Caries Assessment Spectrum and Treatment: Would It direct Future Epidemiological Surveys?

AIM: To evaluate caries spectrum among 12- and 15-year-old Indian children using the Caries Assessment Spectrum and Treatment (CAST) index. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An epidemiological survey of the schoolchildren was carried out in a district in India. A stratified cluster random sampling method was used to select the sample. The caries prevalence of the surveyed population was obtained by using this CAST tool. Chi-square test was used to verify the association between dental fluorosis, socioeconomic status, and age and caries experience. Mann-Whitney U-test was used to compare the caries experience between the two age groups. RESULTS: A total of 2,610 children were examined. The majority of the schoolchildren (12 years: 74.2%, 15 years: 75.5%) were healthy concerning their caries experience and the prevalence of the other codes was minimal. The prevalence of dentin carious lesions and the percent of restorable teeth was greater among the 15-year-olds. The mean decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) of 12- and 15-year-old subjects was calculated to be 0.22 and 0.29 respectively. CONCLUSION: The currently surveyed population showed a low caries prevalence and the use of the tool highlighted the caries spectrum in an impressive way. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: A well-designed tool to assess the carious spectrum of an individual or a community, thus enabling the responsible stakeholders to plan an appropriate care that is necessary.

Intra-articular nuclear factor-κB blockade ameliorates collagen-induced arthritis in mice by eliciting regulatory T cells and macrophages.

Nuclear factor (NF)-κB is a transcription factor implicated in the pathogenesis of autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Here we have examined the effect of intra-articular administration of the IKK inhibitor, NEMO-binding domain peptide (NBD), on the severity of collagen-induced arthritis (CIA). NBD peptides were injected intra-articularly into the knee joints of DBA/1J mice after the onset of disease. Collagen-injected mice given a scrambled peptide served as controls. Arthritis severity was determined by visual examination of paws. Intra-articular NBD injection reduced the arthritis score and ameliorated morphological signs of bone destruction compared to the controls. Serum levels of type-II collagen-specific immunoglobulin (Ig)G2a antibodies were lower in NBD-treated mice versus the control mice, whereas the levels of type-II collagen-specific IgG1 antibodies were increased by NBD treatment. NBD treatment diminished the proinflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-17 and interferon (IFN)-γ in serum, but increased the regulatory cytokine IL-10. NBD-treated CIA mice exhibited significantly higher percentages and numbers of forkhead box protein 3 (FoxP3(+)) CD4(+) CD25(+) regulatory T cells than controls. Immunofluorescence analysis of NBD-treated mice revealed that FoxP3 and Ym1, a marker of alternatively activated macrophages, were juxtaposed to each other within draining inguinal lymph nodes. Intra-articular administration of NBD peptide is effective as an experimental therapy in a murine model of RA. Nevertheless, the intra-articular treatment modality is still associated with systemic effects on the immune system.

Murine lupus strains differentially model unique facets of human lupus serology.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a polygenic autoimmune disease characterized by the production of anti-nuclear autoantibodies that lead to subsequent end organ damage. Previous array-based studies in patients with SLE have shown that high immunoglobulin (Ig)G anti-nuclear autoantibody reactivity was associated with severe renal lupus, whereas IgM polyreactivity was associated with less severe disease. To ascertain how different murine lupus strains recapitulate these different autoantibody profiles seen in patients, serum from New Zealand black (NZB)/NZ white (W) F(1), Murphy Roths large (MRL)/lpr, NZ mixed (M)2410 and BXSB strains were compared using a comprehensive array-based screen. The array results were verified using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs). Serum from MRL/lpr mice exhibited high levels of IgG anti-nuclear antibodies as well as anti-glomerular antibodies and variable levels of antibodies to myosin, Matrigel and thyroglobulin. Elevated anti-nuclear IgG antibodies were associated with severe nephritis in this strain. In contrast, NZM2410 mice exhibited lower IgG autoantibody levels with less severe nephritis but a significantly higher polyreactive IgM autoantibody profile. ELISA analysis confirmed these results. The NZB/NZW F(1) and BXSB strains exhibited an intermediate serological profile. Hence, just as in patients with SLE, whereas strong IgG reactivity to nuclear antigens is associated with severe renal disease, a polyreactive IgM seroprofile is also less ominous in murine lupus.