Can we assess quality of life in patients with head and neck cancer? A preliminary report from the American Academy of Maxillofacial Prosthetics.

Survival statistics alone may no longer be valid when used as evidence of effective outcomes. Patient satisfaction is an end point that needs further evaluation and should be included in the outcomes assessment. A 133-item questionnaire has been designed by a special committee of the American Academy of Maxillofacial Prosthetics (AAMP) to assess the quality of life of patients with head and neck cancer impacting the orofacial region.

The patient with Alzheimer's disease.

Victims of Alzheimer's disease show a gradual and steady deterioration in memory, orientation, emotional stability, language capacity, abstract thinking, motor skills, and, ultimately, self care. Cognitive and motor deficits are accompanied by a gradual inability to perform adequate oral hygiene. Alzheimer's disease also interferes with the patient's ability to communicate dental symptoms of pain or dysfunction, and progressive deterioration of cognition interferes with the patient's ability to tolerate most therapeutic interventions.

A simple method of adding palatal rugae to a complete denture.

Restoring patients' speech is an important goal in complete denture fabrication. For those patients who have difficulty with their speech patterns accommodating to the introduction of a prosthesis, texture in the palatal region may prove helpful. This article describes methods of incorporating palatal rugae in a newly fabricated and existing complete denture.

Today's minimal requirements for a practical dental office infection control and exposure control program.

The current climate in society regarding infectious diseases in general, and herpes, hepatitis, and HIV infections in particular, dictates that today's dental practices must use effective infection control techniques. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration continues to inspect, cite, and fine health care facilities. More states are implementing regulations concerning the operation of health care facilities.

Relationship between plasma desipramine levels, CYP2D6 phenotype and clinical response to desipramine: a prospective study.

Objective: The clinical relevance of the CYP2D6 oxidation polymorphism in the treatment of depression with desipramine (DMI) was studied prospectively in depressed outpatients.

Methods: After CYP2D6 phenotype determination with dextromethorphan, 31 patients were treated with oral DMI at a dosage of 100 mg per day for 3 weeks. At the end of the 3rd week of treatment, severity of depressive symptoms was assessed by the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale and steady-state plasma concentrations of DMI and its metabolite 2-hydroxydesipramine (2-OH-DMI) were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).