For a missing teeth, orthodontic treatment may be a better choice of treatment in comparison to a conventional prosthetic replacement such as FPD, resin bonded prosthesis in view of aesthetics, periodontal health and function. Occasionally after an orthodontic treatment, an insufficient space may occur. The mini-implant could be an alternative in situations of narrow ridge dimension, where conventional root form implant could be compromised. The aim of this clinical report is to describe how a space that could not be restored with a traditional root form endosteal implant was managed and to present a technique to achieve optimal anterior esthetics in single implant restoration.
Esthetics ; Prostheses and Implants ; Tooth*

Background and Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the factors associated with decrease in speech discrimination ability seen in patients with presbycusis and whether aging has a significant effect on the observed decline. Subjects and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of patients aged >40 years who had undergone pure-tone audiometry, speech audiometry, and auditory brainstem response for hearing loss at our hospital from January 2019 to June 2021, and investigated the factors that correlated with speech discrimination score. Results: We enrolled 103 patients with 120 ears, with a mean age of 65.8±11.9 years. The pure-tone average of the patients’ thresholds at 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 kHz was 37.2±27.7 dB HL, and their mean speech discrimination score was 82.5%± 22.3%. A correlation analysis revealed a significant negative correlation between the patients’ speech discrimination scores and age. In addition, all variables of pure-tone audiometry and the patients’ auditory brainstem responses were significantly correlated with the speech discrimination scores. The pure-tone average had the strongest negative correlation. On analyzing the significant predictors of lower speech discrimination scores, using a multiple linear regression analysis, pure-tone average and age showed significant results. Conclusions The speech discrimination ability of older patients with hearing loss significantly decreases with increasing pure-tone average and age.

Branchio-oto-renal (BOR) syndrome is a rare autosomal dominant disorder that is characterized by preauricular pits, branchial fistula, branchial cyst, hearing impairment, and kidney anomalies. Hearing impairment is the single most common feature of BOR syndrome, affecting 89% of patients. Preauricular pits (77%), kidney anomalies (66%), branchial fistula (63%), external auditory canal anomalies (41%) are also common. For most patients, BOR syndrome does not affect life expectancy. The major life-threatening feature of this condition is kidney dysfunction, which occurs with about 6% of kidney anomalies. Therefore, once BOR syndrome is recognized in a patient, careful evaluation to detect renal anomalies and treatment of any kidney involvement are necessary. No case reports of BOR syndrome involving adult-onset end-stage kidney disease have been published in the Korean medical literature. We report a case of end-stage kidney disease in a 19-year-old male patient with BOR syndrome, together with a review of the pertinent literature.
Branchio-Oto-Renal Syndrome* ; Branchioma ; Ear Canal ; Fistula ; Hearing Loss ; Humans ; Kidney ; Kidney Failure, Chronic ; Life Expectancy ; Male ; Renal Insufficiency* ; Young Adult

GPR43 (also known as FFAR2), a metabolite-sensing G-protein-coupled receptor stimulated by short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) ligands is involved in innate immunity and metabolism. GPR43 couples with Gα i/o and Gα q/11 heterotrimeric proteins and is capable of decreasing cyclic AMP and inducing Ca2+ flux. The GPR43 receptor has additionally been shown to bind β-arrestin 2 and inhibit inflammatory pathways, such as NF-κB. However, GPR43 shares the same ligands as GPR41, including acetate, propionate, and butyrate, and determination of its precise functions in association with endogenous ligands, such as SCFAs alone, therefore remains a considerable challenge. In this study, we generated novel synthetic agonists that display allosteric modulatory effects on GPR43 and downregulate NF-κB activity. In particular, the potency of compound 187 was significantly superior to that of preexisting compounds in vitro. However, in the colitis model in vivo, compound 110 induced more potent attenuation of inflammation. These novel allosteric agonists of GPR43 clearly display anti-inflammatory potential, supporting their clinical utility as therapeutic drugs.