Salivary proteomic biomarkers of oral squamous cell carcinoma

Objectives. The aim of the present study is to investigate the presence of proteomic signatures of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC) in saliva and their use as potential biomarkers for early and non-invasive diagnosis, as well as prognostication. Methods. Saliva from 45 OSCC patients and 30 healthy controls was analysed by SELDI-TOF mass spectrometry and ProteinChip\uae technology. Proteomic profiles were tested with differential expression analysis and fold change of protein peaks, principal component analysis, Spearman rank correlation test and hierarchical clustering in order to identify a list of peaks of interest representative of controls, N- and N+ cases. Those peaks were used in a supervised artificial neural network in order to classify samples according to the following conditions: controls vs OSCC, controls vs N-, and controls vs N+. Results. When compared with controls, four peaks (i.e. 6913, 11948, 13287 and 27280 m/z) were significantly altered in both N- group and N+ group; four peaks (i.e. 3353, 3433, 3482 and 4136 m/z) were selectively altered in Ngroup; eight peaks were selectively altered in N+ group (i.e. 4038, 7133, 11755, 13746, 13841, 14264, 16807, 17127 m/z). Those peaks were capable to classify 100% of cases and controls, thus being potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for OSC

Smart Analogue Sampler for the Optical Module of a Cherenkov Neutrino Detector

A transient waveform sampler/recorder IC has been developed and realized in AMS C35B4 technology. This chip has been designed to fit the needs of a proposal for a front-end architecture for the readout of the anode signal of the photomultipliers in an underwater neutrino telescope. The design is based around a 3 channels x 32 cells switched capacitor array unit sampling its voltage inputs at 200MHz external clock rate and transferring the stored analogue voltage samples to its single analogue output at 1/10th of the sampling rate. This unit is replicated inside the ASIC providing 4 independent analogue sampling queues for signal transients up to 32 x 5 ns and a fifth unit storing transients up to 128 x 5 ns. A micro-pipelined unit, based on Muller C-gates, controls the 5 independent samplers. This paper briefly summarizes the complete front-end architecture and discusses in more detail the internal structure of the ASIC and its first functional tests

Oral health status and periodontitis in Alzheimer's disease patients: A case control Study in a Sicilian rural community

Aim. Dementia is a common disorder among the elderly. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia. In addition to known risk factors (e.g. age and familiarity) of AD, recently it has been suggested a possible promoting role for chronic inflammatory infective diseases. Periodontal disease (PD) is a frequent chronic multi-bacterial infection involving the tissues supporting the teeth; in addition to promoting inflammation locally, the periodontal pathogens possess mechanisms able to influence the systemic balance of inflammatory mediators. Similarly to other systemic diseases (e.g. cardiovascular disease, diabetes, renal diseases and low birth weight), a possible link has been proposed between PD and the development and progression of AD. Aim of the present study was to evaluate the oral health status and the prevalence/severity of PD in a group of patients affected by AD compared to a control group of healthy subjects. Materials and methods. A case-controlled clinical trial was designed to compare patients with AD (Test group - T; n = 16; M: 8; F: 8, range age 64-93 yrs) with healthy controls (Control group - C; n = 16; M: 8; F:8; range age 64-92 yrs). The population study was named ZAP (Zabut Aging Project) and all participants, enrolled in a Sicilian rural community (Sambuca di Sicilia, AG, Italy), were matched for age and sex. Following variables were recorded: smoking and drinking habits, number of teeth, Decayed Missed Filled Teeth scoring (DMFT), measurement of the probing depth (CPI and PSR index). The association between AD and PD, socio-demographic and behavioural-clinical variables was assessed using the χ2 test or Fisher’s exact test, as appropriate. To measure the association level, crude OR and the 95% Confidence Interval (CI) were calculated. Statistical significance of the difference in the average DMFT between cases and controls was assessed using the Student’s t-test. A p value ≤0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results. One patient of T group was a smoker versus four of C group; four T patients were drinker versus two of C group. Seven of T group (43.7%) were totally edentulous, conversely only 2 (12.5%) of controls have the same condition (p=0.04). With respect to oral status, DMFT index was 23.7 ±9.0 in T patients versus 25.2±7.8 in controls (p=0.633). There were no significant differences between T and C groups regarding periodontal index: high PSR and CPI scores (>3) were recorded in 77.8% of AD patients and 46.1% of health cases (p >0.05). A similar distribution among two groups was observed regarding the other investigated variables (e.g. smoking and drinking habits). Conclusions. In this rural Sicilian adult/elderly community, poor oral health is frequent with a DMFT score higher than general population. The obtained data do not support the hypothesis of a major prevalence and severity of PD among AD patients. However, to confirm these preliminary results the recruitment of a wider sample size and further data, regarding proteomic salivary profiles and RT PCR-based microbiological investigation on sub-gingival plaque samples, still need in order to better clarify the role of PD and periodontal pathogens in the AD natural history

RNASET2 as a tumor antagonizing gene in a melanoma cancer model

The RNASET2 gene, mapped in 6q27, was previously found to exert control of tumorigenesis in an ovarian cancer system. We present here results indicating a similar control in a melanoma cancer model. Thus, this gene is most likely involved in a common general pathway of tumorigenesis. Moreover, its antitumorigenic activity is manifested in vivo but not in vitro, suggesting that this gene belongs to the growing category of tumor antagonizing/malignancy suppressor genes. A possible role of RNASET2 in the activation of a senescence program, whose responsible locus was mapped in the same chromosomal 6q27 region, seems to be inconsistent with our data

Paresthesia of the lip caused by a large osteoma of the mandible treated with a conservative approach: a case report.”

This study focused on a case of paresthesia of the right lip caused by an extensive osteoma of the mandible

RESTITUTIO AD INTEGRUM IN A CASE OF ONJ RELATED TO BEVACIZUMAB

Aim. Bevacizumab is a humanized recombinant monoclonal antibody that blocks vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). The activity of VEGF is the ability to promote the vascular endothelial cells proliferation inducing the formation of new blood vessels. Bevacizumab is used in the treatment of selected advanced colon, lung, renal and central nervous system tumours and plays a developing role in the management of breast and ovarian cancers. It is also injected intraocularly for treatment of macular degeneration. Recently, bevacizumab has been reported as responsible of drug-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ), showing a histological pattern similar to bisphosphonate-related ONJ. Moreover, it may increase the risk for osteonecrosis of the jaw when administered in isolation or when given concurrently with bisphosphonates. Materials and methods. Only few case reports in literature have been reported describing ONJ after bevacizumab administration. In June 2011, a 57-year-old female patient was referred to our department for pain in the left posterior mandibular region. She reported the following anamnestic data: in 2002, for the diagnosis of breast cancer, she underwent to left quadrantectomy and radiant treatment; from October 2010, she was receiving multimodal chemotherapy containing bevacizumab. No previous treatment with bisphosphonates, or other known local and systemic risk factors were reported. Intraoral examination showed a painful area of bone exposure in the left posterior lingual mandible. The surrounding soft tissue was erythematous with purulent discharge and with swelling of the extraoral soft tissue of the left mandible. After interaction with her oncologist, bevacizumab has been suspended and systemic antibiotic (ampicillina/sulbactam intramuscularly twice daily for 8 days and metronidazole 250mg per os twice daily for 8 days), local antiseptics (chlorhexidine 0.2% mouth rinses and 0.5% chlorhexidine gel) were administered. Results. After 15 days, she showed a complete healing after spontaneous sequestration of a necrotic bone fragment. Conclusions. The antiangiogenic and antiresorptive effects of bevacizumab are dose-dependent and time-dependent. Probably this implies that angiogenesis, bone remodelling and healing processes should restart after drug cessation. The present case supports the necessity to apply BRONJ prevention protocol also in patients in therapy with bevacizumab