Use of ossein-hydroxyapatite complex in the prevention of bone loss: a review.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The ossein-hydroxyapatite complex (OHC) is a microcrystalline form of calcium which provides a number of additional minerals (magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc), and proteins (osteocalcin, type I collagen, type I insulin growth factor I and II, transforming growth factor beta) associated with bone metabolism. The objective of this review is to examine the role of OHC in preventing bone loss in different conditions. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A review of clinical trials assessing the relationship between OHC and bone loss was made using the following data sources: Medline (from 1966 to December 2013), the Cochrane Controlled Clinical Trials Register, Embase (up to December 2013), contact with companies marketing the supplements studied, and reference lists. RESULTS: Different randomized, clinical trials and meta-analysis suggest that OHC is more effective than calcium supplements in maintaining bone mass in postmenopausal women and in different conditions related to bone loss. In addition, OHC improves pain symptoms and accelerates fracture consolidation in patients with osteopenia or osteoporosis. CONCLUSION: The ossein-hydroxyapatite complex is significantly more effective in preventing bone loss than calcium carbonate.

Melatonin in diseases of the oral cavity.

BACKGROUND: Melatonin is the principal secretory product of the pineal gland. It has immunomodulatory and antioxidant activities, stimulates the proliferation of collagen and osseous tissue and acts as a protector against cellular degeneration associated with aging and toxin exposure. Arising out of its antioxidant actions, melatonin protects against inflammatory processes and cellular damage caused by the toxic derivates of oxygen. As a result of these actions, melatonin may be useful as a co-adjuvant in the treatment of certain conditions of the oral cavity. METHODS: An extensive review of the scientific literature was carried out using PubMed, Science Direct, ISI Web of Knowledge and the Cochrane base. RESULTS: Melatonin, which is released into the saliva, may have important implications for oral diseases. Melatonin may have beneficial effects in certain oral pathologies including periodontal diseases, herpes viral infections and Candida, local inflammatory rocesses, xerostomia, oral ulcers and oral cancer. CONCLUSIONS: Melatonin may play a role in protecting the oral cavity from tissue damage caused by oxidative stress. The experimental evidence suggests that melatonin may have utility in the treatment of several common diseases of the oral cavity. However, more specific studies are necessary to extend the therapeutic possibilities to other oral diseases.

[Pseudolupus induced by a vasculotropic drug (author's transl)]. / Pseudo-lupus induit par un médicament vasculotrope.

The authors report eight cases of women suffering from pseudolupus erythematosus, with positive antimitochondrial antibodies. In six in the past history, a vasculotropic drug, Venocuran or Venopyridum, had been taken. All the patients had had episodes of fever, a pericarditis and/or myocarditis. A pleural effusion was present in six and pulmonary infiltrates in four. The course of the disease was for a limited period (1 to 3 months) in four cases and was chronic in the other four. One patient developed severe mitral incompetence and a cardiomyopathy.