Development of collagenous scaffolds for wound healing: characterization and in vivo analysis.

The development of wound dressings from biomaterials has been the subject of research due to their unique structural and functional characteristics. Proteins from animal origin, such as collagen and chitosan, act as promising materials for applications in injuries and chronic wounds, functioning as a repairing agent. This study aims to evaluate in vitro effects of scaffolds with different formulations containing bioactive compounds such as collagen, chitosan, N-acetylcysteine (NAC) and ε-poly-lysine (ε-PL). We manufactured a scaffold made of a collagen hydrogel bioconjugated with chitosan by crosslinking and addition of NAC and ε-PL. Cell viability was verified by resazurin and live/dead assays and the ultrastructure of biomaterials was evaluated by SEM. Antimicrobial sensitivity was assessed by antibiogram. The healing potential of the biomaterial was evaluated in vivo, in a model of healing of excisional wounds in mice. On the 7th day after the injury, the wounds and surrounding skin were processed for evaluation of biochemical and histological parameters associated with the inflammatory process. The results showed great cell viability and increase in porosity after crosslinking while antimicrobial action was observed in scaffolds containing NAC and ε-PL. Chitosan scaffolds bioconjugated with NAC/ε-PL showed improvement in tissue healing, with reduced lesion size and reduced inflammation. It is concluded that scaffolds crosslinked with chitosan-NAC-ε-PL have the desirable characteristics for tissue repair at low cost and could be considered promising biomaterials in the practice of regenerative medicine.

Primary amelanotic mucosal melanoma of the oronasal region: report of two new cases and literature review.

Primary amelanotic mucosal melanoma is a rare entity with challenging histopathological features. Because these tumors are thought to be biologically more aggressive, they have a poorer prognosis than that of pigmented melanomas. In this work, we present a literature review about the clinical, histopathological, and immunohistochemical features of primary amelanotic mucosal melanoma of the oronasal region and report two new cases. Amelanotic mucosal melanoma commonly affects men in the seventh decade of life and tend to have a poor prognosis, as seen by the high incidence of metastasis, recurrences, and, ultimately, death. There is a similar pattern in the clinic-pathological predilections (such as age, gender, primary site, and metastatic potential) of amelanotic mucosal melanoma when comparing with data reported for pigmented lesions. This work reinforces knowledge about amelanotic mucosal melanomas and epidemiologic predilections. The optimal management of this lesion remains controversial.

Stevens-Johnson syndrome: an oral viewpoint.

The Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) is a severe variant of erythema multiforme (EM) that occasionally can rise to systemic upset and possibly compromise life. In this report, we described important oral and dermatologic aspects of a case of SJS triggered by Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection.

Perfil estomatológico de pacientes psoriátricos: análise de 50 casos / Stomatologic feactures in psoriatric patients: analysis of 50 cases

Introdução: a psoríase é uma doença dermatológica crônica que acomete cerca de 3% da população mundial e pode representar um fator importante de exclusão social. A manifestação bucal ainda é um assunto controverso na literatura sendo descrita como lesões brancas, eritematosas, úlceras e papuloescamosa. Objetivos - Avaliar a presença de manifestações bucais da psoríase, considerando-se a localização e as características clínicas das lesões encontradas, o sexo, a idade e a raça dos acometidos. Métodos - Estudo observacional, do tipo transversal, com pacientes que procuraram atendimento no ambulatório de dermatologiado Hospital de Clínicas da Universidade Federal de Uberlândia (HCUFU) entre dezembro de 2006 a novembro de 2007 (n=50). Resultados - A idade variou entre 7 e 78 anos com media de idade de 43,58 anos e mediana de 45 anos. Não houve predileção por sexo, sendo que 26 pacientes eram do sexo masculino e 24 feminino. No exame bucal foram encontradas lesões em 44% dos pacientes, sendo 16 lesões em língua (53,3%) na forma de fissuras ou áreas despapiladas, 2 em mucosa jugal (6,7%) na forma de placas brancas, 5 em lábio (16,7%) na forma de queilites e ressecamento e 7 lesões eritematosa sem palato (23,3%). Conclusões - Não foi possível identificar alteração que pudesse estar associada à psoríase, visto que nenhuma lesão acompanhou o quadro da doença cutâneaou teve diagnóstico histológico confirmado. Com relação às alterações em língua, tais como língua fissurada e língua geográfica, a incidência encontrada foi muito próxima a outros estudos em pacientes sem uma doença de base importante.

Introduction: psoriasis is a chronic dermatologic disease that affects at least 3% of the world population. Oral manifestation is still a controversy in the literature. It has been described by some authors in clinical case reports as white or erythematous lesions, ulcers and descamative papules. Objectives - To evaluate the presence of oral manifestations associated with psoriasis, considering location and clinical characteristics of the lesions and also gender, age and race of patients. Method - It was an observational,cross-sectional study of patients who sought for treatment at the Dermatology Service ofthe University Hospital (Uberlândia Federal University); between December 2006 and November 2007 (n=50) . Results - Age varied from 7 to 78 years, mean age of 43,58years and median of 45 years. There was no predominance of male (n=26) or female(n=24) patients. Lesions were found in 44% of patients, 16 (53,3%) of these lesions werein tongue, 2 (6,7%) white plaques in the cheeks, 5 (16,7%) lesion in lips as cheilitis anddryness and 7 (23,3%) erythematous areas in the hard palate. Conclusions - After all,it was not possible to make any specific association between oral lesions and psoriasis because the lesions did not follow the cutaneous disease stage nor was histologically confirmed. Also the tongue alterations incidence identified in this study was similar tothat found in population without other diseases.