Newly discovered bacterium may have a role in gingival disease

Researchers at the University of Michigan have identified a bacterium commonly present in the oral flora of rats that they called NI1060. This bacterium is associated with the development of a model of periodontitis in rats. The researchers found that NI1060 accumulated at sites where gum tissue was damaged and activated a protein in the buccal cavity that stimulates bone-destroying cells. Under normal circumstances, this protein, Nod1, fights harmful bacteria in the body. "Nod1 is a part of our mechanisms of protection against bacterial infection," says corresponding author Noahiro Lnohara, Ph.D., associate professor of research at University of Michigan Health System, Ann Harbor. "It helps us fight infection by recruiting neutrophils, blood cells that act as bacterial killers, and it also removes harmful bacteria during infection." However, in the case of periodontitis, the accumulation of NI1060 stimulates Nod1 to activate neutrophils and osteoclasts, bone-destroying cells in the oral cavity. "

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Diabetes: new treatments open perspectives for disease control

In the world, by the year 2013, diabetes already affects approximately 371 million people. Here in Brazil, we are the fourth country in the world in number of cases, almost 13.4 million Brazilians, according to data that same year. Offer new possibilities of treatments, with greater convenience, effectiveness and control of sugar levels in the blood: these have been the focus of several studies in recent decades, with the goal of making diabetics' lives simpler and easier.

(Health)

Spending many hours sitting increases chances of breast cancer

In addition to cigarette smoking, family history, and drinking, sitting too much is also a risk factor for developing breast and colon cancer, a joint study by scientists at the American Institute for Cancer Research and Alberta Health Services in Canada. According to the researchers, approximately 100,000 cases of these two types of cancer could be prevented if people with a propensity to develop the disease spent less time sitting.

(Health)