Culture

Receding gums often result in tooth sensitivity and can lead to decay of the root and persistent inflammation of the gum. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Head & Face Medicine demonstrates that a novel method using bovine collagen is able to enhance gum healing. This resulted in thicker margins around the tooth and, in over half the cases, complete coverage of exposed roots.

Do your parents know where you are at night? According to 36 per cent of 15 year old boys and nearly a quarter of 15 year old girls the answer to that question, at least once a month, is no.

WASHINGTON, DC, March 3, 2012 – The people we trust to take us or our loved ones from place to place struggle with sleep, according to the National Sleep Foundation's (NSF) 2012 Sleep in America® poll. It is the first poll to ask transportation professionals, including pilots, train operators,* truck, bus, taxi and limo drivers about their sleep habits and work performance.

Pilots and train operators are most likely to report sleep-related job performance and safety problems.

ATLANTA – The American College of Rheumatology has released the first classification criteria for polymyalgia rheumatica – aimed at helping physicians identify patients with this condition, which occurs in persons aged 50 years or older who have recent onset of pain in the shoulders, neck and hips along with other inflammatory symptoms not explained by an alternate diagnosis.

A small clinical trial led by researchers at UC San Diego School of Medicine and VA San Diego Healthcare System (VASDHS) found that patients with advanced heart failure and type 2 diabetes showed improved mitochondrial structure after three months of treatment with epicatechin-enriched cocoa. Epicatechin is a flavonoid found in dark chocolate.

Teenagers who turn their backs on a healthy lifestyle and turn to drink, cigarettes and junk food are significantly unhappier than their healthier peers. New research also shows that 12-13 is a catalyst age when young people turn away from the healthy habits of their younger years and start to get involved in risky behaviours.

Philadelphia, PA, March 2, 2012 – When making decisions and counseling about risk and management options for deliveries between 22 and 26 weeks (periviable deliveries), obstetricians are heavily influenced by family preferences, particularly by the impression that parents consistently prefer to have everything possible done to prolong a pregnancy or "save the baby" through interventions such as cesarean section. The results of a University of Pennsylvania study are published in the March issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Living in a poor neighborhood was linked with worse chronic pain for young adults, according to a study by the University of Michigan Health System, but young black patients faced difficulties with pain management no matter where they lived.

With the study, the University of Michigan researchers have opened a new frontier in addressing chronic pain in America.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Four leading heart organizations representing cardiologists and cardiothoracic surgeons released initial recommendations today for creating and maintaining transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) programs. The recommendations are aimed at ensuring optimal care for patients with aortic stenosis, a form of valvular heart disease, as use of the new TAVR procedure grows.

First, the bad news: all across America, trucks and tractor-trailers are transporting industrial explosives on nearly every artery of the country's interstate and highway system. That's right, volatile explosives, including munitions, rocket motors, and dynamite, are moving at a high rate of speed down a roadway not too far from you.

Rochester, MN, March 1, 2012 – Opioids are a mainstay of care in the critical care unit, but their use frequently causes constipation which can lead to adverse outcomes including delayed feeding and later discharge from the ICU. Researchers from London, UK, and Chicago, IL, have found that methylnaltrexone (MNTX), a peripheral opioid antagonist, may restore bowel function in critically ill patients. Their retrospective study appears in the March issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

Italian and Swiss researchers confirm that induced hyperammonaemia significantly increases daytime sleepiness in patients with cirrhosis. The findings available in the March issue of Hepatology, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, show that higher blood levels of ammonia reduced the ability of cirrhotic patients to produce restorative sleep.

COLLEGE PARK, Maryland - The Israeli public is wary of launching airstrikes aimed at disrupting Iran's ability to develop nuclear weapons, reports a new public opinion poll by researchers at the University of Maryland.

Only 19 of percent of all Israelis favored a go-it-alone strike by Israel, while 42 percent supported a strike only with U.S. backing, and 34 percent opposed any strike. Survey findings for Israeli Jews closely paralleled the results for the entire population of the nation.

DARIEN, IL – Aging does not appear to be a factor in poor sleep, a new survey of more than 150,000 Americans shows. In fact, subjective sleep quality seems to improve over a lifetime, with the fewest complaints coming from people in their 80s.

"This flies in the face of popular belief," said Michael Grandner, PhD, lead author of the study. "These results force us to re-think what we know about sleep in older people – men and women."

Although a recent study suggests that women with normal results on dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scans at ages 67 and older may wait up to 15 years for a second test, a Viewpoint article published today in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research (JBMR) cautions that such a lengthy interval is inappropriate for many adults.