BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of acrylic full removable dentures on the perception of four primary tastes (sweet, sour, salty, and bitter), as well as to determine if there is a correlation between changes in body mass index (BMI) and taste perception. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 60 patients who wore acrylic removable dentures and 60 controls were included in the study as a convenient sample. Sixteen solutions for basic tastes were prepared, and the patients were asked to identify the taste of each solution from the lowest concentration. Anthropometric measures, such as height and weight, were measured and recorded in an MS-Excel sheet. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 23. RESULTS: The results showed that patients with complete removable dentures had lower taste scores for sourness (P < 0.001) and sweetness (P < 0.001) compared to the control group. However, there was no significant difference in salt taste scores (P = 0.218) and bitterness (P = 0.002) between the two groups. Additionally, the study found a correlation between lower BMI values and higher taste scores among denture-wearing patients, indicating an inverse relationship between total taste scores and BMI. CONCLUSIONS: The study suggests that geriatric patients with complete dentures have reduced taste sensations compared to those without dentures which can have a negative impact on their nutritional status. Therefore, it is crucial to provide adequate nutritional support and dietary counseling for geriatric patients based on health policy to maintain their overall health and well-being.
Alzheimer disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia worldwide. Its clinical manifestations include a progressive loss of memory and other cognitive domains, as well as brain atrophy. An elevated homocysteine level (>15 µmol/L), known as hyperhomocysteinemia, is also an attributing risk factor for AD, vascular pathologies, and brain atrophy. Neuroimaging studies including T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging scans revealed white matter hyperintensities in the periventricular and deep white matter, enlarged ventricles, widened sulci, and decreased white matter mass, which are features of aging, as well as cerebrovascular changes. This case series investigated changes in biochemical marker levels including serum homocysteine, folate, and vitamin B12, and the degree of atrophic variations in cortical-subcortical white matter in AD. The present study hypothesized that serum homocysteine levels might be used as a surrogate marker to screen for AD at an earlier stage.
Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the major systemic conditions which is a preventable and curable infection but remains a significant cause of death. The WHO, in its global plan to stop TB reports, that poor treatment has resulted in the evolution of Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains that do not respond to treatment with the standard first-line combination of anti- tuberculosis medicines, resulting in the emergence of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in almost every country of the world.The present study was aimed to assess the physical and chemical property of stimulated and unstimulated saliva and identify if any association exist with alterations in taste perception in patients with antituberculosis medications. Methods: A total of 30 patients on anti-tuberculosis drugs were considered as cases and 30 healthy volunteers were considered as controls and included in the study. All study subjects were assessed for their physical property like flow rate, viscosity, pH and chemical property like sodium, potassium, calcium, phosphorous of stimulated and unstimulated saliva. All the subjects on Anti-tuberculosis drugs were assessed for change in taste perceptions using the standard questionnaire. Results: There is a significant decrease in the flow rate (0.34⯱â¯0.06) and pH (5.89⯱â¯0.37) of unstimulated saliva of patients and the flow rate (0.38⯱â¯0.07) and viscosity (1.34⯱â¯0.28) of stimulated saliva among the case group compare to the control group. All the electrolytes' concentrations such as sodium, potassium, calcium, and phosphorous values were significantly altered in stimulated and unstimulated saliva of the case group compared to the control group in which p-valueâ¯<â¯0.05 was considered. Conclusion: There are significant changes in physical and chemical properties of both stimulated and unstimulated saliva which has an effect on taste perception inpatient with anti-tuberculosis medications. Hence, salivary flow rate, pH, viscosity, and salivary electrolytes of tuberculosis patients should be considered as important parameters in guiding the diet, so that there will be an improvement in their taste perception and medication protocol, thus maintaining their nutritional status which leads to improving their health.
