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Biomedical subjects

J Bereuter

Publications and source records attributed to J Bereuter.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

Clinical evaluation of a commercially available oral moisturizer in relieving signs and symptoms of xerostomia in postirradiation head and neck cancer patients and patients with Sjögren's syndrome.

A major complication of irradiation therapy for head and neck cancer is salivary gland dysfunction and xerostomia. The purpose of this clinical investigation was to evaluate the effects of a commercially available oral moisturizer (Optimoist) on salivary flow rate, symptoms of xerostomia, oral pH, oral microflora, and swallowing in postirradiation head and neck cancer patients (XRT) and patients with Sjögren's syndrome (SS). Subjects who were post-XRT and subjects with SS (n = 24; mean age = 54.1) discontinued their use of any salivary substitute or moisturizer for 2 weeks prior to entering the study. Baseline whole unstimulated saliva was collected for 5 minutes using a standard sialometric technique. Candida albicans and Lactobacillus cultures were performed using kits from Orion Diagnostica, Inc., and a pH analysis was performed on the salivary sample using a Markson (model 00663) pH meter. Swallowing was assessed by clinical measures by videofluoroscopic techniques. Several subjective assessments were performed to evaluate symptoms of xerostomia. Subjects were instructed in the use of a daily diary and to use only the provided article ad libitum for a period of 2 weeks. After the 2-week period, the results indicated significant subjective and objective improvements in signs and symptoms of xerostomia. Whole unstimulated salivary flow rate improved from (mean +/- SEM) 0.1150 +/- 0.02 to 0.2373 +/- 0.09 mL/min. Salivary pH did not change. Global subjective improvement in xerostomia improved in 58% of the subjects. Candida colonization decreased in 43% of the subjects. There was no change in Lactobacilli colonization. Swallowing objectively improved in 75% of subjects. These results indicate significant improvement in both signs of hyposalivation and symptoms of xerostomia with the use of Optimoist in postirradiation head and neck cancer patients and patients with SS.

Candida albicans↗

s-IgA and cytokine levels in whole saliva of Sjögren's syndrome patients before and after oral pilocarpine hydrochloride administration: a pilot study.

Previous investigations have found elevated levels of s-IgA in the parotid saliva and normal levels in submandibular saliva of patients with Sjögren's syndrome (SS). Fox et al. also found elevated levels of cytokines (i.e., IL-2 and IL-6) in serum, salivary epithelial cells and parotid saliva of patients with SS. The oral administration of pilocarpine hydrochloride stimulates whole and parotid salivary flow. The purpose of this study was to determine the levels of s-IgA and IL-2 and IL-6 in whole saliva before and after administration of pilocarpine hydrochloride in SS subjects. Ten definitively diagnosed SS subjects were enrolled in the study, as were ten controls (C). The mean age was 57.2 years and all subjects were female. Whole unstimulated saliva (WUS) was collected by standard techniques for 5 min, after which the volume and flow rate were determined (mean WUS: SS = 0.047 vs C = 0.480 ml/min). Samples were centrifuged and the immunoglobulin analysis performed on the supernatants by immunoreactivity in a double-sandwich technique as previously described by Rudney et al. Cytokine analysis was performed similarly utilizing commercially available kits from R&D Systems. The results as analyzed by pairwise t-tests revealed comparable levels of s-IgA in the saliva of the SS patients, as compared to controls at baseline (means +/- SEM: SS-IgA = 348.1 +/- 82.0 vs C-IgA = 284.0 +/- 65.1 micrograms/ml; NS). Whole salivary flow was significantly increased (328%) in the SS subject group 60 min after the administration of 5 mg pilocarpine hydrochloride (means +/- SEM: 0.0472 +/- 0.017 vs 0.1546 +/- 0.054 ml/min; P < 0.01). There was no significant change in the concentration of s-IgA in the SS subject group following the pilocarpine dose (means +/- SEM: SS-IgA = 439.9 +/- 121.2 microliters/ml; P = NS). There were elevated levels of IL-2 in the saliva of four out of the ten and IL-6 in two out of the ten SS patients, as compared to controls (means +/- SEM: SS-IL-2 = 127.8 +/- 11.4 vs C-IL-2 = 30.8 +/- 1.6 pg/ml and SS-IL-6 = 41.4 +/- 7.1 vs C-11.6 +/- 2.8 pg/ml). There was also a significant decrease in the concentration of IL-2 in the same four out of ten SS subjects following the pilocarpine dose (means +/- SEM: SS-IL-2 = 32.4 +/- 10.3; P < 0.01). These preliminary results indicate that s-IgA levels do not change with increased salivary flow following the administration of pilocarpine hydrochloride in patients with Sjögren's syndrome. While cytokines are elevated in the whole saliva of some SS patients, a decrease in IL-2 concentration may occur with increased salivary flow.

Administration, Oral↗

An evaluation of a chemical cautery agent and an anti-inflammatory ointment for the treatment of recurrent aphthous stomatitis: a pilot study.

OBJECTIVE: Recurrent aphthous stomatitis is a very common condition, currently treated with anti-inflammatory agents, which palliate the symptoms. The purpose of this clinical trial was to compare a medication commonly used to treat recurrent aphthous stomatitis, Kenalog-in-Orabase, and a newer agent, Debacterol. METHOD AND MATERIALS: Sixty patients diagnosed with recurrent aphthous stomatitis were enrolled in the study. Twenty patients were assigned to each of the two treatment groups, and 20 age- and sex-matched patients were assigned to the control group, which received no treatment. After the diagnosis was made, clinical examinations and ulcer measurements were performed, and a subjective evaluation of symptoms (100-mm visual analog scale) was completed by each subject. The subjects did not use any other medications. Both agents were applied topically (the frequency varied depending on the group of subjects) at specified intervals. Ulcer measurements and subjective evaluations were made at days 0, 3, 6, and 10 for all subjects. RESULTS: In both treatment groups, by day 10, 100% of the ulcers had clinically healed and were no longer causing pain. Patients in the Debacterol group reported a significantly greater decrease in pain at 3 days (> 70%) than did subjects in the other groups (< 20%), although the size of the ulcer did not differ significantly in any of the groups. After day 6, 80% of the ulcers in the Debacterol group had clinically disappeared and no longer caused symptoms, as compared to about 30% in the other groups. CONCLUSION: Patients subjectively reported significantly greater relief from symptoms with Debacterol than with Kenalog-in-Orabase or no treatment. The relief of symptoms associated with recurrent aphthous stomatitis may or may not correspond to clinical improvement, and these two topical medications may affect signs and symptoms of the lesions differently.

Administration, Topical↗

Candida albicans levels in patients with Sjögren's syndrome before and after long-term use of pilocarpine hydrochloride: a pilot study.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to compare the quantities of oral Candida albicans in patients with primary and secondary Sjögren's syndrome before and after the use of orally administered pilocarpine hydrochloride for 1 year. METHOD AND MATERIALS: Twelve female subjects with primary (n = 4) and secondary (n = 8) Sjögren's syndrome (mean age +/- SEM = 56.7 +/- 5.7 years) were enrolled in the study, after meeting rigid enrollment criteria. Oropharyngeal collection of samples and culturing was performed on each subject. Cultures specific for Candida albicans were plated into a culture media tube using the Oricult kit and also by serial dilutions and plating by a streptomycin-vancomycin technique. Cultures were incubated for 48 hours at 37 degrees C. The subjects used 5 mg of pilocarpine hydrochloride, administered orally three times daily, for 1 year, after which both of the Candida cultures were repeated. None of the subjects used antifungal medications, none smoked, and all were dentate. RESULTS: There was a significant difference in the prevalence of Candida after the use of pilocarpine hydrochloride for both groups. At the start of the study, 75% of all subjects were positive for Candida. Following the use of pilocarpine, 25% had positive cultures. There was also a decrease in the prevalence of clinical manifestations of infection from 75% of subjects to 25%. There was a significant decrease in the numbers of Candida cultured following the use of pilocarpine. CONCLUSION: Long-term administration of pilocarpine hydrochloride resulted in a significant reduction in Candida albicans colonization in patients with primary or secondary Sjögren's syndrome.

Adult↗

A comparison of three methods for detecting Candida albicans in patients with Sjögren's syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: An immediate chairside technique (Latex Candida) for the detection of Candida albicans was compared with a simple tube culturing technique (Oricult) and the traditional laboratory culturing technique in patients with Sjögren's syndrome. METHOD AND MATERIALS: Subjects with primary (n = 9) and secondary (n = 9) Sjögren's syndrome (mean age of 56.7 years; all female) and an age- and sex-matched group of control subjects (n = 9) were selected. Three different methods for culturing Candida albicans were performed for each subject. One culturette was plated on a trypticase soy-agar streptomycin-vancomycin medium plate and incubated for 48 hours at 37 degrees C. Another swab was plated on a reagent paper with the Latex Candida test kit. The third swab was placed in a culture media tube using the Oricult kit and incubated for 48 hours at 37 degrees C. RESULTS: All three techniques indicated a significant difference in the prevalence of Candida between the control group and both Sjögren's groups. The Latex Candida technique indicated that 78% of all Sjögren's subjects were positive for Candida, while the other two tests indicated that 83% were positive. CONCLUSION: The Latex Candida technique was comparable to Oricult and streptomycin-vancomycin culturing techniques for negative results and was correctly positive for 90% of cases.

Adult↗

Prevalence, density, and manifestations of oral Candida albicans in patients with Sjögren's syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: Various investigators have reported a high prevalence of oral Candida species in patients with salivary gland dysfunction (SGD). The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of oral Candida albicans, its oral manifestations, and to compare the number of colony-forming units of Candida albicans in patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome and secondary Sjögren's syndrome with the whole unstimulated salivary flow rate in each group. METHOD: An age-sex-matched group of control subjects was selected for comparison. Oropharyngeal collection of samples and culturing was performed on each subject. Quantitative cultures specific for Candida albicans were performed. RESULTS: The frequency distribution indicated that > 80% of all SS subjects were positive for Candida albicans vs. none of the controls. The most common lesion was angular cheilitis followed by chronic atrophic candidiasis. The subjects with Sjögren's syndrome also demonstrated significantly high numbers of Candida albicans colony-forming units. CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates significantly higher Candida albicans colonization in patients with primary or secondary Sjögren's syndrome as compared to a control population. Candida albicans colonization was higher in patients with secondary Sjögren's syndrome than in patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome; however, the amount of Candida albicans was not universally relative to salivary flow.

Adult↗

Quantitative assessment of dysphagia in patients with primary and secondary Sjögren's syndrome.

Dysphagia is a common complaint from patients with salivary gland dysfunction. The purpose of this study was to assess and compare dysphagia in two patient groups with salivary gland dysfunction (primary Sjörgen's syndrome and secondary Sjögren's syndrome with systemic lupus erythematosus, and a matched control group. Subjects diagnosed with primary Sjögren's syndrome (n = 13) and secondary Sjögren's syndrome with systemic lupus erythematosus (n = 15) were selected for the study. An age- and sex-matched group of control subjects (n = 14) was selected for comparison. Dysphagia assessments, including videofluoroscopy were performed. Dysphagia was quantified clinically and videofluoroscopically by measurement of 10 seconds of basal or dry swallows as compared with 10-second 10-ml water bolus swallows in all subjects. Subjective evaluations were recorded on a calibrated 10-cm visual analog scale. The results indicated a significant difference in the dry swallows as compared with the water bolus swallows for both salivary gland dysfunction groups and for both dry swallows and water bolus swallows as compared to controls. Videofluoroscopy yielded significantly prolonged pharyngeal transit times in both salivary gland dysfunction groups as compared with control. Subjective results indicated a greater degree of dysphagia symptoms in both the salivary gland dysfunction groups (p < 0.001). Conclusions from this study indicate clinically significant dysphagia in patients with salivary gland dysfunction associated with Sjögren's syndrome compared with a control population.

Adult↗

Dysphagia in patients with three different etiologies of salivary gland dysfunction.

Dysphagia is a common complaint from patients with salivary gland dysfunction (SGD). The purpose of this study was to assess and compare dysphagia in three patient groups with SGD: primary Sjögren's syndrome (SS-1); secondary Sjögren's syndrome with systemic lupus erythematosus (SS-2-SLE) and a group of patients who had post-irradiation therapy (PIT) (for head and neck cancer xerostomia) and a matched control group. Subjects diagnosed with SS-1 (n = 7); SS-2-SLE (n = 7) and PIT (n = 7) were selected for the study. An age-sex-matched group of control subjects (n = 7) was selected for comparison. Dysphagia assessments, including videofluoroscopy, were performed. Subjective evaluations were recorded on a calibrated 10-cm visual analog scale. The results indicated a significant difference in the DS as compared to the WBS for all SGD groups and for both DS and WBS in each SGD group as compared to controls. Videofluoroscopy also yielded significantly prolonged pharyngeal transit times (PTT) in all SGD groups as compared to controls. Subjective results indicated a greater degree of dysphagia symptoms in all of the SGD groups (p < 0.001). Conclusions from this study indicate clinically significant dysphagia in patients with SS-1, SS-2-SLE and PIT as compared to a control population.

Adult↗

Articulatory speech performance in patients with salivary gland dysfunction: a pilot study.

Difficulty with speech is a common complaint of patients with xerostomia resulting from salivary gland dysfunction. The purpose of this pilot study was to assess and compare speech tasks in three patient groups with salivary gland dysfunction arising from different etiologies (primary Sjogren's syndrome, secondary Sjogren's syndrome with systemic lupus erythematosus, and irradiation therapy for head and neck cancer) and a matched control group. Diadochokinetic speech tasks were quantified clinically and videofluoroscopically. The results indicated that significantly fewer speech tasks were completed, with or without water, by the groups with salivary gland dysfunction than by the control group. Videofluoroscopy provided excellent quantitative analysis, yielding results similar to those of the clinical measurement. In a subjective self-assessment, subjects with salivary gland dysfunction reported more problems with speech than did control subjects.

Analysis of Variance↗

Prevalence of periodontal pathogens with varying metabolic control of diabetes mellitus.

The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of 5 periodontal pathogens in individuals with diabetes mellitus. Subjects (n = 107) 20-70 years of age with type 1 (n = 60) or 2 (n = 47) diabetes mellitus were studied for the occurrence of the periodontal pathogens A. actinomycetemcomitans, F. nucleatum, E. corrodens, P. gingivalis and P. intermedia. Subgingival plaque was sampled in each subject from a single site exhibiting the greatest inflammation. The evaluation of selected periodontal bacterial pathogens was based on an immunoassay utilizing bacterial specific monoclonal antibodies. 35% of the sites harbored P. gingivalis, 28% F. nucleatum and 21% E. corrodens. A. actinomycetemcomitans and P. intermedia were found in less than 10% of the sites. Subjects for whom the probing depth at the sampled site was > or = 4 mm were more often found to have detectable pathogens than those with a probing depth < or = 3 mm. Diabetic factors such as duration, type and metabolic control of the disease had no statistically significant effect on the prevalence of these bacteria.

Adult↗

Minocycline slow-release formulation effect on subgingival bacteria.

The purpose of this study was to determine the microbiological efficacy of an adjunctive minocycline periodontal formulation delivered subgingivally. Subjects were systemically healthy but exhibited severe periodontitis; i.e., probing depths greater than 6 mm. The two study groups included individuals who received minocycline or a placebo periodontal formulation after root planing. Subgingival plaque samples were obtained at baseline; prior to treatment; and at 1, 3, and 6 months. Plaque was evaluated by darkfield microscopy and further analyzed for total dark-pigmented Bacteroides species, P. intermedia, P. gingivalis and Streptococcus, Actinomyces, Eikenella, Actinobacillus, Capnocytophaga, and Fusobacterium species using cultivable flora techniques. In addition, plaque was evaluated for yeast on a selective agar medium. When compared to the placebo, the minocycline group had significantly lower proportions of spirochetes at 1 and 3 months and lower proportions of motile rods at 3 months. Furthermore, when compared to the placebo group, the minocycline patients had lower mean proportions of dark-pigmented Bacteroides spp. and P. intermedia at 1 and 3 months as well as lower proportions of E. corrodens at 1 month. The minocycline group had significant decreases in proportions of spirochetes at 1 and 3 months, motile rods at 1 and 3 months, and increases in cocci at 1, 3, and 6 months when compared to baseline. In the placebo group, root planing was also effective at decreasing spirochetes at 1, 3, and 6 months, but with significant differences seen only at 3 and 6 months. However, the degree of reduction in spirochete proportions was greater in the minocycline group when compared with the placebo group.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Actinomyces↗