No association between dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2) alleles and crack/cocaine dependence in Brazilians

INTRODUCTION: The causal mechanisms behind crack/cocaine use are still unknown, but genetic influences are suggested. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between the genetic polymorphism TaqI (rs1800497) in the dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2) gene and susceptibility to crack/cocaine dependence in a group of addicts to crack/cocaine and a non-addicted group. METHODS: The case group (n=515) was composed of crack/cocaine-dependent men and the control group (n=106) comprised men who were considered not dependent on crack/cocaine. The oral hygiene habits, decayed, missing, and filled teeth index, gingival index, and plaque index were evaluated. The reference single nucleotide polymorphism (rs1800497 C/T) of the DRD2 gene was genotyped by a real-time polymerase chain reaction technique. Student's t-tests for independent samples or the non-parametric Mann-Whitney test were used to compare groups regarding quantitative variables. RESULTS: The case group showed a mean time of 9.91±7.03 years of crack use, and 61.06±92.96 stones/week. The socio-demographic profile of the sample was White, single men, with basic education, blue-collar worker, smoker, and reporting alcohol use. There was a high frequency of gingival inflammation, plaque accumulation, and caries experience. For all genetic models tested, there was no significant difference in the genotypic frequency in rs1800497 of the DRD2 gene, between case and control groups (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: The genetic variant in the DRD2 did not increase the vulnerability to develop crack/cocaine dependence. The complex genetic nature of crack/cocaine dependence and a large variation of DRD2 allele frequencies, depending on the population group sampled, could be one explanation for the no association.

Relationship between taste perception and use of upper complete dentures.

AIMS: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the taste perception in patients with upper complete dentures. METHODS AND RESULTS: One hundred seventy male and female patients (45-83 years old) upper denture wearers were evaluated for their gustatory function by the paper strips technique in relation to the four basic tastes. The taste test was performed with and without the presence of the denture on the palate. Through Shapiro-Wilk and Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests, the results were analyzed by their normal distribution. The t-test for paired samples was used to evaluate if there was a statistical difference on the taste perception and itself revealed that there is a significant difference (p < 0.01) when the taste perception was analyzed for the absence and presence of the prosthesis (alone and compared) (p < 0.01). The results revealed that patients with dentures had great difficulty to recognize the bitter taste, followed by the salty, sweet, and sour. CONCLUSION: The presence of the denture was able to modify the perception of taste when compared to its absence, especially for the bitter taste.

Worse Caries Experience Does Not Lead to Worse Overall Health

ABSTRACT Objective: To analyze caries experience depending on periodontitis affection concomitant or not with cardiovascular risks or mental health issues with the hypothesis that worse accumulated caries experience is not necessarily the result of the presence of concomitant overall health issues. Material and Methods: All subjects of this cross-sectional study were participants of the Dental Registry and DNA Repository project. Variables age, ethnicity, sex, caries experience, periodontitis and mental disease statuses and blood pressure assessment, dental clinical data (DMFT, DMFS and periodontitis) were evaluated and collected from the clinical records. We used chi-square, Fisher's exact, or Student's t-tests to determine differences in frequencies of sex, age, ethnicity, and dental clinical data depending on caries experience, periodontitis, mental health status, and cardiovascular risks. The established alpha was 5%. Results: Of the total 1,437 subjects included in this study, 407 were individuals with high blood pressure and 1,030 were individuals without high blood pressure. Also, 558 were individuals with mental disease and 879 were individuals without mental disease. High blood pressure patients were mostly men (47.17%) and women were the majority when analyzing patients with mental illness (60.04%). Most of the patients in the different groups were white, with a mean age ranging from 15.4 to 88 years. Conclusion: We concluded that caries experience concomitant or not with periodontitis affection does not associate with high blood pressure and mental disease.

Whether drug detection in urine and oral fluid is similar? A systematic review.

Urine has been a biological matrix of choice for drug screening, but recent advances in technology and the introduction of commercial oral fluid assays have effectively established oral fluid as a viable alternative matrix. This systematic review aimed to evaluate the sensitivity of oral fluid in detecting some illicit drugs compared to urine, and to compare the initial and final detection times of these drugs in both fluids. The electronic search in MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, Scopus, and Web of Science was carried out covering studies published from January 2003 and June 2019, in order to find all valid studies that detected drugs in oral fluid and urine in the same patient. Studies about illicit drugs, such as tetrahydrocannabinol, cocaine, amphetamines and illicit opioids, with fluids collection at the same day, controlled drug administration during the study, reported administration interval and time of collection were favored. Out of 2598 studies identified by electronic search, 7 studies were selected for qualitative analysis. Five were clinical trials and 2 were crossover trials. In total, 74 patients aged 20-52 years underwent a diagnostic examination (4 studies with tetrahydrocannabinol, 1 with methamphetamine, and 2 with cocaine) after drug administration. Illicit drug detection in oral fluid is similar to urine but oral fluid has a strong potential for the immediate detection of recent marijuana use compared to urine. In relation to cocaine and methamphetamine, the largest drugs detection window is obtained through urine analysis. Oral fluids cannot replace urine for most of the purposes of drug testing.

Perception of taste in HIV-positive individuals in treatment antiretroviral: results of a case-control study.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the perception of taste in HIV-infected patients. METHOD: One hundred males and females (11 to 60 years old) were divided into two groups (50 patients infected by HIV and 50 controls) and evaluated for gustatory function. RESULTS: The results revealed that the mean score in the evaluation of taste was significantly lower in individuals with HIV when compared to controls for both sides of the tongue (p < 0.05). Patients with HIV infection had difficulty recognizing the bitter taste, followed by salty and sweet. When each side of the tongue was evaluated separately and compared, the Wilcoxon test showed that there was no significant difference on the tongue of individuals with HIV. The prevalence of hypogeusia was 20% in individuals with this disease. CONCLUSIONS: Individuals with HIV infection may have a deficit in taste that can affect your general and oral health.