Clinical evaluation of the oral health status in vascular-type dementia patients. A case-control study.

AIM: The aim of this study was to evaluate the oral health status in patients with vascular dementia (VaD). Moreover, the association of the disease severity and the patients' cognitive and functional impairment with the oral findings have been recorded. METHODS: The study was directed on the study group (86 VaD patients) and the control group (82 healthy volunteers of the same age) from the IRCSS Neurolesi Bonino-Pulejo in Messina, Italy. Cognitive status was evaluated with the MMSE scoring system. Oral parameters, such as decaying, missing, filled teeth (DMFT) index, plaque index (PI), periodontal probing depth (PPD) and bleeding on probing (BOP) were evaluated in all patients. Denture condition and denture-induced stomatitis were also analysed. The frequency of untreated caries, periodontal diseases and missing teeth of the Study Group was significantly higher than in Control Group. RESULTS: Particularly, VaD patients presented higher number of decayed teeth and deeper periodontal pockets. Decreased cognitive functions in VaD patients have been demonstrated to result in a decline of denture care and increased denture-related mucosal lesions. CONCLUSION: These results underlined that clinicians should direct high attention to oral hygiene of patients with VaD in order to prevent the evolution of those pathologic dental and periodontal conditions, especially in patients with decreased cognitive functions.

Clinical and radiological 12-year follow-up of full arch maxilla prosthetic restoration supported by dental implants positioned through guide flapless surgery.

The computer-guided flapless surgery for implant placement using stereolithographic templates is going to be considered a daily practice technique. The advantages of this kind of surgery are related with its no flap opening, with the precision of the implant positioning and with the possibility of having a quick rehabilitation and low post-surgical discomfort. The introduction of digital planning programs has made it possible to place dental implants in preplanned positions and being immediately functionally loaded by using prefabricated prostheses. This case presented a 12-year follow-up of a maxillary prosthesis supported by dental implant immediately loading and positioned with the first kind of guided flapless surgery technique. Aim of this paper was to report how the guide surgery implant position technique can be considered a predictable and safe technique giving the surgeon excellent long-term results.

Oral health-related quality of life in partially edentulous patients before and after implant therapy: a 2-year longitudinal study.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to measure the Oral Health-Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) before and after a prosthodontic implant therapy so to determine the physical and psychological impact of implant-supported fixed partial dentures (IFPD) rehabilitation among edentulous patients. METHODS: 50 partially edentulous patients aged 40-70 years, treated with IFPD, completed the OHRQoL questionnaire before the implant surgery (Time 0) and 2 years after their whole implant-prosthetic rehabilitation (Time 1). The questionnaire was proposed in a short version of Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14, range 0-56) and analyzed through the 'additive method'. We evaluated statistical mean, standard deviation, median, variance and mode of all OHIP-14 domains and the statistical significance about oral changes at Time 0 and Time 1 using the Chi-square test (p-values < 0.05). RESULTS: Patients reported significant changes in mean OHIP scores (Time 0: 2.15; Time 1: 0.65; p < 0.01). The most prevalently affected domain was "functional limitation", followed by "psychological discomfort" and "physical pain". There were no significant differences dependent on age, gender and antagonistic teeth (p > 0.05). Patients with I and IV Kennedy's class edentulism showed better improvement (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Preoperative and post-treatment assessments of OHRQoL exhibited significant differences. The IFPD treatment had a positive effect on the OHRQoL, which improved better in patients with I and IV Kennedy's edentulous class.

Cemento-ossyfying fibroma juvenile of the oral cavity.

OBJECTIVES: Fibro-osseous neoplasm remains somewhat controversial, and differing concept have been advanced regarding their nature and the proper terminology for them. Cemento-ossyfying fibroma juvenile (JOF) is a rare type of fibro-osseous tumor as also been included under the "umbrella" of cemento-ossyfying fibroma. The JOF is most often seen in patients who are between 5 and 15 years of age. With this work we emphasize the importance of a correct diagnostic approach. MATERIAL AND METHODS.: The case describes a form of cemento-ossyfying fibroma hight active and aggressive like JOF. The patient thirteen older showed from 2004 to 2008 three times the palatal lesion, it was performed with a incisional biopsy and excisional biopsy. The tumor were fixed in 10% buffered formalin embedded in paraffin cut into thick sections and stained with ematoxylineosin. RESULTS: The incisional biopsy was inadequate to formulate a correct diagnosis. The histological exams have showed for three times different aspects. CONCLUSION: Some authors in the past have suggested different classification. The COFs show different clinical, histological and radiographical patterns.

Multidimensional analysis of poly(ethylene glycols) by size exclusion chromatography and dynamic surface tension detection

Substantial improvements in a multidimensional dynamic surface tension detector (DSTD) are presented. Rapid, online calibration and measurement of the dynamic surface tension for high-performance liquid chromatography separations is achieved. Dynamic surface tension is determined by measuring the differential pressure across the liquid-air interface of repeatedly growing and detaching drops. Continuous surface tension measurement throughout the entire drop growth (50 ms to 2 s) is achieved, for each eluting drop, providing insight into the kinetic behavior of molecular orientation processes at the liquid-air interface. Three-dimensional data are obtained, with surface tension first converted to surface pressure, which is plotted as a function of elution time axis versus drop time axis. Two key innovations will be reported. First, a novel calibration procedure is described and implemented. Differential pressure signals from three drops (mobile phase, standard in mobile phase, and analyte in mobile phase) are utilized to make the dynamic surface tension measurement, thereby eliminating the need for optical imaging, and viscosity and hydrostatic pressure corrections, as required by other methods. Only pressure signals from one mobile-phase drop and one standard drop pressure signal are required, while the analyte drop pressure signal is measured along the chromatographic time axis. Second, corrections for drop elongation are not required, because the drops are precisely detached by an air burst actuation method in a regime were the surface tension forces significantly dominate gravitational forces. Drops that would fall with a volume of approximately 10 microL due to gravity are precisely and repeatedly detached earlier at a volume of 2 microL. The sensitivity and unique selectivity of the DSTD opens up new possibilities in the analysis of small molecular weight polymers of varying degrees of surface activity, as illustrated for the size-exclusion chromatography analyses of complex poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) samples. Using partial least squares for data analysis, polydispersity of complex PEG samples is determined at a relative precision of approximately 1%.

An approach to the study of primitive thrombocythemia (PT) megakaryocytes by means of Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy (FT-IR-M).

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), polycythemia vera (PV), idiopathic myelofibrosis (IM) and primary thrombocythemia (PT) are myeloproliferative diseases of clonal origin. Megakaryocyte series are commonly involved in these disorders. In a previous paper of us, megakaryocytes (MKs) from PV and PT patients were shown to be more pathological with respect to the MKs from CML. This paper describes a Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy (FT-IR-M) study analyzing the cytoplasm and nucleus areas of MKs from thrombocythemic patients which exhibited numerous giant cells (from 100 to 190 microm in diameter). The size of these cells makes it possible to analyze the cell parts using FT-IR-M technique. The infrared determinations on 10 single MKs for each case examined in these two different cell regions revealed spectral differences with a high degree of reproducibility. Finally, the spectra of whole MKs from normal donors and from thrombocythemic patients were also compared.

Recombinant alpha 2a interferon and polycythemia vera: clinical results and biological evaluation by means of Fourier-transform infrared microspectroscopy.

Polycythemia vera (PV) is a chronic myeloproliferative disease. The use of recombinant alpha 2a Interferon (IFN) therapy in this disease is a novel approach. We applied Fourier-transform infrared microspectroscopy (FT-IR-M) to investigate the behavior and therapeutic responsiveness of PV patients treated with IFN. A spectroscopic parameter (A1/A2) was used, corresponding to the ratio of the integrated areas of the bands at 1080 cm-1 and at 1540 cm-1 due to nucleic acids and proteic components, respectively, calculated on the spectra of single megakaryocytes (MKs). In previous studies, we have pointed out that MKs in PV have a surprisingly strong myeloproliferative impulse when compared to MKs from other chronic myeloproliferative diseases. Nine patients out of the 11 studied exhibited a satisfactory responsiveness to the IFN treatment. Ten patients were evaluated by the A1/A2 parameter. In 8 of these, a good agreement was seen between this parameter and the laboratory data commonly used for the assessment of this disease. The infrared parameter, which we propose, proves to be an original, reliable method for the evaluation of recombinant alpha 2a IFN responsiveness in this disease.