Treatment of non-odontogenic orofacial pain using botulinum toxin-A: a retrospective case series study

Background The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical outcomes of treatment of non-odontogenic atypical orofacial pain using botulinum toxin-A. Methods This study involved seven patients (seven females, mean age 65.1 years) who had non-odontogenic orofacial pain (neuropathic pain and atypical orofacial pain) and visited the Seoul National University Bundang Hospital between 2015 and 2017. All medication therapies were preceded by botulinum toxin-A injections, followed by injections in the insignificant effects of medication therapies. Five of the seven patients received intraoral injections in the gingival vestibule or mucosa, while the remaining two received extraoral injections in the masseter and temporal muscle areas. Results In five of the seven patients, pain after botulinum toxin-A injection was significantly reduced. Most of the patients who underwent surgery for dental implantation or facial nerve reconstruction recovered after injections. However, the pain did not disappear in two patients who reported experiencing persistent pain without any cause. Conclusions The use of botulinum toxin-A for the treatment of non-odontogenic neuropathic orofacial pain is clinically useful. It is more effective to administer botulinum toxin-A in combination with other medications and physical therapy to improve pain

Angleâ Insensitive and CMOSâ Compatible Subwavelength Color Printing

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/134900/1/adom201600287_am.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/134900/2/adom201600287.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/134900/3/adom201600287-sup-0001-S1.pd

Antioxidant effect of lidocaine and procaine on reactive oxygen species-induced endothelial dysfunction in the rabbit abdominal aorta

Background: Reactive oxygen species (ROS) induce lipid peroxidation and tissue damage in the endothelium. We tested the antioxidant effect of lidocaine and procaine on ROS-induced endothelial damage in the rabbit aorta. Methods: Aortic rings isolated from rabbits were suspended in an organ bath filled with Krebs-Henseleit (K-H) solution bubbled with 5% CO2 and 95% O 2 at 37.5??C. After precontraction with phenylephrine (PE, 10 -6 M), changes in tension were recorded following a cumulative administration of acetylcholine (ACh 3 ?? 10-8 to 10 -6 M). Differences were measured as percentages of ACh-induced relaxation of aortic rings before and after exposure to ROS as generated by electrolysis of the K-H solution. The aortic rings were pretreated with lidocaine or procaine (10-5 M to 3 ?? 10-3 M) to compare their effects, as well as ROS scavengers, catalase, mannitol, sodium salicylate, and deferoxamine, and a catalase inhibitor, 3-amino-1,2,4-triazole (3AT). Results: Lidocaine and procaine dose-dependently maintained endothelium-dependent relaxation induced by ACh despite ROS activity (P < 0.05 vs control value). The 3AT pretreated procaine (3 ?? 10-3 M) group decreased more significantly than the un-pretreated procaine group (P < 0.05). Conclusions: These findings suggest that lidocaine and procaine dose-dependently preserve endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation against ROS attack, potentially via hydrogen peroxide scavenging. Copyright ?? Korean Society of Anesthesiologists, 2010

Adjunctive biomarkers for improving diagnosis of tuberculosis and monitoring therapeutic effects

SummaryObjectivesTo identify host biomarkers associated with latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI), active tuberculosis (TB), and nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) diseases to improve diagnosis and effective anti-TB treatment.MethodsActive TB and NTM patients at diagnosis, recent TB contacts, and normal healthy subjects were recruited. Tuberculin skin tests, QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube tests, and multiplex bead arrays with 17 analytes were performed. TB patients were re-evaluated after 2 and 6 months of treatment.ResultsMycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb) antigen-specific IFN-γ, IL-2, and CXCL10 responses were significantly higher in active TB and LTBI compared with controls (P < 0.01). Only serum VEGF levels varied between the active TB and LTBI groups (AUC = 0.7576, P < 0.001). Active TB and NTM diseases were differentiated by serum IL-2, IL-9, IL-13, IL-17, TNF-α and sCD40L levels (P < 0.05). Increased sCD40L and decreased M. tb antigen-specific IFN-γ levels correlated with sputum clearance of M. tb after 2 months of treatment (P < 0.001).ConclusionsSerum IL-2, IL-9, IL-13, IL-17, TNF-α, sCD40L and VEGF-A levels may be adjunctive biomarkers for differential diagnosis of active TB, LTBI, and NTM disease. Assessment of serum sCD40L and M. tb antigen-specific IFN-γ, TNF-α, and IL-2 levels could help predict successful anti-TB treatment in conjunction with M. tb clearance

Anti-amyloidogenic effect of menaquinone-7 on betaamyloid production and aggregation

Purpose: To investigate the beneficial effects of menaquinone-7 (MK-7), an isoform of vitamin K2, against beta-amyloid (Aβ) production and aggregation in Alzheimer's disease using in vitro assays. Methods: The cytotoxicity of MK-7 was determined by MTT assay. The amount of Aβ produced and secreted into the supernatant by APP-CHO cells treated with MK-7 was evaluated by ELISA. The expression of β-secretases and ADAM10, a representative α-secretase, was determined using western blot analysis. The production of sAPPβ and sAPPα fragments generated by β-secretases and αsecretase, respectively, were also determined by western blot analysis. The effect on Aβ aggregation was assessed using Thioflavin T (Th T) assay. Results: MK-7 (up to 75 nM) significantly decreased Aβ production in APP-CHO cells. This was accompanied by decreased expression of β-secretase and lower production of sAPPβ (p &lt; 0.05). However, expression of ADAM10 and production of sAPPα were not significantly affected. In contrast, MK-7 significantly decreased Aβ aggregation in a dose-dependent manner (p &lt; 0.05). Conclusion: MK-7 exerts anti-amyloidogenic effects via decreased production and lower aggregation of Aβ into oligomers and fibrils. Therefore, dietary supplementation with MK-7 may be beneficial for the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease

Physical properties and biological effects of mineral trioxide aggregate mixed with methylcellulose and calcium chloride

Objectives: Methylcellulose (MC) is a chemical compound derived from cellulose. MTA mixed with MC reduces setting time and increases plasticity. This study assessed the influence of MC as an anti-washout ingredient and CaCl2 as a setting time accelerator on the physical and biological properties of MTA. Material and Methods: Test materials were divided into 3 groups; Group 1(control): distilled water; Group 2: 1% MC/CaCl2; Group 3: 2% MC/CaCl2. Compressive strength, pH, flowability and cell viability were tested. The gene expression of bone sialoprotein (BSP) was detected by RT-PCR and real­ time PCR. The expression of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and mineralization behavior were evaluated using an ALP staining and an alizarin red staining. Results: Compressive strength, pH, and cell viability of MTA mixed with MC/CaCl2 were not significantly different compared to the control group. The flowability of MTA with MC/CaCI2 has decreased significantly when compared to the control (

Titanium dioxide nanoparticles oral exposure to pregnant rats and its distribution

Background: Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles are among the most manufactured nanomaterials in the industry, and are used in food products, toothpastes, cosmetics and paints. Pregnant women as well as their conceptuses may be exposed to TiO2 nanoparticles; however, the potential effects of these nanoparticles during pregnancy are controversial, and their internal distribution has not been investigated. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the potential effects of oral exposure to TiO2 nanoparticles and their distribution during pregnancy. TiO2 nanoparticles were orally administered to pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats (12 females per group) from gestation days (GDs) 6 to 19 at dosage levels of 0, 100, 300 and 1000 mg/kg/day, and then cesarean sections were conducted on GD 20. Results: In the maternal and embryo-fetal examinations, there were no marked toxicities in terms of general clinical signs, body weight, food consumption, organ weights, macroscopic findings, cesarean section parameters and fetal morphological examinations. In the distribution analysis, titanium contents were increased in the maternal liver, maternal brain and placenta after exposure to high doses of TiO2 nanoparticles. Conclusion: Oral exposure to TiO2 during pregnancy increased the titanium concentrations in the maternal liver, maternal brain and placenta, but these levels did not induce marked toxicities in maternal animals or affect embryo-fetal development. These results could be used to evaluate the human risk assessment of TiO2 nanoparticle oral exposure during pregnancy, and additional comprehensive toxicity studies are deemed necessary considering the possibility of complex exposure scenarios and the various sizes of TiO2 nanoparticles

Natural-mixing guided design of refractory high-entropy alloys with as-cast tensile ductility

Multi-principal-element metallic alloys have created a growing interest that is unprecedented in metallurgical history, in exploring the property limits of metals and the governing physical mechanisms. Refractory high-entropy alloys (RHEAs) have drawn particular attention due to their (i) high melting points and excellent softening-resistance, which are the two key requirements for high-temperature applications; and (ii) compositional space, which is immense even after considering cost and recyclability restrictions. However, RHEAs also exhibit intrinsic brittleness and oxidation-susceptibility, which remain as significant challenges for their processing and application. Here, utilizing natural-mixing characteristics amongst refractory elements, we designed a Ti38V15Nb23Hf24 RHEA that exhibits >20% tensile ductility already at the as-cast state, and physicochemical stability at high-temperatures. Exploring the underlying deformation mechanisms across multiple length-scales, we observe that a rare beta prime precipitation strengthening mechanism governs its intriguing mechanical response. These results also reveal the effectiveness of natural-mixing tendencies in expediting HEA discovery.Comment: 31 pages, 4 figures in the maintext; 2 tables and 18 figures in the supplementary informatio