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.

Infants’ gut bacteria linked to food sensitization

A recent study reveals new clues on how changes to the mix of bacteria in the gut of young babies may offer a way to predict the future development of food allergy or asthma.The finding is the work of researchers from the University of Alberta and University of Manitoba in Canada and is published in the journal Clinical & Experimental Allergy.The team found that infants with less diverse gut bacteria at 3 months were more likely to show sensitivity to certain foods like egg, milk and peanut by the age of 12 months.Two types of bacteria were of particular significance:Enterobacteriaceae and Bacteroidaceae. The researchers found infants that developed food sensitization had different levels of these bacteria compared with those that did not.The team used results of DNA analysis to classify bacteria in the stools of infants collected at 3 months and 12 months of age. From this, they could see which bacteria present early in life predicted the development of food sensitization at 1 year – as measured by a skin reaction test.

Read the rest of the article at http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/290377.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.

Recent gut and urinary tract infections may curb risk of rheumatoid arthritis

Recent gut and urinary tract infections may curb the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis, suggests research published online in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.One possible explanation could lie in the way in which these infections alter the types of bacteria resident in the gut (microbiome), say the researchers.They set out to look at the impact of different types of infection on the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis in almost 6500 people living in south and central Sweden.Some 2831 of the entire sample had been newly diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis between 1996 and 2009. The remaining 3570, who were randomly selected from the population, were healthy, but matched for age, sex, and area of residence with the patients.All participants were asked whether they had had any gut, urinary tract, or genital infections in the preceding two years. They were also asked if they had had prostatitis (inflamed prostate), or antibiotic treatment for sinusitis, tonsillitis/other throat infection, or pneumonia during this time.

Read the rest of the article at http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/288755.php.

Study reveals how listeria breaches the placenta

A gut bacterium called Listeria (Listeria monocytogenes), which is often found in soft cheese, is known to present a risk to pregnant women. Listeria uses distinct tactics to breach the intestine and the placenta, using a protein called phosphoinositide-3 kinase (PI3-K), according to a study published in The Journal of Experimental Medicine.

Listeria has two proteins that help it cross mucosal tissue barriers. Both proteins, called internalins A and B, attach to tissue receptors and are needed for Listeria to invade the placenta, but protein A alone can propel Listeria across the intestine. What underlies these differences has remained unknown. For more information read here http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/288566.php.

 

 

Alterations in fatty acid synthesis linked to sepsis inflammation

Sepsis is a leading cause of death for patients in intensive care units.

The excessive systemic inflammation in individuals with sepsis damages organs and can lead to death.

Therapeutic options for sepsis are limited and the factors that promote this excessive response to infection are poorly understood.

A new study in the Journal of Clinical Investigation identifies a metabolic pathway that underlies sepsis inflammation.

Augustine Choi and colleagues at Weill Cornell Medical College found that a mitochondrial uncoupling protein, UCP2, is elevated in patients with sepsis.

In mouse model of sepsis, lack of this protein improved survival.

The authors determined that expression of UCP2 induces fatty acid synthesis, which in turn activates inflammatory pathways.

The results of this study suggest that UCP2 should be further explored as a potential therapeutic target for inflammatory diseases.

Title: UCP2-induced fatty acid synthase promotes NLRP3 inflammasome activation during sepsis

Adapted by MNT from original media release

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/287880.php

 

Could HIV make hearing worse?

Human immunodeficiency virus can be incredibly debilitating, leaving individuals vulnerable to serious illnesses. On top of this, researchers have now suggested that adults with the virus have poorer low- and high-frequency hearing than adults who do not have the disease.

 

The findings, published in JAMA Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, come after an evaluation of the pure-tone hearing thresholds of men and women, some with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV+) and some without (HIV-).

HIV is a virus that impairs the immune system, making people with the condition increasingly susceptible to infection and disease. There is currently no cure, but HIV+ individuals can be given a combination of medicines called highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) to slow the spread of the virus.

Since HAART became widely used, there has been very little investigation into the relationship between HIV infection and hearing loss, according to the study authors.

“There have been limited data obtained on the effects of HIV-related medication use on hearing loss,” they write, “and in the few published studies, it is difficult to attribute the increases in hearing loss specifically to HIV medication use rather than age or cumulative noise exposure.”

Dr. Peter Torre III, of San Diego State University in California, and colleagues set out to determine whether HIV disease variables and HAART are associated with changes to pure-tone threshold levels – the softest sounds audible to individuals for the majority of the time.

Evaluating the pure-tone threshold averages

For the study, the researchers assessed the hearing of 262 men with an average age of 57 and 134 women with an average age of 48.

Of the men, 117 (44.7%) were HIV+, and of the women, 105 (78.4%) were HIV+. Participants were taken from the sites of the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study and the Women’s Interagency HIV Study.

Pure-tone threshold levels were measured in both ears in a sound-treated room. The researchers tested a wide range of frequencies, from 250 Hz to 8,000 Hz.

The researchers discovered that high- and low-frequency pure tone averages (LPTA and HPTA) were significantly higher in the better ears of the HIV+ participants, indicating that their hearing was poorer than the HIV- participants.

Even after adjusting the findings for current CD4+ cell count, HIV viral load and long-term exposure to antiretroviral medication, the results remained the same.

“To our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate that HIV+ individuals have poorer hearing across the frequency range after many other factors known to affect hearing have been controlled for,” write the authors.

Poorer hearing also found in individuals with diabetes mellitus

“The participants were middle-aged,” write the authors, “so an HIV effect on LPTA was not expected, given the speculation that long-term [HAART] exposure or HIV itself contributes to premature aging.”

Although unexpected, the authors also note that hearing loss at both LPTA and HPTA has previously been observed to be more likely in adults with diabetes mellitus. “It is possible that both HIV infection and diabetes, being systemic diseases, could affect the neural function of the cochlea,” they suggest.

The study is limited by the fact that participants were only recruited from specific geographical areas, namely Baltimore, MA, and Washington, DC. For women, the ratio of HIV+ to HIV- participants was also uneven, and future studies could rectify these representational imbalances.

“Although we do not understand the mechanism of hearing loss found in our study, our results suggest that HIV+ individuals may have physiologic changes that mimic other chronic conditions that affect hearing levels,” conclude the authors.

Earlier this month, Medical News Today reported on a mouse study suggesting hearing loss could be prevented by a vitamin supplement that protects the nerves stimulating the cochlea.

Written by James McIntosh

 

 

Experimental drug ‘successfully treated doctor who contracted Ebola’

A new report published in The Lancet reveals how a male doctor who contracted Ebola in Sierra Leone survived the disease after being treated with a drug that is being tested for use against vascular leakage syndrome.

 

The 38-year-old man was managing an Ebola treatment unit in Sierra Leone when he developed fever anddiarrhea on September 28th of this year. The same day, it was confirmed he had contracted Ebola.

He was flown to Frankfurt University Hospital in Germany 5 days later, where he was placed in a specialized isolation unit and treated with an experimental drug called FX06 – a fibrin-derived peptide that has been shown to be effective in lowering vascular leakage in mice with Dengue hemorrhagic shock.

Dr. Timo Wolf and colleagues, of Frankfurt University Hospital, reveal how the man’s treatment with the drug was a success, and they call for it to be assessed in clinical trials for Ebola.

No Ebola virus detected in blood 30 days after treatment with FX06

The patient showed signs of vascular leakage and failure of the lungs, kidneys and gastrointestinal tract, among other organs, within 72 hours of being admitted to the hospital.

After placing the patient on kidney dialysis and a ventilator, Dr. Wolf and colleagues gave him antibiotics and a 3-day treatment course with FX06 in order to prevent further vascular leakage.

Initially, the patient received 400 mg of FX06 intravenously – 200 mg were administered via a slow bolus injection (an injection that increases the concentration of a drug so it acts faster) and 10 minutes after, another 200-mg dose was given. The patient then received 200 mg of FX06 via an intravenous bolus injection every 12 hours thereafter for 3 days.

Following the treatment, Dr. Wolf and colleagues say they saw a significant improvement in the patient’s respiratory and vascular function. This coincided with a reduced viral load in his blood. After 30 days, no Ebola virus could be detected. The doctor has now made a full recovery.

Based on this case, the authors believe FX06 should be evaluated further for treatment of Ebola:

“We suggest FX06 as a potentially valuable therapeutic candidate for vascular leak syndrome in Ebola virus disease.

In view of the urgency for action in light of the current epidemic, where validated therapies are desperately needed, the efficacy of FX06 should soon be assessed in clinical trials or at least by standardized collection of data from patients with Ebola virus disease who received it in a compassionate use setting.”

Ebola: the ongoing search for treatments

The global death toll from this year’s Ebola outbreak is almost at 7,000, emphasizing the urgent need for ways to treat the disease. And researchers are certainly on the case.

Fast facts about Ebola

• In the 2014 outbreak, there have been 18,603 reported cases of Ebola and 6,915 reported deaths from the virus so far
• The majority of Ebola cases have been reported in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia, although there is evidence that Ebola incidence is slowing in Sierra Leone
• The World Health Organization (WHO) have now implemented a 90-day plan to control and reverse the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.

Learn more about Ebola

This week, Medical News Today reported on a study published in the journal Emerging Microbes and Infections, in which researchers claim to have identified 53 existing treatments that can stop the Ebola virus from entering human cells.

In November, research published in the journal Molecular Pharmaceutics detailed how a single-dosed inhaled vaccine appears to offer long-lasting protection against Ebola.

And in the same month, we reported on the results of a small trial testing a potential Ebola vaccine, created by researchers from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease and global health care company GlaxoSmithKline.

The vaccine – which was tested on 20 people – appears to be safe, well tolerated and produces an effective immune response against Ebola virus disease, according to the study.

In an editorial linked to the study, Daniel D. Bausch, an associate professor at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in New Orleans, LA, says the findings bring us closer to finding an effective treatment for Ebola.

“The road is still long and there are many challenges, but we are nevertheless one step closer to a solution,” he adds.

Written by Honor Whiteman

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/287277.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

 

 

Hepatitis C vaccine shows promise in early clinical trial

Around 3.2 million Americans have chronic Hepatitis C, making it the most common long-term bloodborne illness in the US. But could a vaccine for the disease be in sight? Researchers reveal how a vaccine has shown promise against hepatitis C infection a phase 1 clinical trial.

Hepatitis C is a liver disease caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV). It is transmitted through contact with the blood of an infected individual, most commonly by sharing needles, syringes or other drug-injecting equipment, or through needle injuries in health care settings.

Being born to a mother with HCV can also cause infection. In rare cases, the virus can be spread through sexual contact.

Around 75-85% of people with HCV will develop chronic hepatitis C infection. Of these, around 60-70% will develop chronic liver disease, and 5-20% will develop liver cirrhosis over a period of 20-30 years. Around 1-5% of people with chronic hepatitis C die from liver cirrhosis or liver cancer.

Although the majority of people with HCV go on to develop chronic infection, the research team – including Prof. Ellie Barnes of the Nuffield Department of Medicine at Oxford University in the UK – notes that 1 in 4 people clear the virus from their body naturally on first infection. This indicates that the body is able to produce an immune response to ward off the virus.

In their study, published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, the researchers reveal how they developed a two-tier vaccine approach that triggers and enhances an immune response to HCV, protecting against infection.

Vaccine ‘highly immunogenic against HCV, safe and well tolerated’

Prof. Barnes and colleagues tested the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine in 15 healthy volunteers.

Firstly, the volunteers were given a vaccine that “primes” an initial immune response to HCV. A second vaccine was administered 8 weeks later, which “boosts” this immune response and protects against infection.

The researchers explain that the vaccines were developed to trigger a strong response from T cells, which they say are the immune cells that ward off infection in people who are able to clear HCV from their body naturally.

Results of the study revealed that the two vaccines activated a strong immune response in the volunteers, which the team says continued over the 6-month study period. What is more, the researchers say the immune responses of volunteers were comparable to those found in individuals who clear HCV naturally.

Commenting on these findings, Prof. Barnes says:

“The T cell response is really high, and what’s promising is that this is a broad response. A range of different T cells are produced targeting different parts of the hepatitis C virus.

This is the first highly immunogenic T cell vaccine developed against hepatitis C. We found it to be safe and well tolerated in this group of 15 healthy volunteers.”

The team says another trial of the vaccine is already taking place in the US, in which researchers are testing its efficacy among intravenous drug users. “We won’t really know if it works – if it is able to prevent hepatitis C infection – until we have the results of the efficacy studies in the US,” notes Prof. Barnes.

In August, Medical News Today reported on a study suggesting that current screening and treatments for hepatitis C could make it a “rare” disease by 2036, affecting just 1 in 1,500 people in the US.

But the researchers of that study claim that if one-time screening was offered to all Americans – allowing people to receive earlier treatment – hepatitis C could become a rare disease 10 years earlier.

“Although recent screening recommendations are helpful in decreasing the chronic HCV infection rates, more aggressive screening recommendations and ongoing therapeutic advances are essential to reducing the burden, preventing liver-related deaths and eventually eradicating HCV,” says senior author Jagpreet Chhatwal, PhD, assistant professor of health services research at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Written by Honor Whiteman

Copyright: Medical News Today

Not to be reproduced without permission.

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