Objective Burning mouth syndrome (BMS) is a chronic oral condition, characterised by burning symptoms, which mainly affects perimenopausal and postmenopausal women. Neuropathy might be the underlying cause of the condition. There are still insufficient data regarding successful therapy. The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of acupuncture and clonazepam. Methods Forty-two patients with BMS (38 women, 4 men) aged 66.7±12.0 years were randomly divided into two groups. Acupuncture was performed on 20 participants over 4 weeks, 3 times per week, on points ST8, GB2, TE21, SI19, SI18 and LI4 bilaterally as well as GV20 in the midline, each session lasting half an hour. Twenty-two patients took clonazepam once a day (0.5 mg in the morning) for 2 weeks and, after 2 weeks, two tablets (0.5 mg in the morning and in the evening) were taken for the next 2 weeks. Prior to and 1 month after either therapy, participants completed questionnaires: visual analogue scale, Beck Depression Inventory, Leeds Assessment of Neuropathic Symptoms and Signs (LANSS) pain scale, 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). Results There were significant improvements in the scores of all outcome measures after treatment with both acupuncture and clonazepam, except for MoCA. There were no significant differences between the two therapeutic regimens regarding the scores of the performed tests. Conclusions Acupuncture and clonazepam are similarly effective for patients with BMS.

Objectives: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the most common oral malignancy with low survival as it is very often diagnosed at an advanced stage, which is why the accurate profiling of the tumor is essential. The aim of this study was to, for the first time, compare in OSCC the frequency of AR, VEGF, MMP9, HiF1beta and Ki67 between the non-metastatic and metastatic disease. Materials and Methods: In the study, 96 non-metastatic and 91 metastatic OSCC patients were analysed for AR, VEGF, MMP9, HiF1beta and Ki67 levels by immunohistochemistry. Results: All of the tested biomarkers significantly differed between non-metastatic and metastatic disease. A significant association was found between >/=20% AR positive epithelium cells in cytoplasm, Ki67 and VEGF in cancer stroma. Ki67, HiF1beta, VEGF and MMP9 were significantly associated with TNM stages. Conclusion: Our results show for the first time an interplay between AR, VEGF, MMP9, HiF1beta and Ki67 in OSCC which may contribute to better diagnostics and therapy selection.

- Chronic inflammation has been linked with many cancers. It seems that easily available and usual blood inflammatory markers might serve as a prognostic factor for overall survival and disease-free survival in patients with various cancers. Preoperative neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), as well as hemoglobinemia, thrombocytosis, elevated C-reactive protein values, neutropenia and leukocytosis have been shown to affect overall survival and disease-free survival in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC), however, with controversial results. Complete blood count, NLR and PLR were determined in 71 patients with CRC (stages 3 and 4) after neoadjuvant chemo-radiotherapy and before surgery, treated at Hospital for Tumors in Zagreb. Statistical analysis included Mann-Whitney U test, Student's t-test, univariate and multivariate analysis. The results of Mann-Whitney U test and Student's t-test showed that neutrophil count (p=0.024), NLR (p=0.003) and PLR (p=0.007) correlated significantly with overall survival. However, there was no significant correlation of age, leukocyte, lymphocyte and platelet counts and hemoglobin values with overall survival of patients. Furthermore, the same tests showed that leukocyte (p=0.04), neutrophil (p=0.0014) and platelet (p=0.006) counts, NLR (p=0.0006) and PLR (p=0.0015), as well as hemoglobin values (p=0.028) correlated significantly with disease-free survival. The results of univariate analysis showed that unlike PLR, NLR correlated with overall survival and disease-free survival (p=0.0002), although the correlation of PLR and disease-free survival almost reached significance (p=0.059). Furthermore, the results of univariate analysis showed significant correlation of advanced pathological TNM stage with overall survival. There was no correlation of patient age and gender, tumor stage and neoadjuvant chemo-radiotherapy with overall survival and disease-free survival. The results of multivariate analysis showed that NLR (cut-off value 3.27) and advanced pathological TNM stage significantly correlated with disease-free survival but not with overall survival. It seems that NLR might be an accurate marker for overall survival and disease-free survival in CRC patients after neoadjuvant chemo-radiotherapy and before surgery.

This paper reviews the topic of dental structures present at birth or erupting prior to the deciduous incisor teeth. A literature review shows a prevalence of one in every 2000 live births. At this rate of occurrence it is likely that the general dental practitioner may be called upon to offer advice. This review is supported by the presentation of an unusual case of a supernumerary maxillary incisor tooth with the hallmarks of a neonatal tooth and the development of a soft tissue dentigerous cyst. The differential diagnosis of soft and hard tissue swellings in infants is also presented together with rare syndromal associations of natal and neonatal teeth.

It is known that cortisol level increases in stress situations. The aim of the study was to measure the levels of salivary cortisol in patients with oral lichen planus (OLP) and healthy controls. This was a case-control pilot study which included seven patients with reticular (non-symptomatic) OLP, eight patients with atrophic/erosive (symptomatic) OLP, and nine healthy controls. We hypothesized that patients with an atrophic/erosive type of OLP have higher levels of cortisol compared to patients with the reticular type of OLP and healthy controls. In each participant, unstimulated saliva was collected in order to determine cortisol levels by using commercially available ELISA kit. Our results have shown no differences between levels of salivary cortisol in OLP patients and healthy controls. We can conclude that further research with a larger number of OLP patients is needed to determine the correlation between OLP and stress.

Introduction: Osteonecrosis of the jaw is defined as exposed bone in the oral cavity that does not heal longer than eight weeks after identification. The two most common predisposing factors for osteonecrosis of the jaw are medication-related and radiotherapy. Rarely, exposed bone in the maxillofacial region can occur due to other causes and represents a clinical and therapeutic challenge for the dentist because there is no universally accepted treatment protocol. Case presentation: We report a case of a patient with two idiopathic lesions of exposed bone which have healed after systemic antibiotic therapy, seven weeks after the first examination. Conclusion: Exposed bone lesions of the jaw are a rare entity and are poorly documented in the literature. It is necessary to exclude possible local or systemic contributing factors. Surgical and conservative therapy (antibiotics) are the treatment of choice.