Evaluation of serum anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies level in rheumatoid patients with and without periodontitis

Abstract EN

Background : Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and periodontitis (PD) are widely prevalent diseases and are characterized by tissue destruction due to chronic inflammation.

Recently, there is growing evidence that the two diseases share many pathological features.

An association between periodontitis and rheumatoid arthritis has been considered many years ago.

The current study was established to evaluate the serum ACCP levels in rheumatoid arthritis patients with and without periodontitis, in addition to study the correlation between serum ACCP levels and periodontal parameters. Subjects and methods : A total of 95 subjects were enrolled in this study, age ranged (35 – 55) years divided into 3 Groups : Group I consist of 45 rheumatoid arthritis patients with periodontitis, while group II consist of 35 rheumatoid arthritis patients without periodontitis and group ΙΙΙ which consist of 15 apparently- healthy controls.

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Periodontal parameters used in this study were plaque index (PI), gingival index (GI), probing pocket depth (PPD), clinical attachment level (CAL) and bleeding on probing (BOP).

Blood samples were collected from each subject to determine serum concentrations of ACCP by means of enzyme-linked immune-sorbent assay (ELISA). Results : present study revealed that serum ACCP levels were significantly higher in rheumatoid patients with periodontitis (P < 0.001) than that in other two groups.

Regarding the correlation between serum ACCP levels and periodontal parameters, the current study showed positive correlation between serum ACCP and each of plaque index, gingival index and probing pocket depth. Conclusion : The current results provide strong evidence of association between periodontitis and rheumatoid arthritis, and suggested that periodontitis may play an important role in activation and triggering immune response.