INTRODUCTION Increased oxidative stress has been implicated in the pathogenesis of Crohn disease (CD). Except for C-reactive protein (CRP), good biological markers of CD activity are lacking. OBJECTIVES We aimed to investigate the diagnostic usefulness of selected markers of oxidative stress in the serum and saliva of patients with active and inactive CD. PATIENTS AND METHODS A total of 58 patients with confirmed CD (32 with active CD, 26 with inactive CD, and 26 healthy controls) were prospectively enrolled to the study. The markers examined were malondialdehyde (MDA), ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP), reduced glutathione (GSH), and catalase (CAT). RESULTS MDA levels were higher in the serum and saliva of patients with active CD than in those with inactive CD and controls and were positively correlated with the Crohn's Disease Activity Index (r = 0.8, P <0.001) and CRP (P <0.001). Serum and saliva antioxidant indicators (FRAP and GSH) were decreased in both CD groups compared with controls and were negatively correlated with clinical activity and inflammation (FRAP, r = -0.5, P <0.001; GSH, r = -0.5, P <0.001; and CAT, r = -0.5, P <0.001). CONCLUSIONS The increased lipid peroxidation and decreased antioxidant activity in serum and saliva confirm that CD patients are under oxidative stress. The positive correlations of MDA with the clinical activity and inflammation, as well as the comparison of the receiver operating characteristic curves for MDA and CRP, suggest that MDA could be a good diagnostic marker of CD.

By means of a finite element method (FEM), the present study evaluated the effect of fiber post (FP) placement on the stress distribution occurring in endodontically treated upper first premolars (UFPs) with mesial–occlusal–distal (MOD) nanohybrid composite restorations under subcritical static load. FEM models were created to simulate four different clinical situations involving endodontically treated UFPs with MOD cavities restored with one of the following: composite resin; composite and one FP in the palatal root; composite and one FP in the buccal root; or composite and two FPs. As control, the model of an intact UFP was included. A simulated load of 150 N was applied. Stress distribution was observed on each model surface, on the mid buccal–palatal plane, and on two horizontal planes (at cervical and root-furcation levels); the maximum Von Mises stress values were calculated. All analyses were replicated three times, using the mechanical parameters from three different nanohybrid resin composite restorative materials. In the presence of FPs, the maximum stress values recorded on dentin (in cervical and root-furcation areas) appeared slightly reduced, compared to the endodontically treated tooth restored with no post; in the same areas, the overall Von Mises maps revealed more favorable stress distributions. FPs in maxillary premolars with MOD cavities can lead to a positive redistribution of potentially dangerous stress concentrations away from the cervical and the root-furcation dentin.

Various material properties are involved in the success of endodontically treated restorations. At present, restorative composites are commonly employed as core build-up materials. This study aimed to systematically review the literature to assess the effect of using composite core materials on the in vitro fracture of endodontically treated teeth. Two different reviewers screened the literature, up to June 2021, in five distinct electronic databases: PubMed (MedLine), Scopus, Scielo, ISI Web of Science, and EMBASE. Only in vitro studies reporting the effect of the use of composite core materials on the fracture resistance of endodontically treated teeth were included. A meta-analysis was carried out using a software program (Review Manager v5.4.1; The Cochrane Collaboration, Copenhagen, Denmark). The risk of bias in each study was assessed following the parameters of another systematic review. A total of 5016 relevant papers were retrieved from all databases. After assessing the title and abstract, five publications remained for qualitative analysis. From these, only three studies remained for meta-analysis. The fracture strength of endodontically treated teeth where a core build-up composite was used was statistically significantly higher than the control (p = 0.04). Most of the analyses showed a high heterogenicity. The in vitro evidence suggests that the composite core build-up with higher filler content tended to improve the fracture resistance of the endodontically treated teeth, in comparison with conventional composite resins. This research received no external funding. Considering that this systematic review was only carried out on in vitro papers, registration was not performed. Furthermore, there were no identified clinical studies assessing core build-up materials; therefore, more well-designed research on these materials is needed.

Nowadays, the ceramic veneer approach can be considered more predictable than direct composite veneer. To date, there is a lack of studies comparing the clinical performance of anterior veneers cemented on vital teeth (VT) and non-vital teeth (NVT). This longitudinal clinical study investigated the performance of ceramic veneers in VT or anterior NVT. A total of 55 patients were evaluated in the study. Two groups were defined based on the vitality status of the teeth (93 teeth—vital and 61 teeth—non-vital). The United States Public Health Service (USPHS) criteria were used to assess the clinical status. The data were evaluated statistically with the Mann–Whitney U test. All restorations were considered acceptable, and only one veneer in VT failed for the criteria of secondary caries. There were no statistically significant differences in any of the criteria evaluated (p ≤ 0.671). The ceramic veneers evaluated showed a satisfactory clinical performance both in VT and NVT.

Diagnostics of Crohn’s disease (CD) requires noninvasive biomarkers facilitating early detection and differentiation of the disease. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to determine the relationship between paraoxonase-1 (PON-1), the severity of CD, oxidative stress, and inflammation in CD. The CD activity index was based on the current classification. Plasma PON-1 was measured in 47 patients with CD, and in 23 control volunteers. Using quantitative variables such as receiver operating characteristics (ROC) (area under the curve (AUC)), the diagnostic utility of PON-1 in differentiating the severity of CD was assessed. Circulating PON-1 was found to be decreased in the CD group compared to the control group (269.89 vs. 402.56 U/L, respectively), and it correlated well with the disease activity. PON-1 correlated positively with hemoglobin (Hb) (r = 0.539, p < 0.001), hematocrit (Ht) (r = 0.48, p < 0.001), total cholesterol (TC) (r = 0.343, p < 0.001), high density lipoprotein (HDL) (r = 0.536, p < 0.001), low density lipoprotein (LDL) (r = 0.54, p < 0.001), and triglyceride (TG) (r = 0.561, p < 0.001) and correlated negatively with white blood cell count (WBC) (r = −0.262, p = 0.029), platelet count (PLT) (r = −0.326, p = 0.006), C-reactive protein (CRP) (r = −0.61, p < 0.001), and malondialdehyde (MDA) (r = −0.924, p < 0.001). PON-1 as a marker for CD differentiation possessed a sensitivity and specificity of 93.62% and 91.30%, respectively. CD was found to be associated with the decrease in the levels of PON-1, which correlates well with activity of the disease and reflects the intensification of inflammation, as well as intensified lipid peroxidation. High sensitivity and specificity of PON-1 determines its selection as a good screening test for CD severity.

Crohn's disease (CD) is a chronic inflammatory disease of unknown etiology that covers the entire digestive tract and occurs with periods of remission and clinical exacerbation. CD is most common in North America and Europe, but its incidence is rising rapidly in Asian countries. The pathogenesis of CD is unclear, while genetic predisposition, immune imbalance, and host-intestinal microbiota interactions are taken into account. Incorrect activation of KB nuclear factor (NF-kappa B) signaling pathways is associated with CD initiation and progression. NF-kappa B leads to excessive production of pro-inflammatory cytokines that cause a chronic inflammatory process of the intestines. It is currently believed that the NF-kappa B pathway plays a key role in the pathogenesis of CD, hence current treatments aim to block this pathway. Studies have shown that activation of NF-kappa B is reduced by treatment with, among others, mesalazine and glucocorticoids. This review presents epidemiology and pathogenesis of CD, the participation of NF-kappa B in this disease, as well as modern methods of treatment aimed at inhibiting NF-kappa B activation.