Oral galvanism in Sweden

Article Abstract:

Concern over the harmful effects of oral galvanism (electrical currents in the mouth resulting from the presence of metal), said to cause discomfort, has been great in Sweden, a country where excitement is, perhaps, hard to find. A history of the popularity of oral galvanism as a cause of suffering among Swedes is provided. Fears of the effects of the phenomenon were fueled by the establishment of a national dental health insurance program in 1974, leading to an intensive period of use of dentists. As a result, procedures were not always performed in the best manner. More modern formulations of the oral galvanism problem blamed metal ions (in particular, mercury) rather than metals. However, scientists have shown that the concentration of such ions is no higher in people with oral galvanism than in people without these symptoms. Nonetheless, oral galvanism continues to be blamed for a host of diseases, including multiple sclerosis and asthma. The response of public authorities in Sweden, resulting in the allocation of considerable funds to study the phenomenon, are described. Two epidemiological studies failed to find an effect of oral galvanism on patients' symptoms. The fact that patients become ill when amalgam (mercury-containing) fillings are removed could be due to suggestion or expectation. At the same time, the alleged recovery of oral galvanism victims when their fillings are removed has not been verified by scientific study. Most symptoms reported by these patients could be caused by psychosocial factors, such as disturbance due to the loss of a father in early childhood. However, few investigations of the psychological status of oral galvanism patients have been carried out. One study from Finland indicated that oral galvanism patients had a greater number of deep disturbances and rejected suggestions that they had any psychological problems more often than a matched control group. Such patients generally give a compelling story regarding their oral galvanism, and have normal cognition in other areas. In summary, toxic effects of amalgam have not been demonstrated. Oral galvanism appears to be both complex - and contagious. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Sweden

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Oral cancer growth factor found

Article Abstract:

Thirty thousand people in the US are diagnosed with oral cancer each year, and more than 9,000 people die of this disease annually. Users of tobacco and alcohol are particularly at risk, and research is ongoing to understand more about the pathological processes involved in the genesis of oral cancer. Transforming growth factor alpha (TGF-alpha) has recently been identified as important in this regard. Investigators have learned that the inflammatory cells that infiltrate the hamster cheek pouch in one animal model of cancer contain TGF-alpha mRNA. The cells that contain this substance are eosinophils (a type of white blood cell), and are now considered important sources of TGF-alpha. Studies of two patients with idiopathic hypereosinophilic syndrome (in which an excess number of eosinophils are manufactured) indicated that 80 percent of their eosinophils contained TGF-alpha. This contracts with the findings in seven normal donors, in which eosinophil cells in only two people contained TGF-alpha mRNA. No cells in the normal donors contained TGF-alpha. Eosinophils are present in virtually all tissues under the skin and in lining surfaces throughout the body, but their function is largely unknown. They are involved in asthma, allergy, and parasitic infections and, apparently, cancer. New staining methods have been developed to visualize these cells and studies are ongoing to learn more about their role in health and disease. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Analysis, Physiological aspects, Development and progression, Transforming growth factors, Mouth cancer, Eosinophils

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