Thalidomide as therapy for human immunodeficiency virus-related oral ulcers: a double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial.

A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial was performed in Mexico City to evaluate the efficacy of thalidomide in treating oral recurrent aphthae in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected subjects. Sixteen HIV-infected patients with clinical and histological diagnosis of oral recurrent aphthous ulcerations received randomly an 8-week course of either thalidomide or placebo, with an initial oral dosage of 400 mg/d for 1 week, followed by 200 mg/d for 7 weeks. Ten subjects received thalidomide and six received placebo. At 8 weeks, nine subjects (90%) in the thalidomide group had complete healing of their ulcers, compared with two (33.3%) of the six patients in the placebo group (P = .03). There was a significant reduction in largest ulcer diameter in the thalidomide group. Rash was observed in 80% of the thalidomide patients. Although thalidomide demonstrated an unquestionable benefit in treatment of oral ulcers in HIV patients, caution must be taken given the frequent occurrence of side effects.

Cartilaginous choristomas of the tongue: review of the literature and report of three cases.

Three cases of cartilaginous choristomas of the tongue are presented. Two lesions occurred in women of 71 and 28 years of age whose lesions were located in the middle third of the dorsum. The other lesion was found on the left lateral border in a 27-year-old man. The clinical, microscopic and immunohistochemical features are described. The lesions were easily excised with no recurrence after follow-up periods of at least 6 months. The histogenesis and the differential diagnosis are discussed, and the literature is reviewed.

Major recurrent oral ulcers in AIDS: report of three cases.

We report the cases of three AIDS patients who developed major recurrent oral ulcers with severe odynophagia and weight loss. The patients were treated successfully with systemic steroids. Within the first week of prednisone therapy (40 mg/day), the symptoms improved and the lesions entirely healed. We suggest, on the bases of recent literature, that superantigens and the cytokine network could be involved and they should be considered in the immunopathogenic mechanisms of this type of ulcers.

[Ossifying fibroma: report of two cases]. / Fibroma osificante: informe de dos casos.

Because information on this condition is scarce, there is still some controversy as to its diagnosis and treatment as a specific entity, separate from the rest of the so-called fibro-osseous lesions of the maxillae. This paper submit two cases histories of ossifying fibroma and a review of the literature.