Assessment of Bacterial Pathogens in Human Volunteers with Rheumatoid Arthritis and Chronic Periodontitis: A Molecular-based Analysis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and chronic periodontitis (CP) are chronic destructive inflammatory disorders which result from deregulation of the host inflammatory response. Both conditions are potentiated by an exaggerated inflammatory response featuring an increase in local and perhaps circulating proinflammatory mediators, resulting in the destruction of the soft and hard tissue surrounding the synovial joints and periodontium. To detect the periodontal bacterial DNA in the subgingival dental plaque of RA and CP patients using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). In this study, 80 subjects were selected based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria and divided into four groups. Group I (healthy - 20), Group II (CP - 20), Group III (RA - 20), and Group IV (RA and CP - 20). Subgingival plaque sample was collected with sterile paper points, and micro-organisms were analyzed using PCR. All four groups showed a statistical significant of (P ≤ 0.001) with the difference in the detection of the number of organisms, with the increase in the level of Tannerella forsythia in the RA + CP group. The results of our study suggested that periodontal bacterial DNA may have a major pathological role in the development of RA.