A critical evaluation of the use of ozone and its derivatives in dentistry.

OBJECTIVE: The therapeutic application of ozone and its derivatives in the dental field has been used for many purposes. However, there has yet to be a consistent evaluation of the outcomes, due to the lack of standardization of the treatment operating procedures. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The keywords "ozone", "ozonated", "ozonation" "ozonized", "ozonization", "dentistry", "periodontology", "oral surgery", "oxygen-ozone therapy" were used to perform a literature review using PubMed, Cochrane, Google Scholar, Zotero databases with the temporal restriction for manuscripts published between 2010 and 2020. Clinical trials and case reports of good, neutral, as well as negative results related to ozone treatment specifications were evaluated. DISCUSSION: A better understanding of the mechanisms of action of this bio-oxidative therapy could open new horizons related to the personalization of treatments and the quality of dental care. The critical condition to achieve these goals is an improved knowledge of the qualitative/quantitative characteristics of ozone and its derivatives.

Bioimpedance measurements in dentistry to detect inflammation: numerical modelling and experimental results.

Bioimpedance measurements represent an advantageous method to evaluate the physio-pathological conditions of biological tissues and their use is spreading in different application fields, from the evaluation of body composition to the vital signs monitoring, passing through the individuation of cancer tissues and the detection of different substances (e.g. glucose measurements in people affected by diabetes). In fact, tissues electric properties vary with their conditions; for example, electrical conductivity increases when there is an inflammatory process, because of the presence of oedema, hyperaemia and infiltration. Inflammatory phenomena are frequent in dentistry, in diseases like periodontitis and peri-implantitis; however, at present the diagnosis is mainly done with the naked eye, by observing the gingiva redness and swelling. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this work is to prove the feasibility of the inflammation detection by means of bioimpedance measurements. APPROACH: Both numerical simulations and preliminary experimental measurements provide significant outcomes in differentiating between healthy and inflamed tissues. MAIN RESULTS: Percentage differences in the impedance modulus equal to 4-20% (numerical simulations) and 35-56% (experimental measurements), respectively, depending on the considered conditions (e.g. electrodes characteristics and inflammation severity), were found. SIGNIFICANCE: Such a measure could be integrated in electromedical devices designed, for example, for the therapy of peri-implantitis, in order to personalise the therapeutic dose in terms of intensity and duration and focusing it on the impaired area, minimising the effects on the surrounding tissues.

An innovative therapy for peri-implantitis based on radio frequency electric current: numerical simulation results and clinical evidence.

Peri-implantitis is a severe inflammatory pathology that affects soit and hard tissues surrounding dental implants. Nowadays, only prevention is effective to contrast peri-implantitis, but, in recent years, there is the clinical evidence of the efficiency of a therapy based on the application of radio frequency electric current, reporting that 81% of the cases (66 implants, 46 patients) were successfully treated. The aim of this paper is to present the therapy mechanism, exploring the distribution of the electric currents in normal and pathologic tissues. A 3D numerical FEM model of tooth root with a dental implant screwed in the alveolar bone has been realized and the therapy has been simulated in COMSOL Multiphysics® environment. Results show that the electric current is focused in the inflamed zone around the implant, due to the fact that its conductivity is higher than the healthy tissue one. Moreover, by means of a movable return electrode, the electric current and field lines can be guided in the most inflamed area, limiting the interference on healthy tissues and improving the therapy in the area of interest. In conclusion, it can be stated that this innovative therapy would make a personalized therapy for peri-implantitis possible, also through impedance measurements, allowing the clinician to evaluate the tissue inflammation state.

Monoclonal antibody investigation in rheumatoid arthritis: presence of a T cell subpopulation bearing a double marker.

Using a double marking technique of peripheral blood lymphocyte (PBL) from 23 patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and 12 normal healthy subjects (NHS), the authors were able to demonstrate that there was no alteration in the OKT8 + ve population of RA patients, when compared with NHS. On the contrary, an increased percentage of the subpopulation of lymphocytes OKT4 + ve was detected. Finally, the presence of a subpopulation of T cells carrying both the receptors for monoclonal antibodies OKT4 and OKT8 has been detected.

[Rheumatic pelvic spondylitis in a patient with progressive spinal muscular atrophy (Kugelberg-Welander syndrome)]. / Pelvi spondilite reumatica in soggetto con atrofia muscolare spinale progressiva (s. di Kugelberg-Welander).

A unique association of two rare genetic diseases--progressive muscular atrophy of the spine and rheumatic pelvic spondylitis--observed in a clinical case is described.

Intra-atrial and atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia in the same subject diagnosed at transesophageal electrophysiologic study.

The case report deals with a young woman with frequent episodes of paroxysmal narrow QRS tachycardia of uncertain etiology at Holter monitoring in whom a transesophageal electrophysiologic study was carried out in order to identify the electrogenetic mechanism of the presenting arrhythmia. During the electrophysiologic study, 2 different types of supraventricular tachycardia were induced and diagnosed as intra-atrial and atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia. This association represents a rare finding and can provide a possible explanation to the intriguing electrocardiographic pattern observed at Holter monitoring. Therefore, transesophageal electrophysiologic study proved to be a valuable method for evaluating subjects with complex supraventricular tachycardias.