Idiopathic bone cavity: a clinical, radiographic, and histological study.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the clinical, radiographic and histological characteristics of idiopathic bone cavities from the Oral Pathology archives at Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. Forty-three cases were retrieved. Age, sex, some radiographic variables and morphological variables measured of the connective tissue, were studied. The results showed the men who developed cavities tended to be younger than women (median 16 years (range 11-48) compared with 18 (12-64)). Radiographically rounded lesions that were single, unilocular, and small were more common in younger patients. While rounded cavities occurred mainly in the anterior region, cavities with interdental scalloping occurred in the posterior area. The median age of the patients with thin connective tissue on the wall of the bony cavity was lower than that of those with a thicker lining. In conclusion, the present study shows that there is a significant relation between age and sex, radiographic and histological variables. These findings may contribute to the diagnosis of idiopathic bone cavities.

Severe oral manifestations of chronic graft-vs.-host disease.

BACKGROUND: Graft-vs.-host-disease, or GVHD, is the main cause of morbidity in patients who have received bone marrow transplants. Chronic GVHD, or cGVHD, occurs 100 days or more after the transplant procedure and may take the form of various oral manifestations. CASE DESCRIPTION: A 23-year-old woman received an allogeneic bone marrow transplant. Although prophylactic therapy was provided, the patient developed cGVHD. Appropriate therapy was initiated, and it received a good clinical response at all sites affected by cGVHD, except in the oral cavity. The patient received complete symptomatic relief through revised systemic therapy, improved oral hygiene, use of topical medications and a monitored diet. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Effective intervention by dentists is an important part of increasing treatment effectiveness and improving quality of life in patients who received bone marrow transplants.

Immunohistochemical aspects of basal cell adenoma and canalicular adenoma of salivary glands.

Basal cell adenoma is a benign epithelial neoplasm with a uniform histologic appearance dominated by basaloid cells. Those cells may be distributed in various arrangements as solid, trabecular, tubular and membranous. Canalicular adenoma is also a benign neoplasm composed by columnar cells arranged in branching and interconnecting cords of single or double cell thick rows. There is some disagreement among investigators about whether canalicular adenoma should be included within the basal cell adenoma histologic spectrum. In the present study we compared the expression of cytokeratins (CK), vimentin and muscle-specific actin, utilizing immunohistochemical technique, in three cases diagnosed as basal cell adenomas predominantly of the solid type, and three cases of canalicular adenomas. The results obtained showed a distinct immunoprofile for both neoplasms. Solid areas of basal cell adenomas did not stain for any of the tested antibodies; only when there was tubular differentiation, those structures expressed CKs 7, 8, 14, and 19 in luminal cells and vimentin in non-luminal cells. On the other hand, canalicular adenomas strongly expressed CKs 7 and 13. The panel of antibodies utilized supports the separation of the two entities.