Human gingival crevicular fluid contains MRP8 (S100A8) and MRP14 (S100A9), two calcium-binding proteins of the S100 family.

Human gingival crevicular fluid contains unidentified proteins which might play a role as markers in periodontal diseases. Therefore, low-molecular-weight proteins found in human gingival crevicular fluid (GCF), but absent from serum, were identified in the present study by means of two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-D PAGE) analysis. GCF, serum, and whole saliva were collected from periodontitis and healthy subjects, as well as from edentulous and newborn subjects.

Effects of nicotine on periodontal ligament fibroblasts in vitro.

Cigarette smoking is associated with increased incidence of periodontal disease and poor response to therapy. In the present study, we examined the effects of nicotine on several functions of periodontal ligament fibroblasts (PDLF): proliferation, attachment, alkaline phosphatase production and chemotaxis. Nicotine concentrations varying from 5 ng/ml to 250 microg/ml were tested.

Radiographic measurement of alveolar bone loss in the living rat.

We describe a method which allows longitudinal measurements of alveolar bone loss in the living rat. The anesthetized animal is kept in a fixed and reproducible position and radiographs of an upper molar arch are taken with a mammography. In a preliminary study, 4 rats were repeatedly radiographed.

Salivary albumin of edentulous patients.

In order to evaluate the contribution of the periodontal sulcus or pocket to the presence of albumin in the mouth, this protein was analysed in whole saliva of 20 completely dentate adults, aged between 63 and 83 years, and in 23 edentulous patients of similar age (51-88 years). In spite of the considerable intra- and interindividual variations revealed by a preliminary trial, the concentration of salivary albumin was significantly higher (range 60-1080 mg/l) in the dentate than in edentulous individuals (range 2-690 mg/l). The low albumin content in saliva of old edentulous people was similar to that in a group of younger individuals with a healthy periodontium.

Bone density of class II furcation lesions treated by guided tissue regeneration. A follow-up study by digital analysis of superimposable radiographs.

12 buccal or lingual class II furcation lesions were selected in the lower molars of 7 patients after treatment by routine scaling. In each of the 7 patients, 1 lesion was treated by guided tissue regeneration (GTR) with expanded polytetrafluoroethylene membranes, while 5 neighbouring molars underwent conventional flap operations. The index of gingival inflammation, the plaque index, the depths of the pockets, the horizontal and vertical attachment levels were measured before and 6 months, 1 year and 2 years after surgery.

A longitudinal study of various crevicular fluid components as markers of periodontal disease activity.

In order to examine the relationship of possible crevicular biochemical parameters to attachment loss (ALOSS), 330 sites from 8 untreated adult patients were monitored longitudinally at 3-month intervals, for up to 1 year. Attachment levels were measured with a force-sensing probe and an acrylic stent in duplicates at each study point. Crevicular samples were collected and used for the determination of the following 11 markers: number of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), osteocalcin (OC), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), collagenase (COL), beta-glucuronidase (BG), antigenic and functional elastase (AEL and FEL), alpha-1 antitrypsin (a1AT), alpha-2 macroglobulin (a2M) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST).

Low molecular-weight proteins in human gingival crevicular fluid.

Samples of gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) were collected in 30 volunteers with inflamed gingiva, using either capillary tubes (cGCF) or Durapore strips (sGCF). They were examined, together with samples of serum from the same patients, by sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and/or by two-dimensional electrophoresis, followed by silver staining. The results confirmed that the distribution of the major proteins in GCF is similar to that found in serum.

A case of localized juvenile periodontitis: treatment and 3 years follow-up with superimposable radiographs.

A 17-year-old male patient with localized juvenile periodontitis was treated by subgingival instrumentation with full thickness flap on the lower molars, combined with a 3-week course of systemic tetracycline, and a programme of supervised oral hygiene. The treatment was rapidly followed by dramatic clinical and microbiological improvement. However, despite good oral hygiene, gingival inflammation recurred at regular intervals.

Functional characteristics of gingival and periodontal ligament fibroblasts.

In periodontal surgery, healing after guided tissue regeneration (GTR) may be explained by differences in functional activities of gingival and periodontal ligament fibroblasts (GF and PDLF). Several studies in vitro have supported this hypothesis, but much remains to be defined. In the present work, gingival and periodontal ligament fibroblasts derived from five healthy subjects were isolated and compared in vitro.

Reliability of a paralleling instrument for dental radiographs.

The reliability of a paralleling instrument for dental radiographs was retrospectively evaluated in the course of a 6-month clinical study. The angular variation between successive exposures was precisely quantified. Ninety-one percent of the angular variations were below a 1.

Kinetics of spiramycin/metronidazole (Rodogyl) in human gingival crevicular fluid, saliva and blood.

The peripheral distribution of spiramycin and metronidazole, which are combined in the proprietary drug "Rodogyl", has been studied in gingival fluid, saliva and blood after a single administration to 12 healthy volunteers and after repeated administration to 4 patients with recurring severe periodontitis. Analysis of the 2 antibiotics have been performed at regular intervals during the 24-h period immediately following the administration to the volunteers and after the 1st and the 15th days of repeated administration to the patients. The results show that gingival fluid contains concentrations of spiramycin and metronidazole higher than those needed to inhibit the growth of periodontopathic bacteria.

Elastase release from gingival crevicular and peripheral neutrophils in periodontitis and health.

The activity of elastase increases significantly in the gingival sulcus during inflammation. The release of this enzyme from crevicular and peripheral polymorphonuclear leucocytes (PMNs) was studied in seven patients with gingivitis, six with adult periodontitis, seven with rapidly progressive periodontitis and in nine healthy subjects. Peripheral PMNs were isolated from blood and crevicular PMNs from gingival washings.

The recovery efficiency of various materials for sampling enzymes and polymorphonuclear leukocytes from gingival crevices.

The present investigation was designed to assess the effects of strips made of different materials on the recovery of enzymes in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) (Experiment 1), and to examine a possible relationship between lysosomal enzyme activities and number of crevicular polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) (Experiment 2). In Experiment 1, GCF was collected with capillaries from 14 patients with periodontal disease, and applied on various test strips in microcentrifuged tubes or directly into tubes (controls). Strips were then shaken and centrifuged to elute GCF enzymes.

Osteocalcin, prostaglandin E2 and alkaline phosphatase in gingival crevicular fluid: their relations to periodontal status.

Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) have often been measured in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) as possible indicators of gingival inflammation and bone metabolism. Osteocalcin (OC), a major component of bone matrix, is mainly produced by osteoblasts, and could also be considered as a marker of bone turnover. The aims of this preliminary study were to examine if OC was present in GCF and to assess the relationships of OC, PGE2 and ALP in GCF to periodontal conditions.

[Gingival hyperplasia of drug origin. A review of the literature].

The frequency of gingival overgrowth is increasing, due to the more and more frequent use of cyclosporin and calcium antagonists. Such lesions are the same as those known to occur in patients treated with phenytoin. They appear after a few months of treatment and are favoured by inflammation.

A rapid and simple method for counting crevicular polymorphonuclear leucocytes.

The techniques presently available for counting crevicular polymorphonuclear leucocytes (CPMNs) require special equipment and are only semi-quantitative. The present new and simple method is based on the property that Durapore strips have to harvest a maximum number of crevicular cells and to release them when shaken in a suitable buffer. Durapore strips were inserted into periodontal crevices or pockets, shaken in PBS and the liberated PMNs counted in a Neubauer chamber.

[The passage of antibiotics into human ginigival fluid. A review of the literature].

Many antibiotics are utilized in dentistry, particularly in periodontology, to treat aggressive forms of periodontitis. In order to be efficient, both on a clinical and on a microbiological point of view, these substances must be present in sufficient concentrations in the gingival sulcus. The aim of the present literature review was to summarize studies concerning the passage of the various families of antibiotics into the gingival fluid, together with their spectrum and clinical efficacy.

An in vitro study of polymorphonuclear leucocyte-mediated injury to human gingival keratinocytes by periodontopathic bacterial extracts.

Human gingival keratinocytes were cultured and, after the first passage, subjected to cell detachment assays with polymorphonuclear leucocytes (PMNs) and/or sonic extracts from Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans Y4, and Eikenella corrodens 1073. The effector-to-target cell ratio was 30:1. Bacterial extracts alone caused no disruption of keratinocyte monolayers.

Comparison of photodensitometric with high-resolution digital analysis of bone density from serial dental radiographs.

Photodensitometry is known to provide high spatial resolution and continuous measurement of optical density for the analysis of dental radiographs, whereas digitization allows powerful image manipulations but, when using conventional video cameras, gives less spatial resolution and fewer grey levels. The aim of this study was therefore to develop a technique of high-resolution digital analysis for the measurement of bone density following the same principles as those of photodensitometry and based upon the use of a CCD Scanner Camera which provides up to 4096 grey levels and a spatial resolution of 4096 x 4096 pixels. Twenty-four zones were analysed with both techniques in five serial dental radiographs taken before and after periodontal therapy in eight patients.

Neutrophil elastase and its inhibitors in human gingival crevicular fluid during experimental gingivitis.

The relative concentrations and absolute amounts of neutrophil elastase and its two inhibitors, alpha 2-macroglobulin (alpha 2-M) and alpha 1-antitrypsin (alpha 1-AT), were determined in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) collected from six dental students who refrained from brushing the upper left or right quadrant during three weeks. Plaque and gingival indices and flow of GCF were measured before, during, and after the three weeks of no brushing. Functional elastase, representing the enzyme complexed with alpha 2-M, was measured by use of a low-molecular-weight fluorogenic substrate.

[Dentin hypersensitivities and their treatment. A review of the literature].

Dentin hypersensitivity is a painful manifestation resulting from a response of the openings of dentin tubules to oral environment. It is probably caused by movements of intratubular fluids, under the influence of different types of stimuli at the dentin surface. Hypersensitivity has been known for a long time and its treatment has always been difficult.