Current Aging Science - Volume 18, Issue 2, 2025

Burning Mouth Syndrome (BMS) is defined as an idiopathic orofacial pain with recurrent intraoral burning. It mainly affects middle-aged women in peri- or post-menopause and the elderly, without any identifiable causative lesions and with or without somatosensory alterations. BMS has a complex pathogenesis involving psychogenic factors and deregulated peripheral and central pain, and there is no standard treatment protocol, making its diagnosis and management challenges.

This study was to carry out a review literature on BMS, addressing its identification and therapeutic possibilities.

Review articles and randomized controlled clinical studies whose full text was available, published between 2017 and 2022 in national and international journals, from PubMed and SCIELO databases, WHO manuals and books, were collected. As a search strategy, the keywords “burning mouth syndrome”, “treatment” and “diagnosis” were used, totaling 42 papers. Of these, after applying the exclusion criteria, 34 articles were selected.

Studies indicate that a comprehensive and thorough anamnesis is essential to exclude secondary factors leading to the correct diagnosis of BMS. In addition, a comprehensive anamnesis directs the best management considering a combination of neuropathic and palliative therapies, which aim to control, eliminate and/or minimize painful symptoms, treating the patient in an individualized way and not the disease itself, since this pathology has no cure.

Considering the impact of BMS on quality of life, further studies are needed to expand diagnostic and treatment strategies, aiming to complement existing pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments, observing the influence that biopsychosocial and neurophysiological mechanisms have on this syndrome.

Physical and leisure activities are vital for active aging. Leisure activities among the aging population have received attention from scholars in the recent past. However, the research contributions and trends in this field are unknown. Therefore, a bibliometric analysis was conducted to explore the scholarly contributions in aging and leisure activities to identify the research output trends, assess thematic focuses, and analyze research collaboration patterns.

We extracted data from the Scopus database for the period 2000-2023 and identified 443 articles focusing on aging and leisure activities. Tools, such as bibliographical coupling networks and thematic analysis, were applied using R and Biblioshiny to uncover core themes and connections.

There has been a significant increase in research output since 2021, with contributions from numerous authors and countries, particularly the United States and China. Thematic analysis reveals central themes, such as physical activity, successful aging, and cognition.

This analysis reveals the evolving nature of scholarly discussions in aging and leisure, highlighting key themes, such as physical activity, cognitive aging, and health promotion. The findings emphasize the growing interest and global collaboration in this interdisciplinary research domain.

Sarcopenic obesity (SO) is characterized by the simultaneous presence of both obesity and sarcopenia in the same individual, and it is associated with adverse health outcomes such as falls, hospitalization, functional disability, and mortality. This study aimed to provide a comprehensive analysis of the prevalence of SO in the elderly population through a systematic review and meta-analysis of the scientific literature.

A systematic search was conducted in the PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and LILACS databases for observational studies published up to July 2023 on the prevalence of SO in individuals aged 65 years or older. Data were collected from the selected and included articles, including general study information, demographic characteristics of the samples, methods, and results. The quality of the studies was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) criteria. A random-effects model was applied for the quantitative synthesis (meta-analysis) of combined prevalence data, and the I-squared index (I²) was used to assess heterogeneity. Publication bias was evaluated using a funnel plot and Egger’s test.

A total of 37 articles meeting the eligibility criteria were selected and included in this meta-analysis. Heterogeneity among the studies was observed, along with evidence of publication bias. Most studies were classified as having a high risk of bias. The pooled prevalence of SO in the elderly was 10% (95% CI: 8%−12%; I²: 99.10%, p<0.001). A similar result was observed after stratification by sex, with a prevalence of 10% in both men (95% CI: 8%−12%; I²: 97.46%, p<0.001) and women (95% CI: 8%−12%; I²: 98.72%, p<0.001). Subgroup and sensitivity analyses revealed that the study setting, criteria used for the diagnosis of obesity, and the risk of bias in the studies were potential factors contributing to the heterogeneity in the prevalence of SO in the elderly.

This meta-analysis indicated a significant prevalence of SO among the elderly population, with no difference by sex, highlighting SO as a substantial health problem in this population. These findings underscore the importance of interventions to reduce the occurrence of SO in the elderly.

To study the role of hypoxia-reoxygenation and anoxia-starvation on the lifespan of C. elegans and elucidate the mechanism at molecular levels.

Increasing evidence indicates that reactive oxygen species (ROS) act as signaling molecules that promote health. Hormesis occurs when a moderate stress level induces a beneficial adaptive response, protecting organisms against subsequent exposure to severe stress. Caenorhabditis elegans is a widely used model organism to study aging and displays a broad hormetic ability to couple with stress. To date, only few methods are available to induce stress hormesis in C. elegans.

The objectives of this study were to explore the effects of hypoxia-reoxygenation and anoxia-starvation on the lifespan of C. elegans, exploring the involvement of ROS and oxidative stress-related pathways, and examining the hormetic property of H/R.

The C. elegans were cultured in hypoxic conditions (1% O2) with OP50 bacteria for 24 h followed by reoxygenation (20% O2) (H/R) or in anoxic conditions (0% O2; 100% N2) without OP50 bacteria for 24 h followed by reoxygenation (20% O2) and food supplementation (A/S). Survivals were plotted and estimated for probability with Kaplan-Meier analysis.

The H/R extended the lifespan of C. elegans, and H/R-pretreated worms showed improved resistance toward A/S compared to naïve worms. The C. elegans SKN-1 and DAF-16 are important oxidative stress response factors homologous to mammalian Nrf2 and FOXO3, respectively. Mutations in SKN-1 and DAF-16 blocked H/R-induced life extension. Next, H/R treatment in C. elegans activated both SKN-1 and DAF-16, as indicated by the upregulation of putative target genes of SKN-1 (gcs-1 and gss-1) and DAF-16 (sod-3). Moreover, pre-treatment with antioxidants (N-acetylcysteine, chlorogenic acid, and sulforaphane) reduced ROS levels and diminished the lifespan extension effect of H/R, indicating their dependency on ROS.

These results provide evidence that H/R is beneficial for lifespan and stress resistance by activating the adaptive cellular response pathway (SKN-1 and DAF-16A) toward oxidative stress.