Prevalence of different stages of periodontal diseases among a sample of young adult obese Egyptian patients: a hospital based Cross-sectional study over 1 year.

BACKGROUND: This cross-sectional study aimed to determine the prevalence of different stages of periodontal diseases based on the recent classification in a sample of young adult obese Egyptian dental outpatients. METHODS: This study included 314 patients seeking dental treatment at the Diagnostic Center of the Dental hospital, Faculty of Dentistry, Cairo University. Validated oral health questionnaire for adults regarding their age, gender, level of education and oral health routines as well as oral health impact profile questionnaire for chronic periodontitis (OHIP-CP) were filled by all patients. Obesity parameters were also assessed through person's weight in kilograms, height in centimeters and waist circumference to determine the obesity stage. Diagnosis was made based on measurements of clinical periodontal parameters including a full mouth plaque index (PI), bleeding on probing (BoP), pocket depth (PD), clinical attachment level (CAL) and gingival recession depth (RD). Radiographic examination was performed using periapical radiographs. Ordinal logistic regression analysis was used to determine significant predictors of periodontal diseases and discriminant analysis was performed to predict periodontal disease classification.  RESULTS: The age range in the study sample was 19-39 years old. The prevalence of different stages of periodontal diseases was 100%. Gingivitis was the most prevalent periodontal disease (63.7%) followed by Periodontitis Stage III (22.6%) then Stage II (11.1%). Stage I showed the least prevalence (2.5%). An increase in BMI was statistically associated with an increase in PD, CAL, RD, PI and vice versa (P-value < 0.05). The total OHIP-CP was 15.99 ± 3.06 for all participants. CONCLUSIONS: There was a statistically significant association between periodontal diseases and obesity in young adults, as well as a statistically significant direct correlation between BMI and periodontal parameters. Self-assessment of oral health and obesity were significant predictors of periodontal disease. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION ID: NCT04618068.

Development of an inhalable, stimuli-responsive particulate system for delivery to deep lung tissue.

Lung cancer, the deadliest solid tumor among all types of cancer, remains difficult to treat. This is a result of unavoidable exposure to carcinogens, poor diagnosis, the lack of targeted drug delivery platforms and limitations associated with delivery of drug to deep lung tissues. Development of a non-invasive, patient-convenient formula for the targeted delivery of chemotherapeutics to cancer in deep lung tissue is the aim of this study. The formulation consisted of inhalable polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)/maltodextrin (MD)-based microparticles (MPs) encapsulating chitosan (CS) nanoparticles (NPs) loaded with either drug only or drug and magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs). Drug release from CS NPs was enhanced with the aid of MNPs by a factor of 1.7 in response to external magnetic field. Preferential toxicity by CS NPs was shown towards tumor cells (A549) in comparison to cultured fibroblasts (L929). The prepared spray freeze dried (SFD) powders for CS NPs and CS MNPs were of the same size at ∼6µm. They had a fine particle fraction (FPF≤5.2µm) of 40-42% w/w and mass median aerodynamic diameter (MMAD) of 5-6µm as determined by the Next Generation Impactor (NGI). SFD-MPs of CS MNPs possess higher MMAD due to the high density associated with encapsulated MNPs. The developed formulation demonstrates several capabilities including tissue targeting, controlled drug release, and the possible imaging and diagnostic values (due to its MNPs content) and therefore represents an improved therapeutic platform for drug delivery to cancer in deep lung tissue.

Janus Nano- and Microparticles as Smart Drug Delivery Systems.

Research has been lately prospering in the field of Janus nanoparticles, focusing on new synthesis techniques and their application in various fields. This is due to the unique characteristics possessed by this type of particles such as their anisotropic nature, and their synergistic potential for combination therapy in addition to the multilevel targeting. These unique features are essential in several biomedical applications, especially the controlled drug delivery. Various techniques have been used for the synthesis of Janus nanoparticles including; masking, self-assembly, microfluidic and phase separation. They are all aiming at production of uniformly sized Janus particles with spatially separated functionalities. Herein, the main synthesis approaches of various Janus nanoparticles are briefly reviewed with the provision of examples of studies focusing on the potential applications of Janus particles in controlled drug delivery.