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Introduction:Oral leukoplakia, oral submucous fibrosis, and oral lichen planus are the precancerous or potentially malignant lesions and conditions whereas oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a cancerous or malignant lesion of the oral cavity. They have characteristic clinical and histopathological features. These diseases not only originate from epithelium but also associated with chronic inflammation juxta-epithellialy. Mast cells present in the connective tissue stroma and release pro-inflammatory and mitogenic cytokines. These functions of mast cells contribute and enhance the pathogenesis translation of diseases.Aim:The study was done to histologically evaluate the number of mast cells in oral epithelial dysplasia and OSCC and compare it with normal oral mucosa (NOM).Materials and Methods:Forty-five cases each of oral dysplasia, OSCC and ten cases of NOM were studied for mast cell number using toluidine blue.Results:There was a highly significant increase of mast cells in oral epithelial dysplasia on comparison with OSCC whereas there was only a significant increase in mast cells in OSCC on comparison with NOM.Conclusion:The literature has proven that mast cells can be an indicator of increased angiogenesis and hence can help in the prediction of carcinogenesis, its progression, and also the prognosis of the malignant lesions.

Introduction: Oral health is considered to be a mirror of systemic health and vice-versa. Medical professionals are considered to be the primary caregivers in a given population and as such a vast majority of the population visits them for health-related problems. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the level of knowledge and awareness of dentistry among first-year medical students, residents, and medical practitioners. Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was carried out to assess the knowledge and awareness of dentistry among MBBS first-year students, medical residents, and medical practitioners of Bhairahawa city, Nepal. Data analysis was done with SPSS version 11. Results: As per the demographic characteristics out of 147 subjects 82 (55.8%) were male and 65 (44.2%) were female. Most of the participants were from the age group of 21–30 years, 66 (44.9%) and 115 (78.2%) of them were married. Among 147 subjects every respondent (100%) knew about the profession of dentistry giving statistically significant results. Conclusion: The present study shows that medical professionals had better knowledge of dentistry as compared to medical students and residents. This unnecessary gap between dental and medical professionals can only be fulfilled by including dental education in both undergraduate and postgraduate medical curriculum.

Blood vessels are composed of two types of interacting cells. Endothelial cells form the inner lining of the vessel wall, and perivascular cells referred to as pericytes, vascular smooth muscle cells or mural cells which envelop the surface of the vascular tube. They are also called Rouget cells after their discoverer, Charles Rouget. Electron-microscope analyses first revealed the morphological character of pericytes. In general, pericytes possess a cell body with a prominent nucleus and a small content of cytoplasm with several long processes embracing the abluminal endothelium wall. They are embedded within the basement membrane of microvessels, which is formed by pericytes and endothelial cells. Pericytes play an integral role in the maintenance of the blood–brain barrier as well as several other homeostatic and hemostatic functions of the brain. These cells are also a key component of the neurovascular unit, which includes endothelial cells, astrocytes, and neurons. Pericytes provide a variety of functions such as capillary blood flow regulation, clearance and phagocytosis of cellular debris, angiogenesis formation of new blood vessels and regulating blood–brain barrier permeability. Recently, pericytes have gained new attention as functional and critical involvement to tumor angiogenesis and progression. Therefore as potential new targets for antiangiogenic therapies. Pericytes are complex. Their ontogeny is not completely understood, and they perform various functions throughout the body. This review article describes the current knowledge about the nature of pericytes and their functions during blood vessel growth, vessel maintenance, and pathological angiogenesis.

INTRODUCTION:Hypothyroidism is the most common cause of secondary dyslipidemia. Thus, thyroid function test should be carried out before starting any hypolipidemic drugs. Even among thyroid disorder, hypothyroidism is more associated with cardiovascular and associated problems and if not detected earlier, it leads to severe clinical consequences. Our study assesses the frequency and spectrum of dyslipidemia in various types of thyroidal illness in the population residing in south western part of Nepal. MATERIALS AND METHODS:This is a cross sectional study carried out in suspected thyroid disorder patients (n=276) and categorized as Euthyroidism (n=55), Subclinical Hypothyroidism (n=89), Primary Hypothyroidism (n=122) and Primary Hyperthyroidism (n=10) patients and to see the association with lipid profiles in the Department of Biochemistry, Universal College of Medical Sciences Teaching Hospital, Bhairahawa Nepal. Serum fT / fT4 and TSH estimations were carried out by competitive 3 ELISA method and Sand-wich double antibody ELISA method respectively using commercially supplied reagents (Human, Germany). The criteria for dyslipidemia was obtained by National Cholesterol Education Expert Panel/ Adult Treatment Protocol III (NCEP/ATPIII). RESULTS:Out of 276 cases the dyslipidemia was observed in 183 cases (66.30%).The dyslipidemia was mostly associated with primary hypothyroidism (55.07%) followed by Subclinical Hypothyroidism (38.04%) than Euthyroid (5.79 %) and Primary Hyperthyroidism (3.62 %) respectively. Out of all cases, the spectrum of dyslipidemia was mostly observed for decreased HDL (18.5 %) followed by increased TG (10.1 %). Moreover, it is significantly differ in relation in HDL (p=0.009), TG/HDL (p=0.02) and Non-HDL/HDL (p=0.033) where as non significant as compared to other lipid profile in different groups. CONCLUSION:Our study revealed the close association of thyroidal illness with dyslipidemia with increased TG, low HDL, increased TG/HDL and Non-HDL/HDL. The increased TG/HDL and/or Non-HDL/HDL could be better indicator than single lipid abnormality which needs to be ascertained prospectively in large population.