Oral Health Status of Ngäbe-Buglé Children in Panama: A Cross Sectional Study.

Background: Poor oral health is often more prevalent in rural and resource-limited areas. Evaluating oral health status in these communities is the first step in ensuring adequate future health care for the population. The aim of this study was to assess the oral health status of children aged 6-12 years living in the indigenous Ngäbe-Buglé communities.

Rare Genetic Syndromes and Oral Anomalies: A Review of the Literature and Case Series with a New Classification Proposal.

Rare genetic syndromes, conditions with a global average prevalence of 40 cases/100,000 people, are associated with anatomical, physiological, and neurological anomalies that may affect different body districts, including the oral district. So far, no classification of oral abnormalities in rare genetic syndromes is present in the literature. The aim of this narrative review is to analyze literature on rare genetic syndromes affecting dento-oro-maxillofacial structures (teeth, maxillary bones, oral soft tissues, or mixed) and to propose a classification according to the detected oral abnormalities.

Adhesion molecules as potential targets for neuroprotection in a rodent model of Parkinson's disease.

Cell adhesion molecules might play an important role in the inflammatory mechanisms associated with neurodegeneration. We have previously observed, in rats, that subcutaneous injection of complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA), a pro-inflammatory agent that induces a peripheral inflammatory stimulus, reduces the nigrostriatal degeneration and microglial activation caused by stereotaxic injection of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA). Here we further investigated the effects of CFA in 6-OHDA-lesioned rats by evaluating the expression of selected adhesion molecules, both at central and peripheral levels.

Peripheral expression of key regulatory kinases in Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.

Alteration of key regulatory kinases may cause aberrant protein phosphorylation and aggregation in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD). In this study, we investigated expression and phosphorylation status of glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK-3), protein kinase B (Akt) and tau protein in peripheral blood lymphocytes of 20 AD, 25 PD patients and 20 healthy controls. GSK-3 was increased in AD and PD patients.

Functional and neurochemical changes of the gastrointestinal tract in a rodent model of Parkinson's disease.

Patients with Parkinson's disease develop motor disturbances often accompanied by peripheral autonomic dysfunctions, including gastrointestinal disorders, such as dysphagia, gastric stasis and constipation. While the mechanisms subserving enteric autonomic dysfunctions are not clearly understood, they may involve the enteric dopaminergic and/or nitrergic systems. In the present study, we demonstrate that rats with unilateral 6-hydroxydopamine lesion of nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons develop a marked inhibition of propulsive activity compared to sham-operated controls, as indicated by a 60% reduction of daily fecal output at the 4th week of observation.