Melbourne Dental School - Research Publications
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ItemKimura's disease: an uncommon cause of head and neck masses with potentially serious sequelae(OXFORD UNIV PRESS, 2015-10-01)Kimura's disease (KD) typically presents as a mass in the head and neck region in association with eosinophilia and elevated serum IgE. Excisional biopsy is often required in order to obtain an adequate sample for histological diagnosis and exclude malignancy. If suspected, patients should also be investigated for renal involvement as this may complicate KD. Treatment options include surgical excision and medical therapies such as corticosteroids depending on the extent and severity of disease.
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ItemSleep quality and the treatment of intestinal microbiota imbalance in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A pilot study.(Georg Thieme Verlag KG, 2015-11)Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) is a multisystem illness, which may be associated with imbalances in gut microbiota. This study builds on recent evidence that sleep may be influenced by gut microbiota, by assessing whether changes to microbiota in a clinical population known to have both poor sleep and high rates of colonization with gram-positive faecal Streptococcus, can improve sleep. Twenty-one CFS participants completed a 22- day open label trial. Faecal microbiota analysis was performed at baseline and at the end of the trial. Participants were administered erythromycin 400 mg b.d. for 6 days. Actigraphy and questionnaires were used to monitor sleep, symptoms and mood. Changes in patients who showed a clinically significant change in faecal Streptococcus after treatment (responders; defined as post-therapy distribution<6%) were compared to participants who did not respond to treatment. In the seven responders, there was a significant increase in actigraphic total sleep time (p=0.028) from baseline to follow up, compared with non-responders. Improved vigour scores were associated with a lower Streptococcus count (ρ=-0.90, p=0.037). For both the responders and the whole group, poorer mood was associated with higher Lactobacillus. Short term antibiotic treatment appears to be insufficient to effect sustainable changes in the gut ecosystem in most CFS participants. Some improvement in objective sleep parameters and mood were found in participants with reduced levels of gram-positive gut microbiota after antibiotic treatment, which is encouraging. Further study of possible links between gut microorganisms and sleep and mood disturbances is warranted.
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ItemPrevalence of chronic periodontitis in an obese population: a preliminary study(BMC, 2015-09-29)BACKGROUND: Chronic periodontitis (CP) is a global public health issue. Studies have suggested CP could be linked to obesity due to their similar pathophysiological pathway. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of CP and to assess the predictors for CP among the obese Malaysian population. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study on obese participants. Obesity is defined as an individual who has Body Mass Index (BMI) ≥ 27.5 kg/m(2). A convenience sampling method was used. A total of 165 paricipants were recruited. This study involved answering questionnaires, obtaining biometric and clinical measurements of Visible plaque index (VPI), Gingival bleeding index (GBI), Probing pocket depth (PPD) and Clinical attachment loss (CAL). Data analysis was carried out using SPSS statistical software (SPSS Inc., version 20, US). RESULTS: A total of 165 participants; 67 (40.6%) males and 98 (59.4%) females participated in the study. Mean age of the participants was 43.9 (± 8.9). The prevalence of CP among the obese population was found to be 73.9%. Out of this, 43 and 55% were categorised as moderate and severe CP respectively. Around 64% of participants had sites with CAL ≥ 4 mm and participants with sites with PPD ≥ 4 mm were reported to be 25%. Around 83% of the participants had sites with GBI ≥ 30 and 92% of participants had sites with VPI ≥ 20%. GBI and VPI were found to have significantly higher odds for CP. CONCLUSION: Prevalence of CP was high among obese Malaysians. GBI and VPI were potential predictors for CP in this obese population.
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ItemBayesian Modeling and Chronological Precision for Polynesian Settlement of Tonga(PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE, 2015-03-23)First settlement of Polynesia, and population expansion throughout the ancestral Polynesian homeland are foundation events for global history. A precise chronology is paramount to informed archaeological interpretation of these events and their consequences. Recently applied chronometric hygiene protocols excluding radiocarbon dates on wood charcoal without species identification all but eliminates this chronology as it has been built for the Kingdom of Tonga, the initial islands to be settled in Polynesia. In this paper we re-examine and redevelop this chronology through application of Bayesian models to the questioned suite of radiocarbon dates, but also incorporating short-lived wood charcoal dates from archived samples and high precision U/Th dates on coral artifacts. These models provide generation level precision allowing us to track population migration from first Lapita occupation on the island of Tongatapu through Tonga's central and northern island groups. They further illustrate an exceptionally short duration for the initial colonizing Lapita phase and a somewhat abrupt transition to ancestral Polynesian society as it is currently defined.
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ItemThe Neolithic Demographic Transition in Europe: Correlation with Juvenility Index Supports Interpretation of the Summed Calibrated Radiocarbon Date Probability Distribution (SCDPD) as a Valid Demographic Proxy(PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE, 2014-08-25)Analysis of the proportion of immature skeletons recovered from European prehistoric cemeteries has shown that the transition to agriculture after 9000 BP triggered a long-term increase in human fertility. Here we compare the largest analysis of European cemeteries to date with an independent line of evidence, the summed calibrated date probability distribution of radiocarbon dates (SCDPD) from archaeological sites. Our cemetery reanalysis confirms increased growth rates after the introduction of agriculture; the radiocarbon analysis also shows this pattern, and a significant correlation between both lines of evidence confirms the demographic validity of SCDPDs. We analyze the areal extent of Neolithic enclosures and demographic data from ethnographically known farming and foraging societies and we estimate differences in population levels at individual sites. We find little effect on the overall shape and precision of the SCDPD and we observe a small increase in the correlation with the cemetery trends. The SCDPD analysis supports the hypothesis that the transition to agriculture dramatically increased demographic growth, but it was followed within centuries by a general pattern of collapse even after accounting for higher settlement densities during the Neolithic. The study supports the unique contribution of SCDPDs as a valid demographic proxy for the demographic patterns associated with early agriculture.
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ItemRegional population collapse followed initial agriculture booms in mid-Holocene Europe(NATURE PORTFOLIO, 2013-10-01)Following its initial arrival in SE Europe 8,500 years ago agriculture spread throughout the continent, changing food production and consumption patterns and increasing population densities. Here we show that, in contrast to the steady population growth usually assumed, the introduction of agriculture into Europe was followed by a boom-and-bust pattern in the density of regional populations. We demonstrate that summed calibrated radiocarbon date distributions and simulation can be used to test the significance of these demographic booms and busts in the context of uncertainty in the radiocarbon date calibration curve and archaeological sampling. We report these results for Central and Northwest Europe between 8,000 and 4,000 cal. BP and investigate the relationship between these patterns and climate. However, we find no evidence to support a relationship. Our results thus suggest that the demographic patterns may have arisen from endogenous causes, although this remains speculative.
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ItemThe gastrointestinal microbiome and musculoskeletal diseases: a beneficial role for probiotics and prebiotics.(MDPI AG, 2013-11-14)Natural medicines are an attractive option for patients diagnosed with common and debilitating musculoskeletal diseases such as Osteoarthritis (OA) or Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). The high rate of self-medication with natural products is due to (1) lack of an available cure and (2) serious adverse events associated with chronic use of pharmaceutical medications in particular non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and high dose paracetamol. Pharmaceuticals to treat pain may disrupt gastrointestinal (GIT) barrier integrity inducing GIT inflammation and a state of and hyper-permeability. Probiotics and prebiotics may comprise plausible therapeutic options that can restore GIT barrier functionality and down regulate pro-inflammatory mediators by modulating the activity of, for example, Clostridia species known to induce pro-inflammatory mediators. The effect may comprise the rescue of gut barrier physiological function. A postulated requirement has been the abrogation of free radical formation by numerous natural antioxidant molecules in order to improve musculoskeletal health outcomes, this notion in our view, is in error. The production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in different anatomical environments including the GIT by the epithelial lining and the commensal microbe cohort is a regulated process, leading to the formation of hydrogen peroxide which is now well recognized as an essential second messenger required for normal cellular homeostasis and physiological function. The GIT commensal profile that tolerates the host does so by regulating pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory GIT mucosal actions through the activity of ROS signaling thereby controlling the activity of pathogenic bacterial species.
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ItemAn investigation on micro-Raman spectra and wavelet data analysis for pemphigus vulgaris follow-up monitoring(MDPI, 2008-06-01)A wavelet multi-component decomposition algorithm has been used for data analysis of micro-Raman spectra of blood serum samples from patients affected by pemphigus vulgaris at different stages. Pemphigus is a chronic, autoimmune, blistering disease of the skin and mucous membranes with a potentially fatal outcome. Spectra were measured by means of a Raman confocal microspectrometer apparatus using the 632.8 nm line of a He-Ne laser source. A discrete wavelet transform decomposition method has been applied to the recorded Raman spectra in order to overcome problems related to low-level signals and the presence of noise and background components due to light scattering and fluorescence. This numerical data treatment can automatically extract quantitative information from the Raman spectra and makes more reliable the data comparison. Even if an exhaustive investigation has not been done in this work, the feasibility of the follow-up monitoring of pemphigus vulgaris pathology has been clearly proved with useful implications for the clinical applications.
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ItemClinical Practice: Giant Cell Tumour of the Jaw Mimicking Bone Malignancy on Three-Dimensional Computed Tomography (3D CT) Reconstruction.(Bentham Science Publishers Ltd., 2008)A wide range of diseases may present with radiographic features of osteolysis. Periapical inflammation, cysts and benign tumours, bone malignancies, all of these conditions may show bone resorption on radiograph. Features of the surrounding bone, margins of the lesion, and biological behaviour including tendency to infiltration and root resorption, may represent important criteria for distinguishing benign tumours from their malign counterpart, although the radiographic aspect of the lesion is not always predictive. Therefore a critical differential diagnosis has to be reached to choose the best management. Here, we report a case of giant cell tumour (GCT) whose radiological features by computed tomography (CT) suggested the presence of bone malignancy, whereas the evaluation of a routine OPT scan comforted us about the benign nature of the lesion. A brief review of the literature on such a benign but locally aggressive neoplasm is also provided.