Application of Granulation–Tissue Slices and Matrix–Free Tendon Cells in the Screening of Connective Tissue–Active Indoles

Abstract Four new synthetic indoles have been found to suppress the synthesis of collagen both in incubated granuloma–slices and in detached embryonic–chick tendon cells as well as to decrease the secretion of collagen to the extracellular space, the latter of which was also inhibited by a membrane–active detergent. The effects of serotonin and indomethacin were studied as a background and data are presented on the association of serotonin to plasma membrane fractions. The synthesis of collagen in vitro is suggested as a useful test in the preliminary screening of potential antirheumatic drugs.     

The value of MRI in early Perthes' disease: an MRI study with a 2-year follow-up

Eleven hips in nine patients with Perthes' disease were studied by plain radiography at 3-month and MRI at 6-month intervals over a period of 2 years. The aim was to clarify the value of MRI in estimating epiphyseal involvement and in predicting uncoverage of the epiphysis. Signal intensities of the epiphysis and metaphysis were visually evaluated from T1- (T1W) and T2-weighted (T2W) images. The extent of decreased signal intensity (DSI) in the epiphyses was volumetrically calculated from T1W images and then compared with follow-up radiographs. The area of epiphyseal DSI corresponding best with Catterall's classification was seen by MRI 3–8 months after the first symptoms. MRI images obtained earlier usually showed less involvement than the follow-up radiographs. However, two features predicting extensive epiphyseal necrosis were: (1) DSI on both T1W and T2W images covering over two-thirds of the epiphysis and (2) diffuse bone marrow oedema of the femoral neck and metaphysis. When T1W images showed a reappearance of high signal intensity patches in the lateral quarter of the epiphysis, no clinically significant uncoverage was seen during the follow-up. Extensive epiphyseal necrosis can, therefore, sometimes be predicted by MRI even within the first 3 months, but MRI visualises epiphyseal involvement more clearly 3–8 months after the first symptoms. Received: 27 March 1996 Accepted: 26 October 1996     

Oral hygiene instructions and dietary sugar advice received by adolescents in 1989 and 1997

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to find out how commonly adolescents receive oral hygiene instructions and dietary sugar advice in the Finnish public oral health care system and whether there have been any changes between 1989 and 1997. METHODS: The data were collected as part of a nationwide research program, the Adolescent Health and Lifestyle Survey. Since 1977, a questionnaire has been sent every second year to a representative sample of 12-, 14-, 16- and 18-year-old Finns eligible for free comprehensive oral health care. The sample size was 3105 in 1989 and 8390 in 1997. RESULTS: Almost all adolescents (95-96%) had visited a dentist during the last 2 years. In all age groups, boys reported having received tooth cleaning instructions during their dental visit more often than girls did (40%/35%). There was only a minor decrease in instructions received between 1989 and 1997. Boys and those who brushed their teeth once a day or less often were the most likely to receive instructions in 1997. Only one-fifth of adolescents reported having received dietary sugar advice, and there was a slight decrease between 1989 and 1997. In 1997, the groups of adolescents most likely to be advised were 12-16-year-old-boys, those using sweets daily and those living in Central Finland. CONCLUSIONS: Oral health instructions were only given to a minority of adolescents. The targeting of adolescents with health-damaged behavior is therefore important.     

Use of videoconferencing for consultation in dental prosthetics and oral rehabilitation

We conducted a 13-month study to investigate whether videoconferencing could be used for diagnosis and for making treatment plans for patients requiring prosthetic or oral rehabilitation treatment. The consultations took place between a specialist dental treatment unit in a central hospital and general dental practitioners in seven regional health centres. Videoconferencing was conducted using standard commercial units via an IP network, at bandwiths of 762 kbit/s - 2 Mbit/s. In total, 24 patients and 25 professionals (18 dentists, 2 dental hygienists and 5 nurses) took part. There were no technical problems. In 24 out of 27 teleconsultations, a diagnosis or treatment plan could be made. All participating dentists were satisfied with the consultation process and indicated that the technology used was of sufficient quality for clinical purposes. A patient satisfaction questionnaire indicated that patients were also satisfied. Videoconsultation in dentistry has the potential to increase the total number of dental specialist services in sparsely populated areas, such as those in Finland.     

Serum neurofilament light chain is a discriminative biomarker between frontotemporal lobar degeneration and primary psychiatric disorders

Journal of Neurology - Due to the significant clinical overlap between frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) spectrum disorders and late-onset primary psychiatric disorders (PPD), diagnostic...     

Perinatal cerebral insults alter auditory event-related potentials

Background

Auditory event-related potentials (AERPs) can be used as indices of neural information processing. Altered AERPs have been reported in children and young adults with frontal lobe infarction.

Aim

To test the hypothesis that perinatal brain injury affects cortical auditory processing.

Methods

We assessed AERPs at term, 6 and 12 months of age in preterm infants [n = 9, median gestational age (GA) 27.9, range 23.9-30.0 wk], term infants with perinatal intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) [n = 5, GA 40.3, range 37.4-42.3 wk], and term infants with perinatal asphyxia [n = 4, GA 39.4, range 37.9-40.3 wk]. Healthy preterm (n = 16) and term infants (n = 22) served as controls. A harmonic tone of 500-Hz frequency was used as standard and of 750-Hz as deviant stimulus. Mean AERP amplitudes were calculated over 100 ms periods from 50 to 350 ms. The developmental outcome was followed until 2 years of age.

Results

The term ICH (p = 0.012) and asphyxia (p = 0.0016) group had smaller or more negative responses to the deviant, resulting in smaller or more negative MMR amplitudes than those of the controls. The preterm ICH group did not differ significantly from their preterm born controls. MMR varied in all patient groups and was not associated with adverse outcome.

Conclusion

AERP alterations suggest that perinatal cerebral insults affect cortical auditory processing.     

Brainstem atrophy is linked to extrapyramidal symptoms in frontotemporal dementia

Journal of Neurology - Extrapyramidal (EP) symptoms are a known feature in a subpopulation of patients with behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD). Concomitant EP symptoms with FTD-like...     

Behavioural interventions that have the potential to improve self-care in adults with periodontitis: a systematic review

Aim: To evaluate behavioural and educational interventions used to improve self-care in adult periodontitis patients in comparison with conventional instruction.

Methods: A systematic electronic search of empirical studies that were published up to June 2017 using the MEDLINE database was performed. The reference lists of all of the included studies and articles from six separate journals were manually searched.

Results: A total of 1806 articles were identified. Six articles fulfilled the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The interventions used in periodontal treatment had theoretical backgrounds of cognitive behavioural approach, self-regulation theory of Leventhal, motivational interviewing and a client self-care commitment model. The control group in each study was described receiving conventional information. The outcomes of the interventions were classified into three categories: 1) clinical findings 2) self-reported self-care and 3) patient evaluations of the intervention. The behavioural intervention groups seemed to perform slightly better than the control groups when clinical outcome measures such as the presence of plaque or number of periodontal pockets were used. Furthermore, behavioural interventions increased patient reported compliance (e.g. effectiveness of self-care and frequency of interdental cleaning). The different behavioural techniques all seemed to work more effectively than conventional instruction. No behavioural technique could be identified superior to the other.

Conclusions: The behavioural interventions seem to be beneficial for patient adherence and may therefore improve periodontal treatment success. However, there is a need to further explore the use of different methods in studies with larger sample sizes, longer follow-up times and both behavioural and clinical outcome measures.