Effects of edaravone on cardiac damage in valproic acid induced toxicity.

OBJECTIVES: An increasing number of studies have pointed out the side effects of valproic acid (VPA), an antiepileptic drug used for the treatment of seizures in children and adults. The aim of this study is to evaluate whether VPA interferes with oxidative metabolism in the heart and whether edaravone, the novel free radical scavenger, ameliorates any such effects. METHODS: Female rats were divided into four groups: intact control animals, VPA (0.5 g/kg/day), edaravone (30 mg/kg/day), and VPA+edaravone (0.5 g/kg/day+30 mg/kg/day) injected groups for seven days. On the 8(th) day the animals were sacrificed under ether anesthesia, and hearts were homogenized. Concentrations of malondialdehyde (MDA), sialic acid (SA), glutathione (GSH) and the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione -S- transferase (GST), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), myeloperoxidase (MPO), Na+K+ ATPase and tissue factor (TF) were evaluated in the homogenates. KEY FINDINGS: In the VPA group, increased MDA levels and decreased GPx activities indicated heart damage compared with the control group. On the other hand, edaravone treatment in the VPA group increased the activities of GST and SOD and decreased the activities of TF and ALP. CONCLUSIONS: Our study is the first to demonstrate the beneficial effects of edaravone on the impaired oxidant/antioxidant status of heart in VPA-induced toxicity.

Salivary parameters and caries indices in children with black tooth stains.

OBJECTIVE: Black tooth stain in children has been associated commonly with a low caries experience. The present study aimed to to compare salivary factors and caries indices in children with and without black tooth stain and to investigate the relationship between caries and caries associated salivary factors in these children. STUDY DESIGN: Salivary flow rate, pH, buffering capacity, total calcium and phosphorus were determined. Calcium and phosphorus levels were assayed by Inductive Coupled Plasma with Atomic Emission Spectrometry. DMFT and dft indices were evaluated according to WHO criteria. RESULTS: Significantly higher levels of salivary buffering capacity and calcium, and lower flow rate were found in children with black tooth stain compared with those of without black tooth stain (p < 0.01, p = 0.044 and p = 0.037, respectively). The differences in phosphorus and pH were not significant between the groups. The dft index was found to be significantly lower in children with black tooth stain than children without black tooth stain (p = 0.030). However, DMFT did not change between the groups. There is no relationship between salivary parameters and caries indices in children with black tooth stain. CONCLUSION: It is suggested that low caries tendency seen in children with black tooth stain may be associated with high salivary calcium and buffering capacity.

Carbonic anhydrase VI exon 2 genetic polymorphism in Turkish subjects with low caries experience (preliminary study).

AIM: The aim of this study was to investigate carbonic anhydrase (CA) VI exon 2 genetic polymorphism and its possible association with low caries experience in healthy young adults. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Healthy young adults with caries or who where caries-free were recruited and unstimulated whole saliva and blood samples were taken. The number of decayed, missing and filled teeth (DMFT) and oral hygiene parameters were examined. Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of CA VI gene exon 2 was determined by PCR and DNA sequencing. Salivary CA activity, buffering capacity and pH were also determined. RESULTS: Two SNPs (dbSNP: 142460367 and 142460368), which are responsible for amino acid changes, were found. The frequencies of these SNPs were not significantly different between the caries-free group and the group with caries. There was no correlation between these SNPs and the salivary parameters. CONCLUSION: Two SNPs found in young Turkish adults have no correlation with low caries prevalence.

Salivary total sialic acid levels increase in breast cancer patients: a preliminary study.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women living in the Western world, even though it occurs worldwide. Cancer and cancer therapy induce multiple oral complications including dental and periodontal disease. Saliva is a complex and dynamic biologic fluid, which reflects both oral and systemic changes. While saliva is easily accessible body fluid, there has been little effort to study its value in cancer diagnosis. Sialic acids (SA), the end moieties of the carbohydrate chains, are biologically important and essential for functions of glycoconjugates that are reported to be altered in both blood and saliva of various cancer patients. Increased sialylation has been shown to be a characteristic feature in cancer tissue and blood in breast cancer patients. However, there is no data about salivary SA in breast cancer. The aim of this study was to evaluate salivary total sialic acid (TSA) levels in breast cancer patients who were under chemotheraphy. The study included 15 breast cancer patients in different stages and 10 healthy individuals as age-matched controls. Unstimulated whole saliva was collected. Salivary total protein and SA levels were determined. Flow rate was calculated from salivary volume by the time of secretion. Salivary SA was significantly higher and total protein was lower in breast cancer patients compared to controls. It is concluded that sialylation may be increased in saliva of patients with breast cancer as the same way for cancer tissue and for blood . Increased salivary SA may therefore be useful as a non-invasive predictive marker for breast cancer patients and for the prevention and management of oral complications of cancer and cancer therapy to improve oral function and quality-of-life. The effects of different types of chemotherapies and different stages of the disease on salivary SA levels and salivary sialo-glycomic are worthy of being further investigated in breast cancer patients.

Effect of fenofibrate on serum and tissue sialic acid levels in short-term experimental hypercholesterolemia.

In recent years, sialic acid is considered to be a possible marker for cardiovascular diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of two different treatment periods of fenofibrate (CAS 49562-28-9) on serum, heart and liver sialic acid levels in experimental hypercholesterolemia. Serum, heart and liver total sialic acid levels were determined by Warren's thiobarbituric acid (TBA) method and serum lipid levels by commercial kits at the end of the fenofibrate treatment for 3 and 6 weeks. Fenofibrate treatment reduced serum total sialic acid levels significantly in the control and hypercholesterolemic groups at the end of the 3rd week and only in the control group at the end of the 6th week. Serum sialic acid levels of fenofibrate-treated hypercholesterolemic rats in the 6-week period were significantly higher than those in the 3-week period. Neither the hypercholesterolemic diet nor fenofibrate had any significant effect on heart and liver sialic acid levels. In conclusion, decreased serum sialic acid levels in control and hypercholesterolemic groups by fenofibrate short-term treatment may contribute to the decreased risk of cardiovascular diseases that accompanies the hypercholesterolemic complications. The decreased serum sialic acid levels further indicate the clinical efficacy of fenofibrate as an anti-inflammatory agent.