Medicine and Pharmacy Reports最新文献

Background and aims: Bruxism is associated with a variety of factors, some of which are oral (occlusion, joint, face shape) while others are of a systemic nature (respiratory, cardiac, neurotransmitters, stress). The relationship between bruxism and occlusion has received great attention, but it still has a lot of ambiguity. This study aimed at investigating the parameters that may affect bruxism: dental interferences or premature contacts, vicious habits, temporomandibular joint (TMJ) pain, TMJ noises, TMJ morning fatigue, snoring, obstructive sleep apnea, which may occur before bruxism, or because of chronic parafunction.

Methods: We conducted an observational, analytical case-control study to determine the association between bruxism and oral cavity factors as well as general factors. Participants were chosen from a group of middle-aged Romanian population. An online questionnaire was used for data collection. A total of one hundred subjects were included in the sample. Fifty cases with bruxism were chosen as a study group, and another fifty persons of similar ages were chosen as a control group. Statistical analysis was performed using the MedCalc version 20.110 software.

Results: The study comprised subjects between 18 and 42 years old. The most prevalent age range was between 20-25 years. The female-male ratio was almost similar; 62% of the participants had sleep bruxism, 10% had awake bruxism and 28% had a combined form. The arithmetic means of the daily stress levels for both research groups' scores were 3.0 for the bruxism group and 3.24 for the control group, while the work stress was 3.04 for the bruxism group and 3.41 for the control group. Dental interferences or premature contacts, vicious habits, TMJ pain, TMJ noises, TMJ morning fatigue, snoring, and obstructive sleep apnea were evaluated. The majority of subjects received an oral splint (n=26).

Conclusions: Bruxism was associated with stress, occlusal parameters (premature contacts and occlusion interferences), and joint pathologies. Bruxism was not found to be positively correlated with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. There was a moderately significant association between bruxism and snoring. There was no evidence of an association between bruxism and vicious habits, dental aesthetics, or obstructive sleep apnea. Treatment significantly improved the quality of life, the masticatory and joint functions.

Background and aims: Breast cancer (BC) is the most frequently diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of cancer-related death among women worldwide. For locally advanced diseases and high-risk tumors, neoadjuvant therapy (NAT) is the treatment of choice. Some studies show that mammographic density (MD) tumor margins and the presence of microcalcifications play a prognostic role in BC patients. Hence, the objective of this retrospective study was to assess if MD could predict the response to NAT among different molecular subtypes of BC patients undergoing NAT at The "Prof. Dr I. Chiricuta" Oncology Institute of Cluj-Napoca, Romania (IOCN). Furthermore, the association between MD, tumor margins and the presence of microcalcifications with clinico-pathological data was analyzed.

Methods: Eighty-four breast cancer patients diagnosed and treated at IOCN were included in this study. The morphological characteristics of the tumors were framed according to the BIRADS lexicon. The presence or absence of microcalcifications was also assessed. First, the significance of associations between breast density, margins and microcalcifications and clinico-pathological parameters of the patients were tested with Fisher or Fisher-Freeman-Halton Exact Test. Next, using multinomial logistic regression, we modelled the associations between the pathological response measured by Miller Payne and Residual cancer burden (RCB) systems and the BI-RADS. Variables having significant univariate tests were selected as candidates for the multivariable analysis (adjusted model).

Results: Breast densities were significantly associated with the age of the patients (p=0.01), number of positive lymph nodes (p=0.037), margins (p=0.002) and combined categories of Miller-Payne (p=0.034) and RCB pathological response (p=0.021). Margins was significantly associated with ki67 proliferation index (p=0.029), estrogen receptor (ER) (p=0.007), progesterone receptor (PR) (p=0.019), molecular subtype (p<0.001) and the number of clinically observed positive lymph nodes at diagnosis (p=0.019).

Conclusions: In our cohort, BC patients with lower MD had higher odds of achieving pCR following NAT, suggesting the role of MD as a clinical prognostic marker. Larger multicenter studies are warranted to validate the prognostic value of MD, which could aid in patients stratification based on their likelihood to respond to NAT.

Aim: This survey was conducted to determine the type and frequency of antibiotics (AB) use for the prevention of infections in dental third molar (M3) extraction and implantation procedures (DIP) among UK dentists and the opinions underpinning their practice.

Methods and design: Systematic reviews of the evidence were undertaken alongside this survey of practicing dentists in the United Kingdom to identify the opinions and practices of those undertaking the procedures.With ethical approval, a survey was designed for online delivery and was sent to every dental practitioner in the UK with a publicly available email address or social media contact. The opening page provided the project information sheet and proceeding to complete and submit the questionnaire was considered consent to participate. The online survey was circulated to 900 identified addresses and a total of 145 responses were received. Responses were collated in Microsoft® Excel™ and analyzed using IBM® SPSS™ plus thematic analysis of free text responses.

Results: There were 42% of participants (n=61) who discouraged AB prophylactic use in M3 extractions in people with no systemic conditions and who also preferred postoperative AB use when required. Where, 57.9% of respondents (n=84) supported the short-term use of ABs (5-7 days) for M3 extraction and 53% (n=77) in DIP placement in patients with no relevant medical history. As an ad hoc finding, dentists reported on the negative impact of heavy smoking and oral parafunctional behavior on DIP success.

Conclusion: The use of antibiotics and broad spectrum antibiotics remains higher than current guidelines would recommend. Further research is required to clarify the specific risks arising from underlying medical conditions to further clarify where prophylaxis is required.

Background and aims: Tumors of the central nervous system represent the main cause of death by cancer in children. The diagnosis and molecular classification of these neoplasms have seen great improvement in the past years, due to ongoing genomic advances. In general, the treatment consists of surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy. However, the currently available pharmacological treatment options have limited effectiveness due to the particular characteristics of the blood-brain barrier.

Methods: We decided to study the therapeutic results in children treated for brain tumors in the Cluj-Napoca "Prof. dr. Ion Chiricuta" Oncology Institute, between 2001 and 2018, in order to provide a more accurate understanding of the disease and the available therapeutic options in our center.

Results: Out of the 207 cases included in this study, we recorded 98 deaths (47.3%). This is significantly less than the 5-year survival rate recorded in the US between 2012 and 2018 (74.9%). There are many factors that could explain the low survival rate, such as a very late diagnosis, the inability to implement innovative radiation therapy techniques until 2018, and the fact that between 2001 and 2010 the chemotherapy regimens in our center were not as effective as the more recent ones.

Conclusions: The therapeutic results recorded in this study are similar to those in other middle-income countries, however, the available treatment options for pediatric brain tumors are not as effective as those currently in use for other pediatric and adult malignancies.