Natália Guimarães Barbosa

Comparative Analysis of Psychological, Hormonal, and Genetic Factors Between Burning Mouth Syndrome and Secondary Oral Burning

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between psychological, hormonal, and genetic factors with the development of burning mouth syndrome (BMS) and secondary oral burning (SOB) in order to provide a better characterization and classification of these conditions. DESIGN Cross sectional study. SETTING Patients with complaints of mouth burning registered at the Oral Diagnostic Service of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte between 2000 and 2013. SUBJECTS The sample consisted of 163 subjects divided into a group of patients with BMS (n = 64) and a group of subjects with SOB (n = 99). METHODS The following variables were analyzed: passive and stimulated saliva flow, stress levels and phase, depression, anxiety, serum cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) levels, and the presence of polymorphisms in the interleukin 6 (IL-6) gene. RESULTS The results showed significant differences in the presence of xerostomia (p = 0.01), hyposalivation at rest (p < 0.001) and symptoms of depression (p = 0.033) between the two groups, which were more prevalent in the BMS group. DHEA levels were lower in the BMS group (p = 0.003) and were sensitive and specific for the diagnosis of this condition. Genetic analysis revealed no significant association between the polymorphisms analyzed and the development of BMS. CONCLUSION These results suggest a possible role of depression, as well as of reduced DHEA levels, as associated factors for development of BMS.

Factors associated with clinical characteristics and symptoms in a case series of oral lichen planus

Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a relatively common chronic inflammatory disease whose etiopathogenesis is not completely understood. Several factors have been proposed in an attempt to explain the variety of clinical manifestations and periods of exacerbation and remission of symptoms of these lesions. The objective of this study was to associate local factors, systemic diseases, and level of anxiety with clinical characteristics of OLP.

Immunohistochemical study of macrophages subpopulations associated with squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue, with and without metastasis

Introducao: As celulas do estroma interagem com as celulas neoplasicas e desempenham papel importante na invasao e na metastase do câncer. Os macrofagos associados ao tumor (TAMs) podem se apresentar com fenotipo M1, importantes celulas efetoras, ou fenotipo M2, capazes de suprimir a funcao dos macrofagos M1 e influenciar na angiogenese e no reparo tecidual. O anticorpo CD68 reconhece os macrofagos M1 e M2, enquanto o anticorpo CD163 e especifico para a identificacao apenas de macrofagos M2. Objetivo: Investigar a presenca dos TAMs em uma serie de casos de carcinoma epidermoide (CE) de lingua, associando-a a ocorrencia de metastase. Material e metodos: A tecnica imuno-histoquimica foi utilizada para avaliar a imunopositividade ao CD68 e CD163 em 27 casos de CE de lingua. Resultados: A porcentagem de macrofagos CD68 positivos foi maior do que a de macrofagos CD163 positivos em todos os especimes estudados. Comparando a imunomarcacao de CD68 e CD163 nos grupos estudados, verificou-se que nos casos sem metastase havia maior proporcao de celulas CD68 positivas em relacao as CD163 positivas, o que foi estatisticamente significativo. Conclusao: Diante desses resultados, observou-se a predominância de macrofagos M1 em casos de CE de lingua sem metastase, sugerindo a influencia dessas celulas no comportamento clinico da lesao.

Evaluation of hypoxia, angiogenesis, and lymphangiogenesis in actinic cheilitis.

Actinic cheilitis is a potentially malignant condition caused mainly by chronic sun exposure. Here we aim to evaluate the role of hypoxia, angiogenesis, and lymphatic density in the clinical and morphological progression of a series of cases of actinic cheilitis.