In the first area, excessive use of fluoride supplements between 2 and 8 years of age was the most common association, with brushing teeth more than once a day before the age of two years, and use of large amounts of toothpaste also contributing. In the fluoridated area, excessive use of toothpaste and excessive brushing were relevant, together with overuse of supplements between one and two years of age. The message is that regardless of the use of fluoridated water, extra fluoride as supplements has to be matched to the child's age, and only a small, pea-sized amount of fluoride toothpaste should be used. Since young children tend to swallow toothpaste, they must be taught to spit it out instead after brushing. Use of overly attractive flavours may also be a factor, and these should be avoided.
New work shows that the previous assumption that the enzyme had no other effects is incorrect.
Telomerase appears to activate the c-myc oncogene, which is known to be associated with malignant change in the cell. Hence despite the attraction of using telomerase to produce ageless cells for therapeutic purposes, such as pancreatic beta-cells for implant in a diabetic, much work has to be done to ensure there are not inevitable deleterious effects also. Once a cell has had telomerase production activated by an implanted gene, the latter can be removed as the cell's own mechanisms will continue production. Also it is known there is a genetic predisposition involved. Much of the work previously has come from Finland, and new studies there are very interesting.