CD44v6 in developing, dysplastic and malignant oral epithelia.

The CD44v6 adhesion molecule has been linked to progression of various carcinomas, but its role in relation to oral-cancer development is not clear. The study was designed to determine whether CD44v6 levels were clinically significant in oral dysplasias. Twenty-nine oral dysplasias were immunostained with CD44v6 antibody on follow-up.

Expression of estrogen receptor (ER) in oral mucosa and salivary glands.

Objectives: To assess the expression of estrogen receptor (ER) in oral mucosa and salivary glands, buccal mucosal biopsies from ten postmenopausal women (taken before and during the hormone replacement therapy), as well as, single biopsies from 20 healthy 19-year-old women were analyzed for ER expression. Salivary gland biopsies were taken from the minor labial salivary glands (n=6), submandibular glands (n=5) and parotid gland (n=1) from women at different ages.

Methods: total RNA extracted from the tissue samples was reverse-transcripted (RT) to single-stranded cDNA, and the RT-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) product was subjected to nucleotide sequencing to confirm the match with ER cDNA.

The effect of hormone replacement therapy on salivary calcium concentrations in menopausal women.

Hormone replacement therapy in menopausal women is known to affect the general calcium turnover of the body. No information is available about the effects of hormone therapy on salivary electrolytes and on calcium in particular. A group of 16 healthy peri- and postmenopausal women, all recommended to start hormone replacement therapy, were studied longitudinally for 5 months.

Oral ulcers in AIDS patients frequently associated with cytomegalovirus (CMV) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infections.

Oral ulcers are common in AIDS patients, with a wide spectrum of underlying causes, including different viruses. In the present study, the presence of cytomegalovirus (CMV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8) DNA was analysed in 21 biopsies from oral ulcers of 17 male homosexual AIDS patients. The methods used were in situ hybridization (ISH) and the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with subsequent non-radioactive Southern blot hybridization to confirm the specificity of PCR products.

The effect of repeated sampling on paraffin-stimulated salivary flow rates in menopausal women.

Paraffin-stimulated whole-saliva samples of 12 post- and perimenopausal women were taken five times over a 7-week period. After 1 min of prestimulation, saliva was collected for 5 min under standardized conditions. Saliva was first collected on three consecutive days, and two additional samples were collected 6 and 7 weeks after the first.

Effect of snuff and smoking on tenascin expression in oral mucosa.

We have shown, by using two monoclonal antibodies (143DB7 and 100EB2), that the expression of the extracellular matrix protein tenascin (Tn) is increased in the connective tissue of biopsies taken from snuff users' and tobacco smokers' oral mucosa. In normal oral mucosa Tn was seen to underlie the epithelium as a thin delicate band. The most increase in Tn reaction was observed in snuff users' mucosa while the immunoreaction in smokers' mucosa was less conspicuous.

Hormone replacement therapy and some salivary antimicrobial factors in post- and perimenopausal women.

Objectives: The effect of hormone replacement therapy (Cyclabil) on non-immunoglobulin (peroxidase) and immunoglobulin (total IgA, IgG, IgM) antimicrobial factors as well as on total protein and microorganisms in whole saliva was assayed in 19 postmenopausal and 8 perimenopausal women.

Methods: Paraffin-stimulated whole saliva was collected before as well as 3 and 5 months after the onset of the treatment. Time- and group-related differences between post- and perimenopausal women were analyzed.

Estrogen response in buccal mucosa -- a cytological and immunohistological assay.

Objectives: The aims of the present study were firstly, to evaluate the effect of estrogen on the cytology of buccal mucosa during the menstrual cycle and at menopause, and, secondly, to analyze the presence of estrogen receptors in the epithelial cells of buccal mucosa using immunohistochemical methods.

Methods: The cytological samples of buccal mucosa from 10 healthy young women (mean age 24 years) were taken on every day of the menstrual cycle and stained according to Papanicolaou. A single cytological sample of buccal mucosa was also collected from 20 healthy postmenopausal women (mean age 66 years) using no hormone replacement therapy.

Effect of hormone replacement therapy on salivary flow rate, buffer effect and pH on perimenopausal and postmenopausal women.

The effects of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) on salivary gland functions were examined in a longitudinal study. The flow rate, buffer effect and pH of paraffin-stimulated whole saliva were analysed in 8 perimenopausal and 19 postmenopausal women. The saliva samples were collected 1-2 days before as well as 3 and 5 months after the start of HRT.

Lack of effect of hormonal treatment and smoking on cytokeratin expression in buccal mucosa.

Differences in cytokeratin expression of clinically normal buccal mucosa were studied in 50 healthy women by indirect immunofluorescence staining with monoclonal antibodies. The subjects were divided into four groups: control group (N = 18), smokers (N = 8), oral contraceptive users (N = 8) and smokers receiving oral contraceptives (N = 16). Our findings indicate that cytokeratin expression in noncornified stratified epithelium is not influenced by smoking or oestradiol/progesterone treatment.

ITI titanium plasma-sprayed screw implants in the treatment of edentulous mandibles: a follow-up study of 39 patients.

The outcomes of 153 ITI titanium plasma-sprayed screw implants were studied in 39 patients. Four implants were placed in the edentulous mandible between the mental foramina and used as support for a denture prosthesis. Thirteen implants in six patients had been lost during the follow-up time of 3 to 10 years (mean 5.

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) and Helicobacter pylori (HP) found in oral mucosal ulcers.

The possible involvement of Cytomegalovirus (CMV) and Helicobacter pylori (HP) in oral mucosal ulcers is suggested by their role in the development of ulceration at other mucosal sites of the gastrointestinal tract. A series of 29 incisional biopsies from 29 consecutive and apparently immunocompetent patients attending the clinic for oral ulceration were examined by routine histopathology as well as by in situ hybridisation (ISH) with biotinylated CMV and HP DNA probes. In 14/29 biopsies, Giemsa staining disclosed spiral bacteria.

Comparison of periapical and detailed narrow-beam radiography for diagnosis of periodontal pathology.

The diagnostic performance of the detailed narrow-beam (DNB) technique of the Scanora multimodal X-ray system was compared with periapical radiography for detecting periodontal pathology. In total, 253 sites in 133 patients were examined. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) of both imaging modalities were analyzed in relation to the ratings of five observers for the whole dentition, three dental regions and five types of periodontal lesion.