Vascular endothelial growth factor expression and pathological changes in the local tissue of facial hemangiomas following injections with pure alcohol.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between the formation of hemangioma and the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) following local injections of pure alcohol in patients exhibiting hemangioma. Ten healthy subjects (control group) and 10 hemangioma patients (treatment group) were included in the study population, with the hemangioma patients receiving one injection of pure alcohol. The VEGF levels were evaluated in the treatment and control group subjects prior to and following the injection using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; furthermore, local tissue was excised to perform pathological analysis one week after the injections. The VEGF levels of the healthy group were identified to be significantly lower when compared with those of the treatment group prior to the injections (P<0.01) and one week after the injections (P<0.01), however, were not significantly different when compared with the treatment group one month after the injections (P>0.01). Therefore, serum VEGF concentrations in the peripheral blood may be a clinical indicator of the efficacy of clinical treatment and aid with determination of the prognosis.

Study of TNF-α, IL-1ß and LPS levels in the gingival crevicular fluid of a rat model of diabetes mellitus and periodontitis.

OBJECTIVE: In this study, we sought to investigate the dynamic changes in the levels of TNF-α, IL-1ß and LPS in the gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) in a rat model of diabetes mellitus (DM) and periodontitis (PD). Additionally, we evaluated alveolar bone loss and the histopathological response associated with experimental diabetes mellitus and experimental periodontitis. METHODS: DM and PD were induced together in 15 rats (group 1) by streptozotocin injection and ligature induction. Periodontitis alone was produced by ligature induction in 15 rats (group 2), diabetes alone was produced by streptozotocin injection in 15 rats (group 3), and fifteen systemically and periodontally healthy rats were used as controls (group 4). The gingival TNF-α, IL-1ß and LPS levels were measured by using ELISA method. Periodontal destruction was assessed by measuring the alveolar bone loss. Periodontal inflammation was quantified by histopathological grading in H&E stained samples. RESULTS: Higher levels of TNF-α, IL1-ß and LPS, increased alveolar bone loss and more serve histopathology were found in group 1 compared with group 2, group 3 and group 4 (p< 0.05). The quantities of TNF-α, IL1-ß and LPS, the amount of alveolar bone loss and the severity of the histopathological finding were greater in group 2 than group 3 and group 4 (p< 0.05). Group 3 demonstrated higher levels of TNF-α, IL1-ß and LPS, increased alveolar bone loss and more serve histopathology than group 4 (p< 0.05). Statistically significant differences were noted between all of the groups. CONCLUSIONS: These data indicate that DM may lead to enhanced TNF-α, IL1-ß and LPS production in the periodontal tissues. The resorption values of alveolar bone and the histological inflammation were more severe in rats with periodontitis and diabetes mellitus than in those with periodontitis alone, diabetes mellitus alone and control rats. Our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that hyperglycemia contributes to the heightened inflammatory response associated with periodontitis.

As2O3 may be a treatment option for adenoid cystic carcinoma of salivary gland.

Adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) is an uncommon tumor of the head and neck that may occur in any salivary gland tissue. Discouraging treatment outcomes may be related to perineural spread, loco regional invasion, and an unusually high incidence of metastatic potential. It presents a number of challenges related to facial nerve management and disease extension into surrounding soft tissue and bony compartments. ACC mostly occurring in the major and minor salivary glands, has some unique characteristics such as slow growth, diffuse invasion, and high incidence of distant metastasis. It is a high malignant carcinoma characterized by intensive local invasion and insidious distant metastasis to the lung at an early stage, which is responsible for a poor long-term survival rate. The main clinical treatment to adenoid cystic carcinoma depended on surgical operation in the past. However, it was not so easy to completely excise adenoid cystic carcinoma which resulting in the residual of tumor cells. Therefore, radiotherapy was often used after the operation. Radiotherapy alone cannot achieve the goal of radical cure, but operation combined with radiotherapy can evidently reduce the post-operative recurrence rate and increase the survival rate. Adenoid cystic carcinoma is not sensitive to conventional chemotherapeutics, so it is necessary to explore a new kind of drug which possesses inhibition and killing effects to this tumor. Arsenic trioxide (A(S2)O(3), ATO), a trivalent inorganic arsenite, has been proved to be an effective therapeutic agent against acute promyelocytic leukemia. Numerous reports have revealed that arsenite exerts its therapeutic activity by induction of apoptosis. It also induces apoptosis in a variety of cancer cells over a wide dose range. A(S2)O(3) may become a treatment option for adenoid cystic carcinoma of salivary gland.