Recent advances in the understanding of the aetiology and therapeutic strategies in burning mouth syndrome: Focus on the actions of cannabinoids.

Burning mouth syndrome (BMS) is a neuropathic pain disorder associated with a burning sensation on oral mucosal surfaces with frequently reported xerostomia, dysgeusia and tingling or paraesthetic sensations. However, patients present no clinically evident causative lesions. The poor classification of the disorder has resulted in a diagnostic challenge, particularly for the clinician/dentist evaluating these individuals.

Development and Assessment of a Three-Dimensional Tooth Morphology Quiz for Dental Students.

Tooth morphology has a pivotal role in the dental curriculum and provides one of the important foundations of clinical practice. To supplement tooth morphology teaching a three-dimensional (3D) quiz application (app) was developed. The 3D resource enables students to study tooth morphology actively by selecting teeth from an interactive quiz, modify their viewpoint and level of zoom.

Fast-slow analysis of the Integrated Oscillator Model for pancreatic β-cells.

Insulin-secreting pancreatic β-cells are electrically excitable cells that are unusual because their electrical activity is influenced directly by metabolism via ATP-sensitive K channels. At the same time, changes in the intracellular Caconcentration that result from the cell's electrical activity influence metabolism in several ways. Thus, there is bidirectional coupling between the electrical dynamics and the metabolic dynamics in β-cells.

Plasma N-acylethanolamine and endocannabinoid levels in burning mouth syndrome: Potential role in disease pathogenesis.

Objective: The objective was to measure endocannabinoid (eCB) ligands and non-cannabinoid N-acylethanolamine (NAE) molecules in plasma from individuals with burning mouth syndrome (BMS) and to determine whether plasma eCB/NAE levels correlated with pain, inflammation and depressive symptomatology in this cohort.

Study Design: Plasma content of the eCBs, anandamide (AEA) and 2-arachidonoyl-glycerol (2-AG), and the NAE molecules, palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) and oleoylethanolamide (OEA) were assessed in healthy subjects (n = 8) and in a cohort of newly diagnosed BMS patients (n = 9) using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Plasma eCBs and NAE profiles were correlated with self-rated oral cavity pain intensities, depressive symptomatology and plasma IL-8 levels.

Plasma IL-8 signature correlates with pain and depressive symptomatology in patients with burning mouth syndrome: Results from a pilot study.

Background: Burning mouth syndrome (BMS) is a neuropathic orofacial pain condition of unknown aetiology that encompasses intra-oral burning pain without abnormal clinical findings. Psychological, neural and inflammatory processes are associated with BMS pathogenesis. Currently, studies characterising plasma cytokine/chemokine profiles with pain and depression in patients with BMS are lacking.

Assessment of Thiel-Embalmed Cadavers as a Teaching Tool for Oral Anatomy and Local Anesthesia.

The aim of this study was to determine whether Thiel-embalmed cadavers would provide a useful anatomy teaching tool for topics that cannot be approached using formalin-fixed cadavers such as oral cavity examination and maxillary anesthesia. The suitability of Thiel-embalmed bodies for performing oral examinations was assessed by asking first-year dental and dental hygiene students at a dental school in Ireland to identify oral structures on a classmate and on a Thiel-embalmed body. The study was conducted in 2016.

Glucose Oscillations Can Activate an Endogenous Oscillator in Pancreatic Islets.

Pancreatic islets manage elevations in blood glucose level by secreting insulin into the bloodstream in a pulsatile manner. Pulsatile insulin secretion is governed by islet oscillations such as bursting electrical activity and periodic Ca2+ entry in β-cells. In this report, we demonstrate that although islet oscillations are lost by fixing a glucose stimulus at a high concentration, they may be recovered by subsequently converting the glucose stimulus to a sinusoidal wave.

Ca2+ Effects on ATP Production and Consumption Have Regulatory Roles on Oscillatory Islet Activity.

Pancreatic islets respond to elevated blood glucose by secreting pulses of insulin that parallel oscillations in β-cell metabolism, intracellular Ca(2+) concentration, and bursting electrical activity. The mechanisms that maintain an oscillatory response are not fully understood, yet several models have been proposed. Only some can account for experiments supporting that metabolism is intrinsically oscillatory in β-cells.

Phase Analysis of Metabolic Oscillations and Membrane Potential in Pancreatic Islet β-Cells.

Metabolism in islet β-cells displays oscillations that can trigger pulses of electrical activity and insulin secretion. There has been a decades-long debate among islet biologists about whether metabolic oscillations are intrinsic or occur in response to oscillations in intracellular Ca(2+) that result from bursting electrical activity. In this article, the dynamics of oscillatory metabolism were investigated using five different optical reporters.

Neuropathic orofacial pain: cannabinoids as a therapeutic avenue.

Neuropathic orofacial pain (NOP) exists in several forms including pathologies such as burning mouth syndrome (BMS), persistent idiopathic facial pain (PIFP), trigeminal neuralgia (TN) and postherpetic neuralgia (PHN). BMS and PIFP are classically diagnosed by excluding other facial pain syndromes. TN and PHN are most often diagnosed based on a typical history and presenting pain characteristics.