This study aimed to investigate the influence of low-power 830 nm gallium-aluminium-arsenide (GaAlAs) laser [continuous wave (CW) 40 mW and fluence 4 J/cm(2), with total energy density of 16 J/cm(2)] on the healing of human infra-bony defects treated with bioactive glass graft material. Twenty patients with chronic periodontitis and bilateral infra-bony defects were included. Using a split mouth design, we treated 20 defects with bioactive glass plus laser irradiation during surgical procedures and on days 3, 5, 7 postoperatively; 20 contra-lateral defects were treated with bioactive glass only. Clinical probing pocket depths, clinical attachment levels and standardized periapical radiographs were recorded at baseline and at 3 months and 6 months postoperatively. At 3 months there was a statistically significant difference between the laser and non-laser sites in the parameters investigated. However, at 6 months, no difference was observed. Our results have confirmed the positive effect of soft laser in accelerating periodontal wound healing.

Effective and well-tolerated anti-fibrotic drugs are currently lacking. Therefore, this study was carried out to investigate the potential anti-fibrotic effects of imatinib, nilotinib and silymarin on established hepatic fibrosis in the carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) rat model. Male Wistar rats received intraperitoneal injections of CCl4 twice weekly for 8 weeks, as well as daily intraperitoneal treatments of imatinib (10 and 20 mg/kg), nilotinib (10 and 20 mg/kg) and silymarin (100 mg/kg) during the last 4 weeks of CCl4-intoxication. At the end of the study, hepatic damage was evaluated by analysis of liver function tests and hepatic oxidative stress parameters. Hepatic fibrosis was evaluated by histopathology and morphometry, as well as collagen and 4-hydroxyproline contents. Nilotinib (20 mg/kg) was the most effective treatment to counteract CCl4-induced hepatic injury as indicated by liver function tests and histopathology. Nilotinib (10 mg/kg), nilotinib (20 mg/ kg) and silymarin (100 mg/kg) treatments reduced the mean score of hepatic fibrosis by 31%, 68% and 47%, respectively, and hepatic collagen content by 47%, 49% and 18%, respectively in CCl4-treated rats. Hepatic morphometric evaluation and 4-hydroxyproline content revealed that CCl4-induced fibrosis was ameliorated significantly by nilotinib (20 mg/kg) and imatinib (20 mg/kg). Unlike nilotinib, imatinib (20 mg/kg) showed some sort of hepatic injury evidenced by elevation of serum aminotransferases and total bilirubin levels, and hepatic total nitrate/nitrite content, as well as characteristic anisonucleosis visualized with the hematoxylineosin staining. In conclusion, this study provides the evidence that nilotinib exerts anti-fibrotic activity and suggests that it may be valuable in the treatment of hepatic fibrosis in humans.

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Despite being a benign condition, gestational gigantomastia could turn to be a catastrophe. BSCM with LDF and FNAG represents an excellent alternative breast saving surgical option. It offers the advantage of restoring normal breast shape with no fear of future recurrences.

The discovery of Helicobacter hepaticus as a causal agent of hepatitis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in mice has stimulated interest in looking for Helicobacter species in human liver samples. In this study, we searched for association between H. pylori and HCV-related liver disease. Liver specimens were collected from eighty-five patients; they were divided into five different groups according to liver pathology (METAVIR system). Group I (the 1st control group) consisted of 16 patients with chronic hepatitis C without histological activity. Group II consisted of 25 patients with chronic active hepatitis C, Group III, 17 patients with HCV-related cirrhosis and Group IV, 16 patients with HCV-related cirrhosis and HCC. Group V (2nd control group) consisted of 11 patients suffering from gastro duodenal and gall bladder diseases but negative for HCV. All cases were tested by polymerase chain reaction on liver samples for the presence of H. pylori DNA Cag A gene. Routine biochemical, radiological and RT-PCR for HCV RNA were also performed for all cases. The positivity of H. pylori PCR CagA gene in liver tissue was directly proportional to the severity of liver pathology, this being 75%, 52.9% and 32% in groups IV, III and II, respectively, which was more significant than the 1st and 2nd control groups (P < 0.001). There was a significant difference between H. pylori PCR values when compared to METAVIR staging (F) in different groups (P = 0.001). Helicobacter pylori PCR (Cag A gene) was positive in about 28.2% cases of late fibrosis (F3 + F4) while positivity was (5.9%) in early fibrosis (F1 + F2) (P = 0.0001). There was significant difference between H. pylori PCR (Cag A gene) in liver tissue and METAVIR activity in different groups (P = 0.002) as most of H. pylori PCR-positive cases were METAVIR activity A1 and A2 (15.3% and 12.9%, respectively). There was no association between H. pylori PCR and quantitative HCV RNA (P = 0.531). Also there was no significant difference of Child-Pugh staging in the H. pylori PCR-positive group when compared to the negative group (P = 0.996). There may be an association between the presence of H. pylori (Cag A gene) in the liver and disease progression in HCV-related chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis with and without HCC.

Among genotype 4 chronic hepatitis C patients, severe fibrosis, severe steatosis, treatment with standard interferon and a high serum AFP level were all negatively associated with SVR. Pretreatment serum AFP level should be considered in the routine assessment of factors predictive of a treatment response.

BackgroundTissue microarray technology has provided a high throughput means of evaluating potential biomarkers in archival pathological specimens. This study was carried out in order to produce tissue microarray blocks using mechanical pencil tips without high cost.MethodConventional mechanical pencil tips (Rotring Tikky II Mechanical Pencil 1.0 mm) were used to cut out 1 mm wax cylinders from the recipient block, creating from 36 to 72 holes. Three cores of tumor areas were punched out manually by using the mechanical pencil tips from donor paraffin embedded tissue blocks and transferred to the holes of the paraffin tissue microarrays.ResultsThis technique was easy and caused little damage to the donor blocks. We successfully performed H&E slides and immunodetection without substantial tissue cylinder loss.ConclusionOur mechanical pencil tip technique is the most inexpensive easy technique among the literature. It also takes a reasonable amount of time and reduces antibody consumption during immunohistochemistry

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