BACKGROUND Photodynamic therapy is a therapeutic modality that has consolidated its activity in the photooxidation of organic matter, which arises from the activity of reactive oxygen species. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effect of red laser 660nm with the photosensitizer methylene blue on Propionibacterium acnes in vitro. METHOD The experimental design was distributed into four groups (1 - co...

We present definitive evidence that at least one protective antigenic determinant on type 5 M protein of group A streptococci evokes antibody that is cross-reactive with human heart tissue. One of nine rabbits immunized with a peptide fragment of type 5 M protein (pep M5) produced antibody that cross-reacted by immunofluorescence with sarcolemmal membranes of human heart. The cross-reactive ant...

Since the early days of human life on the Earth, our skin has been exposed to different levels of light. Recently, due to inevitable consequences of modern life, humans are not exposed to adequate levels of natural light during the day but they are overexposed to relatively high levels of artificial light at night. Skin is a major target of oxidative stress and the link between aging and oxidat...

Lutein and zeaxanthin are antioxidants found in the human retina and macula. Recent clinical trials have determined that age- and diet-related loss of lutein and zeaxanthin enhances phototoxic damage to the human eye and that supplementation of these carotenoids has a protective effect against photoinduced damage to the lens and the retina. Two of the major mechanisms of protection offered by l...

About 10 years ago we discovered that bubbling nitric oxide (NO) gas into KrebsRinger bicarbonate solution containing isolated precontracted strips of bovine coronary artery caused a rapid and pronounced, but transient, relaxant response that was antagonized by oxidized hemoproteins, such as methemoglobin, and by methylene blue. NO activated soluble guanylate cyclase prepared from coronary arte...

About 10 years ago we discovered that bubbling nitric oxide (NO) gas into KrebsRinger bicarbonate solution containing isolated precontracted strips of bovine coronary artery caused a rapid and pronounced, but transient, relaxant response that was antagonized by oxidized hemoproteins, such as methemoglobin, and by methylene blue. NO activated soluble guanylate cyclase prepared from coronary arte...