Browsing by Author "Botros, Mark"

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    Determining The Effects of Fulvic acid on Biofilm/Planktonic Streptococcus Mutans Growth
    (Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, 2014-04-11) Botros, Mark; Gregory, Richard L.
    Fulvic acid, a major organic compound extract of Shilajit has been the focus of dental research for the past few years. Shilajit, a sticky tar-like substance of dark brownish color, was used during the ancient times, thousands of years ago and continues to be the traditional method today in India to aid with curing bone/cartilage diseases. Shilajit has also been proven to have anti-inflammatory and pain suppressing effects. This experiment determined the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), which is the lowest concentration of fulvic acid, an active component of shilajit that inhibits the visible growth of S. mutans. This experiment also determined the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) which is the lowest concentration of fulvic acid that kills S. mutans. A 3-day procedure to determine the growth vs inhibition of the S. mutans was conducted and bacterial readings were recorded using a spectrophotometer after treating S. mutans with 10% formaldehyde, crystal violet stain, and iso-propanol with 30-45 minute incubations between each. The experiment determined that very high concentrations of fulvic acid killed S. mutans, while less concentrated fulvic acid inhibited the growth of S. mutans bacterial cells. A solution comprised of a 5% concentration of fulvic acid killed all of the S. mutans; 5.00%, 2.50%, and 1.25% fulvic acid concentrations had bacterial absorbance of 0.000, 0.009, and 0.027, respectively, as compared to the control group’s normal bacterial growth absorbance of 0.254. Additionally, solutions ranging from a two-fold dilution of fulvic acid to six-fold dilution of fulvic acid inhibited the growth of S. mutans. A similar trend was also observed in planktonic and biofilm formation. For all of the above, in the seventh and eighth dilution (0.078% and 0.039% respectively) of the fulvic acid, the growth of S. mutans bacteria was similar to the control group due to the level of dilution. Overall it was observed that fulvic acid is able to kill bacteria in strong concentrations. Additionally it is able to inhibit further growth of bacteria in lower concentrations, but once the solution becomes too dilute, it does not have an effect on bacterial growth. This contributes greatly to the field of oral health because this data can be utilized for further research on oral bacterial growth inhibitors. Furthermore, the data collected here is a significant starting point for research on the specific minimum concentrations necessary to inhibit oral bacteria growth, because this can be used to determine the smallest amounts of fulvic acid, the bacteria the human body can handle.
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    Determining the Impact of Demographic Factors on Adherence to Glaucoma Treatment in Patients of African Descent
    (Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, 2015-04-17) Botros, Mark; Racette, Lyne; Bigatti, Silvia M.
    Primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) affects approximately 2.5 million Americans. Elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) is the only treatable risk factor to slow the progression of the disease and prevent blindness. Topical ocular hypotensive medications, dispensed in the form of eye drops, are the first line of treatment to reduce IOP. Patients are required to use their eye drops once or twice daily throughout the rest of their lives. Patients of African descent are more vulnerable to this chronic disease, with a prevalence six times higher than patients of European descent. They also have worse adherence to the treatment regimen in general. The main purpose of this study was to determine the impact of education, age, gender, household income, marital status, employment and number of prescribed medications on the adherence to the glaucoma treatment. Twenty-one patients were included and adherence was measured using Medication Event Monitoring System caps, which electronically record every time a patient uses their eye drops. After 4 weeks, patients returned with the caps and the compliance level was recorded. During the initial interview, patients answered a questionnaire about the different factors tested in this study. There was a positive correlation between the compliance percentage and age, with patients who are 70 years or older having the highest compliance levels (82% compared to 62% in the 50s and 60s category). Education also affected compliance, with patients who have a high school degree having a lower compliance at 62% compared to the patients with some college or a bachelor’s degree with compliance of 81%. The employment status was another contributor, with higher compliance in full-time employed patients compared to other employment types. The remaining factors did not contribute to the adherence levels. Overall, education, age, and employment status were the only factors that impacted adherence levels.
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    Improving Adherence in African American Patients through Motivational Interviewing
    (Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, 2015-04-17) Grow, Shelbi; Awan, Nabeel; Botros, Mark; Idowu, Eniola
    Glaucoma is a chronic disease of the eye and African Americans are more susceptible to the disease compared to other races. The medical treatment of glaucoma requires that patients instill eye drops each day for the rest of their lives. Adherence to this regimen be challenging and has been reported to be worse in patients of African American descent (AD), a segment of the population that is disproportionately affected by the disease. Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a goal-oriented, patient-centered counseling style for eliciting behavior change by helping patients to explore and resolve ambivalence. MI can improve adherence and has been shown to be more effective in minority populations. The purpose of the pilot study was to determine whether MI might improve adherence in glaucoma patients of AD. Thirteen patients of African American descent (AD) who received a clinical diagnosis of open-angle glaucoma were included in the study. Patients were included in the study if they used once-a-day prostaglandin analog eye drops and administered their own medication. Adherence was measured using Medical Event Monitoring System (MEMS) bottles. The cap of these bottles electronically records the date and time at which the bottle is opened. At the initial visit patients were instructed to place the eye medication bottle in the MEMS bottle and to continue to use their medication as they normally would. At the second visit (week 3), baseline adherence was assessed. Patients with adherence levels below 75% (n=9) received MI and those with adherence levels over 75% served as controls (n=4). At the last visit (week 9), patients returned and the final adherence was assessed. Baseline and final adherence were compared in each group using a t-test. In the group who received MI, final adherence (67.9% ± 7.68) was significantly higher than baseline adherence (55.95% ± 22.16) (p=0.03). In the control group, no significant difference between baseline adherence (81.38% ± 5.52) and final adherence (82% ± 17.33) (p=0.46) was observed. These preliminary results suggest that motivational interviewing may be effective in improving adherence in patients of AD with glaucoma.