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N-Acetylcarnosine
''N''-Acetylcarnosine (NAC) (Not to confuse with N-Acetylcysteine) is a naturally occurring compound chemically related to the dipeptide carnosine. The NAC molecular structure is identical to carnosine with the exception that it carries an additional acetyl group. The acetylation makes NAC more resistant to degradation by carnosinase, an enzyme that breaks down carnosine to its constituent amino acids, beta-alanine and histidine. Actions Carnosine and metabolic derivatives of carnosine, including NAC, are found in a variety of tissues but particularly muscle tissue. These compounds have varying degrees of activity as free radical scavengers. It has been suggested that NAC is particularly active against lipid peroxidation in the different parts of the lens in the eye. It is an ingredient in eye drops that are marketed as a dietary supplement (not a drug) and have been promoted for the prevention and treatment of cataracts. There is scant evidence on its safety, and no convincing e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cataract
A cataract is a cloudy area in the lens of the eye that leads to a decrease in vision. Cataracts often develop slowly and can affect one or both eyes. Symptoms may include faded colors, blurry or double vision, halos around light, trouble with bright lights, and trouble seeing at night. This may result in trouble driving, reading, or recognizing faces. Poor vision caused by cataracts may also result in an increased risk of falling and depression. Cataracts cause 51% of all cases of blindness and 33% of visual impairment worldwide. Cataracts are most commonly due to aging but may also occur due to trauma or radiation exposure, be present from birth, or occur following eye surgery for other problems. Risk factors include diabetes, longstanding use of corticosteroid medication, smoking tobacco, prolonged exposure to sunlight, and alcohol. The underlying mechanism involves accumulation of clumps of protein or yellow-brown pigment in the lens that reduces transmission of li ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
N-Acetylcysteine
Acetylcysteine, also known as ''N''-acetylcysteine (NAC), is a medication that is used to treat paracetamol overdose and to loosen thick mucus in individuals with chronic bronchopulmonary disorders like pneumonia and bronchitis. It has been used to treat lactobezoar in infants. It can be taken intravenously, by mouth, or inhaled as a mist. Some people use it as a dietary supplement. Common side effects include nausea and vomiting when taken by mouth. The skin may occasionally become red and itchy with any route of administration. A non-immune type of anaphylaxis may also occur. It appears to be safe in pregnancy. For paracetamol overdose, it works by increasing the level of glutathione, an antioxidant that can neutralise the toxic breakdown products of paracetamol. When inhaled, it acts as a mucolytic by decreasing the thickness of mucus. Acetylcysteine was initially patented in 1960 and came into medical use in 1968. It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lens (anatomy)
The lens, or crystalline lens, is a transparent biconvex structure in the eye that, along with the cornea, helps to refract light to be focused on the retina. By changing shape, it functions to change the focal length of the eye so that it can focus on objects at various distances, thus allowing a sharp real image of the object of interest to be formed on the retina. This adjustment of the lens is known as '' accommodation'' (see also below). Accommodation is similar to the focusing of a photographic camera via movement of its lenses. The lens is flatter on its anterior side than on its posterior side. In humans, the refractive power of the lens in its natural environment is approximately 18 dioptres, roughly one-third of the eye's total power. Structure The lens is part of the anterior segment of the human eye. In front of the lens is the iris, which regulates the amount of light entering into the eye. The lens is suspended in place by the suspensory ligament of the lens ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal College Of Ophthalmologists
The Royal College of Ophthalmologists, founded in 1988, is an independent professional body and one of the Medical Royal Colleges. They set the standards and examinations for medical doctors aiming to become ophthalmologists, and provide surgical skills training, as well as services to those who have completed their training. History Historically, treatments for eye diseases were the preserve of much itinerant charlatanry, such as 'couching', or displacement of dense cataract with a needle, which led to brief improvements but very high complications and blindness in more than 70%, although the Sushruta Samhita described improvements to this as far back as 800 BC. The return of many soldiers from Napoleonic campaigns suffering an epidemic of trachoma, however, spurred the foundation of Moorfields Eye Hospital in 1805 by surgeon John Cunningham Saunders, with encouragement from Astley Cooper. This led to institutions in Exeter, Bristol and Manchester, and a second in London, by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Statistical Power
In statistics, the power of a binary hypothesis test is the probability that the test correctly rejects the null hypothesis (H_0) when a specific alternative hypothesis (H_1) is true. It is commonly denoted by 1-\beta, and represents the chances of a true positive detection conditional on the actual existence of an effect to detect. Statistical power ranges from 0 to 1, and as the power of a test increases, the probability \beta of making a type II error by wrongly failing to reject the null hypothesis decreases. Notation This article uses the following notation: * ''β'' = probability of a Type II error, known as a "false negative" * 1 − ''β'' = probability of a "true positive", i.e., correctly rejecting the null hypothesis. "1 − ''β''" is also known as the power of the test. * ''α'' = probability of a Type I error, known as a "false positive" * 1 − ''α'' = probability of a "true negative", i.e., correctly not rejecting the null hypothesis Description For a ty ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scientific Review
A review article is an article that summarizes the current state of understanding on a topic within a certain discipline. A review article is generally considered a secondary source since it may analyze and discuss the method and conclusions in previously published studies. It resembles a survey article or, in news publishing, overview article, which also surveys and summarizes previously published primary and secondary sources, instead of reporting new facts and results. Survey articles are however considered tertiary sources, since they do not provide additional analysis and synthesis of new conclusions. A review of such sources is often referred to as a tertiary review. Academic publications that specialize in review articles are known as review journals. Review journals have their own requirements for the review articles they accept, so review articles may vary slightly depending on the journal they are being submitted to. Review articles teach about: * the main people wo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clinical Trial
Clinical trials are prospective biomedical or behavioral research studies on human participants designed to answer specific questions about biomedical or behavioral interventions, including new treatments (such as novel vaccines, drugs, dietary choices, dietary supplements, and medical devices) and known interventions that warrant further study and comparison. Clinical trials generate data on dosage, safety and efficacy. They are conducted only after they have received health authority/ethics committee approval in the country where approval of the therapy is sought. These authorities are responsible for vetting the risk/benefit ratio of the trial—their approval does not mean the therapy is 'safe' or effective, only that the trial may be conducted. Depending on product type and development stage, investigators initially enroll volunteers or patients into small pilot studies, and subsequently conduct progressively larger scale comparative studies. Clinical trials can vary i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Placebo
A placebo ( ) is a substance or treatment which is designed to have no therapeutic value. Common placebos include inert tablets (like sugar pills), inert injections (like Saline (medicine), saline), sham surgery, and other procedures. In general, placebos can affect how patients perceive their condition and encourage the body's chemical processes for relieving pain and a few other symptoms, but have no impact on the disease itself. Improvements that patients experience after being treated with a placebo can also be due to unrelated factors, such as regression to the mean (a statistical effect where an unusually high or low measurement is likely to be followed by a less extreme one). The use of placebos in clinical medicine raises ethical concerns, especially if they are disguised as an active treatment, as this introduces dishonesty into the doctor–patient relationship and bypasses informed consent. While it was once assumed that this deception was necessary for placebos to have ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Domestic Dog
The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is Domestication of the dog, derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Dogs were the first species to be domesticated by hunter-gatherers over 15,000 years ago before the development of agriculture. Due to their long association with humans, dogs have expanded to a large number of domestic individuals and gained the ability to thrive on a starch-rich diet that would be inadequate for other Canidae, canids. The dog has been selectively bred over millennia for various behaviors, sensory capabilities, and physical attributes. Dog breeds vary widely in shape, size, and color. They perform many roles for humans, such as Hunting dog, hunting, Herding dog, herding, Sled dog, pulling loads, Guard dog, protection, Police dog, assisting police and the Dogs in warfare, military, Pet, companionsh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aqueous Humour
The aqueous humour is a transparent water-like fluid similar to plasma, but containing low protein concentrations. It is secreted from the ciliary body, a structure supporting the lens of the eyeball. It fills both the anterior and the posterior chambers of the eye, and is not to be confused with the vitreous humour, which is located in the space between the lens and the retina, also known as the posterior cavity or vitreous chamber. Blood cannot normally enter the eyeball. Structure Composition *Amino acids: transported by ciliary muscles *98% water *Electrolytes ( pH = 7.4 -one source gives 7.1) **Sodium = 142.09 **Potassium = 2.2 - 4.0 **Calcium = 1.8 **Magnesium = 1.1 **Chloride = 131.6 **HCO3- = 20.15 **Phosphate = 0.62 ** Osm = 304 *Ascorbic acid *Glutathione *Immunoglobulins Function *Maintains the intraocular pressure and inflates the globe of the eye. It is this hydrostatic pressure that keeps the eyeball in a roughly spherical shape and keeps the walls of the eyeball ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cornea
The cornea is the transparent front part of the eye that covers the iris, pupil, and anterior chamber. Along with the anterior chamber and lens, the cornea refracts light, accounting for approximately two-thirds of the eye's total optical power. In humans, the refractive power of the cornea is approximately 43 dioptres. The cornea can be reshaped by surgical procedures such as LASIK. While the cornea contributes most of the eye's focusing power, its focus is fixed. Accommodation (the refocusing of light to better view near objects) is accomplished by changing the geometry of the lens. Medical terms related to the cornea often start with the prefix "'' kerat-''" from the Greek word κέρας, ''horn''. Structure The cornea has unmyelinated nerve endings sensitive to touch, temperature and chemicals; a touch of the cornea causes an involuntary reflex to close the eyelid. Because transparency is of prime importance, the healthy cornea does not have or need blood vessels with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lipid Peroxidation
Lipid peroxidation is the chain of reactions of oxidative degradation of lipids. It is the process in which radical (chemistry), free radicals "steal" electrons from the lipids in cell membranes, resulting in cell damage. This process proceeds by a free radical chain reaction#Chemical chain reactions, chain reaction mechanism. It most often affects polyunsaturated fatty acids, because they contain multiple double bonds in between which lie methylene bridges (-CH2-) that possess especially reactive hydrogen atoms. As with any radical reaction, the reaction consists of three major steps: initiation, propagation, and termination. The chemical products of this oxidation are known as lipid peroxides or lipid oxidation products (LOPs). Initiation Initiation is the step in which a fatty acid radical (chemistry), radical is produced. The most notable initiators in living cells are reactive oxygen species (ROS), such as hydroxyl radical, OH· and hydroperoxyl, HOO·, which combines wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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