A preclinical study comparing single- and double-root 3D-printed Ti-6Al-4V implants.

Recently, double-root implants have been investigated using 3D-printed technology. Here, we investigated damping capacity, microcomputed tomographic (micro-CT) and histological analyses of double-root 3D-printed implants compared with single-root 3D printed implants. Single- and double-root 3D-printed implants were fabricated and placed at both sides of mandibular third and fourth premolars in four beagle dogs. The damping capacity was measured, and periapical X-rays were taken every 2 weeks for 12 weeks. The bone volume/tissue volume (BV/TV) and bone mineral density (BMD) around the implants were measured with micro-CT. Bone-to-implant contact (BIC) and bone area fraction occupancy (BAFO) were measured in histological samples. The implant stability values between the groups were not significantly different, except at 4 and 12 weeks. The marginal bone changes were similar at the mesial and distal areas between the groups. The BV/TV and BMD values of the double-root 3D-printed implants showed no statistical difference through micro-CT analysis, but the double-root 3D-printed implants showed lower BIC and BAFO values through histomorphometric analysis compared to the single-root 3D-printed implants. Compared to single-root implants, 3D-printed double-root implants demonstrated comparable stability and bone remodeling around the fixtures, but the statistically significant bone loss in the furcation area remains problematic.

Compromised extraction sockets: a new classification and prevalence involving both soft and hard tissue loss.

PURPOSE: Previous studies have solely focused on fresh extraction sockets, whereas in clinical settings, alveolar sockets are commonly associated with chronic inflammation. Because the extent of tissue destruction varies depending on the origin and the severity of inflammation, infected alveolar sockets may display various configurations of their remaining soft and hard tissues following tooth extraction. The aim of this study was to classify infected alveolar sockets and to provide the appropriate treatment approaches. METHODS: A proposed classification of extraction sockets with chronic inflammation was developed based upon the morphology of the bone defect and soft tissue at the time of tooth extraction. The prevalence of each type of the suggested classification was determined retrospectively in a cohort of patients who underwent, between 2011 and 2015, immediate bone grafting procedures (ridge preservation/augmentation) after tooth extractions at Seoul National University Dental Hospital. RESULTS: The extraction sockets were classified into 5 types: type I, type II, type III, type IV (A & B), and type V. In this system, the severity of bone and soft tissue breakdown increases from type I to type V, while the reconstruction potential and treatment predictability decrease according to the same sequence of socket types. The retrospective screening of the included extraction sites revealed that most of the sockets assigned to ridge preservation displayed features of type IV (86.87%). CONCLUSIONS: The present article classified different types of commonly observed infected sockets based on diverse levels of ridge destruction. Type IV sockets, featuring an advanced breakdown of alveolar bone, appear to be more frequent than the other socket types.

Point pressure sensitivity in early stage Parkinson's disease.

A number of sensory changes occur in the earliest stages of Parkinson's disease (PD), some of which precede the expression of the classic motor phenotype by years (e.g., olfactory dysfunction). Whether point pressure sensitivity (PPS), a cutaneous measure of light touch mediated by myelinated Aß fibers, is altered in early PD is not clear. Prior studies on this point are contradictory and are based on non-forced-choice threshold tests that confound the sensitivity measure with the response criterion. While α-synuclein pathology, a defining feature of PD, is present in the skin of PD patients, it is restricted to unmyelinated nerve fibers, suggesting PPS may be spared in this disease. We determined PPS thresholds using a state-of-the-art forced-choice staircase threshold test paradigm in 29 early stage PD patients and 29 matched controls at 11 body sites: the center of the forehead and the left and right forearms, index fingers, palms, medial soles of the feet, and plantar halluces. The patients were tested, in counterbalanced sessions, both on and off dopamine-related medications (DRMs). PPS was not influenced by PD and did not correlate with DRM l-DOPA equivalents, scores on the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale, side of the major motor disturbances, or SPECT imaging of the striatal dopamine transporter, as measured by technetium-99m TRODAT. However, PPS thresholds were lower on the left than on the right side of the body (p=0.008) and on the upper extremities relative to the toes and feet (ps<0.0001). Positive correlations were evident among the thresholds obtained across all body sectors, even though disparate regions of the body differed in terms of absolute sensitivity. This study indicates that PPS is not influenced in early stage PD regardless of whether patients are on or off DRMs.

Taste function in early stage treated and untreated Parkinson's disease.

Since brain stem regions associated with early Parkinson's disease (PD) pathology encroach upon those involved in taste function, the ability to taste may be compromised in PD. However, studies on this point have been contradictory. We administered well-validated whole-mouth and regional taste tests that incorporated multiple concentrations of sucrose, citric acid, caffeine, and sodium chloride to 29 early stage PD patients and 29 age-, sex-, and race-matched controls. Electrogustometry was also performed on the anterior tongue. The PD cohort was tested both on and off dopamine-related medications in counterbalanced test sessions. While whole-mouth taste identification test scores for all stimuli were, on average, nominally lower for the PD patients than for the controls, a trend in the opposite direction was noted for the intensity ratings at the lower stimulus concentrations for all stimuli except caffeine. Moreover, regional testing found that PD subjects tended to rate the stimuli, relative to the controls, as more intense on the anterior tongue and less intense on the posterior tongue. No significant associations were evident between taste test scores and UPDRS scores, L-DOPA medication equivalency values, or [(99m)Tc]TRODAT-1 SPECT imaging of dopamine transporter uptake within the striatum and associated regions. Our findings suggest that suprathreshold measures of taste function are influenced by PD and that this disease differentially influences taste function on anterior (CN VII) and posterior (CN IX) tongue regions. Conceivably PD-related damage to CN IX releases central inhibition on CN VII at the level of the brainstem, resulting in enhanced taste intensity on the anterior tongue.

Suprathreshold odor intensity perception in early-stage Parkinson's disease.

BACKGROUND: Whether Parkinson's disease (PD) influences suprathreshold changes in perceived odor intensity is unknown. In patients with Alzheimer's disease, patients with schizophrenia, and the elderly, such perception is reportedly normal. If generally true, this could reflect a core element of the olfactory system insulated to some degree from age- and disease-related pathological conditions. METHODS: Odor intensity ratings for pentyl acetate were obtained from 29 early-stage PD patients when on and off dopamine-related medications (DRMs) and from 29 matched controls. RESULTS: The ratings were significantly attenuated at the higher odorant concentrations, with the degree of attenuation associated with overall olfactory dysfunction. Ratings were higher on the right than on the left side of the nose of both patients and controls. No associations with DRMs, Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) scores, or striatal dopamine transporter imaging were found. CONCLUSIONS: Parkinson's disease (PD) influences suprathreshold estimates of perceived odor intensity, negating the notion that such perception might be spared in this disease. No association with dopaminergic processes was apparent.

The lateralized smell test for detecting Alzheimer's disease: failure to replicate.

OBJECTIVES: A widely publicized study by Stamps, Bartoshuk and Heilman (2013) reported that a simple measure of left:right naris differences in the ability to detect the odor of peanut butter is a sensitive marker of Alzheimer's disease (AD). AD patients were said to have abnormal smell function on the left side of the nose and normal function on right side of the nose. In light of its implications for medical practice and the world-wide publicity that it engendered, we sought to replicate and expand this work. METHODS: Two studies were performed. In the first, 15 AD patients were tested according to the procedures described by Stamps et al. in which the nostril contralateral to the tested side was occluded by the patient using lateral pressure from the index finger. Since this can potentially distort the contralateral naris, we repeated the testing using tape for naris occlusion. In the second, 20 AD patients were administered 20 odors of the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT) to each side of the nose, with the contralateral naris being closed with tape. In both studies, the order of the side of testing was systematically counterbalanced. RESULTS: No evidence of a left:right asymmetry on any test measure was observed. CONCLUSION: Although hyposmia is well-established in AD, no meaningful asymmetry in smell perception is apparent. If olfactory function on the right side of the nose was normal as claimed, then AD patients should exhibit normal function when tested bilaterally, a phenomenon not seen in dozens of AD-related olfactory studies.