Exfoliative cytology of the oral mucosa in burning mouth syndrome: a cytomorphological and cytomorphometric analysis |
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Authors: | Talita Wandeur Sérgio Adriane Bezerra de Moura Ana Miryam Costa de Medeiros Maria Ângela Naval Machado Luciana Reis de Azevedo Alanis Ana Maria Trindade Grégio Paula Cristina Trevilatto Antonio Adilson Soares de Lima |
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Institution: | 1. Department of Stomatology, School of Dentistry, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil;2. Department of Anatomy, School of Dentistry, Universidade Federal de Campina Grande, Cuité, Paraíba, Brazil;3. Department of Oral Diagnosis, School of Dentistry, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil |
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Abstract: | doi:10.1111/j.1741‐2358.2009.00319.x Exfoliative cytology of the oral mucosa in burning mouth syndrome: a cytomorphological and cytomorphometric analysis Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate oral epithelial cells by exfoliative cytology in burning mouth syndrome (BMS). Material and methods: Oral smears were collected from clinically normal‐appearing mucosa by liquid‐based exfoliative cytology in 40 individuals (20 BMS patients and 20 healthy controls matched for age and gender) and analysed for cytological and cytomorphometric techniques. Results: Mean values of nuclear area (NA) for experimental and control groups were, respectively, 67.52 and 55.64 μm2 (p < 0.05). Cytoplasmic area (CA) showed the following mean values: 1258.0 (experimental) and 2069.0 μm2 (control). Nucleus‐to‐cytoplasm area ratio for the experimental group was 0.07, besides the control group was 0.03 (p < 0.05). Morphologically, oral smears exhibited normal epithelial cells in both experimental and control groups. There was a significant predominance of nucleated cells of the superficial layer in the smears of BMS patients (p = 0.00001). Conclusion: This study revealed that oral mucosa of BMS patients exhibited significant cytomorphometric changes in the oral epithelial cells. These changes probably are associated with epithelial atrophy and a deregulated maturation process that may contribute to the oral symptoms of pain and discomfort in BMS. |
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Keywords: | burning mouth syndrome cytology mouth mucosa |
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