The impact of photodynamic therapy on the viability of Streptococcus mutans in a planktonic culture

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the effect of photodynamic therapy (PDT) with toluidine blue O (TBO) and a light-emitting diode (LED) on the viability of Streptococcus mutans cells in a planktonic culture. BACKGROUND DATA: Growth of Streptococcus mutans is the first step in the development of tooth decay. The use of light and dyes promotes cellular death in a noninvasive way, reducing treatment time. Methods: The LED used in this study had output power of 116 mW, its energy was 21 J, and the fluency was 2.18 J/cm(2). Samples were prepared and divided into five groups: (1) control group (-); (2) control group (+); (3) TBO; (4) LED; and (5) LED + TBO. RESULTS: One hundred percent of the bacteria were killed following irradiation with LED and TBO. The biofilm that formed on the glass surfaces was analyzed by SEM and colony count. CONCLUSIONS: It was demonstrated that PDT was efficient at killing microorganisms and preventing the formation of biofilms.     

Can mobile units improve the strategies for cervical cancer prevention?

Cervical cancer is a serious public health problem in women in developing countries because of absence or ineffectiveness of screening programs. Several biases to access medical care and inequity of public health system in a continental country like Brazil limit the implementation of adequate programs to appropriately prevent the cervical cancer. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the results of applying the mobile unit (MU) for cervical cancer screening. From May 2003 to May 2004, a cervical cancer screening was offered to women aged 20–69 years, residing in 19 municipal districts of the Barretos county region, in São Paulo. Out of the 9,560 examination available, 2,964 (31%) women underwent screening. The medium distance traveled by the MU was 45 km. The medium time spent by women in the MU for completion of the questionnaire and doing the exam was 20 minutes. It was observed that 17.0% of women screened had never had the test or had not had it repeated within the last 3 years. The negative response was more common among women aged 20 to 29 years and 60 to 69 years and among women with less schooling and lower socio‐economic income (P < 0.05). MU can significantly overcome the chronic deficiency of public health system accessibility offering opportunity to these women to participate in screening programs. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2010;38:727–730. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

<Emphasis Type=Italic>CYP2C19</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type=Italic>ABCB1</Emphasis>gene polymorphisms are differently distributed according to ethnicity in the Brazilian general population

Background  

Recent studies have reported the clinical importance of CYP2C19 and ABCB1 polymorphisms in an individualized approach to clopidogrel treatment. The aims of this study were to evaluate the frequencies of CYP2C19 and ABCB1 polymorphisms and to identify the clopidogrel-predicted metabolic phenotypes according to ethnic groups in a sample of individuals representative of a highly admixtured population.     

Genetic association of the PERIOD3 (PER3) Clock gene with extreme obesity

BackgroundObesity has reached epidemic proportions worldwide, affecting life quality and span. Susceptibility to obesity is partly mediated by genetic differences. Indeed, several genes from the clock gene family have already been shown to be intimately associated with obesity in diverse ethnic groups. In the present study, an association between BMI and the rs707467, rs228697 and rs228729 PER3 (Period Circadian Clock 3) polymorphisms in subjects with class II (BMI ≥ 35.0–39.9 kg/m²) and class III obesity (>40 kg/m², extreme obesity) were carried out using TaqMan real-time PCR. Overall, 259 Brazilian adults were genotyped, of whom 122 had class II or III obesity (BMI ≥ 35.0 kg/m²) and 137 were controls having normal weight (BMI > 18.5 and <24.9 kg/m²).ResultsPER3 tag SNP (rs228729) shows a significant association with extreme obesity (1000 permutation p = 0.03 and p = 0.04), for genotype and allele frequency respectively) and a haplotype among the three assessed SNPs (alleles G/T/A, rs228697, rs228729, and rs707467, respectively, 1000 permutation p = 0.03) was significantly more prevalent in the group with obesity.ConclusionThis exploratory association study suggests that PER3 rs228729 may be associated with extreme obesity in Brazilian adults, however, replication is needed.