No abstract

The inferior alveolar nerve is the one of the large branches of the mandibular division of the trigeminal nerve. It is vulnerable during surgical procedures of the mandible. Despite its importance, no anatomical and histological examination has been conducted to provide a detailed cross-sectional morphology of the mandibular canal according to dental status. Therefore, the present study aimed to identify the position of the mandibular canal through direct measurement and to determine the branches of the inferior alveolar nerve through histologic examination. The area between the anterior margin of the third molar and the anterior margin of the second premolar of dentulous, partially dentulous, and edentulous hemimandible specimens (n = 49) from 26 human cadavers was serially sectioned into seven segments, and specific distances were measured using digital calipers. Following this, 5-microm cross-sections were prepared along the mandibular canal and mental foramen, and examined by fluorescence microscopy. The mandibular canal was located at a mean distance of 10.52 mm above the inferior margin of the mandible. The mean maximum diameters of the mandibular canal, inferior alveolar nerve, inferior alveolar artery, and inferior alveolar vein were 2.52, 1.84, 0.42, and 0.58 mm, respectively. This study found that the inferior alveolar nerve often gives rise to several branches at each level (range 0-3). To minimize the risk of injury, knowledge of the small branches of the nerve and of the detailed findings regarding the position of the mandibular canal reported here should be considered when planning mandibular surgery, especially during implant placement.

Methotrexate (Mtx) is an effective chemotherapeutic agent used in various cancer treatments. Gastrointestinal toxicity is the drug's major limiting factor, arising mainly from oxidative damage. It has been proposed that ozone (O(3)) is an activator of antioxidant enzymes. Thus, this study was designed to investigate the efficacy of ozone therapy in the prevention of Mtx-induced intestinal injury in rats. Twenty rats were allocated into three groups: sham, Mtx alone (untreated) and Mtx + O(3) (treated with ozone). Ozone was administered at a dose of 0.72 mg/kg daily via an intraperitoneal route for 15 d. On d 16, Mtx was applied via an intraperitoneal injection at a dose of 6 mg/kg for 5 d. All rats were sacrificed at d 21. Efficacy of the treatment was assessed by measuring the histopathologic injury score (HIS), and biochemically by determining tissue superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and malondialdehyde (MDA) in ileum, liver and kidney homogenates. Although two rats (25%) died in the untreated group, all rats in the sham and treatment groups survived the study. The HIS, antioxidant enzyme and MDA levels of the ileal tissue were significantly lower in the ozone treated group than the untreated group (p < 0.05). Although the antioxidant enzyme and MDA levels of liver and kidney were significantly lower in the ozone treated group (p < 0.05), there was no significant change in histopathology (p > 0.05). Thus, ozone preconditioning shows a preventative effect in the ileum by decreasing tissue damage and increasing antioxidant enzyme activity in an experimental model of Mtx-induced intestinal injury.

No abstract

Subconjunctival injection of bevacizumab decreases the extent of chemically induced corneal neovascularization in guinea pigs. The antineovascular effect of bevacizumab is higher if the injection is performed simultaneously with the chemical cauterization.