Lightening dark dental radiograph

Abstract Radiograph should be of diagnostic quality for proper diagnosis. Dark radiographs are most commonly encountered faults in dental radiography which renders the radiograph useless. Such faulty radiograph requires a retake of the radiograph which causes unnecessary exposure to the patient and waste of precious time. Hence, a simple method is required which could salvage a dark radiograph. This article describes various methods used for lightening a dark radiograph along with a simple method like scraping the emulsion

Dental consultation in patients planned for/undergoing/post radiation therapy for head and neck cancers: A questionnaire-based survey

Background: Mouth and pharyngeal cancers account for approximately 6% of cancers worldwide. Radiotherapy is one of the means of treatment of head and neck cancer. Consultation with a dental team experienced in caring for patients undergoing treatment for head and neck cancer will improve the quality of life of such patients. Aims and Objectives: To evaluate the attitude of oncologists toward dental consultation to patients planning for/prior to/undergoing/post radiation therapy for head and neck cancers and to evaluate the number of radiation oncologists who encounter oral complaints and consider worth referring to a dentist. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire-based study was carried out following mailing of covering letter and self-administered questionnaire comprising 11 items, to 25 radiation oncology centers selected in India based on convenient sampling. Results: Out of the 25 centers, we received response from 20 centers with 60 completely filled questionnaires. Five centers did not respond for further correspondences. Conclusion: The study indicated a need for awareness and education among radiation oncologists regarding dental consultation in patients planned/undergoing /post radiation therapy for head and neck cancer

Evolution of proteomic biomarker for chronic liver disease

Liver is the vital organ for synthesis of proteins whose concentration in blood reflects liver dysfunction. Variations in protein domain can generate clinically significant biomarkers. Biomarker pipeline includes discovery of candidates, qualification, verification, assay optimization, and validation. Advances in proteomic approach can discover protein biomarker candidates based on “up-or-down” regulation or fold change in expression which is correlated with disease state. Despite numerous biomarker candidates been discovered, only few are useful in clinical practice which indicates the need for well-established validation regimen. Hence, the main purpose of this review is to understand the protein biomarker development and pitfalls. Companion diagnostics provide insights into potential cost-effective diagnosis for chronic liver disease

Chronic bilateral dislocation of temporomandibular joint

Dislocation of the condyle of the mandible is a common condition that may occur in an acute or chronic form. It is characterised by inability to close the mouth with or without pain. Dislocation has to be differentiated from subluxation which is a self reducible condition. Dislocation can occur in any direction with anterior dislocation being the commonest one. Various predisposing factors have been associated with dislocation like muscle fatigue and spasm, the defect in the bony surface like shallow articular eminence, and laxity of the capsular ligament. People with defect in collagen synthesis like Ehler Danlos syndrome, Marfan syndrome are said to be genetically predisposed to this condition. Various treatment modalities have been used ranging from conservative techniques to surgical methods. Acute dislocations can be reduced manually or with conservative approach and recurrent and chronic cases can be reduced by surgical intervention. Though the dislocation in our case was 4 months a simple manual reduction proved to be successful. We believe that manual reduction can be attempted as first line of treatment prior to surgical intervention

A proteomic approach of biomarker candidate discovery for alcoholic liver cirrhosis

Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) progresses from steatosis to alcoholic hepatitis to fibrosis and cirrhosis. Liver biopsy is considered as the gold standard method for diagnosis of liver cirrhosis and provides useful information about damaging process which is an invasive procedure with complications. Existing biomarkers in clinical practice have narrow applicability due to lack of specificity and lack of sensitivity. The objective of this article is to identify proteomic biomarker candidates for alcoholic liver cirrhosis by differential expression analysis between alcoholic liver cirrhotic and healthy subjects. Blood samples were collected from 20 subjects (10 alcoholic liver cirrhosis and 10 healthy) from R. L. Jalapa Hospital and Research Centre, Kolar, Karnataka, India. Differential protein analysis was carried out by two-dimensional electrophoresis after albumin depletion, followed by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry. The image analysis found 46 spots in cirrhotic gel and 69 spots in healthy gel, of which 14 spots were identified with significant altered expression levels. Based on the protein score and clinical significance, among 14 spots, a total of 28 protein biomarker candidates were identified: 13 with increased expression and 15 with decreased expression were categorized in alcoholic liver cirrhosis compared to healthy subjects. Protein biomarker candidates identified by “-omics” approach based on differential expression between alcoholic liver cirrhotic subjects and healthy subjects may give better insights for diagnosis of ALD. Prioritization of candidates identified is a prerequisite for validation regimen. Biomarker candidates require verification that demonstrates the differential expression will remain detectable by assay to be used for validation

Case Note Mucoepidermoid carcinoma: "A Mimicker"?

Abstract Neoplasms of the sublingual salivary glands are very rare and comprise only between 0.5% and 1% of all epithelial salivary tumors and approximately 1.5% of all carcinomas of the major salivary glands. Mucoepidermoid carcinomas were fi rst described by Masson and Berger in 1924. This paper reports a case of well differentiated mucoepidermoid carcinoma in the fl oor of the mouth which clinically and cytologically mimicked the tumour of perineural invasion,adenoid cystic carcinoma