Temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis (TMJ-OA) is a common disease often accompanied by pain, seriously affecting physical and mental health of patients. Abnormal innervation at the osteochondral junction has been considered as a predominant origin of arthralgia, while the specific mechanism mediating pain remains unclear. To investigate the underlying mechanism of TMJ-OA pain, an abnormal joint loading model was used to induce TMJ-OA pain. We found that during the development of TMJ-OA, the increased innervation of sympathetic nerve of subchondral bone precedes that of sensory nerves. Furthermore, these two types of nerves are spatially closely associated. Additionally, it was discovered that activation of sympathetic neural signals promotes osteoarthritic pain in mice, whereas blocking these signals effectively alleviates pain. In vitro experiments also confirmed that norepinephrine released by sympathetic neurons promotes the activation and axonal growth of sensory neurons. Moreover, we also discovered that through releasing norepinephrine, regional sympathetic nerves of subchondral bone were found to regulate growth and activation of local sensory nerves synergistically with other pain regulators. This study identified the role of regional sympathetic nerves in mediating pain in TMJ-OA. It sheds light on a new mechanism of abnormal innervation at the osteochondral junction and the regional crosstalk between peripheral nerves, providing a potential target for treating TMJ-OA pain.
Animals ; Osteoarthritis/physiopathology* ; Mice ; Sympathetic Nervous System/physiopathology* ; Temporomandibular Joint Disorders/physiopathology* ; Arthralgia ; Sensory Receptor Cells ; Disease Models, Animal ; Norepinephrine ; Male ; Temporomandibular Joint/physiopathology* ; Pain Measurement

Enamel demineralization, the formation of white spot lesions, is a common issue in clinical orthodontic treatment. The appearance of white spot lesions not only affects the texture and health of dental hard tissues but also impacts the health and aesthetics of teeth after orthodontic treatment. The prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of white spot lesions that occur throughout the orthodontic treatment process involve multiple dental specialties. This expert consensus will focus on providing guiding opinions on the management and prevention of white spot lesions during orthodontic treatment, advocating for proactive prevention, early detection, timely treatment, scientific follow-up, and multidisciplinary management of white spot lesions throughout the orthodontic process, thereby maintaining the dental health of patients during orthodontic treatment.
Humans ; Consensus ; Dental Caries/etiology* ; Dental Enamel/pathology* ; Tooth Demineralization/etiology* ; Tooth Remineralization

Hypoxemia is a common pathological state characterized by low oxygen saturation in the blood. This condition compromises mucosal barrier integrity particularly in the gut and oral cavity. However, the mechanisms underlying this association remain unclear. This study used periodontitis as a model to investigate the role of platelet activation in oral mucosal immunopathology under hypoxic conditions. Hypoxia upregulated methyltransferase-like protein 4 (METTL4) expression in platelets, resulting in N⁶-methyladenine modification of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). This modification impaired mitochondrial transcriptional factor A-dependent cytosolic mtDNA degradation, leading to cytosolic mtDNA accumulation. Excess cytosolic mt-DNA aberrantly activated the cGAS-STING pathway in platelets. This resulted in excessive platelet activation and neutrophil extracellular trap formation that ultimately exacerbated periodontitis. Targeting platelet METTL4 and its downstream pathways offers a potential strategy for managing oral mucosa immunopathology. Further research is needed to examine its broader implications for mucosal inflammation under hypoxic conditions.
DNA, Mitochondrial/metabolism* ; Mouth Mucosa/pathology* ; Hypoxia/immunology* ; Methyltransferases/metabolism* ; Blood Platelets/metabolism* ; Animals ; Periodontitis/immunology* ; Humans ; Platelet Activation ; Mice

Digital technologies have become an integral part of complete denture restoration. With advancement in computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM), tools such as intraoral scanning, facial scanning, 3D printing, and numerical control machining are reshaping the workflow of complete denture restoration. Unlike conventional methods that rely heavily on clinical experience and manual techniques, digital technologies offer greater precision, predictability, and efficacy. They also streamline the process by reducing the number of patient visits and improving overall comfort. Despite these improvements, the clinical application of digital complete denture restoration still faces challenges that require further standardization. The major issues include appropriate case selection, establishing consistent digital workflows, and evaluating long-term outcomes. To address these challenges and provide clinical guidance for practitioners, this expert consensus outlines the principles, advantages, and limitations of digital complete denture technology. The aim of this review was to offer practical recommendations on indications, clinical procedures and precautions, evaluation metrics, and outcome assessment to support digital restoration of complete denture in clinical practice.
Humans ; Denture, Complete ; Computer-Aided Design ; Denture Design/methods* ; Consensus ; Printing, Three-Dimensional

The mechanism of action of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) remains unclear. Historically, research on TCM has mainly focused on exploring the mechanisms of active components acting on single targets. However, it is insufficient to explain the complex mechanisms by which these active components in TCM treat diseases. In recent years, the emergence of molecular glues (MGs) theory has provided new strategies to address this issue. MGs are small molecules that can promote interactions between proteins at their interface. The characteristic of MGs is to establish connections between diverse protein structures, thereby enabling a chemically-mediated proximity effect that triggers a wide spectrum of biological functions. Natural products are the result of billions of years of evolutionary processes in the natural environment. Thus, the extensive structural diversity of natural products renders them a rich source of MGs, including polyketides, terpenoids, steroids, lignans, organic acids, alkaloids and other classes. Currently, several well-known natural MGs, including the immunosuppressants cyclosporin A (CsA) and tacrolimus (FK506), as well as the anticancer agent taxol, have been incorporated into clinical practice. Meanwhile, the advancement of new technologies is propelling the discovery of novel MGs from natural products. Thus, we primarily summarize a growing variety of MGs from natural origins reported in recent years and categorize them based on the chemical structural types. Moreover, the main sources of TCM are natural products. The discovery of natural MGs promises to provide a new perspective for the elucidation of the molecular mechanism behind the efficiency of TCM. In summary, this review aims to provide insights from the perspective of natural products that could potentially influence TCM and modern drug development.

In the field of dental aesthetics,digital aesthetic design plays a crucial role in helping dentists to predict treatment outcomes vis-ually,as well as in enhancing the consistency of knowledge and understanding of aesthetic goals between dentists and patients.It serves as the foundation for achieving ideal aesthetic effects.However,there is no clear standard for this digital process currently in China and abroad.Many dentists lack of systematic understanding of how to carry out digital aesthetic design for treatment.To establish standardized processes for dental aesthetic design and to improve the homogeneity of treatment outcomes,Chinese Society of Digital Dental Industry(CSD-DI)convened domestic experts in related field to compile this consensus.This article elaborates on the key aspects of digital aesthetic data collection,integration steps,and the digital aesthetic design process.It also formulates a decision tree for dental aesthetics at macro level and outlines corresponding workflows for various clinical scenarios,serving as a reference for clinicians.

Objective: To find a viable alternative to reduce the number of doses required for the patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and to improve efficacy and patient compliance. Methods: In this study, we used ginger oil, a phytochemical with potential therapeutic properties, to prepare ginger oil patches. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to quantify the main active component of ginger oil, 6-gingerol. Transdermal absorption experiments were conducted to optimize the various pressure-sensitive adhesives and permeation enhancers, including their type and concentration. Subsequently, the ginger oil patches were optimized and subjected to content determination and property evaluations. A PTSD mouse model was established using the foot-shock method. The therapeutic effect of ginger oil patches on PTSD was assessed through pathological sections, behavioral tests, and the evaluation of biomarkers such as tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and melatonin (MT). Results: The results demonstrated that ginger oil patches exerted therapeutic effects against PTSD by inhibiting inflammatory responses and modulating MT and BDNF levels. Pharmacokinetic experiments revealed that ginger oil patches maintained a stable blood drug concentration for at least one day, addressing the rapid metabolism drawback of 6-gingerol and enhancing its therapeutic efficacy. Conclusions Ginger oil can be prepared as a transdermal drug patch that meets these requirements, and the bioavailability of the prepared patch is better than that of oral administration. It can improve PTSD with good patient compliance and ease of administration. Therefore, it is a promising therapeutic formulation for the treatment of PTSD.

Objective To explore the effect of Morinda citrifolia juice(MCJ)combined with ethylene diamine tet-raacetic acid(EDTA)on premolar bonding strength and nanoleakage and compare the results with those of the most commonly used root canal irrigation solution,sodium hypochlorite(NaClO),to provide a reference for clinical applica-tion.Methods This study was approved by the ethics review committee.Sixty-three human premolars extracted for orthodontic treatment were randomly divided into a control group(distilled water group)and 6 experimental groups ac-cording to the different rinsing solutions used after the surface enamel was removed.The experimental groups included Group A(2.5%NaClO),Group B(5.25%NaClO),Group C(6%MCJ),Group D(2.5%NaClO-17%EDTA),Group E(5.25%NaClO-17%EDTA),and Group F(6%MCJ-17%EDTA)(n = 9).After soaking in the corresponding rinsing so-lution for 20 minutes,they were layered and stacked on their surfaces to form 4 mm×4 mm×3 mm Z350 resin blocks.Six samples from each group were cut into 1 mm×1 mm×8 mm specimen strips for microtensile bonding strength test-ing.The fracture type was determined under a stereomicroscope,and the remaining 3 samples from each group were aged and cut into 1 mm thick slices for interface nanoleakage testing and scanning electron microscopy observation of the resin dentin bonding interface.Results There were significant differences in the microtensile bonding strength among the groups(P＜0.05),and the control group had the highest bonding strength.Among experimental groups,Group B had the lowest bonding strength,mainly bonding interface fracture,and Group F had the highest bonding strength,mainly mixed fracture.There were significant differences in nanoleakage among all groups(P＜0.05),and the control group had the lowest nanoleakage value.Among experimental groups,Group B had the highest nanoleakage,with resin protrusions being unaltered,and Group F had the lowest nanoleakage value,with resin protrusions being thick and dense.Conclusion The higher the concentration of NaClO was,the worse the bonding strength and edge sealing of the crown dentin were.The effects of root canal irrigation with MCJ and EDTA on the adhesive strength and edge sealing of crown dentin were less pronounced than those of root canal irrigation with NaClO and EDTA.

Objective To investigate the characteristics of heart rate variability(HRV)in obese patients with severe obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome(OSAHS).Methods We retrospectively analyzed 78 patients with severe OSAHS diagnosed by polysomnography(PSG)in The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University from April 2018 to May 2022.According to body mass index(BMI),the patients were divided into obese with severe OSAHS group(43 cases)and non-obese with severe OSAHS group(35 cases).All patients received 24-hour Holter monitoring while on polysomnography monitoring.The differences in HRV indexes between the groups and the correlation between HRV and clinical indicators were analyzed.Results In terms of basic data and PSG indexes,the analysis results showed that compared with those in the non-obese OSAHS group,weight,BMI,neck circumference,waist circumference,and AHI in obese with severe OSAHS group were significantly higher,while the standard deviation of the 24-hour normal R-R interval(SDNN),the standard deviation of the 5-minute mean(SDANN),the triangle index(TI),the heart rate deceleration force(DC),the standard deviation of the normal R-R interval(awake SDNN),and high frequency during sleep in the obese with severe OSAHS group were significantly lower(P＜0.05).The correlation results showed that among obese with severe OSAHS patients,root mean square of the difference of adjacent R-R interval(rMSSD)was negatively correlated with the course of hypertension;TI and DC were negatively correlated with AHI.After adjusting for neck circumference and waist circumference,the linear regression analysis showed that SDNN,SDANN,and rMSSD were correlated with systolic blood pressure(P＜0.05).Conclusion There is significant decrease in HRV index in obese patients with severe OSAHS,suggesting that deterioration of cardiac autonomic nervous regulation function may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) typically have a higher risk of cardiovascular diseases, including coronary artery disease (CAD). Currently, the gold standard for diagnosing the severity of coronary artery lesions in T2DM patients is coronary angiography (CAG). This retrospective analysis reviewed data from T2DM patients who underwent CAG at Hengshui People′s Hospital between May 2020 and July 2022. Utilizing multivariate logistic regression analysis, factors associated with the severity of coronary artery stenosis in T2DM patients were identified. Based on these findings, a predictive model was developed to evaluate CAD severity in T2DM patients, incorporating smoking history, elevated triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index, and elevated monocyte to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (MHR). The combination of the TyG index and MHR model provides insights into coronary artery stenosis severity in T2DM patients, potentially reducing unnecessary invasive CAG procedures.