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In 2018, Taiwan began its Dementia Care Policy by passing the 2018-2025 Taiwan Dementia Plan 2.0 based on the World Health Organization's "Global Action Plan on the Public Health Response to Dementia 2017-2025". "Dementia Diagnosis, Treatment and Care" was one of the action plans which prompted the government to set up "Dementia Care" as a whole new item to its national policy called Ten-year Long-term Care Plan 2.0. Under "Dementia Care", 73 Dementia integrated care center (DICC) and over 350 Dementia Community Service Sites (DCSS)were established in 2018. This service structure brought the entire nation to upgrade its Dementia care by efficiently doing diagnosis, treatment and care management, supporting caregivers, building a community safety net, providing professional training and the public dementia literacy education. The purpose of this paper was to discuss how Taiwan planned for Dementia Care and howDICCwere implemented by using two models in Taichung City: Chung Shan Medical University Hospital and Taichung Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. Close to 1,000 dementia clients and their family caregivers were served; close to 5,000 professionals and the public were trained by a multi-disciplinary teamand care managers. It is our hope that this paper will contribute to how Taiwan built its dementia care system and to strengthen future dementia care policy, system and service delivery by analyzing the structure, process and outcomes of the integrated care centers so people with dementia and their families can live with quality and dignity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/purpose: Previously, we successfully identified oral cancer stem cells (OCSC) displaying enhanced stemness and tumorigenic potentials. In the study, we investigated the chemotherapeutic effect of the flavonoid luteolin, commonly found in fruits and vegetables, on targeting OCSC.Methods: Oralspheres was applied to isolate OCSC. aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 activity and CD44 positivity of OCSC with luteolin treatment were assessed by flow cytometry analysis. Radio-sensitivity of OCSC treated with luteolin was examined. Invasion and colony-forming assays were performed to assess oncogenicity in OCSC. The expression of interleukin-6 (IL-6)/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) was examined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and western blot analysis.Results: We showed that luteolin effectively inhibited the proliferation rate, self-renewal, aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 activity, and CD44 positivity of OCSC but did not cause significant cytotoxicity of normal epithelial cells. Moreover, luteolin restored radio-sensitivity in OCSC. Combined treatment with luteolin and radiation displayed synergistic effect on invasiveness and clonogenicity of OCSC. Mechanistically, treatment of luteolin resulted in inactivation of IL-6/STAT3 signaling.Conclusion: These results suggest that combined treatment of luteolin and radiation therapy can attenuate tumorigenicity of OCSC through IL-6/STAT3 signaling inactivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/purpose: Cigarette smoking is an important risk factor in the pathogenesis of periodontal disease. However, little is known about the effect of nicotine, the major component of cigarette smoke, on cementoblasts. The aim of this study was to investigate the pathological effects of nicotine on the murine immortalized cementoblast cell line (OCCM.30). Materials and methods: Cell viability was judged by using the Alamar Blue reduction assay. Cell migration was evaluated by transwell and wound-healing assays. The protein concentrations of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) were measured by using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The semiquantitative 2',7'-dichlorfluorescein-diacetate (DCFH-DA) fluorescence technique was used to detect the intracellular level of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Results: Concentrations of nicotine > 1.5mM demonstrated cytotoxicity to cementoblasts (P < 0.05). Nicotine attenuated cell migration in a dose-dependent manner (P < 0.05). In addition, nicotine augmented the production of IL-6 and TNF-α in a dose-dependent manner (P < 0.05). The concentration of 1mM nicotine enhanced the generation of intracellular ROS in a time-dependent manner (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Taken together, these results suggest that nicotine could inhibit the growth and migration of cementoblasts. In addition, nicotine could also induce the generation of inflammatory cytokines and ROS by cementoblasts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/purpose: Wogonin (5,7-dihydroxy-8-methoxyflavone) is a bioactive compound from Scutellariae radix that has been shown to have anticancer effects. However, the effects of wogonin on oral cancer cells still remain speculative. Materials and methods: Cytotoxicity and invasion assays were used to investigate the effects of the human oral cancer cell line OC2 cells exposed to wogonin. To examine the precise involvement of wogonin in cancer metastasis, gelatin and casein zymography were performed to evaluate the impacts of wogonin on matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2, MMP-9, and urokinase plasminogen activator (u-PA) secretion in OC2 cells. Results: Wogonin exhibited a dose-dependent inhibitory effect on the invasion of OC2 cells in the absence of cytotoxicity (P < 0.05). Wogonin was also found to decrease the expressions of MMP-2, MMP-9, and u-PA in a concentration-dependent manner (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Taken together, these results suggest that wogonin could inhibit invasion by human oral cancer cells and the inhibitory effects may partially be due to decreased production of MMP-2, MMP-9, and u-PA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prevalence of dentin hypersensitivity in Taiwan has been reported up to 38%. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical efficacy of desensitizing toothpaste containing 8.0% arginine and calcium carbonate in treating dentin hypersensitivity. Forty-three participants with established two hypersensitive teeth were enrolled with informed consent. Air blast sensitivity assessments were conducted at baseline and again after four and eight weeks of twice-daily product use. The use of desensitizing toothpaste was found to significantly reduce dentin hypersensitivity (P < 0.001). The one-way analysis of variance analysis followed by Tukey's test indicated that this desensitizing toothpaste had a time-to-improvement distribution (P < 0.05). Taken together, the toothpaste containing 8.0% arginine and calcium carbonate provides a significant reduction in dentin hypersensitivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]