CONQUERING CHRONIC PAIN

Swiss scientists have found a substance, which, in mice, blocks chronic pain but do not appear to cause any of the unwanted side effects of existing painkillers, a study said on Wednesday.
Researchers led by Hanns Zeilhofer at the University of Zurich found the compo0und after exploring the way pain signals travel unto to brain via the spinal cord.
Normally the spinal cord acts as a kind of filter, ensuring that not all painful signals coming from the periphery of the body reach the brain.
If these neurological gatekeepers were totally absent, even the lightest touch on the skin would make us wince with discomfort.
But in patients with chronic pain, this filter function is impaired, meaning that the spinal cord is like an open channel for pain signals.
Worldwide, one in five people suffer from moderate to severe chronic pain caused by rheumatoid arthritis, nerve damage caused by injuries, diabetes and other diseases.
To offer a solution, the researchers focused on molecule called GABA that can inhibit pain signals.
The researchers hope to make a drug that could be used for chronic pain without losing potency or making people sleepy.
Although the experiments on mice were successful, the next big challenge will be to develop drugs, which work in humans.

THE LURE OF GOOD HEALTH

Children are fast heading to a health catastrophe.
Globalization, expanding markets and changing lifestyles are having profound effects on health worldwide.
Obesity has reached epidemic proportions everywhere, in all nations , it has become a global health warning.
Diet irregularities the leading cause of obesity must be tackled during childhood only.
It becomes really a difficult task later on.
Most parents fail to ensure that their children don’t gorge on junk food.
The diet must contain five different food groups, milk and milk products, cereals and pulses, meant, fish and poultry , fruits and vegetables, fats, sugars and oils,
Today many consume food brands are providing mothers healthier options for their kids.
A ice cream company for example launched ice-cream fortified with calcium makes it a healthier option.
With calcium equivalent to a glass of milk, such formulas are a good way to lure your child into a healthier diet.
But remember if your child asks for ice cream everyday; make it conditional to his eating vegetable and fruits.
This way you get your way without feeling guilty and having to face his tantrums too

STEM CELLS BANKING

Stem cells are the primal cells of the body. The different cell types within the body are all derived from such cells and hence the name.
These cells have the unique ability to differentiate into a variety of cells.
When stem cells divides, each new cell has the potential to either remain a stem cell or become another type of cell with a more specialized function, such as a muscle cell, a red blood cell or a nerve cell.
Stem cell banks collect the cord blood, the blood remaining in the umbilical cord and placenta which links a mother a child, , as it is rich in life saving stem cells. It is now possible to generate healthy heart muscle cells from stem cells in the laboratory and transplant those cells into patients with chronic heart disease in type 1 diabetes, the cells of the pancreas, that normally produce insulin are destroyed by the patient’s own immune system.
It is now possible to direct the differentiation of stem cells in stem culture to form new insulin producing cells that could eventually be used in transplantation therapy for diabetes.