Approximately half of the patients (22) with periodontitis and RA received periodontal treatment, oral hygiene instruction and full-mouth supragingival scaling with ultrasonic instruments. Blood work was again performed two months after periodontal treatment on these patients, revealing that serum levels of CarP and NETs significantly decreased post-treatment, even though the distribution and dose of RA treatment with corticosteroids, NSAIDs or conventional synthetic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs were the same at baseline and reassessment. The authors concluded their paper by suggesting that there may be an underlying shared pathogenic mechanism behind RA and periodontitis.
Lara C. Pullen, PhD, is a medical writer based in the Chicago area.
Reference
- Kaneko C, Kobayashi T, Ito S3, et al. Circulating levels of carbamylated protein and neutrophil extracellular traps are associated with periodontitis severity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: A pilot case-control study. PLoS One. 2018 Feb 2;13(2):e0192365. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0192365. eCollection 2018.
