Natural compounds containing mouthrinses in the management of dental plaque and gingivitis: a systematic review

Objectives

To evaluate the effectiveness of natural compounds containing mouthrinse (NCCM) as an adjunct to unsupervised oral hygiene in the management of dental plaque and gingivitis.

Materials and methods

An electronic search for clinical studies of NCCMs was conducted in Medline-PubMed, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and EMBASE for a period spanning from the earliest available date in each database up to February 2013. Plaque index, gingival index, and gingival bleeding index were selected as primary outcomes. The methodological quality of the studies was assessed according to the “Levels of Evidence” outlined by the Center of Evidence-Based Medicine, and to the Jadad scale.

Results

The screen yielded 2,236 titles and abstracts that met the inclusion criteria. These identified 11 clinical trials testing 13 different NCCMs, and were used for data extraction. Heterogeneity and the limited number of studies on any individual NCCM precluded a formal meta-analysis. Of the 13 NCCMs tested, eight demonstrated positive results, and few reported any adverse effects or events.

Conclusions

Evidence proving the effectiveness of NCCM as an adjunct to unsupervised oral hygiene for plaque and gingivitis control is still insufficient. However, some natural products (compounds) may have oral health benefits, so further high-quality study is warranted.

Clinical relevance

This review provides an overview of the strength of clinical evidence regarding the effectiveness of natural compounds containing mouthrinses in promoting gingival health.     

A comparison of bone mineral density in oligomenorrhoeic adolescents with polycystic ovaries and normal ovaries

We evaluated whether the presence of polycystic ovaries in adolescent girls as a cause of oligomenorrhoea and amenorrhoea would pose any protective effect against osteoporosis or low bone mineral density (BMD) compared with girls having similar menstrual dysfunction but normal ovaries. A cross-sectional observational study was done in consecutive girls, aged between 16 and 19 years, presenting to the adolescent gynaecology clinic with oligomenorrhoea or amenorrhoea. All patients underwent full hormonal profile assessment, pelvic ultrasound for ovarian morphology, bio-impedance estimation of body fat, and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and quantitative peripheral computed tomography scans to determine BMD in axial and appendicular skeletal sites. Polycystic ovaries were diagnosed according to ultrasound morphology. These were then compared with an age-matched eumenorrhoeic control group that had undergone the same evaluation. Of 45 patients with oligomenorrhoea or amenorrhoea, 14 (31%) were diagnosed to have polycystic ovaries, while the other 31 had normal ovaries. The control group consisted of 45 age-matched eumenorrhoeic girls. The group with normal ovaries had lower BMD at the lumbar spine and hip, as well as lower total tibial volumetric BMD, than the eumenorrhoeic controls, but there were no significant differences between the group with polycystic ovaries and eumenorrhoeic controls. We conclude that adolescents with oligomenorrhoea and amenorrhoea with normal ovaries had lower BMD than eumenorrhoeic ones, but those with polycystic ovaries had BMD values comparable to those of eumenorrhoeic controls despite their menstrual dysfunction.     

朝藿素B和朝藿素C的结构

从朝鲜淫羊藿(Epeimedium koreanum Nadai)地上部分中分离得到二个新黄酮成分:朝藿素B(epimedokoreanin B)(Ix)和朝藿素C(epimedokoreanin C)(XV),经光谱分析证明,朝藿素B(IX)的结构为5,7,3`,4`-tetrahydroxyl-8,5`,-diprenylflavone;朝藿素c(xv)的结构为5,7,31`,7`-tetrahydroxyl-8-prenyl-2｛[2`-(l-hydroxyl-l-methylethyl)-2`,3`-dihydrobenzofuran]-5`-yl｝-chromone.     

Post-marketing cohort study comparing the safety and efficacy of flunarizine and propranolol in the prophylaxis of migraine

A comparative post-marketing surveillance study of the safety and efficacy of flunarizine and propranolol in the treatment of migraine was carried out. General practitioners in Belgium and the Netherlands each recruited patients for whom they would prescribe one of the study medications in the normal course of their treatment and recorded all medical events on follow-up forms for up to 8 months. A total of 1601 migraine patients were enrolled; 838 in the flunarizine cohort and 763 in the propranolol cohort. Propranolol was somewhat better than flunarizine in reducing the severity of migraine attacks, although this may have been due to a selection bias. Discontinuations of therapy due to events considered likely to be treatment-related were mostly due to the recognized side effects of the two drugs. As regards the occurrence of depressions, a total of 58 patients had depressive events, 34 in the flunarizine cohort and 24 in the propranolol cohort. Whereas migraine itself appears to be associated with an increased risk of depression, the number of previous migraine treatments was shown to be an additional risk factor for the development of depression in patients receiving flunarizine as was a history of depression. Overall, there was no appreciable difference in the risk/benefit ratio between flunarizine and propranolol.     

Bronchiectasis and related disorders

Abstract Bronchiectasis is defined in current medical parlance as the abnormal and permanent dilatation of one or more bronchi, and in clinical practice, the condition is often characterized by features of chronic bronchial infection. Apart from occurring as a primary lung disease, bronchiectasis is a major component of two other disease entities, cystic fibrosis and diffuse panbronchiolitis. Although the three conditions have distinctly different underlying causes, they share the similarity of a predominantly neutrophilic airways inflammation, and the persistent bronchial infection by bacteria, in particular Pseudotnonas aeruginosa . Hence, new knowledge in one disease may be explored and applied in the others.     

Atypical computed tomography appearance of a duodenal diverticulum

The typical CT appearance of a duodenal diverticulum is of a rounded air collection with or without fluid or contrast. An unusual case in which gas bubbles mixed with particulate matter mimicked faecal material in the large bowel is presented here. A similar appearance has been described in abnormally dilated small bowel, usually associated with obstruction, and is probably due to stasis of undigested food.     

Flunarizine, the vestibular system and migraine

The vestibular function was extensively investigated in 75 patients suffering from migraine. Pathological findings were present in 62 patients (82.6%). With the exception of position nystagmus, vestibular abnormalities were not related to migraine characteristics. Fifty-six patients were treated with flunarizine 10 mg daily for three months. A favourable effect on headache was obtained in 44 patients (78.5%). Flunarizine therapy influenced significantly gaze nystagmus and position nystagmus. The latter tended to be related to anti-migraine efficacy. Other electronystagmographic parameters were not substantially influenced. The authors assume that the vestibular abnormalities in migraine are side phenomena, the clinical relevance of which, at least during the headache-free phase, is not yet well understood.     

Functional correction of short-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency in transgenic mice: implications for gene therapy of human mitochondrial enzyme deficiencies

We report the therapeutic effects of liver-specific expression of a short-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (SCAD) transgene in the SCAD- deficient mouse model. Transgenic mice were produced with a rat albumin promoter/enhancer driving a mouse SCAD minigene (ALB-SCAD) on both the SCAD normal genetic background and a SCAD-deficient background. In three transgenic lines produced on the SCAD-deficient background, recombinant SCAD activity and antigen in liver mitochondria were found up to 7-fold of normal control values. All three lines showed a markedly reduced organic aciduria and fatty liver, which are sensitive indicators of the metabolic abnormality seen in this disease found in children. We found no detrimental effects of high liver SCAD expression in transgenic mice on either background. These studies provide important basic and practical therapeutic information for the potential gene therapy of nuclear-encoded mitochondrial enzyme deficiencies, as well as insights into the mechanisms of the disease.