Masseteric silent period in healthy young adults

The length of the silent period (SP) has been subject of extensive researches and its use has been established for the diagnosis of dysfunctional individuals. Because of its great variability we should be cautious about its assessment. This study is aimed to find the normal values taken in symptomless subjects using a commercial/medical recording system, designed for clinical use. Thirty-six readings of the SP have been taken causing a chin tap. The assessment of the motor dysfunction and the subsequent depressed activity gave the result of 32.37 ms (SD = 19.47, ranged from 15 to 110). This is slightly more extended than the results described by the majority of the Authors.     

Radiological characteristics of primary intestinal lymphoma of the "Mediterranean" type: observations on twelve cases.

Radiological findings in 12 cases of "Mediterranean" lymphoma are analyzed, 4 of which are associated with gammapathy. These findings have not permitted differentiation of this type of lymphoma from those classically described, although there are two signs that strongly suggest this diagnosis: extension of the lesions along wide areas of the small intestine, almost always including the duodenum, and spiculation of the mucosal fold edges, representing massive plasmocyte infiltration of the lamina propria. The principal clinical, immunological, and pathological aspects are described, as well as the radiological differential diagnosis.     

The role of Ki67 proliferation assessment in predicting local control in bladder cancer patients treated by radical radiation therapy.

PURPOSE: To assess whether tumour proliferation as measured by Ki67 immunostaining has any predictive value for local control in bladder cancer patients treated by radiotherapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Fifty-five patients suffering from infiltrating bladder carcinoma recommended for radical radiotherapy (66 Gy/6-7 weeks) were included in this study. Paraffin-embedded pre-treatment tumour sections were stained with the Ki67 antibody. The percentage of Ki67-positive nuclei was correlated with established prognostic factors, local control and survival. RESULTS: The Ki67 index was not related to local control in our patients when the median was selected as the cut-off value. Patients with tumours with a very low (<27%) Ki67 index had better local control at 5 years (69%) than patients with tumours with greater (>27%) Ki67 expression indices (31.5%) (P<0.05; log-rank test). CONCLUSIONS: Ki67 immunostaining was a feasible method to estimate tumour proliferation. Patients with very low proliferating tumours seemed to achieve better local control after fractionated radiotherapy compared to other patients. Further studies are needed with a greater number of patients to accurately define the role of Ki67 expression in predicting tumour repopulation during fractionated radiotherapy.     

Oral shedding of HSV-1 and EBV and oral manifestations in paediatric chronic kidney disease patients and renal transplant recipients

Objective: Previous research demonstrated that salivary shedding of HSV-1 and EBV occurs often in adult renal transplant recipients, but there is a lack of studies on the presence of them in the saliva of paediatric population. Therefore, the objective of this study is to describe oral characteristics and to compare the shedding profile of HSV-1 and EBV in the saliva of children with renal transplant to that of chronic kidney disease patients and controls.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study involving 100 children, being 25 renal transplant recipients, 25 chronic kidney disease patients and 50 healthy children. Demographic and oral clinical characteristics were assessed. Saliva samples were collected and submitted to screening for EBV and HSV-1 by using nested polymerase chain reaction technique. Fisher’s exact, Pearson’s chi-square and Kruskal–Wallis tests were used for statistical analysis at a significance level of 5%.

Results: Oral shedding of HSV-1 (28%) and EBV (60%) were significantly higher in renal transplant recipients compared to the other groups. Single vesicles in the oral mucosa were statistically associated with the presence of HSV-1 (p?=?.035). In children with chronic kidney disease, there was a higher prevalence of pale oral mucosa (32%) and enamel hypoplasia (40%) compared to paediatric renal transplant recipients and controls. Dental calculus (36%), candidiasis (8%), drug-induced gingival overgrowth (16%), mouth blisters (8%), xerostomia (12%) and salivary gland enlargement (20%) were more common in paediatric renal transplant recipients.

Conclusions: Therefore, it can be concluded that salivary shedding of HSV-1 and EBV in paediatric patients was more often found in renal transplant recipients than in the renal failure and control children. Transplanted recipients showed more oral manifestations than renal failure and control children did.     

Long‐term effects of perinatal exposure to low doses of cadmium on the prostate of adult male rats

Developmental toxicity caused by environmental exposure to heavy metals during the perinatal period has raised questions about offspring health. Cadmium (Cd) is an endocrine‐disrupting chemical with the potential to interfere with morphogenesis and susceptibility to diseases in reproductive organs. Taking into account that in the rat prostate morphogenesis occurs during the perinatal period, and that pregnant females absorb and retain more dietary Cd than their non‐pregnant counterparts, it is important to understand the effects of perinatal Cd exposure on the adult rat prostate. Therefore this study investigated the effects of gestational and lactational Cd exposure on adult offspring rat prostate histopathology. Pregnant rats (n = 20) were divided into two groups: Control (treated with aqueous solution of sodium acetate 10 mg/l) and treated (treated with aqueous solution of cadmium acetate 10 mg/l) administered in the drinking water. After weaning, male offspring from different litters (n = 10) received food and water ‘ad libitum’. The animals were euthanized at postnatal day 90 (PND90), the ventral prostates (VPs) were removed, weighed and examined histopathologically. Blood was collected for the measurement of testosterone (T) levels. Immunohistochemistry for androgen receptor (AR) and Ki67, and a TUNEL assay were performed. There were no differences in T levels, cell proliferation and apoptosis indexes, or AR immunostaining between the experimental groups. Stromal inflammatory foci and multifocal inflammation increased significantly in the treated group. These changes were associated with inflammatory reactive epithelial atypia and stromal fibrillar rearrangement. In conclusion, VP was permanently affected by perinatal Cd exposition, with increased incidence of inflammatory disorders with ageing.     

Use of rhBMP-2 to reconstruct a severely atrophic mandible: a modified approach

This study reports the case of a patient with a severely resorbed mandible who was treated without a bone graft, using short implants, internal rigid fixation, rhBMP-2 and β-tricalcium phosphate. A 76-year-old woman, with a severely resorbed mandible (less than 3 mm), reported a history of nearly 25 years of complete edentulism and consecutive treatment failures, with total bilateral exposed inferior alveolar nerves and complete bone resorption of the inferior border in some areas. The treatment of choice was the placement of a 2.0 mm thick unilock bone plate (MatrixMandible, Synthes Maxillofacial, Paoli, PA, USA), to reinforce the mandible. Eight short implants with a regular platform (Nobel Biocare, Goteborg, Sweden) were placed: three on the external oblique line on both sides and two on the symphysis. In order to augment mandible height and coat the exposed thread of the anterior implants, rhBMP-2 (Infuse Bone, Meditronic Sofamor Danek, Memphis, TN, USA) and β-tricalcium phosphate (Cerasorb; Curasan, Kleinostheim, Germany) were used. Four 1.3 mm L miniplates were placed to support the graft. 14 months after surgery, the patient was satisfied and had excellent function without complications.