Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Very Small Plastic Surgery News - from Dr. Brueck, MD

“A MILLIONTH OF A MM”

WOW, that’s impressive and small to say the least.

I don’t think I would want to be that small. But that is the degree to which the skin is now being studied and researched.

Scientist at the UK-based University of Leeds are using sophisticated scientific equipment to study the age old question of why our skin feels soft and good.

To determine this, they are going to the tiny building blocks known as molecules. The researcher heading this up is Professor Peter Olmsted of the School of Physics and Atomic Force Microscopy. Now that is a title, whatever it means.

Also on the team is a Dr. Massimo Noro from Unilever, a consumer products company. They are applying the molecular techniques to get a better understanding of the skin.

They want to understand the molecular structure of skin that gives it its strength and elasticity. This molecular data, it is hoped will lead to better skincare products for all of us.

It is truly amazing how science and research are improving our lives all over the world every day as we “sleep.”

This food for thought is brought to you by Dr. Rober J. Brueck, MD FACS, Board Certified plastic surgeaon practicing Fort Myers, Cape Coral and Southwest Florida.

Visit Dr. Brueck's web site at Beauty-by-Brueck for more compreshensive discussion of various cosmetic plastic surgery procedures.

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Sunday, October 4, 2009

Does a Pepper a Day keep the Doctor away?

This blog is brought to you by Dr. Robert Brueck, Board Certified Plastic Surgeon in Fort Myers, Florida, who reports here on developments in the world of health and medicine, sometimes with a touch of humor. Dr. Brueck's web site can be read by clicking this link.

HOT! HOT! HOT!

Some of us like our food bland, not so spicy. Others like it hot, the hotter the better.

We are often asked how do we want our chicken wings: mild, medium or super hot. Just how hot is hot is open to debate.

On a recent Delta Airlines flight I was reading a small clip in the Sky Miles Magazine about an open air market in L.A. that has thousands of different peppers for sale. I am sure you can buy ones there that will bring tears to your eyes if not washed down with a firehose.

I recently read an article in the Wall Street Journal that said hot chili peppers may limit damage in heart attacks.

The key ingredient is Capsaicin.

A recent study in the Medical Journal Circulation reported on a study in which researchers placed patches of Capsaicin on the abdominal skin of mice before cutting off the blood supply to the coronary arteries for approximately 45 minutes. In essence this was more or less simulating a heart attack. 24 hours later those mice that had the Capsaicin had only lost 15% as many heart cells as mice that had a placebo placed.

Researchers think that there may be some stimulatory effect to the nerves connected to the spinal cord which in turn activates survival oriented nerves in the heart muscle.

It’s kind of an interesting study; however, the researchers have not yet done any studies with human beings.

So it may be that someday we may all be putting hot chili peppers on our abdomen, especially if we have a history of “coronary artery disease”.

Or, the doctor may say, "Take two tacos and call me in the morning."

Science advances and research is done each and every day to make our lives healthier and longer.

To stay up to date on subjects related to health and well being, set up an RSS feed of this blog by clicking on one of the feed icons to the right and selecting a feed notice whenever the blog is up dated.

For information about all aspects of plastic surgery and cosmetic procedures, visit Dr. Brueck's web site at http://www.Beauty-by-Brueck.com.

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