Is a Single Preliminary Session of In-office Bleaching Beneficial for the Effectiveness of At-home Tooth Bleaching? A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effect of combining in-office with at-home bleaching procedures in terms of the time required to obtain satisfactory tooth color, final color changes, and tooth sensitivity (TS) reported by patients. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Twenty-six patients enrolled in this study used 10% carbamide peroxide in a bleaching tray for 1 h/d until satisfactory tooth color was obtained. One-half of the participants underwent a preliminary session of in-office tooth bleaching with 35% hydrogen peroxide for 45 minutes. The time in days for the patients to obtain satisfactory tooth color by at-home bleaching procedures was recorded. The color change of the maxillary canines was assessed using the Vita Bleachedguide 3D Master scale and a spectrophotometer at 1 week and after the end of bleaching procedures. Participants' satisfaction with their smile was recorded using a visual analog scale, and TS was determined throughout the entire treatment. Data were analyzed by t-test, Mann-Whitney test, or Fisher exact test (α=0.05). RESULTS: The combined protocol reduced (by an average of 3.7 days) the time required to obtain satisfactory tooth color but increased the risk and level of TS. No difference in the final tooth color change (around 5.0 shade guide units; ΔE=11.6-14.9), or the level of patients' satisfaction with their smile, was observed. CONCLUSIONS: A preliminary session of in-office bleaching reduced the time necessary to obtain satisfactory tooth color with at-home bleaching but increased the risk and level of TS.

Cognitive and anxiety-like impairments accompanied by serotonergic ultrastructural and immunohistochemical alterations in early stages of parkinsonism.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is mostly known as a dopamine deficiency syndrome due the structural and functional changes in striatal projection neurons. However, studies have considered this pathology as a multi-systemic disease in which the neurodegenerative process extends beyond the dopaminergic system. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to investigate the morphological and immunohistochemical changes associated with behavioral and cognitive alterations in a model of parkinsonism induced by low dose of reserpine. Animals showed anxiety-like behavior and deficits in short-term recognition memory. Besides, Tyrosine Hydroxylase (TH) immunoreactive cells decreased in reserpine (RES) group in CA1 and serotonin (5-HT) immunoreactive cells decreased in RES group in CA1, CA3 and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Moreover, an increase in the area (µm2) of 5 H T labeled ultrastructure (axon terminal) was observed in RES group only in CA1 and mPFC. The evidence of alterations in 5-HT immunoreactive in the premotor phase of model of parkinsonism highlights the importance of looking beyond the nigrostriatal system to elucidate the underling mechanisms and deficits in other neurotransmitters systems. This provides vital information regarding novel interventions for the management of non-motor symptoms. Additionally, the low-dose reserpine treatment has an early effect on axonal ultrastructure. As the axonopathy in PD has been increasingly recognized, the focus on axonal neurobiology is noteworthy for both neuroprotective and restorative therapeutics, and the progressive reserpine rat model can be a useful tool in this search.

Inhibitor of PI3Kγ ameliorates TNBS-induced colitis in mice by affecting the functional activity of CD4+CD25+FoxP3+ regulatory T cells.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Phosphoinositide 3-kinase-γ (PI3Kγ) is implicated in many pathophysiological conditions, and recent evidence has suggested its involvement in colitis. In the present study, we investigated the effects of AS605240, a relatively selective PI3Kγ inhibitor, in experimental colitis and its underlying mechanisms. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH: Acute colitis was induced in mice by treatment with trinitrobenzene sulphonic acid (TNBS), and the effect of AS605240 on colonic injury was assessed. Pro-inflammatory mediators and cytokines were measured by immunohistochemistry, elisa, real time-polymerase chain reaction and flow cytometry. KEY RESULTS: Oral administration of AS605240 significantly attenuated TNBS-induced acute colitis and diminished the expression of matrix metalloproteinase-9 and vascular endothelial growth factor. The colonic levels and expression of IL-1ß, CXCL-1/KC, MIP-2 and TNF-α were also reduced following therapeutic treatment with AS605240. Moreover, AS605240 reduced MIP-2 levels in a culture of neutrophils stimulated with lipopolysaccharide. The mechanisms underlying these actions of AS605240 are related to nuclear factor-κ (NF-κB) inhibition. Importantly, the PI3Kγ inhibitor also up-regulated IL-10, CD25 and FoxP3 expression. In addition, a significant increase in CD25 and FoxP3 expression was found in isolated lamina propria CD4+ T cells of AS605240-treated mice. The effect of AS605240 on Treg induction was further confirmed by showing that concomitant in vivo blockade of IL-10R significantly attenuated its therapeutic activity. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: These results suggest that AS605240 protects mice against TNBS-induced colitis by inhibiting multiple inflammatory components through the NF-κB pathway while simultaneously inducing an increase in the functional activity of CD4+CD25+ Treg. Thus, AS605240 may offer a promising new therapeutic strategy for the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases.

Relation between lipophilicity of alkyl gallates and antifungal activity against yeasts and filamentous fungi.

The antifungal activity of a complete series of 15 n-alkyl gallates and six analogues acting against a representative panel of opportunistic pathogenic fungi was studied in order to analyze their role in: the importance of the fungi tested, the importance of the hydroxyls, the influence of the chain length and the hydrophobicity of the compounds. It was demonstrated that dermatophytes were the most susceptible species and that hydroxyls appear to be necessary but not sufficient for the activity. When the logP of each gallate was calculated and related to the different values of MIC against Microsporum gypseum it was observed that hexyl, heptyl, octyl and nonyl gallates exhibit a significant positive deviation from the curve corresponding to a polynomial equation obtained for the other gallates. This suggests that these compounds have a further mode of action besides their hydrophobicity, possibly the inhibition of some enzyme involved in ergosterol biosynthesis.

Biotransformation of the diperpenoid, isosteviol, by Aspergillus niger, Penicillium chrysogenum and Rhizopus arrhizus.

The biotransformation of isosteviol (ent-16-ketobeyeran-19-oic acid) by three fungi is described. Aspergillus niger produced the 7 beta-OH derivative, ent-7 alpha-hydroxy-16-ketobeyeran-19-oic, and the 1 alpha, 7 beta-diOH derivative, ent-1 beta, 7 alpha-dihydroxy-16-ketobeyeran-19-oic acid. The 17-OH compound, ent-17-hydroxy-16-ketobeyeran-19-oic acid, was obtained with Penicillium chrysogenum. Rhizopus arrhizus produced the 7 beta-OH derivative, ent-7 alpha-hydroxy-16-ketobeyeran-19-oic acid. The isolated metabolites were characterised by IR, NMR and MS.