Oral health status of adults in Southern Vietnam - a cross-sectional epidemiological study

Background

Dental caries is one of the primary causes of tooth loss among adults. It is estimated to affect a majority of Americans aged 55 and older, with a disproportionately higher burden in disadvantaged populations. Although a number of treatments are currently in use for caries prevention in adults, evidence for their efficacy and effectiveness is limited.

Methods/Design

The Prevention of Adult Caries Study (PACS) is a multicenter, placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomized clinical trial of the efficacy of a chlorhexidine (10% w/v) dental coating in preventing adult caries. Participants (n = 983) were recruited from four different dental delivery systems serving four diverse communities, including one American Indian population, and were randomized to receive either chlorhexidine or a placebo treatment. The primary outcome is the net caries increment (including non-cavitated lesions) from baseline to 13 months of follow-up. A cost-effectiveness analysis also will be considered.

Discussion

This new dental treatment, if efficacious and approved for use by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), would become a new in-office, anti-microbial agent for the prevention of adult caries in the United States.

Trial Registration Number

NCT00357877     

Bewertung der PET-CT

Since 1994, PET – and later PET-CT – have gained significant clinical importance. Since 2002, PET-CT systems (PET + multislice CT) are available. The combination of high sensitivity PET images fused with high resolution CT images has gained widespread clinical acceptance for diagnosis, staging and re-staging as well as prediction of response to chemotherapy in oncology. Besides oncology, there are clear indications in diseases of the heart and the brain. The development of new systems in mainly based on multislice CT (64 slice). Radiopharmacology is advancing quickly, especially in the fields of oncology and neurological disorders. However, the limited reimbursement in Germany hampers this development.     

False positive 18F-FDG-PET/CT in a patient after talc pleurodesis

A 61-year-old man presented with spontaneous pneumothorax. After diagnosis of emphysemic bullae, the patient underwent talc pleurodesis and had no further complaints. Five years later a routine chest X-ray showed suspicious pleural lesions in addition to the emphysema, which was deemed compatible with the known history of talc pleurodesis. Subsequent chest CT, however, revealed one lesion in the right lung that appeared not typical for this condition in addition to multiple lesions in pleural proximity. FDG-PET/CT demonstrated high glucose uptake in all the lesions. Subsequent needle biopsy of the suspicious intrapulmonary and also of one mediastinal lesion yielded the histopathological diagnosis of talcum granuloma with long-standing calculous fibrotic changes and no evidence of malignancy. This report on PET/CT after talc pleurodesis addresses the potential pitfalls caused by this condition, as chronic granulomatous reactions, like other inflammatory lesions, may account for highly increased FDG uptake which should be interpreted with caution and not simply read as a sign of malignancy. PET/CT offers the opportunity to exactly localize the areas of increased FDG uptake within regions of pleural thickening caused by talc deposition, however, the dilemma of misleading FDG accumulation cannot be solved by this hybrid imaging modality.     

Influence of clinical status on the association between plasma total and unbound bilirubin and death or adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes in extremely low birth weight infants

Objectives: To assess the influence of clinical status on the association between total plasma bilirubin and unbound bilirubin on death or adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes at 18–22 months corrected age in extremely low birth weight infants. Method: Total plasma bilirubin and unbound bilirubin were measured in 1101 extremely low birth weight infants at 5 ± 1 days of age. Clinical criteria were used to classify infants as clinically stable or unstable. Survivors were examined at 18–22 months corrected age by certified examiners. Outcome variables were death or neurodevelopmental impairment, death or cerebral palsy, death or hearing loss, and death prior to follow‐up. For all outcomes, the interaction between bilirubin variables and clinical status was assessed in logistic regression analyses adjusted for multiple risk factors. Results: Regardless of clinical status, an increasing level of unbound bilirubin was associated with higher rates of death or neurodevelopmental impairment, death or cerebral palsy, death or hearing loss and death before follow‐up. Total plasma bilirubin values were directly associated with death or neurodevelopmental impairment, death or cerebral palsy, death or hearing loss, and death before follow‐up in unstable infants, but not in stable infants. An inverse association between total plasma bilirubin and death or cerebral palsy was found in stable infants. Conclusions: In extremely low birth weight infants, clinical status at 5 days of age affects the association between total plasma bilirubin and death or adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes at 18–22 months of corrected age. An increasing level of UB is associated a higher risk of death or adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes regardless of clinical status. Increasing levels of total plasma bilirubin are directly associated with increasing risk of death or adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes in unstable, but not in stable infants.     

^99mTc（V）—DMSA显像有咽喉部肿瘤诊断中的应用研究

目的：评价肿瘤阳性显像剂＾９９ｍ锝标记的五价二巯基丁二酸「＾９９ｍＴｃ（Ｖ－ＤＭＡＳ）」在咽喉部肿瘤临床诊断中的应用价值，及其在人体的分布情况。方法：对１２例经病理学方法实为咽喉部肿瘤的患者，进行＾９９ｍＴｃ（Ｖ）－ＤＭＳＡ平面及ＳＰＥＣＴ断层显像，并对＾９９ｍＴｃ（Ｖ）－ＤＭＳＡ在人体的动态分布进行分析。结果；平面显像有９例１１个部位出现放射性异常聚焦；ＳＰＥＣＴ断层显像有１１例１９个部位有明显     

Renal failure in giant cell vasculitis

A 59-year-old white woman with temporal arteritis developed progressive renal failure. Renal biopsy results showed focal and segmental necrotizing glomerulonephritis; furthermore, giant cells were present in the destructed vessel walls. Immunosuppressive therapy did not prevent terminal renal failure. This case shows that renal involvement may be a feature of temporal arteritis.     

Localization of colorectal carcinoma by rhenium-188-labeled B72.3 antibody in xenografted mice

In order to evaluate the feasibility of¹⁸⁸Re-labeled antibodies for radioimmunotargeting, monoclonal antibody B72.3, recognizing TAG-72, expressed on the surface membranes of colorectal cancer cells, was directly labeled with¹⁸⁸Re, obtained from a¹⁸⁸W/¹⁸⁸Re generator, using stannous tartrate and compared with¹²⁵I-labeled B72.3. As a control, a human IgG was also radiolabeled with¹⁸⁸Re and^I25I. Prepared antibodies for¹⁸⁸Re labeling could be stored as kits. Biodistribution was determined in nude mice inoculated with human colorectal carcinoma LoVo. Labeling efficiency and immunoreactivity of¹⁸⁸Re-B72.3 were 80.3% and 64.7%, respectively.¹⁸⁸Re-B72.3 localized specifically in the LoVo tumors. Although the absolute tumor accumulation level of¹⁸⁸Re-B72.3 was lower than^I25I-B72.3,¹⁸⁸Re-B72.3 demonstrated higher tumor-to-blood contrast than the¹²⁵I-labeled counterpart, 2.04 ± 0.44 vs. 1.05 ± 0.28 at 96 hours, because of fast clearance from the blood.¹⁸⁸Re-B72.3 seemed efficient for the imaging and therapy of colorectal carcinoma.