Jukka H Meurman

OBJECTIVES: To investigate subjective, clinical and radiographic findings relating to the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD), ankylosing spondylitis (AS), and spondyloarthropathy (SPA), and to compare the findings with those in age- and sex-matched control subjects.

STUDY DESIGN: Eighty patients (24 with RA, 16 with MCTD, 19 with AS, 21 with SPA) and 80 matched controls participated in the study. Replies to a ...

Nonopsonic phagocytosis of Bacillus cereus by human polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) with particular attention to bacterial surface properties and structure was studied. Two reference strains (ATCC 14579(T) and ATCC 4342) and two clinical isolates (OH599 and OH600) from periodontal and endodontic infections were assessed for adherence to matrix proteins, such as type I collagen, fibronectin, laminin, and fibrinogen. One-day-old cultures of strains OH599 and OH600 were readily ingested ...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: To investigate the levels of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) -8 and -9 with the simultaneous presence of periodontal pathogens in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) as well as MMP-9 and cholesterol in blood. Although bacterial pathogens are required to initiate the periodontal disease process, in some individuals the reaction to bacteria may lead to an excessive host response, resulting in a general inflammatory response.

METHODS: MMP-9 and lipids were analyzed ...

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of self-reported symptoms of dry mouth and burning mouth in the frail elderly. We expected to find the studied symptoms more frequently in the frail elderly than in those who were healthier.

STUDY DESIGN: We examined 175 home-living elderly patients (mean age with SD, 82 +/- 5.7 years) hospitalized because of sudden worsening of their general health. For comparison, 252 elderly outpatients (mean age with SD, 77 +/- ...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: An association has been found between periodontal disease and the development of atherosclerosis. We investigated the hypothesis that periodontal disease triggers the expression of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) and tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1) in blood. Increased levels of these parameters might then indicate early atherosclerosis.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, the material comprised 80 subjects with chronic ...

BACKGROUND: Triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells (TREM-1) is a cell-surface receptor involved in amplification of inflammatory response to bacterial infections, along with its ligand peptidoglycan recognition protein 1 (PGLYRP1). TREM-1 is shed by matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) to its soluble (s) form. The aim of the study is to investigate association of sTREM-1 and PGLYRP1 with oral inflammatory burden among patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) at predialysis and ...

OBJECTIVE: To examine whether long term consumption of a probiotic milk could reduce gastrointestinal and respiratory infections in children in day care centres.

DESIGN: Randomised, double blind, placebo controlled study over seven months.

SETTING: 18 day care centres in Helsinki, Finland.

PARTICIPANTS: 571 healthy children aged 1-6 years: 282 (mean (SD) age 4.6 (1.5) years) in the intervention group and 289 (mean (SD) age 4.4 (1.5) years) in the control group.

INTERVENTION: Milk with or ...

A bovine tooth model system was used to study the effect of experimental salivary pellicle on enamel erosion. Test blocks with varnish-covered control surfaces in each specimen were immersed into an acidic cola beverage (pH 2.6) for 120 min, either with or without the pellicle which was grown for 7 days by using clarified human saliva. After immersion, the pellicle was removed from some specimens with 10% sodium hypochlorite (20 h at 20 degrees C) and ultrasonic bath (60 s) to study its ...

The pathogenetic mechanisms behind alcohol-associated carcinogenesis in the upper digestive tract remain unclear, as alcohol is not carcinogenic. However, there is increasing evidence that a major part of the tumour-promoting action of alcohol might be mediated via its first, toxic and carcinogenic metabolite acetaldehyde. Acetaldehyde is produced from ethanol in the epithelia by mucosal alcohol dehydrogenases, but much higher levels derive from microbial oxidation of ethanol by the oral ...

The aim of this study was to examine salivary flow rate and its association with the use of medication in a representative sample of 76-, 81-, and 86-year-old subjects, totaling 368. In this study, 23% (n = 80) of the subjects were unmedicated. From one to three daily medications were used by 47% (n = 168) and more than four medications by 30% (n = 104). The most commonly used medications were nitrates, digitalis or anti-arrhythmic drugs (47.7%), analgesics and antipyretics (32.6%), and ...

Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, ATCC (LGG), has shown antagonism to many bacteria including mutans streptococci. This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled intervention study was designed to examine whether milk containing LGG has an effect on caries and the risk of caries in children when compared with normal milk. 594 children, 1-6 years old, from 18 municipal day-care centres were included. The children received the milk with meals from coded containers 5 days a week in the ...

The identification of periodontal pathogens by conventional methods is time-consuming and difficult. Therefore, a multiplex PCR method for simultaneous detection of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans (A.a.) and Porphyromonas gingivalis (P.g.) was developed for rapid and easy determination of these risk-indicator bacteria in human periodontal disease. The PCR primers were designed to hybridize to various regions of 16S rRNA genes, and a hot-start technique was used to obtain maximum ...

OBJECTIVE: We investigated the effects of rheumatic diseases on oral symptoms, health habits, and quality of life in subjects with and without rheumatic diseases. The hypothesis was that patients with rheumatic diseases have more oral symptoms impairing their quality of life than healthy controls.

METHODS: A questionnaire was mailed to a random sample of 1500 members of the Finnish Rheumatism Association, including those with and without rheumatic diseases. We focused on symptoms of the ...

Female sex hormones also affect the mouth but there are little data on oral health of menopause age women. This 2-year follow-up study investigated oral health of perimenopausal and early postmenopausal women. Because hormone replacement therapy (HRT) users have been reported to be more health conscious than nonusers, we expected differences between women using and women not using HRT. Of 3,173 women, a random sample of 400 (200 using and 200 not using HRT) was examined. Of them, 161 ...