ABSTRACT
It has been reported that the force of orthodontic correction triggers periodontal tissue remodeling by affecting angiogenesis. However, the manifestation of the vascular response to orthodontic tooth movement in the setting of chronic fluorosis is unclear. The aim of the present study was to preliminarily explore the effect of orthodontic treatment on the angiogenesis of gingival tissue in rats with chronic fluorosis by monitoring changes in the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase (PI3K), AKT (or protein kinase B) and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) in the gingival tissue. A total of 60 rats were randomly divided equally into the orthodontic group (O group; n=30) and fluorosis orthodontic group (FO group; n=30). Each of these groups was divided into 0-, 3-, 7-, 14- and 21-day groups (n=6/group). Fluorosis and orthodontic tooth movement models were established, and rats in each group were sacrificed for tissue sampling at the corresponding time points. Tissue morphology was observed via hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining. The protein and mRNA expression levels of VEGF, PI3K, AKT and eNOS in gingival tissue were detected by western blotting and reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction, respectively. The H&E staining images showed that the FO group had smaller blood vessels and reduced vascular proliferation compared with the O group. Furthermore, the mRNA and protein expression levels of VEGF, PI3K, AKT and eNOS were reduced in the gingiva of rats in the FO group compared with the O group, and certain reductions were significant during the delayed tooth movement period. In addition, with the extension of the application of orthodontic stress, the mRNA and protein expression levels of VEGF, PI3K, AKT and eNOS in the gingiva of the O and FO groups showed a trend of increasing at first and subsequently decreasing, which corresponds with the tooth movement cycle. In conclusion, chronic fluorosis may inhibit the angiogenesis and the expression of the VEGF/PI3K/AKT/eNOS pathway in gingival tissue of orthodontic tooth movement.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To observe the clinical effect and mechanism of migraine treated with pine needle moxibustion. METHODS: Forty-three patients were randomly divided into 2 groups of pine needle moxibustion group (group A, 21 cases) and medicated thread moxibustion of Zhuang medicine group (group B, 22 cases). Same acu-points were selected as the main points for both groups, namely Fengchi (GB 20), Baihui (GV 20), Taiyang (EX-HN 5), Shuaigu (GB 8), Cuanzhu (BL 2), Sizhukong (TE 23), Yanglingquan (GB 34), Waiguan (TE 5) and Ashi points. Pine needle moxibustion was applied for the group A. Processed lighted pine needles were banded together with one even head to do moxibustion on acupoints or pain points. While, lighted medicated thread was adopted for the group B to do moxibustion. Therapeutic effects, the content of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), Mg2+ in the serum and the degree of pain of the two groups were compared. RESULTS: (1) In the group A, the complete remission rate was 47.6% (10/21) and the effective rate was 90.5% (19/21). In the group B, the complete remission rate was 13.6% (3/22) and the effective rate was 50.0% (11/22). The two rates in the group A were superior to those in the group B (both P < 0.01); (2) In the group A, the content of hs-CRP was decreased from (4.29 +/- 0.98) mg/L to (2.11 +/- 0.87) mg/L, and Mg2+ was increased from (0.67 +/- 0.28) mmol/L to (1.07 +/- 0.16) mmol/L. In the group B, the contents of the above mentioned indices were respectively decreased from (4.30 +/- 1.07) mg/L to (3.38 +/- 1.15) mg/L and increased from (0.68 +/- 0.21) mmol/L to (0.88 +/- 0.25) mmol/L. There were significant differences between the two groups after treatment (both P < 0.05). (3) The degree of pain in the group A after treatment was much lower than that in the group B (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The clinical effect of migraine treated with pine needle moxibustion is better than that with the medicated thread moxibustion of Zhuang medicine. And it has obvious regulation effect on the levels of hs-CRP and Mg2+ in the serum of patients.
