Assessment of changes in total proteins level, serum and saliva IgG and IgA levels, serum IgM level, serum and saliva IgA/IgG ratio. The study was conducted on a group of 40 subjects, divided into 2 lots: the first lot consisting of 20 healthy individuals and the second consisting of 20 patients with hepatitis with hepatitis A virus (HAV). The levels of total proteins, serum and saliva IgG and IgA, serum IgM and serum and saliva IgA/IgG ratio have higher values in patients with hepatitis A, in comparison to healthy subjects, without necessarily exceeding the maximum admitted value. The results are significant from a statistical point of view. Due to the sensitivity and specificity of salivary anti-HAV IgM and IgG in patients with acute hepatitis A, compared with healthy subjects, there is a possibility of using salivary immunological tests instead of serum tests for the diagnosis and epidemiological study of HAV infection.

Osteoporosis and periodontal disease (PD) are two chronic diseases, characterized by bone loss, with systemic or local impact (alveolar bone). Both pathologies have a progressive evolution, leading to systemic bone loss in the case of osteoporosis and bone lysis localized in the alveolar bone in the case of periodontal disease. The present paper presents recent data from the literature on the association between periodontal disease and osteoporosis, on the role of cytokines in the bone resorption-apposition imbalance, and on how periodontal disease causes changes in serum levels of cytokines, leading to disorders in the systemic bone formation. We also found it useful, especially for rheumatologists, to outline the extent to which periodontal disease can create a systemic context favorable to the development of osteoporosis.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and periodontal disease (PD) are two chronic inflammatory diseases that share common pathogenetic mechanisms. Therefore, it is thought that a correlation between the two pathologies might exist. PD itself, when not associated with SLE, does not cause major cardiovascular events, but it contributes to the development of atherosclerosis, which is the major cause of death among patients with SLE. This article aims to summarize the available literature concerning the association between these two disorders (PD prevalence in patients with SLE, correlations between periodontal damage and SLEDAI activity score), to present the main mechanisms by which the two pathologies affect the cardiovascular system and to evaluate the impact of SLE corticosteroid therapy on periodontal tissue.

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Introduction. The relationship between periodontal disease (PD) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is currently only partially known, both being chronic multifactorial diseases that may share common pathogenic mechanisms and etiological factors. In a previous meta-analysis we concluded that patients with RA are more commonly affected by PD and develop more severe forms of the disease, compared to the general population. Objectives. The current study aimed to assess the degree of periodontal damage and oral hygiene on a group of patients diagnosed with RA. Methods. The study was conducted on a group of 30 patients, 6 sextants being assessed in each patient (180 potentially evaluable sextants). Establishing the degree of periodontal damage and oral hygiene was achieved by determining the Community Periodontal Index of Treatment Needs (CPITN) and Oral Hygiene Index (IHB, also known as OHI). Results. The mean CPITN score/sextant was 1.92. After clinical examination we found 10 edentulous sextants that could not be evaluated. As a result of the distribution of the scores on all the 170 evaluable sextants, we obtained: CPITN 0 – 11.1%, CPITN 1 – 23.6%, CPITN 2 – 32.4%, CPITN 3 – 27.6%, CPITN 4 – 5.3%. After analyzing the oral hygiene index the mean value we found was 16. Distribution of IHB intervals was: IHB 0-12 (40%), IHB 13-24 (53.3%), IHB 25-36 (6.6%). Discussion and conclusions. Comparing our results to data from the literature, in our group of patients with RA the only CPITN index criteria significantly increased, compared to the healthy population, were gingival bleeding on probing and the number of periodontal pockets with 4-5.5 mm depth.