Incadronate (Inc) was administered to treat hypercalcemia for five patients with advanced oral cancer. The serum calcium (Ca) level reached minimum at 5 days after the administration of 10 mg Inc, with a mean decrease of 3.4 mg/dL. In three patients Inc was repeatedly administered with a mean interval of approximately two weeks, but a decrease of Ca level was less compared with the first administration. There was no serious adverse effect in a total of 13 administrations for 5 patients. The mean survival time after the first administration was approximately one month. These results suggest the utility of Inc for controlling serum Ca level of hypercalcemia in advanced oral cancer patients, although the prognosis is very poor.

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Pseudomonas aeruginosa has been frequently detected from sputa around tracheostomy stuma with a high frequency of nosocomial infection among patients with an opportunistic infection. It is also reported to be difficult to treat lower respiratory infections when resistance to antibiotics for Pseudomonas aeyuginosa has developed. We discuss 15 patients, (8 males and 7 females) who underwent tracheostomy and in whom Pseudomonas aeyuginosa was isolated for 10 years from April 1993 to March 2003. Average age was 62.0 years old. All subjects were oral cancer patients. Pseudomonas aeyuginosa was detected from cultures in 15 of 19 patients (78.9%) . It was isolated from and had colonized the lower respiratory tract by 34.6 days on average after tracheostomy. Gradual change of sensitivity to antiobiotics and increase of drug tolerance were recognized. As drug tolerance may be affected by long-term administration of antibiotics, selection of antibiotics and period should be carefully considered to avoid the development of tolerance.

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Lidocaine and propitocaine with vasoconstrictor are currently often used as local anesthetics in not only geriatric dentistry but also pediatric dentistry. In 1969, D. Bradley and N. Martin described that mepivacaine 3 % offered the advantage of being well tolerated and of providing satisfactory anesthesia of considerably shorter duration of effect. The purpose of this investigation was to clinically examine the efficacy of the Scandonest^® cartridge 3 % . Among 80 cases, there were 53 complete responses with no pain (66.2%), 19 incompatibilities (23.8%), and 8 minor responses (10%) . No cases were judged to be ineffective. Among 59 cases in the restorative treatment group, there were 58 effective responses (98.1%) . and 1 minor response (1.9%) . Side effects were not observed in all cases. Based on these findings, the Scandonest^® cartridge 3 % is considered to be effective for restorative treatment in pediatric dentistry.

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As the inhibition of kidney Na⁺, K⁺-ATPase activity by platinum-containing anti-cancer drugs may be related to their nephrotoxicity, we studied the effects of cisplatin, nedaplatin, and carboplatin on Na⁺, K⁺-ATPase activity purified from pig kidneys and human renal proximal tubule epithelial cells (HRPTE cells) . All of the drugs tested decreased viable cells depending on their concentrations and inhibited Na⁺, K⁺-ATPase activity depending on both their concentrations and the preincubation time with them. The order of intensity to decrease viable cells and to inhibit the activity was rated as cisplatin>nedaplatin>carboplatin. The conformation of Na⁺, K⁺-ATPase affected the cisplatin-induced inhibition of ATPase activity. The activity inhibited by pretreatment with cisplatin was recovered by 2-mercaptoethanol, cysteine, a reduced form of glutathione and sodium thiosulfate. These results suggest that the inhibition of Na⁺, K⁺-ATPase by platinum-containing anti-cancer drugs may be related to their nephrotoxicity and that some thiol compounds can recover the activity and may lower nephrotoxicity.

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A fact-finding survey was conducted with the cooperation of members of the Japan Dental Association to investigate the behavior of dentists in a bid to prevent viral hepatitis C in clinical settings of dental practice. Questionnaires retrieved by mail from 1, 617 randomly-chosen dentists who had given dental care to known hepatitis C virus carriers were analyzed. Most of the dentists maintained the discipline of pre- and post-treatment hand/nail scrubbing with soap and disinfectants. However, 53% were accustomed to dry scrubbing of hands with a cloth towel. An overwhelming majority (96.6%) of the dentists wore gloves while performing dental care, whereas as many as 3.4% did not. A mask and protective spectacles were worn by 98% and 70%, respectively. More than 90% of wastes contaminated or suspected to be contaminated with infectious agents were disposed of separately as infected wastes. The results of the survey indicated that dentists health behavior for the prevention of viral hepatitis C is generally satisfactory, however, also showed some points to be improved. Continued enlightening of dental healthcare professionals on the prevention of infection, and improvement of the social infrastructure are needed.

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