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"There are two common diseases affecting the periodotium.  The first is gingivitis, which is defined as inflammation of the gingiva in which the connective tissue attachment to the tooth remains at its original level.  The disease is limited to the soft-tissue compartment of the gingival epithelium and connective tissue.  The second is periodontitis, which is an inflammation of the supporting tissues of the teeth with progressive attachment loss and bone destruction.  Both diseases and their symptoms are very common in populations worldwide.  In the USA, adolescents have gingivitis and signs of gingival bleeding, whereas 54% of the adult population in the USA exhibits gingival bleeding.  Thirty-seven per cent of the adult population in the USA suffers from severe periodontitis.  In both cases, the disease is associated with the accumulation of bacteria at the dento-gingival margin, while the causal relationship of specific organisms is not fully clear.  The host responds to microbial challenge by generating an inflammatory cell infiltrate in the tissue sub adjacent to the periodontal pocket."

"The obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSA) is an independent risk factor for atherosclerosis.  Chronic intermittent hypoxia (CHI) causes atherosclerosis in the occurrence of a pre-existing hyperlipidemia.  A new pathway, in animal models has been demonstrated that CIH significantly increased atherosclerotic lesion sizes, mRNA levels of Cox-1 and thromboxane synthase (TXBS).  Lesion size is correlated to COX-1 and TXBS mRNA levels.  COX-1 inhibition reduced lesion progression in intermittent hypoxia mice.  This study demonstrated for the first time, that the activation of the COX pathway exposed to CIH is associated with increased atherosclerotic lesions in mice, highlighting early atherosclerosis markers in OSA patients."

"Patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSA) exhibit an early vascular remodelling and alterations of acid arachidonic pathway 2.  Thromboxane A₂ (TXA2) is a cycloxygenase (COX)-derived metabolite of AA involved in vascular remodelling."

"Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by the activation of some components of the cyclooxygenase pathway.  OSA is associated with activation of the thromboxane A₂ (TXA2)-pathway, in which obesity seems to be a major confounding factor." 

"Urinary excretion of 11-dTXB₂ did not differ between OSA patients free of cardiovascular complications and healthy volunteers but increased in OSA patients with cormobidities compared to OSA patients without 694.0 (425.9-1235.6) versus 616.0 (354.3-838.2) pg/mg creatinine respectively; p=0.007). Finally, urinary 11-dTXB2 was increased by 30% in OSA Patients with cartoid hypertrophy (IMT>compared to OSA patients without carotid hypertrophy (783.0 (582.8-938.0) versus 592.9 (278.9-782.5) pg/mg creatinine, respect p=0.02)."

"Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by the activation of some components of the cyclooxygenase pathway. Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is associated with activation of the thromboxane A2 (TXA2)-pathway, in which obesity seems to be a major confounding factor."

“The mean hs-CRP concentration was not significantly different between the two groups of subjects.”

“We found that the 11-DTXB₂ concentration was about 24% greater in smokers than in non-smokers, supporting the use of 11-DTXB₂ as a potential biomarker for smoking and CVD.”

"Dark chocolate contains many biologically active components, such as catechins, procyanidins, and theobromine from cocoa, together with added sucrose and lipids.  All of these can directly or indirectly affect the cardiovascular system by multiple mechanisms."

"The effect of chocolate is more convoluted since the sucrose and lipid may transiently and negatively impact on endothelial function, partly through insulin signaling and nitric oxide bioavailability."

"High-sensitivity CRP decreased by 24 & 29.7% (P<0.0001), whereas CD40L decreased by 64.3 and 58.6% (P=0.002), respectively.  Urinary 11-dehydro-TxB2 decreased from 1,433 to 715 and 564 pg/mg creatinine, respectively, 6 months and 12 months after LAGB (P<0.0001). PTX3 was inversely related to platelet activation markers, 11-dehydro-TxB2 and CD40L.  Moreover, multiple regression analysis on pooled data showed that plasma PTX3 was an independent predictor of urinaty 11-dehydro-TxB2."

“There is an association between inflammation, platelet activation and metabolic dysfunction in obesity, and PTX3 is a key player within these circuits.”

"Nowadays cancers pose a great threat to the health of human beings.  Based on studies on the flavonoids and other bioactive compounds of citrus fruits in current literature, it was widely suggested that the consumption of citrus fruits is beneficial to the prevention and treatment of human chronic diseases including cancers. In the past decades, the study concerning citrus flavonoids has covered various areas including the type, content and distribution of flavonoids in fruits; their variation between wild and cultivated genotypes; their antioxidant, anti-inflammation, anti-aging, antimicrobial and anticarcinogenic activities."

"Nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) transcription factors regulate several important physiologic processes of the cell, e.g., cell growth, and apoptosis. Thus, inhibition of NF-κB activation offers a potential strategy for treatment of different malignancies."

"Platelet activation plays a major role in cardiovascular events.  Mediterranean diet reduces the incidence of stroke and myocardial infarction but it is still unclear if it affects platelet activation.  Aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of Mediterranean diet on the urinary excretion of 11-dehydro-thromboxane (TX) B₂, a marker in vivo platelet activation, in patients with atrial fibillation."

"Med diet adherence is inversely associated to urinary excretion of 11-dehydro-TXB_2, suggesting that Med-Diet may favorably affect platelet function in AF patients."

"Fish oil supplementation (FOS) is known to have cardiovascular benefits.  However, the effects of FOS on thrombosis are incompletely understood.  We sought to determine if the use of FOS is associated with lower indices of atherothrombotic risk in patients with suspected coronary artery disease."

"Fish oil supplementation (FOS) is known to have cardiovascular benefits. Patients on FOS had lower urinary 11-dehydrothromboxane B₂ levels regardless of lipid-lowering therapy."