[Morphological variations of the temporomandibular joint. Statistical studies on its anatomical features]. / Le variazioni morfologiche dell'articolazione temporomandibolare. Indagine statistica su reperti anatomici.

Data regarding the joints, skeleton and teeth, including specific measurements of condylar diameters, the height of mandibular branches and the gonial angle, were obtained from the study of 100 dry skulls from young adults of both sexes. An innovative measurement technique was required to assess the articular eminence, whereas Yale's scale and Scott's method were used to analyse condylar morphology and dental wear (attrition) respectively. The presence of elementary, uni- and bilateral joint lesions and adaptive remodelling was also assessed. Special attention was paid to the examination of possible asymmetries, which proved to be numerous, due to the supposed repercussions on mandibular arthrokinematics. The correlation between condylar alterations and the various bone and dental parameters was not significant, except in the presence of third class bone or cross bites. The sample population in question, which possessed abundant dental remains, proved to be relatively homogeneous and well distributed in terms of sex and age; it may therefore be used as a reference population for the assessment of temporomandibular morphology.

Monoclonal antibodies in serological, immunoscintigraphic and immunocytochemical diagnosis of epithelial ovarian cancer.

In present work the Authors examine the utility of CA 125 assay in patients affected by epithelial ovarian cancer. It is stressed that marker negativity does not necessarily imply the absence of disease. On the other hand the Authors underly the almost total absence of false positives, the only problem being with cases of benign gynaecological pathologies. The CA 125 assay appears to provide informations in the evaluation of response to therapy. Finally they note two more recent applications of monoclonal antibodies: first, marking these substances with radioisotopes; second, immunohistochemistry that shows the presence and location of the antigen at the histological level. (By editorial staff).

Polychemotherapy in ovarian cancer: treatment with Adriamycin, BCNU and cyclophosphamide vs. Adriamycin and cyclophosphamide.

The authors compared both therapeutic efficacy and toxicity of two different treatment regimens: ABC = adriamycin, nitrogen mustard (BCNU) and cyclophosphamide (CTX) vs. AC = adriamycin and cyclophosphamide in ovarian cancer. Thirty-one patients were entered under treatment plan ABC and 26 under treatment plan AC simultaneously. Therapeutic evaluation was subdivided into different risk groups (adjuvant therapy, residual disease less than or greater than 2 cm). A similar result could be noted in the two different treatment regimens. Toxicity was more severe and frequent in the group treated with BCNU. The AC regimen was preferred because of its lower incidence of side-effects and for its easier mode of administration.

The significance of measurement of several oncofetal antigens in diagnosis and management of epithelial ovarian tumors.

Association of serum alphafetoprotein (alpha FP), human chorionic gonadotropin beta-subunit (beta-HCG), carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and ferritin (FER) was studied in a group of 72 patients with epithelial ovarian cancer 15 days after surgery and at various times during 2 years. Only CEA and ferritin are able to reflect tumor burden in detecting evolutive disease; alpha FP and beta-HCG have a diagnostic significance in few cases, probably related to a particular, not evident, histological component of the tumor. Nevertheless the data indicate that the use of marker association can improve our capacity to detect, overall in the residual and evolutive disease, the real clinical burden of the patients.

Ferritinemia in ovarian malignant tumours.

Seriated ferritin assays were carried out on 95 patients affected by primitive ovarian epithelial tumour over a period of three years (1979/82), by radioimmunometric assay for human spleen ferritin. Ferritin was elevated in endometrioid tumours and in the presence of active progressing disease and chemotherapy did not influence these values. The ferritin/sideremia ratio was high in the case with pathological levels. Studying the glicosilation of this protein a significant amount of ferritin was not bound to concavallin A, suggesting direct release of this protein by tumour cells.

[Pelvic inflammatory disease and the intrauterine device]. / Malattia infiammatoria pelvica e dispositivi intrauterini.

PIP: The authors examined the incidence of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) in women using an IUD among the population of an area served by a public health service for family planning. Among 300 women who used the IUD for at least 12 months, 7 cases (2.3%) showed a pelvic infection and 10 patients (3.3%) only a slight salpingitis without other symptoms. The incidence of PID in women using an IUD is about 3-4% and it increases in nulligravidae, in those subjects who engage in frequent intercourse, and in those women who have previously suffered from gonococcal infection. The IUDs are associated with a low incidence of pelvic infection, in most cases slight, so that the use of an IUD does not involve a significant risk of infection. (author's)^ieng