Favorite Music Mediates Pain-related Responses in the Anterior Cingulate Cortex and Skin Pain Thresholds.

PURPOSE: Music therapy is widely used to enhance well-being, reduce pain, and distract patients from unpleasant symptoms in the clinical setting. However, the degree to which music modulates pain perception is unknown. The medial pain pathway including the limbic system is associated with emotion, but how music alters pathway activity is unclear. The aim of the study was to investigate pain thresholds and pain-related responses in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and whether they were modulated when subjects listened to their favorite music genre. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: First, 30 subjects were examined for left forearm pain threshold using electrical stimulation with Pain Vision PS-2011N. The pain thresholds with and without music were compared. Second, when an 80-µA current from Pain Vision was applied to the left ankle of eight women, the pain-related responses of the ACC with and without music were observed with functional magnetic resonance device (fMRI). The changes in the pain-related activity in both parameters were discussed. RESULTS: The median pain threshold with favorite music was 38.9 µA, compared to 29.0 µA without, which was significantly different (p<0.0001). The men's thresholds were significantly higher than women's both with music (p<0.05) and without music (p<0.01). The pain threshold in women was more strongly affected by music than in men. The fMRI results showed that the pain-related response in the ACC in five of eight subjects was attenuated while they listened to their favorite music. No change was observed in the other three subjects. CONCLUSION: The present findings suggest that pain perception might be strongly affected by listening to favorite music, possibly through modulation of pain-related responses in the ACC.

Drop in transforming growth factor-alpha and osteoprotegerin level in gingival crevicular fluid from patients with gingivitis.

Inflammatory mediators, especially cytokine, play a central role in the pathogenesis of gingivitis. The aim of this study was to identify and quantify the various growth factors, and cytokines in the gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) of patients with gingivitis, as compared with those of control subjects. The levels of cytokine in the samples were determined by their respective ELISAs. The transforming growth factor (TGF)-alpha and osteoprotegerin (OPG) level were significantly lower in patients with gingivitis than in the controls (p < 0.05). Also, there was a positive correlation between TGF-alpha and OPG levels (r = 0.761). These results suggest that the decrease in growth factor TGF-alpha is associated with the pathophysiology and/or the progress of gingivitis.

Expression of cathepsin-K in gingival crevicular fluid of patients with periodontitis.

Cathepsin-K is a highly expressed cysteine protease, and it plays a key role in bone remodeling and cartilage breakdown in bone. Cathepsin-K is used as a well-known marker of osteoclast activity, because this enzyme is mainly derived from osteoclasts. The receptor activator for NF-kappaB ligand (RANKL) plays an important role in osteoclast formation. Although a recent study suggests the involvement of RANKL in the pathogenesis of periodontal disease, no one has previously examined the level of cathepsin-K in the body fluid of human subjects. If the presence of cathepsin-K, as well as RANKL, can be detected in body fluids, it would be indirect proof of the differentiation and/or activation of osteoclasts in the tissues bathed by these fluids. This communication reports on the in vivo concentrations of cathepsin-K and RANKL in the gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) of normal subjects and those patients with severe, moderate, and mild forms of the disease. Increased concentrations of cathepsin-K and RANKL were detected in the GCF from patients with periodontitis (P<0.005 versus control subjects). Also, there was a positive correlation between cathepsin-K and RANKL levels (r=0.726), suggesting that both of them contribute to osteoclastic bone destruction in periodontal disease.

[Correlation between periodontal disease and osteoporosis using panoramic radiographic parameters for diagnosed osteoporosis in dental clinic].

The correlation between periodontal disease and osteoporosis was evaluated by comparing age, panoramic radiographic and clinical parameters of periodontal disease. Diagnosis of osteoporosis in periodontal diseased patients was evaluated by panoramic radiographic parameters (mandibular cortical width:MCW). Subjects which had more than 20 teeth and examined by panoramic radiography were untreated adults with periodontal disease who were free of other systemic disease. The following parameters were examined on panoramic X-ray film:alveolar bone loss (ABL), mandibular bone mass with the use of mandibular cortical width (MCW). ABL was significantly higher and MCW significantly lower in the postmenopausal group (>6 years after menopause). The number of teeth was significantly lower and CAL significantly higher in the postmenopausal group (>11 years after menopause). Age and ABL correlated positively in men and women. Years after menopause and ABL and MCW and CAL in the postmenopausal group were correlated positively. Women whose MCW was less than mean - 2 SD should be diagnosed with osteoporosis. Our results demonstrated that periodontal disease correlates with osteoporosis, and MCW could be useful in detecting of osteoporosis in women with periodontal disease.