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Background: The oropharynx plays a major role in the development and spread of antimicrobial resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae among men who have sex with men. Trials are currently assessing the efficacy of bactericidal mouthwashes as possible therapeutic or preventive options against these pharyngeal gonococcal infections. Controlled clinical trials require the use of a placebo mouthwash without anti-gonococcal activity. So far, no such mouthwash has been described. We describe the development of a mouthwash for this purpose. Methods: The in vitro anti-gonococcal activity of Corsodyl®, Listerine Cool Mint®, Biotene®, phosphate buffered saline and six in-house placebo mouthwashes was evaluated. Three gonococcal isolates from patients with pharyngeal infection were exposed to the mouthwashes for a duration ranging from 30 seconds to 60 minutes. Isolates were then plated onto blood agar (5% horse blood) and incubated for 24 hours (5-7% CO2, 35 ± 2°C). Growth of N. gonorrhoeae was scored on a five-point scale (0 to 4). All experiments were conducted in duplicate. Results: Corsodyl® and Listerine Cool Mint® were bactericidal to all isolates. For the other mouthwashes, the median growth score after 60 minutes of exposure was 4 (interquartile range 4-4) for phosphate buffered saline; 1 (interquartile range 1-3) for Biotene®; and ranged between 0 and 2 for the in-house composed mouthwashes. An in-house composed mouthwash (Placebo 6) performed best, with a growth score of 2 (interquartile range 2-3). Conclusions: All of the evaluated potential placebo mouthwashes were bacteriostatic after gonococcal exposure of 30 to 60 minutes. In-house composed Placebo 6 showed less inhibition on gonococcal growth than Biotene® and the other in-house placebos and demonstrates, in our opinion, a good trade-off between anti-gonococcal properties and taste.

According to the World Health Organization, air pollution contributes to shortened life expectancies of UE citizens by an average of 8.6 months. The aim of our study was to see if there is a relationship between exposure of inhabitants of cities to air pollution and the length of their lives, excluding deaths caused by external causes. Average annual concentrations of air pollutants such as PM 10 , benzo(a)pyrene, cadmium and lead in PM 10 were based on data from the measuring stations, while the concentrations of dioxins, furans and polychlorinated biphenyls were their own measurements. The average women's and men's life expectancies in 11 cities in the year 2015, after excluding accidents and suicides, were calculated on the basis of the registry of deaths. Inequalities in men's and women's life expectancies are significant between cities and there is a relationship between exposure to air pollutants and the length of men's and women's lives in each city, demonstrating a very strong correlation in the male population. An effective tool for identifying significant risk factors affecting human health seems to be the multiple regression model.