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Objectives Evaluating the effectiveness of melatonin in prevention of radiation‐induced oral mucositis. Material and methods A randomized controlled clinical study was conducted on forty head and neck cancer (HNC) patients undergoing radiotherapy at the Department of Clinical Oncology, Alexandria University, Egypt. Patients were assigned equally to either control group who received conventional treatment or test group who received 20 mg of melatonin along with the conventional treatment. All patients were clinically evaluated for oral mucositis severity and pain at three and six weeks after the start of radiotherapy. Additionally, the total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in patients’ saliva samples was assessed at the start of radiotherapy and six weeks later. Results 92.5% of all patients have experienced oral mucositis with more severity reported in the control group (30%) compared with the test group (5%). Mean pain scores decreased significantly, in the second assessment, in test group rather than the controls. TAC values showed a significant difference between the test and controls with a significant decrease in TAC in the control group. Conclusion The administration of melatonin with conventional treatment has reduced severe oral mucositis development. It aided in decreasing pain and hindering the reduction of TAC resulting from radiotherapy among the test group compared with controls.

Phytotherapeutics is widely used nowadays as an alternative to the current antifungal drugs to reduce their side effects. Curcumin, with its wide therapeutic array as antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent, is one of the natural compounds that ha..s an antifungal effect, especially when being used at nanoscale to increase its bioavailability. Our research aimed to evaluate clinically and microbiologically the effect of using topical nanocurcumin suspension to treat oral candidiasis. After 4 days from induction of oral candidiasis (baseline), we randomly divided 39 female BALB/c mice into three groups of 13 animals; nanocurcumin, nystatin, and sham groups. All animals in nanocurcumin and nystatin groups received topical treatment twice daily for 10 days. Then, we performed clinical and microbiological evaluations at baseline, day 5, and day 10. By the end of treatment, our results revealed that nanocurcumin promoted a significant reduction in the number of candida colonies. There was no statistically significant difference neither clinically nor microbiologically between nanocurcumin and nystatin groups. In conclusion, nanocurcumin has a good antifungal effect as nystatin, however, its therapeutic efficacy takes a longer time to appear than nystatin. The enhanced bioavailability of curcumin at the nanoscale qualifies this nano-herb as a promising alternative therapy for oral candidiasis, evading nystatin-associated morbidity.

ObjectiveTo evaluate the effectiveness of topical sialogogue spray containing 1% malic acid in the treatment of xerostomia in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.Material and MethodsA randomized double‐blind controlled clinical trial was conducted on 52 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus suffering from xerostomia. Patients were assigned equally to test group who received a topical sialogogue spray containing 1% malic acid and control group who received a placebo spray. Both groups were instructed to use the spray on demand for 2 weeks. The Summated Xerostomia Inventory‐Dutch Version questionnaire (SXI‐D) and the unstimulated salivary flow rate were evaluated for all patients at baseline, 2 and 4 weeks after malic acid/placebo application.ResultsAt 2 week's follow‐up, the unstimulated salivary flow rate increased significantly from 0.059 ± 0.024 to 0.191 ± 0.064 and from 0.055 ± 0.026 to 0.078 ± 0.032 for test and control groups, respectively, with a statistically significant difference favoring the test group. SXI‐D scores showed a significant decrease from 10.73 ± 2.22 to 8.38 ± 2.28 in the test group (p < 0.05), while in the control group it decreased from 10.62 ± 1.75 to 10.23 ± 1.48 (p > 0.05).ConclusionA sialogogue spray containing 1% malic acid increased the unstimulated salivary flow rate in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus suffering from xerostomia.

INTRODUCTION:Oral candidiasis is the most common human fungal infection resulting from infection of the oral cavity by yeastlike fungus, candida. Its treatment by available topical or systemic antifungal drugs has several problems including toxicity and the development of drug resistance. Hence recent studies have given much attention to molecules from natural sources. Therefore, curcumin is considered one of the promising natural antifungal drugs. It has antifungal properties, but its poor solubility in aqueous solvents results in poor oral bioavailability. To improve the properties of curcumin, recent trails used nanotechnology. The size of nanoparticles can help them to gain entry into cells increasing its solubility and improving its bioavailability. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the use of topical application of nanocurcumin in treatment of oral candidiasis and compare it to curcumin and nystatin in a murine model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-nine female mice were randomly divided into three groups of 13 animals each after induction of oral candidiasis. Group 1 received nanocurcumin at 64 µg/ml. Group 2 received curcumin at 128 µg/ml. Group 3 received nystatin 100000 U/ml. All animals were received treatment topically twice daily for 10 days. The clinical evaluation and microbiological analysis were at baseline, day 5 and day 10. RESULTS: There was no statistical differences between the three studied groups in the number of cured animals at the end of the treatment period (p=0.358). CONCLUSION: Nanocurcumin has a good antifungal effect but further research is needed to get the maximum benefits of these nanoparticles.