In vitro effect of sodium fluoride on antioxidative enzymes and apoptosis during murine odontogenesis

J Oral Pathol Med (2010) 39 : 709–714 Excessive fluoride ingestion has been identified as a risk factor for fluorosis and oxidative stress. The oxidative stress results from the loss of equilibrium between oxidative and antioxidative mechanisms that can produce kinase activation, mitochondrial disturbance and DNA fragmentation, resulting in apoptosis. Actually many people are exposed to no‐adverted fluoride consumption in acute or chronic way. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of sodium fluoride on first molar germ in relation to its effect on antioxidative enzymes immunoexpression and apoptosis. Thirty first molar germs from 1‐day‐old Balb/c mice were cultured for 24 h with sodium fluoride (0 mM, 1 mM and 5 mM). Immunoexpression determination of CuZnSod, MnSod, catalase, Bax, Bid, caspase 8, caspase 9, caspase 3 and TUNEL assay were perfomed. Cellular disorganization in ameloblast and odontoblast‐papilla zones was observed. CuZnSod and MnSod immunoexpression decrease in experimental groups. Caspase 8, caspase 3, Bax, Bid increase expression and more TUNEL positive cells in both experimental groups than control, suggest that apoptosis induced by fluoride is related to oxidative stress due to reduction of the enzymatic antioxidant.     

Monitoring Progression of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Using Ultrasound Morpho-Textural Muscle Biomarkers: A Pilot Study

The need is increasing for progression biomarkers that allow the loss of motor neurons in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) to be monitored in clinical trials. In this prospective longitudinal study, muscle thickness, echointensity, echovariation and gray level co-occurrence matrix textural features are examined as possible progression ultrasound biomarkers in ALS patients during a 5-mo follow-up period. We subjected 13 patients to 3 measurements for 20?wk. They showed a significant loss of muscle, an evident tendency to loss of thickness and increased echointensity and echovariation. In regard to textural parameters, muscle heterogeneity tended to increase as a result of the neoformation of non-contractile tissue through denervation. Considering some limitations of the study, the quantitative muscle ultrasound biomarkers evaluated showed a promising ability to monitor patients affected by ALS.     

Sonoelastography for the Assessment of Muscle Changes in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: Results of a Pilot Study

The purpose of this study was to assess the sonoelastographic features of four different muscles in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis compared with healthy controls and to evaluate the relationship of these features to muscle strength and other ultrasonographic variables. Fourteen patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and 20 controls were examined using strain sonoelastography scanning. The RGB channel fraction ratio was analyzed with ImageJ software (Version 1.48). Two main sonoelastographic patterns could be distinguished in the controls: a clear predominance of the blue channel (hard areas) and a more heterogeneous pattern with predominance of the green channel (intermediate stiffness). These patterns were also observed in patients, although a higher green channel score was observed in mildly impaired muscles, whereas a higher blue channel score was observed in the most severely impaired muscle. Sonoelastography may be a good complementary biomarker in the detection and monitoring of muscle changes in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.     

Infant hearing screening with an automated auditory brainstem response screener and the auditory brainstem response

From 1653 babies hospitalized in the Veterans General Hospital—Taipei from 1993 to 1995, 260 infants at risk of hearing impairment were selected. The risk criteria of hearing impairment for neonates were based on the recommendation of the US Joint Committee on Infant Hearing, 1990 Position Statement. All these infants were screened with the Algo-1 Plus, an automated auditory brainstem response (ABR) screener at a mean postconceptional age of 40.7 ± 4.5 weeks. Thirty-nine cases (39/260, 15%) involving 57 ears (57/520, 11%), failed the screening. Except for one infant who died, the babies had an ABR test for both air- and bone-conducted stimuli and an otological examination. The case-specific incidence of conductive hearing deficit at the initial ABR test was 5.4%. The prevalence of sensorineural hearing deficits was between 2.3% confirmed and 3.1% including infants who did not have follow-up tests. The n-value that indicated agreement between the Algo-1 and ABR results was 0.64, and the overall efficiency of using Algo-1 to correctly identify pass or failure of the ABR was 83%.     

Tongue flaps for reconstruction of the oral cavity

Pedicled tongue flaps (anterior, posterior, double) have proved to be an effective method of repairing defects due to tissue loss in the oral cavity. Their central position, mobility, and excellent blood supply make the use of these flaps feasible in a variety of sites.     

Generation and characterization of monoclonal antibodies against choline kinase alpha and their potential use as diagnostic tools in cancer

Choline kinase alpha (ChoKalpha) is a metabolic enzyme involved in the synthesis of phosphatidylcholine, recently implicated in cancer onset since it is overexpressed in a variety of human cancers such as mammary, lung, colorectal and prostate adenocarcinomas. Furthermore, overexpression of ChoKalpha in human HEK293T cells confers them oncogenic properties with the induction of tumors after subcutaneous injection in nude mice. ChoKalpha levels in tumor samples have been analyzed using polyclonal antibodies and Western blotting. These techniques have considerable limitations and do not allow for a precise and efficient evaluation of the real significance of ChoK overexpression in human carcinogenesis. We developed a set of monoclonal antibodies with high specificity and sensitivity against ChoKalpha, and characterized their properties. We provide evidence that the newly generated MoAbs against ChoKalpha have potential use in cancer diagnosis by conventional immunohistochemistry techniques.     

Dexrazoxane‐induced reduction in mortality in mice subjected to severe forebrain ischemia

In this study we determined whether dexrazoxane reduces mortality in mice subjected to bilateral sequential common carotid artery sectioning. Under pentobarbital anesthesia, the left common carotid artery was ligated and sectioned. In one group of experiments, 32 days later mice were injected i.p. with dexrazoxane (16, 64, 256 mg/kg) 30 min before being reanesthetized to ligate and section the right common carotid artery. In the second group of animals dexrazoxane was given, at the same doses, 15 min after ligating and sectioning the right common carotid artery. Dexrazoxane significantly decreased the cumulated mortality rate compared with controls. When given 30 min before the second surgery dexrazoxane was active only at doses of 256 mg/kg. In contrast, when given 15 min after the second ischemic insult the protective effect of dexrazoxane was already evident at 16 mg/kg, increasing dose‐dependently with an almost complete protection at 256 mg/kg during the first 24 h of observation; some degree of protection persisted up to day 4. One possible explanation for this striking difference in efficacy is that dexrazoxane passes through a compromised but not through an intact blood–brain barrier. We conclude that dexrazoxane has important neuroprotective properties against brain ischemia and that its clinical trial in stroke should be considered. Drug Dev. Res. 51:149–152, 2000. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.