Association between smoking and peri-implant diseases: A retrospective study.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the association between tobacco and peri-implant diseases in a sample of patients who had received implant-supported restorations in a university dental clinic. Furthermore, the study aimed to investigate patient- and implant-related variables associated with peri-implant diseases. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The present retrospective study analyzed data from 117 patients treated with implant-supported restorations from 2001 to 2013. A total of 450 implants were evaluated. Patients were selected from an electronic database, and patient- and implant-related variables were evaluated. Detailed information regarding the smoking history (i.e., smoking status, lifetime cumulative dose, duration of exposure, intensity of the habit, and smoking cessation) was recorded. The primary study outcome was peri-implant status [i.e., health (H), peri-implant mucositis (PM) and peri-implantitis (PI)]. Univariate and multinomial regression models comparing PM and PI versus peri-implant health were conducted. RESULTS: A total of 117 subjects [55 (47%) females and 62 (53%) males] with a mean age at examination of 64.2 years (SD 11.6) and rehabilitated with 450 implants were included. The average number of implants per patient was 4.6 (SD 3.3) with a mean time in function of 8.0 years (SD 1.9). Fifty-six patients (47.9%) were non-smokers, 42 (35.9%) were former-smokers, and 19 (16.2%) were current-smokers. Thirty-nine subjects (33.4%) were H, whereas 41 (35%) and 37 (31.6%) exhibited PM and PI, respectively. At implant level, the corresponding values were 142 (31.6%), 230 (51.1%) and 78 (17.3%). In the multinomial regression model, significant associations for peri-implant diseases were observed for the mean number of implants per patient (p = .016), function time (p = .048), implants placed simultaneously with guided bone regeneration (p = .016), implant surface (p = .020), keratinized mucosa at the buccal aspect (p = .032), and access to interproximal hygiene (p < .001). In addition, ever smokers >23 pack-years exhibited a significantly higher risk for peri-implantitis (p = .002). Finally, the multinomial regression analysis revealed that subjects who had stopped smoking more than 21 years before the last examination presented a significantly lower risk of peri-implant diseases than a smoking cessation of ≤21 years (p = .028). CONCLUSIONS: Smoke intensity was associated with an increased risk of the development of peri-implantitis. Moreover, the risk of peri-implant diseases might be similar in those subjects who had stopped smoking for more than 21 years with respect to never-smokers.

Logistics and strategy of multiorgan procurement involving total face allograft.

The face is the latest body structure to be added to the field of transplantation and the learning curve is ongoing. In the scenario of multiorgan recovery, the face is a nonvital 'organ' structure compared with other life-saving organs. To date, the face has been the first 'organ' to be procured in a multiorgan procurement. A technique for simultaneous recovery of the whole face, heart, lungs, liver, pancreas and kidneys is described. Thirty professionals participated in the procedure, of whom 13 were surgeons. No tracheotomy was performed. A mask of the donor's face was made from a mold impression. Duration of the procedure from skin incision to the end of surgery was 7.3 h. The face was perfused with Wisconsin solution through a cannula inserted into the aortic arch between the origin of the brachiocephalic arterial trunk and the left subclavian artery. Blood requirements consisted of 4 units of packed red blood cells. After the procedure, the mask was placed on the donor's face. All recovered grafts functioned immediately. In summary, simultaneous multiorgan procurement including the whole face is feasible, effective and saves time without jeopardizing life-saving organs and without the need for tracheotomy.

Hepatic and pancreatic fat as imaging biomarkers of metabolic syndrome. / Valoración de la grasa hepática y pancreática como biomarcadores de imagen en el síndrome metabólico.

OBJECTIVE: To objectively evaluate hepatic and pancreatic involvement in metabolic syndrome through magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) biomarkers. MATERIAL AND METHODS: From an initial retrospective sample of 407 patients diagnosed with metabolic syndrome studied by MRI in a single center during a 2-year period, 154 were excluded because of a lack of clinical and/or laboratory data, pancreatic abnormalities, or inadequate quality of MRI studies. To measure hepatic and pancreatic fat, we used chemical shift imaging (in-phase and out-of-phase), measuring the fat fraction (%) in regions of interest in the pancreas and liver. Associations between the fat fraction and selected clinical and laboratory variables were assessed with beta regression models. RESULTS: In the end, 253 patients were included. The hepatic fat fraction was 4.9% and the pancreatic fat fraction was 7.9%. We found no significant associations between the hepatic fat fraction and any of the clinical or laboratory variables. However, the pancreatic fat fraction was positively associated with age (OR=1.025, p<0.001) and baseline glucose (OR=1.005, p<0.001). Patients with diabetes had higher values of pancreatic fat fraction (OR=2.64, p=0.038). Pancreatic fat fraction and hepatic fat fraction were positively associated (OR=69.44, p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Pancreatic steatosis can be considered a marker of metabolic syndrome and diabetes. Quantitative MRI enables the diagnosis and grading of fatty pancreas through simple chemical shift techniques.

Processing route to disentangle multi-walled carbon nanotube towards ceramic composite.

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes were highly aggregated into ropes after their synthesis by chemical vapour deposition and, therefore, two different methods for disentangling the bundles of nanotubes were studied. One method compared the use of mild and vigorous mechanical treatments in ethanol and the other one employed dispersants in aqueous media. For comparison purposes and according to their different exfoliating behaviour, sodium dodecyl sulphate and gum arabic were selected as dispersants. The results evidenced that mechanical sonication was insufficient for disentangling the ropes, whereas, the combined action of mild sonication in an ultrasonic bath with the addition of gum arabic to an aqueous suspension containing nanotubes improved the exfoliating performance. Stable suspensions of unbundled multi-walled carbon nanotubes were obtained adding only 0.05 wt% of gum arabic with a dispersant/MWNTs concentration ratio of 0.25. These values corresponded to a reduction in the dispersant concentration between 1 to 2 orders of magnitude compared to those commonly employed. In addition, a processing route for manufacturing dense and homogenous silicon nitride composites using spark plasma sintering with 1.8 vol% of multi-walled carbon nanotubes almost free of organics was developed without nanotubes degradation and aggregation.

[Surgical management of bilateral Wilms' tumor: our experience with 18 cases]. / Manejo quirúrgico del tumor de Wilms bilateral: nuestra experiencia con 18 casos.

AIM: To show our experience in the surgical management of bilateral Wilms' tumor. METHODS: We have reviewed the medical records of 18 patients diagnosed of bilateral Wilms' tumor between 1971 and 2007, evaluating age, sex, clinical situation, imaging studies, histology, treatment, complications and follow-up. RESULTS: 65% of patients with synchronous Wilms' tumor was stage I-II, 30% stage III and 5% stage IV. 100% of patients with metachronous Wilms' tumor was stage I-II. All the tumors had favourable histology. Surgical complications were: 4 bowel pseudobstructions, 2 ureteropielic fistulae and 1 urinary cyst. 15 patients are alive (83%) with a mean follow-up of 12 years. 3 of these patients had a renal trasplant with a good evolution. One patient died of a progressive renal failure and two patients died of the evolution of the oncological disease. CONCLUSIONS: Preoperative chemotherapy allows a conservative surgical resection with a high overall survival (80-90%). Individualized surgical treatment offers a conservative surgical resection with a lower incidence of long-term renal failure.

Correction: The anti-metastatic activity of collagenase-2 in breast cancer cells is mediated by a signaling pathway involving decorin and miR-21.

The original microRNA hybridization data for this article, which has been available for the scientific community upon request, has now been deposited in the GEO repository under accession number GSE124432.

'Brevibacterium ihuae' sp. nov., isolated from a stool sample of a healthy 25-year-old woman.

We report the main characteristics of 'Brevibacterium ihuae' strain cv3T isolated from a stool sample of a healthy 25-year-old woman.

'Collinsella provencensis' sp. nov., 'Parabacteroides bouchesdurhonensis' sp. nov. and 'Sutterella seckii,' sp. nov., three new bacterial species identified from human gut microbiota.

We report here the main characteristics of 'Collinsella provencensis' strain Marseille-P3740 (CSUR P3740), 'Parabacteroides bouchesdurhonensis' strain Marseille-P3763 (CSUR P3763) and 'Sutterella seckii' strain Marseille-P3660 (CSUR P3660), which were isolated using culturomics from the human gut microbiota of healthy individuals living in Marseille.

NF-κB signaling as a driver of ageing.

NF-κB signaling exerts essential roles in immunity and cellular stress responses, regulating many functions related with organism innate defense. Besides, NF-κB altered signaling has been causally linked to ageing and diverse pathological conditions. We discuss herein the functional involvement of this signaling pathway in ageing, visiting recent experimental evidence about NF-κB activation in this complex process, its functional consequences and the novel biological functions raised from these works. Moreover, we discuss ageing intervention strategies based on NF-κB inhibition, which have demonstrated to be effective at delaying and even reverting different ageing manifestations in human and mouse models of both normal and accelerated ageing. Altogether, the current evidence supports that NF-κB activation constitutes a driving force of the ageing process and a preferential target for rejuvenation-aimed approaches.

[Prophylactic thyroidectomy in children at risk for medullary thyroid carcinoma]. / Tiroidectomía profiláctica en pacientes pediátricos con riesgo de carcinoma medular tiroideo.

The medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) is a rare neoplasia occurring during childhood. At present time the molecular examination of the proto-oncogen RET, related to syndromes of multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN II) and familial medullary thyroid carcinoma (FMTC) to allows identify patients with risk of suffering of medullary thyroid carcinoma in early ages, before the disease becomes clinically pronunced. Children with familial antecedents of MEN II or FMTC were biochemically (pentagastrin-stimulated) and genetically studied with the purpose of determining the risk of developing a MTC and in order to assess the possibilities of making a prophylactic thyroidectomy.

[Spigelian hernia: two cases associated to cryptorchidism]. / Hernia de Spiegel: a propósito de 2 casos asociados a criptorquidia.

Spigelian hernia (SH) is rare in children, it occurs primarily en adults the mean age of presentacion is 50 years. We present two patients with hernia associated to cryptorchidism one of them bilateral.

Lymphangioma circumscriptum of the vulva.

Lymphangioma circumscriptum is a benign disease of the lymph ducts and an unusual pathologic process that rarely affects the vulva. The etiology of this lesion is not clear, but obstruction of the lymph vessels has been suggested as a possible cause in some cases. We report the case of a 44-year-old woman with lesions similar to lymphangioma circumscriptum of the vulva and chronic idiopathic lymphedema of the lower right limb. Because there was no obvious cause, we propose that the lymphangioma was caused by the lymphedema.

[Dysfunction of the vocal cords simulating exercise-induced asthma]. / Disfunción de cuerdas vocales simulando asma inducida por el ejercicio.

Vocal cord dysfunction is a respiratory condition characterized by anomalous adduction of the vocal cords during inspiration, causing significant air flow limitation in the larynx. Few such cases have been described in which dysfunction is triggered by exercise. We report the case of a young women with severe dyspnea appearing as a result of physical activity. We first deal with issues of differential diagnosis in relation to several other diseases, particularly exercise-induced asthma and then discuss therapeutic approaches.

[Neurophysiological monitoring in the treatment of pain]. / Monitorización neurofisiológica en la terapia del dolor.

INTRODUCTION: The concept of transynaptic deafferentation secondary to a lesion is the basis of the therapeutic criteria of functional neurosurgery. DEVELOPMENT: Pain due to deafferentation requires clinical neurophysiological techniques for characterization, and when appropriate, for localization of the level of the lesion and the ectopic focus or foci which cause the pain syndrome. However, monitoring therapeutic interventions in the pain clinic is an ever increasing need, and obliges the clinical neurophysiologist to master the range of techniques involved in his specialty, so that he can use the most suitable techniques and methods as required by each condition and/or case. The use of techniques such as micro-recordings of the unitary or multiunitary activity of the nerves or nuclei, intracerebral evoked potentials, nociceptive evoked potentials, reflexology, polysomnography and topography, together with techniques such as percutaneous objective localization of deep nerves, allows quantitative evaluation pre-, intra- and postoperative. CONCLUSION: The development of neuromodulation, and in particular of acute or long-term neurostimulation by use of percutaneous techniques, offers an effective therapeutic option in the field of clinical neurophysiology.

The anti-metastatic activity of collagenase-2 in breast cancer cells is mediated by a signaling pathway involving decorin and miR-21.

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) have been traditionally implicated in cancer progression because of their ability to degrade the extracellular matrix. However, some members of the MMP family have recently been identified as proteases with antitumor properties. Thus, it has been described that collagenase-2 (MMP-8) has a protective role in tumor and metastasis progression, but the molecular mechanisms underlying these effects are unknown. We show herein that Mmp8 expression causes a decrease in miR-21 levels that in turn leads to a reduction in tumor growth and lung metastasis formation by MDA-MB-231 (4175) breast cancer cells. By using both in vitro and in vivo models, we demonstrate that the mechanism responsible for these MMP-8 beneficial effects involves cleavage of decorin by MMP-8 and a subsequent reduction of transforming growth factor ß (TGF-ß) signaling that controls miR-21 levels. In addition, miR-21 downregulation induced by MMP-8 increases the levels of tumor suppressors such as programmed cell death 4, which may also contribute to the decrease in tumor formation and metastasis of breast cancer cells overexpressing this metalloproteinase. These findings reveal a new signaling pathway for cancer regulation controlled by MMP-8, and contribute to clarify the molecular mechanisms by which tumor-defying proteases may exert their protective function in cancer and metastasis.

Combined diffusion and perfusion MR imaging as biomarkers of prognosis in immunocompetent patients with primary central nervous system lymphoma.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: ADC derived from DWI has been shown to correlate with PFS and OS in immunocompetent patients with PCNSL. The purpose of our study was to confirm the validity of ADC measurements as a prognostic biomarker and to determine whether rCBV measurements derived from DSC perfusion MR imaging provide prognostic information. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Pretherapy baseline DWI and DSC perfusion MR imaging in 25 patients with PCNSL was analyzed before methotrexate-based induction chemotherapy. Contrast-enhancing tumor was segmented and coregistered with ADC and rCBV maps, and mean and minimum values were measured. Patients were separated into high or low ADC groups on the basis of previously published threshold values of ADC(min) < 384 × 10(-6) mm(2)/s. High and low rCBV groups were defined on the basis of receiver operating curve analysis. High and low ADC and rCBV groups were analyzed independently and in combination. Multivariate Cox survival analysis was performed. RESULTS: Patients with ADC(min) values < 384 × 10(-6) mm(2)/s or rCBV(mean) values < 1.43 had worse PFS and OS. The patient cohort with combined low ADC(min)-low rCBV(mean) had the worst prognosis. No other variables besides ADC and rCBV significantly affected survival. CONCLUSIONS: Our study reinforces the validity of ADC values as a prognostic biomarker and provides the first evidence of low tumor rCBV as a novel risk factor for adverse prognosis in immunocompetent patients with PCNSL.

[Caustic burns of the esophagus in childhood. Our 14 years' experience]. / Causticación de esófago en la infancia. Nuestra experiencia de catorce años.

A 14-years revision (1972-1986) is made of 3,600 children attended to after ingesting some type of caustic agent. Only 81 were admitted to hospital. We found a predominance in the 1-3 year age group. Bleach was the caustic most frequently present but lye accounted for most major lesions. The more relevant symptoms were oropharyngeal lesions (85%), vomiting (26%) and sialorrhea (20%). Oropharyngeal burns was the sign most often found in esophageal lesions (45%). The ingestion of ordinary household bleach did not result in serious esophageal lesions nor posterior complications, and does not require esophagoscopy if no other symptom except vomiting is present. Esophagoscopy is the ideal means for evaluating esophageal lesions, as are esophageal dilatations with Rehbein dilators for stenosis due to scarring. With the use of corticosteroids in the acute phase, there were 8 cases (22%) of esophageal stenosis out of 36 with lesions.