The relation of dietary choline to cognitive performance and white-matter hyperintensity in the Framingham Offspring Cohort.

Background: Choline is the precursor to the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Loss of cholinergic neurons is associated with impaired cognitive function, particularly memory loss and Alzheimer disease (AD). Brain atrophy and white-matter hyperintensity (WMH) are also associated with impaired cognitive function and AD.

Periodontitis and incidence of cerebrovascular disease in men.

Objective: To identify associations between periodontitis and incidence of cerebrovascular disease.

Methods: We analyzed data of 1,137 dentate men in the Veterans Affairs Normative Aging and Dental Longitudinal Study who were followed with triennial medical/dental exams for up to 34 years (mean, 24 years). We evaluated incidence of cerebrovascular events consistent with stroke or transient ischemic attack in relation to mean radiographic alveolar bone loss (a measure of periodontitis history) and cumulative periodontal probing depth (a measure of current periodontal inflammation).

Study design, recruitment, and baseline characteristics: the Department of Veterans Affairs Dental Diabetes Study.

Objectives: We are conducting a clinical trial of the efficacy of periodontal therapy in the improvement of glycaemic control in veterans with poorly controlled diabetes. This report describes study design, recruitment and randomization and compares baseline characteristics of the sample frame with those randomized into study groups.

Methods: Veterans with poorly controlled diabetes were randomized in two groups: immediate periodontal therapy ("early treatment") or usual care followed by periodontal therapy ("deferred treatment").

Risk of tooth loss after cigarette smoking cessation.

Introduction: Little is known about the effect of cigarette smoking cessation on risk of tooth loss. We examined how risk of tooth loss changed with longer periods of smoking abstinence in a prospective study of oral health in men.

Methods: Research subjects were 789 men who participated in the Veterans Administration Dental Longitudinal Study from 1968 to 2004.

Three-dimensional reconstruction of fracture callus morphogenesis.

Rat and mouse femur and tibia fracture calluses were collected over various time increments of healing. Serial sections were produced at spatial segments across the fracture callus. Standard histological methods and in situ hybridization to col1a1 and col2a1 mRNAs were used to define areas of cartilage and bone formation as well as tissue areas undergoing remodeling.

Osteoporosis and the risk of tooth loss.

Osteoporosis and osteopenia may influence periodontal disease and tooth loss. Although many studies suggest that in elderly men and women, maintenance of normal bone mineral density is associated with improved tooth retention, the evidence is still inconclusive. Hormone replacement therapy and calcium and vitamin D supplements that are used to prevent or treat osteoporosis appear to have beneficial effects on tooth retention as well.

Enhancement of experimental fracture-healing by systemic administration of recombinant human parathyroid hormone (PTH 1-34).

Background: Recombinant human parathyroid hormone (PTH [1-34]; teriparatide) is a new treatment for postmenopausal osteoporosis that can be systemically administered for the primary purpose of increasing bone formation. Because several studies have described the enhancement of fracture-healing and osteointegration in animals after use of PTH, we sought to critically analyze this skeletal effect.

Methods: Two hundred and seventy male Sprague-Dawley rats underwent standard, closed femoral fractures and were divided into three groups that were administered daily subcutaneous injections of 5 or 30 mug/kg of PTH (1-34) or vehicle (control).

Predictors of tooth loss in two US adult populations.

Objectives: This study determines tooth loss rate over a 10-year period and identifies predictors of tooth loss in two separate US adult longitudinal study populations.

Methods: Subjects from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA), consisting of 47 men and 47 women, ages ranging from 30 to 69 years, were compared to subjects from the VA Dental Longitudinal Study (VADLS) in Boston, MA, consisting of 481 men in the same age range. Baseline and follow-up examinations were performed on each cohort over a 10-year period.

Low dietary quality among older adults with self-perceived ill-fitting dentures.

Objective: To examine dietary quality and nutrient intakes of participants wearing dentures with and without poor fit as determined by questionnaire and dental exam.

Design: Nutrient intakes, Healthy Eating Index (HEI) score, and serum nutrient values were examined among individuals wearing either adequate- or poor-fitting dentures and individuals who had at least 18 teeth.

Subjects/setting: Data was collected from 4,820 participants in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey ages 50 years and older with at least 18 teeth (n=3,207) or those wearing dentures (n=1,613), who responded to a questionnaire about denture fit and had their dentures evaluated by a dentist.

Relationship between dental panoramic radiographic findings and biochemical markers of bone turnover.

Unlabelled: We investigated whether mandibular cortical measures on dental panoramic radiographs are associated with biochemical markers of bone turnover in 82 postmenopausal women. Mandibular cortical shape was significantly associated with biochemical markers and spinal BMD. Our results suggest that dentists may be able to identify postmenopausal women with low BMD by using dental panoramic radiographs.

Longitudinal validation of a risk calculator for periodontal disease.

Background: Risk assessment and utilization of the results are important components of prevention, diagnosis and treatment of periodontal diseases. Risk assessment is relatively new to dentistry. Currently risk is assessed by subjective evaluation and results vary widely among clinicians.

Vitamin D receptor alleles, periodontal disease progression, and tooth loss in the VA dental longitudinal study.

Background: The relationship between the vitamin D receptor (VDR) genotype and periodontal disease is not known. This study compared periodontal disease progression among polymorphisms of 2 VDR genes in men in the VA Dental Longitudinal Study.

Methods: Subjects were 125 medically healthy, middle-aged men who had serial oral examinations over a mean 23-year period.

Nutritional status of the older adult is associated with dentition status.

Objective: This study was designed to examine associations between the number of posterior occlusal pairs of teeth and the nutritional status of older adults participating in the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) survey.

Design: Impaired dentition was assessed by number of posterior occluding pairs of teeth (grinding teeth, n=8 pairs) and complete denture status. Nutritional status was measured by nutrient intake, Healthy Eating Index (HEI) score, serum values, and body mass index (BMI).

Validity and accuracy of a risk calculator in predicting periodontal disease.

Background: Research on the pathobiology of periodontal diseases has increased our knowledge of these diseases and is fostering a transition from the repair model to the medical or wellness model of periodontal care. Successful application of the wellness model depends on an accurate and valid assessment of disease risk, as well as institution of risk reduction as an integral part of prevention and treatment. A computer-based risk assessment tool has been developed.

Smoking relapse after 2 years of abstinence: findings from the VA Normative Aging Study.

Little is known about the risk of cigarette smoking relapse after 2 or more years of abstinence. The rates and predictors of late smoking relapse were estimated in 483 men who participated in a prospective study for up to 35 years. Subjects are participants in the VA Normative Aging Study, a prospective observational study of aging in men that began in 1963.