Subcutaneous tissue reaction to castor oil bean and calcium hydroxide in rats

Castor oil bean cement (COB) is a new material that has been used as an endodontic sealer, and is a candidate material for direct pulp capping. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the biocompatibility of a new formulation of COB compared to calcium hydroxide cement (CH) and a control group without any material, in the subcutaneous tissue of rats. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The materials were prepared, packed into polyethylene tubes, and implanted in the rat dorsal subcutaneous tissue. Animals were sacrificed at the 7th and 50th days after implantation. A quantitative analysis of inflammatory cells was performed and data were subjected to ANOVA and Tukey's tests at 5% significance level. RESULTS: Comparing the mean number of inflammatory cells between the two experimental groups (COB and CH) and the control group, statistically significant difference (p=0.0001) was observed at 7 and 50 days. There were no significant differences (p=0.111) between tissue reaction to CH (382 inflammatory cells) and COB (330 inflammatory cells) after 7 days. After 50 days, significantly more inflammatory cells (p=0.02) were observed in the CH group (404 inflammatory cells) than in the COB group (177 inflammatory cells). CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrate that the COB cement induces less inflammatory response within long periods

Factors associated with total cholesterol levels in women around menopause attending menopause clinics in Italy

OBJECTIVE: To obtain data on correlates of total cholesterol (TC) levels in women around menopause attending menopause clinics in Italy. METHODS: Since 1997, a large cross-sectional study has been conducted concerning the characteristics of women around the time of the menopause attending a network of first-level menopause out-patient clinics in Italy for general counselling about the menopause or treatment of menopausal symptoms. Women observed consecutively at the participating centers were eligible for the study. Up to March 2000, TC was measured in 23 018 cases, which are considered in this analysis. RESULTS: The adjusted mean level of TC rose with age, from 216 mg/dl in women aged 57 years. Mean TC increased with body mass index (BMI, kg/m2), being 224 mg/dl in women with BMI 26. Considering menopausal status, the crude mean TC level was 216 mg/dl in premenopausal women, 227 mg/dl in women reporting a surgical menopause and 229 mg/dl in women reporting a natural menopause. These differences were still present when the analysis took into account the effect of age and other potential covariates, the adjusted values being 221, 225 and 227, respectively. Similar findings emerged when we considered the distribution of study subjects according to selected levels of TC ( 250 mg/dl vs. 57 years in comparison with women aged 26 vs. < 24, and for women in spontaneous menopause vs. premenopause, were all 1.2 (all statistically significant). CONCLUSIONS: This analysis, based on a large data set, confirms the role of overweight as a determinant of TC in postmenopausal women, and indicates the role of the menopause as a determinant of TC level in women aged 50-60 years