The levels of plasma and salivary antioxidants in the patient with recurrent aphthous stomatitis

BACKGROUND: Despite plenty of research, the cause of recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) remains obscure. It has been proposed that, the aetiological factors such as local trauma, smoking, vitamin deficiencies and viral infections lead to aphthae formation via final common pathway based on increased oxidative stress. The aim of this investigation was to evaluate the antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GSHPx) alterations in plasma and saliva, and in addition uric acid (UA) in saliva, in patients with RAS and healthy controls. METHODS: Thirty-two patients with RAS and 30 healthy controls were included into the study. The SOD, CAT, GSHPx and UA levels were measured in plasma and saliva in study and control groups. RESULTS: In the RAS group, although the mean SOD (P<0.001) and CAT (P<0.05) levels of plasma were lower, GSHPx (P<0.001) levels were higher than control group. The salivary concentrations of the SOD (P<0.001), CAT (P<0.05) and GSHPx (P<0.001) in RAS group were entirely opposite to plasma concentrations. UA were not significant between RAS group and controls. CONCLUSION: Since we found salivary SOD and CAT levels were high whereas plasma levels were low, it has been thought that, salivary defence mechanisms via antioxidant agents may be stimulated against to the ulcerous lesion. We consider that the organism might mobilize the antioxidant potential to the sites where they were needed. At this point, decrease of SOD and CAT levels in the plasma may be related to this shift. It is also thought that GSHPx secretion in the saliva may also be increased but the increase in its turnover may be responsible for the diminished activity.     

Deep spatial profiling of human COVID-19 brains reveals neuroinflammation with distinct microanatomical microglia-T-cell interactions

1. Download : Download high-res image (276KB)
2. Download : Download full-size image

     

Effect of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) on orthodontic tooth movement

The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) on (1) the velocity of orthodontic tooth movement and (2) the nitric oxide levels in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) during orthodontic treatment. The sample consisted of 20 patients (14 girls, six boys) whose maxillary first premolars were extracted and canines distalized. A gallium-aluminum-arsenide (Ga-Al-As) diode laser was applied on the day 0, and the 3rd, 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th days when the retraction of the maxillary lateral incisors was initiated. The right maxillary lateral incisors composed the study group (the laser group), whereas the left maxillary lateral incisors served as the control. The teeth in the laser group received a total of ten doses of laser application: five doses from the buccal and five doses from the palatal side (two cervical, one middle, two apical) with an output power of 20 mW and a dose of 0.71 J /cm². Gingival crevicular fluid samples were obtained on the above-mentioned days, and the nitric oxide levels were analyzed. Bonferroni and repeated measures variant analysis tests were used for statistical analysis with the significance level set at p ≤ 0.05. The application of low-level laser therapy accelerated orthodontic tooth movement significantly; there were no statistically significant changes in the nitric oxide levels of the gingival crevicular fluid during orthodontic treatment.     

A late onset carotido-jugular fistula following shotgun injury

The incidence of arteriovenous fistulae (AVF) is quite rare in the head and neck region comprising less than 4% of all the traumatic AVF encountered elsewhere in the body. A 42-year-old man presented with a palpable thrill in the cervical region and headache. He had a shotgun injury 10 years ago and had no problem until the previous three months. Diagnosis of a high output traumatic AVF between right common carotid artery and internal jugular vein was made arteriographically. Presence of a neighbouring traumatic aneurysm on the common carotid artery and 9 mm diameter of the fistula tractus suggested open surgery. At the operation ligation of the tractus and aneurysmorraphy was performed and the patient was discharged in the third postoperative day. He has still no problem. This case documented that a shotgun injury even 10 years later may result with an AVF.     

Late hemodynamic changes in percutaneous mitral valvuloplasty

Percutaneous mitral valvuloplasty (PMV) was performed in 57 patients with mitral stenosis. Twenty-three women and 34 men (mean age 28 +/- 10 mean +/- SD) were included in the study. A single-balloon (trefoil or bifoil) technique was used in 49 patients and a double-balloon (trefoil + monofoil) technique in eight. After a 3-month follow-up period, right- and left-sided cardiac catheterization was repeated. In the single-balloon group there was improvement in the mitral valve gradient (16.10 +/- 5.99 to 4.41 +/- 2.03 mm Hg), mean left atrial pressure (22.65 +/- 6.13 to 9.76 +/- 3.01 mm Hg), and mitral valve area (0.89 +/- 0.22 to 1.95 +/- 0.46 cm2/m2). Mean pulmonary artery pressure and mean pulmonary wedge pressure decreased to 19.33 +/- 4.19 mm Hg and 10.73 +/- 2.60 mm Hg from 32.94 +/- 7.90 mm Hg and 21.49 +/- 5.98 mm Hg. Cardiac output increased to 6.86 +/- 0.56 L/min from 5.57 +/- 0.66. All improvements were statistically significant (p less than 0.001). In the double-balloon study group, mitral valve gradient (23.75 +/- 2.77 to 4.50 +/- 1.94 mm Hg), mean left atrial pressure (31.63 +/- 3.57 to 9.50 +/- 1.94 mm Hg), mean pulmonary artery pressure (44.00 +/- 6.36 to 18.88 +/- 7.10), and mean pulmonary wedge pressure (29.25 +/- 3.73 to 10.25 +/- 1.85 mm Hg) all improved significantly (p less than 0.001). Mitral valve area and cardiac output increased from 0.89 +/- 0.15 to 2.44 +/- 0.44 cm2/m2 (p less than 0.001) and from 5.46 +/- 0.76 to 7.15 +/- 0.52 L/min (p less than 0.002), respectively.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

The burden attributable to headache disorders in children and adolescents in Lithuania: estimates from a national schools-based study

BackgroundWe recently showed headache to be common in children (aged 7–11 years) and adolescents (aged 12–17) in Lithuania. Here we provide evidence from the same study of the headache-attributable burden.MethodsFollowing the generic protocol for Lifting The Burden’s global schools-based study, this cross-sectional survey administered self-completed structured questionnaires to pupils within classes in 24 nationally representative schools selected from seven regions of the country. Headache diagnostic questions were based on ICHD-3 beta criteria but for the inclusion of undifferentiated headache (UdH; defined as mild headache with usual duration < 1 h). Burden enquiry was conducted in multiple domains.ResultsQuestionnaires were completed by 2505 pupils (1382 children, 1123 adolescents; participating proportion 67.4%), of whom 1858 reported headache in the preceding year, with mean frequency (±SD) of 3.7 ± 4.5 days/4 weeks and mean duration of 1.6 ± 1.9 h. Mean proportion of time in ictal state, estimated from these, was 0.9% (migraine 1.5%, probable medication-overuse headache [pMOH] 10.9%). Mean intensity on a scale of 1–3 was 1.6 ± 0.6 (mild-to-moderate). Symptomatic medication was consumed on 1.5 ± 2.8 days/4 weeks. Lost school time was 0.5 ± 1.5 days/4 weeks (migraine 0.7 ± 1.5, pMOH 5.0 ± 7.8) based on recall, but about 50% higher for migraine according to actual absences recorded in association with reported headache on the preceding day. More days were reported with limited activity (overall 1.2 ± 2.4, migraine 1.5 ± 2.2, pMOH 8.4 ± 8.5) than lost from school. One in 30 parents (3.3%) missed work at least once in 4 weeks because of their son’s or daughter’s headache. Emotional impact and quality-of-life scores generally reflected other measures of burden, with pMOH causing greatest detriments, followed by migraine and tension-type headache, and UdH least. Burdens were greater in adolescents than children as UdH differentiated into adult headache types.ConclusionsHeadache in children and adolescents in Lithuania is mostly associated with modest symptom burden. However, the consequential burdens, in particular lost school days, are far from negligible for migraine (which is prevalent) and very heavy for pMOH (which, while uncommon in children, becomes four-fold more prevalent in adolescents). These findings are of importance to both health and educational policies in Lithuania.     

High-dose thiotepa,melphalan and carboplatin (TMCb) followed by autologous stem cell transplantation in patients with advanced breast cancer: a retrospective evaluation

This study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of high-dose thiotepa, melphalan and carboplatin (TMCb) regimen in 27 patients undergoing autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) for metastatic breast cancer. A total of 27 patients with stage IV breast cancer underwent ASCT following thiotepa (500 mg/m(2)), melphalan (100 mg/m(2)) and carboplatin (1200-1350 mg/m(2)). Of 27 patients, 17 had refractory relapse, eight had responding relapse, and two had no evidence of disease (NED) at the time of transplant. In all, 11 patients had only bone disease, nine had bone plus visceral disease, three had only visceral disease, and two had locoregional recurrent disease. The median time from diagnosis to transplant was 1081 days (range 180-2341). Staging for evaluation of response was performed 4-6 months after transplantation. Five patients were not evaluable (NE) for response because of NED at transplant (n=2) or early death due to transplant-related complications (n=3) (two of viral pneumonia and one of regimen-related toxicity) occurring at a median of 4 days (range 11-46) post-transplant. One of the two patients who was NED at the time of transplant is still NED on day 760 post-transplant. Seven of 15 refractory (47%) and 5/7 (71%) responsive patients with evaluable disease achieved a complete response of all measurable disease or all soft-tissue disease with at least improvement in bone lesions. Of 27 patients (37%),(10) are alive and progression-free, a median of 582 days (range 410-1380) after treatment, 6/17 (35%) with refractory disease and 4/10 (40%) with responsive disease. The probability of progression-free survival (PFS) for all patients was 0.50. The probabilities of PFS at 2 years for patients with refractory (n=17) and responsive (n=10) disease were 0.42 and 0.60, respectively. PFS at 2 years for the 14 patients who were NED or achieved CR/PR(*) following-HDC was 0.67. PFS at 2 years for patients who did not achieve CR/PR(*) following-DHC was 0.33. These preliminary data suggest that high-dose TMCb followed by autologous stem cell transplantation is an effective regimen for patients with advanced breast cancer and may be comparable to some previously used regimens.