Photodynamic therapy to treat periimplantitis.

AIM: : Periimplantitis is a bacterial complication after dental implants implantation. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) implies the use of low-power laser in combination with appropriate photosensitizer to increase the detoxification of the implant surfaces. Little information exists about PDT in the treatment of periimplantitis. A randomized comparative case-control study has been conducted with 20 patients and 20 controls to compare the efficacy of antimicrobial PDT versus surgical therapy in patients with periimplantitis, who have received dental implants with rough surfaces. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In the surgery group, mucoperiosteal flap surgery was used with scaling on implant surfaces and debridement of granulation tissue. Microbiologic testing was evaluated before and after intervention treatment, at 12 and 24 weeks in the study subjects. DISCUSSION: Total anaerobic counts of bacteria did not differ significantly between patients assigned to receive PDT and those assigned to receive surgical therapy (mean, 95.2% and 80.85%, respectively). PDT was associated with a significant decrease in bleeding scores (P = 0.02) as well as inflammatory exudation (P = 0.001). CONCLUSION: Treatment with PDT in patients with periimplantitis was not associated with major reduction of total anaerobic bacteria on the rough surfaces of dental implants as compared with surgical therapy. A significantly lower proinflammatory index of periimplantitis was observed in the PDT group at 24 weeks of follow-up.

Radio electric conveyed fields directly reprogram human dermal skin fibroblasts toward cardiac, neuronal, and skeletal muscle-like lineages.

Somatic cells can be directly reprogrammed to alternative differentiated fates without first becoming stem/progenitor cells. Nevertheless, the initial need for viral-mediated gene delivery renders this strategy unsafe in humans. Here, we provide evidence that exposure of human skin fibroblasts to a Radio Electric Asymmetric Conveyer (REAC), an innovative device delivering radio electric conveyed fields at a radiofrequency of 2.4 GHz, afforded remarkable commitment toward cardiac, neuronal, and skeletal muscle lineages. REAC induced the transcription of tissue-restricted genes, including Mef2c, Tbx5, GATA4, Nkx2.5, and prodynorphin for cardiac reprogramming, as well as myoD, and neurogenin 1 for skeletal myogenesis and neurogenesis, respectively. Conversely, REAC treatment elicited a biphasic effect on a number of stemness-related genes, leading to early transcriptional increase of Oct4, Sox2, cMyc, Nanog, and Klf4 within 6-20 h, followed by a downregulation at later times. The REAC action bypassed a persistent reprogramming toward an induced pluripotent stem cell-like state and involved the transcriptional induction of the NADPH oxidase subunit Nox4. Our results show for the first time the feasibility of using a physical stimulus to afford the expression of pluripotentiality in human adult somatic cells up to the attainment of three major target lineages for regenerative medicine.

Regenerative treatment using a radioelectric asymmetric conveyor as a novel tool in antiaging medicine: an in vitro beta-galactosidase study.

BACKGROUND: Beta-galactosidase is the most widely used biomarker for highlighting the processes of cellular aging, including neurodegeneration. On this basis, we decided to test in vitro whether a set of rescuing/reparative events previously observed by us in subjects treated with radioelectric asymmetric conveyor (REAC) technology may also involve antagonism of a marker of aging-related degenerative processes, as assessed by a reduction in beta-galactosidase at the cellular level. METHODS: Human adipose-derived stem cells were cultured at different passages, ranging from 5 to 20, with or without REAC exposure for 12 hours. The cells were then processed for biochemical beta-galactosidase staining and morphological microscopy analysis. RESULTS: We observed a significant reduction in expression of senescence associated-beta-galactosidase, and a persistence of fibroblast-like morphology typical of human adipose-derived stem cells, even at late passages. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate the ability of REAC technology to counteract in vitro senescence of human adipose-derived stem cells, and prompt the hypothesis that such technology may be exploited to antagonize in vivo senescence of tissue-resident or transplanted stem cells playing an important role in clinical treatment of age-related processes.

Radiofrequency energy loop primes cardiac, neuronal, and skeletal muscle differentiation in mouse embryonic stem cells: a new tool for improving tissue regeneration.

Radiofrequency (RF) waves from Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity) technologies have become ubiquitous, with Internet access spreading into homes, and public areas. The human body harbors multipotent stem cells with various grading of potentiality. Whether stem cells may be affected by Wi-Fi RF energy remains unknown. We exposed mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells to a Radio Electric Asymmetric Conveyer (REAC), an innovative device delivering Wi-Fi RF of 2.4 GHz with its conveyer electrodes immersed into the culture medium. Cell responses were investigated by real-time PCR, Western blot, and confocal microscopy. Single RF burst duration, radiated power, electric and magnetic fields, specific absorption rate, and current density in culture medium were monitored. REAC stimulation primed transcription of genes involved in cardiac (GATA4, Nkx-2.5, and prodynorphin), skeletal muscle (myoD) and neuronal (neurogenin1) commitment, while downregulating the self renewal/pluripotency-associated genes Sox2, Oct4, and Nanog. REAC exposure enhanced the expression of cardiac, skeletal, and neuronal lineage-restricted marker proteins. The number of spontaneously beating ES-derived myocardial cells was also increased. In conclusion, REAC stimulation provided a "physical milieu" optimizing stem cell expression of pluripotentiality and the attainment of three major target lineages for regenerative medicine, without using chemical agonists or vector-mediated gene delivery.