PERIODONTAL DISEASES AND TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS IN THE GULLAH POPULATION

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This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. For the past decade or so, numerous studies have produced equivocal results concerning the relationship of periodontal status and diabetes control. Currently there is a Protocol written from the Cochrane Collaboration to address the question of Treatment of periodontal disease for glycaemic control in people with diabetes. The proposed study hypothesizes that the treatment of periodontal disease will produce better diabetes glycemic control and reduced levels of the catalytically active form of MMP-8 in the Gullah African American diabetes patients living on the Sea Islands of the South Carolina coast. The study includes the population of the previous 5-year study of periodontal disease in the Gullah (Dr. J. Fernandes) and also additional Gullah participants. The specific aims are 1) to ascertain the rate of periodontal disease progression on poorly controlled type 2 diabetic Gullah African American patients as compared to well controlled African American Patients, 2) to assess the effects of periodontal therapy on the level of glycemic control in this population, and 3) to assess the concentration of the catalytically active form of MMP-8. In the previous study only MMP-8 was studied and not the catalytically active form. The knowledge from this study can potentially lead to development of a therapeutic strategy to reduce periodontal disease progression and maybe even prevent periodontal disease onset in this population. Also there is hope to find a periodontal disease activity biomarker (active MMP-8) that would direct treatment to only those patients with active disease, saving significant time and expenses.