Condition Judgement of Dry Eye in Sicca Syndrome

In this paper, we presented 32 dry eyes of 16 random patients with primary Sicca Syndrome graded with rose bengal(rb), Break up time of tear film (BUT) and Schirmer 1 test (S1T). Of them, the lip biopsy and tear β2-M level were examined and overall studied. The results showed that the grade of dry eye was closely related with both the degree of lymphocyte infiltration of lip glands and level of tear β2-M, and indicated that our grading methed for dry eye based on rb, BUT and SIT is dependable, and the l...

CLINICAL APPLICATION AND EVALUATION OF SALIVA FERNING TEST IN SJGREN' S SYNDROME

Objective To evaluate the saliva ferning test (SFT) as diagnostic test for xerostomia in patients with Sjogren’s Syndrome (SS). Methods In this study, dried samples of freshly produced saliva from 78 patients with established SS according to European Community criteria and 80 healthy controls were examined by light microscopy. The crystallization was classified into 4 types according to the ferning phenomenon: uniformity, branching, spreading and integrity (type I normal and type Ⅱ,Ⅲ,Ⅳ abnormal ). Then, the 78 patients underwent lebial salivary gland biopsy. According to Tarpley’s classifica- tion, minor salivary gland biopsy (≥2 + ) was considered to be positive . Results 1. The sensitivity of SFT was high (70/ 78 = 89. 74% ). And the specificity wes also high (67/80 = 83. 75% ). 2. Abnormal SFT was observed in 70/78 (89. 74% ) samples from patients group and in 13 /80 (16. 25% ) samples from healthy controls. The differences of SFT in patients group versus controls were statistically significant (P< 0. 01 ). 3. The sensitivity of SFT and mini labial gland biopsy had no significant differences (P > 0. 05) as diagnostic tests in SS. Conclusion SFT was simple, sensitive and specific as diagnostic test in SS suspect patients just as mini labial gland biopsy.

Clinical factors influencing the resting and stimulated salivary flow

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the clinical and immunological factors influ encing sialometry in xerostomia patients. Method: The association between sialometry and other clinical examinations were investigated in a cross-sectional study. A total of 179 dry mouth patients showing hyposalivation who underwent a clinical examination were enrolled in this study. Multiple regression analyses were employed to examine the relative con-tributions of clinical and immunological factors including age, gender, parotid sialography, labial Salivary gland biopsy, anti-Ro/SS-A antibodies, and anti-La/SS-B antibodies to the resting (RSF) or stimulated saliva flow rate (SSF). Results: An increase of the stage of sialography, the grade of a labial biopsy, and the presence of anti-La/SS-B antibody had a significant correlation with a decrease of sialometry. Results of the multiple regression analysis showed that age (standardized coefficient = -0.244), grade of lip biopsy (-0.189), and anti-SS-B antibody (-0.171), were significantly associated with the RSF. The stage of sialography (?0.423) and age (-0.169) were significantly related to the sialometry in the SSF according to a multiple regression analysis. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that the measurement of RSF reflects the immunological factors and SSF reflects the damage to the parotid gland.

The cephalic labial gland secretions of two socially parasitic bumblebees Bombus hyperboreus （Alpinobombus） and Bombus inexspectatus （ Thoracobombus） question their inquiline strategy

Social parasitic Hymenopterans have evolved morphological, chemical, and behavioral adaptations to overcome the sophisticated recognition and defense systems of their social host to invade host nests and exploit their worker force. In bumblebees, so- cial parasitism appeared in at least 3 subgenera independently： in the subgenus Psithyrus consisting entirely of parasitic species, in the subgenus Alpinobombus with Bombus hy- perboreus, and in the subgenus Thoracobombus with B. inexspectatus. Cuckoo bumblebee males utilize species-specific cephalic labial gland secretions for mating purposes that can impact their inquiline strategy. We performed cephalic labial gland secretions in B. hyperboreus, B. inexspectatus and their hosts. Males of both parasitic species exhibited high species specific levels of cephalic gland secretions, including different main com- pounds. Our results showed no chemical mimicry in the cephalic gland secretions between inquilines and their host and we did not identify the repellent compounds already known in other cuckoo bumblebees.