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Radiographic examination has been an essential part of the diagnostic workflow in periodontology and implant dentistry. However, radiographic examination unavoidably involves ionizing radiation and its associated risks. Clinicians and researchers have invested considerable efforts in assessing the feasibility and capability of utilizing nonionizing imaging modalities to replace traditional radiographic imaging. Two such modalities have been extensively evaluated in clinical settings, namely, ultrasonography (USG) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Another modality, optical coherence tomography (OCT), has been under investigation more recently. This review aims to provide an overview of the literature and summarize the usage of USG, MRI, and OCT in evaluating health and pathology of periodontal and peri‐implant tissues. Clinical studies have shown that USG could accurately measure gingival height and crestal bone level, and classify furcation involvement. Due to physical constraints, USG may be more applicable to the buccal surfaces of the dentition even with an intra‐oral probe. Clinical studies have also shown that MRI could visualize the degree of soft‐tissue inflammation and osseous edema, the extent of bone loss at furcation involvement sites, and periodontal bone level. However, there was a lack of clinical studies on the evaluation of peri‐implant tissues by MRI. Moreover, an MRI machine is very expensive, occupies much space, and requires more time than cone‐beam computed tomography (CBCT) or intraoral radiographs to complete a scan. The feasibility of OCT to evaluate periodontal and peri‐implant tissues remains to be elucidated, as there are only preclinical studies at the moment. A major shortcoming of OCT is that it may not reach the bottom of the periodontal pocket, particularly for inflammatory conditions, due to the absorption of near‐infrared light by hemoglobin. Until future technological breakthroughs finally overcome the limitations of USG, MRI and OCT, the practical imaging modalities for routine diagnostics of periodontal and peri‐implant tissues remain to be plain radiographs and CBCTs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Idiopathic lingual mandibular sequestration is an uncommon condition that affects the lingual aspect of the mandible and may result in a necrosis of the jaw that is clinically indistinguishable from medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw. This condition, however, is not associated with the intake of antiresorptive medication and may not require the same safeguards for extended periods of time. The etiology of idiopathic lingual mandibular sequestration is still unknown although trauma has been shown to play an important role. Method and materials: PubMed and the Cochrane Library were used to retrieve papers written in English through the years 1970 to 2021 using the key words "idiopathic osteonecrosis," "lingual sequestration," and "idiopathic jaw sequestration." In addition, clinical presentation of the lesion was included. Results: Idiopathic lingual mandibular sequestration is a benign, mostly self-limiting condition distinct from medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw. Conclusion: The dental clinician should be familiar with this condition and include it in their differential diagnosis when exposed bone is present with no history of radiation to the area or intake of antiresorptive medication. The course of the condition is usually very mild and may be self-limiting and usually does not require surgical intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Breastmilk provides key nutrients and bio-active factors that contribute to infant neurodevelopment. Optimizing maternal nutrition could provide further benefit to psychomotor outcomes. Our observational cohort pilot study aims to determine if breastfeeding extent and breastmilk nutrients correlate with psychomotor outcomes at school age. The breastfeeding proportion at 3 months of age and neurodevelopmental outcomes at 3–5 years of age were recorded for 33 typically developing newborns born after uncomplicated pregnancies. The association between categorical breastfeeding proportion and neurodevelopmental outcome scores was determined for the cohort using a Spearman correlation with and without the inclusion of parental factors. Vitamin E and carotenoid levels were determined in breastmilk samples from 14 of the mothers. After the inclusion of parental education and income as covariates, motor skill scores positively correlated with breastmilk contents of α-tocopherol (Spearman coefficient 0.88, p-value = 0.02), translutein (0.98, p-value = 0.0007), total lutein (0.92, p-value = 0.01), and zeaxanthin (0.93, p-value = 0.0068). Problem solving skills negatively correlated with the levels of the RSR enantiomer of α-tocopherol (−0.86, p-value = 0.03). Overall, higher exposure to breastfeeding was associated with improved gross motor and problem-solving skills at 3–5 years of age. The potential of α-tocopherol, lutein, and zeaxanthin intake to provide neurodevelopmental benefit is worthy of further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The neonatal brain is extremely vulnerable to injury during periods of hypoxia and/or ischemia. Risk of brain injury is increased during neonatal cardiac surgery, where pre-existing hemodynamic instability and metabolic abnormalities are combined with long periods of low cerebral blood flow and/or circulatory arrest. Our understanding of events associated with cerebral hypoxia-ischemia during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) remains limited, largely due to inadequate tools to quantify cerebral oxygen delivery and consumption non-invasively and in real-time. This pilot study aims to evaluate cerebral blood flow (CBF) and oxygen metabolism (CMRO2) intraoperatively in neonates by combining two novel non-invasive optical techniques: frequency-domain near-infrared spectroscopy (FD-NIRS) and diffuse correlation spectroscopy (DCS). CBF and CMRO2 were quantified before, during and after deep hypothermic cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) in nine neonates. Our results show significantly decreased CBF and CMRO2 during hypothermic CPB. More interestingly, a change of coupling between both variables is observed during deep hypothermic CPB in all subjects. Our results are consistent with previous studies using invasive techniques, supporting the concept of FD-NIRS/DCS as a promising technology to monitor cerebral physiology in neonates providing the potential for individual optimization of surgical management.

Pregnancy and lactation can change the maternal nutrient reserve. Non-invasive, quantitative markers of maternal nutrient intake could enable personalized dietary recommendations that improve health outcomes in mothers and infants. Macular pigment optical density (MPOD) is a candidate marker, as MPOD values generally reflect carotenoid intake. We evaluated the association of MPOD with dietary and breastmilk carotenoids in postpartum women. MPOD measurements and dietary intake of five carotenoids were obtained from 80 mothers in the first three months postpartum. Breastmilk samples from a subset of mothers were analyzed to determine their nutrient composition. The association between MPOD and dietary or breastmilk carotenoids was quantitatively assessed to better understand the availability and mobilization of carotenoids. Our results showed that dietary α-carotene was positively correlated with MPOD. Of the breastmilk carotenoids, 13-cis-lutein and trans-lutein were correlated with MPOD when controlled for the total lutein in breastmilk. Other carotenoids in breastmilk were not associated with MPOD. Maternal MPOD is positively correlated with dietary intake of α-carotene in the early postpartum period, as well as with the breastmilk content of lutein. MPOD may serve as a potential marker for the intake of carotenoids, especially α-carotene, in mothers in the early postpartum period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Moyamoya is a disease with progressive cerebral arterial stenosis leading to stroke and silent infarct. Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) studies show that adults with moyamoya have significantly lower fractional anisotropy (FA) and higher mean diffusivity (MD), axial diffusivity (AD), and radial diffusivity (RD) compared with controls, which raises concern for unrecognized white matter injury. Children with moyamoya have significantly lower FA and higher MD in their white matter compared with controls. However, it is unknown which white matter tracts are affected in children with moyamoya. We present a cohort of 15 children with moyamoya with 24 affected hemispheres without stroke or silent infarct compared with 25 controls. We analyzed dMRI data using unscented Kalman filter tractography and extracted major white matter pathways with a fiber clustering method. We compared the FA, MD, AD, and RD in each segmented white matter tract and combined white matter tracts found within the watershed region using analysis of variance. Age and sex were not significantly different between children with moyamoya and controls. Specific white matter tracts affected included inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, inferior longitudinal fasciculus, superior longitudinal fasciculus, thalamofrontal, uncinate fasciculus, and arcuate fasciculus. Combined watershed region white matter tracts in children with moyamoya had significantly lower FA (−7.7% ± 3.2%, P = 0.02) and higher MD (4.8% ± 1.9%, P = 0.01) and RD (8.7% ± 2.8%, P = 0.002). Lower FA with higher MD and RD is concerning for unrecognized white matter injury. Affected tracts were located in watershed regions suggesting that the findings may be due to chronic hypoperfusion. These findings support the concern that children with moyamoya without overt stroke or silent infarction are sustaining ongoing injury to their white matter microstructure and provide practitioners with a noninvasive method of more accurately assessing disease burden in children with moyamoya. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]