title: Association between Experimental Bacterial Meningitis and Periapical Lesion.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Mortality and morbidity from bacterial meningitis in African adults is significantly higher than those in better resourced settings. At the same time, the periodontal diseases are highly prevalent and can affect up to 90% of the population. Dental caries in Uganda was recorded in 40% and 62.5% of the children and adults, respectively. We hypothesize that pneumococcal meningitis could interfere in the development of periapical lesion. The aim of this study was to evaluate periapical lesion in Wistar rats subjected to pneumococcal meningitis.
  
  
  METHODS
  The animals were divided in control, control/periapical lesion, meningitis, and meningitis/periapical lesion groups. The surgical exposure of molars and the infection of the dental pulp were from the oral environment. Pulp necrosis was induced on the left mandibular first molars during adulthood. Dental pulps were exposed by drilling cavities on the central portion of the occlusal surface with a 1011 HL round bur in high speed to a depth nearly equal to the bur diameter. Animals were subjected to behavioral task and evaluation of the size of periodontal ligament. Data from periodontal ligament space and open field task were reported as mean ± SEM and analysed by Two-way ANOVA and paired Student's t-test, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Meningitis/periapical increased the periodontal ligament space by 61% when compared with control/periapical. In the open-field task, there were no differences in the number of crossings and rearing movements between training and test session in meningitis and periapical lesion groups demonstrating habituation memory impairment. Bacterial meningitis and periapical lesion may play an important role in development of cognitive impairment.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Microbiologia Experimental, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências da Saúde, Unidade Acadêmica de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade do Extremo Sul Catarinense , 888806-000, Criciúma, SC, Brazil .
authors.forename: Tatiana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Barichello
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Microbiologia Experimental, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências da Saúde, Unidade Acadêmica de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade do Extremo Sul Catarinense , 888806-000, Criciúma, SC, Brazil .
authors.forename: Soraia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Netto
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Microbiologia Experimental, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências da Saúde, Unidade Acadêmica de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade do Extremo Sul Catarinense , 888806-000, Criciúma, SC, Brazil .
authors.forename: Renan Antonio
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Ceretta
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Microbiologia Experimental, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências da Saúde, Unidade Acadêmica de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade do Extremo Sul Catarinense , 888806-000, Criciúma, SC, Brazil .
authors.forename: Jaqueline S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Generoso
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Microbiologia Experimental, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências da Saúde, Unidade Acadêmica de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade do Extremo Sul Catarinense , 888806-000, Criciúma, SC, Brazil .
authors.forename: Lutiana R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Simões
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Microbiologia Experimental, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências da Saúde, Unidade Acadêmica de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade do Extremo Sul Catarinense , 888806-000, Criciúma, SC, Brazil .
authors.forename: Patrícia Ávila
authors.initials: PÁ
authors.lastname: Ribeiro
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Neurociências, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências da Saúde, Unidade Acadêmica de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade do Extremo Sul Catarinense , 888806-000, Criciúma, SC, Brazil .
authors.forename: Josiane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Budni
authors.affiliation: Center for Experimental Models in Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The University of Texas Medical School at Houston , 77030, Houston, TX, USA .
authors.forename: João
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Quevedo
keywords: Memory; Periodontal ligament; Pneumococcal meningitis