Influence of socioeconomic status on the relationship between locus of control and oral health

The objectives of this study were to assess the relationship between Locus of Control (LoC) and oral health among a group of rural adolescent school children and to examine the influence of socioeconomic status (SES) on the association between health, LoC and oral health status. A total of 318 children 15 years of age from a public and private school formed the study population. The children were administered following the Indian translation of the 18-item Multidimensional Health Locus of Control scale, and subsequently examined for caries and oral hygiene. T tests and correlation analyses showed a significant relationship between higher 'Internal' Locus of Control and dental caries. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis was performed to assess the effect of socioeconomic status on LoC and oral health using three interaction models which showed a statistically significant interaction between 'Internal' LoC and socioeconomic status on caries. Socioeconomic stratum-specific estimates of the relationship between the LoC and caries revealed a positive association between Internal LoC and caries in the middle socioeconomic group. The results demonstrated the relationship between Locus of Control and oral health, and the role of socioeconomic status having a strong bearing on this relationship.     

Gastric stasis in migraine: more than just a paroxysmal abnormality during a migraine attack

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this article is to evaluate gastric motility and emptying in the ictal and interictal period in migraine. BACKGROUND: Nausea is a predominant symptom of migraine and the basis of it is thought to be gastric stasis. Objective methods to establish this are however lacking. We utilized gastric scintigraphy studies to determine gastric motility in the ictal and interictal period of migraine. METHODS: Ten migraine subjects were compared to equal number of age and sex matched controls. Gastric scintigraphy using a standard meal was performed in all control subjects once and in all 10 migraine subjects in the interictal period and nine studies were performed in the ictal period migraine. RESULTS: The time to half emptying was delayed in migraine ictally (78%) and interictal period (80%) using normative data at this institution. Gastric stasis was less pronounced ictally (149.9 minutes) compared to interictal period (188.8 minutes). There was a significant delay compared to nonmigrainous controls (migraine 188.8 minutes vs normal controls 111.8 minutes; P < .05). These data were replicated in percentage of radioactive material remaining in the stomach at 2 hours. CONCLUSIONS: Contrary to previous belief, this study has demonstrated that migraineurs suffer from gastric stasis both during and outside an acute migraine attack. This may suggest that migraineurs may have an abnormal autonomic function compared to nonmigrainous controls. The potential role of this in pathophysiology of migraine is discussed and avenues for further investigations are explored.     

Identification of novel 1,4‐benzoxazine compounds that are protective in tissue culture and in vivo models of neurodegeneration

Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and Huntington's disease and conditions such as ischemic stroke affect millions of individuals annually and exert an enormous financial burden on society. A hallmark of these conditions is the abnormal loss of neurons. Currently, there are no effective strategies to prevent neuronal death in these pathologies. We report that several 2‐arylidine and 2‐hetarylidin derivatives of the 1,4‐benzoxazines class of compounds are highly protective in tissue culture models of neurodegeneration. Results obtained using pharmcalogical inhibitors indicate that neuroprotection by these compounds does not involve the Raf–MEK–ERK or PI‐3 kinase–Akt signaling pathways nor other survival‐promoting molecules such as protein kinase A (PKA), calcium calmodulin kinase A (CaMK), and histone deacetylases (HDACs). We tested one of these compounds, (Z)‐6‐amino‐2‐(3′,5′‐dibromo‐4′‐hydroxybenzylidene)‐2H‐benzo[b][1,4]oxazin‐3(4H)‐one, designated as HSB‐13, in the 3‐nitropropionic acid (3‐NP)‐induced mouse model of Huntington's disease. HSB‐13 reduced striatal degeneration and improved behavioral performance in mice administered with 3‐NP. Furthermore, HSB‐13 was protective in a Drosophila model of amyloid precursor protein (APP) toxicity. To understand how HSB‐13 and other 1,4‐benzoxazines protect neurons, we performed kinase profiling analyses. These analyses showed that HSB‐13 inhibits GSK3, p38 MAPK, and cyclin‐dependent kinases (CDKs). In comparison, another compound, called ASK‐2a, that protects cerebellar granule neurons against low‐potassium‐induced death inhibits GSK3 and p38 MAPK but not CDKs. Despite its structural similarity to HSB‐13, however, ASK‐2a is incapable of protecting cortical neurons and HT22 cells against homocysteic acid (HCA)‐induced or Aβ toxicity, suggesting that protection against HCA and Aβ depends on CDK inhibition. Compounds described in this study represent a novel therapeutic tool in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.