ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The aims of the present study were to assess whether the hard palate reveals any measurable sex-related differences, and to create a mathematical model which would differentiate between males and females using hard palate measurements alone. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The present study was conducted on 1,200 archived sinus computed tomography (CT) scans. Each cranial measurement was taken twice by the same observer, and in cases of any discrepancies, the mean of the two values was recorded. Twenty per cent of randomly chosen samples were re-measured by an observer who did not partake in assessing the samples the first time. Logistic regression was used to derivate two mathematical formulas which would calculate the probability of a skull being male. RESULTS: The studied group comprised 1,200 head CT's (627 female; 52.3%). The mean age of the group was 43.5 ± 17.4 years - no age difference between sexes was noted (p = 0.37). All of the performed measurements were significantly (p < 0.0001) larger in males than in females. The mathematical formula based on the "orale-spina nasalis posterior" (O-SNP) distance alone had a reliability rate of 68.35%. The equation based on the depth of the right greater palatine canal (GPC), the O-SNP distance and the anterior width of the palatal arch (AWPA) had a reliability rate of 78.37%. CONCLUSIONS: The most prominent sexually dimorphic parameters were the O-SNP, the GPC depth and the AWPA. The mathematical models presented in the current study can be used to successfully distinguish between sexes during forensic examination.
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: Opioid peptides provide a link between the neuroendocrine and immune systems. They modify the inflammatory process through their effect on the synthesis and secretion of cytokines and on the proliferation of leukocytes to the inflammatory lesion. The evaluation analyzed changes in free met-enkephalin concentration values in the serum and colon mucosal biopsy specimens of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). MATERIAL AND METHODS: In serum and colon mucosal biopsy specimens, free met-enkephalin levels were determined in 43 patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) and 38 individuals with Crohn's disease (CD). The evaluation analyzed the effect of disease activity, inflammatory lesions of the colon and laboratory parameters, on the level of the investigated marker. The control group consisted of 45 healthy volunteers. RESULTS: Serum free met-enkephalin levels were depressed in patients with CD (85.4pg/ml) and UC (101.5pg/ml) as compared to the controls (119.4pg/ml). Met-enkephalin levels in colonic biopsies collected from inflammatory lesions in IBD patients were significantly higher as compared to sections without inflammatory lesions (6.59pg/mg vs. 2.89pg/mg, p < 0.01 in the CD group and 6.12pg/mg vs. 3.47pg/mg, p < 0.05 in the UC group) and their level correlated with disease activity. CONCLUSIONS: The present investigation is the first study that demonstrates changes in free met-enkephalin levels in IBD that may play a role in the pathogenesis and course of the disease. Further studies are necessary to assess the anti-inflammatory effect of opioid peptides.
