Systemic Diseases

Chronic inflammatory periodontal diseases are not limited to the oral cavity and may present health risks for the body as a whole.

aMMP-8 as a Measure for Grading Silent Inflammations

Periodontitis and Systemic Interactions

Chronic inflammatory periodontal diseases are in no way limited to the oral cavity and may present serious health risks. Many studies are providing increasing evidence of systemic connections between periodontitis and overall health.

The link between periodontitis and diabetes mellitus in particular has been well researched. A bidirectional, negative relationship exists between these two widespread diseases. The risk of periodontitis is three times as high as normal among patients with diabetes.

Conversely, manifest periodontitis affects the metabolism of those with diabetes, thereby increasing the risk of diabetes-associated complications.

In addition, observational studies demonstrate that individuals suffering from periodontitis carry a significantly higher risk of cardiovascular diseases, such as myocardial infarction (heart attack). Many studies provide evidence of a connection between periodontal diseases and cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis, chronic respiratory tract diseases, and various other problems for healthy people, including seniors, smokers, and women planning a pregnancy.

Systemic diseases and issues that may be associated with oral inflammation include:

  • diabetes
  • pre-term labor and low birth weight
  • inflammation around implants and endoprosthetics
  • skin and tissue diseases
  • osteoporosis
  • diseases of the respiratory tract and chronic lung diseases
  • arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis
  • endocarditis and cardiovascular diseases

Risk factors that may increase the likelihood of oral inflammation include: 

  • genetic predisposition
  • advanced age
  • diseases, e.g. diabetes mellitus, HIV, leukemia
  • hormonal influences, e.g. puberty, pregnancy, menopause
  • environmental factors, e.g. smoking, alcohol, stress, overweight, poor oral hygiene
  • medication, e.g contraceptives, calcium antagonists, anti-epileptics, immunosuppressants

Interdisciplinary Diagnostics and Collaboration

aMMP-8 – the Link Between Periodontal

and Systemic diseases

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) occur in human tissue all over the body. The enzyme plays an important role in physiological structuring and restructuring processes, e.g. in wound healing, by catalyzing the breakdown of collagen and elastin in the skin. MMPs are also involved in many pathological processes, including cardiovascular diseases, arthritis, tumors, and periodontitis.

Periodontal bacteria induce the body to produce and release matrix metalloproteinase-8 (MMP-8). Its active form, aMMP-8, is one of the key destructive enzymes in periodontal diseases. It is the only enzyme in the MMP family capable of splitting both type I and type III collagen and is responsible for the breakdown of the three-dimensional collagen network in the periodontium. aMMP-8 is associated to a significant degree with the severity of periodontal inflammations and can therefore be regarded as an early biomarker for periodontitis and peri-implantitis.

Recent studies reveal an association between aMMP-8 and the occurrence of systemic diseases. For example, MMP-8 is associated with the risk of coronary events, heart attack, and death (Kormi 2017). There are also indications of a correlation between MMP-8 concentration and prognosis in colorectal cancer (Böckelman et al. 2018) and stomach cancer (Laitinen et al. 20018).

aMMP-8 may possibly be used as a biomarker in the risk assessment for systemic diseases. 

Against this backdrop, tests for the early detection and diagnosis of periodontal diseases that result in suitable treatment being provided have an important role to play in reducing systemic health risks.

Healthy Mouth – Healthy Body

aMMP-8 for Early Detection and Progression Measurement

With the aMMP-8 test systems from Dentognostics, the concentration of aMMP in the saliva or sulcular fluid (GCF/PISF) can be analyzed qualitatively or quantitatively. This makes it possible to detect collagen breakdown in the periodontal tissue, even if no signs are visible on x-ray or during probing (bleeding on probing, BOP). In this way, the dynamic process of active periodontal degeneration (APD) can be detected and, more importantly, its future development and the risk of progression can be predicted (Sorsa et al. 2010, 2016, 2018).

Find out more about how the PerioSafe PRO DRS and PerioSafe DR aMMP-8 test systems are used in diabetology, gynecology, cardiology, oncology, pneumology, rheumatology, and orthopedics.

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