Periodontal status of orthodontic patients and the relationship between dental aesthetic index and community periodontal index of treatment need

This prospective clinic-based study evaluated the pretreatment periodontal status of the orthodontic patients seen at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria, and assessed the relationship between dental aesthetic index (DAI) scores and periodontal status according to community periodontal index of treatment needs (CPITN) scores. One hundred forty five patients-70 (48.3%) males and 75 (51.7%) females from 6 to 45 years (mean 15.8 +/- 7.5)-were seen. World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines were followed in the examination and reporting of the periodontal status, and DAI scores were assessed based on WHO guidelines. The chi-square test was used to determine the association between the DAI and the CPITN scores. Most patients were in the 6-15 (55.9%) or 16-25 (35.9%) age groups. Based on the WHO preferred cumulative calculations of treatment need (TN), 35.2% of the patients had TN 0, 64.9% had TN 1, 24.9% had TN 2, and only 0.7% had TN 3. The relationship between DAI scores and periodontal treatment needs was not statistically significant (P >.05). Although many patients were yet to attain the WHO goal of no more than 1 sextant affected by bleeding or calculus at the age of 15, over one third had satisfactory periodontal health.     

Dissociation of GFAP intermediate filaments in EAE: observations in the lumbar spinal cord

Acute experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) in the Lewis rat is a cell-mediated autoimmune disease of central nervous system myelin. The lesion has been characterized by breakdown of the blood-brain barrier, edema, and periventricular infiltration of macrophages and lymphocytes. At the early stage of the disease, the astrocytes show a marked increase in immunostaining for glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). A corresponding increase in GFAP content, however, cannot be demonstrated. Electron microscopic examination of the early lesion shows a typical reactive astrocytic response expressed by an enlarged watery cytoplasm, particularly at the level of the processes surrounding neurons and blood vessels and in the neuropil itself. The astroglial processes contain numerous glycogen particles (aggregates and single particles). Glial filaments are also conspicuous and are arranged in small bundles or loose thin filaments adjacent to the bundles. The glial filaments that normally appear as tight bundles have expanded and appear less dense. We suggest that the increase in GFAP immunostaining of the astrocytes in the early lesion is due in part to edema, which causes dissociation of the filaments and thereby exposes more antigenic sites to the antibodies.     

Rapid screening of organosulfur agents for potential chemopreventive activity using the murine NA assay

The chemopreventive efficacy of 11 organosulfur compounds was assessed using the murine nuclear aberration (NA) assay in C57BL/6J mice. The sulfur compounds were introduced by stomach gavage. Benzo[a]pyrene (BP), which is a carcinogen known to a) undergo biotransformation by pathways mediated by P-450 and b) induce NA in the intestine, was used as the challenge. All animals were killed 48 hours after BP injection, and NA per crypt were scored. The results indicated that several agents were active in inhibiting BP nucleotoxicity to the colon, most notably, allyl mercaptan, benzyl mercaptan, and phenylethyl mercaptan. The NA assay was useful in effectively prescreening certain compounds for potential interactions with chemical carcinogens, thus serving as one indicator of chemopreventive activity.     

In vitro cytotoxicity and phototoxicity of N-piperazinyl quinolone derivatives with a 2-thienyl group.

We examined the cytotoxic potential of nine N-[2-substituted-2-(2-thienyl)ethyl] piperazinyl quinolone derivatives on human oral epithelial mouth carcinoma (KB) and human squamous carcinoma (A431) cell lines. Phototoxic properties of these compounds were also evaluated by mouse 3T3 fibroblast under ultraviolet-A (UVA) irradiation. The percent of cell viability was evaluated by MTT assay. Compound 6 having a 4-[2-(phenylmethoxyimino)-2-(2-thienyl)ethyl] group attached to N4 position of piperazine ring of enoxacin showed the highest cytotoxicity potential on both A431 and KB cell lines (IC50 of 3.11+/-0.52 and 4.91+/-1.94 microg/ml, respectively). While some of the other tested compounds exhibited clear phototoxic potential in 3T3 cell line, compound 6 showed only a minor potential of phototoxicity. These findings suggest the high potential of 4-[2-(phenylmethoxyimino)-2-(2-thienyl)ethyl] derivative of enoxacin as a cytotoxic compound with low potency of phototoxic reactions. The mentioned chemical was identified to be of special interest for further characterization.     

Factors involved in antibiotic selection in elective colon and rectal surgery

During a 24-month period, 350 patients were prospectively studied in an effort to determine the perioperative factors in the development of infections after colon and rectal resections. All patients received standard mechanical bowel preparation; perioperative parenteral cefoxitin (group A) or preoperative oral neomycin and erythromycin, in addition to perioperative cefoxitin (Group B), were also given. Both groups were comparable with respect to age, sex, associated diseases, and primary diagnosis. Wound infections developed in nine of 169 (5%) group B patients and in 15 of 141 (11%) group A patients. Stratification by type of operative procedure revealed that the rectal resections involved the highest rate of infection in group A (22%) and in group B (11%). In patients requiring intraperitoneal colon resection, the rates of wound sepsis were similar (3% in both groups). Analysis of length of operation revealed that in operations lasting 215 minutes or more the infection rate was 12%; in those lasting less than 215 minutes the rate was 4%. Patients with rectal resection and operative times of 215 minutes or more had a wound infection rate of 19% compared to 2% (p less than 0.05) in those with shorter nonrectal operations. Group B patients with the longer rectal operations had lower infection rates (11%) than group A patients (27%), while there was no difference among those who had shorter operations. Intra-abdominal abscesses (p less than 0.01) and anastomotic dehiscence (p less than 0.05) were also significantly reduced in group B patients. Postoperative wound infection is associated with length of operation and location of colon resection and can be significantly lowered by a combination of oral and parenteral antibiotics.     

Identification of an extensive ζ-α globin gene deletion in a Chinese individual

We describe a novel alpha-thalassaemia-1 deletion that removes the entire zeta-alpha globin gene cluster. A Chinese couple were referred for counselling after two consecutive pregnancies ended with fetal hydrops. Gene mapping was used to demonstrate that the mother is heterozygous for the South-east Asia alpha-thalassaemia-1 deletion (zeta zeta zeta alpha alpha/zeta zeta--SEA), while the father carries an alpha-thalassaemia-1 deletion of more than 100 kilobases (zeta zeta alpha alpha/----). This newly discovered deletion extends for unknown distances 3' and 5' of the zeta-alpha globin gene cluster and has been designated (--HW).     

TNF alpha and Fas mediate tissue damage and functional outcome after traumatic brain injury in mice.

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFalpha) and Fas are induced after traumatic brain injury (TBI); however, their functional roles are incompletely understood. Using controlled cortical impact (CCI) and mice deficient in TNFalpha, Fas, or both (TNFalpha/Fas-/-), we hypothesized that TNFalpha and Fas receptor mediate secondary TBI in a redundant manner. Compared with wild type (WT), TNFalpha/Fas-/- mice had improved motor performance from 1 to 4 days (P<0.05), improved spatial memory acquisition at 8 to 14 days (P<0.05), and decreased brain lesion size at 2 and 6 weeks after CCI (P<0.05). Protection in TNFalpha/Fas-/- mice from histopathological and motor deficits was reversed by reconstitution with recombinant TNFalpha before CCI, and TNFalpha-/- mice administered anti-Fas ligand antibodies had improved spatial memory acquisition versus similarly treated WT mice (P<0.05). Tumor necrosis factor-alpha/Fas-/- mice had decreased the numbers of cortical cells with plasmalemma damage at 6 h (P<0.05 versus WT), and reduced matrix metalloproteinase-9 activity in injured brain at 48 and 72 h after CCI. In immature mice subjected to CCI, genetic inhibition of TNFalpha and Fas conferred beneficial effects on histopathology and spatial memory acquisition in adulthood (both P<0.05 versus WT), suggesting that the beneficial effects of TNFalpha/Fas inhibition may be permanent. The data suggest that redundant signaling pathways initiated by TNFalpha and Fas play pivotal roles in the pathogenesis of TBI, and that biochemical mechanisms downstream of TNFalpha/Fas may be novel therapeutic targets to limit neurological sequelae in children and adults with severe TBI.