RESUMEN
PURPOSE: Previous studies have demonstrated that babies are at higher risk for mutans streptococci (ms) colonization if their mothers have dense salivary ms reservoirs relative to babies who have mothers with negligible salivary reservoirs. This communication provides data that identifies another potential risk factor (use of a nursing bottle at bedtime and/or naptime that contains a substrate other than water) for baby infection by ms. METHODS: The study population consisted of 60 babies (28 males/32 females; mean age 15 mos; age range 12-18 mos) who were all healthy, caries free, and slept with a nursing bottle that contained a substrate other than water (NB+). Pooled maxillary incisor plaque and saliva samples were obtained and immediately placed in Reduced Transparent Fluid (RTF); they were serially diluted and plated onto Mitis Salivarius Agar plus Bacitracin (MSB) and blood agar plates within 4 hours of collection; the plates were incubated in an anaerobic environment for 48 h at 37 C and then placed for 24 h under aerobiosis prior to examination; representative ms colonies were isolated and subjected to mannitol and sorbitol fermentation tests for taxonomic verification. Plates with colony counts between 20 and 300 were utilized to determine the % of ms in each sample. RESULTS: Fifty one of the 60(85%) babies harbored ms in at least 1 of the 2 samples. The 95% confidence interval for the proportion of subjects with detectable levels of ms was 73%-93%. Fisher's exact test showed that babies 16-18 mos age were more likely to have detectable levels of ms than babies 12-15 mos age (p = 0.01). Levels of ms in plaque and saliva were as follows: < 0.1% (plaque 27/51, mean age 15 mos, sd 1.77; saliva 28/51, mean age 15 mos, sd 1.76); 0.1%-1.0% (plaque 4/51, mean age 14 mos, sd 1.5; saliva 6/51, mean age 15 mos, sd 1.46); > 1.0% (plaque 14/51, mean age 16 mos, sd 2.1; saliva 11/51, mean age 16 mos, sd 1.91). The density of infection did not vary by age for plaque (P = 0.32) or saliva (P = 0.64). CONCLUSION: These findings support the concept that NB+ is a strong indicator for ms infection in Puerto Rican babies; that prevalence of infection increases with age; and that density of infection does not vary with age in this population.
Asunto(s)
Alimentación con Biberón/efectos adversos , Infecciones Estreptocócicas/epidemiología , Infecciones Estreptocócicas/etiología , Streptococcus mutans/aislamiento & purificación , Factores de Edad , Placa Dental/microbiología , Dieta Cariógena , Femenino , Humanos , Lactante , Masculino , Prevalencia , Puerto Rico/epidemiología , Saliva/microbiologíaRESUMEN
With the use of observations on living and fixed and stained larvae of Nippostrongylus brasiliensis reared in charcoal-feces cultures, an integrated view is presented on the morphology and differentiation of the coelomocytes present in the body cavity of the 2 rhabditiform stages and the exsheathed third stage. Four coelomocytes are present in the newly hatched larva arranged linearly from the base of the esophagus to the genital primordium. They lie subventrally, the anterior 2 on the right side of the ventral nerve cord, the posterior 2 on the left side. Data on the growth of these cells and analysis of their fixed site location in the coelom are presented. The coelomocytes are firmly attached to the inner surface of the body wall by filopodia. However, aberrantly positioned coelomocytes suggest the possibility that detachment and migration may occur. A few minute cytoplasmic inclusions are present in the coelomocytes in living newly hatched larvae and may reach approximately 100 or more in each coelomocyte in the third stage. These inclusions exhibit 2 phases of a pigmentation process. They are colorless in the rhabditiform stages, but simultaneous with the initiation of the second molt to form the infective larva, the inclusions rapidly turn a pink to rose hue. A variety of previous experimental data strongly support the interpretation that the pigment represents an extraordinary concentration of vitamin B12 in the coelomocytes obtained by larval feeding on bacterial B12 synthesizers present in the charcoal-feces cultures.
Asunto(s)
Nippostrongylus/citología , Animales , Diferenciación Celular , Larva/citología , Nippostrongylus/crecimiento & desarrollo , Pigmentación/fisiologíaRESUMEN
A sample of 167 Puerto Rican children whose ages ranged from six months to forty-seven months (mean = 23 months) were studied. Children were examined for Early Childhood Caries with light and mirror and a structured interview was administered to parents and caretakers to identify risk factors. Results indicated that only 37.4 percent of the children were free of decalcification lesions or frank decay. While 53.9 percent of the children had lesions on maxillary incisors, 40.0 percent had molars affected by decalcification lesions and caries. Analysis of risk factors indicate that giving the baby a bottle when crying at night, number of adults and children in the family, use of fluoridated dentifrice, and age of the child were associated with the caries process in these children. Bottle and breast feeding, per se, were not risk factors. Disease patterns suggest other dietary risk factors, such as frequent snacking on food/drinks with sugar.
Asunto(s)
Caries Dental/epidemiología , Hispánicos o Latinos , Adulto , Alimentación con Biberón/efectos adversos , Preescolar , Caries Dental/etiología , Caries Dental/prevención & control , Composición Familiar , Femenino , Hispánicos o Latinos/psicología , Hispánicos o Latinos/estadística & datos numéricos , Humanos , Lactante , Entrevistas como Asunto , Masculino , Relaciones Padres-Hijo , Prevalencia , Puerto Rico/epidemiología , Factores de Riesgo , Desmineralización Dental/epidemiología , Desmineralización Dental/etiologíaRESUMEN
Bacteria in rat feces cultures that had synthesized vitamin B12 were ingested by the free-living stages of Nippostrongylus brasiliensis and the vitamin was concentrated and stored in the third-stage infective filariform larvae. As assayed with Ochromonas malhamensis, the vitamin B12 content of a single filariform larva as well as the concentration expressed as microgram B12 per g filariform larvae reached extraordinarily high levels, the latter being the highest yet recorded for a metazoan organism. The stored B12 content of the filariforms surviving in fecal culture for as long as 104 days remained constant, whereas the B12 concentration rose due to gradual loss of larval body weight. This storage strategy ensured that a high level of the vitamin would be immediately available to the rapidly growing and differentiating worms following infection of the rat. The changing patterns of B12 content and concentration during the parasitic cycle were followed quantitatively and correlated with B12 turnover, increase in worm weight with growth, and incorporation of B12 into the eggs. The possible sources of B12 and its metabolic functions in nematodes are discussed.
Asunto(s)
Heces/parasitología , Nippostrongylus/metabolismo , Infecciones por Strongylida/parasitología , Vitamina B 12/metabolismo , Animales , Femenino , Intestino Delgado/parasitología , Larva/crecimiento & desarrollo , Larva/metabolismo , Pulmón/parasitología , Masculino , Nippostrongylus/crecimiento & desarrollo , Ratas , Ratas Sprague-DawleyRESUMEN
One hundred and thirty Mexican-American children ages nine to thirty-four months (Mean = 17.1 months), and their parents/caretakers were studied at a farmworkers clinic in rural Washington. Parents/caretakers participated in a bilingual interview; then each child received a dental examination, and a cotton swab was used to collect plaque for a caries activity test (Cariostat). Results showed that 7 percent had at least one maxillary incisor decayed and 30.4 percent had at least one incisor with a white spot lesion. The Cariostat was related to dental age, but not to disease. Forty percent of the parents/caretakers whose children had disease were aware of the problem. Immediate substitution of cup for bottle and the elimination of extra nighttime feedings were the least likely interventions endorsed by the subjects. Other interventions, including periodic visits for fluoride applications were much more likely.
Asunto(s)
Caries Dental/prevención & control , Americanos Mexicanos , Determinación de la Edad por los Dientes , Actitud Frente a la Salud , Alimentación con Biberón , Preescolar , Pruebas de Actividad de Caries Dental , Placa Dental/microbiología , Fluoruros/administración & dosificación , Fluoruros/uso terapéutico , Fluoruros Tópicos/administración & dosificación , Fluoruros Tópicos/uso terapéutico , Humanos , Incisivo , Lactante , Alimentos Infantiles , Proyectos Piloto , Diente Primario , Washingtón , DesteteRESUMEN
Treatment of severe BBTD in very young children often requires the use of general anesthetic. In 1987, the cost was estimated at $700-$1,000; add another $1,000, if hospitalization is needed. Informal surveys of dentists across the country indicate that in 1991-1992, the cost of treatment has increased substantially.
Asunto(s)
Alimentación con Biberón/efectos adversos , Caries Dental/epidemiología , Americanos Mexicanos , Migrantes , Adulto , Actitud , Actitud Frente a la Salud , Conducta Infantil , Cuidado del Niño , Preescolar , Atención Odontológica , Caries Dental/prevención & control , Femenino , Humanos , Lactante , Masculino , Americanos Mexicanos/psicología , Americanos Mexicanos/estadística & datos numéricos , México/etnología , Relaciones Padres-Hijo , Proyectos Piloto , Factores de Riesgo , Migrantes/psicología , Migrantes/estadística & datos numéricos , Washingtón/epidemiologíaRESUMEN
Archaeological excavations in Mexico and South America have provided evidence that trephination of the skull was performed by the pre-Hispanic Mexican and Incan cultures. Because those who performed such operations on the skull, presumably for ritual, prophylactic, or therapeutic reasons, can be considered predecessors of modern intracranial surgeons, their techniques and results are a subject of considerable current interest. This article, adapted from a lecture presented to the 1986 Congress of Neurological Surgeons, summarizes published descriptions of 34 trephined South and Central American and Mexican skull specimens, 16 of which were unearthed in Mexico and are currently available for review in anthropological museums in Mexico. Examples of several surgical techniques used on these skulls are presented. Although some trephinations were performed by these early cranial surgeons for apparently therapeutic reasons on skulls with obvious evidence of traumatic fractures, the interpretation of the medical, psychiatric, cultural, or religious significance of such procedures remains largely speculative.
Asunto(s)
Arqueología , Indígenas Centroamericanos/historia , Trepanación/historia , Historia Antigua , Humanos , MéxicoAsunto(s)
Hormonas de Invertebrados/análisis , Nippostrongylus/análisis , Animales , Colesterol/metabolismo , Medios de Cultivo , Ecdisteroides , Hormonas de Invertebrados/biosíntesis , Larva/análisis , Larva/metabolismo , Nippostrongylus/crecimiento & desarrollo , Nippostrongylus/metabolismo , RadioinmunoensayoRESUMEN
25-Azasteroids were evaluated for their effects on the growth and development of the free-living stages of Nippostrongylus brasiliensis and Nematospiroides dubius. Increasing the concentration of 25-azasteroids in axenic cultures of either species resulted in a decrease in the percentage and mean length of larvae that developed to the third stage. Morphologic abnormalities of inhibited larvae were similar to those shown by larvae cultured in sterol-deficient medium. Addition of cholesterol to the culture medium reversed the inhibitive effects of azasteroid. Azasteroid completely inhibited growth and development of N. brasiliensis when the only sterol present in the culture medium was sitosterol. These results suggest similar pathways of sterol metabolism and similar mechanisms of action by azasteroids in the nematodes and insects that have been studied.