In vivo imaging of enamel by reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM): non-invasive analysis of dental surface

The aim is to establish the feasibility to image in vivo microscopic dental surface by non-invasive, real-time, en face Reflectance Confocal Microscopy (RCM). Fifteen healthy volunteers referred at the Multidisciplinary Department of Medical-Surgical and Odontostomatological Specialties, Second University of Naples, Naples, Italy, were enrolled. A commercially available hand-held RCM (Vivascope^®3000, Lucid, Rochester, NY, USA) was used to image in vivo the dental surface of the upper right and left central incisors of each volunteer. Totally, thirty vestibular surfaces of upper central incisors were imaged in vivo by RCM to preliminary image the dental surface and assess the feasibility of a more extended study on teeth. In vivo RCM was able to image the dental surface within the enamel, at a maximum depth imaging of 300 μm, with images good in quality and the capability to detect enamel structures such as enamel lamellae and enamel damages, such as unevenness and cracks. In conclusion, enamel “optical biopsy”, gained by RCM imaging, revealed to be a non-invasive real-time tool valid to obtain architectural details of the dental surface with no need for extraction or processing the samples. RCM appears to be an optimum auxiliary device for investigating the architectural pattern of superficial enamel, therefore inviting further experiments aimed to define our knowledge about damages after etching treatments or bracket removal and the responsiveness to fluoride seals and the morphology of the tooth/restoration interface. Moreover, this device could also be used to detect relevant diseases like caries, or to assess surface properties to evaluate lesion activity.     

Clinical chemistry and haematology historical data in control Sprague-Dawley rats from pre-clinical toxicity studies

The purpose of this paper is to provide historical data pertaining to clinical chemistry and haematology parameters, obtained from control Sprague-Dawley rats, used in pre-clinical toxicity studies. Mean, standard deviation, minimum and maximum values for haematological and coagulative profiles, haemato-biochemistry and urine analysis data, and the differences per sex and study duration, 4 versus 13 weeks, are presented. The studies were conducted in agreement with the GLP (Good Laboratory Practice) regulations. Statistically significant differences, at the confidence level of 99%, for the red blood cell (RBC) parameters, the white blood cell (WBC) series parameters, plasmatic albumin/globulin (A/G), alanine amino-transferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), creatinine, globulin, glucose, sodium, total protein, tryglycerides, urea and urine volume were observed in males, when 4-week study values were compared with those obtained from 13-week studies. Female rats showed statistically significant variations, at the confidence level of 99% for RBC number and mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH), mean red blood cell volume (MCV), WBCs count and lymphocytes percentage, A/G, albumin, ALT, AST, ALP, creatinine, globulin, and sodium, when 4-week study values were compared to 13-week studies. Similar differences were observed comparing the female with male haematological and biochemical data for the two different times of the sample collection. These data could be useful as a reference for evaluation of background pathology in Sprague-Dawley rats, when used in studies performed to evaluate the toxicological profile of a new chemical entity (NCE) in agreement with requirements from international regulatory agencies.     

Bulimia and borderline personality disorder

Female patients with bulimia or atypical eating disorder (n = 31) were compared on dimensions of psychiatric symptomatology (SCL-90) and measures of eating problems (Eating Disorder inventory, Diagnostic Survey for Eating Disorders) with 10 similar patients who were also diagnosed as having borderline personality disorder. In addition to greater symptom severity and higher levels of distress (p < .05), the borderline subgroup scored higher on SCL-90 scales for interpersonal sensitivity, phobic anxiety, paranoid ideation, and depression (p < .05), with no differences on the scales for bulimia and body-related concerns. The borderline subgroup of eating disorder patients did not differ on any SCL-90 scales from another comparison group of borderline patients without eating disorder (n = 32). The differential self-perceptions of the borderline subgroup may have implications for the formation of a therapeutic relationship.     

Thyroid-stimulating hormone, thyroid hormones, and bone loss

It has become accepted by virtue of rich anecdotal experience and clinical research that thyrotoxicosis is associated with high-turnover osteoporosis. The bone loss, primarily due to accelerated resorption that is not compensated by a coupled increase in bone formation, has been attributed solely to elevated thyroid hormone levels. Evidence using mice lacking the thyroid hormone receptors α and β establishes a role for thyroid hormones in regulating bone remodeling but does not exclude an independent action of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), levels of which are low in hyperthyroid states, even when thyroid hormones are normal, as after thyroxine supplementation and in subclinical hyperthyroidism. We show that TSH directly suppresses bone remodeling and that TSH receptor null mice have profound bone loss, suggesting that reduced TSH signaling contributes to hyperthyroid osteoporosis. TSH and its receptor could become valuable drug targets in treating bone loss.     

Trace amine metabolism in Parkinson's disease: Low circulating levels of octopamine in early disease stages

Recent evidence suggests that trace amines such as tyramine and octopamine, alternative products of tyrosine metabolism (an aminoacid parent of dopamine and noradrenaline), play a role in the homeostasis of the extrapyramidal system. However, the relevance of these trace amines in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease is still largely unknown. Here, we assessed the plasma levels of octopamine and noradrenaline in three sub-groups of PD patients, namely de novo, non-fluctuating and fluctuating patients, versus age-matched control subjects. We show that octopamine is detectable in plasma of all subjects, the mean levels of which are significantly lower in PD patients, including de novo patients, when compared to controls (p < 0.001). Unlike this, no changes in plasmatic noradrenaline levels were found in the de novo patients, but only in plasma of fluctuating and non-fluctuating PD patients. These findings raise the possibility that Parkinson's disease is firstly characterized by abnormalities of tyrosine decarboxylase, rather than tyrosine hydroxylase, enzyme activity. Given the role of this enzyme in the production of trace amines, circulating octopamine levels may hold promise as a biomarker of early Parkinson's disease.     

Migraine with aura: conventional and non-conventional treatments

Migraine with aura (MwA) is a primary headache that affects up 30% of migraine patients. Although the frequency of MwA attacks is usually low and the majority of migraine sufferers do not need prophylactic treatment(s), same particular patients do. This occurs when the neurological symptoms, that characterize the auras, determine anxiety to the migraine sufferers and when the frequency of MwA attacks is or becomes high. In this study, we review the few therapeutic conventional options specifically devoted to cure MwA attacks present in the literature together with those, recent, non-conventional.

     

Laparoscopic Gastric Band Migration: Role of Environmental Factors in the Experience of a Single Team in Three Operating Rooms

Stomach erosion after gastric banding represents one of its least studied complications, despite the fact that the modalities of presentation and treatment have been clarified in recent years. Associations between this complication and specific surgical factors related to the patient have not been reported. We evaluated the incidence of this complication in various operating environments, to identify a possible association with a specific risk factor. A total of 250 patients underwent gastric banding between 2006 and 2008 and were followed for at least 1 year of follow-up. The procedure was performed in three Centers by the same surgical team. Center A was selected for the learning curve, in the initial phase of the study. All surgeries were performed with standardized techniques. An annual endoscopic evaluation was performed during first 12 months. The data from the three Centers were evaluated comparatively, to assess the incidence of migration and compare sterilization and perioperative preparation techniques. Between May 2006 and December 2008, 140 patients operated on at Center A, 70 at Center B, and 50 at Center C were included. Twelve cases of intragastric migration were observed (4.8% of the entire cohort): two cases at Center A (1.4%) and 10 cases at Center C (25%; A vs. C and A vs. B, p?<?0.05); no cases of erosions were observed in Center B of 50 patients (0%; reviewer 1, comment 1). From a retrospective observation, no significant difference in sterilization techniques was observed, while there were differences in perioperative preparation, although these are not objectifiable parameters.     

The x-ray structure of D-amino acid oxidase at very high resolution identifies the chemical mechanism of flavin-dependent substrate dehydrogenation

Flavin is one of the most versatile redox cofactors in nature and is used by many enzymes to perform a multitude of chemical reactions. d-Amino acid oxidase (DAAO), a member of the flavoprotein oxidase family, is regarded as a key enzyme for the understanding of the mechanism underlying flavin catalysis. The very high-resolution structures of yeast DAAO complexed with d-alanine, d-trifluoroalanine, and l-lactate (1.20, 1.47, and 1.72 A) provide strong evidence for hydride transfer as the mechanism of dehydrogenation. This is inconsistent with the alternative carbanion mechanism originally favored for this type of enzymatic reaction. The step of hydride transfer can proceed without involvement of amino acid functional groups. These structures, together with results from site-directed mutagenesis, point to orbital orientation/steering as the major factor in catalysis. A diatomic species, proposed to be a peroxide, is found at the active center and on the Re-side of the flavin. These results are of general relevance for the mechanisms of flavoproteins and lead to the proposal of a common dehydrogenation mechanism for oxidases and dehydrogenases.     

Ebstein's malformation of the mitral valve in atrioventricular and ventriculoarterial concordance

Summary Clinical and pathological data of a full-term male newborn with Ebstein's malformation of the mitral valve are reported. Moderate cyanosis and progressive heart failure were present from birth and he died on the fourth day after birth, with clinical evidence of severe aortic coarctation. Necropsy revealed a severely dysplastic mitral valve, with anatomical features of Ebstein's anomaly, in the absence of corrected transposition but associated with aortic coarctation.