BDS INSIGHTS by Dr Manish Khazane

  Periodontal disease is a biofilm-induced chronic inflammatory condition that affects the tooth-supporting tissues, which in its severe form may lead to tooth loss and negatively affect systemic health. Although host immune and inflammatory responses are crucial in the control of this biofilm, their persistence and dysregulation may lead to destruction of periodontal tissues, where neutrophils and macrophages might play an important role. Moreover, it has been shown that periodontitis is associated with several chronic inflammatory diseases, among which inflammatory bowel disease has raised special attention . Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic inflammatory condition of the gastrointestinal tract, which comprises two main forms, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis .  The pathogenesis of IBD involves genetic and environmental factors, such as diet, smoking, stress, and microorganisms , and it is characterized by intestinal inflammation and epithelial injury . Cro...

        Understand the problem, give it a thought ..and act accordingly to find a solution towards it.. This holds very much true in case of the recent  pandemic COVID-19.What started off as a unusual respiratory  infection, in late 2019 reported from Wuhan,China..has come on to affect 2,627,630 to date. The source of the infection identified as a novel coronavirus has emerged related to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ( SARS ).                                                                                  Similar to other coronaviruses, SARS-CoV-2 particles have a spherical structure and have proteins which have spike like structure protruding from their surfaces. Mechanism of action involves the protein spike like structures attach...

The Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine was awarded Monday to three physician-scientists from the United States and Britain - William G. Kaelin Jr., Peter J. Ratcliffe and Gregg L. Semenza - "for their discoveries of how cells sense and adapt to oxygen availability. "The discoveries by the trio illuminated what the Nobel Committee called "one of life's most essential adaptive processes," answering profound questions about how the body works and providing potential new therapeutic avenues to treat cancer and other diseases. The three scientists, working independently, revealed the cascade of molecular events that allow cells to detect and respond to different levels of oxygen. That allows the human body to adapt to thinner air at high altitude by generating more red blood cells to carry oxygen. But it can also go awry in disease, providing new targets for treatment: Cancer cells exploit these molecular switches to thrive, for example, and i...

Melbourne Dental School Head of School Mike Morgan, CSL Senior Vice President of Research Andrew Nash, University of Melbourne Vice-President (Enterprise) Doron Ben-Meir, COHR CEO & Director of Research Eric Reynolds, Member for Higgins Katie Allen and Brandon Capital Investment Manager Ingmar Wahlqvist at the launch of Denteric. A vaccine for periodontal gum disease, which affects a third of all adults globally, is in development following a $14 million investment into newly-formed biotech company Denteric Pty Ltd. The company was set-up to develop and commercialise the research outputs of a long-running programme originating from the University of Melbourne working in collaboration with CSL. The announcement was made at the official launch of the University’s Centre for Oral Health Research (COHR). The Series A investment comes from the Medical Research Commercialisation Fund’s (MRCF) Biomedical Translation Fund, a Commonwealth-backed fund managed by Brandon Capital Partn...

Nearly 450 million people worldwide are currently living with a mental illness, yet nearly two thirds of people with a known mental illness never seek treatment.  Due to the stigma associated with mental illness, a lack of awareness, and limited access to professional help, only 10-12% of these sufferers will seek help. Support, judgement, fear The study revealed three broad segments of people based on their attitudes towards mental illness. People’s understanding of mental health The study showed that while 87% of the respondents showed some awareness of mental illness, 71% also used terms associated with stigma. This shows that stigma and awareness are two separate issues although interlinked. They need to be addressed in parallel in order to tackle the burden of mental illness in India. If individuals continue to view mental illness with apprehension and resistance, it will remain difficult for people with mental health concerns to se...

The World Health Organization has an Indian doctor for its new Deputy Director General for Programmes. Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the director general of the Indian Council of Medical Research has been appointed as the same. A paediatrician by trade, Swaminathan is famous for her research in tuberculosis. The position she now adorns in the WHO is the second highest position in the global organization. It comes only below the Director General. Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who took the post in July is the Director General. Swaminathan's is also the highest position adorned by an Indian in WHO’s history. DOCTOR RESPONSIBLE FOR RAISING INDIA’S FOCUS ON TB RESEARCH The doctor comes with over 30 years of experience in clinical research. She used to be the director of the National Institute of Research in Tuberculosis, Chennai. She has been largely responsible for heightening the focus on tuberculosis research in India. To this end, she even created a consortium called “India ...

Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Email Doximity Republish Print The effectiveness of the nasal spray flu vaccine illustrates of the limitations of randomized controlled trials. JOE RAEDLE/GETTY IMAGES R andomized controlled trials have long been held up as the “gold standard” of clinical research. There’s no doubt that well-designed trials are effective tools for testing a  new drug , device, or other intervention. Yet much of modern medical care — perhaps most of it — is not based on randomized controlled trials and likely never will be. In this “dark matter” of clinical medicine, past practices and anecdotes all too often rule. We need to look beyond trials to improve medical care in these areas. In a randomized controlled trial (RCT), participants are randomly assigned to receive either the treatment under investigation or, as a control, a placebo or the current standard treatment. The randomization process helps ensure that the various groups in the st...