title: Allopurinol gel mitigates radiation-induced mucositis and dermatitis.
abstract: It has not been verified whether allopurinol application is beneficial in decreasing the severity of radiation-induced oral mucositis and dermatitis. Rats were divided into 4 groups and received 15 Gy irradiation on the left whisker pad. Group 1 received only irradiation. Group 2 was maintained by applying allopurinol/carrageenan-mixed gel (allopurinol gel) continuously from 2 days before to 20 days after irradiation. Group 3 had allopurinol gel applied for 20 days after radiation. Group 4 was maintained by applying carrageenan gel continuously from 2 days before to 20 days after irradiation. The intra oral mucosal and acute skin reactions were assessed daily using mucositis and skin score systems. The escape thresholds for mechanical stimulation to the left whisker pad were measured daily. In addition, the irradiated tissues at the endpoint of this study were compared with naïve tissue. Escape threshold in group 2 was significantly higher than that in group 1, and mucositis and skin scores were much improved compared with those of group 1. Concerning escape threshold, mucositis and skin scores in group 3 began to improve 10 days after irradiation. Group 4 showed severe symptoms of mucositis and dermatitis to the same extent as that observed in group 1. In the histophathological study, the tissues of group 1 showed severe inflammatory reactions, compared with those of group 2. These results suggest that allopurinol gel application can mitigate inflammation reactions associated with radiation-induced oral mucositis and dermatitis.
authors: Department of Physiology, Nippon Dental University, School of Life Dentistry at Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan. kitagawa-j@tokyo.ndu.ac.jp
authors: Junichi
authors: J
authors: Kitagawa
authors: Masanori
authors: M
authors: Nasu
authors: Hayato
authors: H
authors: Okumura
authors: Akihiko
authors: A
authors: Shibata
authors: Kimiko
authors: K
authors: Makino
authors: Hiroshi
authors: H
authors: Terada
authors: Shigeji
authors: S
authors: Matsumoto
mesh_terms: D000493:Allopurinol / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000818:Animals; D005782:Gels; D008297:Male; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000473:pathology / Q000528:radiation effects*; D011833:Radiation Injuries, Experimental / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011855:Radiodermatitis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012867:Skin / Q000473:pathology / Q000528:radiation effects*; D013280:Stomatitis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D014965:X-Rays / Q000009:adverse effects
chemical_list: D005782:Gels; D000493:Allopurinol