PERIODONTAL FINDINGS IN COHEN SYNDROME WITH CHRONIC NEUTROPENIA

RADIOGRAPHIC PERIODONTAL STATUS and microbiological findings of period ontal pockets in subjects with Cohen syndrome are presented in this re port. This hereditary disorder causes mental retardation, and neutrope nia is one feature of the syndrome. Fifteen patients with Cohen syndro me and 15 controls matched for age and sex and, as far as possible, ac cording to the degree of mental retardation were examined. Alveolar bo ne loss was evaluated from the panoramic radiographs. Two subgingival samples were obtained from the most affected anterior and posterior pe riodontal sites in each dentate subject and examined for the occurrenc e of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Porphyromonas gingivalis, P revotella intermedia/nigrescens, Peptostreptococcus micros, Bacteroide s forsythus, and Campylobacter rectus. Subjects with Cohen syndrome ha d alveolar bone loss more frequently and the bone loss was more extens ive (Mann-Whitney U-test: P < 0.05) than in the controls. They also ha rboured one or several of the putative periodontal pathogens (Mann-Whi tney U-test: P < 0.001) more often than the controls, We conclude that subjects with Cohen syndrome have increased susceptibility to early p eriodontal breakdown which is likely to be associated with neutropenia .