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We report a case of an asymptomatic sclerosing odontogenic carcinoma in a 68-year-old woman. A bulge was noted in the anterior mandibular region, and it increased rapidly without clinical symptoms. On computed tomography, a radiolucent osteolytic lesion was identified in the central incisor apex of the mandible, and the labial cortical bone disappeared. Magnetic resonance imaging showed an internal heterogeneous circular mass outside the alveolar region. Pathological assessment of a biopsy specimen did not lead to a definitive diagnosis, but a benign odontogenic tumor was suspected. The tumor was resected en bloc with 4 incisors. The stem of the tumor was attached to the alveolar bone, but it was mainly outside the bone. Histopathological examination of the surgical specimen showed a capsule under the epithelium and no cellular atypia with bland cytoplasmic cuboidal or polygonal epithelial cells forming a small circle or polygon in the sclerosing stroma. A similar tumor was scattered in the alveolar bone. Immunohistologically, the tumor was positive for cytokeratin (AE1/AE3) and p63, and only a small number of Ki-67-positive cells were noted (approximately 1%). The tumor in our case was not consistent with odontogenic tumors in previous classifications. Based on previous findings, clinical behavior and immunohistological findings, the final diagnosis was a sclerosing odontogenic carcinoma. There has been no recurrence or metastasis 5 years after surgery.

We report a case of a 78-year-old woman with chondrosarcoma in the temporomandibular joint. On examination, swelling of the right preauricular region and pain when opening the mouth was observed. Imaging revealed an irregular-shaped radiopaque mass in the right mandibular condyle with bone resorption. After performing tumorectomy under general anesthesia, histopathological examination revealed that tumor cells had slightly hyperchromatic nuclei that lacked significant pleomorphism, displayed polygonal or stellate profiles of the soma, and formed nodular nests in the homogeneous fibrous cartilage matrix. The pathological diagnosis was chondrosarcoma, Grade II of the right temporomandibular joint.

We previously reported that Vbeta3+ CD4+ T cells maintained a protracted expansion, with the phenotypes of memory Th2 cells, for 30 days in C57BL/6 (B6) mice implanted with SEA-containing mini-osmotic pumps. In the present study, we followed the fate of Vbeta3+ CD4+ T cells in CD28-/- mice. Vbeta3+ CD4+ T cells increased to a degree similar to that of B6 Vbeta3+ CD4+ T cells until day 10 after implantation, then declined rapidly reaching the control level by 28 days. Remaining Vbeta3+ CD4+ T cells at that time did not exhibit memory phenotypes nor Th2-deviated responses. The rapid drop in Vbeta3+ CD4+ T cells in CD28-/- mice was attributable to upregulated induction of apoptosis owing to marginal inductions of Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL. Collectively, these data indicate CD28 to play critical roles in the generation and maintenance of SEA-reactive CD4+ T cells in vivo.

Objective: To evaluate the ability of magnetic resonance imaging to identify temporomandibular joint involvement in patients with rheumatoid disease. Patients and Methods: Eight patients with temporomandibular joint symptoms of pain and impaired function, who satisfied the 1987 criteria of the American College of Rheumatology for rheumatoid arthritis were enrolled. Clinical findings in the masticatory system were recorded. Open and closed mouth sagittal protondensity and T2-weighted sequences were performed for all patients, and the images were examined for Condylar configuration, presence of erosion, disc position, and disc abnormality. Results: Four of the 8 patients had mild rheumatoid arthritis activity, 2 had moderate activity and rheumatoid arthritis was inactive in the other 2 patients. Six of the 8 patients had Steinbrocker's class II disease and the others had class III disease. Seven of the 8 patients had temporomandibular joint tenderness or jaw opening pain. Coarse crepitus on opening (5 temporomandibular joints) was the commonest joint sound abnormality. Anterior disc displacement without reduction was present in 6 patients and pannus in 2 patients. Condylar deformity was present in all patients. Four patients showed joint effusion. Conclusion: The results of this study clearly demonstrated the ability of magnetic resonance imaging to detect and define abnormalities in the temporomandibular joint of patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

A 61-year-old man with untreated diabetes mellitus had submandibular cellulitis caused by an odontogenic infection concomitant with endophthalmitis and a lung abscess. Computed tomography showed masses in the right submandibular and lung regions. A biopsy of the anterior chamber aqueous indicated endophthalmitis. The masses in the submandibular and lung regions improved following systemic antibiotic therapy and extraction of the right mandibular molars, the initial symptom in this episode. Although the patient's right eye pain improved, visual acuity did not recover. Cultures from the aqueous and blood were negative. There were no signs of spread of infection to the maxillary sinus, pterygopalatine fossa, and orbit. As there was no inflammatory pathway, it was suggested that haematogenous spread of bacteria had caused inflammatory spread.