"Role of collagen in histologic stages of OSMF: A polarizing light microscopic study".

Background: Oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF) is a chronic progressive disease affecting many people in our country. Aim: The aim of the study is to assess the severity of the disease and to analyze collagen distribution in different stages of OSMF using picrosirius red stain under polarizing microscope. Materials and Methods: Vernier calliper, biopsy specimen, tissue processing kit, picrosirius red stain, hematoxylin and eosin (H and E) stain and polarizing microscopy. The study included total 100 cases of which 80 were OSMF and 20 were control group. Clinical staging was done depending upon definite criterias. Histopathological study was conducted using H and E stain and picrosirius red stain. Collagen was analyzed for thickness and polarizing colors. Statistical Analysis Used: Chi-square test, Student'st-test. Results: As the severity of disease increased, there was gradual decrease in green-greenish yellow color fibers and shift to orange red to red color. Thereby it appeared that tight packing of collagen fibers in OSMF progressively increased as disease progressed from early to advanced cases. Conclusion: In this study, histopathological studies revealed that as the severity of the disease increased, the collagen fibers were more closely packed and there was also a transition of greenish yellow fibers to orange red to red under polarizing microscopy. These observations are important to assess the actual stage of the disease and to plan further management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]