Search

Functional reconstruction of lost tissue by regenerative therapy of salivary glands would be of immense benefit following radiotherapy or in the treatment of Sjogren's syndrome. The purpose of this study was to develop primary cultures of human salivary gland cells as potential regenerative resources and to characterize their acinar/ductal phenotype using electrophysiological measurements of ion transport. Human salivary gland cultures were prepared either from adherent submandibular gland cells (huSMG) or from mixed adherent and nonadherent cells (PTHSG) and were cultivated in Hepato-STIM or minimum essential medium (MEM). Expression of key epithelial marker proteins was determined by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Transepithelial electrical resistance (TER) was monitored following seeding the cells on Transwell membranes. Transepithelial ion transport was estimated by short-circuit current (Isc) measurements in an Ussing chamber. Both huSMG and PTHSG cells showed epithelial characteristics when cultivated in Hepato-STIM, while fibroblast-like elements dominated in MEM. Compared to intact tissue, cultivation of the cells resulted in substantial decreases in AQP5 and NKCC1 expression and moderate increases in claudin-1 and ENaC expression. Both cultures achieved high TER and transepithelial electrolyte movement in Hepato-STIM, but not in MEM. The Iscwas substantially reduced by basolateral Cl−and bicarbonate withdrawal, indicating the involvement of basolateral-to-apical anion transport, and by the blockade of apical ENaC by amiloride, indicating the involvement of apical-to-basolateral Na+transport. An almost complete inhibition was observed following simultaneous ENaC block and withdrawal of the two anions. Iscwas enhanced by either apical adenosine triphosphate (ATP) or basolateral carbachol application, but not by forskolin, confirming the expected role of Ca2+-activated regulatory pathways in electrolyte secretion. Inhibition of basolateral NKCC1 by bumetanide reduced the response to ATP, indicating the active involvement of this transporter in Cl−secretion. In conclusion, we have demonstrated that both PTHSG and huSMG primary cultures cultivated in Hepato-STIM form two-dimensional monolayers in vitroon permeable supports and achieve active vectorial transepithelial electrolyte transport. The presence of both basolateral-to-apical anion fluxes and an apical-to-basolateral Na+flux indicates both acinar and ductal characteristics. With further refinement, this model should provide a firm basis for new interventions to correct salivary gland dysfunction.

Therapeutic modalities of use in tumor therapy can be applied in various combinations to treat malignant lesions of the mesopharynx. A study was made of the overall survival of patients with mesopharyngeal carcinoma treated with different modalities in our institution in the period 1995-2000. In this retrospective study, a total of 66 patients were divided into 4 groups Patients who took part in 1) intra-arterial chemotherapy and subsequent irradiation; 2) intra-arterial chemotherapy and surgical care; 3) only surgical care; or 4) only irradiation or palliative treatment. In each group, the five-year survival rate was examined, as a function of the age of the patient, the initial tumor size, the lymph node status and the clinical stage. The five-year overall survival rate in group 1 was 28.57%, in both group 2 and group 3 was 66.66%, and in group 4 was 20%. For all of the 66 patients, it was 43.93%. For groups 2 and 3, the Kendall rank correction test did not reveal a significant effect of the lymph node state or the clinical stage on the survival, whereas the effects of the age and the initial tumor size did prove to be significant. The Cox regression test showed the latter of these two effects to be the stronger. As 64 of the 66 patients examined were treated for tumors in clinical stages III or IV, the five-year survival rate of 43.93% may be said to be good. The comparison of groups 2 and 3 revealed that (in spite of the poorer initial prognosis in group 2) the survival rates were the same, i.e. the neoadjuvant intra-arterial chemotherapy improved the prognosis.

Knowledge of the course of the mandibular canal and its anatomic variations is of great importance in oral surgery, especially in preprosthetic operations and the insertion of endosteal implants and during the planning of removable dentures prepared in cases involving extensively atrophied mandibles. We review the literature on duplicated mandibular canals, which is based exclusively on radiologic findings. Then, we compare this with an examination of dry mandibles and further radiologic studies. The incidence of duplicated mandibular canals observed in macroscopic examinations of mandibles was substantially higher than that revealed by radiographs. One case involving a novel variation, a triple mandibular canal, is reported.

The presence of 1’-methylascorbigen, the most biologically active indole derivative of L-ascorbic acid, in broccoli has been proved by use of planar liquid and column liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. Endogenous 1’-methylascorbigen was identified on the basis of its retention behavior, by means of the modified PRIMA method, and from its characteristic MALDI MS data. This paper is the first report of identification of 1’-methylascorbigen in the plant kingdom.

Sixty patients with tumors of the floor of the mouth or of the tongue (T2N0-1-2M0) were randomized into three treatment groups. The first two groups participated in low-dose inductive chemotherapy, surgery, and then radiotherapy, whereas the third control group underwent only surgery and radiotherapy. In all three groups, studies were made of the stage, grade, sex, localization, extents of expression of the pretreatment laminin and syndecan-1 and the cancer specific survival rate, and the correlations among these. The response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy was assessed by means of a method that we developed, involving measurement of the degree of histologic regression observed in response to chemotherapy. Immunohistochemical methods were applied to investigate the changes in degree of expression of laminin and syndecan-1 in response to the medication and their correlations with the survival. As concerns the overall tumorfree survival rate, a significant difference was not found between the two chemotherapeutic groups. However, there was a significant difference between the survival indices of those who participated in cytostatic treatment (70%) and the control group (40%). In the clinical and immunohistochemical examinations, the initial laminin and syndecan-1 levels obtained from biopsy samples could be used as prognostic factors. Our model measuring the extent of histologic regression clearly demonstrated that the survival indices of the patients who responded to the neoadjuvant cytostatic treatment with adequate tissue regression were better than those of the patients who responded to the treatment to only a decreased extent or not at all. The changes in the expressions of laminin and syndecan-1 in response to cystostatic treatment proved to be important predictive factors. The increase or stagnation of these clearly forecast a good prognosis, whereas their decrease was a definite indication of poor prognosis.

A simple and efficient method is described for separation and determination of ascorbigen in Brassicavegetables by overpressured-layer chromatography. Natural ascorbigen was identified from chromatographic retention, UV spectral, and mass spectrometric data using the authentic substance for comparison. Quantification of ascorbigen revealed significant differences (4.52-26.81 mg kg-1) among the species studied. The highest level of endogenous ascorbigen was observed in the sample prepared from broccoli (26.81 mg kg1).

One of the surgical procedures preceding implantation is elevation of the base of the maxillary sinus. Numerous bone substituting materials (grafts) may be used for this purpose, including autogenous bone, heterografts, xenogenous bone, and synthetic materials alone or in combination or mixed with growth factors and bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) preparations. A study of the frequencies of the failures (graft material resorption or implant loss) after sinus elevations with various graft materials or their combinations was conducted. In the 5-year period from 1996 through 2001, a follow-up investigation of 810 maxillary sinus augmentations was performed, in which the sinus elevations involved the use of autogenous bone, a calcium carbonate-coated polymer, hydroxylapatite of algal origin, calcium carbonate gel produced from coral or -tricalcium phosphate alone, autogenous bone mixed with these bone substitutes, or a combination of -tricalcium phosphate and platelet-rich plasma. The incidences of graft resorption and implant loss after the augmentations with various bone substitutes were recorded. Total resorption (disappearance) of the bone substitute material was observed in 2.7 of the cases. An essential difference was not experienced between the various bone substitutes from this aspect, with the exception of the gel-state calcium carbonate, where 40 of the grafts were resorbed. In total, 5.46 of the implants were lost; the differences between the various materials were not significant.

Numerous possibilities are available for the reconstruction of facial bone defects. The materials used to fill such defects must satisfy various requirements. One of the most important is that they must undergo transformation into autologous bone tissue in the process of remodeling.

Buda Béla: A lélek egészsége. A mentálhigiéné alapkérdései; Pikó Bettina: Kultúra, társadalom és lélektan; Gyöngyösi Zoltán: Az élet és test feletti rendelkezések joga; Desmond Morris: Bensőséges kötelékek; Em Griffin: Együtt-lét. Mitől jó egy csoport?; David Lewis: Hogyan értessük meg magunkat? A hatékony kommunikáció gyakorlati útmutatója; Horányi Özséb (szerk.): A sokarcú kép. Válogatott tanulmányok a képek logikájáról; Nyíri Kristóf - Kovács Gábor (szerk.): Virtuális egyetem Magyarországon;

Lamellar lyotropic liquid-crystalline systems are thermodynamically stable, optically isotropic and are formed spontaneously. New possibilities for the development of controlled drug delivery systems are inherent in these systems in consequence of their stability and special, skin-friendly structure. The aim was to formulate and study two-component or multicomponent compositions with a relatively low Brij 96V content, liquid paraffin, glycerol and water for therapeutic purposes. The liquid crystals were examined by polarizing light microscopy and transmission electron microscopic observation of replicas produced by the freeze–fracture technique to demonstrate the presence of lamellar liquid-crystalline domains. The existence of a regular structure was determined by X-ray diffraction.

A case is reported in which a unilateral parotid gland cystadenolymphoma was combined with actinomycosis. A 48-year-old woman presented with a mass in the left parotid region and paresis of the lower left palpebra. The computed tomography, echography, and parotid radiographic findings did not exclude a neoplasm of the left parotid gland. The ramus of the mandible was involved in the process. Intraoperative freezing histology, total parotidectomy, and partial mandibulectomy were performed, with sacrifice of the facial nerve followed by nerve reconstruction. The final histological evaluation was Warthin tumor with actinomycosis. Four years after treatment, the patient is free of disease. No similar cases seem to have been reported thus far.

Transformation of the surface of metallic titanium with titanium oxides prepared in various ways is a modern procedure. For more than 15 years, the authors have been utilizing fixing elements coated with titanium oxide ceramics, prepared by anodic oxidation and thermal treatment, for purposes of jawbone osteosynthesis. The aim of the authors' work was to assess the extent to which the titanium oxide ceramic coating influences the fate of the plates used for osteosynthesis within the human organism, in regard to the possible need for their removal. During a 5-year period, 108 of 1,396 plates coated with anodic titanium oxide had to be removed for various reasons plate exposure (47), osteomyelitis (25), palpable swelling and tenderness (21), patient request for psychological reasons (13), or fracture of the plate (2). In none of these 108 cases was metallosis observed, which otherwise is reported relatively frequently in the vicinity of traditional titanium fixing elements, nor was any tissue damage connected with the surface of the plates. The results indicate the favorable properties of the titanium oxide ceramic surface.

Optimum-performance laminar chromatography (previously known as overpressured-layer chromatography; OPLC) exploits the advantages of the optimum laminar flow of mobile phase obtained by use of pump to introduce the mobile phase to the adsorbent layer in an automated, microprocessor-controlled separation system. The optimized flow profile in OPLC is the basis of the efficiency of this new technique. The attractiveness of OPLC is particularly apparent from the width of the separation surface (large number of samples). OPLC has enabled improvement of the velocity profile with a decrease in eddy diffusion.

In recent years, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of tumors of the head and neck. Their successful treatment is one of the greatest challenges for physicians dealing with oncotherapy. An organic part of the complex therapy is preoperative or post-operative irradiation. Application of this is accompanied by a lower risk of recurrences, and by a higher proportion of cured patients. Unfortunately, irradiation also has a disadvantage: the development of osteoradionecrosis, a special form of osteomyelitis, in some patients (mainly in those cases where irradiation occurs after bone resection or after partial removal of the periosteum). Once the clinical picture of this irradiation complication has developed, its treatment is very difficult. A significant result or complete freedom from complaints can be attained only rarely. Attention must therefore be focussed primarily on prevention, and the oral surgeon, the oncoradiologist and the patient too can all do much to help prevent the occurrence of osteoradionecrosis. Through coupling of an up-to-date, functional surgical attitude with knowledge relating to modern radiology and radiation physics, the way may be opened to forestall this complication that is so difficult to cure.

For several decades, both preoperative intra-arterial chemotherapy and preoperative irradiation have been accepted treatments for patients with tumors of the head and neck. Unfortunately, arguments have often been put forward in favor of one or other of the two methods, but without the performance of an objective, randomized investigation. To resolve this situation, the authors have carried out a multicenter, randomized prospective study of selected patients with a view to deciding which method affords better results in complex tumor therapy from the aspects of survival and postoperative quality of life. One hundred thirty-one patients with operable sublingual or lingual squamous cell carcinoma in stages T2NXM0 to T4MXM0 were randomized into 2 groups: 1 group participated in preoperative chemotherapy with cisplatin and epirubicin (total doses: 200 mg cisplatin, 120 mg epirubicin) via the external carotid artery, whereas the other group received preoperative radiation therapy (46 grays). Following subsequent radical surgery, the patients received regular follow-up for 5 years. By the end of the 5 years, 95 of the 131 patients had conformed to the protocol. Of those 95, 47 had received preoperative chemotherapy and 48 preoperative irradiation. After 5 years, 18 of the 47 patients who received chemotherapy and 15 of the 48 patients who received irradiation were still alive and tumor free. A few more patients had died of recurrence or regional metastasis in the chemotherapy group (23 patients) than in the irradiation group (20 patients). Occurrence of a second carcinoma was 3 times as frequent in the irradiation group (9 patients) as in the chemotherapy group (3 patients). Overall, the survival rates were by-and-large the same for the two groups. Regarding postoperative quality of life, the chemotherapy group presented a more favorable picture. The long term survival results subsequent to preoperative intra-arterial chemotherapy or preoperative radiotherapy were practically the same. Regarding postoperative quality of life, patients who underwent intra-arterial chemotherapy appeared to be in a slightly more favorable situation. The authors consider it important to stress these findings, as they are not aware of a similar randomized study of patients with tumors of the oral cavity. Cancer 1999;86:1381–6. © 1999 American Cancer Society.

The mechanism of antifoaming in a nonionic Triton X-100 surfactant solution with silicone polyethers (SILWET L-7210, L-7230, and L-7500), the so-called “cloud point antifoams,” was investigated. The cloud point (CP) studies showed that the CP of a Triton X-100/silicone polyether mixed system is between the CP of the foaming and the antifoam surfactants, due to mixed micelle formation. It was found that the foam stability drops at a certain temperature—which we called the enhanced foam collapse temperature (EFCT)—which was a few degrees Celsius below the CP of the solutions. Single films were also formed from the same systems, and their stability and drainage were observed. Film thinning accelerated with temperature near the cloud point, but this cannot explain the lower foam stability. It was observed that while at low temperatures black film formed, above the EFCT the film ruptured just before black film formation could have begun; the rupture was probably caused by unstable black spots. It is suggested that at the EFCT (near the CP) the net interaction between the film surfaces becomes attraction due to the same reason that causes the CP: the hydrophilic parts (polyethylene oxide) of the nonionic surfactants lose their hydrate water and thus, the steric repulsion between the surfaces diminishes. The EFCT and the CP are not necessarily the same because the composition of the foam and micelle surfaces, respectively, can be different. The antifoaming action was also tested above the CP of the solution and it was observed that another antifoaming mechanism also acts there: the phase-separated surfactant drops get trapped in the thinning foam films and the trapped drops rupture the films by bridging.