A higher Angiogenin expression is associated with a non-nuclear Maspin location in laryngeal carcinoma

Objectives. In numerous malignancies, angiogenin (ANG) and Maspin are important proangiogenic and antiangiogenic regulators, respectively. The aim of this study was to identify potential relationships between the biological roles of these two proteins in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC). Methods. Immunohistochemical staining for ANG and Maspin was performed on specimens from 76 consecutive LSCC patients treated with surgery alone, considering the subcellular pattern of Maspin expression. Univariate and multivariate statistical models were used for prognostic purposes. Results. On univariate analysis, a different level of ANG expression was seen for patients stratified by subcellular Maspin expression pattern: the mean ANG expression was higher in cases with a nonnuclear MASPIN expression than in those with a nuclear pattern (P=0.002). Disease-free survival (DFS; in months) differed significantly when patients were stratified by N stage (P=0.01). Patients whose Maspin expression was nonnuclear (i.e., it was cytoplasmic or there was none) had a significantly higher recurrence rate (P<0.001), and shorter DFS (P=0.01) than those with a nuclear Maspin pattern. The mean ANG expression was significantly higher in cases with loco-regional recurrent disease (P=0.007); and patients with an ANG expression 655.0% had a significantly shorter DFS than those with an ANG expression <5.0% (P=0.007). On multivariate analysis, ANG expression 655.0% was a significant, independent, negative prognostic factor in terms of DFS (P=0.041). Conclusion. Our results support the hypothesis that a higher ANG expression is associated with a nonnuclear Maspin expression pattern in patients with LSCC. Further studies are needed to clarify the relationship between the ANG and Maspin pathways, and their potential diagnostic and therapeutic role in LSCC

Blood Eosinophil and Basophil Values Before and After Surgery for Eosinophilic-type Sinonasal Polyps.

Background Blood eosinophil and basophil levels have recently been considered for the purpose of endotyping chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP). Histologically, eosinophilic-type CRSwNPs have been associated with high recurrence rates after treatment. Objective The present study was the first to compare blood eosinophil and basophil counts in eosinophilic-type CRSwNP patients before and after endoscopic sinus surgery. Methods The study concerned 79 consecutive patients with histologically confirmed eosinophilic-type CRSwNP treated with endoscopic sinus surgery. Results A significant drop in mean blood eosinophil counts and percentages occurred from before to after endoscopic sinus surgery in the cohort as a whole. Mean blood eosinophil counts and percentages were also reduced after surgery in the subcohorts of CRSwNP patients with (i) asthma, (ii) aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease (AERD), and (iii) no allergy. Although blood eosinophil and basophil counts correlated directly before and after surgery, a statistical reduction in blood basophil counts and percentages after surgery emerged only in the subcohort of nonallergic CRSwNP patients. Conclusion Endoscopic sinus surgery can clear polyps, remove inflammatory tissue, and reduce inflammatory cytokine levels. Consistently with the biological mechanism described, endoscopic sinus surgery could coincide with a reduction in blood eosinophils in eosinophilic-type CRSwNP

Non-eosinophilic chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps: blood eosinophil, basophil, and neutrophil counts before and after surgery.

Objectives: Research selectively investigating non-eosinophilic chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) is lacking. The inflammatory patterns seen in non-eosinophilic CRSwNP are still poorly understood. The present study is the first to compare blood eosinophil, basophil, and neutrophil counts before/after surgery in patients with non-eosinophilic CRSwNP stratified by their clinical features. Methods: The study concerned 107 consecutive patients with histologically confirmed non-eosinophilic CRSwNP who underwent endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS). Results: Statistical analysis ruled out any significant change in mean blood eosinophil, basophil, and neutrophil counts after ESS. A significant positive correlation emerged between blood eosinophil and basophil counts in both pre- and post- ESS laboratory tests. In the subcohort of allergic patients, a significant negative correlation was found after ESS between eosinophil and neutrophil levels and between basophil and neutrophil levels. Conclusions: In eosinophilic CRSwNP, ESS can clear polyps, remove inflammatory tissue, and reduce the inflammatory cytokines it generates, with a consequent reduction in blood eosinophil levels. The different results in non-eosinophilic CRSwNP support the conviction that the 2 types of CRSwNP are entities with distinct inflammatory response patterns

Immediate versus delayed loading of dental implants in edentulous maxillae: a 36-month prospective study

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to compare survival rates and radiographic outcomes of immediate and delayed implant loading in edentulous maxillae. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty-nine patients in need of maxillary full-arch treatment were randomized into two groups: test group (n = 34) treated following the Columbus Bridge Protocol with 4 to 6 implants loaded within 24 hours and a control group (n = 15) treated following the ad modum Branemark protocol with 6 to 9 implants loaded a mean 8.75 months after surgery. Two hundred sixty implants (test: n = 163, control: n = 97) were placed, and subjects were treated with screw-retained full-arch prostheses. Bone levels were measured at baseline and at 1, 2, and 3 years and analyzed using repeated-measures analysis of variance. RESULTS: All patients appeared at all scheduled recall visits. No differences in cumulative survival rates were found between groups at 36 months. Ten implants (6.1%) failed in the test group; four (4.1%) failed in the control group. At 36 months, no prosthetic failures were detected. Significantly less bone loss was found in the test group at all time intervals (P < .001). The average bone level from the implant-abutment connection was 1.3 mm in the test group and 1.9 mm in the control group at 12 months, 1.5 mm and 2.2 mm at 24 months, and 1.6 mm and 2.3 mm at 36 months, respectively. CONCLUSION: In the edentulous maxilla, the Columbus Bridge Protocol involving immediate loading of implants placed in both healed and fresh extraction sites exhibited equivalent implant survival and less marginal bone loss at 3 years compared to the conventional two-stage delayed loading protocol

The use of a masticatory robot to analyze the shock absorption capacity of different restorative materials for implant prosthesis

The aim of the present research was to measure in vitro the chewing load forces transmitted through crowns made of different prosthetic restorative materials onto the dental implant. A masticatory robot that is able to reproduce the mandibular movements and the forces exerted during mastication was used. The forces transmitted to the simulated periimplant bone during the robot mastication were analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used. The zirconia and the ceramic crowns transmitted significantly greater forces (p-value &lt; 0.0001) than the other crowns tested. Dental materials with lower elastic modulus were better able to ansorb shock from acclusal forces than more rigid materials