Spemann's heritage in Finnish developmental biology.

The Finnish school of developmental biology can be considered a direct descendant of Spemann's school as both the original technology and the fundamental problems were introduced into Finland by Gunnar Ekman (1883-1937) who had worked for extended periods in Germany. After his early death, the work was continued by Sulo Toivonen (1909-1995), and until 1968 the group explored the mechanisms of primary induction and the subsequent segregation of the central nervous system. The extensive investigations led to the formulation of the "double-gradient" hypothesis and ultimately to its experimental vindication.

Increased tendency towards gingival bleeding caused by joint effect of alpha-tocopherol supplementation and acetylsalicylic acid.

Alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E) may play a role in the treatment of arterial thromboembolic disease, possibly by inhibiting platelet aggregation. Thus far, no clinical evidence exists for this effect. The objective of this study was to assess the effect of alpha-tocopherol supplementation on gingival bleeding either in combination with acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) or without it.

Beta-carotene concentration in buccal mucosal cells with and without dysplastic oral leukoplakia after long-term beta-carotene supplementation in male smokers.

Objective: To measure the beta-carotene concentration in buccal mucosal cells in smoking men who had received long-term beta-carotene (BC) supplementation in a controlled trial. To assess the association of cellular BC on the prevalence of dysplasia in oral leukoplakia.

Design: An end-of-trial examination of a part of subjects in the Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta Carotene Cancer Prevention Study.

Impaired oral health in patients with aspartylglucosaminuria.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the oral health of patients with aspartylglucosaminuria, a heritable lysosomal storage disorder, and to recommend guidelines for treatment.

Study Design: Eighty-two patients with aspartylglucosaminuria and 122 control subjects were examined clinically; in addition, panoramic radiographs were evaluated in 61 patients with aspartylglucosaminuria and 61 control subjects.

Results: High prevalences of caries, gingivitis, and oral Candida (P < .

Long-term supplementation with alpha-tocopherol and beta-carotene and prevalence of oral mucosal lesions in smokers.

Objective: To assess the effect of alpha-tocopherol and beta-carotene supplementation on the prevalence of oral mucosal lesions in smokers.

Design: An end-point examination of a random sample of participants in a controlled trial for 5-7 years (Alpha-Tocopherol Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention Study) in Helsinki, Finland.

Subjects: A total of 409 white male cigarette smokers, aged 55-74 years who received either alpha-tocopherol (50 mg per day) or beta-carotene (20 mg per day) supplementation, both of these or placebo capsules.

Differential regulation of two sets of mesonephric tubules by WT-1.

Mammalian renal development undergoes two transient stages, the pronephros and the mesonephros. While the regulation of metanephric differentiation has received considerable attention, very little is known about the mode of differentiation of the mesonephros and its regulation. We have followed mesonephric differentiation to unravel the developmental mechanisms and fates of mesonephric tubules by whole-mount immunohistology using antibodies to laminin, brush border epitopes, cytokeratin-8/18, p75 neurotrophin receptor and some other renal antigens as markers.

Peroxidases, lactoferrin and lysozyme in peripheral blood neutrophils, gingival crevicular fluid and whole saliva of patients with localized juvenile periodontitis.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the longitudinal association of selected non-immune anti-microbial host factors (peroxidases, lysozyme and lactoferrin) to the localized juvenile periodontitis (LJP) disease status.

Materials And Methods: Peroxidases, lysozyme and lactoferrin were quantitated from seven patients with LJP before and after periodontal therapy. Analyses were performed from simultaneously collected samples of peripheral blood polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs), gingival crevicular fluid (GCF from diseased sites) and paraffin-stimulated whole saliva.

Value of some laboratory and clinical measurements in the treatment plan for advanced periodontitis.

In our previous study, we reported that only 13 of 46 adult patients with advanced periodontitis responded well to initial non-surgical periodontal therapy. In the present follow-up study, the remaining 33 patients were randomly treated further using either modified Widman flap surgery or systemic metronidazole. The patients responding unsatisfactorily to this 2nd treatment phase, received supplementary systemic chemotherapy or surgery, respectively.

Neurotrophin 3 rescues neuronal precursors from apoptosis and promotes neuronal differentiation in the embryonic metanephric kidney.

We analyzed the developmental regulation and role of the neurotrophins during metanephric kidney morphogenesis. RNase protection assay revealed the presence of nerve growth factor, neurotrophin 3 (NT-3), and brain-derived neurotrophic factor mRNAs and the regulation of their expression during embryonic development of rat metanephros. NT-3 induced differentiation (neurite outgrowth) and survival (inhibition of apoptosis) of the neuronal precursors in cultured nephrogenic mesenchymes and neuronal differentiation in cultured whole kidneys, whereas NT-4/5, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, and nerve growth factor were without effect.

Activin disrupts epithelial branching morphogenesis in developing glandular organs of the mouse.

We report that activin profoundly alters epithelial branching morphogenesis of embryonic mouse salivary gland, pancreas and kidney rudiments in culture, indicating that it may play a role as a morphogen during mammalian organogenesis. In developing pancreas and salivary gland rudiments, activin causes severe disruption of normal lobulation patterns of the epithelium whereas follistatin, an activin-binding protein, counteracts the effect of activin. In the kidney, activin delays branching of the ureter bud and reduces the number of secondary branches.

Prevalence of radiographic alveolar bone loss in young adults, a multinational study.

In a multinational study of alveolar bone loss, bite-wing radiographs of 8,703, 15-17-year-old adolescents from 18 centres in 16 countries were examined. Of these, 13 per cent were excluded as non-informative because of bad quality radiographs or missing first molars. Bone loss was a common finding globally (mean prevalence rate of subjects with bone loss 10.