The prevalence of scrotal tongue and geographic tongue in 70,359 Israeli schoolchildren

abstract The prevalence of scrotal and geographic tongue among 70,359 Israeli schoolchildren was examined according to age, sex and father's country of birth. Scrotal tongue was observed in 1.96 % of the population, but increased with age from 0.60 % at 7 years to 3.76 % at 12–18 years. Males had a significantly higher prevalence. There were significant differences in the prevalence among the different population groups examined, in that the Ashkenazi had a higher prevalence (2.17 %) than both the non-Ashkenazi (1.93 %) and the Israeli (1.70%). Prevalence of geographic tongue was 1.14% and was not associated with age. Males had a significantly higher prevalence. The differences between the population groups were significant. A highly significant association was found in the occurrence of scrotal and geographic tongue.     

Partial pulpotomy as a treatment alternative for exposed pulps in crown-fractured permanent incisors

Abstract Sixty-three vital permanent incisors with complicated crown fractures were treated by partial pulpotomy and assessed clinically and radiographically for healing. Healing of the pulp was considered to have taken place when the following criteria were fulfilled: absence of clinical symptoms, radiographic evidence of dentin bridge formation, no intrapulpal or periapical pathosis, continued root development in immature teeth, and a positive response to electrical pulp testing. The treatment was successful in 59 teeth (94%). In the remaining 4 teeth, necrosis of the pulp was diagnosed clinically and radiographically 3 weeks to 6 months after treatment. The high frequency of healing in both the present and previous studies seems to justify recommending partial pulpotomy as the treatment of choice in crown-fractured teeth with pulp exposure.     

Administration of antithymocyte serum modifies the response of Calomys musculinus to junin virus infection

Approximately 80% of Calomys musculinus inoculated with an attenuated strain of Junin virus (JV) developed a lethal encephalitis. Antithymocyte serum, a potent suppressor of T-cell-mediated immunity, was studied for its effect on JV pathogenicity. Early administration of an anti-C. musculinus thymocyte serum (ACTS) to neonatal animals significantly diminished clinical disease and death and abrogated brain damage, which is usually associated with viral presence in the brain. Late ACTS administration did not modify the pattern of JV infection. These results suggest that immune mechanisms participate in the pathogenesis of JV infection for its main natural host.     

Transferrin and HFE genes interact in Alzheimer's disease risk: the Epistasis Project

Iron overload may contribute to the risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD). In the Epistasis Project, with 1757 cases of AD and 6295 controls, we studied 4 variants in 2 genes of iron metabolism: hemochromatosis (HFE) C282Y and H63D, and transferrin (TF) C2 and -2G/A. We replicated the reported interaction between HFE 282Y and TF C2 in the risk of AD: synergy factor, 1.75 (95% confidence interval, 1.1-2.8, p = 0.02) in Northern Europeans. The synergy factor was 3.1 (1.4-6.9; 0.007) in subjects with the APOEε4 allele. We found another interaction, between HFE 63HH and TF -2AA, markedly modified by age. Both interactions were found mainly or only in Northern Europeans. The interaction between HFE 282Y and TF C2 has now been replicated twice, in altogether 2313 cases of AD and 7065 controls, and has also been associated with increased iron load. We therefore suggest that iron overload may be a causative factor in the development of AD. Treatment for iron overload might thus be protective in some cases.     

Chemokines (RANTES and MCP-1) and chemokine-receptors (CCR2 and CCR5) gene polymorphisms in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a complex disorder characterized by the progressive degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the midbrain. Late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD) is the most common cause of dementia in the elderly, affecting about 5% of the population older than 65 years. Several works have demonstrated the involvement of inflammation in the pathogenesis of both, PD and LOAD. Genetic susceptibility to develop PD and LOAD has also been widely recognised. Thus, functional polymorphisms at the genes encoding inflammatory proteins could influence the overall risk of developing these neurodegenerative disorders.

We examined whether DNA-polymorphisms at the genes encoding chemokines MCP-1 (−2518 A/G) and RANTES (−403 A/G), and chemokine receptors 5 (CCR5, Δ32) and 2 (CCR2,V64I), were associated with the risk and/or the clinical outcome of LOAD and PD. A total of 200 PD, 326 LOAD, and 370 healthy controls were genotyped for the four polymorphisms, and genotype frequencies statistically compared.

We did not find significant differences in the frequencies of the different genotypes between both groups of patients and controls. We conclude that the four DNA polymorphisms, which have been associated with several immuno-modulated diseases, did not contribute to the risk of PD or LOAD.