Epithelium-poor Odontogenic Fibroma with an Unusual Progress

Odontogenic fibroma (OF) is a relatively rare benign tumor derived from odontogenic ectodermal mesenchymal tissue. It is divided into central (COF) or peripheral OF (POF) based on the affected area. Regarding its pathological features, OF can also be classified as epithelium-rich (WHO type) or epithelium-poor (simple type), depending on the amount of odontogenic epithelium in the tumor. There is limited information available about the latter type because of its low incidence. We report case of simple type COF apparently like POF. A 52- year-old Japanese male was suffering from tenderness at the right posterior maxilla during occlusion with his removable partial denture. The lesion was diagnosed as a simple type OF arising at the edentulous region around the right molar site of the maxilla. A tumor resection was performed, and there was no evidence of recurrence at his 18-month follow-up examination. In addition, we provide a review of the literature with the most up-to-date information about this lesion so that it can be diagnosed correctly

Clinical Safety Assessment of Autologous Freeze-Drying Platelet-Rich Plasma for Bone Regeneration in Maxillary Sinus Floor Augmentation: A Pilot Study

The purpose of this clinical study is to evaluate the safety and preliminary efficacy of autologous freeze-drying platelet-rich plasma (FD-PRP) on bone regeneration in maxillary sinus floor augmentation as a preliminary pilot study. Five patients that required sinus floor augmentation to facilitate the placement of dental implants participated in this clinical study. The PRP was prepared from the autologous peripheral blood and was lyophilized and stored at −20 °C for 4 weeks before surgery. At surgery, triple-concentrated FD-PRP (x3FD-PRP) mixed with synthetic bone grafting materials was rehydrated following the transplantation into the sinus floor. The primary outcome was a safety verification of x3FD-PRP, evaluated in terms of the clinical course and consecutive blood tests. The secondary outcome was clinical efficacy focused on bone regeneration in sinus floor augmentation evaluated by radiographic examination and implant stability. There were no adverse events, such as systemic complications, excessive inflammatory reactions, severe infection, or local site healing complications, besides those on the usual course associated with surgery. Vertical augmented height was maintained, and the initial stability of implants was achieved post-operatively in 6 months. The results obtained in this study suggest that x3FD-PRP can be used safely for bone engineering in clinical practice. Further studies are required to draw a conclusion concerning the efficacy of x3FD-PRP since this was a pilot study with a single arm and a small sample size

Marginal Mandibulectomy for Lower Gingival Carcinoma With a Cheek-Splitting Transbuccal Approach and Reconstruction by Buccal Fat Pad Flap: A Case Report

In cases of malignant tumor at the posterior region of the mandibular gingiva, a submandibular approach is usually chosen for secure resection of the lesion. This technique allows a good view of the surgical site and makes the operative procedure relatively easy. However, this approach is more surgically invasive and increases the operating time. On the other hand, it is difficult to resect the tumor with sufficient safety margin via an intraoral approach.We present a case of squamous cell carcinoma arising at the posterior mandibular gingiva that was completely resected via a cheek-splitting transbucal approach. Subsequently, the bucal fat pad flap was used to reconstruct the defect. The patient has been followed up for one year, and no recurrence has been observed. Moreover, there was only a very faint scar at the cheek and few instances of trismus.This technique should be added to the useful approaches for resection of the posterior mandibular tumor, because the resection is possible under direct vision with only slight side effects

Application of the sliding window method and Mask-RCNN method to nuclear recognition in oral cytology

Background: We aimed to develop an artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted oral cytology method, similar to cervical cytology. We focused on the detection of cell nuclei because the ratio of cell nuclei to cytoplasm increases with increasing cell malignancy. As an initial step in the development of AI-assisted cytology, we investigated two methods for the automatic detection of cell nuclei in blue-stained cells in cytopreparation images.Methods: We evaluated the usefulness of the sliding window method (SWM) and mask region-based convolutional neural network (Mask-RCNN) in identifying the cell nuclei in oral cytopreparation images. Thirty cases of liquid-based oral cytology were analyzed. First, we performed the SWM by dividing each image into 96 × 96 pixels. Overall, 591 images with or without blue-stained cell nuclei were prepared as the training data and 197 as the test data (total: 1,576 images). Next, we performed the Mask-RCNN by preparing 130 images of Class II and III lesions and creating mask images showing cell regions based on these images.Results: Using the SWM method, the highest detection rate for blue-stained cells in the evaluation group was 0.9314. For Mask-RCNN, 37 cell nuclei were identified, and 1 cell nucleus was identified as a non-nucleus after 40 epochs (error rate:0.027).Conclusions: Mask-RCNN is more accurate than SWM in identifying the cell nuclei. If the blue-stained cell nuclei can be correctly identified automatically, the entire cell morphology can be grasped faster, and the diagnostic performance of cytology can be improved

A Dipeptidyl Peptidase-4 Inhibitor, Des-Fluoro-Sitagliptin, Improves Endothelial Function and Reduces Atherosclerotic Lesion Formation in Apolipoprotein E–Deficient Mice

ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to investigate the antiatherogenic effects of the dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor, des-fluoro-sitagliptin (DFS).BackgroundThe new class of anti–type 2 diabetes drugs, dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors, improves glucose metabolism by increasing levels of active glucagon-like peptide (GLP)-1.MethodsEndothelial function was examined by acetylcholine-induced endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation using aortic rings and atherosclerotic lesion development in the entire aorta in apolipoprotein E–deficient mice fed a high-fat diet with or without DFS, and the antiatherogenic effects of DFS were investigated in cultured human macrophages and endothelial cells. Plasma levels of active GLP-1 were measured in patients with or without coronary artery disease.ResultsDFS significantly improved endothelial dysfunction (89.9 ± 3.9% vs. 79.2 ± 4.3% relaxation at 10−4 mol/l acetylcholine, p < 0.05) associated with increased endothelial nitric oxide synthase phosphorylation and reduced atherosclerotic lesion area (17.7% [15.6% to 25.8%] vs. 24.6% [19.3% to 34.6%], p < 0.01) compared with vehicle treatment. In cultured human macrophages, DFS significantly increased GLP-1-induced cytosolic levels of cyclic adenosine monophosphate compared with GLP-1 alone, resulted in inhibiting phosphorylation of c-jun N-terminal kinase and extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 and nuclear factor-kappa B p65 nuclear translocation through the cyclic adenosine monophosphate/protein kinase A pathway, and suppressed proinflammatory cytokines (i.e., interleukin-1-beta, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha) and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 production in response to lipopolysaccharide. DFS-enhanced GLP-1 activity sustained endothelial nitric oxide synthase phosphorylation and decreased endothelial senescence and apoptosis compared with GLP-1 alone. In the human study, fasting levels of active GLP-1 were significantly lower in patients with coronary artery disease than those without (3.10 pmol/l [2.40 to 3.62 pmol/l] vs. 4.00 pmol/l [3.10 to 5.90 pmol/l], p < 0.001).ConclusionsA DPP-4 inhibitor, DFS, exhibited antiatherogenic effects through augmenting GLP-1 activity in macrophages and endothelium

Short lingual osteotomy without fixation: a new strategy for mandibular osteotomy known as “physiological positioning”

We describe the strategy of physiological positioning, which we regard as a new alternative treatment to conventional orthognathic operations, and treated 18 patients with skeletal mandibular prognathism using it. The positions of SNB, FMA, and Me were measured postoperatively to assess skeletal stability, changes in the angle and perpendicular length of the upper and lower central incisors were measured to assess dental stability, and we confirmed that both skeletal and dental stability were excellent. The width to which the jaw could be opened recovered early, and we saw only one case of disorder of the temporomandibular joint. Short lingual osteotomy with physiological positioning is an effective new approach to the treatment of deformities of the mandible

Correction of an asymmetric maxillary dental arch by alveolar bone distraction osteogenesis

This case report describes a new surgical orthodontic approach involving alveolar bone distraction osteogenesis for correction of an asymmetric maxillary dental arch. The treatment was combined with conventional orthognathic surgery to improve the mandibular lateral deviation. This new treatment strategy produced an ideal dental arch and a symmetric facial appearance efficiently and effectively

Production of Water Soluble Antioxidative Plastein from Squid Hepatopancreas

To utilize a typical squid processing by-product, hepatopancreas was enzymatically hydrolyzed, then subjected to a plastein reaction. The substrate concentration that gave the highest plastein yield was 30% by using Alkalase. The optimum pH for the plastein synthesis with Alkalase ranged from 6 to 9. The dominant molecular size of the formed plastein was about 2000. Alkalase mediated plastein reaction seemed beneficial for enriching aspartic acid and glutamic acid, and eliminating hydrophobic amino acids such as phenylalanine, tyrosine, leucine, and isoleucine. Despite the heat pretreatment, hydrolysate powder and plastein retained their antioxidative affect, but a discouraging drawback of the hydrolysate was an unacceptable stimulating taste. For this reason, plastein was considered to be a much better choice to use as an antioxidant because it was tasteless. Plastein from squid hepatopancreas may be a useful antioxidant because it is stable against heat, dissolves easily in water and suppresses the proxidative effect of metals on lipid oxidation