|
|
|
Executive Director's Report Happy New Year! It is an exciting time on Capitol Hill and at the NIH as leaders present new legislation--and healthcare is prominently listed on the agenda. The Friends have an exciting 2007 planned with extraordinary programs aimed at raising oral health research awareness. From the Congressional Oral Health Caucus to the Patients Advocacy Capitol Hill Day, the message of continued federal investment in the NIH, and the NIDCR, is carried to decision-makers throughout the year. Enjoy another issue of the FNIDCR E-newsletter and visit the Friends website for the latest biomedical research news! Sincerely, Alec Stone NIDCR Science Update NIDCR Scientists Identify Enzyme Involved in Tumor Angiogenesis In the early 1970s, Dr. Judah Folkman first proposed that after reaching a critical mass, tumor cells must induce nearby blood vessels to grow into the tumor and deliver the needed supply of nutrients to fuel their continued growth. Although largely ignored at the time, Folkman's concept of tumor angiogenesis now is a cornerstone of cancer research and has led to the identification of numerous angiogenic proteins. Among them is the protein Semaphorin 4D, or Sema4D. Recent studies indicate that many human tumors overexpress this protein specifically to promote the growth of blood vessels. The process works like this: Sema4D first binds to its receptor on the surface of blood vessel lining endothelial cells. Thereafter, an enzyme cleaves Sema4D free from its receptor, allowing the protein to matriculate to nearby endothelial cells and induce them to branch into new blood vessels. As published online on January 4 in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, NIDCR scientists have identified the enzyme that cleaves Sema4D free from its receptor, an important lead in further delineating and potentially blocking the process. The enzyme, called MT1-MMP, is tethered to the cell membrane, where it first helps to process Sema4D and then cleaves it loose. The scientists found that MT1-MMP was present in several head and neck tumor cells but, interestingly, was not expressed in normal epithelial cells lines. To read more about this paper, click here. Suppression of Programmed Cell Death in Salivary Gland According to American Cancer Society estimates, nearly 31,000 Americans were diagnosed with head and neck cancer this year. As part of their treatment, most were referred to a radiation oncologist to have the area in and around the tumor irradiated twice daily for up to seven weeks. The problem is salivary glands often are clustered within the field of treatment. The ambient radiation severely damages the glands, and studies indicate that the typical head-and-neck cancer patient has up to a 60-percent reduction in salivary flow during the first week of treatment alone. Often their remaining saliva has a ropy, viscous quality, and patients must battle with a parched and/or burning oral sensation, difficulty chewing and swallowing, halitosis, and a range of other unwanted side effects. As researchers have formulated new strategies to spare the salivary glands during treatment, they continue to grapple with a key biological question: Do a large percentage of salivary gland cells respond to the excess radiation by triggering apoptotic pathways and committing suicide? If so, it may be possible to suppress the suicide signals during radiation treatment and allow more cells in the salivary glands to survive. In the December issue of the journal Molecular and Cellular Biology, a team of NIDCR grantees and colleagues add needed new molecular details to a potential cell-suicide suppression signal. In studies with transgenic mice, the scientists first showed that gamma irradiation does indeed induce apoptosis of the saliva-producing acinar cells of the parotid and submandibular salivary glands. They then found that salivary cells that expressed an active form of the enzyme Akt1 can chemically stop the much-studied gatekeeper protein p53 from signaling apoptosis. Akt phosphorylates and stabilizes MDM2 which results in lower levels of p53. The drop in p53 activity results in lower expression of genes involved in the apoptotic process. Interestingly, if the active form of Akt1 protein was expressed but the scientists reduced the levels of MDM2, they found that the salivary acinar cells were susceptible to drug-induced apoptosis. This indicates that MDM2 is "a critical substrate" of activated Akt1 in suppressing p53 signaled apoptosis. To read more about this study by Limesand, Anderson, et al., click here. Scientists Discover How Maternal Smoking Can Cause Cleft Lip and Palate Scientists supported by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), part of the National Institutes of Health, report that women who smoke during pregnancy and carry a fetus whose DNA lacks both copies of a gene involved in detoxifying cigarette smoke substantially increase their baby's chances of being born with a cleft lip and/or palate. According to the scientists, about a quarter of babies of European ancestry and possibly up to 60 percent of those of Asian ancestry lack both copies of the gene called GSTT1. Based on their data, published in the January issue of the "American Journal of Human Genetics", the scientists calculated that if a pregnant woman smokes 15 cigarettes or more per day, the chances of her GSTT1-lacking fetus developing a cleft increase nearly 20 fold. Globally, about 12 million women each year smoke through their pregnancies. Dr. Jeff Murray, a scientist at the University of Iowa and senior author of the study, noted that parents who are considering having a child and need added motivation for the mother to quit smoking might one day be tested to determine their GSTT1 status. Because the fetus inherits its genes from both mother and father, the test would determine the likelihood of the baby developing without the GSTT1 gene to detoxify the cigarette smoke. "A test that indicates the GSTT1 gene is present certainly would not eliminate a baby's risk of a cleft because many other genetic and environmental factors can be involved." said Murray. "But the opposite result would give the mother one more compelling reason to quit smoking for her own health and for the sake of her child." In the United States, about one in every 750 babies is born with isolated, also called nonsyndromic, cleft lip and/or palate. The condition is correctable but typically requires several surgeries. Families often undergo tremendous emotional and economic hardship during the process, and children frequently require many other services, including complex dental care and speech therapy. Murray and his collaborators continue their genetic analyses. "We now have data from about 350 genes on this cohort of families," he said. "It's certainly a more complicated analysis to perform, but we're working our way through it and hope to have some very interesting data in the months ahead." The article is titled "Orofacial Cleft Risk is Increased with Maternal Smoking and Specific Detoxification-Gene Variants," and is published in the January 2007 issue of the "American Journal of Human Genetics". The authors are Min Shi, Kaare Christensen, Clarice R. Weinberg, Paul Romitti, Lise Bathum, Anthony Lozada, Richard W. Morris, Michael Lovett, and Jeffrey C.Murray. For the full story, visit www.nih.gov/news/pr/jan2007/nidcr-03.htm NIH News NIH Director Zerhouni Addresses NIH Reform Act of 2006 From Elias A. Zerhouni, M.D., Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) I am pleased to announce that the President signed the National Institutes of Health Reform Act of 2006 on January 15, 2007. This follows bipartisan support by the Congress. The Act affirms the importance of the NIH and its vital role in advancing biomedical research to improve the health of the Nation. This is only the third omnibus reauthorization in the NIH's history, and the first in 14 years. We have initiated an implementation process at NIH to carry out the new legislation. The work is already under way. I have formed an Ad Hoc Working Group of the NIH Steering Committee, to be chaired by the NIH Deputy Director, Dr. Raynard Kington, and comprising Institute and Center (IC) Directors and leadership in legislation, policy, management, communications, extramural and intramural activities, budget, and the Office of the General Counsel, to make recommendations on the implementation of the legislation. The Ad Hoc Working Group will be charged to complete a careful, detailed analysis of the legislation and propose plans for its implementation that will aid the NIH in serving the public and our scientific community more effectively. Key provisions in the Act include items related to (1) the Division of Program Coordination, Planning and Strategic Initiatives; (2) the Common Fund; (3) the Council of Councils; (4) the Scientific Management Review Board; (5) Authorization of Appropriations; (6) Reorganization; and (7) Reporting.
Reports will be required from each institution receiving an NIH award for the training of graduate students for doctoral degrees. ICs will also be required to report to the Director of NIH on the amount of that IC's budget made available for trans-NIH research. Detailed information about these elements and others is available on the Web at www.nih.gov/about/reauthorization/. This affirmation from Congress and the President has come at a critical time, and we want to ensure that we take the best possible advantage of this opportunity. We will be communicating with the community regularly as we make progress in this process. Elias A. Zerhouni, M.D. NIH Director NIH 2007 Fiscal Operations Plan Announced Faced with a markedly increased number of applications and applicants for grant support at a time of flat budgets with no inflationary adjustments, NIH is taking immediate proactive steps in fiscal year 2007 to manage its portfolio of investments in biomedical research. NIH is committed to buttressing core areas of vulnerability, such as the ability of new investigators to compete for support in these difficult financial times, and protecting our investment in well-established investigators with little or no other significant support. In addition, NIH is adjusting the number of competing Research Project Grants (RPG) that will be awarded, with the goal of stabilizing to the extent possible the yearly variation in number of awards that are made. Complete information including priorities and operating guidelines is available in the NIH Fiscal Policy for Grant Awards--Fiscal Year 2007 notice published December 15 in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts. In addition, NIH is currently operating under a continuing resolution (CR) at fiscal year 2006 budget levels. The CR will be in effect until February 15, 2007 and possibly longer. Under this resolution, NIH will continue to make non-competing awards at 80 percent of previously committed levels. When NIH receives its appropriation for fiscal year 2007, these awards will be adjusted. If you have specific questions about your award, please contact the grants management specialist identified in your Notice of Grant Award. For all other questions please write to us at DDER@NIH.gov. Patient Advocacy Spotlight: The Hispanic Dental Association The Hispanic Dental Association is the only national organization of dental professionals dedicated to promoting and improving the oral health of the Hispanic community and providing advocacy for Hispanic oral health professionals across the United States. We work with a wide spectrum of individuals to improve education, foster research and communicate to Hispanic and non-Hispanic dental professionals and the community at large about oral health issues specific to the Hispanic community. Hispanics are the fastest growing population in the USA. The 2000 Census has shown an increase of Hispanics in America of 58 percent from 1990 to the 2000 number of 35.3 million. This increased growth pattern creates two crucial factors:
Hispanics present specific health problems. The prevalence of disease is higher than white non-Hispanics. Some interesting factors that may be related to disease, including oral disease, are tobacco and alcohol consumption as well as dietary preferences. These may contribute to diabetes mellitus, chronic liver diseases and oral and pharyngeal cancer. The Hispanic Dental Association was established in 1990 by 10 Hispanic dental professionals. A national organization, its membership now covers all states in the US and is heaviest in those states with large Hispanic populations. Members include Hispanic professionals and non-Hispanics; dentists and dental hygienists, dental assistants, dental technologists, academics and practicing professionals, students, researchers. A vast spectrum of individuals with a wide range of focus have gathered to create an organization dedicated to improving the oral health of our Hispanic population. For more information on HAD, please visit www.hdassoc.org Patients With Cleft Conditions Can Prevent Tooth Decay By Adopting Oral Hygiene Strategies Newswise -- A child with cleft lip/palate faces predisposing factors to acquiring dental tooth decay. A new study reviews the literature and provides strategies for early prevention. The study is published in the latest Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal. Cleft lip/palate is the most common congenital craniofacial abnormality, affecting 1 in every 700 newborns. Patients with cleft conditions generally display poorer oral hygiene and high susceptibility to caries, or tooth decay, because of the difficulty in achieving adequate plaque control associated with dental anomalies and defects. Therefore, it is key that parents and their children with clefts learn and practice effective oral hygiene. The study's researchers presented eight strategies for early prevention. They are:
By beginning even before birth, patients with cleft lip/palate can lessen the chance of dental caries by adopting the above strategies. Preventive dental care is even more important in patients with cleft problems compared with patients without clefts. To read the entire study, click here: www.allenpress.com/pdf/cpcj_44_309_67_72.pdf The Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal is the bimonthly journal of the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association. For more information, visit www.cpcjournal.org. New Screening Process Helps Better Diagnose Oral Cancers Newswise -- Patients with early stage oral cancer may benefit from a more advanced screening process allowing for a more accurate diagnosis, according to a study presented at the plenary session today at the Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium in Rancho Mirage, Calif., co-sponsored by the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology, the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the American Head and Neck Society. "By combining conventional techniques with more modern techniques, we were able to better diagnose and determine the best options for patients with oral cancer," said J.B. Epstein, lead author of the study and Professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago. "This approach to diagnosing oral cancer may lead to easier identification of serious pathology, significantly lessening the need for unnecessary biopsies without additional risk of false negatives." Patients with early stage oral cancer are typically examined by their doctor for suspicious areas in the mouth and throat area. Doctors in this study wanted to test the value of two diagnostic aids in evaluating lesions in the oral cavity. Chemiluminescent light, or brand name Vizilite and toluidine blue, a pharmaceutical grade dye, were used in addition to the conventional, visual and manual observations of the patient. Patients were given routine visual examinations under incandescent light for suspicious lesions. The lesions that were deemed suspicious were then assessed with Vizilite, followed by the toluidine blue dye and then biopsied. Doctors then compared the findings from the conventional exam to the advanced, illumination and stain exam. This study found that of the 84 patients studied, Vizilite improved either the brightness or sharpness of the identified lesions by 61 percent. Only biopsing lesions which retained the toluidine blue stain reduced the false positive rate by nearly 59 percent while maintaining zero false negatives. For more information on radiation therapy for head and neck cancer, visit www.rtanswers.org. The abstract, "Analysis of Oral Mucosal Biopsies Identified and Evaluated by Visual Examination, Chemiluminescense and Toluidine Blue," will be presented at the plenary session on January 19, 2007. Link Found Between Periodontal Disease and Pancreatic Cancer Newswise -- Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the U.S.; more than 30,000 Americans are expected to die from the disease this year. It is an extremely difficult cancer to treat and little is known about what causes it. One established risk factor in pancreatic cancer is cigarette smoking; other links have been made to obesity, diabetes type 2 and insulin resistance. In a new study, researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute found that periodontal disease was associated with an increased risk of cancer of the pancreas. The study will appear in the January 17, 2007 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. "Our study provides the first strong evidence that periodontal disease may increase the risk of pancreatic cancer. This finding is of significance as it may provide some new insights into the mechanism of this highly fatal disease," said lead author Dominique Michaud, assistant professor of epidemiology at HSPH. Data for the new study came from the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, which began in 1986 and includes 51,529 U.S. men working in the health professions. Participants respond to questionnaires about their health every two years. After analyzing the data, the researchers confirmed 216 cases of pancreatic cancer between 1986 and 2002; of those, 67 reported periodontal disease. The results showed that, after adjusting for age, smoking, diabetes, body mass index and a number of other factors, men with periodontal disease had a 63% higher risk of developing pancreatic cancer compared to those reporting no periodontal disease. "Most convincing was our finding that never-smokers had a two-fold increase in risk of pancreatic cancer," said Michaud. One possible explanation for the results is that inflammation from periodontal disease may promote cancer of the pancreas. "Individuals with periodontal disease have elevated serum biomarkers of systemic inflammation, such as C-reactive protein, and these may somehow contribute to the promotion of cancer cells," she said. This study was supported by grants from the National Cancer Institute. "A Prospective Study of Periodontal Disease and Pancreatic Cancer in U.S. Male Health Professionals," Dominique S. Michaud, Kaumudi Joshipura, Edward Giovannucci, Charles S. Fuchs, JNCI, 2007; 99:1-5 Health Tips on Fluoride and Teeth Newswise -- Fluoride can make your teeth stronger and reduce the risk of developing cavities. The preventive potential of fluoride is one of the major advances in dentistry in the last century. But how much is enough? If you haven't had cavities in the last few years, the combination of brushing with fluoride toothpaste twice daily and drinking optimally fluoridated water should give you sufficient exposure, according to the January issue of Mayo Clinic Health Letter. Too much fluoride can cause spots on your teeth. But if you're at higher risk -- having had cavities recently, a water supply with low fluoride or a problem such as dry mouth that can lead to tooth decay -- your dentist also may recommend using fluoride treatments at home or a professional application of fluoride gel two to four times a year. Fluoride tablets may help young children, but they've not been proven to help adults after enamel has formed. For more information about Mayo Clinic Health Letter visit HealthLetter.MayoClinic.com. National Maternal and Child Oral Health Resource Center Initiatives The National Maternal and Child Oral Health Resource Center (OHRC) is pleased to announce the availability of two new resources. The Maternal Oral Health Resource Guide is designed to assist health professionals, educators, program administrators, and others working to promote and improve the oral health of pregnant women, infants, and young children. The guide is divided into three sections: journal articles that appeared in the literature between January 2004 and November 2006; materials, such as curricula, fact sheets, guidelines, reports, and audiovisual materials; and organizations, such as federal agencies, professionals associations, and policy centers that may serve as additional resources. The guide is available online at www.mchoralhealth.org/PDFs/maternalguide.pdf Oral Health Resource Bulletin: Volume XVI is the latest in a series designed to stimulate thinking and creativity within the MCH community by providing information about current materials of interest. Materials listed in the bulletin address topics including dental sealants, early childhood caries, fluoride, oral injury and first aid, strategic planning, Head Start, and Medicaid. The bulletin is available online at www.mchoralhealth.org/PDFs/ResBltnXVI.pdf Single or multiple print copies of these publications are available at no charge from the HRSA Information Center, P.O. Box 2910, Merrifield, VA 22116, phone: (888) ASK-HRSA (275-4772), fax: (703) 821-2098, e-mail: ask@hrsa.gov, Web site: www.ask.hrsa.gov. Funding Opportunities Clarification of Research Objectives for PAR-06-246, NIDCR Exploratory and Developmental Grants in Clinical Research (R21) (NOT-DE-07-001) Neuroimaging Informatics Software Enhancement for Improved Interoperability and Dissemination (R03) (RFA-EB-07-002) Clinical Studies of Bisphosphonate Therapy and Osteonecrosis of the Jaws (R01) (PA-07-185) Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Pathophysiology and Treatment (R03) (PA-07-263) Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Pathophysiology and Treatment (R21) (PA-07-264) Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Pathophysiology and Treatment (R01) (PA-07-265) Networks and Pathways Collaborative Research Projects (R01) (PA-07-266) Collaborations with National Centers for Biomedical Computing (R01) (PAR-07-249) Exploratory Collaborations with National Centers for Biomedical Computing (R21) (PAR-07-250) Notice of Intent to Participate in the High Priority, Short-Term Project Award (R56) NOT-OD-04-047 (NOT-DE-07-002) Nanoscience and Nanotechnology in Biology and Medicine (R01) (PAR-07-033) Nanoscience and Nanotechnology in Biology and Medicine (R21) (PAR-07-034) Nanoscience and Nanotechnology in Biology and Medicine (R01) (PAR-07-270) Nanoscience and Nanotechnology in Biology and Medicine (R21) (PAR-07-271) Immunology of Biofilms (R01) (PA-07-288) Application of Metabolomics for Translational and Biological Research (R01) (PA-07-301) Application of Metabolomics for Translational and Biological Research (R21) (PA-07-302) Neurobiology of Migraine (R01) (PA-07-305) Neurobiology of Migraine (R21) (PA-07-306) |