Clinical and biochemical effects of dark chocolate in moderate chronic periodontitis

Introduction: Antioxidant agents such as cocoa could have some benefits in treatment of inflammation including periodontitis. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of cocoa consumption on moderate chronic periodontitis. Materials &Methods: This single-blind randomized clinical trial study was performed on 40 subjects who were randomly divided into two groups. Treatment group received 30 gr dark chocolate (78% cocoa) and control group received 22.5 gr white chocolate three times a day for 4 weeks. Saliva samples were collected from patients at baseline and twenty-eight days after eating chocolate. Probing pocket depth (PPD), Gingival index (GI, Silness and Loe), Modified papillary bleeding index (MPBI, Barnett), Clinical attachment loss (CAL) were recorded at baseline and 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th weeks later in ramfjord teeth. Total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and lipid peroxidation of saliva were estimated by Ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and Tiuborbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) methods. Data of clinical parameters were analyzed using t-test and repeated measures test. Biochemical parameters were analyzed using t-test. Results: Intra-group comparison of clinical parameters demonstrated significant decrease in both groups (p<0.0001) and inter-group comparison showed significant decrease of MPBI in treatment group, (p<0.03). MPBI and GI were significantly decreased in treatment group compared to the control in the weeks of 4th, 6th and 8th, according t-test (GI4, P=0.008-GI6, P=0.008-GI8, P=0.009), (MPBI4, MPBI6, MPBI8, P<0.0001). Treatment group showed the increase in FRAP, (p<0.00001) and decrease in TBARS, (P<0.015) which were statically significant in compare with control group. Conclusion: Consuming dark chocolate could increase TAC and decrease lipid peroxidation, gingival bleeding and inflammation

A Study of arbutin protective effect on cyclosporin A-induced oxidative damage

Background: Cyclosporine A (CsA) is a potent immunosuppressant drug with therapeutic and toxic actions. The use of CsA is limited by its toxicity. Several researchers had proposed that oxidative stress could play an important role in CsA-induced toxicity. Arbutin has recently been shown to possess antioxidative and free radical scavenging abilities.The present study was designed to investigate the in vivo effects of arbutin on lipid peroxidation and antioxidant capacity in the serum of cyclosporine treated rats.  Methods: Adult male Wistar rats were divided into six groups (n=8/group): (I) control (no CsA and arbutin administration), (II and III) were treated subcutaneously (Sc) with arbutin (50,100 mg/kg/bw), respectively, (IV) administered CsA (25 mg/kg/bw) intraperitoneally (IP), (V and VI) received the combination of CsA (25 mg/kg/bw) i.p and arbutin (50,100 mg/kg/bw) Sc daily, respectively. At the end of the treatment (after3 weeks), serum lipid peroxidation was measured by thiobarbituric acid-reacting substances (TBARS) and serum total antioxidant capacity (ferric reducing ability of plasma [FRAP]) was assayed based on spectrophotometric method.  Results: TBARS had been significantly increased by CsA administration compared with control rats. Arbutin (50mg/kg/bw) completely prevented this effect, but arbutin (100 mg/kg/bw) alone or in combination with CsA significantly increased lipid peroxidation compared with controls.  Conclusion: Our data indicate that arbutin (50mg/kg/bw) had protective effect in the CsA-induced toxicity but high concentration of arbutin (100mg/kg/bw) showed meaningful oxidative and lipoperoxidative effects

Histological and histometrical studies on the Effects of Fluoride on the Femur in Rats

Background: Fluoride (F&minus) is a trace element that is incorporated into bone mineral during bone formation. This study assessed the effect of increasing Fluoride doses on the bone formation and microarchitecture on the Femur of rats by histological, and histometrical methods. Materials and Methods: A total of 16 rats was divided into one group of control and three groups of animals that received 0.2, 0.4, 0.8 mg/kg of Fluoride daily for 3 weeks by gavage. Rats which were exposed to inorganic Fluoride in drinking water produced significantly more levels of bone lesions than the controls. Results: Numerous osteocyte lacunae buried at various depths were evident, and the lacunar walls were irregular with mineralized segments running in all directions. The trabeculae of cancellous bone in these animals contained large amounts of osteoid. Conclusion: The results of the present study indicated that the ingestion of Fluoride affected morphological changes in the Femur of rats

Salivary oxidant/ antioxidant status and hematological parameters in patients with recurrent aphthous stomatitis

Background: Recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) is the most common inflammatory ulcerative condition of oral cavity. The aim of this study was to compare the levels of the salivary Malondialdehyde (MDA) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and blood parameter in RAS versus healthy controls. Methods: This case-control study consisted of 28 patients with RAS and 28 age and sex -matched control without RAS. Cell blood count was assessed by sysmex system, serum iron and total iron binding capacity was measured by standard laboratory kit and for ferritin ELISA kit was utilized. Salivary TAC and MDA level determined using FRAP and TBARS method respectively. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS Version 21, chi-square test was used to compare proportions, and student&rsquo;s t-test and Mann Whitney U-test were used for the comparison of quantitative variables Results: Salivary MDA level was significantly higher (p<0.001) and TAC level was significantly lower (p<0.042) in RAS as compared with the control group. Also, serum ferritin level was significantly higher in RAS patients (p<0.008). Conclusion: These findings indicate the alteration of oxidant/antioxidant status was observed in recurrent aphthous stomatitis, may be also associated with changing several hematinic parameters in this study. The finding maybe helpful to clarify the etiologies of RAS and possibely to improve the management or preventive options

Therapeutic control of leishmaniasis by inhibitors of the mammalian target of rapamycin.

Leishmaniasis is a serious global health problem affecting many people worldwide. While patients with leishmaniasis can be treated with several agents, drug toxicicty and the emergence of resistant strains render available treatments ineffective in the long run. Inhibitors of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) have been demonstrated to exert anti-pathogen properties. In this study, we tested the therapeutic efficacy of several mTOR inhibitors in controlling infection with Leishmania major. Rapamycin, GSK-2126458 and KU-0063794 were administered to BALB/c mice, which had received an intrafootpad injection of the parasite. Footpad swelling and parasite burden were assessed, and cytokine production by mouse splenocytes and phenotypic changes in draining lymph node cells were evaluated. Treatment with a clinically relevant dose of rapamycin or with GSK-2126458, but not with KU-0063794, dramatically lowered both the footpad swelling and the parasite load in the draining lymph node. Importantly, the employed dose of rapamycin did not kill the promastigotes in vitro as judged by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assays and electron microscopy. Moreover, the IL-4 production capacity of splenocytes harvested from infected mice that were treated with rapamycin was significantly reduced. Consequently, the IFN-γ:IL-4 production ratio was elevated, suggesting a T helper-type 1 (Th1)-skewed cytokine profile. Finally, the expression level of CD69, an early activation marker, on splenic and lymph node CD4+ and CD8+ T cells was enhanced in rapamycin-treated mice. Taken together, our findings suggest that select mTOR inhibitors may be used in therapeutic settings for the management of leishmaniasis. We propose that the beneficial effects of such inhibitors stem from their immunomodulatory properties. Therefore, the adjuvanticity of mTOR inhibitors may also be considered in vaccination strategies against Leishmania species

The study of <i>HMOX1 </i>DNA methylation and gene expression and the diagnostic potential of <i>miR-153-3p</i> in preeclampsia

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DNA plasmid coding for Phlebotomus sergenti salivary protein PsSP9, a member of the SP15 family of proteins, protects against Leishmania tropica.

BackgroundThe vector-borne disease leishmaniasis is transmitted to humans by infected female sand flies, which transmits Leishmania parasites together with saliva during blood feeding. In Iran, cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is caused by Leishmania (L.) major and L. tropica, and their main vectors are Phlebotomus (Ph.) papatasi and Ph. sergenti, respectively. Previous studies have demonstrated that mice immunized with the salivary gland homogenate (SGH) of Ph. papatasi or subjected to bites from uninfected sand flies are protected against L. major infection.Methods and resultsIn this work we tested the immune response in BALB/c mice to 14 different plasmids coding for the most abundant salivary proteins of Ph. sergenti. The plasmid coding for the salivary protein PsSP9 induced a DTH response in the presence of a significant increase of IFN-γ expression in draining lymph nodes (dLN) as compared to control plasmid and no detectable PsSP9 antibody response. Animals immunized with whole Ph. sergenti SGH developed only a saliva-specific antibody response and no DTH response. Mice immunized with whole Ph. sergenti saliva and challenged intradermally with L. tropica plus Ph. sergenti SGH in their ears, exhibited no protective effect. In contrast, PsSP9-immunized mice showed protection against L. tropica infection resulting in a reduction in nodule size, disease burden and parasite burden compared to controls. Two months post infection, protection was associated with a significant increase in the ratio of IFN-γ to IL-5 expression in the dLN compared to controls.ConclusionThis study demonstrates that while immunity to the whole Ph. sergenti saliva does not induce a protective response against cutaneous leishmaniasis in BALB/c mice, PsSP9, a member of the PpSP15 family of Ph. sergenti salivary proteins, provides protection against L. tropica infection. These results suggest that this family of proteins in Ph. sergenti, Ph. duboscqi and Ph. papatasi may have similar immunogenic and protective properties against different Leishmania species. Indeed, this anti-saliva immunity may act as an adjuvant to accelerate the cell-mediated immune response to co-administered Leishmania antigens, or even cause the activation of infected macrophages to remove parasites more efficiently. These findings highlight the idea of applying arthropod saliva components in vaccination approaches for diseases caused by vector-borne pathogens