Association of Catechol-O-Methyl-Transferase and Estrogen Receptors polymorphism with Severity of Temporomandibular Disorder in Iranian Patients.

Background: There are many studies which strongly suggest that the pathophysiology of Temporomandibular joint Disorder (TMD) may also be influenced by genetic conditions. The current study was aimed to evaluate the hypothesis that the polymorphism of estrogen receptor genes, estrogen receptor 1 and 2 (ESR1 and ESR2), and the gene Catechol-O-Methyl-Transferase (COMT) could be Predisposing factor for TMD. Methods: In this case-control study, blood sample were taken from 100 TMD diagnosed patients based on Research Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders (RDC/TMD) and 103 healthy individuals as the control group. Tetra ARMS-PCR method was used to amplify and identify COMT rs4680, ESR1 rs1643821, and ESR2 rs1676303 gene polymorphism. Results: ESR1 genotype AA and GA showed significantly increase probability (OR= 4.80, OR=2.98, respectively) of TMD. ESR2 T/T homozygosity was associated with decreased risk for TMD (OR=0.41). The relationship between COMT and TMD was not statistically significant (p>00.05). The relationship between the severity of TMD and ESR1 was significant (p=0.003). According to the inheritance pattern the COMT and ESR1 gene, in the dominant pattern can be susceptible to TMD and in ESR2 gene, in the recessive pattern can be protective to TMD. Conclusion: It seems that SNPs of ESR1 rs1643821 has a susceptible role and ESR2 rs1676303 has a protective role against TMD. Also, we add evidences that various genotype of COMT rs4680 were not statistically different between case and control, but allele A in the dominant inherence pattern can be susceptible to TMD.

Comparison of therapeutic effects of 940 nm diode laser acupuncture with transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation in the myofascial pain dysfunction syndrome: a comparative randomized clinical trial.

Myofascial pain dysfunction syndrome (MPDS) is one of the most common sources of orofacial pain. There are different types of physical therapy for patients with MPDS, but there is insufficient evidence that any one treatment method is superior. This study aimed to compare the clinical efficacy of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) and laser acupuncture (LA) using a 940-nm diode on MPDS improvement. In this randomized clinical trial, 22 MPDS patients were randomly assigned to TENS (180 HZ, 300 µs, 20 min) and LA (940 nm, continuous wave, 0. 5 w, 40 s, 105 J/cm2) groups. Data on overall facial pain, tenderness in the masticatory muscles, deviation, joint sound, and maximum mouth opening without pain (MMO) were collected from all patients at baseline, before and after each treatment session, and 1 month after the end session. Data were analyzed using an independent t-test, repeated measures ANOVA, and Fisher's exact test at a significance level of P < 0.05. The decreases in overall facial pain (P = 0.000), muscle tenderness (P = 0.000), and increase in MMO (P = 0.01, P = 0.001) were statistically significant compared to the baseline in the TENS and AL groups. No significant differences were detected between TENS and LA for overall facial pain, muscle tenderness, or MMO at 1 month follow-up (P > 0.05). Both LA and TENS are effective physical therapies with promising effects on sign and symptom improvements in MPDS patients.

Reconstruction of necrotic submandibular salivary gland using mesenchymal stem cells.

BACKGROUND: The efficacy of mesnchymal stem cells (MSCs) to treat the necrotic tissue of salivary glands (SGs) has yet investigated. OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to investigate the potential capacity of MSCs to restore the function and regenerate the necrotic submandiular gland in the rat animal model. METHODS: Twenty-one Sprague-Dawley rats were provided from a breeding colony and randomly divided into three groups including the positive control or induced SG atrophy without treatment, the treatment group or induced SG atrophy with MSCs isolated transplantation and the negative control group consists of healthy rats. The atrophic and necrotic submandiular gland was induced using intraoral duct ligation of the main duct of submandiular gland for one month. The isolated stem cells were confirmed using flow cytometry for CD90 and CD 105. The isolated MSCs were cultured and injected to submandiular gland and the potential efficacy of MSCs to treat the atrophic submandibular glands was evaluated using histopathology on two weeks post-transplantation. To detect the acinar cell protein secretory granules, Alcian Blue and periodic acid shift (PAS) staining were done. For the demonstration of mitotic index or proliferation rate of the SG epithelia tissue, Ki-67 and Smbg proteins expression were evaluated using immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: The locally injected MSCs could regenerate the overall histological structure of the necrotic submandibular gland tissue within 2 weeks of post-transplantation. Alcian Blue and PAS staining indicated that the mean amount of serous and mucin secretions in the treatment group was significantly increased compared to the positive control groups. We have also found that the treatment group significantly express higher Ki-67 protein, as a diagnostic marker for cell mitosis and proliferation rate, and lower Smbg protein, as a diagnostic marker, for damage to the submandibular gland than that of control group. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates the therapeutic benefits of MSCs isolated from the SG in treating atrophic and necrotic SGs in a rat model. MSCs may be potential candidates for cell-based therapies targeting hypofunction of SG induced by a range of diseases or because of surgery and radiotherapy of head and neck cancers.

Determining salivary and serum levels of iron, zinc and vitamin B12 in patients with geographic tongue.

Background. Benign migratory glossitis or geographic tongue, whose cause still remains a mystery, emerges as annular lesions on the dorsal surface of the tongue. Several reasons have been reported for this condition, including vitamin deficiencies, digestive disorders, emotional stress and nutritional deficiencies. In order to introduce an efficient treatment for the geographic tongue, the present study investigated the levels of iron, zinc and vitamin B12 in the blood and saliva. Methods. The present study evaluated 40 subjects. The oral disease specialists examined the patients in the Dental School, Tehran University International Campus and Mashhad Dental School. Accordingly, inclusion and exclusion criteria were used to enroll the patients. The blood and salivary samples were collected from the case and control groups. Finally, independent t-test was used to analyze the data. Results. Overall, 20 subjects suffered from geographic tongue. They consisted of 8 females and 12 males, with a mean age of 33.5±4.8 and age range of 19‒49 years. Moreover, the mean age and age range of the healthy subjects were 29.40±7.5 and 24‒25 years, respectively. It should be pointed out that the subjects were equally divided into 10 males and 10 females. There was no difference between other variables in the blood and saliva. Conclusion. The results showed that patients with geographic tongue had lower levels of salivary zinc, compared to the control group. Although iron and vitamin B12 affect the lingual papillae, their serum and salivary levels did not change.

The effect of low level laser on number of Candida albicans colonies in-vitro: a new finding.

BACKGROUND: Candida albicans is a commensal organism that causes a wide variety of diseases in humans. One of these diseases is oral candidiasis, which occurs at a high recurrence rate in spite of available treatments. The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) with the use of nystatin on in-vitro growth of Candida albicans. METHOD: We prepared two samples of Candida albicans at different concentrations: 104 viable cells/ml and 106 viable cells/ml. Specimens from each sample were divided into a control group, a nystatin-treated group, and a group treated with LLLT. The control group was cultured without any intervention. The second group was treated with nystatin and the solution was vibrated for 30 s or 60 s. The third group was irradiated with a gallium-aluminum-argon (Ga-Al-Ar) diode laser (Epic 10; Biolase Inc.)in continuous mode using a wavelength of 940 nm and a power of 1 W for 30 s or 60 s (38 J/cm2 and 76 J/cm2). The specimens from the nystatin group and the LLLT group were cultured and the number of colony-forming units (CFU/ml) for each group was counted and compared. RESULTS: Nystatin completely eliminated the colonies (0 colonies) in all specimens. There was an increase in the number of colonies in the LLLT group for both cell concentrations at 30 s and at 60 s. However, this increase was statistically significant only for a concentration of 104 viable cells/ml at an exposure time of 30s. The increase in the concentration of 106 viable cells/ml at both 30 s and 60 s was statistically significant compared with the control group, although the highest number of colonies remained after an exposure time of 60s. CONCLUSION: LLLT led to an increase in the growth of Candida colonies. However, there was no significant difference related to the exposure time between the different cell concentrations.

Salivary Cortisol and Salivary Flow Rate in Clinical Types of Oral Lichen Planus.

Patients with oral lichen planus (OLP) may develop immune sialadenitis that causes a dry mouth. The role of cortisol in autoimmune diseases is well known; yet studies on this subject are controversial. In this study, the salivary flow rate and salivary cortisol level were compared among subtypes of OLP. This study involved three groups of patients: (1) 11 with reticular OLP, (2) 20 with atrophic-erosive OLP, and (3) 30 with no apparent oral lesion. The salivary flow rate in the control group was significantly higher than in OLP patients. The mean level of cortisol in atrophic-erosive cases was higher than in reticular cases and in the control group; however, there was no significant difference between the three study groups. In a previous study, there was moderate to severe acinar atrophy in two-thirds of patients with OLP, which may explain the decreased salivary flow rate in these patients.

Treatment of Symptomatic Geographic Tongue with Triamcinolone Acetonide Alone and in Combination with Retinoic Acid: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

OBJECTIVES: Geographic tongue or migratory glossitis is an inflammatory disorder with unknown etiology. Considering the accompanied burning pain, taste dysfunction, and lack of definite cure, it is important to treat this condition symptomatically. The objective of the current study was to compare the efficacy of a combination of 0.05% retinoic acid and 0.1% triamcinolone acetonide with that of triamcinolone acetonide alone for treatment of symptomatic geographic tongue. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This randomized controlled double-blind clinical trial was performed on 28 patients with symptomatic geographic tongue, who were referred to two dental clinics. Participants were randomly divided into two groups and treated with triamcinolone alone or retinoic acid plus triamcinolone for 10 days. Patients were assessed for the level of pain, burning sensation and size of lesion at the beginning and at the end of the study. Participants were followed up for two months after cessation of treatment (at the end of each month). SPSS 11 was applied to compare the two therapeutic modalities. RESULTS: Twenty-eight participants with a mean age of 40 years were evaluated including Seven (25%) males and 21(75%) females. There was a positive family history of geographic tongue in 21 patients. Despite the diminished pain and burning sensation as well as smaller size of lesions following treatment (P<0.05), no statistically significant differences were found between the two groups (P> 0.05). No side effect was reported. CONCLUSIONS: The combination of triamcinolone and retinoic acid was not more effective than triamcinolone alone for symptomatic treatment of geographic tongue.

An In Vitro Comparison of Antimicrobial Effects of Curcumin-Based Photodynamic Therapy and Chlorhexidine, on Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans.

INTRODUCTION: Considering the importance of prevention in periodontal diseases and the important role of Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans in induction and progression of these diseases, the aim of the present in vitro study was to compare the antimicrobial effects of chlorhexidine digluconate (CHX), curcumin and light-emitting diode (LED) laser, on this bacterium. METHODS: Antimicrobial activity of curcumin (5 mg/ml), CHX (2%), LED (120 J/cm(2)) and LED + curcumin (120 J/cm(2) + 2.5 mg/ml) against A. actinomycetemcomitans were tested in vitro, using micro-broth dilution test. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey's HSD tests served for statistical analysis. RESULTS: Regarding the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), CHX had a significantly lower MIC than curcumin (P < 0.05). Sorted out by bacterial growth from lowest to highest, were CHX, LED + curcumin, curcumin, and LED groups. All the differences were found to be statistically significant (P < 0.05) except for the LED group. CONCLUSION: We conclude that curcumin is an effective substance in preventing the growth of A. actinomycetemcomitans, whose impact is reinforced when used simultaneously with photodynamic therapy (PDT).

Traditionally used herbal medicines with antibacterial effect on Aggegatibacter actinomycetemcomitans: Boswellia serrata and Nigella sativa.

BACKGROUND: Since bacterial strains developed resistance against commonly used antibiotics and side effects became more serious, other alternatives have been postulated. There is an answer for this issue in ancient medicine. Many plants have been proved to provide antibacterial effect. In this study, Boswellia serrata (BS) and Nigella sativa (NS) were assessed to evaluate the antibacterial effect on Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (A.a) known as main pathogen of aggressive periodontitis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Broth microdilution method was used to obtain minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of crude extract of BS and NS. Furthermore, the logarithm of colony forming units grown in fresh brain heart infusion bacterial culture was assessed. Three groups including BS+ (containing only BS), NS+ (containing only NS), and BS-NS- (control group) were defined. For each group, the experiment was repeated 12 times. RESULTS: MIC of BS and NS were 512 µg/mL and 128 µg/mL, respectively. No growth was observed in our negative control group. The mean ± standard deviation of logarithm of CFU/mL for BS, NS, and control group was 4.32 ± 0.36, 3.61 ± 0.3, and 5.57 ± 0.19, respectively. ANOVA test revealed significant difference (P values < 0.0001) of these groups which was later confirmed using the post hoc test of Tukey's honest significant difference (all P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Both BS and NS are effective against A.a which should be taken into account as appropriate ingredient for oral hygiene products.