Shahnaz Husain

A bedtime beauty care routine is ofmuch importance, so that the skin iscleansed of make-up, pollutants, dirtand all the impurities that are depositedon it during the day. Also, all the repairand restoration of the body take placewhen we sleep. The cell renewalprocess also carries on at night whenthe body is at rest. Therefore, we shouldensure that the skin is clean and thepores are free, so that the skin's repairand renewal can be carried out properly.If the skin is normal to dry, it shouldalso be nourished at night, especiallyduring the dry season.

As already mentioned, night time cleansing isof utmost importance. Whatever the type or tex-ture of the skin, it requires thorough cleansing atnight. Before it is cleansed, the skin surface iscovered with a film of dirt, stale sweat and oildeposits, stale make-up and pollutants. Thesenot only upset the normal balance of the skin, butalso hamper its natural functions. Night timepampering of the skin helps us to give special careto particular areas, like the area around the eyes,the neck and hands. These are areas which arethe earliest to show signs of age. A nightly rou-

tine helps to delay the formation of lines andwrinkles, keeping the skin smooth and youthful.It also keeps the skin and facial muscles toned,strengthening the supportive tissues and pre-serving the elasticity and resilience of the skin.Proper and regular care, according to its needs,keeps the skin healthy and free from problems.

During the day, the skin basically needs pro-tection from UV rays of the sun and air pollutantsthat cause damage to the skin and also depletemoisture. This can be done by using sunscreens,day creams, moisturizers and protective creams,depending on the skin type and condition. Day

time care also involves cleansing and toning, butprotection is the main aspect. Night time carebasically involves restoration and maintenanceof the skin, as well as preparing it for the night.It involves thorough cleansing, including theremoval of make-up, care of the area aroundeyes, nourishing and massage of the skin. If theskin is oily, or if there is acne, night care may alsoinvolve the application of products to control thecondition.

HHEERREE AARREE SSOOMMEE DDOO''SS AANNDD DDOONN''TTSSOOFF NNIIGGHHTT CCAARREE::

Do'sProducts for cleansing should be select-

ed according to skin type and individualneeds. For example, if the skin is dry, a rehy-drant cleansing gel should be used. For oilyand combination skin, a cleansing lotion orlight cleansing milk may be used. For acne,pimples or rashy skin, it is better to use amedicated cleanser. After cleansing, theskin should be wiped with a rose based skintonic, using cotton wool.

If the skin is dry, nourish and massage itwith a nourishing cream. Apply it on theface and massage it with outward andslightly upward movements. Wipe offexcess cream with moist cotton wool beforebedtime. Apply the cream on the neck tooand massage it with both hands, startingfrom the chin and going downwards. Thepressure should not be applied when bring-ing the hands back to the chin, but only asyou massage downwards. This helps todelay formation of lines on the neck and alsoreduces double chins.

For all skin types, an under-eye creamshould be applied around the eyes andwiped off with moist cotton wool after 15minutes.

The hands may be massaged with a handcream, especially around the nails, so thatthe cuticle remains soft.

If there is acne / pimples, apply medicat-ed lotion on the eruptions and leave onovernight. If there are pimple marks, applyan anti-blemish cream only on the marksand leave on overnight.

Don'tsAvoid using oily cleansers and nourish-

ing / night creams if the skin is oily.Do not leave cream on around eyes at

night, while you sleep. It can lead to puffi-ness around eyes.

Wipe off excess cream with moist cottonwool before bedtime. This leaves the poresfree, so that repair work can continue effi-ciently. If the skin is very dry, a light mois-turizing lotion may be applied.

Bedtime beauty care

Dhanak Gupta

The concept of ‘Regeneration andRejuvenation’ is not new. It has existedfor as long as the human kind can traceback their existence. By far immortalityhas been our biggest and unachievablefascination for ages. There are manystories that exemplify the extent towhich people have gone to, to gainimmortality. For example, elixir (amrit),a mythical potion believed to cure allills, when drunk, grants eternal life andyouth. Elixir has been widely describedin Hindu, Buddhist and Chinese scrip-tures but in the modern day there is noevidence of its existence.

Regeneration means the process ofregrowth and repair of the disease partsof the body. Scientifically, it relates toeveryday wear and tear and mainte-nance of normal working of our bodyorgans and systems. Human bodies arevery complex and there are more thanone repair systems in action that ensureour bodies can withstand everyday dam-age and repair them without making usconsciously realise it. This is where theStem Cells come into play.

Adult Stem Cells are one of the repairsystems in action in our bodies. A stemcell is a cell that has not yet differentiat-ed, i.e, it is not yet a mature cell with afunction but these cells have the poten-tial to grow and become a differentiatedor a mature cell that can perform onespecific function. Stem cells are presentin all organs. For example, a stem cell inskin has the potential to form the skincells that produces melanin and a pan-creatic stem cell can form the pancreat-ic cell that can form insulin under theright circumstances. Not only that, everyorgan has one or more different stem celltypes present. This means you can havemore than one back up systems of stemcells in the same organ. For instance,skin has atleast three, brain has atleasttwo and bone marrow has atleast threedifferent stem cell types in them, allinvolved in the regeneration process.

These stem cells are normally in adormant state, present deep inside theorgan, hidden from possible sources ofdamage such as sunlight. Thus, theyneed specific triggers to awaken themfrom dormancy. That trigger can be inthe form of a cut or a wound, which stim-ulates the stem cell and causes it todivide and give rise to new cells, whichfinally repair and replace the damagedorgan. This is how the usual repair sys-tem works in our body. An interestingthing to note is that where some organsrepair easily like the skin, bone and liv-er, others seem to heal very slowly, likethe brain and the heart. It is not becausethe brain and the heart do not have stemcells but because the stem cells in theseorgans have lower ability or potency togive rise to new cells. Thus, in otherwords, though every organ has stem

cells, they all have different regenerativeabilities and only give rise to organs theyare present in.

There is another most commonlytalked about source of stem cells calledthe embryonic stem cells. These stemcells are highly lucrative source of regen-eration as they have the capacity to formall types of entire new organs that can betransplanted and used to replace the oldworn out organs in our body, bringing usone step closer to immortality and ditch-ing aging. Human embryos are grown inlaboratories and stem cells are takenfrom these embryos to put them insidethe patients. Some may say that theembryonic human stem cells are sourcedfrom unborn persons that are sacrificedfor other patients cure. Hence, there is alot of controversy that surrounds embry-onic stem cells and often the morality ofusing human embryos for scientificresearch and therapy is under scrutiny,not to mention, the safety issues and sideeffects that these embryonic stem cellsmight have and are not fully understoodeven by the scientific community. Thismeans, more and more scientificresearch is being done on the stem cellsfrom the adult human bodies and nothuman embryos.

Some of the most common sources ofadult stem cells are bone marrow, skin,liver, intestine, teeth, eyes, etc. One ofthe major problems in harnessing thesestem cells are that they are found in veryfew numbers in our bodies. For example,only one in 10,000 or 15,000 cells in thebone marrow is a stem cell. Stem cellscould also be sourced from a donor(another person) but that would lead to

immune rejection by the body of thepatient. Second problem is that a stemcell from skin may not be useful forrepair in the brain, even though gettinga stem cell from skin is easier than get-ting a stem cell from deep inside thebrain.

Thanks to the recent advances in thestem cell biology in the last ten years, sci-entists have managed to generate anoth-er source of stem cells. These are calledthe human induced pluripotent stemcells (iPSC). These stem cells are creat-ed in a laboratory when a mature bodycell is taken and its DNA is changed in away that it starts behaving like a stemcell. For example, a liver cell is takenfrom patient’s body, its DNA is repro-grammed and then under the right con-ditions, it converts into a stem cell whichcan give rise to all the organs of the bodylike a the pancreas that can be trans-planted back inside the patient. Thesestem cells behave similar to embryonicstem cells and have the capacity to formdifferent organs with only differencethat they are sourced from adult humansand not human embryos. Currently,iPSC is one of the most advanced fieldsof research in human biology.

Finally, the beauty of stem cell ther-apy lies in the idea that, the stem cellstaken from a patient’s body may be con-trolled to form entire new organs basedon that patient’s customised needs;making the patient his/her own organdonor. As a Scientist, I believe it is theholy grail of immortality.

(The author is a final year PhD Student in Divisionof Cancer and Stem cells, University of Nottingham, UK.)

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2016 (PAGE-4)

BEAUTY TIPS

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

HEALTHLINES

Ram Madhvani's NEERJA is a heroic story of a braveyoung girl Neerja Bhanot who displayed extraordinarycourage during extremely dangerous circumstances. It is arare film that will make you cry profusely but at the sametime scaffold you with strength to raise your voice againstinjustice and why one must never compromise on self-respect. As a movie watching experience, NEERJA is flaw-less. There's not a single false note. No compromise at thelevel of storytelling. Bravo!

Neerja Bhanot (Sonam Kapoor) is the purser at PanamAirlines. She is a diehard Rajesh Khanna fan and believesthat one must live a Big life rather than living for long. She'salso a successful model. Her doting mother Rama Bhanot(Shabana Azmi) and an ever encouraging father HarishBhanot (Yogendra Tiku) love to pamper their Laado. Neerjahas a loving suitor in Jaideep (Shekhar Ravjiani). Life seemsto be hunky dory. In the present. The ill-fated flight to NewYork on which Neerja is the head purser gets hijacked inKarachi by the Libya backed Palestinian terrorist group AbuNidal. The past suddenly percolates in the memory space, forNeerja had earlier been in an abusive marriage and now shewas facing abuse from menacing terrorists. Her extraordi-nary courage and presence of mind saved the lives of most ofthe passengers as she put others before herself.

Saiwyn Quadras' smart and gripping screenplay is thebackbone of NEERJA. The narrative goes back and forth ina very interesting manner. Ram Madhvani brings amazingperspective to the real life story by giving various points of

view. When Neerja tells the head ofthe terrorist group that she's justdoing her duty the way they are doingtheirs, it drives home a point. Theterrorists are shown to be edgy andnervous. They are as afraid as theharried passengers. The opportunemanner in which Neerja drivesstrength from the flashbacks of herfamily life (good and bad) literallypushes the right buttons of emotionsamong the audience. SanyuktaChawla Shaikh's dialogues are bang-on in communicating the angst,pathos and fear very well.

Sonam Kapoor has delivered theperformance of a lifetime. The factthat Sonam has displayed astound-ing courage in real life at many anoccasion by speaking about con-tentious subjects of national impor-tance without bothering about thehate coming her way, she carries acertain credibility in this context thatis very believable. What's laudable isher precision. She never overdoes.Most importantly she internalizesthe courageous spirit of Neerja whohad a sound head during inhumancircumstances. When Sonam cries,you'd cry with her. Also, by the endyou'd feel like saluting the heroicspirit of both Neerja as well as Son-am. Shabana Azmi adds anotherfeather to her illustrious cap. Theentertaining way in which she speaks

Punjabi, the state of temporarily losingone's mind and the way she becomes Rama Bhanot is a goodenough reason in itself to watch the film. Yogendra Tiku asHarish Bhanot is very effective in instilling fearlessness inhis daughter. One of the terrorists by the name of Khalil looksevery bit a hard core terrorist with a maniacal bent of mind.Excellent casting.

Mitesh Mirchandani's cinematography is excellent. Attimes it is hand held, making it that much more real. Mon-isha R Baldawa's editing is spot on. The songs are not allowedto be played for full duration, everything is kept that's essen-tial and there's nothing superfluous in the film. Vishal Khu-rana's music and background score adds value to the film.'Jeete Hain Chal' and 'Gehra Ishq' are wonderful composi-tions and brilliantly written by wordsmith Prasoon Joshi.Vishal's background score adds the necessary fear and sus-pense.

On the whole, NEERJA is a must watch ode to theyoungest recipient of the highest civilian honour AshokChakra for displaying extraordinary courage and humankindness. It is a film that will make you stand up for what'sgenuinely Right without bothering about nationality, reli-gion, sex, cast or colour of the skin. Most importantly as amovie watching experience, you'll be glued to the moviescreen with tears and admiration welling up in your eyes.NEERJA is a movie that will make you a better person. Don'tmiss it!

Courtesy :http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/

MOVIE-REVIEW

The word leukemia, which means ‘white blood’, is derived from the twoGreek words leukos, meaning “white”, and haima , meaning “blood”, is a groupof cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbersof abnormal white blood cells , was named by pathologist Rudolf Virchow in1845. It is actually a group of different cancers of the blood cells ,can be acuteor chronic, and people with chronic leukemias may not notice any symptomsbefore the condition is diagnosed with a blood test.

There are four main types of leukemias1.Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) 2.Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia(ALL)3.Chronic Myeloid Leukemia(CML)4.Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia(CLL)

The number of new cases of leukemia was 13.3 per 100,000 men and womenper year.In 2012, leukemia developed in 352,000 people globally and caused265,000 deaths, represents about 3% of the almost seven million deaths dueto cancer that year,. It is the most common type of cancer in children, withalmost 75% of leukemia cases in children being the acute lymphoblastic type.However, about 90% of all leukemias are diagnosed in adults, with AML andCLL ,being most common in adults.

In India, the average rate of Leukemia incidence is lower than that of devel-oped countries, ALL is commonest Leukemia in Chil-dren & CML amongst Adults. But,in the past five years,there has been a 30 % rise in the number of victimsaffected by Leukemia in India ,especially in ChildhoodLeukemia where mortality is high.

Leukemia begins in the immature cells of the bone marrow in the centralcavities of bones. The bone marrow produces all types of blood cells: red bloodcells that carry oxygen and other materials to the tissues of the body, whiteblood cells that fight infection, and platelets that help the blood clot. Hundredsof billions of new blood cells are produced in the bone marrow each day, pro-viding the body with a constant supply of fresh, healthy cells. In a patient withleukemia, many of the white blood cells produced in the bone marrow do notmature normally. These abnormal cells, called leukemic cells, are unable tofight infection the way healthy white cells can. As they accumulate, the leukemiccells also interfere with the production of other blood cells. Eventually, the bodyhas too few red cells for supplying oxygen to the body’s tissues, too few plateletsfor proper clotting and too few healthy white cells for fighting infection. As aresult, people with leukemia are at risk for bruising, bleeding and infections.

Dr. Rajeev who himself, is a Hematologist, has treated and cured manyleukemia patients in his practice says In order to fight leukemia it is importantto understand the types of leukemia and how it can be prevented or detectedearly so that it can treated as early as possible.

TYPES OF LEUKEMIA 1. Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) : Acute myeloid leukemia is the

most common type of leukemia in adults, although it also can occur in chil-dren. If untreated, this form of leukemia usually progresses quickly.

2. Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) : Chronic myeloid leukemia

originates from the presence of a geneticabnormality in blood cells, called thePhiladelphia chromosome, and progressesthrough distinct phases. CML occurs main-ly in adults, but a very small number of chil-dren also develop this disease.

3. Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia(ALL) : Acute lymphoblastic leukemia is themost common type of leukemia in youngchildren in developed countries, but it alsoaffects adults, especially those ages 65 andolder.

4. Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia(CLL): Chronic lymphocytic leukemia usu-ally gets worse slowly. CLL is the secondmost common form of leukemia in adultsand rarely occurs in children. More than halfof people diagnosed with CLL are older than70, and cases rarely occur in individualsyounger than 40.

For the diagnosis of leukemia, thedoctor must examine cells from the bloodand, in most cases, the bone marrow. An ini-tial blood test (complete blood count [CBC])showing an abnormal white cell count mayindicate the need for a bone marrow biopsyto confirm the diagnosis and to identify thespecific type of leukemia. During this procedure, the doctor removes a sampleof bone marrow tissue (biopsy) from a pelvic bone and tests the sample for can-cer cells.

Treatment options of Leukemia depends on the type of leukemia* Chemotherapy is the administration of drugs that kill rapidly dividing

cells such as leukemia or other cancer cells. * Biological therapy or immunotherapy uses the body’s immune system to

fight cancer, using antibodies to target and destroy leukemia cells, example ofa monoclonal antibody is Alemtuzumab used in the treatment of CLL & Inter-ferons in the treatment of CML.

* Targeted therapy ,are drugs that interfere with one specific property or func-tion of a cancer cell, rather than acting to kill all rapidly grow-ing cells indiscriminately like chemotherapy . Imatinib anddasatinib are examples of targeted therapies that are used totreat CML

* Sometimes,Radiation therapy is used for leukemia inthe central nervous system or testicles as well as for pain caused by bone destruc-tion. However, radiation is not the primary treatment for leukemia.

* Stem cell transplant, high doses of chemotherapy and/or radiation aregiven to destroy leukemia cells along with normal bone marrow. Then, trans-plant stem cells are delivered by an intravenous infusion. The stem cells trav-el to the bone marrow and begin producing new blood cells. Stem cells maycome from the patient , known as autologous stem cell transplantation or froma donor, known as allogeneic stem cells transplant ,

Stem Cell or Bone Marrow Transplants are probably the best bet for a curein many cases of leukemia Esp AML & ALL. It is performed when leukemia isin remission or when the patient relapses during or after treatment.

Now a days, patients are surviving longer, thanks mainly to advances intreatment and medical facilities. Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), forexample, represents one of the most dramatic success stories in cancer treat-ment. Almost 90 percent of children diagnosed with the disease attain remis-sion. Also Adult patients treated for ALL have an 80 percent to 90 percentchance of attaining remission. Patients treated for Acute Myeloid Leukemia(AML) have a 60 percent to 70 percent chance of remission; about 20 percentof those survive at least three years, with a possibility of a full cure.

(The author is working as Assistant Professor at Sri Guru Ram Dass Institute of Medical Sciences &Research, Amritsar & consultant Medical Oncologist & Hematologist at Sanjeevani Cancer Clinic, Jammu.)

(If any query, Dr Rajeev Gupta can contacted @ email: drrajeevgupta1@gmail.com)

Blood Cancer

The dawn of stem cell technologySSttoorryy ooff aa bbrraavvee ggiirrll

CANCER & US DR. RAJEEV GUPTA

* Exposure to large amounts ofhigh energy radiation * Occupational exposure to thechemical benzene * Viral infections * Cigarette smoking* Previous chemotherapy for can-cer treatment* Human T-cell leukemia virus 1(HTLV-1)* Down syndrome and othergenetic diseases*Family history

* Fever, chills, night sweats andother flu-like symptoms* Weakness and fatigue* Swollen or bleeding gums* Headaches* Enlarged liver and spleen* Swollen tonsils* Bone pain*Paleness* Pinhead-size red spots on theskin* Weight loss

Symptoms of Leukemia

Causes & RiskFactors of Leukemia