NEWS FROM THE WORLD OF MEDICINE

NEWS ABOUT MEDICINES

- Samantha Rideout

COULD DENTURES CAUSE PNEUMONIA?

When scientists in the United Kingdom swabbed dentures from seniors with and without bacterial pneumonia, they expected to find differences. But they were surprised by how much pneumonia-associated bacteria they found on the dentures of the people with infections: 20 times more than the control group. It’s possible that dentures provide a susceptible surface for these microbes to colonize; from there, it would be easy to inhale them into the lungs. The results are a reminder to clean dentures regularly and thoroughly.

Drugs for Preventing Breast Cancer’s Return

Nearly 70 per cent of breast cancers are HR+/HER2-, a type that often responds well to standard treatments such as surgery and radiation followed by hormonal therapy. However, in about one-third of patients whose tumours were found at stage II, the cancer will eventually come back; the same goes for around half of those whose tumours were at stage III.