[The effect of astaxanthin on the adaptation of the oral mucosa to a removable denture]

THE AIM

Of this study was the evaluation of the effect of the antioxidant gel on the oral mucosa and reduction of the time of adaptation to a removable denture in patients with partial adentia.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The study comprised 105 patients aged 30-65 years divided into three groups: the main group of 45 patients, the comparison group of 35 patients, the control group of 25 patients. The main group was given a prophylactic gel with natural astaxanthin after the delivery of a removable prosthesis. The patients of the control group and the comparison group do not received an antioxidant gel. Patients of all three groups underwent a study of the hygienic state of the oral mucosa and oral fluid to assess the state of oral microbiocenosis. The main group and the comparison group underwent visual examination and photoplanimetric control after the placement of a removable denture.

RESULTS

A positive preventive and anti-inflammatory effect of astaxanthin gel was found in patients who received an immediate and a partial removable dentures. The use of the gel for 7 days helps to reduce the values of hygiene indices, concentrations of bacterial plasmalogen and endotoxin in the oral fluid in the short-term perspective.

CONCLUSION

Preventive dental gel with astaxanthin decreases the time of adaptation to removable dentures by 1.7-2 times and reduces the risk of prosthetic stomatitis due to its wound-healing, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial actions.

Cross-cultural understanding of aesthetic surgery: the male cosmetic surgery patient in japan and the USA

This review describes the historical development of aesthetic surgery in Japan and parallels with the development of the specialty in the United States. The focus is on the consequences of aesthetic surgery in the male patient when collaboration between mental health clinicians and surgeons lags. The cultural, social, and psychological issues raised are relevant to the diverse cultural groups now seeking aesthetic surgery in the United States. Case illustrations are a reminder to aesthetic surgeons of the potential need for more comprehensive evaluation in the group of male patients who may be at added risk for negative outcomes in terms of satisfaction.

Substance abuse and violence: cause and consequence

Substance abuse has been associated with violent behavior for many decades. While the relationship is the same today as it was in the past, the pervasiveness of the association, and the consequences, are more dramatic. There are two ways in which substance abuse is related to violence. First, violence can be and is perpetrated under the influence of substances, and second, violence related to substance abuse stems from the trade in drugs, which is all too often focused in poor and underserved communities. The elimination of the market for drugs, and thus the reduction in the demand for drugs, will bring about a reduction in substance abuse-related violence.

Substance abuse with psychiatric illness in children and adolescents: definitions and terminology

Substance abuse with psychiatric illness is commonly referred to as comorbidity, a term that lacks the specificity needed to further precision in research and clinical treatment, both of which are particularly important when dealing with children and adolescents. A review of the literature on this dual disorder in young people is followed by a discussion of diagnostic and treatment considerations and their implications for researchers and clinical practitioners.

Suicide in children and adolescents

The suicidal child and adolescent present significant diagnostic and dispositional problems. The diagnosis and treatment of such patients by emergency room physicians are likely and essential. As precise a diagnosis as possible is critical to the appropriate treatment. Consultation with a psychiatric resource should be sought when any uncertainty exists.

Temporomandibular joint dysfunction with facial pain in children

Temporomandibular joint dysfunction with myofascial pain, a well-known clinical disorder in adults, is reported in children. In a series of 400 patients, 40 children less than 16 years of age were seen. Of these pediatric patients, 35% had a reactive depression as primary psychopathology. The multifactorial nature of the disorder is described. The need to differentiate this syndrome from recurrent otitis media and other pain syndromes is emphasized. A combined medical, oral surgical, and psychiatric management program is outlined.

Temporomandibular joint dysfunction: an occasional manifestation of serious psychopathology

Temporomandibular joint dysfunction is multifactorial in etiology. In many patients, psychological factors contribute to the development of symptoms. This is a retrospective study of 25 patients who had temporomandibular joint dysfunction and facial pain as an early sign of significant primary psychopathology. The diagnoses were: acute depression, manic-depressive illness, hysteria, and schizophrenia. Diagnosis of the underlying psychopathology and recognition of its role in the etiology of temporomandibular joint symptoms permitted more effective treatment.

A prospective study of corticosteroid and catecholamine levels in relation to viral respiratory illness

Urinary 17-OHCS, epinephrine and norepinephrine levels were studied for one week before and one week after the onset of acute, severe Adenovirus 4 respiratory illness in 12 Army recruits during Basic Combat Training. During the pre-illness period, a tendency was frequently noted for all three hormone levels to show "spiking" elevations two to four days before illness onset. There was also a tendency for 17-OHCS levels to rise on the day before fever onset. The possible relationship of these pre-illness hormonal changes to stressful experiences and, in turn, to altered host resistance to infectious illness is discussed. Following onset of respiratory illness, 17-OHCS, epinephrine and norepinephrine levels all showed about 60 percent increases over the early pre-illness period baseline value. Elevations of these hormones persisted for about four to five days, roughly in correlation with fever duration, with only slight differences in configuration and timing of curves from one hormone to the next. The problem of evaluating which of several independent variables operating concurrently during infectious illness may be responsible for stimulating the final common neuroendocrine pathways is discussed.

Body image and the process of reconstructive surgery

Newer craniofacial operative techniques produce rapid changes in objective appearance and permit the study of body-image change. In 21 patients with either Crouzon's disease or Alpert's syndrome, a four-factor model of body-image development was applied that emphasizes cognitive growth, perception of body stimuli, stimuli from the environment in the form of comparison, and the response from others. Before a child is of school age, he has substantially defined his body image, therefore corrective surgery must be considered earlier. Although surgical intervention may produce significant objective physical change, there is not a correspondingly rapid change in body image. Four phases in the modification of body image are (1) the decision to undergo surgery, (2) the operative experience, (3) the immediate postoperative period, and (4) the reintegration stage. Recognition of this phasic process will help integrate care of these patients.

Cosmetic surgery as an antecedent of life change

Of 42 patients who underwent cosmetic surgery, 4 patients, who gave no indication of an impending life change before surgery, obtained a legal separation or divorce 3-6 months later. These 4 patients had had strong parental domination and hostile relationships with younger siblings; they had a need for success on their own terms and for the rapid closure of potential conflict. The authors suggest that such patients are undergoing significant identity changes that become conscious only after cosmetic surgery, which tests out their shift from passivity and withdrawal to activity and participation.

Stress and bronchitis

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