Temporomandibular Disorders

Action Alert: Contact Your Senators to Support NIH Funding!

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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.

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No Effect of Glucosamine Sulfate on Osteoarthritis in the Temporomandibular Joints—A Randomized, Controlled, Short-term Study

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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.

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Smoking and Allergy Associated with TMD in Females

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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. 

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Patients with Temporomandibular Disorders have Increased Fatigability of the Cervical Extensor Muscles

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Do you have neck and shoulder pain in addition to pain in your temporomandibular joint? A recent study in the Clinical Journal of Pain (Vol. 28, 2012, pgs 55-64) offers a possible explanation for this condition.

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Chronic Pain Research Alliance Praises Scheduling of Historic Senate Hearing

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HELP Committee to Examine Ways to Tackle Epidemic of Chronic Pain, Builds on Landmark 2011 Institute of Medicine Study

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An Implementation and Biobehavioral Study of TMJMD

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A clinical study on TMJ disorders is being conducted in the Dallas, Texas area. The purpose of the study is to evaluate whether early non-surgical treatment techniques such as biofeedback, stress management and self management coping skills training, reduces jaw pain or discomfort during treatment and thereafter. Supervised by Baylor College of Dentistry, Texas A&M University, this clinical trial is being conducted at 5 community based dental clinics in Dallas.

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Duloxetine (Cymbalta) For Treatment of Painful Temporomandibular Joint Disorder

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The University of Maryland Dental School has completed recruitment for a clinical trial to see if the drug duloxetine (Cymbalta) relieves pain of temporomandibular joint dysfunction. Duloxetine is an antidepressant also approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of chronic pain of diabetic nerves and fibromyalgia. If duloxetine has a therapeutic effect, it could be the basis for use in patients with painful temporomandibular disorders. 

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Radio Show

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On Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011 from 8-8:30 pm Eastern time Dr. Paul Christo will host a radio show on TMJ Disorders. Marion Blackburn, a TMJ patient and TMJA volunteer, as well as Dr. Christian Stohler, Dean at the University of Maryland Dental School and TMJA board member, will be his guests. To listen to the show live or to access podcasts, go to: http://www.paulchristomd.com/?p=628.


Does Estrogen Diminish TMJ Pain?

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The typical profile of patients with TM Disorders is of women in their child-bearing years. This means that they undergo fluctuating levels of estrogen in the bloodstream, depending upon the phase of the menstrual cycle, with estrogen levels highest near ovulation.

Researchers studying an experimental TMJ pain model in rats have noted that pain in these female animals appears to be reduced in the pre-ovulatory phase when estrogen levels are highest.

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