The purpose of this study is to reveal the relationship between the head position, and the neck and head muscles. At 4 head positions, the activities of masseter, anterior temporal, anterior digastric, sternocleidomastoid and trapezius muscle of ten normal subjects standing straight were investigated electromyographically with surface electrodes during voluntary maximal clenching in centric occ...

N-acetyl-ƒÀ-glucosaminidase (NAG, EC 3.2. 1.30) is an enzyme which catalyzes glycoproteins, glycolipids and glycosaminoglycans. This enzyme is widely distributed in a variety of tissues and fluids of mammals. Until now, NAG has been purified from various organs such as human placenta1), bovine spleen2), horse kidney3) and mouse submandibular gland4), and its enzymatic properties have been repor...

In the present study, to elucidate the influences of the deficiency of teeth on the masseter muscle, we analyzed changes in the expression of MyHC isoform mRNAs during postnatal development in mi/mi mice using real-time PCR. By 8 weeks of age, MyHC I had nearly disappeared in the +/+ mice, while it was still present in the mi/mi, and the level of MyHC I mRNA in the mi/mi was 5.1-fold higher tha...

The effect of nasal obstruction on nocturnal masseter and suprahyoid muscle activities using a newly developed portable electromygram (EMG)-recording unit was examined. Ten healthy Japanese males participated in this study. EMG activities of both the right masseter and bilateral suprahyoid muscles were recorded with a portable EMG-recording unit. At midnight, the subject was asked to lie on a b...

Healing from injury requires the activation and proliferation of stem cells for tissue repair. Previous studies have demonstrated that bone marrow is a central pool of stem cells. The present study aimed to investigate the route undertaken by bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMMCs) following BMMC transplantation by masseter injection in a rat model of midpalatal expansion. The rats were divided i...

The hypothesis was tested that increasing the resting length of the masseter and temporalis muscles by a bite-opening appliance with or without detachment and re-attachment of the masseter would not affect the contractile properties of these muscles. Appliances opened the bite of 10 adult female monkeys 20 mm. Five received the appliance alone (Group A); five received the appliance and in addit...

BACKGROUND Due to the absence of agreement about an effective unified treatment for temporomandibular disorders, non-invasive therapies such as EMG-biofeedback generate a greater interest. Furthermore, most studies to the present show methodological deficiencies that must be solved in the future, which makes important to emphasize this line of studies. MATERIAL AND METHODS Fourteen patients w...