Oral medicine (stomatology) across the globe: birth, growth, and future.

Oral medicine (stomatology) is a recognized and increasingly important dental specialty in many parts of the world that recognizes and fosters the interplay between medical health and oral health. Its dental activities rely greatly on the underlying biology of disease and evidence-based outcomes. However, full recognition of the importance of oral medicine to patient care, research, and education is not yet totally universally acknowledged.

Oral herpes simplex virus infection in pregnancy: what are the concerns?

Although epidemiologic data and the potentially serious effects of transmission of genital herpes from mother to infant during birth have been widely reported, published reports on oral herpes disease in pregnancy remain scarce and no clear management guidelines exist. Thus, questions remain about acquisition, transmission and outcome of infection, especially with respect to acute gingivostomatitis in pregnancy. In response to these questions, we summarize previous reports on herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) oral disease in pregnancy and, briefly, present 2 cases of primary gingivostomatitis in the first trimester of pregnancy, resulting in a favourable outcome for both mother and infant.

The multi-step process of human skin carcinogenesis: a role for p53, cyclin D1, hTERT, p16, and TSP-1.

As proposed by Hanahan and Weinberg (2000. Cell 100, 57-70) carcinogenesis requires crucial events such as (i) genomic instability, (ii) cell cycle deregulation, (iii) induction of a telomere length maintenance mechanism, and (iv) an angiogenic switch. By comparing the expression of p53, cyclin D1, p16, hTERT, and TSP-1 in spontaneously regressing keratoacanthoma (KA) as a paradigm of early neoplasia, with malignant invasive cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) as a paradigm of advanced tumour development, we are now able to assign the changes in the expression of these proteins to specific stages and allocate them to defined roles in the multi-step process of skin carcinogenesis.

Extensive papillomatosis of the palate exhibiting epithelial dysplasia and HPV 16 gene expression in a renal transplant recipient.

We report a unique case of extensive papillomatosis of the palate in a renal transplant recipient. The condition resembled inflammatory papillary hyperplasia; it exhibited severe epithelial dysplasia and concurred with generalized gingival hyperplasia. We document and discuss the probable multifactorial etiology of the lesions, including evidence for human papillomavirus (HPV) type 16 expression, as detected by in situ reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction.

The diagnosis and management of oral herpes simplex infection.

Acute herpetic gingivostomatitis and recurrent herpes labialis are the most common manifestations of infection with herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1). In primary and recrudescent HSV-associated disease, the symptoms may range from subclinical to debilitating and life-threatening, depending on the host's immune responses or competence level. In this paper, the typical and atypical manifestations, and the current diagnostic and treatment options for localized, non-complicated oro-labial HSV infection are reviewed, with attention to cumulative evidence for the efficacy and safety of systemic antiviral agents.