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Biomedical subjects

G Fratto

Publications and source records attributed to G Fratto.

14 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1998

Biochemical modifications of human whole saliva induced by pregnancy.

OBJECTIVE: To assess human unstimulated whole saliva components during pregnancy, to determine the relation, if any, between pregnancy and oral health, particularly total protein concentration, alpha-amylase activity, sialic acid content and calcium and phosphate concentrations were evaluated. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. PARTICIPANTS: Forty-five healthy primigravid women; 15 nonpregnant women acted as controls. RESULTS: 1. A higher total protein content at 10 and 21 weeks of gestation with respect to the controls and to pregnant women at 40 weeks; 2. a higher alpha-amylase activity at 10 and 21 weeks of gestation compared with the controls and to pregnant women at 40 weeks; 3. an increased sialic acid content at 21 and 40 weeks; 4. decreased calcium and phosphorus concentrations at 21 and 40 weeks of gestation. CONCLUSIONS: Pregnancy modifies saliva composition. This could play a pivotal role in the incidence of pregnancy-induced dental caries.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Osteoconduction exerted by methylpyrrolidinone chitosan used in dental surgery.

Surgical wounds from wisdom tooth avulsions were medicated with freeze-dried methylpyrrolidinone chitosan, a gel-forming resorbable biopolymer obtained from crab chitosan by chemical modification. Methylpyrrolidinone chitosan promoted osteoconduction and the space left after avulsion was filled with newly formed bone tissue, which conferred desirable mechanical and physiological characteristics to the healed would site. Morphological evidence obtained from biopsies confirmed the radiographic data. Methylpyrrolidinone chitosan was progressively depolymerized by lysozyme and was no longer detected 6 months after surgery. None of the 10 patients reported adverse effects over one year of observation.

Bone Regeneration↗
PubMed1990

The effect of membrane lipid molecular species on rat brain base-exchange reactions: an appraisal of phosphatidylserine and of polyunsaturated phosphatidylcholine.

Rat brain microsomal membranes were solubilized with octyl glucoside and reassembled by removing the detergent. The composition of reconstituted membranes was modified by adding exogenous lipid to the detergent-membrane mixtures. The base-exchange reactions were sensitive to these procedures. The inhibiting or activating capacity of added lipid was related to the charge of polar head groups; indeed, the addition of phosphatidylserine always resulted in inhibition and that of phosphatidylcholine very often in activation. The addition of phospholipid possessing unsaturated acyl chains inhibited less (or activated more) serine and choline base-exchange than the addition of saturated species. It is concluded that phosphatidylserine and polyunsaturated phosphatidylcholine have opposite effects on base-exchange.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Fusion of liposomes and rat brain microsomes examined by two assays.

Liposomes are prepared from rat brain microsomal lipid and loaded with either Tb3+ or dipicolinic acid (DPA) to test fusion with the Tb-DPA assay. They are also loaded with octadecyl Rhodamine B chloride (R18) to test fusion with the R18 assay. The addition of either Ca2+ or Mg2+ to loaded liposomes develops fluorescence with both assays. The fluorescence elicited by Mg2+ is similar to that elicited by Ca2+ if assessed with R18, but much higher if determined by Tb-DPA. The Ca2(+)-dependent fluorescence of the Tb-DPA complex is not suppressed by the addition of EDTA, and therefore it is internal to vesicles. The contrary is true for the Mg2(+)-dependent fluorescence. Rat brain microsomes can be disrupted by adding octylgucoside and reconstituted by removing it by dialysis. We use this procedure to load microsomes with DPA. This allows the use of the Tb-DPA assay for testing the fusion of rat brain microsomes. Reconstituted microsomes fuse with liposomes. This fusion has characteristics similar to those of liposome-liposome fusion. However, no microsome-microsome fusion could be detected with either method. The two methods give different results, owing to the chemical properties of the assays. Indeed Tb-DPA implies the retention of vesicle content, whereas this is not required by the R18 assay.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Evaluation of biocompatible osteoconductive polymer activity and biocompatibility for minor oral surgery in animals and humans.

The speed of recovery with and biocompatibility of biocompatible osteoconductive polymer used for minor oral surgery were investigated in animals and humans. Histological and radiological follow-up of graft sites and experimental mandibular bone loss was performed in 20 rabbits. Evaluation of X-rays showed no notable difference between the treated and control animals; however, biopsies 60 days after surgery showed that those animals treated with biocompatible osteoconductive polymer did not have any interposition of connective tissue between the polymer and the new bony tissue whereas the control samples did. Radiographic follow-up of the human patients at 30 and 60 days following molar extraction showed more bone regeneration in all patients treated with the polymer compared to the controls. The results showed that the use of biocompatible osteoconductive polymer to fill secondary surgical extraction cavities provided fast prosthetic rehabilitation for the patients.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Disinfection of toothbrushes. Experimental research].

Aim of the present paper is to verify in a vitro study, the possible disinfection of the toothbrushes with an UV instrument (Dentec 4000). The modifications in microbic concentration after a contamination with microbial suspension of oral cavity have been estimated.

Dental Plaque↗