Dental News - Scientists work on remedy for painful jaw disease

Dental Tribune International

Mon. 22. April 2019

save

LOS ANGELES, U.S.: University of Southern California (USC) researchers and collaborators from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) have reported a breakthrough in preventing the damage to the jaw that is a side effect suffered by some people undergoing treatment for cancer or osteoporosis. The newly published research is an important step toward a cure for osteonecrosis of the jaw, which is a rare consequence of drugs commonly used to combat bone loss.

Osteonecrosis of the jaw causes severe and persistent inflammation leading to loss of bone from the jaw and has no effective means of prevention or cure. The risk, though small, deters people from taking drugs needed to fight bone cancer or prevent fractures owing to loss of bone density.

USC scientist Prof. Charles McKenna said the research raises hope that physicians could adapt the new method to treat the condition in people. “This is a condition that has been excruciatingly painful and difficult to treat for more than a decade. We think our new approach may provide hope for the future.”

For years, physicians have prescribed a class of drugs called bisphosphonates (BPs) for metastatic bone cancer patients and for osteoporosis patients to maintain bone density. BPs include a range of compounds that share a remarkable ability to adhere to bone, but when used in high doses in the cancer clinic, BP drugs sometimes have the debilitating side effect of necrosis in the jaw. The problem often occurs after a tooth is removed; the extraction socket does not heal, and the jaw begins to deteriorate.

Although the condition is very rare at the lower BP doses used to combat osteoporosis, many patients avoid the drugs altogether for fear of the side effects. The risk is low, as the National Osteoporosis Foundation estimates incidence of osteonecrosis of the jaw owing to the BP used to treat osteoporosis to be between one in 10,000 and one in 100,000 people annually. The risk has been estimated to be much higher, about 3 percent of patients, at the BP dose used to treat cancer, McKenna said. Nonetheless, more and more osteoporosis patients are willing to take their chances with the disease rather than risk the side effects. Surveys have shown that the recent trend in reduced hip fractures among postmenopausal women may be reversing owing to BP drug aversion.

“The fear factor of this condition has led to severe underuse of bisphosphonates for osteoporosis, so much so that we’re seeing a rise in hip fractures in elderly people, aversion to bisphosphonates in oncology clinics and liability concerns in the dental office,” McKenna said.

The research team used a different BP compound, an inactive compound that could be used locally in the mouth to push the BP drug from the jawbone while leaving undisturbed the useful drug in the rest of the skeleton. “Think of it as a way to fight fire with fire,” McKenna commented.

The scientists involved in the study used mice to test different BPs attached to fluorescent dyes. One coded the BP zoledronate, which is administered systemically to treat osteoporosis and cancer, while a different dye coded a BP compound with similar bone affinity, but no biological activity, referred to as rescue BP. The researchers discovered that the rescue BP injected into the jaw removed most of the BP drug causing the jaw bone tissue damage, clearing the way for the animal’s natural healing process to repair the extraction site.

The new technique is not yet ready for clinical use in humans. McKenna said BioVinc, which provided funding for the study via a National Institutes of Health small business research grant, will be responsible for advancing the treatment to commercial clinical use. Several of the authors of the study disclosed a financial interest in BioVinc, a company specializing in bone-targeted therapeutics and diagnostics. McKenna is the company’s academic founder.

The study, titled “Rescue bisphosphonate treatment of alveolar bone improves extraction socket healing and reduces osteonecrosis in zoledronate-treated mice,” was published online ahead of print on March 26, 2019, and is due to appear in the June 2019 issue of Bone.

Tags:

To post a reply please login or register

Scientists identify biomarkers for neurological disease in teeth

NEW YORK, U.S./ANN ARBOR, Mich., U.S.: Mount Sinai scientists have identified biological markers present in childhood that relate to the degenerative and ...

Scientists find link between periodontal disease and preterm delivery

ORLANDO, Fla., U.S.: In a new study, researchers compared the oral health status of women with preterm prelabor rupture of membranes (PPROM) and women with ...

Dozens of new dental hospitals planned to remedy Thai shortfall

BANGKOK, Thailand: The Thai government has committed to the ambitious target of opening one new dental hospital in each of the kingdom’s 77 provinces by ...

Study emphasises role of dental professionals in screening patients for chronic disease

LIVERPOOL/PLYMOUTH, UK: The connection between oral health and chronic disease has been increasingly supported by substantial evidence, revealing shared ...

H3D seeks to remedy technician shortage with AI CAD for dental laboratories

MELBOURNE, Australia: H3D, a leading provider of artificial intelligence-assisted CAD (AI CAD) to the hearing aid industry, has announced that it is now ...

Researchers developing novel AI platform for dental disease identification

GUILDFORD, UK: Dental disease identification is often cumbersome and time-consuming. To assist dental professionals in better detecting dental problems, ...

Scientists analyse bacteria on clear aligners

MOSCOW, Russia: One primary benefit of aligners over fixed appliances is that, because they can be removed, biofilm formed on the teeth can be more easily ...

Periodontal disease increases risk of chronic diseases, including mental ill health

BIRMINGHAM, UK: In a recent study, researchers from the University of Birmingham examined the records of patients having a history of periodontal disease, ...

CAD/CAM custom-milled titanium bar for rehabilitation of an atrophic upper jaw

CAD/CAM is playing an increasing role in the production of implant-retained prostheses. These digital technologies constitute a major advancement in terms ...

Periodontal disease worsens chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

CHENGDU, China: Research has shown a connection between severe periodontal disease and the progression of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). ...

Education

Live webinar
Fri. 26 April 2024
12:00 pm EST (New York)