Relationship between oxidative stress and "burning mouth syndrome" in female patients: a scientific hypothesis.

INTRODUCTION : BurningMouth Syndrome (BMS) is characterized by burning sensationandpaininthemouthwithorwithout inflammatorysignsandspecificlesions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Aim of the pre - sent study was to investigate about a possible correlationbetweentheBurningMouthSyndrome and oxidative stress.We recruited 18 healthy fe - malepatientsbetween54and68yearsofagewith adiagnosisof"BurningMouthSyndrome". Oxidativestressassessmentwasperformedby means of an integrated analytical system com - posed of a photometer and a mini-centrifuge (FRAS4, HD a small amount of samples plasma (10microL)werethereaftertestedfortotaloxidant capacity(d-ROMstest)andbiologicalantioxidant potential as iron-reducing activity (BAP test) (Di- acronInternationals.r.l.,Grosseto,Italy). RESULTS: Our results indicate that female pa - tientsaffectedbyBurningMouthSyndromeshow significantly different d-ROMs and BAP levels, similartothosepresentinoxidativestresscondi- tionwithrespecttothegeneralpopulation.Itwas also emphasized that, after the most painful phase,thelevelsrepresentingthepresentoxida - tivestress,progressivelyreturntonormal,evenif stillsignificantlyhigher7daysafter,withrespect to the normal population. No similar study was performeduptonow. CONCLUSIONS :This study confirms the ef- fectivenessofantioxidanttreatmentsinthepa - tients affected by BMS, in order to prevent or decrease the onset of oxidative stress and the consequent increased risk of oxidative-related systemicdiseases.