Development and in vitro evaluation of biopolymers as a delivery system against periodontopathogen microorganisms.

Periodontal disease is the major cause of tooth loss in adults. Porphyromonas gingivalis and Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans are considered key pathogens in periodontitis. The treatment consists of oral hygiene education, instrumentation for removal of calculus (scaling), chemotherapy and periodontal surgery. Several agents are commercially available; these chemicals can alter oral microbiota and have undesirable side-effects such as vomiting, diarrhea and tooth staining. Hence, the search for alternative products continues and natural phytochemicals isolated from plants used as traditional medicine and the use of biomaterials are considered good alternatives. Chitosan and pullulan are polymers that have been proposed due to their favorable properties such as biocompatibility, biodegradability, and adhesion ability. They can be used as local delivery systems of active principles of plant extracts. Thymus vulgaris, Matricaria chamomilla, Croton lechleri, Calendula officinalis L. and Juliana adstringens Schl. are known to have medicinal activity, and they are used in Mexican traditional medicine. Their extracts were tested in vitro for antimicrobial activity against P. gingivalis and A. actinomycetemcomitans, using agar diffusion and microdilution methods. The antimicrobial activity of films from biopolymers with plant extracts was evaluated by measuring the zones of inhibition against the tested organisms. The aim of this study was to develop bioadhesive films from chitosan and pullulan with added plant extracts and determine the antimicrobial activity of films against periodontal pathogens.

Development and in vitro evaluation of biopolymers as a delivery system against periodontopathogen microorganisms

Periodontal disease is the major cause of tooth loss in adults. Porphyromonas gingivalis and Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans are considered key pathogens in periodontitis. The treatment consists of oral hygiene education, instrumentation for removal of calculus (scaling), chemotherapy and periodontal surgery. Several agents are commercially available; these chemicals can alter oral microbiota and have undesirable sideeffects such as vomiting, diarrhea and tooth staining. Hence, the search for alternative products continues and natural phytochemicals isolated from plants used as traditional medicine and the use of biomaterials are considered good alternatives. Chitosan and pullulan are polymers that have been proposed due to their favorable properties such as biocompatibility, biodegradability, and adhesion ability. They can be used as local delivery systems of active principles of plant extracts. Thymus vulgaris, Matricaria chamomilla, Croton lechleri, Calendula officinalis L. and Juliana adstringens Schl. are known to have medicinal activity, and they are used in Mexican traditional medicine. Their extracts were tested in vitro for antimicrobial activity against P. gingivalis and A. actinomycetemcomitans, using agar diffusion and microdilution methods. The antimicrobial activity of films from biopolymers with plant extracts was evaluated by measuring the zones of inhibition against the tested organisms. The aim of this study was to develop bioadhesive films from chitosan and pullulan with added plant extracts and determine the antimicrobial activity of films against periodontal pathogens.

La enfermedad periodontal es la principal causa de perdida de dientes en los adultos. Los agentes causales comunmente identificados con la enfermedad son Porphyromonas gingivalis y Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans. El tratamiento de la enfermedad consiste en educacion sobre higiene oral, remocion de calculos por medio de instrumentacion (raspado y alisado de la raiz), la administracion de medicamentos y cirugia. Hay multiples agentes quimicos disponibles comercialmente; estos pueden alterar la microflora oral y tener efectos secundarios indeseables como vomito, diarrea y pigmentacion dental. Por lo tanto, los productos naturales como los fitoquimicos aislados de plantas que son usadas como medicinas tradicionales y los biomateriales, son considerados buenas alternativas. El quitosan y el pululan son polimeros que han sido propuestos debido a sus propiedades de biocompatibilidad, biodegradabilidad, habilidad de adhesion y que pueden ser usados como sistemas de liberacion de los principios activos de extractos de plantas. Los extractos de Thymus vulgaris, Matricaria chamomilla, Croton lechleri, Calendula officinalis L. y Juliana adstringens Schl. son conocidos por tener actividad medicinal y se usan en la medicina tradicional Mexicana. La actividad antimicrobiana de sus extractos fue probada in vitro contra P. gingivalis y A. actinomycetemcomitans usando los metodos de difusion en agar y de microdilucion. La actividad antimicrobiana de peliculas a base de biopolimeros con extractos de plantas fue evaluada midiendo las zonas de inhibicion de crecimiento de los organismos probados. El proposito de este estudio fue desarrollar peliculas bioadhesivas de quitosan y pululan adicionadas con extractos de plantas y evaluar su actividad antimicrobiana contra periodontopatogenos.

[Meningoencephalitis due to Pasteurella multocida: clinico-laboratory study of a case in an infant]. / Meningencefalite por Pasteurella multocida: estudo clínico-laboratorial de um caso em lactente.

The authors report a case of Pasteurella multocida meningoencephalitis in a 5 week-old female infant, with special attention to clinical, laboratory and evolutive features. A moderate neurological sequel was observed at follow-up examinations. A brief review of the importance of P. multocida in human pathology is presented on the basis of the international literature, since the authors did not find any Brazilian reports. The most important feature on P. multocida is the prevalence of bacterial meningitis at the extremes of age. Otherwise, significant mistaken was found between Gram stained smears of body fluids for P. multocida and Haemophilus influenzae or Neisseria meningitidis. Because its role in infections following animal bite or scratch and its opportunistic feature, P. multocida must be included among the possible etiologic agent of bacteremia or sepsis in patients with liver cirrhosis or immunosuppression.

Meningencefalite por Pasteurella multocida: estudo clínico-laboratorial de um caso em lactente / Pasteurella multocida meningencephalitis: clinical and laboratory study of a case in a newborn infant

Os autores apresentam descriçäo clínico-laboratorial e evolutiva do caso de lactente com o diagnóstico de maningencefalite por Pasteurella multocida que apresentou na evoluçäo evoluçäo atraso neuromotor, manifestaçöes epilépticas, surdez neurossensorial e paresia crural a esquerda. Fazem também breve revisäo do papel deste agente etiológico na patologia humana. Ressaltam a importância da P. multocida em casos de meningites bacterianas, fazendo-se o diagnóstico laboratorial diferencial com o Haemophilus influenzae e Neisseria meningitidis em processos infecciosos conseqüentes a arranhadura ou mordida de animais e nas bacteremias ou septicemias em pacientes com hepatopatias crônicas ou em estados de imunodepressäo