A Novel Systemic Indicator of Periodontal Tissue Damage: Ischemia Modified Albumin

Ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) is a systemic indicator of inflammatory diseases and is suggested as an oxidative stress marker.

To determine the IMA and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) serum levels for patients with chronic periodontitis (CP) and to evaluate the impact of non-surgical periodontal therapy on serum IMA and hsCRP levels.

Twenty one systemically healthy patients with CP and 15 systemically and periodontally healthy controls (C) were enrolled in the study. Periodontal pocket depth (PPD), bleeding on probing (BOP) and attachment loss (AL) were recorded at the time of diagnosis and 6 weeks after the nonsurgical periodontal therapy. Blood samples were obtained before and after treatment from all groups, and serum IMA and hsCRP levels were evaluated by ELISA method.

All of the clinical findings were found to be elevated in the CP group in comparison to C group (p<0.05). Levels of IMA and hsCRP were higher in the CP group (p<0.05) and decreased after non-surgical periodontal therapy (p<0.05). Positive correlations were determined between PPD, BOP and hsCRP (p<0.05) as well as between PPD, AL, BOP and IMA levels (p<0.01) before treatment. A significant positive correlation was also observed between hsCRP and IMA (p<0.01) before and after treatment.

IMA is a marker indicating systemic inflammation during periodontal disease, and is significantly reduced as a result of non-surgical periodontal therapy. Therefore, IMA might be suggested as a useful indicator of periodontal disease.