This paper reports the treatment of oral lymphangiomas with carbon dioxide CO₂ Laser. Lymphangiomas are rare congenital lymphatic malformations. These lesions are most frequently diagnosed during childhood, are most commonly located in the head and neck region, and are extremely rare in the oral cavity. Oral lymphangiomas are of complex treatment due to the difficulty in performing a complete excision. CO₂ laser is the most often used laser in the oral cavity due to its affinity with water and high absorption by the oral mucosa. Several benefits of the use of CO₂ laser have been reported for surgical oral procedures. The cases reported herein were biopsy-proven lymphangiomas of the oral cavity. The surgical procedures were carried out under local anesthesia and a focused CO₂ laser beam (λ10.600 nm, Φ ~2 mm, CW/RSP) was used. At the end of the surgery, the laser beam was used on a defocused mode to promote better hemostasis. Neither sutures nor dressings were used after surgery. No medication and only mouthwashes were prescribed to all patients on the postoperative period. There were no postsurgical complaints from the patients and no relapses of the conditions were observed after follow-up periods of 12 and 18 months. The use of CO₂ laser was practical, easy to carry out and effective on the treatment of oral lymphangiomas, with no lesion recurrence.

Osteoporosis is a disease characterized by the reduction of bone mineral density. LED wavelengths seem to have similar photo-stimulating effects to laser light. The aim of this study was to assess the Raman shifts: ∼ 960 (phosphate hydroxyapatite), ∼ 1,070 (carbonate hydroxyapatite), and ∼ 1,454 cm (-1) (lipids and proteins) on bone defects of ovariectomized rats treated or not with LED phototherapy (LED-PT). Thirty female rats were divided into four groups (Basal, OVX, OVX+Clot, and OVX+Clot+LED), then subdivided into two subgroups (15 and 30 days after surgery). Osteoporosis induction by ovariectomy (OVX) was performed in all groups, except for the normal basal group. Following development of osteoporosis, one surgical bone defect (5 mm(2)) was created on the femur of each animal. Defects were irradiated with LED light (λ = 850 ± 10 nm, P = 150 mW, CW, Ф = 0.5 cm(2), 20.4 J/cm(2) per session, t = 128 s, 163.2 J/cm(2) per treatment) at 48 h interval during 2 weeks. Raman measurements were taken at the surface of the defects 30 days after surgery. Significant difference between groups Basal, OVX+Clot, and OVX+Clot+LED for the peaks at ∼ 960 (p ≤ 0.001; 15 and 30 days), ∼ 1,070 (p ≤ 0.001; 15 and 30 days), and ∼ 1,450 cm(-1) (p = 0.002; 15 days; p = 0.004; 30 days) were detected. In addition, statistical differences were obtained between groups OVX, OVX+Clot, and OVX+Clot+LED for these same peaks at all time points (p ≤ 0.001). At 15 and 30 days, there were statistical differences between groups OVX+Clot and OVX+Clot+LED for the peaks at ∼ 960 (p ≤ 0.001), ∼ 1,070 (p ≤ 0.001; p = 0.003), and ∼ 1,450 cm(-1) (p ≤ 0.001; p = 0.002). The results of this study are indicative that infrared LED-PT improved the deposition of HA on bone defects of ovariectomized rats.

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Abstract:The regular practice of physical exercises aiming the development or maintenance of flexibility and muscular strength can have a relevant role throughout life. The Pilates ® method is a way of physical conditioning that strengthens and stretches the muscles without leading to exhaustion, which became popular in rehabilitation and in fitness. The present study aims to assess the benefits proposed by the Pilates ® Method, among adult women that previously practiced this method as exclusive way of physical conditioning, aiming to observe if there is continuous gain of flexibility and muscular strength, and to compare these benefits within different age groups. To that matter, 20 women that practiced solely Pilates volunteered and were divided into three groups (group I: 30 to 40 years old, group II: 41 to 50 years old, group III: 51 a 60 years old). The subjects were submitted to flexibility evaluation using the Wells database strength evaluation using the 1-RM test, after 16 training sessions. The results were submitted to the One-way test ANOVA, and showed no significant differences in the gain of flexibility or strength in the three tested groups (p < 0.05).

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