Combined use of ultrasonic liposuction with the pull-through technique for the treatment of gynecomastia.

The authors present a method of treatment for gynecomastia that combines the use of two techniques of soft-tissue contouring. This method uses ultrasonic liposuction in conjunction with the pull-through technique of direct excision to effectively remove the fibrofatty tissue of the male breast and the fibrous breast bud through a single 1-cm incision. Fifteen patients were treated in this fashion, and each patient demonstrated a smooth, masculine breast contour with a well-concealed scar, which eliminates the stigma of breast surgery. The procedure is technically straightforward and provides consistent results. It is offered as an additional option for the treatment of gynecomastia.

[A non-exocrine function of the submaxillary gland]. / Une fonction non exocrine de la glande sous-maxillaire.

Emphasizing on the concept of "banalization" and multifactoriality of the signal molecules of the cellular communication, the authors review data of the literature which allow to attribute to some substances synthetized by the submandibular salivary glands (SSG), mainly growth factors as EGF and NGF, an endocrine role. Because of their direct secretion in the oral cavity or their overflow into bloodstream the consequences of the deficit of these growth factors could be correlated with some oral pathologies such as aphthous lesions, puberty and pregnancy gingivitis, which endocrine etiology is often assumed, as well as autoimmune salivary pathologies. Thus, the results obtained after SSG removal furnish a support for envisaging a link between the submandibular salivary glands and the reproductive function (decrease in plasma LH level, ultrastructural changes of the Leydig cells, spontaneous abortion) and with some structures of the central nervous system such as hypothalamus (variation in hypothalamic TRH content) or pineal gland (decrease in pineal cyclic AMP content). Particularly interesting is the possibility that NGF secreted in blood by the SSG during a stress may represent the signal able to stimulate the peripheral immunity cells as well as to inform the central nervous system through a neuronal pathway via the superior cervical ganglia and the pineal gland. This brain afferent information could be associated with an increased hypothalamic NGF synthesis, also observed during stress, whose finality might be to stimulate the secretion of hypophyseal ACTH, the main hormone involved in the interrelationship between endocrine and immune response.

[Immunology and protidology: study of immunological phenomena in periodontology in relation to serum proteins]. / Immunologie et protidologie: étude des phénomènes immunitaires en parodontologie à partir des protéines sériques.

The host response to the bacterial challenge varies from patients to patient. This paper deals with the protein profiles of patients suffering from different periodontal diseases. It is suggested that these profiles may help in diagnosing the given disease.