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Objective: To assess the oral shedding and viremia of Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) in HIV‐positive patients and their relationship with oral hairy leukoplakia (OHL). Methodology: A total of 94 HIV‐positive patients were included in the study, in which blood and saliva samples were collected for EBV quantification. Data on gender, age, time of HIV seropositivity, combined antiretroviral therapy (cART), CD4+ T‐cell counts, and HIV viral load were collected. OHL diagnosis was based on histopathological examination and EBV in situ hybridization. Results: The EBV load in the 94 HIV‐positive patients was higher in saliva than in blood (2.4 and 1.6, respectively), and there was a positive correlation between EBV oral shedding and viremia (p = 0.001). Twenty (21.27%) patients had OHL and also a higher EBV load in saliva (mean log10 = 3.11) compared to those who had no OHL (p = 0.045). Presence of OHL was only associated with age (p = 0.030). Conclusion: In HIV‐positive patients, the presence of OHL was associated with EBV oral shedding but not with viremia, regardless of the amount of circulating CD4+ T cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: To assess the presence of alterations suggestive of reduced bone mineral density (BMD) by using mandibular cortical index (MCI) in panoramic radiographs of cirrhotic individuals and to evaluate their relationship with other characteristics of hepatic cirrhosis (HC). Methods and Results: This is an observational case‐control study assessing the medical records of 165 cirrhotic patients matched by sex and age with healthy individuals. MELD (model of end stage liver disease) score, etiology, complications, comorbidities, and serum levels of vitamin D were collected. MCI was used to obtain BMD. Binary logistic regression was used to test associations and the risk estimates were expressed in odds ratio. Most of the sample consisted of men (73.93%) with median age of 56 years old. In the study group, the mean value of MELD was 16.5 and hepatitis C was the main etiology of HC (33.9%). Cirrhotic individuals are 3.99 times more likely to present alterations suggestive of reduced BMD (p <.01). There was no statistical significance in the association of MCI with levels of vitamin D, comorbidities, etiology or cirrhosis complications. Conclusions: MCI suggestive of reduced BMD is more likely to be identified in panoramic radiographs of cirrhotic individuals than of healthy ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The present study aimed to investigate the prevalence of calcified atheromas in carotid arteries (CACA) on panoramic radiographs of patients with liver cirrhosis (LC). Methods and results: A case‐control study of 67 individuals with LC (case group) and 67 healthy individuals (control group), matched by gender and age, was performed. In addition to demographic information, data on LC were also collected for the case group. Panoramic radiographs were evaluated by two previously calibrated examiners. The sample consisted predominantly of male individuals (n = 50; 74.62%), with mean age of 55 years old. In the case group, the mean value for the model of end‐stage liver disease was 16, and the major aetiology of LC was alcoholism (n = 26; 38.8%). Thirteen (19.4%) LC patients had CACA, whereas only four (5.9%) healthy patients had this condition. LC patients are 3.72 times more likely to have CACA compared to healthy individuals (P =.02). The presence of nephropathies increases the risk of development of atheromas by 18.58 times in cirrhotic individuals (P =.04). Conclusions: Cirrhotic patients are more likely to have CACA compared to healthy patients, and this risk increases significantly when kidney disease is involved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]