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Saturday, May 31, 2014

Exposure to light while sleeping can make you fat




Women who are exposed to greater levels of light while sleeping are more likely to gain weight, a new study has claimed.

Scientists at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, found body mass index, waist-hip ratio, waistheight ratio and waist circumference, all increased with increasing exposure to light at night.

These associations were seen after adjustments were made for confounding factors that could be associated with light exposure levels and weight in the study participants.

The findings come from cross-sectional analyses of data from the Breakthrough Generations Study , which followed over 113,000 women from across the United Kingdom for 40 years to find the root cause of breast cancer.

"Metabolism is affected by cyclical rhythms within the body that relate to sleeping, waking and light exposure," said Anthony Swerdlow, a researcher from the institute.






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Thursday, May 29, 2014

Laser triggers stem cells to regrow teeth





With a simple, low-power laser, researchers have triggered naturally-occurring dental stem cells to regrow teeth in rats. The work could soon be used to repair teeth in humans

A team was the first to demonstrate the ability to use low-power light to trigger stem cells inside the body to regenerate tissue, an advance they reported in Science Translational Medicine. The research, led by Wyss Institute Core Faculty member David Mooney lays the foundation for a host of clinical applications in restorative dentistry and regenerative medicine more broadly, such as wound healing, bone regeneration, and more.

The team used a low-power laser to trigger human dental stem cells to form dentin, the hard tissue that is similar to bone and makes up the bulk of teeth.
What's more, they outlined the precise molecular mechanism involved, and demonstrated its prowess using multiple laboratory and animal models.

A number of biologically active molecules, such as regulatory proteins called growth factors, can trigger stem cells to differentiate into different cell types. Current regeneration efforts require scientists to isolate stem cells from the body, manipulate them in a laboratory, and return them to the body ­ efforts that face a host of regulatory and technical hurdles to their clinical translation. But Mooney's approach is different and, he hopes, easier to get into the hands of practicing clinicians.

"Our treatment modality does not introduce anything new to the body, and lasers are routinely used in medi cine and dentistry, so the barriers to clinical translation are low," said Mooney. "It would be a substantial advance in the field if we can regenerate teeth rather than replace them."

RAT DENTISTRY The team first turned to lead author and dentist Praveen Arany. At the time of the research, he was a Harvard graduate student. Arany took rodents to the laboratory version of a dentist's office to drill holes in their molars, treat the tooth pulp that contains adult dental stem cells with low-dose laser treatments, applied temporary caps, and kept the animals comfortable and healthy. After about 12 weeks, high-resolution x-ray imaging and microscopy confirmed that the laser treatments triggered the enhanced dentin formation.

"It was definitely my first time doing rodent dentistry," said Arany, who faced several technical challenges in performing oral surgery on such a small scale. The dentin was strikingly similar in composition to normal dentin, but did have slightly different morphological organisation. Moreover, the typical reparative dentin bridge seen in human teeth was not as readily apparent in the minute rodent teeth, owing to the technical challenges with the procedure.

"This is one of those rare cases where it would be easier to do this work on a human," Mooney said.
HOW IT WORKED Next the team performed a series of culture-based experiments to unveil the precise molecular mechanism responsible for the regenerative effects of the laser treatment. It turns out that a ubiquitous regulatory cell protein called transforming growth factor beta-1 played a pivotal role in triggering the dental stem cells to grow into dentin.
Beta-1 exists in latent form until activated by any number of molecules.

Here is the chemical domino effect the team confirmed: In a dose-dependent manner, the laser first induced reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are chemically active molecules containing oxygen that play an important role in cellular function. The ROS activated the latent Beta-1-complex which, in turn, differentiated the stem cells into dentin.

The clinical effects of low-power lasers have been subtle and largely inconsistent. The new work marks the first time that scientists have gotten to the nub of how low-level laser treatments work on a molecular level, and lays the foundation for controlled treatment protocols. Next Arany aims to take this work to human clinical trials.








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Cancer, AIDS, malaria drugs may get cheaper




Drug prices regulator NPPA is looking at bringing medicines used for treating diseases such as cancer, AIDS and malaria under the price control mechanism.

The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority met recently to consider ways of bringing medicines, which are not covered by the list of essential drugs, under some regulatory ambit in order to check prices, sources said.

"We are examining the possible actions to bring down the prices in public interest in case of drugs whose prices vary to a great extent and the treatment is very costly," a senior official said. The prices of some of the medicines targeting diseases like cancer vary up to 600 per cent, the official added.

"Moreover, NPPA is also examining the prices of medicines targeting malaria and dysentery," the official said. As of May last year, prices of 348 medicines in the National List of Essential Medicines were under control with the implementation of Drug Prices Control Order (DPCO), 2013.

The move followed the approval of National Pharmaceutical Pricing Policy (NPPP) 2012 by the Cabinet on November 22, 2012. This was later notified on December 7, 2012.

The NPPA has been authorised to fix and revise prices of controlled bulk drugs and formulations and to enforce prices and availability of the medicines in the country.

It is also mandated to monitor the prices of decontrolled drugs in order to keep them at reasonable levels. PTI




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Thursday, May 1, 2014

Medicare costs biggest worry for Indians over 45

Mumbai: Indians approaching their silver innings seem most worried about their ability to foot their medical expenses in future, an online survey has found. 

    Respondents above 45 years rated high out-of-pocket spending on health above fears about physical and mental wellbeing. While life expectancy is up, thanks to medical advances, this generation is more likely to be living its sunset years alone as the young migrate for work. 
    "As they live longer, they become financially dependent for their living and health costs have to be met for an extended time. They are 
increasingly being seen as burdensome by the younger population, thus increasing the likelihood of abuse," said Dr Smita Bammidi, a researcher on ageing with the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Deonar. In a Nielsen survey of 30,000 people, 54% of those above 45 cited not having enough money to cover medical costs as their top concern. 
45+ SHADES OF GREY 
There are over 190 million Indians over the age of 45 
In a Nielsen survey of 30,000 people, 54% of those above 45 cited 
not having enough money to cover medical costs as their top concern 
Physical and mental fitness 
concerns are more widespread, but rank below healthcare costs 
Current senior citizens more worried about losing their motor skills 
Elderly short of cash, but have 'vote power' 
Mumbai: A nationwide survey has found that for Indians aged over 45, physical and mental fitness was a more widespread concern (81%), but rated below medicare costs. 
    Interestingly, senior citizens seemed more concerned about losing their motor skills as they grow older than funding their lifestyle. "More than half (53%) of respondents claim their biggest fear is losing physical agility, followed by not having enough money to live comfortably or cover medical expenses,'' the survey, completed in December 2013, said about those above 60. 
    "There are over 190 million Indians over the age of 45 as per Census 2011, making up for 19% of our population,'' said Nielsen India president Piyush Mathur. But there is no planning at government or private sector level for this sizeable section. "In the West, the ageing segment is a driver of consumer perspective. In India, this niche segment is 
rarely targeted. There isn't enough medical insurance or packages targeting this group." 
    Shailesh Mishra of the Silver Innings Foundation, which works for Alzheimer's patients in Mumbai, said there is no concept of "planning for the future senior citizens". "Medical expenses are rising. If a family has an Alzheimer's patient, a parttime nurse will cost Rs 15,000," he said, highlighting the urgent need for government-run programmes for the elderly. 
    "Older persons in India find funding their expenses post-retirement when there is no regular income their single biggest concern. A majority may not have enough savings and are dependent on their children," said Bammidi of TISS. 
    The elderly could be a force to reckon with as they are high in absolute numbers, she added. "They are consumers of various products and healthcare, they can decide which party comes to power, but we don't use them effectively."




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