Chemicals commonly used to treat heartburn also display fighting power against the oral bacteria linked with gum disease, according to researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center and G?teborg University in Sweden.
Scientists supported by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, part of the National Institutes of Health, report in this week?s New England Journal of Medicine that pregnant women who received non-surgical treatment for their periodontal, or gum, disease did not also significantly lower their risk of delivering a premature or low-birthweight baby.
Child life programs, which address psychosocial issues and provide information to children and families pertaining to hospital stays, surgery or procedures, illness, and other health care experiences, are an essential component of quality pediatric health care for children and families, says a new American Academy of Pediatrics policy statement.
Researchers have shown that targeted overexpression of heat shock protein 25 prevents radiation-induced damage to salivary glands, a common consequence of treatment for head and neck cancer. The related report by Lee et al., “Radioprotective effect of HSP25 on submandibular glands of rats,” appears in the November issue of The American Journal of Pathology.
Health Canada is advising consumers that certain bottles of Neutragel, a sodium fluoride gel, have been contaminated with mould. This anti-cavity dental product is commonly used by patients with weakened immune systems, patients with diabetes, dry mouth, undergoing chemotherapy, or for tooth decay caused by radiation. This sodium fluoride gel is administered in a dental office or at home.
Preventing cavities could one day involve the dental equivalent of a military surgical strike. A team of researchers supported by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research report they have created a new smart anti-microbial treatment that can be chemically programmed in the laboratory to seek out and kill a specific cavity-causing species of bacteria, leaving the good bacteria untouched.
A new NIH-funded study shows that a specific gene variant in humans affects both sensitivity to short-term (acute) pain in healthy volunteers and the risk of developing chronic pain after one kind of back surgery. Blocking increased activity of this gene after nerve injury or inflammation in animals prevented development of chronic pain.
The National Institutes of Health opened a new health information center today at the Jackson Medical Mall in Jackson, Mississippi, affirming NIH?s commitment to providing accurate, up-to-date health information to Mississippi residents.
Oragenics, Inc. (Amex: ONI) announced today that the first of two sets of subjects has completed a clinical trial utilizing its proprietary oral probiotic product, Probiora3(TM). The trial was designed to determine safety and the effectiveness of the mouthrinse against baseline levels of disease-causing bacteria in the mouth. Daily mouth rinsing with Probiora3(TM) resulted in substantial reductions in the numbers of the bacterium, S. mutans, which attacks teeth, as well as two target periodontal strains, Porphyromonas gingivalis and Campylobacter rectus, associated with gum disease and bad breath. The product was well tolerated by the subjects and no safety issues were identified with the twice daily use of the product over a two-month period.
Case Western Reserve University’s Technology Transfer Office has entered a worldwide exclusive licensing agreement with TRACON Pharmaceuticals of San Diego, Calif., to develop Methoxyamine, a new cancer therapeutic that reverses cancer cell resistance to chemotherapy. Methoxyamine is a “first in class” drug that targets a specific DNA repair pathway.