The National Institutes of Health has created a new website, NIH Clinical Research Trials and You, to help people learn more about clinical trials, why they matter, and how to participate. Clinical trials are essential for identifying and understanding ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat disease.
 
Visitors to the website will find information about:

With a much warmer start to spring, ticks will be out early this year. It’s especially important to take note of this if you live in or will be visiting a part of the country prone to ticks. Lyme disease is caused by at least three species of bacteria belonging to the genus Borrelia and is transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected tick.
 

Inductive, Scaffold-Based, Regenerative Medicine Approach to Reconstruction of the Temporomandibular Joint Disk  The TMJ disc is composed of soft cartilaginous material that acts as a shock absorber between the temporal bone of the skull and the lower jaw bone (the mandible) when the joint moves. Attempts to replace a diseased or degenerated disc by synthetic materials or tissues from other parts of a patient’s body have been unsuccessful or of only limited duration.  However, Dr.

That TMD predominantly strikes women in their childbearing years has long intrigued scientists. But studies of the effects of female hormones—exactly how they affect TMD symptoms—remain controversial.

Administrative Supplements for Collaborative Science: Opportunities for Existing NIDCR Grants and Cooperative Agreements (Admin Supp)

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-12-159.html

TMJA Survey Results

• The individuals affected by Temporomandibluar Joint Disorders (TMD) were on average 41 years of age and predominantly female (90%).
• Nearly 60% of both men and women reported recent pain of moderate-to-severe intensity with a quarter of them indicating interference or termination of work-related activities.

This is the time of year when the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives develop the 2013 budgets for all federal agencies. One of those agencies is the National Institutes of Health (NIH).  The NIH is the nation's medical research agency, supporting scientific studies that turn discovery into health. The NIH is the largest funder of Temporomandibular Disorders (TMD) research in the world.

The use of glucosamine has been widely promoted to the lay public as a treatment for degenerative arthritis. However, most of the clinical studies that have been done have failed to show any significant effect. Now, a recently published study that compared the use of oral glucosamine sulfate with a placebo for the treatment of osteoarthritis in the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) has shown similar negative findings.

New research by University of North Carolina Chapel Hill investigators shows that young women with temporomandibular joint disorders (TMD) are four times more likely to be current or former smokers than women of any age who have no clinical signs of TMD.

Moreover, TMD sufferers of all ages were three times more likely to have a history of skin rashes, allergies or hives or sinus troubles than women without TMD. 

Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Chair of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, held a hearing, Pain in America: Exploring Challenges to Relief, on February 14, 2012. This hearing highlighted and followed-up on the June 2011 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report, Relieving Pain in America. “Chronic pain is a significant public health challenge that has yet to receive adequate attention given the tremendous impact it has on people all across our nation,” Harkin said in opening remarks before introducing the witnesses.