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An Evaluation of In Vivo Microcirculation

Background. Burning mouth syndrome (BMS) is an atypical orofacial algesic syndrome. The aim of the authors’ research was to investigate the morphological characteristics of peripheral blood circulation in patients with BMS in comparison with those of the peripheral blood circulation in healthy people.

Methods. The authors examined 28 subjects, of whom 14 (10 women and four men) had BMS and 14 (nine women and five men) were healthy control subjects. They performed videocapillaroscopic examination with a capillaroscope with a fiber-optic probe at a magnification of x200, which allowed them to examine the morphological characteristics within the capillaroscopic area accurately.

Results. The capillaroscopic examination provided important diagnostic results regarding alterations of the local microcirculation in subjects with BMS when compared with healthy subjects. The results also showed a statistically significant increase in the diameter of the capillary ansae, afferent ansae and efferent ansae in subjects with BMS compared with subjects in the control group (P = .05).

Conclusion and Clinical Implications. The results revealed a vascular involvement in BMS. This information could improve the understanding of etiopathogenetic factors and aid in the development of therapeutic strategies for treating this disorder.

Key Words: Burning mouth syndrome; mouth diseases

Abbreviations: BMS: Burning mouth syndrome • IL: Interleukin