3 articles
Dental fluorosis is an oral condition with aesthetic, psychosocial, and, in some contexts, functional implications that may extend beyond the clinical appearance of enamel. Interest in patient-reported outcome measures has increased because clinical severity alone does not explain how children and adolescents experience fluorosis in daily life. This manuscript aims to synthesize the evidence on oral health-related quality of life and to assess the relevance of a condition-specific Oral Impacts on Daily Performance approach for dental fluorosis.
A narrative synthesis was prepared according to PRISMA-ScR guidance [REF]. The search framework was designed for PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, Embase, Cochrane Library, and the institutional repository of Nicolae Testemițanu State University of Medicine and Pharmacy. Core studies addressing dental fluorosis and oral health-related quality of life were extracted together with methodological papers on condition-specific OIDP, instrument adaptation, and Moldova-generated contextual literature. The methodological premises from the attached doctoral thesis on the Romanian adaptation of dental questionnaires were also integrated.
The evidence is heterogeneous. Mild dental fluorosis is often associated with no deterioration in oral health-related quality of life, while moderate to severe fluorosis is more consistently linked to worse quality-of-life outcomes. The most direct condition-specific OIDP evidence comes from a cross-sectional study in India showing significant correlations between fluorosis, CS-OIDP, and OHRQoL. A recent systematic review confirmed the mixed direction of results across 16 studies. Local Moldovan publications support the public health relevance of endemic fluoride exposure and the need for Romanian-language instruments adapted to this context.
The current evidence supports the methodological relevance of a fluorosis-adapted CS-OIDP instrument. A future Romanian adaptation should combine rigorous translation procedures, cognitive testing, and psychometric validation, while retaining clinical measures of fluorosis severity for discriminative analysis.
In the context of increasingly intense athletic competition, athletes are motivated to enhance their performance through various methods, including the use of pharmacological substances that act on the adrenergic system. Among these, β2-adrenergic agonists are employed for their metabolic effects and their role in increasing endurance, whereas β-adrenergic antagonists are used in precision sports to reduce tremor and control anxiety. Both classes of substances present potential benefits as well as health risks, and are subject to strict regulations in high-performance sports.
A theoretical study was conducted based on the analysis of specialized scientific literature, aiming to evaluate the impact of β2-adrenergic agonists and β-adrenergic antagonists on athletic performance. Additionally, the current regulations of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) were analyzed.
Results. β2-adrenergic agonists may contribute to the stimulation of muscle protein synthesis, enhancement of energy metabolism, and delay in the onset of fatigue. However, their use is associated with significant cardiovascular and metabolic side effects. β-adrenergic antagonists are effective in reducing tremor and sympathetic activation in precision sports but may decrease overall exercise capacity and induce bradycardia or chronic fatigue. Improper use of these substances can lead to severe sanctions in the context of athletic competitions.
Although β2-adrenergic agonists and β-adrenergic antagonists may offer certain advantages depending on the specific nature of the sport, their use must be strictly medically regulated and comply with anti-doping standards. Careful evaluation of the risk-benefit ratio is essential for safeguarding athletes’ health and preserving the integrity of competition.
Thiosemicarbazones represent a class of organic compounds with well-documented pharmacological properties, including antitumor, antimicrobial, and antiviral activities. Contemporary research highlights their role in modulating cellular redox equilibrium through antioxidant pathway regulation. The growing interest in copper-based coordination complexes with thiosemicarbazones is driven by the unique redox flexibility and high biocompatibility of copper ions, properties that underlie their potential in therapeutic and diagnostic applications. This investigation assessed the capacity of specific local bioactive thiosemicarbazones to impact the antioxidant system using in vitro methodologies.
Peripheral blood samples from ten healthy volunteers were used to evaluate in vitro the influence of 10 copper-based coordination complexes with thiosemicarbazones at concentrations of 10.0 μM/L and 1.0 μM/L on antioxidant markers ‒ total antioxidant activity (via ABTS assay), total antioxidant capacity, antioxidant substance mass, and antioxidants total activity.
Data indicated that targeted copper-based coordination complexes with thiosemicarbazones affect general antioxidant markers. The study demonstrates that thiosemicarbazones exhibit concentration- and structure-dependent redox modulation, disclosing distinct mechanisms of action across three structural classes – benzothiazole, phenyl, and allyl thiosemicarbazone derivatives. Structural optimization (e.g., benzothiazole with methoxy groups) yields compounds like MG-22 that maintain redox equilibrium, while pro-oxidant variants (CMA-18) offer therapeutic potential through selective oxidative cytotoxicity.
Copper-based coordination complexes with thiosemicarbazones represent a promising class of redox modulators with tunable biological effects. Their bidirectional activity, manifested by stimulation or inhibition of antioxidant mechanisms, confirms the potential of these derivatives as selective therapeutic agents. When these results are integrated in the context of personalized medicine, thiosemicarbazones become valuable candidates in the development of therapeutic strategies aimed at maintaining cellular homeostasis, especially in pathologies characterized by increased oxidative stress, such as cancer and neurodegenerative diseases.