Protective role of melatonin on retinal ganglionar cell: In vitro an in vivo evidences.

Oxidative stress triggers ocular neurodegenerative diseases, such as glaucoma or macular degeneration. The increase of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species in retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) causes damage to the structure and function of the axons that make up the optic nerve, leading to cell death arising from apoptosis, necrosis or autophagy in the RCGs. The use of antioxidants to prevent visual neurodegenerative pathologies is a novel and possibly valuable therapeutic strategy. To investigate in vitro and in vivo neuroprotective efficacy of melatonin (MEL) in RGCs, we used a model of oxidative glutamate (GLUT) toxicity in combination with l-butionin-S, R-sulfoximine (BSO), which induces cell death by apoptosis through cytotoxicity and oxidative stress mechanisms. Histological sectioning and immunohistochemical assays using the TUNEL technique were performed to determine the damage generated in affected cells and to observe the death process of RGCs. Whit BSO-GLUT the results revealed a progressive RGCs death without any significant evidence of a decreased retinal function after 9 days of treatment. In this way, we were able to develop a retinal degeneration model in vivo to carry out treatment with MEL and observed an increase in the survival percentage of RGCs, showing that BSO-GLUT could not exert an oxidant effect on cells to counteract the effect of MEL. These findings reveal that MEL has a neuroprotective and antiapoptotic effect as evidenced by the reduction of oxidative stress damage. MEL demonstrated in this model makes it a promising neuroprotective agent for the treatment of ocular neurodegenerative diseases when administered locally.

Melatonin and periodontal tissues: Molecular and clinical perspectives.

Periodontal disease is a frequent chronic inflammatory pathology that implies the destruction of the tissues supporting the teeth, which represents a high sanitary cost. It usually appears associated with other systemic conditions such as diabetes, metabolic syndrome, depression and Alzheimer disease among others. The presence of melatonin and its receptors in the oral cavity supports the hypothesis that this hormone could play a role in homeostasis of periodontal tissues. In the present review we will discuss the potential role of melatonin, a circadian synchronizing hormone, with proved antiinflammatory and antioxidant profile, in the pathogenesis and treatment of periodontitis. Particular emphasis will be placed on the role of the indolamine in the treatment of periodontal disease when this oral condition is comorbid with other pathologies that would also benefit from the therapeutic potential of melatonin and its analogs through diverse mechanisms.

Correlación entre el comportamiento térmico y composición de sistemas adhesivos / Correlation between thermal behavior and composition of adhesives systems

Se realizó un estudio in vitro donde se evaluaron once sistemas adhesivos, para establecer si las condiciones de trabajo clínico favorecen su eficiencia. Se plantea que los sistemas adhesivos autoacondicionantes presentan menor estabilidad térmica que los convencionales. Determinar el comportamiento térmico de once sistemas adhesivos sometidos a diferentes rangos de temperatura en ambientes con 100 % de humedad, agua acidulada, humedad ambiental, saliva artificial y la correlación con su composición. Se utilizaron adhesivos autograbantes y convencionales, se prepararon muestras en cápsulas de aluminio pequeñas y se fotopolimerizaron con una lámpara LED. Se les realizó el estudio de espectroscopía infrarrojo con transformada de Fourier (FT-IR), asignando las bandas de absorción de los grupos funcionales orgánicos de cada compuesto, correspondientes a los grupos químicos que poseen. Posteriormente fueron sometidas a examen termogravimétrico entre temperatura ambiente y 500 °C para establecer un patrón de comportamiento térmico en ambiente inerte y luego de permanecer en agua acidulada, 100 % humedad, humedad ambiental y saliva artificial. Los termogramas informaron las temperaturas de descomposición y los porcentajes de pérdida de masa. Se correlacionaron los resultados del estudio de FT-IR infrarrojo con el comportamiento térmico de los sistemas adhesivos. Se observó pérdida de masa, eficiencia de la polimerización y cantidad de masa residual. Se observaron dinámicas de degradación diferentes por el diseño de las curvas y por los cambios en la línea base. Conclusión: Los sistemas adhesivos de ambos grupos analizados, presentaron elevado grado de polimerización. Sin embargo, el efecto producido por las condiciones a las cuales fueron sometidos, depende del tipo de adhesivo, siendo que, los adhesivos convencionales, a diferencia de los autoacondicionantes, se degradan en menor extensión, reflejado por su mayor estabilidad térmica.

An in vitro study of eleven adhesive systems was carried out to establish if clinical work conditions could improve their efficiency. It has been observed that self-etch adhesive systems have less thermal stability than conventional ones. As a consequence, early replacement of unsatisfactory aesthetic restorations is needed. The objectives of this work were to determine the thermal behavior of eleven polymeric adhesive systems under different rates of temperatures and a variety of conditions such as 100 % humidity, presence of acidulated water (pH 3), environmental relative humidity and artificial saliva. Another aim was to establish if these factors are correlated with the adhesive systems composition. For each type of adhesive system, samples were prepared in small aluminum caps and polymerized with a LED lamp. All samples were analyzed with the Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) method, which assigned absorption bands to organic functional groups of each compound corresponding to their chemical type. Subsequently, a thermogravimetric analysis was performed in a range temperature from room temperature to 500 °C in order to establish thermal behavior in an inert environment and after staying in acidulated water, 100 % humidity, environmental humidity and artificial saliva. Thermograms were obtained to collect data about decomposition temperatures and loss of mass percentages. The FT-IR study results were correlated with the adhesive systems thermal behavior. Thermogram images showed loss of mass, polymerization efficiency and residual mass amount. The different degradation dynamics were analyzed according to curve designs and baseline changes. Both groups of adhesive systems revealed high polymerization degrees. Nevertheless, the effect produced by the conditions in which they were subjected depends on the type of adhesive. Conventional adhesives, in contrast to self-etch adhesives, degraded in a minor extension as a result of their higher thermal stability.

Arrhythmic rats after SCN lesions and constant light differ in short time scale regulation of locomotor activity.

Circadian rhythm disruption (i.e., arrhythmicity) in motor activity is an abnormal behavioral pattern. In rats, it can be caused by the lesion of the hypothalamic suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) and by prolonged exposure to constant light (LL). We carried out a comparative study of these arrhythmic phenotypes to assess the role of the SCN in the regulation of the motor output beyond circadian rhythmicity. Motor activity series were studied in rats that had become arrhythmic as a result of 1) LL exposure at 2 light intensities: 300 lux (LL(300)) and 1.3 lux (LL(1.3)), and 2) SCN lesion (SCNx). The Fourier spectra, the fractal Hurst coefficient (H) from the autocorrelation function, and the beta slope from the power spectral density were calculated in data sections at baseline, when the rats were still rhythmic, and later at stages with undetectable circadian rhythms. In the LL(300) group, high power content was detected at frequencies of 8 to 4 h (i.e., ultradian). Lower power content for these harmonics was found in the LL(1.3) group, whereas no dominant harmonics appeared in the SCNx group. Independently of the manifestation of circadian rhythm, H values were higher and more sustained in time in rats exposed to LL( 300) but gradually decreased in rats exposed to LL(1.3). Fractal correlation was found in control DD group but was absent in the SCNx group. We conclude that scale-invariant regulation of the motor pattern by SCN activity is dependent on light intensity but independent of the circadian rhythm output. Adjusting the light intensity by modifying the coupling degree between the population of oscillations could affect the dynamics of each individual oscillator in the SCN, making it less predictable.

Effect of melatonin and diazepam on the dissociated circadian rhythm in rats.

The main structures involved in the circadian system in mammals are the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) of the hypothalamus. The SCN contain multiple autonomous single-cell circadian oscillators that are coupled among themselves, generating a single rhythm. However, under determined circumstances, the oscillators may uncouple and generate several rhythmic patterns. Rats exposed to an artificially established 22-h light-dark cycle (T22) express two stable circadian rhythms in their motor activity that reflect the separate activities of two groups of oscillators in the morphologically well-defined ventrolateral and dorsomedial SCN subdivisions. In the experiments described in this paper, we studied the effect of melatonin and diazepam (DZP) administration in drinking water on the dissociated components of rat motor activity exposed to T22, to deduce the possible mechanism of these drugs on the circadian system. In order to suppress the endogenous circadian rhythm of melatonin, in some of the rats the pineal gland or the superior cervical ganglia were removed. The results show that melatonin or DZP treatment increased the manifestation of the light-dependent component to the detriment of the manifestation of the non-light-dependent component and that melatonin, but not DZP, shortens the period of the non-light-dependent component. These findings suggest that both DZP and melatonin favor entrainment to external light, and that melatonin could also act on the SCN, producing changes in the period of the circadian cycle.