Five year clinical outcomes and survival of chairside CAD/CAM ceramic laminate veneers — a retrospective study

Purpose

The aim of this clinical study was to compare the survival, modified California Dental Association (CDA) criteria, and periodontal parameters of laminate veneers made with Empress CAD and emax CAD over 60 months.

Human herpesvirus 6A active infection in patients with autoimmune Hashimoto's thyroiditis

BackgroundHypothyroidism due to Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) is the commonest autoimmune endocrine illness in which antibodies against thyroid organ result in inflammation. The disease has a complex etiology that involves genetic and environmental influences. Viral infections may be involved in triggering of the disease as their molecular mimicry enhance autoimmune responses. Human herpesvirus-6 (HHV-6) is recognized for its contribution to some autoimmune diseases.ObjectiveIn the current study, the prevalence of HHV-6 active infection in patients with HT and with non-autoimmune thyroid disorders were compared with patients with euthyroidism. In addition, a correlation between presence of HHV-6 infections and HT was investigated.MethodsA total of 151 patients with clinically and laboratory confirmed HT, 59 patients with non-autoimmune thyroid disorders, and 32 patients with normal thyroid function were included in the study. For further confirmation of HT disease, all the precipitants were tested for anti-thyroid peroxidase (TPO), and anti-thyroglobulin (TG) antibodies. For detection of both HHV-6 types A and B, nested PCR and restriction enzyme digestion were used. HHV-6 DNA positive samples were further investigated by DNA sequencing analysis.ResultsHHV-6A DNA was found in serum sample of 57 out of 151 patients (38%) with HT, which was significantly more often than in patients with non-autoimmune thyroid disorders (p = 0.001). However, HHV-6 DNA was not detected in serum samples of euthyroid subjects.ConclusionsThe results support a possible role for active HHV-6A infection, demonstrated by the presence of HHV-6 DNA in sera, in the development of HT.     

Diagnosis of prostate cancer using differentially expressed genes in stroma

More than one million prostate biopsies are performed in the United States every year. A failure to find cancer is not definitive in a significant percentage of patients due to the presence of equivocal structures or continuing clinical suspicion. We have identified gene expression changes in stroma that can detect tumor nearby. We compared gene expression profiles of 13 biopsies containing stroma near tumor and 15 biopsies from volunteers without prostate cancer. About 3,800 significant expression changes were found and thereafter filtered using independent expression profiles to eliminate possible age-related genes and genes expressed at detectable levels in tumor cells. A stroma-specific classifier for nearby tumor was constructed on the basis of 114 candidate genes and tested on 364 independent samples including 243 tumor-bearing samples and 121 nontumor samples (normal biopsies, normal autopsies, remote stroma, as well as stroma within a few millimeters of tumor). The classifier predicted the tumor status of patients using tumor-free samples with an average accuracy of 97% (sensitivity = 98% and specificity = 88%) whereas classifiers trained with sets of 100 randomly generated genes had no diagnostic value. These results indicate that the prostate cancer microenvironment exhibits reproducible changes useful for categorizing the presence of tumor in patients when a prostate sample is derived from near the tumor but does not contain any recognizable tumor.     

Long-term follow-up of children treated with daclizumab for steroid-refractory gastrointestinal GvHD in a prospective study

Hamidieh AA, Hadjibabaie M, Taghizadeh Ghehi M, Jalili M, Hosseini A, Pasha F, Behfar M, Ghavamzadeh A. Long‐term follow‐up of children treated with daclizumab for steroid‐refractory GI GvHD in a prospective study. Abstract: Daclizumab, a humanized MoAB to IL‐2Ra, has been found to be safe and effective in adults with refractory GvHD; however, data in children are limited. The aim of this prospective study was to evaluate the long‐term safety and efficacy of daclizumab in children with steroid‐refractory GI aGvHD. This study included 13 children who developed steroid‐refractory GI GvHD between 2007 and 2009. When first‐line treatment failed, daclizumab was given in a regimen of 1 mg/kg intravenously and then repeated on a 10‐ to 14‐day interval for maximum five doses if necessary. Daclizumab was well tolerated, but infections were common. Ten patients responded to daclizumab completely, one patient responded partially, and two patients failed to respond. With a median follow‐up of 630 days, 10 patients were alive and free of severe infections, but among them, four patients were suffering from cGvHD. Of the three remaining patients, one died because of bacterial meningitis, and the other two patients died because of severe refractory GI GvHD. This long‐term evaluation showed that daclizumab could be an effective and relatively safe treatment in most of the pediatric patients with severe steroid‐refractory GI GvHD.     

Comparison between sequentional treatment with diode and alexandrite lasers versus alexandrite laser alone in the treatment of hirsutism

Laser systems that are commonly used for the treatment of hirsutism include the ruby laser (694 nm), the diode laser (800 nm), the alexandrite laser (755 nm) and the Nd:YAG laser (1084 nm). The diode laser and alexandrite laser are considered effective in treatment of hirsutism in dark-skinned patients. The response of hairs to these laser systems is variable and not complete. In this study, we compared the efficacy of these two laser systems for permanent hair removal. This was a randomized, controlled clinical trial that was performed with women of the age range 15-45 years old. After obtaining informed consent, the samples were randomized into two groups using random allocation software. The first group was treated with alexandrite laser alone (four sessions, two months apart). The second group was treated sequentially with diode laser for the first two sessions and alexandrite laser for the next two sessions. Overall, 111 patients (57 patients in the alexandrite laser group and 54 patients in the sequential diode-alexandrite laser group) were evaluated. There was no significant difference regarding mean of hair reduction between the two groups during the courses of treatment. Except for the first session, there was no significant difference regarding percent of patient satisfaction between the two groups (P value >0.05). Comparison between the two groups showed no significant difference one month, three months and six months after the last treatment (P value >0.05). Regarding the results of our study, there is no significant difference between sequential treatment with diode and alexandrite lasers versus alexandrite laser alone in the treatment of hirsutism. We suggest that in further studies, the efficacy of sequential treatment with other laser systems is evaluated against single treatment methods.     

School‐Based Mental Health and Behavioral Programs for Low‐Income,Urban Youth: A Systematic and Meta‐Analytic Review

[Clin Psychol Sci Prac 18: 372–390, 2011] A systematic and meta‐analytic review was conducted of the effectiveness of school‐based mental health and behavioral programs for low‐income, urban youth. Applying criteria from an earlier systematic review ( Rones & Hoagwood, 2000 ) of such programs for all populations indicated substantially fewer effective programs for low‐income, urban youth. The meta‐analysis similarly failed to indicate effects of the typical program on primary outcomes. Effectiveness was evident, however, for programs that targeted internalizing problems or had a broader socio‐emotional focus and those delivered to all youth (i.e., universal). In contrast, negative effects were apparent for programs that targeted externalizing problems and were delivered selectively to youth with existing problems. Distinctive characteristics of low‐income, urban schools and nonschool environments are emphasized as potential explanations for the findings.