[Recurrent aphthous stomatitis and clinical response to pentoxifylline].

Lack of a specific and definitive treatment for recurrent aphthous stomatitis allowed to develop several assays with different drugs trying to lighten symptoms and avoid new crisis. The pathophysiological unknown about the illness forces to empiric therapies often disappointing. Immunomodulation by the haemorreoactive agent pentoxifylline inhibiting the *-TNF production seems to produce a neutrophilic and lymphocytic hypoactivity state, which promotes healing of aphthous in AIDS. Nevertheless, its use on healthy subjects got to prevent new episodes just in the 36% from our eleven cases, which is an improvement if compared to other local and systemic alternatives. Congenital or acquired immune factors still undetected determine the sensibility of subject to treatment and different healing rates reported by authors depending on pathologies.