GINGIVAL CREVICULAR FLUID LACTOFERRIN LEVELS IN ADULT PERIODONTITIS PATIENTS

The present study was designed to determine in a cross-sectional study whether there was any relationship between the levels of lactoferrin in gingival crevicular fluid and clinical periodontal parameters. Crev icular fluid was collected from individual sites using standardized fi lter paper strips (clinically healthy sites, N=23; periodontitis sites , n=66) and evaluated for lactoferrin by enzyme-linked immunosorbent a ssay. The data showed that: (1) the total amounts of lactoferrin were 0.003-0.021 ng (30 second sample) (average 0.009+/-0.005 ng) in a clin ically healthy periodontium group and 0.016-3.847 ng (30 second sample ) (average 0.575+/-0.069 ng) in adult periodontitis patients (statisti cally significantly higher in adult periodontitis patients); and (2) t he total amounts of lactoferrin were significantly correlated with cli nical parameters, especially a strong positive correlation with gingiv al crevicular fluid volume (r=0.85, p<0.01) and with probing depth (r= 0.71, p<0.01). These results indicated that quantification of lactofer rin in gingival crevicular fluid may be a more sensitive indicator of periodontal pathology than traditional clinical indices.