Relation of Salivary PAF Periodontal Disease in Periodontal Maintenance and Refractory Periodontitis Patients

Platelet activating factor PAF, a potent phospholipid inflammatory mediator present in normal human mixed saliva, may play a role in periodontal inflammation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the level of salivary PAF in patients previously treated for periodontal disease and seen on a regular basis in a periodontal maintenance program. Thirteen of the patients were refractory to treatment, whereas the remaining 63 responded to conventional periodontal therapy. Salivary lipids were fractionated by thin layer chromatography and assessed for PAF activity by platelet bioassay as compared to authentic PAF 1-O-hexadecyl-2-acetyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine C16O-AGEPC. For the refractory periodontitis group, salivary PAF levels were 7897 C16O- AGEPC fmole equivalentsml saliva. For this group, salivary PAF levels correlated to the number of sites with probing depths greater than 3mm and number of probing depths greater than 5mm.