Smoking Zaps Healthy Bacteria in the Mouth

According to a new study.

According to a new study, smoking causes the body to turn against its own helpful bacteria, leaving smokers more vulnerable to disease.

Despite the daily disturbance of brushing and flossing, the mouth of a healthy person contains a stable ecosystem of healthy bacteria. New research shows that the mouth of a smoker is a much more chaotic, diverse ecosystem -- and is much more susceptible to invasion by harmful bacteria.

As a group, smokers suffer from higher rates of oral diseases -- especially gum disease -- than do nonsmokers, which is a challenge for dentists, according to Purnima Kumar, assistant professor of periodontology at Ohio State University. She and her colleagues are involved in a multi-study investigation of the role the body's microbial communities play in preventing oral disease.

"The smoker's mouth kicks out the good bacteria, and the pathogens are called in," said Kumar. "So they're allowed to proliferate much more quickly than they would in a non-smoking environment."

The results suggest that dentists may have to offer more aggressive treatment for smokers and would have good reason to suggest quitting smoking, Kumar said.

Dentists should be MORE aggressive in helping patients quit smoking.

We see it all the time - the devastating effects of smoking on our patient's teeth, gums and general health.

Smoking cessation should be within the dentist's scope of practice. Dentist's should be allowed different strategies to combat smoking, including the prescription of smoking cessation drugs.

Vaccines Being Developed to Prevent or Treat Addiction

Well, if they work for infectious diseases, why not?

Up to now, vaccines have been used effectively against a variety of infectious diseases, but what if they could be developed to treat and/or prevent addiction?

Take smoking, for example. Someone who wanted to quit would go through their usual lighting up routine, but when nicotine does not arrive in the brain, they would probably extinguish the cigarette and not light another. Without feeling nicotine's effects, it is likely they would view smoking as a waste of money.

Or consider a vaccine against methamphetamine: Snorted or injected, the drug would not give the user a high, so what would be the point of going to the trouble of scoring this illegal drug in the first place?

Now both vaccines, for nicotine and for methamphetamine, have gone beyond the dreaming stage. Recently, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) awarded "visionary" grants to 2 scientists who believe that in the not-too-distant future, vaccines will be available not just for smallpox and whooping cough but also for substance abuse.

Two scientists proposing to develop vaccines against methamphetamine and nicotine have been selected to receive NIDA's second Avant-Garde Awards for Innovative Medication Development Research.

The scientists, Thomas Kosten, MD, from Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, and Peter Burkhard, PhD, from the University of Connecticut, Storrs, will each receive $500,000 per year for 5 years from NIDA to support their research.

Addiction vaccines could be life-changing for the estimated 22 million drug abusers in the United States. NIDA estimates that every year, addiction costs the country $84 billion in direct healthcare costs, lost earnings, crime, and accidents. The cost trend is rising, and researchers hope that addiction vaccines may reverse it, not only by treating addicts but also by immunizing young people before they become addicted.

Just like regular vaccines, substance abuse vaccines work by provoking the immune system to produce antibodies, which then causes the body to suspend and reject the drug before it reaches the brain. That is the goal, but thus far, success in humans has been elusive.

Clinical trials on these vaccines may start in five years.

They cannot be developed fast enough.

"Seven million people die from smoking addiction every year," Dr. Burkhard told Medscape Medical News, "that's like wiping out Switzerland. It's a tremendous step forward to have a vaccine to prevent smoking, not only for these 7 million who die but also for the other countless millions who are living with their smoking addiction."

The Daily Drill: September 9, 2011

A collection of dentistry and health related links/comments for your day.

As Sports Medicine Surges, Hope and Hype Outpace Proven Treatments

Until she tore her hamstring a year and a half ago, Tina Basle ran marathons. Since then, she has been on a desperate search for a cure.

It took her from doctor to doctor, cost her thousands of dollars and led her to try nearly everything sports medicine has to offer — an M.R.I. to show the extent of the injury, physical therapy that included ultrasound and laser therapy, strength training, an injection of platelet-rich plasma (or P.R.P.), a cortisone shot, another cortisone shot.

Finally, in February, she gave up.

“I decided this is never going to heal, so let’s get on with it,” she said.

And so Ms. Basle, a 44-year-old digital media consultant who lives in Manhattan, started running anyway. She has lost a lot of speed and endurance. And, she added, “the stupid hamstring is really no better.”

Medical experts say her tale of multiple futile treatments is all too familiar and points to growing problems in sports medicine, a medical subspecialty that has been experiencing explosive growth. Part of the field’s popularity, among patients and doctors alike, stems from the fact that celebrity athletes, desperate to get back to playing after an injury, have been trying unproven treatments, giving the procedures a sort of star appeal.

But now researchers are questioning many of the procedures, including new ones that often have no rigorous studies to back them up. “Everyone wants to get into sports medicine,” said Dr. James Andrews, a sports medicine orthopedist in Gulf Breeze, Fla., and president-elect of the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine.

Weight Watchers Produces Bigger 'Losers' Than Standard Weight-Loss Care

Dieters may be more likely to slim down if they are referred to a commercial program such as Weight Watchers than if they battle the bulge with primary health care providers alone, a new study finds.

Overweight adults in Germany, Australia and the United Kingdom who were referred to Weight Watchers by a primary health care provider lost about twice as much weight over a year as dieters assigned to standard weight-loss care, according to the study, which was funded by Weight Watchers and published Sept. 8 in The Lancet.

"The greater weight loss in participants assigned to the commercial program was accompanied by greater reductions in waist circumference and fat mass than in participants assigned to standard care, which would be expected to lead to a reduction in the risk for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease," the researchers said in a journal news release.

The study involved 772 overweight and obese adults who were randomly assigned to a year of diet care overseen by a primary care professional or to 12 months' free membership at a local Weight Watchers group.

Fifty-four percent of the standard-care dieters completed the 12-month study, compared to 61 percent of the Weight Watchers group.

Those who stuck with their standard diet lost an average of about 7 pounds, while those who attended Weight Watchers shed nearly 15 pounds on average. Also, the Weight Watchers participants were more than three times as likely to have dropped 5 percent or more of their body weight compared to the standard dieters, said the researchers.

A quarter of those randomly assigned to work with a primary care professional did lose 5 percent of their body weight, however -- a feat the researchers said confirmed the capability of primary care professionals to deliver the support and care needed for people to lose weight and keep it off during a year's time.

The researchers suggested that the structure of the commercial program -- including group support, weekly weighing, instruction about diet and physical activity, and motivation -- can be a clinically useful tool for battling overweight and obesity on a large scale. However, they acknowledged that a cost-benefit analysis and further research is needed to see if the gains (or, in this case, losses) could be maintained over time.

The researchers also said the findings suggested that overweight people were more likely to lose weight if they were referred to a commercial weight-loss program by a physician or another primary care provider than if they enrolled on their own.

Kids who live with smokers have more ear infections

Kids whose parents smoke are more likely to get ear infections and have hearing problems, according to a new review paper.

When moms lit up, kids were also almost twice as likely to need surgery for recurrent ear infections or similar problems, researchers reported.

The findings come from a combination of 61 past studies. While they can't prove that smoke exposure causes ear infections, researchers suggested that if that's the case, hundreds of thousands of ear infections may be due to parents' smoking each year.

"It's pretty impressive, especially since ear infections cause enormous pain," said Dr. Michael Weitzman, who studies the effects of parental smoking at New York University Medical Center and was not involved in the study.

The new paper "once again highlights a common child health problem that is profoundly influenced by mothers' smoking," he told Reuters Health, "and it focuses our attention more than previous studies have on it resulting in surgical procedures for children."

Taken together, the studies showed that kids living with a smoker had a 37 percent higher risk of any "middle ear disease," including ear infections and hearing problems -- and a 62 percent higher risk if the household smoker was their mom.

When mothers smoked, kids were also 86 percent more likely to get surgery for a middle ear condition, including recurrent ear infections, than if no smokers were in the house.

About three out of four kids have had an ear infection by the time they are three years old.

Enjoy your morning!

The Morning Drill: September 7, 2011

A collection of dentistry and health related links/comments for your day.

Living With a Smoker Increases Absenteeism in School Children, U.S. Study Confirms

Children who live in households where they are exposed to tobacco smoke miss more days of school than do children living in smoke-free homes, a new nationwide study confirms. The report from investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) -- which finds these children have higher rates of respiratory illnesses that can be caused by second-hand smoke and details the probable economic costs of their increased school absence -- has been released in the online edition of Pediatrics.

"Among children ages 6 to 11 who live with smokers, one quarter to one third of school absences are due to household smoking," says Douglas Levy, PhD, of the Mongan Institute for Health Policy at MGH, the paper's lead author. "On a national basis these absences result in $227 million in lost wages and time for caregivers or their employers."

The authors note that one-third of U.S. children live with at least one smoker, and more than half of those aged 3 to 11 have detectable levels of a blood marker for tobacco exposure. Second-hand smoking has been shown to increase incidence of ear infections and several respiratory conditions, and school absenteeism is an accessible measure of serious illness in children. Earlier studies of the relationship between lost school days and household smoking have focused on local populations and did not evaluate the severity of the problem's impact. The MGH team analyzed data from the 2005 National Health Interview Study, an annual in-person survey of representative households nationwide.

Weight Loss Without the Hunger: Eat a Lighter Lunch, Scientists Say

Losing weight without a grumbling stomach or expensive liquid diet can be as simple as eating a lighter lunch, finds a new Cornell University study to be published in the October issue of the journal Appetite.

Participants who ate portion-controlled lunches did not compensate by eating more calories later in the day, leading researchers to believe the human body does not possess the mechanisms necessary to notice a small drop in energy intake.

"Making small reductions in energy intake to compensate for the increasing number of calories available in our food environment may help prevent further weight gain, and one way of doing this could be to consume portion-controlled lunches a few times a week," said doctoral student Carly Pacanowski, who co-authored the study with David Levitsky, Cornell professor of nutritional sciences and of psychology.

N.C. Medicaid cuts take hold in October

New cuts to health services for the poor take hold in October, with the elimination of eye exams and glasses for adults on Medicaid.

Medicaid recipients are receiving notices about reductions, eliminations or other changes to an array of health services in the next few months. The $354 million Medicaid cut in the state budget includes limits and other changes to services totaling $16.5 million.

In addition to getting rid of routine adult eye care and glasses, the state plans to limit payments for deep cleaning dental treatments for people who have gum disease to once every two years from once a year. Outpatient physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy for adults will be limited to three visits a year.

Insurer's cuts leave dentists nursing $60 million toothache

Caring for your teeth costs more in Washington than just about anywhere else in the country, according to the state's largest dental insurer, which recently slashed payments to dentists for the first time in more than 50 years.

Washington Dental Service (WDS), a nonprofit that insures about 1.5 million patients in Washington, says the $60 million it expects to save in cuts to dentists has allowed it to offer a more affordable plan to small businesses.

Angry and dismayed dentists, hit with cuts of up to 15 percent or more, warn that the drastic reductions will hurt patients, who have grown accustomed to dentists who take time to focus on prevention and options, instead of just waiting until something hurts or breaks.

About 95 percent of the dentists in the state accept payments from WDS, but in the wake of the June 15 cuts, some have dropped the insurer, and many say they're still considering doing so.

Dentists, most of whom own their own clinics, say they have no control over rising overhead costs and warn they likely will have to make drastic changes in their practices.

"Never in my 23 years in practice has there been a bigger threat to the way I take care of my patients," said Dr. Chris Pickel, a Northgate-area dentist and immediate past president of the Seattle-King County Dental Society.

"This is a big tipping point right now," Pickel said. "It forces dental practices to go to a volume-based system, where you see more patients per day," limiting time for proactive, preventive care.

Enjoy your morning!

California Tobacco Survey: Hookah Use Increasing

Folks, this is not a safe way to smoke tobacco. It is harmful to you and to the others around you (second hand smoke).

Here is the abstract of the paper:

Increasing Hookah Use in California

Joshua R. Smith, PhD, MPH¹, Steven D. Edland, PhD², Thomas E. Novotny, MD, PhD³, C. Richard Hofstetter, PhD⁴, Martha M. White, MS⁵, Suzanne P. Lindsay, PhD, MSW, MPH⁶ and Wael K. Al-Delaimy, MD, PhD⁷

¹ University of California, San Diego
² University of California, San Diego
³ San Diego State University
⁴ San Diego State University
⁵ University of California, San Diego
⁶ San Diego State University
⁷ University of California, San Diego

Correspondence: waldelaimy@ucsd.edu

Hookah use is gaining popularity nationwide. We determined the correlates and trends for hookah use from the California Tobacco Survey. Between 2005 and 2008 hookah use increased more than 40%, and in 2008, 24.5% of young men reported ever using a hookah. Hookah use was more common among the young (18-24 years), the educated, the non-Hispanic Whites, and the cigarette smokers. Hookah use is increasing in California, especially among young adults, and in 2008 reached the highest prevalence ever reported for both genders. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print August 18, 2011: e1-e3. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2011.300196)

Please....just because you are not smoking cigarettes, the tobacco danger to your health continues. Now, if you are using a hookah for other substances, there are other risks associated with those as well.

Bladder Cancer Risk from Smoking Higher Than Expected

Yet, the tobacco companies are suing the Food and Drug Administration to remove graphic warnings from cigarette packages.

The risk for bladder cancer among smokers appears to be higher than previously reported, according to new data from a large prospective trial. In addition, the risk was found to be similar for both male and female smokers. 

The new finding is reported in the August 17 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. 

As compared with never-smokers, both former and current smokers had an increased risk for bladder cancer. Former smokers had a 2.2 times increased risk for bladder cancer, and current smokers had a risk that was approximately 4 times higher relative to never-smokers. 

The authors point out that their data differ from the summary risk estimate of 2.94 for current smokers, which was observed in 7 previous studies. 

"The take-home message of our study should be that smoking is strongly associated with bladder cancer risk," lead author Neal D. Freedman, PhD, MPH, an investigator at the National Cancer Institute, told Medscape Medical News. "Our results emphasize the importance of preventing smoking initiation, and among current smokers, smoking cessation." 

"There are many different carcinogens in cigarette smoke," he added. "Thus, the best public health approach is for people to never smoke, and if they smoke, to quit."

Just say NO folks and quit if you are still smoking.

For better health.....

The Morning Drill: August 17, 2011

A collection of dentistry and health related links/comments for your day.

Oregon law supports dental therapist pilot projects

Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber has signed into law a bill that will allow the Oregon Health Authority to establish pilot projects for dental therapists and community dental health educators.

SB 738, known as the Oral Health Coalition bill, also establishes the Dental Pilot Projects Fund. The pilot programs are intended to encourage the development of innovative practices in oral healthcare and deliver care to underserved and uninsured populations.

The bill also expands the scope of practice for dental hygienists who have a limited access permit (LAP) that allows them to provide the same services a dentist can provide, under the supervision of a dentist. It also renames the LAP permit holders to expanded practice dental hygienists.

Cigarette makers sue FDA over new labeling rules

Four big cigarette makers sued the Food and Drug Administration, seeking to void as unconstitutional new graphic labels and advertising that warn consumers about the risks of smoking and induce them to quit.

The lawsuit by Reynolds American Inc's R.J. Reynolds unit, Lorillard Inc, Liggett Group LLC and Commonwealth Brands Inc, owned by Britain's Imperial Tobacco Group Plc, said the warnings required no later than September 22, 2012 would force cigarette makers to "engage in anti-smoking advocacy" on the government's behalf.

They said this violates their free speech rights under the First Amendment, according to a complaint filed Tuesday with the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.

"The notion that the government can require those who manufacture a lawful product to emblazon half of its package with pictures and words admittedly drafted to persuade the public not to purchase that product cannot withstand constitutional scrutiny," said Floyd Abrams, a prominent First Amendment specialist representing the cigarette makers, in a statement.

An FDA spokeswoman declined to comment, citing an agency policy not to discuss pending litigation.

Making Teeth Tattoos Cute

We recently came across an article in Ginza Magazine regarding a new beauty buzz that has people chattering about it – “teeth art tattoos”. Having been available in other countries before it is only now that teeth art is starting to creep onto the fashion scene here in Japan also. The most popular global designs tend to be diamond shape or any glittering rhinestone, giving wearers a ‘blinged’ up smile.

Of course, Japan has taken the fad and added its own twist, offering personal designs and outfit combinations, rather than just going for the sparkles. The idea is to express a more individual fashion statement, and as ever in Japan, usually combined with a certain cute charm. There are plenty of combinations to reflect the seasons as any good fashion item has including red ladybug characters or marine look anchor tooth art giving the necessary summer charm, or a golden heart or shining star design tooth look for a night on the town.

Another way the Japanese girls are putting their twist on things is matching their nail art and teeth art, both in the design and the colors. For example; red lipstick and nail polish with same rhinestone pattern on both.

Will you have a heart attack? These tests might tell

Most heart attacks strike with no warning, but doctors now have a clearer picture than ever before of who is most likely to have one, says Dr. Arthur Agatston, a Miami cardiologist and author of the best-selling South Beach diet books.

Agatston says relatively new imaging tests give real-time pictures showing whether plaque is building up in key blood vessels, alerting doctor and patient to an increased risk of a potentially deadly heart attack.

"Unless you do the imaging, you are really playing Russian roulette with your life," he said.

Agatston invented one of the imaging tests, the coronary calcium scan, which looks at plaque in the arteries leading to the heart. Plaque in these arteries is a red flag for a potential heart attack. (Agatston does not make any money from the coronary calcium scan.)

The other imaging test Agatston recommends is an ultrasound of the carotid artery, looking at plaque in the main blood vessel leading to the brain. Plaque in the carotid artery is a sign of increased risk for a heart attack and stroke.

Both tests are non-invasive and outpatient, although the calcium scan does expose the patient to the equivalent of several months of normal background radiation.

The coronary calcium scan looks at plaque in the arteries leading to the heart

Enjoy your morning!

The Morning Drill: August 2, 2011

A collection of dentistry and health related links/comments for your day.

No More Co-pay for Birth Control

Health care reform requires new insurance plans to fully cover women's preventive care, which now will include free birth control, yearly wellness visits, breastfeeding counseling and equipment, and screening for gestational diabetes, domestic abuse, HPV, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and HIV.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced the expanded definition of women's preventive care. The ruling closely follows the advice of an Institute of Medicine expert panel, released July 20.

"Today, as part of the Affordable Care Act, we are announcing historic new guidelines that will help women get the care they need to stay healthy," Sebelius said at a news teleconference. "Today we are accepting the recommendations of the Institute of Medicine, so no woman in America needs to choose between paying a grocery bill and paying for the key care that can save her life."

The new requirement does not affect health plans in effect before March 23, 2010. These "grandfathered" health plans include most employer-sponsored plans. However, the majority of employer plans already cover contraception.

Starting August 2012, new health plans will have to offer the expanded wellness coverage without requiring a co-payment. Insurers may "use reasonable medical management to help define the nature of the covered service," according to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Howard Koh, MD, HHS assistant secretary for health, estimated that by 2013, 34 million U.S. women ages 18 to 64 will receive the benefits spelled out in the new ruling. While preventive care saves money by avoiding or delaying more costly chronic disease care, Koh said the new benefits would mean a "small" increase in premium costs.

The new definition of women's wellness includes access to all FDA approved forms of birth control. The so-called abortion pill RU-486 and similar drugs are not covered.

Religious institutions that offer health insurance to their employees may choose not to offer birth control, according to an amendment to the prevention regulation proposed by the Obama administration. The HHS says it "welcomes comment on this policy."

Smoking, Diabetes, Obesity May Shrink Your Brain

As if there weren't already enough good reasons to avoid smoking and keep your weight, blood sugar levels and blood pressure all under control, a new study suggests these risk factors in middle age may cause your brain to shrink, leading to mental declines up to a decade later.

Evaluating data from 1,352 participants whose average age was 54 in the Framingham Offspring Study -- which began in 1971 -- researchers from the University of California, Davis found that smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes and being overweight were each linked to potentially dangerous vascular changes in the brain.

"We can't cure disease or cure aging, but the idea of a healthy body, healthy mind is very real," said study author Dr. Charles DeCarli, director of UC Davis' Alzheimer's Disease Center. "People should stop smoking, control their blood pressure, avoid diabetes and lose weight. It seems like a no-brainer."

The study is published Aug. 2 in the journal Neurology.

Attention Athletes, Professional and Not: Beware of the Back-to-Workout Injury Blues

Whether you’re a weekend warrior getting ready to play your first round of golf of 2011 on vacation or a NFL player coming back from a lockout, beware: injuries may await you if you’re not careful.

Former NFL quarterback Rich Gannon recently said he expects to see an increase in injuries among returning NFL players, specifically those who haven’t been able to build up position-specific fitness in the workouts held during the lockout. (Eleven Baltimore Ravens experienced injuries on the first official day of training camp last week, though it’s of course not possible to know whether any of those were related to the lockout.)

Meantime, a study published online this summer by the American Journal of Sports Medicine looked at injury patterns among Major League Baseball players and found the highest rate of injuries in April — at the very beginning of the season. The injury rate was lowest in September, at the end of the season. Research among college baseball players has also shown that practice injuries are more likely to occur during the preseason than the regular season, likely because players weren’t as fit coming off their break from athletics.

When Running Up Mileage, 10 Percent Isn’t the Cap

My friend Martin Strauss of Ann Arbor, Mich., was running 60 miles a week when he suffered a stress fracture that put him on crutches for three months. Now that he’s better, he wants to play it safe to avoid another injury. But what’s the best way to do that? How quickly can he ramp up the miles?

Martin decided to follow the 10 percent rule, one of the most widely known in running. It does not specify a starting distance but says you should increase your mileage no more than 10 percent a week. The idea is that this is a safe way to increase your distance without risking injury.

That made me wonder, Where did this rule come from?

Carl Foster, director of the Human Performance Laboratory at the University of Wisconsin in La Crosse, said its origin “is lost in history,” and added, “Whether it is right is undocumented.”

It might be more correct to say “almost undocumented.” There is at least one large and rigorous study of the 10 percent rule, the sort of study that is a rarity in exercise science. Conducted by Dr. Ida Buist, Dr. Steef W. Bredeweg, Dr. Ron L. Diercks and their colleagues at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, it’s one of a continuing series of studies on how to prevent running injuries.

The injury problem is huge, said Dr. Diercks, head of the sports medicine program at the university — as many as 40 percent of runners are injured, usually to their feet, ankles, knees or legs. At his university’s running clinics, 30 to 40 percent of beginning runners gave up because of injuries.

Enjoy your morning!

The Morning Drill: August 1, 2011

A collection of dentistry and health related links/comments for your day.

Secondhand smoke may cause gingival pigmentation

Many studies have reported that smoking can cause increased gingival pigmentation. But what about the effects in those who don't actually smoke but are exposed to it?

So-called "passive smokers" -- those exposed to secondhand smoke -- may be at risk, too, according to a new study that reports a correlation between environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) and gingival pigmentation (Journal of Periodontology, July 2011, Vol. 82:7, pp. 956-962).

Nonsmokers exposed to ETS absorb nicotine and other harmful compounds that can have side effects ranging from gingival pigmentation to lung cancer and even death, noted the study authors from the department of periodontics at the Bangalore Institute of Dental Sciences and Postgraduate Research Center in India.

There is limited documentation of gingival pigmentation in nonsmokers, and the existing information is "contentious," they added.

Electronic Tongue Identifies Cava Wines, Aspires To Be The Next Master Sommelier

It may take a sophisticated palate to identify fine wines, but research from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) in Spain accomplishes this with a sensor. Well, somewhat.

Researchers from UAB’s Group of Sensors and Biosensors have developed an “electric tongue”, a device consisting of sensors and sophisticated algorithmic software to quantify the amount of sugar in Spanish cava wines and classify them into groups similar to their actual classification. So far, the electronic tongue is able to identify three of the seven classifications of cava, but with further training the researchers believe it will soon be able to identify them all.

Here’s a bit about how UAB’s electronic tongue (and the technology as a whole) works:

Electronic tongues are bio-inspired systems created with the aim of reproducing human perception senses. The device contains a sensor matrix to obtain chemical information from samples … Next, the perception of taste is based on the generation of sensory patterns of the nerves activated by the brain … achieved with the use of computerised systems which interpret data obtained by the sensor matrix. As in biological mechanisms, a learning and training process is needed so that the electronic tongue can be capable of recognising the properties that must be identified.

Lab-on-a-chip a game-changer in disease detection

A cheap, highly portable blood test kit has proven as accurate as expensive hospital-based analyses in detecting HIV, syphilis and other infectious diseases, according to a new study.

Researchers tested prototypes of the creditcard-sized lab-on-a-chip with hundreds of patients in Rwanda, reporting nearly 100 percent accuracy.

The so-called "mChip", they said, could help knock down three barriers to effective delivery of health care into the world's poorest regions: difficult access, high costs and long delays for results.

"The idea is to make a large class of diagnostic tests accessible to patients in any setting in the world, rather than forcing them to go to a clinic to draw blood and then wait days for their results," said Samuel Sia, a professor at Columbia University and lead developer.

The findings were published in Nature Medicine.

With a projected production cost of a dollar per unit, the mChip would be far cheaper to administer than current lab-based tests.

Because it can scan for multiple proteins, each corresponding to a disease, at the same time with a single blood sample, it is probably even cheaper -- and more accurate -- than strips which work like store-bought pregnancy tests.

"Current rapid HIV tests require subjective interpretation of band intensity by the user that can result in false positives," that is, healthy individuals being misdiagnosed, the study noted.

The mChip, by contrast, allows for measurement using a hundred-dollar handheld instrument no more complicated to use than a cell phone, according to the researchers.

Finally, the device produces results in minutes rather than days or weeks, a time saving that can make a big difference in treatment outcome.

The device contains a microchip housed inside an injection-moulded plastic casing, explained Vincent Linder, Chief Technological Officer at Claros Diagnostics, which owns or has licensed relevant patents.

NC dentist still working at age 90

You'd think that when a fellow reaches the ripe-old age of 90 that he'd curl up in his easy chair and watch the days slip lazily by.

Not Bill Woody. On the week he turned 90, he played golf, worked in the yard, attended his Optimist club meeting, did the dishes a few times, and motored to Lincolnton to help another dentist who wanted a day off.

And that pace is not unusual. He has been going to dental offices - most of the time, his own - for more than 60 years, somewhat of a record in local dentistry. A few years back, he figured that enough dental sand had fallen into the bottom of the hourglass, so he closed up shop and put out the word: "Gone fishing." Except, he does little fishing.

But he hadn't retired, at least not completely. He did what was necessary to maintain his license, and has been available if a fellow dentist needed a day off or two.

Enjoy your morning!

Boston Red Sox's Adrian Gonzales Promotes Anti-Tobacco Message in New TV Campaign for Massachusetts Dental Society

Baseball slugger Adrian Gonzalez

Maybe some of his fellow players like Tim Lincecum will take his advice.

Red Sox All-Star first baseman Adrian Gonzalez and NESN have partnered with the Massachusetts Dental Society (MDS) to produce a new television campaign that highlights the dangers of smokeless tobacco.

The six-week campaign features Gonzalez in a 30-second commercial conveying the message that "Smokeless Tobacco is Not Harmless Tobacco." It's part of an effort that supports the same theme that MDS introduced several years ago when it launched its "Tips on Spit" anti-smokeless tobacco program.

"The MDS is thrilled to be able to partner with NESN on such an important campaign," MDS President Dr. Charles Silvius said. "And we are especially grateful to Adrian Gonzalez for his participation and support in helping us to educate the public on the dangers of smokeless tobacco."

The commercial featuring Gonzalez, which began airing on NESN on Monday, is set with the Red Sox dugout as the backdrop. It will air during NESN's Red Sox games, Red Sox pregame and postgame shows through Labor Day weekend and during the Dennis & Callahan Morning Show.

The nicotine addiction in chewing or "smokeless" tobacco is even worse. This habit in baseball needs to end for the health of its players.

And, the health of everyone.

The Afternoon Drill: July 22, 2011

A collection of dentistry and health related links/comments for your day.

Return to smoking after heart attack ups death risk

After a heart attack, quitting smoking may offer a patient more benefits than any medication, but Italian researchers say the flipside is that resuming smoking after leaving the hospital can raise the same patient's risk of dying as much as five-fold.

On average, people who started smoking again after being hospitalized for acute coronary syndrome (ACS) -- crushing chest pain that often signals a heart attack -- were more than three times as likely to die within a year as people who successfully quit in a study led by Dr. Furio Colivicchi of San Filippo Neri Hospital in Rome.

"Relapse is a major risk factor for long term survival," said Dr. David Katz, associate professor of internal medicine at University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine in Iowa City.

Quitting smoking has a similar lifesaving effect for ACS patients as taking recommended drugs to lower blood pressure or cholesterol, added Katz, who was not involved in the new study.

Having Periodontal Disease May Increase Time to Conception

There is a significant association between having untreated periodontal disease (PD) and experiencing a prolonged time to conception (TTC), new research has confirmed.

"We strongly suggest that women considering starting a family should visit their dentist, along with taking other lifestyle measures such as reducing weight, eating healthily, stopping smoking, reducing alcohol consumption, and taking folic acid," said lead investigator Roger Hart, MD, professor of reproductive medicine in the School of Women's and Infants Health at the University of Western Australia, Perth, who presented the results here at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology's 2011 annual meeting.

Severe GERD Symptoms Inversely Linked to Esophageal Cancer

The risk for esophageal adenocarcinogenesis is significantly higher in medically treated patients with mild or absent symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) vs those with severe symptoms, according to the results of a cross-sectional study reported in the July issue of the Archives of Surgery.

"Screening for esophageal adenocarcinoma has focused on identifying Barrett esophagus (BE) in patients with severe, longstanding symptoms of ...GERD," write Katie S. Nason, MD, MPH, from the Division of Thoracic and Foregut Surgery, University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and colleagues. "Unfortunately, 95% of patients who develop esophageal adenocarcinoma are unaware of the presence of BE before their cancer diagnosis, which means they never had been selected for screening. One possible explanation is that no correlation exists between the severity of GERD symptoms and cancer risk."

Mexican Researchers: Resin Produced by Bees can Fight Cavities

Researchers are using propolis, a resinous substance produced by honey bees, to fight cavities and are examining whether the compound can be used to control hypertension, the National Autonomous University of Mexico, or UNAM, said.

Bees use propolis, which is made from plant resins gathered by the insects, to seal hives, UNAM said.

The chemical structure of propolis "varies due to factors such as the time of year, flowering and the region where the insects gather it," the university said.

The project, whose goal is to promote the use of a "wasted resource," is being carried out by UNAM School of Chemistry researcher Jose Fausto Rivero Cruz and veterinarians Angel Lopez Ramirez and Adriana Correa Benitez.

Mexico produces just six tons annually of propolis even though it is the world's sixth-largest honey producer, the researchers said.

Propolis is mainly used in Mexico to deal with coughs, but it is known that the substance has other therapeutic uses and can help in the treatment of viral infections, scars, swelling, allergies and pain.

The researchers tested the effects of propolis on the bacterial organisms that cause cavities - Porphyromonas gingivalis and Streptococcus mutans - and isolated some compounds that help fight the dental problem.

Enjoy your day!

Poll Watch: Majority of Americans Now Support a Public Smoking Ban

According to the latest Gallup Poll.

A majority of Americans (59%) support a ban on smoking in all public places for the first time since Gallup initially asked the question in 2001. At the same time, fewer than 2 in 10 support the idea of making smoking totally illegal in this country.

According to the American Lung Association, 27 states plus the District of Columbia have passed comprehensive smoke-free laws. A New York City law bans smoking in virtually all public places, including outdoor plazas and beaches.

When Gallup first asked about a ban on public smoking in 2001, 39% were in favor, an attitude that stayed roughly the same through 2007, the last time Gallup asked the question until this year's July 7-10 survey.

Americans are much less supportive of the idea of a Prohibition-like law that would make smoking totally illegal within the United States. Nineteen percent support that option, not much different from the 14% who favored making smoking illegal in 1990, when Gallup first asked the question.

A prohibition of smoking would likely not work as we have seen in this country with alcohol. But, I have no problems in public places and especially inside regular restaurants and office buildings.

The adult smoking rate in the United States is stable at 22%

Twenty-two percent of adult Americans in the July poll reported having smoked cigarettes within the last week, a percentage that is essentially unchanged over the last five years. On average, closer to 25% of American adults reported smoking between 1989 and 2007. Before that, Gallup surveys ranging back to World War II found the percentage who smoke in the 30% to 40% range. The highest smoking percentage as measured by Gallup was 45% in 1954.

The chart:

Another 24% of Americans say they are former smokers, meaning 55% of the adult population has never smoked on a regular basis.

Additionally, the self-reported number of cigarettes smokers say they smoke each day has dropped significantly over the years. In the July survey, 30% of smokers say they smoke a pack or more each day. As recently as 1997, over half smoked a pack or more a day.

This is a good trend and like in California which reported a record low of under 12 per cent the other day, let's hope the United States can push that rate down to 10 per cent or lower.

A majority of Americans now support the concept of a full smoking ban in all public places, marking a significant change from four years ago, when Gallup last measured this attitude. Support for the control of smoking through legal means goes only so far, however. Relatively few Americans support the idea of making all smoking illegal across the country -- perhaps partly in recognition of the practical difficulties involved in enforcing such a ban.

Gallup did not ask Americans this year about bans on smoking in specific venues such as restaurants, bars, hotels, and workplaces. However, data on such policies from Gallup's research last July showed that, when given the options of a total ban, setting aside certain areas for smokers, or no restrictions at all, Americans were generally less likely to choose the total ban and more likely to select the "set aside" idea. The one exception to this pattern was restaurants, in which Americans favored a total ban on smoking. It's possible that the broad question about making smoking totally illegal in public places would produce different results if the option for setting aside areas for smokers had been included.

The Morning Drill: July 15, 2011

A collection of dentistry and health related links/comments to start your day.

Secondhand Smoke Boosts Neurobehavioral Problems in Kids

Secondhand smoke exposure in the home is associated with an increased risk for neurobehavioral disorders among children younger than 12 years of age, according to new research.

Zubair Kabir, MD, PhD, from the Tobacco Free Research Institute, Dublin, Ireland, and colleagues reported their findings online July 11 in Pediatrics.

"The results from this study show yet another reason not to smoke around your children," senior author Hillel Alpert, ScM, from Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, told Medscape Medical News.

"We previously reported the association with otitis media. A whole range of childhood diseases have been associated with second-hand smoke exposure and smoking in the home, including those reported in Surgeon General reports, so a smoke-free home has major protective advantages against childhood diseases," Dr. Alpert said.

Respiratory problems, an increased risk for sudden infant death syndrome, acute respiratory infections, and more frequent and more severe asthma attacks have been reported in children exposed to secondhand smoke. Yet, write the researchers, in 2007, about 5.5 million of US children lived in households where someone smoked inside the home.

Men Have Higher Cancer Death Rates Than Women

Men are more likely than women to die of cancer in the U.S., a new study shows.

"Our research suggests that the main factor driving greater frequency of cancer deaths in men is the greater frequency of cancer diagnosis, rather than poorer survival once the cancer occurs," says study researcher Michael B. Cook, PhD, BsC, of the National Cancer Institute.

The study is published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

Cook says that if investigators "can identify the causes of these gender differences in cancer incidence, then we can take preventative actions to reduce the cancer burden in both men and women."

Male Smokers Have Lower Risk for Joint Replacement Surgery

Men who smoke have less risk of undergoing total joint replacement (TJR) surgery of the hip or knee than those who have never smoked, according to the results of an Australian cohort study reported online July 8 in Arthritis & Rheumatism.

"Our study is the first to demonstrate a strong inverse correlation between smoking duration and risk of total joint replacement," said lead author George Mnatzaganian, PhD, from the University of Adelaide in Adelaide, Australia, in a news release. "The independent inverse associations of smoking with risk of total joint replacement were evident also after adjusting for major confounders and after accounting for the competing mortality risk in this elderly cohort of men. Further investigation is needed to determine how smoking impacts the development of [osteoarthritis]."

'Alarming' Vitamin D Deficiencies in NFL Football Players

Vitamin D deficiency might be unusually high among American football players, with black players and players who have suffered muscle injuries showing significantly lower vitamin D levels, according to a study presented here at the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine 2011 Annual Meeting.

Researchers testing the vitamin D levels of 89 professional football players from the New York Giants National Football League (NFL) team in the spring of 2010 found that 27 players (30.3%) had deficient total 25-hydroxy vitamin D levels (below 20 ng/mL), and as many as 45 players (50.6%) had levels consistent with vitamin D insufficiency (between 20 and 31.9 ng/mL).

Only 17 players (19.1%) had values within normal limits (above 32 ng/mL).

"We found that an alarming percentage of players — 80.9% — had abnormal vitamin D levels of less than 32 ng/mL," said lead author Michael K. Shindle, MD, an orthopaedic surgeon from Summit Medical Group, in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey.

In addition, all players sustaining injuries that caused them to miss at least 1 practice or game had vitamin D levels that were significantly lower than players without muscle injury, he said.

"Among the 18% of players who sustained a muscle injury in the previous season, all had statistically significant lower vitamin D levels, compared with those without muscle injury. There were no other statistically significant differences between those who did and did not sustain the injuries."

Enjoy your morning!

California's Adult Smoking Rate Falls to 11.9% = A Record Low

Debi Austin started smoking at age 13. By the time she was in college, she smoked three packs a day. Debi was diagnosed with cancer of the larynx at age 42. She underwent successful surgery to remove the tumor, but unfortunately her vocal cords were removed as well. Debi had to learn to speak again. Four years after her surgery, while participating in a Laryngectomee's support group, Debi was approached by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) to film an anti-tobacco ad. Debi initially declined, but was eventually motivated to accept because of her desire that her 4-year old niece not follow in her footsteps. Four months after filming the ad and before it aired publically, Debi quit smoking for good

Good for Debi and good for California.

California's numbers are down, but this time it's a good thing. The state's adult smoking rate is at a record low, with just 11.9 percent of adults lighting up.

Smoking rates are down across gender, ethnic and age groups in California -- although men, African-Americans and people age 25 to 44 still have the highest rates in their respective categories.

But the lower adult smoking rate is a milestone for the Golden State.

"We've now reached a 50 percent decline from 1988, when the Tobacco Tax Initiative went into effect," said Colleen Stevens, chief of the Tobacco Control Branch of California's Department of Public Health, referring to adult smokers.

The Tobacco Tax Initiative, also known as Proposition 99, levied a 25-cent tax on every pack of cigarettes sold in California. Part of those taxes funded the state's Tobacco Control Program, which aims to reduce tobacco use and improve the health of every Californian.

The program is entirely paid for by Proposition 99. And as the number of smokers in California has declined, so has its funding. "But, our job is to put ourselves out of business," said Stevens, who has been with Tobacco Control since its start 20 years ago.

She points to the resulting benefits, including programs conducted and supported by these funds saving Californians $86 billion in health care costs.

This is very encouraging. Seeing the number of people smoking here in Indiana, there is much work to do for a healthier America.

Movie Industry Snuffing Out On-Screen Smoking

Actor Humphrey Bogart

Well, it is about time.

A new study shows three film companies have drastically reduced smoking from their movies aimed at children and teens.

The three companies have in recent years adopted policies to cut on-screen tobacco use. Over the past five years, scenes involving tobacco dropped from an average of 23 to one per film and most of their youth movies had no smoking at all.

At companies without policies, the decline was less — from an average of 18 to 10 incidents per film.

In all top-grossing movies, the researchers said Thursday that smoking continued to drop last year.

Studies suggest that movies influence early decisions about smoking. Experts say the more times average teens see smoking on film, the higher the odds they will try tobacco.

There is no need for censorship but voluntary restraint especially with regards to children's movies has been needed for a long time. Smoking is a fact of life but less in frequency than it has been portrayed in the past.

This is a far better approach than having the government displaying scary images of people with cigarettes coming out of their necks.

The Afternoon Drill: July 12, 2011

A collection of dentistry and health related links/comments for your day.

Is Mom’s Cigarette Use a Smoking Gun for Birth Defects?

Smoking during pregnancy isn’t good for a number of reasons: It’s linked to a greater risk of miscarriage, small babies and premature birth.

Now you can add to that list a greater risk of birth defects, according to a new study in the journal Human Reproduction Update.

There has long been speculation that maternal smoking might be tied to birth defects, but previous studies weren’t large enough to conclusively show that there was a relationship, according to Allan Hackshaw, an author of the study and deputy director of Cancer Research U.K. & University College London Cancer Trials Center.

To investigate the link with greater certainty, Hackshaw and his colleagues decided to look at accumulated data from 50 years of published research. Their data showed that babies whose mothers smoked during pregnancy had a 25% to 30% increased risk of birth defects — including clubfoot, facial clefts and hernias –  compared to babies whose mothers didn’t smoke.

The increased risk of  is similar in magnitude to increased risk of developing lung cancer due to second-hand smoke, according to Hackshaw, though the overall risk of having a baby with a birth defect is low.

“With regards to the low absolute risk in pregnancy, one could argue: Why take the chance over something as important as a pregnancy?” Hackshaw tells the Health Blog via email.

Experts grow whole tooth units using mouse stem cells

Scientists in Japan said on Wednesday they have created teeth -- complete with connective fibers and bones -- by using mouse stem cells and successfully transplanted them into mice, a step they hope will lead to progress in stem cell research.

The entire tooth units, which were inserted into lower jaws of mice, attached successfully with jaw bones and the rats were able to chew normally, the researchers wrote in a paper in PLoS One (Public Library of Science).

"The bioengineered teeth were fully functional ... there was no trouble (with) biting and eating food after transplantation," wrote Masamitsu Oshima, assistant professor at the Research Institute for Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science.

The researchers hope this is a step to help the development of new human organs grown from a patient's own cells.

High salt + low potassium = early death: study

Put down the salt shakers. Eating too much salt and too little potassium can increase the risk of death, U.S. government researchers said on Monday.

The findings from a team at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are a counterpoint to a fiercely-debated study released last week that found no evidence that making small cuts in salt intake lowers the risk of heart disease and premature death.

"Salt is still bad for you," said Dr. Thomas Farley, Health Commissioner for New York City, which is leading a campaign to reduce salt in restaurant and packaged foods by 25 percent over five years.

Most health experts agree with Farley that consuming too much salt is not good for you and that cutting salt intake can reduce high blood pressure, which raises the risk of heart attack and stroke. Salt intake has been rising since the 1970s, with Americans consuming about twice the recommended daily limit.

Mobile Dental Websites

Moms with kids spend, on average, 6.1 hours per day seeking information online using their smartphones.

With that in mind grab your smart phone and look up your practice:

Was it easy to find your practice? That is do you show up on maps or search or can the prospective patient only find you by typing in a specific URL?

Prospective patients are looking for specific information in order to make a decision about your practice:

•     Doctor details
•     Staff Profiles
•     Phone link
•     Location and directions

Enjoy your day!

The Afternoon Drill: July 11, 2011

A collection of dentistry and health related links/comments for your day.

Shortage of Physicians, APNs, PAs Predicted for 2025

Advanced practice nurses (APNs) and physician assistants (PAs) are frequently touted as the solution to the physician shortage, but there will not be enough of all 3 professionals combined to meet the nation's healthcare needs in 2025, according to a study published in the June issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.

Lead author Michael Sargen, a medical student at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and coauthors write that although the United States needs to expand the workforce of these 3 types of "advanced clinicians," healthcare personnel with less training must assume more patient care responsibilities, especially as more Americans gain insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act.

Right now, the nation fields close to 300 advanced clinicians for every 100,000 Americans. That number is roughly 7% less than needed, based on the demand for services, which the authors extrapolate from healthcare spending. The authors write that if training programs for PAs and APNs — which include nurse practitioners — grow as currently projected while physician residency programs fail to expand, the per capita supply of advanced clinicians in 2025 will resemble the current level.

However, the workforce of 2025 in this scenario will be 20% less than needed because of burgeoning demand for services. The authors cite government studies that forecast a 65% increase in healthcare spending from 2009 to 2025 based on its historic growth rate of 2.5% above the growth of the gross domestic product (GDP).

The healthcare reform law aims to reduce that growth rate to 1% above GDP, the authors write, but even if reformers hit this target, demand for services will still outstrip the supply of advanced clinicians.

Coauthor Richard Cooper, MD, an authority on physician workforce issues and a professor at the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics at the University of Pennsylvania, chalks up the continued rise in spending not only to costly technologies but also to the sheer proliferation of new therapies.

"Research is finding ways to treat diseases that were once untreatable," Dr. Cooper told Medscape Medical News. "We once didn't treat lung cancer. Now we do. We don't treat Alzheimer's disease now, but we will in the future."

Quitting Smoking When Newly Pregnant Same as Never Smoking

Women with a newly confirmed pregnancy now have extra incentive to quit smoking, according to the results of the largest study to date looking at the effect of smoking on pregnancy outcomes.

"There's now a second clear message," said senior investigator Nick Macklon, MD, professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Southampton and director of the Complete Fertility Centre, also in Southampton, United Kingdom.

"Not only that smoking is bad for pregnancy, but...women who take the effort to stop even as late as when their pregnancy has been confirmed can achieve birth weights which are the same as if they had never smoked."

Dental worker admits plot to steal customers' personal info to get credit cards

A worker at a dental business faces up to a year in federal prison after she admitted giving customers' personal information to a relative who used it to get credit cards in her name.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Claudine Jones of Cahokia pleaded guilty Friday in U.S. District Court in East St. Louis to conspiracy and making a false statement.

As part of her plea, Jones admitted supplying a cousin with personal information about roughly 10 Dental Network of America customers.

Those details, including Social Security numbers and birthdates, then were used by someone to get five credit cards on which $3,700 was charged.

Dental Hygienist named Miss Massachusetts 2011

Molly Whalen, 20, of Middleboro, was selected as Miss Massachusetts 2011 Saturday at the 72nd annual Miss Massachusetts Scholarship Pageant in Worcester.

Competing as Miss Taunton, she was chosen from among 15 contestants at the Hanover Theatre. She will receive more than $8,500 in scholarships, and will compete at the Miss America Pageant in January in Las Vegas.

Whalen is a 2011 graduate of Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Science, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in dental hygiene. A 2008 graduate of Coyle and Cassidy High School in Taunton, she is the daughter of Robert and Maureen Whalen of Middleboro.

During her year of service, she will highlight her platform "Smart Smiles: Promoting the Importance of Oral Health" as well as promoting The Children's Miracle Network Hospitals, the national platform of the Miss America Organization.

Enjoy your afternoon!

The Morning Drill: June 22, 2011

A collection of dentistry and health related links/comments to start your day.

Dental start-up takes page from Groupon's playbook

With daily deal websites such as Groupon and Living Social flourishing, the format was sure to come to products in the dental industry. And while Groupon has strayed into the realm of selling dental services with mixed results, BiteDownDeals is exclusively offering daily deals on dental supplies.

"We're the first and only daily deal website that's dedicated to dentists and dental professionals," Alon Swartz, president of BiteDownDeals, told DrBicuspid.com.

Launched on April 19, the California-based e-commerce company has sold 23 different products to date, initially selling one per week until settling into the daily offering pattern on June 1.

"What we're looking to do is address those products that most offices use and reuse month in and month out," Swartz said. "We sell a lot of disposables, although we've done a little bit of equipment."

The process is simple. Each day, starting at 12:01 a.m., a new product becomes available at BiteDownDeals' website. Much like Groupon.com, the market price, sale price, percentage of the discount, and a countdown clock displaying how much time is left before the deal expires are displayed. Features known to Groupon users are also present on BiteDownDeals' site. A membership or user name is not required to make a purchase, although creating one streamlines the purchasing process during subsequent purchases.

Each day, an email blast goes out to all members announcing what product is available that day. "For example, today they got an email saying today's bite down deal is film," Swartz said. "Everything is opted-in so we're not spamming or emailing anyone who hasn't asked to get the emails." Previous products have included a Clearfil SE bond kit (Kuraray), Ketac-Silver Aplicap (3M ESPE), and an ART-P4 piezo electric scaler (Bonart Medical Technology).

Smoking Addiction Risk Doubled in Obese vs Nonobese Girls

Compared with nonobese adolescent girls, obese adolescent girls have more than twice the risk for high-level nicotine addiction in young adulthood, according to the results of a survey study reported online June 21 in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

"As we address the issue of obesity, it is important to prevent poor medical outcomes, but we must also recognize the risk for these psychosocial outcomes and support and counsel teens appropriately," said lead author Aliya Esmail Hussaini, MD, MSc, from the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation in Austin, Texas, in a story by Laura Kennedy, from the Health Behavior News Service, part of the Center for Advancing Health.

The hypotheses tested by this study were that obese adolescent girls would be at increased risk for nicotine addiction in young adulthood, and that this association would be modulated by specific individual and social variables.

Smoking, Prostate Cancer a Deadly Mix

Smokers diagnosed with prostate cancer are more likely to have the cancer recur after treatment and are more likely to die than non-smokers, a new study says.

The study included 5,366 men in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study who were diagnosed with prostate cancer between 1986 and 2006. There were 1,630 deaths in this group of men, including 524 (32 percent) from prostate cancer and 416 (26 percent) from cardiovascular disease. There were 878 cases of prostate cancer "biochemical recurrence," the researchers said.

Compared with non-smokers, smokers had an increased risk of biochemical recurrence and were more likely to die from prostate cancer, cardiovascular disease and all causes. A greater number of cigarette pack-years was associated with an increased risk of death from prostate cancer, cardiovascular disease and all causes, but was not linked with biochemical recurrence, the researchers said.

The risk of death from prostate cancer for men who had quit smoking for 10 or more years was similar to that of men who never smoked.

The study appears in the June 22-29 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Enjoy your morning drill!

Food and Drug Administration Will Require More Graphic Cigarette Health Warnings to Deter Smoking

The different images, to be shown on packs of cigarettes beginning in 2012, have been opposed by the tobacco industry

I really don't think attempting to scare folks not to smoke will work. People always think it will NOT happen to them after they get addicted.

Federal health officials released on Tuesday their final selection of nine graphic warning labels to cover the top half of cigarette packages beginning next year, over the opposition of tobacco manufacturers.

In the first major change to warning labels in more than a quarter-century, the graphic images will include photographs of horribly damaged teeth and lungs and a man exhaling smoke through a tracheotomy opening in his neck. The Department of Health and Human Services selected nine color images among 36 proposed to accompany larger text warnings.

Health advocacy groups praised the government plan in the hope that images would shock and deter new smokers and motivate existing smokers to quit.

The images are to cover the upper half of the front and back of cigarette packages produced after September 2012, as well as 20 percent of the space in cigarette advertisements.

“These labels are frank, honest and powerful depictions of the health risks of smoking, and they will help encourage smokers to quit, and prevent children from smoking,” Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of health and human services, said Tuesday in a statement.

The four leading tobacco companies were all threatening legal action, saying the images would unfairly hurt their property and free-speech rights by obscuring their brand names in retail displays, demonizing the companies and stigmatizing smokers.

Here is another one of the warning messages - it is pretty graphic.

The California Department of Health has been running television ads for some time with graphic images. If it gets some folks to quit - great. But, I don't think it will have much affect.

A few smokers surveyed on New York sidewalks were unswayed by the images. Khariton Popilevsky, 46, a pawnbroker, shrugged and said: “Telling me things we already know. I’ll still be smoking.”

Hayley Sapp, 28, a paralegal, said: “There are lots of other high risks out there, you know. Obesity is huge.”

Saiful Islam, 34, a convenience store clerk, said higher prices would cut sales a lot more than the images on cigarette packs.

The rate of smoking has already decreased since I was a boy and it would benefit the public health if more people would quit.

The rate of smoking in America has been cut roughly in half, to about 20 percent, from 42 percent in 1965, but health officials say progress has stalled. Smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death, killing 443,000 Americans a year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Each day, an estimated 4,000 youths try their first cigarette, and 1,000 a day will become regular smokers, the government says.

So, if you smoke quit. If you don't smoke, don't start.

More Effective Treatments for Gum Disease in Smokers On the Way?

An example of chronic periodontitis (gum disease)

Smokers have been especially at risk for gum disease and now the mechanisms of smoking's effects on the gingiva (gums) and oral microorganisms is better understood.

This understanding will pave the way for more effective treatments.

Scientists in the USA have discovered why smokers may be more prone to chronic gum disease (periodontitis). One of the bacteria responsible for this infection responds to cigarette smoke – changing its properties and the way it infects a smokers mouth.

The study published recently in the Society for Applied Microbiology journal Environmental Microbiology, showed that the bacterium Porphyromonas gingivalis adapts and changes its DNA and membrane proteins in response to cigarette smoke.

Several genes of P. gingivalis associated with its virulence (infectivity), detoxification, oxidative stress mechanisms and DNA repair are altered by exposure to cigarette smoke. As a result, the expression of a number of the proteins in the cell membrane is changed. This affects important characteristics of the bacterial cells themselves and how the immune system recognizes this pathogen.

This could explain why smokers are more likely to be resistant to treatment for periodontitis and are more susceptible to oral disease caused by infection with P. gingivalis.

Finding an effective treatment for smokers infected with P. gingivalis will be easier now that these changes in the bacterium's 'properties' have been identified.

University of Louisville researcher, Dr David Scott said: "It has long been known that smokers are more susceptible to periodontitis than are non-smokers. However, the reasons why are not so clear. Our study shows, for the first time, that components in cigarette smoke alter key characteristics of a major bacterial pathogen which, subsequently, changes how our immune system reacts to it. It may turn out that we need to develop alternate treatment plans for smokers and non-smokers".

Of course, the best treatment is to stop smoking.

But, for those patients that cannot quit or whose periodontium has already been partially destroyed, there is some hope for them to keep their natural teeth.

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