Antibiotic resistant bacteria thrive on farms.

Everyone must play his or her part well to prevent another plague with super bugs which places the entire world population at risk.

• Take treatment only from qualified physicians

• Always buy antibiotics with a prescription, not OTC

• Complete the course in the dosage prescribed

Hygiene has to be maintained not just in the hospitals but also at home. Regularly washing hands, an elementary procedure, reduces infection and its spread.

Governments, nationally and internationally, need to maintain surveillance to monitor emerging infections and drug resistance patterns. If everyone — patients, doctors and the public — does not co-operate on a war footing, we may revert to the dark ages of the pre penicillin era. No antibiotic will work against infections and developing an infectious disease will turn out to be a death sentence.

An Article written by Dr Gita Mathai

Source: The Telegrtaph (Kolkata, India)

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Healthy Tips News on Health & Science

The Internet Website Can Help You Keep Your Weight Off

As per new research the web page or the internet  may help you to reduce your weight. During the study it is found that more often people log on specially designed Kaiser  Permanente weight  loss webpage, it is more likely that they were to maintain weight loss.

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Those who made the study  believed that the webpage worked as a result of its mixture of accountability and sociability.

The website users were asked log in once a week to enter their weight and the amount of exercise they’d done — and if they didn’t log in regularly, they got an e-mail and then an automated phone call. Users could also chat with other study participants.


Time Magazine reports:
“The study began with 1,600 overweight or obese participants, about 350 of whom lost enough weight … to stay in the trial … Users who had logged on the most regularly — at least once a month for 28 months — had kept off the most weight, an average of 9 lbs. People who used the website the least kept off only 3 lb. on average.”


Resources:
Time Magazine July 29, 2010
Journal of Medical Internet Research July 27, 2010;12(3):e29

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Healthy Tips

Regular Physical Activity Reduces the Risk of Early Death

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A new study by researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), Cambridge University and the Karolinska Institute in Sweden has found that even light or moderate intensity physical activity, such as walking or cycling, can substantially reduced the risk of early death.

The study combined the results from the largest studies around the world on the health impact of light and moderately intense physical activity.

Although more activity is better, the benefits of even a small amount of physical activity were very large in the least physically active group of people.

Science Daily reports:
“The good news from this study is that you don’t have to be an exercise freak to benefit from physical activity.
Just achieving the recommended levels of physical activity (equivalent to 30 minutes daily of moderate intensity activity on 5 days a week) reduces the risk of death by 19 percent … while 7 hours per week of moderate activity (compared with no activity) reduces the risk of death by 24 percent”.

Sources:
Science Daily July 25, 2010
International Journal of Epidemiology July 14, 2010 [Epub ahead of print]

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Categories
Herbs & Plants

Shea Butter (Butyrospermum parkii)

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Botanical Name :Butyrospermum parkii
Family: Sapotaceae
Genus: Butyrospermum
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Ericales
Species: B. parkii
Syn. B. paradoxa ,Vitellaria paradoxa
Common Names  : Shea Butter , Vitellaria,Karité,shea tree, vitellaria


Habitat :Indigenous  to Africa, occurring in Mali, Cameroon, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Togo, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan, Burkina Faso and Uganda.


Description:

The tree is perennial and starts bearing the first fruits when it is 10–15 years old; full bearing is attained when the tree is about 20–30 years. It produces nuts for up to 200 years after reaching maturity.

The fruits resemble large plums and take 4–6 months to ripen. Average yield is 15–20 kilograms of fresh fruit per tree, with optimum yields up to 45 kg. Each kilogram of fruit gives approximately 400 grams of dry seeds.

Botanical Details:Trees or shrubs , usually producing latex. Leaves spirally arranged or alternate and distichous, rarely ± opposite, sometimes crowded at apex of branchlets ; stipules early deciduous or absent; leaf blade papery or leathery, margin entire. Flowers bisexual or unisexual , usually in sessile axillary clusters , rarely solitary; cluster pedunculate or in raceme-like inflorescence, bracteolate . Calyx a single whorl of usually 4–6 sepals, or 2 whorls each with 2–4 sepals. Corolla lobes as many to 2 X as many as sepals, usually entire, rarely with 2 lacerate or lobular appendages . Stamens inserted at corolla base or at throat of corolla tube , as many as and opposite corolla lobes to many and in 2 or 3 whorls; staminodes when present alternate with stamens, scaly to petal-like. Ovary superior, 4- or 5-locular, placentation axillary; ovules 1 per locule, anatropous . Style 1, often apically lobed . Fruit a berry or drupe, 1- to many-seeded. Seed coat brown (pale yellow in Pouteria annamensis), hard, shiny, rich in tannin; endosperm usually oily; seed scar lateral and linear to oblong or basal and round.

click to see the pictures

The shea fruit consists of a thin, tart, nutritious pulp that surrounds a relatively large, oil-rich seed from which is extracted shea butter.

Constituents: vitamins a, e, and f, fatty acids: oleic- 60.5% palmitic- 5.0% linoleic- 7.9% stearic- 45.24%
Edible Uses:
The Shea tree is an African traditional food plant. It has been claimed that that the tree has potential to improve nutrition, boost food supply in the ” annual hungry season”,[1] foster rural development and support sustainable landcare.

Medicinal Uses:
Common Uses: Abrasions/Cuts * Aches & Pains * Eczema * Facial and Skin care * Hair Care/Shampoo * Insect Bites/Rashes * Natural Skin Care-Oils & Herbs *
Properties: Anti-inflammatory* Emollient* Skin tonic* Vulnerary*
Parts Used: Nut oil.

Shea butter is becoming more popular here in the West as we discover its marvelous uses in skin care. Shea is rich in vitamins, minerals and fatty acids that rejuvenate and hydrate skin and hair. Use shea butter alone or in homemade skin preparations to treat damaged skin, help heal wounds, or just pamper yourself with a whole body treatment.

click to see

Pure shea butter has a soft, pliable texture, is naturally cream colored and has a pleasant nutty scent. Bleached and refined shea butter does not retain its medicinal properties, so be sure to obtain it from a reputable vender that specializes in natural products. (Like Mountain Rose;)

Shea Butter is naturally rich in Vitamins A, E, and F, as well as a number of other vitamins and minerals. Vitamins A and E help to soothe, hydrate, and balance the skin. They also provide skin collagen which assists with wrinkles and other signs of ageing. Vitamin F contains essential fatty acids, and helps protect and revitalize damaged skin and hair. Shea Butter is an intense moisturizer for dry skin, and is a wonderful product for revitalizing dull or dry skin on the body or scalp. It promotes skin renewal, increases the circulation, and accelerates wound healing.

You may click to see:
From Ghana to Sonning :
Africa hopes for anti-wrinkle cash cow :

Disclaimer:The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplements, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.


Resources:

http://www.anniesremedy.com/herb_detail396.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butyrospermum_parkii
http://www.sheabuttermarket.com/shea_buttter_market_values.htm
http://zipcodezoo.com/Plants/V/Vitellaria_paradoxa/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butyrospermum_parkii

http://www.bbc.co.uk/berkshire/content/articles/2006/02/20/shea_butter_feature.shtml

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