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Chicken Pox Can Affect Oral Health

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Chicken Pox, that itchy red rash caused by varicella zoster virus, infected nearly four million people every year until a vaccine in  1995 slashed its incidence by 83 percent.
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If you had chicken pox, the varicella zoster virus may still be present in your body and could lead to serious and irreversible oral health problems such as herpes-type lesions and severe bone damage to the jaws.

The symptoms are pain, swelling or infection of the gums, or their poor healing, loosening of teeth, heaviness in the jaw, and the like.

Varicella zoster can lie dormant for decades and if activated can lead to herpes zoster (HZ), more commonly referred to as shingles, according to a study.

The virus affects nearly one million Americans each year, 50 percent of all new cases of herpes zoster occur in individuals over the age of 60.

Herpes zoster manifests as painful blisters that erupt along the sensory nerves usually on

English: Various viruses from the Herpesvirida...
English: Various viruses from the Herpesviridae family seen using an electron micrograph Amongst these members is varicella-zoster (Chickenpox), and herpes simplex type 1 and 2 (HSV-1, HSV-2). ?Norsk (bokmål)â?¬: Ulike herpesvira. Også virus regnes som en form for mikroorganismer. Her forskjellige herpesvirus. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

one side of the body or face,” according to study co-author MA Pogrel. “It can be a debilitating disease that can lead to osteonecrosis of the jaw and vision loss in addition to a prolonged painful syndrome.”

Osteonecrosis is a condition in which bone in the lower or upper jaw becomes exposed. As a result, the jaw bone suffers severe damage and/or death, eventually leading to tooth loss.
However, Academy of General Dentistry (AGD) spokeswoman Laura Murcko, noted that “your dentist can help detect early signs of osteonecrosis of the jaw by checking for loose teeth, detached gums as well as taking dental x-rays.”

Murcko, a dentist, recommended that patients consume 1,000 to 1,200 milligrams of calcium a day, add vitamin D to their diet, exercise and weight train, quit smoking and decrease caffeine and alcohol intake, said an AGD release.

Sources: The Times Of India

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Cold Sore Virus Secret Revealed

The secret of how the cold sore virus manages to persist for a lifetime in the human body may have been cracked by US scientists.

The herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) can lie dormant in facial nerves, emerging periodically to cause sores.

A Duke University Medical Center team may have uncovered how it can reactivate itself from a dormant state.

The finding, published in the journal Nature, could eventually lead to new treatments.

When fighting a virus, the immune system relies heavily on the protein chemicals produced by the virus which it uses to help mark it for destruction.

Herpes viruses manage to evade the immune system by shutting down production of these proteins completely, and remaining in this state for long periods before starting to replicate again.

Wake-up call

This is why patients, once infected, have occasional flare-ups of cold sores or genital herpes, and can never get rid of the infection completely.

However, there is one thing that HSV-1 does produce, the precise role of which has puzzled scientists for some years.

It is a type of RNA, a single strand of genetic information copied from the DNA of the virus. In other viruses, these RNAs make proteins that are useful to the virus, but in herpes, this was not the case.

The Duke University team suspected that it somehow helped keep the virus in its dormant state, and studied what happened to these “latent RNAs” in mice.

They found they were broken down into even smaller strands, called microRNAs, and these appeared to block the production of proteins which reactivated the virus.

Effectively, they were helping keep the virus in its dormant state.

Professor Bryan Cullen, who led the research, said: “We have provided a molecular understanding of how HSV-1 hides and then switches back and forth between the latent and active phases.”

He said a drug based on blocking these microRNAs could in theory “wake up” all the viruses, making them vulnerable to antiviral therapy, and raising the possibility of a cure for herpes.

Professor Roger Everett, a Medical Research Council virologist based in Glasgow, said that the research represented a step forward in a “long-standing problem” in the field.

The next step, he said would be to see what happened in an animal using a virus engineered to block production of these RNAs.

Sources: BBC NEWS.July 2 ’08

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Ailmemts & Remedies

Measles

ID#: 712 Description: Rash of rubella on skin ...
Image via Wikipedia

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Definition

Measles is a highly contagious viral illness.Measles, also known as rubeola, is a disease caused by a virus, specifically a paramyxovirus of the genus Morbillivirus.

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Reports of measles go back to at least 600 BCE, however, the first scientific description of the disease and its distinction from smallpox is attributed to the Persian physician Ibn Razi (Rhazes) 860-932 who published a book entitled “Smallpox and Measles” (in Arabic: Kitab fi al-jadari wa-al-hasbah).

Measles is spread through respiration (contact with fluids from an infected person’s nose and mouth, either directly or through aerosol transmission), and is highly contagious—90% of people without immunity sharing a house with an infected person will catch it. Airborne precautions should be taken for all suspected cases of measles.

The incubation period usually lasts for 4–12 days (during which there are no symptoms).

Infected people remain contagious from the appearance of the first symptoms until 3–5 days after the rash appears.

Immunity to the disease occurs after vaccination or active infection:
Before widespread immunization, measles was so common during childhood that the majority of the population had been infected by age 20. Measles cases dropped over the last several decades to virtually none in the U.S. and Canada because of widespread immunization, but rates have crept up again recently.

Some parents are refusing to have their children vaccinated because of fears that the MMR vaccine, which protects against Measles, Mumps, and Rubella, can cause autism.

Large studies of thousands of children have found no connection between this vaccine and the development of autism, however, lower vaccination rates can cause outbreaks of measles, mumps, and rubella — which can be serious.


Symptoms

sore throat
runny nose
cough
muscle pain
fever
bloodshot eyes
tiny white spots inside the mouth (called Koplik’s spots)
photophobia (light sensitivity)
rash
appears around the fifth day of the disease
may last 4 to 7 days
usually starts on the head and spreads to other areas, progressing downward
maculopapular rash — appears as both macules (flat, discolored areas) and papules (solid, red, elevated areas) that later merge together (confluent)
itching of the rash
Note: The period between the appearance of the earliest symptoms and the appearance of a rash or fever is usually 3 to 5 days.

The classical symptoms of measles include a fever for at least three days, and the three Cs—cough, coryza (runny nose) and conjunctivitis (red eyes). The fever may reach up to 105° Fahrenheit/ 40° Celsius. Koplik’s spots seen inside the mouth are pathognomonic (diagnostic) for measles but are not often seen, even in real cases of measles, because they are transient and may disappear within a day of arising.

The characteristic measles rash is classically described as a generalized, maculopapular, erythematous rash that begins several days after the fever starts. It starts on the head before spreading to cover most of the body, often causing itching. The rash is said to “stain”, changing colour from red to dark brown before disappearing. notice that there is German Measles, that it’s rash never spreads allover the whole body as measles… it is important to differentiate it from German type.

Signs and tests
viral culture (rarely done)
a measles serology.

Diagnosis
A detailed history should be taken including course of the disease so far, vaccination, history, contact history, and travel history.
Clinical diagnosis of measles requires a history of fever of at least three days together with at least one of the three Cs. Observation of Koplik’s spots is also diagnostic of measles.

Alternatively, laboratory diagnosis of measles can be done with confirmation of positive measles IgM antibodies or isolation of measles virus RNA from respiratory specimens. In cases of measles infection following secondary vaccine failure IgM antibody may not be present. In these cases serological confirmation may be made by showing IgG antibody rises by Enzymeimmunoasay or complement fixation

Positive contact with other patients known to have measles adds strong epidemiological evidence to the diagnosis.

Treatment
There is no specific treatment or antiviral therapy for uncomplicated measles. Most patients with uncomplicated measles will recover with rest and supportive treatment. Though some children may require supplementation with Vitamin A. Symptoms may be relieved with bed rest, acetaminophen, and humidified air.

Histologically, a unique cell can be found in the paracortical region of hyperplastic lymph nodes in patients affected with the measles. This cell, known as the Warthin-Finkeledey cell, is a multinucleated giant with eosinophilic cytoplasmic and nuclear inclusions.

Some herbal medicines
:
1.Termeric roots are dried in the sun andground to a fine powder.The powder is mixed with a few drops of honey and juice of few bitter groud leaves and taken with beneficial results.

2.Cinnamon (dalchini) is used as a prophylatic agent to control German measles.

Ayurvedic Treatment for Measles

Home Remedies for the treatment of Measles
Homeopathic early stage treatment for Measels
Measels-Homeopathic Remedy

Complications:
Associated bacterial infection may cause otitis media, bronchitis. Encephalitis occurs in approximately 1 out of 1,000 measles cases.

Complications with measles are relatively common, ranging from relatively common and less serious diarrhea, to pneumonia and encephalitis (subacute sclerosing panencephalitis). Complications are usually more severe amongst adults who catch the virus.

The fatality rate from measles for otherwise healthy people in developed countries is low: approximately 1 death per thousand cases. In underdeveloped nations with high rates of malnutrition and poor healthcare, fatality rates of 10 percent are common. In immunocompromised patients, the fatality rate is approximately 30 percent.

Disclaimer: This information is not meant to be a substitute for professional medical advise or help. It is always best to consult with a Physician about serious health concerns. This information is in no way intended to diagnose or prescribe remedies.

Help taken from: healthline.com/adamcontent/measles, en.wikipedia.org & Miracles of herbs

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