[Psychological assessment of patients with recurrent aphthous ulcers]

Recurrent aphthous stomatitis [RAS] is among the most common oral conditions and psychological disorders are among its predisposing factors. The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency and type of psychological disorders in patients with RAS. Seventy-five patients referred to Mashhad Dental School were enrolled in this cross-sectional study: 35 patients with RAS [15 males and 20 females] constituted the study group and 40 healthy patients [15 males and 25 females] comprised the control group. The SCL-90 questionnaire consisting of 90 multiple choice questions was completed by all subjects and a psychologist scored and analyzed the results in order to evaluate the psychological status of patients. The overall frequency of psychological disorders was 44%; this rate was 68.6% in the RAS patients and 22.5% in the control group [P<0.0001]. The frequency of anxiety disorder was 42.9% in RAS patients and 7.5% in the control group [P<0.0001]. The frequency of somatization disorder was 17.1% in RAS patients and 0% in the control group [P=0.008]. The frequency of depression was 28.6% in RAS patients and 15% in the control group [P=0.004]. All these differences were statistically significant. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in other psychological disorders. The results showed that psychological disorders were generally more frequent among RAS patients compared to the control group. The most common psychological disorder was anxiety disorder and the frequency of anxiety, depression and somatization was higher in RAS patients

[Approach to orofacial granulomatosis and review of literature]

Orofacial granulomatosis [OFG] comprises a group of diseases characterized by non-caseating granulomatous inflammation affecting the soft tissues of the oral and maxillofacial region. Wiesenfeld introduced the term orofacial granulomatosis in 1985 for the first time. The precise cause of OFG is unknown; however, some theories have been suggested including allergy, infection and genetic predisposition. The clinical presentation can be highly variable, making the diagnosis difficult to establish. The aim of this review was to define clinical features, differential diagnosis and treatment protocols of OFG. All English articles from 1950 to 2010 in Pubmed, InterScience, ScienceDirect, Google Scholar databases were searched using the keywords: orofacial granulomatosis, approach, and treatment. Persian articles were also selected from Iran Medex. Because of the relatively nonspecific clinical findings associated with a variety of granulomatous diseases, the diagnosis of orofacial granulomatous often presents a dilemma for the clinician. The most common differential diagnosis includes Crohn's disease, sarcoidosis, and infection. However, a variety of other conditions may be associated with granuloma formation. Often an extensive clinical, microscopic, and laboratory evaluation may be required to reach to definite diagnosis and proper treatment

Effects of karyotype variations on phenotype of patients with turner syndrome

Turner syndrome [TS] is a sporadic disorder caused by the absence of all or some parts one X-chromosome with major developmental consequences such as short stature and ovarian failure etc. The minor manifestations of TS are cubitus valgus, micrognatism, high-arched palate, short and/or webbed neck, hypothyroidism, etc. Different karyotype abnormalities may lead to different clinical features; therefore, in this study we have tried to postulate karyotype-phenotype correlations in these patients. In order to assess karyotype-phenotype correlations, 209 proven TS patients were studied and chromosomal analysis was performed on the basis of G-banding technique at high resolution. According to cytogenetic findings, karyotype abnormalities were classified into four groups: classic form 19%; mosaic form 76%; long arm isochromosome 4% and short arm deletion 1%. Clinical manifestations were more severe in classic TS rather than the other forms of chromosomal abnormalities. The results of this study suggest that karyotype variations might affect phenotype of Turner syndrome. Therefore, chromosomal investigation for all suspected cases of Turner syndrome should be considered in order to approach an appropriate treatment protocol

Study on glutathione S-tranferase [GST] inhibition assay by triclabendazole.1: Protoscoleces [Hydatid cyst; Echinococcus granulosus] and sheep liver tissue

Hydatid disease is a term used to refer infection with the methacestode of Echinococcus granulosus parasite in humans, and echinococcusis is restricted to infection with the adult stage in carnivores.Glutathione S-Transferase [GST] represents the major class of detoxification enzymes from helminth parasites such as Echinococcus protoscoleces [PSC] and it is candidate for chemotherapeutic and vaccine design. Therefore, GST of protoscoleces could be a target for evaluation of drug effect as triclabendazole in hydatid cyst. For this purpose, GST enzymes were purified from protoscoleces of hydatid cyst and sheep liver tissue by glutathione affinity chromatography using a wash-batch method and subsequently detected their SDS-PAGE pattern. Afterward, GST specific activity levels were assayed in the whole extract and purified solutions spectrophotometrically at 30 C with reduced glutathione [GSH] and 1-chloro-2, 4-dinitrobenzen [CDNB] substrate. Finally, GST inhibition assay was investigated in the solutions by powder and bolus of triclabendazole. GST fraction as a 26 kDa [MW] band was obtained on SDS-PAGE. The level of GST specific activity in purified solutions was detected 10.24 mmol/min/mg proteins for protoscoleces and 37.84 mmol/min/mg protein for liver tissue. Comparison of the effect of powder and bolus of triclabendazole in solutions revealed inhibition concentration [IC50] 8.71 and 11.16 mg/ml for protoscoleces GST and 8.65 and 9.70 mg/ml for liver tissue GSTs, respectively. These findings suggest the possibility of selective inhibition of protoscoleces. GSTs by triclabendazol in vitro and use of these results for understanding of its molecular effect in vivo