The Effects of Lead Sources on Oral Bioaccessibility in Soil and Implications for Contaminated Land Risk Management

Lead (Pb) is a non-threshold toxin capable of inducing toxic effects at any blood level but availability of soil screening criteria for assessing potential health risks is limited. The oral bioaccessibility of Pb in 163 soil samples was attributed to sources through solubility estimation and domain identification. Samples were extracted following the Unified BARGE Method. Urban, mineralisation, peat and granite domains accounted for elevated Pb concentrations compared to rural samples. High Pb solubility explained moderate-high gastric (G) bioaccessible fractions throughout the study area. Higher maximum G concentrations were measured in urban (97.6 mg kg−1) and mineralisation (199.8 mg kg−1) domains. Higher average G concentrations occurred in mineralisation (36.4 mg kg−1) and granite (36.0 mg kg−1) domains. Findings suggest diffuse anthropogenic and widespread geogenic contamination could be capable of presenting health risks, having implications for land management decisions in jurisdictions where guidance advises these forms of pollution should not be regarded as contaminated land.

Soil-Geochemical Factors controlling the Distribution and Oral Bioaccessibility of Nickel, Vanadium and Chromium in Northern Ireland Soils

Geogenic nickel (Ni), vanadium (V) and chromium (Cr) are present at elevated levels in soils in Northern Ireland. Whilst Ni, V and Cr total soil concentrations share common geological origins, their respective levels of oral bioaccessibility are influenced by different soil-geochemical factors. Oral bioaccessibility extractions were carried out on 145 soil samples overlying 9 different bedrock types to measure the bioaccessible portions of Ni, V and Cr. Principal component analysis identified two components (PC1 and PC2) accounting for 69% of variance across 13 variables from the Northern Ireland Tellus Survey geochemical data. PC1 was associated with underlying basalt bedrock, higher bioaccessible Cr concentrations and lower Ni bioaccessibility. PC2 was associated with regional variance in soil chemistry and hosted factors accounting for higher Ni and V bioaccessibility. Eight per cent of total V was solubilised by gastric extraction on average across the study area. High median proportions of bioaccessible Ni were observed in soils overlying sedimentary rock types. Whilst Cr bioaccessible fractions were low (max = 5.4%), the highest measured bioaccessible Cr concentration reached 10.0 mg kg-1, explained by factors linked to PC1 including high total Cr concentrations in soils overlying basalt bedrock.

A narrow-band ultraviolet B course improves vitamin D balance and alters cutaneous CYP27A1 and CYP27B1 mRNA expression levels in haemodialysis patients supplemented with oral vitamin D

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients on dialysis are prone to vitamin D insufficiency despite oral vitamin D supplementation. Here, we studied whether narrow-band ultraviolet B (NB-UVB) exposures improve vitamin D balance.

Methods: 14 haemodialysis patients and 15 healthy subjects receiving oral cholecalciferol 20 µg daily got nine NB-UVB exposures on the entire body. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) was measured by radioimmunoassay. Cutaneous mRNA expression levels of CYP27A1 and CYP27B1, two enzymes required for hydroxylation of vitamin D into its active metabolite, were also measured.

Results: The baseline serum 25(OH)D concentration was 57.6 ± 18.2 nmol/l in the CKD patients and 74.3 ± 14.8 nmol/l in the healthy subjects. The NB-UVB course increased serum 25(OH)D by 14.0 nmol/l (95% CI 8.7-19.5) and 17.0 nmol/l (CI 13.7-20.2), respectively. At baseline the CKD patients showed significantly increased CYP27B1 levels compared to the healthy subjects.

Conclusions: A short NB-UVB course is an efficient way to improve vitamin D balance in CKD patients on dialysis who are receiving oral vitamin D supplementation. The increased cutaneous CYP27B1 levels in the CKD patients suggest that the loss of renal activity of this enzyme is at least partially compensated for by the skin.

Narrow-band ultraviolet B treatment boosts serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D in patients with psoriasis on oral vitamin D supplementation

A course of treatment with narrow-band ultraviolet B (NB-UVB) improves psoriasis and increases serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D). In this study 12 patients with psoriasis who were supplemented with oral cholecalciferol, 20 µg daily, were given a course of NB-UVB and their response measured. At baseline, serum 25(OH)D was 74.14 ± 22.9 nmol/l. At the 9th exposure to NB-UVB 25(OH)D had increased by 13.2 nmol/l (95% confidence interval (95% CI) 7.2–18.4) and at the 18th exposure by 49.4 nmol/l (95% CI 35.9–64.6) above baseline. Psoriasis Area Severity Index score improved from 8.7 ± 3.5 to 4.5 ± 2.0 (p < 0.001). At baseline, psoriasis lesions showed low vitamin D metabolizing enzyme (CYP27A1, CYP27B1) and high human β-defensin-2 mRNA expression levels compared with those of the healthy subjects. In conclusion, NB-UVB treatment significantly increases serum 25(OH)D in patients with psoriasis who are taking oral vitamin D supplementation, and the concentrations remain far from the toxicity level. Healing psoriasis lesions show similar mRNA expression of vitamin D metabolizing enzymes, but higher antimicrobial peptide levels than NB-UVB-treated skin in healthy subjects.

A critical ethnography of communication processes involving the management of oral chemotherapeutic agents by patients with a primary diagnosis of colorectal cancer: study protocol

Aim
To describe the protocol used to examine the processes of communication between health professionals, patients and informal carers during the management of oral chemotherapeutic medicines to identify factors that promote or inhibit medicine concordance.

Background
Ideally communication practices about oral medicines should incorporate shared decision-making, two-way dialogue and an equality of role between practitioner and patient. While there is evidence that healthcare professionals are adopting these concordant elements in general practice there are still some patients who have a passive role during consultations. Considering oral chemotherapeutic medications, there is a paucity of research about communication practices which is surprising given the high risk of toxicity associated with chemotherapy.

Design
A critical ethnographic design will be used, incorporating non-participant observations, individual semi-structured and focus-group interviews as several collecting methods.

Methods
Observations will be carried out on the interactions between healthcare professionals (physicians, nurses and pharmacists) and patients in the outpatient departments where prescriptions are explained and supplied and on follow-up consultations where treatment regimens are monitored. Interviews will be conducted with patients and their informal carers. Focus-groups will be carried out with healthcare professionals at the conclusion of the study. These several will be analysed using thematic analysis. This research is funded by the Department for Employment and Learning in Northern Ireland (Awarded February 2012).

Discussion
Dissemination of these findings will contribute to the understanding of issues involved when communicating with people about oral chemotherapy. It is anticipated that findings will inform education, practice and policy.

Antimicrobial and immunomodulatory properties of PGLa-AM1, CPF-AM1, and magainin-AM1: Potent activity against oral pathogens

Cationic amphipathic α-helical peptides are intensively studied classes of host defence peptides (HDPs). Three peptides, peptide glycine-leucine-amide (PGLa-AM1), caerulein-precursor fragment (CPF-AM1) and magainin-AM1, originally isolated from norepinephrine-stimulated skin secretions of the African volcano frog Xenopus amieti (Pipidae), were studied for their antimicrobial and immunomodulatory activities against oral and respiratory pathogens. Minimal effective concentrations (MECs), determined by radial diffusion assay, were generally lower than minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) determined by microbroth dilution. PGLa-AM1 and CPF-AM1 were particularly active against Streptococcus mutans and all three peptides were effective against Fusobacterium nucleatum, whereas Enterococcus faecalis and Candida albicans proved to be relatively resistant micro-organisms. A type strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa was shown to be more susceptible than the clinical isolate studied. PGLa-AM1 displayed the greatest propensity to bind lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from Escherichia coli, P. aeruginosa and Porphyromonas gingivalis. All three peptides showed less binding to P. gingivalis LPS than to LPS from the other species studied. Oral fibroblast viability was unaffected by 50. μM peptide treatments. Production of the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-8 by oral fibroblasts was significantly increased following treatment with 1 or 10. μM magainin-AM1 but not following treatment with PGLa-AM1 or CPF-AM1. In conclusion, as well as possessing potent antimicrobial actions, the X. amieti peptides bound to LPS from three human pathogens and had no effect on oral fibroblast viability. CPF-AM1 and PGLa-AM1 show promise as templates for the design of novel analogues for the treatment of oral and dental diseases associated with bacteria or fungi.

Subjective impact of minimally invasive dentistry in the oral health of older patients

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate if a minimally invasive oral health package with the use of atraumatic restorative treatment (ART) or a conventional restorative technique (CT) would result in any perceived benefit from the patients' perspective and if there would be any difference between the two treatment groups.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this randomised clinical trial, 99 independently living older adults (65-90 years) with carious lesions were randomly allocated to receive either ART or conventional restorations using minimally invasive/intervention dentistry (MID) principles. Patients completed an Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP)-14 questionnaire before and 2 months after treatment. They were also asked to complete a global transition question about their oral health after treatment.

RESULTS: At baseline, the mean OHIP-14 scores recorded were 7.34 (ART) and 7.44 (CT). Two months after treatment intervention, 90 patients answered the OHIP-14 and the mean scores were 7.23 (not significant (n.s.)) and 10.38 (n.s.) for the ART and CT groups, respectively. Overall, 75.5 % of patients stated that their oral health was better compared to the beginning of treatment.

CONCLUSIONS: Although not shown by the OHIP-14, patients perceived an improvement in their overall oral status after treatment, as demonstrated by the global transition ratings in both groups.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Dental treatment using minimally invasive techniques might be a good alternative to treat older individuals, and it can improve their oral health both objectively and subjectively.

The impact of rehabilitation using removable partial dentures and functionally orientated treatment on oral health-related quality of life: a randomised controlled clinical trial

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to compare two different tooth replacement strategies for partially dentate older patients; namely functionally orientated treatment according to the principles of the shortened dental arch (SDA) and conventional treatment using removable partial dentures (RPDs) using a randomised controlled clinical trial. The primary outcome measure for this study was impact on oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) measured using the short form of the oral health impact profile (OHIP-14).

METHODS: Patients aged 65 years and older were randomly allocated to two different treatment groups: the RPD group and the SDA group. For the RPD group each patient was restored to complete arches with cobalt-chromium RPDs used to replace missing teeth. For the SDA group, patients were restored to a premolar occlusion of 10 occluding pairs of natural and replacement teeth using resin bonded bridgework (RBB). OHRQoL was measured using the OHIP-14 questionnaire administered at baseline, 1 month, 6 months and 12 months after treatment intervention.

RESULTS: In total, 89 patients completed the RCT: 44 from the RPD group and 45 from the SDA group. Analysis using a mixed model of covariance (ANCOVA) illustrated that treatment according to the SDA concept resulted in significantly better mean OHIP-14 scores compared with RPD treatment (p<0.05). This result was replicated in both treatment centres used in the study.

CONCLUSIONS: In terms of impact on OHRQoL, treatment based on the SDA concept achieved significantly better results than that based on RPDs 12 months after treatment intervention (trial registration no. ISRCTN26302774).

CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Functionally orientated treatment delivery resulted in significantly better outcomes compared to removable dentures in terms of impact on OHRQoL.

Age-related oral changes

Age-related oral changes are seen in the oral hard and soft tissues as well as in bone, the temporomandibular joints and the oral mucosa. As older patients retain their natural teeth for longer, the clinical picture consists of normal physiological age changes in combination with pathological and iatrogenic effects.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE: With an ageing population retaining more of its natural teeth for longer, dental professionals should expect to observe oral age changes more frequently.

The importance of oral health for the systemic well being of an ageing population

The proportion of adults over the age of 60 years is expanding rapidly across European Union countries, including the Republic of Ireland. As the older population has grown faster than the total population, the proportion of older persons relative to the rest of the population has increased considerably (Figure 1). This trend mirrors the arrival of the “baby boomer� generation into early old age and will have wide ranging effects on social, political and economic spheres as well as presenting significant challenges for healthcare delivery and public healthcare policy.

Survey of oral health behaviours of patients receiving methadone therapy at a drug rehabilitation centre

Background: This survey aimed to record the dietary habits and oral health behaviours of patients undergoing methadone maintenance therapy at a Scottish drug rehabilitation centre.The objectives were to obtain descriptive data for each of the participants on items including dietary habits, oral hygiene practices and dental health. The study also aimed to explore explanatory relationships between dietary habits, oral hygiene practices and dental health (DMFT) in methadone users.
Methods: A cross – sectional descriptive study using survey methodology was conducted of consecutive adult patients undergoing methadone maintenance therapy at a non-residential drug rehabilitation centre in Dundee, Scotland. A self-completion retrospective questionnaire was distributed to 66 consecutive patients.
Results: A response rate of 74.2% was achieved. Participants reported low daily intakes of fresh fruit and vegetables with diets high in fatty foods. Respondents reported regular snacking between meals and consumption of large amounts of sugared carbonated drinks. Oral hygiene practices were poorly adhered to and a high level of dental disease was observed amongst participants. Poisson regression analysis revealed that the amount of alcohol consumed per day (p=0.02), the length of time taking methadone (p=0.002) the amount of sugar added to hot drinks (p<0.0001) and regular dental attendance (p=0.0001) were all independently associated with poor dental health.
Conclusions: Dietary habits and adherence to oral hygiene practices amongst this group of patients were very poor. This study suggests that these behaviours were contributing to the high levels of dental disease observed in this group.