Cyclooxygenase-2 expression in the endometrium and its relationship to bleeding in users of continuous oral contraceptives.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of the present study was to investigate whether or not the presence of irregular bleeding during use of oral contraceptives (OC) is associated with increased cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression. PATIENTS AND METHODS: An observational study was carried out in 26 patients who were using gestodene 75 microg/ethinylestradiol 30 microg prior to endometrial resection. The patients were divided into two groups: those with amenorrhea (n = 14) and those who had irregular bleeding (n = 12). The resected endometrium was immunostained for COX-2, Bcl-2 and Ki-67 expression. Routine pathology was carried out using standard hematoxylin-eosin staining. RESULTS: Irregular bleeding during OC use was associated with strong COX-2 expression in both glandular and superficial epithelium. There were also more patients in this group with irregular endometrial maturation and higher Ki-67 values. Bcl-2 expression, on the other hand, was not affected by the presence of uterine bleeding. CONCLUSION: The presence of irregular bleeding during OC use is associated with strong COX-2 expression in the endometrium, thereby suggesting a pivotal role of prostaglandins in this process.     

Dentoskeletal treatment changes in Class II subdivision malocclusions in submentovertex and posteroanterior radiographs.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the dentoskeletal changes consequent to orthodontic treatment in subjects with Class II subdivision malocclusions, treated with asymmetric extractions, compared with a normal-occlusion control group. The sample consisted of 3 groups, with 30 subjects in each: normal-occlusion subjects (group 1), untreated Class II subdivision subjects (group 2), and Class II subdivision patients treated with asymmetric extractions (group 3). All subjects had a full complement of permanent teeth at the beginning of treatment. The average ages of the subjects were 22.42, 15.76, and 18.57 years, respectively, in groups 1, 2, and 3. Measurements of relative differences in the spatial position of dental and skeletal bilateral landmarks were obtained from the submentovertex and posteroanterior cephalometric (PA) radiographs. The t test for independent samples was used to compare group 1 with groups 2 and 3 at different times. Results from the submentovertex radiograph showed that asymmetric extractions in Class II subdivision malocclusions will maintain the differences in the anteroposterior positions of right and left, maxillary and mandibular first molars, as would be expected with the treatment protocols used. There were no significant skeletal changes that could be attributed to the treatment approaches investigated or transverse collateral effects with the asymmetric mechanics used. It was also demonstrated that treatment of Class II subdivision malocclusions with asymmetric extractions produced corrections of maxillary and mandibular dental midline deviations with the midsagittal plane, without canting the occlusal plane or any other investigated horizontal plane, as seen in the PA radiograph. Treatment of Class II subdivision malocclusions with asymmetric extractions constitutes a beneficial approach to this problem.     

Oral leiomyosarcomas: report of two cases with immunohistochemical profile.

Leiomyosarcoma of the oral cavity is a very rare tumor associated with aggressive clinical behavior and low survival. In this paper, we report 2 cases of leiomyosarcoma, affecting the gingival mucosa of a 54-year-old female and the maxillary bone of a 63-year-old male. Histologically, the tumors were composed of variably oriented fascicles of spindle-shaped cells with cigar-shaped nuclei and eosinophilic cytoplasm. The lesions were treated by surgical resection. Immunoreactivity to anti-vimentin, anti-smooth muscle actin, anti-desmin, anti-laminin, and anti-muscle-specific actin antibodies were found; conversely, the tumor cells were negative for anti-S100 and AE1/AE3 proteins. This report emphasizes the role of immunohistochemical study for correct diagnosis of leiomyosarcoma.     

Prediction of the Deposition of Dry Powder Aerosols

The trajectory, mass fluxes, and deposition of aerosolized particles in a complex tubular system have been predicted. A procedure based on Lagrangian stochastic modeling is proposed to enable the anticipation of such phenomena, taking advantage of experimental results to characterize the air flow. The predictions have been obtained for pharmaceutical aerosols delivered by dry powder inhalers. A critical assessment of the dispersion model has been carried out using data available in the literature. The procedure assumes a low volume fraction of particles in the simulation of turbulent dispersion, but deposition is physically based on the interaction between the particles and both solid and liquid surfaces. The results were confirmed by experimental tests of powder deposition, run according to the European Pharmacopoeia. A parametric study was also carried out with the aim of providing a more complete evaluation of the model’s performance. The comparison between predictions and experimental results has shown that the model properly describes the deposition of aerosolized particles.     

P01Contact dermatitis from textile colours in three Spanish towns

Objective:  Prevalence of textile dye contact dermatitis (TD‐CD) are lacking in many countries. Our aim is to know the frequency of TD‐CD in three different areas of Spain.
Methods:  100 patients were tested with Spanish standard series and the five most frequent TD in each city. D. Orange 1, D. Orange 3, D. Blue 35, D. Blue 106, D. Blue 124 were included in Murcia and Seville, and the three last and D. Red 1, D. Red 17 in Santiago.
Results:  23/300 (15 women and 8 men) were positives to one or more TD. D. Blue 124 was the most frequent allergen (18/300), followed by D. Blue 106 (17/300). D. Red 1, D. Red 17 and D. Orange 1 were positives in 2/200. D. Orange 3 and D. Blue 35 were positives in 1/200. Eczema was located on hands in 13 cases. Clinical picture was variable. Origin of sensitization was clothing and occupational. Relevance was obtained in 20/23 cases.
Conclusions:  The study confirm an high frequency of disperse dye allergy in Spain with a very different prevalence in the three areas: Seville 14%, Murcia 5% and Santiago 4%, that are probably due to social and cultural factors. We recommend the inclusion of D. Blue 106, D. Blue 124, D. Blue 35, D. Red 1, D. Red 17, D. Orange 1 and D. Orange 3 in standard series in order to detect sensitivity to textile colours that is most frequent than previously suspected.     

Rare associations of dens invaginatus and mesiodens.

Dens invaginatus is a developmental variation resulting from an alteration in the normal growth pattern of the dental papilla. Synonyms of this disturbance include dens in dente, invaginated odontome, tooth inclusion, and dentoid in dente. Radiographically, it is observed as infolding of a radiopaque ribbon-like structure, with equal density as enamel, extending from the cingulum into the root canal and sometimes reaching the root apex, assigning the appearance of a small tooth within the coronal pulp cavity. This article presents 2 case reports. The first describes an 8-year-old girl with dens invaginatus in a mesiodens; the second report describes a 16-year-old boy presenting with 2 mesiodens, both associated with dens invaginatus.     

Influence of bradykinin B1 and B2 receptors in the immune response triggered by renal ischemia–reperfusion injury

Bradykinin B1 receptors are exclusively expressed in inflamed tissues. For this reason, they have been related with the outcomes of several pathologies. Ischemia–reperfusion injury is caused by the activation of inflammatory and cytoprotective genes, such as macrophage chemoattractant protein-1 and heme oxygenase-1, respectively. This study was aimed to analyze the involvement of bradykinin B1 and B2 receptors (B1R and B2R) in tissue response after renal ischemia–reperfusion injury. For that, B1R (B1−/−), B2R (B2−/−) knockout animals and its control (wild-type mice, B1B2+/+) were subjected to renal bilateral ischemia, followed by 24, 48 and 120 h of reperfusion. At these time points, blood serum samples were collected for creatinine and urea dosages. Kidneys were harvested for histology and molecular analyses by real-time PCR. At 24 and 48 h of reperfusion, B1−/− group resulted in the lowest serum creatinine and urea levels, indicating less renal damage, which was proved by renal histology. Renal protection associated with B1−/− mice was also related with higher expression of HO-1 and lower expression of MCP-1. In conclusion, the absence of B1R had a protective role against inflammatory responses developed after renal ischemia–reperfusion injury.     

Analysis of the inflammatory response in endovascular treatment of aortic aneurysms.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to evaluate the inflammatory response caused by endovascular stents in the treatment of aortic aneurysms. METHODS: Twenty-five patients underwent endovascular stent treatment from March through December 2005. The evolution of mediators (sedimentation velocity, C reactive protein, interleukin-6, interleukin-8, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, intercellular adhesion molecule-1, l-selectin), inflammatory cells (leukocytes, lymphocytes, platelets), serum creatinine and body temperature within preoperative period and in the following postoperative periods--1, 6, 24 and 48 h, 7 days, 1-3 months, was analyzed. In order to achieve statistic significance, Friedman test and Wilcoxon test were used, with index of significance of 5% (p<0.05). RESULTS: Peak values of sedimentation velocity, C reactive protein and interleukin-6 were observed at 7 days (p<0.0001), 48 h (p<0.0001) and 24h (p<0.0001), respectively. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-8 did not show statistically significant variability during the entire follow-up. In terms of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 and l-selectin, their expressive values were found in late phase of follow-up, although without statistical significance. Elevation of leukocytes count occurred in premature phase of follow-up (p<0.0001), while lymphocyte and platelet count occurred in a late phase of follow-up (p<0.0001). Serum levels of creatinine did not show significant variability during follow-up. The period between 24 and 48 h corresponded to major frequency for fever (p<0.0001). CONCLUSION: Individual mediators analysis and inflammatory cells demonstrated variability of their values during postoperative follow-up. This could help in the analysis of the inflammatory response evolution caused by endovascular stent treatment for aortic aneurysms in premature and late phases after implantation of the vascular prosthesis.     

Utility of the sural fasciocutaneous flap for the treatment of chronic osteomyelitis of the distal tibia

Treatment of chronic osteomyelitis of distal tibia is complex. It often requires the association of antibiotic therapy and a surgical procedure. This consists of exhaustive debridement of infected bone and soft tissue which must have adequate cutaneous coverage and vascular supply which enables creating a barrier to microorganisms and greater resistance to infection. Free or pedicled muscular flaps have been the techniques most often used for this type of lesions. Free flaps require a precise microsurgical technique and prolonged surgery. Pedicled muscular flaps do not provide sufficient coverage and vascularisation of the distal tibia for large size defects. The fasciocutaneous flap has been used for the treatment of coverage defects in the perimalleolar area and the heel. We report the utility of this flap as management of chronic osteomyelitis of the distal third of the tibia with complete healing of the infection and correct cutaneous coverage without complications.