Disc and condyle translation in patients with temporomandibular disorder.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to elucidate causal relationship between disc and condyle range of movement and clinical signs and symptoms in patients with temporomandibular disorders (TMD), using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). STUDY DESIGN: The subjects comprised of a study group of 191 patients with TMD and a control group of 43 asymptomatic patients. The clinical assessment consisted of range of maximum mouth opening (MMO) and preauricular pain during mandibular function. After clinical and radiographic findings assessment, disc and condyle condition were examined by MRI and the range of movement was accordingly classified. RESULTS: Disc displacement was observed in 156/191 (81.7%) of the study group and 9/43 (20.9%) of the control group. When disc and condyle mobility was presented around the eminence, wider MMO range was maintained, P < .05. Presence of osteoarthrosis (OA) was not correlated with preauricular pain, because OA variables were mild in the study group. CONCLUSION: Maintenance of disc/condyle translation is an important factor in TMJ function, irrespective of disc displacement or arthritis.     

Ectopic Ureterocele with a Horseshoe Kidney in an Adult

A rare adult case of a left ectopic ureterocele associated with a duplex horseshoe kidney is reported. To the best of our knowledge, only one pediatric case of horseshoe kidney with an ectopic ureterocele has been reported. The present case was successfully treated by ureteropyelostomy, upper ureterectomy and unroofing of the ureterocele. The patient is currently followed with excretory urograms and renograms.     

Bio-adhesio-chemo (BAC) therapy for patients with malignant pleural effusion

Eighteen patients with serious pleuritis carcinomatosa with remarkable pleural effusion were treated with a new pleurodesic therapy, and all the patients treated obtained favorable results. After removing pleural effusion, fibrinogen solution was intrapleurally instilled and then, our newly devised material, G.T.XIII and an anticancer drug, Adriamycin (ADM), were administered as chemosclerosing agents in an attempt to prevent recurrence of the effusion and also to provide locoregional antineoplastic effects. Recurrence of pleural effusion was nil in all patients treated, and subjective complaints of the patients were remarkably relieved. There were 14 patients evaluable, and all the response of these patients resulted in partial response (PR) according to the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria. Improvement of performance status (PS) was observed in 61% (11/18). Eight patients could be discharged. Three patients have remained alive. Fifteen patients died after the therapy, and their median survival was 67 days. Eight patients were autopsied. The postmortem examinations confirmed that fibrous adhesion in the pleural cavity with these materials was significant, and evidence of recurrence of pleural fluid was not seen. Topical oncolytic effects of the ADM were histologically remarkable. This pleurodesis was called "Bio-adhesio-chemo (BAC) therapy."     

GAMMA HEAVY CHAIN DISEASE

Electron microscopic and immunohistochemical studies were carried out on materials obtained from three patients of gamma heavy chain disease ( λ -HCD). Electron microscopically, proliferating cells showed various stages of maturation from immunoblast to plasma cell, and the majority of proliferating cells were proplasmacytes and plasma cells. From the intracytoplasmic immunoglobulin studies by immunoperoxidase method (PAP method) and electron microscopical enzyme-labeled antibody technique, proliferating cells, such as the immunoblast, plasmablast, proplasmacyte, and plasma cell, showed positive reaction to anti- λ -heavy chain serum and anti-Fc fragment (IgG) serum, and also in a third case with Bence Jones protein, proliferating cells showed positive reaction to anti_-K light chain serum. We would conclude that proliferating cells in λ -HCD might be a single clone proliferation of B-cell synthesizing λ -HCD protein, and the predominant proliferation cells are proplasmacytes and plasma cells situated near mature plasma cells in the B-cell line.     

Cloning of a Novel Babesia equi Gene Encoding a 158-Kilodalton Protein Useful for Serological Diagnosis

In this study, we characterized a Babesia equi Be158 gene obtained by immunoscreening a B. equi cDNA expression phage library with B. equi-infected horse serum. The Be158 gene consists of an open reading frame of 3,510 nucleotides. The recombinant Be158 gene product was produced in Escherichia coli and used for the immunization of mice. In Western blot analysis, mouse immune serum against the Be158 gene product recognized 75- and 158-kDa proteins from the lysate of B. equi-infected erythrocytes. In an indirect fluorescent-antibody test with the mouse immune serum, the Be158 antigen appeared in the cytoplasm of Maltese cross-forming parasites (which consist of four merozoites) and was located mainly in the extraerythrocytic merozoite body. When the recombinant Be158 gene product was used in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay as a serological antigen, it was found to react to B. equi-infected horse sera, indicating that the Be158 gene product is useful as a serologically diagnostic antigen for B. equi infection.     

Association of natural tooth loss with genetic variation at the human matrix Gla protein locus in elderly women

Natural tooth loss represents a major medical issue within the elderly population, since it impairs masticatory function critical for oral intake of essential nutrition. Contribution of genetic factors has been implicated in the determination of natural tooth loss; degree of reduction in number of natural teeth remaining intact (NTI) varies among individuals; thus, heterogeneity in NTI might reflect genetic variation within the population. One candidate gene, the matrix Gla protein gene (MGP), has been implicated in the pathogenesis of bone loss through a repression of bone/tooth formation. We have investigated a possible association between the CA repeat polymorphism at the human MGP gene locus and the NTI in 458 elderly Japanese women. In 916 chromosomes tested, ten alleles of the polymorphic nucleotide repeat were observed (designated A1–A10), among which five alleles were regarded as major alleles to be tested for the association. Twenty-seven women who possessed an A6 allele (164 bp) had significantly higher NTI than the remaining participants (n=431), who did not carry an allele of that size (mean: 10.0 teeth vs 5.6 teeth; P=0.007, Mann-Whitney test). An eight-year longitudinal follow-up study of NTI suggested that the genetic variations at the MGP locus did not affect the rate of tooth loss in the elderly period. These results suggest that genetic variation at the MGP gene locus is associated with some determinants for tooth loss in elderly women.     

Plasmacytoma of Lymph Node Recurrent Lymphadenopathy Terminating in Plasma Cell Dyscrasia with Polyneuropathy and Endocrine Disturbances

A case with lymphadenopathy of the left side of the neck in a 38-year-old male is described. He had a history of several relapses of about 10 years duration. Swollen lymph nodes were histologically similar to those of the hyaline-vascular type of Castleman's disease, but contained clear-cut lymph sinus and a sheet-like proliferation of plasma cells. Lymph follicles showed proliferation and atrophic germinal centers, in which cellular hypertrophy in the wall of ramifying small blood vessels, called angiosclerosis, was frequently encountered. During its progress, the patient developed plasmacytoma of the lymph nodes with varied clinical manifestations such as polyneuropathy, disturbance of gait, unusual perspiration, hirsuitism, gynecomastia, bilateral papilledema, and albumino-cytologic dissociation in cerebrospinal fluid.     

Variable Regions 1 and 2 (VR1 and VR2) in JSRV gag Are Not Responsible for the Endogenous JSRV Particle Release Defect

Jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus (JSRV) is a betaretrovirus causing ovine pulmonary adenocarcinoma, a transmissible lung tumor of sheep. A very closely related endogenous retrovirus (enJSRV) occurs as 15 to 20 copies in the genome of all sheep, and is not known to be linked to pathogenesis. We previously localized a particle release defect of the full-length endogenous-derived expression construct pCMV2enJS56A1 to the amino-terminal region of gag that incorporates the two variable regions VR1 and VR2, which harbor the main sequence differences between endogenous and exogenous JSRV in this part of gag. Here, we tested the hypothesis that either or both of these variable regions are responsible for the observed particle release defect in enJS56A1. We found that the PPPPPPPS motif of the exogenous VR1 is neither necessary nor sufficient for particle release. Furthermore, the precise substitution of VR1 and VR2 in the exogenous JSRV expression plasmid pCMV2JS ₂₁, using their enJS56A1-derived counterparts, did not abrogate the ability of the resulting constructs to release particles. The particle release defect of enJS56A1 is therefore not determined exclusively by either VR1 or VR2. These results point to a small number of amino acids lying outside of VR1 and VR2 that may be responsible for the particle defect of enJS56A1 Gag.