Focal malakoplakia in chronic periapical periodontitis

AIMS: Three cases of chronic periapical periodontitis including focal areas with malakoplakia changes are reported. METHODS AND RESULTS: These areas included both von Hansemann-type macrophages and periodic acid-Schiff-positive, iron- and calcium-containing concretions. Some concretions corresponded to spherules with a targetoid configuration, thus fitting the morphological criteria for classical Michaelis-Gutmann bodies. CONCLUSION: The vast majority of the cases of malakoplakia that have been reported in the literature corresponded to a characteristic, fairly homogeneous lesion, but a few instances of focal malakoplakia have been described in various chronic conditions. These considerations support the opinion that the local conditions for the production of Michaelis-Gutmann bodies may occur focally in diseases characterized by macrophage accumulation.