Acute Necrotizing Ulcerative Gingivitis: Microbial and Immunologic Studies.

This is the final report on a research project aimed at obtaining new information as to the microbial etiology and immunopathology of acute necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis ANUG. Thirty five patients have been studied 54 were male and 46 female, 18 were caucasion and 17 were black. The mean age of the patients was 23 years with a range of 14 to 50 years. The patients upon entering the clinic felt that they were healthy with the chief complaint being sore gums. Clinical observations of the patients included cratering of papilla, fetid odor, psuedomembrane formation, blunting of papilla and lymphadenopathy. Subgingival plaque samples taken from the patients revealed the presence of large numbers of spirochetes and Gram - rods. Cultural studies showed that the Gram - rods comprised the highest percentage 78 of the total organisms isolated. Of this group Bacteroides gingivalis and Fusobacterium nucleatum were the most frequently isolated. Studies were undertaken to determine possible colonization and pathogenic mechanisms of B. gingivalis and F. nucleatum. Experiments were performed to determine whether hemolysis would occur following attachment to RBCs of strains of F. nucleatum and Bacteroides species including B. gingivalis. The F. nucleatum strains displayed both hemagglutination and hemolytic activity. The B. gingivalis strains and other bacteroides species displayed hemagglutination but no measurable hemolytic activity. Keywords Serology Antigens and Histopathology.