Intraoral human herpes viruses detectable by PCR in majority of patients.

OBJECTIVES: To identify factors which influence the intraoral prevalence of human herpes viruses (HHVs) using mucosal swabs, saliva samples and qPCR analysis. METHODOLOGY: In this cross-sectional observational study, matched saliva and oral swabs were collected from a total of 115 subjects: 70 immunocompetent subjects with no mucosal abnormalities, 22 with mucosal abnormalities and 23 therapeutically immunocompromised individuals. Extracted DNA was analysed by multiplex qPCR for detection and quantification of HHVs 1-6. RESULTS: At least one human herpes virus was detected in 77.1% of immunocompetent individuals with no mucosal abnormalities, with EBV the most commonly detected at 61.4%. HHV-6 was detected in 17.1%, HSV-1 in 4.3% and CMV in 1.1%. Detection was higher in saliva than in oral swabs. There was no detection of HSV-2 or VZV. Neither presence of oral mucosal abnormality nor therapeutic immunocompromise was related to increased detection of human herpes virus. CONCLUSION: Commensal detection rates of EBV are high, and caution in clinical correlation of positive detection is warranted. Commensal CMV rates are low, and detection is likely to be clinically relevant. This study presents a comprehensive commensal detection rate of HHVs 1-6 by qPCR in saliva and swabs.

Oral Nanomedicines for siRNA Delivery to Treat Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

RNA interference (RNAi) therapies have significant potential for the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). Although administering small interfering RNA (siRNA) via an oral route is desirable, various hurdles including physicochemical, mucus, and cellular uptake barriers of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) impede both the delivery of siRNA to the target site and the action of siRNA drugs at the target site. In this review, we first discuss various physicochemical and biological barriers in the GI tract. Furthermore, we present recent strategies and the progress of oral siRNA delivery strategies to treat IBD. Finally, we consider the challenges faced in the use of these strategies and future directions of oral siRNA delivery strategies.