The Efficacy of Gaseous Ozone on Some Cariogenic Bacteria

The aim of this study is to analyze ozone impact on some cariogenic bacteria in ex vivo and in vitro conditions. The in vitro part of study inoculated dentine with strains of Streptococcus mutans ATCC 33402 and Lactobacillus paracasei ATCC 11974 bacteria. Samples of dentine before and after 40s ozone treatment were collected and anaerobically incubated. Samples of cariogenic dentine (N=24) were collected from permanent molars within the ex vivo segment of the study, prior and after 40s ozone treatment and a number of colonies were counted after incubation. For the in vitro part of study, results have shown a statistically significant average value of reduction of Streptococcus mutans ATCC 33402 and Lactobacillus paracasei ATCC 11974 prior and after ozone treatment (p<0.001). The ex vivo segment of the study has also demonstrated a statistically significant difference in the number of bacteria prior and after ozone implementation (p<0.001). Gaseous ozone demonstrated a strong antimicrobial effect on cariogenic bacteria in both in vitro and ex vivo conditions and it can be used as an adjuvant in caries therapy

Improved upper limb function in non-ambulant children with SMA type 2 and 3 during nusinersen treatment: a prospective 3-years SMArtCARE registry study

Background The development and approval of disease modifying treatments have dramatically changed disease progression in patients with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Nusinersen was approved in Europe in 2017 for the treatment of SMA patients irrespective of age and disease severity. Most data on therapeutic efficacy are available for the infantile-onset SMA. For patients with SMA type 2 and type 3, there is still a lack of sufficient evidence and long-term experience for nusinersen treatment. Here, we report data from the SMArtCARE registry of non-ambulant children with SMA type 2 and typen 3 under nusinersen treatment with a follow-up period of up to 38 months. Methods SMArtCARE is a disease-specific registry with data on patients with SMA irrespective of age, treatment regime or disease severity. Data are collected during routine patient visits as real-world outcome data. This analysis included all non-ambulant patients with SMA type 2 or 3 below 18 years of age before initiation of treatment. Primary outcomes were changes in motor function evaluated with the Hammersmith Functional Motor Scale Expanded (HFMSE) and the Revised Upper Limb Module (RULM). Results Data from 256 non-ambulant, pediatric patients with SMA were included in the data analysis. Improvements in motor function were more prominent in upper limb: 32.4% of patients experienced clinically meaningful improvements in RULM and 24.6% in HFMSE. 8.6% of patients gained a new motor milestone, whereas no motor milestones were lost. Only 4.3% of patients showed a clinically meaningful worsening in HFMSE and 1.2% in RULM score. Conclusion Our results demonstrate clinically meaningful improvements or stabilization of disease progression in non-ambulant, pediatric patients with SMA under nusinersen treatment. Changes were most evident in upper limb function and were observed continuously over the follow-up period. Our data confirm clinical trial data, while providing longer follow-up, an increased number of treated patients, and a wider range of age and disease severity