OSTEOPOROSIS DRUG RE-GROWS BONE LOST TO PERIODONTAL DISEASES
OSTEOPOROSIS DRUG RE GROWS BONE LOST TO PERIODONTAL DISEASES A drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat osteoporosis is showing promise as an effective agent for rebuilding bone lost to periodontal diseases. The new use was
OSTEOPOROSIS DRUG RE-GROWS BONE LOST TO PERIODONTAL DISEASES
A drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat osteoporosis is showing promise as an effective agent for rebuilding bone lost to periodontal diseases. The new use was revealed in a study conducted at the University of Michigan (U-M) School of Dentistry’s Michigan Center for Oral Health Research.
Researchers selected a study group of patients who had severe chronic gum disease. Periodontal surgery was performed on one-fourth of the mouth of each study subject as part of the investigation. Following periodontal surgery, half of the subjects were given a 6-week course of injections of the drug—a parathyroid hormone known by the generic name teriparatide—over the abdominal area, as well as calcium and vitamin D supplements. The other half of the study subjects received a placebo.
Radiographs at a 1-year follow-up revealed bone-level measurements had improved by 29% among the group that received the 6-week course of teriparatide. The placebo group showed only a 3% improvement. Full results of the study, “Teriparatide and Osseous Regeneration in the Oral Cavity,” appear in the October edition of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Jill Bashutski, clinical assistant professor at the U-M School of Dentistry and first author of the study, observes re-growing bone around teeth affected by periodontal diseases using current methods has been “difficult to achieve.” Bashutski adds, however, that she believes the new approach may change that.
The principal investigator of the study, Laurie McCauley, U-M professor and chair of periodontics and oral medicine, notes one of the most significant findings from the research reveals that “even a short dosing of this drug had benefits that lasted a year.” McCauley indicated future research would investigate whether the drug could be administered for use in site-specific bone healing and to help generate bone in dental implant areas.
Source: University of Michigan
