The influence of gender on the relationship between dental anxiety and oral health‐related emotional well‐being

International Journal of Paediatric Dentistry 2013; 23: 180–187 Background and aim. Children’s dental fear and/or anxiety (DFA) has been associated with declines in oral health and quality of life. The influence of gender on the relationship between DFA and oral health‐related well‐being in children is analysed. Design. The decayed, missing and filled permanent teeth (DMFT) index was obtained from 161 school‐aged children (7–14 years old). Data from children’s self‐assessed oral health, oral health‐related emotional well‐being and dental anxiety were collected using questionnaires. Results. Low scores of emotional well‐being were associated with negative self‐assessment of oral health and high levels of dental anxiety. Females reported decreased oral health‐related emotional well‐being compared with males. The analysis of possible moderating effects confirmed that gender influenced the relationship between oral health and DFA. The DMFT index was not associated with self‐assessed oral health status, emotional well‐being or DFA. Conclusion. For girls, high levels of DFA were associated with low levels of oral health‐related emotional well‐being. In contrast, dental fear and/or anxiety did not influence oral health‐related emotional well‐being in boys.     

Psoriasis vs allergic contact dermatitis in palms and soles: a quantitative histologic and immunohistochemical study

Cesinaro AM, Nannini N, Migaldi M, Pepe P, Maiorana A. Psoriasis vs allergic contact dermatitis in palms and soles: a quantitative histologic and immunohistochemical study. APMIS 2009; 117: 629–34. A systematic histologic and immunohistochemical study of cases of psoriasis (PSO) and allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) in palmo‐plantar skin was performed to find differences between these two diseases that usually show overlapping features in these specific sites. Skin biopsies from 42 (22 female, 20 male) patients were evaluated for several histopathologic parameters and immunohistochemistry was applied to quantify keratinocytic proliferation, the number of dendritic cells (DCs) and the phenotype of the mononuclear cell infiltrate. Regular epidermal hyperplasia and marked parakeratosis were found to be more frequent in PSO than in ACD cases, but only the first parameter reached the level of significance (p = 0.03). The number of S100 protein‐positive DCs was significantly higher in ACD (p = 0.006), whereas keratinocytic proliferation, studied with Mib‐1, was found to be higher in PSO than in ACD, but the difference was not statistically significant. No significant difference was detected in the number of CD4⁺, CD8⁺ and bcl2⁺ lymphocytes in PSO and ACD cases. In the palms and soles, the finding of irregular epidermal hyperplasia and the detection of a higher number of S100 protein‐positive DCs favor the diagnosis of ACD over PSO. The differential diagnosis between PSO and ACD can be practically approached using a histopathologic parameter and a commercially available antibody.     

Characterization of a Precocious New Lesion Distal to a Stent Site by Atherectomy

A 58-year-old woman presented with a new rapidly progressive lesion distal to a stent. This lesion was treated with atherectomy through the stem in order to characterize it pathologically. The aggressive proliferative response discovered suggested that this unusually distal lesion was produced by the trauma of her previous angioplasty .     

Influence of Age, Lead Axis, Frequency of Arrhythmic Episodes, and Atrial Dimensions on P Wave Triggered SAECG in Patients with Lone Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation

Signal-averaged P wave of 42 patients with lone paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF) and 29 normal subjects (N) were recorded, using three orthogonal leads and analyzed in the time and frequency (entire P wave or a 100-ms segment ranging from 75 ms before to 25 ms after the end of P wave) domains. PAFs were divided into a group of 12 having ≥ 2 attacks a month (HF) and a group of 30 having ≤ 2 attacks a year (LF). Statistically significant differences were absent with regard to ages of PAF and N; ages of HF, LF, and N at the time of signal-averaged ECG; ages of HF and LF at the time of the first arrhythmic episode; and elapsed times from the first episode. Length of P wave and some frequency-domain parameters were found to be significantly correlated with age. PAF showed a significantly longer duration of P wave in the frontal plane using the time-domain analysis. Frequency analysis was found to be useful in evaluating the influence of attack frequency. HF showed significantly higher values of some frequency-domain parameters than LF and N, while the three groups did not differ for time-domain analysis. P wave duration and frequency content of the three orthogonal leads proved to be significantly different in PAF and N. Right and left atrial echocardiographic dimensions proved to be higher (even if within normal limits) in HF than in LF and N. Results suggest that frequency analysis should be performed on the entire P wave.