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Aim: The purpose of this retrospective study was to evaluate the clinicopathological features of 64 patients with keratocystic odontogenic tumor (KCOT). Materials and Methods: The patients ranged in age at the time of diagnosis from 8 to 74 years (mean: 38.20 ± 16.71). Postoperative follow-up period was 3-8 years (mean time 4.76 ± 1.10). This research was carried out on panoramic radiographs and histopathological samples. Data such as gender, age, treatment methods, location of the tumor, presence of impacted teeth and its histological features were subjected to descriptive statistical analyses with the statistical software program. Results: Of the 64 analyzed cases of KCOT, 68.8% of them were men and 31.2% were females (male-to-female ratio was 2.2:1). It was observed that KCOT peaked in the third and fifth decade of life (23.4%-20.3%). The incidence of KCOT was higher in the mandible than in the maxilla (76.6%-23.4%). There was recurrence in nine out of 64 subjects (14.1%) in the follow-up period. The recurrence was more often found in posterior mandible. It is noteworthy that in 9 recurrent subjects, 7 lesions were parakeratotic and 4 lesions were associated with daughter cysts. Conclusion: Although there are several studies about KCOT in the literature, the choice of treatment modalities remains controversial. In recurrent subjects, more aggressive therapy approaches should be considered. Periodic controls and aggressive treatment approaches may be effective in the prevention of recurrences.

Protein restriction in rat pregnancy programmes the development of elevated systolic blood pressure and vascular dysfunction in the offspring. A recent study has shown that hypertension is reversed by maternal glycine supplementation. Whether this protective effect is exerted directly on the embryo and fetus, or indirectly via effects on the mother, is unknown although we have previously shown abnormalities in the maternal vasculature. We tested the hypothesis that dietary glycine repletion would reverse endothelial dysfunction in protein-restricted pregnant rat dams using wire myography. Impaired acetylcholine-(P < 0.01) and isoprenaline-induced (P < 0.05) vasodilatation in isolated mesenteric arteries (MA) from protein-restricted pregnant dams was accompanied by reduced vascular nitric oxide (NO) release (P < 0.05). Dietary glycine supplementation reversed vascular dysfunction in MA (P < 0.05) and improved NO release thus potentially protecting the maternal circulation. The impaired NO release in the MA of low protein diet dams was not accompanied by reduced eNOS mRNA expression, suggesting that eNOS activity was altered. Protein restriction did not alter the vascular function of a conduit artery, the thoracic aorta. These results provide evidence that adequate provision of glycine, a conditionally essential amino acid in pregnancy, may play a role in the vascular adaptations to pregnancy, protecting the fetus from abnormal programming of the cardiovascular system.

Dietary protein restriction during gestation has been shown to produce vascular dysfunction in pregnant rats and hypertension in their offspring. However, no studies have to date examined the effects of such 'programming' on the vascular function of female offspring when they in turn become pregnant. We have therefore studied isolated conduit and resistance artery function from pregnant female offspring of control (C, 18 % casein) and protein-restricted (PR, 9 % casein) pregnant dams. There were no differences in birth weight, weight gain during pregnancy, litter size, fetal weight, placental weight, fetal : placental weight ratio or organ weights between the C and PR groups. In isolated mesenteric arteries, the vasodilatation in response to the endothelial-dependent vasodilator acetylcholine (ACh) and the beta-adrenoceptor agonist isoprenaline was decreased in the PR group, while there were no differences in the constriction in response to potassium (125 mM) or the alpha1-adrenoceptor agonist phenylephrine (PE). No differences in any responses were seen in the isolated thoracic aorta. We conclude that dietary protein restriction in pregnancy programmes vasodilator dysfunction in isolated resistance arteries of female offspring when they become pregnant, but does not affect conduit arteries.