K. M. Huang

Magnetic resonance imaging of glomus tumour in the hand

Summary. Glomus tumours of the hand are benign tumours that arise from the neuromyoarterial apparatus. The most common site for a glomus tumour is in the distal phalanx. They frequently display a classic triad of symptoms – pain, tenderness and temperature sensitivity. Ten treated cases examined with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) preoperatively are described. All were female with a mean age of 43 years. All except 2 suffered the classic triad of symptoms. The mean duration from onset of symptoms to therapeutic intervention was 7.4 years. MRI depicted the tumours in excellent detail and aided diagnosis in the 4 patients without subungual blue discolouration. The lesions showed a low signal on the T1-weighted image and a high signal on the T2-weighted image. All except 3 were located in the subungual region. All patients underwent surgical excision with pathological confirmation. The post-operative course was smooth and there were no sequelae. High resolution MRI, providing a clear contrast between tumorous and normal tissues, has proved to be a useful non-invasive method for imaging glomus tumours in the hand.Résumé. La tumeur glomique de la main est une tumeur bénigne développée à partir de l’appareil neuro-myo-artériel. La localisation la plus fréquente de la tumeur glomique est la phalange distale. La symptomatologie est une triade classique: douleur, tuméfaction molle et sensibilitéà la température. 10 cas ont été examinés avec un examen en résonance magnétique nucléaire pré-opératoire. Les patients étaient de sexe féminin avec un âge moyen de 43 ans et ils présentaient tous sauf 2 la symptomatologie classique. La durée moyenne d’évolution avant le traitement était de 7.4 ans. La résonance magnétique nucléaire a toujours apporté une description précise de la tumeur et a permis le diagnostic chez les 4 patients qui ne présentaient pas la coloration bleue sous inguéale. La lésion montrait un bas signal en séquence T1 et un haut signal en séquence T2. Toutes les tumeurs, sauf 3, étaient localisées dans la région sous-inguéale. Tous les patients ont été traités par une excision chirurgicale avec confirmation anatomopathologique. Les suites chirurgicales ont toujours été simples, sans séquelle. L’examen en résonance magnétique nucléaire a montré une bonne différenciation entre le tissu tumoral et les tissus normaux et s’est avéré une méthode non invasive et pratique pour caractériser ces tumeurs glomiques de la main.

Enhanced Capability of Bone Morphogenetic Protein 2–loaded Mesoporous Calcium Silicate Scaffolds to Induce Odontogenic Differentiation of Human Dental Pulp Cells

Introduction: Calcium silicate bioceramics have been broadly used as reparative or grafting materials with good bioactivity and biocompatibility in dental application. It has been shown that applying a mesoporous process to calcium silicate gives it great potential as a controlled drug delivery system. Methods: The aim of this study was to investigate a novel osteoinductive scaffold by loading bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP‐2) to mesoporous calcium silicate (MesoCS) and fabricating it as 3‐dimensional scaffolds using fused deposition modeling combined with polycaprolactone. Results: The MesoCS/BMP‐2 scaffold showed similar patterns to that of a calcium silicate scaffold in releasing calcium and silicon ions in a simulated body fluid (SBF) immersion test for 7 days, but BMP‐2 continued releasing from the MesoCS/BMP‐2 scaffold significantly more than the CS scaffold from 48 hours to 7 days. Adhesion and proliferation of human dental pulp cells cultured on a MesoCS/BMP‐2 scaffold were also more significant than scaffolds without BMP‐2 or mesoporous as well as the results of the test on alkaline phosphatase activity. Conclusions: The results support that the novel 3‐dimensional–printed MesoCS scaffold performed well as BMP‐2 delivery system and would be an ideal odontoinductive biomaterial in regenerative endodontics.