Pulp and periodontal healing of laterally luxated permanent teeth: results after 4 years

Abstract – Aim: To evaluate the pulp and periodontal healing of laterally luxated permanent teeth. Material and methods: Patients presenting with lateral luxation of permanent teeth during 2001–2002 were enrolled in this clinical study. Laterally luxated teeth were repositioned and splinted with a TTS/composite resin splint for 4 weeks. Immediate (prophylactic) root‐canal treatment was performed in severely luxated teeth with radiographically closed apices. All patients received tetracycline for 10 days. Re‐examinations were performed after 1, 2, 3, 6, 12 and 48 months. Results: All 47 laterally luxated permanent teeth that could be followed over the entire study period survived. In 10 teeth (21.3%), a prophylactic root‐canal treatment was performed within 2 weeks following injury. The remaining 37 teeth showed the following characteristics at the 4‐year re‐examination: 19 teeth (51.4%) had pulp survival (no clinical or radiographic signs or symptoms), nine teeth (24.3%) presented with pulp canal calcification, and pulp necrosis was seen in another nine teeth (24.3%), within the first year after trauma. None of the teeth with a radiographically open apex at the time of lateral luxation showed complications. External root resorption was only seen in one tooth. Conclusions: Laterally luxated permanent teeth with incomplete root formation have a good prognosis, with all teeth surviving in this study. The most frequent complication was pulp necrosis that was only seen in teeth with closed apices.     

Two genes for chloramphenicol resistance common to Staphylococci and streptococci

Southern blot hybridization and pneumococcal transformation were used to study the epidemiology at a molecular level of the genes for chloramphenicol resistance (cat) in streptococci and staphylococci. The cat gene of staphylococcal plasmid pC194 showed homology to the cat genes of the chromosomal elements of 5 different strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae and of Streptococcus agalactiae B109. DNA sequence homology was also detected between the cat gene of staphylococcal plasmid pC221 and the cat gene of broad host range conjugative plasmid pIP501, originally isolated from S. agalactiae. Two different cat genes appear to be present in clinical isolates of both streptococci and staphylococci.     

Rapid identification ofMycobacterium tuberculosis complex on urine samples by Gen-Probe amplification test

The aim of the study was to evaluate the applicability to urine samples of the AmplifiedMycobacterium tuberculosis Direct Detection Test (AMTD), which is currently used to identify this organism in respiratory specimens within a few hours. The study was performed on 95 patients, comprising 35 subjects with a high index of suspicion for active tuberculosis of the urinary tract and 60 subjects with evidence of non-mycobacterial disease. One urine specimen from each subject was examined by microscopy, culture and AMTD. AMTD was positive in 38 specimens and negative in 57. Assuming culture as the reference standard, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of AMTD were 100%, 91.93%, 86.84% and 100%, respectively. Reassessing the discrepancies between AMTD and culture by review of patients' charts, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of AMTD were 100%, 93.44%, 89.47% and 100%. The results of the study as well as the characteristics of AMTD encourage its use for the rapid recognition of urinary tract tuberculosis, although its findings should be interpreted cautiously when the clinical picture is not consistent with an active tuberculosis.     

Tadalafil in the treatment of erectile dysfunction; an overview of the clinical evidence

Prevalence and severity of erectile dysfunction (ED) increase with aging and are often associated with illnesses, like diabetes mellitus, heart disease, and hypertension, pathologically characterized by endothelial dysfunction and whose prevalence increases with age. The assumption that ED is mainly a neurovascular disease is supported by the evidence that specific phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) inhibition produces an efficient erection in a wide range of ages and conditions. The availability of specific PDE5 inhibitors has enabled the development of effective treatment strategies, in this contest, tadalafil may be considered as the least “typical” PDE5 inhibitor. In clinical trials, tadalafil significantly enhanced, in patients of different ages, all efficacy outcomes across disease etiologies and severities. With an effectiveness lasting up to 36h, tadalafil allows patients to choose when to have sexual activities without the need to time it, showing positive feedback in terms of quality of life related to the treatment. Headache and dyspepsia were the most frequent side-effects of tadalafil, followed by back pain, nasal congestion, myalgia, and flushing, but the impact that long time action could have on effectiveness and safety is not yet entirely defined. The aim of this article is to critically review the available evidence from the tadalafil clinical research program and give the physician a rational approach for intervention in the treatment of ED and related diseases.     

Three-dimensional computed tomography of the acetabulum

Acetabular fractures represent a complex variety that are classified in different types. Conventional radiology is often inadequate to demonstrate and classify the fractures. Computed tomography (CT) has already been shown to be superior in this field. A further advantage of CT is represented by the recent availability of three-dimensional (3D) images that are realized from axial CT scans by means of a new software. The Authors report the applications of this new software to the study of the normal acetabulum and in patients with fractures. 3D images allows an effective demonstration of the fracture, its irradiation and the dislocation of bone fragments. The information is contained in one or few images rather than many axial images. Therefore the role of 3D images may be considered complementary to axial CT scans.     

An accessory open reading frame (orf-x) of jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus is conserved between different virus isolates

Jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus (JSRV) is the etiological agent of a contagious lung tumour of sheep known as sheep pulmonary adenomatosis (syn: ovine pulmonary carcinoma, jaagsiekte). JSRV exhibits a simple genetic organization, characteristic of the type D and type B retroviruses, with the canonical retroviral sequences gag, pro, pol and env encoding the structural proteins of the virion. An additional open reading frame (orf-x), of approximately 500 bp overlapping pol, is present in the only two complete sequences of JSRV published to date. Since very little information is available on the biology of JSRV it is important to establish if orf-x is conserved between different virus isolates. In this study we analysed the orf-x region of JSRV isolates collected from the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain and South Africa. In addition we also analysed the presence of orf-x in JSRV-related endogenous sequences (enJSRVs) present in the sheep genome. Orf-x was highly conserved in all the exogenous isolates (n=10) and in most of the endogenous sequences (n=8). Thus orf-x may be an accessory gene of JSRV and haves a biological function which might be advantageous to JSRV. Phenetic analysis conducted on the complete orf-x nucleotide sequences seems to highlight the presence of three distinct groups statistically well supported by bootstrapping: i) exogenous JSRV sequence from the UK; ii) exogenous JSRV sequences from Southern Europe and iii) the exogenous South African strain plus all the endogenous sequences analyzed and collected from Australia, Italy, UK and South Africa.