Mental health and social participation skills of wheelchair basketball players: A controlled study

The aim of this study was to assess differences in psychological well-being, symptomatic psychological disorders and social participation, between competitive wheelchair basketball participants and those non-participants. Forty-six wheelchair participants, 24 Basketball players (aged 35.60 ± 7.56) and 22 non-players (aged 36.20 ± 6.23), completed three validated self-report questionnaires: Participation Scale (PS), Psychological Well-Being Scale [PWBS] and Symptom Checklist 90 R [SCL-90-R]. ANOVA showed significant overall differences between the two groups. The social restriction score, evaluated by PS, was significantly higher in the non-basketball participants (p = 0.00001) than the basketball participants. The PWB Scale showed significant differences in all 6 dimensions: positive relations with others, environmental mastery, personal growth, purpose in life and self-acceptance (p < 0.01), and autonomy (p < 0.05), with better scores in the basketball participants. The SCL-90-R scores were significantly lower for the basketball group in the following 6 symptomatic dimensions: depression, phobic anxiety, and sleep disorder (p < 0.01), somatization, interpersonal sensitivity and psychoticism (with p < 0.05). It was concluded that competitive wheelchair basketball participants showed better psychological well-being and social skills than those non-participants.     

Levodopa‐induced dyskinesias in tyrosine hydroxylase deficiency

The objective of this study was to characterize levodopa (l‐ dopa)–induced dyskinesias in patients with tyrosine hydroxylase deficiency. Clinical observation was carried out on 6 patients who were diagnosed with tyrosine hydroxylase deficiency and were treated with escalating doses of l‐ dopa. All 6 patients showed l ‐dopa‐induced dyskinesias of variable intensity early in the course of treatment and regardless of the age of initiation. l ‐Dopa–induced dyskinesias were precipitated by increases in the dose of l ‐dopa and also by febrile illnesses and stress. They caused dysfunction and distress in 2 patients. The dyskinesias were improved by decreasing the l ‐dopa dose or by slowing its titration upward. Increasing the dose frequency was helpful in 2 patients, and introducing amantadine was helpful in another 2 patients. l ‐Dopa–induced dyskinesias are a common phenomenon in tyrosine hydroxylase deficiency. The current observations show that l‐ dopa–induced dyskinesias are frequent in a dopamine‐deficient state in the absence of nigrostriatal degeneration. Although l ‐dopa–induced dyskinesias in tyrosine hydroxylase deficiency are phenomenologically similar to those that occur in Parkinson's disease, they are different in a number of other respects, suggesting intrinsic differences in the pathophysiologic basis of l‐ dopa–induced dyskinesias in the 2 conditions. © 2013 Movement Disorder Society     

Sibship size, birth order, family structure and childhood mental disorders

Purpose

The aim of this study was to determine the role that birth order, sibship size and family structure have as risk factors in the development of common childhood mental disorders.

Method

A case–control study design was conducted (N = 16,823). The group under study consisted of all those subjects who had consulted with a psychiatrist/psychologist and had received a clinical diagnosis at public mental health centres within the Region of Madrid (Spain), between 1980 and 2008. A multiple logistic regression was used to explore the independent association with each diagnosis: emotional disorders (ED) with onset specific to childhood, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), conduct disorder (CD), mental retardation (MR), and pervasive developmental disorder (PDD).

Results

Birth order and family structure significantly predicted the risk of being diagnosed with ED or ADHD. In addition, sibship size and sex predicted the risk of being diagnosed with a childhood mental disorder.

Conclusions

We concluded that being the middle child and living with both biological parents appear to be protective factors against the development of ED or ADHD. Living in large families appears to increase the risk of receiving a CD, MR, or PDD diagnosis. Further research is warranted.     

Relationship between dental anomalies and orthodontic root resorption of upper incisors

The aim of this study was to examine the potential relationship between the occurrence of orthodontic root resorption and presence of dental anomalies such as tooth agenesis and pipette-shaped roots. Dental anomalies and root resorption were assessed on dental panoramic tomographs (DPT) of 88 subjects, 27 males and 61 females, mean age 28.4 (SD = 11.3 years), selected from orthodontic patients on the basis of the following exclusion criteria: previous fixed appliance treatment, bad quality of the DPTs and no visibility of the periodontal ligament of every tooth, and younger than 15 years of age at the onset of treatment with fixed edgewise appliance lasting at least 18 months. A pipette-shaped root was identified as defined by a drawing. Tooth agenesis was assessed on DPTs and from subjects' dental history. Root resorption was calculated as the difference between the root length before and after treatment, with and without a correction factor (crown length post-treatment/crown length pre-treatment). If one of the four upper incisors showed root resorption of ≥2.3 mm with both formulas, the patient was scored as having root resorption. Chi-square tests indicated that there was no relationship between orthodontic root resorption and agenesis (P = 0.885) nor between orthodontic root resorption and pipette-shaped roots (P = 0.800). There was no relationship between having one of the anomalies and root resorption either (P = 0.750). In the present study, it was not possible to confirm on DPTs a relationship between orthodontic root resorption and dental anomalies, such as agenesis and pipette-shaped roots.     

The influence of electron beam irradiation on colour stability and hardness of aesthetic brackets

Electron beam irradiation can be used to improve the mechanical properties of polymers. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of electron beam irradiation with an energy dose of 100 kGy on the mechanical properties and colour stability of conventional polymer brackets and experimental filled composite brackets. The conventional brackets tested were Aesthetik-Line, Brillant, and Envision. The experimental brackets contained urethane dimethacrylate, as a monomer matrix and functional silane-treated SiO(2) fillers with a filler content of either 10 (Exper 1) or 40 (Exper 2) vol per cent. The influence of electron beam post-curing on Vickers hardness (VH) of the polymer brackets was investigated. Additionally, a possible discolouration of the brackets after electron beam irradiation was determined according to the three-dimensional L* a* b* colour space. The irradiated brackets were compared with untreated control groups. Statistical analysis was performed using the Wilcoxon test. With the exception of Brillant brackets, all investigated brackets showed a significant enhancement of VH after electron beam post-curing. However, the brackets suffered a significant increase in discolouration. Aesthetik-Line brackets showed the highest discolouration, ΔE, and Exper 2 brackets the lowest ΔE values. The discolouration of the examined brackets differed significantly. These results demonstrate that the mechanical properties of polymer brackets could be modified by electron beam irradiation. Nevertheless, clinical use of electron beam post-curing might be restricted because of unacceptable colour changes.     

Quantitative comparison of the expression of antimicrobial peptides in the oral mucosa and extraoral skin

Antimicrobial peptides (AMP) defend epithelial surfaces against pathological micro-organisms. We know of no comparison of their expression between the oral mucosa and extraoral epithelium, but knowledge of differences in their quantities is of interest, possibly as a starting point for new treatments. Expression of AMP human beta-defensin (hBD)-1/-2/-3 and psoriasin in the oral mucosa and extraoral epithelium of the head and neck were measured by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) (n=14), immunohistochemistry (n=6), and western blot (n=8). RT-PCR showed that all the genes investigated were expressed significantly more in the oral mucosa than in the skin (hBD-1: p=0.002; hBD-2: p=0.006; hBD-3: p=0.035; psoriasin: p=0.02). Immunohistochemistry and western blot showed differential concentrations of proteins: hBD-2 (p=0.021) and hBD-3 (p=0.043) were pronounced in the oral mucosa, whereas psoriasin was raised in the extraoral skin (p=0.021). There was no difference in protein concentrations for hBD-1 (p=0.08). The observed differences in the expression of AMP may be important for new treatments such as topical application of AMP derivatives.     

The Influence of Bovine Serum Albumin Modified Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles on Myoblast Cytotoxicity

Pharmaceutical Chemistry Journal - Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2NPs) are utilised as a key constituent in many biopharmaceuticals and food products. This is mainly attributed to their...