OBJECTIVE Uptake of 99mTc-pertechnetate in salivary glands reflects intact salivary gland parenchyma. However, no standardized protocol for an accurate quantification of parenchymal function has been established so far. METHODS In this paper we report on a validated acquisition protocol supplying a normal database for standardized quantitative salivary gland scintigraphy. RESULTS The major ...

The Drosophila salivary gland is proving to be an excellent experimental system for understanding how cells commit to specific developmental programs and, once committed, how cells implement such decisions. Through genetic studies, the factors that determine where salivary glands will form, the number of cells committed to a salivary gland fate, and the distinction between the two major cell ty...

Saliva plays an essential role in maintaining oral health. Alterations in salivary function lead to compromise of oral tissues and functions and have a large impact on a patient’s quality of life. Reductions in salivary flow most commonly manifest as symptoms of oral dryness. This subjective complaint of dry mouth is termed xerostomia, whereas objective alterations in salivary performance, quan...

Naphthyl esterase and platelet-activating factor (PAF)-acetylhydrolase activities were detected in the salivary glands of the cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis. Salivary naphthyl esterase activity is disgorged during exploratory probing. Whole extracts of salivary glands contain esterase activity against the short-chain naphthyl esters alpha-naphthyl acetate (approximately 210pmol/min/gland pair;...

abstract salivary gland tumors are among the pathologies in the head and neck that may be challenging in diagnosis and treatment. most benign tumors occur in the parotid gland. pleomorphic adenoma is the most common type. basal cell adenoma is a subtype of the monomorphic adenoma with rare occurrence. proper diagnosis and clinical evaluation by the use of radiography can lead the physician to t...

introduction: natural killer (nk) cells, of which cd56 is a specific marker, play an important role in host defense against tumors. cancer stem cells, of which aldehyde dehydrogenase isoform 1 (aldh1) is an immunohistochemical marker, are a group of tumorigenic cells which are involved in migration and tumor recurrences. we aimed to evaluate the expression of aldh1 and cd56 in common salivary g...

Salivary gland cancers are uncommon malignancies of the head and neck region. Their site of origin can be major (parotid, submandibular and sublingual) or minor salivary gland (palate, nasal cavity, paranasal sinuses, trachea and lacrimal gland). Of all the salivary gland neoplasms, 85% are benign and 15% are malignant. Salivary gland malignancies comprise 3-6% of all head and neck cancers (Pin...

This study was designed to compare labial and sublingual salivary gland biopsies in the diagnosis of Sjögren's syndrome (SS). Fourteen labial and 29 sublingual specimens were considered positive. There was a better correlation between infiltration of the ductal structure and the focus score in the sublingual salivary gland biopsy than in the labial salivary gland biopsy. Use of sublingual saliv...

Ultrasonography is the first imaging method applied in the case of diseases of the salivary glands. The article discusses basic mistakes that can be made during an ultrasound examination of these structures. The reasons for these mistakes may be examiner-dependent or may be beyond their control. The latter may include, inter alia, difficult conditions during examination (technical or patient-re...

Transgenic mice that overexpress the red fluorescent protein tdTomato (tdTomato mice) are well suited for use in regenerative medicine studies. Cultured cells from this murine model exhibit strong red fluorescence, enabling real-time in vivo imaging through the body surface of grafted animals. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have marked potential for use in cell therapy and regenerative medicine;...