Scar Tissue

Following on from our last post Tissue Definitions, here we’ll take a closer, more detailed look at Epithelial tissue.

Epithelial tissue covers the entire surface of the body. Epithelial tissue is made up of closely packed and ranged cells in one or more layers. Epithelial tissue is specialized and forms the covering or lining of all internal and external body surfaces.

Epithelial tissue which occurs on surfaces on the interior of the body is called endothelium. Epithelial tissue cells are packed very tightly together with almost no intercellular spaces and only a tiny amount of intercellular substance.

Regardless of the type, epithelial tissue is normally separated from the underlying tissue by a thin sheet of connective tissue known as basement membrane. The basement membrane provides the structural support for the epithelium and also binds it to neighboring structures.

Epithelial tissue can be divided into two groups. This depends on how many layers it is composed of. Epithelial tissue which is merely one cell thick is called simple epithelium. If the epithelial tissue is two or more cells thick (such as the skin), it is called stratified epithelium.

Epithelial tissue known as simple epithelium can be subdivided further, according to the shape and function of its cells.

Squamous cells look like thin, flat plates. Squamous cells, tend to have horizontal, flattened, elliptical nuclei due to the thin flattened form of the cell. These form the lining of cavities such as the mouth, blood vessels, heart and lungs as well as make up the outer layers of the skin.

Simple Cuboidal Epithelium, otherwise known as cuboidal cells are roughly square shaped. Each cell has a central, spherical nucleus. Cuboidal epithelium occurs in glands and in the lining of the kidney tubules and in the ducts of the glands. They also constitute the germinal epithelium which produces egg cells in the ovary and sperm cells in the testes.

Columnar epithelial tissue cells can occur in one or more layers. These cells are elongated and mainly column shaped. The nuclei are also elongated and are located mainly near the base of the cells. Columnar epithelium forms the lining of the stomach and the intestines. Some columnar cells are highly specialized for such things as sensory reception, for instance in the nose, ears and taste buds.

Goblet cells (unicellular glands) can be found between the columnar epithelial cells of the duodenum. Goblet cells secrete a lubricating mucus or slime for keeping the surface smooth.

Ciliated Columnar Epithelium are simple columnar epithelial tissue cells which posses fine hair-like outgrowths, called cilia on their free surfaces. These cilia are capable of rapid, wavelike, rhythmic beatings in one direction. This movement of the cilia causes mucus to move (flow or stream) in that direction. Ciliated epithelium is therefore found in the air passages like the nose. It is also found in the uterus and Fallopian tubes, where the movement of the cilia propel the ovum to the uterus.

Glandular Epithelium are columnar epithelium with goblet cells. Some parts of the glandular epithelium contain such a large number of goblet cells that there are only a few normal epithelial cells left. Columnar and cuboidal epithelial cells become specialized gland cells which can synthesize and secrete substances such as enzymes, sweat, hormones, mucus, milk, wax and saliva. Unicellular glands consist of single, isolated glandular cells such as the goblet cells. When a portion of the epithelial tissue becomes invaginated, a multicellular gland is formed, composed of clusters of cells. Most glands such as the salivary glands are multicellular.

Stratified Epithelium otherwise known as compound epithelium are composed of several layers of cells and exist where body linings have to withstand wear and tear. The top cells are flat and scaly and it may or may not contain a tough, resistant protein called keratin. The mammalian skin is made of keratinised, stratified epithelium, whereas the lining of the mouth cavity is of unkeratinisied, stratified epithelium.

Epithelial Tissue has several functions, such as protection as in the case of skin for example, secretion of glandular fluids, sensory perception in the case of eyes, nose etc, absorption and excretion, diffusion and cleaning and finally to reduce friction where movement exists.

Terry Didcott
Freedom Writer
Scar Tissue

Let’s follow our last post here at Scar Tissue that covered specifically Scar Tissue, with some broader definitions of tissue.

First of all, the study of tissue is correctly known as histology, or when in connection with a disease, histopathology.

Biological tissue can be defined as a collection of interconnected cells that are able to perform a similar function within an organism.

The classical tools for studying the various tissues are the wax block, the tissue stain and the optical microscope. Developments in electron microscopy, immunofluorescence and frozen sections have all been incorporated into the database of knowledge in the last few decades. With these tools, the classical appearances of tissues can be examined in health and disease. This enables considerable refinement of clinical diagnosis and prognosis.

There are 4 basic types of tissues found in the body of all animals, including humans and lower multicellular organisms such as insects. These tissues compose all the organs, muscles, structures and other contents.

• Epithelium - Epithelial tissues are composed of layers of cells which cover all organ surfaces such as the surface of the skin and the inner lining of the digestive tract. Epithelial tissues are tissues that serve for protection, secretion and absorption.
• Connective tissue - These typically hold everything together. Connective tissue is characterised by the inorganic material separating the cells, which is known as extracellular matrix. Bone and blood are both categorised as connective tissue.
• Muscle tissue - All muscle cells contain contractile filaments that move past each other and thereby change the size of the cell. Muscle tissue is also conveniently divided into three distinct categories:

• visceral or smooth muscle, which is found primarily in the inner linings of organs
• skeletal muscle which is found attached to bone so that mobility can take place
• cardiac muscle which is of course found in the heart

• Nervous tissue - Specially adapted cells which form the brain, spinal cord and peripheral nervous system.

That about sums up our informative definitions of tissue and its several types.

Freedom Writer (Terry Didcott)
Scar Tissue

Following our last post about the health benefits of fish oil, entitled: Fish Oil Provides Health Benefits, this next article covers the general information topic of scar tissue.

What is Scar Tissue?

Whenever our skin or organs become damaged, our body quite naturally attempts to heal itself. Since our bodies cannot re-create healthy skin or skin tissue to replace that lost or damaged, they put together scar tissue, which is new fibers that are less functional as the original tissue. This new scar tissue serves as a protective barrier much like the damaged skin tissue that it has replaced. When this new barrier is completely healed, it is commonly known as scar tissue.

Scar tissue is the name given to the fibrous connective tissue which forms a scar. Scar tissue can be found on any tissue on the body where an injury, cut, surgery or disease damage has occurred and then healed. Scar tissue is generally thicker than the surrounding tissue. Scar tissue is also often paler and denser because it has a limited blood supply. While scar tissue has taken the place of the damaged or destroyed skin or organ tissue, this scar tissue is limited in function. These limitations of scar tissue include movement, circulation, and sensation. With the exception of minor cuts and scrapes, scarring and the formation of scar tissue is a common result of any bodily damage.

Scar tissue in the skin is of inferior quality to healthy, normal tissue for several reasons.

• Sweat glands are damaged or destroyed
• Hair does not grow back due to damaged or destroyed hair follicles
• The scar tissue has less resistance to ultraviolet radiation.

Scars occurring on the skin are normally flat and pale, illustrating the circumstances of the injury which caused them. Quite often your body will produce too much of this fibrous scar tissue, which results in an extra thick or raised scar.

Hypertrophic Scar Tissue

Hypertrophic scars and scar tissue take the form of red lumps on the skin, although they stay within the confines of the original wound.

Keloid Scar Tissue

Keloid scars or scar tissue may cover the entire surface of the original wound but then continue to grow, producing a type of tumorous growth.

Both hypertrophic and keloid scar tissue can form on the damaged skin tissue of anyone, but are more common in younger and dark skinned people. In rare cases, keloid scars have been known to form without warning or injury.

In general, scar tissue can never be completely removed. Many doctors will advise their patients to use vitamin E creams or pill supplements in an attempt to to speed the healing process and keep the scar tissue more supple. While surgeries are available for the removal of scars, any surgery will always result in the formation of new scar tissue. In such cases, the original scar may be less obvious, but it will not vanish completely.

Surgery is never recommended for hypertrophic or keloid types of scarring, due to the high risk of recurrence and even worse post-surgical scarring.

There are alternative healing processes that have some benefits to the reduced formation of unsightly scar tissue.

The use of active high UMF (Unique Manuka Factor) Manuka honey as a treatment of the wound has shown to have better healing times, a significantly reduced occurrence of infection and less scarring than conventional preparations.

The use of raw Aloe Vera applied directly to wound also has profoundly beneficial healing properties by similarly reducing the occurrence of infection and reduced formation of scar tissue.

Note: Alternative medicines and therapies, while they are often shown as having distinct health benefits, should always be used or administered in conjunction with sound medical advice from your doctor.

Freedom Writer Terry Didcott
Scar Tissue

Fish Oil Provides Health Benefits - and that’s official! Kicking off with our first post following our opening welcome message: Welcome to Tissue Of Truths, we’d like to take some up to date news and information about the many health benefits provided by fish oil.

We are living longer which is good news, but the bad news is that the longer we live, the higher our odds become of developing late-onset Alzheimer’s disease.

Many researchers into the awful Alzheimer’s disease have long touted the fact that fish oil provides health benefits by the truckload. Whether the fish oil is taken in pill form or through diet it is an accessible and inexpensive form of defence that may delay or even prevent the onset of this debilitating disease.

The even better new is that now, UCLA scientists have confirmed that fish oil provides health benefits and is indeed an effective deterrent against Alzheimer’s. They have given credence to this statement by identifying the reasons why.

Reporting in the currently available issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, Greg Cole, a professor of medicine and neurology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the associate director of UCLA’s Alzheimer Disease Research Center, in collaboration with his colleagues, reports that the omega-3 fatty acid known as docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) which is found in fish oil increases the production of the protein LR11. This is a protein that is found occurring at reduced levels in Alzheimer’s patients. It is also known to destroy the protein that forms the “plaques” which are associated with the disease.

These plaques are deposits of a protein called beta amyloid which is believed to be toxic to neurons in the brain, leading on to Alzheimer’s. Since it is now known that having high levels of LR11 prevents the toxic plaques from being created, low levels found in patients are believed to be a factor in causing Alzheimer’s disease.

Alzheimer’s disease is a debilitating neurodegenerative condition that causes memory loss, dementia, personality change and ultimately death. Estimates by the national Alzheimer’s Association show that around 5.1 million Americans are currently afflicted with this disease. It goes on to predict that this number may well increase to between 11 million and 16 million people by the year 2050 if something isn’t done to halt it. That something might just lie in our knowledge that fish oil provides health benefits that may also treat Alzheimer’s.

The researchers examined the effects of DHA, the component of fish oil known to be effective in this case in multiple biological systems. They administered the oil or fatty acid via diet and also by adding it directly to neurons which were grown in the laboratory.

Cole, who is also associate director of the Geriatric Research Center at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center said, “We found that even low doses of DHA increased the levels of LR11 in rat neurons, while dietary DHA increased LR11 in brains of rats or older mice that had been genetically altered to develop Alzheimer’s disease.”

To show conclusively that fish oil provides health benefits of DHA were not limited just to nonhuman animal cells, the researchers were also able to confirm a direct impact of DHA on human neuronal cells in culture.

The conclusion is that high levels of DHA leading to abundant LR11 appear to protect against Alzheimer’s, Cole said, while low levels of LR11 lead to the formation of the amyloid plaques.

Fish oil provides health benefits, as its key ingredient, omega-3 fatty acids (found in fatty fish like mackerel and salmon), has been a mainstay of alternative health practitioners for years. The fact that fish oil provides health benefits has also been endorsed by the American Heart Association to help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Fatty acids like DHA are labeled “essential” fatty acids predominantly because the body is unable to manufacture them from other sources and so must obtain them through diet. Years of research into the fact that fish oil provides health benefits like those shown, have highlighted DHA as the most abundant essential fatty acid found in the brain, Cole said and that it is also critical to foetal and infant brain development. Studies have also shown a link between low levels of DHA in the brain and cognitive impairment and have shown that these lower levels may increase oxidative stress in the affected brains of Alzheimer’s patients.

Based on these positive results that fish oil provides health benefits, the National Institute of Health is presently conducting large-scale clinical trials with DHA in patients with established Alzheimer’s disease. Cole stated that for those patients, it may well be too late in the progression of the disease for the DHA to have much of an effect. But he is hopeful that the NIH will likewise conduct a large-scale prevention clinical trial using fish oil, based upon the findings that fish oil provides health benefits, at the earliest stages of the disease. All the more so because it is unlikely that any pharmaceutical company will be obliged to do so, due mainly to the fact that fish oil provides health benefits in pill form is already readily available and inexpensive to obtain.

Still to be determined, Cole said, “is what the optimal dose should be. It could be that a smaller amount might be helpful, especially in a place like the south of France, where people are already on a Mediterranean diet.”

In the United States where fish consumption is not very high per head of population, the dose may need to be higher than for other countries where consumption is higher and the fish oil provides health benefits in greater terms per person.

Lastly, Cole also mentioned that, “There’s a deficiency of DHA to begin with and this may contribute to the low LR11 seen in many Alzheimer’s patients.”

So, that fish oil provides health benefits is now indisputable and for those who are predisposed through hereditary of other circumstances to contracting Alzheimer’s disease should seriously consider adding fish oil in greater amounts to their diets, because fish oil provides health benefits for all.

Freedom Writer Terry Didcott
Scar Tissue