Oral complaints and stimulated salivary flow rate in 1188 adults.

Background: Recently, oral sensory complaints (OSC) were proposed as a disease entity to represent idiopathic sensory disturbances of dry mouth, burning mouth, and taste disturbance, even though neither the status of OSC in the general population nor its underlying mechanism has yet been elucidated. Moreover, these three OSC-related complaints have not been assessed in combination by means of a visual analog scale (VAS) in a large-scale, community-dwelling population of a broad age range.

Methods: In a 1188-member community-dwelling adult population, comprised of 373 males and 815 females, aged 20-90 years, the three OSC-related complaints and stimulated salivary flow rate (SSFR) were assessed by means of a VAS and modified Saxon test, respectively.

Aberrant promoter hypermethylation of the CHFR gene in oral squamous cell carcinomas.

Recent studies have shown that promoter hypermethylation of tumor suppressor genes is an important factor in carcinogenesis of several human organs. The purpose of this study was to examine the methylation status of CHFR, a novel cell cycle regulatory gene, in both primary oral cancer tumors and the adjacent normal mucosa, and to clarify the relation between the methylation status and expression of the CHFR-related chromosomal passenger protein Aurora-A. The methylation status of the CHFR gene was examined by the methylation-specific PCR (MSP) in 49 primary oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCC) and 6 OSCC cell lines.

Global DNA hypomethylation suppresses squamous carcinogenesis in the tongue and esophagus.

Genome-wide DNA hypomethylation and concomitant site-specific gene hypermethylation are among the most common molecular alterations in human neoplasia. Previous studies revealed that genetic reduction of the DNA methylation level results in opposing effects on tumor development, depending on the tumor cell type and on the different stages of the tumorigenesis. For instance, reduced levels of DNA methylation in mice strongly inhibited tumor development of the intestine, whereas they induced thymic lymphomas and liver tumors.

Preventive effect of fermented brown rice and rice bran on N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine-induced gastric carcinogenesis in rats.

A number of possible preventive agents for cancers in different organs have been reported, however, little information is available regarding the effective agents for the development of gastric cancers. The rice components are known to be effective for the prevention of the development of cancers. Our group has demonstrated that fermented brown rice by Aspergillus Orzae (FBRA) has chemopreventive potentials in several organs.