Halitosis Proves Beneficial in Scientific Research
Halitosis, better known as bad breath, is caused by the odorous compound hydrogen sulphide, an odor that is reminiscent of rotten eggs. Its no wonder that most adults with good oral hygiene habits strive to rid their mouths of this odor, and why there are so many products on the market aimed at ridding one’s mouth of this odor, as well!
As strange as it may seem, Japanese researchers have found halitosis, or we should say the compound hydrogen sulphide which causes halitosis, to be an ideal environment for harvesting stem cells taken from human dental pulp.
A study was published in the Journal of Breath Research, in which Japanese researchers from the Nippon Dental University found that hydrogen sulphide increased the ability of stem cells taken from adult dental pulp to differentiate into liver cells. According to the report, this was the first time liver, or hepatic, cells have been produced from dental pulp.
What was impressive to the research team was the the high numbers of purity in the liver cells that were incubated in the hydrogen sulphide chamber. Dr. Ken Yaegaki, the lead author of the study, stated that “high purity means that there are less wrong cells that are being differentiated to other tissues, or remaining as stem cells.”
What are the significant aspects of this discovery? According to the the research team, the results of their study suggest that those patients undergoing transplantation of these hepatic cells may have virtually no possibility of developing teratomas or cancers, as they now do when using bone marrow stem cells. This discovery has led to research groups around the globe focusing their research on how to use these results to find cures for many diseases, which include Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s to name a few.
Original story can be found here.
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on Jan 6th, 2013
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