Clinical effect of equol supplementation in the treatment of desquamative gingivitis with 1-year follow-up.

PURPOSE: Desquamative gingivitis (DG) is characterized by desquamative erosion, edematous erythema, and vesicle formation on the gingiva. Because of its prevalence in women during the pre- and postmenopausal period, its potential association with female hormones has been suggested. Equol is a soy isoflavone metabolite with a chemical structure similar to estrogen. Scientific evidence suggests that equol helps in alleviating menopausal symptoms. This study evaluated the clinical effect of a 12-month equol supplementation as a substitute for estrogen to alleviate DG symptoms. METHODS: The study enrolled 16 women with DG who regularly visited Nihon University School of Dentistry Dental Hospital. Urinary equol levels, periodontal tissue examination, O'Leary's plaque control record, stimulated saliva flow rate, and gingival pain-related questionnaires were evaluated before and after the 12-month daily intake of 10 mg equol supplement. RESULTS: Equol supplementation led to a statistically significant improvement in bleeding on probing, visual findings, and reductions in the frequency and severity of gingival pain. CONCLUSION: Urinary equol testing and equol supplementation may be novel treatment options for female patients with DG.

The changes in oral volume and hyoid bone position after maxillomandibular advancement and genioglossus advancement for patients with obstructive sleep apnea.

INTRODUCTION: Maxillomandibular advancement (MMA) and genioglossus advancement (GA) are surgeries for patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Postoperative evaluation is primarily based on the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) measured by polysomnography. The purpose of this study was to identify the timing of hyoid bone relocation after MMA and GA surgery and to investigate whether or not hyoid bone relocation can be an indicator of postoperative evaluation of OSA. METHODS: Patients with OSA underwent MMA and GA surgery. Changes in hyoid bone position and tongue-to-oral volume ratio were analyzed on lateral radiographs before, immediately after, and 1 year after surgery. Then, a correlation was verified between these changes and postoperative AHI. RESULTS: In 18 patients studied, the position of the hyoid bone did not show a constant tendency immediately after surgery. One year after surgery, the bone had moved anteriorly and toward the oral cavity in all patients compared to its preoperative position. And AHI correlated with the movement of the hyoid bone to the oral side. DISCUSSION: One year after surgery, the tongue was adapted to the newly enlarged oral space, and as a result, the low position of the hyoid bone before the operation was improved. The findings suggest that the degree of lowering of the hyoid bone may be an indicator of the improvement of AHI.

A new phenotype identification method with the fluorescent expression in cross-sectioned tails in Thy1-GCaMP6s transgenic mice.

PURPOSE: Unless the phenotype of the transgenic mice is distinguishable, genotyping in each mouse is required prior to experiments. This study aimed to establish a new identification method for the phenotype in Thy1-GCaMP6s transgenic mice to reduce the cost and time. METHODS: Tail biopsies (2 mm) were performed under general anesthesia with isoflurane in 3 to 4-week-old mice. Then, the resected tail was cut again with a sharp razor, and the cross-sections were observed with two-photon microscopy (excitation wavelength = 940 nm). The emitted light was split into green and red light by a dichroic mirror (570 nm) with bandpass filters (495-540 nm for green, 575-645 nm for red). RESULTS: Two types of expressed fluorescent pattern were found in the tail tissue: the presence of green fluorescent structures (type 1) and the absence of the structures (type 2). Cortical imaging confirmed that type 1 expressed the cortical GCaMP6s, while type 2 did not. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that observation of the cross-sectioned tail in Thy1-GCaMP6s mice enabled to identify the phenotype within approximately 10 min/mouse, which reduces the cost and time for genotyping.

Asymmetrical organization of oral structures in the primary and secondary somatosensory cortices in rats: An optical imaging study.

In rodents, the representation of the body surface in the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) forms a mirror image along the ventral border of the S1 in the secondary somatosensory cortex (S2). Sensory information from the oral region is processed in the S1 and the border region between the S2 and insular oral region (IOR). We examined the relationship between somatosensory representations in the S1 and S2/IOR using optical imaging with a voltage-sensitive dye in urethane-anesthetized rats. In reference to the rhinal fissure and middle cerebral artery, we made a somatosensory map by applying electrical or air puff stimulation. The initial neural excitation in the S1 to facial structures, including the eyebrow, cornea, pinna, whisker pad, nasal tip, and nasal mucosa, spread toward the ventral area, putatively the S2. The initial cortical responses in the S1 to oral structures, including the lower lip, tongue, and teeth, were spatially separated from those in the S2/IOR. The representation of the tongue center, tongue tip, mandibular molar pulp, mandibular incisor pulp, and mandibular incisor periodontal ligament were almost linearly arranged from caudal to rostral in both S1 and S2/IOR. The lower lip was represented in the dorsal area from the representation of teeth and tongue in both S1 and S2/IOR. The representations of maxillary teeth were caudal and dorsal to the representations of mandibular teeth in the S1 and S2/IOR, respectively. These results suggest that the representation of oral structures in the S1 formed a non-mirror image, not a mirror image, in the S2/IOR.

A preoperative predictive study of advantages of airway changes after maxillomandibular advancement surgery using computational fluid dynamics analysis.

The purpose of this study was to develop a simulation approach for predicting maxillomandibular advancement-induced airway changes using computational fluid dynamics. Eight patients with jaw deformities who underwent maxillomandibular advancement and genioglossus advancement surgery were included in this study. Computed tomography scans and rhinomanometric readings were performed both preoperatively and postoperatively. Computational fluid dynamics models were created, and airflow simulations were performed using computational fluid dynamics software; the preferable number of computational mesh points was at least 10 million cells. The results for the right and left nares, including simulation and postoperative measurements, were qualitatively consistent, and surgery reduced airflow pressure loss. Geometry prediction simulation results were qualitatively consistent with the postoperative stereolithography data and postoperative simulation results. Simulations were performed with either the right or left naris blocked, and the predicted values were similar to those found clinically. In addition, geometry prediction simulation results were qualitatively consistent with the postoperative stereolithography data and postoperative simulation results. These findings suggest that geometry prediction simulation facilitates the preoperative prediction of the postoperative structural outcome.

New method of Le Fort I osteotomy with increased stability.

Backsliding is a major problem when moving the maxilla significantly forward in orthognathic surgery. For example, in sleep surgery, maxillomandibular advancement is an application of orthognathic surgery, and it is well known that the anterior movement of the maxilla back and forth is an important factor that greatly widens the pharyngeal airway. However, postoperative backsliding is a major problem in this surgery. Therefore, a surgical method was devised to prevent the maxilla from retracting by adjusting the bone when moving the maxilla forward.

Clinical characteristics, treatment methods and prognoses of patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma in Japanese population: a single institution retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: The status of oral cancer therapy in elderly patients in Japan, where ageing is rapidly progressing, may serve as a model for other countries with similar demographics. There is controversy over what kind of treatment should be applied and how aggressively it should be applied to very elderly patients who have exceeded the average life expectancy. Given that 85 years is approximately the overall Japanese life expectancy at birth, we considered a threshold of 85 years and hypothesized that the prognosis of oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) patients aged ≥85 years was not inferior to that of those < 85 years. The aim of the present study was to investigate the clinical characteristics, treatment methods, and prognoses of Japanese oral SCC patients aged ≥85 years. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was performed. The data of patients with primary oral SCC (n = 358) from 2005 to 2018 in our institute were extracted from electronic medical records. A total of 358 patients with oral SCC were divided into two groups (≥85 years group [n = 26] and < 85 years group [n = 332]) based on the age threshold of 85 years at the first visit. Kaplan-Meier survival analyses and Cox proportional hazard models were used to analyse overall survival (OS) and hazard ratios (HRs) according to age group, treatment, and TNM classification. RESULTS: There was no difference in the 5-year OS rate between the ≥85 years and < 85 years groups (80.8% vs. 82.2%, P = 0.359). This finding was the same in the operative (94.7% vs. 85.8%, P = 0.556) and non-operative (42.9% vs. 33.2%, P = 0.762) groups, indicating that age did not affect prognosis. Mortality was lower in the operative group than in the non-operative group (adjusted HR: 0.276, 95% CI: 0.156-0.489, P < 0.001), suggesting that surgery is a superior method. However, non-surgical treatment was selected at a higher rate in the ≥85 years group (26.9% vs. 11.1%, P = 0.028). CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests the prognosis of ≥85-year-old patients was not inferior to that of < 85-year-old patients. We recommend that surgery as the first choice treatment for ≥85-year-old patients with oral SCC who can tolerate surgery should be performed.

Cephalometric analysis of the pharyngeal airway space after maxillary advancement surgery.

This study evaluated the effect of maxillary advancement surgery on the size of the pharyngeal airway space (PAS). Lateral cephalometric radiographs were collected for 90 patients (29 men and 61 women; average age, 27.2 ± 8.1 years) before (T1) and 1 year after (T2) maxillary advancement surgery. Horizontal and vertical changes in the maxilla and PAS were measured and classified by distance. The maxilla was advanced horizontally by 2.9 ± 1.7 mm and vertically by 2.7 ± 1.4 mm. Upward maxillary movement of ≥4 mm significantly increased PAS (mean change in PAS, 2.6 mm), and upward maxillary movement significantly decreased the posterior nasal spine to the P-point. Only patients with vertical advancement ≥4 mm and horizontal advancement of 3 mm had significant increases in all three PAS parameters. Although forward maxillary movement is believed to have a large effect on PAS, it is suggest that upward vertical movement is more effective for improving PAS. Both the extent and direction of maxillar movement should be considered. Future studies should use cone-beam computed tomography to evaluate the effect of axial direction and differences in PAS.

Computational fluid dynamics analysis for the preoperative prediction of airway changes after maxillomandibular advancement surgery.

Maxillomandibular advancement surgery is useful for treatment of sleep apnea. However, preoperative analysis and evaluation to facilitate decision-making regarding the direction and distance of maxillomandibular movement has primarily consisted of morphological analysis; physiological function is not evaluated. To improve preoperative prediction, this study used fluid simulation to investigate the characteristics and effects of airway changes associated with maxillomandibular movement. A one-dimensional model with general applicability was thus developed. Actual measurements of flow in patients were used in this fluid simulation, thus achieving an analysis closer to clinical conditions. The simulation results were qualitatively consistent with the actual measurements, which confirmed the usefulness of the simulation. In addition, the results of the one-dimensional model were within the error ranges of the actual measurements. The present results establish a foundation for using accumulating preoperative measurement data for more-precise prediction of postoperative outcomes.

Retrospective clinical study of 296 patients with mass lesions of the tongue.

To better understand the clinical features of mass lesions of the tongue, we retrospectively evaluated frequency, recurrence rate, and complications in 296 patients who had undergone surgery for such lesions. The diagnoses were fibroma (43.6%), mucous cyst (14.2%), papilloma (11.8%), hemangioma (7.8%), granuloma (6.4%), lipoma (1.4%), schwannoma (1.0%), ectopic tonsil (0.7%), and other (13.2%). Recurrence was noted in two patients (0.7%). Twenty-two patients (7.4%) developed surgical complications, including lingual nerve paralysis (6.4%), glossodynia (0.6%), and postoperative infection (0.3%). Lingual nerve paralysis was observed in the ventral portion (42.1%) of the tongue, apex (36.8%), lateral border (10.5%), and dorsum (10.5%). When all sites were considered together, there was no significant difference in the number of patients presenting with lingual nerve paralysis (P = 0.075). However, there were significant differences in lingual nerve paralysis at the lateral border (P < 0.05), apex (P < 0.05), and dorsum (P < 0.001) but not at the ventral portion (P > 0.05) in the size of the patients with versus without it which suggests that the risk of lingual nerve paralysis is higher at the ventral tongue, regardless of tumor size. These results shed light on the clinical features of mass lesions of the tongue.