A verruciform xanthoma of the lower lip and review of the differential diagnosis.

A careful examination of lips is often neglected by the members of the medical and dental professions; yet the lips reveal a heterogeneous group of lesions ranging from congenital abnormalities to benign and malignant neoplasms. Verruciform Xanthoma (VX) is an uncommon benign inflammatory mucocutaneous condition that occurs in the oral cavity which was first described by Shafer in 1971. It is often associated with pre-existing epithelial and/or inflammatory disorder and is characterized histopathologically by papillary epithelial hyperplasia and the presence of foamy macrophages in connective tissue papillae. We report a case with VX which presented as a well-defined, soft, painless swelling on the lower lip having different clinical features.

Recent advances in gene therapy for thalassemia.

Thalassemias are genetically transmitted disorders. Depending upon whether the genetic defects or deletion lies in transmission of α or ß globin chain gene, thalassemias are classified into α and ß-thalassemias. Thus, thalassemias could be cured by introducing or correcting a gene into the hematopoietic compartment or a single stem cell. Initial attempts at gene transfer have proved unsuccessful due to limitations of available gene transfer vectors. The present review described the newer approaches to overcome these limitations, includes the introduction of lentiviral vectors. New approaches have also focused on targeting the specific mutation in the globin genes, correcting the DNA sequence or manipulating the development in DNA translocation and splicing to restore globin chain synthesis. This review mainly discusses the gene therapy strategies for the thalassemias, including the use of lentiviral vectors, generation of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, gene targeting, splice-switching and stop codon readthrough.

Texture analysis of CT images in the characterization of oral cancers involving buccal mucosa.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the usefulness of texture analysis in the characterization of oral cancers involving the buccal mucosa and to assess its effectiveness in differentiating between the various grades of the tumour. METHODS: Contrast enhanced CT examination was carried out in 21 patients with carcinoma of the buccal mucosa who had consented to retrospective analysis during a research study that was approved by the institutional review board. Two regions of interest (ROIs) were created, one at the site of the lesion and the other at the contralateral normal side. Texture analysis measures of fractal dimension (FD), lacunarity and grey level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) were computed for each ROI. The numeric data from the two ROIs were compared and were correlated with the tumour grade as confirmed by biopsy. RESULTS: The difference between the mean FD and GLCM parameters of the lesion vs the normal ROI were statistically significant (p < 0.05); no significant difference was observed between the three grades of tumour for any of the parameters (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Texture analysis on CT images is a potential method in the characterization of oral cancers involving the buccal mucosa and deserves further investigation as a predictor of tumour aggression.