End of fillings in sight as scientists find Alzheimer's drug makes teeth grow back
Researchers at King’s College London found that the drug Tideglusib stimulates the stem cells contained in the pulp of teeth so that they generate new dentine – the mineralised material under the enamel.
Teeth already have the capability of regenerating dentine if the pulp inside the tooth becomes exposed through a trauma or infection, but can only naturally make a very thin layer, and not enough to fill the deep cavities caused by tooth decay.
But Tideglusib switches off an enzyme called GSK-3 which prevents dentine from carrying on forming.
Scientists showed it is possible to soak a small biodegradable sponge with the drug and insert it into a cavity, where it triggers the growth of dentine and repairs the damage within six weeks.
The tiny sponges are made out of collagen so they melt away over time, leaving only the repaired tooth.
That is by far the coolest thing I’ve heard this year.
‘Okay so guys we’re still working on that whole alzheimer’s thing, but along the way we kind of accidentally regrew everybody’s teeth.’
FR though a lot of modern medicine creations are things we accidentally discovered, like Viagra was originally for something else (can’t remember what) but the side effects were prominent enough that it became the sexy drug.
Yes yes yes
The people who created the pill were originally trying to make a drug that *increased* fertility.
And Imodium was being developed as a painkiller, since it’s an opiate derivative. But at safe doses it doesn’t cross the blood-brain barrier enough to treat pain or get you high or relax you or do anything at all up there. It does give you constipation like other opiates. So it was a winner after all; instead of an analgesic, it’s an anti-diarrheal, and works pretty well for that.
Oh man I remember the ad wars of the ‘80s-‘90s, when Imodium AD came out and antidiarrheals (Pepto-Bismol, Kaopectate) had to compete, with ads that were like “well no use pretending this isn’t about diarrhea, let’s lean into it”
What brand ran the ad campaign where some black guy was trying to euphemise the issue and then halfway thru his fat loud wife (also black, this was a national campaign in the early ‘90s) would interrupt to be like YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT DIARRHEA
I wonder if one product won those ad wars or if the American diet just shifted away from so much fried buttery meat and cheese and cream