Objectives Evaluating the effectiveness of melatonin in prevention of radiation‐induced oral mucositis. Material and methods A randomized controlled clinical study was conducted on forty head and neck cancer (HNC) patients undergoing radiotherapy at the Department of Clinical Oncology, Alexandria University, Egypt. Patients were assigned equally to either control group who received conventional treatment or test group who received 20 mg of melatonin along with the conventional treatment. All patients were clinically evaluated for oral mucositis severity and pain at three and six weeks after the start of radiotherapy. Additionally, the total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in patients’ saliva samples was assessed at the start of radiotherapy and six weeks later. Results 92.5% of all patients have experienced oral mucositis with more severity reported in the control group (30%) compared with the test group (5%). Mean pain scores decreased significantly, in the second assessment, in test group rather than the controls. TAC values showed a significant difference between the test and controls with a significant decrease in TAC in the control group. Conclusion The administration of melatonin with conventional treatment has reduced severe oral mucositis development. It aided in decreasing pain and hindering the reduction of TAC resulting from radiotherapy among the test group compared with controls.

Background The gold standard in treatment of periodontitis is mechanical removing of dental biofilm but using local delivery drugs as adjunctive to SRP is widely used to modulate inflammatory host and eradicate microbes. Tea tree oil (TTO) has a broad-spectrum antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antifungal, antiviral, antioxidant effect. This study aimed to assess clinically and biochemically the effect of intrapocket application of TTO (Melaleuca alternifolia) gel adjunctive to scaling and root planing (SRP) in the treatment of stage 2 (moderate) periodontitis and to correlate the biochemical levels with clinical response. Methods A randomized, controlled clinical trial was conducted on thirty patients with stage 2 periodontitis. Patients were equally divided into two groups: Control Group treated with (SRP) alone and Test Group treated with SRP and locally delivered 5% TTO gel. Clinical assessment included pocket probing depth (PPD), clinical attachment loss (CAL), gingival index (GI) and bleeding on probing (BOP) measured at baseline and after 3 and 6 months. The level of matrix metalloproteinase-8 (MMP-8), in the gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) was also assessed at baseline and after1, 3 and 6 months by Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit. Chi-square, Student t- tests, Mann–Whitney U test and Spearman correlation were the statistical tests used in the study. Results An improvement of all clinical and biochemical parameters was observed (at p < 0.001) in both groups. A significant difference between the two groups was found in both clinical and biochemical parameters. Conclusion The local delivery of TTO gel adjunctive to SRP proved to be effective in the treatment of stage II periodontitis. Trial registration The study was retrospectively registered at clinicaltrials.gov NCT04769271, on 24/2/2021.

Background Oral lichen planus is an autoimmune disease in which topical steroids are the first line of treatment. The adverse effects of systemic corticosteroids prescribed for resistant oral lichen planus cases advocate alternative modalities. Lycopene is an antioxidant with a wide range of beneficial properties. This trial aimed to evaluate the effect of pure lycopene as compared to systemic corticosteroids (Prednisolone) on the symptoms, signs and oxidative stress in patients with erosive oral lichen planus recalcitrant to topical steroids. Methods Twenty patients were randomly divided into the test (lycopene) and control (corticosteroids) groups. Numeric rating scale and Escudier et al. (Br J Dermatol 4:765–770, 2007. 10.1111/j.1365-2133.2007.08106.x) lesion scores were assessed at baseline and weeks 4 and 8 from baseline. Serum levels of 8-isoprostane were measured in all patients at baseline and at the end of treatment (week 8). Results There was a significant reduction in signs and symptoms after the end of treatment in each group. However, no significant difference was found between the lycopene and the corticosteroids group. Moreover, a significant reduction in 8-isoprostane levels was observed in the lycopene group from baseline and as compared to the control group. Conclusions Based on the study results, lycopene is a safe and effective therapeutic modality for resistant oral lichen planus. 8-isoprostane is a biomarker of lipid peroxidation that can be reduced by lycopene. Trial registration ID: PACTR202003484099670. 'Retrospectively registered on 11/3/2020'.

BACKGROUND: Oral mucositis is a common side effect of anticancer radiotherapy causing severe ulceration of the mucosal tissues. Recently, melatonin supplements have been proposed as a new therapeutic modality for oral mucositis due to its antioxidant effects, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer properties. OBJECTIVES: evaluation of the effectiveness of melatonin in reducing pain resulting from radiation induced oral mucositis MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty patients were randomly assigned to receive either: conventional treatment of oral mucositis, or 20 mg melatonin treatment in combination with the conventional treatment before irradiation, and for six weeks. All patients were evaluated for pain resulting from oral mucositis at three and six weeks after the start of radiotherapy. RESULTS: Oral mucositis patients in the melatonin group have experienced significantly lower pain scores oral mucositis compared to the control group. CONCLUSION: Adjuvant melatonin reduced the pain of oral mucositis, and the amount of analgesics used for pain treatment.

INTRODUCTION:Conventional periodontal therapy is an effective line of treatment for moderate periodontitis patients. Act of adjunctive use of other biomaterials assist in increasing the success of this therapy. One of these adjunctive treatments is the use of tea tree oil (TTO) as a locally delivered agent. OBJECTIVE: The present work aims to assess clinically the effect of intra pocket application of TTO gel in patients with moderate periodontitis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: this randomized controlled clinical trial was performed on a total number of thirty pockets in thirty patients with moderate periodontitis. They were classified into a control group which comprised fifteen patients treated with scaling and root planing SRP only and a test group which comprised fifteen patients treated with SRP and locally delivered TTO gel. The clinical parameters measured were: Probing pocket depth, clinical attachment level and bleeding upon probing. These were evaluated from baseline examination to three months follow-up. RESULTS:The clinical parameters showed improvement in the test group when compared to control group. CONCLUSION: The local delivery of TTO gel in conjunction with conventional periodontal treatment in moderate periodontitis is more effective than SRP therapy alone.

No abstract

IntroductionThe melanoma antigen (MAGE) family members are tumour-specifi c antigens exclusively expressed in neoplastic cells. Therefore, the present work was designed to study the expression of MAGE-1 and MAGE-3 mRNAs in the peripheral blood and cancerous tissues of patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods 30 patients with HCV-related cirrhosis (15 patients with HCC and 15 patients without HCC) and 15 healthy subjects were enrolled in the present study. Expression of MAGE-1 and MAGE-3 mRNAs in peripheral blood samples, HCC specimens and surrounding non-neoplastic liver tissues, were studied by a reverse-transcription PCR (RT-PCR) with the specifi c primers after RNA extraction. The sensitivity and specifi city of MAGE-1 and MAGE-3 mRNAs as markers for diagnosis of HCC have been assessed by plotting a receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Results In HCC patients, the positive rate of MAGE-1 and MAGE-3 mRNA expression was 53.3% and 33.3% in peripheral blood samples respectively, while the positive rate was 53.3% and 40.0% in HCC tissue samples, respectively. By contrast, MAGE-1 and MAGE-3 mRNA were not detected in the adjacent non-neoplastic liver tissues or in the peripheral blood samples of cirrhotic patients without HCC and healthy subjects. No relationship was found between MAGE-1 and

Background Chronic allograft dysfunction (CAD) is considered the leading cause of late allograft loss. The cluster of differentiation 47 (CD47) and calreticulin (CRT) are involved in many and diverse cellular processes. The present study was designed to study the role of the pro-phagocytic CRT and anti-phagocytic CD47 signals in patients with renal transplantation in relation to graft function. Thirty renal transplantation recipients (RTR) for more than 6 months [15 with stable renal function and 15 with chronic allograft dysfunction (CAD)] and 15 healthy controls were enrolled in the study. Quantification of CRT, CD47, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) levels in serum was done using standardized enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits. Measurement of renal function and urinary alkaline phosphatase (U.ALP) was done. Renal interstitial fibrosis (IF) was graded in renal biopsies of CAD. Results Serum CRT and urinary ALP levels were statistically significant higher (P < 0.001) while serum CD47 level was statistically significant lower (P < 0.001) in patients with CAD than patients with stable graft function and controls. There was statistically insignificant difference between controls and patients with stable graft function. Serum CRT and serum CD47 levels were positively correlated with each other and with worsening renal and tubular function, serum hsCRP in RTR and with degree of renal IF in patients with CAD (P < 0.05). Conclusions The activation and dysregulation of CRT and CD47 could play a role in the development of CAD and could be a potential biomarker for renal allograft dysfunction.