Aim: This study aimed to clinically investigate the efficacy of β-glucan supplementation to non-surgical periodontal therapy in localized aggressive periodontitis (LAP) patients. In parallel, immunohistochemical detection of matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) and MMP-9 expression levels has undergone to determine the subcellular changes behind the clinical status and reliability of each antibody in predicting the periodontal condition.
Method: 40 subjects suffering from LAP were randomly and equally assigned to receive scaling and root planning (SRP); either with placebo pills (Group I) or β-glucan (100 mg/ once a day) (Group II), for 40 days. Subjects were clinically monitored on day 0 and day 91. Gingival samples were harvested from hopeless teeth sites to be investigated histologically and immunohistochemically using matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-1 and 9 antibodies form each participating patient; at the same time intervals.
Results: The experimental intervention showed a greater mean of probing pocket depth reduction (p=0.1128), with significant gain in clinical attachment (p=0.0180) and reduction of gingival inflammation (p=0.0207) compared to the control group at the end of the study. Furthermore, the experimental protocol was able to achieve better modulating effects on the levels of MMP-1 and MMP-9 compared to control therapy, along with enhancing protective healing patterns. MMP-9 was more sensitive indicator of the periodontal condition compared to MMP-1.
Conclusions: The curre nt study demonstrated that the non-surgical treatment of LAP is markedly improved clinically by the adjunctive use of β-glucan, accompanied by a trend for modulation of the cytokine profile in gingival tissue samples with better healing events. The results also suggest that the expression of MMP-9 may be a precise indicator of periodontal disease activity.