Facial and Orbital Fractures: A Fifteen Years Retrospective Evaluation of North East Sicily Treated Patients.

Background: Orbital fractures are classified as diseases usually related to common midface trauma. It represents the most challenging treatment due to the complex anatomy, physiology, and aesthetic role. A midface trauma involves also the zygomatic complex and the nose, however the orbit fracture seems to be a more frequent disease due to its anatomical features.

Diffusion tensor imaging reveals morphological alterations of the lateral pterygoid muscle in patients with mandibular asymmetry.

Objectives: To evaluate non-invasively the morphological features of both lateral pterygoid muscle (LPM) and masseter muscle by using diffusion tensor Imaging on two patients affected by mandibular asymmetry.

Methods: Two female patients with mandibular excess and asymmetry who underwent Le Fort I osteotomy and bilateral sagittal split osteotomy were recruited for this study. Morphological (T weighted) and diffusion weighted images were acquired with a 3T scanner 1 week before (T0) and 1 month after the surgery (T1).

Histomorhological and clinical evaluation of maxillary alveolar ridge reconstruction after craniofacial trauma by applying combination of allogeneic and autogenous bone graft.

A variety of techniques and materials for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of traumatized maxillary ridges prior to dental implants placement have been described in literature. Autogenous bone grafting is considered ideal by many researchers and it still remains the most predictable and documented method. The aim of this report is to underline the effectiveness of using allogeneic bone graft for managing maxillofacial trauma.

The Effect of Different Cleaning Protocols on Post Space: A SEM Study.

. Purpose of the present paper is to analyze the efficiency of different post-space irrigation protocols. .

Three-dimensional evaluation of different prosthesis retention systems using finite element analysis and the Von Mises stress test.

Background: The aim of this paper is to underline the prosthodontics components features of two different overdenture retention systems on dental implants. The use of titanium, dental implants for replacing missing teeth is today considered to be a predictable procedure giving the patients esthetic and function for long time.

Methods: Finite element analysis (FEA) and tests based on the Von Mises criterion have been applied in order to evaluate the stress distribution over two different prosthodontics retention systems.

Effect of bisphosphonates on the mandibular bone and gingival epithelium of rats without tooth extraction.

Osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) is an adverse effect of bisphosphonate treatment that has become the subject of increasing investigations, in particular due to its poorly understood pathogenesis. Several experimental studies on animal models have been conducted; however, the majority of these replicate human ONJ following tooth extraction, and describe alterations in the bone and gingival epithelium when necrosis is manifested. The aim of the present study was to analyze the rat mandibular bone and gingival epithelium during 45 days of zoledronate treatment (which is a bisphosphonate agent), without tooth extraction.

Sarcoglycans and integrins in bisphosphonate treatment: immunohistochemical and scanning electron microscopy study.

Osteonecrosis of the jaw is an adverse outcome associated with bisphosphonate treatment. Bisphosphonates are used in conjunction with antineoplastic chemotherapy for the treatment of hypercalcaemia associated with malignancy, lytic bone metastasis and multiple myeloma. However, it is not known if the osteonecrosis of the jaw lesion originates in the bone or whether it initiates in the gingival epithelium.

Preliminary study on sarcoglycan sub-complex in rat cerebral and cerebellar cortex.

The sarcoglycan sub-complex is a protein system which plays a key role in sarcolemma stabilization during muscle activity. Although numerous studies have been conducted on this system, there are few data about its localization in non-muscular tissues. On this basis we carried out an indirect immunofluorescence study on normal rat cerebral and cerebellar cortex.

Distribution of costameric proteins in normal human ventricular and atrial cardiac muscle.

In the mature heart, the intercalated disc and costameres provide the cell-cell and cell-matrix junctions respectively. Intercalated disc is situated at the bipolar ends of the cardiomyocytes and the myofibrils are anchored at this structure. The costameres mediate integration with the extracellular matrix that covers individual cardiomyocytes laterally.