Adult mammalian brains undergo reorganization following deafferentations due to peripheral nerve, cortical or spinal cord injuries. The largest extent of cortical reorganization is seen in area 3b of the somatosensory cortex of monkeys with chronic transection of the dorsal roots or dorsal columns of the spinal cord. These injuries cause expansion of intact face inputs into the deafferented hand cortex, resulting in a change of representational boundaries by more than 7 mm. Here we show that large-scale reorganization in area 3b following spinal cord injuries is due to changes at the level of the brainstem nuclei and not due to cortical mechanisms. Selective inactivation of the reorganized cuneate nucleus of the brainstem eliminates observed face expansion in area 3b. Thus, the substrate for the observed expanded face representation in area 3b lies in the cuneate nucleus.

Basaloid squamous cell carcinoma (BSCC) is a distinctive variant of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) characterised by nests of basaloid cells. BSCC is an aggressive and rare tumor of head and neck region; and is relatively rare in oral cavity in comparison to SCC. Although, infrequent, but primary intra-osseous SCC (PIOSCC) has been reported in the jaws. There are separate diagnostic criteria for this lesion and a classification for primary intra-osseous carcinoma has been described. No evidence was found in the published literature about primary intra-osseous BSCC (PIOBSCC). We, herein, present a case of giant osteodestructive lesion of the posterior mandible which was diagnosed as PIOBSCC with a correlation of histopathological and immunohistochemical features. As per the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of PIOBSCC of the jaw. There is no diagnostic criterion of PIOBSCC in the literature owing to the extreme rarity of this tumor. A diagnostic criterion is proposed here to make the diagnosis of this tumor easier.

Central Giant Cell Granuloma (CGCG) is a benign tumor of jaw. As compared to males, females are more commonly affected. Mandible is the common site of occurrence. Aneurysmal bone cysts (ABCs) are cystic lesions which are expansile osteolytic blood-filled lesions. These are commonly seen in the mandible, and they also show gender-predilection towards females. Concurrence of both the lesions is rarely reported. The treatment of both CGCG and ABC depends upon the extent of the lesions as well as on their nature. Due to aggressive nature of the lesions, these usually cause disfigurement of the patients' face. Wide excision is the treatment modality for aggressive lesions to avoid recurrence. We present a case of 28-year male who showed CGCG along with ABC in the same lesion, a rare concurrence.

Background:In oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), extracellular matrix metalloproteinase inducer (EMMPRIN) expression has been noted in the cell membrane throughout the epithelium of the lesion, suggesting its increased expression.Objectives:The present study was conducted to evaluate and compare the expression of EMMPRIN in the normal oral mucosa (NOM), different histological grades of oral epithelial dysplasia (OED) and OSCC.Materials and Methods:A total of 100 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue blocks of NOM (n = 10), 20 cases each of mild, moderate and severe (OED) (n = 60), and 10 cases each of well differentiated, moderately differentiated and poorly differentiated carcinomas (n = 30) were included in the study. The tissues sections were immunohistochemically stained and were evaluated for intensity and area of expression in different groups.Results:Out of 60 cases of OED, 29 (48%) cases showed intense dark brown staining in the epithelium. The stroma in 38 (63%) cases showed positive immunoexpression. The expression of EMMPRIN in OSCC revealed intense dark brown staining in 9 (90%) cases of well differentiated, and a decent thereon in 8 (80%) cases of moderately differentiated and 4 (40%) cases of poorly differentiated carcinomas.Conclusion:The role of EMMPRIN in precarcinogenesis and early carcinogenesis needs to be studied on considerable sample size. This can enable oncologists to detect cancer at an early stage before it progresses to malignancy.

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