Nonsurgical Periodontal Therapy Combined with Laser and Photodynamic Therapies for Periodontal Disease in Immunosuppressed Rats

Background. Periodontal disease is often associated with systemic diseases and is characterized by destruction of the tissues supporting the teeth. Patients using immunosuppressive drugs such as tacrolimus are among those who suffer from tissue destruction. Objective. We sought to evaluate the effects of laser and photodynamic therapies (PDT; nonsurgical) as an adjunct to scaling and rootplaning (SRP) in the treatment of corona-induced periodontitis in rats immunosuppressed with tacrolimus (Prograf).Materials and Methods. The animals were divided into 5 groups. Each groups had 6 rats. Group I, the control group, received only saline solution throughout the study period of 42 days and did not receive periodontal treatment; group II received saline solution and SRP; group III received tacrolimus (1 mg/kg per day) and was treated with SRP; group IV animals were treated identically to group III and then administered laser treatment; and in group V, the animals were treated identically to group III and then administered PDT.Results. Statistical analysis indicated decreased bone loss with the progression of time (P = .035). There was no difference between the bone loss associated with the types of treatment administered to groups I, II, and III (P > .9) or groups IV and V (P > .6). The analysis also indicated that immunosuppression was not a bone loss-determining factor.Conclusion. Laser and PDT therapies were effective as an adjunctive treatment to SRP in reducing bone loss caused by experimental periodontitis induced in animals being treated systemically with tacrolimus.

The influence of short-term diabetes mellitus and insulin therapy on alveolar bone loss in rats

Background: It is well known that the multiple direct and indirect consequences of hyperglycemia in diabetic individuals have been linked to a number of abnormal host effector mechanisms that could lead to an increased risk of developing periodontal disease.Objective: the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of short-term experimental diabetes and insulin therapy on the severity of alveolar bone loss in rats, and the effect of experimental periodontitis on glycemic control.Methods: Seventy-two male Wistar rats were divided into four groups: group I animals were submitted to dental ligature around lower right first molars (ligated); group II consisted of streptozotocin (STZ)-diabetic, ligated rats; group III represented STZ-diabetic, unligated rats; and group IV consisted of insulin-treated (6 U/day), STZ-diabetic, ligated rats. Blood glucose of all diabetic rats was monitored at regular intervals. Standardized digital radiographs were taken after killing at 7, 15 and 30 days to measure the amount of bone loss about the mesial root surface of the first molar tooth in each rat.Results: No significant (p < 0.05) changes in plasma glucose levels of insulin-treated diabetic rats were found among the different examinations after the beginning of insulin therapy. Rats from group II showed significantly greater increases in mean plasma glucose levels at 15 and 30 days after ligature placement compared with rats from group III (p < 0.05). Furthermore, in spite of the significant alveolar bone loss progression that was observed in groups I, II and IV (p < 0.00001; two-way ANOVA), no significant differences among these groups regarding the severity of bone loss (p = 0.77) and no significant interaction between treatment group and time (p = 0.81) were found.Conclusions: Within the limits of this study, it can be suggested that the severity of periodontal disease was not affected by short-term diabetes, and that experimental periodontitis increased blood glucose levels in uncontrolled diabetic rats.

Tissue response to polyanionic collagen: elastin matrices implanted in rat calvaria

The tissue response to polyanionic collagen matrices, prepared from bovine pericardium and implanted subperiosteally in rat calvaria, was studied. The materials were implanted in 72 male rats (Rattus norvegicus, albinus, Holtzman), randomly divided into four groups: GI-MBP hydrolyzed for 24 h; GII-MBP hydrolyzed for 36 h; GIII-MBP hydrolyzed for 48 h; GIV-native M BP. The materials were explanted after 15, 30 and 60 days and analyzed by routine histological procedures. Except for group IV (native bovine pericardium), polyanionic collagen from groups GI, GII and GIII showed low inflammatory reaction associated with bone formation, partially or completely integrated to the cranial bone; group GIV was characterized by an intense inflammatory reaction with occasional dystrophic mineralization and with occasional bone formation at 60 days when there was a decrease in the inflammatory reaction. Thus, the MBP from groups I, II and III were biologically compatible, enhancing bone formation with a slight delay at 60 days in GII. (C) 2002 Elsevier B.V. Ltd. All rights reserved.

Topography-specific spindle frequency changes in Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Cytodifferentiation during the spermatogenesis of the hermaphrodite caridea Exhippolysmata oplophoroides

Among the decapods, the caridean Exhippolysmata oplophoroides has been described as a simultaneous protandric hermaphrodite, seeing that it presents a male initial stage followed by a hermaphrodite one in which it can function as male and as female. This work had the aims of characterizing the microscopical morphology of the male portion of the ovotestes gonads from E. oplophoroides, at the different development stages, identifying each cell from the germ lines during spermatogenesis, as well as describing the ultramorphology of spermatozoans in the terminal region of the vasa deferentia. Shrimps were collected in Ubatuba, north coast of São Paulo, and their male gonads and the ampoule were removed, fixed and processed according to histological routine and for scanning electron microscopy. The testicular portion is divided in lobes, inside which cells at the same stage of the spermatogenic cycle are observed, with prevalence of spermatogonia and spermatocytes at stages I, II and V of gonad development, whereas spermatids and spermatozoans are found at stages III and IV, respectively. Ultramorphology of the terminal portion of the vasa deferentia exhibits mature aflagellated spike-shaped spermatozoans, encased in secretion and between membrane foldings that will constitute the spermatophores. Despite presenting reproductive characteristics common to other decapods. E. oplophoroides shows spermatozoans as well as spermatophore with typical morphology, which is important for its identification and taxonomy. Further, this species showed polysaccharide secretions where the spermatozoa are immerse as far as the testicular portion, which could have a roe in their transport and nutrition as well as spermatophore constitution and/or fixation; differently, other caridean species begin spermatophore formation during the passage of the gametes through the vasa deferentia. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Salivary glands of Amblyomma cajennense (Acari: Ixodidae): a histological and an ultrastructural overview

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Cytotoxicity of fipronil on mice liver cells

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Profiling the Proteome of the Venom from the Social Wasp Polybia paulista: A Clue to Understand the Envenoming Mechanism

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Amblyomma cajennense (Acari : Ixodidae): Salivary gland cells of partially engorged females ticks and the production of lipid by their mitochondria

Morphologically,. The salivary glands of ticks are paired structures consisting of a secretory and an excretory portion, lacking a reservoir for the storage of the secretion. The secretory portion is composed in females by cells that form acini classified into the types I, II, and III. The excretory possess a major duct, from which arise several intermediate ducts that then subdivide to form the canaliculi or acinal tubules, which end at the acini from where they collect the secretion. The present Study describes the ultrastructural changes that occur in the mitochondria of cells of the acini I, II, and III in the salivary glands of partially engorged females of the Cayenne tick Amblyomma cajennense. The results show that this organelle exhibits completely disarrayed crests due to the presence of lipidic material inside the matrix and between the crests, thus demonstrating their participation in the production of the lipids that would be used structurally by the cells. These organelles with ultrastructural changes were denominated derived mitochondria. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effect of topical application of juvenile hormone (JH) in honeybee worker larvae on the development of the Dufour's and Koschewnikow's glands

In order to investigate the action of the juvenile hormone (JH) on honeybee caste differentiation two exocrine glands, Koschewnikow and Dufour glands, were chosen for study. Two combs (I & II) were taken from a single posture of a queen to use for this research. In comb I the larvae were treated with a topical application of JH in Acetone, and those from the comb II (control group) received only Acetone. Immediately after the emergence of the workers, their glands were dissected and prepared for microscopic measurements. The results showed cell area reduction in the Koschewnikow gland induced by the JH application. The results for the Dufour gland displayed taller epithelial cells with the JH application. The difference in glandular responses to the JH relates to gland function, hormone targets, and individual homeostasis.

Distribution of Rickettsia rickettsii in ovary cells of Rhipicephalus sanguineus (Latreille1806) (Acari: Ixodidae)

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Insights into metal ion binding in phospholipases A(2): ultra high-resolution crystal structures of an acidic phospholipase A(2) in the Ca2+ free and bound states

The electrophile Ca2+ is an essential multifunctional co-factor in the phospholipase A(2) mediated hydrolysis of phospholipids. Crystal structures of an acidic phospholipase A(2) from the venom of Bothrops jararacussu have been determined both in the Ca2+ free and bound states at 0.97 and 1.60 angstrom resolutions, respectively. In the Ca2+ bound state, the Ca2+ ion is penta-coordinated by a distorted pyramidal cage of oxygen and nitrogen atoms that is significantly different to that observed in structures of other Group I/II phospholipases A(2). In the absence of Ca2+, a water molecule occupies the position of the Ca2+ ion and the side chain of Asp49 and the calcium-binding loop adopts a different conformation. (c) 2005 Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.

C programs for solving the time-dependent Gross-Pitaevskii equation in a fully anisotropic trap

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Search for Charged Higgs Bosons Decaying into Top and Bottom Quarks in pp Collisions

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Anomaly-free constraints in neutrino seesaw models

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)