Bird-headed dwarf of Seckel.

Seckel syndrome is an extremely rare inherited disorder characterized by growth delays prior to birth resulting in low birth weight. Growth delays continue after birth resulting in short stature (dwarfism). This syndrome is associated with an abnormally small head, varying degrees of mental retardation and unusual "beak like" protrusion of nose. Other facial features may include abnormally large eyes, a narrow face, malformed ears and an unusually small jaw. This syndrome has an autosomal recessive pattern of inheritance. A case of the Seckel syndrome is presented.

Florid cemento-osseous dysplasia.

Cemento-osseous dysplasia is probably the most common fibro-osseous lesion encountered in clinical practice. It is thought to be a reactive phenomenon that arises from elements within the periodontal ligament. Here we present a case of 37-year-old female patient, who reported for a regular dental check-up. Incidentally, mixed radiopaque-radiolucent lesions were found bilaterally in the radiograph. Based on the clinical examination and radiographic evaluation, we arrived at a diagnosis of florid cemento-osseous dysplasia.

Native fluorescence spectroscopy of blood plasma in the characterization of oral malignancy.

Native fluorescence characteristics of blood plasma were studied in the visible spectral region, at two different excitation wavelengths, 405 and 420 nm, to discriminate patients with different stages of oral malignancy from healthy subjects. The fluorescence spectra of blood plasma of oral malignant subjects exhibit characteristic spectral differences with respect to normal subjects. Different ratios were calculated using the fluorescence intensity values at those emission wavelengths that give characteristic spectral features of each group of experimental subjects studied. These fluorescence intensity ratios were used as input variables for a multiple linear discriminant analysis across different groups. Leave-one out cross-validation was used to check the reliability of each discriminant analysis performed. The discriminant analysis performed across normal and oral cancerous subjects classified 94.7% of the original grouped cases and 93.7% of the cross-validated grouped cases. A classification algorithm was developed on the basis of the score of the discriminant functions (discriminant score) resulted in the analyses. The diagnostic potentiality of the present technique was also estimated in the discrimination of malignant subjects from normal and nonmalignant diseased subjects such as liver diseases. In the discriminant analysis performed across the three groups, normal, oral malignancy (including early and advanced stages) and liver diseases, 99% of the original grouped cases and 95.9% of the cross-validated grouped cases were correctly classified. Similar analysis performed across normal, early stage of oral malignancy, advanced oral malignancy and liver diseases correctly classified 94.9% of the original grouped cases and 91.8% of the cross-validated grouped cases.

Correlation of Serum and Salivary Biochemical Parameters in end Stage Renal Disease Patients Undergoing Hemodialysis in Pre and Post-Dialysis State.

AIM: The aim of this study is to compare the salivary urea, creatine, sodium, potassium and phosphate in pre dialysis and post dialysis state in end stage renal disease patients and compare with the serum counterpart. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study group was selected from patients undergoing hemodialysis due renal failure of any cause, who are undergoing dialysis for at least one year duration in a private hospital in Chennai. The total number of subjects was 30. The venous blood was collected from the study group just prior to the dialysis and after the dialysis from the venous catheter which is placed for the purpose of hemodialysis. The collected samples were immediately (within 15 min) submitted to the laboratory for the biochemical examination of urea, creatinine, sodium, potassium and phosphate by an automated biochemical analyser. Unstimulated whole saliva was collected by spitting method from study group both before and after dialysis. The collected samples were immediately submitted to the laboratory for the biochemical examination of urea, creatinine, sodium, potassium and phosphate by an automated biochemical analyser. RESULT: The paired t-test analysis was done in pre and post blood urea, creatinine, potassium and phosphate which was significant with a p-value of < 0.0001 and the same analysis was done in salivary urea in pre and post-dialysis state which also gave a significant reduction in the parameters with a p-value of < 0.0001.

Ultrasonographic evaluation of oral submucous fibrosis in habitual areca nut chewers.

OBJECTIVES: To characterize the sonographic features of the buccal mucosa in patients with oral submucous fibrosis (OSF). METHODS: Three groups (controls with areca-related habits, controls without areca-related habits and clinically diagnosed OSF cases), each comprising 30 subjects, were included in the study. After a thorough clinical examination, transcutaneous B-mode ultrasonography was performed with a multifrequency linear transducer (5-10 MHz) for anterior and posterior buccal mucosa bilaterally. Both clinical and ultrasound findings were recorded by three independent observers. One-way analysis of variance and Tukey's honestly significant difference post-hoc tests were used for statistical comparisons between groups and Pearson χ(2) tests to compare the proportions. Kappa statistics was used to determine the interobserver agreement. RESULTS: The submucosa that appeared hypoechoic in the control groups had significantly increased echogenicity in the case group (hypo- to isoechoic in 46.7% and isoechoic in 53.3%). The differentiation between the submucosa and the muscle layer appeared distinct in the control groups while it was not clear in the case group (indistinct in 50% and completely lost in 50%). The number of sites found positive on the ultrasound was significantly greater than the number of clinically positive sites. There was a very good interobserver consistency in clinical and ultrasound findings. CONCLUSIONS: Ultrasonography of the buccal mucosa demonstrates increased submucosal echogenicity and reduced echo differentiation between submucosa and muscle layer in OSF cases. Hence, it can be used as a non-invasive imaging modality to assess the disease extent and severity across the entire buccal mucosa to supplement clinical evaluation.

Mixed periapical lesion: differential diagnosis of a case.

A radicular cyst associated with carious teeth is a very common odontogenic lesion in the oral cavity, but calcifications in residual radicular cysts are quite rare. We report one such case where a routine pre-implant radiographic assessment revealed a mixed periapical radiopaque radiolucent lesion in the right maxillary central incisor region. Histological and radiographic studies show that there is a slow increase in the mineralized deposits within the cyst lumen with time. This becomes prominent histochemically in cysts more than 8 years old and radiographically 6 years later, as seen in our case. In this paper we would like to highlight the importance of a residual radicular cyst with calcifications in the differential diagnosis of a mixed periapical radiopaque radiolucent lesion.

Verrucous carcinoma in association with oral submucous fibrosis.

Oral verrucous carcinoma is a form of well differentiated squamous cell carcinoma characterized by exophytic over growth. It is slow growing and locally invasive tumor occurring in 6 th and 7 th decade of life. Smoking and chewing tobacco is found to be the most common etiological factor of verrucous carcinoma although oral leukoplakia may act as a predisposing factor. This is a rare case of oral verrucous carcinoma seen in association with oral submucous fibrosis in a younger patient with long standing history of chewing tobacco.

Evaluation of oral submucous fibrosis using ultrasonographic technique: a new diagnostic tool.

AIM: The aim of this study is to evaluate oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF) by clinical and histopathological examination, and compare the results with those from ultrasonographic technique. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 30 clinically diagnosed OSMF patients were subjected to both ultrasonographic and histopathological evaluation before treatment. Later, only ultrasonographical examination was done during 4 th and 8 th week of treatment. Prognosis of the lesion for the treatment was evaluated. Peak systolic velocity (PSV) of blood in the lesional area was statistically analyzed. 10 normal individuals without any mucosal lesions were considered as the control group. RESULTS: In normal individuals, ultrasonography delineates normal mucosa with uniform fine mottled appearance with interspersed hypoechoic areas. Color Doppler and spectral Doppler depicts uniform distribution of blood vessels and normal peak systolic velocity of blood respectively. All OSMF patients were diagnosed upon clinical and histopathological examination. Clinical examination revealed 14 individuals with unilateral palpable fibrotic bands and 16 individuals with bilateral fibrotic bands whereas, ultrasonographic evaluation revealed 6 individuals with unilateral fibrotic bands and 24 individuals were with bilateral fibrotic bands, which was statistically significant. Ultrasonography demonstrated number, length and thickness of the fibrotic bands. Color Doppler and spectral Doppler showed decreased vascularity and PSV in lesional area. Prognosis evaluation revealed 25 cases of good prognosis and 5 cases were showed poor prognosis. Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test revealed no significant difference of PSV was seen in poor prognosis patients. CONCLUSION: Ultrasonography is a non-invasive diagnostic tool for OSMF. It could be a better diagnostic tool compared to clinical and histopathological examination.

Primary hyperparathyroidism presenting as multiple giant cell lesions.

A case of giant cell lesion as an initial feature of primary hyperparathyroidism is presented. A 55-year-old woman reported with a complaint of swelling and occasional pain in the upper-left posterior region with 2 months' duration. The diagnosis of a giant cell lesion with primary hyperparathyroidism was confirmed on the basis of radiological, biochemical, and histopathological investigative procedures.