Effect of Lozenges Containing Lactobacillus reuteri on the Severity of Recurrent Aphthous Ulcers: a Pilot Study.

To investigate the effect of a probiotic supplement on the severity of aphthous lesions in patients with recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) over a 3-month period. A second endpoint was to study the effect on pain related to the lesions. The study employed a double-blind randomized, placebo-controlled design with two parallel arms. Twenty patients with minor and major RAS were consecutively enrolled and randomly assigned to the test or the control group. The intervention consisted of lozenges containing two strains of Lactobacillus reuteri taken twice daily for 90 days. Ulcer Severity Score (USS) consisting of six lesion characteristics (number, size, duration, ulcer-free period, site, and pain) was calculated at baseline and after the intervention. Oral pain related to the lesions was estimated by the patients with a Visual Analogue Pain Scale. An improvement of the USS, as well as oral pain, was evident in both groups after 90 days but the reduction was only statistically significant (p < 0.05) compared with baseline in the test group. There were no significant differences between the groups, neither at baseline nor at follow-up. No side effects were recorded. Daily supplements with L. reuteri reduced the severity of aphthous lesions over a 90-day period but the improvement was not significantly better than placebo. The results encourage further research and provide a basis for power calculations of larger and extended studies. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02976922.

Polarized Polychromatic Noncoherent Light (Bioptron Light) as Adjunctive Treatment in Chronic Oral Mucosal Pain: A Pilot Study.

Objective: Aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of polarized polychromatic noncoherent light (Bioptron light) in the treatment of chronic oral mucosal pain (COMP). Patients and methods: Twenty-two patients affected by COMP were treated with standardized pharmacological protocols in association with Bioptron light (90 W; light wavelength = 480-3400 nm; degree of polarization = 95%; specific power density = 40 mW/cm2; energy density = 2.4 J/cm). The outcome measures were intensity of pain [measured by visual analog scale (VAS) score] and signs reduction (measured by Eisen score) recorded at baseline (t0), after 4 weeks (t1), and after 8 weeks (t2). Signs and symptoms scores were compared with those of a cohort of comparable patients selected from institutional medical record files. Results: Patients in pharmacological treatment associated with Bioptron showed a significant VAS score decrease at t1 and t2 (t0 = 6.9, t1 = 3.9, t2 = 1.8, p < 0.05), whereas the patients in exclusive pharmacological treatment showed a significant VAS score improvement only at t2. Comparing the VAS score at t1 and t2 in the two groups, a significant improvement was recorded in patients undergoing Bioptron adjunctive treatment (t1 = 3.9 vs. 5.9; p < 0.05 and t2 = 1.8 vs. 3.6; p < 0.05). In both groups Eisen score improved at t1 and t2, but in the Bioptron-treated patients the improvement was statistically better at t1 (1.9 vs. 0.8; p < 0.05) and at t2 (2.7 vs. 1.4; p < 0.05). Conclusions: In COMP patients, Bioptron use associated with pharmacological treatment allows a better and faster signs and symptoms reduction when compared with the exclusive pharmacological treatment. Further controlled studies are needed to establish the relative and absolute effectiveness of Bioptron in COMP management.