No abstract

For this epidemiologic study, 458 individuals with mental retardation and developmental disability (MRDD), from 6 to 87 years old, from the Lower Hudson Valley region of New York, were evaluated for the occurrence of orthodontic anomalies. High occurrence of both anomalies of intermaxillary relation, as determined by Angle's classification, and the anomalies of occlusion were found in these individuals when compared with the general population. An increased incidence of both acquired (i.e., open bite) as well as hereditary (i.e., prognathia) orthodontic anomalies correlated with the severity of mental retardation. In addition, an increased incidence of Angle class II malocclusion was found in persons with cerebral palsy and autism, and an increase of Angle class III malocclusion in persons with autism and Down syndrome. Moreover, it was found that 74% of MRDD persons had definitive malocclusion, while only 37% of the US general population of comparable age has definitive malocclusion. High incidence of malocclusion in this population remained present into old age, mainly due to a lack of treatment and the need to employ non-conventional orthodontic treatment in this population.

No abstract

The cytoplasm of normal human male and female gingiva contains a receptor capable of specifically binding 17 beta-estradiol and moxestrol (R-2858) with high affinity (Kd = approximately 3.4 X 10(-10) M) and low capacity (4.5 fmol/mg protein). The binding is sensitive to heat (destroyed by warming to 37 C for 60 min), proteolytic enzymes (pronase, trypsin, and chymotrypsin), and exhibits a pattern of competition similar to that obtained with estrogen receptors from other target tissues. Nuclear uptake of [3H]estradiol was demonstrated by using a dry autoradiographic technique. Specific nuclear localization of [3H]estradiol was found predominantly in basal and spinous layers of gingival epithelium, stromal connective tissue cells (fibroblasts), and endothelial cells and pericytes of small blood vessels in the lamina propria. There was no difference between the Kd values in normal and diseased tissue or between the Kd values or number of binding sites and the age or sex of the patient. However, there was a difference between the amount of estrogen binding sites per mg protein in normal tissue compared to gingiva with dilantin hyperplasia. These results provide the first direct evidence that human gingiva may function as a target organ for estrogens.