Biological Substitute for Dental Implants?

Work at Columbia University College of Dental Medicine Holds Promise for a Biological Substitute for Dental Implants, According to Latest Journal of Dental Research

New York – A technique pioneered in the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Laboratory of Dr. Jeremy Mao, the Edward V. Zegarelli Professor of Dental Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center, can orchestrate stem cells to migrate to a three-dimensional scaffold infused with growth factor, holding the translational potential to yield an anatomically correct tooth in as soon as nine weeks once implanted.

People who have lost some or all of their adult teeth typically look to dentures, or, more recently, dental implants to improve a toothless appearance that can have a host of unsettling psycho-social ramifications.

Human Molar Scaffolding

An animal-model study has shown that by homing stem cells to a scaffold made of natural materials and integrated in surrounding tissue, there is no need to use harvested stem cell lines, or create an environment outside of the body (e.g., a Petri dish) where the tooth is grown and then implanted once it has matured. The tooth instead can be grown “orthotopically,” or in the socket where the tooth will integrate with surrounding tissue in ways that are impossible with hard metals or other materials.

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Top 5 Reconstructive Plastic Surgery Procedures in 2009

According to statistics released by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), nearly 5.2 million reconstructive plastic surgery procedures were performed last year. Reconstructive plastic surgery, which improves function and appearance to abnormal structures, increased 5 percent in 2009. The top five reconstructive procedures in 2009 were:

* Tumor removal (3.9 million)
* Laceration repair (332,000)
* Scar revision (171,000)
* Hand surgery (110,000)
* Maxillofacial surgery (90,000)

“Reconstructive plastic surgery is an important part of what we do,” said Dr. McGuire. “We know that 70 percent of women eligible for breast reconstruction after cancer are not aware of their reconstructive options. We would like to see this change to the point that we can report this procedure is now among the top five reconstructive procedures.”

Top 5 Cosmetic Plastic Minimally Invasive Procedures in 2009

Cosmetic minimally-invasive procedures increased 1 percent, to nearly 11 million procedures in 2009 according to statistics released by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Minimally-invasive procedures are up 99 percent since 2000. The top five minimally-invasive procedures in 2009 were:

* Botulinum toxin type A (4.8 million)
* Soft tissue fillers (1.7 million)
* Chemical peel (1.1 million)
* Microdermabrasion (910,000)
* Laser hair removal (893,000)

“Skin is in,” said Dr. McGuire. “Chemical peels and soft tissue fillers like hyaluronic acid are up 9 percent, microdermabrasion is up 8 percent – these are the procedures that patients are opting for despite the economy.”

“It would seem, as innovations in cosmetic minimally-invasive procedures increase, surgery will continue to decrease,” added Dr. McGuire. “However, as the economy rebounds, more patients and Boomers will continue to seek surgical body contouring procedures (liposuction, tummy tuck), eyelid surgery and breast augmentations. In fact, breast augmentations are up 36 percent since 2000. Silicone implants are now used in 50 percent of all breast augmentations.”

Top 5 Cosmetic Plastic Surgery Procedures in 2009

Although it’s been a sluggish year for plastic surgery due to the economy the long-term outlook is more encouraging. According to statistics released by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), 12.5 million cosmetic plastic surgery procedures were performed in the United States in 2009.

Cosmetic surgical procedures decreased 9 percent, with more than 1.5 million procedures in 2009. Surgical procedures are down 20 percent since 2000. The top five surgical procedures in 2009 were:

* Breast augmentation (289,000)
* Nose reshaping (256,000)
* Eyelid surgery (203,000)
* Liposuction (198,000)
* Tummy tuck (115,000)

Before and after a breast augmentation surgery

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FDA Approves First Sclerosant to Treat Small Varicose Veins in 60 Years

Washington – Merz Aesthetics  makes its debut at the prestigious American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (ASAPS) annual meeting with the announcement of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) recent approval of Asclera™ (polidocanol) Injection, a sclerotherapy treatment for uncompplicated spider and reticular veins.

“Spider and reticular veins are a common, often embarrassing condition that can be treated safely and effectively,” said Robert A. Weiss, M.D., director of the Maryland Laser, Skin, and Vein Institute and Associate Professor of Dermatology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, MD. “Asclera™ is a minimally-invasive option for patients who are unhappy with the appearance of their legs.”

The FDA approved Asclera™ (polidocanol) Injection on March 30, 2010 to sclerose uncomplicated spider veins (varicose veins less than or equal to 1 mm in diameter) and uncomplicated reticular veins (varicose veins 1 to 3 mm in diameter) in the lower extremity, making it the first sclerosant to be approved in over 60 years.  Once injected, Asclera™ acts by damaging the cell lining of blood vessels, causing them to close and eventually be replaced by other types of tissue. Asclera™ is safe and effective when used as directed. Commonly observed local adverse events included injection site hematoma, irritation, and discoloration. Asclera™ has not been studied in varicose veins more than 3 mm in diameter.

“We are very excited about the approval of this treatment, expanding our aesthetics portfolio with products that really matter to patients,” said Dennis Condon, President of BioForm Medical, Inc., a Merz Aesthetics company. “Merz Aesthetics is committed to bringing forward true innovation to solve real problems that impact the lives of aesthetics users, and this takes us in the right direction.”

During the meeting, the company will also unveil the first phase of a unique national consumer survey of women’s experiences and perceptions of minimally-invasive cosmetic procedures. The results shed some light on the underlying motivations behind these women’s cosmetic procedure choices.

- Baby boomers keep cosmetic procedures on the rise

- Facelifts, eyelid lifts among anti-aging surgeries up in 2009

Chicago – The baby boomer generation may be well into their 50s and 60s, but that doesn’t mean they’re ready to concede their looks just yet. In fact, many “boomers” are determined to maintain their once-youthful appearance.

According to a recent survey by the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery, anti-aging procedures such as facelifts and blepharoplasty (eyelid lifts) are on the rise. So are botox and fillers. The bottom line is that baby boomers are aging but they don’t want their looks to do the same.

Before and after blepharoplasty

“The baby boomers are getting older but they still feel young and they want to look that way too,” said AACS President Mark Berman, MD. “With anti-aging procedures, people tend to feel much better about themselves afterward.”

Facelifts rose 44 percent from 2008 to 2009 in procedures by AACS members, totaling 34,455 in ’09. Blepharoplasty procedures went up 42 percent, from 42,602 to 60,507. Similarly, non-invasive anti-aging procedures such as Botox (up 157 percent) and fillers (up 245 percent) rose exponentially.

In procedures performed by AACS members, the average age of facelift patients is 54.1 years. The average age for blepharoplasty is 52.3 years. In addition, the average age of patients receiving Botox is 46.6 and fillers is 46.8.

“I think this might come as a surprise to the public when they see just how many baby boomers are trying to slow down the aging process,” Berman said. “As a surgeon, these numbers aren’t surprising because we see older patients all the time.”

Source: American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery

For more information about plastic surgery procedures don’t hesitate to contact Sublimis – Medical Tourism.

Belief that intentional weight loss is harmful to seniors is unfounded

Winston-Salem, NC – A new study by researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center is the first to refute the widely held belief that intentional weight loss in older adults leads to increased risk of death.

In fact, the research shows that seniors who intentionally exercised and/or modified their diets to lose weight were half as likely to die within eight years of follow-up as their peers who did not work toward weight loss, said M. Kyla Shea, Ph.D., first author on the study and a research associate in the Department of Internal Medicine, Section on Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine.

“It was an unusually strong and surprising finding,” Shea said. “Our data suggest that people should not be concerned about trying or recommending weight loss to address obesity-related health problems in older adults.”

The study, funded by the National Institute on Aging, is currently available online and is schedule to appear in a future print issue of the Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences.

Prior to this study, research that has looked at the association between mortality and weight loss has not factored in the many different potential causes of the weight loss. So, using a more rigorous randomized trial approach, Shea and colleagues sought to prove or disprove the idea that older individuals who actively tried to lose weight increased their risk of death.

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New Study May Explain How Weight-loss Surgery Reverses Type 2 Diabetes

California – A team of researchers, led by a UC Davis veterinary endocrinologist, has shown for the first time that a surgical procedure in rats that is similar to bariatric surgery in humans can delay the onset of type 2 diabetes. The researchers also have identified biochemical changes caused by the surgeries that may be responsible for that delay.

Findings from the study, published online in the journal Gastroenterology, should help researchers identify strategies for preventing and treating type 2 diabetes, a chronic condition in which the body is unable to properly metabolize sugar and fat, leading to serious complications including heart disease, blindness and kidney failure.

Type 2 diabetes affects more than 21 million people in the United States, where it results in more than $150 billion in direct and indirect annual costs, according to the National Institutes of Health.

“Bariatric surgery currently is considered to be the most effective long-term treatment for human obesity and often leads to marked improvements in diabetes,” said the study’s lead author Peter Havel, a professor with joint appointments in the School of Veterinary Medicine and Department of Nutrition.

“It has been thought that reduction of blood sugar, which indicates a reversal of type 2 diabetes, in patients following bariatric surgery was due to post-surgery weight loss,” Havel said. “This study, however, supports the observations from a number of earlier clinical studies reporting that diabetes is often improved prior to substantial weight loss. It also suggests that endocrine changes in hormones produced by the gastrointestinal tract may contribute to the early effects of bariatric surgery, in addition to the later effects of weight loss.”

“This study confirms our clinical observations that metabolic regulation — specifically homeostasis of glucose — occurs quickly after gastric bypass surgery,” said Mohamed Ali, an associate professor of gastrointestinal surgery and a specialist in bariatric surgery at UC Davis Health System. “It’s clear from the outcome that something physiologic is at work with controlling diabetes that is not related to weight loss.

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