Dijana Zadravec

The Significance of Brain Transcranial Sonography in Burning Mouth Syndrome: a Pilot Study

OBJECTIVE Burning mouth syndrome (BMS) is a chronic disorder which is affecting mostly postmenopausal women and is characterized by burning symptoms in the oral cavity on the clinically healthy oral mucosa. Also, the results of previous studies suggested a possible role of peripheral and/or central neurological disturbances in these patients. The aim of this study was to analyze patients with burning mouth syndrome using transcranial sonography. METHODS By use of transcranial sonography of the brain parenchyma, substantia nigra, midbrain raphe and brain nucleus were evaluated in 20 patients with BMS (64.7±12.3 years) and 20 controls with chronic pain in the lumbosacral region (61.5±15). Statistical analysis was performed by use of Student t test with significance set at p<0.05. RESULTS The results of this study have shown hypoechogenicity of the substantia nigra and midbrain raphe as well as hyperechogenicity of the brain nucleus in BMS patients (p<0,05) as compared to controls. CONCLUSIONS Altered transcranial sonography findings of the brain parenchyma, midbrain raphe and brain nucleus in patients with burning mouth syndrome might reflect central disturbances within this syndrome. KEY WORDS Burning Mouth Syndrome; Transcranial Sonography; substantia nigra; Midbrain Raphe Nuclei; Red Nucleus.

Analiza višeslojne kompjutorizirane tomografije mozga u hitnoj službi

The aim of the study was to examine the prevalence of head injuries, acute stroke and brain tumors obtained from computed tomography (CT) scans in the emergency department (ED) during a one-year period. We also assessed the potential effect of seasons on the occurrence of stroke, head trauma and tumors found on CT scans, expressed in monthly intervals. This retrospective review included all patients that underwent emergency head CT from the hospital database. A total of 3888 head CT examinations were performed in adult patients presenting to ED and 1424 CT scans had at least one pathologic finding meeting diagnostic criteria for the study. Of the total number of CT scans analyzed, acute stroke was identified in 552 (14.19%), head trauma in 660 (16.97%), and brain tumor in 212 (5.45%) patients. Head trauma was more commonly found in males (n=465, 70.45%) than in females (n=195, 29.54%). Acute stroke was slightly more common in males than in females. Brain tumors were more frequently found in female patients. There were monthly variations in the number of head injuries and acute stroke diagnosed during the study period. Men and elderly patients were found to account for the greatest number of traumatic head injuries and therefore are at the highest risk of possible brain injury.

Diagnostics and Management of Temporomandibular Joint Disorder - A Reported Case with a Review of Literature

Department of Removable Prosthodontics, School of Dental Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia 2Department of Dental Anthropology, School of Dental Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia 3Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Clinical Hospital Center “Sestre milosrdnice”, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia

S247 PHYSICAL TREATMENT OF TEMPOROMANDIBULAR JOINT PAIN IN PATIENTS WITH VARIOUS BONE MINERAL STATUSES

Background and aims. The bone mineral density (BMD) of patients with temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder was analyzed. Methods. Clinical examination and magnetic resonance imaging as a gold standard was used in the TMJ diagnostics. 35 female patients (mean age 59 years, range 28 – 78) with TMJ disorder (disc displacement, osteoarthritis) underwent physical therapy. Clinical symptomatology included pathological sounds (clicking, crepitation) and/or pain in the TMJs (measured by visual-analogue scale (VAS) 0-10) with one-year follow-up after the beginning of treatment. Apart from the body mass index (BMI in kg/m2), due to medical indications, BMD (in g/cm2) was measured in the lumbar and femoral area by means of dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. Results. From the total number of patients, 9 of them (25.7%) had normal BMD, 18 (51.4%) had osteopenia and 8 (22.9%) had osteoporosis. Physical therapy significantly reduced pain intensity (p 0.05). Conclusions. Densitometry is not a standard examination procedure within TMJ diagnostics and therefore the sample is rather small. Physical therapy can significantly reduce pain but it does not depend on patients’ BMI.