Spontaneous functional recovery from parkinsonism is not due to reinnervation of the dorsal striatum by residual dopaminergic neurons

Cats exposed to MPTP experience severe motor deficits that spontaneously recover after 4–6 weeks. This recovery occurs despite a persistent deficit (approximately 95%) in dorsal striatal DA levels. To determine whether residual DA neurons that previously did not innervate the dorsal caudate nucleus (CD) have innervated this area in recovered MPTP-treated animals, HRP was injected into the dorsal lateral and dorsal medial CD and the locations of retrogradely labeled neurons in ventral mesencephalon were mapped in normal and recovered MPTP-treated cats. Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) positive cells were also counted in ventral mesencephalic DA-containing cell groups in normal, symptomatic, and recovered MPTP-treated cats. Results showed no difference in the pattern of HRP labeling in normal and recovered cats except for the loss of labeled substantia-nigra pars compacta (SNc) cells in MPTP-treated cats. Cell counts revealed no significant difference in the degree of TH-positive cell loss in all ventral mesencephalic areas studied in both symptomatic and recovered cats. The results suggest that spontaneous recovery of gross motor function in MPTP-treated cats is most likely not dependent upon reinnervation of the dorsal striatum from residual DAergic neurons.     

Hours worked and patient visits provided by dentists in Australia

Background

The aim was to examine the numbers of hours worked and patient visits provided by age and gender of dentists in Australia, and compare with previous estimates to describe trends.

Methods

Data were collected from a random sample (N = 2961) of Australian dentists. Private sector dentists working in clinical practise were included in the analysis.

Results

The response rate was 49% (N = 1345 dentists). Hours per year worked and number of patient visits per year were lower for dentists aged 65 years and older compared with younger dentists, and were higher for male compared with female dentists aged 35–45 to 55–64 years. Hours per year worked were lower in 2013–2014 than reported in 2009–2010, but the number of patient visits in 2013–2014 was similar to the previously reported estimate from 2009–2010.

Conclusions

Hours worked and visits provided were only lower among older dentists aged 65 years or more. Male dentists tend to work more hours per year and provide more patient visits per year than female dentists. Over the last decade, Australian dentists maintained a stable output of visits per year despite a trend towards fewer hours worked per year.     

Dental insurance,service use and health outcomes in Australia: a systematic review

Private health insurance plays a key role in financing dental care in Australia. Having private dental insurance has been associated with higher levels of access to dental care, visiting for a check‐up and receiving a favourable pattern of services. Associations with better oral health have also been reported. In the absence of any existing review, this paper aims to systematically review the relationship between dental insurance and dental service use and/or oral health outcomes in Australia. A systematic search of online databases and subsequent sifting resulted in 36 publications, 33 of which were cross sectional and three cohort analyses. Dental service outcomes were more commonly reported than oral health outcomes. There was considerable heterogeneity in the outcome measures reported, for both service use and health outcomes. Overall, the majority of the evidence was from cross sectional studies and few studies reported analyses adjusted for confounding factors. The consolidated evidence points towards a positive association between dental insurance and dental visiting. Dentally insured adults are likely to have more regular access to dental care and have a more favourable pattern of service use than the uninsured. However, evidence of associations between dental insurance and oral health are mixed.