Effectiveness of oral hygiene techniques on plaque and gingivitis in patients placed in intermaxillary fixation

Twenty-one patients undergoing reconstructive maxillofacial surgery volunteered to learn and practice specific oral hygiene techniques while in intermaxillary fixation in order to compare the effectiveness of different regimens. Oral irrigation was taught to all subjects; one third of the subjects were also instructed in the use of the sulcus brush, and another third were instructed in the use of the Perio-Aid. Scoring was done every 2 weeks for a 6-week period, with measurements taken of the amount of plaque and the amount of inflammation present in papillary, marginal, and attached gingiva. Results show that the group employing only the Water Pik had less inflammation in the attached gingiva than the group using the Perio-Aid and less plaque accumulation and papillary inflammation than the group using the sulcus brush. While more research is necessary to confirm these results, the simplest home care regimen, use of the Water Pik only, appears to offer the best way for intermaxillary fixation patients to remove plaque and minimize inflammation during convalescence.     

The metastasis-associated gene CD24 is regulated by Ral GTPase and is a mediator of cell proliferation and survival in human cancer

Ral GTPases are important mediators of transformation, tumorigenesis, and cancer progression. We recently identified the metastasis-associated protein CD24, a glycosyl phosphatidyl inositol-linked surface protein, as a downstream target of Ral signaling by profiling the expression of RalA/B-depleted bladder carcinoma cells. Because CD24 is highly expressed in bladder and many other tumor types, we sought to determine if this protein plays an essential role in maintaining the malignant phenotype. Here, we show that loss of CD24 function in cell lines derived from common tumor types is associated with decreased rates of cell proliferation, clonogenicity in soft agar, changes in the actin cytoskeleton, and induction of apoptosis. Given these phenotypes, we evaluated a human bladder cancer tissue microarray by immunohistochemistry for CD24 to determine if CD24 is a prognostic cancer biomarker. Multivariate analysis showed that increased CD24 expression correlated with shorter patient disease-free survival (P = 0.07). In conclusion, we show that CD24 is a novel and functionally relevant Ral-regulated target and a potentially important prognostic marker. We suggest that these insights may lead to future therapeutic approaches that seek to eliminate CD24 function in cancer cells.