PRESENCE OF CORTISOL IN GINGIVAL CREVICULAR FLUID - A PILOT-STUDY

Cortisol is one of the primary mediators of the stress response, in th e main having immunosuppressive effects. An important component of the host response in periodontal inflammation is gingival crevicular flui d (GCF), with constituents mainly derived from serum. Cortisol, like m any other steroids, is present in saliva but its occurrence in GCF doe s not seem to be documented. Unstimulated whole saliva was collected a nd GCF was sampled on filter disks. The samples were analysed by a mod ified RIA method for serum in such a way that small volumes and low co ncentrations could be measured. Our findings suggest that the total co ncentration of cortisol in GCF might be estimated to levels below 1/10 of that in serum. However, what appears as a distinctive feature is t he considerable variation of the cortisol concentrations for individua l teeth. To our knowledge, this is the first time cortisol has been me asured in gingival crevicular fluid, and this opens the prospects for further in vivo research.