Antonio Carrassi

Background: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection can be associated with oral mucosal diseases, including oral candidiasis and HPV infection, which are putative indicators of the immune status. Aim and Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study was aimed at assessing the prevalence of HIV-related oral mucosal lesions in a cohort of Italian HIV+ patients regularly attending the Clinics of Infectious Diseases. Results: One hundred seventy-seven (n = 177) patients were enrolled and 30 (16.9%) of them showed HIV-related diseases of the oral mucosa. They were mainly found in male patients over 35 years old, undergoing Combination Antiretroviral Therapy (cART), and with CD4+ count < 500/µL. Oral candidiasis was the most common HIV-related oral lesion. No significant correlations could be detected between the prevalence of HPV infection and other clinical parameters (lymphocyte count, cART treatment and viral load). Conclusions: HIV-related oral mucosal diseases can correlate with immunosuppression. Early diagnosis and management of oral lesions in HIV+ patients should be part of the regular follow-up, from a multidisciplinary perspective of collaboration between oral medicine and infectious disease specialists, in an attempt to reduce morbidity due to oral lesions and modulate antiretroviral therapy according to the patient’s immune status.

In late February 2020, Lombardy became one of the outbreak areas of the novel coronavirus pandemic, leading to the revolution of traditional teaching. Here, we describe our teaching experience at the Dental School of the University of Milan, with a focus on the management of distance learning and clinical training. Distance education was enhanced with streaming lectures and videos of clinical procedures. Students’ opinions on this “digital revolution” were very positive, despite few technical and organizational problems. For assuring the clinical training, we completely renovated the structural architecture from open spaces to closed spaces. The pandemic changed dental education with future repercussions.

This paper aims at retrospectively re-analyzing the different distribution, between males and females, in the allelic frequency of the human β T cell receptor (TCR β) single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) rs1800907 in Caucasian patients in the Milan metropolitan area. The allelic frequency significantly differed between sexes. Females showed higher frequency of C/C genotype than males, but lower T/C genotype (p < 0.0001). Heterozygous (T/C) versus homozygous (T/T + C/C) genotypes resulted in a different distribution of frequencies in males than in females, the latter possessing higher homozygosis (p < 0.0001). Within the limitations of this work (small number of included studies that concerned just a specific geographical area), allelic distribution according to sex might account the role of TCRβ-related SNPs in autoimmune diseases and further investigations are required to explain better this genetic background, in the perspective of a sex-related T cell immune responsiveness and auto-immunity.

Health-promoting effects of plant foods have been emphasized in the last few decades and ascribed to the bioactive phytochemicals present therein—in particular, phenylpropanoids. The latter have been investigated for a number of preclinical biological activities, including their antioxidant power. Due to the paucity of human studies, in this randomized intervention trial, we investigated whether the acute intake of pigmented rice could increase the plasma bioactive levels and antiradical power in twenty healthy subjects. A crossover randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted on 19 volunteers. Artemide and Venere black rice cultivars were tested, while brown rice Carnaroli was used as a control. Each patient received randomly one serving (100 g) of rice on three different experimental days, separated by a 7-day washout period. After baseline blood withdrawal, time-course changes of plasma polyphenols, flavonoids and radical-scavenging capacity were determined at 30, 60, 120 and 180 min post rice intake. Compared to Carnaroli rice, the two black rice cultivars significantly increased the plasma levels of polyphenols and flavonoids at 60 and 120 min and, correspondingly, the plasma antiradical power at 60 min after consumption. Pigmented rice consumption can contribute to diet-related health benefits in humans.

Melatonin (MLT) is a recently discovered phytochemical in wine, but its influence on physiological MLT levels is still unknown. This study aimed at evaluating variations, in serum and saliva, of MLT concentrations after the intake of MLT-enriched red wine. Twelve healthy volunteers were recruited to receive 125 mL of red wine naturally lacking of MLT (placebo, PLC), or the same wine enriched with MLT (MLT+). A physiological steady decline of serum MLT was observed from baseline up to 90 min, for both wines. After PLC intake, the decrease was significantly faster than the one occurring after MLT+ wine, which thus delayed the drop down of serum MLT with a plateau at 30–60 min. Salivary MLT levels slightly peaked at 45 min after MLT+ wine intake, without statistical significance. Therefore, the intake of a glass of MLT-enriched red wine changed serum levels of the indoleamine, supporting the role of wine MLT in counteracting the physiological decline of the hormone into the bloodstream.

The microbial colonization of new ceramic materials developed for abutment manufacturing was assessed. The materials used in these experiments were disks of 'as-fired' and 'rectified' ceramic material made of tetragonal zirconia polycrystals stabilized with yttrium (Y-TZP) and commercially pure grade 2 titanium (Ti) with corresponding eluates. They were tested in vitro with the following bacteria: Streptococcus mutans, S. sanguis, Actinomyces viscosus, A. naeslundii, and Porphyromonas gingivalis. Proliferation was evaluated on plates by inhibitory halos around pits, previously inoculated with eluates obtained from the materials. Bacterial adhesion on materials was quantified by spectrophotometric evaluation of the slime production by the same bacteria. Moreover, early bacterial adhesion was evaluated in human volunteers and observed with SEM. No inhibition of bacterial proliferation using eluates was observed. In vitro as-fired and rectified Y-TZP showed significantly more adherent S. mutans than did Ti disks, while S. sanguis seemed to adhere easily to Ti specimens. No differences were noted for Actinomyces spp and P. gingivalis. In vivo Y-TZP accumulated fewer bacteria than Ti in terms of the total number of bacteria and presence of potential putative pathogens such as rods. No differences were observed between rectified and as-fired Y-TZP. Overall, Y-TZP accumulates fewer bacteria than Ti. Y-TZP may be considered as a promising material for abutment manufacturing.