T2 mapping with 3.0 T MRI of the temporomandibular joint disc of patients with disc dislocation

Publication date: Available online 10 February 2019

Source: Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Author(s): Margit Bristela, Astrid Skolka, Jaryna Eder, Pavol Szomolanyi, Michael Weber, Eva Piehslinger, Martina Schmid-Schwap, Siegfried Trattnig

Abstract

Introduction

T2 mapping, as a quantitative biochemical MRI-technique that provides information on water and collagen fiber content and composition, was shown to be clinically feasible for the evaluation of healthy temporomandibular joints.

Objectives

The aim of our study was to compare the T2 values of whole discs in patients with and without disc dislocation, to evaluate the possible influence of morphological findings on T2 values and to assess the interrater agreement.

Methods

Sixty-six patients were included in the study. Three experienced examiners assessed the perceptibility of the morphological parameters and the position of the articular disc on the morphological MR images. On the T2 maps, the T2 values of the region-of-interest (ROI) were assessed.

Results

The ICC (Intraclass Correlation Coefficient) for the reproducibility of the T2 values was 0.717. The assessment of the morphologic parameters was excellent or good in most of the discs. There was no significant difference in the T2 values based on disc position or signal intensity. But, a statistically significant moderation effect (p = .014) could be identified, indicating that the effect of disc position differs for different signal intensities. Condyle position, effusion, and degenerative changes showed pronounced moderation effects on the T2 values.

Conclusion

Due to the high sensitivity to effusion, T2 mapping currently seems to be unsuitable as a diagnostic tool for routine use in the temporomandibular joint. The moderation effect clearly shows the influence of factors such as signal intensity, effusion, arthrosis, and condyle position. Perhaps a solution for these problems could be the development of dedicated TMJ coils for higher field strengths at 7.0 T.

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T2 mapping with 3.0 T MRI of the temporomandibular joint disc of patients with disc dislocation

Publication date: Available online 10 February 2019

Source: Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Author(s): Margit Bristela, Astrid Skolka, Jaryna Eder, Pavol Szomolanyi, Michael Weber, Eva Piehslinger, Martina Schmid-Schwap, Siegfried Trattnig

Abstract

Introduction

T2 mapping, as a quantitative biochemical MRI-technique that provides information on water and collagen fiber content and composition, was shown to be clinically feasible for the evaluation of healthy temporomandibular joints.

Objectives

The aim of our study was to compare the T2 values of whole discs in patients with and without disc dislocation, to evaluate the possible influence of morphological findings on T2 values and to assess the interrater agreement.

Methods

Sixty-six patients were included in the study. Three experienced examiners assessed the perceptibility of the morphological parameters and the position of the articular disc on the morphological MR images. On the T2 maps, the T2 values of the region-of-interest (ROI) were assessed.

Results

The ICC (Intraclass Correlation Coefficient) for the reproducibility of the T2 values was 0.717. The assessment of the morphologic parameters was excellent or good in most of the discs. There was no significant difference in the T2 values based on disc position or signal intensity. But, a statistically significant moderation effect (p = .014) could be identified, indicating that the effect of disc position differs for different signal intensities. Condyle position, effusion, and degenerative changes showed pronounced moderation effects on the T2 values.

Conclusion

Due to the high sensitivity to effusion, T2 mapping currently seems to be unsuitable as a diagnostic tool for routine use in the temporomandibular joint. The moderation effect clearly shows the influence of factors such as signal intensity, effusion, arthrosis, and condyle position. Perhaps a solution for these problems could be the development of dedicated TMJ coils for higher field strengths at 7.0 T.

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Guidelines for best practice: Imaging for Age Estimation in the Living

Publication date: Available online 10 February 2019

Source: Journal of Forensic Radiology and Imaging

Author(s): Edel Doyle, Nicholas Márquez-Grant, Lisa Field, Trish Holmes, Owen J Arthurs, Rick R. van Rijn, Lucina Hackman, Kathleen Kasper, Jim Lewis, Peter Loomis, Denise Elliott, Jeroen Kroll, Mark Viner, Soren Blau, Alison Brough, Stella Martín de las Heras, Pedro Manuel Garamendi

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Guidelines for best practice: Imaging for Age Estimation in the Living

Publication date: Available online 10 February 2019

Source: Journal of Forensic Radiology and Imaging

Author(s): Edel Doyle, Nicholas Márquez-Grant, Lisa Field, Trish Holmes, Owen J Arthurs, Rick R. van Rijn, Lucina Hackman, Kathleen Kasper, Jim Lewis, Peter Loomis, Denise Elliott, Jeroen Kroll, Mark Viner, Soren Blau, Alison Brough, Stella Martín de las Heras, Pedro Manuel Garamendi

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The importance of BRAF‐V600E mutation to ameloblastoma metabolism

Abstract

Background

Ameloblastoma is a locally infiltrative, aggressive epithelial odontogenic neoplasm. BRAF‐V600E mutation is frequently found in this tumor and has a pivotal role in its pathogenesis, but the consequences of this alteration need to be addressed. An untargeted metabolomics approach was applied to verify whether metabolic disturbances are related to tumor biology and whether BRAF‐V600E mutation contributes to these alterations.

Methods

Formalin‐fixed and paraffin‐embedded tissue specimens from thirteen ameloblastoma and six dental follicles were included in this study. BRAF mutational status was determined by competitive allele‐specific real‐time PCR. Metabolite extracts were analyzed using gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. Univariate and multivariate statistical methods were employed to compare the metabolic profiles of the samples.

Results

The abundance of eleven metabolites were significantly higher in ameloblastoma in relation to dental follicles, including amino acids, fatty acids, carbohydrates, inorganic acids, and organoheterocyclic compounds. The presence of BRAF‐V600E mutations in ameloblastoma was related to decreased levels of glycerol in comparison to tumors carrying only wild‐type alleles of this gene. No metabolic differences were observed between recurrent and primary manifestations of ameloblastoma.

Conclusions

Ameloblastoma exhibits a distinct metabolic profile from normal odontogenic epithelium. BRAF‐V600E may contribute to metabolic alterations in ameloblastoma. Collectively, our findings suggest that metabolic alterations might play a role in tumor pathogenesis.

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

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Association between geographic tongue and psoriasis. A systematic review and meta‐analyses

Abstract

Geographic tongue (GT) has been described as a predictor of psoriasis. The objective of this study was to analyse the prevalence of GT in psoriatic and non‐psoriatic patients. For this purpose, we conducted a systematic review and meta‐analysis. A literature search was performed on PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. The search and selection process was performed according to the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses) criteria. Only case‐control studies were selected and the prevalence of GT in both groups was compared. Eleven articles met the inclusion criteria and the frequency of GT was statistically associated with psoriasis in ten studies. The pooled odds ratio (OR) was 3.53 (95% confidence interval [CI] 2.56–4.86). There were no significant differences between the presence of GT and the clinical form. However, the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) score was statistically higher in patients affected by GT in three of four studies. Psoriatic patients with GT also exhibited less improvement in the PASI score after treatment. One study found an association between GT and a negative impact on patients' quality of life. Nevertheless, age, gender, toxic habits, psoriasis onset and duration of the disease were not clearly associated. The results support the concept of GT as a manifestation of psoriasis. Future research should focus on the repercussions of GT in psoriatic patients, due to the negative consequences on severity and treatment response.

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

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The importance of BRAF‐V600E mutation to ameloblastoma metabolism

Abstract

Background

Ameloblastoma is a locally infiltrative, aggressive epithelial odontogenic neoplasm. BRAF‐V600E mutation is frequently found in this tumor and has a pivotal role in its pathogenesis, but the consequences of this alteration need to be addressed. An untargeted metabolomics approach was applied to verify whether metabolic disturbances are related to tumor biology and whether BRAF‐V600E mutation contributes to these alterations.

Methods

Formalin‐fixed and paraffin‐embedded tissue specimens from thirteen ameloblastoma and six dental follicles were included in this study. BRAF mutational status was determined by competitive allele‐specific real‐time PCR. Metabolite extracts were analyzed using gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. Univariate and multivariate statistical methods were employed to compare the metabolic profiles of the samples.

Results

The abundance of eleven metabolites were significantly higher in ameloblastoma in relation to dental follicles, including amino acids, fatty acids, carbohydrates, inorganic acids, and organoheterocyclic compounds. The presence of BRAF‐V600E mutations in ameloblastoma was related to decreased levels of glycerol in comparison to tumors carrying only wild‐type alleles of this gene. No metabolic differences were observed between recurrent and primary manifestations of ameloblastoma.

Conclusions

Ameloblastoma exhibits a distinct metabolic profile from normal odontogenic epithelium. BRAF‐V600E may contribute to metabolic alterations in ameloblastoma. Collectively, our findings suggest that metabolic alterations might play a role in tumor pathogenesis.

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

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Association between geographic tongue and psoriasis. A systematic review and meta‐analyses

Abstract

Geographic tongue (GT) has been described as a predictor of psoriasis. The objective of this study was to analyse the prevalence of GT in psoriatic and non‐psoriatic patients. For this purpose, we conducted a systematic review and meta‐analysis. A literature search was performed on PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. The search and selection process was performed according to the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses) criteria. Only case‐control studies were selected and the prevalence of GT in both groups was compared. Eleven articles met the inclusion criteria and the frequency of GT was statistically associated with psoriasis in ten studies. The pooled odds ratio (OR) was 3.53 (95% confidence interval [CI] 2.56–4.86). There were no significant differences between the presence of GT and the clinical form. However, the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) score was statistically higher in patients affected by GT in three of four studies. Psoriatic patients with GT also exhibited less improvement in the PASI score after treatment. One study found an association between GT and a negative impact on patients' quality of life. Nevertheless, age, gender, toxic habits, psoriasis onset and duration of the disease were not clearly associated. The results support the concept of GT as a manifestation of psoriasis. Future research should focus on the repercussions of GT in psoriatic patients, due to the negative consequences on severity and treatment response.

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

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Juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma: A retrospective study of 27 cases in the ent Department of ipo‐Porto

Abstract

Juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma (JNA) is a benign, rare and highly vascular tumour, occurring in adolescent males.

Clinical records of 27 patients who underwent surgical resection, performed between 1989 and 2017, were reviewed.

Three patients were submitted to paralatero‐nasal rhinotomy, 23 patients (85%), to the sublabial transnasomaxillary approach (Rouge Denker approach), complemented in 19 (70.0%) with transpalatine approach (Wilson technique). Endoscopic resection was performed only at one patient stage IB.

There were no cases of death, major significant complications or significant morbidity. Persistence rate was 18.5% and recurrence rate 14.8%.

Patients with tumour extension to infratemporal fossa and no massive cavernous sinus invasion may be treated effectively without previous embolization and facial scars, with sublabial transnasomaxillary approach (Rouge Denker approach), complemented with transpalatine approach (Wilson technique).

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

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Juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma: A retrospective study of 27 cases in the ent Department of ipo‐Porto

Abstract

Juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma (JNA) is a benign, rare and highly vascular tumour, occurring in adolescent males.

Clinical records of 27 patients who underwent surgical resection, performed between 1989 and 2017, were reviewed.

Three patients were submitted to paralatero‐nasal rhinotomy, 23 patients (85%), to the sublabial transnasomaxillary approach (Rouge Denker approach), complemented in 19 (70.0%) with transpalatine approach (Wilson technique). Endoscopic resection was performed only at one patient stage IB.

There were no cases of death, major significant complications or significant morbidity. Persistence rate was 18.5% and recurrence rate 14.8%.

Patients with tumour extension to infratemporal fossa and no massive cavernous sinus invasion may be treated effectively without previous embolization and facial scars, with sublabial transnasomaxillary approach (Rouge Denker approach), complemented with transpalatine approach (Wilson technique).

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

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The Effects of Ozone Therapy on Periodontal Therapy: A Randomized Placebo‐Controlled Clinical Trial

Abstract

Objectives

The aim of this randomized split‐mouth clinical trial was to evaluate the effects of ozone therapy on clinical and biochemical parameters of moderate to severe generalized periodontitis patients after non‐surgical periodontal therapy.

Methods

A total of 36 moderate to severe generalized periodontitis patients were included in the study. The patients were systemically healthy and 18 to 64 years of age. Periodontal parameters, including plaque index (PI), gingival index (GI), probing depth (PD), percentage of bleeding on probing, percentage of pockets deeper than 5 mm and clinical attachment level (CAL), and percentage of ≥3 mm CAL were evaluated at baseline and 3 months following periodontal therapy. All participants were treated non‐surgically. Topical gaseous ozone was applied into periodontal pockets twice a week for 2 weeks during active periodontal therapy. Gingival crevicular fluid pentraxin‐3 (PTX‐3), interleukin‐1β (IL‐1β) and high sensitivity C‐reactive protein (Hs‐CRP) were evaluated. All statistical data were analyzed using SPSS software.

Results

Total of 36 participants completed the study (18 males, 18 females). PI, GI, PD, percentage of bleeding on probing, percentage of pockets deeper than 5mm and CAL, and percentage of ≥3 mm CAL, were improved, and there were no significant differences between the two sides. All inflammatory parameters, PTX‐3, Hs‐CRP and IL‐1β, were reduced at 3‐months follow‐up. Only the decrease in PTX‐3 levels between baseline and 3‐months follow‐up was statistically significant.

Conclusions

Ozone therapy did not have any additional effect on periodontal parameters. All cytokines were reduced after periodontal therapy. Only PTX‐3 levels were significantly lower at ozone sites compared to those at the control sites.

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

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Sex Hormone Replacement Therapy in Periodontology – A Systematic Review

Abstract

Objective

To analyse whether sex hormone replacement therapy (HRT) improves periodontal parameters and dental implants osseointegration in humans.

Materials and Methods

Electronic databases and hand searches were performed from June to August 2018 in SciELO, LILACS and PubMed/Medline. Human observational and interventional studies that evaluated the following parameters were included: Clinical Attachment Loss (CAL), Probing Pocket Depth (PPD), Bleeding on Probing (BOP), Radiographic Bone Loss (RBL) or osseointegration.

Results

Initial search retrieved 1282 non‐duplicated articles. Fifteen studies were selected after inclusion criteria were applied. All studies were performed in postmenopausal women. Mean differences for PPD reduction ranged from 0.02‐0.2 mm in HRT‐positive patients; mean CAL gain ‐0.18‐0.54 mm; mean RBL reduction ‐0.87‐0.15 mm; and mean BOP reduction 9‐30.3%. Failure rate of dental implants increased ‐5.5‐11.21% when HRT was used.

Conclusions

Very low but consistent evidence suggests a reduction in BOP and no impact on RBL in postmenopausal women receiving HRT. There are inconsistent reports that suggests that HRT in postmenopausal women: 1)improves or does not impact PPD reduction and CAL gain; and 2)does not impact or increase implant loss. In summary, there is no evidence to support HRT prescription for either men or women for periodontal/implant placement purposes.

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

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The Effects of Ozone Therapy on Periodontal Therapy: A Randomized Placebo‐Controlled Clinical Trial

Abstract

Objectives

The aim of this randomized split‐mouth clinical trial was to evaluate the effects of ozone therapy on clinical and biochemical parameters of moderate to severe generalized periodontitis patients after non‐surgical periodontal therapy.

Methods

A total of 36 moderate to severe generalized periodontitis patients were included in the study. The patients were systemically healthy and 18 to 64 years of age. Periodontal parameters, including plaque index (PI), gingival index (GI), probing depth (PD), percentage of bleeding on probing, percentage of pockets deeper than 5 mm and clinical attachment level (CAL), and percentage of ≥3 mm CAL were evaluated at baseline and 3 months following periodontal therapy. All participants were treated non‐surgically. Topical gaseous ozone was applied into periodontal pockets twice a week for 2 weeks during active periodontal therapy. Gingival crevicular fluid pentraxin‐3 (PTX‐3), interleukin‐1β (IL‐1β) and high sensitivity C‐reactive protein (Hs‐CRP) were evaluated. All statistical data were analyzed using SPSS software.

Results

Total of 36 participants completed the study (18 males, 18 females). PI, GI, PD, percentage of bleeding on probing, percentage of pockets deeper than 5mm and CAL, and percentage of ≥3 mm CAL, were improved, and there were no significant differences between the two sides. All inflammatory parameters, PTX‐3, Hs‐CRP and IL‐1β, were reduced at 3‐months follow‐up. Only the decrease in PTX‐3 levels between baseline and 3‐months follow‐up was statistically significant.

Conclusions

Ozone therapy did not have any additional effect on periodontal parameters. All cytokines were reduced after periodontal therapy. Only PTX‐3 levels were significantly lower at ozone sites compared to those at the control sites.

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

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Sex Hormone Replacement Therapy in Periodontology – A Systematic Review

Abstract

Objective

To analyse whether sex hormone replacement therapy (HRT) improves periodontal parameters and dental implants osseointegration in humans.

Materials and Methods

Electronic databases and hand searches were performed from June to August 2018 in SciELO, LILACS and PubMed/Medline. Human observational and interventional studies that evaluated the following parameters were included: Clinical Attachment Loss (CAL), Probing Pocket Depth (PPD), Bleeding on Probing (BOP), Radiographic Bone Loss (RBL) or osseointegration.

Results

Initial search retrieved 1282 non‐duplicated articles. Fifteen studies were selected after inclusion criteria were applied. All studies were performed in postmenopausal women. Mean differences for PPD reduction ranged from 0.02‐0.2 mm in HRT‐positive patients; mean CAL gain ‐0.18‐0.54 mm; mean RBL reduction ‐0.87‐0.15 mm; and mean BOP reduction 9‐30.3%. Failure rate of dental implants increased ‐5.5‐11.21% when HRT was used.

Conclusions

Very low but consistent evidence suggests a reduction in BOP and no impact on RBL in postmenopausal women receiving HRT. There are inconsistent reports that suggests that HRT in postmenopausal women: 1)improves or does not impact PPD reduction and CAL gain; and 2)does not impact or increase implant loss. In summary, there is no evidence to support HRT prescription for either men or women for periodontal/implant placement purposes.

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

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The Bare Necessities: Uncovering Essential and Condition‐Critical Genes with Transposon Sequencing

Summary

Querying gene function in bacteria has been greatly accelerated by the advent of transposon sequencing (Tn‐seq) technologies (related Tn‐seq strategies are known as TraDIS, INSeq, RB‐TnSeq and HITS). Pooled populations of transposon mutants are cultured in an environment and next‐generation sequencing tools are used to determine areas of the genome that are important for bacterial fitness. In this review we provide an overview of Tn‐seq methodologies and discuss how Tn‐seq has been applied, or could be applied, to the study of oral microbiology. These applications include studying the essential genome as a means to rationally design therapeutic agents. Tn‐seq has also contributed to our understanding of well‐studied biological processes in oral bacteria. Other important applications include in vivo pathogenesis studies and use of Tn‐seq to probe the molecular basis of microbial interactions. We also highlight recent advancements in techniques that act in synergy with Tn‐seq such as CRISPR interference and microfluidic chip platforms.

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The Bare Necessities: Uncovering Essential and Condition‐Critical Genes with Transposon Sequencing

Summary

Querying gene function in bacteria has been greatly accelerated by the advent of transposon sequencing (Tn‐seq) technologies (related Tn‐seq strategies are known as TraDIS, INSeq, RB‐TnSeq and HITS). Pooled populations of transposon mutants are cultured in an environment and next‐generation sequencing tools are used to determine areas of the genome that are important for bacterial fitness. In this review we provide an overview of Tn‐seq methodologies and discuss how Tn‐seq has been applied, or could be applied, to the study of oral microbiology. These applications include studying the essential genome as a means to rationally design therapeutic agents. Tn‐seq has also contributed to our understanding of well‐studied biological processes in oral bacteria. Other important applications include in vivo pathogenesis studies and use of Tn‐seq to probe the molecular basis of microbial interactions. We also highlight recent advancements in techniques that act in synergy with Tn‐seq such as CRISPR interference and microfluidic chip platforms.

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

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K-Means Clustering Optimizing Deep Stacked Sparse Autoencoder

Abstract

Because of the large structure and long training time, the development cycle of the common depth model is prolonged. How to speed up training is a problem deserving of study. In order to accelerate training, K-means clustering optimizing deep stacked sparse autoencoder (K-means sparse SAE) is presented in this paper. First, the input features are divided into K small subsets by K-means clustering, then each subset is input into corresponding autoencoder model for training, which only has fewer nodes in the hidden layer than traditional models. After training, each autoencoder's trained weights and biases is merged to obtain the next layer's input features by feedforward network. The above steps are repeated till the softmax layer, then fine-tuning is carried out. Using MNIST-Rotation datasets to train the network that has three hidden layers and each layer has 800 nodes, the improved model has higher classification accuracy and shorter training time when K = 10. With K increasing, the training time is reduced to almost the same as the fine-tuning time but the recognition ability is descended. Compared with the recently stacked denoising sparse autoencoder, the recognition accuracy is improved by 1%, not only the noise factor is not selected but also the training speed is significantly increased. The trained filters from the improved model is also used to train convolutional autoencoder, and it performs better than traditional models. We find that pre-training stage doesn't need large samples simultaneously, and small samples parallel training reduces the probability of falling into the local minimum.

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K-Means Clustering Optimizing Deep Stacked Sparse Autoencoder

Abstract

Because of the large structure and long training time, the development cycle of the common depth model is prolonged. How to speed up training is a problem deserving of study. In order to accelerate training, K-means clustering optimizing deep stacked sparse autoencoder (K-means sparse SAE) is presented in this paper. First, the input features are divided into K small subsets by K-means clustering, then each subset is input into corresponding autoencoder model for training, which only has fewer nodes in the hidden layer than traditional models. After training, each autoencoder's trained weights and biases is merged to obtain the next layer's input features by feedforward network. The above steps are repeated till the softmax layer, then fine-tuning is carried out. Using MNIST-Rotation datasets to train the network that has three hidden layers and each layer has 800 nodes, the improved model has higher classification accuracy and shorter training time when K = 10. With K increasing, the training time is reduced to almost the same as the fine-tuning time but the recognition ability is descended. Compared with the recently stacked denoising sparse autoencoder, the recognition accuracy is improved by 1%, not only the noise factor is not selected but also the training speed is significantly increased. The trained filters from the improved model is also used to train convolutional autoencoder, and it performs better than traditional models. We find that pre-training stage doesn't need large samples simultaneously, and small samples parallel training reduces the probability of falling into the local minimum.

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Impacts of a shared book-reading intervention for Italian-speaking children with developmental language disorder.

CONCLUSIONS & IMPLICATIONS: The present parent-based SBR intervention for Italian-speaking preschoolers with DLD showed effects, albeit modest, on both maternal and child communicative behaviours. The results suggest that extralinguistic strategies may be implemented successfully by parents and may be effective in enhancing children's engagement and language production in the short term. Further investigations are needed that provide a longer intervention period and examine the joint impact of therapist- and parent-based intervention for children with DLD. PMID: 30729644 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders)

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Impacts of a shared book-reading intervention for Italian-speaking children with developmental language disorder.

CONCLUSIONS & IMPLICATIONS: The present parent-based SBR intervention for Italian-speaking preschoolers with DLD showed effects, albeit modest, on both maternal and child communicative behaviours. The results suggest that extralinguistic strategies may be implemented successfully by parents and may be effective in enhancing children's engagement and language production in the short term. Further investigations are needed that provide a longer intervention period and examine the joint impact of therapist- and parent-based intervention for children with DLD. PMID: 30729644 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders)

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