title: Nuclear changes in oral mucosa of alcoholics and crack cocaine users.
abstract: The effects of drugs of abuse on oral mucosa are only partly understood. The aims of the present study were to: (1) evaluate the frequency of nuclear changes in normal-appearing oral mucosa of alcoholics and crack cocaine users and (2) assess their association with cell proliferation rate. Oral smears were obtained from the border of the tongue and floor of the mouth of 26 crack cocaine users (24 males and 2 females), 29 alcoholics (17 males and 12 females), and 35 controls (17 males and 18 females). Histological slides were submitted to Feulgen staining to assess the frequency of micronuclei (MN), binucleated cells (BN), broken eggs (BE), and karyorrhexis (KR). A significant increase in the frequency of MN was observed in cells exfoliated from the tongue of crack cocaine users (p = 0.01), and alcoholics showed a higher frequency of KR in cells obtained from the floor of the mouth (p = 0.01). Our findings suggest that the use of crack cocaine induces clastogenic effects, whereas alcoholism is associated with higher degrees of keratinization in the floor of the mouth.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Pathology, School of Dentistry, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: L P
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Webber
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Pathology, School of Dentistry, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: A C A
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Pellicioli
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Pathology, School of Dentistry, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: A S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Magnusson
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Pathology, School of Dentistry, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: C K
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Danilevicz
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Pathology, School of Dentistry, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: C C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Bueno
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Pathology, School of Dentistry, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sant'Ana Filho
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Pathology, School of Dentistry, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: P V
authors.initials: PV
authors.lastname: Rados
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Pathology, School of Dentistry, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil vccarrard@gmail.com.
authors.forename: V C
authors.initials: VC
authors.lastname: Carrard
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D057229:Alcoholics; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000473:pathology*; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000473:pathology*; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D019970:Cocaine-Related Disorders / Q000473:pathology*; D016578:Crack Cocaine; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007633:Keratins / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D015162:Micronucleus Tests; D008875:Middle Aged; D009055:Mouth / Q000473:pathology; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000473:pathology*; D009153:Mutagens / Q000633:toxicity; D009909:Oral Health; D014059:Tongue / Q000473:pathology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D016578:Crack Cocaine; D009153:Mutagens; D007633:Keratins
keywords: Addiction; ethanol; genotoxicity; micronuclei; mouth