March 22, 2007, 5:13 AM CT

wiping out tooth decay

Today, during the 85th General Session of the International Association for Dental Research, Forsyth Institute scientists are reporting that they have developed an effective program for eliminating cavities. This program, called ForsythKids, is an innovative school-based cavity prevention program, which provides elementary school children with oral health education, dental exams, cleanings and preventive care. For children enrolled in the program, one round of treatment reduced new cavities by 50%. After two rounds of the Forsyth model of prevention there was virtually no new tooth decay.

ForsythKids confronts one of todays most pressing oral health challenges: delivering effective oral health care to children at risk of decay. The goal of the program is to increase access and improve health, while creating a model that can be replicated in any community. The elementary school children enrolled in ForsythKids receive a dental exam, tooth cleaning, preventive care consisting of sealants, fluoride, temporary fillings when necessary, and oral health education two times a year without ever leaving their school.

Of the children enrolled in the pilot program, 77% had untreated cavities and 13% had acute infections or abscesses. "Our initial studies have shown that you can effectively prevent, what is today, the most common childhood disease tooth decay," said Richard Niederman, DMD, Director, Center for Evidence-Based Dentistry at The Forsyth Institute. "Just two weeks ago we saw a terrible tragedy in the national news about a tooth infection that led to the untimely death of a 12-year old boy, who like thousands of other children, did not have access to dental care. Through programs like the ForsythKids we can eliminate barriers to care and improve the health of all children"......... Posted by: Jenn      Read more         Source

March 21, 2007, 4:57 AM CT

Cancer researchers add spice to research

Researchers who focus on the molecular signaling that underlies prostate cancer have discovered a compound that shows promise against a debilitating neurodegenerative condition known as Kennedy's disease, which is caused by a mutant gene. Currently there is no therapy for the inherited disorder, which resembles a slowly progressive form of Lou Gehrig's disease and affects only men.

The compound, a distant chemical relative of a component of the spice curry, dramatically slowed the progression of the disease in mice that carried the mutant human gene that causes the disease. The mice were able to walk much more normally, their muscles were much stronger, and they had near-normal levels of a vital molecule crucial for keeping nerve cells healthy.

While a great deal more research needs to be done to see if the compound could be developed into a drug to help people with the disease, researchers say it's a promising development in a field where progress has been slow.

The research by researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center appears in the March 6 issue of the journal Nature Medicine.

In their search for new therapys for prostate cancer and other diseases, Chawnshang Chang, Ph.D., and colleagues have taken a few cues from centuries of Asian tradition, where curcumin the bright yellow spice found in curry powder has been used to treat a variety of ills. In the last decade, Western medicine has been putting curry to the test, finding that the spice offers promise against breast cancer, melanoma, Alzheimer's disease and the blisters that come with radiation therapys for cancer......... Posted by: Andria      Read more         Source

March 6, 2007, 3:28 PM CT

Photodynamic therapy for periodontal disease

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) may be an effective way to treat the bacteria associated with periodontal diseases, and could provide a better option than antibiotics or other mechanical methods for treating periodontal diseases, according to a new study published in the recent issue of the Journal of Periodontology.

Researchers at So Paulo State University found that using PDT was an effective method to minimize destruction of periodontal tissue which can accompany treatment for periodontal diseases. In a rat population, PDT did minimal damage to periodontal tissues, in comparison to other techniques including scaling and root planing and antibiotic therapy.

"We found that PDT is significantly less invasive than other treatments for periodontal diseases," said study author Dr. Valdir Gouveia Garcia, from the Department of Periodontology at So Paulo State University. "It can provide improved dentin hypersensitivity, reduced inflammation of the tissues surrounding the teeth, and allows tissues to repair faster".

PDT may be an alternative to antibiotic treatment, which is becoming increasingly important as antibiotic resistance increases. PDT involves two stages; first, a light-sensitive drug is applied to the area. Second, a light or laser is shone on that area. When the light is combined with the drug, phototoxic reactions induce the destruction of bacterial cells. PDT was first approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1999 to treat pre-cancerous skin lesions of the face or scalp......... Posted by: Jenn      Read more         Source

March 5, 2007, 4:58 AM CT

Preemie Lung Treatments Turn Out To Be Safe

Preemies between 28 and 32 weeks are not harmed by a treatment no longer used to help their lungs mature before birth, according to findings of a study in this months Pediatrics. Even though previous observational studies suggested that repeated courses of steroids in the womb may result in brain damage, this study shows that the babies brains are virtually unaffected.

"The consensus in recent years has been to no longer give women in preterm labor more than one course of steroids because of possible adverse effects, but it means more babies are born needing ventilation," said Sanjiv Amin, M.D., assistant professor of Pediatrics at the University of Rochester Medical center and author of the study. "These findings may give us back a tool to help give these fragile babies a better chance of survival".

Before concerns arose in 2000 about safety of multiple courses of steroids, many mothers in on-and-off preterm labor received several rounds before delivering. Now, when mothers go into preterm labor, obstetricians will often administer only a single course of steroids to help strengthen the babys lungs upon birth. But if the birth is successfully held off for more than seven days, the mother does not receive another course of medicine and the babys lungs may not be protected......... Posted by: Jenn      Read more         Source

March 1, 2007, 4:56 AM CT

New details in schizophrenia trial

Two new studies from the Clinical Antipsychotic Trials for Intervention Effectiveness (CATIE) provide more insights into comparing treatment options, and to what extent antipsychotic medications help people with schizophrenia learn social, interpersonal and community living skills. The new studies are published in the March 2007 issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry. CATIE, a $42.6 million, multi-site study, was funded by the National Institutes of Healths National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).

Comparing Newer Antipsychotic Medications After Older One Fails

Quetiapine, and to some extent olanzapine, may be more effective than risperidone among patients who were originally taking, but had to discontinue, perphenazinean older, first generation antipsychotic medication. However, patient responses varied considerably.

"CATIE continues to fine-tune our understanding of how our arsenal of antipsychotic medications work in real-world settings, but it also is revealing to us what questions we still must address," said NIMH Director Thomas R. Insel, M.D.

Of the 257 patients who were initially randomized to perphenazine in the CATIE study, 192 discontinued the medicine for various reasons, including ineffectiveness and intolerable side effects. Among those who discontinued, 114 agreed to be re-randomized to one of three newer antipsychotic medicationsolanzapine, quetiapine or risperidone......... Posted by: Jenn      Read more         Source

February 27, 2007, 8:34 PM CT

Dempsey Backs Cancer Initiative

He's a doctor on television's Grey's Anatomy, but off the screen Patrick Dempsey faces the same questions as anyone else when a loved one needs medical care.

"Well, it's overwhelming because it's like, there's too a number of options sometimes. It's like, well, why should I believe the doctors? Shouldn't I get a second opinion? Shouldn't I find a specialist?" he said in an interview with George Stephanopoulos broadcast Sunday on ABC's This Week.

"You feel very naive and childlike in a lot of ways," said Dempsey, whose mother needed therapy for cancer several years ago. "You have to give over a lot of power to these people who may or may not understand what your needs are, or care, just because of the volume of work that they're going through".

He said his mother has been cancer-free for nine years. Since then, he has teamed up with Breakaway from Cancer, a support initiative founded in 2005, to help others.

"You need a support system in to encourage you, to get you up and out of bed in the morning," he said......... Posted by: Jenn      Read more         Source

February 26, 2007, 6:32 PM CT

Gene Therapy for Diseased Limbs

New research suggests that gene therapy is a safe treatment method to explore in patients whose lower limbs are at risk for amputation because of poor circulation caused by blocked blood vessels.

In a Phase I clinical trial, almost half the patients receiving gene therapy reported complete resolution of chronic pain one year after treatment and more than a quarter of patients with chronic wounds experienced complete healing of those ulcers in the same time frame. The results appear online and are scheduled for publication in the March 13 issue of the journal Circulation.

The researchers are the first to report on testing of the effects of the hypoxia-inducible factor-1 alpha (HIF-1a) gene as the basis of treatment for limbs damaged by compromised blood flow. Though the trial largely focused on the therapy's safety, "the bottom line is that 34 patients improved to varying degrees with this treatment," said Dr. Sanjay Rajagopalan, section director of vascular medicine at Ohio State University Medical Center and first author of the Circulation article.

The treatment is currently being tested in a major Phase II clinical trial in the United States and Europe.

"If this gene therapy approach were to prove safe and effective after exhaustive testing in Phase III studies, it would provide clinicians with an alternative approach to treating patients with serious blood flow problems in their lower limbs," Rajagopalan said......... Posted by: Jenn      Read more         Source

February 13, 2007, 8:42 PM CT

Patients And Therapists Are 'Wired To Connect'

Empathy is well known to be an important component of the patient-therapist relationship, and a new study has revealed the biology behind how patients and therapists connect during a clinical encounter. In the February Journal of Nervous and Mental Diseases, researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) report the first physiologic evidence of shared emotions underlying the experience of empathy during live psychotherapy sessions. The researchers found that, during moments of high positive emotion, both patients and therapists had similar physiologic responses and that greater levels of similarity were related to higher ratings of therapist empathy by patients.

This research supports brain imaging data that shows humans are literally wired to connect emotionally, says Carl Marci, MD, director of Social Neuroscience in the MGH Department of Psychiatry and the papers lead author. There is now converging evidence that, during moments of empathic connection, humans reflect or mirror each others emotions, and their physiologies move on the same wavelength.

As part of an ongoing study of the role of empathy in psychotherapy, the MGH researchers videotaped therapeutic sessions of 20 unique patient-therapist pairs. The patients were being treated as outpatients for common mood and anxiety disorders in established therapeutic relationships. The participating therapists practiced psychodynamic therapy, an approach that uses the therapeutic relationship to help patients develop insight into their emotions......... Posted by: Jenn      Read more         Source

February 8, 2007, 9:59 PM CT

Study Profiles Rate Of Autism In Wisconsin

A Wisconsin autism surveillance project reported today that approximately five out of every 1,000 Wisconsin children born in 1994 display symptoms indicative of autism.

The Wisconsin Surveillance of Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities System, part of a national study overseen by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, reviewed children in the first phase of a study to determine the prevalence of autism spectrum disorders in the U.S. The national study is the largest effort to date to obtain accurate counts and monitor affected populations over time. The CDC today (Feb. 8) released the first set of results from the project, reporting autism prevalence in study sites nationwide among children born in 1994.

Reported cases of autism - a developmental neurological disorder characterized by avoidance of social interactions, poor communication skills, and unusual behaviors - have increased dramatically over the past 15 years, but it is unclear whether those increases simply reflect growing awareness and recognition of the disorder or something more, says Maureen Durkin, an epidemiologist in the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health and leader of the Wisconsin project.

"The public health community was caught off-guard by the increasing numbers published in the 1990s," she says. "But there was no system in place for monitoring autism".........

Posted by: Jenn      Read more         Source

February 7, 2007, 9:02 PM CT

Take More Breaks To Avoid Back Injury

Workers who lift for a living need to take longer or more frequent breaks than they now do to avoid back injury, as per a new study at Ohio State University.

The study also suggests that people who are new on the job need to take breaks even more often than experienced workers, and that the risk of injury is higher at the end of a work shift.

People who took part in the study lifted boxes onto conveyor belts for eight hours, while scientists measured the amount of oxygen that was reaching the muscles in their lower back.

The oxygen level indicated how hard the muscles were working, and whether they were becoming fatigued, explained William Marras, professor of industrial welding and systems engineering at Ohio State. His research and others' has shown that muscle fatigue is associated with back injury.

The study, which appeared in a recent issue of the journal Clinical Biomechanics, is the first to examine what happens to muscle oxygenation over a full workday.

Despite the fact that the study participants were performing the same job at the same pace all day, their back muscles needed more oxygen as the day went on. Taking a half-hour lunch break helped their muscles recover from the morning's exertion, but once they started working again, their oxygen needs rose steeply and kept climbing throughout the afternoon.........

Posted by: Jenn      Read more         Source