•This systematic review and meta-analysis was performed in order to to clarify if CD68+ and CD163+ tumor associated macrophages have a role as prognostic factors in patients suffering for squamous ...cell carcinoma of the head and neck.•The immunohistochemical analysis of CD68+ macrophages has not prognostic utility in patients with SCCHN.•Conversely, CD163+ macrophages showed promising results for a future clinical use, however further well-standardized studies should be performed to confirm such preliminary results.
Tumor associated macrophages (TAMs) are among the most abundant cells of the tumor microenvironment. Several studies have been performed to investigate whether TAM markers, namely CD68 and CD163, could serve as prognostic factors in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN). The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to synthetize the available evidence of the literature about the role of CD68+ and CD163+ TAMs as prognostic factors in SCCHN.
This systematic review was performed according to the guidelines reported in the Cochrane Handbook and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses (PRISMA) statement. Meta-analysis of overall survival, disease-free survival and progression-free survival was performed using the inverse of variance test. A random- or a fixed- effect model was used on the basis of the presence of heterogeneity. Risk of bias assessment and subgroup analysis were also performed.
High stromal expression of CD163+ TAMs correlated with both poor overall survival (HR, 2.26; 95% CI: 1.47, 3.47; P < 0.001) and progression-free survival (HR, 2.29; 95% CI: 1.11, 4.71; P = 0.03). Conversely, abundance of CD68+ TAMs was not associated with overall survival (HR, 1.25; 95% CI: 0.86, 1.80; P = 0.24) and disease-free survival (HR, 2.06; 95% CI: 0.84, 5.05; P = 0.11).
Findings from this study revealed that whilst IHC analysis of the generic macrophage marker CD68+ has no prognostic utility in patients with SCCHN, the M2-like marker CD163+ predicts poor prognosis. Our data suggest that assessment of CD163+ TAMs in SCCHN has potential for future clinical use. Further well-standardized studies should be performed to confirm these results.
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy is an emerging highly effective treatment for refractory haematological malignancies. Unfortunately, its therapeutic benefit may be hampered by ...treatment-related toxicities, including neurotoxicity. Early aggressive treatment is paramount to prevent neurological sequelae, yet it potentially interferes with the anti-cancer action of CAR T-cells. We describe four CAR T-cells infused patients who presented with reiterative writing behaviours, namely paligraphia, as an early manifestation of neurotoxicity, and eventually developed frontal predominant encephalopathy (one mild, three severe). Paligraphia may represent an early, specific, and easily detectable clinical finding of CAR T-cell therapy-related neurotoxicity, potentially informing its management.
Aim
The aim of the current study is to correlate the presence of tooth agenesis with other dental anomalies in 7- to 15-year-old patients.
Materials and methods
After evaluating 4000 panoramic ...radiographs of young subjects, 430 revealed the presence of tooth agenesis, except for the third molar, and are retrospectively observed and compared with a non-agenesis control group of 500 subjects, in order to investigate the existence of other associated dental anomalies in both groups.
Results
The prevalence of tooth agenesis was approximately 9.30% (430/4000); no significant gender differences were found. A significantly higher prevalence of microdontia of the maxillary lateral incisors (
p
< 0.001) and delayed tooth development (
p
= 0.0001) was observed in the agenesis group (group A), while delayed development of permanent teeth (
p
< 0.0001) and hypo-occlusion of the primary molars (
p
= 0.0130) were found in the control group (group B).
Conclusions
Agenesis patients presented a significantly higher prevalence of microdontia of the maxillary lateral incisors. Instead, non-agenesis patients presented a high prevalence of delayed permanent tooth development and hypo-occlusion of the primary molars. Moreover, further researches are needed to elucidate the role of genetics and environmental factors in the current sample group.
A structural and organizational redesign of the dental care system is necessary today due to current trends in the demographic process and the accompanying changes in the population’s healthcare ...needs. The purpose of this article is to review the literature, analyzing those trends that today represent useful tools for the oral health of pediatric patients, with particular reference to teledentistry and all the supports it uses to reach remote territories or patients who, for various reasons, cannot have access to dental care. An independent literature search was conducted in three electronic databases: PubMed/MEDLINE, Google Scholar, and the COCHRANE library. Thirty-one articles were considered. Reported findings highlight that teledentistry has been used in pediatrics to educate and promote oral health and to provide remote diagnosis and monitoring through mobile health applications, smartphone cameras and apps, intraoral cameras, websites and search engines, and telephonic communications. Specifically, teledentistry has been beneficial in providing dental care in remote locations with difficult access to pediatric dentists, conducting remote diagnostic and screening programs, monitoring patients between appointments, promoting children’s oral health through dental education, and providing behavioral counseling prior to office visits. Future research should further investigate the long-term use, additional applications, and cost-effectiveness of teledentistry in children.
The human oral cavity comprises an extensive range of microorganisms, viruses, bacteria, fungi, archaea, and protozoa, each having a particular role and interacting with each other and with the host ...in sickness or health. Changes in the microbiome composition can be crucial in balancing health and disease, locally and systemically. Various microbial species in commensal relationships form the oral microbiota, and when this commensalism undergoes variations the immune system can be pushed towards the activation of inflammatory and autoimmune processes. Through a systematic review of the literature, we set out to investigate the role that the oral microbiota can play in the development and evolution of pemphigus vulgaris and mucous membrane pemphigoid. We performed our systematic review by searching “microbiome OR microbiota” AND “pemphigus OR pemphigoid” on Medline, ISI Web of science and Embase, and we included randomized controlled trials (RCTs), prospective comparison studies, retrospective cohort studies, case–control studies, and case series. These autoimmune diseases need a genetic basis to develop, but as multifactorial pathologies they are influenced by environmental factors and the dysbiosis of the oral microbiota can be a trigger. If the human microbiome plays a critical role in the pathogenesis and manifestation of oral autoimmune diseases, the next step could be new and promising therapeutic approaches such as probiotics or prebiotics.
Abstract The enamel defects (EDs) may present with a variety of clinical manifestations with increasing severity from the sole appearance of pale discoloration to remarkable structural alterations. ...EDs are responsible for higher caries receptivity. In vivo reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) allows to image in vivo at microscopic resolution of the dental surface, thus avoiding the tooth extraction and the sample preparation because of its ability to optically scan living tissues along their depth. Aim of this study is the in vivo assessment at microscopic resolution of dental surfaces affected by EDs without resorting to invasive methods such as teeth extractions, to define histological findings occurring in chromatic and/or structural EDs. For the purpose, 15 children, referring at the Dental Clinic of the Second University of Naples, affected by several degrees of EDs, were enrolled and underwent in vivo RCM imaging to microscopically define the ED confocal features using a commercially available hand-held reflectance confocal microscope with neither injuries nor discomfort. Totally, 29 teeth were imaged. Results demonstrated images good in quality and the capability to detect EDs such as unevenness, grooves, and lack of mineralization according to their clinical degree of disarray. The present in vivo microscopic study on EDs allowed to highlight structural changes in dental enamel at microscopic resolution in real-time and in a non-invasive way, with no need for extraction or processing the samples. Further experiments could define the responsiveness to remineralizing procedures as therapeutic treatments.
The increment of recording atypical oral manifestation in young patients often related to systematic disease is today a challenge for the therapists. Sometime, the presence of tooth enamel lesions ...correlated with soft tissue lesions is just a symptom or a trigger sign for a deeper and undetermined disease. Recently, high impact has been developed toward the influence of the diet as a controlled and modifiable factor in patients affected by celiac pathologies. The celiac disease (CD) is a chronic immune-mediated disorder triggered by the ingestion of gluten that appears in genetically predisposed patients. Gluten is a proline-rich and glutamine-rich protein present in wheat (gliadin), barley (hordein), and rye (secalin). The gluten-free diet (GFD) seems to better influence the oral health status of the CD patients. For this reason, the main objective of this revision was to analyze the international data highlighting the relationship between celiac patients and the oral health impact profile. A comprehensive review of the current literature was conducted according to the PRISMA guidelines by accessing the NCBI PubMed database. Authors conducted the search of articles in the English language published from 2008 to 2018. The first analysis with filters recorded 67 manuscripts accordingly with the selected keywords. Finally, a number of 16 appropriate published papers were comprehended in the review. The studies were different in terms of the structure, findings, outcomes, and diet quality evaluation, and for this reason, it was not possible to accomplish a meta-analysis of the recorded data. This manuscript offers some observational evidence to justify the advantages of gluten-free diets related to a better oral health status in the patients involved.
Abstract The aim of this study is to evaluate in vivo the effects of in-office tooth whitening hydrogen peroxide (HP) agent on enamel-microstructured surface by a reflectance confocal microscopy ...(RCM). Ten healthy volunteers assisted at the Dental School presenting teeth with vital pulp were selected. The 35% HP whiteness product was applied in two visits on discolored teeth, 1-week interval between, via 20-min applications. A commercially available hand-held RCM (Vivascope3000(R), Lucid, Rochester, NY, USA) was used to image in vivo the dental surface of the selected tooth of each volunteer. Twenty upper central incisors' vestibular surfaces were imaged, before bleaching (T0), immediately after (T1) and 1 week later (T2). The peculiar structure of the enamel was seen at T0. After bleaching, white reflective circular bodies were found all over the teeth surfaces, which disappear 1 week later (T2). When the HP gel(R) was imaged, the same white circular areas were observed. Going deeper, the regular enamel architecture was preserved. Textural analysis of the images in T0 and T2 was performed: GLCM parameters were extracted. Mann-Whitney U test was performed to evaluate statistical differences between two groups of data (p>0.05). Finally, 35 prisms were randomly selected from T0 and T2 image and diameters were measured; a paired t test was performed (p=0.381). The RCM is a promisor tool for investigating the features of enamel in vivo, immediately after bleaching procedures, as well as longitudinally.
Enamel defects (EDs) are qualitative and/or quantitative disturbances of the dental surface. To date, the responsiveness to remineralizing treatments has been studied ex vivo, on dental sections from ...extracted teeth. The present research aims to establish if in vivo reflectance confocal laser scanning microscopy is able to visualize the changes in the enamel architecture on living teeth, before, during and after remineralizing treatments by casein phosphopeptide-amorphous calcium phosphate (CPP-ACP). As proof-of-concept study, 17 consecutive children affected by EDs were enrolled and 38 EDs were considered. A CPP-ACP mousse was applied twice a week for 6 weeks and clinical and microscopic images were collected before, during and after the treatment for evaluating the changes occurred. For in vivo microscopic imaging, a reflectance confocal laser scanning microscope (RCM) for in vivo use was adopted. In this study RCM was proven to be able to visualize in vivo and at microscopic resolution the changes occurred during the remineralizing processes without needing for dental extractions and histopathological procedures. This in vivo RCM capability could encourage its clinical application in monitoring responsiveness to enamel therapies.
Background: Neurofibromatosis 1 (NF1) is an autosomal dominant genetic disorder. The expression of NF1 is extremely variable considering the broad spectrum of mutations affecting the gene(s) ...responsible for the pathology. Aim: To investigate the prevalence of oral manifestations in a group of children affected by neurofibromatosis type 1. Design: 100 pediatric patients, with genetically confirmed NF1 were enrolled in this study and matched to a total of 100 healthy children. Clinical examination was used to investigate: dental caries, dental abnormalities, periodontal health, neurofibromas, malocclusions, and enamel defects. Results: Mann Whitney’s test concerning prevalence of dental caries resulted in a no significant difference between the two groups (p = 0.90); a significant difference was highlighted as regards the other kinds of manifestations as well: enamel defects (p = 0.01), neurofibromas (p = 0.0043) and poor oral hygiene (p = 0.0002) with a higher prevalence of these features in NF1 patients than healthy controls. Similar results come out, regarding dental abnormalities in which can observe a significant difference between shape anomalies (p < 0.001). Conclusion: According to data obtained from the present study, it can be stated that NF1-related oral manifestations can be detected during childhood and adolescence. In particular for neurofibromas, enamel defects, shape anomalies, and poor oral hygiene.