As countries become more industrialized and civilized, lifestyle diseases or diseases of civilization, such as dental decay, appear to have increased in frequency.

Increased susceptibility to dental decay due to diet, lifestyle, smoking, alcohol, as well as lack of exercise, seems to increase the risk later in life.

Tooth decay is technically known as dental caries and is one of the most common complaints in the world, particularly among children and young adults.

The debris of food, saliva and bacteria, known as plaque, collects around the gum line, the edges of fillings and the grooved teeth surfaces. This plaque, if left uncleaned, converts into tartar. Tartar contains acids which over a period of time dissolve the protective coating of the tooth and creates holes or cavities.

The causes of dental decay are many. The absence of the most essential nutritional factors and the presence of injurious factors explain why Native people had very healthy teeth, while the so-called “modern” people suffer from tooth decay. (more…)

Researchers have done it again. Is it any surprise that they have come up with skin that feels like skin but is not skin. It’s not a riddle nor is it from a science fiction novel.

I am talking about skin made from polymers and carbon nanotubes. According to researchers, this is currently under development and has the potential to feel – sensations of heat, cold and even pressure. This artificial skin has temperature sensors that are built-in.

There are several research scientists and organizations working on artificial skin, using different materials. One of them, John Simpson, a senior research scientist at the US Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Nanomaterials Synthesis and Properties Group says, “By employing carbon nanotube technology, we can not only come very close to existing skin characteristics, we may even exceed them.”

They say that carbon in nanotubes is biocompatible, which means the body’s immune system will not consider it a foreign object, so there is no fear of rejection. This skin conducts sensation, as carbon nanotubes that are vertically aligned can make the surfaces of prosthetic devices feel like the baby skin a person is born with. The skin will transfer the heat from the surface to a sensor network below as quickly and as efficiently as normal skin passes this information. Then the sensors signal the brain.

Artificial skin is a great help for people with third degree burns where patients lose a huge percentage of their skin layers, for big wounds as well as in cases of venous ulceration. These are situations where the skin is not capable of healing itself normally. This is where artificial skin transplant is required. (more…)

As if one parent suffering from Alzheimer’s is not bad enough, when this disease strikes both parents, it could affect the children too. Latest research shows that children whose parents (both the father and mother) have Alzheimer’s disease are more at risk of developing this disease.

Scientists, after conducting tests on hundreds of families where both parents have Alzheimer’s disease, have come to the conclusion that having both the parents with Alzheimer’s places their offspring at a much higher risk of developing this degenerative disease.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a form of dementia usually affecting the elderly. It is a form of fatal and progressive brain disease. Alzheimer’s destroys our brain cells and causes problems with memory, behavior and thinking. It gets severe enough to affect daily activities and social life, and gets worse with time. Currently, it is the seventh-leading cause of death in the United States and about 5 million Americans are said to be affected, according to statistics. (more…)

Even with the numerous antidepressants out there, any new drug that gets approved by FDA generates a huge amount of interest and expectation.

Pristiq from Wyeth is the newest antidepressant approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday. It is the successor to the top-selling Effexor, the extended-release depression drug from Wyeth. Pristiq is expected to hit the market in a few months.

Pristiq is a once-daily serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor to treat adult patients suffering from major depressive disorder (MDD.)

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a mental disorder affecting millions of people worldwide. We all experience grief and mood changes related to circumstances but depression that restricts our ability to function and dissipates interest in life certainly cannot be just a case of “blues.” It is a serious medical condition and is not something people usually “get over.” This illness is associated with imbalance in the brain.

It may be hard to digest but the fact remains that depression is a very common illness, although people don’t talk about it or accept it and usually push it under the carpet. It is common enough to be called, “the common cold” of psychiatric disorders. (more…)

Yes! We are talking about those slimy little creatures with long tongues. An astounding discovery revealed that frogs may be the answer to diabetes.

Researchers at the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland and United Arab Emirates discovered that a substance found on the skin of the “paradoxical frog” from South America boosts the production of insulin – the vital hormone deficient in diabetics.

This frog actually shrinks with age and thus named, “paradoxical.” The young ones are bigger than their parents and tadpoles reach up to 27 cm in length, while the frogs are only about 4 cm long. These frogs inhabit the lagoons and ponds of Amazon and Trinidad.

It is believed that the secretions of this frog could prove to be much more effective than other drugs, including Byetta, a diabetes drug released in 2005, made from the saliva of the Gila monster (venomous lizard) of North America.

According to researchers, peptide, a protein-building block that protects the paradoxical frog from infection, can be used to produce drugs to treat people with Type-2 diabetes. Lab tests have been carried out on these nocturnal frogs and it was found that this frog’s peptide, pseudin-2, increased release of insulin.

A synthetic version of pseudin-2 was also tested and it was found to stimulate the pancreatic cells into secretion of insulin and more importantly, no toxic effects were felt on the cells. (If you didn’t know, pancreas makes insulin.) In fact, the synthetic version was found to be even better at stimulating the pancreatic cells than the natural compound from the frog. This opens up several doors for developing a drug to treat diabetes better. (more…)