Background and Objectives:Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a relatively common, chronic inflammatory condition that frequently presents with symptoms of pain and burning sensation. It is generally a very unrelenting disorder despite several kinds of treatment. Only symptomatic OLP requires treatment, and it remains a challenging predicament. Efforts are made in a sustained manner for searching for novel therapies for symptomatic OLP. Therefore, this study was aimed to compare the efficacy of treatment with topical pimecrolimus cream 1% with that of triamcinolone acetonide oral paste 0.1% in subjects with symptomatic OLP.Materials and Methods:A prospective, parallel-group, randomized, active control clinical study was conducted among 30 symptomatic OLP subjects (20 females and 10 males, with 15 patients in each treatment group) treated with topical pimecrolimus 1% cream and triamcinolone acetonide 0.1% oral paste four times daily for two consecutive months and treatment-free follow-up was performed for 2 months. Pain or burning sensation, mean clinical score and presence of erythematous areas were assessed. The data obtained were statistically analyzed using Wilcoxon's Rank test and the Mann Whitney test.Results:Subjects in both the groups showed significant improvement in symptom scores; however, the overall treatment response was higher in the pimecrolimus group compared with the triamcinolone acetonide group. On intergroup comparison, there was no statistically significant difference between the groups in the reduction in burning sensation (P = 0.18) and erythematous area (P = 0.07), but there was a statistically highly significant improvement in reduction of clinical scoring (P < 0.01%). Following the termination of the treatment, sustained remission of symptoms and long-lasting therapeutic effects was detected in 93.3% of the patients treated with pimecrolimus.Interpretation and Conclusion:Topical pimecrolimus 1% cream showed better therapeutic response compared with triamcinolone acetonide 0.1% oral paste in subjects with symptomatic OLP.

Background:In the current scenario pathogenesis of majority of the diseases is deeply linked with the oxidative stress, irrespective of its etiology. Enumerable data suggests that reactive oxygen species play a key role in multistage carcinogenesis. Oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF) is considered as a potentially malignant disorder. Its increased incidence over recent years in the Indian subcontinent is a major health concern to oral physicians. However, the role of oxidative stress has not been widely investigated in OSMF.Aims:Is to evaluate both antioxidant and oxidant status in OSMF and to compare with controls.Settings and Design:Twenty patients and 20 controls of the same age group were enrolled in the study.Subjects and Methods:Five milliliters of blood were collected from each individual and serum was separated. Malondialdehyde (MDA) estimation using thiobarbituric acid (TBA) method, and antioxidant activity (AOA) using principle of TBA reactive substances was done using this serum, with a calorimetric method.Statistical Analysis Used:Student's t-test and ANOVA test.Results:The mean serum AOA status was seen to significantly decrease in OSMF patients, as compared to controls (P = 0.013). The increase in mean serum MDA level was highly significant in OSMF patients, as compared to controls (P < 0.001).Conclusion:The disparity between AOA and MDA levels in the patients clearly demonstrates the role of oxidative stress in the disease process. The results also suggest the use of antioxidants in the management of OSMF.

Human saliva is not just the fluid in our mouth, but it mirrors our body’s health and well being. Biomolecules that are circulating in the blood are also found in human saliva. It consists of approximately about 2,000 proteins, and most significantly, 26% of these proteins are also found in blood, therefore emphasizes the saliva’s importance as an added biological resource for disease diagnosis and monitoring, as well as an ultimate diagnostic medium to establish a person’s response to treatment. The field of saliva diagnostics (SDs) began in the early 60s when salivary calcium levels were found to be elevated in cystic fibrosis patients, and 50 years on now how the field has unmitigated to an unpredicted distance due to the development of increasingly sensitive detection techniques. Hence, today in the era of nanotechnology and genomics, field of salivary diagnostics is promising a dramatic change in disease diagnosis and clinical monitoring. It has expanded into detection of cancer, heart and infectious diseases. Today we are using human saliva to detect illicit drugs, alcohol, to measure hormone levels, especially estrogen levels in women suffering from hormone imbalance, endometriosis, and to diagnose HIV virus in patients suspected of having AIDS. In addition, there are home-based saliva tests that one can order over the Internet to test one’s own cholesterol levels and also can verify the risk of developing prostate cancer. With the development of novel, more sensitive detection technology platforms, and the innovation of standardized analytical tools, establishment of reference intervals will make saliva diagnostic a reality in the near future. Especially in the areas of population-based screening programs, confirmatory diagnostics, risk stratification, forensic and therapy response monitoring. So, it represents a progressively more valuable complementary means of diagnosis.