Liquid Biopsy for Head and Neck Cancer

Liquid biopsy is when a simple blood draw is performed in order to detect cancer cells (CTC) or mutated DNA fragments (ctDNA) free floating in the bloodstream that has been shed from the cancer's primary or secondary sites. This test has been heralded as an alternative way to make a diagnosis instead of an invasive surgical biopsy whether by needle or excision. Liquid biopsy has been developed mainly for detecting cancers of the breast, prostate, colon, ovarian, lung, and melanoma. Liqu…

6/05/2016 0

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Parkinson's Disease Diagnosed by Salivary Gland Biopsy

Taken from Wikipedia Diagnosing Parkinson's Disease (a degenerative neurological disorder) is hard, usually a clinical exam and assessment of symptoms by a neurologist with at best about an 80% accuracy rate. There is no "test" per se that can diagnose Parkinson's Disease... until now. In patients with Parkinson's Disease, an uniquely abnormal protein called alpha-synuclein protein can be found in the submandibular spit gland located under the jawline. By obtainin…

5/02/2016 0

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Treatment of Gleeking

Gleeking is when an individual is able to squirt spit out of the mouth causing amazement if not disgust from surrounding people. This salivary spray comes out from Wharton's duct which is an opening located under the tongue tip that drains the  submandibular glands  located under the jawline (black arrows in pic). This duct opening normally is about 0.5mm in diameter... very small! The channel that carries saliva to this opening is about 4mm in size. However, in individuals who have a t…

11/12/2015 0

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Slow Motion Video of Gleeking

Gleeking is when an individual is able to spray spit out of the mouth causing amazement if not disgust from surrounding people. This salivary spray comes out from Wharton's duct which is an opening located under the tongue tip that drains the submandibular glands located under the jawline.

8/24/2015 0

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Spit Test to Monitor for Oral Cancer

Image courtesy of marin at  FreeDigitalPhotos.net HPV oral cancer is an increasingly common cancer afflicting heterosexual individuals. The main way of diagnosing is by biopsy after an abnormal finding on oral examination . The main way of determining whether the cancer has come back after treatment is also by regular oral examinations. However, Johns Hopkins researchers may have developed a "spit" test that can detect whether oral cancer may have recurred after treatment befor…

8/23/2015 0

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Blood and Spit Test that Detects Cancer of the Head and Neck

Over the years, simple blood tests have been developed to detect specific types of cancer in the human body. We have PSA for prostate cancer; BRCA for breast cancer; CEA for colon cancer... and potentially in the very near future... a blood as well as spit test for head and neck cancer! Finally! Developed by researchers at Johns Hopkins, this new blood/spit test is able to detect squamous cell carcinoma with astounding accuracy using a combination of both DNA mutations and HPV markers.  …

6/26/2015 0

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Rapid Saliva Test to Look for Laryngopharyngeal Reflux

When you compare a spit test to the current way of how throat level reflux  (LPR) is determined via  barium swallow , upper endoscopy (EGD), and  24 hour ph/impedance testing , it sounds quite attractive. How does such a test work? It basically looks for a stomach protein called pepsin. Given reflux is when stomach contents moves up towards the mouth and pepsin is a protein ONLY produced in the stomach... pepsin should NOT be found in the throat/mouth.  As such, the test can state &qu…

7/16/2013 3

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Parkinson's Disease Diagnosed by Salivary Gland Biopsy

Taken from Wikipedia Currently, diagnosing Parkinson's Disease (a degenerative neurological disorder) is hard, usually a clinical exam and assessment of symptoms by a neurologist with at best about an 80% accuracy rate. There is no "test" per se that can diagnose Parkinson's Disease... until possibly now. PLEASE NOTE THAT A NEW BLOG ARTICLE HAS BEEN WRITTEN 5/2/16 UPDATING INFO ON THIS BLOG ARTICLE WRITTEN IN 2013. According to a study released in advance of its pres…

1/11/2013 1

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Saliva Test for Laryngopharyngeal Reflux (LPR)

Various groups have been developing a fast, cheap, non-invasive saliva swab test to determine whether laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR) is present or not. LPR may cause symptoms of: Hoarseness Chronic (ongoing) cough Frequent throat clearing Constant mucus or phelgm in the throat Dry or sandpaper like sensation in the throat Pain or burning sensation in the throat Feeling of a lump in the throat (globus pharyngeus) Problems swallowing Bad/bitter taste in the mouth (especially in m…

6/12/2012 1

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"Mouthwatering" Foods May Be a Misnomer?

In the spirit of Thanskgiving where thoughts of food predominate,  British researchers have determined that humans are NOT able to produce more saliva by merely thinking of foods whether hungry or not. This includes looking at pictures of sumptuous foods. What researchers did determine is that SMELLING foods increased salivary production significantly. Tasting and chewing was even more influential in salivary production. So at least for humans, unless the food is smelled, tasted, or ch…

11/29/2011 0

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Spit Analysis Can Reveal Person's Age

There are certain compounds in a person's spit that can reveal their age to within 5 years. No kidding. There are certain things we know about DNA. We know that DNA gets methylated (like ornaments on a Christmas tree). We also know that the methylation pattern on the DNA changes with age. So the hypothesis was whether looking at the methylation pattern of the DNA can reveal a person's age? And guess what... it does according to a recently published study. In this study published on…

6/23/2011 0

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Mouth Breathing Can Cause Major Health Problems

Everyone knows somebody who mouth-breathes due to nasal obstruction ... What many may not realize is that chronic mouth-breathing can lead to health problems whether in an adult or child. Especially in children, over time, whose mouth breathing goes untreated may suffer from abnormal facial and dental development, such as long, narrow faces and mouths, gummy smiles, gingivitis and crooked teeth. The poor sleeping habits that result from mouth breathing can adversely affect growth and academ…

4/08/2010 0

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