Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the existence of associations between bruxism and psychic and occlusal factors. Methods: Participants in this study (n=85) were recruited from the Section of Odontostomatology, Department of Neuroscience, University of Pisa, Italy. They were split into two groups, bruxers (n=34) and non-bruxers (n=51), on the basis of the presence of both clinical and anamnestical indicators of bruxism. All participants were administered two self-reported validated questionnaires to evaluate mood (MOODS-SR) and panic-agoraphobic (PAS-SR) spectra. A number of occlusal variables (deepbite, cross-bite, open-bite, mediotrusive and laterotrusive interferences, slide RCP-ICP, laterotrusive guides, canine and molar classes) were also recorded. Results: With regards to occlusal factors, the only association was revealed between bruxism mediotrusive interferences (p<0.05). As for psychiatric investigation, significant differences between bruxers and controls emerged for the presence of both depressive (p<0.01) and manic symptoms (p<0.01) in MOODS-SR, and for stress sensitivity (p<0.01), anxious expectation (p<0.05), and reassurance sensitivity symptoms (p<0.05) in PAS-SR. In particular, both mood (p<0.01) and panic-agoraphobic (p<0.05) spectra symptoms seem to differentiate bruxers from controls in males, while in females strong differences emerged for stress sensitivity symptoms (p<0.05). Conclusions: It can be confirmed that certain psychic traits are present in bruxers, while occlusal factors are not useful parameters to discern bruxers from non-bruxers.

The present work was an attempt to investigate for the existence of an association between anxiety psychopathology and bruxism. The presence of bruxism was investigated according to validated clinical criteria in 98 subjects, who also filled out a self-report questionnaire (PAS-SR) for the assessment of panic-agoraphobic spectrum. 34.7% (n = 34) of participants were diagnosed as bruxers. The prevalence of anxiety psychopathology was similar between bruxers and non-bruxers, but Mann-Whitney U-test revealed significant differences in total PAS-SR (P = 0.026) score, indicating that subclinical symptoms of the anxiety spectrum might differentiate bruxers from controls. In particular, significant differences emerged in scores of domains evaluating panic (P = 0.039), stress sensitivity (P = 0.006) and reassurance sensitivity symptoms (P = 0.005) of panic-agoraphobic spectrum. Support to the existence of an association between bruxism and certain psychopathological symptoms has been provided.

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The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of sexual hormones in a young adult population affected by articular forms of temporomandibular disorders (TMD), measuring 17beta-estradiol and progesterone serum levels. In the study, we included 40 patients (20 males and 20 females) with a Research Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders (RDC/TMD) axis I group II diagnosis of disk displacement and/or group III diagnosis of arthralgia, osteoarthritis or osteoarhrosis, and 32 healthy controls. In female patients, blood samples were collected in follicular and luteal phases of the same menstrual cycle, while only one blood sample was drawn in male patients. Serum levels of estradiol and progesterone were determined using a radioimmunoassay and the comparison between the two groups was performed using a t test. Regarding estradiol, our results showed significantly higher serum levels in patients affected by TMD than in healthy controls, both in males (p < 0.01) and in the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle in females (p < 0.05), while no difference was found for progesterone serum levels. Considering the multifactorial etiology of TMD and the hypothesis that some joint tissues (e.g., bone, cartilage, collagen, proteins) could be a target for sexual hormones, these data suggest that high serum estrogen levels might be implicated in the physiopathology of TMD.

a b s t r a c tWe investigated the antimicrobial activity of PD-L4, a type 1 RIP from Phytolacca dioica. We found that this protein is active on different bacterial strains both in a native and denatured/alkylated form and that this biological activity is related to a cryptic peptide, named PDL4 40-65 , identified by chemical fragmentation. This peptide showed the same antimicrobial activity of full-length protein and possessed, similarly to several antimicrobial peptides, an immunomodulatory effect on human cells. It assumes an alpha-helical conformation when interact with mimic membrane agents as TFE and likely bacterial membranes are a target of this peptide. To date PDL4 40-65 is the first antimicrobial peptide identified in a type 1 RIP.