ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Saliva is a unique fluid, which is important for normal functioning of the oral cavity. Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a disease of absolute or relative insulin deficiency characterized by insufficient secretion of insulin by pancreatic beta-cells. The diagnosis of diabetes through blood is difficult in children, older adults, debilitated and chronically ill patients, so diagnosis by analysis of saliva can be potentially valuable as collection of saliva is noninvasive, easier and technically insensitive, unlike blood. The aim of the study was to correlate blood glucose level (BGL) and salivary glucose level (SGL) in DM patients. METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 120 patients, who were categorized as 40 controlled diabetics, 40 uncontrolled diabetics and 40 healthy, age- and sex-matched individuals constituted the controls. The blood and unstimulated saliva samples were collected from the patients at the different intervals for fasting, random and postprandial levels. These samples were then subjected for analysis of glucose in blood and saliva using glucose oxidase/peroxidase reagent in HITACHI 902(R) Automatic analyzer, and the results were recorded. RESULTS: The mean SGLs were higher in uncontrolled and controlled diabetic groups than in nondiabetic group. A highly statistically significant correlation was found between fasting saliva glucose and fasting blood glucose in all the groups. CONCLUSION: With increase in BGL, increase in SGL was observed in patients with diabetes suggesting that SGL can be used for monitoring glycemic level in DM.
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: The quest for formalin substitutes has long been going on due to its health hazards. Honey has been recognized as a safe substitute for formalin. However, we explored jaggery as a natural substitute for formalin. The aim of this study was to compare the tissue fixation abilities of jaggery syrup (30%) with that of 10% neutral-buffered formalin (NBF) and to determine the best fixative among both. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A study was conducted with 65 pathological tissues. Each specimen was divided into two equal parts. One part was fixed in 30% jaggery solution (Group A), while the other half was fixed in 10% NBF solution (Group B). 24 h tissue fixation was attained at room temperature followed by evaluation of pre- and post-fixation, tissue shrinkage, weight difference and ease of sectioning, followed by evaluation of conventional processing and staining. The histomorphological assessment for each slide was made based on evaluation of cellular outline, cytoplasmic details, nuclear details, staining quality and overall morphology under light microscopy. Each criterion was rated on a scale of 1-4. Nominal categorical data between the groups were compared using Chi-squared test. RESULTS: The preservation of tissue specimen by jaggery syrup was comparable to that of formalin and surprisingly overall nuclear detail of the tissue was better than conventional formalin fixative. CONCLUSION: Jaggery can be successfully adopted in routine histopathology laboratories in place of formalin.
ABSTRACT
Odontogenic myxoma is a rare intraosseous neoplasm, which is benign but locally aggressive. It rarely appears in any bone other than the jaws. It is considered to be derived from the mesenchymal portion of the tooth germ. Clinically, it is a slow-growing, expansile, painless, non-metastasizing, central tumor of jaws, chiefly the mandible. Here we report the case of a typical odontogenic myxoma in a 26-year-old female patient, which had acquired large dimensions and involved the entire left half of the mandible including the ramus, resulting in a gross facial deformity, within a span of one and a half years.
