Thermographic findings related to facial pain - a survey of 40 subjects.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess how thermography findings relate painful symptoms and signs of temporomandibular disorders (TMD).

Methods: Thermography, combined with chewing of paraffin wax, was performed on 40 subjects. The results were analyzed according to gender and pain-related TMD symptoms and clinical signs.

Collagen XVIII modulation is altered during progression of oral dysplasia and carcinoma.

Background: Collagen XVIII is a ubiquitous basement membrane (BM) component and a precursor of endostatin.

Methods: Using immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization, we studied the expression and localization of collagen XVIII in different stages of normal oral wound healing, epithelial dysplasia and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC).

Results: In mild epithelial dysplasias collagen XVIII appeared as a continuous signal in the BM, whereas in severe epithelial dysplasias and in the invasive areas of oral SCCs collagen XVIII was absent.

Performance of six bone collectors designed for dental implant surgery.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to perform an in vitro comparison of six bone collectors for harvesting of particulate bone.

Material And Methods: Four commercially available bone collectors (Frios, Osseous Coagulum Trap, ACE Autografter, Bone Trap) and two custom-designed models were tested. Three different in vitro tests were performed to determine the harvesting capabilities of the collectors.

Alterations of collagen XVII expression during transformation of oral epithelium to dysplasia and carcinoma.

Collagen XVII (BP180) is a hemidesmosomal transmembrane component that has been hypothesized to participate in keratinocyte adhesion and motility. Using immunohistochemical (IHC) and in situ hybridization (ISH) methods, we showed downregulation of collagen XVII in basal cells in mild dysplasias and upregulation in suprabasal keratinocytes in moderate and severe dysplasias as well as in the central cells of grade II and III squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs). Overexpression of collagen XVII was found at the invasive front of the tumors.

Cell death and mechanoprotection by filamin a in connective tissues after challenge by applied tensile forces.

Cells in mechanically challenged environments must cope with high amplitude forces to maintain cell viability and tissue homeostasis. Currently, force-induced cell death and the identity of mechanoprotective factors are not defined. We examined death in cultured periodontal fibroblasts, connective tissue cells that are exposed to heavy applied forces in vivo.