The link between hair disorders and susceptibility to dental caries

At the 93rd General Session and Exhibition of the International Association for Dental Research, researcher Olivier Duverger, National Institutes of Health-National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Bethesda, Md., USA, presented a study titled “Hair Keratins as Structural Organic Components of Mature Enamel: The Link Between Hair Disorders and Susceptibility to Dental Caries.” The IADR General Session held in conjunction with the 44th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Dental Research and the 39th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association for Dental Research.Hair and teeth are ectodermal appendages that share common developmental mechanisms. However, the major structural components making up hair and teeth are very distinct. The hair shaft is essentially made of keratin filaments that are highly cross-linked. Tooth enamel matrix is primarily composed of enamel proteins (amelogenin, ameloblastin) that are degraded and replaced by minerals during enamel maturation. Fully mineralized enamel contains a small fraction of cross-linked organic material that has not been fully characterized. In this study, researchers assessed the presence and functionality of a specific set of hair keratins in this organic fraction of enamel.

Read the rest of the article at http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/290910.php.

New WHO guideline clamps down on intake of free sugars

Adults and children should reduce their daily free sugar intake to less than 10% of their total energy intake, according to a new guideline from the World Health Organization.Glucose, fructose, sucrose and table sugar are all examples of free sugars. These sugars are found naturally in honey, syrups and fruit juices, but can also be added to food and drink by manufacturers.The World Health Organization (WHO) explain that much of the sugar consumed these days is concealed within processed foods that are not necessarily perceived as “sweets.” WHO provide the example of 1 tablespoon of ketchup containing around 4 g of free sugars, while a can of soda contains up to 40 g of free sugars.WHO also find that free sugar intake varies across global regions. For example, while free sugar intake accounts for about 7-8% of total energy intake in Hungary and Norway, it accounts for nearly 25% of total energy intake in Portugal.

Read the rest of the article at http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/290425.php.

Can a bacterial virus from Jerusalem sewage prevent root canal infections?

Scientists turn the tables on drug-resistant bacteria by infecting them with bacteriophages (bacterial viruses)

Every year, drug-resistant infections kill more than 50,000 people across Europe and the United States, and hundreds of thousands more around the world. According to the Review on Antimicrobial Resistance commissioned by the UK Prime Minister, failing to address the growing problem of drug-resistant infections could cause 10 million deaths a year and cost up to $100 trillion USD by 2050. (See Antimicrobial Resistance: Tackling a Crisis for the Health and Wealth of Nations)Now, researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Faculty of Dental Medicine propose a way to turn the tables on harmful bacteria that infect humans, by infecting them with tiny viruses called bacteriophages. In a strange twist, one such virus, cultivated from Jerusalem sewage, may help prevent infections following dental procedures.Just a few decades ago, antibiotics were considered wonder drugs. Ironically, because they worked so well, they were used too often, leading to the rise of drug-resistant bacteria. These untreatable pathogens evolved mutations enabling them to resist the antibiotics that doctors prescribe to fight them.One such pathogen is Enterococcus faecalis, a bacterium inhabiting the gastrointestinal tracts of humans. This life-threatening pathogen causes diseases ranging fromendocarditis (a potentially fatal heart infection) to bacteremia (harmful bacteria in the bloodstream), as well urinary tract infection, meningitis, and post-treatment root canal infections.

Read the rest of the article at http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/289628.php.

Durable biomaterial potentially reduces tooth sensitivity

Loss of the enamel layer that covers our teeth results in sensitive teeth and raised risk of cavities, pulp inflammation and other dental diseases. Now, scientists have produced a new biocompatible material that potentially rebuilds worn enamel, reduces tooth sensitivity and is much longer-lasting than current treatments.

Chun-Pin Lin, a professor of dentistry at National Taiwan University, and colleagues report how they developed the new material, which they tested on dogs, in the journal ACS Nano.Tooth sensitivity due to loss of enamel is one of the most common dental problems. It not only causes sharp pain and anxiety, but it can herald more serious dental problems.Loss of tooth enamel exposes a layer of softer, porous material called dentine, which is full of thousands of tiny channels or tubules that go deep into the pulp of the tooth where the nerves lie. When dentine tubules are exposed, heat and cold pass more easily to the underlying nerves.Current treatments – such as special toothpastes incorporating sealants – work by blocking the tubules at the exposed dentine surface. But these seals do not last as they get worn away with chewing and brushing.New material generates a ‘biomimetic crystalline dentin barrier’.In their paper, Prof. Lin and his team describe how they made and tested a reliable, fast-acting biocompatible material containing the main elements found in teeth: calcium and phosphorous.

Read the rest of the article at http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/287739.php.
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Early detection of heart attacks aided by gold nanoparticles

NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering professors have been collaborating with researchers from Peking University on a new test strip that is demonstrating great potential for the early detection of certain heart attacks.

Kurt H. Becker, a professor in the Department of Applied Physics and the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, and WeiDong Zhu, a research associate professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, are helping develop a new colloidal gold test strip for cardiac troponin I (cTn-I) detection. The new strip uses microplasma-generated gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and shows much higher detection sensitivity than conventional test strips. The new cTn-I test is based on the specific immune-chemical reactions between antigen and antibody on immunochromatographic test strips using AuNPs.

Compared to AuNPs produced by traditional chemical methods, the surfaces of the gold nanoparticles generated by the microplasma-induced liquid chemical process attract more antibodies, which results in significantly higher detection sensitivity.

cTn-I is a specific marker for myocardial infarction. The cTn-I level in patients experiencing myocardial infarction is several thousand times higher than in healthy people. The early detection of cTn-I is therefore a key factor of heart attack diagnosis and therapy.

The use of microplasmas to generate AuNP is yet another application of the microplasma technology developed by Becker and Zhu. Microplasmas have been used successfully in dental applications (improved bonding, tooth whitening, root canal disinfection), biological decontamination (inactivation of microorganisms and biofilms), and disinfection and preservation of fresh fruits and vegetables.

The microplasma-assisted synthesis of AuNPs has great potential for other biomedical and therapeutic applications such as tumor detection, cancer imaging, drug delivery, and treatment of degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

The routine use of gold nanoparticles in therapy and disease detection in patients is still years away: longer for therapeutic applications and shorter for biosensors. The biggest hurdle to overcome is the fact that the synthesis of monodisperse, size-controlled gold nanoparticles, even using microplasmas, is still a costly, time-consuming, and labor-intensive process, which limits their use currently to small-scale clinical studies, Becker explained.

Adapted by MNT from original media release

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/288143.php

 

Link discovered between tooth loss and slowing mind and body

The memory and walking speeds of adults who have lost all of their teeth decline more rapidly than in those who still have some of their own teeth, finds new UCL research.

The study, published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, looked at 3,166 adults aged 60 or over from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) and compared their performance in tests of memory and walking speed. The results showed that the people with none of their own teeth performed approximately 10% worse in both memory and walking speed tests than the people with teeth.

The association between total tooth loss and memory was explained after the results were fully adjusted for a wide range of factors, such as sociodemographic characteristics, existing health problems, physical health, health behaviours, such as smoking and drinking, depression, relevant biomarkers, and particularly socioeconomic status. However, after adjusting for all possible factors, people without teeth still walked slightly slower than those with teeth.

These links between older adults in England losing all natural teeth and having poorer memory and worse physical function 10 years later were more evident in adults aged 60 to 74 years than in those aged 75 and older.

“Tooth loss could be used as an early marker of mental and physical decline in older age, particularly among 60-74 year-olds,” says lead author Dr Georgios Tsakos (UCL Epidemiology & Public Health). “We find that common causes of tooth loss and mental and physical decline are often linked to socioeconomic status, highlighting the importance of broader social determinants such as education and wealth to improve the oral and general health of the poorest members of society.

“Regardless of what is behind the link between tooth loss and decline in function, recognising excessive tooth loss presents an opportunity for early identification of adults at higher risk of faster mental and physical decline later in their life. There are many factors likely to influence this decline, such as lifestyle and psychosocial factors, which are amenable to change.”

Adapted by MNT from original media release

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/287280.php

 

 

Ways to prevent and manage jaw bone disease highlighted

A review of more than a decade’s worth of research on osteonecrosis of the jaw–when the bone in the jaw is exposed and begins to starve from a lack of blood–points to an increased risk for patients taking certain drugs forosteoporosis, anticancer drugs or glucocorticoids, those undergoing dental surgery, and people with poor oral hygiene, chronic inflammation, diabetes, or ill-fitting dentures.

A number of prevention strategies may help protect at-risk individuals, and treatments that are available or under study include the use of antibiotics, surgery, teriparatide, bone marrow stem cell transplantation, and laser therapy.

“Patients need to maintain good oral hygiene especially if they are taking antiresorptive therapy in order to reduce their risk,” said Dr. Aliya Khan, lead author of the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research review.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/287077.php

 

 

Link discovered between prenatal enamel growth rates in teeth and weaning in human babies

The research found that incisor teeth grow quickly in the early stages of the second trimester of a baby’s development, while molars grow at a slower rate in the third trimester. This is so incisors are ready to erupt after birth, at approximately six months of age, when a baby makes the transition from breast-feeding to weaning.

Weaning in humans takes place relatively early compared to some primates, such as chimpanzees. As a result, there is less time available for human incisors to form, so the enamel grows rapidly to compensate.

This research can increase our understanding of weaning in our fossil ancestors and could also help dentists as dental problems do not register in all teeth in the same way. Enamel cells deposit new tissue at different times and different rates, depending on the tooth type.

Exactly when early weaning in humans first began is a hotly debated topic amongst anthropologists. Current dental approaches rely on finding fossil skulls with teeth that are still erupting – which is an extremely rare find. Anthropologists will now be able to explore the start of weaning in an entirely new way because ‘milk teeth’ preserve a record of prenatal enamel growth after they have erupted and for millennia after death.

The research, funded by a Royal Society equipment grant, was conducted by Dr Patrick Mahoney from the Human Osteology Research Lab in the University’s School of Anthropology and Conservation.

Dental fast track: prenatal enamel growth, incisor eruption, and weaning in human infants is published in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology on 12 November 2014.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/285883.php

 

 

Scientists identify a rise in life-threatening heart infection

Scientists at the University of Sheffield have identified a significant rise in the number of people diagnosed with a serious heart infection alongside a large fall in the prescribing of antibiotic prophylaxis to dental patients.

The pioneering study is the largest and most comprehensive to be conducted with regards to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines, which recommended dentists should no longer give antibiotics before invasive treatments to people considered at risk of the life threatening heart infection, Infective Endocarditis (IE), which in 40 per cent of cases is caused by bacteria from the mouth.

The team of international researchers, led by Professor Martin Thornhill at the University of Sheffield’s School of Clinical Dentistry, discovered that since the NICE guidelines were introduced in March 2008, there has been an increase in cases of Infective Endocarditis above the expected trend. By March 2013 this accounted for an extra 35 cases per month.

They also identified that the prescribing of antibiotic prophylaxis fell by 89 per cent from 10,900 prescriptions a month, before the 2008 guidelines, to 1,235 a month by March 2008.

Martin Thornhill, Professor of Translational Research in Dentistry at the University of Sheffield, said: “Infective Endocarditis is a rare but serious infection of the heart lining. We hope that our data will provide the information that guideline committees need to re-evaluate the benefits, or not, of giving antibiotic prophylaxis.

Professor Thornhill stressed that healthcare professionals and patients should wait for the guideline committees to evaluate the evidence and give their advice before changing their current practice.

He added: “In the meantime, healthcare professionals and patients should focus on maintaining high standards of oral hygiene. This will reduce the number of bacteria in the mouth which have the potential to cause Infective Endocarditis and reduce the need for invasive dental procedures to be performed.”

The data analysed by an international collaboration of experts from the University of Sheffield, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust, Taunton and Somerset NHS Trust, and the University of Surrey in the UK, as well as from the Mayo Clinic and the Carolinas HealthCare System’s Carolinas Medical Center in the USA, is published in The Lancet and will be presented to more than 19,000 delegates from across the world at the American Heart Association annual meeting in Chicago.

The research was funded by a grant from national heart charity Heart Research UK, healthcare provider Simplyhealth and the National Institute for Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR).

Barbara Harpham, National Director of Heart Research UK, said: “The findings play an important part in the ongoing exploration of the link between dental and heart health.

“Projects such as this one are vital to the ongoing collation of evidence to support our understanding of how oral health can impact upon the heart and other conditions within the body. We are committed to furthering medical research in the UK and welcome these new findings.”

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/285754.php

 

 

 

Simple saliva test may reveal deadly diseases early enough to treat them

UCLA research could lead to a simple saliva test capable of diagnosing – at an early stage – diabetes and cancer, and perhaps neurological disorders and autoimmune diseases.

The study, the most comprehensive analysis ever conducted of RNA molecules in human saliva, reveals that saliva contains many of the same disease-revealing molecules that are contained in blood. It was published online by the peer-reviewed journal Clinical Chemistry and will be published in the journal’s January 2015 special print issue, “Molecular Diagnostics: A Revolution in Progress.”

“If we can define the boundaries of molecular targets in saliva, then we can ask what the constituents in saliva are that can mark someone who has pre-diabetes or the early stages of oral cancer or pancreatic cancer – and we can utilize this knowledge for personalized medicine,” said Dr. David Wong, a senior author of the research and UCLA’s Felix and Mildred Yip Endowed Professor in Dentistry.

Wong said the test also holds promise for diagnosing Type 2 diabetes, gastric cancer and other diseases. “If you don’t look in saliva, you may miss important indicators of disease,” Wong said. “There seems to be treasure in saliva, which will surprise people.”

RNA, widely known as a cellular messenger that makes proteins and carries out DNA’s instructions to other parts of the cell, is now understood to perform sophisticated chemical reactions and is believed to perform an extraordinary number of other functions, at least some of which are unknown.

Wong’s research over the past decade has focused on identifying biomarkers in saliva. His laboratory discovered that some of the same RNA that is inside human cells are also present in saliva and can be used to detect diseases – a surprising finding, he said, because enzymes in saliva can degrade RNA, making the mouth “a hostile environment.”

The new research is a collaboration with Xinshu (Grace) Xiao, the paper’s other senior author and a UCLA associate professor of integrative biology and physiology. Using state-of-the-science genomics and bioinformatics, the researchers analyzed 165 million genetic sequences.

Among the many forms of RNA are some unusual ones that live in the mouth and in cells. For example, it wasn’t known until very recently that RNA comes in a circular form; the linear form has long been known. But the UCLA scientists identified more than 400 circular RNAs in human saliva – the first discovery of circular RNA in saliva or any body fluid – including 327 forms that were previously unknown.

Circular RNA’s function in saliva is not entirely understood, although it does serve as a sponge for tiny RNA molecules called microRNAs, which bind to it.

“Circular RNAs in saliva may be protecting other RNAs,” said Xiao, who also is a faculty member in the UCLA College and a member of UCLA’s Molecular Biology Institute. It’s likely, she said, that circular RNAs in saliva protect microRNAs from being degraded.

MicroRNAs, which once seemed to be little more than molecular noise, play important roles in many cell types, and have been implicated in cancers and other diseases, Xiao said. One microRNA can regulate hundreds of genes, she said.

The scientists compared microRNA levels in saliva to those in the blood and other body fluids, and found the levels of microRNA in blood and in saliva are very similar – indicating that a saliva sample would be a good measure of microRNAs in the body.

They also found that saliva contains another class of small RNAs, called piwi-interacting RNAs, or piRNAs, which are produced by stem cells, skin cells and germ cells. There are very few piRNAs in blood and most other body fluids, but Xiao’s analysis showed that piRNA are abundant in saliva. Although their function is not yet known, Xiao said they may protect the body from viral infection.

While most RNA molecules translate genetic code from DNA to make proteins, there is also a class called non-coding RNAs that does not.

“Saliva carries with it non-coding RNAs, microRNAs, piRNAs and circRNAs that are biomarkers for disease and health monitoring,” said Wong, who also is associate dean of research at the UCLA School of Dentistry. “Had we not done this collaboration, we would never know that non-coding RNAs, microRNAs, piRNAs and circRNAs exist in saliva.”

Their overriding conclusion is that saliva has tremendous medical and scientific value. In the not-too-distant future, dentists might be able to take saliva samples to analyze for a variety of diseases. And, Wong says, the research could lead to a new category of self-diagnostic devices. “This could indicate that wearable gear that informs you whether you have a disease – even before you have any symptoms – is almost here,” he said.

The scientists, both members of UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, will continue their research, aiming to better understand the biology behind their findings, including the function of piRNAs.

“With a collaborator like Dr. Xiao, UCLA will continue to spearhead this science,” Wong said. “Now we have the capability and technology to reach deeper and study non-coding RNA, which has never been done.”

Adapted by MNT from original media release

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/284671.php

Picture courtesy to nutrihealthmagazine.com.