Dental School News
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – As the U.S. population ages, dentists are seeing more serious periodontal disease.
Georgios Hajishengallis, associate professor of dentistry at the University of Louisville, believes he knows why older people are more vulnerable to periodontal disease, which causes bleeding and receding gums, loosened teeth and underlying bone loss.
Most adults have some degree of periodontal disease and approximately 10 percent of the world’s population have severe periodontitis. In addition to its effects on oral health, periodontal disease has also been shown to be associated with a significantly higher risk for heart disease.
Hajishengallis was awarded $1.6 million by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research to investigate why the aging immune system gradually loses its ability to fight the P. gingivalis bacteria, a leading cause of periodontal disease.
P. gingivalis attaches to “bacteria-eating” cells of our immune system known as macrophages and triggers them to activate a particular receptor on the cell, called CR3, that allows the bacteria to pass into the cells without being destroyed by the body’s immune system. Because CR3 becomes more active with age, Hajishengallis believes that it is a key factor in the bacteria’s ability to survive in the mouths of older people and cause disease.
The grant will allow them to study what happens when CR3 is blocked in old and young mice infected with P. gingivalis, compared to mice not treated with the inhibitor. By comparing the disease’s progress in each group, researchers will be able to determine whether this mechanism is the key to age-related increases in periodontal disease.
Controlling periodontal diseases offers hope for related conditions. Periodontitis seems to influence coronary artery disease and increase the risk of heart attack or stroke.
“These are exciting possibilities. We hope to develop therapeutic approaches for controlling human periodontitis and perhaps associated systemic diseases like coronary artery disease,” Hajishengallis said.
© Copyright 2009 by University of Louisville
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