Residual and inflammatory radicular cysts. Clinical and pathological aspects of 2 cases

Inflammatory odontogenic cysts include radicular cysts and its etiological variance, residual cysts. Among these lesions, the radicular cyst is the most frequent. It is caused by the growth of remnants of Malassez cells involved in the development of the dental organ. Clinically, radicular cysts are difficult to diagnose. Histologic diagnosis is of primary importance in order to definitely discriminate the different kinds of periapical lesions. In this paper, the clinical, radiographic, etio-physio-pathological and microscopic features of these pathological formations are described. A case of a large radicular cyst and a case of residual cyst are reported and the surgical treatment and histologic differential diagnosis are presented.     

Ability of healthy and inflamed human dental pulp to reduce hydrogen peroxide

This study examined the defensive ability of human dental pulp against H2O2 in healthy and reversible and irreversible pulpitis tissues through determination of catalase activity by spectrophotometric methods. Thirty-five systemically healthy patients were donors of the pulp tissue, and pulp conditions were assessed using clinical and X-ray evaluations. Catalase activity was 1.61 +/- 0.23 U mg(-1) protein in the healthy tissues, 2.99 +/- 0.45 U mg(-1) protein in the reversible pulpitis tissues, and 2.44 +/- 467 mU mg(-1) protein in the irreversible pulpitis tissues. All differences between the groups were statistically significant. These results point to a role for catalase during dental pulp inflammation in humans, and therefore demonstrate an inherent biological defense system against reactive oxidants in human dental pulp.     

αβ T Cell-Depleted Haploidentical Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation without Antithymocyte Globulin in Children with Chemorefractory Acute Myelogenous Leukemia

We evaluated the outcome of αβ T cell-depleted haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) in a cohort of children with chemorefractory acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). Twenty-two patients with either primary refractory (n = 10) or relapsed refractory (n = 12) AML in active disease status received a transplant from haploidentical donors. The preparative regimen included cytoreduction with fludarabine and cytarabine and subsequent myeloablative conditioning with treosulfan and thiotepa. Antithymocyte globulin was substituted with tocilizumab in all patients and also with abatacept in 10 patients. Grafts were peripheral blood stem cells engineered by αβ T cell and CD19 depletion. Post-transplantation prophylactic therapy included infusion of donor lymphocytes, composed of a CD45RA-depleted fraction with or without a hypomethylating agent. Complete remission was achieved in 21 patients (95%). The cumulative incidence of grade II-IV acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) was 18%, and the cumulative incidence of chronic GVHD was 23%. At 2 years, transplantation-related mortality was 9%, relapse rate was 42%, event-free survival was 49%, and overall survival was 53%. Our data suggest that αβ T cell-depleted haploidentical HSCT provides a reasonable chance of long-term survival in a cohort of children with chemorefractory AML and creates a solid basis for further improvement.     

In vitro evaluation of fracture resistance and failure mode of internally restored endodontically treated maxillary incisors with differing heights of residual dentin

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM: Some of the associated effects of different restorative systems placed in endodontically treated teeth with varying heights of residual dentin have yet to be examined in a comprehensive manner. There is a need for additional information regarding fracture resistance and mode of failure. PURPOSE: The purpose of this in vitro study was to evaluate the effect of 3 different restorative techniques with varying amounts of remaining dentin heights on the fracture resistance and failure mode of endodontically treated teeth. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Three groups of 40 human maxillary incisors were subdivided into 4 subgroups (n=10) with respect to the uniform height of the residual coronal dentin, defined as 0-, 2-, 4-, or 5-mm from the cemento-enamel junction, and then restored internally using a composite resin (Z100 MP) (control group), a cobalt-chromium ceramic alloy custom-made cast post and core (IPS d.SIGN 30; CCPC group), or a carbon fiber post system (Tech Xop 2000; CFP group). All specimens were then restored with nonprecious cast crowns. Static loading tests were performed on each specimen until failure (crack without a complete fracture). The data were analyzed with 2-way ANOVA and Bonferroni-corrected t test for independent samples (alpha=.05). Failure was classified as either favorable (allowing repair) or catastrophic (not allowing repair). RESULTS: The fracture resistance values (N) for the 0-, 2-, 4-, and 5-mm residual dentin heights were: 88, 143, 154, and 202 for the control group, 230, 264, 364, and 383 for the CCPC group, and 153, 235, 346, and 357 for the CFP group, respectively. Generally, all the differences tested were statistically significant. The failure mode was catastrophic for no control specimens, for 36 CCPC specimens, and for 4 CFP specimens. CONCLUSIONS: The highest and lowest fracture resistances were recorded for the CCPC and control groups, respectively, at each residual dentin height. An increased height of residual dentin generally provided greater fracture resistance. The fracture resistance of the CCPC group was, however, similar or only slightly higher than that of the CFP group when 2, 4, or 5 mm of residual dentin height was present. In contrast, the failure mode was favorable for almost all of the CFP and control groups, while it was catastrophic in most of the CCPC group.     

Skin barrier function in infancy: a systematic review

The skin of neonates and infants exhibits distinct anatomical and functional properties that might be clinically reflected by its characteristic susceptibility to skin barrier disruption. In this systematic review, we aimed to characterize skin barrier maturation as reflected by transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and skin surface pH during the first 2 years of life. We systematically searched MEDLINE and EMBASE via OVID from 1975 to 2013 to identify primary studies reporting TEWL and/or skin surface pH values in healthy full-term infants aged 0–24 months without any cutaneous diseases. After full text assessment, 36 studies reporting n = 8,483 TEWL measurements for 26 anatomical areas and n = 6,437 skin surface pH measurements for 14 anatomical areas were included. The mean age of the subjects ranged from 1.4 h to 1.2 years. The lowest pH of 4.63 was identified on the forehead at the age of 25.6 weeks, whereas the highest of 7.31 was on the volar forearm at 0.0 weeks. The lowest TEWL value of 3.1 g/m²/h was reported for the back at 0.6 weeks and the highest of 43.1 g/m²/h for the upper leg at 58.7 weeks. The skin surface pH reveals a steep decline during the first postnatal week, succeeded by a further gradual site-specific acidification process during the first month. A competent permeability barrier in most anatomical areas is indicated by TEWL, which does not exhibit a time-dependent development during the first 2 years of life.     

Molecular nanomedicine towards cancer: ¹¹¹In-labeled nanoparticles

Nanomedicine is the medical application of materials, devices, or systems in the nanometer scale and is currently undergoing explosive development. Molecular imaging of cancer using nanosized materials comprises an important part in diagnosis, therapy, and drug discovery in medical nanosciences. Radiopharmaceuticals are a key tool of molecular imaging in the field of nuclear medicine. The in vivo administration of radiolabeled nanoparticles (NPs) can provide an accurate biodistribution profile of the nanoformulations, as well as visualization of their route in vivo. Surface modifications of NPs with antibodies, peptides, or other small molecules that bind to tumor cell receptors have resulted in the development of sensitive and specific targeted imaging and diagnostic modalities for in vitro and in vivo applications. Radiometals are the most favorable of all radionuclides for labeling applications and they have the most suitable properties for single-photon emission computed tomography imaging. Indium-111((111)In), specifically, is a readily available gamma-emitting radiometal, which is widely used in clinical practice for diagnosis and/or therapy. Herein, we will overview the latest evolvement on (111)In-labeled nanoparticles for biodistribution assessment and/or imaging evaluation of nanocarriers, as well as therapy in cancer.