0000000000043426

AUTHOR

Roberto Pinna

Xerostomia induced by radiotherapy: an overview of the physiopathology, clinical evidence, and management of the oral damage

Roberto Pinna,1 Guglielmo Campus,2 Enzo Cumbo,3 Ida Mura,1 Egle Milia2 1Department of Biomedical Science, 2Department of Surgery, Microsurgery and Medicine, University of Sassari, Sassari, 3Department of Dental Science, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy Background: The irradiation of head and neck cancer (HNC) often causes damage to the salivary glands. The resulting salivary gland hypofunction and xerostomia seriously reduce the patient’s quality of life. Purpose: To analyze the literature of actual management strategies for radiation-induced hypofunction and xerostomia in HNC patients. Methods: MEDLINE/PubMed and the Cochrane Library databases were electronically evaluated f…

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Xerostomia induced by radiotherapy: an overview of the physiopathology, clinical evidence, and management of the oral damage

Background: The irradiation of head and neck cancer (HNC) often causes damage to the salivary glands. The resulting salivary gland hypofunction and xerostomia seriously reduce the patient’s quality of life. Purpose: To analyze the literature of actual management strategies for radiation-induced hypofunction and xerostomia in HNC patients. Methods: MEDLINE/PubMed and the Cochrane Library databases were electronically evaluated for articles published from January 1, 1970, to June 30, 2013. Two reviewers independently screened and included papers according to the predefined selection criteria. Results: Sixty-one articles met the inclusion criteria. The systematic review of the literature sugge…

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Short-term response of three resin-based materials as desensitizing agents under oral environmental exposure

Objective. This paper focuses on clinical responses after 7 days of oral exposure to two resin-based materials as desensitizing agents compared to a fluoride varnish and on morphological and analytical study as a means to elucidate the mechanism of action. Materials and methods. The elemental composition of Vertise™ Flow (VF), Universal Dentine Sealant (UDS) and Flor-Opal® Varnish (FOV) were investigated by using an X-ray energy dispersive spectrometer (EDX) in conjunction with a scanning electron microscope (SEM). SEM morphology of the material-treated dentine surfaces and pain reduction ability according to the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) were evaluated in selected hypersensitive teeth. P…

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Thymus essential oil extraction, characterization and incorporation in phospholipid vesicles for the antioxidant/antibacterial treatment of oral cavity diseases

The aim of the work was to extract, characterize, and formulate Thymus capitatus (Tymbra capitata) essential oil in phospholipid vesicles: liposomes, glycerosomes and Penetration Enhancer-containing Vesicles (PEVs). The steam-distilled essential oil was mainly composed of carvacrol. The oil was mixed with lecithin and water to produce liposomes, or different ratios of water/glycerol or water/propylene glycol (PG) to produce glycerosomes and PG-PEVs, respectively. Cryo-TEM showed the formation of unilamellar, spherical vesicles, and light scattering disclosed that their size increased in the presence of glycerol or PG, which improved long-term stability. The formulations were highly biocompa…

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