Associations among tooth loss, systemic inflammation and antibody titers to periodontal pathogens in Japanese patients with cardiovascular disease.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: It is well known that there is a strong relationship between periodontitis and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Tooth loss reflects an end-stage condition of oral diseases, such as periodontitis. Infection with specific periodontal pathogens is known as a possible factor that influences development of CVD. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between the number of residual teeth and systemic inflammatory conditions in patients with CVD. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We divided 364 patients with CVD into four groups, according to the number of residual teeth: (i) ≥20 teeth; (ii) 10-19 teeth; (iii) 1-9 teeth; and (iv) edentulous. We recorded medical history, blood data and periodontal conditions. Serum samples were obtained and their IgG titers against three major periodontal pathogens were measured. RESULTS: Smoking rate and the prevalence of diabetes mellitus were higher in edentulous patients and in subjects with a few teeth compared with patients with many teeth. The levels of C-reactive protein were higher in patients with 1-9 teeth than in those with 10-19 teeth and with ≥20 teeth. The level of Porphyromonas gingivalis IgG in the group with 10-19 teeth was statistically higher than that in the group with ≥20 teeth. The level of P. gingivalis IgG in the edentulous group tended to be lower than that in the other groups. CONCLUSION: The patients with 1-9 teeth had the highest level of C-reactive protein among the four groups, and the patients with 10-19 teeth had the highest level of IgG to periodontal bacteria. We conclude that the number of remaining teeth may be used to estimate the severity of systemic inflammation in patients with CVD.

Clarithromycin suppresses the periodontal bacteria-accelerated abdominal aortic aneurysms in mice.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Although clarithromycin (CAM) has many biological functions, including regulation of MMPs, little is known about its effect on abdominal aortic aneurysms. Periodontopathic bacteria have been reported to be associated with several kinds of circulatory diseases. The purpose of this study was therefore to clarify the effect of CAM on periodontopathic bacteria-accelerated abdominal aortic aneurysms. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Abdominal aortic aneurysm was produced in mice by the peri-aortic application of 0.25 m CaCl(2). The mice were inoculated once per week with live Porphyromonas gingivalis, which is one of the major periodontopathic bacteria. Test mice (n=8) were given a daily oral dose of CAM, while control mice (n=13) were not. RESULTS: Four weeks after the operation, the P. gingivalis-injected and CAM-treated mice showed a significant decrease in the aortic diameter in comparison with the mice only injected with P. gingivalis. Histopathologically, the samples obtained from the P. gingivalis-injected and CAM-treated mice showed less elastic degradation. Moreover, the plasma MMP-2 concentration of the CAM-treated mice decreased significantly. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that CAM administration is useful to suppress periodontal bacteria-accelerated abdominal aortic aneurysms via MMP regulation.