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Background: As effective immune modulators, Endocannabinoids may suppress the inflammatory responses in periodontitis. This study assessed the expression of cannabinoid receptors in gingiva and the impact on periodontitis., Methods: A cross-sectional study on 20 patients with more than stage II and Grade A periodontitis and a control group consisting of 19 healthy individuals was performed. The gingival biopsies were assessed for the expression of CB1 and CB2 using the quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, TaqMan method., Results: The study sample consisted of 39 subjects, 31 females (79.5%) and 8 males (20.5%), including 20 periodontitis subjects (80% female and 20% male), and control groups (78.9% female and 21.1% male). The mean ages of cases and controls were 33.3 ± 4.7 and 35.7 ± 5.1 years, respectively. The gene expression of CB2 in periodontitis was 27.62 ± 7.96 and in healthy subjects was 78.15 ± 23.07. The CB2 was significantly lower than the control group (p = .008). In comparison, the gene expression index of CB1 in the periodontal group (9.42 ± 3.03) was higher than the control group (6.62 ± 1.13) but did not meet a significant value (p = .671)., Conclusion: The lower expression of CB2 receptors in the periodontitis group may be due to the reduced protective effect of anti-inflammatory agents. These elements include cannabinoids and the imbalance leading to the predominance of pro-inflammatory effects. Therefore, the local effects of cannabinoids as an immunomodulator could be useful for oral inflammatory diseases such as periodontitis., (© 2022 The Authors. Clinical and Experimental Dental Research published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Aim: The purpose of this study was to compare IL-1β and IL-12 gene expression in the gingival tissue of smokers and non-smokers either with healthy periodontium or with chronic periodontitis., Materials and Methods: 41 individuals consisting of 21 healthy controls (11 non-smokers and 10 smokers) and 20 chronic periodontitis patients (10 non-smokers and 10 smokers) participated in this study. Samples were collected from papillary regions of targeted areas and cytokines were analyzed using Real Time PCR. Shapiro-Wilk, Mann-Witney and Independent T tests were employed for statistical analysis., Results: IL-1β gene expression in gingival tissue of non-smoker group with chronic periodontitis was significantly higher than non-smoker-healthy group ( p =0.011). Smoker-chronic periodontitis group showed lower IL-1β gene expression than non-smoker-chronic periodontitis group ( p =0.003). IL-12 gene expression was not significantly different between analyzed groups., Conclusion: IL-1β gene expression increases in gingival tissue of non-smoker-chronic periodontitis patients due to inflammatory processes but smoking reduces the expression of this cytokine in diseased periodontal tissues. On the other hand periodontal condition and smoking habits do not seem to affect IL-12 gene expressions in gingival tissues. Authors concluded that reduced levels of IL1 and in some extent IL12 in smoking patients are responsible for higher tissue and bone degenerations and less treatment responses in smokers.

Hepatitis B (HBV) and C (HCV) virus infection are the most important infections transmitted by the parenteral route in hemodialysis patients. This study is the first report of prevalence of viral hepatitis and hepatitis C virus genotypes in southwest Iran among hemodialysis patients. A cross-sectional study was carried out among 214 hemodialysis patients of the Central hemodialysis unit, from March 2005 to August 2006. Serum samples were tested for HBsAg and anti-HCV using specific enzyme linked immunoassay (ELISA) kits and confirmed by PCR (HBV) and RT PCR (HCV). HCV genotypes were determined with HCV genotype specific primers using HCV genotype kit. Out of 214 hemodialysis patients, 34 were positive for anti-HCV (7.9%, 95% CI: 4.32-11.56) and 11 for HBsAg (5.1%, 95% CI: 2.18-8.1). The duration of treatment by hemo-dialysis was significantly associated with HBV and HCV positivity (P< 0.001). The predominant HCV genotype in the region was 1a (41.1%, 7/17), whilst genotypes 3a and 1b were found in 35.2% (6/17) and 23.5% (4/17) subjects, respectively. In conclusion although anti-HCV and HBsAg positivity in hemodialysis patients in Khuzestan province are smaller than those found in some other Iranian provinces and neighboring countries, they are still high. Enforcement of universal precautions in infection control, routine testing of patients, and serial determination of hepatic enzymes should be the common practice in dialysis centers in Iran.