To clarify the effects of anti-allergic drugs on substance P (SP) and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) levels in nasal secretions, we employed competitive enzyme-linked immunoassays to measure concentrations of those neuropeptides in nasal secretions from 40 patients with house dust nasal allergy before and after administration of azelastine and oxatomide. One mg of azelastine and 30 mg of oxatomide were administrated twice a day for 4 weeks. Mean values of SP concentrations and ratios of SP to total protein of the nasal allergy group were significantly higher than those of the control group (p < 0.002). The VIP/total protein ratio of the allergy group was also significantly higher than that of the control group, although the VIP concentration alone was not. Mean levels of SP and VIP from patients with severe symptoms were significantly higher than those of the control group (p < 0.05), although those values were not significantly different between patients with moderate symptoms and control subjects. Azelastine and oxatomide effectively reduced SP levels in nasal secretions (p < 0.005), but they did not significantly decrease VIP levels. The reduction of SP levels was significant in patients with excellent responses to those drugs (p < 0.005), but not in patients with poor responses. These findings suggest that SP and VIP levels in nasal secretions may reflect the clinical state of nasal allergy and be one of the better parameters available for evaluating the clinical efficacy of anti-allergic drugs against nasal allergy.
Background
Peripheral ameloblastoma is an extraosseous variant of ameloblastoma. We report a rare case arising in an extragingival location.
Case Presentation
The patient was a 79‐year‐old man with a firm nodule in the right‐side buccal mucosa. Imaging examinations showed a well‐demarcated mass in the right masticator space (infratemporal fossa). The diagnosis of ameloblastoma was made from the biopsy specimen. After conservative tumor excision, the patient had no recurrence during the follow‐up period of eight and a half years. The Ki‐67 labeling index indicated the nonaggressive nature of the tumor.
Conclusion
Conservative surgery is applicable to extragingival peripheral ameloblastomas.
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