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| HEALTH TRIBUNE |
How to get better skin care
A new pill to ease prostate cancer pain
A medicine that lowers cholesterol in diabetics
Drug to reduce tumour growth
New drug for lung cancer Secret
behind lasting relationships
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How to get better skin care
A modern skin specialist is not only a physician but a surgeon as well. He treats nagging skin ailments with the help of latest gadgets and surgical techniques. Let us discuss some important surgical and non-surgical procedures, which help in making the cure possible for various intractable cutaneous problems. These diseases are the ones which were considered incurable just a couple of years ago. Hair transplantation Baldness is a progressive disorder. Hair on the front and top of the head is lost because it is hormone-dependent. Hair on the sides and lower back does not have hormone receptors. This hair is retained till the age of 60-70 years. Dermatosurgeons transfer the person’s own hair roots from the long lasting area to the bald area. Follicular micrografting is a one-day procedure which gives permanent replacement of lost hair with new hair roots that grow and can be cut, shampooed and treated like original hair. Vitiligo surgeries In spite of all available medical therapies for vitiligo, a significant number of patients fail to respond. Failure is probably due to the too strong and active depigmentation process for which medical treatment is relatively weak. The other reason can be the depletion of the melanocyte reservoir (pigment producing cells) located in the hair follicle and non-stimulation of melanocytes located at the border of the lesions. Grafting and transplantation of melanocytes is the only answer to this situation, by artificially creating a new source of pigment cells on depigmented skin. Chemical peeling Our skin is a living organ made up of millions of cells. Everyday thousands of cells fall off and are replaced by new cells from below. This is a slow and haphazard process and does not allow the skin to shed dark spots, sun-damaged or dull lifeless complexion. The purpose of a facial peel is to cause an even, controlled shedding of the damaged cells. The new skin is even in colour and texture. Chemical peeling is an art and proves very useful once developed scientifically. Deep peels are unsuitable for Indian skin as these involve a greater risk of complications and longer period of recovery. Microdermabrasion Microdermabrasion or particle skin resurfacing is the latest technology for skin exfoliation. The dermabrader uses a controlled vacuum to move sterile microcystals to abrade the superficial layer of dead cells on the skin. The microcystolos and abraded skin are then vacuumed away. After multiple treatments, this skin renewal procedure can eliminate pigmented spots and post-acne pits and post-chicken pox marks. Botox Botox is a toxin derived from a bacteria and when injured it works by paralysing the connection between the muscles and the nerves, thus erasing unwanted lines. The safety profile is excellent and the major advantage is that its effects are temporary and reversible. The diluted form of the toxin is injected into the overactive muscle and the pain is minimal — almost like a mosquito sting. It is an office procedure requiring only 10-15 minutes. The effect begins to show within three-seven days and lasts four-six months. The interval between sittings increases with time. For those who fear or dread the sight of a knife or the idea of surgery, botox is a boon. It is a non-surgical approach to face-lift. Dermal fillers Dermal fillers fill in deep creases or furrows and the treatment involves injecting hyaluronic acid (restylene) using a fine needle inserted at several points. If you are relatively happy with the shape of your face and just want to turn the clock back, then dermal fillers are the answer. While results of these injectables last only a limited period of time, they provide a quick cosmetic boost to the looks and psyche. They are fast, easy and entail no recovery time. A lunch time visit is all it takes. Nonsurgical face-lift Just as toning is needed for loose muscles, in the same way, facial muscles also need toning. Gravity tends to pull everything down and that is why jowls are formed on the face as one gets older. The best way to counteract that is non-surgical face-lift. A current is applied to the facial muscles and it stimulates and contracts them. It is done every week for about 10 weeks and a radical change is observed in the look of the face. Repeat sessions may be needed every two-three years but three-four weekly sittings are all that are required for maintenance. The writer is Chief
Dermatologist, Mohan Dai Oswal Cancer Treatment and Research Foundation,
Ludhiana |
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A new pill to ease prostate cancer pain Washington: Recent clinical studies led by Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center have found that a drug called atrasentan reduces the risk of advanced hormone-resistant prostate cancer by 20 per cent. "Treatment options remain limited for patients whose prostate cancer has spread and does not respond to hormone therapy, and some of these men are looking for less toxic alternatives than chemotherapy at this point in their lives," Michael Carducci, associate professor at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, said. "Atrasentan can help prevent their pain and may potentially postpone when they need more aggressive treatments like chemotherapy or radiation," he added. Combined results of the international clinical trials, which spanned three years and enrolled more than one thousand men, showed an approximately 20 per cent decrease in the chance that their cancer will progress in those who took atrasentan daily versus a placebo. Part of a new trend in cancer treatment, known as "targeted therapy," atrasentan blocks a protein called endothelin, which is secreted in excess amounts by prostate cancer cells. Endothelin promotes cancer cell growth and stimulates new bone formation where prostate cancer cells have spread to bone sites. Carducci plans to continue studies of atrasentan in patients whose cancer has not spread and in combination with other drugs that block growth factors. He adds that atrasentan could potentially be an option after second-line hormonal therapy or when patients are waiting to begin chemotherapy. Hopkins and other centers nationwide will study the drug in patients with brain, renal cell, ovarian and lung cancers.
The identification of endothelin and its
role in prostate cancer as a potential target for therapy led to the
development of atrasentan and was first described nine years ago in
Hopkins laboratories through a specialized programme of research
excellence (SPORE) grant from the National Cancer |
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A medicine that lowers cholesterol in diabetics Washington: A cholesterol-lowering medicine specifically designed by UK primary prevention statin trial at the American Diabetes Association (ADA) promises to benefit patients with Type 2 diabetes and a CV risk factor. The unique collaboration between Diabetes UK, the Department of Health, Pfizer UK and co-ordintated by University College London, showed that 10mg atorvastatin (Lipitor) reduced cardiovascular (CV) events by 37 percent in patients with diabetes without existing CVD2. CARDS stands for the Collaborative Atorvastatin Diabetes Study and was conducted in 132 centres across the UK and Ireland. A total of 2,838 patients with moderately elevated LDL-cholesterol and triglyceride levels were involved.
The study was designed to assess the
effectiveness of lipid- lowering treatment (with atorvastatin 10 mg)
for the primary prevention of CVD in Type 2 diabetes patients with
additional risk factors for CVD1. Patients on atorvastatin experienced
large and significant reductions in CV events (defined as acute
coronary events, stroke and CABG/other revascularisation procedures).
— ANI
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Drug to reduce tumour growth Washington: According to a research carried out at the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center, a new and experimental breast cancer drug called Lapatinib has the ability to reduce tumour growth in women. According to the study, this result emerged after an eight -week national trial. Kimberly Blackwell, an oncologist from the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center, presented the data at the annual American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in New Orleans. The data shows that 46 per cent of breast cancer patients who took the oral drug for eight weeks had stable disease or tumour shrinkage. Approximately 24 per cent of patients
who took the drug for four months had stable disease or tumour
shrinkage. — ANI
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New drug for lung cancer Washington: Researchers at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville and The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston have revealed that the first clinical trial to combine two new targeted cancer drugs may provide a powerful "one-two punch" against lung cancer. Tumours were controlled among 85 per cent of the 40 patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who entered the Phase I/II trial of a combined regimen of bevacizumab (Avastin TM) and erlotinib (Tarceva TM).The response rate was about 20 per cent, while median survival was 12.5 months. The treatment resulted in only mild side-effects, including rash and diarrhoea, and the drugs did not appear to interact adversely with one another, the investigators report. "The anti-tumour activity was encouraging. These findings suggest not only that combining these two agents is feasible, but that this approach may provide a one-two punch against tumours that should be further examined in larger clinical trials," Alan Sandler, M.D., associate professor of medicine and director of the lung cancer clinical programme at Vanderbilt-Ingram, said. Despite newer chemotherapies, most of
the patients become resistant to treatment or develop side-effects so
severe that they cannot continue treatment. The two drugs, both
delivered orally, are among newer targeted cancer agents that focus on
specific molecular features of cancer cells. Because they potentially
target cancer cells while sparing healthy cells, the hope for these
new agents is more effective cancer therapy with fewer side-effects.
— ANI
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Secret behind lasting relationships London: A new study has suggested that the secret behind a lasting relationship lies not in our stars, but in our genes. According to Professor Tim Spector, Director of The Twin Research Unit at St. Thomas’ Hospital in London, evidence has been found of genetics having a bearing on human sexual behaviour. Spector was quoted by the Daily Mail
as saying that will the environment plays a role in determining
whether humans are faithful or not to their partners, there is also a
"clear genetic component". Spector studied lifestyle
characteristics such as the tendency to be unfaithful or get divorced
using a database of 5000 twins. "There is unlikely to be a single
gene for anything like this. But there are likely to be genes that
participate in it, a number of genes working together, it might be
things like risk taking or those associated with personality," he
was quoted as saying. — ANI
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