Search for Drugs Used in Hospitals to Treat Stomatitis.

Stomatitis is an inflammatory disease of the oral mucosa, often accompanied by pain. Usually it is represented by aphthous stomatitis, for which treatment steroid ointment is commonly used. However, in the cases of refractory or recurrent stomatitis, traditional herbal medicines have been used with favorable therapeutic effects. Chemotherapy, especially in the head and neck region, induces stomatitis at higher frequency, which directly affects the patient's quality of life and treatment schedule. However, effective treatment for stomatitis has yet to be established. This article presents the clinical report of Kampo medicines on the stomatitis patients in the Nihon university, and then reviews the literature of traditional medicines for the treatment of stomatitis. Among eighteen Kampo medicines, Hangeshashinto has been the most popular for the treatment of stomatitis, due to its prominent anti-inflammatory activity. It was unexpected that clinical data of Hangeshashinto on stomatitis from Chinese hospital are not available. Kampo medicines have been most exclusively administered to elder person, as compared to pediatric population. Supplementation of alkaline plant extracts rich in lignin-carbohydrate complex may further extend the applicability of Kampo medicines to viral diseases.

A large-scale study of treatment methods for foreign bodies in the maxillary sinus.

Recently, reports regarding a foreign body in the maxillary sinus have considerably increased, with the majority being iatrogenic cases resulting from dental treatment. This study involves an extensive review of the Japanese literature, including 112 papers from 1978 to 2017. These papers documented total 407 cases of a foreign body in the maxillary sinus. Among the 392 cases for which treatment details were available, the Caldwell-Luc approach was used for 216, the alveolar approach for 116, extraction using nasal endoscopy for 15, and extraction using oral endoscopy for eight. Spontaneous passage occurred in 19 cases, follow-up with medication was used in 17, and "other" was noted in one. This study determined that surgical removal remains the most common method for treating both tooth roots and other foreign bodies and that the Caldwell-Luc approach is used in majority of the surgeries. No marked differences were noted among the removal methods used in relation to the foreign body type.

Partial Protection of Paclitaxel-induced Neurotoxicity by Antioxidants.

BACKGROUND/AIM: In order to search for substances that reduce the neurotoxicity of paclitaxel, the sensitivity of differentiated rat neuronal PC12 cells to paclitaxel was compared to that of malignant and non-malignant cells, and the extent to which four antioxidants can alleviate paclitaxel-induced neurotoxicity was investigated. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Viability of cells was determined by the MTT method. Cytotoxicity was evaluated as the concentration that reduced cell viability by 50% (CC50). Tumor specificity of paclitaxel was determined as the ratio of CC50 against non-malignant cells to that against malignant cells. RESULTS: Paclitaxel was three-fold more cytotoxic towards human oral squamous cell carcinoma cell lines (Ca9-22, HSC-2, HSC-3. HSC-4) than human normal epithelial and mesenchymal (human gingival fibroblast, human periodontal ligament fibroblast, human pulp cell) normal cells, confirming its antitumor potential. However, paclitaxel at as low a concentration as 5 ng/ml significantly reduced neurite formation in nerve growth factor-induced differentiated PC12 cells, although complete killing of cells was not achieved even at 2,000-fold higher concentration (10 µM). Paclitaxel-induced neurotoxicity was enhanced with the prolongation of incubation time and reduction of inoculation cell density. Four antioxidants, namely docosahexaenoic acid, acetyl-L-carnitine hydrochloride, N-acetyl-L-cysteine and sodium ascorbate, only partially protected PC12 cells from paclitaxel-induced toxicity. CONCLUSION: The present study suggests the involvement of both oxidative and other mechanisms in paclitaxel-induced neurotoxicity.

Change in Anticancer Drug Sensitivity During Neuronal Differentiation of PC12 Cells.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Although there are many reports of anticancer drug-induced neurotoxicity, most previous data have been derived from neuronal cell models grown in a variety of culture conditions. This has prevented accurate assessment of the potency of their neurotoxicity and of changes in drug sensitivity of neuronal cells during differentiation. In this study, a simple neuronal differentiation induction system was established and the relative potency of neurotoxicity of eight anticancer drugs was compared during neuronal cell differentiation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Rat PC12 cells were induced to differentiate into neuronal cells by 50 ng/ml nerve growth factor in serum-free Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium, followed by overlay of fresh nutrients at day 3, without medium change. Cell viability was determined by the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide method. RESULTS: During differentiation, PC12 cells became 1.1-to more than 10,000-fold resistant to anticancer drugs. Topoisomerase inhibitors (doxorubicin, SN-38, etoposide) were the most toxic to differentiated PC12 cells, followed by docetaxel, gefitinib, melphalan, 5-fluorouracil and methotrexate. Docetaxel showed the highest cytotoxicity against undifferentiated PC12 cells, but its cytotoxicity was dramatically reduced during differentiation. CONCLUSION: The present study demonstrated considerable variation in the neurotoxicity of anticancer drugs during the cell differentiation process. The present simple assay system may be useful to search for neuroprotective substances.

Somatotopic Organization and Temporal Characteristics of Cerebrocortical Excitation in Response to Nasal Mucosa Stimulation With and Without an Odor in the Rat: An Optical Imaging Study.

Nasal mucosa has roles in warming and humidifying inspired air and is highly sensitive to mechanical stimuli. Moreover, the upper part of the nasal mucosa expresses olfactory receptors processing olfactory information. Although the somatosensory map of the face in the primary (S1) and secondary (S2) somatosensory cortices is clearly documented, the map of the nasal mucosa and the effect of odors on their activities are largely unknown. This study aimed to identify the cortical regions in S1 and their temporal features in response to somatosensory stimulation of the nasal mucosa using an optical imaging technique in urethane-anesthetized rats. An air puff application response to nasal mucosa first occurred in a part of contralateral S1 and subsequently, spread toward the rostrally and ventrally adjacent sites. Upper pharynx stimulation initially activated this rostrally expanded site and the excitatory propagation from the initially activated region toward ventral region likely represented S2. Signal intensity and activated area increased dependent on air pressure. Nasal tip stimulation initially excited S1 region caudally adjacent to that of nasal mucosa. Moreover, the amplitude of S1 excitation was similar between air puff stimulation with and without an odor, amyl acetate. In contrast to contralateral S1, air puff stimulation with the odor showed a faint optical signal increase in the ipsilateral piriform cortex. These results suggest that somatosensory information from the nasal mucosa and skin, and upper pharynx are processed in spatially continuous regions of S1, and interaction between somatosensory and olfactory systems is relatively small in contralateral S1.

Three-dimensional finite element analysis of the effects of implant diameter and photofunctionalization on peri-implant stress.

Previous finite element analyses of peri-implant stress assumed a bone-implant contact (BIC) ratio of 100%, even though the BIC ratio is known to be approximately 50% or less. However, the recent development of ultraviolet treatment of titanium immediately before use, known as photofunctionalization, significantly increased the BIC ratio, to 98.2%. We used a unique finite element analysis model that enabled us to examine the effects of different BIC ratios on peri-implant stress. A three-dimensional model was constructed under conditions of vertical or oblique loading, an implant diameter of 3.3, 3.75, or 5.0 mm, and a BIC ratio of 53.0% or 98.2%. Photofunctionalization and larger implant diameters were associated with reduced stress on surrounding tissues. Under vertical loading, photofunctionalization had a greater effect than increased implant diameter on stress reduction. Under oblique loading, increased implant diameter had a greater effect than photofunctionalization on stress reduction.

Videofluorographic evaluation of dysphagia before and after modification of the flap and scar in patients with oral cancer.

Dysphagia is an important postoperative problem in patients with oral cancer. We evaluated the usefulness of a technique to modify the flap and scar for the alleviation of swallowing disorders. The modifications were made while tongue pressure was being measured to improve excursion of the residual tongue in nine patients. They had been operated on for oral cancer and reconstruction was with a forearm free flap, or the wound was closed primarily. After a 5 ml bolus of liquid barium had been given orally, lingual movement, barium inflow into the pharynx before swallowing, stasis in the epiglottic valleculae, and stasis in the oral cavity after swallowing, were evaluated by videofluorography before and after modification. Oral transit time, pharyngeal transit time, and total transit time were also measured. Lingual movement improved in eight patients. Barium inflow into the pharynx before swallowing improved slightly in all patients. Stasis in the epiglottic valleculae was improved in six patients. Stasis in the oral cavity improved in all patients. Oral transit time and total transit time were significantly shorter after modification of the flap and scar than before operation. Pharyngeal transit time was unchanged. We conclude that our technique for modification of the flap and scar can alleviate postoperative swallowing dysfunction in patients with oral cancer.