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Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of oral mucosal lesions in institutionalized elderly people in Mashhad, northeast of Iran. Background: This study was conducted to assess the prevalence of oral lesions in the institutionalized elderly. Methods: In this survey, we studied all of the nursing homes in Mashhad; a total of five encompassing 237 residents. The subjects were examined and lesions recorded in a designed checklist. T-test, chi-square and Fisher's exact tests were used for the analysis. Results: The mean age of the patients was 79.59 ± 8.88. Ninety-eight per cent of cases had at least one oral mucosal lesion. The most common lesions were fissured tongue (66.5%), atrophic glossitis (48.8%), sublingual varicosity (42%) and xerostomia (38%). There was no significant difference in the prevalence of denture-related lesions (DRLs) between men and women (p > 0.05). Xerostomia was more prevalent in 70-79-year-old than in 60-69-year-old subjects. No case of oral malignant lesion was detected. Discussion: These findings revealed a higher prevalence of oral mucosal lesions in Mashhad city compared with other studies conducted in other major cities in Iran and abroad. The results emphasise the necessity of national programmes towards oral health promotion.

Oral mucositis (OM) is a complication of head and neck cancer (HNC) therapy with negative impact on the quality of life. Although definitive treatment has not yet been established, there is interest towards the use of natural compounds owing to their few side effects. Curcumin has a variety of biological and pharmacological properties including anticancer and anti‐inflammatory effects. Aim The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of curcumin in the form of nanomicelle on OM in HNC patients receiving radiotherapy. Methods In this clinical trial, 32 HNC patients were allocated to case and control groups, and respectively received nanocurcumin or placebo during radiotherapy. Results We found a statistically significant difference in the severity of mucositis between the 2 groups at all visits. In contrast to the control‐group patients, who all developed OM in the 2nd week of radiotherapy, only 32% of the case group developed OM with no obvious oral or systemic side effects. Conclusion Our data show that nanomicelle curcumin is an effective agent in the prevention of OM or reducing its severity. Thus, the administration of nanocurcumin can be considered as a reasonable approach to hinder the development of OM in HNC patients requiring radiotherapy.

Background and aims. Standard treatment of oral lichen planus (OLP) includes topical or systemic corticosteroids that have many adverse effects. A trend toward alternative natural or herbal drugs has attended recently. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of quercetin in treatment of erosive-atrophic OLP.Materials and methods. Thirty patients participated in this randomized clinical trial from April 2010 to June 2010 (Trial Registration Number: NCT01375101). Patients were randomly allocated in two groups. Both groups received the standard treatment (dexamethasone mouthwash and nystatin suspension). Experimental group received oral 250 mg quercetin hydrate capsules (bid) and the control group received placebo capsules. The pain and severity of the lesions were recorded at the initial visit and the follow-ups. All recorded data were analyzed with chi-square, Mann-Whitney, t-test, Wilcoxon and Friedman tests using SPSS 11.5.Results. There were no significant differences between the two groups in severity of the lesions and pain in the follow-ups.According to the Friedman test, there was a significant reduction in pain (P = 0.01) and severity indices (P = 0.00) in the case group. These differences were not observed in the control group(P = 0.26,SI; and P = 0.86, PI). No adverse effect of quercetin was reported.Conclusion. According to the results, no significant therapeutic effect can be considered for quercetin in treatment of OLP.

Objectives: To determine diagnostic value of modified Liquid Based Brush Biopsy technique. Study design: 26 oral premalignant and malignant lesions in 25 patients (12 females; 54.23±19.77 years and 13 males; 53.77±15.43 years) underwent Modified (Liquid Based) Brush Biopsy and scalpel biopsy simultaneously from the same area. Results: There were 16 positive and 10 negative brush biopsy results, with no inadequate readings. Histological findings were compatible with oral leukoplakia(n=5)with dysplasia, Oral lichen planus and lichenoid reaction(n=7) (with or without dysplasia)oral squamous cell carcinoma(n=11),verrucous carcinoma(n=1) and granular cell tumors( n=2). Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, positive diagnostic likelihood ratio(LR+) and negative diagnostic likelihood ratio(LR-) were 88.8%,100%,100% , 80%, infinity and 0.11 respectively(no false positive results). Conclusion: It is the first attempt to do LBC (liquid based cytology) with a specialized oral brush. Our results show that modified technique is a useful tool for screening of oral premalignant and malignant lesions.