Electroencephalographic signatures of the binge drinking pattern during adolescence and young adulthood: A PRISMA-driven systematic review

Research on neurophysiological impairments associated with binge drinking (BD), an excessive but episodic alcohol use pattern, has significantly increased over the last decade. This work is the first to systematically review -following PRISMA guidelines- the empirical evidence regarding the effects of BD on neural activity -assessed by electroencephalography- of adolescents and young adults. A systematic review was conducted in 34 studies (N = 1723). Results indicated that binge drinkers (BDs) showed similar behavioral performance as non/low drinkers. The most solid electrophysiological finding was an augmented P3 amplitude during attention, working memory and inhibition tasks. This increased neural activity suggests the recruitment of additional resources to perform the task at adequate/successful levels, which supports the neurocompensation hypothesis. Similar to alcoholics, BDs also displayed increased reactivity to alcohol-related cues, augmented resting-state electrophysiological signal and reduced activity during error detection -which gives support to the continuum hypothesis. Evidence does not seem to support greater vulnerability to BD in females. Replication and longitudinal studies are required to account for mixed results and to elucidate the extent/direction of the neural impairments associated with BD.Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) through the Portuguese State Budget [Ref.: UIDB/PSI/01662/2020]. This study was also supported by the project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-028672, funded by FCT and the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER). Eduardo López-Caneda and Alberto Crego were supported by the FCT and the Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education, within the scope of the Individual Call to Scientific Employment Stimulus (CEECIND/02979/2018), and within the scope of the Transitory Disposition of the Decrete No. 57/2016, of 29th of August, amended by Law No. 57/2017 of 19 July, respectively. Natália Antunes was supported by a fellowship from the FCT (SFRH/BD/146194/2019). Carina Carbia has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement [grant number 754535

Raising the Bar: Improving Methodological Rigour in Cognitive Alcohol Research

Background and Aims: A range of experimental paradigms claim to measure the cognitive processes underpinning alcohol use, suggesting that heightened attentional bias, greater approach tendencies and reduced cue-specific inhibitory control are important drivers of consumption. This paper identifies methodological shortcomings within this broad domain of research and exemplifies them in studies focused specifically on alcohol-related attentional bias. Argument and analysis: We highlight five main methodological issues: (i) the use of inappropriately matched control stimuli; (ii) opacity of stimulus selection and validation procedures; (iii) a credence in noisy measures; (iv) a reliance on unreliable tasks; and (v) variability in design and analysis. This is evidenced through a review of alcohol-related attentional bias (64 empirical articles, 68 tasks), which reveals the following: only 53% of tasks use appropriately matched control stimuli; as few as 38% report their stimulus selection and 19% their validation procedures; less than 28% used indices capable of disambiguating attentional processes; 22% assess reliability; and under 2% of studies were pre-registered. Conclusions: Well-matched and validated experimental stimuli, the development of reliable cognitive tasks and explicit assessment of their psychometric properties, and careful consideration of behavioural indices and their analysis will improve the methodological rigour of cognitive alcohol research. Open science principles can facilitate replication and reproducibility in alcohol research

Is silver diamine fluoride effective in preventing and arresting caries in elderly adults? A systematic review

Aim: Silver diamine fluoride (SDF) has invoked interest in recent times due to its remineralization capacity and non-invasive application procedure. The aim of this systematic review was to report the findings concerning the effectiveness of SDF in managing caries in the elderly adults. Materials and Methods: A systematic search of publications was conducted using four databases: PubMed, MEDLINE, Embase, and CENTRAL. The key MeSH term combinations used were (silver diamine fluoride) AND (caries) AND (elderly). Results: The review found only three well-conducted randomized controlled trials evaluating the effectiveness of SDF on root caries in community-dwelling elders. None of the studies addressed coronal caries. The effectiveness improved when combined with structured oral health education. Conclusion: The available limited evidence on SDF shows that it is effective in arresting and preventing root caries in the elderly. More high-quality studies need to be done to verify the effectiveness on coronal caries and long-Term effects of SDF in the elderly with varying levels of dependency

Can chronic oral inflammation and masticatory dysfunction contribute to cognitive impairment?

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This article provides an overview of current literature focused on oral health and cognitive impairment in older adulthood, focusing in particular on whether oral inflammation, tooth loss and masticatory dysfunction might increase the risk of cognitive impairment in this age group. RECENT FINDINGS: There is now general acceptance that cognitive impairment contributes to poor oral health, largely through detrimental changes in behaviours related to maintaining good oral hygiene. There is more limited evidence for the reverse causal direction, but at least some studies now suggest that inflammatory mechanisms, tooth loss and masticatory dysfunction each have the potential to contribute to cognitive decline. SUMMARY: Poorer oral health significantly correlates with cognitive dysfunction, and at least some studies suggest that there may be a bi-directional causal relationship. Randomized controlled trials assessing cognitive abilities in relation to oral hygiene or oral health interventions, or provision of removable or fixed (implant-supported) dentures, are encouraged

A systematic review of oral health in people with multiple sclerosis

Despite more than 25\ua0years of research focused on this topic, it remains unclear whether people with multiple sclerosis are more likely to present with oral health problems. The aim of this study was to provide the first systematic review of this literature.A literature search for studies focused on oral health and multiple sclerosis was conducted using PRISMA guidelines. Electronic databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, MEDLINE and CINAHL) were searched up until February 2019. Two independent coders extracted data, and study quality graded using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS).From 1281 articles identified, 17 met all the eligibility criteria. Of the seventeen studies, more than half included a nonclinical control group, and the majority were observational studies. The included studies were of poor to moderate quality. Taken together, the results provided only very limited evidence that people with multiple sclerosis are more likely to present with dental caries and gingival disease. There was suggestive evidence that people with multiple sclerosis may be at higher risk of periodontal disease and present with poorer oral hygiene, and moderate evidence for an association between multiple sclerosis and temporomandibular disorders.This systematic review provides evidence of an association between multiple sclerosis and at least some oral health problems. When temporomandibular disorders and periodontal status specifically have been assessed, most studies provide evidence of an association with multiple sclerosis. However, this review also clearly highlights the need for further, high-quality studies in this area

Are oral health education for carers effective in the oral hygiene management of elderly with dementia? A systematic review

Elderly with dementia or cognitive impairment are at increased risk of poor oral health. Oral health education programs targeting carers may be an effective strategy to improve oral hygiene. The aim of this review was to assess the effectiveness of oral health education programs for carers on the oral hygiene of elderly with dementia. A literature search was performed to identify studies published in five electronic databases (PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and PsycINFO), without time and language restrictions. Two independent coders extracted data and assessed the risk of bias for each included study. Of the 243 studies, only four studies met the inclusion criteria. All four studies reported a significant improvement for some oral health measures in dementia elderly following a carer oral health education program. The included studies did not report any other relevant outcomes of interest for this review. This review identifies limited evidence for a carer oral health education as an efficient means to improve oral health in dementia elderly. The review also clearly highlights the need for well-designed, high-quality studies with more relevant outcome measures to better address this knowledge gap

Knowledge awareness and attitude about research ethics among dental faculties in India

The aim of this study was to assess the level of knowledge, awareness and attitude about research ethics and research ethics committees (RECs) among dental faculties.This cross-sectional questionnaire study incorporated a self administered questionnaire. Descriptive, Chi-square and logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the data.The overall response rate to the study was 85%. More than half were familiar with research ethics, principles and functions of the research ethics committee. Though there were some faculties whose attitude regarding research ethics principle was not optimal.The present study revealed a broad acceptance among the faculties acceptance toward RECs and training in research ethics, though there existed certain gap in knowledge about research among the faculties.This will help us to understand the knowledge, awareness and attitudes of dental faculties toward research ethics, which will help the institutional officials to develop better educational programs in the field of research ethics in order to help them conduct better research henceforth

Remineralization potential of dentifrice containing nanohydroxyapatite on artificial carious lesions of enamel: a comparative in vitro study

A carious lesion is the accumulation of numerous episodes of demineralization and remineralization, rather than a unidirectional demineralization process. Tooth destruction can be arrested or reversed by the frequent delivery of fluoride or calcium/phosphorous ions to the tooth surface. Nanohydroxyapatite particle-containing dentifrices are the newer generation of products which claim to remineralize enamel lesions effectively. The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the remineralization ability of dentifrices containing nanohydroxyapatite, NovaMin, and amine fluoride on artificial enamel caries.In this study, extracted sound premolars were placed in a demineralizing solution to produce deep artificial carious lesions. The teeth were then sectioned longitudinally and divided into three groups ( = 16 in each group): Group A (nanohydroxyapatite), Group B (NovaMin), and Group C (fluoride). The sections were then subjected to pH cycling for 7 days. Polarized light microscopy was utilized to record the depth of the lesions before and after treatment with the selected dentifrices. Changes in the mean lesion depth were statistically analyzed by one-way ANOVA and -test. The level of significance was assessed at 0.05).All three dentifrices were found to be effective in remineralizing artificial carious lesions. Nanohydroxyapatite dentifrice produced significantly better results compared to fluoride- and NovaMin-containing dentifrices, instigating for its use in the management of early carious lesions