Home | Services | Business Hours | About Dr. Ong | Newsletter | Contact Us | Map to Clinic
Care for the Terminally Ill | Care for the Stroke Patient | Testimony of a Cancer Survival | Self Care | Referrals | Useful Links

Archive for August, 2008

Earwax: Too much of a good thing?

Saturday, August 30th, 2008

Here is an interesting story about earwax, how it is formed and when to remove it. It also tells you why it is not good when there is too much of it. Very good reading. Go here for the full story.

Closed for National Day celebration

Thursday, August 28th, 2008

Our clinic will be closed for the National Day celebration (31 August 2008) which falls on Sunday. We will also be closed on Monday (1 September) as it is a public holiday. We will resume as usual on Tuesday, 2 September 2008.

We wish to take this opportunity to wish you a happy holiday!

Gene therapy scoring success

Thursday, August 28th, 2008

Lately there have been some interesting reports on the success of several gene therapies on trial.

Scientists using gene therapy have managed to turn normal pancreatic cells into insulin-producing cells in mice. If this works for human, we could be looking at a possible cure for diabetes mellitus in the near future. See full story here.

Gene therapy has also been shown to be able to restore hearing in mice, giving new hope for the reversal of hearing loss. (More details here)

It is also potentially possible to restore sight as well, according to this report.

Bone Growth Protein also promotes “Good fat”

Thursday, August 21st, 2008

A protein that induces bone growth also helps promote development of “good” brown fat that helps burn calories and plays a role in fighting obesity, says researchers at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston.

They said their finding about the protein, called BMP-7, may help lead to new ways to prevent and treat obesity.

For details of this story, click here.

Running can slow aging

Tuesday, August 12th, 2008

Do you want to live longer and healthier? Who doesn’t!

Well, instead of taking multiple supplements or anti-aging injections, scientists have now confirmed that our aging process can be slowed down simply by running regularly. People who jog regularly are less likely to die from cancer and other age-related disabilities compared to non-joggers.

For more detailed report, click here.

Can you hear that picture?

Thursday, August 7th, 2008

The world that we perceive from our 5 physical senses is not the “real” world. This is something that many ancient sages have talked about, calling this physical world an “illusion”. Now scientists are beginning to see this truth in some unusual human beings.

Scientists have found that some people are able to hear sound when they look at pictures, while others are able to see colours when they listen to music. This uncommon condition is called synaesthesia. Scientists are not sure how this work yet but the unique phenomenon has recently been verified by some simple tests.

So, there really is more to this world that we can perceive with our 5 physical senses.

To learn more about this strange condition, click here.

Broccoli may undo diabetic damage

Wednesday, August 6th, 2008

Eating broccoli could reverse the damage caused by diabetes to heart blood vessels, research suggests.

A University of Warwick team believe the key is a compound found in the vegetable, called sulforaphane.

It encourages production of enzymes which protect the blood vessels, and a reduction in high levels of molecules which cause significant cell damage.

Brassica vegetables such as broccoli have previously been linked to a lower risk of heart attacks and strokes.

For full story, click here.

Treating Stomach bug to treat stomach cancer

Saturday, August 2nd, 2008

More and more medical studies have shown a strong link between the stomach bug, Helicobacter pylori, and stomach cancer. Scientists now have new evidence to show that stomach cancer can be prevented by treating and eradicating the stomach bug.

H. pylori is known to cause as much as 80% of stomach and duodenal ulcers and was previously thought to be linked to stomach cancer. Now a recent study has indirectly proven this to be true. This study treated 2 groups of stomach cancer patient who have previously been treated for their cancer. One group was given the treatment to eradicate H. pylori while the other group was not. The group that was treated reduced their chance of a recurrence of stomach cancer by as much as 67%.

For more details of this story, go here:

Treating stomach bug to treat stomach cancer