|
|
|
The Friends of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (FNIDCR) online newsletter is a membership benefit. Permission is granted to repost this publication only with inclusion of the header. Past issues are posted on www.fnidcr.org/news.html Executive Director's Report The Friends of NIDCR is proud to help raise the profile of the extraordinary work generated by scientists in oral, dental, and craniofacial research. The treatments and cures originated from this research can transform the lives of those in need. Never far from the minds of the researchers are the people who continue to benefit from their breakthroughs. Many of those patients traveled to Washington, DC, last week to carry the unified message that continued federal investment in the NIH is essential. In a three-day event, the patient advocates spent their first day touring the NIH, hearing first hand from the scientific leadership about current research. The following day the advocates joined the dental academic elite in a daylong seminar, hearing from some of the Beltway’s best political prognosticators. On the last day of their trip, the advocates took the lessons and messages they learned to Capitol Hill, meeting with their US Representatives and Senators. This annual gathering is one of the highlight events of the Friends. The patient advocates raise oral health research and care awareness in ways only they can. Members of Congress respect the advocates' views and reflect upon their causes. We thank those advocates who continue to lead, taking their valuable time to educate our decision-makers on the importance of oral health research. Sincerely, Alec Stone NIDCR Science News View the NIDCR Director's Presentation: Facing the Future--The State of NIDCR NIDCR Requests FY 2009 Research Initiatives Input NIDCR to Issue Request for Applications (RFA) for Centers for Research to Reduce Disparities in Oral Health Job Opening: NIDCR Deputy Scientific Director NIH News Barbara Alving Named Director of NIH's National Center for Research Resources The NCRR budget of greater than $1 billion will enable investigators throughout the country to conduct research that ranges from basic and clinical projects to community outreach and education. NCRR funding provides training and research opportunities at minority institutions and colleges, as well as in academic centers located in states that are challenged by distance and low or often rural populations. A native of Indiana and a graduate of Purdue University, Dr. Alving earned her medical degree -- cum laude -- from Georgetown University School of Medicine, where she also served as an intern in internal medicine. She completed her residency training, followed by a research fellowship in hematology at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. She began her research career as a Public Health Officer in the Division of Blood and Blood Products at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on the NIH campus. Dr. Alving then joined the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, where she served at the rank of colonel as the Chief of the Department of Hematology and Vascular Biology. In 1997, Dr. Alving became the Chief of the Section of Hematology and Oncology at the Washington Hospital Center in Washington D.C. In 1999, she joined the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) as the Director of the Division of Blood Diseases and Resources. She then became the NHLBI Deputy Director and Acting Director while also serving as the Director of the Women's Health Initiative (2002-2006). In 2005, Dr. Zerhouni tapped her to be the Acting Director of NCRR. A Professor of Medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Dr. Alving is also a Master in the American College of Physicians, a former member of the subcommittee on Hematology of the American Board of Internal Medicine, and a previous member of the FDA Blood Products Advisory Committee. Before joining NIH, she served on the Hematology Study Section for NIH and was a member of the NHLBI Clinical Trials Review Committee. She currently serves the NIH Director as the official NIH liaison for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and is a member of the Advisory Board for Clinical Research at the NIH Clinical Center. She is a recipient of the American Society of Hematology award for outstanding service and also received a Commendable Service Award from the FDA for her work on hypotensive agents in albumin products. Her military honors include the U.S. Legion of Merit, awarded by the U.S. Army, for work that improved the care of soldiers in combat. She is a co-inventor on two patents, has edited three books, and has published more than 100 papers in the areas of thrombosis and hemostasis. NCRR provides laboratory scientists and clinical researchers with the environments and tools they need to understand, detect, treat, and prevent a wide range of diseases. Central to this effort, NCRR leads the Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) program - a national consortium of academic health centers that will transform the conduct of clinical and translational research to ensure that biomedical discoveries are rapidly translated into prevention strategies and clinical treatments for rare and common diseases. NIH Launches “We Can!” City Program To Prevent Childhood Obesity The first three cities to be selected for the program are:
NIH officials will present the mayor of each of the three inaugural cities a specially designed road sign: "We Can!" CityUSA -- Working with the National Institutes of Health to promote healthy weight, healthy children." The presentations are part of two-day regional events hosted by the NIH and local "We Can!" community sites in Indiana (April 30-May 1) and Georgia (May 3-4). Each event will be attended by 150 community leaders from more than a dozen states. The events will showcase the local efforts and feature national experts on the science-based curricula developed for youth and for parents to promote healthy lifestyles. "The National Institutes of Health developed "We Can!" to bring to our communities research-based information and strategies to teach children how to adopt behaviors that can help them maintain a healthy weight," notes NIH Director Elias Zerhouni, M.D. "Through the efforts of communities like South Bend, Gary, and Roswell, "we can" make a difference." As part of the "We Can!" City Program, NIH will provide technical assistance on planning and implementing "We Can!" in the participating cities, as well as materials such as parent handbooks, posters, videos, and the one-stop resource "We Can! Energize Our Community: Toolkit for Action." Each city has pledged to offer "We Can!" evidence-based obesity prevention programs to both parents and youth in collaboration with community-based partners. In addition, each city will distribute "We Can!" tips and information to city employees. Childhood overweight is a growing national epidemic. The percentage of children and teens who are overweight has more than doubled in the past 30 years, and today one in three children ages 2-19 are overweight or at risk of becoming overweight. Like adults, overweight youth are at risk for health problems such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, heart disease, and asthma. To help address these issues, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (www.nhlbi.nih.gov) developed We Can! in collaboration with three other NIH institutes: the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (www.niddk.nih.gov); the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (www.nichd.nih.gov); and the National Cancer Institute (www.nci.nih.gov). The program offers parents, health professionals, youth, and community groups evidence-based programs and activities to help children ages 8-13 maintain a healthy weight. "We Can!" focuses on "three" important behaviors: "improved" food choices, "increased" physical activity and "reduced" recreational screen time. For example, a curriculum for parents provides strategies for maintaining "energy balance," or the long-term balance between energy in (calories from food) and energy out (calories used through activity). Three curricula for youth teach important concepts such as controlling portion size, reading food labels, learning new physical activities, "weaning the screen" to reduce sedentary time, and learning how media can influence their food and physical activity choices. When "We Can!" launched in June 2005, 14 Intensive Community Sites, including the three inaugural "We Can!" Cities, were selected by the NIH to pilot the nationwide program. Today, 173 communities in 39 states have joined the "We Can!" effort as a "We Can!" community site. The "We Can!" City program extends communities' efforts in towns and cities committing to improving the health and well being of their youth by preventing childhood obesity. For more information on "We Can!", visit wecan.nhlbi.nih.gov or call toll-free 1-866-35-WeCan. NIH 2nd Annual Pain Consortium Symposium Patient Advocacy Spotlight: The Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma Research Foundation (ACCRF) The Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma Research Foundation (ACCRF) supports research into Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma that will improve therapies and accelerate a cure for the disease. Adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) is a rare cancer, typically originating in the salivary glands. Its course is both slow and persistent, leading to a relatively favorable prognosis on a five-year horizon, but a poor prognosis beyond 10 years, often due to metastasis to the lungs and liver. The Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma Research Foundation (ACCRF) will achieve its mission of curing ACC by building a community of interested researchers with a great plan of action: Build a community of interested researchers
Create an innovative plan of action
As a rare disease, adenoid cystic carcinoma poses unconventional problems for researchers. Funding is very limited and basic research infrastructure is difficult to obtain. Well-funded researchers of more common diseases may develop—independently and in competition with other labs -- the tumor banks, cell lines, animal models and laboratory equipment needed to support breakthroughs. ACC has no such luxury. Planned coordination is the last, best option. For more information, visit: www.accrf.org Salivary Diagnostic Device Shows Promise HHS News, April 11, 2007 The point-of-care test, one of several saliva-based diagnostic devices now under development with NIDCR support, one day in the future could become a common sight in the dentist's office. As envisioned by the researchers, a dentist would collect a small saliva sample with a patient's consent, load it into the diagnostic cartridge, start the assay, and have a read out waiting after a cleaning or a dental procedure has been completed. Called IMPOD, the device is described in the March 27 issue of the "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences." In the report, the scientists offer the results of proof of principle experiments in which IMPOD reliably measured the concentrations of MMP-8, an enzyme associated with chronic inflammation of the gums called periodontitis. Dr. Anup Singh, a chemical engineer at the Sandia National Laboratories in Livermore, Cal. and senior author on the paper, and his colleagues were intrigued a few years ago by the many potential advantages of saliva as a diagnostic fluid. These include easy collection, no painful needle sticks, portability of the tests, and potentially a lower cost to patients than blood assays. But they were initially daunted by the research task at hand. "Saliva is a mirror of blood, but with a caveat, said Singh. "It's not an exact mirror, meaning everything that is present in blood is present in saliva but at concentrations 1,000 to 10,000 times lower. It's diluted by saliva and the other secretions in the mouth. So we needed sensitivity 1,000 to 10,000 times better than we'd need if we were screening serum samples." Sensitivity refers to the lowest amount of an analyte that a test can detect. Singh said he and his colleagues chose to use a lab-on-a-chip device. The term refers in this case to a microchip, roughly the size of a laboratory slide, containing networks of tiny channels and chambers in which the salivary assay, or biochemical test, is performed. For the researchers, the challenge was to design the entire assay to fit into the microchip. The scientists also had to miniaturize the components required to run the microchip, such as the power supply and optical detection unit, and integrate them into a rapid, fully automated diagnostic system. The result is the IMPOD, short for Integrated Microfluidic Platform for Oral Diagnostics. The process begins with a series of microwells, each as distinct as fingers on a hand. One well holds the saliva sample, while the other wells contain cleansing buffering solution and antibodies that are preprogrammed to bind the specific protein of interest in saliva. The antibodies are tagged with a fluorescent dye that can be illuminated and measured at the end of the assay. With the punch of a button, the contents of the wells are released and merge into a single channel about 40 microns wide, or roughly the width of a human hair. As the mixture flows in these tight quarters, the antibodies readily find the proteins of interest, tag them, and continue forward to be trapped on a porous gel membrane that serves as a filter. "The bound proteins stack against the membrane because they are too big to squeeze through the pores," said Amy Herr, also at Sandia National Laboratories and lead author on the paper. "Conversely, the many smaller molecules in saliva flow right through the pores and are filtered out and routed to a waste chamber." Thereafter, a voltage reversal releases the trapped proteins from the gel. They continue down a channel, where a standard diode laser shines onto the fluorescent tags and quantifies the concentration of the protein in the sample. The dentist reads the result and determines whether the protein levels correlate with a given disease. To put their lab on a chip to the test, they collected saliva from 23 people -- 14 with periodontitis and nine in good oral health. Loading roughly one-tenth of a drop of saliva for analysis, the IMPOD processed the samples and produced a result in less than five minutes. The results showed that on average those in good oral health had lower concentrations of MMP, while people with periodontitis on average had elevated levels of the tissue-damaging enzyme. The results were confirmed with a standard ELISA blood test, currently the gold standard. "The data correlate nicely with those from other types of studies that show that MMP-8 is indicative of periodontitis," said Dr. William Giannobile, a researcher at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry in Ann Arbor. "There is every reason to believe additional biomarkers for periodontitis can be identified, as the work to catalogue salivary genes and proteins nears completion and our understanding of periodontal disease continues to advance." The researchers noted that IMPOD, although developed for saliva, could be used to test other diagnostic fluids such as blood and urine. Scientists Decode Genome of Oral Pathogen Newswise -- (April 5) Virginia Commonwealth University researchers have decoded the genome of a bacteria normally present in the healthy human mouth that can cause a deadly heart infection if it enters the bloodstream. The finding enables scientists to better understand the organism, Streptococcus sanguinis, and develop new strategies for treatment and infection prevention. S. sanguinis, a type of bacteria that is naturally present in the mouth, is among a variety of microorganisms responsible for the formation of dental plaque. In general, S. sanguinis is harmless. However, if it enters the bloodstream, possibly through a minor cut or wound in the mouth, it can cause bacterial endocarditis, a serious and often lethal infection of the heart. Decoding S. sanguinis, a streptococcal bacteria, will provide researchers with unique insight into its complex life cycle, metabolism and its ability to invade the host and cause bacterial endocarditis. "We can apply this information toward the design of new treatments and preventative strategies to protect against this disease," said lead investigator, Francis Macrina, Ph.D., VCU's vice president for research. "Analysis of the genome revealed a surprising number of proteins on the S. sanguinis cell surface that may be new targets for drugs or vaccines. We are already at work pursuing some of these leads." Although it is not directly associated with tooth decay or gum disease, S. sanguinis is a prominent member of dental plaque. "Genomic studies of this organism will also help us better understand the formation of dental plaque and the initiation of oral diseases," added Macrina. The findings were reported in the April 2007 issue of the Journal of Bacteriology, which is published by the American Society of Microbiology. This work was supported by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease. Macrina and Buck collaborated with other VCU researchers from the Philips Institute of Oral and Craniofacial Molecular Biology, the Center for the Study of Biological Complexity, the Department of Microbiology and Immunology and the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics. Joao M. Alves and Ping Xu, Ph.D., share the honor of first authorship on this manuscript. Other researchers included Todd Kitten, Ph.D., Zhenming Chen, Ph.D., Luiz S. Ozki, Ph.D., Patricio Manque, Ph.D., Myrna G. Serrano, Ph.D., Arunsri Brown, Ph.D., Xiuchun Ge, Ph.D., Daniela Puiu Ph.D., Stephanie Hendricks, Ph.D., Yingping Wang, Ph.D., Michael D. Chaplin, Ph.D., Doruk Akan, Ph.D., Sehmi Paik, Ph.D., and Darrell L. Peterson, Ph.D. US Representative Simpson Introduces Legislation Concerning Children's Dental Health Washington, D.C. -- Congressman Mike Simpson introduced the Children's Dental Health Improvement Act of 2007, H.R. 1781 this week. The bill will improve coverage of dental services and improve access to dentists trained in children’s dentistry. Children ranging from 5 to 17 years of age are five times more likely to not have proper dental care than children who experience asthma and seven times greater than hay fever. A primary reason is that millions of low-income children either do not have insurance coverage for dental care or cannot receive such care because families can't cover the co-pays. "Lack of dental care is the most prevalent unmet health need among our children," said Simpson. "Tooth decay and other dental diseases often lead to other, more severe health-related issues in children, you could even say it is at the ‘root’ of the problem." H.R. 1781 addresses many of the concerns in children’s dental care and if enacted would help millions of kids lead healthier lives. Specifically it:
Dentists Need Tools to Improve Brushing and Flossing Behavior Newswise -- Even when they have gum disease, many people don’t bother to brush or floss properly. A new review suggests there is limited evidence that using behavior management approaches will help dentists convince patients to take better care of their teeth and gums. British reviewers found a handful of studies that looked at approaches to behavior management in periodontal patients. These studies were far from perfect, making it difficult for the researchers come to any firm conclusions. "We need better-quality trials assessing the effects of psychological interventions to improve people's oral health," said review co-author Dr. Peter Robinson, professor of dental public health at the University of Sheffield in England. "I also think we need broader research on the benefits of the application of psychological theory to dentistry, as I believe it has a great deal to offer." Even in these days of high-tech medicine, toothbrushing and flossing remain the keys to oral health: "Removing the plaque from teeth and gums every day with proper brushing and flossing is the most important step in helping to keep a person’s teeth for a lifetime," said Dr. Preston Miller, president of the American Academy of Periodontology. Community-wide education and intervention efforts could be one approach and U.S. researchers are already exploring whether those efforts will improve oral health, said Dr. Marjorie Jeffcoat, dean of the University of Pennsylvania's School of Dental Medicine. "Only half of the patients in the country go to the dentist in a given year," she said. "If they never get there, the one-on-one approach doesn't work." So, what's a dentist to do? The American Academy of Periodontology's Miller said periodontists could do more than simply tell patients to brush or floss. "It can often be helpful to use mirrors, X-rays, and drawings or photos depicting periodontal disease and proper technique," he said. Jeffcoat agreed that a personal approach is the best way to encourage oral hygiene. "You've got to take the time to explain to people how it matters to them," she said. "Once you do that, they're in much better shape." Renz A, et al. Psychological interventions to improve adherence to oral hygiene instructions in adults with periodontal diseases. (Review). Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2007, Issue 2. X-Rays of Carotid Artery Not Enough to Estimate Stroke Risk Newswise -- Detection of calcified tissue in the carotid artery by dental x-rays is not enough evidence to estimate a patient’s stroke risk was the conclusion of a systematic literature review published in this month's Journal of the American Dental Association (JADA). Stroke is one of the leading causes of death and disability among adults in the U.S. It occurs when a blood vessel that brings oxygen and nutrients to the brain bursts or becomes clogged by a blood clot or some other mass. Panoramic radiography is a procedure used in dental practice for detecting dental disease. According to the JADA article authors, a trend toward using panoramic x-rays to identify stroke-prone patients has become a much-debated health care issue over the past two decades. In their literature review, the authors conducted an electronic search using 11 databases to evaluate evidence that links calcified carotid artery atheroma (CCAA) detection on panoramic radiographs and the precipitation of cerebrovascular accidents (CVA). The search identified 54 articles for the review. Only one study satisfied the authors' inclusion criteria and found no significant difference in the incidence of cerebrovascular diseases between subjects with CCAA and subjects without CCAA. This issue is complicated because there are many risk factors that predispose a person to generalized atherosclerosis and plaque formation that also can promote the risk of cerebrovascular blockage and stroke, according to the article. Incidental findings of CCAA on panoramic radiographs, the authors wrote, should not be the only basis for estimating risk of stroke. Risk factors such as age, smoking history, total cholesterol level, systolic blood pressure and hypertension should receive close examination. Panoramic radiography may demonstrate that CCAAs calcify over time, but there is little evidence-based information that CCAAs are risk predictors for the diagnosis of cerebrovascular disease, they concluded. "Further research is warranted before any recommendations can be made for or clinical guidelines developed regarding CCAAs detected on panoramic radiographs to predict a cerebrovascular accident," the authors wrote. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Commits $500 Million to Reverse Childhood Obesity (April 4) About 25 million kids and teens in the United States are overweight or obese. Unless we take action now to reverse this alarming trend, we're in danger of raising the first generation of American children who will live sicker and die younger than their parents' generation. Childhood obesity is one of the most urgent and serious health threats confronting our nation. It deserves a serious response. That's why the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation will commit at least $500 million over the next five years to fight childhood obesity. The Foundation's goal is to reverse the epidemic in the United States by 2015. This is the largest commitment any foundation has made to combat childhood obesity. As we embrace this new challenge, we expect to build on the lessons drawn from our past work on other critical health issues, such as preventing tobacco use and helping to roll out the nation's 9-1-1 emergency response system. Childhood obesity affects all of us—every race and ethnic group, all income levels and every area of the country. It's going to take all of us—government, schools, food and beverage companies, health care providers, families and other foundations—to turn the tide. For more information on the initiative, visit: www.rwjf.org/newsroom/featureDetail.jsp?featureID=2276&type=3 Funding Opportunities Oral Mucosal Vaccination against HIV Infection (R01) (RFA-DE-08-003) Oral Mucosal Vaccination against HIV Infection (R21) (RFA-DE-08-004) |