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With the incidence of skin cancer increasing in the United States, the role of dental providers in noting suspicious skin lesions as well as advising patients in proper sun-protective strategies is more important than ever. However, the public conversation about proper sun protection is often laden with misunderstandings and pervasive myths. This article reviews the most common types of skin cancer, elucidates the differences among the types of UV radiation, and offers updated recommendations for proper sunscreen use along with adjunctive sun-protective strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heart disease continues to be the leading cause of death in the United States. The demand for cardiovascular bypass procedures increases annually. Expanded polytetrafluoroethylene is a popular material for replacement implants, but it does have drawbacks such as high thrombogenicity and low patency, particularly in small diameter grafts. Hyaluronan, a naturally occurring polysaccharide in the human body, is known for its wound healing and anticoagulant properties. In this work, we demonstrate that treating the luminal surface of expanded polytetrafluoroethylene grafts with hyaluronan improves hemocompatibility without notably changing its mechanical properties and without significant cytotoxic effects. Surface characterization such as ATR-FTIR and contact angle goniometry demonstrates that hyaluronan treatment successfully changes the surface chemistry and increases hydrophilicity. Tensile properties such as elastic modulus, tensile strength, yield stress and ultimate strain are unchanged by hyaluronan enhancement. Durability data from flow loop studies demonstrate that hyaluronan is durable on the expanded polytetrafluoroethylene inner lumen. Hemocompatibility tests reveal that hyaluronan-treated expanded polytetrafluoroethylene reduces blood clotting and platelet activation. Together our results indicate that hyaluronan-enhanced expanded polytetrafluoroethylene is a promising candidate material for cardiovascular grafts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herpes zoster (HZ) is a reactivation of dormant varicella-zoster virus that most often erupts as painful vesicles in a unilateral dermatomal distribution. A sequela of HZ is postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), which is debilitating and may be persistent. Therefore, vaccination for the prevention of HZ and its sequelae is recommended for adults aged 50 years and older as well as immunocompromised adults. In 2017, the US Food and Drug Administration approved a recombinant DNA vaccine (Shingrix) that is safe to use in immunocompromised individuals and an improvement on the live-attenuated vaccine approved in 2006. This report discusses HZ, PHN, treatment of HZ and PHN, and prevention with vaccines., Competing Interests: No conflicts of interest reported.

Purpose: To investigate whether nonagenarians relative to octogenarians are at increased risk of ocular complications from cataract surgery in the US Veterans Health Administration (VHA)., Design: A retrospective cohort study., Participants: A total of 554 nonagenarians and 11 407 octogenarians who received cataract surgery in the VHA., Methods: Nonagenarians and octogenarians who received 1 cataract surgery without a second surgery within 90 days between October 1, 2005, and September 30, 2007, were identified using the National Patient Care Database (NPCD). Data collected include demographics, preoperative systemic and ocular comorbidities, intraoperative complications, and 90-day postoperative complications. The adjusted odds ratio (OR) of complications in nonagenarians using octogenarians as a reference group was calculated using logistic regression modeling., Main Outcome Measures: Intraoperative and postoperative ocular complications within 90 days of cataract surgery in nonagenarians versus octogenarians., Results: The most common systemic comorbidity for both age groups was diabetes mellitus (DM), and the most common ocular comorbidity for both age groups was age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Octogenarians had a higher prevalence of most systemic comorbidities, and nonagenarians had a higher prevalence of most ocular comorbidities. The most common intraoperative and postoperative complications for both age groups were vitreous loss or posterior capsular tear and posterior capsular opacification. The risk of having any intraoperative or postoperative complication was 13.5% for octogenarians and 13.4% for nonagenarians (P = 0.9001). The OR of having any intraoperative or postoperative complication in nonagenarians with octogenarians as a reference group was 0.94 (95% confidence interval, 0.73-1.22)., Conclusions: Nonagenarians relative to octogenarians are not at increased risk of ocular complications from cataract surgery in the VHA. Further studies are needed to evaluate other outcome parameters, such as visual function and quality of life, in nonagenarians undergoing cataract surgery., (Copyright © 2011 American Academy of Ophthalmology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)