Burning Mouth Syndrome in Zahedan; the Southeast of Islamic Republic of Iran

Statement of Problem: Burning mouth syndrome (BMS) is characterized by a burning sensation in the tongue or other oral sites, usually in the absence of clinical and laboratory findings.Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the main epidemiological and clinical features involved in burning mouth syndrome in Zahedan; southeast of Iran.Materials and Methods: In this case series study, 89 BMS patients were selected from those referred to the Department of the Oral Medicine, Faculty of Dentistry, and Khatam-ol-anbia, central hospital, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, during2002 to 2003. The study group consisted of 62 female (69.7%) and 27 male (30.3 %)patients, with a mean age of 60.9 years, ranging from 40 to 89 years. In all cases a study protocol, specially designed for this disease was completed, including general, medical and oral information and an intraoral examination. Comparative and descriptivestatistical analysis was performed. The Chi-square test was considered significant at p<0.05.Results: The 50-59 years age group showed the highest prevalence among the studied cases (24.3%). The tongue was the most frequent location of symptoms, affected in 86 patients (96.6%). In addition to the burning sensation, 25.8% and 48.3% of the patientscomplained of oral dryness and dysgusia, respectively. Type III BMS was the most common subtype (50.6%). In women, 90.3% were postmenopausal. Type II diabetes was observed in 36% of the patients and 37.1% suffered from respiratory disease,23.6% from gastritis, 15.7% from liver diseases, 30.3% from renal disease, 40.4% fromhypertension and 43.8% had sleep disorders. Also, 52.8% revealed seasonal allergy,32.6% had temporomandibular joint disorders and 59.6% had poor oral hygiene.Conclusion: BMS is a complex and multifactorial disease process in which numerous possible etiologies must be eliminated before the proper treatment can be initiated

Ultrastructural Study of Neutrophils in Fetal Rat Spleen Following Lead Intoxication

Introduction: Lead is one of the heavy metals that have adverse effects on blood cellsand hemopoiesis. In this study the ultrastructure of neutrophils in fetal rat spleen wereinvestigated following lead intoxication. Material and Methods: Thirty female and 6 male Sprague-Dawley rats were chosenby simple random sampling. After mating the pregnant rats were classified into test and controlgroups. From the first day of pregnancy the test group was provided ad lib with watercontaining 0.13% lead acetate and the control group had access to distilled water. After birth 10newborn in each group were chosen by systematic random sampling. The spleens of thenewborn rats were fixed in a solution of 2% glutaraldehyde, and after processing, sections werestudied by a transmission electron microscope. Results: The ultrastructural changes included: irregular nuclei with deep invagination,plasma membrane pockets, presence of vacuoles with a heterogeneous material and anincreasing incidence of rough endoplasmic reticulum with dilated cisternae. No differencesbetween the groups were observed in the mitochondrial morphology and pattern of cytoplasmicgranules (primary granules with electron dense appearance and specific or secondary granuleswith less electron density and heterogeneous appearance). Conclusion: Lead transmitted via the placenta can affect the ultrastructure, and mostprobably the function, of fetal neutrophils. More attention must be given to the dangers of leadpollution of the environment and the need to eliminate exposure to lead in work place