Growing burden of noncommunicable diseases: the contributory role of oral diseases, Eastern Mediterranean Region perspective.

Associations of oral diseases with noncommunicable diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, chronic respiratory diseases, osteoporosis and chronic renal failure are widely reported in the literature from developed countries. Commonality of risk factors, changes in systemic inflammatory mediators and body metabolism play a role in this association. This paper reviews current knowledge on the burden and association of oral and systemic diseases, and highlights the paucity of information and research from the Eastern Mediterranean Region and other developing countries. A call is made for further research to understand the status and significance of oral-systemic disease associations and develop guidelines for their control in this Region.

Simultaneous assessment of TGFB and cell cycle kinetics using IUdR/BrdU infusions in human neoplasms from plastic-embedded tissue.

We describe an immunohistochemical technique that makes use of two monoclonal antibodies (MAb), one to detect the transforming growth factor B (TGFB) and another that reacts with iodo- and bromodeoxyuridine. The purpose of this technique is to determine the relationship between TGFB expression and the S-phase cells in human tumors. Since both can be distinctly identified in situ from tissue embedded in plastic, in assessment of the geographic orientation of S-phase cells in relation to such factors as TGFB, contiguity to blood vessels, nerve fibers, and macrophages can also be achieved.