A comparative study of a surgical method and scaling and root planing using the Odontoson®

Abstract This investigation compared a traditional periodontal surgical method with a non-surgical treatment of scaling and root planing by an ultrasonic device (Odontoson M®) using irrigation with an iodised solution. 8 adult patients with periodontal disease were each treated at 2 randomly chosen quadrants by a Widman flap type surgical technique, and the remaining non-surgically. The patients then attended bi-monthly oral hygiene sessions over a period of 1 year. At that stage, clinical evaluation revealed that the Odontoson M® plus an ionised irrigant solution achieved a statistically comparable outcome to that of surgical treatment, even in the pockets initially up to 7 mm in depth.     

Childhood IQ measurements in infants with transient congenital hypothyroidism*

OBJECTIVE In view of the fact that, during the first period of life, thyroid hormones are critical for brain development, we investigated whether even transient congenital hypothyroidism could affect the long-term intellectual development of affected infants. DESIGN A case-control study of intellectual development, auxometric parameters and thyroid function performed in late infancy in children with documented transient congenital hypothyroidism or hyperthyrotrophinaemia at birth. PATIENTS Nine children born in an endemic goitre area who had short-term transient congenital hypothyroidism or hyperthyrotrophinaemia after birth (TCH) were studied and compared to nine matched children born in the same area at the same time but having normal thyroid function at birth (N). MEASUREMENTS Global, verbal and performance IQs were evaluated on the Wechsler scale. Height, bone age, total and free thyroid hormones, thyroid volume, thyroglobulin, basal and TRH stimulated TSH were also measured. RESULTS Height and bone age were similar in the two groups. Thyroid function tests were also similar in the two groups except for basal and TRH stimulated serum TSH and serum Tg which were higher in the TCH than in the control group. Global, verbal and performance IQs were systematically lower in the TCH than in the N group. (78.3 ± 11.1 vs 90.9 ± 14.2, P < 0.05; 84.4 ± 15.4 vs 96.2 ± 14.8, P NS; 75.0 ± 8.5 vs 89.2 ± 12.5, P < 0.01 respectively). CONCLUSION Infants born and living in an endemic goitre area, who had biochemical signs of thyroid hypofunction at birth, had a lower intelligence quotient at the age of 7–8 years than matched controls living in the same environmental conditions but with normal thyroid function at birth. The present findings strongly suggest that abnormalities in thyroid function at birth, even when transient, can adversely affect long-term intellectual development.     

Endothelin and endothelin‐converting‐enzyme‐1 in inflammatory neuropathies: an immunohistological study

CIDP can occur with other systemic diseases such as diabetes mellitus (CIDP‐DM) and non‐malignant monoclonal gammopathy (CIDP‐MGUS). Whether I‐CIDP, CIDP‐DM and CIDP‐MGUS differ in clinical presentation, response to treatment and long‐term outcome is unclear, as well as the relationship of these concurrent diseases to CIDP. Eight patients with I‐CIDP, 16 patients with CIDP‐DM and 7 patients with CIDP‐MGUS were included in this study and sural nerve biopsies were taken. Clinical conditions were evaluated using a Neurologic Disability Scale (NDS) and a modified Rankin Scale (MRS). All patients were treated with at least 1 course of intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIg) at a dosage of 2 g/Kg administered over 5 days and classified as treatment responders or non responders according to clinical improvement. Improvement was defined as a decrease of 4 points in the NDS score. Patients were retreated in case of relapses. Relapse was defined as worsening after improvement with an increase of 4 points or more in NDS score. Sural nerve pathology was assessed on semithin sections. No differences were detected among the three groups according to age and sex. On neurologic examination the CIDP‐DM group had a significantly more severe disease based on the NDS and MRS score. In all the three groups there was an improvement after treatment but this is statistically significant only in the CIDP‐DM group. At the end of the follow‐up there is no difference in clinical conditions among the three groups but there is a significant difference according to the number of IVIg administrations and thus with the number of relapses. In conclusion CIDP‐DM is a more severe disease compared to the other 2 groups, but with a significant better response to IVIg and less number of relapses.     

Viscosupplementation for grade II osteoarthritis of the ankle: a prospective study at 18 months’ follow-up

Background  Viscosupplementation, with hyaluronan derivates injected into the intra-space of osteoarthritic joints, is now widely used for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis. This study evaluates the results in terms of pain and disability of intra-articular injections of hyaluronan derivates into the ankle joint in patients suffering from grade II primary or secondary osteoarthritis of the ankle. Methods  Twenty-one patients with a painful ankle and radiographic evidence of grade II osteoarthritis had three weekly intra-articular injections of 2 ml of hylan G-F 20 (10 mg/ml) into the ankle joint. The primary clinical outcome measurement was the ankle osteoarthritis score (AOS) at the baseline, and at 6, 12 and 18 months. Results  Significant improvement of the AOS from baseline was seen after 6 months (p=0.0001). This improvement was maintained over time with no further changes at 12- and 18-month follow-ups. Regarding pain, the AOS improved over time from the baseline to the 18-month follow up and became statistically significant at the 12- and 18-month follow-ups (p<0.05).     

Cisplatin and Etoposide as Second-Line Chemotherapy in Patients with Small Cell Lung Cancer

Twenty-seven evaluable patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) resistant to, or relapsed after induction combination chemotherapy (CT) were treated with etoposide (VPJ6) plus cisplatin (DDP). Previous treatment was: alternating CT with cyclophosphamide (C), adriamycin (A), methotrexate (M), procarbazine (P) (CAMP)/VP16, BCNU (B), hexamethylmelamine (H) (VP16BH) in 16 patients; C, A, vincristine (CAV) in 6 patients; C, A, and VP16 (CAVP16) in 5 patients. We observed 2 (7%) complete responses (CR) and 9 (33%) partial responses (PR). Duration of CRs was 8 and 14 weeks, respectively. PRs lasted a median of 22 weeks (range 16-44). Seven of 21 (33%) patients previously treated with VP16 responded to DDP plus VP16 (D-V). These results confirm D-V regimen as active in SCLC patients even when heavily pretreated. Our 33 % response in patients who had VP16 in their induction treatment regimen provides further evidence of an important potentiating effect of DDP, as reported in animal system.     

Comparison of haloperidol and chlorpromazine in the treatment of phencyclidine psychosis

Phencyclidine (PCP) is a widely abused drug inducing a psychosis relieved by such dopamine antagonists as the neuroleptics. In the current study we compared two neuroleptics which act at different dopamine receptor sites. Haloperidol, a DA-2 receptor antagonist, and chlorpromazine, a DA-1 antagonist, were used to treat a total of 20 patients who experienced a phencyclidine psychosis. Ten patients each received two doses of one or the other neuroleptic on an alternating basis. Haloperidol 5 mg i.m. was shown to be superior to chlorpromazine 50 mg i.m. in relieving all signs of psychosis. The authors hypothesize that the DA-2 receptor is site-specific for PCP.