h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: The Tooth Amoeba - A45196329
Author: Icy North - U225620

I'm off for a Christmas break, but here's something to read while I'm away.

Have a good one!

Icy

No probs with this one on first inspection

Excellent style Icy

Minor typo: in the Trichomonas vaginalis section, It's >> It

"usually after oral contact with another person or a slobbery pet."

I've done some research and it would seem that sharing cutlery will also do the job.

Is this anything to do with gingivitis ?

Thanks Alex - I'll add a footnote

Yes, McKay, they both derive from gingiva, Latin for 'gums'. Would you like this footnoted?

Icy

Very good. No complaints after the first read through.

I'll have another look tomorrow when I'm a little more awake.

I think it would be a good idea mate.

Nicely written. Good work.

You say that the tooth amoeba is generally placid and harmless, however I don't think this is really the case.

A website says the following:



BTW I found that article while trying to find a video clip of EG to which you could link, however I can't download the one mentioned above

(I once had a colleague who was working on trichomonas vaginalis. It was aeons ago so I can't recall whgat he was trying to do. I just have a vague recollection of him cultivating the organism in buckets!

PS Might be worth putting in a footnote that 'pseudopodia' translates directly to 'false foot'

Al, your reference is pretty much at odds with the articles I found. Do you think it's genuine?

I have references which say: "The placid amoeba Entamoeba gingivalis swims around in our oral cavities."

and:

"Oral pathology associated with protozoan parasites is uncommon
among immunocompetent individuals. Entamoeba gingivalis,
a human oral protozoan commensal with a prevalence of 32%
to 61%, is reported to be more frequently identified in advanced
periodontitis but, overall, its association with oral disease is rare."

I'll add the false footnote...

Well, there is this article from the European Society of Cell Microbiology:


http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/eccmid14/abstract.asp?id=14279

What that appears to be saying (and correct me if I'm wrong) is that in a study of people with periodontal diseases, 60% of them were found to be infected by E gingivalis. The trouble is, it doesn't say what proportion of us have periodontal diseases, and what percentage of us without periodontal diseases are infected by E gingivalis.

I'm no scientist, though, so feel free to tell me I've misunderstood the significance of this result.

You all done here, Icy?

'What that appears to be saying (and correct me if I'm wrong) is that in a study of people with periodontal diseases, 60% of them were found to be infected by E gingivalis. The trouble is, it doesn't say what proportion of us have periodontal diseases, and what percentage of us without periodontal diseases are infected by E gingivalis.

I'm no scientist, though, so feel free to tell me I've misunderstood the significance of this result.'


Well, you're not writing a scientific article, so you don't need to goivew these kind of figures - just give the 'broad brush'. In this respect, there are several online medical dictionaries and the like which state explicitly that 'EG is closely associated with poor dental hygiene and peridontal disease.'

I also found this Abstract:
http://www.cababstractsplus.org/abstracts/Abstract.aspx?AcNo=20063184760

which says that, Among oral diseases, the infection rate of periodontitis was the highest..., which indicates that E. gingivalis infection is closely related to oral disease.'

A

I've tweaked the final paragraph, Al. Does that look better?

Icy

Yep, Icy, I can live with that.

A