There`s no getting around it: Infants who excessively suck their thumbs or pacifiers run the risk of altering their bite.
Even orthodontic pacifiers, designed with the hope of preventing changes in the architecture of the mouth, cause undesirable modifications, according to Dr. Steven M. Adair, chief of pediatric dentistry at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta.
Orthodontic pacifiers have a flattened nipple that is intented to avoid the problems associated with conventional rounded pacifiers. A study of 95 youngsters showed it didn`t matter if they sucked their thumbs or orthodontic or conventional nipples-excessive sucking changed their bites, Adair reported in the journal Pediatric Dentistry.
Those who use orthodontic pacifiers are more likely to develop protruding teeth; those using conventional pacifiers are more prone to open bites, he said. The degree of change is related to the amount of sucking, he said.
ANTIHISTAMINES SLOW DIABETIC BLINDNESS Early research results suggest that antihistamines may help prevent a form of blindness associated with diabetes.
Dr. Thomas Gardner and colleagues at Pennsylvania State University have found that antihistamines reduced fluid leakage through blood vessels lining the retina behind the eye. When these vessels expand and lose tone, which can be a side effect of diabetes, fats, blood and other substances can leak through vessel walls in the retina and into the center of the eye. Years of accumulated damage can lead to blindness.
Tests in rats and in humans have shown that antihistamines can reduce leakage in the short term. The next step, Gardner said, will be long-term human studies to determine the extent of protection antihistamines may offer. 911 CALL IS BEST BET FOR STROKE SURVIVAL When someone suffers a stroke, it`s best to call the 911 emergency number at once rather than call a physician or use private transportation to go to a hospital, a new study suggests.
In a look at 1,350 stroke patients in Ohio, Virginia and New York, researchers found that among those who called 911 when symptoms first began, the average arrival time to a hospital was 205 minutes. That was much faster than those who arranged their own transporation to a hospital, who had an average arrival time of 414 minutes after the onset of symptoms.
Calling a physician was the worst decision, it turns out. Patients who called a doctor averaged 603 minutes from the time their symptoms began until they were in the hospital.
”What often happens is the caller will get office personnel who say they will give the doctor the message, so the stroke victim might have to wait some time to get a call back from the doctor,” said Dr. William Barsan of the University of Cincinnati, a co-author of the study, which was presented at a recent meeting in Phoenix sponsored by the American Heart Association.
QUICK FIX FOR PELVIC FRACTURES Physicians at the University of Virginia are using a new procedure to set pelvic fractures of the sort often caused by auto accidents.
The technique uses computerized tomographic X-ray scanning to allow doctors to install screws to stabilize the bone. The procedure, which doesn`t require open surgery, enables patients to be back on their feet within days and avoids weeks of traction, the standard therapy for pelvic fractures.
Use of the X-ray technology is essential to this technique, said Dr. Spencer Gay, a Virginia radiologist, because it enables doctors to work through a small incision.
The technique is used for simple fractures only. More complex and badly displaced fractures still require surgery to repair, according to Dr. Gwo Wang, a professor of orthopedics at Virginia who developed the technique with Gay.
SOME INSECTS HAVE THEIR OWN PEST PROBLEMS Anybody who has swatted at mosquitoes, flies or bees to make them buzz off may be interested to learn that insects themselves are often bugged by smaller creatures.
Bee mites, for instance, pose a major health threat to honey bees and the honey industry. Even the common black fly can be infested with mites, like a dog with fleas.
A stunning example of one fly`s misery was captured on film by Byron Lee, an electron microscopy technician at an agriculture research station in Alberta, Canada. Lee`s hundred-fold magnification of a fly`s face and the mites above its eyes was honored in the 1991 Polaroid International Instant Photomicrography Competition.
NEW TEST NEAR FOR LYME DISEASE A more precise test for detecting Lyme disease infections of the central nervouse system may be available soon.
Researchers writing in the January issue of the journal Neurology reported that a modified genetics-based test analyzing spinal fluid of volunteers successfully identified 45 of 55 people in the group of 161 who had Lyme disease. There were no false positives that incorrectly diagnosed the disease, an infection spread by tick bites.
”There is a great deal of public concern that Lyme disease is being misdiagnosed as multiple sclerosis or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis,” said Dr. Jon Halperin, one of the report`s authors. ”Having a more precise test to detect Lyme disease infections of the central nervous system should do much to allay those fears.”
SALIVA IN OLDER FOLKS LOSES ABILITY TO CLEANSE As people age, the quality of their saliva changes, researchers have found, and this could explain declining oral health in older people.
Scientists at the University of Southern California compared saliva from healthy adults younger than 35 with saliva from healthy volunteers older than 65. They found that saliva from older people contained significantly less mucin, a component that lubricates, coats and protects teeth and gums, and helps to rid the mouth of bacteria.
”The findings suggest that a reduction in salivary mucin is part of the normal aging process,” said Dr. Paul Denny, lead researcher.
The discovery could lead to new strategies, such as mucin-enriched mouth washes, to enhance oral health in older people.
