Background and Purpose: Antimicrobial photodynamic therapy using Methylene blue (MB-PDT) has been proposed as an adjunctive to scaling and root planing (SRP) to provide preferable results for the treatment of periodontitis. The multi-factor mechanism of aPDT action correlates with various influencing components such as the photosensitizer and the light delivery system. The paper aims to review the recorded parameters of MB-PDT from clinical trials of periodontitis which may serve to improve the treatment of periodontal diseases. Materials and Methods: PubMed search engine was used to identify human clinical trials of PDT in dentistry. After applying specific keywords, additional filters, exclusion criteria, the initial number of 17378 was reduced to 12. Results: More than half of the articles of SRP + MB-PDT presented better results [pocket depth (PD) reduction, clinical attachment level (CAL) gain, etc.] compared to SRP alone in the treatment of periodontitis. Conclusions: While more clinical evidence is needed, recent studies demonstrate that MB-PDT combined with SRP show a greater potential as a treatment of periodontal diseases in comparison to SRP alone.

Spirodelae Herba (SH) and Perilla Frutescens (PF) extracts have been widely used in clinical practice with various disorders for thousands of years. There are some reports regarding the anticancer effects of SH and PF each by each, but their mixture have not been investigated and their mechanisms also have not been clear. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the anticancer mechanisms and their effects of the mixture of SH and PF extracts on head and neck cancer cell line. Head and neck carcinoma KB cells were treated with SH, PF and their mixture. Anticancer effects were investigated by searching cancer cell death pathway; apoptosis and autophagy, which have been regarded to be effective and safe methods. Apoptosis, which is termed a programmed cell death, was observed by TUNNEL assay. Autophagy, which is termed a type II programmed cell death, was observed by acridine orange red staining. Additionally, the protein expressions associated with apoptosis and autophagy were detected for their mechanism by western blots. The mixture of SH and PF extracts induced autophagic and apoptotic cell death simultaneously in cancer cells. And 0.4 mg/ml of the mixture with SH and PF extracts down-regulated the expression of mTOR, however, the expressions of ATG5 and LC3-II, which induced autophagy, up-regulated. The mixture of SH and PF extracts also down-regulated the expressions of Bcl-2, but up-regulate the expressions of PARP-1 cleavage, Caspase-9 cleavage, Caspase-3 cleavage and BAX, which induced apoptosis. Taken together, these results suggested that the mixture of SH and PF extracts induce autophagic and apoptotic cell death simultaneously in head and neck cancer cells and it could be used as an alternative for anti-cancer drugs.