Effect of non-surgical periodontal therapy on C-telopeptide pyridinoline cross-links (ICTP) and interleukin-1 levels

Background: Biochemical markers harvested from gingival crevicular fluid (G CF) may be useful to identify and predict periodontal disease progression a nd to monitor the response to treatment. C-telopeptide pyridinoline cross-l inks (ICTP), a host-derived breakdown product specific for bone, and interl eukin-1 beta (IL-1), a potent bone-resorptive cytokine, have been associate d with periodontal tissue destruction. The aim of this Study was to examine the effect of nonsurgical periodontal therapy on GCF levels of ICTP and IL -1. Methods: Twenty-five chronic periodontitis subjects were monitored at 8 sit es per subject at baseline prior to scaling and root planing and 1, 3, and 6 months after therapy. Four shallow (probing depths <4 mm) and 4 deep (pro bing depths <greater than or equal to>5 mm) sites were monitored for both m arker levels and clinical parameters. GCF was collected for 30 seconds on p aper strips, and levels of ICTP and IL-1 were determined using radioimmunoa ssay (RIA) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) techniques, respec tively. Clinical measurements included probing depth (PD), clinical attachm ent level (CAL), and bleeding on probing (BOP). Results: Deep sites exhibited significantly (P<0.001) higher ICTP and IL-1 levels compared to shallow sites at all time intervals. ICTP demonstrated a stronger association to clinical parameters than IL-1 including a modest c orrelation (r = 0.40, P <0.001) between ICTP and attachment loss. Significa nt improvements in PD, CAL, and BOP were observed at 1, 3, and 6 months in all sites (P<0.01). However, non-surgical mechanical therapy did not signif icantly reduce ICTP and IL-1 levels over the 6-month period. Further examin ation of subjects based on smoking status revealed that ICTP levels were si gnificantly reduced at 3 and 6 months and IL-1 levels reduced at 3 months a mong non-smokers only. Conclusions: A single episode of non-surgical mechanical therapy did not si gnificantly reduce biochemical markers associated with bone resorption in p atients exhibiting chronic periodontitis. Future longitudinal studies are w arranted to specifically evaluate the relationship between C-telopeptide py ridinoline cross-links and periodontal disease progression.