New
'painless' treatment to repair teeth
Bangalore:
A novel "regenerative" technique to repair infected teeth -- claimed
to be painless and cheaper than the traditional root canal treatment -- has
been developed by doctors at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences
(AIIMS) in New Delhi.
Termed
as "SealBio", the technique uses body's own stem cells and eliminates
the need for cumbersome root canal fillings. Developed by doctors Naseem Shah
and Ajay Logani at the Department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, it
has obtained an Australian patent, while an application with the US Patents
office is under process.
Root
canal treatment demands rigorous training, clinical skills and several
cumbersome sittings with dentist. It involves thorough cleaning and shaping
followed by filling of the entire root canal with one of several sealer
cements.
The
AIIMS technique is claimed to be the first that dispenses with the need for
root canal filling.
Instead
of filling the root canal with artificial materials that may pose
bio-compatibility problems, it makes use of regenerative potential of stem
cells and growth factors available at the root of the teeth. Stem cells act as
a repair system for the body capable of replenishing adult tissues.
In
case of this technique, the stem cells at the root of the decayed teeth are
stimulated to induce regeneration and deposition of a natural tissue barrier
(seal) to fill up the root canal in just one sitting. In other words, a
"biological seal" is achieved at the root canal rather than
attempting to seal it with artificial filling materials with all its drawbacks,
the doctors say.
The
root canal is restored to health by gradual build up of tissue by stem cells
over a period, extending from a few weeks to some months. The AIIMS doctors say
that this treatment simplifies the whole procedure with minimal use of
equipment, less time and cost of treatment.
"Shah
has been able to successfully carry out this new procedure in dozens of
patients and the 4-5 years follow up results have been very encouraging,"
Seyed Hasnain, a professor at the Kusuma School of Biological Sciences of the
Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, told IANS on phone.
"In
my opinion this is a path breaking innovation, a game changer," Hasnain
said.
He
said that the success achieved by AIIMS doctors could trigger research in
regenerative techniques in other clinical situations in dental science.
18.02.2014
Research
links father's gene to baby's birth weight
London:
A father's genetic code influences the weight of a baby at birth, according to
a new study.
The
study led by the UCL Institute of Child Health (ICH) suggests that genes
inherited from the mother and father regulate a baby's growth at different times
during the pregnancy, to ensure a successful birth as well as the mother's
survival.
Low
birth weight is a well-known risk factor for Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular
problems in later life.
One
group of growth genes of particular interest are the imprinted genes inherited
from one's parents. If the paternal one is expressed, the maternal one is
imprinted (silenced) and vice versa.
The
'parental conflict hypothesis' suggests that expression of the father's genes
enhances a baby's growth, improving the success of the paternal genome to be
passed on.
In
contrast, the mother's genome limits foetal growth, distributing equal
resources to each of her offspring, whilst ensuring her own survival post-birth
allowing her to reproduce again.
The
study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, looked at the relationship between
birth weight and the paternally expressed Insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF2)
early in gestation, where IGF2 is a key hormone regulating growth in the womb.
Professor
Gudrun Moore, lead author at the UCL Institute of Child Health, says most of us
think of both the mother's and father's genes as having an equal influence on
birth weight, but this does not appear to be the case.
"Our
study suggests that the two parental genomes may be acting at different times
during the pregnancy in order to control the baby's size. Whilst greater foetal
growth appears to be promoted by the father's genes early on, it must still
require careful regulation by the mother to ensure a successful birth," he
said.
He
added that understanding the genetic basis of foetal growth is of critical
importance in the prevention and monitoring of small and low weight babies.
18.02.2014
Do the best
you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better
Maya
Angelou
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