Herpes simplex virus-1 as a rare etiology of isolated acute cerebellitis: case report and literature review

Journal of NeuroVirology - Acute cerebellitis is one of the most common cerebellar disorders and occurs due to para-infectious, post-infectious, or post-vaccination cerebellar inflammation. Herpes...     

Relationship between pruritus and autotaxin in intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy

ObjectiveIntrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy is a temporary, pregnancy-specific disease that resolves with delivery, characterized by itching (pruritus), as well as high transaminase and serum bile acid levels in the third trimester of pregnancy. Due to the effects of Autotaxin on the physiology of pregnancy, we aimed to investigate Autotaxin activity in patients with intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy.Patients and methodsSixty-nine patients diagnosed with intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy and 20 healthy pregnant women were enrolled in the study. Fasting serum bile acid, pruritus intensity, serum parameters, gestational week of the patients at the time of diagnosis were recorded, and birth week and birth weight were monitored. Autotaxin serum level was measured enzymatically.ResultsThe mean serum bile acid level (n = 69; 38.74 ± 35.92 μmol/L) in patients with intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (n = 69) was detected to be higher than healthy pregnant women (n = 20; 5.05 ± 1.88 μmol/L) (p < 0.001). Weak correlation was detected between serum bile acid level and itch intensity (p = 0.014, r = 0.295), while no relation was detected between Autotaxin and itch intensity (p = 0.446, r = 0.09). Although mean Autotaxin (intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy: 678.10 ± 424.42 pg/mL, control: 535.16 ± 256.47 pg/mL) levels were high in patients with intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy, it was not statistically significant (p = 0.157).ConclusionIn our study, we observed that the serum Autotaxin level did not make a significant difference in patients with intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy compared to healthy pregnant women. These findings suggest that larger clinical studies are required to reveal the physio-pathological effects of Autotaxin on pregnancy.     

Nonextraction treatment with rapid maxillary expansion and mandibular symphyseal distraction osteogenesis and vertical skeletal dimensions

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of rapid maxillary expansion (RME) and mandibular symphyseal distraction osteogenesis (MSDO) on vertical dimensions of the face. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fourteen patients, nine girls and five boys, underwent RME and MSDO procedures. Distraction was carried out at a rate of 1 mm per 24 hours with a tooth-borne appliance. The amount of distraction was 7 mm for each patient. Standardized lateral cephalograms were taken at the following time periods: before treatment (T0), after RME (T1), at the completion of MSDO (T2), and at the end of fixed orthodontic treatment (T3). The data were evaluated by using a general linear model of repeated-measures analysis of variance and paired t-tests at the 95% confidence level. RESULTS: RME significantly increased the vertical dimensions of the face and decreased the overbite (P < .001). Although the vertical parameters of the face on the lateral cephalogram decreased after MSDO, these decreasing effects were statistically insignificant just for the distances measured from the horizontal reference line to the chin points. In other words, MSDO decreased the vertical skeletal dimensions that were increased by RME, but this neutralizing effect of MSDO was not as much as the increase caused by RME. CONCLUSION: Treatment modalities (RME, MSDO, and fixed orthodontic treatment) described in this study, in total, had little effect on the vertical skeletal measurements of the face.     

Mandibular symphyseal distraction osteogenesis: review of three techniques

Mandibular symphyseal distraction osteogenesis (MSDO) is an alternative strategy to correct mandibular transverse deficiencies and dental crowding. Only a limited number of practitioners have reported their clinical experience and potential complications of this procedure to widen the mandible in a large case series. This study involved retrospective analysis of 40 patients who underwent mandibular symphyseal distraction osteogenesis. Three different types of distractor were used to widen the mandible: tooth-borne in 21 patients, bone-borne in 5 patients and hybrid (both bone and tooth-borne) in 14 patients. The distraction amount ranged from 7 to 11 mm (mean 7.31 mm). While 39 patients underwent successful mandibular symphyseal distraction, there was one failure. Most of the complications were experienced in bone-borne distractors, such as breakage of the distractor rod, gingival recession, secondary infection and ptosis of the chin. In the light of these findings, it is suggested that a lingually placed tooth-borne hyrax appliance is more suitable and reliable than the other distraction devices. Further larger studies are needed in order to better evaluate the effectiveness of bone-borne or hybrid devices.     

Alveolar cleft closure by distraction osteogenesis with skeletal anchorage during consolidation

Intraoral distraction osteogenesis (DO) has been widely used for the reconstruction of various dentoalveolar defects. However, its use in the management of alveolar clefts is relatively new. This method allows the closure of the cleft via the regeneration of new alveolar bone and attached gingiva through the distraction of a dento-osseous segment. It eliminates the need for a donor site for autogenous bone grafting and possible graft failure. However, the relatively long consolidation period required for the use of intraoral DO devices may result in soft tissue irritation that would compromise patient cooperation, especially in children. In the case presented, the intraoral DO technique was used for the treatment of a unilateral residual alveolar cleft and an implant was subsequently placed in the regenerated bone. A miniplate was also placed to serve as a skeletal anchor to enable the early removal of the distractor device. The distractor was removed before the beginning of the consolidation phase.