Primary hyperparathyroidism (pHPT) is the third most common endocrinopathy, affecting 1-3% of postmenopausal women, with a total incidence of 21.6 cases per 100,000 people in the adult population. ...This study aimed to analyze the oral health and related aspects of individuals with pHPT.
A cross-sectional observational study was carried out on 51 patients diagnosed with pHPT associated with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN-1) (G1) or sporadic pHPT (G2). The oral aspects investigated were periodontal parameters, salivary flow, presence of dental caries, number of restored or missing teeth, and presence of tori. The biochemical parameters were collected in periods close to the dental evaluation.
In G1, 29 individuals (19 females) aged 40.24±13.06 years were included; in G2, 22 individuals (21 females) aged 64.09±10.01 years were included. Grade 2 mobility (
=0.031), mean probing depth (
<0.001), loss of clinical insertion level (
<0.001), gingival bleeding (
=0.009), and presence of palatine tori (
=0.007) were higher in G1. A higher mean of tooth loss (17.90±13.42;
=0.031), teeth with active and/or inactive caries (
<0.001), and visual change in enamel/enamel breakdown (
<0.001) were also observed in G1. Most patients were 50 years old or younger, with a higher prevalence of older individuals in G2 (
<0.001). G1 showed low socioeconomic status and G2 medium-high status (
<0.001).
Despite the greater number of younger individuals, higher tooth loss and periodontal changes were observed in G1 patients. Differences in the degree of severity of pHPTor socioeconomic status alone could not explain these findings.
Oral health, Primary hyperparathyroidism, Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1, osteopenia, osteoporosis.
Early treatment of intracanalicular vestibular schwannomas (IVSs) may be advisable because their spontaneous course will show hearing loss in most cases. Advanced microsurgical techniques and ...continuous intraoperative monitoring of cranial nerves may allow hearing preservation (HP) without facial nerve damage. However, there are still controversies about the definition of HP and the best surgical approach that should be used. In this study, we reviewed the main data from the recent literature on IVS surgery and compared hearing, facial function and complication rates after the retrosigmoid and middle fossa approaches, respectively. The results showed that the average HP rate is approximately 45% after IVS surgery whatever the surgical route. HP varied widely depending on the audiometric criteria that were used for definition of serviceable hearing. There was a trend to show that middle fossa approach offered a better quality of postoperative hearing (not statistically significant), whereas the retrosigmoid approach offered a better facial nerve preservation and fewer complications (not statistically significant). We believe that the timing of treatment in the course of the disease and selection between radiosurgical versus microsurgical procedure are key issues in the management of IVS. Once open surgery has been decided, selection of the approach mainly depends on individual anatomical considerations and experience of the surgeon.
Radiation-induced oral mucositis (RIOM) is one of the major oral complications caused by radiotherapy (RT), and can lead a negative impact on patients’ quality of life. Considering that there is no ...specific radiation therapy dose constraint for oral mucosa, the need to study the correlation between absorbed dose and effect in this area is crucial. This pilot study aims to report in vivo OSL dosimetry protocol to investigate the dose distribution in the oral mucosa in patients with oral cancer using Intraoral customised Stent (IOS). For measurements, aluminium oxide nanoDot dosimeters and a microStar ii OSL reader from Landauer Inc. were used. The OSL dosimetry system was calibrated with a 6 MV photon beam using an Elekta Synergy linear accelerator and solid water phantoms following the recommendations of the AAPM TG 191 protocol. The dose distribution in the oral mucosa using seven OSL dosimeters fixed on the intraoral stent was evaluated and compared with the dose distribution available from the RT planning for the patient. Our experimental results showed the expected linearity response of the nanoDot dosimeters from 20 to 200 cGy. The repeatability of readings was better than 1.0% in all commissioning measurements. The uncertainty budget of the commissioning analysis resulted in an overall type An uncertainty of ∼3.4% at the 1-sigma level for dose calculation, compatible with the TG 191 protocol. The dose distribution in the oral mucosa was assessed and dose deviations up to 35% can be found in high dose gradient regions of the treatment planning. This type of deviation may impact on the development and progression of RIOM, as analysed in this protocol. It is feasible to establish this procedure in vivo dosimetry for a patient undergoing RT using a multidisciplinary approach. Additionally, intraoral customised stents can decrease radiation doses in the oral mucosa, and the understanding of the dose distribution in the oral mucosa may help to minimise damages from radiation.
•Landauer microStar ii and nanoDot dosimeters applied to in vivo measurements.•Oral mucosa dosimetry protocol establishment.•Monaco™ HD treatment plan compared with experimental measurements.•Dosimetric protocol able to identify hot and cold points of the planned treatment.
Multi-pumping flow systems: an automation tool Lima, José L.F.C.; Santos, João L.M.; Dias, Ana C.B. ...
Talanta (Oxford),
12/2004, Letnik:
64, Številka:
5
Journal Article, Conference Proceeding
Recenzirano
Multi-pumping flow systems (MPFS) are one of the most recent developments in terms of the design, conception and implementation of continuous flow methodologies, for sample and reagent handling and ...for the automation of analytical procedures. Based on the utilisation of multiple solenoid micro-pumps they enable the configuring of fully automated and easily controlled and operated analytical systems since all the fundamental operations involved in carrying out a sample analysis, including sample insertion, reagent addition and signal measurement could be carried out by the same manifold component, reducing the number of system parts and minimising its control or the occurrence of mal-functions. On the other hand, micro-pumps actuation produce a pulsed flow characterised by a chaotic movement of the solutions, which contributes to a fast sample/reagent homogenisation with low axial dispersion yielding improved analytical signals. The combination of such advantageous features resulted in simple, compact, versatile, fast, low-cost analytical procedures, exhibiting low reagent and low sample consumption, reducing the production of undesirable wastes and minimising operator intervention.
Due to high genome plasticity, the evolutionary fate and geographical history of picornaviruses is hard to follow. Here, we determined the complete coding sequences of eight human parechoviruses ...(HPeV) of types 1, 5 and 6 directly from clinical samples from Brazil. The capsid genes of these strains were not remarkably different from European, North American and Japanese HPeV. Full genome analysis revealed frequent intertypic recombination in the non-structural genome region. In addition, evidence of recombination between viruses of the same type in the capsid-encoding genome region among HPeV1 and HPeV4 was obtained. Bayesian phylogenetic analysis indicated that strains without evidence of recombination with each other in any genome region were separated by no more than 35 years of circulation. Interestingly, in the 3C gene, all Brazilian parechoviruses grouped together regardless of serotype. The most recent common ancestor of these strains dated back 108 years, suggesting long-term endemicity of this particular P3 genome lineage in South America. Our results support the idea that picornavirus replicative genes acquire capsid proteins introduced by new strains. Under certain epidemiological conditions, replicative genes may be maintained in circumscript geographical regions.
Adult peripheral nerves in vertebrates can regrow their axons and re-establish function after crush lesion. However, when there is extensive loss of a nerve segment, due to an accident or compressive ...damage caused by tumors, regeneration is strongly impaired. In order to overcome this problem, bioengineering strategies have been employed, using biomaterials formed by key cell types combined with biodegradable polymers. Many of these strategies are successful, and regenerated nerve tissue can be observed 12 weeks after the implantation. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are one of the key cell types and the main stem-cell population experimentally employed for cell therapy and tissue engineering of peripheral nerves. The ability of these cells to release a range of different small molecules, such as neurotrophins, growth factors and interleukins, has been widely described and is a feasible explanation for the improvement of nerve regeneration. Moreover, the multipotent capacity of MSCs has been very often challenged with demonstrations of pluripotency, which includes differentiation into any neural cell type. In this study, we generated a biomaterial formed by EGFP-MSCs, constitutively covering microstructured filaments made of poly-ε-caprolactone. This biomaterial was implanted in the sciatic nerve of adult rats, replacing a 12-mm segment, inside a silicon tube. Our results showed that six weeks after implantation, the MSCs had differentiated into connective-tissue cells, but not into neural crest-derived cells such as Schwann cells. Together, present findings demonstrated that MSCs can contribute to nerve-tissue regeneration, producing trophic factors and differentiating into fibroblasts, endothelial and smooth-muscle cells, which compose the connective tissue.
The ability of S. pneumoniae to generate infections depends on the restrictions imposed by the host's immunity, in order to prevent the bacterium from spreading from the nasopharynx to other tissues, ...such as the brain. Some authors claim that strains of S. pneumoniae, which fail to survive in the bloodstream, can enter the brain directly from the nasal cavity by axonal transport through the olfactory and/or trigeminal nerves. However, from the immunological point of view, glial cells are far more responsive to bacterial infections than are neurons. This hypothesis is consistent with several recent reports showing that bacteria can infect glial cells from the olfactory bulb and trigeminal ganglia. Since our group previously demonstrated that Schwann cells (SCs) express a functional and appropriately regulated mannose receptor (MR), we decided to test whether SCs are involved in the internalization of S. pneumoniae via MR.
Immediately after the interaction step, as well as 3 h later, the percentage of association was approximately 56.5%, decreasing to 47.2% and 40.8% after 12 and 24 h, respectively. Competition assays by adding a 100-fold excess of mannan prior to the S. pneumoniae infection reduced the number of infected cells at 3 and 24 h. A cytochemistry assay with Man/BSA-FITC binding was performed in order to verify a possible overlap between mannosylated ligands and internalized bacteria. Incubation of the SCs with Man/BSA-FITC resulted in a large number of intracellular S. pneumoniae, with nearly complete loss of the capsule. Moreover, the anti-pneumococcal antiserum staining colocalized with the internalized man/BSA-FITC, suggesting that both markers are present within the same endocytic compartment of the SC.
Our data offer novel evidence that SCs could be essential for pneumococcal cells to escape phagocytosis and killing by innate immune cells. On the other hand, the results also support the idea that SCs are immunocompetent cells of the PNS that can mediate an efficient immune response against pathogens via MR.
We carried out a double-blind, randomized study in 60 children with acute diarrhea to determine their capacity to tolerate commonly consumed fruit juices. Feedings of juice with high fructose/glucose ...ratios and sorbitol resulted in incomplete carbohydrate absorption and recurrence of diarrhea during the phase immediately after improvement of the illness. (J Pediatr 2001;139:325-7)
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by the destruction of alveolar walls, chronic inflammation and persistent respiratory symptoms. There is no curative clinical treatment ...for COPD. In this context, cell-based therapy is a promising therapeutic alternative for COPD. Thus, in this open, controlled and randomized Phase I Clinical Trial, we aimed to assess the safety of the infusion of autologous bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMMC), adipose-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (ADSC) and, especially, the safety of concomitant infusion (co-infusion) of BMMC and ADSC as a new therapeutic alternative for COPD. The rationale for co-infusion of BMMC and ADSC is based on the hypothesis of an additive or synergistic therapeutic effect resulting from this association.
To achieve the proposed objectives, twenty patients with moderate-to-severe COPD were randomly divided into four groups: control group - patients receiving conventional treatment; BMMC group - patients receiving only BMMC; ADSC group - patients receiving only ADSC, and co-infusion group - patients receiving the concomitant infusion of BMMC and ADSC. Patients were assessed for pulmonary function, biochemical profile, and quality of life over a 12 months follow-up.
No adverse events were detected immediately after the infusion of BMMC, ADSC or co-infusion. In the 12-month follow-up, no causal relationship was established between adverse events and cell therapy procedures. Regarding the efficacy, the BMMC group showed an increase in forced expiratory volume (FEV1) and diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide (DLCO). Co-infusion group showed a DLCO, and gas exchange improvement and a better quality of life.
The results obtained allow us to conclude that cell-based therapy with co-infusion of BMMC and ADSC is a safe procedure and a promising therapeutic for COPD. However, additional studies with a greater number of patients are needed before randomized and controlled Phase III clinical trials can be implemented.
Spontaneous internal carotid artery dissection is a rare event that strikes patients at their productive age. As early intervention frequently determines a significant improvement, it is important to ...broaden the knowledge of the clinical, pathogenic and pathophysiological aspects of this disease. The objective is making an early diagnosis and treatment to avoid a bad outcome. We report the case of a 46 years-old man with spontaneous carotid artery dissection that had an atypical manifestation characterized by sudden paralysis of lower cranial nerves.
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