F XIII activity determinations appear to have a predictive value in patients with Henoch-Schönlein purpura, and the administration of F XIII concentrates may contribute to the improvement of gastrointestinal complications.

No abstract

Introduction:To test the hypothesis that mandibular advancement with the use of a fixed functional appliance combined with prohibition of labial movement of the lower incisors will have no effect on mandibular growth in growing rats. Materials and Methods: Fifteen 4-week-old male rats were divided into fixed, unfixed, and control groups (n ϭ 5, each). Bite-jumping appliances were used in the fixed and unfixed groups. Sites of bone perforation and the lower incisors were connected with ligature wires in the fixed group. The ramus height, mandibular length, and inclination of lower incisors were examined for 4 weeks, and those values were compared among five intervals and three groups by through one-way analysis of variance models and the Bonferroni multiple comparison test for post hoc comparison. Results: Increases in ramus height and mandibular length during the experimental period were 1.5 mm and 2.5 mm in the fixed group, 1 mm and 1.5 mm in the unfixed group, and 1.2 mm and 1.9 mm in the control group, respectively. Growth of ramus height and growth of mandibular length in the fixed group were greater than in the unfixed and control groups during the experimental period. The inclination of lower incisors in the unfixed group was increased 8.0 degrees throughout the experimental period, which differed from results obtained in the other groups. Conclusions: Mandibular growth was accelerated effectively before and during the pubertal period in rats by mandibular advancement with a fixed functional appliance combined with prohibition of labial movement of the lower incisor.

It has been reported that periodontal disease and traumatic occlusion may cause an isolated vertical infrabony defect. In such cases, the improvement of both inflammation and the occlusion are necessary to ameliorate the defect. We discuss the successful orthodontic treatment of an adult patient with isolated vertical infrabony defects of the maxillary right lateral incisor, left canine, and mandibular left incisor regions. The patient showed an anterior crossbite and one- and two-wall wide isolated vertical infrabony defects. The inflammation was improved by a periodontist; however, the vertical infrabony defects remained. In order to improve the defects, the pulps of the maxillary right lateral incisor, left canine, and mandibular left incisor were extirpated, and temporary crowns were put on those teeth. Next, an edgewise appliance was applied to the maxillary and mandibular teeth. After the anterior crossbite was improved, the incisor edge regions of the temporary crowns were ground, and the maxillary right lateral incisor, left canine, and mandibular left incisor were extruded until they touched antagonistic teeth. The patient's anterior crossbite, traumatic occlusion and gingival esthetics were improved by this treatment. Panoramic and dental radiographs after treatment also showed improvement of the vertical infrabony defects. Thus, tooth extrusion might be effective to improve one- and two-wall wide isolated vertical infrabony defects.

The purpose of the present study was to determine whether a force of 20 cN can be biologically active for tooth movement and to examine the pain intensity during the application of light (20 cN) or heavy (200 cN) continuous forces for 7 days. In the first experiment, a force of 20 cN was applied to eight canines in five volunteers. The mean tooth movement during 10 weeks was 2.4 mm. In the second experiment, two forces of 20 or 200 cN were applied to maxillary premolars in 12 male subjects (aged 24-31 years) to measure pain intensity for 7 days. Spontaneous and biting pain were recorded every 2-4 hours on a 100 mm visual analogue scale (VAS). Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used for statistical analysis. Comparing the VAS score at force initiation with the other time points, there was no significant difference in spontaneous pain for either group, or in biting pain for the light-force group. However, biting pain in the heavy-force group during the time period from 6 to 156 hours was significantly (P < 0.05) greater than that at force initiation. Comparing the VAS scores between the light- and heavy-force group, VAS scores for biting pain in the heavy-force group during the time period from 8 to 100 hours was significantly (P < 0.05) greater than that in the light-force group. A force of 20 cN can move teeth, but pain intensity while biting may be greater approximately 8 hours to 5 days following the application of heavy continuous force compared with light force.