Conclusion
The findings of the present study reemphasize the importance of whole saliva as sampling method in terms of immunological purposes in periodontal disease and suggest that the elevated IL-1beta concentration may be one of the host-response components associated to the clinical manifestations of periodontal disease.
Objective
To assess the concentration of the proinflammatory cytokine IL-1beta in saliva of periodontally diseased and healthy patients and their relationship with the periodontal status. Design: Unstimulated whole saliva samples from patients with chronic periodontitis (n=30), aggressive periodontitis (n=18) and healthy controls (n=18) were obtained for the study. The periodontal status of each subject was assessed by criteria based on probing depth, clinical attachment loss and the extent/severity of periodontal breakdown. The levels of IL-1beta were measured in saliva samples with a high sensitivity enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).
Results
Although no significant difference (P=0.624) was found for salivary IL-1beta levels between periodontitis groups, they were significantly greater (P<0.01) than those detected for healthy controls. Furthermore, Spearman correlation analysis showed statistically significant correlations (P<0.01) between data from salivary IL-1beta levels and clinical measurements.