Artificial skin

Hello awesomites !!! Today's topic is something that really has created revolution in the entire human race - "Artificial skin"

Skin is the largest organ of our body. It consists of three parts Epidermis, dermis and fatty layer. Epidermis serves as the protective layer of the skin, it prevents the entry of the pathogen into body with the help of sebaceous and sweat glands along with long chain fatty acids, and dermis consists of all the nerves, artery and veins that supply skin. Fatty layer maintain the body temperature.
A damage to the skin through burns causes loss of large number of plasma and it provides free entry to pathogens into body. Artificial skin was discovered by Loannis yannas & his colleague surgeon Dr John burke.

Artificial skin was discovered to replace bandages, which cannot seal large damage areas. Patients with extensive burns often die as bandages cannot heal their wounds completely. Even if patient survives some scars are left behind on skin. Artificial skin consists of collagen polymers. Collagen is protein found in skin. Artificial skin helps patient to grow skin without forming any scars. It has been commercially prepared under name as IntegraTM.

It is also used in plastic surgery and also in chronic skin wounds.
 
Ahh!    That's it :)
            Keep smiling :)
            Have a nice day!
      
~Ojas

Replacement to open heart surgery

Hello awesomites today I am gonna tell you something that is really -really interesting and fascinating !.
We all know how crucial is open heart surgery in some conditions, here is one of the alternative methods of open heart surgery.(For some conditions)

Alternative method :-

For the 1st time a new catheter technology was used in place of open heart surgery.
Cardioband is a low impact method to fix leaky mitral or tricuspid valve in heart. The catheter technology offers a minimal invasive alternative to heal a leaky valve. It enables the tightening of a leaky annulus in the heart. During this procedure, the band is placed around the open valves using catheter. It is served with anchors & tightened using a wire until the valve is fully closed. Until now , only treatment of leaky tricuspid was open heart surgery.

Now patient  previously thought to be inoperable will have chance to be treated.
University Zurich hospital successfully performed first tricuspid surgery using cardioband .

Have a happy day
Keep smiling:)

~Ojas

Monteggia vs Galeazzi fracture mnemonic

Hey Awesomites

While studying the Monteggia and Galeazzi fracture and dislocation today, I googled and came up with a mnemonic. GRUesome MURder helps us remember which bone is fractured and which one is dislocated.

GRUesome-
G: Galeazzi
R: Radial fracture (lower- third)
U: Ulnar dislocation

MURder-
M: Monteggia
U: Ulnar fracture (upper- third)
R: Radial dislocation

Also in Monteggia fracture, bone of medial side is involved.


Thats all
- Jaskunwar Singh

Top 10 series: Empagliflozin

Here is the video!

Migraine- Research updates

Hey Awesomites

Now that we are clear on the basics, here's another post on recent updates and studies on the concepts of causation and treatment strategies of migraine.

The basics: Migraine

Hey Awesomites!

Lets understand the basics of migraine here-

Top 10 series: Colchicine

The video is up!

Pain killer in Human saliva.

Hello readers ,Here is something new information about human saliva !.

Human saliva and pain killer :-
Human saliva contains a painkiller that is naturally produced by human body .It is called as -"Opiorphin" in very low concentration.

Opiorphin's role:-
Opiorphin prevents the breakdown of chemicals called as enkephalins . Apart from this opiorphin inhibits 3 protease.-
a)Ecto-endo peptidase.
b)Ecto-amino peptidase .
c)Dipeptidyl peptidase.
This extends the duration of enkephalins.
The enkephalins activates opiate receptors .Activated opiate receptors blocks pain signals from reaching brain!!. opiorphin is 6 times more potent than morphine .Unlike morphine opiorphin is not addictive and prolonged use may not lead to tolerance .

Current status in research:
Painkiller was successfully tested on rats.Further research is still needed before it's use on humans .Research include modifying molecular structure to avoid rapid degeneration in intestine and it's poor BBB(Blood brain barrier !).Modification includes transformation of N-terminal glutamine into pyroglutamate .

~Ojas

New drug:Tideglusib

Hello awesomites ! Today's blog is about new drug -Tideglusib.

Tideglusib is actually Alzheimer's drug and is also used in paralysis of supranuclear palsy!
However this drug is currently in news because of its ability to stimulate repair of teeth .

Use of this drug can cause end of dental fillings .
Mechanism of action of drug
The mechanism is roughly known .It acts in 2 ways
1)It stimulates stem cells in the pulp of the teeth to generate new dentine and heal small cavities.(Dentine is hard dense bony tissue that forms your teeth)
2)Inhibits an enzyme called as GSK-3 which prevents formation of dentine !,

Progress in research:
Drug is successful tested on mice .They soaked biodegradable sponges in the drug and then placed them in cavity .The sponges melts away over time,leaving only the repaired tooth but for use in humans ,the drug is still under research.

Keep smiling :)
Happy day:)

~Ojas

Interesting and rare disease:Ectopic cordis

Hello awesomites ,really tired of all the bookish knowledge so for time being I switched my self to internet,and came across some of the rarest and the most interesting diseases of all the time !
Here is the first one -Ectopic cordis.

What is -Ectopic cordis?
It is the disease where the heart is located at abnormal position that is places other than thorax or sometimes partially at thorax.It is a congenital disorder

Cause :-
It is caused due to improper maturation of the mesoderm and ventral body wall durig embryonic development.Lateral wall is responsible for fusion at midline to form ventral wall any change in this process may lead to -Ectopic cordis.

Types:-
Depending upon situation of the heart in patient ,ectopic cordis is classified into 4 parts :-
1)Thoracic.
2)Cervical.
3)Thoracoabdominal.
4)Abdominal.

Defects seen:-
1) Ventricular septal defect .
2)Atrial septal defect.
3)Absence of tricuspid valve.(Tri-cuspid atresia)
4)Fallots tetralogy. (http://www.medicowesome.com/2017/01/teratology-of-fallot.html)

Treatment:
Unfortunately the only treatment is surgery !
Not all the surgeries are successful .
Patients of ectopic cordis hardly can live for long years as there are more chances of infections to heart .

That's it for today.
Internet is interesting:)
~Ojas

MBBS practical viva tips on examination

Smile, stay confident.
Keep calm.
And rock those vivas!

This video is on how to not make silly mistakes during pracs!

The SAAG solution (Serum-Ascites Albumin Gradient simplified)

Yo people!

A good friend of mine asked me to review the concept of SAAG. So let's dive into a "Puddle" of ascitic fluid. :P

As you guys all know, SAAG stands for Serum-Ascites Albumin Gradient and it helps to differentiate the causes of ascites. What it means is pretty self explanatory, it is the difference (gradient) between the levels of albumin (a plasma protein) in two compartments i.e. Serum and Peritoneal fluid.

Tetralogy of fallot

Hello  readers today's blog is small one -Fallot's tetralogy .

What is Fallot's tetralogy?
   It is a congenital disorder of heart .It is caused to foetus may be because of  alcoholic mother or who has  diabetes or may be due to rubella infection caused during pregnancy.It is caused due to deletion of chromosome 22

Signs and symptoms:-
As the name suggest ,there are four signs
All four of them are related to heart .
Mnemonic is PVR -f cinema.
-Pulmonary stenosis
-Ventricular septal defect .
-Right ventricular hypertrophy
-Over-riding of aorta ,due to which blood from both the ventricles may enter aorta.

Due to defect in heart ,there is low oxygen supply to tissue this may lead to cyanosis when there is high amount of pulmonary stenosis but when there is moderate amount of pulmonary stenosis this may lead to pink tit that is pinkish colouration of skin.There is also clubbing  .

Treatment:
Open heart surgery is only treatment for fallots tetralogy  .
The appropriate time for surgery depends on the pulmonary stenosis .
However patient should be on life long medication for healthy life

That's all :)
Have a happy day.

~Ojas

Top 10 series: Amphotericin B

Here is the video! :)

Microbiology of legionella mnemonic

Legionella: Facultative intracellular, gram negative rod

Pili: They are all involved in adherence and intracellular replication of L. pneumophila

Flagella: Within the host cell vacuole, legionella are nonmotile, whereas in the later stages of infection and cell lysis, legionella are flagellated and highly motile. Motility enables Legionella to escape from a spent host and facilitates its attempt to find a new host by dispersion into the environment.

Extra Ocular Muscles Insertion : Mnemonic

Hello everyone ! I hope you'll have been enjoying the Top 10 Series that we've started. This is a short post on the insertion of Extra ocular muscles in the eye.

So there are 4 Extra Ocular muscles whose insertion on the sclera we need to be aware of ( in terms of distance from the Limbus). The Recti.

Remember :
I'M Low Standard

I = Inferior Rectus. 5.5
M = Medial Rectus 6.6 (or 6.5 but just remember 6.6 for easiness)
L = Lateral Rectus  6.9 (Loser)
S = Superior Rectus 7.7

So basically it starts with 5.5 , 6.6, 6.9 and finally 7.7.
3 of these are the same number repeated (5.5 , 6.6 and 7.7) but LR is a loser. Hence it does not follow the rule and is a badass hence does a 69. :p

Hope this helped !
Thank you.
Happy studying!

~A.P.Burkholderia

Temporomandibular joint: Super old notes

Hey, these are my super ugly notes from 2010.

Temporomandibular joint: Notes for MBBS exam

In today's blog, we will be showing you how to write answers of joint in your theory exams.

Example question: TMJ

I would like you guys to know that since there is a lot of time limitation in theory exams, you should:

1. Draw diagrams ("Anatomy paper without diagram is as good as flower without fragrance!")

2. Name everything  you know

3. Elaborate

Before the exam, choose the diagrams you would draw for sure and optional diagrams ("If I get time...")

ADRs of Sulphonamides mnemonic

Hey Awesomites!

Adverse drug reactions of Sulphonamides mnemonic-
SULPHONAMIDES

S- Stevens- Johnson syndrome
U- Urinary crystals formation and bleeding
L- Lyell's syndrome (TEN)
P- Photosensitivity
H- Hepatic/ Hematologic
O- Ocular side effects
N- Neonatal jaundice/ Nausea and vomiting
A- Antimetabolites (inhibit folic acid synthesis)
M- Miscarriage (pregnancy and fetal abnormalities)
I- Intolerance
D- Dermatitis
E- Eosinophilia
S- Serum sickness


Thats all
- Jaskunwar Singh

Neurodevelopmental maturity and adulthood

Hey Awesomites!

When do you really attain adulthood?
18. That's when you are legally declared an adult. Right? Oh so you already got the answer. Hey no wait.. we are medical professionals and students of science. So talking in a legal way doesn't always seem right, because from a scientific perspective, adulthood is still an unsolved mystery. Let me tell you about it here..

Increased Intracranial pressure clinical features mnemonic

Increased intracranial pressure clinical features mnemonic- 5Ps

P- Persistent projectile vomiting (due to stimulation of CTZ)

P- Persistent headache (the patient presents it as the "worst" headache of his life)

P- Palsy (sixth nerve palsy and diplopia)

P- Papilledema (bilateral)

P- Personality disturbances (behavioral changes)

Thats all

- Jaskunwar Singh