Multi-center observational study on occurrence and related clinical factors of neurogenic heterotopic ossification in patients with disorders of consciousness.

Aims: to assess occurrence and clinical correlates of neurogenic heterotopic ossifications (NHO) in patients with prolonged disorder of consciousness (DoC).Design: multi-center cross-sectional observational study.Setting: 23 intensive neurorehabilitation units.Subjects: 287 patients with prolonged disorder of consciousness (DoC; 150 in vegetative state, VS, and 128 in minimally conscious state, MCS) of different etiology (vascular = 125, traumatic = 83, anoxic = 56, others = 14).Main Measures: clinical evidence of NHO confirmed by standard radiological and/or sonographic evaluation; Coma Recovery Scale-Revised; Disability Rating Scale (DRS); Early Rehabilitation Barthel Index; presence of ventilator support, spasticity, bone fractures and paroxysmal sympathetic hyperactivity.Results: 31 patients (11.2%) presented NHO. Univariate analyses showed that NHO was associated with VS diagnosis, traumatic etiology, high DRS category and total score, and high occurrence of limb spasticity and bone fractures. A cluster-corrected binary logistic regression model (excluding spasticity available in a subset of patients) showed that only lower DRS total score and presence of bone fractures were independently associated with NHO.Conclusions: NHO are relatively frequent in patients with DoC, and are independently associated with functional disability, bone fractures and spasticity. These findings contribute to identifying patients with DoC prone to develop NHO and requiring special interventions to improve functional recovery.

Rehabilitación estética y funcional en paciente con compromiso gastroesofágico y desorden temporomandibular: reporte de un caso / Rehabilitación estética y funcional en paciente con compromiso gastroesofágico y desorden temporomandibular: reporte de un caso

Paciente masculino, de 32 años, acudió a la Clínica de Prótesis Parcial Fija (PPF), de la Facultad de Odontología de Araçatuba-Universidad Estadual Paulista, manifestando como queja principal que sus dientes anteriores estaban "feos y rotos". Después del exa- men clínico, el paciente fue diagnosticado con desorden temporomandibular, bruxismo y presencia de erosiones dentarias (intrínsecas y extrínsecas). Se propuso el acompaña- miento de un médico gastroenterólogo y la rehabilitación con prótesis libres de metal (11, 12, 21 y 22) confeccionadas en silicato de litio reforzado con zirconio por el sistema CAD/CAM. Después de la endodoncia de los incisivos antero-superiores, fueron insta- lados los pernos de fibra de vidrio anatomizados con resina compuesta; la impresión fue realizada con hilo retractor y silicona de adición. Después de la prueba estética y ajustes oclusales, las PPFs de e-max Ceram, fueron preparadas para cementación resinosa con el sistema Variolink II color Light. Después de 1 semana, se tomó la impresión de la arcada superior y posteriormente se le instaló una placa miorrelajante. El paciente y los profesionales involucrados aprobaron el resultado final, comprobando la eficacia estética asociada al uso de prótesis libre de metal, a pesar de que el paciente presenta compromiso gastroesofágico y desorden temporomandibular.

A 32-year-old male patient attended in the Fixed Partial Prosthesis Clinic (PPF), of the Araçatuba Dental School-Paulista State University, stating as the main complaint that his anterior teeth were "ugly and broken". After clinical examination, the patient was diagnosed with temporomandibular disorder, bruxism and the presence of dental ero- sions (intrinsic and extrinsic). It was proposed to be followed up by a gastroenterologist and rehabilitation with metal-free prostheses (11, 12, 21 and 22) made of lithium silicate reinforced with zirconium by the CAD / CAM system were proposed. After endodontics of the anterior-superior incisors, the anatomized fiberglass posts with composite resin were installed; the impression was made with retractor wire and addition silicone. After aesthetic testing and occlusal adjustments, the e-max Ceram PPF ̈s were prepared for resin cementation with the Variolink II color Light system. After 1 week, the impression of the upper arch was taken and subsequently a muscle relaxant plate was installed. The patient and the professionals involved approved the final result, verifying the aesthetic efficacy associated with the use of a metal-free prosthesis, despite the fact that the patient has gastroesophageal involvement and temporomandibular disorder.

Multi-center study on overall clinical complexity of patients with prolonged disorders of consciousness of different etiologies.

Aim: to assess overall clinical complexity of patients with acquired disorders of consciousness (DoC) in vegetative state/unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (VS/UWS) vs. minimally conscious state- MCS) and in different etiologies..Design: Multi-center cross-sectional observational study.Setting: 23 intensive neurorehabilitation units.Subjects: 264 patients with DoC in the post-acute phase: VS/UWS = 141, and MCS = 123 due to vascular (n = 125), traumatic (n = 83) or anoxic (n = 56) brain injury.Main Measures: Coma Recovery Scale-Revised, and Disability Rating Scale (DRS); presence of medical devices (e.g., for eating or breathing); occurrence and severity of medical complications.Results: patients in DoC, and particularly those in VS/UWS, showed severe overall clinical complexity. Anoxic patients had higher overall clinical complexity, lower level of responsiveness/consciousness, higher functional disability, and higher needs of medical devices. Vascular patients had worse premorbid clinical comorbidities. The two etiologies showed a comparable rate of MC, higher than that observed in traumatic etiology.Conclusion: overall clinical complexity is significantly higher in VS/UWS than in MCS, and in non-traumatic vs. traumatic etiology. These findings could explain the worse clinical evolution reported in anoxic and vascular etiologies and in VS/UWS patients and contribute to plan patient-tailored care and rehabilitation programmes.

Nonnutritive sweeteners are not supernormal stimuli.

BACKGROUND: It is often claimed that nonnutritive sweeteners (NNS) are 'sweeter than sugar', with the implicit implication that high-potency sweeteners are supernormal stimuli that encourage exaggerated responses. This study aimed to investigate the perceived sweetness intensity of a variety of nutritive sweeteners (sucrose, maple syrup and agave nectar) and NNS (acesulfame-K (AceK), rebaudioside A (RebA), aspartame and sucralose) in a large cohort of untrained participants using contemporary psychophysical methods. METHODS: Participants (n=401 total) rated the intensity of sweet, bitter and metallic sensations for nutritive sweeteners and NNS in water using the general labeled magnitude scale. RESULTS: Sigmoidal dose-response functions were observed for all stimuli except AceK. That is, sucrose follows a sigmoidal function if the data are not artifactually linearized via prior training. More critically, there is no evidence that NNS have a maximal sweetness (intensity) greater than sucrose; indeed, the maximal sweetness for AceK, RebA and sucralose were significantly lower than that for concentrated sucrose. For these sweeteners, mixture suppression due to endogenous dose-dependent bitter or metallic sensations appears to limit maximal perceived sweetness. CONCLUSIONS: In terms of perceived sweetness, NNS cannot be considered supernormal stimuli. These data do not support the view that NNS hijack or overstimulate sweet receptors to produce elevated sweet sensations.

Terapéutica alternativa asociada al bruxismo: revisión de literatura / Alternative therapy associated to bruxism: literature review

Discutir las principales y más eficaces actividades terapéuticas en el control del bruxismo nocturno. Para la identificación de los estudios, fue realizada una estrategia de búsqueda detallada y avanzada en los bancos de datos: PubMed y Medline. Fueron utilizados como PALABRAS CLAVE: bruxism, therapeutics y drug therapy. Los criterios de inclusión fueron: artículos clínicos, estudios controlados aleatorios, estudios in vitro, revisiones de literatura y revisiones sistemáticas con y sin meta-análisis de los últimos 10 años, que aborden el tema propuesto. Los criterios de exclusión fueron: artículos sin resumen, estudios en animales, artículos cuyo idioma no sea el inglés y artículos de revistas que no pertenecen al área odontológica. De un total de 83 artículos, después de un análisis según el criterio de inclusión y exclusión, fueron seleccionados 33 artículos. A pesar de la pequeña cantidad de estudios clínicos prospectivos con alto grado de confiabilidad y que la mayoría de los estudios que evaluaron la eficacia de tratamientos alternativos fueron reportes de casos clínicos aislados, la literatura muestra que la utilización de la toxina botulínica se mostró eficaz para el control del bruxismo nocturno. Por otro lado, aspectos importantes como el efecto transitorio, dosis segura y técnica de aplicación aún son poco estudiados, de esa manera más investigaciones son necesarias para que esas dudas sean esclarecidas...

The aim of this study was to review the literature in order to discuss the main and the most effective therapeutic activities to control the nocturnal bruxism. To identify the studies included in this review, it was conducted a detailed and advanced search strategy in the PubMed and Medline databases. It was used as KEY WORDS: bruxism, therapeutics and drug therapy. Inclusion criteria were: case reports, randomized controlled trials, in vitro studies, literature reviews and systematic reviews with or without meta-analysis of the past 10 years that addressed the theme. Exclusion criteria were: articles without abstract, animal studies, articles whose first language was not English and articles from journals that do not belong to the dentario field. From a total of 83 articles, after an analysis according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 33 articles were selected. Despite the fact that there is a small number of prospective clinical studies with high degree of reliability and most studies that evaluated the alternative treatments effectiveness are isolated case reports, the current literature shows that the use of botulinum toxin has been shown to be effective in the control of nocturnal bruxism. On the other hand, important aspects such as transitory effect, safe dosage and application technique are still little discussed, then, further studies are needed to have these doubts clarified...

Cardiorespiratory comorbidity: a new challenge for physical and rehabilitation medicine specialist.

BACKGROUND: The cardiorespiratory comorbidity can reduce the participation in the rehabilitation project of patients with motor disorders. AIM: The first aim of the study was to assess the frequency of cardiopulmonary comorbidity in inpatient rehabilitation units in Italy. The second aim was to evaluate the influence of cardiorespiratory comorbidity on some process and outcome indicators. DESIGN: Data collection with a questionnaire sent to Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine specialists. SETTING: Inpatient Rehabilitation Units. POPULATION: Patients admitted to Rehabilitation Units with neurological and orthopedic disability. METHODS: A questionnaire was sent to 33 Rehabilitation Units in Italy. OUTCOME: Length of stay in hospital (LOS), percentage of transfer to acute wards, level of satisfaction of the Physicians related to the degree of functional recovery of patients with cardiopulmonary comorbidity. In a subgroup of patients with and without cardiopulmonary comorbidity indicators were also used to retrospectively assess functional recovery during the hospitalization. RESULTS: Analysis were made on 16 complete responses received. Data of 909 subjects were evaluated. The mean incidence of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases is high: 61.50%. The length of hospitalization (LOS) in patients with cardiac and respiratory comorbidity is significantly longer than in subjects without associated disease (46.55, SD 21.00 days vs. 37.26, SD 18.97; P<0.05). The number of transfers to acute wards is significantly higher in subjects with cardiorespiratory comorbidity (8.62% vs. 2.44%; P<0.05). Eleven out of 16 medical doctors (69%) said they were "quite satisfied" for the degree of functional recovery of patients with comorbidity. A group of patients with neurological disabilities associated with cardiorespiratory disease had significantly lower Functional Independence Measure (FIM) score at admission (55.36, SD 20.62, vs. 73.72, SD 22.15; P<0.05) than these without comorbidity. At discharge the subjects of the two groups assessed, independently from the presence of cardiorespiratory comorbidity, present no statistically significant difference of FIM scale values. CONCLUSION: The high frequency of cardiorespiratory comorbidity in patients with motor disorders negatively influenced the LOS and percentage of transfer to acute wards but not necessarily the functional results. It is, therefore, necessary to train the medical doctor who specializes in physical and rehabilitation medicine also in the clinical management of complex patients. CLINICAL REHABILITATION IMPACT: The results of the survey suggest that rehabilitation is useful even in patients with motor disorders and cardiorespiratory comordibity.

Evaluación del efecto de prensado en prótesis totales maxilares sobre la movilidad de los dientes artificiales, en función del tipo de inclusión / Evaluation of the effect of full denture pressing on the artificial teeth mobility, in function of two type of flasking

El presente trabajo evaluó el movimiento de los dientes artificiales en prótesis totales maxilares, sometidas a diversas presiones durante el prensado y el efecto de este en relación al material usado en la inclusión. Treinta y seis réplicas de prótesis totales previamente confeccionadas, fueran divididas en seis grupos: Los grupos G1,G2 y G3 fueron incluidos con yeso tipo III, a una presión de 800, 1.000 y 1.250 kgf respectivamente y los grupos S1, S2 y S3 fueron incluidos con una barrera de silicona y yeso, a una presión de 800, 1.000 y 1.250kgf, respectivamente. Las prótesis fueron medidas en puntos demarcados previamente en los segundos molares, premolares e incisivo central con el programa de computación gráfica (AutoCad 2000), después de cada etapa: encerado, polimerización y emuflado. La comparación entre estas dos fases permitió observar que: en los grupos (G1 y S1) donde se utilizó la menor presión (800 kgf) ocurrieron las mayores alteraciones en el posicionamiento de los dientes artificiales y que el grupo que mostró menores alteraciones fue cuando se utilizó 1.250 kgf de presión y la inclusión fue con yeso (AU)

The present study evaluated artificial teeth movement in complete dentures, submitted to different flasking loading and the effect of these loading pressures on the material used in the flasking procedure. Thirty-six dentures were fabricated and equally divided into six groups: Groups G1, G2 and G3 were processed with type III gypsum and 800, 1000 and 1250 kgf loading pressures, respectively, and groups S1, S2 and S3 were processed with silicone barrier and 800, 1000 and 1250 kgf loading pressures, respectively. In order to evaluate the artificial teeth movement, measurements were performed from previously determined points down in the second molars tips and in the second pre-molars cusps and in the central incisor. Those points were scanned (Scan Jet 6100C - Hewlett Packard) and then the measurements were performed and analyzed through the use of the AutoCad 2000 software, during the wax and the post-polymerization phases. The comparison between these two phases allowed the following observations: in groups (G1 and S1) where less loading pressure was used (800 kgf), the movements in the artificial teeth positions were the highest, and the group that presented the lowest changes was the one processed with type III gypsum and 1250 kgf loading pressure (AU)

Long-term results of conservative treatment of fractures of the distal radius.

The long-term results of the conservative treatment of wrist fractures were observed in a follow-up study of 297 cases over a period of one and one-half years to six years. The evaluation of the results was based on clinical parameters, both subjective and objective, as well as radiological features. The results were: excellent in 38% of cases, good in 49%, fair in 11.5%, and poor in 1.5%; considerably worse were the subjective results (20% fair to poor). No statistically significant relation could be found between results and type of fracture. Clinical deformities and pain in the area of the distal radioulnar joint were frequent. Decrease in grip strength was observed in 17.8% of cases. A limitation of wrist movement was not frequent. Numerous compressive neuropathies were found (41 in 35 patients), especially of the median nerve. The values relative to the three radiographic parameters under investigation (that is, radial deviation, volar tilt, and radioulnar index) were often found to be out of the normal range. The comparative study of postreduction and follow-up radiograms show the loss of reduction to be frequent, especially as far as the volar tilt is concerned. The frequent radiologic deformities are associated with significantly bad results only in cases of extremely abnormal values. However, fractures of the distal radius are not to be underestimated. Long-term results following conservative treatment may not be as acceptable as is generally assumed.

Stable fixation of fractures of the forearm in adults.

The results are presented of 148 fractures of the radius and ulna in 89 patients. All were treated by AO compression plating. The results were assessed at an average of 4.5 years. In 80% of cases these were functionally excellent and confirm that this method of treatment gives early consolidation and restoration of good function in adults. However, there is a significant percentage of complications in open fractures of both bones.

Turkey red blood cell passive haemagglutination assay as guideline for specific prevention of tetanus in injured persons.

Turkey red blood cell passive haemagglutination assays (TRBC-HA) were carried out on serum samples from 873 injured patients in order to compare individual prophylactic treatment against tetanus based on the anti-tetanus antibody levels with interventions based on anamnestic criteria. The results showed a great difference: according to the anamnesis 124 persons (14.2%) were protected, 253 (29%) were partially protected, and 496 (56.8%) were unprotected; according to the TRBC-HA assay, 479 (54.9%) were protected, 279 (32%) partially protected, and 115 (13.2%) unprotected.The efficiency of the prophylactic treatments given on the basis of the two criteria was also compared in a study of 129 injured patients who were divided in two groups: group 1 (50 patients) received 250 IU of human tetanus immunoglobulin (HTI) regardless of their tetanus immunity, and group II (79 patients) received appropriate or no treatment depending on the level of anti-tetanus antibodies determined by TRBC-HA assay. The results showed that prophylactic interventions based on the anti-tetanus antibody levels can give protection in 100% of injured patients at minimum cost and risk.