Valéria Souza Freitas

A saúde bucal de adolescentes: aspectos de higiene, de cárie dentária e doença periodontal nas cidades de Recife, Pernambuco e Feira de Santana, Bahia

OBJECTIVE: To characterize the oral health in adolescents in the cities of Recife and Feira de Santana, Northeast Brazil by assessment of personal hygiene and dental cavities and periodontal disease. METHOD: Forty adolescents between ten and eighteen years old were assessed through an exploratory study run in Recife in 2005. In Feira de Santana, 971 adolescents (twelve years old) were examined through a cross section study in 2002. It was assessed cavity status through the number of cavitied, missing and filled teeth, visible dental plaque, bleeding gums and periodontal status. The analysis was based on Chi-Square, Kruskall-Wallis and Fisher tests, with a confidence interval of 95%. RESULTS: The most of adolescents followed oral hygiene practices three times a day. The DMTF values presented a median of 1.5 in Recife and averages of 1.89 in state schools, 2.17 in municipal schools and 2.39 in private schools in Feira de Santana. The bleeding gum in Recife presented a median of 27%, and in Feira de Santana the healthy sextant averages of 4.36, 4.08 and 5.16 in state, municipal and private schools respectively. CONCLUSION: The frequency of the dental cavities was low, with most of the adolescents reporting good habits of oral hygiene and favorable periodontal conditions.

Density of mast cells and microvessels in minor salivary gland tumors

The aim of this study was to investigate the density of mast cells and microvessels in minor salivary gland tumors. Forty-one cases of minor salivary gland tumors (pleomorphic adenoma, n = 10; adenoid cystic carcinoma, n = 11; mucoepidermoid carcinoma, n = 10; and polymorphous low-grade adenocarcinoma) were investigated using immunohistochemistry for mast cell tryptase and von-Willebrand factor. Density of mast cells was higher in mucoepidermoid carcinoma; however, no differences in the number of these cells were observed between the different types of tumors (p > 0.05). The number of mast cells was higher in periparenchymal areas in all tumors, but the difference was not significant (p > 0.05). Mucoepidermoid carcinoma showed the largest number of periparenchymal mast cells, whereas pleomorphic adenomas showed the smallest number of intraparenchymal mast cells (p > 0.05). The highest microvessel density was observed in mucoepidermoid carcinomas, being this difference statistically significant when mucoepidermoid carcinoma was compared to pleomorphic adenoma (p = 0.0034) and polymorphous low-grade adenocarcinoma (p = 0.004). Microvessel density was significantly higher in adenoid cystic carcinoma when compared to pleomorphic adenoma (p = 0.0406) and polymorphous low-grade adenocarcinoma (p = 0.0123). Comparison of mast cells and microvessel densities showed no significant difference between tumors. A quantitative difference in mast cells and microvessels was observed, particularly in mucoepidermoid carcinoma, a finding supporting the aggressive behavior of malignant salivary gland tumors without myoepithelial differentiation. Further studies are needed to determine the role of mast cells in angiogenesis, as well as in the development and biological behavior of these tumors.

Elastin Accumulation in Actinic Cheilitis with Different Degrees of Epithelial Dysplasia

La matriz extracelular (MEC) juega un papel importante en la regulacion de los eventos biologicos, tales como, el desarrollo de la migracion celular, proliferacion y diferenciacion. La exposicion solar cronica provoca cambios presentes en la MRC de la queilitis actinica (QA), una lesion premaligna del labio inferior que contribuye a entender la carcinogenesis del labio. Este estudio tuvo como objetivo investigar la elastina, el componente principal de la elastosis solar en corriente alterna en un intento de establecer la relacion entre esta proteina y la MEC en displasia epitelial. Se incluyeron en parafina cortes de tejido de las lesiones de 35 casos de QC fueron analizadas mediante tecnicas de inmunohistoquimica para elastina, y se hizo la asociacion con los grados de displasia epitelial y la edad. La mas alta puntuacion de la elastina (+3) fue predominante en el 45,7% de los casos de QA, especialmente en los casos de displasia severa (n = 3). Al comparar las puntuaciones de elastina entre los diferentes grados de displasia epitelial, no mostro diferencia significativa (P> 0,05, Kruskall-Wallis). Este estudio no fue capaz de demostrar la influencia de la elastina sobre gravedad de la displasia epitelial en QA. Estudios adicionales sobre otras proteinas de la MEC deben llevarse a cabo en un intento por comprender mejor el mecanismo de progresion maligna de la QC.

Expression of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs-2, -7, -9, and -26) and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs-1 and -2) in pleomorphic adenomas and adenoid cystic carcinomas

PurposeTo compare the immunohistochemical expression of matrix metalloproteinases-2, -7, -9 and -26 and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases-1 and -2 in pleomorphic adenomas and adenoid cystic carcinomas of the minor salivary glands.MethodsTwenty cases of pleomorphic adenomas and 20 cases of adenoid cystic carcinomas were evaluated for the immunohistochemical expression of matrix metalloproteinases-2, -7, -9, and -26 and tissue inhibitors-1 and -2 in tumor parenchyma.ResultsMost pleomorphic adenomas and adenoid cystic carcinomas showed high expression of matrix metalloproteinases and tissue inhibitors, predominantly located in the tumor cells. There was no statistically significant difference in the expression of the metalloproteinases-2 (p = 0.359), -7 (p = 0.081), and -26 (p = 0 553), as well as the tissue inhibitors-1 (p = 0.657), and -2 (p = 0.248) between the parenchyma of the studied tumors. Only matrix metalloproteinase-9 showed a significant difference in expression between the two tumors, with adenoid cystic carcinoma showing a more intense staining for this gelatinase (p = 0.041).ConclusionsThe expression of the studied metalloproteinases suggests the involvement of these enzymes in the tissue remodeling process in pleomorphic adenomas and adenoid cystic carcinomas, but only MMP-9, significantly expressed in the adenoid cystic carcinomas, appears to be involved in the process of invasiveness and more aggressive behavior of these tumors. Additionally, results point that TIMPs-1 and -2 may have more complex functions besides metalloproteinase inhibition, which may be related to the pathogenesis and biological behavior of salivary gland tumors.

Exposição a fluoreto por crianças na faixa etária crítica para fluorose dentária, residentes no semiárido brasileiro

There is a concern about the increasing prevalence of dental fluorosis, which depends on the dose of fluoride (F) to which children are subjected during tooth formation. Environmental temperature affects water intake and therefore it would be important to assess whether children living in the semiarid region are exposed to an excessive dose of F. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the total dose of F to which children are exposed during the critical age for dental fluorosis, with diet (water and food) and toothpaste as F sources, in the semiarid region of Brazil. METHODOLOGY 26 children aged 25.2 ± 9.1 months, residents in Feira de Santana, State of Bahia (with F in the public water supply) were selected. Duplicate-diet, water, products from toothbrushing and toothpaste samples were collected. F concentration was determined using an ion-specific electrode, after proper sample preparation. RESULTS the mean and standard deviation of dose (mg F/kg/day) from diet, toothpaste and total were respectively: 0.016 ± 0.010; 0.030 ± 0.039 and 0.047 ± 0.043. CONCLUSIONS the children evaluated living in the semiarid region are not exposed to a risk dose for dental fluorosis.

MicroRNAs expression pattern related to mast cell activation and angiogenesis in paraffin-embedded salivary gland tumors

The aim of this study was evaluate the expression profile of microRNAs related to mast cells activation and angiogenesis in salivary glands tumors. METHOD We have analyzed the expression of miR-9, miR-16, miR-17, miR-132, miR-195 and miR-221 by real-time RT-PCR, in 11 adenoid cystic carcinomas, 9 mucoepidermoid carcinomas and 11 pleomorphic adenomas. Immunohistochemical investigation was performed to detect mast cells tryptase and CD-34 for microvessels biomarkers. miR-16, miR-17, miR-132, miR-195 and miR-221 showed a decreased expression, whereas miR-9 showed an increased expression in most cases compared to normal tissues. However, in all tumors studied only miR-9 showed a statistical significant negative correlation with microvessel density (p=0.001). It was observed a higher density of mast cells in mucoepidermoid carcinomas (10.55 cells/mm2) when compared to adenoid cystic carcinomas (6.27 cells/mm2) and between mucoepidermoid carcinomas and pleomorphic adenomas (5.97células/mm2). miR-17, miR-132, miR-195 and miR-221 seem to play an important role as tumor suppressor in salivary gland tumors. In addition, the significant correlation between mast cell and microvessel density contributes to the growth and pathogenesis of these tumors and they may become strong therapeutic targets in the future.

Involvement of mast cells and microvessels density in reactive lesions of oral cavity: A comparative immunohistochemical study

In view of the similarity of clinicopathological features between reactive lesions of the oral cavity, the objective of the present study was to investigate the density of MCs (mast cells) and microvessels in a series of these lesions. Thirty-seven cases of reactive lesions including fibrous hyperplasia (FH, n=10), inflammatory fibrous hyperplasia (IFH, n=10), peripheral giant cell lesion (PGCL, n=10) and lobular capillary hemangioma (LCH, n=7) were investigated using immunohistochemistry for mast cell tryptase and CD34. For comparative purposes, central giant cell lesions (CGCL, n=5) were included. A higher MC density was observed in LCH (37.01), while CGCL exhibited the lowest density (n=8.14). There was a significant difference in MC density when all reactive lesions were compared to CGCL (p=0.001). The largest mean density of microvessels was observed in LCH (n=21.69). The smallest number was observed in CGCL (n=6.24). There was a significant difference in microvessel density when the reactive lesions were compared to CGCL (p=0.003). There was a significant and direct correlation between the density of MCs and microvessels only for IFH (p=0.048) and CGCL (p=0.005). A significant and direct correlation between the mean density of MCs and microvessels was observed when the reactive lesions were analyzed as a whole (p=0.005). Our results suggest that mast cells contribute to the connective tissue framework and angiogenic function, as well as the development, of reactive lesions of the oral cavity, including FH, IFH, LCH and PGCL.