Search

An expert panel, convened by the National Institutes of Health to address concerns about the future of clinical research, describes a training program at the National Institutes of Health that also included dental students. Possible reasons for low application rates among dental students are ascribed to inadequate dissemination of information, high student indebtedness, and low interest in clinical research. (CH)

Marie Ussing Nylen was a trail blazing scientist and administrative leader at the US National Institutes of Health. She accomplished this when it was extremely difficult for a woman to do so. She was also a whole person ‐ a wife, mother, and talented athlete, that is, a well‐rounded person by any definition. She was a gift to dental and oral science, as well as to those fortunate enough to know and work with her. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three areas of biological research that are beginning to have an impact on clinical medicine are examined, including molecular biology, cell biology, and biotechnology. It is concluded that oral biologists and educators must work cooperatively to bring rapid biological and biomedical advances into dental training in a meaningful way. (MSE)

The importance of providing proper training to dental students in medicine and biological sciences, to help the dentists take efficient care of patients who are undergoing other medical treatments, is discussed.

In dentistry, genes could be introduced into bone, salivary glands, keratinocytes, and cancer cells. Although gene therapy is relatively primitive in 2002, a wide range of gene therapy options should be available by 2015.

Tissue engineering will have a substantial impact on dentistry. Tissue engineering involves growing biological tissues in the laboratory, or giving patients drugs that stimulate tissue formation in the body. Skin, connective tissues, and even bone can be produced in this way. Dental applications include periodontal disease, bone grafts, cavities, and lost teeth. Gene therapy could be used to stimulate saliva production in patients with Sjogren's disease or those who have received radiation therapy for head and neck cancer. Drugs could be used to stimulate wound healing inside the mouth.

Background. Recent investigations have demonstrated that parotid salivary dysfunction is not a normal process of aging, but may be the consequence of systemic conditions and their treatment, including medications and menopause. The purpose of this study was to assess longitudinally the influence of age, menopausal status, hormone replacement therapy, and other medications on stimulated parotid flow rates (SPFRs) in healthy women. Methods. Medical diagnoses, menopausal status, medication utilization, and 2% citric acid stimulated parotid salivas were collected from 396 women, aged 21 to 96 years, from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health) over a 17-year span by three investigators. Results. There was no overall longitudinal effect of time on SPFR. Age at first visit was a significant predictor of a decrease in SPFR when adjusted for time and xerostomic medications. However, the deleterious effect of taking one xerostomic medication was equivalent to approximately 14 years of aging. Menopausal status and hormone replacement therapy were not consistently associated with diminished SPFR. Conclusions. These results suggest that menopause and hormone replacement therapy are not associated with parotid salivary dysfunction. Aging may have a statistically significant yet small deleterious influence on SPFR; however, the adverse influence of xerostomic medications is much larger.

Dentists can play an important role in detecting patients with Sjogren's syndrome. Sjogren's syndrome is an autoimmune disease that primarily affects the salivary and lacrimal glands. This causes the major symptoms: dry mouth and dry eyes. Saliva plays a role in taste and maintains tooth structure as well as maintaining proper pH and producing natural antibiotics. Sjogren's syndrome can lead to taste and smell disorders, difficulty swallowing, and problems speaking. Dentists should ask all patients about mouth dryness and provide appropriate follow-up treatment.

Interferon (IFN)-gamma is a class of gamma interferons that prevents the proliferation of a number of cell types. Human salivary gland (HSG) cells treated with fetal bovine albumin serum showed rapid increases in internal calcium concentration but treatment with IFN-gamma in the presence of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha suppressed this proliferative effect. Likewise, carbachol- and thapsigargin-stimulated increases in intracellular Ca2+ stores decreased upon treatment with IFN-gamma plus TNF-alpha. These results suggest that IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha causes the depletion of intracellular Ca2+ stores in HSG cells.

A study on the kinetic analysis of muscarinic receptors in the human brain and salivary gland in vivo shows that (SS)-IQNB, a muscarinic acetylcholine receptor antagonist, is not a successful probe for nonspecific IQNB distribution but (RR)-IQNB, another antagonist, may serve well. Clearance from blood is much faster in the case of (SS)-IQNB than (RR)-IQNB. Two cortical regions have the highest binding potential of (RR)-IQNB, the parotid gland shows intermediate binding and the lowest binding in cerebellum.

Optimization of the uptake and expression of DNA in rat submandibular glands in vivo is accomplished using the replication-deficient adenovirus infection. Luciferous expression increases after around 18 hours of infection and begins to fall after 24 hours. The replication-deficient adenovirus is equally able to augment DNA transfer in vivo. It seems possible to use ultraviolet-inactivated virus to transfer DNA to salivary gland in vivo because the endosomolytic activity of adenovirus was found in the surface protein.

Applications of gene therapy to dental and oral problems illustrate the potential impact of this technology on dentistry. Gene therapy is the transfer of a foreign gene into a cell. University of Texas researchers are using gene therapy to treat oral cancer and precancerous lesions. The transferred genes prohibit cancer cells from producing a protein necessary for tumor formation. Researchers at the State University of New York at Stony Brook are transferring foreign genes into a type of skin cell called a keratinocyte. The foreign gene produces protein products that are pharmaceutical agents. This approach may be used in the future to increase subnormal hormone secretion or to correct genetic skin disorders. Researchers at the National Institute of Dental Research in Maryland are using gene therapy to repair damaged salivary gland cells. In addition, gene transfer into salivary cells may stimulate the production of foreign protein products that may one day prevent oral fungal infection or plaque formation.