ABSTRACT
Objective @#To investigate the effects of intra-articular injection of alendronate on the mandibular condyle in ovariectomized rats.@*Methods @#Sixty female rats were randomly divided into five groups: ovariectomy with vehicle treatment alone, early alendronate treatment at ovariectomy, late alendronate treatment at 4 weeks after ovariectomy, shamoperation with vehicle treatment, and the normal control rats. The changes in subchondral bone were evaluated by micro-computed tomography (Micro-CT), tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) staining and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). @*Results @# Compared with late alendronate treatment, early alendronate treatment improved microstructural properties of the subchondral bone, with higher bone volume ratio (46.4 + 2.5 vs 37.5 + 2.1; P= 0.038), increased trabecular thickness (47.3 + 1.7 vs 34.6 + 1.4; P = 0.029), elevated trabecular number (8.5 + 0.6 vs 6.2 + 0.3; P = 0.041) and lower trabecular separation (30.2 + 1.6 vs 37.7 + 2.6; P = 0.034). Fewer TRAP-positive cells (4.2 + 0.2 vs 6.8 + 0.4; P = 0.019) and a higher OPG/RANKL ratio (0.38 + 0.01 vs 0.25 + 0.03; P = 0.043) in the subchondral bone were observed in the animals with early treatment group compared to late treatment or ovariectomy/vehicle treatment group. @*Conclusion @#Our results suggest the therapeutic potential of intra-articular alendronate injection in the treatment of osteoporosis-associated temporomandibular disorders.
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Objective@# To investigate the expression of Notch signaling molecules in temporomandibular joint arthritis (TMJOA), and to explore the role and mechanism of Notch signaling pathway in the development and progression of TMJOA. @*Methods @#72 Kunming mice were randomly divided into experimental group, sham-surgery group and normal group. In experimental group, discs on the right TMJ were subjected to total discectomy, sham-operation group underwent the same procedure without disc removal, while normal group serve as blank control. All the left temporomandibular joint discs were not treated. 8 mice in each group were sacrificed respectively at 1 week, 2 week, 4 week after surgery. Histological examinations were performed to assess success of TMJOA model, according to the pathological standard of osteoarthritis diagnosis. Immunochemistry techniques were performed in the successful TMJOA cartilages to evaluate the expression levels of Notch1 (NICD1), Jagged1, Hes1 and Hes5. The scores were evaluated by semi-quantitative method. @*Results @#Notch1 (NICD1), Jagged1 and Hes5 were activated in the experimental group with the expression levels increased dramatically over time. While Hes1 expression was suppressed at the beginning of osteoarthritis but was up-regulated afterwards.@*Conclusion @# Notch pathway-related molecular expression changed greatly in TMJOA model, indicating that the pathway in the occurrence and development of TMJOA plays an important role.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To study the clinical values of basic vital signs in early identification of critical hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD). METHODS: The clinical data of 358 children with severe HFMD [212 cases in stage 2 (central nervous system involvement) and 146 cases in stage 3 (earlier stage of cardiopulmonary failure, critical type)] were reviewed. The diagnostic values of peak temperature and duration of fever, as well as the heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) in different age groups, for critical HFMD (stage 3) were analyzed using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. RESULTS: HFMD might progress to critical type in case of HR≥148.5 beats/minutes, RR≥36.5 times/minutes, SBP≥95â mmâ Hg, and DBP≥59â mmâ Hg among children aged 0-1 year. HR≥142.5â times/minutes, RR≥31.5â times/mintes, SBP≥103â mmâ Hg, and DBP≥60.5â mmâ Hg in children aged 1-2 years had a certain diagnostic value for critical HFMD. HFMD might progress to critical type in case of HR≥139.5â times/minutes, RR≥29.5 times/minutes, and SBP≥103â mmâ Hg among children≥3â years of age. The sensitivity and specificity of every indicator were higher than 0.517 and 0.769, respectively. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) for peak temperature was 0.507 (P=0.816, compared with AUC=0.5). When the duration of fever was ≥5.5 days, the sensitivity and specificity were 0.589 and 0.571, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: HR, RR, and BP are good indicators to identify critical HFMD (stage 3) early. The optimal cut-off points conform to the age characteristics of children. DBP in children≥3 years of age, peak temperature, and duration of fever have a low value in early identification of critical HFMD.