Effect of oral health care program on the oral function of the elderly

In order to prepare a new prevention program under the long term care insurance from the fiscal year 2006, we have organized an oral health care program for the elderly in a town of Kagoshima prefecture. We conducted a series of oral health education, i.e., instruction on brushing and flossing, and oral function exercises. Before and after the three months program, we evaluated the unstimulated and stimulated salivary flow rate, the counts of S. mutans, the counts of repetitive saliva swallowing test (RSST), bilateral bite force and the number of permanent teeth and artificial teeth. According to the results, a statistically significant improvement was observed in RSST and the unstimulated and stimulated salivary flow rate, but not in the S. mutans level and bite force. The present research suggests the effectiveness of the oral health care program for the aged. A larger sized and longer period intervention will be necessary in order to validate our findings.     

Genetic background determines susceptibility to experimental immune-mediated blepharoconjunctivitis: comparison of Balb/c and C57BL/6 mice

Balb/c and C57BL/6 mice have been reported to be biased towards Th2 and Th1 immune responses, respectively. We investigated which strain is more susceptible to the development of experimental immune-mediated blepharoconjunctivitis (EC), which is predominantly mediated by Th2 immune responses. EC was induced by three different methods in Balb/c and C57BL/6 mice using ragweed (RW) as the antigen. The mice were thus either actively immunized with RW, passively immunized by transfer of RW-primed T cells, or passively immunized by transfer of RW-specific IgE, followed by RW challenge in eye drops. Twenty-four hours after the challenge, conjunctivas, sera and spleens were harvested for histological analysis, measurement of serum IgE and assessment of cellular immune responses, respectively. The responses of the Balb/c and C57BL/6 mice were compared. In addition, to assess the involvement of IFN-gamma in the development of EC in the two strains, IFN-gamma knockout (GKO) mice of the two strains were actively immunized and evaluated as above. Regardless of the method of induction, EC, as determined by the degree of eosinophil infiltration into the conjunctiva, was more severe in Balb/c mice than in C57BL/6 mice. Moreover, more IgE was produced by actively immunized Balb/c mice than C57BL/6 mice and RW-primed splenocytes from Balb/c mice produced more IL-4 but less IFN-gamma than those from C57BL/6 mice. EC could be induced in the GKO mice of both strains. However, when their EC was compared to that in WT mice, significantly less infiltration of eosinophils was noted in the Balb/c GKO mice. Taken together, Balb/c mice are more susceptible to EC than C57BL/6 mice and this higher susceptibility might be related to the Th2 immune response bias of Balb/c mice. Furthermore, the involvement of endogenous IFN-gamma in the development of EC in these two strains differs.     

Blood Chimeric Twins

A man and his twin sister were found to have two types of circulating red cells. The man had 89% A1 cells of his own and 11% A1B cells derived from his sister. The woman had 12% A1B cells of her own and 88% A1 cells derived from her brother. The two lines of red cells also had different Duffy and Kidd groups. The lymphocyte karyotype in the brother was 68% XY and 32% XX, and that in the sister was 60% XX and 40% XY. The possible mechanisms for producing different proportions of red cells and lymphocytes are discussed.     

Urinary mercury excretion and body weight on workers exposed to mercury vapour

Summary From the 5-year record of health checks including urinary mercury levels and body weights on 33 workers exposed to mercury vapour in a tungsten rod manufacturing factory, the relationships between the level of urinary mercury and the body weight, and between the change of urinary mercury levels and that of body weights, were analysed. Except for the workers with the short period of exposure, on whom no significant correlation was found, correlations between the changes; urinary mercury and body weight, were much stronger than those between the levels. In contrast to the significant negative correlations in the mentioned relationships on the workers with the long period of continuous exposure at atmospheric concentrations below 0.2 mg/m³, there was significant positive correlations on the workers with occasional, short-period exposures at much lower concentrations of mercury. The importance of analysis on the change of exposure and its relation to the effect was emphasized, and possible effects of mercury to the regulation of body weight was discussed.     

Carcinosarcoma of the prostate

The present report describes a rare prostatic tumor occurring in a 78-year-old Japanese male. The histological features were those of carcinosarcoma involving an adenocarcinoma and a chondrosarcoma, with metastasis to the liver. The carcinomatous component stained positively for prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP) by an immunoperoxidase technique. The literature is reviewed.     

Nasal Application of Inactivated Influenza Vaccine

Intranasally- rpplied inactivated influenza vaccines, which have been made for subcutaneous use, induced local production of specific IgA antibodies. There is a good prospect of practical use of inactivated influenza vaccines applied intranasally.     

Cyclic mechanical stretch augments hyaluronan production in cultured human uterine cervical fibroblast cells

Hyaluronan (HA) a glycosaminoglycan with high affinity for water molecules stimulates local inflammatory reactions. Parturition causes a dramatic increase in the amount of HA fragments in the uterine cervix, thereby contributing to a rapid softening as well as opening of the cervical canal, i.e. cervical ripening. The aim of this study was to investigate the possible involvement of cyclic distension caused by labour in the augmentation of HA production during cervical ripening. Immunohistochemistry and/or RT-PCR detected hyaluronan synthase (HAS)1, 2 and 3 in samples of human cervical tissue obtained from pregnant women. Labour-like cyclic mechanical stretch for 24, 36 and 48 h significantly enhanced the secretion of HA, from cultured human uterine cervical fibroblast (CxF) cells, 128.7, 151.4 and 173.2%, respectively, concomitant with a significant augmentation of HAS1 (36, 48 h), HAS2 (24, 36 and 48 h) and HAS3 (48 h) mRNA expression. Cyclic mechanical stretch for 12, 36 and 48 h increased molecular size of the HA secreted from CxF cells. In conclusion, cyclic mechanical stretch of the uterine cervix caused by the presenting part of the fetus in labour may contribute to the increase in the secretion of HA during the process of cervical ripening.     

R-130823, a novel inhibitor of p38 MAPK, ameliorates hyperalgesia and swelling in arthritis models

We found that a novel compound, R-130823 {2-(4-fluorophenyl)-4-(1-phenethyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridin-4-yl)-3-(pyridin-4-yl)-1H-pyrrole}, had highly selective inhibition against mitogen-activated protein kinase p38alpha (IC50=22 nM). The release of tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-1beta, -6 and -8 was inhibited in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated human blood pretreated by R-130823, with IC50 values of 0.089, 0.066, 0.95 and 0.16 microM, respectively. R-130823 reduced the established hind paw swelling in rat adjuvant-induced arthritis, while methotrexate showed no suppression. In the same model, R-130823 ameliorated adjuvant-induced hyperalgesia with rapid onset and long duration comparable to a cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor, celecoxib. In murine collagen-induced arthritis, R-130823 blocked the progress of arthritis when administered just after the onset of the arthritis. Histological analysis of the knee joints showed that proliferation of fibroblasts and synoviocytes and infiltration of neutrophils were ameliorated. In conclusion, R-130823 is expected to be an efficacious treatment for rheumatoid arthritis by blocking the p38 pathway.