Curated News: National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR)

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Two new studies from researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle reveal how bacteria infiltrate tumors and could be helping tumors progress and spread and suggest a link between oral health and cancer, as microbes in the mouth are associated with cancers elsewhere in the body. The two papers – one published Nov. 15 in Cell Reports and the other published Nov. 16 in Nature – focus on an oral bacterium called Fusobacterium nucleatum, which has been linked to colorectal cancer.

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University of Illinois Chicago researchers have received funding from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, a branch of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, for a five-year study to understand the oral health of children in low-income communities. Caries — or cavities — is the most common disease of childhood and can result in serious health issues including pain, difficulty eating, speech problems, and infections which can lead to hospitalization and surgeries for tooth extractions.

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To improve the development of new saliva-based diagnostic tests and personalized medicine, the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) has supported the development of the Human Salivary Proteome Wiki, the first public platform that catalogs and curates data on each of the thousands of proteins within our saliva.

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A new brain-and-behavior study from researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania clarifies how the “anomalous-is-bad” stereotype manifests, and implicates a brain region called the amygdala as one of the likely mediators of this stereotype.

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A wide breadth of behaviors surrounding oral sex may affect the risk of oral HPV infection and of a virus-associated head and neck cancer that can be spread through this route, a new study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center suggests. These findings add nuance to the connection between oral sex and oropharyngeal cancer — tumors that occur in the mouth and throat — and could help inform research and public health efforts aimed at preventing this disease.

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The NIH has awarded NYU College of Dentistry researchers Nigel Bunnett, PhD, and Brian Schmidt, DDS, MD, PhD, a $3.9 million grant to study targeting endosomal receptors for the treatment of chronic pain. The five-year grant will support Bunnett and Schmidt’s collaborative research, which aims to ultimately yield improved pain management without the need for opioids.

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Botox injections to manage jaw and facial pain do not result in clinically significant changes in jaw bone when used short term and in low doses, according to researchers at NYU College of Dentistry. However, they found evidence of bone loss when higher doses were used.

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Researchers at UC San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center report that an investigational drug candidate called tipifarnib showed promise in treating key recurring mutation in head and neck cancers.

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A collaboration between researchers from Cornell University, Northwestern University and University of Virgina combined complementary imaging techniques to explore the atomic structure of human enamel, exposing tiny chemical flaws in the fundamental building blocks of our teeth. The findings could help scientists prevent or possibly reverse tooth decay.

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Researchers at the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and UCLA School of Dentistry have identified a potential new combination therapy to treat advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, the most common type of head and neck cancer.

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Chronic stress is associated with the pathogenesis of psychological disorders such as depression. A study is the first to identify the role of a neuronal receptor that straddles the intersection between social stress, inflammation, and anxiety in rodent models of stress. Findings suggest the possibility of developing better medications to treat the consequences of chronic stress by limiting inflammatory signaling not just generally, which may not be beneficial in the long run, but to specific brain circuits.

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The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research has awarded NYU College of Dentistry’s Yi Ye, PhD, a $2.2 million, five-year grant to study the role of Schwann cells, the most prevalent type of cell supporting neurons in the peripheral nervous system, in oral cancer progression and pain.

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Inspired by a tactic cancer cells use to evade the immune system, University of Pittsburgh researchers have engineered tiny particles that can trick the body into accepting transplanted tissue as its own, while leaving the immune system intact.

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Using e-cigarettes alters the mouth’s microbiome—the community of bacteria and other microorganisms—and makes users more prone to inflammation and infection, finds a new study led by researchers at NYU College of Dentistry.

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Exposing teeth to excessive fluoride alters calcium signaling, mitochondrial function, and gene expression in the cells forming tooth enamel—a novel explanation for how dental fluorosis, a condition caused by overexposure to fluoride during childhood, arises. The study, led by researchers at NYU College of Dentistry, is published in Science Signaling.

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Loss of an important tumor-suppressing gene allows head and neck cancer to spin off signals to nearby nerves, changing their function and recruiting them to the tumor, where they fuel growth and cancer progress.

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Sticks and stones may break one’s bones, but healing them requires the production of a protein signal that stimulates the generation, growth and spread of vital nerve cells, or neurons, throughout the injured area. That’s the finding of a recent Johns Hopkins Medicine study that used mice to demonstrate what likely takes place during human fracture repair as well.