Objective: To assess the efficacy of anti-xerostomic topical medication (urea 10%) in patients with burning mouth syndrome (BMS). Method: Thirty-eight subjects diagnosed with BMS according to the International Association for the Study of Pain guidelines were randomized to either placebo (5% sodium carboxymethylcellulose, 0.15% methyl paraben, and 10% glycerol in distilled water qsp 100 g) or treatment (urea 10%) to be applied to the oral cavity 3-4 times per day for 3 months. The patients were evaluated before and after treatment with the following instruments: the EDOF-HC protocol (Orofacial Pain Clinic -Hospital das Clínicas), a xerostomia questionnaire, and quantitative sensory testing. Results: There were no differences in salivary flow or gustative, olfactory, or sensory thresholds (P>0.05). Fifteen (60%) patients reported improvement with the treatments (P=0.336). Conclusion: In conclusion, there were no differences between groups, and both exhibited an association between reported improvement and salivation.Keywords: xerostomia, salivary flow, orofacial pain, quantitative sensory testing, burning mouth syndrome. RESUMOObjetivo: Avaliar a eficácia do uso de medicação tópica anti xerostomica (ureia 10%) em pacientes com síndrome de ardência bucal. Método: Trinta e oito sujeitos diagnosticados com síndrome de ardência bucal de acordo com os critérios da Associação Internacional para Estudo da Dor foram randomizados para grupo placebo (5% de carboximetilcelulose de sódio, 0,15% de metilparabeno e 10% de glicerol em água destilada qsp 100g) ou grupo tratamento (ureia 10%) para ser aplicada na cavidade oral 3-4 vezes ao dia, durante três meses. Os pacientes foram avaliados antes e depois do tratamento: protocolo EDOF-HC, questionário de xerostomia, testes sensitivos quantitativos. Resultados: Não houve diferenças no fluxo salivar, limiares gustativos, olfativos e somestésicos (Mann-Whitney P>0,05). Quinze (60%) dos pacientes tiveram melhora com o tratamento (P=0,336, oneway ANOVA). Conclusão: Em conclusão não houve diferenças entre os grupos, ambos apresentaram uma associação entre melhora e salivação.Palavras-chave: xerostomia, fluxo salivar, dor orofacial, teste sensitivo quantitativo, síndrome ardência bucal.

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Fibromyalgia syndrome (FS) is a chronic painful condition with sensory, motor and affective dysfunctions. Few studies had investigated the trigeminal area, and little is known about its association with hemisensory syndrome, which is characterized by chronic pain restricted to hemibody. Our objective was to investigate sensorial abnormalities with quantitative sensory testing of patients with FS and patients with hemisensory syndrome, compared to controls. Thirteen patients diagnosed with FS according to the American College of Rheumatology, and 12 patients with hemisensory syndrome were evaluated and compared to 25 age-gender-matched controls. They were investigated with a quantitative sensory testing protocol including gustative, olfactory, cold, warm, touch, vibration, electric, deep and superficial pain thresholds and the corneal reflex evaluation. The patients had higher gustative thresholds for salty and bitter. In general, patients with FS had somatosensory thresholds higher than the controls; however, patients with hemisensory syndrome had only superficial pain thresholds increased, in both body sides and not only in the area affected by pain. Patients with hemisensory syndrome can be a subgroup of FS, different from nondermatomal somatosensory deficits which are characterized by chronic pain with hypoesthesia in hemibody. The bilateral hypoalgesia supports that pain pathways play a key role in this condition, with no compromise of other sensorial modalities.

Objective: To evaluate elderly patients in a geriatric service, along with their sensory characteristics and their association with clinical aspects. Methods: This was a descriptive longitudinal study. We enrolled 36 healthy participants of both sexes in this study. The following instruments were used and evaluations performed: clinical evaluation, Mini-Mental State Exam, and quantitative sensory testing. Results: During the follow-up, there was reduction of mean corpuscular volume at each evaluation (p < 0.001) and significant increase in mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (p < 0.001). There was an increase of the olfactory (p < 0.001), salty (p = 0.024), sour (p = 0.020), bitter (p = 0.001), facial cold (p = 0.019), hand cold (p = 0.004), facial tactile (p < 0.001), hand tactile (p = 0.012) and facial vibration (p = 0.018) thresholds. Previous existing morbidities were associated with sensitivity changes in the individuals in this sample. Conclusion: This longitudinal study suggests that the loss of sensitivity with aging may be associated with the presence of morbidities in elders.

Idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia (ITN) is identified by paroxysmal unilateral shock-like pain, distributed in one or more trigeminal branches, with clear diagnostic criteria based on history and clinical exams. Etiology and physiopathology remain obscure. Recently, abnormal expression of voltage-gated sodium channels had been described in these patients, suggesting that ITN could be a channelopathy 1 . Current diagnostic criteria do not include sensorial deficit; however, recent studies have shown that discrete abnormalities may be present in trigeminal territories 2 , which could be associated with the chronic evolution of such pain. There are no studies investigating patients nearly onset.A 64-year old, male, was diagnosed with ITN according to the criteria of the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) 3 . He was evaluated with a systematized protocol of facial sensitivity, which included the clinical exam and quantitative sensory testing: gustative thresholds, olfactory thresholds, quantitative salivary and somatosensorial evaluation; all trigeminal branches (front, cheek, and chin) were also evaluated bilaterally: thermal detection, mechanical detection, vibration detection, electric detection, and pain detection threshold.The patient did not have abnormalities in imaging exams (computed tomography or magnetic resonance) or any neurological deficits in the evaluation by the neurologist. Pain had started in the last two weeks. Until the moment of evaluation, the patient had not been prescribed for ITN and was not using any medication.There was a high sweet threshold and absence of identification of the salty taste. Mean salivary flow was 0.2363 g/min. There were differences between the facial sides in somatosensory thresholds: warm, mechanical, vibration, electric and pain (Figure).These thresholds were higher at the pain side (right), when compared to the left one at the three trigeminal branches, except for the cold threshold, which was lower at the pain than the opposite side. After the evaluation, carbamazepine was prescribed (400 mg/day) and after one week there was complete relieve of symptoms. These data suggest evidence for future studies, which support neuropathic mechanisms in ITN 1 , and the need to investigate patients in the early onset in order to verify the prevalence of these findings. Besides, there was a reduced gustative detection for some tastes, especially salty, which had already been described for ITN 4 and supports central sensitization involved in the physiopathology of this disease since the beginning of onset. There is also in the literature the description of gustative stimuli as triggering factors for ITN in some patients 5 and the role of that must be understood.